The light requirements for growth and photosynthesis in seagrasses with emphasis on Texas estuaries : a literature survey

During the last 20 years, seagrass communities throughout the world have experienced decreased productivity and distribution. These declines have often been attributed to decreased water transparency as a result of turbidity or shading by epiphytic algae. Epiphytic shading is often an indication of nutrient enrichment caused by anthropogenic inputs. Although both epiphytes and turbidity occur as natural phenomena, human activities can exacerbate existing natural conditions with adverse effects on seagrass communities. The objectives of this study were (a) to review the existing literature and data available on the effect of natural and anthropogenic factors on the underwater light environment; (b) to examine the relationship between light and seagrass distribution and productivity; and (c) to make recommendations on how to protect seagrass habitats in Texas bays and estuaries. To meet these goals, we have examined the available literature, emphasizing the physiological response of seagrasses to light and temperature. By using data and observations collected on a variety of species from around the world we may be better able to define the light requirements of Texas seagrasses. A knowledge of the minimum annual light requirements for seagrass growth is necessary to maintain the current distribution of Texas species. This information will also be required in the development of a management plan that permits the expansion and establishment of new seagrass habitat.Submitted to United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6 ... Dallas, Tx31 July 1993Marine Scienc

Effects of temperature on the biology of the northern shrimp, Pandalus borealis, in the Gulf of Maine

Length-frequency data collected from inshore and offshore locations in the Gulf of Maine in 1966-1968 indicated that ovigerous female northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) first appeared offshore in August and September and migrated inshore in the fall and winter. Once eggs hatched, surviving females returned offshore. Juveniles and males migrated offshore during their first two years of life. Sex transition occurred in both inshore and oll'shore waters, but most males changed sex offshore during their third and fourth years. Most shrimp changed sex and matured as females for the first time in their fourth year. Smaller females and females exposed to colder bottom temperatures spawned first. The incidence of egg parasitism peaked in January and was higher for shrimp exposed to warmer bottom temperatures. Accelerated growth at higher temperatures appeared to result in earlier or more rapid sex transition. Males and non-ovigerous females were observed to make diurnal vertical migrations, but were not found in near- surface waters where the temperature exceeded 6°C. Ovigerous females fed more heavily on benthic molluscs in inshore waters in the winter, presumably because the egg masses they were carrying prevented them from migrating vertically at night. Northern shrimp were more abundant in the southwestern region of the Gulf of Maine where bottom temperatures remain low throughout the year. Bottom trawl catch rates were highest in Jeffreys Basin where bottom temperatures were lower than at any other sampling location. Catch rates throughout the study area were inversely related to bottom temperature and reached a maximum at 3°C. An increase of 40% in fecundity between 1973 and 1979 was associated with a decline of 2-3°C in April-July offshore bottom temperatures. Furthermore, a decrease in mean fecundity per 25 mm female between 1965 and 1970 was linearly related to reduced landings between 1969 and 1974. It is hypothesized that temperature-induced changes in fecundity and, possibly, in the extent of egg mortality due to parasitism, may provide a mechanism which could partially account for changes in the size of the Gulf of Maine northern shrimp population during the last thirty years. (PDF file contains 28 pages.

Directory of Federal Funding Sources for Adult Education

Lists funding sources for adult education and literacy services. Describes forty-nine federal programs in ten agencies that authorized expenditures for adult basic education services during the 2007 and 2008 fiscal years, including to state agencies

Stroke Knowledge Test

The Stroke Knowledge Test (SKT) was developed with the intention of helping people with Stroke. Stroke is a serious and common health problem. The SKT is intended for use by health professionals working in the area of stroke. The test can be used one-on-one or in group settings. It can be used to assess stroke knowledge among survivors, people at risk of stroke, carers and family members, or support staff working with people who have had stroke. The aim of this test is to provide a benchmark against which changes in stroke knowledge and understanding might be mapped. It can also be used to: assist health professionals to tailor their delivery of stroke educations specifically to the needs of a given client; and in research applications

Web-based multi-party computation with application to anonymous aggregate compensation analytics

