Same data, different analysts: variation in effect sizes due to analytical decisions in ecology and evolutionary biology.

Although variation in effect sizes and predicted values among studies of similar phenomena is inevitable, such variation far exceeds what might be produced by sampling error alone. One possible explanation for variation among results is differences among researchers in the decisions they make regarding statistical analyses. A growing array of studies has explored this analytical variability in different fields and has found substantial variability among results despite analysts having the same data and research question.

Adaptive responses in Cambrian predator and prey highlight the arms race during the rise of animals.

Predation is an important driver of species-level change in modern and fossil ecosystems, often through selection for defensive phenotypes in prey responding to predation pressures over time. Records of changes in shell morphology and injury patterns in biomineralized taxa are ideal for demonstrating such adaptive responses. The rapid increase in diversity and abundance of biomineralizing organisms during the early Cambrian is often attributed to predation and an evolutionary arms race.

The Emu Bay Shale: A unique early Cambrian Lagerstätte from a tectonically active basin.

The Emu Bay Shale (EBS) of South Australia is anomalous among Cambrian Lagerstätten because it captures anatomical information that is rare in Burgess Shale-type fossils, and because of its inferred nearshore setting, the nature of which has remained controversial. Intensive study, combining outcrop and borehole data with a compilation of >25,000 fossil specimens, reveals that the EBS biota inhabited a fan delta complex within a tectonically active basin. Preservation of soft-bodied organisms in this setting is unexpected and further underscores differences between the EBS and other Cambrian Lagerstätten.

Rapid volcanic ash entombment reveals the 3D anatomy of Cambrian trilobites.

Knowledge of Cambrian animal anatomy is limited by preservational processes that result in compaction, size bias, and incompleteness. We documented pristine three-dimensional (3D) anatomy of trilobites fossilized through rapid ash burial from a pyroclastic flow entering a shallow marine environment. Cambrian ellipsocephaloid trilobites from Morocco are articulated and undistorted, revealing exquisite details of the appendages and digestive system.

Malformed trilobites from the Cambrian, Ordovician, and Silurian of Australia.

Biomineralised remains of trilobites provide important insight into the evolutionary history of a diverse, extinct group of arthropods. Their exoskeletons are also ideal for recording malformations, including evidence of post-injury repair. Re-examination of historic collections and the study of new specimens is important for enhancing knowledge on trilobite malformations across this diverse clade.

Hidden Markov movement models reveal diverse seasonal movement patterns in two North American ungulates.

Animal movement is the mechanism connecting landscapes to fitness, and understanding variation in seasonal animal movements has benefited from the analysis and categorization of animal displacement. However, seasonal movement patterns can defy classification when movements are highly variable. Hidden Markov movement models (HMMs) are a class of latent-state models well-suited to modeling movement data.

Raptorial appendages of the Cambrian apex predator are built for soft prey and speed.

The stem-group euarthropod is one of the largest Cambrian animals and is often considered the quintessential apex predator of its time. This radiodont is commonly interpreted as a demersal hunter, responsible for inflicting injuries seen in benthic trilobites. However, controversy surrounds the ability of to use its spinose frontal appendages to masticate or even manipulate biomineralized prey.

Biomechanical analyses of pterygotid sea scorpion chelicerae uncover predatory specialisation within eurypterids.

Eurypterids (sea scorpions) are extinct aquatic chelicerates. Within this group, members of Pterygotidae represent some of the largest known marine arthropods. Representatives of this family all have hypertrophied, anteriorly-directed chelicerae and are commonly considered Silurian and Devonian apex predators.

Evaluating the summer landscapes of predation risk and forage quality for elk ().

The recovery of carnivore populations in North American has consequences for trophic interactions and population dynamics of prey. In addition to direct effects on prey populations through killing, predators can influence prey behavior by imposing the risk of predation. The mechanisms through which patterns of space use by predators are linked to behavioral response by prey and nonconsumptive effects on prey population dynamics are poorly understood.

Complex axial growth patterns in an early Cambrian trilobite from South Australia.

