Modeling and mapping isotopic patterns in the Northwest Atlantic derived from loggerhead sea turtles

Stable isotope analysis can be used to infer geospatial linkages of highly migratory species. Identifying foraging grounds of marine organisms from their isotopic signatures is becoming de rigueur as it has been with terrestrial organisms. Sea turtles are being increasingly studied using a combination of satellite telemetry and stable isotope analysis; these studies along with those from other charismatic, highly vagile, and widely distributed species (e.g., tuna, billfish, sharks, dolphins, whales) have the potential to yield large datasets to develop methodologies to decipher migratory pathways in the marine realm. We collected tissue samples (epidermis and red blood cells) for carbon (delta C-13) and nitrogen (delta N-15) stable isotope analysis from 214 individual loggerheads (Caretta caretta) in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean (NWA). We used discriminant function analysis (DFA) to examine how well delta C-13 and delta N-15 classify loggerhead foraging areas. The DFA model was derived from isotopic signatures of 58 loggerheads equipped with satellite tags to identify foraging locations. We assessed model accuracy with the remaining 156 untracked loggerheads that were captured at their foraging locations. The DFA model correctly identified the foraging ground of 93.0% of individuals with a probability greater than 66.7%. The results of the external validation (1) confirm that assignment models based on tracked loggerheads in the NWA are robust and (2) provide the first independent evidence supporting the use of these models for migratory marine organisms. Additionally, we used these data to generate loggerhead-specific delta C-13 and delta N-15 isoscapes, the first for a predator in the Atlantic Ocean. We found a latitudinal trend of delta C-13 values with higher values in the southern region (20-25 degrees N) and a more complex pattern with delta N-15, with intermediate latitudes (30-35 degrees N) near large coastal estuaries having higher delta N-15-enrichment. These results indicate that this method with further refinement may provide a viable, more spatially-explicit option for identifying loggerhead foraging grounds

Overview of homocysteine and folate metabolism. With special references to cardiovascular disease and neural tube defects

This overview addresses homocysteine and folate metabolism. Its functions and complexity are described, leading to explanations why disturbed homocysteine and folate metabolism is implicated in many different diseases, including congenital birth defects like congenital heart disease, cleft lip and palate, late pregnancy complications, different kinds of neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases, osteoporosis and cancer. In addition, the inborn errors leading to hyperhomocysteinemia and homocystinuria are described. These extreme human hyperhomocysteinemia models provide knowledge about which part of the homocysteine and folate pathways are linked to which disease. For example, the very high risk for arterial and venous occlusive disease in patients with severe hyperhomocysteinemia irrespective of the location of the defect in remethylation or transsulphuration indicates that homocysteine itself or one of its “direct” derivatives is considered toxic for the cardiovascular system. Finally, common diseases associated with elevated homocysteine are discussed with the focus on cardiovascular disease and neural tube defects

Business ethics as practice

In this article we develop a conceptualization of business ethics as practice. Starting from the view that the ethics that organizations display in practice will have been forged through an ongoing process of debate and contestation over moral choices, we examine ethics in relation to the ambiguous, unpredictable, and subjective contexts of managerial action. Furthermore, we examine how discursively constituted practice relates to managerial subjectivity and the possibilities of managers being moral agents. The article concludes by discussing how the 'ethics as practice' approach that we expound provides theoretical resources for studying the different ways that ethics manifest themselves in organizations as well as providing a practical application of ethics in organizations that goes beyond moralistic and legalistic approaches. © 2006 British Academy of Management

Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inhibits inflammasome-mediated inflammation and has been proposed as a treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing multiple treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 (NCT04381936, ISRCTN50189673). In this assessment of DMF performed at 27 UK hospitals, adults were randomly allocated (1:1) to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus DMF. The primary outcome was clinical status on day 5 measured on a seven-point ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes were time to sustained improvement in clinical status, time to discharge, day 5 peripheral blood oxygenation, day 5 C-reactive protein, and improvement in day 10 clinical status. Between 2 March 2021 and 18 November 2021, 713 patients were enroled in the DMF evaluation, of whom 356 were randomly allocated to receive usual care plus DMF, and 357 to usual care alone. 95% of patients received corticosteroids as part of routine care. There was no evidence of a beneficial effect of DMF on clinical status at day 5 (common odds ratio of unfavourable outcome 1.12; 95% CI 0.86-1.47; p = 0.40). There was no significant effect of DMF on any secondary outcome

Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inhibits inflammasome-mediated inflammation and has been proposed as a treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing multiple treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 (NCT04381936, ISRCTN50189673). In this assessment of DMF performed at 27 UK hospitals, adults were randomly allocated (1:1) to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus DMF. The primary outcome was clinical status on day 5 measured on a seven-point ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes were time to sustained improvement in clinical status, time to discharge, day 5 peripheral blood oxygenation, day 5 C-reactive protein, and improvement in day 10 clinical status. Between 2 March 2021 and 18 November 2021, 713 patients were enroled in the DMF evaluation, of whom 356 were randomly allocated to receive usual care plus DMF, and 357 to usual care alone. 95% of patients received corticosteroids as part of routine care. There was no evidence of a beneficial effect of DMF on clinical status at day 5 (common odds ratio of unfavourable outcome 1.12; 95% CI 0.86-1.47; p = 0.40). There was no significant effect of DMF on any secondary outcome

Spatiotemporal Patterns Of Annual Sea Turtle Nesting Behaviors Along An East Central Florida Beach

The Florida coastline from Melbourne Beach to Wabasso Beach is one the most important nesting areas for loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) in the Western Hemisphere and for green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the United States. In this study, we quantified the spatial patterns of numerous loggerhead (N≈400,000) and green turtle (N≈14,000) and less numerous (N≈100) leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) beach ascents from 1989-1999 in terms of their autocorrelative properties along 40.5 km within this critical reproductive zone. Nesting and non-nesting emergence patterns of loggerhead and green turtles were non-random, favoring the southern half of the study area. Perhaps due to low numbers or differences in nesting behavior, leatherback nest distributions were not significantly different from random. Loggerhead and green turtle nest locations exhibited similar clinal patterns. They were positively autocorrelated at distances less than 10 km and negatively at distances greater than 30 km. These patterns were significantly correlated interannually. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

Intra-Anneal Loggerhead And Green Turtle Spatial Nesting Patterns

We analyzed a 15-year (1989-2003) dataset of spatial nesting locations for Loggerhead and Green Turtles along a 40.5-km stretch of beach encompassing the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge along the Atlantic coast of Florida. To assess whether there are differences in spatial distribution influenced by temporal site-selection cues, we divided each season into quartiles and analyzed the autocorrelative patterns of the nest distributions within each time frame. Fundamentally, intraspecific differences in nest spatial patterns from the beginning to the end of the nesting season were minor. Though the temporal grain of the analyses may not be able to discern affects of fine-scale fluctuations (e.g., high- and low-tide events), these results suggest that environmental variables that change over the nesting season (e.g., ocean temperatures, daylength, and existing human activities) are not significantly influencing where these sea turtles place their nests

Earlier Nesting By Loggerhead Sea Turtles Following Sea Surface Warming

The onset of spring, noted by the timing of wildlife migratory and breeding behaviors, has been occurring earlier over the past few decades. Here, we examine 15 years of loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta, nesting patterns along a 40.5 km beach on Florida\u27s Atlantic coast. This small section of beach is considered to be the most important nesting area for this threatened species in the western hemisphere. From 1989 to 2003, the annual number of nests fluctuated between 13000 and 25000 without a conspicuous trend; however, based on a regression analysis, the median nesting date became earlier by roughly 10 days. The Julian day of median nesting was significantly correlated with near-shore, May sea surface temperatures that warmed an average of \u270.8°C over this period. This marine example from warm temperate/subtropical waters represents another response of nature to recent climate trends. © 2004 Blackwell Publishing Ltd