Following the rivers: historical reconstruction of California voles Microtus californicus (Rodentia: Cricetidae) in the deserts of eastern California

The California vole, Microtus californicus, restricted to habitat patches where water is available nearly year-round, is a remnant of the mesic history of the southern Great Basin and Mojave deserts of eastern California. The history of voles in this region is a model for species-edge population dynamics through periods of climatic change. We sampled voles from the eastern deserts of California and examined variation in the mitochondrial cytb gene, three nuclear intron regions, and across 12 nuclear microsatellite markers. Samples are allocated to two mitochondrial clades: one associated with southern California and the other with central and northern California. The limited mtDNA structure largely recovers the geographical distribution, replicated by both nuclear introns and microsatellites. The most remote population, Microtus californicus scirpensis at Tecopa near Death Valley, was the most distinct. This population shares microsatellite alleles with both mtDNA clades, and both its northern clade nuclear introns and southern clade mtDNA sequences support a hybrid origin for this endangered population. The overall patterns support two major invasions into the desert through an ancient system of riparian corridors along streams and lake margins during the latter part of the Pleistocene followed by local in situ divergence subsequent to late Pleistocene and Holocene drying events. Changes in current water resource use could easily remove California voles from parts of the desert landscape

A tale of two boys: case report on non-consanguineous siblings with cerebral palsy.

Cerebral palsy is a common cause of childhood disability. It has a great impact on parents and caregivers, especially when it reoccurs in the same family. Although familial cerebral palsy is relatively uncommon, cases have been reported among children from consanguineous, non-consanguineous marriages and multiple pregnancies suggesting a possible complex genetic mode of inheritance. Physicians need to be aware of the possibility of familial cerebral palsy for early detection and counseling. We describe a rare case of two male siblings from a non-consanguineous marriage affected by cerebral palsy

Generalised risk-sensitive control with full and partial state observation

This paper generalises the risk-sensitive cost functional by introducing noise dependent penalties on the state and control variables. The optimal control problems for the full and partial state observation are considered. Using a change of probability measure approach, explicit closed-form solutions are found in both cases. This has resulted in a new risk-sensitive regulator and filter, which are generalisations of the well-known classical results

Development of flow cytometry-based algal bioassays for assessing toxicity of copper in natural waters

Copper toxicity to the freshwater algae Selenastrum capricornutum and Chlorella sp. and the marine algae Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Dunaliella tertiolecta was investigated using different parameters measured by flow cytometry: cell division rate inhibition, chlorophyll a fluorescence, cell size (i.e., light-scattering), and enzyme activity. These parameters were assessed regarding their usefulness as alternative endpoints for acute (1-24 h) and chronic (48-72 h) toxicity tests. At copper concentrations of 10 μg/L or less, significant inhibition (50%) of the cell division rate was observed after 48- and 72-h exposures for Chlorella sp., S. capricornutum, and P. tricornutum. Bioassays based on increases in algal cell size were also sensitive for Chlorella sp. and P. tricornutum. Copper caused both chlorophyll a fluorescence stimulation (48-h EC50 of 10 ± 1 μg Cu/L for P. tricornutum) and inhibition (48-h EC50 of 14 ± 6 μg Cu/L for S. capricornutum). For acute toxicity over short exposure periods, esterase activity in S. capricornutum using fluorescein diacetate offered a rapid alternative (3-h EC50 of 90 ± 40 μg Cu/L) to growth inhibition tests for monitoring copper toxicity in mine-impacted waters. For all the effect parameters measured, D. tertiolecta was tolerant to copper at concentrations up to its solubility limit in seawater. These results demonstrate that flow cytometry is a useful technique for toxicity testing with microalgae and provide additional information regarding the general mode of action of copper (II) to algal species

VISUAL-PERCEPTUAL-MOTOR SKILLS OF ELITE SILAT ATHLETES WHEN RESPONDING TO VARIOUS COMBAT SITUATIONS THROUGH AN INTEGRATED STEREOSCOPIC SYSTEM

