Spatial Preference Research Articles

Economic assessment of ecosystem services with a novel concept of elevation: An application of the discrete choice experiment method

AbstractThis research was conducted in the Hei River Basin of China to understand respondents' willingness to pay (WTP) for ecological services towards sustainable river system management. A discrete choice experiment is used to gauge respondents' preferences. In addition, elevation was introduced as a novel spatial attribute to account for heterogeneity. Primary data from 1680 respondents were collected across the Hei River Basin. The elevation of the river was categorized into five ad hoc elevation ranges to analyze the potential effects of elevation on environmental attributes. These samples were stratified as 1000–1600 m, 1601–2200 m, 2201–2800 m, 2801–3400 m, and 3401–4000 m. Pooled data results showed that the maximum WTP was for water quality, that is, 142.05 RMB, without considering the effect of elevation. However, when the interaction with elevation was included, the amount decreased to 133.52 RMB. Likewise, elevation‐based group estimates showed a varied pattern of spatial preference, with different preferences for each distinguishing attribute. Group A prioritized water quality (92.81 RMB) and the East Juyan area (4.12 RMB). In contrast, Group B preferred the guaranteed rate of irrigation of farmland (3.50 RMB) and reduced sandstorm frequency (17.90 RMB). Leisure and entertainment conditions had the lowest WTP across all groups (0.09–0.50 RMB). These findings highlight the importance of incorporating respondents' preferences in restoring and maintaining river systems. Additionally, it emphasized the need to consider respondents' socioeconomic characteristics when developing sustainable management policies.

A Novel Quadrant Spatial Assay Reveals Environmental Preference in Mouse Spontaneous and Parental Behaviors

Environmental factors have well-documented impacts on brain development and mental health. Therefore, it is crucial to employ a reliable assay system to assess the spatial preference of model animals. In this study, we introduced an unbiased quadrant chamber assay system and discovered that parental pup-gathering behavior takes place in a very efficient manner. Furthermore, we found that test mice exhibited preferences for specific environments in both spontaneous and parental pup-gathering behavior contexts. Notably, the spatial preferences of autism spectrum disorder model animals were initially suppressed but later equalized during the spontaneous behavior assay, accompanied by increased time spent in the preferred chamber. In conclusion, our novel quadrant chamber assay system provides an ideal platform for investigating the spatial preference of mice, offering potential applications in studying environmental impacts and exploring neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorder models.

Looks like home: numerosity, but not spatial frequency guides preference in zebrafish larvae (Danio rerio)

Despite their young age, zebrafish larvae have a well-developed visual system and can distinguish between different visual stimuli. First, we investigated if the first visual surroundings the larvae experience during the first days after hatching shape their habitat preference. Indeed, these animals seem to “imprint” on the first surroundings they see and select visual stimuli accordingly at 7 days post fertilization (dpf). In particular, if zebrafish larvae experience a bar background just after hatching, they later on prefer bars over white stimuli, and vice versa. We then used this acquired preference for bars to investigate innate numerical abilities. We wanted to specifically test if the zebrafish larvae show real numerical abilities or if they rely on a lower-level mechanism—i.e. spatial frequency—to discriminate between two different numerosities. When we matched the spatial frequency in stimuli with different numbers of bars, the larvae reliably selected the higher numerosity. A previous study has ruled out that 7 dpf zebrafish larvae use convex hull, cumulative surface area and density to choose between two numerosities. Therefore, our results indicate that zebrafish larvae rely on real numerical abilities rather than other cues, including spatial frequency, when spontaneously comparing two sets with different numbers of bars.

