Emerging coral diseases in Kāne'ohe Bay, O'ahu, Hawai'i (USA): two major disease outbreaks of acute Montipora white syndrome.

In March 2010 and January 2012, we documented 2 widespread and severe coral disease outbreaks on reefs throughout Kāne'ohe Bay, Hawai'i (USA). The disease, acute Montipora white syndrome (aMWS), manifested as acute and progressive tissue loss on the common reef coral M. capitata.

Large-scale introduction of the Indo-Pacific damselfish Abudefduf vaigiensis into Hawai'i promotes genetic swamping of the endemic congener A. abdominalis.

Hybridization in the ocean was once considered rare, a process prohibited by the rapid evolution of intrinsic reproductive barriers in a high-dispersal medium. However, recent genetic surveys have prompted a reappraisal of marine hybridization as an important demographic and evolutionary process. The Hawaiian Archipelago offers an unusual case history in this arena, due to the recent arrival of the widely distributed Indo-Pacific sergeant (Abudefduf vaigiensis), which is hybridizing with the endemic congener, A.

Informing parents of visually impaired children: who should do it and when?

Background: Parents of sick or disabled children are likely to be more stressed than parents of non-disabled children and may benefit from being given information about their child's condition and its implications, but the stage at which parents should receive such information and who should provide it has not been fully investigated. The impact of written information on stress levels of parents of visually impaired children, seen in the ophthalmology clinic of a children's hospital, was explored in this study and the question of who parents thought should provide information, and at what stage, was also investigated.

Methods: A longitudinal, experimental intervention study was conducted to compare the effect on perceived stress levels of providing information about the implications of visual impairment to parents.

Prognostic value of 99m Tc leukocyte scintigraphy in diabetic pedal osteomyelitis.

While leukocyte scintigraphy is accurate in detection of pedal osteomyelitis, there has been little data relating the technique to outcomes. We designed a trial to examine the prognostic value of sequential 99m Tc labeled leukocyte scans to establish the diagnosis of osteomyelitis and after three to four weeks of culture-guided antibiotic therapy. Twenty-three diabetic patients with proven pedal osteomyelitis (21/23) or persistent uptake (2/23) on the sequence of scans were studied.

Approaches to experiential learning, course delivery and validation in medicine. A background document.

Educational models and approaches change over time in their dominance and use, offering a wide selection to educational planners and teachers. This paper discusses aspects of experiential learning, distance learning, learning contracts, portfolios, reflection, appraisal, assessment and validation of education. It offers triggers to further thought and enables the analysis of current educational practice.

Maternal-fetal attachment during pregnancy following in vitro fertilization.

The aim of the study was to examine the degree of anxiety experienced by pregnant women who had conceived by in vitro fertilization (IVF), as well as their attitudes towards the pregnancy and the strength of their attachment to the fetus. Fifteen women who had conceived by IVF were compared with 20 women who had conceived without assistance. Each woman was administered the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Childbearing Attitudes Questionnaire and the Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale.

Responses to thyrotropin during development in Japanese quail.

Japanese quail, a species with a precocial pattern of development, were used as a model for studying the ontogeny of thyroid responses to TSH. Thiourea was administered to embryos early in incubation, and the effects were assessed by measuring thyroid 32P uptake, serum thyroid hormones, thyroid weights, and body weights. Thyroid stimulation after thiourea treatment indicated that maturation of thyroid-pituitary negative feedback occurs between days 9 and 10 of the 16.

Post-hatching thyroid development and body growth in precocial vs altricial birds.

Thyroid growth, thyroid function and body growth are markedly different in developing precocial Japanese quail and altricial Ring doves despite comparability in incubation period, hatchling size, adult body weight and adult serum thyroid hormone concentrations. In quail thyroid activity is high during the perinatal period, declines shortly after hatching, then gradually attains adult function. In contrast, in doves, there is no perinatal peak of thyroid activity.

Turgor pressure: direct manometric measurement in single cells of Nitella.

A small capillary, fused at one end, serves as a micromanometer when the open end is inserted into a large Nitella cell. The cell's ability to compress the gas reveals its turgor pressure directly-save for a small correction due to capillarity. The method gives a lower limit to turgor pressure for the same cell in the normal state.