Orientation cues for high-flying nocturnal insect migrants: do turbulence-induced temperature and velocity fluctuations indicate the mean wind flow?

Migratory insects flying at high altitude at night often show a degree of common alignment, sometimes with quite small angular dispersions around the mean. The observed orientation directions are often close to the downwind direction and this would seemingly be adaptive in that large insects could add their self-propelled speed to the wind speed, thus maximising their displacement in a given time. There are increasing indications that high-altitude orientation may be maintained by some intrinsic property of the wind rather than by visual perception of relative ground movement. Therefore, we first examined whether migrating insects could deduce the mean wind direction from the turbulent fluctuations in temperature. Within the atmospheric boundary-layer, temperature records show characteristic ramp-cliff structures, and insects flying downwind would move through these ramps whilst those flying crosswind would not. However, analysis of vertical-looking radar data on the common orientations of nocturnally migrating insects in the UK produced no evidence that the migrants actually use temperature ramps as orientation cues. This suggests that insects rely on turbulent velocity and acceleration cues, and refocuses attention on how these can be detected, especially as small-scale turbulence is usually held to be directionally invariant (isotropic). In the second part of the paper we present a theoretical analysis and simulations showing that velocity fluctuations and accelerations felt by an insect are predicted to be anisotropic even when the small-scale turbulence (measured at a fixed point or along the trajectory of a fluid-particle) is isotropic. Our results thus provide further evidence that insects do indeed use turbulent velocity and acceleration cues as indicators of the mean wind direction

Intramuscular Pressure of Human Tibialis Anterior Muscle Reflects in vivo Muscular Activity

Intramuscular pressure (IMP) is the fluid hydrostatic pressure generated within a muscle and reflects the mechanical forces produced by a muscle. By providing accurate quantification of interstitial fluid pressure, the measurement of IMP may be useful to detect changes in skeletal muscle function not identified with established techniques. However, the relationship between IMP and muscle activity has never been studied in vivo in healthy human muscles. To determine if IMP is able to evaluate electromechanical performance of muscles in vivo, we tested the following hypotheses on the human tibialis anterior (TA) muscle: (i) IMP increases in proportion to muscle activity as measured by electrical (Compound Muscle Action Potential (CMAP)) and mechanical (ankle torque) responses to activation by nerve stimulation and (ii) the onset delay of IMP (IMPD) is shorter than the ankle torque electromechanical delay (EMD). Twelve healthy adults (six females; mean (SD) = 28.1 (5.0) years old) were recruited. Ankle torque, TA IMP, and CMAP responses were collected during maximal stimulation of the fibular nerve at different intensity levels of electrical stimulation, and at different frequencies of supramaximal stimulation, i.e., at 2, 5, 10, and 20 Hz. The IMP response at different stimulation intensities was correlated with the CMAP amplitude (r2 = 0.94). The area of the IMP response at different stimulation intensities was also significantly correlated with the area of the CMAP (r2 = 0.93). Increasing stimulation intensity resulted in an increase of the IMP response (P < 0.001). Increasing stimulation frequency caused torque (P < 0.001) as well as the IMP (P < 0.001) to increase. The ankle torque EMD (median (interquartile range) = 41.8 (14.4) ms) was later than the IMPD (33.0 (23.6) ms). These findings support the hypotheses and suggest that IMP captures active mechanical properties of muscle in vivo and can be used to detect muscular changes due to drugs, diseases, or aging

A mathematical modelling tool for predicting survival of individual patients following resection of glioblastoma: a proof of principle

