Lack Of Congruence Research Articles

Repeated evolution on oceanic islands: comparative genomics reveals species-specific processes in birds

Understanding the interplay between genetic drift, natural selection, gene flow, and demographic history in driving phenotypic and genomic differentiation of insular populations can help us gain insight into the speciation process. Comparing patterns across different insular taxa subjected to similar selective pressures upon colonizing oceanic islands provides the opportunity to study repeated evolution and identify shared patterns in their genomic landscapes of differentiation. We selected four species of passerine birds (Common Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs/canariensis, Red-billed Chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax, House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus and Dark-eyed/island Junco Junco hyemalis/insularis) that have both mainland and insular populations. Changes in body size between island and mainland populations were consistent with the island rule. For each species, we sequenced whole genomes from mainland and insular individuals to infer their demographic history, characterize their genomic differentiation, and identify the factors shaping them. We estimated the relative (Fst) and absolute (dxy) differentiation, nucleotide diversity (π), Tajima’s D, gene density and recombination rate. We also searched for selective sweeps and chromosomal inversions along the genome. All species shared a marked reduction in effective population size (Ne) upon island colonization. We found diverse patterns of differentiated genomic regions relative to the genome average in all four species, suggesting the role of selection in island-mainland differentiation, yet the lack of congruence in the location of these regions indicates that each species evolved differently in insular environments. Our results suggest that the genomic mechanisms involved in the divergence upon island colonization—such as chromosomal inversions, and historical factors like recurrent selection—differ in each species, despite the highly conserved structure of avian genomes and the similar selective factors involved. These differences are likely influenced by factors such as genetic drift, the polygenic nature of fitness traits and the action of case-specific selective pressures.

Umbrella index as a conservation tool across pondscapes: A case study using frogs, aquatic insects, and plants in South Africa

Biological surrogates are valuable for conservation when they are easy and cost-effective to sample, sensitive to anthropogenic change, and show similar assemblage patterns to other taxa. The umbrella index (UI) developed by Fleishman et al. (2000), aims to conserve most species in an ecosystem by focusing on a single or small group of co-occurring species to represent all species present. Here we focus on various lentic aquatic insects (‘aquatic insects’ henceforth refers to aquatic beetles, aquatic bugs, and dragonfly larvae), adult dragonflies, frogs, and aquatic plants as potential surrogates for pond communities in the Midlands, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. There were some cross-taxon correlations, but these were too weak to consider for surrogacy, largely due to dissimilar responses to the same environmental gradients. However, using UI we identified five dragonfly species, nine aquatic insect species, and three frog species as potential umbrella groups for their own taxa. The UI for same-group surrogates was flexible and covered most taxa, ranging from co-occurring habitat generalists to rare specialist species. Furthermore, all four endemic species sampled here were effective surrogate species for other local taxa, with two of them ranking top in their own taxonomic group. The lack of congruence among the different taxa means that one taxon cannot be used to stand in for another. However, the UI allowed efficient site prioritization, so long as a multi-taxon approach is used. We recommend the UI approach when selecting surrogates to represent aquatic fauna within a pondscape of the Midlands of South Africa.

Floral structure, histochemistry, and volatile compounds in Bulbophyllum species of the ‘Cirrhopetalum alliance’ (Orchidaceae)

Abstract Bulbophyllum is the most species-rich orchid genus. Recent molecular data groups certain of its species into a monophyletic ‘Cirrhopetalum alliance’. Within this alliance are a monophyletic section Cirrhopetaloides and a non-monophyletic section Cirrhopetalum. Floral morphology and scent are partially conserved phylogenetically compared to the molecular data. Here, floral morphology, histochemistry, anatomy, and floral volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of selected Bulbophyllum species are analysed to assess whether there are structural or chemical differences that support separation into the two sections, to update available VOC data from this genus, and to consider evolutionary adaptations in the ‘Cirrhopetalum alliance’. We found that ‘Cirrhopetalum alliance’ flowers differ from some sections of Bulbophyllum in the structure of cells lining the longitudinal groove on the labellum or lip and report, for the first time in Bulbophyllum, a type of atypical oleiferous trichome probably involved in VOC production. We show a clear difference in floral VOC profiles between B. bicolor (sect. Cirrhopetaloides) and four other Bulbophyllum species, three previously assigned to sect. Cirrhopetalum, but VOC profiles do not support separation into the two sections. The lack of congruence between already established molecular phylogeny, floral anatomy, and VOC data suggests that VOC differences are due to recently and independently evolved pollinator specificity. We therefore show that there is no clear separation of these sections based on floral anatomy, histochemistry, or VOC profiles.

