Density-dependent network structuring within and across wild animal systems.

Theory predicts that high population density leads to more strongly connected spatial and social networks, but how local density drives individuals' positions within their networks is unclear. This gap reduces our ability to understand and predict density-dependent processes. Here we show that density drives greater network connectedness at the scale of individuals within wild animal populations.

A Review of Hypervolemic Hemodilution in Pediatric Neuroanesthesiology.

Hypervolemic hemodilution (HVH) is a blood-sparing technique increasingly used in pediatric neuroanesthesiology, particularly during high-risk procedures such as craniosynostosis repair. By expanding intravascular volume with crystalloids or colloids before surgery, HVH dilutes red blood cell concentration, thereby reducing their loss due to bleeding, while maintaining cerebral oxygenation and hemodynamic stability. This approach is especially valuable in pediatric patients, who are more susceptible to transfusion-related complications due to their limited blood volume and immature immune systems.

Surveys for Three Pathogens Reveal No Chytrid Detections But First Detection of Ranavirus in Southern Torrent Salamanders (Rhyacotriton variegatus) in Northern California, USA.

This study investigated the prevalence of widely researched amphibian pathogens within the Rhyacotritonidae, a salamander family endemic to the Pacific Northwest of the US. We tested skin swabs (n=309) from southern torrent salamanders (Rhyacotriton variegatus) in northern California, US, for the presence of three pathogens: Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, and ranavirus (frog virus 3-like). Using quantitative PCR assays, we detected ranavirus DNA in 16% of swabs but did not detect either Batrachochytrium spp.

Management considerations for establishing a coastal acidification monitoring system from U.S. Coastal Acidification Networks.

Ocean acidification (OA), caused by the uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide, is a concern for ocean resource users in coastal regions where the phenomenon is compounded by variable processes. Sustained OA monitoring systems are critical for characterization of baseline ocean conditions and identification of changes and impacts to coastal ecosystems and communities. Establishing an OA monitoring network is best accomplished through iterative planning, sustained funding, and comprehensive understanding of the coastal system.

Symbolic show of strength: a predictor of risk perception and belief in misinformation.

To some, measures to curb COVID-19 were reasonable and prudent; to others, they were unacceptable signs of losing a more symbolic battle. We propose that such symbolic thinking is key to how people perceive reality. We report three studies (total  = 5535 across eight countries, conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic) linking what we term Symbolic Show of Strength (SSS) in the context of COVID (SSS-COVID) with several important outcomes.

Understanding and Addressing Severe Maternal Morbidity Among Black Women in Texas: Findings From a System Dynamics Group Model Building Study.

Introduction: To understand the dynamically complex causes of severe maternal mortality (SMM) among Black women in Texas, this study sought to answer the following questions: (1) What are the most important factors and forces that shape these outcomes?; (2) How have those factors and forces changed over time, and what caused them to change?; (3) How are those factors and forces related to one another over time, perhaps in nonlinear or cyclical ways?; and (4) Where are the leverage points for introducing interventions?

Methods: Two participatory system dynamics group modeling building (SD GMB) sessions (2.5 total days) were held during March 2024 in Texas with 17 community-based stakeholders. Session activities elicited key variables, behavior-over-time graphs, causal loop diagrams, and targets for action.

Additional Complexity in Historic and Contemporary Gene Flow Among Hoary, Vancouver Island, and Olympic Marmots Revealed by Microsatellites and Ultraconserved Elements.

Alpine species are inordinately threatened by habitat loss and precipitation changes resulting from climate change. In North America's Pacific Northwest (PNW), three closely related alpine mammal species-hoary, Olympic, and Vancouver Island marmots-may face greater negative impacts of climate change relative to species found at lower elevations. Phylogenetic studies have found these three species form a monophyletic complex; however, discordant evolutionary histories between mitochondrial and nuclear genes suggest that gene flow may have occurred between these marmot species.

Optimized feature selection and advanced machine learning for stroke risk prediction in revascularized coronary artery disease patients.

