Pathogens of Dikerogammarus haemobaphes regulate host activity and survival, but also threaten native amphipod populations in the UK

ABSTRACT: Dikerogammarus haemobaphes is a non-native amphipod in UK freshwaters. Studieshave identified this species as a low-impact invader in the UK, relative to its cousin Dikero gammarusvillosus. It has been suggested that regulation by symbionts (such as Microsporidia) could explainthis difference in impact. The effect of parasitism on D. haemobaphes is largely unknown. Thiswas explored herein using 2 behavioural assays measuring activity and aggregation. First, D.haemobaphes were screened histologically post-assay, identifying 2 novel viruses (D. haemo baphesbi-facies-like virus [DhbflV], D. haemobaphes bacilliform virus [DhBV]), Cucumispora ornata(Micro sporidia), Apicomplexa, and Digenea, which could alter host behaviour. DhBV infectionburden increased host activity, and C. ornata infection reduced host activity. Second, native invertebrateswere collected from the invasion site at Carlton Brook, UK, and tested for the presence ofC. ornata. PCR screening identified that Gammarus pulex and other native invertebrates werepositive for C. ornata. The host range of this parasite, and its impact on host survival, was additionallyexplored using D. haemobaphes, D. villosus, and G. pulex in a laboratory trial. D. haemo baphesand G. pulex became infected by C. ornata, which also lowered survival rate. D. villosus did notbecome infected. A PCR protocol for DhbflV was also applied to D. haemobaphes after the survivaltrial, associating this virus with decreased host survival. In conclusion, D. haemobaphes has acomplex relationship with parasites in the UK environment. C. ornata likely regulates populationsby decreasing hos

Environmental noise reduces predation rate in an aquatic invertebrate

Noise is one of a wide range of disturbances associated with human activities that have been shown to have detrimental impacts on a wide range of species, from montane regions to the deep marine environment. Noise may also have community-level impacts via predator–prey interactions, thus jeopardising the stability of trophic networks. However, the impact of noise on freshwater ecosystems is largely unknown. Even more so is the case of insects, despite their crucial role in trophic networks. Here, we study the impact of underwater noise on the predatory functional response of damselfly larvae. We compared the feeding rates of larvae under anthropogenic noise, natural noise, and silent conditions. Our results suggest that underwater noise (pooling the effects of anthropogenic noise and natural noise) decreases the feeding rate of damselflies significantly compared to relatively silent conditions. In particular, natural noise increased the handling time significantly compared to the silent treatment, thus reducing the feeding rate. Unexpectedly, feeding rates under anthropogenic noise were not reduced significantly compared to silent conditions. This study suggests that noise per se may not necessarily have negative impacts on trophic interactions. Instead, the impact of noise on feeding rates may be explained by the presence of nonlinearities in acoustic signals, which may be more abundant in natural compared to anthropogenic noise. We conclude by highlighting the importance of studying a diversity of types of acoustic pollution, and encourage further work regarding trophic interactions with insects using a functional response approach

The contribution of fibre components to water absorption of wheat grown in the UK

Background and objectives The water absorption (WA) of white wheat flour is a major factor affecting processing quality, and millers, therefore, process their wheat to achieve the required level. Although it is likely that WA is determined by the amounts and compositions of three major grain components, starch, protein, and arabinoxylan, the contribution of the latter is not agreed and not recognized in the widely used Farrand equation. Findings We have measured a range of parameters related to fiber amount and composition and tested the ability of these to improve the prediction of WA using a modified Farrand equation. The addition of a range of single fiber traits improved the prediction of WA from a baseline of 82.98% to a maximum of 86.78%, but inclusion of all fiber traits as PCs resulted in a further improvement to 90%. Inclusion of the PCs also accounted for variation in WA between harvest years. The greatest improvement from inclusion of a single trait was observed with β‐glucan, the inclusion of arabinogalactan peptide (AGP) also resulted in improved prediction of WA. Conclusions The study shows that fiber components contribute to variation in WA, including differences between harvest years, but that β‐glucan and AGP have similar or greater impacts than AX. Significance and novelty The study dissects the contributions of AX amount and composition to WA and demonstrates a contribution of b‐glucan for the first time

Mesothelioma and Radical Surgery 2 (MARS 2): protocol for a multicentre randomised trial comparing (extended) pleurectomy decortication versus no (extended) pleurectomy decortication for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.

