Lessons on Marine Protected Area Management in Northern Boreal Regions from the United States and Norway

In comparison to tropical reef systems, relatively few marine protected areas (MPA’s) exist in temperate or subarctic systems (e.g., North Pacific and North Atlantic) where species diversity is lower, abundance of individual species is often higher, and many fish species exhibit large amounts of movement during one or more of their life stages, especially as adults. A review of MPA’s in three northern areas—the Northwest Atlantic, Northeast Atlantic, and the Northeast Pacific—indicates that MPA’s can be useful management tools towards fisheries management and habitat conservation. However, achieving fishery goals, such as sustainable use of the fisheries resources, will depend on population abundance (relative to unfished conditions) and fish behavior and movement. For example, depleted populations of stationary species such as Atlantic sea scallops, Placopecten magellanicus, in the Northeast Atlantic and European lobster, Homarus grammarus, in the North Sea have responded positively to small MPA’s, whereas migratory offshore Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua, and Pacific cod, Gadus macrocephalus, apparently do not appear to benefit from closed areas because of movement into fished areas. Efficient habitat conservation requires detailed habitat mapping on relevant spatial scales. In northern boreal systems with large remote areas, this information is difficult and expensive to access. An alternative strategy of closing and protecting unexploited areas has worked well for the Aleutian Island coral closure area in Alaska. MPA’s can be effective fisheries management tools when the species to be protected have been depleted and show a small to moderate level of movement, and reproductive success is ensured. MPA’s can be effective at preserving habitat when the design is based on scientific information and takes into account the impact on the user groups.publishedVersio

Association of Accelerometry-Measured Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Events in Mobility-Limited Older Adults: The LIFE (Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders) Study.

BACKGROUND:Data are sparse regarding the value of physical activity (PA) surveillance among older adults-particularly among those with mobility limitations. The objective of this study was to examine longitudinal associations between objectively measured daily PA and the incidence of cardiovascular events among older adults in the LIFE (Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders) study. METHODS AND RESULTS:Cardiovascular events were adjudicated based on medical records review, and cardiovascular risk factors were controlled for in the analysis. Home-based activity data were collected by hip-worn accelerometers at baseline and at 6, 12, and 24 months postrandomization to either a physical activity or health education intervention. LIFE study participants (n=1590; age 78.9±5.2 [SD] years; 67.2% women) at baseline had an 11% lower incidence of experiencing a subsequent cardiovascular event per 500 steps taken per day based on activity data (hazard ratio, 0.89; 95% confidence interval, 0.84-0.96; P=0.001). At baseline, every 30 minutes spent performing activities ≥500 counts per minute (hazard ratio, 0.75; confidence interval, 0.65-0.89 [P=0.001]) were also associated with a lower incidence of cardiovascular events. Throughout follow-up (6, 12, and 24 months), both the number of steps per day (per 500 steps; hazard ratio, 0.90, confidence interval, 0.85-0.96 [P=0.001]) and duration of activity ≥500 counts per minute (per 30 minutes; hazard ratio, 0.76; confidence interval, 0.63-0.90 [P=0.002]) were significantly associated with lower cardiovascular event rates. CONCLUSIONS:Objective measurements of physical activity via accelerometry were associated with cardiovascular events among older adults with limited mobility (summary score >10 on the Short Physical Performance Battery) both using baseline and longitudinal data. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION:URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01072500

