Simulation experiment to test strategies of geomagnetic navigation during long-distance bird migration.

Background: Different theories suggest birds may use compass or map navigational systems associated with Earth's magnetic intensity or inclination, especially during migratory flights. These theories have only been tested by considering properties of the Earth's magnetic field at coarse temporal scales, typically ignoring the temporal dynamics of geomagnetic values that may affect migratory navigational capacity.

Methods: We designed a simulation experiment to study if and how birds use the geomagnetic field during migration by using both high resolution GPS tracking data and geomagnetic data at relatively fine spatial and temporal resolutions in comparison to previous studies.

A Nonrandomized Pretest Posttest Study on the Impact of an Educational Pain Management Program on Nurses' Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding Pain in a Middle Eastern Country.

Background: Although nurse's knowledge and attitudes regarding pain management has been sufficiently studied worldwide, the impact of an educational intervention program in improving such attitudes and knowledge has not been likewise researched, especially in Middle Eastern countries.

Aims: To examine nurses' knowledge and attitudes regarding pain at a university hospital in Lebanon before and after the introduction of a pain management educational program. And to assess the relationship between the characteristic of nurses and their pain knowledge.

Time and tide: Seasonal, diel and tidal rhythms in Wadden Sea Harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena).

Odontocetes have evolved a rich diversity of prey- and habitat-specific foraging strategies, which allows them to feed opportunistically on locally and temporally abundant prey. While habitat-specific foraging strategies have been documented for some odontocete species, this is less known for the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena). We collected multiple years of acoustic data using echolocation click loggers to analyse porpoise occurrence and buzzing behaviour, indicating feeding, in the German Wadden Sea (North Sea).

Predictors of Pressure Injuries in a Critical Care Unit in Lebanon: Prevalence, Characteristics, and Associated Factors.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with pressure injury in a medical-surgical intensive care unit (MSICU).

Design: Retrospective review of medical records.

Subjects And Setting: We reviewed the medical records of 145 patients who developed a new pressure injury in the MSICU of a 420-bed university medical center in Lebanon.

Influence of the bracket on bonding and physical behavior of orthodontic resin cements.

The aim of the study is to determine the influence of the type of bracket, on bond strength, microhardness and conversion degree (CD) of four resin orthodontic cements. Micro-tensile bond strength (µTBS) test between the bracket base and the cement was carried out on glass-hour-shaped specimens (n=20). Vickers Hardness Number (VHN) and micro-Raman spectra were recorded in situ under the bracket base.

Applicability of single-camera photogrammetry to determine body dimensions of pinnipeds: Galapagos sea lions as an example.

Morphological features correlate with many life history traits and are therefore of high interest to behavioral and evolutionary biologists. Photogrammetry provides a useful tool to collect morphological data from species for which measurements are otherwise difficult to obtain. This method reduces disturbance and avoids capture stress.

[Change in the blood cytokine spectrum in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis].

Aim: To assess cytokine spectrum changes in different types of pulmonary sarcoidosis (PS).

Subjects And Methods: Twenty-seven PS patients without signs of pulmonary fibrosis and 14 patients with sarcoidosis complicated by pulmonary fibrosis were examined. Baseline serum Th1 and Th2 cytokine concentrations were studied.

Phylogenetic diversity and activity of aerobic heterotrophic bacteria from a hypersaline oil-polluted microbial mat.

The diversity and function of aerobic heterotrophic bacteria (AHB) in cyanobacterial mats have been largely overlooked. We used culture-dependent and molecular techniques to explore the species diversity, degradative capacities and functional guilds of AHB in the photic layer (2mm) of an oil-polluted microbial mat from Saudi Arabia. Enrichment isolation was carried out at different salinities (5% and 12%) and temperatures (28 and 45 degrees C) and on various substrates (acetate, glycolate, Spirulina extract and crude oils).