Waterfowl Populations in Eastern Lancaster Sound and Western Baffin Bay

The seasonal distributions of oldsquaws (Clangula hyemalis), common eiders (Somateria mollissima) and king eiders (S. spectabilis) were determined through aerial surveys in eastern Lancaster Sound (1976, 1978 and 1979) and northwest Baffin Bay (1978, 1979). Sightings of geese are summarized in an Appendix. The major spring influx of both eiders occurs about the second week of May but most oldsquaws do not arrive until the first half of June. In spring, all three species are rare in offshore areas, are most abundant along coasts in the northern half of the study area, and tend to depart to nesting areas during the last week of June. Oldsqaws molt along coasts of Lancaster Sound and northwest Baffin Bay, but both species of eiders undertake molt migrations. Three waves of eider out-migration were detected in 1976 and 1978. Distribution and movements within the study area are related to probable migrations routes and ice conditions.Key words: oldsquaw, king eider, common eider, geese, aerial surveys, distribution, molt migration, eastern Arctic, Baffin Bay, Lancaster Soun

The Reactions of Muskoxen to Snowmobile Harassment

Twenty-one harassment trials on 14 muskox herds were conducted in April and May 1982 on eastern Melville Island, N.W.T. Each trial consisted of a slow approach directly toward the herd on a snowmobile. The snowmobile, returned along its approach path as soon as 50% of the herd was alerted. Distance at which the first animal reacted (IRD) averaged 345.0 m(range 162-650 m) and the distance from the herd at closest approach (CAD) averaged 267.2 m(range 87-645 m). IRD was positively correlated with wind speed. No correlation between CAD and any of the measured variables was found. Maximum reaction level of the herd was positively correlated with herd size (rs = 0.488, P<0.05). No significant differences in IRD or CAD were found between or among classes of discrete variables such as topography and wind direction, but sample sizes were small. Adult female muskoxen reacted first more frequently than expected (P<0.02). Two herds were approached repeatedly (one six times and one three times) to assess habituation. Results were inconclusive. IRD for the herd that was approached three times decreased progressively. IRD for a herd approached six times was variable but shortest on the sixth approach and the reaction level of the herd also was low on the sixth approach..Key words: muskoxen, harassment, snowmobile, Melville Island, N.W.T.Mots clés: boeuf musqué, harcèlement, motoneige, île Melville, T.N.-O

Effects of Snow and Ice on Waterfowl Distribution in the Central Canadian Arctic Islands

Aerial surveys were conducted in 1974 and 1975 to determine distribution and abundance of waterfowl along the coasts of Somerset, Cornwallis, Little Cornwallis, and Byam Martin islands, Boothia Peninsula, as well as parts of Prince of Wales, Devon, Bathurst, and Melville islands. Waterfowl nested normally in 1975 but were prevented from doing so in 1974 by a late thaw. In 1974, but not in 1975, Barrow Strait was ice free by 1 June. Densities of most species were lower in spring 1975 than in 1974, when inhospitable conditions inland forced the birds to concentrate in coastal areas. In late summer Brant (Branta bernicla) and Oldsquaw (Clangula hyemalis) were more numerous in 1975 than in 1974; Brant left the central High Arctic in midsummer 1974, but the reason for the smaller number of Oldsquaw is not evident. Both Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens) and eiders (Somateria spp.) were more abundant in late summer 1974 than in 1975. Many Snow Geese moved to southeastern Somerset Island and adjacent waters to moult in 1974. In 1975 many eiders and Snow Geese remained at inland locations with their broods. Queens Channel, northern Somerset Island and Bellot Strait were particularly important to waterfowl, irrespective of spring phenology. Melville and Byam Martin islands were used by Brant, and Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) occurred mainly on the Boothia Peninsula. Snow Geese were abundant in both years in southeastern Somerset Island, particularly near Creswell Bay, where both breeding and moulting occurred. Coastal waters of Barrow Strait, Prince Regent Inlet and the Gulf of Boothia were heavily used by Oldsquaw in spring and summer, and Crooked Lake, Prince of Wales Island, was used by many moulting Oldsquaw in both years. Common Eiders (S. mollissima) occurred principally in Queens Channel, Barrow Strait and near Bellot Strait; King Eiders (S. spectabilis) also concentrated in the same areas but were more widely distributed throughout the study area.Key words: Arctic Islands, N.W.T., waterfowl distribution, nonbreeding, aerial surveys, Brant, snow Geese, Oldsquaw, eidersMots clés: îles arctiques, T. N-O., distribution des oiseaux marins, non-accouplement, inventaires aériens, bernache cravant, oie blanche, canard à longue queue, eide

