Development and Psychometric Properties of Self-Reported Job Interview Skills and Job Interview Anxiety for Autistic Transition-Age Youth.

BACKGROUND: The study of job interview training is an emerging area among transition-age autistic youth who face significant challenges when navigating job interviews. The autism field has limited measures that have undergone rigorous psychometric evaluation. OBJECTIVE: We sought to evaluate the psychometric properties of adapted self-report measures assessing job interview skills and job interview anxiety. METHODS: As part of two parent randomized controlled trials, eighty-five transition-age autistic youth completed measures related to the strength of their job interview skills and their level of job interview anxiety. We conducted classical test theory analyses, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, and Rasch model analytic and calibration analyses. Pearson correlations were used to establish concurrent, divergent, and criterion validity by correlating these scales with measures of social differences, depressive symptoms, behaviors, neuropsychological functioning, and work history. RESULTS: Our analyses yielded two brief and reliable scales: Measure of Job Interview Skills (MOJO-iSkills) and Measure of Job Interview Anxiety (MOJO-iAnxiety), which demonstrated initial concurrent, divergent, and criterion validities when correlated with measures of depressive symptoms, social differences, internalizing and externalizing behavior, and work history. CONCLUSIONS: This study presents initial evidence that MOJO-iSkills and MOJO-iAnxiety have acceptable psychometric properties supporting they can be used to reliably and validly assess job interview skills and interview anxiety.

"Not all groups come together, but this one just clicks": Ten Tips for Sustaining an Engagement Panel.

In 2017, ten veteran patients with the shared experience of living with chronic pain united to form a Veteran Engagement Panel (VEP) to support the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute® (PCORI®)funded Veterans Pain Care Organizational Improvement Comparative Effectiveness (VOICE) Study. The study, conducted at ten Veterans Affairs (VA) sites, compares two team-based approaches to improve pain management and reduce potential harms of opioid therapy. The panel shares ten best practices for sustaining a successful engagement partnership.

Privacy-preserving techniques of genomic data-a survey.

Genomic data hold salient information about the characteristics of a living organism. Throughout the past decade, pinnacle developments have given us more accurate and inexpensive methods to retrieve genome sequences of humans. However, with the advancement of genomic research, there is a growing privacy concern regarding the collection, storage and analysis of such sensitive human data. Recent results show that given some background information, it is possible for an adversary to reidentify an individual from a specific genomic data set. This can reveal the current association or future susceptibility of some diseases for that individual (and sometimes the kinship between individuals) resulting in a privacy violation. Regardless of these risks, our genomic data hold much importance in analyzing the well-being of us and the future generation. Thus, in this article, we discuss the different privacy and security-related problems revolving around human genomic data. In addition, we will explore some of the cardinal cryptographic concepts, which can bring efficacy in secure and private genomic data computation. This article will relate the gaps between these two research areas-Cryptography and Genomics.

Seagrass habitat metabolism increases short-term extremes and long-term offset of CO2 under future ocean acidification.

The role of rising atmospheric CO2 in modulating estuarine carbonate system dynamics remains poorly characterized, likely due to myriad processes driving the complex chemistry in these habitats. We reconstructed the full carbonate system of an estuarine seagrass habitat for a summer period of 2.5 months utilizing a combination of time-series observations and mechanistic modeling, and quantified the roles of aerobic metabolism, mixing, and gas exchange in the observed dynamics. The anthropogenic CO2 burden in the habitat was estimated for the years 1765-2100 to quantify changes in observed high-frequency carbonate chemistry dynamics. The addition of anthropogenic CO2 alters the thermodynamic buffer factors (e.g., the Revelle factor) of the carbonate system, decreasing the seagrass habitat's ability to buffer natural carbonate system fluctuations. As a result, the most harmful carbonate system indices for many estuarine organisms [minimum pHT, minimum Ωarag, and maximum pCO2(s.w.)] change up to 1.8×, 2.3×, and 1.5× more rapidly than the medians for each parameter, respectively. In this system, the relative benefits of the seagrass habitat in locally mitigating ocean acidification increase with the higher atmospheric CO2 levels predicted toward 2100. Presently, however, these mitigating effects are mixed due to intense diel cycling of CO2 driven by aerobic metabolism. This study provides estimates of how high-frequency pHT, Ωarag, and pCO2(s.w.) dynamics are altered by rising atmospheric CO2 in an estuarine habitat, and highlights nonlinear responses of coastal carbonate parameters to ocean acidification relevant for water quality management.

