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Seasonality in north-temperate environments imposes drastic temperature and resource variations that shape the seasonal ecophysiology of resident organisms. A better understanding of an organism’s capacity to flexibly respond to this drastic seasonal variation may reveal important mechanisms for tolerating or responding to environmental variation introduced by global change. In fishes, the digestive system is both the interface between resource and energy acquisition and one of the most expensive organ systems to maintain. However, little evidence describing the capacity for seasonal flexibility in the digestive tract of wild northern fishes exists. Here, we investigated phenotypic flexibility in the size of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract across three northern populations of a winter-dormant warm-water fish, pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus). In all populations, pumpkinseed exhibited pronounced structural flexibility in the GI tract, aligned with winter and the timing of reproduction. The dry mass of the GI increased by 1.3- to nearly 2.5-fold in the early spring. The pyloric caeca demonstrated the greatest capacity for flexibility, increasing by up to 3.7-fold prior to reproduction. In all populations, minimum dry GI mass was consistently achieved during winter and mid-summer. This capacity for gut flexibility may represent a novel mechanism for facilitating rapid adaptive responses (e.g. metabolic plasticity) to future environmental change.

Stable isotope data have made pivotal contributions to nearly every discipline of the physical and natural sciences. As the generation and application of stable isotope data continues to grow exponentially, so does the need for a unifying data repository to improve accessibility and promote collaborative engagement. This paper provides an overview of the design, development, and implementation of IsoBank (www.isobank.org), a community-driven initiative to create an open-access repository for stable isotope data implemented online in 2021. A central goal of IsoBank is to provide a web-accessible database supporting interdisciplinary stable isotope research and educational opportunities. To achieve this goal, we convened a multi-disciplinary group of over 40 analytical experts, stable isotope researchers, database managers, and web developers to collaboratively design the database. This paper outlines the main features of IsoBank and provides a focused description of the core metadata structure. We present plans for future database and tool development and engagement across the scientific community. These efforts will help facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration among the many users of stable isotopic data while also offering useful data resources and standardization of metadata reporting across eco-geoinformatics landscapes.

A central challenge of antimalarial therapy is the emergence of resistance to the components of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) and the urgent need for new drugs acting through novel mechanism of action. Over the last decade, compounds identified in phenotypic high throughput screens (HTS) have provided the starting point for six candidate drugs currently in the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) clinical development portfolio. However, the published screening data which provided much of the new chemical matter for malaria drug discovery projects have been extensively mined. Here we present a new screening and selection cascade for generation of hit compounds active against the blood stage of Plasmodium falciparum. In addition, we validate our approach by testing a library of 141,786 compounds not reported earlier as being tested against malaria. The Hit Generation Library 1 (HGL1) was designed to maximise the chemical diversity and novelty of compounds with physicochemical properties associated with potential for further development. A robust HTS cascade containing orthogonal efficacy and cytotoxicity assays, including a newly developed and validated nanoluciferase-based assay was used to profile the compounds. 75 compounds (Screening Active hit rate of 0.05%) were identified meeting our stringent selection criteria of potency in drug sensitive (NF54) and drug resistant (Dd2) parasite strains (IC50 ≤ 2 µM), rapid speed of action and cell viability in HepG2 cells (IC50 ≥ 10 µM). Following further profiling, 33 compounds were identified that meet the MMV Confirmed Active profile and are high quality starting points for new antimalarial drug discovery projects.

Insecticide resistance is under strong selective pressure in Anopheles mosquitoes due to widespread usage of insecticides in vector control strategies. Resistance mechanisms likely cause changes that profoundly affect mosquito physiology, yet it remains poorly understood how selective pressures imposed by insecticides may alter the ability of the mosquito to host and transmit a Plasmodium infection. From pyrethroid-resistant field-derived Anopheles gambiae s.l. mosquitoes, we established resistant (RES) and susceptible (SUS) colonies by either selection for, or loss of insecticide resistance. We show increased oocyst intensity and growth rate as well as increased sporozoite prevalence and intensity in RES compared to SUS females infected with Plasmodium falciparum. The increase in infection intensity in RES females was not associated with the presence of the kdrL1014F mutation and was not impacted by inhibition of Cytochrome P450s. The lipid transporter lipophorin (Lp), which was upregulated in RES compared to SUS, was at least partly implicated in the increased intensity of P. falciparum but not directly involved in the insecticide resistance phenotype. Interestingly, we observed that although P. falciparum infections were not affected when RES females were exposed to permethrin, these females had decreased lipid abundance in the fat body following exposure, pointing to a possible role for lipid mobilization in response to damage caused by insecticide challenge. The finding that selection for insecticide resistance can increase P. falciparum infection intensities and growth rate reinforces the need to assess the overall impact on malaria transmission dynamics caused by selective pressures mosquitoes experience during repeated insecticide challenge.

