Sustainable management of migratory European ducks: finding model species

Eurasian migratory duck species represent a natural resource shared between European countries. As is evident throughout human harvest history, lack of coordinated management and monitoring at appropriate levels often leads to 'the tragedy of the commons', where shared populations suffer overexploitation. Effective management can also be hampered by poor understanding of the factors that limit and regulate migratory populations throughout their flyways, and over time. Following decades of population increase, some European duck populations now show signs of levelling off or even decline, underlining the need for more active and effective management. In Europe, the existing mechanisms for delivering effective management of duck populations are limited, despite the need and enthusiasm for establishing adaptive management (AM) schemes for wildlife populations. Existing international legal agreements already oblige European countries to sustainably manage migratory waterbirds. Although the lack of coordinated demographic and hunting data remains a challenge to sustainable management planning, AM provides a robust decision-making framework even in the presence of uncertainty regarding demographic and other information. In this paper we investigate the research and monitoring needs in Europe to successfully apply AM to ducks, and search for possible model species, focusing on freshwater species (in contrast to sea duck species) in the East Atlantic flyway. Based on current knowledge, we suggest that common teal Anas crecca, Eurasian wigeon Mareca penelope and common goldeneye Bucephala clangula represent the best species for testing the application of an AM muddling approach to duck populations in Europe. Applying AM to huntable species with relatively good population data as models for broader implementation represents a cost effective way of starting to develop AM on a European flyway scale for ducks, and potentially other waterbirds in the future

Lifestyle factors and risk of sickness absence from work: a multicohort study

Background Lifestyle factors influence the risk of morbidity and mortality, but the extent to which they are associated with employees' absence from work due to illness is unclear. We examined the relative contributions of smoking, alcohol consumption, high body-mass index, and low physical activity to diagnosis-specific sickness absence.Methods We did a multicohort study with individual-level data of participants of four cohorts from the UK, France, and Finland. Participants' responses to a lifestyle survey were linked to records of sickness absence episodes, typically lasting longer than 9 days; for each diagnostic category, the outcome was the total number of sickness absence days per year. We estimated the associations between lifestyle factors and sickness absence by calculating rate ratios for the number of sickness absence days per year and combining cohort-specific estimates with meta-analysis. The criteria for assessing the evidence included the strength of association, consistency across cohorts, robustness to adjustments and multiple testing, and impact assessment by use of population attributable fractions (PAF), with both internal lifestyle factor prevalence estimates and those obtained from European populations (PAF external).Findings For 74 296 participants, during 446 478 person-years at risk, the most common diagnoses for sickness absence were musculoskeletal diseases (70.9 days per 10 person-years), depressive disorders (26.5 days per 10 person-years), and external causes (such as injuries and poisonings; 12.8 days per 10 person-years). Being overweight (rate ratio [adjusted for age, sex, socioeconomic status, and chronic disease at baseline] 1.30, 95% CI 1.21-1.40; PAF external 8.9%) and low physical activity (1.23, 1.14-1.34; 7.8%) were associated with absences due to musculoskeletal diseases; heavy episodic drinking (1.90, 1.41-2.56; 15.2%), smoking (1.70, 1.42-2.03; 11.8%), low physical activity (1.67, 1.42-1.96; 19.8%), and obesity (1.38, 1.11-1.71; 5.6%) were associated with absences due to depressive disorders; heavy episodic drinking (1.64, 1.33-2.03; 11.3%), obesity (1.48, 1.27-1.72; 6.6%), smoking (1.35, 1.20-1.53; 6.3%), and being overweight (1.20, 1.08-1.33; 6.2%) were associated with absences due to external causes; obesity (1.82, 1.40-2.36; 11.0%) and smoking (1.60, 1.30-1.98; 10.3%) were associated with absences due to circulatory diseases; low physical activity (1.37, 1.25-1.49; 12.0%) and smoking (1.27, 1.16-1.40; 4.9%) were associated with absences due to respiratory diseases; and obesity (1.67, 1.34-2.07; 9.7%) was associated with absences due to digestive diseases.Interpretation Lifestyle factors are associated with sickness absence due to several diseases, but observational data cannot determine the nature of these associations. Future studies should investigate the cost-effectiveness of lifestyle interventions aimed at reducing sickness absence and the use of information on lifestyle for identifying groups at risk. Copyright (c) The Author (s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license

