Limits to the adaptation of herbivorous spider mites to metal accumulation in homogeneous and heterogeneous environments.

Metal accumulation is used by some plants as a defence against herbivores. Yet, herbivores may adapt to these defences, becoming less susceptible. Moreover, ecosystems often contain plants that do and do not accumulate metals, but whether such heterogeneity affects herbivore adaptation remains understudied. Here, we performed experimental evolution to test whether the spider mite Tetranychus evansi adapts to plants with high cadmium concentrations, in homogeneous (plants with cadmium) or heterogeneous (plants with or without cadmium) environments. For that we used tomato plants, which accumulate cadmium, thus affecting the performance of these spider mites. We measured mite fecundity, hatching rate, and the number of adult offspring after 12 and 33 generations and habitat choice after 14 and 51 generations, detecting no trait change, which implies the absence of adaptation. We then tested whether this was due to a lack of genetic variation in the traits measured and, indeed, additive genetic variance was low. Interestingly, despite no signs of adaptation, we observed a decrease in fecundity and number of adult offspring produced on cadmium-free plants, in the populations evolving in environments with cadmium. Therefore, evolving in environments with cadmium reduces the growth rate of spider mite populations on non-accumulating plants. Possibly, other traits contributed to population persistence on plants with cadmium. This calls for more studies addressing herbivore adaptation to plant metal accumulation.

Understanding the joint evolution of dispersal and host specialisation using phytophagous arthropods as a model group.

Theory generally predicts that host specialisation and dispersal should evolve jointly. Indeed, many models predict that specialists should be poor dispersers to avoid landing on unsuitable hosts while generalists will have high dispersal abilities. Phytophagous arthropods are an excellent group to test this prediction, given extensive variation in their host range and dispersal abilities. Here, we explore the degree to which the empirical literature on this group is in accordance with theoretical predictions. We first briefly outline the theoretical reasons to expect such a correlation. We then report empirical studies that measured both dispersal and the degree of specialisation in phytophagous arthropods. We find a correlation between dispersal and levels of specialisation in some studies, but with wide variation in this result. We then review theoretical attributes of species and environment that may blur this correlation, namely environmental grain, temporal heterogeneity, habitat selection, genetic architecture, and coevolution between plants and herbivores. We argue that theoretical models fail to account for important aspects, such as phenotypic plasticity and the impact of selective forces stemming from other biotic interactions, on both dispersal and specialisation. Next, we review empirical caveats in the study of this interplay. We find that studies use different measures of both dispersal and specialisation, hampering comparisons. Moreover, several studies do not provide independent measures of these two traits. Finally, variation in these traits may occur at scales that are not being considered. We conclude that this correlation is likely not to be expected from large-scale comparative analyses as it is highly context dependent and should not be considered in isolation from the factors that modulate it, such as environmental scale and heterogeneity, intrinsic traits or biotic interactions. A stronger crosstalk between theoretical and empirical studies is needed to understand better the prevalence and basis of the correlation between dispersal and specialisation.

Consensus building on definitions and types of child maltreatment to improve recording and surveillance in Europe: protocol for a multi-sectoral, European, electronic Delphi study.

INTRODUCTION: Child maltreatment (CM) is a complex global public health issue with potentially devastating effects on individuals' physical and mental health and well-being throughout the life course. A lack of uniform definitions hinders attempts to identify, measure, respond to, and prevent CM. The aim of this electronic Delphi (e-Delphi) study is to build consensus on definitions and types of CM for use in surveillance and multi-sectoral research in the 34 countries in the Euro-CAN (Multi-Sectoral Responses to Child Abuse and Neglect in Europe) project (COST Action CA19106). METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The e-Delphi study will consist of a maximum of three rounds conducted using an online data collection platform. A multi-disciplinary expert panel consisting of researchers, child protection professionals (health and social care), police, legal professionals and adult survivors of CM will be purposefully recruited. We will approach approximately 100 experts, with between 50 and 60 of these anticipated to take part. Participants will rate their agreement with a range of statements relating to operational definitions and types of CM, and free-text comments on each of the statements to give further detail about their responses and areas of uncertainty. Consensus has been defined a priori as ≥70% of the panel agreeing or disagreeing with the statement after the final round. The responses to the open-ended questions will be analysed using a 'codebook' approach to thematic analysis, and used to refine the statements between rounds where no consensus is reached. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval has been granted from the Cardiff University School of Medicine ethics committee (reference number SMREC22/96). Results will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at workshops (including for the participants) and international academic conferences. The Euro-CAN network will also be used to disseminate the results, with results briefings and presentations to key public health and other relevant organisations in the field.

