bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Severe fire regimes decrease resilience of ectothermic populations
Authors: de Sousa Heitor Campos , Malvasio Adriana , Colli Guarino Rinaldi , Salguero‐Gómez Roberto 
Published: September 2024

Abstract

Understanding populations' responses to environmental change is crucial for mitigating human‐induced disturbances.

Here, we test hypotheses regarding how three essential components of demographic resilience (resistance, compensation and recovery) co‐vary along the distinct life histories of three lizard species exposed to variable, prescribed fire regimes.

Using a Bayesian hierarchical framework, we estimate vital rates (survival, growth and reproduction) with 14 years of monthly individual‐level data and mark‐recapture models to parameterize stochastic integral projection models from five sites in Brazilian savannas, each historically subjected to different fire regimes. With these models, we investigate how weather, microclimate and ecophysiological traits of each species influence their vital rates, emergent life history traits and demographic resilience components in varying fire regimes.

Overall, weather and microclimate are better predictors of the species' vital rates, rather than their ecophysiological traits. Our findings reveal that severe fire regimes increase populations' resistance but decrease compensation or recovery abilities. Instead, populations have higher compensatory and recovery abilities at intermediate degrees of fire severity. Additionally, we identify generation time and reproductive output as predictors of resilience trends across fire regimes and climate. Our analyses demonstrate that the probability and quantity of monthly reproduction are the proximal drivers of demographic resilience across the three species.

Our findings suggest that populations surpass a tipping point in severe fire regimes and achieve an alternative stable state to persist. Thus, higher heterogeneity in fire regimes can increase the reproductive aspects and resilience of different populations and avoid high‐severity regimes that homogenize the environment. Despite being more resistant, species with long generation times and low reproductive output take longer to recover and cannot compensate as much as species with faster paces of life. We emphasize how reproductive constraints, such as viviparity and fixed clutch sizes, impact the ability of ectothermic populations to benefit and recover from disturbances, underscoring their relevance in conservation assessments.
Plant metabolites modulate social networks and lifespan in a sawfly
Authors: Singh Pragya , Brueggemann Leon , Janz Steven , Saidi Yasmina , Baruah Gaurav , Müller Caroline 
Published: September 2024

Abstract

Social interactions influence disease spread, information flow and resource allocation across species, yet heterogeneity in social interaction frequency and its fitness consequences are still poorly understood. Additionally, the role of exogenous chemicals, such as non‐nutritive plant metabolites that are utilised by several animal species, in shaping social networks remains unclear.

Here, we investigated how non‐nutritive plant metabolites impact social interactions and the lifespan of the turnip sawfly, Athalia rosae. Adult sawflies acquire neo‐clerodane diterpenoids (‘clerodanoids’) from non‐food plants and this can serve as a defence against predation and increase mating success.

We found intraspecific variation in clerodanoids in natural populations and laboratory‐reared individuals. Clerodanoids could also be acquired from conspecifics that had prior access to the plant metabolites, which led to increased agonistic social interactions.

Network analysis indicated increased social interactions in sawfly groups where some or all individuals had prior access to clerodanoids, while groups with no prior access had fewer interactions. The frequency of social interactions was influenced by the clerodanoid status of the focal individual and that of other conspecifics.

Finally, we observed a shorter lifespan in adults with prior clerodanoid access when grouped with individuals without prior access, suggesting that social interactions to obtain clerodanoids have fitness costs. Our findings highlight the role of intraspecific variation in the acquisition of non‐nutritional plant metabolites in shaping social networks. This variation influences individual fitness and social interactions, thereby shaping the individualised social niche.
Seasonal variability and seagrass traits affect methane fluxes in a subtropical meadow
Authors: Bijak Alexandra L. , Reynolds Laura K. , Martens‐Habbena Willm , Smyth Ashley R. 
Published: September 2024

Abstract

Plant traits which vary both within and between species often drive biogeochemical cycling. Understanding the relative role of within‐ and between‐species trait variability in driving carbon cycling is essential to scaling site measurements to global carbon budgets. In seagrass meadows, carbon and nitrogen mineralization rates and associated greenhouse gas emissions are highly variable, impeding our ability to reliably predict whether meadows are net carbon sinks. Evaluating the influence of within‐ and between‐species trait variability on greenhouse gas fluxes will improve our understanding of local‐scale drivers of greenhouse gas production and consumption in seagrass meadows.

