bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Missing checkerboards: an absence of competitive signal in Alnus-associated ectomycorrhizal fungal communities
Authors: Kennedy Peter , Nguyen Nhu H. , Cohen Hannah , Peay Kabir G
Published: January 2018

A number of recent studies suggest that interspecific competition plays a key role in determining the structure of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal communities. Despite this growing consensus, there has been limited study of ECM fungal community dynamics in abiotically stressful environments, which are often dominated by positive rather than antagonistic interactions. In this study, we examined the ECM fungal communities associated with the host genus Alnus, which live in soils high in both nitrate and acidity. The nature of ECM fungal species interactions (i.e. antagonistic, neutral, or positive) was assessed using taxon co-occurrence and sequence abundance correlational analyses. ECM fungal communities were sampled from root tips and mesh in-growth bags in three monodominant A. rubra plots and identified using Illumina-based amplification of the ITS1 gene region. We found a total of 183 ECM fungal taxa present across the plots; 16 of which were closely related to known Alnus-associated ECM fungi. Contrary to previous studies of ECM fungal communities, taxon co-occurrence analyses on both the total and Alnus-associated ECM datasets indicated that the ECM fungal communities in this system were not structured by interspecific competition. Instead the co-occurrence patterns were consistent with either random assembly or significant positive interactions. Pair-wise correlational analyses were also more consistent with neutral or positive interactions. Taken together, our results suggest that interspecific competition does not appear to determine the structure of all ECM fungal communities and that abiotic conditions may be important in determining the specific type of interaction occurring among ECM fungi.
Ranking small molecules by how much they preferentially inhibit the growth of cancer cell lines with either BRAF or KRAS oncogene mutations
Authors: Langham James
Published: January 2018

We were interested in the question of whether it might be possible to use knowledge of cancer-related mutations in the cell lines of the NCI60 screening data set to identify small molecules that preferentially inhibit the growth of cell lines containing either BRAF or KRAS oncogene mutations. Our hypothesis was that this cell line mutation knowledge could help to identify small molecules that were more likely to preferentially inhibit growth of cell lines with a particular mutation. It seems that any such molecules might be further investigated to try to better understand the molecular mechanisms of growth inhibition.

We defined a quantity, \(\text{Diff}_{\text{mut}}\), that estimates how much more a given small molecule inhibits cell lines with a mutation of interest than cell lines without that mutation. We ranked the small molecules in descending order of \(\text{Diff}_{\text{mut}}\) and then tried to explain whether the ranking of the highest ranked molecules made sense in terms of independent facts about these molecules.

This method showed the BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib to be highly ranked in the BRAF ranking. The cytidine analog cytarabine was found to be highly ranked in the KRAS ranking. Other cytidine analogs were also found to be highly ranked with respect to KRAS.
Lack of quantitative training among early-career ecologists: a survey of the problem and potential solutions
Authors: Barraquand Frédéric , Ezard Thomas H G , Joergensen Peter S , Zimmerman Naupaka , Chamberlain Scott A , Salguero-Gómez Roberto , Curran Timothy J , Poisot Timothée
Published: January 2018

Proficiency in mathematics and statistics is essential to modern ecological science, yet few studies have assessed the level of quantitative training received by ecologists. To do so, we conducted an online survey. The 937 respondents were mostly early-career scientists who studied biology as undergraduates. We found a clear self-perceived lack of quantitative training: 75% were not satisfied with their understanding of mathematical models; 75% felt that the level of mathematics was “too low” in their ecology classes; 90% wanted more mathematics classes for ecologists; and 95% more statistics classes. Respondents thought that 30% of classes in ecology-related degrees should be focused on quantitative disciplines, which is likely higher than for most existing programs. The main suggestion to improve quantitative training was to relate theoretical and statistical modeling to applied ecological problems. Improving quantitative training will require dedicated, quantitative classes for ecology-related degrees that contain good mathematical and statistical practice.
The Tao of Open Science for Ecology
Authors: Hampton Stephanie E , Anderson Sean , Bagby Sarah C , Gries Corinna , Han Xueying , Hart Edmund , Jones Matthew B. , Lenhardt W. Christopher , MacDonald Andrew , Michener William , Mudge Joseph F , Pourmokhtarian Afshin , Schildhauer Mark , Woo Kara H , Zimmerman Naupaka
Published: January 2018

