A Survey of Chemical and Biological Structure in Three Florida Bayou-Estuaries

Detailed information on the benthic macroinvertebrate community composition is unavailable for most Gulf of Mexico near-coastal areas. In response, structural and functional characteristics of this biota were determined, in conjunction with sediment chemical quality and acute toxicity, for three urbanized bayous. Sediment chemical contamination in the bayous was common. Numerical sediment quality assessment guidelines were exceeded at 13 of the 16 sampling stations for as many as six analytes. However, the results of whole sediment toxicity tests conducted with the benthic invertebrates Mysidopsis bahia (epifaunal) and Ampelisca abdita (infaunal) indicated that 14 of the 16 sediments were not acutely toxic. The benthic macroinvertebrate composition was indicative of that for organically enriched sediments, and the quality was spatially distinct and sometimes increased seaward. The percent of the fauna indicative of organic enrichment ranged from 14 to 100% for the 16 sampling stations. Pollution-tolerant infaunal species such as the polychaetous annelids Streblospio benedicti and Mediomastus ambiseta were dominant. The Shannon-Wiener diversity index values ranged from 1.0 to 3.8. The quality of the macroinvertebrate communities paralleled the results for sediment chemical quality and particle size distribution more so than those for acute toxicity. It was obvious that an integrated chemical and biological assessment was needed to characterize the environmental condition of the sediments in these urbanized coastal habitats

Likert Items: Should(n’t) We Really Care?

One of the controversial methodological topics in the social and behavioral sciences is the (ab)use of Likert Scale items, Likert-type items and ranked ordered response categories. The debate is whether parametric tests can be legitimately conducted on technically ordinal response categories that are represented with numbers. Participants answered survey questions on moral disengagement, where we changed the intervals of seven response categories and tested whether assigning numbers made any difference in two separate studies. The results showed that participants’ ratings were not significantly different with or without numbers. Participants tend to covertly superimpose numbers where none were provided. Also, there were no significant interactions between assignment of numbers and ‘intervalness’. However, ratings were significantly different between two key interval groups. Knowing the assumptions of respondents to these Likert items even without numbers could inform researchers especially if parametric tests are to be conducted

Synthesis and evaluation of the first fluorescent antagonists of the human P2Y2 receptor based on AR-C118925

The human P2Y2 receptor (hP2Y2R) is a G protein-coupled receptor that shows promise as a therapeutic target for many important conditions including anti-metastatic cancer therapy and more recently for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. As such, there is a need for new hP2Y2R antagonists and molecular probes to study this receptor. Herein, we report the development of a new series of non-nucleotide hP2Y2R antagonists leading to the discovery of a series of fluorescent ligands containing different linkers and fluorophores based on the known, non-nucleotide hP2Y2R antagonist AR-C118925 (1). One of these conjugates 98 displayed micromolar affinity for the hP2Y2R (pKd = 6.32 ± 0.10; n=17) using a bioluminescence energy transfer (BRET) assay. Confocal microscopy with this ligand revealed displaceable membrane labeling of astrocytoma cells expressing un-tagged hP2Y2R. These properties, make 98 one of the first tools for studying hP2Y2R distribution and organization

Bristol and Bath by Design; To understand the economic and cultural value of design in the Bristol and Bath region

The aim of the project was to collect data on designcompanies in the Bristol and Bath region, and to gain abetter understanding of the economic and cultural valueof the design-led sector. To do this, our primary researchwas to develop a range of qualitative and quantitativemethods that could gather and then analyse the data

Gender, migration and the ambiguous enterprise of professionalizing domestic service: the case of vocational training for the unemployed in France

Drawing on ethnographic data concerning migrant male domestic workers, this article examines the gendered dimensions of the process of racialization in Italy and France. First, it shows that specific racialized constructions of masculinity are mobilized by the employers as well as by training and recruitment agencies. These constructions of masculinity are related to different forms of organization of the sector in each country and to different ideologies about the integration of migrants. Second, the data presented reveal the strategies used by migrant male domestic workers to reaffirm their masculinity in a traditionally feminized sector. In doing so, this article intends to explore the connections between international migration and the gendering of occupations, with regard to the construction and management of masculinities in domestic service. Finally, by examining men’s experiences, this article aims to contribute to a more complex definition of the international division of care work

Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Surgery III: Training and Robotic-Assisted Approaches.

Minimally invasive mitral valve operations are increasingly common in the United States, but robotic-assisted approaches have not been widely adopted for a variety of reasons. This expert opinion reviews the state of the art and defines best practices, training, and techniques for developing a successful robotics program

Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Surgery I: Patient Selection, Evaluation, and Planning.

Widespread adoption of minimally invasive mitral valve repair and replacement may be fostered by practice consensus and standardization. This expert opinion, first of a 3-part series, outlines current best practices in patient evaluation and selection for minimally invasive mitral valve procedures, and discusses preoperative planning for cannulation and myocardial protection

Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Surgery II: Surgical Technique and Postoperative Management.

Techniques for minimally invasive mitral valve repair and replacement continue to evolve. This expert opinion, the second of a 3-part series, outlines current best practices for nonrobotic, minimally invasive mitral valve procedures, and for postoperative care after minimally invasive mitral valve surgery

1950: Abilene Christian College Bible Lectures - Full Text

Introduction We offer with interest and pleasure another volume of a great series of discourses delivered at Abilene Christian College. The following were given in February, 1950. The first of these Lectureships was held in the year 1919, and was published by the Firm Foundation Publishing House in book form. With little exception they have appeared each year since that time. The printing was done by others a few times. Those who are fortunate enough to have a complete set of these fine gospel sermons are possessed of a treasure in religious literature. Only a few of the later years can now be supplied. The rest are numbered among the “rare books” and we frequently have calls for them, but of course cannot supply them. Any reader having a copy for sale is requested to write the office of the Firm Foundation at Austin, Texas. The “Lectureship” of Abilene Christian College has become a great annual affair to the churches of Christ; thousands are in attendance, many of them coming from Canada and other countries besides all over the United States. This annual “mass meeting” must not be understood to be a “Convention” of the churches of Christ. We have no such conventions and do not endorse them. The Lectureship is simply a feature in the work of Abilene Christian College, a series of gospel sermons to which friends and patrons of the school and others are invited. It is our hope that the contents of this book may enrich the life, and strengthen the faith of the reader. G. H. F. SHOWALTER Austin, Texas August 20, 195