The GenTree Dendroecological Collection, tree-ring and wood density data from seven tree species across Europe

The dataset presented here was collected by the GenTree project (EU-Horizon 2020), which aims to improve the use of forest genetic resources across Europe by better understanding how trees adapt to their local environment. This dataset of individual tree-core characteristics including ring-width series and whole-core wood density was collected for seven ecologically and economically important European tree species: silver birch (Betula pendula), European beech (Fagus sylvatica), Norway spruce (Picea abies), European black poplar (Populus nigra), maritime pine (Pinus pinaster), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), and sessile oak (Quercus petraea). Tree-ring width measurements were obtained from 3600 trees in 142 populations and whole-core wood density was measured for 3098 trees in 125 populations. This dataset covers most of the geographical and climatic range occupied by the selected species. The potential use of it will be highly valuable for assessing ecological and evolutionary responses to environmental conditions as well as for model development and parameterization, to predict adaptability under climate change scenarios

The GenTree Platform: growth traits and tree-level environmental data in 12 European forest tree species

Background: Progress in the field of evolutionary forest ecology has been hampered by the huge challenge of phenotyping trees across their ranges in their natural environments, and the limitation in high-resolution environmental information. Findings: The GenTree Platform contains phenotypic and environmental data from 4,959 trees from 12 ecologically and economically important European forest tree species: Abies alba Mill. (silver fir), Betula pendula Roth. (silver birch), Fagus sylvatica L. (European beech), Picea abies (L.) H. Karst (Norway spruce), Pinus cembra L. (Swiss stone pine), Pinus halepensis Mill. (Aleppo pine), Pinus nigra Arnold (European black pine), Pinus pinaster Aiton (maritime pine), Pinus sylvestris L. (Scots pine), Populus nigra L. (European black poplar), Taxus baccata L. (English yew), and Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl. (sessile oak). Phenotypic (height, diameter at breast height, crown size, bark thickness, biomass, straightness, forking, branch angle, fructification), regeneration, environmental in situ measurements (soil depth, vegetation cover, competition indices), and environmental modeling data extracted by using bilinear interpolation accounting for surrounding conditions of each tree (precipitation, temperature, insolation, drought indices) were obtained from trees in 194 sites covering the species’ geographic ranges and reflecting local environmental gradients. Conclusion: The GenTree Platform is a new resource for investigating ecological and evolutionary processes in forest trees. The coherent phenotyping and environmental characterization across 12 species in their European ranges allow for a wide range of analyses from forest ecologists, conservationists, and macro-ecologists. Also, the data here presented can be linked to the GenTree Dendroecological collection, the GenTree Leaf Trait collection, and the GenTree Genomic collection presented elsewhere, which together build the largest evolutionary forest ecology data collection available

Between but not within species variation in the distribution of fitness effects

New mutations provide the raw material for evolution and adaptation. The distribution of fitness effects (DFE) describes the spectrum of effects of new mutations that can occur along a genome, and is therefore of vital interest in evolutionary biology. Recent work has uncovered striking similarities in the DFE between closely related species, prompting us to ask whether there is variation in the DFE among populations of the same species, or among species with different degrees of divergence, i.e., whether there is variation in the DFE at different levels of evolution. Using exome capture data from six tree species sampled across Europe we characterised the DFE for multiple species, and for each species, multiple populations, and investigated the factors potentially influencing the DFE, such as demography, population divergence and genetic background. We find statistical support for there being variation in the DFE at the species level, even among relatively closely related species. However, we find very little difference at the population level, suggesting that differences in the DFE are primarily driven by deep features of species biology, and that evolutionarily recent events, such as demographic changes and local adaptation, have little impact

When did I Post That? How do we Access Memory-for-When on Social Media?

Strategies for accessing temporal information of autobiographical memories may differ based on the qualities of the target memory. Distance-based models propose dating occurs through accessing a decaying strength of a memory, whereas location-based theories suggest it’s achieved through reconstruction of contextual details. Source element availability and high temporal fidelity requirements may bias participants toward location-based strategies. The present study utilises participants' social media posts and emails as cues in an experience sampling study to encourage distance-based strategy utilisation. Thirty-four participants indicated the week, day-of-week, and time-of-day of their Gmails and Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram posts from the 4 weeks preceding their memory test. Results showed that error scores decreased with larger time scales and errors in week judgements increased with proximity to week boundaries and the correct response. All findings suggest that people can rely on the strength of memories to judge the age of emails and social media posts

Impact du mouvement des nerfs optiques en fonction de l’orientation du regard sur la radiothérapie des tumeurs intra-orbitaires

