Lake Success Research Articles

Impacts of oxbow lake evolution on sediment microbial community structure in the Yellow River source region

Oxbow lake formation and evolution have significant impacts on the fragile Yellow River Basin ecosystem. However, the effects of different oxbow lake evolutionary stages on sediment microbial community structure are not yet understood comprehensively. Therefore, microbial community structure in three stages of oxbow lake succession, namely, lotic lake (early stage), semi-lotic lake (middle stage), and lentic lake (late stage), was investigated in the present study in the Yellow River Basin on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Amplicon sequencing was employed to reveal differences in microbial community diversity and composition. The bacterial and fungal communities in sediment were significantly different among the three succession stages and were driven by different environmental factors. In particular, bacterial community structure was influenced primarily by nitrate-nitrogen (N), microbial biomass phosphorus, and total carbon (C) and organic C in the early, middle, and late stages, respectively. Conversely, fungal community structure was influenced primarily by ammonium-N in the early stage and by moisture content in the middle and late stages. However, the predicted functions of the microbial communities did not exhibit significant differences across the three succession stages. Both bacteria and fungi were influenced significantly by stochastic factors. Homogeneous selection had a high relative contribution to bacteria community assembly in the middle stage, whereas the relative contributions of heterogeneous selection processes to fungal community assembly increased through the three stages. As succession time increased, the total number of keystone species increased gradually, and the late succession stage had high network complexity and the highest network stability. The findings could facilitate further elucidation of the evolution mechanisms of oxbow lake source area, high-altitude river evolution dynamics, in addition to aiding a deeper understanding of the long-term ecological evolution patterns of source river ecosystems.

Seventeen men at Lake Success: In search of the International Law Commission

Abstract The International Law Commission has allegedly been in crisis from its first day of existence. Its own (former) members have been critical about its working methods, the topics it chooses to discuss, its relationship with other UN bodies, and even its aura. At the same time, the International Law Commission also paints more positive pictures of itself. This article aims to make sense of this dynamic without explaining, accepting or refuting any doubts or critiques. Instead, in an attempt to take these discussions to a new place, the article analyses the debates of the Committee of 17, which recommended the establishment of the International Law Commission in 1947. By combining literary, socio-legal and historical methods, it is argued that the ILC is founded on an embracing of uncertainty. As such, the Commission’s ambivalence towards itself is revealed as structural rather than illustrative of the institution being in crisis.

Deciphering the role of fungi in post-fire succession in Canada's Great Lakes–St. Lawrence forest region

Fungi are important drivers of forest health, as well as culturally important for many Indigenous communities. In Canada, increasingly intense and frequent wildfires affect fungal substrates and habitats, environmental conditions, and physiological responses of hosts with which fungi may interact. In Ontario, aggressive fire suppression raises the question of how fungal regeneration, and taxonomic compositions, may be affected when fires do appear on the landscape. This study investigates the fungal regrowth post-fire above and below-ground and the role fungal species play in post fire ecological succession in Southeastern Ontario. The study sites are two black oak savannas in restoration, previously prescribed a burn (Northumberland County, 2022 and 2023), and a recent wildfire burned mixed deciduous forest (Centennial Lake, 2023). We collected fruiting body and soil samples for fungal identification via observational and DNA methods. Above ground vegetation assays were made at 9 burned plots within these three sites and another 8 adjacent unburned (control) plots. We extracted soil DNA and will amplify fungal ITS2 amplicons by PCR. Then, we will sequence the amplified DNA using MiSeq to compare burned and unburned soil fungi. Lastly, we will use statistical methods to differentiate effects from fire and soil texture and type in burned and control plots. Thus far, we found that Pyropyxis rubra, a pyrophilous ascomycete fungus, is extremely abundant just weeks after the lightning-induced fire at Centennial Lake. Our combined observational and quantitative descriptions of above-and below ground soil fungi provide a deeper understanding of how fire affects species composition, fungal reproduction, and population dynamics in Ontario. This research may help inform other successional processes, and fungal harvesting of culturally important species.