To test the effects of plant traits on dissolved greenhouse gas fluxes, we performed mesocosm incubations with live, intact seagrass plants. We compared methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes under dark and light conditions from sediments dominated by Halodule wrightii and Thalassia testudinum across dormant, early and peak growing seasons in a subtropical meadow along the west coast of peninsular Florida. We also measured oxygen (O2) fluxes to interpret greenhouse gas fluxes within the context of community metabolism. We measured several seagrass traits, such as above‐ and below‐ground biomass and leaf and root area and assessed their impact as well as the impact of species identity on dissolved gas fluxes.

We found that abiotic factors linked to metabolism (i.e. light and temperature) influenced greenhouse gas fluxes across seasons. In addition to light conditions and sampling month, plant size (a composite trait variable) was a significant predictor of O2 consumption and CH4 production under dark conditions, and better predicted fluxes than individual plant traits. CH4 production was slightly higher in H. wrightii‐dominated sediments, but species identity was less important than plant size in driving CH4 production. N2O fluxes were low and not influenced by plant traits or species identity.

Synthesis: Our results indicate that within‐species more so than between‐species trait variability drives the direction and magnitude of CH4 fluxes in seagrass meadows. We identified a trade‐off where seagrass biomass is often associated with enhanced sediment carbon storage, but in our study, plant size promoted CH4 production, potentially offsetting the benefits of long‐term storage.
Hospital‐physician integration and Medicare spending: Evidence from stable angina
Authors: Post Brady , Kitsakos Aliya , Alinezhad Farbod , Young Gary 
Published: September 2024

AbstractObjectiveTo examine the association between hospital‐cardiologist integration and Medicare spending for stable angina patients.Data Sources and Study SettingThis study used Medicare Standard Analytic Files from 2013 to 2020 and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services National Downloadable File for accompanying physician data.Study DesignThis was a retrospective cohort study of Medicare beneficiaries with a new diagnosis of stable angina between 2013 and 2020.Data Collection/Extraction MethodsPatients with a new diagnosis of stable angina were categorized by whether they received care from an independent or a hospital‐integrated cardiologist.Principal FindingsTotal spending for this sample was high: an average of $103,946 per patient over 12 months. Adjusted for covariates, patients of integrated cardiologists did not spend significantly more or less than clinically comparable patients of independent cardiologists (−$3856, 95% CI: −$8631 to 920, p = 0.11). This was true for overall inpatient (−$2622, 95% CI: −6069 to 825, p = 0.14) and outpatient (−1162, 95% CI: −$3510 to 1185, p = 0.33) spending as well as cardiology‐specific inpatient and outpatient spending. Among high‐risk patients, overall spending between the integrated and independent groups was comparable, though patients of integrated cardiologists incurred lower spending than those of their independent counterparts in inpatient care (−$13,589; 95% CI: −24,432 to −2746, p = 0.01). In a supplemental analysis, findings suggested that site‐neutral payments would have resulted in lower spending among patients of integrated physicians.ConclusionsSpecific clinical settings may lend themselves to efficiencies created by integration for certain complex patients, though we do not test a causal mechanism here. Adoption of site‐neutral payment policy may also lead to lower spending among patients of integrated physicians.What is known on this topic
Hospital‐physician integration has increased significantly in the United States.
Policymakers and health policy experts have expressed concerns that hospital‐physician integration leads to increased health spending and may threaten healthcare affordability.
While some studies link integration to greater spending, many use incomplete measures of spending, do not consider the potential benefits of care coordination, or rely on outdated data.
What this study adds
Spending among patients with stable angina, a common cardiovascular condition, was nearly equal, on average, across patients of integrated and independent cardiologists.
Inpatient spending on high‐risk patients was somewhat lower for those under the care of integrated cardiologists.
Overall, patients of integrated cardiologists incurred largely comparable spending relative to patients of independent cardiologists, indicating that the impact of hospital‐physician integration may depend on the clinical context.
The urban island: climatic suitability of Linepithema humile (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and the role of cities in the invasion of the Western Palearctic
Authors: LÓPEZ‐COLLAR Diego , CABRERO‐SAÑUDO Francisco J. , GIL‐TAPETADO Diego 
Published: September 2024

