Impact of intravenous iron or exogenous erythropoietin on hemoglobin mass, exercise performance, and acute mountain sickness during altitude acclimatization.

Chronic exposure to high altitude leads to increases in hemoglobin mass (Hbmass), which may improve exercise performance and decrease acute mountain sickness (AMS) symptoms. We evaluated the influence of intravenous iron or erythropoietin (EPO) treatment on Hbmass, exercise performance, and AMS during a 14-day exposure to 3094 m. Thirty-nine participants (12F) completed the study conducted in Eugene, Oregon (sea level (SL), 130 m) and Leadville, Colorado (3094 m).

Endozoochory by Black Rhinoceroses Enhances Germination of a Key Arid Savanna Tree Species.

Megaherbivores are typically regarded as agents of top-down control, limiting woody encroachment through destructive foraging. Yet they also possess traits and engage in behaviours that facilitate plant success. For example, megaherbivores can act as effective endozoochorous seed dispersers.

Barriers to HIV/STI Services and Service Access Preferences Among Rural Sexual Minority Men and Native American Men in Oklahoma.

HIV and STI incidence are disproportionately elevated among sexual minority men (SMM) and Native American (NA) men in rural Oklahoma. The present study is a formative assessment of the Ending the HIV Epidemic in Rural Oklahoma (e-HERO) project, which is part of the Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) initiative. EHE has an overarching goal of reducing incidence rates of HIV and STIs in rural Oklahoma.

Metal profiling of Hass avocados: a cross-sectional study using ICP-MS and pXRF.

Objective: Metals in agricultural products can vary substantially based on numerous factors. This pilot study aimed to quantify metal concentrations in the mesocarp and exocarp of Hass avocados available to U.S.

Upcycling human excrement: the gut microbiome to soil microbiome axis.

Human excrement composting (HEC) is a sustainable strategy for human excrement (HE) management that recycles nutrients and mitigates health risks while reducing reliance on freshwater, fossil fuels, and fertilizers. A mixture of HE and bulking material was collected from 15 composting toilets and composted as 15 biological replicates in modified 19-liter buckets under mesophilic conditions with weekly sampling for one year. We hypothesized that (i) the microbiome of 1 year old compost would resemble that of a soil and/or food and landscape waste compost microbiome more closely than the original HE; and (ii) the human fecal indicators, and , would be undetectable after 52 weeks using qPCR and culturing.

Three-dimensional characterization of caves within the Grand Canyon's deep karst aquifer.

Understanding groundwater movement within karst aquifers remains challenging because flow-defining conduit and fracture networks are both complex and inaccessible. In Grand Canyon National Park, dye tracers have been used to establish flow paths for springs that support ecosystems and park operations. Unfortunately, these point-to-point studies are limited when attempting to extrapolate flow paths over thousands of square kilometers.

Effectiveness of a Mind-Body Intervention at Improving Mental Health and Performance Among Career Firefighters.

Almost one in three firefighters develop mental health disorders at some point during their careers, a rate double that in the general population. Frequent exposures to potentially traumatic situations can contribute to symptoms of these disorders, two of the most common being depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). While various psychological interventions have been implemented among this group, reports of their effectiveness include mixed results.

From farm to field: testing different biocrust cultivation approaches and application techniques in the Sonoran Desert.

Drylands are among the most degraded ecosystems globally and are difficult to restore due to limited water availability. Biocrusts are a key component of maintaining soil stability and function in these systems. Since biocrust salvage opportunities are limited, cultivating salvaged biocrusts is a promising method.

Self-reported head trauma among Native Americans who inject methamphetamine: a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant public health concern, with disparities in prevalence and care access among Native Americans. The syndemic relationship between substance use and TBI remains underexplored in Native Americans who inject methamphetamine, a population at high risk for both conditions. This study examines the association between self-reported TBI and substance use patterns in a sample of Native Americans who inject methamphetamine.

Dancing with the Dust Devil: Examining the Lung Mycobiome of Sonoran Desert Wild Mammals and the Effect of Presence.

Microbiome studies report a decrease in diversity associated with active infections. Under the endozoan hypothesis, can inhabit a host without causing disease. In this study, we describe and compare the lung mycobiome of -positive and -negative samples obtained from wildlife.

Diagnostic Testing Accuracy in a High-Prevalence Native American Population of Northern Arizona.

( is a common gastric pathogen and a leading cause of non-cardia gastric cancers. Known determinants can affect the diagnostic accuracy of invasive clinical methods for diagnosis. The objective of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of the CLOtest, a rapid urease test, and the histopathologic examination compared with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in esophagogastroduodenoscopy patients from a population with high prevalence and other risk factors that may influence diagnostic accuracy.

Daily association between perceived control and resolution of daily stressors strengthens across a decade of adulthood.

Greater perceived control is often associated with better responses to life's stressors. One reason for this link may be that greater perceived control is related to the ability to resolve these stressful experiences. Using longitudinal data from the National Study of Daily Experiences (N = 1766, Mage = 56.

