Sirlei Jaiana Kleinübing, and Frederico Gai, and Caroline Bertagnolli, and Meuris Gurgel Carlos da Silva

This paper studies the bioadsorption of Pb2+, Cu2+, Cd2+ and Zn2+ ions by marine alga Sargassum filipendula and by the alginate biopolymer extracted from this alga. The objective is to evaluate the importance of this biopolymer in removing different metallic ions by the marine alga S. filipendula. In the equilibrium study, the same affinity order was observed for both bioadsorbents: Pb2+ > Cu2+ > Zn2+ > Cd2+. For Pb2+ and Cu2+ ions when the alginate is isolated and acting as bioadsorbents, adsor...

Mura M, and Castagna A, and Fontani V, and Rinaldi S

Marco Mura1, Alessandro Castagna2, Vania Fontani2, Salvatore Rinaldi21Institute of Radiology, University of Cagliari, 2Rinaldi Fontani Institute – Department of Neuro Psycho Physical Optimization, Florence, ItalyPurpose: This study assessed changes in functional dysmetria (FD) and in brain activation observable by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a leg flexion-extension motor task following brain stimulation with a single radioelectric asymmetric conveyer (REAC) puls...

Bruno Lorenção de Almeida, and Antônio Massamitsu Kambara, and Fabio Henrique Rossi, and Marcelo Bueno de Oliveira Colli, and Eduardo Silva Jordão de Oliveira, and Patrick Bastos Metzger, and Camila Baumann Beteli, and Sthefanie Fauve Andrade Cavalcante

Background:Endovascular repair has become established as a safe and effective method for treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms. One major complication of this treatment is leakage, or endoleaks, of which type 2 leaks are the most common.Objective:To conduct a brief review of the literature and evaluate the safety and effectiveness of embolization by micronavigation for treatment of type 2 endoleaks.Method:A review of medical records from patients who underwent endovascular repair of abdominal ...

G. Dybkjær, and R. Tonboe, and J. L. Høyer

The ice surface temperature (IST) is an important boundary condition for both atmospheric and ocean and sea ice models and for coupled systems. An operational ice surface temperature product using satellite Metop AVHRR infra-red data was developed for MyOcean. The IST can be mapped in clear sky regions using a split window algorithm specially tuned for sea ice. Clear sky conditions prevail during spring in the Arctic, while persistent cloud cover limits data coverage during summer. The cloud cov...

G.F Warner

The purpose of this study was to record the species of Antipatharia on Jamaican reefs and to carry out limited studies on densities and sizes of the common species.In addition,a cliff face created by dredging in 2002 provided the opportunity to study growth of newly settled colonies.Observations since 1998 and measurements since 2001 were made using SCUBA at depths down to 35 m.Seven species of Antipatharia were observed on steep coral reef escarpments below 25 m depth.The commonest species was ...

Valdenei de Melo Parente, and Vandick da Silva Batista

A maior parte da produção pesqueira do Estado do Amazonas é desembarcada em Manaus, entretanto, as características de organização do apoio à produção e da comercialização neste centro, pouco têm sido avaliadas ou consideradas nas discussões para o desenvolvimento do setor. O presente trabalho visa apresentar estas características de forma a estabelecer um referencial histórico sobre a organização do desembarque pesqueiro em Manaus e para subsidiar o planejamento do setor. Entrevistas foram efetu...

Kongkarn Kijroongrojana, and Pichayana Juemanee, and Worapong Usawakesmanee, and Wilatsana Posri

A battered shrimp burger, as a new value-added shrimp product, was developed by increasing the juiciness of a frozen battered shrimp burger using a mixture of hydrocolloids. The formulations of hydrocolloid mixtures containing modified tapioca starch (MTS), sodium alginate (AL), and iota-carrageenan (CA) were optimized. Juiciness measurements were defined and analyzed by 13 trained panelists. Texture Profile Analysis (TPA) as well as moisture and fat contents of the products were analyzed. The m...

D. Topping, and G. McFiggans, and D. Lowe

A coupled box model of photochemistry and aerosol microphysics which explicitly accounts for size-dependent chemical properties of the condensed-phase has been developed to simulate the multi-phase chemistry of chlorine, bromine and iodine in the marine boundary layer (MBL). The model contains separate seasalt and non-seasalt modes, each of which may be composed of 1–16 size-bins. By comparison of gaseous and aerosol compositions predicted using different size-resolutions with both fixed and siz...

