Genomic architecture of adaptive radiation and hybridization in Alpine whitefish

Adaptive radiations represent some of the most remarkable explosions of diversification across the tree of life. However, the constraints to rapid diver- sification and how they are sometimes overcome, particularly the relative roles of genetic architecture and hybridization, remain unclear. Here, we address these questions in the Alpine whitefish radiation, using a whole-genome dataset that includes multiple individuals of each of the 22 species belonging to six ecologically distinct ecomorph classes across several lake-systems. We reveal that repeated ecological and morphological diversification along a common environmental axis is associated with both genome-wide allele fre- quency shifts and a specific, larger effect, locus, associated with the gene edar. Additionally, we highlight the possible role of introgression between species from different lake-systems in facilitating the evolution and persistence of species with unique trait combinations and ecology. These results highlight the importance of both genome architecture and secondary contact with hybridization in fuelling adaptive radiation

Using audio stimuli in acceptability judgment experiments

In this paper, we argue that moving away from written stimuli in acceptability judgment experiments is necessary to address the systematic exclusion of particular empirical phenomena, languages/varieties, and speakers in psycholinguistics. We provide user‐friendly guidelines for conducting acceptability experiments which use audio stimuli in three platforms: Praat, Qualtrics, and PennController for Ibex. In supplementary materials, we include data and R script from a sample experiment investigating English constituent order using written and audio stimuli. This paper aims not only to increase the types of languages, speakers, and phenomena which are included in experimental syntax, but also to help researchers who are interested in conducting experiments to overcome the initial learning curve. Video Abstract link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoWYY1O9ugsPeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156434/2/lnc312377_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156434/1/lnc312377.pd

Quantitative measures of health policy implementation determinants and outcomes: A systematic review

BACKGROUND: Public policy has tremendous impacts on population health. While policy development has been extensively studied, policy implementation research is newer and relies largely on qualitative methods. Quantitative measures are needed to disentangle differential impacts of policy implementation determinants (i.e., barriers and facilitators) and outcomes to ensure intended benefits are realized. Implementation outcomes include acceptability, adoption, appropriateness, compliance/fidelity, feasibility, penetration, sustainability, and costs. This systematic review identified quantitative measures that are used to assess health policy implementation determinants and outcomes and evaluated the quality of these measures. METHODS: Three frameworks guided the review: Implementation Outcomes Framework (Proctor et al.), Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (Damschroder et al.), and Policy Implementation Determinants Framework (Bullock et al.). Six databases were searched: Medline, CINAHL Plus, PsycInfo, PAIS, ERIC, and Worldwide Political. Searches were limited to English language, peer-reviewed journal articles published January 1995 to April 2019. Search terms addressed four levels: health, public policy, implementation, and measurement. Empirical studies of public policies addressing physical or behavioral health with quantitative self-report or archival measures of policy implementation with at least two items assessing implementation outcomes or determinants were included. Consensus scoring of the Psychometric and Pragmatic Evidence Rating Scale assessed the quality of measures. RESULTS: Database searches yielded 8417 non-duplicate studies, with 870 (10.3%) undergoing full-text screening, yielding 66 studies. From the included studies, 70 unique measures were identified to quantitatively assess implementation outcomes and/or determinants. Acceptability, feasibility, appropriateness, and compliance were the most commonly measured implementation outcomes. Common determinants in the identified measures were organizational culture, implementation climate, and readiness for implementation, each aspects of the internal setting. Pragmatic quality ranged from adequate to good, with most measures freely available, brief, and at high school reading level. Few psychometric properties were reported. CONCLUSIONS: Well-tested quantitative measures of implementation internal settings were under-utilized in policy studies. Further development and testing of external context measures are warranted. This review is intended to stimulate measure development and high-quality assessment of health policy implementation outcomes and determinants to help practitioners and researchers spread evidence-informed policies to improve population health. REGISTRATION: Not registered

