scholarly journals Phylogeny and evolution of the European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) and its allies – a review of the “bird of the year”

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenő Nagy
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Breeding Range ◽  
Evolutionary Studies ◽  
Taxonomic Changes ◽  
Carduelis Carduelis ◽  
Phylogeny And Evolution ◽  
European Populations

Abstract In 2017 the European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) was voted to be the “bird of the year” in Hungary. This is a partially migrant species; most of the European populations are resident, however, its breeding range extends to East from the Sweden-Poland-Moldova axis towards the Yenisei with some of the populations wintering in Kazakhstan and South of Turkey. The European Goldfinch is classified within the Carduelinae subfamily including approximately a hundred species. Several taxonomic changes were introduced in this group during the last fifteen years, however, we still do not understand much of their origin and evolutionary history. My aim in this paper is to collect existing knowledge on the phylogeny and evolution of the Carduelinae finches and their allies, with a particular focus on the European Goldfinch and its closest relatives. Furthermore, here I point out uncertainties in different phylogenetic sources of finches, which careful consideration can be useful in similar evolutionary studies. Finally, I summarise some vision for future research.

scholarly journals On the Origin of Tetraploid Vernal Grasses (Anthoxanthum) in Europe

Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 966
Author(s):  
Zuzana Chumová ◽  
Terezie Mandáková ◽  
Pavel Trávníček
Keyword(s):  
Flow Cytometry ◽  
In Situ Hybridization ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Essential Role ◽  
Grass Species ◽  
Polyploid Species ◽  
Anthoxanthum Odoratum ◽  
European Populations

Polyploidy has played a crucial role in the evolution of many plant taxa, namely in higher latitudinal zones. Surprisingly, after several decades of an intensive research on polyploids, there are still common polyploid species whose evolutionary history is virtually unknown. Here, we addressed the origin of sweet vernal grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum) using flow cytometry, DNA sequencing, and in situ hybridization-based cytogenetic techniques. An allotetraploid and polytopic origin of the species has been verified. The chromosome study reveals an extensive variation between the European populations. In contrast, an autopolyploid origin of the rarer tetraploid vernal grass species, A. alpinum, has been corroborated. Diploid A. alpinum played an essential role in the polyploidization of both European tetraploids studied.

Understanding sexual and reproductive health needs of immigrant adolescents in Canada: A scoping review

2021 ◽  
pp. e20210006
Author(s):  
Samantha Louie-Poon ◽  
Mehnaz Rehmani ◽  
Megan Kennedy ◽  
Shannon Scott ◽  
Bukola Salami ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Health ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Cultural Sensitivity ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Sexual And Reproductive Health ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Immigrant Adolescents ◽  
School Based ◽  
Strength Based

Despite the large number of immigrant adolescents in Canada, research on their knowledge of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and information needs is nearly nonexistent. A scoping review was undertaken following the PRISMA-ScR statement to identify and assess the existing literature regarding SRHR needs of immigrant adolescents in Canada. Of the 1514 articles retrieved from our search strategy, 15 studies met our inclusion criteria. The results from our review identifies three unique themes related to immigrant adolescents’ SRHR needs: knowledge needs, access to SRHR education and services, and approaches to SRHR education and services. Immigrant adolescents’ knowledge needs includes needs on HIV/STI transmission and protection, unintended pregnancy, sexual activity, family planning, pubertal education, navigating the health care system, and confidentiality legislations. Our results revealed that immigrant adolescents’ access SRHR education and services through both school-based and community-based settings. Lastly, approaches to SRHR education and services for immigrant adolescents should include cultural sensitivity, an intersectional approach, interactive learning, a strength-based approach, and reassuring confidentiality rights. The multi-faceted SRHR needs of immigrant adolescents in Canada demonstrates that future research, program development, and policymaking requires careful consideration of these intersecting forces. Inclusive SRHR education and services can be achieved through the employment of a critical cultural approach and intersectional strategies.

