The Structure of Genetic Diversity in Eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) along the North Pacific and Bering Sea Coasts of Alaska

Eelgrass (Zostera marina) populations occupying coastal waters of Alaska are separated by a peninsula and island archipelago into two Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs). From populations in both LMEs, we characterize genetic diversity, population structure, and polarity in gene flow using nuclear microsatellite fragment and chloroplast and nuclear sequence data. An inverse relationship between genetic diversity and latitude was observed (heterozygosity: R2 = 0.738, P < 0.001; allelic richness: R2 = 0.327, P = 0.047), as was significant genetic partitioning across most sampling sites (θ = 0.302, P < 0.0001). Variance in allele frequency was significantly partitioned by region only in cases when a population geographically in the Gulf of Alaska LME (Kinzarof Lagoon) was instead included with populations in the Eastern Bering Sea LME (θp = 0.128-0.172; P < 0.003), suggesting gene flow between the two LMEs in this region. Gene flow among locales was rarely symmetrical, with notable exceptions generally following net coastal ocean current direction. Genetic data failed to support recent proposals that multiple Zostera species (i.e. Z. japonica and Z. angustifolia) are codistributed with Z. marina in Alaska. Comparative analyses also failed to support the hypothesis that eelgrass populations in the North Atlantic derived from eelgrass retained in northeastern Pacific Last Glacial Maximum refugia. These data suggest northeastern Pacific populations are derived from populations expanding northward from temperate populations following climate amelioration at the terminus of the last Pleistocene glaciation.

Refining a tool to measure cues to action in encouraging health-promoting behavior--the CHAQ

A convenience sample of 99 questionnaire respondents was used to develop an instrument to measure "cues to action" for health-promoting behaviors. The questionnaire contained 32 items producing an alpha coefficient of 0.88. Because of the small sample size and limitations of the convenience sample, the authors recommend that their findings be considered preliminary.

Outcomes for patients at risk for inheritable breast cancer: how the nurse practitioner can determine the proper course of action to ensure desired outcomes

The topic of genetics and genetic testing pertaining to diseases such as hereditary breast cancer is an issue of which nurse practitioners need to be aware. In the general primary care practice where patients are seen daily with questions about genetic testing, the nurse practitioner is in an ideal setting to educate and counsel these men and women for an outcome that is acceptable to both practitioner and patient.