Ontogenetic niche specialisation of the spider crab Libinia ferreirae associated with the medusa Lychnorhiza lucerna

Symbiotic relationships in marine environments are not fixed and can change throughout the animal’s life. This study investigated the ontogeny of symbiosis of the spider crab Libinia ferreirae with the host medusa Lychnorhiza lucerna. We described the type of relationship, the temporal correlation among species and food habits. More than 50% of the sampled crabs were symbionts, most in early life stages. The highest number of crabs found in a single medusa was 11. Symbiosis was observed throughout most of the year but was more evident in warm periods. The crab has many benefits in this relationship with a medusa. One is the use of food resources captured by the medusa, primarily copepods. Since the crab steals the medusa's food, it is a kleptoparasitic relationship. There is a niche partition between symbiont and the free-living crabs as they occupy different habitats and use nonoverlapping food resources. Previous research reported that symbiosis first developed during the crab’s last larval phase (megalopa) when crab and medusa are in the same habitat. Observation of the crab's behaviour shows that symbiosis occurs when the crab can grab to the medusa when the host touches the sea bottom. The crab also took advantage of water currents, releasing itself from the substrate and then drifting towards the medusa. The symbiotic relationship that crabs have with the medusa provides then with a nursery, food resources, shelter, dispersion, and decreased competition with free-living adult crabs, all essential for the crab's survival.

Size and composition of family networks of decedents: A nationwide register-based study

Background: Seriously ill individuals rely heavily on family caregivers at the end of life. Yet many do not have family support. Aim: To characterize the size and composition of decedents’ family networks by cause of death, demographic, clinical, socioeconomic, and geographic characteristics. Design: A cross-sectional population-level study with data collected from nation-wide registers. Setting/participants: All adults in Denmark born between 1935 and 1998 who died of natural causes between 2009 and 2016 were linked at the time of death to living adult spouses/partners, children, siblings, parents, and grandchildren. Results: Among 175,755 decedents (median age: 68 years, range: 18–81 years), 61% had a partner at the time of death and 78% had at least one adult child. Ten percent of decedents had no identified living adult family members. Decedents with family had a median of five relatives. Males were more likely to have a spouse/partner (65%) than females (56%). While 93% of decedents dying of cancer had adult family, only 70% of individuals dying of dementia had adult family at the time of death. The majority of cancer decedents co-resided or lived within 30 km of family (88%), compared to only 65% of those dying from psychiatric illness. Conclusions: While the majority of adults had an extensive family network at the time of death, a substantial proportion of decedents had no family, suggesting the need for non-family based long-term service and support systems. Assessment of family networks can expand our understanding of the end-of-life caregiving process and inform palliative care delivery.

Long-Term Imaging of Living Adult Zebrafish

ABSTRACTThe zebrafish has become a widely used animal model due in large part to its accessibility to and usefulness for high-resolution optical imaging. Although zebrafish research has historically focused mostly on early development, in recent years the fish has increasingly been used to study regeneration, cancer metastasis, behavior, and other processes taking place in juvenile and adult animals. However, imaging of live adult zebrafish is extremely challenging, with survival of adult fish limited to a few tens of minutes using standard imaging methods developed for zebrafish embryos and larvae. Here, we describe a new method for imaging intubated adult zebrafish using a specially designed 3D printed chamber for long-term imaging of adult zebrafish on inverted microscope systems. We demonstrate the utility of this new system by nearly day-long observation of neutrophil recruitment to a wound area in living double-transgenic adult casper zebrafish with fluorescently labeled neutrophils and lymphatic vessels.

Chemical restraint of coatis by the association of Detomidine, Tiletamine and Zolazepam, in allometrically scaled dosages

ABSTRACT Ten free-living adult coatis (two males and eight females) were chemically restrained with "ZAD-50", a concentrated formulation prepared with the dehydrated content of a Zoletil/50® vial diluted with 0.25mL of 1% atropine, 0.265mL of Dormiun-V®, and 2.2mL of distilled water, being exactly 3.0mL. The formula was administered to each animal previously captured and physically contained with a net. The loss of righting reflex (RR) occurred at 2.3±0.8 minutes post-injection (MPI), with anesthesia beginning at 4.4±2.7 MPI. Myorelaxant and analgesia were considered excellent at all moments of the evaluation. Conscious reactions were observed at 78.7±22.2 MPI, the return of the RR occurred at 101 ± 18 MPI, and normal ambulation was acquired at 137.0±31.0 MPI. The mean values of physiological parameters measured every 10 minutes between 10 and 50 MPI were 152.2 heartbeats per minute for heart rate, 66.4 respiratory movements per minute for respiratory rate, 39.2oC for rectal temperature, 86.2% for SpO2 and 14.6 mmHg for systolic blood pressure. In the same times, the EEG registered sinus rhythm. No adverse reactions were observed, and the assessed vital parameters remained compatible with the state of chemical restraint.

3D Imaging of CRP and Ultrasonic Tomography to Detect Decay in a Living Adult Holm Oak (Quercus ilex L.) in Sardinia (Italy)

A field-integrated methodology using 3D ultrasonic tomography supported by close range photogrammetry (CRP) has been developed and evaluated as a tool to detect the presence and patterns of decay forms in a living adult holm oak (Quercus ilex L.) in an urban green area of the city of Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. Close range photogrammetry was used to compute a high resolution 3D model of the studied tree, texturized with natural colors. Moreover, following the implemented workflow process it was possible to evaluate the deformation pattern of the studied tree over time. In a second step of our integrated approach, and in order to diagnose the state of health of the inner part of the studied tree in a non-invasive way, laboratory and in situ non-invasive ultrasonic techniques were applied. The results of the close range photogrammetry analysis supported the optimal design of the 3D ultrasonic tomography of the living adult holm oak. Ultrasonic tomography is one of the most powerful non-destructive testing techniques for the full-volume inspection of a structure. It produced physical information on the inner structure of the stem of the investigated tree. The results of the study show that the integrated application of close range photogrammetry and 3D ultrasonic tomography is a powerful tool for a highly accurate and objective evaluation of the external and internal decay of trees and for monitoring their conservation states. With the fully integrated approach, the diagnostic process aimed to prevent instability and the failure of trees can be greatly improved.

There at Any Distance? Geographic Proximity and the Presence of Adult Children in Older People’s’ Confidant Networks

Adult children are key members of their aging parents’ close social network, often providing emotional and advisory supports. Still, adult children are not a guaranteed presence in older people’s core discussion networks. Geographical distance is a leading explanation for why some children are excluded from the confidant network, but we hypothesize that certain parent- and dyadic-level factors make these intergenerational ties more resilient to distance. Using wave six of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe, we identified whether a living adult child was also a member of the parent’s egocentric confidant network. We modeled the effect of the child (Level 1) and parent (Level 2) characteristics on the exclusion of a child from the core network using hierarchical logit models. We found that fifty-eight percent of children were excluded from a parent’s network. Parents were more likely to exclude those who lived more than 25 km compared to children who lived within 5 km. The impact of distance was exacerbated among parents who were older, partnered, or had four or more children. Parents with higher education and good computer skills were less sensitive to longer distances when listing a child as a confidant. Finally, parents who had confidants outside of the nuclear family and who lived in Northern Europe were less likely to exclude a child over 100 km from their confidant network. Together, results indicate that a number of demographic factors and personal and social resources contribute to the elasticity of parent-child ties across long distances.

TERMINOLOGY USED BY EMPLOYERS AND JOB SEEKERS FOR AGING-RELATED POSITIONS

Our aging society calls for a workforce capable of meeting older adults’ diverse needs. Yet the extent that employers seek out a workforce with aging-related training or education is unclear, as is how people with such backgrounds search for positions. We describe an exploratory content analysis of job postings to understand how employers are searching for applicants with aging-related backgrounds, and compare job posting keywords to terms used by a sample of aging-trained job seekers/employees. Results showed 35% of aging-related job postings used keywords expressing preference for applicants with aging-related backgrounds; the most commonly-occurring terms were “gerontology,” “Assisted living” + “adult day” + “director” + “nursing home administrator,” and “elderly.” Job seekers also cited “gerontology” as a term used to search for positions, along with “aging,” “older adults” and “seniors”. Findings suggest that employers should use more positively-connoted terms to attract applicants with aging-related backgrounds, rather than terms like “elderly.”