Find research datasets worth reusing

Why did the chicken NOT cross the road? Anthropogenic development influences the movement of a grassland bird

Movement and selection are inherently linked behaviors that form the foundation of a species space-use patterns. Anthropogenic development in natural ecosystems can result in a variety of behavioral responses that can involve changes in either movement (speed or direction of travel) or selection (resources used) behaviors which in turn may cause differential population level consequences including loss of landscape level connectivity. Understanding how a species alters these different behaviors in response to human activity is essential for effective conservation. In this study, we investigated the effects of anthropogenic development such as roads, power lines and oil wells on the greater prairie-chicken (Typanuchus cupido) in the post-nesting and nonbreeding season. Our first objective was to assess if greater prairie-chickens alter their movement behaviors or their selection patterns when encountering oil wells, power lines, or roads using integrated step selection analysis (iSSA). Our second objective was to determine if prairie-chickens avoided crossing linear features such as roads or power lines by comparing the number of crossing events in greater prairie-chicken movement tracks to the number of movements that crossed these features in simulated movement tracks. Based on the iSSA analysis, we found that greater prairie-chickens avoided oil wells, power lines, and roads in both seasons, but found little evidence for changes in speed or direction of movement at the population-level. However, at the individual level we observed individuals using a number of strategies near development including avoidance and increased rates of movements. Furthermore, prairie-chickens traveled across roads and power lines at much lower rates than expected. Consistent avoidance of development resulted in indirect habitat loss for greater prairie-chickens. These behaviors also resulted in a potential loss of landscape connectivity for this species. By considering both movement and selection we were able to develop an ecological understanding of how increasing human activity may influence the space-use of this species of conservation concern. This research provides insight into the decision-making process by animals when they encounter anthropogenic development by considering multiple behavioral responses. --

Data from: Development of common leaf-footed bug pests depends on the presence and identity of their environmentally-acquired symbionts

Many beneficial symbioses between bacteria and their terrestrial arthropod hosts are vertically transmitted from mother to offspring, ensuring the progeny acquire necessary partners. Unusually, in several families of coreoid and lygeoid bugs (Hemiptera), nymphs must instead ingest the beneficial symbiont, Burkholderia (sensu lato), from the environment early in development. We studied the effects of Burkholderia on development of two species of leaf-footed bug (Coreidae) in the genus Leptoglossus, L. zonatus and L. phyllopus. We found no evidence for vertical transmission of the symbiont, but found stark differences in performance between symbiotic and aposymbiotic individuals. Symbiotic nymphs grew more rapidly, were approximately four times more likely to survive to adulthood than aposymbiotic bugs, and were two times larger. These findings suggest that Burkholderia is an obligate symbiont for Leptoglossus species. We also tested for variation in fitness effects conferred by four symbiont isolates representing different species within Burkholderia's insect-associated Stinkbug Beneficial and Environmental (SBE) clade. While three isolates conferred similar benefits to hosts, nymphs associated with the fourth isolate grew more slowly and weighed significantly less as adults. The effects of the four isolates were similar for both Leptoglossus species. This work indicates that both Burkholderia acquisition and isolate identity play critical roles in the growth and development of Leptoglossus. Importance Leptoglossus zonatus and L. phyllopus are important polyphagous pests and both species have been well-studied, but generally without regard to their dependance on a bacterial symbiont. Our results indicate that the central role of Burkholderia in the biology of these insects, as well as in other leaf-footed bugs, should be considered in future studies of coreid life history, ecology and pest management. Our work suggests acquisition of Burkholderia is critical for the growth and development of Leptoglossus species. Further, we found that there was variation in performance outcomes according to symbiont identity, even among members of the Stinkbug Beneficial and Environmental clade. This suggests that although environmental acquisition of a symbiont can provide extraordinary flexibility in partner associations, it also carries a risk if the partner is sub-optimal.

