Tourist Attitudes toward Elk Management in the Pine Ridge Region of Northwestern Nebraska

We interviewed 200 tourists at Fort Robinson State Park and Chadron State Park in the Pine Ridge region of northwestern Nebraska during July and August of 1997 to determine attitudes toward elk (Cervus elaphus) and elk management in Nebraska. Fifty-nine percent of the respondents were aware that elk occupied the Pine Ridge, 95% favored free-ranging elk, and 55% favored hunting as a means of managing the population. Nebraska residents were more aware of elk and elk hunting in the Pine Ridge than were nonresidents. Also, more residents had observed elk and were willing to drive longer distances to view elk in the Pine Ridge. Respondents in older age groups (55–64) were more knowledgeable about elk. More urban tourists were in favor of elk than those from rural communities, but attitudes toward elk hunting were similar between urban and rural residents. Seventy-six percent of respondents wanted an increase in the population of elk. Men were more aware of elk populations than women and more supportive of hunting as the best method to manage the population. We found no differences between gender for maintaining free-ranging elk, knowledge of hunting seasons, or willingness to drive, pay, or spend time to view elk. Our results revealed that tourists had positive attitudes toward free-ranging elk and management practices in Nebraska. Elk herds should be managed to provide maximum opportunity for both consumptive and non-consumptive uses while minimizing negative impacts to property owners and the ecosystem

Tourist Attitudes toward Elk Management in the Pine Ridge Region of Northwestern Nebraska

We interviewed 200 tourists at Fort Robinson State Park and Chadron State Park in the Pine Ridge region of northwestern Nebraska during July and August of 1997 to determine attitudes toward elk (Cervus elaphus) and elk management in Nebraska. Fifty-nine percent of the respondents were aware that elk occupied the Pine Ridge, 95% favored free-ranging elk, and 55% favored hunting as a means of managing the population. Nebraska residents were more aware of elk and elk hunting in the Pine Ridge than were nonresidents. Also, more residents had observed elk and were willing to drive longer distances to view elk in the Pine Ridge. Respondents in older age groups (55–64) were more knowledgeable about elk. More urban tourists were in favor of elk than those from rural communities, but attitudes toward elk hunting were similar between urban and rural residents. Seventy-six percent of respondents wanted an increase in the population of elk. Men were more aware of elk populations than women and more supportive of hunting as the best method to manage the population. We found no differences between gender for maintaining free-ranging elk, knowledge of hunting seasons, or willingness to drive, pay, or spend time to view elk. Our results revealed that tourists had positive attitudes toward free-ranging elk and management practices in Nebraska. Elk herds should be managed to provide maximum opportunity for both consumptive and non-consumptive uses while minimizing negative impacts to property owners and the ecosystem

Landowner Attitudes Toward Elk Management in the Pine Ridge Region of North-Western Nebraska

Little is known about attitudes of landowners toward elk (Cervus elaphus) on privately-owned land. We mailed questionnaires to agricultural landowners in the Pine Ridge region of northwestern Nebraska in both 1995 and 1997 to determine attitudes toward elk populations and management of elk. Fifty-six percent (n = 214) of respondents in 1995 and 57% (n = 461) in 1997 were in favor of free-ranging elk. Motivation for those in favor of elk was utilitarian (opportunity to view and hunt elk), ecological (return of a native species), and economic (benefits from increased tourism and leased land for elk hunting). Reasons for opposition to elk were largely economic (damage to crops, competition with livestock, transmission of diseases to livestock) and convenience (dealing with elk hunters). Attitudes toward free-ranging elk were not affected by year or presence of elk on landowners’ property. Attitudes were affected by region and experience with damage from elk. The mean reported cost of damage was $832 and$929 in 1995 and 1997, respectively, with 75 to 80% of landowners reporting damage as minor or tolerable. Respondents who reported damage felt that the population of elk was too high, while landowners who favored elk wanted the population to increase. Most landowners (54 to 63%) were in favor of elk-hunting seasons. Fifty-five percent of respondents in 1995 reported that they would allow elk hunting on their property, compared to 75% in 1997. Management recommendations that stem from this research may apply to landscapes east of the Rocky Mountains in areas that are largely privately-owned and have been recolonized by elk

Using Low-Fix Rate GPS Telemetry to Expand Estimates of Ungulate Reproductive Success

