Packages of Care for Depression in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

In the first in a series of six articles on packages of care for mental disorders in low- and middle-income countries, Neerja Chowdary and colleagues discuss the treatment of depression

Data Paper. Data Paper

<h2>File List</h2><blockquote> <p><a href="Boulder_Sites.txt">Boulder_Sites.txt</a> -- 66 records, not including header row</p> <p><a href="Boulder_Abundance.txt">Boulder_Abundance.txt</a> -- 330 records, not including header </p> </blockquote><h2>Description</h2><blockquote> <p>The purpose of this data set was to investigate the effects of habitat characteristics and urbanization on grassland butterfly diversity. We sampled butterflies at 66 sites in Boulder County Open Space in the years 1999 and 2000. We tested for effects of habitat characteristics (grassland type and quality) and landscape context (percentage surrounding urbanization) on butterfly diversity and abundance. Although both habitat characteristics did affect butterfly diversity, landscape context did not. The data contain butterfly species diversity and individual species’ abundance for the five periods sampled: July 1999, August 1999, June 2000, July 2000, and August 2000. Our samples included 58 species from five butterfly families: Hesperiidae (17 species), Papilionidae (4 species), Pieridae (7 species), Lycaenidae (11 species), and Nymphalidae (19 species). These data include endangered butterfly species, as well as surveys from relictual tallgrass prairie. There is some limitation to these data, as our sampling was not exhaustive through the year. That is, many species we observed also occur outside of the time-period sampled, and some butterfly species may not have been present as adults during the months of June, July, and August, and thus were not sampled. We present these data with the hope that they be combined with future surveys using the methods described here to constitute a long-term data set. These data will undoubtedly be useful in understanding temporal changes in butterfly abundance and diversity, effects of urbanization on different taxa, and determinants of local and large-scale faunal diversity.</p> <p><i> Key words:</i> <i>Lepidoptera; Boulder County Open Space, Colorado (USA); butterflies; biodiversity; habitat; urbanization; climate change.</i></p> </blockquote

Data from: Seasonal plasticity in anti-predatory strategies: matching of color and color preference for effective crypsis

Effective anti-predatory strategies typically require matching appearance and behavior in prey, and there are many compelling examples of behavioral repertoires that enhance the effectiveness of morphological defenses. When protective adult morphology is induced by developmental environmental conditions predictive of future predation risk, adult behavior should be adjusted accordingly to maximize predator avoidance. While behavior is typically strongly affected by the adult environment, developmental plasticity in adult behavior — mediated by the same pre-adult environmental cues that affect morphology — could ensure an effective match between anti-predatory morphology and behavior. The coordination of environmentally-induced responses may be especially important in populations exposed to predictable environmental fluctuations (e.g. seasonality). Here, we studied early and late life environmental effects on a suite of traits expected to work together for effective crypsis. We focused on wing color and background color preference in Bicyclus anynana, a model of developmental plasticity that relies on crypsis as a seasonal strategy for predator avoidance. Using a full-factorial design, we disentangled effects of developmental and adult ambient temperature on both appearance and behavior. We showed that developmental conditions affect both adult color and color preference, with temperatures that simulate natural dry season conditions leading to browner butterflies with a perching preference for brown backgrounds. This effect was stronger in females, especially when butterflies were tested at lower ambient temperatures. In contrast to the expectation that motionlessness enhances crypsis, we found no support for our hypothesis that the browner dry-season butterflies would be less active. We argue that the integration of developmental plasticity for morphological and behavioral traits might improve the effectiveness of seasonal anti-predatory strategies

Fewer butterflies seen by community scientists across the warming and drying landscapes of the American West

Uncertainty remains regarding the role of anthropogenic climate change in declining insect populations, partly because our understanding of biotic response to climate is often complicated by habitat loss and degradation among other compounding stressors. We addressed this challenge by integrating expert and community scientist datasets that include decades of monitoring across more than 70 locations spanning the western United States. We found a 1.6% annual reduction in the number of individual butterflies observed over the past four decades, associated in particular with warming during fall months. The pervasive declines that we report advance our understanding of climate change impacts and suggest that a new approach is needed for butterfly conservation in the region, focused on suites of species with shared habitat or host associations.This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Cost effectiveness analysis comparing repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation to antidepressant medications after a first treatment failure for major depressive disorder in newly diagnosed patients – A lifetime analysis

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) commonly is used for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) after patients have failed to benefit from trials of multiple antidepressant medications. No analysis to date has examined the cost-effectiveness of rTMS used earlier in the course of treatment and over a patients' lifetime.We used lifetime Markov simulation modeling to compare the direct costs and quality adjusted life years (QALYs) of rTMS and medication therapy in patients with newly diagnosed MDD (ages 20-59) who had failed to benefit from one pharmacotherapy trial. Patients' life expectancies, rates of response and remission, and quality of life outcomes were derived from the literature, and treatment costs were based upon published Medicare reimbursement data. Baseline costs, aggregate per year quality of life assessments (QALYs), Monte Carlo simulation, tornado analysis, assessment of dominance, and one way sensitivity analysis were also performed. The discount rate applied was 3%.Lifetime direct treatment costs, and QALYs identified rTMS as the dominant therapy compared to antidepressant medications (i.e., lower costs with better outcomes) in all age ranges, with costs/improved QALYs ranging from $2,952/0.32 (older patients) to$11,140/0.43 (younger patients). One-way sensitivity analysis demonstrated that the model was most sensitive to the input variables of cost per rTMS session, monthly prescription drug cost, and the number of rTMS sessions per year.rTMS was identified as the dominant therapy compared to antidepressant medication trials over the life of the patient across the lifespan of adults with MDD, given current costs of treatment. These models support the use of rTMS after a single failed antidepressant medication trial versus further attempts at medication treatment in adults with MDD