The exceptional fossil record of trilobites provides our best window on developmental processes in early euarthropods, but data on growth dynamics are limited. Here, we analyse post-embryonic axial growth in the Cambrian trilobite from the Emu Bay Shale, South Australia. Using threshold models, we show that abrupt changes in growth trajectories of different body sections occurred in two phases, closely associated with the anamorphic/epimorphic and meraspid/holaspid transitions.

Biomechanical analyses of Cambrian euarthropod limbs reveal their effectiveness in mastication and durophagy.

Durophagy arose in the Cambrian and greatly influenced the diversification of biomineralized defensive structures throughout the Phanerozoic. Spinose gnathobases on protopodites of Cambrian euarthropod limbs are considered key innovations for shell-crushing, yet few studies have demonstrated their effectiveness with biomechanical models. Here we present finite-element analysis models of two Cambrian trilobites with prominent gnathobases- and -and compare these to the protopodites of the Cambrian euarthropod and the modern American horseshoe crab, .

Incremental healthcare utilisation and costs among new senior high-cost users in Ontario, Canada: a retrospective matched cohort study.

Objectives: To describe healthcare use and spending before and on becoming a new (incident) senior high-cost user (HCU) compared with senior non-HCUs; to estimate the incremental costs, overall and by service category, attributable to HCU status; and to quantify its monetary impact on the provincial healthcare budget in Ontario, Canada.

Design: We conducted a retrospective, population-based comparative cohort study using administrative healthcare records. Incremental healthcare utilisation and costs were determined using the method of recycled predictions allowing adjustment for preincident and incident year values, and covariates.

Active surveillance of low-risk papillary thyroid cancer: A meta-analysis.

Background: This study evaluates the safety and efficacy of active surveillance for low-risk papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PubMed were searched from inception for relevant studies of active surveillance for low-risk papillary thyroid carcinoma, defined as T1a or T1b, N0, M0 disease. Main outcomes of interest were growth of primary tumor, metastatic spread, thyroid cancer-related mortality, and disease recurrence after delayed thyroid surgery.

Efficacy of 177Lu Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy for the Treatment of Neuroendocrine Tumors: A Meta-analysis.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of Lu-labeled peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) induction treatments for patients with unresectable metastatic neuroendocrine tumors.

Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Ovid were systematically searched with keywords "lutetium," "Lu-177," "PRRT," "neuroendocrine," and "prognosis." Studies evaluating treatment with Lu-labeled PRRT were assessed for disease response and/or disease control rate by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) 1.

Trilobite evolutionary rates constrain the duration of the Cambrian explosion.

Trilobites are often considered exemplary for understanding the Cambrian explosion of animal life, due to their unsurpassed diversity and abundance. These biomineralized arthropods appear abruptly in the fossil record with an established diversity, phylogenetic disparity, and provincialism at the beginning of Cambrian Series 2 (∼521 Ma), suggesting a protracted but cryptic earlier history that possibly extends into the Precambrian. However, recent analyses indicate elevated rates of phenotypic and genomic evolution for arthropods during the early Cambrian, thereby shortening the phylogenetic fuse.

Computational biomechanical analyses demonstrate similar shell-crushing abilities in modern and ancient arthropods.

The biology of the American horseshoe crab, , is well documented-including its dietary habits, particularly the ability to crush shell with gnathobasic walking appendages-but virtually nothing is known about the feeding biomechanics of this iconic arthropod. is also considered the archetypal functional analogue of various extinct groups with serial gnathobasic appendages, including eurypterids, trilobites and other early arthropods, especially from the mid-Cambrian (508 Myr) Burgess Shale of Canada. Exceptionally preserved specimens of show evidence suggestive of durophagous (shell-crushing) tendencies-including thick gnathobasic spine cuticle and shelly gut contents-but the masticatory capabilities of this fossil species have yet to be compared with modern durophagous arthropods.

Incidence of new-onset diabetes mellitus and association with mortality in childhood solid organ transplant recipients: a population-based study.

Background: Precise estimates of the long-term risk of new-onset diabetes and its impact on mortality among transplanted children are not known.

Methods: We conducted a cohort study comparing children undergoing solid organ (kidney, heart, liver, lung and multiple organ) transplant (n = 1020) between 1991 and 2014 with healthy non-transplanted children (n = 7 134 067) using Ontario health administrative data. Outcomes included incidence of diabetes among transplanted and non-transplanted children, the relative hazard of diabetes among solid organ transplant recipients, overall and at specific intervals posttransplant, and mortality among diabetic transplant recipients.

