scholarly journals Praziquantel degradation in marine aquarium water

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e1857 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amber Thomas ◽  
Matthew R. Dawson ◽  
Helen Ellis ◽  
M. Andrew Stamper
Keyword(s):  
Day Treatment ◽  
Parasitic Infections ◽  
Therapeutic Level ◽  
Marine Animals ◽  
Linear Mixed Effects ◽  
Haemulon Flavolineatum ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Marine System ◽  
Aquarium Water ◽  
Best Fit

Praziquantel (PZQ) is a drug commonly utilized to treat both human schistosomiasis and some parasitic infections and infestations in animals. In the aquarium industry, PZQ can be administered in a “bath” to treat the presence of ectoparasites on both the gills and skin of fish and elasmobranchs. In order to fully treat an infestation, the bath treatment has to maintain therapeutic levels of PZQ over a period of days or weeks. It has long been assumed that, once administered, PZQ is stable in a marine environment throughout the treatment interval and must be mechanically removed, but no controlled experiments have been conducted to validate that claim. This study aimed to determine if PZQ would break down naturally within a marine aquarium below its 2 ppm therapeutic level during a typical 30-day treatment: and if so, does the presence of fish or the elimination of all living biological material impact the degradation of PZQ? Three 650 L marine aquarium systems, each containing 12 fish (French grunts:Haemulon flavolineatum), and three 650 L marine aquariums each containing no fish were treated with PZQ (2 ppm) and concentrations were measured daily for 30 days. After one round of treatment, the PZQ was no longer detectable in any system after 8 (±1) days. The subsequent two PZQ treatments yielded even faster PZQ breakdown (non-detectable after 2 days and 2 ± 1 day, respectively) with slight variations between systems. Linear mixed effects models of the data indicate that day and trial most impact PZQ degradation, while the presence of fish was not a factor in the best-fit models. In a completely sterilized marine system (0.5 L) PZQ concentration remained unchanged over 15 days, suggesting that PZQ may be stable in a marine system during this time period. The degradation observed in non-sterile marine systems in this study may be microbial in nature. This work should be taken into consideration when providing PZQ bath treatments to marine animals to ensure maximum drug administration.

Short-form 6D assessment in compression module of the American College of Phlebology Patient Reported Outcome Venous Registry

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 425-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yung-Wei Chi ◽  
Blythe Durbin-Johnson ◽  
Marlin Schul
Keyword(s):  
Short Form ◽  
Patient Reported Outcome ◽  
Compression Stockings ◽  
Test Analysis ◽  
Linear Mixed Effects Model ◽  
Linear Mixed Effects ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Patient Reported ◽  
Registry Analysis

Objective The goal of this American College of Phlebology Patient Reported Outcome Venous Registry analysis was to examine the clinical efficacy of compression stockings using short-form 6D questionnaire (SF-6D). Method SF-6D scores were modeled over time using linear mixed effects model. Changes of SF-6D score from baseline to the last encounter were examined using a paired t-test. Analysis of variance was used to compare changes from baseline in SF-6D scores between C classifications. All analyses were conducted using SAS software, version 9.4 (SAS Institute, Cary NC). Results Baseline mean SF-6D score was 0.83 and at follow-up, 0.85. Mean SF-6D change was +0.02 points (P = .001) over an average time period of 5.5 months. Patients’ SF-6D scores were estimated to increase by +0.03 points (P = .005) per year of usage of compression stockings. SF-6D score changes across C classifications did not demonstrate significant differences (P = .265). Conclusion There was an improvement of SF-6D score in the registry participants who used circular knit compression stockings.

scholarly journals Preliminary Wrf-Arw Model Analysis of Global Solar Irradiation Forecasting

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dragos Isvoranu ◽  
Viorel Badescu
Keyword(s):  
Solar Irradiance ◽  
Solar Irradiation ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Simulation Data ◽  
Power Stations ◽  
Global Solar Irradiation ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Forecasting Performance ◽  
Arw Model ◽  
Best Fit

Abstract The purpose of this research is focused on the evaluation of short term global solar irradiation forecasting performance in order to assess the outcome of photovoltaic power stations. The paper presents a comparative analysis between the predicted irradiation obtained by numerical simulation and measurements. The simulation data is obtained from WRF-ARW model (Weather Research Forecasting-Advanced Research WRF), whose initial and boundary conditions are provided by the global forecasting model GFS. Taking into account the complexity of options for the physics models provided with WRF, we embarked upon a parametric analysis of the simulated solar irradiance. This complex task provides a better insight among the coupling of various physics options and enables us to find the best fit with the measured data for a specified site and time period. The present preliminary analysis shows that the accuracy of the computed global solar irradiance can be improved by choosing the appropriate built-in physics models. A combination of physics models providing the best results has been identified.