A Giant Parathyroid Adenoma Presenting With Parathyroid Crisis.

Giant parathyroid adenomas (GPA) are a benign cause of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) that might present similarly to parathyroid carcinomas (PC). Rarely, PHPT can present with a parathyroid crisis, a life-threatening decompensation with severe hypercalcemia.  A 77-year-old woman presented with lethargy and muscle weakness. Investigation revealed parathyroid hormone-dependent hypercalcemia and an enlarged parathyroid measuring 31x24 mm. The patient was submitted for parathyroidectomy. Histology showed no evidence of malignancy, confirming a GPA.  We report a GPA presenting with a parathyroid crisis. The clinical picture mimicked that of a PC. There are no clinical, analytical, or imagiological features pathognomonic of PC.

Limited host availability disrupts the genetic correlation between virulence and transmission.

Virulence is expected to be linked to parasite fitness via transmission. However, it is not clear whether this relationship is genetically determined, nor if it differs when transmission occurs continuously during, or only at the end of, the infection period. Here, we used inbred lines of the macroparasitic spider mite Tetranychus urticae to disentangle genetic vs. nongenetic correlations among traits, while varying parasite density and opportunities for transmission. A positive genetic correlation between virulence and the number of transmitting stages produced was found under continuous transmission. However, if transmission occurred only at the end of the infection period, this genetic correlation disappeared. Instead, we observed a negative relationship between virulence and the number of transmitting stages, driven by density dependence. Thus, within-host density dependence caused by reduced opportunities for transmission may hamper selection for higher virulence, providing a novel explanation as to why limited host availability leads to lower virulence.

Current issues and challenges in the definition and operationalization of child maltreatment: A scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Studies show considerable variability in the definitions and operationalization of child maltreatment (CM), which limits research, policy formation, surveillance, and cross-country and cross-sector comparisons. OBJECTIVE: To review the recent literature (2011-2021) to understand current issues and challenges in defining CM, to assist in the planning, testing and implementing of CM conceptualizations. METHODS: We searched eight international databases. Articles were included if the substantive content was related to issues, challenges, and debates in defining CM, and the article was an original study, review, commentary, report, or guideline. The review followed methodological guidance for the conduct of scoping reviews and was reported in accordance with the PRISMA-ScR checklist. Four experts in CM conducted a thematic analysis to summarize findings. Methodological rigor of the included studies was not formally assessed. RESULTS: We identified 7372 potentially relevant articles; 55 full-text studies were assessed for eligibility, 25 satisfied the inclusion criteria. We identified three themes: 1) strategies to define CM, including the integration of child and victim perspectives; 2) difficulties in defining specific CM types; and 3) real-world implications for research, prevention and policy. CONCLUSIONS: Despite longstanding concerns, challenges regarding the definitions of CM persist. A small minority of studies have tested and implemented CM definitions and operationalizations in practice. The findings will inform international multi-sectoral processes to develop uniform definitions of CM, for example by highlighting the need to acknowledge challenges in defining some CM types and emphasizing the importance of considering the perspectives of children and CM survivors.

Deployable extrusion bioprinting of compartmental tumoroids with cancer associated fibroblasts for immune cell interactions.

