Decreased depth distribution of Fucus vesiculosus (Phaeophyceae) in the Western Baltic: effects of light deficiency and epibionts on growth and photosynthesis

For many coastal areas of the world, a decrease in abundance and depth penetration of perennial macroalgae and seagrasses has been documented and attributed to eutrophication. A surplus of nutrients impairs perennial seaweeds in at least two ways: increased phytoplankton densities reduce the depth penetration of light and in addition filamentous seaweeds and microalgae growing epiphytically shade their perennial hosts. A reduction of depth limit and total abundance has also been observed for the brown seaweed Fucus vesiculosus at many sites in the Baltic Sea. However, in most cases the mechanistic reason for the loss of Fucus has been deduced from observations rather than from experimental evidence. Here, we present results of a two-factorial (water depth/light supply and epibionts) experiment that was run in the Kiel Fjord, western Baltic, from August to October 2005. Performance of F. vesiculosus was recorded by growth and chlorophyll measurements, PI-curves and in situ measurements of the photosynthetic activity as the relative rate of electron transport (rETR). rETR and growth decreased with water depth. Chlorophyll a concentrations increased with reduced light intensities, but this apparently could not compensate for the light deficiency. Epibionts enhanced the negative effect of reduced light conditions on growth. According to these findings we estimated the physiological depth limit of F. vesiculosus in the Kiel Fjord to lie between 4 and 6 m water depth

The depression in visual impairment trial (DEPVIT): trial design and protocol

<b>Background</b> The prevalence of depression in people with a visual disability is high but screening for depression and referral for treatment is not yet an integral part of visual rehabilitation service provision. One reason for this may be that there is no good evidence about the effectiveness of treatments in this patient group. This study is the first to evaluate the effect of depression treatments on people with a visual impairment and co morbid depression.<p></p> <b>Methods/design</b> The study is an exploratory, multicentre, individually randomised waiting list controlled trial. Participants will be randomised to receive Problem Solving Therapy (PST), a ‘referral to the GP’ requesting treatment according to the NICE’s ‘stepped care’ recommendations or the waiting list arm of the trial. The primary outcome measure is change (from randomisation) in depressive symptoms as measured by the Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI-II) at 6 months. Secondary outcomes include change in depressive symptoms at 3 months, change in visual function as measured with the near vision subscale of the VFQ-48 and 7 item NEI-VFQ at 3 and 6 months, change in generic health related quality of life (EQ5D), the costs associated with PST, estimates of incremental cost effectiveness, and recruitment rate estimation.<p></p> <b>Discussion</b> Depression is prevalent in people with disabling visual impairment. This exploratory study will establish depression screening and referral for treatment in visual rehabilitation clinics in the UK. It will be the first to explore the efficacy of PST and the effectiveness of NICE’s ‘stepped care’ approach to the treatment of depression in people with a visual impairment.<p></p&gt

Physicians' attitudes towards ePrescribing – evaluation of a Swedish full-scale implementation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The penetration rate of Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems in health care is increasing. However, many different EHR-systems are used with varying ePrescription designs and functionalities. The aim of the present study was to evaluate experienced ePrescribers' attitudes towards ePrescribing for suggesting improvements.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Physicians (n = 431) from seven out of the 21 Swedish health care regions, using one of the six most widely implemented EHR-systems with integrated electronic prescribing modules, were recruited from primary care centers and hospital clinics of internal medicine, orthopaedics and surgery. The physicians received a web survey that comprised eight questions on background data and 19 items covering attitudes towards ePrescribing. Forty-two percent (n = 199) of the physicians answered the questionnaire; 90% (n = 180) of the respondents met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A majority of the respondents regarded their EHR-system easy to use in general (81%), and for the prescribing of drugs (88%). Most respondents believed they were able to provide the patients better service by ePrescribing (92%), and regarded ePrescriptions to be time saving (91%) and to be safer (83%), compared to handwritten prescriptions. Some of the most frequently reported weaknesses were: not clearly displayed price of drugs (43%), complicated drug choice (21%), and the perception that it was possible to handle more than one patient at a time when ePrescribing (13%). Moreover, 62% reported a lack of receipt from the pharmacy after successful transmission of an ePrescription. Although a majority (73%) of the physicians reported that they were always or often checking the ePrescription a last time before transmitting, 25% declared that they were seldom or never doing a last check. The respondents suggested a number of improvements, among others, to simplify the drug choice and the cancellation of ePrescriptions.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The Swedish physicians in the group studied were generally satisfied with their specific EHR-system and with ePrescribing as such. However, identified weaknesses warrant improvements of the EHR-systems as well as of their implementation in the individual health care organisation.</p

High polygenic risk score for exceptional longevity is associated with a healthy metabolic profile

Healthy metabolic measures in humans are associated with longevity. Dysregulation leads to metabolic syndrome (MetS) and negative health outcomes. Recent exceptional longevity (EL) genome wide association studies have facilitated estimation of an individual’s polygenic risk score (PRS) for EL. We tested the hypothesis that individuals with high ELPRS have a low prevalence of MetS. Participants were from five cohorts of middle-aged to older adults. The primary analyses were performed in the UK Biobank (UKBB) (n = 407,800, 40–69 years). Replication analyses were undertaken using three Australian studies: Hunter Community Study (n = 2122, 55–85 years), Older Australian Twins Study (n = 539, 65–90 years) and Sydney Memory and Ageing Study (n = 925, 70–90 years), as well as the Swedish Gothenburg H70 Birth Cohort Studies (n = 2273, 70–93 years). MetS was defined using established criteria. Regressions and meta-analyses were performed with the ELPRS and MetS and its components. Generally, MetS prevalence (22–30%) was higher in the older cohorts. In the UKBB, high EL polygenic risk was associated with lower MetS prevalence (OR = 0.94, p = 1.84 × 10–42) and its components (p < 2.30 × 10–8). Meta-analyses of the replication cohorts showed nominal associations with MetS (p = 0.028) and 3 MetS components (p < 0.05). This work suggests individuals with a high polygenic risk for EL have a healthy metabolic profile promoting longevity

