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The journey of Brazilian female Paralympians transcends mere statistical increases in women's participation. Behind the modest athlete growth lies the reality of women who are doubly marginalized by the intersection of gender and disability in an arena tailored for able-bodied men. Our study aimed to catalyze critical discourses surrounding the historical trajectory of Paralympic women's sports. Through a comprehensive documentary analysis based on the Brazilian Paralympic Committee's official documents from 1976 to 2021, we sought to shed light on this complex scenario. Numerically, Brazil's representation comprised 229 women who, predominantly, had physical impairments and engaged in individual sports. In addition to a sporting legacy deeply entrenched in physical rehabilitation with limited opportunities for team-based sports, we observed negative influences stemming from ableist and sexist narratives. A thorough investigation into Paralympic milestones revealed a multitude of social barriers and highlighted the significant impact of societal changes in reshaping athletic opportunities and challenging traditional stereotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To compare the training characteristics of an elite team pursuit cycling squad in the 3-month preparation phases prior to 2 successive world-record (WR) performances. Methods: Training data of 5 male track endurance cyclists (mean [SD]; age 23.4 [3.46] y; body mass 80.2 [2.74] kg; 4.5 [0.17] W·kg−1 at LT2; maximal aerobic power 6.2 [0.27] W·kg−1; maximal oxygen uptake 65.9 [2.89] mL·kg−1·min−1) were analyzed with weekly total training volume by training type and heart rate, power output, and torque intensity distributions calculated with reference to the respective WRs' performance requirements. Results: Athletes completed 805 (82.81) and 725 (68.40) min·wk–1 of training, respectively, in each season. In the second season, there was a 32% increase in total track volume, although track sessions were shorter (ie, greater frequency) in the second season. A pyramidal intensity distribution was consistent across both seasons, with 81% of training, on average, performed below LT1 power output each week, whereas 6% of training was performed above LT2. Athletes accumulated greater volume above WR team pursuit lead power (2.4% vs 0.9%) and torque (6.2% vs 3.2%) in 2019. In one athlete, mean single-leg-press peak rate of force development was 71% and 46% higher at mid- and late-phases, respectively, during the preparation period. Conclusions: These findings provide novel insights into the common and contrasting methods contributing to successive WR team pursuit performances. Greater accumulation of volume above race-specific power and torque (eg, team pursuit lead), as well as improved neuromuscular force-generating capacities, may be worthy of investigation for implementation in training programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming poses an unprecedented threat to agroecosystems. Although temperature increases are more pronounced during winter than in other seasons, the impact of winter warming on crop biomass carbon has not been elucidated. Here we integrate global observational data with a decade-long field experiment to uncover a significant negative correlation between winter soil temperature and crop biomass carbon. For every degree Celsius increase in winter soil temperature, straw and grain biomass carbon decreased by 6.6 ( ± 1.7) g kg-1 and 10.2 ( ± 2.3) g kg-1, respectively. This decline is primarily attributed to the loss of soil organic matter and micronutrients induced by warming. Ignoring the adverse effects of winter warming on crop biomass carbon could result in an overestimation of total food production by 4% to 19% under future warming scenarios. Our research highlights the critical need to incorporate winter warming into agricultural productivity models for more effective climate adaptation strategies.

Disentangling the effects of cyclical variability in environmental forcing and long-term climate change on natural communities is a major challenge for ecologists, managers, and policy makers across ecosystems. Here we examined whether the vertical distribution of rocky intertidal taxa has shifted with sea-level variability occurring at multiple temporal scales and/or long-term anthropogenic sea-level rise (SLR). Because of the distinct zonation characteristic of intertidal communities, any shift in tidal dynamics or average sea level is expected to have large impacts on community structure and function. We found that across the Northeast Pacific Coast (NPC), sea level exhibits cyclical seasonal variability, tidal amplitude exhibits ecologically significant variability coherent with the 18.6-year periodicity of lunar declination, and long-term sea-level rise is occurring. Intertidal taxa largely do not exhibit significant vertical distribution shifts coherent with short-term (monthly to annual) sea-level variability but do exhibit taxa-specific vertical distribution shifts coherent with cyclical changes in lunar declination and long-term SLR at decadal timescales. Finally, our results show that responses to cyclical celestial mechanics and SLR vary among taxa, primarily according to their vertical distribution. Long-term SLR is occurring on ecologically relevant scales, but the confounding effects of cyclical celestial mechanics make interpreting shifts in zonation or community structure challenging. Such cyclical dynamics alternatingly amplify and dampen long-term SLR impacts and may modify the impacts of other global change related stressors, such as extreme heat waves and swell events, on intertidal organisms living at the edge of their physiological tolerances. As a result, intertidal communities will likely experience cyclical periods of environmental stress and concomitant nonlinear shifts in structure and function as long-term climate change continues. Our results demonstrate that consistent, large-scale monitoring of marine ecosystems is critical for understanding natural variability in communities and documenting long-term change.

Institutional discovery environments now serve as central resource databases for researchers in the academic environment. Over the last several decades, there have been numerous discovery layer research inquiries centering primarily on user satisfaction measures of discovery system effectiveness. This study focuses on the creation of a largely automated method for evaluating discovery layer quality, utilizing the bibliographic sources from student research projects. Building on past research, the current study replaces a semiautomated Excel Fuzzy Lookup Add-In process with a fully scripted R-based approach, which employs the stringdist R package and applies the Jaro-Winkler distance metric as the matching evaluator. The researchers consider the error rate incurred by relying solely on an automated matching metric. They also use Open Refine for normalization processes and package the tools together on an OSF site for other institutions to use. Since the R-based approach does not require special processing or time and can be reproduced with minimal effort, it will allow future studies and users of our method to capture larger sample sizes, boosting validity. While the assessment process has been streamlined and shows promise, there remain issues in establishing solid connections between research paper bibliographies and discovery layer use. Subsequent research will focus on creating alternatives to paper titles as search proxies that better resemble genuine information-seeking behavior and comparing undergraduate and graduate student interactions within discovery environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adequate sleep is crucial for elite athletes' recovery, performance readiness, and immune response. Establishing reference ranges for elite athletes enables appropriate contextualization for designing and targeting sleep interventions. Purpose: To establish sleep-quality reference ranges for Olympic and Paralympic cohorts using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and explore differences based on sex and sport types. Methods: Team USA athletes (men = 805, women = 798) completed the PSQI as part of a health-history questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to create reference ranges and linear models, and χ2 test of independence determined differences in PSQI global and component scores between sex, games, season, and participation. Results: Six hundred thirty-two (39.43%) athletes reported poor sleep (PSQIGlobal ≥ 5). Men displayed later bedtimes (P =.006), better global PSQI scores, shorter sleep latency, less sleep disturbance, and less use of sleep medication than women (all P <.001). Winter Games participants had later bedtime (P =.036) and sleep offset time (P =.028) compared with Summer Games athletes. Team-sport athletes woke earlier than individual-sport athletes (P <.001). Individual-sport athletes were more likely to have low (P =.005) and mild (P =.045) risk for reduced sleep duration than team-sport athletes. Conclusion: These data provide PSQI-specific reference ranges to identify groups at greatest risk for poor sleep, who may benefit most from targeted sleep interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Influenza viruses continually evolve new antigenic variants, through mutations in epitopes of their major surface proteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Antigenic drift potentiates the reinfection of previously infected individuals, but the contribution of this process to variability in annual epidemics is not well understood. Here, we link influenza A(H3N2) virus evolution to regional epidemic dynamics in the United States during 1997-2019. We integrate phenotypic measures of HA antigenic drift and sequence-based measures of HA and NA fitness to infer antigenic and genetic distances between viruses circulating in successive seasons. We estimate the magnitude, severity, timing, transmission rate, age-specific patterns, and subtype dominance of each regional outbreak and find that genetic distance based on broad sets of epitope sites is the strongest evolutionary predictor of A(H3N2) virus epidemiology. Increased HA and NA epitope distance between seasons correlates with larger, more intense epidemics, higher transmission, greater A(H3N2) subtype dominance, and a greater proportion of cases in adults relative to children, consistent with increased population susceptibility. Based on random forest models, A(H1N1) incidence impacts A(H3N2) epidemics to a greater extent than viral evolution, suggesting that subtype interference is a major driver of influenza A virus infection ynamics, presumably via heterosubtypic cross-immunity.

