A general and simple method for obtainingR2from generalized linear mixed-effects models

Transient species driving ecosystem multifunctionality: Insights from competitive interactions between rocky intertidal mussels

Anthropogenic biodiversity loss poses a significant threat to ecosystem functioning worldwide. Numerically dominant and locally rare (i.e., transient) species are key components of biodiversity, but their contribution to multiple ecosystem functions (i.e., multifunctionality) has been seldomly assessed in marine ecosystems. To fill this gap, here we analyze the effects of a dominant and a transient species on ecosystem multifunctionality. In an observational study conducted along ca. 200 km of the southeastern Pacific coast, the purple mussel Perumytilus purpuratus numerically dominated the mid-intertidal and the dwarf mussel Semimytilus patagonicus exhibited low abundances but higher recruitment rates. In laboratory experiments, the relative abundances of both species were manipulated to simulate the replacement of P. purpuratus by S. patagonicus and five proxies for ecosystem functions-rates of clearance, oxygen consumption, total biodeposit, organic biodeposit, and excretion-were analyzed. This replacement had a positive, linear, and significant effect on the combined ecosystem functions, particularly oxygen consumption and excretion rates. Accordingly, S. patagonicus could well drive ecosystem functioning given favorable environmental conditions for its recovery from rarity. Our study highlights therefore the key role of transient species for ecosystem performance. Improving our understanding of these dynamics is crucial for effective ecosystem conservation, especially in the current scenario of biological extinctions and invasions.

A Look at Demographics and Transition to Virtual Assessments: An Analysis of Bias in the American Board of Surgery General Surgery Certifying Exams

OBJECTIVE

The goals of this study were (1) to assess if examiner ratings in the American Board of Surgery (ABS) General Surgery Cetifying Exam (CE) are biased based on the gender, race, and ethnicity of the candidate or the examiners, and (2) if the format of delivering of the exams, in-person or virtual, affects how examiners rate candidates.

DESIGN

We included every candidate-examiner combination for first time takers of the general surgery oral exam. Total scores and pass/fail outcomes based on the 4 scores given by examiners to candidates were analyzed using multilevel models, with candidates as random effects. Explanatory variables included the gender, race, and ethnicity of candidates and examiners, and the format of the exam (in-person or virtual). Candidates' first attempt scores on the ABS General Surgery Qualifying Exam (QE) were also included in the models to control for the baseline knowledge of the candidate. Three sets of models were evaluated for each demographic variable (gender, race, ethnicity) due to missingness in data. p-values and coefficients of determination R2 were used to quantify the statistical and practical significance of the model coefficients (an existent relationship between the explored variables on CE scores was considered statistically and practically significant if the p-value was lower than 0.01 and R2 higher than 1%).

PARTICIPANTS

All first-time takers of the American Board of Surgery General Surgery Certifying Exam from 2016 to 2022 that had demographic data, and the examiners that participated in those exams.

RESULTS

The number of candidates/examiners for the 3 sets of models was 8665/514 (gender), 5906/465 (race), and 4678/295 (ethnicity). The demographic variables, format of the exam, or their interactions were not found to significantly relate to examiner-candidate ratings or pass/fail outcomes. The only variable that was significantly related to CE scores was candidates' QE scores, which was added to the models as a measure of candidates' initial knowledge; this held for all models for total scores (F[1,8659] = 1069.89, p-value < 0.01, R2 = 5% [gender models], F(1,5696.3) = 589.13, p-value < 0.01, R2 = 5% [race models], F(1,4459.5) = 278.33, p-value < 0.01, R2 = 5% [ethnicity models]), and pass/fail outcomes (CI = 1.61-1.73, p-value < 0.01, R2 = 3% [gender models], CI = 1.67-1.85, p-value < 0.01, R2 = 3% [race models], CI = 2.17-2.90, p-value < 0.01, R2 = 3% [ethnicity models]).

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows that there is not a relationship between candidate and examiner gender, race, or ethnicity, and exam outcomes based on statistical models looking at examiner-candidate ratings and pass/fail outcomes. In addition, the delivery of the certifying exam in a virtual format appears to have no statistical impact on outcomes compared to in-person delivery. This suggests that the ABS is performing well in both demographic bias and virtual space.

Prediction of the Individual Aortic Stenosis Progression Rate and its Association With Clinical Outcomes

Background

The progression rate of aortic stenosis differs between patients, complicating clinical follow-up and management.

Objectives

This study aimed to identify predictors associated with the progression rate of aortic stenosis.

Methods

In this retrospective longitudinal single-center cohort study, all patients with moderate aortic stenosis who presented between December 2011 and December 2022 and had echocardiograms available were included. The individual aortic stenosis progression rate was calculated based on aortic valve area (AVA) from at least 2 echocardiograms performed at least 6 months apart. Baseline factors associated with the progression rate of AVA were determined using linear mixed-effects models, and the association of progression rate with clinical outcomes was evaluated using Cox regression.

Results

The study included 540 patients (median age 69 years and 38% female) with 2,937 echocardiograms (median 5 per patient). Patients had a linear progression with a median AVA decrease of 0.09 cm2/y and a median peak jet velocity increase of 0.17 m/s/y. Rapid progression was independently associated with all-cause mortality (HR: 1.77, 95% CI: 1.26-2.48) and aortic valve replacement (HR: 3.44, 95% CI: 2.55-4.64). Older age, greater left ventricular mass index, atrial fibrillation, and chronic kidney disease were associated with a faster decline of AVA.

Conclusions

AVA decreases linearly in individual patients, and faster progression is independently associated with higher mortality. Routine clinical and echocardiographic variables accurately predict the individual progression rate and may aid clinicians in determining the optimal follow-up interval for patients with aortic stenosis.

Incorporating plant phenological responses into species distribution models reduces estimates of future species loss and turnover

Anthropogenetic climate change has caused range shifts among many species. Species distribution models (SDMs) are used to predict how species ranges may change in the future. However, most SDMs rarely consider how climate-sensitive traits, such as phenology, which affect individuals' demography and fitness, may influence species' ranges. Using > 120 000 herbarium specimens representing 360 plant species distributed across the eastern United States, we developed a novel 'phenology-informed' SDM that integrates phenological responses to changing climates. We compared the ranges of each species forecast by the phenology-informed SDM with those from conventional SDMs. We further validated the modeling approach using hindcasting. When examining the range changes of all species, our phenology-informed SDMs forecast less species loss and turnover under climate change than conventional SDMs. These results suggest that dynamic phenological responses of species may help them adjust their ecological niches and persist in their habitats as the climate changes. Plant phenology can modulate species' responses to climate change, mitigating its negative effects on species persistence. Further application of our framework will contribute to a generalized understanding of how traits affect species distributions along environmental gradients and facilitate the use of trait-based SDMs across spatial and taxonomic scales.

High preseason temperature variability drives convergence of xylem phenology in the Northern Hemisphere conifers

Wood growth is key to understanding the feedback of forest ecosystems to the ongoing climate warming. An increase in spatial synchrony (i.e., coincident changes in distant populations) of spring phenology is one of the most prominent climate responses of forest trees. However, whether temperature variability contributes to an increase in the spatial synchrony of spring phenology and its underlying mechanisms remains largely unknown. Here, we analyzed an extensive dataset of xylem phenology observations of 20 conifer species from 75 sites over the Northern Hemisphere. Along the gradient of increase in temperature variability in the 75 sites, we observed a convergence in the onset of cell enlargement roughly toward the 5th of June, with a convergence in the onset of cell wall thickening toward the summer solstice. The increase in rainfall since the 5th of June is favorable for cell division and expansion, and as the most hours of sunlight are received around the summer solstice, it allows the optimization of carbon assimilation for cell wall thickening. Hence, the convergences can be considered as the result of matching xylem phenological activities to favorable conditions in regions with high temperature variability. Yet, forest trees relying on such consistent seasonal cues for xylem growth could constrain their ability to respond to climate warming, with consequences for the potential growing season length and, ultimately, forest productivity and survival in the future.

Impact of coppicing on microclimate and understorey vegetation diversity in an ancient Mediterranean oak forest

Coppicing is one of the oldest silvicultural practices and is still widely applied to produce renewable energy from broadleaf forests. However, the consequences on microclimate and understorey vegetation are still poorly understood, especially in Mediterranean oak forests. With the ongoing changes in the climate system and global biodiversity loss, a better understanding of how the forest temperature buffering capacity and below-canopy plant community are impacted by coppicing is crucial. Here we quantify microclimate and understorey vegetation changes in adjacent ancient coppice-with-standards and high forest stands dominated by oaks in Italy, where these systems have been applied for a long time. Air and soil temperatures were recorded for 2.5 years, and nested vegetation plots were used to analyse coppicing effects on species composition, taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity. Coppicing significantly reduced the forest temperature buffering capacity. The mean of the daily maximum temperatures over the entire period was 1.45 °C higher in the coppiced sites, whereas the mean of the daily minimum temperatures was 0.62 °C lower than in the high forest. Coppicing increased understorey species richness by favouring generalist taxa, but significantly decreased the proportion of forest specialists. The understorey community in coppiced forests consisted of more warm-adapted species. Moreover, coppicing also led to a loss of phylogenetic evenness and to shifts in diversity and community weighted mean Leaf Dry Matter content, pointing to habitat filtering and acclimation processes. In sum, we show that coppicing affects microclimate and understory vegetation in a direction that can exacerbate the effects of climate change, negatively affecting the oak forest specialist flora and its phylogenetic evenness.

