A view from above : changing seas, seabirds and food sources

In this review we summarize what is known about mechanisms by which climate change may be affecting the populations of seabirds around the UK. Breeding success and adult survival are the key factors affecting changes in seabird populations, and food intake is implicated as a major determinant of both. The diet of most UK seabird species is almost exclusively sandeels, small clupeoid fish or zooplankton and it is clear that the marine pelagic food web is the key ecological system determining food supply. Hence, we develop the review by first considering how climate changes may affect primary production, and then examine how this propagates through the food web to zooplankton and fish culminating in fluctuations in seabird numbers. A trend of increasing numbers of many seabird species since 1970, particularly puffins, guillemots and razorbills, appears to have been reversed since 2000. The proximate cause of the recent declines seems to be a succession of 5 years of low breeding success for a range of species due to a shortage of food, especially sandeels. However, the connection with climate change remains uncertain, though there are indications that declines in the productivity of sandeel populations may be linked in some complex way to warming sea temperatures. The main conclusion is that no part of the marine food web, including fisheries, can be considered in isolation when trying to understand and predict the consequences of climate change for seabirds. Impacts can be expected in all parts of the system, and all parts of the system are interconnected

Rapid, learning-induced inhibitory synaptogenesis in murine barrel field

The structure of neurons changes during development and in response to injury or alteration in sensory experience. Changes occur in the number, shape, and dimensions of dendritic spines together with their synapses. However, precise data on these changes in response to learning are sparse. Here, we show using quantitative transmission electron microscopy that a simple form of learning involving mystacial vibrissae results in approximately 70% increase in the density of inhibitory synapses on spines of neurons located in layer IV barrels that represent the stimulated vibrissae. The spines contain one asymmetrical (excitatory) and one symmetrical (inhibitory) synapse (double-synapse spines), and their density increases threefold as a result of learning with no apparent change in the density of asymmetrical synapses. This effect seems to be specific for learning because pseudoconditioning (in which the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli are delivered at random) does not lead to the enhancement of symmetrical synapses but instead results in an upregulation of asymmetrical synapses on spines. Symmetrical synapses of cells located in barrels receiving the conditioned stimulus also show a greater concentration of GABA in their presynaptic terminals. These results indicate that the immediate effect of classical conditioning in the "conditioned" barrels is rapid, pronounced, and inhibitory

Interventions for the treatment of oral and oropharyngeal cancers: surgical treatment.

BACKGROUND: Surgery is an important part of the management of oral cavity cancer with regard to both the removal of the primary tumour and removal of lymph nodes in the neck. Surgery is less frequently used in oropharyngeal cancer. Surgery alone may be treatment for early stage disease or surgery may be used in combination with radiotherapy, chemotherapy and immunotherapy/biotherapy. There is variation in the recommended timing and extent of surgery in the overall treatment regimens of people with these cancers. OBJECTIVES: To determine which surgical treatment modalities for oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers result in increased overall survival, disease free survival, progression free survival and reduced recurrence. SEARCH STRATEGY: The following electronic databases were searched: the Cochrane Oral Health Group Trials Register (to 17 February 2011), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2011, Issue 1), MEDLINE via OVID (1950 to 17 February 2011) and EMBASE via OVID (1980 to 17 February 2011). There were no restrictions regarding language or date of publication. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials where more than 50% of participants had primary tumours of the oral cavity or oropharynx, and which compared two or more surgical treatment modalities or surgery versus other treatment modalities. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Data extraction and assessment of risk of bias was undertaken independently by two or more review authors. Study authors were contacted for additional information as required. Adverse events data were collected from published trials. MAIN RESULTS: Seven trials (n = 669; 667 with cancers of the oral cavity) satisfied the inclusion criteria, but none were assessed as low risk of bias. Trials were grouped into three main comparisons. Four trials compared elective neck dissection (ND) with therapeutic neck dissection in patients with oral cavity cancer and clinically negative neck nodes, but differences in type of surgery and duration of follow-up made meta-analysis inappropriate. Three of these trials reported overall and disease free survival. One trial showed a benefit for elective supraomohyoid neck dissection compared to therapeutic ND in overall and disease free survival. Two trials found no difference between elective radical ND and therapeutic ND for the outcomes of overall survival and disease free survival. All four trials found reduced locoregional recurrence following elective ND.A further two trials compared elective radical ND with elective selective ND and found no difference in overall survival, disease free survival or recurrence. The final trial compared surgery plus radiotherapy to radiotherapy alone but data were unreliable because the trial stopped early and there were multiple protocol violations.None of the trials reported quality of life as an outcome. Two trials, evaluating different comparisons reported adverse effects of treatment. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Seven included trials evaluated neck dissection surgery in patients with oral cavity cancers. The review found weak evidence that elective neck dissection of clinically negative neck nodes at the time of removal of the primary tumour results in reduced locoregional recurrence, but there is insufficient evidence to conclude that elective neck dissection increases overall survival or disease free survival compared to therapeutic neck dissection. There is very weak evidence from one trial that elective supraomohyoid neck dissection may be associated with increased overall and disease free survival. There is no evidence that radical neck dissection increases overall survival compared to conservative neck dissection surgery. Reporting of adverse events in all trials was poor and it was not possible to compare the quality of life of patients undergoing different surgeries

