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While the majority of adults across the United States report that they believe that global warming is happening, far fewer report discussing global warming (Howe et al., 2015, https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2583; Marlon et al., 2022, https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/visualizations‐data/ycom‐us/). One way to inspire further climate action and engagement is to increase individuals' capacity to confidently and effectively discuss climate change. Climate communication science highlights that such communication is most effective when it is anecdotal, narrative, tailored to the audience, and place‐based. To generate climate conversations and inspire action in a variety of communities, partners at the University of Minnesota Extension piloted a program to train community members from across the state of Minnesota in effective climate communication through a series of instructional workshops, coaching, and participant‐led communication activities. Following the training portion of the program, participants identified and hosted their own climate‐related communication activities in their communities. These "climate conversations" took place across Minnesota and included community events, dialogue with elected leaders, and conversations stimulated through literature, among other activities. In their communities, program participants sparked conversations, initiated long‐term climate action efforts, and improved their sense of efficacy in response to climate change. Participants also reported that they improved their climate conversation skills, increased their local climate knowledge, established a support network with fellow participants, had reduced anxiety around communicating, and increased their confidence in being able to communicate about climate change in their communities. This pilot program provides a framework for future cohort‐ and community‐based climate communication programs in the state and beyond. Plain Language Summary: More frequent, effective climate conversations initiated by a diversity of trusted voices can help to increase climate concern and desire for action at the community level. However, in the United States, there is a disconnect between the level of concern individuals have about climate change and the extent to which individuals talk about the issue. To help bridge this gap, the University of Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership developed a training program aimed at inspiring and equipping local community members across Greater Minnesota with the skills and confidence to have effective conversations about climate change in their communities. This paper summarizes the programmatic activities we used to support our goals, and some reflections on the program's results. This pilot program provides a framework for future efforts that can be facilitated by Extension programs, community‐based organizations, universities, and others to inspire and accelerate similar community‐centered climate conversations. Key Points: We piloted a training program to teach Minnesotans to effectively communicate about climate change and its impacts on their communitiesParticipants improved behavioral and conversation skills to communicate about climate change more effectivelyThis program provides a framework for future programs aimed at increasing the diversity of people engaging in local climate conversations [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The medicalisation of marijuana has occurred rapidly, albeit nonuniformly, across the US and around the world over the past 3 decades. This paper centres on the medicalisation of marijuana in Minnesota—which has one of the most restrictive programs in the country—as a case for evaluating the negotiation of institutional boundaries with the shift from criminalisation to medicalisation after nearly a century of criminal prohibition. Drawing upon Foucauldian discourse analyses of the medical and law enforcement associations' position statements and legislative hearings that shaped medical marijuana policy in Minnesota, this paper demonstrates a symbiotic convergence between medicine and law enforcement through the deployment of shared discursive strategies in their opposition to medical marijuana that reinforce marijuana's criminalised status by solidifying the boundaries between proper medicine and dangerous drugs. Criminal justice and medical institutions draw upon one another's definitions, logics, and practices in a mutually constitutive manner, while still maintaining distinct user subjects and institutional interventions for each based on the user's access to state‐approved forms of marijuana. The consequences for the governing of marijuana in Minnesota are explored, as well as the broader implications for the sociological study of medicalisation and criminalisation with respect to the governance of drugs and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automatic detection of traffic accidents has a crucial effect on improving transportation, public safety, and path planning. Many lives can be saved by the consequent decrease in the time between when the accidents occur and when rescue teams are dispatched, and much travelling time can be saved by notifying drivers to select alternative routes. This problem is challenging mainly because of the rareness of accidents and spatial heterogeneity of the environment. This paper studies deep representation of loop detector data using long‐short term memory (LSTM) network for automatic detection of freeway accidents. The LSTM‐based framework increases class separability in the encoded feature space while reducing the dimension of data. The experiments on real accident and loop detector data collected from the Twin Cities Metro freeways of Minnesota demonstrate that deep representation of traffic flow data using LSTM network has the potential to detect freeway accidents in less than 18 min with a true positive rate of 0.71 and a false positive rate of 0.25 which outperforms other competing methods in the same arrangement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a case study of sentencing policy in the adjoining, and demographically and culturally similar, states of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Using administrative data, together with historical and legal analyses of sentencing policy in each state, it (1) argues that the destabilization of the penal order represented a critical juncture during which commission‐based, presumptive sentencing guidelines were an option in both states; (2) analyzes how the decision to adopt this guidelines system in Minnesota and the failure to do so in Wisconsin initiated path‐dependent processes, making it difficult to reverse the initial policy choice; and (3) assesses how these distinct policy paths led to different penal outcomes. A concluding section discusses how analyses of path dependency shed light on the state variation in sentencing policy and provide a framework for assessing the possibilities of, and obstacles to, penal reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under a warming climate, the southern boreal forest of North America is expected to see a doubling in fire frequency and potential for increased wind disturbance over the next century. Although boreal forests are often considered fire‐adapted, projected increases in disturbance frequency will likely result in novel combinations of disturbances with severities and impacts on community composition outside historic norms. Using a network of repeatedly measured vegetation monitoring plots, we followed changes in tree community composition in areas of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), in Minnesota, USA, experiencing disturbances ranging from severe windstorms or wildfires to areas affected by wind followed by fire or multiple fires within a short period of time. Using nonmetric multidimensional scaling ordination, hierarchical cluster analysis, and permutational analysis of variance, we compared successional pathways across different disturbance types and combinations to test whether multiple disturbances had altered successional pathways or caused greater convergence relative to single disturbances. We found that multiple disturbances often resulted in strong shifts toward wind‐dispersed early‐successional tree species, while single disturbances tended to have multiple successional pathways that favored both late‐ and early‐successional species. All disturbances in our study resulted in significant shifts in composition, but we generally failed to find statistical evidence of changes in community dispersion. Although boreal forests appear to be somewhat resilient to multiple disturbance events, multiple disturbances resulted in post‐disturbance tree communities that were heavily dominated by disturbance‐adapted deciduous trees at the expense of conifers. Our results demonstrate that multiple disturbances are capable of altering successional pathways relative to single disturbance events and that increasingly frequent disturbances are likely to alter boreal forest structure and composition, perhaps leading to a forest region strikingly unlike that of today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a case study of sentencing policy in the adjoining, and demographically and culturally similar, states of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Using administrative data, together with historical and legal analyses of sentencing policy in each state, it (1) argues that the destabilization of the penal order represented a critical juncture during which commission‐based, presumptive sentencing guidelines were an option in both states; (2) analyzes how the decision to adopt this guidelines system in Minnesota and the failure to do so in Wisconsin initiated path‐dependent processes, making it difficult to reverse the initial policy choice; and (3) assesses how these distinct policy paths led to different penal outcomes. A concluding section discusses how analyses of path dependency shed light on the state variation in sentencing policy and provide a framework for assessing the possibilities of, and obstacles to, penal reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil health assessments aim to quantify soil health status using indicators linked to ecosystem services such as yield, nutrient cycling, water cycling, or carbon storage. Many indicators are related to soil biological processes, which can be challenging to interpret because they are sensitive not only to management, but also to nonmanagement variables such as soil inherent properties, topography, and climate. Existing studies address this challenge by grouping similar soils by taxonomy, geography, or a combination of these and other variables for soil health