Realizing the translational impacts of three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting for cancer research necessitates innovation in bioprinting workflows which integrate affordability, user-friendliness, and biological relevance. Herein, we demonstrate 'BioArm', a simple, yet highly effective extrusion bioprinting platform, which can be folded into a carry-on pack, and rapidly deployed between bio-facilities. BioArm enabled the reconstruction of compartmental tumoroids with cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), forming the shell of each tumoroid. The 3D printed core-shell tumoroids showedde novosynthesized extracellular matrices, and enhanced cellular proliferation compared to the tumour alone 3D printed spheroid culture. Further, thein vivophenotypes of CAFs normally lost after conventional 2D co-culture re-emerged in the bioprinted model. Embedding the 3D printed tumoroids in an immune cell-laden collagen matrix permitted tracking of the interaction between immune cells and tumoroids, and subsequent simulated immunotherapy treatments. Our deployable extrusion bioprinting workflow could significantly widen the accessibility of 3D bioprinting for replicating multi-compartmental architectures of tumour microenvironment, and for developing strategies in cancer drug testing in the future.

From PEF to PBF: What difference does the longer alkyl chain make a computational spectroscopy study of poly(butylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate).

This work explores the conformational preferences and the structure-property correlations of poly(butylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PBF), a longer chain analogue of the most well-known biobased polyester from the furan family, poly(ethylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PEF). A thorough computational spectroscopic study-including infrared, Raman and inelastic neutron scattering spectroscopy, combined with discrete and periodic density functional theory calculations-allowed the identification of dominant structural motifs in the amorphous and crystalline regions. Discrete calculations and vibrational spectroscopy of semi-crystalline and amorphous samples strongly support the predominance of gauche, trans, gauche conformations of the butylene glycol fragment in both the crystalline and amorphous domains. In what concerns the furandicarboxylate fragment, amorphous domains are dominated by syn,syn conformations, while in the crystalline domains the anti,anti forms prevail. A possible crystalline structure-built from these conformational preferences and including a network of C-H···O hydrogen bond contacts-was optimized using periodic density functional theory. This proposed crystal structure avoids the unrealistic structural features of the previously proposed X-ray structure, provides an excellent description of the inelastic neutron scattering spectrum of the semi-crystalline form, and allows the correlation between microscopic structure and macroscopic properties of the polymer.

Evolution in agricultural systems: Moving toward the understanding of complexity.

Agricultural fields are typically simplified ecosystems compared to natural sites, a characteristic that has long-attracted researchers in Ecology and Evolution. In recent years, there has been a rising interest in understanding how agricultural systems are shaped by evolution in the context of changing agricultural practices by integrating biological information of crop systems. This editorial introduces the special issue "Evolution in agricultural systems," incorporating the articles published within this issue into three general areas of research: phenotypic and genetic responses to the environment, biotic interactions and the role of microbes. Together, this body of work unveils unforeseen complexity at all levels, from microbes to trophic chains. Understanding such complexity is critical not only to better understand natural systems, but also if we wish to improve the sustainability of the food system.

A Method to Measure the Damage Caused by Cell-Sucking Herbivores.

The damage that herbivores inflict on plants is a key component of their interaction. Several methods have been proposed to quantify the damage caused by chewing insects, but such methods are not very successful when the damage is inflicted by a cell-sucking organism. Here, we present a protocol that allows a non-destructive quantification of the damage inflicted by cell-sucking arthropods, robustly filtering out leaf vascular structures that might be mistakenly classified as damage in many plant species. The protocol is set for the laboratory environment and uses Fiji and ilastik, two free software packages.

The genetic basis and adult reproductive consequences of developmental thermal plasticity.

