bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Demographic changes of a tropical understory bird in naturally patchy montane habitats in southern India
Authors: Robin V. V. , Hines James E. , Nichols James D. , Katti Madhusudan , Sinha Anindya 
Published: September 2021

ABSTRACTThe occurrence, density and survival of a species often depend on various aspects of the habitat that it occupies including patch size and disturbance. The demography of most threatened tropical species largely remain unstudied but could provide valuable information about their biology and insights for their conservation. Our study examined the effect of patch size and disturbance on different demographic parameters of an understory, threatened, endemic bird, the white-bellied shortwing in the tropical biodiversity hotspot of the Western Ghats in India. We sampled eight plots on a sky-island using mist-nets for four years in a ‘Robust design’ mark-recapture framework. Based on model selection using AIC values, the model with survival as a function of disturbance fits the data better than models with abundance or with these parameters modeled as functions of forest patch size. Shortwing density and sex ratio were not different across forest patch sizes or differing disturbance regimes. However, the survival rate of the species significantly decreased with increasing disturbance but was not related to forest patch size. Our study is possibly the first to provide critical baseline information on the demography of a tropical understory species from this region.
Global and regional ecological boundaries drive abrupt changes in avian frugivory interactions
Authors: Martins Lucas P. , Stouffer Daniel B. , Blendinger Pedro G. , Böhning-Gaese Katrin , Buitrón-Jurado Galo , Correia Marta , Costa José Miguel , Dehling D. Matthias , Donatti Camila I. , Emer Carine , Galetti Mauro , Heleno Ruben , Jordano Pedro , Menezes Ícaro , Morante-Filho José Carlos , Muñoz Marcia C. , Neuschulz Eike Lena , Pizo Marco Aurélio , Quitián Marta , Ruggera Roman A. , Saavedra Francisco , Santillán Vinicio , Schleuning Matthias , Pascoal da Silva Luís , Ribeiro da Silva Fernanda , Timóteo Sérgio , Traveset Anna , Vollstädt Maximilian G. R. , Tylianakis Jason M. 
Published: September 2021

AbstractSpecies interactions can propagate disturbances across space, though ecological and biogeographic boundaries may limit this spread. We tested whether large-scale ecological boundaries (ecoregions and biomes) and human disturbance gradients increase dissimilarity among ecological networks, while accounting for background spatial and elevational effects and differences in network sampling. We assessed network dissimilarity patterns over a broad spatial scale, using 196 quantitative avian frugivory networks (encompassing 1,496 plant and 1,003 bird species) distributed across 67 ecoregions and 11 biomes. Dissimilarity in species and interactions, but not in network structure, increased significantly across ecoregion and biome boundaries and along human disturbance gradients. Our findings suggest that ecological boundaries contribute to maintaining the world’s biodiversity of interactions and mitigating the propagation of disturbances at large spatial scales.One-Sentence SummaryEcoregions and biomes delineate the large-scale distribution of plant-frugivore interactions.
Unique genetic features of the naked mole-rat’s THADA gene
Authors: Banjar Khadijah , Holzmann Carsten , Bullerdiek Jörn 
Published: September 2021

AbstractThyroid Adenoma Associated (THADA) is a protein-coding gene that maps to chromosomal band 2p21 and first has been described as a target of recurrent translocation partner in thyroid tumors. Many genome-wide association studies have revealed an association between THADA and two frequent human diseases, i.e. type 2 diabetes and polycystic ovary syndrome. Nevertheless, the function of its protein is not been completely understood. However, recent evidence suggests that in a Drosophila model THADA can act as a sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA)-interacting protein which uncouples SERCA from this function. Once being uncoupled, SERCA produces an increased amount of heat without transporting calcium thus triggering nonshivering thermogenesis. This data prompted us to compare human THADA with that of 65 other eutherian mammals. This includes a comparison of THADA of a variety of eutherian mammals with that of the naked-mole rat (Heterocephalus glaber) which is known to display unique features of thermoregulation compared to other mammals. Our analysis revealed five positions where only the naked-mole rat presented differences. These latter positions included four single amino acid substitutions and one unique deletion of six or seven amino acids, respectively, between residues 858 and 859. In future studies these changes will be analyzed further in detail for their functional relevance.
Functional network topography of the medial entorhinal cortex
Authors: Obenhaus Horst A. , Zong Weijian , Jacobsen R. Irene , Rose Tobias , Donato Flavio , Chen Liangyi , Cheng Heping , Bonhoeffer Tobias , Moser May-Britt , Moser Edvard I. 
Published: September 2021

