Evolutionary neurobiology of exceptionally polymorphic ants

In polymorphic social insects, morphologically differentiated workers (subcastes) are thought to increase ergonomic efficiency by performing specialized tasks, thus enhancing colony-level fitness consequences of division of labor. Worker behavioral performance is thus considered to be coupled with morphology through selection for division of labor as an adaptive response to environmental challenges. Selective forces shape neuroanatomy by acting on behavior, presumably enabled by brain size and circuitry. Morphologically and behaviorally differentiated worker phenotypes are therefore predicted to reflect neuroanatomical differentiation in patterns of brain investment, and cellular organization in the brain is predicted to evolve in association with social roles. The extent to which morphology, brain structure, and behavior are coupled in insect societies within and across reproductive castes and worker subcastes, however, is unclear. Ant species that show exceptional worker size variation offer excellent systems to examine the adaptive evolution of physical subcastes, task specialization, and the social brain. Species from two sister myrmicine ant genera, Pheidole and Cephalotes, that exhibit remarkable variation in worker size and apparent task specialization were used as models to test hypotheses concerning the integration of morphology, neuroanatomy, and behavior within and between castes and worker subcastes. Investigations of the basal Pheidole rhea suggest the ancestral social organization of this genus was characterized by minor workers and polymorphic soldiers that have diverged in morphology and brain scaling relationships, but overlap in behavioral repertoire, aspects of task performance, and synaptic organization. In both P. dentata and P. morrisi, which differ in morphological and neuroanatomical specialization of subcastes, patterns of synaptic organization were consistent with experience-related synaptic pruning in association with age-, subcaste-, and species-specific behavioral differences. Similar patterns indicative of synaptic remodeling were found in Cephalotes varians, an exemplar of morphological and behavioral specialization. C. varians also displayed brain scaling relationships consistent with caste and subcaste neuroecology, supporting the developmental origin of soldiers as queen-worker intermediates. Together, these studies suggest relationships between morphological, neuroanatomical, and behavioral traits, and the extent of their specialization, vary in unexpected ways within and across myrmicine ant taxa.2018-11-08T00:00:00

Group-wise 3D registration based templates to study the evolution of ant worker neuroanatomy

The evolutionary success of ants and other social insects is considered to be intrinsically linked to division of labor and emergent collective intelligence. The role of the brains of individual ants in generating these processes, however, is poorly understood. One genus of ant of special interest is Pheidole, which includes more than a thousand species, most of which are dimorphic, i.e. their colonies contain two subcastes of workers: minors and majors. Using confocal imaging and manual annotations, it has been demonstrated that minor and major workers of different ages of three species of Pheidole have distinct patterns of brain size and subregion scaling. However, these studies require laborious effort to quantify brain region volumes and are subject to potential bias. To address these issues, we propose a group-wise 3D registration approach to build for the first time bias-free brain atlases of intra- and inter-subcaste individuals and automatize the segmentation of new individuals.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, preprint for conference (not reviewed

The development of task performance across the worker lifespan

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HWA Expanded Scopes of Practice program evaluation: Advanced Practice in Endoscopy Nursing sub-project: final report

The Advanced Practice in Endoscopy Nursing (APEN) sub-project was undertaken in response to a national trend of increasing demand for endoscopy services, in part due to the implementation of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program. The aim was to train nurses to perform endoscopic procedures previously only undertaken in Australia by doctors. Although new to Australia, nurse endoscopists are well established in the United Kingdom. Recently published evidence based on a systematic review of the literature indicates that nurses can achieve similar results for efficacy and safety to those achieved by doctors

AMP second national workshop. Asthma Management Program

Powerpoint presentation presented at the Asthma Management Program: Second National Workshop, Stamford Plaza Sydney Airport Hote

Outcomes of Care for 16,924 Planned Home Births in the United States: The Midwives Alliance of North America Statistics Project, 2004 to 2009

