Productivity of Florida Springs: first semi-annual report to Biology Division, Office of Naval Research, progress from June 1, 1952 to January 31, 1953

Work has begun on studying the factors responsible for productivity in the Florida springs, which are nearly constant temperature, constant chemical, steady state giant laboratories. Progress has been made on five aspects: qualitative description, quantitative description, completion of knowledge of chemical factors, measurement of productivity , development of productivity theory. Measurement of the primary productivity in Silver Springs and Green Cove Springs by two new methods: the raising of organisms in cages, and the measurement of night & day differences in oxygen downstream agree roughly. Production in these springs is greater than previous production figures reported for marine, fresh water, and land areas. Instantaneous measures of production show large variations with season, time of day, cloud cover. Production estimates range from 11,000 lbs per acre per year to 70,000 lbs. glucose per acre per year during daylight hours. Essential stability of the springs environment has been shown with respect to temperature, phosphorus, and plant cover. A correlation of species number with lack of stability has been shown with insects. Quantitative studies have shown very large plant base to pyramids of mass. Correlation of marine invasion with chlorinity has been shown. The essential aspects of pH regulated phosphorus geochemistry in Florida have been outlined. Some theoretical ideas on productivity have been evolved. Mapping of sessile organisms in springs and taxonomic identification of dominants are half completed. Plans for second six months include measurement of herbivore and carnivore production rates and completion of food chain efficiency determinations in Silver Springs as a preparation for subsequent comparisons between springs. (34pp.

Stream and spring capture in combined sewer systems

Streams and springs have in some cases been connected into the combined sewer system. These “lost watercourses” contribute another source of clean baseflow to sewer networks, in addition to the widely acknowledged and researched infiltration-inflow. Stream and spring capture, as a type of point source inflow to combined sewer networks, has received little specific acknowledgement by the water industry in the UK. The considerable efforts to tackle sewer infiltration-inflow may be confounded by this type of inflow. A literature review demonstrates that stream and spring capture occurs in many cities around the world, and discusses the causes, the costs and consequences, and the potential solutions, with particular reference to Zurich. Evidence that can be used to identify stream and spring capture is reviewed and demonstrated with a case study of Sheffield, UK. It is found that no single source of information can always be relied on to indicate capture. Over half the total original stream length in the search area is now lost, and may be captured into the combined sewers. A novel water typing method is developed that can be used to indicate stream and spring capture sites from the major and minor ion water chemistry. Results of a detailed sampling program of five capture sites in Sheffield are presented, demonstrating that water types can reflect sites of known capture in some circumstances. Finally a Bayesian Belief Network model is developed to predict where both stream and spring capture and infiltration-inflow are likely to occur in a sewer network, providing a useful scoping tool for water companies. Expert beliefs are used to predict the likelihood of stream and spring capture and infiltration-inflow from various sewer characteristics, and proximity to recorded “lost” streams and springs. The model is robustly evaluated using several validation data sources, suggesting that it performs well

The co-development and feasibility-testing of an innovative digital animation intervention (DAISI) to reduce the risk of maternal sepsis in the postnatal period

YesIntroduction: Sepsis is one of the most common causes of mortality in postnatal women globally and many other women who develop sepsis are left with severe morbidity. Women’s knowledge of postnatal sepsis and how it can be prevented by simple changes to behaviour is lacking. Methods: This paper describes the co-development and feasibility testing of a digital animation intervention called DAISI (digital animation in service improvement). This DAISI is designed to enhance postnatal women’s awareness of sepsis and how to reduce their risk of developing the condition. We co-designed the digital animation over a six-month period underpinned by theory, best evidence and key stakeholders, translated it into Urdu then assessed its use, firstly in a focus group with women from different Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups and secondly with 15 clinical midwives and 15 women (including BAME women). Following exposure to the intervention, midwives completed a questionnaire developed from the COM-B behaviour change model and women participated in individual and focus group interviews using similar questions. Results: The animation was considered acceptable, culturally sensitive and simple to implement and follow. Discussion: DAISI appears to be an innovative solution for use in maternity care to address difficulties with the postnatal hospital discharge process. We could find no evidence of digital animation being used in this context and recommend a study to test it in practice prior to adopting its use more widely. If effective, the DAISI principle could be used in other maternity contexts and other areas of the NHS to communicate health promotion information.This study was funded by Translate Medtech, Leeds City Region. DAISI was developed by HMA Digital, Barnsley, UK

Sodium Pumps Mediate Activity-Dependent Changes in Mammalian Motor Networks

Ubiquitously expressed sodium pumps are best known for maintaining the ionic gradients and resting membrane potential required for generating action potentials. However, activity- and state-dependent changes in pump activity can also influence neuronal firing and regulate rhythmic network output. Here we demonstrate that changes in sodium pump activity regulate locomotor networks in the spinal cord of neonatal mice. The sodium pump inhibitor, ouabain, increased the frequency and decreased the amplitude of drug-induced locomotor bursting, effects that were dependent on the presence of the neuromodulator dopamine. Conversely, activating the pump with the sodium ionophore monensin decreased burst frequency. When more “natural” locomotor output was evoked using dorsal-root stimulation, ouabain increased burst frequency and extended locomotor episode duration, whereas monensin slowed and shortened episodes. Decreasing the time between dorsal-root stimulation, and therefore interepisode interval, also shortened and slowed activity, suggesting that pump activity encodes information about past network output and contributes to feedforward control of subsequent locomotor bouts. Using whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from spinal motoneurons and interneurons, we describe a long-duration (∼60 s), activity-dependent, TTX- and ouabain-sensitive, hyperpolarization (∼5 mV), which is mediated by spike-dependent increases in pump activity. The duration of this dynamic pump potential is enhanced by dopamine. Our results therefore reveal sodium pumps as dynamic regulators of mammalian spinal motor networks that can also be affected by neuromodulatory systems. Given the involvement of sodium pumps in movement disorders, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and rapid-onset dystonia parkinsonism, knowledge of their contribution to motor network regulation also has considerable clinical importance

Prolonged low flow reduces reactive hyperemia and augments low flow mediated constriction in the brachial artery independent of the menstrual cycle

© 2013 Rakobowchuk et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Non-invasive forearm ischemia-reperfusion injury and low flow induced vascular dysfunction models provide methods to evaluate vascular function. The role of oestrogen, an endogenous anti-oxidant on recovery from ischemia-reperfusion injury has not been evaluated nor has the impact of prolonged low flow on vascular function been established. Eight healthy women (33610 yr) attended the lab during the follicular, ovulatory and mid-luteal phases of their menstrual cycles. After 30 minutes of rest, brachial artery vascular function was assessed by ultrasound measurements of diameter changes during 5 minutes of forearm ischemia and 3 minutes after. Subsequently, a 20-minute forearm ischemia period was completed. Further, vascular function assessments were completed 15, 30 and 45 minutes into recovery. Flow-mediated dilation, lowflow-mediated constriction, and reactive hyperaemia proximal to the area of ischemia were determined. Flow-mediated dilation was reduced at 15 minutes of recovery but recovered at 30 and 45 minutes (PRE: 7.161.0%, POST15:4.560.6%, POST30:5. 560.7% POST45:5.960.4%, p,0.01). Conversely, low-flow mediated constriction increased (PRE: 21.360.4%, POST15: 23.360.6%, POST30: 22.560.5% POST45: 21.560.12%, p,0.01). Reactive hyperaemia was reduced throughout recovery (p,0.05). Data were unaffected by menstrual phase. Prolonged low flow altered vascular function and may relate as much to increased vasoconstriction as with decreased vasodilation. Reductions in anterograde shear and greater retrograde shear likely modulate the brachial artery response, but the reduced total shear also plays an important role. The data suggest substantial alterations in vascular function proximal to areas of ischemia with potential clinical implications following reperfusion.British Heart Foundation (PG/08/060/25340),a Physiological Society summer studentship to SG, and a Wellcome Trust Vacation Studentship to EP

Maize terpene synthase 1 impacts insect behavior via the production of monoterpene volatiles \u3ci\u3eβ\u3c/i\u3e-myrcene and linalool

Plant-derived volatiles are important mediators of plant-insect interactions as they can provide cues for host location and quality, or act as direct or indirect defense molecules. The volatiles produced by Zea mays (maize) include a range of terpenes, likely produced by several of the terpene synthases (TPS) present in maize. Determining the roles of specific terpene volatiles and individual TPSs in maize-insect interactions is challenging due to the promiscuous nature of TPSs in vitro and their potential for functional redundancy. In this study, we used metabolite GWAS of a sweetcorn diversity panel infested with Spodoptera frugiperda (fall armyworm) to identify genetic correlations between TPSs and individual volatiles. This analysis revealed a correlation between maize terpene synthase 1 (ZmTPS1) and emission of the monoterpene volatiles linalool and β-myrcene. Electroantennogram assays showed gravid S. frugiperda could detect both linalool and β-myrcene. Quantification of headspace volatiles in a maize tps1 loss-of-function mutant confirmed that ZmTPS1 is an important contributor to linalool and β-myrcene emission in maize. Furthermore, pairwise choice assays between tps1 mutant and wildtype plants showed that ZmTPS1, and by extension its volatile products, aid host location in the chewing insect S. frugiperda, yet repel the sap-sucking pest, Rhopalosiphum maidis (corn leaf aphid). On the other hand, ZmTPS1 had no impact on indirect defense via the recruitment of the parasitoid Cotesia marginiventris. ZmTPS1 is therefore an important mediator of the interactions between maize and its insect pests

Investigating the Impact of Ultra-Radical Surgery on Survival in Advanced Ovarian Cancer Using Population-Based Data in a Multicentre UK Study

We investigated URS and impact on survival in whole patient cohorts with AOC treated within gynaecological cancer centres that participated in the previously presented SOCQER 2 study. National cancer registry datasets were used to identify FIGO Stage 3,4 and unknown stage patients from 11 cancer centres that had previously participated in the SOCQER2 study. Patient outcomes’ association with surgical ethos were evaluated using logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards. Centres were classified into three groups based on their surgical complexity scores (SCS); those practicing mainly low complexity, (5/11 centres with >70% low SCS procedures, 759 patients), mainly intermediate (3/11, 35–50% low SCS, 356 patients), or mainly high complexity surgery (3/11, >35% high SCS, 356 patients). Surgery rates were 43.2% vs. 58.4% vs. 60.9%. across mainly low, intermediate and high SCS centres, respectively, p < 0.001. Combined surgery and chemotherapy rates were 39.2% vs. 51.8% vs. 38.3% p < 0.000 across mainly low, intermediate and high complexity groups, respectively. Median survival was 23.1 (95% CI 19.0 to 27.2) vs. 22.0 (95% CI 17.6 to 26.3) vs. 17.9 months (95% CI 15.7 to 20.1), p = 0.043 in mainly high SCS, intermediate, and low SCS centres, respectively. In an age and deprivation adjusted model, compared to patients in the high SCS centres, patients in the low SCS group had an HR of 1.21 (95% CI 1.03 to 1.40) for death. Mainly high/intermediate SCS centres have significantly higher surgery rates and better survival at a population level. Centres that practice mainly low complexity surgery should change practice. This study provides support for the utilization of URS for patients with advanced OC

Quality of life from cytoreductive surgery in advanced ovarian cancer: Investigating the association between disease burden and surgical complexity in the international, prospective, SOCQER-2 cohort study

Objective: To investigate quality of life (QoL) and association with surgical complexity and disease burden after surgical resection for advanced ovarian cancer in centres with variation in surgical approach. Design: Prospective multicentre observational study. Setting: Gynaecological cancer surgery centres in the UK, Kolkata, India, and Melbourne, Australia. Sample: Patients undergoing surgical resection (with low, intermediate or high surgical complexity score, SCS) for late-stage ovarian cancer. Main Outcome Measures: Primary: change in global score on the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) core quality-of-life questionnaire (QLQ-C30). Secondary: EORTC ovarian cancer module (OV28), progression-free survival. Results: Patients’ preoperative disease burden and SCS varied between centres, confirming differences in surgical ethos. QoL response rates were 90% up to 18 months. Mean change from the pre-surgical baseline in the EORTC QLQ-C30 was 3.4 (SD 1.8, n = 88) in the low, 4.0 (SD 2.1, n = 55) in the intermediate and 4.3 (SD 2.1, n = 52) in the high-SCS group after 6 weeks (p = 0.048), and 4.3 (SD 2.1, n = 51), 5.1 (SD 2.2, n = 41) and 5.1 (SD 2.2, n = 35), respectively, after 12 months (p = 0.133). In a repeated-measures model, there were no clinically or statistically meaningful differences in EORTC QLQ-C30 global scores between the three SCS groups (p = 0.840), but there was a small statistically significant improvement in all groups over time (p < 0.001). The high-SCS group experienced small to moderate decreases in physical (p = 0.004), role (p = 0.016) and emotional (p = 0.001) function at 6 weeks post-surgery, which resolved by 6–12 months. Conclusions: The global QoL of patients undergoing low-, intermediate- and high-SCS surgery improved at 12 months after surgery and was no worse in patients undergoing extensive surgery

Methods to Recruit Hard-to-Reach Groups: Comparing Two Chain Referral Sampling Methods of Recruiting Injecting Drug Users Across Nine Studies in Russia and Estonia

Evidence suggests rapid diffusion of injecting drug use and associated outbreaks of HIV among injecting drug users (IDUs) in the Russian Federation and Eastern Europe. There remains a need for research among non-treatment and community-recruited samples of IDUs to better estimate the dynamics of HIV transmission and to improve treatment and health services access. We compare two sampling methodologies “respondent-driven sampling” (RDS) and chain referral sampling using “indigenous field workers” (IFS) to investigate the relative effectiveness of RDS to reach more marginal and hard-to-reach groups and perhaps to include those with the riskiest behaviour around HIV transmission. We evaluate the relative efficiency of RDS to recruit a lower cost sample in comparison to IFS. We also provide a theoretical comparison of the two approaches. We draw upon nine community-recruited surveys of IDUs undertaken in the Russian Federation and Estonia between 2001 and 2005 that used either IFS or RDS. Sampling effects on the demographic composition and injecting risk behaviours of the samples generated are compared using multivariate analysis. Our findings suggest that RDS does not appear to recruit more marginalised sections of the IDU community nor those engaging in riskier injecting behaviours in comparison with IFS. RDS appears to have practical advantages over IFS in the implementation of fieldwork in terms of greater recruitment efficiency and safety of field workers, but at a greater cost. Further research is needed to assess how the practicalities of implementing RDS in the field compromises the requirements mandated by the theoretical guidelines of RDS for adjusting the sample estimates to obtain estimates of the wider IDU population