To establish whether there are differences in performance between 757 (Lloyd Maunders) birds and the Maurice Millard 257 those currently used within the Sheepdrove system

Sheepdrove Organic Farm wanted to know whether the performance of the Lloyd Maunders (757) birds would differ from that of their current breed the Maurice Millard (257) and whether chicks sourced from an organic parent flock would perform differently to those from a conventional parent flock. An experiment was undertaken using two different sources of day old chicks, 1000 day old Maurice Millard (257) and 1000 day old Lloyd Maunders (757). These chicks were then put through the Sheepdrove (SOF) organic production system and 30 random birds were weighed every week until depletion, at 11 weeks

Clinically useful finite element models of the natural ankle – a review

Background:Biomechanical simulation of the foot and ankle complex is a growing research area but compared to simulation of joints such as hip and knee, it has been under investigated and lacks consistency in research methodology. The methodology is variable, data is heterogenous and there are no clear output criteria. Therefore, it is very difficult to correlate clinically and draw meaningful inferences.Methods:The focus of this review is finite element simulation of the native ankle joint and we will explore: the different research questions asked, the model designs used, ways the model rigour has been ensured, the different output parameters of interest and the clinical impact and relevance of these studies.Findings:The 72 published studies explored in this review demonstrate wide variability in approach. Many studies demonstrated a preference for simplicity when representing different tissues, with the majority using linear isotropic material properties to represent the bone, cartilage and ligaments; this allows the models to be complex in another way such as to include more bones or complex loading. Most studies were validated against experimental or in vivo data, but a large proportion (40%) of studies were not validated at all, which is an area of concern.Interpretation:Finite element simulation of the ankle shows promise as a clinical tool for improving outcomes. Standardisation of model creation and standardisation of reporting would increase trust, and enable independent validation, through which successful clinical application of the research could be realised

Cluster of Sylvatic Epidemic Typhus Cases Associated with Flying Squirrels, 2004–2006

Infected persons had slept in an infested cabin

Investigating Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation of Verticillium albo-atrum on Plant Surfaces

Background: Agrobacterium tumefaciens has long been known to transform plant tissue in nature as part of its infection process. This natural mechanism has been utilised over the last few decades in laboratories world wide to genetically manipulate many species of plants. More recently this technology has been successfully applied to non-plant organisms in the laboratory, including fungi, where the plant wound hormone acetosyringone, an inducer of transformation, is supplied exogenously. In the natural environment it is possible that Agrobacterium and fungi may encounter each other at plant wound sites, where acetosyringone would be present, raising the possibility of natural gene transfer from bacterium to fungus. Methodology/Principal Findings: We investigate this hypothesis through the development of experiments designed to replicate such a situation at a plant wound site. A. tumefaciens harbouring the plasmid pCAMDsRed was co-cultivated with the common plant pathogenic fungus Verticillium albo-atrum on a range of wounded plant tissues. Fungal transformants were obtained from co-cultivation on a range of plant tissue types, demonstrating that plant tissue provides sufficient vir gene inducers to allow A. tumefaciens to transform fungi in planta. Conclusions/Significance: This work raises interesting questions about whether A. tumefaciens may be able to transform organisms other than plants in nature, or indeed should be considered during GM risk assessments, with furthe

Anxiety, concerns and COVID-19: Cross-country perspectives from families and individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on the mental health and well-being of children with neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs) and of their families worldwide. However, there is insufficient evidence to understand how different factors (e.g., individual, family, country, children) have impacted on anxiety levels of families and their children with NDCs developed over time. METHODS: We used data from a global survey assessing the experience of 8043 families and their children with NDCs (mean of age (m) = 13.18 years, 37% female) and their typically developing siblings (m = 12.9 years, 45% female) in combination with data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the University of Oxford, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook, to create a multilevel data set. Using stepwise multilevel modelling, we generated child-, family- and country-related factors that may have contributed to the anxiety levels of children with NDCs, their siblings if they had any, and their parents. All data were reported by parents. RESULTS: Our results suggest that parental anxiety was best explained by family-related factors such as concerns about COVID-19 and illness. Children’s anxiety was best explained by child-related factors such as children’s concerns about loss of routine, family conflict, and safety in general, as well as concerns about COVID-19. In addition, anxiety levels were linked to the presence of pre-existing anxiety conditions for both children with NDCs and their parents. CONCLUSIONS: The present study shows that across the globe there was a raise in anxiety levels for both parents and their children with NDCs because of COVID-19 and that country-level factors had little or no impact on explaining differences in this increase, once family and child factors were considered. Our findings also highlight that certain groups of children with NDCs were at higher risk for anxiety than others and had specific concerns. Together, these results show that anxiety of families and their children with NDCs during the COVID-19 pandemic were predicted by very specific concerns and worries which inform the development of future toolkits and policy. Future studies should investigate how country factors can play a protective role during future crises

Clinically useful finite element models of the natural ankle – A review

BackgroundBiomechanical simulation of the foot and ankle complex is a growing research area but compared to simulation of joints such as hip and knee, it has been under investigated and lacks consistency in research methodology. The methodology is variable, data is heterogenous and there are no clear output criteria. Therefore, it is very difficult to correlate clinically and draw meaningful inferences.MethodsThe focus of this review is finite element simulation of the native ankle joint and we will explore: the different research questions asked, the model designs used, ways the model rigour has been ensured, the different output parameters of interest and the clinical impact and relevance of these studies.FindingsThe 72 published studies explored in this review demonstrate wide variability in approach. Many studies demonstrated a preference for simplicity when representing different tissues, with the majority using linear isotropic material properties to represent the bone, cartilage and ligaments; this allows the models to be complex in another way such as to include more bones or complex loading. Most studies were validated against experimental or in vivo data, but a large proportion (40%) of studies were not validated at all, which is an area of concern.InterpretationFinite element simulation of the ankle shows promise as a clinical tool for improving outcomes. Standardisation of model creation and standardisation of reporting would increase trust, and enable independent validation, through which successful clinical application of the research could be realised