Interpreting CO2 Fluxes Over a Suburban Lawn: The Influence of Traffic Emissions

Turf-grass lawns are ubiquitous in the United States. However direct measurements of land-atmosphere fluxes using the eddy-covariance method above lawn ecosystems are challenging due to the typically small dimensions of lawns and the heterogeneity of land use in an urbanised landscape. Given their typically small patch sizes, there is the potential that CO2 fluxes measured above turf-grass lawns may be influenced by nearby CO2 sources such as passing traffic. In this study, we report on twoyears of eddy-covariance flux measurements above a 1.5ha turf-grass lawn in which we assess the contribution of nearby traffic emissions to the measured CO2 flux. We use winter data when the vegetation was dormant to develop an empirical estimate of the traffic effect on the measured CO2 fluxes, based on a parametrised version of a three-dimensional Lagrangian footprint model and continuous traffic count data. The CO2 budget of the ecosystem was adjusted by 135gCm−2 in 2007 and by 134gCm−2 in 2008 to determine the natural flux, even though the road crossed the footprint only at its far edge. We show that bottom-up flux estimates based on CO2 emission factors of the passing vehicles, combined with the crosswind-integrated footprint at the distance of the road, agreed very well with the empirical estimate of the traffic contribution that we derived from the eddy-covariance measurements. The approach we developed may be useful for other sites where investigators plan to make eddy-covariance measurements on small patches within heterogeneous landscapes where there are significant contrasts in flux rates. However, we caution that the modelling approach is empirical and will need to be adapted individually to each sit

Eddy-Covariance Flux Measurements in the Complex Terrain of an Alpine Valley in Switzerland

We measured the surface energy budget of an Alpine grassland in highly complex terrain to explore possibilities and limitations for application of the eddy-covariance technique, also for CO2 flux measurements, at such non-ideal locations. This paper focuses on the influence of complex terrain on the turbulent energy measurements of a characteristic high Alpine grassland on Crap Alv (Alp Weissenstein) in the Swiss Alps during the growing season 2006. Measurements were carried out on a topographic terrace with a slope of 25◦ inclination. Flux data quality is assessed via the closure of the energy budget and the quality flag method used within the CarboEurope project. During 93% of the time the wind direction was along the main valley axis (43% upvalley and 50% downvalley directions). During the transition times of the typical twice daily wind direction changes in a mountain valley the fraction of high and good quality flux data reached a minimum of ≈50%, whereas during the early afternoon ≈70% of all records yielded good to highest quality (CarboEurope flags 0 and 1). The overall energy budget closure was 74±2%. An angular correction for the shortwave energy input to the slope improved the energy budget closure slightly to 82±2% for afternoon conditions. In the daily total, the measured turbulent energy fluxes are only underestimated by around 8% of net radiation. In summary, our results suggest that it is possible to yield realistic energy flux measurements under such conditions. We thus argue that the Crap Alv site and similar topographically complex locations with short-statured vegetation should be well suited also for CO2 flux measurement

Protocol for the RELATE trial:A feasibility and pilot randomised controlled trial of a low-intensity group intervention for young people in care with elevated posttraumatic stress symptoms

Introduction: Young people in out-of-home care have often experienced trauma, such as direct maltreatment or witnessing violence. There is good evidence that rates of mental health difficulties are high in this group, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a trauma-specific mental health outcome. There remains less evidence to guide how to effectively address elevated PTSD symptoms (PTSS) in these young people, particularly in ways that are feasible and scalable for stretched social-care and mental health services. Methods and analysis: This protocol describes a feasibility study comprising a pilot two-arm randomised controlled trial (RCT). Participants (N = 50) will be randomised to either (a) a group-based trauma-focused programme (Teaching Recovery Techniques), delivered by mental health practitioners both online and in-person, or (b) care-as-usual. Primarily, the trial aims to explore the key feasibility and protocol acceptability questions, including rates of recruitment and retention, as well as the acceptability of the intervention (particularly the online delivery format) to participants and services. In addition, outcomes including PTSS (primary clinical outcome), depression and functioning will be assessed at baseline (pre-randomisation), post-intervention and at a 3-month follow-up. Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approval has been received from the Health Research Authority (Wales REC1 Ref 20/WA/0100) and University, with further approval from the host trust and social care site. The results will inform the design of a definitive RCT. Dissemination will include peer-reviewed journal articles reporting the qualitative and quantitative results, as well as presentations at conferences and lay summaries. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04467320. Registered on 13 July 2020

Addressing sleep problems and fatigue within child and adolescent mental health services: A qualitative study

Background: Both fatigue and sleep difficulties are common symptoms of mental health presentations such as depression and anxiety. Despite this, little is known about how psychologists in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) assess and treat these common symptoms. Method: Qualitative interviews with nine psychologists working in CAMHS analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Fatigue and sleep problems do not tend to be the focus of assessment because they are seen to be part of other presentations and not accorded priority. Psychologists struggled to differentiate fatigue from sleep problems, with greater clarity about sleep problems, which appear to be more routinely assessed. A number of barriers to addressing fatigue and sleep problems were identified, including lack of motivation from young people to make behavioural changes to address fatigue and/or sleep difficulties. Psychologists wished for more training, access to information for young people and families and more service integration with paediatric physical health settings. Conclusion: Sleep problems and fatigue may not be thoroughly assessed and addressed in CAMHS and are often conflated, with the focus on enquiring about sleep, not fatigue. Further research is required to elucidate whether the themes identified are more pervasive. Potential interventions include training and information provision

Multi-institutional Implementation of the National Clinical Assessment Tool in Emergency Medicine: Data From the First Year of Use

OBJECTIVES: Uniformly training physicians to provide safe, high‐quality care requires reliable assessment tools to ensure learner competency. The consensus‐derived National Clinical Assessment Tool in Emergency Medicine (NCAT‐EM) has been adopted by clerkships across the country. Analysis of large‐scale deidentified data from a consortium of users is reported. METHODS: Thirteen sites entered data into a Web‐based platform resulting in over 6,400 discrete NCAT‐EM assessments from 748 students and 704 assessors. Reliability, internal consistency analysis, and factorial analysis of variance for hypothesis generation were performed. RESULTS: All categories on the NCAT‐EM rating scales and professionalism subdomains were used. Clinical rating scale and global assessment scores were positively skewed, similar to other assessments commonly used in emergency medicine (EM). Professionalism lapses were noted in 0.8 for each site; however, interinstitutional variability was significant. M4 students scored higher than M3 students, and EM‐bound students scored higher than non–EM‐bound students. There were site‐specific differences based on number of prior EM rotations, but no overall association. There were differences in scores based on assessor faculty rank and resident training year, but not by years in practice. There were site‐specific differences based on student sex, but overall no difference. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first large‐scale multi‐institutional implementation of a single clinical assessment tool. This study demonstrates the feasibility of a unified approach to clinical assessment across multiple diverse sites. Challenges remain in determining appropriate score distributions and improving consistency in scoring between sites

A longitudinal investigation of the relationship between trauma-related cognitive processes and internalising and externalising psychopathology in young people in out-of-home care

Young people in out-of-home care are at increased risk of developing a range of posttrauma mental health difficulties, including PTSD, but more commonly anxiety, depression and externalising symptoms. Cognitive models of PTSD indicate that trauma-related maladaptive appraisals, coping strategies and trauma memory qualities are key processes in the development and maintenance of PTSD, yet there has been limited investigation of the potential role of these processes in broader posttrauma psychopathology, particularly in young people who have been exposed to complex, rather than acute, trauma. We recruited 120 10–18 years olds in out-of-home care, and their caregivers, who completed assessments at two time points: baseline and 12-month follow-up. Young people completed self-report measures of trauma-related maladaptive appraisals, coping strategies and trauma-memory qualities, as well as reporting on PTSD, anxiety, depression and externalising symptoms. Carers also reported on internalising and externalising symptoms. We found that all three cognitive processes were associated with baseline self-reported internalising symptoms, with maladaptive appraisals most robustly associated with both anxiety and depression. Changes in all three processes over 12-months predicted a change in self-reported internalising and externalising symptoms, with maladaptive appraisals and coping predicting anxiety symptoms, and coping uniquely predicting depression and externalising symptoms. Effects remained after controlling for co-occurring PTSD symptoms. Findings were not replicated when using carer-reported symptoms. These findings suggest that existing cognitive models of PTSD may also usefully explain broader posttrauma depression, anxiety and externalising symptoms in young people who have experienced maltreatment and live in out-of-home care. Clinical implications are discussed

Phenotyping in the era of genomics: MaTrics—a digital character matrix to document mammalian phenotypic traits

A new and uniquely structured matrix of mammalian phenotypes, MaTrics (Mammalian Traits for Comparative Genomics) in a digital form is presented. By focussing on mammalian species for which genome assemblies are available, MaTrics provides an interface between mammalogy and comparative genomics. MaTrics was developed within a project aimed to find genetic causes of phenotypic traits of mammals using Forward Genomics. This approach requires genomes and comprehensive and recorded information on homologous phenotypes that are coded as discrete categories in a matrix. MaTrics is an evolving online resource providing information on phenotypic traits in numeric code; traits are coded either as absent/present or with several states as multistate. The state record for each species is linked to at least one reference (e.g., literature, photographs, histological sections, CT scans, or museum specimens) and so MaTrics contributes to digitalization of museum collections. Currently, MaTrics covers 147 mammalian species and includes 231 characters related to structure, morphology, physiology, ecology, and ethology and available in a machine actionable NEXUS-format*. Filling MaTrics revealed substantial knowledge gaps, highlighting the need for phenotyping efforts. Studies based on selected data from MaTrics and using Forward Genomics identified associations between genes and certain phenotypes ranging from lifestyles (e.g., aquatic) to dietary specializations (e.g., herbivory, carnivory). These findings motivate the expansion of phenotyping in MaTrics by filling research gaps and by adding taxa and traits. Only databases like MaTrics will provide machine actionable information on phenotypic traits, an important limitation to genomics. MaTrics is available within the data repository Morph·D·Base (www.morphdbase.de)

Mental health workers’ perspectives on peer support in high-, middle- and low income settings: a focus group study

Background: Peer support is increasingly acknowledged as an integral part of mental health services around the world. However, most research on peer support comes from high-income countries, with little attention to similarities and differences between different settings and how these affect implementation. Mental health workers have an important role to play in integrating formal peer support into statutory services, and their attitudes toward peer support can represent either a barrier to or facilitator of successful implementation. Thus, this study investigates mental health workers' attitudes toward peer support across a range of high-(Germany, Israel), middle-(India), and low-income country (Tanzania, Uganda) settings. Methods: Six focus groups were conducted in Ulm and Hamburg (Germany), Butabika (Uganda), Dar es Salaam (Tan-zania), Be'er Sheva (Israel), and Ahmedabad, Gujarat (India) with a total of 35 participants. Transcripts were analyzed using thematic content analysis

Immune Evasion by Yersinia enterocolitica: Differential Targeting of Dendritic Cell Subpopulations In Vivo

CD4+ T cells are essential for the control of Yersinia enterocolitica (Ye) infection in mice. Ye can inhibit dendritic cell (DC) antigen uptake and degradation, maturation and subsequently T-cell activation in vitro. Here we investigated the effects of Ye infection on splenic DCs and T-cell proliferation in an experimental mouse infection model. We found that OVA-specific CD4+ T cells had a reduced potential to proliferate when stimulated with OVA after infection with Ye compared to control mice. Additionally, proliferation of OVA-specific CD4+ T cells was markedly reduced when cultured with splenic CD8α+ DCs from Ye infected mice in the presence of OVA. In contrast, T-cell proliferation was not impaired in cultures with CD4+ or CD4−CD8α− DCs isolated from Ye infected mice. However, OVA uptake and degradation as well as cytokine production were impaired in CD8α+ DCs, but not in CD4+ and CD4−CD8α− DCs after Ye infection. Pathogenicity factors (Yops) from Ye were most frequently injected into CD8α+ DCs, resulting in less MHC class II and CD86 expression than on non-injected CD8α+ DCs. Three days post infection with Ye the number of splenic CD8α+ and CD4+ DCs was reduced by 50% and 90%, respectively. The decreased number of DC subsets, which was dependent on TLR4 and TRIF signaling, was the result of a faster proliferation and suppressed de novo DC generation. Together, we show that Ye infection negatively regulates the stimulatory capacity of some but not all splenic DC subpopulations in vivo. This leads to differential antigen uptake and degradation, cytokine production, cell loss, and cell death rates in various DC subpopulations. The data suggest that these effects might be caused directly by injection of Yops into DCs and indirectly by affecting the homeostasis of CD4+ and CD8α+ DCs. These events may contribute to reduced T-cell proliferation and immune evasion of Ye