Peptidase inhibitor 16 identifies a human regulatory T-cell subset with reduced FOXP3 expression over the first year of recent onset type 1 diabetes.

CD4+ T-cell subsets play a major role in the host response to infection, and a healthy immune system requires a fine balance between reactivity and tolerance. This balance is in part maintained by regulatory T cells (Treg), which promote tolerance, and loss of immune tolerance contributes to autoimmunity. As the T cells which drive immunity are diverse, identifying and understanding how these subsets function requires specific biomarkers. From a human CD4 Tconv/Treg cell genome wide analysis we identified peptidase inhibitor 16 (PI16) as a CD4 subset biomarker and we now show detailed analysis of its distribution, phenotype and links to Treg function in type 1 diabetes. To determine the clinical relevance of Pi16 Treg, we analysed PI16+ Treg cells from type 1 diabetes patient samples. We observed that FOXP3 expression levels declined with disease progression, suggesting loss of functional fitness in these Treg cells in Type 1 diabetes, and in particular the rate of loss of FOXP3 expression was greatest in the PI16+ve Treg. We propose that PI16 has utility as a biomarker of functional human Treg subsets and may be useful for tracking loss of immune function in vivo. The ability to stratify at risk patients so that tailored interventions can be applied would open the door to personalised medicine for Type 1 diabetes.

Health in All Policies utilization by municipal governments: scoping review.

The aim of this scoping review was to examine the utilization of a Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach in municipal government settings. Specific objectives included: to review peer reviewed and grey literature, to identify common themes from the literature, and to highlight gaps in the evidence base for HiAP. An iterative scoping review method was used. Documents were identified through searches of academic databases, reference lists and journal indices, and the World Wide Web. Included documents focused on HiAP in the local or municipal government context, published in English, between 2006 and 2015. Data were extracted and analyzed using descriptive statistics and a narrative thematic method. As of June 2015, 26 documents met the inclusion criteria. A lack of research studies examining HiAP in the municipal government context was identified. Three broad themes were abstracted from analysis of the documents: the conceptualization of HiAP, the adoption of HiAP, and the implementation of HiAP. The focus on a HiAP approach at the municipal level of government is growing. A majority of the existing documents provide narrative evidence and recommendations for implementing a HiAP approach at the municipal level. Research is needed in the areas of conceptualization, implementation, adoption and evaluation of a HiAP approach in municipal settings.

Macrophyte Community Response to Nitrogen Loading and Thermal Stressors in Rapidly Flushed Mesocosm Systems.

A mesocosm system was developed to simulate estuarine conditions characteristic of short water-residence time ecosystems of the Pacific Coast of North America, and used to evaluate the response of multiple macrophyte metrics to gradients of NO3 loading and temperature. Replicated experiments found that few responses could be directly attributed to NO3 loading up to 6 x ambient. Some response metrics exhibited weak relationships with nutrient loading but could not be resolved with available statistical power. While direct nutrient responses were found for some species-specific metrics (e.g. green macroalgal growth and biomass, tissue N%, etc.), many patterns were confounded with temperature. Temperature generally had a larger effect on response metrics than did nutrient load. Experimental macrophyte communities exhibited community shifts consistent with the predicted effects of nutrient loading at 20 °C, but there was no evidence of other eutrophication symptoms (phytoplankton blooms or hypoxia) due to the short system-residence time. The Z. marina Nutrient Pollution Index (NPI) tracked the NO3 gradient at 10 °C, but exhibited no response at 20 °C, which may limit the utility of this metric in areas with marked thermal seasonality. Results suggest that teasing apart the influence of temperature and nutrients on the expression of eutrophication symptoms will require complex multi-stressor experiments and the use of indicators that are sensitive across a broad range of conditions.