The eck fistula in animals and humans

In all species so far studied, including man, portacaval shunt causes the same changes in liver morphology, including hepatocyte atrophy, fatty infiltration, deglycogenation, depletion and disorganization of the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) and its lining polyribosomes and variable but less specific damage to other organelles. Many, perhaps all, biosynthetic processes are quickly depressed, largely secondary to the selective damage to the RER, which is the "factory" of the cell. These structural and metabolic changes in the liver after portal diversion are caused by the diversion around the liver of the hepatotrophic substances in portal venous blood, of which endogenous insulin is the most important. In experimental animals, the injury of Eck's fistula can be prevented by infusing insulin into the tied-off hilar portal vein. The subtle but far-reaching changes in hepatic function after portal diversion have made it possible to use this procedure in palliating three inborn errors of metabolism: glycogen storage disease, familial hypercholesterolemia, and α1-antitrypsin deficiency In these three diseases, the abnormalities caused by portal diversion have counteracted abnormalities in the patients that were caused by the inborn errors. In these diseases, amelioration of the inborn errors depends on the completeness of the portal diversion. In contrast, total portal diversion to treat complications of portal hypertension is undesirable and always will degrade hepatic function if a significant amount of hepatopetal portal venous blood is taken from the liver. When total portal diversion is achieved (and this is to be expected after all conventional shunts), the incidence of hepatic failure and hepatic encephalopathy is increased. If portal diversion must be done for the control of variceal hemorrhage, a selective procedure such as the Warren procedure is theoretically superior to the completely diverting shunt. In practice, better patient survival has not been achieved after selective shunts than after conventional shunts, but the incidence of hepatic encephalopathy has been less. © 1983 Year Book Medical Publishers, Inc

Promotion of variant human mammary epithelial cell outgrowth by ionizing radiation: an agent-based model supported by in vitro studies

IntroductionMost human mammary epithelial cells (HMEC) cultured from histologically normal breast tissues enter a senescent state termed stasis after 5 to 20 population doublings. These senescent cells display increased size, contain senescence associated beta-galactosidase activity, and express cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, p16INK4A (CDKN2A; p16). However, HMEC grown in a serum-free medium, spontaneously yield, at low frequency, variant (v) HMEC that are capable of long-term growth and are susceptible to genomic instability. We investigated whether ionizing radiation, which increases breast cancer risk in women, affects the rate of vHMEC outgrowth.MethodsPre-stasis HMEC cultures were exposed to 5 to 200 cGy of sparsely (X- or gamma-rays) or densely (1 GeV/amu 56Fe) ionizing radiation. Proliferation (bromodeoxyuridine incorporation), senescence (senescence-associated beta-galactosidase activity), and p16 expression were assayed in subcultured irradiated or unirradiated populations four to six weeks following radiation exposure, when patches of vHMEC became apparent. Long-term growth potential and p16 promoter methylation in subsequent passages were also monitored. Agent-based modeling, incorporating a simple set of rules and underlying assumptions, was used to simulate vHMEC outgrowth and evaluate mechanistic hypotheses.ResultsCultures derived from irradiated cells contained significantly more vHMEC, lacking senescence associated beta-galactosidase or p16 expression, than cultures derived from unirradiated cells. As expected, post-stasis vHMEC cultures derived from both unirradiated and irradiated cells exhibited more extensive methylation of the p16 gene than pre-stasis HMEC cultures. However, the extent of methylation of individual CpG sites in vHMEC samples did not correlate with passage number or treatment. Exposure to sparsely or densely ionizing radiation elicited similar increases in the numbers of vHMEC compared to unirradiated controls. Agent-based modeling indicated that radiation-induced premature senescence of normal HMEC most likely accelerated vHMEC outgrowth through alleviation of spatial constraints. Subsequent experiments using defined co-cultures of vHMEC and senescent cells supported this mechanism.ConclusionsOur studies indicate that ionizing radiation can promote the outgrowth of epigenetically altered cells with pre-malignant potential

Poor performance of the rapid test for human brucellosis in health facilities in Kenya

Human brucellosis is considered to be an important but typically under-diagnosed cause of febrile illness in many low and middle-income countries. In Kenya, and throughout East Africa, laboratory diagnosis for the disease is based primarily on the febrile antigen Brucella agglutination test (FBAT), yet few studies of the diagnostic accuracy of this test exist. Assessment of the performance of the FBAT is essential for its appropriate clinical use, as well as for evaluating surveillance data reported by public health systems. To assess FBAT performance, we collected sera from people with symptoms compatible with brucellosis attending two health facilities in Busia County, Kenya. Sera were tested using the FBAT and results compared with those from the Rose Bengal Test (RBT), an assay with well-known performance characteristics. Positives on either test were confirmed using the classical serum agglutination test (SAT)-Coombs test combination and a rapid IgM/IgG lateral flow immunochromatography assay (LFA). A questionnaire focussing on known risk factors for exposure to Brucella spp. was also conducted, and relationships with FBAT positivity examined using logistic regression. Out of 825 recruited individuals, 162 (19.6%) were classified as positive using the FBAT. In contrast, only eight (1.0%) were positive using the RBT. Of the 162 FBAT positives, one (0.62%) had an atypical agglutination in SAT and three (1.9%) showed low Coombs titres. Out of 148 FBAT positive individuals tested using the LFA, five (3.4%) were IgM positive and none were IgG positive. Poor or no correlation was observed between FBAT results and most established risk factors for Brucella infection. We observed substantial disagreement between the FBAT and a number of well-known serological tests, with the majority of reactive FBAT results appearing to be false positives. Poor FBAT specificity, combined with a lack of confirmatory testing, strongly suggests overdiagnosis of brucellosis is common in this low prevalence setting. This is expected to have important economic impacts on affected patients subjected to the long and likely unnecessary courses of multiple antibiotics required for treatment of the disease

