This study examined the effect of host species identity on the structure of Alnus-associated Frankia bacterial assemblages in the Pacific Northwest, United States, using two approaches. First, Frankia in nodules were sampled from six stands of Alnus rubra or Alnus viridis. Second, a bioassay was conducted where A. rubra and A. viridis seedlings were grown in different soils collected from these two hosts. Frankia genotypes were characterized with nifH sequences and bacterial assemblages were compared using taxon-and divergencebased analyses. Strong host associations were evident in the field; the dominant Frankia genotypes showed significant associations with either A. rubra or A. viridis, and there were host-associated groupings at the assemblage level as well. In the bioassay, host associations among Frankia genotypes were evident but less pronounced, reflecting an interaction between host species and other factors. Although nodule abundance varied among bioassay treatments, seedling dry mass was not strongly correlated with either nodule quantity or soil chemistry. Collectively, our observation and experimental results indicate that host identity is a major factor influencing the genotype composition and abundance of Alnus-associated Frankia assemblages.

The objective of this article was to characterize how urbanization and indigenous identity shape nutrition attitudes and practices in El Alto, a rapidly urbanizing and predominantly indigenous (Aymara) community on Bolivia's Andean plateau. We took a qualitative ethnographic approach, interviewing health care providers ( n = 11) and conducting focus groups with mothers of young children ( n = 4 focus groups with 25 mothers total [age = 18-43 years, 60% Aymara]). Participants generally described their urban environment as being problematic for nutrition, a place where unhealthy "junk foods" and "chemicals" have supplanted healthy, "natural," "indigenous" foods from the countryside. Placing nutrition in El Alto within a broader context of cultural identity and a struggle to harmonize different lifestyles and worldviews, we propose how an intercultural framework for nutrition can harmonize Western scientific perspectives with rural and indigenous food culture.

Trait-mediated indirect interactions (TMIIs) are an important component of food web structure and dynamics. We determined whether TMIIs occur in rocky tidepool communities on the west coast of the USA. In the laboratory, both adults and juveniles of the keystone predator Pisaster ochraceus and adults of a smaller predatory seastar Leptasterias spp. caused the abundant herbivorous snail Tegula funebralis to stop foraging and flee the water, inducing a positive TMII on micro-and macroalgae. Snails preferred 3 common species of macroalgae (Ulva lactuca, Cladophora columbiana and Porphyra spp.) over 4 others, indicating that seastars might provide the strongest benefits to these species in tidepools. In the laboratory, snails responded rapidly to both species of predatory seastars and many more snails responded than could be eaten; thus, there is a potential for TMIIs to occur in natural populations. Snails responded to waterborne cues from P. ochraceus by reducing grazing and leaving still water, and reducing grazing in laminar flow (0.5 l min −1 ), resulting in TMII effects at least as far as 75 cm away. Adult P. ochraceus and Leptasterias spp. introduced to tidepools during low tide induced many snails to flee the tidepools. Considerable individual variation occurred in the responses of snails. Medium and large snails mediated TMIIs and hungry snails were marginally less responsive to seastars potentially altering TMII strength in nature. Thus, we demonstrated that TMIIs could occur in natural tidepools and showed how predator and algal identity, predator and prey size, water flow and prey hunger level may influence these TMIIs.KEY WORDS: Trait-mediated indirect interaction · Predator-prey interaction · Chemical cue Community structure · Rocky intertidal tidepools · Nonconsumptive effect OPEN PEN ACCESS CCESS

Engaging community members in research can help cultivate effective partnerships while providing experiential training and continuing education opportunities. Several studies have involved communities in this way, though many have been small in the scale of community involvement or have included little detail of the institutional review board process by which community members became approved researchers in the study. This article presents findings on an evaluation of the training procedures and experiences of 703 first-time community-based volunteer researchers who were recruited in their communities and trained on-site to enroll research participants, collect data, and provide individualized consultation of results at travelling health education and research fairs. Open-ended registration prompts and postfair surveys assessed volunteers’ reasons for participating, comfort with their volunteer experiences, and attitudes toward the biomedical research process. An open-ended survey assessed two key community partners’ perspectives about their organizations’ involvement with supporting the research throughout the process. Volunteers reported their experience to be a unique training opportunity, citing its ability to help them engage with their community, advance research, and obtain additional experience in their health field of interest, particularly nursing, allied health, and medicine-related careers. Community partners cited that their community’s participation as volunteer researchers served as a tool to educate the larger community about research, which enabled other research projects to gain acceptance. Together, these results demonstrate that using volunteer researchers can strengthen community research partnerships while providing valuable training experience in public health research for current and aspiring health personnel.

Background Health information technology (HIT) offers a resource for public empowerment through tailored information. Objective Use interactive community health events to improve awareness of chronic disease risk factors while collecting data to improve health. Methods Let’s Get Healthy! is an education and research program in which participants visit interactive research stations to learn about their own health (diet, body composition, blood chemistry). HIT enables computerized data collection that presents participants with immediate results and tailored educational feedback. An anonymous wristband number links collected data in a population database. Results and Lessons Learned Communities tailor events to meet community health needs with volunteers trained to conduct research. Participants experience being a research participant and contribute to an anonymous population database for both traditional research purposes and open-source community use. Conclusions By integrating HIT with community involvement, health fairs become an interactive method for engaging communities in research and raising health awareness.