assessment. We investigated whether grouping soils based on multiple quantitative topsoil properties could be an alternative to taxonomic or geographic groups. We used an unsupervised classification algorithm, k‐means, to cluster publicly available soil and climate data for Minnesota. Clustering into eight conceptual groups ("clusters") based on 10 topsoil properties was determined to be the optimal algorithm output. We evaluated the ability of our soil clusters and other grouping methods to explain variance in eight soil health indicators. We found the combination of Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) and soil cluster performed best, explaining as much or more variance than other groupings for five of the eight indicators. The clusters distinguish zones of topsoil variation at the field scale, and MLRAs account for broader scale variation in climate and other landscape factors. The approach we describe is flexible and could be applied at different locations and scales to produce conceptual soil groups and associated maps to support soil health test sampling and interpretation at the field scale. Core Ideas: Case study explores utility of cluster analysis to group similar soils and aid in soil health indicator interpretation.K‐means classification simplified >6500 soil map units into eight clusters based on 10 topsoil properties.Soil clusters represent an intermediate level of complexity between map units and general soil associations.Major Land Resource Area and soil cluster together were most useful for stratifying soils.Clustering method is adaptable, and public soils databases make similar analyses possible in other regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sliding hiatal herniation (SHH) and gastroesophageal reflux (GER) commonly occur in French bulldogs. Wireless pH monitoring can quantitatively assess acidic GER in dogs affected by SHH. Hypothesis/Objectives: Measure acidic GER in French bulldogs with SHH, pre‐ and post‐brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) surgery, utilizing a wireless pH capsule (Bravo Calibration‐free, Medtronic, Minnesota), and correlate with owners' observations of regurgitation. Animals: Eleven French bulldogs diagnosed with SHH via swallowing fluoroscopy. Methods: Prospective cohort study. A pH capsule was endoscopically placed in the esophagus. Up to 96 hours of data were acquired as the owner logged clinical signs. Spearman's correlation and Wilcoxon rank‐sum tests evaluated factors correlated with acid exposure time (AET), defined by the % time pH < 4. In 4/11 dogs, Bravo monitoring was repeated 2‐4 months after BOAS surgery. Results: Medians (Q1‐Q3) for age and weight were 21 months (17‐35.5) and 10.0 kg (8.9‐11.5). BOAS severity was mild (3), moderate (4), or severe (4). Medians (Q1‐Q3) for AET and reflux events were 3.3% (2.6‐6.4) and 70 (34‐173). Clinical score (P =.82) and BOAS severity (P =.60) were not correlated with AET, but age was negatively correlated (rho = −.66, P =.03). Median probability (Q1‐Q3) that regurgitation was associated with a reflux event was 72.5% (0‐99). Percent AET numerically improved in all 4 dogs that underwent BOAS surgery although not statistically assessed. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Wireless pH monitoring documented acidic GER in French bulldogs with SHH, captured subclinical events, and showed improvements after BOAS surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The successes of introduced populations in novel habitats often provide powerful examples of evolution and adaptation. In the 1950s, opossum shrimp (Mysis diluviana) individuals from Clearwater Lake in Minnesota, USA were transported and introduced to Twin Lakes in Colorado, USA by fisheries managers to supplement food sources for trout. Mysis were subsequently introduced from Twin Lakes into numerous lakes throughout Colorado. Because managers kept detailed records of the timing of the introductions, we had the opportunity to test for evolutionary divergence within a known time interval. Here, we used reduced representation genomic data to investigate patterns of genetic diversity, test for genetic divergence between populations, and for evidence of adaptive evolution within the introduced populations in Colorado. We found very low levels of genetic diversity across all populations, with evidence for some genetic divergence between the Minnesota source population and the introduced populations in Colorado. There was little differentiation among the Colorado populations, consistent with the known provenance of a single founding population, with the exception of the population from Gross Reservoir, Colorado. Demographic modeling suggests that at least one undocumented introduction from an unknown source population hybridized with the population in Gross Reservoir. Despite the overall low genetic diversity we observed, FST outlier and environmental association analyses identified multiple loci exhibiting signatures of selection and adaptive variation related to elevation and lake depth. The success of introduced species is thought to be limited by genetic variation, but our results imply that populations with limited genetic variation can become established in a wide range of novel environments. From an applied perspective, the observed patterns of divergence between populations suggest that genetic analysis can be a useful forensic tool to determine likely sources of invasive species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Defoliators cause extensive damage in boreal and temperate forests of the world. Considerable effort has been invested to understand their individual population dynamics, and despite ample theorising, there is little empirical evidence on factors causing spatial synchrony of pest eruptions at landscape scales.We report on the landscape‐level effect of forest configuration and composition on the intensity of outbreaks of spruce budworm and forest tent caterpillar in a mixedwood boreal forest in northern Minnesota (USA) and adjacent Ontario (Canada), and how this is related to the degree of spatial synchrony in each species' outbreak cycling.Using a large spatiotemporal tree‐ring reconstruction of outbreak impacts across these two systems, we evaluate two contrasting theories governing defoliator outbreaks: harmonic oscillation (a.k.a. 'clockwork') and relaxation oscillation (a.k.a. 'catastrophe'), each with consequences linked to top‐down versus bottom‐up influences on outbreak behaviour in time and space.We find synchrony varies temporally, among outbreak cycles and in direct proportion to cycle peak intensity; however, cycle peak intensities are distributed bimodally in time, and so, therefore, are synchrony coefficients. Spatially, the area where each pest species currently cycles with the greatest peak intensity and synchrony is where their preferred host trees are currently found in greatest proportion.Despite overall synchrony in cycling, we found, in both systems, a persistent negative spatial correlation among successive eruptive pulses of defoliation. Many of these eruptions failed to spread spatially and to coalesce with other spot eruptions to form extensive area‐wide outbreaks. Eruptions often fail to spread at the hardwood‐conifer interface, resulting in outbreak pulses that systematically bounce back and forth between landscape types, particularly when systems were cycling at low amplitude. These over‐dispersed spatial patterns of pulse impact are consistent with a contagious theory of eruption and outbreak spread. They could be considered consistent with harmonic oscillation theory only for populations cycling at different frequencies, with cycling frequency determined by host forest landscape structure.Synthesis. We find that defoliator outbreak dynamics across systems include spatiotemporal signatures of each theoretical paradigm—suggesting a hybrid approach will better characterise outbreak behaviour. Host concentration influences which paradigm dominates the spatial dynamics in any given forest landscape context. Because of the synchronising effect of host concentration on forest insect spatial dynamics, mixedwoods appear to be less prone to intense, synchronised defoliator attack than forests of pure hardwood or pure conifer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Broadband seismograms from the EarthScope Transportable Array and Superior Province Rifting EarthScope Experiment (SPREE) deployments are used to map the crust and uppermost mantle structures beneath the failed Midcontinent Rift (MCR) of Minnesota/Wisconsin, USA. The results suggest the existence of a variable zone of mafic underplating that is up to 20 km thick (40–60 deep). We jointly invert receiver functions and Rayleigh wave dispersion curves to quantify the region's crustal and mantle shear‐wave velocity structure. Basin sediment thicknesses are mildly asymmetric about the rift axis, with thickest regions immediately beneath the rift. 3‐D modeling shows anomalous lower crust and crust‐mantle transitions beneath the MCR. Sub‐MCR crustal thicknesses are generally >50 km with lower crust Vs of 4.0–4.2 km/s. Away from the MCR, the crust is typically ∼40 km thick. Strong variations in apparent crustal thickness are found along the MCR, increasing significantly in places. An additional layer of shear velocities intermediate between typical lower crust and upper mantle velocities (4.1–4.6 km/s) exists beneath most of the MCR which is thickest beneath the rift axis and pinches out away from the rift. This structure corroborates previous proposals of the presence of an underplated layer near the Moho. Results cannot distinguish between different mechanisms of emplacement (e.g., mafic interfingering within a subsequently down‐dropped lower crust vs. development of a high‐density pyroxenitic residuum at the top of the mantle). Also observed are anomalously high (>4.7 km/s) sub‐rift shear‐wave velocities at ∼70–90‐km depths, suggesting the presence of cold, depleted upper mantle material. Plain Language Summary: The Mid‐Continent Rift (MCR) is a failed continental rift that nearly split North America into two continental fragments 1.1 billion years ago. Unlike typical continental rift zones, which are characterized by stretched, thinned, and normal‐faulted crust, the base of the crust beneath the MCR sits more than 10 km below the surrounding regions and has shown evidence of being infilled by a thick layer of erupted volcanic basalt that may be 15–20 km thick in places. In addition, the base of the crust beneath the rift appears to contain an underplated layer of mafic volcanic materials that is itself 15–20 km thick in places, extending to depths of up to 60 km. The unique nature of this tectonic event left significant alterations to the lithosphere of North America that retain a strong seismic signature, even 