Peaks of Otter Salamander (Plethodon hubrichti) Condition: Optimal Elevations for This Montane Species of Salamander

Undergraduate Basi

Small-boat surveys for coastal dolphins: line-transect surveys of Hector’s dolphins (Cephalorhynchus hectori)

Management of coastal species of small cetaceans is often impeded by a lack of robust estimates of their abundance. In the Austral summers of 1997−98, 1998−99, and 1999−2000 we conducted line-transect surveys of Hector’s dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori) abundance off the north, east, and south coasts of the South Island of New Zealand. Survey methods were modified for the use of a 15-m sailing catamaran, which was equipped with a collapsible sighting platform giving observers an eye-height of 6 m. Eighty-six percent of 2061 km of survey effort was allocated to inshore waters (4 nautical miles [nmi] or 7.4 km from shore), and the remainder to offshore waters (4−10 nmi or 7.4–18.5 km from shore). Transects were placed at 45° to the shore and spaced apart by 1, 2, 4, or 8 nmi according to pre-existing data on dolphin density. Survey effort within strata was uniform. Detection functions for sheltered waters and open coasts were fitted separately for each survey. The effect of attraction of dolphins to the survey vessel and the fraction of dolphins missed on the trackline were assessed with simultaneous boat and helicopter surveys in January 1999. Hector’s dolphin abundance in the coastal zone to 4 nmi offshore was calculated at 1880 individuals (CV=15.7%, log-normal 95% CI=1384−2554). These surveys are the first line-transect surveys for cetaceans in New Zealand’s coastal waters

Conservation Implications of the Effects of Annual Fluctuations in Precipitation and Temperature on Plethodon hubrichti Body Condition

Undergraduat

Interobserver variability in the classification of appendicitis during laparoscopy

Background: The intraoperative classification of appendicitis dictates the patient's postoperative management. Prolonged antibiotic prophylaxis is recommended for complex appendicitis (gangrenous, perforated, abscess), whereas preoperative prophylaxis suffices for simple appendicitis. Distinguishing these two conditions can be challenging. The aim of this study was to assess interobserver variability in the classification of appendicitis during laparoscopy. Methods: Short video recordings taken during laparoscopy for suspected appendicitis were shown to surgeons and surgical residents. They were asked to: classify the appendix as indicative of no, simple or complex appendicitis; categorize the appendix as normal, phlegmonous, gangrenous, perforated and/or abscess; and decide whether they would prescribe postoperative antibiotics. Inter-rater reliability was evaluated using Fleiss' κ score and the S* statistic. Results: Some 80 assessors participated in the study. Video recordings of 20 patients were used. Interobserver agreement was minimal for both the classification of appendicitis (κ score 0·398, 95 per cent c.i. 0·385 to 0·410) and the decision to prescribe postoperative antibiotic treatment (κ score 0·378, 0·362 to 0·393). Agreement was slightly higher when published criteria were applied (κ score 0·552, 0·537 to 0·568). Conclusion: There is considerable variability in the intraoperative classification of appendicitis and the decision to prescribe postoperative antibiotic treatment

Degenerative encephalopathy in Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers presenting with a rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder

BACKGROUND: Neurodegenerative diseases are a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by loss of neurons and are commonly associated with a genetic mutation. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: To characterize the clinical and histopathological features of a novel degenerative neurological disease affecting the brain of young adult Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers (NSDTRs). ANIMALS: Nine, young adult, related NSDTRs were evaluated for neurological dysfunction and rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder. METHODS: Case series review. RESULTS: Clinical signs of neurological dysfunction began between 2 months and 5 years of age and were progressive in nature. They were characterized by episodes of marked movements during sleep, increased anxiety, noise phobia, and gait abnormalities. Magnetic resonance imaging documented symmetrical, progressively increasing, T2‐weighted image intensity, predominantly within the caudate nuclei, consistent with necrosis secondary to gray matter degeneration. Abnormalities were not detected on clinicopathological analysis of blood and cerebrospinal fluid, infectious disease screening or urine metabolite screening in most cases. Postmortem examination of brain tissue identified symmetrical malacia of the caudate nuclei and axonal dystrophy within the brainstem and spinal cord. Genealogical analysis supports an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: A degenerative encephalopathy was identified in young adult NSDTRs consistent with a hereditary disease. The prognosis is guarded due to the progressive nature of the disease, which is minimally responsive to empirical treatment

Structures and functions of mitochondrial ABC transporters

A small number of physiologically important ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters are found in mitochondria. Most are half transporters of the B group forming homodimers and their topology suggests they function as exporters. The results of mutant studies point towards involvement in iron cofactor biosynthesis. In particular, ABC subfamily B member 7 (ABCB7) and its homologues in yeast and plants are required for iron-sulfur (Fe-S) cluster biosynthesis outside of the mitochondria, whereas ABCB10 is involved in haem biosynthesis. They also play a role in preventing oxidative stress. Mutations in ABCB6 and ABCB7 have been linked to human disease. Recent crystal structures of yeast Atm1 and human ABCB10 have been key to identifying substrate-binding sites and transport mechanisms. Combined with in vitro and in vivo studies, progress is being made to find the physiological substrates of the different mitochondrial ABC transporters

Habituation and sensitization of protective reflexes: dissociation between cardiac defense and eye-blink startle

We examined the habituation and recovery of two protective reflexes, cardiac defense and eye-blink startle, simultaneously elicited by a white noise of 500 ms as a function of the time interval between stimulus presentations. Participants were 90 volunteers (54 women) randomly distributed into 6 inter-trial interval (ITI) conditions. They all received three presentations of the stimulus with a time interval of 30 min between the first and third noise. The timing of the second noise was manipulated in six steps, using a between-group design, in order to increase the ITI between Trials I and 2 and symmetrically decrease the ITI between Trials 2 and 3. Cardiac defense showed fast habituation at the shortest ITI (2.5 min), but reduced habituation and increased recovery at the longest ITI (27.5 min). In contrast, eye-blink startle showed sensitization irrespective of the ITI. This pattern of findings highlights dissociations between protective reflexes when simultaneously examined. The results are discussed in the context of the cascade model of defense reactions. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

A Lockpick's Guide to dataARC: Designing Infrastructures and Building Communities to Enable Transdisciplinary Research

The North Atlantic Biocultural Organization (NABO) community initiated dataARC to develop digital research infrastructures to support their work on long-term human-ecodynamics in the North Atlantic. These infrastructures were designed to address the challenges of sharing research data, the connections between those data and high-level interpretations, and the interpretations themselves. In parallel, they were also designed to support the reuse of diverse data that underpin transdisciplinary synthesis research and to contextualise materials disseminated widely to the public more firmly in their evidence base. This article outlines the research infrastructure produced by the project and reflects on its design and development. We outline the core motivations for dataARC's work and introduce the tools, platforms and (meta)data products developed. We then undertake a critical review of the project's workflow. This review focuses on our understanding of the needs of stakeholder groups, the principles that guided the design of the infrastructure, and the extent to which these principles are successfully promoted in the current implementation. Drawing on this assessment, we consider how the infrastructure, in whole or in part, might be reused by other transdisciplinary research communities. Finally, we highlight key socio-technical gaps that may emerge as structural barriers to transdisciplinary, engaged, and open research if left unaddressed

Renal cell carcinoma histologic subtypes exhibit distinct transcriptional profiles.

Molecular profiling of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) tumors of patients in a clinical trial has identified distinct transcriptomic signatures with predictive value, yet data in non-clear cell variants (nccRCC) are lacking. We examined the transcriptional profiles of RCC tumors representing key molecular pathways, from a multi-institutional, real-world patient cohort, including ccRCC and centrally reviewed nccRCC samples. ccRCC had increased angiogenesis signature scores compared with the heterogeneous group of nccRCC tumors, while cell cycle, fatty acid oxidation/AMPK signaling, and fatty acid synthesis/pentose phosphate signature scores were increased in one or more nccRCC subtypes. Among both ccRCC and nccRCC tumors, T effector scores statistically correlated with increased immune cell infiltration and were more commonly associated with immunotherapy-related markers (PD-L1+/TMBhi/MSIhi). In conclusion, this study provides evidence of differential gene transcriptional profiles among ccRCC versus nccRCC tumors, providing insights for optimizing personalized and histology-specific therapeutic strategies for patients with advanced RCC

Galaxy Zoo DESI: Detailed Morphology Measurements for 8.7M Galaxies in the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys

We present detailed morphology measurements for 8.67 million galaxies in the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys (DECaLS, MzLS, and BASS, plus DES). These are automated measurements made by deep learning models trained on Galaxy Zoo volunteer votes. Our models typically predict the fraction of volunteers selecting each answer to within 5-10\% for every answer to every GZ question. The models are trained on newly-collected votes for DESI-LS DR8 images as well as historical votes from GZ DECaLS. We also release the newly-collected votes. Extending our morphology measurements outside of the previously-released DECaLS/SDSS intersection increases our sky coverage by a factor of 4 (5,000 to 19,000 deg$^2$) and allows for full overlap with complementary surveys including ALFALFA and MaNGA.Comment: 20 pages. Accepted at MNRAS. Catalog available via https://zenodo.org/record/7786416. Pretrained models available via https://github.com/mwalmsley/zoobot. Vizier and Astro Data Lab access not yet available. With thanks to the Galaxy Zoo volunteer