BACKGROUND: Diesel exhaust (DE) exposures pose concerns for serious health effects, including asthma and lung cancer, in California communities burdened by multiple stressors. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate DE exposures in disproportionately impacted communities using biomonitoring and compare results for adults and children within and between families. METHODS: We recruited 40 families in the San Francisco East Bay area. Two metabolites of 1-nitropyrene (1-NP), a marker for DE exposures, were measured in urine samples from parent-child pairs. For 25 families, we collected single-day spot urine samples during two sampling rounds separated by an average of four months. For the 15 other families, we collected daily spot urine samples over four consecutive days during the two sampling rounds. We also measured 1-NP in household dust and indoor air. Associations between urinary metabolite levels and participant demographics, season, and 1-NP levels in dust and air were evaluated. RESULTS: At least one 1-NP metabolite was present in 96.6% of the urine samples. Detection frequencies for 1-NP in dust and indoor air were 97% and 74%, respectively. Results from random effect models indicated that levels of the 1-NP metabolite 6-hydroxy-1-nitropyrene (6-OHNP) were significantly higher in parents compared with their children (p-value = 0.005). Urinary 1-NP metabolite levels were generally higher during the fall and winter months. Within-subject variability was higher than between-subject variability (~60% of total variance versus ~40%, respectively), indicating high short-term temporal variability. IMPACT: Biomonitoring, coupled with air monitoring, improves understanding of hyperlocal air pollution impacts. Results from these studies will inform the design of effective exposure mitigation strategies in disproportionately affected communities.

Soil desertification poses a critical ecological challenge in arid and semiarid climates worldwide, leading to decreased soil productivity due to the disruption of essential microbial community processes. Fungi, as one of the most important soil microbial communities, play a crucial role in enhancing nutrient and water uptake by plants through mycorrhizal associations. However, the impact of overgrazing-induced desertification on fungal community structure, particularly in the Caatinga biome of semiarid regions, remains unclear. In this study, we assessed the changes in both the total fungal community and the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community (AMF) across 1. Natural vegetation (native), 2. Grazing exclusion (20 years) (restored), and 3. affected by overgrazing-induced degradation (degraded) scenarios. Our assessment, conducted during both the dry and rainy seasons in Irauçuba, Ceará, utilized Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) gene sequencing via Illumina® platform. Our findings highlighted the significant roles of the AMF families Glomeraceae (∼71% of the total sequences) and Acaulosporaceae (∼14% of the total sequences) as potential key taxa in mitigating climate change within dryland areas. Moreover, we identified the orders Pleosporales (∼35% of the total sequences) and Capnodiales (∼21% of the total sequences) as the most abundant soil fungal communities in the Caatinga biome. The structure of the total fungal community differed when comparing native and restored areas to degraded areas. Total fungal communities from native and restored areas clustered together, suggesting that grazing exclusion has the potential to improve soil properties and recover fungal community structure amid global climate change challenges.

Climate change reduces snowpack, advances snowmelt phenology, drives summer warming, alters growing season precipitation regimes, and consequently modifies vegetation phenology in mountain systems. Elevational migrants track spatial variation in seasonal plant growth by moving between ranges at different elevations during spring, so climate-driven vegetation change may disrupt historic benefits of migration. Elevational migrants can furthermore cope with short-term environmental variability by undertaking brief vertical movements to refugia when sudden adverse conditions arise. We uncover drivers of fine-scale vertical movement variation during upland migration in an endangered alpine specialist, Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis sierrae) using a 20-year study of GPS collar data collected from 311 unique individuals. We used integrated step-selection analysis to determine factors that promote vertical movements and drive selection of destinations following vertical movements. Our results reveal that relatively high temperatures consistently drive uphill movements, while precipitation likely drives downhill movements. Furthermore, bighorn select destinations at their peak annual biomass and maximal time since snowmelt. These results indicate that although Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep seek out foraging opportunities related to landscape phenology, they compensate for short-term environmental stressors by undertaking brief up- and downslope vertical movements. Migrants may therefore be impacted by future warming and increased storm frequency or intensity, with shifts in annual migration timing, and fine-scale vertical movement responses to environmental variability.

Fungi are among the most diverse and ecologically important kingdoms in life. However, the distributional ranges of fungi remain largely unknown as do the ecological mechanisms that shape their distributions1,2. To provide an integrated view of the spatial and seasonal dynamics of fungi, we implemented a globally distributed standardized aerial sampling of fungal spores3. The vast majority of operational taxonomic units were detected within only one climatic zone, and the spatiotemporal patterns of species richness and community composition were mostly explained by annual mean air temperature. Tropical regions hosted the highest fungal diversity except for lichenized, ericoid mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungi, which reached their peak diversity in temperate regions. The sensitivity in climatic responses was associated with phylogenetic relatedness, suggesting that large-scale distributions of some fungal groups are partially constrained by their ancestral niche. There was a strong phylogenetic signal in seasonal sensitivity, suggesting that some groups of fungi have retained their ancestral trait of sporulating for only a short period. Overall, our results show that the hyperdiverse kingdom of fungi follows globally highly predictable spatial and temporal dynamics, with seasonality in both species richness and community composition increasing with latitude. Our study reports patterns resembling those described for other major groups of organisms, thus making a major contribution to the long-standing debate on whether organisms with a microbial lifestyle follow the global biodiversity paradigms known for macroorganisms4,5.

Organisms adapt to unfavorable seasonal conditions to survive. These seasonal adaptations rely on the correct interpretation of environmental cues such as photoperiod, and temperature. Genetic studies in several organisms, including the genetic powerhouse Drosophila melanogaster, indicate that circadian clock components, such as period and timeless, are involved in photoperiodic-dependent seasonal adaptations, but our understanding of this process is far from complete. In particular, the role of temperature as a key factor to complement photoperiodic response is not well understood. The development of new sequencing technologies has proven extremely useful in understanding the plastic changes that the clock and other cellular components undergo in different environmental conditions, including changes in gene expression and alternative splicing. This article discusses the integration of photoperiod and temperature for seasonal biology as well as downstream molecular and cellular pathways involved in the regulation of physiological adaptations that occur with changing seasons. We focus our discussion on the current understanding of the involvement of the molecular clock and the circadian clock neuronal circuits in these adaptations in D. melanogaster.