Understanding the visual-perceptual-motor skill of an athlete can help optimize the periodization of a training plan. This study was designed to explore the visual-perceptual-motor skill of ten male elite Silat athlete when tasked to react to a set of projected video stimuli comprised of specific combat attack situations; side kicks, roundhouse kicks and crocodiles. A customized stereoscopic video system projected the stimuli in two- and three-dimensions with the latter being added with the aim of improving combat realism. This system synchronously recorded the gaze and movement behaviours of the participants when they responded to the combat situations. No differences in visual search behaviour, quiet eye and reaction time were found when tasked to respond between two- and three-dimensional videos, which may be due to the complexity of the stimulus. There was a significantly higher quantity and longer duration of fixations spent on the trunk of the opponent as compared to other areas of the body. Reaction time was also significantly different in the side kicks (slower responses) as compared to other attacks. Results from this study can pave way for future studies that seek to investigate how visual-perceptual-motor skill differs between expertise levels in the sport of Silat and serve as a basis for targeted coaching to enhance combat Silat performance

Does cueing training improve physical activity in patients with Parkinson's disease?

Patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) are encouraged to stay active to maintain their mobility. Ambulatory activity monitoring (AM) provides an objective way to determine type and amount of gait-related daily activities. Objective To investigate the effects of a home cueing training program on functional walking activity in PD. Methods In a single-blind, randomized crossover trial, PD patients allocated to early intervention received cueing training for 3 weeks, whereas the late intervention group received training in the following 3 weeks. Training was applied at home, using a prototype cueing device. AM was applied at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 weeks in the patient’s home, to record body movements. Postures and motions were classified as percentage of total time spent on (a) static activity, further specified as % sitting and % standing, and (b) % dynamic activity, further specified as % walking, % walking periods exceeding 5 seconds (W>5s) and 10 seconds (W>10s). Random coefficient analysis was applied. Results A total of 153 patients participated in this trial. Significant improvements were found for dynamic activity ( = 4.46; P 5s ( = 2.63; P 10s ( = 2.90; P < .01). All intervention effects declined significantly at 6 weeks follow-up. Conclusion Cueing training in PD patients’ own home significantly improves the amount of walking as recorded by AM. Treatment effects reduced after the intervention period, pointing to the need for permanent cueing devices and follow-up cueing training

Delays in diagnosis of young women with symptomatic cervical cancer in England: an interview-based study

Background: Diagnosis may be delayed in young females with cervical cancer because of a failure to recognise symptoms. Aim: To examine the extent and determinants of delays in diagnosis of young females with symptomatic cervical cancer. Design and setting: A national descriptive study of time from symptoms to diagnosis of cervical cancer and risk factors for delay in diagnosis at all hospitals diagnosing cervical cancer in England. Method: One-hundred and twenty-eight patients <30 years with a recent diagnosis of cervical cancer were interviewed. Patient delay was defined as ?3 months from symptom onset to first presentation and provider delay as ? 3 months from first presentation to diagnosis. Results: Forty (31%) patients had presented symptomatically: 11 (28%) delayed presentation. Patient delay was more common in patients <25 than patients aged 25–29 (40% versus 15%, P = 0.16). Vaginal discharge was more common among patients who delayed presentation than those who did not; many reported not recognising this as a possible cancer symptom. Provider delay was reported by 24/40 (60%); in some no report was found in primary care records of a visual inspection of the cervix and some did not re-attend after the first presentation for several months. Gynaecological symptoms were common (84%) among patients who presented via screening. Conclusions: Young females with cervical cancer frequently delay presentation, and not recognising symptoms as serious may increase the risk of delay. Delay in diagnosis after first presentation is also common. There is some evidence that UK guidelines for managing young females with abnormal bleeding are not being followed

So near and yet so far: harmonic radar reveals reduced homing ability of Nosema infected honeybees.

