scholarly journals Maintenance of community function through compensation breaks down over time in a desert rodent community

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renata M. Diaz ◽  
S. K. Morgan Ernest

AbstractUnderstanding the ecological processes that maintain community function in systems experiencing species loss, and how these processes change over time, is key to understanding the relationship between community structure and function and predicting how communities may respond to perturbations in the Anthropocene. Using a 30-year experiment on desert rodents, we show that the impact of species loss on community-level energy use has changed dramatically over time, due to changes in both species composition and in the degree of functional redundancy among the same set of species. Although strong compensation, initially driven by the dispersal of functionally redundant species to the local community, occurred in this system from 1996-2010, since 2010, compensation has broken down due to decreasing functional overlap within the same set of species. Simultaneously, long-term changes in sitewide community composition due to niche complementarity have decoupled the dynamics of compensation from the overall impact of species loss on community-level energy use. These results highlight the importance of explicitly long-term, metacommunity, and eco-evolutionary perspectives on compensatory dynamics, zero-sum constraints, and the link between species-level fluctuations and community function in a changing world.Original submissionThis submission analyzes long-term data on rodent community abundance and energy use from the Portal Project. Sections of this timeseries have been analyzed in numerous other publications, but this is the first to analyze data from 2007-2020 on compensation on experimental and control plots.No prior publicationThis submission is posted as a preprint on bioRxiv at [bioRxiv].Animal welfareRodent censuses were conducted with IACUC approval, most recently under protocol 201808839_01 at the University of Florida.Open researchAll data and code to reproduce these analyses are archived on Zenodo at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5544362 and https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5539881.Analytic methodsAll analyses were conducted in R version 4.0.3.

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 142-167
Author(s):  
Catherine E. Travis ◽  
Inas Ghina

Abstract We examine variation in a rural variety of Acehnese spoken in Aceh Province, to better understand the impact of long-term contact with Indonesian and increasing urbanization. The Great Aceh variety is characterized by variable realization of word-final (t) as a dental vs. glottal stop. Analyses of over 2,000 tokens of this variable from a corpus of spontaneous speech from 35 speakers indicate that the variability is relatively stable among men, and among women of high mobility, measured in terms of education, occupation, and time spent outside Great Aceh. Women with low mobility produce the lowest rates of [t̪], and in this group we observe a higher rate of [t̪] by younger than older women, suggesting change over time. We thus find both stability – among those who have long enjoyed high levels of mobility – and change – among those most affected by recent social changes, namely low-mobility women.