TESS discovery of a super-Earth and two sub-Neptunes orbiting the bright, nearby, Sun-like star HD 22946

We report the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) discovery of a three-planet system around the bright Sun-like star HD~22946(V=8.3 mag),also known as TIC~100990000, located 63 parsecs away.The system was observed by TESS in Sectors 3, 4, 30 and 31 and two planet candidates, labelled TESS Objects of Interest (TOIs) 411.01 (planet $c$) and 411.02 (planet $b$), were identified on orbits of 9.57 and 4.04 days, respectively. In this work, we validate the two planets and recover an additional single transit-like signal in the light curve, which suggests the presence of a third transiting planet with a longer period of about 46 days.We assess the veracity of the TESS transit signals and use follow-up imaging and time series photometry to rule out false positive scenarios, including unresolved binary systems, nearby eclipsing binaries or background/foreground stars contaminating the light curves. Parallax measurements from Gaia EDR3, together with broad-band photometry and spectroscopic follow-up by TFOP allowed us to constrain the stellar parameters of TOI-411, including its radius of$1.157\pm0.025R_\odot$. Adopting this value, we determined the radii for the three exoplanet candidates and found that planet $b$ is a super-Earth, with a radius of $1.72\pm0.10R_\oplus$, while planet $c$ and $d$ are sub-Neptunian planets, with radii of$2.74\pm0.14R_\oplus$ and $3.23\pm0.19R_\oplus$ respectively. By using dynamical simulations, we assessed the stability of the system and evaluated the possibility of the presence of other undetected, non-transiting planets by investigating its dynamical packing. We find that the system is dynamically stable and potentially unpacked, with enough space to host at least one more planet between $c$ and $d$.(Abridged)Comment: 21 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication on A&

Heliophysics and Amateur Radio:Citizen Science Collaborations for Atmospheric, Ionospheric, and Space Physics Research and Operations

The amateur radio community is a global, highly engaged, and technical community with an intense interest in space weather, its underlying physics, and how it impacts radio communications. The large-scale observational capabilities of distributed instrumentation fielded by amateur radio operators and radio science enthusiasts offers a tremendous opportunity to advance the fields of heliophysics, radio science, and space weather. Well-established amateur radio networks like the RBN, WSPRNet, and PSKReporter already provide rich, ever-growing, long-term data of bottomside ionospheric observations. Up-and-coming purpose-built citizen science networks, and their associated novel instruments, offer opportunities for citizen scientists, professional researchers, and industry to field networks for specific science questions and operational needs. Here, we discuss the scientific and technical capabilities of the global amateur radio community, review methods of collaboration between the amateur radio and professional scientific community, and review recent peer-reviewed studies that have made use of amateur radio data and methods. Finally, we present recommendations submitted to the U.S. National Academy of Science Decadal Survey for Solar and Space Physics (Heliophysics) 2024–2033 for using amateur radio to further advance heliophysics and for fostering deeper collaborations between the professional science and amateur radio communities. Technical recommendations include increasing support for distributed instrumentation fielded by amateur radio operators and citizen scientists, developing novel transmissions of RF signals that can be used in citizen science experiments, developing new amateur radio modes that simultaneously allow for communications and ionospheric sounding, and formally incorporating the amateur radio community and its observational assets into the Space Weather R2O2R framework. Collaborative recommendations include allocating resources for amateur radio citizen science research projects and activities, developing amateur radio research and educational activities in collaboration with leading organizations within the amateur radio community, facilitating communication and collegiality between professional researchers and amateurs, ensuring that proposed projects are of a mutual benefit to both the professional research and amateur radio communities, and working towards diverse, equitable, and inclusive communities

