Native Wildlife Adjust Activity Patterns to Temporally Avoid Wild Pigs

Wildlife species have defined activity patterns that are important for conserving biological rhythms and altering these rhythms can cause physiological stress. Species often shift activity patterns to minimize predation risks or to temporally partition competition. Thus, when a new predator or competitor is introduced into a community, the activity patterns of the whole community could be affected, and this effect may increase the stress wild pigs cause to native wildlife. To test the hypothesis that wild pig activity patterns affect those of native wildlife, we monitored activity patterns of native wildlife and wild pigs before and after aerial gunning events that manipulated pig activity patterns. Using the Statistical R-package – Overlap option, we generated species activity curves which showed aerial gunning caused a substantial shift in wild pig activity patterns from peaking near sunrise to peaking near sunset. Native species not directly at risk from aerial gunning, such as raccoon, armadillo, rabbits, squirrels, and opossum, shifted their activity patterns to a lesser degree than that of pigs, but most species adjusted activity peaks to favor lulls in pig activity. Thus, by manipulating swine activity patterns we provide evidence that wild pigs affect the activity patterns of many native wildlife species. Not only does our data demonstrate the flexibility of pigs to alter activity patterns to avoid removal, it also indicates that these animals cause an additional unappreciated stress on native wildlife by altering their biological rhythm

Impact of socioeconomic deprivation on rate and cause of death in severe mental illness

Background: Socioeconomic status has important associations with disease-specific mortality in the general population. Although individuals with Severe Mental Illnesses (SMI) experience significant premature mortality, the relationship between socioeconomic status and mortality in this group remains under investigated.<p></p> Aims: To assess the impact of socioeconomic status on rate and cause of death in individuals with SMI (schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) relative to the local (Glasgow) and wider (Scottish) populations.<p></p> Methods: Cause and age of death during 2006-2010 inclusive for individuals with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder registered on the Glasgow Psychosis Clinical Information System (PsyCIS) were obtained by linkage to the Scottish General Register Office (GRO). Rate and cause of death by socioeconomic status, measured by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD), were compared to the Glasgow and Scottish populations.<p></p> Results: Death rates were higher in people with SMI across all socioeconomic quintiles compared to the Glasgow and Scottish populations, and persisted when suicide was excluded. Differences were largest in the most deprived quintile (794.6 per 10,000 population vs. 274.7 and 252.4 for Glasgow and Scotland respectively). Cause of death varied by socioeconomic status. For those living in the most deprived quintile, higher drug-related deaths occurred in those with SMI compared to local Glasgow and wider Scottish population rates (12.3% vs. 5.9%, p = <0.001 and 5.1% p = 0.002 respectively). A lower proportion of deaths due to cancer in those with SMI living in the most deprived quintile were also observed, relative to the local Glasgow and wider Scottish populations (12.3% vs. 25.1% p = 0.013 and 26.3% p = <0.001). The proportion of suicides was significantly higher in those with SMI living in the more affluent quintiles relative to Glasgow and Scotland (54.6% vs. 5.8%, p = <0.001 and 5.5%, p = <0.001). Discussion and conclusions: Excess mortality in those with SMI occurred across all socioeconomic quintiles compared to the Glasgow and Scottish populations but was most marked in the most deprived quintiles when suicide was excluded as a cause of death. Further work assessing the impact of socioeconomic status on specific causes of premature mortality in SMI is needed

Three-loop HTL gluon thermodynamics at intermediate coupling

We calculate the thermodynamic functions of pure-glue QCD to three-loop order using the hard-thermal-loop perturbation theory (HTLpt) reorganization of finite temperature quantum field theory. We show that at three-loop order hard-thermal-loop perturbation theory is compatible with lattice results for the pressure, energy density, and entropy down to temperatures $T\simeq3\;T_c$. Our results suggest that HTLpt provides a systematic framework that can used to calculate static and dynamic quantities for temperatures relevant at LHC.Comment: 24 pages, 13 figs. 2nd version: improved discussion and fixing typos. Published in JHE

