Dependence of floodplain birds’ dynamics on the spring flood height and duration in the middle Ob River

Inter-annual variations in the total number of birds in floodplains of rivers are mainly associated with their flooding. The minimum population density during the nesting period was in a year with high and prolonged spring floods. The restoration and maximum development of shrubs took place with a significant simultaneous increase in the abundance of birds in subsequent years. Drying and simplification of vegetation cover were noted in all floodplain bird habitats during low-water periods. This process was accompanied by a decline in the number of birds. We identified four groups of bird species according to the criterion of the relationship “abundance – level and duration of the flood”. In the first group of bird species, abundance increased during high floods (3 species). In the second group, the abundance decreased sharply during high and prolonged floods (7 species). In the third group, the level and duration of the spring flood did not affect the abundance (9 species). In the fourth group, a very weak tendency of the negative flood level impact on the abundance of birds was noted (6 species).

Effects of body temperature on initial bite force in three species of rock- and crevice-dwelling lizards from Mexico

Bite force can be an important aspect of a lizard’s organismal performance, and is likely to be subject to influence by ambient conditions including an individual’s thermal environment. We examined the effects of body temperature (Tb) on initial bite force of rock- and crevice-dwelling individuals of three species of lizards: Abronia graminea (Anguidae), Barisia imbricata (Anguidae), and Xenosaurus fractus (Xenosauridae) from Mexico. In B. imbricata and X. fractus from one site (Xochititan, Puebla) initial bite force was greatest at intermediate Tb. In contrast, X. fractus from a second site (Tlatlauquitepec, Puebla) showed a weak tendency for initial bite force to increase with Tb. Initial bite force in A. graminea was not affected by Tb. Taking our results together, we infer that initial bite force in rock- or crevice-dwelling lizards is often, but not always, related to Tb.

Occasional paternal inheritance of the germline-restricted chromosome in songbirds

All songbirds have one special accessory chromosome1–4, the so-called germline-restricted chromosome (GRC)4–7, which is only present in germline cells and absent from all somatic tissues. Earlier work on the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata castanotis) showed that the GRC is inherited only through the female line4,6,8,9 – like mitochondrial DNA7,9–12 – and is eliminated from the sperm during spermatogenesis5,7,9–11. Here we show that the GRC can also be paternally inherited. Confocal microscopy using GRC-specific FISH probes indicated that a considerable fraction of sperm heads (1-19%) in zebra finch ejaculates still contained the GRC. In line with these cytogenetic data, sequencing of ejaculates revealed that individual males from two families differed strongly and consistently in the number of GRCs in their ejaculates. Examining a captive-bred population of hybrids of the two zebra finch subspecies (T. g. guttata and T. g. castanotis) revealed that the descendants inherited their mitochondria from a castanotis mother but their GRC from a guttata father. Moreover, GRC haplotypes across nine different castanotis matrilines showed at best a weak tendency to be co-inherited with mtDNA haplotypes. Within castanotis, the GRC showed little variability, while the mtDNA of matrilines was highly divergent. This suggests that a single GRC haplotype has recently spread across the entire castanotis population, crossing the matriline boundaries via paternal spillover. Our findings raise the possibility that certain GRC haplotypes could selfishly spread through the population, via additional paternal transmission, thereby outcompeting other GRC haplotypes that were limited to strict maternal inheritance, even if this was partly detrimental to organismal fitness.

The Replacement of Direct Objects and Directly Linked Gerunds by Prepositional ones after shirk, refrain and lack in Modern English, with Special Reference to Clause Negation

In most Eastern European languages, clause negation typically triggers the replacement of a “direct” case such as the accusative by a less direct one like the genitive. In English, the contrast is – with several verbs – partially paralleled by that between directly linked complements and their prepositional counterparts. This corpus-based paper explores the relevant behaviour of three verbs which possess an intrinsic negative semantics: shirk, refrain (in earlier stages of Modern English), and lack. It is found that negated clauses definitely promote a) prepositional objects with all three verbs and b) prepositional gerunds after shirk. In the case of refrain, the historical British database displays only a weak tendency for negated clauses to favour the increasingly common prepositional gerund. The prepositional variant turns out to be virtually absent from the passive of shirk, a fact assumed to be due to the general avoidance of preposition stranding in favour of available transitive structures. With lack, the rivalry between the two object variants is additionally constrained by two prosodic tendencies, the preference for phrasal upbeats and sentence end-weight. Throughout, American English displays a distinctly greater sensitivity to clause negation than British English.

