Functional Variation Research Articles

Ecosystem functional types of the circumpolar Arctic tundra based on the seasonal dynamics of vegetation productivity

Biodiversity, when viewed through the combined lenses of compositional, structural, and functional attributes, provides for a holistic understanding of the complexities found within community assemblages and ecosystems. However, advancement in our understanding of how ecosystem functional diversity interacts with structural and compositional diversity metrics is lacking, in part because universally applied methodologies to derive ecosystem functional classifications are still under development and vary widely across scales, extents and biomes. This study presents a methodology to construct ecosystem functional types (EFTs), or areas of the land surface that function similarly, using the MODIS NDVI record, for the terrestrial circumpolar Arctic. EFTs were derived from the seasonal dynamics of NDVI, over the Arctic tundra at 250 m resolution and compared to bioclimate subzones and to structurally and compositionally defined vegetation units of the Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map (CAVM). Correspondence analyses of CAVM EFTs to previously delineated CAVM bioclimatic subzones, physiognomic (vegetation) units and floristic provinces revealed a general congruence, indicating convergence across composition, structure, and function; yet also demonstrated substantial functional variability even within bioclimate subzones and vegetation units. Strong latitudinal gradients in ecosystem function are present, with EFT richness ranging from low (34) in northernmost regions to high (45) in southernmost regions. Locally, the mountainous regions of northern Alaska, and eastern and western Siberia had high spatial variability in ecosystem functioning. Aside from these generalities, we found that EFTs varied widely within individual mapped vegetation units, successfully capturing the functional dimension of biodiversity across the circumpolar Arctic tundra.

Resurgence of wheat stem rust infections in western Europe: causes and how to curtail them.

Ten years ago, (black) stem rust - the most damaging of wheat (Triticum aestivum) rusts - re-emerged in western Europe. Disease incidences have since increased in scale and frequency. Here, we investigated the likely underlying causes and used those to propose urgently needed mitigating actions. We report that the first large-scale UK outbreak of the wheat stem rust fungus, Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt), in 2022 may have been caused by timely arrival of airborne urediniospores from southwest Europe. The drive towards later-maturing wheat varieties in the UK may be exacerbating Pgt incidences, which could have disastrous consequences. Indeed, infection assays showed that two UK Pgt isolates from 2022 could infect over 96% of current UK wheat varieties. We determined that the temperature response data in current disease risk simulation models are outdated. Analysis of germination rates for three current UK Pgt isolates showed substantial variation in temperature response functions, suggesting that the accuracy of disease risk simulations would be substantially enhanced by incorporating data from prevailing Pgt isolates. As Pgt incidences continue to accelerate in western Europe, we advocate for urgent action to curtail Pgt losses and help safeguard future wheat production across the region.

Individual differences in autonomy and sociotropy in relation to autistic traits, camouflaging and interpersonal functioning

The social motivation hypothesis has proposed that autism/autistic traits result developmentally from lower motivation to interact socially. However, counter to this hypothesis, a growing body of research on ‘camouflaging’ suggests many autistic people or those with high autistic traits work hard to appear more ‘neurotypical’ to foster friendships. “Sociotropy/dependency” and “autonomy/self-reliance” characterise different attachment styles. Despite their importance for understanding interpersonal functioning, their relationship with autistic traits and camouflaging is unknown. To investigate this question in 168 participants (71 % females, Mean age = 30; SD = 10), we used online self-reported measures including depressive and social anxiety (i.e. affective) symptoms. A large fraction of variability in interpersonal functioning and camouflaging in the respective models was explained (R-square: 0.40 and 0.50, respectively). Autistic traits and autonomy were both negatively and independently associated with interpersonal functioning (β = −0.23, p = .002 and β = −0.14, p = .045, respectively) after controlling for the influence of sociotropy and affective symptoms. Furthermore, sociotropy was independently associated with camouflaging (β = 0.22, p = .001) after controlling for autonomy and affective symptoms. This may suggest that social motivation is dissociable from autistic traits which could explain why a subgroup of people with autistic traits is highly motivated to camouflage.