Purpose: School recess provides a valuable opportunity for children's daily moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA). This study aimed to quantify MVPA during school recess in a representative sample of Scottish children and examine whether recess MVPA varied by gender, socioeconomic status, season, urban/rural residency, and recess length. Method: Five-day accelerometry MVPA data were analyzed from 773 children (53.9% girls, 46.1% boys, 10- to 11-y-olds) from 471 schools. Binary logistic regression explored associations between meeting/not meeting the recommendation to spend 40% of recess time in MVPA and the aforementioned risk factors. Descriptive recess data were also analyzed. Results: Participants spent an average of 3.2 minutes (SD 2.1) in MVPA during recess. Girls engaged in 2.5 minutes (SD 1.7) of MVPA compared with 4.0 minutes (SD 2.2) for boys. Only 6% of children met the recess MVPA recommendation. The odds of girls (odds ratio 0.09; 95% confidence interval, 0.04–0.25) meeting the recommendation was lower (P <.001) compared with boys. No statistically significant differences were observed in meeting the recommendation for the other risk factors. Conclusion: Levels of MVPA during school recess are very low in Scottish children, and interventions aimed at increasing MVPA during recess are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: A decline in youth running was observed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigated whether the resumption of organized running after social distancing restrictions changed running habits or injury frequency in adolescent runners. Methods: Adolescents (age = 16.1 [2.1] y) who participated in long-distance running activities completed an online survey in the Spring and Fall of 2020. Participants self-reported average weekly running habits and whether they sustained an injury during the Fall 2020 season. Poisson regression models and 1-way analysis of variance compared running habits while Fisher exact test compared differences in frequencies of injuries during Fall 2020 among season statuses (full, delayed, and canceled). Results: All runners, regardless of season status, increased weekly distance during Fall 2020. Only runners with a full Fall 2020 season ran more times per week and more high-intensity runs per week compared with their Spring 2020 running habits. There were no differences in running volume or running-related injury frequency among Fall 2020 season statuses. Conclusions: There were no significant differences in running-related injury (RRI) frequency among runners, regardless of season status, following the resumption of cross-country. Health care providers may need to prepare for runners to increase running volume and intensity following the resumption of organized team activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First-ever measurements of particulate matter (PM2.5, PM10, and TSP) along with gaseous pollutants (CO, NO2, and SO2) were performed from June 2019 to April 2020 in Faisalabad, Metropolitan, Pakistan, to assess their seasonal variations; Summer 2019, Autumn 2019, Winter 2019-2020, and Spring 2020. Pollutant measurements were carried out at 30 locations with a 3-km grid distance from the Sitara Chemical Industry in District Faisalabad to Bhianwala, Sargodha Road, Tehsil Lalian, District Chiniot. ArcGIS 10.8 was used to interpolate pollutant concentrations using the inverse distance weightage method. PM2.5, PM10, and TSP concentrations were highest in summer, and lowest in autumn or winter. CO, NO2, and SO2 concentrations were highest in summer or spring and lowest in winter. Seasonal average NO2 and SO2 concentrations exceeded WHO annual air quality guide values. For all 4 seasons, some sites had better air quality than others. Even in these cleaner sites air quality index (AQI) was unhealthy for sensitive groups and the less good sites showed Very critical AQI (> 500). Dust-bound carbon and sulfur contents were higher in spring (64 mg g-1) and summer (1.17 mg g-1) and lower in autumn (55 mg g-1) and winter (1.08 mg g-1). Venous blood analysis of 20 individuals showed cadmium and lead concentrations higher than WHO permissible limits. Those individuals exposed to direct roadside pollution for longer periods because of their occupation tended to show higher Pb and Cd blood concentrations. It is concluded that air quality along the roadside is extremely poor and potentially damaging to the health of exposed workers.

BACKGROUND: As a primary vector of bluetongue virus (BTV) in the US, seasonal abundance and diel flight activity of Culicoides sonorensis has been documented, but few studies have examined how time of host-seeking activity is impacted by environmental factors. This knowledge is essential for interpreting surveillance data and modeling pathogen transmission risk. METHODS: The diel host-seeking activity of C. sonorensis was studied on a California dairy over 3 years using a time-segregated trap baited with CO2. The relationship between environmental variables and diel host-seeking activity (start, peak, and duration of activity) of C. sonorensis was evaluated using multiple linear regression. Fishers exact test and paired-sample z-test were used to evaluate the seasonal difference and parity difference on diel host-seeking activity. RESULTS: Host-seeking by C. sonorensis began and reached an activity peak before sunset at a higher frequency during colder months relative to warmer months. The time that host-seeking activity occurred was associated low and high daily temperature as well as wind speed at sunset. Colder temperatures and a greater diurnal temperature range were associated with an earlier peak in host-seeking. Higher wind speeds at sunset were associated with a delayed peak in host-seeking and a shortened duration of host-seeking. Parous midges reached peak host-seeking activity slightly later than nulliparous midges, possibly because of the need for oviposition by gravid females before returning to host-seeking. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that during colder months C. sonorensis initiates host-seeking and reaches peak host-seeking activity earlier relative to sunset, often even before sunset, compared to warmer months. Therefore, the commonly used UV light-baited traps are ineffective for midge surveillance before sunset. Based on this study, surveillance methods that do not rely on light trapping would provide a more accurate estimate of host-biting risk across seasons. The association of environmental factors to host-seeking shown in this study can be used to improve modeling or prediction of host-seeking activity. This study identified diurnal temperature range as associated with host-seeking activity, suggesting that Culicoides may respond to a rapidly decreasing temperature by shifting to an earlier host-seeking time, though this association needs further study.

Subtropical oceans contribute significantly to global primary production, but the fate of the picophytoplankton that dominate in these low-nutrient regions is poorly understood. Working in the subtropical Mediterranean, we demonstrate that subduction of water at ocean fronts generates 3D intrusions with uncharacteristically high carbon, chlorophyll, and oxygen that extend below the sunlit photic zone into the dark ocean. These contain fresh picophytoplankton assemblages that resemble the photic-zone regions where the water originated. Intrusions propagate depth-dependent seasonal variations in microbial assemblages into the ocean interior. Strikingly, the intrusions included dominant biomass contributions from nonphotosynthetic bacteria and enrichment of enigmatic heterotrophic bacterial lineages. Thus, the intrusions not only deliver material that differs in composition and nutritional character from sinking detrital particles, but also drive shifts in bacterial community composition, organic matter processing, and interactions between surface and deep communities. Modeling efforts paired with global observations demonstrate that subduction can flux similar magnitudes of particulate organic carbon as sinking export, but is not accounted for in current export estimates and carbon cycle models. Intrusions formed by subduction are a particularly important mechanism for enhancing connectivity between surface and upper mesopelagic ecosystems in stratified subtropical ocean environments that are expanding due to the warming climate.

Wildfires are increasing in duration and intensity across the United States' Pacific West region, resulting in heightened particulate matter from smoke in the atmosphere. Levels of peak particulate matter are concurrent to peak visitor attendance at National Parks, given seasonal alignment with summer vacation travel and heightened forest fire conditions. Particulate matter threatens visitor health and safety and contributes to poor visibility and a deteriorated visitor experience. To assess visitation response to diminished air quality, we utilized wildfire-generated particulate matter (PM2.5) data in conjunction with monthly attendance records for three ecoregions containing eight national parks in Washington, Oregon, and California from 2009 to 2019. We analyzed daily PM2.5 levels from data gridded at the 10 km scale for National Park Service units by Level III forest ecoregions within the National Park Service's Pacific West Unit. Data were then compared to normalized monthly visitation trends for each of the ecoregions using two statistical methods Kendall's Tau and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with post-hoc Tukey tests. Results demonstrate that attendance at these national parks does not decrease in response to increased PM2.5 levels. Instead, we see several statistically significant increases in attendance across these ecoregions during periods of reduced air quality. Of 115 shifts between air quality categories during the busy season of July to September, there are no significant decreases in attendance as air quality worsens. These findings suggest that visitors are willing to tolerate reduced air quality compared to other factors such as temperature or precipitation. Given that park units within each ecoregion feature diverse historical contexts, varied built environments, and unique ecological systems, our discussion specifically addresses managerial concerns associated with maintained high levels of visitation during suboptimal, and potentially dangerous, conditions. There is substantial need for specific, scalable approaches to mitigate adverse health and experiential impacts as visitors are exposed to increased risks during a range of exertional activities associated with diverse settings.