A method to identify estuarine water quality exceedances associated with ocean conditions.

Wind-driven coastal upwelling along the Pacific Northwest Coast of the USA results in oceanic water that may be periodically entrained into adjacent estuaries and which possesses high nutrients and low dissolved oxygen (DO). Measurement of water quality indicators during these upwelling water entrainment events would represent extreme values for water quality thresholds derived from typical estuarine conditions. Tools are therefore needed to distinguish upwelled waters from other causes of exceedances of water quality thresholds within estuaries of the region. We present an example application of logistic regression models to predict the probability of exceedance of a water quality threshold, using DO data from the Yaquina estuary, Oregon, USA. Models including water temperature and salinity correctly classified exceedances of DO about 80 % of the time. Inclusion of in situ fluorescence in the logistic regression model for DO improved the model performance and reduced the rate of false positives.

Quantifying the combined impacts of anthropogenic CO2 emissions and watershed alteration on estuary acidification at biologically-relevant time scales: a case study from Tillamook Bay, OR, USA.

The impacts of ocean acidification (OA) on coastal water quality have been subject to intensive research in the past decade, but how emissions-driven OA combines with human modifications of coastal river inputs to affect estuarine acidification dynamics is less well understood. This study presents a methodology for quantifying the synergistic water quality impacts of OA and riverine acidification on biologically-relevant timescales through a case study from a small, temperate estuary influenced by coastal upwelling and watershed development. We characterized the dynamics and drivers of carbonate chemistry in Tillamook Bay, OR (USA), along with its coastal ocean and riverine end-members, through a series of synoptic samplings and continuous water quality monitoring from July 2017 to July 2018. Synoptic river sampling showed acidification and increased CO 2 content in areas with higher proportions of watershed anthropogenic land use. We propagated the impacts of 1). the observed riverine acidification, and 2). modeled OA changes to incoming coastal ocean waters across the full estuarine salinity spectrum and quantified changes in estuarine carbonate chemistry at a 15-minute temporal resolution. The largest magnitude of acidification (-1.4 pH ⊤ units) was found in oligo- and mesohaline portions of the estuary due to the poor buffering characteristics of these waters, and was primarily driven by acidified riverine inputs. Despite this, emissions-driven OA is responsible for over 94% of anthropogenic carbon loading to Tillamook Bay and the dominant driver of acidification across most of the estuary due to its large tidal prism and relatively small river discharges. This dominance of ocean-sourced anthropogenic carbon challenges the efficacy of local management actions to ameliorate estuarine acidification impacts. Despite the relatively large acidification effects experienced in Tillamook Bay (-0.16 to -0.23 p H ⊤ units) as compared with typical open ocean change (approximately -0.1 pH ⊤ units), observations of estuarine pH ⊤ would meet existing state standards for pH ⊤ . Our analytical framework addresses pressing needs for water quality assessment and coastal resilience strategies to differentiate the impacts of anthropogenic acidification from natural variability in dynamic estuarine systems.

Feedbacks Between Estuarine Metabolism and Anthropogenic CO2 Accelerate Local Rates of Ocean Acidification and Hasten Threshold Exceedances.

Attribution of the ocean acidification (OA) signal in estuarine carbonate system observations is necessary for quantifying the impacts of global anthropogenic CO 2 emissions on water quality, and informing managers of the efficacy of potential mitigation options. We present an analysis of observational data to characterize dynamics and drivers of seasonal carbonate system variability in two seagrass habitats of Puget Sound, WA, USA, and estimate how carbon accumulations due to anthropogenic CO 2 emissions C anth interact with these drivers of carbonate chemistry to determine seasonally resolved rates of acidification in these habitats. Three independent simulations of C anth accumulation from 1765 to 2100 were run using two previously published methods and one novel method for C anth estimation. Our results revealed persistent seasonal differences in the magnitude of carbonate system responses to anthropogenic CO 2 emissions caused by seasonal metabolic changes to the buffering capacity of estuarine waters. The seasonal variability of pH T and p CO 2 is increased (while that of Ω aragonite is decreased) and acidification rates are accelerated when compared with open-ocean estimates, highlighting how feedbacks between local metabolism and C anth can control the susceptibility of estuarine habitats to OA impacts. The changes in seasonal variability can shorten the timeline to exceedance of established physiological thresholds for endemic organisms and existing Washington State water quality criteria for pH. We highlight how C anth estimation uncertainties manifest in shallow coastal waters and limit our ability to predict impacts to coastal organisms and ecosystems from anthropogenic CO 2 emissions.