scholarly journals Validation of the GRAPE single view aerosol retrieval for ATSR-2 and insights into the long term global AOD trend over the ocean

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 4849-4866 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. E. Thomas ◽  
C. A. Poulsen ◽  
R. Siddans ◽  
A. M. Sayer ◽  
E. Carboni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Set ◽  
Single View ◽  
Cloud Parameters ◽  
Aerosol Retrieval ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Orbital Drift ◽  
Along Track ◽  
Best Fit ◽  
Good Agreement

Abstract. The Global Retrieval of ATSR Cloud Parameters and Evaluation (GRAPE) project has produced a global data-set of cloud and aerosol properties from the Along Track Scanning Radiometer-2 (ATSR-2) instrument, covering the time period 1995–2001. This paper presents the validation of aerosol optical depths (AODs) over the ocean from this product against AERONET sun-photometer measurements, as well as a comparison to the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) optical depth product produced by the Global Aerosol Climatology Project (GACP). The GRAPE AOD over ocean is found to be in good agreement with AERONET measurements, with a Pearson's correlation coefficient of 0.79 and a best-fit slope of 1.0±0.1, but with a positive bias of 0.08±0.04. Although the GRAPE and GACP datasets show reasonable agreement, there are significant differences. These discrepancies are explored, and suggest that the downward trend in AOD reported by GACP may arise from changes in sampling due to the orbital drift of the AVHRR instruments.

scholarly journals Pain and sickness behavior associated with corneal lesions in dairy calves

F1000Research ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 546
Author(s):  
Brandon J. Woods ◽  
Suzanne T. Millman ◽  
Natalia A. da Silva ◽  
Reneé D. Dewell ◽  
Rebecca L. Parsons ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Day Treatment ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Sickness Behavior ◽  
Dairy Calves ◽  
Infectious Bovine Keratoconjunctivitis ◽  
Moraxella Bovis ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Challenge Study ◽  
Holstein Calves ◽  
Animal Use

Infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis (IBK) is a common corneal disease of calves that adversely affects animal welfare by causing pain and weight loss. Identifying behavioral indicators of pain and sickness in calves with IBK is necessary for designing studies that aim to identify effective means of pain mitigation. Consistent with principles of the 3Rs for animal use in research, data from a randomized blinded challenge study was used to identify and describe variation of behaviors that could serve as reliable indicators of pain and sickness in calves with corneal injuries. Behavioral observations were collected from 29 Holstein calves 8 to 12 weeks of age randomly allocated to one of three treatments: (1) corneal scarification only, (2) corneal scarification with inoculation with Moraxella bovoculi and (3) corneal scarification with inoculation with Moraxella bovis. Behavior was continuously observed between time 1230 - 1730 h on day -1 (baseline time period) and day 0 (scarification time period). Corneal scarification and inoculation occurred between 0800 - 1000 h on day 0. Frequency of head-directed behaviors (head shaking, head rubbing, head scratching) and durations of head rubbing, feeding, standing with head lifted, lying with head lifted and sleeping were compared between study days and groups. Following scarification, the frequency of head-directed behavior significantly increased (p = 0.0001), as did duration of head rubbing (p=0.02). There was no significant effect of trial, trial day, treatment or treatment-day interaction on other behaviors studied. Our study demonstrated that head-directed behavior, such as head shaking, rubbing and scratching, was associated with scarification of eyes using an IBK challenge model, but sickness behavior was not observed.

scholarly journals A Comparison Study Between External Parasites that Infect Scarus Fish (Osteichthyes) and Carcharhinus melanopterus Fish (Chondrichthyes) in Red Sea Coast of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 881-886
Author(s):  
Areej O. Bakhraibah
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Parasitic Infection ◽  
Parasitic Infections ◽  
Comparison Study ◽  
Marine Animals ◽  
Jeddah City ◽  
Wet Mount ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
Carcharhinus Melanopterus

The type of hosts that parasites choose is an interesting topic of study. The harmful diseases that infect marine animals are mostly known to be parasitic, such as monogeneans, Copepods and Isopods infections. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the parasitic infections of shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) and of Scarus fish in the Red Sea located in Jeddah City of Saudi Arabia. For this purpose, 33 Carcharhinus melanopterus and 30 Scarus fish were examined for ectoparasites using wet mount under a light microscope. Collected parasites were identified as, monogenea (Dactylogyrus sp and Erpocotyle tiburonis), Copepoda (Pandarus sinuatus, Anchistrotos tangi and Hatschekia sp) and Isopoda (praniza larva of Gnathia sp). The second purpose of this study was to compare the percentage between Scarus (Osteichthyes) and shark fish (Chondrichthyes) in terms of parasitic infection. Our findings revealed that Monogenea and Copepod infections were found on gills of sharks while Scarus fish were infected by Copepod and Isopod parasites. Parasitic infections can be caused by a number of factors ; it might include the biological and ecological characteristics of the parasite and the host it infests.

