Marine flora and fauna of the eastern United States Mollusca: Cephalopoda

The cephalopods found in neritic waters of the northeastern United States include myopsid and oegopsid squids, sepiolid squids, and octopods. A key with diagnostic illustrations is provided to aid in identification of the eleven species common in the neritic waters between Cape Hatteras and Nova Scotia; included also is information on two oceanic species that occur over the continental shelf in this area and that can be confused with similar-looking neritic species. Other sections comprise a glossary of taxonomic characters used for identification of these species, an annotated systematic checklist, and checklists of the 89 other oceanic species and 18 Carolinian and subtropical neritic species that might occur occasionally off the northeastern United States. (PDF file contains 30 pages.

Distribution, relative abundance and developmental morphology of paralarval cephalopods in the Western North Atlantic Ocean

Paralarval and juvenile cephalopods collected in plankton samples on 21 western North Atlantic cruises were identified and enumerated. The 3731 specimens were assigned to 44 generic and specific taxa. This paper describes their spatial and temporal distributions and their developmental morphology. The smallest paralarvae recognized for a number of species are identified and illustrated. The two most abundant and most frequently collected taxa were identifiable to species based on known systematic characters of young, as well as on distribution of the adults. These were the neritic squids Loligo pealeii and Illex illecebrosus collected north of Cape Hatteras, both valuable fishery resources. Other abundant taxa included two morphotypes of ommastrephids, at least five species of enoploteuthids, two species of onychoteuthids, and unidentified octopods. Most taxa were distributed widely both in time and in space, although some seasonal and mesoscale-spatial patterns were indicated. The taxa that appeared to have distinct seasonal distribution included most of the neritic species and, surprisingly, the young of the bathypelagic cranchiids. In eight seasonal cruises over the continental shelf of the middle U.S. Atlantic states, neritic taxa demonstrated approximately the same seasonal patterns during two consecutive years. Interannual differences in the oceanic taxa collected on the shelf were extreme. The highest abundance and diversity of planktonic cephalopods in the oceanic samples were consistently found in the vicinity of the Gulf Stream. Only eight of the oceanic taxa appeared to have limited areal distributions, compared with twelve taxa that were found throughout the western North Atlantic regions sampled in this study. Many taxa, however, were not collected frequently enough to describe seasonal or spatial patterns. Comparisons with published accounts of other cephalopod surveys indicate both strengths and weaknesses in various sampling techniques for capturing the young of oceanic cephalopods. Enoploteuthids were abundant both in our study and in other studies using midwater trawls in several areas of the North Atlantic. Thus, this family probably is adequately sampled over its developmental range. In contrast, octopoteuthids and chtenopterygiids are rare in collections made by small to medium-sized midwater trawls but are comparatively common in plankton samples. For families that are relatively common in plankton samples, paralarval abundance, derived similarly to the familiar ichthyoplankton surveys of fisheries science, may be the most reliable method of gathering data on distribution and abundance. (PDF file contains 58 pages.

Long-Term Safety of a Novel Antianginal Agent in Patients With Severe Chronic Stable Angina The Ranolazine Open Label Experience (ROLE)

ObjectivesThis report describes safety and tolerability data from 746 chronic angina patients treated in the ROLE (Ranolazine Open Label Experience) program.BackgroundRanolazine treats angina without depressing hemodynamic status. The long-term safety and tolerability of ranolazine have not been previously reported.MethodsPatients with severe functional impairment from angina (mean Duke Treadmill Score [DTS] of −14.4) who completed 1 of 2 randomized treadmill trials entered the ROLE program. Ranolazine was titrated to optimal dosages between 500 and 1,000 mg twice daily. Physical examination, laboratory tests, and adverse event reporting were performed periodically. We conducted analyses to evaluate possible predictors of ranolazine intolerance, such as advanced age, diabetes, poor exercise tolerance, or history of myocardial infarctions or congestive heart failure (CHF). The ROLE program’s mortality was compared against the DTS predictive model and other contemporary cohorts of high-risk CHD patients.ResultsMean follow-up was 2.82 years. Two years after initial dosing, 571 patients (76.7%) remained on therapy and 72 patients (9.7%) discontinued ranolazine due to adverse events. Among 6 factors evaluated, only age ≥64 years predicted for higher withdrawal rates. Patients with a history of CHF had lower withdrawal rates. Mean QTc interval was prolonged by 2.4 ms. No treatment discontinuations occurred due to QTc prolongation, and no Torsades de Pointes was reported. Sixty-four deaths occurred during a total of 2,102 patient-years (3.0% annually) during the ROLE program. When extending observations to all patients exposed to ranolazine during the double-blind trials (n = 972) preceding the ROLE program, annual mortality was 2.8% compared with >5% as predicted by DTS.ConclusionsLong-term therapy with ranolazine seems well tolerated in high-risk CHD patients. Survival analyses suggest that symptomatic improvements attributable to ranolazine are not offset by increased mortality

A Holistic Approach to Leading in Dangerous Situations

Dangerous contexts place unique psychological, physical, and social demands on leaders and organizations. To prepare for these unique demands, leaders, group members, and organizations need to develop greater levels of trustworthiness, psychological hardiness, and cohesion and stronger leader-follower partnership relationships compared to leaders and organizations that operate in non-dangerous contexts. Given that the demands of dangerous contexts affect all individuals and their relationships with the group and the organization\u27s systems, a systems-based perspective seems to be a logical foundation for fostering holistic development to prepare for the unique challenges of leading and operating in dangerous situations

