Article
Veterinary Sciences
Joao Paulo da Exaltacao Pascon, Maria Ligia de Arruda Mestieri, Roberta Martins Crivelaro, Roberto Thiesen, Claudia Acosta Duarte
Summary: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) was diagnosed in a young hog-nosed skunk (Conepatus chinga) found in poor condition on a farm in southern Brazil. Treatment with furosemide, enalapril maleate, taurine supplementation, and pimobendan showed significant clinical improvement. After 30 months of therapy, the skunk had a good quality of life without recurrence of congestive heart failure.
ACTA SCIENTIAE VETERINARIAE
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
D. F. Castillo, N. C. Caruso
Summary: Understanding the distribution and ecological niche of hog-nosed skunks is crucial for their conservation. This study used species occurrence records and environmental variables to estimate suitable areas and key factors influencing their distribution. The results showed that temperature and tree presence are important variables. Additionally, areas of high habitat suitability for hog-nosed skunks are underrepresented in protected areas.
JOURNAL FOR NATURE CONSERVATION
(2024)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Bonnie E. Gulas-Wroblewski, Rodion Gorchakov, Rebecca B. Kairis, Robert C. Dowler, Kristy O. Murray
Summary: Chagas disease is a neglected tropical disease that affects millions of people in the Americas. This study investigated the prevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in wild skunks in Texas, United States, and found varying infection rates among different skunk species. The results highlight the potential risk of skunks in the transmission of the parasite and provide important baseline data for future surveillance and conservation efforts.
VECTOR-BORNE AND ZOONOTIC DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Software Engineering
Laura Carnevali, Reinhard German, Francesco Santoni, Enrico Vicario
Summary: Quantitative evaluation of stochastic models allows for early verification of design choices and assessment of non-functional requirements. A hierarchical modeling formalism based on UML statecharts is presented to guarantee ease of modeling and efficient evaluation of steady-state or transient behavior.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Oceanography
Jonatan Manqui, Felipe A. Hernandez, Maria C. Silva-de la Fuente, Gerardo Acosta-Jamett
Summary: Adult individuals of Amblyomma tigrinum were collected from a Conepatus chinga in rural Chile, and were described and identified morphologically. While there are few studies on skunks as ectoparasite hosts, the adaptability of A. tigrinum to different environments and its specificity for Carnivora order suggest skunks as potential suitable hosts for this tick species.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
J. A. Martin-Fernandez, J. J. Egozcue, R. A. Olea, V. Pawlowsky-Glahn
Summary: Compositional data requires statistical analysis on a log-ratio basis, with back-transforming estimates to original units. This paper introduces two methods for recovering original units, demonstrated using geochemical data.
NATURAL RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Mathematics, Interdisciplinary Applications
Michael Greenacre
Summary: Compositional data are nonnegative data with a constant-sum constraint, with logratios as the fundamental transformation. Combining components can alleviate the issue of zero values. Various statistical analysis can be performed after transforming the data into logratios.
ANNUAL REVIEW OF STATISTICS AND ITS APPLICATION, VOL 8, 2021
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Birgit Fritz, Edita Paschko, Wayne Young, Daniel Boehringer, Siegfried Wahl, Focke Ziemssen, Markus Egert
Summary: Slit lamps are commonly used for examining numerous patients and are often contaminated with bacteria from human skin, mucosa, and possibly eyes. The study showed a diverse bacterial microbiota on slit lamps, emphasizing the importance of thorough cleaning and disinfection to prevent infections.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Michael Smithson, Stephen B. Broomell
Summary: This article introduces techniques for dealing with dependency in data where numerical data sum to a constant for individual cases, known as compositional or ipsative data. Despite falling out of fashion, compositional data are common in psychological research and can provide unique insights. Sound methods for analyzing compositional data have been developed since the 1980s, and this article aims to enable researchers to analyze compositional data effectively.
