Status Assessment of Golden-winged Warblers and Bewick\u27s Wrens in Virginia

The Appalachian Mountains of Virginia have long been considered population strongholds for Golden-winged Warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera) and Appalachian Bewick’s Wrens (Thryomanes bewickii altus). However, both of these species have undergone dramatic population declines in Virginia and throughout the greater Appalachian region including the general belief that Bewick’s Wrens are extirpated from this state. Reasons for the decline of these species may be many, but the most common explanations point to the loss and degradation of early successional breeding habitat. Golden-winged Warblers and Bewick’s Wrens use shrubby, early successional habitats for breeding such as idle vegetated areas, forest clear-cuts, alder swamps, utility right-ofways (ROWs), and others. Several forces have worked together to cause the recent decline in early successional shrublands including direct losses caused by human development, re-forestation of farmland, fire suppression, and changes in agricultural and forestry practices. In addition, Golden-winged Warblers may be declining because of competition for breeding habitat and hybridization with Blue-winged Warblers. Bluewinged Warblers have been expanding their range eastward and into higher elevations that were once occupied exclusively by Golden-winged Warblers. There has been no systematic study on the overall distribution and population status of these species in Virginia. The objectives of this study were to assess the relative distribution and basic habitat use for Golden-winged Warblers and Bewick’s Wrens and to determine the amount of geographic and habitat overlap between Golden-winged and Blue-winged Warblers. We systematically surveyed for the presence of these three species across 40 counties in Virginia’s Appalachian Plateau, Ridge and Valley, and Blue Ridge physiographic provinces. Surveys consisted of 11-minute point counts aided by the use of recorded species playback. This effort resulted in the survey of 932 points at 863 different shrub patches. We detected 56 Golden-winged Warblers within 37 patches across only 11 counties. Highland county supported the overwhelmingly greatest number of Golden-winged Warblers with 28 birds observed in 18 patches. A total of 92 Bluewinged Warblers were detected in 62 different habitat patches across 18 counties. Bluewinged Warblers were detected in all but one county where Golden-winged Warblers occurred. The two species distributions overlapped in elevation but differed somewhat in habitat use. Golden-winged Warbler used idle farm/pastureland and forest clear-cuts at a greater rate than expected by chance and used utility ROWs, shrubby wetlands, and other shrub patches less frequently than expected. Blue-winged Warblers showed the opposite pattern for most of these habitat types. Hybrid warblers were detected infrequently but found within 7 counties. We did not detect any Bewick’s Wrens during surveys. Comparing our data with historical records indicates that Golden-winged Warblers are continuing to decline in Virginia and are being replaced by Blue-winged Warblers in order of abundance. The overall low number of Golden-winged Warbler detections may provide justification for regulatory protection and highlights the importance for their conservation. Geographical and habitat use patterns of Goldenwinged Warblers from this study provide guidance for proactive management

Towards progressive regulatory approaches for agricultural applications of animal biotechnology.

Traditional breeding techniques, applied incrementally over thousands of years, have yielded huge benefits in the characteristics of agricultural animals. This is a result of significant, measurable changes to the genomes of those animal species and breeds. Genome editing techniques may now be applied to achieve targeted DNA sequence alterations, with the potential to affect traits of interest to production of agricultural animals in just one generation. New opportunities arise to improve characteristics difficult to achieve or not amenable to traditional breeding, including disease resistance, and traits that can improve animal welfare, reduce environmental impact, or mitigate impacts of climate change. Countries and supranational institutions are in the process of defining regulatory approaches for genome edited animals and can benefit from sharing approaches and experiences to institute progressive policies in which regulatory oversight is scaled to the particular level of risk involved. To facilitate information sharing and discussion on animal biotechnology, an international community of researchers, developers, breeders, regulators, and communicators recently held a series of seven virtual workshop sessions on applications of biotechnology for animal agriculture, food and environmental safety assessment, regulatory approaches, and market and consumer acceptance. In this report, we summarize the topics presented in the workshop sessions, as well as discussions coming out of the breakout sessions. This is framed within the context of past and recent scientific and regulatory developments. This is a pivotal moment for determination of regulatory approaches and establishment of trust across the innovation through-chain, from researchers, developers, regulators, breeders, farmers through to consumers

Characterization and Generation of Male Courtship Song in Cotesia congregata (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