The relationship between gamma-band neural oscillations and language skills in youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their first-degree relatives

BackgroundMost children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have co-occurring language impairments and some of these autism-specific language difficulties are also present in their non-autistic first-degree relatives. One of the possible neural mechanisms associated with variability in language functioning is alterations in cortical gamma-band oscillations, hypothesized to be related to neural excitation and inhibition balance.MethodsWe used a high-density 128-channel electroencephalography (EEG) to register brain response to speech stimuli in a large sex-balanced sample of participants: 125 youth with ASD, 121 typically developing (TD) youth, and 40 unaffected siblings (US) of youth with ASD. Language skills were assessed with Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals.ResultsFirst, during speech processing, we identified significantly elevated gamma power in ASD participants compared to TD controls. Second, across all youth, higher gamma power was associated with lower language skills. Finally, the US group demonstrated an intermediate profile in both language and gamma power, with nonverbal IQ mediating the relationship between gamma power and language skills.LimitationsWe only focused on one of the possible neural contributors to variability in language functioning. Also, the US group consisted of a smaller number of participants in comparison to the ASD or TD groups. Finally, due to the timing issue in EEG system we have provided only non-phase-locked analysis.ConclusionsAutistic youth showed elevated gamma power, suggesting higher excitation in the brain in response to speech stimuli and elevated gamma power was related to lower language skills. The US group showed an intermediate pattern of gamma activity, suggesting that the broader autism phenotype extends to neural profiles.

On ultrametrics, b-metrics, w-distances, metric-preserving functions, and fixed point theorems

In this article, new classes of functions based on new variations of metric-preserving functions are defined. Necessary and sufficient conditions for functions to be in these classes are also provided. As a result, we can explain relations between all classes and learn that all functions in the classes are weakly separated from 0. We can extend fixed point theorems, which were originally provided by Kirk and Shahzad and were later extended by Pongsriiam and Termwuttipong, in this journal by considering all functions that are weakly separated from 0.

Self-reported cognitive function mediates the relationship between employment status and cognitive functioning in persons with multiple sclerosis

BackgroundCognitive impairment (CI) is common in people with MS (PwMS). Evidence is lacking for the self-reported CI's mediation effect on employment status and objective cognitive performance. Self-reported CI was found to be unreliable and seemed to be more associated with depression rather than formal cognitive performance. We hypothesized that the link between subjective and objective assessments of cognitive functions, mood, and employment status may be more complex in PwMS than previously reported. ObjectiveThe aims of this study are the following: (Romero-Pinel et al., 2022) to determine whether employment status could affect performance in cognitive function testing and (Rao et al., 1991) whether their relationship may be mediated by self-reported CI; and (Deluca et al., 2013) to determine whether self-reported depression interacts with self-reported CI in influencing performance in various cognitive domains in PwMS. MethodologyA retrospective study was performed involving PwMS who completed the self-report Multiple Sclerosis Neuropsychological Questionnaire (MSNQ), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-depression scale (HADS-D), Minimal Assessment of Cognitive Function in MS (MACFIMS) and had data regarding employment status. Included PwMS were classified as employed or unemployed. A structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was taken due to the advantage of examining multiple cognitive outcomes simultaneously while accounting for shared associations. First, a latent factor of memory and executive functioning modeled the error-free associations between both factors and a processing speed task (SDMT). Next, the model tested for the indirect effect of self-reported cognition (MSNQ) on employment status differences in each outcome (memory, speed, and executive functioning). Finally, we tested interactions between MSNQ and HADS-D on each of the outcomes. ResultsWe included 590 PwMS: 72.5% female, mean age 44.2 years (SD = 10.5), mean disease duration 8.6 years (SD 9.0). The majority (n = 455, 77.1%) had relapsing MS; 357 (60.5%) were employed. About half (n = 301, 51%) did not report CI on the MSNQ; of those, 213 (70.8%) were employed. The mean MSNQ for employed PwMS was 24.5 (SD = 10.7) and 29.8 (SD = 11.2) for unemployed PwMS. Employed PwMS had significantly better memory (β = .16, p < .05), executive functioning (β = .25, p < .05), and processing speed (β = .22, p < .05). MSNQ partially indirectly mediated the effect of employment status on memory (Δβ = .03, p < .05) and executive functioning (Δβ = .03, p < .05) and processing speed (Δβ = .04, p < .05), indicating that self-report CI partially explains the influence of employment status on these cognitive domains. The association between MSNQ with both memory and executive functioning was moderated by depression, meaning that in PwMS with high HADS-D scores, MSNQ was more strongly related to worse memory and executive functioning. The final model was an acceptable fit to the data (χ2(87) = 465.07, p < .05; CFI = .90, RMSEA = .08, 90% CI [.06, .09], SRMR = .05) explaining 41.20%, 38.50% and 33.40% of the variability in memory, executive functioning, and processing speed, respectively. ConclusionSelf-reported CI partially explains the associations between employment status and objective cognitive assessment in PwMS. Depression may moderate the relationship between self-reported cognitive assessment and objective cognitive performance. Thus, employment status and mood may guide the interpretation of self-reported CI.

