bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Clutch quality is related to embryonic development duration, hatchling body size and telomere length in the spined toad (Bufo spinosus)
Authors: Cheron Marion , Angelier Frédéric , Ribout Cécile , Brischoux François 
Published: February 2021

AbstractReproductive success is often related to parental quality, a parameter expressed through various traits, such as site selection, mate selection and energetic investment in the eggs or progeny. Owing to the complex interactions between environmental and parental characteristics occurring at various stages of the reproductive event, it is often complicated to tease apart the relative contributions of these different factors to reproductive success. Study systems where these complex interactions are simplified (e.g. absence of parental care) can help us to understand how metrics of parental quality (e.g. gamete and egg quality) influence reproductive success. Using such a study system in a common garden experiment, we investigated the relationships between clutch hatching success (a proxy of clutch quality) and offspring quality in an amphibian species lacking post-oviposition parental care. We found a relationship between clutch quality and embryonic development duration and hatchling phenotype. We found that hatchling telomere length was linked to hatching success. These results suggest that clutch quality is linked to early life traits in larval amphibians and that deciphering the influence of parental traits on the patterns we detected is a promising avenue of research.
Top-Down Attention Guidance Shapes Action Encoding in the pSTS
Authors: Stehr Daniel A , Zhou Xiaojue , Tisby Mariel , Hwu Patrick T , Pyles John A , Grossman Emily D 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThe posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) is a brain region characterized by perceptual representations of human body actions that promote the understanding of observed behavior. Increasingly, action observation is recognized as being strongly shaped by the expectations of the observer (Kilner 2011; Koster-Hale and Saxe 2013; Patel et al. 2019). Therefore, to characterize top-down influences on action observation, we evaluated the statistical structure of multivariate activation patterns from the action observation network (AON) while observers attended to the different dimensions of action vignettes (the action kinematics, goal, or identity of avatars jumping or crouching). Decoding accuracy varied as a function of attention instruction in the right pSTS and left inferior frontal cortex (IFC), with the right pSTS classifying actions most accurately when observers attended to the action kinematics and the left IFC classifying most accurately when observed attended to the actor’s goal. Functional connectivity also increased between the right pSTS and right IFC when observers attended to the actions portrayed in the vignettes. Our findings are evidence that the attentive state of the viewer modulates sensory representations in the pSTS, consistent with proposals that the pSTS occupies an interstitial zone mediating top-down context and bottom-up perceptual cues during action observation.
Cortical Networks Underpinning Compensation of Verbal Fluency in Normal Aging
Authors: Gonzalez-Burgos Lissett , Pereira Joana B , Mohanty Rosaleena , Barroso José , Westman Eric , Ferreira Daniel 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Elucidating compensatory mechanisms underpinning phonemic fluency (PF) may help to minimize its decline due to normal aging or neurodegenerative diseases. We investigated cortical brain networks potentially underpinning compensation of age-related differences in PF. Using graph theory, we constructed networks from measures of thickness for PF, semantic, and executive–visuospatial cortical networks. A total of 267 cognitively healthy individuals were divided into younger age (YA, 38–58 years) and older age (OA, 59–79 years) groups with low performance (LP) and high performance (HP) in PF: YA-LP, YA-HP, OA-LP, OA-HP. We found that the same pattern of reduced efficiency and increased transitivity was associated with both HP (compensation) and OA (aberrant network organization) in the PF and semantic cortical networks. When compared with the OA-LP group, the higher PF performance in the OA-HP group was associated with more segregated PF and semantic cortical networks, greater participation of frontal nodes, and stronger correlations within the PF cortical network. We conclude that more segregated cortical networks with strong involvement of frontal nodes seemed to allow older adults to maintain their high PF performance. Nodal analyses and measures of strength were helpful to disentangle compensation from the aberrant network organization associated with OA.
The revolution that did not happen: Terence Hutchison on the political economy of Jeremy Bentham
Authors: Denis Andy 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
The three-volume edition of Jeremy Bentham’s Economic Writings, edited by Werner Stark, was published between 1952 and 1954, and reviewed by Terence Hutchison in the Economic Journal in 1956. Based on the Stark edition, Hutchison argued that there had been a dramatic shift in Bentham’s views and policy recommendations between his earlier and later writings on political economy. With the benefit of a new, five-volume edition of Bentham’s Writings on Political Economy, edited by Michael Quinn, it can now be seen that the revolution in Bentham’s views on political economy proposed by Hutchison did not take place. On the contrary, an examination of Bentham’s treatment of fiscal and monetary policy in his principal general works on political economy, the Manual of Political Economy and the Institute of Political Economy, show a remarkable consistency, both in policy recommendations, and in the body of economic analysis in which they were based.
Intrastate Armed Conflict Termination and Foreign Direct Investment
Authors: Bak Daehee , Lee Hoon 
Published: February 2021

