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Incorporating a citizen science approach into biological invasion management strategies can enhance biosecurity. Many citizen science projects exist to strengthen the management of forest pest and pathogen invasions within both pre- and post-border scenarios. Besides the value of citizen science initiatives for early detection and monitoring, they also contribute widely to raising awareness, informing decisions about eradication and containment efforts to minimize pest and pathogen spread, and even finding resistant plant material for restoration of landscapes degraded by disease. Overall, many projects actively engage citizens in the different stages of forest pest and pathogen invasions, but it is unclear how they work together across all stages of the entire biological invasion process to enhance biosecurity. Here we provide examples of citizen science projects for each stage of the biological invasion process, discuss options for developing a citizen science program to enhance biosecurity, and suggest approaches for integrating citizen science into biosecurity measures to help safeguard forest resources in the future.

Abstract Forested natural areas in cities provide a range of social, ecological, economic, and health benefits. Ensuring the delivery of these benefits requires an understanding of current and potential future forest conditions, yet urban forest dynamics are not well‐understood. Here, we address this knowledge gap by examining forest structure and composition in 126 plots distributed across three forest patch sizes (large [95–126 ha], medium [1–19 ha], and small [0.05–0.65 ha] patches) in the city of New Haven, CT. We detected significant shifts in forest structure and composition suggesting a suite of distinct successional trajectories within each patch size. Large patches comprised 95% native tree species in the canopy (>5 cm dbh), sapling (1–5 cm dbh), and seedling (

Urban forested natural areas are an important component of the forest and tree canopy in northeastern United States urban areas. Although similar to native forests in surrounding regions in structure, composition, and function, these natural areas are threatened by multiple, co-occurring biological and climate stressors that are exacerbated by the urban environment. Furthermore, forests in cities often lack application of formal silvicultural approaches reliant upon evidence-based applied ecological sciences. These include both urban- and climate-adapted silvicultural techniques to increase the resilience and sustainability of native forests in cities. With this in mind, we convened a group of urban forest practitioners and researchers from along a latitudinal gradient in the northeastern United States to participate in a workshop focused on co-developing long-term, replicated ecological studies that will underlie the basis for potential silvicultural applications to urban forests. In this article we review the process and outcomes of the workshop, including an assessment of forest vulnerability, and adaptive capacity across the region, as well as shared management goals and objectives. We discuss the social and ecological challenges of managing urban oak-dominated mixed hardwood forests relative to non-urban forests and identify potential examples of urban- and climate-adapted silviculture strategies created by practitioners and researchers. In doing so, we highlight the challenges and need for basic and long-term applied ecological research relevant to silvicultural applications in cities.

Invasive species are increasingly present in our ecosystems and pose a threat to the health of forest ecosystems. Practitioners are tasked with locating these invasive species and finding ways to mitigate their spread and impacts, often through costly field surveys. Meanwhile, researchers are developing remote sensing products to detect the changes in vegetation health and structure that are caused by invasive species, which could aid in early detection and monitoring efforts. Although both groups are working towards similar goals and field data are essential for validating RS products, these groups often work independently. In this paper, we, a group of researchers and practitioners, discuss the challenges to bridging the gap between researchers and practitioners and summarize the literature on this topic. We also draw from our experiences collaborating with each other to advance detection, monitoring, and management of the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Adelges tsugae; HWA), an invasive forest pest in the eastern U.S. We conclude by (1) highlighting the synergies and symbiotic mutualism of researcher–practitioner collaborations and (2) providing a framework for facilitating researcher–practitioner collaborations that advance fundamental science while maximizing the capacity of RS technologies in monitoring and management of complex drivers of forest health decline such as invasive species.

