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Abstract Background Co-occurring physical and mental health conditions are common, but effective and sustainable interventions are needed for primary care settings. Purpose Our paper analyzes the effectiveness of a Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) intervention for treating depression and co-occurring health conditions in primary care. We hypothesized that individuals receiving the SFBT intervention would have statistically significant reductions in depressive and anxiety symptoms, systolic blood pressure (SBP), hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c), and body mass index (BMI) when compared to those in the control group. Additionally, we hypothesized that the SFBT group would have increased well-being scores compared to the control group. Methods A randomized clinical trial was conducted at a rural federally qualified health center. Eligible participants scored ≥ 10 on the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and met criteria for co-occurring health conditions (hypertension, obesity, diabetes) evidenced by chart review. SFBT participants (n = 40) received three SFBT interventions over three weeks in addition to treatment as usual (TAU). The control group (n = 40) received TAU over three weeks. Measures included depression (PHQ-9) and anxiety (GAD-7), well-being (Human Flourishing Index), and SFBT scores, along with physical health outcomes (blood pressure, body mass index, and hemoglobin A1c). Results Of 80 consented participants, 69 completed all measures and were included in the final analysis. 80% identified as female and the mean age was 38.1 years (SD = 14.5). Most participants were white (72%) followed by Hispanic (15%) and Black (13%). When compared to TAU, SFBT intervention participants had significantly greater reductions in depression (baseline: M = 18.17, SD = 3.97, outcome: M = 9.71, SD = 3.71) and anxiety (baseline: M = 14.69, SD = 4.9, outcome: M = 8.43, SD = 3.79). SFBT intervention participants also had significantly increased well-being scores (baseline: M = 58.37, SD = 16.36, outcome: M = 73.43, SD = 14.70) when compared to TAU. Changes in BMI and blood pressure were not statistically significant. Conclusion The SFBT intervention demonstrated efficacy in reducing depressive and anxiety symptoms and increasing well-being but did not affect cardio-metabolic parameters over a short period of intervention. Trial Registration The study was pre-registered at ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05838222 on 4/20/2023. *M = Mean, SD = Standard deviation.

Abstract Wilms tumor (WT) is the most common renal malignancy of childhood. Despite improvements in the overall survival, relapse occurs in ~15% of patients with favorable histology WT (FHWT). Half of these patients will succumb to their disease. Identifying novel targeted therapies remains challenging in part due to the lack of faithful preclinical in vitro models. Here we establish twelve patient-derived WT cell lines and demonstrate that these models faithfully recapitulate WT biology using genomic and transcriptomic techniques. We then perform loss-of-function screens to identify the nuclear export gene, XPO1, as a vulnerability. We find that the FDA approved XPO1 inhibitor, KPT-330, suppresses TRIP13 expression, which is required for survival. We further identify synergy between KPT-330 and doxorubicin, a chemotherapy used in high-risk FHWT. Taken together, we identify XPO1 inhibition with KPT-330 as a potential therapeutic option to treat FHWTs and in combination with doxorubicin, leads to durable remissions in vivo.

Abstract Objectives Social determinants of health (SDOH) research demonstrates poverty, access to healthcare, discrimination, and environmental factors influence health outcomes. Several models are commonly used to assess SDOH, yet there is limited understanding of how these models differ regarding their ability to predict the influence of social determinants on diabetes risk. This study compares the utility of four SDOH models for predicting diabetes disparities. Study design We utilized The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adulthood (Add Health) to compare SDOH models and their ability to predict risk of diabetes and obesity. Methods Previous literature has identified the World Health Organization (WHO), Healthy People, County Health Rankings, and Kaiser Family Foundation as the conventional SDOH models. We used these models to operationalize SDOH using the Add Health dataset. Add Health data were used to perform logistic regressions for HbA1c and linear regressions for body mass index (BMI). Results The Kaiser model accounted for the largest proportion of variance (19%) in BMI. Race/ethnicity was a consistent factor predicting BMI across models. Regarding HbA1c, the Kaiser model also accounted for the largest proportion of variance (17%). Race/ethnicity and wealth was a consistent factor predicting HbA1c across models. Conclusion Policy and practice interventions should consider these factors when screening for and addressing the effects of SDOH on diabetes risk. Specific SDOH models can be constructed for diabetes based on which determinants have the largest predictive value.

IntroductionThere have been large geographical differences in the infection and death rates of COVID-19. Foods and beverages containing high amounts of phytochemicals with bioactive properties were suggested to prevent contracting and to facilitate recovery from COVID-19. The goal of our study was to determine the correlation of the type of foods/beverages people consumed and the risk reduction of contracting COVID-19 and the recovery from COVID-19.MethodsWe developed an online survey that asked the participants whether they contracted COVID-19, their symptoms, time to recover, and their frequency of eating various types of foods/beverages. The survey was developed in 10 different languages.ResultsThe participants who did not contract COVID-19 consumed vegetables, herbs/spices, and fermented foods/beverages significantly more than the participants who contracted COVID-19. Among the six countries (India/Iran/Italy/Japan/Russia/Spain) with over 100 participants and high correspondence between the location of the participants and the language of the survey, in India and Japan the people who contracted COVID-19 showed significantly shorter recovery time, and greater daily intake of vegetables, herbs/spices, and fermented foods/beverages was associated with faster recovery.ConclusionsOur results suggest that phytochemical compounds included in the vegetables may have contributed in not only preventing contraction of COVID-19, but also accelerating their recovery.

