the wages of sin

the purity of functionalism with mind may clash with a the need fo

Identification Trainers for the Future: Developing the next generation of expert naturalists at the Angela Marmont Centre for UK Biodiversity

With on-going losses to UK biodiversity occurring, the need for suitably experienced, passionate biologists who can identify and classify plants and animals, and engage young people with the natural world, has never been greater. There has, however, been a decline in biological field skills, particularly in emerging scientists and graduates, in recent years. This is due to a combination of factors, including our changing relationship with nature, reduced childhood engagement, and a lack of education and training opportunities. Cuts to museum specialists have also occurred, making it more difficult for early career professionals to gain the training required to work in field ecology, taxonomy, and as specialist curators. The 'Identification Trainers for the Future' traineeship, launched in 2015 by the Natural History Museum (NHM) in partnership with the Field Studies Council (FSC) and National Biodiversity Network (NBN), and hosted within the Angela Marmont Centre for UK Biodiversity (AMC), is a strong example of how early career professionals can develop ecological field and curatorial skills. It provides a platform for passionate individuals to train future generations in wildlife identification, support naturalist groups, and engage public audiences to connect with the natural world. This paper outlines the aims and key elements of the ID Trainers for the Future traineeship, reflecting on personal experiences. Finally, the paper outlines initial lessons learnt and next steps as the active phase of the programme draws to a close with the final cohort of trainees in spring of 2018© by the authors, 2018. Published by the Natural Sciences Collections Association (NatSCA). This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The attached file is the published pdf version

Al Aziz Mosque

https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/bcs/1393/thumbnail.jp

The prevalence and associations of radiographic diagnostic signs indicating possible pre-eruptive canine ectopia: The results of a mixed dentition radiographic survey

Maxillary canine ectopia is an anomaly of the mixed dentition which can and should be diagnosed early and treated interceptively wherever possible. Various radiographic markers have been associated with canine ectopia, and these are significant aids to a thorough clinical examination, in order to diagnose ectopia. A cross sectional study was carried out on a sample of 465 mixed dentition panoramic radiographs in order to establish the prevalence of maxillary canine ectopia according to a set of radiographic markers. The sample of radiographs included patients with dental ages between 10 and 12 years of age. 404 radiographs displayed signs of canine ectopia according to the markers studied. Non- resorption of the root of the primary canine was the most common marker (63%) found. This was followed by overlap in 25.2% of cases, whilst increased angulation of the developing canine was the least prevalent (4.7%). Non-resorption showed a statistically significant association with distal overlap and overlap over the pulp chamber. Increased angulation was significantly associated with non-resorption in all degrees of overlap. Unilateral increased size of the mandibular canine showed a significant association with cases displaying a mesial overlap (p= 0.027). Dental age is an important aspect of predicting canine ectopia. Non-resorption of the roots of the primary canine must be viewed with caution at the dental age of 10 years. Enlargement of the mandibular canine maybe viewed as a potential early warning sign for maxillary canine ectopia

Radiographic assessment of developing maxillary canine ectopia and its association with dental anomalies in the mixed dentition

Reciprocal associations have been found to exist between various dental anomalies.1-14 Maxillary canine ectopia may, however, occur in dentitions without any anomalies

