Behavioural and Physiological Studies of Fighting in the Velvet Swimming Crab, Necora puber (L.) (Brachyura, Portunidae)

The velvet swiming crab, Necora piiber (L.), is a marine brachyuran commonly found in shallow, rocky, sublittoral areas on the Atlantic coasts of Europe. In Britain, the commercial importance of N. puber has increased over the last fifteen years, following the collapse of the Spanish fishery for this species, and the crab now forms the basis of an important fishery based mainly off the west coast of Scotland. N. puber has traditionally been regarded as "aggressive", due mainly to its rapid defensive response of striking and grasping humans who attempt to handle them, but relatively little was known of their intra-specific agonistic behaviour until the work of Smith (1990; Smith & Taylor 1993; Smith et al. 1994) on males. The aims of the work in this thesis were: to describe the intra-specific agonistic behaviour of females in relation to the size of the interactants, and to investigate the initiation, outcome and content of fights; to describe the processes of escalation and communication during fights in males and females; to investigate the metabolic consequences of fighting and exercise in males; and, to investigate the behavioural consequences of any metabolic costs incurred by the contestants during agonistic behaviour by examining the effects of prolonged fights in subsequent agonistic responses. The agonistic behaviour of N. puber is compared with the predictions of game theory. The agonistic displays of female N. puber are similar to those described for other portunids, particularly the closely related Liocarcinus depurator, and identical to those of male N. puber. Female N. puber fight readily in the laboratory, with interactions being initiated equally often by the larger and smaller of two opponents, but with the larger usually being victorious. In some interactions, however, a smaller crab won against a larger opponent, and possible reasons for this are discussed. In two respects, the results are surprising in the context of insights gained from game theory: firstly, the fights do not show a gradual pattern of escalation through display to overt physical violence. Secondly, fights do not become more costly in terms of either potential for injury (intensity) or duration as the contestants became more evenly matched; indeed, as the contestants became more evenly matched, fight duration decreased. In both males and females, a short term escalatory process was apparent in intra-individual sequences, with winners and losers tending to follow their own previous low risk acts with high risk acts. However, this process was weaker and shorter lived in losers, which tended to de-escalate after performing high risk acts; winners sustained high intensity fighting by matching or escalating following the performance of high risk acts. Looking at inter-individual sequences to examine the process whereby crabs react to the behaviour of their opponent, one clear trend was a tendency for both winners and losers to match the behaviour of the opponent when this involved low risk acts, but winners and losers respond differently to high risk acts with the winners escalating or matching more frequently than losers. The different communicatory significance of the agonistic acts are discussed. The metabolic consequences of agonistic behaviour in male N. puber were quantified by measuring the concentrations of L-lactate and D-glucose in the haemolymph, and L-lactate, D-glucose and glycogen in the walking leg muscle. There were no significant differences between fought and unfought crabs in terms of the parameters measured, but concentrations in fought and unfought crabs were significantly different from those in crabs forced to exercise. There appears, therefore, to be a very limited metabolic cost associated with agonistic behavour in N. puber. There were no significant differences between winners and losers in the metabolic parameters measured, and it can be inferred from this that there is no metabolic threshold reached that forces crabs to give up. Previous agonistic behaviour did not alter the behaviour of male crabs in subsequent fights. Fought crabs were as likely to initiate a subsequent interaction as unfought crabs, and fought crabs were also equally likely to be successful as unfought crabs. First fights and subsequent re-fights were of similar duration, content and intensity. Again, this suggests that agonistic behaviour in male N. puher is not sufficiently metabolically expensive to impose constraints on any subsequent behaviour. The results of these studies are discussed on a functional basis in relation to the predictions arsing from game theory and on a causal level in relation to possible mechanisms underlying the behaviour

Intuitiveness of Symbol Features for Air Traffic Management

We present the results of two online surveys asking participants to indicate what type of air traffic information might be conveyed by a number of symbols and symbol features (color, fill, text, and shape). The results of this initial study suggest that the well-developed concepts of ownership, altitude, and trajectory are readily associated with certain symbol features, while the relatively novel concept of equipage was not clearly associated with any specific symbol feature

