Waterbody connectivity: Linking science and policy for improved waterbody protection.

Connectivity-the flows and exchanges of organisms, materials, and energy within and among watersheds-is a central paradigm in ecosystem science. Changes in those connections have consequences for ecosystem functioning and water quality downstream and upstream. Therefore, connectivity is a cornerstone for federal water protection under the United States Clean Water Act (CWA).

Charting a course for freshwater biomonitoring: The grand challenges identified by the global scientific community.

The past 50 years have seen biomonitoring emerge as an essential means of generating the knowledge needed to inform protection and restoration of freshwater ecosystems. Despite the successes of biomonitoring, most freshwater ecosystems remain unmonitored. Moreover, degradation of freshwaters continues at a rapid rate with new threats and novel stressors emerging that are difficult to assess using existing techniques.

Identification of actin mutants with neurodegenerative disease-like phenotypes via mutagenesis of the actin-ATP interface.

Cofilin-actin rods are a well-documented stress response in neuronal cells and their persistence is frequently associated with neurodegenerative disease. However, the role of specific actin residues in promoting the formation of cofilin-actin rods and other anomalous cytoskeletal structures is largely unknown. As it is increasingly suspected that specific mutations and post-translation modifications of actin may promote neurodegenerative disease, characterizing the role of these residues in cytoskeletal dysregulation is highly relevant.

Drug-Fc conjugate CD388 targets influenza virus neuraminidase and is broadly protective in mice.

The ability of influenza virus to undergo rapid antigenic shift to elude humoral immunity highlights the need for effective broad-spectrum influenza antivirals for treatment, prophylaxis and pandemic preparedness. Strategies providing durable, universal influenza protection in healthy and high-risk populations are urgently needed. Here we describe the design and preclinical characterization of CD388, a first-in-class antiviral drug-Fc conjugate (DFC), in mice and cynomolgus macaques.

Striving for consistency in a national lake assessment: defining reference status and littoral macroinvertebrate condition in lakes across the conterminous United States.

Benthic macroinvertebrates are widely used for assessing lotic ecosystems, however, their use in assessing lake condition has been more limited-especially at large, continental extents. We used data collected during the U.S.

Biodiversity spatial distribution of benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages is influenced by anthropogenic disturbances at multiple spatial extents.

Understanding the patterns and mechanisms of biodiversity and its organization in space is essential for developing effective conservation strategies. Zeta diversity is an index of how taxa are shared by several sites, providing information on how ecological filters, including anthropogenic disturbances, influence biodiversity distribution. This study documents how anthropogenic disturbances at multiple spatial extents affect the spatial variation of benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages in lotic ecosystems.

The impacts of alien species on river bioassessment.

The extent of alien taxa impacts on river ecosystem health is unclear, but their frequency continues to rise. We investigated 1) the prevalence of including alien taxa in common bioindicators used in river bioassessment, 2) the effect of alien taxa on the richness and abundance of natives, and 3) whether including alien taxa in bioassessment tools increased their sensitivity to river degradation. In the 17 countries analyzed fish represented the greatest number of alien species (1726), followed by macrophytes (925), macroinvertebrates (556), and diatoms (7).

Acupuncture in the emergency department (ACUITY): Results from a BraveNet multi-center feasibility randomized controlled trial.

Background: Pain plays a significant role in emergency department (ED) visits, however safe and effective nonpharmacologic options are needed. Prior studies of acupuncture in the ED reported pain reduction with minimal side effects, but most were small and single site.

Methods: We conducted ACUITY, a prospectively designed multi-center feasibility RCT.

Habitat Diversity Mitigates the Impacts of Human Pressure on Stream Biodiversity.

Recent decades have witnessed substantial changes in freshwater biodiversity worldwide. Although research has shown that freshwater biodiversity can be shaped by changes in habitat diversity and human-induced pressure, the potentials for interaction between these drivers and freshwater biodiversity at large spatial extents remain unclear. To address these issues, we employed a spatially extensive multitrophic fish and insect database from 3323 stream sites across the United States, to investigate the ability of habitat diversity to modulate the effect of human pressure on the richness and abundance of fish and insects.

OptoProfilin: A Single Component Biosensor of Applied Cellular Stress.

The actin cytoskeleton is a biosensor of cellular stress and a potential prognosticator of human disease. In particular, aberrant cytoskeletal structures such as stress granules formed in response to energetic and oxidative stress are closely linked to ageing, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and viral infection. Whether these cytoskeletal phenomena can be harnessed for the development of biosensors for cytoskeletal dysfunction and, by extension, disease progression, remains an open question.

OptoProfilin: A Single Component Biosensor of Applied Cellular Stress.