Influence of Electrolyte Additives on Interfacial Stability of Manganese-Rich Lithium-Ion Battery Cathodes.

Affordable, long-lasting energy storage has become critical to support increased electricity demand in recent years. Cobalt-free, lithium- and manganese-rich lithium nickel manganese oxide (LMR-NM) cathodes stand to reduce cost and supply-chain concerns associated with traditional cobalt-containing cathodes for lithium-ion batteries by leveraging more earth-abundant materials; however, they have shown issues with long-term cycling stability. Here, we investigate lithium difluoro-(oxalate)-borate (LiDFOB), tris-(trimethylsilyl) phosphite (TMSPi), and vinylene carbonate (VC) electrolyte additives for their ability to improve cycling performance of LMR-NM (0.

Support of Underrepresented and Early-Stage Faculty at a Research Center for Minority Institutions: A Social Network Analysis of Research Productivity over a Five-Year Period.

This study describes how an innovative form of support strengthened diversity goals in an institution of higher learning. The Southwest Health Equity Research Collaborative (SHERC) at Northern Arizona University recently completed its first funding cycle supported by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. This study examines progress on two of SHERC's principal goals: support the expansion of health equity research produced by SHERC-affiliated faculty and advance early-stage investigators (ESI) and underrepresented (UR) faculty research productivity.

Building capacity for health research in higher education: Evaluating readiness for research and scholarship.

This case study examines key components of research readiness for Doctoral Universities with High Research Activity (R2) through the lens of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) program. While there are long-standing systems in place for ranking research institutions based on grant expenditures, there is a need to establish methods to evaluate institutions' readiness for externally funded competitive research. Drawing on literature across multiple disciplines and framed in alignment with the RCMI program goals, the authors developed a multidimensional instrument to examine research readiness centered on two primary domains (investigator and institutional readiness).

A new geodatabase of fuel treatments across federal lands in the USA.

Catastrophic wildfires threaten landscapes across the United States, and fuel treatments are key to mitigating this risk. Yet, information regarding when, where, and what types of treatments have occurred is scattered across multiple systems of record. Limited accessibility and utility of these data have impeded the coordinated tracking of treatment implementation and assessment of treatment effectiveness.

Age-Related Changes in Marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) Feeding Behavior and Physiology: Insights of Masticatory and Swallowing Functions.

The common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) is a valuable model for studying aging due to its physiological and social similarities to humans, including shared susceptibilities to age-related diseases. However, the effects of healthy aging on marmoset mastication and swallowing are poorly understood, despite their importance for modeling human aging and understanding marmoset ecology and longevity (efficient food processing impacts foraging success and predation risk). Given their specialized diet, dental adaptations, and relatively long lifespan compared with other biomedical models commonly used, like rodents, understanding how elderly marmosets maintain feeding efficiency is particularly important, yet lifespan research on their feeding physiology is scarce.

The contribution of other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) to protecting global biodiversity.

Nations recently agreed to set aside 30% of the planet by 2030 as conservation areas (the "30 × 30" goal) necessitating major expansions, not just of traditional protected areas like national parks, but also of 'other effective area-based conservation measures' (OECMs) - areas that provide de facto benefits to biodiversity despite conservation not being the primary management objective. But evidence for whether OECMs achieve positive biodiversity outcomes remains critically needed. Here we quantify how OECMs contribute to biodiversity conservation in the three high-biodiversity countries in which they have been extensively trialed.

Longitudinal prevalence and co-carriage of pathogens associated with nursing home acquired pneumonia in three long-term care facilities.

Nursing home acquired pneumonia (NHAP), and its subset - aspiration-associated pneumonia, is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among residents in long-term care facilities (LTCFs). Understanding colonization dynamics of respiratory pathogens in LTCF residents is essential for effective infection control. This study examines the longitudinal trends in prevalence, persistence, bacterial load, and co-colonization patterns of five respiratory pathogens in three LTCFs in Phoenix, Arizona.

A longitudinal investigation of the relation between parenting and youth's prosocial behavior toward other-gender peers.

There is little research on how parenting is related to youth's prosocial behavior toward outgroup members. We examined how parental warmth and gender socialization predict youth's altruistic and public prosocial behavior toward other-gender peers. A total of 358 youth (M = 13.

Assessing the Presence, Pattern, and Environmental Correlates of Seasonal Skin Thickening in Anurans.

Amphibians are the vertebrates most sensitive to environmental change, in part due to their relatively thin skin. As such, research seeks to better understand variation in amphibian skin traits. One source of variation that is poorly understood is seasonal variation in amphibian skin thickness that has been reported in two anurans and one caudatan.

Neighborhood Bonding and Bridging Social Capital, Social Activity Participation, and Short-term Cognitive Variability in Later Life.

Objectives: Investigating social determinants of health and related outcomes may help identify effective and sustainable intervention targets. This study examined whether contextual-level social capital (bonding and bridging capital) and individual-level social participation were associated with short-term cognitive variability, an early indicator of normal and pathological cognitive aging.

Methods: The sample consisted of urban community-dwelling older adults (N = 304, mean age = 77.