Seasonal fish community variation in headwater mangrove creeks in the southwestern Everglades: an examination of their role as dry-down refuges

The connectivity between the fish community of estuarine mangroves and that of freshwater habitats upstream remains poorly understood. In the Florida Everglades, mangrove-lined creeks link freshwater marshes to estuarine habitats downstream and may act as dry-season refuges for freshwater fishes. We examined seasonal dynamics in the fish community of ecotonal creeks in the southwestern region of Everglades National Park, specifically Rookery Branch and the North and watson rivers. Twelve low-order creeks were sampled via electrofishing, gill nets, and minnow traps during the wet season, transition period, and dry season in 2004-2005. Catches were greater in Rookery Branch than in the North and watson rivers, particularly during the transition period. Community composition varied seasonally in Rookery Branch, and to a greater extent for the larger species, reflecting a pulse of freshwater taxa into creeks as marshes upstream dried periodically. The pulse was short-lived, a later sample showed substantial decreases in freshwater fish numbers. No evidence of a similar influx was seen in the North and watson rivers, which drain shorter hydroperiod marshes and exhibit higher salinities. These results suggest that head-water creeks can serve as important dry-season refugia. Increased freshwater flow resulting from Everglades restoration may enhance this connectivity

Antipredator Responses by Native Mosquitofish to Non-Native Cichlids: An Examination of the Role of Prey Naiveté

The strong impact of non-native predators in aquatic systems is thought to relate to the evolutionary naiveté of prey. Due to isolation and limited dispersal, this naiveté may be relatively high in freshwater systems. In this study, we tested this notion by examining the antipredator response of native mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki, to two non-native predators found in the Everglades, the African jewelfish, Hemichromis letourneuxi, and the Mayan cichlid, Cichlasoma urophthalmus. We manipulated prey naiveté by using two mosquitofish populations that varied in their experience with the recent invader, the African jewelfish, but had similar levels of experience with the longer-established Mayan cichlid. Specifically, we tested these predictions: (1) predator hunting modes differed between the two predators, (2) predation rates would be higher by the novel jewelfish predator, (3) particularly on the naive population living where jewelfish have not invaded yet, (4) antipredator responses would be stronger to Mayan cichlids due to greater experience and weaker and/or ineffective to jewelfish, and (5) especially weakest by the naive population. We assayed prey and predator behavior, and prey mortality in lab aquaria where both predators and prey were free-ranging. Predator hunting modes and habitat domains differed, with jewelfish being more active search predators that used slightly higher parts of the water column and less of the habitat structure relative to Mayan cichlids. In disagreement with our predictions, predation rates were similar between the two predators, antipredator responses were stronger to African jewelfish (except for predator inspections), and there was no difference in response between jewelfish-savvy and jewelfish-naive populations. These results suggest that despite the novelty of introduced predators, prey may be able to respond appropriately if non-native predator archetypes are similar enough to those of native predators, if prey rely on general antipredator responses or predation cues, and/or show neophobic responses

Is That a Finger in My Chili: Using Affective Advertising for Postcrisis Brand Repair

A study of the effects of reconstructive memory points the way to dealing with the damage to a business’s reputation that follows an instance of negative publicity. The study contradicts the commonly held myth that it is best to avoid communicating for a time and let consumers “forget” an unfortunate incident. Instead, given what is now known about reconstructive memory processes, the crisis situation can be used as a means to reestablish a relationship with consumers. This research investigation proposes that postcrisis communication efforts should be focused on emotionally connecting with consumers via autobiographical-referencing advertising. Moreover, although the study focuses on crisis management, the lessons of reconstructive memory can be applied to all phases of brand management

National Vascular Registry: 2014 Progress Report.

The National Vascular Registry is commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) to measure the quality and outcomes of care for patients who undergo major vascular surgery in NHS hospitals in England and Wales. It aims to provide comparative information on the performance of NHS hospitals and thereby support local quality improvement as well as inform patients about the care delivered in the NHS. As such, all NHS hospitals in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are encouraged to participate in the Registry. The measures used to describe the patterns and outcomes of care are drawn from various national guidelines including: the “2014 The Provision of Services for Patients with Vascular Disease” and the Quality Improvement Frameworks published by the Vascular Society, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines on stroke and peripheral arterial disease. In 2014, the Registry published NHS trust and surgeon-level information for elective infrarenal Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) repair and carotid endarterectomy on the Registry website. From 28 October, information on both procedures has been available on the www.vsqip.org.uk website for all UK NHS trusts that currently perform them. For English NHS trusts, the same information was published for individual consultants, as part of NHS England’s “Everyone Counts: Planning for Patients 2013/4” initiative. Consultant-level information was also published for NHS hospitals in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for consenting surgeons. This progress report aims to complement that information by (1) providing an overview of care delivered by the NHS at a national level, and (2) describing various developments within the National Vascular Registry. The Registry will publish its next annual report on major vascular surgery in November 2015