The actin cytoskeleton is a biosensor of cellular stress and a potential prognosticator of human disease. In particular, aberrant cytoskeletal structures such as cofilin-actin rods and stress granules formed in response to energetic and oxidative stress are closely linked to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and ALS. Whether these cytoskeletal phenomena can be harnessed for the development of biosensors for cytoskeletal dysfunction and, by extension, neurodegenerative disease progression, remains an open question.

Omernik's Ecoregion Framework: a Legacy for Understanding Regional Patterns in Attainable Resource Quality.

An initial and comprehensive map of ecological regions across the conterminous United States was provided by Omernik in 1987. Because that paper was the most-cited published by the Annals of the American Association of Geographers, we sought to assess and quantify its contribution to science. To do so, we conducted a scientometric analysis to address the following main questions: 1) What are the temporal and spatial citation trends? We expected that Omernik's paper would still be employed 36 years after its publication, and mostly in the United States of America.

Patterns in and predictors of stream and river macroinvertebrate genera and fish species richness across the conterminous USA.

Both native and non-native taxa richness patterns are useful for evaluating areas of greatest conservation concern. To determine those patterns, we analyzed fish and macroinvertebrate taxa richness data obtained at 3475 sites collected by the USEPA's National Rivers and Streams Assessment. We also determined which natural and anthropogenic variables best explained patterns in regional richness.

Human land-uses homogenize stream assemblages and reduce animal biomass production.

Human land-use change is a major threat to natural ecosystems worldwide. Nonetheless, the effects of human land-uses on the structure of plant and animal assemblages and their functional characteristics need to be better understood. Furthermore, the pathways by which human land uses affect ecosystem functions, such as biomass production, still need to be clarified.

Hydrology and water quality shape macroinvertebrate patterns and facilitate non-native species dispersals in an inter-basin water transfer system.

Understanding biotic assemblage variations resulting from water diversions and other pressures is critical for aquatic ecosystem conservation, but hampered by limited research. Mechanisms driving macroinvertebrate assemblages were determined across five lakes along China's South-to-North Water Diversion Project, an over 900-km water transfer system connecting four river basins. We assessed macroinvertebrate patterns from 59 sites in relation to water quality, climatic, spatial, and hydrologic factors.

Design, Heterologous Expression, and Application of an Immobilized Protein Kinase.

Protein kinase A (PKA) is a biologically important enzyme for cell regulation, often referred to as the "central kinase". An immobilized PKA that retains substrate specificity and activity would be a useful tool for laboratory scientists, enabling targeted phosphorylation without interference from downstream kinase contamination or kinase autophosphorylation in sensitive assays. Moreover, it might also provide the benefits of robustness and reusability that are often associated with immobilized enzyme preparations.

Cytoskeletal dysregulation and neurodegenerative disease: Formation, monitoring, and inhibition of cofilin-actin rods.

The presence of atypical cytoskeletal dynamics, structures, and associated morphologies is a common theme uniting numerous diseases and developmental disorders. In particular, cytoskeletal dysregulation is a common cellular feature of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease. While the numerous activators and inhibitors of dysregulation present complexities for characterizing these elements as byproducts or initiators of the disease state, it is increasingly clear that a better understanding of these anomalies is critical for advancing the state of knowledge and plan of therapeutic attack.

Fish and macroinvertebrate assemblages reveal extensive degradation of the world's rivers.

Rivers suffer from multiple stressors acting simultaneously on their biota, but the consequences are poorly quantified at the global scale. We evaluated the biological condition of rivers globally, including the largest proportion of countries from the Global South published to date. We gathered macroinvertebrate- and fish-based assessments from 72,275 and 37,676 sites, respectively, from 64 study regions across six continents and 45 nations.

Habitat and river riparian assessment in the Hyrcanian Forest Ecoregion in Iran: providing basic information for the river management and rehabilitation.

The Hyrcanian Forest holds broad leaf forest remnants dating back to the early Cenozoic Era, which once covered a vast area of the North Temperate Zone. Today, many rivers within this region have been altered by human activities and urgently need rehabilitation. In this regard, 35 wadeable rivers including 14 reference and impacted sites were investigated to determine how different human pressures altered riverine landscapes and habitats.

Physical habitat in conterminous US streams and rivers, Part 1: Geoclimatic controls and anthropogenic alteration.

Anthropogenic alteration of physical habitat structure in streams and rivers is increasingly recognized as a major cause of impairment worldwide. As part of their assessment of the status and trends in the condition of rivers and streams in the U.S.

Physical habitat in conterminous US streams and Rivers, part 2: A quantitative assessment of habitat condition.

Rigorous assessments of the ecological condition of water resources and the effect of human activities on those waters require quantitative physical, chemical, and biological data. The U.S.