Hydrogeomorphic Response of Steep Streams following Severe Wildfire in the Western Cascades, Oregon

Severe wildfire may alter the morphologic resilience of steep mountain streams by increasing peak discharges, elevating inputs of sediment and wood into channels, and increasing susceptibility to landslides and debris flows. In the Pacific Northwest, where mean annual precipitation is high and mean fire return intervals range from decades to centuries, understanding of steep stream response to fire is limited. In 2020, the Western Cascade Range, Oregon, experienced wildfire of historic magnitude and severity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the hydrologic and geomorphic response of steep streams to the 2020 fires. I assessed streamflow, instream wood, and changes in channel topography and bed-material size in steep stream reaches that burned in the fires and in an unburned reference reach. In the 1.5 years after the fires, peak flows in burned sites were below the two-year recurrence interval flood. A ~5-year flood in the unburned reference reach highlights the influence of other processes besides wildfire in driving streamflow in mountain watersheds. Sediment inputs to streams consisted of two large landslides initiated from road fill failure, slumps, sheetwash, and minor bank erosion. There was a 50% increase in the number of large wood pieces in burned sites after the fires. Changes in fluxes of water, sediment, and wood in burned streams induced shifts in the balance of sediment supply to transport capacity, initiating a sequence of sediment aggradation and bed-material fining followed by erosion and bed-material coarsening. Gross channel form showed resilience to change. The unburned reference reach exhibited little morphologic changes. Post-fire recruitment of large wood will have long-term implications for channel morphology and habitat heterogeneity. Anthropogenic climate change likely contributed to below-average precipitation during the study period which, combined with an absence of extreme precipitation events, was an important control on channel responses. Climate change may have a complex effect on stream response to wildfire by reducing total precipitation while simultaneously increasing susceptibility to flooding and debris flows via prolonged vegetation recovery and projected increases in extreme precipitation

The Role of MED31 in the Regulation of Mesenchymal Stem Cell State

Joseph Straub, Matthew Busby, Michael Osmun, Erik Beadle, and Jamie Newman are part of the School of Biological Sciences at Louisiana Tech University. Joseph Straub, Erik Beadle, and Jamie Newman are part of the Molecular Science and Nanotechnology department at Louisiana Tech University. Bruce Bunnell is a apart of the Tulane Center for Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine at Tulane University

Sonic hedgehog specifies flight feather positional information in avian wings

Classical tissue recombination experiments performed in the chick embryo provide evidence that signals operating during early limb development specify the position and identity of feathers. Here, we show that Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signalling in the embryonic chick wing bud specifies positional information required for the formation of adult flight feathers in a defined spatial and temporal sequence that reflects their different identities. We also reveal that Shh signalling is interpreted into specific patterns of Sim1 and Zic transcription factor expression, providing evidence of a putative gene regulatory network operating in flight feather patterning. Our data suggest that flight feather specification involved the co-option of the pre-existing digit patterning mechanism and therefore uncovers an embryonic process that played a fundamental step in the evolution of avian flight

Measurement of optical response of a detuned resonant sideband extraction gravitational wave detector

We report on the optical response of a suspended-mass detuned resonant sideband extraction (RSE) interferometer with power recycling. The purpose of the detuned RSE configuration is to manipulate and optimize the optical response of the interferometer to differential displacements (induced by gravitational waves) as a function of frequency, independently of other parameters of the interferometer. The design of our interferometer results in an optical gain with two peaks: an RSE optical resonance at around 4 kHz and a radiation pressure induced optical spring at around 41 Hz. We have developed a reliable procedure for acquiring lock and establishing the desired optical configuration. In this configuration, we have measured the optical response to differential displacement and found good agreement with predictions at both resonances and all other relevant frequencies. These results build confidence in both the theory and practical implementation of the more complex optical configuration being planned for Advanced LIGO

Follow-up study evaluating the long term outcome of chondromimetic in the treatment of osteochondral defects in the knee

© 2020 by the authors. Scaffolds are thought to be a key element needed for successful cartilage repair treatments, and this prospective extension study aimed to evaluate long-term structural and clinical outcomes following osteochondral defect treatment with a cell-free biphasic scaffold. Structural outcomes were assessed using quantitative 3-D magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and morphological segmentation to determine the percentage of defect filling and repair cartilage T2 relaxation times, and clinical outcomes were determined with the modified Cincinnati Rating System, and the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). Seventeen subjects with osteochondral defects in the knee were treated with ChondroMimetic scaffolds, from which 15 returned for long-term evaluation at a mean follow-up of 7.9 - 0.3 years. The defects treated were trochlear donor sites for mosaicplasty in 13 subjects, and medial femoral condyle defects in 2 subjects. MRI analysis of scaffold-treated defects found a mean total defect filling of 95.2 - 3.6%, and a tissue mean T2 relaxation time of 52.5 - 4.8 ms, which was identical to the T2 of ipsilateral control cartilage (52.3 - 9.2 ms). The overall modified Cincinnati Rating System score was statistically significant from baseline (p = 0.0065), and KOOS subscales were equivalent to other cartilage repair techniques. ChondroMimetic treatment resulted in a consistently high degree of osteochondral defect filling with durable, cartilage-like repair tissue at 7.9 years, potentially associated with clinical improvement

Measurement of Optical Response of a Detuned Resonant Sideband Extraction Interferometer

We report on the optical response of a suspended-mass detuned resonant sideband extraction (RSE) interferometer with power recycling. The purpose of the detuned RSE configuration is to manipulate and optimize the optical response of the interferometer to differential displacements (induced by gravitational waves) as a function of frequency, independently of other parameters of the interferometer. The design of our interferometer results in an optical gain with two peaks: an RSE optical resonance at around 4 kHz and a radiation pressure induced optical spring at around 41 Hz. We have developed a reliable procedure for acquiring lock and establishing the desired optical configuration. In this configuration, we have measured the optical response to differential displacement and found good agreement with predictions at both resonances and all other relevant frequencies. These results build confidence in both the theory and practical implementation of the more complex optical configuration being planned for Advanced LIGO.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, for submission to Phys Rev Letter

Impact of Oral Meloxicam on Circulating Physiological Biomarkers of Stress and Inflammation in Beef Steers After Long Distance Transportation

We hypothesized that meloxicam administration to beef steers before shipping may be effective at reducing the impact of transportation on stress biomarkers. Circulating physiological biomarkers of stress were analyzed in a transportation trial between a meloxicam treatment group and a placebo treatment group. There were significant differences in stress biomarkers between treatment groups following transport. This suggests that there may be practical benefits for the use of long-acting non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), specifically meloxicam, to mitigate the negative effect of transport on cattle physiology

Midazolam nasal spray to treat intermittent, stereotypic episodes of frequent seizure activity: pharmacology and clinical role, a comprehensive review.

An intranasal formulation of midazolam, Nayzilam, has been FDA-approved to treat intermittent, stereotypic episodes of frequent seizure activity. Nayzilam is easy to administer and can quickly treat seizures that occur outside of the hospital. The intra-nasal route of administration allows non-medical personal to administer the drug which makes it more accessible and user-friendly in the event of a seizure. Many studies have indicated quick cessation of seizures with Nayzilam compared to rectal diazepam, which has been the standard of care treatment. Nayzilam has been proven to be safe and effective for acute seizures in children, deeming it a revolutionary alternative in times where intravenous administration is not possible

Assessment and correction of skinfold thickness equations in estimating body fat in children with cerebral palsy

To assess the accuracy of skinfold equations in estimating percentage body fat in children with cerebral palsy (CP), compared with assessment of body fat from dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)

Enhanced methods for unbiased deep sequencing of Lassa and Ebola RNA viruses from clinical and biological samples

We have developed a robust RNA sequencing method for generating complete de novo assemblies with intra-host variant calls of Lassa and Ebola virus genomes in clinical and biological samples. Our method uses targeted RNase H-based digestion to remove contaminating poly(rA) carrier and ribosomal RNA. This depletion step improves both the quality of data and quantity of informative reads in unbiased total RNA sequencing libraries. We have also developed a hybrid-selection protocol to further enrich the viral content of sequencing libraries. These protocols have enabled rapid deep sequencing of both Lassa and Ebola virus and are broadly applicable to other viral genomics studies. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13059-014-0519-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users