Yuying Hsu | National Taiwan Normal University (original) (raw)

Papers by Yuying Hsu

Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of The Interactions of People & Animals, 2005

In a previous study of canine temperament (Hsu and Serpell 2003), a distinct "trainability" facto... more In a previous study of canine temperament (Hsu and Serpell 2003), a distinct "trainability" factor was identified, characterized by a dog's willingness to attend to its owner and obey simple commands, combined with a high "fetch" motivation, and low levels of distractibility and/or resistance to correction. This paper explores the distribution of this trait in a large sample of dogs in relation to breed, sex and neuter status. The owners of 1,563 dogs belonging to 11 common breeds were invited to assess them for "trainability" using a standardized questionnaire (C-BARQ © ). Highly significant breed differences in trainability were detected. In two breeds with distinct field and show bred lines, show bred dogs obtained significantly lower trainability scores. Although no overall sex differences in trainability were detected, male Dachshunds and West Highland White Terriers were found to be significantly more trainable than females. Neutering was not associated with any differences in trainability in female dogs in any breed, but was associated with positive effects on trainability in male Shetland sheepdogs. The findings suggest that there is scope for improving trainability in most breeds of dog, and emphasize the dangers of generalizing among breeds with respect to sex differences in trainability or the benefits of neutering. The biological basis of the trainability trait is also discussed in light of recent research on the evolution of canine social cognition.

Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society, Jan 7, 2014

Contest decisions are influenced by the outcomes of recent fights (winner-loser effects). Steroid... more Contest decisions are influenced by the outcomes of recent fights (winner-loser effects). Steroid hormones and serotonin are closely associated with aggression and therefore probably also play important roles in mediating winner-loser effects. In mangrove rivulus fish, Kryptolebias marmoratus, individuals with higher testosterone (T), 11-ketotestosterone and cortisol levels are more capable of winning, but titres of these hormones do not directly mediate winner-loser effects. In this study, we investigated the effects of winning/losing experiences on brain expression levels of the receptor genes for androgen (AR), oestrogen α/β (ERα/β), glucocorticoid (GR) and serotonin (5-HT1AR). The effect of contest experience on AR gene expression depended on T levels: repeated losses decreased, whereas repeated wins increased AR gene expression in individuals with low T but not in individuals with medium or high T levels. These results lend strong support for AR being involved in mediating winn...

Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 2003

To develop and validate a questionnaire to assess behavior and temperament traits of pet dogs. Cr... more To develop and validate a questionnaire to assess behavior and temperament traits of pet dogs. Cross-sectional survey of dog owners. Animals-1,851 dogs belonging to clients of a veterinary teaching hospital or members of national breed clubs and 203 dogs examined by canine behavior practitioners because of behavior problems. Owners were asked to complete a questionnaire consisting of 152 items eliciting information on how dogs responded to specific events and situations in their usual environment. Data from completed questionnaires were subjected to factor analysis, and the resulting factors were tested for reliability and validity. Factor analysis yielded 11 factors from 68 of the original questionnaire items that together accounted for 57% of the common variance in questionnaire item scores. Reliability was acceptable for all but 1 of these factors. Behavior problems in 200 of the 203 dogs with behavior problems could be assigned to 7 diagnostic categories that matched 7 of the fa...

Frontiers in Zoology, 2014

Introduction: Individual recognition and winner/loser effects both play important roles in animal... more Introduction: Individual recognition and winner/loser effects both play important roles in animal contests, but how their influences are integrated to affect an individual's contest decisions in combination remains unclear. Individual recognition provides an animal with relatively precise information about its ability to defeat conspecifics that it has fought previously. Winner/loser effects, conversely, rely on sampling information about how an animal's ability to win compares with those of others in the population. The less precise information causing winner/loser effects should therefore be more useful to an individual facing an unfamiliar opponent. In this study, we used Kryptolebias marmoratus, a hermaphroditic mangrove killifish, to test whether winner/loser effects do depend on opponent familiarity. In addition, as previous studies have shown that subordinates that behave aggressively sometimes suffer post-retreat retaliation from contest winners, we also explored this aspect of contest interaction in K. marmoratus. Results: In the early stages of a contest, subordinates facing an unfamiliar dominant were more likely to signal their aggressiveness with either gill displays or attacks rather than retreating immediately. A winning experience then increased the likelihood that the most aggressive behavioral pattern the subordinates exhibited would be attacks rather than gill displays, irrespective of their opponents' familiarity. Dominants that received a losing experience and faced an unfamiliar opponent were less likely than others to launch attacks directly. And subordinates that challenged dominants with more aggressive tactics but still lost received more post-retreat attacks from their dominant opponents.