BackgroundSmell disorders are commonly reported with COVID-19 infection. The smell-related issues associated with COVID-19 may be prolonged, even after the respiratory symptoms are resolved. These smell dysfunctions can range from anosmia (complete loss of smell) or hyposmia (reduced sense of smell) to parosmia (smells perceived differently) or phantosmia (smells perceived without an odor source being present). Similar to the difficulty that people experience when talking about their smell experiences, patients find it difficult to express or label the symptoms they experience, thereby complicating diagnosis. The complexity of these symptoms can be an additional burden for patients and health care providers and thus needs further investigation. ObjectiveThis study aims to explore the smell disorder concerns of patients and to provide an overview for each specific smell disorder by using the longitudinal survey conducted in 2020 by the Global Consortium for Chemosensory Research, an international research group that has been created ad hoc for studying chemosensory dysfunctions. We aimed to extend the existing knowledge on smell disorders related to COVID-19 by analyzing a large data set of self-reported descriptive comments by using methods from natural language processing. MethodsWe included self-reported data on the description of changes in smell provided by 1560 participants at 2 timepoints (second survey completed between 23 and 291 days). Text data from participants who still had smell disorders at the second timepoint (long-haulers) were compared with the text data of those who did not (non–long-haulers). Specifically, 3 aims were pursued in this study. The first aim was to classify smell disorders based on the participants’ self-reports. The second aim was to classify the sentiment of each self-report by using a machine learning approach, and the third aim was to find particular food and nonfood keywords that were more salient among long-haulers than those among non–long-haulers. ResultsWe found that parosmia (odds ratio [OR] 1.78, 95% CI 1.35-2.37; P

Sustaining management indefinitely for conservation-reliant species presents significant challenges for the conservation community. To reduce the costs of conservation reliance, managers can use adaptive management to evaluate how cost-saving changes to traditional management affect wildlife populations. In 2015, Michigan Department of Natural Resources managers began creating experimental breeding habitat that involved mixing a higher-value tree, red pine ( Pinus resinosa ), into traditional jack pine ( Pinus banksiana ) plantations to increase the economic and ecological value of stands managed for Kirtland’s Warblers ( Setophaga kirtlandii ). We report on the habitat use, pairing success, and reproductive success of Kirtland’s Warblers occupying an experimental mixed pine plantation in 2021. Compared to an identically-aged, adjacent jack pine plantation, we found that the mixed pine stand had slightly lower male density, a significantly lower pairing rate, and similar reproductive success. We also found that within the mixed pine stand, individuals rarely used red pine trees for foraging and never built nests under them. Because of the small sample size, our results are preliminary, and they provide mixed evidence about the suitability of these mixed pine stands for Kirtland’s Warblers. We demonstrate that Kirtland’s Warblers will use and breed in the new habitat type. However, if the lower pairing rate we found in the mixed pine stand is confirmed by future monitoring of additional stands, there is potential for concern. Our results are too preliminary to use for making decisions about the success of the mixed pine habitat experiment, but we urge managers to implement monitoring programs for all experimental plantations that include estimation of not only male density, but also pairing rate and reproductive success.

Abstract Studies examining differentially expressed genes and gene silencing by RNA interference (RNAi) require a set of stably expressed reference genes for accurate normalization. The biting midge Culicoides sonorensis is an important vector of livestock pathogens and is often used as a model species for biting midge research. Here, we examine the stable expression of six candidate reference genes in C. sonorensis: actin, β-tubulin, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), ribosomal protein subunit (RPS) 18, vacuolar ATPase subunit A (VhaA), and elongation factor 1-beta (EF1b). Gene expression was assessed under seven conditions, including cells treated with double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), 3rd and 4th instar larvae treated with dsRNA, six developmental stages, four adult female body parts or tissue groups, and females injected with bluetongue virus or vesicular stomatitis virus. Stable gene expression was assessed using RefFinder, NormFinder, geNorm, and BestKeeper. The ranked results for each analysis tool under each condition and a comprehensive ranking for each condition are presented. The data show that optimal reference genes vary between conditions and that just two reference genes were necessary for each condition. These findings provide reference genes for use under these conditions in future studies using real-time quantitative PCR to evaluate gene expression in C. sonorensis.

The primary objective of this study was to compare time efficiency and complication rates between smooth monofilament suture (SMS) and barbed suture (BS) using the three-layer continuous incisional closure pattern after ovariohysterectomy in a high-quality high-volume spay/neuter clinic. The study was designed as a randomized controlled trial enrolling 71 adult female dogs. Dogs were randomly assigned to SMS or BS treatments. The effect of closure with BS or SMS on closure time was tested through multilevel, multivariable linear regression in a generalized linear mixed model. Body condition score, weight, and pre-closure incision length were tested as covariates. Surgeon was included in the model as a random effect. Pre-closure incision length (p = 0.01) and method (p ≤ 0.0001) were associated with closure time. Adjusting for pre-closure incision length, the average time for closure with SMS was 6.5 min (range 3.70–10.31 min), and the average time for closure with BS was 4.91 min (range 3.05–8.05 min). Accounting for the closure method, the closure time increased by 39 s for each additional centimeter of incision length. BS was more efficient than SMS when performing the three-layer continuous suture pattern. No short-term telemedicine-assessed complications were noted with either treatment method. BS can improve efficiency in surgical closures, especially considering large volumes of animals, and appears to have a similar short-term, telemedicine-assessed complication rate when compared to SMS.

