Doing research in immigration removal centres: ethics, emotions and impact

Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) are deeply contested institutions that rarely open their doors to independent research. In this article we discuss some of the complications we faced in conducting the first national study of everyday life in them. As we will set out, research relationships were difficult to forge due to low levels of trust, and unfamiliarity with academic research. At the same time, many participants had unrealistic expectations about our capacity to assist while most exhibited high levels of distress. We were not immune from the emotional burden of the field sites. Such matters were compounded by the limited amount of published information about life in IRCs and a lack of ethical guidelines addressing such places. Drawing on related literature from prison sociology, we use our experiences in IRCs to set out a methodological account of understanding, ethics, and impact within these complex sites

Advances in understanding bat infection dynamics across biological scales

Over the past two decades, research on bat-associated microbes such as viruses, bacteria and fungi has dramatically increased. Here, we synthesize themes from a conference symposium focused on advances in the research of bats and their microbes, including physiological, immunological, ecological and epidemiological research that has improved our understanding of bat infection dynamics at multiple biological scales. We first present metrics for measuring individual bat responses to infection and challenges associated with using these metrics. We next discuss infection dynamics within bat populations of the same species, before introducing complexities that arise in multi-species communities of bats, humans and/or livestock. Finally, we outline critical gaps and opportunities for future interdisciplinary work on topics involving bats and their microbes

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Minimally Invasive Surgery in Pediatric Surgical Oncology

The application of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) to resect pediatric solid tumors offers the potential for reduced postoperative morbidity with smaller wounds, less pain, fewer surgical site infections, decreased blood loss, shorter hospital stays, and less disruption to treatment regimens. However, significant controversy surrounds the question of whether a high-fidelity oncologic resection of childhood cancers can be achieved through MIS. This review outlines the diverse applications of MIS to treat pediatric malignancies, up to and including definitive resection. This work further summarizes the current evidence supporting the efficacy of MIS to accomplish a definitive, oncologic resection as well as appropriate patient selection criteria for the minimally invasive approach

Biological Drivers of Wilms Tumor Prognosis and Treatment

Prior to the 1950s, survival from Wilms tumor (WT) was less than 10%. Today, a child diagnosed with WT has a greater than 90% chance of survival. These gains in survival rates from WT are attributed largely to improvements in multimodal therapy: Enhanced surgical techniques leading to decreased operative mortality, optimization of more effective chemotherapy regimens (specifically, dactinomycin and vincristine), and inclusion of radiation therapy in treatment protocols. More recent improvements in survival, however, can be attributed to a growing understanding of the molecular landscape of Wilms tumor. Particularly, identification of biologic markers portending poor prognosis has facilitated risk stratification to tailor therapy that achieves the best possible outcome with the least possible toxicity. The aim of this review is to (1) outline the specific biologic markers that have been associated with prognosis in WT and (2) provide an overview of the current use of biologic and other factors to stratify risk and assign treatment accordingly

Mortality in Joubert syndrome

Joubert syndrome (JS) is a rare, recessively inherited neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a distinctive mid-hindbrain malformation. Little is known about mortality in affected individuals. Identifying the timing and causes of death will allow for development of healthcare guidelines for families and providers and, thus, help to prolong and improve the lives of patients with JS. We evaluated information on 40 deceased individuals with JS to characterize age and cause of death. We compared this population with 525 living individuals with JS to estimate associations between risk of death and extra-neurological features. Genetic causes were examined in both groups. Mean age of death in this cohort was 7.2 years, and the most prevalent causes of death were respiratory failure (35%), particularly in individuals younger than 6 years, and kidney failure (37.5%), which was more common in older individuals. We identified possible associations between risk of death and kidney disease, liver fibrosis, polydactyly, occipital encephalocele, and genetic cause. This work highlights factors (genetic cause, extra-neurological organ involvement, and other malformations) likely to be associated with higher risk of mortality in JS, which should prompt increased monitoring for respiratory issues, kidney disease, and liver fibrosis

A flexible Bayesian approach for estimating survival probabilities from age‐at‐harvest data

Abstract Understanding survival probabilities is critical for the sustainable harvest of wildlife and fisheries populations. Age‐ and stage class‐specific survival probabilities are needed to inform a suite of population models used to estimate abundance and track population trends. However, current techniques for estimating survival probabilities using age‐at‐harvest methods require restrictive assumptions or incorporate potentially unknown parameters within the model. Using a Bayesian approach, we developed a flexible age‐at‐harvest model that incorporates either age‐ or stage‐structured populations, while accounting for uncertainty in age structure, population growth rates and relative selectivity. Survival probabilities can vary by age or stage class, as well as by environmental covariates, and both population growth rates and selectivity for each age or stage class can be specified as fixed and known or these parameters can be specified as informative priors, allowing for the incorporation of expert opinion. We evaluated our model with simulations and empirical data from harvested bobcats Lynx rufus and American paddlefish Polyodon spathula. Models fit to simulated age‐at‐harvest data yielded unbiased estimates of survival probability when population growth rates and selectivity were centered on the data‐generating parameter. We obtained unbiased estimates of survival probability even with biased prior estimates of selectivity and random departures from the assumed stage distribution, although the latter increased uncertainty in those estimates. We found biased estimates of survival probability when the prior distribution for population growth rate was not centered on the data‐generating value. When fit to empirical harvest data, our proposed age‐at‐harvest model produced estimates of survival probability congruent to those reported in the literature within similar geographic regions. We demonstrate the utility of a novel age‐at‐harvest model that estimates survival probability and realistically account for uncertainty in model parameters, transcending the restrictive assumptions and auxiliary data requirements of other methods. Furthermore, we advise collecting information about population trends and age structure alongside age‐at‐harvest data to help reduce bias. Although our model cannot replace more rigorous methods, we believe our model will be transformative for wildlife and fisheries practitioners who collect age‐at‐harvest data to estimate age‐ or stage‐specific survival probabilities to help inform management decisions

Looking bad: Inferring criminality after 100 ms

Research finds we make spontaneous trait inferences from facial appearance, even after brief exposures to a face (i.e., ≤ 100 ms). We examined spontaneous impressions of criminality from facial appearance, testing whether these impressions persist after repeated presentation (i.e., one to three exposures) and increased exposure duration (100, 500, or 1000 ms) to the face. Judgement confidence and response times were recorded. Other participants viewed the faces for an unlimited period of time, rating trustworthiness dominance, and criminal appearance. We found evidence that participants spontaneously make criminal appearance attributions. These inferences persisted with repeated presentation and increased exposure duration, were related to trustworthiness and dominance ratings, and were made with high confidence. Implications are discussed