Total Synthesis of the Cyclic Carbonate-Containing Natural Product Aspergillusol B from d -(-)-Tartaric Acid

A total synthesis of compound 3 from D-(−)-tartaric acid is reported, thereby establishing that the structure, including relative stereochemistry, originally assigned to the cyclic carbonate-containing natural product aspergillusol B is correct.We thank the Australian Research Council and the Institute of Advanced Studies for financial support. J.N.B. is the grateful recipient of an APA Scholarship provided by the Australian Government

Livestock vocalisation classification in farm soundscapes

Livestock vocalisations have been shown to contain information related to animal welfare and behaviour. Automated sound detection has the potential to facilitate a continuous acoustic monitoring system, for use in a range Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) applications. There are few examples of automated livestock vocalisation classification algorithms, and we have found none capable of being easily adapted and applied to different species' vocalisations. In this work, a multi-purpose livestock vocalisation classification algorithm is presented, utilising audio-specific feature extraction techniques, and machine learning models. To test the multi-purpose nature of the algorithm, three separate data sets were created targeting livestock-related vocalisations, namely sheep, cattle, and Maremma sheepdogs. Audio data was extracted from continuous recordings conducted on-site at three different operational farming enterprises, reflecting the conditions of real deployment. A comparison of Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCCs) and Discrete Wavelet Transform-based (DWT) features was conducted. Classification was determined using a Support Vector Machine (SVM) model. High accuracy was achieved for all data sets (sheep: 99.29%, cattle: 95.78%, dogs: 99.67%). Classification performance alone was insufficient to determine the most suitable feature extraction method for each data set. Computational timing results revealed the DWT-based features to be markedly faster to produce (14.81 - 15.38% decrease in execution time). The results indicate the development of a highly accurate livestock vocalisation classification algorithm, which forms the foundation for an automated livestock vocalisation detection system

Treatment of Full-Thickness Acetabular Chondral Flaps during Hip Arthroscopy: Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate versus Microfracture

Background: The optimal treatment strategy for patients with full-thickness chondral flaps undergoing hip arthroscopy is controversial. Purpose: To compare functional outcomes of patients who underwent bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC) application with those of patients who underwent microfracture. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: This was a retrospective case series of prospectively collected data on patients who underwent arthroscopic acetabular labral repair by 1 surgeon between June 2014 and April 2020. The inclusion criteria for this study were age ≥18 years, preoperative radiographs of the pelvis, arthroscopic acetabular labral repair, exposed subchondral bone with overlying chondral flap seen at the time of hip arthroscopy, microfracture or BMAC to address this lesion, and completed patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) (International Hip Outcome Tool-33 [iHOT-33], Hip Outcome Score-Activities of Daily Living [HOS-ADL], Hip Outcome Score-Sports Subscale [HOS-Sport], modified Harris Hip Score [mHHS], and visual analog scale [VAS] for pain) at enrollment and 12-month follow-up. Clinical outcomes were assessed using PROM scores. Results: A total of 81 hips with full-thickness chondral flaps were included in this study: 50 treated with BMAC and 31 treated with microfracture. There were no significant differences between groups in age, sex, body mass index, tear size, radiographic osteoarthritis, or radiographic femoroacetabular impingement. In the BMAC cohort, all PROM scores improved significantly from preoperatively to follow-up: 41.7 to 75.6 for iHOT-33, 67.6 to 91.0 for HOS-ADL, 41.5 to 72.3 for HOS-Sport, 59.4 to 87.2 for mHHS, and 6.2 to 2.2 for VAS pain (P \u3c .001 for all). In the microfracture cohort, the score improvements were 48.0 to 65.1 for iHOT-33 (P = .001), 80.5 to 83.3 for HOS-ADL (P = .275), 59.2 to 62.4 for HOS-Sport (P = .568), 70.4 to 78.3 for mHHS (P = .028), and 4.9 to 3.6 for VAS pain (P = .036). Regarding clinically meaningful outcomes, 77.6% of the BMAC group and 50.0% of the microfracture group met the minimal clinically important difference for iHOT-33 at the 12-month follow-up (P = .013). Conclusion: Patients with full-thickness chondral flaps at the time of hip arthroscopy experienced greater improvements in functional outcome scores at the 12-month follow-up when treated with BMAC as opposed to microfracture