Abstract Background Each spring and fall billions of songbirds depart on nocturnal migrations across the globe. Theory suggests that songbirds should depart on migration shortly after sunset to maximize their potential for nightly flight duration or to time departure with the emergence of celestial cues needed for orientation and navigation. Although captive studies have found that songbirds depart during a narrow window of time after sunset, observational studies have found that wild birds depart later and more asynchronously relative to sunset than predicted. Methods We used coded radio tags and automated radio-telemetry to estimate the time that nearly 400 individuals from nine songbird species departed their breeding or wintering grounds across North America. We also assessed whether each species was most likely beginning long-distance migratory flights at departure or instead first making non-migratory regional flights. We then explored variation in nocturnal departure time by post-departure movement type, species, age, sex, and season. Results We found that 90% of individuals from species that were likely initiating long-distance migratory flights departed within 69 min of civil dusk, regardless of species, season, age, or sex. By contrast, species that likely first made non-migratory regional movements away from the migratory destination departed later and more asynchronously throughout the night. Regardless of post-departure movement type, 98% of individuals departed after civil dusk but otherwise showed no preference in relation to twilight phase. Conclusions Although the presence of celestial orientation cues at civil dusk may set a starting point for departure each night, the fact that species likely beginning long-distance migration departed earlier and more synchronously relative to civil dusk than those first making non-migratory regional movements is consistent with the hypothesis that departing promptly after civil dusk functions to maximize the potential for nightly flight duration and distance. By studying the onset of migration, our study provides baseline information about departure decisions that may enhance our understanding of departure timing throughout migration.

Abstract Background Weather can have both delayed and immediate impacts on animal populations, and species have evolved behavioral adaptions to respond to weather conditions. Weather has long been hypothesized to affect the timing and intensity of avian migration, and radar studies have demonstrated strong correlations between weather and broad-scale migration patterns. How weather affects individual decisions about the initiation of migratory flights, particularly at the beginning of migration, remains uncertain. Methods Here, we combine automated radio telemetry data from four species of songbirds collected at five breeding and wintering sites in North America with hourly weather data from a global weather model. We use these data to determine how wind profit, atmospheric pressure, precipitation, and cloud cover affect probability of departure from breeding and wintering sites. Results We found that the probability of departure was related to changes in atmospheric pressure, almost completely regardless of species, season, or location. Individuals were more likely to depart on nights when atmospheric pressure had been rising over the past 24 h, which is predictive of fair weather over the next several days. By contrast, wind profit, precipitation, and cloud cover were each only informative predictors of departure probability in a single species. Conclusions Our results suggest that individual birds actively use weather information to inform decision-making regarding the initiation of departure from the breeding and wintering grounds. We propose that birds likely choose which date to depart on migration in a hierarchical fashion with weather not influencing decision-making until after the departure window has already been narrowed down by other ultimate and proximate factors.

As social robots become more prevalent, they often employ non-speech sounds, in addition to other modes of communication, to communicate emotion and intention in an increasingly complex visual and audio environment. These non-speech sounds are usually tailor-made, and research into the generation of non-speech sounds that can convey emotions has been limited. To enable social robots to use a large amount of non-speech sounds in a natural and dynamic way, while expressing a wide range of emotions effectively, this work proposes an automatic method of sound generation using a genetic algorithm, coupled with a random forest model trained on representative non-speech sounds to validate each produced sound’s ability to express emotion. The sounds were tested in an experiment wherein subjects rated the perceived valence and arousal. Statistically significant clusters of sounds in the valence arousal space corresponded to different emotions, showing that the proposed method generates sounds that can readily be used in social robots.

Researchers studying avian space use, dispersal, survival, and migration select tracking tags that optimize tag size (dimensions) and mass relative to the focal species to minimize risk to birds as they move and fly. Here we argue that antenna length and transmitter color are also critical tag design parameters that must be considered. Based on a review of the songbird tracking literature and unpublished cases, we found most cases of entanglement, which can result in bird injuries and death, occurred with longer antennas (>13 cm). However, such cases cannot infer rates of mortality or survival, nor may they be representative of entanglements across antenna lengths and studies using radio tags. Additionally, white or brightly colored transmitters that contrast with plumage, particularly of cryptically colored females and juveniles, may increase visibility to predators and result in higher mortality, or alternatively, cause a female to eject a nestling by mistaking the tag for a fecal sac or foreign object. Consequently, we call on researchers to report and publish cases of antenna entanglement, and for journal editors to encourage and applaud such reports, such that data can be compiled to inform guidelines on tag antenna lengths for different species. Future research is also needed to examine the impacts of tag color on parental behavior and survival of tagged birds. Meanwhile, researchers should strive to ensure that their tag color does not contrast markedly with avian plumages, while also taking care not to alter (i.e., do not color over) areas required for harness attachment, activating and deactivating tags. We hope such efforts will enable researchers and manufacturers to make more informed decisions about tracking tag design, particularly with respect to balancing the benefits of longer antennas, which provide greater power and detection distance, with risks of bird entanglement and mortality.

A growing number of states have responded to negative trends in civic knowledge, trust, and engagement by creating new institutes or schools at state universities, with the express aim of reinvigorating civic education and thoughtful, engaged citizenship. In seeking to increase civic knowledge, champion viewpoint diversity, model civil discussion of ideas, combat polarization, and embrace the civic responsibilities of higher education, these institutes can be seen as carrying forward the American founders’ vision of civic education, the moral foundations of law and constitutionalism, and the constitutional principles of free speech and federalism.

With the advent of spaceborne spectroradiometers in a geostationary constellation, measuring high spectral resolution ultraviolet–visible (UV-VIS) and selected near-/shortwave-infrared (NIR/SWIR) radiances can enable the probing of the life cycle of key atmospheric trace gases and aerosols at higher temporal resolutions over the globe. The UV-VIS measurements are important for retrieving several key trace gases (e.g., O3, SO2, NO2, and HCHO) and particularly for deriving aerosol characteristics (e.g., aerosol absorption and vertical profile). This study examines the merit of simultaneous retrievals of trace gases and aerosols using a ground-based spectroradiometer covering the UV-NIR to monitor their physicochemical processes and to obtain reliable aerosol information for various applications. During the 2019 pre-monsoon season over northern Thailand, we deployed a ground-based SMART–s (Spectral Measurements for Atmospheric Radiative Transfer–spectroradiometer) instrument, which is an extended-range Pandora with reliable radiometric calibration in the 330–820 nm range, to retrieve remotely sensed chemical and aerosol properties for the first time near biomass burning sources. The high spectral resolution (∼ 1.0 nm full width half maximum with ∼ 3.7 × oversampling) of sun and sky measurements from SMART–s provides several key trace gases (e.g., O3, NO2, and H2O) and aerosol properties covering the UV where significant light absorption occurs by the carbonaceous particles. During the measurement period, highly correlated total column amounts of NO2 and aerosol optical thickness (τaer) retrieved from SMART–s (correlation coefficient, R=0.74) indicated their common emissions from biomass burning events. The SMART–s retrievals of the spectral single scattering albedo (ω0) of smoke aerosols showed an abrupt decrease in the UV, which is an important parameter dictating photochemical processes in the atmosphere. The values of ω0 and column precipitable water vapor (H2O) gradually increase with the mixing of biomass burning smoke particles and higher water vapor concentrations when approaching the monsoon season. The retrieved ω0 and weighted mean radius of fine-mode aerosols from SMART–s showed positive correlations with the H2O (R=0.81 for ω0 at 330 nm and 0.56 for the volume-weighted mean radius), whereas the real part of the refractive index of fine-mode aerosol (nf) showed negative correlations (R=-0.61 at 330 nm), which suggest that aerosol aging processes including hygroscopic growth (e.g., humidification and cloud processing) can be a major factor affecting the temporal trends of aerosol optical properties. Retrieved nf and ω0 were closer to those of the water droplet (i.e., nf of about 1.33 and ω0 of about 1.0) under lower amounts of NO2 during the measurement period; considering that the NO2 amounts in the smoke may indicate the aging of the plume after emission due to its short lifetime, the tendency is also consistent with active hygroscopic processes of the aerosols over this area. Retrieved UV aerosol properties from SMART–s generally support the assumed smoke aerosol models (i.e., the spectral shape of aerosol absorption) used in NASA's current satellite algorithms, and their spectral ω0 retrievals from ground and satellites showed good agreements (R = 0.73–0.79). However, temporal and spectral variabilities in the aerosol absorption properties in the UV emphasize the importance of a realistic optical model of aerosols for further improvements in satellite retrievals.

The US Chukchi Sea consists of the waters off the northwest of Alaska and is a naturally dynamic ice-driven ecosystem. The impacts from climate change are affecting the Arctic marine ecosystem as well as the coastal communities that rely on healthy marine ecosystems. In anticipation of increased ecosystem monitoring in the area, there is an opportunity to evaluate improved sampling designs for future ecological monitoring of the Chukchi Sea, an area that is sampled less comprehensively compared to other regions in Alaska. This analysis focused on standardized NOAA-NMFS-AFSC bottom trawl surveys (otter and beam trawls) and three types of survey designs: simple random, stratified random, and systematic. First, spatiotemporal distributions for 18 representative demersal fish and invertebrate taxa were fitted using standardized catch and effort data. We then simulated spatiotemporal taxon densities to replicate the three survey design types to evaluate design-based estimates of abundance and precision across a range of sampling effort. Modest increases in precision were gained from stratifying the design when compared to a simple random design with either similar or lower uncertainty and bias of the precision estimates. There were often strong tradeoffs between the precision and bias of the systematic estimates of abundance (and associated variance) across species and gear type. The stratified random design provided the most consistent, reliable, and precise estimates of abundance indices and is likely to be the most robust to changes in the survey design. This analysis provides a template for changing bottom trawl survey designs in the Chukchi Sea and potentially other survey regions in Alaska going forward and will be important when integrating new survey objectives that are more ecosystem-focused.

The objective of this study was to assess the use of breakpoints in antibiotic susceptibility testing among veterinary diagnostic laboratories in the United States and Canada. An eight-question survey was conducted via phone and email to determine how often laboratories use breakpoints consistent with published guidelines in wounds, lower urinary tract infections and upper urinary tract infections (pyelonephritis) involving Escherichia coli, both in dogs and cats, for a total of 6 different hypothetical clinical scenarios. Nineteen veterinary diagnostic laboratories that perform antibiotic susceptibility testing on samples from dogs and cats in the United States or Canada and were accredited by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD) responded to the survey between January 15th and September 15th, 2022. The overall response rate of laboratories that were not excluded for known lack of dog and cat antibiotic susceptibility testing was 19 of 44 laboratories. Of the 17 respondent laboratories that reported using minimal inhibitory concentration breakpoints, only four laboratories used breakpoints consistent with published guidelines in all six clinical scenarios included in the survey. Our results suggest that there is clinically important variation in what breakpoints laboratories use to determine antibiotic susceptibility, which is of antibiotic stewardship and clinical relevance. Using breakpoints that are too high, too low, or inappropriately reporting “not interpreted” as the interpretive category may result in inappropriate use of antibiotics.

