Bar charts are among the most popular graph formats when communicating quantitative information. Recent work by Boger and Franconeri (2024, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 153 , 1699–1704) revealed that the spatial design of simple bar charts can strongly alter which relationships viewers detect or miss. In Experiment 1, we replicated their adjacency advantage, showing that misleading relationships in grouped bar charts are more often detected when in adjacent versus non-adjacent (“interleaved”) bars. In Experiment 2, we tested whether color—either static or dynamic—could benefit the detection of interleaved relationships, analogous to the advantage of adjacency in Experiment 1. The two bars containing the misleading relationship were either red or gradually changed from gray to red, with the other two bars in gray. We found no evidence for improved detection with static or dynamic color cues relative to when all bars were uniformly gray. Our findings suggest that the spatial layout of graphs strongly determines which relationships are detected, and reveals limitations of color-based highlighting in guiding our interpretation of bar charts.
Negative emotions such as disgust and fear play an important role in helping humans rapidly avoid threats and dangers in the natural environment. Although these emotions are influenced by context and situation, they can also be directly evoked by simple image features encoded in the early visual system. The present study examined how chromatic information in visual stimuli contributes to the perception of two negative emotions: disgust and fear. Participants rated the degree of disgust and fear elicited by 100 chromatic images and their achromatic counterparts. Results showed that the removal of chromatic information significantly reduced perceived disgust, while having little effect on perceived fear. Furthermore, an analysis of the relationship between image category and negative emotion indicated that distant “scenes” (e.g., landscapes), which tend to depict wide and distant spaces, were more likely to elicit fear, whereas proximal “surfaces” (e.g., close-up views of textures or objects) were more likely to elicit disgust. These findings suggest that chromatic information plays a particularly important role in the perception of disgust, especially for surface-related stimuli, whereas fear appears to rely less on chromatic cues.
We tested whether facial expressions in artworks can be reliably classified using six basic emotion categories. Participants viewed 116 cropped portraits, selecting the best-fitting emotion for each. Results show that about half of the images elicited consistent responses, aligning with basic emotional prototypes. The rest produced distributed judgments, indicating Multifaceted Emotions – layered or uncertain affective signals. The findings support the hypothesis that artists are capable of portraying both basic and complex emotional states, opening up the possibility for a new artwork-based emotion database to study nuanced emotional perception.
We describe a new display involving what we are calling ‘dynamic illusory waves’. The display brings together a number of previously documented illusory effects and perceptual mechanisms to generate non-rigidly deforming phantom surfaces that take even experienced observers by surprise. There are only two physically drawn components to the display: a shape with a sinewave-modulated contour and a regular ‘pinstripe’ background grating. When the shape is superimposed on the grating, and relative motion is added, a third element immediately emerges. This is a dynamic illusory wave (diwa): a coherent, deforming illusory surface that often appears as a transparent layer partially occluding the two physically drawn components. The nature of the illusory wave is primarily a function of the spatial frequency ratio between the periodic patterning of the physical shape and the grating, but changing the relative speed, amplitude, or contrast of the drawn components also modulates the nature of the perceived surface. We discuss and make available an online interactive tool so that readers can further create and explore their own examples of such dynamic illusory waves.
Everyday materials such as honey, shampoo, and oil are often described not only in terms of their viscosity but also by the sense of stickiness they evoke during contact and separation. Although previous studies have identified visual cues that support the perception of viscosity, the visual basis of stickiness perception, particularly in interactive contexts, remains poorly understood. Here, we introduce a novel phenomenon, termed pseudo-slimy, in which participants experience a sense of stickiness toward a visually deforming object that stretches and eventually breaks in response to their own finger movements. In Experiments 1 and 2, we systematically manipulated the distance at which the object visually broke (break distance) and found that larger break distances elicited significantly stronger impressions of stickiness. In Experiment 3, we demonstrated that the perceived strength of this phenomenon could be quantitatively mapped onto a psychological stickiness scale derived from common viscoelastic materials, showing a significant correlation between adjusted break distances and scale values. Together, these results suggest that the spatial extent of visually induced resistance to separation serves as a powerful cue for stickiness perception. The present findings provide new insights into how humans visually infer material stickiness in interactive situations and offer a potential framework for pseudo-haptic applications that evoke tactile qualities through visual feedback alone.
