Exploring the attitudes to and uptake of biosecurity practices for invasive non-native species: views amongst stakeholder organisations working in UK natural environments

Invasions by invasive non-native species (INNS) can have profound consequences for natural environments, impacting on biodiversity and the biophysical landscape in ways that can endanger other species, human wellbeing and infrastructure. The financial costs of dealing with established INNS populations can be extremely high. Biosecurity measures (simple procedures designed to reduce the risk of human activities spreading INNS to new areas) are being promoted in order to minimize these negative impacts and associated costs. This paper reports on research undertaken with stakeholder organisations that operate within UK natural environments. It aims to evaluate stakeholder perceptions of their role in INNS biosecurity practice in the UK, and the implications of this for INNS strategy more broadly. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with organisation representatives to explore current practices and communications about INNS and perceptions of barriers and opportunities to implement better biosecurity. Whilst participants generally agreed on the need for biosecurity, there were variations among participants in levels of knowledge about INNS (related to background) and the capacity of organisations to engage in biosecurity practices (related to organisational size). Critical barriers to biosecurity were identified as costs, lack of clear guidance, difficulties changing attitudes and implementing collective responsibility, and reactionary versus precautionary approaches. As a result, partnership working on INNS is difficult and action tends to focus on individual species perceived as the most threatening to a particular organisations’ interests. In this way, action on INNS biosecurity faces the kinds of barriers that are common to many environmental problems where individuals/organisations prioritise self-interest despite the potential to obtain greater benefits if collective action could be achieved

Double Parton Scattering Singularity in One-Loop Integrals

We present a detailed study of the double parton scattering (DPS) singularity, which is a specific type of Landau singularity that can occur in certain one-loop graphs in theories with massless particles. A simple formula for the DPS singular part of a four-point diagram with arbitrary internal/external particles is derived in terms of the transverse momentum integral of a product of light cone wavefunctions with tree-level matrix elements. This is used to reproduce and explain some results for DPS singularities in box integrals that have been obtained using traditional loop integration techniques. The formula can be straightforwardly generalised to calculate the DPS singularity in loops with an arbitrary number of external particles. We use the generalised version to explain why the specific MHV and NMHV six-photon amplitudes often studied by the NLO multileg community are not divergent at the DPS singular point, and point out that whilst all NMHV amplitudes are always finite, certain MHV amplitudes do contain a DPS divergence. It is shown that our framework for calculating DPS divergences in loop diagrams is entirely consistent with the `two-parton GPD' framework of Diehl and Schafer for calculating proton-proton DPS cross sections, but is inconsistent with the `double PDF' framework of Snigirev.Comment: 29 pages, 8 figures. Minor corrections and clarifications added. Version accepted for publication in JHE

Observation of the Nernst signal generated by fluctuating Cooper pairs

Long-range order is destroyed in a superconductor warmed above its critical temperature (Tc). However, amplitude fluctuations of the superconducting order parameter survive and lead to a number of well established phenomena such as paraconductivity : an excess of charge conductivity due to the presence of short-lived Cooper pairs in the normal state. According to an untested theory, these pairs generate a transverse thermoelectric (Nernst) signal. In amorphous superconducting films, the lifetime of Cooper pairs exceeds the elastic lifetime of quasi-particles in a wide temperature range above Tc; consequently, the Cooper pairs Nernst signal dominate the response of the normal electrons well above Tc. In two dimensions, the magnitude of the expected signal depends only on universal constants and the superconducting coherence length, so the theory can be unambiguously tested. Here, we report on the observation of a Nernst signal in such a superconductor traced deep into the normal state. Since the amplitude of this signal is in excellent agreement with the theoretical prediction, the result provides the first unambiguous case for a Nernst effect produced by short-lived Cooper pairs

Use of health services in the last year of life and cause of death in people with intellectual disability: A retrospective matched cohort study