Background Male parasitic wasps attract females with a courtship song produced by rapid wing fanning. Songs have been described for several parasitic wasp species; however, beyond association with wing fanning, the mechanism of sound generation has not been examined. We characterized the male courtship song of Cotesia congregata (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and investigated the biomechanics of sound production. Methods and Principal Findings Courtship songs were recorded using high-speed videography (2,000 fps) and audio recordings. The song consists of a long duration amplitude-modulated “buzz” followed by a series of pulsatile higher amplitude “boings,” each decaying into a terminal buzz followed by a short inter-boing pause while wings are stationary. Boings have higher amplitude and lower frequency than buzz components. The lower frequency of the boing sound is due to greater wing displacement. The power spectrum is a harmonic series dominated by wing repetition rate ~220 Hz, but the sound waveform indicates a higher frequency resonance ~5 kHz. Sound is not generated by the wings contacting each other, the substrate, or the abdomen. The abdomen is elevated during the first several wing cycles of the boing, but its position is unrelated to sound amplitude. Unlike most sounds generated by volume velocity, the boing is generated at the termination of the wing down stroke when displacement is maximal and wing velocity is zero. Calculation indicates a low Reynolds number of ~1000. Conclusions and Significance Acoustic pressure is proportional to velocity for typical sound sources. Our finding that the boing sound was generated at maximal wing displacement coincident with cessation of wing motion indicates that it is caused by acceleration of the wing tips, consistent with a dipole source. The low Reynolds number requires a high wing flap rate for flight and predisposes wings of small insects for sound production

Antiinflammatory Therapy with Canakinumab for Atherosclerotic Disease

Background: Experimental and clinical data suggest that reducing inflammation without affecting lipid levels may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet, the inflammatory hypothesis of atherothrombosis has remained unproved. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind trial of canakinumab, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-1β, involving 10,061 patients with previous myocardial infarction and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level of 2 mg or more per liter. The trial compared three doses of canakinumab (50 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg, administered subcutaneously every 3 months) with placebo. The primary efficacy end point was nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or cardiovascular death. RESULTS: At 48 months, the median reduction from baseline in the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was 26 percentage points greater in the group that received the 50-mg dose of canakinumab, 37 percentage points greater in the 150-mg group, and 41 percentage points greater in the 300-mg group than in the placebo group. Canakinumab did not reduce lipid levels from baseline. At a median follow-up of 3.7 years, the incidence rate for the primary end point was 4.50 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group, 4.11 events per 100 person-years in the 50-mg group, 3.86 events per 100 person-years in the 150-mg group, and 3.90 events per 100 person-years in the 300-mg group. The hazard ratios as compared with placebo were as follows: in the 50-mg group, 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.07; P = 0.30); in the 150-mg group, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.74 to 0.98; P = 0.021); and in the 300-mg group, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.75 to 0.99; P = 0.031). The 150-mg dose, but not the other doses, met the prespecified multiplicity-adjusted threshold for statistical significance for the primary end point and the secondary end point that additionally included hospitalization for unstable angina that led to urgent revascularization (hazard ratio vs. placebo, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.95; P = 0.005). Canakinumab was associated with a higher incidence of fatal infection than was placebo. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio for all canakinumab doses vs. placebo, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.06; P = 0.31). Conclusions: Antiinflammatory therapy targeting the interleukin-1β innate immunity pathway with canakinumab at a dose of 150 mg every 3 months led to a significantly lower rate of recurrent cardiovascular events than placebo, independent of lipid-level lowering. (Funded by Novartis; CANTOS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01327846.

Reducing pain in children with cancer: Methodology for the development of a clinical practice guideline

Abstract Although pain is one of the most prevalent and bothersome symptoms children with cancer experience, evidence-based guidance regarding assessment and management is lacking. With 44 international, multidisciplinary healthcare professionals and nine patient representatives, we aimed to develop a clinical practice guideline (following GRADE methodology), addressing assessment and pharmacological, psychological, and physical management of tumor-, treatment-, and procedure-related pain in children with cancer. In this paper, we present our thorough methodology for this development, including the challenges we faced and how we approached these. This lays the foundation for our clinical practice guideline, for which there is a high clinical demand

The design of a trunnion bascule bridge

http://www.archive.org/details/designoftrunnion00bredThesis (B.S.)--Armour Institute of Technology, 1911 B.S. in Civil Engineering, 191

Change in wing angle over time during a single boing.

<p>Vertical wing angle at the beginning and end of successive wing strokes during a typical boing (vertical plane toward the substrate = 0°) of the male courtship song of <i>Cotesia congregata</i>. The first arrow indicates the first wing stroke producing audible sound and the second arrow indicates the downstroke producing the highest amplitude sound.</p

Images of a single wing stroke during a boing matched to sound amplitude.

<p><b>Above:</b> High-speed camera photographs (2,000 fps) of one wing cycle during a boing produced by downward (a–e) and upward (f–j) wing movement from a male <i>Cotesia congregata</i> displaying to an immobilized female. Each image represents 0.5 ms. Note that wings are less clear in the middle of the down and upsweep (images b–d and g–i) due to rapid movement. <b>Below:</b> Oscillograph of one cycle of a boing with wing positions in a-j keyed to time of occurrence.</p