Foray search: An effective systematic dispersal strategy in fragmented landscapes

In the absence of evidence to the contrary, population models generally assume that the dispersal trajectories of animals are random, but systematic dispersal could be more efficient at detecting new habitat and may therefore constitute a more realistic assumption. Here, we investigate, by means of simulations, the properties of a potentially widespread systematic dispersal strategy termed "foray search." Foray search was more efficient in detecting suitable habitat than was random dispersal in most landscapes and was less subject to energetic constraints. However, it also resulted in considerably shorter net dispersed distances and higher mortality per net dispersed distance than did random dispersal, and it would therefore be likely to lead to lower dispersal rates toward the margins of population networks. Consequently, the use of foray search by dispersers could crucially affect the extinction-colonization balance of metapopulations and the evolution of dispersal rates. We conclude that population models need to take the dispersal trajectories of individuals into account in order to make reliable predictions

Non-random dispersal in the butterfly Maniola jurtina: implications for metapopulation models

The dispersal patterns of animals are important in metapopulation ecology because they affect the dynamics and survival of populations. Theoretical models assume random dispersal but little is known in practice about the dispersal behaviour of individual animals or the strategy by which dispersers locate distant habitat patches. In the present study, we released individual meadow brown butterflies (Maniola jurtina) in a non-habitat and investigated their ability to return to a suitable habitat. The results provided three reasons for supposing that meadow brown butterflies do not seek habitat by means of random flight. First, when released within the range of their normal dispersal distances, the butterflies orientated towards suitable habitat at a higher rate than expected at random. Second, when released at larger distances from their habitat, they used a non-random, systematic, search strategy in which they flew in loops around the release point and returned periodically to it. Third, butterflies returned to a familiar habitat patch rather than a non-familiar one when given a choice. If dispersers actively orientate towards or search systematically for distant habitat, this may be problematic for existing metapopulation models, including models of the evolution of dispersal rates in metapopulations

Communication and shared decision-making after stillbirth: Results of the ShaDeS study

Background: Shared decision-making (SDM) is included in guidelines for bereavement care after a stillbirth, as it can improve women’s long-term health and wellbeing. SDM within the stillbirth context is still not common, and Italy does not yet have standardised guidelines. Aim: The ShaDeS (Shared Decision-Making in Stillbirth) study aims to investigate how Italian women with a stillbirth perceive their own centrality in decision-making processes around bereavement care and how this might impact satisfaction of care. Methods: The ShaDeS study is a cross-sectional study based on a web survey consisted of four sections: socio- demographic information and medical history, communication of bad news and bereavement care, decisions about childbirth (SDM-Q-9, SHARED, and DCS), and decisions and communication about autopsy (CPS). Findings: 187 women answered the survey. For the 41.1% of women that did not have an emergency childbirth, the SDM-Q-9 median score was 66.6 (0–100 range), and the SHARED median score was 3.5 (1–5 range). 29.4% of participants reached the proposed cutoff of 37.5 in the DCS (0–100 range) suggesting a difficulty in reaching decisions. Satisfaction scores were lower for those with such difficulties (p < 0.0001). Of the 64.5% of women that discussed autopsy, 28.3% were involved in an SDM approach, despite this being associated with higher levels of satisfaction of care (p < 0.05). Conclusion: An SDM approach is only moderately widespread amongst our participants, despite it being signif- icantly related to higher levels of satisfaction. Further studies should investigate the tools that both patients and healthcare professionals need for an SDM approach

An overview of the history and work of Liverpool Public Health Observatory, and its impact on policy and services

