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Simple Summary: Lepidoptera species have higher growth rates than Blattodea species. The different growth rates lead to different strategies to allocate energy to biosynthesis and somatic maintenance under free-feeding and low-food-availability conditions. Moreover, Lepidoptera and Blattodea spend sharply different amounts of energy on synthesizing one unit of bio-tissue, which, in turn, leads to different cellular qualities and abilities to resist stress, and may have effect on their adult lifespan. Based on this evidence, we postulate that the capability of maintaining homeostasis not only depends on the amount of energy allocated to maintenance, but also depends on the quality of the tissue, and that the tissue quality is at least partially due to the energetic investments in biosynthesis. In short, materials that are cheap to synthesize deteriorate faster, and allocating more energy to biosynthesis enhances somatic maintenance. Different life histories result in different strategies to allocate energy in biosynthesis, including growth and reproduction, and somatic maintenance. One of the most notable life history differences between Lepidoptera and Blattodea species is that the former grow much faster than the latter, and during metamorphosis, a large amount of tissue in Lepidoptera species disintegrates. In this review, using Lepidoptera caterpillars and cockroach nymphs as examples, we show that, due to these differences in growth processes, cockroach nymphs spend 20 times more energy on synthesizing one unit of biomass (indirect cost of growth) than butterfly caterpillars. Because of the low indirect cost of growth in caterpillars, the fraction of metabolic energy allocated to growth is six times lower, and that for maintenance is seven times higher in caterpillars, compared to cockroach nymphs, despite caterpillar's higher growth rates. Moreover, due to the higher biosynthetic energy cost in cockroach nymphs, they have better cellular qualities, including higher proteasomal activity for protein quality control and higher resistance to oxidative stress. We also show that under food restriction conditions, the fraction of assimilated energy allocated to growth was reduced by 120% in cockroach nymphs, as they lost body weight under food restriction, while this reduction was only 14% in hornworms, and the body mass increased at a lower rate. Finaly, we discuss future research, especially the difference in adult lifespans associated with the energetic differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many animal species have movement abilities. Behavior is important for evolutionary ecology because animal movement leads to dispersal, migration, search for food and mates, and escaping from enemies. However, individual differences in movement activity are found within a population. This phenomenon can be affected by various factors, one of which is suggesting that higher moving activity has fitness cost, whereas lower moving activity has benefits. Animal movement may also affect reproduction (e.g., resource allocation tradeoff between movement and reproduction as well as intra‐ and intersexual selection). Although many previous studies have investigated the relationship between movement and reproduction, less attention has been paid to walking movement. In this study, previous studies that investigated the relationship between movement and reproduction were reviewed using the flour beetle Tribolium castaneum, a model insect in behavioral ecology and genetics. Several previous studies suggest that beetle walking is strongly associated with male and female reproductive traits. In recent years, empirical studies on the correlation between walking and other traits have increased, particularly in T. castaneum. Although this species can fly and walk, the movement is often discussed without discriminating between flight and walk. Differences in modes of movement may affect the correlation between movement and other traits; thus, discussing each mode of movement separately is necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is scope for improving the sustainability of intensive dairy farms through the uptake of sustainable production practices such as more grass‐based feeding systems. Such feeding systems can reduce feed‐food competition and the environmental impacts of feed production, among other farm‐level and societal benefits. However, empirical research on how farmers' feed choices mis(align) with sustainability transitions and the associated drivers is limited. This paper explores the trade‐offs that farmers make between the environmental, social and economic sustainability impacts of grass‐based feeding systems based on data from Swedish dairy farmers. Using an identity‐based utility framework and a hybrid latent class model, we find substantial heterogeneity in dairy farmers' trade‐offs between feed‐related sustainability attributes: greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity, animal welfare, feed self‐sufficiency, feed cost and milk yield. Furthermore, our findings demonstrate that farmers who are strongly interested in the environmental and social sustainability impacts of their dairy feeding systems, beyond economic gains, are motivated mainly by their pro‐environmental and pro‐social identities. Overall, our findings imply that identity‐enhancing interventions are promising policy instruments for encouraging the uptake of more grass‐based feeding systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The regulation of energy, water and thermal balance involves integrated processes that should drive ecological responses of ectotherms to climate change. Functional tradeoffs between thermoregulation and hydroregulation are exacerbated during hot or dry spells, but how microhabitat hydric properties and trophic resource availability influence these tradeoffs remains unknown. Here, we investigated the effects of microhabitat humidity and food availability on thermo‐hydroregulation strategies in the ground‐dwelling common lizard Zootoca vivipara during a simulated hot and dry spell event. We exposed lizards to a five‐day long acute water restriction in hot conditions in the laboratory and manipulated hydric quality of the retreat site (wet or dry shelter) as well as food availability (ad libitum food or food deprivation). Water restriction and food deprivation caused physiological responses such as muscle catabolism and mobilization of caudal energy reserves. Lizards also developed behavioural strategies to conserve water or energy via decreased thermoregulation effort, higher shelter use and increased eye closure behaviours through time. These physiological and behavioural changes were importantly buffered by the presence of a wet shelter but not by food availability. A wet retreat site reduced the behavioural conflicts between thermoregulation and hydroregulation, allowed lizards to maintain a better condition and reduced physiological dehydration. Instead, food intake did not play a major role in the regulation of hydration state and increased behavioural conflicts between thermoregulation and hydroregulation. A better consideration of thermo‐hydroregulation behaviours and microhabitat hydric quality is required to address ectotherm responses to future climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In network services, there are often conflicts among privacy protection, trust, and service quality, which greatly reduces the regulatory effectiveness of networks. Using the basic method of information theory, this paper considers the optimization mechanism of trust and the balance between privacy and service utility from the perspective of quantifying information flow. First, we build a trust model based on multiple factors, such as direct trust, service trust, and trust cloud network. The weight of trust factors is determined by category diversity and information entropy theory. Second, based on statistical knowledge and information entropy, we propose a new privacy measurement model with hierarchical weights. Third, we establish a trust privacy service relationship model to realize the trade-off between privacy, service, and trust in networks. The demander can choose to establish trust, protect privacy, or obtain high-quality services according to personal preferences and needs. Fourth, we propose a privacy trust mapping relationship model and a privacy disclosure selection model. Finally, we design different experimental schemes. These simulation results show that our research can not only provide better quality of service but also better protect privacy and help interactive parties in networks establish a strong trust relationship. This research will improve the effectiveness of networks and can be applied to class II vaccine multi-agent collaborative supervision based on technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trustworthy federated learning typically leverages protection mechanisms to guarantee privacy. However, protection mechanisms inevitably introduce utility loss or efficiency reduction while protecting data privacy. Therefore, protection mechanisms and their parameters should be carefully chosen to strike an optimal tradeoff among privacy leakage, utility loss, and efficiency reduction. To this end, federated learning practitioners need tools to measure the three factors and optimize the tradeoff between them to choose the protection mechanism that is most appropriate to the application at hand. Motivated by this requirement, we propose a framework that (1) formulates trustworthy federated learning as a problem of finding a protection mechanism to optimize the tradeoff among privacy leakage, utility loss, and efficiency reduction and (2) formally defines bounded measurements of the three factors. We then propose a meta-learning algorithm to approximate this optimization problem and find optimal protection parameters for representative protection mechanisms, including randomization, homomorphic encryption, secret sharing, and compression. We further design estimation algorithms to quantify these found optimal protection parameters in a practical horizontal federated learning setting and provide a theoretical analysis of the estimation error. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The comparative studies of aging have established a negative correlation between Gompertz postnatal growth constant and maximum lifespan across mammalian species, but the underlying physiological mechanism remains unclear. This study shows that the Gompertz growth constant can be decomposed into two energetic components, mass-specific metabolic rate and the energetic cost of biosynthesis, and that after controlling the former as a confounder, the negative correlation between growth constant and lifespan still exists due to a 100-fold variation in the latter, revealing that the energetic cost of biosynthesis is a link between growth and longevity in mammals. Previously, the energetic cost of biosynthesis has been thought to be a constant across species and therefore was not considered a contributor to the variation in any life history traits, such as growth and lifespan. This study employs a recently proposed model based on energy conservation to explain the physiological effect of the variation in this energetic cost on the aging process and illustrates its role in linking growth and lifespan. The conventional life history theory suggested a tradeoff between growth and somatic maintenance, but the findings in this study suggest that allocating more energy to biosynthesis may enhance the somatic maintenance and extend lifespan and, hence, reveal a more complex nature of the tradeoff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of interspecific mimicry does not always result in perfect resemblance between mimics and models. Differences between members of a mimicry complex can be explained by genetic or developmental constraints. Alternatively, imperfect mimicry might be the outcome of a tradeoff between multiple selective pressures. In this study, we explored the evolutionary conflict between mimicry and hybridization in woodpeckers. Based on the selective tradeoff hypothesis, we expected that mimicry complexes will start to evolve once the constraint of maladaptive hybridization is relaxed. Hence, we predicted limited overlap in the divergence times between hybridizing species pairs and members of a mimicry complex. This prediction was supported by clear tipping point in the probability of hybridization and mimicry at ca 9 million years of divergence. Around this timepoint, the probability of hybridization approaches zero while the probability of belonging to a mimicry complex increases. This finding is only correlational and remains to be confirmed in other taxonomic groups. Nonetheless, our results suggest a selective tradeoff between evolving interspecific mimicry and avoiding maladaptive hybridization in woodpeckers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phenotypic plasticity can increase the extent of the environmental gradient occupied by a species (niche breadth) and modify the portion of niche space shared among co‐occurring species (niche overlap). Thus, phenotypic plasticity may play a role in community assembly processes. Given that plants deal with a multivariate environment, and that functional traits are often correlated, plastic responses to different environmental factors are likely correlated. However, the implications of correlations of plasticities for niche overlap remain unexplored. Here, we present and evaluate a conceptual framework that links correlations of plasticities and niche overlap patterns among co‐occurring plant species. We specifically tested in an arid shrubland whether positive, negative, or null correlations between plasticity to light and water availability would be associated with patterns of high, low, or random niche overlap, respectively. Field data identified light and water availability as key factors shaping herbaceous plant community structure. We estimated species' niche breadth and niche overlap using two‐dimensional kernel–density estimations (NOK) and standardised effect sizes of Pianka's niche overlap index (OSES). We measured phenotypic plasticity to light and water availability in the six most abundant species in a greenhouse experiment. We used the plasticity index (PI) to test 1) the relationship between plasticity to light and water availability, and 2) the association between overall plasticity (average PI across traits) and niche breadth. We found a positive relationship between plasticity to light and water availability. Increased overall plasticity was associated with a broader niche breadth. Both NOK and OSES estimations indicated a significant niche overlap pattern. Results supported one of the predictions of our conceptual framework: that a positive correlation of plasticities would lead to increased niche overlap. The verified conceptual framework broadens our understanding of the role of phenotypic plasticity in plant community coexistence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tropical karst habitats are characterized by limited and patchy soil, large rocky outcrops and porous substrates, resulting in high habitat heterogeneity and soil moisture fluctuations. Xylem hydraulic efficiency and safety can determine the drought adaptation and spatial distribution of woody plants growing in karst environments. In this study, we measured sapwood-specific hydraulic conductivity (K s), vulnerability to embolism, wood density, saturated water content, and vessel and pit anatomical characteristics in the branch stems of 12 evergreen tree species in a tropical karst seasonal rainforest in southwestern China. We aimed to characterize the effects of structural characteristics on hydraulic efficiency and safety. Our results showed that there was no significant correlation between K s and hydraulic safety across the tropical karst woody species. K s was correlated with hydraulic vessel diameter (r  = 0.80, P  < 0.05) and vessel density (r  = −0.60, P  < 0.05), while the stem water potential at 50 and 88% loss of hydraulic conductivity (P 50 and P 88) were both significantly correlated with wood density (P  < 0.05) and saturated water content (P  = 0.052 and P  < 0.05, respectively). High stem water storage capacity was associated with low cavitation resistance possibly because of its buffering the moisture fluctuations in karst environments. However, both K s and P 50 /P 88 were decoupled from the anatomical traits of pit and pit membranes. This may explain the lack of tradeoff between hydraulic safety and efficiency in tropical karst evergreen tree species. Our results suggest that diverse hydraulic trait combination may facilitate species coexistence in karst environments with high spatial heterogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Senescence is the degradation of biological functions with increasing age. Its existence and relationship with life‐history strategies remains poorly studied in short‐lived wild vertebrate species. We investigated the relationships between age at first reproduction (AFR), reproductive senescence and longevity in an eastern chipmunk Tamias striatus population, where the first opportunity to breed is conditioned by pulses of seed production by trees (i.e. masts). We used 11 years of data from a longitudinal study, in which females breed for the first time at seven, 15 or 22 months of age and males at seven or 15 months of age. We first assessed the effect of age on three traits associated with breeding performance, namely the number of offspring produced, and the probability of producing an offspring. We then tested whether an earlier AFR accelerated reproductive senescence and reduced survival of both males and females. We found sex‐specific relationships between AFR and senescence. Females reproducing at 15 or 22 months of age showed reproductive senescence, but early‐breeding females did not show any decline in reproductive performance at an older age. Also, although we observed reproductive senescence in males, it was not affected by AFR. Our results are consistent with studies highlighting the existence of reproductive senescence in small, wild mammals. Importantly, we provide the first evidence that AFR can strongly influence the patterns of senescence in small short‐lived species, and does it in a sex‐specific way. Our results highlight the importance of studying life‐history strategies in both males and females when studying senescence in the wild. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystem management aims at providing many ecosystem services simultaneously. Such ecosystem service multifunctionality can be limited by tradeoffs and increased by synergies among the underlying ecosystem functions (EF), which need to be understood to develop targeted management. Previous studies found differences in the correlation between EFs. We hypothesised that correlations between EFs are variable even under the controlled conditions of a field experiment and that seasonal and annual variation, plant species richness, and plot identity (identity effects of plots, such as the presence and proportion of functional groups) are drivers of these correlations. We used data on 31 EFs related to plants, consumers, and physical soil properties that were measured over 5 to 19 years, up to three times per year, in a temperate grassland experiment with 80 different plots, constituting six sown plant species richness levels (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 60 species). We found that correlations between pairs of EFs were variable, and correlations between two particular EFs could range from weak to strong or negative to positive correlations among the repeated measurements. To determine the drivers of pairwise EF correlations, the covariance between EFs was partitioned into contributions from species richness, plot identity, and time (including years and seasons). We found that most of the covariance for synergies was explained by species richness (26.5%), whereas for tradeoffs, most covariance was explained by plot identity (29.5%). Additionally, some EF pairs were more affected by differences among years and seasons, showing a higher temporal variation. Therefore, correlations between two EFs from single measurements are insufficient to draw conclusions on tradeoffs and synergies. Consequently, pairs of EFs need to be measured repeatedly under different conditions to describe their relationships with more certainty and be able to derive recommendations for the management of grasslands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The circadian clock plays a crucial role in helping plants to effectively acclimate to ever-changing environmental conditions. The proper functioning of the circadian clock is integral to the growth and development of plants. In crops, the circadian clock system exerts a multifaceted influence on yield and the response to abiotic stress. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the mechanisms through which the components of a crop's circadian clock impact its response to abiotic stress and yield. We propose that the circadian clock may orchestrate the balance between abiotic stresses and yield in crops, which is useful for the future molecular design of crop breeding. Plants have evolved a circadian clock to adapt to ever-changing diel and seasonal environmental conditions. The circadian clock is generally considered an internal system that has evolved to adapt to cyclic environmental cues, especially diel light and temperature changes, which is essential for higher plants as they are sessile organisms. This system receives environmental signals as input pathways which are integrated by circadian core oscillators to synchronize numerous output pathways, such as photosynthesis, the abiotic stress response, metabolism, and development. Extreme temperatures, salinity, and drought stresses cause huge crop losses worldwide, imposing severe pressure on areas of agricultural land. In crop production, the circadian system plays a significant role in determining flowering time and responding to external abiotic stresses. Extensive studies over the last two decades have revealed that the circadian clock can help balance the tradeoff between crop yield-related agronomic traits and adaptation to stress. Herein, we focus on summarizing how the circadian clock coordinates abiotic stress responses and crop yield. We also propose that there might be an urgent need to better utilize circadian biology in the future design of crop breeding to achieve high yields under stress conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to conduct a fuzzy discrete time cost quality risk in the ambiguous mode CO2 tradeoff problem (FDTCQRP*TP) in a megaproject based on fuzzy ground. Design/methodology/approach: A combinatorial evolutionary algorithm using Fuzzy Invasive Weed Optimization (FIWO) is used in the discrete form of the problem where the parameters are fully fuzzy multi-objective and provide a space incorporating all dimensions of the problem. Also, the fuzzy data and computations are used with the Chanas method selected for the computational analysis. Moreover, uncertainty is defined in FIWO. The presented FIWO simulation, its utility and superiority are tested on sample problems. Findings: The reproduction, rearrangement and maintaining elite invasive weeds in FIWO can lead to a higher level of accuracy, convergence and strength for solving FDTCQRP*TP fuzzy rules and a risk ground in the ambiguous mode with the emphasis on the necessity of CO2 pollution reduction. The results reveal the effectiveness of the algorithm and its flexibility in the megaproject managers' decision making, convergence and accuracy regarding CO2 pollution reduction. Originality/value: This paper offers a multi-objective fully fuzzy tradeoff in the ambiguous mode with the approach of CO2 pollution reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The invasive plant species, Solidago canadensis, often shares a common mycorrhizal network (CMN) with native plant species in southeast China. We ask whether the transfer of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) among the invasive S. canadensis, the native Kummerowia striata and their CMN could contribute to the invasiveness of S. canadensis.We conducted a microcosm experiment in which a CMN was established on S. canadensis and K. striata. We used 13CO2 pulse‐labelling to quantify the relative contribution of recently fixed C from the two host species to the CMN. We also calculated the relative N distribution to each host species from the CMN.We found that 89% of the recently fixed C in the CMN originated from S. canadensis, while 11% originated from K. striata. We also found that the CMN distributed 77% of the N it absorbed to S. canadensis and 23% to K. striata.Our results suggest that the unequal distribution of N from a CMN to the invasive and native plant species is related to the unequal contribution of C from the plant species. This mechanism could contribute to invasion of native communities by alien species when there is a stoichiometric exchange of limiting nutrients for C, and when alien species contribute more C to the CMN than natives. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This opinion article brings together research on the effects of early adversity, computational accounts of learning, and life-history theory. These bodies of research have independently converged on the finding that exposures to chronic adversity may accelerate maturation, yet synergies between them have hardly been explored. We connect these bodies of research by proposing the hypothesis that early experiences influence hyperparameters that determine the balance between exploration and exploitation. Specifically, we argue that childhood adversity may accelerate a shift from exploration to exploitation, with wide-ranging effects on the adult brain and mind. Understanding which types of adversity accelerate the explore–exploit shift, and formal theory exploring when such a response may be adaptive, are key directions for future work. Childhood adversity can have wide-ranging and long-lasting effects on later life. But what are the mechanisms that are responsible for these effects? This article brings together the cognitive science literature on explore–exploit tradeoffs, the empirical literature on early adversity, and the literature in evolutionary biology on 'life history' to explain how early experience influences later life. We propose one potential mechanism: early experiences influence 'hyperparameters' that determine the balance between exploration and exploitation. Adversity might accelerate a shift from exploration to exploitation, with broad and enduring effects on the adult brain and mind. These effects may be produced by life-history adaptations that use early experience to tailor development and learning to the likely future states of an organism and its environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacteriophages have received recent attention for their therapeutic potential to treat antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. One particular idea in phage therapy is to use phages that not only directly kill their bacterial hosts but also rely on particular bacterial receptors, such as proteins involved in virulence or antibiotic resistance. In such cases, the evolution of phage resistance would correspond to the loss of those receptors, an approach termed evolutionary steering. We previously found that during experimental evolution, phage U136B can exert selection pressure on Escherichia coli to lose or modify its receptor, the antibiotic efflux protein TolC, often resulting in reduced antibiotic resistance. However, for TolC-reliant phages like U136B to be used therapeutically, we also need to study their own evolutionary potential. Understanding phage evolution is critical for the development of improved phage therapies as well as the tracking of phage populations during infection. Here, we characterized phage U136B evolution in 10 replicate experimental populations. We quantified phage dynamics that resulted in five surviving phage populations at the end of the 10-day experiment. We found that phages from all five surviving populations had evolved higher rates of adsorption on either ancestral or coevolved E. coli hosts. Using whole-genome and whole-population sequencing, we established that these higher rates of adsorption were associated with parallel molecular evolution in phage tail protein genes. These findings will be useful in future studies to predict how key phage genotypes and phenotypes influence phage efficacy and survival despite the evolution of host resistance. IMPORTANCE Antibiotic resistance is a persistent problem in health care and a factor that may help maintain bacterial diversity in natural environments. Bacteriophages ("phages") are viruses that specifically infect bacteria. We previously discovered and characterized a phage called U136B, which infects bacteria through TolC. TolC is an antibiotic resistance protein that helps bacteria pump antibiotics out of the cell. Over short timescales, phage U136B can be used to evolutionarily "steer" bacterial populations to lose or modify the TolC protein, sometimes reducing antibiotic resistance. In this study, we investigate whether U136B itself evolves to better infect bacterial cells. We discovered that the phage can readily evolve specific mutations that increase its infection rate. This work will be useful for understanding how phages can be used to treat bacterial infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural ecosystems of the West Liao River basin (WLRB) in northeast China have been damaged by both natural and human factors from the 1990s. Since 2000, China's Grain-for-Green Program (GFGP) has been widely adopted with the aim of improving ecosystem services. An accurate evaluation of the eco-hydrological effects for policy implementation is essential to provide references for further restoration of ecosystem services. This study quantified and characterized the ecosystem services and their trade-offs/synergies using models and statistical methods in the WLRB from 1990 to 2020. Moreover, the impact of key drivers on ecosystem services was evaluated by the difference-in-differences model. Among them, the study mainly investigated how GFGP affects ecosystem services. The results confirmed that the water yield, carbon sequestration, habitat quality, and total ecosystem service of the WLRB decreased in the pre-GFGP period (1990–2000). However, this tendency was reversed in the regions where the GFGP was implemented during the period of 2001–2020. Furthermore, a synergistic relationship was shown among carbon sequestration, soil conservation, and habitat quality. Additionally, there were tradeoffs between water yield and the other three ecosystem services, especially in mountain areas. The GFGP could restore carbon sequestration, habitat quality, and total ecosystem services by 1.3%, 2.1%, and 0.6%, respectively. Nevertheless, GFCP may enlarge the tradeoff and imbalance between water yield and habitat quality. Results highlight the need for the governance of ecosystem protection and suggest natural restoration in the mountain area for maintaining water yield and helping ecosystem restoration. Timely adjustment of the policy implementation areas is the key to improving and balancing multiple ecosystem services in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider a between-host model for a single epidemic outbreak of an infectious disease. According to the progression of the disease, hosts are classified in regard to the pathogen load. Specifically, we are assuming four phases: non-infectious asymptomatic phase, infectious asymptomatic phase (key-feature of the model where individuals show up mild or no symptoms), infectious symptomatic phase and finally an immune phase. The system takes the form of a non-linear Markov chain in discrete time where linear transitions are based on geometric (main model) or negative-binomial (enhanced model) probability distributions. The whole system is reduced to a single non-linear renewal equation. Moreover, after linearization, at least two meaningful definitions of the basic reproduction number arise: firstly as the expected secondary asymptomatic cases produced by an asymptomatic primary case, and secondly as the expected number of symptomatic individuals that a symptomatic individual will produce. We study the evolution of infection transmission before and after symptom onset. Provided that individuals can develop symptoms and die from the disease, we take disease-induced mortality as a measure of virulence and it is assumed to be positively correlated with a weighted average transmission rate. According to our findings, transmission rate of the infection is always higher in the symptomatic phase yet under a suitable condition, most of the infections take place prior to symptom onset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conservationists often face tradeoffs. We present a tradeoff that we recently faced involving nest management of the endangered Puerto Rican Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus venator). Given our logistical constraints, we determined we were able to either continue our ongoing efforts to induce laying of a second clutch (hereafter, double clutching) of four nests per year, or we could stop double clutching and apply insecticide for parasitic nest flies (Philornis spp.) to as