Author: Jeanne Wacker

Vaughn Cooper, alumni fellow (2000-03) and professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Pittsburgh, commented on newly spreading misinformation about the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 variant XBB 1.5. “XBB did not evolve because people were vaccinated,” said Cooper, a professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Pittsburgh. “The way it evolved, let’s be straight, is because people were infected by multiple viruses at the same time.” Read the Washington Post article.

Climate change is changing winter weather patterns, both in temperature and in duration. Warmer and shorter winters are causing some species to sleep later, or not at all. Mammal expert David Polly, alumni fellow (1994-96) and biology professor at Indiana University, says that changes to plant hibernation can have far-reaching effects on ecosystems. “If their cycles get off sync, then the whole food web becomes involved in some of that complexity,” Polly said. “That’s probably what worries climate change biologists the most.” Read more on Indiana Public Media.

Alumni fellow Melanie Mitchell (1990-92), who is a professor at the Santa Fe Institute and an expert in artificial intelligence (AI), discusses machine learning, AI systems, superintelligence, and the ethical considerations needed to align these systems with human values, preferences, and goals in Quanta Magazine.

Read more of Mitchell’s comments on AI chatbot technology in Bloomberg, MIT Technology Review, Jordan News, and Mind Matters News.

As part of the H-Diplo essay series entitled Learning the Scholar’s Craft: Reflections of Historians and International Relations Scholars, Isabel V. Hull, alumni fellow (1976-77) and John Stambaugh Professor of History, Emerita, at Cornell University shares stories from her “formative years” as a scholar interested in international affairs. Read the complete essay entitled “Back to Square One” on H-Net.

A recent Nature article looks at the looming biodiversity crisis as the United Nations convenes negotiators and ministers from more than 190 countries to address the emergency and identify targets to protect nature. In the article, Shahid Naeem, alumni fellow (1989-92) and ecologist at Columbia University, responds to questions about what might happen if species disappear. Ecosystems with low biodiversity also have low resilience — they are not as able to bounce back after a perturbation or shock, such as a fire, as more-diverse systems are, Naeem says. Follow this link to read the full Nature article.

Citation: Gilbert, Natasha. “Can the World Save a Million Species from Extinction?” Nature (London). England, n.d. doi: 10.1038/d41586-022-04370-4.

Named among the favorite books of 2022, either by Southern writers or about the South, Virginia Living includes the latest publication by poet and alumni fellow Gregory Orr (1972-75). For more than a decade, Orr has been writing toward “the Book:” an imagined tome containing every poem and song ever written. Drawing from a rich tradition of lyric poetry, Selected Books of the Beloved  (Copper Canyon Press) is the culmination of that project, and more—it is a celebration of the transformative power of poetry, and of our extraordinary capacity to feel and to love.

Lydia Beaudrot, alumni fellow (2015-18) and assistant professor of biosciences at Rice University, co-authored an article that examined whether community-level activity patterns differ among biogeographic regions, and explored the roles of top-down versus bottom-up processes and thermoregulatory (i.e. temperature influenced) constraints. The study showed that patterns exhibited by tropical forest mammals are consistent across tropical regions. The analysis also showed that herbivore and insect activity appears to be shaped by temperature influences whereas predator-prey interactions appear to be influenced by temporal behavior of their community members. Read the full paper in Nature Communications.

Abstract: An animal’s daily use of time (their “diel activity”) reflects their adaptations, requirements, and interactions, yet we know little about the underlying processes governing diel activity within and among communities. Here we examine whether community-level activity patterns differ among biogeographic regions, and explore the roles of top-down versus bottom-up processes and thermoregulatory constraints. Using data from systematic camera-trap networks in 16 protected forests across the tropics, we examine the relationships of mammals’ diel activity to body mass and trophic guild. Also, we assess the activity relationships within and among guilds. Apart from Neotropical insectivores, guilds exhibited consistent cross-regional activity in relation to body mass. Results indicate that thermoregulation constrains herbivore and insectivore activity (e.g., larger Afrotropical herbivores are ~7 times more likely to be nocturnal than smaller herbivores), while bottom-up processes constrain the activity of carnivores in relation to herbivores, and top-down processes constrain the activity of small omnivores and insectivores in relation to large carnivores’ activity. Overall, diel activity of tropical mammal communities appears shaped by similar processes and constraints among regions reflecting body mass and trophic guilds.

Citation: Vallejo-Vargas, A.F., Sheil, D., Semper-Pascual, A. et al. Consistent diel activity patterns of forest mammals among tropical regions. Nat Commun 13, 7102 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-34825-1

Sungwon Park, research fellow and assistant professor of nursing, co-authored an article in the International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances comparing and contrasting nurses’ experiences working in hospitals at the onset of COVID-19 in South Korea and the United States. The study concluded that the overlapping similarities of nurses’ experiences highlight the need for national and global policies for a safe work environment and psychological well-being. The differences between the two countries also emphasize that specific policies and practice implications for the local contexts are needed in addition to global policies. Read the full article. (Citation: International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances 4 (2022) 100107)

Abstract:

Background
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, governmental responses varied worldwide, which resulted in healthcare professionals and organizations having different experiences. As threats of global infectious disease and disasters increase, it is important to examine the collective experiences of nurses to leverage support across international settings and systems and to tailor specific policies to their local nursing workforce.
Objective
To compare and contrast nurses’ experiences working in hospitals at the onset of COVID-19 in South Korea and the United States
Method
This was a qualitative descriptive study. Nurses in South Korea and the United States were recruited through social media using snowball sampling between April and May 2020. Semi-structured telephone interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and translated as needed. The transcripts were analyzed thematically, and each theme was compared and synthesized using NVivo 12.
Results
A total of 43 nurses from South Korea (n = 21) and the United States (n = 22) participated in the study. The majority of the participants were female and working as staff nurses in both countries. The work settings were similar between the participants from two countries. However, the participants in South Korea provided less direct care to patients with COVID-19 compared to the participants in the United States. Despite cultural and infrastructure differences, the nurses shared similar experiences.
Conclusion
The overlapping similarities of nurses’ experience highlight the need for national and global policies for a safe work environment and psychological well-being. The differences between the two countries also emphasize that specific policies and practice implications for the local contexts are needed in addition to global policies.

Citation: Jin Jun, Sungwon Park, Marie-Anne Rosemberg. Cross-cultural differences and similarities in nurses’ experiences during the early stages of COVID-19 in Korea and the United States: A qualitative descriptive study. International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances, Vol 4, 2022, 100107, ISSN 2666-142X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnsa.2022.100107.

Stella Nair, alumni fellow (2003-06) and associate professor of art history and American Indian studies at UCLA, co-organized The Forgotten Canopy, a conference convening scholars on the topics of “Ecology,” “Ephemeral Architecture,” and “Imperialism.” The first summit was held at UCLA where scholars engaged with community-based workshops and panels to analyze the interconnectivity of adaptive architecture, the environment, and creativity across the Atlantic region during the 16th to 19th centuries. “It (ephemeral architecture) is not something that architecture scholarship tends to emphasize; it emphasizes the monumental and the permanent,” Nair said. “These things are deeply embedded in ecological practices and change and also very much impacted by imperial practices.” Read on for additional event recap details from the conference, which was covered by the Daily Bruin.

Eric Plemons, alumni fellow (2012-15), medical anthropologist, and associate professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona-Tucson, discusses the politics and policies of trans medicine with VICE as they investigate a new trend of trans people seeking nonbinary bottom surgery. Read on to learn more.