AbstractDoes intrastate conflict termination increase foreign direct investment (FDI)? Why do some countries receive rapid FDI inflows after an internal armed conflict ends, while others do not? As a key explanation, we focus on the different types of conflict termination that send different signals to foreign investors. We argue that post-conflict countries receive more FDI when an intrastate conflict ends in a decisive manner because decisive termination lowers the risk of conflict resumption that creates precarious investment climates. Using the UCDP armed conflict termination data from 1970 to 2009, we empirically find that countries emerging from an intrastate conflict that ends in one side's victory, in particular government victory, and that ends in a peace agreement with major power involvement attract more FDI over the course of post-conflict years.
Theoretical size at the onset of maturity and its density-dependent variability as an option in crustacean fisheries management
Authors: da Silva Santana Cesar Augusto , Lordan Colm , Power Anne Marie 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Theoretical size at the onset of maturity (TSOM) for female Norway lobster was estimated by a new methodology based on the probability distributions of mature individuals built on physiological maturity measures. Onset of maturity using TSOM varied from 18.4- to 33.7-mm carapace length for the Irish functional management units (FUs). These estimates showed a significant negative linear relationship (R2 = 0.60) with population density and a significant positive linear relationship with average size in females (R2 = 0.84). The size class at which 50% of the females are sexually mature (L50) was linked to the new TSOM metric by a significant positive linear relationship (R2 = 0.40). This set of linear relationships ultimately allowed TSOM and L50 to be estimated without a requirement for maturity stages to be distinguished. As well as contributing to the stock assessment and management of Nephrops (e.g. in data-limited FUs) and its potential for the calibration of more routinely used estimates, TSOM might be applied in new species and meta-analyses where size of maturity data are scarce. This new metric also better-defines the maturity process since, taken together, TSOM, L50, and smallest berried female represent sequential maturity events: (i) onset of maturity, (ii) 50% mature (from gonad staging), and (iii) berried females.
Long-term weight change and risk of breast cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study
Authors: Ellingjord-Dale Merete , Christakoudi Sofia , Weiderpass Elisabete , Panico Salvatore , Dossus Laure , Olsen Anja , Tjønneland Anne , Kaaks Rudolf , Schulze Matthias B , Masala Giovanna , Gram Inger T , Skeie Guri , Rosendahl Ann H , Sund Malin , Key Tim , Ferrari Pietro , Gunter Marc , Heath Alicia K , Tsilidis Konstantinos K , Riboli Elio ,   additional authors
Published: February 2021

Abstract

Background
The role of obesity and weight change in breast-cancer development is complex and incompletely understood. We investigated long-term weight change and breast-cancer risk by body mass index (BMI) at age 20 years, menopausal status, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and hormone-receptor status.

Methods
Using data on weight collected at three different time points from women who participated in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study, we investigated the association between weight change from age 20 years until middle adulthood and risk of breast cancer.

Results
In total, 150 257 women with a median age of 51 years at cohort entry were followed for an average of 14 years (standard deviation = 3.9) during which 6532 breast-cancer cases occurred. Compared with women with stable weight (±2.5 kg), long-term weight gain &gt;10 kg was positively associated with postmenopausal breast-cancer risk in women who were lean at age 20 [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.42; 95% confidence interval 1.22–1.65] in ever HRT users (HR = 1.23; 1.04–1.44), in never HRT users (HR = 1.40; 1.16–1.68) and in oestrogen-and-progesterone-receptor-positive (ER+PR+) breast cancer (HR = 1.46; 1.15–1.85).