The field of ecology is poised to take advantage of emerging technologies that facilitate the gathering, analyzing, and sharing of data, methods, and results. The concept of transparency at all stages of the research process, coupled with free and open access to data, code, and papers, constitutes "open science." Despite the many benefits of an open approach to science, a number of barriers to entry exist that may prevent researchers from embracing openness in their own work. Here we describe several key shifts in mindset that underpin the transition to more open science. These shifts in mindset include thinking about data stewardship rather than data ownership, embracing transparency throughout the data life-cycle and project duration, and accepting critique in public. Though foreign and perhaps frightening at first, these changes in thinking stand to benefit the field of ecology by fostering collegiality and broadening access to data and findings. We present an overview of tools and best practices that can enable these shifts in mindset at each stage of the research process, including tools to support data management planning and reproducible analyses, strategies for soliciting constructive feedback throughout the research process, and methods of broadening access to final research products.
Using citizen-science data to identify local hotspots of species occurrence
Authors: Ward Eric J. , Marshall Kristin N , Hass Todd , Pearson Scott F. , Joyce Gerald , Hamel Nathalie J. , Sedgley Adam , Ross Toby , Hodum Peter J. , Faucett Rob
Published: January 2018

Seabirds have been identified and used as indicators of ecosystem processes such as climate change, and anthropogenic activity in nearshore ecosystems around the globe. Temporal and spatial trends have been documented at large spatial scales, but few studies have examined fine scale spatial patterns, by species or functional group, because . In this paper, we apply spatial occupancy models to assess the spatial patchiness and interannual trends of 18 seabird species in the Puget Sound region (Washington state, USA). Our dataset, the Puget Sound Seabird Survey, is unique in that represents a seven year study, collected in winter months (October – April), and is collected at an extremely fine spatial scale (62 sites in the current analysis). Despite historic declines of seabirds in the region over the last 50 years, results from our study are optimistic, suggesting increases in probabilities of occurrence for 14 of the 18 species included. We found support for declines in occurrence for white-winged scoters, brants, and 2 species of grebes. The declines of Western grebes in particular are troubling, but in agreement with other recent studies that have shown support for a range shift south in recent years, to the California Current.
Towards an easy generation of scientific three-dimensional models for embedding into 3D PDF (Portable Document Format) files
Authors: Newe Axel
Published: January 2018

The Portable Document Format (PDF) allows for embedding three-dimensional (3D) models and is therefore particularly suitable to exchange and present respective data, especially as regards scholarly articles. The generation of the necessary model data, however, is still challenging, especially for inexperienced users. This prevents an unrestrained proliferation of 3D PDF usage in scientific communication. This article introduces a new module for the biomedical image processing framework MeVisLab. It enables even novice users to generate the model data files without requiring programming skills and without the need for an intensive training by simply using it as a conversion tool. Advanced users can benefit from the full capability of MeVisLab to generate and export the model data as part of an overall processing chain. Although MeVisLab is primarily designed for handling biomedical image data, the new module is not restricted to this domain. It can be used for all scientific disciplines.
Characterization of RNA in exosomes secreted by human breast cancer cell lines using next-generation sequencing
Authors: Jenjaroenpun Piroon , Kremenska Yuliya , Nair Vrundha M , Kremenskoy Maksym , Joseph Baby , Kurochkin Igor V
Published: January 2018

Exosomes are nanosized (30-100 nm) membrane vesicles secreted by most cell types. Exosomes have been found to contain various RNA species including miRNA, mRNA and long non-protein coding RNAs. A number of cancer cells produce elevated levels of exosomes. Because exosomes have been isolated from most body fluids they may provide a source for non-invasive cancer diagnostics. Transcriptome profiling that uses deep-sequencing technologies (RNA-Seq) offers enormous amount of data that can be used for biomarkers discovery, however, in case of exosomes this approach was applied only for the analysis of small RNAs. In this study, we utilized RNA-Seq technology to analyze RNAs present in microvesicles secreted by human breast cancer cell lines.Exosomes were isolated from the media conditioned by two human breast cancer cell lines, MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-436. Exosomal RNA was profiled using the Ion Torrent semiconductor chip-based technology. Exosomes were found to contain various classes of RNA with the major class represented by fragmented ribosomal RNA (rRNA), in particular 28S and 18S rRNA subunits. Analysis of exosomal RNA content revealed that it reflects RNA content of the donor cells. Although exosomes produced by the two cancer cell lines shared most of the RNA species, there was a number of non-coding transcripts unique to MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-436 cells. This suggests that RNA analysis might distinguish exosomes produced by low metastatic breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-436) from that produced by highly metastatic breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-231). The analysis of gene ontologies (GOs) associated with the most abundant transcripts present in exosomes revealed significant enrichment in genes encoding proteins involved in translation and rRNA and ncRNA processing. These GO terms indicate most expressed genes for both, cellular and exosomal RNA.For the first time, using RNA-seq, we examined the transcriptomes of exosomes secreted by human breast cancer cells. We found that most abundant exosomal RNA species are the fragments of 28S and 18S rRNA subunits. This limits the number of reads from other RNAs. To increase the number of detectable transcripts and improve the accuracy of their expression level the protocols allowing depletion of fragmented rRNA should be utilized in the future RNA-seq analyses on exosomes. Present data revealed that exosomal transcripts are representative of their cells of origin and thus could form basis for detection of tumor specific markers.
Suburban frog ponds: mapping local land cover yields different estimates of landscape composition than the National Land Cover Database
Authors: Lambert Max
Published: January 2018

