A large aggregation of self-fragmenting mushroom corals in the Arabian/Persian Gulf

[No abstract available]The Arabian/Persian Gulf is a relatively shallow, semi‐enclosed sea at high tropical latitudes, surrounded by desert land with limited water exchange, high salinities, and extreme annual fluctuations of surface temperatures (Sheppard et al. 1992). These conditions restrict the Gulf's marine biodiversity, as demonstrated by the mushroom coral family Fungiidae (Scleractinia). In the Gulf, this family has only been known to be represented by the free‐living (unattached) species, Cycloseris curvata (Hoeksema, 1989), which is considered uncommon (Riegl et al. 2012), whereas this coral family consists of 52 described species in the entire tropical Indo‐Pacific, 40 of which are unattached (Benzoni et al. 2012).This publication was made possible by NPRP awards [NPRP 7-1129-1-201 and NPRP 8-952-1-186] from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of the Qatar Foundation) and by the Qatar Museums Authority through the project �Research on Qatar�s geological history and present-day biodiversity� granted to Naturalis Biodiversity Center. The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors. The whip coral species (Fig. 1) was identified by L. P. van Ofwegen. We thank the reviewer and editor for their constructive comments.Scopu

Attitudes of Counselors Toward Collaboration with Healthcare Professionals

Counselors are experts in handling mental health issues, however many mental health issues are reported to primary care providers. Collaboration between counselors and healthcare providers is increasing yet little is known about counselors’ attitudes toward this challenging practice. In this study 165 counselors completed surveys related to their attitudes and social anxiety levels toward interacting with healthcare professionals. Counselors in this study reported having slightly negative attitudes toward healthcare professionals. There was no significant relationship between attitudes and social anxiety. Social anxiety was inversely related to frequency of collaboration, however, only a few counselors reported social anxiety. More importantly, most counselors in this study reported collaborating to benefit clients which is promising considering the growing mental health needs. Implications for Counselor Educators and Supervisors for promoting collaboration as a standard of care are provided

Effectiveness of implant-supported fixed partial denture in patients with history of periodontitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Aim: This systematic review investigates the effectiveness of implant-supported fixed partial denture (IS-FPD) in patients with history of periodontitis (HP) vs. patients with no history of periodontitis (NHP). Methods: A literature search was performed on different databases on May 2020. Prospective and retrospective studies assessing survival (primary outcome), success and biological/mechanical complications of IS-FPDs in HP vs. NHP patients at ≥1 year after implant loading were evaluated. Meta-analyses were conducted by estimating hazard ratio (HR), risk ratio (RR) and standardized mean differences (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) using random effect models. Results: Of the initially identified 4096 articles, 349 underwent a full-text evaluation. Finally, 17 were included. Pooled data analyses showed that overall implant survival was significantly higher in the NHP than the HP group (HR = 2.06; 95% CI = 1.37–3.09; I2 = 0%). This difference was noted when follow-up ≥5 years. The risk of peri-implantitis was higher in HP than NHP patients (RR = 3.3; 95% CI = 1.31–8.3; I2 = 0%), whereas the mean marginal bone level change over time was not different between the groups (SMD = −0.16 mm; 95% CI = −1.04–0.73; I2 = 98%). Conclusions: In partially edentulous patients receiving IS-FPDs, a history of periodontitis is associated with poorer survival rate and higher risk of peri-implantitis during a 5–10 years period after implant loading

Dogs’ expectation about the signalers’ body size by virtue of their growls

Several studies suggest that dogs, as well as primates, utilize a mental representation of the signaler after hearing its vocalization and can match this representation with other features provided by the visual modality. Recently it was found that a dogs' growl is context specific and contains information about the caller's body size. Whether dogs can use the encoded information is as yet unclear. In this experiment, we tested whether dogs can assess the size of another dog if they hear an agonistic growl paired with simultaneous video projection of two dog pictures. One of them matched the size of the growling dog, while the other one was either 30% larger or smaller. In control groups, noise, cat pictures or projections of geometric shapes (triangles) were used. The results showed that dogs look sooner and longer at the dog picture matching the size of the caller. No such preference was found with any of the control stimuli, suggesting that dogs have a mental representation of the caller when hearing its vocalization

