Trajectory, fate, and magnitude of continental microplastic loads to the inner shelf: A case study of the world's largest coastal shallow lagoon.

The Patos Lagoon estuary is a highly significant ecosystem where freshwater from a vast and densely populated area continuously flows into the Atlantic Ocean by coastal plumes, exporting not only freshwater but also sediment, nutrients, plastics, and other contaminants. In this work, numerical modeling tools together with field data were used to assess for the first time the capacity of the coastal plume to export microplastics (MPs) to the inner shelf under different hydrodynamic conditions. Two field surveys were conducted during plume events to quantify MP concentrations and validate the model approach.

Stimulus-Elicited Involuntary Cognition: Boundary Conditions and Systematic Effects.

For decades, researchers have been presenting participants with stimuli and instructing the participants not to respond to the stimuli in some way. Today, researchers are studying the effects that such stimuli have, not only on behavior, but on conscious experience. To this end, researchers have used several laboratory tasks, including the reflexive imagery task (RIT).

Insuppressible cognitions in the reflexive imagery task: Insights and future directions.

In 1959, Neal Miller made the bold claim that the Stimulus-Response, Behaviorist models of that era were describing the way in which stimuli lead to the entry of contents into consciousness ("entry," for short). Today, researchers have begun to investigate the link between external stimuli and involuntary entry, using paradigms such as the reflexive imagery task (RIT), the focus of our review. The RIT has revealed that stimuli can elicit insuppressible entry of high-level cognitions.

Autumn distribution of Bristol Bay red king crab using fishery logbooks.

Spatial distributions of fished species must be well characterized to avoid local depletions, identify critical habitat, and predict and mitigate interactions with other fisheries. The Bristol Bay red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) fishery is one of the largest crab fisheries in Alaska. Summer crab distributions have been well documented by decades of bottom trawl surveys.

The impact of deployment on COPD in active duty military personnel.

Purpose: To identify trends in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) diagnoses among active duty U.S. military personnel based on deployment history and whether International Classification of Disease, 9th edition (ICD-9) coding meet criteria for the diagnosis of COPD.

The impact of combat deployment on asthma diagnosis and severity.

Objectives: Environmental exposures during military deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan may lead to higher rates of respiratory complaints and diagnoses. This study investigates whether there is a relationship between rates of asthma diagnosis and severity associated with military deployment.

Methods: Retrospective review of active duty Army personnel underwent fitness for duty evaluation (Medical Evaluation Board) for asthma.

Military service and lung disease.

Objective: Lung diseases associated with military service are often a reflection of the conditions seen in the local civilian population, and with a few notable exceptions, are often related to unique environmental and occupational exposures.

Methods: This article reviews important pulmonary diseases that have been associated with military service in the past 100 years in a question-and-answer format.

Results: Traditionally, bacterial and viral pneumonias were the most common sources of military morbidity and mortality.

Study of active duty military for pulmonary disease related to environmental deployment exposures (STAMPEDE).

Rationale: Because of increased levels of airborne particulate matter in Southwest Asia, deployed military personnel are at risk for developing acute and chronic lung diseases. Increased respiratory symptoms are reported, but limited data exist on reported lung diseases.

Objectives: To evaluate new respiratory complaints in military personnel returning from Southwest Asia to determine potential etiologies for symptoms.

Prevalence of supranormal pulmonary function test values between a military and nonmilitary cohort.

Background: The study objective was to determine differences in the proportion of supranormal pulmonary function tests (PFTs) between active duty (AD) military personnel and a similar non-active duty (non-AD) population. Given the emphasis on cardiovascular fitness in the military, it has been hypothesized that regular exercise in this cohort leads to an increased proportion of supranormal PFTs. We hypothesized that a comparison of PFTs would identify no differences in the ratio of supranormal to normal PFTs between the AD and non-AD populations.

Diagnosis and management of chronic lung disease in deployed military personnel.

Military personnel are a unique group of individuals referred to the pulmonary physician for evaluation. Despite accession standards that limit entrance into the military for individuals with various pre-existing lung diseases, the most common disorders found in the general population such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease remain frequently diagnosed. Military personnel generally tend to be a more physically fit population who are required to exercise on a regular basis and as such may have earlier presentations of disease than their civilian counterparts.

Overview and recommendations for medical screening and diagnostic evaluation for postdeployment lung disease in returning US warfighters.

Objective: To review inhalational exposures and respiratory disease risks in US military personnel deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and to develop consensus recommendations for medical screening and diagnostic referral.

Methods: A Working Group of physicians and exposure scientists from academia and from the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs was convened in February 2010.