Suburban neighborhoods are rapidly spreading globally. As such, there is an increasing need to study the environmental and ecological effects of suburbanization. At large spatial extents, from county-level to global, remote sensing-derived land cover data, such as the National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD), have yielded insight into patterns of urbanization and concomitant large-scale ecological patterns in response. However, the components of suburban land cover (houses, yards, etc.) are dispersed throughout the landscape at a finer scale than the relatively coarse grain size (30m pixels) of NLCD may be able to detect. Our understanding of ecological processes in heterogeneous landscapes is reliant upon the accuracy and resolution of our measurements as well as the scale at which we measure the landscape. Analyses of ecological processes along suburban gradients are restricted by the currently available data. As ecologists are becoming increasingly interested in describing phenomena at spatial extents as small as individual households, we need higher-resolution landscape measurements. Here, I describe a simple method of translating the components of suburban landscapes into finer-grain, local land cover (LLC) data in GIS. Using both LLC and NLCD, I compare the suburban matrix surrounding ponds occupied by two different frog species. I illustrate large discrepancies in Forest, Yard, and Developed land cover estimates between LLC and NLCD, leading to markedly different interpretations of suburban landscape composition. NLCD, relative to LLC, estimates lower proportions of forest cover and higher proportions of anthropogenic land covers in general. These two land cover datasets provide surprisingly different descriptions of the suburban landscapes, potentially affecting our understanding of how organisms respond to an increasingly suburban world. LLC provides a free and detailed fine-grain depiction of the components of suburban neighborhoods and will allow ecologists to better explore heterogeneous suburban landscapes at multiple spatial scales.
Understanding the social determinants of TB and HIV in South Asia
Authors: Ghose Bishwajit , Zhaohui Cheng , Zhifei He
Published: January 2018

South Asian population suffer a particularly wide range of infectious diseases among which TB and HIV appear to produce most profound influence across various dimensions of social life, healthcare and the economy. Although the countries in this region have a relatively lower prevalence of HIV/AIDS compared to other developing regions until now, the future looks rather bleak in terms of preparedness for emerging healthcare realities. Tuberculosis on the other hand, has always been a major public health problem plaguing the healthcare system and the economy for decades. Moreover, the emergence of the drug resistant (MDR-TB & XDR-TB) strains are making the existing intervention and prevention strategies less effective and posing ever-growing threats to the underdeveloped healthcare infrastructure. Understanding the underlying social-determinants of these diseases can prove crucial to design more comprehensive intervention approaches. This article aims to clarify why the healthcare system in South Asia needs to adopt a social-determinants-of-health (SDOH) approach as a long-term strategy for more efficient prevention and control of TB and HIV infection.
Is the low-cost EyeTribe eye tracker any good for research?
Authors: Dalmaijer Edwin
Published: January 2018

Eye-tracking technology is becoming increasingly cheaper, both on the hardware and on the software front. Currently, the EyeTribe tracker is the most inexpensive commercial eye tracker in the world, at a price of $99. The low costs make it a potentially interesting resource for research, but no objective testing of its quality has been performed yet. Here the EyeTribe tracker is compared with an EyeLink 1000, a high-quality video eye tracker. Results indicate that the spatial precision and accuracy are good enough for fixation checking, point-of-regard analyses, and pupilometry. However, the low sampling rate renders the device unsuitable for testing high-accuracy saccade metrics. Additionally, open-source toolboxes for Matlab and Python, and a plug-in for OpenSesame are presented, which can be used to interface with the EyeTribe tracker.
Arenysaurus ardevoli, first paleoneuroanatomical description of a European hadrosaurid
Authors: Cruzado-Caballero Penélope , Fortuny Josep , Llacer Sergio , Canudo José Ignacio JI
Published: January 2018

The neuroanatomy of hadrosaurid dinosaurs is well known from North America and Asia. In Europe only a few cranial remains have been recovered with the braincase. Arenysaurus is the first European endocast for which the paleoneuroanatomy has been studied. The resulting data have enabled us to draw ontogenetic, phylogenetic and functional inferences. Arenysaurus preserves the endocast and the inner ear. This cranial material was CT-scanned, and a 3D-model was generated. The endocast morphology supports a general pattern for hadrosaurids with some characters that distinguish to a subfamily level, such as a brain cavity anteroposteriorly shorter or the angle of the major axis of the cerebral hemisphere to the horizontal in lambeosaurines. Both characters are present in the endocast of Arenysaurus. Moreover, osteological features indicate an adult ontogenetic stage while some paleoneuroanatomical features are indicative of a subadult ontogenetic stage and even a juvenile ontogenetic stage. Finally, a comparison with other hadrosaurids reveals that the low values for the angle of the dural peak may be an autapomorphy exclusive to the Parasaurolophus genus. It is hypothesized that the presence of puzzling characters that suggest different ontogenetic stages for this specimen, may reflect some degree of dwarfism in Arenysaurus. Regarding the inner ear, its structure shows differences from the ornithopod clade with respect to the height of the semicircular canals. These differences could lead to a decrease in the compensatory movements of eyes and head, with important implications for the paleobiology and behavior of hadrosaurid taxa such as Edmontosaurus, Parasaurolophus and Arenysaurus. These differences in the vestibular system could be used as a phylogenetical signal. The endocranial morphology of European hadrosaurids sheds new light on the evolution of this group and may reflect the conditions in the archipelago where these animals lived during the Late Cretaceous.
An experimental search strategy retrieves more precise results than PubMed and Google for questions about medical interventions
Authors: Badgett Robert G , Dylla Daniel P , Megison Susan D , Harmon E Glynn
Published: January 2018

