Recognition of Chyrsobothris thoracica guadeloupensis Descarpentries, 1981 at the species level (Coleoptera: Buprestidae)

Evidence is presented that the subspecies Chrysobothris thoracica guadeloupensis Descarpentries, 1981 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) should be recognized at the species level. Character evidence is provided to separate C. guadeloupensis, new status, from C. thoracica Fabricius, 1798. Both species are illustrated with habitus photographs and images of the male genitalia

Using a ‘wellbeing’ cost-effectiveness approach to improve resource allocation in social care

The promotion of wellbeing is the newly-stated guiding principle for the long-term care (social care) system in England. It signals a shift away from a focus on care need ‘deficits’ approach. Such a change in perspective has the potential to substantially alter how public care systems operate. The practical challenges are significant, both in the interpretation of wellbeing goals and in determining how the care system might be configured to achieve them. The main aim of this paper is to contrast a needs-led resource allocation system with one using a maximising wellbeing approach; that is, one based on: measuring the wellbeing consequences of using services and applying the principles of cost-effectiveness and opportunity cost. As a precursor, the paper also describes how a maximising wellbeing approach might be applied in the case of long-term care. We argue that in theory a maximising wellbeing approach with full information will produce greater total wellbeing improvement for the same budget than a needs-based system. In practice, the comparison will depend on: (a) whether we can actually measure wellbeing in a way that is consistent with the policy goals; (b) the availability of cost-effectiveness information; and (c) the decision rules used to implement a maximising wellbeing approach

Probing cilia-driven flow in living embryos using femtosecond laser ablation and fast imaging

Embryonic development strictly depends on fluid dynamics. As a consequence, understanding biological fluid dynamic is essential since it is unclear how flow affects development. For example, the specification of the left-right axis in vertebrates depends on fluid flow where beating cilia generate a directional flow necessary for breaking the embryonic symmetry in the so-called left-right organizer. To investigate flow dynamics in vivo proper labeling methods necessitate approaches that are compatible with both normal biology and in vivo imaging. In this study, we describe a strategy for labeling and analyzing microscopic fluid flows in vivo that meets this challenge. We developed an all-optical approach based on three steps. First we used sub-cellular femtosecond laser ablation to generate fluorescent micro-debris to label the flow. The non-linear effect used in this technique allows a high spatial confinement and a low invasiveness, thus permitting the targeting of sub-cellular regions deep inside the embryo. Then, we used fast confocal imaging and 3Dparticle tracking were used to image and quantify the seeded flow. This approach was used to investigate the flow generated within zebrafish left-right organizer, a micrometer scale ciliated vesicle located deep inside the embryo and involved in breaking left-right embryonic symmetry. We mapped the velocity field within the vesicle and surrounding a single beating cilium, and showed that this method can address the dynamics of cilia-driven flows at multiple length scales. We could validate the flow features as predicted from previous simulations. Such detailed descriptions of fluid movements will be valuable in unraveling the relationships between cilia-driven flow and signal transduction. More generally, this all-optical approach opens new opportunities for investigating microscopic flow in living tissues

Differential transcendence criteria for second-order linear difference equations and elliptic hypergeometric functions

We develop general criteria that ensure that any non-zero solution of a given second-order difference equation is differentially transcendental, which apply uniformly in particular cases of interest, such as shift difference equations, q-dilation difference equations, Mahler difference equations, and elliptic difference equations. These criteria are obtained as an application of differential Galois theory for difference equations. We apply our criteria to prove a new result to the effect that most elliptic hypergeometric functions are differentially transcendental

Skyrmionic state and stable half-quantum vortices in chiral p-wave superconductors

Observability of half-quantum vortices and skyrmions in p-wave superconductors is an outstanding open question. Under the most common conditions, fractional flux vortices are not thermodynamically stable in bulk samples. Here we show that in chiral p-wave superconductors, there is a regime where, in contrast lattices of integer flux vortices are not thermodynamically stable. Instead skyrmions made of spatially separated half-quantum vortices are the topological defects produced by an applied external field.Comment: Replaced with a version in print in Physical Review B, Rapid Communications; References added; 8 pages, 9 figure

Costs of regulating residential care services for children. Funded/commissioned by: Department of Health and Welsh Office

There are a number of important planned changes in the way that the regulatory function is to be conducted in Englandand Wales in the future (Department of Health, 1998). These include the setting up of independent regional authoritiesresponsible for regulating care services, the extension of regulatory requirements to services not currently covered byregulatory legislation and the setting of standards at a national level. An important issue to consider in this context is thesetting of fees to those who are being regulated. A key recommendation of the Burgner report on regulation and inspectionof social services was that the cost of regulation should be independently reviewed with a view to relating fee levels moreclosely to the actual costs of regulation (Burgner, 1996; p8). This report describes the results of an extension to a Department of Health and Wales Office funded study of health andlocal authority inspection units in England which had investigated the costs of regulating care homes for adults (Netten,Forder and Knight, 1999a). The principal aim of this study was to establish the costs of regulating residential care servicesfor children, in a way that could be used to identify cost-based fees to establishments. Residential care services forchildren were taken to include residential homes, family centres, boarding schools, foster care agencies, and adoptionagencies. Of these services Units currently have statutory responsibility for inspecting homes registered under the Children’s Act1989 and independent boarding schools. The Social Services Inspectorates of the Department of Health and Wales Officeinspect voluntary homes and voluntary adoption agencies. There are no statutory requirements to regulate the otherservices. Under the Children Act 1989 local authorities have the power to charge a “reasonable” fee for registration andinspection of private children’s homes, but voluntary homes, local authority homes and boarding schools do not pay fees. The main data collection was a survey of local authority and joint inspection units undertaken during the autumn of 1999.The data collection built on data collected in the previous survey (Netten, Forder and Knight, 1999a). For this studysupplementary data were collected about unit policies and practice with respect to services for which they had no statutoryresponsibilities, children’s services’ inspector characteristics and a sample week’s time use; and a sample of recentlyundertaken inspections and registrations. Information was also collected about enforcement actions undertaken during theprevious year. SSI inspectors involved also provided equivalent information on the amount of time spent on inspecting andregistering voluntary homes