bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Risk and protective factors of SARS-CoV-2 infection – Meta-regression of data from worldwide nations
Authors: Takagi Hisato , Kuno Toshiki , Yokoyama Yujiro , Ueyama Hiroki , Matsushiro Takuya , Hari Yosuke , Ando Tomo 
Published: June 2020

AbstractAlthough it has been reported that coexistent chronic diseases are strongly associated with COVID-19 severity, investigations of predictors for SARS-CoV-2 infection itself have been seldom performed. To screen potential risk and protective factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection, meta-regression of data from worldwide nations were herein conducted. We extracted total confirmed COVID-19 cases in worldwide 180 nations (May 31, 2020), nation total population, population ages 0-14/≥65, GDP/GNI per capita, PPP, life expectancy at birth, medical-doctor and nursing/midwifery-personnel density, hypertension/obesity/diabetes prevalence, annual PM2.5 concentrations, daily ultraviolet radiation, population using safely-managed drinking-water/sanitation services and hand-washing facility with soap/water, inbound tourism, and bachelor’s or equivalent (ISCED 6). Restricted maximum-likelihood meta-regression in the random-effects model was performed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis version 3. To adjust for other covariates, we conducted the hierarchical multivariate models. A slope (coefficient) of the meta-regression line for the COVID-19 prevalence was significantly negative for population ages 0-14 (–0.0636; P = .0021) and positive for obesity prevalence (0.0411; P = .0099) and annual PM2.5 concentrations in urban areas (0.0158; P = .0454), which would indicate that the COVID-19 prevalence decreases significantly as children increase and that the COVID-19 prevalence increases significantly as the obese and PM2.5 increase. In conclusion, children (negatively) and obesity/PM2.5 (positively) may be independently associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Agriculture intensification reduces plant taxonomic and functional diversity across European arable systems
Authors: Carmona Carlos P. , Guerrero Irene , Peco Begoña , Morales Manuel B. , Oñate Juan J. , Pärt Tomas , Tscharntke Teja , Liira Jaan , Aavik Tsipe , Emmerson Mark , Berendse Frank , Ceryngier Piotr , Bretagnolle Vincent , Weisser Wolfgang W. , Bengtsson Jan 
Published: June 2020

Abstract

Agricultural intensification is one of the main drivers of species loss worldwide, but there is still a lack of information about its effect on functional diversity of arable weed communities.

Using a large‐scale pan European study including 786 fields within 261 farms from eight countries, we analysed differences in the taxonomic and functional diversity of arable weeds assemblages across different levels of agricultural intensification. We estimated weed species frequency in each field, and collected species' traits (vegetative height, SLA and seed mass) from the TRY plant trait database. With this information, we estimated taxonomic (species richness), functional composition (community weighted means) and functional diversity (functional richness, evenness, divergence and redundancy). We used indicators of agricultural management intensity at the individual field scale (e.g. yield, inputs of nitrogen fertilizer and herbicides, frequency of mechanical weed control practices) and at the landscape scale surrounding the field (i.e. number of crop types, mean field size and proportion of arable land cover within a radius of 500 m from the sampling points).

The effects of agricultural intensification on species and functional richness at the field scale were stronger than those of intensification at the landscape scale, and we did not observe evidence of interacting effects between the two scales. Overall, assemblages in more intensified areas had fewer species, a higher prevalence of species with ruderal strategies (low stature, high leaf area, light seeds), and lower functional redundancy.

Maintaining the diversity of Europe's arable weed communities requires some simple management interventions, for example, reducing the high intensity of field‐level agricultural management across Europe, which could be complemented by interventions that increase landscape complexity.

A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
Divergent adaptations in resource‐use traits explain how pikas thrive on the roof of the world
Authors: Feijó Anderson , Ge Deyan , Wen Zhixin , Xia Lin , Yang Qisen 
Published: June 2020

Abstract

Life in extreme environments is possible through multilevel adaptations to physical and biotic stresses. At high elevations, species face numerous challenges, besides low oxygen levels, but previous studies have focused on genetic and physiological adaptations to chronic hypoxia while overlooking other key strategies for thriving in alpine landscapes.

Here, we investigate resource‐use trait adaptations to extreme elevations using pikas as a model, lagomorphs distributed up to 6,200 m and reaching maximum diversity on the Qinghai‐Tibet plateau, the highest plateau on Earth. Specifically, we assess cranial evolution in pikas using geometric morphometric and phylogenetic comparative techniques to determine whether adaptations among high‐elevation biota shown at the molecular and physiological levels also occur in resource‐use traits. We further explore the roles of two contrasting lifestyles (burrowing and rocky‐dwelling) in cranial evolution.