Talking about weight in pregnancy : an exploration of practitioners' and women's perceptions

Prevalence of maternal obesity is increasing, with health risks for mother and infant. Effective health promotion depends on sufficient knowledge and appropriate communication skills. We aimed to explore women's, midwives' and health visitors' perceptions of current practice in helping women manage their weight and supporting healthy behaviour change during pregnancy, and their perceived training needs. A modified grounded theory methodology was adopted, based upon critical realist assumptions. Following consultation events with fifty six practitioners to inform data collection tools, twenty (different) practitioners and nine women participated in focus groups. Comparative analysis generated four themes: A core theme, “Discouraging discourses”, described health professionals’ negative beliefs and reactive approach to communicating about weight. “Staff resources” identified limitations in and requirements for practitioner knowledge, skills and tools for effective communication. “Contextual influences” were social factors, which hindered practitioners’ efforts to achieve healthy behaviour change. “Communicating as a Team” identified the importance of and challenges to a team approach. Findings have implications for weight management in pregnancy, practitioner resources, teamwork, and national health promotion campaigns

The influence of a full-time, immersive simulation-based clinical placement on physiotherapy student confidence during the transition to clinical practice

Background: Novice students may have limited learning opportunities during their early exposure to complex clinical environments, due to the priorities of patient care. Immersive, high-fidelity simulation provides an opportunity for physiotherapy students to be exposed to relatively complex scenarios in a safe learning environment before transitioning to the clinical setting. The present study evaluated the influence of immersive simulation on student confidence and competence. Methods: Sixty penultimate year physiotherapy students completed an 18-day full-time immersive simulation placement. The placement involved students spending 6 days working in each of three core practice areas (cardiopulmonary, musculoskeletal, neurological) in which they interacted with simulated patients portrayed by professional role-play actors. The patient scenarios were developed by groups of expert practitioners and incorporated full documentary and imaging information. Students completed a questionnaire to evaluate their confidence in the clinical environment at the start and completion of each 6-day rotation. Their clinical competence was evaluated at the end of each 6-day rotation using the Assessment of Physiotherapy Practice (APP) tool. In a secondary analysis, the clinical competence of this cohort was evaluated in comparison to a matched cohort of students from the same year group that had not completed an immersive simulation placement. Results: Student confidence improved significantly in each 6-day rotation (p < 0.001); however, it reduced again at the commencement of the next rotation, and there was no cumulative improvement in confidence over the 18-day placement (p = 0.22). Students who had completed the immersive simulation placement achieved higher APP (p < 0.001) scores in an evaluation of their competence to practice during their subsequent clinical placement. Conclusion: Immersive simulation provides a beneficial learning environment to enable physiotherapy students to transition from university-based education to working in the clinical environment

Behaviour and fate of nine recycled water trace organics during managed aquifer recharge in an aerobic aquifer