Ângela Maria Marques Sanches Marques, and Ismar Sebastião Moscheta

The upper Paraná River floodplain is characterized by the existence of several aquatic and transitional habitats between the aquatic and terrestrial environment, influencing the presence and distribution of aquatic macrophytes. Samples were taken from different places andpermanent slides were prepared for analysis and capture of images with the objective of comparing the anatomy of the roots of eight species of emergent aquatic macrophytes. The species feature uniseriate epidermis with narrow an...

Żaneta Marciniak

Throughout the history of Europe and the world, shipping routes have determined the development of many civilisations, since it was along them that settlements and commerce developed, goods and people were transported, and later, industry was located. Currently, shipping routes are an important element in inland transport corridors. The European Union puts particular emphasis on the development of inland and rail transport to balance road transport, which is drastically expanding. Development of...

Lucy Satiko Hashimoto Soares, and Ronald Apelbaum

Com o objetivo de se identificar a cronologia alimentar e comparar a composição dos conteúdos estomacais ao longo do dia foram obtidas amostras de Prionotus punctatus na plataforma interna ao largo de Ubatuba (SP), Brasil, durante o ciclo diário em janeiro/87, julho/88 e dezembro/88. As amostras foram obtidas com rede de arrasto de fundo, a intervalos de aproximadamente 3 horas. Através do acompanhamento da freqüência relativa dos graus de repleção, dos indicadores de repleção, do número médio d...

Adriana Profeta

The purpose of this paper was to study the community structure, in terms of species composition, abundance and spatial distribution, of fish larvae in a wide coastal area of Sicily facing the south-eastern Tyrrhenian Sea (central Mediterranean). This study analyses how species are assembled in relation to an inshore-offshore gradient and also how environmental conditions, determined by surface circulation patterns occurring in the Central Mediterranean at the local scale, determine the distribut...

Matan eGolan, and Jakob eBiran, and Berta eLevavi-Sivan

The gonadotropins follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) are key regulators of the reproductive axis in vertebrates. Despite the high popularity of zebrafish as a model organism for studying reproductive functions, to date no transgenic zebrafish with labeled gonadotropes have been introduced. Using gonadotropin regulatory elements from tilapia, we generated two transgenic zebrafish lines with labeled gonadotropes. The tilapia and zebrafish regulatory sequences were high...

Peter Michael Kreuzer, and Michael eLandgrebe, and Martin eSchecklmann, and Timm B Poeppl, and Veronika eVielsmeier, and Goeran eHajak, and Goeran eHajak, and Tobias eKleinjung, and Tobias eKleinjung, and Berthold eLangguth

Objectives: Low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the temporal cortex has been investigated as a new treatment tool for chronic tinnitus during the last years and has shown moderate efficacy. However, there is growing evidence that tinnitus is not a pathology of a specific brain region, but rather the result of network dysfunction involving both auditory and non-auditory brain regions. In functional imaging studies the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex has been ...

JHR Burns, and D Delparte, and RD Gates, and M Takabayashi

The structural complexity of coral reefs plays a major role in the biodiversity, productivity, and overall functionality of reef ecosystems. Conventional metrics with 2-dimensional properties are inadequate for characterization of reef structural complexity. A 3-dimensional (3D) approach can better quantify topography, rugosity and other structural characteristics that play an important role in the ecology of coral reef communities. Structure-from-Motion (SfM) is an emerging low-cost photogramme...

C. Seabird McKeon, and Jenna M. Moore

Coral guard-crabs in the genus Trapezia are well-documented defenders of their pocilloporid coral hosts against coral predators such as the Crown-of-Thorns seastar (Acanthaster planci complex). The objectives of this study were to examine the protective services of six species of Trapezia against corallivory, and the extent of functional diversity among these Trapezia species.Studies conducted in Mo’orea, French Polynesia showed the Trapezia—coral mutualism protected the host corals from multipl...

V.P. Padate, and L.V. Baragi, and C.U. Rivonker

Sea snakes occur in trawl hauls as by-catch, incurring mortality in populations inhabiting commercial fishing grounds (< 20 m depth) along the coastal inshore waters of Goa. Observations of this incidental catch show that true sea snakes inhabiting inshore waters comprise two species: Enhydrina schistosa and Lapemis curtus, contributing 65 and 35 % of the population respectively. 70 trawl operations over a period of 17 months with a total fishing effort of 110 hours yielded 43 individuals, all ...