We found that alpine species exhibit striking phenotypic specialization to distinct microhabitats. Contrary to physiological and genetic adaptive convergence, we show that the cranium has undergone adaptive divergence likely reflecting past resource competition in highlands and long‐term association with alpine landscapes. Our analyses also reveal that the evolution of burrowing lifestyle allows high‐elevation pikas to explore novel niches and boosts their phenotypic diversification. In addition to cold and hypoxia tolerance, high cranial specialization, the appearance of burrowing habits and strong niche separation explain how pikas overcome alpine stresses and flourish on the highest plateau on Earth. By contrast, when moving to spatially complex and heterogeneous vegetation zonation, pikas exhibit generalist skull forms able to exploit diverse habitats. These findings mirror previously reported intraspecific patterns in mammals, suggesting a general morphological response in resource‐exploiting traits to cope with distinct selection pressures across elevation zones. Phenotypic diversity is further constrained by rocky habitats, resulting in convergent skulls.

Our study highlights that adaptations to extreme environments occur at multiple levels of organization, but can lead to distinct evolutionary paths depending on which selective forces they respond to. The evolution of burrowing behaviour represents a landmark in the evolutionary history of pikas. We further show that rocky habitats impose strong ecological pressures, leading to convergent responses in resource‐use traits, which is rarely documented in mammals.
Resource availability drives microevolutionary patterns of plant defences
Authors: López‐Goldar Xosé , Zas Rafael , Sampedro Luis 
Published: June 2020

Abstract

The resource availability hypothesis (RAH) was formulated to disentangle patterns of variation among species in plant antiherbivore defences. A novel theoretical framework was recently proposed to expand the RAH among populations within species (RAHintra), but unresolved conceptual issues and considerable gaps surrounding the new hypothesis still need to be addressed.

Here we tested the RAHintra predictions in a pine tree species using population‐level correlations among plant traits and climate as a proxy of resource availability. We analysed genetic variation among 10 maritime pine populations in growth, constitutive and induced chemical defences and resistance to herbivory in a glasshouse experiment. We used a clonally replicated collection with family structure and accounted for the neutral genetic differentiation with Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNPs) data.

Most of our results agree with the predictions of the RAHintra. As postulated, growth showed a positive relation with resource availability at population origin. Constitutive investment in phenolics (but not in terpenes) and antiherbivore resistance was also positively related to resource availability at population origin, as theory predicts. Conversely, we did not detect relationships between resource availability and the inducibility of any of the traits. A trade‐off between constitutive investment and inducibility of chemical defences was observed for phenolics, as expected, but not for terpenes. A positive relationship between growth and constitutive resistance was also found likely due to reduced physiological constraints under suitable conditions in the glasshouse experiment.

Our study provides evidence and support for the RAHintra, highlighting the strong influence of resource availability in shaping genetically based patterns of local adaptive variation among populations. We detected clinal patterns in phenolic investment along a resource availability gradient, suggesting that population local adaptation to resource availability has more implications for investment in phenolics than for terpenes. Most patterns emerged only after accounting for the neutral processes in the species, not initially conceived in the RAHintra. Neutral differentiation, as a result of non‐adaptive demographic processes and population isolation, may obscure the influence of resource availability as a driver responsible of local adaptation of populations.

A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
Effects of elk and bison carcasses on soil microbial communities and ecosystem functions in Yellowstone, USA
Authors: Risch Anita C. , Frossard Aline , Schütz Martin , Frey Beat , Morris Aaron W. , Bump Joseph K. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractCarrion is long recognized as important to scavengers. How carrion may affect soil microbial biodiversity and ecosystem processes in natural systems is comparatively unknown, but is important for the intersection of vertebrate food webs, below‐ground processes and ecological heterogeneity.We assessed in situ soil and plant responses to wolf‐killed mammal carrion in Yellowstone National Park, USA.Bison and elk carcasses increased soil respiration and vegetation nutrient concentration and the carcasses contain altered bacterial and fungal communities compared to control plots. The ‘fingerprints’ of soil microbial taxa associated with bison compared to elk carcasses differed considerably and taxa are found dependent upon abiotic gradients and soil properties.We found evidence that soil microbial community changes associated with carcasses may not be as generalizable as previously thought, which is important for a mechanistic understanding of the links between carrion and soil heterogeneity and potentially for applications in forensic science.This work demonstrates the importance of carrion studies in natural systems. Our findings show that carrion creates distinct ecological patterns that contribute to both above‐ and below‐ground biological heterogeneity, linking carrion distribution dynamics with soil microbial biodiversity and ecosystem functions.
Floral resource diversity drives bee community diversity in prairie restorations along an agricultural landscape gradient
Authors: Lane Ian G. , Herron‐Sweet Christina R. , Portman Zachary M. , Cariveau Daniel P. 
Published: June 2020

