The Breeding Biology and Conservation of Audouin's Gull Larus audouinii on the Chafarinas Islands

The breeding population of Audouin's gull Larus audouinii, a Red Data Book species, is endemic to the Mediterranean. Its population was estimated at 4000 pairs in 1985, but its restricted distribution and suggestions of low fecundity and vulnerability to disturbance and competition prompted this study. The gull's most numerically important breeding colony is on Rey Island, in the Chafarinas archipelago off the Mediterranean coast of Morocco, where in 1983 this three year study began. Its aims were to discover the factors limiting the size of the colony and to formulate a management plan. In comparison with many other Palearctic gull species, the breeding biology of Audouin's gull is little known. Data were collected during the three study seasons at two study sites which were established within the only two habitat types commonly occupied (NORTH SITE an elevated exposed site, little ground cover, high Audouin's gull nesting densities; SOUTH SITE a sheltered gentle slope, ample ground cover, low Audouin's gull nesting densities). Data presented here have shown that although there is considerable variation between years and sites, Audouin's gulls have the capacity to sustain and indeed even increase their population size at this colony. The largest mean clutch size was observed at the North site in 1983 (mean=2.75, s.e. =0.06, n=85) and the smallest at the South site in 1984 (mean=2.38, s.e. =0.09, n=98). A measure of survival to a stage close to fledging was made, that of the number of chicks surviving to twenty days per nest. The highest mean site value was at the South site in 1983 (mean=1.26, s.e. =0.10, n=74) and the lowest was at the South site in 1985 when not one chick survived from 52 nests. In order explain this variation in success, the relationships between breeding success and the following factors: environmental factors; Audouin's gull behavioural factors; and interactions with other species, were examined. Analysis of variance in hatching success in relation to laying period, study site and year, showed that hatching success varied in relation to timing of breeding at both sites in each season. Those breeding earlier were generally those to have the greater success. Hatching success was consistently higher at the North site as compared with the South. 1983 was overall the year when hatching success was greatest and 1985 the least successful. Environmental factors which included: laying date; height of vegetation surrounding the nest; distance to the edge of the subcolony; nesting density; and visibility from the nest, were shown, in analyses of variance, to influence the success of pairs in raising at least one chick to twenty days. Behavioural patterns which influenced breeding success were also recorded. Audouin's gulls are not aggressive, their only defence in the face of attack upon their clutch or brood was to mob the attacker. This proved to be successful only when Audouin's gulls were nesting at high densities. However, it was also found that at high nesting densities the incidence of intraspecific attacks upon chicks was high. Audouin 's gull chicks are generally able to leave their nests when they are only one day old. Many did not return to their nests but remained concealed within the cover of bushes. Chick mobility appeared to be influenced by environmental factors. At sites where nest cover was available, chicks were less likely to leave their natal territories and if they did had a shorter distance to travel whilst exposed to intra- and interspecific aggression. Whilst great variation in survival of chicks was recorded between sites and years, Audouin's gull chick growth took place at a steady and similar rate each season for chicks of various brood sizes, with weight and wing length increasing in a regular sigmoid manner. Together these observations do not suggest that food was in short supply. The most important influence upon Audouin's gull reproductive success on the Chafarinas Islands during this study was the growth of the yellow-legged Mediterranean herring gull colony on Rey. Whilst the number of pairs of Audouin's gulls remained approximately the same over the three seasons (2100+100 pairs), there has been a 79% increase in the number of herring gull pairs. There is no evidence to suggest that the predominantly fish-eating Audouin's gull is in competition with the omnivorous herring gull for food, however the herring gull is certainly larger, more aggressive, and earlier breeding than Audouin's gull. The herring gulls are not only occupying what were previously Audouin's gull nest sites on Rey but have been shown to be considerable predators of Audouin's gull eggs, chicks and adults. Over the course of this study the level of herring gull interference with Audouin's gull breeding attempts intensified. A management plan was therefore developed which incorporates: a) the reservation of nesting space for Audouin's gulls; b) improvement of the nesting environment for Audouin's gull; c) and the control of disturbance and predation of breeding Audouin's gulls by herring gulls. In 1987, the Instituto para la Conservacion de la Naturaleza, acting upon the findings and recommendations of this study, conducted a cull on Rey of 950 adult herring gulls. The breeding population of Audouin's gull has subsequently increased from 1930 nests in 1986 to 2845 nests in 1987