The prediction of the outcome of individual patients with glioblastoma would be of great significance for monitoring responses to therapy. We hypothesise that, although a large number of genetic-metabolic abnormalities occur upstream, there are two ‘final common pathways' dominating glioblastoma growth – net rates of proliferation (ρ) and dispersal (D). These rates can be estimated from features of pretreatment MR images and can be applied in a mathematical model to predict tumour growth, impact of extent of tumour resection and patient survival. Only the pre-operative gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted (T1-Gd) and T2-weighted (T2) volume data from 70 patients with previously untreated glioblastoma were used to derive a ratio D/ρ for each patient. We developed a ‘virtual control' for each patient with the same size tumour at the time of diagnosis, the same ratio of net invasion to proliferation (D/ρ) and the same extent of resection. The median durations of survival and the shapes of the survival curves of actual and ‘virtual' patients subjected to biopsy or subtotal resection (STR) superimpose exactly. For those actually receiving gross total resection (GTR), as shown by post-operative CT, the actual survival curve lies between the ‘virtual' results predicted for 100 and 125% resection of the T1-Gd volume. The concordance between predicted (virtual) and actual survivals suggests that the mathematical model is realistic enough to allow precise definition of the effectiveness of individualised treatments and their site(s) of action on proliferation (ρ) and/or dispersal (D) of the tumour cells without knowledge of any other clinical or pathological information

Using the arts: Learning from a community consultation on health and wellbeing.

Local service commissioners require information about a community's needs in order to make spending decisions with limited funds. Gaining the knowledge required can be problematic. This article presents the findings from an innovative project which harnessed visual arts in order to facilitate expression of a community's health and wellbeing needs. The arts-based community consultation, was developed in partnership with a range of agencies and organisations who were engaged with a particular community. A qualitative evaluation study was devised to capture the process of delivering the community consultation to aid service commissioners' funding decisions. The findings demonstrated that an effectively managed arts-based creative consultation process can be a powerful mechanism for establishing a community's perspective on their health and wellbeing

The influence of the atmospheric boundary layer on nocturnal layers of noctuids and other moths migrating over southern Britain

Insects migrating at high altitude over southern Britain have been continuously monitored by automatically-operating, vertical-looking radars over a period of several years. During some occasions in the summer months, the migrants were observed to form well-defined layer concentrations, typically at heights of 200-400 m, in the stable night-time atmosphere. Under these conditions, insects are likely to have control over their vertical movements and are selecting flight heights which are favourable for long-range migration. We therefore investigated the factors influencing the formation of these insect layers by comparing radar measurements of the vertical distribution of insect density with meteorological profiles generated by the UK Met. Office’s Unified Model (UM). Radar-derived measurements of mass and displacement speed, along with data from Rothamsted Insect Survey light traps provided information on the identity of the migrants. We present here three case studies where noctuid and pyralid moths contributed substantially to the observed layers. The major meteorological factors influencing the layer concentrations appeared to be: (a) the altitude of the warmest air, (b) heights corresponding to temperature preferences or thresholds for sustained migration and (c), on nights when air temperatures are relatively high, wind-speed maxima associated with the nocturnal jet. Back-trajectories indicated that layer duration may have been determined by the distance to the coast. Overall, the unique combination of meteorological data from the UM and insect data from entomological radar described here show considerable promise for systematic studies of high-altitude insect layering

Taxonomic Distinctness of Demersal Fishes of the California Current: Moving Beyond Simple Measures of Diversity for Marine Ecosystem-Based Management

BACKGROUND: Large-scale patterns or trends in species diversity have long interested ecologists. The classic pattern is for diversity (e.g., species richness) to decrease with increasing latitude. Taxonomic distinctness is a diversity measure based on the relatedness of the species within a sample. Here we examined patterns of taxonomic distinctness in relation to latitude (ca. 32-48 degrees N) and depth (ca. 50-1220 m) for demersal fishes on the continental shelf and slope of the US Pacific coast. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Both average taxonomic distinctness (AvTD) and variation in taxonomic distinctness (VarTD) changed with latitude and depth. AvTD was highest at approximately 500 m and lowest at around 200 m bottom depth. Latitudinal trends in AvTD were somewhat weaker and were depth-specific. AvTD increased with latitude on the shelf (50-150 m) but tended to decrease with latitude at deeper depths. Variation in taxonomic distinctness (VarTD) was highest around 300 m. As with AvTD, latitudinal trends in VarTD were depth-specific. On the shelf (50-150 m), VarTD increased with latitude, while in deeper areas the patterns were more complex. Closer inspection of the data showed that the number and distribution of species within the class Chondrichthyes were the primary drivers of the overall patterns seen in AvTD and VarTD, while the relatedness and distribution of species in the order Scorpaeniformes appeared to cause the relatively low observed values of AvTD at around 200 m. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These trends contrast to some extent the patterns seen in earlier studies for species richness and evenness in demersal fishes along this coast and add to our understanding of diversity of the demersal fishes of the California Current

