Recent ucd_postprints items

The socio‐ecological niche

Sat, 29 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract Ecologists recognise that we live on an increasingly human‐dominated planet, yet most of the field's foundational concepts remain essentially biophysical, with little reference to human society. There are few better examples of this divide between ecological and social theory than the niche concept. During its century‐long history, the niche concept has been defined in many ways, including to describe the ecological roles of humans. To date, however, it has not incorporated human influences into its various descriptions of other species' ecological roles. In this essay, we present the socio‐ecological niche (SEN) concept, which builds on the literature in niche theory by contributing insights from the social sciences and humanities to better understand the roles of non‐human species in modern socio‐ecological systems. We argue that the SEN enriches the niche concept and offers a point of connection between ecology and justice. Read the free Plain Language...

Both inherent soil properties and management practices shape soil microbial communities under prolonged organic management

Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The soil microbiome is recognized as a key component of soil health; however, microbial community responses to agricultural management can be inconsistent and context dependent. Here, we investigated the connections between soil microbial communities, soil properties, and agricultural practices in the Driftless Region of Wisconsin and Illinois, spanning 128 fields that have been under organic management for varying durations (from 3 to 51 years). Using structural equation modeling (SEM) we uncovered the effects of tillage, time under organic management, alfalfa use, and cover crop use on total carbon, nitrogen, and pH while quantifying their direct and indirect effects on bacterial biomass, bacterial diversity, relative abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), and fungal diversity. We found that bacterial and fungal community compositions significantly varied among fields that recently transitioned to organic management but converged to a more consistent composition...

Exploiting the CXCR3/CXCL10 axis overrides tumor immune suppression by enhancing immune trafficking and effector cell priming in HNSCC

Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Immune-suppressive tumor microenvironments (TMEs) limit the impact of checkpoint blockade in many cancers by restricting the infiltration and activation of CD8⁺ T, CD4⁺ T, and NK cells. Utilizing murine models of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, we demonstrated that intratumoral (IT) delivery of CXCL10 drives tumor elimination and inhibits recurrence not only by recruiting these cells but by enhancing their antitumoral functions and stunting angiogenesis. CD8⁺ T cells also display enhanced activation, tumor-antigen specificity, and decreased T cell exhaustion. Despite administration of CXCL10 into tumors, CD8⁺ and CD4⁺ T cells show enhanced presence and proliferation in tumor-draining lymph nodes (TdLNs), consistent with T cell priming and trafficking between tumors and TdLNs. Together, the data suggest that CXCL10 promotes a mutually reinforcing feedback loop that reprograms the TME toward an immunologically responsive...

A sorghum pangenome reference improves global crop trait discovery

Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Although the green revolution adapted a handful of crops to homogeneous and high-input industrialized agriculture, much of the global population still relies on the local production of variable crop cultivars by low-input smallholder farms. This diversity of unhomogenized crops1, like that of the grain and bioenergy crop sorghum2, 3, 4–5, offers raw materials for genetic gain and cultivar improvement. However, breeding efforts can be constrained by highly specialized traits and breeding targets6. Here, to bridge this diversity, we constructed a 33-member pangenome reference and a diversity panel across 1,984 cultivars and landraces. We leveraged these resources to explore the complex interplay among historical contingency, ongoing adaptation and previously uncharacterized structural diversity. Specifically, our analyses conclusively demonstrated multiple nested and deeply diverged structural variants in the domestication gene SHATTERING1, which distinguish the previously established...

Combined effective field theory interpretation of Higgs boson, electroweak vector boson, top quark, and multijet measurements

Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Constraints on Wilson coefficients (WCs) corresponding to dimension-6 operators of the standard model effective field theory (SMEFT) are determined from a simultaneous fit to seven sets of CMS measurements probing Higgs boson, electroweak vector boson, top quark, and multijet production. Measurements of electroweak precision observables are also included and provide complementary constraints to those from the CMS experiment. The CMS measurements, using LHC proton-proton collision data at s=13Te$$\sqrt{s}=13\,\text {Te}\text {V} $$, corresponding to integrated luminosities of 36.3 or 138fb-1$$\,\text {fb}^{-1}$$, are chosen to provide sensitivity to a broad set of operators, for which consistent SMEFT predictions can be derived. These are primarily measurements of differential cross sections which are parameterized as functions of the WCs. In measurements targeting t(t¯)X$${\text {t}} (\bar{\textrm{t}})\text {X} $$ production, SMEFT effects are modelled at the detector level. Individual...

