Selection of den sites and chronology of denning by black bears in the eastern Sierra Nevada and western Great Basin.

Use of dens during winter is an important strategy for American black bears () for both energy conservation and reproduction; and occupancy of suitable den sites has implications for reproductive fitness. Denning strategies may change as a result of changing climatic conditions and habitat loss. Black bears occupy arid environments in the eastern Sierra Nevada and the western ranges of the Great Basin Ecosystem.

Protocol of the HARMONY study: A culturally relevant, randomized-controlled, stress management intervention to reduce cardiometabolic risk in African American women.

Background: African American Women (AAW) are at high risk for stress-related cardiometabolic (CM) conditions including obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. Prior interventions lack attention to culturally-nuanced stress phenomena (Superwoman Schema [SWS], contextualized stress, and network stress), which are positively and significantly associated with unhealthy eating and sedentary behavior.

Purpose: The HARMONY Study is designed to test a culturally tailored mindfulness-based stress management intervention to address SWS, contextualized stress, and network stress as potential barriers to adherence to healthy exercise and eating goals.

Genetic architecture and evolution of color variation in American black bears.

Color variation is a frequent evolutionary substrate for camouflage in small mammals, but the underlying genetics and evolutionary forces that drive color variation in natural populations of large mammals are mostly unexplained. The American black bear, Ursus americanus (U. americanus), exhibits a range of colors including the cinnamon morph, which has a similar color to the brown bear, U.

Use of Food to Cope With Culturally Relevant Stressful Life Events Is Associated With Body Mass Index in African American Women.

Background: Although stress is an established contributor to obesity (in general population studies), mechanisms to explain this association in African American women that incorporate culturally relevant frameworks have received little attention.

Objective: To investigate how stress is associated with body mass index (BMI) in this population, we examined multivariate models of BMI predicted by race-related, gender-related, and generic stressful life events and by use of food to cope with stress. We hypothesized that the three types of stressful life events would be indirectly associated with BMI through using food to cope with stress.