1.1 billion years after the event. Key Points: The crustal depth increases to at least 50 km beneath the Mid‐Continent Rift (MCR) of Wisconsin (WI) and Minnesota (MN)The Moho beneath the WI/MN MCR contains a thick layer 40–60 km deep (Vs = 4.1–4.6 km/s) that may be underplated mafic volcanic materialBeneath the WI/MN MCR, Vs is generally slower than average in the upper crust but faster than average in the lower crust/upper mantle [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is growing interest in studying the impact of alternative agricultural management practices on runoff and soil loss under future climate change scenarios. In order to address this interest, it is important to demonstrate that runoff and soil loss can be accurately simulated under existing climates based on comparisons between modeled and experimental results. This study calibrates and validates the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model to quantify the accuracy of predicting growing season runoff and soil erosion in agricultural hillslopes based on comparisons with experimental data from five Minnesota hydrologic unit code 12 watersheds. In order to accurately predict runoff and soil erosion in each watershed, the baseline effective hydraulic conductivity (Kbe), interrill and rill erodibility (EIR and ER), and monthly precipitation standard deviations (Pstdev) were calibrated in WEPP using observed runoff and total suspended solids data from five Minnesota Discovery Farms field sites. Before calibration, Nash–Sutcliffe model efficiency (NSE) and percent bias (PBIAS) values for predicted versus measured monthly average total runoff (Ravg‐T), runoff ratios (RRT), and total soil loss were generally not in acceptable ranges. After calibration, the NSE values showed very good fits between measured and predicted monthly Ravg‐T (0.64–0.98), RRT (0.66–0.93), and soil loss (0.58–0.80). PBIAS values were also within acceptable ranges for Ravg‐T and RRT (±25%) and soil loss (±55%), except for RRT at site BE1. NSE and PBIAS values during validation were within acceptable ranges, except for RRT at site BE1. These findings suggest that the WEPP hillslopes calibrated in this study are sufficiently robust to accurately predict monthly runoff and soil erosion in Minnesota agricultural fields during the growing season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Increased awareness of oral health disparities in the United States has highlighted the need to expand the workforce and access to both primary and preventive dental care. Achieving the goal of oral health equity will require dental team members with appropriate clinical skills dedicated to reaching historically marginalized populations through intra‐ and interprofessional practice. Materials and Methods: Collective efforts by healthcare advocates in Minnesota led to legislation that created a dental hygiene‐based workforce model inspired by the vision and foresight of the American Dental Hygienists' Association's 'Advanced Dental Hygiene Practitioner'. Results: In July 2023, there were 141 licensed dental therapists and 99 certified advanced dental therapists, the majority dually licensed as dental hygienists/dental therapists, providing primary care services in a variety of settings throughout the state. Current data confirm the contributions of this workforce model to increasing access to primary oral health care for Minnesotans across the lifespan. Conclusions: While challenges remain, new opportunities are emerging for dual‐licensed dental hygienists/dental therapists to reach intended populations. Minnesota's challenges and successes with the authorization and implementation of a dental hygiene‐based workforce model can serve to assist others in developing their own intra‐ and interprofessional oral health care practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spring phenological synchrony can be important for tree‐insect interactions. Depending on the magnitude and direction of phenological shifts, overwintering insects could be affected in many ways, for example, facing starvation or having to contend with increased chemical or physical defences of host trees. If temperature has different influences on the phenology of trees and insects, climate change can alter spring phenological synchrony.In this experiment, we exposed tamarack seedlings and larch case bearer larvae from Minnesota, USA, to a variety of chilling and forcing temperatures and measured spring phenology (twig bud break and larval activation). We additionally measured case bearer performance on seedlings that were exposed to different forcing × chilling levels, tracking larval survivorship to adulthood.Warmer forcing enhanced larval activation and bud break, but larval development slowed down past 21°C. Higher chilling temperatures accelerated bud break, but the effect was inconclusive for larvae. There was no chilling × forcing interaction for either species. Spring activity accelerated more quickly with increases in temperature for larvae than for seedlings, resulting in increased phenological synchrony at warmer temperatures. Activation rates for overwintering larvae were highest at 27°C, while survivorship to adulthood following spring activation was highest at 21°C. At temperatures at or beyond 27°C, no larvae reached adulthood.Warmer winters and springs will likely initially increase spring synchrony between tamarack and larch case bearer, exposing larvae to younger, potentially more nutritious foliage, but extremely warm spring temperatures may decrease survivorship of larvae to adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid evolution may play an important role in the range expansion of invasive species and modify forecasts of invasion, which are the backbone of land management strategies. However, losses of genetic variation associated with colonization bottlenecks may constrain trait and niche divergence at leading range edges, thereby impacting management decisions that anticipate future range expansion. The spatial and temporal scales over which adaptation contributes to invasion dynamics remain unresolved. We leveraged detailed records of the ~130‐year invasion history of the invasive polyploid plant, leafy spurge (Euphorbia virgata), across ~500 km in Minnesota, U.S.A. We examined the consequences of range expansion for population genomic diversity, niche breadth, and the evolution of germination behavior. Using genotyping‐by‐sequencing, we found some population structure in the range core, where introduction occurred, but panmixia among all other populations. Range expansion was accompanied by only modest losses in sequence diversity, with small, isolated populations at the leading edge harboring similar levels of diversity to those in the range core. The climatic niche expanded during most of the range expansion, and the niche of the range core was largely non‐overlapping with the invasion front. Ecological niche models indicated that mean temperature of the warmest quarter was the strongest determinant of habitat suitability and that populations at the leading edge had the lowest habitat suitability. Guided by these findings, we tested for rapid evolution in germination behavior over the time course of range expansion using a common garden experiment and temperature manipulations. Germination behavior diverged from the early to late phases of the invasion, with populations from later phases having higher dormancy at lower temperatures. Our results suggest that trait evolution may have contributed to niche expansion during invasion and that distribution models, which inform future management planning, may underestimate invasion potential without accounting for evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental warming of an ombrotrophic bog in northern Minnesota has caused a rapid decline in the productivity and areal cover of Sphagnum mosses, affecting whole‐ecosystem carbon balance and biogeochemistry. Direct effects of elevated temperature and the attendant drying are most likely the primary cause of the effects on Sphagnum, but there may also be responses to the increased shading from shrubs, which increased with increasing temperature. To evaluate the independent effects of reduction in light availability and deposition of shrub litter on Sphagnum productivity, small plots with shrubs removed were laid out adjacent to the warming experiment on hummocks and hollows in three blocks and with five levels of shading. Four plots were covered with neutral density shade cloth to simulate shading from shrubs of 30%–90% reduction in light; one plot was left open. Growth of Sphagnum angustifolium/fallax and S. divinum declined linearly with increasing shade in hollows, but there was no response to shade on hummocks, where higher irradiance in the open plots may have been inhibitory. Shading caused etiolation of Sphagnum—they were thin and spindly under the deepest shade. A dense mat of shrub litter, corresponding to the amount of shrub litter produced in response to warming, did not inhibit Sphagnum growth or cause increases in potentially toxic base cations. CO2 exchange and chlorophyll‐a fluorescence of S. angustifolium/fallax from the 30% and 90% shade cloth plots were measured in the laboratory. Light response curves indicate that maximal light saturated photosynthesis was 42% greater for S. angustifolium/fallax grown under 30% shade cloth relative to plants grown under 90% shade cloth. The response of Sphagnum growth in response to increasing shade is consistent with the hypothesis that increased shade resulting from shrub expansion in response to experimental warming contributed to reduced Sphagnum growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lake water clarity is an indicator of water quality, trophic status, and habitat condition. Changes in clarity impact lake ecosystems and may reflect land use changes or presence of invasive species. Quantifying temporal changes in water clarity can be challenging because clarity varies seasonally, annually, and spatially within and among lakes. We developed a hierarchical generalized additive model to quantify trends in water clarity (Secchi depth) from 1979 to 2018 for 909 Minnesota lakes, accounting for seasonal and spatial variability. Water clarity increased by 0.41 m across lakes from 1984 to 1988 and 2014 to 2018. Lake‐specific clarity trends varied: clarity did not change significantly in 59.0% of lakes, increased in 34.5% of lakes, and decreased in 6.5% of lakes. Water clarity dynamics caused considerable variability in littoral area between seasons and years. Our results have wide applications in aquatic ecology, including understanding changes to food webs, assessing fish habitat, and evaluating impacts of invasive species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphorus (P) fertilizer recommendations