Can aggregate quarry silt lagoons provide resources for wading birds?

Wading birds have declined across Europe as the intensification of lowland agriculture has resulted in the loss and degradation of wetland areas. Lowland aggregate extraction sites that incorporate areas of fine, waste sediments deposited in silt lagoons have the potential to be restored for wader conservation. We set out to determine the potential value of silt lagoons to wading birds by comparing the water quality, sediment profiles, aquatic invertebrate abundance and diversity (prey availability) and wader site use at five sites representing various stages of active aggregate extraction and restoration for conservation purposes. Wader counts were conducted monthly over a twelve month period using replicated scan samples, and the invertebrate communities studied during the breeding and autumn migration season (June–September). Water quality variables were similar between sites, but sediments from active quarries were dominated by moderately sorted fine sands in comparison to the coarser sediment profiles of restored areas. June and September there was no significant difference in invertebrate diversity between sites, however richness was significantly lower on quarry sites and total abundance a factor of ten higher at restored sites than on silt lagoons, with the dominant taxa similar across all sites. Waders used all sites; albeit at lower abundance and richness on silt lagoons and two species were recorded breeding on active silting sites. We conclude that the fine, uniform sediments of modern silt lagoons limited invertebrate diversity and abundance, diminishing the value of silt lagoons to waders. Simple low-cost intervention measures increasing substrate heterogeneity and creating temporary ponds could increase invertebrate richness and abundance, and enhance the conservation potential of these sites

Simplicial Resolutions of Powers of Square-free Monomial Ideals

The Taylor resolution is almost never minimal for powers of monomial ideals, even in the square-free case. In this paper we introduce a smaller resolution for each power of any square-free monomial ideal, which depends only on the number of generators of the ideal. More precisely, for every pair of fixed integers $r$ and $q$, we construct a simplicial complex that supports a free resolution of the $r$-th power of any square-free monomial ideal with $q$ generators. The resulting resolution is significantly smaller than the Taylor resolution, and is minimal for special cases. Considering the relations on the generators of a fixed ideal allows us to further shrink these resolutions. We also introduce a class of ideals called "extremal ideals", and show that the Betti numbers of powers of all square-free monomial ideals are bounded by Betti numbers of powers of extremal ideals. Our results lead to upper bounds on Betti numbers of powers of any square-free monomial ideal that greatly improve the binomial bounds offered by the Taylor resolution.Comment: 32 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

Simplicial resolutions of powers of square-free monomial ideals

The Taylor resolution is almost never minimal for powers of monomial ideals, even in the square-free case. In this paper we introduce a smaller resolution for each power of any square-free monomial ideal, which depends only on the number of generators of the ideal. More precisely, for every pair of fixed integers $r$ and $q$, we construct a simplicial complex that supports a free resolution of the $r$-th power of any square-free monomial ideal with $q$ generators. The resulting resolution is significantly smaller than the Taylor resolution, and is minimal for special cases. Considering the relations on the generators of a fixed ideal allows us to further shrink these resolutions. We also introduce a class of ideals called "extremal ideals", and show that the Betti numbers of powers of all square-free monomial ideals are bounded by Betti numbers of powers of extremal ideals. Our results lead to upper bounds on Betti numbers of powers of any square-free monomial ideal that greatly improve the binomial bounds offered by the Taylor resolution.Comment: 32 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS): safety results.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the rates of physical, psychiatric, and suicide-related events in adolescents with MDD treated with fluoxetine alone (FLX), cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), combination treatment (COMB), or placebo (PBO). METHOD: Safety assessments included adverse events (AEs) collected by spontaneous report, as well as systematic measures for specific physical and psychiatric symptoms. Suicidal ideation and suicidal behavior were systematically assessed by self- and clinician reports. Suicidal events were also reanalyzed by the Columbia Group and expert raters using the Columbia-Classification Algorithm for Suicidal Assessment used in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reclassification effort. RESULTS: Depressed adolescents reported high rates of physical symptoms at baseline, which improved as depression improved. Sedation, insomnia, vomiting, and upper abdominal pain occurred in at least 2% of those treated with FLX and/or COMB and at twice the rate of placebo. The rate of psychiatric AEs was 11% in FLX, 5.6% in COMB, 4.5% in PBO, and 0.9% in CBT. Suicidal ideation improved overall, with greatest improvement in COMB. Twenty-four suicide-related events occurred during the 12-week period: 5 patients (4.7%) in COMB, 10 (9.2%) in FLX, 5 (4.5%) in CBT, and 3 (2.7%) in placebo. Statistically, only FLX had more suicide-related events than PBO (p =.0402, odds ratio (OR) = 3.7, 95% CI 1.00-63.7). Only five actual attempts occurred (2 COMB, 2 FLX, 1 CBT, 0 PBO). There were no suicide completions. CONCLUSIONS: Different methods for eliciting AEs produce different results. In general, as depression improves, physical complaints and suicidal ideation decrease in proportion to treatment benefit. In this study, psychiatric AEs and suicide-related events are more common in FLX-treated patients. COMB treatment may offer a more favorable safety profile than medication alone in adolescent depression

Genetical and comparative genomics of Brassica under altered Ca supply identifies Arabidopsis Ca-transporter orthologs