Dynamic spatial representation of self and others’ actions in the macaque frontal cortex

Modulation of neuronal firing rates by the spatial locations of physical objects is a widespread phenomenon in the brain. However, little is known about how neuronal responses to the actions of biological entities are spatially tuned and whether such spatially tuned responses are affected by social contexts. These issues are of key importance for understanding the neural basis of embodied social cognition, such as imitation and perspective-taking. Here, we show that spatial representation of actions can be dynamically changed depending on others' social relevance and agents of action. Monkeys performed a turn-taking choice task with a real monkey partner sitting face-to-face or a filmed partner in prerecorded videos. Three rectangular buttons (left, center, and right) were positioned in front of the subject and partner as their choice targets. We recorded from single neurons in two frontal nodes in the social brain, the ventral premotor cortex (PMv) and the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). When the partner was filmed rather than real, spatial preference for partner-actions was markedly diminished in MPFC, but not PMv, neurons. This social context-dependent modulation in the MPFC was also evident for self-actions. Strikingly, a subset of neurons in both areas switched their spatial preference between self-actions and partner-actions in a diametrically opposite manner. This observation suggests that these cortical areas are associated with coordinate transformation in ways consistent with an actor-centered perspective-taking coding scheme. The PMv may subserve such functions in context-independent manners, whereas the MPFC may do so primarily in social contexts.

Thermotactic behaviour in lacustrine and riverine forms of Salmo trutta and its relevance to an emerging parasitic disease (PKD) in the wake of climate change

The thermotactic response of brown trout (Salmo trutta) was examined with the goal to investigate potential effects of the emerging temperature-dependent fatal trout disease PKD (proliferative kidney disease). First the differences in cold-water preferences of two forms of brown trout, lacustrine (migratory) and riverine, were determined. Second, it was studied whether this preference was changed in fish infected with PKD. The experiment involved a one-week habituation period at 14 °C in a two-chamber runway followed by a week of 3 °C temperature difference between the two runways. The fish could freely move between lanes via an opening at the end where food was provided. The temperature manipulation was repeated twice, and there were 3 trials per experimental group. All fish developed a clear spatial preference in the test. Lacustrine trout demonstrated a preference for warmer water, while riverine trout preferred cooler water. This may increase the risk to PKD in the lacustrine form. Most strikingly, riverine trout experimentally exposed to Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae, the parasite that causes PKD, demonstrated stronger cold-seeking behaviour than control fish. Cold seeking behaviour suggests the occurrence of a disease-induced behavioural chill response, which may play an important role in disease recovery. This demonstrates the significance of protecting river connectivity and cold-water sanctuaries as management strategies for preserving salmonid populations in a warming climate.

74 Feeding style and its influence on growth, circulating insulin, and spatial preference of young pigs

Abstract In this study, we investigated the influence of feeding style on growth performance, circulating insulin concentrations, and spatial preference within the home-cages (HC) of young pigs. Pigs (n = 43 boars) were weaned on postnatal day (PND) 2, allotted to treatment based on litter of origin and body weight (BW), and reared artificially over a 15-d period. Pigs were provided a nutritionally adequate milk replacer 20 h per day using one of two feeding styles: 1) ad libitum (i.e., continual access to milk replacer), and 2) prescribed [330 mL/kg of BW from PND 3-7 (wk 1), and 357.5 mL/kg of BW from PND 8-18 (wk 2)]. In addition to water in the reconstituted milk replacer, free choice access to fresh water was provided throughout the study. Milk intake (i.e., disappearance) and BW were recorded daily, with pigs undergoing continuous top-down video surveillance throughout the study. On PND 17, blood was collected from a subset of pigs (n = 24) for quantification of insulin concentrations. Video analysis of pigs (n = 43) was performed to establish time spent in each HC quadrant. All data were analyzed via a 1-way ANOVA using the MIXED procedure of SAS. During wk 1, ad libitum pigs exhibited increased (P < 0.05) average daily BW gain (152 g/d) and average daily milk intake (728 g/d) compared with the prescribed treatment (127 g/d and 570 g/d, respectively). This same effect continued in wk 2 for average daily BW gain and average daily milk intake, with ad libitum-fed pigs consuming more (P < 0.05) milk replacer (256 g/d and 1,356 g/d, respectively) compared with prescribed-fed pigs (192 g/d and 974 g/d, respectively). Over the entire 15-d feeding study, average daily BW gain (234 g/d), average daily feed intake (1,140 g/d) and milk intake-to-BW ratio (4.60) were greater (P < 0.05) in the ad libitum treatment compared with prescribed feeding (180 g/d, 830 g/d, and 3.81 respectively). Insulin concentrations were greater (P < 0.05) in the ad libitum treatment (348 µIU/mL) 30 min after feed provision compared with the prescribed treatment (190 µIU/mL). Video analysis of spatial preference within HC suggested pigs in the prescribed treatment spent more (P < 0.05) time in quadrant 4 during wk 1 (5.43% of time recorded) compared with the ad libitum treatment (3.82% of time recorded), likely due to quadrant 4 housing the feed bowl. However, all other time points had no effect on spatial preference. Overall, the type of feeding style altered growth performance and insulin concentrations within young pigs and may impact the spatial preference of pigs within their home-cage environment.

