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The weather-dependent uncertainty of wind and solar power generation presents a challenge to the balancing of power generation and demand in highly renewable electricity systems. Battery energy storage can provide flexibility to firm up the variability of renewables and to respond to the increased load demand under decarbonization scenarios. This paper explores how the battery energy storage capacity requirement for compressed-air energy storage (CAES) will grow as the load demand increases. Here we used an idealized lowest-cost optimization model to study the response of highly renewable electricity systems to the increasing load demand of California under deep decarbonization. Results show that providing bulk CAES to the zero-emission power system offers substantial benefits, but it cannot fully compensate for the 100% variability of highly renewable power systems. The capacity requirement of CAES increases by ≤33.3% with a 1.5 times increase in the load demand and by ≤50% with a two-times increase in the load demand. In this analysis, a zero-emission electricity system operating at current costs becomes more cost-effective when there is firm power generation. The least competitive nuclear option plays this role and reduces system costs by 16.4%, curtails the annual main node by 36.8%, and decreases the CAES capacity requirements by ≤80.7% in the case of a double-load demand. While CAES has potential in addressing renewable variability, its widespread deployment is constrained by geographical, societal, and economic factors. Therefore, if California is aiming for an energy system that is reliant on wind and solar power, then an additional dispatchable power source other than CAES or similar load flexibility is necessary. To fully harness the benefits of bulk CAES, the development and implementation of cost-effective approaches are crucial in significantly reducing system costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pay-as-you-go contracts reduce minimum purchase requirements, which may increase market participation. This paper randomizes the introduction and price(s) of a novel pay-as-you-go contract to the California auto insurance market, where 17% of drivers are uninsured. The pay-as-you-go contract increases take-up by 10.8 p.p. (89%) and days with coverage by 4.6 days over the 3-month experiment (27%). Demand is relatively inelastic, and pay-as-you-go increases insurance coverage in part by relaxing liquidity requirements: most drivers' purchasing behavior is consistent with a cost of credit in excess of payday lending rates, and 19% of drivers have a purchase rejected for insufficient funds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This paper compares and contrasts the implementation of pharmacist-led services for 3 different sexual and gender minority populations across California, Mississippi, and Florida. Summary Implementation of pharmacist-led services tailored to sexual and gender minorities may be a potential mechanism to address health disparities in these populations. Clinical pharmacists have the potential to provide care with cultural humility and improve health outcomes by optimizing medication regimens, reducing adverse drug events, enhancing medication acquisition, and improving medication adherence. Conclusion The services provided by clinical pharmacists varied across sites and included management of gender-affirming hormone therapy, HIV antiretroviral medication adherence programming, primary care and chronic disease state management, and involvement in care related to mental health, psychiatry, and substance use as well as sexual health. Various legislative and regulatory barriers and differences in scope of practice for pharmacists were also identified. This paper advocates for the expansion of pharmacy-led services and the adoption of a culturally humble approach to patient care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homeowners who originally bought when marketwide price levels were high (low) fetch high (low) sales prices and rents, even decades later. We study the propagation of reference-dependence to neighboring listings. The "spillover" reference point effect is about one-half as large as the "own" reference point effect. Neither house quality nor location appears capable of explaining the result. Using a simple model to provide empirical predictions, we find support for a competition-based mechanism. We quantify the aggregate effect of own and spillover reference point effects on aggregate prices and/or rents at the ZIP code level. Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix , which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems have become increasingly common and the trend will continue. Examples of AI systems include autonomous vehicles (AV), computer vision, natural language processing and AI medical experts. To allow for safe and effective deployment of AI systems, the reliability of such systems needs to be assessed. Traditionally, reliability assessment is based on reliability test data and the subsequent statistical modelling and analysis. The availability of reliability data for AI systems, however, is limited because such data are typically sensitive and proprietary. The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) oversees and regulates an AV testing program, in which many AV manufacturers are conducting AV road tests. Manufacturers participating in the program are required to report recurrent disengagement events to California DMV. This information is being made available to the public. In this paper, we use recurrent disengagement events as a representation of the reliability of the AI system in AV, and propose a statistical framework for modelling and analysing the recurrent events data from AV driving tests. We use traditional parametric models in software reliability and propose a new non‐parametric model based on monotonic splines to describe the event process and to estimate the cumulative baseline intensity function of the event process. We develop inference procedures for selecting the best models, quantifying uncertainty and testing heterogeneity in the event process. We then analyse the recurrent events data from four AV manufacturers, and make inferences on the reliability of the AI systems in AV. We also describe how the proposed analysis can be applied to assess the reliability of other AI systems. This paper has online supplementary materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we report on the scaffold-level assembled genome for the federally endangered, California endemic crustacean Lepidurus packardi (the Vernal Pool Tadpole Shrimp). L. packardi is a key food source for other conserved California species including the California Tiger Salamander Ambystoma californiense. It faces significant habitat loss and fragmentation as vernal pools are threatened by urbanization, agricultural conversion, and climate change. This resource represents the first scaffold-level genome of any Lepidurus species. The assembled genome spans 108.6 Mbps, with 6 chromosome-length scaffolds comprising 71% of total genomic length and 444 total contigs. The BUSCO score for this genome is 97.3%, suggesting a high level of completeness. We produced a predicted gene set for this species trained on the Daphnia magna set of genes and predicted 17,650 genes. These tools can aid researchers in understanding the evolution and adaptive potential of alternative reproductive modes within this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses an ensemble Kalman method for near-surface seismic site characterization of 154 network earthquake monitoring stations in California to improve the resolution of S -wave velocity (VS) and P -wave velocity (VP) profiles—up to the resolution depth—coupled with better quantification of uncertainties compared to previous site characterization studies at this network. These stations were part of the Yong et al. site characterization project, with selected stations based on future recordings of ground motions that are expected to exceed 10 per cent peak ground acceleration in 50 yr. To estimate VS and VP from experimental dispersion data, Yong et al. investigated these stations using linearized (local search and iteration) routines, and Yong et al. later studied a subset of these stations using nonlinear (global search and optimization) routines. In both studies, the selection of model parameters—that is, discretization of the VS and VP profiles with only five fixed thickness layers—was mainly based on trial and error. In contrast, this paper uses an approximate Bayesian method to assimilate experimental dispersion data and sequentially update an ensemble of particle estimates that span the VS and VP parameter spaces. Doing so, we systematically determine the most probable profiles conditioned on the experimental dispersion data, the introduced noise levels, and a priori knowledge in the form of physical constraints. We consider two configurations to discretize the soil depth from the surface to half of the maximum discernible wavelength obtained from the experimental dispersion data, namely refined and coarse models, and two initial models for each configuration to study solution multiplicity. Our results suggest