AbstractTelehealth applications are increasingly important in many areas of health education and training. In addition, they will play a vital role in biomedical research and research training by facilitating remote collaborations and providing access to expensive/remote instrumentation. In order to fulfill their true potential to leverage education, training, and research activities, innovations in telehealth applications should be fostered across a range of technology fronts, including online, on-demand computational models for simulation; simplified interfaces for software and hardware; software frameworks for simulations; portable telepresence systems; artificial intelligence applications to be applied when simulated human patients are not options; and the development of more simulator applications. This article presents the results of discussion on potential areas of future development, barries to overcome, and suggestions to translate the promise of telehealth applications into a transformed environment of training, education, and research in the health sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bio-electrospraying, a non-contact jet-based direct cell engineering approach, was recently pioneered and demonstrated for handling a wide range of primary living cells. In those studies, post-treated cells were biologically assessed in comparison to several controls by way of flow cytometry. Although flow cytometry accurately assesses those viable populations of cells, subtle effects at a sub-cellular level could have been missed. Therefore, in the present study we demonstrate metaphase chromosome breakage studies carried out on single-needle bio-electrosprayed human T-lymphocytes, which are compared with several controls. The results indicate that post-treated T-lymphocytes do not demonstrate any increase in chromosome damage in comparison to control cells. These studies further validate bio-electrospraying as a technique with potential for clinical utility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If a single particle obeys non-relativistic QM in Rd and has the Hamiltonian H = [?]D + f(r), where f(r)=\sum_{i = 1}^{k}a_ir^{q_i}, 2\leq q_i < q_{i+1}, a_i \geq 0 , then the eigenvalues E = E(d)n(l) are given approximately by the semi-classical expression E = \min_{r \gt 0}\big\{\frac{1}{r^2} + \sum_{i = 1}^{k}a_i(P_ir)^{q_i}\big\} . It is proved that this formula yields a lower bound if Pi = P(d)n(q1), an upper bound if Pi = P(d)n(qk) and a general approximation formula if Pi = P(d)n(qi). For the quantum anharmonic oscillator f(r) = r2 + lr2m, m = 2, 3, ... in d dimension, for example, E = E(d)n(l) is determined by the algebraic expression \lambda= {1\over \beta}\big({2\alpha(m-1)\over mE-\delta}\big)^m\big({4\alpha \over (mE-\delta)}-{E\over (m-1)}\big) , where \delta={\sqrt{E^2m^2-4\alpha(m^2-1)}} and a, b are constants. An improved lower bound to the lowest eigenvalue in each angular-momentum subspace is also provided. A comparison with the recent results of Bhattacharya et al (1998 Phys. Lett. A 244 9) and Dasgupta et al (2007 J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 40 773) is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We derive some analytic closed-form solutions for a class of Riccati equations y'(x) ? ?0(x)y(x) ± y2(x) = ±s0(x) where ?0(x), s0(x) are C?-functions. We show that if ?n= ?nsn?1? ?n?1sn= 0, where ?n= ?'n?1+ sn?1+ ?0?n?1and sn= s'n?1+ s0?k?1, n= 1, 2, ., then the Riccati equation has a solution given by y(x) = sn?1(x)/?n?1(x). Extension to the generalized Riccati equation y'(x) + P(x)y(x) + Q(x)y2(x) = R(x) is also investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of hybrids between native and introduced species is an increasingly widespread problem which can alter entire ecosystems. We present a general model for the hybridization of two plant species to investigate the conditions under which hybrid invasions can occur, and the ecological and genetic consequences of such hybridizations. We find that parental compatibility and fecundity are important determinants of whether (and at what rate) hybrid genotypes emerge. Enhanced hybrid fitness traits affect both the population's genetic structure and total rate of increase, with rapid selection for the fittest genotype. Conversely, if different genotypes maximize different life-history characteristics, the ensuing population can be genetically very variable. The model provides a novel approach to evaluate the contributions of population dynamic and genetic processes in the study of hybrid invasions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Humans have a particularly strong connection with birds, driving the enormous popularity of residential bird feeding in much of the world. We conducted a web search to document US state wildlife management agency responses to two recent avian disease outbreaks, finding that 23 agencies made recommendations to cease feeding wild birds in 2021–2022. The psychological benefits of bird feeding for humans are well‐documented but often overlooked in management decisions in response to avian disease outbreaks. Likewise, ecological evidence does not necessarily support ceasing bird feeding to reduce the spread of every avian disease. Ecological and social science need to be applied in tandem to ensure that well‐intended guidance to cease feeding of birds does not have unintended consequences.

Wear simulation aims to assess wear rates and their dependence on factors like load, kinematics, temperature, and implant orientation. Despite its significance, there is a notable gap in research concerning advancements in simulator control systems and the testing of clinically relevant waveforms. This study addresses this gap by focusing on enhancing the conventional proportional–integral–derivative (PID) controller used in joint simulators through the development of a fuzzy logic-based controller. Leveraging a single-input multiple-output (SIMO) fuzzy logic control system, this study aimed to improve displacement control, augmenting the traditional proportional–integral (PI) tuning approach. The implementation and evaluation of a novel Fuzzy-PI control algorithm were conducted on the Leeds spine wear simulator. This study also included the testing of dailyliving (DL) profiles, particularly from the hip joint, to broaden the scope of simulation scenarios. While both the conventional PI controller and the Fuzzy-PI controller met ISO tolerance criteria for the spine flexion–extension (FE) profile at 1 Hz, the Fuzzy-PI controller demonstrated superior performance at higher frequencies and with DL profiles due to its real-time adaptive tuning capability. The Fuzzy-PI controller represents a significant advancement in joint wear simulation, offering improved control functionalities and more accurate emulation of real-world physiological dynamics.