Applying New Research Methods to Inform Mountain Lion Harvest Management in Western Montana

The lack of reliable methods to accurately estimate mountain lion abundance has made lion (Puma concolor) management one of the most contentious wildlife issues in western Montana over the last 20 years. Lion harvest prescriptions and hunting season structure varied widely during that period because social factors drove management decisions in the absence of objective population data. During winter 2012-2013, we used a DNA-based spatial capture-recapture (SCR) approach to estimate mountain lion abundance in hunting districts 250 and 270 in the southern Bitterroot Watershed of western Montana. Mountain lion hair, scat, and muscle samples were collected for genetic analysis to identify individuals. We developed extensions to standard SCR models to accommodate simultaneous sampling and harvest events and incorporate existing information regarding mountain lion habitat quality. We estimated the abundance of 85 (95% CI = 54, 141) independent mountain lions in hunting district 250 and 82 (95% CI = 51, 137) in hunting district 270. These results are 2 - 3 times higher than previously reported mountain lion abundance in this area and correspond to density estimates of 4.6 and 5.4 lions per 100 km2. Because current harvest regulations in western Montana were developed under the assumption of lower population abundance, lion management objectives are unlikely to be met unless harvest prescriptions are adjusted to account for this new understanding of lion population status. More broadly, the analytic improvements in SCR methods will enhance the ability of wildlife managers to reliably and economically estimate abundance of harvested species

Herbivore-mediated negative frequency-dependent selection underlies a trichome dimorphism in nature

Authors are grateful for funding provided by an NSF GRFP to J.K.G. (2015195769) and DEB‐1353970 to L.F.D.Negative frequency‐dependent selection (NFDS) has been shown to maintain polymorphism in a diverse array of traits. The action of NFDS has been confirmed through modeling, experimental approaches, and genetic analyses. In this study, we investigated NFDS in the wild using morph‐frequency changes spanning a 20‐year period from over 30 dimorphic populations of Datura wrightii. In these populations, plants either possess glandular (sticky) or non‐glandular (velvety) trichomes, and the ratio of these morphs varies substantially among populations. Our method provided evidence that NFDS, rather than drift or migration, is the primary force maintaining this dimorphism. Most populations that were initially dimorphic remained dimorphic, and the overall mean and variance in morph frequency did not change over time. Furthermore, morph‐frequency differences were not related to geographic distances. Together, these results indicate that neither directional selection, drift, or migration played a substantial role in determining morph frequencies. However, as predicted by negative frequency‐dependent selection, we found that the rare morph tended to increase in frequency, leading to a negative relationship between the change in the frequency of the sticky morph and its initial frequency. In addition, we found that morph‐frequency change over time was significantly correlated with the damage inflicted by two herbivores: Lema daturaphila and Tupiochoris notatus. The latter is a specialist on the sticky morph and damage by this herbivore was greatest when the sticky morph was common. The reverse was true for L. daturaphila, such that damage increased with the frequency of the velvety morph. These findings suggest that these herbivores contribute to balancing selection on the observed trichome dimorphism.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

The selfie and the transformation of the public–private distinction

The selfie is a contemporary form of self-portraiture, representing a photographic image of the human face. The selfie is created for the purpose of reproduction and to communicate images visually with others from a distance. The proliferation of web 2.0 technologies and mobile smart phones enables users to generate and disseminate images at an unprecedented scale. Coupled with the increasing popularity of social media platforms, these technologies allow the selfie to be distributed to a wide audience in close to real time. Drawing upon Erving Goffman’s approach to the study of face-to-face social interaction, this article presents a discussion of the production and consumption of the selfie. We draw upon Goffman’s dramaturgical approach, to explore how the ‘presentation of self’ occurs in the context of a selfie. Next, we consider how the selfie as a form of visual communication holds critical implications for mediated life online as individuals go about doing privacy. We conclude by reflecting on the role of the selfie and its impact on the boundaries between public and private domains in contemporary social life

Generalizability of Trial Results to Elderly Medicare Patients With Advanced Solid Tumors (Alliance 70802)

In the United States, patients who enroll in chemotherapy trials seldom reflect the attributes of the general population with cancer, as they are often younger, more functional, and have less comorbidity. We compared survival following three chemotherapy regimens according to the setting in which care was delivered (ie, clinical trial vs usual care) to determine the generalizability of clinical trial results to unselected elderly Medicare patients

Acetate Causes Alcohol Hangover Headache in Rats

Background: The mechanism of veisalgia cephalgia or hangover headache is unknown. Despite a lack of mechanistic studies, there are a number of theories positing congeners, dehydration, or the ethanol metabolite acetaldehyde as causes of hangover headache. Methods: We used a chronic headache model to examine how pure ethanol produces increased sensitivity for nociceptive behaviors in normally hydrated rats. Results: Ethanol initially decreased sensitivity to mechanical stimuli on the face (analgesia), followed 4 to 6 hours later by inflammatory pain. Inhibiting alcohol dehydrogenase extended the analgesia whereas inhibiting aldehyde dehydrogenase decreased analgesia. Neither treatment had nociceptive effects. Direct administration of acetate increased nociceptive behaviors suggesting that acetate, not acetaldehyde, accumulation results in hangover-like hypersensitivity in our model. Since adenosine accumulation is a result of acetate formation, we administered an adenosine antagonist that blocked hypersensitivity. Discussion: Our study shows that acetate contributes to hangover headache. These findings provide insight into the mechanism of hangover headache and the mechanism of headache induction

Sport, genetics and the `natural athlete': The resurgence of racial science

This article explores the ethical implications of recent discussions that naturalize the relationship between race, the body and sport within the frame of genetic science. Many suggestions of a racially distributed genetic basis for athletic ability and performance are strategically posited as a resounding critique of the `politically correct' meta-narratives of established sociological and anthropological forms of explanation that emphasize the social and cultural construction of race. I argue that this use of genetic science in order to describe and explain common-sense impressions of racial physiology and sporting ability is founded on erroneous premises of objectivity and disinterest, and inflates the analytical efficacy of scientific truth claims. I suggest that assertions of a value-free science of racial athletic ability reify race as inherited permanent biological characteristics that produce social hierarchies and are more characteristic of a longer history of `racial science'

A RCT of a Transdiagnostic Internet-Delivered Treatment for Three Anxiety Disorders: Examination of Support Roles and Disorder-Specific Outcomes

BACKGROUND: Anxiety disorders share common vulnerabilities and symptoms. Disorder-specific treatment is efficacious, but few access evidence-based care. Administering transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioral therapy via the internet (iCBT) may increase access to evidence-based treatment, with a recent randomized controlled trial (RCT) providing preliminary support for this approach. This study extends those findings and aims to answer three questions: Is a transdiagnostic iCBT program for anxiety disorders efficacious and acceptable? Does it result in change for specific disorders? Can good clinical outcomes be obtained when guidance is provided via a Coach rather than a Clinician? METHOD: RCT (N = 131) comparing three groups: Clinician-supported (CL) vs. Coach-supported (CO) vs. waitlist control (Control). Individuals met DSM-IV criteria for a principal diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social phobia (SP) or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia (Pan/Ag). Treatment consisted of an 8-lesson/10 week iCBT program with weekly contact from a Clinician or Coach, and follow-up at 3-months post-treatment. RESULTS: Outcomes for the pooled treatment groups (CL+CO) were superior to the Control group on measures of anxiety, depression and disability, were associated with medium to large effect sizes (Cohen's d = .76-1.44) (response rate = 89-100%), and were maintained at follow-up. Significant reductions were found on disorder-specific outcomes for each of the target diagnoses, and were associated with large effect sizes. CO participants achieved similar outcomes to CL participants at post-treatment, yet had significantly lower symptom severity scores on general anxiety, panic-disorder, depression and disability at follow-up (d = .45-.46). Seventy-four percent of CO and 76% of CL participants completed the program. Less than 70 minutes of Clinician or Coach time was required per participant during the program. DISCUSSION: This transdiagnostic iCBT course for anxiety appears to be efficacious, associated with significant change for three target disorders, and is efficacious when guided by either a Clinician or Coach. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12610000242022

Global estimates of mortality associated with long-term exposure to outdoor fine particulate matter.

Exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is a major global health concern. Quantitative estimates of attributable mortality are based on disease-specific hazard ratio models that incorporate risk information from multiple PM2.5 sources (outdoor and indoor air pollution from use of solid fuels and secondhand and active smoking), requiring assumptions about equivalent exposure and toxicity. We relax these contentious assumptions by constructing a PM2.5-mortality hazard ratio function based only on cohort studies of outdoor air pollution that covers the global exposure range. We modeled the shape of the association between PM2.5 and nonaccidental mortality using data from 41 cohorts from 16 countries-the Global Exposure Mortality Model (GEMM). We then constructed GEMMs for five specific causes of death examined by the global burden of disease (GBD). The GEMM predicts 8.9 million [95% confidence interval (CI): 7.5-10.3] deaths in 2015, a figure 30% larger than that predicted by the sum of deaths among the five specific causes (6.9; 95% CI: 4.9-8.5) and 120% larger than the risk function used in the GBD (4.0; 95% CI: 3.3-4.8). Differences between the GEMM and GBD risk functions are larger for a 20% reduction in concentrations, with the GEMM predicting 220% higher excess deaths. These results suggest that PM2.5 exposure may be related to additional causes of death than the five considered by the GBD and that incorporation of risk information from other, nonoutdoor, particle sources leads to underestimation of disease burden, especially at higher concentrations

The Ionizing Radiation-Induced Bystander Effect: Evidence, Mechanism, and Significance

It has long been considered that the important biological effects of ionizing radiation are a direct consequence of unrepaired or misrepaired DNA damage occurring in the irradiated cells. It was presumed that no effect would occur in cells in the population that receive no direct radiation exposure. However, in vitro evidence generated over the past two decades has indicated that non-targeted cells in irradiated cell cultures also experience significant biochemical and phenotypic changes that are often similar to those observed in the targeted cells. Further, nontargeted tissues in partial body-irradiated rodents also experienced stressful effects, including oxidative and oncogenic effects. This phenomenon, termed the “bystander response,” has been postulated to impact both the estimation of health risks of exposure to low doses/low fluences of ionizing radiation and the induction of second primary cancers following radiotherapy. Several mechanisms involving secreted soluble factors, oxidative metabolism, gap-junction intercellular communication, and DNA repair, have been proposed to regulate radiation-induced bystander effects. The latter mechanisms are major mediators of the system responses to ionizing radiation exposure, and our knowledge of the biochemical and molecular events involved in these processes is reviewed in this chapter