Understanding the distribution and habitat requirements of species is crucial for designing conservation actions, yet this information is not available for many plant species. We report the first confirmed wild populations of Porroglossum parsonsii, which, because of its horticultural value, is commercialized in national and international markets, from where it was first described to science. Our large-scale survey of 341 10 × 30 m plots spanning Andean forests, paramo habitats and pasturelands in Colombia suggests that P. parsonsii has a restricted geographical distribution in Andean forests with high forest cover (71.4–86.2%), where it occurs in low numbers (5–17 individuals per plot). Because of its market value (USD 18–20 per plant) there is a risk the species could be collected illegally, and therefore the habitat of the species in the Santuario de Fauna y Flora de Iguaque requires appropriate conservation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed all aspects of American life, including, for many, how we vote. We explore the question of who supports unrestricted absentee ballots during a pandemic. We argue that women are more likely to support absentee ballots because they allow for greater flexibility and minimize the potential for exposure. We test this theory using the National Panel Study of COVID-19 (n = 1,892), which asked respondents about their preferences for absentee ballots, their worry about the coronavirus, and their household composition. Using multinomial logistic regressions, we find that women are more likely to support allowing absentee ballots compared with more restrictive voting options and are more likely to say they support absentee ballots for all if they know someone who has contracted COVID-19. The policy implications for these findings are discussed along with other sociodemographic indicators in our analysis.

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Qualitative approaches help explore poorly understood phenomenon, and are highly engaging, enabling both sides of an encounter greater connection. Historically, Deaf communities have been marginalized and oppressed, with their linguistic needs unrecognized and ignored. As a result, Deaf participants are rarely involved in clinical research. Like other marginalized communities, the Deaf community experiences health disparity compared with others, especially in low- and middle-income settings. The purpose of this project was to assess the feasibility of conducting qualitative research with Deaf Dominicans. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We implemented a partnered research process with 59 Deaf community members in the Dominican Republic, conducting preliminary thematic analysis through reviews of interviews and on-site debriefings. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Participants were highly engaged with the Deaf-Deaf research encounters, indicating satisfaction with both the process and with the opportunity to communicate their needs and interests. Preliminary findings indicated Deaf Dominicans were highly engaged, confirming their interest, and often stated that they felt they were being listened for the first time. Indeed, some participants claimed that this was the first time they communicated their experiences as Deaf Dominicans and appreciated the opportunity to relate this experience to Deaf interviewers. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: This experience confirms that the Deaf Dominican community can be mobilized and will participate in Deaf-Deaf research.

Hyneria lindae is one of the largest Devonian sarcopterygians. It was found in the Catskill Formation (late Famennian) of Pennsylvania, USA. The current study focuses on the palaeohistology of the humerus of this tristichopterid and supports a low ossification rate and a late ossification onset in the appendicular skeleton. In addition to anatomical features, the large size of the cell lacunae in the cortical bone of the humerus mid-shaft may suggest a large genome size and associated neotenic condition for this species, which could, in turn, be a partial explanation for the large size of H. lindae. The low metabolism of H. lindae revealed here by bone histology supports the hypothesis of an ambush predatory behaviour. Finally, the lines-of-arrested-growth pattern and late ossification of specimen ANSP 21483 suggest that H. lindae probably had a long juvenile stage before reaching sexual maturity. Although very few studies address the life-history traits of stem tetrapods, they all propose a slow limb development for the studied taxa despite different ecological conditions and presumably distinct behaviours. The bone histology of H. lindae would favour the hypothesis that a slow long-bone development could be a general character for stem tetrapods.

