Evidence-based management of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting: a position statement from a European cancer nursing forum

Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) is a common, but now often overlooked side effect of cancer treatment, and one that can be largely prevented through the implementation of international evidence-based guidelines. The European CINV Forum, comprising nurses from France, Germany, Portugal, Spain and the UK, discussed the use of CINV preventive strategies in routine practice, and the factors that affect optimal delivery of antiemetic therapies. Based on these discussions, they developed a series of recommendations for optimal, evidence-based management of CINV. These state that all patients receiving chemotherapy should undergo full assessment of their risk of CINV and receive appropriate prophylactic treatment based on guidelines from the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), which were both updated in 2011. Other recommendations, aimed at raising awareness of CINV and its management, include timely updates of relevant local practice guidelines and protocols, translation of the MASCC and NCCN guidelines into all European languages and their dissemination through accessible articles in nursing journals and newsletters and via nursing conferences and study days, improved training for nurses on CINV, collaboration between the European Oncology Nursing Society and national nursing organisations to promote consistent practice, the development of a CINV toolkit, information provision for patients, local audits of CINV management, and a survey of CINV management between and within European countries

Monitoring and modelling marine zooplankton in a changing climate

Zooplankton are major consumers of phytoplankton primary production in marine ecosystems. As such, they represent a critical link for energy and matter transfer between phytoplankton and bacterioplankton to higher trophic levels and play an important role in global biogeochemical cycles. In this Review, we discuss key responses of zooplankton to ocean warming, including shifts in phenology, range, and body size, and assess the implications to the biological carbon pump and interactions with higher trophic levels. Our synthesis highlights key knowledge gaps and geographic gaps in monitoring coverage that need to be urgently addressed. We also discuss an integrated sampling approach that combines traditional and novel techniques to improve zooplankton observation for the benefit of monitoring zooplankton populations and modelling future scenarios under global changes

Seasonal and spatial distribution of the mesozooplankton of Southampton Water with particular reference to the contribution of copepods and barnacle larvae to pelagic carbon flux

In the past half century, a number of studies have described the general composition of the mesozooplankton of Southampton Water, highlighting aspects about the seasonality of the major components and identifying calanoid copepods and barnacle larvae as the major elements. Despite the number of studies, almost all knowledge about species composition, dominance and succession patterns of the mesozooplankton as a whole, is described from only a few studies, usually located at stations in the mid and lower estuary. It is clear that generalizations made for these stations will not reflect other parts of this estuary. Because of this, a 120 ?m net-haul study comprising upper, mid and lower stations within Southampton Water was conducted over a period of 19 months, from 12/01/01 until 16/07/02, in order to critically re-evaluate the mesozooplankton community of the estuary, as well as to assess the importance of copepods and barnacle larvae to pelagic carbon fluxes. Additional biological and non-biological water column parameters were measured concurrently. A total of 144 different taxa were recorded within the zooplankton of Southampton Water during this study, with 92 identified to species, 30 to genus and 22 identified at a higher level. From these 31 were identified as holoplankton, 72 as meroplankton and 41 as tycoplankton, with 90 taxa recorded for the first time in Southampton Water. Numerically the zooplankton community was mainly composed of holoplankton forms (~69%), followed by meroplankton (~30%) and tycoplankton (~1%). Copepod nauplii were the most abundant holoplanktonic taxa, averaging 38% of all forms, followed by the calanoid Acartia spp. (31%), the cyclopoid Oithona nana (11%), the harpacticoid Euterpina acutifrons (11%) and the appendicularia Oikopleura sp. (5%). Barnacle larvae averaged 53% of the meroplanktonic forms, followed by polychaete (19%), gastropod (13%), bivalve (9%) and bryozoan larvae (3%). Harpacticoid copepods comprised 97% of the tycoplanktonic forms recorded. One unexpected finding of this study was the significant occurrence of the cyclopoid Oithona nana within the upper estuary, contrasting with previous studies where calanoids of the genus Acartia were considered the only dominant copepod form. Although present throughout the estuary, O.nana was clearly most abundant in the upper estuary where it presented a clear seasonal pattern, and was numerically the most abundant form from late-summer until early-winter, then replaced by copepod nauplii and Acartia spp. during mid-winter to late-spring, and by copepod nauplii, Acartia spp. and E.acutifrons during early to mid-summer. Barnacle larvae presented the same composition and seasonality reported in the past, with Elminius modestus the most abundant and frequent, and occurring throughout the year although it was outnumbered by Balanus crenatus from February to May. Of the remaining barnacle species found only Balanus improvisus, Semibalanus balanoides and Verruca stroemia were present in substantial numbers. Production of several copepod components was calculated, and an overall averaged production of 253.48 mg C m-3 yr-1 was estimated, with Acartia accounting for 55.6% of the production followed by E.acutifrons (16.0%), copepod nauplii (15.2%) and O.nana (13.2%). This previously unaccounted production may assist in readdressing the relatively low copepod secondary production previously estimated for Southampton Water. Production of barnacle larvae was also calculated and an overall averaged production of 32.80 mg C m-3 yr-1 was estimated, with E.modestus alone accounting for 54.7% followed by B.crenatus (35%), B.improvisus (6.7%), S.balanoides (3.1%) and V.stroemia (0.5%). Overall, production of barnacle larvae within Southampton Water is significantly lower than that of calanoid copepods contradicting previous assumptions that barnacle larvae could provide as much secondary production as calanoids. A new set of simple linear regression equations applicable to a range of crustacean zooplankton types are proposed for the preliminary estimation of production based primarily on the total number of organisms. Abundance, in conjunction with temperature, salinity and chlorophyll a pattern were also employed in the elaboration of multiple regression equations. Production values calculated by this new method were usually ±20% of the averaged value obtained by more conventional methods. When applied to an independent data set, differences of only ±7% were observed between production estimates using conventional and the new equations. The new estimated production values for barnacle larvae (meroplankton), Acartia (calanoid), Oithona (cyclopoid), Euterpina (harpacticoid) and copepod nauplii components of the mesozooplankton are integrated into an existing carbon-flux box-model for Southampton Water