Radial Growth Decline of White Spruce (Picea glauca) During Hot Summers without Drought: Preliminary Results from a Study Site South of a Boreal Forest Border

Here we investigate the possible future response of white spruce (Picea glauca) to a warmer climate by studying trees planted 90 years ago near the southern limit of their climate tolerance in central New York, 300 km south of the boreal forest where this species is prevalent. We employed high-frequency recording dendrometers to determine radial growth phenology of six mature white spruce trees during 2013-2017. Results demonstrate significant reductions in the length of radial growth periods inversely proportional to the number of hot days with air temperature exceeding 30 oC. During years with very hot summers, the start of radial growth began about 3 days earlier than the 2013-2017 average. However, in those same years the end of radial growth was also about 17 days earlier resulting in a shorter (70 versus 100 day), radial growth season. Abundant (350-500 mm) summer precipitation, which resulted in soil moisture values of 20-30% allowed us to dismiss drought as a factor. Instead, a likely cause of reduced radial growth was mean temperature that exceeded daily average of 30^oC that lead to photoinhibition.

Facial Trauma During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Study Design Retrospective cohort study. Objective The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on the regional trends in facial trauma at a tertiary care, level 1 trauma center in Central New York. Methods The study sample was derived from the population of patients who presented with facial trauma to the emergency department at the Downtown and/or Community Campuses of SUNY Upstate University Hospital between March 1, 2020, and May 15, 2020, and compared to two historical controls in 2018 and 2019. Descriptive and bivariate statistics were calculated for study variables in each cohort. Poisson regression was used to compare incident rate ratios (IRR) with 95% confidence intervals with significance set at P < .05. Results Sixty five patients presented during the COVID-19 pandemic, while 83 presented in 2019 and 95 in 2018. For the study period, the most common mechanism was assault in 47.7%. IRR was significantly lower than in 2018 (IRR = 1.46, P = .018), but not significantly different from 2019 (IRR = 1.28, P = .14). During lockdown, IRR was significantly decreased compared to 2019 (IRR = 1.84, P = .0029) and 2018 (IRR = 2.16, P < .001). Conclusion The volume of facial trauma seen in Central New York appears undeterred in the absence of “shelter in place” orders. Analysis of pandemic and regional trauma variations can offer valuable insight for improved resource allocation to better prepare for potentially high-risk procedures.

The Seasonal Snowfall Contributions of Different Snowstorm Types in Central New York State

Located at the eastern extent of the Great Lakes snowbelt, Central New York averages some of the highest annual snowfall totals east of the Rocky Mountains. This is in large part due to the variety of snowstorms that affect the region including lake-effect storms, coastal storms, and overrunning storms. Previous estimates suggest that lake-effect snowstorms account for approximately half of the seasonal snow in the Great Lakes basin, but ignore the spatial variability that exists within the region. Therefore, this study examines the seasonal snowfall contributions of the different snowstorm types to affect Central New York. Results suggest that although lake-effect snowstorms are the dominant snowstorm type in the region, their seasonal snowfall contributions vary between 13 and 48%. Although lake-effect snowstorms produce more snow during the peak and mid-seasons, their relative contribution is greatest during the early and mid-winter seasons. Generally, higher contributions occur near the Tug Hill Plateau, with lower contributions in southern Central New York. Instead, snowfall in southern Central New York is mostly dominated by Nor'easters (16–35%), with lesser contributions from Rocky lows (14–29%). Overrunning storms that originate in Canada (e.g., Alberta clippers) and non-cyclonic storms contribute the least to seasonal snowfall totals across Central New York; however, they are often the catalyst for lake-effect snowstorms in the region, as they advect continental polar air masses that destabilize across the lake. Understanding the actual snowfall contribution from different snowstorm types is needed for future climate predictions. Since the potential trajectory of future snowfall varies according to the type of storm, climate models must accurately predict the type of storm that is producing the snow.

"There are no Band-Aids for emotions": The development of thinking about emotional harm

An understanding of harm is central to social and cognitive development, but harm largely has been conceptualized as physical damage or injury. Less research focuses on children’s judgments of harm to others’ internal well-being (emotional harms). We asked 5–10-year-old children (N = 456, 50% girls, 50% boys; primarily tested in Central New York, with socioeconomic diversity, but limited racial/ethnic or linguistic diversity) to compare emotional and physical harms. In Experiment 1, children compared simple harms (intended and completed) and then scenarios in which the perpetrator’s intention did not match the outcome (intended emotional harm, but caused physical harm, or vice-versa). Assessments of the severity of emotional (versus physical) harm increased with age and depended on the perpetrator’s intentions. In Experiment 2, children saw emotional and physical harms that were: Simple (intended and completed); Incomplete (intended, but not completed); or Accidental (not intended, but completed). Children evaluated physical and emotional harms in isolation and then compared the two. Judgments of the relative severity of emotional harm increased with age, but only when intentions and outcomes were both present. This reflected an increase with age in children’s perceptions that emotional harm was hurtful, whereas perceptions of physical harm were relatively stable across development. With age, children also increasingly associated emotional harms with longer-term impacts (being remembered and reoccurring). These findings suggest reasoning about the severity, underlying intentions, and duration of emotional harm shifts with age. The results hold implications for moral development, law and psychology, and emotional-harm-related interventions including those addressing bullying.

The degree of embryonic development influenced some eggshell characteristics of wild red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis borealis)

The influence of embryonic development on eggshell characteristics of wild birds, particularly raptors, is not well studied. Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis borealis Gmelin 1788) eggs (n = 66) collected in central New York State during the late 1800s and early 1900s were examined to determine if eggshell mass, eggshell thickness, and a thickness index corrected for egg shape and blowhole size were influenced by the degree of embryonic development at the time of collection. Changes in these characteristics were examined with linear mixed models with year of collection and clutch size specified as random variables. Unexpectedly, length, breadth, and mass of eggshells were greater in eggs with advanced embryonic development than eggs with less developed embryos, perhaps due to sampling error or collector bias. Eggs containing well developed embryos were 13% thinner and had a thickness index 7% smaller than eggs with poorly developed embryos. Eggs with larger embryos had larger blowhole diameters; this relationship may be useful in determining degree of embryonic development in eggs of other species where development information is not explicit. Given the historical and current interest in eggshell thinning due to pollutants, degree of embryonic development should be accounted for in studies of eggshell characteristics.

Transitions in Black and Latinx Community-Based Doula Work in the US During COVID-19

In response to COVID-19, many doulas, including community-based doulas (CBDs), have shifted to virtual doula work, placing aspects of doula care online. CBDs typically center Black and Brown mothers and come from the same community as their clients, granting access to doula care for many individuals who would traditionally not have access. Two partner CBD organizations in Central New York—Village Birth International and Doula 4 a Queen—transitioned to virtual doula work, continuing to center Black and Afro-Latinx people. As CBDs began to transition their work online, they had to create new ways to include both the community and doula aspects of their work. My research has captured these doulas’ experiences since mid-2019 and has documented their transition from in-person doula work to virtual work. This also included their experiences of hosting doula trainings that were originally designed to be held in person. To understand this turn to virtual doula work, in this article I draw on social media engagement, online interviews, Zoom discussions, and personal experience to capture how CBD work shifted to virtual platforms can still center Black and Afro-Latinx folks in their communities and beyond.