Caribbean coral reefs have transformed into algal-dominated habitats over recent decades, but the mechanisms of change are unresolved due to a lack of quantitative ecological data before large-scale ...human impacts. To understand the role of reduced herbivory in recent coral declines, we produce a high-resolution 3,000 year record of reef accretion rate and herbivore (parrotfish and urchin) abundance from the analysis of sediments and fish, coral and urchin subfossils within cores from Caribbean Panama. At each site, declines in accretion rates and parrotfish abundance were initiated in the prehistorical or historical period. Statistical tests of direct cause and effect relationships using convergent cross mapping reveal that accretion rates are driven by parrotfish abundance (but not vice versa) but are not affected by total urchin abundance. These results confirm the critical role of parrotfish in maintaining coral-dominated reef habitat and the urgent need for restoration of parrotfish populations to enable reef persistence.
Siblings are an important yet often forgotten part of the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) family experience. Commonly, siblings are supported through the experience by their parents; however, ...very little is known about parental experiences of providing this support. This study aims to explore parental experiences of supporting sibling inclusion in PICU.
This study utilised a qualitative descriptive approach to conduct semi-structured interviews with 6 parents of 5 children with congenital heart disease who had spent time in PICU. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.
Australian PICUs.
Parental considerations and experiences for sibling inclusion were identified across three key phases: Pre-inclusion, The PICU visit, and Post-inclusion. Prior to including siblings in PICU, parents considered various ways of sharing information with siblings, and weighed up the risks and benefits of bringing siblings into PICU. Parents also recounted a number of challenges and facilitators to a positive sibling experience in PICU, including supportive staff and fun activities. Finally, parents, identified that siblings require ongoing support after their inclusion in PICU and made suggestions for ongoing availability of information and supportive resources.
This study has illuminated key parental experiences when supporting sibling inclusion in PICU before, during and after their visit. By understanding these parental experiences, PICU staff can work with and support parents where needed, helping to achieve a positive sibling inclusion experience.
Parents need ongoing support to explain the PICU to siblings of critically ill children and may benefit from specific visual resources to aid communication. In addition, PICUs should aim to ensure the physical layout is supportive of sibling needs, with dedicated spaces for siblings to play and take time out during their experience.
Live coral cover has declined precipitously on Caribbean reefs in recent decades. Acropora cervicornis coral has been particularly decimated, and few Western Atlantic Acropora spp. refugia remain. ...Coral Gardens, Belize, was identified in 2020 as a long-term refugium for this species. This study assesses changes in live A. cervicornis coral abundance over time at Coral Gardens to monitor the stability of A. cervicornis corals, and to explore potential threats to this important refugium. Live coral cover was documented annually from 2012-2019 along five permanent transects. In situ sea-surface temperature data were collected at Coral Gardens throughout the study period and compared with calibrated satellite data to calculate Maximum Monthly Mean (MMM) temperatures and Degree Heating Weeks (DHW). Data on bathymetry, sediment, substrate, herbivore abundance, and macroalgal abundance were collected in 2014 and 2019 to assess potential threats to Coral Gardens. Live coral cover declined at all five transect sites over the study period. The greatest loss of live coral occurred between 2016 and 2017, coincident with the earliest and highest maximum average temperatures recorded at the study site, and the passage of a hurricane in 2016. Structural storm damage was not observed at Coral Gardens, though live coral cover declined after the passage of the storm. Uranium-thorium (230Th) dating of 26 dead in situ fragments of A. cervicornis collected in 2015 from Coral Gardens revealed no correlation between coral mortality and tropical storms and hurricanes in the recent past. Our data suggest that several other common drivers for coral decline (i.e. herbivory, predation, sedimentation, pH) may likely be ruled out for Coral Gardens. At the end of the study period, Coral Gardens satisfied most criteria for refugium status. However, the early onset, higher mean, and longer duration of above-average temperatures, as well as intermittent temperature anomalies likely played a critical role in the stability of this refugium. We suggest that temperature stress in 2016 and perhaps 2015 may have increased coral tissue vulnerability at Coral Gardens to a passing hurricane, threatening the status of this unique refugium.
The life history strategies of massive Porites corals make them a valuable resource not only as key providers of reef structure, but also as recorders of past environmental change. Yet recent ...documented evidence of an unprecedented increase in the frequency of mortality in Porites warrants investigation into the history of mortality and associated drivers. To achieve this, both an accurate chronology and an understanding of the life history strategies of Porites are necessary. Sixty-two individual Uranium–Thorium (U–Th) dates from 50 dead massive Porites colonies from the central inshore region of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) revealed the timing of mortality to have occurred predominantly over two main periods from 1989.2±4.1 to 2001.4±4.1, and from 2006.4±1.8 to 2008.4±2.2 A.D., with a small number of colonies dating earlier. Overall, the peak ages of mortality are significantly correlated with maximum sea-surface temperature anomalies. Despite potential sampling bias, the frequency of mortality increased dramatically post-1980. These observations are similar to the results reported for the Southern South China Sea. High resolution measurements of Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca obtained from a well preserved sample that died in 1994.6±2.3 revealed that the time of death occurred at the peak of sea surface temperatures (SST) during the austral summer. In contrast, Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca analysis in two colonies dated to 2006.9±3.0 and 2008.3±2.0, suggest that both died after the austral winter. An increase in Sr/Ca ratios and the presence of low Mg-calcite cements (as determined by SEM and elemental ratio analysis) in one of the colonies was attributed to stressful conditions that may have persisted for some time prior to mortality. For both colonies, however, the timing of mortality coincides with the 4th and 6th largest flood events reported for the Burdekin River in the past 60years, implying that factors associated with terrestrial runoff may have been responsible for mortality. Our results show that a combination of U–Th and elemental ratio geochemistry can potentially be used to precisely and accurately determine the timing and season of mortality in modern massive Porites corals. For reefs where long-term monitoring data are absent, the ability to reconstruct historical events in coral communities may prove useful to reef managers by providing some baseline knowledge on disturbance history and associated drivers.
