From rainforest to oil palm plantations: shifts in predator population and prey communities, but resistant interactions

Anthropogenic habitat change can dramatically alter biotic communities in tropical landscapes. Species that persist in human dominated landscapes are therefore likely to modify the way they interact. Although human impacts on community composition are relatively well studied, changes in species interactions are less well documented. Here we assess how logging of rainforest and conversion to oil palm plantations affects the populations of the ant-specialist giant river toad (Phrynoidis juxtaspera), and the availability and composition of its ant prey. We measured canopy cover as an estimate for the degree of disturbance and found that toad abundance decreased with increasing disturbance, and that retaining riparian vegetation should therefore help conserve this species. Both abundance and species richness of local ground-foraging ants increased with disturbance, and ant community composition was altered. Despite these changes, composition of ants consumed by toads was only weakly affected by habitat change, with the exception of the invasive yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes), which was positively selected in oil palm plantations. This suggests that predator–prey interactions can be mostly maintained with habitat disturbance despite shifts in the community composition of potential prey, and even that some predators are capable of exploiting new prey sources in novel ecosystems

Toward a wiki guide for obstetrics and gynecology trainees in Ireland.

BACKGROUND: The present paper describes the implementation of a novel, web-based, comprehensive national information hub for trainees in obstetrics and gynecology in Ireland. This was a unique development in the context of an entire medical specialty and was aligned with the communication strategy of the governing professional body. To date, trainee doctors working in Ireland undergo an incoherent and inconsistent new-staff induction and handover. In the healthcare setting, staff integration can have a major impact on the quality of patient care. METHODS: A free wiki software platform (PBworks) was used for the website, and freely available software (Google Analytics) was used to determine user interaction and level of engagement. RESULTS: In the first year, 442 user visits were recorded. The average duration of site visits was 4minutes 39seconds, which compared favorably with the 4-minute duration for visits to Wikipedia. CONCLUSION: The project was successful as a proof concept and in practice. Other medical faculties have expressed an interest in adopting the concept and developing it for their trainees. The concept is widely applicable to other countries, with the negligible cost relevant to resource-poor areas

Variation in juvenile Chinook salmon diet composition and foraging success between two estuaries with contrasting land-use histories

The transition of juveniles from fresh water to estuarine and marine environments is a critical period in the life cycle of Pacific salmon, during which survival can be strongly size-selective. Because the amount and quality of food consumed are major determinants of juvenile salmon growth, successful acquisition of energy rich prey during estuarine residence is critical for survival. Humans have likely impacted the feeding relationships of juvenile salmon in estuaries by destroying estuarine wetlands and by altering the abundance of salmon in estuaries. While the estuarine foraging habits of juvenile salmon have been extensively examined, few studies have conducted quantitative comparisons between estuaries that have experienced different levels of human modification. However, comparisons between whole estuaries with different degrees of wetland loss and degradation may be a useful scale of analysis for the diet composition and consumption rates of mobile consumers such as juvenile salmon. To improve our understanding of the effects of wetland loss and conspecific density on juvenile Chinook salmon consumption rate and diet composition in estuaries, we assembled Chinook salmon density and diet data from two Salish Sea estuaries with dramatically different levels of wetland loss and modification. We compared juvenile Chinook salmon diet composition, diet energy density, and instantaneous ration (a proxy for consumption rate) between the two estuaries. We also evaluated the effect of conspecific density on instantaneous ration. We found significant differences in diet composition between juvenile Chinook salmon in the two estuaries, but little difference in instantaneous ration or diet energy density. However, in the highly modified estuary, conspecific density had a significant, negative effect on instantaneous ration, while in the more natural estuary there was little effect on instantaneous ration. These findings suggest that wetland loss may interact with salmon density to constrain the consumption rates of juvenile salmon in estuaries, with resulting consequences for growth and survival

A longitudinal cohort study investigating inadequate preparation and death and dying in nursing students: Implications for the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic

Aims and objectives To investigate how changes in the levels of preparedness and experiences of death and dying influence nursing students’ mental health. Background The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to cause significant trauma in the nursing population. The lack of preparation, in combination with a substantial loss of life, may have implications for the longer-term mental health of the nursing workforce. Nursing students have, in many cases, been an important part of the emergency response. Design A longitudinal cohort study was conducted in the academic year 2014/15 with data collected at two time points. There was a seven-month time period between data collection. Methods Participants completed paper-based questionnaires measuring demographics, academic stressors, clinical stressors, and mental health. 358 nursing students at time point one and 347 at time point two (97% retention) completed the survey. Results Inadequate preparation (OR: 1.783) and the inadequate preparation x death and dying interaction term (OR: 4.115) significantly increased risk of mental health problems over time. Increased death and dying alone did not increase mental health risk. Conclusions The results of this study suggest that it is not the increase in death and dying per se that causes mental health difficulties, but that it is instead the experience of high levels of death and dying in combination with inadequate preparation. The data are considered within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, with both inadequate preparation and the scale of death and dying being two significant stressors during the emergency period

