PeerJ
type: channel
link: https://peerj.com/articles/
description: Articles published in PeerJ
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
publication name: PeerJ
issn: 2167-8359
items: Identification of priority shorebird conservation areas in the Caribbean
items: A new basal ornithopod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of China
items: Cropland heterogeneity changes on the Northeast China Plain in the last three decades (1980s–2010s)
items: Reduced organizational skills in adults with ADHD are due to deficits in persistence, not in strategies
items: Identification of key modules and hub genes associated with lung function in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
items: Monthly drought prediction based on ensemble models
items: Usefulness of the cytokines expression of Th1/Th2/Th17 and urinary CD80 excretion in adult-onset minimal change disease
items: Hypercarnivorous teeth and healed injuries to Canis chihliensis from Early Pleistocene Nihewan beds, China, support social hunting for ancestral wolves
items: Mechanisms of diversity maintenance in dung beetle assemblages in a heterogeneous tropical landscape
items: Climatic influence on the growth pattern of Panthasaurus maleriensis from the Late Triassic of India deduced from paleohistology

Identification of priority shorebird conservation areas in the Caribbean
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: Despite being geographically central to the Atlantic Americas Flyway for migratory birds, the Caribbean is often overlooked or underappreciated when addressing the conservation of North American shorebirds. To our knowledge, this is the first Caribbean-wide assessment of shorebird use in the region. We analyzed 211,013 shorebird species observations in the insular Caribbean from 2010–2019, representing 78,794 eBird checklists and cumulative total of 2.1 million shorebirds of 45 species. We conclude that priority areas for shorebird conservation include Humedal Sur de Pinar del Río (Humedal Sur de Los Palacios) in Cuba, and Monte Cristi in the Dominican Republic as they each likely support more than 20,000 shorebirds annually, and they host large abundances of geographic populations for particular taxa. Specifically, the former site hosts >10% of Short-billed Dowitchers (Limnodromus griseus griseus/hendersoni), and >1% of Black-bellied Plovers (Pluvialis squatarola cynosurae) and Wilson’s Plovers (Charadrius wilsonia wilsonia), while the latter site supports large numbers of Black-necked Stilts (Himantopus mexicanus). We also identified at least 15 additional sites that likely cross the 1% population threshold for one or more shorebird taxa. These sites may qualify for special international designations such as Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas or as part of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network; 11 of the 17 sites we identified do not hold either of these titles. Data on subspecific or geographic distributions of three species, Snowy Plover (C. nivosus), Black-necked Stilt, and Killdeer (C. vociferous), are insufficient to reveal if the sites with the highest abundances were mostly comprised of Caribbean populations or migrants, but the limited information suggests that they also likely exceed 1% thresholds on several islands. Based on our results, we recommend more extensive systematic surveys of shorebirds in the Caribbean, including research on tur…
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Jessica R. Cañizares
creator: J. Michael Reed
subject: Biodiversity
subject: Conservation Biology
subject: Ecology
subject: Zoology
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.9831
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2020 Cañizares and Reed
abstract: Despite being geographically central to the Atlantic Americas Flyway for migratory birds, the Caribbean is often overlooked or underappreciated when addressing the conservation of North American shorebirds. To our knowledge, this is the first Caribbean-wide assessment of shorebird use in the region. We analyzed 211,013 shorebird species observations in the insular Caribbean from 2010–2019, representing 78,794 eBird checklists and cumulative total of 2.1 million shorebirds of 45 species. We conclude that priority areas for shorebird conservation include Humedal Sur de Pinar del Río (Humedal Sur de Los Palacios) in Cuba, and Monte Cristi in the Dominican Republic as they each likely support more than 20,000 shorebirds annually, and they host large abundances of geographic populations for particular taxa. Specifically, the former site hosts >10% of Short-billed Dowitchers (Limnodromus griseus griseus/hendersoni), and >1% of Black-bellied Plovers (Pluvialis squatarola cynosurae) and Wilson’s Plovers (Charadrius wilsonia wilsonia), while the latter site supports large numbers of Black-necked Stilts (Himantopus mexicanus). We also identified at least 15 additional sites that likely cross the 1% population threshold for one or more shorebird taxa. These sites may qualify for special international designations such as Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas or as part of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network; 11 of the 17 sites we identified do not hold either of these titles. Data on subspecific or geographic distributions of three species, Snowy Plover (C. nivosus), Black-necked Stilt, and Killdeer (C. vociferous), are insufficient to reveal if the sites with the highest abundances were mostly comprised of Caribbean populations or migrants, but the limited information suggests that they also likely exceed 1% thresholds on several islands. Based on our results, we recommend more extensive systematic surveys of shorebirds in the Caribbean, including research on tur…
bibliographic citation: Cañizares et al. (2020) Identification of priority shorebird conservation areas in the Caribbean. PeerJ 8:e9831 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9831
date submitted: 2020-05-21
date accepted: 2020-08-06
issued: 2020-09-08
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Cañizares
  given name: Jessica R.
