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Sunday, 31 January 2016

Meritocracy Voting: Measuring the Unmeasurable

Volume 35, Issue 1, 2 January 2016, Pages 2-40


a  Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
b  University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
c  University of Southampton, United Kingdom 

Abstract

Learned societies commonly carry out selection processes to add new fellows to an existingfellowship. Criteria vary across societies but are typically based on subjective judgments concerning the merit of individuals who are nominated for fellowships. These subjective assessments may be made by existing fellows as they vote in elections to determine the new fellows or they may be decided by a selection committee of fellows and officers of the society who determine merit after reviewing nominations and written assessments. Human judgment inevitably plays a central role in these determinations and, notwithstanding its limitations, is usually regarded as being a necessary ingredient in making an overall assessment of qualifications for fellowship. The present article suggests a mechanism by which these merit assessments may be complemented with a quantitative rule that incorporates both subjective and objective elements. The goal of “measuring merit” may be elusive, but quantitative assessment rules can help to widen the effective electorate (for instance, by including the decisions of editors, the judgments of independent referees, and received opinion about research) and mitigate distortions that can arise from cluster effects, invisible college coalition voting, and inner sanctum bias. The rule considered here is designed to assist the selection process by explicitly taking into account subjective assessments of individual candidates for election as well as direct quantitative measures of quality obtained from bibliometric data. Audit methods are suggested to mitigate possible gaming effects by electors in the peer review process. The methodology has application to a wide arena of quality assessment and professional ranking exercises. Some specific issues of implementation are discussed in the context of the Econometric Society fellowshipelections. © 2016, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Author keywords

Auditing peer review; Bibliometric data; Election; Fellowship; Measurement; Meritocracy; Peerreview; Quantification; Subjective assessment; Voting
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Editor and reviewer gender influence the peer review process but not peer review outcomes at an ecology journal

Volume 30, Issue 1, 1 January 2016, Pages 140-153

 (Article)

a  Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
b  School of Information Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
c  British Ecological Society, Charles Darwin House, London, United Kingdom 

Abstract

Lack of diversity on editorial boards might generate disparities in editorial and peer review that contribute to gender and geographic disparities in scholarly publishing. We use a comprehensive data set of thepeer review process for all papers submitted to the journal Functional Ecology from January 2004 to June 2014 to examine how gender, seniority and geographic location of editors and reviewers influence reviewer recruitment and scores given to papers by reviewers. The gender ratio of editors for Functional Ecology was majority male, but the proportion of female editors increased over time. The gender ratio of selected reviewers was also highly majority male, but the proportion of women selected as reviewers increased over the 10 years largely because the number of women on the editorial board increased and female editors invited more female reviewers than did male editors. Male editors selected <25% female reviewers even in the year they selected the most women, but female editors consistently selected 30-35% female reviewers. Editors also over-selected reviewers from their own geographic locality. Women invited to review were less likely to respond to review invitations, but more likely to accept if they responded. Women invited to review responded to the invitation similarly regardless of whether the editor inviting them was male or female, but men invited to review were both less likely to respond and more likely to decline if the editor was female. Review scores given to papers did not differ between male and female reviewers, and final decisions (proportion of papers rejected) did not differ between male and female editors. The proportion of women among selected reviewers decreased with editor seniority when the editor was male but increased with editor seniority when the editor was female. Thus, the gender ratio of selected reviewers differed little between early-career male and female editors but differed a lot between late-career (more senior) male and female editors. Individuals invited to review were less likely to agree to review if the editor was more senior. Editor gender, seniority and geographic location affect who is invited to review for Functional Ecology, and how invitees respond to review invitations, but not the final outcome of the peer review process. To increase diversity of reviewer populations, journals should increase gender, age and geographic diversity of their editorial boards. © 2016 British Ecological Society.