Communication Correlates of Employee Morale

Although several factors are related to employee morale in organiza tional settings, the single most influential factor in enhancing job satis faction and group cohesiveness is superior-subordinate communication. Yet, while a great deal of speculation exists concerning the sorts of com munication behaviors most conducive to employee satisfaction, no em pirical test has been conducted to assess specifically the relationship between communication and morale. This study undertakes such an investigation.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68753/2/10.1177_002194367801500306.pd

The Lived Experience of Wives and Husbands with Coronary Heart Disease

The purpose of this feminist hermeneutic study was to discover the meaning of living in the community with a husband who has coronary heart disease (CHD). Ten women, aged 47-74 who were married from 4 to 55 years, participated in unstructured face to face interviews. The women were interviewed 6 to 18 months after their husbands were diagnosed with medically or surgically treated CHD. Audio recorded transcribed interview data were analyzed to identify the essential themes and sub-themes. Texts were interpreted guided by hermeneutic phenomenology (Gadamer 1960/1989; 1976) and van Manen\u27s (1990) research activities. A feminist lens was applied to the texts throughout the analysis and interpretation. Methodological rigor was achieved through the assessment of trustworthiness adapted from the work of Guba and Lincoln (1989). The thematic analysis uncovered the following essential themes: (a) “walking on a tightrope;” (b) “keeping an eye on him;” (c) “wrapping him in cotton;” (d) “right in the middle of it;” and (e) “I have to get through it.” The first three themes, “walking on a tightrope,” “keeping an eye on him,” and “wrapping him in cotton” revealed the wives\u27 focus on their husbands. The women feared that their husbands were vulnerable and assumed responsibility for protecting them from harm. The further essential theme emerged, “right in the middle of it,” reflecting the wives sharing or ownership of their husbands\u27 CHD. The wives shared the illness experience with their husbands and their own lives became overshadowed by CHD. Another essential theme, “I have to get through it,” revealed the women\u27s personal meaning of their husbands\u27 CHD. The unveiling of the narratives uncovered women\u27s lives of silence and the conversations not held. The women searched for the meaning of the experience and examined a life in the future without their husbands. The women\u27s lives revealed moments of suffering as they struggled with the uncertain and sudden threatening nature of CHD in their lives. The findings of the study provide an understanding of the experience of women living with a husband with CHD and suggest the need for further research and have implications for nursing praxis

Assessment of Pre-Service Teacher Dispositions

Measurement of pre-service teacher dispositions is an important part of teacher preparation programs. A strong correlation exists between dispositions of teachers and the quality of their student’s learning. Teachers, in addition to sharing content knowledge, are responsible for demonstrating and sharing core values relating to virtues such as honesty, justice, fairness, care, empathy, integrity, courage, respect, and responsibility, and these values must guide their own conduct and interpersonal relations. As teachers serve pupils who are minors, their conduct and potential to serve effectively and ethically in the profession must be evaluated. However, a thorough faculty-led instrument to assess pre-service teacher candidates’ disposition does not currently exist. The purpose of this research was to develop an assessment of pre-service teachers’ dispositions for use in teacher education programs. A 25-item instrument was created through assessment of teacher education program needs and review of best practices on building teacher evaluation instruments, national professional teaching standards, and existing assessment tools. Teacher education faculty completed the instrument assessing roughly 600 students in a masters-level teacher education program. Results indicate that this instrument is a valid and reliable tool that will allow teacher education faculty and administrators to assess teacher candidate professional skills and conduct

