The suitability of habitat in Kent for reintroduction of Pine Marten (Martes martes)

This study used a combination of literature review and meta-analysis to analyse a variety of resources covering the Pine Marten’s (Martes martes) habit needs and preferences and whether they were considered a habitat specialist or generalist. The literature was found using set phrases such as ‘Pine Marten reintroduction’ and ‘habitat requirements Martes martes’. The literature review found the majority of researchers agreed that the Pine Marten is a habitat generalist and an opportunistic carnivore, altering their diet to fit the availability of food in the differing seasons. Furthermore, the literature review found that the Pine Marten's original decline in the UK was caused by persecution from gamekeepers and the impacts of human activity such as deforestation, agriculture, and urbanisation. However, many studies demonstrated that they found Pine Martens have become adaptive to habitat fragmentation and urban settings. The literature review was followed by an ad hoc selection of forests from Wales, Scotland, and England, and specifically focusing on Kent, with and without Pine Marten populations to compare the habitat features of each forest. In total 34 forests were selected, and habitat data was mined from a selection of scientific journals, organisation produced documents, government publications and communicating with specialists in the field. The data was then used to create a multivariate model. This model further supported the findings of the literature review. It was found that Pine Marten are a habitat generalist with no preference towards a specific forest type. They did not require ancient woodland for survival. Additionally, it was found that woodlands in Kent did possess the habitat requirements for a reintroduction programme. This supports the need for further research into the field to establish a programme for reintroduction into Kent forests

Multiplicity of fibronectin-binding alpha V integrin receptors in colorectal cancer.

Current data from in vitro and in vivo animal models indicate that fibronectin-binding integrin receptors expressed by colon cancer cells may regulate tumour growth. While individual members of the beta 1 subfamily of integrins have now been clearly identified in colorectal cancer, little information exists with respect to the alpha V subfamily. In the present study we show that alpha V can associate with multiple and different beta subunits capable of binding fibronectin in this tumour type. This is likely to have functional implications for growth and spread of colorectal cancer

Equality, Ideology and Oppression: Women and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

The major objective of this article is to contribute to an understanding of the potential impact of the equality provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms2 on the lives of women. This requires an awareness of the realities of women\u27s inequality in our society, an understanding of the legal conceptualization of equality, and a consideration of the role of law in remedying societal injustice. My focus in this article is on the second concern-that is, on legal theories of equality as they relate to women. I begin with a brief outline of the conflicting ideological approaches that infuse legal thought on general equality issues and their particular manifestations in the Canadian Charter. The interplay of these contrasting theories is then considered in a historical context of the legal treatment of women, followed by a discussion of the current debate about equality for women in Canada. Finally, I will offer some suggestions about the interpretive direction I think the equality provisions in the Charter should take

Wikimedia and universities: contributing to the global commons in the Age of Disinformation

In its first 30 years the world wide web has revolutionized the information environment. However, its impact has been negative as well as positive, through corporate misuse of personal data and due to its potential for enabling the spread of disinformation. As a large-scale collaborative platform funded through charitable donations, with a mission to provide universal free access to knowledge as a public good, Wikipedia is one of the most popular websites in the world. This paper explores the role of Wikipedia in the information ecosystem where it occupies a unique role as a bridge between informal discussion and scholarly publication. We explore how it relates to the broader Wikimedia ecosystem, through structured data on Wikidata for instance, and openly licensed media on Wikimedia Commons. We consider the potential benefits for universities in the areas of information literacy and research impact, and investigate the extent to which universities in the UK and their libraries are engaging strategically with Wikimedia, if at all

The effect of ageing on in vivo human ciliary muscle morphology and contractility

Purpose. To assess the effect of ageing on in vivo human ciliary muscle morphology and contractility during accommodation. Methods. Seventy-nine subjects, aged 19–70 years were recruited. High-resolution images were acquired of nasal and temporal ciliary muscle in the relaxed state, and at stimulus vergence levels of -4 and -8 D, using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT). Objective refractions and axial lengths were also recorded. Linear regression analysis was performed to determine the effect of age on nasal and temporal ciliary muscle morphologic characteristics. Results. Ciliary muscle anterior length decreased significantly with age both nasally (R = 0.461, P = 0.001) and temporally (R = 0.619, P < 0.001) in emmetropic eyes. In a subset of 37 participants, ciliary muscle maximum width increased significantly with age, by 2.8 µm/year nasally (R = 0.54, P < 0.001) and 3.0 µm/year temporally (R = 0.44, P = 0.007), while the distance from the inner apex of the ciliary muscle to the scleral spur decreased significantly with age on both the nasal and temporal aspects (R = 0.47; P = 0.004 and R = 0.43; P = 0.009, respectively). During accommodation, changes to ciliary muscle thickness and length remained constant throughout life. Conclusions. The human ciliary muscle undergoes age-dependent changes in morphology that suggest an antero-inwards displacement of muscle mass, particularly in emmetropic eyes. However, the morphologic changes observed appear not to affect the ability of the muscle to contract during accommodation, even in established presbyopes, thus supporting a lenticular model of presbyopia development

