New Avenues for Old Travellers: Phenotypic Evolutionary Trends Meet Morphodynamics, and Both Enter the Global Change Biology Era

AbstractEvolutionary trends (ETs) are traditionally defined as substantial changes in the state of traits through time produced by a persistent condition of directional evolution. ETs might also include directional responses to ecological, climatic or biological gradients and represent the primary evolutionary pattern at high taxonomic levels and over long-time scales. The absence of a well-supported operative definition of ETs blurred the definition of conceptual differences between ETs and other key concepts in evolution such as convergence, parallel evolution, and divergence. Also, it prevented the formulation of modern guidelines for studying ETs and evolutionary dynamics related to them. In phenotypic evolution, the theory of morphodynamics states that the interplay between evolutionary factors such as phylogeny, evo-devo constraints, environment, and biological function determines morphological evolution. After introducing a new operative definition, here we provide a morphodynamics-based framework for studying phenotypic ETs, discussing how understanding the impact of these factors on ETs improves the explanation of links between biological patterns and processes underpinning directional evolution. We envisage that adopting a quantitative, pattern-based, and multifactorial approach will pave the way to new potential applications for this field of evolutionary biology. In this framework, by exploiting the catalysing effect of climate change on evolution, research on ETs induced by global change might represent an ideal arena for validating hypotheses about the predictability of evolution.

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Long-term experimental evolution of HIV-1 reveals effects of environment and mutational history

PLoS Biology ◽

10.1371/journal.pbio.3001010 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 18 (12) ◽

pp. e3001010

Author(s):

Eva Bons ◽

Christine Leemann ◽

Karin J. Metzner ◽

Roland R. Regoes

Keyword(s):

Evolutionary Dynamics ◽

Fitness Landscape ◽

Large Population ◽

Parallel Evolution ◽

Cell Types ◽

Drug Pressure ◽

Evolutionary Paths ◽

The Impact ◽

Hiv 1

An often-returning question for not only HIV-1, but also other organisms, is how predictable evolutionary paths are. The environment, mutational history, and random processes can all impact the exact evolutionary paths, but to which extent these factors contribute to the evolutionary dynamics of a particular system is an open question. Especially in a virus like HIV-1, with a large mutation rate and large population sizes, evolution is expected to be highly predictable if the impact of environment and history is low, and evolution is not neutral. We investigated the effect of environment and mutational history by analyzing sequences from a long-term evolution experiment, in which HIV-1 was passaged on 2 different cell types in 8 independent evolutionary lines and 8 derived lines, 4 of which involved a switch of the environment. The experiments lasted for 240–300 passages, corresponding to approximately 400–600 generations or almost 3 years. The sequences show signs of extensive parallel evolution—the majority of mutations that are shared between independent lines appear in both cell types, but we also find that both environment and mutational history significantly impact the evolutionary paths. We conclude that HIV-1 evolution is robust to small changes in the environment, similar to a transmission event in the absence of an immune response or drug pressure. We also find that the fitness landscape of HIV-1 is largely smooth, although we find some evidence for both positive and negative epistatic interactions between mutations.

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Morphological Evolution: Bioinspired Methods for Analyzing Bioinspired Robots

Frontiers in Robotics and AI ◽

10.3389/frobt.2021.717214 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Eric Aaron ◽

Joshua Hawthorne-Madell ◽

Ken Livingston ◽

John H. Long

Keyword(s):

Evolutionary Biology ◽

Morphological Traits ◽

Evolutionary Dynamics ◽

Morphological Evolution ◽

Analytical Techniques ◽

Genetic Mutation ◽

Evolutionary Mechanisms ◽

Selection Gradient ◽

Common Interests ◽

Analytical Approaches

To fully understand the evolution of complex morphologies, analyses cannot stop at selection: It is essential to investigate the roles and interactions of multiple processes that drive evolutionary outcomes. The challenges of undertaking such analyses have affected both evolutionary biologists and evolutionary roboticists, with their common interests in complex morphologies. In this paper, we present analytical techniques from evolutionary biology, selection gradient analysis and morphospace walks, and we demonstrate their applicability to robot morphologies in analyses of three evolutionary mechanisms: randomness (genetic mutation), development (an explicitly implemented genotype-to-phenotype map), and selection. In particular, we applied these analytical techniques to evolved populations of simulated biorobots—embodied robots designed specifically as models of biological systems, for the testing of biological hypotheses—and we present a variety of results, including analyses that do all of the following: illuminate different evolutionary dynamics for different classes of morphological traits; illustrate how the traits targeted by selection can vary based on the likelihood of random genetic mutation; demonstrate that selection on two selected sets of morphological traits only partially explains the variance in fitness in our biorobots; and suggest that biases in developmental processes could partially explain evolutionary dynamics of morphology. When combined, the complementary analytical approaches discussed in this paper can enable insight into evolutionary processes beyond selection and thereby deepen our understanding of the evolution of robotic morphologies.

