The ecology and conservation of Juliana’s golden mole (Neamblysomus julianae)

Despite an IUCN conservation status of critically endangered, Juliana’s golden mole (Neamblysomus julianae) has received no ecological research attention to date. The species urgently requires conservation attention, but a poor understanding its biology, ecology and distribution makes effective conservation planning almost impossible. In light of this, a thorough understanding of the habitat requirements for this habitat specific species was needed. Additionally, the cryptic lifestyle of Juliana’s golden mole has resulted in very few distribution records for the species. Little was known about the animals’ daily and seasonal activity patterns or movement patterns. This study revealed that Juliana’s golden mole is range restricted on account of sandy soils that have a uniform particle size distribution. This feature limits substrate compaction, making tunnelling far easier for these small mammals. In comparison to uninhabited areas, occupied habitat had greater vegetation cover provided by trees and shrubs, and this would be expected to provide a cooler and moister microenvironment. The ecological parameters associated with the species presence were then used, in addition to existing GIS data, to predict regions of potentially suitable habitat. This process revealed large potentially inhabitable areas in the northern parts of South Africa. Preliminary ground-truthing has shown the model to be relatively accurate with three potentially new populations having been identified. Contrary to what has been reported in the literature, Juliana’s golden mole does not appear to be strictly nocturnal. Instead, an adaptive pattern of activity was observed, governed by soil temperature. Body temperature was found to fluctuate to some degree with that of the soil temperature, but fluctuations were regulated by behavioural thermoregulation. Seasonal activity is highly correlated with rainfall. Rain moistens the soil making it significantly softer and far easier to tunnel through. Using this and other information acquired through the course of the study, the thesis culminates with an evaluation of conservation concerns and proposed conservation management actions. CopyrightDissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2009.Zoology and Entomologyunrestricte

Triiodothyronine (T3) levels fluctuate in response to ambient temperature rather than nutritional status in a wild tropical ungulate

Animals can employ a range of physiological mechanisms in response to unpredictable changes within their environment, such as changes in food availability and human disturbances. For example, impala exhibit higher faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) levels—indicative of physiological stress—in response to low food quality and higher human disturbance. In this study, we measured faecal triiodothyronine (T3) metabolite (FTM) levels in 446 wild impala from 2016 to 2018 to test the hypothesis that environmental and human disturbances would affect their physiological status. We also validated a faecal thyroid hormone assay. T3 levels mainly regulate metabolic rate and drive thermoregulation—increasing with colder temperatures. We predicted that individuals would have lower FTM levels, indicative of poor physiological status, (i) when food quality was poor, (ii) when ambient temperature (Ta) was high, (iii) in areas of high human disturbance (due to food competition with livestock) and (iv) when FGM levels were high. Interestingly, we found that Ta was the most important predictor of FTM—FTM levels decreased by 70% from lowest to highest Ta—and food quality and human disturbance only influenced FTM levels when Ta was accounted for. FTM levels also tended to increase with increasing FGM levels, opposite our predictions. Our results suggest that food quality and availabilitymay only partially influence FTM levels and that fluctuations in Ta are a significant driver of FTM levels in a wild tropical ungulate. Given that thyroid hormones are primarily responsible for regulating metabolic rate, they may be better indicators of how wild animals metabolically and energetically respond to environmental factors and only indicate poor nutritional status in extreme cases. glucocorticoid, impala, Serengeti, stress, thyroid hormones, validationpublishedVersio

Conservation of the endangered Arctic fox in Norway - are successful reintroductions enough?

Translocation of captive-bred animals has become a widespread conservation practice to counteract species extinctions. We analyse and discuss the apparent success and shortcomings of Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) reintroductions in alpine tundra areas of Norway. We followed the fate of 915 foxes between 2007 and 2020 and estimated the apparent survival and reproductive success of captive-bred and released Arctic foxes, compared to wild-born descendants. Relationship to abundance of small rodents, population size, and age were explored. Overall, apparent survival and probability of breeding were similar between captive-bred and wild-born foxes, positively linked to rodent abundance. For wild-born foxes, both breeding propensity and litter size declined with increasing fox population size. This could be a first sign of the limited capacity of single tundra patches to house self-subsistent populations. Thus, facilitating and maintaining connectivity among remnant and re-established Arctic fox populations, creating functional metapopulations, is essential for further improvement and longterm survival. Relying on the combined measures of supplementary feeding and red-fox (Vulpes vulpes) control, the Arctic fox captive-breeding and reintroduction programme has so far been highly successful. However, anthropogenic drivers facilitating red fox invasion into the Arctic fox habitat, along with climate driven irregularities and dampened small rodent cycles, could inhibit the establishment of a self-sustained population. A more holistic ecosystem approach and conservation measures to restore alpine fauna should be considered.publishedVersio

Predation of endangered Arctic foxes by Golden eagles: What do we know?

Dedicated conservation efforts spanning the past two decades have saved the Fennoscandian Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) population from local extinction, and ex-tensive resources continue to be invested in the species' conservation and manage-ment. Although increasing, populations remain isolated, small and are not yet viable in the longer term. An understanding of causes of mortality are consequently impor-tant to optimize ongoing conservation actions. Golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) are a predator of Arctic foxes, yet little information on this interaction is available in the literature. We document and detail six confirmed cases of Golden eagle depredation of Arctic foxes at the Norwegian captive breeding facility (2019–2022), where foxes are housed in large open-air enclosures in the species' natural habitat. Here, timely detection of missing/dead foxes was challenging, and new insights have been gained following recently improved enclosure monitoring. Golden eagle predation peaked during the winter months, with no cases reported from June to November. This find-ing contrasts with that which is reported from the field, both for Arctic and other fox species, where eagle depredation peaked at dens with young (summer). While the seasonality of depredation may be ecosystem specific, documented cases from the field may be biased by higher survey efforts associated with the monitoring of repro-ductive success during the summer. Both white and blue color morphs were housed at the breeding station, yet only white foxes were preyed upon, and mortality was male biased. Mitigation measures and their effectiveness implemented at the facility are presented. Findings are discussed in the broader Arctic fox population ecology and conservation context. avian predators, carnivores, interspecific competition, intraguild predation, raptors Behavioural ecology, Biodiversity ecology, Conservation ecology, Ecosystem ecology, Evolutionary ecology, ZoologypublishedVersio

Trusted CI Experiences in Cybersecurity and Service to Open Science

This article describes experiences and lessons learned from the Trusted CI project, funded by the US National Science Foundation to serve the community as the NSF Cybersecurity Center of Excellence. Trusted CI is an effort to address cybersecurity for the open science community through a single organization that provides leadership, training, consulting, and knowledge to that community. The article describes the experiences and lessons learned of Trusted CI regarding both cybersecurity for open science and managing the process of providing centralized services to a broad and diverse community.Comment: 8 pages, PEARC '19: Practice and Experience in Advanced Research Computing, July 28-August 1, 2019, Chicago, IL, US

A single H/ACA small nucleolar RNA mediates tumor suppression downstream of oncogenic RAS.

Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) are a diverse group of non-coding RNAs that direct chemical modifications at specific residues on other RNA molecules, primarily on ribosomal RNA (rRNA). SnoRNAs are altered in several cancers; however, their role in cell homeostasis as well as in cellular transformation remains poorly explored. Here, we show that specific subsets of snoRNAs are differentially regulated during the earliest cellular response to oncogenic RASG12V expression. We describe a novel function for one H/ACA snoRNA, SNORA24, which guides two pseudouridine modifications within the small ribosomal subunit, in RAS-induced senescence in vivo. We find that in mouse models, loss of Snora24 cooperates with RASG12V to promote the development of liver cancer that closely resembles human steatohepatitic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). From a clinical perspective, we further show that human HCCs with low SNORA24 expression display increased lipid content and are associated with poor patient survival. We next asked whether ribosomes lacking SNORA24-guided pseudouridine modifications on 18S rRNA have alterations in their biophysical properties. Single-molecule Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) analyses revealed that these ribosomes exhibit perturbations in aminoacyl-transfer RNA (aa-tRNA) selection and altered pre-translocation ribosome complex dynamics. Furthermore, we find that HCC cells lacking SNORA24-guided pseudouridine modifications have increased translational miscoding and stop codon readthrough frequencies. These findings highlight a role for specific snoRNAs in safeguarding against oncogenic insult and demonstrate a functional link between H/ACA snoRNAs regulated by RAS and the biophysical properties of ribosomes in cancer

Time-dependent increase in ribosome processivity

We created a novel tripartite reporter RNA to separately and simultaneously examine ribosome translation rates at the 5′- and 3′-ends of a large open reading frame (ORF) in vitro in HeLa cell lysates. The construct contained Renilla luciferase (RLuc), β-galactosidase and firefly luciferase (FLuc) ORFs linked in frame and separated by a viral peptide sequence that causes cotranslational scission of emerging peptide chains. The length of the ORF contributed to low ribosome processivity, a low number of initiating ribosomes completing translation of the entire ORF. We observed a time-dependent increase in FLuc production rate that was dependent on a poly(A) tail and poly(A)-binding protein, but was independent of eIF4F function. Stimulation of FLuc production occurred earlier on shorter RNA templates. Cleavage of eIF4G at times after ribosome loading on templates occurred did not cause immediate cessation of 5′-RLuc translation; rather, a delay was observed that shortened when shorter templates were translated. Electron microscopic analysis of polysome structures in translation lysates revealed a time-dependent increase in ribosome packing and contact that correlated with increased processivity on the FLuc ORF. The results suggest that ORF transit combined with PABP function contribute to interactions between ribosomes that increase or sustain processivity on long ORFs

The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment: Exploring Fundamental Symmetries of the Universe

The preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early Universe, the dynamics of the supernova bursts that produced the heavy elements necessary for life and whether protons eventually decay --- these mysteries at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics are key to understanding the early evolution of our Universe, its current state and its eventual fate. The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) represents an extensively developed plan for a world-class experiment dedicated to addressing these questions. LBNE is conceived around three central components: (1) a new, high-intensity neutrino source generated from a megawatt-class proton accelerator at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, (2) a near neutrino detector just downstream of the source, and (3) a massive liquid argon time-projection chamber deployed as a far detector deep underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility. This facility, located at the site of the former Homestake Mine in Lead, South Dakota, is approximately 1,300 km from the neutrino source at Fermilab -- a distance (baseline) that delivers optimal sensitivity to neutrino charge-parity symmetry violation and mass ordering effects. This ambitious yet cost-effective design incorporates scalability and flexibility and can accommodate a variety of upgrades and contributions. With its exceptional combination of experimental configuration, technical capabilities, and potential for transformative discoveries, LBNE promises to be a vital facility for the field of particle physics worldwide, providing physicists from around the globe with opportunities to collaborate in a twenty to thirty year program of exciting science. In this document we provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess.Comment: Major update of previous version. This is the reference document for LBNE science program and current status. Chapters 1, 3, and 9 provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess. 288 pages, 116 figure

SN 2022oqm: A Multi-peaked Calcium-rich Transient from a White Dwarf Binary Progenitor System

We present the photometric and spectroscopic evolution of SN 2022oqm, a nearby multi-peaked hydrogen- and helium-weak calcium-rich transient (CaRT). SN 2022oqm was detected 19.9 kpc from its host galaxy, the face-on spiral galaxy NGC 5875. Extensive spectroscopic coverage reveals a hot (T >= 40,000 K) continuum and carbon features observed ~1 day after discovery, SN Ic-like photospheric-phase spectra, and strong forbidden calcium emission starting 38 days after discovery. SN 2022oqm has a relatively high peak luminosity (MB = -17 mag) for CaRTs, making it an outlier in the population. We determine that three power sources are necessary to explain SN 2022oqm's light curve, with each power source corresponding to a distinct peak in its light curve. The first peak of the light curve is powered by an expanding blackbody with a power law luminosity, consistent with shock cooling by circumstellar material. Subsequent peaks are powered by a double radioactive decay model, consistent with two separate sources of photons diffusing through an optically thick ejecta. From the optical light curve, we derive an ejecta mass and 56Ni mass of ~0.89 solar masses and ~0.09 solar masses, respectively. Detailed spectroscopic modeling reveals ejecta that is dominated by intermediate-mass elements, with signs that Fe-peak elements have been well-mixed. We discuss several physical origins for SN 2022oqm and favor a white dwarf progenitor model. The inferred ejecta mass points to a surprisingly massive white dwarf, challenging models of CaRT progenitors.Comment: 33 pages, 17 figures, 5 tables, Submitted to Ap

Using self-determination theory to understand motivation for walking:Instrument development and model testing using Bayesian structural equation modelling

The motivational processes underpinning walking behaviour are not well understood. This study aimed to develop walking-specific motivation measures drawn from self-determination theory (SDT), assess the psychometric properties of the measures, incorporating Baysesian structural equation modelling (BSEM), and examine how these variables relate to walking behaviour