Characterizing the trophy hunting debate on Twitter.

Social media is an arena of debate for contentious political and social topics. One conservation topic debated online is the acceptability of trophy hunting, a debate that has implications for national and international policy. We used a mixed-methods approach (grounded theory and quantitative clustering) to identify themes in the trophy hunting debate on Twitter.

A safe and just operating space for human identity: a systems perspective.

A safe and just operating space for socioecological systems is a powerful bridging concept in sustainability science. It integrates biophysical earth-system tipping points (ie, thresholds at which small changes can lead to amplifying effects) with social science considerations of distributional equity and justice. Often neglected, however, are the multiple feedback loops between self-identity and planetary boundaries.

Effects of replay and rehearsal expressive writing on mental health: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Expressive writing about previous interactions has been found to improve mental health, but the effect of expressive writing about future imagined interactions has not been explored.

Methods: To examine the effects of rehearsal expressive writing on mental health, we recruited 132 people, and 100 (76%) completed writing tasks (31 control, 34 replay, and 35 rehearsal). Each group was measured at baseline, after the 4th consecutive day of 15-minute-per-day writing, and at 1-month follow-up.

The influence of chalk grasslands on butterfly phenology and ecology.

The influence of large-scale variables such as climate change on phenology has received a great deal of research attention. However, local environmental factors also play a key role in determining the timing of species life cycles. Using the meadow brown butterfly as an example, we investigate how a specific habitat type, lowland calcareous grassland, can affect the timing of flight dates.

Associations between COVID-19 transmission rates, park use, and landscape structure.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had severe impacts on global public health. In England, social distancing measures and a nationwide lockdown were introduced to reduce the spread of the virus. Green space accessibility may have been particularly important during this lockdown, as it could have provided benefits for physical and mental wellbeing.

An Applied Improvisational Pharmacy Communication Workshop Implemented During Orientation for First-Year Pharmacy Students.

To deliver a brief, applied workshop in improvisational communication skills during the new student orientation for first-year Doctor of Pharmacy students and to assess students' perceptions about the experience. Communication instructors developed a two-hour communication "boot camp" based on established principles of clear, responsive, flexible communication. They taught core skills through interactive applied improvisational exercises and facilitated debriefings.

Predicting resilience of ecosystem functioning from co-varying species' responses to environmental change.

Understanding how environmental change affects ecosystem function delivery is of primary importance for fundamental and applied ecology. Current approaches focus on single environmental driver effects on communities, mediated by individual response traits. Data limitations present constraints in scaling up this approach to predict the impacts of multivariate environmental change on ecosystem functioning.

Memorable Messages from Family Members About Mental Health: Young Adult Perceptions of Relational Closeness, Message Satisfaction, and Clinical Help-Seeking Attitudes.

This study investigates memorable messages about mental health that young adults (YAs) recall receiving from family members. A memorable messages conceptual framework is adopted to explore message types and their associations with relevant individual and relational outcomes. Findings from a study of 193 memorable messages about mental health revealed three types of messages about mental health transmitted by family members: strategizing, normalizing, and minimizing messages.

Medicinal Plants: Their Use in Anticancer Treatment.

Globally cancer is a disease which severely effects the human population. There is a constant demand for new therapies to treat and prevent this life-threatening disease. Scientific and research interest is drawing its attention towards naturally-derived compounds as they are considered to have less toxic side effects compared to current treatments such as chemotherapy.

Determining the optimal method for proteinuria detection in chronic spinal cord injury.

Study Design: A retrospective analysis.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to determine whether dipstick protein analysis (DSP) or random urine protein:creatinine ratios (UPC) are accurate in predicting clinical proteinuria in the chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) population.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed in 219 veterans with SCI, comparing DSP and 24-h urine protein excretion.

Seasonality, estrous cycle characterization, estrus synchronization, semen cryopreservation, and artificial insemination in the Pacific white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens).

