The Influence of Beached Harmful Algal Blooms On Terrestrial Arthropods on the Shore of Lake Erie

Marine primary inputs, such as sea wrack and algae, offer a great niche for insects and other animals to exploit. The existence of a similar niche on the coast of lakes has received less attention. To complicate matters, many freshwater systems are seeing increases in proliferation of toxic and non-toxic cyanobacteria blooms. This study examined patterns in lake shore terrestrial arthropod abundance, diversity, and community composition across gradients of beached algae, with varying toxicity. We detected water microcystin effects on arthropod richness in survey three, beached material effects on Shannon’s Diversity in survey two, and water microcystin effects on the community structure on survey three. Our results suggest the beached aquatic inputs have diversifying effect and microcystin has a positive indirect relationship with certain orders of arthropods such as flies and spiders. We recommend further study into the mechanisms surrounding shore arthropod resource utilization and predator release from toxic blooms

Biodiversity Scale-Dependence and Opposing Multi-level Correlations Underlie Differences among Taxonomic, Phylogenetic and Functional Diversity

Aim: Biodiversity is a multidimensional property of biological communities that represents different information depending on how it is measured, but how dimensions relate to one another and under what conditions is not well understood. We explore how taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity can differ in scale-of-effect dependence and habitat-biodiversity relationships, and subsequently how spatial differences among biodiversity dimensions may arise. Location: Nebraska, United States. Taxon: Birds. Methods: Across 2016 and 2017, we conducted 2,641 point counts at 781 sites. We modeled the occupancy of 141 species using Bayesian Bernoulli-Bernoulli hierarchical logistic regressions. We calculated species richness (SR), phylogenetic diversity (PD), and functional diversity (FD) for each site and year based on predicted occupancy, accounting for imperfect detection. Using Bayesian latent indicator scale selection and multivariate modeling, we quantified the spatial scales-of-effect that best explained the relationships between environmental characteristics and SR, PD, and FD. Additionally, we decomposed the residual between-site and within-site biodiversity correlations using our repeated measures design. Results: Although relationships between specific land cover types and SR, PD, and FD were qualitatively similar, the spatial scales at which these variables were important in explaining biodiversity differed among dimensions. Between-site residual biodiversity correlations were negative, yet within-site biodiversity residual correlations were positive. Main conclusions: Our results demonstrate how spatial differences among biodiversity dimensions may arise from biodiversity-specific scale-dependent habitat relationships, low shared environmental correlations, and opposing residual correlations between dimensions, suggesting that single-scale and single-dimension analyses are not entirely appropriate for quantifying habitat-biodiversity relationships. After accounting for shared habitat relationships, we found positive within-site residual correlations between SR, PD, and FD, suggesting that habitat change over time influenced all biodiversity dimensions similarly. However, negative between-site residual correlation among biodiversity dimensions may indicate trade-offs in achieving maximum biodiversity across multiple biodiversity dimensions at any given location

The Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Center (MMRRC): the NIH-supported National Public Repository and Distribution Archive of Mutant Mouse Models in the USA.

The Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Center (MMRRC) Program is the pre-eminent public national mutant mouse repository and distribution archive in the USA, serving as a national resource of mutant mice available to the global scientific community for biomedical research. Established more than two decades ago with grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the MMRRC Program supports a Consortium of regionally distributed and dedicated vivaria, laboratories, and offices (Centers) and an Informatics Coordination and Service Center (ICSC) at three academic teaching and research universities and one non-profit genetic research institution. The MMRRC Program accepts the submission of unique, scientifically rigorous, and experimentally valuable genetically altered and other mouse models donated by academic and commercial scientists and organizations for deposition, maintenance, preservation, and dissemination to scientists upon request. The four Centers maintain an archive of nearly 60,000 mutant alleles as live mice, frozen germplasm, and/or embryonic stem (ES) cells. Since its inception, the Centers have fulfilled 13,184 orders for mutant mouse models from 9591 scientists at 6626 institutions around the globe. Centers also provide numerous services that facilitate using mutant mouse models obtained from the MMRRC, including genetic assays, microbiome analysis, analytical phenotyping and pathology, cryorecovery, mouse husbandry, infectious disease surveillance and diagnosis, and disease modeling. The ICSC coordinates activities between the Centers, manages the website (mmrrc.org) and online catalog, and conducts communication, outreach, and education to the research community. Centers preserve, secure, and protect mutant mouse lines in perpetuity, promote rigor and reproducibility in scientific experiments using mice, provide experiential training and consultation in the responsible use of mice in research, and pursue cutting edge technologies to advance biomedical studies using mice to improve human health. Researchers benefit from an expansive list of well-defined mouse models of disease that meet the highest standards of rigor and reproducibility, while donating investigators benefit by having their mouse lines preserved, protected, and distributed in compliance with NIH policies

Paradoxical roles of antioxidant enzymes:Basic mechanisms and health implications

