Changes in Habitat Use of Montezuma Quail in Response to Tree Canopy Reduction in the Capitan Mountains of New Mexico

Montezuma quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae) are unique among quail with respect to clutch size, diet, covey dynamics, and habitat use. With the exception of a few notable early studies, there is relatively little information on the ecology of Montezuma quail. Pervious research has indicated that one of the primary habitats utilized by Montezuma quail is pinyon–juniper (Pinus spp.–Juniperus spp.) woodlands. Throughout many areas of the southwestern United States, pinyon–juniper woodlands are often targeted for thinning projects. Many studies have been conducted on the amount of canopy cover needed by other quail species. However, data on characteristics of their preferred habitat in many of the mountains they inhabit is limited in the literature and no data are currently published on their response to thinning projects. Therefore, studies are warranted to fill in these missing data, which will increase our knowledge about the habitat requirements of Montezuma quail and allow us to make informed decisions about thinning projects in areas occupied by Montezuma quail. The goal of this research was to evaluate Montezuma quail responses to common silvicultural practices, specifically pinyon–juniper thinning in the Capitan Mountains of New Mexico. Results of our project indicated that Montezuma quail selected for sites that had been thinned to reduce canopy cover to a 30–40% mosaic. Selection for this habitat was much higher than selection for the surrounding area, which consisted of ≥70% canopy cover (Manly–Chesson Selectivity Index = 1.68). Overall, this study yields vital information for managers considering implanting thinning projects in Montezuma quail habitat

Radiometer Footprint Model to Estimate Sunlit and Shaded Components for Row Crops

Th is article describes a geometric model for computing the relative proportion of sunlit vegetation, shaded vegetation, sunlit soil, and shaded soil appearing in a circular or elliptical radiometer footprint for row crops, where the crop rows were modeled as continuous ellipses. Th e model was validated using digital photographs of row crops, where each component was determined by supervised classification. Root mean squared errors (RMSE) between modeled and observed components were 35, 49, 29, and 44% of observed means for sunlit vegetation, shaded vegetation, sunlit soil, and shaded soil, respectively. Mean bias errors (MBE) were, respectively, –5.6, 16.6, –4.0, and –0.5% of observed means. Th e continuous ellipse model was compared to the commonly used clumping index model, where the latter estimates total vegetation and total soil, but does not resolve these into their sunlit or shaded components and does not account for radiometer footprint shape dimensions. Th e continuous ellipse model resulted in RMSE for vegetation and soil of 22 and 19%, respectively, whereas the clumping index model resulted in respective RMSE of 37 and 31%. Th e continuous ellipse model had MBE of 3.3 and –2.6% for vegetation and soil, respectively, which was slightly greater than the respective MBE of –1.5 and 1.4% for clumping index model. Given the model sensitivity and uncertainty of leaf area index (LAI), the RMSE and MBE resulting from the continuous ellipse model would not be expected to be less than 20% of the observed means, and model performance was therefore deemed reasonable in this study

Search for the Neutron Decay n→\rightarrow X+γ\gamma where X is a dark matter particle

In a recent paper submitted to Physical Review Letters, Fornal and Grinstein have suggested that the discrepancy between two different methods of neutron lifetime measurements, the beam and bottle methods can be explained by a previously unobserved dark matter decay mode, n$\rightarrow$ X+$\gamma$ where X is a dark matter particle. We have performed a search for this decay mode over the allowed range of energies of the monoenergetic gamma ray for X to be a dark matter particle. We exclude the possibility of a sufficiently strong branch to explain the lifetime discrepancy with greater than 4 sigma confidence.Comment: 6 pages 3 figure

Search for the Neutron Decay \u3cem\u3en\u3c/em\u3e → \u3cem\u3eX\u3c/em\u3e+\u3cem\u3eγ\u3c/em\u3e, Where \u3cem\u3eX\u3c/em\u3e is a Dark Matter Particle

Fornal and Grinstein recently proposed that the discrepancy between two different methods of neutron lifetime measurements, the beam and bottle methods, can be explained by a previously unobserved dark matter decay mode, n → X+γ. We perform a search for this decay mode over the allowed range of energies of the monoenergetic γ ray for X to be dark matter. A Compton-suppressed high-purity germanium detector is used to identify γ rays from neutron decay in a nickel-phosphorous-coated stainless-steel bottle. A combination of Monte Carlo and radioactive source calibrations is used to determine the absolute efficiency for detecting γ rays arising from the dark matter decay mode. We exclude the possibility of a sufficiently strong branch to explain the lifetime discrepancy with 97% confidence

mRNA vaccine boosting enhances antibody responses against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in individuals with antibody deficiency syndromes