Understanding Middle Eastern parents’ expectations for their children’s early education in New Zealand: Early childhood teachers’ perspectives

The Middle Eastern population in New Zealand has grown significantly in the past two decades. However, little is known about Middle Eastern parents’ expectations and their children’s experiences of the New Zealand early education system. The PhD research on which this article is based was an attempt to address this gap. The findings discussed in this article derive from semistructured interviews with four case-study teachers. Using thematic analysis and drawing on constructs from critical multiculturalism and funds of knowledge, I argue that there is a lack of congruence between the early childhood discourses promoted by the New Zealand teachers and Middle Eastern parents’ expectations for their children’s early education. Possible implications for early childhood pedagogy are suggested to meet the needs of increasingly ethnically and culturally diverse early childhood educational contexts.

Revisiting bacterial cytolethal distending toxin structure and function.

Cytolethal distending toxins (CDTs) are intracellular-acting bacterial genotoxins generated by a diverse group of mucocutaneous human pathogens. CDTs must successfully bind to the plasma membrane of host cells in order to exert their modulatory effects. Maximal toxin activity requires all three toxin subunits, CdtA, CdtB, and CdtC, which, based primarily on high-resolution structural data, are believed to preassemble into a tripartite complex necessary for toxin activity. However, biologically active toxin has not been experimentally demonstrated to require assembly of the three subunits into a heterotrimer. Here, we experimentally compared concentration-dependent subunit interactions and toxin cellular activity of the Campylobacter jejuni CDT (Cj-CDT). Co-immunoprecipitation and dialysis retention experiments provided evidence for the presence of heterotrimeric toxin complexes, but only at concentrations of Cj-CdtA, Cj-CdtB, and Cj-CdtC several logs higher than required for Cj-CDT-mediated arrest of the host cell cycle at the G2/M interface, which is triggered by the endonuclease activity associated with the catalytic Cj-CdtB subunit. Microscale thermophoresis confirmed that Cj-CDT subunit interactions occur with low affinity. Collectively, our data suggest that at the lowest concentrations of toxin sufficient for arrest of cell cycle progression, mixtures of Cj-CdtA, Cj-CdtB, and Cj-CdtC consist primarily of non-interacting, subunit monomers. The lack of congruence between toxin tripartite structure and cellular activity suggests that the widely accepted model that CDTs principally intoxicate host cells as preassembled heterotrimeric structures should be revisited.

Reimbursement of care does not equal the distribution of hospital resources: an explorative case study on a missing link among Dutch hospitals

