Earth Observation Data to Support Environmental Justice: Linking Non-Permitted Poultry Operations to Social Vulnerability Indices.

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) apply massive amounts of untreated waste to nearby farmlands, with severe environmental health impacts of swine CAFOs and proximity to disadvantaged communities well documented in some US regions. Most studies documenting the impacts of CAFOs rely almost exclusively on CAFO locations known from incomplete public records. Poultry CAFOs generate dry waste and operate without federal permits; thus, their environmental justice (EJ) impacts are undocumented.

Temporal variation in translocated Isle Royale wolf diet.

Wolves () can exert top-down pressure and shape ecological communities through the predation of ungulates and beavers (Castor spp.). Therefore, understanding wolf foraging is critical to estimating their ecosystem-level effects.

Lack of evidence for a fine-scale magnetic map sense for fall migratory Eastern North American monarch butterflies ().

How first-time animal migrants find specific destinations remains an intriguing ecological question. Migratory marine species use geomagnetic map cues acquired as juveniles to aide long-distance migration, but less is known for long-distance migrants in other taxa. We test the hypothesis that naïve Eastern North American fall migratory monarch butterflies (), a species that possesses a magnetic sense, locate their overwintering sites in Central Mexico using inherited geomagnetic map cues.

White-tailed deer exploit temporal refuge from multi-predator and human risks on roads.

Although most prey have multiple predator species, few studies have quantified how prey respond to the temporal niches of multiple predators which pose different levels of danger. For example, intraspecific variation in diel activity allows white-tailed deer () to reduce fawn activity overlap with coyotes ) but finding safe times of day may be more difficult for fawns in a multi-predator context. We hypothesized that within a multi-predator system, deer would allocate antipredation behavior optimally based on combined mortality risk from multiple sources, which would vary depending on fawn presence.

Effects of different -acyl-serine lactone signaling molecules on the performance of anaerobic granular sludge.

Exogenous addition of acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL) signaling molecules can improve or inhibit the methane production performance of anaerobic granular sludge (AnGS) by quorum sensing (QS). To explore the specific effect of AHLs on AnGS, 2 μM of signal molecules were added to the reactor and we analyzed their effects on AnGS biodiversity, extracellular polymeric substance (EPS), specific methanogenic activity (SMA) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal rate of AnGS. The results indicated that the four types of AHLs improve the COD removal rate, SMA and organic composition of AnGS.

Variable effects of wolves on niche breadth and density of intraguild competitors.

The parallel niche release hypothesis (PNR) indicates that reduced competition with dominant competitors results in greater density and niche breadth of subordinate competitors and which may support an adaptive advantage.We assessed support for the PNR by evaluating relationships between variation in niche breadth and intra- and interspecific density (an index of competition) of wolves () coyotes (), and bobcats ().We estimated population density (wolf track surveys, coyote howl surveys, and bobcat hair snare surveys) and variability in space use (50% core autocorrelated kernel density home range estimators), temporal activity (hourly and overnight speed), and dietary (isotopic δC and δN) niche breadth of each species across three areas of varying wolf density in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA, 2010-2019.

Interference competition between wolves and coyotes during variable prey abundance.

Interference competition occurs when two species have similar resource requirements and one species is dominant and can suppress or exclude the subordinate species. Wolves () and coyotes () are sympatric across much of their range in North America where white-tailed deer () can be an important prey species. We assessed the extent of niche overlap between wolves and coyotes using activity, diet, and space use as evidence for interference competition during three periods related to the availability of white-tailed deer fawns in the Upper Great Lakes region of the USA.

Deer do not affect short-term rates of vegetation recovery in overwash fans on Fire Island after Hurricane Sandy.

Coastal resilience is threatened as storm-induced disturbances become more frequent and intense with anticipated changes in regional climate. After severe storms, rapid recovery of vegetation, especially that of dune-stabilizing plants, is a fundamental property of coastal resilience. Herbivores may affect resilience by foraging and trampling in disturbed areas.

Study on enhancing sludge methanogenesis by adding acetylene black and effect on the characteristics & microbial community of anaerobic granular sludge.

The effect of acetylene black (ACET) as additives on methane production, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), microbial community structure and methanogenesis pathway during sludge anaerobic digestion (AD) was investigated in this study. The results indicated that the addition of 2 g L ACET resulted in a 44.36% increase in methane accumulation.

Combining population genomics and forward simulations to investigate stocking impacts: A case study of Muskellunge () from the St. Lawrence River basin.

Understanding the genetic and evolutionary impacts of stocking on wild fish populations has long been of interest as negative consequences such as reduced fitness and loss of genetic diversity are commonly reported outcomes. In an attempt to sustain a fishery, managers implemented nearly five decades of extensive stocking of over a million Muskellunge (), a native species in the Lower St. Lawrence River (Québec, Canada).

Scale-dependent home range optimality for a solitary omnivore.

Spatial and temporal heterogeneity are fundamental mechanisms structuring home ranges. Under optimality, an individual should structure their space use economically to maximize fitness. We evaluated support for three hypotheses related to range optimality in American black bears (), predicting (a) range location on a landscape will correspond with high vegetation productivity, (b) increasing forest fragmentation will result in larger ranges, and (c) increasing proportion of forest and/or mean vegetation productivity will result in smaller ranges.

Population genomics through time provides insights into the consequences of decline and rapid demographic recovery through head-starting in a Galapagos giant tortoise.

