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For US leaders and policy makers attempting to deter or punish asymmetric challenges from China, Russia, and other authoritarian states, information has been an underutilized tool. Beijing and Moscow react more negatively to information tools, especially those that challenge regime controls over information, than they do to military, economic, and diplomatic tools. US policy makers should focus on criticizing censorship, advocating for freedom of information access, and using technical or cyber means to undermine information/communication controls in authoritarian states. Doing so offers an opportunity for the United States and its democratic allies to balance authoritarian state practices designed to manipulate the open information environments of democratic societies, with a tool that targets authoritarian regimes' reliance on information control to maintain power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The behavior of vaporous hydrogen peroxide (VHP) was examined in clean, room-scale galvanized steel (GS) and polyvinylchloride-coated steel air ducts, to understand how it might be used to decontaminate larger ventilation systems. VHP injected into the GS duct decreased in concentration along the length of the duct, whereas VHP concentrations in the polyvinylchloride coated duct remained essentially constant, suggesting that VHP decomposed at the GS surface. However, decomposition was reduced at lower temperatures (approximately 22 degrees C) and higher flow rates (approximately 80 actual cubic meter per hour). A computational fluid dynamics model incorporating reactive transport was used to estimate surface VHP concentrations where bioaerosol contamination is likelyto reside, and also showed that VHP decomposition was enhanced at bends within the duct, compared to straight sections. Use of G. stearothermophilus indicators, in conjunction with model estimates, indicated that a concentration-contact time of approximately 100 mg/L H2O2(g) x min was required to achieve a 6 log reduction of indicator spores in clean GS duct, at 30 degrees C. When VHP is selected for building decontamination, this work suggests the most efficacious strategy may be to decontaminate GS ducting separately from the rest of the building, as opposed to a single decontamination event in which the ventilation system is used to distribute VHP throughout the entire building.

This article draws from a study investigating the life trajectories of 17 youth climate activists from 14 countries through semi-structured, life memory interviews using Internet-based methods. The interpretations of the interviews focus on the ways in which participants constructed the meanings and functions of experiences and how they represented the nature of the process of their committing to climate activism. Included in the interpretations are the nature of moments of consciously committing, the role of both concern for nature and for social justice, the dynamic and ceaseless process of committing, and the role of the youth climate movement. The discussion highlights the uniqueness of youth and of climate change in the process of committing. The research contributes to the limited but important literature on the life trajectories of youth climate activists.

Interspecies foraging associations occur in a wide variety of vertebrate taxa and are maintained through gains in foraging efficiency and (or) predator avoidance. Despite their advantages, foraging associations often are variable in space and time and benefits may not accrue equally to all participants. In mammals, interspecies associations between solitary mammalian carnivores are rare. Coyotes (Canis latrans Say, 1823) and American badgers (Taxidea taxus (Schreber, 1777)) occasionally form hunting associations in pursuit of ground squirrels (Spermophilus armatus Kennicott, 1863), yet spatiotemporal variation in this association may be substantial. Better documentation of coyote--badger interactions across space and time will improve our understanding of the environmental drivers of this relationship and its benefit to both species. We used a broad-scale camera trapping array to document coyote--badger hunting associations. Out of 46 detections of badgers, we found five instances of hunting associations with coyotes, all of which occurred in mid- to late summer when ground squirrels were most active. Given our high rate of detection, these interactions are likely common on our study area. Habitat characteristics of the regions where we document coyote--badger interactions may have increased the likelihood of hunting associations. Our study demonstrates the effectiveness of camera traps for documenting this association and suggests that the coyote--badger system may be ideal for studying drivers of spatiotemporal variation in foraging associations. Key words: badger, Taxidea taxus, camera trap, coyote, Canis latrans, hunting association, interspecies interaction, mutualism, Washington State. Des associations interspécifiques aux fins de l'approvisionnement se produisent entre de nombreux taxons de vertébrés et sont maintenues par des gains sur le plan de l'efficacité d'approvisionnement ou de l'évitement de prédateurs. Malgré les avantages qu'elles présentent, les associations d'approvisionnement varient souvent dans l'espace et le temps, et ces avantages peuvent ne pas être égaux pour tous les participants. Chez les mammifères, les associations interspécifiques de carnivores solitaires sont rares. Des coyotes (Canis latrans Say, 1823) et des blaireaux d'Amérique (Taxidea taxus (Schreber, 1777)) s'associent parfois pour poursuivre des spermophiles (Spermophilus armatus Kennicott, 1863), mais les variations spatiotempo-relles de cette association peuvent être considérables. Une meilleure documentation des interactions coyotes--blaireaux dans le temps et l'espace améliorera la compréhension des facteurs environnementaux influant sur cette relation et de l'avantage qu'en tirent les deux espéces. Nous avons utilisé un réseau à grande échelle de pièges photographiques pour documenter des associations de coyotes et blaireaux aux fins de la chasse. Sur 46 détections de blaireaux, nous avons détecté cinq cas d'association de chasse avec des coyotes, dont toutes se sont produites de la moitié à la fin de l'été, alors que l'activité des spermophiles atteint un maximum. Au vu de la fréquence élevée des détections, ces interactions sont probablement répandues dans la région à l'étude. Des caractéristiques des habitats des zones ou nous documentons des interactions coyotes-blaireaux pourraient avoir rehaussé la probabilité d'associations de chasse. L'étude démontre l'efficacité des piéges photographiques pour documenter cette association et donne à penser que le systéme coyote--blaireau pourrait étre idéal pour l'étude des facteurs qui influencent les variations spatiotemporelles d'associations d'approvisionnement. [Traduit par la Rédaction] Mots-clés: blaireau, Taxidea taxus, piége photographique, coyote, Canis latrans, association de chasse, interaction interspécifique, mutualisme, État de Washington., Introduction Interspecific foraging associations occur in a wide variety of vertebrate taxa, including fishes (Strand 1988), birds (Monkkonen et al. 1996), and mammals (Stensland et al. 2003), and are likely [...]