Diverse University Students Across the United States Reveal Promising Pathways to Hunter Recruitment and Retention

Declining participation in hunting, especially among young adult hunters, affects the ability of state and federal agencies to achieve goals for wildlife management and decreases revenue for conservation. For wildlife agencies hoping to engage diverse audiences in hunter recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) efforts, university settings provide unique advantages: they contain millions of young adults who are developmentally primed to explore new activities, and they cultivate a social atmosphere where new identities can flourish. From 2018 to 2020, we surveyed 17,203 undergraduate students at public universities across 22 states in the United States to explore R3 potential on college campuses and assess key demographic, social, and cognitive correlates of past and intended future hunting behavior. After weighting to account for demographic differences between our sample and the larger student population, 29% of students across all states had hunted in the past. Students with previous hunting experience were likely to be white, male, from rural areas or hunting families, and pursuing degrees related to natural resources. When we grouped students into 1 of 4 categories with respect to hunting (i.e., non-hunters [50%], potential hunters [22%], active hunters [26%], and lapsed hunters [3%]), comparisons revealed differences based on demographic attributes, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. Compared to active hunters, potential hunters were more likely to be females or racial and ethnic minorities, and less likely to experience social support for hunting. Potential hunters valued game meat and altruistic reasons for hunting, but they faced unique constraints due to lack of hunting knowledge and skills. Findings provide insights for marketing and programming designed to achieve R3 objectives with a focus on university students. © 2021 The Wildlife Society

The future of wildlife conservation funding: What options do U.S. college students support?

Insufficient funding is a major impediment to conservation efforts around the world. In the United States, a decline in hunting participation threatens sustainability of the “user-pay, public benefit” model that has supported wildlife conservation for nearly 100 years, forcing wildlife management agencies to contemplate alternative funding strategies. We investigated support for potential funding options among diverse college students, a rapidly expanding and politically active voting bloc with a potentially powerful influence on the future of conservation. From 2018 to 2020, we surveyed 17,203 undergraduate students at public universities across 22 states. Students preferred innovative approaches to conservation funding, with 72% supporting funding derived from industry sources (e.g., natural resource extraction companies), 63% supporting state sources (e.g., general sales tax), and 43% supporting conventional user-based sources such as license fees and excise taxes associated with outdoor recreation activities (e.g., hunting). Findings emphasize the need to broaden the base of support for conservation funding and highlight the importance of considering the preferences and perspectives of young adults and other diverse beneficiaries of wildlife conservation

In vivo prostaglandin E2 treatment alters the bone marrow microenvironment and preferentially expands short-term hematopoietic stem cells

Microenvironmental signals can determine hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) fate choices both directly and through stimulation of niche cells. In the bone marrow, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is known to affect both osteoblasts and osteoclasts, whereas in vitro it expands HSCs and affects differentiation of hematopoietic progenitors. We hypothesized that in vivo PGE2 treatment could expand HSCs through effects on both HSCs and their microenvironment. PGE2-treated mice had significantly decreased number of bone trabeculae, suggesting disruption of their microarchitecture. In addition, in vivo PGE2 increased lineage− Sca-1+ c-kit+ bone marrow cells without inhibiting their differentiation. However, detailed immunophenotyping demonstrated a PGE2-dependent increase in short-term HSCs/multipotent progenitors (ST-HSCs/MPPs) only. Bone marrow cells transplanted from PGE2 versus vehicle-treated donors had superior lymphomyeloid reconstitution, which ceased by 16 weeks, also suggesting that ST-HSCs were preferentially expanded. This was confirmed by serial transplantation studies. Thus in vivo PGE2 treatment, probably through a combination of direct and microenvironmental actions, preferentially expands ST-HSCs in the absence of marrow injury, with no negative impact on hematopoietic progenitors or long-term HSCs. These novel effects of PGE2 could be exploited clinically to increase donor ST-HSCs, which are highly proliferative and could accelerate hematopoietic recovery after stem cell transplantation

Evaluating impacts of R3 workshops for first‐time hunters at universities across the United States

Abstract Declines in hunter numbers across the United States make hunter recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) a high priority for wildlife management. As wildlife management agencies and nongovernmental organizations seek to reach new audiences, college campuses present a unique opportunity to cultivate nontraditional path hunters. Despite recent proliferation of R3 initiatives, little research has evaluated effects of hunting programs on knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of new hunters. We designed and implemented Getting Started Outdoors: Hunting 101 workshops specifically targeting college students without previous hunting experience, and we assessed workshop efficacy with a theoretically‐grounded approach to workshop evaluation. Using quantitative and qualitative analysis of surveys conducted before, shortly after, and 12–18 months after workshops, we assessed impacts of R3 efforts at large public universities in 16 different U.S. states. Across all states, 19 workshops attracted 314 total participants, with 255 completing both pre‐ and post‐workshop assessments and 133 completing the follow‐up surveys. Workshops significantly increased participants' confidence in hunting, reduced barriers related to inadequate knowledge and skills, and fostered positive views of hunters and hunting. Immediately after workshops, most participants said they would definitely (50%) or probably (34%) hunt in the future; 82% said they would likely (or very likely) purchase a hunting license. Over one year after the workshops, 34% of workshop participants reported having hunted, and another 45% said they would probably hunt in the future. Overall, workshops attracted a diverse population of potential hunters, increased interest in future hunting, and created hunting advocates. Findings highlight the potentially powerful impact that R3 programs focused on diverse college students can have on the future of hunting across the United States

Delaying surgery for patients with a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection

Not availabl

The ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider: a description of the detector configuration for Run 3

Abstract The ATLAS detector is installed in its experimental cavern at Point 1 of the CERN Large Hadron Collider. During Run 2 of the LHC, a luminosity of  ℒ = 2 × 1034 cm-2 s-1 was routinely achieved at the start of fills, twice the design luminosity. For Run 3, accelerator improvements, notably luminosity levelling, allow sustained running at an instantaneous luminosity of  ℒ = 2 × 1034 cm-2 s-1, with an average of up to 60 interactions per bunch crossing. The ATLAS detector has been upgraded to recover Run 1 single-lepton trigger thresholds while operating comfortably under Run 3 sustained pileup conditions. A fourth pixel layer 3.3 cm from the beam axis was added before Run 2 to improve vertex reconstruction and b-tagging performance. New Liquid Argon Calorimeter digital trigger electronics, with corresponding upgrades to the Trigger and Data Acquisition system, take advantage of a factor of 10 finer granularity to improve triggering on electrons, photons, taus, and hadronic signatures through increased pileup rejection. The inner muon endcap wheels were replaced by New Small Wheels with Micromegas and small-strip Thin Gap Chamber detectors, providing both precision tracking and Level-1 Muon trigger functionality. Trigger coverage of the inner barrel muon layer near one endcap region was augmented with modules integrating new thin-gap resistive plate chambers and smaller-diameter drift-tube chambers. Tile Calorimeter scintillation counters were added to improve electron energy resolution and background rejection. Upgrades to Minimum Bias Trigger Scintillators and Forward Detectors improve luminosity monitoring and enable total proton-proton cross section, diffractive physics, and heavy ion measurements. These upgrades are all compatible with operation in the much harsher environment anticipated after the High-Luminosity upgrade of the LHC and are the first steps towards preparing ATLAS for the High-Luminosity upgrade of the LHC. This paper describes the Run 3 configuration of the ATLAS detector.</jats:p

The ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider: a description of the detector configuration for Run 3

The ATLAS detector is installed in its experimental cavern at Point 1 of the CERN Large Hadron Collider. During Run 2 of the LHC, a luminosity of ℒ = 2 × 1034 cm-2 s-1 was routinely achieved at the start of fills, twice the design luminosity. For Run 3, accelerator improvements, notably luminosity levelling, allow sustained running at an instantaneous luminosity of ℒ = 2 × 1034 cm-2 s-1, with an average of up to 60 interactions per bunch crossing. The ATLAS detector has been upgraded to recover Run 1 single-lepton trigger thresholds while operating comfortably under Run 3 sustained pileup conditions. A fourth pixel layer 3.3 cm from the beam axis was added before Run 2 to improve vertex reconstruction and b-tagging performance. New Liquid Argon Calorimeter digital trigger electronics, with corresponding upgrades to the Trigger and Data Acquisition system, take advantage of a factor of 10 finer granularity to improve triggering on electrons, photons, taus, and hadronic signatures through increased pileup rejection. The inner muon endcap wheels were replaced by New Small Wheels with Micromegas and small-strip Thin Gap Chamber detectors, providing both precision tracking and Level-1 Muon trigger functionality. Trigger coverage of the inner barrel muon layer near one endcap region was augmented with modules integrating new thin-gap resistive plate chambers and smaller-diameter drift-tube chambers. Tile Calorimeter scintillation counters were added to improve electron energy resolution and background rejection. Upgrades to Minimum Bias Trigger Scintillators and Forward Detectors improve luminosity monitoring and enable total proton-proton cross section, diffractive physics, and heavy ion measurements. These upgrades are all compatible with operation in the much harsher environment anticipated after the High-Luminosity upgrade of the LHC and are the first steps towards preparing ATLAS for the High-Luminosity upgrade of the LHC. This paper describes the Run 3 configuration of the ATLAS detector