A Commensal Relationship Between a Foraminifer and a Bivalve Mollusk

During June, 1960, the M/V Hermes of the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory made several trawl hauls south of Horn Island, Mississippi. One haul was made June 27 at a depth of 20 m. on sandy mud botton at 30°04’30” N., 88”36’ W., or about 10 nautical miles south of Horn Island. A considerable number of animals, including starfish, hermit crabs and tube worms, were caught in the trawl. Pieces of the parchment-like worm tube of Chaetopterus variopedatus (Renier) were caught in the meshes of the net and were also collected. A small bivalve mollusk, Notocorbula operculata (Philippi 1848) was found to be attached to most of the Chaetopterus tubes. Microscopic examination showed that the bivalves were attached at the anterior ventral margin with a byssal thread. This little clam has been found under similar conditions at Dry Tortugas, Florida (Harvey R. Bullis, Jr., personal communication). It has been reported as abundant in 22-65 m. of water on mud bottom along the entire northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico (Parker 1960). It was also noticed that a single species of Foraminifera was attached to many of the clams. The attachment was not very strong, seeming to consist merely of a weak cement holding the ventral surface of the foraminifer to the bivalve shell, nor was it confined to a particular area on the bivalve, but occurred in any position on either valve

A Commensal Relationship Between a Foraminifer and a Bivalve Mollusk

During June, 1960, the M/V Hermes of the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory made several trawl hauls south of Horn Island, Mississippi. One haul was made June 27 at a depth of 20 m. on sandy mud botton at 30°04’30” N., 88”36’ W., or about 10 nautical miles south of Horn Island. A considerable number of animals, including starfish, hermit crabs and tube worms, were caught in the trawl. Pieces of the parchment-like worm tube of Chaetopterus variopedatus (Renier) were caught in the meshes of the net and were also collected. A small bivalve mollusk, Notocorbula operculata (Philippi 1848) was found to be attached to most of the Chaetopterus tubes. Microscopic examination showed that the bivalves were attached at the anterior ventral margin with a byssal thread. This little clam has been found under similar conditions at Dry Tortugas, Florida (Harvey R. Bullis, Jr., personal communication). It has been reported as abundant in 22-65 m. of water on mud bottom along the entire northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico (Parker 1960). It was also noticed that a single species of Foraminifera was attached to many of the clams. The attachment was not very strong, seeming to consist merely of a weak cement holding the ventral surface of the foraminifer to the bivalve shell, nor was it confined to a particular area on the bivalve, but occurred in any position on either valve

An Assessment of Extension Officers’ Self-Perceived Programming Competencies in Selected Caribbean Countries

Developing the human capacity of extension systems is a necessary part of improving services intended to meet the needs of small farmers. The purpose of this study was to determine the competencies for which professional development is needed in the area of programming for extension officers in selected Caribbean countries. A survey was conducted with all extension officers attending in-service trainings in Belize, Grenada, and Saint Lucia, using the Borich method to identify priority training needs. The greatest needs were most frequently observed in the areas of program planning and evaluation, although considerable variation existed across the group. The resulting challenge is to develop professional development resources that can be individualized by country while remaining cost-effective and accessibl

Reinventing Social Work Education and Service Delivery in Rural Areas: An Interdisciplinary Model for Serving Vulnerable Populations

This article presents an interprofessional case study approach to serving the social service and health needs of vulnerable persons living rural communities. This project, the Congregational Social Work Education Initiative (CSWEI), is funded by a health care foundation. Persons in rural areas are often at risk for poverty, homelessness and lack of access to needed health and social services. The case study demonstrates the opportunities for collaboration between professional social work, religiously affiliated organizations (RAOs) and nursing in order to reduce health and mental health disparities among residents in rural areas

Complement and humoral adaptive immunity in the human choroid plexus: roles for stromal concretions, basement membranes, and epithelium

The choroid plexus (CP) provides a barrier to entry of toxic molecules from the blood into the brain and transports vital molecules into the cerebrospinal fluid. While a great deal is known about CP physiology, relatively little is known about its immunology. Here, we show immunohistochemical data that help define the role of the CP in innate and adaptive humoral immunity. The results show that complement, in the form of C1q, C3d, C9, or C9neo, is preferentially deposited in stromal concretions. In contrast, immunoglobulin (Ig) G (IgG) and IgA are more often found in CP epithelial cells, and IgM is found in either locale. C4d, IgD, and IgE are rarely, if ever, seen in the CP. In multiple sclerosis CP, basement membrane C9 or stromal IgA patterns were common but were not specific for the disease. These findings indicate that the CP may orchestrate the clearance of complement, particularly by deposition in its concretions, IgA and IgG preferentially via its epithelium, and IgM by either mechanism

An Ecoregional Context for Forest Management on National Wildlife Refuges of the Upper Midwest, USA

To facilitate forest planning and management on National Wildlife Refuges, we synthesized multiple data sources to describe land ownership patterns, land cover, landscape pattern, and changes in forest composition for four ecoregions and their associated refuges of the Upper Midwest. We related observed patterns to ecological processes important for forest conservation and restoration, with specific attention to refuge patterns of importance for forest landbirds of conservation priority. The large amount of public land within the ecoregions (31–80%) suggests that opportunities exist for coarse and meso-scale approaches to conserving and restoring ecological processes affecting the refuges, particularly historical fire regimes. Forests dominate both ecoregions and refuges, but refuge forest patches are generally larger and more aggregated than in associated ecoregions. Broadleaf taxa have increased in dominance in the ecoregions and displaced fire-dependent taxa such as pine (Pinus spp.) and other coniferous species; these changes in forest composition have likely also affected refuge forests. Despite compositional changes, larger forest patches on refuges suggests that they may provide better habitat for area-sensitive forest landbirds of mature, compositionally diverse forests than surrounding lands if management continues to promote increased patch size. We reason that although finescale research and monitoring for species of conservation priority is important, broad scale (ecoregional) assessments provide crucial context for effective forest and wildlife management in protected areas

Adolescents’ responses to the promotion and flavouring of e-cigarettes

Objectives The purpose of the study is to examine adolescents’ awareness of e-cigarette marketing and investigate the impact of e-cigarette flavour descriptors on perceptions of product harm and user image. Methods Data come from the 2014 Youth Tobacco Policy Survey, a cross-sectional in-home survey conducted with 11–16 year olds across the UK (n = 1205). Adolescents’ awareness of e-cigarette promotion, brands, and flavours was assessed. Perceptions of product harm, and likely user of four examples of e-cigarette flavours was also examined. Results Some participants had tried e-cigarettes (12 %) but regular use was low (2 %) and confined to adolescents who had also smoked tobacco. Most were aware of at least one promotional channel (82 %) and that e-cigarettes came in different flavours (69 %). Brand awareness was low. E-cigarettes were perceived as harmful (M = 3.54, SD = 1.19) but this was moderated by product flavours. Fruit and sweet flavours were perceived as more likely to be tried by young never smokers than adult smokers trying to quit (p < 0.001). Conclusions There is a need to monitor the impact of future market and regulatory change on youth uptake and perceptions of e-cigarettes