I describe some interesting visual phenomena in the work of the artist Robert Fones, including combinatorial use of simple forms to generate three-dimensional shapes, a preference for lighting from overhead and to the left, the convex-concave ambiguity, and subtle but effective cues to lighting direction.
Symbolic numerical thinking is a signature human cognition, yet its foundations remain unclear. The prevailing perspective holds that numerical abilities build on a non-symbolic visual number sense that extracts numerosity from the environment. However, recent evidence suggests a sensorimotor number system also tracks the numerosity of internally self-generated actions. Whether this system supports the development of mathematical skills is unknown. In a series of psychophysical tasks, we measured precision (Weber fraction) for estimating, without counting, the number of (i) self-generated hand actions, (ii) visual-temporal flashes, and (iii) dot ensembles. Precision in the action-based numerosity estimation task explained about 30% of the variance in mental calculation ability — three and 15 times higher than spatial and temporal visual numerosity, respectively. This link remained strong even after regressing out the variance explained by natural development (age), verbal and non-verbal reasoning, non-numerical motor abilities, and visual numerosity estimation precision (R 2 ≈ 26%). These findings provide the first evidence for a specific link between the sensorimotor number system and mathematical competence, suggesting a foundational role of sensorimotor numerical processes in the development of symbolic human numerical cognition.
The slimming effect of striped clothing has long been a research topic in the field of visual perception. Some studies have supported the Helmholtz illusion, which suggests that clothing with horizontal lines makes a person appear thinner than clothing with vertical lines. However, other studies argued that these experiments lacked ecological validity, as it seemed unlikely that stimuli with vertical and horizontal stripes were present concurrently. Therefore, perceptual anchoring should be incorporated into the experimental procedure. While previous studies used only pencil stripes as the research object, this study employed both pencil and equidistant stripes, introducing five different stripe spacing types. This study conducted three comparisons regarding the perception of body image in striped clothing using a survey (n = 214): Experiment 1 identified the horizontal style that appears the slimmest; Experiment 2 identified the vertical style that appears the slimmest; Experiment 3 compared the effects of horizontal and vertical stripes across five garment styles on body image perception, including which style makes the body look slimmer, enhances the figure more effectively, and is more visually appealing. The results show that the horizontally pencil-striped dress (1 × 2 h in our nomenclature) is perceived as the slimmest. Second, while a pencil stripe pattern may make the body appear slimmer when oriented horizontally, an equidistant stripe pattern may do this when oriented vertically instead (1 × 1 v from back). Third, there are slight differences between the perceptions of males and females.
Gloss perception depends on several surface properties, but most studies measure these effects only one or two at a time. Here, we test whether a three-dimensional version of maximum likelihood conjoint measurement (3D-MLCM) can be used to capture the combined influence of multiple cues on gloss. Observers judged which of two surfaces looked glossier while specular reflectance, albedo, and bumpiness were varied together. The additive model showed clear and reliable contributions of both albedo and bumpiness in addition to specular reflectance, and model comparisons confirmed that these cues significantly affected gloss judgments. The full model further revealed that these effects change with gloss level: bumpiness strongly influenced perceived gloss at low specular reflectance but had little effect at high gloss levels. These results show that 3D-MLCM provides stable, interpretable measurements and is a practical method for studying complex interactions between visual features that influence visual appearance.
