‘The Mkuze River it has crossed the fence’ (1) – communities on the boundary of the Mkuze protected area

Restricting access to wilderness and wildlife resources is a contested topic in a time when developing nations are seeking to increase quality of life for their citizens. A case in point is the Mkuze Game Reserve which encompasses rich biodiversity and is surrounded by under-resourced rural communities. A history of exclusion from land and resources has left local residents feeling negative about western conservation ideals. Perceptions of protected areas and conservation objectives are important if management authorities are to affect a meaningful buy-in to conservation and sustainable resource use among local residents. In this paper, part of a larger mixed-methods study, we set out to explore the perceptions three rural communities have of 1) local land-cover and livelihood change and 2) the socio-economic benefits expected and derived from living adjacent to Mkuze Game Reserve, a publicly administered protected area in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. People living around the reserve felt they receive few benefits from living near to a protected area. Management countered that they are not well funded enough to provide much development support. In addition to this, the community sees a contrast between this lack of benefit sharing and the successful benefit sharing experienced by a neighbouring community which borders a private reserve.  This has added to their negative view of the way Mkuze Game Reserve management has been engaging with communities. Effective engagement with communities and understanding their expectations will be important for strengthening conservation initiatives and community engagement objectives in the area

LASSO: Listing All Subset Sums Obediently for Evaluating Unbounded Subset Sums

In this study we present a novel algorithm, LASSO, for solving the unbounded and bounded subset sum problem. The LASSO algorithm was designed to solve the unbounded SSP quickly and to return all subsets summing to a target sum. As speed was the highest priority, we benchmarked the run time performance of LASSO against implementations of some common approaches to the bounded SSP, as well as the only comparable implementation for solving the unbounded SSP that we could find. In solving the bounded SSP, our algorithm had a significantly faster run time than the competing algorithms when the target sum returned at least one subset. When the target returned no subsets, LASSO had a poorer run time growth rate than the competing algorithms solving bounded subset sum. For solving the USSP LASSO was significantly faster than the only comparable algorithm for this problem, both in run time and run time growth rate

On the spin-statistics connection in curved spacetimes

The connection between spin and statistics is examined in the context of locally covariant quantum field theory. A generalization is proposed in which locally covariant theories are defined as functors from a category of framed spacetimes to a category of $*$-algebras. This allows for a more operational description of theories with spin, and for the derivation of a more general version of the spin-statistics connection in curved spacetimes than previously available. The proof involves a "rigidity argument" that is also applied in the standard setting of locally covariant quantum field theory to show how properties such as Einstein causality can be transferred from Minkowski spacetime to general curved spacetimes.Comment: 17pp. Contribution to the proceedings of the conference "Quantum Mathematical Physics" (Regensburg, October 2014

On the spin-statistics connection in curved spacetimes

The connection between spin and statistics is examined in the context of locally covariant quantum field theory. A generalization is proposed in which locally covariant theories are defined as functors from a category of framed spacetimes to a category of ∗-algebras. This allows for a more operational description of theories with spin, and for the derivation of a more general version of the spin-statistics connection in curved spacetimes than previously available. The proof involves a "rigidity argument" that is also applied in the standard setting of locally covariant quantum field theory to show how properties such as Einstein causality can be transferred from Minkowski spacetime to general curved spacetimes

Remodelling of Cortical Actin Where Lytic Granules Dock at Natural Killer Cell Immune Synapses Revealed by Super-Resolution Microscopy

Super-resolution 3D imaging reveals remodeling of the cortical actin meshwork at the natural killer cell immune synapse, which is likely to be important for secretion of lytic granules

Abstracts from the 8th International Conference on cGMP Generators, Effectors and Therapeutic Implications

This work was supported by a restricted research grant of Bayer AG

Adding 6 months of androgen deprivation therapy to postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer: a comparison of short-course versus no androgen deprivation therapy in the RADICALS-HD randomised controlled trial

