Bomb radiocarbon and tag-recapture dating of sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus)

The sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) was the cornerstone species of western North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico large coastal shark fisheries until 2008 when they were allocated to a research-only fishery. Despite decades of fishing on this species, important life history parameters, such as age and growth, have not been well known. Some validated age and growth information exists for sandbar shark, but more comprehensive life history information is needed. The complementary application of bomb radiocarbon and tag-recapture dating was used in this study to determine valid age-estimation criteria and longevity estimates for this species. These two methods indicated that current age interpretations based on counts of growth bands in vertebrae are accurate to 10 or 12 years. Beyond these years, we could not determine with certainty when such an underestimation of age begins; however, bomb radiocarbon and tag-recapture data indicated that large adult sharks were considerably older than the estimates derived from counts of growth bands. Three adult sandbar sharks were 20 to 26 years old based on bomb radiocarbon results and were a 5- to 11-year increase over the previous age estimates for these sharks. In support of these findings, the tag-recapture data provided results that were consistent with bomb radiocarbon dating and further supported a longevity that exceeds 30 years for this species

The Effects of Relaxation Techniques on Salivary Measures in Student Pharmacists

In 2011, the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education1 mandated measurement of stress in Student Pharmacists, specifically potential negative impacts on learning experiences and morale. Votta and Benau (2013)2 provided supporting evidence that pharmacy students experience elevated, but not extreme, levels of perceived stress as compared to the general population. Leffler et al. (2016)3 imposed a relaxation or non-relaxation technique on student pharmacists - they found two relaxation techniques (Mindfulness and Body Scan Meditation) and one control (Power Posing) were rated as easiest to conduct, most liked, and to cause subjects to feel more relaxed. In contrast, Mental Stimulation and 4x4 breathing were found to be the least useful to reduce stress. Salivary measures were determined in these same student pharmacists, to evaluate whether they provide similar outcomes when evaluating the effects of relaxation and non-relaxation techniques on student pharmacists as compared to survey results

Evaluation of Stress, Anxiety, and Relaxation Techniques in First Semester Pharmacy Students

The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education mandated measurement of perceived stress in Student Pharmacists as related to its impact on professional and academic performance. In 2015, Burgess et al. found a significant effect of power posing (P \u3c 0.01) as a physiological indicator of mental empowerment; testosterone decreased after female students conducted low power poses and increased following the high power poses. This study expanded upon the potential of using physical poses to impact mental status, by introducing Student Pharmacists to power posing and relaxation techniques to reduce levels of stress and anxiety over the course of a semester

Effects of Heavy States on the Effective N=1 Supersymmetric Action

Using the power of superspace formalism, we investigate the decoupling effects of heavy states in N=1 supersymmetric field theory. We find that "mixed" couplings in the superpotential between the heavy and light fields contribute to the effective superpotential at the leading order, and also contribute to the effective K\"{a}hler potential (in the next to leading order). Mixed couplings in the K\"{a}hler potential always contribute to the effective K\"{a}hler potential at the leading order. Several examples are presented which illustrate the effects explicitly.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figure

Measuring Physiological Variables in Student Pharmacists after Conducting Relaxation and Non-Relaxation Techniques

SWOSU Student Research Fai

The Relationship Between Salivary Measures and Perceived Stress and Anxiety in First Semester Pharmacy Students

The Anxiety and Depression Association of America defines stress as the response to a threat in a situation, whereas anxiety is the reaction to the stress1. This means the acute fight-or-flight stress response ends once the situation is resolved, but anxiety is the resulting, long-term worry that may be manifested in such symptoms as headaches, high blood pressure, heart palpitations, and insomnia. Marshall et al. (2008) reported mental health-related quality of life scores for third-year student pharmacists were significantly below U.S. mean scores for individuals aged 20 to 34 years old, and, as stress increased, their scores decreased2. Votta and Benau (2013) found year in pharmacy program correlated negatively with stress levels, with first year student pharmacists being most stressed3. Preliminary evaluation of survey data from this study found first year, first semester student pharmacists perceived to have experienced significantly more stress and anxiety later in the semester as compared to the start4. Therefore, it is hypothesized that physiological measures of stress will also increase over the semester, and therefore be directly related to survey measures of stress and anxiety. Lajaunie et al. (2016) found no clear preference among the comparator and three relaxation techniques in this study, other than student pharmacists rated the comparator (Power Posing) as being easiest to conduct4. In contrast, it is hypothesized that treatment differences will be found when using changes in physiological measures to more objectively assess effects on student pharmacists. Ultimately, findings will be used to encourage student pharmacists to mitigate stress and anxiety levels

Hands on Science to communicate innovations in research – engaging the public in coastal wave hazard measurements to inform management activities

Rising sea level is increasing the flood hazard from sea defence overtopping. New coastal schemes therefore need to be cost-effective and future-proofed. WireWall, with its portable, low cost measurement technology, is a system that can collect overtopping velocities and volumes to inform new scheme design and validate flood forecasting systems. Whilst the application of technology is important, it is equally vital that the scientific community actively engage with the public to raise awareness and understanding of coastal defence initiatives. To engage the public in understanding coastal hazard, how it is managed and how new advances in research informs management decisions, a portable demonstration model of the WireWall field rig has been developed. The tool is hands on, eye catching and user-friendly; and showcases new advances in technology to support coastal flood risk management thus educating the coastal community about changing hazard to promote public preparedness. This tool has successfully initiated in situ engagement between the public, coastal practitioners and researchers to develop support for a new scheme being planned at the WireWall study site. The future wellbeing of coastal communities depends on clear communication of new research that is making sense of changing seas. Here a methodology is presented that achieves just that. The communication facilitated through the design approach used to develop this tool, has turned knowledge and technological innovations into accessible information for government, business and the public

A Novel ENU-Induced

The fission and fusion of mitochondria are important processes for maintaining mitochondrial health. One of the proteins responsible for mediating mitochondrial fusion, mitofusin 2 (MFN2), has over 100 known mutations that cause Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease type 2A (CMT2A). This disease causes the nerves that control your muscles to degenerate, leading to muscle atrophy and weakness, problems walking, and other related symptoms. In this paper, we describe a mouse line with a recessive mutation in the Mfn2 gene (Leu643Pro) that causes a similar set of symptoms, including abnormal gait, weight loss, and decreased muscular endurance. However, further analysis of these mice revealed signs of skeletal muscle dysfunction (including smaller mitochondria) and bone abnormalities, with little evidence of axon degeneration typical of CMT2A. While this makes these mice a poor model for CMT2A, they are the first reported mouse line with a mutation in the transmembrane domain, a region critical for MFN2′s role in mitochondrial fusion. For this reason, we believe these mice will be a valuable tool for scientists interested in studying the biological functions of MFN2

Imaging the pulmonary extracellular matrix

The pulmonary extracellular matrix (ECM) plays an important role in the structure and function of the lung. In many respiratory diseases the profile of the ECM reflects pathological changes. The capacity to visualize the ECM and its alterations is of considerable importance to facilitate a better understanding of pulmonary diseases and eventually augment therapeutic solutions. This short review summarizes the current and novel possibilities for imaging the pulmonary ECM by the use of computed tomography (CT), optical coherence tomography (OCT), confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE) and molecular imaging. While not all these techniques are as yet implemented in standard clinical practice, we address their main features along with the key possibilities for the future