Objective: To compare the precision of a search strategy designed specifically to retrieve randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and systematic reviews of RCTs with search strategies designed for broader purposes. Methods: We designed an experimental search strategy that automatically revised searches up to five times by using increasingly restrictive queries as long at least 50 citations were retrieved. We compared the ability of the experimental and alternative strategies to retrieve studies relevant to 312 test questions. The primary outcome, search precision, was defined for each strategy as the proportion of relevant, high quality citations among the first 50 citations retrieved. Results: The experimental strategy had the highest median precision (5.5%; interquartile range [IQR]: 0% - 12%) followed by the narrow strategy of the PubMed Clinical Queries (4.0%; IQR: 0% - 10%). The experimental strategy found the most high quality citations (median 2; IQR: 0 - 6) and was the strategy most likely to find at least one high quality citation (73% of searches; 95% confidence interval 68% - 78%). All comparisons were statistically significant. Conclusions: The experimental strategy performed the best in all outcomes although all strategies had low precision.
Attitudes of medical students in Pakistan toward the doctor-patient relationship
Authors: Ahmad Waqas , Krupat Edward , Asmaa Yumna , Fatima Noor-E- , Attique Rayan , Mahmood Umar
Published: January 2018

Background. We initiated this study with the aim to assess the leaning of medical students towards either a doctor-centered or a patient-centered care and explore the effects of personal attributes on it like gender, academic year etc. of the students.

Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted between July-Sep 2013. The study population consisted of 1274 medical students in years 1-5 from two medical colleges. English version of PPOS was used to assess attitudes of medical students towards doctor-patient relationship. The relationship between PPOS scores and individual characteristics like gender, academic year etc. were examined by using Independent t-test and one way ANOVA.

Results. A total of 792 students formed the final sample. Characteristics associated with most patient-centered attitudes were being in 4th academic year, married, being a foreigner and belonging to a Private college (p<0.05). Characteristics associated with most doctor-centered attitudes were being in 2nd academic year, divorced, having a local origin and belonging to a Govt. college (p<0.05). Gender and having doctor parents had no bearing, statistically, on the attitudes.

Conclusion. Despite ongoing debate and emphasis on a patient-centered curriculum, our study suggests that current curriculum and its teachings are not producing the results they are designed to achieve. Students should be adequately exposed to the patients from the beginning of their medical education in clinical settings which are more sympathetic to a patient-centered care.
Psychosocial interventions for adults with visible differences: A systematic review
Authors: Norman Alyson , Moss Timothy P
Published: January 2018

Background: Some individuals with visible differences have been found to experience psychosocial adjustment problems that can lead to social anxiety and isolation. Various models of psychosocial intervention have been used to reduce social anxiety and appearance related distress in this population. The objective of this review was to update a previous systematic review assessing the efficacy of psychosocial intervention programs for adults with visible differences. The original review (Bessell & Moss, 2007) identified 12 papers for inclusion. Methods: A search protocol identified studies from 13 electronic journal databases. Methods: Studies were selected in accordance with pre-set inclusion criteria and relevant data were extracted. Results: This update identified an additional four papers that met the inclusion criteria. Two papers provided very limited evidence for the efficacy of a combined cognitive-behavioural and social skills training approach. None of the papers provided sufficient evidence for the optimal duration, intensity or setting of psychosocial interventions for this population. Discussion: The review concluded that a greater number of Randomised Controlled Trials and experimental studies were required to increase the methodological validity of intervention studies.
Leprous lesion reveals disturbed skin-resident microbiota
Authors: Nascimento Andréa , Silva Paulo , Costa Patrícia , Reis Mariana , Ávila Marcelo , Suhadolnik Maria Luíza , Salgado Ana Paula Ana , Lima Mário , Chartone-Souza Edmar
Published: January 2018