that using the refined model for the top surface layers improves the resolution of near-surface site characteristics and the model's success rate in capturing dispersion data at high frequencies. All models result in similar VS but distinct VP profiles, with increasing uncertainty at deeper layers, suggesting that the fundamental mode of Rayleigh wave dispersion data is not adequate to constrain the P -wave velocity profile and the S -wave velocity close to the resolution depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do American Muslims practice inclusivity and bridge religious differences in U.S. civic life? Sociological research on bridging focuses mostly on bridging efforts on the part of majority groups, leaving unanswered the timely question of if and how inclusivity is practiced by minority groups, particularly religious minorities, in U.S. civic spaces. Drawing on participant observation among two Muslim groups in Los Angeles, this paper identifies two practices of inclusivity that participants adopt to bridge religious difference: the interreligious heritage practice and the shared ethics practice. Both practices simultaneously draw and diffuse group boundaries, emphasize sameness, albeit using different sets of religious meanings, and are grounded in an understanding of civic spaces as implicitly exclusionary of minorities. I find that these practices can create tension points in the pursuit of mutual understanding and create textures of meanings that operate differently depending on the situation and the participants in the interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past 5 years, the "Latinx" label has become increasingly popular within academia, politics, and social media. Yet, little is known about who has adopted the term at this relatively early stage and how it might be interpreted. Drawing on a unique data set of US-born Californians, as well as Latina/o/x Studies insight, this paper provides the first academic survey results on "Latinx" identification. We find that close to 25 percent of respondents identify with the term regularly, and that its early adoption varies across groups. Specifically, political ideology, especially progressive politics, is strongly correlated with use of the label. We also find that both immigrant generation and birth cohort matter considerably, with second generation immigrants and people born in Generation Z (since 1995) most likely to identify with the term. Finally, our findings show that "Latinx" is largely understood as complementary to, not mutually exclusive of, other panethnic labels like "Hispanic" and "Latino." Taken together, our results suggest that generational politics matter for understanding early label diffusion and that Latinos adopt a variety of panethnic labels that they likely use in different contexts. We discuss these findings in terms of our broader understanding of Latinidad, racialization, and the symbolic power of ethnoracial labels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cannabis species have a propensity to bioaccumulate toxic heavy metals from their growth media. Increased testing for these metals is required to improve the safety of the legal medical and recreational cannabis industries. However, the current methods used for mandated heavy metals tests are not efficient for a large framework. As a result, there is limited testing capacity, high testing costs, and long wait times for results across North America. Objective: This study aimed to demonstrate that pooling strategies can be used to increase the throughput in cannabis testing labs and reduce some of the strain on the industry. Methods: This paper presents an algorithm to simulate different pooling strategies. The algorithm was applied to real world data sets collected from Washington and California state testing labs. Results: Using a single pooling method, a pool size of three samples on average resulted in a 23.8% reduction in tests required for 100 samples for the Washington lab. For the California lab, pooling four samples on average resulted in a 54.1% reduction in tests required for 100 samples. Conclusion: The algorithms generated from the Washington and California lab data demonstrated that pooled testing strategies can be developed on a case-by-case method to reduce the time, effort, and costs associated with heavy metals tests. Highlights: The benefits of pooled testing will vary depending on the region and rate of contamination seen in each testing lab. Overall, our results demonstrate pooled testing has the potential to reduce the fiscal costs of testing through increased efficiency, allowing increased testing, leading to greater safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sulfuryl fluoride (SF) is a fumigant used to eliminate drywood termites (DWT: Kalotermitidae; Froggatt) and other structural pests. Because of its global warming potential, it has been suggested that SF be restricted as a greenhouse gas (GHG). We present an economic model to assess the net social cost of restricting SF. We consider 3 approaches to address DWT control- no treatment, allowing SF fumigation and localized treatments, and only local treatment. Each approach generates private and public benefits and costs. We estimate that the annual damage and home equity loss by DWT in California is US$4.5–16.8 billion without treatment. If fumigation is used on 20% of the houses and local treatments on the others, the combined social cost of treatment, damage, and GHG emissions are between US$1–US$2 billion annually.The annual cost of local treatments only would be between US$3.2 and US$4.9 billion. If the application of SF is severely restricted or banned, the social costs will increase between US$1.43 and US$4.31 billion annually. The implied cost per ton of CO2 eliminated is between US$624 and US$1,465, much above the price range of CO2 in other applications. The restriction/ban has significant equity and environmental effects, impacting low-income individuals living in rented properties and replacing damaged wood in housing will increase GHG emissions. We further recommend the continued use of SF until a comparable whole-structure alternative is developed that fits the parameters of our model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production of almonds and pistachios in California's Central Valley employs insecticides for the management of their primary pest, navel orangeworm. The pyrethroid Bifenthrin is commonly used, and now a strain of Amyelois transitella Walker (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) (R347) obtained from Kern County almond orchards with a history of Bifenthrin use has acquired >110-fold resistance toward pyrethroids. One method to improve control is to use additives and spray adjuvants, which are applied simultaneously with an insecticide to increase coverage and/or duration of control. We tested 2 levels of the naturally occurring clay Kaolin as an additive, alone and in combination with either Bifenthrin or the diamide Chlorantraniliprole, to determine if it could reduce feeding damage and decrease survival of pyrethroid-resistant A. transitella on almonds in the laboratory and improve the efficacy of Chlorantraniliprole in the field. Larval performance was measured for the strains R347 and ALM (34.7-fold resistance compared to susceptible lab strain) reared on treated almonds. Strain R347 had 1.9-fold greater survival and caused 1.3-fold more feeding damage than strain ALM across all treatments, although both strains were susceptible to the combination of Kaolin + insecticide. Kaolin synergized Bifenthrin for R347, decreasing survival by 10.0%. Kaolin did not reduce feeding damage for either strain. When combined with insecticide, feeding damage was similar to insecticide alone, but the addition of Kaolin to the insecticide generally decreased survival more than the insecticide alone. In the field, the addition of Kaolin to Chlorantraniprole during application helped retain activity against this challenging pest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subterranean termites in the genus Reticulitermes Holmgren 1913 are among the most economically important wood-destroying pests in the western United States. Yet, there remains uncertainty regarding the taxonomy and biology of the species in this genus. The 2 species described as having distributions in this region are the western subterranean termite, Reticulitermes hesperus Banks, and the arid land subterranean termite, Reticulitermes tibialis Banks. Taxonomic studies utilizing cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles, agonistic behavior, flight phenology, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) suggested that R. hesperus is a species complex comprised of 2 or more sympatric, yet reproductively isolated species. To further delineate these taxa, we examined multiple genes from samples of Reticulitermes collected in the western United States. Alates collected after recent spring and fall mating flights, as well as previously collected workers, were subjected to CHC phenotyping and DNA sequence analyses that targeted mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit II (COII), mitochondrial 16S rRNA, and nuclear Internal Transcribed Spacer 1 and 2 (ITS1 and 2). Phylogenetic analyses