scholarly journals The pattern and trend of COVID-19 spread in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Curve-fitting models estimation (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohannad Al Nsour ◽  
Haitham Majed Nazzal ◽  
Yousef Khader
Keyword(s):  
Curve Fitting ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽  
Estimation Procedure ◽  
Curve Estimation ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Data Points ◽  
Best Fit

BACKGROUND Curve fitting is used to find the "best fit" line or curve for a series of data points. It is the process of specifying the model that provides the best fit to the specific curves in the dataset. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to use the Curve Estimation Procedure to assess the pattern and trend of COVID-19 spread in the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) by finding the model best fit the observed COVID-19 data in each country between 20 February 2020 - 21 April 2020. METHODS The number of daily confirmed COVID-19 cases, recovered cases, and during the period 20 February 2020 - 21 April 2020 in 21 Eastern Mediterranean countries were extracted from the World Health Organization situation reports. The Curve Estimation procedure was used to produce different curve estimation regression models for the observed data in each country. A total of 11 regression models were tested and compared to find the model that best fits the COVID-19 data during the observed period for each country. RESULTS During this observed period, the total number of confirmed cases, recovered cases, and deaths in the region were 138673, 71343, and 6291, respectivly. The overall fatality rate in the region was 4.5%. The quadratic model (Y = b0 + (b1 * t) + (b2 * t**2) and the cubic model (Y = b0 + (b1 * t) + (b2 * t**2) + (b3 * t**3) follows the observed data points fairly well during the observed time period in five and nine countries, respectively. The exponential model (Y = b0 * (e**(b1 * t))), the growth model (Y = e**(b0 + (b1 * t))), and the compound model (Y = b0 * (b1**t)) were the best fit for data during the observed time period in two, three, and two countries, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The pattern of COVID-19 spread differed between countries in the EMR. This might reflect the variations in testing and implementation of public health measure for prevention and control. The best curve-fitting model was demonstrated for each country that can be used for making very short-term predictions.

scholarly journals Molluscs of the Genus Glycymeris from Vogelherd Cave near Niederstotzingen (Lonetal, Southwestern Germany)

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Schuerch ◽  
Sibylle Wolf ◽  
Patrick Schmidt ◽  
Nicholas J. Conard
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Upper Paleolithic ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Southern Germany ◽  
Mainz Basin ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Raster Electron Microscope ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Lithic Artifacts ◽  
Best Fit

The site of Vogelherd in the Lone Valley of southwestern Germany has become world famous for its many unique artworks made from mammoth ivory, personal ornaments, flute fragments, lithic artifacts, and antler and bone artifacts. In the study below, the molluscs from Vogelherd are presented, offering us new insights on the mobility and social behavior of Aurignacian groups in the Lone Valley. Some of the mollusc finds come from the 1931 excavation of Gustav Riek; however, most of them were uncovered during the later re-excavations of the site between 2005 and 2012. In order to provide context for these finds, we compare the molluscs from Vogelherd with those from across Central Europe. The identifiable fragments from Vogelherd belong to the genus Glycymeris. The Glycymeris molluscs originated from the Mainz Basin. This determination makes it possible to reconstruct one of the farthest long-distance connections known for the Upper Paleolithic in Germany. In addition to the Glycymeris finds, we present a tool that was also made from a mollusc. This mollusc-tool, coming from the excavation of 1931 and attributed to the Aurignacian, is a unique find for this time period of southern Germany. With this piece, along with microscopic examinations and discussions of the Glycymeris molluscs, we present a wide range of possible uses for these finds. For example, we discuss the possible use of the molluscs as ochre containers. To test this, we used EDX-analysis and a raster electron microscope. We compare the Glycymeris molluscs of Vogelherd with those from Gravettian and Magdalenian contexts at Hohle Fels, Geißenklösterle, Petersfels, and Gnirshöhle, and we provide a list of all sites from Germany, Switzerland, Eastern France, and Belgium with Glycymeris finds. We use size comparisons to show differences as well among the Glycymeris finds of Vogelherd and other Upper Paleolithic sites in southwestern Germany. In conclusion, we demonstrate that the Glycymeris molluscs of Vogelherd best fit into the Aurignacian, and we provide other Aurignacian sites that contained similar finds. By discussing other long-distance connections in the Aurignacian of southern Germany, it becomes evident that Glycymeris molluscs are not specific only to the Swabian Aurignacian.

