Flutuações diárias na associação de peixes da praia de areia de Porto Pim, ilha de Faial, Açores

Os peixes da praia de areia de Porto Pim, Açores foram amostrados através de arrastos de rede (chinchorro) a intervalos de três horas durante um período de 24 horas nos meses de Agosto, Setembro e Outubro de 1989. A associação de peixes era dominada, em cada um dos meses, por três a quatro espécies (90-97% dos indivíduos). A maioria das espécies estavam representadas por formas juvenis. A variação entre meses do padrão diário pode explicar-se primariamente pelas mudanças no padrão de abundância das espécies dominantes. Ao longo dos três meses as variações na estrutura da associação implicaram mudanças no padrão diário. Muitas das espécies tinham um padrão de abundância definido, primariamente por ser ou diurno ou nocturno. Encontrou-se também um padrão de maré na estrutura da associação de peixes caracterizado por uma maior diversidade na maré baixa.ABSTRACT: The shallow-water fish assemblage at Porto Pim, Azores was sampled with a beach seine at three hour intervals over 24 h periods in August, September and October 1989. The fish assemblage was dominated by three to four species in each month (90-97% of numbers). Most species were present as juveniles. The variation in diel patterns between months could primarily be explained by changes in the pattern of abundance of dominant species. Over the three months seasonal changes in the assemblage structure caused changes in the diel pattern. Many of the species present had a definite pattern to their abundance being either primarily diurnal or nocturnal. There was also a tidal pattern to the assemblage structure which had a higher diversity at low water

Associações de peixes das zonas entre-marés da ilha do Faial, Açores

No presente artigo descrevemos as associações de peixes das poças do intertidal rochoso e do intertidal arenoso dos Açores. São treze as espécies que ocorrem nas poças do intertidal rochoso. Os blenídeos, com Parablennius sanguinolentus parvicornis, Coryphoblennius galerita e Lipophrys trigloides, constituem a família dominante de peixes residentes das poças do intertidal rochoso. A riqueza é maior no 3º trimestre, com 12 espécies, e menor no 1º trimestre com apenas oito espécies a ocorrerem nas poças. A diversidade é também superior no 3º trimestre. O pequeno grau de variação pode ser fundamentalmente atribuído à presença de espécies transientes e de juvenis que utilizam a costa durante as primeiras fases de desenvolvimento. São quinze as espécies que ocorrem na zona intertidal da praia arenosa de Porto Pim. A comunidade de peixes é aqui dominada por juvenis de espécies transientes. Não encontrámos espécies intertidais residentes. A riqueza e abundância são superiores no 3º e 4º trimestre devido ao recrutamento de juvenis, e à ocorrência de espécies migradoras e transientes.ABSTRACT: In the present paper we describe fish assemblages of rocky intertidal pools and intertidal areas of sandy beaches of the Azores. Blennies (Parablennius sanguinolentus parvicornis, Coryphoblennius galerita and Lipophrys trigloides) constitute the dominant resident fish family in the intertidal pools. Thirteen species were encountered in intertidal pools. Richness is higher in the 3rd quarter of the year with 12 species and lower in the 1st and 2nd quarters with 8 species occurring in the samples . Diversity is also higher in the 3rd quarter The small variation can mostly be attributed to transient species and juveniles using the shore as a nursery ground. Fifteen species occurred in the intertidal region of the protected shallow sandy beach of Porto Pim. This fish assemblage was dominated by juveniles of transient species. No resident species were present here. Richness and abundance were higher in 3rd and 4th quarters due to recruitment of juveniles, and the occurrence of migrant and transient species

Pain control in healthcare organizations: Developing effective disease management programs

