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Effects of early social separation on the behaviour of kittens of the domestic cat. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2023.105849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
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Martínez-Álvarez V, Segura-Alegría B, Rodríguez-Torres EE, Porras MG, Aguirre-Benítez E, González Del Pliego M, Hudson R, Quiroz-González S, Melo AI, Jiménez-Estrada I. Mother and sibling interactions during the preweaning period influence myelination and impulse propagation of the sensory sural nerve in the adult rat. Dev Psychobiol 2022; 64:e22316. [PMID: 36282737 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Revised: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
To investigate whether mother and sibling interactions during the preweaning period influence the histological and electrophysiological characteristics of the sensory sural nerve (SUn) in the adult rat, litters composed of 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 male pups (P) were formed and the pups routinely weighed until postnatal day 60 (PND60). At PND9, 3P and 6P litters showed greater body weight than pups without siblings or from 9P or 12P litters, and such differences in weight were maintained until adulthood. Analysis of maternal licking at PND8 and 9 showed that pups from large litters received fewer licks than pups from small size litters. At PND60, SUn of rats from 6P and 9P litters had greater compound action potential (CAP) amplitude and a higher proportion of axons with large myelin thickness than nerves from rats of 1P, 3P, or 12P litters. SUn of heaviest rats from 9P and 12P litters had greater CAP area and myelination than the lightest rats from the same litters. We propose that a complex interplay of sensory, social, and nutritional factors arising from mother and littermate interactions during the preweaning period influence myelination and the propagation of action potentials in the SUn of adult rats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vladimir Martínez-Álvarez
- Depto. Fisiología, Biofísica y Neurociencias, CINVESTAV, IPN, Mexico City, Mexico.,Depto. Biología, FES-Iztacala, UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Robyn Hudson
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico
| | | | - Angel I Melo
- Centro de Investigación en Reproducción Animal, CINVESTAV- Laboratorio Tlaxcala, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala, Mexico City, Mexico
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Szenczi P, González D, Martínez-Byer S, Rödel HG, Hudson R, Bánszegi O. Motivation matters: lighter littermates of the domestic cat compete more successfully for meat at weaning. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-021-03079-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Alekseeva GS, Loshchagina JA, Erofeeva MN, Naidenko SV. Stressed by Maternity: Changes of Cortisol Level in Lactating Domestic Cats. Animals (Basel) 2020; 10:ani10050903. [PMID: 32456071 PMCID: PMC7278448 DOI: 10.3390/ani10050903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2020] [Revised: 05/17/2020] [Accepted: 05/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Lactation is the most energetically expensive component of maternal care in mammals. Increased reproductive investment can lead to physiological stress for the mothers, based on the exhaustion of energy resources and increase in glucocorticoids level. This study aimed to estimate the changes in cortisol concentrations during lactation in domestic cats and compared the differences among litter sizes. Eleven females gave birth to 27 litters, which were divided in two groups-small (1-3 kittens) and large (4-7 kittens) litters. Blood samples were collected from each female before mating, after parturition, at 4 and 8 weeks of lactation. We showed that the cortisol level in females changed significantly during lactation-the highest concentrations were observed at the peak of lactation at 4 weeks. Cortisol levels varied significantly among females but did not depend on their maternal experience. We also revealed that there were no differences in cortisol levels between females with small and large litters, but at 4 weeks of lactation, the hormone concentrations were higher in females with small litters. It is likely that these females initially invested less in reproduction, giving birth to fewer offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Galina S. Alekseeva
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119071 Moscow, Russia; (M.N.E.); (S.V.N.)
- Correspondence:
| | | | - Mariya N. Erofeeva
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119071 Moscow, Russia; (M.N.E.); (S.V.N.)
| | - Sergey V. Naidenko
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119071 Moscow, Russia; (M.N.E.); (S.V.N.)
