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Contrasting two versions of the 4-cup 2-item disjunctive syllogism task in great apes
No full textChimpanzees excel at inference tasks which require that they search for a single food item from partial information. Yet, when presented with 2-item tasks which test the same inference operation, chimpanzees show a consistent breakdown in performance. Here we test a diverse zoo-housed cohort (n = 24) comprising all 4 great ape species under the classic 4-cup 2-item task, previously administered to children and chimpanzees, and a modified task administered to baboons. The aim of this study is to delineate whether the divergent results reported from the literature are taxonomic differences or artefacts of their methodologies, while extending the literature to cover the remaining great ape species. We find that apes adaptively adjust their choice behaviour in both variants of the task, but that they perform better in trials where the information provided rules out a location rather than removes one of the food items. In a second experiment involving those subjects who passed the first, along with a group of naïve subjects, we test whether subjects were able to apply the logical operation selectively by including control trials where the correct response is reversed. Performance in standard trials breaks down with the addition of control trials, meaning that if apes did solve the first experiment logically, they are not capable of applying that logic flexibly. Considering this finding, we conclude that a 4-cup 2-item task may not be a suitable test of logical reasoning in great apes
The CounterText Interview: Philippe Beck
No full textThis interview of Philippe Beck addresses the notion of 'sentence' and is accompanied by the translations of four poems from Ryrkaïpii (Flammarion, 2023) into English (trans. Laügt & Robson)
<sup>Et</sup>IDip (<sup>Et</sup>IPr) – Synthesis, characterisation and reactivity of a robust, backbone-modified N-heterocyclic carbene and group 13 element complexes
No full textWe report the synthesis, characterisation and reactivity of the stable imidazol-2-ylidene EtIDip (EtIPr), {EtCN(Dip)}2C:, Dip = 2,6-iPr2C6H3, as a chemically robust alternative to IDip (IPr), {HCN(Dip)}2C:. The N-heterocyclic carbene EtIDip could be further converted to the oxidised species [EtIDipCl]Cl, EtIDipF2, EtIDipO, and EtIDipSe, and the group 13 element complexes EtIDipEX3, with E = B, X = Br; E = Al, X = I; E = Ga, X = I; E = Al, X = H. The properties of the EtIDip and IDip ligands are compared and the molecular structures of (DipNCEt)2, [EtIDipH]Cl, [EtIDipH]I, EtIDip, [EtIDipCl]Cl, EtIDipF2, EtIDipO, EtIDipBBr3, EtIDipAlI3, EtIDipGaI3, and EtIDipAlH3 have been determined
Broad substrate scope C-C oxidation in cyclodipeptides catalysed by a flavin-dependent filament
No full textCyclic dipeptides are produced by organisms across all domains of life, with many exhibiting anticancer and antimicrobial properties. Oxidations are often key to their biological activities, particularly C-C bond oxidation catalysed by tailoring enzymes including cyclodipeptide oxidases. These flavin-dependent enzymes are underexplored due to their intricate three-dimensional arrangement involving multiple copies of two distinct small subunits, and mechanistic details underlying substrate selection and catalysis are lacking. Here, we determined the structure and mechanism of the cyclodipeptide oxidase from the halophile Nocardiopsis dassonvillei (NdasCDO), a component of the biosynthetic pathway for nocazine natural products. We demonstrated that NdasCDO forms filaments in solution, with a covalently bound flavin mononucleotide (FMN) cofactor at the interface between three distinct subunits. The enzyme exhibits promiscuity, processing various cyclic dipeptides as substrates in a distributive manner. The reaction is optimal at high pH and involves the formation of a radical intermediate. Pre-steady-state kinetics, a significant solvent kinetic isotope effect, and the absence of viscosity effects suggested that a step linked to FMN regeneration controlled the reaction rate. Our work elucidates the complex mechanistic and structural characteristics of this dehydrogenation reaction, positioning NdasCDO as a promising biocatalyst and expanding the FMN-dependent oxidase family to include enzyme filaments
Genetics of human handedness:microtubules and beyond
No full textHandedness (i.e., the preference to use either the left or the right hand for fine motor tasks) is a widely investigated trait. Handedness heritability is consistently estimated to be 25%. After decades of research, recent large-scale genome-wide association and exome sequencing studies have identified multiple genes associated with handedness and highlighted tubulin genes. Tubulin genes play a role in several processes during brain development that may be relevant for handedness ontogenesis, including axon guidance, axon growth, and forming the inner structure of motile cilia. Moreover, tubulin genes are associated with several psychiatric disorders. This finding therefore may offer insights into biological pathways mediating the link between handedness, brain asymmetries, and psychiatric traits
