Gone with the wind:the proximate and ultimate causes of the decline and extinction of the Bahama Nuthatch <i>Sitta insularis</i>

Newly elevated to species rank, the Bahama Nuthatch Sitta insularis is or was a bark- and twig-gleaning insectivore only known in life from the pine forests of Grand Bahama in the Bahamas archipelago. It became increasingly difficult to find in the past 50 years, seemingly in part in response to multiple hurricanes in this century. In spring (June–April) 2018, when it was still known to be extant, we divided the island into seven sections and carried out point count transects with playback and measured habitat variables at 464 locations in pine forest across Grand Bahama. We made only six observations at six locations, all in the region of Lucayan North and each involving a single nuthatch (possibly all the same individual). Fourteen count points were within 500 m of the six locations, and tree size at these sites was greater in height and girth than at sites with no observations and indeed than at other sites within Lucayan North. Count points within 500 m of nuthatch records in 2004–2018 had larger trees and more snags than survey points over 500 m away from previous detections, while count points within 500 m of our 2018 nuthatch records tallied more snags than did those within 500 m of the 2004–2007 records. Declines in habitat quality, habitat extent, nesting substrate, and food availability (driven by logging, attritional island development, and the direct and indirect effects of hurricanes), plus speculated increases in populations of invasive predators/competitors and in major mortality events (hurricanes, increasing in force and frequency with climate change), are suspected to be the ultimate causes of the decline of the nuthatch, with Hurricanes Matthew and Dorian the proximate causes of its evident extinction in 2019

Gone With the Wind: The Proximate and Ultimate Causes of the Decline and Extinction of the Bahama Nuthatch Sitta insularis

© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of BirdLife InternationalNewly elevated to species rank, the Bahama Nuthatch Sitta insularis is or was a bark- and twig-gleaning insectivore only known in life from the pine forests of Grand Bahama in the Bahamas archipelago. It became increasingly difficult to find in the past 50 years, seemingly in part in response to multiple hurricanes in this century. In spring (June–April) 2018, when it was still known to be extant, we divided the island into seven sections and carried out point count transects with playback and measured habitat variables at 464 locations in pine forest across Grand Bahama. We made only six observations at six locations, all in the region of Lucayan North and each involving a single nuthatch (possibly all the same individual). Fourteen count points were within 500 m of the six locations, and tree size at these sites was greater in height and girth than at sites with no observations and indeed than at other sites within Lucayan North. Count points within 500 m of nuthatch records in 2004–2018 had larger trees and more snags than survey points over 500 m away from previous detections, while count points within 500 m of our 2018 nuthatch records tallied more snags than did those within 500 m of the 2004–2007 records. Declines in habitat quality, habitat extent, nesting substrate, and food availability (driven by logging, attritional island development, and the direct and indirect effects of hurricanes), plus speculated increases in populations of invasive predators/competitors and in major mortality events (hurricanes, increasing in force and frequency with climate change), are suspected to be the ultimate causes of the decline of the nuthatch, with Hurricanes Matthew and Dorian the proximate causes of its evident extinction in 2019.unfunde

Contribute a Verse

In response to the Affordable Learning Georgia initiative, Dr. Tanya Bennett and ten colleagues from the University of North Georgia have written Contribute a Verse: A Guide to First Year Composition. This peer reviewed textbook, published by the University of North Georgia Press, combines a composition rhetoric manual with grammar and documentation instruction and resources, components that can be flexibly arranged to fit instructors’ classroom plans. It includes a standard rhetoric instruction, information and practice for Standard English Grammar, and guidelines for the four most common documentation styles. Its reader compiles essays compiled for English 1101, focused for thematic discussion and selected for use in rhetorical analysis. The textbook also includes a glossary of pertinent terms and ancillary instructor resources. Its contents include Reading Critically/Engaging the Material; Rhetorical Situations; Effective Argument; Introductions and Conclusions; Logic of Assertion, Evidence, and Interpretation; Documentation; Visual Rhetoric; Multi-Modality; Inter-disciplinary Writing; and Grammar. A print version of this book is available for $29.99 Contact the University of North Georgia Press for details and ordering information. [email protected] | 706-864-1556https://digitalcommons.northgeorgia.edu/books/1002/thumbnail.jp

Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points Assessment as a Tool to Respond to Emerging Infectious Disease Outbreaks

Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAI) strain H5N1 has had direct and indirect economic impacts arising from direct mortality and control programmes in over 50 countries reporting poultry outbreaks. HPAI H5N1 is now reported as the most widespread and expensive zoonotic disease recorded and continues to pose a global health threat. The aim of this research was to assess the potential of utilising Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points (HACCP) assessments in providing a framework for a rapid response to emerging infectious disease outbreaks. This novel approach applies a scientific process, widely used in food production systems, to assess risks related to a specific emerging health threat within a known zoonotic disease hotspot. We conducted a HACCP assessment for HPAI viruses within Vietnam’s domestic poultry trade and relate our findings to the existing literature. Our HACCP assessment identified poultry flock isolation, transportation, slaughter, preparation and consumption as critical control points for Vietnam’s domestic poultry trade. Introduction of the preventative measures highlighted through this HACCP evaluation would reduce the risks posed by HPAI viruses and pressure on the national economy. We conclude that this HACCP assessment provides compelling evidence for the future potential that HACCP analyses could play in initiating a rapid response to emerging infectious diseases

Recommendations for dealing with waste contaminated with Ebola virus: a Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points approach

Objective To assess, within communities experiencing Ebola virus outbreaks, the risks associated with the disposal of human waste and to generate recommendations for mitigating such risks. Methods A team with expertise in the Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points framework identified waste products from the care of individuals with Ebola virus disease and constructed, tested and confirmed flow diagrams showing the creation of such products. After listing potential hazards associated with each step in each flow diagram, the team conducted a hazard analysis, determined critical control points and made recommendations to mitigate the transmission risks at each control point. Findings The collection, transportation, cleaning and shared use of blood-soiled fomites and the shared use of latrines contaminated with blood or bloodied faeces appeared to be associated with particularly high levels of risk of Ebola virus transmission. More moderate levels of risk were associated with the collection and transportation of material contaminated with bodily fluids other than blood, shared use of latrines soiled with such fluids, the cleaning and shared use of fomites soiled with such fluids, and the contamination of the environment during the collection and transportation of blood-contaminated waste. Conclusion The risk of the waste-related transmission of Ebola virus could be reduced by the use of full personal protective equipment, appropriate hand hygiene and an appropriate disinfectant after careful cleaning. Use of the Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points framework could facilitate rapid responses to outbreaks of emerging infectious disease

Mapping the spatiotemporal dynamics of calcium signaling in cellular neural networks using optical flow

An optical flow gradient algorithm was applied to spontaneously forming net- works of neurons and glia in culture imaged by fluorescence optical microscopy in order to map functional calcium signaling with single pixel resolution. Optical flow estimates the direction and speed of motion of objects in an image between subsequent frames in a recorded digital sequence of images (i.e. a movie). Computed vector field outputs by the algorithm were able to track the spatiotemporal dynamics of calcium signaling pat- terns. We begin by briefly reviewing the mathematics of the optical flow algorithm, and then describe how to solve for the displacement vectors and how to measure their reliability. We then compare computed flow vectors with manually estimated vectors for the progression of a calcium signal recorded from representative astrocyte cultures. Finally, we applied the algorithm to preparations of primary astrocytes and hippocampal neurons and to the rMC-1 Muller glial cell line in order to illustrate the capability of the algorithm for capturing different types of spatiotemporal calcium activity. We discuss the imaging requirements, parameter selection and threshold selection for reliable measurements, and offer perspectives on uses of the vector data.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figures. Peer reviewed accepted version in press in Annals of Biomedical Engineerin

Breast-cancer adjuvant therapy with zoledronic acid

Background: Data suggest that the adjuvant use of bisphosphonates reduces rates of recurrence and death in patients with early-stage breast cancer. We conducted a study to determine whether treatment with zoledronic acid, in addition to standard adjuvant therapy, would improve disease outcomes in such patients. Methods: In this open-label phase 3 study, we randomly assigned 3360 patients to receive standard adjuvant systemic therapy either with or without zoledronic acid. The zoledronic acid was administered every 3 to 4 weeks for 6 doses and then every 3 to 6 months to complete 5 years of treatment. The primary end point of the study was disease-free survival. A second interim analysis revealed that a prespecified boundary for lack of benefit had been crossed. Results: At a median follow-up of 59 months, there was no significant between-group difference in the primary end point, with a rate of disease-free survival of 77% in each group (adjusted hazard ratio in the zoledronic acid group, 0.98; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.85 to 1.13; P=0.79). Disease recurrence or death occurred in 377 patients in the zoledronic acid group and 375 of those in the control group. The numbers of deaths — 243 in the zoledronic acid group and 276 in the control group — were also similar, resulting in rates of overall survival of 85.4% in the zoledronic acid group and 83.1% in the control group (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.72 to 1.01; P=0.07). In the zoledronic acid group, there were 17 confirmed cases of osteonecrosis of the jaw (cumulative incidence, 1.1%; 95% CI, 0.6 to 1.7; P<0.001) and 9 suspected cases; there were no cases in the control group. Rates of other adverse effects were similar in the two study groups. Conclusions: These findings do not support the routine use of zoledronic acid in the adjuvant management of breast cancer. (Funded by Novartis Pharmaceuticals and the National Cancer Research Network; AZURE Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN79831382.

Breast-cancer Adjuvant Therapy With Zoledronic Acid

BACKGROUND: Data suggest that the adjuvant use of bisphosphonates reduces rates of recurrence and death in patients with early-stage breast cancer. We conducted a study to determine whether treatment with zoledronic acid, in addition to standard adjuvant therapy, would improve disease outcomes in such patients. METHODS: In this open-label phase 3 study, we randomly assigned 3360 patients to receive standard adjuvant systemic therapy either with or without zoledronic acid. The zoledronic acid was administered every 3 to 4 weeks for 6 doses and then every 3 to 6 months to complete 5 years of treatment. The primary end point of the study was disease-free survival. A second interim analysis revealed that a prespecified boundary for lack of benefit had been crossed. RESULTS: At a median follow-up of 59 months, there was no significant between-group difference in the primary end point, with a rate of disease-free survival of 77% in each group (adjusted hazard ratio in the zoledronic acid group, 0.98; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.85 to 1.13; P = 0.79). Disease recurrence or death occurred in 377 patients in the zoledronic acid group and 375 of those in the control group. The numbers of deaths - 243 in the zoledronic acid group and 276 in the control group - were also similar, resulting in rates of overall survival of 85.4% in the zoledronic acid group and 83.1% in the control group (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.72 to 1.01; P = 0.07). In the zoledronic acid group, there were 17 confirmed cases of osteonecrosis of the jaw (cumulative incidence, 1.1%; 95% CI, 0.6 to 1.7; P < 0.001) and 9 suspected cases; there were no cases in the control group. Rates of other adverse effects were similar in the two study groups. CONCLUSIONS: These findings do not support the routine use of zoledronic acid in the adjuvant management of breast cancer

Deficiency in origin licensing proteins impairs cilia formation: implications for the aetiology of meier-gorlin syndrome

Mutations in ORC1, ORC4, ORC6, CDT1, and CDC6, which encode proteins required for DNA replication origin licensing, cause Meier-Gorlin syndrome (MGS), a disorder conferring microcephaly, primordial dwarfism, underdeveloped ears, and skeletal abnormalities. Mutations in ATR, which also functions during replication, can cause Seckel syndrome, a clinically related disorder. These findings suggest that impaired DNA replication could underlie the developmental defects characteristic of these disorders. Here, we show that although origin licensing capacity is impaired in all patient cells with mutations in origin licensing component proteins, this does not correlate with the rate of progression through S phase. Thus, the replicative capacity in MGS patient cells does not correlate with clinical manifestation. However, ORC1-deficient cells from MGS patients and siRNA-mediated depletion of origin licensing proteins also have impaired centrosome and centriole copy number. As a novel and unexpected finding, we show that they also display a striking defect in the rate of formation of primary cilia. We demonstrate that this impacts sonic hedgehog signalling in ORC1-deficient primary fibroblasts. Additionally, reduced growth factor-dependent signaling via primary cilia affects the kinetics of cell cycle progression following cell cycle exit and re-entry, highlighting an unexpected mechanism whereby origin licensing components can influence cell cycle progression. Finally, using a cell-based model, we show that defects in cilia function impair chondroinduction. Our findings raise the possibility that a reduced efficiency in forming cilia could contribute to the clinical features of MGS, particularly the bone development abnormalities, and could provide a new dimension for considering developmental impacts of licensing deficiency