Early or synchronized gestures facilitate speech recall-a study based on motion capture data

Introduction

Temporal co-ordination between speech and gestures has been thoroughly studied in natural production. In most cases gesture strokes precede or coincide with the stressed syllable in words that they are semantically associated with.

Methods

To understand whether processing of speech and gestures is attuned to such temporal coordination, we investigated the effect of delaying, preposing or eliminating individual gestures on the memory for words in an experimental study in which 83 participants watched video sequences of naturalistic 3D-animated speakers generated based on motion capture data. A target word in the sequence appeared (a) with a gesture presented in its original position synchronized with speech, (b) temporally shifted 500 ms before or (c) after the original position, or (d) with the gesture eliminated. Participants were asked to retell the videos in a free recall task. The strength of recall was operationalized as the inclusion of the target word in the free recall.

Results

Both eliminated and delayed gesture strokes resulted in reduced recall rates compared to synchronized strokes, whereas there was no difference between advanced (preposed) and synchronized strokes. An item-level analysis also showed that the greater the interval between the onsets of delayed strokes and stressed syllables in target words, the greater the negative effect was on recall.

Discussion

These results indicate that speech-gesture synchrony affects memory for speech, and that temporal patterns that are common in production lead to the best recall. Importantly, the study also showcases a procedure for using motion capture-based 3D-animated speakers to create an experimental paradigm for the study of speech-gesture comprehension.

How external and agency characteristics are related to coordination in homecare - findings of the national multicenter, cross-sectional SPOTnat study

BACKGROUND

Homecare client services are often distributed across several interdependent healthcare providers, making proper care coordination essential. However, as studies exploring care coordination in the homecare setting are scarce, serious knowledge gaps exist regarding how various factors influence coordination in this care sector. To fill such gaps, this study's central aim was to explore how external factors (i.e., financial and regulatory mechanisms) and homecare agency characteristics (i.e., work environment, workforce, and client characteristics) are related to care coordination in homecare.

METHODS

This analysis was part of a national multicentre, cross-sectional study in the Swiss homecare setting that included a stratified random sample of 88 Swiss homecare agencies. Data were collected between January and September 2021 through agency and employee questionnaires. Using our newly developed care coordination framework, COORA, we modelled our variables to assess the relevant components of care coordination on the structural, process, and outcome levels. We conducted both descriptive and multilevel regression analyses-with the latter adjusting for dependencies within agencies-to explore which key factors are associated with coordination.

RESULTS

The final sample size consisted of 1450 employees of 71 homecare agencies. We found that one explicit coordination mechanism ("communication and information exchange" (beta = 0.10, p <.001)) and four implicit coordination mechanisms-"knowledge of the health system" (beta = -0.07, p <.01), "role clarity" (beta = 0.07, p <.001), "mutual respect and trust" (beta = 0.07, p <.001), and "accountability, predictability, common perspective" (beta = 0.19, p <.001)-were significantly positively associated with employee-perceived coordination. We also found that the effects of agency characteristics and external factors were mediated through coordination processes.

CONCLUSION

Implicit coordination mechanisms, which enable and enhance team communication, require closer examination. While developing strategies to strengthen implicit mechanisms, the involvement of the entire care team is vital to create structures (i.e., explicit mechanisms) that enable communication and information exchange. Appropriate coordination processes seem to mitigate the association between staffing and coordination. This suggests that they support coordination even when workload and overtime are higher.

Many-to-many mapping: A simulation study of how the number of traits and tasks affect the evolution of form and function

Many-to-many mapping of form-to-function posits that multiple morphological and physiological traits affect the performance of multiple tasks in an organism, and that redundancy and multitasking occur simultaneously to shape the evolution of an organism's phenotype. Many-to-many mapping is expected to be ubiquitous in nature, yet little is known about how it influences the evolution of organismal phenotype. The F-matrix is a powerful tool to study these issues because it describes how multiple traits affect multiple tasks. We undertook a simulation study using the F-matrix to test how the number of traits and the number of tasks affect trait integration and evolvability, as well as the relationships among tasks. We found that as the number of traits and/or tasks increases, the relationships between the tasks and the integration between the traits become weaker, and that the evolvability of the traits increases, all resulting in a system that is freer to evolve. We also found that as the number of traits increases, performance tradeoffs tend to become weaker, but only to a point. Our work shows that it is important to consider not only multiple traits, but also the multitude of tasks that those traits carry out when studying form-function relationships. We suggest that evolution of these relationships follows functional lines of least resistance, which are less defined in more complex systems, resulting in a mechanism for diversification.

Propensity to trust shapes perceptions of comforting touch between trustworthy human and robot partners

Touching a friend to comfort or be comforted is a common prosocial behaviour, firmly based in mutual trust. Emphasising the interactive nature of trust and touch, we suggest that vulnerability, reciprocity and individual differences shape trust and perceptions of touch. We further investigate whether these elements also apply to companion robots. Participants (n = 152) were exposed to four comics depicting human-human or human-robot exchanges. Across conditions, one character was sad, the other initiated touch to comfort them, and the touchee reciprocated the touch. Participants first rated trustworthiness of a certain character (human or robot in a vulnerable or comforting role), then evaluated the two touch phases (initiation and reciprocity) in terms of interaction realism, touch appropriateness and pleasantness, affective state (valence and arousal) attributed to the characters. Results support an interactive account of trust and touch, with humans being equally trustworthy when comforting or showing vulnerability, and reciprocity of touch buffering sadness. Although these phenomena seem unique to humans, propensity to trust technology reduces the gap between how humans and robots are perceived. Two distinct trust systems emerge: one for human interactions and another for social technologies, both necessitating trust as a fundamental prerequisite for meaningful physical contact.

Co-methylation analyses identify CpGs associated with lipid traits in Chinese discordant monozygotic twins

To control genetic background and early life milieu in genome-wide DNA methylation analysis for blood lipids, we recruited Chinese discordant monozygotic twins to explore the relationships between DNA methylations and total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglycerides (TG). 132 monozygotic (MZ) twins were included with discordant lipid levels and completed data. A linear mixed model was conducted in Epigenome-wide association study (EWAS). Generalized estimating equation model was for gene expression analysis. We conducted Weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) to build co-methylated interconnected network. Additional Qingdao citizens were recruited for validation. Inference about Causation through Examination of Familial Confounding (ICE FALCON) was used to infer the possible direction of these relationships. A total of 476 top CpGs reached suggestively significant level (P < 10-4), of which, 192 CpGs were significantly associated with TG (FDR < 0.05). They were used to build interconnected network and highlight crucial genes from WGCNA. Finally, four CpGs in GATA4 were validated as risk factors for TC; six CpGs at ITFG2-AS1 were negatively associated with TG; two CpGs in PLXND1 played protective roles in HDL-C. ICE FALCON indicated abnormal TC was regarded as the consequence of DNA methylation in CpGs at GATA4, rather than vice versa. Four CpGs in ITFG2-AS1 were both causes and consequences of modified TG levels. Our results indicated that DNA methylation levels of 12 CpGs in GATA4, ITFG2-AS1, and PLXND1 were relevant to TC, TG, and HDL-C, respectively, which might provide new epigenetic insights into potential clinical treatment of dyslipidemia.

Landscape and mosquito community impact the avian Plasmodium infection in Culex pipiens

Avian malaria parasites provide an important model for studying host-pathogen interactions, yet understanding their dynamics in vectors under natural conditions is limited. We investigated the effect of vector abundance, species richness and diversity, and habitat characteristics on avian Plasmodium prevalence and lineage richness in Culex pipiens across 45 urban, natural, and rural localities in southern Spain. Analyzing 16,574 mosquitoes grouped in 768 mosquito pools, 32.7% exhibited parasite presence. 13 different Plasmodium lineages were identified, with the lineage SYAT05 being the most commonly found. Parasite prevalence positively correlated with the distance to saltmarshes and rivers, but negatively with the distance to total water source. Parasite lineage diversity was higher in natural than in rural areas and positively correlated with mosquito species richness. These results emphasize the complex dynamics of avian Plasmodium in the wild, with habitat characteristics and vector community driving the parasite transmission by mosquito vectors.