Shared detection of Porphyromonas gingivalis in cohabiting family members: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction: Periodontitis is an inflammatory dysbiotic disease. Among putative dysbiosis causes, transmission of Porphyromonas gingivalis between individuals of the same family remains unclear. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to assess the likelihood of shared detection of Porphyromonas gingivalis among cohabiting family members. Methods: A literature search?was conducted on different databases up to September 2018. Articles assessing the presence of P.gingivalis between members of the same family were screened. Only English literature was retrieved, whereas no limits were applied for bacterial sampling and detection methods. Results: Overall, 26 articles published between 1993 and 2017 met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 18 articles were used for meta-analyses. Based on bacterial culture, the likelihood of an intra-familial transmission of P.gingivalis once a member of the family harbors the bacterium is estimated at 63.5% (n = 132 pairs of family members); this drops to 45% when pooling together culture and Polymerase-Chain-Reaction (n = 481 pairs), whereas it is estimated at 35.7% when genotyping is applied (n = 137 pairs). Conclusion: Pooled results suggest that the likelihood of detecting P.gingivalis within within family members is moderately frequent. Personalized periodontal screening and prevention may consider intra-familial co-occurrence of P.gingivalis as feasible

Alien species in the Guadiana Estuary (SE-Portugal/SW-Spain): Blackfordia virginica (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) and Palaemon macrodactylus (Crustacea, Decapoda): potential impacts and mitigation measures

The cnidarian Blackfordia virginica and the adult of the caridean prawn, Palaemon macrodactylus are first recorded from the Guadiana Estuary. The habitats and environmental conditions under which these species were found are described and the potential impacts and mitigation measures for their introduction are discussed. The first observations of adults of these species were made in July 2008, at the transitional zone of the estuary (brackish area). Most samples taken in the middle-estuary were characterized by large densities of B. virginica (> 100 individuals 100 m-3), while P. macrodactylus was recorded in much smaller densities (<0.01 individuals m-2). Despite a comprehensive survey of invertebrates done between 1999 and 2003, neither of these species was previously detected in the Guadiana estuary. These observations may, therefore, coincide with the introduction of these species to the Guadiana estuary. Small planktonic crustaceans are generally described as the main food items for B. virginica. Our results show that the presence of the medusa was usually associated with a reduction of densities of all zooplanktonic organisms, including eggs of Engraulis encrasicolus. The reduction of planktonic biomass could have severe implications for organisms at upper trophic levels, such as E. encrasicolus, which use the Guadiana estuary as a nursery area and feed mostly on small planktonic crustaceans. Moreover, the potential consumption of eggs by B. virginica could potentially increase the impact on the nursery function of the estuary. The other alien species detected, P. macrodactylus, appears to be a strong invader, able to colonise a wide geographical range. It has a strong osmoregulatory capacity, and is known to inhabit a wide range of salinities, particularly if compared to similar native species (Crangon crangon and Palaemon longirostris). There is clear potential for the occurrence of competition for food between P. macrodactylus and the native prawn, due to dietary overlapping. The Guadiana estuary is under Mediterranean climate influence and is expected to be strongly impacted by climatic changes in the next decades. Other threat-factors are also present, such as increasing regulation by dams, the construction of new harbors, and increase shipping activity. It is important, therefore, to study the impact of these new invasions in this estuary and, based on the ecohydrology approach, propose mitigations measures to be applied in this system and other similar ecosystems worldwide

Effects of inter-annual freshwater inflow shifts on the community structure of estuarine decapods