The Effectiveness of ChatGPT in Translating Chunky Construction Texts in Chinese Political Discourse

From the theoretical perspective of Chinese-English temporal-spatial cognitive differences, this study employs a self-constructed bilingual parallel corpus of political discourse totaling one million words. It extracts chunky construction texts with latent agents in the source language (Chinese) and corresponding texts of target language translations (English) for a comparative experiment between ChatGPT translations and those of human translators. Driven by the “Human-AI Interaction Model”, three different prompts were set up to conduct three rounds of translation testing with ChatGPT. The study discovers: 1) ChatGPT has limitations in actively understanding the implicit elements of the source Chinese texts that are driven by a strong spatial preference, which are also reflected in the target language English translations; 2) The “Human-AI Interaction Model” can guide and train ChatGPT effectively through continuous optimization of prompts, enhancing AI abilities in understanding the source language and achieving effective target language translation; 3) Currently, ChatGPT cannot replace human translators in translating chunky discourses of Chinese, but the collaborative interaction between human translators and AI is highly effective. By optimizing the design of prompt instructions, this research offers cognitive reference and operational paradigms to improve ChatGPT’s recognition and cognitive reconstruction capabilities of Chinese-English temporal-spatial differences, providing insights for future research, translation practice, and teaching in related areas.

The Evolutions and Large‐Scale Mechanisms of Summer Stratospheric Ozone Intrusion Across Global Hotspots

AbstractStratospheric ozone intrusions can have a significant impact on regional near‐surface ozone levels. Especially in summer, intrusions can contribute to extreme ozone events because of preexisting high ozone levels near the surface and cause serious health issues. Considering the increasing trend of surface ozone level, an understanding of stratospheric ozone intrusion is necessary. From a 19‐year Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model, version 6 simulation and a stratospheric origin ozone tracer, we identify the global hotspots of stratospheric intrusions based on extreme tracer concentrations near the surface: North America, Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. We investigate the common underlying large‐scale mechanisms of the stratospheric intrusions over the identified hotspots from the lower stratosphere to the lower troposphere. From the trajectory analysis, we find that the upper‐level jet drives isentropic mixing near the jet axis and initiates stratospheric ozone intrusion. Subsequently, climatological descent at the lower troposphere brings the ozone down to the surface, which explains the spatial preference of summertime stratospheric intrusion events.

The Impact of the Urban Forest Park Recreation Environment and Perceived Satisfaction on Post-Tour Behavioral Intention—Using Tongzhou Grand Canal Forest Park as an Example