Changes in soil oxidase activity induced by microbial life history strategies mediate the soil heterotrophic respiration response to drought and nitrogen enrichment

Drought and nitrogen deposition are two major climate challenges, which can change the soil microbial community composition and ecological strategy and affect soil heterotrophic respiration (Rh). However, the combined effects of microbial community composition, microbial life strategies, and extracellular enzymes on the dynamics of Rh under drought and nitrogen deposition conditions remain unclear. Here, we experimented with an alpine swamp meadow to simulate drought (50% reduction in precipitation) and multilevel addition of nitrogen to determine the interactive effects of microbial community composition, microbial life strategy, and extracellular enzymes on Rh. The results showed that drought significantly reduced the seasonal mean Rh by 40.07%, and increased the Rh to soil respiration ratio by 22.04%. Drought significantly altered microbial community composition. The ratio of K- to r-selected bacteria (BK:r) and fungi (FK:r) increased by 20 and 91.43%, respectively. Drought increased hydrolase activities but decreased oxidase activities. However, adding N had no significant effect on microbial community composition, BK:r, FK:r, extracellular enzymes, or Rh. A structural equation model showed that the effects of drought and adding nitrogen via microbial community composition, microbial life strategy, and extracellular enzymes explained 84% of the variation in Rh. Oxidase activities decreased with BK:r, but increased with FK:r. Our findings show that drought decreased Rh primarily by inhibiting oxidase activities, which is induced by bacterial shifts from the r-strategy to the K-strategy. Our results highlight that the indirect regulation of drought on the carbon cycle through the dynamic of bacterial and fungal life history strategy should be considered for a better understanding of how terrestrial ecosystems respond to future climate change.

Reducing pest pressure and insecticide use by increasing hedgerows in the landscape

Reducing pesticide use while maintaining agricultural production is a key challenge. Ecological theory predicts that landscape simplification is likely to increase insect pest outbreaks and limit their control by natural enemies, and this situation could boost insecticide use. Some studies have indeed detected that simpler landscapes were associated with higher insecticide use, but very few have demonstrated that this association is caused by landscape effects on pest abundance. Here, we analysed insecticide use and pest pressure in response to landscape simplification across 557 arable farms across France. Accounting for potentially confounding covariates, we found that lower cover of hedgerows in the landscape, but not semi natural areas, were associated with higher on-farm insecticide use. We also found that greater hedgerow coverage was associated with lower aphid pest pressure. Specifically, increasing the landscape-scale cover of hedgerows from 1 % to 3 % meant that insecticide use was halved. These findings suggest that restoring hedgerow cover at the landscape scale should be targeted in order to speed-up the ecological intensification of agriculture.

Predicting overstriding with wearable IMUs during treadmill and overground running

Running injuries are prevalent, but their exact mechanisms remain unknown largely due to limited real-world biomechanical analysis. Reducing overstriding, the horizontal distance that the foot lands ahead of the body, may be relevant to reducing injury risk. Here, we leverage the geometric relationship between overstriding and lower extremity sagittal segment angles to demonstrate that wearable inertial measurement units (IMUs) can predict overstriding during treadmill and overground running in the laboratory. Ten recreational runners matched their strides to a metronome to systematically vary overstriding during constant-speed treadmill running and showed similar overstriding variation during comfortable-speed overground running. Linear mixed models were used to analyze repeated measures of overstriding and sagittal segment angles measured with motion capture and IMUs. Sagittal segment angles measured with IMUs explained 95% and 98% of the variance in overstriding during treadmill and overground running, respectively. We also found that sagittal segment angles measured with IMUs correlated with peak braking force and explained 88% and 80% of the variance during treadmill and overground running, respectively. This study highlights the potential for IMUs to provide insights into landing and loading patterns over time in real-world running environments, and motivates future research on feedback to modify form and prevent injury.

Blood oxygen transport and depletion in diving emperor penguins

Oxygen store management underlies dive performance and is dependent on the slow heart rate and peripheral vasoconstriction of the dive response to control tissue blood flow and oxygen uptake. Prior research has revealed two major patterns of muscle myoglobin saturation profiles during dives of emperor penguins. In Type A profiles, myoglobin desaturated rapidly, consistent with minimal muscle blood flow and low tissue oxygen uptake. Type B profiles, with fluctuating and slower declines in myoglobin saturation, were consistent with variable tissue blood flow patterns and tissue oxygen uptake during dives. We examined arterial and venous blood oxygen profiles to evaluate blood oxygen extraction and found two primary patterns of venous hemoglobin desaturation that complemented corresponding myoglobin saturation profiles. Type A venous profiles had a hemoglobin saturation that (a) increased/plateaued for most of a dive's duration, (b) only declined during the latter stages of ascent, and (c) often became arterialized [arterio-venous (a-v) shunting]. In Type B venous profiles, variable but progressive hemoglobin desaturation profiles were interrupted by inflections in the profile that were consistent with fluctuating tissue blood flow and oxygen uptake. End-of-dive saturation of arterial and Type A venous hemoglobin saturation profiles were not significantly different, but did differ from those of Type B venous profiles. These findings provide further support that the dive response of emperor penguins is a spectrum of cardiac and vascular components (including a-v shunting) that are dependent on the nature and demands of a given dive and even of a given segment of a dive.

The use of social information in vulture flight decisions

Animals rely on a balance of personal and social information to decide when and where to move next in order to access a desired resource. The benefits from cueing on conspecifics to reduce uncertainty about resource availability can be rapidly overcome by the risks of within-group competition, often exacerbated toward low-ranked individuals. Being obligate soarers, relying on thermal updraughts to search for carcasses around which competition can be fierce, vultures represent ideal models to investigate the balance between personal and social information during foraging movements. Linking dominance hierarchy, social affinities and meteorological conditions to movement decisions of eight captive vultures, Gyps spp., released for free flights in natural soaring conditions, we found that they relied on social information (i.e. other vultures using/having used the thermals) to find the next thermal updraught, especially in unfavourable flight conditions. Low-ranked individuals were more likely to disregard social cues when deciding where to go next, possibly to minimize the competitive risk of social aggregation. These results exemplify the architecture of decision-making during flight in social birds. It suggests that the environmental context, the context of risk and the social system as a whole calibrate the balance between personal and social information use.

Stress affects navigation strategies in immersive virtual reality

There are known individual differences in both the ability to learn the layout of novel environments and the flexibility of strategies for navigating known environments. However, it is unclear how navigational abilities are impacted by high-stress scenarios. Here we used immersive virtual reality (VR) to develop a novel behavioral paradigm to examine navigation under dynamically changing situations. We recruited 48 participants (24 female; ages 17-32) to navigate a virtual maze (7.5 m × 7.5 m). Participants learned the maze by moving along a fixed path past the maze's landmarks (paintings). Subsequently, participants experienced either a non-stress condition, or a high-stress condition tasking them with navigating the maze. In the high-stress condition, their initial path was blocked, the environment was darkened, threatening music was played, fog obstructed more distal views of the environment, and participants were given a time limit of 20 s with a countdown timer displayed at the top of their screen. On trials where the path was blocked, we found self-reported stress levels and distance traveled increased while trial completion rate decreased (as compared to non-stressed control trials). On unblocked stress trials, participants were less likely to take a shortcut and consequently navigated less efficiently compared to control trials. Participants with more trait spatial anxiety reported more stress and navigated less efficiently. Overall, our results suggest that navigational abilities change considerably under high-stress conditions.

Locomotor-cognitive dual-tasking in children with developmental coordination disorder

Introduction

Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) demonstrate deficits in predictive motor control and aspects of cognitive control compared with their typically developing (TD) peers. Adjustment to dynamic environments depends on both aspects of control and the deficits for children with DCD may constrain their ability to perform daily actions that involve dual-tasking. Under the assumption that motor-cognitive integration is compromised in children with DCD, we examined proportional dual-task costs using a novel locomotor-cognitive dual-task paradigm that enlisted augmented reality. We expect proportional dual-task performance costs to be greater for children with DCD compared to their TD peers.

Methods

Participants were 34 children aged 6-12 years (16 TD, 18 DCD) who walked along a straight 12 m path under single- and dual-task conditions, the cognitive task being visual discrimination under simple or complex stimulus conditions presented via augmented reality. Dual-task performance was measured in two ways: first, proportional dual-task costs (pDTC) were computed for cognitive and gait outcomes and, second, within-trial costs (p-WTC) were measured as the difference on gait outcomes between pre- and post-stimulus presentation.

Results

On measures of pDTC, TD children increased their double-limb support time when walking in response to a dual-task, while the children with DCD increased their locomotor velocity. On p-WTC, both groups increased their gait variability (step length and step width) when walking in response to a dual-task, of which the TD group had a larger proportional change than the DCD group. Greater pDTCs on motor rather than cognitive outcomes were consistent across groups and method of dual-task performance measurement.

Discussion

Contrary to predictions, our results failed to support dramatic differences in locomotor-cognitive dual-task performance between children with DCD and TD, with both groups tending to priorities the cognitive over the motor task. Inclusion of a within-trial calculation of dual-task interference revealed an expectancy effect for both groups in relation to an impending visual stimulus. It is recommended that dual-task paradigms in the future continue to use augmented reality to present the cognitive task and consider motor tasks of sufficient complexity to probe the limits of performance in children with DCD.