The reproductive physiology of the Pacific white-sided dolphin, Lagenorhynchus obliquidens, was characterized to facilitate the development of artificial insemination (AI) using cryopreserved spermatozoa. Specific objectives were to: 1) describe reproductive seasonality of the Pacific white sided dolphins; 2) describe urinary LH and ovarian steroid metabolites during the estrous cycle; 3) correlate LH and ovarian steroidal metabolite patterns to ultrasound-monitored follicular growth and ovulation; and 4) assess the efficacy of synchronizing estrus, sperm collection/cryopreservation, and intrauterine insemination. Ovulations (64%, n=37) and conceptions (83%, n=18) occurred from August to October.

It's what you do! Reflections on the VERB campaign.

This article shares the first-hand experiences of the CDC's VERB team in planning, executing, and evaluating a campaign that used social marketing principles, which involved paid media advertising, promotions, and national and community partnerships to increase physical activity among children aged 9-13 years (tweens). VERB staff gained valuable experience in applying commercial marketing techniques to a public health issue. This article describes how marketing, partnership, and evaluation activities were implemented to reach a tween audience.

Kidney disease as a predictor of mortality in chronic spinal cord injury.

Background: The purpose of this study is to assess the predictive value of proteinuria and creatinine clearance (CrCl) in relation to mortality in patients with spinal cord injury.

Methods: Computerized medical records covering 6 to 11 years were reviewed in 2004 to determine all-cause mortality. Long-term survival was assessed by means of Kaplan-Meier analysis.

Bone mineral density and turnover in non-corticosteroid treated African American children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To determine bone mineral content (BMC), bone mineral density (BMD), Z scores, and markers of bone turnover in African American children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA).

Methods: Eight children with JRA with no prior exposure to corticosteroids were evaluated. Lumbar spine (L1-L4) and total body and total hip BMC and BMD were determined using dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and Z scores (BMD) were calculated.

Structural studies of the capsular polysaccharide and lipopolysaccharide O-antigen of Aeromonas salmonicida strain 80204-1 produced under in vitro and in vivo growth conditions.

Aeromonas salmonicida is a pathogenic aquatic bacterium and the causal agent of furunculosis in salmon. In the course of this study, it was found that when grown in vitro on tryptic soy agar, A. salmonicida strain 80204-1 produced a capsular polysaccharide with the identical structure to that of the lipopolysaccharide O-chain polysaccharide.

Osmoregulation in fish. Mechanisms and clinical implications.

Fish have developed remarkable mechanisms for coping with life in water. The salinity/osmolarity of aquatic habitats can be quite variable. Fish have evolved mechanisms for maintaining fluid and electrolyte homeostasis across a wide range of salinities.

Helicobacter cetorum sp. nov., a urease-positive Helicobacter species isolated from dolphins and whales.

A novel helicobacter with the proposed name Helicobacter cetorum, sp. nov. (type strain MIT 99-5656; GenBank accession number AF 292378), was cultured from the main stomach of two wild, stranded Atlantic white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus acutus) and from the feces of three captive cetaceans (a Pacific white-sided dolphin [Lagenorhynchus obliquidens]; an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin [Tursiops truncatus]; and a beluga whale [Delphinapterus leucas]).

Phenotypic basis for a feeding change in an insular population of garter snakes.

Predation on birds, an unusual behavior for the common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis), has been observed and documented in an insular garter snake population. Feeding preference tests were performed on naive neonatal snakes and experienced adults from both the island test population and a nearby mainland control population. No significant preference for birds as a prey item was found for either neonates or adults from either population.

An investigation of aldehyde fuchsin staining of unoxidized insulin.

Aldehyde fuchsin is a standard stain for the secretion granules of pancreatic B cells. The participation of either insulin or proinsulin in aldehyde fuchsin staining is in dispute. There is some evidence that permanganate oxidized insulin is stained by aldehyde fuchsin.