Objective: To describe the cause of death together with emergency department presentations and hospital admissions in the last year of life of people with intellectual disability. Method: A retrospective matched cohort study using de-identified linked data of people aged 20 years or over, with and without intellectual disability who died during 2009 to 2013 in Western Australia. Emergency department presentations and hospital admissions in the last year of life of people with intellectual disability are described along with cause of death. Results: Of the 63 508 deaths in Western Australia from 2009 to 2013, there were 591 (0.93%) decedents with a history of intellectual disability. Decedents with intellectual disability tended to be younger, lived in areas of more social disadvantage, did not have a partner and were Australian born compared with all other decedents. A matched comparison cohort of decedents without intellectual disability (n=29 713) was identified from the general population to improve covariate balance. Decedents with intellectual disability attended emergency departments more frequently than the matched cohort (mean visits 3.2 vs 2.5) and on average were admitted to hospital less frequently (mean admissions 4.1 vs 6.1), but once admitted stayed longer (average length of stay 5.2 days vs 4.3 days). People with intellectual disability had increased odds of presentation, admission or death from conditions that have been defined as ambulatory care sensitive and are potentially preventable. These included vaccine-preventable respiratory disease, asthma, cellulitis and convulsions and epilepsy. Conclusion: People with intellectual disability were more likely to experience potentially preventable conditions at the end of their lives. This indicates a need for further improvements in access, quality and coordination of healthcare to provide optimal health for this group

The effect of the “rod-and-frame” illusion on grip planning in a sequential object manipulation task

We investigated the effect of visual context (i.e., a visual illusion) on the planning of a sequential object manipulation task. Participants (n = 13) had to grasp a rod embedded in a “rod-and-frame” illusion and insert the rod-end into a tight hole in a pre-defined way. The grip type (defined by start posture, either pronated or supinated; and end posture, either comfortable or uncomfortable) used to grasp the rod was registered as a macroscopic variable of motor planning. Different rod orientations forced the participants to switch between grip types. As expected, most participants switched between pronated and supinated start postures, such that they ended the movement with a comfortable end posture. As it has been argued that planning is dependent on visual context information, we hypothesized that the visual illusion would affect the specific rod orientation at which participants would switch into a different grip type. This hypothesis was confirmed. More specifically, the illusion affected the critical spatial information that is used for action planning. Collectively, these findings are the first to show an effect of an illusion on motor planning in a sequential object manipulation task

OMA orthology in 2021: website overhaul, conserved isoforms, ancestral gene order and more

OMA is an established resource to elucidate evolutionary relationships among genes from currently 2326 genomes covering all domains of life. OMA provides pairwise and groupwise orthologs, functional annotations, local and global gene order conservation (synteny) information, among many other functions. This update paper describes the reorganisation of the database into gene-, group- and genome-centric pages. Other new and improved features are detailed, such as reporting of the evolutionarily best conserved isoforms of alternatively spliced genes, the inferred local order of ancestral genes, phylogenetic profiling, better cross-references, fast genome mapping, semantic data sharing via RDF, as well as a special coronavirus OMA with 119 viruses from the Nidovirales order, including SARS-CoV-2, the agent of the COVID-19 pandemic. We conclude with improvements to the documentation of the resource through primers, tutorials and short videos. OMA is accessible at https://omabrowser.org

Moving conferences online: lessons learned from an international virtual meeting

We consider the opportunities and challenges associated with organizing a conference online, using a case study of a medium-sized (approx. 400 participants) international conference held virtually in August 2020. In addition, we present quantifiable evidence of the participants' experience using the results from an online post-conference questionnaire. Although the virtual meeting was not able to replicate the in-person experience in some aspects (e.g. less engagement between participants) the overwhelming majority of respondents found the meeting an enjoyable experience and would join similar events again. Notably, there was a strong desire for future in-person meetings to have at least some online component. Online attendance by lower-income researchers was higher compared with a past, similar-themed in-person meeting held in a high-income nation, but comparable to one held in an upper-middle-income nation. This indicates that online conferences are not a panacea for diversity and inclusivity, and that holding in-person meetings in developing economies can be at least as effective. Given that it is now relatively easy to stream contents of meetings online using low-cost methods, there are clear benefits in making all presented content accessible online, as well as organizing online networking events for those unable to attend in person

Correlated fragile site expression allows the identification of candidate fragile genes involved in immunity and associated with carcinogenesis

Common fragile sites (cfs) are specific regions in the human genome that are particularly prone to genomic instability under conditions of replicative stress. Several investigations support the view that common fragile sites play a role in carcinogenesis. We discuss a genome-wide approach based on graph theory and Gene Ontology vocabulary for the functional characterization of common fragile sites and for the identification of genes that contribute to tumour cell biology. CFS were assembled in a network based on a simple measure of correlation among common fragile site patterns of expression. By applying robust measurements to capture in quantitative terms the non triviality of the network, we identified several topological features clearly indicating departure from the Erdos-Renyi random graph model. The most important outcome was the presence of an unexpected large connected component far below the percolation threshold. Most of the best characterized common fragile sites belonged to this connected component. By filtering this connected component with Gene Ontology, statistically significant shared functional features were detected. Common fragile sites were found to be enriched for genes associated to the immune response and to mechanisms involved in tumour progression such as extracellular space remodeling and angiogenesis. Our results support the hypothesis that fragile sites serve a function; we propose that fragility is linked to a coordinated regulation of fragile genes expression.Comment: 18 pages, accepted for publication in BMC Bioinformatic

The association of impaired semen quality and pregnancy rates in assisted reproduction technology cycles: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Some studies suggest a relationship between semen quality and pregnancy rates of assisted reproduction technologies (ART). Others have questioned the utility of semen quality as proxy for fertility in couples attempting to conceive with or without assistance. We aimed to investigate the current body of evidence which correlates semen parameters and clinical pregnancy among couples utilizing ART (i.e. in vitro fertilization [IVF], intracytoplasmic sperm injection [ICSI]) through a systematic review and meta-analysis of cross-sectional and retrospective cohort studies. Pooled Odd Ratio (OR) for oligo-, astheno- and teratospermic compared to normospermic number of ART cycles were calculated among. Meta-regression and sub-group analysis were implemented to model the contribution of clinical/demographic and laboratory standards differences among the studies. Overall, 17 studies were analysed representing 17,348 cycles were analysed. Pooled OR for impaired sperm concentration, motility and morphology was 1 (95%Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.97-1.03), 0.88 (95%CI: 0.73-1.03) and 0.88 (95%CI: 0.75-1) respectively. Further analysis on sperm morphology showed no differences with regard of IVF versus ICSI (p = 0.14) nor a significant correlation with rising reference thresholds (Coeff: -0.02, p = 0.38). A temporal trend towards a null association between semen parameters and clinical pregnancy was observed over the 20-year observation period (Coeff: 0.01, p = 0.014). The current analysis found no association between semen quality (as measured by concentration, motility or morphology) and clinical pregnancy rates utilizing ART. Future investigations are necessary to explore the association between semen parameters and other ART outcomes (e.g. fertilization, implantation, birth and perinatal health)

Effective suckling in relation to naked maternal-infant body contact in the first hour of life: an observation study

Background Best practice guidelines to promote breastfeeding suggest that (i) mothers hold their babies in naked body contact immediately after birth, (ii) babies remain undisturbed for at least one hour and (iii) breastfeeding assistance be offered during this period. Few studies have closely observed the implementation of these guidelines in practice. We sought to evaluate these practices on suckling achievement within the first hour after birth. Methods Observations of seventy-eight mother-baby dyads recorded newborn feeding behaviours, the help received by mothers and birthing room practices each minute, for sixty minutes. Results Duration of naked body contact between mothers and their newborn babies varied widely from 1 to 60 minutes, as did commencement of suckling (range = 10 to 60 minutes). Naked maternal-infant body contact immediately after birth, uninterrupted for at least thirty minutes did not predict effective suckling within the first hour of birth. Newborns were four times more likely to sustain deep rhythmical suckling when their chin made contact with their mother’s breast as they approached the nipple (OR 3.8; CI 1.03 - 14) and if their mothers had given birth previously (OR 6.7; CI 1.35 - 33). Infants who had any naso-oropharyngeal suctioning administered at birth were six times less likely to suckle effectively (OR .176; CI .04 - .9). Conclusion Effective suckling within the first hour of life was associated with a collection of practices including infants positioned so their chin can instinctively nudge the underside of their mother’s breast as they approach to grasp the nipple and attach to suckle. The best type of assistance provided in the birthing room that enables newborns to sustain an effective latch was paying attention to newborn feeding behaviours and not administering naso-oropharyngeal suction routinely