Garden and landscape-scale correlates of moths of differing conservation status: significant effects of urbanization and habitat diversity

Moths are abundant and ubiquitous in vegetated terrestrial environments and are pollinators, important herbivores of wild plants, and food for birds, bats and rodents. In recent years, many once abundant and widespread species have shown sharp declines that have been cited by some as indicative of a widespread insect biodiversity crisis. Likely causes of these declines include agricultural intensification, light pollution, climate change, and urbanization; however, the real underlying cause(s) is still open to conjecture. We used data collected from the citizen science Garden Moth Scheme (GMS) to explore the spatial association between the abundance of 195 widespread British species of moth, and garden habitat and landscape features, to see if spatial habitat and landscape associations varied for species of differing conservation status. We found that associations with habitat and landscape composition were species-specific, but that there were consistent trends in species richness and total moth abundance. Gardens with more diverse and extensive microhabitats were associated with higher species richness and moth abundance; gardens near to the coast were associated with higher richness and moth abundance; and gardens in more urbanized locations were associated with lower species richness and moth abundance. The same trends were also found for species classified as increasing, declining and vulnerable under IUCN (World Conservation Union) criteria

Increased Memory Conversion of Naïve CD8 T Cells Activated during Late Phases of Acute Virus Infection Due to Decreased Cumulative Antigen Exposure

Background: Memory CD8 T cells form an essential part of protective immunity against viral infections. Antigenic load, costimulation, CD4-help, cytokines and chemokines fluctuate during the course of an antiviral immune response thus affecting CD8 T cell activation and memory conversion. Methodology/Principal Findings: In the present study, naïve TCR transgenic LCMV-specific P14 CD8 T cells engaged at a late stage during the acute antiviral LCMV response showed reduced expansion kinetics but greater memory conversion in the spleen. Such late activated cells displayed a memory precursor effector phenotype already at the peak of the systemic antiviral response, suggesting that the environment determined their fate during antigen encounter. In the spleen, the majority of late transferred cells exhibited a central memory phenotype compared to the effector memory displayed by the early transferred cells. Increasing the inflammatory response by exogenous administration of IFNc, PolyI:C or CpG did not affect memory conversion in the late transferred group, suggesting that the diverging antigen load early versus later during acute infection had determined their fate. In agreement, reduction in the LCMV antigenic load after ribavirin treatment enhanced the contribution of early transferred cells to the long lasting memory pool. Conclusions/Significance: Our results show that naïve CD8 cells, exposed to reduced duration or concentration of antigen during viral infection convert into memory more efficiently, an observation that could have significant implications fo

Does health intervention improve socioeconomic inequalities of neonatal, infant and child mortality? Evidence from Matlab, Bangladesh

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although there are wide variations in mortality between developed and developing countries, socioeconomic inequalities in health exist in both the societies. The study examined socioeconomic inequalities of neonatal, infant and child mortality using data from the Matlab Health and Demographic Surveillance System of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Four birth cohorts (1983–85, 1988–90, 1993–95, 1998–00) were followed for five years for death and out-migration in two adjacent areas (ICDDR,B-service and government-service) with similar socioeconomic but differ health services. Based on asset quintiles, inequality was measured through both poor-rich ratio and concentration index.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The study found that the socioeconomic inequalities of neonatal, infant and under-five mortality increased over time in both the ICDDR,B-service and government-service areas but it declined substantially for 1–4 years in the ICDDR,B- service area.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The study concluded that usual health intervention programs (non-targeted) do not reduce poor-rich gap, rather the gap increases initially but might decrease in long run if the program is very intensive.</p

Utilisation of an operative difficulty grading scale for laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background A reliable system for grading operative difficulty of laparoscopic cholecystectomy would standardise description of findings and reporting of outcomes. The aim of this study was to validate a difficulty grading system (Nassar scale), testing its applicability and consistency in two large prospective datasets. Methods Patient and disease-related variables and 30-day outcomes were identified in two prospective cholecystectomy databases: the multi-centre prospective cohort of 8820 patients from the recent CholeS Study and the single-surgeon series containing 4089 patients. Operative data and patient outcomes were correlated with Nassar operative difficultly scale, using Kendall’s tau for dichotomous variables, or Jonckheere–Terpstra tests for continuous variables. A ROC curve analysis was performed, to quantify the predictive accuracy of the scale for each outcome, with continuous outcomes dichotomised, prior to analysis. Results A higher operative difficulty grade was consistently associated with worse outcomes for the patients in both the reference and CholeS cohorts. The median length of stay increased from 0 to 4 days, and the 30-day complication rate from 7.6 to 24.4% as the difficulty grade increased from 1 to 4/5 (both p < 0.001). In the CholeS cohort, a higher difficulty grade was found to be most strongly associated with conversion to open and 30-day mortality (AUROC = 0.903, 0.822, respectively). On multivariable analysis, the Nassar operative difficultly scale was found to be a significant independent predictor of operative duration, conversion to open surgery, 30-day complications and 30-day reintervention (all p < 0.001). Conclusion We have shown that an operative difficulty scale can standardise the description of operative findings by multiple grades of surgeons to facilitate audit, training assessment and research. It provides a tool for reporting operative findings, disease severity and technical difficulty and can be utilised in future research to reliably compare outcomes according to case mix and intra-operative difficulty

