Heidelberg University (Ohio)

About: Heidelberg University (Ohio) is a education organization based out in Tiffin, Ohio, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Eutrophication & Tributary. The organization has 101 authors who have published 184 publications receiving 8272 citations. The organization is also known as: Heidelberg College & Heidelburg College.

Lifetime and current depression in the German National Cohort (NAKO)

Abstract: The present study introduces the assessment of depression and depressive symptoms in the German National Cohort (NAKO), a population-based mega cohort. Distribution of core measures, and associations with sociodemographic factors are examined.The current analysis includes data from the first 101,667 participants (NAKO data freeze 100,000). Depression and depressive symptoms were assessed using a modified version of the depression section of the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), self-reported physician's diagnosis of depression, and the depression scale of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9).A lifetime physician's diagnosis of depression was reported by 15.0% of participants. Of those, 47.6% reported having received treatment for depression within the last 12 months. Of the subset of 26,342 participants undergoing the full depression section of the modified MINI, 15.9% were classified by the MINI with a lifetime depressive episode. Based on the PHQ-9, 5.8% of the participants were classified as currently having a major or other depression by the diagnostic algorithm, and 7.8% according to the dimensional assessment (score ≥ 10). Increased frequency of depression measures and higher depression scores were observed in women and participants with lower education level or a family history of depression.The observed distributions of all depression measures and their associations with sociodemographic variables are consistent with the literature on depression. The NAKO represents a valuable epidemiologic resource to investigate depression, and the range of measures for lifetime and current depression allows users to select the most suitable instrument for their specific research question.

Sex-specific microhabitat use is associated with sex-biased thermal physiology in Anolis lizards.

Abstract: If fitness optima for a given trait differ between males and females in a population, sexual dimorphism may evolve. Sex-biased trait variation may affect patterns of habitat use, and if the microhabitats used by each sex have dissimilar microclimates, this can drive sex-specific selection on thermal physiology. Nevertheless, tests of differences between the sexes in thermal physiology are uncommon, and studies linking these differences to microhabitat use or behavior are even rarer. We examined microhabitat use and thermal physiology in two ectothermic congeners that are ecologically similar but differ in their degree of sexual size dimorphism. Brown anoles (Anolis sagrei) exhibit male-biased sexual size dimorphism and live in thermally heterogeneous habitats, whereas slender anoles (Anolis apletophallus) are sexually monomorphic in body size and live in thermally homogeneous habitats. We hypothesized that differences in habitat use between the sexes would drive sexual divergence in thermal physiology in brown anoles, but not slender anoles, because male and female brown anoles may be exposed to divergent microclimates. We found that male and female brown anoles, but not slender anoles, used perches with different thermal characteristics and were sexually dimorphic in thermal tolerance traits. However, field-active body temperatures and behavior in a laboratory thermal arena did not differ between females and males in either species. Our results suggest that sexual dimorphism in thermal physiology can arise from phenotypic plasticity or sex-specific selection on traits that are linked to thermal tolerance, rather than from direct effects of thermal environments experienced by males and females.

Improving Total Maximum Daily Loads with Lessons Learned from Long-Term Detailed Monitoring

Abstract: Many thousands of impaired water segments in the United States will be the subject of total maximum daily load (TMDL) determinations in the next decade. Many of these load allocations will be established with access to only minimal local data. Long-term and detailed datasets from other locations can facilitate this process by offering general insights into the processes that interact to produce the chemistry observed in a particular waterbody over time. These insights can lead to more enlightened interpretation of sparse but locally relevant water quality data. They can also inform the design of implementation monitoring to evaluate success of TMDLs. Finally, study of such datasets reveals biases that may result from inappropriate sampling design or data interpretation algorithms, and may lead to erroneous conclusions about the success or failure of a TMDL program in a specific watershed.