Improving the measurement of QALYs in dementia: developing patient- and carer-reported health state classification systems using Rasch analysis

Objectives: Cost-utility analysis is increasingly used to inform resource allocation. This requires a means of valuing health states before and after intervention. Although generic measures are typically used to generate values, these do not perform well with people with dementia. We report the development of a health state classification system amenable to valuation for use in studies of dementia, derived from the DEMQOL system, a measure of health-related quality of life in dementia by patient self-report (DEMQOL) and carer proxy-report (DEMQOL-Proxy). Methods: Factor analysis was used to determine the dimensional structure of DEMQOL and DEMQOL-Proxy. Rasch analysis was subsequently used to investigate item performance across factors in terms of item-level ordering, functioning across subgroups, model fit and severity-range coverage. This enabled the selection of one item from each factor for the classification system. A sample of people with a diagnosis of mild/moderate dementia (n=644) and a sample of carers of those with mild/moderate dementia (n=683) were used. Results: Factor analysis found different 5-factor solutions for DEMQOL and DEMQOL-Proxy. Following item reduction and selection using Rasch analysis, a 5-dimension classification for DEMQOL and a 4-dimension classification for DEMQOL-Proxy were developed. Each item contained 4 health state levels. Conclusion: Combining Rasch and classical psychometric analysis is a valid method of selecting items for dementia health state classifications from both the patient and carer perspectives. The next stage is to obtain preference weights so that the measure can be used in the economic evaluation of treatment, care and support arrangements for dementia.quality adjusted life years; health related quality of life; Rasch analysis; preference-based measures of health; health states; dementia

Ultracold collision properties of metastable alkaline-earth atoms

Ultra-cold collisions of spin-polarized 24Mg,40Ca, and 88Sr in the metastable 3P2 excited state are investigated. We calculate the long-range interaction potentials and estimate the scattering length and the collisional loss rate as a function of magnetic field. The estimates are based on molecular potentials between 3P2 alkaline-earth atoms obtained from ab initio atomic and molecular structure calculations. The scattering lengths show resonance behavior due to the appearance of a molecular bound state in a purely long-range interaction potential and are positive for magnetic fields below 50 mT. A loss-rate model shows that losses should be smallest near zero magnetic field and for fields slightly larger than the resonance field, where the scattering length is also positive.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Three-body problem in Fermi gases with short-range interparticle interaction

We discuss 3-body processes in ultracold two-component Fermi gases with short-range intercomponent interaction characterized by a large and positive scattering length $a$. It is found that in most cases the probability of 3-body recombination is a universal function of the mass ratio and $a$, and is independent of short-range physics. We also calculate the scattering length corresponding to the atom-dimer interaction.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Editor's Choice - Delays to Surgery and Procedural Risks Following Carotid Endarterectomy in the UK National Vascular Registry.

OBJECTIVE: Guidelines recommend that patients suffering an ischaemic transient ischaemic attack (TIA) or stroke caused by carotid artery stenosis should undergo carotid endarterectomy (CEA) within 14 days. METHOD: The degree to which UK vascular units met this standard was examined and whether rapid interventions were associated with procedural risks. The study analysed patients undergoing CEA between January 2009 and December 2014 from 100 UK NHS hospitals. Data were collected on patient characteristics, intervals of time from symptoms to surgery, and 30-day postoperative outcomes. The relationship between outcomes and time from symptom to surgery was evaluated using multilevel multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: In 23,235 patients, the median time from TIA/stroke to CEA decreased over time, from 22 days (IQR 10-56) in 2009 to 12 days (IQR 7-26) in 2014. The proportion of patients treated within 14 days increased from 37% to 58%. This improvement was produced by shorter times across the care pathway: symptoms to referral, from medical review to being seen by a vascular surgeon, and then to surgery. The spread of the median time from symptom to surgery among NHS hospitals shrank between 2009 and 2013 but then grew slightly. Low-, medium-, and high-volume NHS hospitals all improved their performance similarly. Performing CEA within 48 h of symptom onset was associated with a small increase in the 30-day stroke and death rate: 3.1% (0-2 days) compared with 2.0% (3-7 days); adjusted odds ratio 1.64 (95% CI 1.04-2.59) but not with longer delays. CONCLUSIONS: The delay from symptom to CEA in symptomatic patients with ipsilateral 50-99% carotid stenoses has reduced substantially, although 42% of patients underwent CEA after the recommended 14 days. The risk of stroke after CEA was low, but there may be a small increase in risk during the first 48 h after symptoms

The Privatization Origins of Political Corporations: Evidence from the Pinochet Regime

We show that the sale of state owned firms in dictatorships can help political corporations to emerge and persist over time. Using new data, we characterize Pinochet’s privatizations in Chile and find that some firms were sold underpriced to politically connected buyers. These newly private firms benefited financially from the Pinochet regime. Once democracy arrived, they formed connections with the new government, financed political campaigns, and were more likely to appear in the Panama Papers. These findings reveal how dictatorships can influence young democracies using privatization reforms