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Decreasing government funding and increased corporate influence have combined to create transformation in higher education. Considering the shifting nature of higher education funding and the pressures that have come with this change, the purpose of this paper is threefold: First, an overview of the paradigm of higher education is provided, including a brief examination of how higher education in the US has evolved from the mid-20th Century to its current form. The point of this is to provide an explanation of how the corporate/entrepreneurial university has emerged. Within this discussion, ethical consequences of corporate funding are presented. Second, some approaches for exploiting external partnerships are discussed. Finally, innovative strategies for maintaining academic and professional ethics are proposed.

Between 1958 and 2018, multiple roadside surveys were conducted on the upper altitudinal limits of the alpine Maunaloa (now preferred Hawaiian language spelling of Mauna Loa) vascular flora from near tree line (2,525 m) to the NOAAMauna Loa Observatory (MLO) at 3,397 m. Five native plant species were encountered in 1958 on numerous sparsely vegetated historic and prehistoric basaltic lava flows. A resurvey of the roadside 50 years later (2008) yielded 22 species including nine new native species and eight aliens. The aliens were limited to a few individuals at sites disturbed by human activity. Here, floristic change along the transect was reassessed after 60 years (2018), recording a total of 30 species with 15 natives and 15 aliens. Floristic diversity and shifts in altitudinal limits are evaluated in relation to well documented and dramatic local climate change over recent decades, along with the competing influences of substrate-control and increasing human disturbance. The results indicate that lava substrate age and textural variation, along with human mediated propagule pressure, and associated disturbance exert greater impact than rapid climate change in explaining current patterns of plant distribution and diversity in this hyper-arid, alpine environment. This long-term monitoring effort of alpine lava flows has also informed and reinforced a more general moisture/substrate-control model for early primary succession extending to lower subalpine mountain elevations involving the two dominant lava flow textural classes: 'a'a and pahoehoe. Keywords: native/alien alpine plants, primary succession, species invasion, Maunaloa, Hawai'i, climate change, lava flow substrates, human impact, FOSBERG (1959) DOCUMENTED the 1958, upper altitudinal limits of alpine vascular plant species colonizing historic and prehistoric basaltic lava flows above tree line along a rough, 4W-drive road ascending the [...]

Infection with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus results in high mortality rates in chickens, gallinaceous birds, and some wild bird species (1). Potential for HPAI virus transmission and adaptation [...]

Emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2 are characterized and monitored closely by national genomic surveillance. In addition to sequencing efforts from US public health, academic, and commercial laboratories, the Centers for Disease [...]

The recovery and re-calibration of a dataset of vertical aerosol extinction profiles of the 1963/64 stratospheric aerosol layer measured by a searchlight at 32° N in New Mexico, US, is reported. The recovered dataset consists of 105 aerosol extinction profiles at 550 nm that cover the period from December 1963 to December 1964. It is a unique record of the portion of the aerosol cloud from the March 1963 Agung volcanic eruption that was transported into the Northern Hemisphere subtropics. The data-recovery methodology involved re-digitizing the 105 original aerosol extinction profiles from individual Figures within a research report, followed by the re-calibration. It involves inverting the original equation used to compute the aerosol extinction profile to retrieve the corresponding normalized detector response profile. The re-calibration of the original aerosol extinction profiles used Rayleigh extinction profiles calculated from local soundings. Rayleigh and aerosol slant transmission corrections are applied using the MODTRAN code in transmission mode. Also, a best-estimate aerosol phase function was calculated from observations and applied to the entire column. The tropospheric aerosol phase function from an AERONET station in the vicinity of the searchlight location was applied between 2.76 to 11.7 km. The stratospheric phase function, applied for a 12.2 to 35.2 km altitude range, is calculated from particle-size distributions measured by a high-altitude aircraft in the vicinity of the searchlight in early 1964. The original error estimate was updated considering unaccounted errors. Both the re-calibrated aerosol extinction profiles and the re-calibrated stratospheric aerosol optical depth magnitudes showed higher magnitudes than the original aerosol extinction profiles and the original stratospheric aerosol optical depth, respectively. However, the magnitudes of the re-calibrated variables show a reasonable agreement with other contemporary observations. The re-calibrated stratospheric aerosol optical depth demonstrated its consistency with the tropics-to-pole decreasing trend, associated with the major volcanic eruption stratospheric aerosol pattern when compared to the time-coincident stratospheric aerosol optical depth lidar observations at Lexington at 42° N. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The 2022–23 US influenza season peaked early in fall 2022. Methods: Late‐season influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) against outpatient, laboratory‐confirmed influenza was calculated among participants of the US Influenza VE Network using a test‐negative design. Results: Of 2561 participants enrolled from December 12, 2022 to April 30, 2023, 91 laboratory‐confirmed influenza cases primarily had A(H1N1)pdm09 (6B.1A.5a.2a.1) or A(H3N2) (3C.2a1b.2a.2b). Overall, VE was 30% (95% confidence interval −9%, 54%); low late‐season activity precluded estimation for most subgroups. Conclusions: 2022–23 late‐season outpatient influenza VE was not statistically significant. Genomic characterization may improve the identification of influenza viruses that circulate postinfluenza peak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patterns of within-host influenza A virus (IAV) diversity and evolution have been described in natural human infections, but these patterns remain poorly characterized in non-human hosts. Elucidating these dynamics is important to better understand IAV biology and the evolutionary processes that govern spillover into humans. Here, we sampled an IAV outbreak in pigs during a week-long county fair to characterize viral diversity and evolution in this important reservoir host. Nasal wipes were collected on a daily basis from all pigs present at the fair, yielding up to 421 samples per day. Subtyping of PCR-positive samples revealed the co-circulation of H1N1 and H3N2 subtype swine IAVs. PCR-positive samples with robust Ct values were deep-sequenced, yielding 506 sequenced samples from a total of 253 pigs. Based on higher-depth re-sequenced data from a subset of these initially sequenced samples (260 samples from 168 pigs), we characterized patterns of within-host IAV genetic diversity and evolution. We find that IAV genetic diversity in single-subtype infected pigs is low, with the majority of intrahost Single Nucleotide Variants (iSNVs) present at frequencies of <10%. The ratio of the number of nonsynonymous to the number of synonymous iSNVs is significantly lower than under the neutral expectation, indicating that purifying selection shapes patterns of within-host viral diversity in swine. The dynamic turnover of iSNVs and their pronounced frequency changes further indicate that genetic drift also plays an important role in shaping IAV populations within pigs. Taken together, our results highlight similarities in patterns of IAV genetic diversity and evolution between humans and swine, including the role of stochastic processes in shaping within-host IAV dynamics. Author summary: Transmission of influenza A viruses among swine occurs commonly at agricultural fairs, where animals from geographically disparate locations come together for a week-long public event. Through dense sampling of one such outbreak, following by viral genome sequencing within positive samples, we evaluated viral evolution within infected pigs. We characterized patterns of viral genetic diversity and investigated the dynamics of variants to understand the forces driving evolutionary change. Our data indicate that influenza virus populations infecting farmed swine have limited genetic diversity and are largely shaped by purifying selection and genetic drift. These observations are similar to those described previously for influenza virus populations within human hosts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In 2019, the Louisiana Department of Health reported an early influenza B/Victoria (B/VIC) virus outbreak. Method: As it was an atypically large outbreak, we deployed to Louisiana to investigate it using genomics and a triplex real‐time RT‐PCR assay to detect three antigenically distinct B/VIC lineage variant viruses. Results: The investigation indicated that B/VIC V1A.3 subclade, containing a three amino acid deletion in the hemagglutinin and known to be antigenically distinct to the B/Colorado/06/2017 vaccine virus, was the most prevalent circulating virus within the specimens evaluated (86/88 in real‐time RT‐PCR). Conclusion: This work underscores the value of portable platforms for rapid, onsite pathogen characterization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have created an up-to-date catalogue of 214 brown dwarfs (BDs) in binaries with P < 104 d. This allows us to examine the population statistics of the BD desert. We