Can’t, won’t and what’s the point? Explaining the UK public’s muted response to austerity

Since 2010, the government has undertaken extensive spending cuts, subsequently linked with rising poverty, food bank use, and serious health issues. Kate Harrison identifies key factors that explain why the public’s response to austerity has been relatively muted

Dispersal and compensatory population dynamics in a harvested mammal

Populations of wild birds and mammals are often harvested for sport, subsistence or commerce. Sustainable exploitation is an important aspect of environmental management and is critical to human wellbeing. However, our inability to sustainably harvest even well studied populations is often due to poor demographic data and a lack of understanding of critical biological processes. A key component of sustainable harvesting is the density-dependant feedback between vital rates (births, deaths, immigration and emigration) and population density, as this mechanism provides populations with the capacity to compensate for harvest mortality. The aims of this thesis are to investigate density-dependence, compensation and sustainable harvesting in a traditional Scottish quarry species, the mountain hare, Lepus timidus scoticus, using a combination of replicated field experiments, cross-sectional studies and modelling. The mountain hare has been traditionally harvested for centuries and continues to be an important source of revenue for some land owners. Over the past decade the motive for killing hares has switched from predominantly sport shooting, to culling to reduce ticks and the tick-borne disease Louping-ill virus (LIV). Louping-ill virus causes high mortality, and can supress harvest, in economically important red grouse, Lagopus lagopus scoticus. Sustainable management of the mountain hare is further complicated by cyclic, or unstable, population dynamics shown throughout their circumpolar distribution. The thesis begins with a review of the evidence that culling mountain hares can lead to a reduction in ticks and LIV prevalence, resulting in increased red grouse harvest. The empirical studies follow with the aim of providing evidence for compensatory survival and dispersal, and density-dependent reproduction. Two field study approaches were adopted; the first was a live-capture and radio-telemetry study which compared birth dates, survival probabilities and dispersal distances and rates of different age and sex classes between two populations under different harvesting regimes (harvested and non-harvested). The second empirical study used a cross-sectional design whereby population density of ten independent populations were estimated using Distance sampling, which preceded hare harvesting. Tissue samples of killed hares were collected, enabling the effects of population density on female fecundity and juvenile recruitment to be assessed. Finally, an age-structure, female-only matrix population model was parameterised using data from the empirical studies. Sustainable harvest rates were determined as the maximum harvest that produced a positive population growth rate and an extinction probability of less than 5%. By manipulating age-specific harvest and initial population size, the effects of age-biased harvest and changing population size on population viability could be investigated. Results of the cross-sectional study revealed evidence for negative density-dependent juvenile recruitment. However, this finding was not translated into compensatory survival in either juveniles or adults, although birth date of leverets was significantly later in the harvested population. Overall, dispersal distances and rates were low. Dispersal distance was greater in the harvested population, although when distance was scaled to account for differences in observation time, to give a dispersal rate, no difference was found. Projections from the matrix model suggest that 40% annual harvest rate is sustainable, although extinction probability increases with decreasing population size and as harvesting becomes increasingly yearling biased. Overall, no evidence for compensatory survival or dispersal was found, although density-dependent juvenile recruitment was identified and may be important in population persistence under exploitation. Survival and timing of breeding may be influenced by behavioural and physiological effects of harvesting, or environmental variation, which may have implications for unstable dynamics of mountain hare. I identify and discuss key areas for future research aimed at increasing our understanding of the effects of harvesting on mountain hare population dynamics and demography. In conclusion, we found little evidence that culling mountain hares can increase red grouse harvest, and therefore, cannot justify culling mountain hares for tick and LIV control. The low dispersal rates and distances, combined with limited evidence for compensatory mechanisms, imply that local blanket culls may succeed in reducing hare numbers with unknown implications for mountain hare population persistence and the wider biodiversity of the Scottish uplands

Advances in Engineering the Fly Genome with the CRISPR-Cas System.

Drosophila has long been a premier model for the development and application of cutting-edge genetic approaches. The CRISPR-Cas system now adds the ability to manipulate the genome with ease and precision, providing a rich toolbox to interrogate relationships between genotype and phenotype, to delineate and visualize how the genome is organized, to illuminate and manipulate RNA, and to pioneer new gene drive technologies. Myriad transformative approaches have already originated from the CRISPR-Cas system, which will likely continue to spark the creation of tools with diverse applications. Here, we provide an overview of how CRISPR-Cas gene editing has revolutionized genetic analysis in Drosophila and highlight key areas for future advances

Detecting early signs of depressive and manic episodes in patients with bipolar disorder using the signature-based model

Recurrent major mood episodes and subsyndromal mood instability cause substantial disability in patients with bipolar disorder. Early identification of mood episodes enabling timely mood stabilisation is an important clinical goal. Recent technological advances allow the prospective reporting of mood in real time enabling more accurate, efficient data capture. The complex nature of these data streams in combination with challenge of deriving meaning from missing data mean pose a significant analytic challenge. The signature method is derived from stochastic analysis and has the ability to capture important properties of complex ordered time series data. To explore whether the onset of episodes of mania and depression can be identified using self-reported mood data.Comment: 12 pages, 3 tables, 10 figure

National Indigenous Palliative Care Needs Study

This study involved extensive consultation with the community to identify the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in palliative care

The Tectonics of the Double Skin:: Green Building or Just more Hi-Tech Hi-Jinx? NORTH AMERICAN CASE STUDIES:

