Climate Change and Utah Ski Resorts: Impacts, Perceptions, and Adaptation Strategies

Climate change is a threat to ski resorts, the ski industry, and mountain communities that rely on ski tourism. Ski resorts may be able to mitigate some of the social and economic impacts caused by climate change with proactive adaptation strategies. Using historical weather data, future climate projections, and interviews with ski resort managers in Utah (United States), this research investigates the effects of climate change on ski resorts across the state. We examine temperature change at all resorts within the state from 1980–2018 and climate projections from 2021–2100 under different climate change scenarios (RCPs 2.6, 4.5, and 8.5). We also report on semistructured interviews with resort managers to provide insights into how resort leadership perceives the impacts of climate change, is implementing adaptation strategies, and is addressing barriers to adaptation. Many resorts in Utah are warming faster than global averages, and minimum temperatures are rising faster than maximum temperatures. By the end of the century, winter (December–March) minimum daily temperatures in Utah could warm an additional 6.0°C under the RCP 8.5 scenario near northern Utah resorts and 6.6°C near southern Utah resorts. Resort managers are concerned about shorter season lengths, shifting ski seasons, less snow cover, and poorer snow quality. Many resorts are already adapting, with the most common adaptations being snowmaking and diversifying outdoor recreation offerings (particularly during the summer and shoulder seasons). Barriers to adaptation reported by managers include financial costs, adequate water availability for snowmaking, and uncertainty about climate change projections. Climate change is already impacting Utah ski resorts, but adaptation practices can reduce the negative impacts to some degree at most resorts

Genetic signature of histiocytic sarcoma revealed by a sleeping beauty transposon genetic screen in mice.

Histiocytic sarcoma is a rare, aggressive neoplasm that responds poorly to therapy. Histiocytic sarcoma is thought to arise from macrophage precursor cells via genetic changes that are largely undefined. To improve our understanding of the etiology of histiocytic sarcoma we conducted a forward genetic screen in mice using the Sleeping Beauty transposon as a mutagen to identify genetic drivers of histiocytic sarcoma. Sleeping Beauty mutagenesis was targeted to myeloid lineage cells using the Lysozyme2 promoter. Mice with activated Sleeping Beauty mutagenesis had significantly shortened lifespan and the majority of these mice developed tumors resembling human histiocytic sarcoma. Analysis of transposon insertions identified 27 common insertion sites containing 28 candidate cancer genes. Several of these genes are known drivers of hematological neoplasms, like Raf1, Fli1, and Mitf, while others are well-known cancer genes, including Nf1, Myc, Jak2, and Pten. Importantly, several new potential drivers of histiocytic sarcoma were identified and could serve as targets for therapy for histiocytic sarcoma patients

Kaplan Meier Survival Curve showing decreased survival in triple transgenic experimental animals compared to double transgenic controls.

<p>Significance determined using Logrank test.</p

Kaplan Meier Survival Curve showing decreased survival in triple transgenic experimental animals compared to double transgenic controls.

<p>Significance determined using Logrank test.</p

Representative images of tumor tissue.

<p>A) Disseminated HS in pancreas, liver, and thoracic cavity. B) HS adhering to peritoneum. C) HS within the thoracic cavity.</p

Eight candidate cooperating genes in HS.

<p>Eight candidate cooperating genes in HS.</p

Symptom Duration and Risk Factors for Delayed Return to Usual Health Among Outpatients with COVID-19 in a Multistate Health Care Systems Network — United States, March–June 2020

Prolonged symptom duration and disability are common in adults hospitalized with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Characterizing return to baseline health among outpatients with milder COVID-19 illness is important for understanding the full spectrum of COVID-19-associated illness and tailoring public health messaging, interventions, and policy. During April 15-June 25, 2020, telephone interviews were conducted with a random sample of adults aged ≥18 years who had a first positive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, at an outpatient visit at one of 14 U.S. academic health care systems in 13 states. Interviews were conducted 14-21 days after the test date. Respondents were asked about demographic characteristics, baseline chronic medical conditions, symptoms present at the time of testing, whether those symptoms had resolved by the interview date, and whether they had returned to their usual state of health at the time of interview. Among 292 respondents, 94% (274) reported experiencing one or more symptoms at the time of testing; 35% of these symptomatic respondents reported not having returned to their usual state of health by the date of the interview (median&nbsp;=&nbsp;16 days from testing date), including 26% among those aged 18-34 years, 32% among those aged 35-49 years, and 47% among those aged ≥50 years. Among respondents reporting cough, fatigue, or shortness of breath at the time of testing, 43%, 35%, and 29%, respectively, continued to experience these symptoms at the time of the interview. These findings indicate that COVID-19 can result in prolonged illness even among persons with milder outpatient illness, including young adults. Effective public health messaging targeting these groups is warranted. Preventative measures, including social distancing, frequent handwashing, and the consistent and correct use of face coverings in public, should be strongly encouraged to slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2