bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Experimental evidence for sexual selection against inbred males
Authors: Vega‐Trejo Regina , Head Megan L. , Keogh J. Scott , Jennions Michael D. 
Published: December 2016

SummaryThe detrimental effects of matings between relatives are well known. However, few studies determine the extent to which inbreeding depression in males is due to natural or sexual selection. Importantly, measuring fitness or key fitness components, rather than phenotypic traits allows more accurate estimation of inbreeding depression.We investigate how differences in inbreeding and juvenile diet (i.e. early stressful environment) influence a key component of male fitness, namely their reproductive success.We experimentally created inbred and outbred male mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) by mating full‐sibs (f = 0·25). We show that this led to a 23% reduction in genome‐wide heterozygosity based onSNPs. Males were raised on different diets early in life to create high‐stress and low‐stress rearing environments. We then allowed adult males to compete freely for females to test if inbreeding, early diet and their interaction affect a male's share of paternity.Early diet had no effect on paternity, but outbred males sired almost twice as many offspring as inbred males (n = 628 offspring from 122 potential sires). Using artificial insemination methods we determined that this was unlikely to be due to early embryo mortality of eggs fertilised by inbred males: there was no evidence that male inbreeding status affects the realised fecundity of females (n = 288).Given there was no difference in male mortality in our competitive mating experiment, the lower reproductive success of inbred males can most parsimoniously be attributed to inbreeding negatively affecting sexually selected traits that affect male mating success and/or sperm competitiveness. We discuss which sexually selected traits might be involved.
A quantitative framework to estimate the relative importance of environment, spatial variation and patch connectivity in driving community composition
Authors: Monteiro Viviane F. , Paiva Paulo C. , Peres‐Neto Pedro R. 
Published: December 2016

Summary

Perhaps the most widely used quantitative approach in metacommunity ecology is the estimation of the importance of local environment vs. spatial structuring using the variation partitioning framework. Contrary to metapopulation models, however, current empirical studies of metacommunity structure using variation partitioning assume a space‐for‐dispersal substitution due to the lack of analytical frameworks that incorporate patch connectivity predictors of dispersal dynamics.

Here, a method is presented that allows estimating the relative importance of environment, spatial variation and patch connectivity in driving community composition variation within metacommunities. The proposed approach is illustrated by a study designed to understand the factors driving the structure of a soft‐bottom marine polychaete metacommunity.

Using a standard variation partitioning scheme (i.e. where only environmental and spatial predictors are used), only about 13% of the variation in metacommunity structure was explained. With the connectivity set of predictors, the total amount of explained variation increased up to 51% of the variation.

These results highlight the importance of considering predictors of patch connectivity rather than just spatial predictors. Given that information on connectivity can be estimated by commonly available data on species distributions for a number of taxa, the framework presented here can be readily applied to past studies as well, facilitating a more robust evaluation of the factors contributing to metacommunity structure.
Climatic conditions produce contrasting influences on demographic traits in a long‐distance Arctic migrant
Authors: Cleasby Ian R. , Bodey Thomas W. , Vigfusdottir Freydis , McDonald Jenni L. , McElwaine Graham , Mackie Kerry , Colhoun Kendrew , Bearhop Stuart 
Published: December 2016

Summary

The manner in which patterns of variation and interactions among demographic rates contribute to population growth rate (λ) is key to understanding how animal populations will respond to changing climatic conditions.

Migratory species are likely to be particularly sensitive to climatic conditions as they experience a range of different environments throughout their annual cycle. However, few studies have provided fully integrated demographic analyses of migratory populations in response to changing climatic conditions.

Here, we employed integrated population models to demonstrate that the environmental conditions experienced during a short but critical period play a central role in the demography of a long‐distance migrant, the light‐bellied Brent goose (Branta bernicla hrota).

Female survival was positively associated with June North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) values, whereas male survival was not. In contrast, breeding productivity was negatively associated with June NAO, suggesting a trade‐off between female survival and reproductive success. Both adult female and adult male survival showed low temporal variation, whereas there was high temporal variation in recruitment and breeding productivity. In addition, while annual population growth was positively correlated with annual breeding productivity, a sensitivity analysis revealed that population growth was most sensitive to changes in adult survival.

Our results demonstrate that the environmental conditions experienced during a relatively short‐time window at the start of the breeding season play a critical role in shaping the demography of a long‐distant Arctic migrant. Crucially, different demographic rates responded in opposing directions to climatic variation, emphasising the need for integrated analysis of multiple demographic traits when understanding population dynamics.
Projected changes in prevailing winds for transatlantic migratory birds under global warming
Authors: La Sorte Frank A. , Fink Daniel 
Published: December 2016

Summary

A number of terrestrial bird species that breed in North America cross the Atlantic Ocean during autumn migration when travelling to their non‐breeding grounds in the Caribbean or South America. When conducting oceanic crossings, migratory birds tend to associate with mild or supportive winds, whose speed and direction may change under global warming. The implications of these changes for transoceanic migratory bird populations have not been addressed.

