C-Glycosides are critical, naturally occurring products and medicinal candidates, and extensive efforts have been made to explore efficient approaches for creating C-glycosidic bonds. Transition-metal-catalysis, particularly nickel-catalyzed C-glycosylation reactions constitute a promising strategy. However, achieving a stereoselective synthesis of α- and β-C-glycosides has been a long-standing challenge. To address this problem, a variety of nickel-mediated strategies have been developed. This review highlights recent developments in the nickel-catalyzed diastereoselective C-glycosylation reactions and briefly summarizes the mechanistic understandings of these methods.

Epilepsy is a recurrent neurological disease caused by hypersynchronous firing of neurons in the brain. Neuronal apoptosis, microgliosis, or astrogliosis in hippocampus are considered to be important features of temporal lobe epilepsy. As an important part of the ventral striatum, the nucleus accumbens is closely connected to the hippocampus. As the findings of the reviewed articles indicated, the nuleus accumbens is divided into the shell and the core. The nucleus accumbens shell is a relevant brain region to process reward-related and motivated behaviours, emotional process and social information. Nucleus accumbens shell has a good application effect in the field of drug addiction and mania. Our previous studies have shown that the nucleus accumbens shows abnormal excitation after seizures. In our previous experiments, the number of seizures decreased when this excitation was disrupted. However, the mechanisms of action of Nucleus accumbens shell lesions remain unclear. In this paper, we explored the hippocampal changes inhibited by nucleus accumbens lesions on the basis of the kainic acid animal model of epilepsy. We explored the anti-epileptic effect and mechanism of action of electrical lesions in nucleus accumbens, and found that the mechanism may be to reduce the toxic effects caused by the proliferation of astrocytes and microglia in the hippocampus. It can also inhibit the reduction of neurons and thus play a role in controlling seizures. These results suggest that the nucleus accumbens plays an important role in inhibiting seizures.

Over 645 million people worldwide have been infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Critical knowledge gaps regarding the characteristics, duration, and impact of symptoms due to “long COVID”. This study evaluated the persistence of symptoms at one year following hospitalization with COVID-19, comparing responses on standardized measurement tools to population norms. Adults hospitalized with COVID-19 March-October 2020 during the initial emergence period in Southeast Michigan were eligible. A detailed survey was conducted via telephone 9-15 months after hospital discharge. Questions assessed fatigue, dyspnea, and physical functioning related to their COVID-19 illness. The median World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS) polytomous score placed 50% (n=20/40) of participants in the 90 th percentile of disability based on population norms. The mean SF-36 physical functioning score was almost nine points below population norms (mean=70.6, standard deviation=27.4). Additionally, 47.5% of individuals (n=19) were severely emotionally affected by their health condition. Over half of participants surveyed were still impacted a year after initial infection, experiencing limited functional ability, fatigue, and emotional difficulties. Given the impact of these symptoms on day-to-day quality of life, further studies are needed to develop strategies for treatment and management of post-COVID conditions.

Li-ion batteries are widely used in electronic products, such as electric vehicles, mobile phones, computers. The electrolytes currently used in batteries are mostly organic liquids, which are less safe. In order to fundamentally improve the safety of batteries, the use of solid electrolytes instead of the once organic liquid electrolytes is gradually becoming a major trend. The ultimate goal is to improve the battery in terms of large capacity and extended service life and then push forward the normalization of all-solid-state Li-ion batteries in an all-around way. The current priority is to develop key battery materials and optimize battery performance. Starting from the key materials of all-solid-state Li-ion batteries, this paper reviews the various types of solid electrolytes, investigates the performance characteristics of positive and negative electrodes, the optimization methods of interfaces, and discusses the challenges ahead for further technology improvement.

