Partial Cosine-Funk Transforms at Poles of the Cosine-λ Transform on Grassmann Manifolds

The cosine-λ transform, denoted Cλ, is a family of integral transforms we can define on the sphere and on the Grassmannian manifolds of p-dimensional subspaces in Kn where K is R, C or the skew field H of quaternions. We treat the Grassmannians as the symmetric spaces SO(n)/S(O(p) × O(q)), SU(n)/S(U(p) × U(q)) and Sp(n)/(Sp(p) × Sp(q)) and we work by analogy with the case of the cosine-λ transform on the sphere, which is also a symmetric space. The family Cλ extends meromorphically in λ to the complex plane with poles at (among other values) λ =-1,…, -p. In this dissertation we normalize Cλ and we use well known harmonic analysis tools to evaluate at those poles. The result is a series of integral transforms on the Grassmannians that we can view as partial cosine-Funk transforms. The transform that arises at λ = -p is the natural Funk transform for the Grassmannians, which was introduced by B. Rubin

A new pygmy sundew, Drosera Albonotata (droseraceae), from the western wheatbelt and an updated diagnostic key to the orange-flowered pygmy Drosera of Western Australia

A new species of Drosera-Drosera albonotata-from the western Wheatbelt (Western Australia) is described and illustrated. The taxon, which is largely restricted to sandy clay loam soils in Wandoo woodland and shrubland, is morphologically similar to D. miniata and D. coomallo but can be distinguished by its distinct floral features and ecology. A distribution map of the new species and its allies and a revised and updated diagnostic key to the twelve recognised orange-flowered pygmy Drosera in Western Australia are provided

Understanding the interplay of temperature and moisture on the germination niche to improve management of threatened species impacted by mining

The return of vegetation to mined lands often requires broadcast seeding of diverse native seed mixes. However, seeds are highly adapted to germination windows with specific hydrothermal thresholds that maximize the likelihood of seedling survival, and post-mining landscapes typically offer markedly different hydrothermal conditions than pre-disturbance ecosystems. According to niche theory, generalist species should exhibit broader hydrothermal performance niches than specialist taxa, which may influence the success of recruitment from seeds in post-mining ecological restoration. To test this assumption, the impact of hydrothermal stress (incubation temperature (10–30°C) and osmotic potential (−0.8 to 0 MPa)) on the time to 50% germination (t50) and maximum germination (Gmax) was compared between two narrow-range species of conservation concern (Acacia woodmaniorum and A. karina) restricted to mining-impacted Banded Ironstone Formations (BIF) and three broadly distributed congenerics (A. assimilis, A. exocarpoides, and A. ramulosa). The hydrothermal germination niches of the study species were broadly congruent with hydrothermal conditions of their habitats. The two range-restricted taxa were more tolerant of hydrothermal stress compared to the three widely distributed taxa, suggesting that tolerance of greater hydrothermal stress by both range-restricted Acacia species is likely to be adaptive to establishment in uncontested niche space. Complex interactions between thermal and water stress suggest these environmental gradients may shape the germination niche as well as patterns of plant diversity in BIF ecosystems. This study highlights the importance of quantifying interactions between niche dimensions and their implications for species performance, which will aid future restoration efforts for micro-endemic species impacted by mining

Beyond Goldwater-Nichols

This report culminated almost two years of effort at CSIS, which began by developing an approach for both revisiting the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 and for addressing issues that were beyond the scope of that landmark legislation

Multi-Faceted Analysis and Prediction for the Outbreak of Pediatric Respiratory Syncytial Virus

Objective: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a significant cause of pediatric hospitalizations. This paper aims to utilize multi-source data and leverage the tensor methods to uncover distinct RSV geographic clusters and develop an accurate RSV prediction model for future seasons. Materials and Methods: This study utilizes five-year RSV data from sources, including medical claims, CDC surveillance data, and Google search trends. We conduct spatio-temporal tensor analysis and prediction (TAP) for pediatric RSV in the US by designing (i) a non-negative tensor factorization (NTF) model for pediatric RSV diseases and location clustering; (ii) and a recurrent neural network tensor regression model for county-level trend prediction using the disease and location features. Results: We identify a clustering hierarchy of pediatric diseases: Three common geographic clusters of RSV outbreaks were identified from independent sources, showing an annual RSV trend shifting across different US regions, from the South and Southeast regions to the Central and Northeast regions and then to the West and Northwest regions, while precipitation and temperature were found as correlative factors with the coefficient of determination R2 ≈ 0.5, respectively. Our regression model accurately predicted the 2022-2023 RSV season at the county level, achieving R2 ≈ 0.3 mean absolute error MAE<0.4 and a Pearson correlation greater than 0.75, which significantly outperforms the baselines with p-values <0.05. Conclusions: Our proposed framework provides a thorough analysis of RSV disease in the US, which enables healthcare providers to better prepare for potential outbreaks, anticipate increased demand for services and supplies, and save more lives with timely interventions

The influence of seabird-derived nutrients on island food-webs

There is an increasing understanding of the influence seabirds have on island food webs globally, which often arises from the trans-boundary input of nutrients. Seabird-derived nutrients, primarily in the form of guano, can have significant effects on island communities by increasing primary productivity and then indirectly influencing other species. However, there are few studies looking at how the influence of seabirds permeates island food webs to higher trophic levels, in particular within the United Kingdom, which holds globally significant populations of seabirds. To understand the extent to which seabirds influence islands, the size of the seabird population must be first reliably determined. With an increasing seabird population size and density the effects of seabirds on land increases concomitantly. The Atlantic puffin Fratercula arctica is a difficult species to reliably monitor, given its underground presence from the use of burrows and its notoriously erratic attendance at colonies. This study looks firstly at a novel method to monitor the Atlantic puffin using time-lapse photography. Time-lapse photography provides a way to derive an estimate of population size from counts of individuals, by repeated photographs across a period of time with relatively low cost and from areas normally considered inaccessible. The results showed there was a significant and positive relationship between the maximum numbers of Atlantic puffins observed and the size of the population; further work is required though to reduce the error associated with population size estimates. Data from high temporal resolution time-lapse photography shows how the attendance of Atlantic puffins at the colony varies over different temporal scales. Given the variability in sampling intensity the study stresses the need for standardised sampling intensity with the use of photography to monitor Atlantic puffins. Secondly, this study showed how the presence of two seabird species, the Atlantic puffin and the great skua Stercorarius skua, alters island food webs. These seabird species are likely to change plant community diversity, relative to areas without seabirds. The chemical concentration of grasses inside seabird colonies was also altered: grasses had significantly higher concentrations of nitrogen and also had higher values of δ15N, relative to areas without seabirds. These chemical alterations suggest that nutrients from seabirds are incorporated into local vegetation. Furthermore, samples of hair from rabbits and sheep found within puffin colonies also had significantly higher values of δ15N, suggesting that nutrients travel from seabirds into secondary consumers, via ornithogenic forage. An additional study on the transfer of nutrients within island food webs showed how ornithogenic nutrients deposited on an island in the Baltic Sea were incorporated into house martins, via aquatic insects. These studies, along with an understanding of seabird population size, suggest that the impact of seabirds on island food webs may be considerable and have large consequences for island conservation and management

Filling gaps in seed germination and species selection: work in progress for dryland restoration in Argentina