Author(s):  
Anastasija Jeršova ◽  
Iveta Mietule

The topic of current research and key findings are topical, taking into the consideration the territorial development tendencies of Latvia, which is characterized by the long-term regional inequalities and the tendencies of the migration of the population. The aim of the research is to analyse the impact of the regional inequalities on the migration tendencies of population in Latvia. The following research methods have been used in the research- logically constructive method, content analysis, monographic method, synthesis method, statistical analysis of interrelations, integral index method. Within the research, by using the selected research methods, authors have evaluated the influence of migration indicators-stimulators and indicators-de-stimulators on the migration trends in Latvia over time.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolò Fabbri ◽  
Antonio Pesce ◽  
Lisa Uccellatori ◽  
Salvatore Greco ◽  
Francesco D'Urbano ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundThe spread of the COVID-19 is having a worldwide impact on surgicaltreatment. Our aim was to investigate the impact of the pandemic in a rural hospital in a lowdensely populated area.MethodsWe investigated the volume and type of surgical operations during the pandemic(March 2020 - February 2021) versus pre-pandemic period (March 2019 - February 2020) aswell as during the first and second pandemic waves compared to the pre-pandemic period.We compared the volume and timing of emergency appendectomy and cholecystectomyduring the pandemic versus pre-pandemic period, the volume, timing and stages of electivegastric and colorectal resections for cancer during the pandemic versus the pre-pandemicperiod.ResultsIn the prepandemic versus pandemic period, 42 versus 24 appendectomies and 174versus 126 cholecystectomies (urgent and elective) were performed. Patients operated onbefore as opposed to during the pandemic were older (58 vs. 52 years old, p=0.006),including for cholecystectomy (73 vs. 66 years old, p=0.01) and appendectomy (43 vs. 30years old, p = 0.04).The logistic regression analysis with regard to cholecystectomy and appendectomy performedin emergency showed that male sex and age were both associated to gangrenous typehistology, both in pandemic and prepandemic period. Finally, we found a reduction in cancerstage I and IIA in pandemic versus prepandemic period, with no increase in the moreadvanced stages.Conclusionsthe reduction in services imposed by governments during the first months oftotal lock down did not justify the whole decrease in surgical interventions in the year of thepandemic. Data suggest that greater "non-operative management" for cases of appendicitisand acute cholecystitis does not lead to an increase in cases operated over time, nor to anincrease in the "gangrenous" pattern, which seems to depend on age advanced and malepopulation.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shreya Tadas ◽  
Claudette Pretorius ◽  
Emma J. Foster ◽  
Trish Gorely ◽  
Stephen J. Leslie ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND An acute cardiac incident is a life changing event, often necessitating surgery. While surgery has high success rates, rehabilitation, behaviour change, and self-care are critical to long-term health. Recent systematic reviews highlight the potential of technology in this area, but significant shortcomings are also identified, particularly in regard to patient experience. OBJECTIVE To improve future systems this paper explores the experiences of cardiac patients during key phases post-hospitalisation: recuperation, initial rehabilitation and long term self-management. The key objective is to provide a holistic understanding of behavioural factors that impact people across these phases, understand how experiences evolve over time, and provide user-centred recommendations to improve the design of cardiac rehabilitation and self-management technologies. METHODS Semi-structured interviews were conducted with people who attended rehabilitation programs following hospitalisation for an acute cardiac event. Interviews were developed and data is analysed via the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF), a pragmatic framework that synthesizes prior theories of behaviour change. RESULTS Three phases that arise post-hospitalisation are examined: recuperation, rehabilitation, and long-term self-management. Through these phases we describe the impact of key factors and important changes that occur in patients’ experiences over time, including: a desire for and redefinition of normal life; the need for different types of formal and informal knowledge; the benefits of safe-zoning and connectedness; and the need to recognise capability. The use of the TDF allows us to show how factors that influence behaviour evolve over time and identify potential sources of tension. CONCLUSIONS The paper provides empirically grounded recommendations for the design of technology-mediated cardiac rehabilitation and self-management systems. Key recommendations include the use of technology to support a normal life; leveraging social influences to extend participants’ sense of normality; the use of technology to provide a safe zone; the need to support both emotional and physical wellbeing; and a focus on recognizing capability and providing recommendations that are positive and reinforce this capability.


2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingrid Stein

Abstract This study analyzes the impact of bank relationships on a firm’s borrowing costs. We find that a firm’s borrowing costs decrease with relationship strength, proxied by the share of bank debt provided by the lender. Borrowing costs, however, rise with relationship length. While the increase over time is weak on average, bank-dependent borrowers face a substantial premium after several relationship years. Switching the lender initially leads to only a small price discount on average. However, the discount is considerable for borrowers that switch and had a strong relationship with their previous lender. Our results suggest that close lending relationships lead to benefits for the firm, but may also imply hold-up costs in the long term.


2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akram Abdul Hamid ◽  
Dennis Johansson ◽  
Michael Lempart

