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"Gray, Sarah M."
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Positive Psychology Interventions in Practice
\"This book presents recent advancements in positive psychology, specifically its application across broad areas of current interest. Chapters include submissions from various international authors in the field and cover discussion and presentation of relevant research, theories, and applications. The volume covers topics such as CBT, Psychotherapy, Coaching, Workplaces, Aging, Education, Leadership, Emotion, Interventions, Measurement, Technology, Design, Health, Relationships, Experiences, Communities. With the growing interest in the applications of positive psychology across diverse fields within psychology and beyond, this book will make a worthwhile contribution to the field. It will also fill the current need for a volume that highlights specifically the various recent advancements in positive psychology into diverse fields and as such will be of benefit to a wide range of professionals, including psychologists, educators, clinicians, therapists, and many others.\" -- Publisher's website.
Book
Distance to native climatic niche margins explains establishment success of alien mammals
One key hypothesis explaining the fate of exotic species introductions posits that the establishment of a self-sustaining population in the invaded range can only succeed within conditions matching the native climatic niche. Yet, this hypothesis remains untested for individual release events. Using a dataset of 979 introductions of 173 mammal species worldwide, we show that climate-matching to the realized native climatic niche, measured by a new Niche Margin Index (NMI), is a stronger predictor of establishment success than most previously tested life-history attributes and historical factors. Contrary to traditional climatic suitability metrics derived from species distribution models, NMI is based on niche margins and provides a measure of how distant a site is inside or, importantly, outside the niche. Besides many applications in research in ecology and evolution, NMI as a measure of native climatic niche-matching in risk assessments could improve efforts to prevent invasions and avoid costly eradications.
Whether invasive species must first establish in conditions within their native climatic niche before spreading remains largely untested. This study presents the Niche Margin Index for estimating climatic niche-matching of alien mammal species to a particular site, which could be used to help predict the success of invasions.
Journal Article
Intra-islet α-cell Gs signaling promotes glucagon release
Glucagon, a hormone released from pancreatic α-cells, is critical for maintaining euglycemia and plays a key role in the pathophysiology of diabetes. To stimulate the development of new classes of therapeutic agents targeting glucagon release, key α-cell signaling pathways that regulate glucagon secretion need to be identified. Here, we focused on the potential importance of α-cell G
s
signaling on modulating α-cell function. Studies with α-cell-specific mouse models showed that activation of α-cell G
s
signaling causes a marked increase in glucagon secretion. We also found that intra-islet adenosine plays an unexpected autocrine/paracrine role in promoting glucagon release via activation of α−cell G
s
-coupled A
2A
adenosine receptors. Studies with α-cell-specific Gα
s
knockout mice showed that α-cell G
s
also plays an essential role in stimulating the activity of the
Gcg
gene, thus ensuring proper islet glucagon content. Our data suggest that α-cell enriched G
s
-coupled receptors represent potential targets for modulating α-cell function for therapeutic purposes.
Glucagon plays a key role in regulating blood glucose levels. Here, Liu et al. show that
activation of α-cell Gs signaling promotes the release of glucagon from pancreatic islets and ensures the synthesis of sufficient amounts of glucagon.
Journal Article
Biological invasions: a field synopsis, systematic review, and database of the literature
Species introductions of anthropogenic origins are a major aspect of rapid ecological change globally. Research on biological invasions has generated a large literature on many different aspects of this phenomenon. Here, we describe and categorize some aspects of this literature, to better understand what has been studied and what we know, mapping well‐studied areas and important gaps. To do so, we employ the techniques of systematic reviewing widely adopted in other scientific disciplines, to further the use of approaches in reviewing the literature that are as scientific, repeatable, and transparent as those employed in a primary study. We identified 2398 relevant studies in a field synopsis of the biological invasions literature. A majority of these studies (58%) were concerned with hypotheses for causes of biological invasions, while studies on impacts of invasions were the next most common (32% of the publications). We examined 1537 papers in greater detail in a systematic review. Superior competitive abilities of invaders, environmental disturbance, and invaded community species richness were the most common hypotheses examined. Most studies examined only a single hypothesis. Almost half of the papers were field observational studies. Studies of terrestrial invasions dominate the literature, with most of these concerning plant invasions. The focus of the literature overall is uneven, with important gaps in areas of theoretical and practical importance. We employ the techniques of systematic reviewing and field synopses, widely adopted in other scientific disciplines, to describe and categorize a substantial portion of the literature on biological invasions, to better understand what has been studied and what we know, mapping well‐studied areas and important gaps. Among other findings, we report that studies of terrestrial plant invasions dominate the literature, and we identify important gaps in areas of theoretical and practical importance.