Effect of Light Wavelength on Soybean Growth and Development in a Context of Speed Breeding

Soybean breeding involves crossing and inbreeding for multiple generations to develop genetically-stable lines. The long generation times and the absence of easily-scalable double-haploid technologies cause early generations to be the major bottleneck in soybean breeding. Here we tested the effect of red and blue lights (RB) and full spectrum white lights (FS) generated by light emitting diode (LED) panels, coupled with 12 h light (29 °C) / 12 h darkness (27 °C) photothermal conditions, on the growth and development of soybean lines and breeding materials of diverse maturity groups in a context of speed breeding. We observed that RB light, when compared to FS light, reduced plant height by an average of 17.3 cm but did not affect vegetative biomass, pods and seeds per plants, nor the ability to meet a minimum of one seed per plant. Overall, the RB light treatment reduced days after planting (DAP) to physiological maturity (R7) by 1.5 d as compared to FS. The period between planting and the harvest of seeds (cycle time) of mid- and late-maturity soybean ranged from 63 to 81 d in the greenhouse, as compared to approximately 120 d typically observed in field conditions. Also, DAP to R7 was dependent on soybean maturity group. The use of RB lights, coupled with photothermal conditions herein reported, would allow to advance up to 5 generations of US-adapted soybean under a controlled environment, instead of the 1-3 generations currently possible. This methodology is simple and easily scalable for it maintains stable growing conditions throughout the crop cycle and it allows for simultaneous planting and harvesting within the same growth room. This could have a significant impact in genetic gain of U.S. soybean breeding programs.

Data from: First evidence of wasp brood development inside active nests of a termite with the description of a previously unknown potter wasp species

Potter wasps (Vespidae: Eumeninae) are known to exhibit not only sophisticated preying strategies but also a remarkable ability to manipulate clay during nest building. Due to a mixture of plasticity in building behaviour and flexibility in substrate preferences during nest-building, the group has been reported nesting in a variety of places, including decaying nests abandoned by termite species. Yet, evidence of wasps nesting inside senescent termite mounds is poorly reported and, to date, accounts confirming their presence inside active colonies of termites are absent. Here, we address a novel intriguing association between two species from the Brazilian Cerrado: a previously unknown potter wasp (nest invader) and a termite species (nest builder). Besides scientifically describing Montezumia termitophila sp. nov. (Vespidae: Eumeninae), named after its association with the termite Constrictotermes cyphergaster (Silvestri, 1901) (Termitidae: Nasutitermitinae), we provide preliminary information about the new species' bionomics by including (i) a hypothetical life cycle based on the evidence we collected and (ii) a footage showing the first interaction between a recently ecloded wasp and a group of termites. In doing so, we attempt to provoke relevant discussions in the field and, perhaps, motivate further studies with the group. Finally, we describe a solution to efficiently detect and sample termitophilous species from termite nests, an intrinsic yet challenging task of any studies dealing with such a cryptic biological system.Potter wasps (Vespidae: Eumeninae) are known to exhibit not only sophisticated preying strategies but also a remarkable ability to manipulate clay during nest building. Due to a mixture of plasticity in building behaviour and flexibility in substrate preferences during nest-building, the group has been reported nesting in a variety of places, including decaying nests abandoned by termite species. Yet, evidence of wasps nesting inside senescent termite mounds is poorly reported and, to date, accounts confirming their presence inside active colonies of termites are absent. Here, we address a novel intriguing association between two species from the Brazilian Cerrado: a previously unknown potter wasp (nest invader) and a termite species (nest builder). Besides scientifically describing Montezumia termitophila sp. nov. (Vespidae: Eumeninae), named after its association with the termite Constrictotermes cyphergaster (Silvestri, 1901) (Termitidae: Nasutitermitinae), we provide preliminary information about the new species' bionomics by including (i) a hypothetical life cycle based on the evidence we collected and (ii) a footage showing the first interaction between a recently ecloded wasp and a group of termites. In doing so, we attempt to provoke relevant discussions in the field and, perhaps, motivate further studies with the group. Finally, we describe a solution to efficiently detect and sample termitophilous species from termite nests, an intrinsic yet challenging task of any studies dealing with such a cryptic biological system.

opencc-zeroOct 2021View details →

Multiple sequence alignments and phylogenetic trees from: Co-option of the limb patterning program in cephalopod eye development

Background Across the Metazoa, similar genetic programs are found in the development of analogous, independently evolved, morphological features. The functional significance of this reuse and the underlying mechanisms of co-option remain unclear. Cephalopods have evolved a highly acute visual system with a cup shaped retina and a novel refractive lens in the anterior, important for a number of sophisticated behaviors including predation, mating and camouflage. Almost nothing is known about the molecular-genetics of lens development in the cephalopod. Results Here we identify the co-option of the canonical bilaterian limb pattering program during cephalopod lens development, a functionally unrelated structure. We show radial expression of transcription factors SP6-9/sp1, Dlx/dll, Pbx/exd, Meis/hth, and a Prdl homolog in the squid Doryteuthis pealeii, similar to expression required in Drosophila limb development. We assess the role of Wnt signaling in the cephalopod lens, a positive regulator in the developing Drosophila limb, and find the regulatory relationship reversed, with ectopic Wnt signaling leading to lens loss. Conclusion This regulatory divergence suggests that duplication of SP6-9 in cephalopods may mediate the co-option of the limb patterning program. Thus our study suggests that the limb network could perform a more universal developmental function in radial pattering and highlights how canonical genetic programs are repurposed in novel structures.