Salt Reduction Initiatives around the World – A Systematic Review of Progress towards the Global Target

Objective To quantify progress with the initiation of salt reduction strategies around the world in the context of the global target to reduce population salt intake by 30% by 2025. Methods A systematic review of the published and grey literature was supplemented by questionnaires sent to country program leaders. Core characteristics of strategies were extracted and categorised according to a pre-defined framework. Results A total of 75 countries now have a national salt reduction strategy, more than double the number reported in a similar review done in 2010. The majority of programs are multifaceted and include industry engagement to reformulate products (n = 61), establishment of sodium content targets for foods (39), consumer education (71), front-of-pack labelling schemes (31), taxation on high-salt foods (3) and interventions in public institutions (54). Legislative action related to salt reduction such as mandatory targets, front of pack labelling, food procurement policies and taxation have been implemented in 33 countries. 12 countries have reported reductions in population salt intake, 19 reduced salt content in foods and 6 improvements in consumer knowledge, attitudes or behaviours relating to salt. Conclusion The large and increasing number of countries with salt reduction strategies in place is encouraging although activity remains limited in low- and middle-income regions. The absence of a consistent approach to implementation highlights uncertainty about the elements most important to success. Rigorous evaluation of ongoing programs and initiation of salt reduction programs, particularly in low- and middle- income countries, will be vital to achieving the targeted 30% reduction in salt intake

Mutations in the histone methyltransferase gene KMT2B cause complex early-onset dystonia.

Histone lysine methylation, mediated by mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL) proteins, is now known to be critical in the regulation of gene expression, genomic stability, cell cycle and nuclear architecture. Despite MLL proteins being postulated as essential for normal development, little is known about the specific functions of the different MLL lysine methyltransferases. Here we report heterozygous variants in the gene KMT2B (also known as MLL4) in 27 unrelated individuals with a complex progressive childhood-onset dystonia, often associated with a typical facial appearance and characteristic brain magnetic resonance imaging findings. Over time, the majority of affected individuals developed prominent cervical, cranial and laryngeal dystonia. Marked clinical benefit, including the restoration of independent ambulation in some cases, was observed following deep brain stimulation (DBS). These findings highlight a clinically recognizable and potentially treatable form of genetic dystonia, demonstrating the crucial role of KMT2B in the physiological control of voluntary movement.Funding for the project was provided by the Wellcome Trust for UK10K (WT091310) and DDD Study. The DDD study presents independent research commissioned by the Health Innovation Challenge Fund [grant number HICF-1009-003] - see www.ddduk.org/access.html for full acknowledgement. This work was supported in part by the Intramural Research Program of the National Human Genome Research Institute and the Common Fund, NIH Office of the Director. This work was supported in part by the German Ministry of Research and Education (grant nos. 01GS08160 and 01GS08167; German Mental Retardation Network) as part of the National Genome Research Network to A.R. and D.W. and by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (AB393/2-2) to A.R. Brain expression data was provided by the UK Human Brain Expression Consortium (UKBEC), which comprises John A. Hardy, Mina Ryten, Michael Weale, Daniah Trabzuni, Adaikalavan Ramasamy, Colin Smith and Robert Walker, affiliated with UCL Institute of Neurology (J.H., M.R., D.T.), King’s College London (M.R., M.W., A.R.) and the University of Edinburgh (C.S., R.W.)

