Towards ecosystem-based management: identifying operational food-web indicators for marine ecosystems

Modern approaches to Ecosystem-Based Management and sustainable use of marine resources must account for the myriad of pressures (interspecies, human and environmental) affecting marine ecosystems. The network of feeding interactions between co-existing species and populations (food webs) are an important aspect of all marine ecosystems and biodiversity. Here we describe and discuss a process to evaluate the selection of operational food-web indicators for use in evaluating marine ecosystem status. This process brought together experts in food-web ecology, marine ecology, and resource management, to identify available indicators that can be used to inform marine management. Standard evaluation criteria (availability and quality of data, conceptual basis, communicability, relevancy to management) were implemented to identify practical food-web indicators ready for operational use and indicators that hold promise for future use in policy and management. The major attributes of the final suite of operational food-web indicators were structure and functioning. Indicators that represent resilience of the marine ecosystem were less developed. Over 60 potential food-web indicators were evaluated and the final selection of operational food-web indicators includes: the primary production required to sustain a fishery, the productivity of seabirds (or charismatic megafauna), zooplankton indicators, primary productivity, integrated trophic indicators, and the biomass of trophic guilds. More efforts should be made to develop thresholds-based reference points for achieving Good Environmental Status. There is also a need for international collaborations to develop indicators that will facilitate management in marine ecosystems used by multiple countries.JRC.D.2-Water and Marine Resource

National Institutes of Health–Sponsored Clinical Islet Transplantation Consortium Phase 3 Trial: Manufacture of a Complex Cellular Product at Eight Processing Facilities

Eight manufacturing facilities participating in the National Institutes of Health–sponsored Clinical Islet Transplantation (CIT) Consortium jointly developed and implemented a harmonized process for the manufacture of allogeneic purified human pancreatic islet (PHPI) product evaluated in a phase 3 trial in subjects with type 1 diabetes. Manufacturing was controlled by a common master production batch record, standard operating procedures that included acceptance criteria for deceased donor organ pancreata and critical raw materials, PHPI product specifications, certificate of analysis, and test methods. The process was compliant with Current Good Manufacturing Practices and Current Good Tissue Practices. This report describes the manufacturing process for 75 PHPI clinical lots and summarizes the results, including lot release. The results demonstrate the feasibility of implementing a harmonized process at multiple facilities for the manufacture of a complex cellular product. The quality systems and regulatory and operational strategies developed by the CIT Consortium yielded product lots that met the prespecified characteristics of safety, purity, potency, and identity and were successfully transplanted into 48 subjects. No adverse events attributable to the product and no cases of primary nonfunction were observed

Evaluation of the Kenton Hardin County Family Bike Program

Problem: With growing evidence of the benefits of physical activity and risks associated with physical inactivity, there has been increased focus on implementation of policy, standards, and evidence-based interventions to promote physical activity of Americans. In response to Hardin County physical activity statistics, national health goals, and as part of the Ohio Maternal Child Health (MCH) activity/nutrition grant, an innovative family bike program was developed and implemented in Summer 2018. Providing education and practice on safe biking, bike maintenance, and nutrition as well as providing safe bike equipment may decrease barriers to biking and increase rates of bicycling and, subsequently, physical activity among participants.Aims: The purpose of this scholarly project was to evaluate the effect of the Kenton Hardin County Family Bike Program (KHCFBP) on the participants’ bike safety knowledge, bike helmet use, bike riding, and physical activity. Methods: This evaluation project was a descriptive, correlational design of pre-existing, de-identified data and part of a larger program evaluation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Framework for Program Evaluation in Public Health (CDC, 1999) provided the framework for this study. The sample for this scholarly project included all participants (July, n = 30; August, n = 22) who completed the KHCFBP. Measurable outcomes of the program were change in bike riding frequency, walking frequency, bike helmet use, and bike safety knowledge following participation in the KHCFBP. Pertinent Findings: Both July and August participants’ reported bike helmet use and total bike riding hours significantly increased following the KHCFBP. Participant bike safety knowledge and total physical activity hours increased following the KHCFBP. July participants’ bike safety knowledge and total physical activity hours significantly increased.Conclusion: This scholarly project provides evidence that community bike programs may be used as an intervention to increase participant bike safety knowledge, bike helmet use, and biking frequency. It suggests community bike programs may be one method to increase physical activity via biking, reduce risks association with biking, and reduce barriers to biking. Public health nurses should consider implementing a family bike program as a strategy to promote biking and physical activity within the community

High-stakes testing in nursing education: A review of the literature.

In an aim to improve first-time NCLEX-RN pass rates, some nursing programs have instituted high-stakes testing. This literature review investigated nursing faculty understanding of and student experiences with high-stakes testing. High-stakes testing is an assessment used to make decisions about student progression or completion of a nursing program. The literature revealed both negative and positive consequences associated with high-stakes testing. Literature from state boards of nursing and professional nursing organizations was also reviewed for recommendations