Although Ca transport in plants is highly complex, the overexpression of vacuolar Ca2+ transporters in crops is a promising new technology to improve dietary Ca supplies through biofortification. Here, we sought to identify novel targets for increasing plant Ca accumulation using genetical and comparative genomics. Expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) mapping to 1895 cis- and 8015 trans-loci were identified in shoots of an inbred mapping population of Brassica rapa (IMB211 x R500); 23 cis- and 948 trans-eQTLs responded specifically to altered Ca supply. eQTLs were screened for functional significance using a large database of shoot Ca concentration phenotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana. From 31 Arabidopsis gene identifiers tagged to robust shoot Ca concentration phenotypes, 21 mapped to 27 B. rapa eQTLs, including orthologs of the Ca2+ transporters At-CAX1 and At-ACA8. Two of three independent missense mutants of BraA.cax1a, isolated previously by targeting induced local lesions in genomes, have allele-specific shoot Ca concentration phenotypes compared with their segregating wild types. BraA.CAX1a is a promising target for altering the Ca composition of Brassica, consistent with prior knowledge from Arabidopsis. We conclude that multiple-environment eQTL analysis of complex crop genomes combined with comparative genomics is a powerful technique for novel gene identification/prioritization

Domesticated horses differ in their behavioural and physiological responses to isolated and group housing

The predominant housing system used for domestic horses is individual stabling however, housing that limits social interaction and requires the horse to live in semi-isolation has been reported to be a concern for equine welfare. The aim of the current study was to compare behavioural and physiological responses of domestic horses in different types of housing design that provided varying levels of social contact. Horses (n = 16) were divided equally into four groups and exposed to each of four housing treatments for a period of five days per treatment in a randomized block design. The four housing treatments used were single housed no physical contact (SHNC), single housed semi contact (SHSC), paired housed full contact (PHFC) and group housed full contact (GHFC). During each housing treatment, adrenal activity was recorded using non-invasive faecal corticosterone metabolite analysis (fGC). Thermal images of the eye were captured and eye temperature assessed as a non-invasive measure of the stress response. Behavioural analysis of time budget was carried out and an ease of handling score was assigned to each horse in each treatment using video footage. SHNC horses had significantly higher (p = 0.01) concentrations of fGC and were significantly (p = 0.003) more difficult to handle compared to the other housing types. GHFC horses, although not significantly different, had numerically lower concentrations of fGC and were more compliant to handling when compared to all other housing treatments. Eye temperature was significantly (p = 0.0001) lower in the group housed treatment when compared to all other treatments. These results indicate that based on physiological and behavioural measures incorporating social contact into the housing design of domestic horses could improve the standard of domestic equine welfare

Validity, Reliability, and Differential Item Functioning of English and French Versions of the 10-Item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale in Systemic Sclerosis: A Scleroderma Patient-Centered Intervention Network Cohort Study

Objective Some individuals with systemic sclerosis (SSc) report positive mental health, despite severe disease manifestations, which may be associated with resilience, but no resilience measure has been validated in SSc. This study was undertaken to assess the validity, reliability, and differential item functioning (DIF) between English- and French-language versions of the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10) in SSc. Methods Eligible participants were enrolled in the Scleroderma Patient-centered Intervention Network Cohort and completed the CD-RISC-10 between August 2022 and January 2023. We used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to evaluate the CD-RISC-10 factor structure and conducted DIF analysis across languages with Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes models. We tested convergent validity with another measure of resilience and measures of self-esteem and depression and anxiety symptoms. We assessed internal consistency and test–retest reliability using Cronbach\u27s alpha and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Results A total of 962 participants were included in this analysis. CFA supported a single-factor structure (Tucker–Lewis index = 0.99, comparative fit index = 0.99, root mean square error of approximation = 0.08 [90% confidence interval (90% CI) 0.07, 0.09]). We found no meaningful DIF. Internal consistency was high (α = 0.93 [95% CI 0.92, 0.94]), and we found that correlations with other measures of psychological functioning were moderate to large (|r| = 0.57–0.78) and confirmed study hypotheses. The scale showed good 1–2-week test–retest reliability (ICC 0.80 [95% CI 0.75, 0.85]) in a subsample of 230 participants. Conclusion The CD-RISC-10 is a valid and reliable measure of resilience in SSc, with score comparability across English and French versions

The effect of body fat distribution on systemic sclerosis.

Congresos y Comunicaciones: Comunicación de Congreso - Conferencia invitada

Onset of alcohol or substance use disorders following treatment for adolescent depression.

OBJECTIVE: This study tested whether positive response to short-term treatment for adolescent major depressive disorder (MDD) would have the secondary benefit of preventing subsequent alcohol use disorders (AUD) or substance use disorders (SUD). METHOD: For 5 years, we followed 192 adolescents (56.2% female; 20.8% minority) who had participated in the Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS; TADS Team, 2004) and who had no prior diagnoses of AUD or SUD. TADS initial treatments were cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), fluoxetine alone (FLX), the combination of CBT and FLX (COMB), or clinical management with pill placebo (PBO). We used both the original TADS treatment response rating and a more restrictive symptom count rating. During follow-up, diagnostic interviews were completed at 6- or 12-month intervals to assess onset of AUD or SUD as well as MDD recovery and recurrence. RESULTS: Achieving a positive response to MDD treatment was unrelated to subsequent AUD but predicted a lower rate of subsequent SUD, regardless of the measure of positive response (11.65% vs. 24.72%, or 10.0% vs. 24.5%, respectively). Type of initial MDD treatment was not related to either outcome. Prior to depression treatment, greater involvement with alcohol or drugs predicted later AUD or SUD, as did older age (for AUD) and more comorbid disorders (for SUD). Among those with recurrent MDD and AUD, AUD preceded MDD recurrence in 24 of 25 cases. CONCLUSION: Effective short-term adolescent depression treatment significantly reduces the rate of subsequent SUD but not AUD. Alcohol or drug use should be assessed prior to adolescent MDD treatment and monitored even after MDD recovery