Understanding and Finding Solutions to the Problem of Sedimentation in the National Wildlife Refuge System

The National Wildlife Refuge System (Refuge System) is a collection of public lands maintained by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for migratory birds and other wildlife. Wetlands on individual National Wildlife Refuges (Refuges) may be at risk of increased sedimentation because of land use and water management practices. Increased sedimentation can reduce wetland habitat quality by altering hydrologic function, degrading water quality, and inhibiting growth of vegetation and invertebrates. On Refuges negatively affected by increased sedimentation, managers have to address complex questions about how to best remediate and mitigate the negative effects. The best way to account for these complexities is often not clear. On other Refuges, managers may not know whether sedimentation is a problem. Decision makers in the Refuge System may need to allocate resources to studying which Refuges could be at risk. Such analyses would help them understand where to direct support for managing increased sedimentation. In this paper, we summarize a case study demonstrating the use of decision-analytic tools in the development of a sedimentation management plan for Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge, Minnesota. Using what we learned from that process, we surveyed other Refuges in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 3 (an area encompassing the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin) and Region 6 (an area encompassing the states of Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming) about whether they experience sediment-related impacts to management. Our results show that cases of management being negatively affected by increased sedimentation are not isolated. We suggest that the Refuge System conduct a comprehensive and systematic assessment of increased sedimentation among Refuges to understand the importance of sedimentation in context with other management problems that Refuges face. The results of such an assessment could guide how the Refuge System allocates resources to studying and managing widespread stressors

Telemedicine-Guided Two-Incision Lower Leg Fasciotomy Performed by Combat Medics During Tactical Combat Casualty Care:A Feasibility Study

IntroductionDuring tactical combat casualty care, life- and limb-saving procedures might also be performed by combat medics. This study assesses whether it is feasible to use a head-mounted display (HMD) to provide telemedicine (TM) support from a consulted senior surgeon for combat medics when performing a two-incision lower leg fasciotomy.Materials and MethodsNine combat medics were randomized into groups to perform a two-incision lower leg fasciotomy. One group used the Vuzix M400 and the second group used the RealWear HMT-1Z1. A third, control, group received no guidance. In the Vuzix M400 group and RealWear HMT-1Z1 group, a senior surgeon examined the results after the two-incision lower leg fasciotomy was finished to assess the release of compartments, possible collateral damage, and performance of the combat medics. In the control group, these results were examined by a surgical resident with expertise in two-incision lower leg fasciotomies. The resident’s operative performance questionnaire was used to score the performance of the combat medics. The telehealth usability questionnaire was used to evaluate the usability of the HMDs as perceived by the combat medics.ResultsCombat medics using an HMD were considered competent in performing a two-incision lower leg fasciotomy (Vuzix: median 3 [range 0], RealWear: median 3 [range 1]). These combat medics had a significantly better score in their ability to adapt to anatomical variances compared to the control group (Vuzix: median 3 [range 0], RealWear: median 3 [range 0], control: median 1 [range 0]; P = .018). Combat medics using an HMD were faster than combat medics in the control group (Vuzix: mean 14:14 [SD 3:41], RealWear: mean 15:42 [SD 1:58], control: mean 17:45 [SD 2:02]; P = .340). The overall satisfaction with both HMDs was 5 out of 7 (Vuzix: median 5 [range 0], RealWear: median 5 [range 1]; P = .317).ConclusionsThis study shows that it is feasible to use an HMD to provide TM support performance from a consulted senior surgeon for combat medics when performing a two-incision lower leg fasciotomy. The results of this study suggest that TM support might be useful for combat medics during tactical combat casualty care when performing life- and limb-saving procedures

Evidence for the inside-out growth of the stellar mass distribution in galaxy clusters since z ~ 1