Brown/Fish Cognition and Behavior, 2011

As the introductory chapter to the first edition of this book ) noted, fish behaviour has long be... more As the introductory chapter to the first edition of this book ) noted, fish behaviour has long been viewed as stereotyped and not strongly influenced by context or experience. The recognition that experience and learning can influence fish behaviour coupled with observations of considerable variation in behaviour within and between individuals has led to an increasing awareness of the complexity of fish behaviour. Behavioural ecologists are interested in understanding the causes and effects of behavioural variation within individuals (e.g. over time), among individuals of a population and among populations. These causes and effects are related to the benefits and costs of the behaviour that influence the evolutionary success (fitness) of the individual.

Brown/Fish, 2006

... This approach is important for understanding the potential for neuroendocrine factors to medi... more ... This approach is important for understanding the potential for neuroendocrine factors to mediate the differential longevity of winner and loser effects (Hannes et al. 1984; Winberg &amp;amp;amp; Lepage 1998; Øverli et al. 1999; Summers et al. ...

PPP2R2B, a protein widely expressed in neurons throughout the brain, regulates the protein phosph... more PPP2R2B, a protein widely expressed in neurons throughout the brain, regulates the protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) activity for the microtubule-associated protein tau and other substrates. Altered PP2A activity has been implicated in spinocerebellar ataxia 12, Alzheimer's disease (AD), and other tauopathies. Through a case-control study and a reporter assay, we investigated the association of PPP2R2B CAG repeat polymorphism with Taiwanese AD, essential tremor (ET), Parkinson's disease (PD), and schizophrenia and clarified the functional implication of this polymorphism. The distribution of the alleles was not significantly different between patients and controls, with 68.6-76.1% alleles at lengths of 10, 13, and 16 triplets. No expanded alleles were detected in either group. However, the frequency of the individuals carrying the short 5-, 6-, and 7triplet alleles was notably higher in patients with AD (5/180 [2.8%], Fisher's exact test, P ¼ 0.003; including 2 homozygotes) and ET (4/132 [3.0%], Fisher's exact test, P < 0.001) than in the controls (1/625 [0.2%]). The PPP2R2B transcriptional activity was significantly lower in the luciferase reporter constructs containing the (CAG) 5-7 allele than in those containing the common 10-, 13-, and 16-triplet alleles in both neuroblastoma and embryonic kidney cells. Therefore, our preliminary results suggest that the PPP2R2B gene CAG repeat polymorphism may be functional and may, in part, play a role in conferring susceptibility to AD and ET in Taiwan.

Phytochemistry, 2011

This study aimed to elucidate the anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective bioactivities of a sesqu... more This study aimed to elucidate the anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective bioactivities of a sesquiterpenol, (1S,6R)-2,7(14),10-bisabolatrien-1-ol-4-one (BSL), isolated from Cryptomeria japonica (Taxodiaceae) wood extract. BSL markedly suppressed TNF-α and IL-6 secretion, PGE(2) production, and mRNA expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated mouse macrophages. BSL also potently inhibited the 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) induced protein levels of nitrotyrosine and COX-2 in mouse skin with dermatitis. Conversely, the stress protein heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) was found upregulated in the same BSL-treated macrophages, probably through activation of the JNK-dependent pathway. LPS-induced activation of NF-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways, however, was not responsive to BSL treatment. A BSL-enriched extract (BSL-E; 10mg/kg) significantly prevented CCl(4)-induced chronic liver injury, lipid accumulation, and cell necrosis and inhibited aminotransferase activities and iNOS and COX-2 overexpression in mice liver tissues, an effect comparable with that of silymarin, a hepatoprotective drug.