Analyzing the Impact of Loss Functions on Dehazing Effectiveness and Unveiling the Discrepancy between Quantitative and Qualitative Results

The work focuses on the analysis of the impact of loss functions on the effectiveness of a model for dehazing images. Dehazing, the process of removing haze or atmospheric scattering from images, plays a crucial role in various computer vision applications. To enhance the performance of dehazing models, it is essential to examine different loss functions and their variations. In this study, we employ a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) as our model and evaluate the performance of various loss functions. The primary objective is to assess how well each loss function is capable of dehazing an image, while specifically investigating the influence of various structural similarity index (SSIM) loss variations on the dehazing effectiveness. Our experimental results reveal a notable discrepancy between qualitative and quantitative outcomes. Contradicting the traditional interpretation in literature, our qualitative analysis reveals that the SSIM IQA metric may not be a fully reliable indicator of dehazing effectiveness despite it being viewed to be correlated to human visual perception unlike Mean Square Error and Peak Signal to Noise Ratio Metrics. Moreover, we demonstrate that relying solely on quantitative results may lead to the selection of an inappropriate loss function. This finding emphasizes the significance of qualitative analysis in evaluating the performance of dehazing models. The disparity between quantitative and qualitative results emphasizes the need for newer image assessment metrics in the domain that can effectively bridge this gap. Such metrics should be able to be better correlated with human perception. This research contributes to the field of image dehazing by shedding light on the importance of qualitative analysis in addition to quantitative evaluation. By comprehensively analysing the impact of variations of SSIM loss functions and their combination with Mean Absolute Error (MAE) loss, we provide valuable insights into enhancing the effectiveness of dehazing models.

Elucidating a genomic signature associated with behavioral and executive function after moderate to severe pediatric TBI: a systems biology informed approach

Introduction: There is significant unexplained variability in behavioral and executive functioning after pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI). Prior research indicates that there are likely genetic contributions; however, current research is limited. The purpose of this study is to use a systems biology informed approach to characterize the genomic signature related to behavioral and executive functioning ∼12 months after moderate through severe TBI in children.Methods: Participants were from two prospective cohorts of children with severe TBI (Cohort #1) and moderate-severe TBI and an orthopedic injury (OI) group (Cohort #2). Participants included 196 children (n = 72 and n = 124 total from each respective cohort), ranging in age between 0–17 years at the time of injury. In total, 86 children had severe TBI, 49 had moderate TBI, and 61 had an OI. Global behavioral functioning assessed via the Child Behavior Checklist and executive function assessed via the Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Function at ∼ 12 months post injury served as outcomes. To test for a genomic signature, we compared the number of nominally significant (p &amp;lt; 0.05) polymorphisms associated with the outcomes in our systems biology identified genes to a set 10,000 permutations using control genes (e.g., not implicated by systems biology). We used the ToppFun application from Toppgene Suite to identify enriched biologic processes likely to be associated with behavioral and executive function outcomes.Results: At 12 months post injury, injury type (TBI vs OI) by polymorphism interaction was significantly enriched in systems biology selected genes for behavioral and executive function outcomes, suggesting these genes form a genomic signature. Effect sizes of the associations from our genes of interest ranged from .2–.5 for the top 5% of variants. Systems biology analysis of the variants associated with the top 5% effect sizes indicated enrichment in several specific biologic processes and systems.Discussion: Findings indicate that a genomic signature may explain heterogeneity of behavioral and executive outcomes after moderate and severe TBI. This work provides the foundation for constructing genomic signatures and integrating systems biology and genetic information into future recovery, prognostic, and treatment algorithms.