searched Gaia third data release (DR3) non-single star (NSS) results for orbital inclinations of BD candidates, deriving 12 new masses. Three remain as desert BDs whereas nine candidates are found to be low-mass stars. We improved the radial velocity (RV) solutions for three previously studied BD candidates. A further 19 BD masses with periods less than ∼1200 d were identified in the DR3 binary_masses data base. We confirm a valley in the mass distribution with a minimum around 30–35 Mjup, and find that periods <100 d are still underpopulated in comparison with longer periods. The updated mass and eccentricity distribution of BDs still shows a marginally statistically significant split into high- and low-mass BD populations. This hints at two different parent distributions, and two potential origins – either akin to planetary formation, or stellar. There are no low-eccentricity BDs at periods around 100 d. The mass–metallicity distribution of BDs indicates that core accretion is not the dominant formation mechanism for BDs as they do not follow the same trends that giant exoplanets do with metallicity. We identify a diagonal envelope bounding the Gaia BDs in the mass–period plane due to the detection thresholds of the currently available NSS solutions from 34 months of data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2004, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Influenza Division (ID) has supported seven countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region and the World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean to establish and strengthen influenza surveillance. The substantial growth of influenza surveillance capacities in the region demonstrates a commitment by governments to strengthen national programs and contribute to global surveillance. The full value of surveillance data is in its use to guide local public health decisions. CDC ID remains committed to supporting the region and supporting partners to translate surveillance data into policies and programs effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present additional HARPS radial velocity observations of the highly eccentric (e ∼ 0.6) binary system DMPP-3AB, which comprises a K0V primary and a low-mass companion at the hydrogen burning limit. The binary has a 507 d orbital period and a 1.2 au semimajor axis. The primary component harbours a known 2.2 M⊕ planet, DMPP-3A b, with a 6.67-d orbit. New HARPS measurements constrain periastron passage for the binary orbit and add further integrity to previously derived solutions for both companion and planet orbits. Gaia astrometry independently confirms the binary orbit and establishes the inclination of the binary is 63.89 ± 0.78°. We performed dynamical simulations that establish that the previously identified ∼800 d RV signal cannot be attributed to an orbiting body. The additional observations, a deviation from strict periodicity, and our new analyses of activity indicators suggest the ∼800 d signal is caused by stellar activity. We conclude that there may be long-period planet 'detections' in other systems, which are similar misinterpreted stellar activity artefacts. Without the unusual eccentric binary companion to the planet-hosting star, we could have accepted the ∼800 d signal as a probable planet. Further monitoring of DMPP-3 will reveal which signatures can be used to most efficiently identify these imposters. We also report a threshold detection (0.2 per cent FAP) of a ∼2.26 d periodicity in the RVs, potentially attributed to an Earth-mass S-type planet interior to DMPP-3A b. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aerosols, the tiny suspended particles in the atmosphere, are a widely studied topic around the world due to their effects on the Earth's radiation budget, climate change, and human health. Knowledge of the spatial and temporal distribution of aerosols is essential to assess air pollution and predict potential climate change. This study measured aerosol optical depth (AOD) and altitude-dependent aerosol extinctions in Nassau, The Bahamas simultaneously using a camera-based imaging lidar (CLidar). The bistatic geometry of the setup which consisted of a wide-angle lens fitted to a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera, allowed for the measurement of extinctions at all altitudes at once without requiring expensive timing electronics common to lidars. A case study was conducted on November 5, 2018. The top of the boundary layer beyond which aerosol extinction was nearly zero was detected at ~ three km above sea level. Due to the excellent resolution of the CLidar at lower altitudes, variations of aerosol concentrations within the boundary layer are efficiently detected. Optical depth was measured using the same CLidar camera at the same time, utilising star photometry, and was found to be 0.043 ± 0.040. The value falls within the range of assumed values of AOD near the regions obtained from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Aqua