Species Visitation at Quail Feeders and Guzzlers in Southern New Mexico

Providing supplemental feed and water are sometimes used to manage scaled quail (Callipepla squamata) in the Chihuahuan Desert even though their biological and economical efficacies are questionable. Seasonal visitation rates of scaled quail and various nontarget species are important parameters affecting the efficacy of feeding and watering practices. However, empirical data on visitation by scaled quail at feeders and guzzlers are lacking. We used video surveillance to assess species visitation at free-choice quail feeders and guzzlers in south-central New Mexico during 2002. Scaled quail accounted for 19.4 and 21.5% of visitations at feeders and guzzlers, respectively. Mourning doves (Zenaida macroura), nongame birds, and desert cottontails (Sylvilagus audubonni) were the primary nontarget consumers at this site. Relative to similar studies of feeder visitation by northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) in west Texas, quail feeders tended to be more efficacious (i.e., a greater proportion of the feeder visitations were by quail) in this study. While the biological impacts of feeders and guzzlers remain poorly documented, their use by scaled quail suggests they are important foci within the birds’ home ranges. Video surveillance technology permits managers to make data-based decisions on the biological and economic worth of such management efforts. We also describe novel uses for video surveillance relative to facilitating reconnaissance of radiotagged quail whose radios had malfunctioned. Future research should assess the potential for using video surveillance at guzzlers to estimate chick survival in scaled quail

Commensal-dependent expression of IL-25 regulates the IL-23–IL-17 axis in the intestine

Alterations in the composition of intestinal commensal bacteria are associated with enhanced susceptibility to multiple inflammatory diseases, including those conditions associated with interleukin (IL)-17–producing CD4+ T helper (Th17) cells. However, the relationship between commensal bacteria and the expression of proinflammatory cytokines remains unclear. Using germ-free mice, we show that the frequency of Th17 cells in the large intestine is significantly elevated in the absence of commensal bacteria. Commensal-dependent expression of the IL-17 family member IL-25 (IL-17E) by intestinal epithelial cells limits the expansion of Th17 cells in the intestine by inhibiting expression of macrophage-derived IL-23. We propose that acquisition of, or alterations in, commensal bacteria influences intestinal immune homeostasis via direct regulation of the IL-25–IL-23–IL-17 axis

Clinical trial of laronidase in Hurler syndrome after hematopoietic cell transplantation.

BackgroundMucopolysaccharidosis I (MPS IH) is a lysosomal storage disease treated with hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) because it stabilizes cognitive deterioration, but is insufficient to alleviate all somatic manifestations. Intravenous laronidase improves somatic burden in attenuated MPS I. It is unknown whether laronidase can improve somatic disease following HCT in MPS IH. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of laronidase on somatic outcomes of patients with MPS IH previously treated with HCT.MethodsThis 2-year open-label pilot study of laronidase included ten patients (age 5-13 years) who were at least 2 years post-HCT and donor engrafted. Outcomes were assessed semi-annually and compared to historic controls.ResultsThe two youngest participants had a statistically significant improvement in growth compared to controls. Development of persistent high-titer anti-drug antibodies (ADA) was associated with poorer 6-min walk test (6MWT) performance; when patients with high ADA titers were excluded, there was a significant improvement in the 6MWT in the remaining seven patients.ConclusionsLaronidase seemed to improve growth in participants <8 years old, and 6MWT performance in participants without ADA. Given the small number of patients treated in this pilot study, additional study is needed before definitive conclusions can be made

Detecting short-term stress and recovery events in a vineyard using tower-based remote sensing of photochemical reflectance index (PRI)