Voravit Cheevaporn, and Vipoosit Manthachitra

This study describes the structure of coral and fish assemblages of a group of small islands and pinnacles in the vicinity of Maptaput deep sea port, Rayong Province, Thailand during 2002. The coral and fish assemblages at Saket Island and nearby pinnacle, Hin-Yai, which are located less than 1 km from the deep sea port, had changed. Living coral cover in 2002 was 8% at Hin-Yai and 4% at Saket Island which decreased from 33% and 64%, respectively in the previous report in 1992. Numbers of coral ...

J.S. Marques, and P. Roquetti Fernandes, and J. Fernandes Filho, and F. B. Policarpo

This study aimed at observing children with cerebral palsy's (CP) gait maturation and to correlate gait maturation's motor skill parameters. Podogram and video shooting of eight children's gait were used. Children up to seven years of age participated in the study. Cluster analysis was applied, dividing the sample into two groups, using the relation between pelvis’ width and the spreading of the ankles (REL) as parameters. Data were analyzed using t-test, analysis of Deltas, and Pearson’s correl...

Daniela Carvalho Pereira, and Cláudia Franca Barros, and Fabio Rubio Scarano

Andira legalis (Vell.) Toledo is a legume shrub widespread along the sandy plains of the Brazilian coast. It occurs both shaded, in forest habitats, or exposed to full sunlight, in the vegetation islands growing on sand deposits. Previous studies reported a high range of morpho-physiological variation for this species along a geographical gradient. This study compared leaf morphology and anatomy of A. legalis in two distinct but adjacent light environments: a dense forest (shaded) and a scrub of...

S. Khatiwala, and F. W. Primeau, and J. K. Moore, and S. Wang

The global ocean has taken up a large fraction of the CO₂ released by human activities since the industrial revolution. Quantifying the oceanic anthropogenic carbon (C_ant) inventory and its variability is important for predicting the future global carbon cycle. The detailed comparison of data-based and model-based estimates is essential for the validation and continued improvement of our prediction capabilities. So far, three global estimates of oceanic C_ant inve...

Roberto Carlos de Sá Silva, and Júlio César Raposo de Almeida, and Ana Aparecida da Silva Almeida, and Gokithi Akisue, and Matheus Diniz Gonçalves Coelho, and José Roberto Pereira

Since the dawn of medicine, man has used natural products for the treatment of disease. There has been a recent increase in studies of the therapeutic characteristics plants in popular use in many places of the world. In this context, the species Centrolobium tomentosum, Fabaceae, known popularly as Araribá or Araruva, is used in Brazilian folk medicine as an astringent for wound treatment and bruises due to the large amount of tannins contained in the bark. This work used toxicity tests to asse...

Andrew W Bruckner, and Eric H Borneman

In June, 2002, the government of Dominica requested assistance in evaluating the coral culture and transplantation activities being undertaken by Oceanographic Institute of Dominica (OID), a coral farm culturing both western Atlantic and Indo-Pacific corals for restoration and commercial sales. We assessed the culture facilities of OID, the condition of reefs, potential impacts of coral collection and benefits of coral transplantation. Coral reefs (9 reefs, 3-20m depth) were characterized by 35 ...

R.A.M. Neves, and N.V.M. de Mira, and U.M. Lanfer Marquez

Hidrolisados enzimáticos são utilizados no tratamento clínico de pacientes com dificuldade em digerir e absorver proteínas, sendo preferidos em relação às misturas de aminoácidos livres. Neste trabalho foram caracterizados quimicamente seis hidrolisados de minced de pescado, obtidos pelo emprego de diferentes sistemas enzimáticos, quanto à extensão da hidrólise, distribuição de peso molecular dos peptídios, composição química e perfil de aminoácidos. A hidrólise resultou na solubilização de 63,4...

Bruno dos Santos Esteves, and Marina Satika Suzuki

AIM: We studied nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) resorption patterns in Typha domingensis Pers. in a tropical coastal lagoon during different seasons of throughout one year. METHODS: Resorption of N and P is uttered as resorption efficiency (NRE and PRE, respectively), which may be used as an indicator of a nutrient limitation. Higher resorption efficiency values might indicate limitation of a certain element for the growth of aquatic macrophytes. RESULTS: N was inferred to be less limiting than ...