Los practicantes de la restauración y rehabilitación ecológica (RRE) carecen de información completa sobre los tratamientos pregerminativos más efectivos para promover la germinación de plantas nativas de regiones áridas y semiáridas, y sobre la supervivencia y crecimiento de estas especies a campo. Aquí informamos resultados del enfoque “estrategias profesionales inteligentes” para evaluar la germinación de especies del Monte Austral, una región árida del sur de Argentina. Nuestros objetivos fueron probar una pequeña cantidad de tratamientos pregerminativos que son efectivos en otras regiones áridas y evaluar los resultados de germinación de 16 especies en comparación con la información existente sobre su desempeño a campo. Este enfoque demostró ser altamente efectivo dado que, de las 16 especies de arbustos evaluadas, 11 mostraron tasas de germinación adecuadas para RRE (es decir, más del 50%). Solo cuatro especies alcanzaron altas tasas de supervivencia y altos valores de cobertura vegetal en las plantaciones, y otras cuatro mostraron altas tasas de supervivencia, pero la cobertura vegetal fue baja o no se evaluó. Argumentamos que sería estratégico adoptar este modelo, que incluye obtener y comparar información sobre la germinación de semillas y el desempeño de las mismas especies a campo, para la selección de especies en RRE.Ecological restoration and rehabilitation (ERR) practitioners lack comprehensive information on the most effective seed dormancy alleviation treatments to enhance germination of native plants from arid and semiarid regions, as well as on survival and growth rates of these species in the field. In this paper we report on the results of a “professional intelligent tinkering” approach to assess seed germination of species from the Monte Austral, an arid region in southern Argentina. We aim to test a small number of seed dormancy alleviation treatments reported to be effective in other arid regions, and to assess germination results for 16 species against existing information on their performance in the field. This approach proved to be highly effective given that, out of the 16 shrub species evaluated, 11 showed germination rates suitable for ERR (i.e., over 50%). Only four species attained both high survival rates and plant cover values in outplantings, while four other species showed high survival rates but their plant cover values were low or not assessed. We argue that this approach, which involves obtaining and comparing data on seed germination rate with performance of the same species in the field, would be strategic for species selection in ERR.Fil: Rodriguez Araujo, María Emilia. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Facultad de Ciencias del Ambiente y la Salud. Laboratorio de Rehabilitación y Restauración de Ecosistemas Áridos y Semiáridos Degradados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Confluencia; ArgentinaFil: Pérez, Daniel Roberto. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Facultad de Ciencias del Ambiente y la Salud. Laboratorio de Rehabilitación y Restauración de Ecosistemas Áridos y Semiáridos Degradados; ArgentinaFil: Aronson, James. Missouri Botanical Garden; Estados Unidos. Ecohealth Network; Estados UnidosFil: Cross, Adam T.. Ecohealth Network; Estados Unidos. Curtin University; Australi

A novel approach for reliable qualitative and quantitative prey spectra identification of carnivorous plants combining DNA metabarcoding and macro photography

Prey spectra (the number and composition of captured arthropods) represent a crucial aspect of carnivorous plant ecology, yet remain poorly studied. Traditional morphology-based approaches for prey identification are time-intensive, require specialists with considerable knowledge of arthropod taxonomy, and are hampered by high numbers of unidentifiable (i.e., heavily digested) prey items. We examined prey spectra of three species of closely-related annual Drosera (Droseraceae, sundews) from tropical northern Australia using a novel DNA metabarcoding approach with in-situ macro photography as a plausibility control and to facilitate prey quantity estimations. This new method facilitated accurate analyses of carnivorous plant prey spectra (even of heavily digested prey lacking characteristic morphological features) at a taxonomic resolution and level of completeness far exceeding morphology-based methods and approaching the 100% mark at arthropod order level. Although the three studied species exhibited significant differences in detected prey spectra, little prey specialisation was observed and habitat or plant population density variations were likely the main drivers of prey spectra dissimilarity

What is the prevalence, and what are the clinical correlates, of insulin resistance in young people presenting for mental health care? A cross-sectional study

Objectives: To report the distribution and predictors of insulin resistance (IR) in young people presenting to primary care-based mental health services. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Headspace-linked clinics operated by the Brain and Mind Centre of the University of Sydney. Participants: 768 young people (66% female, mean age 19.7±3.5, range 12–30 years). Main outcome measures: IR was estimated using the updated homeostatic model assessment (HOMA2-IR). Height and weight were collected from direct measurement or self-report for body mass index (BMI). Results: For BMI, 20.6% of the cohort were overweight and 10.2% were obese. However,6.9 mmol/L). By contrast, 9.9% had a HOMA2-IR score \u3e2.0 (suggesting development of IR) and 11.7% (n=90) had a score between 1.5 and 2. Further, there was a positive correlation between BMI and HOMA2-IR (r=0.44, p Conclusions: Emerging IR is evident in a significant subgroup of young people presenting to primary care based mental health services. While the major modifiable risk factor is BMI, a large proportion of the variance is not accounted for by other demographic, clinical or treatment factors. Given the early emergence of IR, secondary prevention interventions may need to commence prior to the development of full-threshold or major mood or psychotic disorders