Leading in Dangerous Situations \u3ci\u3eAn Overview of the Unique Challenges\u3c/i\u3e

The idea for Leadership in Dangerous Situations: A Handbook for the Armed Forces, Emergency Services, and First Responders evolved from the editors\u27 collective experiences and research in dangerous contexts and from Patrick J. Sweeneys experience directing a course in combat leadership at the United States Military Academy, West Point. We discovered that the leadership literature lacked a comprehensive guide outlining how and why leadership is different in dangerous contexts; how to prepare oneself and followers for the unique challenges of operating in such contexts and how to recover following exposure to adversity; how to lead when group members face danger; and how to leverage organizational systems to facilitate group members\u27 resilience in the face of and after adversities associated with dangerous contexts. The intent of Leadership in Dangerous Situations is to fill the gap in the leadership literature by providing the brave men and women who risk their lives to serve the public a comprehensive and easily understandable guide, backed by research, to prepare themselves and their units for the unique psychological, social, and organizational challenges of leading and operating in dangerous contexts

Complementary and alternative medicine use in oncology: A questionnaire survey of patients and health care professionals

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We aimed to investigate the prevalence and predictors of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) use among cancer patients and non-cancer volunteers, and to assess the knowledge of and attitudes toward CAM use in oncology among health care professionals.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This is a cross-sectional questionnaire survey conducted in a single institution in Ireland. Survey was performed in outpatient and inpatient settings involving cancer patients and non-cancer volunteers. Clinicians and allied health care professionals were asked to complete a different questionnaire.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In 676 participants including 219 cancer patients; 301 non-cancer volunteers and 156 health care professionals, the overall prevalence of CAM use was 32.5% (29.1%, 30.9% and 39.7% respectively in the three study cohorts). Female gender (p < 0.001), younger age (p = 0.004), higher educational background (p < 0.001), higher annual household income (p = 0.001), private health insurance (p = 0.001) and non-Christian (p < 0.001) were factors associated with more likely CAM use. Multivariate analysis identified female gender (p < 0.001), non-Christian (p = 0.001) and private health insurance (p = 0.015) as independent predictors of CAM use. Most health care professionals thought they did not have adequate knowledge (58.8%) nor were up to date with the best evidence (79.2%) on CAM use in oncology. Health care professionals who used CAM were more likely to recommend it to patients (p < 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study demonstrates a similarly high prevalence of CAM use among oncology health care professionals, cancer and non cancer patients. Patients are more likely to disclose CAM usage if they are specifically asked. Health care professionals are interested to learn more about various CAM therapies and have poor evidence-based knowledge on specific oncology treatments. There is a need for further training to meet to the escalation of CAM use among patients and to raise awareness of potential benefits and risks associated with these therapies.</p

Imposed faster and slower walking speeds influence gait stability differently in Parkinson fallers

Objective To evaluate the effect of imposed faster and slower walking speeds on postural stability in people with Parkinson disease (PD). Design Cross-sectional cohort study. Setting General community. Participants Patients with PD (n=84; 51 with a falls history; 33 without) and age-matched controls (n=82) were invited to participate via neurology clinics and preexisting databases. Of those contacted, 99 did not respond (PD=36; controls=63) and 27 were not interested (PD=18; controls=9). After screening, a further 10 patients were excluded; 5 had deep brain stimulation surgery and 5 could not accommodate to the treadmill. The remaining patients (N=30) completed all assessments and were subdivided into PD fallers (n=10), PD nonfallers (n=10), and age-matched controls (n=10) based on falls history. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Three-dimensional accelerometers assessed head and trunk accelerations and allowed calculation of harmonic ratios and root mean square (RMS) accelerations to assess segment control and movement amplitude. Results Symptom severity, balance confidence, and medical history were established before participants walked on a treadmill at 70%, 100%, and 130% of their preferred speed. Head and trunk control was lower for PD fallers than PD nonfallers and older adults. Significant interactions indicated head and trunk control increased with speed for PD nonfallers and older adults, but did not improve at faster speeds for PD fallers. Vertical head and trunk accelerations increased with walking speed for PD nonfallers and older adults, while the PD fallers demonstrated greater anteroposterior RMS accelerations compared with both other groups. Conclusions The results suggest that improved gait dynamics do not necessarily represent improved walking stability, and this must be respected when rehabilitating gait in patients with PD

The geographic problem in cephalopod genomics

Publications describing genomes of various cephalopod species have recently proliferated. Some papers have involved large geographic distances between the collection locality of sequenced specimens and the type locality of the presumed species. However, cryptic species have been demonstrated in many cephalopods. Therefore, even if the sequenced specimen is very similar morphologically to the species in question, the likelihood that it is a member of the species in question decreases with increasing distance from the type locality. An associated problem is that many publications do not provide information adequate to determine the source locality for the genomic sequence. We reviewed a decade of literature on mitochondrial genomes of cephalopods and found a total of 43 publications containing 48 species within 23 genera. Of the 48 species, only 17 could be evaluated for our geographic question. Distances between sampling locality and type locality of the named species ranged from 0 nautical miles (sampled at type locality) to half-way around the world. Where data were present for distance calculation, the average for the 17 species was 3785 km (2044 nmi)

1091-207 Primary and secondary prevention implantable cardioverter defibrillator patients have similar proportions of ventricular tachyarrhythmia detections and equivalent risk for spurious therapies: Results from painFREE Rx II

Tarrasó, Olga;Fuente Fuente, Carlos;Reventós, Manue