based on the build and maintain (B&M) or the sufficiency philosophies were compared at six sites across Minnesota. Various levels of soil test P (STP) levels were established over four growing seasons. Applied P and P removed in harvested grain were monitored and used to develop a soil net P balance (Net P). Linear regression of net P with changes in STP was highly significant. Initial STP levels could be maintained at four of the six sites with a negative Net P. At those same sites, a zero Net P would tend to slowly increase STP over time. A sequential soil P fractionation analysis was conducted on soils from the six sites at the initiation and at the end of the 4‐year period. Nine total soil P fractions were extracted that represented both inorganic P (Pi) and organic P (Po) in the labile and non or less labile soil P pools. A positive linear relationship between Net P and changes in Pi fractions was significant. As Net P increased, so did the changes in Pi in the Resin, BiCarb, and NaOH fractions. These three fractions accounted for 66% to >100% of the changes in Net P with Resin and NaOH accounting for the majority of Net P. Changes in Net P that were accounted for in the less labile P pools, Sonic and HCl fractions, variable, and difficult to determine. There was little effect of Net P on Po fractions. Core ideas: Soil net P balance was positively correlated with changes in STP over four growing seasons.Medium STP interpretation class was maintained in most of these soils with a slight negative soil net P balance.In those same soils, a zero‐soil net P balance would tend to raise STP over time.Soil net P balance is positively related to changes in soil P, mostly in the labile and moderately labile fractions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetative phase change is a key trait in plant development and marks the transition from juvenile to adult growth phases. In maize (Zea mays L.), juvenile plants and plants with a late phase change can be identified by the increased production of tillers, aerial roots, and distinctive epicuticular wax. Resistance to agronomically significant pathogens can also differ between juvenile and adult plants. Using last leaf with juvenile wax as the target of selection, the maize population Minnesota 11 underwent 16 cycles of divergent selection. The objectives of this research were to identify emergent trends for each trait and to determine the magnitude and direction of phenotypic changes over long‐term selection compared to the source population. Phenotypic data on plant architecture traits, ear traits, and common rust resistance were collected in 2020 and 2021 by concurrently growing plants from selection cycles representing both directions of selection. Last leaf with juvenile wax, the direct target of selection increased to leaf 17.8 in the late phase change population and decreased to leaf 5 in the early phase change population from leaf 9 in the source population. Late vegetative phase change was positively correlated with increased common rust infection and plant height, and negatively correlated with ear size traits. This study shows that the observed phenotypic changes follow patterns of genetic variation consistent with divergent selection, but with possible effects of inbreeding. Core Ideas: Divergent recurrent selection is effective for manipulating vegetative phase change.Late vegetative phase change increases common rust susceptibility in maize.In the divergently selected populations, the limits of selection for vegetative phase have not been reached. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyprinid herpesvirus‐3 (CyHV‐3) is an important pathogen of common carp (Cyprinus carpio, carp) causing significant economic and ecological impacts worldwide. The recent emergence of CyHV‐3 in the Upper Midwest region of the United States has raised questions related to the disease ecology and host specificity of CyHV‐3 in wild carp populations. To determine the prevalence of CyHV‐3 in wild populations of fishes in Minnesota, we surveyed five lakes in 2019 in which the virus was known to have caused mass mortality events in carp from 2017 to 2018. A total of 28 species (n = 756 total fish) of native fishes and 730 carp were screened for the presence of CyHV‐3 DNA using specific qPCR. None of the native fish tissues tested positive for CyHV‐3 although the prevalence of CyHV‐3 in carp was 10%–50% in the five lakes. A single lake (Lake Elysian) with a 50% DNA detection rate and evidence of ongoing transmission and CyHV‐3‐associated mortality was surveyed again in 2020 from April to September. During this period, none of the tissues from 24 species (n = 607 total fish) tested positive for CyHV‐3 though CyHV‐3 DNA and mRNA (indicating viral replication) was detected in carp tissues during the sampling period. CyHV‐3 DNA was detected most often in brain samples without evidence of replication, potentially indicating that brain tissue is a site for CyHV‐3 latency. Paired qPCR and ELISA testing for Lake Elysian in 2019–2020 identified young carp (especially males) to be the primary group impacted by CyHV‐3‐associated mortality and acute infections, but with no positive detections in juvenile carp. Seroprevalence of carp from Lake Elysian was 57% in 2019, 92% in April of 2020 and 97% in September 2020. These results further corroborate the host specificity of CyHV‐3 to carp in mixed wild populations of fishes in Minnesota and provide additional insights into the ecological niche of CyHV‐3 in shallow lake populations of carp in North America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complex ecological and human‐influenced factors that are characteristic of chronic wasting disease (CWD) have created substantial and unique challenges for effective management in free‐ranging cervids. We sought to summarize and characterize management experiences and actions from 30 U.S. states, 4 Canadian provinces, and 3 European countries that have direct experience with CWD. We surveyed wildlife agencies that had detected CWD in their free‐ranging cervid population and collected information from journal articles, published reports, and agency webpages. We report management approaches and their apparent impacts by state, provincial, or national jurisdiction during 3 stages of response to CWD: 1) pre‐detection, 2) initial response, and 3) altered response. Agencies took a proactive approach to CWD during the pre‐detection phase; 12 of the 24 responding agencies had a weighted‐surveillance program in place and 17 had regulations aimed at disease prevention. There was no apparent difference in initial apparent prevalence of CWD among agencies with weighted surveillance in place and those without, but complicating factors, such as differing sampling methods and sample size, were present. Agencies reported 5 common surveillance strategies, and first detections were primarily from sampling hunter‐harvested deer. Bans or restrictions on interstate movement of carcasses or live animals and increased bag limits were common responses to the detection of CWD and were used by 83% and 78% of the 24 responding agencies, respectively. Similarly, adapted surveillance was a common response to CWD detection; 14 of the 24 agencies either initiated or adjusted their weighted surveillance program following detection. However, of the 20 U.S. states and 6 Canadian provinces that have not yet detected CWD, only 3 are currently applying weighted surveillance approaches to their CWD sampling efforts. As demonstrated by New York and Minnesota, localized eradication of CWD may be possible if it is detected in its emergent stage when there are few infected deer in an area. We found that 4 of the 20 U.S. states and 2 of the 6 Canadian provinces that have yet to detect CWD had a response plan available online. Further analyses to assess the impacts of various management approaches on the spatial and temporal trajectory of CWD prevalence requires more data collection and reporting, such as consistent and fine‐scale surveillance in management and control areas. We recommend that agencies be proactive in public messaging of CWD response plans well before initial detection and that cervid managers dealing with CWD collaborate regularly with one another to share their variable and collective experiences. We also recommend that agencies provide detailed public reports on CWD responses, disease progression, and management outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although immigrant negative perceived context of reception (PCOR), perceptions of the opportunities and degree of acceptance in an immigrant‐receiving community, has been linked with compromised adolescent well‐being, receiving contexts may differ by region and for youth from different ethnic backgrounds. The current study examines how negative PCOR and factors that promote resilience differentially shape mental health among Hispanic and Somali adolescents in Minnesota. Hispanic (n = 163) and Somali (n = 186) first‐ and second‐generation youth aged 12–19 completed a survey on negative PCOR, assets and resources (i.e., ethnic identity, social support, religious participation), and mental well‐being (i.e., anxiety and depressive symptoms). Parents and caregivers also completed a survey on PCOR and social support. Adolescent negative PCOR, relative to parent/caregiver negative PCOR, was associated with higher adolescent anxiety and depressive symptoms. Religious participation and social support, reported by both parent/caregiver and adolescent, was associated with lower anxiety and depressive symptoms. Additionally, among Hispanic adolescents, social support buffered the effects of negative PCOR on depressive symptoms. Conversely, strong ethnic identity was associated with higher depressive symptoms for both groups, suggesting acculturative and assimilative pressures play an important role in adolescent mental health. Although social ties can be weakened postmigration, our results indicate that social and religious resources remain beneficial. Given that by the end of the next decade over 50% of the US youth population will identify as part of a racial or ethnic minority group, positive postimmigration adaptation is a critical public health concern. Highlights: Perceived context of reception is linked with Hispanic and Somali adolescent mental well‐beingReligious participation and ethnic identity are differentially linked to mental healthSocial support offsets the effects of negative PCOR on Hispanic adolescent mental health [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Nursing turnover is a leading cause of inefficiency in health care delivery. Few studies have examined turnover among nurses who work in rural areas. Methods: We accessed human resources data that tracked hiring and terminations from a large health system operating in