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Individuals that isolate themselves to give birth can use more than one strategy in choosing birth sites to maximize reproductive success. Previous research has focused on the consistency in the use of the same birth-site across years (i.e., spatial fidelity), but individuals alternatively may use similar habitat conditions across years (i.e., habitat fidelity). Using GPS telemetry, we determined whether woodland caribou expressed spatial or habitat fidelity during calving, and evaluated intrinsic and extrinsic factors associated with expressing either type of fidelity. We identified 56 individuals with ≥2 putative birth events, via a movement-based model, across northern Ontario between 2010 and 2014. Individuals were classified as expressing (1) spatial fidelity by comparing sequential calving locations to a random spatial distribution of available calving locations, (2) habitat fidelity using a logistic use model compared to a null (intercept only) model, (3) no fidelity (neither criterion met), or (4) both spatial and habitat fidelity (both criteria met). Across all individuals, 37% expressed no fidelity (36 of 98), 15% expressed only spatial fidelity (15 of 99), 35% expressed only habitat fidelity (34 of 98), and 14% expressed both spatial and habitat fidelity (14 of 98). Older individuals were more likely to express spatial fidelity, whereas lower availability of upland and lowland conifer forests without linear features increased the probability an individual expressed habitat fidelity. Our results indicate that managing for caribou calving needs to consider protecting both specific, known birthing sites, but also broad-scale areas of preferred habitat for calving. Understanding the mechanisms that influence caribou expressing calving fidelity, and associated fitness costs, is crucial for the conservation of the species., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests., (© 2024 His Majesty the King in Right of Canada and The Author(s). Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Reproduced with the permission of the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry.)

Cancer represents a significant cause of death and suffering in both the developed and developing countries. Key underlying issues in the mortality of cancer are delayed diagnosis and resistance to treatments. However, improvements in biomarkers represent one important step that can be taken for alleviating the suffering caused by malignancy. Precision-based medicine is promising for revolutionizing diagnostic and treatment strategies for cancer patients worldwide. Contemporary methods, including various omics and systems biology approaches, as well as advanced digital imaging and artificial intelligence, allow more accurate assessment of tumor characteristics at the patient level. As a result, treatment strategies can be specifically tailored and adapted for individual and/or groups of patients that carry certain tumor characteristics. This includes immunotherapy, which is based on characterization of the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) and, more specifically, the presence and activity of immune cell subsets. Unfortunately, while it is increasingly clear that gender strongly affects immune regulation and response, there is a knowledge gap concerning differences in sex-specific immune responses and how these contribute to the immunosuppressive TME and the response to immunotherapy. In fact, sex dimorphism is poorly understood in cancer progression and is typically ignored in current clinical practice. In this review, we aim to survey the available literature and highlight the existing knowledge gap in order to encourage further studies that would contribute to understanding both gender-biased immunosuppression in the TME and the driver of tumor progression towards invasive and metastatic disease. The review highlights the need to include sex optimized/genderized medicine as a new concept in future medicine cancer diagnostics and treatments., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

The ideal free distribution assumes that animals select habitats that are beneficial to their fitness. When the needs of dependent offspring differ from those of the parent, ideal habitat selection patterns could vary with the presence or absence of offspring. We test whether habitat selection depends on reproductive state due to top-down or bottom-up influences on the fitness of woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou ), a threatened, wide-ranging herbivore. We combined established methods of fitting resource and step selection functions derived from locations of collared animals in Ontario with newer techniques, including identifying calf status from video collar footage and seasonal habitat selection analysis through latent selection difference functions. We found that females with calves avoided predation risk and proximity to roads more strongly than females without calves within their seasonal ranges. At the local scale, females with calves avoided predation more strongly than females without calves. Females with calves increased predation avoidance but not selection for food availability upon calving, whereas females without calves increased selection for food availability across the same season. These behavioral responses suggest that habitat selection by woodland caribou is influenced by reproductive state, such that females with calves at heel use habitat selection to offset the increased vulnerability of their offspring to predation risk.