Nurse Educator Certification: Overview and Evaluation of the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing Program

The Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN) has spearheaded an education institute and fostered the growth of an accessible cadre of innovative educational programming that were built on identified national nursing educator competencies. The purpose of this article is to outline the development and structure of the CASN Canadian Nurse Educator Certification Program, share an analysis of one aspect of program evaluation data and summarize the program’s current value to nurse educators. The program offers flexible professional development for Canadian nurse educators through three online modules that prepare participants to sit the national certification exam and attain the designation of Canadian Certified Nurse Educator (CCNE). Part of an ongoing program evaluation conducted by CASN in 2021 sought to provide information on the perception of certification of nurse educators in Canada. A review of the process of module delivery that prepares educators to sit the certification exam and how certification is perceived as valuable or not by nurse educators was the focus. The CCNE program participants’ perspectives on the value of module learnings in terms of academic practice were evaluated using the Perceived Value of Certification Tool for the Nurse Educator. Of the 108 respondents to the survey questions, the findings indicate that most CCNE nurse educators perceived that there is value in nurse educator certification. A key survey finding was that educators perceived intrinsic value more so than extrinsic value in obtaining certification. Overall, the respondents believed that certification was not fully recognized by employers, colleagues, or students and that enhancing others’ perceptions of certification was needed. Despite consistent enrolments in the CASN program modules, the program and CCNE designation appear to require further formal recognition from teaching and academic institutions across the country. With the shortage of qualified nursing faculty, the need to strengthen current academic faculty members’ competencies is imperative. The certification and credentialing of academic nurse educators needs to be recognized. Educators should be provided merit for the acquisition of the specialized knowledge, expertise, and competencies required for the role. Résumé L’Association canadienne des écoles de sciences infirmières (ACESI) a dirigé un institut de formation et favorisé la croissance d’un cadre accessible de programmes éducatifs novateurs fondés sur les compétences nationales identifiées des enseignant(e)s en sciences infirmières. Le but de cet article est de décrire le développement et la structure du Programme canadien de certification pour infirmières et infirmiers enseignant(e)s de l’ACESI, de partager une analyse d’un aspect des données d’évaluation du programme et de résumer la valeur actuelle de ce dernier pour les infirmières et infirmiers enseignant(e)s. Le programme offre un perfectionnement professionnel flexible aux infirmières et infirmiers enseignant(e)s canadien(ne)s grâce à trois modules en ligne qui préparent les participant(e)s à passer l’examen national de certification et à obtenir le titre de Canadian Certified Nurse Educator (infirmière enseignante canadienne certifiée; CCNE). Une partie d’une évaluation de programme en cours, menée par l’ACESI en 2021, visait à fournir des renseignements sur la perception de la certification des infirmières et infirmiers enseignant(e)s au Canada. L’accent a été mis sur l’examen du processus de prestation du module qui prépare les enseignant(e)s à passer l’examen de certification et sur la perception des infirmières et infirmiers enseignant(e)s sur la valeur de la certification. Les points de vue des participant(e)s au programme CCNE sur l’importance des apprentissages au cours du module en matière de pratiques de formation universitaire ont été examinés à l’aide du Perceived Value of Certification Tool for the Nurse Educator (outil de valeur perçue de la certification pour l’infirmière enseignante). Parmi les 108 répondant(e)s aux questions du sondage, les résultats indiquent que la plupart des infirmières et infirmiers enseignant(e)s détenant le titre CCNE perçoivent la valeur de la certification des infirmières enseignantes. L’une des principales conclusions de l’étude était que les enseignant(e)s percevaient davantage la valeur intrinsèque que la valeur extrinsèque dans l’obtention de la certification. Dans l’ensemble, les répondant(e)s estimaient que la certification n’était pas pleinement reconnue par les employeurs, les collègues ou les étudiant(e)s, et qu’il était nécessaire d’améliorer la perception que les autres avaient de la certification. Malgré des inscriptions constantes aux modules du programme de l’ACESI, le programme et la désignation CCNE semblent nécessiter une reconnaissance officielle supplémentaire de la part des établissements d’enseignement universitaire à travers le pays. Avec la pénurie de membres du corps professoral qualifié(e)s en sciences infirmières, la nécessité de renforcer les compétences des membres actuel(le)s du corps professoral universitaire est impérative. La certification et la délivrance de titres et certificats pour les infirmières et infirmiers enseignant(e)s universitaires doivent être reconnues. Les enseignant(e)s devraient recevoir un mérite pour l’acquisition des connaissances spécialisées, de l’expertise et des compétences requises pour le rôle

DNA methylation associated with postpartum depressive symptoms overlaps findings from a genome-wide association meta-analysis of depression

Background Perinatal depressive symptoms have been linked to adverse maternal and infant health outcomes. The etiology associated with perinatal depressive psychopathology is poorly understood, but accumulating evidence suggests that understanding inter-individual differences in DNA methylation (DNAm) patterning may provide insight regarding the genomic regions salient to the risk liability of perinatal depressive psychopathology. Results Genome-wide DNAm was measured in maternal peripheral blood using the Infinium MethylationEPIC microarray. Ninety-two participants (46% African-American) had DNAm samples that passed all quality control metrics, and all participants were within 7 months of delivery. Linear models were constructed to identify differentially methylated sites and regions, and permutation testing was utilized to assess significance. Differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were defined as genomic regions of consistent DNAm change with at least two probes within 1 kb of each other. Maternal age, current smoking status, estimated cell-type proportions, ancestry-relevant principal components, days since delivery, and chip position served as covariates to adjust for technical and biological factors. Current postpartum depressive symptoms were measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Ninety-eight DMRs were significant (false discovery rate \u3c 5%) and overlapped 92 genes. Three of the regions overlap loci from the latest Psychiatric Genomics Consortium meta-analysis of depression. Conclusions Many of the genes identified in this analysis corroborate previous allelic, transcriptomic, and DNAm association results related to depressive phenotypes. Future work should integrate data from multi-omic platforms to understand the functional relevance of these DMRs and refine DNAm association results by limiting phenotypic heterogeneity and clarifying if DNAm differences relate to the timing of onset, severity, duration of perinatal mental health outcomes of the current pregnancy or to previous history of depressive psychopathology

Connexin 43 plays a role in pulmonary vascular reactivity in mice

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a chronic condition characterized by vascular remodeling and increased vaso-reactivity. PAH is more common in females than in males (~3:1). Connexin (Cx)43 has been shown to be involved in cellular communication within the pulmonary vasculature. Therefore, we investigated the role of Cx43 in pulmonary vascular reactivity using Cx43 heterozygous (Cx43+/−) mice and 37,43Gap27, which is a pharmacological inhibitor of Cx37 and Cx43. Contraction and relaxation responses were studied in intra-lobar pulmonary arteries (IPAs) derived from normoxic mice and hypoxic mice using wire myography. IPAs from male Cx43+/− mice displayed a small but significant increase in the contractile response to endothelin-1 (but not 5-hydroxytryptamine) under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions. There was no difference in the contractile response to endothelin-1 (ET-1) or 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in IPAs derived from female Cx43+/−mice compared to wildtype mice. Relaxation responses to methacholine (MCh) were attenuated in IPAs from male and female Cx43+/− mice or by pre-incubation of IPAs with 37,43Gap27. Nω-Nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME) fully inhibited MCh-induced relaxation. In conclusion, Cx43 is involved in nitric oxide (NO)-induced pulmonary vascular relaxation and plays a gender-specific and agonist-specific role in pulmonary vascular contractility. Therefore, reduced Cx43 signaling may contribute to pulmonary vascular dysfunction