IN MEMORIAM - Irwin Feinberg, MD

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

IN MEMORIAM - Irwin Feinberg, MD

Hydraulic Behavior and Plant Performance of Redwood Bark-Coir and Palm Fiber-Peat Substrates under Deficit Drip Irrigation

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Hydraulic Behavior and Plant Performance of Redwood Bark-Coir and Palm Fiber-Peat Substrates under Deficit Drip Irrigation

Amyloid positron emission tomography candidates may focus more on benefits than risks of results disclosure.

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Given mounting calls to disclose biomarker test results to research participants, we explored factors underlying decisions by patients with mild cognitive impairment to receive amyloid imaging results.

Methods

Prospective, qualitative interviews were conducted with 59 participants (30 = mild cognitive impairment patients, 29 = care partners) from the scan arm of a randomized controlled trial on the effects of amyloid PET results disclosure in an Alzheimer Disease Research Center setting.

Results

Sixty-three percent of the participants were female, with an average age of 72.9 years, and most had greater than a high school level of education (80%). Primary motivations included: (1) better understanding ones mild cognitive impairment etiology and prognosis to plan ahead, and (2) learning ones brain amyloid status for knowledges sake, regardless of whether the information is actionable. Most participants demonstrated an adequate...

Rapid Wintertime Formation of Phenolic Secondary Organic Aerosol from Brown Carbon Photochemistry

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract: Biomass burning (BB) is a major organic aerosol source during urban winter pollution events. BB particles are rich in brown carbon (BrC) and absorb light to produce photooxidants such as oxidizing triplet excited states of organic chromophores (3C*). In midlatitudes, semivolatile phenols (ArOH) from BB are oxidized to form phenolic secondary organic aerosol (SOA) under moderate temperatures and sunlight. Here, we explore whether phenolic SOA is also formed in a cold, relatively dark, high-latitude city during winter. We use measurements from the 2022 ALPACA field campaign in Fairbanks, Alaska, incorporated into the PACT-1D model with added emissions, partitioning, and chemistry for 34 semivolatile BB phenols. The model includes phenol oxidation in the gas phase and in two populations of particles─aqueous and organic. Despite short pollutant residence times within the polluted surface layer, simulated phenolic SOA formation is fast, generating up to...

Functional Differentiation of Type II and Type I Collagen Articular Models in Synovial Fluid Film Formation and Recombinant Equine Lubricin Retention

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

ABSTRACT: Collagen type II (Col‐II) and collagen type I (Col‐I) are major components of articular cartilage present at different ratios at its surface. Understanding how each of these components mediates the assembly of molecular films derived from synovial fluid (SF), the lubricant of synovial joints, is critical to explain the loss of mechanical performance in pathological conditions, guide the design of biomaterial implants meant to be in contact with SF, and develop molecular therapies to restore SF properties. This work demonstrates that Col‐II articular surface model assists in scaffolding SF‐derived films, while Col‐I model lacks SF film scaffolding capabilities. However, when Col‐II and Col‐I are exposed to recombinant equine lubricin (rEqLub), an analog of the major boundary lubricant in SF, both adsorbed and retained similar amounts. These insights, deduced from quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation, diffuse reflectance circular dichroism,...

Noncontact respiratory monitoring during sleep: comparison of the touchless flow signal with respiratory inductance plethysmography flow (RIP_flow) signal to assess respiratory events.

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Study objectives

A nonintrusive sleep monitoring technology based on the data from a commercially available depth sensing camera has been utilized for respiratory monitoring and shown to have good performance in assessing respiratory rates across a range of rates. This noncontact or touchless, technology allows continuous respiratory monitoring without attaching probes to the patient. We have noticed a strikingly similar morphology between the noncontact flow signal (NCM_flow) and the flow signal derived using the chest and abdomen respiratory inductance plethysmography (RIP_flow) bands. Here we report on a quantitative assessment of the morphological similarity between the two signals for a cohort of patients undergoing polysomnography.

