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Few epidemiological studies have focused on seasonal variation in the use of common psychedelics and party drugs among nightclub and festival attendees, typically those who attend electronic dance music (EDM) events. We sought to determine whether the use of different drug types varies seasonally within this population. Across 15 seasons from summer 2017 through fall 2022, we surveyed 3,935 adults entering randomly selected nightclubs and festivals in New York City regarding their past-month use of cocaine, MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, commonly known as ecstasy), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin (shrooms), and ketamine. Multivariable models were used to compare adjusted odds ratios for drug use within each season with the grand mean of combined seasons. Summer was associated with higher odds for use of LSD (aOR 2.72; 95% CI, 1.88–3.93) and psilocybin (aOR 1.65; CI, 1.12–2.43), independent of increases in psilocybin use over time (p <.001). A significant increase in use of ketamine (p =.014) and significant decreases in use of cocaine (p =.002) and ecstasy (p =.002) were found across time, but multivariable models did not detect seasonal variations. Summer is a risk factor for use of common psychedelics among people who attend EDM events. Therefore, the summer months may be the best time to disseminate information about harm reduction for psychedelic drug users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Vitamin D supplementation may prevent acute respiratory infections (ARIs). This study aimed to identify the optimal methods of vitamin D supplementation. Methods: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, and the ClinicalTrials.gov registry were searched from database inception through July 13, 2023. Randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) were included. Data were pooled using random-effects model. The primary outcome was the proportion of participants with one or more ARIs. Results: The analysis included 43 RCTs with 49320 participants. Forty RCTs were considered to be at low risk for bias. The main pairwise meta-analysis indicated there were no significant preventive effects of vitamin D supplementation against ARIs (risk ratio [RR]: 0.99, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.97 to 1.01, I2 = 49.6%). The subgroup dose–response meta-analysis indicated that the optimal vitamin D supplementation doses ranged between 400–1200 IU/day for both summer-sparing and winter-dominant subgroups. The subgroup pairwise meta-analysis also revealed significant preventive effects of vitamin D supplementation in subgroups of daily dosing (RR: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.85 to 0.99, I2 = 55.7%, number needed to treat [NNT]: 36), trials duration < 4 months (RR: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.67 to 0.97, I2 = 48.8%, NNT: 16), summer-sparing seasons (RR: 0.85, 95% CI: 0.74 to 0.98, I2 = 55.8%, NNT: 26), and winter-dominant seasons (RR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.71 to 0.89, I2 = 9.7%, NNT: 10). Conclusion: Vitamin D supplementation may slightly prevent ARIs when taken daily at doses between 400 and 1200 IU/d during spring, autumn, or winter, which should be further examined in future clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In cocoa agroforestry systems, cycling of leaves, pods, and branches are key for organic matter sustenance. We investigated annual total litterfall, annual nutrient stocks in total litterfall, cocoa pods and beans, as well as cocoa leaf decomposition rates in cocoa agroforestry systems under conventional and organic management in Suhum Municipality, Eastern Region of Ghana. The study was conducted using six cocoa agroforests for each management selected from a total of four villages. Litterfall was collected monthly using litterboxes and a litterbag technique was employed to study the rates of leaf decomposition and nutrient release for 12 months. In June and July, total litterfall in organic farms were 94% and 65%, respectively, higher than in conventional farms, but management had no effect on average annual total litterfall of 8.8 t ha−1 yr−1 litterfall. Due to the trees' reduced transpiration, 61% of the annual total litterfall occurred during the dry season. Whereas average leaf litter nitrogen (N) concentration was 17% higher in the rainy season than dry season, potassium (K) concentration was 38% higher during the dry season than rainy season. This likely reflected the contribution of N rich green leaves to litterfall in the rainy season and plant coping strategy to drought leading to K accumulation. Cocoa leaf decomposition was not affected by management. Annual potassium (K) and calcium (Ca) stocks in cocoa pod husk were four and nine-fold, respectively, higher than in cocoa beans. We conclude that organic versus conventional management had no effect on litterfall and cocoa leaf decomposition rather season influenced litterfall quantity and chemistry. Irrespective of management the spreading of cocoa pod husk after harvest will improve internal nutrient cycling in cocoa agroforestry systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Vitamin D supplementation may prevent acute respiratory infections (ARIs). This study aimed to identify the optimal methods of vitamin D supplementation. Methods PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, and the ClinicalTrials.gov registry were searched from database inception through July 13, 2023. Randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) were included. Data were pooled using random-effects model. The primary outcome was the proportion of participants with one or more ARIs. Results The analysis included 43 RCTs with 49320 participants. Forty RCTs were considered to be at low risk for bias. The main pairwise meta-analysis indicated there were no significant preventive effects of vitamin D supplementation against ARIs (risk ratio [RR]: 0.99, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.97 to 1.01, I 2 = 49.6%). The subgroup dose–response meta-analysis indicated that the optimal vitamin D supplementation doses ranged between 400–1200 IU/day for both summer-sparing and winter-dominant subgroups. The subgroup pairwise meta-analysis also revealed significant preventive effects of vitamin D supplementation in subgroups of daily dosing (RR: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.85 to 0.99, I 2 = 55.7%, number needed to treat [NNT]: 36), trials duration

Background: Daylength and the rates of changes in daylength have been associated with seasonal fluctuations in psychiatric symptoms and in cognition and mood in healthy adults. However, variations in human brain glucose metabolism in concordance with seasonal changes remain under explored. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we examined seasonal effects on brain glucose metabolism, which we measured using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-PET in 97 healthy participants. To maximize the sensitivity of regional effects, we computed relative metabolic measures by normalizing the regional measures to white matter metabolism. Additionally, we explored the role of rest–activity rhythms/sleep–wake activity measured with actigraphy in the seasonal variations of regional brain metabolic activity. Results: We found that seasonal variations of cerebral glucose metabolism differed across brain regions. Glucose metabolism in prefrontal regions increased with longer daylength and with greater day-to-day increases in daylength. The cuneus and olfactory bulb had the maximum and minimum metabolic values around the summer and winter solstice respectively (positively associated with daylength), whereas the temporal lobe, brainstem, and postcentral cortex showed maximum and minimum metabolic values around the spring and autumn equinoxes, respectively (positively associated with faster daylength gain). Longer daylength was associated with greater amplitude and robustness of diurnal activity rhythms suggesting circadian involvement. Conclusions: The current findings advance our knowledge of seasonal patterns in a key indicator of brain function relevant for mood and cognition. These data could inform treatment interventions for psychiatric symptoms that peak at specific times of the year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Only one species of the genus Paradiplozoon (Akmerov 1974) has so far been recorded in Vimba vimba (Linnaeus, 1758) from Türkiye. This study was planned to improve the recording of the occurrence of diplozoids in V. vimba from a pristine area in a different geographical region. A total of 397 specimens of V. vimba were collected from Lake Köyceğiz by commercial fishermen over a period of one year and examined for the presence of diplozoids. Only one species of Paradiplozoon was found. Following a detailed morphological examination, the species was identified as Paradiplozoon bliccae (Reichenbach-Klinke 1961), which was subsequently confirmed by molecular data. A total of 1025 specimens of P. bliccae infected 185 of the 397 Vimba vimba specimens examined, with prevalence, mean intensity and abundance of 46.6%, 5.5 ± 4 parasites/fish, 2.5, respectively. The highest prevalence and mean abundance were determined in spring, while mean intensity values were higher in summers. Female hosts showed higher prevalence, mean intensity and mean abundance than males. This is the first report on the diplozoid P. bliccae from the locality and the first molecular characterization of P. bliccae from V. vimba in Lake Köyceğiz. This study adds to the geographical range of the species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the native Lithuanian Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) population, rapidly changing climatic conditions raise new issues, related to survivability and resistance of local provenances to biotic and abiotic stressors. The aim of this study is to revise and update the findings of Abraitis & Ericsson (1996) who assessed the productivity of Scots pine provenances following 22 years of growth. In this study, we assessed the productivity of same provenances following 39 years of growth. This study was done based on a long-term pine provenance research experiment established in 1975 in Lithuania, as an integral part of the Prokazyn investigation that was launched across the former USSR. Our results indicate a clear effect of latitude as well as longitude on the mean stand performance values of Scots pine provenances. With increasing latitude, mean height, mean quadratic diameter and the volume of growing trees per hectare had a clear decreasing tendency. Except for the mean squared diameter, the impact of the longitude was the same on the mean stand height and the volume of growing trees per hectare. Ranking of Scots pine provenances based on breeding indices showed that provenances that were identified as the most productive ones by Abraitis & Ericsson (1996) after 17 years of growth, lost their top positions after 39 years of growth. In the case of demand for genetically improved planting material, it could be recommended to use southerner populations which demonstrate higher growth intensity up to 39 years.