Greater female first author citation advantages do not associate with reduced or reducing gender disparities in academia

Ongoing problems attracting women into many Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects have many potential explanations. This article investigates whether the possible undercitation of women associates with lower proportions of, or increases in, women in a subject. It uses six million articles published in 1996–2012 across up to 331 fields in six mainly English-speaking countries: Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. The proportion of female first- and last-authored articles in each year was calculated and 4,968 regressions were run to detect first-author gender advantages in field normalized article citations. The proportion of female first authors in each field correlated highly between countries and the female first-author citation advantages derived from the regressions correlated moderately to strongly between countries, so both are relatively field specific. There was a weak tendency in the United States and New Zealand for female citation advantages to be stronger in fields with fewer women, after excluding small fields, but there was no other association evidence. There was no evidence of female citation advantages or disadvantages to be a cause or effect of changes in the proportions of women in a field for any country. Inappropriate uses of career-level citations are a likelier source of gender inequities.

The Stability of Influenza Vaccination Behavior Over Time: A Longitudinal Analysis of Individuals Across 8 Years

Background Seasonal influenza vaccination is an important behavior with significant individual and public health consequences, yet fewer than half of individuals in the USA are vaccinated annually. To promote vaccination adherence, it is important to understand the factors that affect vaccination behavior. Purpose In this research, we focused on one such factor, an individual’s vaccination history. We gathered longitudinal data to track and understand the relationship between an individual’s vaccination history and their current behaviors. Methods U.S. adults completed multiple surveys over an 8 year period, which asked about whether they had received the influenza vaccination during the previous flu season. We analyzed the data to determine the strength of the relationship between vaccination decisions across single-year and multiyear intervals. Additionally, we fitted two mathematical models to the data to determine whether individuals were better characterized as having a stable propensity to vaccinate or a stable propensity to repeat their previous decisions. Results Individuals exhibited highly consistent behavior across adjacent years, yet, across the complete extent of the longitudinal study, they were far more likely to repeat the earlier decision to vaccinate. Surprisingly, the results of the mathematical model suggest that individuals are better characterized as having a stable propensity to repeat their previous decisions rather than a stable propensity to vaccinate per se. Although most individuals had an extremely strong tendency to repeat the previous decision, some had a far weaker propensity to do so. Conclusions This suggests that interventions intended to increase vaccination uptake might be most impactful for those individuals with only a weak tendency to vaccinate or not to vaccinate.

Effect of Dosage of Redispersible Powders on the Properties of Fine Concrete

The RPP introduction has been established up to 3% by weight of the dry concrete mix is ​​accompanied by a decrease in the fine-grained concrete tensile strength in compression to 40% and in tension during bending to 15%. The relationship between the tensile strength limit in bending and compression for the studied materials is invariant to the cement and RPP type. With the concrete tensile strength in tensile bending increase, there is a weak tendency to a decrease in the adhesion ratio value to the concrete base and tensile strength. The adhesion amount to the concrete base with RPP increasing dosage can either increase or decrease after a certain limit, depending on the cement properties. The maximum increase in adhesion to the concrete base was 37%, while the decrease in the concrete elasticity initial modulus was 26%.