author list: Agent
  family name: Reed
  given name: J. Michael
doi: 10.7717/peerj.9831
volume: 8
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2020-09-08
copyright: ©2020 Cañizares and Reed
attribution name: Cañizares and Reed

A new basal ornithopod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of China
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: A new basal ornithopod dinosaur, based on two nearly complete articulated skeletons, is reported from the Lujiatun Beds (Yixian Fm, Lower Cretaceous) of western Liaoning Province (China). Some of the diagnostic features of Changmiania liaoningensis nov. gen., nov. sp. are tentatively interpreted as adaptations to a fossorial behavior, including: fused premaxillae; nasal laterally expanded, overhanging the maxilla; shortened neck formed by only six cervical vertebrae; neural spines of the sacral vertebrae completely fused together, forming a craniocaudally-elongated continuous bar; fused scapulocoracoid with prominent scapular spine; and paired ilia symmetrically inclined dorsomedially, partially covering the sacrum in dorsal view. A phylogenetic analysis places Changmiania liaoningensis as the most basal ornithopod dinosaur described so far. It is tentatively hypothesized that both Changmiania liaoningensis specimens were suddenly entrapped in a collapsed underground burrow while they were resting, which would explain their perfect lifelike postures and the complete absence of weathering and scavenging traces. However, further behavioural inference remains problematic, because those specimens lack extensive sedimentological and taphonomic data, as it is also the case for most specimens collected in the Lujiatun Beds so far.
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Yuqing Yang
creator: Wenhao Wu
creator: Paul-Emile Dieudonné
creator: Pascal Godefroit
subject: Evolutionary Studies
subject: Paleontology
subject: Taxonomy
subject: Zoology
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.9832
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2020 Yang et al.
abstract: A new basal ornithopod dinosaur, based on two nearly complete articulated skeletons, is reported from the Lujiatun Beds (Yixian Fm, Lower Cretaceous) of western Liaoning Province (China). Some of the diagnostic features of Changmiania liaoningensis nov. gen., nov. sp. are tentatively interpreted as adaptations to a fossorial behavior, including: fused premaxillae; nasal laterally expanded, overhanging the maxilla; shortened neck formed by only six cervical vertebrae; neural spines of the sacral vertebrae completely fused together, forming a craniocaudally-elongated continuous bar; fused scapulocoracoid with prominent scapular spine; and paired ilia symmetrically inclined dorsomedially, partially covering the sacrum in dorsal view. A phylogenetic analysis places Changmiania liaoningensis as the most basal ornithopod dinosaur described so far. It is tentatively hypothesized that both Changmiania liaoningensis specimens were suddenly entrapped in a collapsed underground burrow while they were resting, which would explain their perfect lifelike postures and the complete absence of weathering and scavenging traces. However, further behavioural inference remains problematic, because those specimens lack extensive sedimentological and taphonomic data, as it is also the case for most specimens collected in the Lujiatun Beds so far.
bibliographic citation: Yang et al. (2020) A new basal ornithopod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of China. PeerJ 8:e9832 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9832
date submitted: 2020-05-18
date accepted: 2020-08-07
issued: 2020-09-08
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Yang
  given name: Yuqing
author list: Agent
  family name: Wu
  given name: Wenhao
author list: Agent
  family name: Dieudonné
  given name: Paul-Emile
author list: Agent
  family name: Godefroit
  given name: Pascal
doi: 10.7717/peerj.9832
volume: 8
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2020-09-08
copyright: © 2020 Yang et al.
attribution name: Yang et al.

Cropland heterogeneity changes on the Northeast China Plain in the last three decades (1980s–2010s)
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: The Northeast China Plain is one of the major grain-producing areas of China because of its fertile black soil and large fields adapted for agricultural machinery. It has experienced some land-use changes, such as urbanization, deforestation, and wetland reclamation in recent decades. A comprehensive understanding of these changes in terms of the total cropping land and its heterogeneity during this period is important for policymakers. In this study, we used a series of cropland products at the 30-m resolution for the period 1980–2015. The heterogeneity for dominant cropland decreased slowly over the three decades, especially for the large pieces of cropland, showing a general trend of increased cropland homogeneity. The spatial patterns of the averaged heterogeneity index were nearly the same, varying from 0.5 to 0.6, and the most heterogeneous areas were mainly located in some separate counties. Cropland expansion occurred across most of Northeast China, while cropland shrinking occurred only in the northern and eastern sections of Northeast China and around the capital cities, in the flat areas. Also, changes in land use away from cropland mainly occurred in areas with low elevation (50–200 m) and a gentle slope (less than 1 degree). The predominant changes in cropland were gross gain and homogeneity, occurring across most of the area except capital cities and boundary areas. Possible reasons for the total cropland heterogeneity changes were urbanization, restoration of cropland to forest, and some government land-use policies. Moreover, this study evaluates the effectiveness of cropland policies influencing in Northeast China.