Recently dubbed Long COVID or Long-Haul COVID, those recovering from the initial COVID-19 infection may maintain clinical signs for longer than two or more weeks following the initial onset of the infection. The virus can gain entry into the CNS through axonal transport mediated through the olfactory nerve or hematogenous spread and can also cross the blood–brain barrier to access the temporal lobe and the brainstem. The neurologic and neuropsychiatric symptoms associated with COVID-19 patients are becoming a highly studied area due to the increased frequency of reported cases. Multiple hospital case series and observational studies have found a headache to be a common symptom among patients who are symptomatic with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The headache described by many of these patients is similar to new daily persistent headache (NDPH). NDPH potentially develops in response to pro-inflammatory cytokines during a persistent systemic or CNS inflammation, mostly due to the initial infection. The treatments investigated were high-dose steroids, tetracycline derivatives, onabotulinum toxin type A, and long-term multidrug regimens. Among the identified symptoms of post-COVID-19 viral illness, fatigue appears to be the most ubiquitous. High-dose vitamin C is currently a suggested therapy proposed for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory properties. The mental health consequences of this diagnosis are being identified among large portions of COVID-19 survivors. Among these consequences, cases of major depressive disorder (MDD) and anxiety are being reported and closely examined. The aim of this narrative review is to highlight the neurological and psychiatric symptoms that have been associated with Long-Haul COVID and their possible treatments.

The Camp Fire in California (November 2018) was one of the most destructive wildfires in recorded history. Dozens of Facebook groups emerged to help people impacted by the Camp Fire. Its variety and prevalence throughout recovery make this network of disaster-specific, recovery-oriented social media groups a distinct context for inquiry. Reflexive thematic analysis was performed on 25 interviews with group administrators and publicly available descriptive data from 92 Facebook groups to characterize the composition of the network and explore identity in the groups. Group members’ identities fell into two categories—helpers and survivors—while the groups consisted of six identities: general, specialized, survivor-only, pet-related, location-specific, and adoptive. Administrators established group identity around purpose, through membership criteria, and in similarity and opposition to other Camp Fire Facebook groups. The findings contribute to social identity theory and the communication theory of resilience at the intersection of resilience labor, identity anchors, and communication networks.

Abstract Teleost fishes occupy a range of ecosystem, and habitat types subject to large seasonal fluctuations. Temperate fishes, in particular, survive large seasonal shifts in temperature, light availability, and access to certain habitats. Mobile species such as lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) can behaviorally respond to seasonal variation by shifting their habitat deeper and further offshore in response to warmer surface water temperatures during the summer. During cooler seasons, the use of more structurally complex nearshore zones by lake trout could increase cognitive demands and potentially result in a larger relative brain size during those periods. Yet, there is limited understanding of how such behavioral responses to a seasonally shifting environment might shape, or be shaped by, the nervous system. Here, we quantified variation in relative brain size and the size of five externally visible brain regions in lake trout, across six consecutive seasons in two different lakes. Acoustic telemetry data from one of our study lakes were collected during the study period from a different subset of individuals and used to infer relationships between brain size and seasonal behaviors (habitat use and movement rate). Our results indicated that lake trout relative brain size was larger in the fall and winter compared with the spring and summer in both lakes. Larger brains coincided with increased use of nearshore habitats and increased horizontal movement rates in the fall and winter based on acoustic telemetry. The telencephalon followed the same pattern as whole brain size, while the other brain regions (cerebellum, optic tectum, olfactory bulbs, and hypothalamus) were only smaller in the spring. These findings provide evidence that flexibility in brain size could underpin shifts in behavior, which could potentially subserve functions associated with differential habitat use during cold and warm seasons and allow fish to succeed in seasonally variable environments.

