The challenges of detecting and attributing ocean acidification impacts on marine ecosystems

© The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Doo, S. S., Kealoha, A., Andersson, A., Cohen, A. L., Hicks, T. L., Johnson, Z., I., Long, M. H., McElhany, P., Mollica, N., Shamberger, K. E. F., Silbiger, N. J., Takeshita, Y., & Busch, D. S. The challenges of detecting and attributing ocean acidification impacts on marine ecosystems. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 77(7-8), (2020): 2411-2422, https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsaa094.A substantial body of research now exists demonstrating sensitivities of marine organisms to ocean acidification (OA) in laboratory settings. However, corresponding in situ observations of marine species or ecosystem changes that can be unequivocally attributed to anthropogenic OA are limited. Challenges remain in detecting and attributing OA effects in nature, in part because multiple environmental changes are co-occurring with OA, all of which have the potential to influence marine ecosystem responses. Furthermore, the change in ocean pH since the industrial revolution is small relative to the natural variability within many systems, making it difficult to detect, and in some cases, has yet to cross physiological thresholds. The small number of studies that clearly document OA impacts in nature cannot be interpreted as a lack of larger-scale attributable impacts at the present time or in the future but highlights the need for innovative research approaches and analyses. We summarize the general findings in four relatively well-studied marine groups (seagrasses, pteropods, oysters, and coral reefs) and integrate overarching themes to highlight the challenges involved in detecting and attributing the effects of OA in natural environments. We then discuss four potential strategies to better evaluate and attribute OA impacts on species and ecosystems. First, we highlight the need for work quantifying the anthropogenic input of CO2 in coastal and open-ocean waters to understand how this increase in CO2 interacts with other physical and chemical factors to drive organismal conditions. Second, understanding OA-induced changes in population-level demography, potentially increased sensitivities in certain life stages, and how these effects scale to ecosystem-level processes (e.g. community metabolism) will improve our ability to attribute impacts to OA among co-varying parameters. Third, there is a great need to understand the potential modulation of OA impacts through the interplay of ecology and evolution (eco–evo dynamics). Lastly, further research efforts designed to detect, quantify, and project the effects of OA on marine organisms and ecosystems utilizing a comparative approach with long-term data sets will also provide critical information for informing the management of marine ecosystems.SSD was funded by NSF OCE (grant # 1415268). DSB and PM were supported by the NOAA Ocean Acidification Program and Northwest Fisheries Science Center, MHL was supported by NSF OCE (grant # 1633951), ZIJ was supported by NSF OCE (grant # 1416665) and DOE EERE (grant #DE-EE008518), NJS was supported by NSF OCE (grant # 1924281), ALC was supported by NSF OCE (grant # 1737311), and AA was supported by NSF OCE (grant # 1416518). KEFS, AK, and TLH were supported by Texas A&M University. This is CSUN Marine Biology contribution (# 306)

Military deployment, masculinity and trauma : reviewing the connections

This article reviews the literature on deployment trauma and examines the limitations of conventional understandings of trauma as they relate to veterans’ experiences. It suggests that the failure to take into account social influences and social relationships limits the usefulness of conventional approaches to trauma. The article considers the role that masculinity plays in male veterans’ experience of and sense making about trauma. It is suggested that while formal recognition of posttraumatic stress disorder in the DSM has provided a helpful language for veterans, it is an incomplete response. A new model of masculinity that better enables the male veteran to speak about trauma and to reconnect with others has implications for counselling practice with veterans

Defining Quality Indicators for Breast Device Surgery: Using Registries for Global Benchmarking

