What drives wild pig (Sus scrofa) movement in bottomland and upland forests?

BACKGROUND: The wild pig (Sus scrofa) is an exotic species that has been present in the southeastern United States for centuries yet continues to expand into new areas dominated by bottomland and upland forests, the latter of which are less commonly associated with wild pigs. Here, we aimed to investigate wild pig movement and space use attributes typically used to guide wild pig management among multiple spatiotemporal scales. Our investigation focused on a newly invaded landscape dominated by bottomland and upland forests. METHODS: We examined (1) core and total space use using an autocorrelated kernel density estimator; (2) resource selection patterns and hot spots of space use in relation to various landscape features using step-selection analysis; and (3) daily and hourly differences in movement patterns between non-hunting and hunting seasons using generalized additive mixed models. RESULTS: Estimates of total space use among wild pigs (n = 9) were smaller at calculated core (1.2 ± 0.3 km2) and 90% (5.2 ± 1.5 km2) isopleths than estimates reported in other landscapes in the southeastern United States, suggesting that wild pigs were able to meet foraging, cover, and thermoregulatory needs within smaller areas. Generally, wild pigs selected areas closer to herbaceous, woody wetlands, fields, and perennial streams, creating corridors of use along these features. However, selection strength varied among individuals, reinforcing the generalist, adaptive nature of wild pigs. Wild pigs also showed a tendency to increase movement from fall to winter, possibly paralleling increases in hard mast availability. During this time, there were also increases in anthropogenic pressures (e.g. hunting), causing movements to become less diurnal as pressure increased. CONCLUSIONS: Our work demonstrates that movement patterns by exotic generalists must be understood across individuals, the breadth of landscapes they can invade, and multiple spatiotemporal scales. This improved understanding will better inform management strategies focused on curbing emerging invasions in novel landscapes, while also protecting native natural resources.

Swelling as a stabilizing mechanism in irradiated thin films: III. Effect on critical angle in a composite model.

Ion-beam irradiation of an amorphizable material such as Si or Ge may lead to spontaneous pattern formation, rather than flat surfaces, for irradiation beyond some critical angle against the surface normal. It is observed experimentally that this critical angle varies according to many factors, including beam energy, ion species and target material. However, many theoretical analyses predict a critical angleθcof 45∘independent of energy, ion and target, disagreeing with experiment. Previous work on this topic has suggested that isotropic swelling due to ion-irradiation may act as a stabilization mechanism, potentially offering a theoretical explanation for the elevated value ofθcin Ge compared to Si for the same projectiles. In the present work, we consider a composite model of stress-free strain and isotropic swelling with a generalized treatment of stress modification along idealized ion tracks. We obtain a highly-general linear stability result with a careful treatment of arbitrary spatial variation functions for each of the stress-free strain-rate tensor, a source of deviatoric stress modification, and isotropic swelling, a source of isotropic stress. Comparison with experimental stress measurements suggests that the presence of angle-independent isotropic stress may not be a strong influence onθcfor the 250 eV Ar+→Si system. At the same time, plausible parameter values suggest that the swelling mechanism may, indeed, be important for irradiated Ge. As secondary results, we show the unexpected importance forθcof the relationship between free and amorphous-crystalline interfaces in the thin film model. We also show that under simple idealizations used elsewhere, spatial variation of stress may not contribute toθcselection. These findings prompt modeling refinements which will be the focus of future work.

COVID-19 Vaccine Perceptions Survey for Real-Time Vaccine Outreach in Marin County, California.