conducted also included published sequences of other putative western Reticulitermes species. Results suggest that at least 5 species of Reticulitermes may be present in California and that Reticulitermes in Arizona consistently group into multiple clades, including samples previously identified as R. tibialis in a sister clade. These analyses further support the species status of qualitatively different CHC phenotypes and that alates swarming in spring vs. fall are reproductively isolated species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two formerly broadly distributed woody Atriplex species now occur as fragmented populations across a range of microhabitats in the San Joaquin Valley Desert, southern California. We hypothesized that A. lentiformis and A. polycarpa exhibit inter- and intra-specific differences in their leaf and stem structural and functional traits corresponding with differences in soil salinity and aridity. Water potential, xylem structure and function and leaf traits were compared between three populations of A. lentiformis and four populations of A. polycarpa. The two species significantly differed in their xylem traits, with A. lentiformis displaying lower xylem density, wider mean and maximum vessel diameters and higher hydraulic conductivity (K s). They also differed in their leaf traits, such that A. lentiformis had larger leaves with higher specific leaf area (SLA) than A. polycarpa. Significant intra-specific differences occurred among leaf traits (leaf area, SLA) in A. lentiformis populations. In contrast, populations varied in their stem xylem structural traits (mean vessel wall thickness, mean vessel diameter, maximum vessel length) among A. polycarpa populations. Many of these differences were associated with soil salinity in A. lentiformis , and with minimum seasonal water potential in A. polycarpa. Overall, both saltbush species showed high intra- and inter-specific trait variation. This could be a critical consideration in understanding the evolution of these native species and has important implications for their conservation and restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

California presents a puzzle for scholars of US climate politics. In the early 2000s, it passed the country's strongest climate laws despite the presence of the very factors that ostensibly explain their failure at the federal level: a fragmented system of government with multiple veto points, an active interest group landscape, and a major fossil fuel industry. Moreover, this was achieved under a Republican governorship in a state defined by automobile dependence. Scholars in political science and economics explain California's exceptional policy emergence by reference to unique "focusing events" in the state, the leadership of elected officials, and the support of a broad advocacy coalition in Sacramento. This article presents an alternative explanation grounded in Gramscian political sociology. It marshals new evidence to argue that the political mobilization of Silicon Valley was the crucial factor in the emergence of California's climate regime. Silicon Valley's economic power, extraordinary potential to serve as the engine of a high-tech "green" capitalism, and its lead position in a new business-environmental bloc allowed it to overcome the resistance of the fossil fuel industry and to present climate policy as a winning economic strategy. This suggests that a credible plan for spurring growth, supported by significant fractions of capital, is necessary for achieving comprehensive climate policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Correlated binary response data with covariates are ubiquitous in longitudinal or spatial studies. Among the existing statistical models, the most well‐known one for this type of data is the multivariate probit model, which uses a Gaussian link to model dependence at the latent level. However, a symmetric link may not be appropriate if the data are highly imbalanced. Here, we propose a multivariate skew‐elliptical link model for correlated binary responses, which includes the multivariate probit model as a special case. Furthermore, we perform Bayesian inference for this new model and prove that the regression coefficients have a closed‐form unified skew‐elliptical posterior with an elliptical prior. The new methodology is illustrated by an application to COVID‐19 data from three different counties of the state of California, USA. By jointly modeling extreme spikes in weekly new cases, our results show that the spatial dependence cannot be neglected. Furthermore, the results also show that the skewed latent structure of our proposed model improves the flexibility of the multivariate probit model and provides a better fit to our highly imbalanced dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Juglans californica , California walnut, is a vulnerable small tree that is locally abundant but restricted to woodland and chaparral habitats of Southern California threatened by urbanization and land use change. This species is the dominant species in a unique woodland ecosystem in California. It is one of 2 endemic California walnut species (family Juglandaceae). The other species, Northern California black walnut (J. hindsii), has been suggested controversially to be a variety of J. californica. Here, we report a new, chromosome-level assembly of J. californica as part of the California Conservation Genomics Project (CCGP). Consistent with the CCGP common methodology across ~150 genomes, we used Pacific Biosciences HiFi long reads and Omni-C chromatin-proximity sequencing technology to produce a de novo assembled genome. The assembly comprises 137 scaffolds spanning 551,065,703 bp, has a contig N50 of 30 Mb, a scaffold N50 of 37 Mb, and BUSCO complete score of 98.9%. Additionally, the mitochondrial genome has 701,569 bp. In addition, we compare this genome with other existing high-quality Juglans and Quercus genomes, which are in the same order (Fagales) and show relatively high synteny within the Juglans genomes. Future work will utilize the J. californica genome to determine its relationship with the Northern California walnut and assess the extent to which these 2 endemic trees might be at risk from fragmentation and/or climate warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) are critical to the pollination of many important crops in the United States, and one crop that demands large numbers of colonies early each year is almonds. To provide adequate numbers of colonies for almond pollination, many beekeepers move colonies of bees to high-density holding yards in California in late fall, where the bees can fly and forage, but little natural pollen and nectar is available. In recent years, high colony losses have occurred in some operations following this management strategy, and alternative approaches, including indoor storage of colonies, have become more commonly used. The current study evaluated colonies kept indoors (refrigerated and/or controlled atmosphere) for the winter compared with those kept outdoors in either Washington or California. Colonies were evaluated for strength (frames of bees), brood area, lipid composition of worker bees, colony weight and survival, parasitic mites (Varroa mites, tracheal mites), and pathogens (Nosema spp.). No differences were found in colony weight, survival, parasitic mite levels, or pathogen prevalence among the treatments. Colonies stored indoors and outdoors in WA had significantly more frames of bees and less brood present after the storage period than colonies stored outdoors in CA. Lipid composition of honey bees stored indoors was significantly higher than colonies stored outdoors in WA or CA. The implications of these findings for overall colony health and improved pollination activity are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The blue orchard bee, Osmia lignaria Say (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae), is a solitary, cavity-nesting species used for pollinating spring blooming crops. Commercial stocks are sourced from a few locations in the western United States but are sold across the country. However, the existence of local adaptations of these bees is unknown, such as the propensity to nest in nearby provided materials or to disperse broadly beyond release sites. In spring 2019, California- and Utah-sourced blue orchard bees were introduced into cherry orchards in both source and reciprocal states. Nest boxes were placed near (within 78 m) and far (500 m–1 km) from central bee release points. Paint-marked bees were released when floral resources were available. Observations of marked bees at nest boxes were used to evaluate female retention and dispersal pattern. Nesting bee counts in March-blooming California orchards revealed a significant difference in female retention by population source; over twice as many UT bees established nests than did CA bees. Few females were found at far nest sites. In May-blooming Utah orchards, counts of CA and UT bees were similar at near and far nest sites; neither female retention nor dispersal was significantly affected by bee origin. It is concerning that CA females were less likely to be retained in California orchards because the demand for commercial pollination is high for early-blooming