Pollinators benefit from increasing floral resources in agricultural landscapes, which could be an underexplored co‐benefit of mass‐flowering crop cultivation. However, the impacts of mass‐flowering crops on pollinator communities are complex and appear to be context‐dependent, mediated by factors such as crop flowering time and the availability of other flower resources in the landscape. A synthesis of research is needed to develop management recommendations for effective pollinator conservation in agroecosystems.By combining 22 datasets from 13 publications conducted in nine temperate countries (20 European, 2 North American), we investigated if mass‐flowering crop flowering time (early or late season), bloom state (during or after crop flowering) and extent of non‐crop habitat cover in the landscape moderated the effect of mass‐flowering crop cover on wild pollinator abundance and species richness in mass‐flowering crop and non‐crop habitats.During bloom, wild bee abundance and richness are negatively related to mass‐flowering crop cover. Dilution effects were predominant in crop habitats and early in the season, except for bumblebees, which declined with mass‐flowering crop cover irrespective of habitat or season. Late in the season and in non‐crop habitats, several of these negative relationships were either absent or reversed. Late‐season mass‐flowering crop cover is positively related to honeybee abundance in crop habitats and to other bee abundance in non‐crop habitats. These results indicate that crop‐adapted species, like honeybees, move to forage and concentrate on late‐season mass‐flowering crops at a time when flower availability in the landscape is limited, potentially alleviating competition for flower resources in non‐crop habitats. We found no evidence of pollinators moving from mass‐flowering crop to non‐crop habitats after crop bloom.Synthesis and applications: Our results confirm that increasing early‐season mass‐flowering crop cover dilutes wild pollinators in crop habitats during bloom. We find that dilution effects were absent late in the season. While mass‐flowering crop cultivation alone is unlikely to be sufficient for maintaining pollinators, as part of carefully designed diverse crop rotations or mixtures combined with the preservation of permanent non‐crop habitats, it might provide valuable supplementary food resources for pollinators in temperate agroecosystems, particularly later in the season when alternative flower resources are scarce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aims to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the key parameters that affect the energy output of the Bagisli Hydropower Plant, located on the Zap River in the Dicle (Tigris) basin of Turkey. It considers the daily data for the time interval of 2016–2019 related to flow rate, precipitation, and temperature in relation to the generation of electricity. The relationship between energy output and flow rate is evident; however, the energy production is limited by the design flow rate. The largest flow rates were seen during the spring season after the occurrence of peak precipitation, which exhibited a shifting pattern. Similarly, energy generation also reaches its highest level during this time period. Another outcome of this study is that there is no apparent association between daily precipitation and daily energy generation. Moreover, a novel correlation with an R2 value of 0.89 has been proposed, in the deviation band of ±20%, to estimate energy generation when only flow rate data are available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twenty years of satellite-based cloud and radiation observations allow us to examine the observed cloud radiative effect (CRE) feedback (i.e., CRE change per unit change in global mean surface temperature). By employing a decomposition method to separate the contribution of "internal changes" and "relative-frequency-of-occurrence (RFO) changes" of distinct cloud regime (CR) groups, notable seasonal contrasts of CRE feedback characteristics emerge. Boreal winter CRE feedback is dominated by the positive shortwave CRE (SWCRE) feedback of oceanic low-thick clouds, due to their decreasing RFO as temperature rises. This signal is most likely due to El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) activity. When ENSO signals are excluded, boreal winter CRE feedback becomes qualitatively similar to the boreal summer feedback, where several CR groups contribute to the total CRE feedback more evenly. Most CR groups' CRE feedbacks largely come from changing RFO (e.g., the predominant transition from oceanic cumulus to broken clouds and more occurrences of higher convective clouds with warming temperature). At the same time, low-thick and broken clouds experience optical thinning and decreasing cloud fraction, and these features are more prominent in boreal summer than winter. Overall, the seasonally asymmetric patterns of CRE feedback, primarily due to ENSO, introduce complexity in assessments of CRE feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the industrial-scale co-fired power plant in Thailand was analyzed and the optimization model was proposed to provide a proper fuel selection for the feedstock seasonal planning to minimize the cost of electricity generation. Also, the dust emission model was introduced in this work to investigate the environmental concern of the proposed fuel formula. The seasonal effects including feed price, properties, and availability were also included in the optimization model. The optimum solution reported a set of fuel formulas for each season that is capable of maintaining power production stability and minimizing fuel costs. Although, the global demand for coal was at its peak in the winter season, using biomass (wood chip, wood bark, and fiber) could increase the production to achieve its minimum requirement. The optimization could reduce the cost of electricity (COE) production by up to 14% (in the winter season). Also, the emission model indicated that to increase the steam production rate to meet the requirement in the summer season, a larger amount of mixed fuel consumption rate was needed. This led to an increase in dust emissions in the summer season. However, in the winter season, the result from optimization could decrease dust emissions by up to 50%. In conclusion, increasing biomass utilization is a favorable option in both economic and environmental aspects.

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As the understanding of decadal variability in climate systems deepens, there is a growing interest in investigating the decadal variability of seasonal-mean or monthly mean variables. This study aims to understand the seasonality observed in the amplitude of decadal variability. To accomplish this, we analyze the decadal variability of the monthly mean North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index and North Pacific index (NPI) over the past decades using two different calculating processes: the full smoothing (F) process and the seasonal-specific (SS) process. Our findings suggest that the F process only captures the decadal variability of annual-mean variables, whereas the SS process is suited for capturing the seasonality of decadal variability. We find that the seasonality in decadal variability aligns with the seasonality in interannual variability. Additionally, we explore the seasonality in decadal variability in atmospheric and oceanic variables. The seasonality in oceanic decadal variability, including sea surface temperature and salinity, is found to be weak and small. The amplitude of decadal variability in the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) is similar across different months, indicating weak seasonality in the PDO. On the other hand, decadal variability of lower-tropospheric atmospheric circulation, including horizontal wind, geopotential height, and surface air temperature, exhibits significant seasonality in the extratropics, with the strongest decadal variability occurring in winter. Moreover, the significant seasonality in decadal variability of precipitation is observed in the tropics, with the strongest decadal variability occurring in summer. Our study provides insights into understanding the seasonality of decadal variability, which can aid in the improvement of decadal prediction of climate variability. Significance Statement: The amplitude of decadal variability of seasonal-mean or monthly mean variables exhibits seasonality. Our results show that the seasonality in decadal variability is consistent with the seasonality in interannual variability. We also identified that the seasonality in oceanic decadal variability is weak and smaller than that in atmospheric decadal variability. Decadal variability of lower-tropospheric atmospheric circulation exhibits significant seasonality in the extratropics, with the strongest decadal variability occurring in winter. However, the significant seasonality in decadal variability of precipitation occurs in the tropics, with the strongest decadal variability occurring in summer. Our study provides insights into the seasonality of decadal variability in climate systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest above-ground biomass (AGB) is the basis of terrestrial carbon storage estimation, and making full use of the seasonal characteristics of remote sensing imagery can improve the estimation accuracy. In this study, we used multi-source time series and sample plots with the Random Forest (RF) model to estimate the AGB. The sources included Sentinel-1 (S-1), Sentinel-2 (S-2), and the S-1 and S-2 combination (S-1S-2). Time series included single season, annual, and multi-season. This study aims to (1) explore the optimal image acquisition season to estimate AGB; (2) determine whether the ability to estimate the AGB of multi-seasonal imagery exceeded that of annual and single-season imagery; (3) discover the sensitivity of different data to AGB according to phenological conditions. The results showed that: (1) images acquired in autumn were more useful for AGB estimation than spring, summer, and winter; (2) the S-1 multi-seasonal AGB model had higher accuracy than the annual or single-season one; (3) in autumn and spring, S-1 had higher estimation accuracy than S-2, and in autumn and spring, estimation accuracy from S-1S-2 was higher than that from S-1 and S-2; (4) in 16 AGB estimation models, the best estimation accuracy was achieved by the autumn AGB model from S-1S-2 (R2 = 0.90, RMSE = 16.26 t/ha, p = 0.82, and rRMSE = 18.97). This study could be useful to identify the optimal image acquisition season for AGB estimation, thus reducing the economic cost of image acquisition and improving the estimation accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of season, location, species, and sex on body weight and a comprehensive array of blood chemistry and hematology analytes were compared for free-ranging western (Aechmophorus occidentalis) and Clark's (Aechmophorus clarkii) grebes. Birds (n = 56) were collected from Puget Sound, WA, and Monterey Bay and San Francisco Bay, CA, from February 2007 to March 2011. The data supported generalization of observed ranges for most analytes across Aechmophorus grebe metapopulations wintering on the Pacific coast. Notable seasonal and location effects were observed for packed cell volume (winter 6% greater than fall; winter California [CA] 5% greater than Washington [WA]), total white blood cell count (CA 3.57 × 103 cells/µL greater than WA), heterophils (WA 10% greater than CA), lymphocytes (winter 19% greater than fall), heterophil to lymphocyte ratio (fall 5.7 greater than winter), basophils (CA greater than WA), plasma protein (WA about 10 g/L [1.0 g/dL] greater than CA), plasma protein to fibrinogen ratio (winter about 15 greater than fall), potassium (CA 2 mmol/L greater than WA), and liver enzymes (alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase: WA greater than CA). Within California, season had a greater effect on body mass than sex (mean winter weights about 200 g greater than fall), whereas within a season, males weighed only about 80 g more than females, on average. These data give biologists and veterinarians quantitative reference values to better assess health at the individual and metapopulation level.

Abstract Background People with certain underlying respiratory and cardiovascular conditions might be at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19. Diesel Particulate Matter (DPM) exposure may affect the pulmonary and cardiovascular systems. The study aims to assess if DPM was spatially associated with COVID-19 mortality rates across three waves of the disease and throughout 2020. Methods We tested an ordinary least squares (OLS) model, then two global models, a spatial lag model (SLM) and a spatial error model (SEM) designed to explore spatial dependence, and a geographically weighted regression (GWR) model designed to explore local associations between COVID-19 mortality rates and DPM exposure, using data from the 2018 AirToxScreen database. Results The GWR model found that associations between COVID-19 mortality rate and DPM concentrations may increase up to 77 deaths per 100,000 people in some US counties for every interquartile range (0.21 μg/m3) increase in DPM concentration. Significant positive associations between mortality rate and DPM were observed in New York, New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, and western Connecticut for the wave from January to May, and in southern Florida and southern Texas for June to September. The period from October to December exhibited a negative association in most parts of the US, which seems to have influenced the year-long relationship due to the large number of deaths during that wave of the disease. Conclusions Our models provided a picture in which long-term DPM exposure may have influenced COVID-19 mortality during the early stages of the disease. That influence appears to have waned over time as transmission patterns evolved.

The current study aims to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the key parameters that affect the energy output of the Bagisli Hydropower Plant, located on the Zap River in the Dicle (Tigris) basin of Turkey. It considers the daily data for the time interval of 2016–2019 related to flow rate, precipitation, and temperature in relation to the generation of electricity. The relationship between energy output and flow rate is evident; however, the energy production is limited by the design flow rate. The largest flow rates were seen during the spring season after the occurrence of peak precipitation, which exhibited a shifting pattern. Similarly, energy generation also reaches its highest level during this time period. Another outcome of this study is that there is no apparent association between daily precipitation and daily energy generation. Moreover, a novel correlation with an R2 value of 0.89 has been proposed, in the deviation band of ±20%, to estimate energy generation when only flow rate data are available.

Forest degradation, driven by human and natural factors, diminishes ecological functions and carbon storage. Understanding the complex dynamics of soil carbon pools is crucial for the global carbon cycle, although these dynamics are poorly understood. This study examines how different thinning intensities influence seasonal soil carbon cycling in degraded forests. ANOVA revealed significant differences in soil properties across treatments (p < 0.05). Redundancy analysis and random forest analyses were used to explore relationships among thinning intensities, soil properties, and carbon sequestration. Thinning significantly altered soil attributes, as revealed by field experiments and data analysis. Moderate thinning (20% intensity) significantly enhanced litter retention and soil nutrient levels year-round (p < 0.05). Seasonal variations affected soil carbon dynamics and lower thinning intensities improved carbon sequestration in spring and summer. Conversely, higher thinning intensities led to carbon loss in autumn and winter. Litter carbon, fine root carbon, and correction factor significantly respond to thinning intensities year-round as examined through redundancy analysis and random forest analyses. Findings indicate moderate thinning effectively enhances soil carbon sequestration in degraded forests. Strategically planned thinning could aid climate change mitigation by boosting forest soil carbon storage, influencing forest management and conservation.

Seasonal effects on subclinical cardiovascular functions (CVFs) are an important emerging health issue for people living in urban environment. The objectives of this study were to demonstrate the effects of seasonal variations of temperature, relative humidity, and PM2.5 air pollution on CVFs. A total of 86 office workers in Taipei City were recruited, their arterial pressure waveform was recorded by cuff sphygmomanometer using an oscillometric blood pressure (BP) device for CVFs assessment. Results of paried t-test with Bonferroni correction showed significantly increased systolic and diastolic BP (SBP, DBP), central end-systolic and diastolic BP (cSBP, cDBP) and systemic vascular resistance, but decreased heart rate (HR), stroke volume (SV), cardio output (CO), and cardiac index in winter compared with other seasons. After controlling for related confounding factors, SBP, DBP, cSBP, cDBP, LV dp/dt max, and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) were negatively associated with, and SV was positively associated with seasonal temperature changes. Seasonal changes of air pollution in terms of PM2.5 were significantly positively associated with DBP and cDBP, as well as negatively associated with HR and CO. Seasonal changes of relative humidity were significantly negatively associated with DBP, and cDBP, as well as positively associated with HR, CO, and baPWV. This study provides evidence of greater susceptibility to cardiovascular events in winter compared with other seasons, with ambient temperature, relative humidity, and PM2.5 as the major factors of seasonal variation of CVFs.

Central Europe has experienced a sequence of unprecedented summer droughts since 2015, which had considerable effects on the functioning and productivity of natural and agricultural systems. Placing these recent extremes in a long-term context of natural climate variability is, however, constrained by the limited length of observational records. Here, we use tree-ring stable oxygen and carbon isotopes to develop annually resolved reconstructions of growing season temperature and summer moisture variability for central Europe during the past 2000 years. Both records are independently interpolated across the southern Czech Republic and northeastern Austria to produce explicit estimates of the optimum agroclimatic zones, based on modern references of climatic forcing. Historical documentation of agricultural productivity and climate variability since 1090 CE provides strong quantitative verification of our new reconstructions. Our isotope records not only contain clear expressions of the medieval (920-1000 CE) and Renaissance (early sixteenth century) droughts, but also the relative influence of temperature and moisture on hydroclimatic conditions during the first millennium (including previously reported pluvials during the early third, fifth, and seventh centuries of the Common Era). We conclude that Czech agricultural production has experienced significant extremes over the past 2000 years, which includes periods for which there are no modern analogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urban heat island effect is an increasingly serious problem in urban areas. Previous studies suggest that spatial variation in the urban land surface temperature (LST) is determined by interactions among urban morphological factors, but few studies have explored the main factors that affect the LST in different seasons in complex urban areas, especially at a fine scale. By considering the central Chinese city of Jinan as an example, we selected 19 parameters related to the architectural morphological factors, ecological basis factors, and humanistic factors and explored their effects on the LST in different seasons. A correlation model was used to identify the key factors and to analyze the main impact thresholds in different seasons. In the four seasons, the 19 factors all had significant correlations with LST. In particular, architectural morphological factors comprising the average building height and high building ratio had significant negative correlations with the LST in the four seasons. The architectural morphological factors comprising the floor area ratio, spatial concentration degree, building volume density, and urban surface pattern index comprising the mean nearest neighbor distance to green land, as well as humanistic factors comprising the point of interest density, nighttime light intensity, and human activity intensity of land surface had significant positive correlations with LST in the summer and autumn. Ecological basis factors made the main contributions to the LST in the spring, summer, and winter, whereas humanistic factors contributed the most in the autumn. The contributions of architectural morphological factors were relatively low in the four seasons. The dominant factors differed in each season but their thresholds had similar characteristics. The results obtained in this study deepen our understanding of the relationships between urban morphology and the urban heat island effect, and provide practical suggestions for improving the urban thermal environment through reasonable building planning and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background To evaluate the relationship between pandemic events and dental emergency service frequentation. Utilization patterns in the scope of the COVID-19 pandemic were analyzed and considered in regard of seasonal parameters. Methods All outpatients seeking treatment in a university hospital’s dental emergency service were analyzed in the years 2019, 2019 and 2020 according to demographic data and emergencies were subdivided into “absolute” and “relative”. The years 2018 and 2019 were used to compare COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 phases. Defined waves of the pandemic were compared with equivalent prior-year periods. Results Our study includes 11,219 dental emergency patients over a period of three years with a slight surplus of male patients. Comparing the pre-COVID-19 years and 2020 as a year of pandemic, the total count of cases decreased by more than 25%. The share of absolute emergencies in 2020 was higher than in the years before (p

Background: People with certain underlying respiratory and cardiovascular conditions might be at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19. Diesel Particulate Matter (DPM) exposure may affect the pulmonary and cardiovascular systems. The study aims to assess if DPM was spatially associated with COVID-19 mortality rates across three waves of the disease and throughout 2020. Methods: We tested an ordinary least squares (OLS) model, then two global models, a spatial lag model (SLM) and a spatial error model (SEM) designed to explore spatial dependence, and a geographically weighted regression (GWR) model designed to explore local associations between COVID-19 mortality rates and DPM exposure, using data from the 2018 AirToxScreen database. Results: The GWR model found that associations between COVID-19 mortality rate and DPM concentrations may increase up to 77 deaths per 100,000 people in some US counties for every interquartile range (0.21 μg/m3) increase in DPM concentration. Significant positive associations between mortality rate and DPM were observed in New York, New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, and western Connecticut for the wave from January to May, and in southern Florida and southern Texas for June to September. The period from October to December exhibited a negative association in most parts of the US, which seems to have influenced the year-long relationship due to the large number of deaths during that wave of the disease. Conclusions: Our models provided a picture in which long-term DPM exposure may have influenced COVID-19 mortality during the early stages of the disease. That influence appears to have waned over time as transmission patterns evolved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microplastics (MPs) in estuaries are sources of plastic debris that enter the marine environment. However, there is limited information on the seasonal effect on the accumulation of MPs in the estuaries of Thailand. The abundance and spatial distribution of MPs in the dry and wet seasons were investigated in the Chao Phraya River estuary, and possible emission sources were traced. Dominant factors affecting the distribution patterns of MPs have also been reported. All collected water samples contained MPs, with a mean abundance of 4.0 ± 2.8 × 105 particles/km2 in the wet season and 5.2 ± 3.3 × 105 particles/km2 in the dry season. Fragments were mostly observed, with polypropylene and polyethylene being the dominant polymers. The findings also showed that accumulation of MPs was directly influenced by the river discharge rate into the estuary. Further, the spatial distribution of MPs was closely related to seasonal variations in sea surface currents. Microplastic pollution status with seasonal variations and possible emission sources could provide important information to the government and local environmental organizations for MP pollution prevention and future MP studies in estuarine environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal sediments filter and accumulate organic and inorganic materials from the terrestrial and marine environment, and thus provide a high diversity of microbial niches. However, sediment-based analyses typically examine bulk samples and seldom consider variation at a scale relevant to changes in environmental conditions, due to the lack of mid-long term field data which can cover both the seasonal and sediment depth variations. In this study, microbial production and bacterial community structure were determined together with grain parameters over 10 months of intertidal silty sands on Jiangsu Coast, China. We demonstrated that the microbiological effects did not merely present on the surface, but greatly varied and stratified in both physical and biological contexture within the top 4 cm layer. Bacterial community structure showed a clear vertical variation with higher operational taxonomic unit (OTU) numbers at 1~2 cm depth than in the top 2 mm, probably because of the decreasing disturbance by hydrodynamic forces. However, the microbial production rates and metabolic activities, represented by the production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), were always higher in the top. Seasonal changes were strongly reflected in the vertical patterns of EPS but could not explain the variation across sites. The overall EPS secretion in spring and summer was generally at high level than that in autumn and winter, with the maximum value of 5~6 times higher. Interestingly, the stratification of biological and physical properties followed a fixed relationship, where with the decrease of the grain size D50, the EPS content increased exponentially, and this relationship was independent of temporal or spatial variation. Despite the significant seasonal variation of microbial activity and sedimentary grain size individually, the basic function between EPS content and D50 however did not alter. Filling these knowledge gaps will not only help to decipher the fate of grain-biofilm aggregates and organic matter burial under global changes, but also provide field evidence for the development of sediment transport models as well as blue carbon models incorporating microbial processes.

Background: To evaluate the relationship between pandemic events and dental emergency service frequentation. Utilization patterns in the scope of the COVID-19 pandemic were analyzed and considered in regard of seasonal parameters. Methods: All outpatients seeking treatment in a university hospital's dental emergency service were analyzed in the years 2019, 2019 and 2020 according to demographic data and emergencies were subdivided into "absolute" and "relative". The years 2018 and 2019 were used to compare COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 phases. Defined waves of the pandemic were compared with equivalent prior-year periods. Results: Our study includes 11,219 dental emergency patients over a period of three years with a slight surplus of male patients. Comparing the pre-COVID-19 years and 2020 as a year of pandemic, the total count of cases decreased by more than 25%. The share of absolute emergencies in 2020 was higher than in the years before (p < 0.0001). The under-utilization during the waves was more pronounced during the first wave compared to the second waves. Conclusions: Additionally to the clear decrease by more than 25% in 2020, we found an inverse dependency of 7-day-incidence of COVID-19 and number of visits. This effect was more distinct for relative emergencies, while the number of patients with absolute emergencies remains rather constant. Probably, there is an acclimatization effect regarding the waves. Patients older than 60 years who suffered from relative emergencies showed an under-utilzation during 2020. During a pandemic such as COVID-19, the effect of under-utilization is more pronounced among elderly patients. However, a pandemic acclimatization effect seems to occur. This can be taken into account in the administration of this kind of circumstances in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest above-ground biomass (AGB) is the basis of terrestrial carbon storage estimation, and making full use of the seasonal characteristics of remote sensing imagery can improve the estimation accuracy. In this study, we used multi-source time series and sample plots with the Random Forest (RF) model to estimate the AGB. The sources included Sentinel-1 (S-1), Sentinel-2 (S-2), and the S-1 and S-2 combination (S-1S-2). Time series included single season, annual, and multi-season. This study aims to (1) explore the optimal image acquisition season to estimate AGB; (2) determine whether the ability to estimate the AGB of multi-seasonal imagery exceeded that of annual and single-season imagery; (3) discover the sensitivity of different data to AGB according to phenological conditions. The results showed that: (1) images acquired in autumn were more useful for AGB estimation than spring, summer, and winter; (2) the S-1 multi-seasonal AGB model had higher accuracy than the annual or single-season one; (3) in autumn and spring, S-1 had higher estimation accuracy than S-2, and in autumn and spring, estimation accuracy from S-1S-2 was higher than that from S-1 and S-2; (4) in 16 AGB estimation models, the best estimation accuracy was achieved by the autumn AGB model from S-1S-2 (R2 = 0.90, RMSE = 16.26 t/ha, p = 0.82, and rRMSE = 18.97). This study could be useful to identify the optimal image acquisition season for AGB estimation, thus reducing the economic cost of image acquisition and improving the estimation accuracy.

The study of radio signal propagation path loss (PL) is important for planning, designing and evaluating the performance of radio communication networks. However, the state-of-the-art in PL modelling for fixed wireless networks in rural environments is still ill-equipped for making accurate predictions. This paper explores the application of the log distance PL model to heterogeneous fixed wireless networks in harsh rural propagation conditions. This model is then extended and optimized to improve its accuracy. In particular, the dataset is classified according to many criteria, radio links are split into many intervals according to their distances, antenna heights and elevations are integrated into its formula and long-term extreme seasonal variations are considered. Our study uses a wide set of measurements from the fixed wireless networks of a wireless internet service provider in rural regions of Canada. The proposed modifications improve the accuracy by 7 to 15 dB in terms of the root mean squared error.

Yellow leaf disease (YLD) has been a major limiting factor threatening areca palm commonly known as betel palm (Areca catechu L.) plantations in Hainan, China. The YLD disease is closely associated with areca palm velarivirus 1 (APV1), which belongs to the family Closteroviridae. YLD-affected betel palms show more serious yellowing symptoms in winter than in summer based on anecdotal observations. In the present work, the underlying mechanism was investigated. We first observed that the severity of YLD symptoms was closely related with the APV1 viral titer determined by qRT-PCR and ELISA under natural conditions. To further investigate whether temperature plays a key role in APV1 accumulation, the areca palm seedlings were artificially inoculated with APV1-positive mealybugs (Ferrisia virgata) and then cultivated under controlled conditions. According to our results, the YLD symptoms severity in inoculated seedlings were closely associated with temperature, e.g., severest symptoms at low temperature (16/22 ± 2°C, night/day), severer symptoms at room temperature (24/26 ± 2°C, night/day), while moderate symptoms at high temperature (27/34 ± 2°C, night/day). The qRT-PCR and ELISA results showed that APV1 titer accumulates significantly abundant at low temperature as compared to high and room temperatures. In conclusion, this is the first report about the temperature effects on the symptoms severity of YLD and APV1 titer, which may have important implications for the epidemiology of YLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the effect of seasonality and genotype on the productivity of goats and the quality of their milk, 30 goats of three different breeds were taken: 10 Saanen goats, 10 Russian white goats and 10 local Ukrainian goats. The milk yield of the experimental goats was evaluated during the year for the volume, protein content, fat content, lactose content, acidity and density. The effect of both genotype and season on protein content, and the effect of only season on fat content and lactose content were determined. The most dependent on seasonal factors (change of season, temperature fluctuations, amount of precipitation) were goats of Saanen and Russian white breed, the least dependent were goats of local Ukrainian selection. Acidity and density of milk did not change during the entire experiment. The highest protein content (3.32%) and fat content (3.37%) were found in Saanen goats. The highest lactose content (4.53%) was found in goats of local Ukrainian breeding. During the spring and summer months, goats of local Ukrainian selection and Russian white showed the best productivity.Goats of the Saanen breed had the best productivity during the autumn and winter months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Domestic cats (Felis catus) hold an important place in human society but can negatively impact ecosystems when roaming freely outdoors. Aims: Specific research goals included identifying factors associated with cat abundance over the year. Methods: We deployed trail cameras in Wellington County, Ontario, Canada to estimate what habitat characteristics were associated with cats in the spring/summer and the fall/winter. Within a subset of our study area, we also compared these findings to a previous study that used walking surveys. Key results: In the spring/summer, cat abundance was positively related to proximity to buildings and negatively related to distance to agriculture. In the fall/winter, cat abundance was negatively related to the presence of coyotes (Canis latrans) and positively related to proximity to major roads. Overall, cat abundance was higher in urban than rural locations, and higher in spring/summer compared to fall/winter. Both our results from trail cameras and walking surveys from a previous study identified that median income, woodlots, and major roads were important habitat characteristics associated with cats during the summer, and we discuss the costs and benefits associated with both approaches. Conclusions: Free-roaming cats are associated with different habitat characteristics in spring/summer versus fall/winter and vary in abundance across landscape type and season. Implications: The development of management strategies aimed at reducing free-roaming cats in temperate areas should incorporate seasonal and landscape patterns. Managing free-roaming cats requires understanding where cats are found and how this varies across the year. Using trail cameras in rural and urban areas in southern Ontario, Canada, cats were more likely to be found near buildings and away from agriculture in the spring/summer and near major roads and away from coyotes in the fall/winter. Our results have important implications for the development of management plans and the design of future studies. Photograph by Emily Lupton. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence exists that exposure to weather hazards, particularly in cities subject to heat island and climate change impacts, strongly affects individuals' physical and mental health. Personal exposure to and sentiments about warm conditions can currently be expressed on social media, and recent research noted that the geotagged, time-stamped, and accessible social media databases can potentially be indicative of the public mood and health for a region. This study attempts to understand the relationships between weather and social media sentiments via Twitter and weather data from 2012 to 2019 for two cities in hot climates: Singapore and Phoenix, Arizona. We first detected weather-related tweets, and subsequently extracted keywords describing weather sensations. Furthermore, we analyzed frequencies of most used words describing weather sensations and created graphs of commonly occurring bigrams to understand connections between them. We further explored the annual trends between keywords describing heat and heat-related thermal discomfort and temperature profiles for two cities. Results showed significant relationships between frequency of heat-related tweets and temperature. For Twitter users exposed to no strong temperature seasonality, we noticed an overall negative cluster around hot sensations. Seasonal variability was more apparent in Phoenix, with more positive weather-related sentiments during the cooler months. This demonstrates the viability of Twitter data as a rapid indicator for periods of higher heat experienced by public and greater negative sentiment toward the weather, and its potential for effective tracking of real-time urban heat stress. Significance Statement: Social media such as Twitter allow individuals to broadcast their opinions in real time, including perceptions and sensations related to weather events. Evidence from two cities exposed to hot weather—one equatorial and one desert subtropical—indicates that tweets were sensitive to seasonal temperature differences even within a small range. For Twitter users exposed to no strong temperature seasonality, generally negative sentiments to hot weather were seen year-round. In Phoenix with more pronounced seasonality, tweets were more positive in sentiment during the cooler months. This result shows promise for the medium as a rapid real-time indicator—or a snapshot—for societal sentiment to weather events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four types of permeable pavements were monitored at the Edison Environmental Center in Edison, New Jersey, for three water quality indicator organisms consisting of fecal coliform, enterococci, and Escherichia coli. This study expands a previously published result based on less than a year of available data. The current study reflects nearly 5 years of data collection with efforts focusing on collection of data in all four seasons to analyze seasonal effects and to understand the effects of pH on infiltrate concentrations. All three indicators were detected in infiltrates from all four permeable surfaces and as well as asphalt and roof runoff. Seasonally, the infiltrate during winter had fewer detections and lower enumerations and was most often significantly different than surface infiltrate and runoff for the other seasons. More significant concentration reductions were observed in summer and fall, and the lowest reduction was observed in winter. Pervious Asphalt treatment removed the most microorganisms for all three indicator organisms. A permeable interlocking concrete pavement (PICP) that was a replacement for pervious concrete during the study performed better than the original PICP most likely due to smaller gap spacing (8 mm compared to 12.7 mm) and correspondingly smaller specified surface aggregate compared to the original PICP. Percent concentration removal reductions based on geometric means were 89% or greater for PC, PA, and PICP for fecal coliform; 75% or better for PC, PA and PICP for E. coli; and 95% or greater for PC and PA for enterococci, while there were no annual removals for enterococci for original or new PICP nor removals for E. coli for original PICP and minimal removal for fecal coliform for original PICP. The major sources of fecal indicators in the stormwater runoff were most likely from the feces of deer, geese, and other wild animals. Practitioner Points: The infiltrate during winter had fewer detections and lower enumerations and was most often significantly different than surface infiltrate and runoff for the other seasons.More significant concentration reductions were observed in summer and fall, and the lowest reduction was observed in winter.Pervious Asphalt treatment removed the most microorganisms for all three indicator organisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diet of an individual animal is subject to change over time, both in response to short‐term food fluctuations and over longer time scales as an individual ages and meets different challenges over its life cycle. A metabarcoding approach was used to elucidate the diet of different life stages of a migratory songbird, the Eurasian reed warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) over the 2017 summer breeding season in Somerset, the United Kingdom. The feces of adult, juvenile, and nestling warblers were screened for invertebrate DNA, enabling the identification of prey species. Dietary analysis was coupled with monitoring of Diptera in the field using yellow sticky traps. Seasonal changes in warbler diet were subtle, whereas age class had a greater influence on overall diet composition. Age classes showed high dietary overlap, but significant dietary differences were mediated through the selection of prey; (i) from different taxonomic groups, (ii) with different habitat origins (aquatic vs. terrestrial), and (iii) of different average approximate sizes. Our results highlight the value of metabarcoding data for enhancing ecological studies of insectivores in dynamic environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yellow leaf disease (YLD) has been a major limiting factor threatening areca palm commonly known as betel palm (Areca catechu L.) plantations in Hainan, China. The YLD disease is closely associated with areca palm velarivirus 1 (APV1), which belongs to the family Closteroviridae. YLD-affected betel palms show more serious yellowing symptoms in winter than in summer based on anecdotal observations. In the present work, the underlying mechanism was investigated. We first observed that the severity of YLD symptoms was closely related with the APV1 viral titer determined by qRT-PCR and ELISA under natural conditions. To further investigate whether temperature plays a key role in APV1 accumulation, the areca palm seedlings were artificially inoculated with APV1-positive mealybugs (Ferrisia virgata) and then cultivated under controlled conditions. According to our results, the YLD symptoms severity in inoculated seedlings were closely associated with temperature, e.g., severest symptoms at low temperature (16/22 ± 2°C, night/day), severer symptoms at room temperature (24/26 ± 2°C, night/day), while moderate symptoms at high temperature (27/34 ± 2°C, night/day). The qRT-PCR and ELISA results showed that APV1 titer accumulates significantly abundant at low temperature as compared to high and room temperatures. In conclusion, this is the first report about the temperature effects on the symptoms severity of YLD and APV1 titer, which may have important implications for the epidemiology of YLD.

Abstract The diet of an individual animal is subject to change over time, both in response to short‐term food fluctuations and over longer time scales as an individual ages and meets different challenges over its life cycle. A metabarcoding approach was used to elucidate the diet of different life stages of a migratory songbird, the Eurasian reed warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) over the 2017 summer breeding season in Somerset, the United Kingdom. The feces of adult, juvenile, and nestling warblers were screened for invertebrate DNA, enabling the identification of prey species. Dietary analysis was coupled with monitoring of Diptera in the field using yellow sticky traps. Seasonal changes in warbler diet were subtle, whereas age class had a greater influence on overall diet composition. Age classes showed high dietary overlap, but significant dietary differences were mediated through the selection of prey; (i) from different taxonomic groups, (ii) with different habitat origins (aquatic vs. terrestrial), and (iii) of different average approximate sizes. Our results highlight the value of metabarcoding data for enhancing ecological studies of insectivores in dynamic environments.

Prairie dogs (Cynomys sp.) are considered keystone species and ecosystem engineers for their grazing and burrowing activities (summarized here as disturbances). As climate changes and its variability increases, the mechanisms underlying organisms' interactions with their habitat will likely shift. Understanding the mediating role of prairie dog disturbance on vegetation structure, and its interaction with environmental conditions through time, will increase knowledge on the risks and vulnerability of grasslands.Here, we compared how plant taxonomical diversity, functional diversity metrics, and community‐weighted trait means (CWM) respond to prairie dog C. mexicanus disturbance across grassland types and seasons (dry and wet) in a priority conservation semiarid grassland of Northeast Mexico.Our findings suggest that functional metrics and CWM analyses responded to interactions between prairie dog disturbance, grassland type and season, whilst species diversity and cover measures were less sensitive to the role of prairie dog disturbance. We found weak evidence that prairie dog disturbance has a negative effect on vegetation structure, except for minimal effects on C4 and graminoid cover, but which depended mainly on season. Grassland type and season explained most of the effects on plant functional and taxonomic diversity as well as CWM traits. Furthermore, we found that leaf area as well as forb and annual cover increased during the wet season, independent of prairie dog disturbance.Our results provide evidence that grassland type and season have a stronger effect than prairie dog disturbance on the vegetation of this short‐grass, water‐restricted grassland ecosystem. We argue that focusing solely on disturbance and grazing effects is misleading, and attention is needed on the relationships between vegetation and environmental conditions which will be critical to understand semiarid grassland dynamics under future climate change conditions in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The present study aimed to gain a comprehensive knowledge of the presence and environmental risks of pesticide and repellent residues in Lake Balaton and its sub-catchment area (Hungary). A unique analysis of 439 active substances and 17 metabolites was carried out on surface waters and one effluent wastewater as the only direct discharge into Lake Balaton from June 2017 until August 2020. Altogether 203 water- and 85 sediment samples were collected and analysed during the 3-year monitoring period. To determine the environmental risks of the detected pesticides to aquatic ecosystems, environmental risk assessment (ERA) was carried out using two approaches (worst- and general-case scenarios). Results: Fifty-two pesticides and one insect repellent were detected, of which 26 belonged to herbicides (24 active substances and two metabolites), 15 to fungicides (15 active substances), and 11 to insecticides (eight active substances and three metabolites), of which only nine of the total analysed compounds are listed to be monitored in surface waters with threshold limit values (TLVs). The most frequently detected compounds were terbuthylazine, diethyltoluamide (DEET), desethyl-atrazine, and metolachlor. Glyphosate, aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), and DEET were found with the highest concentrations of 3.0, 2.0, and 1.57 µg/L, respectively. The pesticide exposures were higher during the summer periods indicating a stable seasonal pattern. According to the performed ERA, the calculated Risk Quotients (RQs) indicated 18 compounds with a high level of risk including nine that had been banned for at least a decade. Discussion: This study expands knowledge on the spatiotemporal occurrence of pesticides in inland surface waters and highlights the need to consider widening the number of analysed pesticides beyond the European Water Framework Directive (EWFD). According to our results, additional authority and legislation procedures should come into force for pesticides not indexed in the priority European Union Watch List. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous Approximation (CA) models have been used to solve transportation problems due to their ability to efficiently model complex transportation systems and offer flexibility in testing alternative policies. The current study develops a CA model for optimizing transportation planning for ferry services. The model is tested in a case study for a ferry network in the Aegean Sea, Greece. The specific network is chosen due to the high seasonal demand changes that the network experiences. For this reason, three strategies and three scenarios for each strategy are modeled, resulting in nine cases, to test the developed method. The three strategies reflect fleet size and ferry trip variations, while the three scenarios reflect variations in demand for each quarter of the year. The analysis shows that the estimated impacts provide an understanding of the relationship between time delay and operational costs, and the trade-offs between different strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increase in the mean monthly temperature in July and a lack of precipitation during the vegetation period will cause an increase in the frequency and severity of droughts during the vegetation period in Lithuania. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the growth response to climate change of East European pine provenances in Lithuania. The research was performed based on a long-term pine provenance experiment that was established in 1975 in Lithuania. The results showed that central populations demonstrated the same or better survival and growth results compared with western populations that also included local Lithuanian provenances. Even though southern populations were characterized by the same productivity, their low survival rate suggests a negative introduction effect. Analysis of temporal variation in climate sensitivity showed a higher resistance of central and southern Scots pine provenances to the negative climatic changes, compared to the western provenances. Provenances from the central, southern and especially western locations demonstrated an increasing statistically significant negative effect of monthly temperatures in July. Additionally, provenances from western locations were more sensitive to precipitation amounts, water balance and droughts in June and July. Considering that central and southern provenances demonstrated the consistent effect of growth tolerance, the incorporation of the genetic material from the southern part of European Russia and Ukraine into local breeding programs of Scots pine might amplify positive effects of the transfer. Moreover, knowledge gaps remain regarding the growth performance of Scots pine provenances that originated from central or western European regions. Thus, Scots pine origins from Poland and the northeastern part of Germany should be included in Lithuanian provenance experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Rivers and lakes are used for multiple purposes such as for drinking water (DW) production, recreation, and as recipients of wastewater from various sources. The deterioration of surface water quality with wastewater is well-known, but less is known about the bacterial community dynamics in the affected surface waters. Understanding the bacterial community characteristics —from the source of contamination, through the watershed to the DW production process—may help safeguard human health and the environment. Results The spatial and seasonal dynamics of bacterial communities, their predicted functions, and potential health-related bacterial (PHRB) reads within the Kokemäenjoki River watershed in southwest Finland were analyzed with the 16S rRNA-gene amplicon sequencing method. Water samples were collected from various sampling points of the watershed, from its major pollution sources (sewage influent and effluent, industrial effluent, mine runoff) and different stages of the DW treatment process (pre-treatment, groundwater observation well, DW production well) by using the river water as raw water with an artificial groundwater recharge (AGR). The beta-diversity analysis revealed that bacterial communities were highly varied among sample groups (R = 0.92, p

• This investigation of seasonal mosquito dynamics in Thailand's connecting areas of the Tenasserim range forests has provided important insights into the ecological and climatic factors influencing mosquito vectors. • The results demonstrated clear seasonal changes in mosquito abundance, species diversity, and wing morphology. • Wing phenotypic analysis has revealed local adaptation and the impact of seasonal pressures on these vectors. Mosquito-borne diseases pose a significant public health challenge globally. Our study focused on the seasonal diversity of mosquito species in the connecting areas of the Tenasserim (also known as Tanaosri) range forests in Thailand. Additionally, we employed the geometric morphometric technique to assess variations in wing size and shape among five predominant mosquito species. Throughout the study period, we collected a total of 9,522 mosquitoes, encompassing 42 species across eight genera. In these connecting areas of forests, the Simpson index and Shannon species diversity index were recorded at 0.86 and 2.36, respectively, indicating a high level of mosquito diversity. Our analysis using the Analysis of Similarities (ANOSIM) test showed significant seasonal differences in mosquito communities, with an R -value of 0.30 (p < 0.05) in the lower connecting areas and 0.37 (p < 0.05) in the upper connecting areas. Additionally, canonical correspondence analyses showed that the abundance of each mosquito species is influenced by various climate factors. Phenotypic analyses of wing size and shape have deepened our understanding of local adaptation and the seasonal pressures impacting these vectors. Notably, most species exhibited larger wing sizes in the dry season compared to other seasons. Additionally, seasonal assessments of wing shape in five predominant mosquito species revealed significant differences across seasonal populations (p < 0.05). Ongoing monitoring of these populations is crucial to enhancing our understanding of the seasonal effects on mosquito abundance and physiological adaptations. These insights are essential for developing more effective strategies to manage mosquito-borne diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Isopods shape features are sensitive and respond to several selective pressures which may result in variations of these features. These pressures might reflect the heterogeneity of the environment where an animal lives. Land isopods Porcellionides pruinosus were collected from an agricultural field. Landmarks geometric morphometrics was applied to evaluate its shape changes during two different seasons. The present work aims to (i) assess and characterize morphological changes in body shape of P. pruinosus as a response to seasonal variations, (ii) determine differences in the body shape during ontogeny, (iii) examine the effect of intraspecific allometry to interpret the observed variations in the species, and (iv) clarify whether the body shape of P. pruinosus can be used as a sexual differentiating trait. Results Juveniles showed no seasonal variations in the body shape, which were detected among adults, females and males as shown by PCA, DFA, and MANOVA. The adult winter forms have large bodies, small heads, broad pereons, and short but wide telsons. The adult summer forms have small slender bodies, slightly stretched heads, and relatively long telsons. Juveniles’ growth to adulthood showed body shape changes in the head and pereon, that include shrank of the head in the anteroposterior direction and its level became slightly lower than the body. The pereon becomes broader and the two anterolateral projections of the first pereonite extend anteriorly, reaching a little beyond the posterior margin of the eyes. Present species showed a shape sexual dimorphism which includes the broader body and more convex pereon in females and a small waist between the second and third pleonites in males. Shape sexual dimorphism was attributed to reproductive activity. Both allometric trajectories of juveniles and adults (ontogenetic allometry) and of sexes (static allometry) were parallel. Conclusions The landmark geometric morphometric technique was able to reveal the seasonal shape variations in terrestrial isopod P. pruinosus. Also, this method provides information about shape variations between juveniles and adults, as well as about shape sexual dimorphism.

• Ingoing forager bees had more transcripts of the foraging gene compared to outgoing forager bees. • The queen affects the level of foraging gene transcription in the outgoing forager bees. • In different seasons, according to the bee traffic pattern, the transcription level also changes. The genomic characterization of the foraging gene and its expression analysis are required to better understand the behavior of honey bees (Apis mellifera). The present study performed a genome-wide characterization of the foraging gene, analyzing its physicochemical properties, phylogenetic features, and expression. An in silico analysis was carried out to characterize the foraging gene and the motifs and conserved domains of the encoded protein to predict its physicochemical properties. Moreover, a phylogenetic analysis of the foraging gene was performed in different species using MEGAX. The relative expression of the foraging gene was determined using qRT-PCR in two groups of forager bee samples (incoming and outgoing bees) during two seasons (five times per day). In addition, the queen effect was evaluated in another experiment. The results revealed that foraging gene expression and bee traffic were influenced by the interaction of season and daytime. The daily foraging traffic and transcription level of the foraging gene were the same in both seasons. The traffic of bees and the transcription abundance of the foraging gene were the highest in the middle and at the end of the day in the first and second seasons, respectively. Furthermore, the mRNA expression of the foraging gene was relatively higher in incoming bees than in outgoing bees. The queen also had a significant effect on the outgoing bees. We conclude that gene–environment interactions affect the foraging behavior of bees through the modulation of the foraging gene transcription. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas that can cause injury or death if inhaled. CO is a frequent secondary hazard induced by the aftereffects of natural hazards as individuals, families, and communities often seek alternative power sources for heating, cooking, lighting, and cleanup during the emergency and recovery phases of a disaster. These alternative power sources—such as portable generators, petroleum-based heaters, and vehicles—exhaust CO that can ultimately build to toxic levels in enclosed areas. Ever-increasing environmental and societal changes combined with an aging infrastructure are growing the odds of power failures during hazardous weather events, which, in turn, are increasing the likelihood of CO exposure, illness, and death. This study analyzed weather-related CO fatalities from 2000 to 2019 in the United States using death-certificate data, providing one of the longest assessments of this mortality. Results reveal that over 8300 CO fatalities occurred in the United States during the 20-yr study period, with 17% of those deaths affiliated with weather perils. Cool-season perils such as ice storms, snowstorms, and extreme cold were the leading hazards that led to situations causing CO fatalities. States in the Southeast and Northeast had the highest CO fatality rates, with winter having the greatest seasonal mortality. In general, these preventable CO poisoning influxes are related to a deficiency of knowledge on generator safety and the absence of working detectors and alarms in the enclosed locations where poisonings occur. Education and prevention programs that target the most vulnerable populations will help prevent future weather-related CO fatalities. Significance Statement: Carbon monoxide exposure is common after weather disasters when individuals, families, and communities seek alternative power sources—such as portable generators, petroleum-based heaters, and vehicles—that exhaust this deadly, colorless, and odorless gas. Initially, we catalog carbon monoxide fatalities associated with weather events in the United States over two decades; thereafter, we illustrate the characteristics and patterns affiliated with these deaths. Results will assist public officials, first responders, and individuals in their decision-making and response before, during, and after weather events so that these deaths may be prevented in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study how seasonal climate affects influenza–pneumonia (I-P) mortality using monthly health and climate data over the past 20 years, reduced to mean annual cycle and statistically correlated. Results show that I-P deaths are inversely related to temperature, humidity, and net solar radiation in the United States, South Africa, and Puerto Rico (r < −0.93) via transmission and immune system response. The I-P mortality is 3–10 times as high in winter as in summer, with sharp transitions in autumn and spring. Public health management can rely on seasonal climate-induced fluctuations of I-P mortality to promote healthy lifestyle choices and guide efforts to mitigate epidemic impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]