AbstractUrban environments often present environmental conditions that facilitate the introduction and establishment of nonnative and invasive species. These can expand their range into areas with unfavorable climates by taking advantage of the ecological and climatic homogenization of cities, bypassing the ecological barriers presented by the surrounding environment. One way to monitor the expansion of these species is using potential distribution models. We used as a model species the Argentine ant, Linepithema humile (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) whose invasion has caused serious consequences for biodiversity and economic losses worldwide. We used the average result of six different algorithms and used climatic variables and population density as a proxy for the urbanization level in the Western Palearctic to build the predictive model. The model indicates this ant prefers to inhabit areas with Mediterranean and Temperate Oceanic climates and that its suitability depends on two main factors: the continentality (temperature annual range) and the degree of urbanization. The species is predicted to be absent in areas with large temperature contrasts throughout the year, particularly in rural and peri‐urban areas (i.e. adjacent to urban areas) of inland regions. Conversely, the species has a predilection for coastal and urban areas where environmental conditions are attenuated by the influence of the sea or the “urban heat island” effect in the case of inland cities. In this sense, cities act as “bioclimatic islands” facilitating the establishment of the Argentine ant as a reservoir, enlarging its distribution into climatically nonoptimal areas, and promoting its future expansion in a scenario of global warming and socioeconomic change.
Early positive tactile stimulation reverses the increase of anxiety and decrease of sociality induced by early chronic mechanical pain in mandarin voles
Authors: SUN Yahan , XIAO Jiayu , LI Luoman , NIU Haiwei , ZHU Yiting , LI Lu , QIAN Wei , LI Yin , ZHANG Lizi , QU Yishan , BAI Yuting , HAN Xiao , HUANG Kaizhe , HE Zhixiong , TAI Fadao 
Published: September 2024

AbstractAnimals may experience early negative (mechanical pain: being retrieved using an incisor by parents or attacked) or positive stimulation (being licked and groomed) that may affect emotional and social behaviors in adulthood. Whether positive tactile stimulation can reverse adverse consequences on emotional and social behaviors in adulthood resulting from chronic mechanical pain and underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study used a tail‐pinching model during development to simulate mechanical pain experienced by pups in high‐social mandarin voles (Microtus mandarinus). Subsequently, brush‐like positive tactile stimuli were applied to the backs of the mandarin voles. Various behavioral tests were used to measure levels of anxiety, depression, and sociability. The results showed that early tail‐pinching delayed the eye opening of pups, increased levels of anxiety, reduced levels of sociality in male mandarin voles, and impaired social cognition in females during adulthood. Brushing on the back reversed some of these effects. While mandarin voles that were exposed to tail‐pinching during development were exposed to sub‐threshold variable stress as adults, they were more likely to show a stress‐induced increase of anxiety‐like behavior, reduction of sociability, and impairment of social cognition, displaying heightened susceptibility to stress, particularly in males. However, back‐brushing reversed some of these effects, implying that these adults display enhanced stress resilience. In addition, tail‐pinching reduced levels of serum oxytocin and increased corticosterone levels in serum, but back‐brushing reversed these effects. Overall, it was found that positive tactile stimulation reversed increases in anxiety and impairments of social behavior induced by negative stimulation in male mandarin voles via alteration of oxytocin and corticosterone levels.
Dynamic Characteristics of the Long Runout Rock‐ice Avalanche at High Altitude—A Case from the Zelongnong Basin, Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis, China
Authors: GAO Shaohua , YIN Yueping , LI Bin , GAO Yang , ZHANG Nan , ZHANG Tiantian , GAO Haoyuan , LIU Xiaojie 
Published: September 2024