We used occurrence information from eBird (1950–2015) to estimate the geographical location of population centres at a daily temporal resolution across the annual cycle for 10 transatlantic migratory bird species. We used this information to estimate the location and timing of autumn migration within the transatlantic flyway. We estimated how prevailing winds are projected to change within the transatlantic flyway during this time using daily wind speed anomalies (1996–2005 and 2091–2100) from 29 Atmosphere‐Ocean General Circulation Models implemented under CMIP5.

Autumn transatlantic migrants have the potential to encounter strong westerly crosswinds early in their transatlantic journey at intermediate and especially high migration altitudes, strong headwinds at low and intermediate migration altitudes within the Caribbean that increase in strength as the season progresses, and weak tailwinds at intermediate and high migration altitudes east of the Caribbean. The CMIP5 simulations suggest that, during this century, the likelihood of autumn transatlantic migrants encountering strong westerly crosswinds will diminish.

As global warming progresses, the need for species to compensate or drift under the influence of strong westerly crosswinds during the initial phase of their autumn transatlantic journey may be diminished. Existing strategies that promote headwind avoidance and tailwind assistance will likely remain valid. Thus, climate change may reduce time and energy requirements and the chance of mortality or vagrancy during a specific but likely critical portion of these species' autumn migration journey.
Alleviative effect of ciliary neurotrophic factor analogue on high fat‐induced hepatic steatosis is partially independent of the central regulation
Authors: Cui Ming‐Xia , Yang Li‐Ning , Wang Xiao‐Xia , Wang Lei , Li Rui‐Lian , Han Wei , Wu Yong‐Jie 
Published: December 2016

SummaryCiliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) analogues were reported to ameliorate fatty liver in db/db or high‐fat diet‐fed mice. It is generally thought that CNTF exerts its actions centrally. The aim of this study was to investigate whether peripheral effects of CNTF analogues are involved in the therapeutic effect on high fat‐induced hepatic steatosis. The rat model of fatty liver was induced by a high‐fat diet (HFD) for 12 weeks. In the next 2 weeks, rats were fed the HFD along with subcutaneous injection of vehicle or mutant recombinant human CNTF (rhmCNTF 0.05‐0.2 mg/kg per day). Steatotic HepG2 cells were induced by 50% fetal bovine serum (FBS) for 48 hours, and then treated with rhmCNTF for 24 hours. The results showed that after rhmCNTF treatment, hepatic triglyceride (TG) accumulation was attenuated both in vivo and in vitro. RhmCNTF increased protein expression of CPT‐1 and PPARα, and decreased SREBP‐1c, FAS and SCD‐1 in steatotic HepG2 cells. But the production of nitric oxide and 8‐isoPGF2α in steatotic HepG2 cells was not affected by rhmCNTF. These results suggest that rhmCNTF has a peripheral effect that alleviates fat‐induced hepatic steatosis.
When Basic Income Meets Professor Pangloss: Ignoring Public Administration and Its Perils
Authors: De Wispelaere Jurgen , Stirton Lindsay 
Published: December 2016

AbstractBasic income advocates propose a model that they believe will dramatically improve on current welfare programmes by alleviating poverty, reducing involuntary unemployment and social exclusion, redistributing care work, achieving a better work–life balance, and so on. Whether these expected social effects materialise in practice critically depends on how the model is implemented, but on this topic the basic income debate remains largely silent. Few advocates explicitly consider questions of implementation, and those that do are typically dismissive of the administrative challenges of implementing a basic income and critical (even overtly hostile) towards bureaucracy. In this contribution we briefly examine (and rebut) several reasons that have led basic income advocates to ignore administration. The main peril of such neglect, we argue, is that it misleads basic income advocates into a form of Panglossian optimism that risks causing basic income advocacy to become self‐defeating.
Obsolescence and Innovation in Economic Statistics on Agriculture
Authors: Hill Berkeley 
Published: December 2016

SummaryA re‐engineering of the systems for producing economic statistics for EU agriculture is advocated to make them more appropriate to the issues that are presently faced. In particular, the basic unit of the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) should be shifted from the fictional ‘holding’ to the complete business, which in most cases is the farm household‐firm. This should allow a much sounder explanation of investment, farm viability and many aspects of business behaviour. Balance sheets will be complete and more meaningful. A wider range of policies could be serviced. This implies that FADN's coverage needs to be expanded to collect additional data on, for example, household income and environmental items. Many national farm accounts surveys already gather some of this material for national policy purposes. At the EU level, the legal status of the FADN Farm Return is an impediment to this expansion, and ways to achieve greater flexibility need to be explored. But even within present constraints there are several likely innovations within data handling systems that would enhance the usefulness of FADN, such as an improved ability to trace single businesses over time. Improved knowledge exchange among FADN providers and users is a likely way forward.
The Effects of Egg and Diacetyl Tartaric Acid Esters of Monoglycerides Addition on Storage Stability, Texture, and Sensory Properties of Gluten‐Free Sorghum Bread
Authors: Bize Magali , Smith Brennan M. , Aramouni Fadi M. , Bean Scott R. 
Published: December 2016

