Competitive interactions between native Spartina alterniflora and non-native Phragmites australis depend on nutrient loading and temperature.

We explored the nature and impact of competitive interactions between the salt marsh foundational plant Spartina alterniflora and invasive Phragmites australis in New England under varying levels of anthropogenic influence from nutrient loading and temperature warming. Plants were grown with and without competition in mesocosms over a four-month growing season. Mesocosms were split evenly among three levels of nutrient additions and two temperatures varying by an average of ~3° C, manipulated using small greenhouses. We measured aboveground productivity as total biomass, numbers of new stems, and mean stem height. Nutrient enrichment increased all growth parameters, while competition generally reduced aboveground biomass and the production of new stems in both species. Most importantly, smooth cordgrass suffered no negative consequences of competition when no nutrients were added and temperature was elevated. The results of this study suggest that minimizing nutrient loading into coastal marshes could be an important factor in slowing the spread of common reed into the low marsh zone of New England salt marshes as global temperatures continue to warm

Mean (± 1 s.e.) adjusted aboveground biomass, number of new stems, and stem height of <i>S</i>. <i>alterniflora</i> at ambient (top panels) and elevated (bottom panels) temperatures.

<p>For the graphs depicting measures of productivity at elevated temperatures (bottom panels), where significant interactive effects of competition and nutrients on biomass were detected, asterisks denote significantly different mean responses between competition levels within nutrients.</p

F-statistics and degrees of freedom (subscript) from split-plot ANOVA models of three aboveground productivity measures taken on <i>S</i>. <i>alterniflora</i> and <i>P</i>. <i>australis</i> under ambient and elevated temperatures.

<p>F-statistics and degrees of freedom (subscript) from split-plot ANOVA models of three aboveground productivity measures taken on <i>S</i>. <i>alterniflora</i> and <i>P</i>. <i>australis</i> under ambient and elevated temperatures.</p

Mean (± 1 s.e.) adjusted aboveground biomass, number of new stems, and stem height of <i>P</i>. <i>australis</i> at ambient (top panels) and elevated (bottom panels) temperatures.

<p>Mean (± 1 s.e.) adjusted aboveground biomass, number of new stems, and stem height of <i>P</i>. <i>australis</i> at ambient (top panels) and elevated (bottom panels) temperatures.</p

Tospovirus ambisense genomic RNA segments use almost complete repertoire of stable tetraloops in the intergenic region

Supramolecular & Biomaterials Chemistr

Elective cancer surgery in COVID-19-free surgical pathways during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic : an international, multicenter, comparative cohort study

PURPOSE As cancer surgery restarts after the first COVID-19 wave, health care providers urgently require data to determine where elective surgery is best performed. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19-free surgical pathways were associated with lower postoperative pulmonary complication rates compared with hospitals with no defined pathway. PATIENTS AND METHODS This international, multicenter cohort study included patients who underwent elective surgery for 10 solid cancer types without preoperative suspicion of SARS-CoV-2. Participating hospitals included patients from local emergence of SARS-CoV-2 until April 19, 2020. At the time of surgery, hospitals were defined as having a COVID-19-free surgical pathway (complete segregation of the operating theater, critical care, and inpatient ward areas) or no defined pathway (incomplete or no segregation, areas shared with patients with COVID-19). The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications (pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, unexpected ventilation). RESULTS Of 9,171 patients from 447 hospitals in 55 countries, 2,481 were operated on in COVID-19-free surgical pathways. Patients who underwent surgery within COVID-19-free surgical pathways were younger with fewer comorbidities than those in hospitals with no defined pathway but with similar proportions of major surgery. After adjustment, pulmonary complication rates were lower with COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.2% v 4.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86). This was consistent in sensitivity analyses for low-risk patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 1/2), propensity score-matched models, and patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 preoperative tests. The postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was also lower in COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.1% v 3.6%; aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.76). CONCLUSION Within available resources, dedicated COVID-19-free surgical pathways should be established to provide safe elective cancer surgery during current and before future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks

Delaying surgery for patients with a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection

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