107 research outputs found
The technology horizon: Preliminary review on technologies impacting the future health and social care workforce
First insights into the diet composition of Madeiran and Monteiro’s storm petrels (Hydrobates castro and H. monteiroi) breeding in the Azores
Although studying the diet of threatened species is crucial in terms of conservation, the diet of the Madeiran Storm Petrel (Hydrobates castro) and the vulnerable, Azores-endemic Monteiro's Storm Petrel (H. monteiroi) is mostly unknown. The only information available to date comes from anecdotal observations, analysis of mercury levels and stable isotopes. Here is presented the first insights into prey consumption by adults and chicks from the two species breeding in the Azores Archipelago, Portugal, in the mid-Atlantic Ocean. The rapidly developing field of metabarcoding was used to identify dietary items from fecal samples, to species level where possible. A total of thirteen fish, five cephalopod, one crustacean and two oligochaete operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were detected. Results suggest that both petrel species feed mainly on myctophid fish. However, differences were detected between the prey species consumed by (i) H. monteiroi and H. castro, (ii) two distinct H. castro populations (Vila and Praia islets), and (iii) chicks and adults within the same population
Widespread gene flow between oceans in a pelagic seabird species complex
Global-scale gene flow is an important concern in conservation biology as it has the potential to either increase or decrease genetic diversity in species and populations. Although many studies focus on the gene flow between different populations of a single species, the potential for gene flow and introgression between species is understudied, particularly in seabirds. The only well studied example of a mixed-species, hybridising population of petrels exists on Round Island, in the Indian Ocean. Previous research assumed that Round Island represents a point of secondary contact between Atlantic (Pterodroma arminjoniana) and Pacific species (P. neglecta and P. heraldica). This study uses microsatellite genotyping and tracking data to address the possibility of between-species hybridisation occurring outside the Indian Ocean. Dispersal and gene flow spanning three oceans was demonstrated between the species in this complex. Analysis of migration rates estimated using BAYESASS revealed unidirectional movement of petrels from the Atlantic and Pacific into the Indian Ocean. Conversely, STRUCTURE analysis revealed gene-flow between species of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, with potential three-way hybrids occurring outside the Indian Ocean. Additionally, geolocation tracking of Round Island petrels revealed two individuals travelling to the Atlantic and Pacific. These results suggest that inter-specific hybrids in Pterodroma petrels are more common than was previously assumed. This study is the first of its kind to investigate gene flow between populations of closely related Procellariform species on a global scale, demonstrating the need for consideration of widespread migration and hybridisation in the conservation of threatened seabirds
Sugar sweetened beverage consumption by Australian children: Implications for public health strategy
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>High consumption of sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) has been linked to unhealthy weight gain and nutrition related chronic disease. Intake of SSB among children remains high in spite of public health efforts to reduce consumption, including restrictions on marketing to children and limitations on the sale of these products in many schools. Much extant literature on Australian SSB consumption is out-dated and lacks information on several key issues. We sought to address this using a contemporary Australian dataset to examine purchase source, consumption pattern, dietary factors, and demographic profile of SSB consumption in children.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data were from the 2007 Australian National Children's Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey, a representative random sample of 4,834 Australian children aged 2-16 years. Mean SSB intake by type, location and source was calculated and logistic regression models were fitted to determine factors associated with different levels of consumption.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>SSB consumption was high and age-associated differences in patterns of consumption were evident. Over 77% of SSB consumed was purchased via supermarkets and 60% of all SSB was consumed in the home environment. Less than 17% of SSB was sourced from school canteens and fast food establishments. Children whose parents had lower levels of education consumed more SSB on average, while children whose parents had higher education levels were more likely to favour sweetened juices and flavoured milks.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>SSB intake by Australian children remains high and warrants continued public health attention. Evidence based and age-targeted interventions, which also recognise supermarkets as the primary source of SSB, are recommended to reduce SSB consumption among children. Additionally, education of parents and children regarding the health consequences of high consumption of both carbonated and non-carbonated SSBs is required.</p
Active commuting to and from university, obesity and metabolic syndrome among Colombian university students
Background: There is limited evidence concerning how active commuting (AC) is associated with health benefits
in young. The aim of the study was to analyze the relationship between AC to and from campus (walking) and
obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in a sample of Colombian university students.