Conclusion
Long-term weight gain was positively associated with postmenopausal breast cancer in women who were lean at age 20, both in HRT ever users and non-users, and hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer.
Maintaining Momentum in Infant Mental Health Research During COVID-19: Adapting Observational Assessments
Authors: Tesson Stephanie , Swinsburg Dianne , Kasparian Nadine A 
Published: February 2021

AbstractUnderstanding the potential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the developing parent-infant relationship is a priority, especially for medically-fragile infants and their caregivers who face distinct challenges and stressors. Observational assessments can provide important insights into parent-child behaviors and relational risk; however, stay-at-home directives and physical distancing measures associated with COVID-19 have significantly limited opportunities for in-person observational parent-infant assessment. To maintain momentum in our research program during the pandemic, we rapidly pivoted to remote, technology-assisted parent-infant observational assessments. In this commentary, we offer a series of strategies and recommendations to assist researchers in adapting observational parent-infant paradigms. We also discuss the benefits, challenges, and limitations of distance-delivered assessments, and offer considerations for clinical service provision and future research during and post the COVID-19 pandemic.
Life in the fast lane: roadkill risk along an urban–rural gradient
Authors: Kent Eleri , Schwartz Amy L W , Perkins Sarah E 
Published: February 2021

AbstractWildlife-vehicle collisions are a major cause of mortality in animal populations and can cause significant population-level effects. Urban areas are typically associated with higher road densities and unique wildlife communities in comparison to rural areas, and therefore have the potential to be associated with high numbers of collisions, and roadkill risk. Here, we use a citizen science database of wildlife roadkill and species distribution models to assess how roadkill risk (probability of roadkill observation per km2) varied along an urban–rural gradient for British wildlife. Roadkill risk was positively associated with road density, until around 5000 m/km2, a value representing villages or the outskirts of towns and cities. Beyond 5000 m/km2, risk remained high for some species (hedgehog, fox, pigeons and gulls) but reduced for other species (badger, rabbit, pheasant). Roadkill risk was a function of live species distribution for badger, hedgehog and rabbit, with significant overlap between spatial patterns of roadkill risk and the species’ live distribution. This was not the case for fox, pheasant, pigeons and gulls. Fox roadkill risk was underrepresented in rural areas, possibly due to low road density, while pheasant risk was overrepresented. For pigeons and gulls—well-known urban exploiters—roadkill risk was overrepresented in urban areas given their live distributions, possibly due to risks associated with foraging, particularly roadkill scavenging by gulls. Our results highlight the dangers of the UK’s dense road networks to wildlife, even to species considered adapted to urban environments and human disturbance.
Winter bird abundance, species richness and functional guild composition at Delhi’s ponds: does time of day and wetland extent matter?
Authors: Rawal Prakhar , Kittur Swati , Chatakonda Murali Krishna , Sundar K S Gopi 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Urbanisation can limit species persistence and bias composition of functional guilds with serious consequences for ecosystem functioning and conservation planning. Standardised biodiversity surveys are missing at most tropical urban cities where biodiversity levels are high alongside rapidly increasing rates of urbanisation. We explored the utility of time-bound surveys to document winter birds at ponds (wetlands ≤ 5 ha) in Delhi, India at two different times of the day (morning and evening) and in areas with varying extents of wetlands. Systematic surveys at 39 ponds during January–March 2020 yielded an estimated 173 ± 22 bird species (∼37% of Delhi’s birds). The total bird species assemblage at ponds did not vary significantly with time of day, but β-diversity increased marginally with increasing extent of wetlands. Total bird abundance and species richness varied substantially with time of day, with differences apparent across several species rich functional feeding and habitat guilds. Abundance and species richness of some guilds, including species-poor guilds, varied in ponds located in areas with differing extent of wetlands. Reliable and comparable measures of species abundance and species richness (both total and across functional guilds)— metrics commonly used to set research and conservation priorities—in urban habitats can be obtained after appropriately standardising field effort. Such standardised efforts can help underscore the importance of maintaining and improving erstwhile-ignored habitats such as unprotected ponds that are providing refugia to hundreds of bird species in mega-cities like Delhi.
The effect of increasing temperature on crop photosynthesis: from enzymes to ecosystems
Authors: Moore Caitlin E , Meacham-Hensold Katherine , Lemonnier Pauline , Slattery Rebecca A , Benjamin Claire , Bernacchi Carl J , Lawson Tracy , Cavanagh Amanda P 
Published: February 2021