Metabolically active bacteria detected with click chemistry in low organic matter rainwater.

Rain contains encapsulated bacteria that can be transported over vast distances during relatively short periods of time. However, the ecological significance of bacteria in "precontact" rainwater-rainwater prior to contact with non-atmospheric surfaces-remains relatively undefined given the methodological challenges of studying low-abundance microbes in a natural assemblage. Here, we implement single-cell "click" chemistry in a novel application to detect the protein synthesis of bacteria in precontact rainwater samples as a measure of metabolic activity. Using epifluorescence microscopy, we find approximately 103-104 bacteria cells mL-1 with up to 7.2% of the observed cells actively synthesizing protein. Additionally, our measurement of less than 30 µM total organic carbon in the samples show that some rainwater bacteria can metabolize substrates in very low organic matter conditions, comparable to extremophiles in the deep ocean. Overall, our results raise new questions for the field of rainwater microbiology and may help inform efforts to develop quantitative microbial risk assessments for the appropriate use of harvested rainwater.

Content and sentiment surveillance (CSI): A critical component for modeling modern epidemics.

Comprehensive surveillance systems are the key to provide accurate data for effective modeling. Traditional symptom-based case surveillance has been joined with recent genomic, serologic, and environment surveillance to provide more integrated disease surveillance systems. A major gap in comprehensive disease surveillance is to accurately monitor potential population behavioral changes in real-time. Population-wide behaviors such as compliance with various interventions and vaccination acceptance significantly influence and drive the overall epidemic dynamics in the society. Original infoveillance utilizes online query data (e.g., Google and Wikipedia search of a specific content topic such as an epidemic) and later focuses on large volumes of online discourse data about the from social media platforms and further augments epidemic modeling. It mainly uses number of posts to approximate public awareness of the disease, and further compares with observed epidemic dynamics for better projection. The current COVID-19 pandemic shows that there is an urgency to further harness the rich, detailed content and sentiment information, which can provide more accurate and granular information on public awareness and perceptions toward multiple aspects of the disease, especially various interventions. In this perspective paper, we describe a novel conceptual analytical framework of content and sentiment infoveillance (CSI) and integration with epidemic modeling. This CSI framework includes data retrieval and pre-processing; information extraction via natural language processing to identify and quantify detailed time, location, content, and sentiment information; and integrating infoveillance with common epidemic modeling techniques of both mechanistic and data-driven methods. CSI complements and significantly enhances current epidemic models for more informed decision by integrating behavioral aspects from detailed, instantaneous infoveillance from massive social media data.

Psychometric properties of the mock interview rating scale for autistic transition-age youth.

