Individuality in northern lapwing migration and its link to timing of breeding

We tracked eight adult northern lapwings Vanellus vanellus (six females and two males) from a Dutch breeding colony by light-level geolocation year-round, three of them for multiple years. We show that birds breeding virtually next to each other may choose widely separated wintering grounds, stretching from nearby the colony west towards the UK and Ireland, and southwest through France into Iberia and Morocco. However, individual lapwings appeared relatively faithful to a chosen wintering area, and timing of outward and homeward migration can be highly consistent between years. Movements of migratory individuals were usually direct and fast, with some birds covering distances of approximately 2000 km within 2 to 4 days of travel. The two males wintered closest and returned earliest to the breeding colony. The female lapwings returned well before the onset of breeding, spending a pre-laying period of 19 to 54 days in the wider breeding area. Despite the potential for high migration speeds, the duration that birds were absent from the breeding area increased with distance to wintering areas, a pattern which was mainly driven by an earlier outward migration of birds heading for more distant wintering grounds. Moreover, females that overwintered closer to colony bred earlier. A large variation in migration strategies found even within a single breeding colony has likely supported the species’ responsiveness to recent climate change as evidenced by a shortened migration distance and an advanced timing of reproduction in Dutch lapwings since the middle of the 20th century. Migration strategies may vary between species, populations, individuals and between years within an individual. Individuals from a particular breeding population may migrate to the same wintering area or they may spread out over much of the non-breeding range. These connections between breeding and non-breeding areas of a migratory species are called ‘migratory connectivity’, and the strength of migratory connectivity has implications for the species ecology, evolution and conservation (Webster et al. 2002). Furthermore, the choice of a certain wintering area and migratory strategy may affect annual schedules including timing of events at breeding area (Marra et al. 1998), which demonstrates the importance to follow individuals throughout the annual cycle. Knowledge of variation in migratory routines within and between individuals of a population is also important to understanding and predicting the ability of species responses to environmental change, including climate change (Conklin et al. 2013). We employed GLS (Global Location Sensing, also called ‘light-level geolocation’ or just ‘geolocation’) technique based on the analysis of diurnal changes in light levels to track annual movements of northern lapwings (Vanellus vanellus; here synonymously termed ‘lapwing(s)’). Archival tags (‘geolocators’) record light intensities to determine dusk and dawn times from which geographical positions (two fixes daily) are calculated; day (night) length determines the latitude and time of local midday (midnight) the longitude (Hill ). Lapwings have been intensively ringed in many European countries for many years. Imboden (1974) undertook an extensive analysis (nicely summarized in Alerstam ) of ring recoveries collected during 1900 to 1969 from birds ringed as unfledged young and recovered within their first year of life or later. Albeit relying mainly on dead recoveries of hunted individuals, this analysis enabled the reconstruction of average seasonal movement patterns at population(s) level. It also revealed a large overlap in non-breeding locations used by lapwings originating from widely separated breeding colonies. Here, we present results from a first-time tracking study on this species by charting the year-round whereabouts of adult lapwings from a Dutch breeding colony. Some individuals were tracked for multiple years thereby providing first insights into individual consistency of migratory timing and choice of non-breeding locations. Finally, we investigate if spatial variation in non-breeding location relates to temporal variation of events at breeding area

Challenges in predicting the change in the cumulative exposure of new tobacco and related products based on emissions and toxicity dose–response data

Funding: This work was funded by the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), Utrecht, the Netherlands. Project number 9.7.1Many novel tobacco products have been developed in recent years. Although many may emit lower levels of several toxicants, their risk in the long term remains unclear. We previously published a method for the exposure assessment of mixtures that can be used to compare the changes in cumulative exposure to carcinogens among tobacco products. While further developing this method by including more carcinogens or to explore its application to non-cancer endpoints, we encountered a lack of data that are required for better-substantiated conclusions regarding differences in exposure between products. In this special communication, we argue the case for more data on adverse health effects, as well as more data on the composition of the emissions from tobacco products. Such information can be used to identify significant changes in relevance to health using the cumulative exposure method with different products and to substantiate regulatory decisions.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Statins Impair Antitumor Effects of Rituximab by Inducing Conformational Changes of CD20

Jakub Golab and colleagues found that statins significantly decrease rituximab-mediated complement-dependent cytotoxicity and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity against B cell lymphoma cells

Surface free energy of polyurethane coatings with improved hydrophobicity

The polarity of polyurethane coats was studied on the basis of the goniometric method for determination of wetting angle values, on the basis of calculated surface free energy (SFE) values by the van Oss–Good and Owens–Wendt methods, and on the basis of polarity measurements with the use of the 1H NMR spectra. Test polyurethanes were synthesised in the reaction of methylene diphenyl 4,4′-diisocyanate (MDI) or 3-izocyanatomethyl –3,5,5- trimethylcyclohexyl isocyanate (IPDI) and polyoxyethylene glycols or polyesters poly(ε-caprolactone) diols and poly(ethyleneadipate) diol with different molecular weights, and some diols as chain extenders, in dioxane. The type of raw material was found to significantly affect the phase structure of the obtained polyurethane elastomers and to control physical interactions within those structures, thus influencing the SFE values. Fundamental reduction in the SFE value of a coating below 28 mJ/m2 was achieved by the use of 2,2,3,3-tetrafluoro-1,4-butanediol as the urethane prepolymer chain extender