BackgroundAffordability and accessibility of hospital care are under pressure. Research on hospital care financing focuses primarily on incentives in the financial system outside the hospital. It is notable that little is known about (incentives in) internal funding in hospitals. Therefore, our study focuses on the budget allocation in hospitals: the distribution model. Based on our hypothesis that the reimbursement and distribution models in hospitals might interact, we gain knowledge about-, and insight into, the interaction of different reimbursement and distribution models used in Dutch hospitals, and how they affect the financial output of hospital care.MethodsAn online survey with 22 questions was conducted among financial senior management as an expert group in 49 Dutch hospitals.ResultsUltimately, 38 of 49 approached experts fully completed the survey, which amounts to 78% of the hospitals we approached and 60% of all Dutch hospitals. The results on the reimbursement model indicate price * volume with adjusted prices above a maximum cap as the most common dominant contract type. On the internal distribution model, 75–80% of the experts reported incremental budgeting as the dominant budgeting method. Results on the interaction between the reimbursement and the distribution model show that both general and specific changes in contract agreements are only partially incorporated in hospital budgets. In 28 out of 31 hospitals with self-employed medical specialists, a relation is reported between the reimbursement model and the contracts with the Medical Consultant Group(s) in which the medical specialists are united.ConclusionsOur results in Dutch setting indicate a limited interaction between the reimbursement model and the distribution model. This lack of congruence between both models might limit the desired effects of incentives in contractual agreements aimed at the financial output. This applies to different reimbursement and distribution models. Further research into the various interactions and incentives, as visualized in our conceptual framework, could result in evidence-based advice for achieving affordable and accessible hospital care.

Explaining the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Massage Therapists in Australia and Canada: A Mixed Methods Study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic was a time of rapid change and uncertainty, with individual jurisdictions within countries implementing a variety of preventative measures. At the onset of the pandemic, as little was known about how COVID-19 was transmitted, restrictions, such as lockdowns, were implemented to prevent further spread of this virus. In many jurisdictions, massage therapists were deemed as nonessential for a period. This disruption to their livelihood, as a professional group and without autonomy to decide, was unprecedented. This prompted the question as to whether this experience had impacted massage therapists' professional identity. Methods: A sequential explanatory mixed methods design was used and massage therapists in Australia and Canada were recruited to participate. Results from a quantitative questionnaire completed by 649 respondents and from 31 semistructured interviews from a subset of the questionnaire participants were used in the mixed analysis. Results: Massage therapists, impacted by the pandemic, experienced a discord between what it means to be a massage therapist, providing patient-centered care and the public health initiatives implemented during the pandemic. This discord occurred in multiple situations and the type of discord was influenced by a number of factors, including how therapists identified themselves within the workforce (i.e., as a health care provider or a service provider). Conclusion: This study sought to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted massage therapists' professional identity. Massage therapists reported that the pandemic impacted their professional identity through a lack of congruence and discord between their identity-constituting beliefs and what it means to be a massage therapist. The sequela to this discord was therapists experiencing different types of moral distress and or moral injury. Future research is needed to determine the longer-term impacts of COVID-19 on massage therapists.

Phylogeography and cohesion species delimitation of California endemic trapdoor spiders within the Aptostichus icenoglei sibling species complex (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Euctenizidae).

Species delimitation is an imperative first step toward understanding Earth's biodiversity, yet what constitutes a species and the relative importance of the various processes by which new species arise continue to be debatable. Species delimitation in spiders has traditionally used morphological characters; however, certain mygalomorph spiders exhibit morphological homogeneity despite long periods of population-level isolation, absence of gene flow, and consequent high degrees of molecular divergence. Studies have shown strong geographic structuring and significant genetic divergence among several species complexes within the trapdoor spider genus Aptostichus, most of which are restricted to the California Floristic Province (CAFP) biodiversity hotspot. Specifically, the Aptostichus icenoglei complex, which comprises the three sibling species, A. barackobamai, A. isabella, and A. icenoglei, exhibits evidence of cryptic mitochondrial DNA diversity throughout their ranges in Northern, Central, and Southern California. Our study aimed to explicitly test species hypotheses within this assemblage by implementing a cohesion species-based approach. We used genomic-scale data (ultraconserved elements, UCEs) to first evaluate genetic exchangeability and then assessed ecological interchangeability of genetic lineages. Biogeographical analysis was used to assess the likelihood of dispersal versus vicariance events that may have influenced speciation pattern and process across the CAFP's complex geologic and topographic landscape. Considering the lack of congruence across data types and analyses, we take a more conservative approach by retaining species boundaries within A. icenoglei.