PSYCHOLOGICAL METHODS
(2022)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Shulei Wang
Summary: In this study, a new differential abundance test called the MsRDB test is proposed, which embeds the sequences into a metric space and integrates a multiscale adaptive strategy to identify differentially abundant microbes. Compared with existing methods, the MsRDB test can detect differentially abundant microbes at the finest resolution offered by data and is robust to zero counts, compositional effect, and experimental bias in the microbial compositional dataset.
Article
Microbiology
Laura Sisk-Hackworth, Adrian Ortiz-Velez, Micheal B. Reed, Scott T. Kelley
Summary: Periodontal disease (PD) is a chronic, progressive polymicrobial disease that induces a strong host immune response. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) studies have shown that PD biodiversity increases with pocket depth and PD communities are highly host-specific. By applying compositional data analysis (CoDA) methods, new features associated with PD, including genera Schwartzia and Aerococcus, and the cytokine C-reactive protein, have been identified. Network analysis revealed lower connectivity among taxa in deeper periodontal pockets, indicating a more random microbiome.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Srujan Teja Thomdapu, Harsh Vardhan, Ketan Rajawat
Summary: This work studies constrained stochastic optimization problems in the context of fair classification, fair regression, and queuing system design. The goal is to solve these problems in a large-scale setting with a minimal number of calls to the oracle. A quasi-gradient saddle point algorithm is proposed to construct approximate gradients and find the optimal and feasible solution almost surely. The proposed algorithm requires O(1/epsilon(4)) data samples to obtain an epsilon-approximate optimal point with zero constraint violation, outperforming state-of-the-art algorithms in terms of convergence rate in fair classification and fair regression problems.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON SIGNAL PROCESSING
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Martin Ek, C. Leon M. Petersson, Jesper Wallentin, David Wahlqvist, Aylin Ahadi, Magnus Borgstrom, Reine Wallenberg
Summary: Nanowire growth enables creation of embedded heterostructures, but poses challenges for compositional characterization through transmission electron microscopy. Residual strain in certain regions can cause the two characterization techniques to diverge from the true value.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Na Xu, Chuanpeng Xu, Robert B. Finkelman, Mark A. Engle, Qing Li, Mengmeng Peng, Lizhi He, Bin Huang, Yuchen Yang
Summary: The modes of occurrence of elements in coal are crucial for understanding coal formation and predicting impacts from coal utilization. Log-ratio transformations in hierarchical clustering algorithms are effective in inferring these modes of occurrence.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COAL GEOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Madeleine Bird, Geetanjali D. Datta, Deanna Chinerman, Lisa Kakinami, Marie-Eve Mathieu, Melanie Henderson, Tracie A. Barnett
Summary: In this study, the relation between neighborhood features and physical activity in youth was compared using traditional linear regression analysis and compositional data analysis (CoDA). The results showed that girls who lived in more walkable neighborhoods engaged in more moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day, even after accounting for other movement behaviors.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
(2022)
Review
Ecology
Mauro Lucherini, Maria de las Mercedes Guerisoli, Estela M. Luengos Vidal
Article
Zoology
Diego Fabian Castillo, Estela Maris Luengos Vidal, Nicolas Carmelo Caruso, Claudia Manfredi, Mauro Lucherini, Emma Beatriz Casanave
Article
Zoology
Maria de las Mercedes Guerisoli, Nicolas Caruso, Estela Maris Luengos Vidal, Mauro Lucherini
JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY
(2019)
Article
Zoology
Flavia P. Tirelli, Fabio D. Mazim, Peter G. Crawshaw, Ana Paula Albano, Caroline Espinosa, Diego Queirolo, Fabiana Lopes Rocha, Jose Bonifacio Soares, Tatiane C. Trigo, David W. Macdonald, Mauro Lucherini, Eduardo Eizirik
Editorial Material
Biodiversity Conservation
Cintia G. Tellaeche, Juan I. Reppucci, Estela M. Luengos Vidal, Deana L. Clifford, Mauro Lucherini
WILDLIFE SOCIETY BULLETIN
(2020)
Review
Ecology
Francesco Ferretti, Sandro Lovari, Mauro Lucherini, Matt Hayward, Philip A. Stephens
Review
Ecology
Maria de las Mercedes Guerisoli, Estela Luengos Vidal, Nicolas Caruso, Antony J. Giordano, Mauro Lucherini
Summary: The conflict between pumas and livestock producers is mainly caused by loss of livestock, leading to persecution and hunting of pumas by humans. Factors such as high livestock density, low latitudes, and low habitat steepness have been identified as predictors of puma-livestock conflicts. Common conflict mitigation techniques include improving livestock management, predator control, and the use of fencing.
Article
Oceanography
N. C. Caruso, E. M. Luengos Vidal, M. C. Manfredi, M. S. Araujo, M. Lucherini, E. B. Casanave
OCEAN & COASTAL MANAGEMENT
(2020)
Review
Zoology
M. M. Guerisoli, O. Gallo, S. Martinez, E. M. Luengos Vidal, M. Lucherini
Summary: Understanding the food habits of mammalian carnivores, especially the puma, helps comprehend the important role of apex-predators in maintaining healthy ecosystems. This study found that wild prey, both exotic and native species, are the main food sources for pumas in the South American temperate region, despite frequent conflicts with humans. Exotic species have a higher occurrence frequency in puma diets, while livestock is more common inside protected areas.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Rehema M. White, Birgit Schmook, Sophie Calme, Anthony J. Giordiano, Yves Hausser, Lynn Kimmel, Lou Lecuyer, Mauro Lucherini, Crisol Mendez-Medina, Juan L. Pena-Mondragon
Summary: Conservation biology is a discipline that requires collaboration between conservation and science, as it encompasses social, political, and ecological aspects. In a comparative study of 7 cases, motivations for collaboration, potential collaborators, and effective collaboration strategies were examined. The study found that successful conservation outcomes were prioritized in 5 cases, while livelihood benefits were prioritized in the other 2 cases. Participatory approaches were employed in all case studies, with multiple external actors playing a crucial role in enhancing conservation and sustainability outcomes. Key aspects of collaboration considered across the case studies included time, trust, tools, and transformative potential. Guidelines for successful collaboration were developed, emphasizing long-term commitment, knowledge integration, multiscalar and plural approaches, trust-building, appropriate engagement, evaluation, support for students, and efforts for transformation.
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Orlando Gallo, Diego F. Castillo, Raquel Godinho, Emma B. Casanave
Summary: The genetic structure and gene flow of South-central Argentine pumas are influenced by landscape connectivity patterns. The identification of high-permeability linkage zones is crucial for the conservation of this apex predator.
Article
Biology
Julian Mignino, Sabrina Martinez, Estela Luengos Vidal, Mauro Lucherini
Summary: This study aims to characterize the changes to the bones and teeth of prey caused by the Pampas fox. Through the analysis of faeces, plant remains, invertebrate remains, and vertebrate bones and teeth were identified. The study found a high frequency of bone breakage, a low frequency of tooth marks, and a high frequency and intensity of digestion damage. The information generated from this study contributes to the understanding of accumulation processes in archaeological and paleontological sites in South America.
HISTORICAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Ana Sofia Nanni, Tara Teel, Mauro Lucherini
Summary: The study found that puma predation on livestock is considered a significant cause of livestock loss in the Argentine Dry Chaco region, leading to low tolerance towards pumas. While attitudes towards pumas were not strongly correlated with predation, respondents who experienced livestock predation were more likely to engage in retaliatory hunting.
HUMAN DIMENSIONS OF WILDLIFE
(2021)
Article
Oceanography
Mauro Lucherini, Juan Reppucci, Lucia Soler, Alejandro Gonzalez, Paula Gonzalez Ciccia, Rocio Palacios, Javier A. Pereira, Sonia Zapata