2,387 research outputs found
The evolution of gregariousness in parasitoid wasps
Data are assembled on the clutch-size strategies adopted by extant species of parasitoid wasp. These data are used to reconstruct the history of clutch-size evolution in the group using a series of plausible evolutionary assumptions. Extant families are either entirely solitary, both solitary and gregarious, or else clutch size is unknown. Parsimony analysis suggests that the ancestors of most families were solitary, a result which is robust to different phylogenetic relationships and likely data inadequacies. This implies that solitariness was ubiquitous throughout the initial radiation of the group, and that transitions to gregariousness have subsequently occurred a minimum of 43 times in several, but not all lineages. Current data suggest that species-rich and small-bodied lineages are more likely to have evolved gregariousness, and contain more species with small gregarious brood sizes. I discuss the implications of these data for clutch-size theory
Epidemiology of Injury in Women’s Super League Football: A Cohort Study
Introduction: The epidemiology of injury in male professional football has been well documented (Ekstrand, Hägglund, & Waldén, 2011) and used as a basis to understand injury trends for a number of years. The prevalence and incidence of injuries occurring in women’s super league football is unknown. The aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence and incidence of injury in an English Super League Women’s Football squad. Methods: Following ethical approval from Leeds Beckett University, players (n = 25) signed to a Women’s Super League Football club provided written informed consent to complete a self-administered injury survey. Measures of exposure, injury and performance over a 12-month period was gathered
An Analysis of an Alternate-Year Walleye Fry Stocking Program in the Cedar River in Iowa
Year-class analysis of walleye, Stizostedion v. vitreum (Mitchill), taken by anglers in a portion of the Cedar River in Iowa indicated that alternate-year stocking of 3,500 fry per mile of river did not influence year-class abundance. Despite the short duration of the project, 1951-1958, a reasonably direct relationship between spring floods and spring air temperatures and year-class abundance was evident. Disparity in year-class abundance between samples taken 5 miles apart and within 3 months of each other, but by different methods (angling and chemical kill), indicates either a sampling selectivity or a relative discreteness or stability of portions of an assumed homogeneous population of river walleyes, or both
Detection of neopterin in the urine of captive and wild platyrrhines
Background: Non-invasive biomarkers can facilitate health assessments in wild primate populations by reducing the need for direct access to animals. Neopterin is a biomarker that is a product of the cell-mediated immune response, with high levels being indicative of poor survival expectations in some cases. The measurement of urinary neopterin concentration (UNC) has been validated as a method for monitoring cell-mediated immune system activation in multiple catarrhine species, but to date there is no study testing its utility in the urine of platyrrhine species. In this study, we collected urine samples across three platyrrhine families including small captive populations of Leontopithecus rosalia and Pithecia pithecia, and larger wild populations of Leontocebus weddelli, Saguinus imperator, Alouatta seniculus, and Plecturocebus toppini, to evaluate a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the measurement of urinary neopterin in platyrrhines.
Results: Our results revealed measured UNC fell within the sensitivity range of the assay in all urine samples collected from captive and wild platyrrhine study species via commercial ELISA, and results from several dilutions met expectations. We found significant differences in the mean UNC across all study species. Most notably, we observed higher UNC in the wild population of L. weddelli which is known to have two filarial nematode infections compared to S. imperator, which only have one.
Conclusion: Our study confirms that neopterin is measurable via commercial ELISA in urine collected from captive and wild individuals of six genera of platyrrhines across three different families. These findings promote the future utility of UNC as a promising biomarker for field primatologists conducting research in Latin America to non-invasively evaluate cell-mediated immune system activation from urine
The Control of Nuisance Aquatic Vegetation with Black Polyethylene Plastic
Large sheets of black polyethylene plastic were to control nuisance aquatic vegetation in small farm ponds and lakes. The plastic was floated over vegetation beds and left unattended for a predetermined number of days. Adequate control of all species of Potomageton was achieved in 10 to 18 days. Ceratophyllum demersum was eliminated in the control plots in 18 to 28 days. Control was unsuccessful for Chara vulgaris and Saggattarius latifolia. All control plots were revegetated with filamentous algae within 30 days after the covering was removed
Movement velocity as a measure of exercise intensity in three lower limb exercises
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between movement velocity and relative load in three lower limbs exercises commonly used to develop strength: Leg Press, Full Squat, and Half Squat. The percentage of one Repetition Maximum (%1RM) has typically been used as the main parameter to control resistance training, however more recent research has proposed movement velocity as an alternative. Fifteen participants performed a load progression with a range of loads until they reached their one repetition maximum (1RM). Maximum instantaneous velocity V max) and mean propulsive velocity (MPV) of the knee extension phase of each exercise were assessed. For all exercises, a strong relationship between V max and the %1RM was found: Leg Press (r2adj=0.96; 95% CI for slope is [-0.0244,-0.0258], p<0.0001), Full Squat (r2adj=0.94; 95% CI for slope is [-0.0144, -0.0139],