Entering into a self-regulated learning mode prevents detrimental effects of feedback removal on memory

Incentives can decrease performance by undermining intrinsic motivation. How such an interplay of external reinforcers and internal self-regulation influences memory processes, however, is less known. Here, we investigated their interaction on memory performance while learning the meaning of new-words from their context. Specifically, participants inferred congruent meanings of new-words from semantic context (congruent trials) or lack of congruence (incongruent trials), while receiving external feedback in the first or second half of trials only. Removing feedback during learning of congruent word meanings lowered subsequent recognition rates a day later, whereas recognition remained high in the group, which received feedback only in the second half. In contrast, feedback did not substantially alter recognition rates for learning that new-words had no congruent meanings. Our findings suggest that external reinforcers can selectively impair memories if internal self-regulated processes are not already established, but whether they do so depends on what is being learned (specific word-meanings vs. unspecific incongruence). This highlights the relevance of self-regulated learning in education to support stable memory formation.

The Collaborative Care Model: Realizing healthcare values and increasing responsiveness in the pharmacy workforce.

Healthcare values are fairly ubiquitous across the globe, focusing on caring and respect, patient health, excellence in care delivery, and multi-stakeholder collaboration. Many individual pharmacists embrace these core values. However, their ability to honor these values is significantly determined by the nature of the system in which they work. The paper starts by presenting the prevailing pharmacist workforce model, the 'Atomistic' Model, in Scotland, in which core roles are typically separated into hierarchically disaggregated jobs focused on one professional 'pillar': Clinician/Practice Provider; Educator; Leader/Manager; and Researcher. This skills-segregation yields a workforce of individuals working in isolation rather than collaborating, lacking a shared purpose. Key strategic flaws include suboptimal responsiveness to population needs, inconsistency/inequity of care, erosion of professional agency, and lower job satisfaction. It is conjectured that this results from a lack of congruence between values, professional ethos, and organizational structure. 'Atomism' culminates in a syndrome of widespread professional-level cognitive dissonance. The paper contrasts this with an emerging workforce vision, the Collaborative Care Model. This new model defines a systems-first-approach, built on the principle that all jobs must include all four professional 'pillars'. Vertical skills integration, involving education and task sharing, supports sustainability and succession planning. Horizontal skills integration (across practice, leadership/management, education, and research) is included to improve responsiveness to population need and individual professional agency. The working conditions, supportive ethos, and career structure needed to make the model work are described. Moral and workforce theory are used to justify why the model may be more effective for population health, delivering greater job satisfaction for individuals and ultimately helping systematically realize healthcare values. Finally, the paper sketches the first steps needed to implement the model at the national level, starting with the operationalization of new multi-'pillar' professional curricula across the career spectrum. Potential challenges also are discussed.

Host taxonomy determines the composition, structure, and diversity of the earthworm cast microbiome under homogenous feeding conditions.

Host evolutionary history is a key factor shaping the earthworm cast microbiome, although its effect can be shadowed by the earthworm's diet. To untangle dietary from taxon effects, we raised nine earthworm species on a uniform diet of cow manure and compared cast microbiome across species while controlling for diet. Our results showed that, under controlled laboratory conditions, earthworm microbiomes are species-specific, more diverse than that of the controlled diet, and mainly comprised of native bacteria (i.e. not acquired from the diet). Furthermore, diet has a medium to large convergence effect on microbiome composition since earthworms shared 16%-74% of their bacterial amplicon sequence variants (ASV). The interspecies core microbiome included 10 ASVs, while their intraspecies core microbiomes were larger and varied in ASV richness (24%-48%) and sequence abundance across earthworm species. This specificity in core microbiomes and variable degree of similarity in bacterial composition suggest that phylosymbiosis could determine earthworm microbiome assembly. However, lack of congruence between the earthworm phylogeny and the microbiome dendrogram suggests that a consistent diet fed over several generations may have weakened potential phylosymbiotic effects. Thus, cast microbiome assembly in earthworms seem to be the result of an interplay among host phylogeny and diet.

The adoption of social determinants of health documentation in clinical settings.