South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota between January 2016 and December 2017. Our study sample included 7,634 registered nurses, 1,765 of whom worked in a rural community. Within the health system, there were 27 affiliated hospitals, 17 of which were designated critical access hospitals. We estimated nursing turnover rates overall and stratified turnover rates by available demographic and occupational characteristics, including whether the nurse worked in a community with an affiliated acute care hospital or critical access hospital. Findings: Overall, 19% of nurses left their position between January 2016 and December 2017. Turnover rates were associated with state, nurse gender and age, and occupational tenure, but were similar in urban and rural areas. Of note, turnover rates were significantly higher in communities without an affiliated acute care hospital or critical access hospital. Conclusion: Between 2016 and 2017, nearly 1 in 5 nurses working in this health system left their position. Turnover rates differed based on nurse demographics and selected occupational characteristics, including tenure. We also found higher turnover rates among nurses who worked in communities without an affiliated hospital, which points to a potential but unexplored benefit of hospitals in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extreme precipitation events may cause flooding, slope failure, erosion, deposition, and damage to infrastructure over a regional scale, but the impacts of these events are often difficult to fully characterize. Regional-scale landscape change occurred during an extreme rain event in June 2012 in northeastern Minnesota. Landscape change was documented by 8,000 km 2 of airborne lidar data collected before and after the event. Following improved alignment of the lidar point data and reducing error using insight from analysis of extensive stable areas, elevation differences were classified into map objects representing geomorphic change in relation to process and landscape position using object-based image analysis. This remote mapping compares favorably to field and imagery-based mapping and provides the basis for volumetric sediment budgeting. Elevation differences in these objects indicate that 4.5 x 106 ± 1.0 x 106 m³ x 105 m³ was deposited in deposits on hillslopes and valley floors, and 2.0 x 106 ± 4.6 x 105 m³ were removed from watersheds and exported to the Saint Louis River Estuary and Lake Superior. Multivariate logistic regression analysis emphasized that topographic slope and presence of glaciolacustrine clay lithology are the primary control on landslide occurrence, and landslides occur most frequently on slopes within tens of meters of stream channels. These results provide the basis to anticipate the impacts of similar future storm events. Because precipitation events are forecast to continue to increase in frequency and intensity owing to climate change, characterizing and anticipating their effects may support hazard planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

State‐imposed limitations on local government taxation and expenditures (TELs) are a common part of American federalism. But the consequences of TELs are the subject of debate. Are TELs institutional constraints that harm local governments? Or are TELs institutionally irrelevant veils easily pierced by political actors? This research uses the removal of an assessment restriction in Minnesota to evaluate the effect of TELs on the financial health of local governments. It finds that TEL removal had no effect on the financial health of Minnesota cities. Additional tests demonstrate that the results are not driven by a lack of bindingness in the TEL, by increases in property tax rates, or by new non‐property tax revenue. It concludes that TELs are closer to institutionally irrelevant than to meaningful constraints. Applications for Practice: States regularly impose tax and expenditure limitations (TELs) on their local governments. Many have argued that these limitations harm local government finances by restricting local autonomy. We find little evidence of that harm.Minnesota local governments saw no discernable improvements to their financial health following the removal of an assessment restriction.When focusing only on local governments that were likely bound by the TEL, we still find no clear effect of removing the TEL. We also show that nonproperty tax revenue generation was unaltered by the policy change.State‐imposed TELs may have little to no effect on the financial health of local governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interactions between humans and pets are increasingly valued in western countries, leading to more extensive contact between humans and their pets within households. Although the magnitude of the risk of transfer of Escherichia coli between humans and their companion animals is undefined, that such transmission occurs has been established and warrants attention. This study examined 186 fresh faecal samples from companion dogs visiting 22 municipal dog parks in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul metropolitan area, Minnesota, USA. Samples were processed to isolate 3rd‐generation cephalosporin‐resistant E. coli, which were further characterized using PCR‐based virulence genotyping, antimicrobial susceptibility profiling and whole‐genome sequencing. Of the 186 faecal samples, 29% yielded cephalosporin‐resistant E. coli, and 2.2% yielded extended‐spectrum beta‐lactamase producers. Co‐resistance to sulfonamides was typical (77.3% of isolates), and multidrug resistance (i.e. to ≥3 antimicrobial classes), including to combinations of tetracyclines, phenicols, quinolones and aminoglycosides, was substantial (18.9% of isolates). Identified beta‐lactamase genes included blaCMY‐2, blaTEM‐1B, blaTEM‐1, blaCTX‐M‐24, blaCTX‐M‐15 and blaOXA‐1. Genome sequencing of 14 isolates identified genes typical of extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli or enteropathogenic E. coli. In three instances, closely related isolates were recovered from different dogs, within either the same park—suggesting transfer of E. coli between dogs within the park—or different parks—suggesting that dogs may be pre‐disposed to carry certain E. coli types, such as those from serogroups O4, O71 and O157. This study adds to the existing evidence that companion dogs can harbour and share antimicrobial‐resistant E. coli with presumed intestinal or extraintestinal pathogenic potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient in agricultural production, yet its losses contribute to eutrophication in freshwater systems. To mitigate this, there is increasing interest in quantifying soluble P leaching losses and including them in P indices. The objectives of this research were (a) to evaluate water soluble P leaching loss from topsoils (0–15 cm) across a range of initial soil test P (STP) levels; (b) to determine the effects of soil type, physiochemical soil properties, and leaching volume on P leaching loss; and (c) to determine the predictability of P leaching losses from soil tests. Intact soil cores (3.81 cm in diameter, 0–15 cm deep) were collected from six agricultural fields in Minnesota and leached with deionized water offsite. Additional columns were collected to identify the influence of three leaching volumes on P leaching load. Phosphorus leaching loss was impacted by soil type, initial STP level, and the volume of the leaching event. Leachate P concentration increased with increasing STP level and remained consistent among leaching volumes. Concentrations were not diluted with increased leaching volumes. Consequently, leaching volume was the primary driver of total P load. Several linear and machine learning models were used to predict P leachate concentration. Phosphorus concentration was best predicted using a ridge regression model using two soil tests: the degree of phosphorus sorption and water extractable P (R2 =.58, RMSE = 0.06). The model prediction of P leaching loss is promising, although further research on subsoil interactions is needed. Core Ideas: Total P leaching (load) is driven by the volume of the leaching event, as P concentration remains constant.Higher soil test P (STP) levels led to greater P losses and drives the P concentration in leachate.There is potential to predict P leachate concentration using the soils tests and soil sorption estimates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an ethnography of a highly medicalized rehab for stably employed, non‐criminalized men in Minnesota—arguing that while its style of rehab is universalized in popular accounts, it actually represents a case of distinctly white, middle‐class self‐reinvention within the broader field of US addiction treatment. "Medical‐restorative rehab" at "Healing Bridges" offered Twelve‐Step treatment, popular addiction science, and medication‐based therapies to white suburbanites recovering from addiction. While many patients had engaged in substantial drug‐related crime, the program's location outside the carceral state shielded participants from the stigma of criminalization, enabling them to construct their recovery as "voluntary" and restoring the fusion of white masculinity with self‐controlled possessive individualism. Bridges naturalized patients' privileged social location as "treatment readiness"—mapping inner strength and willpower onto the white, middle‐class self. The program then worked to instill techniques of self‐management, convert addictions into productive pursuits, and regulate desires in an uncertain world. Despite Bridges' rhetoric of heroic hyper‐agency, self‐governance was heavily supported by pharmaceutical interventions, shifting stigmatized drug dependence to licit pharmaceutical dependency constructed as responsible self‐care. Our analysis extends the study of American rehab as an important institution for the reproduction of distinct classed, raced, and gendered constructions of self‐hood and agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perennial flax (Linum spp.) breeding objectives at the University of Minnesota (UMN) are to develop agronomic (oilseed, fiber) and horticultural (cut flower, garden perennial) varieties that are hardy in Minnesota (USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 3 and 4). The objective of this research was to determine the range of cold hardiness in UMN perennial flax breeding populations compared with wild accessions of L. austriacum, L. lewisii, and L. perenne. Fifty‐three genotypes from seven populations were low temperature acclimated, followed by controlled freezing using a programmable freezer. The observed lethal temperature for 50% plant kill (LT50) ranged from >0 °C (0% survival) to <−12 °C (100% survival), for the test temperatures of 0, −4, −8, −10, and −12 °C. Cold damage was measured