Abstract

Grassland ecosystems are imperiled by agricultural activity world‐wide. Restoring grassland habitat is important to conserving grassland fauna and preserving ecosystem services, but more knowledge is needed on the impact that local and landscape factors have on patterns of diversity. We focused on whether prairie grassland restorations along a gradient of increasing agricultural cover in the surrounding landscape would be inhabited by less diverse and/or more homogenous native bee communities. Native bees are a specific target for many grassland restoration efforts, and supporting their local and β‐diversity in reconstructed habitats is of mounting interest. We also investigated if higher floral resource richness within restorations could help ameliorate negative effects of agricultural landscapes.

We sampled 16 prairie restorations in Minnesota (USA) that varied along a gradient of increasing agricultural land cover around the site. We characterized floral resource richness at all sites beginning in mid‐May and ending in mid‐September. We used GLMMs and multivariate analyses to disentangle how floral resource richness and percentage of surrounding land cover in agricultural production are associated with the local and β‐diversity of bee communities.

Local bee diversity increased with increasing local floral resource richness, independent of the surrounding landscape. Bee β‐diversity was not impacted by local floral resource richness or percentage of agricultural cover in the surrounding landscape, indicating local and landscape factors are not substantially impacting the homogeneity of bee communities across restorations.

Synthesis and applications. We found that, regardless of agricultural cover in the surrounding landscape, more florally rich plantings attract more diverse bee communities. We recommend that habitat plantings prioritize local scale diversity, and that potential sites where the landscape is dominated by agricultural production should not be overlooked for restoration.
Managing interacting disturbances: Lessons from a case study in Australian forests
Authors: Lindenmayer David B. , Foster Claire N. , Westgate Martin J. , Scheele Ben C. , Blanchard Wade 
Published: June 2020

Abstract

Ecosystems are shaped by a range of drivers including human and natural disturbances. They also may be subject to interactions between disturbances which can affect ecological processes, biodiversity and ecosystem condition; yet few ecosystems have been subject to multiple studies of the effects of interacting disturbances. This limits the understanding of ways to mitigate the impacts of interacting disturbances.

Over the past 37 years, we have completed a range of studies of interacting effects in the Mountain Ash Eucalyptus regnans forests of south‐eastern Australia. Here we summarize evidence for interacting disturbances in this ecosystem. This includes evidence of linked or coupled disturbances (termed interaction chains; sensu Foster et al., Global Change Biology, 22, 2016, 1325) between logging and subsequent fire severity. We also describe effects of other interacting disturbances such as those resulting from post‐fire (salvage) logging as well as landscape‐level, spatio‐temporal changes in forest cover associated with logging and wildfires.

Policy implications. Insights from research in Mountain Ash forests provide broader lessons for managing interacting disturbances in forest ecosystems. These include the importance of cataloguing and mapping multiple disturbances in both space and time and developing conceptual models of ecosystem dynamics and ecological processes. Where there is a high risk of interactions between disturbances, appropriate management actions could include: (a) eliminating some drivers or re‐assessing levels of human extraction of resources, (b) reducing the spatial and/or temporal overlap of drivers and (c) identifying leverage points where management actions are most likely to be effective.
The Strength of Far‐Right AfD in Eastern Germany: The East‐West Divide and the Multiple Causes behind ‘Populism’
Authors: Weisskircher Manès 
Published: June 2020

AbstractThis article sheds light on one of the key developments in recent German politics and relates it to the broader debate on the electoral success of the far right. The rise of the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD, Alternative for Germany) is also a story about Germany’s internal political divide three decades after reunification, as the party has roughly twice as much support in the east than in the west. The article analyses the country’s east‐west divide, strongly visible in widespread sentiments of societal marginalisation among eastern Germans. The key socio‐structural differences between the east and the west relate to matters of economics, migration, and representation—and provide a setting suitable to AfD strength in the east. In explaining the party’s electoral success in eastern Germany, the article echoes recent scholarship which rejects narrow explanations for the strength of ‘populism’, and instead highlights its multiple causes.
Reflex cytology for triage of high‐risk human papillomavirus positive self‐sampled material in cervical cancer screening: a prospective cohort study
Authors: Loopik DL , Melchers WJG , Vedder JEM , van den Brule AJC , Massuger LFAG , Bekkers RLM , Siebers AG 
Published: June 2020