Author keywords

Editorial board composition; Gender balance; Gender bias; Peer review
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The nutritional value of holothurians

Volume 41, Issue 6, 1 November 2015, Pages 409-423


a  School of Biomedicine, Far Eastern Federal University, ul. Sukhanova 8, Vladivostok, Russian Federation
b  Zhirmunsky Institute of Marine Biology, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Pal’chevskogo 17, Vladivostok, Russian Federation 

Abstract

In the current decade, holothurians are becoming more popular among researchers due to the recently obtained data about the chemical structures and physiological activities of bioactive ingredients that are extracted from these marine invertebrates. In Southeast Asia, Japan, Korea, and China, the use of these animals as a valuable food product and an object of traditional folk medicine has had a long history. At the same time, in western countries, as well as in Russia, products from sea cucumbers are little known and are often considered as an exotic oriental cuisine. This paper provides an analytical review of the literature that is dedicated to the nutritional value of holothurians as a potential source of components for functional food and nutraceuticals. © 2015, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.

Author keywords

biologically active dietary supplements; echinoderms; functional food; holothurians

Indexed keywords

Species Index: Animalia; Echinodermata; Holothuroidea; Invertebrata
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Fatty acid contents and profiles of 16 macroalgae collected from the Irish Coast at two seasons

Volume 26, Issue 1, 2014, Pages 451-463


Botany and Plant Science, School of Natural Sciences, Ryan Institute for Environmental, Marine and Energy Research, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland 

Abstract

Due to the established health benefits of omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA), there is a globally increasing demand for alternative natural resources with appropriate fatty acid profiles. To assess the suitability of macroalgae as a source, 16 species (nine Phaeophyceae, five Rhodophyta and two Chlorophyta) were collected at two seasons (June and November) from the Irishwest Coast, and total fatty acid contents and specific profiles were determined. Total fatty acid contents, expressed per percentage of dry weight, ranged from 6.4 % ± 0.3 (Pelvetia canaliculata, Phaeophyceae) to 0.8 % ± 0.2 (Porphyra dioica, Rhodophyta). Most common fatty acids were palmitic (16:0), oleic (OLE, 18:1 n-9), α-linolenic (ALA, 18:3 n-3), arachidonic (ARA, 20:4 n-6) and eicosapentaenoic (EPA, 20:5 n-3) acids. Fatty acid profiles were highly variable between and within algal groups; red and brown seaweeds were generally richer in LC-PUFA (e.g. 20:4 n-6 and 20:5 n-3), while high levels of saturated fatty acids such as palmitic acid (16:0) were observed in green species. Most omega-3 PUFA-rich species investigated had a omega-6/omega-3 fatty acid ratio close to 1, which is favourable for human health. The two seasonal sampling times revealed significant differences in total fatty acid and 20:5 n-3 (EPA) contents, with changes depending on species, thus implying varying suitability as potential target species for EPA production. At both times of the year, Palmaria palmata was identified as most promising species as a source of 20:5 n-3 (EPA) amongst all species investigated, with levels ranging from 0.44 to 0.58 % of dry weight in June and November, respectively. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

Author keywords

Bioactives; EPA; Fatty acid profiles; LC-PUFA; Macroalgae; Seasonal variability
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Effect of starter cultures on the anti-nutrient contents, minerals and viscosity of ogwo, a fermented sorghum-Irish potato gruel

Volume 22, Issue 3, 2015, Pages 1247-1252

  (Article)

Department of Microbiology, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba, Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria 

