Food of Lake Trout in Lake Superior

Stomachs were examined from 1,492 lake trout and 83 siscowets collected from Lake Superior. Data are given on the food of lake trout of legal size (17 inches or longer) by year, season, and depth of water, and on the relation between food and size among smaller lake trout.Fish contributed 96.7 to 99.9 per cent of the total volume of food in the annual samples. Ciscoes (Coregonus spp.) were most common (52.2 to 87.5 per cent of the volume) in 1950 to 1953 and American smelt ranked first (65.6 per cent of the volume) in 1963. Cottids were in 8.9 to 12.3 per cent of the stomachs in 1950 to 1953 but in only 4.3 per cent in 1963. Insects ranked second to fish in occurrence (9.6 per cent for the combined samples) and crustaceans followed at 3.9 per cent.The greatest seasonal changes in the food of lake trout were among fish caught at 35 fathoms and shallower. The occurrence of Coregonus increased from 34.6 per cent in February‐March to 71.1 per cent in October‐December. Smelt were in 76.9 per cent of the stomachs in February‐March but in only 2.2 per cent in October‐December. Cottids, Mysis relicta, and insects were most common in the July‐September collections.Lake trout taken at depths greater than 35 fathoms had eaten a higher percentage of Cottidae and Coregonus than had those captured in shallower water. Smelt, ninespine sticklebacks, Mysis, and insects were more frequent in stomachs of lake trout from less than 35 fathoms.Crustaceans comprised more than 70 per cent of the total volume of food for 4.0‐ to 7.9‐inch lake trout but their importance decreased as the lake trout grew larger. Pontoporeia affinis was the most common in the stomachs of 4.0‐ to 6.9‐inch lake trout and Mysis held first rank at 7.0 to 12.9 inches. Ostracods were important only to 4.0‐ to 4.9‐inch lake trout. As the lake trout became larger, the importance of fish grew from 4.4‐per cent occurrence at 5.0 to 5.9 inches to 93.9 per cent at 16.0 to 16.9 inches. Smelt were most commonly eaten by undersize (less than 17 inches) lake trout.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141203/1/tafs0169.pd

Assessing the Annual Economic Impact of the Grand Rapids IRA Civic Center

Grand Rapids city officials desired an understanding of the economic impact to the local economy from the annual operations of its IRA Civic Center. Volunteer surveyors were trained to administer a short survey throughout a 12-month period to people who traveled more than 50 miles to attend ice and dry-floor events at the Civic Center. Visitor characteristics were recorded, including estimates of daily spending. These spending profiles, along with attendance estimates from city staff of non-local visitors, provided the estimation of economic impact to Itasca County.As the city considers future upgrades to the IRA Civic Center, local leaders sought a better understanding of the economic contribution of the civic center to the surrounding community. To achieve this goal, Grand Rapids partnered with the University of Minnesota’s Tourism Center to assess the annual economic impact the IRA Civic Center has had on Itasca County. This report summarizes the project’s findings

Economic Impact and Social Benefits Study of Coldwater Angling in Minnesota

Saint Paul: University of Minnesota Extension Service, Tourism Center.This study was conducted of anglers utilizing Minnesota’s northeast region cold-water fisheries in 2000-2001, and was based upon a staged mail-back questionnaire sent to anglers who had purchased a trout/salmon stamp from the Minnesota DNR. The purpose of this study was to investigate the economic and social benefits of coldwater angling participation in the state of Minnesota. Overall 10,297 questionnaires were mailed, and 3,029 returned for a response rate of 33%. Two null hypotheses guided this study: 1. There are no expenditure differences between the different types of coldwater angling investigated. 2. There are no experience differences between the different types of coldwater anglers. The survey looked at access points; bait used; species preferences; preference for fishing location; angler age, gender and education; trip distance; purpose of anglers’ trips; and numerous other behaviors and preferences. It also assessed the economic impact of anglers on local economies. The report notes that “fishing equipment was the largest expenditure in preparation for the trip ($12.57/person/day). Total expenditures at home were$33.90 per person per day. The largest expenses en route and onsite were lodging ($15.39/person/day), prepared food ($12.55/person/day), and gas ($12.70/person/day) totaling$71.31 per person daily. In sum, the typical coldwater angler spent $105.21/day. Overall, anglers were satisfied with their trip, and the quality, size and number of fish caught. The study concludes with the following findings: “There were many differences noted between the five different types of fishing investigated in this study. The differences were substantial, significant, and revealing. The evidence presented strongly argues for rejecting both of the null hypotheses used to guide this research. Therefore, we can state with a high degree of certainty that expenditure differences do exist for anglers between the different types of coldwater angling and that different experiences are sought by anglers engaging in different types of fishing. The research that allowed us to reject both null hypotheses also provides us with some interesting insights into other differences between anglers in the five different fishing types.