Liverpool Public Health Observatory (LPHO) was established in 1990 to provide intelligence to Merseyside Health Authorities (later Primary Care Trusts and now Local Authority Public Health Departments). The work programme for LPHO is now managed by the Cheshire and Merseyside Public Health Intelligence Network, on behalf of the Directors of Public Health. The Intelligence Network identify areas of work based on local priorities and those of the CHAMPS public health collaborative service1. A project lead, usually a member of local authority staff, is identified, and a working group is established – the working group provides expert input into the projects, and a steer to researchers in the University regarding scope and local requirements. Academic support for the projects is provided by the University of Liverpool. When reports are complete, they are uploaded to LPHO’s website, and disseminated widely via CHAMPS to relevant professionals, including relevant leads within the NHS and local authorities, and presented at relevant local, national and international conferences and events. Projects are now evaluated six months after they have been completed. This overview report provides a summary of some of the more recent reports that have been compiled by LPHO, including evaluation findings where these are available, and the impact that LPHO’s work has had on public health practice. An appendix which lists all LPHO’s publications is included at the end of this report for future reference

Neutron-proton analyzing power at 12 MeV and inconsistencies in parametrizations of nucleon-nucleon data

We present the most accurate and complete data set for the analyzing power Ay(theta) in neutron-proton scattering. The experimental data were corrected for the effects of multiple scattering, both in the center detector and in the neutron detectors. The final data at En = 12.0 MeV deviate considerably from the predictions of nucleon-nucleon phase-shift analyses and potential models. The impact of the new data on the value of the charged pion-nucleon coupling constant is discussed in a model study.Comment: Six pages, four figures, one table, to be published in Physics Letters

Treatment with a Green Tea Polyphenol Corrects Craniofacial Deficits Associated with Down Syndrome

poster abstractDown syndrome (DS) is caused by trisomy of human chromosome 21 (HSA21). Individuals with DS present craniofacial abnormalities including an undersized, dismorphic mandible leading to difficulty with eating, breathing, and swallowing. Using the Ts65Dn DS mouse model (three copies of ~50% HSA21 homologs), we have traced the mandibular deficit to a neural crest cell (NCC) deficiency and reduction in first pharyngeal arch (PA1 or mandibular precursor) size at embryonic day 9.5. At E9.5, Dyrk1A, a triplicated DS candidate gene, is overexpressed and may cause the NCC and PA1 deficits. We hypothesize that treatment of pregnant Ts65Dn mothers with Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a known Dyrk1A inhibitor, will correct NCC deficits and rescue the undersized PA1 in trisomic E9.5 embryos. To test our hypothesis, we treated pregnant Ts65Dn mothers with EGCG from either E7-E8 or E0-E9.5. Our preliminary study found an increase in PA1 volume and NCC number in trisomic E9.5 embryos after treatment, but observed differences between treatment regimens. Differential gene expression was also quantified in trisomic treated embryos. This preliminary data suggests EGCG treatment has the potential to rescue the mandibular phenotype caused by trisomy. These findings provide preclinical testing for a potential therapy for craniofacial disorders linked to DS

Seasonal variation in agglutination of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes

Abstract. Agglutination and rosette formation are in vitro characteristics of Plasmodium falciparum–infected erythrocytes, which have been associated with host protective immune responses and also with parasite virulence. The present study was carried out in an area of seasonal and unstable malaria transmission in eastern Sudan. Plasma samples were obtained before, during, and after the transmission season from a volunteer cohort of 64 individuals seven years of age and older. These plasmas were assayed for their ability to agglutinate cultured parasitized eryth-rocytes originally obtained from acute malaria infection samples taken from five of the cohort members. Our data show that the capacity of donor plasma samples to agglutinate parasitized cells depended largely on the time of sampling relative to the transmission season, at least within this epidemiologic setting. Thus, although less than half of the pretransmission season samples could agglutinate any of the five lines of cultured parasites, all post-transmission season samples could agglutinate at least one of the parasite lines, with 74 % agglutinating two or more lines. This increase in the agglutination capacity of individual plasma samples after the transmission season occurred essentially regardless of whether an individual had experienced a clinical malaria attack during the transmission season. The study thus confirms the acquisition of agglutinating antibodies following episodes of clinical malaria, but also dem-onstrates that such acquisition can take place in the absence of disease, presumably as a consequence of subclinica

Exploring rationales for branding a university: Should we be seeking to measure branding in UK universities?

Although branding is now widespread among UK universities, the application of branding principles in the higher education sector is comparatively recent and may be controversial for internal audiences who question its suitability and efficiency. This paper seeks to investigate how and whether the effectiveness of branding activity in the higher education sector should be evaluated and measured, through exploratory interviews with those who often drive it; UK University marketing professionals. Conclusions suggest that university branding is inherently complex and therefore application of commercial approaches may be over simplistic. Whilst marketing professionals discuss challenges they do not necessarily have a consistent view of the objectives of branding activity although all were able to clearly articulate branding objectives for their university, including both qualitative and, to some extent, quantitative metrics. Some measures of the real value of branding activity are therefore suggested but a key debate is perhaps whether the objectives and role of branding in higher education needs to be clarified, and a more consistent view of appropriate metrics reached? Various challenges in implementing branding approaches are also highlighted

Analysis of polymorphisms in the merozoite surface protein-3α gene and two microsatellite loci in Sri Lankan Plasmodium vivax: evidence of population substructure in Sri Lanka.

The geographical distribution of genetic variation in Plasmodium vivax samples (N = 386) from nine districts across Sri Lanka is described using three markers; the P. vivax merozoite surface protein-3α (Pvmsp-3α) gene, and the two microsatellites m1501 and m3502. At Pvmsp-3α, 11 alleles were found with an expected heterozygosity (H(e)) of 0.81, whereas at m1501 and m3502, 24 alleles (H(e) = 0.85) and 8 alleles (H(e) = 0.74) were detected, respectively. Overall, 95 unique three locus genotypes were detected among the 279 samples positive at all three loci (H(e) = 0.95). Calculating the pairwise fixation index (F(ST)) revealed statistically significant population structure. The presence of identical 2-loci microsatellite genotypes in a significant proportion of samples revealed local clusters of closely related isolates contributing to strong linkage disequilibrium between marker alleles. The results show evidence of high genetic diversity and possible population substructure of P. vivax populations in Sri Lanka

Validation of microscopic observation drug susceptibility testing for rapid, direct rifampicin and isoniazid drug susceptibility testing in patients receiving tuberculosis treatment.

Drug susceptibility testing (DST) is often needed in patients clinically failing tuberculosis (TB) therapy. Most studies of phenotypic direct drug susceptibility tests, such as microscopic observation drug susceptibility (MODS) tests, have been performed in patients not receiving TB treatment. The effect of ongoing TB treatment on the performance of MODS direct DST has not been previously explored, but patients failing such therapy constitute an important target group. The aim of this study was to determine the performance of MODS direct rifampicin and isoniazid DST in patients clinically failing first-line TB treatment, and to compare MODS direct DST with indirect proportion method DST. Sputa from 264 TB patients were cultured in parallel in Lowenstein-Jensen (LJ) and MODS assays; strains were tested for rifampicin and isoniazid susceptibility by the proportion method at the national reference laboratory. Ninety-three samples were culture-positive by LJ and MODS (concordance of 96%; kappa 0.92). With conventional MODS plate DST reading (performed on the same day as the sample is classified as culture-positive), the isoniazid DST concordance was 96.8% (kappa 0.89), and the concordance for rifampicin susceptibility testing was 92.6% (kappa 0.80). Reading of MODS DST plates 1 week after cultures had been determined to be culture-positive improved overall performance marginally-the isoniazid DST concordance was 95.7% (kappa 0.85); and the rifampicin DST concordance was 96.8% (kappa 0.91). Sensitivity for detection of multidrug-resistant TB was 95.8%. MODS testing provided reliable rifampicin and isoniazid DST results for samples obtained from patients receiving TB therapy. A modified DST reading schedule for such samples, with a final reading 1 week after a MODS culture turns positive, marginally improves the concordance with reference DST