Global access to antibiotics without prescription in community pharmacies: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: To estimate the proportion of over-the-counter antibiotic requests or consultations that resulted in non-prescription supply of antibiotics in community pharmacies globally. Methods: We systematically searched EMBASE, Medline and CINAHL databases for studies published from January 2000 to September 2017 reporting the frequency of non-prescription sale and supply of antibiotics in community pharmacies across the world. Additional articles were identified by checking reference lists and a Google Scholar search. A random effects meta-analysis was conducted to calculate pooled estimates of non-prescription supply of antibiotics. Results: Of the 3302 articles identified, 38 studies from 24 countries met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. All the included countries with the exception of one, classified antibiotics as prescription-only medicines. The overall pooled proportion of non-prescription supply of antibiotics was 62% (95% CI 53 – 72). The pooled proportion of non-prescription supply of antibiotics following a patient request was 78% (95% CI 59 - 97) and based on community pharmacy staff recommendation was 58% (95% CI 48 – 68). The regional supply of non-prescription antibiotics was highest in South America, 78% (95% CI 72 - 84). Antibiotics were commonly supplied without a prescription to patients with symptoms of urinary tract infections (68%, 95% CI 42 – 93) and upper respiratory tract infections (67%, 95% CI 55 - 79). Fluoroquinolones and Penicillins respectively were the most commonly supplied antibiotic classes for these indications. Conclusion: Antibiotics are frequently supplied without prescription in many countries. This overuse of antibiotics could facilitate the development and spread of antibiotic resistance

Three-loop HTL QCD thermodynamics

The hard-thermal-loop perturbation theory (HTLpt) framework is used to calculate the thermodynamic functions of a quark-gluon plasma to three-loop order. This is the highest order accessible by finite temperature perturbation theory applied to a non-Abelian gauge theory before the high-temperature infrared catastrophe. All ultraviolet divergences are eliminated by renormalization of the vacuum, the HTL mass parameters, and the strong coupling constant. After choosing a prescription for the mass parameters, the three-loop results for the pressure and trace anomaly are found to be in very good agreement with recent lattice data down to $T \sim 2-3\,T_c$, which are temperatures accessible by current and forthcoming heavy-ion collision experiments.Comment: 27 pages, 11 figures; corresponds with published version in JHE

An Isolator System for minimally invasive surgery: the new design

Background - The risk of obtaining a postsurgical infection depends highly on the air quality surrounding the exposed tissue, surgical instruments, and materials. Many isolators for open surgery have been invented to create a contained sterile volume around the exposed tissue. With the use of an isolator, a surgical procedure can be performed outside sterile environments. The goal of this study was to design an Isolator System (IS) for standard laparoscopic instruments while instrument movements are not restricted. Methods - The developed IS consists of a sleeve to protect the instrument shaft and tip and a special balloon to protect the incision and trocar tube. A coupling mechanism connected at the sleeve allows instrument changes without contamination of the isolated parts. Smoke tests were performed to show that outside air does not enter the new IS during a simulated laparoscopic procedure. Eight test runs and one baseline run inside a contained volume filled with thick smoke were performed to investigate whether smoke particles entered the Isolator System. Filters were used to identify smoke entering the Isolator System. Results - Seven filters showed no trace of smoke particles. In one test run, a part of the IS loosened and a small brown spot was visible. The filter from the baseline run was completely covered with a thick layer of particles, proving the effectiveness of the test. During all test runs, the isolated instrument was successfully locked on and unlocked from the isolated trocar. Instrument movements gave no complications. After removal of the isolated instrument, it took three novices an average of 3.1 (standard deviation (SD), 0.7) seconds to replace it correctly on the isolated trocar. Conclusions - The designed IS for laparoscopy can increase sterility in environments where sterility cannot be guaranteed. The current design is developed for laparoscopy, but it can easily be adapted for other fields in minimally invasive surgery.Biomechanical EngineeringMechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineerin

PIP5KIβ Selectively Modulates Apical Endocytosis in Polarized Renal Epithelial Cells

