Dual roles of an algal farming damselfish as a cultivator and opportunistic browser of an invasive seaweed.

Herbivory is a fundamental process determining reef resilience, and while algal farming damselfishes can help shape benthic assemblages, an understanding of their contribution to areas outside of defended territories is relatively unexplored. Here, we demonstrate how the farming damselfish Stegastes marginatus plays a dual role in benthic structuring by 1) contributing to persistence of the invasive macroalga Acanthophora spicifera within a Hawaiian marine protected area, where the macroalga occurred exclusively inside Stegastes territories, and 2) behaving as an opportunistic browser of the exotic alga outside their territorial borders. Greater than 50% of the biomass of tethered A.

Receptivity to e-cigarette marketing, harm perceptions, and e-cigarette use.

Objective: To test whether exposure and receptivity to e-cigarette marketing are associated with recent e-cigarette use among young adults through increased beliefs that e-cigarettes are less harmful than cigarettes.

Methods: Data were collected from 307 multiethnic 4- and 2-year college students; approximately equal proportions of current, never, and former cigarette smokers [mean age = 23.5 (SD = 5.

Power analysis and sample size estimation for RNA-Seq differential expression.

It is crucial for researchers to optimize RNA-seq experimental designs for differential expression detection. Currently, the field lacks general methods to estimate power and sample size for RNA-Seq in complex experimental designs, under the assumption of the negative binomial distribution. We simulate RNA-Seq count data based on parameters estimated from six widely different public data sets (including cell line comparison, tissue comparison, and cancer data sets) and calculate the statistical power in paired and unpaired sample experiments.

A critical time window for organismal interactions in a pelagic ecosystem.

To measure organismal coherence in a pelagic ecosystem, we used moored sensors to describe the vertical dynamics of each step in the food chain in shelf waters off the west shore of Oahu, Hawaii. Horizontally extensive, intense aggregations of phytoplankton, zooplankton, and micronekton exhibited strong diel patterns in abundance and vertical distribution, resulting in a highly variable potential for interaction amongst trophic levels. Only around dusk did zooplankton layers overlap with phytoplankton layers.

Aerobic fitness levels and validation of a non exercise VO2max prediction equation for HIV-infected patients on HAART.

Background: Non-exercise (N-EX) questionnaires have been developed to determine maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) in healthy populations. There are limited reliable and validated N-EX questionnaires for the HIV+ population that provide estimates of habitual physical activity and not VO2max.

Objectives: To determine how well regression equations developed previously on healthy populations, including N-EX prediction equations for VO2max and age-predicted maximal heart rates (APMHR), worked on an HIV+ population; and to develop a specific N-EX prediction equation for VO2max and APMHR for HIV+ individuals.

Heat-stress and light-stress induce different cellular pathologies in the symbiotic dinoflagellate during coral bleaching.

Coral bleaching is a significant contributor to the worldwide degradation of coral reefs and is indicative of the termination of symbiosis between the coral host and its symbiotic algae (dinoflagellate; Symbiodinium sp. complex), usually by expulsion or xenophagy (symbiophagy) of its dinoflagellates. Herein, we provide evidence that during the earliest stages of environmentally induced bleaching, heat stress and light stress generate distinctly different pathomorphological changes in the chloroplasts, while a combined heat- and light-stress exposure induces both pathomorphologies; suggesting that these stressors act on the dinoflagellate by different mechanisms.

Validity and reliability of the Hawaii anaerobic run test.

This study examined the reliability and validity of the Hawaii anaerobic run test (HART) by comparing anaerobic capacity measures obtained to those during the Wingate Anaerobic Test (WAnT). Ninety-six healthy physically active volunteers (age, 22.0 ± 2.

Smokers who try e-cigarettes to quit smoking: findings from a multiethnic study in Hawaii.

Objectives: We characterized smokers who are likely to use electronic or "e-"cigarettes to quit smoking.

Methods: We obtained cross-sectional data in 2010-2012 from 1567 adult daily smokers in Hawaii using a paper-and-pencil survey. Analyses were conducted using logistic regression.

Fungal host specificity is not a bottleneck for the germination of Pyroleae species (Ericaceae) in a Bavarian forest.

Plants that produce dust seeds can recruit fungi to meet their earliest requirements for carbon and other nutrients. This germination strategy, termed initial mycoheterotrophy, has been well investigated among the orchid family, but there are numerous other plant lineages that have independently evolved mycoheterotrophic germination strategies. One of these lineages is the tribe Pyroleae (Ericaceae).

Antitumor activity of fermented noni exudates and its fractions.

Noni has been extensively used in folk medicine by Polynesians for over 2000 year. Recent studies have shown that noni has a wide spectrum of therapeutic activities including inhibition of angiogenesis, anti-inflammatory effects and anti-cancer activities. Intraperitoneal (i.

Diabetic Ketoacidosis in Acromegaly: A Case Report.

Objective: To report an uncommon case of diabetic ketoacidosis in a patient with acromegaly, and present the clinical response to treatment.

Methods: Patient evaluation and literature review.

Results: A 23-year-old Japanese male with no prior medical history, presented with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and found to have acromegaly.

