Our gift to all of Us: GA(Y)AM: Preface

This special issue of AVANT is all about Cognitive Innovation. It is not about CogNovo, the interdisciplinary and international doctoral training programme that produced three different Off the Lip events. It is not about Off the Lip 2017, the novel symposium format we developed to collaboratively create a publication resulting in this special issue of AVANT. It is not about the seemingly heterogeneous collection of papers that follow this preface. Collaborative Approaches to Cognitive Innovation required something else, something we are starting to capture in the four GIFT principles. While this special issue is not solely about CogNovo, Off the Lip events, or the content of the following submissions, all these aforementioned elements were necessary to shape our current understanding of Cognitive Innovation, the very process which led to numerous publications, exhibitions, and events during the past three years. In a sense, all of our previous endeavours have culminated in this collection of 26 distinct pieces of work, yet we hope and believe that this special issue also marks a beginning. Let us explain. [...

From both sides now: Crossover effects influence navigation in patients with unilateral neglect

Unilateral neglect is a challenging disorder that pervades a range of behaviours following stroke and hampers recovery. Although a preponderance of clinical studies measure performance on a range of bedside assessments, including line bisection and cancellation tasks, there have been calls for studies to embrace more relevant functional measures. Here, for the first time, we present data from two separate tasks that characterise the performance of seven patients with unilateral neglect when navigating a power wheelchair. The tasks involved negotiating an obstacle course and steering a central path between gaps of different sizes. Results from the obstacle course confirmed the clinical observation and predicted bias of contralesional errors. However, the second task revealed a robust "crossover" effect. Patients deviated to the ipsilesional side for large gaps but deviated increasingly contralesionally when steering through small gaps in behaviour that was analogous to that previously shown on line bisection tasks. Contrary to being seen as an unintuitive finding, further analysis of these errors suggests that patients are giving disproportionate weight to the location of the ipsilesional object when plotting a midline course between two objects. Our results provide a platform for further studies to investigate the modulation and rehabilitation of this important skill

Lessons to be learned by comparing integrated fisheries stock assessment models (SAMs) with integrated population models (IPMs)

AEP was partially funded by the Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, & Ecosystem Studies (CICOES) under NOAA Cooperative Agreement NA15OAR4320063, Contribution No. 2023-1331.Integrated fisheries stock assessment models (SAMs) and integrated population models (IPMs) are used in biological and ecological systems to estimate abundance and demographic rates. The approaches are fundamentally very similar, but historically have been considered as separate endeavors, resulting in a loss of shared vision, practice and progress. We review the two approaches to identify similarities and differences, with a view to identifying key lessons that would benefit more generally the overarching topic of population ecology. We present a case study for each of SAM (snapper from the west coast of New Zealand) and IPM (woodchat shrikes from Germany) to highlight differences and similarities. The key differences between SAMs and IPMs appear to be the objectives and parameter estimates required to meet these objectives, the size and spatial scale of the populations, and the differing availability of various types of data. In addition, up to now, typical SAMs have been applied in aquatic habitats, while most IPMs stem from terrestrial habitats. SAMs generally aim to assess the level of sustainable exploitation of fish populations, so absolute abundance or biomass must be estimated, although some estimate only relative trends. Relative abundance is often sufficient to understand population dynamics and inform conservation actions, which is the main objective of IPMs. IPMs are often applied to small populations of conservation concern, where demographic uncertainty can be important, which is more conveniently implemented using Bayesian approaches. IPMs are typically applied at small to moderate spatial scales (1 to 104 km2), with the possibility of collecting detailed longitudinal individual data, whereas SAMs are typically applied to large, economically valuable fish stocks at very large spatial scales (104 to 106 km2) with limited possibility of collecting detailed individual data. There is a sense in which a SAM is more data- (or information-) hungry than an IPM because of its goal to estimate absolute biomass or abundance, and data at the individual level to inform demographic rates are more difficult to obtain in the (often marine) systems where most SAMs are applied. SAMs therefore require more 'tuning' or assumptions than IPMs, where the 'data speak for themselves', and consequently techniques such as data weighting and model evaluation are more nuanced for SAMs than for IPMs. SAMs would benefit from being fit to more disaggregated data to quantify spatial and individual variation and allow richer inference on demographic processes. IPMs would benefit from more attempts to estimate absolute abundance, for example by using unconditional models for capture-recapture data.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Use of Fatty Acid Analysis to Determine Dispersal of Caspian Terns in the Columbia River Basin, U.S.A.

