Regional differences in multidimensional aspects of health: findings from the MRC cognitive function and ageing study.

BACKGROUND: Differences in mortality and health experience across regions are well recognised and UK government policy aims to address this inequality. Methods combining life expectancy and health have concentrated on specific areas, such as self-perceived health and dementia. Few have looked within country or across different areas of health. Self-perceived health, self-perceived functional impairment and cognitive impairment are linked closely to survival, as well as quality of life. This paper aims to describe regional differences in healthy life expectancy using a variety of states of health and wellbeing within the MRC Cognitive Function and Ageing Study (MRC CFAS). METHODS: MRC CFAS is a population based study of health in 13,009 individuals aged 65 years and above in five centres using identical study methodology. The interviews included self-perceived health and measures of functional and cognitive impairment. Sullivan's method was used to combine prevalence rates for cognitive and functional impairment and life expectancy to produce expectation of life in various health states. RESULTS: The prevalence of both cognitive and functional impairment increases with age and was higher in women than men, with marked centre variation in functional impairment (Newcastle and Gwynedd highest impairment). Newcastle had the shortest life expectancy of all the sites, Cambridgeshire and Oxford the longest. Centre differences in self-perceived health tended to mimic differences in life expectancy but this did not hold for cognitive or functional impairment. CONCLUSION: Self-perceived health does not show marked variation with age or sex, but does across centre even after adjustment for impairment burden. There is considerable centre variation in self-reported functional impairment but not cognitive impairment. Only variation in self-perceived health relates to the ranking of life expectancy. These data confirm that quite considerable differences in life experience exist across regions of the UK beyond basic life expectancy.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Forest pattern, fire, and climatic change in the Sierra Nevada

In the Sierra Nevada, distributions of forest tree species are largely controlled by the soil-moisture balance. Changes in temperature or precipitation as a result of increased greenhouse gas concentrations could lead to changes in species distributions. In addition, climatic change could increase the frequency and severity of wildfires. We used a forest gap model developed for Sierra Nevada forests to investigate the potential sensitivity of these forests to climatic change, including a changing fire regime. Fuel moisture influences the fire regime and couples fire to climate. Fires are also affected by fuel loads, which accumulate according to forest structure and composition. These model features were used to investigate the complex interactions between climate, fire, and forest dynamics. Eight hypothetical climate-change scenarios were simulated, including two general circulation model (GCM) predictions of a 2 × CO₂ world. The response of forest structure, species composition, and the fire regime to these changes in the climate were examined at four sites across an elevation gradient. Impacts on woody biomass and species composition as a result of climatic change were site specific and depended on the environmental constraints of a site and the environmental tolerances of the tree species simulated. Climatic change altered the fire regime both directly and indirectly. Fire frequency responded directly to climate's influence on fuel moisture, whereas fire extent was affected by changes that occurred in either woody biomass or species composition. The influence of species composition on fuel-bed bulk density was particularly important. Future fires in the Sierra Nevada could be both more frequent and of greater spatial extent if GCM predictions prove true.Keywords: forest gap model, fire regime, spatial pattern, climatic change, connectivit

Forest pattern, fire, and climatic change in the Sierra Nevada

In the Sierra Nevada, distributions of forest tree species are largely controlled by the soil-moisture balance. Changes in temperature or precipitation as a result of increased greenhouse gas concentrations could lead to changes in species distributions. In addition, climatic change could increase the frequency and severity of wildfires. We used a forest gap model developed for Sierra Nevada forests to investigate the potential sensitivity of these forests to climatic change, including a changing fire regime. Fuel moisture influences the fire regime and couples fire to climate. Fires are also affected by fuel loads, which accumulate according to forest structure and composition. These model features were used to investigate the complex interactions between climate, fire, and forest dynamics. Eight hypothetical climate-change scenarios were simulated, including two general circulation model (GCM) predictions of a 2 3 CO2 world. The response of forest structure, species composition, and the fire regime to these changes in the climate were examined at four sites across an elevation gradient. Impacts on woody biomass and species composition as a result of climatic change were site specific and depended on the environmental constraints of a site and the environmental tolerances of the tree species simulated. Climatic change altered the fire regime both directly and indirectly. Fire frequency responded directly to climate’s influence on fuel moisture, whereas fire extent was affected by changes that occurred in either woody biomass or species composition. The influence of species composition on fuel-bed bulk density was particularly important. Future fires in the Sierra Nevada could be both more frequent and of greater spatial extent if GCM predictions prove true.Keywords: Spatial pattern, Fire regime, Connectivity, Forest gap model, Climatic chang

Toward integrated conservation of North America's crop wild relatives

North America harbors a rich native flora of crop wild relatives—the progenitors and closely related species of domesticated plants—as well as a range of culturally significant wild utilized plants. Despite their current and potential future value, they are rarely prioritized for conservation efforts; thus many species are threatened in their natural habitats, and most are underrepresented in plant genebanks and botanical gardens. Further coordination of efforts among land management, botanical, and agricultural science organizations will improve conservation and general public awareness with regard to these species. We present examples of productive collaborations focused on wild cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon and Vaccinium oxycoccos) and chile peppers (Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum). We then discuss five shared priorities for further action: (1) understand and document North America's crop wild relatives and wild utilized plants, (2) protect threatened species in their natural habitats, (3) collect and conserve ex situ the diversity of prioritized species, (4) make this diversity accessible and attractive for plant breeding, research, and education, and (5) raise public awareness of their value and the threats to their persistence

The biodiversity of freshwater Crustaceans revealed by taxonomy and mitochondrial DNA barcodes

Cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) barcode sequences in this file were obtained from specimens collected by plankton net in western Lake Erie in 2012 & 2013, along with later specimens collected at various locations and times, including some collected in Belize in 2015. Methods and other details about these sequences are described in a paper by the same authors in a submitted publication (2021: URL to be given here when published). The right columns below contain additional notes on lengths of sequences, GenBank accession ID (when obtained), and annotation as to whether the sequence represents a new barcode for its genus or species taxon. According to our experience, a DNA identity of \u3e96.5% with previous GenBank barcodes is a reliable range for determining a species level barcode for that morpho species; a DNA identity of 90.5% to 96.5% with previous barcodes is sufficient to identify genus. DNA identities within these ranges are considered to be barcode confirmations. Conversely, DNA identities outside of these ranges are considered to be new barcodes for that species or genus, respectively. Contradictions with previous GenBank sequences are discussed in the manuscript. The submitted manuscript includes the highest percentage identity to a previous sequence in GenBank as determined by BLASTN in June2021. The FASTA file name given here begins with a Ram Lab ID number-location and date of collection with format varying somewhat between various collections/collectors but generally including several (usually three) location letters (e.g., BHL stands for Blue Heron Lagoon) and the date usually in a 6-character format of MMDDYY, and optionally a sample number for that date either preceding the location letters or following the date. Collection location abbreviations include the following: All sequences starting with PM, Toledo Harbor in western Lake Erie; LMUSK, Lake Muskoday, Belle Isle, Detroit; SCL, Saint Clair River; BHL, Blue Heron Lagoon, Belle Isle; LE, LakeErie; LSC, Lake St.Clair; MMLE; Metzgers Marsh, LakeErie; MM, Metzgers Marsh; LP, Leonard Preserve, Manchester, Michigan; HR, Huron River Drive, Ypsilanti, Michigan; LCL, Little Cedar Lake, Orion, MI; HLE, Harbor Lake Erie; LHLE, Lorain Harbor Lake Erie; BZEB1P, Cenote in Shipstern Reserve, Corozal, Belize, Central America

Summer 1981

Editorial (page 3) Results of Field Test to Study Human Exposure to 2,4,5,-T Application (4) Investigation and Treatment of Localized Dry Spots on Sand Golf Greens (6) Aquatic Weed Control- In Review (11) Golf Course Superintendent - A Perspective (14) Four Seasons Ground Maintenance (16

The Ursinus Weekly, November 24, 1958

Y holds seminar Nov. 19; Marriage problem is topic • Fireside chats to be held Dec. 3 at prof\u27s home • C. Carpenter has poem published in anthology • Administrative regulation • Mayes, Francis \u2762 representatives to MSGA • New pledges announced by Alpha Psi Omega • De Gaulle and France topic at second Forum of Fall semester • Who\u27s who honors 12 leading Ursinus seniors • Senior Ball to be held at Sunnybrook Dec. 5 • W.S.G.A. presents plaque to winning frosh team • Editorial: Thanksgiving • Letters to the editor • Review: Joan of Lorraine • Slightly allegorical • U.C. soccermen lose last three games; Finish 2-6-1 • Prospects for U.C. basketball team looking up • Varsity hockey finishes with 4-2-1; J.V. is 6-0-1 • Football squad drops two games 12-0, 34-6 • Sorority bids • American hist. students begin tour program • Fine art of datinghttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly/1372/thumbnail.jp

Removal of Magnetic Impurities from Strontium Copper Oxychloride

Analyses of a copper-deficient series of Strontium Copper Oxychloride polycrystalline samples are reported. Magnetic susceptibility, X-ray powder diffraction, and differential thermal analyses show a small Curie-type magnetic signal correlates with =0.6% (excess) copper ions in the nominally stoichiometric material. The analyses also imply that the extra magnetic signal is from an impurity phase, possibly related to Strontium Copper Oxide. The concentration of the impurity phase can be controlled by varying the copper stoichiometry

De novoframeshift mutation in ASXL3 in a patient with global developmental delay, microcephaly, and craniofacial anomalies

BACKGROUND: Currently, diagnosis of affected individuals with rare genetic disorders can be lengthy and costly, resulting in a diagnostic odyssey and in many patients a definitive molecular diagnosis is never achieved despite extensive clinical investigation. The recent advent and use of genomic medicine has resulted in a paradigm shift in the clinical molecular genetics of rare diseases and has provided insight into the causes of numerous rare genetic conditions. In particular, whole exome and genome sequencing of families has been particularly useful in discovering de novo germline mutations as the cause of both rare diseases and complex disorders. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a six year old, nonverbal African American female with microcephaly, autism, global developmental delay, and metopic craniosynostosis. Exome sequencing of the patient and her two parents revealed a heterozygous two base pair de novo deletion, c.1897_1898delCA, p.Gln633ValfsX13 in ASXL3, predicted to result in a frameshift at codon 633 with substitution of a valine for a glutamine and introduction of a premature stop codon. CONCLUSIONS: We provide additional evidence that, truncating and frameshifting mutations in the ASXL3 gene are the cause of a newly recognized disorder characterized by severe global developmental delay, short stature, microcephaly, and craniofacial anomalies. Furthermore, we expand the knowledge about disease causing mutations and the genotype-phenotype relationships in ASXL3 and provide evidence that rare, nonsynonymous, damaging mutations are not associated with developmental delay or microcephaly

Contributions of Fire Refugia to Resilient Ponderosa Pine and Dry Mixed‐Conifer Forest Landscapes

Altered fire regimes can drive major and enduring compositional shifts or losses of forest ecosystems. In western North America, ponderosa pine and dry mixed‐conifer forest types appear increasingly vulnerable to uncharacteristically extensive, high‐severity wildfire. However, unburned or only lightly impacted forest stands that persist within burn mosaics—termed fire refugia—may serve as tree seed sources and promote landscape recovery. We sampled tree regeneration along gradients of fire refugia proximity and density at 686 sites within the perimeters of 12 large wildfires that occurred between 2000 and 2005 in the interior western United States. We used generalized linear mixed‐effects models to elucidate statistical relationships between tree regeneration and refugia pattern, including a new metric that incorporates patch proximity and proportional abundance. These relationships were then used to develop a spatially explicit landscape simulation model. We found that regeneration by ponderosa pine and obligate‐seeding mixed‐conifer tree species assemblages was strongly and positively predicted by refugia proximity and density. Simulation models revealed that for any given proportion of the landscape occupied by refugia, small patches produced greater landscape recovery than large patches. These results highlight the disproportionate importance of small, isolated islands of surviving trees, which may not be detectable with coarse‐scale satellite imagery. Findings also illustrate the interplay between patch‐scale resistance and landscape‐scale resilience: Disturbance‐resistant settings (fire refugia) can entrain resilience (forest regeneration) across the burn matrix. Implications and applications for land managers and conservation practitioners include strategies for the promotion and maintenance of fire refugia as components of resilient forest landscapes