The positive behaviors that urban forest parks encourage in urban residents (such as recommendations, repeat visits, etc.) are important considerations in the planning and construction of such forest parks. Recreators’ environmental preferences and perceived satisfaction with urban forest parks are responses to individuals’ perceptions and attitudes toward the external environment. Clarifying the interactive relationship between the two is of great significance to improving positive behavioral intentions in urban forest parks. In this paper, the concept of the urban forest park recreational environment is proposed, and in this concept, the three dimensions of the spatial physical environmental preference, regional cultural characteristics, and service experience that the urban forest park recreational environment has on tourists’ perception are separated out. A model of the structural relationship between park environment perception, perceived satisfaction, and post-tour behavioral intention was tested using Tongzhou Grand Canal Forest Park as an example. The psychological path of tourists’ behavioral intention after visiting the urban forest park can be divided into two categories: the direct influencing path is “urban forest park recreation environment → post-tour behavioral intention”; the indirect influencing path is “urban forest park recreation environment → perceived satisfaction → behavioral intention after the trip”. This shows that tourists’ preference for the urban forest park recreation environment will promote the generation of perceived satisfaction and then stimulate in-depth comprehensive experience evaluation after visiting. By enhancing tourists’ experience of the urban forest park recreational environment through their environmental preference perception and improving tourists’ perceived satisfaction with the urban forest park recreational environment, urban forest parks can improve tourists’ positive behavioral intentions. Clarifying these complex psychological processes provides a new perspective for understanding people’s cognition of urban forest parks, the physiological and psychological benefits produced, and the resulting behavioral tendencies. At the same time, it also provides a new perspective for the planning and design of similar types of urban forest parks. It provides a certain reference value for forest park management.

Direct and indirect effects of mother's spatial ability on child's spatial ability: What role does the home environment play?

Individual differences in spatial thinking are predictive of children's math and science achievement and later entry into Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Little is known about whether parent characteristics predict individual differences in children's spatial thinking. This study aims to understand whether, and to what extent, mother's intrinsic (i.e., mental rotation) and extrinsic (i.e., spatial scaling) spatial ability directly and indirectly, via the variation in home spatial environment, predicts children's intrinsic and extrinsic spatial ability. A total of 165 mothers and their 4-6-year-old children were recruited to participate in a remote video session with an experimenter. Mothers were administered a forced-choice Intrinsic Spatial Toy Preference Task gauging their preference for highly spatial versus less spatial toys and asked questions with the Home Intrinsic Spatial Environmental Questionnaire about the frequency with which they engage their child in spatial activities at home. Mothers completed a Mental Rotations Test and a Spatial Scaling Task adapted for adults. Children were administered the Picture Rotation Task, the Spatial Scaling Task, and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. Structural equation modeling was used to examine direct and indirect, via home spatial environment and toy choices, influences of mother spatial ability on child spatial ability. Contrary to our predictions, we did not find direct, nor indirect, relations between mother and child spatial ability. These findings suggest that researchers should consider alternative conceptualizations of the early home spatial environment beyond the frequency of spatial play in the home. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: The identification of factors that predict individual differences in children's spatial ability is important in order to maximize STEM learning outcomes. Data collection was conducted remotely rather than in traditional preschool or laboratory settings. Contrary to our pre-registered hypotheses, no significant relations between mother spatial ability, the early home spatial environment, and children's development of spatial skills were found. Future research should consider examining the amount of spatial language used in the home or the quality of parent-child interactions during spatial play as potential explanations for individual differences in children's spatial ability.

Salience Beats Individual Cue Preferences

Animals can use different cues to memorise food resources, which can be broadly divided into spatial and feature cues. Differences in species-specific preferences for spatial or feature cues has been historically linked to their reliance on spatial information (food-caching and migratory species prefer spatial cues), but more recently, attention has shifted to procedural differences largely affecting the salience of cues. Here, we investigated cue preferences in the colour-polymorphic Gouldian Finch to test a range of hypotheses. Birds were trained to find food either in a white or coloured feeder always positioned in the same location. In experimental trials, feeders were swapped, dissociating the feature and the spatial cue from the feature cue rewarded. Similar numbers of birds preferred the feature or the spatial cue in the first experimental trial. Preferences were not affected by head colour morph, sex or age group. However, birds with a spatial preference changed their choices over time, resulting in a significant number of birds choosing the feature cue at the end of the experiment. These results indicate that Gouldian Finches have individual preferences for one cue type or the other but can change their preference flexibly depending on the salience of the cue.