The inshore reefs of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) have undergone significant declines in water quality following European settlement (approx. 1870 AD). However, direct evidence of impacts on coral ...assemblages is limited by a lack of historical baselines prior to the onset of modern monitoring programmes in the early 1980s. Through palaeoecological reconstructions, we report a previously undocumented historical collapse of Acropora assemblages at Pelorus Island (central GBR). High-precision U-series dating of dead Acropora fragments indicates that this collapse occurred between 1920 and 1955, with few dates obtained after 1980. Prior to this event, our results indicate remarkable long-term stability in coral community structure over centennial scales. We suggest that chronic increases in sediment flux and nutrient loading following European settlement acted as the ultimate cause for the lack of recovery of Acropora assemblages following a series of acute disturbance events (SST anomalies, cyclones and flood events). Evidence for major degradation in reef condition owing to human impacts prior to modern ecological surveys indicates that current monitoring of inshore reefs on the GBR may be predicated on a significantly shifted baseline.
Caring for children and their families at the end-of-life is an essential but challenging aspect of care in the PICU. During and following a child's death, families often report a simultaneous need ...for protected privacy and ongoing supportive presence from staff. Balancing these seemingly paradoxical needs can be difficult for PICU staff and can often lead to the family feeling intruded upon or abandoned during their end-of-life experience. In this "Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Perspectives" piece, we reframe provision of privacy at the end-of-life in the PICU and describe an essential principle that aims to help the interprofessional PICU team simultaneously meet these two opposing family needs: "Supported Privacy." In addition, we offer concrete recommendations to actualize "Supported Privacy" in the PICU, focusing on environmental considerations, practical needs, and emotional responses. By incorporating the principles of "Supported Privacy" into end-of-life care practices, clinicians can support the delivery of high-quality care that meets the needs of children and families navigating the challenges and supports of end-of-life in the PICU.
The DIALS project is a collaboration between Diamond Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and CCP4 to develop a new software suite for the analysis of crystallographic X‐ray ...diffraction data, initially encompassing spot finding, indexing, refinement and integration. The design, core algorithms and structure of the software are introduced, alongside results from the analysis of data from biological and chemical crystallography experiments.
A new X‐ray diffraction data‐analysis package is presented with a description of the algorithms and examples of its application to biological and chemical crystallography.
To investigate whether Immersive Virtual Reality (VR) has a greater positive influence on oncology patients’ physical and emotional mood states when compared to an iPad attentional control condition. ...Our secondary objective was to understand what factors influenced VR effectiveness.
Participants were 90 oncology inpatients, aged 7–19 years, and their primary parent caregiver. Using a randomized controlled study design patients were allocated to VR (three content groups) or an iPad control condition. Pre-post-intervention self-report state measures were collected using visual analogue scales and an objective measure of physiological arousal (pulse rate). Post-intervention, patients reported on level of immersion, enjoyment and simulator sickness.
Patients benefited from both Immersive VR and novel iPad intervention with no statistically significant differences found between conditions on child outcomes. However, patients accessing Immersive VR consistently reported greater positive shifts in mood state and reductions in negative symptoms when compared with iPad. No change was observed in physiological arousal levels (pulse rate) in either condition before, during or immediately after intervention. Moderation analysis showed that the degree of child illness (PedsQL), sex, age, and level of immersion were important in influencing the magnitude of differences between the VR and iPad conditions on mood, anxiety and pain.
These preliminary findings support the use of Immersive VR in clinical oncology settings to improve patient well-being. Further studies examining the application of Immersive VR in supporting children adjusting to hospitalization and cancer treatment are therefore warranted. Factors found to moderate VR effectiveness provide important clinical implications.
Hard coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is on a trajectory of decline. However, little is known about past coral mortality before the advent of long-term monitoring (circa 1980s). Using ...paleoecological analysis and high-precision uranium-thorium (U-Th) dating, we reveal an extensive loss of branching Acropora corals and changes in coral community structure in the Palm Islands region of the central GBR over the past century. In 2008, dead coral assemblages were dominated by large, branching Acropora and living coral assemblages by genera typically found in turbid inshore environments. The timing of Acropora mortality was found to be occasionally synchronous among reefs and frequently linked to discrete disturbance events, occurring in the 1920s to 1960s and again in the 1980s to 1990s. Surveys conducted in 2014 revealed low Acropora cover (<5%) across all sites, with very little evidence of change for up to 60 y at some sites. Collectively, our results suggest a loss of resilience of this formerly dominant key framework builder at a regional scale, with recovery severely lagging behind predictions. Our study implies that the management of these reefs may be predicated on a shifted baseline.
PDF