In vivo analysis of ciliary muscle morphologic changes with accommodation and axial ametropia

Purpose. To use anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) to analyze ciliary muscle morphology and changes with accommodation and axial ametropia. Methods. Fifty prepresbyopic volunteers, aged 19 to 34 years were recruited. High-resolution images were acquired of nasal and temporal ciliary muscles in the relaxed state and at stimulus vergence levels of -4 and -8 D. Objective accommodative responses and axial lengths were also recorded. Two-way, mixed-factor analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were used to assess the changes in ciliary muscle parameters with accommodation and determine whether these changes are dependent on the nasal–temporal aspect or axial length, whereas linear regression analysis was used to analyze the relationship between axial length and ciliary muscle length. Results. The ciliary muscle was longer (r = 0.34, P = 0.02), but not significantly thicker (F = 2.84, P = 0.06), in eyes with greater axial length. With accommodation, the ciliary muscle showed a contractile shortening (F = 42.9. P < 0.001), particularly anteriorly (F = 177.2, P < 0.001), and a thickening of the anterior portion (F= 46.2, P < 0.001). The ciliary muscle was thicker (F = 17.8, P < 0.001) and showed a greater contractile response on the temporal side. Conclusions. The accommodative changes observed support an anterior, as well as centripetal, contractile shift of ciliary muscle mass

AIDS and Disability Employment Discrimination in and beyond the Classroom

Roughly a year ago, in Chalk v. U.S. District Court Central California, a United States appellate court authorized a teacher to return to his teaching duties, after a California school department had barred him from his classroom upon learning he had Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The case parallels the widely reported events of the Eric Smith story of Autumn 1987. Teacher Smith was initially removed from his Shelburne County, Nova Scotia classroom, and reassigned to non-teaching duties after a medical secretary disclosed that Smith had tested positive for the AIDS virus. While Smith immediately refused the reassignment, he eventually accepted an educative position on the Nova Scotia Task Force on AIDS, which has recently completed its report

Room-temperature Polymerisation Of Ethylene On A Tio2 (anatase) Surface; Infrared Spectroscopic Evidence For An Alkylidene-ti4+ Polymer End-group And For A 'hydrogen-bonding' Type Of Interaction Of Ch Bonds Of The Polymer Chain With The Oxide Surface

An infrared spectroscopic study of the spontaneous polymerisation of ethylene on a sulphate-containing TiO2 (anatase) sample shows evidence for an alkylidene surface end-group of the polymer and for substantial perturbation of CH2 groups of the polymer chain by interaction with the oxide surface.2112581259DARPA; Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency; NSF; Defense Advanced Research Projects Agenc

Differential sensitivity of the cystic fibrosis (CF)-associated mutants G551D and G1349D to potentiators of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) Cl- channel.

The genetic disease cystic fibrosis (CF) is caused by loss of function of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) Cl- channel. Two CF mutants, G551D and G1349D, affect equivalent residues in the highly conserved LSGGQ motifs that are essential components of the ATP-binding sites of CFTR. Both mutants severely disrupt CFTR channel gating by decreasing mean burst duration (MBD) and prolonging greatly the interburst interval (IBI). To identify small molecules that rescue the gating defects of G551D- and G1349D-CFTR and understand better how these agents work, we used the patch clamp technique to study the effects on G551D- and G1349D-CFTR of phloxine B, pyrophosphate (PP(i)), and 2'-deoxy ATP (2'-dATP), three agents that strongly enhance CFTR channel gating. Phloxine B (5 microm) potentiated robustly G551D-CFTR Cl- channels by altering both MBD and IBI. In contrast, phloxine B (5 microm) decreased the IBI of G1349D-CFTR, but this effect was insufficient to rescue G1349D-CFTR channel gating. PP(i) (5 mm) potentiated weakly G551D-CFTR and was without effect on the G1349D-CFTR Cl- channel. However, by altering both MBD and IBI, albeit with different efficacies, 2'-dATP (1 mm) potentiated both G551D- and G1349D-CFTR Cl- channels. Using the ATP-driven nucleotide-binding domain dimerization model of CFTR channel gating, we suggest that phloxine B, PP(i) and 2'-dATP alter channel gating by distinct mechanisms. We conclude that G551D- and G1349D-CFTR have distinct pharmacological profiles and speculate that drug therapy for CF is likely to be mutation-specific