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Background:Ongoingtetanuscases and sporadic outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases associated with routine vaccination programmes remain problems in many low and middle-income countries, including Vietnam. With no human-to-human transmission ornatural immunity,tetanus antibodylevels indicate both individual risk of tetanus and gaps in vaccination programmes. Methods:To investigate gaps in immunity to tetanus in Vietnam, a country with a historically high level of tetanusvaccination coverage, tetanus antibodies were measure byELISAfrom samples selected from a long-term serum bank, established for the purposes of general-population seroepidemiological investigations in southern Vietnam. Samples were selected from 10 provinces, focussing on age-groups targeted by national vaccination programmes for infants and pregnant women (Expanded Programme on Immunization, EPI, and Maternal andNeonatal Tetanus, MNT). Results:Antibodies were measured from a total of 3864 samples. Highest tetanusantibody concentrationsoccurred in children under 4years old, over 90% of whom had protective levels. Approximately 70% of children aged 7–12years had protective antibody concentrations although there was variation among provinces. For infants and children, there were no significant differences in tetanus protection between males and females, but for adults aged 20–35years, in five of the ten provinces surveyed, protection against tetanus was higher in females (p Conclusion:Widespread immunity totetanus toxoidis seen in infants and young children consistent with the high coverage rates reported for diptheria tetanus toxoid andpertussis(DTP) in Vietnam. However, the lower antibody concentrations seen in older children and men suggest reduced immunity to tetanus in populations not targeted by EPI and MNT programmes.

An attraction of the profilometry‐based indentation plastometry (PIP) procedure is that, while it involves interrogation of volumes sufficiently large to ensure that bulk properties are obtained, it still allows stress–strain curves to be inferred for relatively small regions, such that local properties can be mapped where they are changing over short distances. It is employed here to obtain these characteristics as a function of depth in samples that have been case hardened by the diffusional penetration of carbon, to a depth of just over a mm. This has been done for a grade of steel that is commonly treated in this way. The thickness of the layer characterized by the PIP test is around 200 μm. In addition, curvature measurements on strip samples, after incremental removal of thin layers, have been used to evaluate the (compressive) residual stresses in near‐surface regions. These range up to around 200 MPa. Such stresses have only a small effect on the PIP measurements. The carburization raises the peak yield stress from the base level of around 1000 MPa to about 1400 MPa, followed by considerable work hardening. The reliability of these PIP‐derived stress–strain relationships has been confirmed by comparing experimental outcomes of Vickers hardness tests with FEM predictions based on their use.

Funding Information: We thank the organizers and funders of the ILTER Nitrogen Initiative Training Course and Workshop in Hokkaido, Japan in June 2016, which brought together many of the participants in this project. Templer was supported by a US National Science Foundation LTER grant NSF DEB 1637685. McDowell was supported by US National Science Foundation LTER grant NSF DEB 1831592. We are grateful to the EU Horizon 2020 funded eLTER PLUS project (Grand Agreement No. 871128) for financial support to Haase and Dirnböck. Dirnböck was also funded by the LTER-CWN project (FFG project number 858024). This study was partly supported by the Research Initiative Grants of the ILTER, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (17H03833), and Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN; a constituent member of NIHU) Project No. 14200156. Sharif was supported by NRT-INFEWS: UMD Global STEWARDS (STEM Training at the Nexus of Energy, WAter Reuse and FooD Systems) that was awarded to the University of Maryland School of Public Health by the National Science Foundation National Research Traineeship Program, Grant number 1828910. The monitoring of the Svartberget site in Sweden was funded by the SITES program from the Swedish Research Council. The monitoring of the Volbu Nyhaga site in Norway was part of JOVA—The Norwegian Agricultural Environmental Monitoring Programme, financed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. Lajtha was supported by NSF grants DEB-1257032 and DEB-1440409 to the H. J. Andrews Long Term Ecological Research program. The data collection in the Wüstebach catchment was supported by TERENO (Terrestrial Environmental Observatories) funded by the Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft. We thank the “Hessisches Landesamt für Naturschutz, Umwelt und Geologie” for providing data from the Rhine-Main-Observatory. I.Kokorīte was supported by the University of Latvia grant No. AAp2016/B041//Zd2016/AZ03. We thank the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Center for providing the monitoring data for Latvian site. Anna Avila was supported by Spanish Ministry of Science projects CGL2017-84687-C2-2-R and CGL2009-13188-C03-01. We thank the Tyrolean Alps Long-Term Sociological Ecological and Research (LTSER, Austria) and R. Psenner and S. Morales for helping with data for Piburger See. Data from Hubbard Brook were supported by the National Science Foundation (DEB-1907683) and US Forest Service, Northern Research Station. A. Robison was supported by US National Science Foundation LTER grant NSF OCE 1637630. W. Dodds was supported by NSF DEB 2025849. Observations at Lange Bramke site were funded by the Ministry of Nutrition, Agriculture and Consumer Protection of Lower Saxony under the Permanent Soil Monitoring Programme. The Krofdorf site was funded by the Hessian Ministry of Environment, Climate Protection, Agriculture and Consumer Protection under the “Waldökosystemstudie Hessen”. SRM Lins was supported by the São Paulo Research Foundation—FAPESP, grant number 2012/20377-9. Long-term monitoring at Lake Maggiore (LTER site EU-IT08-001-A) was funded by the International Commission for the Protection of Swiss-Italian waters (CIPAIS). We thank Emma Conrad-Rooney for help with Fig. . Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG. Previous studies have evaluated how changes in atmospheric nitrogen (N) inputs and climate affect stream N concentrations and fluxes, but none have synthesized data from sites around the globe. We identified variables controlling stream inorganic N concentrations and fluxes, and how they have changed, by synthesizing 20 time series ranging from 5 to 51 years of data collected from forest and grassland dominated watersheds across Europe, North America, and East Asia and across four climate types (tropical, temperate, Mediterranean, and boreal) using the International Long-Term Ecological Research Network. We hypothesized that sites with greater atmospheric N deposition have greater stream N export rates, but that climate has taken a stronger role as atmospheric deposition declines in many regions of the globe. We found declining trends in bulk ammonium and nitrate deposition, especially in the longest time-series, with ammonium contributing relatively more to atmospheric N deposition over time. Among sites, there were statistically significant positive relationships between (1) annual rates of precipitation and stream ammonium and nitrate fluxes and (2) annual rates of atmospheric N inputs and stream nitrate concentrations and fluxes. There were no significant relationships between air temperature and stream N export. Our long-term data shows that although N deposition is declining over time, atmospheric N inputs and precipitation remain important predictors for inorganic N exported from forested and grassland watersheds. Overall, we also demonstrate that long-term monitoring provides understanding of ecosystems and biogeochemical cycling that would not be possible with short-term studies alone.

Work in animal and human neuroscience has identified neural regions forming a network involved in the production of motivated, goal-directed behaviour. In particular, the nucleus accumbens and anterior cingulate cortex are recognized as key network nodes underlying decisions of whether to exert effort for reward, to drive behaviour. Previous work has convincingly shown that this cognitive mechanism, known as effort-based decision making, is altered in people with Parkinson’s disease with a syndrome of reduced goal-directed behaviour—apathy. Building on this work, we investigated whether the neural regions implementing effort-based decision-making were associated with apathy in Parkinson’s disease, and more importantly, whether changes to these regions were evident prior to apathy development. We performed a large, multimodal neuroimaging analysis in a cohort of people with Parkinson’s disease (n = 199) with and without apathy at baseline. All participants had ∼2-year follow-up apathy scores, enabling examination of brain structure and function specifically in those with normal motivation who converted to apathy by ∼2-year follow-up. In addition, of the people with normal motivation, a subset (n = 56) had follow-up neuroimaging data, allowing for examination of the ‘rate of change’ in key nodes over time in those who did, and did not, convert to apathy. Healthy control (n = 54) data were also included to aid interpretation of findings. Functional connectivity between the nucleus accumbens and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex was higher in people with normal motivation who later converted to apathy compared to those who did not, whereas no structural differences were evident between these groups. In contrast, grey matter volume in these regions was reduced in the group with existing apathy. Furthermore, of those with normal motivation who had undergone longitudinal neuroimaging, converters to apathy showed a higher rate of change in grey matter volume within the nucleus accumbens. Overall, we show that changes in functional connectivity between nucleus accumbens and anterior cingulate cortex precedes apathy in people with Parkinson’s disease, with conversion to apathy associated with higher rate of grey matter volume loss in nucleus accumbens, despite no baseline differences. These findings significantly add to an accumulating body of transdiagnostic evidence that apathy arises from disruption to key nodes within a network in which normal goal-directed behaviour is instantiated, and raise the possibility of identifying those at risk for developing apathy before overt motivational deficits have arisen.

How do archives start and who are they for? The Caribbean Social Forum, based in Woolwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, London, are currently considering these questions as they look to preserve the stories of over 600 Caribbean members who the media have framed as ‘the Windrush Generation’. The paper argues that co-created projects, where the lead is de-centered away from the university institution itself, might begin to decolonise knowledge paradigms and allow for new forms of knowledge exchange.

Resolving natal populations for juvenile green turtles is challenging given their potential for extensive dispersal during the oceanic stage and ontogenetic shifts among nursery habitats. Mitochondrial DNA markers have elucidated patterns of connectivity between green turtle nesting populations (rookeries) and juvenile foraging aggregations. However, missing rookery baseline data and haplotype sharing among populations have often impeded inferences, including estimating origins of Gulf of Mexico juveniles. Here, we assessed genetic structure among seven foraging aggregations spanning southern Texas (TX) to southwestern Florida (SWFL), including Port Fourchon, Louisiana (LA); a surface-pelagic aggregation (SP) offshore of Louisiana and Florida; Santa Rosa Island, Florida (SRI); St. Joseph Bay, Florida (SJB); and the Big Bend region, Florida (BB). We estimated source contributions to aggregations with novel genetic data (excluding SP and BB) using a Bayesian many-to-one mixed stock analysis (MSA) approach. Haplotype frequencies for western (TX, LA, SP, SRI) and eastern (SJB, BB, SWFL) aggregations were significantly differentiated. The largest shift in haplotype frequencies between proximal nursery sites occurred between SRI and SJB, separated by only 150 km, highlighting the lack of a geographic yardstick for predicting genetic structure. In contrast to previous MSA results, there was no signal of Florida juveniles at any foraging site. Mexican contributions dominated in all aggregations, with strong connectivity between western Bay of Campeche (Tamaulipas/Veracruz) rookeries and western foraging aggregations. MSA indicated more diverse Mexican origins for eastern aggregations, with larger inputs from the eastern Bay of Campeche (Campeche/Yucatán), Campeche Bank, and Quintana Roo rookeries. These results demonstrate the significance of the Gulf of Mexico coast and offshore waters of the United States as important nursery habitat for green turtles of Mexican origin and highlight the need for international coordination for management of these populations.