Localized synthesis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PtdIns(4,5)P2] at clathrin coated pits (CCPs) is crucial for the recruitment of adaptors and other components of the internalization machinery, as well as for regulating actin dynamics during endocytosis. PtdIns(4,5)P2 is synthesized from phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate by any of three phosphatidylinositol 5-kinase type I (PIP5KI) isoforms (α, β or γ). PIP5KIβ localizes almost exclusively to the apical surface in polarized mouse cortical collecting duct cells, whereas the other isoforms have a less polarized membrane distribution. We therefore investigated the role of PIP5KI isoforms in endocytosis at the apical and basolateral domains. Endocytosis at the apical surface is known to occur more slowly than at the basolateral surface. Apical endocytosis was selectively stimulated by overexpression of PIP5KIβ whereas the other isoforms had no effect on either apical or basolateral internalization. We found no difference in the affinity for PtdIns(4,5)P2-containing liposomes of the PtdIns(4,5)P2 binding domains of epsin and Dab2, consistent with a generic effect of elevated PtdIns(4,5)P2 on apical endocytosis. Additionally, using apical total internal reflection fluorescence imaging and electron microscopy we found that cells overexpressing PIP5KIβ have fewer apical CCPs but more internalized coated structures than control cells, consistent with enhanced maturation of apical CCPs. Together, our results suggest that synthesis of PtdIns(4,5)P2 mediated by PIP5KIβ is rate limiting for apical but not basolateral endocytosis in polarized kidney cells. PtdIns(4,5)P2 may be required to overcome specific structural constraints that limit the efficiency of apical endocytosis. © 2013 Szalinski et al

Controlling the shape of a quantum wavefunction

The ability to control the shape and motion of quantum states(1,2) may lead to methods for bond-selective chemistry and novel quantum technologies, such as quantum computing. The classical coherence of laser light has been used to guide quantum systems into desired target states through interfering pathways(3-5). These experiments used the control of target properties-such as fluorescence from a dye solution(6), the current in a semiconductor(7,8) 8 Or the dissociation fraction of an excited molecule(9)-to infer control over the quantum state. Here we report a direct approach to coherent quantum control that allows us to actively manipulate the shape of an atomic electron's radial wavefunction, We use a computer-controlled laser to excite a coherent state in atomic caesium. The shape of the wavefunction is then measured(10) and the information fed back into the laser control system, which reprograms the optical field. The process is iterated until the measured shape of the wavefunction matches that of a target wavepacket, established at the start of the experiment. We find that, using a variation of quantum holography(11) to reconstruct the measured wavefunction, the quantum state can be reshaped to match the target within two iterations of the feedback loop.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62625/1/397233a0.pd

Surface pretreatment for prolonged survival of cemented tibial prosthesis components: full- vs. surface-cementation technique

BACKGROUND: One of few persisting problems of cemented total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is aseptic loosening of tibial component due to degradation of the interface between bone cement and metallic tibial shaft component, particularly for surface cemented tibial components. Surface cementation technique has important clinical meaning in case of revision and for avoidance of stress shielding. Degradation of the interface between bone cement and bone may be a secondary effect due to excessive crack formation in bone cement starting at the opposite metallic surface. METHODS: This study was done to prove crack formation in the bone cement near the metallic surface when this is not coated. We propose a newly developed coating process by PVD layering with SiO(x )to avoid that crack formation in the bone cement. A biomechanical model for vibration fatigue test was done to simulate the physiological and biomechanical conditions of the human knee joint and to prove excessive crack formation. RESULTS: It was found that coated tibial components showed a highly significant reduction of cement cracking near the interface metal/bone cement (p < 0.01) and a significant reduction of gap formation in the interface metal-to-bone cement (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Coating dramatically reduces hydrolytic- and stress-related crack formation at the prosthesis interface metal/bone cement. This leads to a more homogenous load transfer into the cement mantle which should reduce the frequency of loosening in the interfaces metal/bone cement/bone. With surface coating of the tibial component it should become possible that surface cemented TKAs reveal similar loosening rates as TKAs both surface and stem cemented. This would be an important clinical advantage since it is believed that surface cementing reduces metaphyseal bone loss in case of revision and stress shielding for better bone health