Background: Employment is a major contributor to quality of life. However, autistic people are often unemployed and underemployed. One potential barrier to employment is the job interview. However, the availability of psychometrically-evaluated assessments of job interviewing skills is limited for autism services providers and researchers. Objective: We analyzed the psychometric properties of the Mock Interview Rating Scale that was adapted for research with autistic transition-age youth (A-MIRS; a comprehensive assessment of video-recorded job interview role-play scenarios using anchor-based ratings for 14 scripted job scenarios). Methods: Eighty-five transition-age youth with autism completed one of two randomized controlled trials to test the effectiveness of two interventions focused on job interview skills. All participants completed a single job interview role-play at pre-test that was scored by raters using the A-MIRS. We analyzed the structure of the A-MIRS using classical test theory, which involved conducting both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyzes, Rasch model analysis and calibration techniques. We then assessed internal consistency, inter-rater reliability, and test-retest reliability. Pearson correlations were used to assess the A-MIRS' construct, convergent, divergent, criterion, and predictive validities by comparing it to demographic, clinical, cognitive, work history measures, and employment outcomes. Results: Results revealed an 11-item unidimensional construct with strong internal consistency, inter-rater reliability, and test-retest reliability. Construct [pragmatic social skills (r = 0.61, p < 0.001), self-reported interview skills (r = 0.34, p = 0.001)], divergent [e.g., age (r = -0.13, p = 0.26), race (r = 0.02, p = 0.87)], and predictive validities [competitive employment (r = 0.31, p = 0.03)] received initial support via study correlations, while convergent [e.g., intrinsic motivation (r = 0.32, p = 0.007), job interview anxiety (r = -0.19, p = 0.08)] and criterion [e.g., prior employment (r = 0.22, p = 0.046), current employment (r = 0.21, p = 0.054)] validities were limited. Conclusion: The psychometric properties of the 11-item A-MIRS ranged from strong-to-acceptable, indicating it may have utility as a reliable and valid method for assessing the job interview skills of autistic transition-age youth.

Parallel recovery of chromatin accessibility and gene expression dynamics from frozen human regulatory T cells.

Epigenetic features such as DNA accessibility dictate transcriptional regulation in a cell type- and cell state- specific manner, and mapping this in health vs. disease in clinically relevant material is opening the door to new mechanistic insights and new targets for therapy. Assay for Transposase Accessible Chromatin Sequencing (ATAC-seq) allows chromatin accessibility profiling from low cell input, making it tractable on rare cell populations, such as regulatory T (Treg) cells. However, little is known about the compatibility of the assay with cryopreserved rare cell populations. Here we demonstrate the robustness of an ATAC-seq protocol comparing primary Treg cells recovered from fresh or cryopreserved PBMC samples, in the steady state and in response to stimulation. We extend this method to explore the feasibility of conducting simultaneous quantitation of chromatin accessibility and transcriptome from a single aliquot of 50,000 cryopreserved Treg cells. Profiling of chromatin accessibility and gene expression in parallel within the same pool of cells controls for cellular heterogeneity and is particularly beneficial when constrained by limited input material. Overall, we observed a high correlation of accessibility patterns and transcription factor dynamics between fresh and cryopreserved samples. Furthermore, highly similar transcriptomic profiles were obtained from whole cells and from the supernatants recovered from ATAC-seq reactions. We highlight the feasibility of applying these techniques to profile the epigenomic landscape of cells recovered from cryopreservation biorepositories.

Enhancing pre-employment transition services: A type 1 hybrid randomized controlled trial protocol for evaluating WorkChat: A Virtual Workday among autistic transition-age youth.

Autistic transition-age youth experience high rates of unemployment and underemployment, in part due to the social challenges they may face when having conversations in the workplace. In an effort to help enhance conversational abilities in the workplace, our collaborative team partnered to develop WorkChat: A Virtual Workday. Specifically, our team of scientists, community partners, and diversity and inclusion experts participated in a community-engaged process to develop WorkChat using iterative feedback from autistic transition-age youth and their teachers. With initial development complete, this study reports on the protocol that our collaborative team developed, reviewed, and approved to conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the real-world effectiveness and initial implementation process outcomes of WorkChat when integrated into post-secondary pre-employment transition services (Pre-ETS). Our aims are to: 1) evaluate whether services-as-usual in combination with WorkChat, compared to services-as-usual with an attention control, enhances social cognition and work-based social ability (between pre- and post-test); reduces anxiety about work-based social encounters (between pre- and post-test), and increases sustained employment by 9-month follow-up; 2) evaluate whether social cognitive ability and work-based social ability mediate the effect of WorkChat on sustained employment; and 3) conduct a multilevel, mixed-method process evaluation of WorkChat implementation.

