Taxonomy of the fouling cheilostome bryozoans, Schizoporella unicornis, (Johnston) and Schizoporella errata (Waters)

Figure 1. (A–D) Images of Wood's Pliocene specimen from the Coralline Crag, Suffolk (NHM B1675) described in Busk (1859). (A) Group of autozooids at growing edge of colony within small bivalve shell. (B) Autozooids exhibiting deep V-shaped sinus. (C) Frontal shield with paired avicularia and deep V-shaped sinus. (D) Detail of primary orifice and sinus. (E, F) Lectotype of Schizoporella unicornis [NHM 1847.16.174 (a)] bleached portion. (E) Group of autozooids at the distal edge of colony with adventitious avicularia, paired, single or absent. (F) Ovicellate autozooids showing radially aligned scalloped grooves. Scale bars: 500 µm (A); 250 µm (B); 100 µm (C, E); 50 µm (D,F).Published as part of Tompsett, Scott, Porter, Joanne S. & Taylor, Paul D., 2009, Taxonomy of the fouling cheilostome bryozoans Schizoporella unicornis (Johnston) and Schizoporella errata (Waters), pp. 2227-2243 in Journal of Natural History 43 (35-36) on page 2231, DOI: 10.1080/00222930903090140, http://zenodo.org/record/521715

Pengaruh Perceived Service Quality Terhadap Unibrand Performance Melalui Satisfaction Pada Universitas Swasta

This study refers to an earlier study that has been done by Sultan & Wong (2014). The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of Perceived Service Quality on the UniBrand Performance through Satisfaction in Private Universities. The design of this research is hypothesis testing using primary data obtained by distributing questionnaires directly to the 200 respondents who were active students of Private Universities in Jakarta. The analytical method used is Structure Equation Model (SEM). The result of this research conclude that there is a significant and positive relation between Perceived Service Quality and Satisfaction. There is a significant and positive relation between Satisfaction and UniBrand Performance. There is a significant and positive relation between Perceived Service Quality and UniBrand Performance

A checklist of marine bryozoan taxa in Scottish sea regions

Contemporary and historical bryozoan records were compiled to provide a comprehensive checklist of species in Scottish waters. The checklist comprises 218 species in 58 families, with representatives from each of the extant bryozoan orders. The fauna was relatively sparse compared to other regions for which bryozoan checklists were available e.g. New Zealand and Australia. Six non-indigenous bryozoan species from the Scottish seas region were included in the checklist. Baseline information on species distributions, such as that presented in this checklist, can be used to monitor and manage the impact of human activities on the marine environment, and ultimately preserve marine biodiversity

Genetic Connectivity and Diversity of a Protected, Habitat-Forming Species:Evidence Demonstrating the Need for Wider Environmental Protection and Integration of the Marine Protected Area Network

Funding Information: This work was largely funded by Heriot-Watt University (James Watt Scholarship) and NatureScot (formerly Scottish Natural Heritage). Additional funding was received from the MASTS pooling initiative (The Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland) and their support is gratefully acknowledged. MASTS was funded by the Scottish Funding Council (grant reference HR09011) and contributing institutions.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The possibility of critical realist randomised controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Some realists have criticised randomised controlled trials for their inability to explain the causal relations that they identify; to take into account the influence of the social context of the interventions they evaluate; and to account for individual difference. However, among realists, there is controversy over whether it is possible to improve trials by making them realist, or whether realism and the philosophical assumptions underlying trials are incompatible. This paper contributes to the debate in Trials on this issue. The debate thus far has concentrated on the possibility of combining trial methodology with that of realist evaluation. MAIN BODY: We concur with the contention that it is not feasible to combine randomised controlled trial design with the realist evaluation approach. However, we argue that a different variant of realism, critical realism, provides a more appropriate theoretical grounding for realist trials. In contrast to realist evaluation, which regards social mechanisms as an amalgam of social resources and people's reasoning, critical realism insists on their distinction. It does so on the basis of its assertion of the need to distinguish between social structures (in which resources lie) and human agency (which is at least partly guided by reasoning). From this perspective, conceiving of social mechanisms as external to participants can be seen as a valid methodological strategy for supplementing the exclusive concentration of trials on outcomes. While accepting realist evaluation's insistence that causality in open systems involves a configuration of multiple generative mechanisms, we adopt the critical realist interpretation of the experimental method, which sees it as creating artificial closure in order to identify the effects of specific causal mechanisms. If randomised controlled trials can be regarded as epidemiological proxies that substitute probabilistic controls over extraneous factors for closed experiments, their examination of the powers of discrete mechanisms through observation of the variation of outcomes is appropriate. CONCLUSION: While there are still issues to be resolved, critical realist randomised controlled trials are possible and have the potential to overcome some of the difficulties faced by traditional trial designs in accounting for the influence of social context and individual interpretation