Purpose: To explore the differences among erectile aids (i.e., phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors [PDE5i] and intracavernousal drugs) of the relative risk of priapism and identify age groups at risk. Methods: We queried the World Health Organization global database of individual case safety reports (VigiBase) for records of the ADR with sildenafil, tadalafil, avanafil, vardenafil, papaverine, and alprostadil. Disproportionality analyses (case/non-case approach) were performed to assess the relative risk of priapism reporting in PDE5i consumers compared to intracavernousal drug recipients. Results: From a total of 133,819 ADR events for erectogenic medications, 632 were priapism (PDE5is: n=550, 0.41%; intracavernousal drugs: n=82, 9.92%). We observed a strong signal for priapism induction for intracavernousal drugs than PDE5is (reporting odds ratio [ROR]=34.7; confidence interval [CI] 95%: 27.12 - 43.94 vs. ROR= 1.38; CI 95%: 1.24 - 1.54). For all PDE5i agents, the 12-17 years age group had the highest highest ROR (ROR=9.49, CI 95%: 3.76 - 19.93) followed by 2-11 years (ROR=4.31, CI 95%: 1.57 - 9.4). Disproportionality signals for consumers under eighteen for both all PDE5is as a whole (ROR=4.57, CI 95%: 2.48 - 7.73) and sildenafil (ROR=4.89, CI 95%: 2.51 - 8.62) were significantly stronger than individuals eighteen or older (ROR=1.06, CI 95%: 0.93 - 1.21 and ROR=1.08, CI 95%: 0.91 - 1.26, respectively). Conclusions: While the overall risk of priapism following the oral administration of PDE5is is extremely low compared with intracavernousal remedies, adolescents are at a higher risk of priapism than older men.

The intensification of warming-induced mass-mortalities in invertebrate populations is a critical phenomenon that affects many regions worldwide, including temperate ones. Mesophotic zones (from 30 to 150 meters depth) have been hypothesized to provide refuge from climate change to gorgonian populations, a promise for re-seeding damaged or destroyed shallow populations. Using a proteomic approach, we investigated the responses and acclimatization ability of the yellow gorgonian Eunicella cavolini along an environmental gradient following reciprocal transplantations between shallow (20m) and mesophotic (70m) zones. Our results suggested that yellow gorgonians from mesophotic waters exhibit a more plastic response when transplanted into shallow waters, compared to shallow gorgonians when placed at 70m. Colonies transplanted from mesophotic to shallow waters presented a down-regulation of immune response compared to colonies that stayed at 70m. Despite immunodepression, transplanted colonies displayed no signs of necrosis or apoptosis, underscoring the potential acclimation capacity of mesophotic populations. Under future climate change scenarios, Eunicella cavolini populations could thus exhibit physiological plasticity in the face of environmental stress, suggesting that no physiological barrier may limit natural colonization from mesophotic populations. This analysis provides new insights into the cellular and molecular responses of gorgonians to environmental changes.

Gut microbial communities confer protection against natural pathogens in important pollinators from the genera Bombus and Apis. In commercial species B. terrestris and B. impatiens, the microbiota increases their resistance to the common and virulent trypanosomatid parasite Crithidia bombi. However, the mechanisms by which gut microorganisms protect the host are still unknown. Here, we test two hypotheses: microbiota protect the host 1) through stimulation of its immune response or protection of the gut epithelium and 2) by competing for resources with the parasite inside the gut. To test them, we reduced the microbiota of workers and fed part of them with microbiota supplements. We exposed them to an infectious dose of C. bombi and characterised gene expression and gut microbiota composition. We examined the expression of three antimicrobial peptide (AMP) genes and Mucin-5AC, a gene with a putative role in gut epithelium protection, using qPCR. Although a protective effect against C. bombi was observed in bumblebees with supplemented microbiota, we did not observe an effect of the microbiota on gene expression that could explain alone the protective effect observed. On the other hand, we found an increased relative abundance of Lactobacillus bacteria within the gut of infected workers and a negative correlation of this genus with Gilliamella and Snodgrassella genera. Therefore, our results point to a displacement of bumblebee endosymbionts by C. bombi that might be caused by competition for space and nutrients between the parasite and the microbiota within the gut.

