Published in PeerJ
We describe a Mesozoic fish Paralycoptera sp. (Teleostei: Osteoglossoidei), on the basis of a postcranial skeleton collected from the volcaniclastic mudstones of the Lai Chi Chong Formation of Hong Kong, China. The new finding-representing the city's first Mesozoic fish-extends the geographical distribution of Paralycoptera from eastern mainland Ch...
Published in PeerJ
Altering speed and moving on a gradient can affect an animal's posture and gait, which in turn can change the energetic requirements of terrestrial locomotion. Here, the energetic and kinematic effects of locomoting on an incline were investigated in the Indian peacock, Pavo cristatus. The mass-specific metabolic rate of the Indian peacock was elev...
Published in PeerJ
As conspicuous modular components of benthic marine habitats, gorgonian (sea fan) octocorals have perplexed taxonomists for centuries through their shear diversity, particularly throughout the Indo-Pacific. Phenotypic incongruence within and between seemingly unitary lineages across contrasting environments can provide the raw material to investiga...
Published in PeerJ
Background. Self-regulation is the procedure implemented by an individual striving to reach a goal and consists of two inter-related strategies: assessment and locomotion. Moreover, both subjective and psychological well-being along exercise behaviour might also play a role on adolescents academic achievement. Method. Participants were 160 Swedish ...
Published in PeerJ
Purpose. To examine the associations among age, Apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype, metabolic changes in the hippocampus detected by 2D (1)H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), and neuropsychological measures of cognition in non-demented elders. Materials and Methods. We studied a cohort of 16 cognitively normal controls (CN) and 11 amnestic mild ...
Published in PeerJ
In August 2013, we observed a high incidence (44%) of synchronous bands of reduced melanin (a type of fault bar we have termed "pallid bands") across the rectrices of juvenile Grasshopper Sparrows (Ammodrammus savannarum) captured near El Reno, Oklahoma. Earlier that year, on May 31, the site was struck by a severe storm which rained hailstones exc...
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Evolutionary timescales can be estimated from genetic data using the molecular clock, often calibrated by fossil or geological evidence. However, estimates of molecular rates in mitochondrial DNA appear to scale negatively with the age of the clock calibration. Although such a pattern has been observed in a limited range of data sets, it has not be...
Published in PeerJ
Background. Establishing health-related causal relationships is a central pursuit in biomedical research. Yet, the interdependent non-linearity of biological systems renders causal dynamics laborious and at times impractical to disentangle. This pursuit is further impeded by the dearth of time series that are sufficiently long to observe and unders...
Published in PeerJ
This is a proof of concept paper based on chronological samples of growing feathers from geese thought to be molt-migrants. When molt-migrant birds initiate molt shortly after migrating to a new isoscape, isotope values measured along the length of their feathers should change continuously. To assess long-term changes and daily cycling in δ (15)N a...
Published in PeerJ
Introduction. The value of tablet computer use in medical education is an area of considerable interest, with preliminary investigations showing that the majority of medical trainees feel that tablet computers added value to the curriculum. This study investigated potential differences in tablet computer use between medical students and resident ph...