opennotspecifiedOct 2021View details →

FIGURE. Roussoella pseudohysterioides (GMB0009). a–d. Ascostromata developing on bamboo culm. e, f. Vertical sections of ascostromata. g–j. Asci containing eight ascospores. k. Fragment of ascostromata in KOH without stromatal pigments. l–m. Ascus apex in Melzer's reagent. n–r. Dark brown ascospores. Scale bars: j–r = 10 μm. in Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau: a mycological hotspot

FIGURE. Roussoella pseudohysterioides (GMB0009). a–d. Ascostromata developing on bamboo culm. e, f. Vertical sections of ascostromata. g–j. Asci containing eight ascospores. k. Fragment of ascostromata in KOH without stromatal pigments. l–m. Ascus apex in Melzer's reagent. n–r. Dark brown ascospores. Scale bars: j–r = 10 μm.

opencc-by-4.0Oct 2021View details →

Replication Package for: "Pre-Colonial Warfare and Long-Run Development in India"

Data and code to replicate all the results in the article Dincecco, Mark; Fenske, James; Menon, Anil; and Mukherjee, Shivaji "Pre-Colonial Warfare and Long-Run Development in India," Economic Journal.

opencc-by-4.0Oct 2022View details →

Simulation of collaboration networks in software development

Dataset resultant from Master Thesis 'Simulation of collaboration networks in software development' authored by José Miguel Gomes.

opencc-zeroDec 2021View details →

Who develops pandemic fatigue? Insights from latent class analysis

According to the World Health Organization, pandemic fatigue poses a serious threat for managing COVID-19. Pandemic fatigue is characterized by progressive decline in adherence to social distancing (SDIS) guidelines, and is thought to be associated with pandemic-related emotional burnout. Little is known about the nature of pandemic fatigue; for example, it is unclear who is most likely to develop pandemic fatigue. We sought to evaluate this issue based on data from 5,812 American and Canadian adults recruited during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Past-year decline in adherence to SDIS had a categorical latent structure according to Latent Class Analysis, consisting of a group adherent to SDIS (Class 1: 92% of the sample) and a group reporting a progressive decline in adherence to SDIS (i.e., pandemic fatigue; Class 2: 8% of the sample). Class 2, compared to Class 1, was associated with greater pandemic-related burnout, pessimism, and apathy about the COVID-19 pandemic. They also tended to be younger, perceived themselves to be more affluent, tended to have greater levels of narcissism, entitlement, and gregariousness, and were more likely to report having been previously infected with SARSCOV2, which they regarded as an exaggerated threat. People in Class 2 also self-reported higher levels of pandemic-related stress, anxiety, and depression, and described making active efforts at coping with SDIS restrictions, which they perceived as unnecessary and stressful. People in Class 1 generally reported that they engaged in SDIS for the benefit of themselves and their community, although 35% of this class also feared they would be publicly shamed if they did not comply with SDIS guidelines. The findings suggest that pandemic fatigue affects a substantial minority of people and even many SDIS-adherent people experience emotionally adverse effects (i.e., fear of being shamed). Implications for the future of SDIS are discussed.

opencc-by-4.0Oct 2022View details →

Data and movies for Finley et al. "Impact of the Streamwise Vorticity Current on Low-level Mesocyclone Development in a Simulated Supercell"

The netcdf data files and python files used to make the figures, and the movies provided in the supplemental material in Finley et al.  Netcdf software is available from https://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/netcdf/. Figures 1-4 and movies were made with VisIt, which is available from https://visit-dav.github.io/visit-website/.