Dissolved organic matter and inorganic nutrients released from forest leaf litter through leaching are the important energy and nutrient sources that support the production of aquatic food webs. Litter leachate-derived dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is a critical energy source for aquatic heterotrophic microbes, and inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus can enhance primary production. In this study, we experimentally measured the release efficiencies and amounts of dissolved organic DOC, total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) and total dissolved phosphorus (TDP) of the leaf litter from 11 temperate tree species by soaking the leaf litter in water for 28 days. We found that the maximal release efficiency (% of element released per estimated mass of the element) was the highest for P and lowest for N. These efficiencies were species-specific. Additionally, the DOC:TDP and TDN:TDP ratios varied among the leachates of different leaf litter species and were considerably lower than the C:P and N:P ratios in leaf litter biomass; the DOC:TDN ratio was higher than the C:N ratio in leaf litter biomass. These results suggested that the ratios of organic carbon to nutrients dissolved into water cannot be fully elucidated using the elemental ratios of leaf litter mass. Based on these findings, we concluded that changes in the vegetations with different leaf litter stoichiometry can alter the relative importance of detrital and grazing food chains in aquatic ecosystems.

¾-power scaling between metabolic rate and body mass is regarded as near-universal across organisms. However, there are compelling reasons to question ¾-power scaling in woody plants, where metabolic rate≈leaf area. This leaf area must provide carbon to the metabolically active sapwood volume (V MASW). V MASW is necessarily a much smaller volume than total wood volume, meaning that scaling of total leaf area LA tot with V MASW should be >¾. Within populations of a species, variants in which V MASW increases per unit leaf area with height growth (e.g. ¾ scaling) would have proportionally less carbon for growth and reproduction as they grow taller. Therefore, selection should favor individuals in which, as they grow taller, leaf area scales isometrically with V MASW. Using tetrazolium staining, we measured total V MASW and total leaf area across 22 individuals of Ricinus communis and confirmed that leaf area scales isometrically with V MASW, and that V MASW is much smaller than total sapwood volume. . With the potential of the LA tot-V MASW relationship to shape factors as diverse as the crown area-stem diameter relationship, conduit diameter scaling, reproductive output, and drought-induced mortality, our work suggests that the notion that sapwood increases per unit leaf area with height growth requires revision.

Structure from Motion (SfM) is a proficient technique for 3D reconstruction from multiple views. However, its potentials could only be seen after the development of computer and digital photograph especially in the developing countries. Nowadays, SfM is applied in many applicative scenarios ranging from earth observation to heritage documentation. An important task in SfM that has been solved just recently in practice is bundle adjustment, which is accomplished through nonlinear least-squares optimization based on Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) algorithm. The aim of this paper is to present an experimental validation of the most popular open-source optimization frameworks, which implanted LM algorithm for solving bundle adjustment in SfM. For this purpose, the comparison among their performance is conducted by using bundle adjustment in the large benchmark.

The adverse effect of transient torque reversals (TTRs) on wind turbine gearboxes can be severe due to their magnitude and rapid occurrence compared to other equipment. The primary damage is caused to the bearings as the bearing loaded zone rapidly changes its direction. Other components are also affected by TTRs (such as gear tooth); however, its impact on bearings is the largest. While the occurrence and severity of TTRs are acknowledged in the industry, there is a lack of academic literature on their initiation, propagation and the associated risk of damage. Furthermore, in the wide range of operation modes of a wind turbine, it is not known which modes can lead to TTRs. Further, the interdependence of TTRs on environmental loading like the wind is also not reported. This paper aims to address these unknowns by expanding on the understanding of TTRs using a high fidelity numerical model of an indirect drive wind turbine with a doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG). To this end, a multibody model of the drivetrain is developed in SIMPACK. The model of the drivetrain is explicitly coupled to state-of-the-art wind turbine simulator Open-FAST, and a grid-connected DFIG developed in MATLAB ® 's Simulink ® allowing a coupled analysis of the electromechanical system. A metric termed slip risk duration is proposed in this paper to quantify the risk associated with the TTRs. The paper first investigates a wide range of IEC design load cases to uncover which load cases can lead to TTRs. It was found that emergency stop and symmetric grid voltage drops can lead to TTRs. Next, the dependence of the TTRs on inflow wind parameters is investigated using a sensitivity analysis. It was found that the instantaneous wind speed at the onset of the grid fault or emergency shutdown was the most influential factor in the slip risk duration. The investigation enables the designer to predict the occurrence of TTRs and quantify the associated risk of damage. The paper concludes with recommendations for utility-scale wind turbines and directions for future research.

