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Abstract Telomere biology disorders (TBDs) are inherited conditions associated with multisystem manifestations. We describe clinical and functional characterisation of a novel TERT variant. Whole‐genome sequencing was performed along with single telomere length analysis (STELA). Telomerase activity and processivity were assessed. A novel TERT variant (K710R) was detected in a patient with classic TBD features showing reduced telomerase activity and processivity. Despite clinical and functional evidence, the variant was classified as a variant of uncertain significance. We have described a novel TERT variant and highlighted the need for further refinement of variant classification specific for TBDs.

Inlets through coastal barriers in functionally non-tidal settings have been relatively understudied. Yet, they have morphosedimentary elements and morphodynamic behaviors that are similar to their tidal counterparts, especially microtidal (often wave-dominated) inlets. Increasingly, remote sensing technologies (aerial and satellite imagery, small unmanned aerial vehicles, etc.) are employed as sources of high-definition spatial databases. Such approaches are important in areas with limited access, especially in regions of military conflict, such as along parts of the northern Black Sea coast, Ukraine. For rapid spatial analysis of remotely sensed or archival datasets, image color intensity (ICI) patterns are obtained using grayscale (GS) spectra and a wide range of filter options. Areal and profile-style GS patterns based on relative ICI values are extracted from available imagery, so that in a full 256-value GS spectrum the deepest parts of a channel (inlet throat) will have the lowest (darkest) values (GS < 50). Landward (flood-tidal/bayside) and seaward (ebb-tidal/seaside) deltas will exhibit lighter colors (GS > 100). Exposed siliciclastic/carbonate sand-dominated barriers and shoals will yield the lightest values (GS > 200), with dark vegetation requiring GS inversion. Hypsometric information, as well as key metrics (perimeter and area) can be easily computed using instant tracing tools, without the need for labor-intensive contour outlining. This study is the first example of assessing cross-shore and longitudinal channel morphology of microtidal (USA) and non-tidal (Ukraine) inlets. The approach is also extended to a temporal analysis of inlet closure and a recent re-activation by an intense storm.

Abstract African savanna elephants are a highly mobile species that ranges widely across the diversity of ecosystems they inhabit. In xeric environments, elephant movement patterns are largely dictated by the availability of water and suitable forage resources, which can drive strong seasonal changes in their movement behavior. In this study, we analyzed a unique movement dataset from 43 collared elephants, collected over a period of 10 years, to assess the degree to which seasonal changes influences home range size of elephants in the semi‐arid, Laikipia‐Samburu ecosystem of northern Kenya. Auto‐correlated Kernel Density Estimation (AKDE) was used to estimate elephants' seasonal home range size. For each individual elephant, we also calculated seasonal home range shifts, as the distance between wet season home range centroids and dry season home range centroids. Core areas (50% AKDE isopleths) of all individual elephants ranged from 3 to 1743 km2 whereas total home range sizes (the 95% AKDE isopleths) ranged between 15 and 10,677 km2. Core areas and home range sizes were 67% and 61% larger, respectively, during the wet season than during the dry season. On average, the core area centroids for all elephants were 17 km away from the nearest river (range 0.2–150.3 km). Females had their core areas closer to the river than males (13.5 vs. 27.5 km). Females differed from males in their response to seasonal variation. Specifically, females tended to occupy areas farther from the river during the wet season, while males occupied areas further from the river during the dry season. Our study highlights how elephants adjust their space use seasonally, which can be incorporated into conservation area planning in the face of increased uncertainty in rainfall patterns due to climate change.

Abstract Much of the world’s population lives close to coastlines and this proximity is becoming increasingly impactful because of sea-level rise (SLR). Barrier islands and backbarrier saltmarshes, which comprise >10% of these coasts, are particularly susceptible. To better understand this risk, we model backbarrier morphologic and hydrodynamic evolution over a 200-year period of SLR, incorporating an erodible bed and a range of grain sizes. Here, we show that reduction in intertidal area creates negative feedback, shifting transport of coarse sediment (silt and sand) through the inlet from net export to net import. Imposing a modest marsh vertical accretion rate decreases the period of silt and sand import to 40 years (years 90 to 130) before being exported again. Clay is continuously exported thereby decreasing inorganic deposition on marshes and threatening their sustainability. Simulated marsh loss increases tidal prism and the volume of sand contained in ebb deltas, depleting coastal sand resources.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the Plasmodium falciparum multi-drug resistance protein 1 (Pfmrp1) gene have previously been reported to confer resistance to Artemisinin-based Combination Therapies (ACTs) in Southeast Asia. A total of 300 samples collected from six sites between 2008 and 2019 under an ongoing malaria drug sensitivity patterns in Kenya study were evaluated for the presence of SNPs at Pfmrp1 gene codons: H191Y, S437A, I876V, and F1390I using the Agena MassARRAY® platform. Each isolate was further tested against artemisinin (ART), lumefantrine (LU), amodiaquine (AQ), mefloquine (MQ), quinine (QN), and chloroquine (CQ) using malaria the SYBR Green I-based method to determine their in vitro drug sensitivity. Of the samples genotyped, polymorphism at Pfmrp1 codon I876V was the most frequent, with 59.3% (163/275) mutants, followed by F1390I, 7.2% (20/278), H191Y, 4.0% (6/151), and S437A, 3.3% (9/274). A significant decrease in median 50% inhibition concentrations (IC50s) and interquartile range (IQR) was noted; AQ from 2.996 ng/ml [IQR = 2.604-4.747, n = 51] in 2008 to 1.495 ng/ml [IQR = 0.7134-3.318, n = 40] (P