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) remains a leading cause of global mortality, with stroke constituting a significant complication among patients undergoing coronary revascularization procedures, such as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Previous research has demonstrated the successful application of machine learning (ML) in predicting various postoperative outcomes, including poor prognosis following cardiac surgery and the risk of postoperative stroke. Despite these advancements, a critical gap persists in studies quantitatively linking the risk of postoperative stroke to revascularization using ML-based approaches.

Dynamics and Regulation of mRNA Cap Recognition by Human eIF4F.

Efficient eukaryotic messenger RNA translation requires dynamic collaboration between the three subunits of initiation factor 4F (eIF4F, eIF4E•G•A), which recognises and activates mRNA at its 5' cap structure for ribosome recruitment. Despite its high biological and pharmacological importance, the dynamics of full human eIF4F-mRNA engagement remain largely uncharacterised, hindering mechanistic understanding of translation initiation and its regulation. Here we observed human eIF4F activity with single-molecule fluorescence assays that directly visualise mRNA cap recognition by its eIF4E subunit.

Reevaluating the phylogenetic relationships of zosterophylls with a comprehensively sampled dataset and a combination of traditional and new alternative methods.

Background And Aims: The known diversity of zosterophylls, the dominant tracheophytes at the beginning of the Devonian, expanded significantly due to discoveries that intervened since the latest large phylogenetic treatment targeting the group, almost 30 years ago. Past phylogenetic treatments reached incomplete resolution or conflicting results on relationships among zosterophylls and between zosterophylls and lycopsids (which are traditionally thought to have evolved from among zosterophylls). This state of the knowledge emphasizes the need for reevaluation of zosterophyll relationships.

Polyfunctional T follicular helper cells drive checkpoint-inhibitor diabetes and are targeted by JAK inhibitor therapy.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have revolutionized cancer therapy, but their use is limited by the development of autoimmunity in healthy tissues as a side effect of treatment. Such immune-related adverse events (IrAE) contribute to hospitalizations, cancer treatment interruption, and even premature death. ICI-induced autoimmune diabetes mellitus (ICI-T1DM) is a life-threatening IrAE that presents with rapid pancreatic β-islet cell destruction leading to hyperglycemia and life-long insulin dependence.

Decoupling of temperature and growth of white spruce at western treeline, Alaska, is unrelated to intrinsic water stress.

Late 20th century warming has weakened the relationship between temperature and growth in northern forests. This loss of sensitivity to temperature, often attributed to drought stress in warmer regions of the boreal forest, has also been observed in cool, mesic environments, where warming-related growth declines are poorly understood. We used annually resolved ring-width and carbon stable isotope (δC) chronologies from white spruce forest and woodland stands in southwest Alaska to examine tree responses to climate during a recent warming period (1970-2011).

Examining how resistance training affects bone strength in older adults with rheumatic diseases: a systematic review.

Background: Rheumatic diseases significantly impact global healthcare through disability, lost productivity, and reduced quality of life, making them an important focus for researchers. As physiological changes associated with aging decrease bone mineral density, rheumatic diseases further elevate fracture risk in older adults. Resistance training has been shown to counteract age-related declines through increases in muscle, strength, and bone mineral density, demonstrating its potential for mitigating bone mineral density loss.

Unpacking social media's role in sociopolitical development amidst the dual pandemics: Perspectives of marginalized adolescent organizers.

"Dual pandemics" refers to the combination of COVID-19 and structural racism in U.S. society-two forces that intersect to exacerbate inequities for marginalized and underrepresented communities.

Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) use different, strain-dependent mechanisms to kill the parasite .

The unicellular parasite () causes trichomoniasis, the most common non-viral sexually transmitted infection in humans. Trichomoniasis symptoms and sequelae vary substantially, and analyses have shown that strains differ extensively in their ability to infect and lyse cells of the urogenital tract. Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) are known to kill , yet to date, no studies have examined strain differences in PMN killing of this extracellular pathogen.

Identifying misalignments in wildfire management: Opportunities for plan integration and stakeholder collaboration.

Wildfire management across different planning mechanisms remains a growing yet understudied policy challenge worldwide. California's Wildfire Resilience Plan Alignment Guide is meant to leverage collaboration among different local planning mechanisms to build wildfire resilient communities. Referring to this toolkit, we identified six themes of plan alignment opportunities among three primary local planning mechanisms: the General Plan, Hazard Mitigation Plan, and Community Wildfire Protection Plan.