AbstractAs global land surface temperature continues to rise and heatwave events increase in frequency, duration, and/or intensity, our key food and fuel cropping systems will likely face increased heat-related stress. A large volume of literature exists on exploring measured and modelled impacts of rising temperature on crop photosynthesis, from enzymatic responses within the leaf up to larger ecosystem-scale responses that reflect seasonal and interannual crop responses to heat. This review discusses (i) how crop photosynthesis changes with temperature at the enzymatic scale within the leaf; (ii) how stomata and plant transport systems are affected by temperature; (iii) what features make a plant susceptible or tolerant to elevated temperature and heat stress; and (iv) how these temperature and heat effects compound at the ecosystem scale to affect crop yields. Throughout the review, we identify current advancements and future research trajectories that are needed to make our cropping systems more resilient to rising temperature and heat stress, which are both projected to occur due to current global fossil fuel emissions.
Ecological Specialization and Evolutionary Reticulation in Extant Hyaenidae
Authors: Westbury Michael V , Le Duc Diana , Duchêne David A , Krishnan Arunkumar , Prost Stefan , Rutschmann Sereina , Grau Jose H , Dalén Love , Weyrich Alexandra , Norén Karin , Werdelin Lars , Dalerum Fredrik , Schöneberg Torsten , Hofreiter Michael 
Published: February 2021