Results: Despite uncertainty about the number of people affected and risk factors for adverse pulmonary outcomes in this occupational setting, the Working Group recommended: (1) standardized approaches to pre- and postdeployment medical surveillance; (2) criteria for medical referral and diagnosis; and (3) case definitions for major deployment-related lung diseases.

Investigating the respiratory health of deployed military personnel.

Recent news media articles have implied a direct relationship between environmental exposures such as burn pits during current deployments and the development of serious and debilitating chronic pulmonary disease. These articles suggest that the military is superficially investigating evidence that establishes a link between deployment and development of chronic lung disease. Anecdotal cases of military personnel with lung disease are detailed to suggest a systemic problem with undiagnosed and untreated pulmonary disease in deployed service members.

Intensive education on evidence-based evaluation of syncope increases sudden death risk stratification but fails to reduce use of neuroimaging.

Background: We sought to determine whether aggressive education on evidence-based guidelines would affect the use of resources. Specifically, we sought to educate providers about the role of neuroimaging as well as sudden death risk stratification.

Methods: We reviewed 1092 consecutive cases involving patients who were admitted for syncope.

Association between outcome and changes in plasma lactate concentration during presurgical treatment in dogs with gastric dilatation-volvulus: 64 cases (2002-2008).

Objective: To determine whether changes in presurgical plasma lactate concentration (before and after initial fluid resuscitation and gastric decompression) were associated with short-term outcome for dogs with gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV).

Design: Retrospective case series.

Animals: 64 dogs.

Determination of the internal medicine service's role in emergency department length of stay at a military medical center.

Objectives: Increasing numbers of emergency department (ED) visits and higher leaving-without-being-seen rates resulted in an evaluation of the contribution of the internal medicine service to the admission process.

Methods: Standardized ED encounter sheets were completed by the medicine physician on duty (MOD) assessing various admission and consultative parameters.

Results: 304 patient encounters revealed a 44-minute mean time from MOD consultation to order submission; 49% in under 30 minutes and 76% in under an hour.

The prevalence and impact of respiratory symptoms in asthmatics and nonasthmatics during deployment.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalence, severity, and impact of respiratory symptoms in asthmatics and nonasthmatics during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Methods: A survey was given to 1,250 active duty soldiers and Department of Defense contractors returning from Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom. Subjects were asked about demographics, smoking habits, respiratory symptoms, and impact on job performance before and during deployment.

Improved enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to reveal Mycoplasma agassizii exposure: a valuable tool in the management of environmentally sensitive tortoise populations.

The precarious status of desert (Gopherus agassizii) and gopher (Gopherus polyphemus) tortoises has resulted in research and conservation efforts that include health assessments as a substantial component of management decision-making. Therefore, it is critical that available diagnostic tests for diseases impacting these species undergo rigorous standardization and validation. Since 1992, analysis of exposure of tortoises to Mycoplasma agassizii, an etiological agent of upper respiratory tract disease, has relied on the detection of specific M.

Seroprevalence of Mycoplasma alligatoris among free-ranging alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) in Florida--2003.

Mycoplasma alligatoris causes acute lethal infection of alligators (Alligator mississippiensis). The objective of this study was to assess the current seroprevalence of M. alligatoris among free-ranging, juvenile and subadult alligators in Florida.

The demonstration of pulmonary neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia with tumorlets in a patient with chronic cough and a history of multiple medical problems.

A 58-year-old woman presented with chronic cough felt to be multifactorial secondary to asthma, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and chronic sinusitis. Additional medical history included obstructive sleep apnea, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension. She had a 40- year history of tobacco use, but quit 10 years ago.

Spreading factors of Mycoplasma alligatoris, a flesh-eating mycoplasma.

Mycoplasma alligatoris causes lethal invasive disease of alligators and caimans. A homolog of the nagH gene, encoding a hyaluronidase secreted by Clostridium perfringens, and a C. perfringens hyaluronidase nagI or nagK pseudogene were discovered in the M.

Mycoplasma alligatoris sp. nov., from American alligators.

Mycoplasmas were isolated from multiple tissues of diseased American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis). This paper presents biochemical, serological and molecular genetic characterizations of a lethal pathogen of alligators for which the name Mycoplasma alligatoris sp. nov.

Detection of antibodies to a pathogenic mycoplasma in American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis), broad-nosed Caimans (Caiman latirostris), and Siamese crocodiles (Crocodylus siamensis).

An epidemic of pneumonia with fibrinous polyserositis and multifocal arthritis emerged in captive American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) in Florida, United States, in 1995. Mycoplasma alligatoris sp. nov.