Analysis of Water Chemistry Characteristics and Main Ion Controlling Factors of Lakes in the Nagqu Area of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau in Summer

The Nagqu area is in the northern part of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, and its average altitude is above 4000 m. Due to the area’s high altitude, there is relatively little information about its lakes. Therefore, to supplement the basic information of lakes in the area, this study collected surface water samples from 12 lakes, including Gangtang Co, Pusaier Co, Guojialin Co, Dagze Co, Yangnapeng Co, Bankog Co, Dangqung Co, Chaxiabu Co, Angdar Co, Bengze Co, Guogen Co, and Yibug Caka from July to August 2020. Furthermore, the factors controlling the lake water chemistry characteristics and the main ion sources were explored using the Piper, Gibbs, and ion ratio methods. The results were as follows: (1) The lakes had high levels of salt, alkalinity, and mineralization, and all the lakes except Bengze Co were salt lakes. The 12 lakes met the Class V water standard. (2) Dangqung Co, Bankog Co, Guojialin Co, Daze Co, and Yangnapeng Co were in the initial stage of lake succession, while the others were in the later stages of lake succession. (3) Evaporation–crystallization was the most important factor controlling the water chemistry of the 12 lakes, and most of the ions in the lakes come from the dissolution of evaporite.

Varying stages of ecological succession in lakes subdivided by volcanic eruptions at Akan Caldera, Japan

Ecological succession within lakes generally proceeds as eutrophication and shallowing occur and the aquatic biota of the lakes is altered. The eutrophication rate depends on the lake size and the area and fertility of the watershed. If the watershed fertility of several different lakes is equivalent and the lakes’ formation time and initial environment are similar, the trophic status of each lake is expected to increase over time depending on the ratio of the watershed area to lake size. To test this supposition, we surveyed the topography and water quality of 10 lakes of varying sizes in Akan Caldera, Japan, which were formed thousands of years ago by fragmentation due to volcanic eruptions within the caldera. The ratio of the accumulated watershed area to lake size was positively correlated with total phosphorus concentration, an indicator of trophic status, and lake types were classified as oligotrophic, mesotrophic, eutrophic, and dystrophic. In addition, 21 species of macrophytes were found in the lakes, and the species composition of each lake was divided into five types corresponding to combinations of the lake types. The discovery of such diversity in a group of lakes with a similar origin paves the way for new comparative studies.

Relict proglacial lake of Spituk (Leh), northwest (NW) Himalaya: A repository of hydrological changes during Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS)-2

In the northwestern Himalaya (Ladakh and Karakoram), the spatial and temporal changes in the late Quaternary glaciation were modulated by a combination of two contrasting moisture sources (viz., the Indian Summer Monsoon and the mid-latitude westerlies). The inferences about their relative contribution to glacier expansion are based on the ages obtained on moraines. Since the moraines suffer from poor preservation and chronological uncertainty, the present study, therefore, resorted to a near-continuous relict proglacial lake succession in order to reconstruct the continuous pattern of glacier fluctuations during Marine Isotopic Stage-2 (MIS-2). Since the AMS radiocarbon ages (both organic and inorganic matter) suffered from various complexities such as dead carbon contribution and hard water effect, the paleohydrological inferences in this study were drawn primarily based on optical ages (along with sedimentological and geochemical analysis).The proglacial lake sedimentation was modulated by the temporal changes in meltwater discharge. This is attributed to the waning and waxing of proximal valley glaciers. Evidence accrued from the lake sediment supported by the published moraine chronology suggests that valley glaciers expanded during the onset of MIS-2 and persisted until around the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The beginning of MIS-2 is marked by the onset of cooling (~ 30 ka), which led to a marginal advance in the glaciers. Additionally, early MIS-2 was characterised by millennial-scale climatic fluctuations. For example, a short-lived increase in humidity was observed between 30.2 ka and 29.3 ka, followed by a reversal towards a drier climate between 29.3 ka and 28.1 ka. During the early part of MIS-2, glaciers were driven by the decrease in temperature, whereas the enhanced moisture contribution during mid MIS-2 was responsible for extensive glacier growth. We hypothesise that the enhanced moisture was contributed by the mid-latitude westerlies, with subordinate contribution from the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM). This we attribute to the southward positioning of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) during MIS-2.

Rewriting the American Dream for the Trump Era and Beyond in Gary Shteyngart’s Lake Success (2018)

This essay analyses Gary Shteyngart’s Lake Success (2018) as an inquiry into the formative narratives of the American identity—the American Dream and self-making—through the story of a hedge-fund manager, Barry, who abandons his wife and child with autism to travel across the US just as the country is about to elect Donald Trump as president. Building on the intertextual connection with The Great Gatsby (1925), this essay contextualizes the ongoing corruption of these narratives within the culture of unbridled individual advancement, arguing that Trump’s victory has further normalized opportunism and the dissociation between individual success and collective well-being. Although this hollowing out of the American Dream and self-making renders a rather bleak picture of contemporary US, the novel suggests the possibility of change, both for Barry and America, as it calls for the re-insertion of the other into the formative narratives of American identity, thus expanding their current limits.