Seasonality could play a crucial role in structuring species interactions. For example, many ectotherms alter their activity, habitat, and diet in response to seasonal temperature variation. Species also vary widely in physiological traits, like thermal preference, which may mediate their response to seasonal variation. How behavioral responses to seasonality differ between competing species and alter their overlap along multiple niche axes in space and time, remains understudied. Here, we used bulk carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes combined with stomach content analysis to determine the seasonal diet overlap between a native cold-water species [lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush)] and a range-expanding warm-water species [smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu)] in two north-temperate lakes over 2 years. We coupled these analyses with fine-scale acoustic telemetry from one of the lakes to determine seasonal overlap in habitat use and activity levels. We found that dietary niche overlap was higher in the spring, when both species were active and using more littoral resources, compared to the summer, when the cold-water lake trout increased their reliance on pelagic resources. Telemetry data revealed that activity rates diverged in the winter, when lake trout remained active, but the warm-water smallmouth bass reduced their activity. Combining stable isotopes and stomach contents with acoustic telemetry was a powerful approach for demonstrating that species interactions are temporally and spatially dynamic. In our case, the study species diverged in their diet, habitat, and activity more strongly during certain times of the year than others, in ways that were consistent with their thermal preferences. Despite large differences in thermal preference, however, there were times of year when both species were active and sharing a common habitat and prey source (i.e., resource overlap was greater in spring than summer). Based on our findings, important ecological processes are occurring during all seasons, which would be missed by summer sampling alone. Our study stresses that quantifying multiple niche axes in both space and time is important for understanding the possible outcomes of altered seasonal conditions, including shorter winters, already arising under a changing climate.

Ion channels are integral membrane protein complexes critical for regulation of membrane potential, cell volume, and other signaling events. As complex molecular assemblies with many interacting partners, ion channels have multiple structural and functional domains. While channel sequence and functional data are readily available across multiple online resources, there is an unmet need for functional annotation directly relating primary sequence information, 2D interactions, and three-dimensional protein structure. To this end, we present ChanFAD (Channel Functional Annotation Database), to provide the research community with a centralized resource for ion channel structure and functional data. ChanFAD provides functional annotation of PDB structures built on the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s iCn3D structure viewing tool while providing additional information such as primary sequence, organism, and relevant links to other databases. Here we provide a brief tour of ChanFAD functionality while showing example use cases involving drug-channel interactions and structural changes based on mutation. ChanFAD is freely available and can be accessed at https://www.chanfad.org/.

Global change driven by anthropogenic carbon emissions is altering ecosystems at unprecedented rates, especially coral reefs, whose symbiosis with algal symbionts is particularly vulnerable to increasing ocean temperatures and altered carbonate chemistry. Here, we assess the physiological responses of three Caribbean coral (animal host + algal symbiont) species from an inshore and offshore reef environment after exposure to simulated ocean warming (28, 31°C), acidification (300-3290 μatm), and the combination of stressors for 93 days. We used multidimensional analyses to assess how a variety of coral physiological parameters respond to ocean acidification and warming. Our results demonstrate reductions in coral health in Siderastrea siderea and Porites astreoides in response to projected ocean acidification, while future warming elicited severe declines in Pseudodiploria strigosa. Offshore S. siderea fragments exhibited higher physiological plasticity than inshore counterparts, suggesting that this offshore population was more susceptible to changing conditions. There were no plasticity differences in P. strigosa and P. astreoides between natal reef environments, however, temperature evoked stronger responses in both species. Interestingly, while each species exhibited unique physiological responses to ocean acidification and warming, when data from all three species are modelled together, convergent stress responses to these conditions are observed, highlighting the overall sensitivities of tropical corals to these stressors. Our results demonstrate that while ocean warming is a severe acute stressor that will have dire consequences for coral reefs globally, chronic exposure to acidification may also impact coral physiology to a greater extent in some species than previously assumed. Further, our study identifies S. siderea and P. astreoides as potential 'winners' on future Caribbean coral reefs due to their resilience under projected global change stressors, while P. strigosa will likely be a 'loser' due to their sensitivity to thermal stress events. Together, these species-specific responses to global change we observe will likely manifest in altered Caribbean reef assemblages in the future.

