Search

Estimating forest carbon storage is crucial for understanding sink capacities to facilitate carbon crediting and mitigate climate change. Images captured with RGB or LiDAR cameras, mounted on drones, could be used to derive forest structural parameters such as canopy area, height, and tree diameter. Further, these data could be used in Machine Learning models and allometric equations to rapidly and precisely estimate and model carbon storage in their living biomass. Graphical Abstract

BackgroundWe examined the human toll and subsequent humanitarian crisis resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on 24 February 2022.MethodWe extracted and analysed data resulting from Russian military attacks on Ukrainians between 24 February and 4 August 2022. The data tracked direct deaths and injuries, damage to healthcare infrastructure and the impact on health, the destruction of residences, infrastructure, communication systems, and utility services – all of which disrupted the lives of Ukrainians.ResultsAs of 4 August 2022, 5552 civilians were killed outright and 8513 injured in Ukraine as a result of Russian attacks. Local officials estimate as many as 24 328 people were also killed in mass atrocities, with Mariupol being the largest (n=22 000) such example. Aside from wide swaths of homes, schools, roads, and bridges destroyed, hospitals and health facilities from 21 cities across Ukraine came under attack. The disruption to water, gas, electricity, and internet services also extended to affect supplies of medications and other supplies owing to destroyed facilities or production that ceased due to the war. The data also show that Ukraine saw an increase in cases of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and Coronavirus (COVID-19).ConclusionsThe 2022 Russia-Ukraine War not only resulted in deaths and injuries but also impacted the lives and safety of Ukrainians through destruction of healthcare facilities and disrupted delivery of healthcare and supplies. The war is an ongoing humanitarian crisis given the continuing destruction of infrastructure and services that directly impact the well-being of human lives. The devastation, trauma and human cost of war will impact generations of Ukrainians to come.

The eastern United States is dominantd by private forest lands, which are important for supporting a significant proportion of global bird populations. Here, we examine public attitudes towards bird conservation, government involvement in private lands issues, and private forest management objectives with an aim to better understand how these perceptions may shape broader attitudes about bird conservation. Data were collected using psychometric scales and a statewide web survey of the general public in Pennsylvania, USA (n = 656). Findings reveal four unique perspectives about birds and important correlations with conservation support on private lands. Respondents with positive views about landowner assistance programs often had more complex attitudes towards birds and were associated with relational and ethical perspectives about birds. We conclude that future public education efforts might cultivate in learners a more robust understanding of bird conservation if they included private forest lands values and culture in their programs.

Forests in the United States provide important carbon sequestration services that could be leveraged for climate change mitigation. There is increased interest among decision makers and investors to extend forest carbon payment programs to family forest owners (FFOs), the largest category of private forest owners. Since FFOs manage forests for multiple objectives, it is unclear which contract requirements and payment levels will appeal to early adopters and perhaps establish the direction of innovation. To answer this question, we conducted a comprehensive review of the research literature assessing forest owner preferences for carbon payment programs. Out of 22 papers reviewed, a total of 13 stated preference studies were included in the meta-analysis. Robust regression modeling and benefit transfer techniques were used to generate estimates for carbon payment contracts for different categories of FFOs. Results show significant variation in forest owner willingness to accept (WTA) as a function of management objectives, contract length, number of forest acres, management plan requirement, and management restrictions. Average annual per acre payment values were lowest for conservation-oriented forest owners, followed by passive and production-oriented forest owners. Overall, findings suggest the need for diverse types of contracts and payment levels in order to have widespread participation in carbon programs by forest owners.

The hydrologic sciences and water resources management have long depended on a combination of in-situ measurements and remotely-sensed data for research and regulatory purposes. In-situ measurements are constrained in their spatial distribution by both logistics and costs. Satellite- and manned aircraft-based remote sensing provide spatially broad data, but often of a coarse resolution. Furthermore, all these data collection methods are often limited in their ability to respond to specific short-term events when the data and imagery could inform real-time assessment and decision-making, especially during and immediately after natural disasters. Researchers and regulators are increasingly using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to fill these gaps in both spatial and temporal data resolution. UAVs are often more cost-effective than traditional remote sensing or in-situ data collection methodologies and the availability of new advancements in UAV design, power supply, payload capacity, and sensors has been driving rapid innovations in their use in the hydrological sciences. This in-depth review explores these UAV technologies and how they are being employed for on-demand and cost-effective characterization, monitoring, assessment, and modeling of soil and water resources. Our discussion addresses both key opportunities and challenges in surface water and groundwater studies, land-atmosphere interaction studies, water management in agriculture and forestry, ecosystem monitoring, and hydrological modeling.

Cultivated tomato has been in existence for about 400 years and breeding activities have been conducted for only eight decades. However, more than 10,000 tomato cultivars have already been developed. Ninety-one tomato genotypes were characterized for twenty-one morphological traits using developmental, vegetative, and fruit traits. Correlation, principal component, and cluster analysis between the traits were carried out. Higher correlations between fruit traits including fruit shape, fruit size, and fruit types were observed. These correlations indicate that specific fruit types require specific traits like branched inflorescence and a greater number of fruits per inflorescence are beneficial only for smaller fruit sizes like cherry and grape tomatoes. Contrastingly, traits like determinate growth habit and fruit maturity are preferred in all fruit types of tomato for better cultivation practices and longer production duration and hence showed lower correlations. Principal component analysis clustered tomato genotypes into three main clusters with multiple subgroups. Similar tomato genotypes were placed into one or more clusters confirming the results from correlation analysis. Involvement of private breeding programs in cultivar development has increased the competition on introgression of novel and desired traits across new cultivars. Understanding the diversity present in modern cultivars and potential traits identification in related wild species can enhance tomato diversity and improve quality and production.

Male breast cancer constitutes less than 1% of all breast carcinomas whereas Paget’s disease accounts for less than 1% of entire breast cancers. Unawareness and misdiagnosis lead to delayed presentation at a higher grade making the prognosis worse than females. Genetics and hormonal factors are strongly linked to its occurrence. Investigations, diagnosis, staging and management strategies for male breast cancers are concluded from studies done in female cases. We present a case of a 65 years literate gentleman who presented with fungating right breast mass with bleeding ulcer who underwent modified radical mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormonal therapy.

Recently, new plant-breeding technology such as CRISPR gene editing has provided the potential to substantially improve crop breeding in agriculture. Considerable efforts have been devoted to apply this gene-editing technology in modern agriculture to increase crop yields and improve the quality of food ingredients, especially by many of the major agronomic seed-producing companies. In this new 4-page article, we outline the recent research updates and regulations on gene editing in crop improvement. Written by Sadikshya Sharma, Heqiang Huo, and Seonghee Lee and published by the UF/IFAS Horticultural Sciences Department. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1334