A Comparative Multi-Zoo Survey Investigating the Housing and Husbandry of Callimico goeldii

Callimico (Callimico goeldii) are members of the callitrichid family, and a species of conservation concern managed within the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) ex situ program. They benefit from extensive ‘Best Practice’ guidelines developed by the Callitrichid Taxon Advisory Group (TAG), but there are gaps in species-specific knowledge and captive management research. A survey was created to understand and evaluate current housing and husbandry within EAZA collections holding callimico. The questionnaire allowed collation of details including enclosure size along with prevalence of mixed species exhibits, use of UV-B lighting, enclosure complexity and enrichment routines. Responding collections represented 44% of the current callimico holders, with the results allowing comparative analysis of current practice against the guidelines and considering previous research. Significant positive differences were discovered between minimum recommended enclosure dimensions, including total enclosure volume, 32 m3 (p < 0.001, median = 100) and height, 2.5 m (p < 0.001, median = 3) versus EAZA’s minimum recommended dimensions. Encouragingly, no significant difference in complexity was found between on and off exhibit housing, but the results suggest that being housed in a mixed species exhibit offers a more complex environment for callimico (W = 405.5, p < 0.005). The responses revealed overall good practice, although a disparity was noted in the provision of UV-B lighting and the prevalence of enrichment. Observational research focusing on spatial use, preference and behavior is recommended to complement husbandry guidelines. Reference of the survey findings to welfare indicators could determine the effect of current housing and husbandry on callimico welfare.

Spatial preference behavior of robo-pigeons induced by electrical stimulus targeting fear nuclei.

Numerous studies have confirmed that stimulating the mid-brain motor nuclei can regulate movement forcibly for robo-pigeons, but research on behavior modulation using non-motor nuclei is scarce. In this study, we constructed a spatial preference behavior by stimulating the stratum griseum periventriculare (SGP), a nucleus correlated with fear and escape, for robo-pigeons. The study was carried out in a square-enclosed experimental field, with a designated box serving as the 'safe' area for the robo-pigeons. If the robo-pigeon exits this area, the SGP will be stimulated. After a brief training period, the robo-pigeons will have a clear spatial preference for the box. The result from five pigeons has shown that, after simple training, the animals develop a spatial preference for the box. They can quickly return to the box in any situation when the SGP is stimulated, with a success rate exceeding 80% (89.0 ± 6.5%). Moreover, this behavior is highly stable and remains consistent, unaffected by changes in the location of the box or the interference box. The results prove that using the electrical stimulus could enable animals to accomplish more complex tasks. It may offer a novel approach to regulating pigeon behavior and further advance the study of cyborg animals.

Advancing Meta-Selective C-H Amination through Non-Covalent Interactions.

Regioselective C-H amination of simple arenes is highly desirable, but accessing meta-sites of ubiquitous arenes has proven challenging due to the lack of both electronic and spatial preference. This study demonstrates the successful use of various privileged nitrogen-containing functionalities found in pharmaceutical compounds to direct meta-C-H amination of arenes, overcoming the long-standing requirement for a redundant directing group. The remarkable advancements in functional group accommodation for precise regiochemical control were achieved through the discovery of an unprecedented organo-initiator and the strategic utilization of non-covalent interactions. This protocol has been successfully applied in the concise synthesis and late-stage derivatization of drug molecules, which would have been otherwise challenging to achieve.

Characterizing the near-global cloud vertical structures over land using high-resolution radiosonde measurements