INTRODUCTION: Mesothelioma remains a lethal cancer. To date, systemic therapy with pemetrexed and a platinum drug remains the only licensed standard of care. As the median survival for patients with mesothelioma is 12.1 months, surgery is an important consideration to improve survival and/or quality of life. Currently, only two surgical trials have been performed which found that neither extensive (extra-pleural pneumonectomy) or limited (partial pleurectomy) surgery improved survival (although there was some evidence of improved quality of life). Therefore, clinicians are now looking to evaluate pleurectomy decortication, the only radical treatment option left. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The MARS 2 study is a UK multicentre open parallel group randomised controlled trial comparing the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of surgery-(extended) pleurectomy decortication-versus no surgery for the treatment of pleural mesothelioma. The study will test the hypothesis that surgery and chemotherapy is superior to chemotherapy alone with respect to overall survival. Secondary outcomes include health-related quality of life, progression-free survival, measures of safety (adverse events) and resource use to 2 years. The QuinteT Recruitment Intervention is integrated into the trial to optimise recruitment. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Research ethics approval was granted by London - Camberwell St. Giles Research Ethics Committee (reference 13/LO/1481) on 7 November 2013. We will submit the results for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBERS: ISRCTN-ISRCTN44351742 and ClinicalTrials.gov-NCT02040272

Response behaviour of native lizards and invading wall lizard to interspecific scent: implications for invasion success

The human-assisted movement of species beyond their native range facilitates novel interactions between invaders and native species that can determine whether an introduced species becomes invasive and the nature of any consequences for native communities. Avoiding costly interactions through recognition and avoidance can be compromised by the naïvety of native species to novel invaders and vice versa. We tested this hypothesis using the common wall lizard, Podarcis muralis, and the native lizard species with which it may now interact in Britain (common lizard, Zootoca vivipara, sand lizard, Lacerta agilis) and on Vancouver Island (northern alligator lizard, Elgaria coerulea) by exploring species' responses (tongue flicks, avoidance behaviour) to heterospecific scent cues in controlled experiments. The tongue flick response of P. muralis depended on the different species’ scent, with significantly more tongue flicks directed to E. coerulea scent than the other species and the control. This recognition did not result in any other behavioural response in P. muralis (i.e. attraction, aggression, avoidance). Lacerta agilis showed a strong recognition response to P. muralis scent, with more tongue flicks occurring close to the treatment stimuli than the control and aggressive behaviour directed towards the scent source. Conversely, Z. vivipara spent less time near P. muralis scent cues than the control but its tongue flick rate was higher towards this scent in this reduced time, consistent with an avoidance response. There was no evidence of E. coerulea recognition of P. muralis scent in terms of tongue flicks or time spent near the stimuli, although the native species did show a preference for P. muralis-scented refuges. Our results suggest a variable response of native species to the scent of P. muralis, from an avoidance response by Z. vivipara that mirrors patterns of exclusion observed in the field to direct aggression observed in L. agilis and an ambiguous reaction from E. coerulea which may reflect a diminished response to a cue with a low associated cost. These results have significant implications for the invasive success and potential impacts of introduced P. muralis populations on native lizards

Duration of androgen deprivation therapy with postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer: a comparison of long-course versus short-course androgen deprivation therapy in the RADICALS-HD randomised trial