Long-term persistence of multi-drug-resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Newport in two dairy herds

Objective - To evaluate the association between maintaining joint hospital and maternity pens;and persistence of multi-drug-resistant (MDR) Salmonella enterica serovar Newport on 2 dairy farms. Design - Observational study. Sample Population - Feces and environmental samples from 2 dairy herds. Procedure - Herds were monitored for fecal shedding of S enterica Newport after outbreaks of clinical disease. Fecal and environmental samples were collected approximately monthly from pens housing sick cows and calving cows and from pens containing lactating cows. Cattle shedding the organism were tested serially on subsequent visits to determine carrier status. One farm was resampled after initiation of interventional procedures, including separation of hospital and maternity pens. Isolates were characterized via serotyping, determination of antimicrobial resistance phenotype, detection of the CMY-2 gene, and DNA fingerprinting. Results - The prevalence (32.4% and 33.3% on farms A and B, respectively) of isolating Salmonella from samples from joint hospital-maternity pens was significantly higher than the prevalence in samples from pens housing preparturient cows (0.8%, both farms) and postparturient cows on Farm B (8.8%). Multi-drug-resistant Salmonella Newport was isolated in high numbers from bedding material, feed refusals, lagoon slurry, and milk filters. One cow excreted the organism for 190 days. Interventional procedures yielded significant reductions in the prevalences of isolating the organism from fecal and environmental samples. Most isolates were of the C2 serogroup and were resistant to third-generation cephalosporins. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance - Management practices may be effective at reducing the persistence of MDR Salmonella spp in dairy herds, thus mitigating animal and public health risk

Lessons from mouse chimaera experiments with a reiterated transgene marker:revised marker criteria and a review of chimaera markers

Recent reports of a new generation of ubiquitous transgenic chimaera markers prompted us to consider the criteria used to evaluate new chimaera markers and develop more objective assessment methods. To investigate this experimentally we used several series of fetal and adult chimaeras, carrying an older, multi-copy transgenic marker. We used two additional independent markers and objective, quantitative criteria for cell selection and cell mixing to investigate quantitative and spatial aspects of developmental neutrality. We also suggest how the quantitative analysis we used could be simplified for future use with other markers. As a result, we recommend a five-step procedure for investigators to evaluate new chimaera markers based partly on criteria proposed previously but with a greater emphasis on examining the developmental neutrality of prospective new markers. These five steps comprise (1) review of published information, (2) evaluation of marker detection, (3) genetic crosses to check for effects on viability and growth, (4) comparisons of chimaeras with and without the marker and (5) analysis of chimaeras with both cell populations labelled. Finally, we review a number of different chimaera markers and evaluate them using the extended set of criteria. These comparisons indicate that, although the new generation of ubiquitous fluorescent markers are the best of those currently available and fulfil most of the criteria required of a chimaera marker, further work is required to determine whether they are developmentally neutral. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11248-015-9883-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Multiple novel prostate cancer susceptibility signals identified by fine-mapping of known risk loci among Europeans

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified numerous common prostate cancer (PrCa) susceptibility loci. We have fine-mapped 64 GWAS regions known at the conclusion of the iCOGS study using large-scale genotyping and imputation in 25 723 PrCa cases and 26 274 controls of European ancestry. We detected evidence for multiple independent signals at 16 regions, 12 of which contained additional newly identified significant associations. A single signal comprising a spectrum of correlated variation was observed at 39 regions; 35 of which are now described by a novel more significantly associated lead SNP, while the originally reported variant remained as the lead SNP only in 4 regions. We also confirmed two association signals in Europeans that had been previously reported only in East-Asian GWAS. Based on statistical evidence and linkage disequilibrium (LD) structure, we have curated and narrowed down the list of the most likely candidate causal variants for each region. Functional annotation using data from ENCODE filtered for PrCa cell lines and eQTL analysis demonstrated significant enrichment for overlap with bio-features within this set. By incorporating the novel risk variants identified here alongside the refined data for existing association signals, we estimate that these loci now explain ∼38.9% of the familial relative risk of PrCa, an 8.9% improvement over the previously reported GWAS tag SNPs. This suggests that a significant fraction of the heritability of PrCa may have been hidden during the discovery phase of GWAS, in particular due to the presence of multiple independent signals within the same regio

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead