Factors determining the number of seabirds impacted by oil spills and the success of their rehabilitation: Lessons learned from Namibia and South Africa.

The coastal waters of Namibia and South Africa have an extensive history of oil spills, with 71 recorded up to 2021. Thirty-nine spills reportedly affected 83,224 seabirds, with African penguins (Spheniscus demersus; 91.0 %) and Cape gannets (Morus capensis; 8.

Intercolony variation in reproductive skipping in the African penguin.

In long-lived species, reproductive skipping is a common strategy whereby sexually mature animals skip a breeding season, potentially reducing population growth. This may be an adaptive decision to protect survival, or a non-adaptive decision driven by individual-specific constraints. Understanding the presence and drivers of reproductive skipping behavior can be important for effective population management, yet in many species such as the endangered African penguin (), these factors remain unknown.

The enduring pursuit of public science at U.S. land-grant universities.

Since the 1990s, universities have faced a push toward output commercialization that has been seen as a potential threat to the public science model. Much less attention has been given to the enduring nature of internal organizational features in academia and how they shape the pursuit of traditional scholarly activities. This article exploits four waves of representative, random-sample survey evidence from agricultural and life science faculty at the 52 major U.

Usos y limitaciones de la lámpara ultravioleta germicida portátil para la desinfección de superficies.

RESUMENLa morbimortalidad causada por infecciones vinculadas a la atención sanatoria ha llevado a cuestionar si los métodos de desinfección convencionales son inadecuados y se requieren métodos complementarios, como la fumigación de la habitación y la irradiación ultravioleta. Ello ha dado lugar a la preocupación por que estos métodos alternativos puedan poner en riesgo al personal sanitario y a los pacientes. (1) Determinar la eficacia de la lámpara ultravioleta C germicida portátil para la desinfección de superficies, (2) evaluar el cambio de la humedad relativa (HR) y las distintas distancias específicas en las tasas de letalidad bacteriana, y (3) evaluar los posibles problemas a que conlleva la exposición.

Common genetic susceptibility loci link PFAPA syndrome, Behçet's disease, and recurrent aphthous stomatitis.

Periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, and cervical adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome is the most common periodic fever syndrome in children. The disease appears to cluster in families, but the pathogenesis is unknown. We queried two European-American cohorts and one Turkish cohort (total = 231) of individuals with PFAPA for common variants previously associated with two other oropharyngeal ulcerative disorders, Behçet's disease and recurrent aphthous stomatitis.

Empathic concern for children and the gender-donations gap.

This study uses a dictator game with a charitable organization as the donation recipient to test whether empathic concern explains persistent gender differences in charitable giving. We first explore whether we can evoke empathic concern by varying the content of a real-world charitable appeal video that highlights children's stories of struggle with access to clean water. Then we examine whether the evoked feelings help explain gender differences in donations.

Mutations that prevent caspase cleavage of RIPK1 cause autoinflammatory disease.

RIPK1 is a key regulator of innate immune signalling pathways. To ensure an optimal inflammatory response, RIPK1 is regulated post-translationally by well-characterized ubiquitylation and phosphorylation events, as well as by caspase-8-mediated cleavage. The physiological relevance of this cleavage event remains unclear, although it is thought to inhibit activation of RIPK3 and necroptosis.

Comparison of indirect peroxidase and avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex (ABC) immunohistochemical staining procedures for c-fos in rat brain.

c-Fos is the product of a gene expressed within neurons in the brain that serves as an anatomical marker of cellular activation. Immunohistochemical staining for c-fos allows a characterization of the effects of many different types of experimental manipulations on neuronal activity, making it a powerful technique for understanding brain, drug and behavior relationships. This study compared visualization of an anti-c-fos primary antibody in 40-μm-thick cryostat sections of formaldehyde-fixed rat brainstem using either a peroxidase enzyme-conjugated secondary antibody (indirect peroxidase) or the peroxidase-conjugated avidin-biotin complex (ABC) method.

Receptiveness to advice, cognitive ability, and technology adoption.

We construct a model of technology adoption with agents differing on two dimensions: their cognitive ability and their receptiveness to advice. While cognitive ability unambiguously speeds adoption, receptiveness to advice may speed adoption for individuals with low cognitive ability, but slow adoption for individuals with high cognitive ability. We conduct economic experiments measuring US farmers' cognitive ability and receptiveness to advice and examine how these characteristics impact their speed of adoption of genetically modified (GM) corn seeds.

Bayesian inference reveals positive but subtle effects of experimental fishery closures on marine predator demographics.

Global forage-fish landings are increasing, with potentially grave consequences for marine ecosystems. Predators of forage fish may be influenced by this harvest, but the nature of these effects is contentious. Experimental fishery manipulations offer the best solution to quantify population-level impacts, but are rare.

Cellulosic biofuel contributions to a sustainable energy future: Choices and outcomes.

Cellulosic crops are projected to provide a large fraction of transportation energy needs by mid-century. However, the anticipated land requirements are substantial, which creates a potential for environmental harm if trade-offs are not sufficiently well understood to create appropriately prescriptive policy. Recent empirical findings show that cellulosic bioenergy concerns related to climate mitigation, biodiversity, reactive nitrogen loss, and crop water use can be addressed with appropriate crop, placement, and management choices.

The uses and limitations of a hand-held germicidal ultraviolet wand for surface disinfection.

Unlabelled: The morbidity and mortality from healthcare associated infections has raised concern that conventional disinfection methods are inadequate and that other adjunct methods such as room fumigation and ultraviolet irradiation may be needed. There is also concern that these alternative methods may pose a risk to workers and patients.

Objectives: (1) Determine the efficacy of a germicidal UV-C wand for surface disinfection, (2) evaluate changing relative humidity (RH) and different target distances on bacteria kill rates, and (3) assess potential exposure concerns.

Loss-of-function mutations in TNFAIP3 leading to A20 haploinsufficiency cause an early-onset autoinflammatory disease.

Systemic autoinflammatory diseases are driven by abnormal activation of innate immunity. Herein we describe a new disease caused by high-penetrance heterozygous germline mutations in TNFAIP3, which encodes the NF-κB regulatory protein A20, in six unrelated families with early-onset systemic inflammation. The disorder resembles Behçet's disease, which is typically considered a polygenic disorder with onset in early adulthood.

A registry-based randomized trial comparing radial and femoral approaches in women undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: the SAFE-PCI for Women (Study of Access Site for Enhancement of PCI for Women) trial.

Objectives: This study sought to determine the effect of radial access on outcomes in women undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using a registry-based randomized trial.

Background: Women are at increased risk of bleeding and vascular complications after PCI. The role of radial access in women is unclear.

Early-onset stroke and vasculopathy associated with mutations in ADA2.

Background: We observed a syndrome of intermittent fevers, early-onset lacunar strokes and other neurovascular manifestations, livedoid rash, hepatosplenomegaly, and systemic vasculopathy in three unrelated patients. We suspected a genetic cause because the disorder presented in early childhood.

Methods: We performed whole-exome sequencing in the initial three patients and their unaffected parents and candidate-gene sequencing in three patients with a similar phenotype, as well as two young siblings with polyarteritis nodosa and one patient with small-vessel vasculitis.

Ecosystem-service tradeoffs associated with switching from annual to perennial energy crops in riparian zones of the US Midwest.

Integration of energy crops into agricultural landscapes could promote sustainability if they are placed in ways that foster multiple ecosystem services and mitigate ecosystem disservices from existing crops. We conducted a modeling study to investigate how replacing annual energy crops with perennial energy crops along Wisconsin waterways could affect a variety of provisioning and regulating ecosystem services. We found that a switch from continuous corn production to perennial-grass production decreased annual income provisioning by 75%, although it increased annual energy provisioning by 33%, decreased annual phosphorous loading to surface water by 29%, increased below-ground carbon sequestration by 30%, decreased annual nitrous oxide emissions by 84%, increased an index of pollinator abundance by an average of 11%, and increased an index of biocontrol potential by an average of 6%.

Microarray-based gene expression profiling in patients with cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes defines a disease-related signature and IL-1-responsive transcripts.

Objective: To analyse gene expression patterns and to define a specific gene expression signature in patients with the severe end of the spectrum of cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes (CAPS). The molecular consequences of interleukin 1 inhibition were examined by comparing gene expression patterns in 16 CAPS patients before and after treatment with anakinra.

Methods: We collected peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 22 CAPS patients with active disease and from 14 healthy children.

Periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, and adenitis (PFAPA) is a disorder of innate immunity and Th1 activation responsive to IL-1 blockade.

The syndrome of periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, and cervical adenitis (PFAPA) is the most common periodic fever disease in children. However, the pathogenesis is unknown. Using a systems biology approach we analyzed blood samples from PFAPA patients whose genetic testing excluded hereditary periodic fevers (HPFs), and from healthy children and pediatric HPF patients.

Clinical features and functional significance of the P369S/R408Q variant in pyrin, the familial Mediterranean fever protein.

Objectives: Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is caused by mutations in MEFV, which encodes pyrin. The nature of substitutions P369S and R408Q in exon 3 remains unclear. Exon 3 encoding pyrin's B-box domain is necessary for interactions with proline serine threonine phosphatase interacting protein 1 (PSTPIP1).

Familial Mediterranean fever with a single MEFV mutation: where is the second hit?

Objective: Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) has traditionally been considered an autosomal-recessive disease; however, it has been observed that a substantial number of patients with clinical FMF possess only 1 demonstrable MEFV mutation. The purpose of this study was to perform an extensive search for a second MEFV mutation in 46 patients diagnosed clinically as having FMF and carrying only 1 high-penetrance FMF mutation.

Methods: MEFV and other candidate genes were sequenced by standard capillary electrophoresis.

A pilot study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the long-acting interleukin-1 inhibitor rilonacept (interleukin-1 Trap) in patients with familial cold autoinflammatory syndrome.

Objective: Familial cold autoinflammatory syndrome (FCAS) is caused by mutations in the CIAS1 gene, leading to excessive secretion of interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), which is associated with cold-induced fevers, joint pain, and systemic inflammation. This pilot study was conducted to assess the safety and efficacy of rilonacept (IL-1 Trap), a long-acting IL-1 receptor fusion protein, in patients with FCAS.

Methods: Five patients with FCAS were studied in an open-label trial.