Landscape homogenization due to agricultural intensification disrupts the relationship between reproductive success and main prey abundance in an avian predator

Selecting high-quality habitat and the optimal time to reproduce can increase individual fitness and is a strong evolutionary factor shaping animal populations. However, few studies have investigated the interplay between land cover heterogeneity, limitation in food resources, individual quality and spatial variation in fitness parameters. Here, we explore how individuals of different quality respond to possible mismatches between a cue for prey availability (land cover heterogeneity) and the actual fluctuating prey abundance.Peer reviewe

Subcortical volumes across the lifespan: Data from 18,605 healthy individuals aged 3-90 years

Age has a major effect on brain volume. However, the normative studies available are constrained by small sample sizes, restricted age coverage and significant methodological variability. These limitations introduce inconsistencies and may obscure or distort the lifespan trajectories of brain morphometry. In response, we capitalized on the resources of the Enhancing Neuroimaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis (ENIGMA) Consortium to examine age-related trajectories inferred from cross-sectional measures of the ventricles, the basal ganglia (caudate, putamen, pallidum, and nucleus accumbens), the thalamus, hippocampus and amygdala using magnetic resonance imaging data obtained from 18,605 individuals aged 3-90 years. All subcortical structure volumes were at their maximum value early in life. The volume of the basal ganglia showed a monotonic negative association with age thereafter; there was no significant association between age and the volumes of the thalamus, amygdala and the hippocampus (with some degree of decline in thalamus) until the sixth decade of life after which they also showed a steep negative association with age. The lateral ventricles showed continuous enlargement throughout the lifespan. Age was positively associated with inter-individual variability in the hippocampus and amygdala and the lateral ventricles. These results were robust to potential confounders and could be used to examine the functional significance of deviations from typical age-related morphometric patterns

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Experimentally induced repeated anhydrobiosis in the Eutardigrade Richtersius coronifer

Tardigrades represent one of the main animal groups with anhydrobiotic capacity at any stage of their life cycle. The ability of tardigrades to survive repeated cycles of anhydrobiosis has rarely been studied but is of interest to understand the factors constraining anhydrobiotic survival. The main objective of this study was to investigate the patterns of survival of the eutardigrade Richtersius coronifer under repeated cycles of desiccation, and the potential effect of repeated desiccation on size, shape and number of storage cells. We also analyzed potential change in body size, gut content and frequency of mitotic storage cells. Specimens were kept under non-cultured conditions and desiccated under controlled relative humidity. After each desiccation cycle 10 specimens were selected for analysis of morphometric characteristics and mitosis. The study demonstrates that tardigrades may survive up to 6 repeated desiccations, with declining survival rates with increased numberof desiccations. We found a significantly higher proportion of animals that were unable to contract properly into a tun stage during the desiccation process at the 5th and 6th desiccations. Also total number of storage cells declined at the 5th and 6th desiccations, while no effect on storage cell size was observed. The frequency of mitotic storage cells tended to decline with higher number of desiccation cycles. Our study shows that the number of consecutive cycles of anhydrobiosis that R. coronifer may undergo is limited, with increased inability for tun formation and energetic constraints as possible causal factors

Effects of ionizing radiation on embryos of the tardigrade Milnesium cf. tardigradum at different stages of development

Tardigrades represent one of the most desiccation and radiation tolerant animals on Earth, and several studies havedocumented their tolerance in the adult stage. Studies on tolerance during embryological stages are rare, but differentialeffects of desiccation and freezing on different developmental stages have been reported, as well as dose-dependent effectof gamma irradiation on tardigrade embryos. Here, we report a study evaluating the tolerance of eggs from theeutardigrade Milnesium cf. tardigradum to three doses of gamma radiation (50, 200 and 500 Gy) at the early, middle, andlate stage of development. We found that embryos of the middle and late developmental stages were tolerant to all doses,while eggs in the early developmental stage were tolerant only to a dose of 50 Gy, and showed a declining survival withhigher dose. We also observed a delay in development of irradiated eggs, suggesting that periods of DNA repair might havetaken place after irradiation induced damage. The delay was independent of dose for eggs irradiated in the middle and latestage, possibly indicating a fixed developmental schedule for repair after induced damage. These results show that thetolerance to radiation in tardigrade eggs changes in the course of their development. The mechanisms behind this patternare unknown, but may relate to changes in mitotic activities over the embryogenesis and/or to activation of responsemechanisms to damaged DNA in the course of development

Siphoc: Efficient sip middleware for ad hoc networks

Abstract. Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) offer a flexible way to connect mobile devices to build complex infrastructures. A key issue in MANETs is session set up and management since, unlike in conventional networks, there is no centralized component to provide such a service. Yet, session set up is necessary to provide any form of communication beyond unreliable, single message communication. In this paper we describe SIPHoc, a middleware infrastructure for session set up and management in MANETs. SIPHoc provides the same interface as the SIP standard but its implementation is fully decentralized. Moreover, SIP session establishment to and from the Internet is possible as soon as a single node in the MANET has Internet access. The paper presents the architecture and implementation of SIPHoc and evaluates its performance. The experiments show that SIPHoc is message efficient and provides a low dial-to-ring delay. SIPHoc allows SIP based applications to be used in MANETs without modification. In the paper, this is demonstrated by showing how SIPHoc supports VoIP conversations within a MANET and between the MANET and end-points on the Internet.