391 research outputs found
Gulf of Maine seals - fisheries interactions and integrated research : final report
Meeting held: October 28, 2011, Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies, Provincetown, MA. Sponsored by the Marine Mammal Center at the Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution and the Provincetown Center for Coastal StudiesThe 2011 meeting, âGulf of Maine Seals: Fisheries Interactions and Integrated Researchâ, held at
the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies (PCCS), featured posters and oral presentations as
well as a series of discussion groups. This meeting was a follow up to the 2009 meeting, âGulf
of Maine Seals - Populations, Problems and Prioritiesâ, held at the Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution (WHOI) (Bogomolni et al. 2010). At the conclusion of the 2009 meeting, attendees
emphasized the need to improve communication, to obtain funding for long term research, to
continue meeting on a regular basis, to increase data and data sharing, and to support cross
cutting research between the meetingâs three primary topic areas: disease and health; human and
fishery interactions; and population biology. The overarching goals of the 2011 meeting were to discuss and share work to date, present some
of the tools developed since the 2009 meeting, and outline goals for future integrated research.
One of the tools presented within the framework of cross-cutting research areas and integrative
research was the development of a sightings database and website for uniquely identifiable
(unique pelage, scars, lesions, tagged, branded, marked, etc.) animals. The practicality of this
tool as a means to increase communication was discussed.
Additionally, seal/fisheries interactions throughout the Gulf of Maine, Cape Cod and waters off
of the northeast U.S. have continued to concern stakeholders since the 2009 meeting. The
urgency of documenting, understanding and mitigating these interactions has become more
apparent. Therefore, the focus of the 2011 Provincetown meeting was on fisheries interaction
and related topics raised at the last 2009 workshop and in the meetings with Cape Cod fishermen
described below. For the purposes of this report, 'fisheries interaction' can be direct/operational
(e.g. depredation, when seals remove fish from gear; or entanglement/bycatch, when seals are
unintentionally captured), or indirect/ecological (competition, displacement or other large-scale
interactions between seals and fisheries). Stakeholder concerns about fisheries interactions and recent increases in local seal abundance
were rising prior to the 2009 meeting. In December of 2006, the Chatham-based Cape Cod
Commercial Hook Fishermenâs Association (CCCHFA) took the lead in organizing a meeting
entitled, âStructuring a Novel Research Team to Define and Assess the Impact of Human/Seal
Interactions on Cape Cod/Gulf of Maine through Ecosystem-Based Analysisâ. Participants
included fishermen, policy makers, environmental organizations and researchers aiming to
develop a unique partnership to study the New England seal population. The goal of this
meeting was to create a research team that would define the ecological role of seals in Cape Cod
waters by studying population dynamics, behavior, and health. This meeting resulted in a
successful partnership, financially aided by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW),
between fishermen and seal researchers. A cost-effective cooperative research agreement was
reached whereby seal researchers were provided boat transport around the Chatham and
Monomoy areas by local fishermen. This agreement allowed students and researchers to gain
access to areas off of Chatham that would otherwise not have been accessible. It also supported
a collaborative effort to increase understanding and communication between stakeholders. In addition to the CCCHFA-led meeting in 2006, a series of informal meetings have been held
on Cape Cod between commercial and recreational fishermen and marine scientists. This work
was initially funded by the Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank Charitable Foundation. Owen
Nichols and Lisa Sette (PCCS) have held individual meetings with commercial fishermen in
Chatham, Orleans, and Provincetown, and recreational fishermen, outfitters, and associations
throughout the Outer Cape. These individual meetings were followed by larger group meetings
in Eastham and Chatham in 2010 and 2011, and more are planned for 2012. Attendees included
commercial and recreational fishermen and scientists, and discussion topics included observed
seal/fishery interactions and potential collaborative research projects. The goal of the meetings
is to develop a working group composed of members of the fishing and scientific communities
with expertise in marine mammal and fisheries ecology.
The above meetings laid the foundation for the 2011 meeting, during which members of the
scientific and fishing communities gathered to focus on fisheries interactions and integrated
research techniques to quantify and mitigate interactions. Several invited presentations were
given, some of which were scheduled (Appendix A) with selected abstracts provided (Appendix
B), and some of which were delivered on an ad hoc basis upon request from organizers or
attendees (see Appendix F for edited transcripts of presentations). In order to ensure that the
fishing community had a distinct voice, a forum was included in the agenda, during which
fishermen were encouraged to share their observations, experiences and concerns. Separately,
moderated discussion groups focused specifically on fisheries interactions, tagging and tracking,
and management issues. All four sessions, despite their specific foci, shared common themes
such as the need for collaborative research involving both the scientific and fishing communities.
Recommendations from the discussion groups and summaries from each session are listed on the
following pages.Funding was provided by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Marine Mammal Center and
the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studie
Incidence and In-Hospital Mortality of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) and Dialysis Requiring AKI (AKI-D) After Cardiac Catheterization in the National Inpatient Sample
Background:
Acute kidney injury (AKI) and dialysisârequiring AKI (AKIâD) are common, serious complications of cardiac procedures. Methods and Results:
We evaluated 3 633 762 (17 765 214 weighted population) cardiac catheterization or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) hospital discharges from the nationally representative National Inpatient Sample to determine annual population incidence rates for AKI and AKIâD in the United States from 2001 to 2011. Odds ratios for both conditions and associated inâhospital mortality were calculated for each year in the study period using multiple logistic regression. The number of cardiac catheterization or PCI cases resulting in AKI rose almost 3âfold from 2001 to 2011. The adjusted odds of AKI and AKIâD per year among cardiac catheterization and PCI patients were 1.11 (95% CI: 1.10â1.12) and 1.01 (95% CI: 0.99â1.02), respectively. Most importantly, inâhospital mortality significantly decreased from 2001 to 2011 for AKI (19.6â9.2%) and AKIâD (28.3â19.9%), whereas odds of associated inâhospital mortality were 0.50 (95% CI: 0.45â0.56) and 0.70 (95% CI: 0.55â0.93) in 2011 versus 2001, respectively. The populationâattributable risk of mortality for AKI and AKIâD was 25.8% and 3.8% in 2001 and 41.1% and 6.5% in 2011, respectively. Males and females had similar patterns of AKI increase, although males outpaced females. Conclusions:
The Incidence of AKI among cardiac catheterization and PCI patients has increased sharply in the United States, and this should be addressed by implementing prevention strategies. However, mortality has significantly declined, suggesting that efforts to manage AKI and AKIâD after cardiac catheterization and PCI have reduced mortality
The ALFALFA "Almost Darks" Campaign: Pilot VLA HI Observations of Five High Mass-to-Light Ratio Systems
We present VLA HI spectral line imaging of 5 sources discovered by ALFALFA.
These targets are drawn from a larger sample of systems that were not uniquely
identified with optical counterparts during ALFALFA processing, and as such
have unusually high HI mass to light ratios. These candidate "Almost Dark"
objects fall into 4 categories: 1) objects with nearby HI neighbors that are
likely of tidal origin; 2) objects that appear to be part of a system of
multiple HI sources, but which may not be tidal in origin; 3) objects isolated
from nearby ALFALFA HI detections, but located near a gas-poor early-type
galaxy; 4) apparently isolated sources, with no object of coincident redshift
within ~400 kpc. Roughly 75% of the 200 objects without identified counterparts
in the .40 database (Haynes et al. 2011) fall into category 1. This
pilot sample contains the first five sources observed as part of a larger
effort to characterize HI sources with no readily identifiable optical
counterpart at single dish resolution. These objects span a range of HI mass
[7.41 < log(M) < 9.51] and HI mass to B-band luminosity ratios (3 <
M/L < 9). We compare the HI total intensity and velocity
fields to SDSS optical imaging and to archival GALEX UV imaging. Four of the
sources with uncertain or no optical counterpart in the ALFALFA data are
identified with low surface brightness optical counterparts in SDSS imaging
when compared with VLA HI intensity maps, and appear to be galaxies with clear
signs of ordered rotation. One source (AGC 208602) is likely tidal in nature.
We find no "dark galaxies" in this limited sample. The present observations
reveal complex sources with suppressed star formation, highlighting both the
observational difficulties and the necessity of synthesis follow-up
observations to understand these extreme objects. (abridged)Comment: Astronomical Journal, in pres
Relationship intentions, race, and gender: Student differences in condom use during hookups involving vaginal sex
Objective: To examine the relationship between race, gender, and pre-hookup relationship intentions and college studentsâ participation in condomless vaginal sex. Participants: 3,315 Black and White college students who participated in the Online College Social Life Survey (OCSLS). Methods: Secondary data analysis of the OCSLS using Chi-square and multiple logistic regression analyses. Results: The model revealed that students who did not want a relationship with their hookup partners and students unsure of their relationship intentions were more likely to use condoms during their last vaginal hookup. Further, White and Female students were less likely to have used condoms during their last vaginal hookup.Conclusions: White and female students, as well as students desiring romantic relationships with hookup partners may be at risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) due to decreased condom use. However, more research is needed to explore the factors driving STI disparities facing Black students despite higher condom use
Testing the Association Between Traditional and Novel Indicators of County-Level Structural Racism and Birth Outcomes among Black and White Women
Despite decreases in infants born premature and at low birth weight in the United States (U.S.), racial disparities between Black and White women continue. In response, the purpose of this analysis was to examine associations between both traditional and novel indicators of county-level structural racism and birth outcomes among Black and White women. We merged individual-level data from the California Birth Statistical Master Files 2009â2013 with county-level data from the United States (U.S.) Census American Community Survey. We used hierarchical linear modeling to examine Black-White differences among 531,170 primiparous women across 33California counties. Traditional (e.g., dissimilarity index) and novel indicators (e.g., Black to White ratio in elected office) were associated with earlier gestational age and lower birth weight among Black and White women. A traditional indicator was more strongly associated with earlier gestational age for Black women than f or White women. This was the first study to empirically demonstrate that structural racism, measured by both traditional and novel indicators, is associated with poor health and well being of infants born to Black and White women. However , finding s indicate traditional indicators of structural racism, rather than novel indicators, better explain racial disparities in birth outcomes. Results also suggest the need to develop more innovative approaches to: (1) measure structural racism at the county-level and (2) reform public policies to increase integration and access to resources
Public Scholarship at Indiana University-Purdue University
Community engagement is a defining attribute of the campus, and the
current Strategic Plan identifies a number of strategic actions to âDeepen
our Commitment to Community Engagement.â In May 2015, A Faculty
Learning Community (FLC) on Public Scholarship was established in
May, 2015 to address the campus strategic goals to ârecognize and reward
contributions to community engagementâ and âdefine community
engagement workâŠin Faculty Annual Reports and promotion and tenure
guidelines.â At IUPUI, scholarly work occurs in research and creative
activity, teaching, and/or service. In terms of promotion and tenure, faculty
members must declare an area of excellence in one of these three domains.
