First Scarab Host for \u3ci\u3eStrongygaster Triangulifer\u3c/i\u3e (Diptera: Tachinidae): the Dung Beetle, \u3ci\u3eAphodius Fimetarius\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

We report Strongygaster (=Hyalomyodes ) triangulifer as a solitary primary parasite of the adult introduced dung beetle, Aphodius fimetarius. This is the first record of this tachinid fly parastizing scarab

Design for subjective wellbeing: towards a design framework for constructing narrative

We explore the role that interaction with products and services can play in the narratives that we develop about ourselves. We propose a four-level model, which seeks to explain this and use it as the basis for analyzing eight immersion studies. In each, we investigate the role that products and services play in shaping narratives, which in turn reflect our self-identity. We also look at archetypes – the various ideals that we can have about ourselves – and at how the alignment of narratives with these enhances our wellbeing. The model offers the potential to link narrative to design features and to identify new market opportunities. However, we recognize there may be challenges in enabling people to articulate narrative and identify their ideal archetype

Speech and language therapy versus placebo or no intervention for speech problems in Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease patients commonly suffer from speech and vocal problems including dysarthric speech, reduced loudness and loss of articulation. These symptoms increase in frequency and intensity with progression of the disease). Speech and language therapy (SLT) aims to improve the intelligibility of speech with behavioural treatment techniques or instrumental aids

Asymmetries of dual enlargement: from the Baltics to the Balkans

Dual enlargement of the EU and NATO has the potential to generate asymmetric security impacts within Euro-Atlantic region. The room for asymmetric impacts are between existing NATO and EU member states, between new and old NATO and EU members; between three security policies, between EU and NATO member states and those that will integrate in the year 2004

SenseMap: supporting browser-based online sensemaking through analytic provenance

Sensemaking is described as the process in which people collect, organize and create representations of information, all centered around some problem they need to understand. People often get lost when solving complicated tasks using big datasets over long periods of exploration and analysis. They may forget what they have done, are unaware of where they are in the context of the overall task, and are unsure where to continue. In this paper, we introduce a tool, SenseMap, to address these issues in the context of browser-based online sensemaking. We conducted a semi-structured interview with nine participants to explore their behaviors in online sensemaking with existing browser functionality. A simplified sensemaking model based on Pirolli and Card's model is derived to better represent the behaviors we found: users iteratively collect information sources relevant to the task, curate them in a way that makes sense, and finally communicate their findings to others. SenseMap automatically captures provenance of user sensemaking actions and provides multi-linked views to visualize the collected information and enable users to curate and communicate their findings. To explore how SenseMap is used, we conducted a user study in a naturalistic work setting with five participants completing the same sensemaking task related to their daily work activities. All participants found the visual representation and interaction of the tool intuitive to use. Three of them engaged with the tool and produced successful outcomes. It helped them to organize information sources, to quickly find and navigate to the sources they wanted, and to effectively communicate their findings

Preferred practice location at medical school commencement strongly determines graduates’ rural preferences and work locations

Abstract: Objective: To identify factors influencing whether Australian medical graduates prefer to, or actually, work rurally Design: Secondary analysis of longitudinal data from the Medical Schools Outcomes Database (MSOD) using univariate and multivariate logistic regression. Setting: Twenty Australian medical schools. Participants: Australian or New Zealand citizens and Australian permanent residents who completed MSOD questionnaires between 2006 and 2013. Main outcome measures: Preferred and actual work locations one (PGY1) and three (PGY3) years post-graduation. Results: Of 20,784 participants, 4028 completed a PGY1 and/or PGY3 questionnaire. Self-reported preference for rural practice location at medical school commencement was the most consistent independent predictor of whether a graduate would have a rural location preference at PGY1 (odds ratio [OR] 6.07, 95% CI 4.91-7.51) and PGY3 (OR 7.95, 95% CI 4.93-12.84), and work rurally during PGY1 (OR 1.38, 95% CI 1.01-1.88) and PGY3 (OR 1.86, 95% CI 1.30-2.64). The effect of preferred practice location at medical school commencement is independent of, and enhances the effect of, rural background. Graduates of graduate-entry programs or with dependent children were less likely to have worked rurally during PGY1 and PGY3, respectively. Conclusion: The most consistent factor associated with rural preferences and work location was students’ preferred location of practice at medical school commencement; this association is independent of, and enhances the effect of, rural background. Better understanding of what determines rural preference at medical school commencement and its influence on rural workplace outcomes beyond PGY3 is required to inform Australian medical school selection policies and rural health curricula

