Understanding the groundwater system of a heavily drained coastal catchment and the implications for salinity management

The Thurne catchment in north-east Norfolk, UK, is an extremely important part of the Broads National Park, an internationally important wetland environment. Extensive engineered land drainage of the marshes of this low-lying coastal catchment over the past two centuries has led to land subsidence and the need for drainage pumps to control water levels sufficiently below sea-level to maintain agricultural productivity. Consequently, seawater from the North Sea has intruded into the underlying Pleistocene Crag (sand) aquifer and brackish groundwater enters into land drainage channels, thereby raising their salinity. Powerful pumps discharge these brackish drainage waters into a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and RAMSAR site, leading to adverse ecological impacts on salt-sensitive species. Chloride concentrations within drainage channels throughout the network have been found to significantly vary, with several influential factors affecting channel salinity such as proximity to the sea and connectivity to the underlying aquifer. A thorough understanding of the surface-water/groundwater system and a subsequent quantification of the various processes has been necessary for the development for the drain/aquifer interactions and a numerical groundwater model. These models are used to estimate the long-term distribution of the salinity within the drainage system under current conditions. The model credibility is justified by comparable aquifer-drain water balance, a comparable coast water inflow/ total groundwater ratio and the particle tracking from the coastal reaches trace to previously-measured saline-vulnerable locations. The numerical groundwater model has demonstrated that the average daily inflow of saline groundwater into the Crag aquifer of the Thurne catchment is 3,081 m3/day, of which the HempsteadMarshes main drain is one of the main conduits for saline inflow into the Brograve system, which discharges directly into the SAC. Various changes to the engineering design or operation of the drainage system have been proposed to minimise the saline inflow to the SAC, but the implementation of any proposals must be considered in conjunction with the current dynamics of the system. Three separate management or engineering remedial measures have been modelled: (i) raising the water levels in the drains of the Hempstead Marshes in the north east of the catchment (ii) lining the main drain of the HempsteadMarshes with low permeability material, and (iii) The construction of a new coastal open ditch drain which is intended to ‘intercept’ the saline intrusion and prevent ingress into inland drains of the Brograve system. The results suggest that raising the water levels in the Hempstead Marshes will reduce the saline inflow into the Brograve sub-catchment substantially, and decrease the overall saline inflow into the Thurne catchment from 3081 m3/day to 2822 m3/day). The lining of the main drain in Hempstead produces a less than 10% decrease in saline inflow into the catchment from 3,081 m3/day to 2,958 m3/day. The simulated coastal interceptor drain could in theory through maintaining a low groundwater head near the coast, prevent the inflow of saline groundwater into the Brograve system. However, such a drain would increase the saline inflow across the coastal boundary by around six times (from 3,081 m3/day to 19,750 m3/day), remove large quantities of fresh groundwater from the Pleistocene Crag aquifer and lead to high energy and pumping costs. The research has shown that there are partial solutions to reducing the saline inflow into the drainage systems in this lowland coastal catchment. However, any intended alterations must first consider other potential impacts, such as changes to flood risk, land management restrictions or hydrodynamic effects on the receiving watercourse through changed discharge volumes.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Age and growth estimates for the nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) over 17 years in Bimini, The Bahamas

Age and growth estimates are essential for life history modeling in elasmobranchs and are used to inform accurate conservation and management decisions. The nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) is abundant in coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean, yet many aspects of their life history remain relatively understudied, aside from their reproductive behavior. We used mark-recapture data of 91 individual G. cirratum from Bimini, The Bahamas, from 2003 to 2020, to calculate von Bertalanffy (vB) growth parameters, empirical growth rate, and age derived from the resulting length-at-age estimates. The Fabens method for estimating growth from mark-recapture methods was applied through a Bayesian framework using Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods. This provided growth parameters with an asymptotic total length (L∞) of 303.28 cm and a growth coefficient (k) of 0.04 yr-1. The average growth rate for G. cirratum was approximately 8.68 ± 6.00 cm yr-1. This study also suggests that the previous maximum age for G. cirratum is likely underestimated, with the oldest individual predicted to be 43 years old. Our study is the first to present vB growth parameters and a growth curve for G. cirratum. It indicates that this species is slow-growing and long-lived, which improves our understanding of their life history

Hypoxic Pulmonary Vasoconstriction in Humans:Tale or Myth

Hypoxic Pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) describes the physiological adaptive process of lungs to preserves systemic oxygenation. It has clinical implications in the development of pulmonary hypertension which impacts on outcomes of patients undergoing cardiothoracic surgery. This review examines both acute and chronic hypoxic vasoconstriction focusing on the distinct clinical implications and highlights the role of calcium and mitochondria in acute versus the role of reactive oxygen species and Rho GTPases in chronic HPV. Furthermore it identifies gaps of knowledge and need for further research in humans to clearly define this phenomenon and the underlying mechanism

Trauma-informed care for people presenting to the emergency department with mental health issues

There is a high prevalence of exposure to traumatic events in childhood among people who have mental health issues. Presentation to the emergency department (ED) can be challenging for these patients because the environment and their experience of care can trigger traumatic memories. Trauma-informed care is an approach to practice that is guided by knowledge of how trauma affects people’s lives and their healthcare needs. Despite the increasing prevalence of mental health care delivery in EDs, the level of translation of trauma-informed care into nursing practice in this setting is largely unknown. Therefore, the authors undertook a narrative literature review, the aim of which was to gather evidence relevant to trauma-informed care in the ED and provide guidance on this practice for emergency nurses. Several databases were searched, and the relevant articles found were thematically analysed. Three emergent themes were identified from the literature: an access point for mental health care; staff attitudes; and the ED experience. Emergency nurses need to be aware of the effects of childhood trauma on people presenting with mental health issues and plan their approach to care to avoid potentially re-traumatising patients

