Intraspecific Variation in Taxonomic Characteristics of the Mayfly \u3ci\u3ePotamanthus Myops\u3c/i\u3e (Walsh)

Data collected from an ecological study of the mayfly Potamanthus rnyops (Walsh) in Michigan showed intraspecific variability in taxonomic characteristics that have been employed by previous investigators for species separation. Nymphal dorsal maculation patterns varied considerably within a single population. Also, the ratio of mandibular tusk length to head length increased with successive nymphal instars. Certain adult taxonomic characteristics, particularly relative male imago eye size and distance of separation, were either too poorly defined or too variable to be conclusive in species identification

Retrograde transport pathways utilised by viruses and protein toxins

A model has been presented for retrograde transport of certain toxins and viruses from the cell surface to the ER that suggests an obligatory interaction with a glycolipid receptor at the cell surface. Here we review studies on the ER trafficking cholera toxin, Shiga and Shiga-like toxins, Pseudomonas exotoxin A and ricin, and compare the retrograde routes followed by these protein toxins to those of the ER trafficking SV40 and polyoma viruses. We conclude that there is in fact no obligatory requirement for a glycolipid receptor, nor even with a protein receptor in a lipid-rich environment. Emerging data suggests instead that there is no common pathway utilised for retrograde transport by all of these pathogens, the choice of route being determined by the particular receptor utilised

Traumatic Injury and Exposure to Mitochondrial-Derived Damage Associated Molecular Patterns Suppresses Neutrophil Extracellular Trap Formation

Major traumatic injury induces significant remodeling of the circulating neutrophil pool and loss of bactericidal function. Although a well-described phenomenon, research to date has only analyzed blood samples acquired post-hospital admission, and the mechanisms that initiate compromised neutrophil function post-injury are therefore poorly understood. Here, we analyzed pre-hospital blood samples acquired from 62 adult trauma patients (mean age 44 years, range 19–95 years) within 1 h of injury (mean time to sample 39 min, range 13–59 min). We found an immediate impairment in neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) generation in response to phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) stimulation, which persisted into the acute post-injury phase (4–72 h). Reduced NET generation was accompanied by reduced reactive oxygen species production, impaired activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases, and a reduction in neutrophil glucose uptake and metabolism to lactate. Pre-treating neutrophils from healthy subjects with mitochondrial-derived damage-associated molecular patterns (mtDAMPs), whose circulating levels were significantly increased in our trauma patients, reduced NET generation. This mtDAMP-induced impairment in NET formation was associated with an N-formyl peptide mediated activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a negative regulator of aerobic glycolysis and NET formation. Indeed, activation of AMPK via treatment with the AMP-mimetic AICAR significantly reduced neutrophil lactate production in response to PMA stimulation, a phenomenon that we also observed for neutrophils pre-treated with mtDAMPs. Furthermore, the impairment in NET generation induced by mtDAMPs was partially ameliorated by pre-treating neutrophils with the AMPK inhibitor compound C. Taken together, our data demonstrate an immediate trauma-induced impairment in neutrophil anti-microbial function and identify mtDAMP release as a potential initiator of acute post-injury neutrophil dysfunction

Hurricane Model Development at GFDL: A Collaborative Success Story From a Historical Perspective

The hurricane project at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) was established in 1970. By the mid-1970s pioneering research had led to the development of a new hurricane model. As the reputation of the model grew, GFDL was approached in 1986 by the director of the National Meteorological Center about establishing a collaboration between the two federal organizations to transition the model into an operational modeling system. After a multiyear effort by GFDL scientists to develop a system that could support rigorous requirements of operations, and multiyear testing had demonstrated its superior performance compared to existing guidance products, operational implementation was made in 1995. Through collaboration between GFDL and the U.S. Navy, the model was also made operational at Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center in 1996. GFDL scientists continued to support and improve the model during the next two decades by collaborating with other scientists at GFDL, the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Environmental Modeling Center (EMC), the National Hurricane Center, the U.S. Navy, the University of Rhode Island (URI), Old Dominion University, and the NOAA Hurricane Research Division. Scientists at GFDL, URI, and EMC collaborated to transfer key components of the GFDL model to the NWS new Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting Model (HWRF) that became operational in 2007. The purpose of the article is to highlight the critical role of these collaborations. It is hoped that the experiences of the authors will serve as an example of how such collaboration can benefit the nation with improved weather guidance products

WHOI Hawaii Ocean Timeseries Station (WHOTS) : WHOTS-2 mooring turnaround cruise report