Abstract CAP256V2LS, a broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibody (bNAb), is being pursued as a promising drug for HIV-1 prevention. The total level of tyrosine-O-sulfation, a post-translational modification, was known to play a key role for antibody biological activity. More importantly, here wedescribe for the first time the significance of the tyrosine-O-sulfation proteoforms. We developed a hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) method to separate and quantify different sulfation proteoforms, which led to the direct functionality assessment of tyrosine-sulfated species. The fully sulfated (4-SO3) proteoform demonstrated the highest in vitro relative antigen binding potency and neutralization efficiency against a panel of HIV-1 viruses. Interestingly, highly variable levels of 4-SO3 were produced by different clonal CHO cell lines, which helped the bNAb process development towards production of a highly potent CAP256V2LS clinical product with high 4-SO3 proteoform. This study presents powerful insight for any biotherapeutic protein development where sulfation may play an important role in product efficacy.

More than 36 yr have passed since the discovery of the infrared excess from circumstellar dust orbiting the white dwarf G29-38, which at 17.5 pc it is the nearest and brightest of its class. The precise morphology of the orbiting dust remains only marginally constrained by existing data, subject to model-dependent inferences, and thus fundamental questions of its dynamical origin and evolution persist. This study presents a means to constrain the geometric distribution of the emitting dust using stellar pulsations measured at optical wavelengths as a variable illumination source of the dust, which reradiates primarily in the infrared. By combining optical photometry from the Whole Earth Telescope with 0.7–2.5 μ m spectroscopy obtained with SpeX at NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility, we detect luminosity variations at all observed wavelengths, with variations at most wavelengths corresponding to the behavior of the pulsating stellar photosphere, but toward the longest wavelengths the light curves probe the corresponding time variability of the circumstellar dust. In addition to developing methodology, we find the pulsation amplitudes decrease with increasing wavelength for principal pulsation modes, yet increase beyond ≈2 μ m for nonlinear combination frequencies. We interpret these results as combination modes derived from the principal modes of identical ℓ values and discuss the implications for the morphology of the warm dust. We also draw attention to some discrepancies between our findings and theoretical expectations for the results of the nonlinearity imposed by the surface convection zone on mode–mode interactions and on the behavior of the first harmonic of the highest-amplitude pulsation mode.

It remains unclear how hippocampal activity supports the temporal organization of our experiences. In this paper, the authors recorded from rats performing an odor sequence task and show that hippocampal ensembles represent the sequential relations among nonspatial events at different timescales.

Wildlife species are host to a variety of gastrointestinal parasites (GIPs). Artificially concentrating animals may increase the risk of disease spread due to increased GIP load and associated environmental load. Supplemental feeding of deer is common among hunters and known to concentrate animals, but there is limited knowledge of how it affects GIP environmental load. GIP load was compared between ecologically-equivalent pairs of sites in Mississippi with and without year-round supplemental feeding (average distance between pairs = 147 m). During May-August in 2019 and 2020, feces from white-tailed deer and raccoons were collected and examined for the presence of nematodes, coccidia, Giardia spp., Cryptosporidium spp., and Baylisascaris procyonis. On average, fed sites had 8 more deer (241% increase) and 2 more raccoon fecal piles (540% increase) than unfed sites. Average parasite loads for individual fecal samples did not differ between fed and unfed sites, but the greater number of deer and raccoon fecal piles at fed sites (p < 0.0001) produced 231% and 308% greater environmental loads of nematodes and coccidia, respectively. Spin feeders, the only feeder type that distributed feed on the ground, had 326% more coccidia in feces on average compared to other feeder types (p < 0.03). These results show that supplemental feeding of white-tailed deer, especially with spin feeders, increases environmental loads of GIP and the potential for transmission of parasitic diseases.

Despite advances in the design of thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters for devices, the effect of spin interactions is not well understood. Here, the authors report the role of spin-vibronic coupling in TADF organic emitters using transient electron spin resonance spectroscopy.

Biogeochemical cycling in the semi-enclosed Arctic Ocean is strongly influenced by land–ocean transport of carbon and other elements and is vulnerable to environmental and climate changes. Sediments of the Arctic Ocean are an important part of biogeochemical cycling in the Arctic and provide the opportunity to study present and historical input and the fate of organic matter (e.g., through permafrost thawing). Comprehensive sedimentary records are required to compare differences between the Arctic regions and to study Arctic biogeochemical budgets. To this end, the Circum-Arctic Sediment CArbon DatabasE (CASCADE) was established to curate data primarily on concentrations of organic carbon (OC) and OC isotopes (δ13C, Δ14C) yet also on total N (TN) as well as terrigenous biomarkers and other sediment geochemical and physical properties. This new database builds on the published literature and earlier unpublished records through an extensive international community collaboration. This paper describes the establishment, structure and current status of CASCADE. The first public version includes OC concentrations in surface sediments at 4244 oceanographic stations including 2317 with TN concentrations, 1555 with δ13C-OC values and 268 with Δ14C-OC values and 653 records with quantified terrigenous biomarkers (high-molecular-weight n-alkanes, n-alkanoic acids and lignin phenols). CASCADE also includes data from 326 sediment cores, retrieved by shallow box or multi-coring, deep gravity/piston coring, or sea-bottom drilling. The comprehensive dataset reveals large-scale features of both OC content and OC sources between the shelf sea recipients. This offers insight into release of pre-aged terrigenous OC to the East Siberian Arctic shelf and younger terrigenous OC to the Kara Sea. Circum-Arctic sediments thereby reveal patterns of terrestrial OC remobilization and provide clues about thawing of permafrost. CASCADE enables synoptic analysis of OC in Arctic Ocean sediments and facilitates a wide array of future empirical and modeling studies of the Arctic carbon cycle. The database is openly and freely available online (https://doi.org/10.17043/cascade; Martens et al., 2021), is provided in various machine-readable data formats (data tables, GIS shapefile, GIS raster), and also provides ways for contributing data for future CASCADE versions. We will continuously update CASCADE with newly published and contributed data over the foreseeable future as part of the database management of the Bolin Centre for Climate Research at Stockholm University.

