Gulf of Maine seals - fisheries interactions and integrated research : final report

Meeting held: October 28, 2011, Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies, Provincetown, MA. Sponsored by the Marine Mammal Center at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the Provincetown Center for Coastal StudiesThe 2011 meeting, “Gulf of Maine Seals: Fisheries Interactions and Integrated Research”, held at the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies (PCCS), featured posters and oral presentations as well as a series of discussion groups. This meeting was a follow up to the 2009 meeting, “Gulf of Maine Seals - Populations, Problems and Priorities”, held at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) (Bogomolni et al. 2010). At the conclusion of the 2009 meeting, attendees emphasized the need to improve communication, to obtain funding for long term research, to continue meeting on a regular basis, to increase data and data sharing, and to support cross cutting research between the meeting’s three primary topic areas: disease and health; human and fishery interactions; and population biology. The overarching goals of the 2011 meeting were to discuss and share work to date, present some of the tools developed since the 2009 meeting, and outline goals for future integrated research. One of the tools presented within the framework of cross-cutting research areas and integrative research was the development of a sightings database and website for uniquely identifiable (unique pelage, scars, lesions, tagged, branded, marked, etc.) animals. The practicality of this tool as a means to increase communication was discussed. Additionally, seal/fisheries interactions throughout the Gulf of Maine, Cape Cod and waters off of the northeast U.S. have continued to concern stakeholders since the 2009 meeting. The urgency of documenting, understanding and mitigating these interactions has become more apparent. Therefore, the focus of the 2011 Provincetown meeting was on fisheries interaction and related topics raised at the last 2009 workshop and in the meetings with Cape Cod fishermen described below. For the purposes of this report, 'fisheries interaction' can be direct/operational (e.g. depredation, when seals remove fish from gear; or entanglement/bycatch, when seals are unintentionally captured), or indirect/ecological (competition, displacement or other large-scale interactions between seals and fisheries). Stakeholder concerns about fisheries interactions and recent increases in local seal abundance were rising prior to the 2009 meeting. In December of 2006, the Chatham-based Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen’s Association (CCCHFA) took the lead in organizing a meeting entitled, “Structuring a Novel Research Team to Define and Assess the Impact of Human/Seal Interactions on Cape Cod/Gulf of Maine through Ecosystem-Based Analysis”. Participants included fishermen, policy makers, environmental organizations and researchers aiming to develop a unique partnership to study the New England seal population. The goal of this meeting was to create a research team that would define the ecological role of seals in Cape Cod waters by studying population dynamics, behavior, and health. This meeting resulted in a successful partnership, financially aided by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), between fishermen and seal researchers. A cost-effective cooperative research agreement was reached whereby seal researchers were provided boat transport around the Chatham and Monomoy areas by local fishermen. This agreement allowed students and researchers to gain access to areas off of Chatham that would otherwise not have been accessible. It also supported a collaborative effort to increase understanding and communication between stakeholders. In addition to the CCCHFA-led meeting in 2006, a series of informal meetings have been held on Cape Cod between commercial and recreational fishermen and marine scientists. This work was initially funded by the Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank Charitable Foundation. Owen Nichols and Lisa Sette (PCCS) have held individual meetings with commercial fishermen in Chatham, Orleans, and Provincetown, and recreational fishermen, outfitters, and associations throughout the Outer Cape. These individual meetings were followed by larger group meetings in Eastham and Chatham in 2010 and 2011, and more are planned for 2012. Attendees included commercial and recreational fishermen and scientists, and discussion topics included observed seal/fishery interactions and potential collaborative research projects. The goal of the meetings is to develop a working group composed of members of the fishing and scientific communities with expertise in marine mammal and fisheries ecology. The above meetings laid the foundation for the 2011 meeting, during which members of the scientific and fishing communities gathered to focus on fisheries interactions and integrated research techniques to quantify and mitigate interactions. Several invited presentations were given, some of which were scheduled (Appendix A) with selected abstracts provided (Appendix B), and some of which were delivered on an ad hoc basis upon request from organizers or attendees (see Appendix F for edited transcripts of presentations). In order to ensure that the fishing community had a distinct voice, a forum was included in the agenda, during which fishermen were encouraged to share their observations, experiences and concerns. Separately, moderated discussion groups focused specifically on fisheries interactions, tagging and tracking, and management issues. All four sessions, despite their specific foci, shared common themes such as the need for collaborative research involving both the scientific and fishing communities. Recommendations from the discussion groups and summaries from each session are listed on the following pages.Funding was provided by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Marine Mammal Center and the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studie

Incidence and In-Hospital Mortality of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) and Dialysis Requiring AKI (AKI-D) After Cardiac Catheterization in the National Inpatient Sample

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) and dialysis‐requiring AKI (AKI‐D) are common, serious complications of cardiac procedures. Methods and Results: We evaluated 3 633 762 (17 765 214 weighted population) cardiac catheterization or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) hospital discharges from the nationally representative National Inpatient Sample to determine annual population incidence rates for AKI and AKI‐D in the United States from 2001 to 2011. Odds ratios for both conditions and associated in‐hospital mortality were calculated for each year in the study period using multiple logistic regression. The number of cardiac catheterization or PCI cases resulting in AKI rose almost 3‐fold from 2001 to 2011. The adjusted odds of AKI and AKI‐D per year among cardiac catheterization and PCI patients were 1.11 (95% CI: 1.10–1.12) and 1.01 (95% CI: 0.99–1.02), respectively. Most importantly, in‐hospital mortality significantly decreased from 2001 to 2011 for AKI (19.6–9.2%) and AKI‐D (28.3–19.9%), whereas odds of associated in‐hospital mortality were 0.50 (95% CI: 0.45–0.56) and 0.70 (95% CI: 0.55–0.93) in 2011 versus 2001, respectively. The population‐attributable risk of mortality for AKI and AKI‐D was 25.8% and 3.8% in 2001 and 41.1% and 6.5% in 2011, respectively. Males and females had similar patterns of AKI increase, although males outpaced females. Conclusions: The Incidence of AKI among cardiac catheterization and PCI patients has increased sharply in the United States, and this should be addressed by implementing prevention strategies. However, mortality has significantly declined, suggesting that efforts to manage AKI and AKI‐D after cardiac catheterization and PCI have reduced mortality

The ALFALFA "Almost Darks" Campaign: Pilot VLA HI Observations of Five High Mass-to-Light Ratio Systems

We present VLA HI spectral line imaging of 5 sources discovered by ALFALFA. These targets are drawn from a larger sample of systems that were not uniquely identified with optical counterparts during ALFALFA processing, and as such have unusually high HI mass to light ratios. These candidate "Almost Dark" objects fall into 4 categories: 1) objects with nearby HI neighbors that are likely of tidal origin; 2) objects that appear to be part of a system of multiple HI sources, but which may not be tidal in origin; 3) objects isolated from nearby ALFALFA HI detections, but located near a gas-poor early-type galaxy; 4) apparently isolated sources, with no object of coincident redshift within ~400 kpc. Roughly 75% of the 200 objects without identified counterparts in the $\alpha$.40 database (Haynes et al. 2011) fall into category 1. This pilot sample contains the first five sources observed as part of a larger effort to characterize HI sources with no readily identifiable optical counterpart at single dish resolution. These objects span a range of HI mass [7.41 < log(M$_{\rm HI}$) < 9.51] and HI mass to B-band luminosity ratios (3 < M$_{\rm HI}$/L$_{\rm B}$ < 9). We compare the HI total intensity and velocity fields to SDSS optical imaging and to archival GALEX UV imaging. Four of the sources with uncertain or no optical counterpart in the ALFALFA data are identified with low surface brightness optical counterparts in SDSS imaging when compared with VLA HI intensity maps, and appear to be galaxies with clear signs of ordered rotation. One source (AGC 208602) is likely tidal in nature. We find no "dark galaxies" in this limited sample. The present observations reveal complex sources with suppressed star formation, highlighting both the observational difficulties and the necessity of synthesis follow-up observations to understand these extreme objects. (abridged)Comment: Astronomical Journal, in pres

Relationship intentions, race, and gender: Student differences in condom use during hookups involving vaginal sex