Abstract

This work investigated the effect of single starter cultures on the anti-nutrient, mineral contents and viscosity of fermenting 'ogwo', a fermented gruel from sorghum-Irish potato mixture. The organisms used were Lactobacillus acidophilus, L. fermentum, L. plantarum, Geotrichum candidum and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. There were significant reductions (P < 0.05) in the anti-nutrient contents of the samples fermented with starter cultures than the sample fermented naturally. The highest reductions were observed in phytic acid, saponin and flavonoid contents of L. plantarum fermented sample and in oxalate and tannin contents of sample fermented with S. cerevisiae and L. acidophilus respectively. Sodium, Calcium, Phosphorus, Copper and Manganese contents of 'ogwo' produced with starter cultures increased while fluctuations were observed in their Potassium, Magnesium and Zinc contents. The viscosities of the starter culture fermented samples reduced more than the naturally fermented sample with the highest and lowest reductions in L. fermentum and L. plantarum respectively. The results of this work showed that Lactobacillus and yeasts were good candidates for reducing the anti-nutrient contents and the viscosities as well as improving the mineral contents of the gruel.

Author keywords

Aanti-nutrient; Fermentation; Ogwo

Indexed keywords

Species Index: Galactomyces geotrichum; Lactobacillus; Lactobacillus acidophilus; Lactobacillus fermentum; Lactobacillus plantarum; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Solanum tuberosum
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Food plants, fruits and foreign foodstuffs: The archaeological evidence from urban medieval Ireland

Volume 115, Issue 1, 2015, Pages 111-166

Food plants, fruits and foreign foodstuffs: The archaeological evidence from urban medieval Ireland  (Article)

Department of Archaeology, University College Cork, Connolly Building, Dyke Parade, Ireland 

Abstract

The historical record is largely used to qualify the consumption of cultivated crops, and other foodplants, such as fruits, vegetables, herbs and imported goods in the medieval Irish diet. Despite our rich literary sources, evidence for horticulture as well as the use of collected and exotic foodstuffs in medieval Ireland is still under-represented, and the remains of such plants rarely survive to make any inferences on the subject. The increase in archaeobotanical research in Ireland is producing a valuable archaeological dataset to help assess the nature, composition and variation of food plants in the medieval diet. Botanical remains preserved in anoxic deposits provide a unique snapshot of the diversity of plants consumed at a site, including information on processing techniques, storage and seasonality. With particular reference to urban medieval sites dating from the tenth to the fifteenth centuries, this paper will present and appraise the archaeological evidence for the use and consumption of cultivated, wild and imported foodstuffs, and the areas of research that still need to be addressed. © 2015 Royal Irish Academy.
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Nitrogen deposition and prey nitrogen uptake control the nutrition of the carnivorous plant Drosera rotundifolia

Science of The Total Environment
Volumes 512–513, 15 April 2015, Pages 631–636



doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.01.067
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Highlights

•
We measured nutrition of the carnivorous plant Drosera rotundifolia across Europe.
•
We measured tissue nutrient concentrations and prey and root N uptake at 16 sites.
•
Tissue N concentrations were a product of root N availability and prey N uptake.
•
N deposition reduced the maximum amount of N derived from prey.
•
N deposition reduced the strength of a carnivorous plant–prey interaction.

Abstract

Nitrogen (N) deposition has important negative impacts on natural and semi-natural ecosystems, impacting on biotic interactions across trophic levels. Low-nutrient systems are particularly sensitive to changes in N inputs and are therefore more vulnerable to N deposition. Carnivorous plants are often part of these ecosystems partly because of the additional nutrients obtained from prey. We studied the impact of N deposition on the nutrition of the carnivorous plant Drosera rotundifolia growing on 16 ombrotrophic bogs across Europe. We measured tissue N, phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) concentrations and prey and root N uptake using a natural abundance stable isotope approach. Our aim was to test the impact of N deposition on D. rotundifolia prey and root N uptake, and nutrient stoichiometry. D. rotundifolia root N uptake was strongly affected by N deposition, possibly resulting in reduced N limitation. The contribution of prey N to the N contained in D. rotundifolia ranged from 20 to 60%. N deposition reduced the maximum amount of N derived from prey, but this varied below this maximum. D. rotundifolia tissue N concentrations were a product of both root N availability and prey N uptake. Increased prey N uptake was correlated with increased tissue P concentrations indicating uptake of P from prey. N deposition therefore reduced the strength of a carnivorous plant–prey interaction, resulting in a reduction in nutrient transfer between trophic levels. We suggest that N deposition has a negative impact on D. rotundifolia and that responses to N deposition might be strongly site specific.

Graphical abstract


Image for unlabelled figure

Keywords

  • Atmospheric nitrogen deposition;
  • Carnivorous plants;
  • Drosera rotundifolia;
  • Plant–insect interactions;
  • Round-leaved sundew;
  • Stable isotopes
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Hypoglycin A Content in Blood and Urine Discriminates Horses with Atypical Myopathy from Clinically Normal Horses Grazing on the Same Pasture

Open Access
Peer-reviewed
Research Article

PLOS
  • Published: September 17, 2015
  • DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0136785


Hypoglycin A (HGA) in seeds of Acer spp. is suspected to cause seasonal pasture myopathy in North America and equine atypical myopathy (AM) in Europe, fatal diseases in horses on pasture. In previous studies, this suspicion was substantiated by the correlation of seed HGA content with the concentrations of toxic metabolites in urine and serum (MCPA-conjugates) of affected horses. However, seed sampling was conducted after rather than during an outbreak of the disease. The aim of this study was to further confirm the causality between HGA occurrence and disease outbreak by seed sampling during an outbreak and the determination of i) HGA in seeds and of ii) HGA and MCPA-conjugates in urine and serum of diseased horses. Furthermore, cograzing healthy horses, which were present on AM affected pastures, were also investigated. AM-pastures in Germany were visited to identify seeds of Acer pseudoplatanus and serum (n = 8) as well as urine (n = 6) from a total of 16 diseased horses were analyzed for amino acid composition by LC-ESI-MS/MS, with a special focus on the content of HGA. Additionally, the content of its toxic metabolite was measured in its conjugated form in body fluids (UPLC-MS/MS). The seeds contained 1.7–319.8 μg HGA/g seed. The content of HGA in serum of affected horses ranged from 387.8–8493.8 μg/L (controls < 10 μg/L), and in urine from 143.8–926.4 μg/L (controls < 10 μg/L), respectively. Healthy cograzing horses on AM-pastures showed higher serum (108.8 ± 83.76 μg/L) and urine concentrations (26.9 ± 7.39 μg/L) compared to control horses, but lower concentrations compared to diseased horses. The range of MCPA-carnitine and creatinine concentrations found in diseased horses in serum and urine were 0.17–0.65 mmol/L (controls < 0.01), and 0.34–2.05 μmol/mmoL (controls < 0.001), respectively. MCPA-glycine levels in urine of cograzing horses were higher compared to controls. Thus, the causal link between HGA intoxication and disease outbreak could be further substantiated, and the early detection of HGA in cograzing horses, which are clinically normal, might be a promising step in prophylaxis.
Citation: Bochnia M, Ziegler J, Sander J, Uhlig A, Schaefer S, Vollstedt S, et al. (2015) Hypoglycin A Content in Blood and Urine Discriminates Horses with Atypical Myopathy from Clinically Normal Horses Grazing on the Same Pasture. PLoS ONE 10(9): e0136785. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0136785
Editor: Ulrike Gertrud Munderloh, University of Minnesota, UNITED STATES
Received: April 17, 2015; Accepted: August 7, 2015; Published: September 17, 2015
Copyright: © 2015 Bochnia et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Data Availability: All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Funding: The authors have no support or funding to report.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exist.
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Forest-edge utilization by carnivores in relation to local and landscape habitat characteristics in central European farmland