Objective: To describe the procedure and results of an adapted closure and reconstruction technique for translabyrinthine surgery that focuses on identifying and managing potential pathways for CSF egress to the middle ear and Eustachian tube. Methods: Retrospective review of a cohort of translabyrinthine acoustic neuroma cases that were reconstructed using this technique. Results: In addition to meticulous packing of potential conduits using soft tissue, hydroxyapatite cement is used to seal opened air cell tracts prior to obliteration of the mastoid defect using adipose tissue. Early results of a small patient cohort using this technique are encouraging and there were no wound infections. There was a single case of CSF rhinorrhea associated with incomplete sealing of opened petrous apex cells, with no recurrence after appropriate implementation of the described protocol during revision surgery. Conclusion: Proactive management of potential conduits of CSF egress including opened air cell tracts has a high likelihood of reducing rates of rhinorrhea and need for revision surgery after the translabyrinthine approach to the posterior fossa.

Syndromic surveillance for COVID-19 could help to identify areas with increasing transmission. Here, the authors show that increased reports of changes in smell and taste measured at the population level are correlated with the increased COVID-19-related hospital admissions.

Decreased sea ice cover in the northern Bering Sea has altered annual phytoplankton phenology owing to an expansion of open water duration and its impact on ocean stratification. Limitations of satellite remote sensing such as the inability to detect bloom activity throughout the water column, under ice, and in cloudy conditions dictate the need for shipboard based measurements to provide more information on bloom dynamics. In this study, we adapted remote sensing land cover classification techniques to provide a new means to determine bloom stage from shipboard samples. Specifically, we used multiyear satellite time series of chlorophyll a to determine whether in-situ blooms were actively growing or mature (i.e., past-peak) at the time of field sampling. Field observations of chlorophyll a and pheophytin (degraded and oxidized chlorophyll products) were used to calculate pheophytin proportions, i.e., (Pheophytin/(Chlorophyll a + Pheophytin)) and empirically determine whether the bloom was growing or mature based on remotely sensed bloom stages. Data collected at 13 north Bering Sea stations each July from 2013-2019 supported a pheophytin proportion of 28% as the best empirical threshold to distinguish a growing vs. mature bloom stage. One outcome was that low vs. high sea ice years resulted in significantly different pheophytin proportions in July; in years with low winter-to-spring ice, more blooms with growing status were observed, compared to later stage, more mature blooms following springs with abundant seasonal sea ice. The detection of growing blooms in July following low ice years suggests that changes in the timing of the spring bloom triggers cascading effects on mid-summer production.

A large volume of freshwater is incorporated in the relatively fresh (salinity ~32-33) Pacific Ocean waters that are transported north through the Bering Strait relative to deep Atlantic salinity in the Arctic Ocean (salinity ~34.8). These freshened waters help maintain the halocline that separates cold Arctic surface waters from warmer Arctic Ocean waters at depth. The stable oxygen isotope composition of the Bering Sea contribution to the upper Arctic Ocean halocline was established as early as the late 1980's as having a δ18OV-SMOW value of approximately -1.1‰. More recent data indicates a shift to an isotopic composition that is more depleted in 18O (mean δ18O value ~-1.5‰). This shift is supported by a data synthesis of >1400 water samples (salinity from 32.5 to 33.5) from the northern Bering and Chukchi seas, from the years 1987-2020, which show significant year-to-year, seasonal and regional variability. This change in the oxygen isotope composition of water in the upper halocline is consistent with observations of added freshwater in the Canada Basin, and mooring-based estimates of increased freshwater inflows through Bering Strait. Here, we use this isotopic time-series as an independent means of estimating freshwater flux changes through the Bering Strait. We employed a simple end-member mixing model that requires that the volume of freshwater (including runoff and other meteoric water, but not sea ice melt) flowing through Bering Strait has increased by ~40% over the past two decades to account for a change in the isotopic composition of the 33.1 salinity water from a δ18O value of approximately -1.1‰ to a mean of -1.5‰. This freshwater flux change is comparable with independent published measurements made from mooring arrays in the Bering Strait (freshwater fluxes rising from 2000-2500 km3 in 2001 to 3000-3500 km3 in 2011).