Journal Article
Cognitive profile, neuroimaging and fluid biomarkers in post-acute COVID-19 syndrome
We aimed to characterize the cognitive profile of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS) patients with cognitive complaints, exploring the influence of biological and psychological factors. Participants with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and cognitive complaints ≥ 8 weeks post-acute phase were included. A comprehensive neuropsychological battery (NPS) and health questionnaires were administered at inclusion and at 1, 3 and 6 months. Blood samples were collected at each visit, MRI scan at baseline and at 6 months, and, optionally, cerebrospinal fluid. Cognitive features were analyzed in relation to clinical, neuroimaging, and biochemical markers at inclusion and follow-up. Forty-nine participants, with a mean time from symptom onset of 10.4 months, showed attention-executive function (69%) and verbal memory (39%) impairment. Apathy (64%), moderate-severe anxiety (57%), and severe fatigue (35%) were prevalent. Visual memory (8%) correlated with total gray matter (GM) and subcortical GM volume. Neuronal damage and inflammation markers were within normal limits. Over time, cognitive test scores, depression, apathy, anxiety scores, MRI indexes, and fluid biomarkers remained stable, although fewer participants (50% vs. 75.5%; p = 0.012) exhibited abnormal cognitive evaluations at follow-up. Altered attention/executive and verbal memory, common in PACS, persisted in most subjects without association with structural abnormalities, elevated cytokines, or neuronal damage markers.
Journal Article
β Cell Gαs signaling is critical for physiological and pharmacological enhancement of insulin secretion
The incretin peptides glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptors coordinate β cell secretion that is proportional to nutrient intake. This effect permits consistent and restricted glucose excursions across a range of carbohydrate intake. The canonical signaling downstream of ligand-activated incretin receptors involves coupling to Gαs protein and generation of intracellular cAMP. However, recent reports have highlighted the importance of additional signaling nodes engaged by incretin receptors, including other G proteins and β-arrestin proteins. Here, the importance of Gαs signaling was tested in mice with conditional, postdevelopmental β cell deletion of Gnas (encoding Gαs) under physiological and pharmacological conditions. Deletion of Gαs/cAMP signaling induced immediate and profound hyperglycemia that responded minimally to incretin receptor agonists, a sulfonylurea, or bethanechol. While islet area and insulin content were not affected in Gnasβcell-/-, perifusion of isolated islets demonstrated impaired responses to glucose, incretins, acetylcholine, and IBMX In the absence of Gαs, incretin-stimulated insulin secretion was impaired but not absent, with some contribution from Gαq signaling. Collectively, these findings validate a central role for cAMP in mediating incretin signaling, but also demonstrate broad impairment of insulin secretion in the absence of Gαs that causes both fasting hyperglycemia and glucose intolerance.