To understand the frequency of social determinants of health (SDOH) diagnosis codes (Z-codes) within the electronic health record (EHR) for patients with prediabetes and diabetes and examine factors influencing the adoption of SDOH documentation in clinical care. EHR data and qualitative interviews with health care providers and stakeholders. An explanatory sequential mixed methods design first examined the use of Z-codes within the EHR and qualitatively examined barriers to documenting SDOH. Data were integrated and interpreted using a joint display. This research was informed by the Framework for Dissemination and Utilization of Research for Health Care Policy and Practice. We queried EHR data for patients with a hemoglobin A1c > 5.7 between October 1, 2015 and September 1, 2020 (n=118,215) to examine the use of Z-codes and demographics and outcomes for patients with and without social needs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 participants (n=15 health care providers; n=7 billing and compliance stakeholders). The interview questions sought to understand how factors at the innovation-, individual-, organizational-, and environmental-level influence SDOH documentation. We used thematic analysis to analyze interview data. Patients with social needs were disproportionately older, female, Black, uninsured, living in low-income and high unemployment neighborhoods, and had a higher number of hospitalizations, obesity, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes than those without a Z-code. Z-codes were not frequently used in the EHR (<1% of patients), and there was an overall lack of congruence between quantitative and qualitative results related to the prevalence of social needs. Providers faced barriers at multiple levels (e.g., individual-level: discomfort discussing social needs; organizational-level: limited time, competing priorities) for documenting SDOH and identified strategies to improve documentation. Providers recognized the impact of SDOH on patient health and had positive perceptions of screening for and documenting social needs. Implementation strategies are needed to improve systematic documentation.

Disagreement in the Conceptualization of Educational Quality and Job Satisfaction

The purpose of this paper is to ascertain whether the concepts of quality held by academic staff influences their job satisfaction. The paper defends the thesis that the lack of congruence between the meaning that academics give to quality, on the one hand, and the quality policies implemented by higher education institutions, on the other, generates an (usually latent) conflict that negatively influences the job satisfaction of academics. In addition, this type of disagreement could reduce the effectiveness of quality policies and systems as well as the overall functioning of higher education. Consequently, the identification and measurement of this phenomenon acquires importance. The paper is based on a quantitative research, based on 911 questionnaires from academics in Mexico. Evidence gathered shows that, when academic staff feel that the university where they work does not share their own values and personal convictions about what educational quality should be, it is more likely that they declare job dissatisfaction with their work. The paper also recommends the introduction of variables measuring the symbolic conflict between academic personnel and managers in the models of academics’ job satisfaction in higher education.

Subspecies differentiation and range-wide genetic structure are driven by climate in the California gnatcatcher, a flagship species for coastal sage scrub conservation.

Understanding genetic structure and diversity within species can uncover associations with environmental and geographic attributes that highlight adaptive potential and inform conservation and management. The California gnatcatcher, Polioptila californica, is a small songbird found in desert and coastal scrub habitats from the southern end of Baja California Sur to Ventura County, California. Lack of congruence among morphological subspecies hypotheses and lack of measurable genetic structure found in a few genetic markers led to questions about the validity of subspecies within P. californica and the listing status of the coastal California gnatcatcher, P. c. californica. As a U.S. federally threatened subspecies, P. c. californica is recognized as a flagship for coastal sage scrub conservation throughout southern California. We used restriction site‐associated DNA sequencing to develop a genomic dataset for the California gnatcatcher. We sampled throughout the species' range, examined genetic structure, gene–environment associations, and demographic history, and tested for concordance between genetic structure and morphological subspecies groups. Our data support two distinct genetic groups with evidence of restricted movement and gene flow near the U.S.‐ Mexico international border. We found that climate‐associated outlier loci were more strongly differentiated than climate neutral loci, suggesting that local climate adaptation may have helped to drive differentiation after Holocene range expansions. Patterns of habitat loss and fragmentation are also concordant with genetic substructure throughout the southern California portion of the range. Finally, our genetic data supported the morphologically defined P. c. californica as a distinct group, but there was little evidence of genetic differentiation among other previously hypothesized subspecies in Baja California. Our data suggest that retaining and restoring connectivity, and protecting populations, particularly at the northern range edge, could help preserve existing adaptive potential to allow for future range expansion and long‐term persistence of the California gnatcatcher.