For many bird species, but especially aerial insectivores, reproduction depends on weather. Climate change is likely to intensify effects, but with uncertain consequences. We report 22 years of data on Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) reproduction for two populations located in different hygric environments undergoing climate change; mesic central New York, USA, (NY; 12 years) and xeric southeastern Oregon, USA, (OR: 10 years). Laying date became earlier with increasing temperature in the 30-day period preceding laying in identical fashion at both sites, and in years of early laying, clutch size was larger, length of laying season increased, and failed initial nesting attempts were more often replaced. High temperature in the 10-days preceding mean laying date was associated with shorter laying seasons, while a site by 10-day temperature interaction reflected an increase and decrease of clutch size with increasing 10-day temperature in NY and OR, respectively. Seasonal rate of clutch size decline was higher when the laying season was short but also slowed in xeric OR when rain was abundant in the 10-days prior to mean laying date. Nest predation drove annual variation in young fledged/nest, but the latter also increased and decreased with increasing maximum temperature during the nestling phase in mesic NY and xeric OR, respectively. Potential effects of climate change on kingbird populations are thus high given the dependence of reproduction on weather, and climate change likely contributed to declines of kingbirds in OR. Declines of kingbirds in NY appear unrelated to warming climates because higher temperatures advanced laying dates and yielded greater nest productivity. However, length of laying season declined across years at both sites, and thus early season gains may be negated by poor conditions late in the season that may be causing shorter laying seasons. Further work is needed to identify causes for the latter changes.

Methods to radiometrically calibrate a non-imaging airborne visible-to-shortwave infrared (VSWIR) spectrometer to measure the Greenland ice sheet surface are presented. Airborne VSWIR measurement performance for bright Greenland ice and dark bare rock/soil targets is compared against the MODerate resolution atmospheric TRANsmission (MODTRAN®) radiative transfer code (version 6.0), and a coincident Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) acquisition on 29 July 2015 during an in-flight radiometric calibration experiment. Airborne remote sensing flights were carried out in northwestern Greenland in preparation for the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite 2 (ICESat-2) laser altimeter mission. A total of nine science flights were conducted over the Greenland ice sheet, sea ice, and open-ocean water. The campaign's primary purpose was to correlate green laser pulse penetration into snow and ice with spectroscopic-derived surface properties. An experimental airborne instrument configuration that included a nadir-viewing (looking downward at the surface) non-imaging Analytical Spectral Devices (ASD) Inc. spectrometer that measured upwelling VSWIR (0.35 to 2.5 µm) spectral radiance (Wm-2sr-1µm-1) in the two-color Slope Imaging Multi-polarization Photon-Counting Lidar's (SIMPL) ground instantaneous field of view, and a zenith-viewing (looking upward at the sky) ASD spectrometer that measured VSWIR spectral irradiance (W m−2 nm−1) was flown. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) traceable radiometric calibration procedures for laboratory, in-flight, and field environments are described in detail to achieve a targeted VSWIR measurement requirement of within 5 % to support calibration/validation efforts and remote sensing algorithm development. Our MODTRAN predictions for the 29 July flight line over dark and bright targets indicate that the airborne nadir-viewing spectrometer spectral radiance measurement uncertainty was between 0.6 % and 4.7 % for VSWIR wavelengths (0.4 to 2.0 µm) with atmospheric transmittance greater than 80 %. MODTRAN predictions for Landsat 8 OLI relative spectral response functions suggest that OLI is measuring 6 % to 16 % more top-of-atmosphere (TOA) spectral radiance from the Greenland ice sheet surface than was predicted using apparent reflectance spectra from the nadir-viewing spectrometer. While more investigation is required to convert airborne VSWIR spectral radiance into atmospherically corrected airborne surface reflectance, it is expected that airborne science flight data products will contribute to spectroscopic determination of Greenland ice sheet surface optical properties to improve understanding of their potential influence on ICESat-2 measurements.

Declines in seasonal sea ice in polar regions have stimulated projections of how primary production has shifted in response to greater light penetration over a longer open water season. Despite the limitations of remotely sensed observations in an often cloudy environment, remote sensing data provide strong indications that surface chlorophyll biomass has increased (since 2000) as sea ice has declined in the Pacific Arctic region. We present here shipboard measurements of chlorophyll-a that have been made annually in July since 2000 from the Distributed Biological Observatory (DBO) stations in the Bering Strait region. This time series as well as shipboard observations made in other months since the late 1980s implicate complexities that intrude on a simple expectation that, as open water periods increase, the production and biomass of phytoplankton will increase predictably. These shipboard observations indicate that there have not been sharp increases in chlorophyll-a, for either maxima observed in the water column or integrated over the whole water column, at the DBO stations over a time-series extending for as long as 20 years coinciding with seasonal sea ice declines. On the other hand, biomass may be increasing in other months: we provide a shipboard confirmation of a fall bloom in October as wind mixing introduced nutrients back into the upper water column. The productive DBO stations may be at a high enough production already that additional enhancements in chlorophyll-a biomass should not be expected, but our time-series record does not exclude the possibility that additional enhanced production may be present in other areas outside the DBO station grid. These findings may also reflect limitations imposed by nutrient cycling and water column structure. The increasing freshwater component of waters flowing through the Bering Strait is likely associated with increased stratification that limits the potential change in biological production associated with decreases in seasonal sea ice persistence.

These reports present the results of the 2013 Community Summer Study of theAPS Division of Particles and Fields ("Snowmass 2013") on the future program ofparticle physics in the U.S. Chapter 8, on the Instrumentation Frontier,discusses the instrumentation needs of future experiments in the Energy,Intensity, and Cosmic Frontiers, promising new technologies for particlephysics research, and issues of gathering resources for long-term research inthis area.