A linear radiofrequency ion trap for accumulation, bunching, and emittance improvement of radioactive ion beams

An ion beam cooler and buncher has been developed for the manipulation of radioactive ion beams. The gas-filled linear radiofrequency ion trap system is installed at the Penning trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP at ISOLDE/CERN. Its purpose is to accumulate the 60-keV continuous ISOLDE ion beam with high efficiency and to convert it into low-energy low-emittance ion pulses. The efficiency was found to exceed 10% in agreement with simulations. A more than 10-fold reduction of the ISOLDE beam emittance can be achieved. The system has been used successfully for first on-line experiments. Its principle, setup and performance will be discussed

Camera trap theft and vandalism: occurrence, cost, prevention and implications for wildlife research and management

Camera traps are increasingly used to monitor wildlife populations and man-agement activities. Failing to detect target occurrence and/or behaviour inhibits the robustness of wildlife surveys. Based on user-testing, it is reasonable to expect some equipment to malfunction but other sources of failure, such as those caused by theft and vandalism, are largely unquantified. Between May2016 and October 2017, we undertook an international survey of professional practitioners who use camera traps for wildlife research and management pro-jects to quantify theft and vandalism, and to document the subsequent effectson project outcomes. We also sought to record the methods used by practitioners to avoid theft and vandalism and whether or not practitioners believed those actions were effective. Most (59%) of the 407 respondents were wild life researchers and university academics. The survey results revealed that camera trap theft and vandalism is a global issue that not only adds to costs via equip-ment loss (approx. USD $1.48 million from n =309 respondents between 2010and 2015) and theft prevention (c. USD$800 000 spent by respondents between 2010 and 2015) but also influences survey design. Vandalism and the ftare clearly a global problem, with responses suggesting that they occur across adiverse array of geographic locations, at varying proximity to human settle-ments, in multiple habitat types and across device placements. Methods to deter human interference included using camouflaging (73%), security devices such as chains (63%) and boxes (43%), use of decoy camera traps, shortening deployment periods, setting the camera relatively high or low to the ground, or moving away from human traffic. Despite this, the responses suggest that attempts to mitigate losses are often not effective. In review of our findings, we make recommendations for the future of camera trapping that requires imple-mentation and testing

International mammal trapping standards ̶ Part II: Killing Trap Systems

In this paper, we propose standards for killing trap systems based on Proulx et al.’s (2022) prerequisites, which provide context and explanations for our approach. Our aim is to identify assessment protocols that are based on the scientific method, and that include evaluation parameters and threshold levels of acceptation, and laboratory and field procedures, to recognize mammal trapping systems that are acceptable from an animal welfare, and capture efficiency and selectivity, point of view. The testing of killing trap systems consists of 4 steps: 1) Mechanical evaluation; 2) Approach tests in semi-natural environments; 3) Kill tests in semi-natural environments; and 4) Kill tests on traplines. Based on the normal approximation to the binomial distribution, acceptable killing trap systems are expected, at a 95% confidence level, to render ≥85% of the animals irreversibly unconscious in ≤ 90 sec for most mammal species, and ≤30 sec for small mammals (mouse, vole, etc.). We recommend that standards be continuously updated based on the development of new designs and technology

International mammal trapping standards ̶ Part I: Prerequisites

In this paper, we set out the prerequisites for the development of killing and restraining trap systems to capture mammals for research, wildlife management and conservation, fur trapping, animal control, and any other activity involving the trapping of a mammal in a mechanical trapping device. We selected them with the main intent of developing new trapping standards that will improve animal welfare as per our current state of knowledge, and with realistic, achievable objectives based on state-of-the-art trapping technology. The proposed new standards should be applicable to all terrestrial and semi-aquatic mammal species. They should be based on animal testing in semi-natural environments and on traplines, with high trap thresholds of acceptance, low times to irreversible unconsciousness for killing trap systems, an understanding of the impacts of trapping on physical form, behaviour and physiological function, adequate trap checking times and handling of the captured animals, and high capture selectivity. Furthermore, the implementation of improved trapping standards would include the mandatory publication of findings for peer-review and public education. We believe that the prerequisites that we lay out for the development of new mammal trapping standards will address many of the welfare concerns voiced by the scientific community and the public in the last two decades. It will lead to improved animal welfare and spur continuous improvement in the efficacy and innovation in trapping technology

