University of North Carolina Wilmington

Denitrification is a critical process regulating the removal of bioavailable nitrogen (N) from natural and human-altered systems. While it has been extensively studied in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine systems, there has been limited communication among denitrification scientists working in these individual systems. Here, we compare rates of denitrification and controlling factors across a range of ecosystem types. We suggest that terrestrial, freshwater, and marine systems in which denitrification occurs can be organized along a continuum ranging from (1) those in which nitrification and denitrification are tightly coupled in space and time to (2) those in which nitrate production and denitrification are relatively decoupled. In aquatic ecosystems, N inputs influence denitrification rates whereas hydrology and geomorphology influence the proportion of N inputs that are denitrified. Relationships between denitrification and water residence time and N load are remarkably similar across lakes, river reaches, estuaries, and continental shelves. Spatially distributed global models of denitrification suggest that continental shelf sediments account for the largest portion (44%) of total global denitrification, followed by terrestrial soils (22%) and oceanic oxygen minimum zones (OMZs; 14%). Freshwater systems (groundwater, lakes, rivers) account for about 20% and estuaries 1% of total global denitrification. Denitrification of land-based N sources is distributed somewhat differently. Within watersheds, the amount of land-based N denitrified is generally highest in terrestrial soils, with progressively smaller amounts denitrified in groundwater, rivers, lakes and reservoirs, and estuaries. A number of regional exceptions to this general trend of decreasing denitrification in a downstream direction exist, including significant denitrification in continental shelves of N from terrestrial sources. Though terrestrial soils and groundwater are responsible for much denitrification at the watershed scale, per-area denitrification rates in soils and groundwater (kg N x km(-2) x yr(-1)) are, on average, approximately one-tenth the per-area rates of denitrification in lakes, rivers, estuaries, continental shelves, or OMZs. A number of potential approaches to increase denitrification on the landscape, and thus decrease N export to sensitive coastal systems exist. However, these have not generally been widely tested for their effectiveness at scales required to significantly reduce N export at the whole watershed scale.

Diatoms, a type of microscopic marine and freshwater alga, dominate the oceans and are responsible for about a fifth of the primary productivity on Earth. The complete genome sequence of Phaeodactylum tricornutum is reported in this issue, the second diatom to be sequenced. Comparisons with Thalassiosira pseudonana, the first, reveal that hundreds of diatom genes have been acquired by gene transfer from bacteria — or vice versa. Gene transfer appears to have been common during diatom evolution, creating unorthodox combinations of genes — including some from plants and animals — likely to play major roles in nutrient management and environmental signalling. Diatoms are photosynthetic secondary endosymbionts found throughout marine and freshwater environments, and are believed to be responsible for around one-fifth of the primary productivity on Earth1,2. The genome sequence of the marine centric diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana was recently reported, revealing a wealth of information about diatom biology3,4,5. Here we report the complete genome sequence of the pennate diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum and compare it with that of T. pseudonana to clarify evolutionary origins, functional significance and ubiquity of these features throughout diatoms. In spite of the fact that the pennate and centric lineages have only been diverging for 90 million years, their genome structures are dramatically different and a substantial fraction of genes (∼40%) are not shared by these representatives of the two lineages. Analysis of molecular divergence compared with yeasts and metazoans reveals rapid rates of gene diversification in diatoms. Contributing factors include selective gene family expansions, differential losses and gains of genes and introns, and differential mobilization of transposable elements. Most significantly, we document the presence of hundreds of genes from bacteria. More than 300 of these gene transfers are found in both diatoms, attesting to their ancient origins, and many are likely to provide novel possibilities for metabolite management and for perception of environmental signals. These findings go a long way towards explaining the incredible diversity and success of the diatoms in contemporary oceans.

Ocean-going ships carry, as ballast, seawater that is taken on in port and released at subsequent ports of call. Plankton samples from Japanese ballast water released in Oregon contained 367 taxa. Most taxa with a planktonic phase in their life cycle were found in ballast water, as were all major marine habitat and trophic groups. Transport of entire coastal planktonic assemblages across oceanic barriers to similar habitats renders bays, estuaries, and inland waters among the most threatened ecosystems in the world. Presence of taxonomically difficult or inconspicuous taxa in these samples suggests that ballast water invasions are already pervasive.

Information sharing is a central process through which team members collectively utilize their available informational resources. The authors used meta-analysis to synthesize extant research on team information sharing. Meta-analytic results from 72 independent studies (total groups = 4,795; total N = 17,279) demonstrate the importance of information sharing to team performance, cohesion, decision satisfaction, and knowledge integration. Although moderators were identified, information sharing positively predicted team performance across all levels of moderators. The information sharing-team performance relationship was moderated by the representation of information sharing (as uniqueness or openness), performance criteria, task type, and discussion structure by uniqueness (a 3-way interaction). Three factors affecting team information processing were found to enhance team information sharing: task demonstrability, discussion structure, and cooperation. Three factors representing decreasing degrees of member redundancy were found to detract from team information sharing: information distribution, informational interdependence, and member heterogeneity.

This paper details MORPH a longitudinal face database developed for researchers investigating all facets of adult age-progression, e.g. face modeling, photo-realistic animation, face recognition, etc. This database contributes to several active research areas, most notably face recognition, by providing: the largest set of publicly available longitudinal images; longitudinal spans from a few months to over twenty years; and, the inclusion of key physical parameters that affect aging appearance. The direct contribution of this data corpus for face recognition is highlighted in the evaluation of a standard face recognition algorithm, which illustrates the impact that age-progression, has on recognition rates. Assessment of the efficacy of this algorithm is evaluated against the variables of gender and racial origin. This work further concludes that the problem of age-progression on face recognition (FR) is not unique to the algorithm used in this work.

We explore mixed data sampling (henceforth MIDAS) regression models. The regressions involve time series data sampled at different frequencies. Volatility and related processes are our prime focus, though the regression method has wider applications in macroeconomics and finance, among other areas. The regressions combine recent developments regarding estimation of volatility and a not-so-recent literature on distributed lag models. We study various lag structures to parameterize parsimoniously the regressions and relate them to existing models. We also propose several new extensions of the MIDAS framework. The paper concludes with an empirical section where we provide further evidence and new results on the risk–return trade-off. We also report empirical evidence on microstructure noise and volatility forecasting.

Major theories of team effectiveness position emergent collective cognitive processes as central drivers of team performance. We meta-analytically cumulated 231 correlations culled from 65 independent studies of team cognition and its relations to teamwork processes, motivational states, and performance outcomes. We examined both broad relationships among cognition, behavior, motivation, and performance, as well as 3 underpinnings of team cognition as potential moderators of these relationships. Findings reveal there is indeed a cognitive foundation to teamwork; team cognition has strong positive relationships to team behavioral process, motivational states, and team performance. Meta-analytic regressions further indicate that team cognition explains significant incremental variance in team performance after the effects of behavioral and motivational dynamics have been controlled. The nature of emergence, form of cognition, and content of cognition moderate relationships among cognition, process, and performance, as do task interdependence and team type. Taken together, these findings not only cumulate extant research on team cognition but also provide a new interpretation of the impact of underlying dimensions of cognition as a way to frame and extend future research.

Two alternative methods for parceling questionnaire items for use in confirmatory analyses are presented. The first method requires that parcels must (a) pass a minimum standard of reliability and (b) provide indications of unidimensionality to be retained for analysis. The second method requires that parcels be equally representative of the multiple aspects of a domain. The parcels may then serve as adequate indicators for the general construct. The latter method is consistent with the rationale underlying aggregation of measures, a procedure currently recommended for improving the psychometric properties of behavioral measures of personality. The two methods for parceling and a comparison are illustrated with an empirical example.

