Diet and foraging range of Slender-billed Gulls <i>Chroicocephalus genei</i> breeding in the Saloum Delta, Senegal

West African Slender-billed Gulls Chroicocephalus genei are considered vulnerable due to a very restricted breeding range. However, little information on their ecology is available to support conservation action. We describe diet and foraging range of Slender-billed Gulls breeding in the Saloum Delta National Park in Senegal. Diet was analysed on the basis of fish otoliths in excretion (mixture of pellets and faeces) collected near nests at the end of the incubation period between 2000 and 2015. Gulls mainly consumed fish of the families Cichlidae (25-93%), Clupeidae (0-54%) and Mugilidae (0-34%). The log-ratio proportion of Mugilidae increased significantly between 2000 and 2015, but there was no significant trend for other prey taxa. In 2014, UvA-BITS GPS-trackers were fitted to three Slender-billed Gulls to study movement and foraging range. During daytime, these gulls spent 27% of their time incubating the eggs, 10% elsewhere in the colony and 63% outside the colony on foraging trips. Foraging trips lasted on average 18 +/- 9.5 (+/- SD) hours. Total distance covered was on average 96 +/- 39 km with a maximum distance to the colony of 37 +/- 13 km. There were marked and consistent individual differences in the flight paths of the gulls. In two birds, foraging mainly took place in mangrove-bordered lagoons, salt pans, creeks, rivers and a complex of abandoned rice fields. The third bird almost exclusively explored the Atlantic coast near a fishing village in The Gambia. The home range and the foraging area of the three birds together measured 2400 and 1800 km(2), respectively. The diet components found near the nests of the three birds could only partly be related to their foraging areas

A multi-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer for the offline ion source of the PUMA experiment

The antiProton Unstable Matter Annihilation experiment (PUMA) at CERN aims at investigating the nucleon composition in the matter density tail of radioactive as well as stable isotopes by use of low-energy antiproton-nucleon annihilation processes. For this purpose, antiprotons provided by the Extra Low ENergy Antiproton (ELENA) facility will be trapped together with the ions of interest. While exotic ions will be obtained by the Isotope mass Separator On-Line DEvice (ISOLDE), stable ions will be delivered from an offline ion source setup designed for this purpose. This allows the proposed technique to be applied to a variety of stable nuclei and for reference measurements. For beam purification, the ion source setup includes a multi-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MR-ToF MS). Supported by SIMION simulations, an earlier MR-ToF MS design has been modified to meet the requirements of PUMA. During commissioning of the new MR-ToF device with Ar$^+$ ions, mass resolving powers in excess of 50,000 have been obtained after 150 revolutions, limited by the chopping of the continuous beam from an electron impact ionisation source

Overexpression and knock-down studies highlight that a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 28 controls proliferation and migration in human prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers inmen. It is critical to identify and characterize oncogenes that drive the pathogenesis of human prostate cancer. The current study builds upon previous research showing that a disintegrin and metalloproteinase (ADAM)28 is involved in the pathogenesis of numerous cancers. Our novel study used overexpression, pharmacological, and molecular approaches to investigate the biological function of ADAM28 in human prostate cancer cells,with a focus on cell proliferation andmigration. The results of this study provide important insights into the role of metalloproteinases in human prostate cancer. The expression of ADAM28 protein levels was assessed within human prostate tumors and normal adjacent tissue by immunohistochemistry. Immunocytochemistry and western blotting were used to assess ADAM28 protein expression in human prostate cancer cell lines. Functional assays were conducted to assess proliferation and migration in human prostate cancer cells in which ADAM28 protein expression or activity had been altered by overexpression, pharmacological inhibition, or by siRNA gene knockdown. The membrane bound ADAM28 was increased in human tumor biopsies and prostate cancer cell lines. Pharmacological inhibition of ADAM28 activity and/or knockdown of ADAM28 significantly reduced proliferation and migration of human prostate cancer cells, while overexpression of ADAM28 significantly increased proliferation and migration. ADAM28 is overexpressed in primary human prostate tumor biopsies, and it promotes human prostate cancer cell proliferation and migration. This study supports the notion that inhibition of ADAM28 may be a potential novel therapeutic strategy for human prostate cancer. Abbreviations: ADAM = a disintegrin and metalloproteinase, CTGF = connective tissue growth factor, DHT = dihydrotestosterone, IGF = insulin-like growth factor, IGFBP-3 = IGF binding protein-3, IL-6 = interleukin 6, RPMI = Roswell Park Memorial Institute, VEGF = vascular endothelial growth factor, VWF = von Willebrand factor

The decision making process on public health measures related to passenger ships: the example of influenza pandemic 2009

Background. Public health measures at sea ports have posed a challenge for public health competent authorities, especially in the context of the influenza pandemic of 2009. This paper discusses the response of authorities to notifications of infectious diseases on passenger ships and the importance of assessing the risks related to cases of influenza. It further provides options for health measures and considerations for decision making during a pandemic such as the influenza pandemic of 2009. Discussion. Prevention and control of influenza have included action taken by both competent port authorities and ships&#8217; crews. Assessing the public health risk of each event reported from ships to competent authorities at ports is important before advice is given on implementation of control measures. Public health risk assessment involves appraisal of threats to passengers and crew on board the ship as well as to the population in the community. Summary. Any public health measures taken should be necessary and proportional to the threat. Measures at ports cannot alone be effective in the prevention of the spread of a disease to the community since other means of transport play a major role. Measures taken on board ships can be effective in containing the disease. Consistent policy based on common protocols and carried out by competent authorities at local, national, European, or international levels are essential. (Int Marit Health 2010; 61; 4: 241-245

May Measurement Month: results of 12 national blood pressure screening programmes between 2017 and 2019

The first May Measurement Month (MMM) campaign, a global blood pressure (BP) screening programme, began in 2017 as an initiative of the International Society of Hypertension.1 Two subsequent annual campaigns have also been completed in consecutive years2,3 and having had to defer activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 the fourth campaign was run in 2021, the results of which are currently in press. Since its initiation in 2017, volunteers from more than 100 countries have participated. The aims of MMM have remained consistent from the start—to raise awareness of the importance of the measurement of BP at the individual and population level and to provide a temporary pragmatic solution to the shortfall in BP screening programmes in countries around the world

Provision of non-invasive coronary and carotid vascular imaging results on changes in diet and physical activity in asymptomatic adults: A scoping review

Background: Although a healthy diet and physical activity have been shown to prevent or delay cardiovascular disease (CVD) hospitalizations and deaths, most adults do not meet current guidelines. Provision of coronary artery calcification (CAC) and carotid ultrasound (CUS) imaging results may motivate beneficial lifestyle changes. We scoped the existing literature for studies providing non-invasive vascular imaging results and reporting diet, physical activity, and/or anthropometric measures to identify knowledge gaps and opportunities for further research. Methods: A systematic search was performed across three electronic databases, in line with PRISMA ScR guidelines and Arksey and O\u27Malley\u27s scoping review framework. Results: Twenty studies (thirteen observational and seven randomized controlled trials) examining the impact of provision of CAC/CUS imaging results on diet and/or physical activity behaviors were included. Nearly half the studies did not clearly state whether participants received dietary and physical activity advice along with vascular imaging results, and these were secondary outcomes in most studies, with data assessment and reporting being inconsistent. Conclusion: Well-designed clinical trials with consistent and clear messaging based on detailed subjective and objective measures of diet and physical activity are needed to determine whether this approach may stimulate long-term dietary and physical activity change