Job strain and the risk of severe asthma exacerbations : a meta-analysis of individual-participant data from 100 000 European men and women

Peer reviewe

The Architecture of the Adhesive Apparatus of Cultured Osteoclasts: From Podosome Formation to Sealing Zone Assembly

BACKGROUND: Osteoclasts are bone-degrading cells, which play a central role in physiological bone remodeling. Unbalanced osteoclast activity is largely responsible for pathological conditions such as osteoporosis. Osteoclasts develop specialized adhesion structures, the so-called podosomes, which subsequently undergo dramatic reorganization into sealing zones. These ring-like adhesion structures, which delimit the resorption site, effectively seal the cell to the substrate forming a diffusion barrier. The structural integrity of the sealing zone is essential for the cell ability to degrade bone, yet its structural organization is poorly understood. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Combining high-resolution scanning electron microscopy with fluorescence microscopy performed on the same sample, we mapped the molecular architecture of the osteoclast resorptive apparatus from individual podosomes to the sealing zone, at an unprecedented resolution. Podosomes are composed of an actin-bundle core, flanked by a ring containing adhesion proteins connected to the core via dome-like radial actin fibers. The sealing zone, hallmark of bone-resorbing osteoclasts, consists of a dense array of podosomes communicating through a network of actin filaments, parallel to the substrate and anchored to the adhesive plaque domain via radial actin fibers. SIGNIFICANCE: The sealing zone of osteoclasts cultured on bone is made of structural units clearly related to individual podosomes. It differs from individual or clustered podosomes in the higher density and degree of inter-connectivity of its building blocks, thus forming a unique continuous functional structure connecting the cell to its extracellular milieu. Through this continuous structure, signals reporting on the substrate condition may be transmitted to the whole cell, modulating the cell response under physiological and pathological conditions

Job strain as a risk factor for clinical depression : systematic review and meta-analysis with additional individual participant data

Background. Adverse psychosocial working environments characterized by job strain (the combination of high demands and low control at work) are associated with an increased risk of depressive symptoms among employees, but evidence on clinically diagnosed depression is scarce. We examined job strain as a risk factor for clinical depression. Method. We identified published cohort studies from a systematic literature search in PubMed and PsycNET and obtained 14 cohort studies with unpublished individual-level data from the Individual-Participant-Data Meta-analysis in Working Populations (IPD-Work) Consortium. Summary estimates of the association were obtained using random-effects models. Individual-level data analyses were based on a pre-published study protocol. Results. We included six published studies with a total of 27 461 individuals and 914 incident cases of clinical depression. From unpublished datasets we included 120 221 individuals and 982 first episodes of hospital-treated clinical depression. Job strain was associated with an increased risk of clinical depression in both published [relative risk (RR) = 1.77, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.47-2.13] and unpublished datasets (RR = 1.27, 95% CI 1.04-1.55). Further individual participant analyses showed a similar association across sociodemographic subgroups and after excluding individuals with baseline somatic disease. The association was unchanged when excluding individuals with baseline depressive symptoms (RR = 1.25, 95% CI 0.94-1.65), but attenuated on adjustment for a continuous depressive symptoms score (RR = 1.03, 95% CI 0.81-1.32). Conclusions. Job strain may precipitate clinical depression among employees. Future intervention studies should test whether job strain is a modifiable risk factor for depression.Peer reviewe

Glycoprotein YKL-40: A potential biomarker of disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis during intensive treatment with csDMARDs and infliximab. Evidence from the randomised controlled NEO-RACo trial

ObjectiveYKL-40, a chitinase-like glycoprotein associated with inflammation and tissue remodeling, is produced by joint tissues and recognized as a candidate auto-antigen in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In the present study, we investigated YKL-40 as a potential biomarker of disease activity in patients with early RA at baseline and during intensive treatment aiming for early remission.MethodsNinety-nine patients with early DMARD-naive RA participated in the NEO-RACo study. For the first four weeks, the patients were treated with the combination of sulphasalazine, methotrexate, hydroxychloroquine and low dose prednisolone (FIN-RACo DMARD combination), and subsequently randomized to receive placebo or infliximab added on the treatment for further 22 weeks. Disease activity was evaluated using the 28-joint disease activity score and plasma YKL-40 concentrations were measured by immunoassay.ResultsAt the baseline, plasma YKL-40 concentration was 57 +/- 37 ( mean +/- SD) ng/ml. YKL-40 was significantly associated with the disease activity score, interleukin-6 and erythrocyte sedimentation rate both at the baseline and during the 26 weeks' treatment. The csDMARD combination decreased YKL-40 levels already during the first four weeks of treatment, and there was no further reduction when the tumour necrosis factor-alpha antagonist infliximab was added on the combination treatment.ConclusionsHigh YKL-40 levels were found to be associated with disease activity in early DMARD-naive RA and during intensive treat-to-target therapy. The present results suggest YKL-40 as a useful biomarker of disease activity in RA to be used to steer treatment towards remission

Bone histomorphometric measures of physical activity in children from Medieval England

Objectives: Histomorphometric studies show consistent links between physical activity patterns and the microstructure underlying the size and shape of bone. Here we adopt a combined bone approach to explore variation in microstructure of ribs and humeri related to physical activity and historical records of manual labor in skeletal samples of children (n=175) from medieval England. The humerus reflects greater biomechanically induced microstructural variation than the rib which is used here as a control. Variation in microstructure is sought between regions in England (Canterbury, York, Newcastle), and between high- and low-status children from Canterbury. Materials and Methods: Thin-sections were prepared from the humerus or rib and features of bone remodeling were recorded using high-resolution microscopy and image analysis software. Results: The density and size of secondary osteons in the humerus differed significantly in children from Canterbury when compared to those from York and Newcastle. Amongst the older children, secondary osteon circularity and diameter differed significantly between higher and lower status children. Discussion: By applying bone remodeling principles to the histomorphometric data we infer that medieval children in Canterbury engaged in less physically demanding activities than children from York or Newcastle. Within Canterbury, high-status and low-status children experienced similar biomechanical loading until around seven years of age. After this age low-status children performed activities that resulted in more habitual loading on their arm bones than the high-status children. This inferred change in physical activity is consistent with historical textual evidence that describes children entering the work force at this age

Circulating Prostate Tumor Cells Detected by Reverse Transcription-PCR in Men with Localized or Castration-Refractory Prostate Cancer: Concordance with CellSearch Assay and Association with Bone Metastases and with Survival

BACKGROUND: Reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) assays have been used for analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), but their clinical value has yet to be established. We assessed men with localized prostate cancer or castration-refractory prostate cancer (CRPC) for CTCs via real-time RT-PCR assays for KLK3 [kallikrein-related peptidase 3; i.e., prostate-specific antigen (PSA)] and KLK2 mRNAs. We also assessed the association of CTCs with disease characteristics and survival. METHODS: KLK3, KLK2, and PSCA (prostate stem cell antigen) mRNAs were measured by standardized, quantitative real-time RT-PCR assays in blood samples from 180 localized-disease patients, 76 metastatic CRPC patients, and 19 healthy volunteers. CRPC samples were also tested for CTCs by an immunomagnetic separation system (CellSearch; Veridex) approved for clinical use. RESULTS: All healthy volunteers were negative for KLK mRNAs. Results of tests for KLK3 or KLK2 mRNAs were positive (> or =80 mRNAs/mL blood) in 37 patients (49%) with CRPC but in only 15 patients (8%) with localized cancer. RT-PCR and CellSearch CTC results were strongly concordant (80%-85%) and correlated (Kendall tau, 0.60-0.68). Among CRPC patients, KLK mRNAs and CellSearch CTCs were closely associated with clinical evidence of bone metastases and with survival but were only modestly correlated with serum PSA concentrations. PSCA mRNA was detected in only 7 CRPC patients (10%) and was associated with a positive KLK mRNA status. CONCLUSIONS: Real-time RT-PCR assays of KLK mRNAs are highly concordant with CellSearch CTC results in patients with CRPC. KLK2/3-expressing CTCs are common in men with CRPC and bone metastases but are rare in patients with metastases diagnosed only in soft tissues and patients with localized cancer