California almond and cherry. Our results highlight the need to understand potential consequences of bee origin and their management on pollinator performance and reproduction in target crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tong has proposed an adjoint-state traveltime tomography method to determine velocity heterogeneity and azimuthal anisotropy. This method, however, ignores the Earth's curvature when deriving the eikonal equation for azimuthally anisotropic media. Thus, further coordinate transformation or approximation is required to ensure the accuracy of traveltime prediction in large-scale tomography. To address this problem, we derive the eikonal equation for azimuthally anisotropic media in spherical coordinates, which naturally considers the Earth's curvature. Another key ingredient is the forward modelling algorithm, whose accuracy and efficiency dominate the numerical error and computational cost of the inversion. In this study, we apply a modified fast sweeping method to solve the eikonal equation in spherical coordinates. Two approaches, including the third-order weighted essentially non-oscillatory approximation and multiplicative factorization technique, are applied to improve the accuracy. According to the numerical experiments, this new eikonal solver achieves a second-order accuracy and is about two orders of magnitude more accurate than the commonly used first-order fast sweeping method with similar runtime. Taking advantage of the two improvements, we develop a novel eikonal equation-based adjoint-state traveltime tomography method for azimuthally anisotropic media in spherical coordinates. This method is applicable for large-scale tomography, and its performance is verified by a synthetic checkerboard test and a practical seismic tomographic inversion in central California near Parkfield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Damselflies and dragonflies (Order: Odonata) play important roles in both aquatic and terrestrial food webs and can serve as sentinels of ecosystem health and predictors of population trends in other taxa. The habitat requirements and limited dispersal of lotic damselflies make them especially sensitive to habitat loss and fragmentation. As such, landscape genomic studies of these taxa can help focus conservation efforts on watersheds with high levels of genetic diversity, local adaptation, and even cryptic endemism. Here, as part of the California Conservation Genomics Project (CCGP), we report the first reference genome for the American rubyspot damselfly, Hetaerina americana , a species associated with springs, streams and rivers throughout California. Following the CCGP assembly pipeline, we produced two de novo genome assemblies. The primary assembly includes 1,630,044,487 base pairs, with a contig N50 of 5.4 Mb, a scaffold N50 of 86.2 Mb, and a BUSCO completeness score of 97.6%. This is the seventh Odonata genome to be made publicly available and the first for the subfamily Hetaerininae. This reference genome fills an important phylogenetic gap in our understanding of Odonata genome evolution, and provides a genomic resource for a host of interesting ecological, evolutionary, and conservation questions for which the rubyspot damselfly genus Hetaerina is an important model system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amyelois transitella is the primary pest of pistachios in California. The first A. transitella outbreak of the twenty-first century occurred in 2007 and a total of five outbreaks occurred between 2007 and 2017 (total insect damage >1%). This study used processor information to identify the nut factors associated with the outbreaks. Processor grade sheets were used to explore the relationship between the variables time of harvest, percent nut split, percent nut dark staining, percent nut shell damage, and percent adhering hull for Low Damage (82,537 loads) and High Damage years, (92,307 loads). Total insect damage (±SD) for the Low Damage years averaged 0.005 ± 0.01 and in High Damage years was three times higher, 0.015 ± 0.02. In Low Damage years the strongest correlation was between total insect damage and two variables, percent adhering hull and dark stain (0.25, 0.23) while in High Damage years the correlation between total insect damage and percent dark stain was the highest (0.32) followed by percent adhering hull (0.19). The linkage of these nut factors to insect damage suggests that outbreak prevention depends on early identification of premature hull split/breakdown in addition to the traditional emphasis on treating the standing population of A. transitella. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that large earthquakes often exhibit significant rupture complexity such as well separated subevents. With improved recording and data processing techniques, small earthquakes have been found to exhibit rupture complexity as well. Studying these small earthquakes offers the opportunity to better understand the possible causes of rupture complexities. Specifically, if they are random or are related to fault properties. We examine microearthquakes (M  < 3) in the Parkfield, California, area that are recorded by a high-resolution borehole network. We quantify earthquake complexity by the deviation of source time functions and source spectra from simple circular (omega-square) source models. We establish thresholds to declare complexity, and find that it can be detected in earthquakes larger than magnitude 2, with the best resolution above M2.5. Comparison between the two approaches reveals good agreement (>90 per cent), implying both methods are characterizing the same source complexity. For the two methods, 60–80 per cent (M 2.6–3) of the resolved events are complex depending on the method. The complex events we observe tend to cluster in areas of previously identified structural complexity; a larger fraction of the earthquakes exhibit complexity in the days following the M w 6 2004 Parkfield earthquake. Ignoring the complexity of these small events can introduce artefacts or add uncertainty to stress drop measurements. Focusing only on simple events however could lead to systematic bias, scaling artefacts and the lack of measurements of stress in structurally complex regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zalom earned B.S. (1974, Zoology) and M.S. (1975, Ecology) degrees from Arizona State University, and a Ph.D. (1978, Entomology) from the University of California-Davis. I was accepted into several marine biology graduate programs on the West Coast: Southern Cal, UC-Santa Barbara, UC-Berkeley, and UC-Davis. Currently a distinguished professor emeritus of entomology at the University of California-Davis, Zalom would eventually gain national recognition as the Director of the University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management (UCIPM) program - a position he held from 1986 to 2002. Graph: Frank Zalom, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Entomology and Recall Professor, University of California-Davis, 2023. [Extracted from the article]

Background To slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, governments across the globe instituted stay-at-home orders leading to increased stress and social isolation. Not surprisingly, alcohol sales increased during this period. While most studies primarily focused on alcohol consumption among college students or adults, this study investigates alcohol misuse among marginalized youth in the USA. We examined risk factors associated with hazardous alcohol use and binge drinking including risk behaviors, life stressors and demographic characteristics. Methods In October 2020, youth living with or at high risk for acquiring human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), participating in community-based research to improve HIV prevention and care, were invited to complete an online survey to assess the impact of the stay-at-home orders on multiple aspects of their daily life. Results Respondents (n  = 478) were on average 23 years old; cisgender (84%), not-heterosexual (86.6%), Latino or Black/African American (73%) and assigned male at birth (83%); 52% reported being employed and 14% reported living with HIV. White participants and those who use drugs had higher odds of hazardous alcohol use and binge drinking, compared with other race categories and non-drug users, respectively. Conclusion Contrary to findings from adult studies, we did not observe an increase in hazardous or binge drinking among youth at risk for HIV. Hazardous alcohol use and binge drinking was more likely among White participants, those who use drugs and those who were hazardous/binge drinkers prior to the COVID-19 lockdown, which points to the importance of identifying and treating youth who misuse alcohol early to prevent future alcohol misuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Barriers to reproduction are often how progress in speciation is measured. Nonetheless, an unresolved question concerns the extent to which reproductive barriers diminish gene flow between incipient species. The Sierra Nevada foothill endemic Mimulus glaucescens and the widespread M. guttatus are considered distinct species based on striking differences in vegetative morphology, but barriers to reproduction have