We describe the definition, design, implementation, and deployment of a multi-party computation protocol and supporting web-based infrastructure. The protocol and infrastructure constitute a software application that allows groups of cooperating parties, such as companies or other organizations, to collect aggregate data for statistical analysis without revealing the data of individual participants. The application was developed specifically to support a Boston Women's Workforce Council (BWWC) study of the gender wage gap among employers within the Greater Boston Area. The application was deployed successfully to collect aggregate statistical data pertaining to compensation levels across genders and demographics at a number of participating organizations.We would like to acknowledge all the members of the Boston Women's Workforce Council (BWWC), and to thank in particular Christina M. Knowles and Katie A. Johnston, who led the effort to organize participants and deploy the protocol as part of the 100% Talent: The Boston Women's Compact effort [1, 2]. We would also like to acknowledge the Boston University Initiative on Cities, and in particular Executive Director Katherine Lusk, who brought this potential application of secure multi-party computation to our attention. Both the BWWC and the Initiative on Cities contributed funding to complete this work. We would also like to acknowledge the Hariri Institute at Boston University for contributing research and software development resources. Support was also provided in part by Smart-city Cloud-based Open Platform and Ecosystem (SCOPE), an NSF Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships PFI:BIC project under award #1430145, and by Modular Approach to Cloud Security (MACS), an NSF CISE CNS SaTC Frontier project under award #1414119

Children of TANF Leavers in Missouri: How Are They Faring?

In 1998, Missouri was one of 14 states chosen by the Department of Health and Human Services to assess the well-being of individuals leaving cash assistance. Approximately 2400 households that left Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) in the fourth quarter of 1996 or left Temporary Assistant to Needy Families (TANF) in the fourth quarter of 1997 were interviewed by phone two and one half years later. For households leaving TANF, questions were asked about the physical health, behavior problems, school engagement, and positive behavior of randomly chosen children within the household. If applicable, one young child (0-5) was chosen, as well an older child (6-17), since recent research has found worse outcomes for adolescents than for younger children (Brooks et.al, 2001).This research was funded by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Department of Health and Human Services (98ASPE300A), and the Missouri Department of Social Services. This work was conducted while the authors were employed at Midwest Research Institute. We are grateful to Rich Koon of the Missouri Department of Social Services for his comments.Includes bibliographical reference

Geophysical and Biological Reconnaissance of Rock Habitats in Western Camden Bay, Beaufort Sea, Alaska

This report presents the results of a 10-day geophysical and biological survey in western Camden Bay, in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea. The primary objective of this survey was to confirm the existence of boulders and cobbles on the seafloor as reported by Barnes (1981, 1982). The survey area extended from the eastern edge of the Canning River (mud flat area) to Kangigivik Point and seaward to the 14m contour line (Fig. 1). A solid boundary of pack ice prevented any survey work seaward of the 14m contour. We had proposed to examine the seabed to the 18m contour.This work was supported by the Bureau of Land Management through an interagency agreement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, under which a multiyear program responding to needs of petroleum development of the Alaskan Continental Shelf is managed by the Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program (OCSEAP) office

Investigating the impact of unfamiliar speaker accent on auditory comprehension in adults with aphasia

Background: In an increasingly multicultural society, all individuals are likely to come into contact with speakers with unfamiliar accents. Recent figures suggest that such accent variation may be particularly apparent within the healthcare workforce. Research on accent variation has demonstrated that an unfamiliar speaker accent can affect listener comprehension, but the impact of speaker accent on the comprehension skills of listeners with neurological impairment has not been widely explored.Aims: To investigate the effect of an unfamiliar accent on the sentence comprehension of individuals with aphasia following stroke.Methods & Procedures: The impact of two different accents (south-east England and Nigerian) on accuracy and response time for 16 individuals with aphasia and 16 healthy control subjects was measured. Participants were presented with a computerized sentence-to-picture matching task and their accuracy and response times were recorded.Outcomes & Results: Results showed that individuals with aphasia made significantly more errors in comprehension of sentences spoken in an unfamiliar accent than in a familiar accent, a finding that was not demonstrated by the control group when outliers were excluded. Individuals with aphasia were slower overall; however, response times did not show significant effects of speaker accent for either group.Conclusions & Implications: The impact of speaker accent should be considered in the rehabilitation of individuals with aphasia following stroke. Clinical implications include the possibility of underestimating an individual's language abilities on assessment, and the potential errors in comprehension that may occur