The objective of this study was to evaluate how inter-annual changes in freshwater inputs have affected the decapod assemblages in the Guadiana estuary. Three major areas in the estuary were sampled during the summer, in 2001 (high inflow year and before the filling of the Alqueva dam), in 2002 (low inflow and after filling of the Alqueva dam), and in 2008 and 2009 (low inflow and after consolidation of the impacts of the Alqueva dam). A significant increase in total decapod densities was recorded for the entire estuary, but especially in the upper estuary, after the closure of the dam in 2002. Changes in salinity, turbidity and temperature, which were mainly due to changes in freshwater input and climatic influence (North Atlantic Oscillation index), had an important influence on the structure of the decapod crustacean assemblages. The major conclusions of the study were that, following the construction of the Alqueva dam and regularization of the freshwater inflow, the decapod crustacean community in the Guadiana estuary changed and a shift of the dominant decapod species to upper zones of the estuary happened. These changes, and the presence of the non-native Palaemon macrodactylus in 2008 and 2009, further enhance the importance of estuarine monitoring studies to improve ecologists’ knowledge on distinguishing and understanding natural changes and anthropogenic impacts in the ecosystem.Effets des variations interannuelles d’apports d’eau douce sur la structure d’une communauté estuarienne de décapodes. L’objectif de cette étude était d’évaluer comment les variations interannuelles d’apports d’eau douce affectent l’assemblage de décapodes dans l’estuaire du Guadiana. Trois grands domaines de l’estuaire ont été échantillonnés en été : en 2001 (année d’apports importants et avant le remplissage du barrage d’Alqueva), en 2002 (faible apport d’eau douce et après le remplissage du barrage d’Alqueva), en 2008 et 2009 (après la consolidation de l’impact du barrage d’Alqueva). Une augmentation significative de la densité totale des décapodes pour tout l’estuaire a été enregistrée, mais surtout dans l’estuaire supérieur, après la fermeture du barrage en 2002. Les variations de salinité, turbidité et température, principalement dues à des changements d’apports d’eau douce et à l’influence du climat (indice d’oscillation nordatlantique), ont eu une influence importante sur la structure des assemblages de crustacés décapodes. Les principales conclusions de l’étude sont que, à la suite de la construction du barrage d’Alqueva et de la régulation de l’apport d’eau douce, la communauté de crustacés décapodes dans l’estuaire du Guadiana a changé et les principales espèces de décapodes se sont déplacées vers les zones supérieures de l’estuaire. Ces changements, ainsi que la présence de l’espèce non native Palaemon macrodactylus en 2008 et 2009, soulignent l’importance de surveiller l’estuaire dans le futur proche afin de pouvoir mieux distinguer et comprendre les changements naturels et les impacts anthropiques sur l’écosystème

Assessment of coralline algal species diversity and composition at European CO₂ seeps using DNA barcoding

International audienc

Why do dogs (Canis familiaris) select the empty container in an observational learning task?

Many argue that dogs show unique susceptibility to human communicative signals that make them suitable for being engaged in complex co-operation with humans. It has also been revealed that socially provided information is particularly effective in influencing the behaviour of dogs even when the human’s action demonstration conveys inefficient or mistaken solution of task. It is unclear, however, how the communicative nature of the demonstration context and the presence of the human demonstrator affect the dogs’ object-choice behaviour in observational learning situations. In order to unfold the effects of these factors, 76 adult pet dogs could observe a communicative or a non-communicative demonstration in which the human retrieved a tennis ball from under an opaque container while manipulating another distant and obviously empty (transparent) one. Subjects were then allowed to choose either in the presence of the demonstrator or after she left the room. Results showed a significant main effect of the demonstration context (presence or absence of the human’s communicative signals), and we also found some evidence for the response-modifying effect of the presence of the human demonstrator during the dogs’ choice. That is, dogs predominantly chose the baited container, but if the demonstration context was communicative and the human was present during the dogs’ choice, subjects’ tendency to select the baited container has been reduced. In agreement with the studies showing sensitivity to human’s communicative signals in dogs, these findings point to a special form of social influence in observational learning situations when it comes to learning about causally opaque and less efficient (compared to what comes natural to the dog) action demonstrations