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Hawaii Ocean Timeseries (HOT) Site (WHOTS), 100 km north of Oahu, Hawaii, is intended to provide long-term, high-quality air-sea fluxes as a coordinated part of the HOT program and contribute to the goals of observing heat, fresh water and chemical fluxes at a site representative of the oligotrophic North Pacific Ocean. This report documents recovery of the WHOTS-1 mooring, deployed in August 2004 near 22.75°N, 158°W, and deployment of the WHOTS-2 mooring at the same site. Both moorings were outfitted with Air-Sea Interaction Meteorology (ASIMET) systems to measure, record, and transmit the surface meteorological variables necessary to compute air-sea fluxes of heat, moisture and momentum. In cooperation with R. Lukas of the University of Hawaii, the upper 155 m of the moorings were outfitted with oceanographic sensors for the measurement of temperature, conductivity and velocity. The WHOTS mooring turnaround was done on the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Ship Melville, Cruise TUIM-10MV. The cruise took place between 23 and 30 July 2005.Funding was provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under Grant No. NA17RJ1223 and the Cooperative Institute for Climate and Ocean Research (CICOR)

Progression-free survival as a surrogate endpoint for overall survival in modern ovarian cancer trials: A meta-analysis

Background: Progression-free survival (PFS) has been adopted as the primary endpoint in many randomized controlled trials, and can be determined much earlier than overall survival (OS). We investigated whether PFS is a good surrogate endpoint for OS in trials of first-line treatment for epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), and whether this relationship has changed with the introduction of new treatment types. Methods: In a meta-analysis, we identified summary data [hazard ratio (HR) and median time] from published randomized controlled trials. Linear regression was used to assess the association between treatment effects on PFS and OS overall, and for subgroups defined by treatment type, postprogression survival (PPS) and established prognostic factors. Results: Correlation between HRs for PFS and OS, in 26 trials with 30 treatment comparisons comprising 24,870 patients, was modest (r2 = 0.52, weighted by trial sample size). The correlation diminished with recency: preplatinum/paclitaxel era, r2 = 0.66; platinum/paclitaxel, r2 = 0.44; triplet combinations, r2 = 0.22; biologicals, r2 = 0.30. The median PPS increased over time for the experimental (Ptrend = 0.03) and control arms (Ptrend = 0.003). The difference in median PPS between treatment arms strongly correlated with the difference in median OS (r2 = 0.83). In trials where the control therapy had median PPS of less than 18 months, correlation between PFS and OS was stronger (r2 = 0.64) than where the median PPS was longer (r2 = 0.48). Conclusions: In EOC, correlation in the relative treatment effect between PFS and OS in first-line platinum-based chemotherapy randomized controlled trials is moderate and has weakened with increasing availability of effective salvage therapies

Implicit and Explicit Values as a Predictor of Ethical Decision-Making and Ethical Behavior

The present study uses measures of implicit and explicit values to predict moral behaviors. Implicit value measures based on a word-fragment completion tasks were developed in this study to assess implicit values. Because values and moral processes are believed to operate at both explicit and implicit levels, it was hypothesized that both implicit and explicit values would predict moral behaviors. Results from a laboratory study show that both implicit and explicit values predicted actual moral behavior, consistent with dual process theories of morality. Chronic collective identity moderated the relation of both implicit and explicit values to ethical behavior. Theoretical and practical implications for the use of both explicit and implicit value measures in research and applied settings are discussed

Attitudes and perceptions about ecological resources and hazards of people living around the Savannah River Site

Although considerable attention is devoted to environmental monitoring and assessment with respect to both pollutants and the status of particular plant or animal populations, less attention is devoted to assessing people\u27s attitudes about the relative importance of ecological resources. In this paper we examine the attitudes and perceptions about ecological resources of people living around the Department of Energy\u27s Savannah River Site (SRS), in South Carolina. Our overall hypothesis is that people who are directly affected by the possible outcomes and consequences of a particular hazard (i.e., those people employed at SRS) will undervalue the risks and overvalue the potential benefits from future land uses that favour continued site activity, compared to people who live near but are not employed at SRS. We interviewed 286 people attending the Aiken Trials horse show on 14 March 1997. There were few gender differences, although men hunted and fished more than women, women ranked three environmental concerns as more severe than did men, and women were more concerned about the effect of SRS on property values. Maintenance of SRS as a National Environmental Research Park ranked first as a future land use; nuclear production ranked second, followed by hunting and hiking. Only residential development ranked very low as a future land use. There were many differences as a function of employment history at SRS: (1) people who work at SRS think that the federal government should spend funds to clean up all nuclear facilities, and they think less money should be spent on other environmental problems than did non-employees, (2) people who work at SRS ranked continued current uses of SRS higher than did people who never worked at SRS, and (3) people who work at SRS are less concerned about the storage of nuclear material or accidents at the site than are people who never worked at the site