satellite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a readout scheme for CMOS image sensors that can be used to achieve arbitrarily high dynamic range (HDR) in principle. The linear full well capacity (LFWC) in high signal regions was extended 50 times from 20 to 984 ke $^{-}$ via an interlaced row-wise readout order, while the noise floor remained unchanged in low signal regions, resulting in a 34-dB increase in DR. The peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) is increased in a continuous fashion from 43 to 60 dB. This was achieved by summing user-selected rows that were read out multiple times. Centroiding uncertainties were lowered when template-fitting a projected pattern, compared to the standard readout scheme. Example applications are aimed at scientific imaging due to the linearity and PSNR increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the recovery and re-calibration of an extensive dataset of vertical profile measurements of the 1963/64 stratospheric aerosol layer measured from a two-site searchlight measurement facility at White Sands missile base and Sacramento Peak observatory, in New Mexico, US. The recovered dataset comprises 105 profiles of 550nm aerosol extinction (βp(z)) and is part of a longer program of measurements with the US Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories (AFCRL) searchlight facility that began in February 1963. The recovered series of βp(z) profiles span the 13-month period December 1963 to December 1964 and provide a unique record of the altitude and vertical extent of the Northern Hemisphere dispersed portion of the aerosol cloud from the March 1963 Agung volcanic eruption. The data recovery methodology involved first re-digitizing the 105 original βp(z) profiles (βp(z)) from individual Figures within an AFCRL research report (Elterman, 1966a). The re-calibration involves inverting the original equation used to compute βp(z) in Elterman (1966a; 1966b) to retrieve a normalized detector response (Er(z) Er(35)) profile for each of the 105 re-digitized βp 0(z) profiles. An iterative procedure was then used to compute the re-calibration βp(z) profiles (βp Ra(z)), with the molecular extinction profile calculated with the corresponding daily molecular extinction profile calculated from local soundings, rather than the US Standard Atmosphere 1962 in the original dataset. Two-way molecular and aerosol transmittance corrections are applied using the MODTRAN (MODerate resolution atmospheric TRANsmission) code in transmission mode, applying a best-estimate aerosol phase function calculated from measurements, applied for the entire 2.76 to 35.2 km column. For the tropospheric aerosol transmittance, the AERONET aerosol phase function from White Sands High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility (HELSTF) was applied (2.76 to 10.7 km), a separate stratospheric phase function applied between 11.2 and 35.2 km, calculated from a set of particle size distributions measured by the U-2 high-altitude aircraft over a US region in the vicinity of White Sands in early 1964. Errors were estimated taking as a reference the errors determined in the computation of βp 0(z). Using available tabulated data from the original procedure the errors in the re-digitalization of βp 0(z) and in the retrieval of the Er(z) Er(35) procedures were calculated and later added to the original estimates. Both the βp R(z) and the stratospheric aerosol optical depth magnitudes showed higher magnitudes than βp 0(z) and the original stratospheric aerosol optical depth, however their magnitudes show a reasonable agreement with other contemporary observations. Both the original and recalibration datasets are being submitted to PANGAEA data repository for its storage and public access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In March 2021, Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos) reported an avian influenza A(H5N6) virus infection in a 5‐year‐old child identified through sentinel surveillance. This was the first human A(H5N6) infection reported outside of China. A multidisciplinary investigation undertook contact tracing and enhanced human and animal surveillance in surrounding villages and live bird markets. Seven Muscovy ducks tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N6) viruses. Sequenced viruses belonged to clade 2.3.4.4h and were closely related to viruses detected in poultry in Vietnam and to previous viruses detected in Laos. Surveillance and coordinated outbreak response remain essential to global health security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current evidence suggests that dating app users experience greater body dissatisfaction than nonusers. However, these were mostly based on studies of sexual minority men (SMM) or studies that did not consider the effects of sexual orientation. In this study, we reexamined the association between dating app use and male body image using two culturally diverse samples, taking into account the potential confounding or moderating effect of sexual orientation. Male participants from Singapore (n = 201; 71 users) and Sweden (n = 279; 108 users) completed an online survey on dating app use and measures of body image disturbance and dissatisfaction. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that while dating app use indeed predicted overall dissatisfaction and muscularity dissatisfaction in the Singaporean sample, and body image disturbance, overall dissatisfaction, and height dissatisfaction in the Swedish sample, this ceased to be the case after we controlled for sexual orientation, except for height dissatisfaction in the Swedish sample. A moderation effect was also found in the Swedish sample: while SMM users had greater muscularity dissatisfaction than nonusers, this difference was not seen for heterosexual men. This study highlights the importance of considering both sexual orientation and cultural differences in the relationship between dating app use and body image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background At the start of the 2019–2020 influenza season, concern arose that circulating B/Victoria viruses of the globally emerging clade V1A.3 were antigenically drifted from the strain included in the vaccine. Intense B/Victoria activity was followed by circulation of genetically diverse A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses that were also antigenically drifted. We measured vaccine effectiveness (VE) in the United States against illness from these emerging viruses. Methods We enrolled outpatients aged ≥6 months with acute respiratory illness at 5 sites. Respiratory specimens were tested for influenza by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Using the test-negative design, we determined influenza VE by virus subtype/lineage and genetic subclades by comparing odds of vaccination in influenza cases versus test-negative controls. Results Among 8845 enrollees, 2722 (31%) tested positive for influenza, including 1209 (44%) for B/Victoria and 1405 (51%) for A(H1N1)pdm09. Effectiveness against any influenza illness was 39% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 32–44), 45% (95% CI: 37–52) against B/Victoria and 30% (95% CI: 21–39) against A(H1N1)pdm09-associated illness. Vaccination offered no protection against A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses with antigenically drifted clade 6B.1A 183P-5A+156K HA genes (VE 7%; 95% CI: –14 to 23%) which predominated after January. Conclusions Vaccination provided protection against influenza illness, mainly due to infections from B/Victoria viruses. Vaccine protection against illness from A(H1N1)pdm09 was lower than historically observed effectiveness of 40%–60%, due to late-season vaccine mismatch following emergence of antigenically drifted viruses. The effect of drift on vaccine protection is not easy to predict and, even in drifted years, significant protection can be observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Influenza causes significant morbidity and mortality and stresses hospital resources during periods of increased circulation. We evaluated the effectiveness of the 2019-2020 influenza vaccine against influenza-associated hospitalization in the United States.Methods: We included adults hospitalized with acute respiratory illness at 14 hospitals and tested for influenza viruses by reserve-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Vaccine effectiveness (VE) was estimated by comparing the odds of current-season influenza vaccination in test-positive influenza cases vs test-negative controls, adjusting for confounders. VE was stratified by age and major circulating influenza types along with A(H1N1)pdm09 genetic subgroups.Results: A total of 3116 participants were included, including 18% (n = 553) influenza-positive cases. Median age was 63 years. Sixty-seven percent (n = 2079) received vaccination. Overall adjusted VE against influenza viruses was 41% (95% confidence interval [CI], 27%-52%). VE against A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses was 40% (95% CI, 24%-53%) and 33% against B viruses (95% CI, 0-56%). Of the 2 major A(H1N1)pdm09 subgroups (representing 90% of sequenced H1N1 viruses), VE against one group (5A + 187A,189E) was 59% (95% CI, 34%-75%) whereas no VE was observed against the other group (5A + 156K) (-1% [95% CI, -61% to 37%]).Conclusions: In a primarily older population, influenza vaccination was associated with a 41% reduction in risk of hospitalized influenza illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the recovery and processing methodology of the first ever multi-year lidar dataset of the stratospheric aerosol layer. A Q-switched ruby lidar measured 66 vertical profiles of 694 nm attenuated backscatter at Lexington, Massachusetts, between January 1964 and August 1965, with an additional nine profile measurements conducted from College, Alaska, during July and August 1964. We describe the processing of the recovered lidar backscattering ratio