Quantifying Trends In our National Parks: A Landscape Level Analysis of Climate Change and Ecosystem Productivity

The U.S. National Parks are an integral part of our National Heritage. They are now, more than ever, experiencing threats from outside forces that are difficult to evaluate, such as climate change. The magnitude and direction of change will vary spatially across the landscape, making it difficult for park managers to adopt just one approach to managing for climate change. Therefore, there must be a systematic way to analyze climate trends and the subsequent effects on ecosystems, which is unbiased and useful in varying climates and landscapes. Through robust quantification of the rates of change for key climate variables (temperature, precipitation), and ecosystem health indicators (available water and net primary productivity; NPP) we identified the National Park System units that are rapidly changing with respect to climate and ecosystem productivity. Additionally, we compared the NPS units with the surrounding, protected area centered ecosystem (PACE), to identify which parks were undergoing different changes from their surroundings and vice versa. At these local scales, recent trends in NPP are being driven by land use change, disturbances or sever climate changes (drought) therefore the analysis of NPP trends can be used to monitor changes in disturbance patterns. This study provides key insight into relative rates and drivers of change for 60 national parks and their surrounding ecosystems

A GIS Tool for Applying Habitat Suitability Models to Inform Management (Poster)

Habitat suitability models are used to guide habitat management for species of conservation concern. Models quantify relationships between known species locations and environmental attributes, which are used to identify and map areas most likely to support species of concern. Managers can then restrict human activities with negative impacts on habitat suitability in these areas. Application of habitat suitability models, however, typically requires technical expertise not available to most land managers. We developed a prototype GIS tool that facilitates application of habitat suitability models to guide management of habitat for woodpecker species of conservation concern. The tool operates within an ArcGIS environment, which is readily available to most managers, and will be capable of generating habitat suitability maps for several species of concern (i.e., Black-backed Woodpecker [Picoides arcticus], Three-toed Woodpecker [P. dorsalis], Lewis’s Woodpecker [Melanerpes lewis], and White-headed Woodpeckers [P. albolvartus]). The tool also automates much of the model application process, reducing requisite technical expertise, and making habitat suitability models widely available. The tool will be accompanied by a manual describing implementation and interpretation of resulting habitat suitability maps. The tool will be especially helpful for informing management of post-disturbance forests (i.e. after wildfire and beetle infestations) to identify suitable habitat for disturbance specialists (e.g., Black-backed, Three-toed, and Lewis’s Woodpeckers).  Identification of suitable habitat is necessary to effectively develop management plans that incorporate the needs of habitat specialists in post-disturbance landscapes. Our prototype is currently being tested by U.S. Forest Service biologists

Increasing Number of Unusual Brain Abnormalities Seen in Rural West Virginia

The incidence rate of schizencephaly is 1.5 in 100,000 live births and the rate of holoprosencephaly is 1 in 16,000 live births. Both malformations are rare, but our institution has seen a dramatic increase in both malformations in recent years with no known cause. Schizencephaly is the most severe cortical malformation and holoprosencephaly is the most common defect in the prosencephalon during development however, it is still not very common to see a fetus with this defect live to delivery. Our institution seen four cases of schizencephaly and three cases of holoprosencephaly within two years. No two neonates seem to share a common factor. All had different co-morbidities and presentations, all mothers were different ages and showed few risk factors if any for these deformities. This paper is a report of the cases found of these rare birth defects seen at our institution in recent years

Toward Automation of the Supine Pressor Test for Preeclampsia

Preeclampsia leads to increased risk of morbidity and mortality for both mother and fetus. Most previous studies have largely neglected mechanical compression of the left renal vein by the gravid uterus as a potential mechanism. In this study, we first used a murine model to investigate the pathophysiology of left renal vein constriction. The results indicate that prolonged renal vein stenosis after 14 days can cause renal necrosis and an increase in blood pressure (BP) of roughly 30 mmHg. The second part of this study aimed to automate a diagnostic tool, known as the supine pressor test (SPT), to enable pregnant women to assess their preeclampsia development risk. A positive SPT has been previously defined as an increase of at least 20 mmHg in diastolic BP when switching between left lateral recumbent and supine positions. The results from this study established a baseline BP increase between the two body positions in nonpregnant women and demonstrated the feasibility of an autonomous SPT in pregnant women. Our results demonstrate that there is a baseline increase in BP of roughly 10-14 mmHg and that pregnant women can autonomously perform the SPT. Overall, this work in both rodents and humans suggests that (1) stenosis of the left renal vein in mice leads to elevation in BP and acute renal failure, (2) nonpregnant women experience a baseline increase in BP when they shift from left lateral recumbent to supine position, and (3) the SPT can be automated and used autonomously

Achieving a quantum smart workforce

Interest in building dedicated Quantum Information Science and Engineering (QISE) education programs has greatly expanded in recent years. These programs are inherently convergent, complex, often resource intensive and likely require collaboration with a broad variety of stakeholders. In order to address this combination of challenges, we have captured ideas from many members in the community. This manuscript not only addresses policy makers and funding agencies (both public and private and from the regional to the international level) but also contains needs identified by industry leaders and discusses the difficulties inherent in creating an inclusive QISE curriculum. We report on the status of eighteen post-secondary education programs in QISE and provide guidance for building new programs. Lastly, we encourage the development of a comprehensive strategic plan for quantum education and workforce development as a means to make the most of the ongoing substantial investments being made in QISE.Comment: 18 pages, 2 figures, 1 tabl

EGFR Kinase Promotes Acquisition of Stem Cell-Like Properties: A Potential Therapeutic Target in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Stem Cells

Members of the EGFR/ErbB family of tyrosine kinases are found to be highly expressed and deregulated in many cancers, including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The ErbB family, including EGFR, has been demonstrated to play key roles in metastasis, tumorigenesis, cell proliferation, and drug resistance. Recently, these characteristics have been linked to a small subpopulation of cells classified as cancer stem cells (CSCs) which are believed to be responsible for tumor initiation and maintenance. In this study, we investigated the possible role of EGFR as a regulator of “stemness” in HNSCC cells. Activation of EGFR by the addition of EGF ligand or ectopic expression of EGFR in two established HNSCC cell lines (UMSCC-22B and HN-1) resulted in the induction of CD44, BMI-1, Oct-4, NANOG, CXCR4, and SDF-1. Activation of EGFR also resulted in increased tumorsphere formation, a characteristic ability of cancer stem cells. Conversely, treatment with the EGFR kinase inhibitor, Gefinitib (Iressa), resulted in decreased expression of the aforementioned genes, and loss of tumorsphere-forming ability. Similar trends were observed in a 99.9% CD44 positive stem cell culture derived from a fresh HNSCC tumor, confirming our findings for the cell lines. Additionally, we found that these putative cancer stem cells, when treated with Gefitinib, possessed a lower capacity to invade and became more sensitive to cisplatin-induced death in vitro. These results suggest that EGFR plays critical roles in the survival, maintenance, and function of cancer stem cells. Drugs that target EGFR, perhaps administered in combination with conventional chemotherapy, might be an effective treatment for HNSCC

Attention bias to emotional faces varies by IQ and anxiety in Williams syndrome

Individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) often experience significant anxiety. A promising approach to anxiety intervention has emerged from cognitive studies of attention bias to threat. To investigate the utility of this intervention in WS, this study examined attention bias to happy and angry faces in individuals with WS (N=46). Results showed a significant difference in attention bias patterns as a function of IQ and anxiety. Individuals with higher IQ or higher anxiety showed a significant bias toward angry, but not happy faces, whereas individuals with lower IQ or lower anxiety showed the opposite pattern. These results suggest that attention bias interventions to modify a threat bias may be most effectively targeted to anxious individuals with WS with relatively high IQ

Publisher Correction: Truncated FGFR2 is a clinically actionable oncogene in multiple cancers.

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