SummaryThe medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) creates a map of local space, based on the firing patterns of grid, head direction (HD), border, and object-vector (OV) cells. How these cell types are organized anatomically is debated. In-depth analysis of this question requires collection of precise anatomical and activity data across large populations of neurons during unrestrained behavior, which neither electrophysiological nor previous imaging methods fully afford. Here we examined the topographic arrangement of spatially modulated neurons in MEC and adjacent parasubiculum using miniaturized, portable two-photon microscopes, which allow mice to roam freely in open fields. Grid cells exhibited low levels of co-occurrence with OV cells and clustered anatomically, while border, HD and OV cells tended to intermingle. These data suggest that grid-cell networks might be largely distinct from those of border, HD and OV cells and that grid cells exhibit strong coupling among themselves but weaker links to other cell types.Highlights- Grid and object vector cells show low levels of regional co-occurrence- Grid cells exhibit the strongest tendency to cluster among all spatial cell types- Grid cells stay separate from border, head direction and object vector cells- The territories of grid, head direction and border cells remain stable over weeks
Analysis of the upper respiratory tract microbiota in mild and severe COVID-19 patients
Authors: Babenko V. , Bakhtyev R. , Baklaushev V. , Balykova L. , Bashkirov P. , Bespyatykh J. , Blagonravova A. , Boldyreva D. , Fedorov D. , Gafurov I. , Gaifullina R. , Galeeva J. , Galova E. , Gospodaryk A. , Ilina E. , Ivanov K. , Kharlampieva D. , Khromova P. , Klimina K. , Kolontarev K. , Kolyshkina N. , Koritsky A. , Kuropatkin V. , Lazarev V. , Manolov A. , Manuvera V. , Matyushkina D. , Morozov M. , Moskaleva E. , Musarova V. , Ogarkov O. , Orlova E. , Pavlenko A. , Petrova A. , Pozhenko N. , Pushkar D. , Rumyantsev A. , Rumyantsev S. , Rumyantsev V. , Rychkova L. , Samoilov A. , Shirokova I. , Sinkov V. , Solovieva S. , Starikova E. , Tikhonova P. , Trifonova G. , Troitsky A. , Tulichev A. , Udalov Y. , Varizhuk A. , Vasiliev A. , Vereshchagin R. , Veselovsky V. , Volnukhin A. , Yusubalieva G. , Govorun V. 
Published: September 2021

AbstractThe microbiota of the respiratory tract remains a relatively poorly studied subject. At the same time, like the intestinal microbiota, it is involved in modulating the immune response to infectious agents in the host organism. A causal relationship between the composition of the respiratory microbiota and the likelihood of development and the severity of COVID-19 may be hypothesized. We analyze biomaterial from nasopharyngeal smears from 336 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19, selected during the first and second waves of the epidemic in Russia. Sequences from a similar study conducted in Spain were also included in the analysis. We investigated associations between disease severity and microbiota at the level of microbial community (community types) and individual microbes (differentially represented species). To search for associations, we performed multivariate analysis, taking into account comorbidities, type of community and lineage of the virus. We found that two out of six community types are associated with a more severe course of the disease, and one of the community types is characterized by high stability (very similar microbiota profiles in different patients) and low level of lung damage. Differential abundance analysis with respect to comorbidities and community type suggested association of Rothia and Streptococcus genera representatives with more severe lung damage, and Leptotrichia, unclassified Lachnospiraceae and Prevotella with milder forms of the disease.
Cryo-electron tomography of NLRP3-activated ASC complexes reveals organelle co-localization
Authors: Liu Yangci , Zhai Haoming , Alemayehu Helen , Boulanger Jérôme , Hopkins Lee J. , Borgeaud Alicia C. , Heroven Christina , Howe Jonathan D. , Leigh Kendra E. , Bryant Clare E. , Modis Yorgo 
Published: September 2021

AbstractNLRP3 induces caspase-1-dependent pyroptotic cell death to drive inflammation. Aberrant activity of NLRP3 occurs in many human diseases. NLRP3 activation induces ASC polymerization into a single, micron-scale perinuclear punctum. Higher resolution imaging of this signaling platform is needed to understand how it induces pyroptosis. Here, we apply correlative cryo-light microscopy and cryo-electron tomography to visualize ASC/caspase-1 in NLRP3-activated cells. The puncta are composed of branched ASC filaments, with a tubular core formed by the pyrin domain. Ribosomes and Golgi-like vesicles permeate the filament network, consistent with roles for these organelles in NLRP3 activation. Mitochondria are not associated with ASC but have outer-membrane discontinuities the same size as gasdermin D pores, consistent with our data showing gasdermin D associates with mitochondria and contributes to mitochondrial depolarization.One-Sentence SummaryElectron tomography of frozen cells reveals the ultrastructure of ASC specks and gasdermin D pores in adjacent mitochondria.
Unique, shared, and dominant brain activation in Visual Word Form Area and Lateral Occipital Complex during reading and picture naming
Authors: Neudorf Josh , Gould Layla , Mickleborough Marla J. S. , Ekstrand Chelsea , Borowsky Ron 
Published: September 2021