Contextual Complications in Analytical Modeling: When the Problem is Not the Problem

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael F. Gorman
Keyword(s):  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Risk Tolerance ◽  
Problem Definition ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Analytical Models ◽  
Individual Risk ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Solution Approach ◽  
Complicating Factors

In this essay, I describe 10 critical complicating factors that directly affect the six basic modeling components of problem definition, assumptions, decision variables, objective functions, constraints, and solution approach. The proposed 10 contextual complicating factors are (1) organization, (2) decision-making processes, (3) measures and key performance indicators, (4) rational and irrational biases, (5) decision horizon and interval, (6) data availability, accuracy, fidelity, and latency, (7) legacy and other computer systems, (8) organizational and individual risk tolerance, (9) clarity of model and method, and (10) implementability and sustainability of the approach. I hypothesize that the core analytical problem cannot be adequately described or usefully solved without careful consideration of these factors. I describe detailed examples of these contextual factors’ effects on modeling from six published applied prescriptive analytics projects and provide other examples from the literature. The complicating factors are pervasive in these projects, directly and dramatically affecting basic modeling components over half the time. Further, in the presence of these factors, 23 statistically significant correlations tend to form in three clusters, which I characterize as culture, decision, and project clusters. Unrecognized, these factors would have hampered the implementation and ongoing use of these analytical models; in a sense, the models themselves were wrong, absent consideration of these contextual considerations. With these insights, I hope to help practitioners identify the effects of these common complications and avoid project failure by incorporating these contextual factors into their modeling considerations. Future research could seek to better understand these factors and their effects on modeling.

Alcohol and Humans

2019 ◽  
pp. 196-206
Author(s):  
Kimberley J. Hockings ◽  
Robin I.M. Dunbar
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Medical Profession ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of

Humans and alcohol have shared a very long history. In this final chapter, we highlight some of the key findings that emerge from the chapters in this book, in particular the evolutionary history of our adaptation to alcohol consumption and the social role that alcohol consumption plays, and has played, in human societies across the world. This raises a major contradiction in the literature, namely the fact that, despite this long history, the medical profession typically views alcohol as destructive. We draw attention to several avenues that would repay future research and how humans’ relationship with alcohol stands to change and evolve.

A Descriptive Analysis of the Error Patterns Observed in the Fraction-Computation Solution Pathways of Students With and Without Learning Disabilities

2019 ◽  
pp. 153450841987225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiwon Hwang ◽  
Paul J. Riccomini
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Future Research ◽  
School Students ◽  
Common Error ◽  
Error Patterns ◽  
Intensive Instruction ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Practical Guidelines

Developing an understanding of fractions is critical as a significant predictor for the learning progression of advanced domains; however, students face significant challenges in learning fractions because of their unique properties. To systematically approach remediation, this study examined the common error patterns committed by middle-school students with and without learning disabilities in mathematics when solving fraction computations involving addition. Based on the logic that errors reflect meaningful misconceptions, errors associated in each solution stage established in a solution algorithm were analyzed. Findings provide instruction implications to develop practical guidelines for researchers, insights into a starting point of instruction when teaching students in diverse achievement levels, and an awareness about specific problematic areas requiring more intensive instruction and intervention. Careful consideration of errors associated within a solution pathway can maximize the efficacy of instructions. Future research directions, educational implications, and limitations are discussed.

scholarly journals Towards a Better Understanding of the Evolution of Specialized Parasites of Fungus-Growing Ant Crops

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sze Huei Yek ◽  
Jacobus J. Boomsma ◽  
Michael Poulsen
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Recent Progress ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Fungus Growing Ants

Fungus-growing ants have interacted and partly coevolved with specialised microfungal parasites of the genusEscovopsissince the origin of ant fungiculture about 50 million years ago. Here, we review the recent progress in understanding the patterns of specificity of this ant-parasite association, covering both the colony/population level and comparisons between phylogenetic clades. We use a modified version of Tinbergen's four categories of evolutionary questions to structure our review in complementary approaches addressing both proximate questions of development and mechanism, and ultimate questions of (co)adaptation and evolutionary history. Using the same scheme, we identify future research questions that are likely to be particularly illuminating for understanding the ecology and evolution ofEscovopsisparasitism of the cultivar maintained by fungus-growing ants.

scholarly journals Health Promotion Strategies to Address Gambling-Related Harm in Indigenous Communities: A Review of Reviews

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-54
Author(s):  
Megan Whitty ◽  
Helen Breen ◽  
Marisa Paterson ◽  
Kate Sollis
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Published Evidence ◽  
Review Of Reviews ◽  
Related Harm