The fundamental basis of T cell memory remains elusive. It is established that antigen stimulation drives clonal proliferation and differentiation, but the relationship between cellular phenotype, replicative history, and longevity, which is likely essential for durable memory, has proven difficult to elucidate. To address these issues, we used conventional markers of differentiation to identify and isolate various subsets of CD8+ memory T cells and measured telomere lengths in these phenotypically defined populations using the most sensitive technique developed to date, namely single telomere length analysis (STELA). Naive cells were excluded on the basis of dual expression of CCR7 and CD45RA. Memory subsets were sorted as CD27+CD45RA+, CD27intCD45RA+, CD27−CD45RA+, CD27+CD45RAint, CD27−CD45RAint, CD27+CD45RA−, and CD27−CD45RA− at >98% purity. The shortest median telomere lengths were detected among subsets that lacked expression of CD45RA, and the longest median telomere lengths were detected among subsets that expressed CD45RA. Longer median telomere lengths were also a feature of subsets that expressed CD27 in compartments defined by the absence or presence of CD45RA. Collectively, these data suggested a disconnect between replicative history and CD8+ memory T cell differentiation, which is classically thought to be a linear process that culminates with revertant expression of CD45RA.

The university occupies a unique position in contemporary society. It is designed to inspire and instruct students in a safe space away from the pressures of society and in an environment in which freedom prevails. When universities turn a “blind eye” to sexual harassment and abuse, they become a breeding ground for sadistic behaviors across the continuum of the university setting, ultimately setting the stage for future deviant behavior in society. This article examines these failures through the lens of heterotopias inspired by Marquis de Sade. Poetry is used to introduce the poetical layered account methodology, culminating in opening the “black box” of the university heterotopia and exploring the negative impacts of Sadistic behavior that may occur when an institution is shielded from society. The use of poetry in an empirical setting vulgates that universities can be spaces where prospective and retrospective sensemaking collapse, awakening the inner evil described by de Sade in his isolated institutions. This article is germane to scholars in education, Sadism, sensemaking, and heterotopias.

Inlets through coastal barriers in functionally non-tidal settings have been relatively understudied. Yet, they have morphosedimentary elements and morphodynamic behaviors that are similar to their tidal counterparts, especially microtidal (often wave-dominated) inlets. Increasingly, remote sensing technologies (aerial and satellite imagery, small unmanned aerial vehicles, etc.) are employed as sources of high-definition spatial databases. Such approaches are important in areas with limited access, especially in regions of military conflict, such as along parts of the northern Black Sea coast, Ukraine. For rapid spatial analysis of remotely sensed or archival datasets, image color intensity (ICI) patterns are obtained using grayscale (GS) spectra and a wide range of filter options. Areal and profile-style GS patterns based on relative ICI values are extracted from available imagery, so that in a full 256-value GS spectrum the deepest parts of a channel (inlet throat) will have the lowest (darkest) values (GS < 50). Landward (flood-tidal/bayside) and seaward (ebb-tidal/seaside) deltas will exhibit lighter colors (GS > 100). Exposed siliciclastic/carbonate sand-dominated barriers and shoals will yield the lightest values (GS > 200), with dark vegetation requiring GS inversion. Hypsometric information, as well as key metrics (perimeter and area) can be easily computed using instant tracing tools, without the need for labor-intensive contour outlining. This study is the first example of assessing cross-shore and longitudinal channel morphology of microtidal (USA) and non-tidal (Ukraine) inlets. The approach is also extended to a temporal analysis of inlet closure and a recent re-activation by an intense storm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is impossible for a play that is performed in-theatre and with a sedentary audience to have multiple scenes transpiring simultaneously. In contrast, in the Tamara-Land plays, scenes are played on multiple stages with the audience moving freely between rooms, selecting acts that are of interest to them, and chatting with passers-by in corridors to catch up on missed expository. Most organizational cultures typify Tamara- Land scenarios. In other words, discourses occur in multiple settings and with multiple audiences making it impossible to witness and/or participate in polyphonic conversations. The crux of this paper contends that organizational behaviour can be understood through storytelling venues in order to discover and uncover simultaneity. However, to date, a framework for understanding the infinite permutations that lead to these parallel discourses has been underdeveloped. This paper utilizes a model comprised of four ‘love systems’, seven differing antenarratives, and four forms of consciousness. It updates prior works describing Tamara-Land and antenarrative processes. Because of the model’s complexity, two case studies will be provided to aid in its understanding.

How can Lean Six Sigma foster the creation of heterotopias? This article will examine the use of Lean Six Sigma principles to magnify cracks within a traditional bureaucracy in order to create heterotopias that dramatically alter organizational practices. The empirical setting of this paper is a classic bureaucracy — the United States Army — but with an interesting twist, due to an overtness in implementing Lean Six Sigma. Lean Six Sigma protocols may be used to foster long-term change through alternative narratives akin to organizational entrepreneurship. Therefore, this paper sees Lean Six Sigma as a storytelling methodology, in lieu of a directive set of tools and techniques. In this autoethnography, I tell my story of how I tried to execute a human resources logistics process, a Relief-in-Place, but failed on the first attempt. While facing difficult bureaucratic obstacles, I relied upon my training as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt to use stories as a way to circumvent these obstacles, create a heterotopia, and ultimately achieve mission success.