Century-Long Homogenization of Algal Communities Is Accelerated by Nutrient Enrichment and Climate Warming in Lakes and Reservoirs of the North Temperate Zone.

Anthropogenic pressures can threaten lake and reservoir ecosystems, leading to harmful algal blooms that have become globally widespread. However, patterns of phytoplankton diversity change and community assembly over long-term scales remain unknown. Here, we explore biodiversity patterns in eukaryotic algal (EA) and cyanobacterial (CYA) communities over a century by sequencing DNA preserved in the sediment cores of seven lakes and reservoirs in the North Temperate Zone. Comparisons within lakes revealed temporal algal community homogenization in mesotrophic lakes, eutrophic lakes, and reservoirs over the last century but no systematic losses of α-diversity. Temporal homogenization of EA and CYA communities continued into the modern day probably due to time-lags related to historical legacies, even if lakes go through a eutrophication phase followed by a reoligotrophication phase. Further, algal community assembly in lakes and reservoirs was mediated by both deterministic and stochastic processes, while homogeneous selection played a relatively important role in recent decades due to intensified anthropogenic activities and climate warming. Overall, these results expand our understanding of global change effects on algal community diversity and succession in lakes and reservoirs that exhibit different successional trajectories while also providing a baseline framework to assess their potential responses to future environmental change.

Theoretical basis and Chinese practice for environmental protection of lakes with better water quality

目前，我国湖泊富营养化及蓝藻水华问题十分突出，国家高度重视湖泊的生态环境保护.自“九五”以来，国家就投入太湖、巢湖、滇池“老三湖”等重污染湖泊的治理，但成本巨大，且历经近30年才初见成效.按照湖泊污染程度，湖泊治理与保护可分为“污染治理型”“防治结合型”“生态保育型”3大类.“老三湖”的治理是典型的“先污染、后治理”的模式，水质较好湖泊主要属于生态保育型湖泊，因此，“老三湖”治理模式不适用于水质较好湖泊的保护.本文系统总结了我国水质较好湖泊优先保护理念的形成和水质较好湖泊专项实施的历程.根据水质较好湖泊的特点，及其生态系统退化与修复的一般过程，提出了水质较好湖泊保护的基本思路.从热力学角度，阐明了氮磷营养盐输入湖泊生态系统中是熵增过程，也是湖泊生态系统退化的根本原因，湖泊氮磷污染负荷源头控制是关键.湖泊流域生态安全格局是确保湖泊生态系统健康的基础，从景观生态学角度，阐明了优化湖泊流域水土资源利用、优化发展模式是减轻湖泊环境压力的重要途径.在浅水湖泊生态系统，以沉水植物占优势的“清水态”和以浮游植物占优势的“浊水态”转换过程不是沿着同一条途径，存在上临界阈值和下临界阈值，水生态修复过程表现出一种迟滞的现象.从湖泊水生态系统稳态转换理论角度，阐明了湖泊生态修复工程应在湖泊生态系统发生退化转变之前实施，才能获得较高的环境效益.通过国家财政专项对81个水质较好湖泊的支持，既能促进湖泊流域经济社会发展，又能确保湖泊水环境质量变好，湖泊水生态系统逐步改善.建议加强不同类型湖泊保护模式的总结，深入对水质较好湖泊生态系统演替理论和保护技术研究，支撑国家系统开展水质较好湖泊保护.;At present, the problems of lake eutrophication and cyanobacterial blooms in China are still very prominent and the state attaches great importance to the ecological environment protection of lakes. Since the Ninth Five-Year Plan, the government has started to control the old three lakes of Lake Taihu, Lake Chaohu and Lake Dianchi, but it has spent huge treatment costs. After nearly 30 years of governance, the trend of further deterioration of water quality in the old three lakes was initially curbed. According to the degree of lake pollution, lake control and protection can be divided into three types:pollution control type, combined prevention and control type and ecological conservation type. The governance of the old three lakes was a typical pollution first, treatment later model, and the lakes with better water quality mainly belong to ecological conservation type, so the treatment model for old three lakes is not suitable for the protection of lakes with better water quality. This paper systematically summarizes the formation of the concept of priority protection of lakes with better water quality in China and the implementation history of special lakes with better water quality. According to the characteristics of the lake with better water quality and the general process of ecosystem degradation and restoration, the basic idea for the protection of the lakes with better water quality was put forward. From a thermodynamic perspective, the entropy increase process of nitrogen and phosphorus nutrient input into the lake ecosystem was analyzed, revealing the root cause of the degradation of the lake ecosystem and the importance of source control of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution load into lakes. The ecological security pattern of lake basin is the basis for ensuring the health of lake basin ecosystem. From the perspective of landscape ecology, this paper clarifies that optimizing the use of soil and water resources in lake basin and optimizing the development pattern are important ways to reduce the environmental pressure on the lake. The transition process of the clear water state dominated by submerged plants and the turbid water state dominated by phytoplankton in shallow lake ecosystems is not along the same pathway. There are upper and lower critical thresholds, and the aquatic ecological restoration process shows a hysteresis phenomenon. From the theory of steady-state transformation of lake water ecosystem, we clarified that the lake ecological restoration project should be implemented before the degradation transformation of lake ecosystem to obtain higher protection benefits. The support of 81 lakes with better water quality through the special national finance can not only promote the economic and social development of the lake basin, but also ensure the improvement of the quality of the lake water environment and improvement of lake water ecosystem. We recommended to strengthen the summary of different types of lake protection models, conduct in-depth research on the theory of ecosystem succession and protection technology of lakes with better water quality, and support the state to carry out the protection of lakes with better water quality systematically.