Coccidiosis is a protozoan disease that causes serious economic losses annually worldwide. This study evaluated thyme oil and quercetin as natural anticoccidial treatments in broiler chickens experimentally infected with Eimeria tenella. In total, 450 one-day-old Hubbard broiler chicks were allocated into 10 groups. On the eighth day of age, five groups remained uninfected: a negative control group (-ve) and early-treated and late-treated groups treated with thyme oil or quercetin. The other five groups were infected with E. tenella: a positive control group (+ve) and early-treated and late-treated groups treated with thyme oil or quercetin. The clinical signs, parasitologic findings, oxidative stress biomarkers, and the relative expressions of interleukins 2, 6, and 16 were evaluated on the sixth, 11th, and 16th days postinfection (dpi). The infection induced bloody diarrhea, weight loss, and high lesion scores in +ve controls, while the infected, thymol-treated (ITE) group yielded the best clinical recovery, lowest lesion scores, and highest weight gain among infected groups. Oocyst shedding peaked at 8 dpi but was significantly reduced in early-treated groups, particularly ITE. Oxidative stress biomarkers and interleukin relative expressions were significantly altered, with early treatment improving antioxidant status and modulating immune responses. In conclusion, the results recommend the early administration of either thyme oil or quercetin to improve the productivity, oxidative stress, and birds' immune response against Eimeria infection.
Avian amyloidosis, mostly caused by the abnormal deposition of amyloid fibrils derived from serum amyloid A (SAA), is histologically diagnosed through the morphological identification of eosinophilic amyloid deposits in tissues. Congo red staining is a popular special staining method for detecting amyloid; however, immunohistochemical staining would allow precise identification and confirmation of SAA-derived amyloid by targeting its protein composition. The purpose of this study was to establish an immunohistochemical method for detecting amyloid deposits in poultry. A rabbit polyclonal antibody was generated against a synthetic peptide corresponding to the C-terminal region of chicken SAA. Immunohistochemistry was performed to detect amyloid deposits in six poultry species: chicken (Gallus gallus), helmeted guinea fowl (Numida meleagris), Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix), mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos), Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata), and turkey (Meleagris gallopavo). Positive signals of immunohistochemistry corresponded to histologically observed eosinophilic materials and Congo red-positive areas in all species. Our results indicate that the synthetic peptide-based antibody developed in the study is effective for detecting amyloid deposits in common poultry.
Clostridial dermatitis (CD), caused by Clostridium septicum, is an economically important disease of broiler chickens, specifically in flocks raised without antibiotics. Our previous work in turkeys identified a nontoxic domain no. 2 of C. septicum alpha-toxin (ntATX-D2) as a protective vaccine antigen. In the present study, we used a prime-boost immunization regimen to vaccinate broiler chickens subcutaneously with recombinant ntATX-D2 protein followed by a challenge with virulent C. septicum to assess protective immunity. Immunization led to clinical protection, as determined by a significant increase in the body weight gain and a reduction in the gross and histopathological lesions in the skin, subcutis, and skeletal muscle of immunized chickens compared to the unimmunized group. Furthermore, immunological investigation of protective immunity in immunized birds when compared to the unimmunized control group revealed 1) higher levels of antigen-specific serum IgY antibodies, 2) modulation of inflammatory responses in the skin and muscle of immunized chickens, as indicated by transcriptional downregulation of proinflammatory cytokine (IL-1β, IL-6, and IFNγ) and upregulation of anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10 and TGFβ) genes, and 3) increased γδ T cell, B cell, and activated T-cell frequencies in the spleen and peripheral blood of immunized birds. Collectively, our findings indicated that ntATX-D2 vaccination of broiler chickens can provide protection against C. septicum-induced CD and that the mechanisms of protection seem to operate through anti-ATX antibodies coupled with modulation of local and systemic inflammatory as well as cellular immune responses.
