Introduced Species and the Issue of Animal Welfare

Recently, considerable debate has been heard about the control or elimination of introduced or exotic animals on publicly held U.S. lands. Species introductions, whether intentional or unintentional, seem to be an inevitable result of human activities. Still, they may result in economic and ecological problems: It has been estimated that over 90 percent of all such introductions have been harmful in some respect. Control of exotics can be accomplished through containment, shooting, poisoning, reintroduction of native predators, the introduction of disease organisms, live capture and removal, and reproductive inhibition

Introduced Species and the Issue of Animal Welfare

Recently, considerable debate has been heard about the control or elimination of introduced or exotic animals on publicly held U.S. lands. Species introductions, whether intentional or unintentional, seem to be an inevitable result of human activities, but they may result in both economic and ecological problems: It has been estimated that over 90 percent of all such introductions have been harmful in some respect. Control of exotics can be accomplished through containment, shooting, poisoning, reintroduction of native predators, introduction of disease organisms, live capture and removal, and reproductive inhibition. Those who must make decisions about the fate of introduced species need to seek a balance between the rights of the individual animals and preserving the viability of whole ecosystems. One important consideration is that, although the control of exotic animal populations may adversely affect individual sentient beings, inaction may cause widespread suffering to many species and consequent loss of biological diversity

Empowering junior doctors: a qualitative study of a QI programme in South West England

Aim To explore how the South-West Foundation Doctor Quality Improvement programme affected foundation year 1 (F1) doctors’ attitudes and ability to implement change in healthcare. Methods Twenty-two qualitative interviews were carried out with two cohorts of doctors. The first F1 group before and after their participation in the QI programme; the second group comprised those who had completed the programme between 1 and 5 years earlier. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis techniques. Results Prior to taking part in the QI programme, junior doctors’ attitudes towards QI were mixed. Although there was agreement on the importance of QI in terms of patient safety, not all shared enthusiasm for engaging in QI, while some were sceptical that they could bring about any change. Following participation in the programme, attitudes towards QI and the ability to effect change were significantly transformed. Whether their projects were considered a success or not, all juniors reported that they valued the skills learnt and the overall experience they gained through carrying out QI projects. Participants reported feeling more empowered in their role as junior doctors, with several describing how they felt ‘listened to’ and able to ‘have a voice’, that they were beginning to see things ‘at systems level’ and learning to ‘engage more critically’ in their working environment. Conclusions Junior doctors are ideally placed to engage in QI. Training in QI at the start of their medical careers may enable a new generation of doctors to acquire the skills necessary to improve patient safety and quality of care

AN AUSTRALIAN DYNAMIC: REFLECTIONS ON THE ROLE OF PARTNERSHIPS IN THE TRANSFORMATION OF AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH, AND RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE AND CAPABILITY DEVELOPMENT

Australian academic libraries first became partners in the transformation of Australian data and technology enabled research in 2008 through their involvement with the Australian National Data Service (ANDS) program to advance research data management capacity and capability. The partnership of academic libraries with ANDS enabled the development of new research support services and helped to shift the knowledge base of the academic community in research data management, in Australia. Recent training initiatives like the ANDS 23 Things was directed toward academic librarians to increase their knowledge of and capacity to help researchers use national research infrastructure and to manage their data well. The academic libraries have also partnered with ANDS, now part of the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) and the Australian Access Federation (AAF) on persistent identifier implementation, DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and ORCiD (Open Researcher and Contributor Identifier). In this next phase, AARNet is a partner in supporting academic librarian and researcher skills development. The three organisations are working together; to build on foundational knowledge and infrastructure. Academic librarians and researchers are being introduced to the principles of FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data, infrastructure, and platforms, and taught data processing and movement techniques, through ARDC and AARNet (Australian Advanced Research Network) skills offerings. The focus of this presentation is on the changing role of academic libraries in supporting research data management and associated research infrastructures, and on the challenges. Australian national research infrastructures and academic libraries are co-evolving; together we are establishing pathways for the future, to foster new capabilities and advance our world-class research infrastructure. This transformation is enabled through our strategic alliance, an openness to dialogue and change, and by leveraging national and international partnerships

Growth, Viability, and Death of Planktonic and Biofilm Sphingomonas desiccabilis in Simulated Martian Brines

This research was supported by the UK Science Technology and Facilities Council under Grant ST/M001261/1.Aqueous solutions on Mars are theorized to contain very different ion compositions than those on Earth. To determine the effect of such solutions on typical environmental micro-organisms, which could be released from robotic spacecraft or human exploration activity, we investigated the resistance of Sphingomonas desiccabilis to brines that simulate the composition of martian aqueous environments. S. desiccabilis is a desiccation-resistant, biofilm-forming microbe found in desert crusts. The viability of cells in both planktonic and biofilm forms was measured after exposure to simulated martian brines. Planktonic cells showed a loss of viability over the course of several hours in almost all of the seven brines tested. Biofilms conferred greater resistance to all the brines, including those with low water activity and pH, but even cells in biofilms showed a complete loss of viability in <6 h in the harsher brines and in <2 days in the less harsh brines. One brine, however, allowed the microbes to maintain viability over several days, despite having a water activity and pH lower and ionic strength higher than brines that reduced viability over the same timescales, suggesting important ion-specific effects. These data show that biofilm-forming cells have a greater capacity to resist martian aqueous extremes, but that evaporative or deliquescent brines are likely to be destructive to many organisms over relatively short timescales, with implications for the habitability of Mars and for micro-organisms dispersed by robotic or human explorers.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

South Africa’s experience with provision of quality HIV diagnostic services

No abstract available

Breeding system and spatial isolation from congeners strongly constrain seed set in an insect-pollinated apomictic tree: Sorbus subcuneata (Rosaceae)

The article associated with this dataset is in ORE at: http://hdl.handle.net/10871/26965The datasets are the results of 1) pollen grain accumulation on stigmas. 2) Flowering phenology of individual trees as % of opened buds, with 50 percentile values of the cumulative flowering curve. 3) Location data for all trees of both species of flowering size (see article text) plus connectivity measures of maternal seed trees to all S. admonitor trees. X and y coordinates are GB OS National Grid. This data is related to the Scientific Reports paper of the same title.Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust, Paignton Zoo Environmental ParkNER

Empowering junior doctors: a qualitative study of a QI programme in South West England

Aim To explore how the South-West Foundation Doctor Quality Improvement programme affected foundation year 1 (F1) doctors’ attitudes and ability to implement change in healthcare. Methods Twenty-two qualitative interviews were carried out with two cohorts of doctors. The first F1 group before and after their participation in the QI programme; the second group comprised those who had completed the programme between 1 and 5 years earlier. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis techniques. Results Prior to taking part in the QI programme, junior doctors’ attitudes towards QI were mixed. Although there was agreement on the importance of QI in terms of patient safety, not all shared enthusiasm for engaging in QI, while some were sceptical that they could bring about any change. Following participation in the programme, attitudes towards QI and the ability to effect change were significantly transformed. Whether their projects were considered a success or not, all juniors reported that they valued the skills learnt and the overall experience they gained through carrying out QI projects. Participants reported feeling more empowered in their role as junior doctors, with several describing how they felt ‘listened to’ and able to ‘have a voice’, that they were beginning to see things ‘at systems level’ and learning to ‘engage more critically’ in their working environment. Conclusions Junior doctors are ideally placed to engage in QI. Training in QI at the start of their medical careers may enable a new generation of doctors to acquire the skills necessary to improve patient safety and quality of care