Immigrant sentiment, measured by the number of state laws enacted to curb the flow of undocumented immigration or expand rights to immigrants, have been on a steady incline since September 11, 2001. Despite the increased attention to unauthorized immigration, little research has examined how immigrant policies are affecting group identity (i.e., linked fate). Linked fate is a form of collective group identity that develops when a group of people experience discrimination and marginalization. Using a unique database that merges the 2012 Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey (n = 934 Latinos) with the sum of state-level immigration policies enacted from 2005 to 2012, this study is the first to examine the direct relationship between immigrant climate and linked fate. Results from our multinomial logistic regressions indicate that the linked fate among Latinos increases as the number of punitive immigration laws in a state increases, controlling for a vector of control variables. Consistent with our theory regarding differential impact, our findings also suggest that immigration laws have a more pronounced influence on the linked fate of foreign-born Latinos.

Speleothem growth requires humid climates sufficiently warm to stimulate soil CO2 production by plants. We compile 283 U/Th dates on 21 stalagmites from six cave systems in the NW coast of Spain to evaluate if there are patterns in stalagmite growth that are evidence of climatic forcing. In the oldest stalagmites, from marine oxygen isotope stage (MIS) 7–5, growth persists through the glacial period. Hiatuses and major reductions in growth rate occur during extreme minima in summer insolation. Stalagmites active during the last interglaciation cease growth at the MIS 5–4 boundary (74 ka), when regional sea-surface temperature cooled significantly. During MIS 3, only two stalagmites grew; rates were highest between 50 and 60 ka during the maximum in summer insolation. One stalagmite grew briefly at 41 ka, 36.5 and 28.6 ka, all during warm phases of the Dansgaard–Oeschger cycles. A pronounced Holocene optimum in stalagmite growth occurs from 9 to 6 ka. The cessation of most growth by 4.1 ka, coincident with broad increases in aridity over the Mediterranean and areas influenced by the North African Monsoon, suggest that regions such as NW Spain, with dominant Atlantic moisture sources, also experienced increased aridity at this time.

A peat core from southern Greenland provided a rare opportunity to investigate human-environment interactions, climate change and atmospheric pollution over the last ~ 700 years. X-ray fluorescence, gas chromatography-combustion, isotope ratio mass spectrometry, peat humification and fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy were applied and combined with palynological and archaeological evidence. Variations in peat mineral content seem to be related to soil erosion linked with human activity during the late Norse period (13th–14th centuries AD) and the modern era (20th century). Cooler conditions during the Little Ice Age (LIA) are reflected by both slow rates of peat growth and carbon accumulation, and by low bromine (Br) concentrations. Spörer and Maunder minima in solar activity may be indicated by further declines in Br and enrichment in easily degradable compounds such as polysaccharides. Peat organic matter composition was also influenced by vegetation changes at the end of the LIA when the expansion of oceanic heath was associated with polysaccharide enrichment. Atmospheric lead pollution was recorded in the peat after ~ AD 1845, and peak values occurred in the 1970s. There is indirect support for a predominantly North American lead source, but further Pb isotopic analysis would be needed to confirm this hypothesis.

A growing body of social science research has sought to conceptualize race as a multi-dimensional concept in which context, societal relations, and institutional dynamics are key components. Utilizing a specially-designed survey, we develop and use multiple measures of race (skin color, ascribed race, and discrimination experiences) to capture race as a “lived experience” and assess these measures’ impact on Latinos’ self-rated health status. We model these measures of race as lived experience to test the explanatory power of race, both independently and as an integrated scale, with categorical regression, scaling, and dimensional analyses. Our analyses show that our multiple measures of race have significant and negative effects on Latinos’ self-reported health. Skin color is a dominant factor that impacts self-reported health both directly and indirectly. We then advocate for the utilization of multiple measures of race, adding to those used in our analysis, and their application to research regarding inequities in other health and social outcomes. Our analysis provides important contributions to research across a wide range of health, illness, social, and political disparities for communities of color.

In our previous studies [1-3], four kinds of stacking faults in 4H-SiC bulk crystal have been distinguished based on their contrast behavior differences in synchrotron white beam x-ray topography images. These faults are Shockley faults, Frank faults, Shockley plus c/2 Frank faults, and Shockley plus c/4 Frank faults. Our proposed formation mechanisms for these stacking faults involve the overgrowth of the surface outcrop associated with threading screw dislocations (TSDs) or threading mixed dislocations (TMDs) with Burgers vector of c+a by macrosteps and the consequent deflection of TSDs or TMDs onto the basal plane. Previous synchrotron x-ray topography observations were made in offcut basal wafers using transmission geometry. In this paper, further evidence is reported to confirm the proposed stacking fault formation mechanism. Observations are made in axially cut slices with surface plane {11-20}. Several kinds of stacking faults are recognized and their contrast behavior agrees with the four kinds previously reported. Direct observation is obtained of a Shockley plus c/4 Frank stacking fault nucleating from a TMD deflected onto the basal plane. The contrast from stacking faults on the basal plane in the axial slices is enhanced by recording images after rotating the crystal about the active -1010 reflection vector enabling a broader projection of the basal plane.

Synchrotron X-ray topography (SXRT) of various geometries has been successfully utilized to image c+a dislocations in 4H-SiC crystals. Although molten potassium hydroxide(KOH) can be used to reveal the location of such dislocations, it is not possible to determine their senses or their Burgers vector magnitude. A simple, non-destructive method has been proposed to determine the Burgers vector of these c+a dislocations called the ray tracing simulation, which has been successfully implemented previously in revealing the dislocation sense and magnitude of micropipes, closed-core threading screw dislocations (TSDs) and threading edge dislocations (TEDs) in 4H-SiC. In this paper, grazing incidence topography is performed using the monochromatic beam for the horizontally cut wafers to record pyramidal reflections of 11-28 type. Ray tracing simulation has been successfully implemented to correlate the simulated images with experimental images which are discussed in the paper.

4H SiC is a promising material because of its mechanical, electrical, and physical properties. However, SiC material defects have had a rate limiting effect on the widespread adoption of SiC. Micropipes, basal plane dislocations (BPD), elementary screw dislocations (SDD) and threading edge dislocations (TED) have all been identified as limiting to device operation and/or performance. An ideal PVT strategy for manufacturing SiC crystals would be capable of driving defects out the crystal via a combination of thermal field control and defect dissociation pathways. In this work a PVT technology was realized which is capable of continuously improving the crystal quality. A low defect PVT process was conceived and optimized using iterative experiment and simulation methods. During the maturation of the process it was observed that the crystal defect density repeatedly decreased relative to the seed crystal, as evaluated by x-ray topography, x-ray diffraction, and molten salt etching. The process improvements were leveraged successfully to achieve 4H n+ SiC wafers at 76-100 mm diameter with MPD <1 cm-2, SDD <500 cm-2, and BPD <500 cm-2. This paper will illustrate the defect reduction pathways leading to state of the art defect density 4H SiC crystals and the impact of the improved crystal on epitaxy defects and simple device experiments.

Synchrotron White Beam X-ray Topography studies are presented of dislocation behavior and interactions in a new generation of one hundred millimeter diameter, 4H-SiC wafers grown using Physical Vapor Transport (PVT) under specially designed low stress conditions. Such low stress growth conditions have, for example enabled reductions of basal plane dislocation (BPD) densities by two or three orders of magnitude compared to previous levels down to just a few hundred per square centimeter. This provides a unique opportunity to discern details of dislocation behavior which were previously precluded due to complications of image overlap at higher densities. Among the phenomena observed in these studies is the deflection of threading dislocations onto the basal plane producing various stacking fault configurations. Analysis of the contrast from these faults enables determination of their fault vectors which, in turn, provides insight into their possible formation mechanisms.

In our study, closed-core threading screw dislocations and micropipes were studied using synchrotron x-ray topography of various geometries. The Burgers vector magnitude of TSDs can be quantitatively determined from their dimensions in back-reflection x-ray topography, based on ray-tracing simulation and this has been verified by the images of elementary TSDs. Dislocation senses of closed-core threading screw dislocations and micropipes can be revealed by grazing-incidence x-ray topography. The threading screw dislocations can be converted into Frank partial dislocations on the basal planes and this has been confirmed by transmission synchrotron x-ray topography.