Avian reovirus (ARV) remains a significant concern in the poultry industry. Three rounds of plaque purification are routinely employed to obtain clonal populations of a viral isolate for experimental purposes. However, the effectiveness of this approach in achieving viral homogeneity has usually been taken for granted, especially in older publications, when there was no means of checking the purity. This study aimed to determine the purity of a plaque-purified ARV isolate (strain AL) using conventional PCR, Sanger sequencing, and whole-genome sequencing (WGS). WGS analysis of multiple samples across different amplification and purification steps revealed persistent mixed viral populations despite three rounds of plaque purification on chicken embryo liver cells. Both S1133-like and divergent contigs were found for each segment in all assembled genomes, with differential strain representation patterns observed before and after purification. As expected, inoculation of mixed population into embryos greatly favored growth of embryo-adapted strain S1133, with highest selection for S1 segment of this strain. Although conventional PCR targeting the sigma C (σC) gene failed to amplify the AL isolate using standard primers, de novo primers based on WGS successfully detected its presence. Sanger sequencing of the σC gene confirmed sequence divergence from the reference S1133 strain with only ∼44% amino acid identity. This placed the AL isolate in the genetic cluster GC4, which was phylogenetically farthest from the vaccine group GC1. These findings demonstrate that plaque purification in chicken embryo liver cells may not ensure clonal isolation of ARV and highlight the dynamic nature of mixed viral populations during different propagation conditions.
This study investigated the effects of high dietary inclusion of blue mussel meal (BMM) on the health of Ross 308 broiler chickens. In total, 1980 chicks were divided into three groups: control diet (CD), 14% BMM (BMM14), and 21% BMM (BMM21). Clinical signs of distress, including lethargy, dyspnea, subcutaneous swelling, and increased water intake, emerged in BMM21 birds 4 days after diet introduction, with similar symptoms appearing later in BMM14 birds. Mortality reached 13.64% in BMM21 and 5.61% in BMM14, compared to 1.36% in CD. Postmortem investigation revealed widespread anasarca (generalized subcutaneous edema and accumulation of fluid in body cavities), swollen kidneys, and swollen testes. The birds also showed significantly elevated water-to-feed ratios in the BMM groups (up to 3.63), exceeding the ideal ratio of 1.7. Nutritional analysis indicated that the sodium and chloride levels in the BMM diets were 2 to 4 times higher than in the CD diet, which was substantially above recommended thresholds. Diarrhetic shellfish poison was detected in the blue mussel meal but not in the liver tissues of BMM21 birds. The findings suggest that high dietary inclusion of BMM with high sodium and chloride concentrations may induce salt intoxication in broilers, underscoring the need for cautious feed formulation when marine-derived ingredients are used. Further development of desalting technology is necessary to explore the full potential of blue mussels as an alternative source of protein.
This study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with Baihu decoction (BHD) on serum antioxidant indices and plasma metabolomic profiles in heat-stressed laying hens. One hundred eighty Hy-Line Brown laying hens were randomly divided into three groups. The normal control (NC) group and the heat stress (HS) group were fed with the basal diets, whereas the BHD group was supplemented with 0.75% BHD dry powder in the basal diet. The NC hens were kept at 26 ± 1 C, whereas HS and BHD groups' temperatures were raised to 32 ± 1 C on day 14. At the end of the experiment, blood samples were collected to assess antioxidant indices. The metabolic mass spectra were then analyzed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results indicated that 1) heat exposure significantly decreased serum catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities and increased malondialdehyde (MDA) levels compared with the NC group. BHD supplementation significantly restored CAT and SOD activities and reduced MDA content toward normal levels. 2) Plasma metabolomics identified 26 differentially expressed metabolites, among which 17 were potentially associated with BHD's protective effects. Enrichment analysis revealed significant alterations in several metabolic pathways, including Val, Leu, and Ile biosynthesis. These findings suggest that BHD alleviates HS by modulating antioxidant capacity and key metabolic pathways, providing new insights into the physiologic mechanisms underlying BHD's protective role from a metabolomic perspective.