not been previously identified, nor has gene flow between species been characterized. Here, we examined 15 potential reproductive barriers within a Northern California area of broad sympatry. Most barriers, with the exception of ecogeographic isolation, were weak or absent, and total isolation for each species was incomplete. Population genomic analyses of range-wide and broadly sympatric accessions revealed extensive gene flow between these taxa, particularly in sympatry. Despite widespread introgression, Mimulus glaucescens , emerged as monophyletic and largely comprised a single ancestry that was found at intermediate frequency within M. guttatus. This result, along with observed ecological and phenotypic differentiation, suggests that natural selection may contribute to the maintenance of distinct phenotypic forms in the earliest stages of speciation. Integrating estimates of barrier strength with direct estimates of gene flow can strengthen a more nuanced interpretation of the process of speciation in natural communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gill's mealybug, Ferrisia gilli (Gullan) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), is a major pest of pistachio in California. Insecticide treatment is the primary control method and acetamiprid is widely used to control this pest. However, there have been numerous reports of control failures for F. gilli after field applications of recommended insecticides in recent years. The purpose of this study was to develop a method for routine monitoring of F. gilli susceptibility and quantify current levels of F. gilli susceptibility to acetamiprid. A leaf-dip bioassay method using lima bean leaves was established and baseline susceptibility responses of 5 field populations were determined. Lethal concentrations to kill 50% of population (LC50) for second instar nymphs at 48 h ranged from 0.367 to 2.398 µg(AI)ml−1 of acetamiprid. Similarly, lethal concentrations to kill 90% of population (LC90) for second instar nymphs at 48 h ranged from 2.887 to 10.752 µg(AI)ml−1 of acetamiprid. The F. gilli population collected from Hanford area showed up to 6.5-fold significantly decreased mortality to acetamiprid compared to other populations. The resistance identified in this study, although relatively low, indicates that there has been repeated pressure to select for acetamiprid resistance and resistance levels can further magnify if effective management steps are not taken. The baseline susceptibility established in this study can be used to investigate potential cause of recent acetamiprid failures against F. gilli. In the long-term, results of this study will support the development of resistance management strategies by monitoring shifts in the susceptibility of F. gilli populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Market designers work as social engineers. They create institutional structures to enforce the assumptions of theoretical market mechanisms. Despite much work on performative effects of economics, sociology has not analyzed the feasibility of designers' theoretical blueprints. This article suggests that this may be done by identifying assumptions that derail the mechanism if they are not enforced. Sociologists then need to trace obstacles to their realization in practices of implementation. Blueprints are infeasible if the assumptions cannot be enforced either by themselves or jointly. To illustrate the approach, the article identifies one such assumption and traces its impact on a historical experiment of market design: the creation of markets for transmission capacity in California's electricity markets. To realize the design's explicit assumptions, designers built institutions that violated an implicit uniformity assumption and created opportunities for manipulations. Since the design's assumptions could not be realized simultaneously, it was infeasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is known that climatic factors can influence the reproductive performance of small mammal populations. However, this information has not been available for the big-eared woodrat (Neotoma macrotis), a keystone species that inhabits the California central coast ranges south to Mexico and the oak woodlands (Quercus spp.) of the western Sierra Nevada foothills. From 2002 to 2014, we livetrapped woodrats on 1.1-ha study plots in coastal-central California and recorded their age and reproductive status. We analyzed these data by a capture-mark-recapture (CMR) framework to estimate state-specific recapture probability (p) and monthly apparent survival (S) of juvenile, non-reproductive, and reproductive adult female woodrats, and the influence of rain and temperature on S and transition probability (Ψ) of the three states. Rainfall from the previous season did not markedly affect survival rates of the states, with one exception: it decreased the survival of nonreproductive woodrats. Nearly all breeding occurred during the cool, wet winter season. Juvenile woodrats had at least a 0.55 probability of breeding by their first winter, conditional on survival. Temperature during the breeding season had a marked negative influence on transition probability. During winter, survival of nonreproductive adult females was significantly higher than for juvenile and reproductive females, indicating a cost of reproduction. Physiological effects and diminished diet quality due to further climate warming could reduce the reproductive success of female big-eared woodrats with negative consequences on population growth and persistence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extant alligator lizards of the genus Abronia are found in montane cloud forests and pine-oak forests of Mesoamerica and are iconic among the public and scientific communities. Here, we describe a fossilized partial skull from the Miocene of southern California (~12.5–11.0 Mya) that is the first definitive fossil and only recognized extinct species of Abronia. The locality of the fossil is substantially removed from the range of extant species of Abronia. This remarkable biogeographical discovery corroborates previous speculation that Abronia was distributed north of Mexico during the Neogene, a scenario that could not be inferred from the geographical ranges and phylogeny of the extant species alone. Additionally, the fossil preserves a distinctive morphology, osteoderm sails, that appears unique to the new taxon among alligator lizards. The finding emphasizes the importance of the fossil record for historical biogeography and could motivate new avenues of biogeographical research in Mesoamerica and the USA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insecticides are a primary means for suppressing populations of insects that transmit plant pathogens. Application of insecticides for limiting the spread of insect-transmitted plant pathogens is often most effective when applied on an area-wide scale. The glassy-winged sharpshooter is a vector of the bacterial pathogen Xylella fastidiosa, which causes numerous plant diseases including Pierce's disease of grapevine. The glassy-winged sharpshooter has been the subject of an area-wide suppression program in California for nearly two decades. Overreliance on a limited number of active ingredients including the neonicotinoid imidacloprid has resulted in increased levels of resistance to commonly applied products. In California, glassy-winged sharpshooters move between citrus, an important overwintering host, and vineyards. Accordingly, imidacloprid is routinely applied via the irrigation system in vineyards and citrus orchards. For soil applied applications, it may take days to weeks for concentrations in plants to increase to lethal doses. Further, as the dose of imidacloprid required to kill sharpshooters increases due to resistance, so too does the period that sharpshooters are exposed to sub-lethal doses. Response of glassy-winged sharpshooter to cowpea plants treated with sub-lethal doses of imidacloprid was evaluated by conducting no-choice and choice tests. In no-choice feeding assays, glassy-winged sharpshooters caged on plants treated with sub-lethal doses of imidacloprid ceased feeding and produced little excreta. Further, sub-lethal exposure to a range of doses over a 4-d period did not affect viability over a 9-wk post-exposure holding period on untreated plants. In choice-tests, glassy-winged sharpshooters avoided treated plants and were observed predominately on untreated plants. Results suggest that application of imidacloprid to vineyards and citrus orchards may push glassy-winged sharpshooters out of treated habitats rather than kill them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) mixtures from workers of five distinct CHC phenotypes of Reticulitermes Holmgren 1913 from two locations in northern California were examined from monthly collections taken over a 3-yr period. The objectives of this study were (1) to identify and quantify variations of the CHCs of multiple colonies of each of these phenotypes (= species or subspecies) to demonstrate consistency, (2) to assess the potential of CHC mixtures to separate or identify colonies within each phenotype, and (3) to detect any temporal changes in each of the hydrocarbons in the CHC mixtures. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling of all CHC mixtures of all samples collected at both locations separated the samples into five clearly visible, different groups of CHC phenotypes (taxa or species) of Reticulitermes. The degree of variability of the CHC mixtures among colonies of each phenotype was such that nonmetric multidimensional scaling did not separate or identify colonies. Strong seasonal fluctuations were evident in some of the CHCs of all five phenotypes and were significantly consistent with a sine curve. Maximum proportions of seasonal CHCs within a phenotype occurred in all seasons of the year but occurred mostly in the winter and summer. In general, the CHCs displaying maximum values in the winter were short-chained (C23–C27) methyl-branched alkanes, whereas the CHCs displaying maximum values in the summer were long-chained (C35–C43) methyl-branched alkanes, which likely influences water retention. These consistent chemical fingerprints are probably responsible for inter-phenotype recognition patterns and are thus useful for chemical taxonomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grasshopper mice of the genus Onychomys , represented by three living species in North America, have a long and controversial taxonomic history. Usually allocated to either the cricetine or neotomine cricetids, they also have been considered to represent a distinct tribe. Since the discovery and description of the extinct grasshopper mouse relative Acrolophomys rhodopetros from the late Miocene of the upper Dove Spring Formation of California, dated at 9.3–8.8 Ma, it has become apparent that the grasshopper mouse clade has a long, distinct evolutionary history. Using a combination of morphological (including paleontological material) and molecular data, we reassessed the phylogenetic position of grasshopper mice. A morphological phylogenetic analysis was done on fossil and modern specimens of all recognized neotomine tribes, including craniodental, phallic, and soft tissue characters. A DNA-based matrix was constructed including 72 species representing all known living genera of Neotominae and 13 outgroup taxa belonging mostly to cricetid subfamilies. DNA sampling covered the mitochondrial protein-coding gene cytochrome-b (Cytb), and seven nuclear loci. The morphological analysis yielded a single most parsimonious tree of 42 steps, placing Ochrotomys (Ochrotomyini), Baiomys (Baiomyini), Reithrodontomys (Reithrodontomyini), and an Onychomys–Acrolophomys clade as successive sister clades to a Peromyscus clade, respectively. The molecular phylogenetic analyses recovered seven major clades: (1) a clade including Habromys , Megadontomys , Neotomodon, Osgoodomys, Podomys , and a paraphyletic Peromyscus clade, sister to (2) a second clade containing extant Onychomys species, (3) a Reithrodontomys clade, (4) an Isthmomys clade, (5) a clade including Baiomys and Scotinomys , (6) an Ochrotomys clade, and (7) a well--supported clade containing Hodomys , Neotoma , and Xenomys. A Bayesian combined morphological and molecular analysis recovered the same major phylogenetic associations as the molecular analyses. The sum of molecular markers and morphological traits expressed by Acrolophomys and Onychomys leads to a phylogenetic position supporting their recognition as a distinct tribe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Flavored tobacco sales restrictions (FTSRs) are implemented to reduce access to flavored tobacco products. We examined the association between seven cities with local FTSRs implemented in 2018/2019 and e-cigarette use among high school students in the California Bay Area.Aims and Methods: We analyzed data from the California Healthy Kids Survey using a difference-in-differences (D-I-D) strategy. We compared pre- and post-policy changes one year after implementation in current and ever e-cigarette use among students attending school in a city with a FTSR (exposed) (n = 20 832) versus without (unexposed) (n = 66 126). Other outcomes included ever marijuana use in an e-cigarette and ease of access to e-cigarettes.Results: Pre- to post-policy, the adjusted odds of current and ever e-cigarette use did not significantly change among students exposed and unexposed to a FTSR. In the adjusted D-I-D analysis, the odds of current (aOR: 1.25, 95% CI: 0.95, 1.65) and ever e-cigarette use (aOR: 1.06, 95% CI: 0.89, 1.26) did not significantly change by exposure group. However, one year post-implementation, the odds of ease of access to e-cigarettes significantly increased among exposed (aOR: 1.57, 95% CI: 1.27, 1.95) and unexposed students (aOR: 1.54, 95% CI: 1.39, 1.70). Similarly, the odds of ever using marijuana in an e-cigarette significantly increased among exposed (aOR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.19, 1.53) and unexposed students (aOR: 1.29, 95% CI: 1.20, 1.39).Conclusions: Local FTSRs in the California Bay Area were not associated with a change in e-cigarette use one year post-implementation. Increased ease of access and marijuana use may be explanatory factors.Implications: FTSRs were not associated with a decrease in current or ever e-cigarette use among high school students in the California Bay Area one-year post-implementation. Potential explanatory factors are that ease of access to e-cigarettes and using marijuana in an e-cigarette increased. More research is needed to understand the influence of these factors on youth access and behaviors. To address the youth e-cigarette epidemic, a comprehensive approach is needed, including policies, media campaigns, education programs, and cessation tools targeted to youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic spurred some regulators in the USA to require occupational health and safety programs to prevent COVID-19 transmission in workplaces. The objective of this study was to describe such state and federal regulations enacted between January 2020 and January 2022. Regulations, including emergency temporary standards (ETS) and permanent standards, were identified through a search of Nexis Uni and Bloomberg Law and review of US OSHA websites and the Federal Register. Full texts were reviewed for regulatory scope, hazard and exposure definitions, determination of exposure or risk levels, and control strategies. Four state (California, Michigan, Virginia, and Oregon) and two federal regulations were identified. All regulations described respiratory aerosols as the primary source of SARS-CoV-2 and recognized person-to-person transmission by droplet, airborne, and contact routes. Only the US OSHA ETS for healthcare explicitly stated that inhalation of respiratory particles was the most likely method of COVID-19 transmission. The Virginia, Michigan, and Oregon regulations described different categories of risk defined by exposure frequency and duration or specific workplace activities. California described exposure as places and times when employees come into contact or congregate with other people. The US OSHA ETS for healthcare described exposure as involving close contact with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients. While all of the state regulations required strategies from across the hierarchy, only the Virginia regulations specifically incorporated the hierarchy of controls. Only the California and Virginia regulations explicitly linked control strategies to the transmission route, while Virginia demarcated control strategies by risk level. Oregon linked risk level to occupancy levels and physical distancing requirements and referred to the use of a layered approach for transmission control. The US OSHA ETS for healthcare defined droplet and airborne precautions but made no mention of the hierarchy of controls or risk levels. Respirators were discussed in most of the regulations. The first Michigan regulation explicitly required respirators appropriate to exposure risk. The California regulations noted that respirators protect the wearer while face coverings protect people around the wearer. These regulations offer insights for a permanent US OSHA infectious disease regulation, such as the need to consider a range of transmission modes including near- and far-range aerosol inhalation, endemic and novel pathogens, workplaces beyond healthcare settings, factors that contribute to exposure and risk, the hierarchy of controls, the role of vaccination, and the importance of written exposure assessment and infection prevention plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Salton Sea Geothermal Field (SSGF) is one of the most seismically active and geothermally productive fields in California. Here we present a detailed analysis of short-term seismicity change in SSGF from 2008 to 2013 during and right following large distant earthquakes, as well as long-term seismicity change due to geothermal productions. We first apply a GPU-based waveform matched-filter technique (WMFT) to the continuous data recorded by the Calenergy Borehole (EN) Network and detect more than 70   000 new micro-earthquakes than listed in the standard Southern California Seismic Network catalogue. We then analyse the seismicity rate changes in the SSGF associated with transient stress fluctuations triggered by regional and large teleseismic earthquakes from 1999 to 2019. We find triggered seismicity in the SSGF following seven regional M  > 5.5 earthquakes. In comparison, most teleseismic earthquakes with M  > 8.0 did not trigger significant seismicity rate change in the SSGF, likely indicating a frequency dependence in remote dynamic triggering. We further characterize the correlation between the long-term seismicity rate and geothermal production rates, and the temporal and spatial distribution of Guttenberg–Richter b -values inside and outside the SSGF with the newly detected catalogue. The long-term seismicity shows that events with M > 1.5 are likely correlated with net production rates, while smaller events do not show any correlation. The b -values inside the SSGF are higher than those outside the SSGF, and the locations of dynamically triggered events are close to locations with high b -values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regulatory and sociological resistance to new market-driven technologies, particularly to those that rely on collection and analysis of personal data, is prevalent even in cases where the technology creates large social value and saves lives. This article is a case study of such tragic technology resistance, focusing on tracking devices in cars which allow auto insurers to monitor how policyholders drive and adjust the premiums accordingly. Growing empirical work reveals that such "usage-based insurance" induces safer driving, reducing fatal accidents by almost one third, and resulting in more affordable and fair premiums. Yet, California prohibits this technology and other states limit its effectiveness, largely in the interest of privacy protection. The article evaluates the justifications fueling the restrictive regulation vis-à-vis the loss of lives resulting from this regulation. It concludes that the social benefits of the tracking technology dramatically outweigh the privacy and related costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sculpins (Family Cottidae) are generally cold-temperate intertidal reef fishes most commonly found in the North Pacific. As part of the California Conservation Genomics Project (CCGP), we sequenced the genome of the Woolly Sculpin, Clinocottus analis , to establish a genomic model for understanding phylogeographic structure of inshore marine taxa along the California coast. These patterns, in turn, should further inform the design of marine protected areas using dispersal models based on genomic data. The small genome of C. analis is typical of marine fishes at less than 1 Gb (genome size = 538 Mb), and our assembly is near-chromosome level (contig N50 = 9.1 Mb, scaffold N50 = 21 Mb, BUSCO completeness = 97.9%). Within the context of the CCGP, the Woolly Sculpin genome will be used as a reference for future whole-genome resequencing projects aimed at enhancing our knowledge of the population structure of the species, and efficacy of marine protected areas across the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most studies in collaborative governance examine system-level or agency-level drivers of the horizontal dimension of collaboration, that is, the specific forms of collaboration among an existing set of actors. Few have examined the vertical dimension, that is, what actors are involved and the scope of collaboration. This study examines the latter issue by studying the implementation of the California Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), passed in 2014, mandating collaboration among local agencies. We theorize that when their core mission and key constituencies' interests are at stake under a mandate, agencies focus on protecting organizational autonomy and bureaucratic turf in determining the scope of the collaborative arrangement, rendering other usual collaboration drivers less relevant. With data derived from administrative records and a statewide survey of local groundwater managers, we test this argument using several analytical methods, including probit regression, two-step estimation of an ordered probit selection model, and a linear probability model. The analyses consistently show that agencies are more likely to commit to regionally integrated collaboration that matches the scale of a groundwater basin if (1) their mission addresses a broader issue focus (lower issue specificity), (2) their core stakeholder groups have less concentrated interests, and (3) the organizational culture is less rigid and risk averse. In contrast, other well-known horizontal collaboration drivers do not matter. By unpacking the agency-specific sources of turf and reputation protection, this study contributes to an understanding of collaboration risk management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Linezolid has been prioritized for treating multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB), but toxicity limits its use. We report treatment outcomes for MDR TB patients in California who received standard-dose linezolid vs those who switched to low-dose. Methods We include culture-positive MDR TB cases treated with linezolid and receiving California MDR TB Service consultation during 2009–2016. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data are analyzed using univariate analysis to compare patients who received linezolid of different dosing strategies. Analysis end points are linezolid treatment duration (measure of tolerability), treatment success (completion or cure), and adverse events (AEs). Results Sixty-nine of 194 (36%) MDR TB patients met inclusion criteria. While all patients began linezolid treatment at 600 mg daily, 39 (57%) continued at this dosage (standard-dose), and 30 (43%) switched to 300 mg daily (29%) or intermittent dosing (14%) (low dose). Patients on standard-dose linezolid were treated for 240 days, compared with 535 for those on low-dose (P <.0001). Sixty-three patients (91%) achieved treatment success, 2 (2.9%) died, 1 (1.5%) failed treatment, 1 (1.5%) stopped treatment due to side effects, and 2 (2.9%) were lost or moved. Treatment success was higher (P =.03) in the low-dose group. Sixty-two patients experienced ≥1 hematologic (71%) or neurologic (65%) AE. Those on low-dose linezolid experienced significantly (P =.03) fewer AEs per linezolid-month after switching (0.32 vs 0.10). Conclusions Patients who switched to low dose tolerated linezolid longer with better treatment outcomes and fewer recurring AEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The possibility of creating a state bank has received much recent attention in the USA. In 2021, six states introduced legislation to create a state bank; in 2019, similar legislation was enacted in California for municipal banks. This article develops a framework to evaluate state banking, reviews prior experiences with state banking and related alternatives to traditional private banking, and identifies five questions determining the advisability of creating a state bank. The overall goal is to shed some light on whether a state bank can be a useful tool to further state economic development and the welfare of state residents (JEL codes: G21 (banks), G28 (government policy, financial institutions), and H70 (state and local governments)). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

California's sage scrub habitats support a diversity of nectar and host plants for migrating and resident populations of painted lady butterflies (Vanessa cardui) throughout all seasons. North America experiences spring V. cardui migrations involving butterflies totaling in the millions in some years. These irruptive years are thought to be driven by winter weather patterns at breeding grounds near the US–Mexico border and due to their irregularity, it is difficult to study floral resource use along the migration route. Here we used the community science platform iNaturalist to quantify patterns in V. cardui nectar resource use in sage scrub over time and space during irruptive and nonirruptive years. We identified over 329 different nectaring plant species of varying functional types (72% native to California) visited by adult V. cardui, 195 of which had not been previously identified as known nectar plants for V. cardui. Vanessa cardui butterflies were observed in similar locations regardless of whether an irruptive migration occurred, indicating the presence of either sparse migrants or resident populations across California. Moreover, irruptive years were positively correlated with warmer and wetter local conditions at observation locations. Our results provide new insights into patterns of floral resource use by North American V. cardui by harnessing the power of community science data and while highlighting the factors associated with its North American migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The California ribbed mussel, Mytilus californianus , is an ecosystem engineer crucial for the survival of many marine species inhabiting the intertidal zone of California. Here, we describe the first reference genome for M. californianus and compare it to previously published genomes from three other Mytilus species: M. edulis , M. coruscus , and M. galloprovincialis. The M. californianus reference genome is 1.65 Gb in length, with N50 sequence length of 118 Mb, and an estimated 86.0% complete single copy genes. Compared with the other three Mytilus species, the M. californianus genome assembly is the longest, has the highest N50 value, and the highest percentage complete single copy genes. This high-quality genome assembly provides a foundation for population genetic analyses that will give insight into future conservation work along the coast of California. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The glossy snake (Arizona elegans) is a polytypic species broadly distributed across southwestern North America. The species occupies habitats ranging from California's coastal chaparral to the shortgrass prairies of Texas and southeastern Nebraska, to the extensive arid scrublands of central México. Three subspecies are currently recognized in California, one of which is afforded state-level protection based on the extensive loss and modification of its preferred alluvial coastal scrub and inland desert habitat. We report the first genome assembly of A. elegans occidentalis as part of the California Conservation Genomics Project (CCGP). Consistent with the reference genome strategy of the CCGP, we used Pacific Biosciences HiFi long reads and Hi-C chromatin-proximity sequencing technologies to produce a de novo assembled genome. The assembly comprises a total of 140 scaffolds spanning 1,842,602,218 base pairs, has a contig NG50 of 61 Mb, a scaffold NG50 of 136 Mb, and a BUSCO complete score of 95.9%, and is one of the most complete snake genome assemblies. The A. e. occidentalis genome will be a key tool for understanding the genomic diversity and the basis of adaptations within this species and close relatives within the hyperdiverse snake family Colubridae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The California Conservation Genomics Project (CCGP) is a unique, critically important step forward in the use of comprehensive landscape genetic data to modernize natural resource management at a regional scale. We describe the CCGP, including all aspects of project administration, data collection, current progress, and future challenges. The CCGP will generate, analyze, and curate a single high-quality reference genome and 100–150 resequenced genomes for each of 153 species projects (representing 235 individual species) that span the ecological and phylogenetic breadth of California's marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems. The resulting portfolio of roughly 20 000 resequenced genomes will be analyzed with identical informatic and landscape genomic pipelines, providing a comprehensive overview of hotspots of within-species genomic diversity, potential and realized corridors connecting these hotspots, regions of reduced diversity requiring genetic rescue, and the distribution of variation critical for rapid climate adaptation. After 2 years of concerted effort, full funding ($12M USD) has been secured, species identified, and funds distributed to 68 laboratories and 114 investigators drawn from all 10 University of California campuses. The remaining phases of the CCGP include completion of data collection and analyses, and delivery of the resulting genomic data and inferences to state and federal regulatory agencies to help stabilize species declines. The aspirational goals of the CCGP are to identify geographic regions that are critical to long-term preservation of California biodiversity, prioritize those regions based on defensible genomic criteria, and provide foundational knowledge that informs management strategies at both the individual species and ecosystem levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In 2016, California enacted a law (T21) prohibiting tobacco product sales to individuals under 21 years of age. Given tobacco use disparities among sexual minority (SM) youth, this study investigated whether California's T21 law was differentially associated with changes in tobacco use for SM and non-SM adolescents.Aims and Methods: Secondary analyses of California Healthy Kids Survey data from 2013-2014 to 2018-2019 for 7th, 9th, and 11th graders (N = 2 229 401).Results: Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression analyses showed that SM students were more likely than non-SM students to report past-30-day and lifetime cigarette (odds ratio (OR) = 2.47; OR = 2.37), e-cigarette (OR = 1.21; OR = 1.10), smokeless tobacco use (OR = 1.95; OR = 1.56), and use of any tobacco product (OR = 1.94; OR = 1.61). Among SM youth, T21 was associated with significant reductions in lifetime e-cigarette use (OR = 0.66), and lifetime use of any tobacco products (OR = 0.75). These decreases generally were greater than or equivalent to those observed for non-SM youth. For 30-day e-cigarette and any tobacco use, SM youth showed no significant increases, whereas non-SM youth showed significant increases (OR = 1.06; OR = 1.11) following T21. T21 was associated with smaller increases in lifetime cigarette use (OR = 1.34), and larger increases for past-30-day and lifetime smokeless tobacco use (OR = 1.34; OR = 1.28) among SM students, to those observed for non-SM students.Conclusions: California's T21 policy may help reduce tobacco use disparities among SM students who are more at risk for tobacco use than their non-SM peers.Implications: Research on associations of T21 laws with tobacco use among sexual minority (SM) adolescents is lacking. The potential for unintended consequences of T21 for these adolescents raises concerns about increased health disparities. Importantly, our study generally found California's T21 was associated with reductions in tobacco use among SM students that were equivalent to or greater than those for non-SM students. Future research should investigate whether T21 laws and similar policies have differential effects for other marginalized groups and, if so, identify mechanisms that can be targeted in prevention efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims The goal of this study was to develop a standard measure of AUD severity that includes multiple dimensions and can be used in clinical settings to inform treatment selection. Methods A large sample (n  = 1939) of moderate to heavy drinkers was amassed from six psychopharmacology studies. The severity factor was comprised of four dimensions: withdrawal, craving, AUD symptoms and alcohol-related consequences. First, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to examine model fit. Next, a comprehensive item list from the four measures (i.e. CIWA, DrinC, PACs and SCID-5 AUD criteria) was reduced through exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Once the final items were merged into a preliminary assessment, an EFA was run to observe the factor structure. Initial validation of the measure was obtained via associations with clinical endpoints. Results The chi-square test statistic (⁠|${\chi}^2(2)=2.432\ P=0.297$|⁠) for a single-factor model of severity demonstrated good fit. Additional goodness-of-fit indices from the CFA revealed similar support for the single-factor model of severity (i.e. SRMSR = 0.011; RMSEA = 0.011; CFI = 0.999). Next, nine items from the individual EFAs were selected based on factor loading. The final EFA conducted on the 9-item scale demonstrated that a single factor model of severity best fit the data. Analysis of the psychometric properties revealed good internal consistency (⁠|$\alpha$| = 0.79). Conclusions The current study extends upon the measurement of severity and supports a brief severity measure. This brief 9-item scale can be leveraged in future studies as a screening instrument and as a tool for personalized medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spotted-wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura), is a global economic pest of berry crops and stone fruit. Since management of this pest primarily relies on calendar insecticide applications, and field-derived resistance to spinosad has already been documented in California caneberry production, there is significant concern for development of resistance to other insecticides. In this study, susceptibility of D. suzukii populations collected from caneberry and strawberry fields to two pyrethroids, zeta-cypermethrin, and bifenthrin, was assessed in 2019 and 2020. Resistance to both pyrethroids were observed in flies from all sampling sites. For flies collected from caneberries in 2019, the LC50 values ranged from 4.5 to 5.2 mg liter−1 with RR50s ranging from 7.5- to 8.7-fold. Our 2020 assays showed that susceptibility of flies to the discriminating dose of zeta-cypermethrin decreased significantly as the season progressed. For flies collected from strawberries in 2020, the LC50s ranged from 19.0 to 36.1 mg liter−1 and from 30.3 to 90.7 mg liter−1 for zeta-cypermethrin and bifenthrin, respectively. The RR50 values varied from 19.0- to 36.1-fold for zeta-cypermethrin and from 15.9- to 47.7-fold for bifenthrin. This study is the first report of field-derived pyrethroid resistance in D. suzukii from two major California berry production areas. Adoption of informed insecticide resistance management practices would be essential to prolong the efficacy of products available to control D. suzukii. Future molecular work is needed to unravel the underlying genetic mechanisms conferring the observed pyrethroid resistance and to develop robust diagnostics that can inform integrated pest management of this pest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]