Comparison of trends in butterfly populations between monitoring schemes

Butterflies are an important indicator of the impacts of environmental change. Butterfly monitoring schemes (BMS) have provided national and Europe-wide trends in their abundance and been widely used for research. Most schemes sample sites that are self-selected by contributors and therefore tend to cover locations that are rich in butterflies. To provide a more representative assessment of butterfly populations, the wider countryside butterfly survey (WCBS) was developed with a stratified-random sample of survey sites across the UK. We compare butterfly trends from the WCBS locations against those measured from traditional butterfly transects which are typically located in areas of good quality semi-natural habitats. Across the 26 species analysed, there was a significant positive relationship between trends measured from the two schemes between 2009 and 2013, the period when both schemes were operating fully. There was a tendency (17 out of 26 species analysed) for these changes to be greater within WCBS compared to traditional BMS transects, although this effect was not consistent across comparisons between pairs of consecutive years. When assessing these individual year-to-year changes, there was however a significant correlation between the two schemes in all cases. Over relatively short time periods, weather patterns are likely to dominate butterfly population fluctuations and lead to comparable trends across monitoring schemes. Over longer time periods, differences in land management may affect habitat condition differently for protected areas versus the wider countryside and it is therefore important to maintain comprehensive butterfly monitoring programmes to detect and interpret such effects

BIOSOLIDS USE FOR RECLAIMING FLUVIAL MINE TAILINGS

This study was conducted to determine the effect of biosolids and lime on reclamation of a heavily contaminated metal site. Within the Superfund area near Leadville, CO, biosolids and lime were amended (1998) to a 1 ha site at rates of 240 Mg per ha each. In 2006, soil samples were collected on a 10 m x 10 m grid to a depth of 30 cm across the site. Basic soil analysis included pH, EC, total C and N, inorganic and organic C, and NO3-N and NH4-N. A sequential fractionation for metal contaminants of concern (Cd, Cr, Fe, Pb, Mn, and Zn) identified associations with: 1) soluble/exchangeable; 2) specifically sorbed/weakly bound; 3) non-crystalline Fe/Mn oxides; 4) crystalline Fe/Mn oxides and organically complexed; 5) residual organic; and 6) residual inorganic phases. Sequential extraction data was cross correlated with basic soil analysis. Basic soil analysis were affected by both lime and biosolids applications. Cadmium was found primarily in mobile phases, Cu, Fe, Pb, and Mn in more resistant phases, and Zn distributed equally among all soil fractions. Metals were negatively correlated with basic soil analysis. The greatest mobile-phase metal concentrations were observed at the site’s south end. This may have been due to a lack of uniformly applied or incorporated biosolids, or not enough lime applied to raise soil pH and complex metals in more immobile phases. If mobile phases were present over the entire site prior to reclamation, then a positive phase shift has occurred towards more immobile metal phases following reclamation

Phosphorus Biogeochemistry Across a Precipitation Gradient in Grasslands of Central North America

Soil P transformations and distribution studies under water limited conditions that characterize many grasslands may provide further insight into the importance of abiotic and biotic P controls within grassdominated ecosystems. We assessed transformations between P pools across four sites spanning the shortgrass steppe, mixed grass prairie, and tallgrass prairie along a 400-mm precipitation gradient across the central Great Plains. Pedon total elemental and constituent mass balance analyses reflected a pattern of increased chemical weathering from the more arid shortgrass steppe to the more mesic tallgrass prairie. Soil surface A horizon P accumulation was likely related to increased biocycling and biological mining. Soluble P, a small fraction of total P in surface A horizons, was greatest at the mixed grass sites. The distribution of secondary soil P fractions across the gradient suggested decreasing Ca-bound P and increasing amounts of occluded P with increasing precipitation. Surface A horizons contained evidence of Ca-bound P in the absence of CaCO3, while in subsurface horizons the Ca-bound P was associated with increasing CaCO3 content. Calcium-bound P, which dominates in water-limited systems, forms under different sets of soil chemical conditions in different climatic regimes, demonstrating the importance of carbonate regulation of P in semi-arid ecosystems

Modified gravity without dark matter

On an empirical level, the most successful alternative to dark matter in bound gravitational systems is the modified Newtonian dynamics, or MOND, proposed by Milgrom. Here I discuss the attempts to formulate MOND as a modification of General Relativity. I begin with a summary of the phenomenological successes of MOND and then discuss the various covariant theories that have been proposed as a basis for the idea. I show why these proposals have led inevitably to a multi-field theory. I describe in some detail TeVeS, the tensor-vector-scalar theory proposed by Bekenstein, and discuss its successes and shortcomings. This lecture is primarily pedagogical and directed to those with some, but not a deep, background in General RelativityComment: 28 pages, 10 figures, lecture given at Third Aegean Summer School, The Invisible Universe: Dark Matter and Dark Energy, minor errors corrected, references update

Configurations and decay hindrances of high- K states in Hf 180

Multi-quasiparticle high-K states, several of which are isomeric, were observed in Hf180 with the Gammasphere array. Lifetimes in the ns-μs range were determined using centroid-shift and decay measurements within a μs coincidence time window. The configurations of high-K states involve two and four quasiparticles, with states up to Kπ=(18-) established. High-K excitations are found to be progressively more favored with increasing excitation energy. The K quantum number is quite robust up to the highest spins observed, as evidenced by the large values of the reduced hindrance for isomeric decays. Rotational bands built on three high-K states are identified, and the measured branching ratios in these sequences enable the assignment of underlying configurations. Multi-quasiparticle calculations using the Lipkin-Nogami approach for pairing, with blocking included, reproduce the observed high-K energies quite well

A secreted PD-L1 splice variant that covalently dimerizes and mediates immunosuppression