Abstract. Cloud remains one of the largest uncertainties in weather and climate research due to the lack of fine-resolution observations of cloud vertical structure (CVS) on a large scale. In this study, near-global CVS is characterized by high-vertical-resolution twice-daily radiosonde observations from 374 stations over land, which are distributed in Europe, North America, East Asia, Australia, the Pacific Ocean, and Antarctica. To this end, we initially develop a novel method to determine CVS, by combining both the vertical gradients of air temperature and relative humidity (RH) and the altitude-dependent thresholds of RH. It is found that the cloud base heights (CBHs) from radiosondes have a higher correlation coefficient (R= 0.91) with the CBHs from a millimeter-wave cloud radar than those from the ERA5 reanalysis (R= 0.49). Overall, cloudy skies occur 65.3 % (69.5 %) of the time, of which 55.4 % (53.8 %) are one-layer clouds at 00:00 (12:00) UTC. Most multi-layer clouds are two-layer clouds, accounting for 62.2 % (61.1 %) among multi-layer clouds at 00:00 (12:00) UTC. Geographically, one-layer clouds tend to occur over arid regions, whereas two-layer clouds do not show any clear spatial preference. The cloud bases and tops over arid regions are higher compared with humid regions albeit with smaller cloud thickness (CT). Clouds tend to have lower bases and thinner layer thicknesses as the number of cloud layer increases. The global-mean CT, CBH, and cloud top height (CTH) are 4.89 ± 1.36 (5.37 ± 1.58), 3.15 ± 1.15 (3.07 ± 1.06), and 8.04 ± 1.60 (8.44 ± 1.52) km above ground level (a.g.l.) at 00:00 (12:00) UTC, respectively. The occurrence frequency of clouds is bimodal, with lower peaks between 0.5 and 3 km a.g.l. and upper peaks between 6 and 10 km a.g.l. The CBH, CTH, and CT undergo almost the same seasonality; namely, their magnitudes in boreal summer are greater than in boreal winter. As expected, the occurrence frequencies of clouds exhibit pronounced diurnal cycles in different seasons. In boreal summer, clouds tend to form as the sun rises and the occurrence frequencies increase from morning to late afternoon, with the peak in the early afternoon at the altitude of 6–12 km a.g.l., while in boreal winter, clouds have peak occurrence frequencies in the morning. The relations between surface meteorological variables and moisture with CBH are investigated as well, showing that CBHs are generally more significantly correlated with 2 m relative humidity (RH2 m) and 2 m air temperature (T2 m) than with surface pressure and 10 m wind speed. Larger T2 m and smaller RH2 m always correspond to higher CBH. In most cases CBHs are negatively correlated to soil water content. The near-global CVS obtained from high-vertical-resolution radiosondes in this study can provide key data support for improving the accuracy of cloud radiative forcing simulation in climate models.

SGLT2 and DPP4 inhibitors improve Alzheimer’s disease‐like pathology and cognitive function through distinct mechanisms in T2D‐AD mouse model

AbstractBackgroundThere are common mechanisms between Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), such as insulin resistance. As insulin signaling has important roles in regulation of neuronal functions in the brain, the hypotheses and theories regarding the pathogenesis of AD implicate brain insulin resistance as a key factor. Also, recent studies demonstrated that sodium‐glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2‐i) and dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 inhibitor (DPP4‐i) which are T2D drugs have been shown to exert beneficial effects on insulin sensitivity and neuroprotection beyond glucose‐lowering actions. However, in relation to the two drugs, the brain metabolic dysfunction and its mechanisms impaired by insulin resistance have never been investigated.MethodWe developed T2D‐AD mice model using 60% high‐fat diet for 12 weeks and a single dose of streptozotocin (100 mg/kg/i.p) at week 4 of the diet. Subsequently treated with SGLT2‐i (empagliflozin, 25 mg/kg/day/po) and DPP4‐i (sitagliptin, 100 mg/kg/day/po) for 7 weeks. After behavior tests, expression properties of brain insulin signaling, AD related proteins and drugs action‐associated proteins were examined by using western blotting and immunohistochemistry.ResultT2D‐AD mice not only increased blood glucose and body weight, but also had insulin resistance through insulin tolerance test and glucose tolerance test. SGLT2‐i and DPP4‐i were effective in ameliorating insulin sensitivity and reducing body weight gain. In addition, as a result of evaluating hippocampus‐dependent spatial learning and preference memory through behavioral tests, SGLT2‐i and DPP4‐i were found to improve learning, memory, and cognitive functions. Interestingly, SGLT2‐i and DPP4‐i reduced AD‐associated hyperphosphorylated tau (pTau) and amyloid β (Aβ) accumulation in different ways, respectively, along with enhancing brain insulin signaling. SGLT2‐i reduced pTau accumulation through ACE2/Ang(1‐7)/MasR, and DPP4‐i showed an effect of reducing Aβ accumulation by increasing IDE.ConclusionThese findings suggested that SGLT2‐i and DPP4‐i prevented AD‐like pathology and cognitive decline by affecting brain insulin signaling through different mechanisms.