BACKGROUND: Understanding and addressing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine hesitancy is crucial to informing vaccination outreach strategies and achieving high vaccination coverage. Marin County, California, United States, has a history of vaccine hesitancy regarding childhood vaccinations required for school entry. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to describe and address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Marin County to inform outreach and messaging. Our objectives were to identify subgroups with high COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy early in distribution, better understand local concerns and feedback about the COVID-19 vaccine distribution process, and inform tailored vaccine messaging to increase vaccination confidence and coverage. METHODS: The survey, which was administered from January 3 to May 10, 2021, queried demographics, vaccine acceptance, reasons for hesitancy, and reasons for acceptance. Open-ended questions were used for respondents to report additional reasons for hesitancy and for general feedback about the vaccine distribution process. We conducted quantitative and qualitative analyses stratified by COVID-19 vaccine acceptance to identify subgroups with high hesitancy. Results were shared weekly in real-time with leadership and key community partners working on vaccine outreach. RESULTS: Among the 5,618 survey responses, there were differences in vaccine hesitancy by sociodemographic characteristics with the highest hesitancy reported among subgroups identifying as Black/African American and young adult, and within the lowest family income grouping. The most common reason for vaccine hesitancy was "uncertain about the side effects of the vaccine" (67.3% endorsement) and responses varied by race and ethnicity. Qualitative data revealed equity-related, vaccine distribution, and vaccine access themes that were not present in structured responses. Vaccine hesitancy survey results were paired with vaccination coverage and COVID-19 case data to inform tailored outreach strategies and priorities week-to-week. CONCLUSIONS: Marin County had some of the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the United States during the pandemic and met equity goals aimed at ensuring vulnerable populations received vaccinations. Presenting real-time survey findings with leadership and key community partners informed a timely and tailored COVID-19 vaccine outreach and delivery strategy.

Gene Expression Profiles in Cutaneous Oncology.

Skin cancer is highly curable under most circumstances; however, locally advanced or metastatic disease historically has poor outcomes and limited treatment options. Treatment has recently been advanced by the discovery of pertinent genes influencing pathogenesis and further revolutionized by the advent of specific gene expression profiles (GEPs). GEPs have been developed to help refine current diagnostic and prognostic strategies used in skin cancer with the goal to ultimately help guide management and treatment modalities to improve patient care. This article provides a high-level review of diagnostic and prognostic GEPs that have been developed specifically for squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma.

Principles for Ending Human Immunodeficiency Virus as an Epidemic in the United States: A Policy Paper of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the HIV Medical Association.

While we have the tools to achieve this goal, the persistent barriers to healthcare services experienced by too many individuals will need to be addressed to make significant progress and improve the health and quality of life of all people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The necessary structural changes require actions by federal, state, and local policymakers and range from ensuring universal access to healthcare services to optimizing care delivery to ensuring a robust and diverse infectious diseases and HIV workforce. In this article, we outlines 10 key principles for policy reforms that, if advanced, would make ending the HIV epidemic in the United States possible and could have much more far-reaching effects in improving the health of our nation.

A Unique Case of Squamous Cell Carcinoma Presenting Within a Lesion of Granuloma Annulare.

Granuloma annulare (GA) is a common benign granulomatous inflammatory disorder of the dermis or subcutis with classic morphologic and histologic presentation. Common clinical subtypes of granuloma annulare include localized, generalized, subcutaneous, perforating, and patch types. A biopsy is critical in cases of granuloma annulare with atypical features. We present a case of a 58-year-old male who presented with an annular scaly erythematous plaque on the right dorsal hand. Shave biopsy demonstrated irregular nests of mildly atypical squamous epithelium present within the superficial dermis, with abundant histiocytes and multinucleated giant cells arranged in palisades peripherally. These findings were consistent with invasive well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) with surrounding granuloma annulare. This case highlights a unique presentation in which clinicopathologic correlation is critical prior to arriving at a correct diagnosis.

Craniocervical Junction Visualization and Radiation Dose Consideration Utilizing Cone Beam Computed Tomography for Upper Cervical Chiropractic Clinical Application a Literature Review.

Objectives: To highlight the detail obtained on a Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) scan of the craniocervical junction and its usefulness to Chiropractors who specialize in the upper cervical spine. A review of the dose considerations to patients vs radiography in a chiropractic clinical setting and to review the effective radiation dose to the patient. Methods: A review of studies discussing cervical biomechanics, neurovascular structures, and abnormal radiographic findings, was discussed in relation to chiropractic clinical relevance. Further studies were evaluated demonstrating radiation dose to the patient from radiographs compared to CBCT. Results: Incidental and abnormal findings of the craniocervical junction were shown to have superior visualization with CBCT compared to radiography. The radiation dose to the patient for similar imaging protocols to the craniocervical junction and cervical spine was equal or less utilizing CBCT when compared to radiographs. Conclusions: The use of CBCT for visualization of the craniocervical junction and cervical spine in the chiropractic clinical setting allows for adjunctive visualization of the osseous structures which is germane to clinical protocol. Further with CBCT the effective dose to the patient is equal or less than similar imaging protocols utilizing radiographs to evaluate the craniocervical junction.