Expression of p63 protein in pulmonary adenocarcinomas as factor of poor prognosis

Aim. To study the spectrum of cellular molecular-biological markers and identify those of them that can be used as prognostic factors for the clinical course of pulmonary adenocarcinoma. Material and Methods. In the given work archive material of 129 patients with confirmed diagnosis of pulmonary adenocarcinoma was used. In the work, histological, immunohistochemical, molecular-genetic and statistical methods were used. Results. In 29 cases (47.5%) of pulmonary adenocarcinoma, focal cytoplasmic and/or nuclear expression of p63 protein was observed in different proportions of cells. With expression of p63 in tumor cells, relapse-free survival was on average 25.7±5.1 months, while in patients with no expression of р63 it was 26.1±2.8 months. This parameter did not influence the overall survival of patients which was on average 33.6±2.7 months. Conclusion. A weak tendency to reduction of relapse-free survival of patients with p63-positive pulmonary carcinoma of lungs was revealed. Identification of p63 in pulmonary adenocarcinoma may be regarded as a factor of unfavorable prognosis and of risk of faster tumor progression, which requires further study to increase the statistical value of research.

369 Impact of an extended-release dewormer on fetal development and subsequent calf performance

Parasitism decreases the nutrients available for cow and fetal/calf performance. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of an extended-release dewormer [LongRange® (eprinomectin)] compared to a traditional dewormer [Dectomax® (doramectin)] on fetal/calf performance. Postpartum suckled beef cows (n = 349) were grouped by age and randomly allotted to one of two treatments over a two year period 1) treatment with LongRange at AI and calves treated with Eprinex® or 2) cows and calves treated with Dectomax. In year 2, half of each treatment was switched to the opposite treatment and half remained on the same treatment to result in a 2x2 design (calf sex was included in the statistical model). Cow weight was determined at AI, d60, d135, and d365 (treatment year 2). Calves born in year 2 were weighed at time of AI and at weaning. Pregnancy rates (determined at 60 and 135 d after AI) did not differ in year 1 (P = 0.85, 0.29) or in year 2 (P = 0.44, 0.98). Both treatments lost weight from AI to d60 of the breeding season (P = 0.98); however, there was a weak tendency (P = 0.15) for LongRange cows to gain more from d60 to 135 compared to Dectomax cows. Performance did not differ from d135 to AI in year 2 (P = 0.79). Calves that were in utero during year 1 when their dam received LongRange treatment had increased weight per day of age at year 2 AI (mean calf age =58d) compared to Dectomax treatment (P = 0.05; 2.2 ± 0.09 vs 2.0 ± 0.07kg). Furthermore, year 2 treatment tended (P = 0.09) to impact weight per day of age at weaning (LongRange=1.4 ± 0.03kg, Dectomax=1.3 ± 0.02). There was no year 1 by year 2 interaction (P = 0.87). In summary, administering an extended-release dewormer at AI did not impact pregnancy success, but increased calf performance both at 50d of age and at weaning.

Long-term spot monitoring of the young solar analogue V889 Herculis

Context. Starspots are important manifestations of stellar magnetic activity. By studying their behaviour in young solar analogues, we can unravel the properties of their magnetic cycles. This gives crucial information of the underlying dynamo process. Comparisons with the solar cycle enable us to infer knowledge about how the solar dynamo has evolved during the Sun’s lifetime. Aims. Here we study the correlation between photometric brightness variations, spottedness, and mean temperature in V889 Her, a young solar analogue. Our data covers 18 years of spectroscopic and 25 years of photometric observations. Methods. We use Doppler imaging to derive temperature maps from high-resolution spectra. We use the Continuous Period Search method to retrieve mean V-magnitudes from photometric data. Results. Our Doppler imaging maps show a persistent polar spot structure varying in strength. This structure is centred slightly off the rotational pole. The mean temperature derived from the maps shows an overall decreasing trend, as does the photometric mean brightness, until it reaches its minimum around 2017. The filling factor of cool spots, however, shows only a weak tendency to anti-correlate with the decreasing mean brightness. Conclusions. We interpret V889 Her to have entered into a grand maximum in its activity. The clear relation between the mean temperature of the Doppler imaging surface maps and the mean magnitude supports the reliability of the Doppler images. The lack of correlation between the mean magnitude and the spottedness may indicate that bright features in the Doppler images are real.