Who Knows What’s Down There?

In my research, I am working to understand the sources and implications of uncertainty in marine habitat mapping. Marine habitat mapping is an established activity. However, perhaps because modern tools are so easy to apply, relatively little attention appears to be given to the originalmeasurements themselves. Without an understanding of the inherent uncertainty in the foundation measurements, any conclusions drawn from mapped habitats or changes in these may be overstated or simply incorrect. Additionally, maps are often treated as static phenomena, with minimal consideration of temporal and spatial processes. The creation of recommended protocols for marine researchers to follow when they are working on habitat and process mapping is much needed as the application of hydrographic measurements continues to proliferate. My research works to ensure that this very useful data is considered in the context of its suitability to the application, as well as investigating ways to improve methods that generate high-quality, repeatable scientific outcomes

A Delicate Balance between Copper Necessity and Toxicity

Recent human activities, such as urbanisation, industrialisation and agricultural intensification, have produced a concerning increase in the concentrations of trace metals in the aquatic environment. While metals such as copper are essential micro-nutrients to aqueous organisms, they become toxicants when surpassing a critical concentration threshold in the aquatic environment. The copper concentration of many natural water masses and tissue of aquatic organisms have been found to exceed essential levels. These elevated levels of copper lead to sub-lethal or toxic effects on adults or, more crucially, their larval stages, drastically impacting the diversity, health, structure and functioning of affected ecosystems. The detection, monitoring and assessment of copper concentrations are therefore key to the integrity of aquatic environments and are becoming increasingly important as a result of legislation and increasing public awareness

Strategies to Improve Recycling in Natural Areas: Examples from Zion National Park

The next life of a product, either a landfill or recycling center, is largely dependent on which bin products are placed in. As important as this may be, many people throw recyclable commodities in the trash, wasting valuable resources. ecause it is difficult to encourage sustainable behavior, this fact sheet outlines tips to increase the ease and accuracy of recycling in high traffic areas, using Zion National Park as a case study

Malaria in New Zealand – Using Art Science to spread a message

Report from the Art+Water, art and science project 2019.Mosquitos are the vectors for a variety of diseases and parasites, and pose a threat to both humans and animal species. While malaria is not a present threat to humans in New Zealand, avian malaria is infecting native species of birds and can affect future population growth

Cerebellar Cortex, Purkinje Cell Layer

This report contains a summary of expression patterns for genes that are enriched in the Purkinje cell layer (CBXpu) of the cerebellum. All data is derived from the Allen Brain Atlas (ABA) in situ hybridization mouse project. The structure's location and morphological characteristics in the mouse brain are described using the Nissl data found in the Allen Reference Atlas. Using an established algorithm, the expression values of the CBXpu were compared to the values of its larger parent structure, in this case the cerebellar cortex, for the purpose of extracting regionally selective gene expression data. The highest ranking genes were manually curated and verified. 50 genes were then selected and compiled for expression analysis. The experimental data for each gene may be accessed via the links provided; additional data in the sagittal plane may also be accessed using the ABA. A gene ontology table (derived from DAVID Bioinformatics Resources 2007) is also included, highlighting possible functions of the 50 genes selected for this report. 
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Developing and Implementing a 100% Renewable Electricity Resolution: A Research-Based Framework

While it may seem that the efforts of local governments have only a marginal impact on the global issue of climate change, local action can spread to generate large-scale change. Local action can inspire other communities to adopt policies, creating the potential to expand and form regional action on climate change. Furthermore, local policies can influence state and federal policies. This guide will walk you through a five-step framework that was developed from the results of a qualitative research study that explored how three Utah cities, Salt Lake City, Park City, and Moab, successfully adopted 100% renewable electricity resolutions

Bridging Borders: Organizing Short-Term Agricultural Communication Exchange Programs

This paper describes the efforts of the University of Florida (located in Gainesville, Florida) and the University of Guelph (located in Ontario, Canada, near Toronto) to jointly develop a unique pilot exchange program for undergraduate and graduate agricultural communication students. The program was designed to encourage students to think critically about agriculture, agricultural communications, and culture in each other\u27s countries. During this exchange, nine University of Guelph students traveled to Florida for one week during their winter breaks and six University of Florida students traveled to Canada during their spring breaks. The exchanges took place in back-to-back weeks. Students met with university administrators and agriculture industry representatives, toured agricultural facilities, and visited cultural locations. This paper details the planning process that culminated in the two-week program, provides students\u27 comments about what they learned during the study-abroad experience, and makes recommendations to faculty interested in organizing similar study-abroad programs

Effect of Hydrocortisone on Mortality and Organ Support in Patients With Severe COVID-19: The REMAP-CAP COVID-19 Corticosteroid Domain Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Evidence regarding corticosteroid use for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is limited. Objective: To determine whether hydrocortisone improves outcome for patients with severe COVID-19. Design, Setting, and Participants: An ongoing adaptive platform trial testing multiple interventions within multiple therapeutic domains, for example, antiviral agents, corticosteroids, or immunoglobulin. Between March 9 and June 17, 2020, 614 adult patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 were enrolled and randomized within at least 1 domain following admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) for respiratory or cardiovascular organ support at 121 sites in 8 countries. Of these, 403 were randomized to open-label interventions within the corticosteroid domain. The domain was halted after results from another trial were released. Follow-up ended August 12, 2020. Interventions: The corticosteroid domain randomized participants to a fixed 7-day course of intravenous hydrocortisone (50 mg or 100 mg every 6 hours) (n = 143), a shock-dependent course (50 mg every 6 hours when shock was clinically evident) (n = 152), or no hydrocortisone (n = 108). Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was organ support-free days (days alive and free of ICU-based respiratory or cardiovascular support) within 21 days, where patients who died were assigned -1 day. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model that included all patients enrolled with severe COVID-19, adjusting for age, sex, site, region, time, assignment to interventions within other domains, and domain and intervention eligibility. Superiority was defined as the posterior probability of an odds ratio greater than 1 (threshold for trial conclusion of superiority >99%). Results: After excluding 19 participants who withdrew consent, there were 384 patients (mean age, 60 years; 29% female) randomized to the fixed-dose (n = 137), shock-dependent (n = 146), and no (n = 101) hydrocortisone groups; 379 (99%) completed the study and were included in the analysis. The mean age for the 3 groups ranged between 59.5 and 60.4 years; most patients were male (range, 70.6%-71.5%); mean body mass index ranged between 29.7 and 30.9; and patients receiving mechanical ventilation ranged between 50.0% and 63.5%. For the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively, the median organ support-free days were 0 (IQR, -1 to 15), 0 (IQR, -1 to 13), and 0 (-1 to 11) days (composed of 30%, 26%, and 33% mortality rates and 11.5, 9.5, and 6 median organ support-free days among survivors). The median adjusted odds ratio and bayesian probability of superiority were 1.43 (95% credible interval, 0.91-2.27) and 93% for fixed-dose hydrocortisone, respectively, and were 1.22 (95% credible interval, 0.76-1.94) and 80% for shock-dependent hydrocortisone compared with no hydrocortisone. Serious adverse events were reported in 4 (3%), 5 (3%), and 1 (1%) patients in the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients with severe COVID-19, treatment with a 7-day fixed-dose course of hydrocortisone or shock-dependent dosing of hydrocortisone, compared with no hydrocortisone, resulted in 93% and 80% probabilities of superiority with regard to the odds of improvement in organ support-free days within 21 days. However, the trial was stopped early and no treatment strategy met prespecified criteria for statistical superiority, precluding definitive conclusions. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02735707