Apparent filler–gap mismatches in Welsh

AbstractFiller–gap dependencies involving a clause-initial filler constituent of some kind followed by a matching gap are an important feature of human languages. There are also certain cases where what looks like a filler differs in some way from the following gap. In the case of Welsh there is a mismatch between apparent filler and gap in some nominal cleft sentences. It can be argued, however, that the initial constituent is not a filler but one term of a hidden identity predication. There are various other complexities in this area. There is one word, the identity copula, which only allows a complement that is a gap. There are two cases where a deletion process conceals the identity of the initial constituent in a cleft sentence, making a Progressive Phrase look like a Verb Phrase and a Predicative Phrase look like an Adjective Phrase or a Noun Phrase. Finally, there are three cases where a verb with a gap as a dependent has a special form, two cases involving the predicational copula and one involving all transitive verbs. Thus, a number of mechanisms are required to deal with the full set of facts.</jats:p

In Support of the Matrix Language Frame Model: Evidence from Igbo-English Intrasentential Codeswitching

This paper explores the morphosyntactic features of mixed nominal expressions in a sample of empirical Igbo-English intrasentential codeswitching data (i.e. codeswitching within a bilingual clause) in terms of the Matrix Language Frame (MLF) model. Since both Igbo and English differ in the relative order of head and complement within the nominal argument phrase, the analysed data seem appropriate for testing the veracity of the principal assumption underpinning the MLF model: the notion that the two languages (in our case Igbo and English) participating in codeswitching do not both contribute equally to the morphosyntactic frame of a mixed constituent. As it turns out, the findings provide both empirical and quantitative support for the basic theoretical view that there is a Matrix Language (ML) versus Embedded Language (EL) hierarchy in classic codeswitching as predicted by the MLF model because both Igbo and English do not simultaneously satisfy the roles of the ML in Igbo-English codeswitching

Factors associated with self-care activities among adults in the United Kingdom: a systematic review

Background: The Government has promoted self-care. Our aim was to review evidence about who uses self-tests and other self-care activities (over-the-counter medicine, private sector,complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), home blood pressure monitors). Methods: During April 2007, relevant bibliographic databases (Medline, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, PsycINFO,British Nursing Index, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, Sociological Abstracts, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, Arthritis and Complementary Medicine Database, Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Pain Database) were searched, and potentially relevant studies were reviewed against eligibility criteria. Studies were included if they were published during the last 15 years and identified factors, reasons or characteristics associated with a relevant activity among UK adults. Two independent reviewers used proformas to assess the quality of eligible studies. Results: 206 potentially relevant papers were identified, 157 were excluded, and 49 papers related to 46 studies were included: 37 studies were, or used data from questionnaire surveys, 36 had quality scores of five or more out of 10, and 27 were about CAM. Available evidence suggests that users of CAM and over-the-counter medicine are female, middle-aged, affluent and/or educated with some measure of poor health, and that people who use the private sector are affluent and/or educated. Conclusion: People who engage in these activities are likely to be affluent. Targeted promotion may, therefore, be needed to ensure that use is equitable. People who use some activities also appear to have poorer measures of health than non-users or people attending conventional services. It is, therefore, also important to ensure that self-care is not used as a second choice for people who have not had their needs met by conventional service

Pharmacoinformatic investigation of medicinal plants from East Africa

Medicinal plants have widely been used in the traditional treatment of ailments and have been proven effective. Their contribution still holds an important place in modern drug discovery due to their chemical, and biological diversities. However, the poor documentation of traditional medicine, in developing African countries for instance, can lead to the loss of knowledge related to such practices. In this study, we present the Eastern Africa Natural Products Database (EANPDB) containing the structural and bioactivity information of 1870 unique molecules isolated from about 300 source species from the Eastern African region. This represents the largest collection of natural products (NPs) from this geographical region, covering literature data of the period from 1962 to 2019. The computed physicochemical properties and toxicity profiles of each compound have been included. A comparative analysis of some physico-chemical properties like molecular weight, H-bond donor/acceptor, logP(o/w), etc. as well scaffold diversity analysis has been carried out with other published NP databases. EANPDB was combined with the previously published Northern African Natural Products Database (NANPDB), to form a merger African Natural Products Database (ANPDB), containing similar to 6500 unique molecules isolated from about 1000 source species (freely available at http://african-compounds.org). As a case study, latrunculins A and B isolated from the spongeNegombata magnifica(Podospongiidae) with previously reported antitumour activities, were identified via substructure searching as molecules to be explored as putative binders of histone deacetylases (HDACs)