AbstractThe impact of whole egg addition (as is) at 20%, 25%, or 30% (flour basis) on sorghum bread quality was evaluated. The use of the antistaling agent diacetyl tartaric acid esters of monoglycerides (DATEM) at 0.5% (flour basis) at each of the egg addition levels was also studied. Evaluated quality factors included color, specific volume, and crumb structure. Texture analysis was performed to evaluate the rate of quality loss based on changes in crumb hardness values over time. A trained sensory panel evaluated bread quality attributes by descriptive analysis. Sorghum breads with egg had larger specific volumes than the control, while DATEM had a negative effect on the volume of sorghum gluten‐free bread. Inclusion of egg in the bread formula improved cell structure and produced darker crust (P < 0.05). The addition of egg reduced bread hardness and slowed the rate of quality loss over a 12‐d storage period. Descriptive analysis confirmed the findings of texture analysis. Control breads were significantly harder (P < 0.05) than egg‐containing bread at days 0 and 4. This research demonstrates that addition of eggs to a gluten‐free sorghum bread formulation results in improved storage stability and better overall quality and acceptability of the product.
Estimated Time to Complete Direct Nursing Interventions Using the Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC) at Eight Hospitals in South Korea
Authors: Lee Eunjoo , Park Hyejin 
Published: December 2016

BACKGROUNDWithout data on the average time for performing nursing interventions, it is not possible to identify the cost‐effective nursing practices, nurse staffing levels, and skill mix that are associated with improved patient outcomes, nor can reimbursement rates be accurately determined.PURPOSEThe purpose of this study was to estimate the time needed to perform direct nursing interventions in Korea using the Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC) system, and then compare the findings with time estimates made by U.S. nurses.METHODSData were collected from 721 registered nurses working in eight hospitals in South Korea. Each nurse was asked to choose the 30 most frequently used direct nursing interventions from a list of 433 from the Korean version of the NIC and to estimate the time needed to perform their selections. The U.S. data from the second edition of NIC were used for comparative purposes.RESULTSAmong the 92 nursing interventions studied, the majority were in the physiological domain, with 46 (50%) in Physiological: Basic and 25 (27%) in Physiological: Complex. In Korea, the intervention reported as taking the shortest time was Tube Care: Umbilical Line, while the intervention reported as taking the longest time was Bowel Irrigation. Comparisons of the time to perform interventions in the two countries indicated that only 38 (41.3%) interventions are performed in 15 min or less in both countries. Of the remainder, six interventions showed considerable variation in time to perform between the two countries.CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONFindings from the study will provide fundamental data for calculating the cost of nursing interventions, which is critical for the establishment of reimbursement rates for interventions provided.
Clinical vs. DSM diagnosis of bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder and their co‐occurrence
Authors: Bayes A. J. , Parker G. B. 
Published: December 2016

ObjectiveTo investigate the extent and reasons contributing to discrepancies between those receiving a DSM as against a clinical diagnosis of a bipolar disorder (BP) and/or a borderline personality disorder (BPD).MethodWe interviewed participants previously receiving a BP or BPD diagnosis, studying those who met DSM or clinical criteria for one or both conditions. We compared the numbers of participants allocated to the three diagnostic categories according to rater strategy to calculate concordance rates and determine reasons for discordance.ResultsRates of assignment to BP, BPD and comorbid BP/BPD varied according to the diagnostic strategy. Concordance rates were reduced as BP disorder duration criteria were relaxed, with discordance mainly arising from clinical allocation of a BP disorder for those DSM assigned as unipolar depression. Rates of BPD allocation varied marginally, with discordance mostly arising from so clinically diagnosed receiving a comorbid BP/BPD DSM diagnosis. Finally, DSM overestimated comorbidity compared with clinician diagnoses. Of central importance, not imposing the DSM duration criteria for BP did not increase the prevalence of misdiagnosing BPD, a finding at variance with the literature.ConclusionRates and reasons for discordance between clinical and DSM diagnosis are detailed, which should assist clinical decision‐making.
Urothelium update: how the bladder mucosa measures bladder filling
Authors: Janssen D. A. W. , Schalken J. A. , Heesakkers J. P. F. A. 
Published: December 2016

AbstractAimThis review critically evaluates the evidence on mechanoreceptors and pathways in the bladder urothelium that are involved in normal bladder filling signalling.MethodsEvidence from in vitro and in vivo studies on (i) signalling pathways like the adenosine triphosphate pathway, cholinergic pathway and nitric oxide and adrenergic pathway, and (ii) different urothelial receptors that are involved in bladder filling signalling like purinergic receptors, sodium channels and TRP channels will be evaluated. Other potential pathways and receptors will also be discussed.ResultsBladder filling results in continuous changes in bladder wall stretch and exposure to urine. Both barrier and afferent signalling functions in the urothelium are constantly adapting to cope with these dynamics. Current evidence shows that the bladder mucosa hosts essential pathways and receptors that mediate bladder filling signalling. Intracellular calcium ion increase is a dominant factor in this signalling process. However, there is still no complete understanding how interacting receptors and pathways create a bladder filling signal. Currently, there are still novel receptors investigated that could also be participating in bladder filling signalling.ConclusionsNormal bladder filling sensation is dependent on multiple interacting mechanoreceptors and signalling pathways. Research efforts need to focus on how these pathways and receptors interact to fully understand normal bladder filling signalling.
Country‐level governance quality, ownership concentration, and debt maturity: A comparative study of Brazil and Chile
Authors: Martins Henrique Castro , Schiehll Eduardo , Terra Paulo Renato Soares 
Published: December 2016

AbstractManuscript typeEmpiricalResearch Question/IssueThis study investigates the interplay between country‐level governance quality and the capital structure choice at the firm level in Brazil and Chile. We examine the association between a firm's ownership concentration and its debt maturity structure and whether country‐level governance quality influences this association.Research Findings/InsightsUsing a large firm‐level dataset from Brazil and Chile for the period 2008–2013, we find a positive association between low ownership concentration and debt maturity. However, this association becomes negative when the largest shareholder has high ownership concentration. This result suggests that long‐term debt and ownership concentration act as substitute monitoring mechanisms. Moreover, debt maturity is inversely related to our aggregated index of country‐level governance quality, suggesting that in countries with governance systems that effectively protect debt holders, firms with high benefits of control (high ownership concentration) will use debt with shorter repayment periods in order to benefit from frequent monitoring by debt holders. Overall, our results support the view that financial markets tend to pressure firms with high benefits of control or greater agency conflict to make a tradeoff between the benefits of control and the cost and maturity structure of debt financing.Theoretical/Academic ImplicationsThis study contributes to the research on comparative corporate governance and capital structure. We also respond to recent calls to bridge the gap between under‐ and over‐socialized views of corporate governance by examining the interplay between firm‐ and country‐level governance variables. Our findings suggest a substitution effect between monitoring by equity holders and by debt holders, and that country‐level governance quality exerts a disciplinary influence over a firm's choice of debt maturity structure.Practitioner/Policy ImplicationsInvestors seeking to enter emerging markets such as Brazil and Chile can benefit from considering national governance factors that enhance debt holders’ external monitoring effectiveness. Because our findings show the importance of considering and improving the quality of country‐level governance, they are also useful for policy makers aiming to reform corporate governance practices in emerging markets.
Inhibition of adipose tissue PPARγ prevents increased adipocyte expansion after lipectomy and exacerbates a glucose‐intolerant phenotype
Authors: Booth A. D. , Magnuson A. M. , Cox‐York K. A. , Wei Y. , Wang D. , Pagliassotti M. J. , Foster M. T. 
Published: December 2016

AbstractObjectivesAdipose tissue plays a fundamental role in glucose homeostasis. For example, fat removal (lipectomy, LipX) in lean mice, resulting in a compensatory 50% increase in total fat mass, is associated with significant improvement in glucose tolerance. This study was designed to further examine the link between fat removal, adipose tissue compensation and glucose homeostasis using a peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor γ (PPAR γ; activator of adipogenesis) knockout mouse.Material and methodsThe study involved PPARγ knockout (FKOγ) or control mice (CON), subdivided into groups that received LipX or Sham surgery. We reasoned that as the ability of adipose tissue to expand in response to LipX would be compromised in FKOγ mice, so would improvements in glucose homeostasis.ResultsIn CON mice, LipX increased total adipose depot mass (~60%), adipocyte number (~45%) and changed adipocyte distribution to smaller cells. Glucose tolerance was improved (~30%) in LipX CON mice compared to Shams. In FKOγ mice, LipX did not result in any significant changes in adipose depot mass, adipocyte number or distribution. LipX FKOγ mice were also characterized by reduction of glucose tolerance (~30%) compared to shams.ConclusionsInhibition of adipose tissue PPARγ prevented LipX‐induced increases in adipocyte expansion and produced a glucose‐intolerant phenotype. These data support the notion that adipose tissue expansion is critical to maintain and/or improvement in glucose homeostasis.