after 4 wk of regrowth as the proportion of alive shoots and a root damage rating. Significant negative correlations were observed between LT50 and proportion of alive shoots (r = −.918) and root damage rating (r = −.935). Both L. austriacum and L. perenne had significantly less cold damage than L. lewisii and the breeding populations. This study establishes methods of screening perennial flax cold tolerance that are more cost effective, rapid, and repeatable compared to field evaluations. Core Ideas: Controlled freezing tests were useful to identify hardy perennial flax species and genotypes.Lethal temperatures for 50% plant kill (LT50) were as low as ‐12 °C (hardy in MN USDA Z3–4).Linum austriacum and L. perenne had significantly less cold damage than L. lewisii and hybrids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A thorough understanding of fluvial sediment transport is critical to addressing many environmental concerns such as exacerbated flooding, degradation of aquatic habitat, excess nutrients, and the economic challenges of restoring aquatic systems. Fluvial sediment samples are integral for addressing these environmental concerns but cannot be collected at every river and time of interest. Therefore, to gain a better understanding for rivers where direct measurements have not been made, extreme gradient boosting machine learning (ML) models were developed and trained to predict suspended sediment and bedload from sampling data collected in Minnesota, United States (U.S.), by the U.S. Geological Survey. Approximately 400 watershed (full upstream area), catchment (nearby landscape), near‐channel, channel, and streamflow features were retrieved or developed from multiple sources, reduced to approximately 30 uncorrelated features, and used in the final ML models. The results indicate suspended sediment and bedload ML models explain approximately 70% of the variance in the datasets. Important features used in the models were interpreted with Shapley additive explanation (SHAP) plots, which provided insight into sediment transport processes. The most important features in the models were developed to normalize streamflow by the 2‐year recurrence interval and quantify the rate of change in streamflow (slope), which helped account for sediment hysteresis. Generally, this study also showed a combination of mostly watershed and catchment geospatial features were important in ML models that predict sediment transport from physical samples. This study is a promising step forward in making fluvial sediment transport predictions using machine learning models trained by physically collected samples. The approach developed here can be used wherever similar datasets exists and will be useful for landscape and water management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine factors associated with accurate reporting of private and public health insurance coverage. Data sources: Minnesota health plan enrollment records provided the sample for the Comparing Health Insurance Measurement Error (CHIME) study, a survey conducted in 2015 that randomly assigned enrollees to treatments that included health insurance questions from the American Community Survey (ACS) or the redesigned Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS). Study design: Reverse record check study that compared CHIME study survey responses to enrollment records of coverage type (direct purchase on and off the Marketplace, Medicaid, or MinnesotaCare), service use, subsidy receipt, and duration of coverage from a major insurer. Data collection methods: Using matched enrollment and CHIME survey data and logistic regression, we examined correlates of accurate insurance type reporting, including characteristics of the insurance coverage, the covered individual, respondent, and family. Principal findings: Reporting accuracy across treatment and coverage type is high (77%–84%). As with past research, accurate reporting of public insurance is higher for people with characteristics consistent with eligibility for public insurance for both survey treatments. For the ACS treatment, reports of direct purchase insurance are more accurate for enrollees who receive a premium subsidy. Conclusions: Given the complexity of health insurance measurement and frequently changing policy environment, differences in reporting accuracy across treatments or coverage types are not surprising. Several results have important implications for data editing and modeling routines. First, adding premium and subsidy questions in federal surveys should prove useful given the finding that subsidy receipt is associated with reporting accuracy. Second, across both survey treatments, people whose opportunity structures (race, ethnicity, and income) match public program eligibility are accurate reporters of this coverage. This evidence supports using these commonly collected demographic variables in simulation, imputation, and editing routines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Testicular oocytes in wild adult bass (Micropterus spp.) are considered a potential indication of exposure to estrogenic compounds in municipal, agricultural, or industrial wastewater. However, our ability to interpret links between testicular oocyte occurrence in wild fish species and environmental pollutants is limited by our understanding of normal and abnormal gonadal development. We previously reported low‐to‐moderate testicular oocyte prevalence (7%–38%) among adult male bass collected from Minnesota waters with no known sources of estrogenic compounds. In the present study, two experiments were conducted in which smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) fry were exposed to control water or 17‐α‐ethinylestradiol (EE2) during gonadal differentiation, then reared in clean water for an additional period. Histological samples were evaluated at several time points during the exposure and grow‐out periods, and the sequence and timing of gonadal development in the presence of estrogen were compared with that of control fish. Testicular oocytes were not observed in any control or EE2‐exposed fish. Among groups exposed to 1.2 or 5.1 ng/L EE2 in Experiment 1 or 3.0 ng/L EE2 in Experiment 2, ovaries were observed in 100% of fish up to 90 days after exposure ceased, and approximately half of those ovaries had abnormal characteristics, suggesting that they likely developed in sex‐reversed males. Groups exposed to 0.1, 0.4, or 1.0 ng/L in Experiment 2 developed histologically normal ovaries and testes in proportions not significantly different from 1:1. These findings suggest that, while presumably able to cause sex reversal, juvenile exposure to EE2 may not be a unique cause of testicular oocytes in wild bass, although the long‐term outcomes of exposure are unknown. Environ Toxicol Chem 2022;41:1416–1428. © 2022 SETAC. This article has been contributed to by U.S. Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes to land management over the last 150 years, primarily the conversion of perennial grasslands to agricultural production dominated by annual row crops, have greatly changed soil properties and reduced the soil's ability to infiltrate and store water in the soil profile. Direct near‐term response at the time of conversion of an uncultivated remnant prairie to row crops is rare, especially responses that include repeated measurements on the same parcel of land and resampling of soils to a depth of 1 m to document rapid changes in soil organic carbon, nitrogen, and selected soil physical properties related to hydraulic properties. The objective of this research was to measure changes in soil chemical and physical properties after the conversion of perennial grassland to annual row‐crop production. A before‐and‐after approach was used to compare soil properties from a 0.31‐ha field in southwest Minnesota. Cultivation resulted in a negative shift in soil properties. Two years postcultivation, there was an overall reduction in soil organic carbon of 18.6 Mg ha−1 for the 0–1.0 m soil profile. Infiltration rates and soil sorptivity exhibited significant decreases following cultivation. The average decrease in the mean postcultivation infiltration and sorptivity rates were 0.30 mm s−1 and 0.12 mm s−0.5, respectively. Bulk density increased on average by 0.10 Mg m−3 between 0–0.2 m and 0.14 Mg m−3 between 0.2–1.0 m. This work provided a rare glimpse of the vast shift in soil properties, which occurred when the plow ripped through virgin prairie decades ago during the massive expansion of agriculture. Core Ideas: Direct measurement of rapid degeneration in soil properties from disturbing remnant prairie grassland is rare.Loss of soil organic carbon happened quickly following disturbance.Soil infiltrability and sorptivity decrease rapidly after initial conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonnative European earthworms are invading hardwood forests of the Chippewa National Forest, MN. While effects on plant communities at the leading edge of invasion have been studied, little is known about longer‐term effects of invasive earthworms. We applied a model using historic O‐horizon soil thickness and a chronosequence approach to classify 41 hardwood sites in the Chippewa National Forest as "long‐term wormed" (wormed >2 decades), "short‐term wormed" or "unwormed/lightly wormed." Graminoids, especially Carex pensylvanica, had the greatest mean percent cover in sites that had been wormed for over two decades. The families with the greatest negative change in mean percent cover after over two decades of earthworm invasion were Asteraceae, Violaceae, and Sapindaceae (specifically Acer species). Across all diversity metrics measured, long‐term wormed sites had the lowest understory plant species diversity, short‐term wormed sites had intermediate diversity, and unwormed/lightly wormed sites exhibited the highest diversity. Long‐term wormed sites had the lowest mean species richness across all sample scales (1–1024 m2). The greatest within‐group compositional dissimilarity occurred at sites that had been wormed for over two decades, suggesting that sites that had been wormed for over two decades have not reached a compositionally similar end‐state "wormed" community type. Our study suggests that understory diversity will decrease as hardwood forest stands become wormed over time. While our results support other findings that exotic earthworm invasion is associated with lower understory plant diversity in hardwood forests, our study was the first to use space‐for‐time substitution to document the effects after multiple decades of earthworm invasion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mercury (Hg) in forest runoff varies geographically and in relation to silvicultural practices. There is also considerable uncertainty about how forest management practices, such as residual