Targeting immune checkpoint pathways, such as programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1, also known as CD274 or B7-H1) or its receptor programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) has shown improved survival for patients with numerous types of cancers, not limited to lung cancer, melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, and Hodgkin lymphoma. PD-L1 is a co-inhibitory molecule whose expression on the surface of tumor cells is associated with worse prognosis in many tumors. Here we describe a splice variant (secPD-L1) that does not splice into the transmembrane domain, but instead produces a secreted form of PD-L1 that has a unique 18 amino acid tail containing a cysteine that allows it to homodimerize and more effectively inhibit lymphocyte function than monomeric soluble PD-L1. We show that recombinant secPD-L1 can dimerize and inhibit T-cell proliferation and IFN-gamma production in vitro. The secPD-L1 variant is expressed by malignant cells in vitro that also express high levels of full-length PD-L1. Transcriptomic analysis of gene expression across The Cancer Genome Atlas found the strongest association of secPD-L1 with full-length PD-L1, but also with subsets of immunologic genes, such as in myeloid-derived suppressor cells. Moreover, the splice variant is also expressed in normal tissues and within normal peripheral blood cells it is preferentially expressed in activated myeloid cells. This is the first report of a form of secreted PD-L1 that homodimerizes and is functionally active. SecPD-L1 may function as a paracrine negative immune regulator within the tumor, since secPD-L1 does not require a cell-to-cell interaction to mediate its inhibitory effect

Saline in Acute Bronchiolitis RCT and Economic evaluation: hypertonic saline in acute bronchiolitis - randomised controlled trial and systematic review

BACKGROUND: Acute bronchiolitis is the most common cause of hospitalisation in infancy. Supportive care and oxygen are the cornerstones of management. A Cochrane review concluded that the use of nebulised 3% hypertonic saline (HS) may significantly reduce the duration of hospitalisation. OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that HS reduces the time to when infants were assessed as being fit for discharge, defined as in air with saturations of > 92% for 6 hours, by 25%. DESIGN: Parallel-group, pragmatic randomised controlled trial, cost-utility analysis and systematic review. SETTING: Ten UK hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: Infants with acute bronchiolitis requiring oxygen therapy were allocated within 4 hours of admission. INTERVENTIONS: Supportive care with oxygen as required, minimal handling and fluid administration as appropriate to the severity of the disease, 3% nebulised HS every ± 6 hours. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The trial primary outcome was time until the infant met objective discharge criteria. Secondary end points included time to discharge and adverse events. The costs analysed related to length of stay (LoS), readmissions, nebulised saline and other NHS resource use. Quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were estimated using an existing utility decrement derived for hospitalisation in children, together with the time spent in hospital in the trial. DATA SOURCES: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and other databases from inception or from 2010 onwards, searched ClinicalTrials.gov and other registries and hand-searched Chest, Paediatrics and Journal of Paediatrics to January 2015. REVIEW METHODS: We included randomised/quasi-randomised trials which compared HS versus saline (± adjunct treatment) or no treatment. We used a fixed-effects model to combine mean differences for LoS and assessed statistical heterogeneity using the I (2) statistic. RESULTS: The trial randomised 158 infants to HS (n = 141 analysed) and 159 to standard care (n = 149 analysed). There was no difference between the two arms in the time to being declared fit for discharge [median 76.6 vs. 75.9 hours, hazard ratio (HR) 0.95, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.75 to 1.20] or to actual discharge (median 88.5 vs. 88.7 hours, HR 0.97, 95% CI 0.76 to 1.23). There was no difference in adverse events. One infant developed bradycardia with desaturation associated with HS. Mean hospital costs were £2595 and £2727 for the control and intervention groups, respectively (p = 0.657). Incremental QALYs were 0.0000175 (p = 0.757). An incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of £7.6M per QALY gained was not appreciably altered by sensitivity analyses. The systematic review comprised 15 trials (n = 1922) including our own. HS reduced the mean LoS by -0.36 days (95% CI -0.50 to -0.22 days). High levels of heterogeneity (I (2) = 78%) indicate that the result should be treated cautiously. CONCLUSIONS: In this trial, HS had no clinical benefit on LoS or readiness for discharge and was not a cost-effective treatment for acute bronchiolitis. Claims that HS achieves small reductions in LoS must be treated with scepticism. FUTURE WORK: Well-powered randomised controlled trials of high-flow oxygen are needed. STUDY REGISTRATION: This study is registered as NCT01469845 and CRD42014007569. FUNDING DETAILS: This project was funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 19, No. 66. See the HTA programme website for further project information

Palaeoenvironmental control on distribution of crinoids in the Bathonian (Middle Jurassic) of England and France

Bulk sampling of a number of different marine and marginal marine lithofacies in the British Bathonian has allowed us to assess the palaeoenvironmental distribution of crinoids for the first time. Although remains are largely fragmentary, many species have been identified by comparison with articulated specimens from elsewhere, whilst the large and unbiased sample sizes allowed assessment of relative proportions of different taxa. Results indicate that distribution of crinoids well corresponds to particular facies. Ossicles of Chariocrinus and Balanocrinus dominate in deeper-water and lower-energy facies,with the former extending further into shallower-water facies than the latter. Isocrinus dominates in shallower water carbonate facies, accompanied by rarer comatulids, and was also present in the more marine parts of lagoons. Pentacrinites remains are abundant in very high-energy oolite shoal lithofacies. The presence of millericrinids within one, partly allochthonous lithofacies suggests the presence of an otherwise unknown hard substrate from which they have been transported. These results are compared to crinoid assemblages from other Mesozoic localities, and it is evident that the same morphological ad-aptations are present within crinoids from similar lithofacies throughout the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous