bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Researcher Toolkit: a preventative, peer-support approach to postgraduate research student mental health
Authors: Homer Sophie R. , Solbrig Linda , Djama Despina , Bentley Anne , Kearns Sarah , May Jon 
Published: February 2021

Purpose
Rates of mental ill-health among postgraduate research students (PGRs) are alarmingly high. PGRs face unique challenges and stigma around accessing support. The purpose of this paper is to introduce The Researcher Toolkit: a novel, open-source, preventative approach to PGR mental health. The Toolkit empowers PGRs and promotes positive research culture. This paper describes and evaluates the Toolkit to encourage adoption across the sector.

Design/methodology/approach
Four workshops were designed by integrating researcher development, critical pedagogy and psychological knowledge of well-being. A diverse group of PGRs co-designed workshops and delivered them to their peers. Workshops engaged 26% of the PGR population (total 116 attendees). PGR Workshop Leaders and attendees submitted anonymous, online feedback after workshops (74 total responses). A mixed-method approach combined quantitative analysis of ratings and qualitative analysis of open-ended comments.

Findings
Feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Workshops were universally appealing, enjoyable and beneficial and the peer-support approach was highly valued, strongly supporting adoption of the programme in other universities. Findings are discussed alongside wider systemic factors and recommendations for policy.

Practical implications
The Toolkit translates readily to other UK institutions and can be adapted for use elsewhere. Recommendations for practice are provided.

Originality/value
The Researcher Toolkit is a novel PGR well-being initiative. Its originality is threefold: its approach is prevention rather than intervention; its content is new and bespoke, created through interdisciplinary collaboration between psychologists, researcher development professionals and PGR stakeholders; and support is peer-led and decentralised from student support services. Its evaluation adds to the limited literature on PGR well-being and peer-support.
Commitment and entrenchment in solidarity economy organizations
Authors: Santos Rita de Cássia Trindade dos , Flores Costa Vânia Medianeira , Bianchim Bruna de Vargas 
Published: February 2021

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relation between the values of solidarity economy and the organizational commitment and entrenchment ties.

Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative, descriptive and exploratory research was carried out through survey, using the Solidarity Economy Values Scale, Organizational Commitment Questionnaire and Organizational Entrenchment Questionnaire, with statistical data analysis.

Findings
The results showed that the self-management, quality of life and identification values positively influenced the workers’ behavior, mainly concerning personal fulfillment with performance and autonomy at work. On the other hand, the citizenship and solidarity values revealed an inverse association with the alternatives limitation dimension of entrenchment: the permanence in solidarity economy organizations motivated solely by the lack of employment can impact negatively on social and political involvement.

Research limitations/implications
Theoretically, organizational commitment and entrenchment ties are not limited to individual behaviors but also have a collective dimension to be investigated.

Practical implications
The workers’ organizational commitment implies in a commitment from the organization with human development through work.

Originality/value
In solidarity economy organizations, the bond based on lack of alternatives on the job market does not affect self-management or fulfillment with the work but the participation on the community politics.
Understanding the priorities of designers for an ecodesign support during environmentally sustainable product development
Authors: Singh Prashant Kumar , Sarkar Prabir 
Published: February 2021

PurposeThe main purpose of this research is to understand the priorities of designers for an ecodesign support, while developing environmentally sustainable products. Also, this study identifies the requirements of the designers for managing the environmental quality of products.Design/methodology/approachThis research is conducted in two phases of survey. In the first phase, various requirements of designers are collected, refined and segregated under certain well defined characteristics of the ecodesign support. In second phase, the designers are asked to rank each characteristic of the ecodesign support in a questionnaire. The responses obtained from the designers are analyzed separately for engineering designers and design researchers by using Henry Garrett ranking technique to identify the priorities of designers for an ecodesign support.FindingsResults show that there is a contrast between the perspective of engineering designers and design researchers, and their priorities for an ecodesign support are opposite to each other. Thus it can be understood that the features which are added by design researchers in ecodesign support may not be adequate for engineering designers to manage the environmental quality of products.Originality/valueThe designers play a key role in the development of environmentally benign products through the use of different ecodesign supports (i.e. tools or methods). Therefore, it is important to understand the desired characteristics of the ecodesign support from designer's perspective. Also, the priorities of designers from academia (design researchers) and industry (engineering designers) must be understood because they are the two stakeholders indulged in the development and usage of various ecodesign supports for environmentally conscious product development (ECPD).
Maternal allocation in relation to weather, predation and social factors in a colonial cooperative bird
Authors: Fortuna Rita , Paquet Matthieu , Ferreira André C. , Silva Liliana R. , Theron Franck , Doutrelant Claire , Covas Rita 
Published: February 2021

