The effect of climate change on Dreissena polymorpha, a multiregional invasive species in North America

To study the effect of climate change across different latitudinal gradients on an aquatic invasive species in North America, filtration rates of Dreissena polymorpha were examined as part of a manipulative experiment. We took into consideration three regions across North America that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts to experience different increases in temperature by the year 2100. These three climates were simulated at the University of Michigan Biological Station in Pellston, MI and used as habitats for D. polymorpha. The effect of climate change was taken into consideration by measuring the chlorophyll A concentration at current average lake temperatures and temperatures adjusted for climate change predictions. We found that only the trials run at the mid-latitudinal region (Douglas Lake of Pellston, MI) showed a significant difference between D. polymorpha filtration rates at current and predicted climate change temperatures. We did not see a significant difference in filtration rates between the environments at current and predicted climate change temperatures at the higher (Flindt Lake of Ignace, ON) or lower (Lake Placid of Lake Placid, FL) latitudinal region. In addition, we examined the differences in D. polymorpha filtration rates due to increased temperature between the three latitudinal regions. Upon analysis of our data, we did not find a significant difference in this respect.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64578/1/Jilek_Sookhai_Yee_Lande_2009.pd

Pro- and Synbiotics to Prevent Sepsis in Major Surgery and Severe Emergencies

Septic morbidity associated with advanced surgical and medical treatments is unacceptably high, and so is the incidence of complications occurring in connection with acute emergencies such as severe trauma and severe acute pancreatitis. Only considering the US, it will annually affect approximately (app) 300 million (mill) of a population of almost one million inhabitants and cause the death of more than 200,000 patients, making sepsis the tenth most common cause of death in the US. Two major factors affect this, the lifestyle-associated increased weakness of the immune defense systems, but more than this the artificial environment associated with modern treatments such as mechanical ventilation, use of tubes, drains, intravascular lines, artificial nutrition and extensive use of synthetic chemical drugs, methods all known to reduce or eliminate the human microbiota and impair immune functions and increase systemic inflammation. Attempts to recondition the gut by the supply of microorganisms have sometimes shown remarkably good results, but too often failed. Many factors contribute to the lack of success: unsuitable choice of probiotic species, too low dose, but most importantly, this bio-ecological treatment has never been given the opportunity to be tried as an alternative treatment. Instead it has most often been applied as complementary to all the other treatments mentioned above, including antibiotic treatment. The supplemented lactic acid bacteria have most often been killed already before they have reached their targeted organs

Improving the rigor of quantitative HRD research: Four recommendations in support of the general hierarchy of evidence

Editorial for the Human Resource Development Quarterly journal

The relationship between rewards and motivation on job performance within small businesses: The mediating role of job satisfaction and moderating role of organizational justice

<p>Small businesses significantly contribute to local economies despite their size and limited resources. However, the literature has not thoroughly examined how small businesses can maximize their overall performance. Therefore, this study proposes the investigation of key variables such as rewards, employee motivation, employee job satisfaction, and organizational justice when attempting to increase job performance within small businesses. Understanding these variables will assist small business owners when managing their already limited resources to address performance within the business. Scales from reliable small business studies were selected and presented to guide researchers when investigating the relationships. Lastly, this paper proposed the idea for researchers to develop recommendations and implications for small business owners. </p&gt