Many animals and plants have species-typical annual cycles, but individuals vary in their timing of life-history events. Individual variation in fur replacement (moult) timing is poorly understood in mammals due to the challenge of repeated observations and longitudinal sampling. We examined factors that influence variation in moult duration and timing among elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris). We quantified the onset and progression of fur loss in 1178 individuals. We found that an exceptionally rapid visible moult (7 days, the shortest of any mammals or birds), and a wide range of moult start dates (spanning 6-10× the event duration) facilitated high asynchrony across individuals (only 20% of individuals in the population moulting at the same time). Some of the variation was due to reproductive state, as reproductively mature females that skipped a breeding season moulted a week earlier than reproductive females. Moreover, individual variation in timing and duration within age-sex categories far outweighed (76-80%) variation among age-sex categories. Individuals arriving at the end of the moult season spent 50% less time on the beach, which allowed them to catch up in their annual cycles and reduce population-level variance during breeding. These findings underscore the importance of individual variation in annual cycles.

Climate change is affecting the phenology of organisms and ecosystem processes across a wide range of environments. However, the links between organismal and ecosystem process change in complex communities remain uncertain. In snow-dominated watersheds, snowmelt in the spring and early summer, followed by a long low-flow period, characterizes the natural flow regime of streams and rivers. Here, we examined how earlier snowmelt will alter the phenology of mountain stream organisms and ecosystem processes via an outdoor mesocosm experiment in stream channels in the Eastern Sierra Nevada, California. The low-flow treatment, simulating a 3- to 6-wk earlier return to summer baseflow conditions projected under climate change scenarios in the region, increased water temperature and reduced biofilm production to respiration ratios by 32%. Additionally, most of the invertebrate species explaining community change (56% and 67% of the benthic and emergent taxa, respectively), changed in phenology as a consequence of the low-flow treatment. Further, emergent flux pulses of the dominant insect group (Chironomidae) almost doubled in magnitude, benefitting a generalist riparian predator. Changes in both invertebrate community structure (composition) and functioning (production) were mostly fine-scale, and response diversity at the community level stabilized seasonally aggregated responses. Our study illustrates how climate change in vulnerable mountain streams at the rain-to-snow transition is poised to alter the dynamics of stream food webs via fine-scale changes in phenology-leading to novel predator-prey matches or mismatches even when community structure and ecosystem processes appear stable at the annual scale.

BACKGROUND: The interpretation of relative vaccine effectiveness (rVE) of improved influenza vaccines is complex. Estimation of burden averted is useful to contextualise their potential impact across different seasons. For the population aged under 65 years in Australia, this study estimated the additional morbidity and mortality that could be averted using improved influenza vaccines. METHODS: We used observed, season-specific (2015-2019) influenza notification and influenza-coded hospitalisation frequencies and published modelled estimates of influenza-associated hospitalisations and deaths that occurred under the prevailing influenza vaccination coverage scenario. After back-calculating to the estimated burden in the population without vaccination, we applied published standard influenza vaccine effectiveness and coverage estimates to calculate the burden potentially averted by standard and improved influenza vaccines. A plausible range of rVE values were used, assuming 50% coverage. RESULTS: The percentage point difference in absolute vaccine effectiveness (VE) of an improved vaccine compared to a standard vaccine is directly proportional to its rVE and inversely proportional to the effectiveness of the standard vaccine. The incremental burden averted by an improved vaccine is a function of both its difference in absolute VE and the severity of the influenza season. Assuming an rVE of 15% with 50% coverage, the improved vaccine was estimated to additionally avert 1517 to 12,641 influenza notifications, 287 to 1311 influenza-coded hospitalisations and 9 to 33 modelled all-cause influenza deaths per year compared to the standard vaccine. CONCLUSIONS: Improved vaccines can have substantial clinical and population impact, particularly when the effectiveness of standard vaccines is low, and burden is high.

Purpose: The record power profile (RPP) has gained popularity as a method of monitoring endurance cycling performance. However, the expected variation of cyclists' performance between seasons remains unknown. We aimed to assess the between-seasons variability of peak performance (assessed through the RPP) in male professional cyclists. Methods: The study followed a longitudinal observational design. Sixty-one male professional cyclists (age 26 [5] y) with power output data from both training sessions and competitions were analyzed for a median of 4 consecutive seasons (range 2–12). The highest mean maximum power values attained for different durations (from 10 s to 30 min), as well as the resulting critical power, were determined for each season. Within-cyclist variability between seasons was assessed, and the upper threshold of expected changes (ie, twice the normal coefficient of variation) was determined. Results: All mean maximum power values showed an overall high agreement and low variability between seasons (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] =.76–.88 and coefficient of variation [CV] = 3.2%–5.9%), with the lowest variability observed for long efforts (>1 min). Critical power showed an ICC and CV of.79 (95% CI,.70–.85) and 3.3% (95% CI, 3.0%–3.7%), respectively. Upper thresholds of expected variation were <12% for short efforts (≤1 min) and <8% for long efforts. Conclusions: "Real-world" peak performance assessed through the RPP shows a low variability between seasons in male professional cyclists—especially for long efforts—with expected variation being around 6% and 3% for short (≤1 min) and long efforts, respectively, and with changes >12% and >8%, respectively, being infrequent for these effort durations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioenergetic constraints are the ultimate determinant of the timing of reproduction, and seasonal breeding is consequently a widely observed trait. Consistent with this, attention has focused on plasticity in reproductive phenology conceptualized as a response to concomitant advances in the phenology of the environmental energy supply caused by climate change. Few studies, however, have directly compared timing of reproduction with energetic status in free-living wild animals. Here we demonstrate that neither body mass nor adiposity are strong proximate predictors of date of conception in wild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus). Weak coupling between energetic status and the phenology of reproduction accounts for the increasing discrepancy between the phenology of forage (energy supply) and the phenology of reproduction (energy demand) observed across the last 2-4 decades in two populations of this species. The results emphasise that phenological plasticity is not a passive response to changes in energy supply but derives from the way in which environmental factors interact with the core control mechanisms that govern timing. Central in this respect is integration, within the rheostatic centres of the hypothalamus, of information on nutritional status with the circannual life-history calendar.

ImportanceRepeated mass distribution of azithromycin has been shown to reduce childhood mortality by 14% in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the estimated effect varied by location, suggesting that the intervention may not be effective in different geographical areas, time periods, or conditions.ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy of twice-yearly azithromycin to reduce mortality in children in the presence of seasonal malaria chemoprevention.Design, setting, and participantsThis cluster randomized placebo-controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of single-dose azithromycin for prevention of all-cause childhood mortality included 341 communities in the Nouna district in rural northwestern Burkina Faso. Participants were children aged 1 to 59 months living in the study communities.InterventionsCommunities were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive oral azithromycin or placebo distribution. Children aged 1 to 59 months were offered single-dose treatment twice yearly for 3 years (6 distributions) from August 2019 to February 2023.Main outcomes and measuresThe primary outcome was all-cause childhood mortality, measured during a twice-yearly enumerative census.ResultsA total of 34 399 children (mean [SD] age, 25.2 [18] months) in the azithromycin group and 33 847 children (mean [SD] age, 25.6 [18] months) in the placebo group were included. A mean (SD) of 90.1% (16.0%) of the censused children received the scheduled study drug in the azithromycin group and 89.8% (17.1%) received the scheduled study drug in the placebo group. In the azithromycin group, 498 deaths were recorded over 60 592 person-years (8.2 deaths/1000 person-years). In the placebo group, 588 deaths were recorded over 58 547 person-years (10.0 deaths/1000 person-years). The incidence rate ratio for mortality was 0.82 (95% CI, 0.67-1.02; P = .07) in the azithromycin group compared with the placebo group. The incidence rate ratio was 0.99 (95% CI, 0.72-1.36) in those aged 1 to 11 months, 0.92 (95% CI, 0.67-1.27) in those aged 12 to 23 months, and 0.73 (95% CI, 0.57-0.94) in those aged 24 to 59 months.Conclusions and relevanceMortality in children (aged 1-59 months) was lower with biannual mass azithromycin distribution in a setting in which seasonal malaria chemoprevention was also being distributed, but the difference was not statistically significant. The study may have been underpowered to detect a clinically relevant difference.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03676764.

