A 10-year retrospective observational study on the utility and prescription standards of dexamethasone in pediatric neuro-oncosurgery in a tertiary care center.

Object: This study aimed to retrospectively assess dexamethasone utility in pediatric CNS tumor patients over a 10-year period, to better understand dosing variability, and highlight optimal practice.

Methods: All pediatric CNS tumor cases managed operatively for a 10-year period at a single center were reviewed. Information was gathered on demographics, dexamethasone doses, course durations, weaning regimes, PPI co-prescription, adverse events, and route of administration.

Habitat-linked genetic variation supports microgeographic adaptive divergence in an island-endemic bird species.

We investigated the potential mechanisms driving habitat-linked genetic divergence within a bird species endemic to a single 250-km island. The island scrub-jay (Aphelocoma insularis) exhibits microgeographic divergence in bill morphology across pine-oak ecotones on Santa Cruz Island, California (USA), similar to adaptive differences described in mainland congeners over much larger geographic scales. To test whether individuals exhibit genetic differentiation related to habitat type and divergence in bill length, we genotyped over 3000 single nucleotide polymorphisms in 123 adult island scrub-jay males from across Santa Cruz Island using restriction site-associated DNA sequencing.

Mechanical Principles of the Equine Foot.

A healthy foot requires a well-balanced foot capable of shock absorption, traction, and normal proprioception. Radiographs and venograms are helpful in assessing health of the external and internal structures of the foot and in early diagnosis. Other techniques to assess foot mechanics include force plate and inertial sensors.

Adaptive divergence in bill morphology and other thermoregulatory traits is facilitated by restricted gene flow in song sparrows on the California Channel Islands.

Disentangling the effects of neutral and adaptive processes in maintaining phenotypic variation across environmental gradients is challenging in natural populations. Song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) on the California Channel Islands occupy a pronounced east-west climate gradient within a small spatial scale, providing a unique opportunity to examine the interaction of genetic isolation (reduced gene flow) and the environment (selection) in driving variation. We used reduced representation genomic libraries to infer the role of neutral processes (drift and restricted gene flow) and divergent selection in driving variation in thermoregulatory traits with an emphasis on the mechanisms that maintain bill divergence among islands.

Prioritizing actions: spatial action maps for conservation.

Spatial prioritization is a critical step in conservation planning, a process designed to ensure that limited resources are applied in ways that deliver the highest possible returns for biodiversity and human wellbeing. In practice, many spatial prioritizations fall short of their potential by focusing on places rather than actions, and by using data of snapshots of assets or threats rather than estimated impacts. We introduce spatial action mapping as an approach that overcomes these shortfalls.

Managing Groundwater to Ensure Ecosystem Function.

Groundwater is a critical resource not only for human communities but also for many terrestrial, riparian, and aquatic ecosystems and species. Yet groundwater planning and management decisions frequently ignore or inadequately address the needs of these natural systems. As a consequence, ecosystems dependent on groundwater have been threatened, degraded, or eliminated, especially in arid regions.

How and why are educators using Instagram?

Social media are commonplace in many educators' lives, but their Instagram activities have received no prior attention in the empirical literature. We therefore created and disseminated a survey regarding educators' Instagram use. Analyses of 841 responses suggested participants were generally intensive users of Instagram who engaged in the exchange of both professional knowledge and wisdom, as well as affective support.

Sub-lethal temperature thresholds indicate acclimation and physiological limits in brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis.

The upper thermal tolerance of brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis was estimated using critical thermal maxima (CT ) experiments on fish acclimated to temperatures that span the species' thermal range (5-25°C). The CT increased with acclimation temperature but plateaued in fish acclimated to 20, 23 and 25°C. Plasma lactate was highest, and the hepato-somatic index (I ) was lowest at 23 and 25°C, which suggests additional metabolic costs at those acclimation temperatures.

A prospective observational study of emergency department presentations following novel psychoactive substance use.

Background and aims Novel psychoactive substances are compounds intended to mimic the effects of illicit drugs. They provide a unique challenge to healthcare, as complications of their use and their impact on services are relatively unknown. This study aims to determine nature of presentations, patient demographics and impact on healthcare.

Spatially biased dispersal of acorns by a scatter-hoarding corvid may accelerate passive restoration of oak habitat on California's largest island.

Scatter hoarding by corvids (crows, jays, magpies, and nutcrackers) provides seed dispersal for many large-seeded plants, including oaks and pines. When hoarding seeds, corvids often choose nonrandom locations throughout the landscape, resulting in differential survival of seeds. In the context of habitat restoration, such disproportional storing of seeds in areas suitable for germination and establishment can accelerate expansion and recovery of large-seeded tree populations and their associated ecosystems.

Dynamic conservation for migratory species.

In an era of unprecedented and rapid global change, dynamic conservation strategies that tailor the delivery of habitat to when and where it is most needed can be critical for the persistence of species, especially those with diverse and dispersed habitat requirements. We demonstrate the effectiveness of such a strategy for migratory waterbirds. We analyzed citizen science and satellite data to develop predictive models of bird populations and the availability of wetlands, which we used to determine temporal and spatial gaps in habitat during a vital stage of the annual migration.

