Screen time, mute, mixed messages, and panic: An international auto-ethnographic study of knowledge workers during a pandemic.

The coronavirus pandemic provoked worldwide changes to the workplace, leading to rapid changes in lifestyles and working conditions. While organizations and governments struggled to develop regulations and policies, individuals were forced to find ways to manage work and life. During the pandemic and quarantine, a group of knowledge workers from around the world convened virtually and agreed to use qualitative autoethnographic methods to study how the quarantine disrupted their conventional patterns of work and care.

Governmentality Versus Community: The Impact of the COVID Lockdowns.

The COVID lockdowns were characterised by new forms of governmentality as lives were disrupted and controlled through the vertical transmission of biopolitics by the state. The paper considers how this was experienced by academics in 11 different countries through analysis of diaries written during the first lockdown. The paper asks if communities can offer an alternative to governmentality by looking at three levels: the national, the neighbourhood and the personal.

Strategies to improve homology-based repair outcomes following CRISPR-based gene editing in mosquitoes: lessons in how to keep any repair disruptions local.

Programmable gene editing systems such as CRISPR-Cas have made mosquito genome engineering more practical and accessible, catalyzing the development of cutting-edge genetic methods of disease vector control. This progress, however, has been limited by the low efficiency of homology-directed repair (HDR)-based sequence integration at DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and a lack of understanding about DSB repair in mosquitoes. Innovative efforts to optimize HDR sequence integration by inhibiting non-homologous end joining or promoting HDR have been performed in mammalian systems, however many of these approaches have not been applied to mosquitoes.

Meta-Analysis of the Relative Abundance of Nuisance and Vector Mosquitoes in Urban and Blue-Green Spaces.

Blue-green spaces (BGSs), urban areas characterized by the presence of vegetation and or water, and infrastructure form a potential solution for public health threats from increasing urbanization. We conducted a meta-analysis to test the hypothesis that blue-green spaces increase the abundance of nuisance and vector mosquito species compared to non-greened urban areas. After screening 7306 studies published since 1992, we identified 18 studies containing sufficient data from both traditional urban areas and BGSs.

UM171 Expansion of Cord Blood Improves Donor Availability and HLA Matching For All Patients, Including Minorities.

Cord blood (CB) stem cell transplantation offers a greater tolerance to HLA mismatches compared to adult-derived stem cell transplants (i.e., bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells).

Advancing Inclusive Mentoring Through an Online Mentor Training Program and Coordinated Discussion Group.

Mentoring is key to ensure success of the high impact practice of undergraduate-led research and scholarly activities; however, most faculty and staff members are not trained in the best practices of mentoring undergraduate students. The National Institutes of Health-funded Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (NIH BUILD) Initiative at California State University Long Beach is developing an online mentor training program with a coordinated discussion group to refine mentoring skills across faculty and staff from all disciplines. Faculty and staff members participated in two pilots of the Advancing Inclusive Mentoring (AIM) Program, where participants watched training videos and came together to discuss mentoring: either face-to-face (spring 2020) or virtually (fall 2020).

Blackwater Fever in Pregnancy With Severe Falciparum Malaria: A Case of Imported Malaria From Nigeria to the United Kingdom During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

We present the case of imported malaria in pregnancy to the United Kingdom (UK) from Nigeria, where a 28-year-old primigravida presented to our maternity assessment unit (MAU) with complaints of pyrexia, rigors and passing dark coloured urine. She gave a travel history of recent migration from Nigeria 10 days before presenting to our emergency department. She initially became unwell five days after her arrival with general malaise and myalgia.

Adaptation of ELISA detection of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax circumsporozoite proteins in mosquitoes to a multiplex bead-based immunoassay.

Background: Plasmodium spp. sporozoite rates in mosquitoes are used to better understand malaria transmission intensity, the relative importance of vector species and the impact of interventions. These rates are typically estimated using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) utilizing antibodies against the circumsporozoite protein of Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax VK210 (P.

Mesenchymal stromal cell mitochondrial transfer to human induced T-regulatory cells mediates FOXP3 stability.

The key obstacle to clinical application of human inducible regulatory T cells (iTreg) as an adoptive cell therapy in autoimmune disorders is loss of FOXP3 expression in an inflammatory milieu. Here we report human iTreg co-cultured with bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) during short-term ex vivo expansion enhances the stability of iTreg FOXP3 expression and suppressive function in vitro and in vivo, and further that a key mechanism of action is MSC mitochondrial (mt) transfer via tunneling nanotubules (TNT). MSC mt transfer is driven by mitochondrial metabolic function (CD39/CD73 signaling) in proliferating iTreg and promotes iTreg expression of FOXP3 stabilizing factors BACH2 and SENP3.

TreeMap, a tree-level model of conterminous US forests circa 2014 produced by imputation of FIA plot data.

A 30 × 30m-resolution gridded dataset of forest plot identifiers was developed for the conterminous United States (CONUS) using a random forests machine-learning imputation approach. Forest plots from the US Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis program (FIA) were imputed to gridded c2014 landscape data provided by the LANDFIRE project using topographic, biophysical, and disturbance variables. The output consisted of a raster map of plot identifiers.

Widespread zoophagy and detection of Plasmodium spp. in Anopheles mosquitoes in southeastern Madagascar.

Background: Malaria is a top cause of mortality on the island nation of Madagascar, where many rural communities rely on subsistence agriculture and livestock production. Understanding feeding behaviours of Anopheles in this landscape is crucial for optimizing malaria control and prevention strategies. Previous studies in southeastern Madagascar have shown that Anopheles mosquitoes are more frequently captured within 50 m of livestock.

Foxp3 expression in induced T regulatory cells derived from human umbilical cord blood vs. adult peripheral blood.

Foxp3 is essential for T regulatory cell (Treg) function. Broad complex-Tramtrack-Bric-a-brac domain (BTB) and Cap'n'collar (CNC) homology 1, transcription factor 2 (BACH2) stabilizes Treg immune homeostasis in murine studies. However, little is known regarding what role, if any, BACH2 may have in Foxp3 regulation in human-induced Treg (iTreg).

Assessing Climate Change Impacts on Wildfire Exposure in Mediterranean Areas.

We used simulation modeling to assess potential climate change impacts on wildfire exposure in Italy and Corsica (France). Weather data were obtained from a regional climate model for the period 1981-2070 using the IPCC A1B emissions scenario. Wildfire simulations were performed with the minimum travel time fire spread algorithm using predicted fuel moisture, wind speed, and wind direction to simulate expected changes in weather for three climatic periods (1981-2010, 2011-2040, and 2041-2070).

Role of buoyant flame dynamics in wildfire spread.

Large wildfires of increasing frequency and severity threaten local populations and natural resources and contribute carbon emissions into the earth-climate system. Although wildfires have been researched and modeled for decades, no verifiable physical theory of spread is available to form the basis for the precise predictions needed to manage fires more effectively and reduce their environmental, economic, ecological, and climate impacts. Here, we report new experiments conducted at multiple scales that appear to reveal how wildfire spread derives from the tight coupling between flame dynamics induced by buoyancy and fine-particle response to convection.

Analyzing seasonal patterns of wildfire exposure factors in Sardinia, Italy.

In this paper, we applied landscape scale wildfire simulation modeling to explore the spatiotemporal patterns of wildfire likelihood and intensity in the island of Sardinia (Italy). We also performed wildfire exposure analysis for selected highly valued resources on the island to identify areas characterized by high risk. We observed substantial variation in burn probability, fire size, and flame length among time periods within the fire season, which starts in early June and ends in late September.

Wildfire exposure and fuel management on western US national forests.

Substantial investments in fuel management activities on national forests in the western US are part of a national strategy to reduce human and ecological losses from catastrophic wildfire and create fire resilient landscapes. Prioritizing these investments within and among national forests remains a challenge, partly because a comprehensive assessment that establishes the current wildfire risk and exposure does not exist, making it difficult to identify national priorities and target specific areas for fuel management. To gain a broader understanding of wildfire exposure in the national forest system, we analyzed an array of simulated and empirical data on wildfire activity and fuel treatment investments on the 82 western US national forests.

How risk management can prevent future wildfire disasters in the wildland-urban interface.

Recent fire seasons in the western United States are some of the most damaging and costly on record. Wildfires in the wildland-urban interface on the Colorado Front Range, resulting in thousands of homes burned and civilian fatalities, although devastating, are not without historical reference. These fires are consistent with the characteristics of large, damaging, interface fires that threaten communities across much of the western United States.

Wildfire exposure analysis on the national forests in the Pacific Northwest, USA.

We analyzed wildfire exposure for key social and ecological features on the national forests in Oregon and Washington. The forests contain numerous urban interfaces, old growth forests, recreational sites, and habitat for rare and endangered species. Many of these resources are threatened by wildfire, especially in the east Cascade Mountains fire-prone forests.

Prevention of artificial dental plaque formation in vitro by plant extracts.

Aims: A number of previous studies have shown that plant extracts can inhibit formation of dental plaque. The ability of extracts of Rosmarinus officianalis L., Salvia officianalis L.

Modulation of the endocannabinoid system in viable and non-viable first trimester pregnancies by pregnancy-related hormones.

Background: In early pregnancy, increased plasma levels of the endocannabinoid anandamide (AEA) are associated with miscarriage through mechanisms that might affect the developing placenta or maternal decidua.

Methods: In this study, we compare AEA levels in failed and viable pregnancies with the levels of the trophoblastic hormones (beta-human chorionic gonadotrophin (beta-hCG), progesterone (P4) and (pregnancy-associated placental protein-A (PAPP-A)) essential for early pregnancy success and relate that to the expression of the cannabinoid receptors and enzymes that modulate AEA levels.

Results: The median plasma AEA level in non-viable pregnancies (1.

Demonstration of ignition radiation temperatures in indirect-drive inertial confinement fusion hohlraums.

We demonstrate the hohlraum radiation temperature and symmetry required for ignition-scale inertial confinement fusion capsule implosions. Cryogenic gas-filled hohlraums with 2.2 mm-diameter capsules are heated with unprecedented laser energies of 1.