Do domestic budgerigars perceive predation risk?

Predation risk may affect the foraging behavior of birds. However, there has been little research on the ability of domestic birds to perceive predation risk and thus adjust their feeding behavior. In this study, we tested whether domestic budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) perceived predation risk after the presentation of specimens and sounds of sparrowhawks (Accipiter nisus), domestic cats (Felis catus), and humans, and whether this in turn influenced their feeding behavior. When exposed to visual or acoustic stimuli, budgerigars showed significantly longer latency to feed under sparrowhawk, domestic cat, and human treatments than with controls. Budgerigars responded more strongly to acoustic stimuli than visual stimuli, and they showed the longest latency to feed and the least number of feeding times in response to sparrowhawk calls. Moreover, budgerigars showed shorter latency to feed and greater numbers of feeding times in response to human voices than to sparrowhawk or domestic cat calls. Our results suggest that domestic budgerigars may identify predation risk through visual or acoustic signals and adjust their feeding behavior accordingly.

Scorpionfish adjust skin pattern contrast on different backgrounds

The two scorpionfish species Scorpaena maderensis and S. porcus are well camouflaged ambush predators that rapidly change body colouration to adjust to background colour in less than 1 min. We tested whether individuals of both species also adjust body pattern to that of the background. We placed fish on backgrounds of different pattern granularity and quantified the change in fish body pattern over 1 min. We used calibrated image analysis to analyse the patterns from the visual perspective of a prey fish species using a granularity (pattern energy) analysis and an image clustering approach. In our experiment, fish did not change their most contrasting pattern components as defined by the dominant marking size, but changed their average marking size. Moreover, fish responded with a change in pattern in contrast to the different experimental backgrounds, especially when compared to the acclimation phase. These results indicate that scorpionfish have one main pattern that can be adjusted by modulating its internal contrast. A reduction in pattern contrast could thereby improve background matching, while an increase could promote camouflage via disruptive colouration.

Widely used herbicide metolachlor can promote harmful bloom formation by stimulating cyanobacterial growth and driving detrimental effects on their chytrid parasites

Metolachlor (MET) is a widely used herbicide that can adversely affect phytoplanktonic non-target organisms, such as cyanobacteria. Chytrids are zoosporic fungi ubiquitous in aquatic environments that parasitize cyanobacteria and can keep their proliferation in check. However, the influence of organic pollutants on the interaction between species, including parasitism, and the associated ecological processes remain poorly understood. Using the host-parasite system consisting of the toxigenic cyanobacterium Planktothrix agardhii and its chytrid parasite Rhizophydium megarrhizum, we investigated the effects of environmentally relevant concentrations of MET on host-parasite interactions under i) continuous exposure of chytrids and cyanobacteria, and ii) pre-exposure of chytrids. During a continuous exposure, the infection prevalence and intensity were not affected, but chytrid reproductive structures were smaller at the highest tested MET concentration. In the parasite's absence, MET promoted cyanobacteria growth possibly due to a hormesis effect. In the pre-exposure assay, MET caused multi- and transgenerational detrimental effects on parasite fitness. Chytrids pre-exposed to MET showed reduced infectivity, intensity, and prevalence of the infection, and their sporangia size was reduced. Thus, pre-exposure of the parasite to MET resulted in a delayed decline of the cyanobacterial cultures upon infection. After several parasite generations without MET exposure, the parasite recovered its initial fitness, indicating that detrimental effects are transient. This study demonstrates that widely used herbicides, such as MET, could favor cyanobacterial bloom formation both directly, by promoting cyanobacteria growth, and indirectly, by inhibiting their chytrid parasites, which are known to play a key role as top-down regulators of cyanobacteria. In addition, we evidence the relevance of addressing multi-organism systems, such as host-parasite interactions, in toxicity assays. This approach offers a more comprehensive understanding of the effects of pollutants on aquatic ecosystems.

Comparison of plasma biomarkers and amyloid PET for predicting memory decline in cognitively unimpaired individuals

BACKGROUND

We compared the ability of several plasma biomarkers versus amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) to predict rates of memory decline among cognitively unimpaired individuals.

METHODS

We studied 645 Mayo Clinic Study of Aging participants. Predictor variables were age, sex, education, apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 genotype, amyloid PET, and plasma amyloid beta (Aβ)42/40, phosphorylated tau (p-tau)181, neurofilament light (NfL), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and p-tau217. The outcome was a change in a memory composite measure.

RESULTS

All plasma biomarkers, except NfL, were associated with mean memory decline in models with individual biomarkers. However, amyloid PET and plasma p-tau217, along with age, were key variables independently associated with mean memory decline in models combining all predictors. Confidence intervals were narrow for estimates of population mean prediction, but person-level prediction intervals were wide.

DISCUSSION

Plasma p-tau217 and amyloid PET provide useful information about predicting rates of future cognitive decline in cognitively unimpaired individuals at the population mean level, but not at the individual person level.

Transdiagnostic effects of therapist self-disclosure on diverse emotional experiences of clients with emotional disorders and schizophrenia

OBJECTIVE

Despite the clinical significance of emotional diversity, also known as emodiversity, there has been limited investigation into the therapeutic interventions that influence this construct. In the current study we examined the association between immediate therapist self-disclosure (TSD) and emodiversity among two diagnostic groups who tend to experience emotional difficulties: people with schizophrenia and people with emotional disorders (i.e., depression and/or anxiety).

METHOD

The sample comprised 74 clients (37 diagnosed with schizophrenia and 37 with emotional disorders) treated by 45 therapists in a university clinic setting. Following each session, clients self-reported their emotions, and therapists completed a measure of frequency and centrality of their immediate TSD during the session.

RESULTS

Longitudinal multilevel models indicated that immediate TSD was positively associated with clients' global emodiversity, both at the within- and the between-client levels, as well as with clients' negative emodiversity at the between-client level. Moreover, clients with emotional disorders and clients with schizophrenia did not differ in the association between immediate TSD and emodiversity. In addition, across groups, clients treated by therapists who used more immediate TSD on average showed greater increases in global emodiversity during treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

immediate TSD is associated with clients' ability to experience rich and diverse emotional experiences across different disorders. The theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Transposition of HOPPLA in siRNA-deficient plants suggests a limited effect of the environment on retrotransposon mobility in Brachypodium distachyon

Long terminal repeat retrotransposons (LTR-RTs) are powerful mutagens regarded as a major source of genetic novelty and important drivers of evolution. Yet, the uncontrolled and potentially selfish proliferation of LTR-RTs can lead to deleterious mutations and genome instability, with large fitness costs for their host. While population genomics data suggest that an ongoing LTR-RT mobility is common in many species, the understanding of their dual role in evolution is limited. Here, we harness the genetic diversity of 320 sequenced natural accessions of the Mediterranean grass Brachypodium distachyon to characterize how genetic and environmental factors influence plant LTR-RT dynamics in the wild. When combining a coverage-based approach to estimate global LTR-RT copy number variations with mobilome-sequencing of nine accessions exposed to eight different stresses, we find little evidence for a major role of environmental factors in LTR-RT accumulations in B. distachyon natural accessions. Instead, we show that loss of RNA polymerase IV (Pol IV), which mediates RNA-directed DNA methylation in plants, results in high transcriptional and transpositional activities of RLC_BdisC024 (HOPPLA) LTR-RT family elements, and that these effects are not stress-specific. This work supports findings indicating an ongoing mobility in B. distachyon and reveals that host RNA-directed DNA methylation rather than environmental factors controls their mobility in this wild grass model.

A Developmentally-Informative Genome-wide Association Study of Alcohol Use Frequency

Contemporary genome-wide association study (GWAS) methods typically do not account for variability in genetic effects throughout development. We applied genomic structural equation modeling to combine developmentally-informative phenotype data and GWAS to create polygenic scores (PGS) for alcohol use frequency that are specific to developmental stage. Longitudinal cohort studies targeted for gene-identification analyses include the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (adolescence n = 1,118, early adulthood n = 2,762, adulthood n = 5,255), the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (adolescence n = 3,089, early adulthood n = 3,993, adulthood n = 5,149), and the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC; adolescence n = 5,382, early adulthood n = 3,613). PGS validation analyses were conducted in the COGA sample using an alternate version of the discovery analysis with COGA removed. Results suggest that genetic liability for alcohol use frequency in adolescence may be distinct from genetic liability for alcohol use frequency later in developmental periods. The age-specific PGS predicts an increase of 4 drinking days per year per PGS standard deviation when modeled separately from the common factor PGS in adulthood. The current work was underpowered at all steps of the analysis plan. Though small sample sizes and low statistical power limit the substantive conclusions that can be drawn regarding these research questions, this work provides a foundation for future genetic studies of developmental variability in the genetic underpinnings of alcohol use behaviors and genetically-informed, age-matched phenotype prediction.

An explanation for the accuracy of sensor-based measures of energy intake: Amount of food consumed matters more than dietary composition

Understanding and intervening on eating behavior often necessitates measurement of energy intake (EI); however, commonly utilized and widely accepted methods vary in accuracy and place significant burden on users (e.g., food diaries), or are costly to implement (e.g., doubly labeled water). Thus, researchers have sought to leverage inexpensive and low-burden technologies such as wearable sensors for EI estimation. Paradoxically, one such methodology that estimates EI via smartwatch-based bite counting has demonstrated high accuracy in laboratory and free-living studies, despite only measuring the amount, not the composition, of food consumed. This secondary analysis sought to further explore this phenomenon by evaluating the degree to which EI can be explained by a sensor-based estimate of the amount consumed versus the energy density (ED) of the food consumed. Data were collected from 82 adults in free-living conditions (51.2% female, 31.7% racial and/or ethnic minority; Mage = 33.5, SD = 14.7) who wore a bite counter device on their wrist and used smartphone app to implement the Remote Food Photography Method (RFPM) to assess EI and ED for two weeks. Bite-based estimates of EI were generated via a previously validated algorithm. At a per-meal level, linear mixed effect models indicated that bite-based EI estimates accounted for 23.4% of the variance in RFPM-measured EI, while ED and presence of a beverage accounted for only 0.2% and 0.1% of the variance, respectively. For full days of intake, bite-based EI estimates and ED accounted for 41.5% and 0.2% of the variance, respectively. These results help to explain the viability of sensor-based EI estimation even in the absence of information about dietary composition.

Factors associated with insulin responses to oral sugars in a mixed-breed cohort of ponies

BACKGROUND

Serum insulin concentration at 60 min (InsulinT60) during an oral sugar test (OST) indicates future laminitis risk and insulin dysregulation (ID). Associations between InsulinT60 and physical and owner-reported variables may help clinicians select individuals for ID testing. Associations between InsulinT60 and other metabolic markers may help elucidate ID pathophysiology.

OBJECTIVES

To describe associations between (A) season, physically-apparent and owner-reported factors and binary InsulinT60 interpretation (initial models) and (B) variables included in the initial models, other metabolic markers and continuous InsulinT60 (full models).

STUDY DESIGN

Prospective longitudinal.

METHODS

Non-laminitic ponies were examined and OSTs (0.3 mL/kg Karo syrup) performed every 6 months (autumn and spring) for ≤4 years. Factors associated with InsulinT60 were determined using mixed-effects models with physical, owner-reported, season and serum/plasma markers as fixed effects and pony and premises identifiers as random effects. Autumn and spring data were analysed separately for full models.

RESULTS

One thousand seven hundred and sixty-three OSTs from 367 ponies were included. High-risk InsulinT60 (>153 μIU/mL) was independently associated with (odds ratio, 95% confidence interval [CI]): age (1.36, 1.16-1.60), body condition score (BCS) (2.38, 1.21-4.69), and bulging supraorbital fatpads (7.25, 2.1-24.98). However, the initial models provided little explanatory power (Nakagawa R2  = 0.1-0.27). LoginsulinT60 was independently associated with (effect estimate, 95% CI): age (0.02, 0.01-0.04), Welsh/Welsh X breed (0.22, 0.05, 0.39), sex (gelding = -0.2, -0.34 to 0.06), BCS (0.16, 0.08-0.23), plasma adiponectin (-0.02, -0.02 to 0.01) and basal insulin (0.01, 0.01-0.01) in spring, and: age (0.03, 0.02-0.04), BCS (0.17, 0.08-0.26), bulging supraorbital fatpads (0.37, 0.2-0.54), turnout score (0.05, 0.02-0.09), plasma adiponectin (-0.01, -0.02 to 0.01), ACTH (per 10 pg/mL) (0.01, 0.00-0.01), triglycerides (0.28, 0.07-0.49) and InsulinT0 (0.01, 0.01-0.01) in autumn.

MAIN LIMITATIONS

Only non-laminitic ponies in one region were included.

CONCLUSIONS

Owner-reported and physically-apparent data were limited InsulinT60 predictors. InsulinT60 is a complex trait, independently associated with numerous variables, some with seasonal interactions.

Past and recent anthropogenic pressures drive rapid changes in riverine fish communities

Understanding how and why local communities change is a pressing task for conservation, especially in freshwater systems. It remains challenging because of the complexity of biodiversity changes, driven by the spatio-temporal heterogeneity of human pressures. Using a compilation of riverine fish community time series (93% between 1993 and 2019) across the Palaearctic, Nearctic and Australasia realms, we assessed how past and recent anthropogenic pressures drive community changes across both space and time. We found evidence of rapid changes in community composition of 30% per decade characterized by important changes in the dominant species, together with a 13% increase in total abundance per decade and a 7% increase in species richness per decade. The spatial heterogeneity in these trends could be traced back to the strength and timing of anthropogenic pressures and was mainly mediated by non-native species introductions. Specifically, we demonstrate that the negative effects of anthropogenic pressures on species richness and total abundance were compensated over time by the establishment of non-native species, a pattern consistent with previously reported biotic homogenization at the global scale. Overall, our study suggests that accounting for the complexity of community changes and its drivers is a crucial step to reach global conservation goals.

Upper limb movements as digital biomarkers in people with ALS

BACKGROUND

Objective evaluation of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (PALS) in free-living settings is challenging. The introduction of portable digital devices, such as wearables and smartphones, may improve quantifying disease progression and hasten therapeutic development. However, there is a need for tools to characterize upper limb movements in neurologic disease and disability.

METHODS

Twenty PALS wore a wearable accelerometer, ActiGraph Insight Watch, on their wrist for six months. They also used Beiwe, a smartphone application that collected self-entry ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-RSE) survey responses every 1-4 weeks. We developed several measures that quantify count and duration of upper limb movements: flexion, extension, supination, and pronation. New measures were compared against ALSFRS-RSE total score (Q1-12), and individual responses to specific questions related to handwriting (Q4), cutting food (Q5), dressing and performing hygiene (Q6), and turning in bed and adjusting bed clothes (Q7). Additional analysis considered adjusting for total activity counts (TAC).

FINDINGS

At baseline, PALS with higher Q1-12 performed more upper limb movements, and these movements were faster compared to individuals with more advanced disease. Most upper limb movement metrics had statistically significant change over time, indicating declining function either by decreasing count metrics or by increasing duration metric. All count and duration metrics were significantly associated with Q1-12, flexion and extension counts were significantly associated with Q6 and Q7, supination and pronation counts were also associated with Q4. All duration metrics were associated with Q6 and Q7. All duration metrics retained their statistical significance after adjusting for TAC.

INTERPRETATION

Wearable accelerometer data can be used to generate digital biomarkers on upper limb movements and facilitate patient monitoring in free-living environments. The presented method offers interpretable monitoring of patients' functioning and versatile tracking of disease progression in the limb of interest.

FUNDING

Mitsubishi-Tanabe Pharma Holdings America, Inc.

Highly clustered mating networks in naturally fragmented riparian tree populations

Understanding how spatial patterns of mating and gene flow respond to habitat loss and geographical isolation is a crucial aspect of forest fragmentation genetics. Naturally fragmented riparian tree populations exhibit unique characteristics that significantly influence these patterns. In this study, we investigate mating patterns, pollen-mediated gene flow, and genetic diversity in relict populations of Frangula alnus in southern Spain by testing specific hypotheses related to the riparian habitat. We employ a novel approach that combines paternity analysis, particularly suited for small and isolated populations, with complex network theory and Bayesian models to predict mating likelihood among tree pairs. Our findings reveal a prevalence of short-distance pollination, resulting in spatially driven local mating clusters with a distinct subset of trees being highly connected in the mating network. Additionally, we observe numerous pollination events over distances of hundreds of metres and considerable pollen immigration. Local neighbourhood density is the primary factor influencing within-population mating patterns and pollen dispersal; moreover, mating network properties reflect the population's size and spatial configuration. Conversely, among-population pollen dispersal is mainly determined by tree size, which influences floral display. Our results do not support a major role of directional pollen dispersal in longitudinal trends of genetic diversity. We provide evidence that long-term fragmented tree populations persist in unique environments that shape mating patterns and impose constraints to pollen-mediated gene flow. Nevertheless, even seemingly strongly isolated populations can maintain functional connectivity over extended periods, especially when animal-mediated mating networks promote genetic diversity, as in this riparian tree species.

How do species richness and its component dependence vary along the natural restoration in extremely heterogeneous forest ecosystems?

