Predictive spatial modeling of wildfire occurrence and poaching events related to Siberian tiger conservation in Southwest Primorye, Russian Far East

Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) populations worldwide have been drastically reduced in number over the past several decades. The Primorye region of the Russian Far East remains one of the final strongholds for the estimated 400 Siberian tigers remaining in the wild. As a flagship species, Siberian tigers play a crucial socio-economic role in helping agencies and non-profits to motivate, fund, and implement broader conservation efforts. Even while defended by organizations such as the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Siberian tigers in Primorye face an onslaught of threats to their continued existence. Profound land use changes due to the proliferation of wildfire (habitat loss), and the effects of wildlife poaching (loss of prey and individual tigers) represent the greatest threats to Siberian tigers in this region. Understanding where wildfire and poaching are most likely to occur can help inform fire management strategies, and anti-poaching ranger patrols led by WCS and the Russian National Park Service. I used a spatial statistics approach to model predictions of wildfire occurrence, and the likelihood of poaching violations across a 7,440 km2 portion of Southwest Primorye, which includes the 2,620 km2 Land of the Leopard National Park. I found that wildfires are tied to the presence of humans on the landscape. Proximity to settlements and roadways were highly correlated with an increased likelihood of burning. Additionally, terrain characterized by low slopes, and drier, south aspects were also at an increased risk of burning. Predictive mapping of wildfire indicated that coastal areas in the central portion of the study area, and much of the northern extent of the study area are the most likely to experience burning. My occupancy model-based investigation of poaching violations found that proximity to human development, and topographical features both affect the probability of rangers detecting a direct or indirect poaching violation on the landscape. In particular, my findings indicate that poaching is most likely to occur outside of protected areas in lower slope valleys where people are more easily able to traverse the landscape on foot or by vehicle. The northern terminus of the study area, and a northwest central pocket of the study area both indicated relatively high (~30%) probabilities of poaching violations occurring. By modeling and spatially mapping both wildfire and poaching violation likelihood, my work can help inform WCS and Russian Park Service management strategies to help maintain intact Siberian tiger habitat, and reduce the loss of tigers as a consequence of direct and indirect poaching

Pressure-Induced Effects on the Structure of the FeSe Superconductor

A polycrystalline sample of FeSe, which adopts the tetragonal PbO-type structure (P4/nmm) at room temperature, has been prepared using solid state reaction. We have investigated pressure-induced structural changes in tetragonal FeSe at varying hydrostatic pressures up to 0.6 GPa in the orthorhombic (T = 50 K) and tetragonal (T = 190 K) phases using high resolution neutron powder diffraction. We report that the structure is quite compressible with a Bulk modulus around 31 GPa to 33 GPa and that the pressure response is anisotropic with a larger compressibility along the c-axis. Key bond angles of the SeFe4 pyramids and FeSe4 tetrahedra are also determined as a function of pressure

Neoliberalism and authoritarian media cultures: a Vietnamese perspective

Nguyễn Yến-Khanh, Sean Phelan, Elizabeth Gray, "Neoliberalism and authoritarian media cultures: a Vietnamese perspective" First Published in " Media, Culture & Society" January 29, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437211060200Publishe

Thermoelectric Properties of Intermetallic Semiconducting RuIn3 and Metallic IrIn3

Low temperature (<400 K) thermoelectric properties of semiconducting RuIn3 and metallic IrIn3 are reported. RuIn3 is a narrow band gap semiconductor with a large n-type Seebeck coefficient at room temperature (S(290K)~400 {\mu}V/K), but the thermoelectric Figure of merit (ZT(290K) = 0.007) is small because of high electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity ({\kappa}(290 K) ~ 2.0 W/m K). IrIn3 is a metal with low thermopower at room temperature (S(290K)~20 {\mu}V/K) . Iridium substitution on the ruthenium site has a dramatic effect on transport properties, which leads to a large improvement in the power factor and corresponding Figure of merit (ZT(380 K) = 0.053), improving the efficiency of the material by an over of magnitude.Comment: Submitted to JA

