Census Tract Rurality, Predominant Race and Ethnicity, and Distance to Lung Cancer Screening Facilities : An Ecological Study.

Background: The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends annual lung cancer screening (LCS) for adults who meet specific age and smoking history criteria.

Ego networks associated with e-cigarette use among college fraternity students: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: To use egocentric network analysis (ENA) to identify how the role of social networks relates to e-cigarette use among college fraternity members.

Participants: 212 fraternity members participated in this study.

Methods: Hierarchical logistic regression analyses assessed the relationship between egocentric network variables and ever use and current use of e-cigarettes.

From Ridge 2 Reef: An interdisciplinary model for training the next generation of environmental problem solvers.

Regional and global environmental challenges have become increasingly complex and require broader solutions than a single discipline can provide. Although there is a growing need for interdisciplinary research, many graduate education programs still train students within the confines of a particular discipline or specialty. The Ridge 2 Reef research traineeship program at the University of California, Irvine, aimed to provide transferable and interdisciplinary skill training to prepare graduate students from different disciplines to address current and future environmental challenges.

High temperature sensitivity of Arctic isoprene emissions explained by sedges.

It has been widely reported that isoprene emissions from the Arctic ecosystem have a strong temperature response. Here we identify sedges (Carex spp. and Eriophorum spp.

Understanding Washington State's Low Uptake of Lung Cancer Screening in Two Steps: A Geospatial Analysis of Patient Travel Time and Health Care Availability of Imaging Sites.

Background: Early detection of lung cancer reduces cancer mortality; yet uptake for lung cancer screening (LCS) has been limited in Washington State. Geographic disparities contribute to low uptake, but do not wholly explain gaps in access for underserved populations. Other factors, such as an adequate workforce to meet population demand and the capacity of accredited screening facility sites, must also be considered.

Thirty- and 90-Day Morbidity and Mortality by Clavien-Dindo after Surgery for Antireflux and Hiatal Hernia.

Background: The historic morbidity and mortality rates of antireflux and hiatal hernia operation are reported as 3% to 21% and 0.2% to 0.5%, respectively.

Access to Lung Cancer Screening Among American Indian and Alaska Native Adults: A Qualitative Study.

Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality among American Indian and Alaska Native populations. American Indian and Alaska Native people use commercial tobacco products at higher rates compared with all other races and ethnicities. Moreover, they show lower adherence to cancer screening guidelines.

Divergence in heritable life history traits suggests potential for local adaptation and trade-offs associated with a coal ash disposal site.

Globally, human activities have resulted in rapid environmental changes that present unique challenges for wildlife. However, investigations of local adaptation in response to simultaneous exposure to multiple anthropogenic selection pressures are rare and often generate conflicting results. We used an in situ reciprocal transplant design within a quantitative genetic framework to examine how adaptive evolution and phenotypic plasticity contribute to the persistence of an amphibian population inhabiting an environment characterized by high levels of multiple toxic trace elements.

Naproxen and Its Phototransformation Products: Persistence and Ecotoxicity to Toad Tadpoles (Anaxyrus terrestris), Individually and in Mixtures.

Although pharmaceutical pollution is a global environmental concern, much remains unknown about the transformation of pharmaceuticals in the wild and their effects on wildlife. In the environment, pharmaceuticals typically transform to some extent into different, structurally related compounds. Pharmaceutical transformation products resulting from exposure to sunlight (i.

Developmental Stage Affects the Consequences of Transient Salinity Exposure in Toad Tadpoles.

Development can play a critical role in how organisms respond to changes in the environment. Tolerance to environmental challenges can vary during ontogeny, with individual- and population-level impacts that are associated with the timing of exposure relative to the timing of vulnerability. In addition, the life history consequences of different stressors can vary with the timing of exposure to stress.

Medium-Term Outcomes After Implantation of Expanded Polytetrafluoroethylene Valved Conduit.

Background: Pulmonary valve replacement is becoming the most frequent congenital heart surgery performed on adolescents and young adults. Numerous surgical options are available, including autologous pericardium, mechanical valves, allografts, and bioprosthetic valves. Each option has limitations with durability and freedom from reintervention for stenosis or insufficiency, particularly in the pediatric population.

Assessment of interactive effects of elevated salinity and three pesticides on life history and behavior of southern toad (Anaxyrus terrestris) tadpoles.

Because habitats are increasingly exposed to multiple stressors simultaneously, assessing the interactive effects of stressors is crucial for understanding how populations respond to human-altered habitats. Salinization of freshwater habitats is increasing and has the potential to interact with other stressors. Chemical pollutants also contribute to habitat degradation in freshwater environments, and both salinity and various pesticides can harm amphibians.

A multivariate analysis of genetic variation in the advertisement call of the gray treefrog, Hyla versicolor.

Genetic variation in sexual displays is crucial for an evolutionary response to sexual selection, but can be eroded by strong selection. Identifying the magnitude and sources of additive genetic variance underlying sexually selected traits is thus an important issue in evolutionary biology. We conducted a quantitative genetics experiment with gray treefrogs (Hyla versicolor) to investigate genetic variances and covariances among features of the male advertisement call.

Prevalence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Agalychnis moreletii (Hylidae) of El Salvador and association with larval jaw sheath depigmentation.

Amphibian populations around the world have been declining at an alarming rate due to factors such as habitat destruction, pollution, and infectious diseases. Between May and July 2008, we investigated a fungal pathogen in the critically endangered Morelet's treefrog (Agalychnis moreletii) at sites in El Salvador. Larvae were screened with a hand lens for indications of infection with Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), a fungus that can cause lethal chytridiomycosis in amphibians.

Genetic benefits of a female mating preference in gray tree frogs are context-dependent.

"Good genes" models of sexual selection predict that male courtship displays can advertise genetic quality and that, by mating with males with extreme displays, females can obtain genetic benefits for their offspring. However, because the relative performance of different genotypes can vary across environments, these genetic benefits may depend on the environmental context; in which case, static mating preferences may not be adaptive. To better understand how selection acts on the preference that female gray tree frogs (Hyla versicolor) express for long advertisement calls, I tested for genetic benefits in two realistic natural environments, by comparing the performance of half-sibling offspring sired by males with long versus short calls.

The cost of mutualism in a fly-fungus interaction.

Botanophila flies act as "pollinating" parasites of the ascomycetous fungus, Epichloë elymi. Flies transfer fungal spermatia (gametes) among fungi as they visit their hosts for oviposition. Fly larvae consume the products of cross-fertilization (ascospores).