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) are generated from aerobic metabolism, as a result of accidental electron leakage as well as regulated enzymatic processes. Because ROS/RNS can induce oxidative injury and act in redox signaling, enzymes metabolizing them will inherently promote either health or disease, depending on the physiological context. It is thus misleading to consider conventionally called antioxidant enzymes to be largely, if not exclusively, health protective. Because such a notion is nonetheless common, we herein attempt to rationalize why this simplistic view should be avoided. First we give an updated summary of physiological phenotypes triggered in mouse models of overexpression or knockout of major antioxidant enzymes. Subsequently, we focus on a series of striking cases that demonstrate “paradoxical” outcomes, i.e., increased fitness upon deletion of antioxidant enzymes or disease triggered by their overexpression. We elaborate mechanisms by which these phenotypes are mediated via chemical, biological, and metabolic interactions of the antioxidant enzymes with their substrates, downstream events, and cellular context. Furthermore, we propose that novel treatments of antioxidant enzyme-related human diseases may be enabled by deliberate targeting of dual roles of the pertaining enzymes. We also discuss the potential of “antioxidant” nutrients and phytochemicals, via regulating the expression or function of antioxidant enzymes, in preventing, treating, or aggravating chronic diseases. We conclude that “paradoxical” roles of antioxidant enzymes in physiology, health, and disease derive from sophisticated molecular mechanisms of redox biology and metabolic homeostasis. Simply viewing antioxidant enzymes as always being beneficial is not only conceptually misleading but also clinically hazardous if such notions underpin medical treatment protocols based on modulation of redox pathways

Relationships Among Biodiversity Dimensions of Birds in Nebraska

Biological diversity, or biodiversity, is a multi-dimensional concept that can be decomposed to measure information about taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional variation within communities. Although the dimensions of biodiversity are interrelated, the assumption that measuring one dimension of diversity can inform about patterns in another dimension does not necessarily follow from theory or empirical study. The relationships among biodiversity dimensions is not well understood, nor how differences among dimensions could influence conservation decision making. Using the avian community as a study system, we explored the relationships of breadth metrics from the taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional dimensions among each other and across six gradients of land cover in Nebraska, USA. We found that all three metrics had a high between-sites correlation, yet the within-site correlation was weaker and even slightly negative, which suggests that these metrics could be used as adequate surrogates for one another broadly, yet they would generally be poor predictors locally. We also found substantial differences in spatial scale selection among the diversity metrics, which suggests that these metrics are being influences by different ecological and evolutionary processes. Within each metric’s selected spatial scale, land cover relationships were generally similar, yet projected differences in the relationships across land cover resulted in spatial mismatches, often of substantial magnitude. Differences among diversity metrics may help identify drivers of biodiversity patterns and predict community assembly. Furthermore, the taxonomic metric showed relative insensitivity compared to the phylogenetic and functional metric, suggesting managing for high taxonomic diversity offers a simple and strategic conservation opportunity to preserve phylogenetic and functional diversity as well. Once conservation areas are selected, holistic or intensively managed conservation approaches are recommended. Advisors: Erica F. Stuber and Joseph J. Fontain

Do patients know how to prepare for laboratory tests?

Predanalitička priprema pacijenta od iznimne je važnosti kod laboratorijskih pretraga zbog velikog utjecaja na konačne rezultate istih. Kako bi se izbjegle greške u predanalitičkoj fazi potrebno je naglasiti značaj općih uputa za pripremu za laboratorijske pretrage te uputiti pacijente u izvođenje pravilne pripreme prije uzimanja uzorka. U predanalitičkoj fazi laboratorijskog procesa javlja se 46 do 68 % posto svih laboratorijskih pogrešaka, najčešće zbog neinformiranosti o pravilnoj pripremi prije uzimanja uzorka i postupanju s uzorcima. Radom se nastojalo uvidjeti gdje najčešće nastaje greška, postoji li dovoljna edukacija osoblja u primarnim ordinacijama te medicinskih sestara u primarnoj skrbi o pripremi pacijenta, te postoji li problem zanemarivanja uputa primarne zaštite od strane pacijenata. Rad predstavlja prospektivno, anketno istraživanje. Analizirani su podaci prikupljeni anonimnom anketom na Odjelu za medicinsko biokemijsku djelatnost Opće bolnice Pula u kolovozu 2020.g. Pri obradi rezultata korišten je MedCalc R statistički program i programska verzija Excell 2016. Dobiveni rezultati prikazani su srednjom vrijednosti i postotkom Upitnik iz dodatka 1. koji je sadržavao 11 pitanja ispunjen je uz pomoć ispitivača. Grupu od 100 pacijenata činile su 72 žene (72 %) srednje starosne dobi 46 godina i 28 muškaraca (28 %) srednje starosne dobi 57 godina različitih stupnjeva obrazovanja. Nedovoljna je educiranost pacijenata uz postojanje potrebe za dodatnim pojašnjavanjima temeljnih uputa za pripremu za uzorkovanje krvi i prikupljanje jutarnje mokraće. Utvrđeno je da osoblje u primarnoj zdravstvenoj zaštiti nije dovoljno educirano u vidu pripreme za laboratorijske pretrage te je potrebno poboljšati edukaciju i komunikaciju u području laboratorijske dijagnostike.Pre-analytical preparation of the patient is extremely important in laboratory tests because of the great influence on their final results. In order to avoid errors in the pre-analytical phase, it is necessary to emphasize the importance of general instructions for preparation for laboratory tests and to instruct patients to perform proper preparation before taking the sample. In the pre-analytical phase of the laboratory process, 46 to 68% of all laboratory errors occur, most often due to lack of information about proper preparation before sampling and handling of samples. The paper sought to identify where the error most often occurs, whether there is sufficient education of staff in primary care and nurses in primary care on patient preparation, and whether there is a problem of neglect of primary care instructions by patients. The paper presents a prospective, survey research. Data collected by an anonymous survey at the Department of Medical Biochemical Activity of the General Hospital Pula in August 2020 were analyzed. The MedCalc R statistical program and the software version of Excell 2016 were used to process the results. The obtained results were presented as a mean and a percentage. The questionnaire from Appendix 1, which contained 11 questions, was filled in with the help of an examiner. The group of 100 patients consisted of 72 women (72%) with a mean age of 46 years and 28 men (28%) with a mean age of 57 years of different levels of education. Insufficient education of patients with the need for further clarification of basic instructions for preparation for blood sampling and collection of morning urine. It was determined that the staff in primary health care is not sufficiently educated in the form of preparation for laboratory tests and it is necessary to improve education and communication in the field of laboratory diagnostics