Frequent drought and high temperature conditions in California vineyards necessitate plant stress detection to support irrigation management strategies and decision making. Remote sensing provides a powerful tool to continuously monitor vegetation function across spatial and temporal scales. In this study, we utilized a tower-based optical-remote sensing system to continuously monitor four vineyard subplots in California’s Central Valley. We compared the performance of the greenness-based normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and the physiology-based photochemical reflectance index (PRI) to track variations of eddy covariance estimated gross primary productivity (GPP) during four stress events between July and September 2020. Our results demonstrate that NDVI was invariant during stress events. In contrast, PRI was effective at tracking the short-term stress-induced declines and recovery of GPP associated with soil water depletion and increased air temperature, as well as reductions in GPP from decreased PAR caused by smokey conditions from nearby fires. Canopy-scale remote sensing can provide continuous real-time data, and physiology-based vegetation indices such as PRI can be used to monitor variation of photosynthetic activity during stress events to aid in management decisions.First author draf

Nurses' experiences of recruitment and migration from developing countries: a phenomenological approach

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Using remote sensing to assess the relationship between crime and the urban layout

[EN] The link between place and crime is at the base of social ecology theories of crime that focus in the relationship of the characteristics of geographical areas and crime rates. The broken windows theory states that visible cues of physical and social disorder in a neighborhood can lead to an increase in more serious crime. The crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) planning approach seeks to deter criminal behavior by creating defensible spaces. Based on the premise that a settlement's appearance is a reflection of the society, we ask whether a neighborhood's design has a quantifiable imprint when seen from space using urban fabric descriptors computed from very high spatial-resolution imagery. We tested which land cover, structure and texture descriptors were significantly related to intra-urban homicide rates in Medellin, Colombia, while controlling for socioeconomic confounders. The percentage of impervious surfaces other than clay roofs, the fraction of clay roofs to impervious surfaces, two structure descriptors related to the homogeneity of the urban layout, and the uniformity texture descriptor were all statistically significant. Areas with higher homicide rates tended to have higher local variation and less general homogeneity; that is, the urban layouts were more crowded and cluttered, with small dwellings with different roofing materials located in close proximity to one another, and these regions often lacked other homogeneous surfaces such as open green spaces, wide roads, or large facilities. These results seem to be in agreement with the broken windows theory and CPTED in the sense that more heterogeneous and disordered urban layouts are associated with higher homicide rates.This research was made possible by funding from EAFIT University (EAFIT-435-000060) and the Medellin City Hall EnlazaMundos program. The authors thank the anonymous reviewers and Hermilson Velazquez, Andr es Ramírez Hassan and Gustavo Canavire for their insightful observations and suggestions during the different stages of this projectPatiño Quinchía, JE.; Duque, JC.; Pardo Pascual, JE.; Ruiz Fernández, LÁ. (2014). Using remote sensing to assess the relationship between crime and the urban layout. Applied Geography. 55:48-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2014.08.016S48605

Genomic, Pathway Network, and Immunologic Features Distinguishing Squamous Carcinomas

This integrated, multiplatform PanCancer Atlas study co-mapped and identified distinguishing molecular features of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) from five sites associated with smokin

Pan-cancer Alterations of the MYC Oncogene and Its Proximal Network across the Cancer Genome Atlas

Although theMYConcogene has been implicated incancer, a systematic assessment of alterations ofMYC, related transcription factors, and co-regulatoryproteins, forming the proximal MYC network (PMN),across human cancers is lacking. Using computa-tional approaches, we define genomic and proteo-mic features associated with MYC and the PMNacross the 33 cancers of The Cancer Genome Atlas.Pan-cancer, 28% of all samples had at least one ofthe MYC paralogs amplified. In contrast, the MYCantagonists MGA and MNT were the most frequentlymutated or deleted members, proposing a roleas tumor suppressors.MYCalterations were mutu-ally exclusive withPIK3CA,PTEN,APC,orBRAFalterations, suggesting that MYC is a distinct onco-genic driver. Expression analysis revealed MYC-associated pathways in tumor subtypes, such asimmune response and growth factor signaling; chro-matin, translation, and DNA replication/repair wereconserved pan-cancer. This analysis reveals insightsinto MYC biology and is a reference for biomarkersand therapeutics for cancers with alterations ofMYC or the PMN