Tidal and groundwater fluxes to a shallow, microtidal estuary : constraining inputs through field observations and hydrodynamic modeling

This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Estuaries and Coasts 35 (2012): 1285-1298, doi:10.1007/s12237-012-9515-x.Increased nutrient loading to estuaries has led to eutrophication, degraded water quality, and ecological transformations. Quantifying nutrient loads in systems with significant groundwater input can be difficult due to the challenge of measuring groundwater fluxes. We quantified tidal and freshwater fluxes over an 8-week period at the entrance of West Falmouth Harbor, Massachusetts, a eutrophic, groundwater-fed estuary. Fluxes were estimated from velocity and salinity measurements and a total exchange flow (TEF) methodology. Intermittent cross-sectional measurements of velocity and salinity were used to convert point measurements to cross-sectionally averaged values over the entire deployment (index relationships). The estimated mean freshwater flux (0.19 m3/s) for the 8-week period was mainly due to groundwater input (0.21 m3/s) with contributions from precipitation to the estuary surface (0.026 m3/s) and removal by evaporation (0.048 m3/s). Spring–neap variations in freshwater export that appeared in shorter-term averages were mostly artifacts of the index relationships. Hydrodynamic modeling with steady groundwater input demonstrated that while the TEF methodology resolves the freshwater flux signal, calibration of the index– salinity relationships during spring tide conditions only was responsible for most of the spring–neap signal. The mean freshwater flux over the entire period estimated from the combination of the index-velocity, index–salinity, and TEF calculations were consistent with the model, suggesting that this methodology is a reliable way of estimating freshwater fluxes in the estuary over timescales greater than the spring– neap cycle. Combining this type of field campaign with hydrodynamic modeling provides guidance for estimating both magnitude of groundwater input and estuarine storage of freshwater and sets the stage for robust estimation of the nutrient load in groundwater.Funding was provided by the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program and by National Science Foundation Award #0420575 from the Biocomplexity/Coupled Biogeochemical Cycles Program

Characterization of magnesium requirement of human 5'-tyrosyl DNA phosphodiesterase mediated reaction

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Topo-poisons can produce an enzyme-DNA complex linked by a 3'- or 5'-phosphotyrosyl covalent bond. 3'-phosphotyrosyl bonds can be repaired by tyrosyl DNA phosphodiesterase-1 (TDP1), an enzyme known for years, but a complementary human enzyme 5'-tyrosyl DNA phosphodiesterase (hTDP2) that cleaves 5'-phosphotyrosyl bonds has been reported only recently. Although hTDP2 possesses both 3'- and 5'- tyrosyl DNA phosphodiesterase activity, the role of Mg²⁺in its activity was not studied in sufficient details.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study we showed that purified hTDP2 does not exhibit any 5'-phosphotyrosyl phosphodiesterase activity in the absence of Mg²⁺/Mn²⁺, and that neither Zn²⁺or nor Ca²⁺can activate hTDP2. Mg²⁺also controls 3'-phosphotyrosyl activity of TDP2. In MCF-7 cell extracts and de-yolked zebrafish embryo extracts, Mg²⁺controlled 5'-phosphotyrosyl activity. This study also showed that there is an optimal Mg²⁺concentration above which it is inhibitory for hTDP2 activity.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results altogether reveal the optimal Mg²⁺requirement in hTDP2 mediated reaction.</p

Telehealth as a Model for Providing Behaviour Analytic Interventions to Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder:A Systematic Review

Interventions based on applied behaviour analysis are considered evidence based practice for autism spectrum disorders. Due to the shortage of highly qualified professionals required for their delivery, innovative models should be explored, such as telehealth. Telehealth utilises technology for remote training and supervision. The purpose of our study was to systematically review the literature researching telehealth and ABA. We analysed intervention characteristics, outcomes and research quality in 28 studies and identified gaps. Intervention characteristics were: (1) research design (2) participants (3) technology (4) dependent variables (5) aims. Outcomes were favourable with all studies reporting improvements in at least one variable. Quality ratings were significantly low. Implications for future research and practice are discussed in light of identified methodological downfalls.</p

KONTAKT© for Australian adolescents on the autism spectrum: protocol of a randomized control trial

BACKGROUND:Individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience impairing challenges in social communication and interaction across multiple contexts. While social skills group training (SSGT) has shown moderate effects on various sociability outcomes in ASD, there is a need for (1) replication of effects in additional clinical and cultural contexts, (2) designs that employ active control groups, (3) calculation of health economic benefits, (4) identification of the optimal training duration, and (5) measurement of individual goals and quality of life outcomes.METHOD/DESIGN:With the aim of investigating the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a SSGT, KONTAKT©, a two-armed randomized control trial with adolescents aged 12-17 years (N = 90) with ASD and an intelligence quotient (IQ) of over 70 will be undertaken. Following stratification for centre and gender, participants will be randomly assigned to either KONTAKT© or to an active control group, a group-based cooking programme. Participants will attend both programmes in groups of 6-8 adolescents, over 16 one-and-a-half-hour sessions. The primary outcome examined is adolescent self-rated achievement of personally meaningful social goals as assessed via the Goal Attainment Scaling during an interview with a blinded clinician. Secondary outcomes include adolescent self-reported interpersonal efficacy, quality of life, social anxiety, loneliness, face emotion recognition performance and associated gaze behaviour, and parent proxy reports of autistic traits, quality of life, social functioning, and emotion recognition and expression. Cost-effectiveness will be investigated in relation to direct and indirect societal and healthcare costs.DISCUSSION:The primary outcomes of this study will be evidenced in the anticipated achievement of adolescents' personally meaningful social goals following participation in KONTAKT© as compared to the active control group. This design will enable rigorous evaluation of the efficacy of KONTAKT©, exercising control over the possibly confounding effect of exposure to a social context of peers with a diagnosis of ASD.TRIAL REGISTRATION:Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR). ACTRN12617001117303. Registered on 31 July 2017. anzctr.org.au ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03294668. Registered on 22 September 2017. https://clinicaltrials.gov.</p