Time-varying damping ratios and velocities in a high-rise during earthquakes and ambient vibrations from coda wave interferometry

Coda wave interferometry is applied to data from Community Seismic Network MEMS accelerometers permanently installed on nearly every floor of a 52-story steel moment-and-brace frame building in downtown Los Angeles. Wavefield data from the 2019 M7.1 Ridgecrest, California earthquake sequence are used to obtain impulse response functions, and time-varying damping ratios and shear-wave velocities are computed from them. The coda waves are used because of their increased sensitivity to changes in the building’s properties, and the approach is generalized to show that a building’s nonlinear response can be monitored through time-varying measurements of representative pseudo-linear systems in the time domain. The building was not damaged, but temporary nonlinear behavior observed during the strong motions provides a unique opportunity to test this method’s ability to map time-varying properties. Reference damping parameters and velocities are obtained from a month-long period during which no significant seismic activity had occurred. Damping ratios measured over narrow frequency bands increase by up to a factor of 4 over short time durations spanning the main shock, as well as M &gt; 4.5 aftershocks and a foreshock. The largest damping ratio increases occur for the highest frequencies, and the increase is attributed to friction associated with structural and non-structural surface discontinuities which experience relative motion and impact during shaking, resulting in energy loss. Shear-wave velocities in the building’s east–west and north–south directions are found by applying a waveform stretching method to the direct and coda waves. The broadband velocities are reduced by as much as 10% during building shaking, and their restoration to pre-earthquake levels is found to be a function of shaking amplitudes. Until recently, these techniques had been limited by temporal and spatial sparsity of measurements, but in this study, variations of the impulse response functions are resolved over time scales of tens of seconds and on a floor-by-floor spatial scale.

Exploring variability in cognitive functioning in patients with spinal muscular atrophy: a scoping review.

The cognitive functioning of individuals with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is not well understood, prompting a call for more research to better grasp cognitive involvement in SMA. This study aims to explore recent findings regarding cognitive outcomes in SMA patients, including correlations between clinical features and cognitive abilities. The investigation seeks to identify commonly used measures for assessing cognitive function in this patient population. A scoping review following the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology examined literature until December 2023. Two databases were searched along with relevant article references using specific terms such as "spinal muscular atrophy," "SMA," "cognitive," "abilities," "functions," "intellective," or "intellectual." Screening focused on titles and abstracts from English language peer-reviewed journals. After the initial research, 1452 articles were identified. Subsequent screening and selection led to the inclusion of 13 articles in the review. Among these studies, four indicated a cognitive trend within the normal range for SMA patients. In four other studies, the majority of patients fell within the normal range. However, smaller proportions were observed to be either above or below the norm compared to the controls. Three studies reported noted cognitive performance below the average, while two showed above-average scores. The scoping review suggests that most SMA patients have cognitive abilities similar to the general population, with types II and III showing even lesser impact. However, certain cognitive domains may be affected in type I patients, highlighting the need for further research to fully understand cognitive involvement in SMA.

A finite volume scheme for solving an alternative morphodynamic model with porosity

AbstractThis work proposes an extended numerical scheme based on the finite volume method that is intended to solve a new morphodynamic model with porosity. The St-Venant equations and the Exner equation are coupled in this model, accounting for the variation of the porosity function . In the morphodynamic system, the Jacobian matrix's sign is taken into account when reconstructing the numerical fluxes using an improved Roe's approach to assure correct numerical computations.

How do substrate types affect the seasonal richness and functional feeding groups variation of benthic insects in an arid region (northeastern Algeria)?

How do substrate types affect the seasonal richness and functional feeding groups variation of benthic insects in an arid region (northeastern Algeria)?

Rare and common species contribute disproportionately to alpine meadow community construction and functional variation.

It is widely accepted that rare species are the first species to become extinct after human-induced disturbances. However, the functional importance of rare species still needs to be better understood, especially in alpine meadow communities with harsher habitats, where the extinction rate of rare species may be higher. This study established a 1.85 × 105 m2 permanent research sample plot on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. We investigated data from 162 plots at 6 different sampling scales in alpine meadows to determine the contribution of rare and common species to alpine meadow communities' structural and functional variability. The results showed that (1) Asteraceae (Compositae) was the dominant family in the surveyed localities. The trends of species diversity indices were the same, and all of them increased with the increase of sampling scale, and the plant community showed apparent scale effects. (2) The community construction of rare species at small scales with high occupancy transitioned from neutral processes to ecological niche processes, while the community construction of common species at different sampling scales was all dominated by ecological niche processes. (3) The trait values of rare species at different sampling scales were different from those of common species, and their distribution in FEs (functional entities) was also different, indicating that they contributed differently to the ecological functions of the communities. Rare species with lower abundance in the surveyed communities had a higher proportion of FEs, indicating that rare species had a more significant proportion of contribution to FEs. The functional redundancy (FR) of rare species was lower than that of common species, and the functional vulnerability (FV) was higher than that of common species. Therefore, the loss of rare species is more likely to cause the loss of community ecological functions, affecting the function and resilience of alpine meadow ecosystems.

Microplastics affect membrane biofouling and microbial communities during gravity-driven membrane filtration of primary wastewater

Recently, gravity-driven membrane (GDM) filtration has been adopted as an alternative solution for decentralized wastewater treatment due to easy installation and maintenance, reduced energy and operation cost, and low global warming impact. This study investigated the influence of microplastic size (0.5–0.8 μm and 40–48 μm) and amount (0.1 and 0.2 g/L) on the membrane performance and microbial community in GDM systems for primary municipal wastewater treatment. The results showed that dosing microplastics in the GDM systems led to 9–54% lower permeate flux than that in the control. This was attributed to more cake formation (up to 6.4-fold) with more deposition of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS, up to 1.5-fold) and divalent cations (up to 2.1-fold) in the presence of microplastics, especially with increasing microplastic amount or size. However, the dosed microplastics promoted formation of heterogeneous cake layers with more porous nature, possibly because microplastics created void space in the cake and also tended to bind with divalent cations to reduce EPS-divalent cations interactions. In the biofilm of the GDM systems, the presence of microplastics could lower the number of total species, but it greatly enhanced the abundance of certain dominant prokaryotes (Phenylobacterium haematophilum, Planctomycetota bacterium, and Flavobacteriales bacterium), eukaryotes (Stylonychia lemnae, Halteria grandinella, and Paramicrosporidium saccamoebae), and virus (phylum Nucleocytoviricota), as well as amino acid and lipid metabolic functions. Especially, the small-size microplastics at a higher dosed amount led to more variations of microbial community structure and microbial metabolic functions.

Greater ecophysiological stress tolerance in the core environment than in extreme environments of wild chickpea (Cicer reticulatum)

Global climate change and land use change underlie a need to develop new crop breeding strategies, and crop wild relatives (CWR) have become an important potential source of new genetic material to improve breeding efforts. Many recent approaches assume adaptive trait variation increases towards the relative environmental extremes of a species range, potentially missing valuable trait variation in more moderate or typical climates. Here, we leveraged distinct genotypes of wild chickpea (Cicer reticulatum) that differ in their relative climates from moderate to more extreme and perform targeted assessments of drought and heat tolerance. We found significance variation in ecophysiological function and stress tolerance between genotypes but contrary to expectations and current paradigms, it was individuals from more moderate climates that exhibited greater capacity for stress tolerance than individuals from warmer and drier climates. These results indicate that wild germplasm collection efforts to identify adaptive variation should include the full range of environmental conditions and habitats instead of only environmental extremes, and that doing so may significantly enhance the success of breeding programs broadly.

