Reviewing the use of resilience concepts in forest sciences

Purpose of the review Resilience is a key concept to deal with an uncertain future in forestry. In recent years, it has received increasing attention from both research and practice. However, a common understanding of what resilience means in a forestry context, and how to operationalise it is lacking. Here, we conducted a systematic review of the recent forest science literature on resilience in the forestry context, synthesising how resilience is defined and assessed. Recent findings Based on a detailed review of 255 studies, we analysed how the concepts of engineering resilience, ecological resilience, and social-ecological resilience are used in forest sciences. A clear majority of the studies applied the concept of engineering resilience, quantifying resilience as the recovery time after a disturbance. The two most used indicators for engineering resilience were basal area increment and vegetation cover, whereas ecological resilience studies frequently focus on vegetation cover and tree density. In contrast, important social-ecological resilience indicators used in the literature are socio-economic diversity and stock of natural resources. In the context of global change, we expected an increase in studies adopting the more holistic social-ecological resilience concept, but this was not the observed trend. Summary Our analysis points to the nestedness of these three resilience concepts, suggesting that they are complementary rather than contradictory. It also means that the variety of resilience approaches does not need to be an obstacle for operationalisation of the concept. We provide guidance for choosing the most suitable resilience concept and indicators based on the management, disturbance and application context

Analytical strategies for the marble burying test: avoiding impossible predictions and invalid p-values

BACKGROUND: The marble burying test is used to measure repetitive and anxiety-related behaviour in rodents. The number of marbles that animals bury are count data (non-negative integers), which are bounded below by zero and above by the number of marbles present. Count data are often analysed using normal linear models, which include the t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) as special cases. Linear models assume that the data are unbounded and that the variance is constant across groups. These requirements are rarely met with count data, leading to 95% confidence intervals that include impossible values (less than zero or greater than the number of marbles present), misleading p-values, and impossible predictions. Transforming the data or using nonparametric methods are common alternatives but transformations do not perform well when many zero values are present and nonparametric methods have several drawbacks. FINDINGS: The problems with using normal linear models to analyse marble burying data are demonstrated and generalised linear models (GLMs) are introduced as more appropriate alternatives. CONCLUSIONS: GLMs have been specifically developed to deal with count and other types of non-Gaussian data, are straightforward to use and interpret, and will lead to more sensible inferences. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13104-015-1062-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Dry-Coated Live Viral Vector Vaccines Delivered by Nanopatch Microprojections Retain Long-Term Thermostability and Induce Transgene-Specific T Cell Responses in Mice

The disadvantages of needle-based immunisation motivate the development of simple, low cost, needle-free alternatives. Vaccine delivery to cutaneous environments rich in specialised antigen-presenting cells using microprojection patches has practical and immunological advantages over conventional needle delivery. Additionally, stable coating of vaccine onto microprojections removes logistical obstacles presented by the strict requirement for cold-chain storage and distribution of liquid vaccine, or lyophilised vaccine plus diluent. These attributes make these technologies particularly suitable for delivery of vaccines against diseases such as malaria, which exerts its worst effects in countries with poorly-resourced healthcare systems. Live viral vectors including adenoviruses and poxviruses encoding exogenous antigens have shown significant clinical promise as vaccines, due to their ability to generate high numbers of antigen-specific T cells. Here, the simian adenovirus serotype 63 and the poxvirus modified vaccinia Ankara - two vectors under evaluation for the delivery of malaria antigens to humans - were formulated for coating onto Nanopatch microprojections and applied to murine skin. Co-formulation with the stabilising disaccharides trehalose and sucrose protected virions during the dry-coating process. Transgene-specific CD8(+) T cell responses following Nanopatch delivery of both vectors were similar to intradermal injection controls after a single immunisation (despite a much lower delivered dose), though MVA boosting of pre-primed responses with Nanopatch was found to be less effective than the ID route. Importantly, disaccharide-stabilised ChAd63 could be stored for 10 weeks at 37 degrees C with less than 1 log(10) loss of viability, and retained single-dose immunogenicity after storage. These data support the further development of microprojection patches for the deployment of live vaccines in hot climates