Trauma: With or Without Theory

A review of Mick Broderick and Antonio Traverso (eds), Trauma, Media, Art: New Perspectives (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 2010)

Response of mid-rotation loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) physiology and productivity to sustained, moderate drought on the western edge of the range

The productivity of the approximately 11 million ha of loblolly pine plantations in the southeastern USA could be threatened by decreased water availability in a future climate. To determine the effects of sustained drought on leaf gas exchange, whole-tree water use, and individual tree growth, we examined the response of loblolly pine trees to 100% throughfall exclusion cumulatively spanning the sixth and seventh growing seasons of a plantation in southeastern Oklahoma. Throughfall exclusion reduced volumetric soil water content for 0-12 cm soil depth from 10.8% to 4.8% and for 12-45 cm soil depth from 24.2% to 15.6%. Compared to ambient throughfall trees, leaf water potential of the throughfall exclusion trees became more negative, -0.9 MPa vs. -1.3 MPa for predawn measurements and -1.5 MPa vs. -1.9 MPa for midday measurements. Throughfall exclusion did not significantly reduce leaf gas exchange or tree water use. However, throughfall exclusion significantly reduced leaf biomass by 21% and stem volume growth by 23%. These results indicate that sustained drought may cause downward shifts in leaf quantity to conserve water rather than reducing leaf-level water use.Peer reviewedNatural Resource Ecology and Managemen

Acceptance-based telephone support around the time of transition to secondary progressive multiple sclerosis: A feasibility randomised controlled trial

IntroductionTransitioning to secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) is a difficult time for people, fraught with psychological uncertainty and an increase in physical disability. In parallel, healthcare appointments become less frequent, most disease modifying treatments are withdrawn, and social contacts typically become more difficult to maintain. The aim of this study was to assess whether providing a brief, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)–based telephone support intervention during transition to SPMS is feasible, effective and valued by participants.MethodA single centre, mixed-methods, two-arm feasibility randomised controlled trial (RCT), comparing (i) ACT-based support + treatment as usual to (ii) treatment as usual only was conducted for those who had transitioned to SPMS. Feasibility, signal of efficacy and acceptability were assessed in both groups by self-report measures at 3 timepoints (baseline, 8 weeks, 12 weeks), and feedback interviews analysed using framework analysis following the completion of the study.ResultsThe recruitment strategy was not feasible: 14 of 40 were recruited (35%) during the four-month time period (Mage = 53, 10 women). The data collection procedures and trial processes were feasible and acceptable to participants, reflected through all measures being completed, no attrition, and positive participant interview feedback. The intervention did not demonstrate a signal of efficacy between baseline and 8-week or 12-week follow up on measures, but wide confidence intervals preclude drawing strong conclusions. Positive interview feedback suggested outcomes not being captured through self-report measures.DiscussionDue to an unsuccessful recruitment strategy and mixed evidence of efficacy, certain adjustments should be made to the intervention and methodology before progressing to a definitive trial. A more efficient recruitment strategy, or longer recruitment period is needed to recruit a large enough sample. Adapting the ACT intervention may be needed to ensure that it targets psychological flexibility, which could include changing the workbook or session delivery based on interview feedback, however the small sample size means we should interpret the efficacy findings with caution

An x-ray diffraction study of corneal structure in mimecan-deficient mice

PURPOSE: Keratan sulfate proteoglycans (KSPGs) in the corneal stroma are believed to influence collagen fibrillar arrangement. This study was performed to investigate the fibrillar architecture of the corneal stroma in mice homozygous for a null mutation in the corneal KSPG, mimecan. METHODS: Wild-type (n = 9) and mimecan-deficient (n = 10) mouse corneas were investigated by low-angle synchrotron x-ray diffraction to establish the average collagen fibrillar spacing, average collagen fibril diameter, and level of fibrillar organization in the stromal array. RESULTS: The mean collagen fibril diameter in the corneas of mimecan-null mice, as an average throughout the whole thickness of the tissue, was not appreciably different from normal (35.6 +/- 1.1 nm vs. 35.9 +/- 1.0 nm). Average center-to-center collagen fibrillar spacing in the mutant corneas measured 52.6 +/- 2.6 nm, similar to the 53.3 +/- 4.0 nm found in wild-type mice. The degree of local order in the collagen fibrillar array, as indicated by the height-width (H:W) ratio of the background-subtracted interfibrillar x-ray reflection, was also not significantly changed in mimecan-null corneas (23.4 +/- 5.6), when compared with the corneas of wild-types (28.2 +/- 4.8). CONCLUSIONS: On average, throughout the whole depth of the corneal stroma, collagen fibrils in mimecan-null mice, unlike collagen fibrils in lumican-null mice and keratocan-null mice, are of a normal diameter and are normally spaced and arranged. This indicates that, compared with lumican and keratocan, mimecan has a lesser role in the control of stromal architecture in mouse cornea

Animal welfare considerations for using large carnivores and guardian dogs as vertebrate biocontrol tools against other animals

Introducing consumptive and non-consumptive effects into food webs can have profound effects on individuals, populations and communities. This knowledge has led to the deliberate use of predation and/or fear of predation as an emerging technique for controlling wildlife. Many now advocate for the intentional use of large carnivores and livestock guardian dogs as more desirable alternatives to traditional wildlife control approaches like fencing, shooting, trapping, or poisoning. However, there has been very little consideration of the animal welfare implications of deliberately using predation as a wildlife management tool. We assess the animal welfare impacts of using dingoes, leopards and guardian dogs as biocontrol tools against wildlife in Australia and South Africa following the ‘Five Domains’ model commonly used to assess other wildlife management tools. Application of this model indicates that large carnivores and guardian dogs cause considerable lethal and non-lethal animal welfare impacts to the individual animals they are intended to control. These impacts are likely similar across different predator-prey systems, but are dependent on specific predator-prey combinations; combinations that result in short chases and quick kills will be rated as less harmful than those that result in long chases and protracted kills. Moreover, these impacts are typically rated greater than those caused by traditional wildlife control techniques. The intentional lethal and non-lethal harms caused by large carnivores and guardian dogs should not be ignored or dismissively assumed to be negligible. A greater understanding of the impacts they impose would benefit from empirical studies of the animal welfare outcomes arising from their use in different contexts

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

Age-related changes in global motion coherence: conflicting haemodynamic and perceptual responses

Our aim was to use both behavioural and neuroimaging data to identify indicators of perceptual decline in motion processing. We employed a global motion coherence task and functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS). Healthy adults (n = 72, 18-85) were recruited into the following groups: young (n = 28, mean age = 28), middle-aged (n = 22, mean age = 50), and older adults (n = 23, mean age = 70). Participants were assessed on their motion coherence thresholds at 3 different speeds using a psychophysical design. As expected, we report age group differences in motion processing as demonstrated by higher motion coherence thresholds in older adults. Crucially, we add correlational data showing that global motion perception declines linearly as a function of age. The associated fNIRS recordings provide a clear physiological correlate of global motion perception. The crux of this study lies in the robust linear correlation between age and haemodynamic response for both measures of oxygenation. We hypothesise that there is an increase in neural recruitment, necessitating an increase in metabolic need and blood flow, which presents as a higher oxygenated haemoglobin response. We report age-related changes in motion perception with poorer behavioural performance (high motion coherence thresholds) associated with an increased haemodynamic response