North American Double Façade Buildings: 1980 to 2001 Where over the past ten years, Europe and the Pacific Rim have seen the construction of a number of vanguard double skin façade buildings, very few have been either proposed or constructed in North America. The first to be constructed was the Occidental Chemical Center (also known as the Hooker Building) in Niagara Falls, New York. It was designed by Cannon Design Inc. and completed in 1980. Occidental Chemical has achieved historic status in texts on building systems as the first of its kind to be constructed in North America. In spite of much press and notoriety, its skin system was not widely adopted in commercial building types to follow. SOM designed a double skin envelope for the Prudential Life Insurance Company in Princeton, N.J. in the late 1980's.3 Following few built examples in the 1980's, it would appear that the double skin façade system continued without influence in North America during the 1990's. The next building of note is the double skin façade for the Seattle Justice Center designed by Arup Associates in 2000/ 2001.4 The European offices of Arup Associates have been responsible for many of the double façade buildings constructed to date in Europe and Asia. A double skin, referred to in this case as "une façade intelligente”, is being used on the "Caisse de Depots et de Placements du Quebec” in Montreal. Façade erection commenced during Winter 2002. They chose to use the system for its thermal, visual and acoustical properties. The double skin used, is a Twin-Face type and integrates an operable window. In designing for the severity of the Quebec climate they used double glazing on the outside and single glazing on the inside skin. Standard recommendations for Twin-Face systems would provide single glazing on the outside buffering skin and double glazing on the interior layer. This approach might work in more temperate climates, but is not suitable to a cold climate installation. Ongoing construction information on the CDP may be found at http://www2.destinationcdp.com/index.asp?version=3 The Telus Building in Vancouver, British Columbia, designed by Busby and Associates has been recently completed. This building varies from most other examples in that it uses the second skin to encapsulate an existing concrete masonry building, to prevent its destruction, extend its life and create an improved interior work environment

Role of novel pro-viral cellular proteins in the replication of Vaccinia virus

Vaccinia virus (VACV), the prototypic poxvirus, undergoes a complex life cycle, with multiple stages that are not yet fully understood. This work studied two cellular proteins which had previously been identified by siRNA screens as playing proviral roles in the replication cycle of VACV: the dual specificity mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 3 (MKK3) and vacuolar protein sorting 52 (Vps52). MKK3 is an upstream regulator in the p38 pathway which, along with MKK6, phosphorylates and therefore activates p38. In HeLa cell cultures, siRNA depletion experiments confirmed that MKK3 supported VACV replication. MKK3 knockdown reduced production of both early and late-class VACV proteins, suggesting that it facilitates viral gene expression. However, this difference did not translate to an in vivo model, as comparison between wild type and MKK3 knockout mice infected with VACV revealed no significant differences in virus replication or overall disease. The Golgi-associated retrograde protein complex (GARP) is composed of four large heteromeric proteins: Vps51, Vps52, Vps53 and Vps54, and plays a key role in retrograde transport from endosomes to the TGN. The effects of loss of GARP function were investigated using three techniques: mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) containing the hypomorphic Vps54 “wobbler” mutation, Vps52-targetting siRNA in HeLa cells and pharmacological inhibition of retrograde transport using the drug Retro-2. GARP loss resulted in a marked reduction in VACV spread due to a reduction specifically in “double wrapped” extracellular enveloped virion (EEV) production. Investigation of the mechanism by which GARP facilitates EEV production revealed a disruption of the VACV morphogenesis pathway prior to the double wrapping event, resulting in mislocalisation and aggregation of the viral membrane protein B5 within the cytoplasm. The effects of GARP loss translated to an in vivo model, as mice infected with VACV and treated with Retro-2 exhibited reduced viral replication and overall disease. These results identify GARP as a pro-viral host complex required for EEV production, and suggest that cellular retrograde transport pathways are required for double-wrapping of VACV virions. Overall, the study illustrates both the potential pitfalls of carrying out genetic screens in a transformed cell line and the power of such studies to nevertheless identify novel features of virus biology as well as druggable targets for antiviral intervention

Child survival in England: Strengthening governance for health.

The United Kingdom, like all European countries, is struggling to strengthen health systems and improve conditions for child health and survival. Child mortality in the UK has failed to improve in line with other countries. Securing optimal conditions for child health requires a healthy society, strong health system, and effective health care. We examine inter-sectoral and intra-sectoral policy and governance for child health and survival in England. Literature reviews and universally applicable clinical scenarios were used to examine child health problems and English policy and governance responses for improving child health through integrating care and strengthening health systems, over the past 15 years. We applied the TAPIC framework for analysing policy governance: transparency, accountability, participation, integrity, and capacity. We identified strengths and weaknesses in child health governance in all the five domains. However there remain policy failures that are not fully explained by the TAPIC framework. Other problems with successfully translating policy to improved health that we identified include policy flux; policies insufficiently supported by delivery mechanisms, measurable targets, and sufficient budgets; and policies with unintended or contradictory aspects. We make recommendations for inter-sectoral and intra-sectoral child health governance, policy, and action to improve child health in England with relevant lessons for other countries

Making sense of sensors

The paper explores the different projects resulting from a practical workshop on making and hacking biosensors. The workshop was part of the Sussex-UCSC Digital Media partnership initiative, funded though the University of Sussex (and the EPSRC). The projects and the workshop enable a series of reflections about biosensors and their commercially offered promises and what they might offer to other constituents in digital arts theory and practice. These reflections include: issues about expertise and how to ‘make with sensors’; how inner states of being can be communicated in social situations; non-human relations and the possibility of radical communication beyond the human; and questions about materiality and performance and the role of the manifesto in relation to devices. These points are developed to argue that despite the radical promise of biosensors to offer new forms of communication, the objects they produce often fail. However, the process of design and making open up questions about the technological horizon and possibilities for connection in a device orientated culture