Towards repeated clear-cutting of boreal forests - a tipping point for biodiversity?

Boreal forests are important carbon sinks and host a diverse array of species that provide important ecosystem functions. Boreal forests have a long history of intensive forestry, in which even-aged management with clear-cutting has been the dominant harvesting practice for the past 50-80 years. As a second cycle of clear-cutting is emerging, there is an urgent need to examine the effects of repeated clear-cutting events on biodiversity.

Environmental Conditions Modulate Warming Effects on Plant Litter Decomposition Globally.

Empirical studies worldwide show that warming has variable effects on plant litter decomposition, leaving the overall impact of climate change on decomposition uncertain. We conducted a meta-analysis of 109 experimental warming studies across seven continents, using natural and standardised plant material, to assess the overarching effect of warming on litter decomposition and identify potential moderating factors. We determined that at least 5.

Unraveling the interplay between phylogeny and chemical niches in epiphytic macrolichens.

This study aims to elucidate the connection between the phylogeny of epiphytic macrolichens and their chemical niches. We analyzed published floristic and environmental data from 90 canopies of Picea glauca x engelmannii across various forest settings in British Columbia. To explore the concordance between a principal coordinates analysis of the cladistic distance matrix and a global non-metric multidimensional scaling of the ecological distance matrix, we used Procrustean randomization tests.

Surgeon age in relation to patients' long-term survival after gastrectomy for gastric adenocarcinoma: nationwide population-based cohort study.

Background: Increasing surgeon age may influence patient outcomes after complex procedures due to gained experience but also decreased technical and cognitive abilities. This study aimed to clarify whether surgeon age influences patients' long-term survival after gastrectomy for gastric adenocarcinoma.

Methods: Population-based cohort study including all patients who underwent open and curatively intended gastrectomy for gastric adenocarcinoma between 2006 and 2015 in Sweden, with follow-up throughout 2020.

Statin use in relation to long-term survival after gastrectomy for gastric adenocarcinoma: a Swedish population-based cohort study.

Background: Studies have suggested that medication with statins improves survival in patients with gastric cancer, but methodological issues have limited the interpretability and prohibited conclusive results. We aimed to provide valid evidence as to whether statin use improves survival of gastric adenocarcinoma.

Methods: This nationwide and population-based cohort study included virtually all patients who underwent curatively intended surgery (gastrectomy) for gastric adenocarcinoma in Sweden between 2006 and 2015 with follow-up throughout 2019 for disease-specific mortality and 2020 for all-cause mortality.

Incidence Trends and Survival in Early-Onset Esophagogastric Adenocarcinoma: A Swedish Population-Based Cohort Study.

Background: Early-onset adenocarcinomas of different sites are increasing in high-income countries, data on esophagogastric adenocarcinoma are sparse.

Methods: We performed a Swedish population-based cohort study over 1993 to 2019 to delineate differences in incidence and survival in early-onset (age 20-54 years) compared with later-onset (55-99 years) esophageal, cardia, and noncardia gastric adenocarcinoma. Temporal incidence trends were quantified as annual percentage changes (APC) and survival differences as excess mortality rate ratios (EMRR) using Poisson regression and including 95% confidence intervals (CI).

Surgeon proficiency gain and survival after gastrectomy for gastric adenocarcinoma: A population-based cohort study.

Objective: Quality of surgery is essential for survival in gastric adenocarcinoma, but studies examining surgeons' proficiency gain of gastrectomies are scarce. This study aimed to reveal potential proficiency gain curves for surgeons operating patients with gastric cancer.

Methods: Population-based cohort study of patients who underwent gastrectomy for gastric adenocarcinoma in Sweden between 2006 and 2015 with follow-up throughout 2020.

Weekday of gastrectomy and long-term survival in gastric adenocarcinoma.

Background: Cancer surgery conducted late during the working week might decrease long-term survival for some tumours. Studies on how weekday of gastrectomy influences long-term survival following gastric cancer are few and show conflicting results, which prompted the present investigation.

Methods: This population-based cohort study included almost all patients who underwent gastrectomy for gastric adenocarcinoma in Sweden between 2006 and 2015, with follow-up throughout 2020.

The lichen cushion: A functional perspective of color and size of a dominant growth form on glacier forelands.

Mat-forming lichens dominating high-latitudinal habitats vary in color and geometry. Widespread species are light greenish yellow (usnic acid) and reflect solar radiation, whereas melanic species absorbing most solar wavelengths are spatially more restricted. Color thereby influences lichens' energy budget and thus their hydration and photosynthetically active periods.

Association Between In-Home Treatment and Engagement in Psychosocial Services Among Medicaid-Enrolled Youth.

Objective: Prior studies have identified low rates of engagement in mental health (MH) services in clinic settings among children enrolled in Medicaid. Yet, little is known about whether the delivery of in-home MH treatment (in which the clinician travels to the child's home) improves engagement for this population. This study examines the association between the delivery of in-home psychosocial treatment and engagement in services among Medicaid-enrolled youth.

Evaluation of individual and ensemble probabilistic forecasts of COVID-19 mortality in the United States.

Short-term probabilistic forecasts of the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States have served as a visible and important communication channel between the scientific modeling community and both the general public and decision-makers. Forecasting models provide specific, quantitative, and evaluable predictions that inform short-term decisions such as healthcare staffing needs, school closures, and allocation of medical supplies. Starting in April 2020, the US COVID-19 Forecast Hub (https://covid19forecasthub.

Evaluating scenarios for school reopening under COVID19.

Background: Thousands of school systems have struggled with the decisions about how to deliver education safely and effectively amid the COVID19 pandemic. This study evaluates the public health impact of various school reopening scenarios (when, and how to return to in-person instruction) on the spread of COVID19.

Methods: An agent-based simulation model was adapted and used to project the impact of various school reopening strategies on the number of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths in the state of Georgia during the study period, i.

Aspirin use in relation to long-term survival after gastrectomy for gastric adenocarcinoma.

Background: Low-dose aspirin use may reduce cancer incidence and mortality, but its influence on gastric adenocarcinoma survival is unclear. This study aimed to assess whether aspirin use improves long-term survival following gastrectomy for gastric adenocarcinoma.

Methods: This population-based cohort study included almost all patients who underwent gastrectomy for gastric adenocarcinoma in Sweden from 2006 to 2015, with follow-up throughout 2020.

Annual surgeon and hospital volume of gastrectomy and gastric adenocarcinoma survival in a population-based cohort study.

Background: It is uncertain whether centralization of gastrectomy to fewer surgeons and larger centers improves survival in gastric adenocarcinoma in Western populations. The aim of this study was to examine if higher annual surgeon or hospital volumes of gastrectomy increase gastric adenocarcinoma survival in a population-based Swedish cohort.

Methods: This study included almost all patients who underwent curatively intended gastrectomy for gastric adenocarcinoma in Sweden between 2006 and 2015 with follow-up throughout 2020.

Covered by a blanket of lichens: how mat-forming lichens affect microclimate and ecological processes. A commentary on: 'Lichens buffer tundra microclimate more than the expanding shrub Betula nana'.

This article comments on: Max Mallen-Cooper, Bente J. Graae and Will K. Cornwell.

Functional Traits in Lichen Ecology: A Review of Challenge and Opportunity.

Community ecology has experienced a major transition, from a focus on patterns in taxonomic composition, to revealing the processes underlying community assembly through the analysis of species functional traits. The power of the functional trait approach is its generality, predictive capacity such as with respect to environmental change, and, through linkage of response and effect traits, the synthesis of community assembly with ecosystem function and services. Lichens are a potentially rich source of information about how traits govern community structure and function, thereby creating opportunity to better integrate lichens into 'mainstream' ecological studies, while lichen ecology and conservation can also benefit from using the trait approach as an investigative tool.

Homebound by COVID19: the benefits and consequences of non-pharmaceutical intervention strategies.

Background: Recent research has been conducted by various countries and regions on the impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) on reducing the spread of COVID19. This study evaluates the tradeoffs between potential benefits (e.g.

Prognosis after surgery for gastric adenocarcinoma in the Swedish Gastric Cancer Surgery Study (SWEGASS).

Background: Most studies examining prognostic factors after gastrectomy come from selected patients and non-Western populations. This nationwide population-based cohort study aims to identify prognostic factors after surgery for gastric adenocarcinoma in an unselected Western cohort.

Methods: This study included 98% of patients who underwent gastrectomy for gastric adenocarcinoma in Sweden in 2006-2015, with follow-up through 2019.

Apparent electron transport rate - a non-invasive proxy of photosynthetic CO uptake in lichens.

During desiccation, both apparent electron transport rate (ETR) and photosynthetic CO uptake peak when external water has evaporated. External water, causing suprasaturation, weakens the strong correlation between ETR and CO uptake. Lichens are poikilohydric organisms passively regulated by ambient conditions.

The impact of social distancing on COVID19 spread: State of Georgia case study.

As the spread of COVID19 in the US continues to grow, local and state officials face difficult decisions about when and how to transition to a "new normal." The goal of this study is to project the number of COVID19 infections and resulting severe outcomes, and the need for hospital capacity under social distancing, particularly, shelter-in-place and voluntary quarantine for the State of Georgia. We developed an agent-based simulation model to project the infection spread.

Spruce and beech as local determinants of forest fungal community structure in litter, humus and mineral soil.

Beech forests reaches its native distribution limit in SE Norway, but is expected to expand substantially northwards due to climate warming. This may potentially result in a fundamental transformation of contemporary Northern European forests, with tentative effects on the associated belowground fungi. Fungal communities mediate vital ecosystem processes such as ecosystem productivity and carbon sequestration in boreal forests.

Survival Trends in Gastric Adenocarcinoma: A Population-Based Study in Sweden.

Background: Gastric adenocarcinoma is the second most common cancer-related death globally. Assessing survival trends can help evaluate changes in detection and treatment. We aimed to determine recent prognosis trends in gastric non-cardia and cardia adenocarcinoma in an unselected cohort with complete follow-up.

Fertilization Changes Chemical Defense in Needles of Mature Norway Spruce ().

Nitrogen availability limits growth in most boreal forests. However, parts of the boreal zone receive significant levels of nitrogen deposition. At the same time, forests are fertilized to increase volume growth and carbon sequestration.