Comparative genomic analysis of clinical Enterococcus faecalis distinguishes strains isolated from the bladder

Abstract Background Enterococcus faecalis is the most commonly isolated enterococcal species in clinical infection. This bacterium is notorious for its ability to share genetic content within and outside of its species. With this increased proficiency for horizontal gene transfer, tremendous genomic diversity within this species has been identified. Many researchers have hypothesized E. faecalis exhibits niche adaptation to establish infections or colonize various parts of the human body. Here, we hypothesize that E. faecalis strains isolated from the human bladder will carry unique genomic content compared to clinical strains isolated from other sources. Results This analysis includes comparison of 111 E. faecalis genomes isolated from bladder, urogenital, blood, and fecal samples. Phylogenomic comparison shows no association between isolation source and lineage; however, accessory genome comparison differentiates blood and bladder genomes. Further gene enrichment analysis identifies gene functions, virulence factors, antibiotic resistance genes, and plasmid-associated genes that are enriched or rare in bladder genomes compared to urogenital, blood, and fecal genomes. Using these findings as training data and 682 publicly available genomes as test data, machine learning classifiers successfully distinguished between bladder and non-bladder strains with high accuracy. Genes identified as important for this differentiation were often related to transposable elements and phage, including 3 prophage species found almost exclusively in bladder and urogenital genomes. Conclusions E. faecalis strains isolated from the bladder contain unique genomic content when compared to strains isolated from other body sites. This genomic diversity is most likely due to horizontal gene transfer, as evidenced by lack of phylogenomic clustering and enrichment of transposable elements and prophages. Investigation into how these enriched genes influence host-microbe interactions may elucidate gene functions required for successful bladder colonization and disease establishment

DataSheet_1_Age and growth estimates for the nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) over 17 years in Bimini, The Bahamas.docx

Age and growth estimates are essential for life history modeling in elasmobranchs and are used to inform accurate conservation and management decisions. The nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) is abundant in coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean, yet many aspects of their life history remain relatively understudied, aside from their reproductive behavior. We used mark-recapture data of 91 individual G. cirratum from Bimini, The Bahamas, from 2003 to 2020, to calculate von Bertalanffy (vB) growth parameters, empirical growth rate, and age derived from the resulting length-at-age estimates. The Fabens method for estimating growth from mark-recapture methods was applied through a Bayesian framework using Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods. This provided growth parameters with an asymptotic total length (L∞) of 303.28 cm and a growth coefficient (k) of 0.04 yr-1. The average growth rate for G. cirratum was approximately 8.68 ± 6.00 cm yr-1. This study also suggests that the previous maximum age for G. cirratum is likely underestimated, with the oldest individual predicted to be 43 years old. Our study is the first to present vB growth parameters and a growth curve for G. cirratum. It indicates that this species is slow-growing and long-lived, which improves our understanding of their life history.</p

DataSheet_2_Age and growth estimates for the nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) over 17 years in Bimini, The Bahamas.csv

Age and growth estimates are essential for life history modeling in elasmobranchs and are used to inform accurate conservation and management decisions. The nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) is abundant in coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean, yet many aspects of their life history remain relatively understudied, aside from their reproductive behavior. We used mark-recapture data of 91 individual G. cirratum from Bimini, The Bahamas, from 2003 to 2020, to calculate von Bertalanffy (vB) growth parameters, empirical growth rate, and age derived from the resulting length-at-age estimates. The Fabens method for estimating growth from mark-recapture methods was applied through a Bayesian framework using Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods. This provided growth parameters with an asymptotic total length (L∞) of 303.28 cm and a growth coefficient (k) of 0.04 yr-1. The average growth rate for G. cirratum was approximately 8.68 ± 6.00 cm yr-1. This study also suggests that the previous maximum age for G. cirratum is likely underestimated, with the oldest individual predicted to be 43 years old. Our study is the first to present vB growth parameters and a growth curve for G. cirratum. It indicates that this species is slow-growing and long-lived, which improves our understanding of their life history.</p

Cataloging the phylogenetic diversity of human bladder bacterial isolates

Abstract Background Although the human bladder is reported to harbor unique microbiota, our understanding of how these microbial communities interact with their human hosts is limited, mostly owing to the lack of isolates to test mechanistic hypotheses. Niche-specific bacterial collections and associated reference genome databases have been instrumental in expanding knowledge of the microbiota of other anatomical sites, such as the gut and oral cavity. Results To facilitate genomic, functional, and experimental analyses of the human bladder microbiota, we present a bladder-specific bacterial isolate reference collection comprising 1134 genomes, primarily from adult females. These genomes were culled from bacterial isolates obtained by a metaculturomic method from bladder urine collected by transurethral catheterization. This bladder-specific bacterial isolate reference collection includes 196 different species, including representatives of major aerobes and facultative anaerobes, as well as some anaerobes. It captures 72.2% of the genera found when re-examining previously published 16S rRNA gene sequencing of 392 adult female bladder urine samples. Comparative genomic analysis finds that the taxonomies and functions of the bladder microbiota share more similarities with the vaginal microbiota than the gut microbiota. Whole-genome phylogenetic and functional analyses of 186 bladder Escherichia coli isolates and 387 gut Escherichia coli isolates support the hypothesis that phylogroup distribution and functions of Escherichia coli strains differ dramatically between these two very different niches. Conclusions This bladder-specific bacterial isolate reference collection is a unique resource that will enable bladder microbiota research and comparison to isolates from other anatomical sites