ObjectiveHigh‐risk human papillomavirus (HrHPV)‐positive women detected by self‐sampling require an extra visit at the general practitioner for additional cytology testing, but the loss to follow up within this triage is substantial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical utility of reflex cytology on hrHPV‐positive self‐samples for immediate stratification of women who need referral for colposcopy.DesignA prospective cohort study.SettingTwo Dutch cervical cancer‐screening laboratories.Population1014 screenees who tested hrHPV‐positive on self‐samples between 1 December 2018 and 1 August 2019.MethodsSelf‐samples were directly used for cytological analysis. Cytological and histological outcomes during follow up were obtained from the Dutch Pathology Registry (PALGA).Main outcome measuresTest performance of reflex cytology on self‐samples was determined for different thresholds and compared with physician‐taken cytology and histological outcomes.ResultsReflex cytology on self‐samples for detecting abnormal cytology showed a sensitivity of 26.4% (95% CI 21.8–31.3) and specificity of 90.5% (95% CI 87.7–92.8). Of all ≥CIN2 cases, 29.4% (95% CI 22.5–37.1) were detected with reflex cytology on self‐samples. The positive predictive value for detection of ≥CIN2 was higher with cytology on self‐collected samples than on physician‐collected samples. Of women who were lost to follow up, 12.9% were found to have abnormal cytology on their self‐sampled material.ConclusionCytology testing is achievable on hrHPV‐positive self‐samples, could decrease the loss to follow up in screening and is easily implementable in the current clinical practice. Of all hrHPV‐positive women with abnormal cytology on additional physician‐collected samples, 26.4% could have been directly referred for colposcopy if triage with reflex cytology on self‐sampled material had been performed.Tweetable abstractReflex cytology for triage of hrHPV+ self‐samples is of added value for direct referral of women for colposcopy.
Occurrence, sources, and pathways of chemical contaminants in infant formulas
Authors: de Mendonça Pereira Bianca Figueiredo , de Almeida Cristine Couto , Leandro Katia Christina , da Costa Marion Pereira , Conte‐Junior Carlos Adam , Spisso Bernardete Ferraz 
Published: June 2020

AbstractInfant formulas are manufactured products to meet specific nutritional requirements for infants. However, infant formulas can contain harmful substances, such as chemical contaminants and residues, normally due to possible contamination of the raw material or from the production chain. Some studies have demonstrated that veterinary drugs, pesticides, mycotoxins, heavy metals, packaging materials, within other chemicals are found in infant formulas from different sources of contamination. It is known that some of these substances can be hepatotoxic, carcinogenic, teratogenic, mutagenic, immunotoxic, contributing to antibiotic resistance, among other detrimental consequences for consumers’ health. The purpose of this review is to assess the scientific evidence concerning the occurrence, sources, and pathways of contamination, as well as the detrimental impacts on infant health due to the possible presence of chemical contaminants and residues in infant formulas. Moreover, strategies to reduce the risk of contamination of infant formulas are presented to ensure the highest standards of quality of infant formulas. The entire infant formula manufacturing process should be monitored and controlled to minimize the risk of contamination during processing, storage, and distribution, besides ensuring the use of raw materials with as low as acceptable levels of harmful substances in order to assure that the final product shall comply with the maximum levels and maximum residue limits, when established, for residues and contaminants in the final product.
COVID‐19 of dialysis patients in Japan: Current status and guidance on preventive measures
Authors:   COVID‐19 Task Force Committee of the Japanese Association of Dialysis Physicians,   The Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy,   The Japanese Society of Nephrology, Kikuchi Kan , Nangaku Masaomi , Ryuzaki Munekazu , Yamakawa Tomoyuki , Hanafusa Norio , Sakai Ken , Kanno Yoshihiko , Ando Ryoichi , Shinoda Toshio , Nakamoto Hidetomo , Akizawa Tadao 
Published: June 2020

AbstractIn Japan, the first case of COVID‐19 in dialysis patients was reported on March 1, 2020. A total of 31 cases were reported by April 10, and it increased to 95 by May 15. Thereafter, with the rapid increase in the number of COVID‐19 cases in the general population since late March, there was a not surprising increase in the number of COVID‐19 cases in dialysis patients. The mortality rate is 16.2% (16/99 cases) in dialysis patients, which is higher than 5.3% (874/16 532 cases) in the general population. This higher mortality rate in dialysis patients with COVID‐19 might be related to their age; the majority of COVID‐19 cases are aged between 70 and 90 years old in dialysis patients, compared with between 20 and 60 years old in the general population. As COVID‐19 presents with severe symptoms and is associated with a high mortality rate in dialysis patients, dialysis patients who have contracted severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection confirmed by polymerase chain reaction testing are required to be hospitalized under Japanese government policy. In cases of COVID‐19 hospitalizations, it is essential to prevent nosocomial infection. Therefore, patients must be sufficiently instructed in infection prevention and robust measures to prevent contraction and spread of the infection must be taken at dialysis facilities.