Movement and Aggregation of Eastern Hudson Bay Beluga Whales (Delphinapterus leucas): A Comparison of Patterns Found through Satellite Telemetry and Nunavik Traditional Ecological Knowledge

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) consists of the collective knowledge, experience, and values of subsistence communities, while Western science relies on hypothesis testing to obtain information on natural processes. Both approaches provide important ecological information, but few studies have directly compared the two. We compared information on movements and aggregation of beluga whales obtained from TEK interview records (n = 3253) and satellite telemetry records of 30 whales tagged in eastern Hudson Bay, Canada, using geographic information system (GIS) approaches that allowed common formatting of the data sets. Estuarine centres of aggregation in the summer were evident in both data sets. The intensive use of offshore areas seen in the telemetry data, where 76% of the locations were more than 15 km from mainland Quebec, was not evident in the TEK data, where only 17% of the records indicated offshore locations. Morisita’s index of similarity indicated that TEK and telemetry data distributions varied with season, with the highest similarity in winter (0.74). Location and movement data from the telemetry study were limited by small sample size and short tag deployment times, while TEK data were biased by spatial coverage and coastal travel habits. Although the two data sets can provide complementary information, both suffer from weaknesses that need to be acknowledged when these data are adapted for use in resource management.Les connaissances écologiques traditionnelles (CÉT) consistent en l’ensemble des connaissances, de l’expérience et des valeurs des communautés de subsistance, tandis que la science occidentale s’appuie sur la mise à l’épreuve d’hypothèses dans le but d’obtenir de l’information sur les processus naturels. Bien que ces deux démarches permettent d’obtenir d’importants renseignements sur l’écologie, peu d’études ont établi une comparaison directe entre ces deux démarches. Nous avons comparé des données sur les mouvements et le rassemblement des bélugas, données obtenues à partir de CÉT prélevées au moyen d’entrevues (n = 3253) ainsi qu’à partir de résultats de télémétrie par satellite sur 30 baleines marquées dans l’est de la baie d’Hudson, au Canada, à l’aide de systèmes d’information géographique (SIG) qui ont permis le formatage commun des ensembles de données. Pendant l’été, les centres de rassemblement en estuaire étaient évidents dans les deux ensembles de données. L’utilisation intensive des zones au large en ce qui a trait aux données de télémétrie, où 76 % des localisations se situaient à plus de 15 km du continent québécois, n’était pas évidente dans le cas des données des CÉT, où seulement 17 % des résultats indiquaient des localisations au large. L’indice de similarité de Morisita indiquait que la répartition des données obtenues par CÉT et par télémétrie variait d’une saison à l’autre, la similarité la plus grande ayant été atteinte l’hiver (0,74). Les données de localisation et de mouvement découlant de l’étude de télémétrie étaient limitées par la petite taille de l’échantillon et les courtes durées de déploiement des étiquettes, tandis que les données provenant des CÉT étaient biaisées par l’espace à couvrir et les habitudes de déplacement sur la côte. Bien que les deux ensembles de données puissent fournir de l’information complémentaire, tous deux possèdent des faiblesses qu’il y a lieu de reconnaître lorsque ces données sont adaptées à des fins de gestion des ressources

Genome-wide association study of receptive language ability of 12 year olds

Purpose: We have previously shown that individual differences in measures of receptive language ability at age 12 are highly heritable. The current study attempted to identify some of the genes responsible for the heritability of receptive language ability using a genome-wide association (GWA) approach. Method: We administered four internet-based measures of receptive language (vocabulary, semantics, syntax, and pragmatics) to a sample of 2329 12-year-olds for whom DNA and genome-wide genotyping were available. Nearly 700,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and one million imputed SNPs were included in a GWA analysis of receptive language composite scores. Results: No SNP associations met the demanding criterion of genome-wide significance that corrects for multiple testing across the genome (p < 5 ×10-8). The strongest SNP association did not replicate in an additional sample of 2639 12-year-olds. Conclusion: These results indicate that individual differences in receptive language ability in the general population do not reflect common genetic variants that account for >3% of the phenotypic variance. The search for genetic variants associated with language skill will require larger samples and additional methods to identify and functionally characterize the full spectrum of risk variants

More or less likely to offend? Young adults with a history of identified Developmental Language Disorder