Optical Properties of Luminescent Solar Concentrators

This thesis on luminescent solar concentrators (LSC) presents work carried out as part of the Electronic and Photonic Molecular Materials (EPMM) group of the department of physics and astronomy at the University of Sheffield. The work is presented in five experimental chapters looking at a range of research aspects from film deposition and measurement instrumentation, to exploring LSC optical properties and device performances by spectral based analytical methods. A Gauge R & R (GRR) study design is used to assess sources of variance in an absolute fluorescence quantum yield measurement system involving an integration sphere. The GRR statistics yield the total variance split into three proportions; equipment, day-to-day and manufacturing variances. The manufacturing variance, describing sample fabrication, was found to exhibit the smallest contribution to measurement uncertainty. The greatest source of variance was found to be from fluctuations in the laser intensity whose uncertainty is carried into the quantum yield determination due to not knowing the exact laser intensity at the time of measurement. The solvation phenomenon is explored as a potential way to improve LSC device yields; this occurs due to excitation induced changes to a fluorophore's dipole moment which leads to a response by the surrounding host medium resulting in shifts in fluorophore emission energy. This effect is shown to improve self-absorption efficiency by reducing the overlap of absorption and emission for particular organic fluorophores. This is expected to greatly improve energy yields but current dopant materials are too costly to employ according to the cost evaluations of this thesis. A spray coating deposition tool is considered for the deposition of thin film coatings for bi-layer LSC devices. A screening study design of experiment is constructed to ascertain the level of control and assess the tool's ability to meet thin film requirements. Despite poor control over the roughness of the thin film layer this property was found to lie close to the acceptable roughness limit in most samples. The biggest issue remains the film thickness achieved by the deposition, which was an order of magnitude too small according to Beer-Lambert absorption models. This spray-coating tool is thus unsuitable for the requirements of a bi-layer LSC. Concentration quenching is explored in the context of LSC device efficiency. Different fluorophores are seen to exhibited varied quenching decay strengths by looking at quantum yield versus fluorophore concentration. For two fluorophores, 4-(Dicyanomethylene)-2-methyl-6-(4-dimethylaminostyryl)-4H-pyran (DCM) and 2,3,6,7-Tetrahydro-9-methyl-1H,5H-quinolizino(9,1-gh)coumarin (C102), the quenching process is explored further using quantum yield and lifetime measurements to extract the quenching rate from rate equations. The form of the quenching rate as a function of molecular separation is shown to be of a monomial power law but distinct from the point-like dipole-dipole coupling of Förster resonant energy transfer (FRET). Additional quenching modes including surface-point and surface-surface interactions are considered to explain the power law form. Spectral analytical models have been constructed to model performance metrics for square-planar LSC devices. In this model the input solar irradiance is considered to be incident normal to the LSC collection face. Device thickness optimisation is explored to ensure maximisation of the absorption efficiency by the fluorophore using Beer-Lambert absorption modelling. The normalised fluorophore emission spectrum is converted to an equivalent irradiant intensity spectrum based on the amount of energy absorbed. Propagation of this energy through the LSC structure is considered in terms of the mean path length of light rays waveguided by total internal reflection and again Beer-Lambert absorption modelling. Self-absorption and host transport losses are included in some detail. Out-coupling of LSC irradiance at the harvesting edges to connected solar cells is then modelled, using c:Si and GaAs power conversion efficiency spectra, and the resultant power output performance can therefore be estimated. Comparison with real devices from literature show that the model works reasonably well compared to these single device configurations and is somewhat conservative in its estimates. Cost efficiency models based on reasonable assumptions conclude the scope of this work showing that current materials fall short of delivering competitive energy solutions by at least factor of 2 in the case of the best dye modelled here

Polyphenol-rich Extract Of Syzygium Cumini Leaf Dually Improves Peripheral Insulin Sensitivity And Pancreatic Islet Function In Monosodium L-glutamate-induced Obese Rats

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels (Myrtaceae) has been traditionally used to treat a number of illnesses. Ethnopharmacological studies have particularly addressed antidiabetic and metabolic-related effects of extracts prepared from its different parts, especially seed, and pulp-fruit, however, there is a lack of studies on phytochemical profile and biological properties of its leaf. As there is considerable interest in bioactive compounds to treat metabolic syndrome and its clustered risk factors, we sought to characterize the metabolic effects of hydroethanolic extract of S. cumini leaf (HESc) on lean and monosodium L-glutamate (MSG)-induced obese rats. HPLC-MS/MS characterization of the HESc polyphenolic profile, at 254 nm, identified 15 compounds pertaining to hydrolysable tannin and flavanol subclasses. At 60 days of age, both groups were randomly assigned to receive HESc (500 mg/kg) or vehicle for 30 days. At the end of treatment, obese+HESc exhibited significantly lower body weight gain, body mass index, and white adipose tissue mass, compared to obese rats receiving vehicle. Obese rats treated with HESc showed a twofold increase in lipolytic activity in the periepididymal fat pad, as well as, brought triglyceride levels in serum, liver and skeletal muscle back to levels close those found in lean animals. Furthermore, HESc also improved hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance in obese+HESc rats, which resulted in partial reversal of glucose intolerance, as compared to obese rats. HESc had no effect in lean rats. Assessment of ex vivo glucose-stimulated insulin secretion showed HESc potentiated pancreatic function in islets isolated from both lean and obese rats treated with HESc. In addition, HESc (10-1000 mu g/mL) increased glucose stimulated insulin secretion from both isolated rat islets and INS-1E beta-cells. These data demonstrate that S. cumini leaf improved peripheral insulin sensitivity via stimulating/modulating beta-cell insulin release, which was associated with improvements in metabolic outcomes in MSG-induced obese rats.7Foundation for the Support of Research, Scientific and Technological Development of the State of Maranhao - FAPEMA [APP01128/10, APP00280/12]National Council for Scientific and Technological Development - CNPqCanada Research Chairs ProgramConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Limited genomic divergence between intraspecific forms of Culex pipiens under different ecological pressures