Salmonella is a major pathogen worldwide causing acute foodborne outbreaks. Traditional identification methods, however, are time-consuming and faced complexity to detect contamination of bacteria in the food supply chain timely. We herein aimed to develop a method for rapid and robust detection of Salmonella Typhimurium in milk and chicken meat based on recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) integrated with agarose gel electrophoresis (AGE). Three primers pairs were designed which function both in RPA as well as in polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A total number of 254 S. Typhimurium field isolates from various sources of North Eastern Region (NER) of India were evaluated using both RPA and PCR for validating the assay. The results were consistent in RPA and PCR-based detection using crude DNA obtained by a simple boiling method without any purification step. The RPA-AGE showed versatility functioning at 350C to 410C, and at the temperature of 370C, it only took 5 min of amplification to reach the test threshold of amplicon. The established method had both a good specificity and a sensitivity of 10fg DNA per reaction of 15µL volume. It showed high sensitivity when artificially inoculated in fresh chicken samples even at 10-9 fold dilutions containing 1.95 X 101 to 1.95 X 104 cfu/mL. There was no cross-reactivity with the other four Salmonella serovars and seven bacterial pathogens tested. To our knowledge, this is the first report of reliable serovar specific detection of Salmonella Typhimurium by RPA using crude DNA extracted by a simple boiling method.

Objective: To explore the effects of antenatal anxiety on fetal growth, and to investigate the effect of anxiety timing and the potentially different effect of trait anxiety and state anxiety on fetal growth. Design: Observational cohort study. Setting: Barcelona, Spain. Population: A cohort of 204 women with singleton pregnancies attending the antenatal clinic of a tertiary care setting during the strict lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Methods: Psychosocial factors, maternal demographics, and obstetric outcomes were studied as potential predictors of low birth weight. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAIs, STAIt), the Edinburgh postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS) were used to assess symptoms of anxiety, symptoms of depression, and social support, respectively. Main Outcome Measures: Neonatal birth weight, head circumference and length. Results: There was a negative correlation between STAIt score (trait anxiety) and birth weight percentile (r=-0.228, p=0.047). In the univariate linear regression analysis, a lower maternal weight and BMI before pregnancy, parity, increased STAIt score and preterm birth below 37 weeks of gestation (p=0.008, p=0.015, p=0.028, p=0.047 and p=0.022, respectively) were identified as predictive risk factors for low birth weight. In the multivariate lineal regression analysis only a lower maternal weight before pregnancy and an increased STAIt score were independent predictors for low birth weight (p=0.020, p=0.049, respectively). Conclusions: Anxiety during pregnancy impacts birth weight, and specifically the trait anxiety, the one associated with the personality attributes, is a predictor for low birth weight.