Ostracoda (bivalved Crustacea) comprise a significant part of the benthic meiofauna in the Pacific-Arctic region, including more than 50 species, many with identifiable ecological tolerances. These species hold potential as useful indicators of past and future ecosystem changes. In this study, we examined benthic ostracodes from nearly 300 surface sediment samples, >34,000 specimens, from three regions-the northern Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas-to establish species' ecology and distribution. Samples were collected during various sampling programs from 1970 through 2018 on the continental shelves at 20 to ~100m water depth. Ordination analyses using species' relative frequencies identified six species, Normanicythere leioderma, Sarsicytheridea bradii, Paracyprideis pseudopunctillata, Semicytherura complanata, Schizocythere ikeyai, and Munseyella mananensis, as having diagnostic habitat ranges in bottom water temperatures, salinities, sediment substrates and/or food sources. Species relative abundances and distributions can be used to infer past bottom environmental conditions in sediment archives for paleo-reconstructions and to characterize potential changes in Pacific-Arctic ecosystems in future sampling studies. Statistical analyses further showed ostracode assemblages grouped by the summer water masses influencing the area. Offshore-to-nearshore transects of samples across different water masses showed that complex water mass characteristics, such as bottom temperature, productivity, as well as sediment texture, influenced the relative frequencies of ostracode species over small spatial scales. On the larger biogeographic scale, synoptic ordination analyses showed dominant species-N. leioderma (Bering Sea), P. pseudopunctillata (offshore Chukchi and Beaufort Seas), and S. bradii (all regions)-remained fairly constant over recent decades. However, during 2013-2018, northern Pacific species M. mananensis and S. ikeyai increased in abundance by small but significant proportions in the Chukchi Sea region compared to earlier years. It is yet unclear if these assemblage changes signify a meiofaunal response to changing water mass properties and if this trend will continue in the future. Our new ecological data on ostracode species and biogeography suggest these hypotheses can be tested with future benthic monitoring efforts.

The expected reduction of ice algae with declining sea ice may prove to be detrimental to the Pacific Arctic ecosystem. Benthic organisms that rely on sea ice organic carbon (iPOC) sustain benthic predators such as the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens). The ability to track the trophic transfer of iPOC is critical to understanding its value in the food web, but prior methods have lacked the required source specificity. We analyzed the H-Print index, based on biomarkers of ice algae versus phytoplankton contributions to organic carbon in marine predators, in Pacific walrus livers collected in 2012, 2014 and 2016 from the Northern Bering Sea (NBS) and Chukchi Sea. We paired these measurements with stable nitrogen isotopes (δ15N) to estimate trophic position. We observed differences in the contribution of iPOC in Pacific walrus diet between regions, sexes, and age classes. Specifically, the contribution of iPOC to the diet of Pacific walruses was higher in the Chukchi Sea (52%) compared to the NBS (30%). This regional difference is consistent with longer annual sea ice persistence in the Chukchi Sea. Within the NBS, the contribution of iPOC to walrus spring diet was higher in females (~45%) compared to males (~30%) for each year (p < 0.001), likely due to specific foraging behavior of females to support energetic demands associated with pregnancy and lactation. Within the Chukchi Sea, the iPOC contribution was similar between males and females, yet higher in juveniles than in adults. Despite differences in the origin of organic carbon fueling the system (sea ice versus pelagic derived carbon), the trophic position of adult female Pacific walruses was similar between the NBS and Chukchi Sea (3.2 and 3.5, respectively), supporting similar diets (i.e. clams). Given the higher quality of organic carbon from ice algae, the retreat of seasonal sea ice in recent decades may create an additional vulnerability for female and juvenile Pacific walruses and should be considered in management of the species.

Traveling waves are hypothesized to support the long-range coordination of anatomically distributed circuits. Whether separate strongly interacting circuits exhibit traveling waves remains unknown. The hippocampus exhibits traveling ‘theta’ waves and interacts strongly with the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC). To determine whether the MEC also activates in a traveling wave, we performed extracellular recordings of local field potentials (LFP) and multi-unit activity along the MEC. These recordings revealed progressive phase shifts in activity, indicating that the MEC also activates in a traveling wave. Variation in theta waveform along the region, generated by gradients in local physiology, contributed to the observed phase shifts. Removing waveform-related phase shifts left significant residual phase shifts. The residual phase shifts covaried with theta frequency in a manner consistent with those generated by weakly coupled oscillators. These results show that the coordination of anatomically distributed circuits could be enabled by traveling waves but reveal heterogeneity in the mechanisms generating those waves.

Although Arctic marine ecosystems are changing rapidly, year-round monitoring is currently very limited and presents multiple challenges unique to this region. The Chukchi Ecosystem Observatory (CEO) described here uses new sensor technologies to meet needs for continuous, high-resolution, and year-round observations across all levels of the ecosystem in the biologically productive and seasonally ice-covered Chukchi Sea off the northwest coast of Alaska. This mooring array records a broad suite of variables that facilitate observations, yielding better understanding of physical, chemical, and biological couplings, phenologies, and the overall state of this Arctic shelf marine ecosystem. While cold temperatures and 8 months of sea ice cover present challenging conditions for the operation of the CEO, this extreme environment also serves as a rigorous test bed for innovative ecosystem monitoring strategies. Here, we present data from the 2015–2016 CEO deployments that provide new perspectives on the seasonal evolution of sea ice, water column structure, and physical properties, annual cycles in nitrate, dissolved oxygen, phytoplankton blooms, and export, zooplankton abundance and vertical migration, the occurrence of Arctic cod, and vocalizations of marine mammals such as bearded seals. These integrated ecosystem observations are being combined with ship-based observations and modeling to produce a time series that documents biological community responses to changing seasonal sea ice and water temperatures while establishing a scientific basis for ecosystem management.