Abstract Background: Divergent selection can be a major driver of ecological speciation. In insects of medical importance, understanding the speciation process is both of academic interest and public health importance. In the West Nile virus vector Culex pipiens, intraspecific pipiens and molestus forms vary in ecological and physiological traits. Populations of each form appear to share recent common ancestry but patterns of genetic differentiation across the genome remain unknown. Here, we undertook an AFLP genome scan on samples collected from both sympatric and allopatric populations from Europe and the USA to quantify the extent of genomic differentiation between the two forms. Results: The forms were clearly differentiated but each exhibited major population sub-structuring between continents. Divergence between pipiens and molestus forms from USA was higher than in both inter- and intra-continental comparisons with European samples. The proportion of outlier loci between pipiens and molestus (≈3 %) was low but consistent in both continents, and similar to those observed between sibling species of other mosquito species which exhibit contemporary gene flow. Only two of the outlier loci were shared between inter-form comparisons made within Europe and USA. Conclusion: This study supports the molestus and pipiens status as distinct evolutionary entities with low genomic divergence. The low number of shared divergent loci between continents suggests a relatively limited number of genomic regions determining key typological traits likely to be driving incipient speciation and/or adaptation of molestus to anthropogenic habitats

Smart shops: a survey of products, claimed effects and medical-toxicological relevance

During the last few years the use of herbal drugs of abuse, so-called 'smart products' and eco-drugs has increased. Many of these products have psychoactive effects. The variety of smart products sold in the so-called smart shops is enormous and this is still a growing market. The increased availability of these products and the continuing appearance of new products on the market, has led to increased awareness of the possible negative health aspects associated with the use of these products. At present, the Dutch Inspectorate for Health Protection, Commodities and Veterinary Public Health is testing the activities of these smart shops and the products for adherence to the regulations. This document, prepared by the National Poisons Control Centre (NVIC) of the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), serves as a practical aid to the Inspectorate in evaluating the various smart products. Four important groups of smart products can be discerned: the energizers, relaxing herbs, aphrodisiacs and products with hallucinogenic properties. For each of these groups the following items are described: the various product appearances, usage, the (desired) effects of the product according to smart shop information brochures, a description of the original plants (most of these products are derived from plants), the active ingredients in the product, and to the best of our knowledge, the pharmacology and medical toxicology of these ingredients and products. Further monitoring of the use of these smart products and the health effects they cause, should make clear to which specific group of smart products most attention should be paid from a medical point of view.Het gebruik van zogenaamde smartproducts en eco-drugs neemt de laatste jaren steeds meer toe. Het aanbod van producten die in de smartshops worden verkocht is zeer divers. Veel van de aangeboden middelen hebben psychoactieve effecten. Bovendien is het een uiterst dynamische markt, waar regelmatig nieuwe producten ontwikkeld en verkocht worden. Door deze groeiende markt wordt ook van overheidswege aandacht besteed aan de gezondheids- en maatschappelijke risico's van het gebruik en de verkoop van deze middelen. In het huidige beleid ten aanzien van deze middelen ligt de nadruk op gezondheidsbescherming met behulp van voorlichting, monitoring en onderzoek. In dit kader toetst in 1999 de Inspectie Gezondheidsbescherming, Waren en Veterinaire Zaken de activiteiten van smartshops en andere verkooppunten, alsmede de verhandelde waar, aan de warenwettelijke kaders. Zonodig wordt nieuwe jurisprudentie opgebouwd. Dit rapport, geschreven op verzoek van en in samenwerking met de Inspectie Gezondheidsbescherming, Waren en Veterinaire Zaken dient de Inspectie tot een praktisch hulpmiddel bij het evalueren van de vele verschillende producten die op de markt aanwezig zijn. Op grond van het belangrijkste beoogde effect dat deze middelen na gebruik zouden verschaffen, zijn de producten ingedeeld in een van de vier te onderscheiden functionele groepen, te weten de "energizers", "relaxing herbs", "afrodisiaca" en "hallucinogene producten". Per product(-groep) worden besproken: de verschillende productvoorkomens en wijze van gebruik, het in de smartshop gepropageerde doel van gebruik, de plantaardige herkomst van het product, en de samenstellende verbindingen met voor zover bekend hun farmacologische werkingsmechanismen en toxiciteit. Daarbij is gebruik gemaakt van de humaan medisch-toxicologische kennis zoals die op dit moment voorhanden is. Verdere monitoring naar de effecten van het gebruik zal inzichtelijk moeten maken naar welke productgroepen vanuit medisch oogpunt in de toekomst de meeste aandacht zal moeten uitgaan

Phylogenomic inference <i>in extremis</i>:A case study with mycoheterotroph plastomes

publishersversionPeer reviewe