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Adaptive life histories emerge through their environmentally dependent effects on fitness. Those effects are consequences of habitat quality and the density-dependent decisions that organisms make on habitat choice. Density dependence for ideal organisms maximizing fitness through habitat selection is uniquely revealed by their habitat isodars, lines in the state space of species’ densities that c
Human appropriation of land reduces the quality and continuity of remaining natural habitat, affecting species fecundity, survival, and movements, which must be accounted for in impact assessments. Effective decision-making for sustainable land-use and resource extraction requires methods that represent the ecological impacts of human activities on surrounding landscapes. We propose a method that
Background/objectives: Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) is secreted by enteroendocrine K cells in response to nutrient ingestion. The aims of this study were: i) to evaluate the cross-sectional associations between plasma GIP change in response to an oral glucose challenge (as a surrogate of GIP secretion) with obesity-related anthropometric measurements, fasting inflammatory bio
We aimed to highlight the roles of the pancreatic enzymes, with special reference to amylase, on glucose homeostasis in healthy pigs and in pigs with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI). Healthy pigs fed a high-fat diet (HFD) were subjected to mixed meal tolerance tests (MMTTs) and pancreatic enzyme treatments, and then blood glucose and insulin concentrations were determined. Following the de
Butterflies have been systematically monitored in Europe for several decades using standard protocols that are now adopted in over 30 countries. Butterflies are ideal biological indicators: they are well-documented, measurable, sensitive to environmental change, occur in a wide range of habitat types, represent many other insects, and are popular with the public because of their beauty.Records froExecutive Summary Butterflies have been systematically monitored in Europe for several decades using standard protocols that are now adopted in over 30 countries. Butterflies are ideal biological indicators: they are well-documented, measurable, sensitive to environmental change, occur in a wide range of habitat types, represent many other insects, and are popular with the public because of their
Holism is a term charged with multiple meanings. Coined by statesman and botanistJan Smuts in 1926, it was mainly used in academia until its public breakthrougharound 1980. This article examines the interdisciplinary circulation of holism in science during its first sixty years of existence, focusing on ecology, psychology, medicine, social science, pedagogy, and philosophy. While primarily an e
Ongoing global change is leading to the widespread redistribution of species1,2. Assessments of shifts in species geographic ranges, however, remain taxonomically biased and geographically limited2, especially for insects. We conducted a global synthesis on butterfly range shifts using a combination of multi-lingual review in 15 languages and expert assessments, compiling data on range shifts for
In response to increasing threats to biodiversity, conservation objectives have been set at national and international level, with the aim of halting biodiversity decline by reducing direct anthropogenic pressures on species. However, the potential effects of conservation policies derived from these objectives on common species remain rarely studied. Common species are often not the primary specie
Hard-to-heal wounds are a growing human and financial concern, constituting approximately 1–3% of the healthcare budget. Wound care is not a medical specialty and is often not prioritized within healthcare. A large portion of the cost and suffering caused by wounds has the potential to be mediated through improved knowledge and effectivised workflows. One potential way to achieve this is through t
The Big Butterfly Count reported its worst results in 14 years of monitoring UK species.
Sensory traits shape animal lifestyles due to the central role they play in retrieving and processing environmental information. However, being some of the most energetically expensive tissues to build and maintain, ecological demands often modulate investment in these organs. Evidence that ecology shapes the evolution of sensory traits is plenty but is heavily biased towards vertebrates and has o
Background: Health system performance assessment helps identify areas for improvement and guides policy initiatives. Although well-validated indicators exist for measuring organ donation and transplantation performance at the facility level, consensus on indicators for assessing national programmes is lacking. The aim of this study was to develop a comprehensive scorecard for evaluating national o
Introduction: Despite increasing recognition of pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANS), its neuropsychological underpinnings remain limited, particularly in relation to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms. PANS manifests abruptly with severe OCD and/or eating restrictions alongside concurrent neuropsychiatric symptoms, causing distress and functional impairment. This study
Enzymes are dynamic entities, and their conformational dynamics are intimately linked to their function and evolvability. In this context, protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) are an excellent model system to probe the role of conformational dynamics in enzyme function and evolution. They are a genetically diverse family of enzymes, with a highly conserved catalytic domain, identical catalytic mec
Discovering topological quantum materials that combine nontrivial topology with large bandgaps and experimentally accessible signatures remains a central pursuit in condensed matter physics. We demonstrate, through first-principles calculations and tight-binding modeling, that pyrite-type osmium disulfide (OsS2) is a fragile topological insulator (FTI) characterized by an exceptionally large direc
