Descaling Injury Impairs the Osmoregulatory Ability of Atlantic Salmon Smolts Entering Seawater

The effect of descaling injury on the osmoregulatory ability of hatchery Atlantic salmon Salmo salar smolts in seawater was investigated. Experimental series were initiated during early, middle, and late periods of the spring smolt migration (April 25, May 11, and May 31, respectively). For each time series, descaled smolts (subjected to descaling on 10% of the body surface area) and control smolts (held out of water for 15 s) were transferred to seawater at 0, 1, 3, or 7 d posttreatment. After fish were held in 35% seawater for 24 h, gill and blood samples were collected and analyzed for Na(+),K(+)-ATPase activity and plasma osmolyte levels. Based on gill Na(+),K(+)-ATPase activity, the three series spanned the period from early smolting (increasing activity) to de-smolting (decreasing activity). In each series, descaled fish transferred to seawater at 0 and 1 d posttreatment had greater plasma osmolality than control fish; descaled fish transferred to seawater at 3 d posttreatment did not differ from controls. The greatest perturbation in osmolality (70 milliosmoles) was observed at the peak of smolting (middle series), whereas lesser increases were seen for early and late-series smolts. The observed osmotic perturbations in descaled fish would probably reduce performance and decrease survival during smolt migration

Recurrence extraction for functional programs through call-by-push-value

The main way of analyzing the complexity of a program is that of extracting and solving a recurrence that expresses its running time in terms of the size of its input. We develop a method that automatically extracts such recurrences from the syntax of higher-order recursive functional programs. The resulting recurrences, which are programs in a call-by-name language with recursion, explicitly compute the running time in terms of the size of the input. In order to achieve this in a uniform way that covers both call-by-name and call-by-value evaluation strategies, we use Call-by-Push-Value (CBPV) as an intermediate language. Finally, we use domain theory to develop a denotational cost semantics for the resulting recurrences.Comment: POPL 202

Interference Effects Due to Commensurate Electron Trajectories and Topological Crossovers in (TMTSF)2ClO4

We report angle-dependent magnetoresistance measurements on (TMTSF)2ClO4 that provide strong support for a new macroscopic quantum phenomenon, the interference commensurate (IC) effect, in quasi-one dimensional metals. In addition to observing rich magnetoresistance oscillations, and fitting them with one-electron calculations, we observe a clear demarcation of field-dependent behavior at local resistance minima and maxima (versus field angle). Anticipated by a theoretical treatment of the IC effect in terms of Bragg reflections in the extended Brillouin zone, this behavior results from 1D-2D topological crossovers of electron wave functions as a function of field orientation.Comment: 14 page

Integrating patients' views into health technology assessment: Analytic hierarchy process (AHP) as a method to elicit patient preferences

Background: Patient involvement is widely acknowledged to be a valuable component in health technology assessment (HTA) and healthcare decision making. However, quantitative approaches to ascertain patients' preferences for treatment endpoints are not yet established. The objective of this study is to introduce the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) as a preference elicitation method in HTA. Based on a systematic literature review on the use of AHP in health care in 2009, the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) initiated an AHP study related to its HTA work in 2010. - \ud Methods: The AHP study included two AHP workshops, one with twelve patients and one with seven healthcare professionals. In these workshops, both patients and professionals rated their preferences with respect to the importance of different endpoints of antidepressant treatment by a pairwise comparison of individual endpoints. These comparisons were performed and evaluated by the AHP method and relative weights were generated for each endpoint. - \ud Results: The AHP study indicates that AHP is a well-structured technique whose cognitive demands were well handled by patients and professionals. The two groups rated some of the included endpoints of antidepressant treatment differently. For both groups, however, the same six of the eleven endpoints analyzed accounted for more than 80 percent of the total weight. - \ud Conclusions: AHP can be used in HTA to give a quantitative dimension to patients' preferences for treatment endpoints. Preference elicitation could provide important information at various stages of HTA and challenge opinions on the importance of endpoints

Will we need to change the rules : assessing the implications of climate change for dam operations in Oregon's McKenzie River Basin

Dams and reservoirs are important components of water resource management systems, but their operational sensitivity to streamflow variability may make them vulnerable to climate change. Climate change is likely to affect the magnitude and timing of streamflow, motivating the assessment of potential impacts on dams and reservoirs. Here I examine a case study of Cougar Dam, a multipurpose dam in Oregon, USA, to assess potential impacts of future climate change on operational performance. In the first portion of this study, I examine the historical operation of Cougar Dam, to understand (1), whether operational objectives have been achievable in the past despite operational variability, and (2) how climatic variation is expressed in operational trajectories. By analyzing historical streamflow and operations data using a set of metrics, I characterize variability in past operations and how that variability relates to streamflow. I also employ a reservoir model to distinguish operational differences due to streamflow variability from variability due to other factors that affect operations. I find that operational objectives have been achievable, despite variability in operations and departures from the ideal operational trajectory. Throughout the historical period, flood control operations have almost always kept reservoir outflows below the desired maximum outflow. Although filling occurs 9 days late on average, the reservoir has filled in all but 6 out of 37 years. Although drawdown occurs 47 days early on average, early drawdown does not generally impact recreation and allows minimum outflows to be met every day during all but the driest year. I also find that total seasonal inflow is correlated with measures of operational performance, and that other factors besides climate play an important role in determining operational trajectories. I conclude that operations of Cougar Reservoir are vulnerable to climate change, but that operational flexibility may mitigate some of the potential impacts. In the second portion of this study I assume that current operating rules will be kept in place and I aim to understand what types of operational impacts may be expected, when they may be expected to occur, and whether the operational impacts may necessitate changing operational rules. I employ both a traditional climate impacts assessment approach to assess changes over time as well as a scenario-neutral approach to generalize relationships between streamflow and operations of Cougar Dam. I find that projected increases in winter streamflow could result in up to twice the number of downstream high flows than in the past and that projected decreases in summer streamflow could result in earlier reservoir drawdown by up to 20 days on average. Additionally, filling of the reservoir may occur up to 16% more often or 11% less often than in the past, depending on spring flow magnitude and timing. I also find that there are strong general relationships between total inflow volume and flood control performance, and that there are total inflow thresholds for whether or not the reservoir will fill or will be full enough for recreation in late summer. I conclude that future modification of operating policies may be warranted, but that there will likely be tradeoffs between operating objectives in the future even if operating rules are modified

Identification of a multidrug efflux pump in Flavobacterium johnsoniae

In this study, the mechanism conferring multiple drug resistance in several strains of flavobacteria isolated from the ovarian fluids of hatchery reared 3-year old brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis was investigated. Metabolic fingerprinting and 16S rRNA gene sequences identified the isolates as Flavobacterium johnsoniae. The isolates exhibited multiple resistances to a wide range of antimicrobial classes including penicillin, cephem, monobactam, aminoglycoside, and phenicol. Although plasmids and other transposable elements containing antimicrobial resistance genes were not detected, the isolates did contain a genomic sequence for a chloramphenicol-inducible resistance-nodulation-division family multidrug efflux pump system. Efflux pumps are non-specific multidrug efflux systems. They are also a component of cell-cell communication systems, and respond specifically to cell membrane stressors such as oxidative or nitrosative stress. Understanding of efflux pump mediated antibiotic resistances will affect efficacy of clinical treatments of fishes associated with F. johnsoniae epizootics