Global warming modulates soil respiration (RS) via microbial decomposition, which is seasonally dependent. Yet, the magnitude and direction of this modulation remain unclear, partly owing to the lack of knowledge on how microorganisms respond to seasonal changes. Here, we investigated the temporal dynamics of soil microbial communities over 12 consecutive months under experimental warming in a tallgrass prairie ecosystem. The interplay between warming and time altered (P

Host-microbe interactions underlie the development and fitness of many macroorganisms, including bees. Whereas many social bees benefit from vertically transmitted gut bacteria, current data suggests that solitary bees, which comprise the vast majority of species diversity within bees, lack a highly specialized gut microbiome. Here, we examine the composition and abundance of bacteria and fungi throughout the complete life cycle of the ground-nesting solitary bee Anthophora bomboides standfordiana. In contrast to expectations, immature bee stages maintain a distinct core microbiome consisting of Actinobacterial genera (Streptomyces, Nocardiodes) and the fungus Moniliella spathulata. Dormant (diapausing) larval bees hosted the most abundant and distinctive bacteria and fungi, attaining 33 and 52 times their initial copy number, respectively. We tested two adaptive hypotheses regarding microbial functions for diapausing bees. First, using isolated bacteria and fungi, we found that Streptomyces from brood cells inhibited the growth of multiple pathogenic filamentous fungi, suggesting a role in pathogen protection during overwintering, when bees face high pathogen pressure. Second, sugar alcohol composition changed in tandem with major changes in fungal abundance, suggesting links with bee cold tolerance or overwintering biology. We find that A. bomboides hosts a conserved core microbiome that may provide key fitness advantages through larval development and diapause, which raises the question of how this microbiome is maintained and faithfully transmitted between generations. Our results suggest that focus on microbiomes of mature or active insect developmental stages may overlook stage-specific symbionts and microbial fitness contributions during host dormancy.

Sperm whales exhibit sexual dimorphism and sex-specific latitudinal segregation. Females and their young form social groups and are usually found in temperate and tropical latitudes, while males forage at higher latitudes. Historical whaling data and rare sightings of social groups in high latitude regions of the North Pacific, such as the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) and Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI), suggest a more complex distribution than previously understood. Sperm whales are the most sighted and recorded cetacean in marine mammal surveys in these regions but capturing their demographic composition and habitat use has proven challenging. This study detects sperm whale presence using passive acoustic data from seven sites in the GOA and BSAI from 2010 to 2019. Differences in click characteristics between males and females (i.e., inter-click and inter-pulse interval) was used as a proxy for animal size/sex to derive time series of animal detections. Generalized additive models with generalized estimation equations demonstrate how spatiotemporal patterns differ between the sexes. Social groups were present at all recording sites with the largest relative proportion at two seamount sites in the GOA and an island site in the BSAI. We found that the seasonal patterns of presence varied for the sexes and between the sites. Male presence was highest in the summer and lowest in the winter, conversely, social group peak presence was in the winter for the BSAI and in the spring for the GOA region, with the lowest presence in the summer months. This study demonstrates that social groups are not restricted to lower latitudes and capture their present-day habitat use in the North Pacific. It highlights that sperm whale distribution is more complex than accounted for in management protocol and underscores the need for improved understanding of sperm whale demographic composition to better understand the impacts of increasing anthropogenic threats, particularly climate change.

Understanding the topographic basis for microclimatic variation remains fundamental to predicting the site level effects of warming air temperatures. Quantifying diurnal fluctuation and seasonal extremes in relation to topography offers insight into the potential relationship between site level conditions and changes in regional climate. The present study investigated an annual understory temperature regime for 50 sites distributed across a topographically diverse area (>12 km2) comprised of mixed evergreen-deciduous woodland vegetation typical of California coastal ranges. We investigated the effect of topography and tree cover on site-to-site variation in near-surface temperatures using a combination of multiple linear regression and multivariate techniques. Sites in topographically depressed areas (e.g., valley bottoms) exhibited larger seasonal and diurnal variation. Elevation (at 10 m resolution) was found to be the primary driver of daily and seasonal variations, in addition to hillslope position, canopy cover and northness. The elevation effect on seasonal mean temperatures was inverted, reflecting large-scale cold-air pooling in the study region, with elevated minimum and mean temperature at higher elevations. Additionally, several of our sites showed considerable buffering (dampened diurnal and seasonal temperature fluctuations) compared to average regional conditions measured at an on-site weather station. Results from this study help inform efforts to extrapolate temperature records across large landscapes and have the potential to improve our ecological understanding of fine-scale seasonal climate variation in coastal range environments.

