Spatial Scaling of Avian Population Dynamics: Population Abundance, Growth Rate, and Variability

Synchrony in population fluctuations has been identified as an important component of population dynamics. In a previous study, we determined that local‐scale (\u3c15‐km) spatial synchrony of bird populations in New England was correlated with synchronous fluctuations in lepidopteran larvae abundance and with the North Atlantic Oscillation. Here we address five questions that extend the scope of our earlier study using North American Breeding Bird Survey data. First, do bird populations in eastern North America exhibit spatial synchrony in abundances at scales beyond those we have documented previously? Second, does spatial synchrony depend on what population metric is analyzed (e.g., abundance, growth rate, or variability)? Third, is there geographic concordance in where species exhibit synchrony? Fourth, for those species that exhibit significant geographic concordance, are there landscape and habitat variables that contribute to the observed patterns? Fifth, is spatial synchrony affected by a species\u27 life history traits? Significant spatial synchrony was common and its magnitude was dependent on the population metric analyzed. Twenty‐four of 29 species examined exhibited significant synchrony in population abundance: mean local autocorrelation (ρ) = 0.15; mean spatial extent (mean distance where ρ = 0) = 420.7 km. Five of the 29 species exhibited significant synchrony in annual population growth rate (mean local autocorrelation = 0.06, mean distance = 457.8 km). Ten of the 29 species exhibited significant synchrony in population abundance variability (mean local autocorrelation = 0.49, mean distance = 413.8 km). Analyses of landscape structure indicated that habitat variables were infrequent contributors to spatial synchrony. Likewise, we detected no effects of life history traits on synchrony in population abundance or growth rate. However, short‐distance migrants exhibited more spatially extensive synchrony in population variability than either year‐round residents or long‐distance migrants. The dissimilarity of the spatial extent of synchrony across species suggests that most populations are not regulated at similar spatial scales. The spatial scale of the population synchrony patterns we describe is likely larger than the actual scale of population regulation, and in turn, the scale of population regulation is undoubtedly larger than the scale of individual ecological requirements

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on harm reduction services in Spain.

--- - Label: BACKGROUND NlmCategory: BACKGROUND content: Containment policies and other restrictions introduced by the Spanish government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic present challenges for marginalised populations, such as people who use drugs. Harm reduction centres are often linked to social services, mental health services, and infectious disease testing, in addition to tools and services that help to reduce the harms associated with injecting drugs. This study aimed to explore the impact of the pandemic on these services in four autonomous communities in Spain. - Label: METHODS NlmCategory: METHODS content: This is a cross-sectional study that employed a seven-section structured survey administered electronically to 20 centres in July 2020. Data from the most heavily affected months (March-June) in 2020 were compared to data from the same period in 2019. Averages were calculated with their ranges, rates, and absolute numbers. - Label: RESULTS NlmCategory: RESULTS content: "All 11 responding centres reported having had to adapt or modify their services during the Spanish state of alarm (14 March-21 June 2020). One centre reported complete closure for 2\xC2\xA0months and four reported increases in their operating hours. The average number of service users across all centres decreased by 22% in comparison to the same period in the previous year and the average needle distribution decreased by 40% in comparison to 2019. Most centres reported a decrease in infectious disease testing rates (hepatitis B and C viruses, human immunodeficiency virus, and tuberculosis) for March, April, and May in 2020 compared to the previous year. Reported deaths as a result of overdose did not increase during the state of alarm, but 2/11 (18%) centres reported an increase in overdose deaths immediately after finalisation of the state of alarm." - Label: CONCLUSION NlmCategory: CONCLUSIONS content: Overall, Spanish harm reduction centres were able to continue operating and offering services by adjusting operating hours. The number of overall service users and needles distributed fell during the Spanish state of alarm lockdown period, suggesting that fewer clients accessed harm reduction services during this time, putting them at greater risk of reusing or sharing injecting equipment, overdosing, acquiring infectious diseases with decreased access to testing or discontinuing ongoing treatment such as methadone maintenance therapy, hepatitis C treatment, or antiretroviral therapy

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on harm reduction services in Spain