AbstractFemales may adjust prenatal allocation in relation to ecological conditions that affect reproductive success, such as weather conditions or predation risk. In cooperative breeders, helpers might also influence reproductive success, and previous studies suggest that females can lay smaller eggs or larger clutches when breeding with more helpers. Although recent work suggests that helper effects can vary according to climatic variables, how social and ecological factors interact to shape prenatal allocation is poorly understood.Here, we examine how ecological and social components of the breeding environment covary with egg mass and clutch size, using as a model the sociable weaverPhiletairus socius, a colonial, cooperatively breeding passerine. The study spanned 9 years and included over 1,900 eggs from over 550 clutches. Our analyses combined natural variation in weather conditions (rainfall before each reproductive event) with a nest predator‐exclusion experiment and continuous monitoring of the mother's social environment, allowing us to estimate how individual females adjust allocation to reproduction as their number of helpers varies.We found that egg mass varied consistently within females and did not clearly differ in relation to rainfall or predation risk. Contrary to previous studies, there was no evidence for plastic adjustments as females gained and lost helpers, and egg mass was instead better predicted by mother size and identity.Females laid larger clutches when breeding in environments where predation risk was experimentally reduced and after higher rainfall levels. Yet, there was no evidence for increasing clutch size as the number of helpers increased, nor for an interaction between helper effects and ecological factors.We conclude that while sociable weaver females can vary their clutch size, they show high individual consistency in egg mass. In addition, we found no evidence that females may maximize fitness through plastic prenatal allocation in relation to the number of helpers, or that the presence/absence of helper effects is modulated by rainfall levels or predation risk. These results challenge our current knowledge on some of the possible benefits of breeding with helpers and call for more long‐term analyses on reproductive allocation adjustments in other cooperative systems.
Plant translocations in Europe and the Mediterranean: Geographical and climatic directions and distances from source to host sites
Authors: Diallo Mohamed , Ollier Sébastien , Mayeur Anaël , Fernández-Manjarrés Juan , García‐Fernández Alfredo , Iriondo José María , Vaissière Anne‐Charlotte , Colas Bruno 
Published: February 2021

Abstract

Although the number of plant translocations has been rapidly increasing for two decades, no study is available to date that examines the directions and distances of plant displacements, which is essential (though not sufficient) information for considering translocations as a management tool to enable species to cope with the consequences of climate change.

In this paper, we study the geographical and climatic directions and distances from source to host sites in 638 source‐and‐host site pairs of plant translocations that aimed to achieve viable populations in the last decades in the Western Palearctic (Europe and the Mediterranean). Translocation distances ranged from 0 to 661 km, but were generally short, most (82%) being <25 km, due to both ecological considerations and legal and administrative constraints. The host sites were not preferentially located in any geographical direction or in any altitude relative to the source sites. In contrast, on a climate compass constructed from a principal component analysis of seven bioclimatic variables, the host sites were slightly, but significantly, under colder climatic conditions than the source sites.

This observation appears more to be the consequence of an effort to counteract already felt effects of climate change than to anticipate future changes. The climatic distance between source sites and actual host sites was generally smaller than between source sites and randomly selected host sites at a given distance or within a given geographical area, which may be the result of a desire to minimise climatic differences or differences in other ecological factors correlated with climatic differences.