Journal of Thermal Biology, 2006

1. We compared the thermal tolerances of a high-altitude skink, Sphenomorphus taiwanensis with th... more 1. We compared the thermal tolerances of a high-altitude skink, Sphenomorphus taiwanensis with that of the lowland S. incognitus to test whether their thermal tolerances correspond to their altitudinal distributions. 2. We measured the critical body temperatures, the CTMax and the CTMin, of the two species under three different acclimation temperature regimes (low: 10 1C for S. taiwanensis; 15 1C for S. incognitus, medium: 20 1C, and high: 30 1C). We found that: (1) the critical body temperatures of these two skinks increased with an increase in acclimation temperatures, and (2) under the same acclimation temperature regime, the critical body temperature of S. taiwanensis was lower than that of S. incognitus as expected. 3. We also recorded the 6-month survival rates of S. taiwanensis under three temperature settings (10, 20, and 30 1C). The survival rate of S. taiwanensis at 30 1C dropped to 0% in 186 days accompanied with significant reduction in body weight over time. S. taiwanensis kept at 10 1C had a survival rate of 100% with no significant change in body weight. Individuals of S. taiwanensis kept at 20 1C had a survival rate of 84.6% and a significant increase in body weight. 4. We concluded that the thermal tolerances of S. taiwanensis and S. incognitus corresponded to their altitudinal distributions and that environmental temperature might be a limiting factor for their current altitudinal distributions. r

Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 2003

This study conducted a quantitative ethnographic analysis of the influence of demographic factors... more This study conducted a quantitative ethnographic analysis of the influence of demographic factors and early experience (childhood exposure to dogs) on Taiwanese dog-keeping practices and behavior. A telephone survey of a randomly selected sample of 2001 Taiwan residents determined their dog ownership histories, current patterns of dog ownership and disposal, and other dog-related activities. The results suggest that low rates of neutering, easy availability of low- or no-cost puppies, a tendency to allow owned dogs free access to the outdoors, unrealistic expectations of dog ownership, canine behavioral problems, and religious and cultural taboos against euthanasia and shelter relinquishment have contributed to the recent increase in the numbers of free-roaming dogs in Taiwan. Logistic regression analyses determined that a relatively small number of demographic and experiential variables predicted dog ownership and disposal patterns. The most important of these was childhood experience of living with household dogs. In light of these findings, future efforts to reduce the stray dog problem should focus on enforcing registration fees, particularly for unsterilized animals; low-cost neutering schemes; and educational programs designed to promote neutering, improve knowledge of canine behavior and behavior problems, and develop more realistic expectations and attitudes toward dog ownership. Marked Taiwanese resistance to canine euthanasia and shelter relinquishment suggests a need for alternative methods of managing the existing free-roaming dog population.

Integrative and Comparative Biology, 2012

Synopsis A suite of correlated behaviors reflecting between-individual consistency in behavior ac... more Synopsis A suite of correlated behaviors reflecting between-individual consistency in behavior across multiple situations is termed a ''behavioral syndrome.'' Researchers have suggested that a cause for the correlation between different behaviors might lie in the neuroendocrine system. In this study, we examined the relationships between aggressiveness (a fish's readiness to perform gill display to its mirror image) and each of boldness (the readiness to emerge from a shelter), exploratory tendency (the readiness to approach a novel shelter), and learning performance (the probability of entering the correct reservoir in a T-maze test) in a mangrove rivulus, Kryptolebias marmoratus. We explored the possibility that the relationships between them arise because these behaviors are all modulated by cortisol and testosterone. We also tested the stability of the relationships between these behaviors shortly after using a winning or losing experience to alter individuals' aggressiveness. The results were that aggressiveness correlated positively with boldness and the tendency to explore, and that these three behavioral traits were all positively correlated with pre-experience testosterone levels. Aggressiveness and boldness also positively correlated with pre-experience cortisol levels; exploratory tendency did not. The relationship between aggressiveness and boldness appeared to be stronger than that between either of them and exploratory tendency. These results suggest that testosterone and cortisol play important roles in mediating the correlations between these behavioral traits. Learning performance was not significantly correlated with the other behavioral traits or with levels of testosterone or cortisol. Recent experience in contests influenced individuals' aggressiveness, tendency to explore, and learning performance but not their boldness; individuals that received a winning experience were quicker to display to their mirror image and performed better in the learning task but were slower to approach a novel object than were individuals that lost. Contest experience did not, however, significantly influence the relationships between aggressiveness and any of boldness, exploratory tendency, or learning performance. The results show that the individual components of a suite of correlated behaviors can preserve a flexibility to respond differently to environmental stimuli.

Human Genetics, 2004

Parkinson's disease (PD) involves several genetic and environmental components. Heat-shock protei... more Parkinson's disease (PD) involves several genetic and environmental components. Heat-shock protein 70, a chaperone that is up-regulated in stress responses and that refolds protein, may be involved in the pathogenesis of PD. We have investigated the association of polymorphisms -110 A/C, +190 G/C, +1267 A/G, +2074 G/C, and +2437 G/C in the 5' and coding regions of the HSP70-1, HSP70-2, and HSP70-hom genes with the risk of PD by screening DNA samples from 274 PD patients and 183 controls in assays based on the polymerase chain reaction. There was no statistically significant difference in genotype distribution between patients and controls for the three coding-region polymorphisms in HSP70-2 and HSP70-hom. However, for HSP70-1, the overall genotype distribution was significantly different at the -110 site (P=0.004) and tended to be different at the +190 site (P= 0.012) between patients and controls. The frequencies of the -110 CC and +190 CC genotypes were significantly higher in PD patients than in controls (P=0.001 and 0.006, respectively). Both -110 CC (odds ratio: 2.91; 95% CI: 1.51-5.96; P=0.002) and +190 CC (odds ratio: 3.59; 95% CI: 1.53-9.88; P=0.006) genotypes were significantly associated with PD. Reporter constructs containing the -110 A allele cloned into a luciferase reporter plasmid drove marginally higher transcriptional activity of HSP70-1 compared with the -110 C allele in both control and heat-shocked IMR32 and 293 cells. Therefore, -110 A/C may be a functional polymorphism in the 5' promoter region of HSP70-1 and may affect susceptibility to PD.

Hormones and Behavior, 2008

Given the dramatic behavioral effects of winning and losing contests, and pronounced 24 changes i... more Given the dramatic behavioral effects of winning and losing contests, and pronounced 24 changes in stress and sex steroid hormones post-fight, it is reasonable to suppose that these 25 hormones also dictate future behavior. We sampled water-borne cortisol, testosterone (T) 26 and 11-ketotestosterone (KT) before and after contests in the mangrove killifish, 27

Frontiers in Zoology, 2013

Introduction: Many animals use information acquired from recent experiences to modify their respo... more Introduction: Many animals use information acquired from recent experiences to modify their responses to new situations. Animals' decisions in contests also depend on their previous experience: after recent victories individuals tend to behave more aggressively and after defeats more submissively. Although these winner and/or loser effects have been reported for animals of different taxa, they have only recently been shown to be flexible traits, which can be influenced by extrinsic factors. In a mangrove killifish (Kryptolebias marmoratus), for instance, individuals which lost an earlier contest were more likely than others to alter contest decisions after a recent win/loss. This result suggests that individuals perceiving themselves to have worse fighting abilities are more inclined to adjust contest strategy based on new information. If this is the case, an individual's propensity to modify behaviour after a win/loss might also be modulated by intrinsic mechanisms related to its ability to fight. Stress and sex steroid hormones are often associated with an individual's contest behaviour and performance, so, in this study, we tested the hypothesis that an individual's propensity to change behaviour after wins or losses also depends on its hormonal state.

