Behavioral Phenomena and Population Estimation of White-Tailed Deer Based on Camera Trap Data

When shaping management actions and conservation programs, it is essential to understand the population dynamics of a species. One species that sees extensive management and research effort is the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), as it is both ecologically and recreationally important in many places. Although there are a multitude of ways to study and estimate the population dynamics of white-tailed deer, one method in particular comes with significant advantages: camera trapping. For this study, nine camera traps were set up at deer scrapes across a private ranch in south Texas. After collecting images during the fall/winter rut of 2015, the cameras’ photos were amassed, and photographed bucks were identified based on unique antler formations. The photo data were then analyzed for a variety of purposes: (a) to determine whether bucks visit scrapes non- randomly; (b) to examine patterns in the ranges of dominant individuals; (c) to assess whether diversity indexes identify fundamental differences in the collections of bucks visiting scrapes. Finally, a novel population estimation technique was applied by adapting and applying the program EstimateS. There were a total of 129 bucks identified over the study region. I determined that bucks did indeed visit camera sites non-randomly and that they visited certain scrapes preferentially. This might have to do with the resources available in specific areas. Additionally, I observed that particular dominant individuals have home ranges that overlap, while others are much more solitary. This suggests that the sites themselves are differentially defensible, and that whether a location is dominated has to do with both the resources it offers and its ability to be monopolized. Results of the population estimation technique suggested that there were a number of bucks that remained undetected by the cameras. Future research could work to ascertain the accuracy of the population estimations made by EstimateS.Integrative Biolog

Emotional Exhaustion: Creation of a New Measure and Exploration of the Construct

Depression is an important mental health issue that affects many people each year. Understanding depression and its associated constructs is crucial to the prevention and treatment of this disorder. Until now, emotional exhaustion has been exclusively studied in the context of burnout and job satisfaction. The current study aims to bridge this gap in the literature by creating a new measure of emotional exhaustion that more broadly assesses the construct and relating it to other relevant measures. Emotional exhaustion has been shown to be related to depression in the context of burnout. The creation of the new measure of emotional exhaustion, the Emotional Exhaustion Questionnaire (EEQ), is described. The EEQ was administered to 200 adults through Amazon's MTurk service. The measure had excellent internal consistency and consisted of a single factor. Results supported the convergent validity of the EEQ as it was strongly and positively related to the traditional measure of emotional exhaustion used in burnout literature, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). The EEQ was also related in expected directions to a number of factors that have previously been associated with emotional exhaustion in the burnout literature including neuroticism, depression symptoms, effort-reward imbalance, and emotional dissonance. When added into a linear regression model predicting depression symptoms, the EEQ significantly improved upon a model including only the MBI, which suggests that the EEQ provides some incremental utility over the MBI. Exploratory analyses indicated that the EEQ was related to other relevant measures in expected ways including measures of suicidal ideation, distress tolerance, and non-suicidal self-injury. Overall, the EEQ is a brief, highly internally consistent measure of emotional exhaustion with good evidence for convergent validity. This provides good initial evidence to support future studies investigating the potential causal relationships between emotional exhaustion and psychopathology

Sources and characteristics of summertime organic aerosol in the Colorado Front Range: perspective from measurements and WRF-Chem modeling

Abstract. The evolution of organic aerosols (OAs) and their precursors in the boundary layer (BL) of the Colorado Front Range during the Front Range Air Pollution and Photochemistry Éxperiment (FRAPPÉ, July–August 2014) was analyzed by in situ measurements and chemical transport modeling. Measurements indicated significant production of secondary OA (SOA), with enhancement ratio of OA with respect to carbon monoxide (CO) reaching 0.085±0.003 µg m−3 ppbv−1. At background mixing ratios of CO, up to  ∼  1.8 µg m−3 background OA was observed, suggesting significant non-combustion contribution to OA in the Front Range. The mean concentration of OA in plumes with a high influence of oil and natural gas (O&G) emissions was  ∼  40 % higher than in urban-influenced plumes. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) confirmed a dominant contribution of secondary, oxygenated OA (OOA) in the boundary layer instead of fresh, hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA). Combinations of primary OA (POA) volatility assumptions, aging of semi-volatile species, and different emission estimates from the O&G sector were used in the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) simulation scenarios. The assumption of semi-volatile POA resulted in greater than a factor of 10 lower POA concentrations compared to PMF-resolved HOA. Including top-down modified O&G emissions resulted in substantially better agreements in modeled ethane, toluene, hydroxyl radical, and ozone compared to measurements in the high-O&G-influenced plumes. By including emissions from the O&G sector using the top-down approach, it was estimated that the O&G sector contributed to  <  5 % of total OA, but up to 38 % of anthropogenic SOA (aSOA) in the region. The best agreement between the measured and simulated median OA was achieved by limiting the extent of biogenic hydrocarbon aging and consequently biogenic SOA (bSOA) production. Despite a lower production of bSOA in this scenario, contribution of bSOA to total SOA remained high at 40–54 %. Future studies aiming at a better emissions characterization of POA and intermediate-volatility organic compounds (IVOCs) from the O&G sector are valuable

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Beneficial metabolic effects of CB1R anti-sense oligonucleotide treatment in diet-induced obese AKR/J mice.

An increasing amount of evidence supports pleiotropic metabolic roles of the cannibinoid-1 receptor (CB1R) in peripheral tissues such as adipose, liver, skeletal muscle and pancreas. To further understand the metabolic consequences of specific blockade of CB1R function in peripheral tissues, we performed a 10-week-study with an anti-sense oligonucleotide directed against the CB1R in diet-induced obese (DIO) AKR/J mice. DIO AKR/J mice were treated with CB1R ASO Isis-414930 (6.25, 12.5 and 25 mg/kg/week) or control ASO Isis-141923 (25 mg/kg/week) via intraperitoneal injection for 10 weeks. At the end of the treatment, CB1R mRNA from the 25 mg/kg/week CB1R ASO group in the epididymal fat and kidney was decreased by 81% and 63%, respectively. Body weight gain was decreased in a dose-dependent fashion, significantly different in the 25 mg/kg/week CB1R ASO group (46.1±1.0 g vs veh, 51.2±0.9 g, p<0.05). Body fat mass was reduced in parallel with attenuated body weight gain. CB1R ASO treatment led to decreased fed glucose level (at week 8, 25 mg/kg/week group, 145±4 mg/dL vs veh, 195±10 mg/dL, p<0.05). Moreover, CB1R ASO treatment dose-dependently improved glucose excursion during an oral glucose tolerance test, whereas control ASO exerted no effect. Liver steatosis was also decreased upon CB1R ASO treatment. At the end of the study, plasma insulin and leptin levels were significantly reduced by 25 mg/kg/week CB1R ASO treatment. SREBP1 mRNA expression was decreased in both epididymal fat and liver. G6PC and fatty acid translocase/CD36 mRNA levels were also reduced in the liver. In summary, CB1R ASO treatment in DIO AKR/J mice led to improved insulin sensitivity and glucose homeostasis. The beneficial effects of CB1R ASO treatment strongly support the notion that selective inhibition of the peripheral CB1R, without blockade of central CB1R, may serve as an effective approach for treating type II diabetes, obesity and the metabolic syndrome

A. Body weight during the treatment.

<p>B. Body weight change (% of the beginning body weight) during the treatment. One way ANOVA Dunnett’s multiple test compared to DIO Veh, *p<0.05.</p

Fat mass change before and after 10-week treatment.

<p>One way ANOVA Dunnett’s multiple test compared to DIO Veh, *p<0.05.</p