Synthesis. This study is the first to compare, geographically and climatically, the source sites of biological material and the host sites in translocations of wild plant species to obtain viable populations. Past translocations in the Western Palearctic are in line with mitigating the consequences of global warming on plant species because the host sites were in slightly cooler conditions than the source sites. Despite this, climate considerations seem to have little been taken into account in plant translocation projects and will certainly have to be much more so in a future with rapid anthropogenic climate change.
Evidence for a fungal loop in shrublands
Authors: Carvajal Janke Niko , Coe Kirsten K. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractDryland communities may mitigate the loss of limited resources by exchanging nutrients through subterranean fungal connections, termed fungal loops. In arid grasslands, fungal loops can influence community composition and primary productivity, yet their ecological significance across dryland systems remains unexplored. We investigated the functional role of fungal loops in nutrient translocation in a North American shrubland ecosystem.We traced the movement of15N from moss‐dominated biocrusts to the dominant xeric shrubLarrea tridentata, and the movement of13C fromL. tridentatato biocrusts in plots established in situ in the Sonoran Desert. Measurements occurred at three time points spanning 1 week following a simulated 2.5 mm rainfall event, and at distances up to 1 m from tracer application. We also used ITS sequencing to investigate changes in fungal community composition in soils over the 1‐week period.We discovered movement of15N from biocrusts intoL. tridentatafoliage as well as15N movement to other spatially isolated moss‐dominated biocrust patches, yet this movement did not occur until 4–6 days post‐rainfall, when significantly higher δ15N was observed inL. tridentataand biocrusts compared to previous days. We did not observe consistent patterns of13C movement fromL. tridentatainto neighbouring shrubs or biocrusts, suggesting differential environmental drivers for carbon movement in this system. Fungal communities exhibited a decrease in alpha diversity on the last day of the study, indicative of a delayed community response to rainfall concomitant with nutrient translocation. Fungal endophyte orders Pleosporales and Pezizales dominated all plot soils, and order Pleosporales was significantly more abundant in15N enriched plots, suggesting that dark septate endophytic fungi were involved in nitrogen translocation. The delay in nutrient translocation may reflect a rainfall‐triggered rebuilding of mycelial networks between community members following drought.Synthesis. Our results point to fungal‐mediated nutrient exchange pathways in a previously uninvestigated vegetation type, shrublands, where nutrients are translocated between moss‐dominated biocrusts and nearby shrubs. We provide the first evidence that nutrient transfer may be delayed up to 6 days following rainfall, consistent with pulse‐dynamic responses in drylands, and that moss‐dominated biocrusts play a role in fungal loops.
Root economics spectrum and construction costs in Mediterranean woody plants: The role of symbiotic associations and the environment
Authors: de la Riva Enrique G. , Prieto Iván , Marañón Teodoro , Pérez‐Ramos Ignacio M. , Olmo Manuel , Villar Rafael 
Published: February 2021

Abstract

Many studies have quantified the functional variation of fine root traits to understand the overarching trade‐off between maximizing resource acquisition or conservation (root economics spectrum [RES]). However, we know remarkably less on how plant strategies along the RES are actually constrained by the amount of photosynthates required to construct roots (i.e. construction costs, CC) or how below‐ground interactions with symbiotic organisms modify root trait patterns and their relationships with CC.

Our main aim was to quantify CC of fine roots (<2 mm) and their underlying components (carbon, minerals and organic nitrogen concentrations) in 60 Mediterranean woody species with contrasting symbiotic association types (ectomycorrhizas, arbuscular and ericoid mycorrhizas and N‐fixing bacteria). We examined (a) whether the covariation among fine root traits along the RES was related to the intrinsic cost of producing roots and whether this relationship was dependent on the type of root symbiosis; (b) whether the relationship of each CC component with the RES was dependent on the type of root symbiosis and (c) whether soil water and nutrient availability determined differences in CC across sites.

According to the RES hypothesis, fine root traits showed a main covariation trend (acquisition vs. conservation), defined by the first PCA axis, which also segregated species by their two main contrasting symbiotic types (arbuscular and ectomycorrhizal). We found a positive relationship between root CC and the RES (i.e. PCA axis 1) and, interestingly, slopes differed among symbiotic types, in response to the different role of each specific CC component. In addition, independently of symbiotic type, root CC decreased linearly with soil nutrient availability and quadratically with plant water availability.

Synthesis. Our study demonstrates that woody plants display different functional strategies in their root CC, related with their position on the RES, and that CC differ among symbiotic groups. The influence of the root CC components across species varied among symbiotic associations, pointing to a trade‐off between structural and metabolic compounds. Root CC were also strongly modulated by soil resource availability (nutrients and water). This study highlights that root CC are fundamental to better understand below‐ground resource‐use strategies.
Diversity and identity of economics traits determine the extent of tree mixture effects on ecosystem productivity
Authors: Zheng Li‐Ting , Chen Han Y. H. , Biswas Shekhar R. , Bao Di‐Feng , Fang Xiao‐Chen , Abdullah Muhammad , Yan En‐Rong 
Published: February 2021