AbstractIdentifying printed words and pictures concurrently is ubiquitous in daily tasks, and so it is important to consider the extent to which reading words and naming pictures may share a cognitive-neurophysiological functional architecture. Two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments examined whether reading along the left ventral occipitotemporal region (vOT; often referred to as a visual word form area, VWFA) has activation that is overlapping with referent pictures (i.e., both conditions significant and shared, or with one significantly more dominant) or unique (i.e., one condition significant, the other not), and whether picture naming along the right lateral occipital complex (LOC) has overlapping or unique activation relative to referent words. Experiment 1 used familiar regular and exception words (to force lexical reading) and their corresponding pictures in separate naming blocks, and showed dominant activation for pictures in the LOC, and shared activation in the VWFA for exception words and their corresponding pictures (regular words did not elicit significant VWFA activation). Experiment 2 controlled for visual complexity by superimposing the words and pictures and instructing participants to either name the word or the picture, and showed primarily shared activation in the VWFA and LOC regions for both word reading and picture naming, with some dominant activation for pictures in the LOC. Overall, these results highlight the importance of including exception words to force lexical reading when comparing to picture naming, and the significant shared activation in VWFA and LOC serves to challenge specialized models of reading or picture naming.
Admp regulates tail bending by controlling ventral epidermal cell polarity via phosphorylated myosin localization
Authors: Kogure Yuki S. , Muraoka Hiromochi , Koizumi Wataru C. , Gelin-alessi Raphaël , Godard Benoit , Oka Kotaro , Heisenberg C. P. , Hotta Kohji 
Published: September 2021

AbstractThe transient but pronounced ventral tail bending is found in many chordate embryos and constitutes an interesting model of how tissue interactions control embryo shape (Lu et al., 2020). Here, we identify one key upstream regulator of ventral tail bending in the ascidian Ciona embryo. We show that during early tailbud stage, ventral epidermal cells exhibit a boat-shaped morphology (boat cell) with a narrow apical surface where phosphorylated myosin (pMLC) accumulated. We further show that interfering with the function of the BMP ligand Admp leads to pMLC localizing to the basal instead of the apical side of ventral epidermal cells and a reduced number of boat cells. Finally, we show that cutting ventral epidermal midline cells at their apex using a ultraviolet laser relaxes ventral tail bending. Based on these results, we propose a novel function for Admp in localizing pMLC to the apical side of ventral epidermal cells, which causes the tail to bend ventrally by resisting antero-posterior notochord extension at the ventral side of the tail.Summary StatementAdmp is an upstream regulator of tail bending in the chordate Ciona tailbud embryo, determining tissue polarity of the ventral midline epidermis by localizing phosphorylated myosin.
What is unique about the human eye? Comparative image analysis on the external eye morphology of human and nonhuman great apes
Authors: Kano Fumihiro , Furuichi Takeshi , Hashimoto Chie , Krupenye Christopher , Leinwand Jesse G. , Hopper Lydia M. , Martin Christopher F. , Otsuka Ryoma , Tajima Tomoyuki 
Published: September 2021

AbstractThe gaze-signaling hypothesis and the related cooperative-eye hypothesis posit that humans have evolved special external eye morphology, including exposed white sclera (the white of the eye), to enhance the visibility of eye-gaze direction and thereby facilitate conspecific communication through joint-attentional interaction and ostensive communication. However, recent quantitative studies questioned these hypotheses based on new findings that humans are not necessarily unique in certain eye features compared to other great ape species. Therefore, there is currently a heated debate on whether external eye features of humans are distinguished from those of other apes and how such distinguished features contribute to the visibility of eye-gaze direction. This study leveraged updated image analysis techniques to test the uniqueness of human eye features in facial images of great apes. Although many eye features were similar between humans and other species, a key difference was that humans have uniformly white sclera which creates clear visibility of both eye outline and iris –the two essential features contributing to the visibility of eye-gaze direction. We then tested the robustness of the visibility of these features against visual noises such as darkening and distancing and found that both eye features remain detectable in the human eye, while eye outline becomes barely detectable in other species under these visually challenging conditions. Overall, we identified that humans have distinguished external eye morphology among other great apes, which ensures robustness of eye-gaze signal against various visual conditions. Our results support and also critically update the central premises of the gaze-signaling hypothesis.
Luxury goods and their counterfeits in Sub-Saharan Africa: a conceptual model of counterfeit luxury purchase intentions and empirical test
Authors: Sengabira Ndereyimana Charmant , Lau Antonio K.W. , Lascu Dana-Nicoleta , Manrai Ajay K. 
Published: September 2021

