When do young birds disperse? : Tests from studies of golden eagles in Scotland

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Dampening prey cycle overrides the impact of climate change on predator population dynamics : a long-term demographic study on tawny owls

Funded by ERA-Net BiodivERsA NERC. Grant Numbers: NE/E010660/1, NE/F021402/1, NE/G002045/1Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Age and sex-selective predation moderate the overall impact of predators

© 2014 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society. Acknowledgements: Thanks to J. Reid, S. Redpath, A. Beckerman and an anonymous reviewer for their helpful comments on a previous version of the manuscript. This work was partly funded by a Natural Environment Research Council studentship NE/J500148/1 to SH and a grant NE/F021402/1 to XL and by Natural Research Limited. Forest Research funded all the fieldwork on goshawks, tawny owls and field voles during 1973–1996. We thank B. Little, P. Hotchin, D. Anderson and all field assistants for their help with data collection and Forest Enterprise, T. Dearnley and N. Geddes for allowing and facilitating work in Kielder Forest. In addition, we are grateful to English Nature and the BTO for kindly issuing licences annually visit goshawk nest sites. Data accessibility: All data associated with the study which have not already been given in the text are available from the Dryad Digital Repository: http://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.h1289 (Hoy et al. 2014).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Size-mediated, density-dependent cannibalism in the signal crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus (Dana, 1852) (Decapoda, Astacidea), an invasive crayfish in Britain

Many thanks to the University of Aberdeen who funded the project and Robert Laughton, director of the Findhorn, Nairn and Lossie Fisheries Trust, who provided useful field work advice and equipment. Thank you to Scottish Natural Heritage for support and facilitating the project with swift licensing (licence no. 22482). We would also like to acknowledge the Peoples Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) for their sponsoring of Connor Wood and for their support of our research. Many thanks also to Ewan McHenry for his assistance with data collection in the field.Peer reviewedPostprin

Sea state bias in altimeter sea level estimates determined by combining wave model and satellite data

This study documents a method for increasing the precision of satellite-derived sea level measurements. Results are achieved using an enhanced three-dimensional (3-D) sea state bias (SSB) correction model derived from both Jason-1 altimeter ocean observations (i.e., sea state and wind) and estimates of mean wave period from a numerical ocean wave model, NOAA’s WAVEWATCH III. A multiyear evaluation of Jason-1 data indicates sea surface height variance reduction of 1.26 (±0.2) cm2 in comparison to the commonly applied two-parameter SSB model. The improvement is similar for two separate variance reduction metrics and for separate annual data sets spanning 2002–2004. Spatial evaluation of improvement shows skill increase at all latitudes. Results indicate the new model can reduce the total Jason-1 and Jason-2 altimeter range error budgets by 7.5%. In addition to the 2-D (two-dimensional) and 3-D model differences in correcting the range for wavefield variability, mean model regional differences also occur across the globe and indicate a possible 1–2 cm gradient across ocean basins linked to the zonal variation in wave period (short fetch and period in the west, swells and long period in the east). Overall success of this model provides first evidence that operational wave modeling can support improved ocean altimetry. Future efforts will attempt to work within the limits of wave modeling capabilities to maximize their benefit to Jason-1 and Jason-2 SSB correction methods

Experimental evidence that livestock grazing intensity affects cyclic vole population regulation processes

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Spores of Clostridium engineered for clinical efficacy and safety cause regression and cure of tumors in vivo.

Spores of some species of the strictly anaerobic bacteria Clostridium naturally target and partially lyse the hypoxic cores of tumors, which tend to be refractory to conventional therapies. The anti-tumor effect can be augmented by engineering strains to convert a non-toxic prodrug into a cytotoxic drug specifically at the tumor site by expressing a prodrug-converting enzyme (PCE). Safe doses of the favored prodrug CB1954 lead to peak concentrations of 6.3 μM in patient sera, but at these concentration(s) known nitroreductase (NTR) PCEs for this prodrug show low activity. Furthermore, efficacious and safe Clostridium strains that stably express a PCE have not been reported. Here we identify a novel nitroreductase from Neisseria meningitidis, NmeNTR, which is able to activate CB1954 at clinically-achievable serum concentrations. An NmeNTR expression cassette, which does not contain an antibiotic resistance marker, was stably localized to the chromosome of Clostridium sporogenes using a new integration method, and the strain was disabled for safety and containment by making it a uracil auxotroph. The efficacy of Clostridium-Directed Enzyme Prodrug Therapy (CDEPT) using this system was demonstrated in a mouse xenograft model of human colon carcinoma. Substantial tumor suppression was achieved, and several animals were cured. These encouraging data suggest that the novel enzyme and strain engineering approach represent a promising platform for the clinical development of CDEPT

Modulation of cell death in the tumor micro environment

The microenvironment of solid human tumors is characterized by heterogeneity in oxygenation. Hypoxia arises early in the process of tumor development because rapidly proliferating tumor cells outgrow the capacity of the host vasculature. Formation of solid tumors thus requires coordination of angiogenesis with continued tumor cell proliferation. However, despite such neovascularization, hypoxia is persistent and frequently found in tumors at the time of diagnosis. Tumors with low oxygenation have a poor prognosis, and strong evidence suggests this is because of the effects of hypoxia on malignant progression, angiogenesis, metastasis, and therapy resistance. The presence of viable hypoxic cells is likely a reflection of the development of hypoxia tolerance resulting from modulation of cell death in the microenvironment. This acquired feature has been explained on the basis of clonal selection-the hypoxic microenvironment selects cells capable of surviving in the absence of normal oxygen availability. However, the persistence and frequency of hypoxia in solid tumors raises a second potential explanation. We suggest that stable microregions of hypoxia may play a positive role in tumor growth. Although hypoxia inhibits cell proliferation and in tumor cells will eventually induce cell death, hypoxia also provides angiogenic and metastatic signals. The development of hypoxia tolerance will thus allow prolonged survival in the absence of oxygen and generation of a persistent angiogenic signal. We will discuss the concept of hypoxia tolerance and review mechanisms used by cancer cells to acquire this phenotype. The concept of hypoxia tolerance has important implications for current and future therapeutic approaches. Most therapeutic efforts to combat hypoxia have focused on targeting the presence of hypoxia itself. Our hypothesis predicts that targeting the biological responses to hypoxia and the pathways leading to hypoxia tolerance may also be attractive therapeutic strategies.Copyright 2003, Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved

Density-Dependent Prevalence of Francisella tularensis in Fluctuating Vole Populations, Northwestern Spain

Self Archiving; https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/page/copyright-and-disclaimers J.J.L.L., F.M., and R.R.P. held official licenses for trapping wildlife in Spain. Capture permits were provided by the Dirección General del Medio Natural, Junta de Castilla y León. This study was supported by projects ECOVOLE (grant CGL2012-35348), ECOTULA (grant CGL2015-66962-C2-1-R), and RESERTULA (grant CLG2015-66962-C2-2-R), which were funded by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad MINECO/FEDER, Spain. R.R.P. was supported by a PhD studentship from the University of Valladolid (co-funded by Banco Santander).Peer reviewedPublisher PD