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5
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Kohn GM. How social systems persist: learning to build a social network in an uncertain world. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Canario L, Lundeheim N, Bijma P. The early-life environment of a pig shapes the phenotypes of its social partners in adulthood. Heredity (Edinb) 2017; 118:534-541. [PMID: 28327581 PMCID: PMC5436026 DOI: 10.1038/hdy.2017.3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2016] [Revised: 12/16/2016] [Accepted: 12/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Social interactions among individuals are abundant, both in natural and domestic populations, and may affect phenotypes of individuals. Recent research has demonstrated that the social effect of an individual on the phenotype of its social partners may have a genetic component, known as an indirect genetic effect (IGE). Little is known, however, of nongenetic factors underlying such social effects. Early-life environments often have large effects on phenotypes of the individuals themselves later in life. Offspring development in many mammalian species, for example, depends on interactions with the mother and siblings. In domestic pigs, individuals sharing the same juvenile environment develop similar body weight later in life. We, therefore, hypothesized that offspring originating from the same early-life environment also develop common social skills that generate early-life social effects (ELSEs) that affect the phenotypes of their social partners later in life. We, therefore, quantified IGEs and ELSEs on growth in domestic pigs. Results show that individuals from the same early-life environment express similar social effects on the growth of their social partners, and that such ELSEs shape the growth rate of social partners more than IGEs. Thus, the social skills that individuals develop in early life have a long-lasting impact on the phenotypes of social partners. Early-life and genetic social effects were independent of the corresponding direct effects of offspring on their own growth, indicating that individuals may enhance the growth of their social partners without a personal cost. Our findings also illustrate how research devoted to quantifying IGEs may miss nongenetic and potentially confounded social mechanisms which may bias the estimates of IGEs.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Canario
- Department of Animal Genetics, INRA French National Institute for Agricultural Research, Castanet-Tolosan, France
| | - N Lundeheim
- Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - P Bijma
- Animal Breeding and Genomics Centre, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
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Rödel HG, Bautista A, Roder M, Gilbert C, Hudson R. Early development and the emergence of individual differences in behavior among littermates of wild rabbit pups. Physiol Behav 2017; 173:101-109. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.01.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2016] [Revised: 01/17/2017] [Accepted: 01/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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Self-organised criticality in the evolution of a thermodynamic model of rodent thermoregulatory huddling. PLoS Comput Biol 2017; 13:e1005378. [PMID: 28141809 PMCID: PMC5308865 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2016] [Revised: 02/14/2017] [Accepted: 01/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
A thermodynamic model of thermoregulatory huddling interactions between endotherms is developed. The model is presented as a Monte Carlo algorithm in which animals are iteratively exchanged between groups, with a probability of exchanging groups defined in terms of the temperature of the environment and the body temperatures of the animals. The temperature-dependent exchange of animals between groups is shown to reproduce a second-order critical phase transition, i.e., a smooth switch to huddling when the environment gets colder, as measured in recent experiments. A peak in the rate at which group sizes change, referred to as pup flow, is predicted at the critical temperature of the phase transition, consistent with a thermodynamic description of huddling, and with a description of the huddle as a self-organising system. The model was subjected to a simple evolutionary procedure, by iteratively substituting the physiologies of individuals that fail to balance the costs of thermoregulation (by huddling in groups) with the costs of thermogenesis (by contributing heat). The resulting tension between cooperative and competitive interactions was found to generate a phenomenon called self-organised criticality, as evidenced by the emergence of avalanches in fitness that propagate across many generations. The emergence of avalanches reveals how huddling can introduce correlations in fitness between individuals and thereby constrain evolutionary dynamics. Finally, a full agent-based model of huddling interactions is also shown to generate criticality when subjected to the same evolutionary pressures. The agent-based model is related to the Monte Carlo model in the way that a Vicsek model is related to an Ising model in statistical physics. Huddling therefore presents an opportunity to use thermodynamic theory to study an emergent adaptive animal behaviour. In more general terms, huddling is proposed as an ideal system for investigating the interaction between self-organisation and natural selection empirically. Huddling is an adaptive behavior that emerges from simple interactions between animals. Huddling is a particularly important self-organising system because the behavior that emerges at the level of the group directly impacts the fitness of the individual. The huddle insulates the group, allowing pups to thermoregulate at a reduced metabolic cost, however a huddle can only self-organise if pups in turn contribute heat. Contributing too much heat is costly but contributing too little compromises the ability of the huddle to self-organise. To investigate how the resulting tension between co-operation and competition in the huddle might affect natural selection, litters of simulated rodents were subjected to a simple evolutionary process. After interacting with its littermates, the individual that incurred the greatest metabolic cost for thermoregulation was iteratively replaced by another with random thermal properties. Simulations resulted in the emergence of a phenomenon called self-organised criticality. Criticality is a hallmark of complex systems, and is evidenced here by the emergence of a power-law distribution of thermal properties in the evolving composition of the group. The model therefore reveals how complexity can emerge in a well-defined biological system (thermoregulation), where experiments can be designed to investigate the interaction between self-organisation and natural selection.
