Using environmental DNA (eDNA) to monitor biodiversity in aquatic environments is becoming an efficient and cost-effective alternative to other methods such as visual and acoustic identification. Until recently, eDNA sampling was accomplished primarily through manual sampling methods; however, with technological advances, automated samplers are being developed to make sampling easier and more accessible. This paper describes a new eDNA sampler capable of self-cleaning and multi-sample capture and preservation, all within a single unit capable of being deployed by a single person.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFsensors are needed to further our understanding of phosphate flux dynamics in marine environments during short term events such as tidal cycles, algae blooms and runoff periods. Here, we present a fully automated phosphate analyzer based on an inlaid microfluidic absorbance cell technology. The microfluidic device employs colorimetric absorbance spectrophotometry, using the phosphomolybdenum blue (PMB) assay modified by the addition of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), to measure phosphate concentrations in seawater.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe moment is opportune for a renewed look at what we understand about patient consent to treatment. Until recently, little reference to informed consent could be found in the literature, as though it has never been a preoccupation for psychoanalytic practitioners. Yet several post-Freudian authors offer reasons to suppose the risk of misunderstandings about consent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHealth Promot Chronic Dis Prev Can
October 2018
In Canada, it is challenging to find examples of positive population mental health interventions that meet scientific standards of evidence. It is even more difficult to identify effective interventions that address health equity. The discrepancy between standards of evidence in the health sciences, and the evidence that can be gleaned from social experiments, is not new.
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