Islands contribute disproportionately high amounts of evolutionary diversity in passerine birds

Island systems generally have fewer species than continental areas due to their small size and geographical isolation. Low island diversity reduces the possibility of exportation of island lineages and island systems are not thought to have a major influence on the build-up of continental diversity. However, the view that islands represent the end of the colonization road has recently been challenged and islands do represent the origin of some specific continental lineages. Here we assess the net contribution of island systems to global diversity patterns of passerine birds, using a complete phylogeny (5,949 species), biogeographical regionalization and null-model comparisons. We show that, in contrast to major continental regions, island regions export relatively more evolutionary lineages than would be expected based on current distributional patterns. This result challenges a central paradigm in island biogeography and changes our perception of the relative importance of islands for the build-up of global diversity

A global mismatch in the protection of multiple marine biodiversity components and ecosystem services

The global loss of biodiversity threatens unique biota and the functioning and services of ecosystems essential for human wellbeing. To safeguard biodiversity and ecosystem services, designating protected areas is crucial; yet the extent to which the existing placement of protection is aligned to meet these conservation priorities is questionable, especially in the oceans. Here we investigate and compare global patterns of multiple biodiversity components (taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional), ecosystem services and human impacts, with the coverage of marine protected areas across a nested spatial scale. We demonstrate a pronounced spatial mismatch between the existing degree of protection and all the conservation priorities above, highlighting that neither the world’s most diverse, nor the most productive ecosystems are currently the most protected ecosystems. Furthermore, we show that global patterns of biodiversity, ecosystem services and human impacts are poorly correlated, hence complicating the identification of generally applicable spatial prioritization schemes. However, a hypothetical “consensus approach” would have been able to address all these conservation priorities far more effectively than the existing degree of protection, which at best is only marginally better than a random expectation. Therefore, a holistic perspective is needed when designating an appropriate degree of protection of marine conservation priorities worldwide

Understanding nursing practice in stroke units: a Q-methodological study.

Abstract Purpose: Nurses represent the largest professional group working with stroke-survivors, but there is limited evidence regarding nurses' involvement in post-stroke rehabilitation. The purpose of this study was to identify and explore the perspectives of nurses and other multidisciplinary stroke team members on nurses' practice in stroke rehabilitation. Method: Q-methodological study with 63 multidisciplinary stroke unit team members and semi-structured interviews with 27 stroke unit team members. Results: Irrespective of their professional backgrounds, participants shared the view that nurses can make an active contribution to stroke rehabilitation and integrate rehabilitation principles in routine practice. Training in stroke rehabilitation skills was viewed as fundamental to effective stroke care, but nurses do not routinely receive such training. The view that integrating rehabilitation techniques can only occur when nursing staffing levels were high was rejected. There was also little support for the view that nurses are uniquely placed to co-ordinate care, or that nurses have an independent rehabilitation role. Conclusions: The contribution that nurses with stroke rehabilitation skills can make to effective stroke care was understood. However, realising the potential of nurses as full partners in stroke rehabilitation is unlikely to occur without introduction of structured competency-based multidisciplinary training in rehabilitation skills. Implications for Rehabilitation Multidisciplinary rehabilitation in stroke units is a cornerstone of effective stroke care. Views of stroke unit team members on nurses' involvement in rehabilitation have not been reported previously. Nurses can routinely incorporate rehabilitation principles in their care. Specialist competency-based stroke rehabilitation training needs to be provided for nurses as well as for allied health professionals

How acceptable are antiretrovirals for the prevention of sexually transmitted HIV? A review of research on the acceptability of oral pre-exposure prophylaxis and treatment as prevention

Recent research has demonstrated how antiretrovirals (ARVs) could be effective in the prevention of sexually transmitted HIV. We review research on the acceptability of oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and treatment as prevention (TasP) for HIV prevention amongst potential users. We consider with whom, where and in what context this research has been conducted, how acceptability has been approached, and what research gaps remain. Findings from 33 studies show a lack of TasP research, PrEP studies which have focused largely on men who have sex with men (MSM) in a US context, and varied measures of acceptability. In order to identify when, where and for whom PrEP and TasP would be most appropriate and effective, research is needed in five areas: acceptability of TasP to people living with HIV; motivation for PrEP use and adherence; current perceptions and management of risk; the impact of broader social and structural factors; and consistent definition and operationalisation of acceptability which moves beyond adherence

Research activity and the association with mortality.

INTRODUCTION: The aims of this study were to describe the key features of acute NHS Trusts with different levels of research activity and to investigate associations between research activity and clinical outcomes. METHODS: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Comprehensive Clinical Research Network (CCRN) funding and number of patients recruited to NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) portfolio studies for each NHS Trusts were used as markers of research activity. Patient-level data for adult non-elective admissions were extracted from the English Hospital Episode Statistics (2005-10). Risk-adjusted mortality associations between Trust structures, research activity and, clinical outcomes were investigated. RESULTS: Low mortality Trusts received greater levels of funding and recruited more patients adjusted for size of Trust (n = 35, 2,349 £/bed [95% CI 1,855-2,843], 5.9 patients/bed [2.7-9.0]) than Trusts with expected (n = 63, 1,110 £/bed, [864-1,357] p<0.0001, 2.6 patients/bed [1.7-3.5] p<0.0169) or, high (n = 42, 930 £/bed [683-1,177] p = 0.0001, 1.8 patients/bed [1.4-2.1] p<0.0005) mortality rates. The most research active Trusts were those with more doctors, nurses, critical care beds, operating theatres and, made greater use of radiology. Multifactorial analysis demonstrated better survival in the top funding and patient recruitment tertiles (lowest vs. highest (odds ratio & 95% CI: funding 1.050 [1.033-1.068] p<0.0001, recruitment 1.069 [1.052-1.086] p<0.0001), middle vs. highest (funding 1.040 [1.024-1.055] p<0.0001, recruitment 1.085 [1.070-1.100] p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Research active Trusts appear to have key differences in composition than less research active Trusts. Research active Trusts had lower risk-adjusted mortality for acute admissions, which persisted after adjustment for staffing and other structural factors

An intergenerational study of perceptions of changes in active free play among families from rural areas of Western Canada

Background: Children's engagement in active free play has declined across recent generations. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of intergenerational changes in active free play among families from rural areas. We addressed two research questions: (1) How has active free play changed across three generations? (2) What suggestions do participants have for reviving active free play? Methods: Data were collected via 49 individual interviews with members of 16 families (15 grandparents, 16 parents, and 18 children) residing in rural areas/small towns in the Province of Alberta (Canada). Interview recordings were transcribed verbatim and subjected to thematic analysis guided by an ecological framework of active free play. Results: Factors that depicted the changing nature of active free play were coded in the themes of less imagination/more technology, safety concerns, surveillance, other children to play with, purposeful physical activity, play spaces/organized activities, and the good parenting ideal. Suggestions for reviving active free play were coded in the themes of enhance facilities to keep kids entertained, provide more opportunities for supervised play, create more community events, and decrease use of technology. Conclusions: These results reinforce the need to consider multiple levels of social ecology in the study of active free play, and highlight the importance of community-based initiatives to revive active free play in ways that are consistent with contemporary notions of good parentin

Rapid in situ imaging and whole genome sequencing of biofilm in neonatal feeding tubes: a clinical proof of concept

The bacterial flora of nasogastric feeding tubes and faecal samples were analysed for a low-birth weight (725g) neonate EGA 25 weeks in intensive care. Samples were collected at age 6 and 8 weeks of life. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was used to visualise bacterial biofilms inside the nasogastric feeding tubes. The biofilm was heterogeneously distributed along the tube lumen wall, and had a depth of up to 500µm. The bacterial biofilm and faecal samples included Enterococcus faecalis and Enterobacter hormaechei. Representative strains, recovered from both feeding tubes and faecal samples, were whole genome sequenced using Illumina, Mi-Seq, which revealed indistinguishable strains, each with less than 28 SNP differences, of E. faecalis and E. hormaechei. The E. faecalis strains were from two sequence types (ST191 and ST211) and encoded for a number of traits related to biofilm formation (BopD), adherence (Epb pili), virulence (cps loci, gelatinase, SprE) and antibiotic resistances (IsaA, tetM). The E. hormaechei were all ST106, and encoded for blaACT-15 β–lactamase and fosfomycin resistance (fosA). This proof of concept study demonstrates that bacterial flora within the neonatal feeding tubes may influence the bacterial colonisation of the intestinal tract and can be visualised nondestructively using OCT

Response of Coastal Fishes to the Gulf of Mexico Oil Disaster

The ecosystem-level impacts of the Deepwater Horizon disaster have been largely unpredictable due to the unique setting and magnitude of this spill. We used a five-year (2006–2010) data set within the oil-affected region to explore acute consequences for early-stage survival of fish species inhabiting seagrass nursery habitat. Although many of these species spawned during spring-summer, and produced larvae vulnerable to oil-polluted water, overall and species-by-species catch rates were high in 2010 after the spill (1,989±220 fishes km-towed−1 [μ ± 1SE]) relative to the previous four years (1,080±43 fishes km-towed−1). Also, several exploited species were characterized by notably higher juvenile catch rates during 2010 following large-scale fisheries closures in the northern Gulf, although overall statistical results for the effects of fishery closures on assemblage-wide CPUE data were ambiguous. We conclude that immediate, catastrophic losses of 2010 cohorts were largely avoided, and that no shifts in species composition occurred following the spill. The potential long-term impacts facing fishes as a result of chronic exposure and delayed, indirect effects now require attention

How useful are volunteers for visual biodiversity surveys? An evaluation of skill level and group size during a conservation expedition

The ability of volunteers to undertake different tasks and accurately collect data is critical for the success of many conservation projects. In this study, a simulated herpetofauna visual encounter survey was used to compare the detection and distance estimation accuracy of volunteers and more experienced observers. Experience had a positive effect on individual detection accuracy. However, lower detection performance of less experienced volunteers was not found in the group data, with larger groups being more successful overall, suggesting that working in groups facilitates detection accuracy of those with less experience. This study supports the idea that by optimizing survey protocols according to the available resources (time and volunteer numbers), the sampling efficiency of monitoring programs can be improved and that non-expert volunteers can provide valuable contributions to visual encounter-based biodiversity surveys. Recommendations are made for the improvement of survey methodology involving non-expert volunteers