Giant habitat heterogeneity is an important factor contributing to the high species richness (SR) in karst forests. Yet, the driving factor behind the alterations in SR patterns during natural restoration remains unclear. In this study, we established the forest dynamics plots along the natural restoration sequence (including shrub-tree mixed forest stage (SC), secondary forest stage (SG) and old-growth forest sage (OG)) in degraded karst forests to compare the SR and the dependence on its components (including total community abundance, species abundance distribution (SAD), and conspecific spatial aggregation (CSA)) among stages of natural restoration. By evaluating the degree of contribution of the components to local SR and rarefied SR, we found that the SG exhibited the highest local SR, while the rarefied SR remained increasing along the restoration sequence after controlling the sample size. At SC-SG stage, SAD and CSA contributed negatively to the differences in SR, while abundance made a positive contribution to SR differences. At SG-OG, abundance contributed positively to the difference in SR at all scales, while SAD contributed negatively at small scales. No significant contribution of CSA was found at observed scales. In addition, local SR varied more significantly with PIE than with abundance. Our research emphasizes the importance of eliminating the influence of abundance on species richness in forest ecology and management, as well as the significance of separately evaluating the components that shape the diversity patterns.

Plant metabolic response to stress in an arid ecosystem is mediated by the presence of neighbors

Plant neighbors in arid environments can ameliorate abiotic stress by reducing insolation, but they also attract herbivores and pathogens, especially when neighbors are close relatives that share similar antagonists. Plants' metabolic profiles provide a chemical fingerprint of the physiological processes behind plant responses to different environmental stresses. For example, abscisic acid and proline, mainly involved in stomatal closure and osmotic adjustment, can induce plant responses to abiotic stress, while jasmonic acid and salicylic acid primarily regulate plant defense to herbivory or pathogens. Neighbor plants can generate contrasting ecological contexts, modulating plant responses to abiotic and biotic stresses. We hypothesize that plant metabolic profile is modulated by its neighbors in a vegetation patch, expecting a higher investment in metabolites related to biotic-stress tolerance (i.e., herbivory or pathogens) when growing associated with other plants, especially to phylogenetically close relatives, compared to plants growing alone. We show that plants from five species growing with neighbors invest more in biotic-stress tolerance while their conspecifics, growing alone, invest more in abiotic-stress tolerance. This tendency in plants' metabolic profiles was not affected by the phylogenetic diversity of their neighborhood. Linking physiological snapshots with community processes can contribute to elucidating metabolic profiles derived from plant-plant interactions.

Understanding Individual Subject Differences through Large Behavioral Datasets: Analytical and Statistical Considerations

A core feature of behavior analysis is the single-subject design, in which each subject serves as its own control. This approach is powerful for identifying manipulations that are causal to behavioral changes but often fails to account for individual differences, particularly when coupled with a small sample size. It is more common for other subfields of psychology to use larger-N approaches; however, these designs also often fail to account for the individual by focusing on aggregate-level data only. Moving forward, it is important to study individual differences to identify subgroups of the population that may respond differently to interventions and to improve the generalizability and reproducibility of behavioral science. We propose that large-N datasets should be used in behavior analysis to better understand individual subject variability. First, we describe how individual differences have been historically treated and then outline practical reasons to study individual subject variability. Then, we describe various methods for analyzing large-N datasets while accounting for the individual, including correlational analyses, machine learning, mixed-effects models, clustering, and simulation. We provide relevant examples of these techniques from published behavioral literature and from a publicly available dataset compiled from five different rat experiments, which illustrates both group-level effects and heterogeneity across individual subjects. We encourage other behavior analysts to make use of the substantial advancements in online data sharing to compile large-N datasets and use statistical approaches to explore individual differences.

Intra-specific correlations between ejaculate traits and competitive fertilization success: a meta-analysis across species and fertilization modes

Understanding of how selection can act on traits that improve competitiveness and subsequent paternity has advanced, including the idea that internal and external fertilization presents different environments that may select differentially on ejaculate traits. However, no studies have quantitatively synthesized the intra-specific relationships between these traits and paternity. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis across 52 papers to determine which ejaculate traits positively correlate with paternity share and how these correlations vary with fertilization mode. Overall, most ejaculate traits were positively associated with paternity, with the notable exception of sperm length. Sub-analyses on sperm number, sperm length, and sperm velocity revealed no statistical differences between fertilization modes in the relationship between traits and paternity when all effect sizes across species were combined. However, in a sub-analysis on fish species only, we found evidence that sperm velocity may be more important in external fertilizers. We also observed differences in the importance of phylogenetic relatedness and some species-specific differences. Our results suggest that while most ejaculate traits should be under positive directional selection in both internal and external fertilizers, sperm length may be subject to more nuanced selection pressures. Overall, we highlight important patterns of intra-specific relationships between ejaculate traits and competitive fertilization success.

An eight-season analysis of the teams' performance in the Spanish LaLiga according to the final league ranking

This study aimed to analyse the performance of 5,518 collective observations of the Spanish LaLiga teams for eight consecutive seasons (from 2011-12 to 2018-19), considering the final league ranking. The teams were divided into four groups: Europe (from 1st to 6th), Upper-Middle (from 7th to 11th), Lower-Middle (from 12th to 17th) and Relegation (from 18th to 20th). The variables recorded were: Passes, Successful Passes, Crosses, Shots, Goals, Corners, Fouls, Width, Length, Height, distance from the goalkeeper to the nearest defender (GkDef), total distance covered (TD) and number of points accumulated. The main results were that: 1) Europe, being superior to the rest of the groups, showed lower values of Length from 2015-16, and lower values of GkDef from 2014-15; 2) Upper-Middle showed lower values of Length from 2015-16; 3) Lower-Middle showed fewer Shots from 2013-14, and lower values of Length, GkDef and TD from 2014-15; and, 4) Relegation barely showed significant differences between seasons in any variable. The study concludes that the teams of the Europe, Upper-Middle and Relegation groups showed quite stable performance, while the teams of the Lower-Middle group presented a worsening in different dimensions as the seasons progressed. The information provided in this study makes it possible to have reference values that have characterized the performance of the teams for each group.

Proof of concept for quantitative adverse outcome pathway modeling of chronic toxicity in repeated exposure

Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) is a useful tool to glean mode of action (MOE) of a chemical. However, in order to use it for the purpose of risk assessment, an AOP needs to be quantified using in vitro or in vivo data. Majority of quantitative AOPs developed so far, were for single exposure to progressively higher doses. Limited attempts were made to include time in the modeling. Here as a proof-of concept, we developed a hypothetical AOP, and quantified it using a virtual dataset for six repeated exposures using a Bayesian Network Analysis (BN) framework. The virtual data was generated using realistic assumptions. Effects of each exposure were analyzed separately using a static BN model and analyzed in combination using a dynamic BN (DBN) model. Our work shows that the DBN model can be used to calculate the probability of adverse outcome when other upstream KEs were observed earlier. These probabilities can help in identification of early indicators of AO. In addition, we also developed a data driven AOP pruning technique using a lasso-based subset selection, and show that the causal structure of AOP is itself dynamic and changes over time. This proof-of-concept study revealed the possibility for expanding the applicability of the AOP framework to incorporate biological dynamism in toxicity appearance by repeated insults.

Twenty-Four-Hour Urinary Sugars Biomarker in a Vending Machine Intake Paradigm in a Diverse Population

Accurately measuring dietary sugars intake in large-scale epidemiological studies is necessary to understand dietary sugars' true impact on health. Researchers have developed a biomarker that can be used to assess total sugars intake. Our objective is to test this biomarker in diverse populations using an ad libitum intake protocol. Healthy adult participants (n = 63; 58% Indigenous Americans/Alaska Natives; 60% male; BMI (mean ± SD) = 30.6 ± 7.6 kg.m2) were admitted for a 10-day inpatient stay. On day 2, body composition was measured by DXA, and over the last 3 days, ad libitum dietary intake was measured using a validated vending machine paradigm. Over the same days, participants collected daily 24 h urine used to measure sucrose and fructose. The 24 h urinary sucrose and fructose biomarker (24hruSF) (mg/d) represents the sum of 24 h urinary sucrose and fructose excretion levels. The association between the 3-day mean total sugars intake and log 24uSF level was assessed using the Pearson correlation. A linear mixed model regressing log-biomarker on total sugars intake was used to investigate further the association between biomarker, diet, and other covariates. Mean (S.D.) total sugars intake for the group was 197.7 g/d (78.9). Log 24uSF biomarker was moderately correlated with total sugars intake (r = 0.33, p = 0.01). In stratified analyses, the correlation was strongest in females (r = 0.45, p = 0.028), the 18-30 age group (r = 0.44, p = 0.079), Indigenous Americans (r = 0.51, p = 0.0023), and the normal BMI category (r = 0.66, p = 0.027). The model adjusted for sex, age, body fat percent, and race/ethnicity demonstrated a statistically significant association between 24uSF and total sugars intake (β = 0.0027, p < 0.0001) and explained 31% of 24uSF variance (marginal R2 = 0.31). Our results demonstrated a significant relationship between total sugars intake and the 24uSF biomarker in this diverse population. However, the results were not as strong as those of controlled feeding studies that investigated this biomarker.

The role of individual and contextual economic factors in obesity among adolescents: A cross-sectional study including 143 160 participants from 41 countries

Background

To our knowledge, no previous study has examined the role of index of economic freedom (IEF) in the prevalence of excess weight and obesity in adolescents. The aim of this study was to determine the association between both individual and contextual economic factors and the prevalence of overweight and obesity (i.e. excess weight) or obesity in adolescents from different countries.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was carried out using data from the 2017/2018 wave of the Health Behaviour School-Aged Children study. Body mass index z-score was determined following the International Obesity Task Force criteria and, subsequently, excess weight and obesity were computed. The Family Affluence Scale was used to assess socioeconomic status. The index of IEF was used to estimate the benefits of economic freedom, both for individuals and for society as a whole.

Results

An inverse association was shown between socioeconomic status (SES) and excess weight or obesity, with adolescents with high SES and medium SES being less likely to have excess weight compared to adolescents with low SES (medium SES: odds ratio (OR) = 0.79; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.77-0.82, P < 0.001; high SES: OR = 0.65; 95% CI = 0.62-0.68, P < 0.001). For obesity, lower odds were also found for adolescents with medium SES (medium SES: OR = 0.74; 95% CI = 0.69-0.80, P < 0.001) or high SES (high SES: OR = 0.55; 95% CI 0.49-0.61, P < 0.001), in comparison with their counterparts with low SES. On the other hand, it was observed a greater likelihood of having excess weight and obesity in mostly unfree countries (excess weight: OR = 0.72; 95% CI = 0.51-1.00, P = 0.052; obesity: OR = 0.60; 95% CI = 0.39-0.92, P = 0.019) compared to free/mostly free countries. These results remained significant after adjusting for several sociodemographic and lifestyle covariates.

Conclusions

Both individual and contextual factors seem to have a crucial role in the prevalence of excess weight and obesity in adolescents.

Dynamic root microbiome sustains soybean productivity under unbalanced fertilization

Root-associated microbiomes contribute to plant growth and health, and are dynamically affected by plant development and changes in the soil environment. However, how different fertilizer regimes affect quantitative changes in microbial assembly to effect plant growth remains obscure. Here, we explore the temporal dynamics of the root-associated bacteria of soybean using quantitative microbiome profiling (QMP) to examine its response to unbalanced fertilizer treatments (i.e., lacking either N, P or K) and its role in sustaining plant growth after four decades of unbalanced fertilization. We show that the root-associated bacteria exhibit strong succession during plant development, and bacterial loads largely increase at later stages, particularly for Bacteroidetes. Unbalanced fertilization has a significant effect on the assembly of the soybean rhizosphere bacteria, and in the absence of N fertilizer the bacterial community diverges from that of fertilized plants, while lacking P fertilizer impedes the total load and turnover of rhizosphere bacteria. Importantly, a SynCom derived from the low-nitrogen-enriched cluster is capable of stimulating plant growth, corresponding with the stabilized soybean productivity in the absence of N fertilizer. These findings provide new insights in the quantitative dynamics of the root-associated microbiome and highlight a key ecological cluster with prospects for sustainable agricultural management.

Effects of flow reduction and artificial light at night (ALAN) on litter decomposition and invertebrate communities in streams: A flume experiment

River ecosystems are heavily impacted by multiple stressors, where effects can cascade downstream of point sources. However, a spatial approach to assess the effects of multiple stressors is missing. We assessed the local and downstream effects on litter decomposition, and associated invertebrate communities of two stressors: flow reduction and artificial light at night (ALAN). We used an 18-flow-through mesocosm system consisting of two tributaries, where we applied the stressors, merging in a downstream section. We assessed the changes in decomposition rate and invertebrate community structure in leaf bags. We found no effect of ALAN or its interaction with flow reduction on the litter decomposition or the invertebrate community in the tributaries. Flow reduction alone led to a 14.8 % reduction in decomposition rate in the tributaries. We recorded no effect of flow reduction on the macroinvertebrates community composition in the litter bags. We also observed no effects of the spatial arrangement of the stressors on the litter decomposition and macroinvertebrate community structure downstream. Overall, our results suggest the impact of stressors on litter decomposition and macroinvertebrate communities remained local in our experiment. Our work thus calls for further studies to identify the mechanisms and the conditions under which spatial effects dominate over local processes.

A spatial analysis of urban gulls contribution to the potential spread of zoonotic and antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Wildlife human interactions within cities are becoming more common with consequences for pathogen transmission and human health. Large gulls are opportunistic feeders, adapted to coexist with humans in urban environments, and are potential vectors for spread and transmission of pathogens, including antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. We investigated the potential role that urban gulls play in the spread and dispersal of these bacteria. We analysed 129 faecal swabs from yellow-legged gulls (Larus michahellis) of different ages (56 adults and 73 immatures) during the breeding period from three years in the highly populated city of Barcelona (northeastern Spain). Thirteen individuals tested positive for the pathogenic bacteria (Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter jejuni), including antibiotic-resistant strains. We modelled the potential spatial spread of pathogens using the GPS trajectories of 58 yellow-legged gulls (23 adults, 35 immature individuals), which included the thirteen individuals that tested positive for pathogenic bacteria. By overlapping the spatially explicit pathogen dispersal maps with the distribution of urban installations sensitive at risk of possible pathogen spillover (e.g. elder and medical centres, markets, food industries, kindergartens, or public water sources), we identified potential areas at risk of pathogen spillover. Pathogens may be potentially spread to municipalities beyond Barcelona city borders. The results revealed that immature gulls dispersed pathogens over larger areas than adults (maximum dispersal distances of 167 km versus 53.2 km, respectively). Recreational urban water sources were the most sensitive habitats visited by GPS-tagged gulls that tested positive, followed by schools. Combining GPS movement data with pathogen analytics allows spatially explicit maps to be generated using a One Health approach that can help urban and public health management within large cities, such as Barcelona, and identify areas used by humans that are sensitive to pathogen spillover from gulls.

Global freshwater fish invasion linked to the presence of closely related species

In the Anthropocene, non-native freshwater fish introductions and translocations have occurred extensively worldwide. However, their global distribution patterns and the factors influencing their establishment remain poorly understood. We analyze a comprehensive database of 14953 freshwater fish species across 3119 river basins and identify global hotspots for exotic and translocated non-native fishes. We show that both types of non-native fishes are more likely to occur when closely related to native fishes. This finding is consistent across measures of phylogenetic relatedness, biogeographical realms, and highly invaded countries, even after accounting for the influence of native diversity. This contradicts Darwin's naturalization hypothesis, suggesting that the presence of close relatives more often signifies suitable habitats than intensified competition, predicting the establishment of non-native fish species. Our study provides a comprehensive assessment of global non-native freshwater fish patterns and their phylogenetic correlates, laying the groundwork for understanding and predicting future fish invasions in freshwater ecosystems.

Swift Prosodic Modulation of Lexical Access: Brain Potentials From Three North Germanic Language Varieties

PURPOSE

According to most models of spoken word recognition, listeners probabilistically activate a set of lexical candidates, which is incrementally updated as the speech signal unfolds. Speech carries segmental (speech sound) as well as suprasegmental (prosodic) information. The role of the latter in spoken word recognition is less clear. We investigated how suprasegments (tone and voice quality) in three North Germanic language varieties affected lexical access by scrutinizing temporally fine-grained neurophysiological effects of lexical uncertainty and information gain.

METHOD

Three event-related potential (ERP) studies were reanalyzed. In all varieties investigated, suprasegments are associated with specific word endings. Swedish has two lexical "word accents" realized as pitch falls with different timings across dialects. In Danish, the distinction is in voice quality. We combined pronunciation lexica and frequency lists to calculate estimates of lexical uncertainty about an unfolding word and information gain upon hearing a suprasegmental cue and the segment upon which it manifests. We used single-trial mixed-effects regression models run every 4 ms.

RESULTS

Only lexical uncertainty showed solid results: a frontal effect at 150-400 ms after suprasegmental cue onset and a later posterior effect after 200 ms. While a model including only segmental information mostly performed better, it was outperformed by the suprasegmental model at 200-330 ms at frontal sites.

CONCLUSIONS

The study points to suprasegmental cues contributing to lexical access over and beyond segments after around 200 ms in the North Germanic varieties investigated. Furthermore, the findings indicate that a previously reported "pre-activation negativity" predominantly reflects forward-looking processing.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25016486.

