1,615 research outputs found

    Micro- and macroparasite species richness in birds:The role of host life history and ecology

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    Identifying the factors shaping variation in parasite diversity among host species is crucial to understand wildlife diseases. Although micro‐ and macroparasites may exert different selective pressures on their hosts, studies investigating the determinants of parasite species richness in animals have rarely considered this divide. Here, we investigated the role of host life history and ecology in explaining the species richness of helminths (macroparasites) and haemosporidians (microparasites) in birds world‐wide. We collated data from multiple global datasets on diverse bird traits (longevity, body mass, coloniality, migration distance/tendency, geographic range size and dietary and habitat breadths) and the species richness of their helminth and haemosporidian parasites. We tested predictors of helminth and haemosporidian parasite richness using phylogenetic generalized linear mixed models in a Bayesian framework. We found that, after controlling for research effort and host phylogeny, the richness of helminths, but not of haemosporidians, increased with host longevity, range size, migration distance and dietary breadth. Overall, these correlates were also important across different helminth groups (acanthocephalans, cestodes, nematodes and trematodes), and two additional ones (body mass, coloniality) emerged as important for cestodes and acanthocephalans. We propose that long life spans may promote the diversity of helminth parasite assemblages over evolutionary time, thus resulting in richer helminth faunas. Similarly, longer‐distance migrations, larger ranges and broader dietary breadths are likely to lead to greater encounter rates and the accumulation of trophically transmitted helminths. In contrast, vector‐borne haemosporidians may be influenced more by factors related to vector ecology than by the host traits included in the analyses. The lack of strong associations between haemosporidian species richness and host characteristics emphasizes the need to find appropriate traits to model the distribution and diversity of parasites with different environmental preferences in order to anticipate disease emergence risks associated with global change

    What Does it Mean to be a British Isles Lupus Assessment Group-Based Composite Lupus Assessment Responder? Post Hoc Analysis of 2 Phase 3 Trials

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    OBJECTIVE: The British Isles Lupus Assessment Group–based Composite Lupus Assessment (BICLA) is a validated global measure of treatment response in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) clinical trials. To understand the relevance of BICLA in clinical practice, we investigated relationships between BICLA response and routine SLE assessments, patient-reported outcomes (PROs), and medical resource utilization. METHODS: This was a post hoc analysis of pooled data from the phase III, randomized, placebo-controlled, 52-week TULIP-1 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02446912; n = 457) and TULIP-2 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02446899; n = 362) trials of intravenous anifrolumab (150/300 mg once every 4 weeks) in patients with moderate-to-severe SLE. Changes from baseline to week 52 in clinical assessments, PROs, and medical resource use were compared in BICLA responders versus nonresponders, regardless of treatment assignment. RESULTS: BICLA responders (n = 318) achieved significantly improved outcomes compared with nonresponders (n = 501), including lower flare rates, higher rates of attainment of sustained oral glucocorticoid taper to ≀7.5 mg/day, greater improvements in PROs (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy–Fatigue, Short Form 36 Health Survey), and fewer SLE-related hospitalizations/emergency department visits (all nominal P < 0.001). Compared with nonresponders, BICLA responders had greater improvements in global and organ-specific disease activity (Physician’s Global Assessment, SLE Disease Activity Index 2000, Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus Disease Area and Severity Index Activity, and joint counts; all nominal P < 0.001). BICLA responders had fewer lupus-related serious adverse events than nonresponders. CONCLUSION: BICLA response is associated with clinical benefit in SLE assessments, PROs, and medical resource utilization, confirming its value as a clinical trial end point that is associated with measures important to patient care

    Wavelength-scale stationary-wave integrated Fourier-transform spectrometry

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    Spectrometry is a general physical-analysis approach for investigating light-matter interactions. However, the complex designs of existing spectrometers render them resistant to simplification and miniaturization, both of which are vital for applications in micro- and nanotechnology and which are now undergoing intensive research. Stationary-wave integrated Fourier-transform spectrometry (SWIFTS)-an approach based on direct intensity detection of a standing wave resulting from either reflection (as in the principle of colour photography by Gabriel Lippmann) or counterpropagative interference phenomenon-is expected to be able to overcome this drawback. Here, we present a SWIFTS-based spectrometer relying on an original optical near-field detection method in which optical nanoprobes are used to sample directly the evanescent standing wave in the waveguide. Combined with integrated optics, we report a way of reducing the volume of the spectrometer to a few hundreds of cubic wavelengths. This is the first attempt, using SWIFTS, to produce a very small integrated one-dimensional spectrometer suitable for applications where microspectrometers are essential

    Phytochrome Levels in the Green Alga Mesotaenium caldariorum Are Light Regulated

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    TEMPERATURE AND LEVEL DENSITY PARAMETER OF EVAPORATION RESIDUES PRODUCED IN THE REACTION 165Ho + 600 MeV 20Ne

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    Evaporative and preequilibrium neutrons emitted from evaporation residues in the reaction Ho + 600 MeV neon are exploited to deduce the thermal excitation energy E* and temperature T of the residues. From these quantities the level density parameter is deduced at a temperature of 4.1 MeV

    Effects of air pollution and the introduction of the London Low Emission Zone on the prevalence of respiratory and allergic symptoms in schoolchildren in East London: a sequential cross-sectional study

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    The adverse effects of traffic-related air pollution on children’s respiratory health have been widely reported, but few studies have evaluated the impact of traffic-control policies designed to reduce urban air pollution. We assessed associations between traffic-related air pollutants and respiratory/allergic symptoms amongst 8–9 year-old schoolchildren living within the London Low Emission Zone (LEZ). Information on respiratory/allergic symptoms was obtained using a parent-completed questionnaire and linked to modelled annual air pollutant concentrations based on the residential address of each child, using a multivariable mixed effects logistic regression analysis. Exposure to traffic-related air pollutants was associated with current rhinitis: NOx (OR 1.01, 95% CI 1.00–1.02), NO2 (1.03, 1.00–1.06), PM10 (1.16, 1.04–1.28) and PM2.5 (1.38, 1.08–1.78), all per ÎŒg/m3 of pollutant, but not with other respiratory/allergic symptoms. The LEZ did not reduce ambient air pollution levels, or affect the prevalence of respiratory/allergic symptoms over the period studied. These data confirm the previous association between traffic-related air pollutant exposures and symptoms of current rhinitis. Importantly, the London LEZ has not significantly improved air quality within the city, or the respiratory health of the resident population in its first three years of operation. This highlights the need for more robust measures to reduce traffic emissions

    SPaCIFY: a Formal Model-Driven Engineering for Spacecraft On-Board Software

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    International audienceThe aim of this article is to present a model- driven approach proposed by the SPaCIFY project for spacecraft on-board software development. This ap- proach is based on a formal globally asynchronous lo- cally synchronous language called Synoptic, and on a set of transformations allowing code generation and model verification
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