PurposeHeeding the call for insights into the Sub-Saharan African international marketing context, this study aims to empirically examine consumers' desires and motivations for buying counterfeit luxury goods. It examines influences on consumers' attitudes and purchase intentions related to counterfeit luxury goods in Rwanda, one of Sub-Saharan Africa's fastest-growing economies and growing luxury markets, developing and testing a model examining the effect of social context on personal attributes, providing evidence on economic and social-status factors as drivers for counterfeiting.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected using an online survey administered in Rwanda to consumers who had previously purchased luxury goods and counterfeits. A total of 312 valid responses were analyzed using structural equation modeling.FindingsThis study found that normative and informational influences had a positive effect on Rwandan consumers' attitude toward purchasing counterfeit luxury products, with attitude influencing purchase intentions directly and indirectly, through mediating variable desire for status or through value consciousness and desire for status.Originality/valueThe study contributes to academic research − one of the first empirical studies to examine consumers' desires and motivations for buying counterfeit luxury goods in Sub-Saharan Africa, providing insights that benefit scholars and practitioners seeking to better understand a market where more than half of the world's fastest economies are located.
Integrating road information modeling (RIM) and geographic information system (GIS) for effective utility relocations in infrastructure projects
Authors: Rajadurai R. , Vilventhan Aneetha 
Published: September 2021

PurposeTransportation infrastructure projects are inevitably delayed due to delays in the completion of underground utility relocation. Unfamiliar location, difficulty in utility identification and use of ineffective coordination practices hamper timely completion of utility relocation works. This paper aims to develop integrated road information modeling (RIM) and geographic information system (GIS) models to assist early identification of utilities and effective coordination during utility relocation in infrastructure projects.Design/methodology/approachAn ethnographic action-based case study research methodology was adopted in this paper. Two ongoing infrastructure projects with significant utility relocation delays are chosen as case studies and integrated RIM-GIS models are developed to assist utility relocation. To verify the applications of developed RIM-GIS models, a focus group discussion was conducted with 10 field experts from the considered case studies.FindingsThe application of the developed RIM-GIS models enabled 3D visualization of existing underground utilities and enabled identification of utility conflicts before the start of the construction. They also enabled facilitating coordination and reduce utility relocation delays. The evaluation of the developed models shows that the RIM-GIS model approach enabled early planning and coordination and facilitates effective management of utility relocations.Practical implicationsThe current practices of using CAD and GIS for utility relocations are inadequate due to the difficulties in characterizing utilities and ineffective coordination practices. The proposed RIM-GIS approach can be adopted as a suitable alternative for effective management of utility relocations.Originality/valueSeveral studies have contributed toward integrating BIM and GIS for the analysis of highway and utility infrastructure projects. Efforts on integrating RIM and GIS for the support and management of utility relocations in highway and utility infrastructure projects remain unexplored.
Retailer-reseller embeddedness and price-setting in the informal economy
Authors: Uzo Uchenna 
Published: September 2021

PurposeThis study aims to investigate how and why retailers and resellers in sample firms of the informal economy set prices and the performance implications for the firm’s pricing efforts.Design/methodology/approachThe author generated their insights through an inductive qualitative study of four organizations operating within the informal economy in the Nigerian retailing sector.FindingsThe study found that some organizations within the informal economy set prices in different ways i.e. negotiated pricing and fixed pricing. The contracting criteria between the retailers and resellers determine the pricing strategy. Contractual terms based on relational ties between both facilitate negotiated price-setting, while contractual terms based on non-relational ties promote fixed pricing. The type of price-setting arrangement of the sampled retailer relates to the organization’s performance within its industry. Particularly, the study found that retailers that adopted negotiated pricing performed above the industry average for their product category. In contrast, the retailers that adopted fixed pricing performed below the industry average for their product category.Originality/valueAs far as the author knows, this is the first study to investigate pricing methods within the informal economy. This is also the first known study to investigate price-setting arrangements between retailers and resellers within the informal economy. Another unique contribution of this paper is that it is the first study that focuses on pricing interactions among business-to-business firms within the informal economy. The study contributes to the work on relational embeddedness, relational contracting and informal economies.