Nazmul Hossain, and Mahbubur Rahman

In this study, attempts were made to isolate Streptomyces sp. from soil samples of two different regions of Bangladesh and evaluate their antagonistic activity against fish and human pathogenic bacteria. A total of 10 isolates were identified as Streptomyces sp. based on several morphological, physiological and biochemical tests. Cross streak method was used to observe the antagonistic activity of the Streptomyces sp. isolates against different fish pathogens belonging to the genus Aeromonas, Ps...

Marcos Tavares-Dias, and Jefferson Raphael Gonzaga Lemos, and Maurício Laterça Martins

Twenty-seven specimens of cardinal tetra Paracheirodon axelrodi, 33 rosy tetra Hyphessobrycon copelandi (Characidae), 28 marbled hatchetfish Carnegiella strigata, 26 blackwing hatchetfish Carnegiella martae (Gasteropelecidae), 27 bodó Ancistrus hoplogenys (Loricariidae), 31 brown pencilfish Nannostomus eques, 38 oneline pencilfish Nannostomus unifasciatus (Lebiasinidae) and 13 angelfish Pterophyllum scalare (Cichlidae) were collected from the middle Negro River, State of Amazonas, Brazil, for pa...

D.B.P.Sousa, and Z.S. Almeida, and R.N.F. Carvalho-Neta

Neste estudo objetivou-se validar lesões branquiais como biomarcadores em peixes de importância econômica (Sciades herzbergii e Bagre bagre) capturados pela pesca artesanal em dois locais diferenciados da Baía de São Marcos, MA, a fim de selecionar um táxon como bioindicador capaz de ser utilizado em programas de biomonitoramento. O primeiro ponto (S1) foi utilizado como uma área de referência - Ilha dos Caranguejos -, e o segundo ponto (S2) foi considerado potencialmente impactado - Complexo Po...

Adriana Mazurek, and Stanisław Pogorzelski, and Katarzyna Boniewicz-Szmyt

The spreading properties of several hydrocarbons (vegetable,engine, gear and crude oils) on distilled and artificial seawater were determined under laboratory conditions using a noveloptical method. With the aid of Langmuir's equation, the geometricalsignatures of a discrete lens of each hydrocarbon droplet floatingon a water tank served to calculate the entering<i>E</i> (31.30-94.18 mN m^-1) and spreading<i>S</i> (-3.50 to -57.49 mN m^-1) coefficients, and equilibriumthickne...

Daniel Enrique Godínez Siordia, and Oscar González Ochoa, and Arnulfo Hernández Díaz, and Antonio García Triana, and Julián Gamboa Delgado, and José Guadalupe Arce Ibarra, and Erick Manuel Godinez Siordia

Shrimp aquaculture is an expanding activity in many countries in which the health status is a determining factor for its success. In this review we present world shrimp viral agents, with emphasis in America reported virus and the influence of water salinity.

W. M. Kemp, and J. M. Testa, and D. J. Conley, and D. Gilbert, and J. D. Hagy

The incidence and intensity of hypoxic waters in coastal aquatic ecosystems has been expanding in recent decades coincident with eutrophication of the coastal zone. Worldwide, there is strong interest in reducing the size and duration of hypoxia in coastal waters, because hypoxia causes negative effects for many organisms and ecosystem processes. Although strategies to reduce hypoxia by decreasing nutrient loading are predicated on the assumption that this action would reverse eutrophication, re...

Daniel Benetti, and Bruno Sardenberg, and Ron Hoenig, and Aaron Welch, and John Stieglitz, and Sasa Miralao, and Daniel Farkas, and Patrick Brown, and Darryl Jory

Among warm-water marine fishes, cobia is one of the best aquaculture candidate species in the world. Currently there are commercial culture operations in several Asian countries and the industry has started developing elsewhere, including the Western Central Atlantic region. Significant research has been conducted at the University of Miami's Aquaculture Program / University of Miami Experimental Hatchery (UMEH) during the last eight years, involving research to develop and optimize advanced tec...

Laurie L. Richardson

The study of coral diseases, coral pathogens, and the effects of diseases on tropical and subtropical coral reefs are all current, high-profile research areas. This interest has grown steadily since the first report of a coral disease in 1973. The author of this report was Arnfried Antonius and the publication was an abstract in the proceedings of a scientific meeting of the Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean, or AMLC (then known as the Association of Island Marine Laboratories ...

Gustavo Silva Abrahão, and Rodrigo César Rosa, and Rodrigo Okubo, and Antônio Carlos Shimano

OBJETIVO: Avaliamos a influência do diâmetro e do modo de preparação do orifício piloto na resistência ao arrancamento e no torque de inserção dos parafusos pediculares com diâmetro interno cônico. MÉTODOS: Ensaios mecânicos foram realizados com parafusos pediculares com alma cônica e diâmetro de 4,2mm e 5,2mm inseridos nos pedículos vertebrais lombares de suínos. O orifício piloto foi confeccionado com de broca e sondas (pontiaguda e cortante) com diferentes diâmetros. RESULTADOS: Testando o pa...

Y.-J. Eum, and T. Matsui, and A. Tsuda, and F. Nakagawa, and S. Daita, and D. D. Komatsu, and U. Tsunogai, and U. Konno, and K. Suzuki

Using the ¹⁵N₂ tracer method and high-sensitivity &delta;¹⁵N analytical systems, we determined N₂ fixation rates for ocean samples by dividing them into particulate (>0.7 μm) and filtrate (<0.7 μm) fractions. While N₂ fixation in the filtrate fraction had been ignored in previous studies, we found a significant N₂ fixation rates in the filtrate fraction in our study. The areal N₂ fixation rates in the western North Paci...

Filiberto Reyes-Villanueva, and Mario A Rodríguez-Pérez

OBJECTIVE: To estimate, using logistic regression, the likelihood of occurrence of a non-gonoactive Aedes aegypti female, previously fed human blood, with relation to body size and collection method. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study was conducted in Monterrey, Mexico, between 1994 and 1996. Ten samplings of 60 mosquitoes of Ae aegypti females were carried out in three dengue endemic areas: six of biting females, two of emerging mosquitoes, and two of indoor resting females. Gravid females, as we...

L. Jaeglé, and P. K. Quinn, and T. S. Bates, and B. Alexander, and J.-T. Lin

We combine in situ measurements of sea salt aerosols (SS) from open ocean cruises and ground-based stations together with aerosol optical depth (AOD) observations from MODIS and AERONET, and the GEOS-Chem global chemical transport model to provide new constraints on SS emissions over the world's oceans. We find that the GEOS-Chem model using the Gong (2003) source function overestimates cruise observations of coarse mode SS mass concentrations by factors of 2–3 at high wind speeds over the cold ...

Atsushi Nanami

The present study examined pair formation, spatial pattern of home range and spatial variation in density, size and social status of blotched foxface Siganus unimaculatus (family Siganidae) on an Okinawan coral reef. Of 32 pairs sampled for sexing, 31 (96.9%) were heterosexual and showed size-assortative pairing. Developed ovaries were found in April and July, whereas oocytes were immature in August, September and February. Heterosexual pairing was found in both reproductive and non-reproductive...

Luciana eTerra, and Paula eAbreu, and Valéria L. Teixeira, and Izabel C.N.P. Paixão, and Rebeca ePereira, and Bruno eLeal, and Andre eLourenço, and Pabulo Henrique eRampelotto, and Helena C. Castro

Currently, the limited number of antifungals available for treating fungal infections, the increased multiresistance, and the adverse effects are the major obstacles for fungal infection therapy. Recently, emergent opportunistic fungus infections have been described and reinforced the requirement of researches aimed at the discovery of novel antifungal agents. Herein we reviewed the main topics about fungi and its related infections, the antifungals available, their mechanism of action and resis...

B. H. Kahn, and G. Matheou, and Q. Yue, and T. Fauchez, and E. J. Fetzer, and M. Lebsock, and J. Martins, and M. M. Schreier, and K. Suzuki, and J. Teixeira

The global-scale patterns and covariances of subtropical marine boundary layer (MBL) cloud fraction and spatial variability with atmospheric thermodynamic and dynamic fields remain poorly understood. We describe an approach that leverages coincident NASA A-train and the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) data to quantify the relationships in the subtropical MBL derived at the native pixel and grid resolution. A new method for observing four subtropical ...

Bruno G. Lages, and Beatriz G. Fleury, and Cláudia M. Rezende, and Angelo C. Pinto, and Joel C. Creed

Defensive chemistry may be used against consumers and competitors by invasive species as a strategy for colonization and perpetuation in a new area. There are relatively few studies of negative chemical interactions between scleratinian corals. This study characterizes the secondary metabolites in the invasive corals Tubastraea tagusensis and T. coccinea and relates these to an in situ experiment using a submersible apparatus with Sep-Paks® cartridges to trap substances released by T. tagusensis...