The Bone Marrow-Targeted Conditioning Stress Test Demonstrates Vertebrae Niche Being More Radio-Tolerant Than Femur, Indicating Skeleton Resilience and Global Heterogeneity

Introduction: Myeloablative conditioning prior to Hematopoietic cell transplant, the curative treatment for several hematopoietic disorders, is essential for successful donor cell homing and engraftment. Despite the anatomical classifications, it has been challenging to grasp the complexity of large skeletal systems' global and local bone marrow (BM) environments, which may play a crucial role in donor homing, engraftment, and treatment response. Moreover, due to a lack of comprehensive in vivo studies, there is sparse information about radio-sensitivity on BM niches in local (i.e, endosteal and sinusoidal) and regional skeletal systems (femur, spine etc.,). This may be due to a lack of technology to deliver targeted radiation and therefore using systemic whole-body radiation which resulted in lethality at higher doses due to the composite effect of hematopoietic failure and organ toxicity. Hence, we developed a preclinical image-guided total marrow irradiation (TMI) model, which allows BM specific increase in radiation dose while sculping dose to vital organs, therefore providing an opportunity to evaluate the radio-sensitivity of the BM niche. Here, using TMI dose escalation, we determined the radiation sensitivity of BM niches and its effect on donor homing. Methods: TMI treatment delivery was developed as described previously (Zuro et al., 2022). Different radiation doses (12, 16, 20 and 24 Gy) were delivered to the host (CD45.1 B6 mouse) skeleton in two fractions and was transplanted with 10 million Donor BM cells (CD45.2 B6). The femur and L Spine were harvested for these treated mice at 20+ h, post BMT. The central marrow (CM) cells were harvested by flushing/gently crushing the bone with Collagenase I and Dispase I enzymatic solution, while endosteal marrow (EM) was harvested by digesting the bone fragments with Collagenase IV enzyme, for 30 minutes at 150-200 rpm at 37° C. The isolated cells from endosteal and Central marrow were stained with standard verified markers for Hematopoietic stem cells, Mesenchymal Stem cells and Endothelial cells (18 antibody Panel) and data was acquired in Aurora spectral flow cytometer (Cytek) and was analyzed using FloJo software. Results: The CM cells were more sensitive to radiation, ~≤10% cell survived compared to untreated controls (20h post BMT) while EM cells were more radio tolerant both in Femur (~≥30% survived) and L spine (≥80% survived), however the endosteal cells from l-spine were more radio tolerant than Femur (~≥ 80% vs 16-28%) ( Fig 1 A-B). Further, in femur it was dose dependent i.e., cell number reduced with increasing doses (~28% (12 Gy) to ~16% (24 Gy), unlike l-spine where cell numbers were similar across treated doses. Also, in femur, the Donor cells preferred EM niche over CM, however at higher dose (24 Gy) this spatial preference was lost ( Fig 1C), unlike l-spine which was similar in CM and EM at all doses. The Sca1 + MSC was significantly higher in EM than CM both in the femur and l-spine, however it decreased in femur at higher doses (24 Gy), while remained unchanged in l-Spine ( Fig 1D-E). The arteriolar endothelial cells (AECs) were predominantly present in the EM both in femur and spine, and while sinusoidal endothelial cells (SEC) were higher in EM than CM in Femur, however Spine did not show this pattern. Although, at higher doses (24 Gy), the AECs were significantly reduced even in the EM but were still higher than CM ( Fig 1F). The donor HSPCs (Lineage- cKit+ cells) were significantly higher in the central marrow while the HSCs (Lineage-, cKit+ Sca1+, CD150+) were higher in endosteal marrow. Only in femur, at higher doses AECs, SECs, and Sca1+ MSCs were reduced, resulting in lower CD150+ HSC homing, which was not affected in the l-spine ( Fig 1G-H). Conclusion: In summary, skeletal niche tolerates much higher radiation than previously performed using conventional myeloablative studies and support donor homing. Increasing radiation doses reduced the BM niche constituent cells like AECs, SECs and Sca1+ MSCs, preferentially in femur and reducing homing, surprisingly though the spine BM was more resistant and did not show any reduction in above mentioned cellular composition. This preferential radiotolerance between skeletal regions warrants more studies to understand the' BM stromal cells radio sensitivity with respect to regional and spatial skeletal niche.