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease that remains a major challenge to public health in endemic countries. Increasing evidence has highlighted the importance of microbiota for human general health and, as such, the study of skin microbiota is of interest. But while studies are continuously revealing the complexity of human skin microbiota, the microbiota of leprous cutaneous lesions has not yet been characterized. Here we used Sanger and massively parallel SSU rRNA gene sequencing to characterize the microbiota of leprous lesions, and studied how it differs from the bacterial skin composition of healthy individuals previously described in the literature. Taxonomic analysis of leprous lesions revealed main four phyla: Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Actinobacteria, with Proteobacteria presenting the highest diversity. There were considerable differences in the distribution of Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria, with the first two phyla enriched and the other markedly diminished in the leprous lesions, when compared with healthy skin. Propionibacterium, Corynebacterium and Staphylococcus, resident and abundant in healthy skin, were underrepresented in skin from leprous lesions. Most of the taxa found in skin from leprous lesions are not typical of human skin and potentially pathogenic, with the Bulkorderia, Pseudomonas and Bacillus genera being overrepresented. Our data suggest significant shifts of the microbiota with emergence and competitive advantage of potentially pathogenic bacteria over skin resident taxa.
Do young tropical restoration plantations exhibit a phylogenetic pattern that suggests the influence of biotic processes affecting species composition?
Authors: Schweizer Daniella , Gilbert Gregory S , Aizprua Rafael
Published: January 2018

One approach in forest restoration is to plant trees that will establish an initial canopy to promote forest recovery through natural recruitment of other species. Here we evaluate the patterns of either phylogenetic overdispersion or phylogenetic clustering on community assembly beneath seven different single-species tree plantations. We expected the presence of negative biotic interactions between closely related overstory and recruiting tree species, as well as among related recruiting species, to lead to phylogenetic overdispersion. We found no evidence for inhibition of close relatives of the overstory tree species. However, we found more understory species than expected that were very distantly related to the overstory tree when the canopy was comprised of Fabaceae species, which lead to the presence of similar species in the understory of legume species. We found weak phylogenetic patterns among species in the understory community that suggest the presence of random processes of community assembly, maybe due to the young age of the understory communities studied.
Nurturing 21st century physician knowledge, skills and attitudes with medical home innovations: the wright center for graduate medical education teaching health center curriculum experience
Authors: Thomas-Hemak Linda , Palamaner Subash Shantha Ghanshyam , Gollamudi Lakshmi Rani , Sheth Jignesh , Ebersole Brian , Gardner Katlyn J. , Nardella Julie , Ruddy Meaghan , Meade Lauren
Published: January 2018

Purpose: Effect of patient centered medical home (PCMH) curriculum interventions on residents’ self-reported and demonstrated knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSA) in PCMH competency arenas is lacking in the literature. This study aimed to assess impact of PCMH curricular innovations on Internal Medicine residents’ self-reported KSA. Method: Twenty four (24) Internal Medicine residents - 12 Traditional (TR) track and 12 Teaching Health Center (THC) track - began training in academic year (AY) 2011 at the Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education (WCGME). They were followed through AY2013 covering three years of training. PCMH curricular innovations were applied beginning July 2011 until May 2012 focally to THC residents. These curricular innovations were spread program wide in May 2012. Semi-annual validated PCMH Clinician Assessments assessing PCMH competencies based on self-reported KSA were started in AY2011 and completed by all residents. Results: Mean self-reported KSA scores of TR residents were similar to THC residents at baseline for all PCMH competencies. In May 2012, mean scores of THC residents were significantly higher than 2011 and graduating 2009 TR residents for most PCMH competencies. After program wide implementation of PCMH innovations, mean scores of 2011 and 2010 TR residents for all PCMH competencies improved and most equalized to those of 2011 THC residents. Globally improved PCMH competency scores of 2011 THC and TR residents were maintained through May 2014, with majority of improvements above baseline reaching statistical significance. Conclusions: PCMH curricular innovations inspired by HRSA’s Teaching Health Center funded residency program expansion quickly and consistently improved Internal Medicine residents’ self-reported KSA of PCMH competencies and improvements were sustained.
Does polyandry really pay off?: The effects of multiple mating and number of fathers on morphological traits and survival in clutches of nesting green turtles at Tortuguero
Authors: Alfaro-Núñez Alonzo , Jensen Michael P. , Abreu-Grobois F. Alberto
Published: January 2018

Despite the long debate of whether or not multiple mating benefits the offspring, studies still show contradicting results. Multiple mating takes time and energy. Thus, if females fertilize their eggs with a single mating, why to mate more than once? We investigated and inferred paternal identity and number of sires in 12 clutches (240 hatchlings) of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) nests at Tortuguero, Costa Rica. Paternal alleles were inferred through comparison of maternal and hatchling genotypes, and indicated multiple paternity in at least 11 of the clutches (92%). The inferred average number of fathers was three (ranging from 1 to 5). Moreover, regression analyses were used to investigate for correlation of inferred clutch paternity with morphological traits of hatchlings fitness (emergence success, length, weight and crawling speed); and size of the mother; and an environmental variable (incubation temperature). We suggest and propose two different comparative approaches for evaluating morphological traits and clutch paternity, in order to infer greater offspring survival. First, clutches coded by the exact number of fathers and second by the exact paternal contribution (fathers who gives greater proportion of the offspring per nest). We found significant differences (P < 0.05) in clutches coded by the exact number of fathers for all morphological traits. A general tendency of higher values in offspring sired by two to three fathers was observed for the length and weight traits. However, emergence success and crawling speed showed different trends which unable us to reach any further conclusion. The second approach analysing the paternal contribution showed no significant difference (P > 0.05) for any of the traits. We conclude that multiple paternity does not provide any extra benefit in the morphological fitness traits or the survival of the offspring, when analysed following the proposed comparative statistical methods.
Reducing workplace burnout: The relative benefits of cardiovascular and resistance exercise
Authors: Bretland Rachel J , Thorsteinsson Einar B
Published: January 2018

Objectives. With 43% of Australians experiencing occupational burnout therapies for burnout reduction are paramount to organisational efficiency. Exercise has potential to provide a multilevel and cost effective burnout intervention. The current study aims to extend the literature by comparing cardiovascular with resistance exercise to assess their relative effectiveness against well-being, perceived stress, and burnout. Design. Participants were 49 (36 females and 13 males) previously inactive volunteers ranging in age from 19 to 68 that completed a four week exercise program of either cardiovascular, resistance, or no exercise (control). Method. Participants were measured against the Subjective Exercise Experience Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Results. After four weeks of exercise participants had greater positive well-being and personal accomplishment, and concomitantly less psychological distress, perceived stress, and emotional exhaustion. Cardiovascular exercise was found to increase well-being and decrease psychological distress, perceived stress, and emotional exhaustion. Resistance training was noticeably effective in increasing well-being and personal accomplishment and to reduce perceived stress. Our preliminary findings revealed large effect sizes suggesting that exercise may be an effective treatment for burnout. However, given a small sample size further research needs to be conducted. Conclusion. Different types of exercise may thus help protect against burnout as exercise seems to increase well-being and personal accomplishment while decreasing psychological distress, perceived stress, and emotional exhaustion. Organisations that want to address burnout can assist by improving their employees’ access to regular exercise programs.
Oceanographic influences on a global whale shark hotspot in southern Mozambique
Authors: Rohner Christoph A , Weeks Scarla J , Richardson Anthony J , Pierce Simon J , Magno-Canto Marites M , Feldman Gene Carl , Cliff Geremy , Roberts Michael J
Published: January 2018

Coastal aggregations of whale sharks Rhincodon typus around the world are generally seasonal and driven by prey availability. At a major aggregation site in southern Mozambique, whale sharks are, somewhat unusually, present and seen feeding throughout the year. We investigated potential oceanographic mechanisms that may regulate prey availability on the narrow regional shelf and hence account for this year-round whale shark hotspot. We used regional aerial surveys to show that the highest density of whale sharks (29 sharks 100 km-1) was near Praia do Tofo (23.85˚S, 35.55˚E). To investigate how the regional oceanography influences the enrichment of shelf waters, we used 5- and 9-year time series of hourly underwater temperature, and 10-year time series of remotely-sensed sea surface temperature, chlorophyll-a concentration and sea surface height anomaly data. We found that upwelling of cool, nutrient-rich water was common in the region throughout the year and describe three mechanisms, all of which are likely to stimulate productivity: (1) Shelf-edge upwelling and subsequent elevated plankton biomass in coastal waters north of Praia do Tofo, driven by the interaction of southward-propagating mesoscale eddies with the narrow shelf. In situ temperature data show that this interaction frequently leads to intense upwelling, up to 7.5˚C daily amplitude, throughout the year, but is most pronounced in spring/summer. (2) Divergent upwelling south of Praia do Tofo driven by the current flow along the shelf edge as it diverges from the coastline. This upwelling can occur throughout the year and is similar in intensity, but less frequent, than the shelf-edge upwelling. (3) Vortex-driven upwelling by the Delagoa Bight lee-eddy, which may increase phytoplankton biomass in the Bight and also force a northward coastal current that transports recently-upwelled water towards Praia do Tofo. We hypothesise that whale sharks aggregate in coastal waters around Praia do Tofo throughout the year because these upwelling mechanisms contribute to year-round productivity in the region.
The impact of stress on financial decision-making varies as a function of depression and anxiety symptoms
Authors: Robinson Oliver J , Bond Rebecca , Roiser Jonathan P
Published: January 2018