Using a generic definition of cachexia in patients with kidney disease receiving haemodialysis: a longitudinal (pilot) study

International audienceBACKGROUND: Research indicates that cachexia is common among persons with chronic illnesses and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. However, there continues to be an absence of a uniformed disease-specific definition for cachexia in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patient populations. OBJECTIVE: The primary objective was to identify cachexia in patients receiving haemodialysis (HD) using a generic definition and then follow up on these patients for 12 months. METHOD: This was a longitudinal study of adult chronic HD patients attending two hospital HD units in the UK. Multiple measures relevant to cachexia, including body mass index (BMI), muscle mass [mid-upper arm muscle circumference (MUAMC)], handgrip strength (HGS), fatigue [Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT)], appetite [Functional Assessment of Anorexia/Cachexia Therapy (FAACT)] and biomarkers [C-reactive protein (CRP), serum albumin, haemoglobin and erythropoietin resistance index (ERI)] were recorded. Baseline analysis included group differences analysed using an independent t-test, dichotomized values using the χ2 test and prevalence were reported using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 24 (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA). Longitudinal analysis was conducted using repeated measures analysis. RESULTS: A total of 106 patients (30 females and 76 males) were recruited with a mean age of 67.2 years [standard deviation (SD) 13.18] and dialysis vintage of 4.92 years (SD 6.12). At baseline, 17 patients were identified as cachectic, having had reported weight loss (e.g. \textgreater5% for \textgreater6 months) or BMI \textless20 kg/m2 and three or more clinical characteristics of cachexia. Seventy patients were available for analysis at 12 months (11 cachectic versus 59 not cachectic). The FAACT and urea reduction ratio statistically distinguished cachectic patients (P = 0.001). However, measures of weight, BMI, MUAMC, HGS, CRP, ERI and FACIT tended to worsen in cachectic patients. CONCLUSION: Globally, cachexia is a severe but frequently underrecognized problem. This is the first study to apply the defined characteristics of cachexia to a representative sample of patients receiving HD. Further, more extensive studies are required to establish a phenotype of cachexia in advanced CKD

Bryozoan genera Fenestrulina and Microporella no longer confamilial; multi-gene phylogeny supports separation

Bryozoans are a moderately diverse, mostly marine phylum with a fossil record extending to the early Ordovician. Compared to other phyla, little is known about their phylogenetic relationships at both lower and higher taxonomic levels. Hence, an effort is being made to elucidate the phylogenetic relationships among bryozoans. Here, we present newly sequenced nuclear and mitochondrial genes for 21 cheilostome bryozoans and compile these with existing orthologous molecular data. Using these data, we focus on reconstructing the phylogenetic relationships of Fenestrulina and Microporella, two species-rich genera. They are currently placed in a globally distributed family, Microporellidae, defined by having a semicircular primary orifice and a proximal ascopore, although there are indirect inferences in the morphological literature that suggest they might not be confamilial. Our six-gene phylogenetic analysis reveals that the genera Fenestrulina and Microporella are each monophyletic, with the sister clade to Microporella comprising non-microporellids. These genera thus have a polyphyletic relationship and should not be placed in the same family. Our result supports the reinstatement of the family Fenestrulinidae Jullien, 1888 for Fenestrulina and genera with comparable frontal shield and ooecial morphologies. Our well-supported phylogeny based on independent molecular data lends credit to existing phylogenetic hypotheses based on morphological observations but does not conform to the current classification of these particular bryozoans. This illustrates the general need for a rethink of bryozoan higher-level systematics, ideally based on both morphological and molecular data

A critical realist evaluation of a music therapy intervention in palliative care

BACKGROUND: Music therapy is increasingly used as an adjunct therapy to support symptom management in palliative care. However, studies to date have paid little attention to the processes that lead to changes in patient outcomes. To fill this gap, we examined the processes and experiences involved in the introduction of music therapy as an adjunct complementary therapy to palliative care in a hospice setting in the United Kingdom (UK). METHODS: Using a realistic evaluation approach, we conducted a qualitative study using a variety of approaches. These consisted of open text answers from patients (n = 16) on how music therapy helped meet their needs within one hospice in Northern Ireland, UK. We also conducted three focus groups with a range of palliative care practitioners (seven physicians, seven nursing staff, two social workers and three allied health professionals) to help understand their perspectives on music therapy's impact on their work setting, and what influences its successful implementation. This was supplemented with an interview with the music therapist delivering the intervention. RESULTS: Music therapy contains multiple mechanisms that can provide physical, psychological, emotional, expressive, existential and social support. There is also evidence that the hospice context, animated by a holistic approach to healthcare, is an important facilitator of the effects of music therapy. Examination of patients' responses helped identify specific benefits for different types of patients. CONCLUSIONS: There is a synergy between the therapeutic aims of music therapy and those of palliative care, which appealed to a significant proportion of participants, who perceived it as effective