The dynamics of gull-puffin interactions: implications for management

This study investigated the impact of kleptoparasitism and predation by large gulls (Larus spp.) on the recruitment rate, foraging economics and reproductive performance of Atlantic puffins Fratercula arctica breeding on the Isle of May, Firth of Forth, southeast Scotland. The implications of the findings for nature reserve management strategies are discussed. During the period from 1972 to 1989 the population of herring L. argentatus and lesser black-backed gulls L. fuscus nesting on the island was reduced as part of a gull control programme. Since 1989, gull management has involved maintaining gull-free areas by repeated removal of nests. Analysis of data collected over a 23 year period showed that the recruitment rate of puffins to the colony was significantly higher in the areas of the island where gull nest density was low. This suggests that, by reducing the density and spatial distribution of nesting gulls, the control programme successfully increased the attractiveness of the colony as a potential breeding site for puffins. Maintaining gull-free areas was also effective in reducing the frequency with which puffins were attacked by gulls. Kleptoparasitism risk during the morning and evening peaks of puffin feeding activity was 37% in gull-occupied habitat compared to only 5% in gull-free areas. These results indicate that gulls predominantly attacked puffins that bred in close proximity to them and did not move outwith the main gull breeding areas to attack puffins elsewhere on the island. The presence of gulls also significantly reduced the actual rate at which adult puffins attempted to deliver food to their chicks. The lower provisioning rate coupled with the higher kleptoparasitism risk resulted in puffins breeding in gull-occupied habitat delivering 44% fewer food loads to their chicks in the morning and 25% fewer in the evening compared to puffins breeding in gull-free areas. However, despite this difference, there was no evidence of a significant reduction in the growth of puffin chicks or their survival to fledging

Book Review: John J. Pershing and the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I, 1917–1919: April 7-September 30, Volume 1

Editor: John T. Greenwood Reviewed by Dr. Nathan K. Finney, lieutenant colonel, US Army, Indo-Pacific Command, founder of The Strategy Bridge and the Military Writers Guild Thoroughly researched and cited, this first volume in an anticipated eight-book series covers the first five months of World War I. The book includes maps, photographs, and is indexed for ease of use.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters_bookshelf/1007/thumbnail.jp

Historical Assessment and Archeological Survey of 4.9 Miles of FM 2092 From Menard to Fivemile Crossing, Menard County, Texas

This preliminary report describes historical research and an intensive archeological survey conducted for a 4.9-mile-long stretch of FM 2092 in Menard County by Prewitt and Associates, Inc. The work was performed for the Texas Department of Transportation in conjunction with a road improvement project beginning at the eastern Menard city limit and extending eastward to just beyond Fivemile Crossing. Crossing over Pleistocene and Holocene alluvial terraces of the San Saba River, the project area is located in a high-probability area for buried prehistoric sites and has a dynamic history of intensive use since Spanish colonial times. Investigations included geoarcheological mapping, historic research and evaluation, pedestrian survey, backhoe and gradall trenching, mechanical auger testing, and shovel testing. Archeological remains of 10 previously recorded sites and 9 newly discovered sites were documented within the FM 2092 right of way. Of these 19 sites, 6 have prehistoric components, 4 have historic components, and 9 have both prehistoric and historic components. At 14 of the 15 sites with prehistoric components, either no prehistoric remains were found within the right of way or the prehistoric remains are very low density and extensively disturbed. No prehistoric features were encountered at any of these 14 sites. The prehistoric components at these 14 sites (41MN5, 41MN9, 41MN11, 41MN12, 41MN15, 41MN23, 41MN53, 41MN54, and 41MN56–61) were recommended as not eligible for listing in the National Register, while the portion of 41MN55 inside the right of way was recommended as eligible. Site 41MN55 was subsequently tested, and the results of this work are reported separately. At 11 of the 13 sites with historic components, either no historic remains were found within the right of way or historic remains were limited to nondiagnostic artifacts (i.e., that could date to the late nineteenth or early twentieth centuries) in disturbed contexts. Although intact deposits and historic features associated with these sites may be present outside the right of way, none were observed in the right of way. It was recommended that these 11 sites (41MN5, 41MN9, 41MN10, 41MN12, 41MN13, 41MN15, 41MN20, 41MN53, 41MN54, 41MN60, and 41MN61) are not eligible for listing in the National Register. During this survey, hand and mechanical excavations were conducted at 41MN23, the site of the historic Mission San Sabá. The portion of the site within the FM 2092 right of way was recommended as eligible for listing in the National Register. Intensive data recovery excavations were subsequently conducted, but these investigations are reported separately. Site 41MN21 is the Menard Irrigation Company canal and associated smaller lateral ditches that comprise the entire irrigation system. Historical research documents that construction of this canal system started in 1874 and expanded in the late 1800s. The system is still used for agricultural irrigation today. Portions of the irrigation system crossing the FM 2092 right of way were documented. The system is probably eligible for listing in the National Register, but the irrigation system will not be impacted by this road project, and no further work is recommended

Faultlines Shaping Higher Education Policy and Opportunity in California: Executive Summary

