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Density Dependence During Evolutionary Rescue Increases Extinction Risk but Does Not Prevent Adaptation
No full textEvolutionary rescue allows populations to adapt and persist despite severe environmental change. While well studied under density-independent conditions, the role of density dependence, including competition, remains unclear. Theoretical models offer conflicting predictions, with density dependence either increasing extinction risk or enhancing adaptation. We empirically tested how density dependence influences evolutionary rescue by exposing experimental populations to a stressful environment for six generations under density-dependent or independent conditions, with populations where either evolution was possible or was prevented by replacing individuals each generation. Density dependence suppressed population size and increased extinction risk, whereas density independence enabled rapid growth, especially in genetically diverse populations where evolution was possible. Although density dependence raises extinction risk, it does not prevent populations from responding to selection, since surviving density-dependent populations still exhibited increased intrinsic and realised fitness. These findings reconcile theoretical discrepancies, showing density dependence can simultaneously increase extinction risk but may favour adaptation. Our results underscore the importance of considering density dependence in conservation strategies
The Hope Industrial Complex: Resisting Manufactured and False Hope with Critical Hope in Peace Education, Thailand\u27s Refugee Context
No full textOur Point of Departure (POD) argues that the type of hope fostered within the Karen refugee community in Thailand – manufactured, false, or critical – shapes the impact of peace-building and higher education efforts. Through a dialogue among a Karen scholar, his supervisor, and a migration researcher, we demonstrate that manufactured hope, often driven by external aid, sustains dependency and overlooks core conflicts. In contrast, false hope arises from the gap between student desires and institutional barriers, leading to unmet expectations. We aim to show that by applying critical hope, the pedagogical approach enables the Karen community to enhance its capacity, develop its own educational solutions, and engage as partners, ultimately positioning them to lead peace-building efforts grounded in their expertise and needs. Our POD thus highlights how centering affected communities in educational refugee policy and peace-building leads to more sustainable, community-driven outcomes
A Cryptographic Perspective on the Verifiability of Quantum Advantage
No full textIn recent years, achieving verifiable quantum advantage on a NISQ device has emerged as an important open problem in quantum information. The sampling-based quantum advantages are not known to have efficient verification methods. This article investigates the verification of quantum advantage from a cryptographic perspective. We establish a strong connection between the verifiability of quantum advantage and cryptographic and complexity primitives, including efficiently samplable, statistically far but computationally indistinguishable pairs of (mixed) quantum states (EFI), pseudorandom states (PRS), and variants of minimum circuit size problems (MCSP). Specifically, we prove that a) a sampling-based quantum advantage is either verifiable or can be used to build EFI and even PRS and b) polynomial-time algorithms for a variant of MCSP would imply efficient verification of quantum advantages. Our work shows that the quest for verifiable quantum advantages may lead to applications of quantum cryptography, and the construction of quantum primitives can provide new insights into the verifiability of quantum advantages
The Scope and Impact of Walking the Talk for Dementia 2024
No full textWalking the Talk for Dementia (WTD) is a global educational initiative integrating a walk along the Camino de Santiago with a symposium to combat dementia stigma, raise awareness, and foster inclusion
Coexisting Salps Exhibit Distinct Feeding Selectivity on Microorganisms in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre
No full textMortality mechanisms play an important role in how oceanic microorganisms contribute to global biogeochemical cycles. Salps are widespread pelagic tunicates known to remove phytoplankton from coastal and high-latitude waters, but their interaction with microorganisms in the vast tropical and subtropical gyres is not well quantified. Using quantitative measurements of six major marine microorganisms in the guts of six distinct but co-occurring salp species from the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, we examined the impact and dynamics of salp feeding on marine microorganisms in a vast open ocean region. All salps preferentially removed prey greater than 1 μm in diameter, including marine , diatoms, , and , while the smaller and SAR11 were not a major source of prey biomass. We also found that salp feeding varied between salp taxa with some salp guts dominated by both and while others were dominated by alone. Together, these results suggest that salp impacts are not uniform across taxa and their patterns of selective feeding among marine microbes requires consideration of species-specific feeding strategies and environmental context. Further, this work suggests that the mortality pressure of salp feeding on marine microorganisms may shape microbial community structure and that this pressure varies with the diversity and dynamics of macrozooplankton predators
Interview with Gordon Howard