Increasing temperature and thermal variability generate profound selection on populations. Given the fast rate of environmental change, understanding the role of plasticity and genetic adaptation in response to increasing temperatures is critical. This may be especially true for thermal effects on reproductive traits in which thermal fertility limits at high temperatures may be lower than for survival traits. Consequences of changing environments during development on adult phenotypes may be particularly problematic for core traits such as reproduction that begin early in development. Here we examine the consequences of developmental thermal plasticity on subsequent adult reproductive traits and its genetic basis. We used a panel of Drosophila melanogaster (the Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel; DGRP) in which male fertility performance was previously defined as either showing relatively little (status = 'high'-performing lines) or substantial ('low'-performing lines) decline when exposed to increasing developmental temperatures. We used a thermal reaction norm approach to quantify variation in the consequences of developmental thermal plasticity on multiple adult reproductive traits, including sex-specific responses, and to identify candidate genes underlying such variation. Developmental thermal stress impacted the means and thermal reaction norms of all reproductive traits except offspring sex ratio. Mating success declined as temperature increased with no difference between high and low lines, whereas increasing temperature resulted in declines for both male and female fertility and productivity but depended on line status. Fertility and offspring number were positively correlated within and between the sexes across lines, but males were more affected than females. We identified 933 SNPs with significant evolved genetic differentiation between high and low lines. In all, 54 of these lie within genomic windows of overall high differentiation, have significant effects of genotype on the male thermal reaction norm for productivity and are associated with 16 genes enriched for phenotypes affecting reproduction, stress responses and autophagy in Drosophila and other organisms. Our results illustrate considerable plasticity in male thermal limits on several reproductive traits following development at high temperature, and we identify differentiated loci with relevant phenotypic effects that may contribute to this population variation. While our work is on a single population, phenotypic results align with an increasing number of studies demonstrating the potential for stronger selection of thermal stress on reproductive traits, particularly in males. Such large fitness costs may have both short- and long-term consequences for the evolution of populations in response to a warming world.

No evidence for the evolution of mating behavior in spider mites due to Wolbachia-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility.

Arthropods are often infected with Wolbachia inducing cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), whereby crosses between uninfected females and infected males yield unviable fertilized offspring. Although uninfected females benefit from avoiding mating with Wolbachia-infected males, this behavior is not always present in host populations and its evolution may hinge upon various factors. Here, we used spider mites to test whether CI could select for mate preference in uninfected females in absence of kin recognition. We found that uninfected females from several field-derived populations showed no preference for infected or uninfected males, nor evolved a preference after being exposed to CI for 12-15 generations by maintaining uninfected females with both infected and uninfected males (i.e., stable "infection polymorphism"). This suggests that Wolbachia-mediated mate choice evolution may require very specific conditions in spider mites. However, after experimental evolution, the copulation duration of Wolbachia-infected control males was significantly higher than that of uninfected control males, but not than that of uninfected males from the "infection polymorphism" regime. This result illustrates how gene flow may oppose Wolbachia-driven divergence between infected and uninfected hosts in natural populations.

Fluctuating heat stress during development exposes reproductive costs and putative benefits.

Temperature and thermal variability are increasing worldwide, with well-known survival consequences. However, effects on other potentially more thermally sensitive reproductive traits are less understood, especially when considering thermal variation. Studying the consequences of male reproduction in the context of climate warming and ability to adapt is becoming increasingly relevant. Our goals were to test how exposure to different average temperatures that either fluctuated or remained constant impacts different male reproductive performance traits and to assess adaptive potential to future heat stress. We took advantage of a set of Drosophila melanogaster isogenic lines of different genotypes, exposing them to four different thermal conditions. These conditions represented a benign and a stressful mean temperature, applied either constantly or fluctuating around the mean and experienced during development when heat stress avoidance is hindered because of restricted mobility. We measured subsequent male reproductive performance for mating success, fertility, number of offspring produced and offspring sex ratio, and calculated the influence of thermal stress on estimated heritability and evolvability of these reproductive traits. Both costs and benefits to different thermal conditions on reproductive performance were found, with some responses varying between genotypes. Mating success improved under fluctuating benign temperature conditions and declined as temperature stress increased regardless of genotype. Fertility and productivity were severely reduced at fluctuating mean high temperature for all genotypes, but some genotypes were unaffected at constant high mean temperature. These more thermally robust genotypes showed a slight increase in productivity under the fluctuating benign condition compared to constant high temperature, despite both thermal conditions sharing the same temperature for 6 hr daily. Increasing thermal stress resulted in higher heritability and evolvability. Overall, the effects of temperature on reproductive performance depended on the trait and genotype; performance of some traits slightly increased when high temperatures were experienced for short periods but decreased substantially even when experiencing a benign temperature for a portion of each day. While thermal stress increased genetic variation that could provide adaptive potential against climate warming, this is unlikely to compensate for the overall severe negative effect on reproductive performance as mean temperature and variance increase.