International audiencePurpose: Management of inter- and intra-fraction movements of target volumes and organs at risk (OARs) during radiotherapy is essential. While there is little OAR or target volume movement, the movements and orientation of the eyes can be significant during radiotherapy and they can affect the position of the optic nerve. The objective of the present study was to assess the variations of the optic nerve position due to gaze direction and to discuss their clinical consequences on the radiation treatment of intraorbital tumors.Material and methods: Three patients without a history of oculomotor nerve palsy underwent six CT acquisitions with a thermoplastic mask: eyes open with different gaze directions (straight ahead, left, right, up, down) and eyes closed. The acquisition with the straight-ahead gaze was chosen as the reference position. Left and right optic nerves were segmented on the six acquisitions, and total volumes and maximum amplitude motions were calculated in three dimensions.Results: Maximum differences were observed while looking left and up, with a median maximum amplitude of 5 and 6mm [range: 2-7mm], respectively. These motions induced a position variation of more than 50% of the volume of the optic nerve (compared to the reference position). Greater variations of motion were observed for the anterior portion of the nerve. The gaze position with the fewest variations compared to the reference position was eyes closed.Conclusion: Optic nerve positions vary significantly due to the gaze direction, especially for the anterior portion of the nerve. These variations should be taken into account for the treatment of small intraorbital tumors involving the anterior third of the optic nerve.Objectif de l’étudeLa gestion des mouvements inter- et intra-fractions des volumes cibles et des organes à risque pendant la radiothérapie est essentielle. Bien qu’il y ait peu de mouvements des OAR ou des volumes cibles, les mouvements et l’orientation des yeux peuvent être significatifs pendant la radiothérapie et ils peuvent affecter la position du nerf optique. L’objectif de cette étude était d’évaluer les variations de la position du nerf optique dues à la direction du regard et de discuter des conséquences cliniques sur la radiothérapie des tumeurs intra-orbitaires.Matériel et méthodesTrois patients sans antécédents de paralysie du nerf oculomoteur ont eu six acquisitions scanographiques avec un masque thermoplastique: yeux ouverts avec différentes directions du regard (droit devant, gauche, droite, haut, bas) et yeux fermés. L’acquisition avec le regard droit devant a été choisie comme position de référence. Les nerfs optiques gauche et droit ont été segmentés sur les six acquisitions, les volumes totaux et les mouvements d’amplitude maximale ont été calculés en trois dimensions.RésultatsLes différences maximales ont été observées en regardant vers la gauche et vers le haut, avec des amplitudes maximales médianes de 5 et 6 mm [2–7 mm]. Ces mouvements ont induit une variation de position de plus de 50 % du volume du nerf optique (par rapport à la position de référence). Des variations de mouvement plus importantes ont été observées pour la partie antérieure du nerf. Très peu de variations de mouvement étaient observées quand le patient avait les yeux fermés.ConclusionLes positions du nerf optique varient significativement en fonction de la direction du regard, en particulier pour la partie antérieure du nerf. Ces variations doivent être prises en compte pour le traitement des petites tumeurs intra-orbitaires impliquant le tiers antérieur du nerf optique

Author Correction: The GenTree Dendroecological Collection, tree-ring and wood density data from seven tree species across Europe

The dataset presented here was collected by the GenTree project (EU-Horizon 2020), which aims to improve the use of forest genetic resources across Europe by better understanding how trees adapt to their local environment. This dataset of individual tree-core characteristics including ring-width series and whole-core wood density was collected for seven ecologically and economically important European tree species: silver birch (Betula pendula), European beech (Fagus sylvatica), Norway spruce (Picea abies), European black poplar (Populus nigra), maritime pine (Pinus pinaster), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), and sessile oak (Quercus petraea). Tree-ring width measurements were obtained from 3600 trees in 142 populations and whole-core wood density was measured for 3098 trees in 125 populations. This dataset covers most of the geographical and climatic range occupied by the selected species. The potential use of it will be highly valuable for assessing ecological and evolutionary responses to environmental conditions as well as for model development and parameterization, to predict adaptability under climate change scenarios.An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper

Employee in an organization as a good citizen

This graduation thesis focuses on the identification of key sources of Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB) which are present in a chosen organization. The outcome of this work contains a list of factors which have supporting or adverse effect on OCB usage. The thesis also includes recommendations for arrangements of the working environment which would increase the willingness of the employees to exhibit OCB

The GenTree Platform: Growth traits and tree-level environmental data in 12 European forest tree species

Background Progress in the field of evolutionary forest ecology has been hampered by the huge challenge of phenotyping trees across their ranges in their natural environments, and the limitation in high-resolution environmental information. Findings The GenTree Platform contains phenotypic and environmental data from 4,959 trees from 12 ecologically and economically important European forest tree species: Abies alba Mill. (silver fir), Betula pendula Roth. (silver birch), Fagus sylvatica L. (European beech), Picea abies (L.) H. Karst (Norway spruce), Pinus cembra L. (Swiss stone pine), Pinus halepensis Mill. (Aleppo pine), Pinus nigra Arnold (European black pine), Pinus pinaster Aiton (maritime pine), Pinus sylvestris L. (Scots pine), Populus nigra L. (European black poplar), Taxus baccata L. (English yew), and Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl. (sessile oak). Phenotypic (height, diameter at breast height, crown size, bark thickness, biomass, straightness, forking, branch angle, fructification), regeneration, environmental in situ measurements (soil depth, vegetation cover, competition indices), and environmental modeling data extracted by using bilinear interpolation accounting for surrounding conditions of each tree (precipitation, temperature, insolation, drought indices) were obtained from trees in 194 sites covering the species’ geographic ranges and reflecting local environmental gradients. Conclusion The GenTree Platform is a new resource for investigating ecological and evolutionary processes in forest trees. The coherent phenotyping and environmental characterization across 12 species in their European ranges allow for a wide range of analyses from forest ecologists, conservationists, and macro-ecologists. Also, the data here presented can be linked to the GenTree Dendroecological collection, the GenTree Leaf Trait collection, and the GenTree Genomic collection presented elsewhere, which together build the largest evolutionary forest ecology data collection available