openNov 2022View details →

Understanding emergence of the UN Sustainable Development Goals Research

Emerging new scientific knowledge associated with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can contribute to dealing with the complexities of social, economic, and environmental challenges. Identifying and understanding the underlying conditions that enable and constrain the emergence of SDGs research can help to increase the transformative potential of scientific knowledge. We investigate the role of universities in facilitating the emergence and consolidation of SDGs research using Utrecht University as a case. Our approach offers a systematic understanding of the development of research areas associated with the SDGs -including opportunities and constraints- to support universities in identifying the thematic orientation of their current research in the framework of the SDGs. This approach can thus increase reflexibility about the contribution of universities to implement the SDGs. Our results reveal that universities can enhance awareness about the SDGs, generate reflections on SDG research, offer institutional opportunities to interconnect diverse knowledge domains and diverse social actors, and nurture and develop emerging research associated with the SDGs.

opencc-by-4.0Feb 2022View details →

Supplementary Materials: Developers Activity Satisfaction and Performance during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, the daily lives of software engineers were heavily disrupted as they were abruptly forced to work remotely from home. To better understand and contrast typical working days in this new reality with work in pre-pandemic times, we conducted one exploratory ($N$ = 192) and one confirmatory study ($N$ = 290) with software engineers recruited remotely. Specifically, we build on self-determination theory to evaluate whether and how specific activities are associated with software engineers' satisfaction and productivity. To explore the subject domain, we first ran a two-wave longitudinal study. We found that the time software engineers spent on specific activities (e.g., coding, bugfixing, helping others) while working from home was similar to pre-pandemic times. Also, the amount of time developers spent on each activity was unrelated to their general well-being, perceived productivity, and other variables such as basic needs. Our confirmatory study found that activity-specific variables (e.g., how much autonomy software engineers had during coding) do predict activity satisfaction and productivity but not by activity-independent variables such as general resilience or a good work-life balance. Interestingly, we found that satisfaction and autonomy were significantly higher when software engineers were helping others and lower when they were bugfixing. Finally, we discuss implications for software engineers, management, and researchers. In particular, active company policies to support developers' need for autonomy, relatedness, and competence appear particularly effective in a WFH context.

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2022View details →

Source data - inner hair cells development

This is the dataset used to produce the numerical figures in the publication "Precise alternating cellular pattern in the inner ear by coordinated hopping intercalations and delaminations"

opencc-by-4.0Sep 2022View details →

TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS AS A CHALLENGE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF LAW: Directions and Perspectives for the 21st Century

[International Scientific Conference on »Challenges and Perspectives of the Development of Legal Systems in the XXI Century« organised by the University of Banja Luka Faculty of Law on September 15, 2022] [13:15] 1. Introduction   2. Challenges to be Responded Directly   3. The Law Getting New Dimensions   4. Changes in Law   5. A New Paradigm for Understanding the Social Order

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2022View details →

Improving Diabetes Knowledge of Pharmacy Professionals in Cambodia and Vietnam through Continued Professional development

Background: Pharmacies are a critical source of healthcare advice as well as medication for under-served communities in low and middle-income countries, including those with or at risk of diabetes; however, data on pharmacists’ diabetes knowledge and practices are limited. Aim: To leverage a digital platform to assess and improve diabetes and blood glucose monitoring (BGM) knowledge and practices among pharmacy professionals in Cambodia ( KH) and Vietnam          (VNM). Method: An online survey was distributed to pharmacy professionals in KH and VNM  who were registered on the SwipeRx platform (a digital network of pharmacy professionals in Southeast Asia). Eligible participants were engaged in dispensing and/or purchasing medicines and stocking ≥1 BGM product. An accredited continuous professional development (CPD) module was developed based on survey results & made available to pharmacy professionals and students on SwipeRx. Users were required to correctly answer ≥60% (KH) or ≥70% (VNM) of post-CPD assessment questions to receive accreditation credits. Results: In total, 386 and 375 pharmacy professionals in KH and VNM completed the SwipeRx diabetes survey. Seventy-four per cent of respondents in KH (74%) and 49% of respondents in VNM described themselves as confident in providing BGM advice to clients; however, only 19% and 14% were aware that clients taking multiple daily doses of insulin should check blood glucose (BG) levels several times a day. In KH and VNM, respectively, 1,137 and 399 professionals/students completed the diabetes CPD, of whom 1,124/99% and 376/94% passed the post-CPD assessment. Post-education knowledge levels improved substantially in 10 of 14 learning areas in KH and 6 of 10 in VNM, including those related to the timing of BG level measurements and recommended BGM practices . The results were obtained in a short period of time (9 weeks) despite taking place during the pandemic.

