Dynamic competition and resource partitioning during the early life of two widespread, abundant and ecologically similar fishes

Competition and resource partitioning can have profound implications for individuals, populations and communities, and thus food webs, ecosystems and the management of biota and environments. In many species, the impacts of competition and resource partitioning are believed to be most severe during early life, but our understanding of the mechanisms and implications is incomplete. This study revealed short-term variations in both the occurrence and direction of competition during the early life of roach Rutilus rutilus and common bream Abramis brama, two of the most widespread and abundant fish species in Europe. There was also evidence of resource partitioning when small taxa dominated the zooplankton, but not when larger taxa were more abundant. In spite of the differences in foraging ecology, there were no significant differences in growth or nutritional condition in allopatry and sympatry. Similar to the concept of condition-specific competition, when competitive abilities vary along environmental gradients, the impacts of interspecific interactions on foraging ecology, growth and condition are dynamic and likely vary according to temporal fluctuations in prey availability. This is important because short-term incidences of competition could have cascading effects on food webs, even when no impacts on growth rates or condition are detected

Redistribution of Aluminum Ions During Processing of Sialon Ceramics

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65916/1/j.1151-2916.1986.tb04820.x.pd

Zn_2GeO_4/SnO_2 nanowire heterostructures driven by plateau-rayleigh instability

Herein, we report the formation of a particular core-shell structure, with a zinc germanate (Zn_2GeO_4) nanowire core and a discontinuous shell of SnO_2 nanocrystals, obtained in a single-step process. We propose a growth model that combines the Plateau-Rayleigh mechanism to produce a pattern of amorphous germanium oxide (a-GeO_2) particles along the Zn_2GeO_4 nanowire and the subsequent growth of well-faceted SnO_2 crystals when the nanowire orientation meets good lattice matching conditions. In this latter case, the linear array of a-GeO_2 particles acts as nucleation sites for the SnO_2 crystallites, leading to a skewer-like morphology that retains the periodicity of the Plateau-Rayleigh process. Otherwise, nanowires with different orientations appear decorated with a pattern of a-GeO_2 beads mimicking a necklace. Atomic resolution electron microscopy has been used to characterize the Zn_2GeO_4/SnO_2 nanoheterostructures. In addition, optical confinement effects have been observed in the luminescence maps and spectra, which have potential for further exploitation in the design of optical microcavities

The development and validation of a scoring tool to predict the operative duration of elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background: The ability to accurately predict operative duration has the potential to optimise theatre efficiency and utilisation, thus reducing costs and increasing staff and patient satisfaction. With laparoscopic cholecystectomy being one of the most commonly performed procedures worldwide, a tool to predict operative duration could be extremely beneficial to healthcare organisations. Methods: Data collected from the CholeS study on patients undergoing cholecystectomy in UK and Irish hospitals between 04/2014 and 05/2014 were used to study operative duration. A multivariable binary logistic regression model was produced in order to identify significant independent predictors of long (> 90 min) operations. The resulting model was converted to a risk score, which was subsequently validated on second cohort of patients using ROC curves. Results: After exclusions, data were available for 7227 patients in the derivation (CholeS) cohort. The median operative duration was 60 min (interquartile range 45–85), with 17.7% of operations lasting longer than 90 min. Ten factors were found to be significant independent predictors of operative durations > 90 min, including ASA, age, previous surgical admissions, BMI, gallbladder wall thickness and CBD diameter. A risk score was then produced from these factors, and applied to a cohort of 2405 patients from a tertiary centre for external validation. This returned an area under the ROC curve of 0.708 (SE = 0.013, p  90 min increasing more than eightfold from 5.1 to 41.8% in the extremes of the score. Conclusion: The scoring tool produced in this study was found to be significantly predictive of long operative durations on validation in an external cohort. As such, the tool may have the potential to enable organisations to better organise theatre lists and deliver greater efficiencies in care

Labouring and learning towards competitiveness: the future of local labour markets after Harker, Leitch and Freud

In 1999 Geddes and Newman highlighted five key tensions in New Labour's adoption of the 'new centrist' approach to Local Economic Development (LED). This article reflects on the continuing relevance of these tensions in relation local labour markets and in the light of the publication of three major independent reviews of policy in relation to child poverty, skills provision and welfare reform and the Government's response to these. It suggests that in the main the tensions identified by Geddes and Newman remain relevant, especially within the emerging national policy framework. However, it also ends optimistically, by suggesting that there is scope for LED actors to piece together an approach which can begin to move toward a resolution of the tensions through bringing together employment and skills policies at the local level, developing more effective models of partnership working (including with employers), and taking the sustainability agenda more seriously