Nurse competence: a concept analysis.

Purpose:   The purpose of this analysis was to explore the concept of nurse competence.

Data Sources:   Data sources include EBSCOhost, Gale PowerSearch, ProQuest, PubMed Medline, Google Scholar, and Online Journal of Issues in Nursing.

Data Synthesis:   This paper utilizes Rodgers' evolutionary method to analyze the concept of nurse competence.

The lived experiences of midwives with spirituality in childbirth: mana from heaven.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to describe the lived experiences of midwives who experienced the phenomenon of spirituality when they attended births.

Methods: The research design was descriptive, using a transcendental phenomenological approach reflected in Moustakas' model. Purposive and snowball sampling were used to recruit the sample of 10 certified nurse-midwives.

Failure to clear intra-monocyte HIV infection linked to persistent neuropsychological testing impairment after first-line combined antiretroviral therapy.

HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) persist despite plasma HIV RNA suppression with antiretrovirals (ARV). Sequestered reservoirs in the central nervous system and circulating monocytes are theorized to contribute to persistent brain injury. We previously demonstrated that elevated intracellular HIV DNA from circulating cells was associated with HAND in ARV-treated and ARV-naive subjects.

Field calibrations of soil moisture sensors in a forested watershed.

Spatially variable soil properties influence the performance of soil water content monitoring sensors. The objectives of this research were to: (i) study the spatial variability of bulk density (ρ(b)), total porosity (θ(t)), clay content (CC), electrical conductivity (EC), and pH in the upper Mākaha Valley watershed soils; (ii) explore the effect of variations in ρ(b) and θ(t) on soil water content dynamics, and (iii) establish field calibration equations for EC-20 (Decagon Devices, Inc), ML2x (Delta-T-Devices), and SM200 (Delta-T-Devices) sensors to mitigate the effect of soil spatial variability on their performance. The studied soil properties except pH varied significantly (P < 0.

Improved calibration functions of three capacitance probes for the measurement of soil moisture in tropical soils.

Single capacitance sensors are sensitive to soil property variability. The objectives of this study were to: (i) establish site-specific laboratory calibration equations of three single capacitance sensors (EC-20, EC-10, and ML2x) for tropical soils, and (ii) evaluate the accuracy and precision of these sensors. Intact soil cores and bulk samples, collected from the top 20 and 80 cm soil depths at five locations across the Upper Mākaha Valley watershed, were analyzed to determine their soil bulk density (ρ(b)), total porosity (θ(t)), particle size distribution, and electrical conductivity (EC).

HIV-1 infection abrogates CD8+ T cell mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling responses.

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways are dynamic and sensitive regulators of T cell function and differentiation. Altered MAPK signaling has been associated with the inflammatory and autoimmune diseases lupus and arthritis and with some pathogenic viral infections. HIV-1 infection is characterized by chronic immune inflammation, aberrantly heightened CD8(+) T cell activation levels, and altered T cell function.

Health is wealth: methods to improve attendance in a lifestyle intervention for a largely immigrant Filipino-American sample.

Diabetes prevention requires lifestyle changes, and traditional educational programs for lifestyle changes have had low attendance rates in ethnic populations. This article describes the development and implementation of an educational program, emphasizing retention strategies, cultural tailoring and community participation. Community-based participatory research approaches were used to adapt and test the feasibility of a culturally tailored lifestyle intervention (named Health is Wealth) for Filipino-American adults at risk for diabetes (n = 40) in order to increase program attendance.

Allometric scaling of Wingate anaerobic powertest scores in women.

In this study, we developed allometric exponents for scaling Wingate anaerobic test (WAnT) power data that are effective in controlling for body mass (BM) and lean body mass (LBM) and established a normative WAnT data set for college-age women. One hundred women completed a standard WAnT Allometric exponents and percentile ranks for peak (PP) and mean power (MP) were established. Allometric exponents were applied to WAnT scores for an independent sample (n=31) to assess external validity.

First Report of Association of Mucor circinelloides on Noni (Morinda citrifolia) in Hawaii.

Noni (Morinda citrifolia) is a popular medicinal plant found in tropical or subtropical regions of the world. The fruit and juice extracts have properties that are reportedly therapeutic for diabetes, high blood pressure, and certain types of cancer (1,4). In our studies on noni juice produced from fruit collected from the Kohala and Puna districts of the island of Hawaii from 2008 to 2010, Mucor circinelloides f.

Assisted reproduction technologies alter steroid delivery to the mouse fetus during pregnancy.

Assisted reproduction technologies (ART) include in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), and are common treatments for infertility. Although generally successful, ART warrant further investigations due to emerging perinatal issues, especially low birth weight. Herein we extend our previous work demonstrating higher steroid clearance in murine ART placentas by examining steroid biosynthesis and the directional flow of steroids in the maternal-placental-fetal units.

Offline oxygen isotope analysis of organic compounds with high N:O.

Although the advantages of online δ(18)O analysis of organic compounds make its broad application desirable, researchers have encountered NO(+) isobaric interference with CO(+) at m/z 30 (e.g. (14)N(16)O(+), (12)C(18)O(+)) when analyzing nitrogenous substrates.