Necrotic enteritis (NE) is a significant intestinal disease in poultry caused by the spore-forming, obligate anaerobe Clostridium perfringens. Historically, antimicrobials have controlled NE but growing concerns over antibiotic resistance have led to reduced use, resulting in disease resurgence. Clostridium perfringens spores persist in poultry environments, and their accumulation is believed to contribute to NE outbreaks. However, tools to assess spore load and predict outbreak risk are limited. To address this, a selective egg yolk agar medium was developed using potassium chlorate to inhibit aerobic bacteria, combined with heat treatment to enumerate C. perfringens spores in poultry litter. Matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization time of flight mass spectrometry confirmed that 80% of lecithinase-positive colonies on chlorate-supplemented agar were C. perfringens. When comparing reinforced Clostridium agar and Clostridium perfringens agar (CPA) as bases, chlorate did not significantly reduce lecithinase-positive aerobes. Ninety-nine percent of lecithinase-positive black colonies on CPA were strict anaerobes, and 85% were confirmed as C. perfringens by PCR. A significant correlation (χ2 test; P < 0.05) was observed between spore abundance in litter and a farm's NE history. However, spore abundance did not correlate with increased sporulation efficiency in C. perfringens isolates (P = 0.86). Notably, the presence of netB-positive C. perfringens was strongly associated with prior NE outbreaks (P < 0.01). This study demonstrated CPA-based egg yolk agar as an effective diagnostic medium for detecting C. perfringens in poultry litter.
Over the last few decades, recombinant vaccines have been increasingly used for disease control in commercial poultry production. This study assesses the efficacy of a recombinant fowl-pox virus-based vector vaccine (rFP-MG) in conferring protection against Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) in different prime-boost combinations with or without the live modified F-strain vaccine. Four different vaccination programs were evaluated using Hy-line W-36 layer pullets. Group 1 served as unvaccinated controls (n = 57). Group 2 (n = 30) received a single dose of rFP-MG at 8 wk of age, and group 3 (n = 31) received two doses of rFP-MG, one at 1 day of age and again at 8 wk. Group 4 (n = 30) received a single dose of F strain at 8 wk, and group 5 (n = 32) received rFP-MG at 1 day of age and F strain at 8 wk. Four weeks after the second vaccination, all groups, including the negative control group, were divided into two (challenged and unchallenged) subgroups. All challenged groups were then inoculated with the MG Rlow strain at a dose of 3.11 × 108 CCU/bird via the fine spray route. Unchallenged groups included the unvaccinated/unchallenged and four vaccinated/unchallenged control groups. Clinical scoring, air sac scoring, and tracheal mucosal thickness at 21 days postchallenge were used as the main parameters for the evaluation of each vaccination program. No mortalities were observed in any of the study groups after the challenge; however, challenged groups that received only rFP-MG showed clinical signs (ranged from a few snicks to some gurgling sounds) as early as 7 days postchallenge, while the F-strain-vaccinated/challenged groups did not show any clinical signs. Birds from all groups exhibited varying degrees of air sac lesions (ranging from air sacs with suds or small flecks of caseous exudate to cloudy and thickened air sacs), with a higher percentage of birds in the rFP-MG groups being affected. The tracheal mucosal thickness of the F-strain-vaccinated groups was not significantly higher than that of the unvaccinated/unchallenged (negative control) group. However, the tracheal mucosal thickness of the rFP-MG-vaccinated group was significantly lower (P < 0.05) than that of the unvaccinated/ challenged (positive control) group. Results from this trial showed that rFP-MG vaccine provided partial protection against the clinical signs compared to the unvaccinated/challenged positive control; however, it was less protective than the F-strain vaccine.
