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Citizen Science and the Urban Ecology of Birds and Butterflies — A Systematic Review
Citizen science has gained widespread currency as a tool for ecological research over the past decade. However, in the discipline of urban ecology, the existing contributions and future potential of citizen science engagement, specifically in terms of knowledge gain, have not yet been comprehensively explored. Here, we present a systematic review of published work on the urban ecology of birds and butterflies in relation to their use of citizen science data between 2005 and 2014. We compared the number of studies that used citizen science data to the number of studies that could potentially have employed data derived from citizen science. The take-up rates of citizen science data were 21% and 26% for birds and butterflies respectively. Most studies that employed citizen science used volunteer-derived data as primary data, and adopted Collegial, Collaborative and Contributional engagement modes to the exclusion of Contractual and Co-created arrangements. There was no evidence that citizen science studies investigated a different organismal scale (community vs. species) compared to the urban ecology literature. For both taxa, citizen science contributions were lower than expected compared to their representation in the urban ecology literature for studies on species-environment relationships at landscape and micro-environment scales, as well as behavioural ecology in general. Other research topics that could benefit from further citizen science involvement include breeding studies and guild analyses for birds, and multi-taxa studies for butterflies. Promising models of citizen science engagement for urban ecology are highlighted in relation to their thematic foci and methodological detail, and a number of research questions that could be productively addressed using citizen science are identified. The dynamics of contemporary engagement between citizen science and urban ecology described by this review could inform the design and refinement of urban ecology-citizen science programmes in order to optimise their scientific contributions.
Journal Article
The Immortal Men : the end of forever
\"The superstar creative team of comics legend Jim Lee (Batman, Justice League) and James Tynion IV (Detective Comics) unite to tell the tale of the secret history of heroes who have protected humanity from the shadows since the dawn of time...and who can live forever. There is a secret history to the DC Universe of heroes who have protected humanity from the shadows since the dawn of time...and who can live forever. Enter the Immortal Men! The team, headed by the Immortal Man, has waged a secret war against the House of Conquest for countless years--but Conquest has dealt a devastating blow. When their base of operations, known as the Campus, is savagely attacked, the Immortal Men must seek out their last hope--an emerging metahuman known as Caden Park! With the Batman Who Laughs lurking in the shadows things get serious quickly.\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Ten simple rules for documenting scientific software
[...]if you are a biologist, you likely received no training in software development best practices. Because of this lack of training, scientific software often has minimal or even nonexistent documentation, making the lives of researchers significantly harder than they need to be, with precious research time being spent figuring out how to use poorly documented software rather than performing the actual science. [...]code-sharing sites will usually render your markup language on your repository's page, giving you the best of both worlds. By showing what exactly went wrong and proposing a fix for it, your users will spend less time debugging and more time doing science. Since you know your software better than anyone else, providing guidance in error messages can be invaluable. [...]because documentation can make or break a project’s adoption in the real world, by following these 10 simple rules you can give your project its best chance of wide adoption and possibly even end up as an example of good documentation in a Ten Simple Rules article!
Journal Article
Phytochemical Profile and Biological Activities of the Endemic Thymbra nabateorum Occurring in AlUla County, NW Saudi Arabia
Thymbra nabateorum, a plant species from the Lamiaceae family, is endemic to the Nabatian region, which spans southern Jordan and northwestern Saudi Arabia. It is renowned for its traditional uses and rich phytochemical profile. This study aims to examine the phytochemical composition of T. nabateorum and evaluate its biological activities, including antioxidant capacity, cytotoxic effects on cancer cell lines, and enzyme inhibition relevant to diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases. The essential oil (EO) and methanol extract of T. nabateorum were analyzed using Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Antioxidant activity was assessed using the DPPH radical scavenging assay. Cytotoxicity was evaluated against MDA-MB231 and LNCaP cancer cell lines using the MTT assay. Enzyme inhibition assays were conducted to determine the inhibitory effects on α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and butyrylcholinesterase. GC-MS analysis revealed thymol (82.30%) as the major component of the essential oil, while HPLC identified significant phenolic compounds in the methanol extract, including diosmin (118.75 mg/g) and hesperidin (22.18 mg/g). The DPPH assay demonstrated strong antioxidant activity, with the methanol extract showing an IC50 of 11.97 μg/mL for α-amylase and 31.99 μg/mL for α-glucosidase, indicating notable antidiabetic potential. Cytotoxicity tests revealed significant antiproliferative effects against both cancer cell lines, with lower IC50 values compared to standard treatments. T. nabateorum exhibits substantial antioxidant, cytotoxic, and enzyme inhibition activities, supporting its traditional medicinal uses. These findings provide a scientific basis for further research into its bioactive compounds and potential applications in modern pharmacology, particularly in developing natural therapeutic agents for oxidative stress-related diseases and cancer.
Journal Article
Venetoclax and hypomethylating agents versus tagraxofusp in older patients with blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm
Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is a highly aggressive and rare hematologic malignancy characterized by poor response to multiagent chemotherapy and dismal survival outcomes of 8–16 months. Tagraxofusp, the first-in-class CD123-directed antineoplastic agent, has emerged as a highly effective therapy and is the only FDA approved drug for BPDCN. Nonetheless, significant treatment-related toxicities with tagraxofusp such as hepatotoxicity and capillary leak syndrome are unfortunately not uncommon and can be prohibitive for older or unfit patients. The success of venetoclax (VEN) with a hypomethylating agent (HMA) has recently been described in the literature however, clinical outcomes are limited to case reports and small case series. To confirm these findings, we performed a multicenter, retrospective cohort study utilizing the TriNetX Networks database to compare survival outcomes between BPDCN patients (≥60 years-of-age) who received VEN + HMA versus tagraxofusp. In total, 32 and 39 patients received VEN + HMA and tagraxofusp, respectively, between February 1, 2019 and September 1, 2024. Median follow-up time was 7.4 and 9.3 months in the VEN + HMA and tagraxofusp cohorts, respectively. Overall survival (OS) between VEN + HMA and tagraxofusp-treated patients was comparable at 12-months (41.2% vs. 53%; HR 1.15; 95% CI, 0.53–2.48;
P
= 0.73). In a subgroup analysis of older adult patients (≥75 years-of-age), OS at 12-months (38.1% vs. 56.5%; HR 1.20; 95% CI, 0.47–3.04;
P
= 0.71) was not significantly different. In conclusion, this large-scale, retrospective database analysis suggests that VEN + HMA is an effective therapeutic alternative to tagraxofusp in older patients for the management of BPDCN. Future studies are needed to prospectively validate these findings.
Journal Article
Fully implantable and bioresorbable cardiac pacemakers without leads or batteries
Temporary cardiac pacemakers used in periods of need during surgical recovery involve percutaneous leads and externalized hardware that carry risks of infection, constrain patient mobility and may damage the heart during lead removal. Here we report a leadless, battery-free, fully implantable cardiac pacemaker for postoperative control of cardiac rate and rhythm that undergoes complete dissolution and clearance by natural biological processes after a defined operating timeframe. We show that these devices provide effective pacing of hearts of various sizes in mouse, rat, rabbit, canine and human cardiac models, with tailored geometries and operation timescales, powered by wireless energy transfer. This approach overcomes key disadvantages of traditional temporary pacing devices and may serve as the basis for the next generation of postoperative temporary pacing technology.
A biodegradable pacemaker without external leads improves the safety of temporary cardiac pacing.
Journal Article
Forest resilience under global environmental change: Do we have the information we need? A systematic review
The capacity of forests to recover after disturbance, i.e., their resilience, determines their ability to persist and function over time. Many variables, natural and managerial, affect forest resilience. Thus, understanding their effects is critical for the development of sound forest conservation and management strategies, especially in the context of ongoing global environmental changes. We conducted a representative review, meta-analysis, of the forest literature in this topic (search terms \"forest AND resilience\"). We aimed to identify natural conditions that promote or jeopardize resilience, assess the efficacy of post-disturbance management practices on forest recovery, and evaluate forest resilience under current environmental changes. We surveyed more than 2,500 articles and selected the 156 studies (724 observations) that compared and quantified forest recovery after disturbance under different contexts. Context of recovery included: resource gradients (moisture and fertility), post-disturbance biomass reduction treatments, species richness gradients, incidence of a second disturbance, and disturbance severity. Metrics of recovery varied from individual tree growth and reproduction, to population abundance, to species richness and cover. Analyses show management practices only favored recovery through increased reproduction (seed production) and abundance of recruitment stages. Higher moisture conditions favored recovery, particularly in dry temperate regions; and in boreal forests, this positive effect increased with regional humidity. Biomass reduction treatments were only effective in increasing resilience after a drought. Early recruiting plant stages benefited from increased severity, while disturbance severity was associated with lower recovery of remaining adult trees. This quantitative review provides insight into the natural conditions and management practices under which forest resilience is enhanced and highlights conditions that could jeopardize future resilience. We also identified important knowledge gaps, such as the role of diversity in determining forest resilience and the lack of data in many regions.
Journal Article
Photocurable bioresorbable adhesives as functional interfaces between flexible bioelectronic devices and soft biological tissues
Flexible electronic/optoelectronic systems that can intimately integrate onto the surfaces of vital organ systems have the potential to offer revolutionary diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities relevant to a wide spectrum of diseases and disorders. The critical interfaces between such technologies and living tissues must provide soft mechanical coupling and efficient optical/electrical/chemical exchange. Here, we introduce a functional adhesive bioelectronic–tissue interface material, in the forms of mechanically compliant, electrically conductive, and optically transparent encapsulating coatings, interfacial layers or supporting matrices. These materials strongly bond both to the surfaces of the devices and to those of different internal organs, with stable adhesion for several days to months, in chemistries that can be tailored to bioresorb at controlled rates. Experimental demonstrations in live animal models include device applications that range from battery-free optoelectronic systems for deep-brain optogenetics and subdermal phototherapy to wireless millimetre-scale pacemakers and flexible multielectrode epicardial arrays. These advances have immediate applicability across nearly all types of bioelectronic/optoelectronic system currently used in animal model studies, and they also have the potential for future treatment of life-threatening diseases and disorders in humans.
A functional interfacial material has been developed for soft integration of bioelectronic devices with biological tissues. This has been applied in battery-free optoelectronic systems for deep-brain optogenetics and subdermal phototherapy as well as wireless millimetre-scale pacemakers and flexible multielectrode epicardial arrays.
Journal Article