Testing an Emerging Paradigm in Migration Ecology Shows Surprising Differences in Efficiency between Flight Modes

To maximize fitness, flying animals should maximize flight speed while minimizing energetic expenditure. Soaring speeds of large-bodied birds are determined by flight routes and tradeoffs between minimizing time and energetic costs. Large raptors migrating in eastern North America predominantly glide between thermals that provide lift or soar along slopes or ridgelines using orographic lift (slope soaring). It is usually assumed that slope soaring is faster than thermal gliding because forward progress is constant compared to interrupted progress when birds pause to regain altitude in thermals. We tested this slope-soaring hypothesis using high-frequency GPS-GSM telemetry devices to track golden eagles during northbound migration. In contrast to expectations, flight speed was slower when slope soaring and eagles also were diverted from their migratory path, incurring possible energetic costs and reducing speed of progress towards a migratory endpoint. When gliding between thermals, eagles stayed on track and fast gliding speeds compensated for lack of progress during thermal soaring. When thermals were not available, eagles minimized migration time, not energy, by choosing energetically expensive slope soaring instead of waiting for thermals to develop. Sites suited to slope soaring include ridges preferred for wind-energy generation, thus avian risk of collision with wind turbines is associated with evolutionary trade-offs required to maximize fitness of time-minimizing migratory raptors

Gnotobiotic IL-10−/−; NF-κBEGFP Mice Develop Rapid and Severe Colitis Following Campylobacter jejuni Infection

Limited information is available on the molecular mechanisms associated with Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni) induced food-borne diarrheal illnesses. In this study, we investigated the function of TLR/NF-κB signaling in C. jejuni induced pathogenesis using gnotobiotic IL-10−/−; NF-κBEGFP mice. In vitro analysis showed that C. jejuni induced IκB phosphorylation, followed by enhanced NF-κB transcriptional activity and increased IL-6, MIP-2α and NOD2 mRNA accumulation in infected-mouse colonic epithelial cells CMT93. Importantly, these events were blocked by molecular delivery of an IκB inhibitor (Ad5IκBAA). NF-κB signalling was also important for C.jejuni-induced cytokine gene expression in bone marrow-derived dendritic cells. Importantly, C. jejuni associated IL-10−/−; NF-κBEGFP mice developed mild (day 5) and severe (day 14) ulcerating colonic inflammation and bloody diarrhea as assessed by colonoscopy and histological analysis. Macroscopic analysis showed elevated EGFP expression indicating NF-κB activation throughout the colon of C. jejuni associated IL-10−/−; NF-κBEGFP mice, while fluorescence microscopy revealed EGFP positive cells to be exclusively located in lamina propria mononuclear cells. Pharmacological NF-κB inhibition using Bay 11-7085 did not ameliorate C. jejuni induced colonic inflammation. Our findings indicate that C. jejuni induces rapid and severe intestinal inflammation in a susceptible host that correlates with enhanced NF-κB activity from lamina propria immune cells

Endotracheal tubes and fluid aspiration: An in vitro evaluation of new cuff technologies

