Passive acoustic surveys demonstrate high densities of sperm whales off the mid-Atlantic coast of the USA in winter and spring.

Oceans are increasingly crowded by anthropogenic activities yet the impact on Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) marine life remains largely unquantified. The MAPS (Marine Mammal Acoustic and Spatial Ecology) study of 2019 included passive acoustic and visual vessel surveys over the Mid-Atlantic OCS of the USA to address data gaps in winter/spring for deep-diving cetaceans, including sperm whales. Echolocation clicks were used to derive slant ranges to sperm whales for design- and model-based density estimates.

The Analysis of Whose Verbal Behavior?

Recent reviews of behavior analytic journals suggest that participant demographics are inadequately described. These reviews have been limited to brief periods across several journals, emphasized specific variables (e.g.

This or not that: select and reject control of relational responding in rats using a blank comparison procedure with odor stimuli.

The blank comparison (BLC) task was developed to assess stimulus relations in discrimination learning; that is, are subjects learning to "select" the correct stimulus (S+) or "reject" the incorrect stimulus (S-) or both? This task has been used to study exclusion learning, mostly in humans and monkeys, and the present study extends the procedure to rats. The BLC task uses an ambiguous stimulus (BLC+/-) that replaces S+ (in the presence of S-) and replaces S- (in the presence of S+). In the current experiment, four rats were trained to remove session-novel scented lids from sand-filled cups in a two-choice, simultaneous presentation procedure called the Odor Span Task (OST) before being trained on the BLC procedure using odors as the discriminative stimuli.

Reversible intracellular acidification and depletion of NTPs provide a potential physiological origin for centuries of dormancy in an Antarctic freshwater copepod.

A great diversity of crustacean zooplankton found in inland and coastal waters produce embryos that settle into bottom sediments to form an egg bank. Embryos from these banks can remain dormant for centuries, creating a reservoir of genetic diversity. A large body of literature describes the ecological and evolutionary importance of zooplankton egg banks.

Predictors of patient self-advocacy among patients with chronic heart failure.

The purpose of this study was to examine predictors of self-advocacy among patients with chronic heart failure (HF) as they were unknown. A convenience sample of 80 participants recruited from one Midwestern HF clinic completed surveys related to relationship-based predictors of patient self-advocacy including trust in nurses and social support. Self-advocacy is operationalized using the three dimensions of HF knowledge, assertiveness, and intentional non-adherence.

Generalized, cross-modal, and incrementing non-matching-to-sample in rats.

Same/different concept learning has been demonstrated in previous research in rats using matching- and non-matching-to-sample procedures with olfactory stimuli. In Experiment 1, rats were trained on the non-matching-to-sample procedure with either three-dimensional (3D plastic objects; n = 3) or olfactory (household spices, n = 5) stimuli, then tested for transfer to novel stimuli of the same, and then the alternate, modality. While all three rats trained with olfactory stimuli showed generalized non-matching to novel odors, only one rat learned the 3D relation and showed generalized transfer to novel objects.

At the beginnings of the funerary Megalithism in Iberia at Campo de Hockey necropolis.

The excavations undertaken at the Campo de Hockey site in 2008 led to the identification of a major Neolithic necropolis in the former Island of San Fernando (Bay of Cádiz). This work presents the results of the latest studies, which indicate that the site stands as one of the oldest megalithic necropolises in the Iberian Peninsula. The main aim of this work is to present with precision the chronology of this necropolis through a Bayesian statistical model that confirms that the necropolis was in use from c.

Managing the unexpected: Stressors and solutions for challenges experienced by RN-BSN students during an unprecedented global pandemic.

Background: The year 2020 brought the world the Coronavirus and the resulting pandemic. A large contingent of registered nurses (RNs), working as essential workers, were also attending classes in online accelerated programs (OAPs) to earn their BSN degree. Attending school as a working RN, can be stressful.

Recommended Practices for Individual Supervision: Considerations for the Behavior-Analytic Trainee.

Supervised fieldwork is a critical component in the training of future behavior analysts. A growing body of literature describes best practices in behavior-analytic supervision, yet the trainee is rarely referenced. Additional resources delineating the expectations and suggested practices of the trainee are warranted.

Implications for health system resilience: Quantifying the impact of the COVID-19-related stay at home orders on cancer screenings and diagnoses in southeastern North Carolina, USA.

COVID-19 impacted hospital systems across the globe. Focus shifted to responding to increased healthcare demand while mitigating COVID-19 spread on their campuses. Mitigation efforts limited medical professional-patient interactions, including patient access to preventive cancer screenings.

Shifting landscapes of risk: Quantifying pluvial flood vulnerability beyond the regulated floodplain.

Floods are recognized as the costliest type of natural hazard both worldwide and in the United States, with projected increases in frequency and magnitude in the absence of effective adaptation strategies. In the fall of 2018, Hurricane Florence made landfall in southeastern North Carolina, USA, bringing record rainfall and resulting in widespread inundation that impacted many areas outside of the federally designated Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA). Much of this flooding was from inland pluvial inundation, which is an understudied component of coastal risk and vulnerability assessments primarily due to the scarcity of infrastructure data and historically lower flooding recurrence rates.

Investigation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) drinking bottles as marine reservoirs for fecal bacteria and phytoplankton.

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is frequently used in the food and beverage industry and therefore contributes greatly to plastic marine debris. The fecal pollution indicator bacteria Enterococcus is used for marine water contamination assessments and is regularly found in storm water discharge. In order to examine if PET drinking bottles act as refuges for Enterococcus, a study was conducted within euhaline tidal waters of Wrightsville Beach, NC, USA via the deployment of bottle floats positioned nearby two stormwater outfall pipes.

Community vulnerability and mobility: What matters most in spatio-temporal modeling of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Community vulnerability is widely viewed as an important aspect to consider when modeling disease. Although COVID-19 does disproportionately impact vulnerable populations, human behavior as measured by community mobility is equally influential in understanding disease spread. In this research, we seek to understand which of four composite measures perform best in explaining disease spread and mortality, and we explore the extent to which mobility account for variance in the outcomes of interest.

Race/ethnicity differences in risk and protective factors for marijuana use among U.S. adolescents.

Background: Little is known about how race and ethnicity influence marijuana-specific risk and protective factors in U.S. adolescents.

Sediment from lake with missing egg bank is toxic to hatchlings of model zooplankton: A reason to consider obligate dormancy in toxicological assessment.

Over the last 60 years, valuable progress was made in the standardization of environmental monitoring with model zooplankton. However, obligate dormancy in zooplankton life cycles is not yet considered in standardized toxicology methods. Most zooplankton from coastal and inland waters use dormancy as a critical ecological strategy, and exposure to toxicants during dormancy or resurrection from dormancy alters developmental patterning and hatching success.

Life-space constriction in aging adults.

Background: Early indicators of declining function and frailty, such as life-space constriction (LSC), are important in identifying those at risk for frailty.

Purpose: Examine factors associated with LSC and the influence on function and frailty.

Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted using a convenience sample of community dwelling persons 55 and older living in the South.

The ultrastructure of resurrection: Post-diapause development in an Antarctic freshwater copepod.

The copepod, Boeckella poppei, is broadly distributed in Antarctic and subantarctic maritime lakes threatened by climate change and anthropogenic chemicals. Unfortunately, comparatively little is known about freshwater zooplankton in lakes influenced by the Southern Ocean. In order to predict the impact of climate change and chemicals on freshwater species like B.

Process and Outcome Evaluation of a Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Intervention for Cisgender and Transgender African American Women Living with HIV/AIDS.

There is a need for evidence-based contextualized mental health interventions for persons living with HIV/AIDS. In the current study, the primary researcher conducted open trials with African American women living with HIV/AIDS (AAWLWHA) to examine the acceptability and feasibility of Project UPLIFT, a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy intervention that has demonstrated effectiveness in persons living with epilepsy. Women were recruited for a tele-delivered phone intervention group separated by gender identity, as well as participated in pre- and post-test assessments.

Quantitative Comparison of UAS-Borne LiDAR Systems for High-Resolution Forested Wetland Mapping.

Wetlands provide critical ecosystem services across a range of environmental gradients and are at heightened risk of degradation from anthropogenic pressures and continued development, especially in coastal regions. There is a growing need for high-resolution (spatially and temporally) habitat identification and precise delineation of wetlands across a variety of stakeholder groups, including wetlands loss mitigation programs. Traditional wetland delineations are costly, time-intensive and can physically degrade the systems that are being surveyed, while aerial surveys are relatively fast and relatively unobtrusive.