Behavioral Differences Between Two Recently Sympatric Paper Wasps, the Native \u3ci\u3ePolistes Fuscatus\u3c/i\u3e and the Invasive \u3ci\u3ePolistes Dominulus\u3c/i\u3e

Polistes dominulus (Christ), an old world paper wasp, was introduced into the eastern United States in the 1970s and has been rapidly spreading westward. Recently, it has displaced the native Polistes fuscatus (F.) in at least some areas of Michigan. In order to understand why P. dominulus has been so successful, several behavioral attributes were compared between P. dominulus and P. fuscatus at a Michigan field site that contained colonies of both species nest- ing semi-naturally in plywood nestboxes. Preworker colonies of P. dominulus had a significantly greater tendency to store nectar (and had significantly higher proportions of cells with nectar) than preworker colonies of P. fuscatus. This finding may explain the higher survivorship of P. dominulus foundresses reported in a previous study. P. dominulus also had a significantly greater tendency to build vertical nests and had significantly more pedicels per comb and per cell than P. fuscatus. These findings suggest that compared to P. fuscatus, P. dominulus may have more flexibility in the positioning of its combs and, because of a possibly stronger attachment of the comb to a substrate, may be less susceptible to bird predation. The higher winter survivorship reported for P. fuscatus over P. dominulus in a previous study does not appear to be due to differences in the proportions of gynes stranded on their nests late in the fall. Finally, behavioral evidence from videography was consistent with previous reports that P. dominulus is not replacing P. fuscatus through direct agonistic interactions

A Structured Framework and Resources to Use to Get Your Medical Education Work Published.

IntroductionMedical educators often have great ideas for medical education scholarship but have difficulty converting their educational abstract or project into a published manuscript.MethodsDuring this workshop, participants addressed common challenges in developing an educational manuscript. In small-group case scenarios, participants discovered the importance of the "So what?" in making the case for their project. Incorporating conceptual frameworks, participants chose appropriate outcome metrics, discussed how to frame the discussion section, and ensured appropriate journal fit. After each small-group exercise, large-group discussions allowed the small groups to report back so that facilitators could highlight and reinforce key learning points. At the conclusion of the workshop, participants left with a checklist for creating an educational manuscript and an additional resources document to assist them in avoiding common pitfalls when turning their educational abstract/project into a publishable manuscript.ResultsThis workshop was presented in 2016 and 2017. Presenter evaluations were completed by 33 participants; 11 completed conference evaluations. The mean overall rating on presenter evaluations was 4.55 out of 5, while the conference evaluations mean was 3.73 out of 4. Comments provided on both evaluation tools highlighted the perceived effectiveness of the delivery and content. More than 50% of respondents stated that they planned to incorporate the use of conceptual frameworks in future work.DiscussionThis workshop helped participants address common challenges by providing opportunities for hands-on practice as well as tips and resources for use when submitting a medical education manuscript for publication

Particle-scale structure in frozen colloidal suspensions from small angle X-ray scattering

During directional solidification of the solvent in a colloidal suspension, the colloidal particles segregate from the growing solid, forming high-particle-density regions with structure on a hierarchy of length scales ranging from that of the particle-scale packing to the large-scale spacing between these regions. Previous work has mostly concentrated on the medium- to large-length scale structure, as it is the most accessible and thought to be more technologically relevant. However, the packing of the colloids at the particle-scale is an important component not only in theoretical descriptions of the segregation process, but also to the utility of freeze-cast materials for new applications. Here we present the results of experiments in which we investigated this structure across a wide range of length scales using a combination of small angle X-ray scattering and direct optical imaging. As expected, during freezing the particles were concentrated into regions between ice dendrites forming a microscopic pattern of high- and low-particle-density regions. X-ray scattering indicates that the particles in the high density regions were so closely packed as to be touching. However, the arrangement of the particles does not conform to that predicted by any standard inter-particle pair potentials, suggesting that the particle packing induced by freezing differs from that formed during equilibrium or steady-state densification processes

Behavioral Differences Between Two Recently Sympatric Paper Wasps, the Native \u3ci\u3ePolistes Fuscatus\u3c/i\u3e and the Invasive \u3ci\u3ePolistes Dominulus\u3c/i\u3e

Polistes dominulus (Christ), an old world paper wasp, was introduced into the eastern United States in the 1970s and has been rapidly spreading westward. Recently, it has displaced the native Polistes fuscatus (F.) in at least some areas of Michigan. In order to understand why P. dominulus has been so successful, several behavioral attributes were compared between P. dominulus and P. fuscatus at a Michigan field site that contained colonies of both species nest- ing semi-naturally in plywood nestboxes. Preworker colonies of P. dominulus had a significantly greater tendency to store nectar (and had significantly higher proportions of cells with nectar) than preworker colonies of P. fuscatus. This finding may explain the higher survivorship of P. dominulus foundresses reported in a previous study. P. dominulus also had a significantly greater tendency to build vertical nests and had significantly more pedicels per comb and per cell than P. fuscatus. These findings suggest that compared to P. fuscatus, P. dominulus may have more flexibility in the positioning of its combs and, because of a possibly stronger attachment of the comb to a substrate, may be less susceptible to bird predation. The higher winter survivorship reported for P. fuscatus over P. dominulus in a previous study does not appear to be due to differences in the proportions of gynes stranded on their nests late in the fall. Finally, behavioral evidence from videography was consistent with previous reports that P. dominulus is not replacing P. fuscatus through direct agonistic interactions

Meta-analysis & Review of Learner Performance & Preference: Virtual vs. Optical Microscopy

Background & Purpose: For nearly two decades, a wealth of literature has been published describing the various capabilities, uses, and adaptations of virtual microscopy (VM). Many studies have investigated the effects and benefits of VM on student learning compared to optical microscopy (OM). As such, this study statistically aggregated the findings of multiple comparative studies through a meta-analysis to summarize and substantiate the pedagogical efficacy of teaching with VM. Methods Using predefined eligibility criteria, teams of paired researchers screened the titles and abstracts of VM studies retrieved from seven different databases. After two rounds of screening, numerical and thematic data were extracted from the eligible studies for analysis. A summary effect size and estimate of heterogeneity were calculated to determine the effects of VM on learner performance and the amount of variance between studies, respectively. Trends in student perceptions were also analyzed and reported. Results: Of the 725 records screened, 72 studies underwent full-text review. In total, 12 studies were viable for meta-analysis and additional studies were reviewed to extract themes relating to learners’ perceptions of VM. The meta-analysis detected a small yet significant positive effect on learner performance (SMD=0.28, [CI=0.09, 0.47], p=0.003), indicating that learners experience marked knowledge gains when exposed to VM over OM. Variation among studies was evident as high heterogeneity was reported. An analysis of trends in learner perceptions noted that respondents favored VM over OM by a large margin. Conclusions: Despite many individual studies reporting non-significant findings when comparing VM to OM, the enhanced power afforded by meta-analysis revealed that the pedagogical approach of VM is modestly superior to OM and is preferred by learners

Retinal and cerebral microvascular signs and diabetes: the age, gene/environment susceptibility-Reykjavik study

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldOBJECTIVE: Diabetes increases the risk for microvascular disease. The retina and the brain both have intricate microvascular systems that are developmentally similar. We sought to examine whether microvascular lesions in the retina and in the brain are associated and whether this association differs among people with and without diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The analysis included 4,218 participants of the Icelandic population-based Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility-Reykjavik Study who were born in 1907-1935 and who were previously followed as a part of the Reykjavik Study. Retinal focal arteriolar narrowing, arteriovenous (AV) nicking, and microaneurysms/hemorrhages were evaluated on digital retinal images of both eyes. Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) were evaluated from magnetic resonance images. Data were analyzed with logistic and multinomial logistic regression models controlling for demographics, major cardiovascular risk factors, cerebral infarcts, and white matter lesions. RESULTS: Evidence of brain microbleeds was found in 485 (11.5%) people, including 192 with multiple (>or=2) microbleeds. Subjects with signs of retinal microvascular lesions were at a significantly increased likelihood for having multiple CMBs. People with diabetes in combination with the presence of either retinal AV nicking (odds ratio [OR] 2.47 [95% CI 1.42-4.31]) or retinal microaneurysms/hemorrhages (2.28 [1.24-4.18]) were significantly more likely to have multiple CMBs. CONCLUSIONS: Retinal microvascular abnormalities and brain microbleeds may occur together in older adults. People with both diabetes and signs of retinal microvascular lesions (AV nicking and microaneurysms/hemorrhages) are more likely to have multiple microbleeds in the brain. Microvascular disease in diabetes extends to the brain

Speaking out about gender imbalance in invited speakers improves diversity.

Omissions of qualified women scientists from major meeting programs continue to occur despite a surge in articles indicating persistent gender-discriminatory practices in hiring and promotion, and calls for gender balance in conference organizing committees