Journal Article
Activation of Group II Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors in the Nucleus Accumbens Shell Attenuates Context-Induced Relapse to Heroin Seeking
Using a rat relapse model, we previously reported that re-exposing rats to a drug-associated context, following extinction of operant responding in a different context, reinstates heroin seeking. In an initial pharmacological characterization, we found that the mGluR2/3 agonist LY379268, which acts centrally to reduce evoked glutamate release, attenuates context-induced reinstatement of heroin seeking when injected systemically or into the ventral tegmental area, the cell body region of the mesolimbic dopamine system. Here, we tested whether injections of LY379268 into the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a terminal region of the mesolimbic dopamine system, would also attenuate context-induced reinstatement of heroin seeking. Rats were trained to self-administer heroin; drug infusions were paired with a discrete tone-light cue. Subsequently, lever pressing was extinguished in the presence of the discrete cue in a context that differed from the drug self-administration context in terms of visual, auditory, tactile, and circadian cues. After extinction of responding, LY379268 was injected to different groups of rats into the NAc core or shell or into the caudate-putamen, a terminal region of the nigrastriatal dopamine system. Injections of LY379268 into the NAc shell (0.3 or 1.0 microg) dose-dependently attenuated context-induced reinstatement of heroin seeking. Injections of 1.0 microg of LY379268 into the NAc core had no effect, while a higher dose (3.0 microg) decreased this reinstatement. Injections of LY379268 (3.0 microg) 1.5 mm dorsal from the NAc core into the caudate-putamen were ineffective. Results suggest an important role of glutamate transmission in the NAc shell in context-induced reinstatement of heroin seeking.
Journal Article
Shaping beta diversity in arid landscape through native plant species contributions: synergy of climate, soil, and species traits
Understanding how species traits, climate aridity, and soil resources interact to influence beta diversity is critical for predicting changes in plant community composition. This study aims to investigate how these interactions shape species contributions to spatial turnover and beta diversity, focusing on the unique dryland ecosystems of the Saint Katherine Protectorate (SKP) in Egypt. To address this, we analyzed data from 84 vegetation plots, considering the direct and indirect effects of climatic aridity, soil resources, and species traits (e.g., plant height, leaf production, specific leaf area), as well as the relative abundance of C3 plants and phylogenetic diversity on species contribution to beta diversity (SCBDeff). Using Generalized Linear Models (GLMs) and Structural Equation Modelling (SEMs), the results revealed complex indirect effects of aridity and soil resources on SCBDeff mediated by plant traits. SCBDeff was positively influenced by climatic aridity, particularly in species with greater phylogenetic distance, taller plants, high leaf production, and a higher relative abundance of C3 plants. Conversely, specific leaf area (SLA) had a negative effect. Phylogenetic diversity emerged as a significant driver of beta diversity, with distantly related species contributing more due to functional differentiation and niche partitioning. The findings emphasize the critical role of species traits and environmental conditions in shaping beta diversity. These insights can inform conservation strategies aimed at enhancing ecosystem stability under shifting climatic conditions, particularly in dryland environments where species adaptive traits play a pivotal role.
Journal Article
The effects of temperature and dispersal on species diversity in natural microbial metacommunities
Dispersal is key for maintaining biodiversity at local- and regional scales in metacommunities. However, little is known about the combined effects of dispersal and climate change on biodiversity. Theory predicts that alpha-diversity is maximized at intermediate dispersal rates, resulting in a hump-shaped diversity-dispersal relationship. This relationship is predicted to flatten when competition increases. We anticipate that this same flattening will occur with increased temperature because, in the rising part of the temperature performance curve, interspecific competition is predicted to increase. We explored this question using aquatic communities of
Sarracenia purpurea
from early- and late-successional stages, in which we simulated four levels of dispersal and four temperature scenarios. With increased dispersal, the hump shape was observed consistently in late successional communities, but only in higher temperature treatments in early succession. Increased temperature did not flatten the hump-shape relationship, but decreased the level of alpha- and gamma-diversity. Interestingly, higher temperatures negatively impacted small-bodied species. These metacommunity-level extinctions likely relaxed interspecific competition, which could explain the absence of flattening of the diversity-dispersal relationship. Our findings suggest that climate change will cause extinctions both at local- and global- scales and emphasize the importance of intermediate levels of dispersal as an insurance for local diversity.
Journal Article