Commentary

IntroductionMature cystic teratoma (MCT) of the ovary, as a synonym for the ovarian dermoid cyst, is a benign germ cell tumor. The words “teratoma” and “dermoid” were first described by Leblanc in 1831[1]. The incidence of MCT is 10–20 % of all ovarian tumors. It shows the highest incidence in reproductive age women (range 20 to 40 years) [2,3]. It is a slow growing tumor, and the estimated increasing rate is 1.8 cm per year [4]. Long term recurrence rate is less than 5 % after fertility sparing surgery making it a good option for reproductive age group [5].CaseA 17-year-old girl presented with a history of palpable lump in lower abdomen since two years, gradually increasing in size. Initially she consulted a local practitioner and was told to have an ovarian cyst and advised surgery. However, the patient did not take any treatment for two years. Two months ago, she had an episode of acute abdomen. Diagnostic work-up was done at a tertiary center: ascitic tapping was negative for tuberculosis and malignancy; PET scan was suggestive of ovarian malignancy. She underwent laparotomy but the pelvic mass could not be excised due to dense adhesions with bowel and the abdomen was closed and patient referred to our institute.On examination, she had a 15x15 cm abdomino-pelvic mass, firm to hard in consistency, non-tender, with irregular margins and restricted mobility. Serum tumour markers were as follows: alpha feto-protein-2.6 ng/mL (10-20 ng/mL), beta-hCG-1.2 mIU/ml (<5.0 mIU/ml), lactate dehydrogenase- 182 U/L (140-280 U/L), CA125-16.5 U/mL (<35.0 U/mL), carcinoembryonic antigen-12.2 ng/mL (<2.5 ng/mL), CA19.9- 35 U/mL (<37.0 U/mL). Ultrasonography showed a 10x10 cm hypoechoic lesion arising from the left ovary with internal hyperechoic septae and calcifications. On CECT, a 10x7x10 cm solid-cystic lesion which was FDG-avid on PET scan was seen arising from left ovary with multiple septae and calcifications.With a clinical diagnosis of immature teratoma, she was taken for a staging laparotomy. There was a 15x15 cm irregular cystic mass arising from the left ovary which was densely adherent to anterior abdominal wall, omentum and small bowel. There was no ascites, nor were there any peritoneal deposits. On cut section, the multilocular cyst was found to contain sebaceous material, hair and well-formed bowel-like structures (Fig. 1). Left salpingo-oophorectomy and omental biopsy were done and she made an uneventful recovery.Histopathology confirmed a left ovarian mature teratoma with derivatives from all three germinal layers including skin, bone, respiratory epithelium, intestinal epithelium, nerve bundles, skeletal muscle and glial tissue. Immature elements were absent (Fig. 2, A-F).DiscussionMCT contains components originating from three germ cell layers (ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm) with varying ratios of skin, neural, teeth, cartilage, respiratory and intestinal epithelium [3]. They include elements of ectodermal origin in 99–100%, mesodermal origin in 73–93%, and endodermal origin in 32–72% [6-8]. About 7–13 % of MCT cases include intestinal epithelium [7], however, there are only a few cases of ovarian MCT containing complete intestinal structures [9,10].Woodfield et al first reported almost complete development of the gastrointestinal tract in a benign cystic teratoma first containing esophagus to colon [11]. Subsequently only four cases of MCT containing well oriented complete intestinal structure have been reported in the literature and these are described in table 1. In most of them the tumor size was less than 10 cm which in our case was also 10 cm. CEA can be an important marker for predicting presence of intestinal epithelium and to be vigilant for malignant intestinal cancers which was also raised in our case [12,13]. Well differentiated mature neuronal component showed FDG activity misleading the diagnosis as also found in our case [14]. In view of low rate of long term recurrence, fertility sparing surgery was done in the current case as well.ConclusionOccurrence of formed bowel inside a mature cystic teratoma is very rare. Significance of this finding is that the colonic epithelium may be the origin of adenocarcinoma. In cases where the mature cystic teratoma is densely adherent to bowel and has been dissected out after adhesiolysis; the cut section of specimen showing bowel can be alarming to the surgeons.Author’s contributions: All authors contributed to the study conception and design.The first draft of the manuscript was written by SK and all authors reviewed and edited the previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscriptConsent for publication: Obtained from the patient’s fatherFunding: Not applicableAvailability of data and material: Not applicableConflicts of interest: There is no conflict of interests among the authorsKey Clinical MessageAbout 7–13 % cases of mature cystic teratoma contain intestinal epithelium but there are only a few reported cases containing complete intestinal structure. We discuss here the case of a 17 year old girl with the above finding and its management.Keywords: bowel, dermoid cyst, intestinal epithelium, mature teratoma, ovaryReferences1. Kim MJ, Kim NY, Lee DY, Yoon BK, Choi D. Clinical characteristics of ovarian teratoma: age-focused retrospective analysis of 580 cases. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2011;205(1):322. Alotaibi MO, Navarro OM. Imaging of ovarian teratomas in children: a 9-year review. Can Assoc Radiol J. 2010;61(1):23–8.3. Caspi B, Appelman Z, Rabinerson D, Zalel Y, Tulandi T, Shoham Z. The growth pattern of ovarian dermoid cysts: a prospective study in premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Fertil Steril. 1997;68(3):501–5.4. Chang CF, Lin CK. A case of recurrent, bilateral ovarian mature teratoma in a young woman. BMC Womens Health. 2014;14:57–60.5. Templeman CL, Fallat ME, Lam AM, Perlman SE Hertweck SP, O’Connor DM. Managing mature cystic teratomas of the ovary. Obstet Gynecol Surv. 2000;55(12):738–45.6. Marcial-Rojas RA, Medina R. Cystic teratomas of the ovary. A clinical and pathological analysis of two hundred sixty-eight tumors. Arch Pathol.  1958;66:577–5897. Caruso PA, Marsh MR, Minkowitz S, et al. An intense clinicopathologic study of 305 teratomas of the ovary. Cancer.  1971;27:343–348.8. Blackwell WJ, Dockerty MB, Masson JC, et al. Dermoid cysts of the ovary. Their clinical and pathologic significance. Am J Obstet Gynecol.  1946;51:151–172.9. Fujiwara K, Ginzan S, Silverberg SG. Mature cystic teratomas of the ovary with intestinal wall structures harboring intestinal type epithelial neoplasms. Gynecol Oncol. 1995;56:97–101.10. Tang P, Soukkary S, Kahn E. Mature cystic teratoma of the ovary associated with complete colonic wall and mucinous cystadenoma. Ann Clini Lab Sci. 2003;33(4):465–70.11. Woodfield B, Kate DA, Cantrell CJ, et al: A benign cystic teratoma with gastrointestinal tract development. Am J Clin Pathol  1985;83 :236–240.12. Takao M, Yoshino Y, Taguchi A, Uno M, Okada S, Kino N, et al. A case of mature cystic teratoma with intestinal structures harboring intestinal-type low-grade mucinous neoplasm. Int Canc Conf J. 2018; 7(2):59-6413. Makihara N, Ebina Y, Yamasaki Y, et al. Preoperative prediction of malignant transformation arising in a mature cystic teratoma of the ovary. J Minm Invasive Gynecol.  2014;30:112–116.14. Yokoyama T, Takehara K, Yamamoto Y, Okame S, Shiroyama Y, Yokoyama T, Nogawa T, Sugawara Y. The usefulness of 18F-FDG-PET/CT in discriminating benign from malignant ovarian teratomas. Int J Clin Oncol. 2015 Oct;20(5):960-6. doi: 10.1007/s10147-015-0800-0. Epub 2015 Feb 15. PMID: 25681878.15. Nelson, D.B., Hoffman, B.L., Lemeshev, Y. et al. Avoiding the bowel: a report of a mature cystic teratoma displaying fully developed intestinal tissue protruding from an ovarian tumor. Gynecol Surg 8, 223–225 (2011).Table 1: Case reports with intact intestinal segment associated with Mature cystic teratoma