We present findings from a case study on California’s higher education sector that explores the relationships between public policy, state contexts, and higher education performance over the past two decades (2000–2020). Through the collection of primary and secondary data, including interviews with 16 policymakers, education policy leaders, and researchers inside and outside of California, we document the development, manifestation, and implications of three primary faultlines: (a) Persistent disparities by race, socioeconomic status, and geography that combine to sharply limit individual educational and economic opportunity for many within the state. Any measure of performance in higher education must address how higher education closes these disparities relative to the magnitude of the disparities in the population. (b) Fragmentation, or the policy-related phenomena and structures that contribute to a lack of alignment and synchronicity in the statewide approach to postsecondary education. (c) Volatility, or extreme variations and unpredictability in state and local funding for higher education, with impacts that extend into institutional resource allocations and family budgets. Our case study documents a need for sustained state policy leadership in higher education or sustained public stewardship of higher education. Year-over-year, session-by-session, and sector-by-sector agreements fall short in addressing the deep faultlines outlined in this report. We make several recommendations for how public policy can begin to address these issues and better meet the needs of the state’s populous

The Early Paleozoic history of the Cuyania (greater Precordillera) terrane of western Argentina : evidence from geochronology of detrital zircons from Middle Cambrian sandstones

U-Pb geochronology of large detrital zircons populations is a powerful tool for interpreting sandstone provenance. Here, it is applied to three Middle Cambrian sandstones from the Precordillera of Argentina with the purpose of using the provenance interpretations to test paleogeographic and paleotectonic models proposed for the Cuyania or Precordillera terrane. Two samples from the La Laja Formation have distinctive detrital zircon age distributions. All zircon grains fall within unimodal populations of 1688-1200 Ma in one sample and 1559- 1316 Ma in the other. Of these grains, 23% and 65%, respectively, are within the age range of the North American magmatic gap (1610-1490 Ma), indicating a non-Laurentian provenance. A very different sample was taken from a sandstone interval in a large olistolith within the Estancia San Isidro Formation. Its zircon population is dominated by a single, prominent 615-511 Ma age cluster, which is indicative of a provenance in a Brasiliano orogenic belt. The absence of zircons with Grenvillian ages (1200 to 950 Ma) is difficult to reconcile with paleogeographic and geotectonic models in which Cuyania rifted from Laurentia in Cambrian or Ordovician time. The data are most consistent with models in which Cuyania rifted from the southern margin of West Gondwana. Given a Cambrian association with Gondwana and a post-Ordovician arrival at its present position in Gondwana, the Cuyania terrane must have migrated along the southern and western margins of Gondwana during the Ordovician Period

Prevalence of mixed genotype hepatitis C virus infections in the UK as determined by genotype‐specific PCR and deep sequencing

The incidence of mixed genotype hepatitis C virus infections in the UK is largely unknown. As the efficacy of direct acting antivirals is variable across different genotypes, treatment regimens are tailored to the infecting genotype, which may pose issues for the treatment of underlying genotypes within undiagnosed mixed genotype HCV infections. There is therefore a need to accurately diagnose mixed genotype infections prior to treatment. PCR-based diagnostic tools were developed to screen for the occurrence of mixed genotype infections caused by the most common UK genotypes, 1a and 3, in a cohort of 506 individuals diagnosed with either of these genotypes. The overall prevalence rate of mixed infection was 3.8% however this rate was unevenly distributed, with 6.7% of individuals diagnosed with genotype 3 harbouring genotype 1a strains and only 0.8% of samples from genotype 1a patients harbouring genotype 3 (p<0.05). Mixed infection samples consisted of a major and a minor genotype, with the latter constituting less than 21% of the total viral load and, in 67% of cases, less than 1% of the viral load. Analysis of a subset of the cohort by Illumina PCR-next generation sequencing resulted in a much greater incidence rate than obtained by PCR. This may have occurred due to the non-quantitative nature of the technique and despite the designation of false positive thresholds based on negative controls

Making gas-CCS a commercial reality: The challenges of scaling up

Significant reductions in CO2 emissions are required to limit the global temperature rise to 2°C. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a key enabling technology that can be applied to power generation and industrial processes to lower their carbon intensity. There are, however, several challenges that such a method of decarbonization poses when used in the context of natural gas (gas-CCS), especially for solvent-based (predominantly amines) post-combustion capture. These are related to: (i) the low CO2 partial pressure of the exhaust gases from gas-fired power plants (3-4%vol. CO2), which substantially limits the driving force for the capture process; (ii) their high O2 concentration (12-13%vol. O2), which can degrade the capture media via oxidative solvent degradation; and (iii) their high volumetric flow rates, which means large capture plants are needed. Such post-combustion gas-CCS features unavoidably lead to increased CO2 capture costs. This perspective aims to summarize the key technologies used to overcome these as a priority, including supplementary firing, humidified systems, exhaust gas recirculation and selective exhaust gas recirculation. These focus on the maximum CO2 levels achievable for each, as well as the electrical efficiencies attainable when the capture penalty is taken into account. Oxy-turbine cycles are also discussed as an alternative to post-combustion gas-CCS, indicating the main advantages and limitations of these systems together with the expected electrical efficiencies. Furthermore, we consider the challenges for scaling-up and deployment of these technologies at a commercial level to enable gas-CCS to play a crucial role in a low-carbon future

Repurposing existing drugs for the treatment of COVID-19

The rapid global spread and significant mortality associated with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 viral infection has spurred an urgent race to find effective treatments. Repurposing existing drugs is a particularly attractive approach as pharmacokinetic and safety data already exist, thus development can leapfrog straight to clinical trials of efficacy, generating results far more quickly than de novo drug development. This review summarizes the state of play for the principle drugs identified as candidates to be repurposed for treating COVID-19 grouped by broad mechanism of action: antiviral, immune enhancing, and anti-inflammatory or immunomodulatory. Patient selection, particularly with regard to disease stage, is likely to be key. To date only dexamethasone and remedesivir have been shown to be effective, but several other promising candidates are in trials