many nests as possible. Observed fledging rates justified our assumptions that the fledging rate of unmanaged nests was approximately one young per nest per year, whereas nests sprayed with insecticide for flies fledged two young, and double-clutched nests fledged three young. These three young from double-clutched nests were a combination of the young from both the parent-raised and hand-raised clutches. Although double clutching is more effective than spraying nests, it is also more labor intensive. We developed a model to determine how many nests we would need to spray to produce the same number of fledglings as if we continued the ongoing double clutching regime. Modeling revealed that if we could find and spray at least eight nests, then cessation of double clutching was justified. We also performed sensitivity analysis and determined that our management conclusion was robust to uncertainty in the assumed values of fledging rates. Our modeling exercise presents an example of informed decision making in the face of uncertainty. Los conservacionistas a menudo se enfrentan a soluciones de compromiso. Presentamos una solución de compromiso que tomamos recientemente asociada al manejo de nidos de Accipiter striatus venator, una especie en peligro de extinción. Dadas nuestras limitaciones logísticas, determinamos que podíamos o bien continuar con nuestros esfuerzos en curso para inducir la puesta de una segunda nidada (en adelante, nidada doble) de cuatro nidos por año o, alternativamente, podíamos detener la nidada doble y aplicar insecticida para las moscas parásitas del género Philornis a tantos nidos como fuera posible. Las tasas de emplumamiento observadas justificaron nuestras suposiciones de que la tasa de emplumamiento de los nidos no manejados fue de aproximadamente una cría por nido por año, mientras que los nidos rociados con insecticida para moscas produjeron dos crías y los nidos con nidada doble produjeron tres crías. Estas tres crías de nidos de nidada doble eran una combinación de las crías de las nidadas alimentadas por los progenitores y alimentadas a mano. Aunque la nidada doble es más efectiva que rociar los nidos, también requiere más trabajo. Desarrollamos un modelo para determinar cuántos nidos necesitaríamos rociar para producir la misma cantidad de polluelos que si continuáramos con el régimen de nidada doble en curso. La modelización reveló que, si podíamos encontrar y rociar al menos ocho nidos, entonces se justificaba el cese de las nidadas dobles. También realizamos un análisis de sensibilidad y determinamos que nuestra conclusión de gestión era robusta a la incertidumbre en los valores supuestos de las tasas de emplumamiento. Nuestro ejercicio de modelización presenta un ejemplo de toma de decisiones informada frente a la incertidumbre. [Traducción del equipo editorial] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasmid fitness is directed by two orthogonal processes—vertical transfer through cell division and horizontal transfer through conjugation. When considered individually, improvements in either mode of transfer can promote how well a plasmid spreads and persists. Together, however, the metabolic cost of conjugation could create a tradeoff that constrains plasmid evolution. Here, we present evidence for the presence, consequences, and molecular basis of a conjugation‐growth tradeoff across 40 plasmids derived from clinical Escherichia coli pathogens. We discover that most plasmids operate below a conjugation efficiency threshold for major growth effects, indicating strong natural selection for vertical transfer. Below this threshold, E. coli demonstrates a remarkable growth tolerance to over four orders of magnitude change in conjugation efficiency. This tolerance fades as nutrients become scarce and horizontal transfer attracts a greater share of host resources. Our results provide insight into evolutionary constraints directing plasmid fitness and strategies to combat the spread of antibiotic resistance. Synopsis: Quantification of natural plasmid transfer rates reveals a tradeoff between conjugation and cell division that constrains plasmid evolution. Conjugation spreads multidrug‐resistant plasmids at a metabolic cost that can slow host growth.A wide range of conjugation efficiencies can be tolerated before incurring a transfer tradeoff.Intermediate conjugation efficiencies yield the highest plasmid abundance.Conjugation attracts a greater share of resources from nutrient‐starved hosts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An economy's shift towards climate neutrality requires a massive expansion of renewable energy production. Next to wind, photovoltaic (PV) and biomass will be key renewable resources in many regions. A land-use change to PV increases local electricity production, but influences regional water and biomass availability. However, a regional quantitative guideline on biomass-PV tradeoffs on all agricultural fields under food–water–energy (FWE) nexus thinking is still missing. This work presents a comprehensive bottom-up interdependency assessment between ground-mounted PV and biomass generation on a regional scale by integrating independently established methods based on consistent input data at spatial field resolution. Furthermore, impacts on food and water availability are also quantified. Four scenarios were set up based on current policies and future trend, emphasizing PV yield, feasibility, profit, and biomass yields, respectively. The assessment and scenarios are applied to three representative German counties with distinguished land-use structures and geometries as case studies. Scenario analysis shows that the optimal technical strategy is to free the market letting individuals to maximize revenue from their lands, which likely simultaneously is good for society, achieves high PV yields with limited biomass losses, and has more significant crop water saving effects. • Food–Water–Energy simulation workflows are integrated in one simulation platform. • Tradeoffs between PV and biomass are analyzed at a single-field spatial resolution. • PV generation gain comes at the cost of biomass loss, and crop water demand saving. • PV is 30 folds more efficient than biomass in terms of specific energy output. • By maximizing the field usage revenue, the biomass potential loss is reduced by 80%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a federated learning scenario where multiple parties jointly learn a model from their respective data, there exist two conflicting goals for the choice of appropriate algorithms. On one hand, private and sensitive training data must be kept secure as much as possible in the presence of semi-honest partners; on the other hand, a certain amount of information has to be exchanged among different parties for the sake of learning utility. Such a challenge calls for the privacy-preserving federated learning solution, which maximizes the utility of the learned model and maintains a provable privacy guarantee of participating parties' private data. This article illustrates a general framework that (1) formulates the trade-off between privacy loss and utility loss from a unified information-theoretic point of view, and (2) delineates quantitative bounds of the privacy-utility trade-off when different protection mechanisms including randomization, sparsity, and homomorphic encryption are used. It was shown that in general there is no free lunch for the privacy-utility trade-off, and one has to trade the preserving of privacy with a certain degree of degraded utility. The quantitative analysis illustrated in this article may serve as the guidance for the design of practical federated learning algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• H 2 O reduces electrolyte resistance but increases concentration overpotential. • Electrical characteristics are measured for different water vapor mole fractions. • A numerical model coupling ion and hole transport and overpotentials is developed. • The numerical model is quantitatively validated via comparison with experiments. • Tradeoff is classified where the output is maximized at intermediate humidification. In protonic ceramic fuel cells (PCFCs), the H 2 and H 2 O partial pressures in the anode side vary along the gas flow direction, particularly during high-fuel-utilization operation. This results in different species conductivities and overpotentials, which renders the quantitative evaluation of local performance based on H 2 and H 2 O mole fractions important. A numerical model is developed that can reflect changes in species conductivities and overpotentials resulting from varying gas mole fractions. The numerical current density–voltage characteristic results obtained numerically agree well with those obtained via measurement in a wide range of H 2 –H 2 O gas conditions. Numerical modeling confirms a tradeoff, i.e., higher supply humidity levels result in lower electrolyte resistances but higher concentration overpotentials. The maximum output is achieved at a modest humidification level of 20%. The developed numerical model is particularly useful for optimizing the operating conditions of PCFCs with high fuel utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) integrated radar and communications (IRC) system is studied, where the radar and communications parts work cooperatively, leading to a hybrid active-passive (HAP) MIMO radar and a radar-aided (RA) MIMO communications subsystems. To unify the performance metric for both subsystems, the diversity gain and multiplexing gain are derived for the RA MIMO communications and the HAP MIMO radar subsystems, based on which the tradeoff between the diversity and multiplexing gains is analyzed theoretically for each of the subsystems. The obtained diversity gain and multiplexing gain can facilitate the design and optimization of the IRC system. Employing these two unified performance metrics, the IRC system antenna number assignment is formulated as a multi-objective optimization problem, and the Pareto solutions are provided. The correctness of theoretical analysis is verified by simulations. Our results can provide useful guidance for system designers. • We present signals models for HAP MIMO radar and RA MIMO communications subsystems. • The diversity and multiplexing gains are derived for communications and radar subsystems. • The tradeoff between the diversity and multiplexing gains is analyzed theoretically. • Using these two unified metrics, the IRC system antenna number assignment is studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informed and effective management of emerging infectious diseases can be improved by a clear understanding of host–pathogen–environment interactions. Impacts of the seasonal environment on pathogen dynamics and host responses are poorly described in most reptile host–fungal pathogen systems. Here, we describe seasonal patterns of ophidiomycosis, a disease caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces ophidiicola (Oo), in a population of pygmy rattlesnakes, Sistrurus miliarius, in central Florida. We used field observations of gross clinical signs of disease in combination with qPCR on skin swabs to examine the seasonal prevalence of Oo and