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Item does not contain fulltext BACKGROUND: The bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine has immunomodulatory "off-target" effects that have been hypothesized to protect against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). METHODS: In this international, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we randomly assigned health care workers to receive the BCG-Denmark vaccine or saline placebo and followed them for 12 months. Symptomatic Covid-19 and severe Covid-19, the primary outcomes, were assessed at 6 months; the primary analyses involved the modified intention-to-treat population, which was restricted to participants with a negative test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 at baseline. RESULTS: A total of 3988 participants underwent randomization; recruitment ceased before the planned sample size was reached owing to the availability of Covid-19 vaccines. The modified intention-to-treat population included 84.9% of the participants who underwent randomization: 1703 in the BCG group and 1683 in the placebo group. The estimated risk of symptomatic Covid-19 by 6 months was 14.7% in the BCG group and 12.3% in the placebo group (risk difference, 2.4 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.7 to 5.5; P = 0.13). The risk of severe Covid-19 by 6 months was 7.6% in the BCG group and 6.5% in the placebo group (risk difference, 1.1 percentage points; 95% CI, -1.2 to 3.5; P = 0.34); the majority of participants who met the trial definition of severe Covid-19 were not hospitalized but were unable to work for at least 3 consecutive days. In supplementary and sensitivity analyses that used less conservative censoring rules, the risk differences were similar but the confidence intervals were narrower. There were five hospitalizations due to Covid-19 in each group (including one death in the placebo group). The hazard ratio for any Covid-19 episode in the BCG group as compared with the placebo group was 1.23 (95% CI, 0.96 to 1.59). No safety concerns were identified. CONCLUSIONS: Vaccination with BCG-Denmark did not result in a lower risk of Covid-19 among health care workers than placebo. (Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and others; BRACE ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04327206.).

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PurposeTo assess changes in retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) diagnosis in single and serial retinal images.DesignCohort study.ParticipantsCases of ROP recruited from the Imaging and Informatics in Retinopathy of Prematurity (i-ROP) consortium evaluated by 7 graders.MethodsSeven ophthalmologists reviewed both single and 3 consecutive serial retinal images from 15 cases with ROP, and severity was assigned as plus, preplus, or none. Imaging data were acquired during routine ROP screening from 2011 to 2015, and a reference standard diagnosis was established for each image. A secondary analysis was performed using the i-ROP deep learning system to assign a vascular severity score (VSS) to each image, ranging from 1 to 9, with 9 being the most severe disease. This score has been previously demonstrated to correlate with the International Classification of ROP. Mean plus disease severity was calculated by averaging 14 labels per image in serial and single images to decrease noise.Main outcome measuresGrading severity of ROP as defined by plus, preplus, or no ROP.ResultsAssessment of serial retinal images changed the grading severity for > 50% of the graders, although there was wide variability. Cohen's kappa ranged from 0.29 to 1.0, which showed a wide range of agreement from slight to perfect by each grader. Changes in the grading of serial retinal images were noted more commonly in cases of preplus disease. The mean severity in cases with a diagnosis of plus disease and no disease did not change between single and serial images. The ROP VSS demonstrated good correlation with the range of expert classifications of plus disease and overall agreement with the mode class (P= 0.001). The VSS correlated with mean plus disease severity by expert diagnosis (correlation coefficient, 0.89). The more aggressive graders tended to be influenced by serial images to increase the severity of their grading. The VSS also demonstrated agreement with disease progression across serial images, which progressed to preplus and plus disease.ConclusionsClinicians demonstrated variability in ROP diagnosis when presented with both single and serial images. The use of deep learning as a quantitative assessment of plus disease has the potential to standardize ROP diagnosis and treatment.

Persistent avascular retina (PAR) in prematurely born individuals may be a risk factor for late sequelae of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), including retinal detachment in older childhood and adulthood. Although PAR has been associated with use of vascular endothelial growth factor antagonist therapy for treatment-requiring ROP, the prevalence of this finding in patients without prior ROP treatment is unknown. We performed a cross-sectional study to determine the prevalence of PAR in a cohort of patients 4-8 years of age who were screened for ROP in the neonatal intensive care unit and did not receive treatment. Patients were recruited from an existing population-based cohort and underwent ultra-widefield fluorescein angiography (UWFFA). UWFFA images of 43 eyes of 23 patients were evaluated. Average age at time of evaluation was 6.2 years. PAR was observed in 21 patients (91%). Thirteen eyes (30%) had PAR in zone II; 23 (53%), in zone III. Six eyes (14%) had abnormal vessels without clear PAR. These findings indicate a high prevalence of PAR in patients with a history of ROP screening without treatment.

