Neighbours matter and the weak succumb: Ash dieback infection is more severe in ash trees with fewer conspecific neighbours and lower prior growth rate

The epidemiology and severity of ash dieback (ADB), the disease caused by the ascomycete fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, has been linked to a variety of site conditions; however, there has been a lack of analysis at an individual tree scale.Symptoms of ADB were scored on ca. 400 trees of Fraxinus excelsior (ash) in permanent sample plots during two successive years in a UK natural woodland reserve. Using comprehensive plot records maintained since 1945, and detailed spatial records updated since 1977, we assembled an array of potential explanatory variables, including site environment factors, ash tree density, previous and present tree condition and near neighbourhood summary statistics (NNSS), such as species mingling and size dominance. Their impact on the severity of ADB of focal ash trees was tested with generalised linear mixed effects models (GLMM).The severity of ADB was much greater in the lower slope parts of the site with moister soils and least in a managed area subject to tree thinning in the previous 35 years. Severity of ADB had a negative association with focal ash tree prior relative growth rate over a period of a decade immediately before the disease was detected at the site. Greater ADB severity was also significantly associated with smaller diameter at breast height of ash trees. Additionally, ADB was significantly positively associated with a greater proportion of heterospecific trees amongst the six nearest neighbours of the focal tree.Synthesis. The relationship of the severity of ADB disease with site environment, tree condition and neighbourhood is complex but nevertheless important in the progression of the disease. The findings suggest some silvicultural interventions, such as thinning to increase the vigour of retained ash trees, might reduce the impact of ADB

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy under field conditions in Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) rescued from illegal bile farming in Vietnam.

Nine adult Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) previously rescued from illegal bile farming in Vietnam were examined via abdominal ultrasound and exploratory laparoscopy for liver and gall bladder pathology. Three bears demonstrated notable gall bladder pathology, and minimally invasive cholecystectomies were performed using an open laparoscopic access approach, standard 10 to 12 mmHg carbon dioxide pneumoperitoneum and a four-port technique. A single bear required insertion of an additional 5 mm port and use of a flexible liver retractor due to the presence of extensive adhesions between the gall bladder and quadrate and left and right medial liver lobes. The cystic duct was dissected free and this and the cystic artery were ligated by means of extracorporeal tied Meltzer knot sutures. The gall bladder was dissected free of the liver by blunt and sharp dissection, aided by 3.8 MHz monopolar radiosurgery. Bears that have had open abdominal cholecystectomies are reported as taking four to six weeks before a return to normal activity postoperatively. In contrast, these bears demonstrated rapid unremarkable healing, and were allowed unrestricted access to outside enclosures to climb trees, swim and interact normally with other bears within seven days of surgery

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy under field conditions in Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) rescued from illegal bile farming in Vietnam.

Nine adult Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) previously rescued from illegal bile farming in Vietnam were examined via abdominal ultrasound and exploratory laparoscopy for liver and gall bladder pathology. Three bears demonstrated notable gall bladder pathology, and minimally invasive cholecystectomies were performed using an open laparoscopic access approach, standard 10 to 12 mmHg carbon dioxide pneumoperitoneum and a four-port technique. A single bear required insertion of an additional 5 mm port and use of a flexible liver retractor due to the presence of extensive adhesions between the gall bladder and quadrate and left and right medial liver lobes. The cystic duct was dissected free and this and the cystic artery were ligated by means of extracorporeal tied Meltzer knot sutures. The gall bladder was dissected free of the liver by blunt and sharp dissection, aided by 3.8 MHz monopolar radiosurgery. Bears that have had open abdominal cholecystectomies are reported as taking four to six weeks before a return to normal activity postoperatively. In contrast, these bears demonstrated rapid unremarkable healing, and were allowed unrestricted access to outside enclosures to climb trees, swim and interact normally with other bears within seven days of surgery

Bridging the Divide between Upward Accountability and Learning-Based Approaches to Development Evaluation: Strategies for an Enabling Environment

This paper was accepted for publication in the journal Evaluation Journal of Australasia and appears here with the kind permission of the publisher. The definitive published version is available at http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=513236376941726;res=IELBUS.A more complex and unstable development context and major shifts in development theory and practice over the past 20 years have created major challenges for evaluation. There remains a vast gap between the theory and practice of development evaluation that needs to be resolved. This indicates a vital need to bridge the divide between dominant results-based, upward accountability evaluation approaches and emergent learning, participatory and complexity-based approaches to more effectively achieve development goals. In this article we explore this divide and contrast these approaches, highlighting some of the key challenges that each face. Drawing on our recent research, we identify key challenges, tensions and contradictions in evaluating communication for development (C4D) that need to be better understood and addressed. We outline a new conceptual framework for evaluating C4D and other complex development initiatives as a strategy to address these challenges. We argue that achieving change requires reconceptualising accountability and learning, developing evaluation capacities that enable learning and multiple forms of accountability, and drawing on local knowledge, ideas and innovation to develop and implement more appropriate and effective evaluation approaches. These strategies can create an enabling environment in which these new ideas and approaches can flourish and complex development issues can be better addressed