AbstractRock‐ice avalanches have frequently occurred in the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis region due to climate change and active tectonic movements. These events commonly trigger catastrophic geohazard chains, including debris flows, river blockages, and floods. This study focuses on the Zelongnong Basin, analyzing the geomorphic and dynamic characteristics of high‐altitude disasters. The basin exhibits typical vertical zonation, with disaster sources initiating at elevations exceeding 4000 m and runout distances reaching up to 10 km. The disaster chain movement involves complex dynamic effects, including impact disintegration, soil‐rock mixture arching, dynamic erosion, and debris deposition, enhancing understanding of the flow behavior and dynamic characteristics of rock‐ice avalanches. The presence of ice significantly increases mobility due to lubrication and frictional melting. In the disaster event of September 10, 2020, the maximum flow velocity and thickness reached 40 m/s and 43 m, respectively. Furthermore, continuous deformation of the Zelongnong glacier moraine was observed, with maximum cumulative deformations of 44.68 m in the distance direction and 25.96 m in the azimuth direction from March 25, 2022, to August 25, 2022. In the future, the risk of rock‐ice avalanches in the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis region will remain extremely high, necessitating a focus on early warning and risk mitigation strategies for such basin disasters.
Impact of sarcopenia on the prognosis of patients with advanced non‐small cell lung cancer treated with antiangiogenic therapy: A propensity score matching analysis
Authors: Huang Fuchun , Ma Mingxuan , Lang Liye , Yang Shuang , Zhao Hui , Zhang Jialin , Liu Hua 
Published: September 2024

AbstractBackgroundLimited information is available regarding the impact of sarcopenia on the prognosis of antiangiogenic therapy in individuals with advanced non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study primarily sought to examine the prognostic significance of sarcopenia in individuals with advanced NSCLC undergoing antiangiogenic therapy.MethodsWe retrospectively enrolled all patients who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria from 2019 to 2021 at Nantong University Hospital. Patients were grouped according to the presence or absence of sarcopenia. After propensity score matching (PSM), progression‐free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and adverse event rates were compared between the two groups. Factors associated with prognosis were screened using univariate and multivariate analyses.ResultsA total of 267 patients were included, with a total of 201 matched at baseline after PSM (77 in the sarcopenia group and 124 in the non‐sarcopenia group). The sarcopenia group had lower PFS (p = 0.043) and OS (p = 0.011) than the non‐sarcopenia group and a higher incidence of adverse events (p = 0.044). Multivariate analysis suggested that sarcopenia is an independent prognostic risk factor for OS in advanced NSCLC patients receiving antiangiogenic therapies (p = 0.009). Results of subgroup analyses showed some differences in the impact of sarcopenia on survival prognosis in populations with different characteristics.ConclusionPatients with advanced NSCLC with comorbid sarcopenia exhibit a worse prognosis when treated with antiangiogenic therapy, and preventing and ameliorating sarcopenia may lead to better survival outcomes in patients with advanced NSCLC.
Intragenic dystrophin (DMD) duplication variant in Entlebucher Mountain Dogs with Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Authors: Schwarz Cleo , Jagannathan Vidhya , Schelling Claude , Leeb Tosso 
Published: September 2024

AbstractMuscular dystrophies represent a group of disorders characterized by progressive muscle degeneration and weakness. An important subgroup are the dystrophin‐related muscular dystrophies caused by variants in the DMD gene. They can be divided into the more severe Duchenne muscular dystrophy and the milder Becker muscular dystrophy. Here, we characterize the clinical, histopathological and molecular genetic aspects of two male Entlebucher Mountain Dogs with clinical signs of muscular dystrophy. The two dogs presented with marked dysphagia starting at the age of several weeks and in the later course recognizable exercise intolerance with highly increased serum creatine kinase levels. Histopathological signs of a dystrophic myopathy represented by degeneration of muscle fibers and signs of regeneration were present. Whole genome sequencing of one affected dog identified an intragenic 8.6 kb duplication in the X‐chromosomal DMD gene, c.7528‐4048_7645 + 4450dup. No other protein‐changing variants in candidate genes for muscular dystrophy were identified. The duplication includes exon 52 of DMD and is predicted to lead to a frameshift and truncation of 30% of the wild‐type open reading frame. Genotyping of the whole family confirmed the presence of the mutant allele in both affected dogs and the unaffected dam. The correct co‐segregation of the mutant allele in the affected family as well as knowledge from humans and other species suggest the identified DMD variant as the most likely candidate variant for the muscular dystrophy phenotype in the two investigated dogs.
Management of neonatal head injuries: A retrospective cohort study
Authors: Parri Niccolò , Giacalone Martina , Greco Marco , Aceti Arianna , Lucenteforte Ersilia , Corsini Iuri ,   the NeonATal Injury preVention rEsearch (NATIVE) group
Published: September 2024