Background: Laurel wilt disease has caused the extensive mortality of lauraceous species in the southeastern United States. The causal agent is an invasive fungus, Raffaelea lauricola, which is a symbiont of the beetle Xyleborus glabratus and causes a rapid, fatal vascular wilt. Early diagnosis of laurel wilt is imperative for efficient disease management. The current diagnostic process, however, is slow due to the lengthy laboratory procedures required to confirm pathogen presence. Methods: We tested the robustness and field-portability of a recently developed, species-specific, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for R. lauricola, with the overall goal of eliminating the need for a laboratory confirmation of the diagnosis. We tested the robustness of the assay using benchtop equipment with naturally infected samples. We then tested the assay directly in the field using a portable device. Results: The assay successfully detected R. lauricola directly from symptomatic wood tissue using crude DNA extracts. Furthermore, the assay readily allowed users to distinguish between symptoms caused by R. lauricola infection and similar symptoms caused by other agents. In-field, we assayed wood samples from symptomatic redbay (Persea borbonia [L.] Spreng) and sassafras (Sassafras albidum [Nutt.] Nees) across the Southeast and successfully detected R. lauricola-infected trees in less than an hour. Conclusion: Results of this study confirmed that the field-deployable LAMP assay is robust and can rapidly and accurately detect R. lauricola in infected trees directly on-site. LAMP technology is well suited for in-field implementation, and these results serve as an incentive for further development and use of this technology in the field of forest pathology.

International audience; We report high-precision measurements of the deeply virtual Compton scattering (DVCS) cross section at high values of the Bjorken variable xB. DVCS is sensitive to the generalized parton distributions of the nucleon, which provide a three-dimensional description of its internal constituents. Using the exact analytic expression of the DVCS cross section for all possible polarization states of the initial and final electron and nucleon, and final state photon, we present the first experimental extraction of all four helicity-conserving Compton form factors (CFFs) of the nucleon as a function of xB, while systematically including helicity flip amplitudes. In particular, the high accuracy of the present data demonstrates sensitivity to some very poorly known CFFs.

We report high-precision measurements of the deeply virtual Compton scattering (DVCS) cross section at high values of the Bjorken variable x_{B}. DVCS is sensitive to the generalized parton distributions of the nucleon, which provide a three-dimensional description of its internal constituents. Using the exact analytic expression of the DVCS cross section for all possible polarization states of the initial and final electron and nucleon, and final state photon, we present the first experimental extraction of all four helicity-conserving Compton form factors (CFFs) of the nucleon as a function of x_{B}, while systematically including helicity flip amplitudes. In particular, the high accuracy of the present data demonstrates sensitivity to some very poorly known CFFs.

Emergent bilingual (EB) students are a growing population in the U.S. school system currently comprising over 10% of the total population. U.S. school districts have educated EB students using a myriad of practices, including dual language immersion (DLI). Many studies have looked at the academic achievement of native-Spanish speaking EB students, yet there is a dearth of research on DLI in medium-sized school districts in rural settings. This study focused on native-Spanish speaking EB students in a DLI program in a rural Utah district. Specifically, the study compared student academic achievement in English acquisition, English language arts, mathematics, and grade point average of EB students enrolled in DLI to EB students not enrolled in a DLI program. Student achievement data for EB students was collected from 2014-2020 (N = 1,046). Using various regression methods such as ordinal logistic regression, multiple regression, and multilevel modeling (MLM), the study sought the predictive power of DLI after controlling for gender, free and reduced lunch status, and special education enrollment. Results found that on average DLI students performed as well as or better than their non-DLI peers. MLM analyses indicated that EB students enrolled in DLI had superior growth trajectories to their non-DLI peers over time.

The surface coatings applied to engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) during their manufacture have been shown to affect their aggregation behavior in aquatic media. This phenomenon has important implications on the environmental fate of ENMs and is often examined using ENMs in their ‘pristine’ form. However, the physiochemical properties of ENMs will be altered during their life cycle. Engineered systems, such as sewers and wastewater treatment plants, represent one pathway wherein ENMs can be transformed prior to their release. The focus of the current study was to compare the aggregation behavior of ‘pristine’ and ‘wastewater-aged’ ENMs in freshwater to provide insights into the impact of wastewater aging on ENM environmental fate. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) coated with polyethylene glycol (PEG), lipoic acid (COOH) and branched polyethylenimine (bPEI) were selected as model ENMs. The AuNPs were aged in filtered primary wastewater using a previously reported technique. The aged and pristine AuNPs were dosed into separate samples of raw and filtered freshwater and the loss of AuNPs from suspension by aggregation and sedimentation quantified using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Regardless of the initial surface coating, the AuNPs homoaggregated and acquired an organic matter corona while aging in the wastewater media. Following dispersion in the raw and filtered river water, the aged AuNPs were consistently lost from suspension. Greater loss was observed in the raw river water compared to the filtered river water, demonstrating that the aged AuNPs undergo heteroaggregation in addition to the homoaggregation that occurred during the aging process. This contrasts with the behavior of the pristine AuNPs, which were generally resistant to aggregation. These results indicate that while the physiochemical properties of the pristine AuNPs largely prevent their aggregation and subsequent sedimentation in the river water, the stabilizing effects of the engineered surface coatings examined in this study are lost after aging in wastewater. This demonstrates the importance of explicitly accounting for ENM transformations when designing experiments and selecting materials intended to elucidate the factors impacting ENM environmental fate.

