Behavioral State-Specific Northern Bobwhite Chick Resource Selection

Determining resource selection rates for all life stages of a species is critical to enable a holistic management approach that focuses on bolstering populations across all life stages. Moreover, tying these selection rates to specific life history needs (e.g., foraging, roosting, and loafing) can provide valuable information to guide management practices. Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; hereafter, bobwhite), a gallinaceous species of North America, has experienced steady population declines throughout much of its range over the last 50 years. Although the species has been well studied, chick ecology is still relatively unknown. We studied bobwhite chick resource selection on a private property in Brunswick County, North Carolina, USA to better understand daily and within home range selection. The site was managed intensively for bobwhite using prescribed fire, seasonal mowing and disking, mesomammal control, and supplemental feeding. We radio-tagged 156 chicks 11–15 days of age from 29 unique broods and collected location data for nocturnal roost sites, daily movement tracks, and diurnal use sites during a 2-year span. We had selection models for 3 behaviors: roosting, foraging, and general movements within home range (third-order). All models were mixed-effects conditional logistic regression models under a Bayesian framework. We determined foraging behavior using a straightness index for daily track segments; more tortuous segments were designated as foraging locations. Upland pine stands (burned and unburned) were selected for foraging and roosting. Chicks were more likely to select areas closer to feedlines for roosting, foraging, and diurnal habitat; however, selection of these areas decreased as birds grew older. Chicks avoided fallow fields and hardwood drains or Carolina bays as roost site locations yet selected them as foraging habitat. Roosting birds avoided fallow fields as roost sites and instead selected areas adjacent to them. Probability of use for diurnal and roosting habitat decreased as distance to fallow fields increased. Our study results shed light on how circadian habitat use can vary and illustrate that one specific land cover may not provide ideal diurnal and nocturnal habitat for bobwhite chicks. The results also reinforce the need to provide resources that meet diurnal and nocturnal requirements within biologically reasonable distances from each other

Pion and Eta Strings

In this paper we construct a string-like classical solution, the pion-string, in the linear sigma model. We then study the stability of the pion-string, and find that it is unstable in the parameter space allowed experimentally. We also speculate on the existance of an unstable eta-string, associated with spontaneous breakdown of the anomalous $U_A(1)$ symmetry in QCD at high temperatures. The implications of the pion and eta strings for cosmology and heavy ion collisions are briefly mentioned.Comment: 5 pages, LATE

The Birmingham Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) project : developments towards selective internal particle therapy

This paper will review progress on two aspects of the Birmingham BNCT project. Firstly on evaluation of the effects of high and low LET radiations when delivered simultaneously, and secondly on attempts to optimise delivery of the boron carrier compound BPA through pharmacokinetic studies. Simultaneous or non-simultaneous irradiations of V79 cells with alpha-particle and X-ray irradiations were performed. Alpha doses of 2 and 2.5 Gy were chosen and the impact on survival when delivered separately or simultaneously with variable doses of X-rays was evaluated. The pharmacokinetics of the delivery of a new formulation of BPA (BPA-mannitol) are being investigated in brain tumour patients through a study with 2 × 2 design featuring intravenous and intracarotid artery infusion of BPA, with or without a mannitol bolus. On the combined effect of low and high LET radiations, a synergistic effect was observed when alpha and X-ray doses are delivered simultaneously. The effect is only present at the 2.5 Gy alpha dose and is a very substantial effect on both the shape of the survival curve and the level of cell killing. This indicates that the alpha component may have the effect of inhibiting the repair of damage from the low LET radiation dose delivered simultaneously. On the pharmacokinetics of BPA, data on the first three cohorts indicate that bioavailability of BPA in brain ECF is increased substantially through the addition of a mannitol bolus, as well as by the use of intracarotid artery route of infusion. In both cases, for some patients the levels after infusion approach those seen in blood, whereas the ECF levels for intravenous infusion without mannitol are typically less than 10% of the blood values

A Comparative Study of the ReCell® Device and Autologous Spit-Thickness Meshed Skin Graft in the Treatment of Acute Burn Injuries.