Background: Breast device registries monitor devices encompassing breast implants, tissue expanders and dermal matrices, and the quality of care and patient outcomes for breast device surgery. Defining a standard set of quality indicators and risk adjustment factors will enable consistency and adjustment for case-mix in benchmarking quality of care across breast implant registries. This study aimed to develop a set of quality indicators to enable assessment and reporting of quality of care for breast device surgery which can be applied globally. Methods: A scoping literature review was undertaken, and potential quality indicators were identified. Consensus on the final list of quality indicators was obtained using a modified Delphi approach. This process involved a series of online surveys, and teleconferences over 6 months. The Delphi panel included participants from various countries and representation from surgical specialty groups including breast and general surgeons, plastic and reconstructive surgeons, cosmetic surgeons, a breast-care nurse, a consumer, a devices regulator (Therapeutic Goods Administration), and a biostatistician. A total of 12 candidate indicators were proposed: Intraoperative antibiotic wash, intraoperative antiseptic wash, preoperative antibiotics, nipple shields, surgical plane, volume of implant, funnels, immediate versus delayed reconstruction, time to revision, reoperation due to complications, patient satisfaction, and volume of activity. Results: Three of the 12 proposed indicators were endorsed by the panel: preoperative intravenous antibiotics, reoperation due to complication, and patient reported outcome measures. Conclusion: The 3 endorsed quality indicator measures will enable breast device registries to standardize benchmarking of care internationally for patients undergoing breast device surgery

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Chapter 08: Early Clinical Studies

Dr. Cox begins the discussion of his research career with his residency. He explains that hypotheses in clinical research derive from the care of patients. Survival is the “immutable endpoint” that determines whether a treatment is successful, but survival does not tell you why a treatment is successful. Early in his career, Dr. Cox developed an approach to determine why treatments succeed, though he observes that many of the questions he asks about patterns of failure are irrelevant from other perspectives (e.g. medical oncology). Dr. Cox describes studies done in the 70s with lung cancer to determine why treatments failed. When he became involved in the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) his style of designing studies influenced the group. All of the ROTG studies during his ten years with the group used survival as the endpoint. Returning to his residency years, Dr. Cox talks about his studies of cancer of the breast and cervix. Dr. Cox notes that his view of clinical trials was strongly influenced by his mentor, Dr. Juan del Regato.https://openworks.mdanderson.org/mchv_interviewchapters/1787/thumbnail.jp

Chapter 05: The Radiation Therapy Oncology Group

Dr. Cox begins this segment with a brief history of the ROTG, founded in the late sixties, after several individuals running clinical trials created centers to gather statistics and manage trial operations. In the late sixties, the NCI gave instructions and funds to draws the disparate centers together. Dr. Cox became involved in 1978 or ’79 and soon became vice chair for research strategy. He lists the areas of research the ROTG followed: hypoxic desensitizers and hypothermia; chemotherapy; and fractionization. He explains that he evaluated the results of studies. He speaks about an MD Anderson study treating cancer of the cervix with a combination of radiation and chemo. Dr. Cox describes how technologies of radiation therapy have evolved and how this evolution has been influenced by the NCI’s interest. (Dr. Cox feels the NCI has a prejudice in favor of chemotherapy, thus making less money available for radiation and surgery, even today.)https://openworks.mdanderson.org/mchv_interviewchapters/1784/thumbnail.jp

Chapter 04: Challenges of Clinical Trials: Informed Consent

Dr. Cox explains that, while in his residency at Penrose, he became interested in the issues involved when obtaining the collaboration of patients in a study. He then discusses informed consent at length, describing the issues involved and making reference to the Tuskegee syphilis case as a summary of the ethical issues at play. To demonstrate his ideas about informed consent, Dr. Cox describes a trial on cancer of the esophagus. While patients treated with radiation or surgery had some results, pairing chemotherapy with radiation therapy has such profound results that they “couldn’t ethically continue the trial.” Dr. Cox explains that the Data Safety Monitoring Committee makes recommendations to stop any trial that is not ethically sound. Dr. Cox talks about several cases in which trials were conducted without any informed consent, and talks about the ethical and philosophical issues involved. He notes that informed consent was not a prominent issue until the 1970s, though now Institutional Review Boards are “out of hand.”https://openworks.mdanderson.org/mchv_interviewchapters/1783/thumbnail.jp

James D. Cox, MD, Oral History Interview, January 3, 2013

Major Topics Covered: Personal and educational background MD Anderson research culture Clinical trials: controversy over, ethical issues; The Radiation Oncology Group Radiation oncology at MD Anderson; the Division of Radiation Oncology Research: cancers, body areas, design of clinical trials; effectiveness of proton therapy The Proton Therapy Center: history of Regional care centers; sister institutions MD Anderson presidents and views on growthhttps://openworks.mdanderson.org/mchv_interviewsessions/1123/thumbnail.jp