Winfried Amoaku,1 Clare Bailey,2 Louise Downey,3 Richard P Gale,4 Faruque Ghanchi,5 Robin Hamilton,6 Sajjad Mahmood,7 Geeta Menon,8 Jenny Nosek,9 Ian Pearce,10 Yit Yang11 1Academic Ophthalmology, Division of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK; 2University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, Bristol, UK; 3Hull and East Yorkshire Eye Hospital, Hull University Teaching Hospital, Hull, UK; 4York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, York, UK; 5Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Bradford, UK; 6Moorfield Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK; 7Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, UK; 8Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, Frimley, UK; 9Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, Shropshire, UK; 10St Paul’s Eye Unit, Royal Liverpool University Hospital, Liverpool, UK; 11Wolverhampton Eye Infirmary, The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, Wolverhampton, UKCorrespondence: Louise Downey Email Louise.Downey@hey.nhs.ukAbstract: An aging population leads to increasing demand for medical retina services with chronic diseases being managed in long-term care pathways. Many hospital services struggle to deliver efficient and effective MR care due, at least in part, to infrastructure that does not expand responsively enough to meet the increased demand. A steering committee of retinal specialists from a variety of UK NHS hospital ophthalmology departments with experience of leading and managing NHS retinal services in the intravitreal era came together for the generation of this document to review and compile key aspects that should be considered when optimising intravitreal treatment capacity within MR services. This article aims to provide a useful collation and signposting of key published evidence, consensus and insights on aspects of delivering an intravitreal service, including treatment regimens, virtual clinics, staff training and governance, telemedicine and information technology, and data collection and key performance indicators. The objective is to equip ophthalmologic healthcare professionals with the necessary tools to develop and adapt their local service in the face of current and projected increased demand.Keywords: capacity, intravitreal service, nAMD, resources

Microscopic imaging is essential and the most popular method for in situ monitoring and evaluating the outcome of various organ-on-a-chip (OOC) platforms, including the number and morphology of mammalian cells, gene expression, protein secretions, etc. This review presents an overview of how various imaging methods can be used to image organ-on-a-chip platforms, including transillumination imaging (including brightfield, phase-contrast, and holographic optofluidic imaging), fluorescence imaging (including confocal fluorescence and light-sheet fluorescence imaging), and smartphone-based imaging (including microscope attachment-based, quantitative phase, and lens-free imaging). While various microscopic imaging methods have been demonstrated for conventional microfluidic devices, a relatively small number of microscopic imaging methods have been demonstrated for OOC platforms. Some methods have rarely been used to image OOCs. Specific requirements for imaging OOCs will be discussed in comparison to the conventional microfluidic devices and future directions will be introduced in this review.

Abstract While human impacts like fishing have altered marine food web composition and body size, the status of the world’s important tropical inland fisheries remains largely unknown. Here, we look for signatures of human impacts on the indiscriminately fished Tonle Sap fish community that supports one of the world’s largest freshwater fisheries. By analyzing a 15-year time-series (2000–2015) of fish catches for 116 species obtained from an industrial-scale ‘Dai’ fishery, we find: (i) 78% of the species exhibited decreasing catches through time; (ii) downward trends in catches occurred primarily in medium to large-bodied species that tend to occupy high trophic levels; (iii) a relatively stable or increasing trend in catches of small-sized species, and; (iv) a decrease in the individual fish weights and lengths for several common species. Because total biomass of the catch has remained remarkably resilient over the last 15 years, the increase in catch of smaller species has compensated for declines in larger species. Our finding of sustained production but altered community composition is consistent with predictions from recent indiscriminate theory, and gives a warning signal to fisheries managers and conservationists that the species-rich Tonle Sap is being affected by heavy indiscriminate fishing pressure.