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Glancy J, Stone JV, Wilson SP. How self-organization can guide evolution. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2016; 3:160553. [PMID: 28018644 PMCID: PMC5180142 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.160553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2016] [Accepted: 10/18/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Self-organization and natural selection are fundamental forces that shape the natural world. Substantial progress in understanding how these forces interact has been made through the study of abstract models. Further progress may be made by identifying a model system in which the interaction between self-organization and selection can be investigated empirically. To this end, we investigate how the self-organizing thermoregulatory huddling behaviours displayed by many species of mammals might influence natural selection of the genetic components of metabolism. By applying a simple evolutionary algorithm to a well-established model of the interactions between environmental, morphological, physiological and behavioural components of thermoregulation, we arrive at a clear, but counterintuitive, prediction: rodents that are able to huddle together in cold environments should evolve a lower thermal conductance at a faster rate than animals reared in isolation. The model therefore explains how evolution can be accelerated as a consequence of relaxed selection, and it predicts how the effect may be exaggerated by an increase in the litter size, i.e. by an increase in the capacity to use huddling behaviours for thermoregulation. Confirmation of these predictions in future experiments with rodents would constitute strong evidence of a mechanism by which self-organization can guide natural selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Glancy
- Department of Psychology, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- Sheffield Robotics, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - James V. Stone
- Department of Psychology, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Stuart P. Wilson
- Department of Psychology, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- Sheffield Robotics, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
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González-Mariscal G, Caba M, Martínez-Gómez M, Bautista A, Hudson R. Mothers and offspring: The rabbit as a model system in the study of mammalian maternal behavior and sibling interactions. Horm Behav 2016; 77:30-41. [PMID: 26062431 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2015.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2015] [Revised: 05/18/2015] [Accepted: 05/18/2015] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED This article is part of a Special Issue "Parental Care". Jay Rosenblatt effectively promoted research on rabbit maternal behavior through his interaction with colleagues in Mexico. Here we review the activities of pregnant and lactating rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), their neuro-hormonal regulation, and the synchronization of behavior between mother and kits. Changing concentrations of estradiol, progesterone, and prolactin throughout gestation regulate nest-building (digging, straw-carrying, fur-pulling) and prime the mother's brain to respond to the newborn. Nursing is the only mother-young contact throughout lactation. It happens once/day, inside the nest, with ca. 24h periodicity, and lasts around 3min. Periodicity and duration of nursing depend on a threshold of suckling as procedures reducing the amount of nipple stimulation interfere with the temporal aspects of nursing, though not with the doe's maternal motivation. Synchronization between mother and kits, critical for nursing, relies on: a) the production of pheromonal cues which guide the young to the mother's nipples for suckling; b) an endogenous circadian rhythm of anticipatory activity in the young, present since birth. Milk intake entrains the kits' locomotor behavior, corticosterone secretion, and the activity of several brain structures. Sibling interactions within the huddle, largely determined by body mass at birth, are important for: a) maintaining body temperature; b) ensuring normal neuromotor and social development. Suckling maintains nursing behavior past the period of abundant milk production but abrupt and efficient weaning occurs in concurrently pregnant-lactating does by unknown factors. CONCLUSION female rabbits have evolved a reproductive strategy largely dissociating maternal care from maternal presence, whose multifactorial regulation warrants future investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- G González-Mariscal
- Centro de Investigación en Reproducción Animal, CINVESTAV-Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Mexico.