Lethal control, which has been used to reduce local abundances of animals in conflict with humans or with endangered species, may not achieve management goals if animal movement is not considered. In populations with emigration and immigration, lethal control may induce compensatory immigration, if the source of attraction remains unchanged. Within the Columbia River Basin (Washington, U.S.A.), avian predators forage at dams because dams tend to reduce rates of emigration of juvenile salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.), artificially concentrating these prey. We used differences in fatty acid profiles between Caspian Terns (Hydroprogne caspia) at coastal and inland breeding colonies and terns culled by a lethal control program at a mid-Columbia River dam to infer dispersal patterns. We modeled the rate of loss of fatty acid biomarkers, which are fatty acids that can be traced to a single prey species or groups of species, to infer whether and when terns foraging at dams had emigrated from the coast. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling showed that coastal terns had high levels of C20 and C22 monounsaturated fatty acids, whereas fatty acids of inland breeders were high in C18:3n3, C20:4n6, and C22:5n3. Models of the rate of loss of fatty acid showed that approximately 60% of the terns collected at Rock Island Dam were unlikely to have bred successfully at local (inland) sites, suggesting that terns foraging at dams come from an extensive area. Fatty acid biomarkers may provide accurate information about patterns of dispersal in animal populations and may be extremely valuable in cases where populations differ demonstrably in prey base

Identifying inhibitory compounds in lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysates using an exometabolomics approach

BACKGROUND: Inhibitors are formed that reduce the fermentation performance of fermenting yeast during the pretreatment process of lignocellulosic biomass. An exometabolomics approach was applied to systematically identify inhibitors in lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysates. RESULTS: We studied the composition and fermentability of 24 different biomass hydrolysates. To create diversity, the 24 hydrolysates were prepared from six different biomass types, namely sugar cane bagasse, corn stover, wheat straw, barley straw, willow wood chips and oak sawdust, and with four different pretreatment methods, i.e. dilute acid, mild alkaline, alkaline/peracetic acid and concentrated acid. Their composition and that of fermentation samples generated with these hydrolysates were analyzed with two GC-MS methods. Either ethyl acetate extraction or ethyl chloroformate derivatization was used before conducting GC-MS to prevent sugars are overloaded in the chromatograms, which obscure the detection of less abundant compounds. Using multivariate PLS-2CV and nPLS-2CV data analysis models, potential inhibitors were identified through establishing relationship between fermentability and composition of the hydrolysates. These identified compounds were tested for their effects on the growth of the model yeast, Saccharomyces. cerevisiae CEN.PK 113-7D, confirming that the majority of the identified compounds were indeed inhibitors. CONCLUSION: Inhibitory compounds in lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysates were successfully identified using a non-targeted systematic approach: metabolomics. The identified inhibitors include both known ones, such as furfural, HMF and vanillin, and novel inhibitors, namely sorbic acid and phenylacetaldehyde