Abstract Background Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) remains the most aggressive cancers with a 5-year survival below 10%. Systemic delivery of chemotherapy drugs has severe side effects in patients with PDA and does not significantly improve overall survival rate. It is highly desirable to advance the therapeutic efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs by targeting their delivery and increasing accumulation at the tumor site. MUC1 is a membrane-tethered glycoprotein that is aberrantly overexpressed in > 80% of PDA thus making it an attractive antigenic target. Methods Poly lactic-co-glycolic acid nanoparticles (PLGA NPs) conjugated to a tumor specific MUC1 antibody, TAB004, was used as a nanocarrier for targeted delivery into human PDA cell lines in vitro and in PDA tumors in vivo. The PLGA NPs were loaded with fluorescent imaging agents, fluorescein diacetate (FDA) and Nile Red (NR) or isocyanine green (ICG) for in vitro and in vivo imaging respectively or with a chemotherapeutic drug, paclitaxel (PTX) for in vitro cytotoxicity assays. Confocal microscopy was used to visualize internalization of the nanocarrier in vitro in PDA cells with high and low MUC1 expression. The in vivo imaging system (IVIS) was used to visualize in vivo tumor targeting of the nanocarrier. MTT (3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide) assay was used to determine in vitro cell survival of cells treated with PTX-loaded nanocarrier. One-sided t-test comparing treatment groups at each concentration and two-way ANOVAs comparing internalization of antibody and PLGA nanoparticles. Results In vitro, TAB004-conjugated ICG-nanocarriers were significantly better at internalizing in PDA cells than its non-conjugated counterpart. Similarly, TAB004-conjugated PTX-nanocarriers were significantly more cytotoxic in vitro against PDA cells than its non-conjugated counterpart. In vivo, TAB004-conjugated ICG-nanocarriers showed increased accumulation in the PDA tumor compared to the non-conjugated nanocarrier while sparing normal organs. Conclusions The study provides promising data for future development of a novel MUC1-targeted nanocarrier for direct delivery of imaging agents or drugs into the tumor microenvironment.

Jayashree Ramu,1 Irini Chatziralli,1 Yit Yang,2 Geeta Menon,3 Clare Bailey,4 Michael Eckstein,5 Phil Hykin,1 Sobha Sivaprasad1 On behalf of the OZDRY Study Group 1NIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre, London, 2The Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust, Wolverhampton, 3Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, Surrey, 4Bristol Eye Hospital, Bristol, 5Brighton and Sussex University Hospital, Brighton, UK Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore and describe quantitatively patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), ie, health-related quality of life (QoL), visual function and treatment satisfaction, in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) receiving two different regimens of Ozurdex (intravitreal dexamethasone implant). Methods: In this multicenter, prospective study, 100 patients with center-involving refractory DME were randomized 1:1 to either five monthly fixed dosing or optical coherence tomography (OCT)-guided pro re nata (PRN) regimen of dexamethasone intravitreal implant therapy. The primary outcome was the difference between arms in change in PROMs and health-related QoL from baseline to 12 months, as measured by the Retinopathy-Dependent Quality of Life (RetDQoL) questionnaire, Visual Function Questionnaire-25 (VFQ-25) and Retinopathy Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (RetTSQ). Results: There was no statistically significant difference in the RetDQoL score and VFQ-25 score at month 12 compared to those at baseline, whereas the total mean RetTSQ score increased significantly at the exit visit. The two treatment arms did not differ significantly regarding the change in PROMs and health-related QoL questionnaires. Logistic regression analysis showed that visual acuity (VA) of ≥55 letters, central foveal thickness

Long-lived species share life history traits such as slow growth, late maturity, and low fecundity, which lead to slow recovery rates and increase a population’s vulnerability to disturbance. The Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) has recently been recognized as the world’s longest-lived vertebrate, but many questions regarding its biology, physiology, and ecology remain unanswered. Here we review how current and future research will fill knowledge gaps about the Greenland shark and provide an overall framework to guide research and management priorities for this species. Key advances include the potential for specialized aging techniques and demographic studies to shed light on the distribution and age-class structure of Greenland shark populations. Advances in population genetics and genomics will reveal key factors contributing to the Greenland shark’s extreme longevity, range and population size, and susceptibility to environmental change. New tagging technologies and improvements in experimental and analytical design will allow detailed monitoring of movement behaviors and interactions among Greenland sharks and other marine species, while shedding light on habitat use and susceptibility to fisheries interactions. Interdisciplinary approaches, such as the combined use of stable isotope analysis and high-tech data-logging devices (i.e., accelerometers and acoustic hydrophones) have the potential to improve knowledge of feeding strategies, predatory capabilities, and the trophic role of Greenland sharks. Measures of physiology, including estimation of metabolic rate, as well as heart rate and function, will advance our understanding of the causes and consequences of long lifespans. Determining the extent and effects of current threats (as well as potential mitigation measures) will assist the development of policies, recommendations, and actions relevant for the management of this potentially vulnerable species. Through an interdisciplinary lens, we propose innovative approaches to direct the future study of Greenland sharks and promote the consideration of longevity as an important factor in research on aquatic and terrestrial predators.