No full textGordon Howard was interviewed by Hui Rodomsky on January 29, 2026, at the Department of Land Conservation and Development offices in Salem, Oregon.https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/planoregon_interviews/1081/thumbnail.jp
Chemical Control Strategies for Poa Annua in Managed Turfgrass Systems
No full textPoa annua L. is a widespread and persistent weed in managed turfgrass systems, exhibiting both annual and short-lived perennial growth habits. Effective management requires an integrated approach, with chemical herbicides remaining a primary tool. This review outlines the current landscape of chemical control strategies, including pre-emergence and post-emergence herbicide options, plant growth regulators, and emerging chemistries. Herbicide resistance in Poa annua continues to pose a significant challenge, with confirmed cases spanning multiple modes of action. Consequently, sustainable management depends on rotating herbicide classes, using mixtures and sequences of treatments, and integrating nonchemical tactics
Citizen Engagement in Budget Simulation: Examining the Effectiveness of Balancing Act Modules in Aligning Public Priorities and Allocation Choices
No full textThis study investigates the extent to which individuals exhibit consistency in their preferences during sequential budget simulation exercises, as well as the factors that shape these preferences. Grounded in behavioral and citizen participation frameworks, the analysis demonstrates that the simultaneous use of priority-setting and budget-balancing modules encourages participants to allocate resources in ways that reflect their previously articulated priorities. While instances of inconsistency remain common, preference consistency is associated with participants’ sustained support for their favored programs, their commitment to ensuring adequate resource allocation, and, to some extent, their willingness to finance these programs. The findings suggest that the integrated use of simulation modules effectively promotes the consistent preferences between public priorities and budgetary allocations. This study should encourage practitioners to utilize simulation modules not merely for surface-level assessments of citizen preferences, but as tools for fostering consensus by illustrating how citizens translate their stated priorities into concrete fiscal decisions
Madwoman Makings: The Modern Girl as an Object of Fear and Fascination in Unno Jūza’s “Mrs. Hirumi’s Refrigeration Bag”
No full textThis thesis argues that Unno Jūza\u27s 1937 short story “Mrs. Hirumi’s Refrigeration Bag” uses the sensational tropes of deviant detective fiction to both stage and interrogate interwar Japanese anxieties around gender, science, and modernity. Focusing on the figure of Mrs. Hirumi—a scientifically empowered and sexually assertive female plastic surgeon who dismembers and cryogenically preserves her husband—the author reads her as a radical iteration of the Japanese Modern Girl character. By drawing on scholarship on deviant detective fiction, imperial modernity, and Kazue Harada’s concept of (re)productivity, this thesis demonstrates how the short story both reproduces misogynistic criminological discourse and unsettles heteronormative reproductive futurism. Through close analysis of its unreliable narration, biopolitical imagery, and the text’s ambivalent treatment of Mrs. Hirumi, the author contends that Unno’s work complicates the dismissal of deviant detective fiction as mere pulp or imperialist propaganda. Finally, this thesis advocates a feminist, resistant reading practice and presents an abridged translation of “Mrs. Hirumi’s Refrigeration Bag” to facilitate further study of the Modern Girl archetype and early Japanese science fiction
Artificial Intelligence, Society 5.0 and Smart City Adaptation Initiatives for Businesses: an Integrated Approach
No full textThe mass migration of human populations to urban areas has resulted in unprecedented challenges for city services. To address and find solutions for these emerging issues, decision-makers must embrace the smart city and Society 5.0 paradigms, which comprehensively tackle various dimensions of the problem and ensure adaptability to evolving citizen needs. Central to the success of these paradigms is technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI). AI’s transformative capabilities enable the expansion of services, automation of tasks, efficient operationalization and processing vast amounts of data to address urban challenges, aligning with several sustainable development goals (SDGs) such as sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11). Municipalities require strategic plans that empower them to adapt to the AI, Society 5.0 and smart city paradigms, involving multiple stakeholders, including businesses. This study presents a multi-criteria analysis system designed to support decision-making in this complex context, considering the subjective nature and inherent complexity of the decision problem. The system development involved input from key decision-makers with relevant expertise, utilizing methodologies such as cognitive mapping and the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory technique applied in a neutrosophic environment to analyze cause-and-effect relationships between factors affecting adaptation initiatives. Based on a constructivist, process-oriented approach, the developed analysis system can assist decision-makers in navigating uncertainty during evaluations of technology integration. This holistic and comprehensive system promotes informed decision-making within the AI, Society 5.0 and smart city contexts, contributing to the achievement of relevant SDGs