User Experience, Functionality and Aesthetics Evaluation in an Academic Multi-Site Web Ecosystem

The present study focuses on using qualitative and quantitative data to evaluate the functionality, user experience (UX), and aesthetic approach offered by an academic multi-site Web ecosystem consisting of multiple interconnected websites. Large entities in various industry fields often have the need for an elaborate Web presence. In an effort to address the challenges posed by this need specifically in the field of academia, the authors developed, over a period of many years, a multi-site ecosystem within the Ionian University, which focuses on interconnectivity and a collaborative approach to academic content management. This system, known as “Publish@Ionio”, uses a singular content management infrastructure to allow for the creation of content for different websites that share both information and resources while at the same time allowing for individual variations in both functionality and aesthetics. The ecosystem was evaluated through quantitative data from its operation and qualitative feedback from a focus-group interview with experts, including website editors and administrative staff. The collected data were used to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the multi-site approach based on the actions and needs of the individuals in charge of generating content. The study led to conclusions on the advantages that interoperability offers in terms of digital and human resource management, the benefits of a unified aesthetic approach that allows for variability, and the necessity of collaborative content management tools that are tailored to the content’s nature.

Detailed chemical composition of the globular cluster Sextans A GC-1 on the outskirts of the Local Group

The chemical composition of globular clusters (GCs) across the Local Group provides information on chemical abundance trends. Studying GCs in isolated systems in particular provides us with important initial conditions plausibly unperturbed by mergers and tidal forces from the large Local Group spirals. We present a detailed chemical abundance analysis of Sextans A GC-1. The host galaxy, Sextans A, is a low-surface-brightness dwarf irregular galaxy located on the edge of the Local Group. We derive the dynamical mass of the GC together with the mass-to-light ratio and the abundances of the alpha , Fe-peak, and heavy elements. Abundance ratios were determined from the analysis of an optical integrated-light spectrum of Sextans A GC-1, obtained with UVES on the VLT. We apply non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) corrections to Mg, Ca, Ti, Fe, and Ni. The GC appears to be younger and more metal-poor than the majority of the GCs of the Milky Way, with an age of 8.6pm 2.7 Gyr and $ Fe/H dex. The calculated dynamical mass is dyn odot $, which results in an atypically high value of the mass-to-light ratio, 4.35pm 1.40 M$_ odot $/L$_ V odot $. Sextans A GC-1 has varying alpha elements -- the Mg abundance is extremely low, Ca and Ti are solar-scaled or mildly enhanced, and Si is enhanced. The measured values are $ Mg/Fe Ca/Fe Ti/Fe and $ Si/Fe which makes the mean alpha abundance (excluding Mg) to be enhanced $ &lt;Si,Ca,Ti&gt;/Fe NLTE The Fe-peak elements are consistent with scaled-solar or slightly enhanced abundances: $ Cr/Fe Mn/Fe Sc/Fe and $ Ni/Fe The heavy elements measured are Ba, Cu, Zn, and Eu. Ba and Cu have sub-solar abundance ratios ($ Ba/Fe and $ Cu/Fe &lt;-0.343$), while Zn and Eu are consistent with their upper limits being solar-scaled and enhanced, $ Zn/Fe &lt;+0.171$ and $ Eu/Fe The composition of Sextans A GC-1 resembles the overall pattern and behaviour of GCs in the Local Group. The anomalous values are the mass-to-light ratio and the depleted abundance of Mg. There is no definite explanation for such an extreme abundance value. Variations in the initial mass function or the presence of an intermediate-mass black hole might explain the high mass-to-light ratio value.

Seasonal variation and human impacts of the river biofilm bacterial communities in the Shiting River in southeastern China.

