Sciences Of Philadelphia Research Articles

Diatom Voucher Flora and Comparison of Collection and Taxonomic Methods for Biodiversity Hotspot Upper Three Runs Creek

Incorporating diatoms species and their autecology from reference stream conditions is essential for improving the accuracy of North American diatom bioassessments. This study documents a voucher flora and physicochemical conditions of Upper Three Runs Creek (UTRC), a tributary to the Savannah River that has been protected from heavy human activity for the last 50 years. The algae of UTRC and its watershed have been monitored continuously during this time by the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia to detect potential impacts from the Savannah River Site and Plant Vogtle. Standard protocols were used to sample and denote substrate types and preferences and to estimate relative abundances of diatom species. Data from artificial substrates (diatometers) were compared to composite samples. Phenotypic plasticity of taxa from Gomphonema parvulum, Eunotia incisa, and Tabellaria flocculosa sensu lato species complexes were considered in biodiversity metrics. We provide documentation of these separations. A total of 297 species/operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were recorded. For 2018 samples, Eunotia rhomboidea accounted for 8.3% for separated taxa methods and G. parvulum sensu lato (16.2%) dominated for combined taxa methods. Luticola goeppertiana (5.4%) was the most abundant taxon in the 1956 samples. The 1956 composite samples species richness means were greater and significantly greater than those for other sample types (ANOVA, df = 3, p = 0.004). The recounted 1956 composite samples had the highest species richness (153) followed by the left diatometer (129). At the same location, the right and left diatometers were not similar. Both methods (diatometers and composite sampling) are useful when assessing species richness. Diatom community composition indicated an acidic and highly oxygenated environment.

Edward R. Birnbaum

Edward R. Birnbaum, 79, died Jan. 1, 2023, in Los Alamos, New Mexico. “Ed retired as a full professor in 1992 after 24 years at New Mexico State University. After a year consulting for Los Alamos National Laboratory, he had the wonderful opportunity to spend 2 years as a visiting professor at the University of Hawaii. He and his wife, Amy, returned to the mainland in 1995, where Ed served as chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. He spent 16 years there before retiring (again) to Los Alamos in 2012. He loved sailing, skiing, traveling, and making a difference in his community.”—Eva Birnbaum, daughter Most recent title: Chair, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia Education: BS, chemistry, Brooklyn College, 1964; PhD, inorganic chemistry, University of Illinois, 1968 Survivors: Wife, Amy; son, David; daughters, Eva and

The Civil War Letters of Dr. Daniel Garrison Brinton, Surgeon in Charge at the US Army General Hospital in Quincy

The Civil War Letters of Dr. Daniel Garrison Brinton, Surgeon in Charge at the US Army General Hospital in Quincy

Arterial blood gases

At La Salle University School of Nursing and Health Sciences in Philadelphia, Pa., Deborah Byrne is an Assistant Professor and Ann Laske is an Associate Professor. The authors have disclosed no financial relationships related to this article.