The diverse terminology of reptile eggshell microstructure and its effect on phylogenetic comparative analyses.

Reptile eggshell ensures water and gas exchange during incubation and plays a key role in reproductive success. The diversity of reptilian incubation and life history strategies has led to many clade-specific structural adaptations of their eggshell, which have been studied in extant taxa (i.e. birds, crocodilians, turtles, and lepidosaurs). Most studies on non-avian eggshells were performed over 30 years ago and categorized reptile eggshells into two main types: "hard" and "soft" - sometimes with a third intermediate category, "semi-rigid." In recent years, however, debate over the evolution of eggshell structure of major reptile clades has revealed how definitions of hard and soft eggshells influence inferred deep-time evolutionary patterns. Here, we review the diversity of extant and fossil eggshell with a focus on major reptile clades, and the criteria that have been used to define hard, soft, and semi-rigid eggshells. We show that all scoring approaches that retain these categories discretize continuous quantitative traits (e.g. eggshell thickness) and do not consider independent variation of other functionally important microstructural traits (e.g. degree of calcification, shell unit inner structure). We demonstrate the effect of three published approaches to discretizing eggshell type into hard, semi-rigid, and soft on ancestral state reconstructions using 200+ species representing all major extant and extinct reptile clades. These approaches result in different ancestral states for all major clades including Archosauria and Dinosauria, despite a difference in scoring for only 1-4% of the sample. Proposed scenarios of reptile eggshell evolution are highly conditioned by sampling, tree calibration, and lack of congruence between definitions of eggshell type. We conclude that the traditional "soft/hard/semi-rigid" classification of reptilian eggshells should be abandoned and provide guidelines for future descriptions focusing on specific functionally relevant characteristics (e.g. inner structures of shell units, pores, and membrane elements), analyses of these traits in a phylogenetic context, and sampling of previously undescribed taxa, including fossil eggs.

Selling vs. Supporting Motherhood: How Corporate Sponsors Frame the Parenting Experiences of Elite and Olympic Athletes.

Recently, motherhood and pregnancy in elite sport have received increased attention in sport media. Through a comprehensive news media search across Factiva as well as a gray literature search using Google search engine, we analyzed 115 articles using feminist framing analysis. We developed two primary frames: 1) empowerment versus exploitation, and 2) proactivity versus reactivity. Our results show that many pregnant and parenting athletes frame their respective sponsors as exploitative for recognizing and capitalizing upon their unique marketing value, while these same corporate sponsors frame themselves as industry leaders who empower pregnant and parenting athletes. These two frames show that pregnant/parenting elite athletes commonly face discriminatory policies and practices and that there is often a lack of congruence between marketing and actual corporate practices and policies. These findings arguably reflect larger societal issues related to gender equity and highlight the importance of action over rhetoric to ensure motherhood is supported-rather than marketed-for elite athletes.

Spatial political economy: the case of metropolitan industrial policy

Industrial policy has become the focus of much more interest in recent times. Of particular note is mainstream economists’ fascination and their peculiar claims about how and why this new industrial policy promotes growth, redistribution, and sustainability. Such contentions warrant scrutiny. Using metropolitan data, plans, and laws, along with regional and national data from census and survey reports, this paper addresses three questions related to growth, inequality, and sustainability. On the basis of the evidence, collected and interpreted from the lens of original institutional economics, it is argued that industrial policy has been too strictly tied to (urban) economic growth which has not, contrary to expectations, led to ecologically sensitive and inclusive (urban) economic development. Instead, growth policies have cumulatively generated rising urban inequalities and ecological problems in cities and regions. This lack of congruence between the case for, and outcomes from, the pursuit of a particular type of industrial policy can be partly explained by the presence of absentee land ownership. Its entanglements with rent theft, profit seeking, and problematic engagement with persistent inequalities and unsustainability complement the explanation. A different industrial policy could seek to recoup socially-created, but privately appropriated, unearned income, reinvest this resulting revenue in ways that directly build state capacity, address persistent urban inequalities, attend to ecological challenges, and seek to create industries that avoid the problems of ‘progress and poverty’.