AbstractDuring the Miocene, Hyaenidae was a highly diverse family of Carnivora that has since been severely reduced to four species: the bone-cracking spotted, striped, and brown hyenas, and the specialized insectivorous aardwolf. Previous studies investigated the evolutionary histories of the spotted and brown hyenas, but little is known about the remaining two species. Moreover, the genomic underpinnings of scavenging and insectivory, defining traits of the extant species, remain elusive. Here, we generated an aardwolf genome and analyzed it together with the remaining three species to reveal their evolutionary relationships, genomic underpinnings of their scavenging and insectivorous lifestyles, and their respective genetic diversities and demographic histories. High levels of phylogenetic discordance suggest gene flow between the aardwolf lineage and the ancestral brown/striped hyena lineage. Genes related to immunity and digestion in the bone-cracking hyenas and craniofacial development in the aardwolf showed the strongest signals of selection, suggesting putative key adaptations to carrion and termite feeding, respectively. A family-wide expansion in olfactory receptor genes suggests that an acute sense of smell was a key early adaptation. Finally, we report very low levels of genetic diversity within the brown and striped hyenas despite no signs of inbreeding, putatively linked to their similarly slow decline in effective population size over the last ∼2 million years. High levels of genetic diversity and more stable population sizes through time are seen in the spotted hyena and aardwolf. Taken together, our findings highlight how ecological specialization can impact the evolutionary history, demographics, and adaptive genetic changes of an evolutionary lineage.
Highly pleiotropic functions of CYP78As and AMP1 are regulated in non-cell-autonomous/organ-specific manners
Authors: Nobusawa Takashi , Kamei Misaki , Ueda Hiroaki , Matsushima Naoya , Yamatani Hiroshi , Kusaba Makoto 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
The cytochrome P450 CYP78A5/KLUH in Arabidopsis thaliana is predicted to be involved in the synthesis of a mobile signal molecule that has a pleiotropic function that is distinct from classical phytohormones. CYP78A5 has five close relatives in Arabidopsis. We first investigated their functions, focusing on the plastochron, leaf size, and leaf senescence. Our analyses revealed that CYP78A5 and CYP78A7 are involved in the plastochron and leaf size, and CYP78A6 and CYP78A9 are involved in leaf senescence. Complementation analyses using heterologous promoters and expression analyses suggested that CYP78A isoforms have a common biochemical function and are functionally differentiated via organ-specific expression. The altered meristem program1 (amp1) carboxypeptidase mutant shows a phenotype very similar to that of the cyp78a5 mutant. Complementation analyses using boundary and organizing center-specific promoters suggested that both CYP78A5 and AMP1 act in a non-cell-autonomous manner. Analyses of multiple cyp78a mutants and crosses between cyp78a and amp1 mutants revealed that AMP1/LIKE AMP1 (LAMP1) and CYP78A isoforms regulate plastochron length and leaf senescence in the same genetic pathway, whereas leaf size is independently regulated. Furthermore, we detected feedback regulation between CYP78A6/CYP78A9 and AMP1 at the gene expression level. These observations raise the possibility that AMP1 and CYP78A isoforms are involved in the synthesis of the same mobile signal molecule, and suggest that AMP1 and CYP78A signaling pathways have a very close, albeit complex, functional relationship.
A Role for Auxin in Triggering Lamina Outgrowth of Unifacial Leaves
Authors: Nukazuka Akira , Yamaguchi Takahiro , Tsukaya Hirokazu 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
A common morphological feature of typical angiosperms is the patterning of lateral organs along primary axes of asymmetry—a proximodistal, a mediolateral, and an adaxial–abaxial axis. Angiosperm leaves usually have distinct adaxial–abaxial identity, which is required for the development of a flat shape. By contrast, many unifacial leaves, consisting of only the abaxial side, show a flattened morphology. This implicates a unique mechanism that allows leaf flattening independent of adaxial–abaxial identity. In this study, we report a role for auxin in outgrowth of unifacial leaves. In two closely related unifacial-leaved species of Juncaceae, Juncus prismatocarpus with flattened leaves, and Juncus wallichianus with transversally radialized leaves, the auxin-responsive gene GLYCOSIDE HYDROLASE3 displayed spatially different expression patterns within leaf primordia. Treatment of J. prismatocarpus seedlings with exogenous auxin or auxin transport inhibitors, which disturb endogenous auxin distribution, eliminated leaf flatness, resulting in a transversally radialized morphology. These treatments did not affect the radialized morphology of leaves of J. wallichianus. Moreover, elimination of leaf flatness by these treatments accompanied dysregulated expression of genetic factors needed to specify the leaf central-marginal polarity in J. prismatocarpus. The findings imply that lamina outgrowth of unifacial leaves relies on proper placement of auxin, which might induce initial leaf flattening and subsequently act to specify leaf polarity, promoting further flattening growth of leaves.
Long SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid sequences in blood monocytes collected soon after hospital admission
Authors: Pagano Nathan , Laurent-Rolle Maudry , Hsu Jack Chun-Chieh ,   the Yale IMPACT Research Team, Vogels Chantal BF , Grubaugh Nathan D , Manuelidis Laura 
Published: February 2021

ABSTRACTMany viruses infect circulating mononuclear cells thereby facilitating infection of diverse organs. Blood monocytes (PBMC) are being intensively studied as immunologic and pathologic responders to the new SARS-CoV-2 virus (CoV19) but direct evidence showing CoV19 in monocytes is lacking. Circulating myeloid cells that take up residence in various organs can harbor viral genomes for many years in lymphatic tissues and brain, and act as a source for re-infection and/or post-viral organ pathology. Because nucleocapsid (NC) proteins protect the viral genome we tested PBMC from acutely ill patients for the diagnostic 72bp NC RNA plus adjacent longer (301bp) transcripts. In 2/11 patient PBMC, but no uninfected controls, long NCs were positive as early as 2-6 days after hospital admission as validated by sequencing. Pathogenic viral fragments, or the infectious virus, are probably disseminated by rare myeloid migratory cells that incorporate CoV19 by several pathways. Predictably, these cells carried CoV19 to heart and brain educing the late post-viral pathologies now evident.