Early excision and autografting are standard care for deeper burns. However, donor sites are a source of significant morbidity. To address this, the ReCell® Autologous Cell Harvesting Device (ReCell) was designed for use at the point-of-care to prepare a noncultured, autologous skin cell suspension (ASCS) capable of epidermal regeneration using minimal donor skin. A prospective study was conducted to evaluate the clinical performance of ReCell vs meshed split-thickness skin grafts (STSG, Control) for the treatment of deep partial-thickness burns. Effectiveness measures were assessed to 1 year for both ASCS and Control treatment sites and donor sites, including the incidence of healing, scarring, and pain. At 4 weeks, 98% of the ASCS-treated sites were healed compared with 100% of the Controls. Pain and assessments of scarring at the treatment sites were reported to be similar between groups. Significant differences were observed between ReCell and Control donor sites. The mean ReCell donor area was approximately 40 times smaller than that of the Control (P < .0001), and after 1 week, significantly more ReCell donor sites were healed than Controls (P = .04). Over the first 16 weeks, patients reported significantly less pain at the ReCell donor sites compared with Controls (P ≤ .05 at each time point). Long-term patients reported higher satisfaction with ReCell donor site outcomes compared with the Controls. This study provides evidence that the treatment of deep partial-thickness burns with ASCS results in comparable healing, with significantly reduced donor site size and pain and improved appearance relative to STSG

Come to Daddy? Claiming Chris Cunningham for British Art Cinema

Twenty years after he came to prominence via a series of provocative, ground-breaking music videos, Chris Cunningham remains a troubling, elusive figure within British visual culture. His output – which includes short films, advertisements, art gallery commissions, installations, music production and a touring multi-screen live performance – is relatively slim, and his seemingly slow work rate (and tendency to leave projects uncompleted or unreleased) has been a frustration for fans and commentators, particularly those who hoped he would channel his interests and talents into a full-length ‘feature’ film project. There has been a diverse critical response to his musical sensitivity, his associations with UK electronica culture – and the Warp label in particular – his working relationship with Aphex Twin, his importance within the history of the pop video and his deployment of transgressive, suggestive imagery involving mutated, traumatised or robotic bodies. However, this article makes a claim for placing Cunningham within discourses of British art cinema. It proposes that the many contradictions that define and animate Cunningham's work – narrative versus abstraction, political engagement versus surrealism, sincerity versus provocation, commerce versus experimentation, art versus craft, a ‘British’ sensibility versus a transnational one – are also those that typify a particular terrain of British film culture that falls awkwardly between populism and experimentalism

Ethical and methodological issues in engaging young people living in poverty with participatory research methods

This paper discusses the methodological and ethical issues arising from a project that focused on conducting a qualitative study using participatory techniques with children and young people living in disadvantage. The main aim of the study was to explore the impact of poverty on children and young people's access to public and private services. The paper is based on the author's perspective of the first stage of the fieldwork from the project. It discusses the ethical implications of involving children and young people in the research process, in particular issues relating to access and recruitment, the role of young people's advisory groups, use of visual data and collection of data in young people's homes. The paper also identifies some strategies for addressing the difficulties encountered in relation to each of these aspects and it considers the benefits of adopting participatory methods when conducting research with children and young people

The Endothelial-Specific MicroRNA miR-126 Governs Vascular Integrity and Angiogenesis

SummaryEndothelial cells play essential roles in maintenance of vascular integrity, angiogenesis, and wound repair. We show that an endothelial cell-restricted microRNA (miR-126) mediates developmental angiogenesis in vivo. Targeted deletion of miR-126 in mice causes leaky vessels, hemorrhaging, and partial embryonic lethality, due to a loss of vascular integrity and defects in endothelial cell proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis. The subset of mutant animals that survives displays defective cardiac neovascularization following myocardial infarction. The vascular abnormalities of miR-126 mutant mice resemble the consequences of diminished signaling by angiogenic growth factors, such as VEGF and FGF. Accordingly, miR-126 enhances the proangiogenic actions of VEGF and FGF and promotes blood vessel formation by repressing the expression of Spred-1, an intracellular inhibitor of angiogenic signaling. These findings have important therapeutic implications for a variety of disorders involving abnormal angiogenesis and vascular leakage

Development and initial validation of the bronchiectasis exacerbation and symptom tool (BEST)