Matthew L Ritz, Christopher Bailey, Katherine Overstreet, Andrew Gorlin Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic Hospital, Phoenix, AZ, USA Abstract: Singultus (hiccups lasting longer than 48 hours) is a described complication following epidural steroid injections, sacroiliac joint injections, and facet joint injections. The underlying etiology is not completely understood, but it is a condition that can be distressing to patients. Our case presentation involves a 62-year-old male presenting for cervical epidural steroid injection. He subsequently developed persistent hiccups that resolved after medical therapy. When approaching these patients, it is critical to evaluate for potentially life-threatening etiologies before progressing down a treatment algorithm. Keywords: singultus, epidural steroid injection, persistent hiccups, betamethasone

The mammalian intestinal epithelial stem cell (IESC) niche is comprised of diverse epithelial, immune, and stromal cells, which together respond to environmental changes within the lumen and exert coordinated regulation of IESC behavior. There is growing appreciation for the role of the gut microbiota in modulating intestinal proliferation and differentiation, as well as other aspects of intestinal physiology. In this review, we evaluate the diverse roles of known niche cells in responding to gut microbiota and supporting IESCs. Furthermore, we discuss the potential mechanisms by which microbiota may exert their influence on niche cells and possibly on IESCs directly. Finally, we present an overview of the benefits and limitations of available tools to study niche-microbe interactions and provide our recommendations regarding their use and standardization. The study of host-microbe interactions in the gut is a rapidly growing field, and the IESC niche is at the forefront of host-microbe activity to control nutrient absorption, endocrine signaling, energy homeostasis, immune response, and systemic health.

This research consists of the presentation and analysis of focus group data obtained from a non-probability sample of foundation phase teachers from a primary school in a middle-class community on the Cape Flats. Like other communities in this area, the ordinary citizen is subjected to constant territorial gang wars, with the ever-present danger of being caught in the sudden crossfire of a violent uprising. Violence exists not only on the boundaries of school children’s areas, but also intrudes into the schools, including the school playground. Cognisant of the difficulties of teaching and learning in a perpetually unstable environment, a local non-profit organisation, Think Twice, provides training programmes in life skills in a pilot project called Circle Time to schools. Prior to this study, the programmes had not been evaluated. Think Twice consequently committed itself to researching programme effectiveness and to involve the teachers who are presenters of the programmes as co-researchers in the generation of data. Using a participatory design, the research aims to: 1) identify the precise need for life skills programmes in schools; and 2) institute relevant changes to the programmes in collaborative action. The researcher-facilitator is a representative of the organisation which designs and provides the training programmes.

This paper explores students' experiences with communication centers and offers recommendations for new and expanding communication centers. We combine empirical research conducted on student reflection forms with our own insight as tutors, instructors, and directors and with existing literature to offer considerations for enhancing the services offered by communication centers. We propose communication centers consider the purposes for and outcomes of students' visits, as well as what attributes of the tutoring and tutors students appreciate. Reasons for visiting the communication center included to receive help with content and structure, delivery, and sources and visual aids. Students reported getting assistance with drafting, delivery, supporting, and debriefing their presentations. The approaches to tutoring students appreciated included guided learning, clarification of course materials, and identification of both their strengths and weaknesses. Tutor characteristics appreciated by students were their prior teaching experience, good listening skills, creativity, and demeanor.