This paper analyzes the formation dates of the nth storm in a sequence for all named North Atlantic tropical cyclones (TCs) and assesses whether the intraseasonal length of the Atlantic hurricane season has changed temporally. The record-breaking 2020 season, with 30 named storms, set records for the earliest third TC formation (Cristobal) and from the sixth TC (Fay) onward. Analysis of season length from 1851 to 2022 identifies only one statistically significant breakpoint detected in the early 1970s, roughly coinciding with the introduction of satellite observations. Since 1970, we also find a trend toward longer North Atlantic hurricane seasons. The 1971–2022 trend is robust and statistically significant, whether assessed as the number of days between the first and last storm or by the distance between intermediate percentiles (e.g., 10th–90th and 15th–85th). These increases are mainly associated with storms forming earlier in the calendar year and are best described as an upward trend rather than a stepwise shift between eras. Although a simple trend fits better than a stepwise model, improvement falls short of significance, so we do not formally reject the stepwise hypothesis. If, following this hypothesis, the 1950–2022 period is segmented into a high-activity era (HAE1; 1950–69), a low-activity era (LAE; 1970–94), and second high-activity era (HAE2; 1995–2022), the median season length of HAE2 is 12 days longer than in the first HAE, but this difference is not statistically significant (p = 0.58) and could be explained by the substantial difference in the observational network. The median season length in both HAE1 and HAE2 are significantly longer (by 36 and 48 days, respectively) than the intervening LAE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes substantial hospitalization in US infants. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended nirsevimab in infants younger than 8 months born during or entering their first RSV season and for children aged 8 to 19 months at increased risk of RSV hospitalization in their second season. This study's objective was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of nirsevimab in all infants in their first RSV season and in high-risk children in their second season. METHODS: We simulated healthcare utilization and deaths from RSV with and without nirsevimab among infants aged 0 to 7 months and those 8 to 19 months old over a single RSV season. Data came from published literature, US Food and Drug Administration approval documents, and epidemiologic surveillance data. We evaluated societal outcomes over a lifetime discounting at 3% and reporting in 2022 US dollars. Sensitivity and scenario analyses identified influential variables. RESULTS: We estimated that 107 253 outpatient visits, 38 204 emergency department visits, and 14 341 hospitalizations could be averted each year if half of the US birth cohort receives nirsevimab. This would cost $153 517 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) saved. Nirsevimab in the second season for children facing a 10-fold higher risk of hospitalization would cost $308 468 per QALY saved. Sensitivity analyses showed RSV hospitalization costs, nirsevimab cost, and QALYs lost from RSV disease were the most influential parameters with cost-effectiveness ratios between cost-saving and $323 788 per QALY saved. CONCLUSIONS: Nirsevimab for infants may be cost-effective, particularly among those with higher risks and costs of RSV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The boreal winter of 2022/23 was notable as a third consecutive winter in which La Niña had an influence on the European weather. The GloSea6 seasonal forecast system predicted a blocked circulation pattern in the North Atlantic in early winter (December), and then a transition through mid‐winter (January) into a more zonal pattern in late winter (February), consistent with the canonical La Niña teleconnection pattern seen previously. The seasonal forecast for the UK was an increased likelihood of near average temperatures, and drier‐ and calmer‐than‐average conditions. Both the predicted broad‐scale circulation patterns and UK winter mean weather conditions verified well against observations, and we show that seasonal forecasts of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) over the last 10 winters show similar skill to previously reported hindcasts. Throughout the winter, the Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) was particularly active. On three occasions, it exhibited strong phases 6 and 7. There was also a sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) that occurred on 16th February. This was followed by colder conditions and associated impacts similar to the canonical negative NAO response over the UK, although the main impact fell in March and so did not affect the winter (December–January–February) mean conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present detailed data on the feeding patterns of the Neotropical cichlid Australoheros acaroides (Hensel, 1870) in southern Brazil, focusing on three questions: (i) do feeding patterns vary according to the season or body size class of the species? (ii) are the niche breadth and intraspecific trophic overlap influenced by the season or the body size class? and (iii) how do feeding strategies and the fractional trophic level vary among seasons and body size classes? We analyzed 88 individuals and identified 27 different types of food item. A PERMANOVA identified significant variation in the composition of the diet among the seasons and body size classes. We detected a relatively narrow trophic niche, and a feeding strategy that varied in the relative use of resources among seasons and body size classes. Trophic overlap was relatively discreet among seasons and body size classes, however, and there was also little variation in the fractional trophic position of the species among seasons or size classes. These findings provide important insights into different aspects of the trophic relationships of A. acaroides in the subtropical region of southern Brazil, and resolve an important knowledge gap in its feeding ecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Female and male cooperative breeders can use different strategies to maximize reproduction and fitness over their lifetimes. Answering questions about fitness in cooperative breeders requires long-term studies as well as complete data on group composition and size which can be exceedingly difficult to obtain. Using a long-term genetic data set of complete group pedigrees, I asked how lifetime reproductive characteristics of female and male gray wolves (Canis lupus) differed. I predicted that genetic relatedness to helpers would be higher for females than males due to philopatric behavior of female wolves, group size would be similar between the sexes, females would inherit breeding positions from within groups more often than males due to differences in dispersal strategies between the sexes, males would have more lifetime mates and produce more young than females because of polygamy, and females would breed for more years than males due to the likelihood that females would still breed (with a new partner) after a mate died or was expelled from the group. I documented complete lifetime breeding histories for 11 male and 18 female wolves in Idaho, United States, 2008 to 2018. Genetic relatedness to helpers, group size, number of mates, pups, and years breeding did not differ between the sexes. Females, however, inherited breeding positions within groups far more often than males. Individuals who secured breeding positions generally reproduced for 2 seasons and commonly had more than 1 partner during their lifetimes if they were able to maintain their breeding position longer. Direct fitness varied greatly within female and male breeding wolves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the spatiotemporal distribution and trends of extreme temperature events across four climatic zones in Nigeria. These were done by analyzing daily maximum and minimum temperature data from 20 synoptic stations for 1983–2017 at 0.5° × 0.5° resolution obtained from NASA Power Archive. The study evaluated trends in 13 extreme temperature indices recommended by ETCCDI and categorized them into intensity and frequency indices for warm and cold events using linear regression and the modified Mann–Kendall test. Results revealed increasing trends in indices related to extremely warm temperatures like annual maximum temperatures (TXx), warm days (TX90p), warm nights (TN90p), summer days (SU25), tropical nights (TR20), and warm spell duration (WSDI), across most regions, indicating more frequent and intense warm extremes. Conversely, decreasing trends were observed in indices associated with extreme cold temperatures including cold days (TX10p), cold nights (TN10p), and cold spell duration (CSDI). Regional and seasonal variations were also observed, with the Sahel and Savannah regions experiencing more pronounced warming trends compared to the Forest and Coastal regions. Some indices exhibited stronger warming trends during the wet season and cooling trends during the dry season. The findings contribute to understanding climate change dynamics in Nigeria and emphasize the urgent need for adequate mitigation and adaptation strategies to address challenges posed by rising temperatures across the different climatic zones in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sriharikota, the spaceport of India, is a southeast coastal island. Accurate knowledge of surface wind variations, including sea and land breezes, is crucial for planning critical activities. However, there is a lack of long-term climatological studies on sea breeze (SB) characteristics. Our study presents a comprehensive analysis of the long-term characteristics of SB at study region, utilizing ERA5 reanalysis data over a 43-year period (1980–2022). The validation of reanalysis data is carried out for the period 2013–2018 against 100 m meteorological wind tower data located at Sriharikota, which confirms that ERA5 winds effectively reproduce SB features within acceptable error limits. The findings indicate that SB formation and characteristics at study region is mostly dependent on prevailing thermal gradient and background synoptic conditions. Results reveal a peak in number of SB days during pre-monsoon months, particularly May, due to strong land-sea thermal contrasts and favorable wind conditions, while monsoon months exhibit the least SB occurrences due to strong synoptic conditions. Furthermore, our analysis highlights significant seasonal variability in SB characteristics, with the angle of attack, intensity, and inland penetration showing distinct patterns across seasons. A clockwise shift in the angle of attack is observed from January to August, followed by an anticlockwise shift from September to December, driven by changes in background wind conditions. The study also demonstrates the longest SB duration during winter, although with weaker intensity. Analysis of Inter-annual variability of SB days shows a slight declining trend in SB days in recent years, with mixed seasonal signals: decreasing trends in pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons, and increasing trends in winter and post-monsoon seasons were observed. However, the coarse horizontal resolution of ERA5 data poses limitations in capturing mesoscale dynamics, suggesting the need for high-resolution regional climate models and coupled ocean-atmospheric models for improved accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the burden of influenza-associated acute respiratory infection (ARI) and severe ARI (SARI) is crucial for public health decision-making. A population-based study with multiple data sources was conducted to estimate the burden of influenza-associated ARI in Wanzhou District, Chongqing, southern China. Population-based surveillance study. Active surveillance of ARI was conducted in different levels of health facilities in the Wanzhou District between October 2021 and March 2022. Nasal or throat swabs were collected and tested for influenza viruses in hospital-based surveillance. A health utilisation survey was used to