biomass removal, affect Hg mobilization, and downgradient cumulative effects. In this study, total Hg, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and sulfate (SO42−) mobilization in runoff were compared among unharvested and harvested hillslopes with and without residual biomass removal, and peat soil and invertebrate methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations were assessed in a down‐gradient peatland. Using a before‐after‐control‐impact design, runoff from three adjacent hillslopes was monitored pre‐harvest (2010–2011) and post‐harvest (2012–2013) from snowmelt to freeze‐up at the USDA Forest Service's Marcell Experimental Forest in northern Minnesota. Dilution, due to increased available hillslope soil water, led to decreased THg and DOC concentrations after harvest at both harvested hillslopes. Sulfate concentrations did not statistically change following harvest. Compared to its removal, leaving residual biomass significantly increased yields of all solutes but only DOC yields significantly increased when the residual biomass was removed. In the adjacent down‐gradient peatland, peat MeHg concentrations decreased, whereas no change was observed in peat below the unharvested hillslope. There was no discernible change post‐harvest in MeHg levels among several peatland macroinvertebrate taxa. This study provides a much‐needed hillslope‐scale understanding of Hg response to forest management practices, highlighting that increased solute yields from hillslopes do not necessarily stimulate Hg methylation or invertebrate bioaccumulation in down‐gradient peatland systems. Plain Language Summary: The globally important pollutant, mercury, is usually stored in soils for long periods of time, lessening its toxic impact on ecosystems. Forestry operations, however, may disturb mercury storage in soils. This could, for example, result in higher concentrations of mercury in fish or insects within the nearby environment. In this field experiment, we use measurements of mercury and other chemicals in water moving from a forest into a wetland, as well as measurements of mercury concentrations in wetland soil and insects over a 4‐year span. In the middle of this experiment, part of the forest was harvested using different approaches and therefore we compare pre‐harvest observations with post‐harvest observations. We found that after forest harvesting, mercury concentrations in water moving into the wetland went down but that the overall amount of mercury moving into the wetland went up because more water moved into the wetland. The amount of mercury that mainly accumulates in organisms, called methylmercury, went down in soils after forest harvest but levels in wetland insects did not change. This study shows that forestry operations do affect how mercury moves and transforms, but do not necessarily lead to effects in nearby organisms. Key Points: Post‐harvest decreases in THg and dissolved organic carbon runoff concentrations were offset by more runoff, increasing solute mass yieldsPeat MeHg concentrations in adjacent peatland decreased post‐harvestHarvesting had no significant impact on methylmercury accumulation in adjacent peatland invertebrates [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of biological invasions at the macroscale or across multiple scales can provide important insights for management, particularly when localized information about invasion dynamics or environmental contexts is unavailable. In this study, we performed a macroscale analysis of the roles of invasion drivers on the local scale dynamics of a high‐profile pest, Lymantria dispar dispar L., with the purpose of improving the prioritization of vulnerable areas for treatment. Specifically, we assessed the relative effects of various anthropogenic and environmental variables on the establishment rate of 8010 quadrats at a localized scale (5 × 5 km) across the entire L. dispar transition zone (the area encompassing the leading population edge, currently from Minnesota to North Carolina). We calculated the number of years from first detection of L. dispar in a quadrat to the year when probability of establishment of L. dispar was greater than 99% (i.e., waiting time to establishment after first detection). To assess the effects of environmental and anthropogenic variables on each quadrat's waiting time to establishment, we performed linear mixed‐effects regression models for the full transition zone and three subregions within the zone. Seasonal temperatures were found to be the primary drivers of local establishment rates. Winter temperatures had the strongest effects, especially in the northern parts of the transition zone. Furthermore, the effects of some factors on waiting times to establishment varied across subregions. Our findings contribute to identifying especially vulnerable areas to further L. dispar spread and informing region‐specific criteria by invasion managers for the prioritization of areas for treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Infants with focal‐onset epilepsy are an understudied population, requiring additional evaluation for clinical assessment and prognostication. Our goal was to characterize the etiology and natural history of infantile‐onset focal epilepsy. Methods: We retrospectively identified all infants (0–24 months) with onset of focal epilepsy while resident in Olmsted County, Minnesota, between 1980 and 2018, using the Rochester Epidemiology Project Database. We assessed the impact of etiology on both seizure and neurodevelopmental outcome, and mortality. Results: Of 686 children with epilepsy onset <18 years, 125 (18.2%) presented with focal‐onset seizures in infancy. Median follow‐up for this group was 10.9 years (interquartile range [IQR] 6.2, 19.3). Etiology was identified in 65.6% (structural N = 62, genetic N = 13, both structural and genetic N = 3, metabolic N = 4). Of 107 patients followed >2 years, 38 (35.5%) developed drug‐resistant epilepsy (DRE). DRE was more likely with younger age at onset, known etiology, and presence of epileptic spasms. Sixty‐eight (63.0% of those with follow‐up) were developmentally delayed at last follow‐up, and known etiology, DRE, and presence of epileptic spasms were significantly associated with delay (p <.001 for all). Fifteen patients (12.0%) died at a median age of 7.1 years (IQR 1.7, 21.7), but only one death was seizure related (suspected sudden unexpected death in epilepsy [SUDEP]). Of 20 infants with normal development at onset and no known etiology with >2 years follow‐up, none developed DRE, all were seizure‐free at last follow‐up (95% off antiseizure medications [ASMs]), and all remained developmentally normal. Significance: Infantile‐onset focal epilepsy accounts for 18% of all epilepsy in childhood, is frequently due to known etiologies, and has a high rate of DRE. However, developmentally normal infants without a known cause appear to have a very favorable course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles and their complex responses to environmental changes have received increasing attention. However, large uncertainties in model predictions remain, partially due to the lack of explicit representation and parameterization of microbial processes. One great challenge is to effectively integrate rich microbial functional traits into ecosystem modeling for better predictions. Here, using soil enzymes as indicators of soil function, we developed a competitive dynamic enzyme allocation scheme and detailed enzyme‐mediated soil inorganic N processes in the Microbial‐ENzyme Decomposition (MEND) model. We conducted a rigorous calibration and validation of MEND with diverse soil C‐N fluxes, microbial C:N ratios, and functional gene abundances from a 12‐year CO2 × N grassland experiment (BioCON) in Minnesota, USA. In addition to accurately simulating soil CO2 fluxes and multiple N variables, the model correctly predicted microbial C:N ratios and their negative response to enriched N supply. Model validation further showed that, compared to the changes in simulated enzyme concentrations and decomposition rates, the changes in simulated activities of eight C‐N‐associated enzymes were better explained by the measured gene abundances in responses to elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration. Our results demonstrated that using enzymes as indicators of soil function and validating model predictions with functional gene abundances in ecosystem modeling can provide a basis for testing hypotheses about microbially mediated biogeochemical processes in response to environmental changes. Further development and applications of the modeling framework presented here will enable microbial ecologists to address ecosystem‐level questions beyond empirical observations, toward more predictive understanding, an ultimate goal of microbial ecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amidst the COVID‐19 pandemic and social uprisings demanding social and racial equity worldwide, there is an increasing demand for health justice training for health workers. However, there are scant evidence‐based assessments of the impact of such courses. Between 2010 and 2020, SocMed—a 501(c)3 non‐profit social justice organization—offered two distinct courses about health equity, the social determinants of health, and social medicine to health workers through the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Saint Mary Hospital Lacor in Gulu, Uganda. This study assesses the immediate impact of the SocMed curriculum on participants measured by a pre‐course and post‐course survey. In Minnesota, paired pre‐course and post‐course survey responses (mean n = 69; SD = 23) spanned years 2016–2019, while Uganda paired pre‐course and post‐course survey responses (mean n = 64; SD = 21) spanned years 2012–2013 and 2017–2019. Findings indicate that the course improved participants' knowledge in all 24 of the topics in the Minnesota course and 42 of 44 topics in the Uganda course (significant at p < 0.05). Key points: Amidst the COVID‐19 pandemic and social uprisings demanding social and racial equity worldwide, there is an increasing demand for health justice training for health workers. However, there are scant evidence‐based assessments of the impact of such courses.Quantitative findings suggest a gain of knowledge in our learners across various topics about social medicine and health equity. This content knowledge forms the basis of structural analysis and is integral to critical consciousness‐raising amongst trainees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Minnesota is the state with the strongest winter warming in the contiguous United States. We performed regional climate projections at 10 km horizontal resolution using the Weather Research Forecasting model forced with eight CMIP5 GCMs. The selected GCMs have previously been found