Containment policies and other restrictions introduced by the Spanish government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic present challenges for marginalised populations, such as people who use drugs. Harm reduction centres are often linked to social services, mental health services, and infectious disease testing, in addition to tools and services that help to reduce the harms associated with injecting drugs. This study aimed to explore the impact of the pandemic on these services in four autonomous communities in Spain. This is a cross-sectional study that employed a seven-section structured survey administered electronically to 20 centres in July 2020. Data from the most heavily affected months (March-June) in 2020 were compared to data from the same period in 2019. Averages were calculated with their ranges, rates, and absolute numbers. All 11 responding centres reported having had to adapt or modify their services during the Spanish state of alarm (14 March-21 June 2020). One centre reported complete closure for 2 months and four reported increases in their operating hours. The average number of service users across all centres decreased by 22% in comparison to the same period in the previous year and the average needle distribution decreased by 40% in comparison to 2019. Most centres reported a decrease in infectious disease testing rates (hepatitis B and C viruses, human immunodeficiency virus, and tuberculosis) for March, April, and May in 2020 compared to the previous year. Reported deaths as a result of overdose did not increase during the state of alarm, but 2/11 (18%) centres reported an increase in overdose deaths immediately after finalisation of the state of alarm. Overall, Spanish harm reduction centres were able to continue operating and offering services by adjusting operating hours. The number of overall service users and needles distributed fell during the Spanish state of alarm lockdown period, suggesting that fewer clients accessed harm reduction services during this time, putting them at greater risk of reusing or sharing injecting equipment, overdosing, acquiring infectious diseases with decreased access to testing or discontinuing ongoing treatment such as methadone maintenance therapy, hepatitis C treatment, or antiretroviral therapy

Aerodynamic Electrical Energy: Wind Turbine Engineering

Renewable resources such as wind, solar, and water, are important in energy production. This project was to design a wind turbine electricity generation system and gain an understanding of the engineering involved in producing electricity from the wind. Having observed the wind patterns on the campus of Utah State University, it was decided to obtain both a horizontal axis (HAWT) and a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) and mount them on the roof of the USU Dean F. Peterson, Jr. Engineering Laboratory Building. The outputs of both turbines were measured and compared. For the low wind conditions of Logan, Utah, the HAWT was found to be the most effective

Long-range three-body atom-diatom potential for doublet Li3{}_3

An accurate long-range {\em ab initio} potential energy surface has been calculated for the ground state ${}^2A'$ lithium trimer in the frozen diatom approximation using all electron RCCSD(T). The {\em ab initio} energies are corrected for basis set superposition error and extrapolated to the complete basis limit. Molecular van der Waals dispersion coefficients and three-body dispersion damping terms for the atom-diatomic dissociation limit are presented from a linear least squares fit and shown to be an essentially exact representation of the {\em ab initio} surface at large range

The IPAC Image Subtraction and Discovery Pipeline for the intermediate Palomar Transient Factory

We describe the near real-time transient-source discovery engine for the intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF), currently in operations at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC), Caltech. We coin this system the IPAC/iPTF Discovery Engine (or IDE). We review the algorithms used for PSF-matching, image subtraction, detection, photometry, and machine-learned (ML) vetting of extracted transient candidates. We also review the performance of our ML classifier. For a limiting signal-to-noise ratio of 4 in relatively unconfused regions, "bogus" candidates from processing artifacts and imperfect image subtractions outnumber real transients by ~ 10:1. This can be considerably higher for image data with inaccurate astrometric and/or PSF-matching solutions. Despite this occasionally high contamination rate, the ML classifier is able to identify real transients with an efficiency (or completeness) of ~ 97% for a maximum tolerable false-positive rate of 1% when classifying raw candidates. All subtraction-image metrics, source features, ML probability-based real-bogus scores, contextual metadata from other surveys, and possible associations with known Solar System objects are stored in a relational database for retrieval by the various science working groups. We review our efforts in mitigating false-positives and our experience in optimizing the overall system in response to the multitude of science projects underway with iPTF.Comment: 66 pages, 21 figures, 7 tables, accepted by PAS

An update on the performance of STI services for gay and bisexual men across European cities: results from the 2017 European MSM Internet Survey.

OBJECTIVES: Rectal STIs compromise health and are common in men who have sex with men (MSM). However, the European-MSM-Internet-Survey (EMIS-2010) showed that in 2010, the prevalence of anal swabbing during STI screening by MSM varied widely across 40 European cities. In this paper, we replicate a variety of measures of STI testing performance using 2017-18 data and extending the geographic spread of the analysis. METHODS: Data were analysed from the EMIS-2017, a 33-language online sexual health survey accessible from 18 October 2017 to 31 January 2018. We focus on a subsample of 38 439 respondents living in the same 40 European cities we reported on in 2010. For a broader perspective, we also included an additional 65 cities in the analysis (combined n=56 661). We compared the prevalence of STI screening in MSM and disclosure of same-sex sexual contacts to the healthcare provider. We applied multivariable logistic regression models to compare the odds of MSM receiving each of four diagnostic procedures, including anal swabbing in the previous 12 months, controlling for age, HIV diagnosis, pre-exposure prophylaxis use and number of sexual partners. RESULTS: In 2017, across 40 European cities, the proportion of respondents screened for STIs ranged from under 19% in Belgrade to over 59% in London. At an individual level, in comparison to London, the adjusted OR (AOR) of having received anal swabbing ranged from 0.03 in Belgrade, Bucharest and Istanbul to 0.80 in Oslo, with little evidence for a difference in Amsterdam and Dublin. Since 2010, most cities in West and South-west Europe have substantially narrowed their performance gap with London, but some in East and South-east Europe have seen the gap increase. CONCLUSIONS: Although comprehensive STI screening in MSM has expanded across many European cities, the low prevalence of anal swabbing indicates that rectal STIs continue to be underdiagnosed, particularly in East/South-east Europe

Airglow-CubeSat with Orientation Control by Aerospike Puff-jets

Observations of upper atmospheric emissions further the understanding of the effects of the chemiluminescent energetics of the Earth’s atmosphere. The Airglow- CubeSat will scan the desired altitudes of the mesosphere and the upper thermosphere. The resulting data is intended to help validate results collected from measurements taken from rocket profiles as well as the SABER/TIMED satellite. The Airglow-CubeSat will be monitoring the atomic oxygen green line at a wavelength of 557 nm. Research is also being conducted into the feasibility of using aerospike technology for altitude maintenance and satellite orientation control

Forecasting the Impacts of Silver and Bighead Carp on the Lake Erie Food Web

Nonindigenous bigheaded carps (Bighead Carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis and Silver Carp H. molitrix; hereafter, “Asian carps” [AC]) threaten to invade and disrupt food webs and fisheries in the Laurentian Great Lakes through their high consumption of plankton. To quantify the potential effects of AC on the food web in Lake Erie, we developed an Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) food web model and simulated four AC diet composition scenarios (high, low, and no detritus and low detritus with Walleye Sander vitreus and Yellow Perch Perca flavescens larvae) and two nutrient load scenarios (the 1999 baseline load and 2× the baseline [HP]). We quantified the uncertainty of the potential AC effects by coupling the EwE model with estimates of parameter uncertainty in AC production, consumption, and predator diets obtained using structured expert judgment. Our model projected mean ± SD AC equilibrium biomass ranging from 52 ± 34 to 104 ± 75 kg/ha under the different scenarios. Relative to baseline simulations without AC, AC invasion under all detrital diet scenarios decreased the biomass of most fish and zooplankton groups. The effects of AC in the HP scenario were similar to those in the detrital diet scenarios except that the biomasses of most Walleye and Yellow Perch groups were greater under HP because these fishes were buffered from competition with AC by increased productivity at lower trophic levels. Asian carp predation on Walleye and Yellow Perch larvae caused biomass declines among all Walleye and Yellow Perch groups. Large food web impacts of AC occurred in only 2% of the simulations, where AC biomass exceeded 200 kg/ha, resulting in biomass declines of zooplankton and planktivorous fish near the levels observed in the Illinois River. Our findings suggest that AC would affect Lake Erie's food web by competing with other planktivorous fishes and by providing additional prey for piscivores. Our methods provide a novel approach for including uncertainty into forecasts of invasive species' impacts on aquatic food webs. Received December 6, 2014; accepted July 15, 201

Surgery for rheumatic heart disease in the Northern Territory, Australia, 1997-2016: what have we gained?

Background: Between 1964 and 1996, the 10-year survival of patients having valve replacement surgery for rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in the Northern Territory, Australia, was 68%. As medical care has evolved since then, this study aimed to determine whether there has been a corresponding improvement in survival. Methods: A retrospective study of Aboriginal patients with RHD in the Northern Territory, Australia, having their first valve surgery between 1997 and 2016. Survival was examined using Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analysis. Findings: The cohort included 281 adults and 61 children. The median (IQR) age at first surgery was 31 (18-42) years; 173/342 (51%) had a valve replacement, 113/342 (33%) had a valve repair and 56/342 (16%) had a commissurotomy. There were 93/342 (27%) deaths during a median (IQR) follow-up of 8 (4-12) years. The overall 10-year survival was 70% (95% CI: 64% to 76%). It was 62% (95% CI: 53% to 70%) in those having valve replacement. There were 204/281 (73%) adults with at least 1 preoperative comorbidity. Preoperative comorbidity was associated with earlier death, the risk of death increasing with each comorbidity (HR: 1.3 (95% CI: 1.2 to 1.5), p50 mm Hg before surgery (HR 1.9 (95% CI: 1.2 to 3.1) p=0.007) were independently associated with death. Interpretation: Survival after valve replacement for RHD in this region of Australia has not improved. Although the patients were young, many had multiple comorbidities, which influenced long-term outcomes. The increasing prevalence of complex comorbidity in the region is a barrier to achieving optimal health outcomes