Cleaning coils can be an efficient way to reduce the need for reparations and maintain the functionality of a ventilation system. This study builds upon existing knowledge concerning the contamination of heat exchangers. Through field measurements on coils and heat-recovery units, a laboratory experiment on a coil, and a generic calculation example, this study determines the impact of sustained contamination on heat-recovery units with regards to energy use. Field measurements made before and after cleaning of heat exchangers show an average increase in the pressure drop by 12% and decrease in the thermal exchange efficiency by 8.1% due to mass deposited on the surface of the heat exchangers. Results from a laboratory test show a correlation between the mass deposited on a coil and (1) the increase in pressure drop over the coil, as well as (2) a diminishing heat exchange. Accumulating contamination on heat-recovery units in residential and commercial buildings (over time) is then linked to increasing pressure drop and diminishing thermal efficiency. With models based on these links, energy loss over time is calculated based on a generic calculation example in a realistic scenario. Practical application: The results from this study emphasize the need for maintenance of buildings with ventilation systems with coils, but more so those with heat-recovery units. The presented field measurements and laboratory study correlate energy loss with sustained accumulation of contaminants on coils and heat-recovery units. These results should serve as a recommendation to property owners considering maintenance of such units in their buildings.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murray Last

Too often, research into the health of a particular community is brief and superficial, focusing only on what is public and leaving the private health of women and children ‘foggy’. By contrast, long-term anthropology can offer access to processes taking place within a local culture of illness. Here, an account of a community’s experience of health over the past 50 years not only outlines the key changes as seen anthropologically but also shows how even close ethnography can initially miss important data. Furthermore, the impact of a researcher – both as a guest and as a source of interference – underlines how complex fieldwork can be in reality, especially if seen through the eyes of the researcher’s hosts.


2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 272-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophia K. Smith ◽  
Deborah K. Mayer ◽  
Sheryl Zimmerman ◽  
Christianna S. Williams ◽  
Habtamu Benecha ◽  
...  

Purpose Little is known about change in quality of life (QOL) among long-term cancer survivors. We examined change over time in QOL among long-term survivors of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and identified demographic, clinical, and psychosocial risk factors for poor outcomes. Methods Surveys were mailed to 682 lymphoma survivors who participated in a study 5 years earlier, when on average they were 10.4 years postdiagnosis. Standardized measures of QOL, perceptions of the impact of cancer, symptoms, medical history, and demographic variables were reported at both time points and examined using linear regression modeling to identify predictors of QOL over time. Results A total of 566 individuals participated (83% response rate) who were a mean of 15.3 years postdiagnosis; 52% were women, and 87% were white. One third of participants (32%) reported persistently high or improved QOL, yet a notable proportion (42%) reported persistently low or worsening QOL since the earlier survey. Participants who received only biologic systemic therapy reported improvement in physical health despite the passage of time. Older age, more comorbidity, and more or increasing negative and decreasing positive perceptions of cancer's impact were independent predictors of poor QOL. Lymphoma symptom burden, less social support, and having received a transplantation were related to negative perceptions of cancer's impact. Conclusion Moderate to severe symptom burden, limited social support, or having received a transplantation should alert the clinician to potential need for supportive services. Perceptions of cancer's impact are associated with QOL cross-sectionally and longitudinally; modifying these perceptions may thus provide a strategy for improving QOL.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Ortega ◽  
Marta Ribes ◽  
Marta Vidal ◽  
Rocío Rubio ◽  
Ruth Aguilar ◽  
...  

AbstractUnraveling the long-term kinetics of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 and its determinants, including the impact of pre-existing antibodies to human coronaviruses causing common cold (HCoVs), is essential to understand protective immunity to COVID-19 and devise effective surveillance strategies. IgM, IgA and IgG levels against six SARS-CoV-2 and four HCoV antigens were quantified by Luminex, and antibody neutralization capacity was assessed by flow cytometry, in a cohort of health care workers followed-up for 6 months. Seroprevalence increased over time from 13.5% (month 0) and 15.6% (month 1) to 16.4% (month 6). Levels of antibodies, including those with neutralizing capacity, were stable over time, except IgG to nucleocapsid antigen and IgM levels that waned. After the peak response, anti-spike antibody levels increased from ∼150 days post-symptom onset in all individuals (73% for IgG), in the absence of any evidence of re-exposure. Pre-existing antibodies to alpha-HCoV were lower in individuals who subsequently seroconverted for SARS-CoV-2. IgG and IgA to HCoV were significantly higher in asymptomatic than symptomatic seropositive individuals. Thus, pre-existing cross-reactive HCoVs antibodies could have a protective effect against SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease.


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