A delayed injection-site reaction in a patient receiving extended-release naltrexone

BACKGROUND: Pharmacotherapy, such as oral naltrexone, has proven effective in treating alcohol use disorder, although medication adherence has presented challenges. Although a formulation of extended-release naltrexone for intramuscular injection has been developed to counter daily adherence issues, injection-site reactions can occur within days of depot injection. CASE: The authors report a case of an individual with alcohol use disorder who had a previously undescribed delayed injection-site reaction that occurred 11 days after injection. Subsequent challenge with the medication resulted in recurrence of the reaction. DISCUSSION: Although extended-release naltrexone is generally well tolerated, injection-site reactions can complicate treatment and can appear more than 10 days after medication administration

Zinc intake, status and indices of cognitive function in adults and children: a systematic review and meta-analysis

In developing countries, deficiencies of micronutrients are thought to have a major impact on child development; however, a consensus on the specific relationship between dietary zinc intake and cognitive function remains elusive. The aim of this systematic review was to examine the relationship between zinc intake, status and indices of cognitive function in children and adults. A systematic literature search was conducted using EMBASE, MEDLINE and Cochrane Library databases from inception to March 2014. Included studies were those that supplied zinc as supplements or measured dietary zinc intake. A meta-analysis of the extracted data was performed where sufficient data were available. Of all of the potentially relevant papers, 18 studies met the inclusion criteria, 12 of which were randomised controlled trials (RCTs; 11 in children and 1 in adults) and 6 were observational studies (2 in children and 4 in adults). Nine of the 18 studies reported a positive association between zinc intake or status with one or more measure of cognitive function. Meta-analysis of data from the adult’s studies was not possible because of limited number of studies. A meta-analysis of data from the six RCTs conducted in children revealed that there was no significant overall effect of zinc intake on any indices of cognitive function: intelligence, standard mean difference of <0.001 (95% confidence interval (CI) –0.12, 0.13) P=0.95; executive function, standard mean difference of 0.08 (95% CI, –0.06, 022) P=0.26; and motor skills standard mean difference of 0.11 (95% CI –0.17, 0.39) P=0.43. Heterogeneity in the study designs was a major limitation, hence only a small number (n=6) of studies could be included in the meta-analyses. Meta-analysis failed to show a significant effect of zinc supplementation on cognitive functioning in children though, taken as a whole, there were some small indicators of improvement on aspects of executive function and motor development following supplementation but high-quality RCTs are necessary to investigate this further

A meta-analytic review of stand-alone interventions to improve body image

Objective Numerous stand-alone interventions to improve body image have been developed. The present review used meta-analysis to estimate the effectiveness of such interventions, and to identify the specific change techniques that lead to improvement in body image. Methods The inclusion criteria were that (a) the intervention was stand-alone (i.e., solely focused on improving body image), (b) a control group was used, (c) participants were randomly assigned to conditions, and (d) at least one pretest and one posttest measure of body image was taken. Effect sizes were meta-analysed and moderator analyses were conducted. A taxonomy of 48 change techniques used in interventions targeted at body image was developed; all interventions were coded using this taxonomy. Results The literature search identified 62 tests of interventions (N = 3,846). Interventions produced a small-to-medium improvement in body image (d+ = 0.38), a small-to-medium reduction in beauty ideal internalisation (d+ = -0.37), and a large reduction in social comparison tendencies (d+ = -0.72). However, the effect size for body image was inflated by bias both within and across studies, and was reliable but of small magnitude once corrections for bias were applied. Effect sizes for the other outcomes were no longer reliable once corrections for bias were applied. Several features of the sample, intervention, and methodology moderated intervention effects. Twelve change techniques were associated with improvements in body image, and three techniques were contra-indicated. Conclusions The findings show that interventions engender only small improvements in body image, and underline the need for large-scale, high-quality trials in this area. The review identifies effective techniques that could be deployed in future interventions