Background Population parameters such as reproductive success are critical for sustainably managing ungulate populations, however obtaining these data is often difficult, expensive, and invasive. Movement-based methods that leverage Global Positioning System (GPS) relocation data to identify parturition offer an alternative to more invasive techniques such as vaginal implant transmitters, but thus far have only been applied to relocation data with a relatively fine (one fix every  \u3c 8 h) temporal resolution. We employed a machine learning method to classify parturition/calf survival in cow elk in southeastern Kentucky, USA, using 13-h GPS relocation data and three simple movement metrics, training a random forest on cows that successfully reared their calf to a week old. Results We developed a decision rule based upon a predicted probability threshold across individual cow time series, accurately classifying 89.5% (51/57) of cows with a known reproductive status. When used to infer status of cows whose reproductive outcome was unknown, we classified 48.6% (21/38) as successful, compared to 85.1% (40/47) of known-status cows. Conclusions While our approach was limited primarily by fix acquisition success, we demonstrated that coarse collar fix rates did not limit inference if appropriate movement metrics are chosen. Movement-based methods for determining parturition in ungulates may allow wildlife managers to extract more vital rate information from GPS collars even if technology and related data quality are constrained by cost

A randomised controlled trial and cost-effectiveness evaluation of "booster" interventions to sustain increases in physical activity in middle-aged adults in deprived urban neighbourhoods

Background: Systematic reviews have identified a range of brief interventions which increase physical activity in previously sedentary people. There is an absence of evidence about whether follow up beyond three months can maintain long term physical activity. This study assesses whether it is worth providing motivational interviews, three months after giving initial advice, to those who have become more active. Methods/Design: Study candidates (n = 1500) will initially be given an interactive DVD and receive two telephone follow ups at monthly intervals checking on receipt and use of the DVD. Only those that have increased their physical activity after three months (n = 600) will be randomised into the study. These participants will receive either a "mini booster" (n = 200), "full booster" (n = 200) or no booster (n = 200). The "mini booster" consists of two telephone calls one month apart to discuss physical activity and maintenance strategies. The "full booster" consists of a face-to-face meeting with the facilitator at the same intervals. The purpose of these booster sessions is to help the individual maintain their increase in physical activity. Differences in physical activity, quality of life and costs associated with the booster interventions, will be measured three and nine months from randomisation. The research will be conducted in 20 of the most deprived neighbourhoods in Sheffield, which have large, ethnically diverse populations, high levels of economic deprivation, low levels of physical activity, poorer health and shorter life expectancy. Participants will be recruited through general practices and community groups, as well as by postal invitation, to ensure the participation of minority ethnic groups and those with lower levels of literacy. Sheffield City Council and Primary Care Trust fund a range of facilities and activities to promote physical activity and variations in access to these between neighbourhoods will make it possible to examine whether the effectiveness of the intervention is modified by access to community facilities. A one-year integrated feasibility study will confirm that recruitment targets are achievable based on a 10% sample.Discussion: The choice of study population, study interventions, brief intervention preceding the study, and outcome measure are discussed

Chlorine Dioxide Is a Size-Selective Antimicrobial Agent

Background / Aims: ClO2, the so-called "ideal biocide", could also be applied as an antiseptic if it was understood why the solution killing microbes rapidly does not cause any harm to humans or to animals. Our aim was to find the source of that selectivity by studying its reaction-diffusion mechanism both theoretically and experimentally. Methods: ClO2 permeation measurements through protein membranes were performed and the time delay of ClO2 transport due to reaction and diffusion was determined. To calculate ClO2 penetration depths and estimate bacterial killing times, approximate solutions of the reaction-diffusion equation were derived. In these calculations evaporation rates of ClO2 were also measured and taken into account. Results: The rate law of the reaction-diffusion model predicts that the killing time is proportional to the square of the characteristic size (e. g. diameter) of a body, thus, small ones will be killed extremely fast. For example, the killing time for a bacterium is on the order of milliseconds in a 300 ppm ClO2 solution. Thus, a few minutes of contact time (limited by the volatility of ClO2) is quite enough to kill all bacteria, but short enough to keep ClO2 penetration into the living tissues of a greater organism safely below 0.1 mm, minimizing cytotoxic effects when applying it as an antiseptic. Additional properties of ClO2, advantageous for an antiseptic, are also discussed. Most importantly, that bacteria are not able to develop resistance against ClO2 as it reacts with biological thiols which play a vital role in all living organisms. Conclusion: Selectivity of ClO2 between humans and bacteria is based not on their different biochemistry, but on their different size. We hope initiating clinical applications of this promising local antiseptic

