How people should respond when encountering a large carnivore: opinions of wildlife professionals

We conducted telephone surveys of wildlife professionals who work with large carnivores to ask their opinions about how people should respond to avoid being injured when confronted by a black bear (Ursus americana), grizzly bear (Ursus arctos), mountain lion (Puma concolor), or gray wolf (Canis lupus). The respondents agreed that the most appropriate response was to try to increase the distance between a person and the carnivore. In the event of an attack by a black bear, mountain lion, or wolf, most respondents said to fight back. Opinion was divided over the best response for an individual who was being attacked by a grizzly bear, but a slight majority of professionals said to fight back if the attack was predatory and be passive if the attack was defensive; however, respondents also noted that many victims would be unable to identify the bear’s motive. If a black bear came into camp, most respondents said that a person should aggressively encourage the bear to leave and to fight back against a bear that enters a tent at night, regardless of species. Respondents unanimously agreed that bear pepper-spray is effective in defending against an attack. While any encounter with a large carnivore can be fatal to the person involved, we believe that selecting the right course of action increases the odds that the victim can escape without injury

Atomic hydrogen in IllustrisTNG galaxies: the impact of environment parallelled with local 21-cm surveys

We investigate the influence of environment on the cold-gas properties of galaxies at z=0 within the TNG100 cosmological, magnetohydrodynamic simulation, part of the IllustrisTNG suite. We extend previous post-processing methods for breaking gas cells into their atomic and molecular phases, and build detailed mocks to comprehensively compare to the latest surveys of atomic hydrogen (HI) in nearby galaxies, namely ALFALFA and xGASS. We use TNG100 to explore the HI content, star formation activity, and angular momentum of satellite galaxies, each as a function of environment, and find that satellites are typically a factor of ~3 poorer in HI than centrals of the same stellar mass, with the exact offset depending sensitively on parent halo mass. Due to the large physical scales on which HI measurements are made (~45--245 kpc), contributions from gas not bound to the galaxy of interest but in the same line of sight crucially lead to larger HI mass measurements in the mocks in many cases, ultimately aligning with observations. This effect is mass-dependent and naturally greater for satellites than centrals, as satellites are never isolated by definition. We also show that HI stripping in TNG100 satellites is closely accompanied by quenching, in tension with observational data that instead favour that HI is preferentially stripped before star formation is reduced.Comment: Published in MNRAS. Main body (full paper): 18 (22) pages, 10 (11) figures. New-found bug introduced in v4 mock plots fixed. BaryMP issue fixed per footnote in Dave et al. (2020). All changes are minor and do not affect text or conclusion

Towards implementing exercise into the prostate cancer care pathway: development of a theory and evidence-based intervention to train community-based exercise professionals to support change in patient exercise behaviour (The STAMINA trial)

Abstract Background The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommend that men on androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer should receive supervised exercise to manage the side-effects of treatment. However, these recommendations are rarely implemented into practice. Community-based exercise professionals (CBEPs) represent an important target group to deliver the recommendations nationally, yet their standard training does not address the core competencies required to work with clinical populations, highlighting a need for further professional training. This paper describes the development of a training package to support CBEPs to deliver NICE recommendations. Methods Development of the intervention was guided by the Medical Research Council guidance for complex interventions and the Behaviour Change Wheel. In step one, target behaviours, together with their barriers and facilitators were identified from a literature review and focus groups with CBEPs (n = 22) and men on androgen deprivation therapy (n = 26). Focus group outputs were mapped onto the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to identify theoretical constructs for change. In step two, behaviour change techniques and their mode of delivery were selected based on psychological theories and evidence to inform intervention content. In step three, the intervention was refined following delivery and subsequent feedback from intervention recipients and stakeholders. Results Six modifiable CBEPs target behaviours were identified to support the delivery of the NICE recommendations. Nine domains of the TDF were identified as key determinants of change, including: improving knowledge and skills and changing beliefs about consequences. To target the domains, we included 20 BCTs across 8 training modules and took a blended learning approach to accommodate different learning styles and preferences. Following test delivery to 11 CBEPs and feedback from 28 stakeholders, the training package was refined. Conclusion Established intervention development approaches provided a structured and transparent guide to intervention development. A training package for CBEPs was developed and should increase trust amongst patients and health care professionals when implementing exercise into prostate cancer care. Furthermore, if proven effective, the development and approach taken may provide a blueprint for replication in other clinical populations where exercise has proven efficacy but is insufficiently implemented

Transcriptomic analysis links diverse hypothalamic cell types to fibroblast growth factor 1-induced sustained diabetes remission

n rodent models of type 2 diabetes (T2D), sustained remission of hyperglycemia can be induced by a single intracerebroventricular (icv) injection of fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF1), and the mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH) was recently implicated as the brain area responsible for this effect. To better understand the cellular response to FGF1 in the MBH, we sequenced >79,000 single-cell transcriptomes from the hypothalamus of diabetic Lepob/ob mice obtained on Days 1 and 5 after icv injection of either FGF1 or vehicle. A wide range of transcriptional responses to FGF1 was observed across diverse hypothalamic cell types, with glial cell types responding much more robustly than neurons at both time points. Tanycytes and ependymal cells were the most FGF1-responsive cell type at Day 1, but astrocytes and oligodendrocyte lineage cells subsequently became more responsive. Based on histochemical and ultrastructural evidence of enhanced cell-cell interactions between astrocytes and Agrp neurons (key components of the melanocortin system), we performed a series of studies showing that intact melanocortin signaling is required for the sustained antidiabetic action of FGF1. These data collectively suggest that hypothalamic glial cells are leading targets for the effects of FGF1 and that sustained diabetes remission is dependent on intact melanocortin signaling

Ex vivo Drug Sensitivity Imaging-based Platform for Primary Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Cells

Resistance of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells to chemotherapy, whether present at diagnosis or acquired during treatment, is a major cause of treatment failure. Primary ALL cells are accessible for drug sensitivity testing at the time of new diagnosis or at relapse, but there are major limitations with current methods for determining drug sensitivity ex vivo. Here, we describe a functional precision medicine method using a fluorescence imaging platform to test drug sensitivity profiles of primary ALL cells. Leukemia cells are co-cultured with mesenchymal stromal cells and tested with a panel of 40 anti-leukemia drugs to determine individual patterns of drug resistance and sensitivity ("pharmacotype"). This imaging-based pharmacotyping assay addresses the limitations of prior ex vivo drug sensitivity methods by automating data analysis to produce high-throughput data while requiring fewer cells and significantly decreasing the labor-intensive time required to conduct the assay. The integration of drug sensitivity data with genomic profiling provides a basis for rational genomics-guided precision medicine. Key features Analysis of primary acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) blasts obtained at diagnosis from bone marrow aspirate or peripheral blood. Experiments are performed ex vivo with mesenchymal stromal cell co-culture and require four days to complete. This fluorescence imaging-based protocol enhances previous ex vivo drug sensitivity assays and improves efficiency by requiring fewer primary cells while increasing the number of drugs tested to 40. It takes approximately 2-3 h for sample preparation and processing and a 1.5-hour imaging time. Graphical overview

A molten salt test loop for component and instrumentation testing

Molten salt is an effective coolant for a wide range of applications, including nuclear reactors, concentrated solar power, and other high temperature industrial heat transfer processes. The technical readiness level of components and instrumentation for high-temperature molten salt applications needs improvement for molten salt to be more widely adopted. A molten salt test loop was designed, built, and commissioned as a test bed to address these issues. The molten salt test loop at Abilene Christian University was built out of 316 stainless steel with a forced flow centrifugal-type pump, and was instrumented for remote operation. A low-temperature molten nitrate salt was used in this system, which was designed to operate at temperatures up to 300 ◦C and flow rates up to 90 liters per minute. This paper describes the loop design, computational fluid dynamics modeling, construction, and commissioning details. An outline of the data acquisition and control systems is presented. Salt samples were taken before and after introduction into the loop, and melting points were measured both before and after salt circulation. Performance of the system is discussed as well as improvements required for higher temperature loops envisioned for the future

Does Regional Development Influence Sedimentary Blue Carbon Stocks? A Case Study From Three Australian Estuaries

Mitigating climate change through the reduction of atmospheric CO2 levels is of interest, particularly through maintaining and re-establishing natural ecosystems that act as carbon sinks, such as coastal vegetated habitats or “blue carbon” systems. Here we compare sedimentary blue carbon (C) stocks from 37 sediment cores collected in pristine (n = 13), agricultural (n = 11), and urban (n = 13) estuaries within the same geomorphological region, located on the eastern coast of Australia. The mean estimated C stocks for each carbon system (seagrass, mangrove, and saltmarshes) were 402 ± 78, 830 ± 109, and 723 ± 100 Mg C ha-1, respectively, conservatively estimated up to 3 m depths. Analysis of variance revealed no significant difference between C stocks per area (C ha-1) considering each habitat type and between specific estuaries. However, the total estuarine C stocks were found to be greater with increasing levels of conservation, based on larger areas of blue carbon vegetation. The potential loss of C to the atmosphere from these small regional estuaries are 500,574 ± 118,635 tons of CO2 equivalent (CO2e), based on specific assumptions. The implication of these results are that there are large C stocks in small regional estuaries which supports the protection of blue C systems in developing coastal areas and highlights the uncertainties of the CO2 emissions from potential blue C habitat degradation

The ADAMTS (A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase with Thrombospondin motifs) family

The ADAMTS (A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase with Thrombospondin motifs) enzymes are secreted, multi-domain matrix-associated zinc metalloendopeptidases that have diverse roles in tissue morphogenesis and patho-physiological remodeling, in inflammation and in vascular biology. The human family includes 19 members that can be sub-grouped on the basis of their known substrates, namely the aggrecanases or proteoglycanases (ADAMTS1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 15 and 20), the procollagen N-propeptidases (ADAMTS2, 3 and 14), the cartilage oligomeric matrix protein-cleaving enzymes (ADAMTS7 and 12), the von-Willebrand Factor proteinase (ADAMTS13) and a group of orphan enzymes (ADAMTS6, 10, 16, 17, 18 and 19). Control of the structure and function of the extracellular matrix (ECM) is a central theme of the biology of the ADAMTS, as exemplified by the actions of the procollagen-N-propeptidases in collagen fibril assembly and of the aggrecanases in the cleavage or modification of ECM proteoglycans. Defects in certain family members give rise to inherited genetic disorders, while the aberrant expression or function of others is associated with arthritis, cancer and cardiovascular disease. In particular, ADAMTS4 and 5 have emerged as therapeutic targets in arthritis. Multiple ADAMTSs from different sub-groupings exert either positive or negative effects on tumorigenesis and metastasis, with both metalloproteinase-dependent and -independent actions known to occur. The basic ADAMTS structure comprises a metalloproteinase catalytic domain and a carboxy-terminal ancillary domain, the latter determining substrate specificity and the localization of the protease and its interaction partners; ancillary domains probably also have independent biological functions. Focusing primarily on the aggrecanases and proteoglycanases, this review provides a perspective on the evolution of the ADAMTS family, their links with developmental and disease mechanisms, and key questions for the future