Stres na radu i zdravlje medicinskih sestara u jedinicama intenzivne njege u Srbiji

The aim of this study was to identify and analyse professional stressors, evaluate the level of stress in nurses in Intensive Care Units (ICU), and assess the correlation between the perception of stress and psychological and somatic symptoms or diseases shown by nurses. The research, designed as a crosssectional study, was carried out in the Intensive Care Units (ICU), in health centres in Serbia. The sample population encompassed 1000 nurses. Expanded Nursing Stress Scale (ENSS) was used as the research instrument. ENSS revealed a valid metric characteristic within our sample population. Nurses from ICUs rated situations involving physical and psychological working environments as the most stressful ones, whereas situations related to social working environment were described as less stressful; however, the differences in the perception of stressfulness of these environments were minor. Socio-demographic determinants of the participants (age, marital status and education level) significantly affected the perception of stress at work. Significant differences in the perception of stressfulness of particular stress factors were observed among nurses with respect to psychological and somatic symptoms (such as headache, insomnia, fatigue, despair, lower back pain, mood swings etc.) and certain diseases (such as hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke, diabetes mellitus etc). In view of permanent escalation of professional stressors, creating a supportive working environment is essential for positive health outcomes, prevention of job-related diseases and better protection of already ill nurses.Cilj je ovoga rada bio identifi cirati i analizirati profesionalne stresore, procijeniti razinu stresa kod medicinskih sestara u jedinicama intenzivne njege te procijeniti korelaciju između percepcije stresa i prisutnosti psiholoških i somatskih simptoma ili bolesti kod medicinskih sestara. Istraživanje je provedeno u obliku studije presjeka u Jedinicama intenzivne njege u zdravstvenim centrima u Srbiji. Uzorak se sastojao od 1000 medicinskih sestara-tehničara. Za procjenu i analizu profesionalnih stresora korišten je upitnik Expanded Nursing Stress Scale (ENSS), koji je pokazao validne metrijske karakteristike na našoj ispitanoj populaciji. Medicinske sestre u Jedinicama intenzivne njege ocijenile su situacije iz fizičkoga i psihološkoga radnog okruženja kao izrazito opterećujuće, a situacije iz socijalnoga radnog okruženja kao manje opterećujuće. Razlika u percepciji stresogenosti navedenih radnih okruženja nije bila statistički značajna. Sociodemografske determinante ispitanika (dob, bračno stanje i stupanj obrazovanja) značajno utječu na percepciju stresa na radnom mjestu. Utvrđena je statistički značajna razlika u opažanju stresogenosti pojedinih stresnih situacija na radnom mjestu između medicinskih sestara u odnosu na postojanje psihosomatskih simptoma (kao što su glavobolja, nesanica, umor, očaj, bol u leđima, česte promjene raspoloženja) ili određenih bolesti (kao što su povišena hipertenzija, infarkt miokarda, cerebrovaskularni inzult, šećerna bolest). Zbog sve izraženije prisutnosti profesionalnih stresora nužno je poduzeti određene strateške mjere kod medicinskih sestara u Jedinicama intenzivne njege. Strateške mjere podrazumijevaju unaprjeđenje psihosocijalne radne klime, što bi unaprijedilo njihovo zdravlje i spriječilo nastanak bolesti u svezi s radom, ali i omogućilo bolju zaštitu već oboljelim medicinskim sestrama

Effects of a 105 hours psychological training program on attitudes, communication skills and occupational stress in oncology: a randomised study

There is today a wide consensus regarding the need to improve communication skills (CS) of health-care professionals (HCPs) dealing with cancer patients. Psychological training programs (PTPs) may be useful to acquire the needed CS. Testing the efficacy of PTP will allow to define their optimal content. The present study was designed to assess the impact of a PTP on HCP stress, attitudes and CS, and on HCP and patients' satisfaction with HCP communication skills in a randomised study. A total of 115 oncology nurses were randomly assigned to a 105-h PTP or to a waiting list. Stress was assessed with the Nursing Stress Scale, attitudes with a Semantic Differential Questionnaire, CS used during one simulated and one actual patient interview with the Cancer Research Campaign Workshop Evaluation Manual, and satisfaction with the nurses' CS with a questionnaire completed by the patients and the nurses. Trained (TG) and control (CG) groups were compared at baseline, after 3 months (just following training for TG) and after 6 months (3 months after the end of training for TG). Compared to controls, trained nurses reported positive changes on their stress levels (P</=0.05) and on their attitudes (P</=0.05). Positive training effects were found on CS used during the simulated interview: a significant increase in facilitative behaviours (open questions: P</=0.001; evaluative functions: P</=0.05) and a significant decrease in inhibitory behaviours (inappropriate information: P</=0.01; false reassurance: P</=0.05). Less positive training effects were found regarding interviews with a cancer patient: a significant increase in educated guesses (P</=0.001) was noticed. No training effect was observed on nurses' satisfaction levels, but a positive training effect was found on patients' satisfaction levels (P</=0.01). Although results outline PTP efficacy, they indicate the need to design PTP, amplifying the transfer of learned CS to clinical practice.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Xenoandrogenic Activity in Serum Differs across European and Inuit Populations