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Xiaoxuan Liu
creator: Le Yu
creator: Qinghan Dong
creator: Dailiang Peng
creator: Wenbin Wu
creator: Qiangyi Yu
creator: Yuqi Cheng
creator: Yidi Xu
creator: Xiaomeng Huang
creator: Zheng Zhou
creator: Dong Wang
creator: Lei Fang
creator: Peng Gong
subject: Agricultural Science
subject: Ecology
subject: Ecosystem Science
subject: Environmental Impacts
subject: Spatial and Geographic Information Science
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.9835
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2020 Liu et al.
abstract: The Northeast China Plain is one of the major grain-producing areas of China because of its fertile black soil and large fields adapted for agricultural machinery. It has experienced some land-use changes, such as urbanization, deforestation, and wetland reclamation in recent decades. A comprehensive understanding of these changes in terms of the total cropping land and its heterogeneity during this period is important for policymakers. In this study, we used a series of cropland products at the 30-m resolution for the period 1980–2015. The heterogeneity for dominant cropland decreased slowly over the three decades, especially for the large pieces of cropland, showing a general trend of increased cropland homogeneity. The spatial patterns of the averaged heterogeneity index were nearly the same, varying from 0.5 to 0.6, and the most heterogeneous areas were mainly located in some separate counties. Cropland expansion occurred across most of Northeast China, while cropland shrinking occurred only in the northern and eastern sections of Northeast China and around the capital cities, in the flat areas. Also, changes in land use away from cropland mainly occurred in areas with low elevation (50–200 m) and a gentle slope (less than 1 degree). The predominant changes in cropland were gross gain and homogeneity, occurring across most of the area except capital cities and boundary areas. Possible reasons for the total cropland heterogeneity changes were urbanization, restoration of cropland to forest, and some government land-use policies. Moreover, this study evaluates the effectiveness of cropland policies influencing in Northeast China.
bibliographic citation: Liu et al. (2020) Cropland heterogeneity changes on the Northeast China Plain in the last three decades (1980s–2010s). PeerJ 8:e9835 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9835
date submitted: 2020-06-22
date accepted: 2020-08-07
issued: 2020-09-08
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Liu
  given name: Xiaoxuan
author list: Agent
  family name: Yu
  given name: Le
author list: Agent
  family name: Dong
  given name: Qinghan
author list: Agent
  family name: Peng
  given name: Dailiang
author list: Agent
  family name: Wu
  given name: Wenbin
author list: Agent
  family name: Yu
  given name: Qiangyi
author list: Agent
  family name: Cheng
  given name: Yuqi
author list: Agent
  family name: Xu
  given name: Yidi
author list: Agent
  family name: Huang
  given name: Xiaomeng
author list: Agent
  family name: Zhou
  given name: Zheng
author list: Agent
  family name: Wang
  given name: Dong
author list: Agent
  family name: Fang
  given name: Lei
author list: Agent
  family name: Gong
  given name: Peng
doi: 10.7717/peerj.9835
volume: 8
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2020-09-08
copyright: ©2020 Liu et al.
attribution name: Liu et al.

Reduced organizational skills in adults with ADHD are due to deficits in persistence, not in strategies
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: Background Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is commonly associated with poor organizational skills, as per the definition of ADHD. However, the contribution of each of the following factors (and their interactions) to the aforementioned poor organization, while comparing individuals with and without ADHD, has not been analyzed in-depth: Work Organization; Communication Clarity; Punctuality; Goal-oriented behaviour; Assiduity; Workspace Organization; Strategies; and Attentiveness. The purpose is to examine the self-reported levels of organizational skills in adults with and without ADHD. Methods Seven hundred seventy-four (n = 303 with a diagnosis of ADHD) adults from the community were recruited online. Participants completed a measure of organizational skills and a screening measure of ADHD. Results Participants with a diagnosis of ADHD displayed lower scores than individuals without a diagnosis of ADHD on all organizational skills with the exception of using strategies to remain organized and learn new information. Higher levels of education were associated with higher levels of organizational skills. While there was no difference between males and females with ADHD, females without ADHD scored higher than males without ADHD. Conclusion This study supports that individuals with ADHD can efficiently develop strategies, but may have difficulties using those strategies in a continuous manner. Suggestions to increase organizational skills in adults with ADHD are presented.
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Guillaume Durand
creator: Ioana-Smarandita Arbone
creator: Monica Wharton
subject: Cognitive Disorders
subject: Psychiatry and Psychology
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.9844
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2020 Durand et al.
abstract: Background Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is commonly associated with poor organizational skills, as per the definition of ADHD. However, the contribution of each of the following factors (and their interactions) to the aforementioned poor organization, while comparing individuals with and without ADHD, has not been analyzed in-depth: Work Organization; Communication Clarity; Punctuality; Goal-oriented behaviour; Assiduity; Workspace Organization; Strategies; and Attentiveness. The purpose is to examine the self-reported levels of organizational skills in adults with and without ADHD. Methods Seven hundred seventy-four (n = 303 with a diagnosis of ADHD) adults from the community were recruited online. Participants completed a measure of organizational skills and a screening measure of ADHD. Results Participants with a diagnosis of ADHD displayed lower scores than individuals without a diagnosis of ADHD on all organizational skills with the exception of using strategies to remain organized and learn new information. Higher levels of education were associated with higher levels of organizational skills. While there was no difference between males and females with ADHD, females without ADHD scored higher than males without ADHD. Conclusion This study supports that individuals with ADHD can efficiently develop strategies, but may have difficulties using those strategies in a continuous manner. Suggestions to increase organizational skills in adults with ADHD are presented.
bibliographic citation: Durand et al. (2020) Reduced organizational skills in adults with ADHD are due to deficits in persistence, not in strategies. PeerJ 8:e9844 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9844
date submitted: 2020-05-04
date accepted: 2020-08-11
issued: 2020-09-08
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Durand
  given name: Guillaume
author list: Agent
  family name: Arbone
  given name: Ioana-Smarandita
author list: Agent
  family name: Wharton
  given name: Monica
doi: 10.7717/peerj.9844
volume: 8
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2020-09-08
copyright: ©2020 Durand et al.
attribution name: Durand et al.

