Intercomparison of six Mediterranean zooplankton time series

We analyzed and compared Mediterranean mesozooplankton time series spanning 1957–2006 from six coastal stations in the Balearic, Ligurian, Tyrrhenian, North and Middle Adriatic and Aegean Sea. Our analysis focused on fluctuations of major zooplankton taxonomic groups and their relation with environmental and climatic variability. Average seasonal cycles and interannual trends were derived. Stations spanned a large range of trophic status from oligotrophic to moderately eutrophic. Intra-station analyses showed (1) coherent multi-taxa trends off Villefranche sur mer that diverge from the previous results found at species level, (2) in Baleares, covariation of zooplankton and water masses as a consequence of the boundary hydrographic regime in the middle Western Mediterranean, (3) decrease in trophic status and abundance of some taxonomic groups off Naples, and (4) off Athens, an increase of zooplankton abundance and decrease in chlorophyll possibly caused by reduction of anthropogenic nutrient input, increase of microbial components, and more efficient grazing control on phytoplankton. (5) At basin scale, the analysis of temperature revealed significant positive correlations between Villefranche, Trieste and Naples for annual and/or winter average, and synchronous abrupt cooling and warming events centered in 1987 at the same three sites. After correction for multiple comparisons, we found no significant correlations between climate indices and local temperature or zooplankton abundance, nor between stations for zooplankton abundance, therefore we suggest that for these coastal stations local drivers (climatic, anthropogenic) are dominant and that the link between local and larger scale of climate should be investigated further if we are to understand zooplankton fluctuationsPublicado

Editorial. A supplement of Scires-it on the COCONET european project

The Supplement to vol. 6, 2016 of SCIRES-IT contains the result of CoCoNet (Towards COast to COast NETworks of marine protected areas, coupled with sea-based wind energy potential), a project of the EU Oceans of Tomorrow programme (http://www.coconet-fp7.eu). The European Union requires Open Access to the results of the projects resulting from its support to scientific advancement. This is in full accordance with the policy of SCIRES-IT, an eco-sustainable open–access journal, which joins the main principles of the Berlin Declaration on Open Access with the aims of the International Convention on Biological Diversity. CoCoNet tackled two problems that are closely linked with each other: the protection of the marine environment and clean energy production. Hence, the Supplement is divided into two parts that, together, form a unicum

Evaluation of a quality improvement intervention to reduce anastomotic leak following right colectomy (EAGLE): pragmatic, batched stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized trial in 64 countries

Background Anastomotic leak affects 8 per cent of patients after right colectomy with a 10-fold increased risk of postoperative death. The EAGLE study aimed to develop and test whether an international, standardized quality improvement intervention could reduce anastomotic leaks. Methods The internationally intended protocol, iteratively co-developed by a multistage Delphi process, comprised an online educational module introducing risk stratification, an intraoperative checklist, and harmonized surgical techniques. Clusters (hospital teams) were randomized to one of three arms with varied sequences of intervention/data collection by a derived stepped-wedge batch design (at least 18 hospital teams per batch). Patients were blinded to the study allocation. Low- and middle-income country enrolment was encouraged. The primary outcome (assessed by intention to treat) was anastomotic leak rate, and subgroup analyses by module completion (at least 80 per cent of surgeons, high engagement; less than 50 per cent, low engagement) were preplanned. Results A total 355 hospital teams registered, with 332 from 64 countries (39.2 per cent low and middle income) included in the final analysis. The online modules were completed by half of the surgeons (2143 of 4411). The primary analysis included 3039 of the 3268 patients recruited (206 patients had no anastomosis and 23 were lost to follow-up), with anastomotic leaks arising before and after the intervention in 10.1 and 9.6 per cent respectively (adjusted OR 0.87, 95 per cent c.i. 0.59 to 1.30; P = 0.498). The proportion of surgeons completing the educational modules was an influence: the leak rate decreased from 12.2 per cent (61 of 500) before intervention to 5.1 per cent (24 of 473) after intervention in high-engagement centres (adjusted OR 0.36, 0.20 to 0.64; P < 0.001), but this was not observed in low-engagement hospitals (8.3 per cent (59 of 714) and 13.8 per cent (61 of 443) respectively; adjusted OR 2.09, 1.31 to 3.31). Conclusion Completion of globally available digital training by engaged teams can alter anastomotic leak rates. Registration number: NCT04270721 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov)