Systematic mapping and bibliometric analysis of meta-analyses on animal cognition.

Meta-analyses play an important role in empirically synthesising research and guiding future directions. The field of animal cognition is rapidly expanding, with both empirical and review papers increasing at a faster rate than those in the life sciences overall. However, the use of meta-analyses, their methodological rigour, and the geographic distribution of research activity remain unclear.

Measuring selection on reaction norms: Lack's principle and plasticity in clutch size.

Plastic phenotypes may often be subject to conflicting demands, which should generate nonlinear selection favouring intermediate optima. However, investigating complex patterns of selection on reaction norms has been challenging. We leveraged data on clutch size from two long-term studies (25 and 19 years) of individually marked house sparrows (Passer domesticus).

Downregulation of due to loss of TDP-43 function exacerbates motor neuron degeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) is of particular interest in the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). It has been speculated that loss of nuclear TDP-43 and its cytoplasmic aggregation contributes to neurodegeneration. Although considerable attention has been paid to RNA metabolism in TDP-43 function, TDP-43 is also known to act as a transcription factor.

Architectural RNAs: blueprints for functional membraneless organelle assembly.

Among the pervasive transcripts from eukaryotic genomes, a novel subset, referred to as architectural RNAs (arcRNAs), has an essential role in assembling membraneless organelles (MLOs). These arcRNAs sequester specific RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) and promote phase separation through multivalent interactions. NEAT1_2, an archetypal arcRNA, serves as a blueprint for paraspeckle architecture, characterized by a shell-and-core micelle-like configuration and immiscibility with other MLOs, relying on the cooperative contributions of distinct modular RNA domains.

Decoupling both local and global abundance from global range size, challenging the abundance-occupancy relationship in birds.

In macroecology, a classic empirical observation has been positive relationships between local abundance and species' range, known as the abundance-occupancy relationships (AORs). The existence of this empirical relationship has informed both theory development and applied questions. Notably, the spatial neutral model of biodiversity predicts AORs.

Reliability of meta-analyses in ecology and evolution: (mostly) good news from a case study on sexual signals.

Meta-analyses are powerful synthesis tools that are popular in ecology and evolution owing to the rapidly growing literature of this field. Although the usefulness of meta-analyses depends on their reliability, such as the precision of individual and mean effect sizes, attempts to reproduce meta-analyses' results remain rare in ecology and evolution. Here, we assess the reliability of 41 meta-analyses on sexual signals by evaluating the reproducibility and replicability of their results.

The Role of ESS2/DGCR14: Is It an Essential Factor in Splicing and Transcription?

ESS2 (ess-2 splicing factor homolog, also known as DGCR14 or DGS-I) is a member of the deletion gene cluster in the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS, also known as DiGeorge syndrome or CATCH 22 syndrome).

The impacts of pesticide exposure on fish conspecific interactions: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The production of chemical pesticides poses a critical threat to aquatic ecosystems worldwide, with sub-lethal impacts evident at even relatively low concentrations. Historically, ecotoxicologists have ignored an organism's social context when investigating the effects of pesticide exposure and, instead, have tended to focus on individual-level impacts. Recently, however, there has been a growing interest in understanding the impacts of pesticide exposure on social behaviour.

Location-Scale Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression as a Tool to Capture Large-Scale Changes in Biological and Methodological Heterogeneity: A Spotlight on Heteroscedasticity.

Heterogeneity is a defining feature of ecological and evolutionary meta-analyses. While conventional meta-analysis and meta-regression methods acknowledge heterogeneity in effect sizes, they typically assume this heterogeneity is constant across studies and levels of moderators (i.e.

Sex-Specific Effects of Social Environment on Behaviour and Their Correlations in .

Environmental and individual experiences can result in immediate and persistent changes in behaviour. Often, such effects are also sex-dependent. Intraspecific interactions can be one of the most important environments an individual faces.

Evidence of the impacts of pharmaceuticals on aquatic animal behaviour (EIPAAB): a systematic map and open access database.

Background: Over the last decade, pharmaceutical pollution in aquatic ecosystems has emerged as a pressing environmental issue. Recent years have also seen a surge in scientific interest in the use of behavioural endpoints in chemical risk assessment and regulatory activities, underscoring their importance for fitness and survival. In this respect, data on how pharmaceuticals alter the behaviour of aquatic animals appears to have grown rapidly.

Vulnerability of amphibians to global warming.

Amphibians are the most threatened vertebrates, yet their resilience to rising temperatures remains poorly understood. This is primarily because knowledge of thermal tolerance is taxonomically and geographically biased, compromising global climate vulnerability assessments. Here we used a phylogenetically informed data-imputation approach to predict the heat tolerance of 60% of amphibian species and assessed their vulnerability to daily temperature variations in thermal refugia.