Since its introduction in 2002, laurel wilt disease has devastated indigenous lauraceous species in the southeastern United States. The causal agent is a fungal pathogen, Raffaelea lauricola, which, after being introduced into the xylem of trees by its vector beetle, Xyleborus glabratus, results in a fatal vascular wilt. Rapid detection and accurate diagnosis of infections is paramount to the successful implementation of disease management strategies. Current management operations to prevent the spread of laurel wilt disease are largely delayed by time-consuming laboratory procedures to confirm the diagnosis. In order to greatly speed up the operations, we developed a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) species-specific assay that targets the β-tubulin gene region of R. lauricola, and allows for the rapid detection of the pathogen directly from host plant and beetle tissues. The assay is capable of amplifying as little as 0.5 pg of fungal DNA and as few as 50 conidia. The assay is also capable of detecting R. lauricola directly from wood tissue of artificially inoculated redbay saplings as early as 10 and 12 days postinoculation, when testing high-quality and crude DNA extracts, respectively. Finally, crude DNA extracts of individual adult female X. glabratus beetles were assayed and the pathogen was detected from all specimens. This assay greatly reduces the time required to confirm a laurel wilt diagnosis and, because LAMP technology is well suited to provide point-of-care testing, it has the potential to expedite and facilitate implementation of management operations in response to disease outbreaks.

We present new precision measurements of the elastic electron-proton scattering cross section for momentum transfer (Q^{2}) up to 15.75 (GeV/c)^{2}. Combined with existing data, these provide an improved extraction of the proton magnetic form factor at high Q^{2} and double the range over which a longitudinal or transverse separation of the cross section can be performed. The difference between our results and polarization data agrees with that observed at lower Q^{2} and attributed to hard two-photon exchange (TPE) effects, extending to 8 (GeV/c)^{2} the range of Q^{2} for which a discrepancy is established at >95% confidence. We use the discrepancy to quantify the size of TPE contributions needed to explain the cross section at high Q^{2}.

This study quantifies the performance of an international cohort of cornea specialists in image-based differentiation of bacterial and fungal keratitis, identifying significant regional variation and establishing a reference standard for comparison against machine learning models.

In highly mobile philopatric species, defining the scale of natal homing is fundamental to characterizing population dynamics and effectively managing distinct populations. Genetic tools have provided evidence of regional natal philopatry in marine turtles, but extensive sharing of maternally inherited mitochondrial control region (CR) haplotypes within regions (Chelonia mydasnesting sites detected at least 2 populations, but the ubiquity of haplotype CM-A3.1 among southern rookeries decreased the power to detect differentiation. We reassessed population structure by sequencing the mitochondrial microsatellite (short tandem repeat, mtSTR) in 786 samples from 11 nesting sites spanning 700 km from Canaveral National Seashore through Dry Tortugas National Park. The mtSTR marker subdivided CM-A3.1 into 12 haplotypes that were structured among rookeries, demonstrating independent female recruitment into the Dry Tortugas and Marquesas Keys nesting populations. Combined haplotypes provided support for recognition of at least 4 management units in Florida: (1) central eastern Florida, (2) southeastern Florida, (3) Key West National Wildlife Refuge, and (4) Dry Tortugas National Park. Recapture data indicated female nesting dispersal between islands

In migratory marine species, demographic estimates are often generated from capture-mark-recapture (CMR) studies conducted at terrestrial breeding sites. However, when logistical difficulties limit the geographic area of these surveys, demographic estimates are vulnerable to biases. We compared demographic rates generated from CMR data of nesting loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) collected between 2010 and 2017 at one focal site (Wassaw Island, Georgia, USA; 31.89° N, 80.97° W) with estimates generated from the same group of turtles but including all other nesting events from adjacent sites in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. We found that estimates of annual recruitment at the focal site were overestimated: each year, 29–45% putative first-time nesters at the focal beach had, in fact, nested on a different beach in a previous season. Estimates of clutch frequency and breeding frequency generated at the focal site were biased low and skewed towards values of one, while estimates for remigration interval were not significantly over- or underestimated. Additionally, estimates of annual and total population productivity in terms of clutches, eggs, and hatchlings were underestimated by more than half at the focal site. Our results show how weak fidelity to a focal nesting/tagging site can affect demographic estimates in marine turtle populations and highlight the need to reconsider estimates from other populations that might be vulnerable to similar biases.

We report measurements of the exclusive neutral pion electroproduction cross section off protons at large values of x_{B} (0.36, 0.48, and 0.60) and Q^{2} (3.1 to 8.4 GeV^{2}) obtained from Jefferson Lab Hall A experiment E12-06-014. The corresponding structure functions dσ_{T}/dt+εdσ_{L}/dt, dσ_{TT}/dt, dσ_{LT}/dt, and dσ_{LT^{'}}/dt are extracted as a function of the proton momentum transfer t-t_{min}. The results suggest the amplitude for transversely polarized virtual photons continues to dominate the cross section throughout this kinematic range. The data are well described by calculations based on transversity generalized parton distributions coupled to a helicity flip distribution amplitude of the pion, thus providing a unique way to probe the structure of the nucleon.

Stress plays a key role in Parkinson's disease (PD) by acting on the dopaminergic system and worsening patients' motor function. The impact of New Zealand's strict lockdown measures to contain COVID-19 on perceived stress and PD motor symptoms remains unknown. Here we examined the relationship between perceived levels of stress, changes in physical activity levels and PD motor symptoms during lockdown.During lockdown, 134 participants with PD and 49 controls completed a survey assessing perceived stress, self-reported changes in PD motor symptoms and physical activity duration and intensity prior to and during lockdown.Perceived stress was higher in PD than controls, and in those reporting a worsening of tremor, balance/gait, dyskinesia and bradykinesia compared to those indicating no change during the COVID-19 lockdown. These effects were not modulated by physical activity.Reducing stressors may be an important adjunct treatment strategy to improve motor function in PD.

Motor adaptation is crucial for performing accurate movements in a changing environment and relies on the cerebellum. Although cerebellar involvement has been well characterized, the neurochemical changes in the cerebellum underpinning human motor adaptation remain unknown. We used a novel magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) technique to measure changes in the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA in the human cerebellum during visuomotor adaptation. Participants (n = 17, six female) used their right hand to adapt to a rotated cursor in the scanner, compared with a control task requiring no adaptation. We spatially resolved adaptation-driven GABA changes at the cerebellar nuclei and cerebellar cortex in the left and the right cerebellar hemisphere independently and found that simple right-hand movements increase GABA in the right cerebellar nuclei and decreases GABA in the left. When isolating adaptation-driven GABA changes, we found that GABA in the left cerebellar nuclei and the right cerebellar nuclei diverged, although GABA change from baseline at the right cerebellar nuclei was not different from zero at the group level. Early adaptation-driven GABA fluctuations in the right cerebellar nuclei correlated with adaptation performance. Participants showing greater GABA decrease adapted better, suggesting early GABA change is behaviorally relevant. Early GABA change also correlated with functional connectivity change in a cerebellar network. Participants showing greater decreases in GABA showed greater strength increases in cerebellar network connectivity. Results were specific to GABA, to adaptation, and to the cerebellar network. This study provides first evidence for plastic changes in cerebellar neurochemistry during motor adaptation. Characterizing these naturally occurring neurochemical changes may provide a basis for developing therapeutic interventions to facilitate human motor adaptation.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Despite motor adaptation being fundamental to maintaining accurate movements, its neurochemical basis remains poorly understood, perhaps because measuring neurochemicals in the human cerebellum is technically challenging. Using a novel magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging method, this study provides evidence for GABA changes in the left compared with the right cerebellar nuclei driven by both simple movement and motor adaptation. Although right cerebellar GABA changes were not significantly different from zero at the group level, the adaptation-driven GABA fluctuations in the right cerebellar nuclei correlated with adaptation performance and with functional connectivity change in a cerebellar network. These results show the first evidence for plastic changes in cerebellar neurochemistry during a cerebellar learning task. This provides the basis for developing therapeutic interventions that facilitate these naturally occurring changes to amplify cerebellar-dependent learning.

Clonal and genetic diversity in foundational plant species are critical for species resiliency and ecosystem processes, both of which contribute to restoration success; however, genetic data is often lacking for common plant species used in many restoration practices. Only a few plant species dominate salt marshes, ecologically and economically valuable ecosystems targeted for restoration due to global decline. Despite being a foundational species in southeastern United States salt marshes black needlerush (Juncus roemerianus Scheele) is understudied, especially in comparison to the co-occurring smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora Loisel). We used a panel of 18 microsatellite markers on 849 samples of J. roemerianus collected at 17 sites across a majority of the species range from Mississippi to South Carolina to measure clonal and genetic diversity and characterize population structure. Results are consistent with previous genetic studies on J. roemerianus and other clonal plant species in that clonal and genetic diversity were higher than expected based on life history literature, with an average genotypic diversity (GD) of 0.67 and average observed heterozygosity (HO) of 0.56. Differences in diversity between the ecologically and environmentally divergent Gulf (GD = 0.64, HO = 0.52) and Atlantic (GD = 0.80, HO = 0.45) coasts suggest that life history strategy may vary by environment. Hierarchical structure was apparent across the study area, with STRUCTURE analyses identifying three genetic clusters that further subdivided into five clusters and a broad transition zone. The scale of this genetic differentiation should be considered in sourcing plants for salt marsh restoration efforts.

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Since its introduction in 2002, laurel wilt disease has devastated indigenous lauraceous species in the southeastern United States. The causal agent is a fungal pathogen

Purpose To present an overview of current machine learning methods and their use in medical research, focusing on select machine learning techniques, best practices, and deep learning. Methods A systematic literature search in PubMed was performed for articles pertinent to the topic of artificial intelligence methods used in medicine with an emphasis on ophthalmology. Results A review of machine learning and deep learning methodology for the audience without an extensive technical computer programming background. Conclusions Artificial intelligence has a promising future in medicine; however, many challenges remain. Translational Relevance The aim of this review article is to provide the nontechnical readers a layman's explanation of the machine learning methods being used in medicine today. The goal is to provide the reader a better understanding of the potential and challenges of artificial intelligence within the field of medicine.