AbstractAimThe aim of this study is to describe circumstances, management and short‐term outcomes of neonatal head trauma, and adherence to the Paediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) head trauma prediction rule for children under 2 years.MethodsMulticentre retrospective cohort study of neonates (<29 days) with head trauma across 25 emergency departments (ED) from January 2017 to June 2021.ResultsA total of 492 neonates (median age 17 days, range 0–28 days) with non‐trivial head trauma were enrolled. Falls were the most common injury mechanism (375/492, 76.2%). Imaging was performed in 150/492 (30.5%) neonates.Clinically important traumatic brain injury (ciTBI), defined as death, neurosurgery, prolonged intubation, or extended hospitalisation from injury, occurred in 7/492 (1.4%) cases. Notably, 286/492 (58.1%) neonates were managed by short‐term observation (<48 h), and 126/492 (25.6%) were admitted.Among high‐risk neonates per PECARN criteria, 17/21 (80.9%) did not undergo recommended head CT scans but were observed within ED short observation units or underwent alternative imaging, with no ciTBI diagnoses among those discharged without CT.ConclusionSevere neonatal head injuries are rare, and most neonatal head injuries have a favourable outcome, making observation a suitable approach, while remaining vigilant for signs of non‐accidental injuries.
Understanding internal dynamics of state anxiety during COVID‐19 pandemic: Seven‐wave longitudinal findings via panel network analysis
Authors: Zhang Yimei , Ma Zhihao 
Published: September 2024

AbstractResearch on state anxiety has long been dominated by the traditional psychometric approach that assumes anxiety symptoms have a common cause. Yet state anxiety can be conceptualized as a network system. In this study, we utilized data from the COVID‐Dynamic dataset from waves 7 to 13, collected at three‐week intervals from June 6, 2020, to October 13, 2020, and included 1,042 valid participants to characterize the internal dynamics of state anxiety. Using the Gaussian graphical model along with strength centrality, we estimated three network models of state anxiety. The between‐subjects and contemporaneous network showed numerous positive relations between items and some unexpected negative relations. Three communities were identified in the between‐subjects network, and two communities were identified in the contemporaneous network. The temporal network showed the coexistence of positive and negative predictions between items after three weeks. Several items exhibited significant positive autocorrelations after three weeks. These findings have implications for anxiety theory and clinical interventions at between‐subjects and within‐subjects levels.
Acalabrutinib alone or in combination with rituximab for follicular lymphoma: An open‐label study
Authors: Strati Paolo , Champion Rebecca , Coleman Morton , Smith Sonali M. , Venugopal Parameswaran , Martin Peter , Wood Andrew , Miller Kara , Christian Beth 
Published: September 2024

SummaryAcalabrutinib is a selective, second‐generation Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor. In this open‐label, parallel‐group study, patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) follicular lymphoma (FL) were randomised to either acalabrutinib monotherapy or acalabrutinib plus rituximab. An additional cohort of patients with treatment‐naive (TN) FL received only the acalabrutinib‐rituximab combination. Acalabrutinib‐rituximab was well tolerated and active in R/R and TN FL; in the TN cohort the overall response rate was 92.3% with most remissions lasting over 4 years. Acalabrutinib monotherapy was also well tolerated and active in R/R FL. These results support further study of acalabrutinib alone and in combination with rituximab in FL.