BACKGROUND: Recurrent bronchiectasis exacerbations are related to deterioration of lung function, progression of the disease, impairment of quality of life, and to an increased mortality. Improved detection of exacerbations has been accomplished in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease through the use of patient completed diaries. These tools may enhance exacerbation reporting and identification. The aim of this study was to develop a novel symptom diary for bronchiectasis symptom burden and detection of exacerbations, named the BEST diary. METHODS: Prospective observational study of patients with bronchiectasis conducted at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee. We included patients with confirmed bronchiectasis by computed tomography, who were symptomatic and had at least 1 documented exacerbation of bronchiectasis in the previous 12\u2009months to participate. Symptoms were recorded daily in a diary incorporating cough, sputum volume, sputum colour, dyspnoea, fatigue and systemic disturbance scored from 0 to 26. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients were included in the study. We identified 29 reported (treated exacerbations) and 23 unreported (untreated) exacerbations over 6-month follow-up. The BEST diary score showed a good correlation with the established and validated questionnaires and measures of health status (COPD Assessment Test, r =\u20090.61, p =\u20090.0037, Leicester Cough Questionnaire, r =\u2009-\u20090.52,p =\u20090.0015, St Georges Respiratory Questionnaire, r =\u20090.61,p <\u20090.0001 and 6\u2009min walk test, r =\u2009-\u20090.46,p =\u20090.037). The mean BEST score at baseline was 7.1 points (SD 2.2). The peak symptom score during exacerbation was a mean of 16.4 (3.1), and the change from baseline to exacerbation was a mean of 9.1 points (SD 2.5). Mean duration of exacerbations based on time for a return to baseline symptoms was 15.3\u2009days (SD 5.7). A minimum clinically important difference of 4 points is proposed. CONCLUSIONS: The BEST symptom diary has shown concurrent validity with current health questionnaires and is responsive at onset and recovery from exacerbation. The BEST diary may be useful to detect and characterise exacerbations in bronchiectasis clinical trials

Transcriptional adaptations following exercise in Thoroughbred horse skeletal muscle highlights molecular mechanisms that lead to muscle hypertrophy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Selection for exercise-adapted phenotypes in the Thoroughbred racehorse has provided a valuable model system to understand molecular responses to exercise in skeletal muscle. Exercise stimulates immediate early molecular responses as well as delayed responses during recovery, resulting in a return to homeostasis and enabling long term adaptation. Global mRNA expression during the immediate-response period has not previously been reported in skeletal muscle following exercise in any species. Also, global gene expression changes in equine skeletal muscle following exercise have not been reported. Therefore, to identify novel genes and key regulatory pathways responsible for exercise adaptation we have used equine-specific cDNA microarrays to examine global mRNA expression in skeletal muscle from a cohort of Thoroughbred horses (<it>n = </it>8) at three time points (before exercise, immediately post-exercise, and four hours post-exercise) following a single bout of treadmill exercise.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Skeletal muscle biopsies were taken from the <it>gluteus medius </it>before (T₀), immediately after (T₁) and four hours after (T₂) exercise. Statistically significant differences in mRNA abundance between time points (T₀<it>vs </it>T₁and T₀<it>vs </it>T₂) were determined using the empirical Bayes moderated <it>t</it>-test in the Bioconductor package Linear Models for Microarray Data (LIMMA) and the expression of a select panel of genes was validated using real time quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR). While only two genes had increased expression at T₁(<it>P </it>< 0.05), by T₂932 genes had increased (<it>P </it>< 0.05) and 562 genes had decreased expression (<it>P </it>< 0.05). Functional analysis of genes differentially expressed during the recovery phase (T₂) revealed an over-representation of genes localized to the actin cytoskeleton and with functions in the MAPK signalling, focal adhesion, insulin signalling, mTOR signaling, p53 signaling and Type II diabetes mellitus pathways. At T₁, using a less stringent statistical approach, we observed an over-representation of genes involved in the stress response, metabolism and intracellular signaling. These findings suggest that protein synthesis, mechanosensation and muscle remodeling contribute to skeletal muscle adaptation towards improved integrity and hypertrophy.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This is the first study to characterize global mRNA expression profiles in equine skeletal muscle using an equine-specific microarray platform. Here we reveal novel genes and mechanisms that are temporally expressed following exercise providing new knowledge about the early and late molecular responses to exercise in the equine skeletal muscle transcriptome.</p