© 2014 Wolf et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Citation: Wolf S, McMahon DP, Lim KS, Pull CD, Clark SJ, et al. (2014) So Near and Yet So Far: Harmonic Radar Reveals Reduced Homing Ability of Nosema Infected Honeybees. PLoS ONE 9(8): e103989. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0103989Pathogens may gain a fitness advantage through manipulation of the behaviour of their hosts. Likewise, host behavioural changes can be a defence mechanism, counteracting the impact of pathogens on host fitness. We apply harmonic radar technology to characterize the impact of an emerging pathogen--Nosema ceranae (Microsporidia)--on honeybee (Apis mellifera) flight and orientation performance in the field. Honeybees are the most important commercial pollinators. Emerging diseases have been proposed to play a prominent role in colony decline, partly through sub-lethal behavioural manipulation of their hosts. We found that homing success was significantly reduced in diseased (65.8%) versus healthy foragers (92.5%). Although lost bees had significantly reduced continuous flight times and prolonged resting times, other flight characteristics and navigational abilities showed no significant difference between infected and non-infected bees. Our results suggest that infected bees express normal flight characteristics but are constrained in their homing ability, potentially compromising the colony by reducing its resource inputs, but also counteracting the intra-colony spread of infection. We provide the first high-resolution analysis of sub-lethal effects of an emerging disease on insect flight behaviour. The potential causes and the implications for both host and parasite are discussed.Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA)Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)The Scottish GovernmentWellcome Trus

Bekenstein entropy bound for weakly-coupled field theories on a 3-sphere

We calculate the high temperature partition functions for SU(Nc) or U(Nc) gauge theories in the deconfined phase on S^1 x S^3, with scalars, vectors, and/or fermions in an arbitrary representation, at zero 't Hooft coupling and large Nc, using analytical methods. We compare these with numerical results which are also valid in the low temperature limit and show that the Bekenstein entropy bound resulting from the partition functions for theories with any amount of massless scalar, fermionic, and/or vector matter is always satisfied when the zero-point contribution is included, while the theory is sufficiently far from a phase transition. We further consider the effect of adding massive scalar or fermionic matter and show that the Bekenstein bound is satisfied when the Casimir energy is regularized under the constraint that it vanishes in the large mass limit. These calculations can be generalized straightforwardly for the case of a different number of spatial dimensions.Comment: 32 pages, 12 figures. v2: Clarifications added. JHEP versio

Radar tracking and motion-sensitive cameras on flowers reveal the development of pollinator multi-destination routes over large spatial scales.

PublishedJournal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tCentral place foragers, such as pollinating bees, typically develop circuits (traplines) to visit multiple foraging sites in a manner that minimizes overall travel distance. Despite being taxonomically widespread, these routing behaviours remain poorly understood due to the difficulty of tracking the foraging history of animals in the wild. Here we examine how bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) develop and optimise traplines over large spatial scales by setting up an array of five artificial flowers arranged in a regular pentagon (50 m side length) and fitted with motion-sensitive video cameras to determine the sequence of visitation. Stable traplines that linked together all the flowers in an optimal sequence were typically established after a bee made 26 foraging bouts, during which time only about 20 of the 120 possible routes were tried. Radar tracking of selected flights revealed a dramatic decrease by 80% (ca. 1500 m) of the total travel distance between the first and the last foraging bout. When a flower was removed and replaced by a more distant one, bees engaged in localised search flights, a strategy that can facilitate the discovery of a new flower and its integration into a novel optimal trapline. Based on these observations, we developed and tested an iterative improvement heuristic to capture how bees could learn and refine their routes each time a shorter route is found. Our findings suggest that complex dynamic routing problems can be solved by small-brained animals using simple learning heuristics, without the need for a cognitive map.This research was supported by a combined grant from the Wellcome Trust, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (BB/F52765X/1). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript