text:
HomeBOLLYWOODENTERTAINMENT NEWSJohn Abraham's film Attack to release during Independence Day weekend, will hit theatres on August 13, 2021
John Abraham's film Attack to release during Independence Day weekend, will hit theatres on August 13, 2021
on February 21, 2021 12:53:33 PM
John Abraham's much-anticipated film Attack has got its theatrical release date in place. The action film will release on August 13, 2021, the Independence Day weekend.
John took to Twitter to announce the release date of the film. The film also stars Jacqueline Fernandez and Rakul Preet Singh. Attack narrates the drama woven around a rescue operation by a team lead by John. It is a fictional story inspired by true events and set against the backdrop of a hostage crisis situation. It is produced by John's production house JA Entertainment, Ajay Kapoor's AK Productions and Jayantilal Gada's PEN Studios.
"Attack" - a taut, action entertainer with a strong storyline...a genre I love! In theatres, this Independence Day..Release Date- 13th August, 2021 @PenMovies @johnabrahament @jayantilalgada @ajay0701 @LakshyaRajAnand @MogreYogendra @minnakshidas @SanyukthaC
— John Abraham (@TheJohnAbraham) February 21, 2021
RECOMMENDED READ: John Abraham, Arjun Kapoor, Disha Patani & Tara Sutaria's Ek Villain Returns to release on February 11, 2022!
The film is written and directed by debutant Lakshya Raj Anand. Talking about Attack, john had said earlier, "Attack is a taut, action entertainer with a strong storyline...a genre I love! At JA Entertainment (John's Production house), it is our endeavour to push the envelope and produce films that entertain and have something significantly different to show to our increasingly discerning audience. Releasing the film in theatres this Independence Weekend, adds to my excitement."
Dr.Jayantilal Gada of Pen Studios said, " We are delighted to release this fascinating action entertainer on the Independence Weekend. By planning to bring it to theatres on 13th August 2021, we are standing by film exhibitors and theatre owners who have survived a very difficult year during the Covid-19 crisis. John and his production house have conceived a phenomenal film and people will flock to watch it on the big screen!"
Ajay Kapoor said, " Collaborating with John and Jayanti Bhai on Attack is special. It brings an engaging and important story to audiences and will interest the younger generation. It's a pleasure to release the film on Independence Weekend when its story will resonate with people even more."
(Source: Twitter/Agencies)
Rakul Preet Singh
Jacqueline Fernandez
Lakshya Raj Anand
Jayantilal Gada
Ajay Kapoor


WTN- The new order of the Indore municipal corporation to ban disposables in eateries in one of the most delectable food markets in the city, Sarafa, has been greeted with doubts, protests and muted acceptance.
The problem is not just the future unavailability and disuse of thermocol and plastic disposables that will pose material inconveniences to small eatery owners, the problem is also regarding the substitute that has been suggested, i.e the use of steel utensils for serving food and copper cans for serving water. Almost 15,000-20,000 people visit Sarafa daily and doing away with disposables means arranging about 20,000 steel plates to serve those people. Buying such a large consignment of utensils all of a sudden will set the traders back by around Rs 2.5 lakh, which the eatery owners are not willing to bear. The corporation has its valid set of arguments. It says plastic disposables are un-environment friendly and dumping/recycling such huge waste daily is an onerous task for the corporation.
But the question is, is using steel the best way? There is a section that says steel is not that good for health either. High grade steel is better but to save costs, hotels would naturally go for lower grade steel, which has chemical contents in their make that can affect health following prolonged use. This concern is in the meantime not high on anybody's mind. It is also possible that many eateries will resort to newspaper pieces to serve certain kinds of food or even use plastics clandestinely.
The consumer will be the ultimate sufferer. Plastic no doubt should be banned but plastic ban will never be completely successful in the country unless a practicable substitute is in place. Our attempts at banning plastics have mostly failed earlier because of this lack of a proper substitute to replace it. All the substitutes that are suggested or promoted are inconvenient, inflexible, expensive or cumbersome which make them unpopular. The best substitute of plastic for food is ideally the traditional dona/pattal or handmade plates prepared from Saal leaves.
They are highly eco-friendly and easily disposable as well as quite inexpensive to buy/use. No one thus would mind having donas as their plate for eating. Banana leaves or leaves of other trees can also be used to serve food on. The other major factor for discouraging the use of steel is the need for water to keep them clean. Indore is a water scarce city. Half of its residential colonies suffer water crisis for almost 4-5 months a year. Washing utensils needs gallons of water. Washing 20,000 steel plates and glasses everyday will lead to huge amount of water loss. It is to save water and money that disposables were first introduced. Going back to the same old steel regime is regressive to a certain extent.
Moreover, in the Sarafa area where the ban is being implemented, there is no designated washing area. So there remains the fear of contamination and reuse of dirty water in small enclosures of hotels. Who is going to check these? The corporation must devise ways to address these issues before going for a blanket ban on plastic disposables. Homework well done will ensure greater sustainability of the new plan.


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Wednesday | 22 Oct 2014
Al-Attiyah and Kruuda take aim at Bertelli
Lorenzo Bertelli's long-standing WRC 2 lead will come under threat at Rally de España (23 - 26 October) as Nasser Al-Attiyah and Karl Kruuda bid to enhance their title credentials.
The Italian has led since winning in Sardinia in June, despite scoring just once since in Australia. Although he will compete in Spain, it is not one of his nominated rounds and both the Qatari and Estonian could move ahead.
Al-Attiyah (pictured above), driving a Ford Fiesta RRC, is eight points behind while Kruuda, in a Fiesta S2000, has 19 points to make up. A maximum 25 points are available here.
Kruuda, who won the Finnish title last month, has a practical view of his chances. "The title is still possible and I'm obviously not thinking it's just another event but, at the same time, I'm not feeling too much pressure," said the 21-year-old.
"Of course it would be nice to win another crown but I'm younger than everybody else and if I don't achieve the title this year I won't be too disappointed. If that were the case, I would definitely come back next year when the goal would be to take it."
Karl Kruuda - chasing WRC 2 title
Finn Jari Ketomaa, the other driver with realistic title hopes, will not be in Spain but all four will tackle next month's final round at Wales Rally GB. Portugal's Bernardo Sousa could still win, and is in Spain, but his chances rely on others slipping up.
Several other drivers could challenge in Spain, notably Yazeed Al Rajhi who has shown great pace in a Fiesta RRC but has been hampered by retirements.
Asphalt experts Sébastien Chardonnet (Citroen DS3 R5) and French championship leader Julien Maurin (Ford Fiesta R5) will be strong, while all eyes will be on new JWRC champion Stéphane Lefebvre (DS3 5), who steps up to WRC 2 for the first time.
In the Production Cup within WRC 2, Juan Carlos Alonso will aim to cut leader Max Rendina's 36-point advantage while Mexico's Benito Guerra, PWRC champion in 2012, makes his first category start.
Gilbert nets home victory in WRC 2
Fiesta driver secures support category win in France
Spain countdown: The stages
It's gravel and asphalt action at WRC's penultimate fixture

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Please join me in welcoming Proud Photography as a sponsor to Epic Edits. You can see their banner (shown here) filling a sidebar position for the month of November.
Proud Photography is an online photography school currently offering two courses: General Photography and The Expert Wedding Photographer. Additional courses and resources will become available in the near future.
The General Photography course is organized into 13 interactive units developed by professional photographers and prize-winning enthusiasts. But this is more than just a collection of lessons to consume — you'll have homework and quizzes along the way to supplement your course and gauge your progress. Some of your work will be graded by the tutors, and you have the opportunity to receive photo critiques. And though you can't move on to the next lesson until you've completed each previous lesson, you can work at your own pace.
1. Introduction to Photography — Overview of cameras, lenses, and other gadgets, and what you'll need to achieve certain types of photos.
2. Digital Photography — Film vs digital, technical aspects of digital images, and working with digital files.
3 & 4. Exposure: Shutter Speed & Aperture — Detailed explanations of these two very important exposure controls and how to use them effectively.
5. Composition — Rules of good composition, perspective, and viewpoint.
6. Light — Working with natural, artificial, and mixed lighting in various situations.
7. Shooting Black and White — Comparison of film vs digital, black and white films, and lens filters.
8 & 9. Travel Photography I & II — Sunrise, sunset, filters, landscapes, extreme weather, seascapes, reflections, capturing local people, architecture, still life, and more.
10. Portraits — Formal, informal, backgrounds, viewpoints, makeup, and lighting.
11. People and Their Environment — Utilizing natural light, working in weather, candids, close-ups, young folks, and old folks.
12. Insiders' Tricks and Techniques — High ISO, fisheyes, macros, filters, flash tricks, panoramas, and lots more.
13. Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them — How to avoid improper exposure, flare, bad framing, poor focus, camera shake, reflections, sensor dust, and more.
While I haven't been through the course myself, I've seen multiple reviews from photographers who have and they've all been quite positive. I think the main attraction to a program like this lies in the organization of content in addition to the content itself. Having one-on-one interaction with the tutors, doing homework, and taking quizzes are all icing on the cake.
I would recommend this online photography course from Proud Photography to beginner/intermediate enthusiasts. If you're still a bit rusty on the technical details of photography, wanting to learn more about the many facets and styles of photography, or if you just don't know where to start, this course might just be for you. And while it isn't free, it's much cheaper than most camera equipment — plus, this is one tool in your camera bag that won't break or wear out with use.
The Expert Wedding Photographer course is aimed more at those looking to get into the wedding photography business. It covers the topics of setting up and running your business, equipment needed, how to capture formal and informal shots, post production work, and presenting photos to your clients.
This entry was posted in Partners and tagged partner, photography, proud photography, review, school, wedding on November 8, 2009 by Brian Auer.


There are few items more essential to your handbag than the humble lip balm. This multi-purpose hero can double as a cuticle cream, cheek highlighter and fly-away tamer for unruly tresses. So it stands to reason that we'd go the extra mile when it comes to finding the best lip balm on the market.
When we heard that Sephora's most popular lip product had garnered over five thousand 5-star reviews - we had to try it. Meet Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask, as the name suggests it's more than just a balm - this mask is designed to be lathered onto dry lips before bed. Enriched with vitamin C, antioxidants and shea butter, it also boasts hyaluronic acid and minerals to form a protective film over the lips to lock in moisture and active ingredients. A generous layer of this soothing mask at bedtime helps reduce flakiness so you can wake up to lips that feel refreshed, supple, and soft to the touch.
One enthusiastic reviewer credited Laniege for alleviating her dry flakey lips after struggling with the skin condition eczema for over twelve months. "I have struggled with eczema on my lips (it is as terrible as it sounds) for over a year now and this is the product which I now swear by. I've been relying on Aquaphor every day to keep my lips from feeling like they aren't sandpaper, and now with this lip mask I wake up and don't need to put on lip balm for hours.
"I'm so excited to finally be able to wear lipstick without being in agony all day. If you are looking for something to help with eczema or just really really dry lips, I promise you will not be disappointed."
Another enthusiast commented: "Bought this product on the recommendation of all of my favourite YouTubers and I'm not disappointed. I definitely feel like I wake up with juicer lips the next morning and think it's doing more than my old Burt's Bees chapstick. Seems expensive for a lip balm but you get a lot of product for your money. I laughed at the fancy applicator when I first saw it but it's actually super useful - less waste and no digging nails into the product."
Looking for more top-rated beauty products? We've scoured to find the five most popular lip balms on the internet - click here to find out which ones beauty addicts love most.


text:
from apscheduler.schedulers.background import BackgroundScheduler
from backup import upload_jpeg_file
from daemon import runner
import logging
from motion import MotionDetector
import os
from picamera import PiCamera
from picamera.array import PiRGBArray
from PIL import Image
from sendmail import EventNotifier
import signal
import sys
from time import sleep

from . import basepath, settings

# APScheduler uses logging
logging.basicConfig()

camera_settings = settings['camera']

"""When set to True surveillance will stop."""
terminated = False

def terminate_surveillance():
  """Terminate surveillance."""
  global terminated
  terminated = True

def is_surveillance_terminated():
  """Returns whether surveillance must be ended.

  Returns:
    True if surveillance must be ended; False otherwise.
  """
  return terminated

def signal_handler(signal_number, stack_frame):
  """Handles termination signal by daemon runner.

  Args:
    signal_number: The signal number.
    stack_frame: The stack frame.
  """
  if signal_number in [signal.SIGTERM, signal.SIGINT]:
    terminate_surveillance()

def create_camera():
  """Creates the camera object.

  Information from the settings file is used to initialize the camera.

  Returns:
    The camera object.
  """
  camera = PiCamera()
  camera.hflip = True
  camera.vflip = True
  camera.resolution = tuple(camera_settings['resolution'])
  camera.framerate = camera_settings['fps']
  return camera

def save_frame(frame):
  """Saves a frame to a file."""
  try:
    img = Image.fromarray(frame.array, 'RGB')
    out_path = settings['app']['web_path']
    if not os.path.isabs(out_path):
      out_path = os.path.join(basepath, out_path)
    filename = os.path.join(out_path, 'static', 'latest.jpg')
    tmp_filename = '{}.part'.format(filename)
    img.save(tmp_filename, 'jpeg')
    os.rename(tmp_filename, filename)
  except Exception, error:
    print('Error saving frame: {}'.format(error))

class SurveillanceManager:
  def __init__(self):
    print('Initializing')
    self.motion_detector = MotionDetector(settings['motion'])
    self.event_notifier = EventNotifier(settings['notification'])
    self.scheduler = BackgroundScheduler()
    self.image_count = 0

  def __enter__(self):
    return self

  def __exit__(self, type, value, traceback):
    try:
      self.stop_job_scheduler()
    except Exception, error:
      print('ERROR: {}'.format(error))

  def surveil(self):
    """Surveillance loop.

    This method implements the surveillance loop. It only returns once
    surveillance is requested to be stopped by calling terminate_surveillance().
    """
    self.schedule_alive_job()
    self.scheduler.start()

    with create_camera() as camera:
      raw_capture = PiRGBArray(camera, size=camera.resolution)
      sleep(camera_settings['warmup_time'])

      print('Surveilling')
      self.event_notifier.send_message('Surveillance started')

      for frame in camera.capture_continuous(
          raw_capture,
          format='bgr',
          use_video_port=True):
        if is_surveillance_terminated():
          break
        save_frame(frame)
        if self.motion_detector.detect_motion(frame.array):
          self.handle_motion_detection(frame)
        raw_capture.truncate(0)

    print('Exiting')
    self.event_notifier.send_message('Surveillance stopped')
    self.stop_job_scheduler()

  def schedule_alive_job(self):
    """Schedules the job that sends alive notifications.

    Args:
      scheduler: The job scheduler.
    """
    if 'alive-notification' not in settings:
      return

    self.scheduler.add_job(
        lambda: self.event_notifier.send_message('Surveillance is alive'),
        **settings['alive-notification'])

  def stop_job_scheduler(self):
    """Stops the job scheduler."""
    if self.scheduler.running:
      self.scheduler.shutdown()

  def handle_motion_detection(self, frame):
    """Handles motion detection.

    Args:
      frame: The frame to compare for movement.
    """
    try:
      print('*** MOTION DETECTED ***')
      self.event_notifier.send_motion_notification()
      img = Image.fromarray(frame.array, 'RGB')
      filename = os.path.join(
          settings['backup']['output_path'],
          'motion{0:04d}.jpg'.format(self.image_count))
      img.save(filename)
      upload_jpeg_file(filename)
      os.remove(filename)
      self.image_count += 1
    except Exception, error:
      print('ERROR: {}'.format(error))

def surveil():
  """This method creates the surveillance manager and starts surveillance."""
  try:
    with SurveillanceManager() as manager:
      manager.surveil()
  except Exception, error:
    print('ERROR: {}'.format(error))

class Application:
  """Application class to use with daemon runner."""

  def __init__(self):
    app_settings = settings['app']
    self.stdin_path = '/dev/null'
    self.stdout_path = os.path.join(
        app_settings['out_path'],
        'out-{}.txt'.format(os.getpid()))
    self.stderr_path = os.path.join(
        app_settings['out_path'],
        'err-{}.txt'.format(os.getpid()))
    self.pidfile_path = app_settings['pidfile_path']
    self.pidfile_timeout = 5

  def run(self):
    surveil()

if __name__ == '__main__':
  import argparse
  parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
  parser.add_argument('--no-daemon',
      dest='daemon', action='store_false', help='Do not run as a daemon')
  parser.add_argument('daemon-action',
      nargs='?', help='Daemon action')
  parser.set_defaults(daemon=True)
  args = parser.parse_args()

  if args.daemon:
    app = Application()
    daemon_runner = runner.DaemonRunner(app)
    daemon_runner.daemon_context.signal_map[signal.SIGTERM] = signal_handler
    daemon_runner.do_action()
  else:
    signal.signal(signal.SIGINT, signal_handler)
    surveil()

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Apple files trademark for 'AirPods', hinting at a refresh of EarPods
by Chad on October 2, 2015
#Apple currently ships #EarPods with its iPhones and the iPods. This was first introduced in 2012 with the #iPhone5. However, the company could be looking at a refresh according to a new trademark filing done by an alleged shell company named Entertainment in Flight on behalf of Apple.
Called the 'AirPods', these sound like an upgraded and perhaps lighter version of the EarPods. As we know, Apple didn't introduce a new pair of headphones for the iPhone 6s and the 6s Plus, so it's possible that the company is preparing for the imminent arrival of the iPhone 7 next year.
We don't have much knowledge about the AirPods as of know, although we hope to learn more about them over the coming months. Patents have been filed on a global scale as well, further suggesting that this might indeed be an Apple product, although the patent filing doesn't directly come from Apple.
Using shell companies to secretly file for patents has been done by Apple before with the iPad, so we're not surprised that a similar course of action will be taken for something as significant as an audio accessory.
Source: USPTO
Via: Apple Insider
AirPods Apple EarPods
Apple iPhone, News
Previous Post« Previous Apple iPhone 6s teardown reveals components worth $245
Next Post Apple iPad Pro to go on sale in the first week of November: ReportNext »


text:
All World Report
Home » World News » Mexico border residents clash with migrants in Tijuana
Mexico border residents clash with migrants in Tijuana
Members of the Central American migrant caravan continued to pour into Tijuana on Friday, with about 2,000 arriving overnight — and another 1,200 on their way, according to officials.
Authorities in the Mexican border city had to open up a gymnasium and gated sport complex for the migrants, since all of their shelters were reportedly full.
Hundreds had already arrived on Wednesday and Thursday, sparking public clashes between Tijuana residents and the Central Americans. At least three people were injured, all of whom were journalists.
While the migrants are now within walking distance of the US border, they will likely wait months before any claims for asylum are officially processed.
Federal inspectors at the main crossing point in San Diego have only been averaging about 100 claims a day as of late. Because of this, many of the migrants have been asked to stay in Mexico and work for the time being.
"Today in Baja California there is an employment opportunity for those who request it," said Francisco Rueda, top deputy to Baja California state Gov. Francisco Vega de la Madrid. "But in order for this to happen, it has to regulate migrant status."
According to Rueda, there are roughly 7,000 jobs available for the state's "Central American migrant brothers."
"This is not a crisis," he said. "This is an extraordinary situation."
Immigration officials believe the number of migrants coming to Tijuana could reach 10,000 by years end.
"It was the opportunity to get out," explained Oscar Zapata, a 31-year-old caravan member traveled from Guadalajara with his wife and their three children — ages 4, 5 and 12.
The family arrived by bus in the dead of night Thursday, along with countless others.
Some were forced to wait more than 10 hours at a gas station in Navojoa — approximately 750 miles away from Tijuana — without food and water on account of the buses being late.
"We were dropped … in the middle of nowhere, where supposedly some buses were going to come pick us up," recalled Alejandra Grisel Rodriguez, of Honduras. "But nothing."
The caravan in Tijuana reportedly includes Hondurans, Guatemalans, Nicaraguans and Salvadorans. It is made up of families, lone travelers and dozens of transgender men and women fleeing persecution.
"The message to the migrant population is very clear," wrote Francisco Rueda Gómez, secretary of government of Baja California, in a statement to the Palm Springs Desert Sun.
"We are providing them with humanitarian support, health care and food, however the need to take into consideration the rules of the shelters so they can coexist in harmony with the local population."
The influx of migrants has been blasted by President Trump and other US officials as an "invasion" in recent weeks. Trump ordered up the deployment of military troops last month, saying "we'll do up to anywhere between 10 and 15,000 military personnel, on top of Border Patrol, ICE and everybody else."
"We're going to be prepared," the president said. "Nobody's coming in."
With Post Wires
North Korea Is 'Deceiving' Donald Trump By Increasing Nuclear Production At Secret Sites, Claims CIA
Dozens of fetuses removed from another Detroit funeral home
Survivor shares chilling account of Pittsburgh synagogue shooting
Senate leaders meet to hash out agreement to end government shutdown
Stamps marking bicentenaries of Victoria and Albert are released
« Tammy Hembrow Flaunts Rock-Hard Abs, Sultry Curves In Neon-Green Bikini
How Food, Friends, and Fashion Help This Wellness Influencer Achieve Her Dreams »
LIFE Magazine photographer Bill Ray's most iconic pictures — and raunchy Steve McQueen confession
Sixty killed in Houthi attack on camp in Yemen's Marib: Saudi state TV
UFC 246 – McGregor vs Cowboy LIVE RESULTS: UK start time, live stream, TV channel, prelims for fight card in Las Vegas – The Sun
Emma Mitchell moved from Arsenal to Tottenham – but you can't compare transfers in the women's game to the men – The Sun
Weight loss: YouTuber reveals she shed 3 stone by drinking coffee and exercising LESS
'That sensuality is what I've been seeing in her' – Saoirse Ronan's stylist on her maturing awards season style


Yesterday(March 17th) in New York, Taraji P. Henson stepped out for the photocall of her new film 'The Best of Enemies' at the Whitby Hotel.
For her appearance, she turned to JENNY PACKHAM, wearing the designers SPRING 2019 black collared, embellished midi dress with an mesh panel top. The creases are unfortunate but the dress is still cute.
However it was shown in white in the look book which I prefer over the black. Also while her NICHOLAS KIRKWOOD 'Maeva' boots are cute, a sleek black ankle strap pump would have been ideal for me. What do you think of Taraji's look?


text:
Warhawk Women Defeated in Overtime
Payton DeLuga (Algonquin, Ill./Dundee Crown) scored a first half goal, but the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's soccer team could not fend off a comeback by Viterbo University, losing 2-1 to the V-Hawks Wednesday afternoon in La Crosse.
UW-W drops to 8-9-1 with the loss while Viterbo, a NAIA institution, improves to 9-7.
The V-Hawks tested Warhawk goalkeeper Nina Yonan(Skokie, Ill./Niles North) early with a shot on goal in the second minute. Yonan was in the right spot and made the save.
Anna Boyd (De Pere, Wis./De Pere) had a golden opportunity to give the Warhawks a 1-0 lead, but her shot in the 25th minute was stopped by a Viterbo defender before crossing the goal line.
Payton DeLuga (Algonquin, Ill./Dundee Crown) broke open the scoring with her third goal this season in the 35th minute of play, and the Warhawks headed into the break with a 1-0 lead.
Less than six minutes into the second half, the V-Hawks tied the score as they snuck one past Yonan.
UW-W had a chance to take the lead in the 57th minute, but a penalty kick by Lauren Otto (Richmond, Ill./Richmond Burton Community) was saved by Viterbo's Abby Bretibach.
Viterbo seemed to gain momentum as the match wore on, outshooting the Warhawks 5-2 in the last 33 minutes, but regulation would end tied at one.
Two minutes and 22 seconds after overtime started, it was over. Viterbo's Nicole D'Ambrose scored to win the game.
The Warhawks will host UW-River Falls on Saturday at 3 p.m. in their final regular season match. A win over the Falcons would likely mean UW-W earns a spot in the upcoming Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament beginning next Tuesday. Check back to uwwsports.com for more information after Saturday's match


Ruby-GNOME2-0.5.0, Ruby/GtkSourceView-0.1.0 are now available.
* Fixed some bugs, Improved.
* Some classes/methods were added.
* Ruby/GtkSourceView project has been started.
* Added two samples on Project website.
Ruby/GtkSourceView. This depends on ruby-gtk2(or ruby-gnome2).
the GNOME 2.x development environment.
Ruby/GtkSourceView is a wrapper for GtkSourceView.
things, by the latest version of GEdit, the GNOME 2 text editor.
Ruby/GtkSourceView distribution at least until it is accepted upstream.
mime type or by enumerating them etc.
9. RUBY NEWSGROUP FAQ -- Welcome to comp.lang.ruby!


Stippling M&P full-size – How to prepare, practice and go for it!
I have previously stippled the detachable backstrap of the M&P9 with a soldering iron. It added some grippiness to the gun, but one a big portion of the M&P9 that is part of my "grip" is still very smooth (e.g., the portion that meets the meaty part of the palm). So I finally went for the full frame with a wood burner (fine tip).
For the 'scale' pattern that was used for the M&P backstrap, the soldering iron did the job alright (picture above). However, I wanted a finer pattern for the actual frame. So I got a wood burner with several interchangeable tips. It is a $18 investment.
Before I decided to stippled the whole frame, I went with GT-5000 grip tapes. It added a bit of grip, but it was prone to shifting a bit and still not as grippy as I would like to be. So I figure I'll go for stippling the whole gun.
I used the Walnut Hollow woodburner (~$15). Any other wood burner would do fine, just make sure it comes with a very fine tip.
Since stippling on the actual frame is a permanent alteration, my first idea is to get some practice. Everyone on the internet talks about using extra rifle magazines (Pmags) to practice on. Well, I don't have a rifle, but I have a lot of empty ammo tray. That works. It is a different 'hardness' than the actual frame, but it is enough to get some practice in.
Use Pinterest or google-image to find some nice patterns. Youtube videos also showed how some people achieve a certain pattern. I decided to try some bigger and smaller dots using a fine tip and rounder tip. Also tried some curvy line pattern (see picture below). The feel of the bigger dots are smoother, and maybe suitable for the side of a CCW gun that actually touches skin. The small dot on the left of the bigger dots gives a very grippy feel, but I didn't like the look of it. I tried another version of small dots on on another tray, but instead of lining up all the small dots, I went a more circular and random motion. It allowed some overlap, ending up with the pattern on the right side of the picture, which is what I eventually went with for my M&P9.
Left: Small dots with fine tip lined up and bigger dots with round tip lined up. Top line patterns were not grippy enough. Right: Small dots with fine tip done in circular and overlapping motion.
After I felt good with the pattern, it is time to just go for it.
Masking tape helps to make a straight line for the intended pattern to stop.
Used masking tape to define border. Stipped the border carefully.
I have read some stories on how people accidentally overheat the frame. I took my time and allowed the frame to cool-down after a patch is done. It took about a full hour since I gave it some time to cool down in between. The result turned out pretty good for a first-try in stippling the frame. I didn't go all the way to the top in case I ever want to use this gun for competition.
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Artificial selection for male winners in the Siamese fighting fish Betta splendens correlates with high female aggression
A. Ramos1 &
D. Gonçalves1
In Southeast Asia, males of the Siamese fighting fish Betta splendens have been selected across centuries for paired-staged fights. During the selection process, matched for size males fight in a small tank until the contest is resolved. Breeders discard losing batches and reproduce winner batches with the aim of increasing fight performance. We assessed the results of this long-term selection process by comparing under standard laboratory conditions male and female aggressive behaviour of one strain selected for staged fights ("fighters") and one strain of wild-types. The aggressive response of adult fish was tested against their mirror image or a size-matched conspecific. Fighter males were more aggressive than wild-type males for all measured behaviours. Differences were not only quantitative but the pattern of fight display was also divergent. Fighter males had an overall higher swimming activity, performing frequent fast strikes in the direction of the intruder and displaying from a distance. Wild-type males were less active and exhibited aggressive displays mostly in close proximity to the stimuli. Females of the fighter strain, which are not used for fights, were also more aggressive than wild-type females. Aggressive behaviours were correlated across male and female fighter siblings, suggesting common genetic and physiological mechanisms to male and female aggression in this species. The study further shows that results were largely independent of the stimulus type, with the mirror test inducing similar and less variable responses than the live conspecific presentation. These results suggest that selection for male winners co-selected for high-frequency and metabolic demanding aggressive display in males and also enhanced female aggression, opening a wide range of testable hypothesis about the ultimate and proximate mechanisms of male and female aggression in B. splendens.
Artificial selection and experimental evolution are powerful tools for testing proximate and ultimate causes of behaviour. These manipulations may be carried out under controlled conditions in laboratory or natural settings or arise from unintended natural experiments. Domestication is a particularly interesting example as it usually combines adaptation to captive conditions and selective breeding for particular traits [1]. The comparison between domesticated and wild-type strains was key to Darwin's theory of natural selection [2, 3] and since then it has enriched our understanding of the general mechanisms of behaviour and its evolutionary principles [4, 5]. Studying organisms that have been under strong artificial selection for particular behavioural traits may facilitate the identification of genetic and physiological mechanisms underlying the expression of that behaviour (e.g. [6]) and, because selection for one particular behaviour usually co-selects for other traits, either behavioural or morphological, uncover gene epistatic and pleiotropic effects [7].
Domestication is usually associated with selective breeding for tame behaviour but in a few species animals have been selected for high aggression either for cultural (e.g. fighting bulls, [8] fighting dogs, [9]) or research (e.g. fruit fly, [10]; mice, [11]) purposes. In most of these models, males are the target of selection because of their inherently higher levels of aggression as compared to females. However, because males and females share the vast majority of the genome [12], the directional selection for aggression in males may lead to increased aggression in females if female and male aggression are genetically correlated. The study of these systems may thus provide relevant information not only on the underlying genetic and physiological mechanisms of aggression but also on how sexual conflict may shape the evolution of aggressive behaviour [13, 14].
The Siamese fighting fish Betta splendens is a particularly interesting model to investigate proximate and ultimate behavioural questions. This species has been selected for body colour, fin patterns and behaviour, and the wide variety of currently available phenotypes makes it one of the most important species in the freshwater ornamental fish industry. Its aggressive behaviour has been well-characterized [15] and female-female aggression occurs naturally [16]. Complex social modulation of aggressive displays has been documented, with both audience [17,18,19] and eavesdropping [20, 21] effects described. Of relevance, wild-type populations, presumably similar to the original populations that originated the domesticated varieties, can still be found in remote areas of Southeast Asia, allowing for comparative studies between the wild-type and domesticated strains.
Fighting strains of B. splendens have been under selection for more than six centuries [22, 23], originating short-fin varieties known in Thailand as "Plakat Morh". During the selection process, matched for size males are paired in small tanks for staged fights. Fights can last several hours and after resolution fighters are discarded and the siblings of male winners are selected for breeding. Breeders try to improve the fighting lines by cross-breeding varieties that have specific morphologic and behavioural traits but the selection process is centred in the fight outcome and not on behavioural displays.
In a previous study, the male aggressive behaviour of domesticated and wild-type B. splendens was compared using a combination of mirror and video playbacks tests and live conspecific presentations [24]. The authors showed that results were context dependent, with differences in aggression between wild-type and short-finned domesticated varieties (results from a fighter and fancy short-finned variety where pooled together to increase sample size) detected during live conspecific trials but not when using mirror/video playback tests. Further, the same fighter and wild-type strains showed differences in male cortisol response to unfamiliar environments, with wild-types, but not fighters increasing cortisol levels [25]. Taken together, the results from these studies suggest that selection for winning has modified aggressive behaviour and physiological responses in B. splendens.
However, the possible impact of the selection process on females, who are not used in fights, remains to be investigated. Selection targeting males may have induced changes in female behavior and physiology via shared genetic mechanisms and possibly drive sexual conflict. A detailed characterization of the behavioural consequences of directional selection for male winners in both sexes is thus relevant to understand proximate and ultimate mechanisms of aggression in B. splendens.
In this study, we compared the aggressive behaviour of a fighter and a wild-type strain to investigate: (1) the impact of selection for winners in male aggressive displays; (2) the possibility of correlated responses in the aggressive behaviour of females, which are not directly targeted by the selection process; (3) the possible variation in the aggressive response of males and females of both strains to two different types of aggression-eliciting stimulus, a mirror image and a size-matched conspecific.
We compared the behaviour of a wild-type and a fighter strain of B. splendens (Fig. 1). Species identity was confirmed for all F0 fish by sequencing the ITL1 and COI genes following [26, 27] (data not shown). Wild-types had been captured in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand, and were acquired from a local and authorized retailer. An initial mix-sex group of approximately 60 individuals was used to start a founding population in the lab. Ten pairs of F1 males and females from different families (different F0 parents) were mated to originate the F2 fish, with an approximately similar number of fish per family used in the experiments. Fighter fish were acquired from a reliable and authorized commercial retailer from Bangkok, Thailand. To start the fighter line, 12 sibling males from one breeder and 12 sibling females from another breeder were used (F0 fish), replicating a mating scheme commonly used by local breeders where sibling males of a winner are mated with sibling females from another winner. From the resulting F1, and similarly to the mating scheme for wild-types, males and females from different families were crossed to originate the F2 fish used in this study. Under laboratory conditions, the artificially selected traits associated with winning were probably under relaxed selection because there was no attempt to further select winners. The potential decrease in expression of the winning-related traits was minimized by limiting the initial genetic pool to two fighter families and by testing animals after only two generations. For breeding, a tank (50 W X 30D X 25H cm) without substrate or aeration, with shelters and aquatic plants for the female to hide, and with the water conditioned by adding one large indian almond leaf was used. The male was added to the tank and the female to a separate transparent box (10 X 10 X 10 cm) inside the larger tank. They were allowed to have only visual contact until the male built a bubble nest. The female was then carefully removed from the box with a hand net and released and spawning usually occurred within 24 h. After spawning, the female was removed from the tank and the male was allowed to provide parental care to the eggs and larvae for a period of 5 days. The male was then removed and if necessary the brood was divided into more similar tanks to achieve an approximate raising density of 1 fish per 3 L. An external filter was added when fish were approximately 2 month old. We used 8 ± 1 months old males and females of both strains for all experiments. Standard length (cm) of fish used in the experiments were as follows (x̄ ± S.D., fighter males = 3.78 ± 0.02; fighter females = 3.54 ± 0.19; wild-type males = 3.42 ± 0.05; wild-type females = 3.37 ± 0.18). At this stage, sex-ratio in the stock tanks was approximately 1:1. Conditions in the stock and experimental tanks were similar, with temperature being kept at 28 ± 1 °C, the photoperiod set to 12:12 L:D and tank water supplied by a reverse osmosis system. Animals were fed once a day with a mixture of dry (tubifex worms and pellets from different brands) and live (adult Artemia) food.
A wild-type (top) and fighter (bottom) male B. splendens of the strains used in the experiments
Behavioural recordings
Prior to being tested, fish were isolated in individual tanks (28 W X 14D X 20H cm) for 1 week without any visual contact with other fish. Tank walls were lined on the outside with styrofoam plates, except the wall through which observations were conducted. Animals were randomly assigned to one of three treatments: 1) mirror; 2) live conspecific and; 3) glass (control) test. There were no significant size differences in standard length between treatments for fish of the same strain and sex (one-way ANOVA: fighter males, F2,46 = 0.85, P = 0.432; fighter females, F2,46 = 1.46, P = 0.244; wild-type males, F2,46 = 0.79, P = 0.460; wild-type females, F2,46 = 0.42, P = 0.660). For the mirror and control trials, a mirror or a same size transparent glass, respectively, were placed adjacent to one of the shorter walls of the test tank. For the live conspecific test, an individual tank containing a matched for size (standard length coefficient of variation < 5%) conspecific of the same sex and strain was positioned to the top end of the tank of the focal animal. An opaque partition between the two tanks that did not allow the animals to see each other was removed to initiate the trial. The side of presentation (left or right) was randomized for all treatments. Fish used as models in the live conspecific test were also isolated for 1 week prior to being used and were not tested as focal animals. A subset of animals was also tested in a second control, an empty tank placed adjacent to one of the top ends of the test tank. Because no differences in behaviour of focal animals were recorded between this and the glass control (data not shown), it was decided to include only the latter in the analysis.
Trials had a duration of 15 min and were video recorded at 60 cm from the test tank through an opening in an opaque partition using a Sony HDR-PJ670 Handycam. Mirror and conspecific trials began after the first aggressive display was recorded (usually within the first minute) and the control trials began immediately after the glass was placed. Behavioural displays (Table 1) were quantified from video using JWatcher V1.0 (Macquarie University and UCLA). For frontal and lateral displays, total duration was highly correlated with the frequency of the behaviour (Spearman correlation coefficient, frontal display, rs > 0.89, N = 184, P < 0.001; lateral display, rs > 0.93, N = 184, P < 0.001) and it was decided to use only the frequency of the behaviours for the analyses. Total travelled distance and time spent within one body distance to the stimuli was calculated using UMA Tracker (http://ymnk13.github.io/UMATracker/).
Table 1 Description of the aggressive behaviours quantified. An aggression score was calculated as the average frequency of these displays
To test the hypothesis that male and female aggressive behaviour could be correlated, one male and female sibling pair from each of 10 different families (different father and mother) of the fighter strain raised in separate aquaria were tested with the mirror presentation, following the above procedures. Males were 3.87 ± 0.12 cm and females 3.65 ± 0.14 cm in standard length. An aggression score was calculated as above and the correlation between male and female aggressive behaviour computed. It was not possible to run the same analysis for the wild-type strain because a sufficient number of sibling pairs raised in separate tanks were not available.
Aggression-related variables (Table 1) were all significantly correlated between each other (rs > 0.33, N = 111, P < 0.001). To minimise the number of comparisons between groups, an aggression score was first calculated as the average frequency of frontal and lateral displays, caudal swings and charges. Behavioural differences between strains (wild-type and fighter), sex (male, female), treatment (control, mirror, glass) and the possible interaction between these factors were tested with a three-way general linear model (glm). Only two levels of the factor treatment (mirror and conspecific) were used for analysis of the aggression score as aggressive behaviors were not displayed in the control (glass) treatment. Specific comparisons within or between levels of the factors were tested with planned contrasts. The aggression score was squared root-transformed while the frequency of air breathing and the total distance travelled were log-transformed to comply with heteroscedasticity assumption. Effect sizes on glm analysis are reported by partial ETA squared (ηp2).
To test for possible differences in the variability of the aggressive response to the mirror and conspecific treatment, a Levene's test on non-transformed values of the aggression score was applied separately to each of the four experimental groups (i.e. fighter males, fighter females, wild-type males and wild-type females). These statistical analyses were performed with IBM SPSS Statistics version 25.
To test whether the overall behaviour of a group differed from the other groups the quadratic assignment procedure (QAP) correlation test was applied. In this procedure, a Pearson correlation matrix for the different behaviors is calculated for each group and compared with the matrix of the other groups. The QAP null-hypothesis indicates that there is no association between matrices and thus correlation matrices are considered different when the P-value is higher, not lower, than 0.05 ([27], for an example see [28]). QAP analysis were performed with the Ucinet for Windows software [29]. The Benjamini-Hochberg procedure [30] was applied to correct for the multiple Pearson correlation tests within groups.
An overall analysis of the results shows that fighters had an aggression score three times higher than wild-types (Table 2, Fig. 2). Differences in aggression between males and females were of a similar magnitude, and higher in males.
Table 2 Three-way ANOVA results with factors sex (male and female), strain (fighter and wild-type) and treatment (conspecific, mirror and control) and interaction between the factors. For the aggression score, only two levels of the factor treatment (conspecific and mirror were included as aggressive behaviours were absent during control trials. Values for the F-statistic and partial eta-squared (ηp2) are reported. * P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001
Aggression score and activity behaviours quantified for wild-type and fighter males (left) and females (right). For the aggression score only the mirror and conspecific treatments are included as fish did not display these behaviours during glass (control) trials. Numbers in columns indicate N. Means ± S.E. are shown
These differences were relatively independent of stimulus type (mirror or conspecific) and, accordingly, total variance, as given by ηp2, was mostly explained by strain and sex rather than treatment (Table 2).
Planned contrasts comparing only males confirmed that the aggression score was higher for fighter than wild-type males (P < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.26; Fig. 2, see Additional file 1: Figure S1 for individual aggression measures). The frequency of air breathing, a correlate of metabolic activity [31], was over three times higher in fighter than in wild-type males during mirror (P = 0.001, ηp2 = 0.07) or conspecific (P < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.14) trials but not during control trials (P = 0.252, ηp2 = 0.01). Further, while fighters increased air breathing frequency during conspecific (P < 0.001) or mirror (P = 0.001) trials, as compared to controls (ηp2 = 0.13), wild-types did not (conspecific, P = 0.918; mirror, P = 0.234); ηp2 = 0.01). During the conspecific and mirror trials, the frequency of air breathing was positively correlated with the aggression score and activity-related variables (Spearman correlation coefficient, rs > 0.37, N = 58, P < 0.004), except with the time spent close to the stimuli (rs = − 0.16, N = 57, P = 0.235). Fighter males spent less time in close contact with the opponent (conspecific, P = 0.055, ηp2 = 0.02; mirror, P = 0.003, ηp2 = 0.05), approached more often the area close to the stimuli (conspecific, P < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.07; mirror, P = 0.120, ηp2 = 0.01) and travelled longer distances (conspecific, P = 0.005, ηp2 = 0.05; mirror, P = 0.014, ηp2 = 0.03) than wild-types (Fig. 2). Again, these differences were only evident during aggression-elicited trials but not during controls (P > 0.095). This was explained by the different approach of males of the two strains to the mirror/conspecific challenge. Typically, fighter males would swim back and forth, approaching or charging the stimuli very often but avoiding prolonged contact with the opponent and displaying from a distance of a few cm (Fig. 3). Wild-type males, on the other hand, spent most of the trial time displaying within short distance. In fact, while wild-type males increased the time spent in close contact with the stimuli during the mirror (P = 0.015) and conspecific (P = 0.022) trials, as compared to controls (ηp2 = 0.04), fighter males did not (P > 0.169, ηp2 = 0.01; Fig. 2). This different pattern of fighting and activity during aggression-eliciting trials for males of the two strains was confirmed by QAP correlation analysis that revealed a different behavioural network correlation pattern for the mirror (r = 0.09, P = 0.276) and conspecific (r = 0.14, P = 0.222) treatment (Fig. 4).
Representative 2D side-view tracks of a wild-type (a) and fighter (b) male during mirror trials. Tracks from the fish with a total distance travelled closest to the strain average were used
Behavioural correlation networks for each of the aggression-eliciting groups. The diameter of circles represents the frequency of the behaviour, total distance travelled or time spent close to stimuli (normalized between 0 and 1). FD – frequency of frontal display; LD – frequency of lateral display; Ch – frequency of charge; CS – frequency of caudal swing; Ap – frequency of approach; AB – frequency of air breathing; TD – total distance travelled; TC – time spent close to stimuli. Distinct (≠) and similar (=) correlation network patterns among groups are indicated. Lines within groups represent Pearson's correlation coefficients (r), with line thicknesses proportional to r value and positive / negative correlations indicated by line colour (green / yellow, respectively). Asterisks indicate significant correlations after adjustment for multiple comparisons: *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01 and ***P < 0.001
Although females have not been directly selected for fighting, differences in aggressive behaviour between strains were similar to those observed for males. Fighter females were more aggressive than wild-type females (P = 0.001, ηp2 = 0.10; Fig. 2, see Additional file 1: Figure S1 for individual aggression measures). On the contrary, activity-related variables did not differ between females of the two strains (frequency of air breathing, P = 0.462, ηp2 < 0.01; time spent close to opponent, P = 0.596, ηp2 < 0.01; frequency of approaches to the area close to the stimuli, P = 0.102, ηp2 = 0.02), with the exception of the total distance travelled (P = 0.006, ηp2 = 0.04), higher in wild-type females (Fig. 2).
Metabolic activity, as inferred by the frequency of air breathing, was positively correlated with the aggression score and all activity-related variables (rs > 0.29, N = 54, P < 0.036).
QAP correlation analysis suggested that differences in aggressive behaviour between females of the two strains were mostly quantitative rather than qualitative, as supported by an overall behavioural network correlation pattern similar in the conspecific treatment (r = 0.42, P = 0.010) and marginally different for the mirror treatment (r = 0.31, P = 0.070; Fig. 4).
Males vs females
Although females displayed frequent aggressive behaviours towards the conspecific or mirror image, males were clearly more aggressive than females, both in the fighter (P < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.21) and wild-type (P = 0.008, ηp2 = 0.07) strain (Fig. 2, see Additional file 1: Figure S1 for individual aggression measures).
Fighter males were also more active, approaching the stimuli more often (P = 0.004, ηp2 = 0.05) and travelling longer distances (P < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.12), probably contributing to the higher frequency of air breathing (P < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.18) in males than in females of this strain. Again, these differences were only evident during aggression-eliciting trials and not during controls (P > 0.071). On the contrary, activity-related variables were generally similar for male and female wild-type (P > 0.141).
Differences between males and females in behaviour were confirmed by the QAP behavioural network correlation analyses which differed for the two strains and for the two aggression-eliciting stimuli (fighter mirror, r = 0.29, P = 0.084; fighter conspecific, r = 0.14, P = 0.307; wild-type mirror, r = 0.10, P = 0.315; wild-type conspecific, r = 0.06, P = 0.327; Fig. 4).
To further assess for a possible correlation between male and female aggression, 10 pairs of male and female fighter siblings from different families, raised in separate aquaria, were tested against their mirror image. The frequency of male and female aggressive behaviours were all positively and significantly correlated (frontal displays, rs = 0.82, P = 0.007; lateral displays, rs = 0.65, P = 0.049; caudal swings, rs = 0.89, P = 0.001), with the exception of the frequency of charges (rs = 0.55, P = 0.102), resulting in an overall significant correlation between male and female aggression scores (rs = 0.73, P = 0.021; Fig. 5).
Aggression scores for 10 pairs of male and female fighter siblings from different families. Spearman correlation coefficient: rs = 0.73, N = 10, P = 0.021
Conspecific vs mirror
Behavioural differences found between males of the two strains were independent of the stimulus type. In fact, planned contrasts confirmed that the response of fighter (P > 0.120) and wild-type (P > 0.168) males to the mirror and conspecific stimulus was comparable for the aggression score and all activity-related behaviours. This generally similar pattern of response to the mirror and conspecific challenge resulted in comparable behavioural network correlation patterns between treatments both for fighter (r = 0.77, P < 0.001) and wild-type (r = 0.66, P = 0.002) males (Fig. 4).
For females, a different pattern was recorded for fighter and wild-type strains. Wild-type females presented a similar response to the two stimuli (P > 0.078), except for the time near the stimulus, higher in the mirror treatment (P = 0.006, ηp2 = 0.07). On the other hand fighter females were more aggressive (P = 0.006, ηp2 = 0.07) and active (approaches to the stimulus area, P = 0.033, ηp2 = 0.03; total distance travelled, P = 0.027, ηp2 = 0.03) towards the conspecific than towards their mirror image. These results were aligned with the QAP tests for the behavioural correlation networks as fighter females differed between the mirror and conspecific treatment (r = 0.24, P = 0.136), while wild-type females did not (r = 0.46, P = 0.010) (Fig. 4).
In the conspecific test, the aggressive response of the focal fish may be expected to be more variable as compared with the mirror test because it depends on the dynamics of the interaction with another fish. This was only partially confirmed as the aggression score was more variable towards the conspecific than towards the mirror image only in fighter females (P = 0.015; P > 0.058 for the other groups).
Domestication is a type of experimental evolution usually associated with intentional selective breeding and where control over the selection process is low [1]. Although such design is less powerful than careful artificial selection experiments performed under controlled conditions, data gathered from the comparison between wild-type and domesticated strains can be most informative for the understanding of evolutionary processes, in particular because they often provide the only way to access long-term selection processes that cannot be replicated in laboratory settings. That is the case of selection for male winners in B. splendens for two reasons: first, breeders select the strains for reproduction from the outcome of paired-fights where fish can be injured or even die and, for ethical reasons, this selection process cannot be replicated for research purposes; second, selection for winners has been going on for centuries, limiting the possibility for a similar approach under controlled laboratory settings. The comparison of wild-type and fighter strains of this species thus allows a unique opportunity to test hypothesis on the proximate and ultimate mechanisms underlying aggression in fish.
The first prediction of our study was that selection for winning staged-fights would have enhanced aggressive displays in male B. splendens. This prediction was fully verified as differences were evident for all measured aggressive behaviours and for both aggression-eliciting contexts (mirror image and conspecific presentation). The results partially parallel a previous study in this species that had demonstrated enhanced aggression in a fighter strain as compared with a wild-type strain [24]. However, in that study differences were evident only during conspecific presentations ("mutual-viewing test") and not when aggression was elicited by a combination of mirror images and video playbacks of conspecifics. Because the responses to mirror images and video playbacks, which need to be properly validated [32], were combined, a direct comparison with the results that we have obtained for the mirror test is not possible. Also, the same study compared differences between strains using aggression scores derived from a principal component analysis (PCA) and not individual behaviours, further limiting a direct comparison with our results. Still, the fact that both studies, which used different strains of wild-type and fighter animals, concluded for a higher aggressiveness of fighters, in line with our initial prediction, strongly suggest that differences between strains are the result of the selection process for winning and not of other uncontrolled factors. It should be highlighted that the selection criteria used by breeders is winning/losing and not the frequency/intensity of aggressive displays during the staged-paired fights. The fact that fighters exhibited a higher frequency of aggressive behaviours suggest that selection for winning co-selected for more frequent aggressive displays. One hypothesis is that males that display more frequently during fights will have a higher probability of winning, and indeed this has been previously demonstrated for B. splendens [33].
In addition to quantitative differences in the frequency of aggressive behaviours, the approach of fighter and wild-type males to the aggression challenge was also strikingly different. Typically, wild-type males would stay for most of the trial displaying in close contact with the mirror image or live conspecific tank. Fighters, on the other hand, would repeatedly swim back and forth, darting into the opponent's direction and displaying from a distance. Accordingly, the pattern of the behavioural correlation network of wild-type and fighter males differed both for the mirror and conspecific treatment. The higher swimming activity and frequency of aggressive displays of fighter males was reflected in an increased frequency of surface air breathing, a correlate of oxygen consumption and metabolic activity [31]. These results may be understood in light of the selection process for winners. Staged fights take place in small, tall containers, without any hiding places or escape routes (Fig. 6). Observations from videos taken in fighting rings show that fish try to gain a position near the surface to block the opponent from breathing air (personal observations). Fights can last for several hours and fish that are able to inflict more damage to the opponent usually win the fight, with its siblings being selected for breeding. Thus, compared to wild-types, fighters seem to take a more cautious approach during fights, keeping a safe distance from the opponent and striking frequently with fast swims, probably because this strategy may be more efficient in the context of staged-fights as compared with the fights in the natural environment.
Example of tanks used for staged pair-fights in fighting rings across Southeast Asia
Second, we tested the hypothesis that female aggressive behaviour could have been affected by the selection process targeting males. Although female aggression is common in many species and plays a role in securing limited resources [34], it is still unclear whether female and male aggression share the same proximate mechanisms or if there are male and female-specific physiological modulators of aggression. Likewise, there is still no clear understanding of whether female aggression is primarily the result of a correlated evolutionary response to selection acting on male aggression or of direct selection acting on females [35]. Studies on this topic offer contradictory evidence. For instance, selection for high male or female aggression in fruit flies [36] and mice [37, 38] did not affect aggression levels in the other sex, thus suggesting that male and female aggression are not genetically correlated or that there were genetic compensation mechanisms [39]. On the contrary, exogenous androgen administration in fish [40] and birds [35] has been shown to enhance aggression both in males and females and comparative analyses demonstrate a covariation of testosterone in the two sexes [35, 41], suggesting shared mechanisms to male and female aggression.
Fighter females, which are not used in staged-fights, were more aggressive than wild-type females. Differences were observed for aggressive displays and not for activity-related measures and, unlike for males, seemed to be mostly quantitative rather than qualitative as the behavioural correlation networks of females of the two strains were similar for the conspecific test and marginally different for the mirror trials. The higher aggression of fighter females may be the result of common genetic and physiological mechanisms to male and female aggression but other alternative explanations associated with the domestication process can be considered. For example, the increase in female aggression in fighters may represent an adaptation to captivity with more aggressive females being more successful. These fish are raised under mixed high-density groups and it is possible that more aggressive females have higher survival rates, better access to food and an overall better body condition, being preferentially chosen by breeders to be paired with males for reproduction. Under this hypothesis, the high levels of female aggression in fighters could have resulted from an independent and unintended directional selection process, targeting either common or independent physiological mechanisms to those of male aggression. However, this hypothesis would not explain the observed positive correlation between male and female aggression in fighter siblings. In fact, male and female aggressive behaviour from sibling pairs of different fighter families raised separately were correlated, supporting the hypothesis that the process of selection for male aggression has resulted in a correlated response in females. This claim is further supported by anecdotical evidence gathered from B. splendens breeders in Thailand that report generally higher levels of aggression in females from more aggressive fighter strains (personal communication). As males and females share the vast majority of their genomes [12], it is reasonable to hypothesise that directional selection for high male aggression has produced similar physiological and phenotypic changes in females. In B. splendens it was shown that a fighter strain had a lower cortisol response to an unfamiliar context than a wild-type strain [25] and low cortisol levels have been associated with high-aggression in fish (e.g. [42]). It is thus possible that selection for male winners has reduced the activation of the stress-axis, explaining behavioural differences in male behaviour across strains and the correlated female fighter response. Taken together, our results suggest shared mechanisms to male and female aggression in B. splendens and a correlated genetic response in females to selection targeting males. However, further studies on the genetic and physiological mechanisms of male and female aggression and on the fitness consequences of high levels of female aggressiveness in different strains of B. splendens are needed.
The expression of female aggressive behaviour was significantly lower than in males not only in the fighter strain but also in wild-types. This suggests an overall higher aggressiveness of males in this species and may explain why males, and not females, were targeted for the selection process. Differences were not only quantitative but the behavioural correlation networks differed between males and females of both strains, and for both the mirror and conspecific trials, confirming sexual differences in the pattern of aggressive displays. These results are in contrast with a previous study with commercial strains of B. splendens that described similar levels of aggression for males and females, both during mirror and live conspecific fights [43]. This divergence may be a consequence of the different strains used in the two studies. Although not very clear, it seems that the authors used long-tail B. splendens, selected for ornamental purposes, and in these strains it is possible that intersexual differences in aggression are low, maybe because overall aggression has been reduced during the selection process.
A third objective of our study was to contribute to the ongoing debate about the use of mirror tests to study aggression. The mirror test has been used extensively in studies of aggression, including in B. splendens (e.g. [23, 44]) but its choice is controversial for a number of reasons. First, some animals may be able to self-recognize in mirror images, a cognitive ability that was initially thought to be exclusive of humans but that has now been extended to many other mammalian and bird species [45] and even recently suggested for a fish species [46]. Second, the displays that are possible to be elicited with mirror images differ from those of live conspecifics. For example, antiparallel displays, where fish engage in head-to-tail lateral exhibitions, or "carrousels", where fish chase it others tale simultaneously, are not possible [47, 48]. Third, the behavioural [49], endocrine [50] and transcriptomic [51] response has been shown to differ between mirror and live conspecific interactions.
The behavioral reaction of males and females of both strains to the mirror image or to the conspecific presentation were, in general, similar, paralleling previous results for fighting fish [52]. For males, the aggression score and activity-related behaviours did not differ between the two types of stimuli. Similar results were found for wild-type females while the exception were fighter females, which displayed more actively towards the conspecific than the mirror, suggesting that the live intruder was a more salient stimulus than the mirror image. Results for fighter females parallel a previous study in zebrafish that showed a more salient brain transcriptomic response to a resolved live interaction than to a mirror interaction [53]. The more intense response of fighter females to the conspecific interaction resulted in differences in the behavioural correlation network pattern between treatments, which were absent in the other groups. The reason why differences in the response to the two treatments were detected in fighter females but not in the other groups, may relate to variation in the behaviour of live conspecifics. Unlike the mirror trials, where the image matches the intensity and behavioural patterns of the focal animal, the conspecific presentation is more variable, with the model fish displaying different behaviours to those of the focal fish. This view was partially supported by our results that showed an overall higher variability in the response to the conspecific than to the mirror stimulus in fighter females but not in the other groups. Thus, it is possible that variation in the dynamics of the interaction with the live conspecific resulted in the observed differences in the response of fighter females to the two aggression-eliciting stimuli. Taken together, our results show that mirror presentations induced overall similar and less variable aggressive outputs to those of a live conspecific suggesting that the mirror test is as a useful tool for studies of aggression in B. splendens.
The study highlights that long-term selection for male winners of staged fights ongoing in Southeast Asia with B. splendens has enhanced and modified male aggressive displays but also female displays. The results strongly suggest that in this species male and female aggression share common genetic and physiological mechanisms, opening testable hypothesis about its evolutionary consequences, further facilitated by the recent sequencing of the species genome [54] and transcriptome [55]. The study further contributes to the ongoing discussion about the use of mirror-elicited aggression tests in animal behaviour, showing overall similar responses to a mirror image and to a live conspecific.
All data is available upon request from the corresponding author.
B. splendens :
PCA:
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We are grateful to Alexandre Lebel for the fish drawings and to Pedro Vieira for help in the fish maintenance. The behavioural network diagrams were generated with a Perl script developed and generously shared by the lab of Rui Oliveira and Sara Cardoso provided further assistance with the design of those figures. We are also grateful to Dr. François-Xavier Dechaume-Moncharmont and one anonymous reviewer for their useful comments on the manuscript.
This work was supported by the Macao Science and Technology Development Fund, projects 093/2017/A2 and 011/2014/A1.
Institute of Science and Environment, University of Saint Joseph, Rua de Londres 16, Macao, China
A. Ramos
& D. Gonçalves
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DG conceived and designed the experiments and data analysis plan, participated in the statistical analysis of the data and reviewed the final version of the manuscript. AR carried out the study, run the behavioural analysis, participated in the statistical analysis of the data and prepared the first draft of the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Correspondence to D. Gonçalves.
All methods adhered to the ASAB/ABS "Guidelines for the treatment of animals in behavioural research and teaching" (2012). The study followed the ethical guidelines enforced at the University of Saint Joseph and were approved by the Division of Animal Control and Inspection of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau of Macao, license AL017/DICV/SIS/2016. No fish died in the context of these experiments and all animals were kept for further studies.
Additional file
Figure S1. Frequency of frontal and lateral displays, caudal swings and charges for wild-type and fighter males (left) and females (right) during the conspecific and mirror trials. Numbers in columns indicate N. Means ± S.E. are shown. (DOCX 246 kb)
Ramos, A., Gonçalves, D. Artificial selection for male winners in the Siamese fighting fish Betta splendens correlates with high female aggression. Front Zool 16, 34 (2019) doi:10.1186/s12983-019-0333-x
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-019-0333-x
Artificial selection
Mirror test


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Inspiration Is a Gift from the Universe: Fin DAC on Street Art and Powerful Women.
March 11, 2018 / Prox Centauri
Despite beginning his artistic career a bit later than most, artist Fin DAC has blossomed into a highly skilled craftsman that has consistently turned heads in the urban art scene.
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In many of Lionel's pieces, there is a strong emphasis on how emotion and physiognomy can depict the complex range of internal dialogues and dispositions that we engage in and cycle through during our lifetimes.
January 24, 2018 / Prox Centauri/ Comment
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Abstract Reflectionism: An Interview With Painter KwangHo Shin.
Shin primarily dabbles in abstract expressionism and his take on the classic style has done exceptionally well amongst those in the contemporary art scene.
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The Last Train Out of Here: Guy Denning Discusses Anarchy, Political Art, and the Current Ideological Climate.
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After getting involved with the Punk and Anarchist movements of the 80's, artist Guy Denning found himself absorbing the tenets of ideological dissent and acquired the ability to distinguish poignant political art from propaganda.
December 04, 2017 / Prox Centauri/ Comment
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Jon Moody: Athletic and Creative Synergy for Artistic Excellence.
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Artistic synergy is the product of consistent commitment and unwavering discipline in spite of adversity. No one exemplifies this more than artist Jon Moody who has made it his mission to utilize his creative and physical potential for the benefit of inquiring minds. He uses his abilities to craft powerful paintings that explore ubiquitous human emotions and shed light on the misrepresented and underserved.
June 20, 2017 / Prox Centauri/ Comment
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Interview With Fumage Artist, Steven Spazuk.
Steven has been dubbed "The Fire Artist" (even collaborating with the iconic Zippo lighter brand) as a result of his proficiency in this style of composition. Many see the almost ethereal nature of his gorgeous works as far more than just some simple novelty. Some of history's greatest surrealists like Salvador Dali (one of Steven's inspirations) have dabbled in fumage and the results are momentous representations of the legitimacy of the technique.
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Interview With the Artist Couple, Nabiha & Thom.
August 15, 2016 / Prox Centauri
The "UNITY" series documents the couples evolution (beginning in 1997, up until now) in a selfie format (which was fairly uncommon in the 90s). This set acts a wonderful opportunity to view the growth the two have had together in an honest, and natural context. There is something peaceful (and assuring) about seeing romantic longevity being depicted in such a way. It's comforting to see that two people can still learn, grow, and achieve a kind of spiritual unity.
August 15, 2016 / Prox Centauri/ Comment
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Interview With Graphic Designer, Freddy Bernard (@ink_mad).
Graphic Designer Freddy Bernard (hailing from the French West Indies and currently residing in France) has made an impression on social media sites like Tumblr and Instagram with his humanizations of characters from Disney's classic film, "The Lion King". With an impressive and believable depiction of these beloved characters, Freddy showcases his outstanding talent and love for the timeless source material he was compelled to reimagine.
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July 15, 2016 / Prox Centauri/ Comment
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Interview With Painter, Danny O'Connor.
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Here's How to Watch Tonight's Strawberry Supermoon, Last of 2021
You won't be able to watch the supermoon for another 12 months after tonight, so go rush to check it out.
By Lizzy Francis
The final supermoon of the year, the "Full Strawberry Moon," will rise tonight, June 24. Because it's the last supermoon of the year, it's absolutely worth seeing and, thankfully, unlike meteor showers or Northern Lights, it's viewable basically anywhere. Here's what you need to know about how to see it.
The Strawberry Moon is the first full moon of the summer and gets its name because, in many parts of North America, it's finally strawberry season. (Funnily enough, in Europe, it's called the Rose Moon, because strawberries are native to North America.) Though it's not the year's largest supermoon — May's Blood Supermoon took the cake there — it is the final one. To view it in North America, go outside and look to the skies around your local moonrise time (around 9 p.m. on the East Coast, for example, but other times elsewhere across the country).
Thankfully, because it is the moon, you really don't need any special tools to check it out. Just go outside, preferably, but not necessarily, away from light pollution for max viewability, and enjoy the show.
As for the next full moon, it will come around the end of July, on July 23, and it's called the Buck Moon. The next supermoon that will grace our skies will be in about a year — on June 14 — so if you want to do some howling at the big ass moon, make sure you do it on Thursday night or else hold your tongue for another 12 months. And, while you're at it, you may as well go pick up a Strawberry Supermoon Doughnut from Krispy Kreme today to celebrate the bright occasion.


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