Background: There is now substantial literature demonstrating that a disproportionate number of young people who come into contact with youth justice services evidence unidentified language difficulties. These young people, therefore, have received little or no professional input in this area. Conversely, there is a dearth of research pertaining to criminality outcomes among those individuals with identified developmental language disorders who have received such interventions. Aims: The paper examines police-initiated contact and substance use outcomes of young adults with a history of identified developmental language disorders (DLD) versus age matched peers (AMPs). Additionally, self-reported rule breaking behaviours and aggression are considered. We hypothesise that early identification/intervention reduces engagement with risky behaviour such as substance and alcohol use as well as offending-related behaviours. Methods & Procedures: Adversarial police-initiated contacts were examined in 84 young adults with a history of DLD and 88 AMPs. Rule-breaking and aggression were evaluated using the Achenbach Adult Self-Report for ages 18-59. Outcomes & Results: Adults with a history of DLD, who received targeted intervention during their school years, reported less contact with their local police service compared to AMPs at age 24. Comparable proportions of both groups reported current alcohol consumption but group differences were found relating to alcohol use. No group differences in rule breaking behaviours were found but the DLD group was found to have a statistically significant higher raw score on the aggressive behaviour scale. Conclusions & Implications: There is a need for early identification of children with DLD. Early intervention aimed at ameliorating such difficulties could possibly have distal outcomes in relation to offending

Perioperative mental health intervention for depression and anxiety symptoms in older adults study protocol: Design and methods for three linked randomised controlled trials

INTRODUCTION: Preoperative anxiety and depression symptoms among older surgical patients are associated with poor postoperative outcomes, yet evidence-based interventions for anxiety and depression have not been applied within this setting. We present a protocol for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in three surgical cohorts: cardiac, oncological and orthopaedic, investigating whether a perioperative mental health intervention, with psychological and pharmacological components, reduces perioperative symptoms of depression and anxiety in older surgical patients. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Adults ≥60 years undergoing cardiac, orthopaedic or oncological surgery will be enrolled in one of three-linked type 1 hybrid effectiveness/implementation RCTs that will be conducted in tandem with similar methods. In each trial, 100 participants will be randomised to a remotely delivered perioperative behavioural treatment incorporating principles of behavioural activation, compassion and care coordination, and medication optimisation, or enhanced usual care with mental health-related resources for this population. The primary outcome is change in depression and anxiety symptoms assessed with the Patient Health Questionnaire-Anxiety Depression Scale from baseline to 3 months post surgery. Other outcomes include quality of life, delirium, length of stay, falls, rehospitalisation, pain and implementation outcomes, including study and intervention reach, acceptability, feasibility and appropriateness, and patient experience with the intervention. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The trials have received ethics approval from the Washington University School of Medicine Institutional Review Board. Informed consent is required for participation in the trials. The results will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals, presented at clinical research conferences and disseminated via the Center for Perioperative Mental Health website. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBERS: NCT05575128, NCT05685511, NCT05697835, pre-results

Rapid circulation of warm subtropical waters in a major glacial fjord in East Greenland

Author Posting. © The Authors, 2009. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Nature Publishing Group for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Nature Geoscience 3 (2010): 182-186, doi:10.1038/ngeo764.The recent rapid increase in mass loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet is primarily attributed to an acceleration of outlet glaciers. One possible cause is increased melting at the ice/ocean interface driven by the synchronous warming of subtropical waters offshore of Greenland. This hypothesis is largely untested, however, because of the lack of observations from Greenland’s glacial fjords and our limited understanding of their dynamics. Here, we present new ship-based and moored oceanographic data, collected in Sermilik Fjord, a large glacial fjord in East Greenland, showing that subtropical waters are present throughout the fjord and are continuously replenished via a wind-driven exchange with the shelf, where they occur year-round. The temperature and rapid renewal of these waters suggest that, at present, they drive enhanced submarine melting at the terminus. Key controls on the melting rate are the volume and properties of subtropical waters on the shelf and the patterns of the along-shore winds, suggesting the glaciers’ acceleration was triggered by a combination of atmospheric and oceanic changes. These measurements provide evidence of rapid advective pathway for the transmission of oceanic variability to the ice-sheet margins and highlight an important process that is missing from prognostic ice-sheet models.F.S. acknowledges support from WHOI’s Ocean and Climate Change Institute’s Arctic Research Initiative and from NSF OCE 0751896, and G.S.H and L.A.S from NASA’s Cryospheric Sciences Program. Funding for the hooded seal deployments was obtained from the International Governance and Atlantic Seal Research Program, Fisheries and Oceans, Canada, to G. B. S. and to the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources to A. R. A

Comparison of Inappropriate Shocks and Other Health Outcomes Between Single- and Dual-Chamber Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators for Primary Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death: Results From the Cardiovascular Research Network Longitudinal Study of Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators

BACKGROUND: In US clinical practice, many patients who undergo placement of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) for primary prevention of sudden cardiac death receive dual-chamber devices. The superiority of dual-chamber over single-chamber devices in reducing the risk of inappropriate ICD shocks in clinical practice has not been established. The objective of this study was to compare risk of adverse outcomes, including inappropriate shocks, between single- and dual-chamber ICDs for primary prevention. METHODS AND RESULTS: We identified patients receiving a single- or dual-chamber ICD for primary prevention who did not have an indication for pacing from 15 hospitals within 7 integrated health delivery systems in the Longitudinal Study of Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators from 2006 to 2009. The primary outcome was time to first inappropriate shock. ICD shocks were adjudicated for appropriateness. Other outcomes included all-cause hospitalization, heart failure hospitalization, and death. Patient, clinician, and hospital-level factors were accounted for using propensity score weighting methods. Among 1042 patients without pacing indications, 54.0% (n=563) received a single-chamber device and 46.0% (n=479) received a dual-chamber device. In a propensity-weighted analysis, device type was not significantly associated with inappropriate shock (hazard ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.59-1.38 [P=0.65]), all-cause hospitalization (hazard ratio, 1.03; 95% confidence interval, 0.87-1.21 [P=0.76]), heart failure hospitalization (hazard ratio, 0.93; 95% confidence interval, 0.72-1.21 [P=0.59]), or death (hazard ratio, 1.19; 95% confidence interval, 0.93-1.53 [P=0.17]). CONCLUSIONS: Among patients who received an ICD for primary prevention without indications for pacing, dual-chamber devices were not associated with lower risk of inappropriate shock or differences in hospitalization or death compared with single-chamber devices. This study does not justify the use of dual-chamber devices to minimize inappropriate shocks

Breadth versus depth : cumulative risk model and continuous measure prediction of poor language and reading outcomes at 12

This study examines whether, and how, multiple risks in early childhood are associated with an increased likelihood of a poor language or literacy outcome in early adolescence. Using data from 210 participants in the longitudinal Twins Early Developmental Study, we focus on the following risk factors at age four: family risk, and poor language, speech, emergent literacy and nonverbal skills. The outcomes of interest at age 12 are language, reading fluency, and reading comprehension. We contrast a ‘cumulative risk’ model, counting the presence or absence of each risk factor (breadth), with a model that also considers the severity of the early deficits (depth). A ‘cumulative risk index’ correlated modestly but significantly with outcome (r = .32-.40). Odds ratios confirmed that having many risk factors (3-6) confers a higher probability of a poor outcome (OR 7.86-17.71) than having one or two (OR 3.65-7.28). Logistic regression models showed that predictive validity is not improved by including information about the severity of each deficit. Even with rich information on children’s risk status at age 4, we can make only a moderately accurate prediction of the likelihood of a language or literacy disorder eight years later (Area Under the Curve = .74-.84; Positive Predictive Value = .33-.55, Negative Predictive Value = .86-.91). Taken together, and consistent with the idea of ‘cumulative risk’, these results suggest that breadth of risk is a core predictor of outcome, and furthermore that severity of early deficits does not add significantly to this prediction

Device Therapies Among Patients Receiving Primary Prevention Implantable Cardioverterâ Defibrillators in the Cardiovascular Research Network

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143721/1/jah33061_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143721/2/jah33061.pd

Pathology and Viral Antigen Distribution of Lethal Pneumonia in Domestic Cats Due to Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Influenza A Virus

A novel swine-origin H1N1 influenza A virus has been identified as the cause of the 2009 influenza pandemic in humans. Since then, infections with the pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza virus have been documented in a number of animal species. The first known cases of lethal respiratory disease associated with pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza virus infection in house pets occurred in domestic cats in Oregon. A 10-year-old, neutered male and an 8-year-old, spayed female domestic short hair cat died shortly after developing severe respiratory disease. Grossly, lung lobes of both cats were diffusely firm and incompletely collapsed. Histologically, moderate to severe, necrotizing to pyonecrotizing bronchointerstitial pneumonia was accompanied by serofibrinous exudation and hyaline membranes in the alveolar spaces. Influenza A virus was isolated from nasal secretions of the male and from lung homogenate of the female cat. Both isolates were confirmed as pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza virus by real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (rRT-PCR). Using immunohistochemistry, influenza A viral antigen was demonstrated in bronchiolar epithelial cells, pneumocytes and alveolar macrophages in pneumonic areas. The most likely sources of infection were people in the household with influenza-like illness or confirmed pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza. The two cases reported here provide, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the first description of the pathology and viral antigen distribution of lethal respiratory disease in domestic cats after natural pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza virus infection, probably transmitted from humans.This is an author's peer-reviewed final manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The article is published by Sage Publications on behalf of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists, European College of Veterinary Pathologists, and the Japanese College of Veterinary. The published article can be found at: http://vet.sagepub.com/.Keywords: influenza, pneumonia, pandemic, pH1N1, lung, immunohistochemistry, ca