An individually adjusted approach for communicating epidemiological results on health and lifestyle to patients

If scientific research on modifiable risk factors was more accessible to the general population there is a potential to prevent disease and promote health. Mobile applications can automatically combine individual characteristics and statistical models of health to present scientific information as individually tailored visuals, and thus there is untapped potential in incorporating scientific research into apps aimed at promoting healthier lifestyles. As a proof-of-concept, we develop a statistical model of the relationship between Self-rated-health (SRH) and lifestyle-related factors, and a simple app for conveying its effects through a visualisation that sets the individual as the frame of reference. Using data from the 6th (n = 12 981, 53.4% women and 46.6% men) and 7th (n = 21 083, 52.5% women and 47.5% men) iteration of the Tromsø population survey, we fitted a mixed effects linear regression model that models mean SRH as a function of self-reported intensity and frequency of physical activity (PA), BMI, mental health symptoms (HSCL-10), smoking, support from friends, and HbA1c ≥ 6.5%. We adjusted for socioeconomic and demographic factors and comorbidity. We designed a simple proof-of-concept app to register relevant user information, and use the SRH-model to translate the present status of the user into suggestions for lifestyle changes along with predicted health effects. SRH was strongly related to modifiable health factors. The strongest modifiable predictors of SRH were mental health symptoms and PA. The mean adjusted difference in SRH between those with 10-HSCL index = 1.85 (threshold for mental distress) and HSCL-10 = 1 was 0.59 (CI 0.61-0.57). Vigorous physical activity (exercising to exhaustion ≥ 4 days/week relative to sedentary) was associated with an increase on the SRH scale of 0.64 (CI 0.56-0.73). Physical activity intensity and frequency interacted positively, with large PA-volume (frequency ⨯ intensity) being particularly predictive of high SRH. Incorporating statistical models of health into lifestyle apps have great potential for effectively communicating complex health research to a general audience. Such an approach could improve lifestyle apps by helping to make the recommendations more scientifically rigorous and personalised, and offer a more comprehensive overview of lifestyle factors and their importance.

Preliminary Efficacy of a Digital Intervention for Adolescent Depression: Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND

Adolescent depression is a significant public health concern; however, access to effective mental health care is limited. Digital therapeutics (DTx) can improve access to evidence-based interventions; however, their efficacy in adolescents is sparsely documented.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to examine the efficacy of a mobile app DTx versus an active control as an adjunct treatment for adolescent depression symptoms.

METHODS

An internet-based open-label randomized control trial was conducted nationwide with a partial crossover design, and 168 adolescents aged 13 to 21 years with symptoms of depression were recruited between November 2020 and September 2021. Participants were randomized (1:1) to the cognitive behavioral therapy-based treatment app (Spark) or to a psychoeducational control app (control), which they would use for a duration of 5 weeks. The primary outcome was a between-group (Spark vs control) difference in the change in depression symptoms from baseline to postintervention, as measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8) using a linear mixed-effects analysis. The PHQ-8 ranges from 0 to 24, with scores of 5 to 9 indicating mild depression symptoms, scores of 10 to 14 indicating moderate symptoms, scores of 15 to 19 indicating moderately severe symptoms, and scores of 20 to 24 indicating severe symptoms. A minimal clinically important difference (5-point reduction between baseline and postintervention) in the Spark arm and group differences in remission and treatment response rates based on the PHQ-8 at postintervention were also investigated.

RESULTS

A total of 160 participants were randomized, 80 in the Spark arm (mean age 16.89, SD 2.5 y) and 80 in the control arm (mean age 16.79, SD 2.59 y). Data from 121 participants (Spark: n=63; control: n=58) with moderate to severe (PHQ-8≥10) symptoms at baseline were included in the primary analyses following a modified intention-to-treat principle. A linear mixed-effect analysis revealed a nonsignificant difference between the study arms in depression symptom change over the intervention period. The Spark arm met a minimal clinically important difference threshold (mean -5.08, 95% CI -6.72 to -3.42). The remission rate in the Spark arm was significantly higher than that in the control arm (11/63, 17% vs 2/58, 3%; χ21=6.2; P=.01; false discovery rate-adjusted P=.03). The treatment response rates were not significantly different between the study arms (P=.07; false discovery rate-adjusted P=.16). Post hoc analyses including participants with mild to severe (PHQ-8 score ≥5) symptoms at baseline revealed promising evidence that Spark is effective in those with mild to severe symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

There is initial evidence that a self-guided, cognitive behavioral therapy-based DTx intervention may effectively treat mild to severe depression symptoms in adolescents. DTx may improve access to mental health care for adolescents or serve as an important adjunct to the standard of care.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04524598; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04524598.

People can reliably detect action changes and goal changes during naturalistic perception

As a part of ongoing perception, the human cognitive system segments others' activities into discrete episodes (event segmentation). Although prior research has shown that this process is likely related to changes in an actor's actions and goals, it has not yet been determined whether untrained observers can reliably identify action and goal changes as naturalistic activities unfold, or whether the changes they identify are tied to visual features of the activity (e.g., the beginnings and ends of object interactions). This study addressed these questions by examining untrained participants' identification of action changes, goal changes, and event boundaries while watching videos of everyday activities that were presented in both first-person and third-person perspectives. We found that untrained observers can identify goal changes and action changes consistently, and these changes are not explained by visual change and the onsets or offsets of contact with objects. Moreover, the action and goal changes identified by untrained observers were associated with event boundaries, even after accounting for objective visual features of the videos. These findings suggest that people can identify action and goal changes consistently and with high agreement, that they do so by using sensory information flexibly, and that the action and goal changes they identify may contribute to event segmentation.

Exploration capacity versus specific enzymatic activity of ectomycorrhizas in response to primary productivity and soil phosphorus availability in Bornean tropical rainforests

Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi are functionally important in biogeochemical cycles in tropical ecosystems. Extracellular enzymatic activity of ECM on a ground-area basis is the product of two attributes; exploration capacity (ECM surface-area) and specific enzymatic activity. Here, we elucidated which attribute better explained the ECM enzymatic activity in response to different levels of soil phosphorus (P) and Nitrogen (N) availability in five Bornean tropical rainforests. We determined the surface area of ECM root tips as well as the enzymatic activities per ECM surface area for carbon (C), N and P degrading enzymes in each site. We evaluated the relationship of ECM enzyme activities with the resource availabilities of C (Above-ground net primary production; ANPP), N, and P of ECM by a generalized linear mixed model. The ECM enzymatic activities on a ground-area basis were more significantly determined by specific enzymatic activity than by the exploration capacity. Specific enzymatic activities were generally negatively affected by C (ANPP) and soil P availability. ECM fungi enhance the specific enzyme activity rather than the exploration capacity to maintain the capacity of nutrient acquisition. The less dependence of ECM fungi on the exploration capacity in these forests may be related to the limitation of C supply from host trees. We highlighted the adaptive mechanisms of ECM fungi on nutrient acquisition in tropical ecosystems through the response of enzymatic activity to nutrient availability across the elements.

Bacterial communities along parrot digestive and respiratory tracts: the effects of sample type, species and time

Digestive and respiratory tracts are inhabited by rich bacterial communities that can vary between their different segments. In comparison with other bird taxa with developed caeca, parrots that lack caeca have relatively lower variability in intestinal morphology. Here, based on 16S rRNA metabarcoding, we describe variation in microbiota across different parts of parrot digestive and respiratory tracts both at interspecies and intraspecies levels. In domesticated budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus), we describe the bacterial variation across eight selected sections of respiratory and digestive tracts, and three non-destructively collected sample types (faeces, and cloacal and oral swabs). Our results show important microbiota divergence between the upper and lower digestive tract, but similarities between respiratory tract and crop, and also between different intestinal segments. Faecal samples appear to provide a better proxy for intestinal microbiota composition than the cloacal swabs. Oral swabs had a similar bacterial composition as the crop and trachea. For a subset of tissues, we confirmed the same pattern also in six different parrot species. Finally, using the faeces and oral swabs in budgerigars, we revealed high oral, but low faecal microbiota stability during a 3-week period mimicking pre-experiment acclimation. Our findings provide a basis essential for microbiota-related experimental planning and result generalisation in non-poultry birds.

Ecological filtering shapes the impacts of agricultural deforestation on biodiversity

The biodiversity impacts of agricultural deforestation vary widely across regions. Previous efforts to explain this variation have focused exclusively on the landscape features and management regimes of agricultural systems, neglecting the potentially critical role of ecological filtering in shaping deforestation tolerance of extant species assemblages at large geographical scales via selection for functional traits. Here we provide a large-scale test of this role using a global database of species abundance ratios between matched agricultural and native forest sites that comprises 71 avian assemblages reported in 44 primary studies, and a companion database of 10 functional traits for all 2,647 species involved. Using meta-analytic, phylogenetic and multivariate methods, we show that beyond agricultural features, filtering by the extent of natural environmental variability and the severity of historical anthropogenic deforestation shapes the varying deforestation impacts across species assemblages. For assemblages under greater environmental variability-proxied by drier and more seasonal climates under a greater disturbance regime-and longer deforestation histories, filtering has attenuated the negative impacts of current deforestation by selecting for functional traits linked to stronger deforestation tolerance. Our study provides a previously largely missing piece of knowledge in understanding and managing the biodiversity consequences of deforestation by agricultural deforestation.