Summary Document

This summary is based on the following larger document: Sauchyn, Dave; Barrow, Elaine; Fang, X; Henderson, Norm; Johnston, Mark; Pomeroy, John; Thorpe, Jeff; Wheaton, Elaine; Williams, B. 2009. Saskatchewan’s Natural Capital in a Changing Climate: An Assessment of Impacts and Adaptation, PARC, Regina, 162pp. The full report is viewable on the PARC website at www.parc.caSummary edited by Dave Sauchyn and Norm Henderson.PARC acknowledges the funding support of Saskatchewan Environment.Non-Peer ReviewedClimate change impacts in Saskatchewan are already evident and will become increasing significant over time. This report draws on the expertise of top climate change researchers and a large body of previous work to create a state-of-knowledge synthesis of key biophysical impacts and adaptation options specific to Saskatchewan. The focus is Saskatchewan’s ecosystems and water resources and the sectors of our economy, agriculture, and forestry, which are most dependent on these natural resources. The purpose of this report is to 1) document the expected impacts of climate change on Saskatchewan’s natural resources and dependent industries, and 2) outline options for adaptation of resource management practices, policies and infrastructure to minimize the risks associated with the impacts of climate change and to take advantage of opportunities provided by a warming climate

The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment: Exploring Fundamental Symmetries of the Universe

The preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early Universe, the dynamics of the supernova bursts that produced the heavy elements necessary for life and whether protons eventually decay --- these mysteries at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics are key to understanding the early evolution of our Universe, its current state and its eventual fate. The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) represents an extensively developed plan for a world-class experiment dedicated to addressing these questions. LBNE is conceived around three central components: (1) a new, high-intensity neutrino source generated from a megawatt-class proton accelerator at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, (2) a near neutrino detector just downstream of the source, and (3) a massive liquid argon time-projection chamber deployed as a far detector deep underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility. This facility, located at the site of the former Homestake Mine in Lead, South Dakota, is approximately 1,300 km from the neutrino source at Fermilab -- a distance (baseline) that delivers optimal sensitivity to neutrino charge-parity symmetry violation and mass ordering effects. This ambitious yet cost-effective design incorporates scalability and flexibility and can accommodate a variety of upgrades and contributions. With its exceptional combination of experimental configuration, technical capabilities, and potential for transformative discoveries, LBNE promises to be a vital facility for the field of particle physics worldwide, providing physicists from around the globe with opportunities to collaborate in a twenty to thirty year program of exciting science. In this document we provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess.Comment: Major update of previous version. This is the reference document for LBNE science program and current status. Chapters 1, 3, and 9 provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess. 288 pages, 116 figure

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

What are the benefits and harms of risk stratified screening as part of the NHS breast screening Programme? Study protocol for a multi-site non-randomised comparison of BC-predict versus usual screening (NCT04359420)