patterns of clinical presentation in hosts. We monitored thermoregulatory behaviors, ecdysis, and reproductive status in free‐living snakes to examine seasonal associations between infection and host coping responses. Both the prevalence of Oo and clinical signs of disease varied strongly with the season (winter high and summer low). In both seasons, the presence of clinical signs was a strong predictor of the presence of Oo as identified by qPCR on skin swabs (78% probability across seasons). Snakes with clinical signs of disease were more likely to be observed exhibiting thermoregulatory behavior or in ecdysis compared to non‐clinical snakes across seasons. The prevalence of Oo was not significantly different in pregnant snakes compared to other reproductive categories, but pregnant females were less likely to exhibit clinical signs of disease compared to males. Our results highlight strong seasonal patterns in both host clinical signs and Oo prevalence and support the efficacy of using gross clinical signs of disease in combination with qPCR on skin swabs to assess disease dynamics in free‐living snakes. We also identify ecdysis and thermoregulatory behaviors as components of the seasonal disease‐coping response and highlight the need to examine these behaviors as potential drivers of seasonal infection outcomes in reptiles afflicted with fungal pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An endfire periodic leaky-wave antenna (LWA) with high gain is presented in this communication, which consists of a series of rhombic elements based on double-sided parallel stripline (DSPSL). The endfire mechanism of the proposed antenna is illustrated by the phase difference of the far field of each arm in the rhombic element. Meanwhile, a tradeoff between the tilted angle $\theta _{0}$ and the width $w$ is found, which assures an optimum transverse aperture for achieving high-gain endfire radiation. Moreover, the improved Hansen–Woodyard (IHW) condition is applied to predict the optimum endfire phase constant. Finally, a prototype is fabricated and tested. The maximum endfire gain of 19.8 dBi is measured at 11.4 GHz, which is close to the simulated and predicted results. The proposed periodic rhombic antenna provides more choice for the modern communication system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, users are becoming more reserved in uploading their own data to the servers of service providers for fear of personal information disclosure. In order to meet the need on privacy security, Federated Learning (FL) is proposed. As the nearest servers to users, edge servers are quite suitable for the execution of FL tasks, which results in a new concept called Federated Edge Learning (FEEL). It allows users to conduct model training locally without uploading their own data, thus avoiding privacy disclosure. However, the issue of Energy Consumption (EC) for training on devices becomes a main concern for users because the learning process is carried out on the devices with limited battery capacity. Then, from the standpoint of service providers, they pay more attention to the model performance (i.e., test dataset accuracy of the trained machine learning model) and usually have diverse requirements on it. Both EC and model performance are important metrics for FEEL, and from our engineering experience, service providers and users may have a conflict of interest in FEEL. In this paper, after modeling the two metrics, we identify the common factor (i.e., size of the training data) between them and are convinced that there is a tradeoff. Then, we add a workload constraint that regulates the common factor to the formulated problem and propose a resource optimization and device scheduling strategy to solve it, thus achieving the tradeoff between EC and model performance of FEEL. This strategy is based on the steepest descent method and approximation algorithm. The approximation ratio is also proved. By regulating the training workload threshold, the values of the two metrics can be dynamically adjusted. Achieving the tradeoff makes it possible to meet the needs of service providers and users at the same time. More specifically, it can minimize the energy consumption of training devices on the premise of meeting diverse requirements of service providers on model performance, which can not be realized by other FEEL frameworks that do not achieve the tradeoff. Simulation results show that our proposed strategy is able to achieve this tradeoff compared with two existing FEEL frameworks. Compared with another existing FEEL framework who also realizes the tradeoff, the tradeoff achieved by our proposed strategy is more biased towards EC. At the end of the simulation part, we summary the characteristics of the proposed and other three existing FEEL frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Zea mays (maize) makes phytoalexins such as sesquiterpenoid zealexins, to combat invading pathogens. Zealexins are produced from farnesyl diphosphate in microgram per gram fresh weight quantities. As farnesyl diphosphate is also a precursor for many compounds essential for plant growth, the question arises as to how Z. mays produces high levels of zealexins without negatively affecting vital plant systems. To examine if specific pools of farnesyl diphosphate are made for zealexin synthesis we made CRISPR/Cas9 knockouts of each of the three farnesyl diphosphate synthases (FPS) in Z. mays and examined the resultant impacts on different farnesyl diphosphate‐derived metabolites. We found that FPS3 (GRMZM2G098569) produced most of the farnesyl diphosphate for zealexins, while FPS1 (GRMZM2G168681) made most of the farnesyl diphosphate for the vital respiratory co‐factor ubiquinone. Indeed, fps1 mutants had strong developmental phenotypes such as reduced stature and development of chlorosis. The replication and evolution of the fps gene family in Z. mays enabled it to produce dedicated FPSs for developmentally related ubiquinone production (FPS1) or defense‐related zealexin production (FPS3). This partitioning of farnesyl diphosphate production between growth and defense could contribute to the ability of Z. mays to produce high levels of phytoalexins without negatively impacting its growth. Significance Statement: A major goal for agricultural research is to develop crops that have both good yield and pest resistance. Often improving one of these traits has negative impact on the other, the so‐called growth‐defense tradeoff. In this study we uncover a mechanism in maize that allows the production of high levels of defense compounds using dedicated enzymes for shared precursor production. These findings can be used to guide synthetic biology approaches for agricultural improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging evidence suggests white matter network abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD), but the alterations in dynamics of the white matter network in patients with SZ and BD are largely unknown. The white matter network of patients with SZ (n = 45) and BD (n = 47) and that of healthy controls (HC, n = 105) were constructed. We used dynamics network control theory to quantify the dynamics metrics of the network, including controllability and synchronizability, to measure the ability to transfer between different states. Experiments show that the patients with SZ and BD showed decreasing modal controllability and synchronizability and increasing average controllability. The correlations between the average controllability and synchronizability of patients were broken, especially for those with SZ. The patients also showed alterations in brain regions with supercontroller roles and their distribution in the cognitive system. Finally, we were able to accurately discriminate and predict patients with SZ and BD. Our findings provide novel dynamic metrics evidence that patients with SZ and BD are characterized by a selective disruption of brain network controllability, potentially leading to reduced brain state transfer capacity, and offer new guidance for the clinical diagnosis of mental illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many measures of international policies and support have dictated developing countries to upscale land areas of intact forestry, special biodiversity conservation site, and other wild reserves to half the land territory of the nation by 2050 for resulting environmental, and other benefits to global societies. The international initiations and work urged scholars to assess the potential impacts of the aggressive policy on forest-based communities and especially those living in institutionally and geo ecologically vulnerable areas. This study compiled the impacts of such international policy interventions on diverse affairs of the local community and national economies in Nepal and drew some conclusions on the well-being future of such forest-based communities. It explained that the international interventions in managing community-based resources induced serious disturbances in many local systems and resulted in vicious circles of emigration, income losses, social problems, psychological stresses, and food insecurities. The interventions have placed some communities and especially indigenous ethnic groups in the position either to be displaced from their ancestors' homelands or suffer for generations. This study also explained some reinforcing phenomena that emerged from the external interventions which have placed situations of the resource impacting local communities adversely for years. It also investigated whether support of international agencies in policy formation and implementation for resource management safeguards the well-being of the resource-based communities. The agencies resulted in the best environmental and other benefits to foreign societies which have aggravated the misery of local communities, particularly the poor people, women, and indigenous ethnic communities. The adverse impacts on the local societies are not repercussions (accidentally or unknowingly happened). All these findings infer that the international policies of upscaling forests and wilderness areas or making conservation areas in half of their land territory, especially in developing societies for the global benefit, may place the lives of the forest-based communities in peril of suffering for generations or extirpating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant collections are important for the conservation of threatened species, and can provide material for ecological restoration. Typically we want collections to have high genetic diversity so populations founded from it are adaptable to future challenges. Sometimes, we have additional objectives for collections, such as enrichment for desirable traits controlled by adaptive alleles. We used landscape genomic data sets for two plants, Westringia fruticosa and Wilkiea huegeliana, to design collections that are genetically diverse, and that are adapted to warming climates. We characterized temperature adaptation by: (i) using the mean annual temperature of the sites of origin of the plants, and (ii) using the representation of alleles that are associated with warm temperatures. In Westringia fruticosa, there