Following Darwin's footsteps: Evaluating the impact of an activity designed for elementary school students to link historically important evolution key concepts on their understanding of natural selection.

While several researchers have suggested that evolution should be explored from the initial years of schooling, little information is available on effective resources to enhance elementary school students' level of understanding of evolution by natural selection (LUENS). For the present study, we designed, implemented, and evaluated an educational activity planned for fourth graders (9 to 10 years old) to explore concepts and conceptual fields that were historically important for the discovery of natural selection. Observation field notes and students' productions were used to analyze how the students explored the proposed activity. Additionally, an evaluation framework consisting of a test, the evaluation criteria, and the scoring process was applied in two fourth-grade classes (N = 44) to estimate elementary school students' LUENS before and after engaging in the activity. Our results show that our activity allowed students to link the key concepts, resulting in a significant increase of their understanding of natural selection. They also reveal that additional activities and minor fine-tuning of the present activity are required to further support students' learning about the concept of differential reproduction.

Achievable agricultural soil carbon sequestration across Europe from country-specific estimates.

The role of soils in the global carbon cycle and in reducing GHG emissions from agriculture has been increasingly acknowledged. The '4 per 1000' (4p1000) initiative has become a prominent action plan for climate change mitigation and achieve food security through an annual increase in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks by 0.4%, (i.e. 4‰ per year). However, the feasibility of the 4p1000 scenario and, more generally, the capacity of individual countries to implement soil carbon sequestration (SCS) measures remain highly uncertain. Here, we evaluated country-specific SCS potentials of agricultural land for 24 countries in Europe. Based on a detailed survey of available literature, we estimate that between 0.1% and 27% of the agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can potentially be compensated by SCS annually within the next decades. Measures varied widely across countries, indicating differences in country-specific environmental conditions and agricultural practices. None of the countries' SCS potential reached the aspirational goal of the 4p1000 initiative, suggesting that in order to achieve this goal, a wider range of measures and implementation pathways need to be explored. Yet, SCS potentials exceeded those from previous pan-European modelling scenarios, underpinning the general need to include national/regional knowledge and expertise to improve estimates of SCS potentials. The complexity of the chosen SCS measurement approaches between countries ranked from tier 1 to tier 3 and included the effect of different controlling factors, suggesting that methodological improvements and standardization of SCS accounting are urgently required. Standardization should include the assessment of key controlling factors such as realistic areas, technical and practical feasibility, trade-offs with other GHG and climate change. Our analysis suggests that country-specific knowledge and SCS estimates together with improved data sharing and harmonization are crucial to better quantify the role of soils in offsetting anthropogenic GHG emissions at global level.

Sustained Hippocampal Neural Plasticity Questions the Reproducibility of an Amyloid-ß-Induced Alzheimer's Disease Model.

BACKGROUND: The use of Alzheimer's disease (AD) models obtained by intracerebral infusion of amyloid-ß (Aß) has been increasingly reported in recent years. Nonetheless, these models may present important challenges. OBJECTIVE: We have focused on canonical mechanisms of hippocampal-related neural plasticity to characterize a rat model obtained by an intracerebroventricular (icv) injection of soluble amyloid-ß42 (Aß42). METHODS: Animal behavior was evaluated in the elevated plus maze, Y-Maze spontaneous or forced alternation, Morris water maze, and open field, starting 2 weeks post-Aß42 infusion. Hippocampal neurogenesis was assessed 3 weeks after Aß42 injection. Aß deposition, tropomyosin receptor kinase B levels, and neuroinflammation were appraised at 3 and 14 days post-Aß42 administration. RESULTS: We found that immature neuronal dendritic morphology was abnormally enhanced, but proliferation and neuronal differentiation in the dentate gyrus was conserved one month after Aß42 injection. Surprisingly, animal behavior did not reveal changes in cognitive performance nor in locomotor and anxious-related activity. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor related-signaling was also unchanged at 3 and 14 days post-Aß icv injection. Likewise, astrocytic and microglial markers of neuroinflammation in the hippocampus were unaltered in these time points. CONCLUSION: Taken together, our data emphasize a high variability and lack of behavioral reproducibility associated with these Aß injection-based models, as well as the need for its further optimization, aiming at addressing the gap between preclinical AD models and the human disorder.