Stress can precipitate the onset of mood and anxiety disorders. This may occur, at least in part, via a modulatory effect of stress on decision-making. Some individuals are, however, more resilient to the effects of stress than others. The mechanisms underlying such vulnerability differences are nevertheless unknown. In this study we attempted to begin quantifying individual differences in vulnerability by exploring the effect of experimentally induced stress on decision-making. Threat of unpredictable shock was used to induce stress in healthy volunteers (N=47) using a within-subjects, within-session design, and its impact on a financial decision-making task (the Iowa Gambling Task) was assessed alongside anxious and depressive symptomatology. As expected, participants learned to select advantageous decks and avoid disadvantageous decks. Importantly, we found that stress provoked a pattern of harm-avoidant behaviour (decreased selection of disadvantageous decks) in individuals with low levels of trait anxiety. By contrast, individuals with high trait anxiety demonstrated the opposite pattern: stress-induced risk-seeking (increased selection of disadvantageous decks). These contrasting influences of stress depending on mood and anxiety symptoms might provide insight into vulnerability to common mental illness. In particular, we speculate that those who adopt a more harm-avoidant strategy may be better able to regulate their exposure to further environmental stress, reducing their susceptibility to mood and anxiety disorders. The threat of shock paradigm we employed might therefore hold promise as a ‘stress-test’ for determining individual vulnerability to mood and anxiety disorders.
Leadership, management and outcomes of wildlife reintroduction programs: Findings from the Sea Eagle Recovery Project
Authors: Sutton Alexandra E.
Published: January 2018

Wildlife reintroductions and translocations are statistically unlikely to succeed. Nevertheless, they remain a critical part of conservation because they are the only way to actively restore a species into a habitat from which it has been extirpated. Past efforts to improve these practices have attributed the low success rate to failures in the biological knowledge (e.g. ignorance of social behavior, poor release site selection), or to the inherent challenges of reinstating a species into an area where threats have already driven it to local extinction. Such research presumes that the only way to improve reintroduction outcomes is through improved biological knowledge. This emphasis on biological solutions may have caused researchers to overlook the potential influence of other factors on reintroduction outcomes. I employed a grounded theory approach to study the leadership and management of a successful reintroduction program (the Sea Eagle Recovery Project in Scotland, UK) and identify four critical managerial elements that I theorize may have contributed to the successful outcome of this 50-year reintroduction. These elements are: 1. Leadership & Management: Small, dedicated team of accessible experts who provide strong political and scientific advocacy ("champions") for the project. 2. Hierarchy & Autonomy: Hierarchical management structure that nevertheless permits high individual autonomy. 3. Goals & Evaluation: Formalized goal-setting and regular, critical evaluation of the project’s progress toward those goals. 4. Adaptive Public Relations: Adaptive outreach campaigns that are open, transparent, inclusive (esp. linguistically), and culturally relevant
A protocol for a meta-analysis of consumers’ and citizens willingness-to-pay for farm animal welfare and disease prevention
Authors: Clark Beth , Stewart Gavin B , Panzone Luca A , Frewer Lynn J
Published: January 2018

This article outlines a protocol for a meta-analysis into willingness-to-pay (WTP) for farm animal welfare. The analysis seeks to establish the public's WTP for farm animal welfare and whether there is evidence to support niche markets for products produced to designated and usually higher welfare standards. A number of secondary objectives will also be explored in relation to the heterogeneity within the data relating to a number of variables known to vary within existing data including; animal species, welfare measures, socio-demographic and socio-economic characteristics. The protocol outlines the rationale, objectives, inclusion criteria, search strategy and screening processes for the meta-analysis, and the plans for data extraction, risk of bias and data synthesis.
Litterfall and growth in three forests in Montseny massif
Authors: Caritat Compte Antonia , Pi Marina , Vilar Lluís , Bou Jordi
Published: January 2018

The nemoral forests of the montane level are especially interesting, because they are on the edge of their distribution. We want to see the influence of some environmental conditions (temperature and rainfall) on the litterfall and growth, in three kinds of these forests. The Montseny massif in the NE part of Iberian Peninsula, with a maximum altitude of 1.706 m, has a strong gradient of climate and vegetation, from the lowlands to the top of the mountains. We analyze three forests in the Montseny massif, two of them are composed by deciduous species not very extensive in the region (beech and sessile oak) and the other is a Mediterranean species, the mountain holm oak. We recollect data since 2007, monthly litterfall was measured and radial growth, and correlated with the climate of the study area. Our results shows that Fagus sylvatica recorded the biggest drop in annual litterfall (6.3 Mg / ha), followed by Q. ilex (5.3 Mg / ha) and Q. petraea (4.6 Mg / ha) all recorded values ​​are similar to those observed in other forests and mountains of the same state of maturity equivalent. The start of the growth took place in the spring and Quercus spp. occurred more gradually than in F. sylvatica. We found that the accumulated rainfall in late spring has had a positive effect specially on the growth of Quercus species while the effect of summer temperature has been especially prominent in beech. Mediterranean species show larger fluctuations growth than Central European ones in response to lower water availability.
Pronounced and prevalent intersexuality does not impede the ‘Demon Shrimp’ invasion
Authors: Green Etxabe Amaia , Short Stephen , Flood Tim , Johns Tim , Ford Alex T
Published: January 2018