Objectives: To examine the variation in patient’s health outcomes across different type, route, and strength of menopausal hormone therapy (HT). Design: Retrospective case-control study Setting: United States 2007-2020 Population: 10 million women aged 65 or more in US Medicare. Methods: Cox regression models with time-varying type, route, and strength of HT as well as patient characteristics. Main Outcome(s): all-cause mortality; 5 cancers- breast, lung, endometrial, colorectal, ovarian cancers; 6 CV conditions- ischemic heart diseases, heart failure, venous thromboembolism, stroke, atrial fibrillation, acute myocardial infarction; and dementia. Results Estrogen monotherapy (ET) exhibited a significant, 19% (HR=0.81; 95% CI 0.79-0.82), relative risk reduction on mortality. The reduction was greater with estradiol and vaginal/transdermal than conjugated estrogen and oral preparations. ET also exhibited significant risk reductions for all study cancers; breast (15%), lung (13%), endometrial (29%), colorectal (13%) and ovarian (14%). All ET preparations except low-dose slightly increased risk of ischemic heart diseases (1-4%). Both combination therapy and progestogen monotherapy exhibited significantly increased risk of breast cancer (7-14%). Oral ET exhibited moderately increased risk of stroke (6%) and dementia (2%). Conclusions: Among senior Medicare women, the effect of menopausal HT varies by type, route, and strength. The use of estradiol, vaginal/transdermal, and low/medium for menopausal care is safer than its counterparts.