Population genetic theory related to the consequences of rapid population decline is well-developed, but there are very few empirical studies where sampling was conducted before and after a known bottleneck event. Such knowledge is of particular importance for species restoration, given links between genetic diversity and the probability of long-term persistence. To directly evaluate the relationship between current genetic diversity and past demographic events, we collected genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism data from prebottleneck historical (c.

Evolutionary response to global change: Climate and land use interact to shape color polymorphism in a woodland salamander.

Evolutionary change has been demonstrated to occur rapidly in human-modified systems, yet understanding how multiple components of global change interact to affect adaptive evolution remains a critical knowledge gap. Climate change is predicted to impose directional selection on traits to reduce thermal stress, but the strength of directional selection may be mediated by changes in the thermal environment driven by land use. We examined how regional climatic conditions and land use interact to affect genetically based color polymorphism in the eastern red-backed salamander ().

Naturally rare versus newly rare: demographic inferences on two timescales inform conservation of Galápagos giant tortoises.

Long-term population history can influence the genetic effects of recent bottlenecks. Therefore, for threatened or endangered species, an understanding of the past is relevant when formulating conservation strategies. Levels of variation at neutral markers have been useful for estimating local effective population sizes (N e ) and inferring whether population sizes increased or decreased over time.

Combining genetic and demographic information to prioritize conservation efforts for anadromous alewife and blueback herring.

A major challenge in conservation biology is the need to broadly prioritize conservation efforts when demographic data are limited. One method to address this challenge is to use population genetic data to define groups of populations linked by migration and then use demographic information from monitored populations to draw inferences about the status of unmonitored populations within those groups. We applied this method to anadromous alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis), species for which long-term demographic data are limited.

Accuracy of Cytology Specimen and Needle Core Biopsies for Detection of Mutation in Non-Small Cell Carcinoma: Comparison With Resection Specimen.

Background: Recent studies have shown that mutations are negative predictors of benefit from both adjuvant chemotherapy and anti-EGFR directed therapies for non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). Needle core biopsy, cytology specimen and resected tissue have all been used for mutational analysis of malignant lung tumors. However, studies validating the correlation between needle core biopsy/cytology specimen and resected tissue, histologic reference standard for KRAS mutational analysis are lacking.

White coat hypertension in childhood: evidence for end-organ effect.

Objective: To evaluate the hypothesis that white coat hypertension (WCH) represents a prehypertensive state by correlating ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) results with BP response to treadmill exercise (TE) and echocardiographic measurement of left ventricular mass index (LVMI) in children with high blood pressure (HBP).

Study Design: We evaluated 119 consecutive children age 6 to 18 years (mean = 13.3 years; 65% male) referred for HBP.

Osteoporotic spinal deformity: a biomechanical rationale for the clinical consequences and treatment of vertebral body compression fractures.

This review article develops a biomechanical rationale for the clinical consequences and treatment of osteoporotic vertebral body compression fracture. In patients with osteoporotic vertebral fractures and spinal deformity, altered spinal biomechanics and global spinal imbalance are important factors in the increased morbidity and mortality reported in this population. Severe spinal deformity impairs physical functioning, health, and quality of life.

Diastolic heart failure demystified.

The mystery of diastolic heart failure (DHF), described by authorities as a "puzzle" and a "clinical paradox," stems from the following misperception: (1) that the normal ejection fraction implies normal cardiac output (CO), (2) that therefore low CO is not operative (it is rarely mentioned in relation to the pathophysiology of DHF), and (3) the congestive phenomena are due to the stiff left ventricle. In fact, a normal ejection fraction is not a reliable indicator of normal CO; low CO is the fundamental pathophysiologic abnormality of all heart failure (HF), whether systolic and/or diastolic (or, indeed, "high output"); and increased ventricular stiffness is not the principal cause of congestion in DHF. Pathophysiologic explorations supporting these understandings further reveal the following: (1) the premise that a clinical event as dramatic as acute pulmonary edema (systolic and/or diastolic) would be contingent on similarly dramatic acute hypertensive or ischemic ventricular dysfunction, while intuitive, is unsubstantiated, and there is an alternate explanation satisfying both theoretical and clinical observations; (2) contrary to general perception, DHF is no more vulnerable to diuretic-induced hypotension than systolic HF; (3) heart rate reduction should not yet be considered an established therapeutic goal in DHF; (4) since HF is HF whether systolic and/or diastolic, studies are likely to show that therapeutic similarities outweigh differences except as the various agents might modify the underlying structural and/or functional pathology; (5) although long evident that HF occurs by only two mechanisms (systolic dysfunction and/or diastolic dysfunction), it has only recently been acknowledged that the mere exclusion of one is diagnostic of the other; and (6) the definition of HF currently in widespread use is unnecessarily confounded by neglect of the fundamental distinction between ventricular dysfunction and failure.

Relationship between uninasal anatomy and uninasal olfactory ability.

Objective: To examine the relationship between uninasal anatomy and olfactory ability.

Design: A stepwise analysis of variance was used to regress the logarithm of the percentage of correct responses on the Odorant Confusion Matrix (a measure of olfactory ability) against the logarithm of nasal volume measurements determined from computed tomographic scans.

Participants: Nineteen patients with hyposmia whose olfactory losses were thought to be related to conductive disorders.

Intracortical chondroma.

A case of a 45-year-old woman with an intracortical chondroma of the right tibia is described. The uniqueness of this location and presentation is discussed.