Although medicine possesses the knowledge and technology for preventing or relieving most pain, poor pain control is still widespread. Unrelieved pain causes unnecessary suffering and increases health care expenditures. Among the barriers to improving pain control are poor provider education in pain management, misguided beliefs about the inevitability of pain and the dangers of pain medication, provider resistance to changing practice patterns, and administrative resistance to implementing improvements that incur short-term costs but lead to long-term savings. In short, poor pain relief in America\u27s health care institutions is a system issue, and improvement requires a system-wide change. An effective program for improving pain management requires a multidisciplinary team committed to the task, ideally a triad consisting of a physician, a nurse, and a pharmacist. The triad needs administrative support in order to undertake needs assessment, offer provider and patient education, and perform continuous cycles of assessment, intervention, and reassessment of pain management. A strong information management base and an analytic engine are essential so that the team can evaluate outcomes from multiple perspectives (provider, payer, patient). The triad should identify a service area with clear pain problems, demonstrate improvements in this area, and then systematically move to other service areas. Educating providers and patients about pain and its control is essential for bringing about change. Improved pain management is a win-win situation for patients and institutions alike. Patients and families benefit from reduced suffering and improved quality of life, while institutions can offer more cost-effective care to patients

The SED Machine: a robotic spectrograph for fast transient classification

Current time domain facilities are finding several hundreds of transient astronomical events a year. The discovery rate is expected to increase in the future as soon as new surveys such as the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) and the Large Synoptic Sky Survey (LSST) come on line. At the present time, the rate at which transients are classified is approximately one order or magnitude lower than the discovery rate, leading to an increasing "follow-up drought". Existing telescopes with moderate aperture can help address this deficit when equipped with spectrographs optimized for spectral classification. Here, we provide an overview of the design, operations and first results of the Spectral Energy Distribution Machine (SEDM), operating on the Palomar 60-inch telescope (P60). The instrument is optimized for classification and high observing efficiency. It combines a low-resolution (R$\sim$100) integral field unit (IFU) spectrograph with "Rainbow Camera" (RC), a multi-band field acquisition camera which also serves as multi-band (ugri) photometer. The SEDM was commissioned during the operation of the intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF) and has already proved lived up to its promise. The success of the SEDM demonstrates the value of spectrographs optimized to spectral classification. Introduction of similar spectrographs on existing telescopes will help alleviate the follow-up drought and thereby accelerate the rate of discoveries.Comment: 21 pages, 20 figure

The Dynamics of 0-Group Herring Clupea harengus and Sprat Sprattus sprattus Populations Along the Norwegian Skagerrak Coast

Coastal areas are important habitats for early life stages of many fish species. These habitats are used as nursery grounds and can provide a significant contribution to the recruitment of a fish population. In 1919, standardized sampling with a beach seine along the Norwegian Skagerrak coastline was established mainly to target 0-group fish. Here, we focus on Atlantic herring and European sprat to explore whether inter-annual variability in the abundance of these species is indicative of variability in recruitment. We investigated if the abundance of 0-group herring and sprat are affected by environmental factors. Further, the beach seine abundance indices were compared with recruitment estimates of neighboring stocks. There was a clear correlation between herring and sprat abundance in the beach seine samples. While sprat abundance was mainly affected by environmental factors such as temperature and current drift, herring abundance was positively affected by the recruitment of the neighboring stock of western Baltic spring spawners. One plausible explanation could be that sprat recruit to a more local component, while herring of the neighboring stock utilize the Skagerrak coastline as nursery grounds. This study demonstrates the importance of long time series and can provide new insight into the dynamics and structure of multiple fish species

What do students want most from written feedback information? Distinguishing necessities from luxuries using a budgeting methodology

Feedback is a key concern for higher education practitioners, yet there is little evidence concerning the aspects of assessment feedback information that higher education students prioritise when their lecturers’ time and resources are stretched. One recent study found that in such circumstances, students actually perceive feedback information itself as a luxury rather than a necessity. We first re-examined that finding by asking undergraduates to ‘purchase’ characteristics to create the ideal lecturer, using budgets of differing sizes to distinguish necessities from luxuries. Contrary to the earlier research, students in fact considered good feedback information the single biggest necessity for lecturers to demonstrate. In a second study we used the same method to examine the characteristics of feedback information that students value most. Here, the most important perceived necessity was guidance on improvement of skills. In both studies, students’ priorities were influenced by their individual approaches to learning. These findings permit a more pragmatic approach to building student satisfaction in spite of growing expectations and demands