Avian intestinal spirochetosis, caused by Brachyspira species, significantly impacts chicken flocks worldwide, leading to economic losses due to mortality, reduced egg production, and lower-quality eggs. Despite India's substantial poultry population, the importance of Brachyspira has been overlooked. This study investigated the significance of Brachyspira spp. in layer chicken flocks in India. This is a primary report to determine the incidence of Brachyspira pilosicoli from layer flocks in the country. The study sampled 25 layer chicken farms between March and December 2023 from which 250 cecal swabs were processed for Brachyspira isolation, molecular confirmation made using PCR and its phylogenetic analysis. The results showed that two out of 25 farms were positive for B. pilosicoli by culture and PCR. The positive flocks, aged between 50 and 72 wk, reared in a cage system in open-sided houses. The litter conditions were semisolid, with an abnormal odor and brownish color, indicating dysbiotic changes. The affected flocks experienced a drop in egg production of up to 12%-15%, fecal-stained eggs up to 0.4%-0.6%, and pasty vents and mortality rates of 1.5% and 5.7%, respectively. Postmortem examination revealed ballooning of the ceca with yellowish-light brown moist contents and inspissated, amorphous yolk material in the abdominal cavity. The histopathological examination of the cecum showed loss of villi and crypts along with infiltration of inflammatory cells. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis showed 99.73% to 100% identity of the Indian B. pilosicoli sequences with the reference sequences from Australia, France, and the United States.
In ovo vaccination is an effective method of immunization that allows protection early in the life of the chick but requires precision during the administration. This present report describes an occurrence of cervical vertebral malformations in broiler chicks that coincide with mechanical failure of an in ovo vaccination system, in the absence of other detected infectious, nutritional, or toxic etiologies. Cervical scoliosis was observed in 2%-8% of chicks at hatch or within days post hatch in the affected flock, which all came from the same hatchery. Gross and histologic examination of eleven 30-day-old chickens revealed a cervical vertebral misalignment and fusion of the articular cartilage of adjacent vertebrae, with spinal cord compression, without evidence of inflammation. It is hypothesized that a malfunctioning in ovo vaccine injector with a bent needle might have caused mechanical trauma during the injection at day 18 of incubation, possibly contributing to the lesions observed in the chickens. Recurrent Enterococcus faecalis and Escherichia coli infections were also recorded in young chicks, a problem that persisted during the lifespan of the flock, possibly induced by compromised hygiene from the defective injector. These findings indicate that in ovo vaccination equipment malfunction could represent an underrecognized contributing factor to vertebral deformities in chicks.
Enterococcus cecorum has become a significant pathogen of broilers and broiler breeders worldwide, and there are few effective prevention, treatment, or control measures. Improved, preferably nonantibiotic tools are needed to control the disease. Two pen trials were conducted to assess the effectiveness of a day-of-age probiotic and a continuous direct fed microbial (DFM) in preventing colonization of the spleen and free thoracic vertebra after challenge with pathogenic E. cecorum in commercial broiler chickens. In Experiment 1, three treatment groups were administered either no treatment (challenge controls), a day-of-age probiotic gel plus DFM 1 continuously in the feed, or the probiotic plus DFM 2, and challenged orally on Day 0 with a known pathogenic strain of E. cecorum (SA3). Both treatments resulted in a significant decrease in prevalence of colonization of spleens and free thoracic vertebrae at Day 42 compared to the challenge controls, with no effects on performance parameters or total mortality. In Experiment 2, four treatment groups were administered either no treatment (challenge controls), the day-of-age probiotic gel alone, the probiotic gel plus DFM 1, or DFM 1 alone. At 42 days of age, both the probiotic alone and the probiotic plus DFM 1 resulted in a significant decrease in colonization of the free thoracic vertebrae compared to the challenge controls, with the DFM alone being statistically intermediate. There were no impacts on performance parameters, livability, or lameness compared to the challenge controls. These results suggest that the day-of-age probiotic and the DFM may be a useful tool in controlling enterococcal spondylitis, and further larger-scale trials are warranted to assess impacts on clinical signs and performance.