p<0.0001), and Half Squat (r2adj=0.97; 95% CI for slope is [-0.0135, -0.00143], p<0.0001), and for MPV, Leg Press (r2adj=0.96; 95% CI for slope is [- 0.0169, -0.0175], p<0.0001, Full Squat (r2adj=0.95; 95% CI for slope is [-0.0136, -0.0128], p<0.0001), and Half Squat (r2adj=0.96; 95% CI for slope is [-0.0116, 0.0124], p<0.0001). The 1RM was attained with a MPV and Vmax of 0.21±0.06 ms-1 and 0.63±0.15 ms-1, 0.29±0.05 ms-1 and 0.89±0.17 ms-1, 0.33±0.05 ms-1, and 0.95±0.13 ms-1 for Leg Press, Full Squat and Half Squat respectively. Results indicate that it is possible to determine an exercise-specific %1RM by measuring movement velocity for that exercise
Epidemiology of Injury in English Women's Super league Football: A Cohort Study
INTRODUCTION: The epidemiology of injury in male professional football has been well documented (Ekstrand, Hägglund, & Waldén, 2011) and used as a basis to understand injury trends for a number of years. The prevalence and incidence of injuries occurring in womens super league football is unknown. The aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence and incidence of injury in an English Super League Women’s Football squad. METHODS: Following ethical approval from Leeds Beckett University, players (n = 25) signed to a Women’s Super League Football club provided written informed consent to complete a self-administered injury survey. Measures of exposure, injury and performance over a 12-month period was gathered. Participants were classified as injured if they reported a football injury that required medical attention or withdrawal from participation for one day or more. Injuries were categorised as either traumatic or overuse and whether the injury was a new injury and/or re-injury of the same anatomical site RESULTS: 43 injuries, including re-injury were reported by the 25 participants providing a clinical incidence of 1.72 injuries per player. Total incidence of injury was 10.8/1000 h (95% CI: 7.5 to 14.03). Participants were at higher risk of injury during a match compared with training (32.4 (95% CI: 15.6 to 48.4) vs 8.0 (95% CI: 5.0 to 10.85)/1000 hours, p 28 days) of which there were three non-contact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries. The epidemiological incidence proportion was 0.80 (95% CI: 0.64 to 0.95) and the average probability that any player on this team will sustain at least one injury was 80.0% (95% CI: 64.3% to 95.6%) CONCLUSION: This is the first report capturing exposure and injury incidence by anatomical site from a cohort of English players and is comparable to that found in Europe (6.3/1000 h (95% CI 5.4 to 7.36) Larruskain et al 2017). The number of ACL injuries highlights a potential injury burden for a squad of this size. Multi-site prospective investigations into the incidence and prevalence of injury in women’s football are require
Utility of Direct Pancreatic Function Testing in Children
OBJECTIVES: Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) can have a significant impact on a child's growth and nutrition. Our aim was to evaluate the utility of direct endoscopic pancreatic function testing (ePFT) in pediatrics. METHODS: A single-center retrospective chart review was performed of children who underwent ePFT from December 2007 through February 2015. Endoscopic pancreatic function testings were performed by 1 of 2 methods: (1) intravenous cholecystokinin, followed by the collection of a single duodenal aspirate at 10 minutes, or (2) intravenous cholecystokinin or secretin, followed by the collection of 3 duodenal aspirates at a 5, 10, and 15 minutes. Samples were tested for pH and enzyme activities. RESULTS: A total of 508 ePFTs were performed (481 single-sample tests, 27 multiple-sample tests). Based on the multiple-sample group, enzyme levels for chymotrypsin, amylase, and lipase peaked at 5 minutes, followed by a decrease in activity over time. Exocrine pancreatic sufficiency was identified in 373 (73.4%) and EPI in 93 (18.3%). Exocrine pancreatic sufficiency analysis found all pancreatic enzyme activities significantly increase with age: trypsin, chymotrypsin, amylase, and lipase, (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Endoscopic pancreatic function testing can be used in the evaluation of EPI in children. Normative data suggest that pancreatic enzyme activities mature with age
Doing audio-visual montage to explore time and space: The everyday rhythms of Billingsgate Fish Market
This article documents, shows and analyses the everyday rhythms of Billingsgate, London’s wholesale fish market. It takes the form of a short film based an audio-visual montage of time-lapse photography and sound recordings, and a textual account of the dimensions of market life revealed by this montage. Inspired by Henri Lefebvre’s Rhythmanalysis, and the embodied experience of moving through and sensing the market, the film renders the elusive quality of the market and the work that takes place within it to make it happen. The composite of audio-visual recordings immerses viewers in the space and atmosphere of the market and allows us to perceive and analyse rhythms, patterns, flows, interactions, temporalities and interconnections of market work, themes that this article discusses. The film is thereby both a means of showing market life and an analytic tool for making sense of it. This article critically considers the documentation, evocation and analysis of time and space in this way
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