Swelling as a stabilizing mechanism in irradiated thin films: II. Effect of swelling rate.

It has long been observed experimentally that energetic ion-beam irradiation of semiconductor surfaces may lead to spontaneous nanopattern formation. For most ion/target/energy combinations, the patterns appear when the angle of incidence exceeds a critical angle, and the models commonly employed to understand this phenomenon exhibit the same behavioral transition. However, under certain conditions, patterns do not appear for any angle of incidence, suggesting an important mismatch between experiment and theory. Previous work by our group (Swenson and Norris 2018J. Phys.: Condens. Matter30304003) proposed a model incorporating radiation-induced swelling, which is known to occur experimentally, and found that in the analytically-tractable limit of small swelling rates, this effect is stabilizing at all angles of incidence, which may explain the observed suppression of ripples. However, at that time, it was not clear how the proposed model would scale with increased swelling rate. In the present work, we generalize that analysis to the case of arbitrary swelling rates. Using a numerical approach, we find that the stabilization effect persists for arbitrarily large swelling rates, and maintains a stability profile largely similar to that of the small swelling case. Our findings strongly support the inclusion of a swelling mechanism in models of pattern formation under ion beam irradiation, and suggest that the simpler small-swelling limit is an adequate approximation for the full mechanism. They also highlight the need for more-and more detailed-experimental measurements of material stresses during pattern formation.

Proteomic changes associated with predator-induced morphological defences in oysters.

Inducible prey defences occur when organisms undergo plastic changes in phenotype to reduce predation risk. When predation pressure varies persistently over space or time, such as when predator and prey co-occur over only part of their biogeographic ranges, prey populations can become locally adapted in their inducible defences. In California estuaries, native Olympia oyster (Ostrea lurida) populations have evolved disparate phenotypic responses to an invasive predator, the Atlantic oyster drill (Urosalpinx cinerea). In this study, oysters from an estuary with drills, and oysters from an estuary without drills, were reared for two generations in a laboratory common garden, and subsequently exposed to cues from Atlantic drills. Comparative proteomics was then used to investigate molecular mechanisms underlying conserved and divergent aspects of their inducible defences. Both populations developed smaller, thicker, and harder shells after drill exposure, and these changes in shell phenotype were associated with upregulation of calcium transport proteins that could influence biomineralization. Inducible defences evolve in part because defended phenotypes incur fitness costs when predation risk is low. Immune proteins were downregulated by both oyster populations after exposure to drills, implying a trade-off between biomineralization and immune function. Following drill exposure, oysters from the population that co-occurs with drills grew smaller shells than oysters inhabiting the estuary not yet invaded by the predator. Variation in the response to drills between populations was associated with isoform-specific protein expression. This trend suggests that a stronger inducible defence response evolved in oysters that co-occur with drills through modification of an existing mechanism.

Itaconate indirectly influences expansion of effector T cells following vaccination with Francisella tularensis live vaccine strain.

The metabolite itaconate plays a critical role in modulating inflammatory responses among macrophages infected with intracellular pathogens. However, the ability of itaconate to influence developing T cells responses is poorly understood. To determine if itaconate contributes to the quality of T cell mediated immunity against intracellular infection, we used Francisella tularensis as a model of vaccine induced immunity. Following vaccination with F. tularensis live vaccine strain, itaconate deficient mice (ACOD KO) had a prolonged primary infection but were more resistant to secondary infection with virulent F. tularensis relative to wild type controls. Improved resistance to secondary challenge was associated with both increased numbers and effector function of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in ACOD KO mice. However, additional data suggest that improved T cell responses was not T cell intrinsic. These data underscore the consequences of metabolic perturbations within antigen presenting cells on the development of vaccine-elicited immune responses.

Selective Ulnar Nerve Decompression, Capsular Branch Denervation, and Arthroscopic Debridement as a Unique Technique to Improve Quality of Life for Avascular Necrosis of the Distal Humerus and Radius in a Young Patient With ALL.

Avascular necrosis (AVN), one of the most common therapy-related and debilitating side effects of antileukemic treatment, can adversely affect a patient's long-term quality of life. Our case study presents a young woman with bilateral elbow AVN and hip AVN after acute lymphoblastic leukemia treatment, with a unique treatment strategy for her elbow pain. The treatment strategy included elbow joint denervation with arthroscopic debridement and distal humerus core decompression. The goal of this procedure was to improve symptomatic pain while retaining bone stock in the distal humerus hopefully allowing better function of the patient's elbow. This treatment may not only improve the quality of life in a young patient but also delay the need for future surgery. Our patient had improved pain relief in her elbow postsurgery. This procedure may be used for pain control and may have beneficial future implications in this limited population.

Male and Female Perceptions and Experiences of Sexual and Gender-based Violence in South Kivu, Eastern DRC.

Conflict settings are often the context of some of the highest rates of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Although women are disproportionately the victims of SGBV, they are not the only victims. Indirect impacts of SGBV also impact men, families, and communities. Examining SGBV as only a woman's concern reinforces the hegemonic gender-binary view that SGBV somehow does not include men, who can be direct victims of SGBV, family members of female victims of SGBV, and/or perpetrators of SGBV. This qualitative study seeks to fill a gap by exploring the impact of SGBV on individuals, families, and communities, and potential options to ameliorate those issues. Data were collected in 2019 from community-based discussions in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo. Women described being direct victims of SGBV, as well as the burden of being at constant alert to the possible threat of violence. Men talked more about SGBV being perpetrated against women, and the indirect effect on men's perception of their social husband and/or father role to protect and provide for their family. Taken together, women and men describe three types of violence: sexual violence by an unknown assailant who is often associated the rebel groups or the military; sexual violence from a known assailant within one's community; and sexual or physical violence within intimate partnerships (i.e., intimate partner violence). Women focused more on community-based solutions to reduce their exposure to violence, while men discussed the government's responsibility to end the long-standing conflict that has severely disrupted lives. Practically, these findings support the need to specify different types of SGBV, and the opportunity to tailor interventions by type.

Social Media Use Among Academic Hand Surgeons.

Purpose: Social media has become increasingly prevalent among the general population in the past decade. We examined the current prevalence of social media use among academic orthopedic-trained and plastic surgery-trained hand surgeons in the United States. Methods: All publicly available hand surgery faculty across the nation were analyzed for their public social media usage, including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and personal websites. Comparisons of social media usage between orthopedic-trained and plastic surgery-trained hand surgeons, male and female academic hand surgeons, hand surgeons from different regions of the United States (East, West, Midwest, and South), and years of experience were analyzed. Results: A total of 469 academic hand surgeons were included. Among academic hand surgeons in the United States, LinkedIn was the most common platform used (40.3%), followed by Facebook (15.78%), a personal website (13.86%), Twitter (12.37%), and Instagram (4.05%). Plastic surgery hand surgeons had more of a presence than orthopedic hand surgeons on Instagram (8.26% vs 2.59%, P < .01)) and Twitter (19.01% vs 10.06%, P < .01). Male hand surgeons were more likely than female hand surgeons to use LinkedIn (41.19% vs 34.85%, P = .04). Southern (18.89%) and Eastern (14.36%) surgeons used personal websites more than Western (6.52%) and Midwestern (4.60%) surgeons (P = .03). Conclusions: Despite the widely known use of social media among plastic and aesthetic surgeons, this study shows the use of web-based marketing strategies to be quite rare in the academic hand surgery setting. Clinical Relevance: Our study shows that throughout the United States, academic hand surgeons use social media at low rates. We suggest that academic plastic surgery and orthopedic hand surgeons throughout the United States consider having a larger social media presence to expand advertising, improve patient education, and enhance networking among their practices. Social media can be a valuable tool and will likely only increase in popularity in the coming years.