AbstractAlthough both observational and experimental studies have shown that positive tree species diversity–productivity relationships are predominant in global forests, weak or the lack of tree species diversity and productivity relationships also exist. Growing evidence has revealed that ecosystem productivity depends more on the functional characteristics of species than on their number. However, exactly to what extent tree diversity effects on ecosystem productivity are influenced by the variability and composition of functional traits have rarely been tested both across and at given species richness (SR) levels.Here, we employed a meta‐analysis of global‐scale data from 59 tree diversity experiments to examine how the diversity and community‐weighted means (CWMs) of economics traits determine the outcomes of tree mixture effects on productivity across and within SR levels.We found that the positive effects of tree mixtures on productivity were strengthened by the increasing multidimensional functional dispersion (FDis) and the CWM of leaf nitrogen content both across and within two‐ and four‐species mixtures. Moreover, the multidimensional FDis and the CWM of leaf nitrogen content increased the complementarity effect rather than the selection effect.Synthesis. Our findings suggest that both diversity in the leaf economics spectrum and trait concentration on the ‘fast’ end of the spectrum strengthen biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationships. This study provides mechanistic insights into the potent roles of plant economics traits, especially leaf nitrogen content, in determining the magnitude (and even directionality) of the biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationships in forest ecosystems.
At least three families of hyphosphere small secreted cysteine‐rich proteins can optimize surface properties to a moderately hydrophilic state suitable for fungal attachment
Authors: Zhao Zheng , Cai Feng , Gao Renwei , Ding Mingyue , Jiang Siqi , Chen Peijie , Pang Guan , Chenthamara Komal , Shen Qirong , Bayram Akcapinar Günseli , Druzhinina Irina S. 
Published: February 2021

SummaryThe secretomes of filamentous fungi contain a diversity of small secreted cysteine‐rich proteins (SSCPs) that have a variety of properties ranging from toxicity to surface activity. Some SSCPs are recognized by other organisms as indicators of fungal presence, but their function in fungi is not fully understood. We detected a new family of fungal surface‐active SSCPs (saSSCPs), here named hyphosphere proteins (HFSs). An evolutionary analysis of the HFSs in Pezizomycotina revealed a unique pattern of eight single cysteine residues (C‐CXXXC‐C‐C‐C‐C‐C) and a long evolutionary history of multiple gene duplications and ancient interfungal lateral gene transfers, suggesting their functional significance for fungi with different lifestyles. Interestingly, recombinantly produced saSSCPs from three families (HFSs, hydrophobins and cerato‐platanins) showed convergent surface‐modulating activity on glass and on poly(ethylene‐terephthalate), transforming their surfaces to a moderately hydrophilic state, which significantly favoured subsequent hyphal attachment. The addition of purified saSSCPs to the tomato rhizosphere had mixed effects on hyphal attachment to roots, while all tested saSSCPs had an adverse effect on plant growth in vitro. We propose that the exceptionally high diversity of saSSCPs in Trichoderma and other fungi evolved to efficiently condition various surfaces in the hyphosphere to a fungal‐beneficial state.
Inhibition of α‐glucosidase and α‐amylase by herbal compounds for the treatment of type 2 diabetes: A validation of in silico reverse docking with in vitro enzyme assays
Authors: Tolmie Morné , Bester Megan Jean , Apostolides Zeno 
Published: February 2021

AbstractBackgroundα‐Amylase and α‐glucosidase are important therapeutic targets for the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The inhibition of these enzymes decreases postprandial hyperglycemia. In the present study, compounds found in commercially available herbs and spices were tested for their ability to inhibit α‐amylase and α‐glucosidase. These compounds were acetyleugenol, apigenin, cinnamic acid, eriodictyol, myrcene, piperine, and rosmarinic acid.MethodsThe enzyme inhibitory nature of the compounds was evaluated using in silico docking analysis with Maestro software and was further confirmed by in vitro α‐amylase and α‐glucosidase biochemical assays.ResultsThe relationships between the in silico and in vitro results were well correlated; a more negative docking score was associated with a higher in vitro inhibitory activity. There was no significant (P > .05) difference between the inhibition constant (Ki) value of acarbose, a widely prescribed α‐glucosidase and α‐amylase inhibitor, and those of apigenin, eriodictyol, and piperine. For α‐amylase, there was no significant (P > .05) difference between the Ki value of acarbose and those of apigenin, cinnamic acid, and rosmarinic acid. The effect of the herbal compounds on cell viability was assessed with the sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay in C2C12 and HepG2 cells. Acetyleugenol, cinnamic acid, myrcene, piperine, and rosmarinic acid had similar (P > .05) IC50 values to acarbose.ConclusionsSeveral of the herbal compounds studied could regulate postprandial hyperglycemia. Using herbal plants has several advantages including low cost, natural origin, and easy cultivation. These compounds can easily be consumed as teas or as herbs and spices to flavor food.