CURRICULUM GUIDE FOR RESEARCH ETHICS WORKSHOPS FOR COUNTRIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST

To help ensure the ethical conduct of research, many have recommended educational efforts in research ethics to investigators and members of research ethics committees (RECs). One type of education activity involves multi‐day workshops in research ethics. To be effective, such workshops should contain the appropriate content and teaching techniques geared towards the learning styles of the targeted audiences. To ensure consistency in content and quality, we describe the development of a curriculum guide, core competencies and associated learning objectives and activities to help educators organize research ethics workshops in their respective institutions. The curriculum guide is divided into modular units to enable planners to develop workshops of different lengths and choose content materials that match the needs, abilities, and prior experiences of the target audiences. The content material in the curriculum guide is relevant for audiences in the Middle East, because individuals from the Middle East who participated in a Certificate Program in research ethics selected and developed the training materials (e.g., articles, powerpoint slides, case studies, protocols). Also, many of the activities incorporate active‐learning methods, consisting of group work activities analyzing case studies and reviewing protocols. The development of such a workshop training curriculum guide represents a sustainable educational resource to enhance research ethics capacity in the Middle East.     

Analysis of Time-Varying Biological Data Using Rainflow Cycle Counting

A wide range of biological investigations lead to time-history data. The characterization of such data can be difficult particularly in the presence of signal noise or superimposed signals. Several methods are described which can be brought to bear including FFT, thresholding, peak counting, and range counting. However, each of these approaches has significant disadvantages. In this paper we describe a novel method, known as rainflow cycle counting, for characterizing time varying biological time-history data in terms of spiking or oscillation amplitude and frequency. Rainflow counting is a straightforward algorithm for identifying complete cycles in the data and determining their amplitudes. The approach is simple, reliable, easily lends itself to automation, and robust even in the presence of superimposed signals or background noise. After describing the method, its use and behavior are demonstrated on three sample histories of intracellular calcium concentration in chondrocytes exposed to fluid shear stress. The method is also applied to a more challenging data set that has had an artificial random error included. The results demonstrate that the rainflow counting algorithm identifies signal oscillations and appropriately determines their amplitudes even when superimposed or distorted by background noise. These attractive properties make rainflow counting a powerful approach for quantifying and characterizing biological time histories.     

Carbon dioxide increase: the implications at the ecosystem level*

Abstract Possible effects of increased atmospheric concentrations of CO₂ on forest ecosystems are discussed and as an example a simulation case study using a set of mixed-age and mixed-species forest stand models is presented. The responses of the models to a simple scenario (uniform growth increase of all trees as a response to CO₂ enrichment) include increases in biomass that are considerably less than the increases in growth rate of the trees. These simulations and more general discussion of the possible effects of increased photosynthetic production identify the problem of scaling-up small time-scale and space-scale measurements of plant responses to CO₂ enrichment to the ecosystem level.     

Sandhill Crane Abundance and Nesting Ecology at Grays Lake,Idaho

Abstract: We examined population size and factors influencing nest survival of greater sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis tabida) at Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Idaho, USA, during 1997–2000. Average local population of cranes from late April to early May, 1998–2000, was 735 cranes, 34% higher than that reported for May 1970–1971. We estimated 228 (SE = 30) nests in the basin core (excluding renests), 14% higher than a 1971 estimate. Apparent nest success in our study (x̄ = 60%, n = 519 nests) was lower than reported for Grays Lake 30–50 years earlier. Daily survival rates (DSRs) of all nests averaged 0.9707 (41.2%). The best model explaining nest survival included year and water depth and their interaction. Nest survival was highest (DSR = 0.9827) in 1998 compared with other years (0.9698-0.9707). Nest survival changed little relative to water depth in 1998, when flooding was extensive and alternative prey (microtines) irrupted, but declined markedly with lower water levels in 2000, the driest year studied. Hypotheses relating nest survival to vegetation height, land use (idle, summer grazing, fall grazing), and date were not supported. In a before-after-control-impact design using 12 experimental fields, nest survival differed among years but not among management treatments (idle, fall graze, fall burn, and summer—graze—idle rotation), nor was there an interaction between year and treatments. However, DSRs in fall-burn fields declined from 0.9781 in 1997–1998 to 0.9503 in 1999–2000 (posttreatment). Changes in the predator community have likely contributed to declines in nest success since the 1950s and 1970s. Our results did not support earlier concerns about effects of habitat management practices on crane productivity. Nest survival could best be enhanced by managing spring water levels. Managers should continue censuses during late April to evaluate long-term relationships to habitat conditions and management.