The FLC on Public Scholarship is a 3-year initiative co-sponsored by
Academic Affairs and the Center for Service and Learning (CSL). Seven
faculty members from across campus were selected to be part of the
2015-2016 FLC, and two co-chairs worked closely with CSL staff to plan
and facilitate the ongoing work. The FLC is charged with defining public
scholarship, identifying criteria to evaluate this type of scholarship, assist
faculty in documenting their community-engaged work, and working with
department Chairs and Deans in adapting criteria into promotion and
tenure materials. The intended audiences for this work includes faculty,
community-engaged scholars, public scholars, promotion and tenure
committees, external reviewers, and department Chairs and Deans. The
following provides background to the campus context and a brief summary
of work to date, including definition and proposed criteria to evaluate public
scholarship.IUPUI Center for Service and Learning; IUPUI Office of Academic Affair
Nicotine in the Endoplasmic Reticulum
Nicotine activates plasma membrane (PM) nicotinic
receptors (nAChRs), but also permeates into the endoplasmic
reticulum (ER) and cis-Golgi, and there binds to nascent nAChRs. Other psychiatric and abused drugs may also enter the ER and bind their classical targets. Further progress requires direct proof, quantification, and time resolution of these processes in live cells and in the brain of animals. Therefore, we are developing genetically encoded fluorescent biosensors to study the subcellular pharmacokinetics of neural drugs
Cardiology providersâ recommendations for treatments and use of patient decision aids for multivessel coronary artery disease
Background: Rates of recommending percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) vary across clinicians. Whether clinicians agree on preferred treatment options for multivessel coronary artery disease patients has not been well studied. Methods and results: We distributed a survey to 104 clinicians from the Northern New England Cardiovascular Study Group through email and at a regional meeting with 88 (84.6%) responses. The survey described three clinical vignettes of multivessel coronary artery disease patients. For each patient vignette participants selected appropriate treatment options and whether they would use a patient decision aid. The likelihood of choosing PCI only or PCI/CABG over CABG only was modeled using a multinomial regression. Across all vignettes, participants selected CABG only as an appropriate treatment option 24.2% of the time, PCI only 25.4% of the time, and both CABG or PCI as appropriate treatment options 50.4% of the time. Surgeons were less likely to choose PCI over CABG (RR 0.14, 95% CI 0.03, 0.59) or both treatments over CABG only (RR 0.10, 95% CI 0.03, 0.34) relative to cardiologists. Overall, 65% of participants responded they would use a patient decision aid with each vignette. Conclusions: There is a lack of consensus on the appropriate treatment options across cardiologists and surgeons for patients with multivessel coronary artery disease. Treatment choice is influenced by both patient characteristics and clinician specialty
The Chandra Source Catalog
The Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) is a general purpose virtual X-ray
astrophysics facility that provides access to a carefully selected set of
generally useful quantities for individual X-ray sources, and is designed to
satisfy the needs of a broad-based group of scientists, including those who may
be less familiar with astronomical data analysis in the X-ray regime. The first
release of the CSC includes information about 94,676 distinct X-ray sources
detected in a subset of public ACIS imaging observations from roughly the first
eight years of the Chandra mission. This release of the catalog includes point
and compact sources with observed spatial extents <~ 30''. The catalog (1)
provides access to the best estimates of the X-ray source properties for
detected sources, with good scientific fidelity, and directly supports
scientific analysis using the individual source data; (2) facilitates analysis
of a wide range of statistical properties for classes of X-ray sources; and (3)
provides efficient access to calibrated observational data and ancillary data
products for individual X-ray sources, so that users can perform detailed
further analysis using existing tools. The catalog includes real X-ray sources
detected with flux estimates that are at least 3 times their estimated 1 sigma
uncertainties in at least one energy band, while maintaining the number of
spurious sources at a level of <~ 1 false source per field for a 100 ks
observation. For each detected source, the CSC provides commonly tabulated
quantities, including source position, extent, multi-band fluxes, hardness
ratios, and variability statistics, derived from the observations in which the
source is detected. In addition to these traditional catalog elements, for each
X-ray source the CSC includes an extensive set of file-based data products that
can be manipulated interactively.Comment: To appear in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 53 pages,
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