was a negative correlation, or tradeoff, between designing a collection that was both genetically diverse and adapted to warm temperatures. This tradeoff was weaker in Wilkiea huegeliana. We hypothesized this was because neutral genetic variation was strongly correlated with temperature in Westringia fruticosa, and not in Wilkiea huegeliana. Accordingly, when we shuffled the temperature data, breaking up the covariance between Westringia fruticosa genetic variation and temperature, there was a relaxation of the observed tradeoff. In summary, we explore tradeoffs between promoting genetic diversity and selecting for a specific trait in plant collections, and show that the strength of this tradeoff varies between two species. This represents a useful step towards understanding when selection will have a large cost in genetic diversity, and when it will be possible to design a collection that is both adapted and adaptable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to estimate the shadow prices of water and carbon dioxide (CO 2) in global agriculture under three scenarios: pursuing economic efficiency, sustainable development goals (SDGs), and environmental protection. It assesses the social cost of environmental impacts compared to actual prices. This study also evaluates substitutability among water, labor, and capital in the three scenarios for developing relevant agricultural policies depending on distinct agricultural conditions. Social costs tend to be underestimated because they are not directly observed. Our society has faced an overproduction of agriculture in terms of CO 2 emissions and the exploitation of water. This study employs a method of a directional technology distance function for global agricultural production based on Food and Agriculture Organization data on agricultural inputs and outputs. The following three critical findings were obtained: First, the average shadow price of water under the economic scenario was close to the current actual water prices, and water prices would increase if agricultural production accomplished the three SDGs (Goal 2, 6, and 13). Second, labor is substituted for water under the environmental scenario because water prices increase rapidly. In contrast, water is complementary to labor under the SDGs scenario, implying that labor becomes more important for increasing food production. Third, the current CO 2 prices are lower than those in the economic scenario. These values are significantly lower than those under the SDGs and environmental scenarios. Based on these results, we conclude that agricultural products are often undervalued because the appropriate value of water is overlooked in real markets. The contribution to reducing CO 2 in agriculture is insufficient, owing to current low carbon taxes. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyperspectral images are increasingly being used in classification and identification. Data users prefer hyperspectral imagery with high spatial resolution, finer spectral resolution, and high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). However, tradeoffs exist in these core parameters in imagery acquired by different hyperspectral sensor systems. Data users may find it difficult to utilize all the advantages of hyperspectral imagery. How to select hyperspectral data with optimal parameter configuration has been one of the essential issues for data users, which also affects the back-end applications. With advancements in computer science, various artificial intelligence algorithms from conventional machine learning to deep learning have been utilized for hyperspectral images classification and identification. Few researchers study the mechanism between the core parameters of hyperspectral imaging spectrometers and advanced artificial intelligence algorithms, which affects the application efficiency and accuracy. In this paper, we delved into the evolution of machine learning and deep learning models applied to imagery acquired by different hyperspectral sensor systems having different SNR, spectral, and spatial resolutions. Additionally, we also considered the tradeoffs among the core parameters of hyperspectral imagers. We used two conventional machine learning models, including the classification and regression tree (CART) and random forest (RF), two deep learning methods based on convolution neural network architectures—3D convolutional neural network (3D-CNN) and hamida, and two deep learning methods based on vision transformers architectures—transformer models vision transformer (VIT) and robust vision transformer (RVT), to compare the characteristics of different algorithms. In addition, five hyperspectral datasets with different species categories and scene distributions and aggregated datasets with different spatial resolutions, spectral resolutions, and SNRs were used to validate our study. The experimental results indicate that: (1) The overall accuracy (OA) using CART, RF, 3D-CNN, and VIT models decreased with coarser spectral resolution, but almost remained unchanged using the RVT classifier. The number of class and classification species affect the results. (2) The influence of spatial resolution on classification accuracy is related to the scene complexity, target size, and classification purpose. The coarser spatial resolution can achieve higher OA than the original spatial resolution for the uniform scene distribution. For the datasets with small objects and intersections of different species, OA first increased, plateaued, and then decreased with coarser spatial resolution. (3) The SNR has an obvious impact on OA for the CART and RF classifiers, and the impact decreased for deep learning models, especially for the VIT and RVT models, which were almost unaffected by SNR. Additionally, slight variations in experimental results were observed for datasets with different scene distributions and categories. Furthermore, we conducted a detailed analysis of the role of traditional machine learning and deep learning models in the experimental outcomes. The study can provide insights into understanding the relationship between the core parameters of hyperspectral imager and the artificial intelligence algorithms used for hyperspectral classification. It serves to bridge the knowledge gap between the front-end hyperspectral imager, mid-end model, and back-end applications, and further promote the development of hyperspectral imaging technology. • Optimize the processing chain for the design and application of hyperspectral sensor. • Analysis the role of hyperspectral imager parameters on classification accuracy. • Bridge the gap between front-end hyperspectral sensor design and back-end application. • Improve the classification accuracy by suitable sensor configuration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trait specialization often comes at the expense of original trait function, potentially causing evolutionary tradeoffs that may render specialist populations vulnerable to extinction. However, many specialized adaptations evolve repeatedly, suggesting selection favors specialization in specific environments. Some garter snake (Thamnophis) populations possess specialized mutations in voltage‐gated sodium channels that allow them to consume Pacific newts (Taricha) defended by a highly potent neurotoxin (tetrodotoxin). These mutations, however, also decrease protein and muscle function, suggesting garter snakes may suffer evolutionary tradeoffs. We measured a key physiological process, standard metabolic rate (SMR), to investigate whether specialized adaptations in toxin‐resistant garter snakes affect baseline energy expenditure. In snakes, skeletal muscles influence metabolism and power ventilation, so inefficiencies of sodium channels in these muscles might impact whole‐animal energy expenditure. Further, because sodium channels are membrane‐bound proteins, inefficiencies of channel kinetics and performance might be exacerbated at suboptimal temperatures. We measured SMR in 2 species, Thamnophis atratus and Thamnophis sirtalis, that independently evolved tetrodotoxin resistance through unique mutations, providing replicate experiments with distinct underlying genetics and potential physiological costs. Despite our expectations, neither resistance phenotype nor sodium channel genotype affected metabolism and resistant snakes did not perform worse under suboptimal body temperature. Instead, T. atratus and T. sirtalis show nearly identical rates of mass‐adjusted energy expenditure at both temperatures, despite differing eco‐morphologies, life histories, and distant phylogenetic positions. These findings suggest SMR may be a conserved feature of Thamnophis, and that any organismal tradeoffs may be compensated to retain whole‐animal function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider several intersection searching problems that involve lines in R3 and present improved algorithms for solving them. The problems include (i) ray shooting amid triangles in R³, (ii) reporting intersections between query lines (segments, or rays) and input triangles in R3, as well as approximately counting the number of such intersections, (iii) computing the intersection of two nonconvex polyhedra in R³, (iv) detecting, counting, or reporting intersections in a set of lines in R3, and (v) output-sensitive construction of an arrangement of triangles in R3. Our approach is based on the polynomial partitioning technique. Our ray-shooting algorithm processes a set of n triangles in R3 into a data structure for answering ray-shooting queries amid the given triangles, which uses O(n3/2+ε) storage and expected preprocessing time, and answers a query in O(n1/2+ε) time, for any ε>0. This is a significant improvement over known results, obtained more than 25 years ago, in which, with this amount of storage, the query time bound is roughly n5/8. The algorithms for the other problems have similar performance bounds, with similar improvements over previous results. We also derive a nontrivial improved tradeoff between storage and query time. Using it, we obtain algorithms that answer m queries on n objects in max{O(m2/3n5/6+ε+n1+ε),O(m5/6+εn2/3+m1+ε)} expected time for any ε>0. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Phytoplankton are responsible for nearly half of global primary productivity and play crucial roles in the Earth's biogeochemical cycles. However, the long‐term adaptive responses of phytoplankton to rising CO2 remains unknown.Here we examine the physiological and proteomics responses of a marine diatom, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, following long‐term (c. 900 generations) selection to high CO2 conditions.Our results show that this diatom responds to long‐term high CO2 selection by downregulating proteins involved in energy production (Calvin cycle, tricarboxylic acid cycle, glycolysis, oxidative pentose phosphate pathway), with a subsequent decrease in photosynthesis and respiration. Nearly similar extents of downregulation of photosynthesis and respiration allow the high CO2‐adapted populations to allocate the same fraction of carbon to growth, thereby maintaining their fitness during the long‐term high CO2 selection.These results indicate an important role of metabolism reduction under high CO2 and shed new light on the adaptive mechanisms of phytoplankton in response to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: For better understanding the mechanism of Reaumuria soongarica community formation in a salt stressed grassland ecosystem, we designed a field experiment to test how leaves salt secretion changes the competitive relationship between species in this plant communities. Results: Among the three species (R. soongarica, Stipa glareosa and Allium polyrhizum) of the salt stressed grassland ecosystem, the conductivity of R. soongarica rhizosphere soil was the highest in five soil layers (0–55 cm depth). The high soil conductivity can increase the daily salt secretion rate of plant leaves of R. soongarica. In addition, we found the canopy size of R. soongarica was positively related to the distance from S. glareosa or A. polyrhizum. The salt-tolerance of R. soongarica was significantly higher than the other two herbs (S. glareosa and A. polyrhizum). Moreover, there was a threshold (600 µS/cm) for interspecific competition of plants mediated by soil conductivity. When the soil conductivity was lower than 600 µS/cm, the relative biomass of R. soongarica increased with the soil conductivity increase. Conclusions: The efficient salt secretion ability of leaves increases soil conductivity under the canopy. This leads the formation of a "saline island" of R. soongarica. Meanwhile R. soongarica have stronger salt tolerance than S. glareosa and A. polyrhizum. These promote the competitiveness of R. soongarica and inhibit interspecies competition advantage of the other two herbs (S. glareosa and A. polyrhizum) in the plant community. It is beneficial for R. soongarica to establish dominant communities in saline regions of desert grassland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that AM symbiosis provides several ecosystem services leading to plant adaptation in different environmental conditions and positively affects physiological and production features. Although beneficial effects from grapevine and AM fungi interactions have been reported, the impact on growth-defence tradeoff features has still to be elucidated. In this study, the potential benefits of an inoculum formed by two AM fungal species, with or without a monosaccharide addition, were evaluated on young grapevine cuttings grafted onto 1103P and SO4 rootstocks. Inoculated and non-inoculated plants were maintained in potted vineyard substrate under greenhouse conditions for 3 months. Here, agronomic features were combined with biochemical and molecular techniques to assess the influence of the different treatments. Despite the opposite behaviour of the two selected rootstocks, in AM samples, the evaluation of gene expression, agronomic traits and metabolites production revealed an involvement of the whole root microbiome in the growth-defence tradeoff balancing. Noteworthy, we showed that rootstock genotypes and treatments shaped the root-associated microbes, stimulating plant growth and defence pathways. Progresses in this field would open new perspectives, enabling the application of AMF or their inducers to achieve a more sustainable agriculture also in light of the ongoing climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the single-machine scheduling problem to tradeoff between the number and the length of accepted jobs. The algorithm introduced by Lin and Wang (2007) (called Lin-Wang's algorithm), for solving the single-machine scheduling problem to minimize the number of tardy jobs, is closely related to our research. The original version of Lin-Wang's algorithm runs in O (n 2) time. By using the technique of the preemptive scheduling combined with a data structure, we show in this paper that a variant of Lin-Wang's algorithm actually runs in O (n log ⁡ n) time. This enables us to further show that the tradeoff problem can be solved in O (n log ⁡ n) time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a model-based hybrid adaptive dynamic programming (ADP) framework consisting of continuous feedback-based policy evaluation and policy improvement steps as well as an intermittent policy implementation procedure. This results in an intermittent ADP with a quantifiable performance and guaranteed closed-loop stability of the equilibrium point. To investigate the effect of aperiodic sampling on the communication bandwidth and the control performance of the intermittent ADP algorithms, we use a Hamiltonian-driven unified framework. With such a framework, it is shown that there is a tradeoff between the communication burden and the control performance. We finally show that the developed policies exhibit Zeno-free behaviors. Simulation examples show the efficiency of the proposed framework along with quantifiable comparisons of the policies with different intermittent information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We develop data structures for intersection queries in four dimensions that involve segments, triangles and tetrahedra. Specifically, we study three main problems: (i) Preprocess a set of n tetrahedra in R4\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$$\mathbb {R}^4$$\end{document} into a data structure for answering segment-intersection queries amid the given tetrahedra (referred to as segment-tetrahedron intersection queries). (ii) Preprocess a set of n triangles in R4\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$$\mathbb {R}^4$$\end{document} into a data structure that supports triangle-intersection queries amid the input triangles (referred to as triangle-triangle intersection queries). (iii) Preprocess a set of n segments in R4\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$$\mathbb {R}^4$$\end{document} into a data structure that supports tetrahedron-intersection queries amid the input segments (referred to as tetrahedron-segment intersection queries). In each problem we want either to detect an intersection, or to count or report all intersections. As far as we can tell, these problems have not been previously studied. For problem (i), we first present a “standard” solution which, for any prespecified value n≤s≤n6\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$$n \le s \le n^6$$\end{document} of a so-called storage parameter s, yields a data structure with O∗(s)\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$$O^*(s)$$\end{document} storage and expected preprocessing, which answers an intersection query in O∗(n/s1/6)\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$$O^*(n/s^{1/6})$$\end{document} time (here and in what follows, the O∗(·)\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$$O^*(\cdot )$$\end{document} notation hides subpolynomial factors). For problems (ii) and (iii), using similar arguments, we present a solution that has the same asymptotic performance bounds. We then improve the solution for problem (i), and present a more intricate data structure that uses O∗(n2)\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$$O^*(n^{2})$$\end{document} storage and expected preprocessing, and answers a segment-tetrahedron intersection query in O∗(n1/2)\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$$O^*(n^{1/2})$$\end{document} time, improving the O∗(n2/3)\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$$O^*(n^{2/3})$$\end{document} query time obtained by the standard solution. Using the parametric search technique of Agarwal and Matoušek (SIAM J Comput 22:794–806, 1993), we can obtain data structures with similar performance bounds for the ray-shooting problem amid tetrahedra in R4\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$$\mathbb {R}^4$$\end{document}. Unfortunately, so far we do not know how to obtain a similar improvement for problems (ii) and (iii). Our algorithms are based on a primal-dual technique for range searching with semi-algebraic sets, based on recent advances in this area (Agarwal et al. in SIAM J Comput 50:760–787, 2021. Also in Proceedings of Symposium on Computational Geometry (SoCG) 5:1–5:14, 2019. Also in arXiv:1812.10269; Matoušek and Patáková in Discrete Comput Geom 54:22–41, 2015). As this is a result of independent interest, we spell out the details of this technique. We present several applications of our techniques, including continuous collision detection amid moving tetrahedra in 3-space, an output-sensitive algorithm for constructing the arrangement of n tetrahedra in R4\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$$\mathbb {R}^4$$\end{document}, and an output-sensitive algorithm for constructing the intersection or union of two or several nonconvex polyhedra in R4\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$$\mathbb {R}^4$$\end{document}. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premise: Across taxa, vegetative and floral traits that vary along a fast‐slow life‐history axis are often correlated with leaf functional traits arrayed along the leaf economics spectrum, suggesting a constrained set of adaptive trait combinations. Such broad‐scale convergence may arise from genetic constraints imposed by pleiotropy (or tight linkage) within species, or from natural selection alone. Understanding the genetic basis of trait syndromes and their components is key to distinguishing these alternatives and predicting evolution in novel environments. Methods: We used a line‐cross approach and quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping to characterize the genetic basis of twenty leaf functional/physiological, life history, and floral traits in hybrids between annualized and perennial populations of scarlet monkeyflower (Mimulus cardinalis). Results: We mapped both single and multi‐trait QTLs for life history, leaf function and reproductive traits, but found no evidence of genetic co‐ordination across categories. A major QTL for three leaf functional traits (thickness, photosynthetic rate, and stomatal resistance) suggests that a simple shift in leaf anatomy may be key to adaptation to seasonally dry habitats. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the co‐ordination of resource‐acquisitive leaf physiological traits with a fast life‐history and more selfing mating system results from environmental selection rather than functional or genetic constraint. Independent assortment of distinct trait modules, as well as a simple genetic basis to leaf physiological traits associated with drought escape, may facilitate adaptation to changing climates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi‐infections may result in either competitive exclusion or coexistence on the same host of pathogen genotypes belonging to the same or different species. Epidemiological consequences of multiple infections, particularly how the development and transmission of a pathogen can be modified by the presence of another pathogen, are well documented. However, understanding how life history strategies of each pathogen modulate co‐infection outcomes remains quite elusive. To analyze how co‐infection drives changes in life history traits and affects co‐existence in epidemic pathogens, we infected detached pea stipules with two fungal species, Peyronellaea pinodes and Phoma medicaginis var. pinodella (considering two strains per species), part of the ascochyta blight complex but presenting different life history strategies. All pairwise combinations (including self‐pairs) between two strains of each species were tested. Strains were inoculated simultaneously, but apart from one another on the stipule. For each strain, four life history traits were measured: incubation period, necrosis area six days after inoculation, latent period and offspring production. Results show that, in co‐infection, when resources are highly allocated to lesion development, the time between inoculation and the appearance of reproduction structures (latent period) and offspring production decreased, and vice‐versa relative to single infections. The direction and/or magnitude of these responses to co‐infection depend on the co‐infecting strains. Moreover, these changes were always higher in self‐pairs than in mixed co‐infections. These results suggest facilitation between co‐infecting strains, resulting in the selection of an intermediate level of virulence (here measured as the lesion development) at the expense of pathogen offspring production. This strategy allows the development and reproduction of each co‐infecting strain when sharing limited resources. However, the direction and strength of these life history traits variations in co‐infection depend on the life history strategy of the co‐infecting strains, with a clear difference between 'opportunists', 'scavengers' and 'pioneer colonisers'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding how individual tradeoffs and carry‐over effects along the annual cycle influence fitness is fundamental to unravel population dynamics, but such data is particularly challenging to collect in long‐distance migrants. Here, with a full annual cycle perspective of Icelandic whimbrels Numenius phaeopus islandicus, we investigate tradeoffs across the entire distribution, assessing migration costs and wintering energetic balance experienced throughout the wintering range (from temperate to tropical regions), and link these to breeding parameters for two wintering regions. We found that Icelandic whimbrels traded off higher costs of migration with more favourable wintering conditions, in terms of energetic balance. By migrating further, whimbrels experience lower thermoregulatory costs and higher net energetic intake rates, resulting in a more positive energetic balance during winter. However, these differences did not appear to carry‐over into the breeding season in terms of measurable effects on laying date (and, consequently, fledging success) or egg volume, suggesting that individual fitness is unlikely to be significantly influenced by previous wintering conditions, although effects on other traits may potentially occur. Nevertheless, Icelandic whimbrels seem to favour wintering locations where the conditions are more advantageous, as the abundance of individuals at the wintering sites reflects the variation in site quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both inter‐ and intraspecific trait variation are critical to species distribution along environmental gradients, but our understanding of these patterns predominantly relies upon species‐level trait means and variances. Trait integration, defined as how strongly multiple traits covary with one another, is a key indicator of the dimensionality of functional space for accommodating biodiversity in communities. As trait covariance can differ dramatically at the interspecific versus intraspecific levels, how intraspecific trait variability alters the strength of trait integration and eventually modulates biodiversity along environmental gradients has been rarely tested. Here, we measured nine functional traits (leaf area, specific leaf area, leaf and stem dry‐matter content, leaf nitrogen and phosphorus contents, specific stem length, Huber value and maximum height) paired with site‐specific soil fertility for 70 woody communities in subtropical Chinese forests. All species‐by‐site combinations were sampled to ensure a sufficient representation of intraspecific trait variation across sites. Community‐level trait integration was quantified from the variance of eigenvalues of the trait correlation matrix. The direct and/or indirect effects of soil fertility and trait integration on species richness and trait diversity were assessed through path analyses. Trait integration quantified from both inter‐ and intraspecific variances was on average 21.7% weaker than that from only interspecific variance, indicating a crucial role of intraspecific trait variability in promoting niche dimensionality. Whether accounting for intraspecific variation or not, less fertile sites had stronger trait integration, which in turn depressed both taxonomic and functional diversity, supporting the assumption that higher environmental stress demands stronger tradeoffs among multiple functions in viable strategies. Importantly, the negative association between trait integration and species richness became stronger when accounting for intraspecific variation, suggesting that species distribution and occurrence can be a consequence of intraspecific trait variability. This study highlights the importance of intraspecific trait variability in understanding functional tradeoffs underlying biodiversity patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A tradeoff between forage acquisition and predation avoidance contributes to shape space use by herbivores. The manipulation of structural components of the habitat, such as forage and forest cover may alter this tradeoff. The idea of influencing space use of herbivores is appealing for wildlife managers that aim to locally modify herbivore densities and increase their vulnerability to hunting. We attempted to manipulate the tradeoff between forage acquisition and risk avoidance of white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus on Anticosti Island (Québec, Canada) using experimental hunting fields varying in forage production (fertilized or unfertilized fields) and residual forest cover (30 or 60-m-wide forested strips between fields). In this system with high deer density, no natural predator and limited forage, fecal group surveys and camera traps demonstrated greater use of fertilized fields. Residual forest cover did not impact habitat use, suggesting that use of the experimental fields was mainly driven by the benefits of foraging compared to the costs of avoiding hunters. Deer vulnerability to hunting, however, differed with residual forest cover: hunters saw more deer per hour in fields separated by 30-m-wide forested strips compared to fields separated by 60-m-wide forested strips. That hunters did not detect the difference in deer use between fertilized and unfertilized fields suggests that deer vulnerability to hunting and deer use could be modified by different structural components of the habitat. Our results provide useful insights for wildlife managers that have to deal with conflicting goals such as maintaining hunter satisfaction with high observation rates of deer while reducing the negative impacts of high deer densities on their body condition and, on the composition and structure of forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic resonant wireless power transfer (MR-WPT) has become a significant method for powering the measurement units in landslide monitoring boreholes. This paper focuses on the effects of quality factor, coupling distance and load on the power transfer stability, sensitivity and performance of an MR-WPT system. Firstly, through a numerical model of an MR-WPT, the effect of quality factor and coupling distance on the output power, transfer efficiency and frequency splitting phenomenon of MR-WPT systems have been comparatively analyzed. The relationship between the load and the coupling distance region corresponding to optimal transfer performance has been studied. Results show that improving the quality factor of the coils is beneficial for the transfer performance and stability of WPT system. Furthermore, through the selection of the load, a coupling distance region with high transfer stability and an optimal tradeoff between power and efficiency can be obtained. Finally, the above theoretical simulation results have been verified by experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at investigating the tradeoff between ergodic energy efficiency (EE) and spectral efficiency (SE) for device-to-device (D2D) communications underlaying cellular networks. Assuming average-based resource allocation, we propose a multiobjective optimization problem (MOOP) approach to deal with the EE and SE maximization problem. Specifically, the formulated MOOP results in the maximization of the total ergodic sum rate of the D2D users and the minimization of the total average transmit power of the D2D transmitters. Two practical scenarios are considered, i.e., a limited interference scenario, which includes the sparsely deployed scenario, and a densely deployed scenario, where for each scenario the maximum achievable EE and SE are derived. Specifically, considering the limited interference scenario, an upper bound is imposed on the received interference across different D2D communications, and closed-form expressions for the optimal power allocation, ergodic sum rate, and maximum EE are obtained. In the general, densely deployed scenario, however, the cross D2D network interference needs to be taken into account. We provide an optimal solution for the power control based on sequential fractional programming to tradeoff between complexity and performance gain. Simulation results unveil an interesting tradeoff to strike a balance between EE and SE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of a priori estimation of the result of a mulicriteria two-person competitive game is considered in the framework of operations research. Various aspects of decision making in such games are discussed. Relations between the values of a vector best guaranteed result (BGR) for both players are obtained. The difference of the mulicriteria antagonistic game considered as a model of taking into account the natural uncertainty from the mulicriteria zero-sum game considered as interaction with a purposeful opponent is formalized. Special attention is paid to the concepts of the value and solution of the latter game. As the basic solution of this game, we use the multicriteria Shapley equilibrium when it gives to each player the result not worse than her or his BGR. It is shown that the last condition is not restrictive. The definition of the one-sided value of the multicriteria game as the player's BGR if her BGR is independent of the order of the players' moves and the definition of the corresponding one-sided solution are given. It is proved that the equilibrium is weaker than the one-sided solution, and the equilibrium always exists in mixed strategies. The existence of a one-sided solution in mixed strategies is guaranteed by a special interpretation of multicriteria averaging. To justify the conclusions, Slater's value of the multicriteria optimum is parameterized using Germeier's scalarizing function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]