Individuals with primary antibody deficiency (PAD) syndromes have poor humoral immune responses requiring immunoglobulin replacement therapy. We followed individuals with PAD after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination by evaluating their immunoglobulin replacement products and serum for anti-spike binding, Fcγ receptor (FcγR) binding, and neutralizing activities. The immunoglobulin replacement products tested have low anti-spike and receptor-binding domain (RBD) titers and neutralizing activity. In coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-naive individuals with PAD, anti-spike and RBD titers increase after mRNA vaccination but wane by 90 days. Those vaccinated after SARS-CoV-2 infection develop higher and more sustained responses comparable with healthy donors. Most vaccinated individuals with PAD have serum-neutralizing antibody titers above an estimated correlate of protection against ancestral SARS-CoV-2 and Delta virus but not against Omicron virus, although this is improved by boosting. Thus, some immunoglobulin replacement products likely have limited protective activity, and immunization and boosting of individuals with PAD with mRNA vaccines should confer at least short-term immunity against SARS-CoV-2 variants, including Omicron

Immunoglobulin replacement products protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection in vivo despite poor neutralizing activity

Immunoglobulin (IG) replacement products are used routinely in patients with immune deficiency and other immune dysregulation disorders who have poor responses to vaccination and require passive immunity conferred by commercial antibody products. The binding, neutralizing, and protective activity of intravenously administered IG against SARS-CoV-2 emerging variants remains unknown. Here, we tested 198 different IG products manufactured from December 2019 to August 2022. We show that prepandemic IG had no appreciable cross-reactivity or neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2. Anti-spike antibody titers and neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 WA1/2020 D614G increased gradually after the pandemic started and reached levels comparable to vaccinated healthy donors 18 months after the diagnosis of the first COVID-19 case in the United States in January 2020. The average time between production to infusion of IG products was 8 months, which resulted in poor neutralization of the variant strain circulating at the time of infusion. Despite limited neutralizing activity, IG prophylaxis with clinically relevant dosing protected susceptible K18-hACE2-transgenic mice against clinical disease, lung infection, and lung inflammation caused by the XBB.1.5 Omicron variant. Moreover, following IG prophylaxis, levels of XBB.1.5 infection in the lung were higher in FcγR-KO mice than in WT mice. Thus, IG replacement products with poor neutralizing activity against evolving SARS-CoV-2 variants likely confer protection to patients with immune deficiency disorders through Fc effector function mechanisms

SARS-CoV-2 booster vaccination rescues attenuated IgG1 memory B cell response in primary antibody deficiency patients

BACKGROUND: Although SARS-CoV-2 vaccines have proven effective in eliciting a protective immune response in healthy individuals, their ability to induce a durable immune response in immunocompromised individuals remains poorly understood. Primary antibody deficiency (PAD) syndromes are among the most common primary immunodeficiency disorders in adults and are characterized by hypogammaglobulinemia and impaired ability to mount robust antibody responses following infection or vaccination. METHODS: Here, we present an analysis of both the B and T cell response in a prospective cohort of 30 individuals with PAD up to 150 days following initial COVID-19 vaccination and 150 days post mRNA booster vaccination. RESULTS: After the primary vaccination series, many of the individuals with PAD syndromes mounted SARS-CoV-2 specific memory B and CD4 CONCLUSION: Together, these data indicate that SARS-CoV-2 vaccines elicit memory B and T cells in most PAD patients and highlights the importance of booster vaccination in immunodeficient individuals

Progressive growth of a giant dolichoectatic vertebrobasilar artery aneurysm after complete Hunterian occlusion of the posterior circulation: Case report

OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE: Dolichoectatic vertebrobasilar artery aneurysms are often extremely difficult, if not impossible, to treat with microneurosurgical clip reconstruction. As such, a Hunterian strategy via vertebral or basilar artery sacrifice is often used. We have encountered a patient in whom deliberate bilateral vertebral artery sacrifice was insufficient to avoid progressive expansion of a giant dolichoectatic vertebrobasilar artery aneurysm. On the basis of a review of the literature, we are unaware of another reported case. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: A 60-year-old man presented with signs and symptoms of brainstem compression from a large fusiform aneurysm involving the distal dominant vertebral and proximal basilar arteries. Results of angiographic evaluation were highly characteristic of underlying dolichoectasia. INTERVENTION: The patient was treated initially with staged bilateral vertebral artery occlusion and adjunctive posterior circulation revascularization. After this therapy failed, he underwent a trapping procedure and aneurysm deflation. CONCLUSION: Unclippable aneurysms of the vertebrobasilar system are formidable lesions. They are not uniformly treatable by direct surgical reconstruction, and their growth is not consistently stabilized by the implementation of a complete Hunterian strategy. Future developments related to the use of endovascular stent technology may offer a more successful treatment approach for patients with these complex cerebrovascular lesions