Inhibition of activation induced CD154 on CD4+ CD25- cells: a valid surrogate for human Treg suppressor function.

Natural Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are defined by stable expression of the cell surface proteins CD4 and CD25, low surface expression of CD127 and expression of the transcription factor FOXP3. The contribution of Treg to the prevention of autoimmunity and the maintenance of immune homoestasis is the subject of ongoing interest, as alterations in Treg numbers and function are implicated in a wide range of diseases. The in vitro benchmark for determining Treg function is suppression of proliferation of unmatched effector T cells in a mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) over a 3-6-day time period. As an alternative to this assay, we show that a 7-h CD154 expression assay is rapid, simple and provides a reliable readout of suppressor function. Using multiple Treg-like cell types including natural (n)Treg, inducible (i)Treg and Treg cell lines, we show that suppression of CD154 expression is a surrogate for suppression of proliferation. We propose this as a suitable alternative to the MLR assay, as it is rapid and may be more amenable to high-throughput screening, analysing large cohorts of clinical samples or assaying transiently suppressive populations.

Genome-wide identification of human FOXP3 target genes in natural regulatory T cells.

The transcription factor FOXP3 is essential for the formation and function of regulatory T cells (Tregs), and Tregs are essential for maintaining immune homeostasis and tolerance. This is demonstrated by a lethal autoimmune defect in mice lacking Foxp3 and in immunodysregulation polyendocrinopathy enteropathy X-linked syndrome patients. However, little is known about the molecular basis of human FOXP3 function or the relationship between direct and indirect targets of FOXP3 in human Tregs. To investigate this, we have performed a comprehensive genome-wide analysis for human FOXP3 target genes from cord blood Tregs using chromatin immunoprecipitation array profiling and expression profiling. We have identified 5579 human FOXP3 target genes and derived a core Treg gene signature conserved across species using mouse chromatin immunoprecipitation data sets. A total of 739 of the 5579 FOXP3 target genes were differentially regulated in Tregs compared with Th cells, thus allowing the identification of a number of pathways and biological functions overrepresented in Tregs. We have identified gene families including cell surface molecules and microRNAs that are differentially expressed in FOXP3(+) Tregs. In particular, we have identified a novel role for peptidase inhibitor 16, which is expressed on the cell surface of >80% of resting human CD25(+)FOXP3(+) Tregs, suggesting that in conjunction with CD25 peptidase inhibitor 16 may be a surrogate surface marker for Tregs with potential clinical application.

Carbon limitation in response to nutrient loading in an eelgrass mesocosm: influence of water residence time.

Altered primary productivity associated with eutrophication impacts not only ecosystem structure but also the biogeochemical cycling of oxygen and carbon. We conducted laboratory experiments to empirically determine how residence time (1, 3, 10 d) influences eutrophication responses in a simplified Pacific Northwest Zostera marina-green macroalgal community. We expected long-residence time (RT) systems to exhibit eutrophication impairments. Instead, we observed an accumulation of nutrients at all RTs and a shift in the dissolved inorganic carbon speciation away from CO2 (aq) with unexpected consequences for eel grass plant condition, including shoot mortality. Most metrics responded more strongly to temperature treatments than to RT treatments. No dramatic shifts in the relative abundance of Z. marina and green macro algae were detected. Z. marina shoot density proliferated in cool temperatures (12°C) with a modest decline at 20°C. Eelgrass loss was associated with high total scale pH (pHT) and CO2 (aq) concentrations of <10 µmol kg-1 CO2 (aq), but not with high nutrients. Z. marina δ13C values support the hypo thesis that carbon availability was greater at short RT. Further, very low leaf sugar concentrations are consistent with extreme photosynthetic CO2 (aq) limitation. We suggest that the effects of extremely low environ mental car bon concentrations (CO2 (aq)) and increased respiration at warm temperatures (20°C) and other physiological processes can lead to internal carbon limitation and shoot mortality. Eutrophication responses to nutrient loading are more nuanced than just light limitation of eelgrass and require additional research on the interaction of the biogeochemical environment and plant physiology to better understand estuarine ecosystem disruption.