This article maps a meshwork of formal and informal elements of places called Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities (DUCs) to understand the role of informality in producing unjust access to safe drinking water in California’s San Joaquin Valley. It examines the spatial, racial, and class-based dimensions of informality. The paper aims to both enrich the literature on informality studies and use the concept of informality to expand research on DUCs and water access. We use socio-spatial analyses of the relationships between informality and water justice to reach the following conclusions: DUCs face severe problems in access to safe drinking water; disparities in access have a spatial dimension; inequities in water access are racialised; the proximity of DUCs to safe drinking water offers good potential for improved water access; and the challenges of informality are targeted through water justice advocacy and public policy.

Abstract Background Developing a greater understanding of population genetic structure in lowland tropical plant species is highly relevant to our knowledge of increasingly fragmented forests and to the conservation of threatened species. Specific studies are particularly needed for taxa whose population dynamics are further impacted by human harvesting practices. One such case is the fishtail or xaté palm (Chamaedorea ernesti-augusti) of Central America, whose wild-collected leaves are becoming progressively more important to the global ornamental industry. We use microsatellite markers to describe the population genetics of this species in Belize and test the effects of climate change and deforestation on its recent and historical effective population size. Results We found high levels of inbreeding coupled with moderate or high allelic diversity within populations. Overall high gene flow was observed, with a north and south gradient and ongoing differentiation at smaller spatial scales. Immigration rates among populations were more difficult to discern, with minimal evidence for isolation by distance. We infer a tenfold reduction in effective population size ca. 10,000 years ago, but fail to detect changes attributable to Mayan or contemporary deforestation. Conclusion Populations of C. ernesti-augusti are genetically heterogeneous demes at a local spatial scale, but are widely connected at a regional level in Belize. We suggest that the inferred patterns in population genetic structure are the result of the colonization of this species into Belize following expansion of humid forests in combination with demographic and mating patterns. Within populations, we hypothesize that low aggregated population density over large areas, short distance pollen dispersal via thrips, low adult survival, and low fruiting combined with early flowering may contribute towards local inbreeding via genetic drift. Relatively high levels of regional connectivity are likely the result of animal-mediated long-distance seed dispersal. The greatest present threat to the species is the potential onset of inbreeding depression as the result of increased human harvesting activities. Future genetic studies in understory palms should focus on both fine-scale and landscape-level genetic structure.

Previous work comparing the developmental mechanisms involved in digit reduction in horses with other mammals reported that horses have only a 'single digit', with two flanking metapodials identified as remnants of digit II and IV. Here we show that early Equus embryos go through a stage with five digit condensations, and that the flanking splint metapodials result from fusions of the two anterior digits I and II and the two posterior digits IV and V, in a striking parallel between ontogeny and phylogeny. Given that even this most extreme case of digit reduction exhibits primary pentadactyly, we re-examined the initial stages of digit condensation of all digit-reduced tetrapods where data are available and found that in all cases, five or four digits initiate (four with digit I missing). The persistent pentadactyl initiation in the horse and other digit-reduced modern taxa underscores a durable developmental stability at the initiation of digits. The digit evodevo model may help illuminate the biological circumstances under which organ systems become highly stabilized versus highly plastic.

Temperate zone winters are experiencing greater rates of warming relative to other seasons and latitudinal regions globally. Spring-spawning fishes native to northern environments rely on both increasing temperature and lengthening photoperiod to cue reproduction and may thus be particularly sensitive to rapid warming earlier in the year while day lengths remain short. We investigated the reproductive response of pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus) to spring warming commencing at a range of day lengths (9-15 hours), corresponding to various calendar days (10 January-22 May). In both the laboratory and field, both male and female fish that experienced early warming while day lengths were A l'echelle planetaire, les hivers dans les regions temperees se rechauffent plus rapidement que les autres saisons et que dans d'autres regions latitudinales. Chez les poissons indigenes des milieux nordiques qui frayent au printemps, l'augmentation des temperatures et l'allongement de la photoperiode sont des signaux qui induisent la reproduction, de sorte que ces poissons pourraient etre particulierement sensibles au rechauffement rapide plus tot dans l'annee, alors que la duree des jours demeure courte. Nous avons examine l'effet sur la reproduction de crapets-soleils (Lepomis gibbosus) du debut du rechauffement printanier a differentes durees du jour (de 9 a 15 heures) correspondant a differentes dates (du 10 janvier au 22 mai). Tant en laboratoire que sur le terrain, chez des poissons males et femelles ayant ete exposes a un rechauffement hatif alors que la longueur du jour etait inferieure a 11 heures, (1) la preparation a la reproduction dans le foie n'avait pas ete initiee avant le debut du developpement des gonades, (2) l'allocation de ressources a la reproduction etait reduite. L'analyse de donnees publiees sur les poissons de regions temperees donne a penser que le developpement du foie precedant le developpement des gonades est repandu dans les guildes thermiques d'eau chaude, temperee et froide, bien que la phenologie precise du developpement du foie par rapport a celui des gonades semble tres variable d'une espece a l'autre. Collectivement, nos resultats indiqueraient que l'attenuation de la preparation a la reproduction serait un mecanisme de modulation de l'efficacite de la reproduction chez les poissons tant d'eau chaude que d'eau temperee en reponse a un rechauffement printanier plus hatif. [Traduit par la Redaction], 1. Introduction At north-temperate latitudes, winters are projected to warm more rapidly than other seasons and regions under a changing global climate (Hoegh-Guldberg et al. 2018). Climate-driven declines in winter [...]

