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Martin Hoffmann,1 Dina Siebrasse,1 Erik Schlöricke,2 Ralf Bouchard,1 Tobias Keck,1 Claudia Benecke1 1Department of Surgery, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Lübeck, 2Department of Surgery, Westküstenklinikum Heide, Heide, Germany Aim: To investigate, via data analysis, the long-term outcome of patients who underwent either laparoscopic or open surgery for Crohn’s disease.Methods: A total of 113 patients who had undergone first abdominal surgery due to Crohn’s disease between January 2000 and December 2010 in a maximum care provider facility, were included in the statistical analysis. All patients provided their informed consent prior to inclusion. Data were collected from a database. Follow-up data included data from central mortality registries, general practitioners and a specialized clinic. Statistical analysis of the general patient data and the different operations and approaches were performed with the use of chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test, and the Mann–Whitney U test.Results: The median follow-up period in case of open and laparoscopic surgery was found to be 9 and 6 years, respectively. Statistically significant differences were observed for the following parameters in case of open and laparoscopic surgery, respectively: age (median=44 vs. 36 years, range=15–76 vs. 15–72 years; p=0.007), urgency of operation (23 out of 34 planned vs. 6 out of 70 planned; p

Rapid bioassessment protocols using benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages have been successfully used to assess human impacts on water quality. Unfortunately, traditional benthic larval sampling methods, such as the dip-net, can be time-consuming and expensive. An alternative protocol involves collection of Chironomidae surface-floating pupal exuviae (SFPE). Chironomidae is a species-rich family of flies (Diptera) whose immature stages typically occur in aquatic habitats. Adult chironomids emerge from the water, leaving their pupal skins, or exuviae, floating on the waters surface. Exuviae often accumulate along banks or behind obstructions by action of the wind or water current, where they can be collected to assess chironomid diversity and richness. Chironomids can be used as important biological indicators, since some species are more tolerant to pollution than others. Therefore, the relative abundance and species composition of collected SFPE reflect changes in water quality. Here, methods associated with field collection, laboratory processing, slide mounting, and identification of chironomid SFPE are described in detail. Advantages of the SFPE method include minimal disturbance at a sampling area, efficient and economical sample collection and laboratory processing, ease of identification, applicability in nearly all aquatic environments, and a potentially more sensitive measure of ecosystem stress. Limitations include the inability to determine larval microhabitat use and inability to identify pupal exuviae to species if they have not been associated with adult males.

Burge DRL, Edlund MB, Bowe S, Bowe K, Anderson JP, Bouchard RW, Heathcote AJ, Leavitt PR, Engstrom DR. 2023. Managing the Red Lake Nation's and Minnesota's largest lake: monitoring and paleolimnology support a site-specific standard for Upper and Lower Red Lakes (Red Lake Nation and Minnesota, United States). Lake Reserv Manage. 40:1–17. Water quality and the ability of lakes to provide benefits such as recreation and aquatic life are negatively impacted by climate change, aquatic invasive species, and nutrient enrichment. To address these lake-management challenges, regionally tailored water quality criteria need to assign achievable and protective goals while minimizing assessment errors. In Minnesota, when lakes exceed state water-quality standards, restoration plans are developed and implemented based on eco-regional standards, or in cases where it is determined that the regional standard is not appropriate, a site-specific standard may be developed. Upper Red Lake and Lower Red Lake, located within the boundaries of the Red Lake Indian Reservation (the Red Lake Nation) in northwestern Minnesota (United States), have been recently experiencing cyanobacteria blooms, as well as routinely exceeding the regional water quality criteria for total phosphorus and chlorophyll a. The last 20 yr of water quality monitoring suggest a stable recent history with no significant trends. To extend this time perspective, biogeochemical evidence from paleolimnology was used to reconstruct a 150 yr history for these 2 large, shallow lakes to determine whether site-specific water quality standards might be recommended. Biogeochemical evidence (e.g., sedimentation rates, phosphorus fractions, biogenic silica, diatom community composition, and fossil algal pigments) from 10 sediment cores revealed complex sedimentary dynamics together with a small gradual increase in limnological productivity over the last 2 centuries. Despite the implied productivity change, diatom-inferred phosphorus showed no significant increase among the sediment cores. Furthermore, the reconstructed total phosphorus values were within the range of modern monitored values. Because the paleolimnological evidence suggests little change to the aquatic ecology of the Red Lakes over the last 150 yr, and monitoring data show regular exceedance of regional TP standards with no trend in the last 20 yr, site-specific water quality standards are deemed appropriate for this large, shallow lake system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]