Carteret Community College

Aquatic monitoring of estuarine and coastal waters remains limited due to steep maintenance requirements for in situ hardware stemming from rapid biofouling and harsh environmental conditions. Monitoring sites will also ideally span a mix of shoreline and open water locations, and the need to travel to remote locations can strain resources and limit the geographic footprint of coastal monitoring programs. To overcome these limitations, we explored opportunities to partner with aquatic industry professionals who work on the water and may be able to incorporate routine site visits for sensor maintenance as part of their day-to-day routines. We specifically focused on collaborating with oyster growers to collect continuous salinity and water level observations on their farms, as part of a community-enabled monitoring program we named “See Salt.” In this short communication, we present the See Salt program as a case study and provide recommendations for others who may be interested in establishing a similar community-supported coastal monitoring program. Our recommendations include the following: (1) establish multi-method evaluation strategies to gain insights on program improvement, (2) invest in hardware that can go long durations without recalibration and cleaning, and (3) provide participants with the equipment and training needed to maintain sensors and validate measurements on their own. While we focus on our experiences monitoring salinity and water levels with oyster growers, the recommendations are not specific or unique to these variables or this partner population; our findings are broadly applicable to aquatic monitoring performed in partnership with non-academic professionals.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10661-025-14560-y.

The symbiotic relationship between Vibrio (Aliivibrio) fischeri and the Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes, serves as a key model for understanding host-microbe interactions. Traditional culture-based methods have primarily isolated V. fischeri from the light organs of wild-caught squid, yet culture-independent analyses of this symbiotic microbiome remain limited. This study aims to enhance species-level resolution of bacterial communities associated with E. scolopes using hsp60 amplicon sequencing. We validated our hsp60 sequencing approach using pure cultures and mixed bacterial populations, demonstrating its ability to distinguish V. fischeri from other closely-related vibrios and the possibility of using this approach for strain-level diversity with further optimization. This approach was applied to whole-animal juvenile squid exposed to either seawater or a clonal V. fischeri inoculum, as well as ventate samples and light organ cores from wild-caught adults. V. fischeri accounted for the majority of the identifiable taxa for whole-animal juvenile samples and comprised 94%−99% of amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) for adult light organ core samples, confirming that V. fischeri is the dominant, if not sole, symbiont typically associated with E. scolopes light organs. In one ventate sample, V. fischeri comprised 82% of reads, indicating the potential for non-invasive community assessments using this approach. Analysis of non-V. fischeri ASVs revealed that Bradyrhizobium spp. and other members of the Rhodobacterales order are conserved across juvenile and adult samples. These findings provide insight into the presence of additional microbial associations with the squid host tissue outside of the light organ that have not been previously detected through traditional culture methods.

Abstract Striped bass,Morone saxatilis, is an anadromous fish native to the North American Atlantic Coast and is well recognized as one of the most important and highly regarded recreational fisheries in the United States. Decades of research have been conducted on striped bass and its hybrid (striped bass × white bassMorone chrysops) and culture methods have been established, particularly for the hybrid striped bass, the fourth largest finfish aquaculture industry in the United States (US $50 million). Domesticated striped bass have been developed since the 1990s and broodstock are available from the government for commercial fry production using novel hormone‐free methods along with traditional hormone‐induced tank and strip spawning. No commercial‐scale intensive larval rearing technologies have been developed at present and current fingerling production is conducted in fertilized freshwater ponds. Larval diets have not been successfully used as first feeds; however, they have been used for weaning from live feeds prior to metamorphosis. Striped bass can be grown out in marine (32 ppt) or freshwater (<5 ppt); however, they require high hardness (200+ ppm) and some salinity (8–10 ppt) to offset handling stress. Juveniles must be 1–10 g/fish prior to stocking into marine water. Commercially available fingerling, growout, and broodstock feeds are available from several vendors. Striped bass may reach 1.36 kg/fish in recirculating aquaculture by 18 months and as much as 2.27 kg/fish by 24 months. Farm gate value of striped bass has not been determined, although seasonally available wild‐harvested striped bass are valued at about US $6.50 to US $10.14 per kg and cultured hybrid striped bass are valued at about US $8.45 to US $9.25 per kg whole; the farm gate value for cultured striped bass may be as much as US $10.00 or more per kg depending on demand and market. The ideal market size is between 1.36 and 2.72 kg/fish, which is considerably larger than the traditional 0.68 to 0.90 kg/fish for the hybrid striped bass market.

Ketoprofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory and analgesic agent that nonselectively inhibits cyclooxygenase, with both COX-1 and COX-2 inhibition. Recent studies on COX receptor expression in reptiles suggest that nonselective COX inhibitors may be more appropriate than more selective inhibitors in some reptiles, but few pharmacokinetic studies are available. The goal of this study was to determine single- and multidose (three consecutive days) pharmacokinetics of racemic ketoprofen administered intravenously and intramuscularly at 2mg/kg in healthy juvenile loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta). The S-isomer is the predominant isomer in loggerhead sea turtles, similar to most mammals, despite administration of a 50:50 racemic mixture. Multidose ketoprofen administration demonstrated no bioaccumulation; therefore, once-daily dosing will not require dose adjustment over time. S-isomer pharmacokinetic parameters determined in this study were Cmax of 10.1μg/ml by IM injection, C0 of 13.4 μg/ml by IV injection, AUC of 44.7 or 69.4μg*hr/ml by IM or IV injection, respectively, and T½ of 2.8 or 3.6hr by IM or IV injection, respectively. Total ketoprofen plasma concentrations were maintained for at least 12hr above concentrations determined to be effective for rats and humans. A dose of 2mg/kg either IM or IV every 24hr is likely appropriate for loggerhead turtles.

PurposeThis paper seeks to provide a solution for teaching comprehensive information literacy instruction when time is limited during one‐shot library instruction sessions. It aims to focus on one technique to solve this dilemma – the creation of a multi‐media tutorial: Library 101: Introduction to Research. The paper aims to educate librarians of the many technological tools, which could be employed to enrich library instruction.Design/methodology/approachUsing the Oakleaf Information Literacy Instruction Assessment Cycle (ILIAC), librarians gathered assessment data and determined student research skill deficits in Fall 2009. To address knowledge gaps, the authors systematically designed a multi‐media tutorial with ten tools.FindingsThe paper finds that the tutorial identified students' areas of weakness prior to library instruction. As a result, librarians could focus on identified topics during the session and increase student learning. Annual re‐evaluation of the tools and data are needed in order to update the program and ensure student learning occurs.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations of the creation process include incomplete software evaluation early in the process, learning how to collaborate with different project management styles, developing a realistic timeline, and the need for a robust assessment management system to collect data. The effectiveness of this tutorial needs more empirical evaluation.Practical implicationsThe paper may help inform those planning to create a tutorial by suggesting useful, low‐cost tools for its creation and determining how to incorporate student learning outcomes and assessment into asynchronous instruction.Originality/valueThis paper fulfills an identified need to determine students' knowledge gaps through learning outcome assessment and respond to these gaps with asynchronous instruction methods.

NEOPLASMS in free-living cetaceans are not commonly found, which may reflect the difficulty of assessing animals that usually die in the aquatic environment, negating any postmortem examination or resulting in an advanced state of autolysis. Individual or, occasionally, clusters of neoplasms such as fibroleiomyomas in Beluga whales (Mikaelian and others 2000) have been reported. Tumour types include epithelial, mesenchymal and, less commonly, neuroendocrine tumours (Gulland and others 2001). Renal adenoma, reticuloendotheliosis, lymphosarcoma, squamous cell carcinoma and pancreatic adenoma have been reported in Atlantic bottlenosed dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) (Gulland and others 2001). Mesenchymal tumours are less common in the species; leiomyomas of the digestive tract have been recorded only in single individuals, including in the intestine of an Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus) (Geraci and others 1987) and in the stomach of a common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) (Cowan and others 1986). This short communication details the gross, histological and immunohistochemical findings of a gastric leiomyoma in an Atlantic bottlenosed dolphin. An emaciated, adult, male Atlantic bottlenosed dolphin, 268 cm in length and weighing 262·2 kg, was stranded dead off the coast of North Carolina, USA. Postmortem examination revealed lesions in the digestive, musculoskeletal, urogenital and endocrine systems. Specific gross findings were left mandibular swelling, urinary calculi in the penile urethra, focal proliferations on the penis, adrenocortical cysts, serous atrophy, a healed costal fracture and gastric trematodiasis. In the pylorus, there was a focal intramural mass measuring 3·0 cm x 2·0 cm x 2·0 cm, which was ulcerated on the mucosal surface, although luminal circumference was not reduced (Fig 1). On the cut surface, the mass was firm and white. Gastric contents were absent save for a bilious fluid. Representative sections were collected in 10 per cent formalin and processed routinely. Histologically, lesions were found in the cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, endocrine, musculoskeletal and urogenital tracts. Specific microscopic findings unrelated to the pyloric mass included myocarditis, aortitis, pulmonary oedema, gastric trematodiasis (Braunina cordiformis), colitis, hepatic haemosiderosis, proliferative balanitis, urethritis, focal mandibular callus (present before fracture) and adrenocortical cysts. The pyloric mass was composed of plump spindyloid cells forming interlacing bundles (Fig 2a). Cells had abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm and small, elongated nuclei, with minimal anisocytosis and anisokaryosis. Mitoses were not observed. Moderate inflammation was evident, associated with plasma cells and macrophages. Based upon the histological findings, two differential diagnoses for the neoplasm were proposed: leiomyoma and gastrointestinal stromal tumour. Immunohistochemical stains were applied to identify the tumours, including the myogenic markers smooth muscle actin (SMA), muscle-specific actin (MSA) and desmin (Des), as well as cytokine markers (c-kit) and neurogenic markers (S-100). Results of staining indicated positive intracytoplasmic staining for SMA (Fig 2b) and MSA (Fig 2c), rare positive intracytoplasmic staining for c-kit and S-100, and negative staining for desmin. A leiomyoma was therefore diagnosed. Leiomyomas, which are of smooth muscle origin, exhibit positive immunohistochemical staining for SMA, MSA and desmin; however, in one study of dogs, only 62 per cent of the tumours were positive for desmin and 97 per cent were positive for SMA (Frost and others 2003). Gastrointestinal stromal tumours are proposed to arise from the interstitial cells of Cajal and exhibit positive staining for c-kit, a protooncogene that encodes for a transmembrane tyrosine kinase. Infrequent staining is observed with SMA, MSA and S-100 (Frost and others 2003). Gastrointestinal stromal tumours have been reported in human beings, dogs and horses. The gastric leiomyoma in this case was an incidental finding; the animal is likely to have died from the combination FIG 1: Tumour found in the pylorus of an Atlantic bottlenosed dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) in which the tunica media is expanded by a well-demarcated nodule (white line); the arrow indicates the gastric mucosa

Trophic positions (TP) were estimated for the blue shark (Prionace glauca), shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus), thresher shark (Alopias vulpinus), and basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) using stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N). The basking shark had the lowest TP (3·1) and δ15N value (10·4‰), whereas the thresher shark had the highest values (4·5, 15·2‰). Mako sharks showed considerable variation in TP and isotopic values, possibly due to foraging from both inshore and offshore waters. Thresher sharks were significantly more enriched in δ15N than blue sharks and mako sharks, suggesting a different prey base. The δ13C values of thresher sharks and mako sharks varied significantly, but neither was significantly different from that of blue sharks. No statistical differences were found between our TP estimations and those derived from published stomach contents analyses, indicating that stable isotope data may be used to estimate the trophic status of sharks.

Junior faculty wishing to achieve successful careers in academic medicine face many challenges. To facilitate faculty in their career development, the authors implemented and evaluated an innovative collaborative, or peer-group, mentoring program at their medical school. Based on Rogerian and adult learning principles, the program incorporated development of skills in key areas for career development, a structured values-based approach to career planning, and instruction in scholarly writing. The 80-hour program has so far been conducted twice over two academic years (1999-2001) with 18 faculty (50% women). Quantitative and qualitative methods were used in the evaluation. Program attendance was 89%. All participants completed a written academic development plan, an exercise they rated as valuable. They also completed an average of one to three manuscripts for publication. Evaluation data highlighted the critical nature of a supportive learning environment and the reasons participants chose to attend the program consistently. Key meaningful outcomes for most participants were: (1) identification of their core values; (2) a structured process of short- and long-term career planning based on these core values; (3) the development of close, collaborative relationships; (4) development of skills in such areas as gender and power issues, negotiation and conflict management, scholarly writing, and oral presentation, and (5) improved satisfaction linked to participants' decisions to remain in academic medicine. Participants developed a sense of personal transformation and empowerment. The authors conclude that collaborative mentoring offers a new approach to faculty development that addresses limitations of traditional approaches in a satisfying and cost-effective way.

A decade has passed since the publication of Parnell's (1985) book The Neglected Majority, which stressed the need to provide a linkage system to better articulate secondary and postsecondary technical education. Initial strides in generating the “tech prep system” have begun to slow down. The slackened pace has resulted from, among other factors, a failure to adequately define the system that constitutes tech prep. This article discusses 11 problems that have proved to be obstacles in moving tech prep forward. The article also offers a model that can be construed as a tech prep product that can be marketed much as a college transfer program is marketed. The product, however, is actually an array of products constituting a system, the contents of which vary from place to place. The model is divided into both secondary and postsecondary components, and each set of components is explained. The secondary component is further explained in terms of a core component and a suggested component. The article also i...