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease that alters one's appearance. Some define it as a cosmetic disease despite evidence that substantial psychosocial burden is associated with it. As a physician, support group leader, consultant for the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, and patient, I discuss the evidence behind the psychosocial impact of alopecia areata and the importance of comprehensive treatment., (Copyright © 2017 The Author. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in Ontario are a threatened species that have experienced a substantial retraction of their historic range. Part of their decline has been attributed to increasing densities of anthropogenic linear features such as trails, roads, railways, and hydro lines. These features have been shown to increase the search efficiency and kill rate of wolves. However, it is unclear whether selection for anthropogenic linear features is additive or compensatory to selection for natural (water) linear features which may also be used for travel. We studied the selection of water and anthropogenic linear features by 52 resident wolves (Canis lupus x lycaon) over four years across three study areas in northern Ontario that varied in degrees of forestry activity and human disturbance. We used Euclidean distance-based resource selection functions (mixed-effects logistic regression) at the seasonal range scale with random coefficients for distance to water linear features, primary/secondary roads/railways, and hydro lines, and tertiary roads to estimate the strength of selection for each linear feature and for several habitat types, while accounting for availability of each feature. Next, we investigated the trade-off between selection for anthropogenic and water linear features. Wolves selected both anthropogenic and water linear features; selection for anthropogenic features was stronger than for water during the rendezvous season. Selection for anthropogenic linear features increased with increasing density of these features on the landscape, while selection for natural linear features declined, indicating compensatory selection of anthropogenic linear features. These results have implications for woodland caribou conservation. Prey encounter rates between wolves and caribou seem to be strongly influenced by increasing linear feature densities. This behavioral mechanism-a compensatory functional response to anthropogenic linear feature density resulting in decreased use of natural travel corridors-has negative consequences for the viability of woodland caribou.

Background: As we move away from the traditional chemotherapy era to targeted therapy, the validity of old assessment paradigms associated with therapeutics are being raised in the context of immunotherapy. The old paradigm required elaborating on the toxicity assessment, with no expectation of efficacy in early phase trials. Safety data from Phase 1 and 2 studies with many immunotherapeutics show limited toxicities and draw attention to the need to demonstrate efficacy in the early evaluation of new agents., Methods: Literature searches indicate that molecular oncology mechanistic-based agents are being linked with molecular disease status and clinical benefit. Biomarkers and other endpoints are being employed to accomplish this. Perspectives for a meaningful context of integrating biomarkers and clinical trial design are reviewed., Results: The design and conduct of clinical trials have not been fully adjusted to the new era of personalized oncology, and so we are in transition. A part of this transition is the management of expectations and trial designs that need to be considered relative to preclinical experience in the development of therapeutics. For example, pathological complete response is now considered a surrogate marker for favorable prognosis in breast cancer patients who are treated in the neoadjuvant setting. This surrogate marker is tied to novel agents' mechanistic characteristics with no preclinical counterpart., Conclusion: The old paradigm considers patients equal with similar chances to respond to treatments, but the new paradigm considers patient's heterogeneity, a major fact that informs the design of clinical trials. By linking every treatment to a mechanism of action and to the presence of a specific biomarker, new trials are going to have more subjects who are likely to respond to the treatment., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.)

1. Although local variation in territorial predator density is often correlated with habitat quality, the causal mechanism underlying this frequently observed association is poorly understood and could stem from facultative adjustment in either group size or territory size. 2. To test between these alternative hypotheses, we used a novel statistical framework to construct a winter population-level utilization distribution for wolves (Canis lupus) in northern Ontario, which we then linked to a suite of environmental variables to determine factors influencing wolf space use. Next, we compared habitat quality metrics emerging from this analysis as well as an independent measure of prey abundance, with pack size and territory size to investigate which hypothesis was most supported by the data. 3. We show that wolf space use patterns were concentrated near deciduous, mixed deciduous/coniferous and disturbed forest stands favoured by moose (Alces alces), the predominant prey species in the diet of wolves in northern Ontario, and in proximity to linear corridors, including shorelines and road networks remaining from commercial forestry activities. 4. We then demonstrate that landscape metrics of wolf habitat quality - projected wolf use, probability of moose occupancy and proportion of preferred land cover classes - were inversely related to territory size but unrelated to pack size. 5. These results suggest that wolves in boreal ecosystems alter territory size, but not pack size, in response to local variation in habitat quality. This could be an adaptive strategy to balance trade-offs between territorial defence costs and energetic gains due to resource acquisition. That pack size was not responsive to habitat quality suggests that variation in group size is influenced by other factors such as intraspecific competition between wolf packs., (© 2015 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2015 British Ecological Society.)

Movement patterns offer a rich source of information on animal behaviour and the ecological significance of landscape attributes. This is especially useful for species occupying remote landscapes where direct behavioural observations are limited. In this study, we fit a mechanistic model of animal cognition and movement to GPS positional data of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou; Gmelin 1788) collected over a wide range of ecological conditions. The model explicitly tracks individual animal informational state over space and time, with resulting parameter estimates that have direct cognitive and ecological meaning. Three biotic landscape attributes were hypothesized to motivate caribou movement: forage abundance (dietary digestible biomass), wolf (Canis lupus; Linnaeus, 1758) density and moose (Alces alces; Linnaeus, 1758) habitat. Wolves are the main predator of caribou in this system and moose are their primary prey. Resulting parameter estimates clearly indicated that forage abundance is an important driver of caribou movement patterns, with predator and moose avoidance often having a strong effect, but not for all individuals. From the cognitive perspective, our results support the notion that caribou rely on limited sensory inputs from their surroundings, as well as on long-term spatial memory, to make informed movement decisions. Our study demonstrates how sensory, memory and motion capacities may interact with ecological fitness covariates to influence movement decisions by free-ranging animals., (© 2015 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2015 British Ecological Society.)

Background: Preconception counseling (PC) significantly and inexpensively reduces risks of reproductive-health complications for women with diabetes. Our validated technology-based preconception counseling intervention, READY-Girls , is tailored for female teens with type 1 (T1D) and type 2 (T2D) diabetes and targets decision-making regarding effective family planning and seeking PC. Our teen-focused research was instrumental in changing the American Diabetes Association's Practice Recommendations to specify that preconception counseling should "Start at puberty…". This directive requires support from well-informed mothers of teens. Our goal is to provide both teen girls and their mothers with preconception counseling knowledge, and provide mothers with sex-communication training. Evaluation should focus on mother-daughter dyads., Purpose: This feasibility study explored mother's and daughter's awareness and knowledge of diabetes and pregnancy, and preconception counseling; and compared mother-daughter responses using dyadic analyses., Methods: A mixed-method design was conducted with 10 mothers of daughters with T1D. Mothers were given READY-Girls intervention and completed knowledge and support questionnaires. Their responses were compared to those of their daughter's who were participating in a large randomized, control intervention trial with READY-Girls ., Results: The major theme from one-on-one interviews was, "I know nothing about diabetes/pregnancy risks and PC". Mother's and daughter's perceptions of having limited knowledge were confirmed by low knowledge scores. Mothers perceived giving higher levels of support compared to their daughter's perceptions of receiving support., Conclusion: Mothers can play a vital role in initiating discussions regarding reproductive-health with their daughters and reinforcing preconception counseling. Mother-daughter team approach for starting preconception counseling at puberty in girls with diabetes is feasible. Mother-daughter dyadic analyses can be important to explore possible mediating and moderating roles of mother-daughter communication and support about reproductive health on the relationship between READY-Girls intervention and sustainable outcomes.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of a self-instructional preconception counseling (PC) training program for Certified Diabetes Educators (CDEs) to enhance PC knowledge and self-efficacy., Methods: A 1-group, pre-post test study was conducted with 31 CDEs from a large medical center in western Pennsylvania. The self-instructional program included selected readings, such as the American Diabetes Association's position statement on PC of women with diabetes and an interactive CD-ROM, "Reproductive-Health Awareness for Teenage Women With Diabetes" ("READY-Girls"). Paper-and-pencil knowledge and self-efficacy questionnaires regarding PC and pregnancies of women with diabetes were completed by the CDEs before and immediately following the self-instructional program. Upon completion, participants received 5.0 Continuing Nursing Education contact hours (CNEs) from the State Nurses Association., Results: Prior to receiving the program, all of the participants indicated they would benefit from further training on PC. Pretest knowledge scores averaged in the 70th percentile; following the program, the participants significantly increased (P < .01) PC knowledge and self-efficacy in providing PC to women with diabetes, including adolescents., Conclusions: Although CDEs knew relevant information, they lacked some specific knowledge about PC, and they lacked confidence in their knowledge and in their ability to counsel patients. Diabetes educators can benefit from an education program to provide PC to their female patients, including adolescents. Computer or Web-based accessibility could make this a low-cost and easily disseminated program.

According to the American Diabetes Association, unplanned pregnancies in women with diabetes could lead to abnormal metabolic control, which causes fetal and maternal complications. Preconception planning can decrease these risks. This article reports on the progress in preconception planning over the past 2 years.

Purpose: This study explored the awareness of issues related to diabetes and pregnancy, preconception counseling (PC), and contraception in adolescent women with type 1 diabetes (T1D)., Methods: A descriptive-qualitative method was used to collect open-ended data during a telephone interview on reproductive health by same-gender research assistants. Eighty subjects were recruited from multiple sites (mean age = 17.6 +/- 1.0 year; range, 16-20). Questions focused on 2 themes, awareness of diabetes and reproductive health (pregnancy, PC, birth control) and where to seek information about these issues. Responses were written verbatim. Pattern recognition detected common themes. Results were cross-checked for interrater reliability., Results: Overall, the response "don't know" or "never heard about it" was most frequently given. Most teens in this sample were unaware of the term preconception counseling; 65% (n = 52) indicated they knew nothing about PC. Many were not aware of the risks of pregnancy-related complications in women with diabetes. One fourth of the teens were aware of preplanning a pregnancy and the importance of good metabolic control. Many knew where to seek information about diabetes and pregnancy, and birth control., Conclusions: This sample of teens lacked awareness of pregnancy-related complications with diabetes, the term and role of PC in preventing these complications, and the importance for women with diabetes to use a highly effective birth control method for preventing an unplanned pregnancy. Because of its implications for future reproductive health behavior and preventing unplanned pregnancies and complications, during their routine clinic visits, it is imperative for health professionals to raise these issues with their adolescent female patients.