Management pathways for the successful reduction of nonpoint source nutrients in coastal ecosystems.

Eutrophication remains a threat to coastal habitats and water quality worldwide. The U.S. Clean Water Act resulted in reductions of nutrient loading from point sources but management of nonpoint sources (NPS) of nutrients remains challenging despite efforts over at least three decades. The hydrological factors, best management practices (BMPs) and regulatory mechanisms that target nutrient NPS and improve coastal ecosystem function are poorly understood. We identified three case study sites in the U.S. with sufficient NPS management and monitoring history to quantify changes in estuarine habitat and water quality following BMP implementation and regulation targeting nutrient NPS. Utilizing publicly available data, we compared sites that are geographically distant and hydrologically distinct. We found that BMPs targeting NPS loads from surface waters into Roberts Bay (Florida) and Newport Bay (California) significantly reduced nutrient concentrations and harmful algal blooms within ~20 years. Improvements occurred despite concurrent human population growth within both watersheds. Conversely, we found that the majority of BMPs implemented within the Peconic Estuary (New York) watershed targeted surface waters despite a dominance of nitrogen inputs (97%) from groundwater and atmospheric sources. Declines in habitat and water quality in Peconic Estuary may be due to a failure to control the dominant nutrient sources and the long residence time of nitrogen in groundwater. Compared to surface water, reducing groundwater and atmospheric nutrients face greater technical and financial challenges. Improvements to Peconic Estuary may occur with further reductions in surface water inputs and as nutrients leach out of the groundwater. Although the effectiveness of specific NPS BMPs has been examined at small spatial scales, our study is the first to quantify improvements at a watershed scale. We showed that successful NPS management pathways are those which targeted the dominant sources of nutrients to coastal ecosystems and applied multiple BMPs within watersheds.

Integrating High-Resolution Coastal Acidification Monitoring Data Across Seven United States Estuaries.

Beginning in 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) National Estuary Program (NEP) started a collaboration with partners in seven estuaries along the East Coast (Barnegat Bay; Casco Bay), West Coast (Santa Monica Bay; San Francisco Bay; Tillamook Bay), and the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Coast (Tampa Bay; Mission-Aransas Estuary) of the United States to expand the use of autonomous monitoring of partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) and pH. Analysis of high-frequency (hourly to sub-hourly) coastal acidification data including pCO2, pH, temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen (DO) indicate that the sensors effectively captured key parameter measurements under challenging environmental conditions, allowing for an initial characterization of daily to seasonal trends in carbonate chemistry across a range of estuarine settings. Multi-year monitoring showed that across all water bodies temperature and pCO2 covaried, suggesting that pCO2 variability was governed, in part, by seasonal temperature changes with average pCO2 being lower in cooler, winter months and higher in warmer, summer months. Furthermore, the timing of seasonal shifts towards increasing (or decreasing) pCO2 varied by location and appears to be related to regional climate conditions. Specifically, pCO2 increases began earlier in the year in warmer water, lower latitude water bodies in the GOM (Tampa Bay; Mission-Aransas Estuary) as compared with cooler water, higher latitude water bodies in the northeast (Barnegat Bay; Casco Bay), and upwelling-influenced West Coast water bodies (Tillamook Bay; Santa Monica Bay; San Francisco Bay). Results suggest that both thermal and non-thermal influences are important drivers of pCO2 in Tampa Bay oxygen, National Estuary Program and Mission-Aransas Estuary. Conversely, non-thermal processes, most notably the biogeochemical structure of coastal upwelling, appear to be largely responsible for the observed pCO2 values in West Coast water bodies. The co-occurrence of high salinity, high pCO2, low DO, and low temperature water in Santa Monica Bay and San Francisco Bay characterize the coastal upwelling paradigm that is also evident in Tillamook Bay when upwelling dominates freshwater runoff and local processes. These data demonstrate that high-quality carbonate chemistry observations can be recorded from estuarine environments using autonomous sensors originally designed for open-ocean settings.