Identification of key modules and hub genes associated with lung function in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: Background Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic and progressive interstitial lung disease, characterized by a decline in lung function. To date, the pathophysiologic mechanisms associated with lung dysfunction remain unclear, and no effective therapy has been identified to improve lung function. Methods In the present study, we used weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) to identify key modules and hub genes associated with lung function in IPF. Three datasets, containing clinical information, were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus. WGCNA was performed on the GSE32537 dataset. Differentially expressed gene s (DEGs) between IPF patients and healthy controls were also identified to filter hub genes. The relationship between hub genes and lung function was then validated using the GSE47460 and GSE24206 datasets. Results The red module, containing 267 genes, was positively correlated with the St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire score (r = 0.37, p < 0.001) and negatively correlated with the percent predicted forced vital capacity (FVC% predicted) (r = − 0.46, p < 0.001) and the percent predicted diffusion capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (Dlco% predicted) (r = − 0.42, p < 0.001). Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis suggested that the genes in the red module were primarily involved in inflammation and immune pathways. Based on Module Membership and Gene Significance, 32 candidate hub genes were selected in the red module to construct a protein-protein interaction network . Based on the identified DEGs and the degree of connectivity in the network, we identified three hub genes, including interleukin 6 (IL6), suppressor of cytokine signaling-3 (SOCS3), and serpin family E member 1 (SERPINE1). In the GSE47460 dataset, Spearman correlation coefficients between Dlco% predicted and expression levels of IL6, SERPINE1, SOCS3 were –0.32, –0.41, and –0.46, respectively. Spearman correlation coeffi…
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Yuechong Xia
creator: Cheng Lei
creator: Danhui Yang
creator: Hong Luo
subject: Bioinformatics
subject: Genomics
subject: Respiratory Medicine
subject: Translational Medicine
subject: Medical Genetics
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.9848
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2020 Xia et al.
abstract: Background Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic and progressive interstitial lung disease, characterized by a decline in lung function. To date, the pathophysiologic mechanisms associated with lung dysfunction remain unclear, and no effective therapy has been identified to improve lung function. Methods In the present study, we used weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) to identify key modules and hub genes associated with lung function in IPF. Three datasets, containing clinical information, were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus. WGCNA was performed on the GSE32537 dataset. Differentially expressed gene s (DEGs) between IPF patients and healthy controls were also identified to filter hub genes. The relationship between hub genes and lung function was then validated using the GSE47460 and GSE24206 datasets. Results The red module, containing 267 genes, was positively correlated with the St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire score (r = 0.37, p < 0.001) and negatively correlated with the percent predicted forced vital capacity (FVC% predicted) (r = − 0.46, p < 0.001) and the percent predicted diffusion capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (Dlco% predicted) (r = − 0.42, p < 0.001). Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis suggested that the genes in the red module were primarily involved in inflammation and immune pathways. Based on Module Membership and Gene Significance, 32 candidate hub genes were selected in the red module to construct a protein-protein interaction network . Based on the identified DEGs and the degree of connectivity in the network, we identified three hub genes, including interleukin 6 (IL6), suppressor of cytokine signaling-3 (SOCS3), and serpin family E member 1 (SERPINE1). In the GSE47460 dataset, Spearman correlation coefficients between Dlco% predicted and expression levels of IL6, SERPINE1, SOCS3 were –0.32, –0.41, and –0.46, respectively. Spearman correlation coeffi…
bibliographic citation: Xia et al. (2020) Identification of key modules and hub genes associated with lung function in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. PeerJ 8:e9848 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9848
date submitted: 2020-06-12
date accepted: 2020-08-11
issued: 2020-09-08
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Xia
  given name: Yuechong
author list: Agent
  family name: Lei
  given name: Cheng
author list: Agent
  family name: Yang
  given name: Danhui
author list: Agent
  family name: Luo
  given name: Hong
doi: 10.7717/peerj.9848
volume: 8
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2020-09-08
copyright: ©2020 Xia et al.
attribution name: Xia et al.

