Computer Assisted PSA Distribution System

There comes a time in each communicator\u27s career when one wishes he or she had been better prepared

Do Open Spaces Provide Refuge for Anurans Within an Urban Matrix?

Urbanization is among the largest threats to amphibian populations through habitat fragmentation, isolation, and outright destruction. Urban open spaces, such as parks and golf courses, have the potential to provide amphibians with suitable habitat within an urbanized matrix. During the spring and summer of 2018, I conducted dip net surveys and active call surveys to determine the presence and abundance of anurans at 51 wetland sites within the Piedmont ecoregion of South Carolina. Nearly one-third of these wetlands were located within urban open spaces, while the others were situated along a rural – urban gradient. Impervious surface and road density surrounding the wetlands were measured at a core habitat scale (300 m) and average maximum migration scale (750 m). Urban Open Space wetlands were found to have levels of impervious surface similar to High Urbanization wetlands at the larger scale and were intermediate between Low and High Urbanization wetlands at the smaller scale. Road densities were higher at Urban Open Space wetlands at both scales compared to Low and High Urbanization sites. Species richness decreased as impervious surface and road density increased among all wetlands. Wetland category was not a significant driver explaining species richness, but β-diversity was higher among Urban Open Space wetlands than either Low or High Urbanization wetlands. I also evaluated species-specific relative abundances as a function of wetland type (Urban Open Space, High Urbanization, or Low Urbanization), several within-wetland variables and two landscape-scale covariates. No species were influenced by wetland type, however impervious surface had a negative influence on the abundance of one species whereas road density negatively affected three species of anurans. Urban Open Space wetlands did not appear to increase suitability for anurans relative to urban wetlands, instead showing higher variability in species composition; perhaps attributable to the diversity among sites represented in the Urban Open Space category. Conservation efforts conducted within open spaces should attempt to focus on issues not only at an individual wetland scale, but also at larger scales surrounding the open spaces themselves. Understanding how urbanization at various spatial scales effects anuran species can bolster amphibian conservation efforts in urban matrices

Do urban open spaces provide refugia for frogs in urban environments?

Urbanization is among the largest threats to wildlife populations through factors such as fragmentation, isolation, and habitat destruction. Urban open spaces, such as parks and golf courses, have the potentiel to provide wildlife with suitable habitat within an urbanized matrix. These refugia may be particularly important for amphibians, which represent one of the most endangered and least vagile vertebrate grouper on earth. During the spring and summer of 2018, we conducted surveys to determine the presence of anurans at 51 wetland sites within the Piedmont ecoregion of South Carolina. Nearly one-third of these wetlands were located within urban open spaces, one-third in low development areas, and one-third in highly developed areas. Impervious surface and total route length surrounding the wetlands were measured at two scales, a core habitat scale (300 m) and average maximum migration scale (750 m), and we measured several within-wetland habitat variables. Urban Open Space wetlands had levels of surrounding impervious surface similar to High Urbanization wetlands at the larger scale and were intermediate between Low and High Urbanization wetlands at the smaller scale. The total length of road segments occurring within buffers (at both scales) surrounding our study wetlands was higher for Urban Open Space compared to Low and High Urbanization sites. Among the within-wetland variables measured, Low Urbanization sites had higher canopy cover and were more likely to have a terrestrial buffer zone relative to the other categories. Species richness decreased significantly as total road length increased among all wetlands. Wetland category was not a significant driver explaining species richness, but β-diversity was more variable among Urban Open Space wetlands than either Low or High Urbanization wetlands. Urban Open Space wetlands did not appear to increase suitability for anurans relative to High Urbanization wetlands. Urban Open Space wetlands had higher variability in species composition, which was peut-être attributable to the diversity among sites represented in the Urban Open Space category

On-treatment follow-up in real-world studies of direct oral anticoagulants in atrial fibrillation: Association with treatment effects.

Background Numerous observational studies support the safety and effectiveness of the direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (AF), but these data are often limited to short duration of follow-up. We aimed to assess the length of on-treatment follow-up in the accumulated real-world evidence and the relationship between follow-up duration and estimates of DOAC effectiveness and safety. Methods We searched the literature for observational studies reporting comparative effectiveness and safety outcomes of DOACs versus warfarin. In random-effects meta-analyses, we assessed associations of specific DOACs vs warfarin for stroke/systematic embolism (SE) and major bleeding. In meta-regression analyses, we assessed the correlation between the reported on-treatment follow-up with the effect sizes for stroke/SE and major bleeding outcomes. Results In 45 eligible observational studies, the average on-treatment follow-up was <1 year for all DOACs. In meta-analyses, all DOACs showed significantly lower risks of stroke/SE, but only dabigatran and apixaban showed lower risks for major bleeding compared to warfarin. There was no correlation between follow-up duration and magnitude of stroke/SE reduction for any of the DOACs. Longer follow-up correlated with greater major bleeding reduction for dabigatran (p = 0.006) and rivaroxaban (p = 0.033) as compared to warfarin, but it correlated with smaller major bleeding reduction for apixaban (p = 0.004). Conclusions The numerous studies of DOAC effectiveness and safety in the routine AF practice pertain to short treatment follow-up. Study follow-up correlates significantly with DOAC-specific vs warfarin associations for major bleeding

Is the Effect of Forest Structure on Bird Diversity Modified by Forest Productivity?

Currently, the most common strategy when managing forests for biodiversity at the landscape scale is to maintain structural complexity within stands and provide a variety of seral stages across landscapes. Advances in ecological theory reveal that biodiversity at continental scales is strongly influenced by available energy (i.e., climate factors relating to heat and light and primary productivity). This paper explores how available energy and forest structural complexity may interact to drive biodiversity at a regional scale. We hypothesized that bird species richness exhibits a hump-shaped relationship with energy at the regional scale of the northwestern United States. As a result, we hypothesized that the relationship between energy and richness within a landscape is positive in energy-limited landscapes and flat or decreasing in energy-rich landscapes. Additionally, we hypothesized that structural complexity explains less of the variation in species richness in energy-limited environments and more in energy-rich environments and that the slope of the relationship between structural complexity and richness is greatest in energy-rich environments. We sampled bird communities and vegetation across seral stages and biophysical settings at each of five landscapes arrayed across a productivity gradient from the Pacific Coast to the Rocky Mountains within the five northwestern states of the contiguous United States. We analyzed the response of richness to structural complexity and energy covariates at each landscape. We found that (1) richness had a hump-shaped relationship with available energy across the northwestern United States, (2) the landscape-scale relationships between energy and richness were positive or hump shaped in energy-limited locations and were flat or negative in energy-rich locations, (3) forest structural complexity explained more of the variation in bird species richness in energy-rich landscapes, and (4) the slope of the relationship between forest structural complexity and richness was steepest in energy-limited locations. In energy-rich locations, forest managers will likely increase landscape-scale bird diversity by providing a range of forest structural complexity across all seral stages. In low-energy environments, bird diversity will likely be maximized by managing local high-energy hotspots judiciously and adjusting harvest intensities in other locations to compensate for slower regeneration rates

CLIVAR Mode Water Dynamics Experiment (CLIMODE) fall 2005, R/V Oceanus voyage 419, November 9, 2005–November 27, 2005

CLIMODE (CLIVAR Mode Water Dynamic Experiment) is a program designed to understand and quantify the processes responsible for the formation and dissipation of North Atlantic subtropical mode water, also called Eighteen Degree Water (EDW). Among these processes, the amount of buoyancy loss at the ocean-atmosphere interface is still uncertain and needs to be accurately quantified. In November 2005, a cruise was made aboard R/V Oceanus in the region of the separated Gulf Stream, where intense oceanic heat loss to the atmosphere is believed to trigger the formation of EDW. During that cruise, one surface mooring with IMET meteorological instruments was anchored in the core of the Gulf Stream as well as two moored profilers on its southeastern edge. Surface drifters, APEX floats and bobby RAFOS floats were also deployed along with two other moorings with sound sources. CTD profiles and water samples were also carried out. This array of instruments will permit a characterization of EDW with high spatial and temporal resolutions, and accurate in-situ measurements of air-sea fluxes in the formation region. The present report documents this cruise, the instruments that were deployed and the array of measurements that was set in place.Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. OCE 04-24536

Geography of Spring Landbird Migration Through Riparian Habitats in Southwestern North America

Migration stopover resources, particularly riparian habitats, are critically important to landbirds migrating across the arid southwestern region of North America. To explore the effects of species biogeography and habitat affinity on spring migration patterns, we synthesized existing bird abundance and capture data collected in riparian habitats of the borderlands region of the U.S. and Mexico. We determined the importance of geographic factors (longitude and latitude) in explaining variation in abundances and capture rates of 32 long-distance and three short-distance migrant species. Abundances and capture rates of 13 and 11 species, respectively, increased with increasing longitude, and four species\u27 abundance and capture rates decreased with increasing longitude. Riparian associates, but not nonriparian species, were more abundant in western sites. Their abundance patterns were only weakly influenced by species biogeography. In contrast, biogeography did influence abundance patterns of nonriparian birds, suggesting that they choose the shortest, most direct route between wintering and breeding areas. We hypothesize that riparian obligate birds may, to some degree, adjust their migration routes to maximize time spent in high-quality riparian zones, but they are able to find suitable habitat opportunistically when crossing more hostile landscapes. In contrast, nonriparian birds adhere more closely to a hierarchical model in which the migratory route is determined by biogeographic constraints. Conservation of riparian habitats is necessary to meet future habitat stopover requirements of many western Neotropical migrant birds. We advocate a coordinated research effort to further elucidate patterns of distribution and habitat use so that conservation activities can be focused effectively

Association Between Objectively Measured Physical Activity and Cognitive Function in Older Adults—The Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke Study

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/116310/1/jgs13829_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/116310/2/jgs13829.pd

The Forgotten Stage of Forest Succession: Early-Successional Ecosystems on Forest Sites

Early-successional forest ecosystems that develop after stand-replacing or partial disturbances are diverse in species, processes, and structure. Post-disturbance ecosystems are also often rich in biological legacies, including surviving organisms and organically derived structures, such as woody debris. These legacies and post-disturbance plant communities provide resources that attract and sustain high species diversity, including numerous early-successional obligates, such as certain woodpeckers and arthropods. Early succession is the only period when tree canopies do not dominate the forest site, and so this stage can be characterized by high productivity of plant species (including herbs and shrubs), complex food webs, large nutrient fluxes, and high structural and spatial complexity. Different disturbances contrast markedly in terms of biological legacies, and this will influence the resultant physical and biological conditions, thus affecting successional pathways. Management activities, such as post-disturbance logging and dense tree planting, can reduce the richness within and the duration of early-successional ecosystems. Where maintenance of biodiversity is an objective, the importance and value of these natural early-successional ecosystems are underappreciated