The Epidemiology of Lead Toxicity in Adults: Measuring Dose and Consideration of Other Methodologic Issues

We review several issues of broad relevance to the interpretation of epidemiologic evidence concerning the toxicity of lead in adults, particularly regarding cognitive function and the cardiovascular system, which are the subjects of two systematic reviews that are also part of this mini-monograph. Chief among the recent developments in methodologic advances has been the refinement of concepts and methods for measuring individual lead dose in terms of appreciating distinctions between recent versus cumulative doses and the use of biological markers to measure these parameters in epidemiologic studies of chronic disease. Attention is focused particularly on bone lead levels measured by K-shell X-ray fluorescence as a relatively new biological marker of cumulative dose that has been used in many recent epidemiologic studies to generate insights into lead’s impact on cognition and risk of hypertension, as well as the alternative method of estimating cumulative dose using available repeated measures of blood lead to calculate an individual’s cumulative blood lead index. We review the relevance and interpretation of these lead biomarkers in the context of the toxico-kinetics of lead. In addition, we also discuss methodologic challenges that arise in studies of occupationally and environmentally exposed subjects and those concerning race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status and other important covariates

Parabacteroides distasonis:intriguing aerotolerant gut anaerobe with emerging antimicrobial resistance and pathogenic and probiotic roles in human health

Parabacteroides distasonis is the type strain for the genus Parabacteroides, a group of gram-negative anaerobic bacteria that commonly colonize the gastrointestinal tract of numerous species. First isolated in the 1930s from a clinical specimen as Bacteroides distasonis, the strain was re-classified to form the new genus Parabacteroides in 2006. Currently, the genus consists of 15 species, 10 of which are listed as 'validly named' (P. acidifaciens, P. chartae, P. chinchillae, P. chongii, P. distasonis, P. faecis, P. goldsteinii, P. gordonii, P. johnsonii, and P. merdae) and 5 'not validly named' (P. bouchesdurhonensis, P. massiliensis, P. pacaensis, P. provencensis, and P. timonensis) by the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature. The Parabacteroides genus has been associated with reports of both beneficial and pathogenic effects in human health. Herein, we review the literature on the history, ecology, diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and genetics of this bacterium, illustrating the effects of P. distasonis on human and animal health

High-Quality Draft Genome Sequences of Four Lignocellulose-Degrading Bacteria Isolated from Puerto Rican Forest Soil: Gordonia sp., Paenibacillus sp., Variovorax sp., and Vogesella sp.

Here, we report the high-quality draft genome sequences of four phylogenetically diverse lignocellulose-degrading bacteria isolated from tropical soil (Gordonia sp., Paenibacillus sp., Variovorax sp., and Vogesella sp.) to elucidate the genetic basis of their ability to degrade lignocellulose. These isolates may provide novel enzymes for biofuel production

Serum lipid responses to psyllium fiber: differences between pre- and post-menopausal, hypercholesterolemic women

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women and men. Psyllium, a soluble fiber has been known to reduce serum lipids. In this pilot study, we evaluated whether menopausal status would affect the serum lipid responses to psyllium fiber in women.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Eleven post-menopausal and eight pre-menopausal women with serum total cholesterol >200 mg/dL were included in the study. Subjects consumed their habitual diet and 15 g psyllium/d for 6 weeks. Psyllium was incorporated into cookies. Each cookie contained ≈5 g of psyllium fiber. Subjects ate one cookie in each meal.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>With psyllium fiber, total cholesterol concentration was significantly lower (≈5.2%, P < 0.05) in post-menopausal women but not in pre-menopausal women (≈1.3%). Also, there was a significant decrease in HDL-cholesterol in post-menopausal women (≈10.2%, P < 0.05). There were no significant changes observed in concentrations of LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, apolipoprotein A1, and apolipoprotein B in both pre- and post-menopausal women with psyllium.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In this pilot study, post- and pre-menopausal, hypercholesterolemic women responded differently to psyllium fiber supplementation. Post-menopausal women would benefit from addition of psyllium to their diets in reducing the risk for heart diseases. The results of this study should be used with caution because the study was based on a small sample size.</p

LAVA: a conceptual framework for automated risk assessment

At the Los Alamos National Laboratory we are developing the framework for generating knowledge-based systems that perform automated risk analyses on an organization's assets. An organization's assets can be subdivided into tangible and intangible assets. Tangible assets include facilities, materiel, personnel, and time, while intangible assets include such factors as reputation, employee morale, and technical knowledge. The potential loss exposure of an asset is dependent upon the threats (both static and dynamic), the vulnerabilities in the mechanisms protecting the assets from the threats, and the consequences of the threats successfully exploiting the protective systems vulnerabilities. The methodology is based upon decision analysis, fuzzy set theory, natural-language processing, and event-tree structures. The Los Alamos Vulnerability and Risk Assessment (LAVA) methodology has been applied to computer security. LAVA is modeled using an interactive questionnaire in natural language and is fully automated on a personal computer. The program generates both summary reports for use by both management personnel and detailed reports for use by operations staff. LAVA has been in use by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the National Bureau of Standards for nearly two years and is presently under evaluation by other governmental agencies. 7 refs