Discussing the Relationship Between Venue and Learning in the Education of Health Professionals

Objectives: To discuss the relationship between the education of health professionals and the off-campus venues where their practicums or internships are served, in order to modify and implement innovations in the curriculum to meet identified needs

Continental-scale patterns of pathogen prevalence: a case study on the corncrake

Pathogen infections can represent a substantial threat to wild populations, especially those already limited in size. To determine how much variation in the pathogens observed among fragmented populations is caused by ecological factors, one needs to examine systems where host genetic diversity is consistent among the populations, thus controlling for any potentially confounding genetic effects. Here, we report geographic variation in haemosporidian infection among European populations of corncrake. This species now occurs in fragmented populations, but there is little genetic structure and equally high levels of genetic diversity among these populations. We observed a longitudinal gradient of prevalence from western to Eastern Europe negatively correlated with national agricultural yield, but positively correlated with corncrake census population sizes when only the most widespread lineage is considered. This likely reveals a possible impact of local agriculture intensity, which reduced host population densities in Western Europe and, potentially, insect vector abundance, thus reducing the transmission of pathogens. We conclude that in the corncrake system, where metapopulation dynamics resulted in variations in local census population sizes, but not in the genetic impoverishment of these populations, anthropogenic activity has led to a reduction in host populations and pathogen prevalence

Thermocapillary manipulation of droplets using holographic beam shaping: Microfluidic pin ball

International audienceWe demonstrate that holographically generated optical patterns offer greater flexibility for the thermocapillary control of water droplets than Gaussian spots; droplets can be stopped in faster flows while using less optical intensity when the surface tension variations are created by line patterns instead of single spots. Further, experiments are performed making use of variable light patterns to achieve controlled droplet routing in a four-way cross microfluidic channel. Finally, multiple droplet storage is demonstrated as well as changing drop order. © 2008 American Institute of Physics

Probability Models for Degree Distributions of Protein Interaction Networks

The degree distribution of many biological and technological networks has been described as a power-law distribution. While the degree distribution does not capture all aspects of a network, it has often been suggested that its functional form contains important clues as to underlying evolutionary processes that have shaped the network. Generally, the functional form for the degree distribution has been determined in an ad-hoc fashion, with clear power-law like behaviour often only extending over a limited range of connectivities. Here we apply formal model selection techniques to decide which probability distribution best describes the degree distributions of protein interaction networks. Contrary to previous studies this well defined approach suggests that the degree distribution of many molecular networks is often better described by distributions other than the popular power-law distribution. This, in turn, suggests that simple, if elegant, models may not necessarily help in the quantitative understanding of complex biological processes.

Reduced avian body condition due to global warming has little reproductive or population consequences

Climate change has strong effects on traits such as phenology and physiology. Studies typically assume that climate-induced trait changes will have consequences for population dynamics, but explicit tests are rare. Body condition reflects energy storage and may directly affect how much can be invested in reproduction and survival. However, the causal pathway by which decreased body condition impacts population dynamics has never been quantified across multiple populations and species. Therefore, we lack a general understanding of the consequences of changes in condition for variables more relevant for conservation, such as population size. Using structural equation modeling, we investigate how temperature-induced changes in body condition affect reproduction, and the subsequent impact on population growth rates of 19 bird species across 80 Dutch sites over a 21-year period. Warmer temperatures were associated with decreased body condition, which led to both decreased and increased reproduction at different sites, cancelling out any overall effect. The indirect effect of temperature on population growth (via body condition and reproduction) only explained within-species variation in the total effects of temperature on population growth. Instead, the direct effect of temperature on population growth (unrelated to condition and reproduction) was the most important pathway underlying the total effects of temperature on population growth, suggesting that unknown variables are mediating this effect. About half of the species are expected to increase under global warming, but this variation was not associated with any species characteristic. Overall, body condition responses to global warming are common, but their consequences on reproduction and subsequently population growth contribute relatively little to the total temperature impacts on population dynamics. Given that warming temperatures have strong effects on population dynamics, understanding the pathways via which temperature impacts population dynamics will be crucial for our ability to predict climate change effects in the future and improve conservation efforts

Intention of preserving forest remnants among landowners in the Atlantic Forest: The role of the ecological context via ecosystem services

Unravelling the psychological processes determining landowners' support towards forest conservation is crucial, particularly in rural areas of the tropics, where most forest remnants are within private lands. As human–nature connections are known to shape pro‐environmental behaviours, the intention of preserving forest remnants should ultimately be determined by the ecological context people live in. Here, we investigate the pathways through which the ecological context (forest cover), via direct contact with forests and ecosystem services and disservices, influence the psychological antecedents of conservation behaviour (beliefs, attitude and intention of preserving forest remnants). We conceptualized a model based on the Reasoned Action Approach, using the ecological context and these three forest experiences as background factors, and tested the model using Piecewise Structural Equation Modelling. Data were collected through an interview‐based protocol applied to 106 landowners across 13 landscapes varying in forest cover in a consolidated rural region in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Our results indicate that: (a) ecosystem services are more important than disservices for shaping intention of preserving forests, particularly non‐provisioning services; (b) contact with forest has an indirect effect on intention, by positively influencing the frequency of receiving ecosystem services; (c) people living in more forested ecological contexts have more contact with forests, receive ecosystem services more frequently and, ultimately, have stronger intention of preserving forests. Hence, our study suggests a dangerous positive feedback loop between deforestation, the extinction of forest experiences and impairment of human–nature connections. Local demands across the full range of ecosystem services, the balance between services and disservices and the ecological context people live in should be considered when developing conservation initiatives in tropical rural areas

Quantum theory of SASE FEL

We describe a free-electron laser (FEL) in the Self-Amplified Spontaneous Emission (SASE) regime quantizing the electron motion and taking into account propagation effects. We demonstrate quantum purification of the SASE spectrum, i.e. in a properly defined quantum regime the spiking behavior disappears and the SASE power spectrum becomes very narrow

The Impact of Thermal Degradation on Properties of Electrical Machine Winding Insulation Material

Inter-turn stator short circuits can develop quickly leading to serious damage of an electric machine. However, degradation mechanisms of winding insulation material are not yet fully understood. Therefore, the main contribution of this article is analysis of the impact of thermal ageing on the electrical properties of the thin film winding insulation. The insulation samples have been aged thermally at 200–275 °C and for 100–1600 hours. After ageing, impedance spectroscopy measurements were undertaken on the samples and equivalent circuit model (ECM) parameters fitted for each measurement. This allows the impact of thermal ageing on ECM parameters to be analysed, giving insight into the changes of the electrical properties of the insulation. Finally, high voltage was applied to the samples aiming to identify the breakdown voltage characteristics of the insulation material

Validity of Various Approaches to Global Kinetic Modeling of Material Lifetimes

Chemical kinetic modeling has been used for many years in process optimization, estimating real-time material performance, and lifetime prediction. Chemists have tended towards developing detailed mechanistic models, while engineers have tended towards global or lumped models. Many, if not most, applications use global models by necessity, since it is impractical or impossible to develop a rigorous mechanistic model. Model fitting acquired a bad connotation in the thermal analysis community after that community realized a decade after other disciplines that deriving kinetic parameters for an assumed model from a single heating rate produced unreliable and sometimes nonsensical results. In its place, advanced isoconversional methods, which have their roots in the Friedman and Ozawa-Flynn-Wall methods of the 1960s, have become increasingly popular. In fact, as pointed out by the ICTAC kinetics project in 2000, valid kinetic parameters can be derived by both isoconversional and model fitting methods as long as a diverse set of thermal histories are used to derive the kinetic parameters. The current paper extends the understanding from that project to give a better appreciation of the strengths and weaknesses of isoconversional and model-fitting approaches. Examples are given from a variety of data sets

Phenotypic and genomic profiling of Staphylococcus argenteus in Canada and the United States and recommendations for clinical result reporting

Staphylococcus argenteus is a newly described species, formerly known as S. aureus clonal complex 75 (CC75). Here, we describe the largest collection of S. argenteus isolates in North America, highlighting identification challenges. We present phenotypic and genomic characteristics and provide recommendations for clinical reporting. Between 2017 and 2019, 22 isolates of S. argenteus were received at 2 large reference laboratories for identification. Identification with routine methods (biochemical, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry [MALDI-TOF MS], 16S rRNA gene analysis) proved challenging to confidently distinguish these isolates from S. aureus. Whole-genome sequencing analysis was employed to confirm identifications. Using several different sequence-based analyses, all clinical isolates under investigation were confirmed to be S. argenteus with clear differentiation from S. aureus. Seven of 22 isolates were recovered from sterile sites, 11 from nonsterile sites, and 4 from surveillance screens. While sequence types ST1223/coa type XV, ST2198/coa type XIV, and ST2793/coa type XId were identified among the Canadian isolates, the majority of isolates (73%) belonged to multilocus sequence types (MLST) ST2250/coa type XId and exhibited a high degree of homology at the genomic level. Despite this similarity, 5 spa types were identified among ST2250 isolates, demonstrating some diversity between strains. Several isolates carried mecA, as well as other resistance and virulence determinants (e.g., PVL, TSST-1) commonly associated with S. aureus. Based on our findings, the growing body of literature on S. argenteus, the potential severity of infections, and possible confusion associated with reporting, including use of incorrect breakpoints for susceptibility results, we make recommendations for clinical laboratories regarding this organism