High polygenic risk score for exceptional longevity is associated with a healthy metabolic profile

Healthy metabolic measures in humans are associated with longevity. Dysregulation leads to metabolic syndrome (MetS) and negative health outcomes. Recent exceptional longevity (EL) genome wide association studies have facilitated estimation of an individual's polygenic risk score (PRS) for EL. We tested the hypothesis that individuals with high ELPRS have a low prevalence of MetS. Participants were from five cohorts of middle-aged to older adults. The primary analyses were performed in the UK Biobank (UKBB) (n = 407,800, 40-69 years). Replication analyses were undertaken using three Australian studies: Hunter Community Study (n = 2122, 55-85 years), Older Australian Twins Study (n = 539, 65-90 years) and Sydney Memory and Ageing Study (n = 925, 70-90 years), as well as the Swedish Gothenburg H70 Birth Cohort Studies (n = 2273, 70-93 years). MetS was defined using established criteria. Regressions and meta-analyses were performed with the ELPRS and MetS and its components. Generally, MetS prevalence (22-30%) was higher in the older cohorts. In the UKBB, high EL polygenic risk was associated with lower MetS prevalence (OR = 0.94, p = 1.84 × 10-42) and its components (p < 2.30 × 10-8). Meta-analyses of the replication cohorts showed nominal associations with MetS (p = 0.028) and 3 MetS components (p < 0.05). This work suggests individuals with a high polygenic risk for EL have a healthy metabolic profile promoting longevity

Toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) for PCBs, PCDDs, PCDFs for humans and wildlife.

An expert meeting was organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and held in Stockholm on 15-18 June 1997. The objective of this meeting was to derive consensus toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and dioxinlike polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) for both human, fish, and wildlife risk assessment. Based on existing literature data, TEFs were (re)evaluated and either revised (mammals) or established (fish and birds). A few mammalian WHO-TEFs were revised, including 1,2,3,7,8-pentachlorinated DD, octachlorinated DD, octachlorinated DF, and PCB 77. These mammalian TEFs are also considered applicable for humans and wild mammalian species. Furthermore, it was concluded that there was insufficient in vivo evidence to continue the use of TEFs for some di-ortho PCBs, as suggested earlier by Ahlborg et al. [Chemosphere 28:1049-1067 (1994)]. In addition, TEFs for fish and birds were determined. The WHO working group attempted to harmonize TEFs across different taxa to the extent possible. However, total synchronization of TEFs was not feasible, as there were orders of a magnitude difference in TEFs between taxa for some compounds. In this respect, the absent or very low response of fish to mono-ortho PCBs is most noticeable compared to mammals and birds. Uncertainties that could compromise the TEF concept were also reviewed, including nonadditive interactions, differences in shape of the dose-response curve, and species responsiveness. In spite of these uncertainties, it was concluded that the TEF concept is still the most plausible and feasible approach for risk assessment of halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons with dioxinlike properties

Snapshot Provisioning of Cloud Application Stacks to Face Traffic Surges

Traffic surges, like the Slashdot effect, occur when a web application is overloaded by a huge number of requests, potentially leading to unavailability. Unfortunately, such traffic variations are generally totally unplanned, of great amplitude, within a very short period, and a variable delay to return to a normal regime. In this report, we introduce PeakForecast as an elastic middleware solution to detect and absorb a traffic surge. In particular, PeakForecast can, from a trace of queries received in the last seconds, minutes or hours, to detect if the underlying system is facing a traffic surge or not, and then estimate the future traffic using a forecast model with an acceptable precision, thereby calculating the number of resources required to absorb the remaining traffic to come. We validate our solution by experimental results demonstrating that it can provide instantaneous elasticity of resources for traffic surges observed on the Japanese version of Wikipedia during the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in March 2011.Les pics de trafic, tels que l'effet Slashdot, apparaissent lorsqu'une application web doit faire face un nombre important de requêtes qui peut potentiellement entraîner une mise hors service de l'application. Malheureusement, de telles variations de traffic sont en général totalement imprévues et d'une grande amplitude, arrivent pendant une très courte période de temps et le retour à un régime normal prend un délai variable. Dans ce rapport, nous présentons PeakForecast qui est une solution intergicielle élastique pour détecter et absorber les pics de trafic. En particulier, PeakForecast peut, à partir des traces de requêtes reçues dans les dernières secondes, minutes ou heures, détecter si le système sous-jacent fait face ou non à un pic de trafic, estimer le trafic futur en utilisant un modèle de prédiction suffisamment précis, et calculer le nombre de ressources nécessaires à l'absorption du trafic restant à venir. Nous validons notre solution avec des résultats expérimentaux qui démontrent qu'elle fournit une élasticité instantanée des ressources pour des pics de trafic qui ont été observés sur la version japonaise de Wikipedia lors de l'accident nucléaire de Fukushima Daiichi en mars 2011