Background: Animal and in vitro studies have indicated that human male reproductive disorders can arise as a result of disrupted androgen receptor (AR) signalling by persistent organic pollutants (POPs) . Our aim in the present study was to compare serum xenoandrogenic activity between study groups with different POP exposures and to evaluate correlations to the POP proxy markers 2,2\ub4,4,4\ub4,5,5\ub4-hexachlorobiphenyl (CB-153) and 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl) -ethylene (p,p\ub4-DDE) .Methods: We determined xenoandrogenic activity in the serum fraction containing the lipophilic POPs but free of endogenous hormones. Adult male serum (n = 261) from Greenland, Sweden, Warsaw (Poland) , and Kharkiv (Ukraine) was analyzed. Xenoandrogenic activity was determined as the effect of serum extract alone (XAR) and in the presence of the synthetic AR agonist R1881 (XARcomp) on AR transactivated luciferase activity.Results: The study groups differed significantly with respect to XARcomp activity, which was increased in the Inuits and decreased in the European study groups ; we observed no difference for XAR activity. We found the highest level of the AR antagonist p,p\ub4-DDE in Kharkiv, and accordingly, this study group showed the highest percent of serum samples with decreased XARcomp activities. Furthermore, the percentage of serum samples with decreased XARcomp activities followed the p,p\ub4-DDE serum level for the European study groups. No correlations between serum XAR or XARcomp activities and the two POP markers were revealed.Conclusions: The differences in XARcomp serum activity between the study groups suggest differences in chemical exposure profiles, genetics, and/or lifestyle factors

The Build-up of the Colour-Magnitude Relation as a Function of Environment

We discuss the environmental dependence of galaxy evolution based on deep panoramic imaging of two distant clusters taken with Suprime-Cam as part of the PISCES project. By combining with the SDSS data as a local counterpart for comparison, we construct a large sample of galaxies that spans wide ranges in environment, time, and stellar mass (or luminosity). We find that colours of galaxies, especially those of faint galaxies ($M_V>M_V^*+1$), change from blue to red at a break density as we go to denser regions. Based on local and global densities of galaxies, we classify three environments: field, groups, and clusters. We show that the cluster colour-magnitude relation is already built at $z=0.83$. In contrast to this, the bright-end of the field colour-magnitude relation has been vigorously built all the way down to the present-day and the build-up at the faint-end has not started yet. A possible interpretation of these results is that galaxies evolve in the 'down-sizing' fashion. That is, massive galaxies complete their star formation first and the truncation of star formation is propagated to smaller objects as time progresses. This trend is likely to depend on environment since the build-up of the colour-magnitude relation is delayed in lower-density environments. Therefore, we may suggest that the evolution of galaxies took place earliest in massive galaxies and in high density regions, and it is delayed in less massive galaxies and in lower density regions.Comment: 23pages, 19 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Organisational Change Stressors and Nursing Job Satisfaction: The Mediating Effect of Coping Strategies

Aim: To examine the mediating effect of coping strategies on the consequences of nursing and non-nursing (administrative) stressors on the job satisfaction of nurses during change management. Background Organisational change can result in an increase in nursing and non-nursing-related stressors, which can have a negative impact on the job satisfaction of nurses employed in health-care organisations. Method: Matched data were collected in 2009 via an online survey at two time-points (six months apart).Results: Partial least squares path analysis revealed a significant causal relationship between Time 1 administrative and role stressors and an increase in nursing-specific stressors in Time 2. A significant relationship was also identified between job-specific nursing stressors and the adoption of effective coping strategies to deal with increased levels of change-induced stress and strain and the likelihood of reporting higher levels of job satisfaction in Time 2.Conclusions: The effectiveness of coping strategies is critical in helping nurses to deal with the negative consequences of organisational change. Implications for nursing management: This study shows that there is a causal relationship between change, non-nursing stressors and job satisfaction. Senior management should implement strategies aimed at reducing nursing and nonnursing stress during change in order to enhance the job satisfaction of nurses

Primordialists and Constructionists: a typology of theories of religion

This article adopts categories from nationalism theory to classify theories of religion. Primordialist explanations are grounded in evolutionary psychology and emphasize the innate human demand for religion. Primordialists predict that religion does not decline in the modern era but will endure in perpetuity. Constructionist theories argue that religious demand is a human construct. Modernity initially energizes religion, but subsequently undermines it. Unpacking these ideal types is necessary in order to describe actual theorists of religion. Three distinctions within primordialism and constructionism are relevant. Namely those distinguishing: a) materialist from symbolist forms of constructionism; b) theories of origins from those pertaining to the reproduction of religion; and c) within reproduction, between theories of religious persistence and secularization. This typology helps to make sense of theories of religion by classifying them on the basis of their causal mechanisms, chronology and effects. In so doing, it opens up new sightlines for theory and research