New research sounds alarm about increased stimulant use among U.S. adults

The number of adults using central nervous system (CNS) stimulants grew by approximately 80% over a 5-year period, according to new findings published in BMJ Open in August 2021. The total number of amphetamine and methylphenidate prescriptions dispensed grew even faster, with an increase of roughly 96%, according to the study results. “My message is this: It's time to start paying attention,” said lead author Thomas J. Moore from the Center for Drug Safety and Effectiveness at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. “The opioid epidemic continued for years before the medical and public health community realized action was needed. We need more research to understand this major trend and why it is happening.” Trends in CNS stimulant use that Moore and the research team found included a younger population of adults, as well as adults with higher education degrees who were more likely to be unmarried. “We need to know what is driving this increase, and why so much use is in combination with antidepressants and antianxiety drugs,” said Moore. The study results found that stimulant users frequently reported taking medications for a variety of mental, neurological, and developmental conditions: 77.8% indicated they took medication for ADHD, 26.8% reported taking anxiety medication, 25.1% said they had taken drugs for depression, and 15.3% indicated drug therapy for other mental or neurological conditions. Andrew Peterson, PharmD, PhD, FCPP, executive director of the Substance Use Disorder Institute at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, was not surprised by the results of the BMJ Open study. The trend for youths being diagnosed and treated for conditions such as ADHD with stimulant medications has been increasing since the early 2000s, according to CDC. “Therefore, as the youths became adults, the carry-over for using stimulants to treat these conditions may be a strong factor contributing to the increase seen,” said Peterson. “A particularly vulnerable group are college students who may be misusing these agents to improve cognitive ability and academic achievement.” In the BMJ Open study, Moore and the researchers wrote that the growing use of these stimulants should renew interest in updating, characterizing, and managing the risks of this drug class. For example, the larger numbers of younger age groups using CNS stimulants raises the question of whether or when these prescribed stimulants for ADHD in childhood or adolescence should be discontinued as the child grows older. Peterson encourages pharmacists to help counsel patients—youths and parents, as well as adults—about the risks associated with stimulant misuse. He said research should focus on how pharmacists can use evidence-based strategies such as Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) in the community setting to identify individuals at risk for misusing stimulants. But before this, pharmacists and other health care providers need to feel confident addressing substance use disorders with their patients, which includes understanding the prevalence, incidence, and consequences of stimulant use and misuse. “This appears to be a great opportunity for researching the pharmacist's role in providing this education,” Peterson said. While CNS stimulant use was more frequent in the youngest age cohort, according to the study findings, the largest percentage increases occurred in adults aged 25 years and older. Examined by sex, the largest rise occurred among females, with a 72% jump in CNS stimulant use over the 5-year period. “We saw big differences by age, race, and sex,” said Moore. “The growth was largest in younger, white, and female patients, smallest in minorities and older patients. Increase was much larger in amphetamines versus methylphenidate.” Amphetamine product use increased by roughly 119% over the 5-year period. Growth in methylphenidate products was slower with an estimated 39% increase during that time frame. The findings come from the annual U.S. Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, the largest annual health care survey sponsored by the federal government. Researchers analyzed annual surveys from 2013 through 2018 and looked at a random sample of approximately 30,000 individuals and 325,000 prescriptions each year.

"A Great Reinforcing Organ": the Cerebellum According to Silas Weir Mitchell.

This Cerebellar Classic highlights a work by the physician and novelist, Silas Weir Mitchell (1829-1914), a pupil of Claude Bernard and a founding father of American neurology. Published in the aftermath of the American Civil War, the article reported observations on cerebellar physiology based on ablation and tissue freezing experiments in pigeons, rabbits, and guinea pigs. Mitchell communicated his results before the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, and proposed a general theory of the cerebellum as an augmenting and reinforcing organ to the cerebrospinal motor system. After reviewing and contrasting previous theories of Flourens and Bouillaud, Mitchell formulated his own theory, which was in line with the views of Rolando and Luys. The theory emphasized the necessity, initially suggested by Brown-Séquard, of distinguishing between phenomena due to loss of function and those due to irritation as a central principle that should guide any physiological research.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MUSEUM IN ANTEBELLUM U.S. WESTERN TERRITORIAL EXPLORATION: PART 2. THE ROLES OF HAYDEN AND MEEK IN A PARADIGM SHIFT IN GEOLOGIC AND PALEONTOLOGIC STUDIES

Established under the antebellum leadership of Joseph Henry and Spencer Baird, the respect given the Smithsonian Institution had far-reaching effects on budding geological careers and the conservation and curation of fossils at national and state levels. Specifically, F. V. Hayden received sufficient perceived encouragement in his geological and natural history endeavors to prevail under no less than hardship conditions. Consequently, Hayden triumphed on his return from the field in 1856, with specimens that would quickly alter his immediate destiny and that of F. B. Meek. The five documents accepted for publication in 1856 by the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia produced not only a large number of new species, but Hayden’s northern Great Plains stratigraphy and a biostratigraphic/biochronologic catalog of species original to western studies. Others were now also repeatedly citing Hayden with Meek for non-molluscan specimens based on his collections, with new species named in his honor. The nature of western geological exploration changed because of Hayden’s successful employment as geologist and naturalist to the G. K. Warren and W. F. Raynolds Missouri and Yellowstone expeditions. Onsite, ‘fact-based’ mapping with fossils in stratigraphic sections were arguably now required. No more qualified or experienced individual left the western territories as the Civil War commenced. Meek’s deathbed monograph provided a redescription and the first figures of Meek and Hayden 1856 taxa. Although there are reasons suggested herein, a conundrum exists as to why Meek replaced many 1856 ‘types’ with different specimens, sometimes from different localities. The specimens used in the 1856 Meek and Hayden papers were first unpacked for study by Meek and Hayden in Albany. Shipment of fossils from field to museum, however, was not without peril. The presumption is that the specimens accompanied Meek when he moved to Washington in 1858. A National Museum sponsored and implemented program fostered an ever-expanding ‘duplicate’ distribution of specimens to national and international institutions. Henry and Baird were dedicated to this program. Starting in 1861, surplus fossil invertebrates were removed from National Museum holdings. Many thousands of specimens were transferred, with nearly one thousand specimens documented in a single shipment to one institution. How much of the Hayden collection was affected and how many types were redistributed is as of yet unknown. The remaining Hayden collection in the National Museum is pared-down to type and figured specimens. Hayden’s ‘buckets’ of specimens are being, in some cases, slowly virtually repatriated.

An “American Humboldt”?: Memorializing Philadelphia Physician and Race Supremacist Samuel George Morton

ABSTRACT Samuel George Morton was a nineteenth-century anatomy professor and paleontologist who gained fame for the extensive collection of human skulls he collected and curated at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. An early scholar of physical anthropology in America, Morton promoted race supremacy, asserting that Germanic Europeans had the largest brains and highest intelligence of all human populations. When he died, four Philadelphia physicians eulogized him. Their writings have served as the foundation for most modern interpretations of Morton. An examination of rarely cited nineteenth-century documents indicates that his eulogists exaggerated the importance and reception of Morton's anthropological research and omitted or misrepresented details of his personal life. Studies of Morton by anthropologists, philosophers of science, or scholars studying race in America should therefore take a highly skeptical view of the memoirs written by Morton's nineteenth-century colleagues and admirers.

The Making of Philadelphia: The Natural Environment and Its Scientific and Artistic Histories

As a colonial centre of North America and the first capitol of the United States, the city of Philadelphia was a central participant in the development of American art and science. This essay reviews three recent texts that seek to understand the interconnected nature of art and science in Philadelphia: Elizabeth Milroy’s The Grid and the River: Philadelphia’s Green Places, 1682–1876, Amy R.W. Myers’s Knowing Nature: Art and Science in Philadelphia, 1740–1840, and Alan C. Braddock and Laura Turner Igoe’s A Greene Country Towne: Philadelphia’s Ecology in the Cultural Imagination. Each volume identifies key figures, objects, and texts that are integral to understanding Philadelphia’s natural environment and the flowering of art and science in the city.

Imipenem monohydrate/cilastatin sodium/relebactam monohydrate, pretomanid, and elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor

The New Drugs column informs readers about new chemical and biologic entities approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The column is written by Contributing Editor Daniel A. Hussar, PhD, Dean Emeritus and Remington Professor Emeritus, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, PA. Daniel A. Hussar, PhD, Dean Emeritus and Remington Professor Emeritus, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, University of the Sciences, Philadelphia, PA Elias B. Chahine, PharmD, Professor of Pharmacy Practice, Lloyd L. Gregory School of Pharmacy, Palm Beach Atlantic University, West Palm Beach, FL

Hemingway in the Digital Age: Reflections on Teaching, Reading, and Understanding ed. by Laura Godfrey (review)