MAGIC observations of MWC 656, the only known Be/BH system

Context: MWC 656 has recently been established as the first observationally detected high-mass X-ray binary system containing a Be star and a black hole (BH). The system has been associated with a gamma-ray flaring event detected by the AGILE satellite in July 2010. Aims: Our aim is to evaluate if the MWC 656 gamma-ray emission extends to very high energy (VHE > 100 GeV) gamma rays. Methods. We have observed MWC 656 with the MAGIC telescopes for $\sim$23 hours during two observation periods: between May and June 2012 and June 2013. During the last period, observations were performed contemporaneously with X-ray (XMM-Newton) and optical (STELLA) instruments. Results: We have not detected the MWC 656 binary system at TeV energies with the MAGIC Telescopes in either of the two campaigns carried out. Upper limits (ULs) to the integral flux above 300 GeV have been set, as well as differential ULs at a level of $\sim$5% of the Crab Nebula flux. The results obtained from the MAGIC observations do not support persistent emission of very high energy gamma rays from this system at a level of 2.4% the Crab flux.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. 5 pages, 2 figures, 2 table

PCR diagnostics and monitoring of adenoviral infections in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation recipients

After stem cell transplantation, human patients are prone to life-threatening opportunistic infections with a plethora of microorganisms. We report a retrospective study on 116 patients (98 children, 18 adults) who were transplanted in a pediatric bone marrow transplantation unit. Blood, urine and stool samples were collected and monitored for adenovirus (AdV) DNA using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and real-time PCR (RT-PCR) on a regular basis. AdV DNA was detected in 52 (44.8%) patients, with mortality reaching 19% in this subgroup. Variables associated with adenovirus infection were transplantations from matched unrelated donors and older age of the recipient. An increased seasonal occurrence of adenoviral infections was observed in autumn and winter. Analysis of immune reconstitution showed a higher incidence of AdV infections during periods of low T-lymphocyte count. This study also showed a strong interaction between co-infections of AdV and BK polyomavirus in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantations

Harmonized human biomonitoring in European children, teenagers and adults: EU-wide exposure data of 11 chemical substance groups from the HBM4EU Aligned Studies (2014-2021)

As one of the core elements of the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) a human biomonitoring (HBM) survey was conducted in 23 countries to generate EU-wide comparable HBM data. This survey has built on existing HBM capacity in Europe by aligning national or regional HBM studies, referred to as the HBM4EU Aligned Studies. The HBM4EU Aligned Studies included a total of 10,795 participants of three age groups: (i) 3,576 children aged 6-12 years, (ii) 3,117 teenagers aged 12-18 years and (iii) 4,102 young adults aged 20-39 years. The participants were recruited between 2014 and 2021 in 11-12 countries per age group, geographically distributed across Europe. Depending on the age group, internal exposure to phthalates and the substitute DINCH, halogenated and organophosphorus flame retardants, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), cadmium, bisphenols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), arsenic species, acrylamide, mycotoxins (deoxynivalenol (total DON)), benzophenones and selected pesticides was assessed by measuring substance specific biomarkers subjected to stringent quality control programs for chemical analysis. For substance groups analyzed in different age groups higher average exposure levels were observed in the youngest age group, i.e., phthalates/DINCH in children versus teenagers, acrylamide and pesticides in children versus adults, benzophenones in teenagers versus adults. Many biomarkers in teenagers and adults varied significantly according to educational attainment, with higher exposure levels of bisphenols, phthalates, benzophenones, PAHs and acrylamide in participants (from households) with lower educational attainment, while teenagers from households with higher educational attainment have higher exposure levels for PFASs and arsenic. In children, a social gradient was only observed for the non-specific pyrethroid metabolite 3-PBA and di-isodecyl phthalate (DiDP), with higher levels in children from households with higher educational attainment. Geographical variations were seen for all exposure biomarkers. For 15 biomarkers, the available health-based HBM guidance values were exceeded with highest exceedance rates for toxicologically relevant arsenic in teenagers (40%), 3-PBA in children (36%), and between 11 and 14% for total DON, Sigma (PFOA + PFNA + PFHxS + PFOS), bisphenol S and cadmium. The infrastructure and harmonized approach succeeded in obtaining comparable European wide internal exposure data for a prioritized set of 11 chemical groups. These data serve as a reference for comparison at the global level, provide a baseline to compare the efficacy of the European Commission's chemical strategy for sustainability and will give leverage to national policy makers for the implementation of targeted measures