From Springer Nature via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: received 2020-05-01, accepted 2020-06-09, registration 2020-06-09, pub-electronic 2020-06-18, online 2020-06-18, collection 2020-12Publication status: PublishedFunder: Programme Grants for Applied Research; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100007602; Grant(s): RP-PG-1214-20016Funder: Manchester Biomedical Research Centre; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100014653; Grant(s): IS-BRC-1215-20007Funder: Genesis Research Trust; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100012156; Grant(s): GA15-003Funder: Prevent Breast Cancer; Grant(s): GA18-001Funder: Breast Cancer Now; Grant(s): 2018RP005Abstract: Background: In principle, risk-stratification as a routine part of the NHS Breast Screening Programme (NHSBSP) should produce a better balance of benefits and harms. The main benefit is the offer of NICE-approved more frequent screening and/ or chemoprevention for women who are at increased risk, but are unaware of this. We have developed BC-Predict, to be offered to women when invited to NHSBSP which collects information on risk factors (self-reported information on family history and hormone-related factors via questionnaire; mammographic density; and in a sub-sample, Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms). BC-Predict produces risk feedback letters, inviting women at high risk (≥8% 10-year) or moderate risk (≥5 to < 8% 10-year) to have discussion of prevention and early detection options at Family History, Risk and Prevention Clinics. Despite the promise of systems such as BC-Predict, there are still too many uncertainties for a fully-powered definitive trial to be appropriate or ethical. The present research aims to identify these key uncertainties regarding the feasibility of integrating BC-Predict into the NHSBSP. Key objectives of the present research are to quantify important potential benefits and harms, and identify key drivers of the relative cost-effectiveness of embedding BC-Predict into NHSBSP. Methods: A non-randomised fully counterbalanced study design will be used, to include approximately equal numbers of women offered NHSBSP (n = 18,700) and BC-Predict (n = 18,700) from selected screening sites (n = 7). In the initial 8-month time period, women eligible for NHSBSP will be offered BC-Predict in four screening sites. Three screening sites will offer women usual NHSBSP. In the following 8-months the study sites offering usual NHSBSP switch to BC-Predict and vice versa. Key potential benefits including uptake of risk consultations, chemoprevention and additional screening will be obtained for both groups. Key potential harms such as increased anxiety will be obtained via self-report questionnaires, with embedded qualitative process analysis. A decision-analytic model-based cost-effectiveness analysis will identify the key uncertainties underpinning the relative cost-effectiveness of embedding BC-Predict into NHSBSP. Discussion: We will assess the feasibility of integrating BC-Predict into the NHSBSP, and identify the main uncertainties for a definitive evaluation of the clinical and cost-effectiveness of BC-Predict. Trial registration: Retrospectively registered with clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04359420)

Corporate governance and strategic human resource management:four archetypes and proposals for a new approach to corporate sustainability

In this paper we develop a new typology connecting strategic human resource management (SHRM) to different models of firm-level corporate governance. By asking questions concerning ownership and control issues in the corporate governance literature and drawing on institutional logics, we build a typological framework that identifies four firm-level archetypes of corporate governance systems. Two archetypes represent dominant logic types (shareholder value, communitarian stakeholder), while the other two represent hybrid organizations (enlightened shareholder value, employee-ownership). Using these archetypes, we theorize the implications of different governance structures for SHRM and the challenges they pose. We conclude by discussing a novel solution to many of these challenges based on the corporate sustainability literature, and, in so doing, provide new directions for SHRM research to tackle key challenges facing organizations and the management of people

International Factors and the 1964 Election

International issues are not usually seen as having been significant to the 1964 general election result. Harold Wilson made only limited references to foreign policy and defence during the campaign, while opinion polls showed that voters saw domestic questions as being far more important. Traditionally, international issues have had only a limited impact upon British general elections. But the 1964 election was one of the most closely run in history and this article argues that, interpreted broadly, international questions did have a real effect on the contest. The sitting prime minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home focused on the future of the nuclear deterrent for much of the campaign, while considerations about the country's relative decline in the world, reflected in chronic balance of payment problems, helped Labour's case that it was ‘time for a change’ at the top. Besides, the mid-1960s was a significant point for the country's global position: the post-war policy of ‘three circles’—in which Britain played a major role in Europe, maintained a global empire and influenced US policy via the ‘special relationship’—was being called into question. The question deserves to be asked, therefore, why there was not a more intense debate between the political leaders about Britain's international role