Effect of the internal plastic deformation of salt structures on the lithologic succession of evaporites: A case study on the Palaeogene Kumugeliemuqun formation, Kelasu Thrust Belt, Kuqa depression, Tarim Basin

For a normal saline lake sequence, as long as the depositional setting is the same, the sediments thickness and saline lake sequence are comparable across an area. However, in the Palaeogene Kumugeliemuqun Formation, in wells from similar depositional settings and the same member, the saline lake succession varies greatly. Member 1 of the Kumugeliemuqun Formation, depending on the combination of halite, gypsum, and dolomite (limestone), is divided into four types of saline lake successions: type A, type B, type C, and type D. In the same depositional setting, the saline lake succession and sediment thickness among adjacent areas differ. In member 2 of the Kumugeliemuqun Formation, depending on the association of mudstone and halite, ten different saline lake successions were identified as sequences 1 to 10. Even within the same depositional setting, the saline lake succession and sediment thickness can differ. To explain this phenomenon, we present evidence that includes the sediment thickness, a single cycle of saline lake succession, and an ancient landform, and a salt structure to analyze the role of tectonic deformation in members 1 and 2 of the Kumugeliemuqun Formation. Moreover, waveform indication inversion was used to describe tectonic deformation patterns. The results reveal that saline succession types C and D were the result of tectonic deformation in member 1, while saline lake succession sequence types A and B were not affected by tectonic deformation in member 1. Additionally, the ten diverse saline lake succession sequences in member 2 are all the result of intense tectonic deformation. The inversion results reveal that the inclined thrust, recumbent, and sheath folding are the principal deformation styles in member 2, while flow and hook folds are the main internal deformation styles in member 1. Finally, based on these observations, we conclude that tectonic compression created the plastic flow of rock salt, which induced folding and faulting deformation. The faults produced repetition in the lithologic succession, and the folds resulted in the inversion of the lithologic succession. Therefore, due to the effects of the faults and folds, even within the same depositional setting, the lithologic succession and sediment thicknesses differ from one another. • Features of lithological successions inside salt structures are been studied. • The deformations pattern in members 1 and 2 are been described. • Effect of salt rock deformation on kinds of lithological succession is discussed. • Fold and fault in salt structures produced kinds of lithological succession.

500 Late-Breaking: Heart Rate During Exercise Is Positively Correlated with State IV Mitochondrial Respiration in the Equine Skeletal Muscle

Abstract Mitochondria are critical for oxidative phosphorylation in skeletal muscle, especially in athletic species such as the horse. Mitochondrial respiration increases with physical exercise, but the relationship between mitochondrial respiration and cardiovascular functions are not well described in the horse. The objective of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between heart rate (HR) during and after submaximal exercise tests (SETs) and skeletal muscle mitochondrial respiration in polo ponies. We hypothesized that horses with greater maximum HR and average HR during the exercise tests would have greater mitochondrial respiration in skeletal muscle. Twelve fit polo ponies (14.8 ± 1.7 years old, 10 mares and 2 geldings) were equipped with Polar equine heart rate monitors (Polar Electro Inc., Lake Success, NY) and underwent 26-minute SETs designed to mimic a polo chukker followed by a 30-minute recovery period. Muscle biopsy samples from the semitendinosus muscle were taken 2 weeks prior to the SET to determine mitochondrial oxygen consumption using the Oroboros O2k high-resolution respirometer (Oroboros Instruments, Innsbruck, Austria). Data were analyzed using the PROC CORR procedure (SAS Inst. Inc., Cary, NC). Correlations were considered strong at r > 0.6 and significant at P < 0.05. Maximum HR during SET and state IV respiration were positively correlated (P = 0.02, r = 0.68). Average HR during SET and state IV respiration were also positively correlated (P = 0.01, r = 0.72). However, correlations between maximum and average HR and state III respiration were not as strong (P ≥ 0.05, r < 0.6). These data suggest that state IV mitochondrial respiration (proton leak) in equine skeletal muscle may impact cardiac responses to high-intensity exercise. Horses with higher HR during exercise may have less efficient oxidative phosphorylation, resulting in earlier fatigue and/or greater formation of reactive oxygen species resulting from proton leak.

Volcanically driven lacustrine ecosystem changes during the Carnian Pluvial Episode (Late Triassic)

The Late Triassic Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE) saw a dramatic increase in global humidity and temperature that has been linked to the large-scale volcanism of the Wrangellia large igneous province. The climatic changes coincide with a major biological turnover on land that included the ascent of the dinosaurs and the origin of modern conifers. However, linking the disparate cause and effects of the CPE has yet to be achieved because of the lack of a detailed terrestrial record of these events. Here, we present a multidisciplinary record of volcanism and environmental change from an expanded Carnian lake succession of the Jiyuan Basin, North China. New U-Pb zircon dating, high-resolution chemostratigraphy, and palynological and sedimentological data reveal that terrestrial conditions in the region were in remarkable lockstep with the large-scale volcanism. Using the sedimentary mercury record as a proxy for eruptions reveals four discrete episodes during the CPE interval (ca. 234.0 to 232.4 Ma). Each eruptive phase correlated with large, negative C isotope excursions and major climatic changes to more humid conditions (marked by increased importance of hygrophytic plants), lake expansion, and eutrophication. Our results show that large igneous province eruptions can occur in multiple, discrete pulses, rather than showing a simple acme-and-decline history, and demonstrate their powerful ability to alter the global C cycle, cause climate change, and drive macroevolution, at least in the Triassic.

Mineralogical proxies of a Pliocene maar lake recording changes in precipitation at the Camp dels Ninots (Pliocene, NE Iberia)

The sedimentary record of the maar lake succession at Camp dels Ninots (Pliocene, NE Spain) reflects mineralogical shifts that correlate with orbitally forced climate changes. X-ray powder diffraction was obtained from a 47 m-long core collected from a borehole drilled in the centre of the paleolake. The results show compositional variations in terms of allogenic/authigenic mineral assemblages which, in turn, correlate with climate proxies such as pollen. Intervals that are dominantly composed of allogenic minerals (quartz, feldspar, smectite) correlate with wet periods. These periods are characterised by an increase in the percentage of Abies pollen. Conversely, intervals enriched in carbonates correlate with dry periods, with decreased amounts of Abies pollen. This cyclicity is attributed to rainfall variations leading to hydrologically open lake conditions during periods of relative high precipitation (when clastic input is enhanced) and hydrologically closed lake conditions during drier periods (when precipitation of authigenic carbonates is enhanced). It is concluded that the mineralogy of maar paleolakes may be highly sensitive to record climate changes.

Environmental factors associated with cyanobacterial assemblages in a mesotrophic subtropical plateau lake: A focus on bloom toxicity.

Harmful algal blooms caused by cyanobacteria have been increasing in frequency worldwide. However, the main environmental drivers of this change are often difficult to identify because of the effects of the interaction between eutrophication and climate change. Recently, filamentous N2-fixing cyanobacteria and non-diazotrophic Microcystis have been observed to be co-existing and undergoing succession in some eutrophic lakes. However, the succession patterns of dominant cyanobacteria and the factors driving this in mesotrophic lakes are not well understood. We hypothesized that the changes in cyanobacterial assemblages in mesotrophic lakes could result in a relatively high risks of toxic blooms, and that these changes are associated with the global climatic changes. We tested these hypotheses using data from the subtropical mesotrophic Lake Erhai. We found that the high spatiotemporal variability in the cyanobacterial community, and the increase in biomass were driven primarily by the growth of bloom-forming cyanobacterial taxa. Species-specific biomasses were related to a different environmental stressor; increases in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations were statistically associated with an increase of Microcystis biomass, whereas increases in surface water temperature favored higher biomass of Pseudanabaena at low transparency and high concentration of phosphorus. In addition, low nitrogen- to- phosphorus ratios were identified as potential determinants of the abundance of N2-fixing Dolichospermum. Furthermore, changes in the concentration of DOC, total nitrogen, pH and water transparency levels were found to affect the composition of Microcystis morphotypes and genotypes mostly. This study highlights that the toxic to non-toxic Microcystis ratio might increase with the water darkening and browning (which occurs in many subtropical plateau lakes). Lake management strategies, therefore, need to consider the toxicity of cyanobacterial assemblages in mesotrophic lakes over the intensity of the cyanobacterial blooms.

Context dependence in community composition of functional traits mediates freshwater fish invasion success in the Laurentian Great Lakes over time

As the number of non-native species introductions continues to increase, the need for tools to predict potential invaders is a central focus in invasion ecology. Trait-based models are a popular method used to predict non-native species success; however, they have many challenges to overcome and often fail to address the role of propagule pressure in failed invasions. Due to a lack of data, many studies cannot incorporate failed invasions into their models examining the success of invaders. Here, we analyzed the relationship between the functional traits of non-native species, both successful and failed, and native species in the Laurentian Great Lakes over three time periods between 1870 and 2010. We only examined failed invasions where there was an environmental match and sufficient propagule pressure for establishment as determined through records of authorized stocking, allowing us to directly test the contribution of traits to invasion success. We evaluated whether nearest neighbor functional distance (NNFD), mean functional distance (MFD), lake, time, and functional traits predicted invasion success and impact using logistic regression models. Our results indicate that species with functional traits associated with r-selected life-history strategies were more likely to establish and predators were more likely to have high impact. While smaller NNFD and MFD values predicted establishment success, higher MFD values predicted high impact. This study examined the role of functional traits in invasion success and demonstrated the importance that a change in community context contributes to regulating invasion success.

Comparison of Axial Length Measurements with the Use of Optical Biometry (IOL Master 700) and Ultrasound Biometry (A‐scan 550 Sonomed)

Purpose: To compare measurements of axial length obtained with A-scan and IOL Master. The study was design to collect the axial length values resulting from the application of both methods on the same eye (R.E.) and then to compare them.
 Methodology Place and Duration of Study: 50 healthy patients selected randomly after visiting the clinic for daily routine examination. at the general hospital of Athens “Korgialenio – Benakio” were invited to participate in the study. The study took place in collaboration of University of West Attica Dept Biomedical Science Course Optics & Optometry with the general hospital of Athens “Korgialenio – Benakio”. Axial length measurements were obtained both by contact ultrasound (A‐scan 550 Sonomed, Lake Success, NY, USA) and by non‐contact laser interferometry (IOL Master 700 SWEPT Source Biometry). Two sets of measurements were repeated by a single examiner for each method.
 Results: A total of 50 eyes in 50 patients were evaluated. All participants volunteer to participate in this study. Estimates of axial length obtained with the two techniques were highly correlated. Axial lengths obtained with the contact method (mean 24.23mm, SD 1.64mm) were lower than those obtained with the non‐contact method (mean 23.29mm, SD 1.59mm) and the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.150). The coefficient of variation was lower with non‐contact laser interferometry (6.58%) than with the ultrasound technique (6.76%).
 Conclusion: Similar estimates of axial length are obtained using contact and non‐contact techniques, with the latter producing higher measurements results than the former. The A-scan and the non‐contact laser interferometry device (IOL Master 700) provide both reproducible results with similar the accuracy of measurements of axial length in the clinical setting.