S. Khorrami Mashhadi, and M. Trapero, and J. P. Gisbert, and E. Gómez Domínguez, and J. Maté-Jiménez

Introduction: patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) have a greater risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC) when compared to the general population. Epithelial dysplasia comes before this neoplasm, and thus endoscopic surveillance is recommended to these patients. This pilot study aims at establishing the incidence of dysplasia and CRC in patients with long-standing UC in our hospital. Material and methods: this is a prospective observational study performed in patients with a definite diagnos...

Anna Kohn, and Cláudia Portes Santos, and Maria de Fátima D. Baptista Farias

Bicotylophora trachinoti (Mac Callum, 1921) from Trachinotus carolinus L.; Pseudanthocotyloides heterocotyle (Van Beneden, 1871) from Cetengraulis edentulus (Cuvier), and Decapterus punctatus (Cuvier), new host records; Pseudomazocraes selene Hargis, 1957 from Selene vomer (L.) and Caranx latus Agassiz, new host record, are reported for the first time in Brazil from the coast of Rio de Janeiro State. The marine fishes Diplectrum sp. and Pomatomus saltatrix (L.) are respectively new host records ...

Denise Tonetta, and Mauricio Mello Petrucio, and Roselane Laudares-Silva

AIM: The aim of the present study was to study the vertical variation in phytoplankton community in a subtropical coastal lake and to verify the temporal variation of this community following variation in temperature and dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus. METHODS: Sampling of phytoplankton and abiotic variables were performed monthly from June/2009 to January/2011 at four depths from the central part of Peri Lake. The data were analyzed using analysis of variance, correlation and canonical corre...

RM. Pinto-Coelho, and JF. Bezerra-Neto, and F. Miranda, and TG. Mota, and R. Resck, and AM. Santos, and PM. Maia-Barbosa, and NAST. Mello, and MM. Marques, and MO. Campos, and FAR. Barbosa

The present study deals with the ecological impacts of the introduction of two alien species of piscivorous fish in several lakes of the Middle Rio Doce lake district in Minas Gerais, Brazil. It was demonstrated that these effects were not restricted only to the fish community. The introduction of the predatory red piranha Pygocentrus nattereri and the tucunaré Cichla cf. ocellaris caused not only a sharp decrease in the number of native fish species, but also major shifts in other trophic level...

Imam S

J.L. Padilla, and A. González, and C. Pérez

P. Censi, and F. Saiano, and P. Zuddas, and A. Nicosia, and S. Mazzola, and M. Raso

Sediments collected from hypersaline and anoxic deep-sea basins in the eastern Mediterranean (Thetis, Kryos, Medee, and Tyro) were characterised in terms of their mineralogical composition, the distributions of rare earth elements (REE), Zr, and Hf and their content of microbial DNA. We identified two major mineralogical fractions: one fraction of detritic origin was composed of quartz, gypsum, and low-Mg calcite bioclasts (with 0 < Mg < 0.07%) and another fraction of authigenic origin constitut...

D.M.S.S. Karunarathna, and M.A.J.S. Navaratne, and W.P.N. Perera, and V.A.P. Samarawickrama

In Sri Lanka over the past 30 years Dugong Dugong dugon numbers have declined dramatically and sightings are now very rare for this species, currently listed as a globally vulnerable. Dugongs are social animals that are broadly coincident with the sea grasses they prefer for forage, primarily the genera Halodule and Halophila. This study was conducted to determine threats, conservation, populations, habitat selection and habitat availability of dugongs in the Kalpitiya and Puttalama areas. The s...

Abdullah M Al-Rubaish, and Sheikh Idris Abdel Rahim, and Ammar Hassan, and Amein Al Ali, and Fatma Mokabel, and Mohammed Hegazy, and Ladé Wosornu

Background: The National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment is responsible for the academic accreditation of universities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Requirements for this include evaluation of teaching effectiveness, evidence-based conclusions, and external benchmarks. Aims: To develop a questionnaire for students′ evaluation of the teaching skills of individual instructors and provide a tool for benchmarking. Setting: College of Nursing, University of Dammam [UoD], ...