Home range, space use, and vertical distribution of Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus) during non-spawning times in Western Puerto Rico

Understanding animal space use patterns is critical for ecological research and conservation efforts. An organism’s home range territory serves as the fundamental unit of space use and is the area repeatedly used for routine activities. Nassau grouper, Epinephelus striatus, once of high commercial fishery importance, are now on the IUCN’s Red List designated as Critically Endangered due to overexploitation. Known for the formation of large spawning aggregations, information on their movements and space use dynamics outside of the reproductive period are lacking. In this study, we used acoustic telemetry to quantify the non-spawning horizontal and vertical space use patterns of Nassau grouper at the Bajo de Sico seamount, a seasonally closed marine protected area (MPA) in Puerto Rico. Twenty-nine groupers were tagged with acoustic transmitters, of which, fourteen were tracked continuously over a three-year period. Tagged individuals displayed high site fidelity to home reef locations and individuals occupied home ranges of relatively small size that remained constant between years. There was a high degree of overlap of home range territories and in locations where multiple individuals occupied the same home reef, individuals maintained discrete vertical distributions. Nassau groupers were recorded making multiple forays to the spawning site outside of the reported spawning season, and two individuals underwent home reef site relocation. Results indicate relatively low contribution to ecological connectivity during the non-reproductive period, therefore high relative abundances of this species are needed to fulfill their ecological role at the community level. The results also highlight the importance of Bajo de Sico, an isolated seamount of relatively deeper depth, as critical habitat for primary home reef sites of Nassau grouper. These results provide a basis for adapting the current management strategy at this MPA to provide adequate protection to the non-spawning population of Nassau grouper

Clinical decision support of therapeutic drug monitoring of phenytoin: measured versus adjusted phenytoin plasma concentrations

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Therapeutic drug monitoring of phenytoin by measurement of plasma concentrations is often employed to optimize clinical efficacy while avoiding adverse effects. This is most commonly accomplished by measurement of total phenytoin plasma concentrations. However, total phenytoin levels can be misleading in patients with factors such as low plasma albumin that alter the free (unbound) concentrations of phenytoin. Direct measurement of free phenytoin concentrations in plasma is more costly and time-consuming than determination of total phenytoin concentrations. An alternative to direct measurement of free phenytoin concentrations is use of the Sheiner-Tozer equation to calculate an adjusted phenytoin that corrects for the plasma albumin concentration. Innovative medical informatics tools to identify patients who would benefit from adjusted phenytoin calculations or from laboratory measurement of free phenytoin are needed to improve safety and efficacy of phenytoin pharmacotherapy. The electronic medical record for an academic medical center was searched for the time period from August 1, 1996 to November 30, 2010 for patients who had total phenytoin and free phenytoin determined on the same blood draw, and also a plasma albumin measurement within 7 days of the phenytoin measurements. The measured free phenytoin plasma concentration was used as the gold standard.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study, the standard Sheiner-Tozer formula for calculating an estimated (adjusted) phenytoin level more frequently underestimates than overestimates the measured free phenytoin relative to the respective therapeutic ranges. Adjusted phenytoin concentrations provided superior classification of patients than total phenytoin measurements, particularly at low albumin concentrations. Albumin plasma concentrations up to 7 days prior to total phenytoin measurements can be used for adjusted phenytoin concentrations.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results suggest that a measured free phenytoin should be obtained where possible to guide phenytoin dosing. If this is not feasible, then an adjusted phenytoin can supplement a total phenytoin concentration, particularly for patients with low plasma albumin.</p

A spatiotemporal comparison of length-at-age in the coral reef fish Acanthurus nigrofuscus between marine reserves and fished reefs.

Quantitative assessments of the capacity of marine reserves to restore historical fish body-size distributions require extensive repeated sampling to map the phenotypic responses of target populations to protection. However, the "no take" status of marine reserves oftentimes precludes repeated sampling within their borders and, as a result, our current understanding of the capacity of marine reserves to restore historical body-size distributions remains almost entirely reliant on independent, static visual surveys. To overcome this challenge, we promote the application of a traditional fisheries tool known as a "back-calculation", which allows for the estimation of fish body lengths from otolith annuli distances. This practical application was pursued in this study, using data collected in five marine reserves and adjacent fished reefs in the Philippines, to investigate spatiotemporal disparities in length-at-age of the brown surgeonfish, Acanthurus nigrofuscus. The spatial component of our analyses revealed that 1) A. nigrofuscus were phenotypically similar between marine reserves and fished reefs during their early life history; 2) marine reserve and fished reef populations diverged into significantly different length-at-age morphs between ages three and six, in which protected fish were predominantly larger than conspecifics in fished reefs; and 3) A. nigrofuscus returned to a state of general phenotypic similarity during later life. The temporal component of our analyses revealed that younger generations of A. nigrofuscus exhibited significant, positive year effects that were maintained until age eight, indicating that, within the significant age cohorts, younger generations were significantly larger than older generations

Negative CPOE Attitudes Correlate with Diminished Power in the Workplace

Power changes have been identified as a frequent and unintended consequence of the implementation of computerized physician order entry (CPOE). However, no previous study has described the degree or direction of power change, or even confirmed that such a relationship exists. Using a validated, standardized instrument for measuring personal power we collected data from 276 healthcare workers in two different hospitals before and after implementation of CPOE. We identified a significant correlation between power perceptions and attitudes toward CPOE. Examining the direction of change by healthcare position, we found that the power perception values decreased for all positions and that attitudes toward CPOE varied based on use of the system. Understanding the relationship between power and CPOE is the first step in enabling systems developers to change the direction of power changes from negative to positive

An Open-Label Pilot Study of Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors to Promote Functional Recovery in Elderly Cognitively Impaired Stroke Patients

have different pharmacologic profiles, they were examined separately. Results: Forty participants started study medica-tion; 14 participants terminated prematurely. Donepezil-treated participants experienced a 14-point greater im-provement in the FIM-motor score compared to either galantamine-treated participants or the historical compara-tor group (repeated measures mixed model, group ! time interaction p ! 0.0001). Change in apathy, but not in cogni-tion, was also associated with change in the FIM-motor score. Conclusions: In this open-label study, participants receiving donepezil had better functional recovery than participants receiving galantamine or the historical comparators. This im-provement may reflect efficacy at the starting dose for done-pezil but not galantamine. A randomized trial is in progress. Copyright © 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel Key Word