Age and growth in a European flagship amphibian : equal performance at agricultural ponds and favourably managed aquatic sites

In human-modified landscapes, little is known about the influence of aquatic habitat types on the demographic structure of residing amphibian populations. In the present paper, we focus on a European flagship urodele species (the great crested newt Triturus cristatus) at the north-western range of its distribution, applying the method of skeletochronology to compare the ages of individuals retrieved from agricultural ponds with individuals retrieved from aquatic sites favourably managed for T. cristatus presence. Median ages ranged between 4.5 and 10.0 years depending on sex and population, and did not differ between the two site categories. Females were on average older than males at both agricultural ponds as well as favourably managed sites. Median ages at sexual maturity (3 years for females and 2 years for males) were 4 years below the most commonly observed age cohort in both sexes, suggesting that young adults regularly forgo reproduction. Mean body size did not differ between agricultural ponds and favourably managed sites. However, the former were characterised by a higher variance in body size, which is possibly linked to more unstable ecological conditions in agricultural settings. Taken together, our findings confirm that under suitable conditions agricultural ponds can harbour sustainable populations, an important finding for the broad-scale conservation management of T. cristatus which does not usually take population demographies into account. Keywords: Demography Great crested newt Skeletochronology Triturus cristatus Urodele

The population structure and demography of Triturus cristatus in agricultural landscapes of North-West England

Triturus cristatus is one of Europe’s most rapidly declining amphibians and has been the subject of conservation concern in the UK since 1975. Despite its widespread decline and continued threats from development, T. cristatus remains widely distributed in the UK countryside. Traditional farming practices, such as the digging of ponds for livestock, created suitable habitats for T. cristatus and consequently the species was much more common in the past. Over the last 70 years the nature of farming has fundamentally changed and the modern landscape provides a comparatively degraded habitat for wildlife. The value of farmland for T. cristatus in the UK is often overlooked by conservation efforts for the species, even though it is a valuable habitat and essential for providing connectivity between adjacent populations. Much effort is focussed on the small number of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) or Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) but these cover a very small part of the UK landmass. T. cristatus has been protected by law in the UK since 1981, and as a result an estimated minimum of £45 million is spent each year to avoid killing or injuring individual newts where populations are affected by development. In contrast land in agricultural production covers 71% of the UK but funding for proactive conservation of the species across this habitat is minimal and very difficult to obtain. This thesis has investigated the ecology of T. cristatus on farmland in North West England. Data were collected from a total of 32 ponds on 11 sites. Population size estimates are presented for eight farm ponds and are compared with those from three non-farmed ponds. Population size varied markedly between ponds and sites, and some farm ponds supported very small numbers of newts. Population estimates fluctuated markedly between years, highlighting the importance of long term studies. Isolated ponds supported relatively large numbers of individuals, and indeed the highest population estimate was recorded in an isolated pond. This demonstrates that isolation in itself is not a limiting factor for population size. In total, 4693 individuals captured during this study were weighed and measured, and the data were used to compare body condition index (BCI) between populations. There was no clear difference between BCI at farmed and non-farmed sites, suggesting that BCI of T. cristatus on farmland was not adversely affected by modern farming practices. There was an inverse relationship between age and body condition. The age structure of 13 populations was estimated based on skeletochronology of 548 adults. Individuals in the farmed landscape survived to a maximum estimated age of 14 years, only one year less than the maximum age recorded during this study. Twenty individuals were estimated at 12 years or older. Fourteen of these were from farmed and six were from non-farmed populations. This indicates that both the aquatic and terrestrial habitat of the farmed landscape is sufficient to allow newts to fulfil their natural lifespan. The estimated age of sexual maturity for the majority of individuals was 2-3 years. The median estimated age across all populations was 6.5 years for males and seven years for females. It appears that individuals do not breed as soon as they reach sexual maturity and thus remain in the terrestrial habitat for a much longer period of their lives than previously thought. Males always returned to the pond earlier than females of the same age. In both sexes, individuals aged 8 years and over were on average captured approximately three weeks prior to younger individuals. Whether population isolation has had any measurable effect on T. cristatus was investigated using a genetic study of 23 populations on 13 sites. There was no evidence of a loss of genetic diversity through isolation. This study supported the conclusion of other research that dispersal distances for T. cristatus can be much greater than reported by capture-mark-recapture (C-M-R) studies. At one of the farmed sites (Moss Shaw Farm), populations just over 1 km apart were assigned similar genetic characteristics, indicating genetic mixing of those populations. This shows that the modern agricultural landscape is still capable of facilitating the dispersal of individuals. The results of this research demonstrate that the agricultural landscape in the UK can continue to provide a suitable habitat for T. cristatus. Efforts to engage with farmers and landowners to enlist their support for the conservation of this species will therefore be worthwhile

Static stretching of the hamstring muscle for injury prevention in football codes: a systematic review

Purpose: Hamstring injuries are common among football players. There is still disagreement regarding prevention. The aim of this review is to determine whether static stretching reduces hamstring injuries in football codes. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted on the online databases PubMed, PEDro, Cochrane, Web of Science, Bisp and Clinical Trial register. Study results were presented descriptively and the quality of the studies assessed were based on Cochrane’s ‘risk of bias’ tool. Results: The review identified 35 studies, including four analysis studies. These studies show deficiencies in the quality of study designs. Conclusion: The study protocols are varied in terms of the length of intervention and follow-up. No RCT studies are available, however, RCT studies should be conducted in the near future