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2022View details →

Emergent Solutions on Requirement Engineering for Agile Software Development: A tertiary study (Auxiliary Documentation in PDF)

[Context and motivation] Agile Software Development (ASD) is a new trend in software development and has become popular. Its advocates claim that ASD is well suited to solving traditional software development problems by valuing human factors over technical ones. However, one of the most critical phases in software development, Requirements Engineering (RE), can be overwhelming for ASD values. [Question/problem] Trying to work with RE in a traditional way for ASD can limit ASD's potential. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate what academia and industry have done in RE to exploit all of the capabilities of ASD beyond traditional RE.  [Principal ideas/results] This work presents an overview of the state-of-the-art Requirement Engineering (RE) for Agile Software Development (ASD). We conducted a Tertiary Study in secondary studies published from 1st January 2015 to 30th June 2021, looking for solutions for RE-ASD using the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) protocol described by Kitchenham and Charters (2007). After executing the SLR protocol, we accepted 37 out of 169 studies and encountered 136 solutions used by academia and industry for RE-ASD. We considered only a few solutions that could be classified as emergent for RE-ASD, 24 out of 106. Furthermore, we cataloged the challenges presented by the emergent solutions (e.g., a steep learning curve due to the lack of experience, process, or culture) that should be addressed. Finally, we identified a possible gap between academia and industry regarding these emerging solutions that need further investigation.  [Contribution] By highlighting emerging Requirements Engineering (RE) solutions for Agile Software Development (ASD), we made our contribution to help researchers who need to propose new solutions to some of the problems that remain unsolved by pointing out the recent trends for RE for ASD. The repository contains the following: <ul> <li>Auxiliary Documentation in PDF;</li> <li>Dataset from the Tertiary Study - compressed file (refsq2023Complement.zip): <ul> <li> REFSQ2023-ALL-ARTICLES.csv: is a comma-separated file with all 198 (including the duplicates) found in our search in the digital libraries with their respective status (accepted, rejected, or duplicated). </li> <li> REFSQ2023-DISTINCT-SOLUTIONS.csv: is a comma-separated file with all the distinct solutions we found in our research. They are classified according to our classification method, explained in the article. </li> <li> REFSQ2023-GOOGLE-TRENDS-RESULTS.csv: is a comma-separated file with all results of our query in the Google Trends tool. It also brings the used search terms and the code and classification of each solution. </li> </ul> </li> </ul>

opencc-zeroNov 2022View details →

The evolution of morphological development is congruent with the species phylogeny in the genus Streptomyces

As the canonical model organism to dissect bacterial morphological development, Streptomyces species had attracted much attention from the microbiological society. However, the evolution of development-related genes in Streptomyces remains elusive. Here, we evaluate the distribution of development-related genes, thus indicating the majority of these genes were ubiquitous in Streptomyces genomes. Furthermore, we compare the phylogenetic topologies of related strict orthologous genes to the species tree of Streptomyces, from both concatenation and single-gene tree analyses. Meanwhile, the reconciled gene tree and normalization based on the number of parsimony-informative sites were also employed to reduce the impact of phylogenetic conflicts, which was induced by uncertainty in single-gene tree inference based merely on the sequence and the bias in the amount of phylogenetic information caused by variable numbers of parsimony-informative sites. We found that the development-related genes had higher congruence to the species tree than other strict orthologous genes. Considering the development-related genes could also be tracked back to the common ancestor of Streptomyces, these results suggest that morphological development follows the same pattern as species divergence.

opennotspecifiedNov 2022View details →

FIGURE 8 in Morphology of developing larvae and a dichotomous key for five bubble-nesting Betta species (Teleostei: Osphronemidae)

FIGURE 8. Morphological and pigmentation features of immature stages of Betta splendens (KUMF 7070); (a) Newly hatched larva (NL = 2.45 mm); (b) day 1 yolk sac larva (NL = 2.69 mm); (c) day 3 pre-flexion larva (NL = 2.86 mm); (d) day 7 preflexion larva (NL = 3.42 mm); (e) day 9 flexion larva (NL = 3.59 mm); (f) day 15 post-flexion larva (SL = 5.58 mm); (g) day 18 post-flexion larva (SL = 6.24 mm); (h) day 40 juvenile (SL = 11.78 mm).

opennotspecifiedNov 2022View details →

FIGURE 1 in Morphology of developing larvae and a dichotomous key for five bubble-nesting Betta species (Teleostei: Osphronemidae)

FIGURE 1. Collection localities of broodstocks for the five Betta species from Thailand: B. imbellis (a), B. mahachaiensis (b), B. splendens (c), B. siamorientalis (d), and B. smaragdina (e).