Objective: To examine the relationship between race, gender, and pre-hookup relationship intentions and college students’ participation in condomless vaginal sex. Participants: 3,315 Black and White college students who participated in the Online College Social Life Survey (OCSLS). Methods: Secondary data analysis of the OCSLS using Chi-square and multiple logistic regression analyses. Results: The model revealed that students who did not want a relationship with their hookup partners and students unsure of their relationship intentions were more likely to use condoms during their last vaginal hookup. Further, White and Female students were less likely to have used condoms during their last vaginal hookup.Conclusions: White and female students, as well as students desiring romantic relationships with hookup partners may be at risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) due to decreased condom use. However, more research is needed to explore the factors driving STI disparities facing Black students despite higher condom use

The Chandra Source Catalog

The Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) is a general purpose virtual X-ray astrophysics facility that provides access to a carefully selected set of generally useful quantities for individual X-ray sources, and is designed to satisfy the needs of a broad-based group of scientists, including those who may be less familiar with astronomical data analysis in the X-ray regime. The first release of the CSC includes information about 94,676 distinct X-ray sources detected in a subset of public ACIS imaging observations from roughly the first eight years of the Chandra mission. This release of the catalog includes point and compact sources with observed spatial extents <~ 30''. The catalog (1) provides access to the best estimates of the X-ray source properties for detected sources, with good scientific fidelity, and directly supports scientific analysis using the individual source data; (2) facilitates analysis of a wide range of statistical properties for classes of X-ray sources; and (3) provides efficient access to calibrated observational data and ancillary data products for individual X-ray sources, so that users can perform detailed further analysis using existing tools. The catalog includes real X-ray sources detected with flux estimates that are at least 3 times their estimated 1 sigma uncertainties in at least one energy band, while maintaining the number of spurious sources at a level of <~ 1 false source per field for a 100 ks observation. For each detected source, the CSC provides commonly tabulated quantities, including source position, extent, multi-band fluxes, hardness ratios, and variability statistics, derived from the observations in which the source is detected. In addition to these traditional catalog elements, for each X-ray source the CSC includes an extensive set of file-based data products that can be manipulated interactively.Comment: To appear in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 53 pages, 27 figure

Creative and Stylistic Devices Employed by Children During a Storybook Narrative Task: A Cross-Cultural Study

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of culture on the creative and stylistic features children employ when producing narratives based on wordless picture books. Method: Participants included 60 first- and second-grade African American, Latino American, and Caucasian children. A subset of narratives based on wordless picture books collected as part of a larger study was coded and analyzed for the following creative and stylistic conventions: organizational style (topic centered, linear, cyclical), dialogue (direct, indirect), reference to character relationships (nature, naming, conduct), embellishment (fantasy, suspense, conflict), and paralinguistic devices (expressive sounds, exclamatory utterances). Results: Many similarities and differences between ethnic groups were found. No significant differences were found between ethnic groups in organizational style or use of paralinguistic devices. African American children included more fantasy in their stories, Latino children named their characters more often, and Caucasian children made more references to the nature of character relationships. Conclusion: Even within the context of a highly structured narrative task based on wordless picture books, culture influences children’s production of narratives. Enhanced understanding of narrative structure, creativity, and style is necessary to provide ecologically valid narrative assessment and intervention for children from diverse cultural backgrounds

Re-establishment of VWF-dependent Weibel-Palade bodies in VWD endothelial cells

Type 3 von Willebrand disease (VWD) is a severe hemorrhagic defect in humans. We now identify the homozygous mutation in the Chapel Hill strain of canine type 3 VWD that results in premature termination of von Willebrand factor (VWF) protein synthesis. We cultured endothelium from VWD and normal dogs to study intracellular VWF trafficking and Weibel-Palade body formation. Weibel-Palade bodies could not be identified in the canine VWD aortic endothelial cells (VWD-AECs) by P-selectin, VWFpp, or VWF immunostaining and confocal microscopy. We demonstrate the reestablishment of Weibel-Palade bodies that recruit endogenous P-selectin by expressing wild-type VWF in VWD-AECs. Expression of mutant VWF proteins confirmed that VWF multimerization is not necessary for Weibel-Palade body creation. Although the VWF propeptide is required for the formation of Weibel-Palade bodies, it cannot independently induce the formation of the granule. These VWF-null endothelial cells provide a unique opportunity to examine the biogenesis of Weibel-Palade bodies in endothelium from a canine model of type 3 VWD