Fitness Consequences of Timing of Migration and Breeding in Cormorants

Peer reviewe

Unmanned Aircraft Systems as a Powerful Tool to Detect Fine-Scale Spatial Positioning and Interactions between Waterbirds at High-Tide Roosts

The surveillance of behavioral interactions between individuals in bird populations is important to understand social dynamics and explain distribution patterns caused by competition for food and space. For waterbirds, little is known about interactions between individuals at high-tide roosts. In the present study, we used surveying with unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) to provide enhanced information on previously hidden aspects of the highly dynamic communities of roosting waterbirds in the non-breeding season. Fine-scale density estimations, derived from aerial photos obtained with UASs, were used as a measure to explain intra- and inter-species interactions for 10 selected waterbird species on a major roost site in the Danish Wadden Sea. Uniquely defined density distributions were detected, which, to some degree, were dependent on species and species size, with smaller waders exhibiting densely packed flocks (e.g., dunlin Calidris alpina and golden plover Pluvialis apricaria), whereas larger species, such as ducks and geese (Anatidae) exhibited lower densities. Multi-species flocks were observed to occur frequently (31.9%) and generally resulted in lower densities than single-species flocks for each of the species involved. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that UAS aerial photos can be used both to assess positions for roosting waterbirds and to classify habitats (i.e., mudflats, vegetated areas, waterline, and flooded areas) during high-tide. This facilitated the collection of precise data for temporal habitat choices for individual species when using the studied roost site. Our study highlights UAS surveys as an effective tool to gather hitherto unobtainable data for individual occurrences of roosting waterbirds on a spatiotemporal scale

Barriers to adherence in adolescents and young adults with cystic fibrosis: a questionnaire study in young patients and their parents

Vibeke Bregnballe1, Peter Oluf Schiøtz1, Kirsten A Boisen2, Tacjana Pressler3, Mikael Thastum4 1Department of Paediatrics, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; 2Centre of Adolescent Medicine, University Hospital of Copenhagen, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark; 3Cystic Fibrosis Centre, University Hospital of Copenhagen, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark; 4Department of Psychology, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark Background: Treatment adherence is crucial in patients with cystic fibrosis, but poor adherence is a problem, especially during adolescence. Identification of barriers to treatment adherence and a better understanding of how context shapes barriers is of great importance in the disease. Adolescent reports of barriers to adherence have been studied, but studies of their parents' experience of such barriers have not yet been carried out. The aim of the present study was to explore barriers to treatment adherence identified by young patients with cystic fibrosis and by their parents. Methods: A questionnaire survey of a cohort of young Danish patients with cystic fibrosis aged 14–25 years and their parents was undertaken. Results: Barriers to treatment adherence were reported by 60% of the patients and by 62% of their parents. Patients and parents agreed that the three most common barriers encountered were lack of time, forgetfulness, and unwillingness to take medication in public. We found a significant positive correlation between reported number of barriers and perceived treatment burden. We also found a statistically significant relationship between the reported number of barriers and treatment adherence. A significant association was found between the number of barriers and the reactions of adolescents/young adults and those of their mothers and fathers, and between the number of barriers and the way the family communicated about cystic fibrosis. Conclusion: The present study showed that the majority of adolescents with cystic fibrosis and their parents experienced barriers to treatment adherence. Agreement between adolescents and their parents regarding the level and types of barriers indicates an opportunity for close cooperation between adolescents, their parents, and health care professionals in overcoming adolescent adherence problems. Keywords: cystic fibrosis, adolescents, parents, barriers, adherenc

Pan-specific prediction of peptide-MHC Class I complex stability, a correlate of T cell immunogenicity

Binding of peptides to MHC class I (MHC-I) molecules is the most selective event in the processing and presentation of Ags to CTL, and insights into the mechanisms that govern peptide-MHC-I binding should facilitate our understanding of CTL biology. Peptide-MHC-I interactions have traditionally been quantified by the strength of the interaction, that is, the binding affinity, yet it has been shown that the stability of the peptide-MHC-I complex is a better correlate of immunogenicity compared with binding affinity. In this study, we have experimentally analyzed peptide-MHC-I complex stability of a large panel of human MHC-I allotypes and generated a body of data sufficient to develop a neural network-based pan-specific predictor of peptide-MHC-I complex stability. Integrating the neural network predictors of peptide-MHC-I complex stability with state-of-the-art predictors of peptide-MHC-I binding is shown to significantly improve the prediction of CTL epitopes. The method is publicly available at http://www.cbs.dtu.dk/services/NetMHCstabpan.Fil: Rasmussen, Michael. Universidad de Copenhagen; DinamarcaFil: Fenoy, Luis Emilio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas ; ArgentinaFil: Harndahl, Mikkel. Universidad de Copenhagen; DinamarcaFil: Kristensen, Anne Bregnballe. Universidad de Copenhagen; DinamarcaFil: Nielsen, Ida Kallehauge. Universidad de Copenhagen; DinamarcaFil: Nielsen, Morten. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Copenhagen; DinamarcaFil: Buus, Søren. Universidad de Copenhagen; Dinamarc