The Beam Energy Scan (BES) program at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) was extended to energies below $\sqrt{\textit{s}_{NN}}$ = 7.7 GeV in 2015 by successful implementation of the fixed-target mode of operation in the STAR (Solenoidal Track At RHIC) experiment. In the fixed-target mode, ions circulate in one ring of the collider and interact with a stationary target at the entrance of the STAR Time Projection Chamber. The first results for Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{\textit{s}_{NN}}$ = 4.5 GeV are presented, including directed and elliptic flow of identified hadrons, and radii from pion femtoscopy. The proton flow and pion femtoscopy results agree quantitatively with earlier measurements by Alternating Gradient Synchrotron experiments at similar energies. This validates running the STAR experiment in the fixed-target configuration. Pion directed and elliptic flow are presented for the first time at this beam energy. Pion and proton elliptic flow show behavior which hints at constituent quark scaling, but large error bars preclude reliable conclusions. The ongoing second phase of BES (BES-II) will provide fixed-target data sets with 100 times more events at each of several energies down to $\sqrt{\textit{s}_{NN}}$ = 3.0 GeV., Comment: 18 pages, 20 figures; Contexts and figure caption was modified, one reference was added to address the referee's comments

We report measurements of the exclusive neutral pion electroproduction cross section off protons at large values of $x_B$ (0.36, 0.48 and 0.60) and $Q^2$ (3.1 to 8.4 GeV$^2$) obtained from Jefferson Lab Hall A experiment E12-06-014. The corresponding structure functions $d��_L/dt+��d��_T/dt$, $d��_{TT}/dt$, $d��_{LT}/dt$ and $d��_{LT'}/dt$ are extracted as a function of the proton momentum transfer $t-t_{min}$. The results suggest the amplitude for transversely polarized virtual photons continues to dominate the cross-section throughout this kinematic range. The data are well described by calculations based on transversity Generalized Parton Distributions coupled to a helicity flip Distribution Amplitude of the pion, thus providing a unique way to probe the structure of the nucleon.

Kisspeptin is a neuropeptide with a critical role in the function of the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal (HPG) axis. Kisspeptin is produced by two major populations of neurons located in the hypothalamus, the rostral periventricular region of the third ventricle (RP3V) and arcuate nucleus (ARC). These neurons project to and activate gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons (acting via the kisspeptin receptor, Kiss1r) in the hypothalamus and stimulate the secretion of GnRH. Gonadal sex steroids stimulate kisspeptin neurons in the RP3V, but inhibit kisspeptin neurons in the ARC, which is the underlying mechanism for positive- and negative feedback respectively, and it is now commonly accepted that the ARC kisspeptin neurons act as the GnRH pulse generator. Due to kisspeptin’s profound effect on the HPG axis, a focus of recent research has been on afferent inputs to kisspeptin neurons and one specific area of interest has been energy balance, which is thought to facilitate effects such as suppressing fertility in those with under- or severe over-nutrition. Alternatively, evidence is building for a direct role for kisspeptin in regulating energy balance and metabolism. Kiss1r-knockout (KO) mice exhibit increased adiposity and reduced energy expenditure. Although the mechanisms underlying these observations are currently unknown, Kiss1r is expressed in adipose tissue and potentially brown adipose tissue (BAT) and Kiss1rKO mice exhibit reduced energy expenditure. Recent studies are now looking at the effects of kisspeptin signalling on behaviour, with clinical evidence emerging of kisspeptin affecting sexual behaviour, further investigation of potential neuronal pathways are warranted.

Rosemary J. Young, Stephanie L. Begg, Campbell J. Coghlan, Christopher A. McDevitt and Christopher J. Sumby

Common species important for ecosystem restoration stand to lose as much genetic diversity from anthropogenic habitat fragmentation and climate change as rare species, but are rarely studied. Salt marshes, valuable ecosystems in widespread decline due to human development, are dominated by the foundational plant species black needlerush (Juncus roemerianus Scheele) in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. We assessed genetic patterns in J. roemerianus by measuring genetic and genotypic diversity, and characterizing population structure. We examined population connectivity by delineating possible dispersal corridors, and identified landscape factors influencing population connectivity. A panel of 19 microsatellite markers was used to genotype 576 samples from ten sites across the northeastern Gulf of Mexico from the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) to the Apalachicola NERR. Genetic distances (FST and Dch) were used in a least cost transect analysis (LCTA) within a hierarchical model selection framework. Genetic and genotypic diversity results were higher than expected based on life history literature, and samples structured into two large, admixed genetic clusters across the study area, indicating sexual reproduction may not be as rare as predicted in this clonal macrophyte. Digitized coastal transects buffered by 500 m may represent possible dispersal corridors, and developed land may significantly impede population connectivity in J. roemerianus. Results have important implications for coastal restoration and management that seek to preserve adaptive potential by sustaining natural levels of genetic diversity and conserving population connectivity. Our methodology could be applied to other common, widespread and understudied species.