Development of a novel rat long-bone nonunion model and efficacy evaluation of a prostaglandin EP4 selective agonist (AKDS001) combined with iliac bone grafting.

Aims: Nonunion occurs when a fracture fails to heal permanently, often necessitating surgical intervention to stimulate the bone healing response. Current animal models of long-bone nonunion do not adequately replicate human pathological conditions. This study was intended as a preliminary investigation of a novel rat nonunion model using a two-stage surgical intervention, and to evaluate the efficacy of a selective prostaglandin E2 receptor 4 agonist (AKDS001) as a novel nonunion therapeutic agent compared with existing treatments.

Biophysical Aspect of Assembly and Regulation of Nuclear Bodies Scaffolded by Architectural RNA.

A growing body of evidence suggests that nuclear bodies, condensates of RNAs and proteins within the nucleus, are assembled through liquid-liquid phase separation. Some nuclear bodies, such as paraspeckles, are scaffolded by a class of RNAs known as architectural RNAs. From a materials science perspective, RNAs are categorized as polymers, which have been extensively studied in soft matter physics.

Unified total body CT image with multiple organ specific windowings: validating improved diagnostic accuracy and speed in trauma cases.

Total-body CT scans are useful in saving trauma patients; however, interpreting numerous images with varied window settings slows injury detection. We developed an algorithm for "unified total-body CT image with multiple organ-specific windowings (Uni-CT)", and assessing its impact on physician accuracy and speed in trauma CT interpretation. From November 7, 2008, to June 19, 2020, 40 cases of total-body CT images for blunt trauma with multiple injuries, were collected from the emergency department of Osaka General Medical Center and randomly divided into two groups.

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.

Priced out of belonging? Insufficient concessions on membership fees across international societies in ecology and evolution.

Learned societies, as professional bodies for scientists, are an integral part of the scientific system. However, their membership fees have the potential to be prohibitive to the most vulnerable members of the scientific community. To shed light on how membership fees are structured, we conducted a survey of 182 international learned societies relevant to researchers in ecology and evolution.

Poor hypotheses and research waste in biology: learning from a theory crisis in psychology.

While psychologists have extensively discussed the notion of a "theory crisis" arising from vague and incorrect hypotheses, there has been no debate about such a crisis in biology. However, biologists have long discussed communication failures between theoreticians and empiricists. We argue such failure is one aspect of a theory crisis because misapplied and misunderstood theories lead to poor hypotheses and research waste.

The promise of community-driven preprints in ecology and evolution.

Publishing preprints is quickly becoming commonplace in ecology and evolutionary biology. Preprints can facilitate the rapid sharing of scientific knowledge establishing precedence and enabling feedback from the research community before peer review. Yet, significant barriers to preprint use exist, including language barriers, a lack of understanding about the benefits of preprints and a lack of diversity in the types of research outputs accepted (e.

Balancing RNA processing and innate immune response: Possible roles for SMN condensates in snRNP biogenesis.

Biomolecular condensates like U-bodies are specialized cellular structures formed through multivalent interactions among intrinsically disordered regions. U-bodies sequester small nuclear ribonucleoprotein complexes (snRNPs) in the cytoplasm, and their formation in mammalian cells depends on stress conditions. Because of their location adjacent to P-bodies, U-bodies have been considered potential sites for snRNP storage or turnover.

Long non-coding RNA fine-tunes bone homeostasis and repair by orchestrating cellular crosstalk and β-catenin-OPG/Jagged1 pathway.

The IncRNA was initially believed to be dispensable for physiology due to the lack of observable phenotypes in knockout (KO) mice. However, our study challenges this conclusion. We found that both KO and conditional KO mice in the osteoblast lineage exhibit significant osteoporosis.

Impact of a Nosocomial COVID-19 Outbreak on Convalescent Rehabilitation Outcomes of Post-Stroke Patients.

Unlabelled: Taketa T, Uchiyama Y, Sakamoto Y, Tanaka Y, Suehiro T, Nakagawa S, Sakata K, Domen K. Impact of a Nosocomial COVID-19 Outbreak on Convalescent Rehabilitation Outcomes of Post-Stroke Patients. Jpn J Compr Rehabil Sci 2024; 15: 79-87.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of eyespot anti-predator mechanisms.

Eyespot patterns have evolved in many prey species. These patterns were traditionally explained by the eye mimicry hypothesis, which proposes that eyespots resembling vertebrate eyes function as predator avoidance. However, it is possible that eyespots do not mimic eyes: according to the conspicuousness hypothesis, eyespots are just one form of vivid signals where only conspicuousness matters.