The natural history and management of hamstring injuries

Hamstring injuries in sport can be debilitating. The anatomical complexity of this muscle makes uniform assessment of injury epidemiology difficult and insures that post-injury management strategies must be individually focused. This article reviews the anatomy of the hamstring, its role in athletic movement, common mechanisms of injury, and management guidelines with the goal of return into sporting activity in mind

Biomechanical predictors of ball velocity during punt kicking in elite rugby league kickers

Punt kicking is integral to the attacking and defensive elements of rugby league and the ability to kick the ball with high velocity is desirable. This study aimed to identify important technical aspects of kicking linked to the generation of ball velocity. Maximal punt kicks were obtained from six elite rugby league kickers using a 10-camera motion capture system. Three-dimensional kinematics of the lower extremities was obtained. Regression analysis with ball velocity as criterion was used to identify the kinematic parameters associated with the development of ball velocity. The regression model yielded an adj R2¼0.76, p�0.01. Two parameters were identified: knee extension angular velocity of the kicking limb at impact (R2¼0.50) and peak flexion angular velocity of the kicking hip (R2¼0.26, p�0.01). It is conceivable that players may benefit from exposure to coaching and strength techniques geared toward the modification of kicking mechanics specific to this stud

Stratification of candidate genes for Parkinson’s disease using weighted protein interaction network analysis

Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have helped identify large numbers of genetic loci that significantly associate with increased risk of developing diseases. However, translating genetic knowledge into understanding of the molecular mechanisms underpinning disease (i.e. disease-specific impacted biological processes) has to date proved to be a major challenge. This is primarily due to difficulties in confidently defining candidate genes at GWAS-risk loci. The goal of this study was to better characterize candidate genes within GWAS loci using a protein interactome based approach and with Parkinson's disease (PD) data as a test case.We applied a recently developed Weighted Protein-Protein Interaction Network Analysis (WPPINA) pipeline as a means to define impacted biological processes, risk pathways and therein key functional players. We used previously established Mendelian forms of PD to identify seed proteins, and to construct a protein network for genetic Parkinson's and carried out functional enrichment analyses. We isolated PD-specific processes indicating 'mitochondria stressors mediated cell death', 'immune response and signaling', and 'waste disposal' mediated through 'autophagy'. Merging the resulting protein network with data from Parkinson's GWAS we confirmed 10 candidate genes previously selected by pure proximity and were able to nominate 17 novel candidate genes for sporadic PD.With this study, we were able to better characterize the underlying genetic and functional architecture of idiopathic PD, thus validating WPPINA as a robust pipeline for the in silico genetic and functional dissection of complex disorders

Utilisation of an operative difficulty grading scale for laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background A reliable system for grading operative difficulty of laparoscopic cholecystectomy would standardise description of findings and reporting of outcomes. The aim of this study was to validate a difficulty grading system (Nassar scale), testing its applicability and consistency in two large prospective datasets. Methods Patient and disease-related variables and 30-day outcomes were identified in two prospective cholecystectomy databases: the multi-centre prospective cohort of 8820 patients from the recent CholeS Study and the single-surgeon series containing 4089 patients. Operative data and patient outcomes were correlated with Nassar operative difficultly scale, using Kendall’s tau for dichotomous variables, or Jonckheere–Terpstra tests for continuous variables. A ROC curve analysis was performed, to quantify the predictive accuracy of the scale for each outcome, with continuous outcomes dichotomised, prior to analysis. Results A higher operative difficulty grade was consistently associated with worse outcomes for the patients in both the reference and CholeS cohorts. The median length of stay increased from 0 to 4 days, and the 30-day complication rate from 7.6 to 24.4% as the difficulty grade increased from 1 to 4/5 (both p < 0.001). In the CholeS cohort, a higher difficulty grade was found to be most strongly associated with conversion to open and 30-day mortality (AUROC = 0.903, 0.822, respectively). On multivariable analysis, the Nassar operative difficultly scale was found to be a significant independent predictor of operative duration, conversion to open surgery, 30-day complications and 30-day reintervention (all p < 0.001). Conclusion We have shown that an operative difficulty scale can standardise the description of operative findings by multiple grades of surgeons to facilitate audit, training assessment and research. It provides a tool for reporting operative findings, disease severity and technical difficulty and can be utilised in future research to reliably compare outcomes according to case mix and intra-operative difficulty

Evolution and networks in ancient and widespread symbioses between Mucoromycotina and liverworts

Like the majority of land plants, liverworts regularly form intimate symbioses with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Glomeromycotina). Recent phylogenetic and physiological studies report that they also form intimate symbioses with Mucoromycotina fungi and that some of these, like those involving Glomeromycotina, represent nutritional mutualisms. To compare these symbioses, we carried out a global analysis of Mucoromycotina fungi in liverworts and other plants using species delimitation, ancestral reconstruction, and network analyses. We found that Mucoromycotina are more common and diverse symbionts of liverworts than previously thought, globally distributed, ancestral, and often co-occur with Glomeromycotina within plants. However, our results also suggest that the associations formed by Mucoromycotina fungi are fundamentally different because, unlike Glomeromycotina, they may have evolved multiple times and their symbiotic networks are un-nested (i.e., not forming nested subsets of species). We infer that the global Mucoromycotina symbiosis is evolutionarily and ecologically distinctive