A comparison of two fishery-independent survey programs used to define the population structure of American lobster (Homarus americanus) in the Gulf of Maine

The population structure and abundance of the American lobster (Homarus americanus) stock in the Gulf of Maine are defined by data derived from a fishery-independent trawl survey program conducted by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Few sampling stations in the survey area are located inshore, in particular along coastal Maine. According to statistics, however, more than two thirds of the lobster landings come from inshore waters within three miles off the coast of Maine. In order to include an inshore survey program, complementary to the NMFS survey, the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) initialized an inshore survey program in 2000. The survey was modeled on the NMFS survey program, making these two survey programs comparable. Using data from both survey programs, we evaluated the population structure of the American lobster in the Gulf of Maine. Our findings indicate that lobsters in the Gulf of Maine tend to have a size-dependent inshore-off-shore distribution; smaller lobsters are more likely to stay inshore and larger lobsters are more likely to stay offshore. The DMR inshore and NMFS survey programs focused on different areas in the Gulf of Maine and likely targeted different segments of the stock. We suggest that data from both survey programs be used to assess the lobster stock and to describe the dynamics of the stock in the Gulf of Maine

Energy Expenditure in Yoga Versus Other Forms of Physical Activity

Vinyasa yoga involves moving continuously through poses versus holding poses which is present in other forms of yoga. However, the energy cost of Vinyasa yoga has not been well-established. PURPOSE: This study compared energy expenditure (EE) and heart rate (HR) during acute bouts of Vinyasa yoga and two treadmill walking protocols. METHODS: Complete data were available for analysis on 28 participants (15 males, 13 females) who performed 60-minute bouts of yoga (YOGA) and treadmill walking, with EE assessed via indirect calorimetry. Treadmill walking consisted of two sessions: 1) participants walked at their self-selected brisk pace (SELF), 2) participants walked at pace that matched their HR to that of their yoga session (HR-Match). RESULTS: EE was significantly lower in YOGA compared to both the HR-Match (difference=82.2±42.1 kcal; p<0.001) and SELF (difference=44.1±70.0 kcal; p=0.003), and in SELF compared to HR-Match (difference=38.1±75.3 kcal; p=0.012). HR was lower in SELF compared to HR-Match (difference=9.9±13.7 bpm; p=0.001) and YOGA (difference=9.2±14.6 bpm; p=0.003), with no difference between HR-Match and YOGA (0.8±2.9 bpm; p=0.166). RPE was lower in SELF compared to YOGA (difference=2.0±1.6; p<0.001) and HR-Match compared to YOGA (difference=1.0±1.6; p=0.002), but no difference in RPE between HR-Match and SELF (difference=1.0±2.1; p=0.022). Analyses were repeated using only the initial 45 minutes from each of the sessions. Results showed EE was significantly lower in YOGA compared to HR-Match (difference=72.0±37.5 kcal; p<0.001) but not compared to SELF (difference=8.8±53.9 kcal; p=0.393); however, EE was lower in SELF compared to HR-Match (difference= 63.2±60.8 kcal; p<0.001). HR data revealed a significantly lower HR in SELF compared to HR Match (difference=16.6± 13.9 bpm; p<0.001) and YOGA (difference=16.3 ± 14.6 bpm; p<0.001), but no significant difference in the HR between YOGA and HR-Match (difference=0.2±3.7 bpm; p=0.796). Gender did not significantly influence the pattern of the results observed. CONCLUSIONS: Across a 60-minute period, EE in YOGA is significantly lower than both SELF and HR-Match. When the restorative component of YOGA was removed from the analysis, EE in YOGA was comparable to SELF. Thus, the non-restorative component of YOGA may be a viable alternative to SELF physical activity to achieve physical activity public health guidelines

Do We Trust in AI? Role of Anthropomorphism and Intelligence

© 2020 International Association for Computer Information Systems. AI applications are radically transforming the manner in which service providers and consumers interact. We explore how the humanness of AI applications affects consumers’ trust in these applications. Qualitative evidence collected with focus groups provides fresh insights into the roles of anthropomorphism and intelligence, as key constructs representing humanness. Our findings reveal the consumers’ perspective on the nuances of these constructs pertaining to services enabled by AI applications. It also extends current understanding of the phenomenon of the “uncanny valley,” by identifying conditions under which consumers experience discomfort and uneasiness as AI humanness increases in service environments

Research Reference Document 05/02 : Final Report Fall 2003 and Spring 2004 Maine-New Hampshire Inshore Trawl Survey

https://digitalmaine.com/dmr_research_reference_documents/1012/thumbnail.jp

Change in hematologic indices over time in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease treated with azathioprin