ClassifyMe: A Field-Scouting Software for the Identification of Wildlife in Camera Trap Images

We present ClassifyMe a software tool for the automated identification of animal species from camera trap images. ClassifyMe is intended to be used by ecologists both in the field and in the office. Users can download a pre-trained model specific to their location of interest and then upload the images from a camera trap to a laptop or workstation. ClassifyMe will identify animals and other objects (e.g., vehicles) in images, provide a report file with the most likely species detections, and automatically sort the images into sub-folders corresponding to these species categories. False Triggers (no visible object present) will also be filtered and sorted. Importantly, the ClassifyMe software operates on the user's local machine (own laptop or workstation) - not via internet connection. This allows users access to state-of-the-art camera trap computer vision software in situ, rather than only in the office. The software also incurs minimal cost on the end-user as there is no need for expensive data uploads to cloud services. Furthermore, processing the images locally on the users' end-device allows them data control and resolves privacy issues surrounding transfer and third-party access to users' datasets

DNA Double-Strand Breaks Induced by Cavitational Mechanical Effects of Ultrasound in Cancer Cell Lines

Ultrasonic technologies pervade the medical field: as a long established imaging modality in clinical diagnostics; and, with the emergence of targeted high intensity focused ultrasound, as a means of thermally ablating tumours. In parallel, the potential of [non-thermal] intermediate intensity ultrasound as a minimally invasive therapy is also being rigorously assessed. Here, induction of apoptosis in cancer cells has been observed, although definitive identification of the underlying mechanism has thus far remained elusive. A likely candidate process has been suggested to involve sonochemical activity, where reactive oxygen species (ROS) mediate the generation of DNA single-strand breaks. Here however, we provide compelling new evidence that strongly supports a purely mechanical mechanism. Moreover, by a combination of specific assays (neutral comet tail and staining for γH2AX foci formation) we demonstrate for the first time that US exposure at even moderate intensities exhibits genotoxic potential, through its facility to generate DNA damage across multiple cancer lines. Notably, colocalization assays highlight that ionizing radiation and ultrasound have distinctly different signatures to their respective γH2AX foci formation patterns, likely reflecting the different stress distributions that initiated damage formation. Furthermore, parallel immuno-blotting suggests that DNA-PKcs have a preferential role in the repair of ultrasound-induced damage

Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century: Defining New Risk Assessment Approaches Based on Perturbation of Intracellular Toxicity Pathways

The approaches to quantitatively assessing the health risks of chemical exposure have not changed appreciably in the past 50 to 80 years, the focus remaining on high-dose studies that measure adverse outcomes in homogeneous animal populations. This expensive, low-throughput approach relies on conservative extrapolations to relate animal studies to much lower-dose human exposures and is of questionable relevance to predicting risks to humans at their typical low exposures. It makes little use of a mechanistic understanding of the mode of action by which chemicals perturb biological processes in human cells and tissues. An alternative vision, proposed by the U.S. National Research Council (NRC) report Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century: A Vision and a Strategy, called for moving away from traditional high-dose animal studies to an approach based on perturbation of cellular responses using well-designed in vitro assays. Central to this vision are (a) “toxicity pathways” (the innate cellular pathways that may be perturbed by chemicals) and (b) the determination of chemical concentration ranges where those perturbations are likely to be excessive, thereby leading to adverse health effects if present for a prolonged duration in an intact organism. In this paper we briefly review the original NRC report and responses to that report over the past 3 years, and discuss how the change in testing might be achieved in the U.S. and in the European Union (EU). EU initiatives in developing alternatives to animal testing of cosmetic ingredients have run very much in parallel with the NRC report. Moving from current practice to the NRC vision would require using prototype toxicity pathways to develop case studies showing the new vision in action. In this vein, we also discuss how the proposed strategy for toxicity testing might be applied to the toxicity pathways associated with DNA damage and repair