Adjunctive rifampicin for Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (ARREST): a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia is a common cause of severe community-acquired and hospital-acquired infection worldwide. We tested the hypothesis that adjunctive rifampicin would reduce bacteriologically confirmed treatment failure or disease recurrence, or death, by enhancing early S aureus killing, sterilising infected foci and blood faster, and reducing risks of dissemination and metastatic infection. METHODS: In this multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, adults (≥18 years) with S aureus bacteraemia who had received ≤96 h of active antibiotic therapy were recruited from 29 UK hospitals. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) via a computer-generated sequential randomisation list to receive 2 weeks of adjunctive rifampicin (600 mg or 900 mg per day according to weight, oral or intravenous) versus identical placebo, together with standard antibiotic therapy. Randomisation was stratified by centre. Patients, investigators, and those caring for the patients were masked to group allocation. The primary outcome was time to bacteriologically confirmed treatment failure or disease recurrence, or death (all-cause), from randomisation to 12 weeks, adjudicated by an independent review committee masked to the treatment. Analysis was intention to treat. This trial was registered, number ISRCTN37666216, and is closed to new participants. FINDINGS: Between Dec 10, 2012, and Oct 25, 2016, 758 eligible participants were randomly assigned: 370 to rifampicin and 388 to placebo. 485 (64%) participants had community-acquired S aureus infections, and 132 (17%) had nosocomial S aureus infections. 47 (6%) had meticillin-resistant infections. 301 (40%) participants had an initial deep infection focus. Standard antibiotics were given for 29 (IQR 18-45) days; 619 (82%) participants received flucloxacillin. By week 12, 62 (17%) of participants who received rifampicin versus 71 (18%) who received placebo experienced treatment failure or disease recurrence, or died (absolute risk difference -1·4%, 95% CI -7·0 to 4·3; hazard ratio 0·96, 0·68-1·35, p=0·81). From randomisation to 12 weeks, no evidence of differences in serious (p=0·17) or grade 3-4 (p=0·36) adverse events were observed; however, 63 (17%) participants in the rifampicin group versus 39 (10%) in the placebo group had antibiotic or trial drug-modifying adverse events (p=0·004), and 24 (6%) versus six (2%) had drug interactions (p=0·0005). INTERPRETATION: Adjunctive rifampicin provided no overall benefit over standard antibiotic therapy in adults with S aureus bacteraemia. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment

Effects of antiplatelet therapy after stroke due to intracerebral haemorrhage (RESTART): a randomised, open-label trial

Background: Antiplatelet therapy reduces the risk of major vascular events for people with occlusive vascular disease, although it might increase the risk of intracranial haemorrhage. Patients surviving the commonest subtype of intracranial haemorrhage, intracerebral haemorrhage, are at risk of both haemorrhagic and occlusive vascular events, but whether antiplatelet therapy can be used safely is unclear. We aimed to estimate the relative and absolute effects of antiplatelet therapy on recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage and whether this risk might exceed any reduction of occlusive vascular events. Methods: The REstart or STop Antithrombotics Randomised Trial (RESTART) was a prospective, randomised, open-label, blinded endpoint, parallel-group trial at 122 hospitals in the UK. We recruited adults (≥18 years) who were taking antithrombotic (antiplatelet or anticoagulant) therapy for the prevention of occlusive vascular disease when they developed intracerebral haemorrhage, discontinued antithrombotic therapy, and survived for 24 h. Computerised randomisation incorporating minimisation allocated participants (1:1) to start or avoid antiplatelet therapy. We followed participants for the primary outcome (recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage) for up to 5 years. We analysed data from all randomised participants using Cox proportional hazards regression, adjusted for minimisation covariates. This trial is registered with ISRCTN (number ISRCTN71907627). Findings: Between May 22, 2013, and May 31, 2018, 537 participants were recruited a median of 76 days (IQR 29–146) after intracerebral haemorrhage onset: 268 were assigned to start and 269 (one withdrew) to avoid antiplatelet therapy. Participants were followed for a median of 2·0 years (IQR [1·0– 3·0]; completeness 99·3%). 12 (4%) of 268 participants allocated to antiplatelet therapy had recurrence of intracerebral haemorrhage compared with 23 (9%) of 268 participants allocated to avoid antiplatelet therapy (adjusted hazard ratio 0·51 [95% CI 0·25–1·03]; p=0·060). 18 (7%) participants allocated to antiplatelet therapy experienced major haemorrhagic events compared with 25 (9%) participants allocated to avoid antiplatelet therapy (0·71 [0·39–1·30]; p=0·27), and 39 [15%] participants allocated to antiplatelet therapy had major occlusive vascular events compared with 38 [14%] allocated to avoid antiplatelet therapy (1·02 [0·65–1·60]; p=0·92). Interpretation: These results exclude all but a very modest increase in the risk of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage with antiplatelet therapy for patients on antithrombotic therapy for the prevention of occlusive vascular disease when they developed intracerebral haemorrhage. The risk of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage is probably too small to exceed the established benefits of antiplatelet therapy for secondary prevention