estimate health-seeking behaviour, and all electronic medical records were collected. An epidemiological model was used to estimate the disease burden. There were an estimated 52,960 influenza-associated ARI (95 % confidence interval [CI]: 39,213–84,891), including 2,529 SARI cases (95 % CI: 1,385–21,712) during winter 2021/22 in the Wanzhou District. The incidence rate for all influenza-associated ARI and SARI was 3,385/100,000 and 162/100,000, respectively. A higher incidence rate of influenza-associated ARI was observed among individuals aged <50 years, while a higher influenza-associated SARI rate was observed in those aged ≥50 years. Using an epidemiological model with data from multiple sources, this study documented a substantial burden of influenza-associated ARI in the Wanzhou District, highlighting the need for influenza vaccination and providing a possible foundation for public health decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) modules precipitation variability at seasonal and monthly scale over Southeastern South America (SESA), but also has incidence on how daily precipitation is distributed throughout the month. While most of the studies addressed the precipitation response at seasonal scale, the community research is advancing on the understanding of teleconnections at a finer scale. The objective of this study is to assess ENSO signal on the intensity and length of individual precipitation events at sub-seasonal scale during October-February for the period 1979–2015 over SESA. The distribution of precipitation was characterized through wet spells (WS): number and intensity for each month (NWS and IntWS, respectively). In the study region, short WS (1 day length) are more frequent over Uruguay and the southern part of Argentina whereas medium WS (2–6 days length) dominates in the center of the region. Both short and medium WS present higher intensity over central SESA. The ENSO signal is stronger during November over the center of the study region and during December over Uruguay, and weakens the following months. Both hot spots during these months consist on higher monthly precipitation characterized by longer and more intense WS under El Niño phase, at the expense of lower occurrence of individual (1 day) rainfall events. Regarding inter-event variability, El Niño composite is more representative of strong events whereas mostly La Niña events presented negative anomalies with variable spatial pattern. This research is a contribution to answer to user demands for action planning to reduce climatic risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arctic region is undergoing significant changes in maritime accessibility. This study investigates observed ship trajectories from 2013 to 2020 to demonstrate the recent trends of Arctic traffic. A notable surge in maritime activities has been observed, particularly during summer months, driven by economic interests and the increasing popularity of existing routes. Unique patterns in the northern Barents Sea have been observed where ships favour different routes based on seasonal ice conditions. Another contribution from this work is the validation of the Arctic Traffic Accessibility Model (ATAM) using the observed ship traffic data. Results show that the ATAM model underestimates the accessibility and vessel travel speed. This is largely due to outdated model parameters. The predefined ice multipliers and calculation of ice numerals used in the ATAM may not accurately reflect real-world conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Exposure to asthma exacerbating triggers may be dependent on the season and an individual's social factors and subsequent means to avoid triggers. We assessed for seasonal variations and differential outcomes based on race and income in admissions for asthma in a United States nationwide assessment. Methods: This retrospective study assessed adult hospitalizations for asthma 2016–2019 using the National Inpatient Sample. Hospitalizations were categorized by season: winter (December–February), spring (March–May), summer (June–August), fall (September–November). Multivariable linear and logistic regression were used to assess associations between season, race, income quartile (determined by the median income within a patient's ZIP code), and outcomes. Results: The study included 423,140 admissions with a mean age of 51 years, and 73% of the cohort being female and 56% non-white. Admissions peaked during winter (124, 145) and were lowest in summer (80,525). Intubation rates were increased in summer compared to winter (2.73 vs 1.93%, aOR = 1.19, 95% CI: 1.04–1.37) as were rates of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) (7.92 vs 7.06%, aOR = 1.08, 95% CI: 1.00–1.17). Compared to white patients, intubation (2.53 vs 1.87%, absolute difference 0.66%, aOR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.02–1.29) and NIPPV (9.95 vs 5.45%, absolute difference 4.5%, aOR = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.57–1.82) were increased in Black patients. No significant associations between income and clinical outcomes were found. Conclusions: Asthma admission peak during winter, while summer admissions and non-white race are associated with higher rates of NIPPV and intubation. Public health initiatives and strategically timed outpatient visits could combat seasonal variation and social disparities in asthma outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to identify the meteorological factors that contribute to dengue epidemics. The monthly incidence of dengue was used as the outcome variable, while maximum temperature, humidity, precipitation, and sunshine hours were used as independent variables. The results showed a consistent increase in monthly dengue cases from 2013 to 2021, with seasonal patterns observed in stationary time-series data. The ARIMA (2, 1, 3) × seasonal (0, 1, 2)12 model was used based on its lowest Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) values. The analysis revealed that a 1-unit increase in rainfall was positively correlated with a small 0.062-unit increase in dengue cases, whereas a 1-unit increase in humidity was negatively associated, leading to a substantial reduction of approximately 16.34 cases. This study highlights the importance of incorporating weather data into national dengue prevention programs to enhance public awareness and to promote recommended safety measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought is a globally prevalent and economically devastating natural disaster that significantly affects agricultural production. The North China Plain (NCP) comprises China's largest cultivation region for winter wheat, Nevertheless, the impact of seasonal drought on the net primary productivity (NPP) of winter wheat in the NCP has not been fully elucidated. Therefore, this study evaluated the impacts of different drought types on NPP losses to reveals variations in farmers' strategies for coping with drought. In this paper, we divided the NCP into humid area (HA) and semiarid area (SA), using the palmer drought severity index (PDSI) to represent natural agricultural drought (NAD) and the vegetation health index (VHI) to signify actual agricultural drought (AAD), with winter wheat NPP losses serving as an indicator of drought impact. Results showed that NPP losses in both HA and SA increased from the 1980s to the 2000s, and then gradually decreased in the 2010s. Spatial analysis indicated that winter wheat was more sensitive to NAD in HA than in SA, with the strongest correlation between NPP and VHI observed in March in HA and in April in SA. Despite the inconsistency between PDSI and VHI, the responsiveness of winter wheat to drought heightened with the advancement of phenological development, suggesting that farmers did not adopt suitable irrigation strategies based on actual climatic conditions. Although precipitation remained a primary driving factor for NAD, temperature and radiation gradually emerged as the dominant causes of AAD. Our results contribute to a better understanding of regional carbon cycling and the improved management of winter wheat production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the basis of the synergistic seasonal evolution of sea surface salinity over the Maritime Continent (MC SSS) and South Asian rainfall, the singular value decomposition analysis is used to identify a robust coupled mode between springtime MC SSS and South Asian summer monsoon rainfall (SASMR). High MC SSS is accompanied by a SASMR dipole (suppressed rainfall in northern India and enhanced rainfall in the eastern Tibetan Plateau), which is largely caused by the negative and positive moisture flux convergence associated with ocean-to-land moisture transport. In addition, the negative rainfall anomalies in northern India decrease evapotranspiration and further suppress Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR) because of land-to-atmosphere feedback. The seasonal forecast of ISMR can be improved by incorporating SSS into a physics-based empirical model, which was selected according to adjusted R2 values, Mallows' Cp values, and cross-validation. In this study, we found that a new predictor (ocean salinity) over the MC region can improve ISMR prediction, which highlights the importance of enhanced monitoring of salinity in the MC region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tropical cyclone (TC) risk often varies with changes in the distribution of TC energy within and between basins. Little is known how global tropical cyclone energy is redistributed under global warming. By studying the contribution of individual basin TCs to the global TC activity, the study reveals the process of energy redistribution among different tropical cyclone categories. Results indicate that the distribution of accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) varies among the different tropical cyclone categories in a given basin. The percentage of the ACE in an individual basin has undergone significant redistribution over several decades. The changes in impact factors in specific basins during the active tropical cyclone season are discussed in relation to those factors in other basins, and they are found to vary among the basins. Furthermore, the models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) show trends in the distribution of TC energy in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the regional characteristics of the occurrence rate of ionospheric anomalies of total electron content derived from global position system (GPS) observations. The area of concern spans 70° of longitude, from 70° E to 140° E, and 40° of latitude, from 15° N to 55° N. We introduced the 27 days moving window method to automatically detect anomalies that are caused by various sources. The spatial, diurnal, seasonal, and yearly distribution of the occurrence rate of extreme anomalies in 2011–2018 were provided. The spatial distribution of the occurrence rates of positive and negative anomalies had clear patterns in latitude and it did not change much in longitude at a certain local time over this area. The occurrence rates of positive and negative anomalies at the middle latitudes had significantly different diurnal variations from those at low latitudes. The maximum and minimum of the occurrence rates of positive anomalies occurred at about 17:00 local time (LT) and about 13:00 LT over the region from 36° N to 45° N. The maximum and minimum of the occurrence rates of negative anomalies in the same area occurred at about 07:00 LT and 18:00 LT over the region from 36° N to 45° N. There was no clear pattern in the seasonal variations of occurrence rates of positive and negative anomalies over [70° E-140° E, 15° N-55° N] in 2011–2018. The mean O/N2 had low values in summer and comparable high values in other seasons in 2015, and the O/N2 may not be the main reason for irregular seasonal characteristics of occurrence rate of anomalies. The occurrence rates of positive and negative anomaly in the year when the F10.7 index is relatively low, such as 2018, may be larger than the occurrence rates in the year with relatively large F10.7 index, such as 2014. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

River bank instability in the lower Ganga plain has been a major concern since the early 1850s due to its huge catchment flux and transboundary character, especially in the districts of Malda and Murshidabad. This study examines the seasonal dynamics of banklines in the upper and lower Farakka regions. The study assesses seasonal changes in the lower Ganga regions over 68 years (1955–2022) and projects trends for the next 22 years (2022–2044) using a GIS-based Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) approach. Long-term erosion prevails on the left bank at −19.38 ± 2.83 m yr^-1 (LRR method), with 38.61 % of transects showing a significant (p < 0.05) erosional rate, covering 58.85 % of total erosional transects. The right bank experiences accretion at a rate of 6.82 ± 2.83 m yr^-1, with 27.66 % of transects showing a significant erosional rate, covering 46.10 % of total erosional transects. Short-term fluctuations show erosion-accretion values surpassing the 50 % threshold, highlighting dominant erosion in 1975–1980 and 1985–2015. The non-cyclic erosion-accretion nature unveils erosional processes in 1975–2000 and 2010–2015 and accretional processes in 2000–2010 and 2015–2021 on the right bank during the monsoon season. The dynamics of the projected bank lines exhibit an accretional tendency over the right bank and an erosional trend over the left. Moreover, a strong correlation between the actual and expected bank lines is shown by the R 2 value surpassing 0.95 for all seasons on both the left and right banks. The erosional trends are evident in Chachunda at a rate of −152.45 ± 198.92 m yr^-1, while Loharpur and Shikdarpur exhibit erosional rates of −237.88 ± 211.30 m yr^-1 and −243.59 ± 207.91 m yr^-1, respectively, in the lower Farakka. The seasonal long-term and short-term analyses are influenced by various forcing mechanisms like high sediment flux, enormous discharge, and drastic anthropogenic intervention that drives changing foci of erosion and accretion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Video activity schedules are a combination of video modeling and activity schedules that teach a singular task or a series of tasks to be completed. Instead of a sequence of pictures, videos demonstrate to the learner what is expected to be done. Research has focused heavily on using video activity schedules to teach daily living or vocational skills; however, there is a lack of research on using video activity schedules to teach play skills. In this study, a non-concurrent multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the effect of a video activity schedule to teach four dyads of autistic children how to play cooperative games during a summer day camp. Results indicate that all participants learned how to play the game, including during generalization and maintenance probes. A limitation within the study was a lack of data collected for social communication and social validity. Future research should collect social communication data and/or other measures like indices of happiness (e.g., smiling, laughing, etc.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The East Asian summer monsoon in Northeast Asia (NEA) has experienced an increase in summer rainfall and a delayed end to the rainy season after 2000, suggesting a trend of enhancement. Based on the data analyses spanning 1979–2022, our results show that the increased rainfall amounts are associated with a more pronounced Mongolian cyclone (MC) in July–August, a manifestation of a portion of the Eurasian barotropic Rossby wave train. Sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the North Atlantic (NA) regulate this wave train, with SST increases leading to its amplification. Somewhat independently, a delayed end to the rainy season in September is related to an enhanced anticyclone over the Kuril Islands (ACKI) in the Russian Far East. This anticyclone originates in the Arctic region, possibly induced by the loss of sea ice in the East Siberian Sea, a condition that can be detected two months in advance. The stronger MC and ACKI jointly contribute to the observed enhancement in the East Asian summer monsoon in NEA since 2000 by facilitating ascending motion and moisture transport. Therefore, the SST anomaly in the NA, which is responsible for the intensified rainfall in the rainy season in NEA, coupled with the sea ice conditions in the East Siberian Sea, provides a potential prediction source for the retreat of the rainy season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Droughts that occurred in selected areas located in homogeneous regions of South America during the austral springs (SON) and summers (DJF) from 1982 to 2019 are identified using the Standard Precipitation Index (SPI). Four areas were analyzed for droughts in SON, and three areas were analyzed for droughts in DJF. The areas in the Amazon suffered from the majority of their droughts during El Niño years, while most of the droughts in the areas of southern Brazil, Uruguay, and North Argentina occurred during La Niña years. In southeastern and central-western parts of Brazil, droughts occurred during both phases of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and also during neutral years. Thus, other processes besides ENSO are likely related to the observed droughts. The droughts were investigated for each area and month, and composites of atmospheric and oceanic variables during both seasons were analyzed for the selected cases. Regional and large-scale field composites were examined to identify the main processes associated with dry conditions in the different areas. Regional features were related to the influence of high pressure over southern and southeastern areas and the divergence of moisture flux in all areas. Meridional circulations contributed to subsidence over the dry regions. The large-scale influential features include SST anomalies, wavetrains over the South Pacific Ocean with centers of action over South America that produced subsidence in the study areas, and convection anomalies in the Maritime continent and surrounding areas. Therefore, the droughts were associated with a combination of regional and large-scale features that produced subsidence over the analyzed regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines low-level jets (LLJs) across Northeastern China during both warm (June–September) and cold seasons (December–March) from 1957 to 2021, using fifth generation of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts reanalysis data with 25-km resolution. LLJs manifest in two prominent regions, one along the leeward flank of the Da Hinggan Ling Mountains in the cold season and another at the center of Northeastern China in the warm season. The intricate interplay between ambient circulation and terrain shapes LLJ distribution, altitudes, wind directions, diurnal cycles, and seasonal diversities. During the warm season, prevailing southwesterly LLJs are found at 925 hPa, while the cold season features stronger and more frequent northwesterly LLJs at 875 hPa. Analysis of the diurnal patterns reveals distinctive behaviors of LLJs in the cold and warm seasons. During the warm season, the single peak in LLJ occurrence emerges around midnight; conversely, in the cold season, LLJs are most frequent shortly before midnight, with an additional sub-peak in the morning. A momentum budget analysis establishes mechanisms underlying these two distinct diurnal variations. In both seasons, the diurnal variation of LLJs is predominately driven by an inertial oscillation and mountain-valley circulations. However, the sub-peak observed in the cold-season morning arises from the thermodynamic and dynamic interaction between the low-level atmosphere and complex terrain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the first time, two-year seasonal studies of phytoplankton production were carried out in the rocky–sandy littoral zone of the northern deep and cold-water Lake Onego. The research results showed that photosynthesis is characterized by two or three seasonal maxima, the values of which are within the limits of oligotrophic ecosystems. The main primary producers, the concentration of phosphorus in water, and the water temperature during the growing season are considered. Differences in the seasonal dynamics of photosynthesis and a similar level of seasonal average and maximum values were revealed in comparison with the deep-water region of the lake. The small contribution of littoral phytoplankton production to the primary productivity of the ecosystem is shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]