Do patients know how to prepare for laboratory tests?

Predanalitička priprema pacijenta od iznimne je važnosti kod laboratorijskih pretraga zbog velikog utjecaja na konačne rezultate istih. Kako bi se izbjegle greške u predanalitičkoj fazi potrebno je naglasiti značaj općih uputa za pripremu za laboratorijske pretrage te uputiti pacijente u izvođenje pravilne pripreme prije uzimanja uzorka. U predanalitičkoj fazi laboratorijskog procesa javlja se 46 do 68 % posto svih laboratorijskih pogrešaka, najčešće zbog neinformiranosti o pravilnoj pripremi prije uzimanja uzorka i postupanju s uzorcima. Radom se nastojalo uvidjeti gdje najčešće nastaje greška, postoji li dovoljna edukacija osoblja u primarnim ordinacijama te medicinskih sestara u primarnoj skrbi o pripremi pacijenta, te postoji li problem zanemarivanja uputa primarne zaštite od strane pacijenata. Rad predstavlja prospektivno, anketno istraživanje. Analizirani su podaci prikupljeni anonimnom anketom na Odjelu za medicinsko biokemijsku djelatnost Opće bolnice Pula u kolovozu 2020.g. Pri obradi rezultata korišten je MedCalc R statistički program i programska verzija Excell 2016. Dobiveni rezultati prikazani su srednjom vrijednosti i postotkom Upitnik iz dodatka 1. koji je sadržavao 11 pitanja ispunjen je uz pomoć ispitivača. Grupu od 100 pacijenata činile su 72 žene (72 %) srednje starosne dobi 46 godina i 28 muškaraca (28 %) srednje starosne dobi 57 godina različitih stupnjeva obrazovanja. Nedovoljna je educiranost pacijenata uz postojanje potrebe za dodatnim pojašnjavanjima temeljnih uputa za pripremu za uzorkovanje krvi i prikupljanje jutarnje mokraće. Utvrđeno je da osoblje u primarnoj zdravstvenoj zaštiti nije dovoljno educirano u vidu pripreme za laboratorijske pretrage te je potrebno poboljšati edukaciju i komunikaciju u području laboratorijske dijagnostike.Pre-analytical preparation of the patient is extremely important in laboratory tests because of the great influence on their final results. In order to avoid errors in the pre-analytical phase, it is necessary to emphasize the importance of general instructions for preparation for laboratory tests and to instruct patients to perform proper preparation before taking the sample. In the pre-analytical phase of the laboratory process, 46 to 68% of all laboratory errors occur, most often due to lack of information about proper preparation before sampling and handling of samples. The paper sought to identify where the error most often occurs, whether there is sufficient education of staff in primary care and nurses in primary care on patient preparation, and whether there is a problem of neglect of primary care instructions by patients. The paper presents a prospective, survey research. Data collected by an anonymous survey at the Department of Medical Biochemical Activity of the General Hospital Pula in August 2020 were analyzed. The MedCalc R statistical program and the software version of Excell 2016 were used to process the results. The obtained results were presented as a mean and a percentage. The questionnaire from Appendix 1, which contained 11 questions, was filled in with the help of an examiner. The group of 100 patients consisted of 72 women (72%) with a mean age of 46 years and 28 men (28%) with a mean age of 57 years of different levels of education. Insufficient education of patients with the need for further clarification of basic instructions for preparation for blood sampling and collection of morning urine. It was determined that the staff in primary health care is not sufficiently educated in the form of preparation for laboratory tests and it is necessary to improve education and communication in the field of laboratory diagnostics

Dynamiques des modes de régulation du temps de travail : une approche comparative France/Royaume Uni dans trois secteurs d'activité (métallurgie, grande distribution, santé): rapport de fin de recherche pour la DARES

8 entreprises enquêtées en France et 5 au Royaume-Uni.En annexe : une fiche bibliographique d'une entreprise de microélectroniqu