Evaluation of Corporate Social Responsibility programs for local communities around mining companies in Kalimantan, Indonesia: environmental, economic, and social perspectives

The purpose of this study is to evaluate Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs for local communities around mining companies in Kalimantan, Indonesia, based on environmental, economic, and social perspectives. We create evaluation criteria consisting of; six on the environmental perspective, three on the economic perspective, and two on the social perspective. CSR reports are collected from the company website. Each company was given a score based on whether these evaluation criteria were present (1) or absent (0). The evaluation scores of the CSR mining companies programs’ in Kalimantan, Indonesia are high in considering cleaner production, waste reduction, material flow management, and recycling, committed to managing energy and water, developing infrastructures surrounding mining companies, has good corporate ethics, and encourages employees to volunteer for social causes and provides incentives for these activities; medium in committed to following all applicable laws and policies concerning environmental standards and policies, committed to conserving biodiversity, committed to managing sound and vibration from mining activities as well as protecting the air quality around the mining area, and enhancing self-employment options for local communities; low in taking long-term factors into accounts, such as global climate change and other environmental threats, and providing jobs opportunities for local communities. From the evaluations above, access to information, public participation, and transparency in discussing areas of corporate-community issues are all things that mining companies must improve. If there is a lack of congruence between aim, activity, and effect, civil society organizations should frequently criticize mining companies' CSR operations.

Functional genomics and the future of iPSCs in disease modeling.

SummaryInduced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are valuable in disease modeling because of their potential to expand and differentiate into virtually any cell type and recapitulate key aspects of human biology. Functional genomics are genome-wide studies that aim to discover genotype-phenotype relationships, thereby revealing the impact of human genetic diversity on normal and pathophysiology. In this review, we make the case that human iPSCs (hiPSCs) are a powerful tool for functional genomics, since they provide an in vitro platform for the study of population genetics. We describe cutting-edge tools and strategies now available to researchers, including multi-omics technologies, advances in hiPSC culture techniques, and innovations in drug development. Functional genomics approaches based on hiPSCs hold great promise for advancing drug discovery, disease etiology, and the impact of genetic variation on human biology.

Lack of congruence between fundamental and realised aridity niche in a lineage of water beetles

Abstract Coping with aridity is a physiological challenge for all organisms, including freshwater ones. Aridity shapes distributions of aquatic species at fine and large geographical scales. Specifically, for aquatic beetles, the desiccation resistance of the adults is a potential constraint for the colonisation of arid regions. We assessed the congruence between the fundamental and realised aridity niche in eight species of a Palearctic lineage of water beetles (subgenus Lumetus, genus Enochrus, family Hydrophilidae). We also estimated the relative explanatory capacity of aridity‐related versus other environmental variables in species distributions. Most of the species, even those most sensitive to desiccation stress in laboratory experiments, occur in areas with high aridity within the Palearctic region. Our results suggest a lack of association between the physiological (desiccation resistance) and environmental distance matrix (realised aridity niche), or between either of these and phylogenetic distances. Aridity‐related variables had generally a similar explanatory capacity in explaining the distribution of species than non‐related ones. Our results indicate that desiccation resistance has not been an important physiological constraint for the colonisation of arid environments by this clade and suggest that other non‐physiological factors are more important in shaping their distributions along aridity gradients. The studied beetle lineage might conserve a high basal desiccation resistance from relatively recent terrestrial ancestors, which could have provided a physiological advantage for the colonisation of arid areas. Further research could shed light on whether these unexpected results are common to other groups of aquatic insects living in arid areas or are particular to this group of beetles.