Phytoplankton Exhibit Diverse Responses to Different Phases of Upwelling in the California Current System.

Eastern boundary upwelling currents are some of the most biologically productive and diverse regions in the world's oceans. Driven by equatorward winds and Ekman transport, surface waters are transported offshore and replaced by cold, nutrient-rich deep waters that seed extensive phytoplankton blooms. Studying phytoplankton community succession and physiological acclimation during the initial stages of upwelling is critical to building a comprehensive understanding of phytoplankton responses to upwelling in these important regions.

Revealing unseen dynamical regimes of ecosystems from population time-series data.

Many dynamical systems can exist in alternative regimes for which small changes in an environmental driver can cause sudden jumps between regimes. In ecology, predicting the regime of population fluctuations under unobserved levels of an environmental driver has remained an unsolved challenge with important implications for conservation and management. Here, we show that integrating time-series data and information on a putative driver into a Gaussian Process regression model for the system's dynamics allows us to predict dynamical regimes without the need to specify the equations of motion of the system.

On the origin of euphyllophyte roots - hypotheses from an Early Devonian Psilophyton.

Background And Aims: Rooting structures have been documented in different Early Devonian plants, including rhyniophytes and zosterophylls. However, the basal euphyllophytes - the plexus from which modern ferns, equisetophytes and seed plants evolved - are the only group with no known rooting structures in Early Devonian representatives. We revisit the early euphyllophyte Psilophyton crenulatum whose emergences have implications for rooting structure evolution within the clade.

Characterizing and distinguishing the earliest woody euphyllophytes based on secondary xylem anatomy: method development and application.

Background And Aims: The oldest vascular cambial growth (woody growth) has been recognized in several Early Devonian (ca. 410-395 Ma) euphyllophytes. Incomplete preservation of these fossils, in multiple cases, makes it difficult to evaluate their taxonomic diversity, in the absence of quantitative methods for distinguishing plants based on secondary xylem anatomy.

What explains personality change intervention effects?

Volitional personality change interventions have been shown to help people change their current personality toward their ideal personality. Here, we address three limitations of this literature. First, we contrast the dominant theoretical perspective of self-improvement with self-acceptance as pathways to reduce the discrepancy between current and ideal personality.

AI-driven solutions to improve safety and health: Application of the REDECA framework for agricultural tractor drivers.

Introduction: Despite tremendous efforts, including research, teaching, and extension, toward improving the safety of agricultural tractor drivers, the number of incidents related to agricultural tractor drivers has not declined. This evidence points out an urgent need to explore artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to improve the safety of tractor drivers.

Methods: This paper uses 171 Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) reports related to tractor drivers and a new framework called Risk Evolution, Detection, Evaluation, and Control of Accidents (REDECA) to identify existing AI solutions, such as machine learning models for predictive maintenance, sensor-based monitoring, computer vision, and automated safety interventions, and specific areas where AI solutions are missed and can be developed to reduce incidents and recovery time.

Expanded character sampling inspired by a new Cretaceous conifer seed cone from California: importance of morphology in resolving relationships among the Cupressaceae.

Background And Aims: Cupressaceae are unique as a conifer family for their exceptionally high morphological diversity, particularly as expressed in seed cones. Their fossil record parallels this pattern and has yielded morphologies not represented in the modern flora. Describing diversity over the entire geologic history of the family and utilizing these data in a phylogenetic framework provides opportunities to explore evolutionary relationships among fossil and extant members to understand patterns of morphological evolution in the family.

Familiar Music Reduces Mind Wandering and Boosts Behavioral Performance During Lexical Semantic Processing.

Music has been shown to increase arousal and attention and even facilitate processing during non-musical tasks, including those related to speech and language functions. Mind wandering has been studied in many sustained attention tasks. Here, we investigated the intersection of these two phenomena: the role of mind wandering while listening to familiar/unfamiliar musical excerpts, and its effects on concurrent linguistic processing.