Loblolly pine (LP; Pinus taeda L.) is an economically and ecologically important tree in the southeastern U.S. To advance understanding of the loblolly pine (LP; Pinus taeda L.) genome, we sequenced and analyzed 100 BAC clones and performed a Cot analysis. The Cot analysis indicates that the genome is composed of 57, 24, and 10% highly-repetitive, moderately-repetitive, and single/low-copy sequences, respectively (the remaining 9% of the genome is a combination of fold back and damaged DNA). Although single/low-copy DNA only accounts for 10% of the LP genome, the amount of single/low-copy DNA in LP is still 14 times the size of the Arabidopsis genome. Since gene numbers in LP are similar to those in Arabidopsis, much of the single/low-copy DNA of LP would appear to be composed of DNA that is both gene- and repeat-poor. Macroarrays prepared from a LP bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library were hybridized with probes designed from cell wall synthesis/wood development cDNAs, and 50 of the "targeted" clones were selected for further analysis. An additional 25 clones were selected because they contained few repeats, while 25 more clones were selected at random. The 100 BAC clones were Sanger sequenced and assembled. Of the targeted BACs, 80% contained all or part of the cDNA used to target them. One targeted BAC was found to contain fungal DNA and was eliminated from further analysis. Combinations of similarity-based and ab initio gene prediction approaches were utilized to identify and characterize potential coding regions in the 99 BACs containing LP DNA. From this analysis, we identified 154 gene models (GMs) representing both putative protein-coding genes and likely pseudogenes. Ten of the GMs (all of which were specifically targeted) had enough support to be classified as intact genes. Interestingly, the 154 GMs had statistically indistinguishable (α = 0.05) distributions in the targeted and random BAC clones (15.18 and 12.61 GM/Mb, respectively), whereas the low-repeat BACs contained significantly fewer GMs (7.08 GM/Mb). However, when GM length was considered, the targeted BACs had a significantly greater percentage of their length in GMs (3.26%) when compared to random (1.63%) and low-repeat (0.62%) BACs. The results of our study provide insight into LP evolution and inform ongoing efforts to produce a reference genome sequence for LP, while characterization of genes involved in cell wall production highlights carbon metabolism pathways that can be leveraged for increasing wood production.

One-dimensional (1D) silver nanowires (AgNWs) have emerged as a leading candidate for the development of next-generation optoelectronic and wearable electronic devices. However, a key limitation of AgNW electrodes is that they are readily oxidized, resulting in a shift in properties leading to devices becoming erratic over time. To address this problem, we report a facile method to improve both the stability and performance of AgNW films. The AgNWs were combined with pristine graphene (pG) using an optimal (30/70 wt %) with the goals to prove that the pG sheets can provide a barrier shielding to protect against AgNW oxidation and have the additional benefit of improving the connections between wires and stability of the films. The fabrication of these films was demonstrated on wide range of substrates including glass, plastic, textile, and paper. A surface resistance of 18.23 Ω/sq and an optical transparency of 89% were obtained on the glass substrates, 50 Ω/sq and 88% transparency for poly(ethylene terep...

Reactions of ortho-, para- and substituted meta-xylenyl bridged bis(tacn) ligands with two or three molar equivalents of Zn(NO3)2·6H2O at pH 5.0 in the presence of NaClO4 or NH4PF6 resulted in the formation of a range of crystalline zinc complexes. In the presence of perchlorate counter ions the Lpx and Lphx ligands gave rise to dinuclear Zn2+ coordination complexes [Zn2Cl2(Lpx)(H2O)2](ClO4)2(H2O) and [Zn2Cl2(Lphx)(H2O)2](ClO4)2(H2O)2 respectively, which formed infinite 1D polymeric chains. In contrast, in the presence of the hexafluorophosphate counter ion, the Lnix ligand formed a unique tetranuclear Zn2+ complex, [Zn2Cl2(Lnix)(H2O)3](Cl)(PF6)2(H2O)4, the Lcax ligand formed an octanuclear complex [Zn8Cl4(Lcax)4(H2O)10](PF6)6.7(NO3)1.3(H2O)3.3, whilst the Lox ligand formed a mononuclear sandwich structure, [Zn(Lox)](PF6)2(H2O). The protonated metal-free Lpx ligand crystallised as [H4(Lpx)](NO3)2(PF6)(H2O)2 with the stacked ligand cations forming a hydrogen-bonded network. These structural attributes provide an explanation for the significant differences in binding behaviour of recombinant N-terminally tagged proteins with the corresponding Zn2+-azamacrocyclic complexes, compared to the analogous Cu2+- or Ni2+-azamacrocyclic complexes, when immobilised onto support materials and used as immobilised metal affinity chromatographic (IMAC) adsorbents.

One of the primary goals of nuclear physics is to understand the force between nucleons, which is a necessary step for understanding the structure of nuclei and how nuclei interact with each other. Rutherford discovered the atomic nucleus in 1911, and the large body of knowledge about the nuclear force since acquired was derived from studies made on nucleons or nuclei. Although antinuclei up to antihelium-4 have been discovered and their masses measured, we have no direct knowledge of the nuclear force between antinucleons. Here, we study antiproton pair correlations among data taken by the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider and show that the force between two antiprotons is attractive. In addition, we report two key parameters that characterize the corresponding strong interaction: namely, the scattering length (f0) and effective range (d0). As direct information on the interaction between two antiprotons, one of the simplest systems of antinucleons, our result provides a fundamental ingredient for understanding the structure of more complex antinuclei and their properties., 25 pages, 4 figures. Submitted to Nature. Under media embargo