Potential of ToxCast data in the safety assessment of food chemicals

Tox21 and ToxCast are high-throughput in vitro screening (HTS) programmes coordinated by the U.S. National Toxicology Program and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, respectively, with the goal of forecasting biological effects in vivo based on bioactivity profiling. The present study investigated whether mechanistic insights in the biological targets of food-relevant chemicals can be obtained from ToxCast results, when the chemicals are grouped according to structural similarity. Starting from the 556 direct additives that have been identified in the ToxCast database by Karmaus et al. (2017), the results showed that, despite the limited number of assays in which the chemical groups have been tested, sufficient results are available within so-called “DNA binding” and “nuclear receptor” target families to profile the biological activities of the defined chemical groups for these targets. The most obvious activity identified was the estrogen receptor (ER)-mediated actions of the chemical group containing parabens and structurally related gallates, as well the chemical group containing genistein and daidzein (the latter particularly towards ERβ as potential health beneficial target). These group effects, as well as the biological activities of other chemical groups, was evaluated in a series of case studies. Overall, the results of the present study suggest HTS data could add to the evidence considered for regulatory risk assessments for food chemicals and to the evaluation of desirable effects of nutrients and phytonutrients. The data will be particularly useful for providing mechanistic information and to fill data gaps with read-across

The Impact of Adaptive Leadership Capacity on Complex Organizational Health Systems Outcomes

Nonlinear and chaotic environmental changes characterize health services organizations as complex adaptive systems in which leaders must exercise non-traditional leadership practices to succeed. Health services leaders who have learned and implemented traditional linear management approaches are ill prepared to lead in complex environments. This study tested complexity and adaptive leadership theories of agility and resilience in complex health systems. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional internet-based survey study was to quantify relationships between independent variables of agility and resilience and secondary dependent variables of financial, patient satisfaction, quality and human capital outcomes. The impact of turbulence was also examined. Included sample data were collected from 533 employed healthcare leaders using probability-based systematic proportional random sampling methods and were analyzed through correlation, regression, one-way analysis of variance, t tests, and Hayes PROCESS statistical analytics. Agility correlated with and predicted patient satisfaction outcomes. Resilience independently correlated with and predicted financial performance and patient satisfaction outcomes and augmented the correlation and predictability of agility. Agility and resilience cumulatively predicted financial performance outcomes. Turbulence was related to agility, resilience, financial performance, and patient care quality outcomes and mediated relationships with financial and patient care quality outcomes. Health services leaders may apply these findings to promote social change through the implementation of the agile and resilient leadership approaches necessary to achieve organizational performance outcomes that benefit vulnerable populations

Закономерности распределения аномальных концентраций гелия в палеозойских отложениях Донбасса

Підвищені концентрації гелію у вільних і розчинених газах у вугільно-породному масиві Донбасу приурочені до зон зчленування Донбасу з Приазовським і Воронезьким кристалічними масивами і Головної антикліналі. Диз'юнктивні тектонічні порушення глибокого закладення служили, ймовірно, шляхами транзиту гелію від кристалічних порід фундаменту в палеозойські відклади Донбасу, і підвищений вміст гелію може служити індикатором шляхів транзиту газів з глибоких горизонтів Донецького вугільного басейну.Elevated concentrations of helium in free and dissolved gases in coal-rock mass of the Donets Coal Basin are confined to the junction zones of the Donets Coal Basin with the Priazovie and Voronezh crystalline core-areas and Glavnaya (Principal) Anticline. Deep-laid disjunctive dislocations were probably the ways for transit of helium from crystalline basement rocks into Paleozoic deposits of the Basin. Elevated concentrations of helium can also serve as indicators of the ways for transit of gases from deep levels of the Donets Coal Basin

Gastrointestinal ulceration as a possible side effect of bevacizumab which may herald perforation

Chemotherapy plus bevacizumab is currently considered as the standard 1st line treatment of advanced colorectal cancer (ACC). Whereas GI perforation is a known side effect of bevacizumab, the development of GI ulcers has not been reported. We identified 18 patients with ACC who participated in a phase III multicentre trial which included chemotherapy and bevacizumab, who developed a GI ulcer (n = 6), perforation (n = 8) or both (n = 4). The risk of developing a symptomatic GI ulcer or perforation was 1.3% and 1.6%, respectively. Central review of the histology specimens showed ulceration and/or granulation tissue with neovascularisation. The majority (89%) of events developed early during treatment. Given these observations, as well as the relationship between VEGF and mucosal injury healing, we suggest that GI ulcers may occur as a side effect of treatment with bevacizumab and may herald perforation