Background Previous evidence indicates that adjuvant, short-course androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) improves metastasis-free survival when given with primary radiotherapy for intermediate-risk and high-risk localised prostate cancer. However, the value of ADT with postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy is unclear. Methods RADICALS-HD was an international randomised controlled trial to test the efficacy of ADT used in combination with postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer. Key eligibility criteria were indication for radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen less than 5 ng/mL, absence of metastatic disease, and written consent. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to radiotherapy alone (no ADT) or radiotherapy with 6 months of ADT (short-course ADT), using monthly subcutaneous gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue injections, daily oral bicalutamide monotherapy 150 mg, or monthly subcutaneous degarelix. Randomisation was done centrally through minimisation with a random element, stratified by Gleason score, positive margins, radiotherapy timing, planned radiotherapy schedule, and planned type of ADT, in a computerised system. The allocated treatment was not masked. The primary outcome measure was metastasis-free survival, defined as distant metastasis arising from prostate cancer or death from any cause. Standard survival analysis methods were used, accounting for randomisation stratification factors. The trial had 80% power with two-sided α of 5% to detect an absolute increase in 10-year metastasis-free survival from 80% to 86% (hazard ratio [HR] 0·67). Analyses followed the intention-to-treat principle. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN40814031, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00541047. Findings Between Nov 22, 2007, and June 29, 2015, 1480 patients (median age 66 years [IQR 61–69]) were randomly assigned to receive no ADT (n=737) or short-course ADT (n=743) in addition to postoperative radiotherapy at 121 centres in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the UK. With a median follow-up of 9·0 years (IQR 7·1–10·1), metastasis-free survival events were reported for 268 participants (142 in the no ADT group and 126 in the short-course ADT group; HR 0·886 [95% CI 0·688–1·140], p=0·35). 10-year metastasis-free survival was 79·2% (95% CI 75·4–82·5) in the no ADT group and 80·4% (76·6–83·6) in the short-course ADT group. Toxicity of grade 3 or higher was reported for 121 (17%) of 737 participants in the no ADT group and 100 (14%) of 743 in the short-course ADT group (p=0·15), with no treatment-related deaths. Interpretation Metastatic disease is uncommon following postoperative bed radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy. Adding 6 months of ADT to this radiotherapy did not improve metastasis-free survival compared with no ADT. These findings do not support the use of short-course ADT with postoperative radiotherapy in this patient population

Duration of androgen deprivation therapy with postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer: a comparison of long-course versus short-course androgen deprivation therapy in the RADICALS-HD randomised trial

Background Previous evidence supports androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with primary radiotherapy as initial treatment for intermediate-risk and high-risk localised prostate cancer. However, the use and optimal duration of ADT with postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy remains uncertain. Methods RADICALS-HD was a randomised controlled trial of ADT duration within the RADICALS protocol. Here, we report on the comparison of short-course versus long-course ADT. Key eligibility criteria were indication for radiotherapy after previous radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen less than 5 ng/mL, absence of metastatic disease, and written consent. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to add 6 months of ADT (short-course ADT) or 24 months of ADT (long-course ADT) to radiotherapy, using subcutaneous gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogue (monthly in the short-course ADT group and 3-monthly in the long-course ADT group), daily oral bicalutamide monotherapy 150 mg, or monthly subcutaneous degarelix. Randomisation was done centrally through minimisation with a random element, stratified by Gleason score, positive margins, radiotherapy timing, planned radiotherapy schedule, and planned type of ADT, in a computerised system. The allocated treatment was not masked. The primary outcome measure was metastasis-free survival, defined as metastasis arising from prostate cancer or death from any cause. The comparison had more than 80% power with two-sided α of 5% to detect an absolute increase in 10-year metastasis-free survival from 75% to 81% (hazard ratio [HR] 0·72). Standard time-to-event analyses were used. Analyses followed intention-to-treat principle. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN40814031, and ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT00541047 . Findings Between Jan 30, 2008, and July 7, 2015, 1523 patients (median age 65 years, IQR 60–69) were randomly assigned to receive short-course ADT (n=761) or long-course ADT (n=762) in addition to postoperative radiotherapy at 138 centres in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the UK. With a median follow-up of 8·9 years (7·0–10·0), 313 metastasis-free survival events were reported overall (174 in the short-course ADT group and 139 in the long-course ADT group; HR 0·773 [95% CI 0·612–0·975]; p=0·029). 10-year metastasis-free survival was 71·9% (95% CI 67·6–75·7) in the short-course ADT group and 78·1% (74·2–81·5) in the long-course ADT group. Toxicity of grade 3 or higher was reported for 105 (14%) of 753 participants in the short-course ADT group and 142 (19%) of 757 participants in the long-course ADT group (p=0·025), with no treatment-related deaths. Interpretation Compared with adding 6 months of ADT, adding 24 months of ADT improved metastasis-free survival in people receiving postoperative radiotherapy. For individuals who can accept the additional duration of adverse effects, long-course ADT should be offered with postoperative radiotherapy. Funding Cancer Research UK, UK Research and Innovation (formerly Medical Research Council), and Canadian Cancer Society

Embodiment in the war film : Paradise Now and The Hurt Locker

In this article I compare two recent films that foreground the body at risk in the new wars of the twenty-first century. Paradise Now (Abu-Assad, 2005) and The Hurt Locker (Bigelow, 2008) convey the subject of the body in war from what would seem to be opposing perspectives, the first representing the experience of a resistance fighter, a suicide bomber in present-day Palestine, and the latter rendering the perceptions of a US soldier, the leader of a bomb disposal squad in Iraq. Seeming opposites, antitheses of each other, the two protagonists and the two films can be set face to face in a way that brings the changing nature of modern war into frame. No longer defined by the ideology of total war that shaped the grand narratives of twentieth-century combat, the new imagery of war and resistance, of insurgency and counter-insurgency, is crystallized here in a new symbolic iteration of the body at risk.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe