Re-introduction of the Mallorcan midwife toad, Mallorca, Spain

The Mallorcan midwife toad (Alytes muletensis, Sanchíz & Alcover, 1977) or ferreret was first described in the 1970s as Baleaphryne muletensis from upper Pleistocene fossils, and was considered extinct. The discovery of live tadpoles in 1980 led to further research which confirmed the species as extant and endemic to Mallorca (Mayol & Alcover, 1981). Subfossils suggest that the species was once widespread across the island, but today it is confined to a few gorges within the Serra de Tramuntana mountains in the north-west part of the island. There are currently about 34 populations within the mountains and adjacent areas (16 original wild populations plus 18 re-introductions). These are largely isolated from each other by physiographic barriers, but there is little evidence of any inbreeding depression. Re-introduction of captive bred toads started in 1989 and it is estimated that about 25% of the wild toads stem from captive bred stock. The successful re-introduction program contributed to the downgrading of the species from ‘Critically Endangered’ to ‘Vulnerable’ in the Global Amphibian Assessment of 2004. There is little evidence that wild populations are continuing to decline, but the recent discovery of chytridiomycosis in four populations gives cause for concern

Optimised Calibration, Registration and Tracking for Image Enhanced Surgical Navigation in ENT Operations

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

People’s experiences of conditional welfare support: the case of Prospera in Mexico

This thesis is an investigation into the lived experiences of people in poverty. Through the voices of beneficiaries of a conditional cash transfer programme in Mexico, it aims to explain the relationship between neoliberalism, social policy and poverty. To that end, it develops the mechanisms that connect the material hardships with the relational and symbolical experiences of poverty. The findings of this thesis evidence the specific forms in which conditioning government support on proving personal worth pushes people further away from society; from their control over their living conditions and ultimately from their power to lead a life of their own choosing. The results of this thesis evidence the reproduction of inequalities and the trapping of people living in worse off political, economic and symbolic conditions in poverty. The voices and experiences of research participants attest to the injuries of a “one-size-fits-all” approach to poverty alleviation

Get the right price every day

The purpose of this project is to manage restaurants using a software system called GRIPED (Get the Right Price Every day). The system is designed to cover quality control, food cost control and portion control for better management of a restaurant

First record of Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae) infected by the parasite Ascogregarina culicis (Ross) (Apicomplexa: Lecudinidae) in Argentina

n a survey for parasites and pathogens of Aedes aegypti conducted in La Plata, Argentina, an aseptate gregarine was found parasitizing larvae, pupae and adults of this mosquito species. This gregarine species was identified as Ascogregarina culicis based on the morphology and size of gamonts, gametocysts and oocysts. It is the first record of gregarine infections in culicids from ArgentinaFil: Dellapé, Mariana E.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores; ArgentinaFil: Marti, Gerardo Anibal. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores; ArgentinaFil: Tranchida, Maria Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores; ArgentinaFil: Garcia, Juan Jose. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores; Argentin

Trends in infant mortality in Venezuela between 1985 and 2016: a systematic analysis of demographic data

International audienceBackground: Between the 1950s and 2000, Venezuela showed one of the most substantial improvements in infant mortality rates in Latin America. However, the recent economic crisis alongside an increase in infectious and parasitic diseases might be reversing previous patterns. Because no official updated mortality statistics have been published since 2013, the effect of these recent events has been difficult to assess accurately. We therefore aimed to estimate infant mortality rate trends and report the effect of the crisis.Methods: We estimated infant mortality rates using direct methods (ie, death counts from Venezuelan Ministry of Health via yearbooks and notifiable diseases bulletins, and birth records published by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean and the Venezuelan National Institute of Statistics) and indirect methods (using census data and a Living Conditions Survey ENCOVI 2016). We shaped yearly estimations using a semiparametric regression model, specifically a P-Spline model with a cubic thin plate base. The primary objective was to estimate infant mortality rate trends from 1985 to 2016.Findings: Around 2009, the long-term decline in infant mortality rate stopped, and a new pattern of increase was observed. The infant mortality rate reached 21·1 deaths per 1000 livebirths (90% CI −17·8 to 24·3) in 2016, almost 1·4 times the rate of 2008 (15·0, −14·0 to 16·1). This increase represents a huge setback on previous achievements in reducing infant mortality.Interpretation: Our conservative estimation indicates that Venezuela is in the throes of a humanitarian crisis. The increase in infant mortality rate in 2016 compared with 2008 takes the country back to the level observed at the end of the 1990s, wiping out 18 years of expected progress, and leaves the Venezuelan Government far from achieving the target of nine deaths per 1000 livebirths stated in the UN Millennium Development Goals