Capital works projects, particularly the modification of coastal rivers, are becoming increasingly significant to economic activities worldwide as a response to climate-driven changes and urbanization. The benefits of channel modification projects can be realized quickly, but the altered movement of sediments in the river channel can lead to unintended morphologic changes decades later. An example of this is the closure of the San Bernard River mouth, located on the central coast of Texas, which was clogged by sediments in the 1990s as a result of two major projects in the area: the diversion of the Brazos River channel (1929) and the construction of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) (1940s). The objective of this study was to document the delayed geomorphic response to the projects using historical aerial imagery and provide a snapshot of flow pathways in the area using measurements collected in situ. Results showed that the GIWW was the main conduit for river flow as it bisects the San Bernard 2 km inland of its river mouth, reducing discharge in the terminal limb of the river. Due to reduced flow, the river mouth became clogged with wave-transported sediment supplied the Brazos River which had been diverted to within 6 km of the San Bernard. With no connection to the sea, altered sediment and flow pathways have led to numerous hazards and costly corrective dredging projects. To optimize the cost-effectiveness of channel modification projects their long-term impact must be considered as managers continue to adapt to ever-changing coastal zones.

Body condition is a frequently used physiological indicator of avian health and is affected by an array of environmental variables. Although a number of studies have investigated the specific effects of individual weather variables on body condition in birds, few have analyzed the effects of both temperature and precipitation within the context of an extreme weather event such as hurricanes. In this study we examined the relationship between breeding season body condition and daily maximum temperature, daily minimum temperature, and monthly total precipitation for three passerine bird species at the Welder Wildlife Refuge near Rockport, Texas. We also evaluated yearly changes in body condition over a twelve-year period for northern cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis), painted buntings (Passerina ciris), and white-eyed vireos (Vireo griseus), focusing on the extreme precipitation event of Hurricane Harvey which caused heavy localized flooding. We found that body condition declined with average daily minimum and maximum temperatures, while precipitation had varied, species-specific effects in the three species analyzed. Our results also suggest that northern cardinals experienced a notable reduction in average body condition in the two years following Hurricane Harvey. Taken together, we conclude that short-term precipitation and temperature drivers can be important correlates of body condition in songbirds and that severe weather events may reduce body condition in some bird species.

The ‘signal-to-noise paradox’ for seasonal forecasts of the winter NAO is often described as an ‘underconfident’ forecast and measured using the ratio-of-predictable components metric (RPC). However, comparison of RPC with other measures of forecast confidence, such as spread-error ratios, can give conflicting impressions, challenging this informal description. We show, using a linear statistical model, that the ‘paradox’ is equivalent to a situation where the reliability diagram of any percentile forecast has a slope exceeding 1. The relationship with spread-error ratios is shown to be far less direct. We furthermore compute reliability diagrams of winter NAO forecasts using seasonal hindcasts from the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts and the UK Meteorological Office. While these broadly exhibit slopes exceeding 1, there is evidence of asymmetry between upper and lower terciles, indicating a potential violation of linearity/Gaussianity. The limitations and benefits of reliability diagrams as a diagnostic tool are discussed.

Pore fluids are ubiquitous throughout the lithosphere and are commonly cited as the cause of slow-slip and complex modes of tectonic faulting. We investigate the role of fluids for slow-slip and the frictional stability transition and find that the mode of fault slip is mainly unaffected by pore pressures. We shear samples at effective normal stress (σ’n) of 20 MPa and pore pressures Pp from 1 to 4 MPa. The lab fault zones are 3 mm thick and composed of quartz powder with median grain size of 10 µm. Fault permeability evolves from 10-17 to 10-19 m2 over shear strains up to 26. Under these conditions, dilatancy strengthening is minimal. Slow slip may arise from dilatancy strengthening at higher fluid pressures but for the conditions of our experiments slip rate-dependent changes in the critical rate of frictional weakening are sufficient to explain slow-slip and the stability transition to dynamic rupture.