evALLution: making basic evolution concepts accessible to people with visual impairment through a multisensory tree of life.

BACKGROUND: People with visual impairment have benefitted from recent developments of assistive technology that aim to decrease socio-economic inequality. However, access to post-secondary education is still extremelly challenging, especially for scientific areas. The under representation of people with visual impairment in the evolution research community is connected with the vision-based communication of evolutionary biology knowledge and the accompanying lack of multisensory alternatives for learning. RESULTS: Here, we describe the development of an inclusive outreach activity based on a multisensory phylogeny representing 20 taxonomic groups. We provide a tool kit of materials and ideas that allow both the replication of this activity and the adaptation of others, to include people with visual impairment. Furthermore, we provide activity evaluation data, a discussion of the lessons learned and an inclusive description of all figures and visual data presented.The presented baseline data show that people with visual impairment indeed have lack of access to education but are interested in and apt to understand evolutionary biology concepts and predict evolutionary change when education is inclusive. CONCLUSIONS: We show that, with creative investment, basic evolutionary knowledge is perfectly possible to be transmitted through multisensory activities, which everyone can benefit from. Ultimately, we hope this case study will provide a baseline for future initiatives and a more inclusive outreach community.

Child maltreatment data: A summary of progress, prospects and challenges.

BACKGROUND: In 1996, the ISPCAN Working Group on Child Maltreatment Data (ISPCAN-WGCMD) was established to provide an international forum in which individuals, who deal with child maltreatment data in their respective professional roles, can share concerns and solutions. OBJECTIVE: This commentary describes some of the key features and the status of child maltreatment related data collection addressed by the ISPCAN-WGCMD. METHODS: Different types of data collection methods including self-report, sentinel, and administrative data designs are described as well as how they address different needs for information to help understand child maltreatment and systems of prevention and intervention. RESULTS: While still lacking in many parts of the world, access to child maltreatment data has become much more widespread, and in many places a very sophisticated undertaking. CONCLUSION: The ISPCAN-WGCMD has been an important forum for supporting the continued development and improvement in the global effort to understand and combat child maltreatment thus contributing to the long term goals of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Nevertheless, based on what has been learned, even greater efforts are required to improve data in order to effectively combat child maltreatment.

Consequences of population structure for sex allocation and sexual conflict.

Both sex allocation and sexual conflict can be modulated by spatial structure. However, how the interplay between the type of dispersal and the scale of competition simultaneously affects these traits in sub-divided populations is rarely considered. We investigated sex allocation and sexual conflict evolution in meta-populations of the spider mite Tetranychus urticae evolving under budding (pairing females from the same patch) or random (pairing females from different patches) dispersal and either local (fixed sampling from each subpopulation) or global (sampling as a function of subpopulation productivity) competition. Females evolving under budding dispersal produced less female-biased offspring sex ratios than those from the random dispersal selection regimes, contradicting theoretical predictions. In contrast, the scale of competition did not strongly affect sex allocation. Offspring sex ratio and female fecundity were unaffected by the number of mates, but female fecundity was highest when their mates evolved under budding dispersal, suggesting these males inflict less harm than those evolving under random dispersal. This work highlights that population structure can impact the evolution of sex allocation and sexual conflict. Moreover, selection on either trait may reciprocally affect the evolution of the other, for example via effects on fecundity.