Drought as an emergent driver of ecological transformation in the twenty-first century.

Under climate change, ecosystems are experiencing novel drought regimes, often in combination with stressors that reduce resilience and amplify drought's impacts. Consequently, drought appears increasingly likely to push systems beyond important physiological and ecological thresholds, resulting in substantial changes in ecosystem characteristics persisting long after drought ends (i.e.

New evidence for early Indian Ocean trade routes into the South African interior.

The rise and spread of ancient Indian Ocean Rim (IOR) trade networks profoundly impacted southern Africa. Control over this trade played a critical role in the rise and maintenance of complex societies of the second millennium CE such as Mapungubwe and Great Zimbabwe. While the African origins of this trade lie in the first millennium CE, understanding its earliest phases and subsequent development in the far south has been hampered by a general paucity of research.

The Changing pathogenesis of liver cancer in Hawaii over three decades.

Background: Worldwide trends support the increasing contribution of hepatic steatosis on the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study investigates if similar changes are seen in Hawaii, where the incidence of HCC is higher than most of the United States. Methods; This is a retrospective study of 1651 patients diagnosed with HCC (1991-2023) that includes 60-70% of Hawaii's HCC cases.

Elderhood and Healthy Aging from an Indigenous Perspective.

Researchers have outlined the components of healthy aging, and a 2022 scoping review by Quigley et al. examined healthy aging from Indigenous perspectives. Quigley's review reinforced the notion that Indigenous health, and thus healthy aging, is a holistic concept.

Diabetes Management Using a Patient Navigator in a Native Hawaiian Population: Experiences and Perceptions of the Kilolani Project.

Native Hawaiians (NHs) are a historically oppressed population disproportionately burdened by diabetes and related complications. The Kilolani Project, a patient navigator-centered, chronic disease management program, targets upstream drivers of health among vulnerable NH adult patients with diabetes within an urban academic safety-net clinic. To investigate the impact of the Kilolani Project, we performed a qualitative study to examine patient perspectives.

Marine heatwaves imperil emblematic reef fishes by altering the energetic landscape of coral reefs.

Marine heatwaves are increasingly common due to human-induced climate change. Under prolonged thermal stress on coral reefs, corals can undergo bleaching, leading to mass coral mortality and large-scale changes in benthic community composition. While coral mortality has clear, negative impacts on the body condition and populations of coral-dependent fish species, the mechanisms that drive these changes remain poorly resolved.

Submarine groundwater discharge drives both direct and indirect effects on organismal and community metabolism on coral reefs.

Coral reefs experience numerous environmental gradients affecting organismal physiology and species biodiversity, which ultimately impact community metabolism. This study shows that submarine groundwater discharge (SGD), a common natural environmental gradient in coastal ecosystems associated with decreasing temperatures, salinity and pH with increasing nutrients, has both direct and indirect effects on coral reef community metabolism by altering individual growth rates and community composition. Our data revealed that SGD exposure hindered the growth of two algae, and by 67 and 200%, respectively, and one coral, by 20%.

Effect of oscillating magnetic field (OMF) on the supercooling behavior of iron-oxide nanoparticle (IONP) agar model system.

Freezing extends the shelf life of foods but often leads to structural damage due to ice crystal formation, negatively impacting quality attributes. Oscillating magnetic field (OMF)-assisted supercooling has emerged as a potential technique to overcome these limitations by inhibiting ice nucleation and maintaining foods in a supercooled state. Despite its potential, the effectiveness and underlying mechanisms of OMF-assisted supercooling remain subjects of debate.

Development and Implementation of a Minority Health International Infectious Diseases Research Training Program.

From 2014-2019, the University of Hawai'i (UH) at Manoa offered a National Institutes of Health funded Minority Health International Research Training (MHIRT) Program for undergraduate research experiences in infectious diseases. The goal of the program was to immerse undergraduate students in conducting global infectious diseases research to train a new generation of scientists to combat future global pandemics. The MHIRT program trained educationally underrepresented groups unique in Hawai'i: Native Hawai'ians and other Pacific Islanders, and underrepresented Asian Americans, e.

Diversity, connectivity and negative interactions define robust microbiome networks across land, stream, and sea.

In this era of rapid global change, factors influencing the stability of ecosystems and their functions have come into the spotlight. For decades the relationship between stability and complexity has been investigated in modeled and empirical systems, yet results remain largely context dependent. To overcome this we leverage a multiscale inventory of fungi and bacteria ranging from single sites along an environmental gradient, to habitats inclusive of land, sea and stream, to an entire watershed.

Symbiotic fungi alter plant resource allocation independent of water availability.

Premise: The ability of plants to adapt or acclimate to climate change is inherently linked to their interactions with symbiotic microbes, notably fungi. However, it is unclear whether fungal symbionts from different climates have different impacts on the outcome of plant-fungal interactions, especially under environmental stress.

Methods: We tested three provenances of fungal inoculum (originating from dry, moderate or wet environments) with one host plant genotype exposed to three soil moisture regimes (low, moderate and high).

From forests to farming: identification of photosynthetic limitations in breadfruit across diverse environments.

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) is a prolific tropical tree producing highly nutritious and voluminous carbohydrate-rich fruits. Already recognized as an underutilized crop, breadfruit could ameliorate food insecurity and protect against climate-related productivity shocks in undernourished equatorial regions. However, a lack of fundamental knowledge impedes widespread agricultural adoption, from modern agroforestry to plantation schemes.

Continental influx and pervasive matrilocality in Iron Age Britain.

Roman writers found the relative empowerment of Celtic women remarkable. In southern Britain, the Late Iron Age Durotriges tribe often buried women with substantial grave goods. Here we analyse 57 ancient genomes from Durotrigian burial sites and find an extended kin group centred around a single maternal lineage, with unrelated (presumably inward migrating) burials being predominantly male.

Functional genomics implicates ebony in the black pupae phenotype of tephritid fruit flies.

The remarkable diversity of insect pigmentation offers a captivating avenue for studying evolution and genetics. In tephritids, understanding the molecular basis of mutant traits is also crucial for applied entomology, enabling the creation of genetic sexing strains through genome editing, thus facilitating sex-sorting before sterile insect releases. Here, we present evidence from classical and modern genetics showing that the black pupae (bp) phenotype in the GUA10 strain of Anastrepha ludens is caused by a large deletion at the ebony locus, removing the gene's entire coding region.

The Octocoral Trait Database: a global database of trait information for octocoral species.

Trait-based approaches are revolutionizing our understanding of high-diversity ecosystems by providing insights into the principles underlying key ecological processes, such as community assembly, species distribution, resilience, and the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. In 2016, the Coral Trait Database advanced coral reef science by centralizing trait information for stony corals (i.e.

Conspecific interactions between corals mediate the effect of submarine groundwater discharge on coral physiology.

Land-based inputs, such as runoff, rivers, and submarine groundwater, can alter biologic processes on coral reefs. While the abiotic factors associated with land-based inputs have strong effects on corals, corals are also affected by biotic interactions, including other neighboring corals. The biologic responses of corals to changing environmental conditions and their neighbors are likely interactive; however, few studies address both biotic and abiotic interactions in concert.

A systematic review of reports on aquatic envenomation: are there global hot spots and vulnerable populations?

Envenomation by aquatic species is an under-investigated source of human morbidity and mortality. Increasing population density along marine and freshwater coastlines increases these incidents. Specific occupational groups - including commercial fishery workers, fisherfolk, marine tourism workers, and researchers - rely on aquatic resources for their livelihood.

Optimizing automated photo identification for population assessments.

Several legal acts mandate that management agencies regularly assess biological populations. For species with distinct markings, these assessments can be conducted noninvasively via capture-recapture and photographic identification (photo-ID), which involves processing considerable quantities of photographic data. To ease this burden, agencies increasingly rely on automated identification (ID) algorithms.

Alkylazolation of Alkenes via Photocatalytic Radical Polar Crossover.

We present a photocatalytic method for alkylamination of alkenes, enabling efficient C-C and C-N bond formation to construct aza-heterocycles valuable in drug discovery. Using a radical-polar crossover pathway, electron-deficient alkenes are reduced to electrophilic radicals, which react with electron-rich alkenes to form nucleophilic radicals. Oxidation of these intermediates yields carbocations, which are trapped by aza-heteroarenes to afford alkylaminated products.

Localizing and Tailoring the Debriefing Assessment for Simulation in Healthcare to Optimize Fit.

Introduction Debriefing in healthcare simulation is helpful in reinforcing learning objectives, closing performance gaps, and improving future practice and patient care. The Debriefing Assessment for Simulation in Healthcare (DASH) is a validated tool. However, localized rater training for the DASH has not been described.

Binding the Power of Cycloaddition and Cross-Coupling in a Single Mechanism: An Unexpected Bending Journey to Radical Chemistry of Butadiynyl with Conjugated Dienes.

What if an experiment could combine the power of cycloaddition and cross-coupling with the formation of an aromatic molecule in a single collision? Crossed molecular beam experiments augmented with electronic structure and statistical calculations provided compelling evidence on a novel radical route involving 1,3-butadiynyl (HCCCC; X∑) radicals synthesizing (substituted) arylacetylenes in the gas phase upon reactions with 1,3-butadiene (CHCHCHCH; XA) and 2-methyl-1,3-butadiene (isoprene; CHC(CH)CHCH; XA'). This elegant mechanism merges two previously disconnected concepts of cross-coupling and cycloaddition-aromatization in a single collision event via the formation of two new C(sp)-C(sp) bonds and bending the 180° moiety of the linear 1,3-butadiynyl radical out of the ordinary by 60° to 120°. In addition to its importance to fundamental organic chemistry, this unconventional mechanism links two previously separated routes of gas-phase molecular mass growth processes of polyacetylenes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), respectively, in low-temperature environments such as in cold molecular clouds like the Taurus Molecular Cloud (TMC-1) and in hydrocarbon-rich atmospheres of planets and their moons such as Titan, which revises the established understanding of low-temperature molecular mass growth processes in the Universe.

Self-assembly of chiroptical ionic co-crystals from silver nanoclusters and organic macrocycles.

Atomically precise nanoclusters can be assembled into ordered superlattices with unique electronic, magnetic, optical and catalytic properties. The co-crystallization of nanoclusters with functional organic molecules provides opportunities to access an even wider range of structures and properties, but can be challenging to control synthetically. Here we introduce a supramolecular approach to direct the assembly of atomically precise silver nanoclusters into a series of nanocluster‒organic ionic co-crystals with tunable structures and properties.

Differences in tumor size, clinical, demographic, and socioeconomic profiles of central nervous system tumors among a racially diverse cohort: A retrospective case-control study.

Background: One avenue to improve outcomes among brain tumor patients involves the mitigation of healthcare disparities. Investigating clinical differences among brain tumors across socioeconomic and demographic strata, such can aid in healthcare disparity identification and, by extension, outcome improvement.

Methods: Utilizing a racially diverse population from Hawaii, 323 cases of brain tumors (meningiomas, gliomas, schwannomas, pituitary adenomas, and metastases) were matched by age, sex, and race to 651 controls to investigate the associations between tumor type and various demographic, socioeconomic, and medical comorbidities.