The United States Military Academy's Chemical Engineering Chocolate Club increases the interest in the sciences by combining chemical engineering knowledge with the production of a consumable product, chocolate. Cadets design the chocolate process by identifying the product (such as 70% dark chocolate), ingredients, and specific process details such as mixing standards and refinement time. They extend their design to include the use of rheology and a range of rheological models for quality control and assurance.

Approximately 50 million Americans suffer from chronic pain, and nearly a quarter of chronic pain patients have reported misusing opioid prescriptions. Repeated drug seeking is associated with reactivation of an ensemble of neurons sparsely scattered throughout the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC). Prior research has demonstrated that chronic pain increases intrinsic excitability of dmPFC neurons, which may increase the likelihood of reactivation during drug seeking. We tested the hypothesis that chronic pain would increase oxycodone‐seeking behaviour and that the pain state would differentially increase intrinsic excitability in dmPFC drug‐seeking ensemble neurons. TetTag mice self‐administered intravenous oxycodone. After 7 days of forced abstinence, a drug‐seeking session was performed, and the ensemble was tagged. Mice received spared nerve injury (SNI) to induce chronic pain during the period between the first and second seeking session. Following the second seeking session, we performed electrophysiology on individual neurons within the dmPFC to assess intrinsic excitability of the drug‐seeking ensemble and non‐ensemble neurons. SNI had no impact on sucrose seeking or intrinsic excitability of dmPFC neurons from these mice. In females, SNI increased oxycodone seeking and intrinsic excitability of non‐ensemble neurons. In males, SNI had no impact on oxycodone seeking or neuron excitability. Data from females are consistent with clinical reports that chronic pain can promote drug craving and relapse and support the hypothesis that chronic pain itself may lead to neuroadaptations which promote opioid seeking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Methods Results Conclusions Spouses of persons living with dementia face intense strains on their well‐being compared with similarly aged adults and spouses of partners with no dementia. This strain can impact spouses' health and healthcare needs, and therefore affect their healthcare utilization and expenditures.Using data from the Health and Retirement Study linked with Medicare claims, we matched dyads of spouses and their partners with dementia (SPWD) to a comparison group of similar spouses and their partners with no dementia (SPWND). We then examined Medicare expenditures for spouses in the 5 years following their partner's dementia onset month using a two‐part regression model.SPWD cumulative total Medicare expenditures were, on average, $60,043 in the 5 years post dementia onset, compared to $56,068 for SPWND. This difference ($3974, 95% CI = [−$3,199; $11,477]) was not significant. However, there were significant differences in the 5th year's total expenditures (+$2,748 [$321; $5,447]), driven by inpatient expenditures ($1,562 [$22; $3,277]).Despite the differences in partner's dementia status, we found no significant difference in the 5‐year cumulative Medicare expenditures between SPWD and SPWND. Compared to previous studies, we likely captured an earlier stage of dementia more consistently for a broader population which may be less straining on spouses. Further research should examine patterns of expenditures in later years and around critical timepoints in caregiving, such as partner transitions to formal long‐term care settings and death, to better understand healthcare expenditures for spouses of persons living with dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]