The fate of nine trace organic compounds was evaluated during a 12 month large-scale laboratory column experiment. The columns were packed with aquifer sediment and evaluated under natural aerobic and artificial anaerobic geochemical conditions, to assess the potential for natural attenuation of these compounds during aquifer passage associated with managed aquifer recharge (MAR). The nine trace organic compounds were bisphenol A (BPA), 17β-estradiol (E2), 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2), N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosomorpholine (NMOR), carbamazepine, oxazepam, iohexol and iodipamide. In the loworganic carbon content Spearwood sediment, all trace organicswere non-retardedwith retardation coefficients between 1.0 and 1.2, indicating that these compounds would travel at near groundwater velocities within the aquifer. The natural aerobic geochemical conditions provided a suitable environment for the rapid degradation for BPA, E2, iohexol (half life b1 day). Lag-times for the start of degradation of these compounds ranged from b15 to 30 days. While iodipamide was persistent under aerobic conditions, artificial reductive geochemical conditions promoted via the addition of ethanol, resulted in rapid degradation (half life b1 days). Pharmaceuticals (carbamazepine and oxazepam) and disinfection by-products (NDMA and NMOR) did not degrade under either aerobic or anaerobic aquifer geochemical conditions (half life N50 days). Field-based validation experiments with carbamazepine and oxazepam also showed no degradation. If persistent trace organics are present in recycled waters at concentrations in excess of their intended use, natural attenuation during aquifer passage alonemay not result in extracted watermeeting regulatory requirements. Additional pre treatment of the recycled water would therefore be required

The "Multimat" experiment at CERN HiRadMat facility: advanced testing of novel materials and instrumentation for HL-LHC collimators

The increase of the stored beam energy in future particle accelerators, such as the HL-LHC and the FCC, calls for a radical upgrade in the design, materials and instrumentation of Beam Intercepting Devices (BID), such as collimators Following successful tests in 2015 that validated new composite materials and a novel jaw design conceived for the HL-LHC collimators, a new HiRadMat experiment, named “HRMT36-MultiMat”, is scheduled for autumn 2017. Its objective is to determine the behaviour under high intensity proton beams of a broad range of materials relevant for collimators and beam intercepting devices, thin-film coatings and advanced equipment. The test bench features 16 separate target stations, each hosting various specimens, allowing the exploration of complex phenomena such as dynamic strength, internal damping, nonlinearities due to anisotropic inelasticity and inhomogeneity, effects of energy deposition and radiation on coatings. This paper details the main technical solutions and engineering calculations for the design of the test bench and of the specimens, the candidate target materials and the instrumentation system

Comparative analysis of homology models of the Ah receptor ligand binding domain: Verification of structure-function predictions by site-directed mutagenesis of a nonfunctional receptor

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a ligand-dependent transcription factor that mediates the biological and toxic effects of a wide variety of structurally diverse chemicals, including the toxic environmental contaminant 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). While significant interspecies differences in AHR ligand binding specificity, selectivity, and response have been observed, the structural determinants responsible for those differences have not been determined, and homology models of the AHR ligand-binding domain (LBD) are available for only a few species. Here we describe the development and comparative analysis of homology models of the LBD of 16 AHRs from 12 mammalian and nonmammalian species and identify the specific residues contained within their ligand binding cavities. The ligand-binding cavity of the fish AHR exhibits differences from those of mammalian and avian AHRs, suggesting a slightly different TCDD binding mode. Comparison of the internal cavity in the LBD model of zebrafish (zf) AHR2, which binds TCDD with high affinity, to that of zfAHR1a, which does not bind TCDD, revealed that the latter has a dramatically shortened binding cavity due to the side chains of three residues (Tyr296, Thr386, and His388) that reduce the amount of internal space available to TCDD. Mutagenesis of two of these residues in zfAHR1a to those present in zfAHR2 (Y296H and T386A) restored the ability of zfAHR1a to bind TCDD and to exhibit TCDD-dependent binding to DNA. These results demonstrate the importance of these two amino acids and highlight the predictive potential of comparative analysis of homology models from diverse species. The availability of these AHR LBD homology models will facilitate in-depth comparative studies of AHR ligand binding and ligand-dependent AHR activation and provide a novel avenue for examining species-specific differences in AHR responsiveness. © 2013 American Chemical Society

Are chimpanzees really so poor at understanding imperative pointing? Some new data and an alternative view of canine and ape social cognition

There is considerable interest in comparative research on different species’ abilities to respond to human communicative cues such as gaze and pointing. It has been reported that some canines perform significantly better than monkeys and apes on tasks requiring the comprehension of either declarative or imperative pointing and these differences have been attributed to domestication in dogs. Here we tested a sample of chimpanzees on a task requiring comprehension of an imperative request and show that, though there are considerable individual differences, the performance by the apes rival those reported in pet dogs. We suggest that small differences in methodology can have a pronounced influence on performance on these types of tasks. We further suggest that basic differences in subject sampling, subject recruitment and rearing experiences have resulted in a skewed representation of canine abilities compared to those of monkeys and apes