Spirituality and religiosity contribute to ongoing COVID-19 vaccination rates: Comparing 195 regions around the world

Vaccine hesitancy has taken global prominence with the rapid spread of COVID-19, but what factors are related to this considerable variation in vaccination rates globally? Three studies that encompass 195 unique regions from around the world found that the relative spirituality and religiosity of a region predict ongoing COVID-19 vaccination rates, such that those regions higher in spirituality and/or religiosity are regions with lower COVID-19 vaccination rates. In Study 1, data from 23 regions globally were obtained, and both spirituality and religiosity were negatively associated with vaccination rates. These effects held when applying two methods to account for vaccine supply issues. In Study 2, data from 144 regions globally were obtained, and once again religiosity negatively predicted COVID-19 vaccination rates. It remained a significant predictor of vaccination rates when controlling for GDP, population age, collectivism, general skepticism towards vaccinations, and previous inoculation history. In Study 3, data from all USA states and the District of Columbia were obtained, and religiosity and spirituality once again were negatively associated with COVID-19 vaccination rates. Effects held controlling for other factors. Across studies, spirituality and religiosity account for a large amount of the variance in vaccination rates. These results suggest that real-world behavior can be predicted by the relative spirituality and religiosity of a region

Carbon and hydrogen isotopic characterization of methane from wetlands and lakes of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, western Alaska

The total methane flux to the troposphere from tundra environments of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta is dominated by emissions from wet meadow tundra (~75%) and small, organic-rich lakes (~20%). The mean δ13C value of methane diffusing into collar-mounted flux chambers from wet meadow environments near Bethel, Alaska, was -65.82±2.21‰ (±1 sigma, n=18) for the period July 10 to August 10, 1988. A minimum ebullition estimated for the 5% of total Delta area comprised of small lakes ranges from 0.34 to 9.7 × 1010g Ch4yr-1, which represents 0.6% to 17% of the total Delta methane emission. The δ13C and δD values of this ebullitive flux are -61.41±2.46‰ (n=38) and -341.8±18.2‰ (n=21), respectively. The methane in gas bubbles from two lakes is of modern, bomb carbon enriched, radiocarbon age. Gas bubble δ13C values varied from 2 to 5‰ seasonally, reaching heaviest values in midsummer; no such variations in δD values were observed

Consumption of dissolved organic carbon by Caribbean reef sponges

Sponges are conspicuous and abundant within the benthic fauna on Caribbean reefs. The ability of these organisms to efficiently capture carbon from particulate sources is well known and the importance of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) uptake has been recognized for several species. We surveyed DOC ingestion by seven sponge species common to Florida Keys reefs using nondisruptive sampling methods on undisturbed individuals. Three of the seven species exhibited significant DOC removal ranging from 13% to 24% of ambient concentrations. The tested species that removed DOC host large microbial consortia within their tissues, while the converse was observed for those that did not. This divergent behavior may suggest an important role for sponge associated microbes in the utilization of DOC by these species. The feeding behaviors of individuals of Xestospongia muta were then monitored over time to investigate its respiratory consumption of particulate and DOC. The uptake rates of dissolved oxygen (DO) and organic carbon by two undisturbed individuals revealed that DOC represented 96% of removed C, and that the tested individuals removed approximately equal quantities of C and DO. This demonstrates that X. muta largely satisfies its respiration demands through DOC consumption, and that DOC likely represents the dominant C source for biomass production and cell overturn in this species. These results further illustrate the metabolic importance of DOC to sponges, and suggest that these organisms are an important pathway for remineralizing organic matter on Caribbean reefs

Microbial activity in surficial sediments overlying acoustic wipeout zones at a Gulf of Mexico cold seep

Down core concentration gradients of dissolved methane and sulfate; isotope gradients of methane, dissolved inorganic carbon, and authigenic carbonate; and organic matter elemental ratios are incorporated into a vent evolution model to describe spatial and temporal variability of sedimentary microbial activity overlying acoustic wipeout zones at Mississippi Canyon (MC) 118, Gulf of Mexico. We tested the hypothesis that these zones indicate areas where sediments are exposed to elevated fluid flux and therefore should contain saturated methane concentrations and enhanced microbial activity from sulfate reduction (SR), anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM), and methanogenesis (MP). Thirty surficial cores (between 22 and 460 cm deep) were collected from sediments overlying and outside the wipeout zones and analyzed for pore water and solid phase constituents. Outside the wipeout zones, sulfate and methane concentrations were similar to overlying-water values and did not vary with depth; indicating low microbial activity. Above the wipeouts, nine cores showed moderate activity with gently sloping sulfate and methane concentration gradients, methane concentrations <20 μM, and isotope depth gradients indicative of organic matter oxidation. In stark contrast to this moderate activity, four cores showed high microbial activity where sulfate concentrations were depleted by ∼50 cm below seafloor, maximum methane concentrations in the decompressed cores were above 4 mM, and down core profiles of δ13C-CH4 and δ13C-dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) indicated distinct depth zones of SR, AOM, and MP. Bulk organic matter analysis suggested that the high activity was supported by an organic source that was enriched in carbon (C:N ∼15) and depleted in d15N and δ13C compared to other activity groups, possibly due to the influx of petroleum or chemosynthetically fixed carbon. Within high activity cores, the δ13C-DIC values were similar to the δ13C-CaCO3 values, a result expected for authigenic carbonate recently precipitated. However, these values were dissimilar in moderate activity cores, suggesting that microbial activity was higher in the past. This study provides evidence that the fluid flux at MC 118 varies over time and that the microbial activity responds to such variability. It also suggests that sediments overlying wipeout zones are not always saturated with respect to methane, which has implications for the formation and detection of gas hydrate

Inhibin interferes with activin signaling at the level of the activin receptor complex in Chinese hamster ovary cells

To gain more insight in the mechanism of action of inhibin, we studied the effect of inhibin on activin signaling in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Inhibin specifically counteracted activin-induced expression of a plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 promoter element (3TP) and of the junB gene, but was ineffective when the responses were induced by transforming growth factor-beta. This indicates that inhibin acts only on the activin-specific part of these signaling cascades. Using a constitutively active activin type IB receptor we determined whether inhibin acted at the level of the activin-receptor complex or downstream of it. The mutant activin receptor stimulated the expression of the 3TP promoter in the absence of activin. This stimulation was insensitive to inhibin

Elements Discrimination in the Study of Super-Heavy Elements using an Ionization Chamber

Dedicated ionization chamber was built and installed to measure the energy loss of very heavy nuclei at 2.7 MeV/u produced in fusion reactions in inverse kinematics (beam of 208Pb). After going through the ionization chamber, products of reactions on 12C, 18O targets are implanted in a Si detector. Their identification through their alpha decay chain is ambiguous when their half-life is short. After calibration with Pb and Th nuclei, the ionization chamber signal allowed us to resolve these ambiguities. In the search for rare super-heavy nuclei produced in fusion reactions in inverse or symmetric kinematics, such a chamber will provide direct information on the nuclear charge of each implanted nucleus.Comment: submitted to NIMA, 10 pages+4 figures, Latex, uses elsart.cls and grahpic