Adaptive Variation in Desiccation Resistance in Rhagoletis

Despite the ever-present challenges associated with invasive species, many environmental barriers exist that limit the spread of exotics. However, there is a growing number of examples of species overcoming these constraints via adaptive evolution years or decades after their initial introduction. The necessary genetic variation stems either from hybridization with a closely related species, or from shifting allele frequencies from standing variation in the population. Since its introduction to the Pacific Northwest, the apple maggot fly, Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh 1867), has invaded all of coastal Washington, but has only small, isolated populations in the central and eastern parts of the state. The Cascade Mountains form a rain shadow that restricts the amount of precipitation in these regions, making it much drier than the western parts of Washington. I investigated aridity as an environmental constraint for the spread of R. pomonella, as well as potential sources of genetic variation for desiccation resistance in sympatric populations. First, I tested the potential for dry conditions, like those in the interior of Washington, to influence fitness in Rhagoletis flies, and act as a factor limiting their distribution. I found that individuals from a wetter part of Washington did not survive as well in dry conditions, but that individuals from a drier location were unaffected by desiccation treatment. The percent of weight that each pupa had remaining after treatment was the best predictor of survival. Second, I examined the variation in desiccation resistance in R. pomonellaʼs native sister-species, R. zephyria across a finer environmental gradient, to look at possible adaptive variation within the species. I found that R. zephyria pupae from west of the Cascade Range show less desiccation resistance than those east of the Range, and that this pattern is indicative of local adaptation. Average annual precipitation and elevation of each transect site were the best predictors of how much weight each pupa would retain after desiccation treatment. Finally, I measured desiccation resistance between apple-infesting R. pomonella, and hawthorn-infesting R. pomonella to begin to gauge the possible standing variation present in the speciesʼ genome. I found that the hawthorn host-race shows significantly more desiccation resistance than the apple host-race. This could be because the hawthorn hostrace must endure a longer pre-winter diapause period, when conditions would be less favorable for water-balance strategies. The factors limiting the spread of R. pomonella are complex, but variation exists in both a native sister species and a sympatric host race. Determining whether there is a genetic factor associated with resistance would allow us to begin to gauge the relative importance of introgression and standing variation in the invasion of R. pomonella into the Pacific Northwest

Classification by Opinion-Changing Behavior: A Mixture Model Approach

We illustrate the use of a class of statistical models, finite mixture models, that can be used to allow for differences in model parameterizations across groups, even in the absence of group labels. We also introduce a methodology for fitting these models, data augmentation. Neither finite mixture models nor data augmentation is routine in the world of political science methodology, but both are quite standard in the statistical literature. The techniques are applied to an investigation of the empirical support for a theory (developed fully by Hill and Kriesi 2001) that extends Converse's (1964) "black-and-white” model of response stability. Our model formulation enables us (1) to provide reliable estimates of the size of the two groups of individuals originally distinguished in this model, opinion holders and unstable opinion changers; (2) to examine the evidence for Converse's basic claim that these unstable changers truly exhibit nonattitudes; and (3) to estimate the size of a newly defined group, durable changers, whose members exhibit more stable opinion change. Our application uses survey data collected at four time points over nearly 2 years which track Swiss citizens' readiness to support pollution-reduction policies. The results, combined with flexible model checks, provide support for portions of Converse and Zaller's (1992) theories on response instability and appear to weaken the measurement-error arguments of Achen (1975) and others. This paper concentrates on modeling issues and serves as a companion paper to Hill and Kriesi (2001), which uses the same data set and model but focuses more on the details of the opinion-changing behavior debat

What COVID-19 Taught Us about the Blended Model

Initially, many faculty in higher education were apprehensive when courses went online in Spring 2020, but they eventually learned a lot about how to effectively teach online. The need for well-designed online courses for faculty in higher education is more prominent than ever-before in the wake of the COVID-19. As reluctant or apprehensive as faculty members were, the move to an online platform offered an opportunity to learn about diverse tools, resources, and innovative ways to teach both in the blended synchronous model and the asynchronous online model. Faculty and students encountered issues, but quickly learned to overcome these challenges. What COVID-19 taught faculty about the blended synchronous and asynchronous model illustrates that the blended model is ideal, and due to the benefits, faculty should continue to utilize the blended learning model with the blended learning tools and resources post COVID-19

The Impact of COVID-19 on Early Childhood Reading Practices

COVID-19 has changed the daily lives of families, impacted work, social interactions, and mental health. Since spring 2020, parents have been working from home and children have been home from daycare and school. Parents are experiencing stress in an attempt to satisfy the demands of work, family, and COVID-19 concerns. Due to the fact that children have been home from daycare and school, parents have the sole responsibility of caring for and teaching their children until schools are able to fully and effectively meet the needs of educating students in an adapted format. Research provides a wealth of information documenting the advantages of parents’ reading to their children. Children benefit from read-alouds with parental interaction, and these benefits include an increase in oral language skills, reading comprehension, vocabulary, and an increase in motivation to read. The purpose of this study is to answer two questions: (1) Since parents were home more often with their children, were parents spending more quality time reading to their two to four-year-old children? This can be defined as reading developmentally appropriate books to their children with their undivided attention; and (2) Since parents were home more often with their two to four-year-old children, were parents reading more to their young children? Parents of pre-kindergarten students were surveyed to determine the answers to these questions

Phosphorylation by the stress-activated MAPK Slt2 down-regulates the yeast TOR complex 2

Saccharomyces cerevisiae target of rapamycin (TOR) complex 2 (TORC2) is an essential regulator of plasma membrane lipid and protein homeostasis. How TORC2 activity is modulated in response to changes in the status of the cell envelope is unclear. Here we document that TORC2 subunit Avo2 is a direct target of Slt2, the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) of the cell wall integrity pathway. Activation of Slt2 by overexpression of a constitutively active allele of an upstream Slt2 activator (Pkc1) or by auxin-induced degradation of a negative Slt2 regulator (Sln1) caused hyperphosphorylation of Avo2 at its MAPK phosphoacceptor sites in a Slt2-dependent manner and diminished TORC2-mediated phosphorylation of its major downstream effector, protein kinase Ypk1. Deletion of Avo2 or expression of a phosphomimetic Avo2 allele rendered cells sensitive to two stresses (myriocin treatment and elevated exogenous acetic acid) that the cell requires Ypk1 activation by TORC2 to survive. Thus, Avo2 is necessary for optimal TORC2 activity, and Slt2-mediated phosphorylation of Avo2 down-regulates TORC2 signaling. Compared with wild-type Avo2, phosphomimetic Avo2 shows significant displacement from the plasma membrane, suggesting that Slt2 inhibits TORC2 by promoting Avo2 dissociation. Our findings are the first demonstration that TORC2 function is regulated by MAPK-mediated phosphorylation.Comment: This work was supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH) Predoctoral Traineeship GM07232 and a University of California at Berkeley MacArthur and Lakhan-Pal Graduate Fellowship to K.L.L., Erwin Schroedinger Fellowship J3787-B21 from the Austrian Science Fund to AE-A, Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action H2020-MSCA-IF-2016 InsiliCardio, GA 75083 to CMA, and NIH R01 research grant GM21841 to J

Examining Participation among Persons with Spinal Cord Injuries and Disorders Using Photovoice

Participation is a significant rehabilitation outcome for individuals with spinal cord injury and/or disorder (SCI/D), yet few qualitative studies have described the social aspect of disability and community participation. We used the photovoice methodology to explore perceptions and experiences related to participation among Veterans with SCI/D. We recruited a convenience sample of individuals with SCI/D at the Hines Veterans Affairs (VA) SCI/D Unit. Participants were asked to take photographs exemplifying their experiences and activities regarding participation. Within four weeks, participants returned their photographs and completed semi-structured interviews to discuss their photographs. Interview transcripts were analyzed using an inductive coding approach to identify emerging themes. Of the 18 Veterans with SCI/D who completed the initial orientation session, 9 (50%) completed the photography phase and follow-up interviews. A majority of participants were White (67%) and the mean age was 64 years. The mean duration of injury was 21.8 years, and 75% of participants were paraplegic. Most participants (78%) were community-dwelling. All participants discussed participation as a highly relevant issue in their lives. A majority of participants (67%) described sports as an example of participation. Over half (56%) emphasized the positive effects of participation (i.e., feelings of enjoyment / accomplishment) in sports as well as engaging in faith-based activities, being outdoors, and managing business- or household-related responsibilities. Barriers to participation were mobility impairments, lack of transportation and cost. Findings from this study can be used to address environmental changes or other accommodations that influence participation, both inside and outside the health care setting

A GIS-based assessment of the suitability of SCIAMACHY satellite sensor measurements for estimating reliable CO concentrations in a low-latitude climate

An assessment of the reliability of the Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Cartography (SCIAMACHY) satellite sensor measurements to interpolate tropospheric concentrations of carbon monoxide considering the lowlatitude climate of the Niger Delta region in Nigeria was conducted. Monthly SCIAMACHY carbon monoxide (CO) column measurements from January 2,003 to December 2005 were interpolated using ordinary kriging technique. The spatio-temporal variations observed in the reliability were based on proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, seasonal variations in the intensities of rainfall and relative humidity, the presence of dust particles from the Sahara desert, industrialization in Southwest Nigeria and biomass burning during the dry season in Northern Nigeria. Spatial reliabilities of 74 and 42 % are observed for the inland and coastal areas, respectively. Temporally, average reliability of 61 and 55%occur during the dry and wet seasons, respectively. Reliability in the inland and coastal areas was 72 and 38% during the wet season, and 75 and 46% during the dry season, respectively. Based on the results, the WFM-DOAS SCIAMACHY CO data product used for this study is therefore relevant in the assessment of CO concentrations in developing countries within the low latitudes that could not afford monitoring infrastructure due to the required high costs. Although the SCIAMACHY sensor is no longer available, it provided cost-effective, reliable and accessible data that could support air quality assessment in developing countries

Exploring the impact of disruption on university staff resilience using the dynamic interactive model of resilience

The unanticipated changes in Higher Education settings brought about as a result of COVID–19 resulted in a range of personal, pedagogical and organisational challenges. This paper reports on research undertaken within a university in South West England, exploring how the pandemic impacted the working practices of academic and professional staff, the implications of those changes and the factors the respondents interpreted as influencing their resilience. A mixed methods approach was adopted whereby data were gathered from 159 academic and professional staff members using an online survey. Nine respondents were then individually interviewed. The data were analysed using the Dynamic Interactive Model of Resilience (DIMoR) in order to explore protective and risk factors from the various systems surrounding the respondents, alongside their more personal vulnerabilities/invulnerabilities. The results highlight the importance of considering individual and wider contexts when analysing the potential for resilience to emerge in times of disruption. The significance of movement of proximal and distal influences depending on the individual and their context also emerged, offering implications for university leaders to consider in supporting staff within their institutions. The value of the DIMoR is discussed as a lens for analysis to support understanding and future action