Neglected diseases of neglected populations: Thinking to reshape the determinants of health in Latin America and the Caribbean

BACKGROUND: People living in poverty throughout the developing world are heavily burdened with neglected communicable diseases and often marginalized by the health sector. These diseases are currently referred to as Neglected Diseases of Neglected Populations. The neglected diseases create social and financial burdens to the individual, the family, the community, and the nation. DISCUSSION: Numerous studies of successful individual interventions to manage communicable disease determinants in various types of communities have been published, but few have applied multiple interventions in an integrated, coordinated manner. We have identified a series of successful interventions and developed three hypothetical scenarios where such interventions could be applied in an integrated, multi-disease, inter-programmatic, and/or inter-sectoral approach for prevention and control of neglected diseases in three different populations: a slum, an indigenous community, and a city with a mix of populations. SUMMARY: The objective of this paper is to identify new opportunities to address neglected diseases, improve community health and promote sustainable development in neglected populations by highlighting examples of key risk and protective factors for neglected diseases which can be managed and implemented through multi-disease-based, integrated, inter-programmatic, and/or inter-sectoral approaches. Based on a literature review, analysis and development of scenarios we visualize how multiple interventions could manage multiple disease problems and propose these as possible strategies to be tested. We seek to stimulate intra- and inter-sectoral dialogue which will help in the construction of new strategies for neglected diseases (particularly for the parasitic diseases) which could benefit the poor and marginalized based on the principle of sustainability and understanding of key determinants of health, and lead to the establishment of pilot projects and activities which can contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals

Illuminating the life of GPCRs

The investigation of biological systems highly depends on the possibilities that allow scientists to visualize and quantify biomolecules and their related activities in real-time and non-invasively. G-protein coupled receptors represent a family of very dynamic and highly regulated transmembrane proteins that are involved in various important physiological processes. Since their localization is not confined to the cell surface they have been a very attractive "moving target" and the understanding of their intracellular pathways as well as the identified protein-protein-interactions has had implications for therapeutic interventions. Recent and ongoing advances in both the establishment of a variety of labeling methods and the improvement of measuring and analyzing instrumentation, have made fluorescence techniques to an indispensable tool for GPCR imaging. The illumination of their complex life cycle, which includes receptor biosynthesis, membrane targeting, ligand binding, signaling, internalization, recycling and degradation, will provide new insights into the relationship between spatial receptor distribution and function. This review covers the existing technologies to track GPCRs in living cells. Fluorescent ligands, antibodies, auto-fluorescent proteins as well as the evolving technologies for chemical labeling with peptide- and protein-tags are described and their major applications concerning the GPCR life cycle are presented

Measurement of the Ratio of b Quark Production Cross Sections in Antiproton-Proton Collisions at 630 GeV and 1800 GeV

We report a measurement of the ratio of the bottom quark production cross section in antiproton-proton collisions at 630 GeV to 1800 GeV using bottom quarks with transverse momenta greater than 10.75 GeV identified through their semileptonic decays and long lifetimes. The measured ratio sigma(630)/sigma(1800) = 0.171 +/- .024 +/- .012 is in good agreement with next-to-leading order (NLO) quantum chromodynamics (QCD)

Coastal acidification and carbon sequestration driven by inorganic carbon export from tidal wetlands

peer reviewedCoastal ecosystems are under threat from ocean acidification. Coastal seawater pH is modified by both uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide and biogeochemical processes altering carbonate chemistry. Mangroves and saltmarshes are global biogeochemical hotspots sequestering large amounts of carbon in sediments and in the ocean following lateral carbon export (outwelling). Here, we investigate whether mangroves and saltmarshes drive or buffer coastal waters against acidification and quantify the contribution of alkalinity and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) outwelling to carbon budgets. Observations from 45 mangroves and 16 saltmarshes worldwide revealed that >70% of tidal wetlands export more DIC than alkalinity, enhancing pH declines of coastal waters. Porewater-derived DIC outwelling (81 ± 47 mmol/m2/d in mangroves and 57 ± 104 mmol/m2/d in saltmarshes) was the major fate of plant production. However, substantial amounts of fixed carbon remain unaccounted for in budgets. Concurrently, alkalinity outwelling was similar or higher than sediment carbon burial and is therefore a significant carbon sequestration mechanism enhancing the overall value of tidal wetlands as a nature-based solution to climate change