INTRODUCTION: Between 2004 and 2010, the number of home births in the United States rose by 41%, increasing the need for accurate assessment of the safety of planned home birth. This study examines outcomes of planned home births in the United States between 2004 and 2009. METHODS: We calculated descriptive statistics for maternal demographics, antenatal risk profiles, procedures, and outcomes of planned home births in the Midwives Alliance of North American Statistics Project (MANA Stats) 2.0 data registry. Data were analyzed according to intended and actual place of birth. RESULTS: Among 16,924 women who planned home births at the onset of labor, 89.1% gave birth at home. The majority of intrapartum transfers were for failure to progress, and only 4.5% of the total sample required oxytocin augmentation and/or epidural analgesia. The rates of spontaneous vaginal birth, assisted vaginal birth, and cesarean were 93.6%, 1.2%, and 5.2%, respectively. Of the 1054 women who attempted a vaginal birth after cesarean, 87% were successful. Low Apgar scores (< 7) occurred in 1.5% of newborns. Postpartum maternal (1.5%) and neonatal (0.9%) transfers were infrequent. The majority (86%) of newborns were exclusively breastfeeding at 6 weeks of age. Excluding lethal anomalies, the intrapartum, early neonatal, and late neonatal mortality rates were 1.30, 0.41, and 0.35 per 1000, respectively. DISCUSSION: For this large cohort of women who planned midwife-led home births in the United States, outcomes are congruent with the best available data from population-based, observational studies that evaluated outcomes by intended place of birth and perinatal risk factors. Low-risk women in this cohort experienced high rates of physiologic birth and low rates of intervention without an increase in adverse outcomes.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The article is copyrighted by the American College of Nurse-Midwives and published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. It can be found at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291542-2011.Keywords: pregnancy outcomes, home childbirth, midwifery, midwife, birth place, perinatal outcom

Development and Validation of a National Data Registry for Midwife-Led Births: The Midwives Alliance of North America Statistics Project 2.0 Dataset

INTRODUCTION: In 2004, the Midwives Alliance of North America's (MANA's) Division of Research developed a Web-based data collection system to gather information on the practices and outcomes associated with midwife-led births in the United States. This system, called the MANA Statistics Project (MANA Stats), grew out of a widely acknowledged need for more reliable data on outcomes by intended place of birth. This article describes the history and development of the MANA Stats birth registry and provides an analysis of the 2.0 dataset's content, strengths, and limitations. METHODS: Data collection and review procedures for the MANA Stats 2.0 dataset are described, along with methods for the assessment of data accuracy. We calculated descriptive statistics for client demographics and contributing midwife credentials, and assessed the quality of data by calculating point estimates, 95% confidence intervals, and kappa statistics for key outcomes on pre- and postreview samples of records. RESULTS: The MANA Stats 2.0 dataset (2004-2009) contains 24,848 courses of care, 20,893 of which are for women who planned a home or birth center birth at the onset of labor. The majority of these records were planned home births (81%). Births were attended primarily by certified professional midwives (73%), and clients were largely white (92%), married (87%), and college-educated (49%). Data quality analyses of 9932 records revealed no differences between pre- and postreviewed samples for 7 key benchmarking variables (kappa, 0.98-1.00). DISCUSSION: The MANA Stats 2.0 data were accurately entered by participants; any errors in this dataset are likely random and not systematic. The primary limitation of the 2.0 dataset is that the sample was captured through voluntary participation; thus, it may not accurately reflect population-based outcomes. The dataset's primary strength is that it will allow for the examination of research questions on normal physiologic birth and midwife-led birth outcomes by intended place of birth.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The article is copyrighted by the American College of Nurse-Midwives and published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. It can be found at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291542-2011.Keywords: registry, data collection, research design, birth center, cohort study, home childbirth, parturition, midwifer

Effectiveness of an Ultrasound Training Module for Internal Medicine Residents

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Few internal medicine residency programs provide formal ultrasound training. This study sought to assess the feasibility of simulation based ultrasound training among first year internal medicine residents and measure their comfort at effectively using ultrasound to perform invasive procedures before and after this innovative model of ultrasound training.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A simulation based ultrasound training module was implemented during intern orientation that incorporated didactic and practical experiences in a simulation and cadaver laboratory. Participants completed anonymous pre and post surveys in which they reported their level of confidence in the use of ultrasound technology and their comfort in identifying anatomic structures including: lung, pleural effusion, bowel, peritoneal cavity, ascites, thyroid, and internal jugular vein. Survey items were structured on a 5-point Likert scales (1 = extremely unconfident, 5 = extremely confident).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Seventy-five out of seventy-six interns completed the pre-intervention survey and 55 completed the post-survey. The mean confidence score (SD) increased to 4.00 (0.47) (p < 0.0001). The mean (SD) comfort ranged from 3.61 (0.84) for peritoneal cavity to 4.48 (0.62) for internal jugular vein. Confidence in identifying all anatomic structures showed an increase over the pre-intervention means (p < 0.002).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A simulation based ultrasound learning module can improve the self-reported confidence with which residents identify structures important in performing invasive ultrasound guided procedures. Incorporating an ultrasound module into residents' education may address perceived need for ultrasound training, improve procedural skills, and enhance patient safety.</p