International audienceWe study the radial number density and stellar mass density distributions of satellite galaxies in a sample of 60 massive clusters at 0.04 <z< 0.26 selected from the Multi-Epoch Nearby Cluster Survey (MENeaCS) and the Canadian Cluster Comparison Project (CCCP). In addition to ~10 000 spectroscopically confirmed member galaxies, we use deep ugri-band imaging to estimate photometric redshifts and stellar masses, and then statistically subtract fore- and background sources using data from the COSMOS survey. We measure the galaxy number density and stellar mass density distributions in logarithmically spaced bins over 2 orders of magnitude in radial distance from the BCGs. For projected distances in the range 0.1 <R/R200< 2.0, we find that the stellar mass distribution is well-described by an NFW profile with a concentration of c = 2.03 ± 0.20. However, at smaller radii we measure a significant excess in the stellar mass in satellite galaxies of about 1011M⊙ per cluster, compared to these NFW profiles. We do obtain good fits to generalised NFW profiles with free inner slopes and to Einasto profiles. To examine how clusters assemble their stellar mass component over cosmic time, we compare this local sample to the GCLASS cluster sample at z ~ 1, which represents the approximate progenitor sample of the low-z clusters. This allows for a direct comparison, which suggests that the central parts (R< 0.4 Mpc) of the stellar mass distributions of satellites in local galaxy clusters are already in place at z ~ 1, and contain sufficient excess material for further BCG growth. Evolving towards z = 0, clusters appear to assemble their stellar mass primarily onto the outskirts, making them grow in an inside-out fashion

Cross-presentation of a TAP-independent signal peptide induces CD8 T immunity to escaped cancers but necessitates anchor replacement

Cancer cells frequently display defects in their antigen-processing pathway and thereby evade CD8 T cell immunity. We described a novel category of cancer antigens, named TEIPP, that emerge on cancers with functional loss of the peptide pump TAP. TEIPPs are non-mutated neoantigens despite their 'self' origin by virtue of their absence on normal tissues. Here, we describe the development of a synthetic long peptide (SLP) vaccine for the most immunogenic TEIPP antigen identified thus far, derived from the TAP-independent LRPAP1 signal sequence. LRPAP1(21-30)-specific CD8 T cells were present in blood of all tested healthy donors as well as patients with non-small cell lung adenocarcinoma. SLPs with natural flanking, however, failed to be cross-presented by monocyte-derived dendritic cells. Since the C-terminus of LRPAP1(21-30) is an unconventional and weakly binding serine (S), we investigated if replacement of this anchor would result in efficient cross-presentation. Exchange into a valine (V) resulted in higher HLA-A2 binding affinity and enhanced T cell stimulation. Importantly, CD8 T cells isolated using the V-variant were able to bind tetramers with the natural S-variant and respond to TAP-deficient cancer cells. A functional screen with an array of N-terminal and C-terminal extended SLPs pointed at the 24-mer V-SLP, elongated at the N-terminus, as most optimal vaccine candidate. This SLP was efficiently cross-presented and consistently induced a strong polyclonal LRPAP1(21-30)-specific CD8 T cells from the endogenous T cell repertoire. Thus, we designed a TEIPP SLP vaccine from the LRPAP1 signal sequence ready for validation in clinical trials.Experimental cancer immunology and therap

A low inflammatory, Langerhans cell-targeted microprojection patch to deliver ovalbumin to the epidermis of mouse skin

In a low inflammatory skin environment, Langerhans cells (LCs) - but not dermal dendritic cells (dDCs) - contribute to the pivotal process of tolerance induction. Thus LCs are a target for specific-tolerance therapies. LCs reside just below the stratum corneum, within the skin's viable epidermis. One way to precisely deliver immunotherapies to LCs while remaining minimally invasive is with a skin delivery device such as a microprojection arrays (MPA). Today's MPAs currently achieve rapid delivery (e.g. within minutes of application), but are focussed primarily at delivery of therapeutics to the dermis, deeper within the skin. Indeed, no MPA currently delivers specifically to the epidermal LCs of mouse skin. Without any convenient, pre-clinical device available, advancement of LC-targeted therapies has been limited. In this study, we designed and tested a novel MPA that delivers ovalbumin to the mouse epidermis (eMPA) while maintaining a low, local inflammatory response (as defined by low erythema after 24 h). In comparison to available dermal-targeted MPAs (dMPA), only eMPAs with larger projection tip surface areas achieved shallow epidermal penetration at a low application energy. The eMPA characterised here induced significantly less erythema after 24 h (p = 0.0004), less epidermal swelling after 72 h (p

The Phase Space and Stellar Populations of Cluster Galaxies at z ~ 1: Simultaneous Constraints on the Location and Timescale of Satellite Quenching

We investigate the velocity vs. position phase space of z ~ 1 cluster galaxies using a set of 424 spectroscopic redshifts in 9 clusters drawn from the GCLASS survey. Dividing the galaxy population into three categories: quiescent, star-forming, and poststarburst, we find that these populations have distinct distributions in phase space. Most striking are the poststarburst galaxies, which are commonly found at small clustercentric radii with high clustercentric velocities, and appear to trace a coherent ``ring" in phase space. Using several zoom simulations of clusters we show that the coherent distribution of the poststarbursts can be reasonably well-reproduced using a simple quenching scenario. Specifically, the phase space is best reproduced if satellite quenching occurs on a rapid timescale (0.1 < tau_{Q} < 0.5 Gyr) after galaxies make their first passage of R ~ 0.5R_{200}, a process that takes a total time of ~ 1 Gyr after first infall. We compare this quenching timescale to the timescale implied by the stellar populations of the poststarburst galaxies and find that the poststarburst spectra are well-fit by a rapid quenching (tau_{Q} = 0.4^{+0.3}_{-0.4} Gyr) of a typical star-forming galaxy. The similarity between the quenching timescales derived from these independent indicators is a strong consistency check of the quenching model. Given that the model implies satellite quenching is rapid, and occurs well within R_{200}, this would suggest that ram-pressure stripping of either the hot or cold gas component of galaxies are the most plausible candidates for the physical mechanism. The high cold gas consumption rates at z ~ 1 make it difficult to determine if hot or cold gas stripping is dominant; however, measurements of the redshift evolution of the satellite quenching timescale and location may be capable of distinguishing between the two.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, submitted to the Ap

Optimizing diagnostic methods and stem cell transplantation outcomes in pediatric bone marrow failure: a 50-year single center experience

Peripheral blood cytopenia, a frequent presenting symptom in pediatric patients, can be caused by bone marrow failure (BMF). Timely identification of patients with non-reversible BMF is of crucial importance to reduce the risks of invasive infections and bleeding complications. Most pediatric patients with severe persistent cytopenia, independent of the underlying cause, are offered allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) as curative therapy. Here we report on our management guidelines and HSCT outcomes of pediatric BMF patients to pinpoint improvements and future challenges. We formulated recommendations based on this 50 years' experience, which were implemented at our center in 2017. By analysis of the HSCT cohort of 2017-2023, the 5-year outcome data is presented and compared to historical outcome data. In addition, outcomes of patients transplanted for identified inherited bone marrow failure syndromes (IBMFS) are compared to severe aplastic anemia (SAA) outcomes to underline the often multiorgan disease in IBMFS with implications for long-term survival. Survival of pediatric patients with irreversible BMF has improved tremendously. SAA patients transplanted after 2017 had a superior 5-year overall (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) of 97% and 85% compared to 68% and 59% in the cohort transplanted before 2017 (p = 0.0011 and p = 0.017). A similar trend was seen for BMF, with an OS and EFS of 89% for those transplanted after 2017 compared to 62% and 59% (p > 0.05). This improvement is mainly related to better survival in the first months after HSCT. The long-term survival after HSCT is lower in IBMFS patients as compared to SAA patients due to secondary malignancies and multiorgan toxicity.Conclusion: Unbiased protocolized in-depth diagnostic strategies are crucial to increase the frequency of identifiable causes within the heterogeneous group of pediatric BMF. A comprehensive approach to identify the cause of BMF can prevent treatment delay and be useful to tailor treatment and follow-up protocols.Transplantation and immunomodulatio

Rubicon-dependent Lc3 recruitment to Salmonella-containing phagosomes is a host defense mechanism triggered independently from major bacterial virulence factors

Animal science