Ethology, 2000

Earley\ R[ L [\ Hsu\ Y[ + Wolf\ L[ L[ 1999] The use of standard aggression testing methods to pre... more Earley\ R[ L [\ Hsu\ Y[ + Wolf\ L[ L[ 1999] The use of standard aggression testing methods to predict combat behaviour and contest outcome in Rivulus marmoratus dyads "Teleostei] Cyprinodontidae#[ Ethology 095\ 632*650[ Abstract Aggression plays an important role in animal contests\ but the extent to which aggression correlates with dominance has been a topic of much debate[ The relationship between aggression and dominance ability in the hermaphroditic _sh\ Rivulus marmoratus\ was investigated using three standard protocols\ the mirror test "Mi#\ model test "Mo#\ and standard opponent test "So#[ In each\ display latency\ attack latency\ and biting frequency were quanti_ed for a test individual towards its opponent[ The general rank!order for eliciting strength of the three di}erent stimuli was Mi × So × Mo[ The relationships between the individual indices from the standard tests and three dyadic contest variables\ initiator of display\ initiator of attack\ and winner\ were analysed in contests between pre! viously tested pairs to ascertain how well the standard protocols predicted dyadic contest behaviour:outcome[ Display and attack latencies in the standard tests did not predict the level of analogous combat behaviour[ Biting frequency di}erences between individuals in a pair in the So and Mo tests as well as display latency di}erences in the Mi test contributed to predictions of contest outcome[ The individual that scored higher\ relative to its opponent\ won a signi_cantly greater proportion of the bouts[ These _ndings demonstrate the importance of relative di}erences in aggression in determining dominance[ However\ the predictive value of standard test behaviour is test!speci_c and\ based on the available literature\ depends on both the species used and the context in which they are employed[ Corresponding author] Ryan L[ Earley\ Department of Biology\ Life Sciences 028\ University of Louisville\ Louisville\ KY 39181\ USA[ E!mail] rlearl90Ýathena[louisville[edu U[ S[

Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, 2007

Inflammatory events may contribute to the pathogenesis of dementia and interleukin-1 (IL-1) may e... more Inflammatory events may contribute to the pathogenesis of dementia and interleukin-1 (IL-1) may exert both neurotoxic and neuroprotective effects. We investigated whether IL-1alpha -889 C/T and IL-1beta -511 C/T promoter polymorphisms are associated with the risk of Alzheimer&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD). AD patients (n = 219) and VaD patients (n = 82), who fulfilled the criteria of the NINCDS-ADRDA and NINDS-AIREN, and ethnic-matched and nondemented controls (n = 209) were analyzed by means of genotype association method. No significant difference in the genotype distribution of the analyzed single nucleotide polymorphisms was found between AD or VaD cases and controls. However, the frequency of the IL-1alpha -889 CT genotype was notably lower in VaD patients aged over 70 years than the age-matched controls (9.1 vs. 22.9%, p = 0.036) andtheIL-1alpha -889 CT genotype demonstrated a trend toward decrease in risk of developing VaD (odds ratio: 0.34; 95% confidence interval: 0.12-0.83, p = 0.026). Multivariate analysis revealed that the IL-1beta -511T-carrying genotype slightly strengthens the negative association of the IL-1alpha -889 CT genotype with VaD (odds ratio: 0.26; 95% confidence interval: 0.08-0.79, p = 0.024). Our data suggest a protective role of the IL-1alpha -889 CT genotype in VaD susceptibility among Taiwanese aged over 70 years.

Biological Reviews, 2006

Experience in aggressive contests often affects behaviour during, and the outcome of, later conte... more Experience in aggressive contests often affects behaviour during, and the outcome of, later contests. This review discusses evidence for, variations in, and consequences of such effects. Generally, prior winning experiences increase, and prior losing experiences decrease, the probability of winning in later contests, reflecting modifications of expected fighting ability. We examine differences in the methodologies used to study experience effects, and the relative importance and persistence of winning and losing experiences within and across taxa. We review the voluminous, but somewhat disconnected, literature on the neuroendocrine mechanisms that mediate experience effects. Most studies focus on only one of a number of possible mechanisms without providing a comprehensive view of how these mechanisms are integrated into overt behaviour. More carefully controlled work on the mechanisms underlying experience effects is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn.