bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Agency in Reproduction
Authors: Nuño de la Rosa Laura 
Published: May 2023

AbstractWhile niche construction theory and developmental approaches to evolution have brought to the front the active role of organisms as ecological and developmental agents, respectively, the role of agents in reproduction has been widely neglected by organismal perspectives of evolution. This paper addresses this problem by proposing an agential view of reproduction and shows that such a perspective has implications for the explanation of the origin of modes of reproduction, the evolvability of reproductive modes, and the coevolution between reproduction and social behavior. After introducing the two prevalent views of agency in evolutionary biology, namely those of organismal agency and selective agency, I contrast these two perspectives as applied to the evolution of animal reproduction. Taking eutherian pregnancy as a case study, I wonder whether organismal approaches to agency forged in the frame of niche construction and developmental plasticity theories can account for the goal‐directed activities involved in reproductive processes. I conclude that the agential role of organisms in reproduction is irreducible to developmental and ecological agency, and that reproductive goals need to be included into our definitions of organismal agency. I then explore the evolutionary consequences of endorsing an agential approach to reproduction, showing how such an approach might illuminate our understanding of the evolutionary origination and developmental evolvability of reproductive modes. Finally, I analyze recent studies on the coevolution between viviparity and social behavior in vertebrates to suggest that an agential notion of reproduction can provide unforeseen links between developmental and ecological agency.
The contribution of enslaved workers to output and growth in the antebellum United States
Authors: Stelzner Mark , Beckert Sven 
Published: May 2023

AbstractEstimating the contribution of enslaved workers to output and growth in the United States during the first half of the nineteenth century is a crucial building block to better understand the contours of nineteenth‐century US economic history, and more generally, the connection between slavery and capitalism. Existing estimates only present a partial picture and are potentially problematic. In this paper, we use data on enslaved person valuations to calculate the contribution made by enslaved workers to regional and national gross national product (GNP) in 1839 and 1859 and to the growth in per capita output in the 20 years before the Civil War. We find that in the United States, enslaved workers were responsible for somewhere between 12.49 per cent and 18.0 per cent of the increase in output per capita between 1839 and 1859.
Efficacy of cannabidiol in convulsive and nonconvulsive seizure types associated with treatment‐resistant epilepsies in the Expanded Access Program
Authors: Flamini Robert J. , Comi Anne M. , Bebin E. Martina , Chez Michael G. , Clark Gary , Devinsky Orrin , Hussain Shaun A. , Lyons Paul D. , Patel Anup D. , Rosengard Jillian L. , Sahebkar Farhad , Segal Eric , Seltzer Laurie , Szaflarski Jerzy P. , Weinstock Arie 
Published: May 2023

AbstractThe cannabidiol (CBD) Expanded Access Program (EAP), initiated in 2014, provided CBD (Epidiolex) to patients with treatment‐resistant epilepsy (TRE). In the final pooled analysis of 892 patients treated through January 2019 (median exposure = 694 days), CBD treatment was associated with a 46%–66% reduction in median monthly total (convulsive plus nonconvulsive) seizure frequency. CBD was well tolerated, and adverse events were consistent with previous findings. We used pooled EAP data to investigate the effectiveness of add‐on CBD therapy for individual convulsive seizure types (clonic, tonic, tonic–clonic, atonic, focal to bilateral tonic–clonic), nonconvulsive seizure types (focal with and without impaired consciousness, absence [typical and atypical], myoclonic, myoclonic absence), and epileptic spasms. CBD treatment was associated with a reduction in the frequency of convulsive seizure types (median percentage reduction = 47%–100%), and nonconvulsive seizure types and epileptic spasms (median percentage reduction = 50%–100%) across visit intervals through 144 weeks of treatment. Approximately 50% of patients had ≥50% reduction in convulsive and nonconvulsive seizure types and epileptic spasms at nearly all intervals. These results show a favorable effect of long‐term CBD use in patients with TRE, who may experience various convulsive and nonconvulsive seizure types. Future controlled trials are needed to confirm these findings.
Deep net detection and onset prediction of electrographic seizure patterns in responsive neurostimulation
Authors: Peterson Victoria , Kokkinos Vasileios , Ferrante Enzo , Walton Ashley , Merk Timon , Hadanny Amir , Saravanan Varun , Sisterson Nathaniel , Zaher Naoir , Urban Alexandra , Richardson R. Mark 
Published: May 2023

AbstractObjectiveManaging the progress of drug‐resistant epilepsy patients implanted with the Responsive Neurostimulation (RNS) System requires the manual evaluation of hundreds of hours of intracranial recordings. The generation of these large amounts of data and the scarcity of experts' time for evaluation necessitate the development of automatic tools to detect intracranial electroencephalographic (iEEG) seizure patterns (iESPs) with expert‐level accuracy. We developed an intelligent system for identifying the presence and onset time of iESPs in iEEG recordings from the RNS device.MethodsAn iEEG dataset from 24 patients (36 293 recordings) recorded by the RNS System was used for training and evaluating a neural network model (iESPnet). The model was trained to identify the probability of seizure onset at each sample point of the iEEG. The reliability of the net was assessed and compared to baseline methods, including detections made by the device. iESPnet performance was measured using balanced accuracy and the F1 score for iESP detection. The prediction time was assessed via both the error and the mean absolute error. The model was evaluated following a hold‐one‐out strategy, and then validated in a separate cohort of 26 patients from a different medical center.ResultsiESPnet detected the presence of an iESP with a mean accuracy value of 90% and an onset time prediction error of approximately 3.4 s. There was no relationship between electrode location and prediction outcome. Model outputs were well calibrated and unbiased by the RNS detections. Validation on a separate cohort further supported iESPnet applicability in real clinical scenarios. Importantly, RNS device detections were found to be less accurate and delayed in nonresponders; therefore, tools to improve the accuracy of seizure detection are critical for increasing therapeutic efficacy.SignificanceiESPnet is a reliable and accurate tool with the potential to alleviate the time‐consuming manual inspection of iESPs and facilitate the evaluation of therapeutic response in RNS‐implanted patients.
Male pattern hair loss: Can developmental origins explain the pattern?
Authors: Redmond Leah C. , Limbu Summik , Farjo Bessam , Messenger Andrew G. , Higgins Claire A. 
Published: May 2023

AbstractMale pattern hair loss (MPHL), also referred to as male androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is the most common type of non‐scarring progressive hair loss, with 80% of men suffering from this condition in their lifetime. In MPHL, the hair line recedes to a specific part of the scalp which cannot be accurately predicted. Hair is lost from the front, vertex, and the crown, yet temporal and occipital follicles remain. The visual effect of hair loss is due to hair follicle miniaturisation, where terminal hair follicles become dimensionally smaller. Miniaturisation is also characterised by a shortening of the growth phase of the hair cycle (anagen), and a prolongation of the dormant phase (kenogen). Together, these changes result in the production of thinner and shorter hair fibres, referred to as miniaturised or vellus hairs. It remains unclear why miniaturisation occurs in this specific pattern, with frontal follicles being susceptible while occipital follicles remain in a terminal state. One main factor we believe to be at play, which will be discussed in this viewpoint, is the developmental origin of the skin and hair follicle dermis on different regions of the scalp.
Using the best of two worlds: A bio‐economic stock assessment (BESA) method using catch and price data
Authors: Lancker Kira , Voss Rudi , Zimmermann Fabian , Quaas Martin F. 
Published: May 2023

AbstractReliable stock assessments are essential for successful and sustainable fisheries management. Advanced stock assessment methods are expensive, as they require age‐ or length‐structured catch and detailed fishery‐independent data, which prevents their widespread use, especially in developing regions. Furthermore, modern fisheries management increasingly includes socio‐economic considerations. Integrated ecological‐economic advice can be provided by bio‐economic models, but this requires the estimation of economic parameters. To improve accuracy of data‐limited stock assessment while jointly estimating biological and economic parameters, we propose to use price data, in addition to catches, in a new bio‐economic stock assessment (‘BESA’) approach for de‐facto open access stocks. Price data are widely available, also in the Global South. BESA is based on a state‐space approach and uncovers biomass dynamics by use of the extended Kalman filter in combination with Bayesian estimation. We show that estimates for biological and economic parameters can be obtained jointly, with reliability gains for the stock assessment from the additional information inherent in price data, compared to alternative assessment methods for data‐poor stocks. In a real‐world application to Barents Sea shrimp (Pandalus borealis, Pandalidae), we show that BESA benchmarks well also against advanced stock assessment results. BESA can thus be both a stand‐alone approach for currently unassessed stocks as well as a complement to other available methods by providing bio‐economic information for advanced fisheries management.
Coherence of terrestrial vertebrate species richness with external drivers across scales and taxonomic groups
Authors: O'Malley Conor P. B. , Roberts Gareth G. , Mannion Philip D. , Hackel Jan , Wang Yanghua 
Published: May 2023

AbstractAimUnderstanding connections between environment and biodiversity is crucial for conservation, identifying causes of ecosystem stress, and predicting population responses to changing environments. Explaining biodiversity requires an understanding of how species richness and environment covary across scales. Here, we identify scales and locations at which biodiversity is generated and correlates with environment.LocationFull latitudinal range per continent.Time PeriodPresent day.Major Taxa StudiedTerrestrial vertebrates: all mammals, carnivorans, bats, songbirds, hummingbirds, amphibians.MethodsWe describe the use of wavelet power spectra, cross‐power and coherence for identifying scale‐dependent trends across Earth's surface. Spectra reveal scale‐ and location‐dependent coherence between species richness and topography (E), mean annual precipitation (Pn), temperature (Tm) and annual temperature range (ΔT).Results>97% of species richness of taxa studied is generated at large scales, that is, wavelengths  km, with 30%–69% generated at scales  km. At these scales, richness tends to be highly coherent and anti‐correlated with E and ΔT, and positively correlated with Pn and Tm. Coherence between carnivoran richness and ΔT is low across scales, implying insensitivity to seasonal temperature variations. Conversely, amphibian richness is strongly anti‐correlated with ΔT at large scales. At scales  km, examined taxa, except carnivorans, show highest richness within the tropics. Terrestrial plateaux exhibit high coherence between carnivorans and E at scales  km, consistent with contribution of large‐scale tectonic processes to biodiversity. Results are similar across different continents and for global latitudinal averages. Spectral admittance permits derivation of rules‐of‐thumb relating long‐wavelength environmental and species richness trends.Main ConclusionsSensitivities of mammal, bird and amphibian populations to environment are highly scale dependent. At large scales, carnivoran richness is largely independent of temperature and precipitation, whereas amphibian richness correlates strongly with precipitation and temperature, and anti‐correlates with temperature range. These results pave the way for spectral‐based calibration of models that predict biodiversity response to climate change scenarios.
Functional and historical drivers of leaf shape evolution in palms (Arecaceae)
Authors: Torres Jiménez Maria Fernanda , Chazot Nicolas , Emilio Thaise , Uddling Johan , Antonelli Alexandre , Faurby Søren , Bacon Christine D. 
Published: May 2023

AbstractAimLeaves display a remarkable variety of shapes, each with potential ecological advantages in specific climates. While the relations between leaf shape and either climate or height have been relatively well studied in eudicots, the macroecological drivers of shape remain poorly known in monocots. Here, we investigated the associations between climate and plant height with the evolution of leaf shape in a clade with high species and morphological diversity.LocationGlobal.Time periodCretaceous to contemporary.Major taxa studiedPalms (Arecaceae).MethodsWe apply a Bayesian phylogenetic mixed model to test for associations between climate and leaf shape (all – entire‐leaved, pinnate‐dissected, palmate‐dissected and costapalmate). We further reconstruct the ancestral leaf shape using multistate speciation and extinction models and compare the frequency of shapes with global temperatures through time.ResultsWe find that plant height associates with dissected leaves and that annual precipitation associates with pinnate shapes. The ancestral leaf shape is unclear, but early diversification was dominated by pinnate‐dissected palms, which has remained the most species‐rich form of leaves throughout palm history.Main ConclusionsPalms that are tall and live in humid regions are more likely to have pinnate leaves. Through geological time scales, temperature did not play an obvious role in determining leaf shapes. This study contributes to our understanding of how the diversity of leaf shapes is linked to biological and climatic factors.
Sexism without sexists: Gender‐blind frames in police work
Authors: Lo Jenia , Lim Adelyn 
Published: May 2023

AbstractThis article examines policewomen's experiences of work in the Singapore Police Force (SPF). In recent years, female officers in the SPF have accomplished many “firsts,” alluding to women not only succeeding in entering the male‐dominated profession but attaining equal status as their male counterparts. Based on in‐depth interviews and content analysis, however, policewomen in the SPF are still confronting various forms of gender discrimination, with female officers navigating masculine norms, a gendered division of labor, and sexual harassment at work. How can we explain this disjuncture between the SPF's rhetoric of gender neutrality and policewomen's reality of gender inequality? We argue that first, the SPF as an organization, and some policewomen themselves, adopt gender‐blind frames to interpret any forms of gender discrimination, by insisting that they do not see gender or that gender does not matter in the organization. Second, sexist practices have evolved from overt to covert forms of gender discrimination. Because of this shift in how gender discrimination manifests in the organization, the SPF and some policewomen do not perceive those practices as sexist but as normal, everyday language and behavior. This article seeks to identify those amorphous forms of sexism enacted upon policewomen that, in turn, reflect the recursive relationship between individual‐level interactions and structurally embedded occupational practices.
Significance of portal venous blood flow as a factor to determine liver function in patients with decompensated cirrhosis due to hepatitis C virus infection following achievement of sustained viral response by sofosbuvir plus velpatasvir
Authors: Uchida Yoshihito , Imai Yukinori , Tsuji Shohei , Uemura Hayato , Kouyama Jun‐ichi , Naiki Kayoko , Ando Satsuki , Sugawara Kayoko , Nakao Masamitsu , Nakayama Nobuaki , Mizuno Suguru , Tomiya Tomoaki , Mochida Satoshi 
Published: May 2023

AbstractAimTo determine the outcomes concerning portal venous blood flow and portosystemic shunts in patients with decompensated cirrhosis due to hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection who achieved sustained viral response (SVR) following antiviral therapy.MethodsPortal hypertension‐related events and liver function were evaluated in 24 patients achieving SVR following sofosbuvir plus velpatasvir therapy.ResultsSerum albumin level (median; g/dL) increased from 2.9 at baseline to 3.5 at 12 weeks after the end of treatment (EOT) (p = 0.005), while liver volumes (cm3) decreased from 1260 to 1150 (p = 0.0002). Portal hypertension‐related events developed in 10 patients (41.7%), and the cumulative occurrence rates after the EOT were 29.2%, 33.3%, and 46.1% at 24, 48, and 96 weeks, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the maximal diameter of the shunts (p = 0.0235) was associated with the development of the events, with a cut‐off value of 8.3 mm (p = 0.0105). Meanwhile, multiple linear regression analysis revealed that portal venous blood flow, liver volume, serum albumin, and bilirubin levels at baseline were associated with serum albumin levels at 12 weeks after EOT (p = 0.0019, p = 0.0154, p = 0.0010, and p = 0.0350, respectively).ConclusionIn patients with decompensated cirrhosis due to HCV infection, the baseline portal venous blood flow and liver volume and function were predictive of liver function following SVR, while the maximal diameter of portosystemic shunts predicted the occurrence of portal hypertension‐related events.
Perceived and performed electronic health literacy of medical sciences students
Authors: Ghaedi Rezvan , Shekofteh Maryam , Valizadeh‐Haghi Saeideh , Baghestani Ahmadreza 
Published: May 2023

AbstractBackgroundEvidence indicates that perceived skills for searching the Internet for health information may differ from actual skills in searching, finding, and appraising health information.ObjectivesThis study investigated the perceived and performed eHealth literacy of medical sciences students, as well as the relationships between those literacies.MethodsThis study enrolled 228 medical sciences students (convenience sample) in Iran. The study tools include the eHEALS literacy scale for the perceived eHealth literacy and a questionnaire designed by the authors to assess performed eHealth literacy (skills around access, understanding, appraising, applying, and generating information). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and the Pearson correlation coefficient.ResultsIn general, over 70% of students perceived their skills of access and appraisal as good/very good, correlating with their estimated performance. Students perceived they were less confident in some appraisal skills (e.g., using information from the Internet to make health decisions) than others. Performed skills in information generation were mostly poor or very good; performed application skills generally good/very good.ConclusionsThe eHEALS score scales with actual skills (access and appraisal). Support is necessary for students in particular types of appraisal skills.
Exploring L2 students’ experiences with an integrated teacher written and spoken feedback strategy
Authors: Zhang Xiaodong 
Published: May 2023

AbstractThis qualitative case study explores second‐language (L2) students’ experiences through their sequential exposure to teacher written and spoken feedback that was offered from a meaning‐making perspective (i.e., the perspective that highlights the relationship between language resources and meaning). The study drew on L2 students’ interviews, reflections, their sequential interactions with teacher written and spoken feedback, and their writing pieces collected from an English writing course at a Chinese university. The study showed that meaning‐making‐based teacher written feedback afforded L2 students time to independently digest and address their writing issues related to the relationship between language and meaning, despite the observable confusions students encountered. Echoing teacher written feedback, teacher spoken feedback, as a follow‐up, further highlighted writing as a meaning‐making process, dynamically helping the students to understand or challenge the written feedback and mitigating contextual constraints on their uptake of teacher written feedback. These findings underscore the usefulness of sequentially implementing teacher written and spoken feedback, especially from a meaning‐making perspective, to sensitize L2 students to the relationship between language and meaning and to enhance their success in writing.
Experiential learning through STEM: Recent initiatives in the United States
Authors: Remington Thomas F. , Chou Pallas , Topa Ben 
Published: May 2023

AbstractThis paper reviews recent educational initiatives in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education in the United States, asking to what extent experiential learning methods are being incorporated into STEM education. We draw on a combination of qualitative and quantitative evidence. The quantitative evidence is from an analysis of the proposal abstracts for all 11,406 of the STEM education and workforce development‐related projects funded by NSF grants from the end of 2018 to the beginning of 2022. The qualitative portion of the paper analyzes results from a number of scholarly studies of local initiatives from the last 10 years drawn from a range of published and conference papers, reports and media stories, and project websites, drawn from education research databases, secondary literature, and websites of specific organizations. We seek to classify and describe patterns observed among the projects examined, identifying common patterns and combinations of features. We believe that the paper represents the first comprehensive study of efforts to employ experiential learning methods in STEM education to link formal and informal aspects of learning.
Why do viruses make aphids winged?
Authors: Rozo‐Lopez Paula , Parker Benjamin J. 
Published: May 2023

AbstractAphids are hosts to diverse viruses and are important vectors of plant pathogens. The spread of viruses is heavily influenced by aphid movement and behaviour. Consequently, wing plasticity (where individuals can be winged or wingless depending on environmental conditions) is an important factor in the spread of aphid‐associated viruses. We review several fascinating systems where aphid‐vectored plant viruses interact with aphid wing plasticity, both indirectly by manipulating plant physiology and directly through molecular interactions with plasticity pathways. We also cover recent examples where aphid‐specific viruses and endogenous viral elements within aphid genomes influence wing formation. We discuss why unrelated viruses with different transmission modes have convergently evolved to manipulate wing formation in aphids and whether this is advantageous for both host and virus. We argue that interactions with viruses are likely shaping the evolution of wing plasticity within and across aphid species, and we discuss the potential importance of these findings for aphid biocontrol.