| | - M Caba
- Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
| | - M Martínez-Gómez
- Centro Tlaxcala Biología de la Conducta, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Mexico; Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico
| | - A Bautista
- Centro Tlaxcala Biología de la Conducta, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Mexico
| | - R Hudson
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico
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Contribution of within-litter interactions to individual differences in early postnatal growth in the domestic rabbit. Anim Behav 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.07.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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12
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Differential metabolism of brown adipose tissue in newborn rabbits in relation to position in the litter huddle. J Therm Biol 2015; 51:33-41. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2015.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2014] [Revised: 03/02/2015] [Accepted: 03/02/2015] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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Empie K, Rangarajan V, Juul SE. Is the ferret a suitable species for studying perinatal brain injury? Int J Dev Neurosci 2015; 45:2-10. [PMID: 26102988 PMCID: PMC4793918 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2015.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2015] [Revised: 05/09/2015] [Accepted: 06/01/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Ferret brain architecture, composition, and development are similar to humans. Postnatal ferret brain development is comparable to that of premature infants. Ferrets have potential to model preterm and term neonatal brain injury. Ferrets may fulfill the need for an intermediate model species of neurodevelopment. Many opportunities exist to expand the use of ferrets as research subjects.
Complications of prematurity often disrupt normal brain development and/or cause direct damage to the developing brain, resulting in poor neurodevelopmental outcomes. Physiologically relevant animal models of perinatal brain injury can advance our understanding of these influences and thereby provide opportunities to develop therapies and improve long-term outcomes. While there are advantages to currently available small animal models, there are also significant drawbacks that have limited translation of research findings to humans. Large animal models such as newborn pig, sheep and nonhuman primates have complex brain development more similar to humans, but these animals are expensive, and developmental testing of sheep and piglets is limited. Ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) are born lissencephalic and undergo postnatal cortical folding to form complex gyrencephalic brains. This review examines whether ferrets might provide a novel intermediate animal model of neonatal brain disease that has the benefit of a gyrified, altricial brain in a small animal. It summarizes attributes of ferret brain growth and development that make it an appealing animal in which to model perinatal brain injury. We postulate that because of their innate characteristics, ferrets have great potential in neonatal neurodevelopmental studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristen Empie
- Department of Neonatology, University of Washington, Seattle, USA
| | | | - Sandra E Juul
- Department of Neonatology, University of Washington, Seattle, USA.
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Bautista A, Castelán F, Pérez-Roldán H, Martínez-Gómez M, Hudson R. Competition in newborn rabbits for thermally advantageous positions in the litter huddle is associated with individual differences in brown fat metabolism. Physiol Behav 2013; 118:189-94. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2013.05.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2012] [Revised: 02/02/2013] [Accepted: 05/17/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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15
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Possible contribution of position in the litter huddle to long-term differences in behavioral style in the domestic rabbit. Physiol Behav 2011; 104:778-85. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2011.07.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2011] [Revised: 07/07/2011] [Accepted: 07/14/2011] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Hudson R, Bautista A, Reyes-Meza V, Montor JM, Rödel HG. The effect of siblings on early development: A potential contributor to personality differences in mammals. Dev Psychobiol 2011; 53:564-74. [PMID: 21866540 DOI: 10.1002/dev.20535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Robyn Hudson
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Distrito Federal, Mexico.
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Rödel HG, Monclús R. Long-term consequences of early development on personality traits: a study in European rabbits. Behav Ecol 2011. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arr100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
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Individual differences in testosterone and corticosterone levels in relation to early postnatal development in the rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus. Physiol Behav 2011; 103:336-41. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2011.02.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2010] [Revised: 02/21/2011] [Accepted: 02/22/2011] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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