Crustacean intersexuality is widespread and often linked to infection by sex-distorting parasites. However, unlike vertebrate intersexuality, its association with sexual dysfunction is unclear and remains a matter of debate. The ‘Demon Shrimp’, Dikerogammarus haemobaphes, an amphipod that has invaded continental waterways, has recently become widespread in Britain. Intersexuality has been noted in D. haemobaphes but not investigated further. We hypothesise that a successful invasive population should not display a high prevalence of intersexuality if this condition represents a truly dysfunctional phenotype. In addition, experiments have indicated that particular parasite burdens in amphipods may facilitate invasions. The rapid and ongoing invasion of British waterways represents an opportunity to determine whether these hypotheses are consistent with field observations. This study investigates the parasites and sexual phenotypes of D. haemobaphes in British waterways, characterising parasite burdens using molecular screening, and make comparisons with the threatened Gammarus pulex natives. We reveal that invasive and native populations have distinct parasitic profiles, suggesting the loss of G. pulex may have parasite-mediated eco-system impacts. Furthermore, the parasite burdens are consistent with those previously proposed to facilitate biological invasions. Our study also indicates that while no intersexuality occurs in the native G. pulex, approximately 50% of D. haemobaphes males present pronounced intersexuality associated with infection by the microsporidian Dictyocoela berillonum. This unambiguously successful invasive population presents, to our knowledge, the highest reported prevalence of male intersexuality. This is the clearest evidence to date that such intersexuality does not represent a form of debilitating sexual dysfunction that negatively impacts amphipod populations.
Requirements for data integration platforms in biomedical research networks: A reference model
Authors: Ganzinger Matthias , Knaup Petra
Published: January 2018

Biomedical research networks need to integrate research data among their members and with external partners. To support such data sharing activities, adequate information technology infrastructure is necessary. To facilitate the establishments of such an infrastructure, we developed a reference model for requirements. The reference model consists of five reference goals and 15 reference requirements. Using the Unified Modeling Language, the goals and requirements are set into relation to each other. In addition, all goals and requirements are described textually in tables. This reference model can be used by research networks as a basis for the resource efficient acquisition of their project specific requirements. Further, a concrete instance of the reference model is described for a research network on liver cancer. The reference model is transferred into a requirements model of the specific network. Based on this concrete requirements model, a service-oriented information technology architecture is derived and also described in this paper.
The taxonomy of a new parvicursorine alvarezsauroid specimen IVPP V20341 (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous Wulansuhai Formation of Bayan Mandahu, Inner Mongolia, China
Authors: Pittman Michael , Xu Xing , Stiegler Josef B.
Published: January 2018

A new parvicursorine alvarezsauroid theropod specimen IVPP V20341 from the Upper Cretaceous Wulansuhai Formation of Bayan Mandahu, Inner Mongolia, China is described. IVPP V20341 appears to be distinguishable amongst alvarezsauroids by cervical proceoly and relatively larger semi-circular neural canals, but these features are not proposed as autapomorphies because current knowledge of alvarezsauroid necks and tails remains sparse. IVPP V20341 is distinguishable from Linhenykus - the sole parvicursorine at Bayan Mandahu - by 13 anatomical features that mostly relate to cervical and caudal vertebrae. However, it is unclear how these vertebral elements compare positionally along the spine, so more complete future finds could revise the observed differences. Thus, there are still seven parvicursorine species from the Cretaceous Gobi Basin after the discovery of IVPP V20341.
Understanding the context for pet obesity; self-reported beliefs and factors influencing pet feeding and exercise behaviour among pet owners
Authors: Downes Martin J , Devitt Catherine , Downes Marie , More Simon J
Published: January 2018

Pet obesity contributes to increased risk of various diseases, such as cancer and diabetes mellitus as well as worsening of orthopaedic problems, and a reduction in survival rate. Changes in feeding regimes and increased amounts of exercise have been an important component of weight management programs. This study identifies the self-reported beliefs and factors that influence owner behaviour around feeding and exercising their pet. Pet owners were recruited through six different private veterinary practices (three city practices; two in regional towns; and one in a rural area).

Seven focus groups were conducted with 43 participants in total. Feeding one’s pet is influenced by beliefs about pet specific needs and pet food and pet health, pet owners’ perceived control over the feeding regime, and the implications for feeding for the pet owner. Treats are used in the absence of owner control over pet begging and emotional attachment, and to influence pet behaviour. Pet exercise is influenced by beliefs about pet specific exercise needs, and the implications of exercising one’s pet for the pet owner.

Beliefs, and barriers to appropriate feeding and exercise are useful in explaining pet owners’ behaviour and are; associated with the level of control over the feeding regime, control relating to pet behaviour, and the perceived ease of feeding and exercise. Understanding owner behaviours on feeding and exercise allows for a more targeted approach to preventing and treating pet obesity.