Using organic phosphorus to sustain pasture productivity: A perspective

Organic phosphorus (P) in grazed pastures/grasslands could sustain production systems that historically relied on inorganic P fertiliser. Interactions between inorganic P, plants and soils have been studied extensively. However, less is known about the transformation of organic P to inorganic orthophosphate. This paper investigates what is known about organic P in pasture/grassland soils used for agriculture, as well as the research needed to utilise organic P for sustainable plant production. Organic P comprises > 50% of total soil P in agricultural systems depending on location, soil type and land use. Organic P hydrolysis and release of orthophosphate by phosphatase enzymatic activity is affected by a range of factors including: (a) the chemical nature of the organic P and its ability to interact with the soil matrix; (b) microorganisms that facilitate mineralisation; (c) soil mineralogy; (d) soil water electrolytes; and (e) soil physicochemical properties. Current biogeochemical knowledge of organic P processing in soil limits our ability to develop management strategies that promote the use of organic P in plant production. Information is particularly needed on the types and sources of organic P in grassland systems and the factors affecting the activity of enzymes that mineralise organic P. Integrated approaches analysing the soil matrix, soil water and soil biology are suggested to address this knowledge gap

Transport infrastructure and welfare an application to nigeria

Transport infrastructure is deemed to be central to development and consumes a large fraction of the development assistance envelope. Yet there is debate about the economic impact of road projects. This paper proposes an approach to assess the differential development impacts of alternative road construction and prioritize various proposals, using Nigeria as a case study. Recognizing that there is no perfect measure of economic well-being, a variety of outcome metrics are used, including crop revenue, livestock revenue, non-agricultural income, the probability of being multi-dimensionally poor, and local gross domestic product for Nigeria. Although the measure of transport is the most accurate possible, it is still endogenous because of the nonrandom placement of road infrastructure. This endogeneity is addressed using a seemingly novel instrumental variable termed the natural path: the time it would take to walk along the most logical route connecting two points without taking into account other, bias-causing economic benefits. Further, the analysis considers the potential endogeneity from nonrandom placement of households and markets through carefully chosen control variables. It finds that reducing transportation costs in Nigeria will increase crop revenue, non-agricultural income, the wealth index, and local gross domestic product. Livestock sales increase as well, although this finding is less robust. The probability of being multi-dimensionally poor will decrease. The results also cast light on income diversification and structural changes that may arise. These findings are robust to relaxing the exclusion restriction. The paper also demonstrates how to prioritize alternative road programs by comparing the expected development impacts of alternative New Partnership for Africas Development projects. Document type: Boo

A Nash Threat Game of Passing Through Exchange Rate Mechanism II

Following entrance into the European Union, Central Eastern European Countries (CEECs) are expected to join the European Monetary Union (EMU). These countries may incur considerable costs over the course of their passing through the required Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM-II). However, with enough bargaining leverage CEECs may be able to pass some of these costs on to current EMU-members. In turn, a CEECs leverage depends on their ability to wield successful brinkmanship via an exchange-rate policy characterized by a threaten-thy-neighbor strategy. A two-stage Nash-threat game captures the essentials of the CEECs phase of ERM-II pass through

Genetic analysis redraws the management boundaries for the European sprat

Sustainable fisheries management requires detailed knowledge of population genetic structure. The European sprat is an important commercial fish distributed from Morocco to the Arctic circle, Baltic, Mediterranean, and Black seas. Prior to 2018, annual catch advice on sprat from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) was based on five putative stocks: (a) North Sea, (b) Kattegat–Skagerrak and Norwegian fjords, (c) Baltic Sea, (d) West of Scotland—southern Celtic Seas, and (e) English Channel. However, there were concerns that the sprat advice on stock size estimates management plan inadequately reflected the underlying biological units. Here, we used ddRAD sequencing to develop 91 SNPs that were thereafter used to genotype approximately 2,500 fish from 40 locations. Three highly distinct and relatively homogenous genetic groups were identified: (a) Norwegian fjords; (b) Northeast Atlantic including the North Sea, Kattegat–Skagerrak, Celtic Sea, and Bay of Biscay; and (c) Baltic Sea. Evidence of genetic admixture and possibly physical mixing was detected in samples collected from the transition zone between the North and Baltic seas, but not between any of the other groups. These results have already been implemented by ICES with the decision to merge the North Sea and the Kattegat–Skagerrak sprat to be assessed as a single unit, thus demonstrating that genetic data can be rapidly absorbed to align harvest regimes and biological units