Letter
Virology
Liyang Zhao, Yusi Li, Wenjuan Yi, Kuo Yan, Chao Yang, Sridhar Radhakrishnan, Rui Li, Ruirong Tan, Gang Fan, Mengyuan Dai, Miao Liu, Ning-Yi Shao
Summary: Although smoking might increase the risk of severe COVID-19, our previous study did not find strong evidence to support this conclusion. We also acknowledged that patients with diabetes or other chronic diseases could have worse outcomes in COVID-19, but this aspect was not investigated in our study as we had published separate research on diabetes. Due to limited sample size and medical records, our study could not encompass multiple factors. Nonetheless, we hope our study serves as a useful and meaningful pilot study for future research.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY
(2023)
Letter
Nutrition & Dietetics
Weili Hu, Pavitra Shankar, Yuanhang Yao, Xinyi Su, Jung Eun Kim
Summary: Pesticides can harm eye health through various exposures. Organic diets have the potential to reduce pesticide exposure, but further studies comparing organic and nonorganic diets are needed to better understand their impact on eye health.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kanchan Thapa, Gokarna Jung Thapa, Ugan Manandhar, Maheshwar Dhakal, Shant Raj Jnawali, Tek Narayan Maraseni
Summary: This study assessed the relationship between above-ground biomass carbon stock, tiger density and occupancy probability in protected areas, corridors, and forest connectivity blocks. The results showed a negative correlation between above-ground biomass carbon stock and both tiger density and occupancy probability. Therefore, forest restoration in riverine habitats and low transitional state forests can provide carbon conservation and habitat protection for tigers and other large predators.
Article
Economics
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Ronald Richman, Marcos Carreira, James Sharpe
Summary: This article responds to Tetlock et al. (2022) by showing that expert judgment is not effective in capturing tail risk and that forecasting tournaments are not compatible with tail-risk assessment methods such as extreme value theory. Additionally, it presents a new finding demonstrating a significant gap between the properties of tail expectation and the corresponding probability.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FORECASTING
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
James Wintrup
Summary: This article responds to the commentary by Ashraf et al., defending the argument that their conducted RCT has caused harm in Zambia. It engages with their central points while also discussing the broader issue of the politics and ethics of conducting RCTs in countries in the Global South and the political vision of economists who see RCTs as a solution to poverty and global health problems.
SOCIAL SCIENCE & MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Anthropology
Kristina Penezic, Marko Porcic, Petra Kathrin Urban, Ursula Wittwer-Backofen, Sofija Stefanovic
Summary: This work responds to a comment on the accuracy and precision of TCA analysis, the reflection of pregnancies in tooth cementum, and the interpretation of results. It argues for the reliability of TCA analysis, provides evidence for pregnancies leaving traces in tooth cementum, and clarifies that the hypothesis of increased fertility causing physiological stress in the Neolithic period needs further testing.
JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE
(2021)
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Eduardo Ferreira, Ines Gregorio, Tania Barros, Doriana Pando, Joaquin Morante, Ana Barbosa, Roberto Hartasanchez, Carlos Fonseca
Summary: The study revealed the likely phylogeographic relation between the eastern Cantabrian brown bear subpopulation and the historical Pyrenean population, as well as the asymmetric flow of alleles and individuals from east to west. The results offer a new perspective on the different pace of population growth of the two brown bear subpopulations.
Editorial Material
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Arjun Datta
Summary: The errors in the surface wave Green's tensor shown by Malkoti et al. have been acknowledged, as pointed out in the comment by Haney and Nakahara. The H/V amplitude ratio calculations were recomputed using expressions for Love and Rayleigh wave Green's tensors valid in the near-field provided by Haney and Nakahara. The differences due to the use of corrected Green's tensors only appear when the receivers are placed close to the edges of the modeling domain.
GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Katherine Griffiths, Neal Michelutti, Marianne S. V. Douglas, John P. Smol
Summary: Gajewski offers criticisms on the study by Griffiths et al. (2017), especially regarding the classification scheme of microclimates used and the value of observational evidence. The study sites were visited multiple times via aerial surveys and ground observations, supporting the microclimate classification scheme. Gajewski's claims on climate, catchment characteristics, and ice melting properties were refuted by veteran Arctic scientists with long-term field experience.
Article
Economics
Mark Diesendorf
Summary: This paper responds to Floyd et al.'s critique by emphasizing the importance of energy modeling and the feasibility of renewable energy. The article argues that while there are uncertainties, these issues can be resolved within the framework of normal science, and most barriers have been addressed in practice. Additionally, the paper highlights the need to support energy descent and degrowth through other arguments.
Letter
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Patrick K. Durkee, Aaron W. Lukaszewski, David M. Buss
Summary: The study suggests that the primary foundation of human status allocation psychology is benefit generation rather than cost infliction. While there are strong correlations among predictors, it does not necessarily indicate severe collinearity. The thorough examination of the study is valuable, but further research is required to understand the impact of VIF threshold on the results.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Forestry
Faizah N. Alenezi, Ali Chenari Bouket, Hafsa Cherif-Silini, Allaoua Silini, Marcel Jaspars, Tomasz Oszako, Lassaad Belbahri
Summary: The Aneurinibacillus migulanus (A. migulanus) strains Nagano and NCTC 7096 have been proven to be powerful biocontrol agents against plant diseases. The cyclic peptide gramicidin S (GS) produced by both strains plays a major role in inhibiting bacteria and fungus-like organisms. A mutant of the Nagano strain impaired in GS biosynthesis showed a total loss of biocontrol ability, highlighting the importance of GS in the biocontrol potential of A. migulanus Nagano strain.
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Valerie A. Schneider
Summary: This article provides a snapshot of the peer review process for a haplotype-resolved de novo assembly of a Tujia genome, highlighting the necessity for high-quality population-specific genome references.
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Phillip L. Ackerman
Summary: This reply focuses on addressing the challenges to the development of assessments of knowledge and skills beyond traditional ability assessments and providing clarification on the differences between the proposed approach to assessing intellect and adaptive intelligence.
AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGIST
(2023)
Editorial Material
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Aidan G. C. Wright, Whitney R. Ringwald, Christopher J. Hopwood, Aaron L. Pincus
Summary: The reply argues against the use of personality trait models as the preferred way to redefine personality disorders. While personality trait models are descriptive tools, they lack the ability to define and explain, making them unable to accurately define and differentiate personality disorders. In contrast, a specific interpersonal model is proposed and adopted in psychiatric classification.
AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGIST
(2023)
