Lack of geographic variation in Y-chromosomal introns of red deer (Cervus elaphus)

Intra-specific Y-chromosomal sequence variation is useful for analysing the male contribution to a species’ spatial genetic structure. In red deer (Cervus elaphus) this is especially relevant, because geographic dispersal and game translocations occur mainly through the males. However, Y-chromosomal markers for wild organisms are scarce and frequently non-polymorphic within species. We assessed the intra-specific variation of two Y-chromosomal introns in red deer, one in the DBY (or DDX3Y) gene and the other in the UBE1Y gene. The introns were amplified using previously published exonic primers and directly sequenced in individuals of five red deer subspecies from across Eurasia. However, no nucleotide polymorphism was observed, which rebuts the usefulness of these introns for studies of red deer phylogeography and on illegal transport of red deer within this region. Male-based phylogeographic studies should thus be focused on other Y-chromosomal markers for this species

Managing Waiting Times to Predict No-shows and Cancelations at a Children’s Hospital

Purpose: Since long waits in hospitals have been found to be related to high rates of no-shows and cancelations, managing waiting times should be considered as an important tool that hospitals can use to reduce missed appointments. The aim of this study is to analyze patients’ behavior in order to predict no-show and cancelation rates correlated to waiting times. Design/methodology/approach: This study is based on the data from a US children’s hospital, which includes all the appointments registered during one year of observation. We used the call-appointment interval to establish the wait time to get an appointment. Four different types of appointment-keeping behavior and two types of patients were distinguished: arrival, no-show, cancelation with no reschedule, and cancelation with reschedule; and new and established patients. Findings: Results confirmed a strong impact of long waiting times on patients’ appointment-keeping behavior, and the logarithmic regression was found as the best-fit function for the correlation between variables in all cases. The correlation analysis showed that new patients tend to miss appointments more often than established patients when the waiting time increases. It was also found that, depending on the patients’ appointment distribution, it might get more complicated for hospitals to reduce missed appointments as the waiting time is reduced. Originality/value: The methodology applied in our study, which combines the use of regression analysis and patients’ appointment distribution analysis, would help health care managers to understand the initial implications of long waiting times and to address improvement related to patient satisfaction and hospital performance.Peer Reviewe

Influence of temperature and time on the Eu3+ reaction with synthetic Na-Mica-n (n = 2 and 4)

Bentonite is accepted as the best clay material for the engineered barrier of Deep Geological Repositories (DGRs). The performance of clay as the main component of the engineered barrier in the DGR has been intensively studied and the structure of the selected clay mineral play a crucial role. In this sense, a new family of synthetic swelling silicates, Na-Mica-n, with tuned layer charge (n) values between 2.0 and 4.0 per unit cell has recently been synthesized and a general synthetic method has been reported. These swelling high-charge micas could be highly valuable for the decontamination of harmful cations. The ability of these micas to immobilize Eu3+ under subcritical conditions has been probed. The adsorption was in both non-specific sites (cation exchange mechanism) and specific sites (chemical reaction or surface defects adsorption). Moreover, its adsorption capacity, under the same conditions is higher than in saponite and far superior to the bentonites.Junta de Andalucía P12-FQM-567European Union 29178

Relación entre la distancia intercantal interna y la dimensión mesiodistal de dientes anterosuperiores en una población peruana con armonía facial.

Objective: To determine the relationship between the inner intercanthal distance and the mesiodistal dimension of the maxillary anterior teeth in a Peruvian population with facial harmony. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study on a sample of 75 Peruvian subjects with facial harmony, with ages ranging between 18 and 30 years, was conducted. The inner intercanthal distance and the mesiodistal dimension of maxillary anterior teeth of each subject were measured with a digital vernier caliper. The relationship was evaluated by simple linear regression analysis. Results: A statistically significant direct relationship was found between the dimension of the inner intercanthal distance with the mesiodistal width of the lateral incisors (p=0.040, R2=5.65%), canines (p=0.032, R2=6.17%), and the total mesiodistal sum of the six anterior teeth (p=0.040, R2=5.63%), but not with the central incisors (p=0.273, R2=1.64%). Conclusion: The inner intercanthal distance showed a direct relationship with the total mesiodistal linear dimension of the maxillary anterior teeth, with the mesiodistal dimensions of the lateral incisors and canines in a Peruvian population with facial harmony.Determinar la relación entre la distancia intercantal interna y la dimensión mesiodistal de los dientes anterosuperiores en individuos peruanos con armonía facial. Material y métodos: Se realizó un estudio transversal en una muestra de 75 individuos peruanos con armonía facial entre 18 a 30 años. Se midió la distancia intercantal interna y la dimensión mesiodistal de dientes anterosuperiores de cada sujeto con un calibrador vernier digital. La relación fue evaluada mediante análisis de regresión lineal simple. Resultados: Se encontró relación directa estadísticamente significativa entre la dimensión de la distancia intercantal interna con el ancho mesiodistal de los incisivos laterales (p=0.040, R2=5.65%), caninos (p=0.032, R2=6.17%) y la suma total mesiodistal de los seis dientes anteriores (p=0.040, R2=5.63%), más no con los incisivos centrales (p=0.273, R2=1.64%). Conclusión: La distancia intercantal interna mostró relación directa con la dimensión lineal mesiodistal total de los dientes anterosuperiores, con las dimensiones mesiodistales de los incisivos laterales y de caninos en individuos peruanos con armonía facial

Psychiatric morbidity of overseas patients in inner London: A hospital based study

BACKGROUND: Evaluation of the referral, admission, treatment, and outcome of overseas patients admitted to a psychiatric hospital in central London. Ethical, legal and economic implications, and the involvement of consulates in the admission process, are discussed. METHOD: Assessment and review of overseas patients admitted between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 1999. Non-parametric statistical tests were used, and relevant outcomes described. RESULTS: 19% of admissions were overseas patients. Mean age was 38 years. 90% were unattached; 84% were white, 71% from European countries. 45% spoke fluent English. Differences in socio-economic status between home country and England were found. 74% were unwell on arrival; 65% travelled to England as tourists. 65% of admissions came via the police. 32% had been ill for more than one year before admission; 68% had psychiatric history. 77% were admitted and 48% discharged under section of the Mental Health Act. 74% had psychotic disorders, all of them with positive symptoms. 55% showed little to moderate improvement in mental state; 10% were on Enhanced Care Programme Approach. Relatives of 48% of patients were contacted. The Hospital repatriated 52% of patients; the Mental Health Team followed up 13% of those discharged. The average length of admission was 43.4 days (range 1–365). Total cost of admissions was GBP350, 600 ($577, 490); average individual cost was GBP11, 116 (range GBP200-81, 000). CONCLUSIONS: Mentally ill overseas individuals are a vulnerable group that need recognition by health organisations to adapt current practice to better serve their needs. The involvement of consulates needs further evaluation

Evolutionary history of the genus Tarentola (Gekkota: Phyllodactylidae) from the Mediterranean Basin, estimated using multilocus sequence data

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The pronounced morphological conservatism within <it>Tarentola </it>geckos contrasted with a high genetic variation in North Africa, has led to the hypothesis that this group could represent a cryptic species complex, a challenging system to study especially when trying to define distinct evolutionary entities and address biogeographic hypotheses. In the present work we have re-examined the phylogenetic and phylogeographic relationships between and within all Mediterranean species of <it>Tarentola</it>, placing the genealogies obtained into a temporal framework. In order to do this, we have investigated the sequence variation of two mitochondrial (12S rRNA and 16S rRNA), and four nuclear markers (ACM4, PDC, MC1R, and RAG2) for 384 individuals of all known Mediterranean <it>Tarentola </it>species, so that their evolutionary history could be assessed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of all three generated genealogies (combined mtDNA, combined nDNA, and mtDNA+nDNA) we prefer the phylogenetic relationships obtained when all genetic markers are combined. A total of 133 individuals, and 2,901 bp of sequence length, were used in this analysis. The phylogeny obtained for <it>Tarentola </it>presents deep branches, with <it>T. annularis, T. ephippiata </it>and <it>T. chazaliae </it>occupying a basal position and splitting from the remaining species around 15.38 Mya. <it>Tarentola boehmei </it>is sister to all other Mediterranean species, from which it split around 11.38 Mya. There are also two other major groups: 1) the <it>T. mauritanica </it>complex present in North Africa and Europe; and 2) the clade formed by the <it>T. fascicularis</it>/<it>deserti </it>complex, <it>T. neglecta </it>and <it>T. mindiae</it>, occurring only in North Africa. The cladogenesis between these two groups occurred around 8.69 Mya, coincident with the late Miocene. Contrary to what was initially proposed, <it>T. neglecta </it>and <it>T. mindiae </it>are sister taxa to both <it>T. fascicularis </it>and <it>T. deserti</it>.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>At least in the Iberian Peninsula and Northwest Africa, the lineages obtained have some geographic coherency, whilst the evolutionary history of the forms from Northeast Africa remains unclear, with a paraphyletic <it>T. fascicularis </it>with respect to <it>T. deserti</it>. The separation between the <it>T. mauritanica </it>complex and the clade formed by the <it>T. fascicularis</it>/<it>deserti </it>complex, <it>T. neglecta </it>and <it>T. mindiae </it>is coincident with the uplift of the Atlas Mountain chain, and the establishment of two distinct bioclimatic regions on each side of the barrier.</p

Wear Fast, Die Young: More Worn Teeth and Shorter Lives in Iberian Compared to Scottish Red Deer

Teeth in Cervidae are permanent structures that are not replaceable or repairable; consequently their rate of wear, due to the grinding effect of food and dental attrition, affects their duration and can determine an animal's lifespan. Tooth wear is also a useful indicator of accumulative life energy investment in intake and mastication and their interactions with diet. Little is known regarding how natural and sexual selection operate on dental structures within a species in contrasting environments and how these relate to life history traits to explain differences in population rates of tooth wear and longevity. We hypothesised that populations under harsh environmental conditions should be selected for more hypsodont teeth while sexual selection may maintain similar sex differences within different populations. We investigated the patterns of tooth wear in males and females of Iberian red deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) in Southern Spain and Scottish red deer (C. e. scoticus) across Scotland, that occur in very different environments, using 10343 samples from legal hunting activities. We found higher rates of both incisor and molar wear in the Spanish compared to Scottish populations. However, Scottish red deer had larger incisors at emergence than Iberian red deer, whilst molars emerged at a similar size in both populations and sexes. Iberian and Scottish males had earlier tooth depletion than females, in support of a similar sexual selection process in both populations. However, whilst average lifespan for Iberian males was 4 years shorter than that for Iberian females and Scottish males, Scottish males only showed a reduction of 1 year in average lifespan with respect to Scottish females. More worn molars were associated with larger mandibles in both populations, suggesting that higher intake and/or greater investment in food comminution may have favoured increased body growth, before later loss of tooth efficiency due to severe wear. These results illustrate how independent selection in both subspecies, that diverged 11,700 years BP, has resulted in the evolution of different longevity, although sexual selection has maintained a similar pattern of relative sex differences in tooth depletion. This study opens interesting questions on optimal allocation in life history trade-offs and the independent evolution of allopatric populations.The European Union Lifelong Learning programme (Leonardo da Vinci) supported the post-graduate students that collaborated in this study. The Scottish Government through the Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS), Deer Commission Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage (project RP64) and Spanish Ministry of Science (projects CGL2007-63594 and CGL2010-17163) funded this study. During the writing up of this study FJPB was granted with a visiting professor fellowship by the University of Cordoba (Spain)