Genetic risk of obesity as a modifier of associations between neighbourhood environment and body mass index. An observational study of 335 046 UK Biobank participants

Background There is growing recognition that recent global increases in obesity are the product of a complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors. However, in gene-environment studies of obesity, ‘environment’ usually refers to individual behavioural factors that influence energy balance, whereas more upstream environmental factors are overlooked. We examined gene-environment interactions between genetic risk of obesity and two neighbourhood characteristics likely to be associated with obesity (proximity to takeaway/ fast-food outlets and availability of physical activity facilities). Methods We used data from 335 046 adults aged 40–70 in the UK Biobank cohort to conduct a populationbased cross-sectional study of interactions between neighbourhood characteristics and genetic risk of obesity, in relation to body mass index (BMI). Proximity to a fast-food outlet was defined as distance from home address to nearest takeaway/fast-food outlet, and availability of physical activity facilities as the number of formal physical activity facilities within 1 km of home address. Genetic risk of obesity was operationalised by weighted Genetic Risk Scores of 91 or 69 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), and by six individual SNPs considered separately. Multivariable, mixed-effects models with product terms for the gene-environment interactions were estimated. Results After accounting for likely confounding, the association between proximity to takeaway/fast-food outlets and BMI was stronger among those at increased genetic risk of obesity, with evidence of an interaction with polygenic risk scores (p=0.018 and p=0.028 for 69- SNP and 91-SNP scores, respectively) and in particular with a SNP linked to MC4R (p=0.009), a gene known to regulate food intake. We found very little evidence of geneenvironment interaction for the availability of physical activity facilities. Conclusions Individuals at an increased genetic risk of obesity may be more sensitive to exposure to the local fast-food environment. Ensuring that neighbourhood residential environments are designed to promote a healthy weight may be particularly important for those with greater genetic susceptibility to obesity

Does Neck Strength in Male and Female Youth Soccer Players Affect Head Velocity During Goal-Directed Heading: A Proposal

Introduction: Head impact research in soccer (e.g., during heading) has increased recently, with the intent to reduce the risk of play-related injuries such as concussions. Low neck strength and head kinematics (e.g., velocity) in players have been proposed as risk factors for concussion1. However, previous research has primarily focused on collegiate athletes1, despite the possible increased risk for youth players due to crucial neurodevelopment occurring in this group2. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine neck strength differences between male and female youth soccer players, and to quantify the relationship between heading velocities and neck strength. Methods: Participants will include male and female youth soccer players (11 - 13 years old). Neck strength will be quantified while supine during lateral flexion, cervical flexion, and extension using a prone push test with a hand-held dynamometer. Participants will also complete five headers in the lab in each of three directions: balls tossed to them from their right, left, and in front. Three retroreflective markers on each participant’s head will be recorded using five GoPro Hero 9 cameras. ProAnalyst (Xcitex) motion capture analysis software will be used to determine head velocities. Pearson correlations will be completed to assess the strength of the relationship between neck strength and head velocities, and between sex and head velocities. Expected results: Youth with lower neck strength will have increased head velocities during purposeful heading. Moreover, females will have lower neck strength, and therefore, higher head velocities in comparison to their male counterparts. Keywords: youth soccer, neck strength, head velocities, sex differences References: Dezman, Z. D., Ledet, E. H., & Kerr, H. A. (2013). Neck strength imbalance correlates with increased head acceleration in soccer heading. Sports Health, 5(4), 320-326. Patel, D. R., Shivdasani, V., & Baker, R. J. (2005). Management of sport-related concussion in young athletes. Sports Medicine, 35(8), 671-84

fastlin: an ultra-fast program for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex lineage typing

SUMMARY: Fastlin is a bioinformatics tool designed for rapid Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) lineage typing. It utilizes an ultra-fast alignment-free approach to detect previously identified barcode single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with specific MTBC lineages. In a comprehensive benchmarking against existing tools, fastlin demonstrated high accuracy and significantly faster running times. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: fastlin is freely available at https://github.com/rderelle/fastlin and can easily be installed using Conda