Azathioprine leads to changes in mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and white blood cell (WBC) indices reflecting efficacy or toxicity. Understanding the interactions between bone marrow stem cells and azathioprine could highlight abnormal response patterns as forerunners for hematologic malignancies. This study gives a statistical description of factors influencing the relationship between MCV and WBC in children with inflammatory bowel disease treated with azathioprine. We found that leukopenia preceded macrocytosis. Macrocytosis is therefore not a good predictor of leukopenia. Further studies will be necessary to determine the subgroup of patients at increased risk of malignancies based on bone marrow response. © 2010 Soman et al., publisher and licensee Adis Data Information BV

Change in hematologic indices over time in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease treated with azathioprine

Azathioprine leads to changes in mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and white blood cell (WBC) indices reflecting efficacy or toxicity. Understanding the interactions between bone marrow stem cells and azathioprine could highlight abnormal response patterns as forerunners for hematologic malig-nancies. This study gives a statistical description of factors influencing the relationship between MCV and WBC in children with inflammatory bowel disease treated with azathioprine. We found that leukopenia preceded macro¬cytosis. Macrocytosis is therefore not a good predictor of leukopenia. Further studies will be necessary to determine the subgroup of patients at increased risk of malignancies based on bone marrow response

Relationships between mammographic density, tissue microvessel density, and breast biopsy diagnosis

Association between microvessel density (MVD) and tumor characteristics among breast cancer cases (n = 44). (DOC 54 kb

Reporting randomised trials of social and psychological interventions: the CONSORT-SPI 2018 Extension.

BACKGROUND: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are used to evaluate social and psychological interventions and inform policy decisions about them. Accurate, complete, and transparent reports of social and psychological intervention RCTs are essential for understanding their design, conduct, results, and the implications of the findings. However, the reporting of RCTs of social and psychological interventions remains suboptimal. The CONSORT Statement has improved the reporting of RCTs in biomedicine. A similar high-quality guideline is needed for the behavioural and social sciences. Our objective was to develop an official extension of the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials 2010 Statement (CONSORT 2010) for reporting RCTs of social and psychological interventions: CONSORT-SPI 2018. METHODS: We followed best practices in developing the reporting guideline extension. First, we conducted a systematic review of existing reporting guidelines. We then conducted an online Delphi process including 384 international participants. In March 2014, we held a 3-day consensus meeting of 31 experts to determine the content of a checklist specifically targeting social and psychological intervention RCTs. Experts discussed previous research and methodological issues of particular relevance to social and psychological intervention RCTs. They then voted on proposed modifications or extensions of items from CONSORT 2010. RESULTS: The CONSORT-SPI 2018 checklist extends 9 of the 25 items from CONSORT 2010: background and objectives, trial design, participants, interventions, statistical methods, participant flow, baseline data, outcomes and estimation, and funding. In addition, participants added a new item related to stakeholder involvement, and they modified aspects of the flow diagram related to participant recruitment and retention. CONCLUSIONS: Authors should use CONSORT-SPI 2018 to improve reporting of their social and psychological intervention RCTs. Journals should revise editorial policies and procedures to require use of reporting guidelines by authors and peer reviewers to produce manuscripts that allow readers to appraise study quality, evaluate the applicability of findings to their contexts, and replicate effective interventions

Pan-Cancer Analysis of lncRNA Regulation Supports Their Targeting of Cancer Genes in Each Tumor Context

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are commonly dys-regulated in tumors, but only a handful are known toplay pathophysiological roles in cancer. We inferredlncRNAs that dysregulate cancer pathways, onco-genes, and tumor suppressors (cancer genes) bymodeling their effects on the activity of transcriptionfactors, RNA-binding proteins, and microRNAs in5,185 TCGA tumors and 1,019 ENCODE assays.Our predictions included hundreds of candidateonco- and tumor-suppressor lncRNAs (cancerlncRNAs) whose somatic alterations account for thedysregulation of dozens of cancer genes and path-ways in each of 14 tumor contexts. To demonstrateproof of concept, we showed that perturbations tar-geting OIP5-AS1 (an inferred tumor suppressor) andTUG1 and WT1-AS (inferred onco-lncRNAs) dysre-gulated cancer genes and altered proliferation ofbreast and gynecologic cancer cells. Our analysis in-dicates that, although most lncRNAs are dysregu-lated in a tumor-specific manner, some, includingOIP5-AS1, TUG1, NEAT1, MEG3, and TSIX, synergis-tically dysregulate cancer pathways in multiple tumorcontexts

Genomic, Pathway Network, and Immunologic Features Distinguishing Squamous Carcinomas

This integrated, multiplatform PanCancer Atlas study co-mapped and identified distinguishing molecular features of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) from five sites associated with smokin