A Historical Perspective of the Biology and Conservation of the Kemp\u27s Ridley Sea Turtle

The history of the critically endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) has presented scientists and conservationists with a variety of questions and challenges originating in part from the species’ limited distribution and single primary nesting beach. Although the species was initially brought to the attention of the scientific community in 1880 by Richard Kemp, more than 80 yr passed before Henry Hildebrand revealed the location of its primary nesting beach at Rancho Nuevo, Mexico in the western Gulf of Mexico. By the time scientists began estimating the number of females nesting at Rancho Nuevo, it appeared that the species had declined when compared with the relatively large mass nesting (a.k.a. arribada) filmed by Andres Herrera in 1947. This decline appeared to be due to historic exploitation of turtles and their eggs on the nesting beach and accidental capture in the Gulf of Mexico shrimp fishery. Despite the implementation of conservation measures at Rancho Nuevo, the species continued to decline until the mid-1980s. The continued protection of females and nests on the nesting beach, the decline in shrimping effort in the Gulf of Mexico, and the implementation of turtle excluder devices resulted in a significant increase in the number of females nesting during the 1990s, and an exponential recovery rate. Since 2010, the recovery rate has unexpectedly deviated from its exponential trend and sharp declines have been documented in some years. The underlying cause(s) of the recent decline is unclear

Strong leadership: the case for global connections.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To identify how nurse leaders view and experience the opportunities offered by one of the largest global nursing organisations Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI). BACKGROUND: Worldwide, nursing leadership is challenged with addressing the complex issues impacting on care delivery. International nursing organisations are a means to bring together individuals to promote leadership and scholarship for nursing practice to promote patient safety and quality care. The newly established all-England Chapter of STTI is a recent addition to the society in terms of nurse leadership in Europe; and as such faces challenges as it establishes its identity and seeks to interpret the organisational vision: to advance world health through nursing leadership and scholarship. Moving forward, members views were sought on the goals of the chapter and how they may be enacted. DESIGN: In July 2013, all chapter members at that time had been nominated on the basis of achievement in nurse leadership; all were invited to participate in an online survey. The online questionnaire contained a series of closed and open questions. RESULTS: Most respondents joined because they believed in the vision and networking opportunities STTI provides. Three themes were extracted from the data: the value of networking and communication, leadership and the development of culturally sensitive organisations and the need for shared scholarship for nursing practice. CONCLUSION: Findings indicate the growth of effective leadership at all levels of nursing could be harnessed through successful collaboration and keen support for robust connections between practice and education to promote quality care RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Whilst challenging, globalisation presents an opportunity for a nursing society such as STTI to work collaboratively to address health care issues. A nursing society which explores and resolves its own complex issues by actively promoting leadership and collaborative scholarship, reveals a potential to empower the profession to share our collective solutions towards enhancing clinical practice. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Evaluation of the Status of the Kemp\u27s Ridley Sea Turtle After the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Coincident with the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, unprecedented numbers of Kemp’s ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) stranded on northern Gulf of Mexico beaches and the number of nests recorded on the primary nesting beaches plummeted far below expected levels. High levels of strandings have continued since 2010 and the number of nests recovered to approximately 2009 levels in 2011, and improved slightly in 2012. A stock assessment conducted in 2012 indicated that a mortality event occurred in 2010, and that the number of nests should once more exhibit an increasing trend from 2013 and beyond. This has not happened; rather, the number of nests declined sharply in 2013. We conducted a new stock assessment to evaluate additional scenarios, including 1) three stock-recruitment options; 2) the potential that a new source of ongoing mortality is present; and 3) the potential that the number of nests-per-adult-female is dependent on the size of the age-2+ benthic population. The latter model provided the best fit to the data. Further, the preliminary estimate of actual nesting in 2014 is consistent with model projections. The reduction in reproductive output could be due to the combination of a large population and reduced prey levels. Together these may have increased the remigration interval or reduced the number of nests per female. However, research is needed to evaluate this and other plausible hypotheses. Nesting may be highly variable in the future depending on feeding conditions on the foraging grounds

STUDI NUMERIK PENGARUH PENGGUNAAN SHEARWALL BAJA TERHADAP KINERJA STRUKTUR PORTAL BAJA AKIBAT PEMBEBANAN SIKLIK

Gempa bumi adalah salah satu bencana alam yang sering terjadi diseluruh dunia khususnya di Indonesia. Salah satu elemen yang dapat digunakan untuk memikul beban gempa adalah shearwall. Shearwall dapat menjadi salah satu solusi untuk menyerap energi gempa pada struktur. Shearwall adalah dinding beton bertulang atau pelat baja yang memiliki fungsi untuk memikul gaya geser atau beban lateral akibat gempa bumi. Pada penelitian ini, peneliti akan menganalisis pengaruh variasi ketebalan shearwall baja terhadap kinerja struktur portal baja akibat pembebanan siklik ( bolak - balik ). Profil yang digunakan untuk portal baja yaitu IWF.400.200.8.13 sedangkan variasi ketebalan shearwall baja yang digunakan adalah 2, 3, 4, 5, dan 6 mm. Kedua elemen struktur tersebut menggunakan mutu baja BJ 37. Penelitian ini menggunakan Software MSC Patran - Nastran Student Version. Desain permodelan struktur menggunakan MSC Patran, sedangkan Analisa atau proses running struktur menggunakan MSC Nastran. Hasil running yang akan ditinjau adalah beban ultimate saat pembebanan monotonik, daktilitas struktur, pengaruh besar energi disipasi struktur, kekakuan struktur, dan kekuatan struktur berdasarkan variasi ketebalan shearwall baja. Hasil running beban siklik dari setiap ketebalan shearwall akan diplot menjadi kurva histeretic. Berdasarkan hasil analisa data diperoleh persentase kenaikan P ultimate pada pembebanan monotonik berdasarkan variasi ketebalan shearwall berada pada kisaran 114,347 % - 142,445 %. Sedangkan untuk nilai daktilitas diperoleh nilai minimum 2,492 dan maksimum 3,697 . Persentase besar energi disipasi untuk pembebanan siklik berdasarkan variasi ketebalan shearwall berada pada kisaran 635 kali lipat hingga 4295 kali lipat jika dibandingkan dengan energi disipasi pada ketebalan 2 mm. Sedangkan persentase kenaikan kekakuan struktur pada pembebanan siklik berdasarkan variasi ketebalan shearwall berada pada kisaran 131,715 % - 266,850 %. Kata kunci : Shearwall, Portal baja, Energi disipasi, Siklik, Kurva Hysteretic

Open science in archaeology

No abstract available

Genome-wide association study identifies a variant in HDAC9 associated with large vessel ischemic stroke

Genetic factors have been implicated in stroke risk but few replicated associations have been reported. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in ischemic stroke and its subtypes in 3,548 cases and 5,972 controls, all of European ancestry. Replication of potential signals was performed in 5,859 cases and 6,281 controls. We replicated reported associations between variants close to PITX2 and ZFHX3 with cardioembolic stroke, and a 9p21 locus with large vessel stroke. We identified a novel association for a SNP within the histone deacetylase 9(HDAC9) gene on chromosome 7p21.1 which was associated with large vessel stroke including additional replication in a further 735 cases and 28583 controls (rs11984041, combined P = 1.87×10−11, OR=1.42 (95% CI) 1.28-1.57). All four loci exhibit evidence for heterogeneity of effect across the stroke subtypes, with some, and possibly all, affecting risk for only one subtype. This suggests differing genetic architectures for different stroke subtypes

The Impact of Pandemic Influenza H1N1 on Health-Related Quality of Life: A Prospective Population-Based Study

BACKGROUND: While the H1N1v influenza pandemic in 2009 was clinically mild, with a low case-fatality rate, the overall disease burden measured in quality-adjusted life years (QALY) lost has not been estimated. Such a measure would allow comparison with other diseases and assessment of the cost-effectiveness of pandemic control measures. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Cases of H1N1v confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and PCR negative cases with similar influenza-like illness (ILI controls) in 7 regions of England were sent two questionnaires, one within a week of symptom onset and one two weeks later, requesting information on duration of illness, work loss and antiviral use together with EQ-5D questionnaires. Results were compared with those for seasonal influenza from a systematic literature review. A total QALY loss for the 2009 pandemic in England was calculated based on the estimated total clinical cases and reported deaths. A total of 655 questionnaires were sent and 296 (45%) returned. Symptoms and average illness duration were similar between confirmed cases and ILI controls (8.8 days and 8.7 days respectively). Days off work were greater for cases than ILI controls (7.3 and 4.9 days respectively, p  =  0.003). The quality-adjusted life days lost was 2.92 for confirmed cases and 2.74 for ILI controls, with a reduction in QALY loss after prompt use of antivirals in confirmed cases. The overall QALY loss in the pandemic was estimated at 28,126 QALYs (22,267 discounted) of which 40% was due to deaths (24% with discounting). CONCLUSION: Given the global public health significance of influenza, it is remarkable that no previous prospective study of the QALY loss of influenza using standardised and well validated methods has been performed. Although the QALY loss was minor for individual patients, the estimated total burden of influenza over the pandemic was substantial when compared to other infectious diseases