Reviewed by: Hemingway in the Digital Age: Reflections on Teaching, Reading, and Understanding ed. by Laura Godfrey Wayne Catan Laura Godfrey, ed. Hemingway in the Digital Age: Reflections on Teaching, Reading, and Understanding. Kent, OH: Kent State UP, 2019. 232 p. In this new Teaching Hemingway title, Laura Godfrey of North Idaho College selects essays from top Hemingway scholars who recommend best practices to teach Ernest Hemingway in the digital age. In "Virtual Papa," Lisa Tyler of Sinclair Community College discusses an artful way to conduct online research. First, she warns teachers that in the nascent stages of research students will, most likely, punch up facts that are already known, such as his fishing and hunting prowess, his family's mental health issues, and myriad plays, exhibits, and festivals that take place annually. Tyler points out that this information does not focus on the literary Hemingway. To get to know the literary Hemingway, she suggests several newspaper archives including the Kansas City Star and Toronto Star because both papers: "ransacked their archives and published online every article they could find that Hemingway wrote during his tenure at their organizations" (17). George Plimpton's 1958 The Paris Review interview and Lillian [End Page 213] Ross's 1950 New Yorker article are available online too, providing a glimpse into Hemingway as a writer and as a person. Additionally, Tyler recommends the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library website and The Michigan Hemingway Society site, where students can secure information about his fiction set in Michigan. Michael K. Steinberg and Jordan Cissell discuss their environmental literature class at the University of Alabama in "Beyond the Photographs." When students are asked to "describe the first image of Ernest Hemingway that comes to mind" (22) the answer is most often associated with a picture of Hemingway standing next to a large fish. Interestingly, their students use these photos for research. In fact, they measure the fish and compare them to the size of fish caught today. Students learn that fishing in the 1930s was much different than it is now. For instance, "The size and number of fish Hemingway caught are largely unheard of today in the same waters" (24), and billfish population has drastically declined. The authors do caution that "we cannot and should not suggest that students make quantitative statements about the declines in fish sizes and populations based on a limited number of photographs. However, the photographs can at least demonstrate what existed during Hemingway's Cuban years, illuminating their drastic decline in both size and number" (25). The essay also highlights that Hemingway was not simply a "meat" fisherman – someone who catches and kills large fish for entertainment; he was "cognizant of the pressure that both early sport and commercial fishing were having on certain species" (28). Hemingway was a founding member of the International Game Fish Association and collaborated with scientists from the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. Because of his knowledge, experience, and love of fishing and the ocean, he was able to write realistically about it. Hemingway scholar Kirk Curnutt, English professor and chair at Troy University, writes about the benefits of using memes and photos as a teaching tool to enliven the classroom in "A Memeable Feast." Curnutt recommends pictures of Hemingway pointing his Tommy gun into the camera lens, and images of Hemingway fan tattoos, which display "how fans publicize their literary passions" (36). This – especially the photo with the Tommy gun – "help[s] break the ice in classrooms by humanizing the author's image" (35). The bottom line for Curnutt is that it is important to be engaging, so do what you have to do to connect with students. He believes the educational value [End Page 214] of Hemingway memes – especially the ones with quotations – are central to Hemingway studies because they demonstrate a basic trait of modernism, and that is they are "reinventing literary expression through experimentation … in other words [they] MAKE IT NEW" (41). Rebecca Johnston, co-vice president of the Florida Hemingway Society, discusses the benefits of using Google Maps and Google Earth to better understand the setting in Hemingway's works. Here's why: although he included autobiographical elements in his...

Omadacycline tosylate, Sarecycline hydrochloride, Rifamycin sodium, and Moxidectin

The New Drugs column informs readers about new chemical and biologic entities approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The column is written by Contributing Editor Daniel A. Hussar, PhD, Dean Emeritus and Remington Professor Emeritus, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, PA. Daniel A. Hussar, PhD, Dean Emeritus and Remington Professor Emeritus, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, University of the Sciences, Philadelphia, PA Elias B. Chahine, PharmD, Professor of Pharmacy Practice, Lloyd L. Gregory School of Pharmacy, Palm Beach Atlantic University, West Palm Beach, FL

Prucalopride succinate, Fostamatinib disodium hexahydrate, Avatrombopag maleate, and Lusutrombopag

The New Drugs column informs readers about new chemical and biologic entities approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The column is written by Contributing Editor Daniel A. Hussar, PhD, Dean Emeritus and Remington Professor Emeritus, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, PA. Daniel A. Hussar, PhD, Dean Emeritus and Remington Professor Emeritus, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, University of the Sciences, Philadelphia, PA Geena A. Kludjian, Pharm.D, PGY-1 Pharmacy Resident, Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA

Type specimens of Aplysiida (Gastropoda, Heterobranchia) in the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, with taxonomic remarks

The type specimens of 15 nominal species of Aplysiida (Gastropoda, Heterobranchia) at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia are listed and their primary types are illustrated. Type materials described by the following authors are present: Henry A. Pilsbry (9 names), Angelo Heilprin (2), Charles N. E. Eliot (1), William H. Pease (2) and Elizabeth J. Letson (1). Some taxonomic notes are provided. Aplysiaperviridis (Pilsbry, 1895), comb. nov., Aplysiapilsbryi (Letson, 1898), and Aplysiapulmonica Gould, 1852 are reinstated as valid.

Grass-like mantid, American grass mantid, Thesprotia graminis, (Scudder, 1878) (Insecta: Mantodea: Thespidae)

Praying mantids are charismatic insects that are considered beneficial to humans because of their insectivorous lifestyle and because of their aesthetic appeal. Despite this, many praying mantid species remain understudied. One species that occurs in the southeastern United States is the grass-like mantid, Thesprotia graminis (Scudder) (Figure 1). This small, cryptic mantid species is light brown to green in color and can easily blend in with pine needles and grass, making it difficult to detect in its natural habitat.
 Although this mantid may be mistaken for a stick insect (Order: Phasmatodea), especially when its forelegs are held directly in front of the body and it resembles a blade of grass, the raptorial forelimbs reveal the insect’s true identity. There are 14 Neotropical species within the genus Thesprotia, all of which occur in South America except Thesprotia graminis (Rondon et al. 2007). The type specimen for this species is a male that was collected in Gainesville, Florida. It is vouchered in the entomology collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
 This document is also available on the Featured Creatures website at http://entnemdept.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/.
 https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1235

ESA Historical Records Committee Newsletter January 2019

ESA Historical Records Committee Newsletter January 2019

Type specimens of fossil “Architectibranchia” and Cephalaspidea (Mollusca, Heterobranchia) in the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia

The type specimens of fossil “Architectibranchia” and Cephalaspidea (Mollusca: Heterobranchia) deposited in the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, USA, are listed herein. The collection includes types of circa 60 species, from the families: Acteonellidae, Acteonidae, Bullidae, Cylichnidae, Haminoeidae, Philinidae, Retusidae, Rhizoridae, Ringiculidae and Scaphandridae. The catalogue is presented in systematic order, with information on the original description, type locality, type stratum and age, catalog number in the collection, and current taxonomic status. Further taxonomic notes are offered when pertinent. Several species are illustrated here for first time. The new combinationsRoxaniahornii(Gabb, 1864) andVolvulellaminutissima(Gabb, 1860) are proposed. Some species that have previously been assigned to Acteonidae are revised here, resulting in the following new combinations:Odostomiamilium(Lea, 1846),Chrysallidasculpta(Lea, 1846) andPyrgulinaangulata(Lea, 1846). The list of taxa is also presented in other arrangements (alphabetically by specific epithets and by authorship and date) to facilitate locating information.

Baricitinib, Tildrakizumab-asmn, and Elagolix sodium

The New Drugs column informs readers about new chemical and biologic entities approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The column is written by Contributing Editor Daniel A. Hussar, PhD, Dean Emeritus and Remington Professor Emeritus, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, PA. Daniel A. Hussar, Ph.D., Dean Emeritus and Remington Professor Emeritus, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, University of the Sciences, Philadelphia, PA Julia E. Kaminski, Student Pharmacist, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, University of the Sciences, Philadelphia, PA

Maraapunisaurus fragillimus, N.G. (formerly Amphicoelias fragillimus), a basal Rebbachisaurid from the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic) of Colorado

In 1878, Oramel Lucas shipped to E.D. Cope of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, a huge 1.5-m-tall neural spine from the dorsal vertebra of a sauropod (from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation) that Cope named and illustrated as Amphicoelis fragillimus.The holotype was lost and all that is known of the specimen is from Cope's original publication. Reanalysis of Cope's publication in light of other sauropods discovered since 1878 indicates that Amphicoelias fragillimus is a basal rebbachisaurid characterized by pneumatic neural spine and arch, and the unambiguous rebbachisaurid character of a festooned spinodiapophyseallamina. Because the specimen can no longer be referred to the basal diplodo­ coid Amphicoelias, the genus name is replaced with Maraapunisaurus n.g. As a rebbachisaurid, revised dimensions indicate a dorsal vertebra 2.4 m tall and a head-to-tail length for the animal of30.3 to 32m, significantly less than previous estimates.

Erenumab-aooe, Benralizumab, and Tezacaftor/ivacaftor

The New Drugs column informs readers about new chemical and biologic entities approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The column is written by Contributing Editor Daniel A. Hussar, PhD, Dean Emeritus and Remington Professor Emeritus, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, PA. Daniel A. Hussar, PhD, Dean Emeritus and Remington Professor Emeritus, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, University of the Sciences, Philadelphia, PA Justin George, Student Pharmacist, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, University of the Sciences, Philadelphia, PA