Methods: A total of 784 university students (78.6% women, mean age = 20.1 ± 2.6 years old) participated in the
study. The exposure variable was categorized into AC (active walker to campus) and non-AC (non/infrequent active
walker to campus: car, motorcycle, or bus) to and from the university on a typical day. MetS was defined in
accordance with the updated harmonized criteria of the International Diabetes Federation criteria.
Results: The overall prevalence of MetS was 8.7%, and it was higher in non-AC than AC to campus. The percentage
of AC was 65.3%. The commuting distances in this AC from/to university were 83.1%, 13.4% and 3.5% for < 2 km, 2-
5 km and > 5 km, respectively. Multiple logistic regressions for predicting unhealthy profile showed that male
walking commuters had a lower probability of having obesity [OR = 0.45 (CI 95% 0.25–0.93)], high blood
pressure [OR = 0.26 (CI 95% 0.13–0.55)] and low HDL cholesterol [OR = 0.29 (CI 95% 0.14–0.59)] than did passive
commuters.
Conclusions: Our results suggest that in young adulthood, a key life-stage for the development of obesity and
MetS, AC could be associated with and increasing of daily physical activity levels, thereby promoting better
cardiometabolic health.This study was part of the project entitled “Body Adiposity Index and
Biomarkers of Endothelial and Cardiovascular Health in Adults”, which was
funded by Centre for Studies on Measurement of Physical Activity, School of
Medicine and Health Sciences, Universidad del Rosario (Code N° FIUR DNBG001)
and Universidad de Boyacá (Code N° RECT 60)
Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk for oceanic birds
Plastic pollution is distributed patchily around the world’s oceans. Likewise, marine organisms that are vulnerable to plastic ingestion or entanglement have uneven distributions. Understanding where wildlife encounters plastic is crucial for targeting research and mitigation. Oceanic seabirds, particularly petrels, frequently ingest plastic, are highly threatened, and cover vast distances during foraging and migration. However, the spatial overlap between petrels and plastics is poorly understood. Here we combine marine plastic density estimates with individual movement data for 7137 birds of 77 petrel species to estimate relative exposure risk. We identify high exposure risk areas in the Mediterranean and Black seas, and the northeast Pacific, northwest Pacific, South Atlantic and southwest Indian oceans. Plastic exposure risk varies greatly among species and populations, and between breeding and nonbreeding seasons. Exposure risk is disproportionately high for Threatened species. Outside the Mediterranean and Black seas, exposure risk is highest in the high seas and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of the USA, Japan, and the UK. Birds generally had higher plastic exposure risk outside the EEZ of the country where they breed. We identify conservation and research priorities, and highlight that international collaboration is key to addressing the impacts of marine plastic on wide-ranging speciespublishedVersio
Toward interoperable bioscience data
© The Author(s), 2012. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Nature Genetics 44 (2012): 121-126, doi:10.1038/ng.1054.To make full use of research data, the bioscience community needs to adopt technologies and reward mechanisms that support interoperability and promote the growth of an open 'data commoning' culture. Here we describe the prerequisites for data commoning and present an established and growing ecosystem of solutions using the shared 'Investigation-Study-Assay' framework to support that vision.The authors also acknowledge
the following funding sources in particular: UK
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research
Council (BBSRC) BB/I000771/1 to S.-A.S. and A.T.;
UK BBSRC BB/I025840/1 to S.-A.S.; UK BBSRC
BB/I000917/1 to D.F.; EU CarcinoGENOMICS
(PL037712) to J.K.; US National Institutes of Health
(NIH) 1RC2CA148222-01 to W.H. and the HSCI;
US MIRADA LTERS DEB-0717390 and Alfred P.