Bacterial communities in epilithic biofilm plays an important role in biogeochemistry processes in freshwater ecosystems. Nevertheless, our understanding of the geographical and seasonal variations of the composition of bacterial communities in the biofilm of gravels on river bed is still limited. Various anthropogenic activities also influence the biofilm bacteria in gravel rivers. By taking the Shiting River in the upper Yangtze River basinin Sichuan Province as an example, we studied the geographical and seasonal variations of epilithic bacteria and the impacts of weirs and other human activities (e.g., sewage pollution). The river has experienced severe degradation since the Ms 8.0 Wenchuan Earthquake, and weirs were constructed to prevent bed erosion.We collected epilithic biofilms samples at 17 sites along ~ 30km river reach of the Shiting River in the autumn of 2021 and the summer of 2022, respectively. We applied 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing technology and Functional Annotation of Prokaryotic Taxa (FAPROTAX) to analyze the seasonal and biogeographic patterns and potential functions of the biofilm bacterial communities. The results showed that epilithic bacteria from the two surveys exhibited variation in community composition, bacterial diversity and potential functions. The bacteria samples collected in the autumn have much higher alpha diversity and richness than those collected in the summer. Bacterial richness and diversity were lower downstream of the weirs than upstream. Low diversity was observed at a sampling site influenced by sewage inflow, which contains high level of nitrogen-related chemicals.

Formula omitted] and its interpretations

In this paper, we unify the study of classical and non-classical algebra-valued models of set theory, by studying variations of the interpretation functions for = and ∈. Although, these variations coincide with the standard interpretation in Boolean-valued constructions, nonetheless they extend the scope of validity of ZF to new algebra-valued models. This paper presents, for the first time, non-trivial paraconsistent models of full ZF. Moreover, due to the validity of Leibniz's law in these structures, we will show how to construct proper models of set theory by quotienting these algebra-valued models with respect to equality, modulo the filter of the designated truth-values.

Growth‐chemical defence‐metabolomic expression trade‐off is relaxed as soil nutrient availability increases for a tropical passion vine

Abstract Abiotic resource limitation presents organisms with a dilemma about how to use resources when they become available. Characterizing how resource allocation affects investment in growth or defensive traits that affect organismal survival strategies allows us to understand the environmental contexts in which species interact. Our goal was to measure how macronutrient availability drives nitrogen and phosphorus allocation towards functional growth and defensive chemical traits of the Neotropical passion vine, Passiflora biflora. We investigated this question with a paired field study in La Selva, Costa Rica and a full factorial greenhouse experiment to determine whether the concentration of a key secondary chemical defence is driven by nitrogen availability. We correlated defensive chemical concentration with soil nitrogen availability in naturally occurring plants, measured the effects of nitrogen and phosphorus availability on growth and secondary chemical defence traits in the greenhouse and characterized the P. biflora leaf metabolome to assess how nutrient availability affected shifts in metabolism related to plant fitness. We found that nutrient allocation increased the magnitude of both growth and defence traits. Increased nitrogen availability resulted in higher concentrations of toxic leaf secondary chemicals, longer vines, greater biomass and more leaves with a superior ability to capture sunlight. In addition, plants from high nitrogen environments had metabolomes with significantly greater secondary metabolite richness and biochemical pathway diversity, as well as increases in the number of metabolites from several chemical classes related to basic cell function and defence. Nutrient availability had no significant effect on the richness and diversity of primary metabolites involved in basic cell functions. A direct comparison of the relative strength of quantitative growth and secondary defence traits indicated that P. biflora favours nutrient allocation to growth at low nitrogen levels but invests in both strategies more evenly as nitrogen availability increases. These findings lead us to predict that passion vines are better prepared to tolerate and resist herbivory when nutrients are plentiful and experience a trade‐off between growth and chemical defence against natural enemies when they are scarce. These findings are consistent with both the ‘escape’ and ‘defend’ syndromes that are often used to describe tropical plant survival strategies. This is one of the only studies to measure nutrient allocation in vines, a group comprising a significant percentage of global plant diversity. Moreover, this work demonstrated the power of leveraging untargeted metabolomics to characterize how nutrient addition affects plant growth and defence, highlighting its potential for understanding functional trait variation. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.