Background Previous evidence supports androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with primary radiotherapy as initial treatment for intermediate-risk and high-risk localised prostate cancer. However, the use and optimal duration of ADT with postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy remains uncertain. Methods RADICALS-HD was a randomised controlled trial of ADT duration within the RADICALS protocol. Here, we report on the comparison of short-course versus long-course ADT. Key eligibility criteria were indication for radiotherapy after previous radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen less than 5 ng/mL, absence of metastatic disease, and written consent. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to add 6 months of ADT (short-course ADT) or 24 months of ADT (long-course ADT) to radiotherapy, using subcutaneous gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogue (monthly in the short-course ADT group and 3-monthly in the long-course ADT group), daily oral bicalutamide monotherapy 150 mg, or monthly subcutaneous degarelix. Randomisation was done centrally through minimisation with a random element, stratified by Gleason score, positive margins, radiotherapy timing, planned radiotherapy schedule, and planned type of ADT, in a computerised system. The allocated treatment was not masked. The primary outcome measure was metastasis-free survival, defined as metastasis arising from prostate cancer or death from any cause. The comparison had more than 80% power with two-sided α of 5% to detect an absolute increase in 10-year metastasis-free survival from 75% to 81% (hazard ratio [HR] 0·72). Standard time-to-event analyses were used. Analyses followed intention-to-treat principle. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN40814031, and ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT00541047 . Findings Between Jan 30, 2008, and July 7, 2015, 1523 patients (median age 65 years, IQR 60–69) were randomly assigned to receive short-course ADT (n=761) or long-course ADT (n=762) in addition to postoperative radiotherapy at 138 centres in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the UK. With a median follow-up of 8·9 years (7·0–10·0), 313 metastasis-free survival events were reported overall (174 in the short-course ADT group and 139 in the long-course ADT group; HR 0·773 [95% CI 0·612–0·975]; p=0·029). 10-year metastasis-free survival was 71·9% (95% CI 67·6–75·7) in the short-course ADT group and 78·1% (74·2–81·5) in the long-course ADT group. Toxicity of grade 3 or higher was reported for 105 (14%) of 753 participants in the short-course ADT group and 142 (19%) of 757 participants in the long-course ADT group (p=0·025), with no treatment-related deaths. Interpretation Compared with adding 6 months of ADT, adding 24 months of ADT improved metastasis-free survival in people receiving postoperative radiotherapy. For individuals who can accept the additional duration of adverse effects, long-course ADT should be offered with postoperative radiotherapy. Funding Cancer Research UK, UK Research and Innovation (formerly Medical Research Council), and Canadian Cancer Society

How Does Kinship and Foster Care Differ on Caregiver, Family, Cultural, and Community Connectedness?

In Australia and most Western countries, the majority of children in out-of-home care live in home-based care, either with a family or community member in kinship care or in non-relative foster care with a previously unknown caregiver. Policy in child protection favours kinship over foster care placements, which is consistent with past findings that children in kinship care tend to fare better on mental health and placement stability outcomes than their peers in foster care (Winokur et al., 2014). There is therefore an important and timely need to investigate why children in kinship care may fare better: indeed, one reason policy prioritises kinship care placements is to preserve and promote caregiver, family, cultural, and community connections (i.e., connectedness). However, there is scarce international, and in particular Australian, research examining this key tenant of policy. This PhD thesis aimed to examine group differences between kinship and foster care in these connections to gain deeper insight into factors which may promote more optimal child outcomes across home-based care. Specifically, across three studies, this thesis examined the quality, meaning, and outcomes of connectedness in kinship versus foster care. In Study 1, a systematic review and meta-analysis of the international literature examined whether kinship versus foster care is more likely to promote connectedness, and in turn, better child outcomes. The research in Study 2 and 3 utilised an interview-based assessment tool to examine and explore how kinship and foster caregivers conceptualise and differ in qualities of caregiver-child relationships. Study 2 examined quantitative differences in caregiver-child relationship quality, as well as in child and caregiver mental health, in a sample of 101 kinship, foster, and birth parents. Study 3 qualitatively analysed kinship and foster caregivers' narratives (i.e., from Study 2; N = 66) about the caregiver-child relationship to unearth a richer source of information about group differences in connectedness. Overall, the quantitative findings in this thesis suggest that kinship and foster families fared similarly on outcomes pertaining to: caregiver, birth family, and community connectedness; and child mental health and caregiver strain. Moreover, both groups experienced significantly more challenges than the community sample of birth families. The application of qualitative methodology captured important, yet nuanced, differences in the meaning kinship and foster caregivers ascribed to the caregiver-child relationship and children's cultural and family connections. Specifically, kinship and foster caregivers both expressed ongoing commitment to the child, but the function of this commitment differed. Furthermore, kinship caregivers discussed cultural and birth family connections more commonly than foster caregivers; birth family connections were often ambivalent, but cultural connectedness was linked to pride and resilience. Relatedly, across the studies, connectedness was broadly associated with optimal child wellbeing in home-based care. Taken together, alongside acknowledging the significant challenges faced by home-based care families, the findings highlight the strengths pertaining to the attachment relationship and child and caregiver resilience. Results are discussed in regard to the need to prioritise the development of evidence-based policies and interventions tailored to the particular strengths and challenges of kinship and foster families

Informing a new agenda of research on callous-unemotional traits in alternative care: Protocol for a scoping review

This is the protocol for a scoping review synthesizing evidence regarding the levels, correlates, outcomes and intervention prospects of callous-unemotional traits (and the related construct of psychopathy) within an out-of-home/institutional care population. It is anticipated that the review will inform a new research agenda based on potential gaps in the existing literature