Methods

We collected depth data from 25 sleep patients undergoing attended polysomnography. Correlation and mutual trending were assessed between the NCM_flow and RIP_flow signals in...

Finite Element Implementation of SAFE for Asymmetric Stream-Aquifer Flow Exchange

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Climate change and human activities increasingly affect interconnected stream-aquifer systems, motivating continued evaluation of how stream-aquifer interactions are represented in integrated groundwater-surface water models. Most groundwater models quantify stream-aquifer exchange using an empirical riverbed leakance parameter that is predefined or calibrated from observed head differences between the stream and aquifer. Here, we describe the numerical implementation of the analytical stream aquifer flow exchange (SAFE) formulation (Morel-Seytoux et al., 2018) within the finite-element-based Integrated Water Flow Model (IWFM). SAFE represents stream-aquifer exchange using physically based parameters and provides an alternative to commonly used first order exchange (FOE) formulations, such as the MODFLOW River Package (RIV). A key extension is the ability to quantify asymmetric stream-aquifer exchange arising from different groundwater heads on opposing sides of a stream, a capability...

Biomarkers.

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Background

Plasma biomarkers have demonstrated excellent performances in detecting AD/ADRD-related brain pathology. However, their relationship with cognitive decline remains unclear. We examined this in a large memory clinic cohort with baseline plasma biomarkers and repeated cognitive assessments over approximately three decades.

Method

Participants at the University of Pittsburgh Alzheimers Disease Research Center underwent blood collection and Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) Sum of Boxes-based cognitive assessment cross-sectionally, followed by annual CDR assessments for up to 29 years (3.0 [IQR 1.9-5.9]). Plasma p-tau181, p-tau217, brain-derived tau (BD-tau), GFAP and NfL, were measured using SIMOA assays. Linear/logistic regression and Fishers exact were employed for statistical inference.

Result

We included 4,073 participants (59.9% female; 90.2% self-identified non-Hispanic White), aged 71.9 ± 9.8 years, with 2160 being non-demented (CDR≤0.5) at baseline....

In Support of AB 2374 to Establish California’s Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander-Serving Institution Designation

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In Support of AB 2374 to Establish California’s Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander-Serving Institution Designation

IN MEMORIAM - Irwin Feinberg, MD

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

IN MEMORIAM - Irwin Feinberg, MD

OSA and Chronic Respiratory Disease: Mechanisms and Epidemiology.

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a highly prevalent disorder that has profound implications on the outcomes of patients with chronic lung disease. The hallmark of OSA is a collapse of the oropharynx resulting in a transient reduction in airflow, large intrathoracic pressure swings, and intermittent hypoxia and hypercapnia. The subsequent cytokine-mediated inflammatory cascade, coupled with tractional lung injury, damages the lungs and may worsen several conditions, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, interstitial lung disease, and pulmonary hypertension. Further complicating this is the sleep fragmentation and deterioration of sleep quality that occurs because of OSA, which can compound the fatigue and physical exhaustion often experienced by patients due to their chronic lung disease. For patients with many pulmonary disorders, the available evidence suggests that the prompt recognition and treatment of sleep-disordered breathing improves their quality of...

Decellularized Extracellular Matrix Mitigates the Senescent Phenotype and Restores Osteogenic Potential in Human Mesenchymal Stromal Cells

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Autologous cell-based approaches for bone repair using mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in older patients are limited in part by cellular senescence, resulting in impaired MSC self-renewal and differentiation. Currently, the field lacks a standardized method to induce senescence in human MSCs and characterize them for experimental use, as well as effective strategies to mitigate the harmful effects of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). We previously demonstrated that MSC-secreted decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) enhances the osteogenic potential and survival of MSCs. We hypothesized that senescent MSCs would exhibit improved osteogenic potential and reduced SASP activity when maintained on dECM. We first demonstrated that a senescent phenotype can be reliably induced in human MSCs through ionizing irradiation coupled with a 21-day preconditioning phase in culture, evidenced by increased beta-galactosidase staining and enlarged cell area. We then observed...

Assessing electrification readiness in U.S. single-family homes based on a nationwide survey of electrical panel capacities