Rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) influence on walleye (Sander vitreus) recruitment decline: mtDNA evidence supporting the predation hypothesis.

Rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) have been introduced widely but are associated with declines in walleye (Sander vitreus) recruitment. A primary hypothesis for these declines is that O. mordax consume larval S.

Correction: Environmental DNA Marker Development with Sparse Biological Information: A Case Study on Opossum Shrimp (Mysis diluviana).

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Environmental DNA Marker Development with Sparse Biological Information: A Case Study on Opossum Shrimp (Mysis diluviana).

The spread of Mysis diluviana, a small glacial relict crustacean, outside its native range has led to unintended shifts in the composition of native fish communities throughout western North America. As a result, biologists seek accurate methods of determining the presence of M. diluviana, especially at low densities or during the initial stages of an invasion.

Freezing and fractionation: effects of preservation on carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of some limnetic organisms.

Rationale: Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen have become important natural tracers for studying food-web structure and function. Considerable research has demonstrated that chemical preservatives and fixatives shift the isotopic ratios of aquatic organisms. Much less is known about the effects of freezing as a preservation method although this technique is commonly used.

Measurement and analysis of 8-hour time-weighted average sound pressure levels in a vivarium decontamination facility.

Occupational noise exposure is a recognized hazard for employees working near equipment and processes that generate high levels of sound pressure. High sound pressure levels have the potential to result in temporary or permanent alteration in hearing perception. The cleaning of cages used to house laboratory research animals is a process that uses equipment capable of generating high sound pressure levels.

Glutathione content as a potential mediator of the vulnerability of cultured fetal cortical neurons to ethanol-induced apoptosis.

Ethanol ingestion during pregnancy elicits damage to the developing brain, some of which appears to result from enhanced apoptotic death of neurons. A consistent characteristic of this phenomenon is a highly differing sensitivity to ethanol within specific neuron populations. One possible explanation for this "selective vulnerability" could be cellular variations in glutathione (GSH) homeostasis.

Clinical findings for residents near a polyurethane foam manufacturing plant.

Clinical findings for 38 community residents who complained of symptoms they attributed to exposure to air emissions from nearby fiber processing and polyurethane foam manufacturing facilities are reported. Common complaints included headache, mucosal irritation, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and wheezing. Airway hyperreactivity, measured by methacholine challenge, was observed in 8 individuals (22% of those tested), who also reported temporal relationships between exposure to visible emissions or odors and symptoms consistent with environmentally induced asthma.