Applying molecular genetic data at different scales to support conservation assessment of European Habitats Directive listed species: A case study of Eurasian otter in Austria.

Evaluating intraspecific genetic structure and diversity is fundamental to assessing a species' conservation status, but direct incorporation of such information into legal frameworks such as the EU's Habitats Directive is surprisingly rare. How genetic structure aligns with EU member state boundaries or biogeographic regions may be very important in designing management plans or achieving legislative goals. The Eurasian fish otter experienced a sharp population decline during the 20th century but is currently re-expanding in several countries.

Evaluating a species phylogeny using ddRAD SNPs: Cyto-nuclear discordance and introgression in the salmonid genus Thymallus (Salmonidae).

Hybridization and introgression are very common among freshwater fishes due to the dynamic nature of hydrological landscapes. Cyclic patterns of allopatry and secondary contact provide numerous opportunities for interspecific gene flow, which can lead to discordant paths of evolution for mitochondrial and nuclear genomes. Here, we used double digest restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (ddRADseq) to obtain a genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) dataset comprehensive for allThymallus (Salmonidae)species to infer phylogenetic relationships and evaluate potential recent and historical gene flow among species.

The rare and enigmatic mayfly (Müller, 1785): Habitat characteristics, recent records from the Volga (Russia) and Vjosa (Albania) rivers, and a proposal for flagship species status.

Nymphs of all 29 described species share a conspicuous synapomorphy: a round mesonotal shield, the carapace. They occur in the Palaearctic (nine species), the Oriental (12 species) and the Afrotropic as well as Australian regions (six and two species, respectively). Relatively little is known about their ecology, but past and extant distribution patterns indicate an association with undisturbed conditions.

A comprehensive DNA barcode inventory of Austria's fish species.

Austria is inhabited by more than 80 species of native and non-native freshwater fishes. Despite considerable knowledge about Austrian fish species, the latest Red List of threatened species dates back 15 years and a systematic genetic inventory of Austria's fish species does not exist. To fulfill this deficit, we employed DNA barcoding to generate an up-to-date and comprehensive genetic reference database for Austrian fish species.

Sepsis alerts in EMS and the results of pre-hospital ETCO2.

Background: Field sepsis alerts have the ability to expedite initial ED sepsis treatment. Our hypothesis is that in patients that meet EMS sepsis alert criteria there is a strong relationship between prehospital end-tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO2) readings and the outcome of diagnosed infection.

Methods: In 2014, our EMS service initiated a protocol requiring hospitals to receive notification of a "sepsis alert" on all suspected sepsis patients.

Thyroid stimulating hormone testing in ED evaluation of patients with atrial fibrillation and various psychiatric diagnoses.

Background: Previous studies of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels in Emergency Department (ED) patients largely have centered on patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). In our ED patients with AF as well as patients with Psychiatric diagnoses (psych) are screened. The purpose of the present study was to compare TSH levels in the 2 groups.

Assessing the Prevalence and Predictors of Bullying Among Emergency Medical Service Providers.

Bullying as a stressor in the workplace has been evaluated in numerous settings. It has never been evaluated in the emergency medical service (EMS) environment where bullying can occur from many different sources. The Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R) is a 22-question validated tool for evaluating bullying.

Bathing Habits in Emergency Department Patients with Cellulitis or Abscess Versus Controls.

Objective: Cellulitis is a leading cause of emergency department (ED) visits, with more than 200 cases per 100,000 people per year. Although many risk factors have been identified, including edema, skin breakdown, and penetrance of the skin, there are few data available on whether personal hygiene habits (bathing and clean clothes) are associated with increased risk for soft tissue infection. Studies looking at chlorhexidine baths in the intensive care unit to prevent soft tissue infections have shown conflicting and limited efficacy.

Explaining negative refraction without negative refractive indices.

Negative refraction through a triangular prism may be explained without assigning a negative refractive index to the prism by using array theory. For the case of a beam incident upon the wedge, the array theory accurately predicts the beam transmission angle through the prism and provides an estimate of the frequency interval at which negative refraction occurs. The hypotenuse of the prism has a staircase shape because it is built of cubic unit cells.

Inferring phylogenetic structure, hybridization and divergence times within Salmoninae (Teleostei: Salmonidae) using RAD-sequencing.

Phylogenetic studies focusing on Salmonidae have revealed significant obstacles in trying to clarify some interspecific relationships within the Salmoninae subfamily, due to a limited number of markers typed, conflicting phylogenetic signals and ancient hybridization events. To infer reliable phylogenetic relationships, evaluate several putative scenarios of ancient hybridization, and estimate divergence times within Salmoninae, we applied restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq) to 43 samples, including 26 genetic lineages across 21 species, largely representing the subfamily, with an emphasis on the genus Salvelinus. We identified 28,402 loci and 28,363 putatively unlinked SNPs, which were used in downstream analyses.

Cross-Sectional Study of the Relation of Health Literacy to Primary Language and Emergency Department Length of Stay.

Objectives: The primary aim of this study was to determine whether emergency department (ED) length of stay (LOS) or primary language was related to the degree of health literacy of patients.

Methods: Adult English-speaking and Spanish-speaking patients were recruited for the study. Participants completed the Newest Vital Sign (NVS) tool (English and Spanish versions), a 6-question validated scale.

