Publications by authors named "Katherine McHugh"

Monitoring ecological changes in marine ecosystems is expensive and time-consuming. Passive acoustic methods provide continuous monitoring of soniferous species, are relatively inexpensive, and can be integrated into a larger network to provide enhanced spatial and temporal coverage of ecological events. We demonstrate how these methods can be used to detect changes in fish populations in response to a Karenia brevis red tide harmful algal bloom by examining sound spectrum levels recorded by two land-based passive acoustic listening stations (PALS) deployed in Sarasota Bay, Florida, before and during a red tide event.

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The United States maternal mortality rate has been rising for many years putting the US out of step with peer countries. There are many complex reasons for the rise in maternal deaths and recent data has demonstrated that there is a disproportionate risk for women of color. This article provides an overview of current policy and policy issues aimed at improving the maternal mortality rate in the United States.

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Anthropogenic underwater noise has increased over the past century, raising concern about the impact on cetaceans that rely on sound for communication, navigation and locating prey and predators. Many terrestrial animals increase the amplitude of their acoustic signals to partially compensate for the masking effect of noise (the Lombard response), but it has been suggested that cetaceans almost fully compensate with amplitude adjustments for increasing noise levels. Here, we used sound-recording DTAGs on pairs of free-ranging common bottlenose dolphins () to test (i) whether dolphins increase signal amplitude to compensate for increasing ambient noise and (ii) whether adjustments are identical for different signal types.

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Objective: Evidence concerning the effectiveness of yoga in partial hospital programs is limited. Yet, partial hospitals provide treatment at a critical juncture by bridging inpatient and outpatient care. The present study tested the effectiveness of a single-session group yoga intervention for short-term mood and psychiatric symptom change in participants attending a 1- to 2-week partial hospital program.

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Diving mammals have evolved a suite of physiological adaptations to manage respiratory gases during extended breath-hold dives. To test the hypothesis that offshore bottlenose dolphins have evolved physiological adaptations to improve their ability for extended deep dives and as protection for lung barotrauma, we investigated the lung function and respiratory physiology of four wild common bottlenose dolphins () near the island of Bermuda. We measured blood hematocrit (Hct, %), resting metabolic rate (RMR, l O ⋅ min), tidal volume (, l), respiratory frequency (, breaths ⋅ min), respiratory flow (l ⋅ min), and dynamic lung compliance (, l ⋅ cmHO) in air and in water, and compared measurements with published results from coastal, shallow-diving dolphins.

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Food provisioning of wildlife is a major concern for management and conservation agencies worldwide because it encourages unnatural behaviours in wild animals and increases each individual's risk for injury and death. Here we investigate the contributing factors and potential fitness consequences of a recent increase in the frequency of human interactions with common bottlenose dolphins () in Sarasota Bay, Florida. A rising proportion of the local long-term resident dolphin community is becoming conditioned to human interactions through direct and indirect food provisioning.

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Free-ranging bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) living in Sarasota Bay, Florida appear to have a lower risk of developing insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome compared to a group of dolphins managed under human care. Similar to humans, differences in diet and activity cycles between these groups may explain why Sarasota dolphins have lower insulin, glucose, and lipids. To identify potential protective factors against metabolic syndrome, existing and new data were incorporated to describe feeding and activity patterns of the Sarasota Bay wild dolphin community.

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After a recent practice change implementing amniocentesis into the evaluation of preterm labor (PTL) or preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM), actual performance of the procedure was tracked. Fifty-nine patients were admitted with these diagnoses. Twenty-three patients (39%) were offered amniocentesis and 36 patients (61%) were not offered amniocentesis as part of the clinical protocol.

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Background: The mortality rate of ovarian cancer is greater than that of all other major gynecologic malignancies. Detecting ovarian cancer at an early and curable stage long has been an objective of oncologists. Recently, it was reported that certain symptom patterns are informative for the presence of ovarian malignancy.

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