Mammalian Biology - Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde
Volume 79, Issue 3, April 2014, Pages 176–182
Original Investigation
  • a Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Květná 8, 603 65 Brno, Czech Republic
  • b Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
  • c Faculty of Agriculture, Applied Ecology Laboratory, University of South Bohemia, Studentská 13, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
  • d Department of Ecology & Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Palacký University Olomouc, tř. Svobody 26, 771 46 Olomouc, Czech Republic
  • e DAPHNE ČR – Institute for Applied Ecology, Senovážné nám. 1736, 370 01 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
Received 30 April 2013, Accepted 19 August 2013, Available online 17 September 2013
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doi:10.1016/j.mambio.2013.08.009
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Abstract

Rapid changes in agricultural landscape structure and composition affect many different farmland biotas, including carnivores, which are a key element of ecosystem stability, yet little is known about their distribution and habitat use. In this study, we evaluated how habitat characteristics on two different spatial scales (local and landscape scale) affected the forest-edge utilization by small and medium-sized carnivores in fragmented central European farmland. Based on an indirect method for detecting carnivores (scent stations), we sampled 212 forest fragments of different sizes (1–7864 ha) during April to May from 2006 to 2009. Our results indicate that carnivore utilization of forest-edge habitats was driven by landscape rather than local characteristics even though the overall extent of explained variation was small. The most important factors that determined response of the carnivore community were the area of farmland and that of urban land on a landscape scale. The corridor connectivity between small forest fragments and other spatial elements played a crucial role in the occurrence of red fox. Our results suggest that comprehensive studies on multi-species carnivore assemblage using scent station might be useful in evaluating species-specific response to habitat characteristics, especially if large numbers of stations visited by carnivores are available.

Keywords

  • Carnivores;
  • Farmland;
  • Forest-edge utilization;
  • Landscape characteristics;
  • Local characteristics
Corresponding author. Tel.: +420 387775621; fax: +420 224911841.
Copyright © 2013 Deutsche Gesellschaft für Säugetierkunde. Published by Elsevier GmbH All rights reserved.
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Altered activity patterns and reduced abundance of native mammals in sites with feral dogs in the high Andes

Biological Conservation
Volume 193, January 2016, Pages 9–16



doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2015.10.016
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Highlights

•
Feral dogs are widespread globally, but their impacts on wildlife are poorly known.
•
We examined the effects of feral dogs on native large mammals in the high Andes.
•
Areas with feral dogs had lower abundance of mammals than areas without dogs.
•
Three mammal species altered their activity patterns where dogs were present.
•
Based on our results, governmental programs have been established to control dogs.

Abstract

Negative impacts of some introduced carnivores like feral cats are well documented, widespread, and significant. Comparatively, the effects of feral dogs (individuals that are not associated with people or human settlements) on native wildlife are poorly known, even though feral dogs occur worldwide. We assessed the density of feral dogs and compared relative abundance, activity patterns and habitat use of 10 species of mammals in areas with and without feral dogs in Cayambe-Coca National Park in the northern Ecuadorian Andes using line transect surveys, camera traps, and track and sign surveys. In areas where feral dogs were present, four native mammals were absent: mountain coati (Nasuella olivacea), mountain paca (Cuniculus taczanowskii), long-tailed weasel (Mustela frenata), and northern pudu (Pudu mephistophiles). Relative abundances of six species were lower compared to areas without feral dogs: puma (Puma concolor), Andean fox (Lycalopex culpaeus), Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus), striped hog-nosed skunk (Conepatus semistriatus), mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque), and little red brocket deer (Mazama rufina). Three species significantly altered activity patterns where feral dogs were present (Andean bear, mountain tapir, and little red brocket deer). In contrast, none of the native mammal species exhibited shifts in habitat use in areas with feral dogs. Dogs used all habitat types according to availability. Our results point to feral dogs as a significant problem for the native mammal community of this Andean region, and highlight the need to consider feral dogs as a potential threat to wildlife in other regions where anthropogenic effects appear to be low but feral dogs are present, particularly natural areas that contain endangered and endemic species.

Keywords

  • Invasive species,;
  • Large mammal,;
  • Relative abundance,;
  • Activity pattern,;
  • Habitat use,;
  • Tropical Andes
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