Quantum bits with Josephson junctions

Already in the first edition of this book (Barone and Paterno, "Fundamentals and Physics and Applications of the Josephson Effect", Wiley 1982), a great number of interesting and important applications for Josephson junctions were discussed. In the decades that have passed since then, several new applications have emerged. This chapter treats one such new class of applications: quantum optics and quantum information processing (QIP) based on superconducting circuits with Josephson junctions. In this chapter, we aim to explain the basics of superconducting quantum circuits with Josephson junctions and demonstrate how these systems open up new prospects, both for QIP and for the study of quantum optics and atomic physics.Comment: 30 pages, 10 figures. Book chapter for a new edition of Barone and Paterno's "Fundamentals and Physics and Applications of the Josephson Effect". Final versio

A Live-Attenuated HSV-2 ICP0− Virus Elicits 10 to 100 Times Greater Protection against Genital Herpes than a Glycoprotein D Subunit Vaccine

Glycoprotein D (gD-2) is the entry receptor of herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2), and is the immunogen in the pharmaceutical industry's lead HSV-2 vaccine candidate. Efforts to prevent genital herpes using gD-2 subunit vaccines have been ongoing for 20 years at a cost in excess of $100 million. To date, gD-2 vaccines have yielded equivocal protection in clinical trials. Therefore, using a small animal model, we sought to determine if a live-attenuated HSV-2 ICP0− virus would elicit better protection against genital herpes than a gD-2 subunit vaccine. Mice immunized with gD-2 and a potent adjuvant (alum+monophosphoryl lipid A) produced high titers of gD-2 antibody. While gD-2-immunized mice possessed significant resistance to HSV-2, only 3 of 45 gD-2-immunized mice survived an overwhelming challenge of the vagina or eyes with wild-type HSV-2 (MS strain). In contrast, 114 of 115 mice immunized with a live HSV-2 ICP0− virus, 0ΔNLS, survived the same HSV-2 MS challenges. Likewise, 0ΔNLS-immunized mice shed an average 125-fold less HSV-2 MS challenge virus per vagina relative to gD-2-immunized mice. In vivo imaging demonstrated that a luciferase-expressing HSV-2 challenge virus failed to establish a detectable infection in 0ΔNLS-immunized mice, whereas the same virus readily infected naïve and gD-2-immunized mice. Collectively, these results suggest that a HSV-2 vaccine might be more likely to prevent genital herpes if it contained a live-attenuated HSV-2 virus rather than a single HSV-2 protein

Meta-analysis of pharmacogenetic interactions in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis clinical trials

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether genetic subgroups in recent amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) trials responded to treatment with lithium carbonate, but that the treatment effect was lost in a large cohort of nonresponders. METHODS: Individual participant data were obtained from 3 randomized trials investigating the efficacy of lithium carbonate. We matched clinical data with data regarding the UNC13A and C9orf72 genotype. Our primary outcome was survival at 12 months. On an exploratory basis, we assessed whether the effect of lithium depended on the genotype. RESULTS: Clinical data were available for 518 of the 606 participants. Overall, treatment with lithium carbonate did not improve 12-month survival (hazard ratio [HR] 1.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.7-1.4; p = 0.96). Both the UNC13A and C9orf72 genotype were independent predictors of survival (HR 2.4, 95% CI 1.3-4.3; p = 0.006 and HR 2.5, 95% CI 1.1-5.2; p = 0.032, respectively). The effect of lithium was different for UNC13A carriers (p = 0.027), but not for C9orf72 carriers (p = 0.22). The 12-month survival probability for UNC13A carriers treated with lithium carbonate improved from 40.1% (95% CI 23.2-69.1) to 69.7% (95% CI 50.4-96.3). CONCLUSIONS: This study incorporated genetic data into past ALS trials to determine treatment effects in a genetic post hoc analysis. Our results suggest that we should reorient our strategies toward finding treatments for ALS, start focusing on genotype-targeted treatments, and standardize genotyping in order to optimize randomization and analysis for future clinical trials