Monthly drought prediction based on ensemble models
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: Drought is a natural hazard, which is a result of a prolonged shortage of precipitation, high temperature and change in the weather pattern. Drought harms society, the economy and the natural environment, but it is difficult to identify and characterize. Many areas of Pakistan have suffered severe droughts during the last three decades due to changes in the weather pattern. A drought analysis with the incorporation of climate information has not yet been undertaken in this study region. Here, we propose an ensemble approach for monthly drought prediction and to define and examine wet/dry events. Initially, the drought events were identified by the short term Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI-3). Drought is predicted based on three ensemble models i.e., Equal Ensemble Drought Prediction (EEDP), Weighted Ensemble Drought Prediction (WEDP) and the Conditional Ensemble Drought Prediction (CEDP) model. Besides, two weighting procedures are used for distributing weights in the WEDP model, such as Traditional Weighting (TW) and the Weighted Bootstrap Resampling (WBR) procedure. Four copula families (i.e., Frank, Clayton, Gumbel and Joe) are used to explain the dependency relation between climate indices and precipitation in the CEDP model. Among all four copula families, the Joe copula has been found suitable for most of the times. The CEDP model provides better results in terms of accuracy and uncertainty as compared to other ensemble models for all meteorological stations. The performance of the CEDP model indicates that the climate indices are correlated with a weather pattern of four meteorological stations. Moreover, the percentage occurrence of extreme drought events that have appeared in the Multan, Bahawalpur, Barkhan and Khanpur are 1.44%, 0.57%, 2.59% and 1.71%, respectively, whereas the percentage occurrence of extremely wet events are 2.3%, 1.72%, 0.86% and 2.86%, respectively. The understanding of drought pattern by including climate information can contri…
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Muhammad Haroon Shaukat
creator: Ijaz Hussain
creator: Muhammad Faisal
creator: Ahmad Al-Dousari
creator: Muhammad Ismail
creator: Alaa Mohamd Shoukry
creator: Elsayed Elsherbini Elashkar
creator: Showkat Gani
subject: Agricultural Science
subject: Statistics
subject: Computational Science
subject: Data Science
subject: Environmental Impacts
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.9853
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2020 Shaukat et al.
abstract: Drought is a natural hazard, which is a result of a prolonged shortage of precipitation, high temperature and change in the weather pattern. Drought harms society, the economy and the natural environment, but it is difficult to identify and characterize. Many areas of Pakistan have suffered severe droughts during the last three decades due to changes in the weather pattern. A drought analysis with the incorporation of climate information has not yet been undertaken in this study region. Here, we propose an ensemble approach for monthly drought prediction and to define and examine wet/dry events. Initially, the drought events were identified by the short term Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI-3). Drought is predicted based on three ensemble models i.e., Equal Ensemble Drought Prediction (EEDP), Weighted Ensemble Drought Prediction (WEDP) and the Conditional Ensemble Drought Prediction (CEDP) model. Besides, two weighting procedures are used for distributing weights in the WEDP model, such as Traditional Weighting (TW) and the Weighted Bootstrap Resampling (WBR) procedure. Four copula families (i.e., Frank, Clayton, Gumbel and Joe) are used to explain the dependency relation between climate indices and precipitation in the CEDP model. Among all four copula families, the Joe copula has been found suitable for most of the times. The CEDP model provides better results in terms of accuracy and uncertainty as compared to other ensemble models for all meteorological stations. The performance of the CEDP model indicates that the climate indices are correlated with a weather pattern of four meteorological stations. Moreover, the percentage occurrence of extreme drought events that have appeared in the Multan, Bahawalpur, Barkhan and Khanpur are 1.44%, 0.57%, 2.59% and 1.71%, respectively, whereas the percentage occurrence of extremely wet events are 2.3%, 1.72%, 0.86% and 2.86%, respectively. The understanding of drought pattern by including climate information can contri…
bibliographic citation: Shaukat et al. (2020) Monthly drought prediction based on ensemble models. PeerJ 8:e9853 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9853
date submitted: 2020-03-27
date accepted: 2020-08-11
issued: 2020-09-08
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Shaukat
  given name: Muhammad Haroon
author list: Agent
  family name: Hussain
  given name: Ijaz
author list: Agent
  family name: Faisal
  given name: Muhammad
author list: Agent
  family name: Al-Dousari
  given name: Ahmad
author list: Agent
  family name: Ismail
  given name: Muhammad
author list: Agent
  family name: Shoukry
  given name: Alaa Mohamd
author list: Agent
  family name: Elashkar
  given name: Elsayed Elsherbini
author list: Agent
  family name: Gani
  given name: Showkat
doi: 10.7717/peerj.9853
volume: 8
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2020-09-08
copyright: ©2020 Shaukat et al.
attribution name: Shaukat et al.

Usefulness of the cytokines expression of Th1/Th2/Th17 and urinary CD80 excretion in adult-onset minimal change disease
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: Background Minimal change disease (MCD) is a common form of nephrotic syndrome in adults. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of MCD remains incompletely understood. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of the cytokines expression of Th1/Th2/Th17 and urinary CD80 excretion in adult-onset MCD patients. Methods The lymphocyte subsets, 34 cytokine levels of Th1/Th2/Th17, serum and urine concentrations of CD80, and expression of CD80 in glomeruli were analyzed in 28 cases (15 males and 13 females; average age: 34.1 years, age range: 18–56 years), including 10 patients with MCD in relapse, nine patients with MCD in remission and nine healthy controls. Results There was no significant difference of CD3+CD4+ cells proportion among patients with MCD in relapse, MCD in remission and healthy controls (P = 0.802). The cytokine levels of GM-CSF and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related activation-induced cytokine (TRANCE) in patients with MCD in relapse increased 1.5 times higher than those in remission. An evident increase in the excretion of urinary CD80 was found in patients with relapsed MCD compared with those in remission (598.4 ± 115.8 vs 81.78 ± 7.04 ng/g creatinine, P < 0.001) and healthy controls (598.4 ± 115.8 vs 67.44 ± 8.94 ng/g creatinine, P < 0.001). CD80 expression was observed in podocyte of MCD patient in relapse by immunofluorescence technique. Conclusions The cytokines GM-CSF and TRANCE are increased and the urinary CD80 levels are elevated in adult-onset MCD patients in relapse, indicating a disorder of Th1/Th2/Th17 balance and that the elevated excretion of CD80 may underlie the pathogenesis and development of adult-onset MCD.
