Thermal biology of temperate and high-latitude arachnids

Temperate and high latitude terrestrial ecosystems have high thermal variability, and the ectotherms that inhabit these regions must have thermal tolerances that mirror these temperatures. However, the thermal limits of many high-latitude arachnids are unknown, as well as any underlying mechanisms of seasonal plasticity for any arachnid. The objective of my thesis is to measure the thermal tolerances of temperate, Arctic, and sub-Arctic arachnids, and identify if they have thermal plasticity, either seasonally or following acclimation. I collected the high-latitude pseudoscorpion Wyochernes asiaticus streamside from the Yukon Territory, where besides large thermal variability, they are also inundated with spring flooding. I also collected a variety of wolf spiders (Genus Pardosa) in the Yukon, Greenland, and Norway, where they are abundant and active on the tundra in the Arctic summer. In the lab, half of the of the air-exposed and low oxygen water-submerged pseudoscorpions survived for 17 days; showing that they are likely adapted to seasonal flooding. The pseudoscorpions and spiders I collected in the summer have thermal tolerances (the low and high temperatures at which activity stops) that range from -6°C in both pseudoscorpions and spiders, to 37.8°C (in pseudoscorpions) and 45°C (in spiders). Following 4°C-acclimation, the spiders did not show an ecologically significant change in their thermal tolerance breadths (Tbr, the difference between their low- and high-temperature tolerance), potentially because their Tbr is large enough to remain active during summer temperatures. I collected the temperate and freeze-tolerant red velvet mite in late fall, mid-winter, and early spring to compare their lower lethal temperature, and potential mechanisms associated with cold-tolerance. In mid-winter, the hemolymph osmolality and glycerol content increases, and water content decreases: all likely cryoprotectant mechanisms. Temperate red velvet mites show seasonal acclimatization resulting in freeze-tolerance, the first evidence of freeze-tolerance in microarthropods

Effect of Age Structure on the Outcome of Viral Epizootics in Field Populations of Imported Cabbageworm (Lepidoptera: Pieridae)

The effect of larval age on the progress of epizootics of a granulosis virus was examined in field populations of imported cabbageworm, Artogeia rapae (L.), in 1985 and 1986. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to follow the progress of disease in three larval age classes beginning 2-3 d after treatment. On virus-treated cabbage, late second and early third instars were more liable to infection than were first and final instars. In laboratory experiments, potted cabbage plants were treated with virus in the same way that field plots had been, and leaves were fed to three age classes of larvae at three temperatures for 18-23 h. Fewer larvae developed disease when given access to leaves at 16°C than at 22 or 28°C. Fewer first instars became infected than third and fifth instars. Third instars were most likely to become infected at all temperatures. The data suggest that virus should be directed at second and third instars rather than at larvae at hatchin

Overwintering Red Velvet Mites Are Freeze Tolerant

Although many arthropods are freeze tolerant (able to withstand internal ice), small-bodied terrestrial arthropods such as mites are thought to be constrained to freeze avoidance. We field-collected active adult red velvet mites, Allothrombium sp. (Trombidiidae), in winter in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, where temperatures drop below −20°C. These mites froze between −3.6° and −9.2°C and survived internal ice formation. All late-winter mites survived being frozen for 24 h at −9°C, and 50% survived 1 wk. The lower lethal temperature (LLT50; low temperature that kills 50% of mites) was ca. −20°C in midwinter. Hemolymph osmolality and glycerol concentration increased in midwinter, accompanied by decreased water content. Thus, this species is freeze tolerant, demonstrating that there is neither phylogenetic nor size constraint to evolving this cold tolerance strategy

Effect of Experience Facilitating Problem-Based Learning (PBL) on Physician Assistant Student Outcomes

Abstract Purpose: The impact of prior problem-based learning (PBL) facilitation experience (measured by length of time facilitating) on student learning and student outcomes is unclear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate relationships of facilitator experience in problem-based learning on student outcomes. This study utilized both modified essay questions (MEQ) in the form of patient management assessments and multiple choice question (MCQ) assessments to evaluate different aspects of student acquisition and application of knowledge. Method: This study examined scores from six multiple choice question examinations and six patient management assessments (PMA), one each from six 5-week units arranged by organ system administered to five cohorts of first-year physician assistant students in a hybrid problem-based learning program where 18 of 45 didactic credits are solely problem-based learning. Facilitation experience, measured in total number of prior units facilitated, was calculated for each facilitator and compared with student evaluative measures. Results: Pearson product moment correlations comparing facilitator experience and scores on the patient management assessments and multiple choice question tests showed no statistically significant correlations between facilitator experience and student outcomes. Univariate analysis of variance tests comparing whether faculty were full-time versus adjunct status and status as graduates of a problem-based learning program versus graduates of programs with other pedagogies with student outcomes showed no statistically significant differences. Conclusions: Neither experience of the facilitator, nor status as full-time versus adjunct, nor status as graduate of a problem-based learning program versus other pedagogy was related to student outcomes. Each facilitator in the study participated in training, observation, and weekly meetings, which may outweigh the effects of facilitator experience. Other factors in need of exploration related to student outcomes in future studies include individual intellectual ability, emotional stability, motivation, self-efficacy, and perseverance

Thermal Biology and immersion tolerance of the Beringian pseudoscorpion Wyochernes 4 asiaticus

Wyochernes asiaticus (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones: Chernetidae) is a pseudoscorpion distributed across Beringia, the areas of Yukon, Alaska and Siberia that remained unglaciated at the last glacial maximum. Along with low temperatures, its streamside habitat suggests that submergence during flood events is an important physiological challenge for this species. We collected W. asiaticus in midsummer from 66.8N Yukon Territory, Canada, and measured thermal and immersion tolerance. Wyochernes asiaticus is freeze-avoidant, with a mean supercooling point of -6.9 C. It remains active at low temperatures (mean critical thermal minimum, CTmin, is -3.6 C) and has a critical thermal maximum (CTmax) of 37.8 C, which is lower than other arachnids and consistent with its restriction to high latitudes. Fifty per cent of W. asiaticus individuals survived immersion in oxygen-depleted water for 17 days, suggesting that this species has high tolerance to immersion during flooding events. To our knowledge, these are the first data on the environmental physiology of any pseudoscorpion and a new addition to our understanding of the biology of polar microarthropods

Assessing Self-Reported Interprofessional Competency in Health-Care Education: Impact of New Curriculum

Purpose: The Interprofessional Education Collaborative Expert Panel (IPEC) has identified four competencies essential for interprofessional functioning in the health professions. Those four competencies are (a) values/ethics for interprofessional practice, (b) roles/responsibilities, (c) interprofessional communication, and (d) teams and teamwork. Design of effective curricula to develop competence in these skills will improve interprofessional functioning in healthcare. The purpose of this study at a small northeastern university was to examine impact of a small group interprofessional education (IPE) curriculum on student awareness of one of the competencies, understanding roles and responsibilities. Methods: The quantitative study data consisted of student completion of a 13-item self-report questionnaire based on the four competencies of IPE after participating in two interprofessional events in the same semester (one large group introductory event and one small group case event). Students were enrolled in professional educational programs, including counseling psychology, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and physician assistant. Students were divided into groups of 8-10 students from participating academic programs forming interprofessional groups. They completed a 13-item self-report questionnaire based on the four competencies after each of the two events. Results: Results of Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) revealed a significant difference between the first and second events, multivariate F (13, 476) = 24.61, p = .000. Results of univariate ANOVAs revealed significant differences for each variable, with scores from the case study session higher on each item than scores for the opening event. Factor analysis of data from the opening event yielded a single factor, which accounted for 63.4% of the variance in the scale. Factor analysis of data from the small group case event also yielded a single factor accounting for 65.9% of scale variance. Cronbach’s alpha revealed a very high internal consistency of .951 and.952, for the two events respectively. Conclusions: IPE events can positively increase self-report measures of IPE competencies. The assessment tool used may have measured one overarching construct of collaboration. The tool represents an initial effort toward measurement of each of the four specific competencies, an area in need of refinement. This study demonstrated impact of IPE events housed within an IPE curriculum

Does personality affect dietary intake?

The purpose of this review is to evaluate the evidence for an association between the Big Five dimensions of personality, dietary intake, and compliance to dietary recommendations. Poor diet is a known risk factor for overweight and obesity and associated chronic lifestyle diseases and it has been proposed that personality may be linked to dietary choices. Findings from cross-sectional surveys from different countries and cultures show a positive association between Openness and consumption of fruits and vegetables and between Conscientiousness and healthy eating. Although no evidence has been found that personality dimensions are associated with adherence to dietary recommendations over time, Conscientiousness is associated with a number of prosocial and health-promoting behaviors that include avoiding alcohol-related harm, binge-drinking, and smoking, and adherence to medication regimens. With emerging evidence of an association between higher Conscientiousness and lower obesity risk, the hypothesis that higher Conscientiousness may predict adoption of healthy dietary and other lifestyle recommendations appears to be supported

Clinical consequences of asbestos-related diffuse pleural thickening: A review

Asbestos-related diffuse pleural thickening (DPT), or extensive fibrosis of the visceral pleura secondary to asbestos exposure, is increasingly common due to the large number of workers previously exposed to asbestos. It may coexist with asbestos related pleural plaques but has a distinctly different pathology. The pathogenesis of this condition as distinct from pleural plaques is gradually becoming understood. Generation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, profibrotic cytokines and growth factors in response to asbestos is likely to play a role in the formation of a fibrinous intrapleural matrix. Benign asbestos related pleural effusions commonly antedate the development of diffuse pleural thickening. Environmental as well as occupational exposure to asbestos may also result in pleural fibrosis, particularly in geographic areas with naturally occurring asbestiform soil minerals. Pleural disorders may also occur after household exposure. High resolution computed tomography (CT) is more sensitive and specific than chest radiography for the diagnosis of diffuse pleural thickening, and several classification systems for asbestos-related disorders have been devised. Magnetic resonance imaging and fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) scanning may be useful in distinguishing between DPT and malignant mesothelioma. DPT may be associated with symptoms such as dyspnoea and chest pain. It causes a restrictive defect on lung function and may rarely result in respiratory failure and death. Treatment is primarily supportive

Silylethynylated Heteroacenes and Electronic Devices Made Therewith

Novel silylethynylated heteroacenes and electronic devices made with those compounds are disclosed

Correction to: Risk of dementia among postmenopausal breast cancer survivors treated with aromatase inhibitors versus tamoxifen: a cohort study using primary care data from the UK.

The article Risk of dementia among postmenopausal breast cancer survivors treated with aromatase inhibitors versus tamoxifen: a cohort study using primary care data from the UK, written by Susan E. Bromley, was originally published electronically on the publisher's internet portal