Tonic inhibition of accumbal spiny neurons by extrasynaptic 4 GABAA receptors modulates the actions of psychostimulants

Within the nucleus accumbens (NAc), synaptic GABAA receptors (GABAARs) mediate phasic inhibition of medium spiny neurons (MSNs) and influence behavioral responses to cocaine. We demonstrate that both dopamine D1- and D2-receptor-expressing MSNs (D-MSNs) additionally harbor extrasynaptic GABAARs incorporating α4, β, and δ subunits that mediate tonic inhibition, thereby influencing neuronal excitability. Both the selective δ-GABAAR agonist THIP and DS2, a selective positive allosteric modulator, greatly increased the tonic current of all MSNs from wild-type (WT), but not from δ−/− or α4−/− mice. Coupling dopamine and tonic inhibition, the acute activation of D1 receptors (by a selective agonist or indirectly by amphetamine) greatly enhanced tonic inhibition in D1-MSNs but not D2-MSNs. In contrast, prolonged D2 receptor activation modestly reduced the tonic conductance of D2-MSNs. Behaviorally, WT and constitutive α4−/− mice did not differ in their expression of cocaine-conditioned place preference (CPP). Importantly, however, mice with the α4 deletion specific to D1-expressing neurons (α4D1−/−) showed increased CPP. Furthermore, THIP administered systemically or directly into the NAc of WT, but not α4−/− or α4D1−/− mice, blocked cocaine enhancement of CPP. In comparison, α4D2−/− mice exhibited normal CPP, but no cocaine enhancement. In conclusion, dopamine modulation of GABAergic tonic inhibition of D1- and D2-MSNs provides an intrinsic mechanism to differentially affect their excitability in response to psychostimulants and thereby influence their ability to potentiate conditioned reward. Therefore, α4βδ GABAARs may represent a viable target for the development of novel therapeutics to better understand and influence addictive behaviors

Parent Body Influences on Amino Acids in the Tagish Lake Meteorite

The Tagish Lake meteorite is a primitive C2 carbonaceous chondrite with a mineralogy, oxygen isotope, and bulk chemical. However, in contrast to many CI and CM carbonaceous chondrites, the Tagish Lake meteorite was reported to have only trace levels of indigenous amino acids, with evidence for terrestrial L-amino acid contamination from the Tagish Lake meltwater. The lack of indigenous amino acids in Tagish Lake suggested that they were either destroyed during parent body alteration processes and/or the Tagish Lake meteorite originated on a chemically distinct parent body from CI and CM meteorites where formation of amino acids was less favorable. We recently measured the amino acid composition of three different lithologies (11h, 5b, and 11i) of pristine Tagish Lake meteorite fragments that represent a range of progressive aqueous alteration in order 11h < 5b < 11i as inferred from the mineralogy, petrology, bulk isotopes, and insoluble organic matter structure. The distribution and enantiomeric abundances of the one- to six-carbon aliphatic amino acids found in hot-water extracts of the Tagish Lake fragments were determined by ultra performance liquid chromatography fluorescence detection and time of flight mass spectrometry coupled with OPA/NAC derivatization. Stable carbon isotope analyses of the most abundant amino acids in 11h were measured with gas chromatography coupled with quadrupole mass spectrometry and isotope ratio mass spectrometry