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PERTANGGUNGJAWABAN KERUGIAN NEGARA DALAM PENGELOLAAN KEUANGAN DAERAH

EDUKASI ◽

10.33387/j.edu.v16i1.618 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Hendra Karianga

Keyword(s):

Financial Management ◽

Criminal Liability ◽

The State ◽

Legal Proceedings ◽

Regional Finance ◽

Regional Budget ◽

State Finance ◽

Budget Policy ◽

Definition Of ◽

The Impact

Sources of revenue and expenditure of APBD (regional budget) can be allocated to finance the compulsory affairs and optional affairs in the form of programs and activities related to the improvement of public services, job creation, poverty alleviation, improvement of environmental quality, and regional economic growth. The implications of these policies is the need for funds to finance the implementation of the functions, that have become regional authority, is also increasing. In practice, regional financial management still poses a complicated issue because the regional head are reluctant to release pro-people regional budget policy, even implication of regional autonomy is likely to give birth to little kings in region causing losses to state finance and most end up in legal proceedings. This paper discusses the loss of state finance and forms of liability for losses to the state finance. The result of the study can be concluded firstly, there are still many differences in giving meaning and definition of the loss of state finace and no standard definition of state losses, can cause difficulties. The difficulty there is in an effort to determine the amount of the state finance losses. The calculation of state/regions losses that occur today is simply assessing the suitability of the size of the budget and expenditure without considering profits earned by the community and the impact of the use of budget to the community. Secondly, the liability for losses to the state finance is the fulfillment of the consequences for a person to give or to do something in the regional financial management by giving birth to three forms of liability, namely the Criminal liability, Civil liability, and Administrative liability.Keywords: state finance losses, liability, regional finance.

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Empowering Women Entrepreneurs Through Microfinance - A Case of Rural Bangladesh

ADVANCES IN BUSINESS RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL ◽

10.24191/abrij.v3i2.10092 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 7

Author(s):

Saida Parvin

Keyword(s):

Women's Empowerment ◽

Assessment Tools ◽

Women’S Empowerment ◽

Case Study Method ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Theoretical Contribution ◽

Donor Agencies ◽

Definition Of ◽

The Impact

Women’s empowerment has been at the centre of research focus for many decades. Extant literature examined the process, outcome and various challenges. Some claimed substantial success, while others contradicted with evidence of failure. But the success remains a matter of debate due to lack of empirical evidence of actual empowerment of women around the world. The current study aimed to address this gap by taking a case study method. The study critically evaluates 20 cases carefully sampled to include representatives from the entire country of Bangladesh. The study demonstrates popular beliefs about microfinance often misguide even the borrowers and they start living in a fabricated feeling of empowerment, facing real challenges to achieve true empowerment in their lives. The impact of this finding is twofold; firstly there is a theoretical contribution, where the definition of women’s empowerment is proposed to be revisited considering findings from these cases. And lastly, the policy makers at governmental and non-governmental organisations, and multinational donor agencies need to revise their assessment tools for funding.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Environmental-mechanistic modelling of the impact of global change on human zoonotic disease emergence: a case study of Lassa fever

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.728531043.793555394 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Igor Lukashevich

Keyword(s):

Global Change ◽

Zoonotic Disease ◽

Lassa Fever ◽

Disease Emergence ◽

Mechanistic Modelling ◽

The Impact

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The Impact of the Regulatory Environment on the Definition of the Best Interests of the Corporation

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.2247434 ◽

2012 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Isabelle Martin

Keyword(s):

Best Interests ◽

Regulatory Environment ◽

Definition Of ◽

The Impact

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Defining Preterm Birth and Stillbirth in the Western Pacific: A Systematic Review

Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1177/10105395211026099 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 101053952110260

Author(s):

Mairead Connolly ◽

Laura Phung ◽

Elise Farrington ◽

Michelle J. L. Scoullar ◽

Alyce N. Wilson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Preterm Birth ◽

National Level ◽

Health Indicators ◽

Western Pacific ◽

World Health ◽

Middle Income ◽

Middle Income Countries ◽

Definition Of ◽

Health Organization ◽

The Impact

Preterm birth and stillbirth are important global perinatal health indicators. Definitions of these indicators can differ between countries, affecting comparability of preterm birth and stillbirth rates across countries. This study aimed to document national-level adherence to World Health Organization (WHO) definitions of preterm birth and stillbirth in the WHO Western Pacific region. A systematic search of government health websites and 4 electronic databases was conducted. Any official report or published study describing the national definition of preterm birth or stillbirth published between 2000 and 2020 was eligible for inclusion. A total of 58 data sources from 21 countries were identified. There was considerable variation in how preterm birth and stillbirth was defined across the region. The most frequently used lower gestational age threshold for viability of preterm birth was 28 weeks gestation (range 20-28 weeks), and stillbirth was most frequently classified from 20 weeks gestation (range 12-28 weeks). High-income countries more frequently used earlier gestational ages for preterm birth and stillbirth compared with low- to middle-income countries. The findings highlight the importance of clear, standardized, internationally comparable definitions for perinatal indicators. Further research is needed to determine the impact on regional preterm birth and stillbirth rates.

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Value assessment of antimicrobials and the implications for development, access, and funding of effective treatments: Australian stakeholder perspective

International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care ◽

10.1017/s0266462320000823 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

Nadine T. Hillock ◽

Tracy L. Merlin ◽

Jonathan Karnon ◽

John Turnidge ◽

Jaklin Eliott

Keyword(s):

Cost Effectiveness ◽

Healthcare Resource ◽

Economic Evaluations ◽

Value Assessment ◽

Antimicrobial Drugs ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Stakeholder Perspective ◽

Definition Of ◽

The Impact ◽

Potential Use

Abstract Background The frameworks used by Health Technology Assessment (HTA) agencies for value assessment of medicines aim to optimize healthcare resource allocation. However, they may not be effective at capturing the value of antimicrobial drugs. Objectives To analyze stakeholder perceptions regarding how antimicrobials are assessed for value for reimbursement purposes and how the Australian HTA framework accommodates the unique attributes of antimicrobials in cost-effectiveness evaluation. Methods Eighteen individuals representing the pharmaceutical industry or policy-makers were interviewed. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded, and thematically analyzed. Results Key emergent themes were that reimbursement decision-making should consider the antibiotic spectrum when assessing value, risk of shortages, the impact of procurement processes on low-priced comparators, and the need for methodological transparency when antimicrobials are incorporated into the economic evaluation of other treatments. Conclusions Participants agreed that the current HTA framework for antimicrobial value assessment is inadequate to properly inform funding decisions, as the contemporary definition of cost-effectiveness fails to explicitly incorporate the risk of future resistance. Policy-makers were uncertain about how to incorporate future resistance into economic evaluations without a systematic method to capture costs avoided due to good stewardship. Lacking financial reward for the benefits of narrower-spectrum antimicrobials, companies will likely focus on developing broad-spectrum agents with wider potential use. The perceived risks of shortages have influenced the funding of generic antimicrobials in Australia, with policy-makers suggesting a willingness to pay more for assured supply. Although antibiotics often underpin the effectiveness of other medicines, it is unclear how this is incorporated into economic models.

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Fleet Resilience: Evaluating Maintenance Strategies in Critical Equipment

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11010038 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 38

Author(s):

Orlando Durán ◽

Javier Aguilar ◽

Andrea Capaldo ◽

Adolfo Arata

Keyword(s):

Application Study ◽

System Availability ◽

Maintenance Strategies ◽

Resilience Index ◽

Reliability Block Diagrams ◽

Maintenance Policies ◽

Definition Of ◽

The Impact ◽

Important System ◽

Intrinsic Characteristic

Resilience is an intrinsic characteristic of systems. Through it, the capacity of a system to react to the existence of disruptive events is expressed. A series of metrics to represent systems’ resilience have been proposed, however, only one indicator relates the availability of the system to this characteristic. With such a metric, it is possible to relate the topological aspects of a system and the resources available in order to be able to promptly respond to the loss of performance as a result of unexpected events. This work proposes the adaptation and application of such a resilience index to assess the influence of different maintenance strategies and topologies in fleets’ resilience. In addition, an application study considering an actual mining fleet is provided. A set of critical assets was identified and represented using reliability block diagrams. Monte Carlo simulation experiments were conducted and the system availability data were extracted. Resilience indexes were obtained in order to carry out the definition of the best maintenance policies in critical equipment and the assessment of the impact of modifying system redundancies. The main results of this work lead to the overall conclusion that redundancy is an important system attribute in order to improve resiliency along time.

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