A Regional Assessment of Florida Manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) and the Caloosahatchee River, Florida

(58pp.

Movements of radio-tagged manatees in Tampa Bay and along Florida’s west coast, 1991–1996

Manatees wintering in Tampa Bay, Florida, were captured and fitted with satellite- and radio-telemetry equipment during a research project conducted from 1991 to 1996. Forty-four manatees were tagged after their capture in Tampa Bay; an additional 15 animals were tagged at other west coast locations. Locations of individual animals were estimated via satellite up to eight times per day, and observations of manatee locations were made in the field one or more times per week. These data were entered into a relational database and converted to a format accessible as points within a geographic information system (GIS). Seasonal densities of satellite locations were mapped for 33 manatees tagged in Tampa Bay. Within the bay, manatees aggregated at or near warm-water locations during winter. In other seasons, manatee density was highest in areas that had abundant sea grass and were close to fresh-water sources. Sequential data points for individual manatees were transformed into probable travel routes by using a GIS-based cost-path analysis. A map was created for each tagged manatee depicting estimated travel paths, and detailed descriptive information summarized major movements, tagging history, and physical characteristics. The travel patterns of male manatees were characterized by almost continual movement, often along predictable routes or circuits. Most males larger than 265 cm ranged 100 km or more away from Tampa Bay during non-winter months whereas smaller males remained in or near the bay. As males matured, their travel ranges appeared to expand. Female manatees used two general movement patterns. Small females and females with calves would use specific areas within a day’s travel of the warm-water sources for extended periods before moving to similar nearby areas for protracted stays. Females without calves and females longer than 330 cm with calves added long migrations between areas chosen for foraging.The ranges of some females extended south to Charlotte Harbor,the Caloosahatchee River,and the Everglades. Two tagged females traveled from Florida’s west coast to the east coast: one traveled south around the peninsula, and the other apparently moved east through Lake Okeechobee and the lock system

Identification and Classification of Conserved RNA Secondary Structures in the Human Genome

The discoveries of microRNAs and riboswitches, among others, have shown functional RNAs to be biologically more important and genomically more prevalent than previously anticipated. We have developed a general comparative genomics method based on phylogenetic stochastic context-free grammars for identifying functional RNAs encoded in the human genome and used it to survey an eight-way genome-wide alignment of the human, chimpanzee, mouse, rat, dog, chicken, zebra-fish, and puffer-fish genomes for deeply conserved functional RNAs. At a loose threshold for acceptance, this search resulted in a set of 48,479 candidate RNA structures. This screen finds a large number of known functional RNAs, including 195 miRNAs, 62 histone 3′UTR stem loops, and various types of known genetic recoding elements. Among the highest-scoring new predictions are 169 new miRNA candidates, as well as new candidate selenocysteine insertion sites, RNA editing hairpins, RNAs involved in transcript auto regulation, and many folds that form singletons or small functional RNA families of completely unknown function. While the rate of false positives in the overall set is difficult to estimate and is likely to be substantial, the results nevertheless provide evidence for many new human functional RNAs and present specific predictions to facilitate their further characterization

Разработка интерактивной моделирующей системы технологии низкотемпературной сепарации газа

We present a study of J ψ meson production in collisions of 26.7 GeV electrons with 820 GeV protons, performed with the H1-detector at the HERA collider at DESY. The J ψ mesons are detected via their leptonic decays both to electrons and muons. Requiring exactly two particles in the detector, a cross section of σ(ep → J ψ X) = (8.8±2.0±2.2) nb is determined for 30 GeV ≤ W γp ≤ 180 GeV and Q 2 ≲ 4 GeV 2 . Using the flux of quasi-real photons with Q 2 ≲ 4 GeV 2 , a total production cross section of σ ( γp → J / ψX ) = (56±13±14) nb is derived at an average W γp =90 GeV. The distribution of the squared momentum transfer t from the proton to the J ψ can be fitted using an exponential exp(− b ∥ t ∥) below a ∥ t ∥ of 0.75 GeV 2 yielding a slope parameter of b = (4.7±1.9) GeV −2

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Correction to: Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Applying marketing to conservation: A case study on encouraging boater reporting of watercraft collisions with Florida manatees.

We illustrate how the application of a traditional marketing approach can be used to address conservation problems. The conservation challenge at hand relates to the low number of reported boat strikes of the Florida manatee (Trichechus latirostris), an endangered marine mammal that inhabits coastal Florida. Our objective was to assess why boaters do or do not call the authorities after their boat strikes a manatee and what can be done to increase the rate of reporting. Results of our online survey indicated that over 90% of subjects expressed a willingness to call the authorities if they strike a manatee with their boat. However, this self-reported sentiment has not resulted in frequent calls to the authorities by boaters involved in a collision with a manatee since records have been kept. The outcome of subsequent personal in-depth interviews suggested that most boaters do not know who to call or do not have the proper contact number. Based on our findings, we suggest the implementation of a decal to be positioned in a vessel’s cockpit displaying the proper number to call to report a manatee incident. We also recommend including numbers for other marine emergencies on the decal. We discuss barriers to success that need to be considered and caution as to potential market failures