Trilobites and agnostids from the Goyder Formation (Cambrian Series 3, Guzhangian; Mindyallan), Amadeus Basin, central Australia.

A new assemblage containing twenty-two species of trilobites and agnostids is described from the Goyder Formation (Cambrian Series 3) in the Ross River Syncline and Gardiner Ranges of the Amadeus Basin, Northern Territory, central Australia. New trilobite taxa described include the genus, Trephina gen. nov.

A 3D anatomical atlas of appendage musculature in the chelicerate arthropod Limulus polyphemus.

Limulus polyphemus, an archetypal chelicerate taxon, has interested both biological and paleontological researchers due to its unique suite of anatomical features and as a useful modern analogue for fossil arthropod groups. To assist the study and documentation of this iconic taxon, we present a 3D atlas on the appendage musculature, with specific focus on the muscles of the cephalothoracic appendages. As L.

The gnathobasic spine microstructure of recent and Silurian chelicerates and the Cambrian artiopodan Sidneyia: Functional and evolutionary implications.

Gnathobasic spines are located on the protopodal segments of the appendages of various euarthropod taxa, notably chelicerates. Although they are used to crush shells and masticate soft food items, the microstructure of these spines are relatively poorly known in both extant and extinct forms. Here we compare the gnathobasic spine microstructures of the Silurian eurypterid Eurypterus tetragonophthalmus from Estonia and the Cambrian artiopodan Sidneyiainexpectans from Canada with those of the Recent xiphosuran chelicerate Limulus polyphemus to infer potential variations in functional morphology through time.

Reappraising the early evidence of durophagy and drilling predation in the fossil record: implications for escalation and the Cambrian Explosion.

The Cambrian Explosion is arguably the most extreme example of a biological radiation preserved in the fossil record, and studies of Cambrian Lagerstätten have facilitated the exploration of many facets of this key evolutionary event. As predation was a major ecological driver behind the Explosion - particularly the radiation of biomineralising metazoans - the evidence for shell crushing (durophagy), drilling and puncturing predation in the Cambrian (and possibly the Ediacaran) is considered. Examples of durophagous predation on biomineralised taxa other than trilobites are apparently rare, reflecting predator preference, taphonomic and sampling biases, or simply lack of documentation.

Rheotaxis in the Ediacaran epibenthic organism Parvancorina from South Australia.

Diverse interpretations of Ediacaran organisms arise not only from their enigmatic body plans, but also from confusion surrounding the sedimentary environments they inhabited and the processes responsible for their preservation. Excavation of Ediacaran bedding surfaces of the Rawnsley Quartzite in South Australia has provided the opportunity to study the community structure of the Ediacara biota, as well as the autecology of individual organisms. Analysis of two bedding surfaces preserving large numbers of Parvancorina illustrates that individuals display a preferred, unidirectional orientation aligned with current, as indicated by the identified current proxies: tool marks, overfolded edges of Dickinsonia, felled fronds and drag structures generated by uprooted frond holdfasts.

Patterns of age-related change in reproductive effort differ in the pre-natal and post-natal periods in a long-lived mammal.

Age-related changes in maternal reproductive allocation for long-lived species are a key prediction from life-history theory. Theoretical and empirical work suggests that allocation may increase with age due to constraint (increases with experience) or restraint (increases with age in the face of declining residual reproductive value), and may decrease among the oldest aged animals due to senescence in reproductive function. Here, we use a hierarchical modelling approach to investigate the age-related patterns of change in maternal reproductive effort in the Weddell seal, a long-lived marine mammal with a protracted period of maternal care during which mothers allocate a large proportion of body mass while feeding little.

Aspirin for cancer is no mere antiplatelet prototype. There is potential in its ancient roots.

Aspirin (ASA), increasingly accepted as predominantly a cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 inhibitor, is a prodrug for salicylic acid (SA) which has no such activity. SA is widespread in nature, vital in plants, and present in drug free serum from animals and man. Evolutionary conserved SA receptors are found in human tissues.