The evolution of commercial gambling and its expansion into digital arenas has increased opportunities for people all over the world—including Indigenous people—to gamble. While there is considerable evidence for the suitability of a health promotion approach to improving the health and well-being of Indigenous communities worldwide, the evidence-base does not extend to the field of gambling research. A systematic review of reviews was conducted to identify relevant reviews in crossover areas of interest: interventions to address gambling-related harm in Indigenous populations and/or health promotion interventions on related health or behavioural outcomes. The quality of reviews was critically assessed—13 fit the inclusion criteria. Principal themes were characterised as being either related to ‘cultural,’ ‘structural,’ or ‘methodological’ factors. Findings indicate that an appropriate model of health promotion to address Indigenous gambling would necessarily involve careful consideration of all three elements. Applying a health promotion approach to the context of Indigenous gambling harms is increasingly relevant considering recent conceptual shifts in key areas, but there is currently limited evidence to guide the implementation and evaluation of such strategies. This review highlights what published evidence is available to strengthen future research in this area.

An Overview of the Integrative Research Review

2005 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia L. Russell
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Problem Formulation ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Integrative Review ◽  
Scientific Integrity ◽  
Research Review ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Integrative Research ◽  
Integrative Research Review

The integrative literature review has many benefits to the scholarly reviewer, including evaluating the strength of the scientific evidence, identifying gaps in current research, identifying the need for future research, bridging between related areas of work, identifying central issues in an area, generating a research question, identifying a theoretical or conceptual framework, and exploring which research methods have been used successfully. The 5-stage integrative review process includes (1) problem formulation, (2) data collection or literature search, (3) evaluation of data, (4) data analysis, and (5) interpretation and presentation of results. Maintaining scientific integrity while conducting an integrative research review involves careful consideration to threats to validity. Strategies to overcome these threats are reviewed. The integrative review methodology must involve detailed and thoughtful work, the outcome of which can be a significant contribution to a particular body of knowledge and, consequently, to practice and research.

Phosphorus dynamics in vegetated buffer strips in cold climates: a review

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 255-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen A. Kieta ◽  
Philip N. Owens ◽  
David A. Lobb ◽  
Jason A. Vanrobaeys ◽  
Don N. Flaten
Keyword(s):  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Cold Climate ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Winter Period ◽  
Buffer Strips ◽  
Cold Climates ◽  
Best Management

The movement of excess phosphorus (P) into streams, rivers, and lakes poses a significant threat to water quality and the health of aquatic ecosystems and thus, P has been targeted for reduction. In landscapes dominated by agriculture, P is primarily transported through non-point sources, which a number of best management practices aim to target. One such practice is vegetated buffer strips (VBS), which are designed to use dense vegetation above the surface and extensive root systems below the surface to reduce runoff velocity, trap sediments, increase infiltration, and increase plant uptake of nutrients. The effectiveness of VBS in reducing P concentrations has been studied and reviewed, but most studies have been undertaken in warm or temperate climates, where runoff is primarily driven through summer rainfall events and when vegetation is actively growing. In cold climates, the majority of runoff occurs during the snowmelt period, when soils are frozen and vegetation has been flattened by snow and ice over the winter period and is not actively taking up nutrients. These conditions hinder the ability of VBS to work as designed. Additionally, frozen vegetation can release P after undergoing freeze–thaw cycles (FTCs). Thus, this review aimed to (i) summarize research designed to determine the effectiveness of VBS in reducing P transport in cold climates, (ii) collate research on the potential for vegetation to release P after undergoing FTCs, and (iii) identify research gaps to be addressed in determining VBS effectiveness in cold climates. Cold-climate VBS implemented in Canada, the northern United States, and northern Europe have shown P removal efficiencies ranging from −36% to +89%, a range that identifies the uncertainty surrounding the use of VBS in these landscapes. However, there is consensus among researchers globally that vegetation does release P after undergoing FTCs, though P concentrations from different species vary across studies. The design and management of VBS in cold climates requires careful consideration, and VBS may not always be the best management strategy to reduce P transport. Future research should be undertaken at a larger scale in natural systems and focus on VBS design and management strategies.

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