Research on violent television and films, video games, and music reveals unequivocal evidence that media violence increases the likelihood of aggressive and violent behavior in both immediate and long-term contexts. The effects appear larger for milder than for more severe forms of aggression, but the effects on severe forms of violence are also substantial (r = .13 to .32) when compared with effects of other violence risk factors or medical effects deemed important by the medical community (e.g., effect of aspirin on heart attacks). The research base is large; diverse in methods, samples, and media genres; and consistent in overall findings. The evidence is clearest within the most extensively researched domain, television and film violence. The growing body of video-game research yields essentially the same conclusions. Short-term exposure increases the likelihood of physically and verbally aggressive behavior, aggressive thoughts, and aggressive emotions. Recent large-scale longitudinal studies provide converging evidence linking frequent exposure to violent media in childhood with aggression later in life, including physical assaults and spouse abuse. Because extremely violent criminal behaviors (e.g., forcible rape, aggravated assault, homicide) are rare, new longitudinal studies with larger samples are needed to estimate accurately how much habitual childhood exposure to media violence increases the risk for extreme violence. Well-supported theory delineates why and when exposure to media violence increases aggression and violence. Media violence produces short-term increases by priming existing aggressive scripts and cognitions, increasing physiological arousal, and triggering an automatic tendency to imitate observed behaviors. Media violence produces long-term effects via several types of learning processes leading to the acquisition of lasting (and automatically accessible) aggressive scripts, interpretational schemas, and aggression-supporting beliefs about social behavior, and by reducing individuals' normal negative emotional responses to violence (i.e., desensitization). Certain characteristics of viewers (e.g., identification with aggressive characters), social environments (e.g., parental influences), and media content (e.g., attractiveness of the perpetrator) can influence the degree to which media violence affects aggression, but there are some inconsistencies in research results. This research also suggests some avenues for preventive intervention (e.g., parental supervision, interpretation, and control of children's media use). However, extant research on moderators suggests that no one is wholly immune to the effects of media violence. Recent surveys reveal an extensive presence of violence in modern media. Furthermore, many children and youth spend an inordinate amount of time consuming violent media. Although it is clear that reducing exposure to media violence will reduce aggression and violence, it is less clear what sorts of interventions will produce a reduction in exposure. The sparse research literature suggests that counterattitudinal and parental-mediation interventions are likely to yield beneficial effects, but that media literacy interventions by themselves are unsuccessful. Though the scientific debate over whether media violence increases aggression and violence is essentially over, several critical tasks remain. Additional laboratory and field studies are needed for a better understanding of underlying psychological processes, which eventually should lead to more effective interventions. Large-scale longitudinal studies would help specify the magnitude of media-violence effects on the most severe types of violence. Meeting the larger societal challenge of providing children and youth with a much healthier media diet may prove to be more difficult and costly, especially if the scientific, news, public policy, and entertainment communities fail to educate the general public about the real risks of media-violence exposure to children and youth.

BACKGROUND: The rising temperature of the world's oceans has become a major threat to coral reefs globally as the severity and frequency of mass coral bleaching and mortality events increase. In 2005, high ocean temperatures in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean resulted in the most severe bleaching event ever recorded in the basin. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Satellite-based tools provided warnings for coral reef managers and scientists, guiding both the timing and location of researchers' field observations as anomalously warm conditions developed and spread across the greater Caribbean region from June to October 2005. Field surveys of bleaching and mortality exceeded prior efforts in detail and extent, and provided a new standard for documenting the effects of bleaching and for testing nowcast and forecast products. Collaborators from 22 countries undertook the most comprehensive documentation of basin-scale bleaching to date and found that over 80% of corals bleached and over 40% died at many sites. The most severe bleaching coincided with waters nearest a western Atlantic warm pool that was centered off the northern end of the Lesser Antilles. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Thermal stress during the 2005 event exceeded any observed from the Caribbean in the prior 20 years, and regionally-averaged temperatures were the warmest in over 150 years. Comparison of satellite data against field surveys demonstrated a significant predictive relationship between accumulated heat stress (measured using NOAA Coral Reef Watch's Degree Heating Weeks) and bleaching intensity. This severe, widespread bleaching and mortality will undoubtedly have long-term consequences for reef ecosystems and suggests a troubled future for tropical marine ecosystems under a warming climate.

IMPORTANCE: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) remains one of the most prevalent and troublesome adverse events experienced by patients with cancer during and after therapy. OBJECTIVE: To perform a meta-analysis to establish and compare the mean weighted effect sizes (WESs) of the 4 most commonly recommended treatments for CRF-exercise, psychological, combined exercise and psychological, and pharmaceutical-and to identify independent variables associated with treatment effectiveness. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched from the inception of each database to May 31, 2016. STUDY SELECTION: Randomized clinical trials in adults with cancer were selected. Inclusion criteria consisted of CRF severity as an outcome and testing of exercise, psychological, exercise plus psychological, or pharmaceutical interventions. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Studies were independently reviewed by 12 raters in 3 groups using a systematic and blinded process for reconciling disagreement. Effect sizes (Cohen d) were calculated and inversely weighted by SE. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Severity of CRF was the primary outcome. Study quality was assessed using a modified 12-item version of the Physiotherapy Evidence-Based Database scale (range, 0-12, with 12 indicating best quality). RESULTS: From 17 033 references, 113 unique studies articles (11 525 unique participants; 78% female; mean age, 54 [range, 35-72] years) published from January 1, 1999, through May 31, 2016, had sufficient data. Studies were of good quality (mean Physiotherapy Evidence-Based Database scale score, 8.2; range, 5-12) with no evidence of publication bias. Exercise (WES, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.25-0.36; P < .001), psychological (WES, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.21-0.33; P < .001), and exercise plus psychological interventions (WES, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.13-0.38; P < .001) improved CRF during and after primary treatment, whereas pharmaceutical interventions did not (WES, 0.09; 95% CI, 0.00-0.19; P = .05). Results also suggest that CRF treatment effectiveness was associated with cancer stage, baseline treatment status, experimental treatment format, experimental treatment delivery mode, psychological mode, type of control condition, use of intention-to-treat analysis, and fatigue measures (WES range, -0.91 to 0.99). Results suggest that the effectiveness of behavioral interventions, specifically exercise and psychological interventions, is not attributable to time, attention, and education, and specific intervention modes may be more effective for treating CRF at different points in the cancer treatment trajectory (WES range, 0.09-0.22). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Exercise and psychological interventions are effective for reducing CRF during and after cancer treatment, and they are significantly better than the available pharmaceutical options. Clinicians should prescribe exercise or psychological interventions as first-line treatments for CRF.

The National Institute of Mental Health strategic plan for advancing psychiatric neuroscience calls for an acceleration of discovery and the delineation of developmental trajectories for risk and resilience across the lifespan. To attain these objectives, sufficiently powered datasets with broad and deep phenotypic characterization, state-of-the-art neuroimaging, and genetic samples must be generated and made openly available to the scientific community. The enhanced Nathan Kline Institute-Rockland Sample (NKI-RS) is a response to this need. NKI-RS is an ongoing, institutionally centered endeavor aimed at creating a large-scale (N > 1000), deeply phenotyped, community-ascertained, lifespan sample (ages 6-85 years old) with advanced neuroimaging and genetics. These data will be publically shared, openly, and prospectively (i.e., on a weekly basis). Herein, we describe the conceptual basis of the NKI-RS, including study design, sampling considerations, and steps to synchronize phenotypic and neuroimaging assessment. Additionally, we describe our process for sharing the data with the scientific community while protecting participant confidentiality, maintaining an adequate database, and certifying data integrity. The pilot phase of the NKI-RS, including challenges in recruiting, characterizing, imaging, and sharing data, is discussed while also explaining how this experience informed the final design of the enhanced NKI-RS. It is our hope that familiarity with the conceptual underpinnings of the enhanced NKI-RS will facilitate harmonization with future data collection efforts aimed at advancing psychiatric neuroscience and nosology.

The volume of research on fear of crime in the United States is substantial and continues to regularly appear in sociology and criminology journals. Despite the amount of research on the subject, the measurement procedures most frequently used are suspect because of theoretical and methodological shortcomings. We present a conceptual definition of fear of crime and then systematically review the way it has been measured in research over the last fifteen years. The review indicates that whik omnibus fear of crime and risk of crime measures are only moderately correlated, a substantial number of studies have used risk measures and generalized to fear. Suggestions for future research are offered.