Equipping the 22nd-Century Historical Ecologist.

Historical ecology provides information needed to understand contemporary conditions and make science-based resource management decisions. Gaps in historical records, however, can limit inquiries and inference. Unfortunately, the patchiness of data that poses challenges for today's historical ecologist may be similarly problematic for those in the future seeking to understand what are currently present-day conditions and trends, in part because of societal underinvestment in systematic collection and curation.

Intranasal delivery of Natesto® testosterone gel and its effects on doping markers.

The laboratory profile of intranasal testosterone gel has not been previously reported from an anti-doping perspective. Because intranasal testosterone gel is newly available as a commercial product, we sought to examine the laboratory parameters following administration of this formulation, with particular attention to anti-doping guidelines. Five healthy and active male subjects were administered testosterone intranasal gel three times daily for four weeks, using a pattern of five consecutive days on, two days off.

Adaptive divergence despite strong genetic drift: genomic analysis of the evolutionary mechanisms causing genetic differentiation in the island fox (Urocyon littoralis).

The evolutionary mechanisms generating the tremendous biodiversity of islands have long fascinated evolutionary biologists. Genetic drift and divergent selection are predicted to be strong on islands and both could drive population divergence and speciation. Alternatively, strong genetic drift may preclude adaptation.

Context-dependent seed dispersal by a scatter-hoarding corvid.

Corvids (crows, jays, magpies and nutcrackers) are important dispersers of large-seeded plants. Studies on captive or supplemented birds suggest that they flexibly adjust their scatter-hoarding behaviour to the context of social dynamics and relative seed availability. Because many corvid-dispersed trees show high annual variation in seed production, context-dependent foraging can have strong effects on natural corvid scatter-hoarding behaviour.

Mobility Outcomes Following Five Training Sessions with a Powered Exoskeleton.

Background: Loss of legged mobility due to spinal cord injury (SCI) is associated with multiple physiological and psychological impacts. Powered exoskeletons offer the possibility of regained mobility and reversal or prevention of the secondary effects associated with immobility.

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate mobility outcomes for individuals with SCI after 5 gait-training sessions with a powered exoskeleton, with a primary goal of characterizing the ease of learning and usability of the system.

Survival and Mortality of Pumas (Puma concolor) in a Fragmented, Urbanizing Landscape.

Wide-ranging large carnivores pose myriad challenges for conservation, especially in highly fragmented landscapes. Over a 13-year period, we combined monitoring of radio collared pumas (Puma concolor) with complementary multi-generational genetic analyses to inform puma conservation in southern California, USA. Our goals were to generate survivorship estimates, determine causes of mortality, identify barriers to movement, and determine the genetic and demographic challenges to puma persistence among >20,000,000 people and extensive urban, suburban, and exurban development.

Effects of aluminum hinged shoes on the structure of contracted feet in Thoroughbred yearlings.

We applied aluminum hinged shoes (AHSs) to the club foot-associated contracted feet of 11 Thoroughbred yearlings to examine the effects of the shoes on the shape of the hoof and third phalanx (P III). After 3 months of AHS use, the size of the affected hooves increased significantly, reaching the approximate size of the healthy contralateral hooves with respect to the maximum lateral width of the foot, the mean ratio of the bearing border width to the coronary band width, and the mean ratio of the solar surface width to the articular surface width. These results suggest that the AHSs corrected the contracted feet in these yearling horses.

Patterns of Freshwater Species Richness, Endemism, and Vulnerability in California.

The ranges and abundances of species that depend on freshwater habitats are declining worldwide. Efforts to counteract those trends are often hampered by a lack of information about species distribution and conservation status and are often strongly biased toward a few well-studied groups. We identified the 3,906 vascular plants, macroinvertebrates, and vertebrates native to California, USA, that depend on fresh water for at least one stage of their life history.

Multiplex polymerase chain reaction tests for detection of pathogens associated with gastroenteritis.

A wide range of enteric pathogens can cause infectious gastroenteritis. Conventional diagnostic algorithms are time-consuming and often lack sensitivity and specificity. Advances in molecular technology have provided new clinical diagnostic tools.

Mitochondrial genomes suggest rapid evolution of dwarf California Channel Islands foxes (Urocyon littoralis).

Island endemics are typically differentiated from their mainland progenitors in behavior, morphology, and genetics, often resulting from long-term evolutionary change. To examine mechanisms for the origins of island endemism, we present a phylogeographic analysis of whole mitochondrial genomes from the endangered island fox (Urocyon littoralis), endemic to California's Channel Islands, and mainland gray foxes (U. cinereoargenteus).

Islands within an island: repeated adaptive divergence in a single population.

Physical barriers to gene flow were once viewed as prerequisites for adaptive evolutionary divergence. However, a growing body of theoretical and empirical work suggests that divergence can proceed within a single population. Here we document genetic structure and spatially replicated patterns of phenotypic divergence within a bird species endemic to 250 km(2) Santa Cruz Island, California, USA.