scholarly journals Validation of the GRAPE single view aerosol retrieval for ATSR-2 and insights into the long term global AOD trend

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 21581-21618 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. E. Thomas ◽  
C. A. Poulsen ◽  
R. Siddans ◽  
A. M. Sayer ◽  
E. Carboni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Set ◽  
Single View ◽  
Cloud Parameters ◽  
Aerosol Retrieval ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Orbital Drift ◽  
Along Track ◽  
Best Fit ◽  
Good Agreement

Abstract. The Global Retrieval of ATSR Cloud Parameters and Evaluation (GRAPE) project has produced a global data-set of cloud and aerosol properties from the Along Track Scanning Radiometer-2 (ATSR-2) instrument, covering the time period 1995–2001. This paper presents the validation of aerosol optical depths (AODs) from this product against AERONET sun-photometer measurements, as well as a comparison to the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) optical depth product produced by the Global Aerosol Climatology Project (GACP). The GRAPE AOD over ocean is found to be in good agreement with AERONET measurements, with a correlation of 0.79 and a best-fit slope of 1.0±0.1, but with a positive bias of 0.08±0.04. Although the GRAPE and GACP datasets show reasonable agreement, there are significant differences. These discrepancies are explored, and suggest that the downward trend in AOD reported by GACP may arise from changes in sampling due to the orbital drift of the AVHRR instruments.

scholarly journals Personalized machine learning of depressed mood using wearables

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rutvik V. Shah ◽  
Gillian Grennan ◽  
Mariam Zafar-Khan ◽  
Fahad Alim ◽  
Sujit Dey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Depressed Mood ◽  
Supervised Machine Learning ◽  
Response To Treatment ◽  
Percentage Error ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Digital Medicine ◽  
Shapley Values ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Best Fit

AbstractDepression is a multifaceted illness with large interindividual variability in clinical response to treatment. In the era of digital medicine and precision therapeutics, new personalized treatment approaches are warranted for depression. Here, we use a combination of longitudinal ecological momentary assessments of depression, neurocognitive sampling synchronized with electroencephalography, and lifestyle data from wearables to generate individualized predictions of depressed mood over a 1-month time period. This study, thus, develops a systematic pipeline for N-of-1 personalized modeling of depression using multiple modalities of data. In the models, we integrate seven types of supervised machine learning (ML) approaches for each individual, including ensemble learning and regression-based methods. All models were verified using fourfold nested cross-validation. The best-fit as benchmarked by the lowest mean absolute percentage error, was obtained by a different type of ML model for each individual, demonstrating that there is no one-size-fits-all strategy. The voting regressor, which is a composite strategy across ML models, was best performing on-average across subjects. However, the individually selected best-fit models still showed significantly less error than the voting regressor performance across subjects. For each individual’s best-fit personalized model, we further extracted top-feature predictors using Shapley statistics. Shapley values revealed distinct feature determinants of depression over time for each person ranging from co-morbid anxiety, to physical exercise, diet, momentary stress and breathing performance, sleep times, and neurocognition. In future, these personalized features can serve as targets for a personalized ML-guided, multimodal treatment strategy for depression.

scholarly journals EARTHQUAKE HAZARD ALONG THE WESTERN COAST OF SOUTH AMERICA INFERRED FROM CONDITIONAL PROBABILITIES

2017 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 1184
Author(s):  
G. Koravos ◽  
G. Vougiouka ◽  
T.M. Tsapanos ◽  
G. Drakatos ◽  
E. Olasoglou
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Earthquake Hazard ◽  
Western Coast ◽  
Conditional Probabilities ◽  
Arrival Times ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Kolmogorov Smirnov ◽  
Western Side ◽  
Best Fit

The conditional probabilities method is considered to be an alternative approach in order to estimate the earthquake hazard. For this purpose, this technique was applied to the western side of South America, one of the most seismogenic regions of the world. The method is applied in six pre-determined zones which covered the whole examine area. The occurrence of the earthquakes as a function of time was assessed, using the conditional probabilities technique. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was applied in order to determine the distribution followed by the inter-arrival times between the successive past events. The test shows that the lognormal is the best fit distribution, for the scope of the present work. The obtained results are in good accordance to the method applied. High probabilities are estimated for events with Mw7.0. For the whole western part of South America, there is a probability about 64% for an earthquake occurrence with magnitude M8.0, during a time period of 20 years. Higher probability (≈73%) was estimated for a time period of 50 years and for an earthquake of magnitude M8.5. This is clearly showed for the event of 1960, where the next (a posteriori procedure) earthquake of M=8.8 occurred on 2010.

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