Sloan Foundation (ICoMM) to L.A.-Z.; Swiss Federal
Government through the Federal Office of Education
and Science (FOES) to L.B. and I.X.; EU Innovative
Medicines Initiative (IMI) Open PHACTS 115191 to
C.T.E.; US Department of Energy (DOE) DE-AC02-
06CH11357 and Arthur P. Sloan Foundation (2011-
6-05) to J.G.; UK BBSRC SysMO-DB2 BB/I004637/1
and BBG0102181 to C.G.; UK BBSRC BB/I000933/1
to C.S. and J.L.G.; UK MRC UD99999906 to J.L.G.;
US NIH R21 MH087336 (National Institute of Mental
Health) and R00 GM079953 (National Institute of
General Medical Science) to A.L.; NIH U54 HG006097
to J.C. and C.E.S.; Australian government through
the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure
Strategy (NCRIS); BIRN U24-RR025736 and BioScholar RO1-GM083871 to G.B. and the 2009 Super
Science initiative to C.A.S
Primary health care delivery models in rural and remote Australia – a systematic review
© 2008 Wakerman et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Background
One third of all Australians live outside of its major cities. Access to health services and health outcomes are generally poorer in rural and remote areas relative to metropolitan areas. In order to improve access to services, many new programs and models of service delivery have been trialled since the first National Rural Health Strategy in 1994. Inadequate evaluation of these initiatives has resulted in failure to garner knowledge, which would facilitate the establishment of evidence-based service models, sustain and systematise them over time and facilitate transfer of successful programs. This is the first study to systematically review the available published literature describing innovative models of comprehensive primary health care (PHC) in rural and remote Australia since the development of the first National Rural Health Strategy (1993–2006). The study aimed to describe what health service models were reported to work, where they worked and why.
Methods
A reference group of experts in rural health assisted in the development and implementation of the study. Peer-reviewed publications were identified from the relevant electronic databases. 'Grey' literature was identified pragmatically from works known to the researchers, reference lists and from relevant websites. Data were extracted and synthesised from papers meeting inclusion criteria.
Results
A total of 5391 abstracts were reviewed. Data were extracted finally from 76 'rural' and 17 'remote' papers. Synthesis of extracted data resulted in a typology of models with five broad groupings: discrete services, integrated services, comprehensive PHC, outreach models and virtual outreach models. Different model types assume prominence with increasing remoteness and decreasing population density. Whilst different models suit different locations, a number of 'environmental enablers' and 'essential service requirements' are common across all model types.
Conclusion
Synthesised data suggest that, moving away from Australian coastal population centres, sustainable models are able to address diseconomies of scale which result from large distances and small dispersed populations. Based on the service requirements and enablers derived from analysis of reported successful PHC service models, we have developed a conceptual framework that is particularly useful in underpinning the development of sustainable PHC models in rural and remote communities
Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk for oceanic birds
Plastic pollution is distributed patchily around the world’s oceans. Likewise, marine organisms that are vulnerable to plastic ingestion or entanglement have uneven distributions. Understanding where wildlife encounters plastic is crucial for targeting research and mitigation. Oceanic seabirds, particularly petrels, frequently ingest plastic, are highly threatened, and cover vast distances during foraging and migration. However, the spatial overlap between petrels and plastics is poorly understood. Here we combine marine plastic density estimates with individual movement data for 7137 birds of 77 petrel species to estimate relative exposure risk. We identify high exposure risk areas in the Mediterranean and Black seas, and the northeast Pacific, northwest Pacific, South Atlantic and southwest Indian oceans. Plastic exposure risk varies greatly among species and populations, and between breeding and non-breeding seasons. Exposure risk is disproportionately high for Threatened species. Outside the Mediterranean and Black seas, exposure risk is highest in the high seas and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of the USA, Japan, and the UK. Birds generally had higher plastic exposure risk outside the EEZ of the country where they breed. We identify conservation and research priorities, and highlight that international collaboration is key to addressing the impacts of marine plastic on wide-ranging species
International genome-wide meta-analysis identifies new primary biliary cirrhosis risk loci and targetable pathogenic pathways.
Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a classical autoimmune liver disease for which effective immunomodulatory therapy is lacking. Here we perform meta-analyses of discovery data sets from genome-wide association studies of European subjects (n=2,764 cases and 10,475 controls) followed by validation genotyping in an independent cohort (n=3,716 cases and 4,261 controls). We discover and validate six previously unknown risk loci for PBC (Pcombined<5 × 10(-8)) and used pathway analysis to identify JAK-STAT/IL12/IL27 signalling and cytokine-cytokine pathways, for which relevant therapies exist
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