profiles to produce mid-visible (532 nm) stratospheric aerosol extinction profiles (sAEP 532) and stratospheric aerosol optical depth (sAOD 532) measurements, utilizing a number of contemporary measurements of several different atmospheric variables. Stratospheric soundings of temperature and pressure generate an accurate local molecular backscattering profile, with nearby ozone soundings determining the ozone absorption, which are used to correct for two-way ozone transmittance. Two-way aerosol transmittance corrections are also applied based on nearby observations of total aerosol optical depth (across the troposphere and stratosphere) from sun photometer measurements. We show that accounting for these two-way transmittance effects substantially increases the magnitude of the 1964/1965 stratospheric aerosol layer's optical thickness in the Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes, then ∼ 50 % larger than represented in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 6 (CMIP6) volcanic forcing dataset. Compared to the uncorrected dataset, the combined transmittance correction increases the sAOD 532 by up to 66 % for Lexington and up to 27 % for Fairbanks, as well as individual sAEP 532 adjustments of similar magnitude. Comparisons with the few contemporary measurements available show better agreement with the corrected two-way transmittance values. Within the January 1964 to August 1965 measurement time span, the corrected Lexington sAOD 532 time series is substantially above 0.05 in three distinct periods, October 1964, March 1965, and May–June 1965, whereas the 6 nights the lidar measured in December 1964 and January 1965 had sAOD values of at most ∼ 0.03. The comparison with interactive stratospheric aerosol model simulations of the Agung aerosol cloud shows that, although substantial variation in mid-latitude sAOD 532 are expected from the seasonal cycle in the stratospheric circulation, the Agung cloud's dispersion from the tropics would have been at its strongest in winter and weakest in summer. The increasing trend in sAOD from January to July 1965, also considering the large variability, suggests that the observed variations are from a different source than Agung, possibly from one or both of the two eruptions that occurred in 1964/1965 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 3: Trident, Alaska, and Vestmannaeyjar, Heimaey, south of Iceland. A detailed error analysis of the uncertainties in each of the variables involved in the processing chain was conducted. Relative errors for the uncorrected sAEP 532 were 54 % for Fairbanks and 44 % Lexington. For the corrected sAEP 532 the errors were 61 % and 64 %, respectively. The analysis of the uncertainties identified variables that with additional data recovery and reprocessing could reduce these relative error levels. Data described in this work are available at 10.1594/PANGAEA.922105 (Antuña-Marrero et al., 2020a). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatiotemporal patterns of spread of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses on a countrywide scale are unclear in many tropical/subtropical regions mainly because spatiotemporally representative sequence data are lacking. We isolated, sequenced, and analyzed 383 A(H1N1)pdm09 viral genomes from hospitalized patients between 2009 and 2018 from seven locations across Kenya. Using these genomes and contemporaneously sampled global sequences, we characterized the spread of the virus in Kenya over several seasons using phylodynamic methods. The transmission dynamics of A(H1N1)pdm09 virus in Kenya were characterized by (i) multiple virus introductions into Kenya over the study period, although only a few of those introductions instigated local seasonal epidemics that then established local transmission clusters, (ii) persistence of transmission clusters over several epidemic seasons across the country, (iii) seasonal fluctuations in effective reproduction number (Re) associated with lower number of infections and seasonal fluctuations in relative genetic diversity after an initial rapid increase during the early pandemic phase, which broadly corresponded to epidemic peaks in the northern and southern hemispheres, (iv) high virus genetic diversity with greater frequency of seasonal fluctuations in 2009–2011 and 2018 and low virus genetic diversity with relatively weaker seasonal fluctuations in 2012–2017, and (v) virus spread across Kenya. Considerable influenza virus diversity circulated within Kenya, including persistent viral lineages that were unique to the country, which may have been capable of dissemination to other continents through a globally migrating virus population. Further knowledge of the viral lineages that circulate within understudied low-to-middle-income tropical and subtropical regions is required to understand the full diversity and global ecology of influenza viruses in humans and to inform vaccination strategies within these regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]