A Comparison of QTc Intervals in Alcohol Withdrawal Patients Versus Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients.

Objectives: Patients with an alcohol use disorder experiencing acute intoxication or withdrawal may be at risk for electrocardiograph (ECG) abnormalities, including prolongation of repolarization (long QTc [corrected QT]) that may contribute to arrhythmias and may be associated with a threefold increase in the likelihood of sudden cardiac events. Patients with acute coronary syndrome may have prolonged QTc as well. To our knowledge, no previous studies have compared the QTc of ACS with acute ethanol (EtOH) withdrawal syndromes in the emergency department (ED).

Comparison of QTc and Troponin Levels in ST Elevation MIs Compared with Non-ST Elevation MIs.

Objectives: ST elevation myocardial infarctions (STEMIs) and non-ST elevation myocardial infarctions (NSTEMIs) have differences that can be important to differentiate. Our primary hypothesis was that corrected QT (QTc) duration and troponin I levels were higher in STEMIs compared with NSTEMIs. The objective of our study was to compare STEMIs with NSTEMIs for QTc duration and troponin levels.

Impact of an emergency medicine pharmacist on antibiotic dosing adjustment.

Objective: Overall medication-related errors in the emergency department (ED) are 13.5 times more likely to occur in the absence of an emergency medicine pharmacist (EMP). Although the effectiveness of pharmacist-driven renal dosing adjustment has been studied in the intensive care unit, data are lacking in the ED setting.

The meaning of elevated troponin I levels: not always acute coronary syndromes.

Background: Troponin elevation can be caused by etiologies other than acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Our hypothesis was that elevated troponins occur more frequently in non-ACS cases but that ACS cases (type 1 ST-elevation myocardial infarction [STEMI] and type 1 non-STEMI [NSTEMI]) have significantly higher troponin elevations.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional cohort analysis of a random subset of all patients with elevated troponins (defined as ≥0.

Randomized single-blinded clinical trial on effects of nursery songs for infants and young children's anxiety before and during head computed tomography.

Objective: The objective of this clinical trial was to determine if an intervention of listening to nursery songs with integrated heartbeat sounds resulted in changes in anxiety levels in infants and children younger than 4 years in an emergent setting.

Methods: This is a randomized single-blinded controlled trial. The study included 62 children younger than 4 years who were deemed by the emergency physician to need a computed tomographic (CT) scan.

Co-Speciation of the Ectoparasite Gyrodactylus teuchis (Monogenea, Platyhelminthes) and Its Salmonid Hosts.

Co-speciation is a fundamental concept of evolutionary biology and intuitively appealing, yet in practice hard to demonstrate as it is often blurred by other evolutionary processes. We investigate the phylogeographic history of the monogenean ectoparasites Gyrodactylus teuchis and G. truttae on European salmonids of the genus Salmo.

Disparity in Patients' Self-Reported and Charted Medication Allergy Information.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to compare current adverse drug/allergy reaction reporting in patient electronic medical records/charts against information gathered during patient interviews in the emergency department. Our hypothesis was that current methods for allergy reporting results in significant discrepancy between what is documented and the actual allergy history upon interviewing the patient.

Methods: The study was conducted between December 2011 and April 2012 in an academic emergency department.

Emergency department orthopedics observation unit as an alternative to admission.

Objectives: Inclusion of select orthopedic problems in the orthopedics observation unit (OOU) may reduce hospital admissions. Our system allows OOU status for 24 hours, but the effect on admissions is unknown. Our primary hypothesis was that we could predict which OOU patients required admission based on the presence of uncontrolled pain.

Evaluating community ED crowding: the Community ED Overcrowding Scale study.

Objectives: The goals of this study were to (1) identify valid variables that correlate with emergency department (ED) crowding and (2) determine a model that could be used to accurately reflect the degree of ED crowding.

Methods: A site sampling form was applied to convenience sampling of 13 community hospitals in California between April 6, 2011, and May 1, 2011. The outcome variable was average perception of crowding by the ED physician and charge nurse on a 100-mm visual analog scale.

No difference in emergency department length of stay for patients with limited proficiency in English.

Objectives: The population of the United States continues to diversify, with an increasing percentage of individuals who have limited English proficiency (LEP). A major concern facing emergency departments (EDs) around the country is increasing length of stay (LOS). Although multiple studies have shown racial and ethnic disparities in waiting time and LOS, no studies have examined specifically whether patients with LEP have a different LOS than English-speaking (ES) patients.

Does the addition of Vocera hands-free communication device improve interruptions in an academic emergency department?

Objective: Emergency department (ED) interruptions occur frequently. Recently, a hands-free communication device (HCD; Vocera) was added to the population of communications devices (a cellular telephone and a pager) in our ED. The research purpose was to determine whether this addition improved interruption times and our hypothesis was the device would decrease length of interruptions.

Occult pneumothoraces in acute trauma patients.

Introduction: Many traumatic pneumothoraces (PTX) are not seen on initial chest radiograph (CR) (occult PTX) but are detected only on computed tomography (CT). Although CR remains the first tool for detecting PTX, most trauma patients with significant thoracoabdominal injuries will receive both CT and CR. The primary objective of this study was to retrospectively determine the effectiveness of CR for detecting PTX in trauma patients.