A dynamic sequence of visual processing initiated by gaze shifts.

Animals move their head and eyes as they explore the visual scene. Neural correlates of these movements have been found in rodent primary visual cortex (V1), but their sources and computational roles are unclear. We addressed this by combining head and eye movement measurements with neural recordings in freely moving mice. V1 neurons responded primarily to gaze shifts, where head movements are accompanied by saccadic eye movements, rather than to head movements where compensatory eye movements stabilize gaze. A variety of activity patterns followed gaze shifts and together these formed a temporal sequence that was absent in darkness. Gaze-shift responses resembled those evoked by sequentially flashed stimuli, suggesting a large component corresponds to onset of new visual input. Notably, neurons responded in a sequence that matches their spatial frequency bias, consistent with coarse-to-fine processing. Recordings in freely gazing marmosets revealed a similar sequence following saccades, also aligned to spatial frequency preference. Our results demonstrate that active vision in both mice and marmosets consists of a dynamic temporal sequence of neural activity associated with visual sampling.

Delaying circadian sleep phase under ultradian light cycle causes time-of-day-dependent alteration of cognition and mood

Light exerts powerful and pervasive effects on physiology and behaviour. These effects can be indirect, through clock synchronization and phase adjustment of circadian rhythms, or direct, independent of the circadian process. Exposure to light at inappropriate times, as commonly experienced in today’s society, leads to increased prevalence of circadian, sleep and mood disorders as well as cognitive impairments. In mice, exposure to an ultradian 3.5 h light/3.5 h dark cycle (T7) for several days has been shown to impair behaviour through direct, non-circadian, photic effects, a claim we challenge here. We first confirmed that T7 cycle induces a lengthening of the circadian period resulting in a day by day phase-delay of both activity and sleep rhythms. Spatial novelty preference test performed at different circadian time points in mice housed under T7 cycle demonstrated that cognitive deficit was restrained to the subjective night. Mice under the same condition also showed a modification of stress-induced despair-like behaviour in the forced swim test. Therefore, our data demonstrate that ultradian light cycles cause time-of-day-dependent alteration of cognition and mood through clock period lengthening delaying circadian sleep phase, and not through a direct photic influence. These results are of critical importance for the clinical applications of light therapy in the medical field and for today’s society to establish lighting recommendations for shift work, schools, hospitals and homes.

Spatial dimensions in stated preference valuation: The role of place attachment

The importance of considering spatial dimensions in welfare analysis is increasingly acknowledged, but there are still knowledge gaps. For this purpose, we turn to environmental psychology and use place attachment, the functional and emotional bond people have to a defined place. We conduct a stated preference study of new recreational mountain homes in southeast Norway and investigate the concept of place attachment to explain spatial preference heterogeneity towards reducing recreational home developments and preserving the mountain landscape and biodiversity. Using structural equation modelling, we find that place attachment is spatially determined and helps explain spatial variations in pro-environmental preferences and distance decay in nonmarket values. In contrast to most previous studies, place attachment reduces pro-environmental behaviour across the entire sample. However, among respondents preferring the smallest development plan, we find that place attachment explains a substantial part of an identified distance decay effect in willingness-to-pay (WTP). About 55 per cent of the negative impact of travel time on WTP indirectly channels through reduced place attachment. Place attachment also substantially improves the fit of our econometric model. Place attachment may provide valuable information on the affected populations when evaluating land-use policies.