South Carolina Croon Song

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Factors Influencing Revenue Collection for Preventative Maintenance of Community Water Systems: A Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis

This study analyzed combinations of conditions that influence regular payments for water service in resource-limited communities. To do so, the study investigated 16 communities participating in a new preventive maintenance program in the Kamuli District of Uganda under a public–private partnership framework. First, this study identified conditions posited as important for collective payment compliance from a literature review. Then, drawing from data included in a water source report and by conducting semi-structured interviews with households and water user committees (WUC), we identified communities that were compliant with, or suspended from, preventative maintenance service payments. Through qualitative analyses of these data and case knowledge, we identified and characterized conditions that appeared to contribute to these outcomes. Then, we employed fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to determine the combinations of conditions that led to payment compliance. Overall, the findings from this study reveal distinct pathways of conditions that impact payment compliance and reflect the multifaceted nature of water point sustainability. Practically, the findings identify the processes needed for successful payment compliance, which include a strong WUC with proper support and training, user perceptions that the water quality is high and available in adequate quantities, ongoing support, and a lack of nearby water sources. A comprehensive understanding of the combined factors that lead to payment compliance can improve future preventative maintenance programs, guide the design of water service arrangements, and ultimately increase water service sustainability

Decline in an Atlantic Puffin population : evaluation of magnitude and mechanisms

Funding: This study was funded annually by Fair Isle Bird Observatory Trust (www.fairislebirdobs.co.uk) with contributions from the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (jncc.defra.gov.uk). Funding was received from these two sources by Fair Isle Bird Observatory from 1986 to 2013. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee and Fair Isle Bird Observatory Trust supplied guidance on study design, data collection, analyses, preparation of the manuscript and the decision to publish.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Long-term decline and geographical variation in the numbers of moulting Common Eiders Somateria mollissima in Shetland

The 1977 survey was funded and led by the Nature Conservancy Council. Surveys from 1980 to 2019 were funded by the Sullom Voe Association and led by the Shetland Oil Terminal Environmental Advisory Group (SOTEAG).Capsule: Numbers of moulting Common Eiders Somateria mollissima counted in Shetland during surveys from 1977 to 2019 decreased from approximately 14,500 to an estimated 3600 individuals, a 75% population decline. Aims: To report results of extensive surveys of Eiders across Shetland during the annual complete moult period, review historical surveys, and evaluate long-term population changes and the possible underlying causes for change. Methods: Extensive areas of coastal Shetland were surveyed for Eiders during the annual moult period from July to September, every one to five years from 1977 to 2019. Spatial sampling was variable between surveys from 1977 to 1993 but more systematic and standardised during all surveys from 1996 to 2019. Overall population change, changes in numbers of birds within areas categorised as either exposed or sheltered coast, and change in the proportion of adult males to females/juveniles were assessed. Results: Surveys from 1977 to 1993 indicated a 55% decrease, from approximately 14,500–6500 individuals, and surveys from 1996 to 2019 showed a 45% decrease, from an estimated 6700–3600 individuals, indicating an overall population decrease of approximately 75% from 1977 to 2019. From 1996 to 2019, Eider numbers decreased in areas of exposed coast by approximately 90% but increased by at least 70% in the more sparsely populated sheltered areas, and the overall proportion of adult males to females/juveniles reduced by one-third. Conclusion: From 1977 to 2019, a substantial decline of approximately 75% occurred in the Shetland Eider population at the time of moult. Shetland Eiders are not S. m. mollissima but morphologically and genetically akin to S. m. faeroeensis, the Faroese subspecies, the rarest subspecies worldwide, so this decline is of high conservation concern. Causes of the decline largely remain unknown, but ecological datasets on Shetland Eiders are few and detailed studies, including remote tracking of individuals’ movements throughout the year, would be worthwhile.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Efficacy of Gene Therapy Is Dependent on Disease Progression in Dystrophic Mice with Mutations in the FKRP Gene

Loss-of-function mutations in the Fukutin-related protein ( ) gene cause limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2I (LGMD2I) and other forms of congenital muscular dystrophy-dystroglycanopathy that are associated with glycosylation defects in the α-dystroglycan (α-DG) protein. Systemic administration of a single dose of recombinant adeno-associated virus serotype 9 (AAV9) vector expressing human to a mouse model of LGMD2I at various stages of disease progression was evaluated. The results demonstrate rescue of functional glycosylation of α-DG and muscle function, along with improvements in muscle structure at all disease stages versus age-matched untreated cohorts. Nevertheless, mice treated in the latter stages of disease progression revealed a decrease in beneficial effects of the treatment. The results provide a proof of concept for future clinical trials in patients with -related muscular dystrophy and demonstrate that AAV-mediated gene therapy can potentially benefit patients at all stages of disease progression, but earlier intervention would be highly preferred

Using binary stars to bound the mass of the graviton

Interacting white dwarf binary star systems, including helium cataclysmic variable (HeCV) systems, are expected to be strong sources of gravitational radiation, and should be detectable by proposed space-based laser interferometer gravitational wave observatories such as LISA. Several HeCV star systems are presently known and can be studied optically, which will allow electromagnetic and gravitational wave observations to be correlated. Comparisons of the phases of a gravitational wave signal and the orbital light curve from an interacting binary white dwarf star system can be used to bound the mass of the graviton. Observations of typical HeCV systems by LISA could potentially yield an upper bound on the inverse mass of the graviton as strong as $h/m_{g} = \lambda_{g} > 1 \times 10^{15}$ km ($m_{g} < 1 \times 10^{-24}$ eV), more than two orders of magnitude better than present solar system derived bounds.Comment: 21 pages plus 4 figures; ReVTe

Quantifying full phenological event distributions reveals simultaneous advances, temporal stability and delays in spring and autumn migration timing in long-distance migratory birds

Acknowledgements We thank all Fair Isle Bird Observatory staff and volunteers for help with data collection and acknowledge the foresight of George Waterston and Ken Williamson in instigating the observatory and census methodology. We thank all current and previous directors of Fair Isle Bird Observatory Trust for their contributions, particularly Dave Okill and Mike Wood for their stalwart support for the long-term data collection and for the current analyses. Dawn Balmer and Ian Newton provided helpful guidance on manuscript drafts. We thank Ally Phillimore and two anonymous referees for helpful comments. This study would have been impossible without the Fair Isle community's invaluable support and patience over many decades, which is very gratefully acknowledged. WTSM and JMR designed and undertook analyses, wrote the paper and contributed to data collection and compilation, MB contributed to analysis and editing, all other authors oversaw and undertook data collection and compilation and contributed to editing.Peer reviewedPostprin

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza and its Complex Patterns of Reassortment

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5NX (clade 2.3.4.4b) is responsible for major outbreaks in poultry and wild birds in recent years. In 2014/2015, 2016/2017 and 2020/2021 the main subtype in Europe was H5N8, however for 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 seasons, the virus acquired a different neuraminidase making subtype H5N1. It has also undergone additional reassortments with internal protein coding segments from other low pathogenic strains and spread intercontinentally to the Americas, Africa and Asia.Using a sequence dataset of over 4000 genomes, we propose a method for determining and classifying reassortants suitable for further phylogenetic analysis. For each segment, the genetic distance between pairs of sequences is calculated, and sequences are grouped into 1.5-2% similarity clusters, and labelled according to size. The reassortment code of a whole-genome is composed of the individual segment cluster labels. With this method we see that there are 2-3 main reassortants in Europe for 2021-2023, particularly with different polymerase segments. The donor viruses for these reassorted segments largely originate from other co-circulating ‘Eurasian-pool’ low pathogenic strains, however one reassortant which has been severely affecting gulls and other seabirds also has segments from a ‘Northern-pool’ of viruses (Alaska and Northern Europe). Additionally, once in the Americas, there are multiple reassortments with co-circulating low pathogenic America’s lineages.Next, reassortants fitness properties in the population were estimated from phylodynamic growth rates of viral effective population size from time-scaled phylogenies as a function of genome composition, and bird-species with BEAST2 Birth-Death-Multitype-Models. We also used local branching index to provide a relative lineage growth measure with different bird-species at each node in the tree. Coupled with dates and spatial locations inference of the ancestral nodes, we are able to map the spatial and host species origin, dissemination, and initial fitness of the different reassortants.We find that the H5N1 strain has mixed with previously co-circulating low pathogenic viruses and acquired polymerases and other internal protein coding segments, resulting in fitter viruses in certain avian populations and further spread. We predict the reassortants will continue in the autumn in Europe, and expect further reassortments in the Americas

Life-history traits maintain the genomic integrity of sympatric species of the spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) group on an isolated forest island

Identification of widespread species collected from islands can be challenging due to the potential for local ecological and phenotypic divergence in isolated populations. We sought to determine how many species of the spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) complex reside in Cypress Hills, an isolated remnant coniferous forest in western Canada. We integrated data on behavior, ecology, morphology, mitochondrial DNA, and simple sequence repeats, comparing Cypress Hills populations to those from other regions of North America to determine which species they resembled most. We identified C. fumiferana, C. occidentalis, C. lambertiana, and hybrid forms in Cypress Hills. Adult flight phenology and pheromone attraction were identified as key life-history traits involved in maintaining the genomic integrity of species. Our study highlights the importance of extensive sampling of both specimens and a variety of characters for understanding species boundaries in biodiversity research