Impact of sudden stratospheric warmings on the stratosphere-to-troposphere transport of ozone
No full textSudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs) can significantly impact tropospheric weather systems. Previous studies suggest that SSWs may also influence stratosphere-to-troposphere transport (STT), but their spatial and temporal distribution and mechanisms are not fully understood. The complex relationships between SSWs and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) have also made it difficult to isolate the effects of SSWs on STT. From an idealized ENSO simulation with the WACCM4 model using a stratospheric origin ozone tracer, we investigate the effect of SSWs on the STT of ozone under different ENSO phases. We find a significant increase in lower tropospheric ozone from the SSW onset up to 3 months later over the Arctic, North America, and Europe, regardless of the ENSO phase. This study highlights the significant influence of SSWs on STT on a subseasonal scale. Our results also emphasize the need to consider SSWs when addressing the ENSO impact on STT
Interprofessional collaborative practice in health and social care for people living with multimorbidity:a scoping review protocol
No full textBackgroundMultimorbidity, the co-existence of two or more conditions within an individual at any one time, is globally increasing and forecasted to rise. This poses a significant challenge for current models of healthcare delivery, which are now ill-equipped to meet the future population health needs. Interprofessional collaborative practice is a specific way professionals work closely together and with patients and their families to improve patient outcomes. Evidence suggests it can improve outcomes for people living with a single condition. What remains unknown is if interprofessional collaborative practice has been used to improve the outcomes of people living with multimorbidity, and if so, to what extent?MethodsA scoping review is proposed to identify prior peer-reviewed research and grey literature related to interprofessional collaborative practice for multimorbidity in health and social care settings. A search strategy will identify primary, peer-reviewed research and grey literature. An initial limited search will be conducted to identify relevant existing systematic reviews. Their methods will be examined and their search terms scrutinised. A second comprehensive search will be used to interrogate four databases, looking back 10 years, seeking articles published in English, French, Spanish or Portuguese. Hand searching will be performed on all included full-text articles for any articles missing from the two steps above.Critical data will be extracted by adapting existing data abstraction forms based on the needs of the research objectives. These forms will be piloted before use. The results will be analysed descriptively. If appropriate, qualitative content analysis may be undertaken. Where sufficient numbers of homogeneous interventions exist, meta-analysis techniques will be applied.Results will be presented in tabular, graphic, and diagrammatic information displays.DiscussionThis scoping review will provide an overview of the current evidence base of interprofessional collaborative practice used internationally for people living with multimorbidity in health and social care settings. These findings will provide valuable information to improve health and social care practice as well as change systems and policy to meet the population need of multimorbidity.</div
Women and magic in medieval romance:genre, intertextuality and power
No full textExplores the conventions and contradictions inherent in archetypes of magical femininity - from loathly ladies to monstrous mothers - in a range of popular late medieval English romances.The female characters in Middle English romances with particular power and agency are often portrayed as supernatural, possessing either magical abilities or identities. This book argues that a genre-focused reading of these supernatural women reveals romance’s strategies for working through and articulating anxieties about the changing world of the late medieval period, as well as exposing their contemporary audiences’ unexpectedly flexible attitudes toward feminine authority and moral ambiguity.It explores five distinct types of magical femininity: the Tristan tradition’s marvelously gifted healers; the Muslim princess in Bevis of Hampton; the endlessly wealthy fairy imagined by Sir Launfal and Partonope of Blois; the monster-mother Melusine; and Morgan le Fay, the prototypical witch. By tracking the way each type first establishes then complicates generic patterns, this study highlights the tension between romance’s persistent fascination with feminine power, and its simultaneous reiteration of the social and generic bounds on women’s agency and authority. Interrogating generic expectations from an intersectional feminist perspective, it makes a case for a recuperative re-reading of romance, one that asks us to revise our assumptions about the potentialities of women’s power in the medieval imaginary