The Effect of Sustained Compression on Oxygen Metabolic Transport in the Intervertebral Disc Decreases with Degenerative Changes

Intervertebral disc metabolic transport is essential to the functional spine and provides the cells with the nutrients necessary to tissue maintenance. Disc degenerative changes alter the tissue mechanics, but interactions between mechanical loading and disc transport are still an open issue. A poromechanical finite element model of the human disc was coupled with oxygen and lactate transport models. Deformations and fluid flow were linked to transport predictions by including strain-dependent diffusion and advection. The two solute transport models were also coupled to account for cell metabolism. With this approach, the relevance of metabolic and mechano-transport couplings were assessed in the healthy disc under loading-recovery daily compression. Disc height, cell density and material degenerative changes were parametrically simulated to study their influence on the calculated solute concentrations. The effects of load frequency and amplitude were also studied in the healthy disc by considering short periods of cyclic compression. Results indicate that external loads influence the oxygen and lactate regional distributions within the disc when large volume changes modify diffusion distances and diffusivities, especially when healthy disc properties are simulated. Advection was negligible under both sustained and cyclic compression. Simulating degeneration, mechanical changes inhibited the mechanical effect on transport while disc height, fluid content, nucleus pressure and overall cell density reductions affected significantly transport predictions. For the healthy disc, nutrient concentration patterns depended mostly on the time of sustained compression and recovery. The relevant effect of cell density on the metabolic transport indicates the disturbance of cell number as a possible onset for disc degeneration via alteration of the metabolic balance. Results also suggest that healthy disc properties have a positive effect of loading on metabolic transport. Such relation, relevant to the maintenance of the tissue functional composition, would therefore link disc function with disc nutrition

Design of Nanoparticulate Group 2 Influenza Virus Hemagglutinin Stem Antigens That Activate Unmutated Ancestor B Cell Receptors of Broadly Neutralizing Antibody Lineages.

Influenza vaccines targeting the highly conserved stem of the hemagglutinin (HA) surface glycoprotein have the potential to protect against pandemic and drifted seasonal influenza viruses not covered by current vaccines. While HA stem-based immunogens derived from group 1 influenza A viruses have been shown to induce intragroup heterosubtypic protection, HA stem-specific antibody lineages originating from group 2 may be more likely to possess broad cross-group reactivity. We report the structure-guided development of mammalian-cell-expressed candidate vaccine immunogens based on influenza A virus group 2 H3 and H7 HA stem trimers displayed on self-assembling ferritin nanoparticles using an iterative, multipronged approach involving helix stabilization, loop optimization, disulfide bond addition, and side-chain repacking. These immunogens were thermostable, formed uniform and symmetric nanoparticles, were recognized by cross-group-reactive broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) with nanomolar affinity, and elicited protective, homosubtypic antibodies in mice. Importantly, several immunogens were able to activate B cells expressing inferred unmutated common ancestor (UCA) versions of cross-group-reactive human bNAbs from two multidonor classes, suggesting they could initiate elicitation of these bNAbs in humans. Current influenza vaccines are primarily strain specific, requiring annual updates, and offer minimal protection against drifted seasonal or pandemic strains. The highly conserved stem region of hemagglutinin (HA) of group 2 influenza A virus subtypes is a promising target for vaccine elicitation of broad cross-group protection against divergent strains. We used structure-guided protein engineering employing multiple protein stabilization methods simultaneously to develop group 2 HA stem-based candidate influenza A virus immunogens displayed as trimers on self-assembling nanoparticles. Characterization of antigenicity, thermostability, and particle formation confirmed structural integrity. Group 2 HA stem antigen designs were identified that, when displayed on ferritin nanoparticles, activated B cells expressing inferred unmutated common ancestor (UCA) versions of human antibody lineages associated with cross-group-reactive, broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs). Immunization of mice led to protection against a lethal homosubtypic influenza virus challenge. These candidate vaccines are now being manufactured for clinical evaluation

Global wealth disparities drive adherence to COVID-safe pathways in head and neck cancer surgery

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