The Politics of Alienation in Gary Shteyngart’s Lake Success

ABSTRACT This article considers Gary Shteyngart’s Lake Success as a literary exploration of alienation that is set against the backdrop of the 2016 presidential election in the United States. It exposes alienation as involving and also transcending immigrant identity, the central subject of most of Shteyngart’s works. By putting Lake Success into conversation with Rahel Jaeggi’s theory of alienation and American authors who comment on the subject, I argue that Shteyngart showcases its ubiquity and the ways in which self-alienation and social alienation relate to one another in the face of President Donald Trump’s attempts to alienate and vilify immigrants and other diverse individuals in America. In the process, Shteyngart exposes missed opportunities for self-realization and invites America as a nation to subvert alienation and find success in and through its hybridity and diversity.

How Do You Provide Humanistic Care During a Pandemic?

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are at an unprecedented time in history. We practice at Monter Cancer Center in Lake Success, New York, which is part of Northwell Health, the largest health system in New York state, located in the initial epicenter of COVID-19 in the United States.

The Eemian Lakeland of the central Polish Plain: Environmental changes and palaeogeography

The current state of recognition of Eemian/Eemian–Vistulian subfossil flora sites in central Poland is presented, as well as the results of cladoceran and isotopic investigations of the lake-bog successions of five key sites (Ruszkówek, Kaliska, Kubłowo, Besiekierz and Parchliny “2014”) and inferred environmental variability. The distribution of 58 sites is also commented on in relation to the origin of palaeolakes, the nature of their infillings and their palaeolandscape. Most (90%) of these palaeolakes were created by the melting of buried ice remaining after the Wartanian (Late Saalian, MIS 6) ice-sheet. It has been determined, from palynostratigraphy, that the decline of postglacial lakes may have taken more than 75,000 years. In the key palaeolakes, the beginning of Cladocera succession started at the end of the Wartanian and finished in the Middle Plenivistulian (MIS 3). The Middle and Late Eemian was a period of intense Cladocera development in terms of biodiversity and specimen frequency. The significant differences in Cladocera succession and development of lakes reflect in detail the significant climate changes taking place between cold and warm periods, and the most pronounced differences result from variations in the morphometry and thus hydrological stability of the investigated palaeolakes. In the largest lakes (Kubłowo) the survival chances of organisms increased in difficult times. The studied sediments are characterised by similar geochemical and isotopic features. The Early Eemian warming is expressed by a positive trend in δ18Ocarb and δ13Ccarb and an increasing amount of organic matter. The Late Eemian isotopic fluctuations are probably affected by the sedimentary infilling of the palaeolakes. The Vistulian cooling is reflected by distinctly lower values of δ18Ocarb than in the Eemian. The lowest amounts of total organic carbon are recorded in the coldest periods during the Herning, Rederstall and Schalkholz Stadials, but increased systematically during the warmer periods.

The hepatitis C virus care cascade in the New York City jail system during the direct acting antiviral treatment era, 2014-2017.

BackgroundHigh patient turnover presents challenges and opportunity to provide hepatitis C virus (HCV) care in US jails (remand facilities). This study describes the HCV care cascade in the New York City (NYC) jail system during the direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment era.MethodsPatients admitted to the NYC jail system from January 2014 through December 2017 were included in this retrospective cohort analysis. We describe rates of screening, diagnosis, linkage to jail-based care, and treatment among the overall cohort, and among subgroups with long jail stays (≥120 days) or frequent stays (≥10 admissions). The study protocol was approved by a third-party institutional review board (BRANY, Lake Success, NY).FindingsAmong the 121,371 patients in our analysis, HCV screening was performed in 40,219 (33%), 4665 (12%) of whom were viremic, 1813 (39%) seen by an HCV clinician in jail, and 248 (5% of viremic patients) started on treatment in jail. Having a long stay (adjusted risk ratio [aRR] 8·11, 95% confidence interval [CI] 6·98, 9·42) or frequent stays (aRR 1·51, 95% CI 1·04, 2·18) were significantly associated with being seen by an HCV clinician. Patients with long stays had a higher rate of treatment (14% of viremic patients). Sustained virologic response at 12 weeks was achieved in 147/164 (90%) of patients with available virologic data.InterpretationJail health systems can reach large numbers of HCV-infected individuals. The high burden of HCV argues for universal screening in jail settings. Length of stay was strongly associated with being seen by an HCV clinician in jail. Treatment is feasible among those with longer lengths of stay.FundingNone.