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Ping Chen
creator: Yan Chen
creator: Maoqing Jiang
creator: Yijun Mo
creator: Huanhuan Ying
creator: Xun Tang
creator: Jun Zhang
subject: Immunology
subject: Nephrology
subject: Urology
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.9854
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2020 Chen et al.
abstract: Background Minimal change disease (MCD) is a common form of nephrotic syndrome in adults. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of MCD remains incompletely understood. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of the cytokines expression of Th1/Th2/Th17 and urinary CD80 excretion in adult-onset MCD patients. Methods The lymphocyte subsets, 34 cytokine levels of Th1/Th2/Th17, serum and urine concentrations of CD80, and expression of CD80 in glomeruli were analyzed in 28 cases (15 males and 13 females; average age: 34.1 years, age range: 18–56 years), including 10 patients with MCD in relapse, nine patients with MCD in remission and nine healthy controls. Results There was no significant difference of CD3+CD4+ cells proportion among patients with MCD in relapse, MCD in remission and healthy controls (P = 0.802). The cytokine levels of GM-CSF and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related activation-induced cytokine (TRANCE) in patients with MCD in relapse increased 1.5 times higher than those in remission. An evident increase in the excretion of urinary CD80 was found in patients with relapsed MCD compared with those in remission (598.4 ± 115.8 vs 81.78 ± 7.04 ng/g creatinine, P < 0.001) and healthy controls (598.4 ± 115.8 vs 67.44 ± 8.94 ng/g creatinine, P < 0.001). CD80 expression was observed in podocyte of MCD patient in relapse by immunofluorescence technique. Conclusions The cytokines GM-CSF and TRANCE are increased and the urinary CD80 levels are elevated in adult-onset MCD patients in relapse, indicating a disorder of Th1/Th2/Th17 balance and that the elevated excretion of CD80 may underlie the pathogenesis and development of adult-onset MCD.
bibliographic citation: Chen et al. (2020) Usefulness of the cytokines expression of Th1/Th2/Th17 and urinary CD80 excretion in adult-onset minimal change disease. PeerJ 8:e9854 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9854
date submitted: 2020-05-14
date accepted: 2020-08-11
issued: 2020-09-08
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Chen
  given name: Ping
author list: Agent
  family name: Chen
  given name: Yan
author list: Agent
  family name: Jiang
  given name: Maoqing
author list: Agent
  family name: Mo
  given name: Yijun
author list: Agent
  family name: Ying
  given name: Huanhuan
author list: Agent
  family name: Tang
  given name: Xun
author list: Agent
  family name: Zhang
  given name: Jun
doi: 10.7717/peerj.9854
volume: 8
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2020-09-08
copyright: ©2020 Chen et al.
attribution name: Chen et al.

Hypercarnivorous teeth and healed injuries to Canis chihliensis from Early Pleistocene Nihewan beds, China, support social hunting for ancestral wolves
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: Collaborative hunting by complex social groups is a hallmark of large dogs (Mammalia: Carnivora: Canidae), whose teeth also tend to be hypercarnivorous, specialized toward increased cutting edges for meat consumption and robust p4-m1 complex for cracking bone. The deep history of canid pack hunting is, however, obscure because behavioral evidence is rarely preserved in fossils. Dated to the Early Pleistocene (>1.2 Ma), Canis chihliensis from the Nihewan Basin of northern China is one of the earliest canines to feature a large body size and hypercarnivorous dentition. We present the first known record of dental infection in C. chihliensis, likely inflicted by processing hard food, such as bone. Another individual also suffered a displaced fracture of its tibia and, despite such an incapacitating injury, survived the trauma to heal. The long period required for healing the compound fracture is consistent with social hunting and family care (food-sharing) although alternative explanations exist. Comparison with abundant paleopathological records of the putatively pack-hunting Late Pleistocene dire wolf, Canis dirus, at the Rancho La Brea asphalt seeps in southern California, U.S.A., suggests similarity in feeding behavior and sociality between Chinese and American Canis across space and time. Pack hunting in Canis may be traced back to the Early Pleistocene, well before the appearance of modern wolves, but additional evidence is needed for confirmation.
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Haowen Tong
creator: Xi Chen
creator: Bei Zhang
creator: Bruce Rothschild
creator: Stuart White
creator: Mairin Balisi
creator: Xiaoming Wang
subject: Animal Behavior
subject: Ecology
subject: Evolutionary Studies
subject: Paleontology
subject: Zoology
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.9858
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2020 Tong et al.
abstract: Collaborative hunting by complex social groups is a hallmark of large dogs (Mammalia: Carnivora: Canidae), whose teeth also tend to be hypercarnivorous, specialized toward increased cutting edges for meat consumption and robust p4-m1 complex for cracking bone. The deep history of canid pack hunting is, however, obscure because behavioral evidence is rarely preserved in fossils. Dated to the Early Pleistocene (>1.2 Ma), Canis chihliensis from the Nihewan Basin of northern China is one of the earliest canines to feature a large body size and hypercarnivorous dentition. We present the first known record of dental infection in C. chihliensis, likely inflicted by processing hard food, such as bone. Another individual also suffered a displaced fracture of its tibia and, despite such an incapacitating injury, survived the trauma to heal. The long period required for healing the compound fracture is consistent with social hunting and family care (food-sharing) although alternative explanations exist. Comparison with abundant paleopathological records of the putatively pack-hunting Late Pleistocene dire wolf, Canis dirus, at the Rancho La Brea asphalt seeps in southern California, U.S.A., suggests similarity in feeding behavior and sociality between Chinese and American Canis across space and time. Pack hunting in Canis may be traced back to the Early Pleistocene, well before the appearance of modern wolves, but additional evidence is needed for confirmation.
bibliographic citation: Tong et al. (2020) Hypercarnivorous teeth and healed injuries to Canis chihliensis from Early Pleistocene Nihewan beds, China, support social hunting for ancestral wolves. PeerJ 8:e9858 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9858
date submitted: 2020-05-19
date accepted: 2020-08-11
issued: 2020-09-08
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Tong
  given name: Haowen
author list: Agent
  family name: Chen
  given name: Xi
author list: Agent
  family name: Zhang
  given name: Bei
author list: Agent
  family name: Rothschild
  given name: Bruce
author list: Agent
  family name: White
  given name: Stuart
author list: Agent
  family name: Balisi
  given name: Mairin
author list: Agent
  family name: Wang
  given name: Xiaoming
doi: 10.7717/peerj.9858
volume: 8
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2020-09-08
copyright: ©2020 Tong et al.
attribution name: Tong et al.

Mechanisms of diversity maintenance in dung beetle assemblages in a heterogeneous tropical landscape
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: Background Anthropized landscapes play a crucial role in biodiversity conservation, as they encompass about 90% of the remaining tropical forest. Effective conservation strategies require a deep understanding of how anthropic disturbances determine diversity patterns across these landscapes. Here, we evaluated how attributes and assembly mechanisms of dung beetle communities vary across the Selva El Ocote Biosphere Reserve (REBISO) landscape. Methods Community attributes (species diversity, abundance, and biomass) were assessed at the landscape scale, using spatial windows and vegetation classes. Windows were categorized as intact, variegated, or fragmented based on their percent cover of tropical forest. The vegetation classes analyzed were tropical forest, second-growth forest, and pastures. Results We collected 15,457 individuals and 55 species. Variegated windows, tropical forests, and second-growth forests showed the highest diversity values, while the lowest values were found in intact windows and pastures. Landscape fragmentation was positively and strongly related to dung beetle diversity and negatively related to their abundance; biomass was positively associated with forest cover. Beta diversity was the primary driver of the high dung beetle diversity in the landscape analyzed. Discussion The landscape heterogeneity and its biodiversity-friendly matrix facilitate the complementarity of dung beetle assemblages in the Selva El Ocote Biosphere Reserve. Random processes govern beta diversity patterns in intact and variegated windows. Therefore, vegetation cover in the region is sufficient to maintain a continuous flow of dung beetles between forested landscape segments. However, intense anthropic disturbances acted as deterministic environmental filters in fragmented windows and pastures sites, leading to biotic homogenization processes. Our results suggest that increasing habitat variegation in highly fragmented sites is an effective strategy to prevent or bu…
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Jose D. Rivera
creator: Benigno Gómez
creator: Darío A. Navarrete-Gutiérrez
creator: Lorena Ruíz-Montoya
creator: Leonardo Delgado
creator: Mario E. Favila
subject: Biodiversity
subject: Ecology
subject: Entomology
subject: Natural Resource Management
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.9860
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2020 Rivera et al.
abstract: Background Anthropized landscapes play a crucial role in biodiversity conservation, as they encompass about 90% of the remaining tropical forest. Effective conservation strategies require a deep understanding of how anthropic disturbances determine diversity patterns across these landscapes. Here, we evaluated how attributes and assembly mechanisms of dung beetle communities vary across the Selva El Ocote Biosphere Reserve (REBISO) landscape. Methods Community attributes (species diversity, abundance, and biomass) were assessed at the landscape scale, using spatial windows and vegetation classes. Windows were categorized as intact, variegated, or fragmented based on their percent cover of tropical forest. The vegetation classes analyzed were tropical forest, second-growth forest, and pastures. Results We collected 15,457 individuals and 55 species. Variegated windows, tropical forests, and second-growth forests showed the highest diversity values, while the lowest values were found in intact windows and pastures. Landscape fragmentation was positively and strongly related to dung beetle diversity and negatively related to their abundance; biomass was positively associated with forest cover. Beta diversity was the primary driver of the high dung beetle diversity in the landscape analyzed. Discussion The landscape heterogeneity and its biodiversity-friendly matrix facilitate the complementarity of dung beetle assemblages in the Selva El Ocote Biosphere Reserve. Random processes govern beta diversity patterns in intact and variegated windows. Therefore, vegetation cover in the region is sufficient to maintain a continuous flow of dung beetles between forested landscape segments. However, intense anthropic disturbances acted as deterministic environmental filters in fragmented windows and pastures sites, leading to biotic homogenization processes. Our results suggest that increasing habitat variegation in highly fragmented sites is an effective strategy to prevent or bu…
bibliographic citation: Rivera et al. (2020) Mechanisms of diversity maintenance in dung beetle assemblages in a heterogeneous tropical landscape. PeerJ 8:e9860 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9860
date submitted: 2020-03-24
date accepted: 2020-08-12
issued: 2020-09-08
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Rivera
  given name: Jose D.