© 2017 The Author(s). Background: Aspiration of subglottic secretions past the endotracheal tube (ETT) cuff is a prerequisite for developing ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Subglottic secretion drainage (SSD) ETTs reduce aspiration of subglottic secretions and have demonstrated lower VAP rates. We compared the performance of seven SSD ETTs against a non-SSD ETT in preventing aspiration below inflated cuffs. Methods: ETTs were positioned vertically in 2 cm diameter cylinders. Four ml of a standard microbial suspension was added above inflated cuffs. After 1 h, aspiration was measured and ETTs demonstrating no leakage were subjected to rotational movement and evaluation over 24 h. Collected aspirated fluid was used to inoculate agar media and incubated aerobically at 37 °C for 24 h. The aspiration rate, volume and number of microorganisms that leaked past the cuff was measured. Experiments were repeated (×10) for each type of ETT, with new ETTs used for each repeat. Best performing ETTs were then tested in five different cylinder diameters (1.6, 1.8, 2.0, 2.2 and 2.4 cm). Experiments were repeated as above using sterile water. Volume and time taken for aspiration past the cuff was measured. Experiments were repeated (×10) for each type of ETT. Results were analysed using non-parametric tests for repeated measures. Results: The PneuX ETT prevented aspiration past the cuff in all experiments. All other ETTs allowed aspiration, with considerable variability in performance. The PneuX ETT was statistically superior in reducing aspiration compared to the SealGuard (p < 0.009), KimVent (p < 0.002), TaperGuard (p < 0.004), Lanz (p < 0.001), ISIS (p < 0.001), SACETT (p < 0.001) and Soft Seal (p < 0.001) ETTs. Of the 4 ETTs tested in differing cylinder sizes, the PneuX significantly reduced aspiration across the range of diameters compared to the SealGuard (p < 0.0001), TaperGuard (p < 0.0001) and KimVent (p < 0.0001) ETTs. Conclusions: ETTs showed substantial variation in fluid aspiration, relating to cuff material and design. Variability in performance was likely due to the random manner in which involutional folds form in the inflated ETT cuff. The PneuX ETT was the only ETT able to consistently prevent aspiration past the cuff in all experiments

Evaluation of Allelic Expression of Imprinted Genes in Adult Human Blood

Imprinted genes are expressed from only one allele in a parent-of-origin dependent manner. Loss of imprinted (LOI) expression can result in a variety of human disorders and is frequently reported in cancer. Biallelic expression of imprinted genes in adult blood has been suggested as a useful biomarker and is currently being investigated in colorectal cancer. In general, the expression profiles of imprinted genes are well characterised during human and mouse fetal development, but not in human adults

Own Song Selectivity in the Songbird Auditory Pathway: Suppression by Norepinephrine

Like human speech, birdsong is a learned behavior that supports species and individual recognition. Norepinephrine is a catecholamine suspected to play a role in song learning. The goal of this study was to investigate the role of norepinephrine in bird's own song selectivity, a property thought to be important for auditory feedback processes required for song learning and maintenance.Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we show that injection of DSP-4, a specific noradrenergic toxin, unmasks own song selectivity in the dorsal part of NCM, a secondary auditory region.The level of norepinephrine throughout the telencephalon is known to be high in alert birds and low in sleeping birds. Our results suggest that norepinephrine activity can be further decreased, giving rise to a strong own song selective signal in dorsal NCM. This latent own song selective signal, which is only revealed under conditions of very low noradrenergic activity, might play a role in the auditory feedback and/or the integration of this feedback with the motor circuitry for vocal learning and maintenance

Challenges in multidisciplinary cancer care among general surgeons in Canada

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>While many factors can influence the way that cancer care is delivered, including the way that evidence is packaged and disseminated, little research has evaluated how health care professionals who manage cancer patients seek and use this information to identify whether and how this could be supported. Through interviews we identified that general surgeons experience challenges in coordinating care for complex cancer patients whose management is not easily addressed by guidelines, and conducted a population-based survey of general surgeon information needs and information seeking practices to extend these findings.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>General surgeons with privileges at acute care hospitals in Ontario, Canada were mailed a questionnaire to solicit information needs (task, importance), information seeking (source, frequency of and reasons for use), key challenges and suggested solutions. Non-responders received up to three reminder packages. Significant differences among sub-groups (age, setting) were examined statistically (Kruskal Wallis, Mann Whitney, Chi Square). Standard qualitative methods were used to thematically analyze open-ended responses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The response rate was 44.2% (170/385) representing all 14 health regions. System resource constraints (60.4%), comorbidities (56.4%) and physiologic factors (51.8%) were top-ranked issues creating information needs. Local surgical colleagues (84.6%), other local colleagues (82.2%) and the Internet (81.1%) were top-ranked sources of information, primarily due to familiarity and speed of access. No resources were considered to be highly applicable to patient care. Challenges were related to limitations in diagnostics and staging, operative resources, and systems to support multidisciplinary care, together accounting for 76.0% of all reported issues. Findings did not differ significantly by surgeon age or setting of care.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>General surgeons appear to use a wide range of information resources but they may not address the complex needs of many cancer patients. Decision-making is challenged by informational and logistical issues related to the coordination of multidisciplinary care. This suggests that limitations in system capacity may, in part, contribute to variable guideline compliance. Further research is required to evaluate the appropriateness of information seeking, and both concurrent and consecutive mechanisms by which to achieve multidisciplinary care.</p