Assessing the spatial scale of synchrony in forest tree population dynamics.

Populations of forest trees exhibit large temporal fluctuations, but little is known about the synchrony of these fluctuations across space, including their sign, magnitude, causes and characteristic scales. These have important implications for metapopulation persistence and theoretical community ecology. Using data from permanent forest plots spanning local, regional and global spatial scales, we measured spatial synchrony in tree population growth rates over sub-decadal and decadal timescales and explored the relationship of synchrony to geographical distance.

The pace of life for forest trees.

Tree growth and longevity trade-offs fundamentally shape the terrestrial carbon balance. Yet, we lack a unified understanding of how such trade-offs vary across the world's forests. By mapping life history traits for a wide range of species across the Americas, we reveal considerable variation in life expectancies from 10 centimeters in diameter (ranging from 1.

Estimation of joint torque in dynamic activities using wearable A-mode ultrasound.

The human body constantly experiences mechanical loading. However, quantifying internal loads within the musculoskeletal system remains challenging, especially during unconstrained dynamic activities. Conventional measures are constrained to laboratory settings, and existing wearable approaches lack muscle specificity or validation during dynamic movement.

Wearable robots for the real world need vision.

To enhance wearable robots, understanding user intent and environmental perception with novel vision approaches is needed.

Latitudinal patterns in stabilizing density dependence of forest communities.

Numerous studies have shown reduced performance in plants that are surrounded by neighbours of the same species, a phenomenon known as conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD). A long-held ecological hypothesis posits that CNDD is more pronounced in tropical than in temperate forests, which increases community stabilization, species coexistence and the diversity of local tree species. Previous analyses supporting such a latitudinal gradient in CNDD have suffered from methodological limitations related to the use of static data.

The Billirud Mill Blastomycosis Outbreak: Comparison to Historical Controls.

A large outbreak of blastomycosis among paper mill workers in Escanaba, Michigan began with the first cases reported on February 28, 2023 and expanded to 120 cases. Analysis of baseline regional data and the data collected during this unprecedented outbreak provide insight on the outbreak's unique characteristics. The Michigan Disease Surveillance System provided descriptive and outcome data on blastomycosis cases in the Upper Peninsula from 2007 through 2022 and the 2023 outbreak.

Improved Fascicle Length Estimates From Ultrasound Using a U-net-LSTM Framework.

Brightness-mode (B-mode) ultrasound has been used to measure in vivo muscle dynamics for assistive devices. Estimation of fascicle length from B-mode images has now transitioned from time-consuming manual processes to automatic methods, but these methods fail to reach pixel-wise accuracy across extended locomotion. In this work, we aim to address this challenge by combining a U-net architecture with proven segmentation abilities with an LSTM component that takes advantage of temporal information to improve validation accuracy in the prediction of fascicle lengths.

Mycorrhizal feedbacks influence global forest structure and diversity.

One mechanism proposed to explain high species diversity in tropical systems is strong negative conspecific density dependence (CDD), which reduces recruitment of juveniles in proximity to conspecific adult plants. Although evidence shows that plant-specific soil pathogens can drive negative CDD, trees also form key mutualisms with mycorrhizal fungi, which may counteract these effects. Across 43 large-scale forest plots worldwide, we tested whether ectomycorrhizal tree species exhibit weaker negative CDD than arbuscular mycorrhizal tree species.

Biogeographic context is related to local scale tree demography, co-occurrence and functional differentiation.

Identifying the drivers of community structure and dynamics is a major pursuit in ecology. Emphasis is typically placed on the importance of local scale interactions when attempting to explain these fundamental ecological patterns. However, regional scale phenomena are also important predictors.

Pure Conducting Polymer Hydrogels Increase Signal-to-Noise of Cutaneous Electrodes by Lowering Skin Interface Impedance.

Cutaneous electrodes are routinely used for noninvasive electrophysiological sensing of signals from the brain, the heart, and the neuromuscular system. These bioelectronic signals propagate as ionic charge from their sources to the skin-electrode interface where they are then sensed as electronic charge by the instrumentation. However, these signals suffer from low signal-to-noise ratio arising from the high impedance at the tissue-to-electrode contact interface.

Age-Related Reliability of B-Mode Analysis for Tailored Exosuit Assistance.

In the field of wearable robotics, assistance needs to be individualized for the user to maximize benefit. Information from muscle fascicles automatically recorded from brightness mode (B-mode) ultrasound has been used to design assistance profiles that are proportional to the estimated muscle force of young individuals. There is also a desire to develop similar strategies for older adults who may have age-altered physiology.

Gaussian process regression for ultrasound scanline interpolation.

In ultrasound imaging, interpolation is a key step in converting scanline data to brightness-mode (B-mode) images. Conventional methods, such as bilinear interpolation, do not fully capture the spatial dependence between data points, which leads to deviations from the underlying probability distribution at the interpolation points. We propose Gaussian process ( ) regression as an improved method for ultrasound scanline interpolation.

Distribution of biomass dynamics in relation to tree size in forests across the world.

Tree size shapes forest carbon dynamics and determines how trees interact with their environment, including a changing climate. Here, we conduct the first global analysis of among-site differences in how aboveground biomass stocks and fluxes are distributed with tree size. We analyzed repeat tree censuses from 25 large-scale (4-52 ha) forest plots spanning a broad climatic range over five continents to characterize how aboveground biomass, woody productivity, and woody mortality vary with tree diameter.

Consequences of spatial patterns for coexistence in species-rich plant communities.

Ecology cannot yet fully explain why so many tree species coexist in natural communities such as tropical forests. A major difficulty is linking individual-level processes to community dynamics. We propose a combination of tree spatial data, spatial statistics and dynamical theory to reveal the relationship between spatial patterns and population-level interaction coefficients and their consequences for multispecies dynamics and coexistence.

Automatically steering cardiac catheters in vivo with respiratory motion compensation.

A robotic system for automatically navigating ultrasound (US) imaging catheters can provide real-time intra-cardiac imaging for diagnosis and treatment while reducing the need for clinicians to perform manual catheter steering. Clinical deployment of such a system requires accurate navigation despite the presence of disturbances including cyclical physiological motions (e.g.

Lightweight Highly Tunable Jamming-Based Composites.

Tunable-impedance mechanisms can improve the adaptivity, robustness, and efficiency of a vast array of engineering systems and soft robots. In this study, we introduce a tunable-stiffness mechanism called a "sandwich jamming structure," which fuses the exceptional stiffness range of state-of-the-art laminar jamming structures (also known as layer jamming structures) with the high stiffness-to-mass ratios of classical sandwich composites. We experimentally develop sandwich jamming structures with performance-to-mass ratios that are far greater than laminar jamming structures (e.

Male circumcision and prostate cancer: A geographical analysis, meta-analysis, and cost analysis.

Introduction: Attempts to find an association between male circumcision and prostate cancer risk have produced inconsistent results.

Methods: Age-standardized prostate cancer incidence, life-expectancy, geographical region, and circumcision prevalence from 188 countries were compared using linear regression analysis. Following a systematic literature review, a meta-analysis was performed on studies meeting inclusion criteria with evaluations of between-study heterogeneity and publication bias.

Transition from Hemochron Response to Hemochron Signature Elite Activated Clotting Time Devices in a Congenital Cardiac Surgery Practice.

Heparin is the primary anticoagulant used during cardiac surgery to prevent thrombosis due to cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB)-related activation of the hemostatic system. The efficacy of heparin in the operating room is generally determined by activated clotting time (ACT) point-of-care tests performed throughout the procedure. In an effort to transition to the Hemochron Elite which requires approximately 1/10th the sampling volume of blood, we conducted a prospective study in 260 pediatric patients undergoing CPB.

Temporal population variability in local forest communities has mixed effects on tree species richness across a latitudinal gradient.

Among the local processes that determine species diversity in ecological communities, fluctuation-dependent mechanisms that are mediated by temporal variability in the abundances of species populations have received significant attention. Higher temporal variability in the abundances of species populations can increase the strength of temporal niche partitioning but can also increase the risk of species extinctions, such that the net effect on species coexistence is not clear. We quantified this temporal population variability for tree species in 21 large forest plots and found much greater variability for higher latitude plots with fewer tree species.

Ultrasound Imaging Characterization of Soft Tissue Dynamics of the Seated Human Body.

To characterize the dynamics of internal soft organs and external anatomical structures, this paper presents a system that combines medical ultrasound imaging with an optical tracker and a vertical exciter that imparts whole-body vibrations on seated subjects. The spatial and temporal accuracy of the system was validated using a phantom with calibrated internal structures, resulting in 0.224 mm maximum root-mean-square (r.

Leveraging a Landscape-Level Monitoring and Assessment Program for Developing Resilient Shorelines throughout the Laurentian Great Lakes.

Traditionally, ecosystem monitoring, conservation, and restoration have been conducted in a piecemeal manner at the local scale without regional landscape context. However, scientifically driven conservation and restoration decisions benefit greatly when they are based on regionally determined benchmarks and goals. Unfortunately, required data sets rarely exist for regionally important ecosystems.