Our ability to correlate biological evolution with climate change, geological evolution, and other historical patterns is essential to understanding the processes that shape biodiversity. Combining data from the fossil record with molecular phylogenetics represents an exciting synthetic approach to this challenge. The first molecular divergence dating analysis (Zuckerkandl and Pauling 1962) was based on a measure of the amino acid differences in the hemoglobin molecule, with replacement rates established (calibrated) using paleontological age estimates from textbooks (e.g., Dodson 1960). Since that time, the amount of molecular sequence data has increased dramatically, affording ever-greater opportunities to apply molecular divergence approaches to fundamental problems in evolutionary biology. To capitalize on these opportunities, increasingly sophisticated divergence dating methods have been, and continue to be, developed. In contrast, comparatively, little attention has been devoted to critically assessing the paleontological and associated geological data used in divergence dating analyses. The lack of rigorous protocols for assigning calibrations based on fossils raises serious questions about the credibility of divergence dating results (e.g., Shaul and Graur 2002; Brochu et al. 2004; Graur and Martin 2004; Hedges and Kumar 2004; Reisz and Müller 2004a, 2004b; Theodor 2004; van Tuinen and Hadly 2004a, 2004b; van Tuinen et al. 2004; Benton and Donoghue 2007; Donoghue and Benton 2007; Parham and Irmis 2008; Ksepka 2009; Benton et al. 2009; Heads 2011). The assertion that incorrect calibrations will negatively influence divergence dating studies is not controversial. Attempts to identify incorrect calibrations through the use of a posteriori methods are available (e.g., Near and Sanderson 2004; Near et al. 2005; Rutschmann et al. 2007; Marshall 2008; Pyron 2010; Dornburg et al. 2011). We do not deny that a posteriori methods are a useful means of evaluating calibrations, but there can be no substitute for a priori assessment of the veracity of paleontological data. Incorrect calibrations, those based upon fossils that are phylogenetically misplaced or assigned incorrect ages, clearly introduce error into an analysis. Consequently, thorough and explicit justification of both phylogenetic and chronologic age assessments is necessary for all fossils used for calibration. Such explicit justifications will help to ensure that divergence dating studies are based on the best available data. Unfortunately, the majority of previously published calibrations lack explicit explanations and justifications of the age and phylogenetic position of the key fossils. In the absence of explicit justifications, it is difficult to distinguish between correct and incorrect calibrations, and it becomes difficult to reevaluate previous claims in light of new data. Paleontology is a dynamic science, with new data and perspectives constantly emerging as a result of new discoveries (see Kimura 2010 for a recent case where the age of the earliest known record of a clade was more than doubled). Calibrations based upon the best available evidence at a given time can become inappropriate as the discovery of new specimens, new phylogenetic analyses, and ongoing stratigraphic and geochronologic revisions refine our understanding of the fossil record. Our primary goals in this paper are to establish the best practices for justifying fossils used for the temporal calibration of molecular phylogenies. Our examples derive mainly, but not exclusively, from the vertebrate fossil record. We hope that our recommendations will lead to more credible calibrations and, as a result, more reliable divergence dates throughout the tree of life. A secondary goal is to help the community (researchers, editors, and reviewers) who might be unfamiliar with fossils to understand and overcome the challenges associated with using paleontological data. In order to accomplish these goals, we present a specimen-based protocol for selecting and documenting relevant fossils and discuss future directions for evaluating and utilizing phylogenetic and temporal data from the fossil record. We likewise encourage biologists relying on nonfossil calibrations for molecular divergence estimates (e.g., ages of island or mountain range formations, continental drift, and biomarkers) to develop their own set of rigorous guidelines so that their calibrations may also be evaluated in a systematic way. Most studies use a Bayesian framework for estimating divergence dates with probability curves between a minimum and a maximum bound to represent calibrations (time priors) (Thorne et al. 1998; Drummond et al. 2006; Yang 2006; Yang and Rannala 2006). An appropriately constructed fossil calibration uses the oldest assigned fossil of a taxon as the basis for its minimum age and then constructs these other parameters around it (Benton and Donoghue 2007; Donoghue and Benton 2007). One key to improving the use of paleontological data is recognizing that this first step can be tied explicitly to one or a small set of museum specimens, creating a readily auditable chain of evidence. To minimize error and maximize clarity, all calibration data should be derived explicitly from specific fossil specimens. If links between calibration data and specimens cannot be made, then there are serious questions about the validity of the proposed time priors. In this respect, the fossil specimens used for calibrations represent a standard, much in the same way that a holotype specimen (or type series) is a taxonomic standard. In both cases, these specimens provide a necessary reference point for future inquiries. The explicit reporting of specimen data is just as crucial to the scientific integrity of a fossil calibration study as is making genetic sequences publicly available or reporting analytical methods. Thus, it is worthwhile to compile, reiterate, and expand on the caveats from previous studies that pertain to the construction and reporting of fossil calibrations (e.g., Graur and Martin 2004; Hedges and Kumar 2004; van Tuinen and Hadly 2004a, 2004b; Benton and Donoghue 2007; Donoghue and Benton 2007; Gandolfo et al. 2008; Parham and Irmis 2008; Benton et al. 2009; Ksepka 2009; Sanders et al. 2010) while providing a simple and explicit protocol (in checklist form) to address them. 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In to can be assigned time may not have this step the data from the fossil the minimum bound of a calibration The maximum bound and the of the are also based on the fossil but in a much more probability of the oldest known The of these other parameters from a protocol for them. the maximum is established as than all the oldest to a time the and for the of the are but no are the maximum an approach that into and phylogenetic has been proposed (e.g., Reisz and Müller Müller and Reisz 2005; Benton and Donoghue 2007; Donoghue and Benton 2007; Benton et al. approach is and from the fossil established Marshall who use this approach should provide justifying their so that can and, the of Benton and Donoghue and and the maximum should be and Most studies use a Bayesian framework for estimating divergence dates with probability curves between minimum and maximum In may be of the fossil but there is no way to parameters and and of little more than A of recent studies that these parameters are not et al. 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The of et al. is with molecular of that a (e.g., and 1998; Hedges and and et al. et al. 2005; et al. 2007; et al. 2009; et al. et al. et al. molecular data have for a clade and and et al. et al. or a clade and for these an where are the taxon to a is et al. et 2005; et al. The majority of recent molecular a et al. 2005; et al. 2007; et al. 2009; et al. 2009; et al. and of as or not the oldest calibration point or the phylogenetic of of the vertebrate fossils that are to be to other in and 2005; et al. is relevant is that the an and that is in age and and to other and 2007; and the also the taxon and a taxon in throughout et al. and 2005; and The data that these the and The is with ages, so the of the is to et al. The and is one of the fundamental calibrations for vertebrate studies (e.g., et al. 2007; et al. it as an calibration for both and molecular (e.g., et al. 2002; and 2006; 2007; and 2010) and is relevant to in (Benton and Donoghue 2007). used a secondary calibration for this has been and Martin 2004; Müller and Reisz on the to have not been used for calibration the earliest fossils from the and Reisz 2005; Benton and Donoghue 2007). Müller and Reisz proposed an age of for this based on the of the the of the is using recent age data et al. is phylogenetically as a of the (e.g., and 2006; 2007; and 2007; et al. 2011). its age is is from the of the in this has been to the using vertebrate and and this is with et al. and age data and Unfortunately, vertebrate is in (e.g., et al. 2009; Irmis et al. so the age of is not an age for this it a minimum age of divergence for the of et al. studies have this calibration (e.g., et al. Benton and Donoghue proposed an age of for this based on the of the from the of is a for the it has been in a phylogenetic and there is evidence that it is a of phylogenetically the and et al. from the of a that is the oldest of the of phylogenetically this fossil is no than also problems in the age of is vertebrate (see et al. et al. from the but these the same problems as other (see and are no than from the of was first as a of and with this phylogenetic of the specimen et al. that it to the age of a minimum for the for the maximum age for is difficult recent fossil discoveries have the age of divergence for this fossil evidence that the earliest based on the that a of have to the et al. but this not the that of will be to have a the of the with present in and et al. 2011). this (e.g., the the with We that the age of the oldest of the but to the a for a maximum it is the oldest fossil and all fossils. is clearly as a and and is to the and The is ages to that we do not of the is we that a maximum for be studies inappropriate calibrations that have error into divergence dating (e.g., Graur and Martin 2004; Gandolfo et al. 2008; Ksepka 2009; Sanders et al. In order to the of the specimen-based protocol can identify inappropriate calibrations, we examples and In the the published minimum age cannot be with specimen-based evidence so we a much minimum age in the the published minimum age cannot be with specimen evidence. In we cannot identify specimen that will all the of the protocol for that and so that future do not is not that these be but then it not be the fossil data calibrations is clearly to data into analysis. The checklist is an first step to other incorrect calibrations and more reliable time priors. calibrations are more to be of will molecular divergence dates more and provide in A specimen-based protocol will attention on between the fossil record and published calibration making it for to identify and correct and refine calibrations as new data to the reporting of data in (e.g., our is a crucial first In to providing this we identify as the for more methods for selecting parameters of time maximum and probability and the associated with from In both cases, can be in our checklist protocol will help identify the oldest fossil of a that can a time with an minimum fossils the time of the represent (e.g., Marshall Benton and Benton and Donoghue 2007). The probability of the oldest fossil is the other Bayesian calibration parameters to these parameters estimates of that to the of a et al. for of fossil and to provide of in the fossil The amount of to rigorous paleontological for is To studies have of fossil with of record at small taxonomic or Benton et al. 2004; and 2007; and for the of time priors. approach was to Bayesian and 2010; and 2010) on dates that be as Bayesian for divergence dating but we do not of studies that have this of time based on the temporal of and then used as time for divergence dating et al. 2011). The and of these and other methods to time parameters should be a for the divergence dating the of will be the of relevant data. genetic sequences is not the but the will more from in order to and the data from the fossil record. A the problems we address is the associated with from the first step of the specimen-based specimen and justifying is a for a molecular a for their Such challenges can be through or a study that has the are not but also introduce and these data be of time or at more The step is to that the and of paleontological calibration data to the way that molecular sequence data are on The is an for this as the based on Benton and Donoghue We can a of that et al. that is to other of biological data as the and the of We encourage and to a more providing data that the in and to to provide these data to their have to calibration data for divergence If paleontological data can be to their position in this it will result in more and the to to be explicitly with molecular will encourage the of phylogenetic for of data and for future (e.g., differences in rates of and molecular evolution, between and The recommendations to explicitly ages will and with The for more to maximum dates should the of methods for the fossil record. on the fossils will all the of to the we can a new community of to develop a more and rigorous approach to the study of evolution and the of life. can be in the data was the and of the of the of and a and The and and from the is the to the was through an from the of and are for their and was at a in in The of at the of is for this of with and the fossil record. We for to use the of from the for

Dietary vitamin A deficiency causes eye disease in 40 million children each year and places 140 to 250 million at risk for health disorders. Many children in sub-Saharan Africa subsist on maize-based diets. Maize displays considerable natural variation for carotenoid composition, including vitamin A precursors alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, and beta-cryptoxanthin. Through association analysis, linkage mapping, expression analysis, and mutagenesis, we show that variation at the lycopene epsilon cyclase (lcyE) locus alters flux down alpha-carotene versus beta-carotene branches of the carotenoid pathway. Four natural lcyE polymorphisms explained 58% of the variation in these two branches and a threefold difference in provitamin A compounds. Selection of favorable lcyE alleles with inexpensive molecular markers will now enable developing-country breeders to more effectively produce maize grain with higher provitamin A levels.

Sponges (phylum Porifera) are early-diverging metazoa renowned for establishing complex microbial symbioses. Here we present a global Porifera microbiome survey, set out to establish the ecological and evolutionary drivers of these host-microbe interactions. We show that sponges are a reservoir of exceptional microbial diversity and major contributors to the total microbial diversity of the world's oceans. Little commonality in species composition or structure is evident across the phylum, although symbiont communities are characterized by specialists and generalists rather than opportunists. Core sponge microbiomes are stable and characterized by generalist symbionts exhibiting amensal and/or commensal interactions. Symbionts that are phylogenetically unique to sponges do not disproportionally contribute to the core microbiome, and host phylogeny impacts complexity rather than composition of the symbiont community. Our findings support a model of independent assembly and evolution in symbiont communities across the entire host phylum, with convergent forces resulting in analogous community organization and interactions.