The differences in the functional diversity and species diversity of macroinvertebrates can be based to evaluate the changes in local environment. However, there are little available analysis on the effect mechanism of seasons on the functional characteristics of macroinvertebrate communities in the subtropical region. This work compared the functional feeding groups (FFG) of macroinvertebrates in wet season, normal season, and dry season of 2021 in Jingui River in Shenzhen. This work mainly was aimed to comprehend the connection between the environmental driving elements in the Jingui River and the seasonal distribution of the FFG of macroinvertebrates. The highest species diversity and abundance were found among the collector-gatherers (GC), while the largest biomass was observed among the predators. Overall, the functional diversity of the Jingui River exhibited a significantly seasonal change. In particular, the functional diversity decreased in wet season, implying a stronger disturbance. A multiple regression analysis revealed that the species diversity and stream environmental parameters might account for 12.8% - 72.9% of the functional diversity of macroinvertebrates.

Raptors are apex predators threatened globally by electrocution, collisions, and habitat fragmentation. Most species of raptors are understudied and largely unexplored. Top predators like raptors depend on the sustainability of the ecosystems in which they live and migrate. Knowing how endangered raptors are geographically dispersed, as well as the factors that may influence how they use their habitat, is critical for their protection. This research focuses on Kenya, where there are gaps in knowledge on appropriate habitats and raptor dispersal patterns. With several species of raptors endangered, it is crucial to determine their distribution patterns for management and conservation. To evaluate the size of the realized niches for five Kenyan raptor species at the risk of extinction, we applied species distribution models (SDMs) through an ensembling approach using occurrence data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and environmental covariates. These species were: Martial eagle, Secretarybird, Bateleur, Steppe Eagle, and Southern ground hornbill. The five raptors’ distribution within and outside protected areas and the role of key environmental predictors in predicting their distribution was estimated. Our findings indicate raptor distribution in several areas in Kenya that is predominantly in the south-western region, extending into the country’s central region. Martial eagle had the largest niche range amounting to ca.49,169 km2 while the Southern ground hornbill had the smallest niche range amounting to ca.4,145 km2. Secretarybird had the highest distribution outside protected areas at 77.57% followed by the Martial eagle at 76.89%. Significant predictors of raptor species distribution in Kenya were; precipitation during the warmest quarter, precipitation during the driest month, and precipitation during the coldest quarter. Key areas for raptor conservation listed here could serve as foundation for a number of additional Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in Kenya, according to the A1 Global IBA Criterion for species that are globally threatened.

The development of DNA-based methods in recent decades has opened the door to numerous new lines of research in the biological sciences. While their speed and accuracy are clearly beneficial, the sensitivity of these methods has the adverse effect of increased susceptibility to false positives resulting from contamination in field or lab. Here, we present findings from a metabarcoding study on the diet of and food availability for several insectivorous birds, in which multiple lepidopteran species not known to occur locally were discovered. After describing the pattern of occurrences of these non-local species in the samples, we discuss various potential origins of these sequences. First, we assess that the taxonomic assignments appear reliable, and local occurrences of many of the species can be plausibly ruled out. Then, we look into the possibilities of natural environmental contamination, judging it to be unlikely, albeit impossible to fully falsify. Finally, while the pattern of occurrences did not suggest lab contamination, we find overlap with material handled in the same lab, which was undoubtedly not coincidental. Even so, not all exact sequences were accounted for in these locally conducted studies, nor was it clear if these and other sequences could remain detectable years later. Although the full explanation for the observations of non-local species remains inconclusive, these findings highlight the importance of critical examination of metabarcoding results, and showcase how species-level taxonomic assignments utilizing comprehensive reference libraries may be a tool in detecting potential contamination events, and false positives in general.

IASPEI National Correspondent, INSA IUGG-IGU National Committee (e-mail: ajay@ngri.res.in)Summary