Condo or cuisine? The function of fine woody debris in driving decomposition, detritivores, and their predators.

Community structure and ecosystem function may be driven by the size or the energy within a given habitat, but these metrics (space and energy) are difficult to separate, especially in systems where the habitat itself is also food, such as detritus. Only a handful of studies have attempted to isolate potential mechanisms experimentally, which has left a notable knowledge gap in understanding the drivers of community structure and function. Here, we tested whether fine woody debris (FWD) affects leaf litter communities primarily as a source of space or energy.

Preliminary Effectiveness of a One-Week Summer Day Camp for Improving Children's Health Behaviors and Psychosocial Well-Being Outcomes.

Purpose: Summer day camp offers children opportunities to grow knowledge and skills, be physically active, and have fun. Compared to healthy children, at-risk children (i.e.

Environmental determinants of phylogenetic diversity in vernal pool habitats.

Phylogenetic diversity offers critical insights into the ecological dynamics shaping species composition and ecosystem function, thereby informing conservation strategies. Despite its recognized importance in ecosystem management, the assessment of phylogenetic diversity in endangered habitats, such as vernal pools, remains limited. Vernal pools, characterized by cyclical inundation and unique plant communities, present an ideal system for investigating the interplay between ecological factors and phylogenetic structure.

Vibrational spectroscopy and dissociation dynamics of cyclohexyl hydroperoxide.

Organic hydroperoxides (ROOH) are ubiquitous in the atmospheric oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as well as in low-temperature oxidation of hydrocarbon fuels. The present work focuses on a prototypical cyclic hydroperoxide, cyclohexyl hydroperoxide (CHHP). The overtone OH stretch (2) spectrum of jet-cooled CHHP is recorded by IR multiphoton excitation with UV laser-induced fluorescence detection of the resulting OH products.

Assessing Radish Health during Space Cultivation by Gene Transcription.

During the Advanced Plant Habitat experiment 2, radish plants were grown in two successive grow-outs on the International Space Station (ISS) for 27 days each. On days 10, 18, and 24, leaf punch (LP) samples were collected and frozen. At harvest, bulb tissue was sampled with oligo-dT functionalized Solid Phase Gene Extraction (SPGE) probes.

Demographic consequences of an extreme heat wave are mitigated by spatial heterogeneity in an annual monkeyflower.

Heat waves are becoming more frequent and intense with climate change, but the demographic and evolutionary consequences of heat waves are rarely investigated in herbaceous plant species. We examine the consequences of a short but extreme heat wave in Oregon populations of the common yellow monkeyflower () by leveraging a common garden experiment planted with range-wide populations and observational studies of 11 local populations. In the common garden, 89% of seedlings died during the heat wave including >96% of seedlings from geographically local populations.

Multiple lines of evidence suggest the persistence of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker () in Louisiana.

The history of the decline of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is long and complex, but the status of the species since 1944, when the last widely accepted sighting in continental North America occurred, is particularly controversial. Reports of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers have continued, but none has reached the threshold of quality for general acceptance by ornithologists or the birdwatching public. In 2021, the U.

A Comparison of Continuous and Interval Exercise on Cognition in Young Adults.

Exercise stimulates the production and secretion of testosterone, cortisol, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and affects cognitive performance. However, the interaction of these variables is unknown. To investigate these interactions, 21 college-aged men completed two work-matched exercise protocols: continuous (CONT) exercise and an interval protocol (INT).

Trophic ontogeny of a generalist predator is conserved across space.

Consumers can influence ecological patterns and processes through their trophic roles and contributions to the flow of energy through ecosystems. However, the diet and associated trophic roles of consumers commonly change during ontogeny. Despite the prevalence of ontogenetic variation in trophic roles of most animals, we lack an understanding of whether they change consistently across local populations and broad geographic gradients.

Energetic constraints on body-size niches in a resource-limited marine environment.

Body size of life on the Earth spans many orders of magnitude, and with it scales the energetic requirements of organisms. Thus, changes in environmental energy should impact community body-size distributions in predictable ways by reshaping ecological and niche dynamics. We examine how carbon, oxygen and temperature, three energetic drivers, impact community size-based assembly in deep-sea bivalves.

Country-level mentoring for advanced practice nursing: A case study.

Aim: To describe the mentoring process between the ICN Advanced Practice Nurse Network practice subgroup and the University of Pécs to support the emerging advanced practice role in Hungary, and explore the creation of a mentoring algorithm for faculty and other key stakeholders worldwide who wish to develop advanced practice nursing programs.

Background: Advanced practice nurses provide comprehensive clinical care and expand access to care in more than 70 countries. In March of 2017, a representative of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Pécs requested assistance in curricula development for the inaugural advanced practice nursing program in Hungary.

An immunoPET probe to SARS-CoV-2 reveals early infection of the male genital tract in rhesus macaques.

The systemic nature of SARS-CoV-2 infection is highly recognized, but poorly characterized. A non-invasive and unbiased method is needed to clarify whole body spatiotemporal dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 infection after transmission. We recently developed a probe based on the anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike antibody CR3022 to study SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis .

Biodiversity influences the effects of oil disturbance on coastal ecosystems.

Biodiversity can enhance the response of ecosystems to disturbance. However, whether diversity can reduce the ecological effect of human-induced novel and extreme disturbances is unclear. In April 2010, the () platform exploded, allowing an uncontrolled release of crude oil into the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Development of an Probe to Track SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Rhesus Macaques.

Infection with the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, results in pneumonia and other respiratory symptoms as well as pathologies at diverse anatomical sites. An outstanding question is whether these diverse pathologies are due to replication of the virus in these anatomical compartments and how and when the virus reaches those sites. To answer these outstanding questions and study the spatiotemporal dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 infection a method for tracking viral spread is needed.

E-scape: Consumer-specific landscapes of energetic resources derived from stable isotope analysis and remote sensing.

Energetic resources and habitat distribution are inherently linked. Energetic resource availability is a major driver of the distribution of consumers, but estimating how much specific habitats contribute to the energetic resource needs of a consumer can be problematic. We present a new approach that combines remote sensing information and stable isotope ecology to produce maps of energetic resources (E-scapes).

Transcriptome assembly and differential gene expression of the invasive avian malaria parasite in Hawai'i.

The malaria parasite (lineage GRW4) was introduced less than a century ago to the native avifauna of Hawai'i, where it has since caused major declines of endemic bird populations. One of the native bird species that is frequently infected with GRW4 is the Hawai'i 'amakihi (). To achieve a better understanding of the transcriptional activities of this virulent parasite, we performed a controlled challenge experiment of 15 'amakihi that were infected with GRW4.

Mangrove growth response to experimental warming is greatest near the range limit in northeast Florida.

Shrubs are invading into grasslands around the world, but we don't yet know how these shrubs will fare in a warmer future. In ecotonal coastal wetland ecosystems, woody mangroves are encroaching into herbaceous salt marshes owing to changes in temperature, precipitation, and sediment dynamics. Increasing mangrove biomass in wetlands often increases carbon storage, which is high in these productive ecosystems, but little is known about how mangrove growth will change in response to warming.

Endogenous nutrients are concentrated in specific tissues in the Zea mays seedling.

K, P, Cl, and Ca are distributed in tissue-specific patterns in Zea mays seedlings. These elements were mapped and analyzed using a relatively simple semi-quantitative technique, i.e.

The Acute Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in University Students and Employees.

The COVID-19 pandemic has closed non-essential businesses which may alter individuals' leisure behaviors. Consequently, physical activity and sedentary behavior may be negatively impacted as many fitness and recreational centers have been closed. This study aimed to examine the impact of the pandemic on physical activity and sedentary behavior in a sample of university students and employees before and after the university cancelled face-to-face classes and closed campus.

Investigating the Effects of Lithium Phosphorous Oxynitride Coating on Blended Solid Polymer Electrolytes.

Solid-state electrolytes are very promising to enhance the safety of lithium-ion batteries. Two classes of solid electrolytes, polymer and ceramic, can be combined to yield a hybrid electrolyte that can synergistically combine the properties of both materials. Chemical stability, thermal stability, and high mechanical modulus of ceramic electrolytes against dendrite penetration can be combined with the flexibility and ease of processing of polymer electrolytes.