Climate-driven regime shifts in a mangrove-salt marsh ecotone over the past 250 years.

Climate change is driving the tropicalization of temperate ecosystems by shifting the range edges of numerous species poleward. Over the past few decades, mangroves have rapidly displaced salt marshes near multiple poleward mangrove range limits, including in northeast Florida. It is uncertain whether such mangrove expansions are due to anthropogenic climate change or natural climate variability. We combined historical accounts from books, personal journals, scientific articles, logbooks, photographs, and maps with climate data to show that the current ecotone between mangroves and salt marshes in northeast Florida has shifted between mangrove and salt marsh dominance at least 6 times between the late 1700s and 2017 due to decadal-scale fluctuations in the frequency and intensity of extreme cold events. Model projections of daily minimum temperature from 2000 through 2100 indicate an increase in annual minimum temperature by 0.5 °C/decade. Thus, although recent mangrove range expansion should indeed be placed into a broader historical context of an oscillating system, climate projections suggest that the recent trend may represent a more permanent regime shift due to the effects of climate change

Consumption of rodenticide baits by invertebrates as a potential route into the diet of insectivores

Non-target species are commonly exposed to anticoagulant rodenticides worldwide, which may pose a key threat to declining species. However, the main pathway of exposure is usually unknown, potentially hindering conservation efforts. This study aimed to examine whether baits mixed with the biomarker rhodamine B can be used to track invertebrate consumption of rodenticides in a field environment, using this to observe whether invertebrate prey are a potential vector for anticoagulant rodenticides in the diet of insectivores such as the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus). Rhodamine B baits were found to create an observable response. Uptake was negligible in captured insects; however, 20.7% of slugs and 18.4% of snails captured showed uptake of bait. Maximum temperature, distance from bait, proximity to buildings, and the addition of copper tape to bait boxes all influenced the rate of bait uptake in molluscs. Based on these data, it seems likely that molluscs could be a source of rodenticide poisoning in insectivores. This research demonstrates which prey may pose exposure risks to insectivores and likely environmental factors, knowledge of which can guide effective mitigation measures. We suggest that further investigation into using mollusc repellents around bait boxes should be considered

The association between social determinants of health and self-reported diabetic retinopathy: An exploratory analysis

One-third of Americans with diabetes will develop diabetic retinopathy (DR), the leading cause of blindness in working-age Americans. Social determinants of health (SDOHs) are conditions in a person’s environment that may impact health. The objective of this study was to determine whether there is an association between SDOHs and DR in patients with type II diabetes. This cross-section study used data from the 2018 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). This study included people with self-reported diabetes in the US in 2018 (n = 60,703). Exposure variables included homeownership, marital status, income, health care coverage, completed level of educa-tion, and urban vs. rural environment. The outcome variable was DR. Logistic regression analysis were applied to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Alaskan Native/Na-tive American (OR 2.11; 95% CI: 1.14–3.90), out of work (OR 2.82; 95% CI: 1.62–4.92), unable to work (OR 2.14; 95% CI: 1.57–2.91), did not graduate high school (OR 1.91; 95% CI: 1.30–2.79), only gradu-ated high school (OR 1.43; 95% CI 1.08–1.97), or only attended college or technical school without graduating (OR 1.42; 95% CI: 1.09–1.86) were SDOHs associated with DR in patients with diabetes. Health care providers should identify these possible SDOHs affecting their diabetic patients

Electronic band structure and carrier effective mass in calcium aluminates

First-principles electronic band structure investigations of five compounds of the CaO-Al2O3 family, 3CaO.Al2O3, 12CaO.7Al2O3, CaO.Al2O3, CaO.2Al2O3 and CaO.6Al2O3, as well as CaO and alpha-, theta- and kappa-Al2O3 are performed. We find that the conduction band in the complex oxides is formed from the oxygen antibonding p-states and, although the band gap in Al2O3 is almost twice larger than in CaO, the s-states of both cations. Such a hybrid nature of the conduction band leads to isotropic electron effective masses which are nearly the same for all compounds investigated. This insensitivity of the effective mass to variations in the composition and structure suggests that upon a proper degenerate doping, both amorphous and crystalline phases of the materials will possess mobile extra electrons

Binge drinking and perceived ethnic discrimination among Hispanics/Latinos: Results from the Hispanic community health study/study of Latinos sociocultural ancillary study

The study assessed whether overall perceived ethnic discrimination and four unique discrimination types were associated with binge drinking in participants from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) who also completed the HCHS/SOL Sociocultural Ancillary Study (n = 5,313). In unadjusted analyses that were weighted for sampling strategy and design, each unit increase in discrimination type was associated with a 12 - 63% increase in odds of binge drinking; however, after adjusting for important demographic variables including age, sex, heritage group, language, and duration of US residence, there was no longer an association between discrimination and binge drinking. Further research still needs to identify the salient factors that contribute to increased risk for binge drinking among Hispanics/Latinos

POLARIS: polygenic LD-adjusted risk score approach for set-based analysis of GWAS data

Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) are a method to summarise the additive trait variance captured by a set of SNPs, and can increase the power of set-based analyses by leveraging public GWAS datasets. PRS aims to assess the genetic liability to some phenotype on the basis of polygenic risk for the same or di�erent phenotype estimated from independent data. We propose the application of PRSs as a set-based method with an additional component of adjustment for linkage disequilibrium (LD), with potential extension of the PRS approach to analyse biologically meaningful SNP sets. We call this method POLARIS: POlygenic Ld-Adjusted RIsk Score. POLARIS identi�es the LD-structure of SNPs using spectral decomposition of the SNP correlation matrix and replaces the individuals' SNP allele counts with LD-adjusted dosages. Using a raw genotype dataset together with SNP e�ect sizes from a second independent dataset, POLARIS can be used for set-based analysis. MAGMA is an alternative set-based approach employing principal component analysis to account for LD between markers in a raw genotype dataset. We used simulations, both with simple constructed and real LD-structure, to compare the power of these methods. POLARIS shows more power than MAGMA applied to the raw genotype dataset only, but less or comparable power to combined analysis of both datasets. POLARIS has the advantages that it produces a risk score per person per set using all available SNPs, and aims to increase power by leveraging the e�ect sizes from the discovery set in a self-contained test of association in the test dataset

Salivary cortisol response to infant distress in pregnant women with depressive symptoms.

The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis has been proposed as a potential underlying biological mechanism linking prenatal depression with adverse offspring outcomes. However, it is unknown whether the reactivity of this system to stress is altered in pregnant women experiencing depression. The objective of this study was to investigate whether salivary cortisol response to a distressed infant film is enhanced in pregnant women with symptoms of depression compared with non-depressed controls. Salivary cortisol and subjective mood responses to the film were measured in 53 primiparous women, between 11 and 18 weeks gestation. Both groups showed similar increases in state anxiety in response to the film, but there was a significantly increased cortisol response in women experiencing symptoms of depression. Depression during pregnancy is associated with increased reactivity of the HPA axis. This is consistent with altered HPA axis functioning being a key mechanism by which prenatal mood disturbance can impact upon fetal development

Genome Sequence and Annotation of the B3 Mycobacteriophage Phayeta

Mycobacteriophage Phayeta was extracted from soil near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina using Mycobacterium smegmatis as a host. Annotation of the 68,700 base-pair circularly permuted genome identified 104 predicted protein-encoding genes, 34 of which have functional assignments. This article was published Open Access through the CCU Libraries Open Access Publishing Fund. The article was first published in Microbiology Resource Announcements: https://doi.org/10.1128/MRA.00915-2