author list: Agent
  family name: Gómez
  given name: Benigno
author list: Agent
  family name: Navarrete-Gutiérrez
  given name: Darío A.
author list: Agent
  family name: Ruíz-Montoya
  given name: Lorena
author list: Agent
  family name: Delgado
  given name: Leonardo
author list: Agent
  family name: Favila
  given name: Mario E.
doi: 10.7717/peerj.9860
volume: 8
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2020-09-08
copyright: ©2020 Rivera et al.
attribution name: Rivera et al.

Climatic influence on the growth pattern of Panthasaurus maleriensis from the Late Triassic of India deduced from paleohistology
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: Metoposaurids are representatives of the extinct amphibian clade Temnospondyli, found on almost every continent exclusively in the Late Triassic deposits. Osteohistologically, it is one of the best-known temnospondyl groups, analyzed with a wide spectrum of methods, such as morphology, morphometry, bone histology or computed modelling. The least known member of Metoposauridae is Panthasaurus maleriensis from the Pranhita-Godavari basin in Central India, being geographically the most southern record of this family. For the first time the bone histology of this taxon was studied with a focus on the intraspecific variability of the histological framework and the relationship between the observed growth pattern and climatic and/or environmental conditions. The studied material includes thin-sections of five long bones, a rib, an ilium and an intercentrum belonging most likely to eight individuals ranging from different ontogenetic stages. All bones have a large medullary region with progressively increasing remodeling, surrounded by a lamellar-zonal tissue type. The primary cortex consists of parallel-fibered matrix showing various degrees of organization, less organized collagen fibers in the zones and higher organized in the annuli. Growth marks occur in the form of alternating zones and annuli in every bone except the ilium and the intercentrum. The vascularity becomes less dense towards the outermost cortex in all sampled limb bones. Towards the outermost cortex the zone thickness is decreasing, in contrast to the avascular annuli, that become thicker or are of the same thickness. The growth pattern of P. maleriensis is uniform and represents changes in ontogenetic development. Multiple resting lines are prominent in the outer annuli of the limb bones and the rib and they presumably indicate climatic and environmental influence on the growth pattern. Therefore, a prolonged phase of slowed-down growth occurred during the unfavorable phase, but a complete cessation of…
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Elżbieta M. Teschner
creator: Sanjukta Chakravorti
creator: Dhurjati P. Sengupta
creator: Dorota Konietzko-Meier
subject: Paleontology
subject: Zoology
subject: Histology
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.9868
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2020 Teschner et al.
abstract: Metoposaurids are representatives of the extinct amphibian clade Temnospondyli, found on almost every continent exclusively in the Late Triassic deposits. Osteohistologically, it is one of the best-known temnospondyl groups, analyzed with a wide spectrum of methods, such as morphology, morphometry, bone histology or computed modelling. The least known member of Metoposauridae is Panthasaurus maleriensis from the Pranhita-Godavari basin in Central India, being geographically the most southern record of this family. For the first time the bone histology of this taxon was studied with a focus on the intraspecific variability of the histological framework and the relationship between the observed growth pattern and climatic and/or environmental conditions. The studied material includes thin-sections of five long bones, a rib, an ilium and an intercentrum belonging most likely to eight individuals ranging from different ontogenetic stages. All bones have a large medullary region with progressively increasing remodeling, surrounded by a lamellar-zonal tissue type. The primary cortex consists of parallel-fibered matrix showing various degrees of organization, less organized collagen fibers in the zones and higher organized in the annuli. Growth marks occur in the form of alternating zones and annuli in every bone except the ilium and the intercentrum. The vascularity becomes less dense towards the outermost cortex in all sampled limb bones. Towards the outermost cortex the zone thickness is decreasing, in contrast to the avascular annuli, that become thicker or are of the same thickness. The growth pattern of P. maleriensis is uniform and represents changes in ontogenetic development. Multiple resting lines are prominent in the outer annuli of the limb bones and the rib and they presumably indicate climatic and environmental influence on the growth pattern. Therefore, a prolonged phase of slowed-down growth occurred during the unfavorable phase, but a complete cessation of…
bibliographic citation: Teschner et al. (2020) Climatic influence on the growth pattern of Panthasaurus maleriensis from the Late Triassic of India deduced from paleohistology. PeerJ 8:e9868 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9868
date submitted: 2020-03-16
date accepted: 2020-08-13
issued: 2020-09-08
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Teschner
  given name: Elżbieta M.
author list: Agent
  family name: Chakravorti
  given name: Sanjukta
author list: Agent
  family name: Sengupta
  given name: Dhurjati P.
author list: Agent
  family name: Konietzko-Meier
  given name: Dorota
doi: 10.7717/peerj.9868
volume: 8
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2020-09-08
copyright: ©2020 Teschner et al.
attribution name: Teschner et al.

PeerJ
type: Periodical
uri: PeerJ
issn: 2167-8359