to be in relatively good agreement with observations over Minnesota compared to other members of the CMIP5 model ensemble. Our projections suggest ongoing warming in all seasons, especially in winter, as well as shallower snow depth and fewer days with snow cover. We expect significant increases in spring and early summer heavy precipitation events. Our comparisons between different time slices and two different emission scenarios indicate a climate for the state of Minnesota near the end of the 21st century that is significantly different from what has been observed by the end of the 20th century. Winters and summers are expected to be up to 6 and 4°C warmer, respectively, over northern and central Minnesota, and spring precipitation may increase by more than 1 mm d−1 over northern Minnesota. Especially over the central part of the state, winter snow depth is projected to decrease by more than 12 cm, and the number of days per year with snow depth of more than 2.54 cm (one inch) is expected to decrease by up to 55. Plain Language Summary: Minnesota is the state with the strongest winter warming in the contiguous United States. We performed regional projections of the climate across Minnesota for the middle and end of the 21st century. We selected the results from eight recent global climate model projections to calculate climate data over an area of 10 km by 10 km with a regional climate model. Our results indicate that the future climate for the state of Minnesota is likely to be significantly different from what has been observed near the end of the 20th century. Over northern and central Minnesota, winters and summers are expected to be up to 6 and 4°C warmer, respectively, near the end of the 21st century. Spring precipitation may increase by more than 1 mm d−1 over northern Minnesota. Over the central part of the state, winter snow depth is suggested to decrease by more than 12 cm. The number of days per year with snow depth of more than 2.54 cm (one inch) is expected to decrease by up to 55. These results are expected to influence regional decision‐making related to agriculture, infrastructure, water resources, and other sectors. Key Points: Over northern and central Minnesota, winters and summers may be up to 6 and 4°C warmer, respectively, at the end of the 21st centurySpring precipitation may increase by more than 1 mm per day over northern MinnesotaSnow depth may decrease by more than 12 cm. Number of snow days per year may decrease by up to 55 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like many ecological processes, natural disturbances exhibit scale‐dependent dynamics that are largely a function of the magnitude, frequency and scale at which they are assessed. Ecosystem engineers create patch‐scale disturbances that affect ecological processes, yet we know little about how these effects scale across space or vary through time. Here, we investigate how patch disturbances by beavers Castor canadensis, ecosystem engineers renowned for their pond‐creation behavior, affect ecological processes across space and time. We evaluated how beaver population recovery influenced surface water dynamics in relation to population density over 70 years across multiple spatial scales (pond, watershed and regional) in northern Minnesota. Surface water area was positively related to population density at the watershed scale; however, despite variation in beaver densities (and therefore surface water area) at the watershed scale, regional‐scale surface water area was stable through time. This stability appears to have been driven by asynchronous beaver density fluctuations among watersheds, combined with the increasing importance of abandoned ponds. Beavers initially created and occupied larger ponds with greater surface water area, but through time shifted towards occupying smaller ponds. As ponds accumulated on the landscape proportionally more surface water was stored within abandoned ponds, which offset the smaller size of occupied ponds. Beaver engineering – driven by density‐dependent mechanisms and the legacy effects from abandoned ponds – not only follows general patterns of patch disturbance dynamics by creating a spatial mosaic of patches, but the organism‐created mosaic also appears to generate ecological stability at greater spatial scales. We suggest restoring beavers to landscapes is a viable method for increasing surface water storage and will ultimately help advance numerous conservation and rewilding objectives. Our study demonstrates that ecosystem engineering effects can be scale‐dependent, indicating researchers should evaluate the ecological impact of engineers across diverse spatiotemporal scales to fully understand their functional roles in ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several regulatory agencies recommend screening petroleum vapor intrusion (PVI) sites based on vertical screening distance between a petroleum hydrocarbon source in soil or groundwater and a building foundation. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) indicate the risk of PVI is minimal at buildings that are separated by more than 6 feet (1.8 m) from a dissolved‐phase source and 15 feet (4.6 m) from a light nonaqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) source. This vertical screening distance method is not, however, recommended at sites with leaded gasoline sources containing ethylene dibromide (EDB) because of a lack of field data to document EDB attenuation in the vadose zone. To help address this gap, depth‐discrete soil‐gas samples were collected at a leaded gasoline release site in Sobieski, Minnesota (USA). The maximum concentration of EDB in groundwater (175 μg/L) at the site was high relative to those observed at other leaded gasoline release sites. Soil gas was analyzed for EDB using a modification of U.S. EPA Method TO‐14A that achieved analytical detection limits below the U.S. EPA Vapor Intrusion Screening Level (VISL) for EDB based on a 10−6 cancer risk (<0.16 μg/m3). Concentrations of EDB in soil gas above LNAPL reached as high as 960 μg/m3 and decreased below the VISL within a source‐separation distance of 7 feet. This result coupled with BioVapor model predictions of EDB concentrations indicate that vertical screening distances recommended by regulatory agencies at PVI sites are generally applicable for EDB over the range of anticipated source concentrations and soil types at most sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grassland restoration is an important tool for conserving bee biodiversity within agricultural landscapes. Restorations foster increases in local bee abundance and α‐diversity; however, these measures are insufficient for understanding whether remnant communities are being conserved. We compared native bee α‐diversity, β‐diversity and community composition between restored and remnant prairies in Minnesota, USA. We then investigated two potential drivers of bee community dissimilarity between restored and remnant prairies: proportion of agricultural land surrounding a restoration and differences in floral community between restored and remnant prairies.We selected 10 restored prairies that lie along a gradient of increasing agricultural land cover, ranging from 20% to 85% of surrounding land in agricultural production. We paired each restoration with a nearby prairie remnant and sampled bee and floral communities concurrently in each restoration–remnant pair. We quantified bee and forb α‐diversity, community composition, β‐diversity and levels of dissimilarity between restoration–remnant pairs along the gradient of agricultural development. Additionally, we quantified differences in the community‐weighted mean between restored and remnant prairies for two bee traits, oligolecty and tongue length, to investigate how differences in floral community between restored and remnant prairies may influence bee community composition.While bee α‐diversity between restored and remnant prairies was similar, bee composition between restorations and remnants was significantly different with restorations being more homogeneous than remnants. Differences in bee community composition and β‐diversity were not significantly related to agricultural landscapes or floral community dissimilarity; however, we found a significantly higher proportion of oligolectic bees in remnant prairies. This difference in oligolectic bees was likely related to the absence of important host plants in restorations.Synthesis and application. Prairie restorations should seek to provide diverse floral resources that are of similar composition to remnant prairies. Specifically, providing important floral host plants for pollen specialist bees could improve restorations' ability to conserve prairie remnant bee communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bryophytes are largely responsible for globally significant carbon accumulation in peatland ecosystems. This accumulation is primarily caused by the slow decomposition of these mosses, which can be attributed to a combination of intrinsic (chemical) characteristics of decaying mosses and extrinsic (environmental) influences. Here we investigated the importance of intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of moss decomposition in peatlands and hypothesized that the early stages of decay will be driven primarily by intrinsic characteristics, while extrinsic drivers will become more important in the later phases of decomposition. We tested this hypothesis by placing litterbags of three moss types (Sphagnum divinum, Sphagnum angustifolium/fallax and Polytrichum sp.) into hummock and hollow microtopographies in a bog and a lawn microtopography in a nearby poor fen in northern Minnesota, USA. Decomposition was measured over a 5‐year period and confirmed our hypothesis; while intrinsic and extrinsic variables were both important in driving decay rates over time, decay in the first year was primarily predicted by litter type, while extrinsic influences (e.g. peat temperature, moisture, nutrient limitation) that varied at peatland and microtopographic scales became more important by year 5. Though the nutrient (i.e. nitrogen [N] and phosphorus [P]) content of decaying mosses did not explain the variation in decay rates among litter types, analysis of N:P in moss litter suggested that litter‐decaying microorganisms became increasingly P‐limited over time. The majority of litter decomposition studies in peatlands are generally of short duration (< 3 years). Our study suggests that longer‐term studies are needed to reveal the roles of multiple drivers of moss decay. Improving the mechanistic understanding of decomposition processes in peatlands will be critical to developing more robust representations of peatlands and their ecosystem processes in carbon and climate models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]