A strategy for easing the tensions facing suppliers and distributors in their channel relationships may be the adoption of market-oriented behaviors. The authors develop a model of likely effects and empirically examine the consequences of a supplier's market orientation on the distributor's market orientation and other channel relationship factors. Results indicate that a supplier's market-oriented behaviors directly or indirectly affect all the channel relationship factors examined from the distributor's perspective, specifically the distributor's market orientation, trust, cooperative norms, commitment, and satisfaction with financial performance.

We assess climate impacts of global warming using ongoing observations and paleoclimate data. We use Earth's measured energy imbalance, paleoclimate data, and simple representations of the global carbon cycle and temperature to define emission reductions needed to stabilize climate and avoid potentially disastrous impacts on today's young people, future generations, and nature. A cumulative industrial-era limit of ∼500 GtC fossil fuel emissions and 100 GtC storage in the biosphere and soil would keep climate close to the Holocene range to which humanity and other species are adapted. Cumulative emissions of ∼1000 GtC, sometimes associated with 2°C global warming, would spur "slow" feedbacks and eventual warming of 3-4°C with disastrous consequences. Rapid emissions reduction is required to restore Earth's energy balance and avoid ocean heat uptake that would practically guarantee irreversible effects. Continuation of high fossil fuel emissions, given current knowledge of the consequences, would be an act of extraordinary witting intergenerational injustice. Responsible policymaking requires a rising price on carbon emissions that would preclude emissions from most remaining coal and unconventional fossil fuels and phase down emissions from conventional fossil fuels.

The importance of restoring filter-feeders, such as the Eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica, to mitigate the effects of eutrophication (e.g. in Chesapeake Bay) is currently under debate. The argument that bivalve molluscs alone cannot control phytoplankton blooms and reduce hypoxia oversimplifies a more complex issue, namely that ecosystem engineering species make manifold contributions to ecosystem services. Although further discussion and research leading to a more complete understanding is required, oysters and other molluscs (e.g. mussels) in estuarine ecosystems provide services far beyond the mere top-down control of phytoplankton blooms, such as (1) seston filtration, (2) benthic–pelagic coupling, (3) creation of refugia from predation, (4) creation of feeding habitat for juveniles and adults of mobile species, and for sessile stages of species that attach to molluscan shells, and (5) provision of nesting habitat.

Adolescence represents a pivotal stage in the development of positive or negative body image. Many influences exist during the teen years including transitions (eg, puberty) that affect one's body shape, weight status, and appearance. Weight status exists along a spectrum between being obese (ie, where one's body weight is in the 95th percentile for age and gender) to being underweight. Salient influences on body image include the media, which can target adolescents, and peers who help shape beliefs about the perceived body ideal. Internalization of and pressures to conform to these socially prescribed body ideals help to explain associations between weight status and body image. The concepts of fat talk and weight-related bullying during adolescence greatly contribute to an overemphasis on body weight and appearance as well as the development of negative body perceptions and dissatisfaction surrounding specific body parts. This article provides an overview of the significance of adolescent development in shaping body image, the relationship between body image and adolescent weight status, and the consequences of having a negative body image during adolescence (ie, disordered eating, eating disorders, and dysfunctional exercise). Practical implications for promoting a healthy weight status and positive body image among adolescents will be discussed.