Online Collections for Natural History Museums: A Heuristic Analysis

This study analyzes the websites of fifty-nine natural history museums accredited by the American Alliance of Museums in order to determine current practices in online collection information for natural history museums and its relationship to institutional qualities. Using a heuristic content analysis, this study looks at what collection information museums put on their own websites and external websites, search and browsing features for collection information, and whether they include written policies about loans and research visits using collection materials. Using a chi-square test, this information was analyzed in relation to demographic information, such as whether the museum is a non- profit, affiliated with a college or university, government operated, or charges for admission. The findings of this study indicate no significant relationship between these demographic factors, but strong relationships between a museum's likelihood to put collection information online and information about lending and research policies.Master of Science in Library Scienc

Biometric evidence that sexual selection has shaped the hominin face.

We consider sex differences in human facial morphology in the context of developmental change. We show that at puberty, the height of the upper face, between the lip and the brow, develops differently in males and females, and that these differences are not explicable in terms of sex differences in body size. We find the same dimorphism in the faces of human ancestors. We propose that the relative shortening in men and lengthening in women of the anterior upper face at puberty is the mechanistic consequence of extreme maxillary rotation during ontogeny. A link between this developmental model and sexual dimorphism is made for the first time, and provides a new set of morphological criteria to sex human crania. This finding has important implications for the role of sexual selection in the evolution of anthropoid faces and for theories of human facial attractiveness

The Distribution and Reproductive Success of the Western Snowy Plover along the Oregon Coast - 2006

Part of the Oregon Bidiversity Information Center Repor

Investigating Genetic Determinants of Plasma Inositol Status in Adult Humans

BACKGROUND: Myo-inositol (MI) is incorporated into numerous biomolecules, including phosphoinositides and inositol phosphates. Disturbance of inositol availability or metabolism is associated with various disorders, including neurological conditions and cancers, while supplemental MI has therapeutic potential in conditions such as depression, polycystic ovary syndrome and congenital anomalies. Inositol status may be influenced by diet, synthesis, transport, utilisation and catabolism. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate potential genetic regulation of circulating MI status and to evaluate correlation of MI concentration with other metabolites. METHODS: Gas chromatography mass spectrometry was used to determine plasma MI concentration of more than 2,000 healthy, young adults (aged 18-28 years) from the Trinity Student Study. Genotyping data was used to test association of plasma MI with SNPs in candidate genes, encoding inositol transporters and synthesising enzymes, and test for genome-wide association. We evaluated potential correlation of plasma MI with D-chiro inositol, glucose and other metabolites by Spearman's rank correlation. RESULTS: Mean plasma MI showed a small but significant difference between males and females (28.5 and 26.9 µM, respectively). Candidate gene analysis revealed several nominally significant associations with plasma MI, most notably for SLC5A11, encoding a sodium-coupled inositol transporter, also known as SMIT2 (sodium-dependent myo-inositol transporter 2). However, these did not survive correction for multiple testing. Subsequent testing for genome-wide association with plasma MI did not identify associations of genome-wide significance (p < 5 × 10-8). However, 8 SNPs exceeded the threshold for suggestive significant association with plasma MI concentration (p < 1 × 10-5), 3 of which were located within or close to genes: MTDH, LAPTM4B and ZP2. We found significant positive correlation of plasma MI concentration with concentration of D-chiro-inositol and several other biochemicals including glucose, methionine, betaine, sarcosine and tryptophan. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest potential for modulation of plasma MI in young adults by variation in SLC5A11 which is worthy of further investigation

Quantifying and valuing carbon flows and stores in coastal and shelf ecosystems in the UK

Evidence shows that habitats with potential to mitigate against greenhouse gases emissions, by taking up and storing CO2, are being lost due to the effects of on-going human activities and climate change. The carbon storage by terrestrial habitats (e.g. tropical forests) and the role of coastal habitats (‘Blue Carbon’) as carbon storage sinks is well recognised. Offshore shelf sediments are also a manageable carbon store, covering ∼9% of global marine area, but not currently protected by international agreements to enable their conservation. Through a scenario analysis, we explore the economic value of the damage of human activities and climate change can inflict on UK marine habitats, including shelf sea sediments. In a scenario of increased human and climate pressures over a 25-year period, we estimate damage costs up to US$12.5 billion from carbon release linked to disturbance of coastal and shelf sea sediment carbon stores. It may be possible to manage socio-economic pressure to maintain sedimentary carbon storage, but the trade-offs with other global social welfare benefits such as food security will have to be taken into account. To develop effective incentive mechanisms to preserve these valuable coastal and marine ecosystems within a sustainability governance framework, robust evidence is required

Monoclonal antibody BTT1023 targeting vascular adhesion protein 1 for treating primary sclerosing cholangitis: BUTEO single-arm Phase II trial

Background: Primary sclerosing cholangitis is a progressive and fibrotic liver disease. Treatments remain inadequate, and patients with persistent elevations in activity of alkaline phosphatase are at greatest risk of disease progression. Studies in patient cohorts have implicated the serum amine oxidase vascular adhesion protein 1 in the pathophysiology of disease, including liver fibrogenesis. We hypothesised that blockade of serum amine oxidase by a monoclonal antibody would result in a reduction in liver fibrosis/injury, as evaluated by serum liver tests and other non-invasive markers of liver injury.Objectives: To evaluate the open-label effect on liver injury markers of treatment with the anti-vascular adhesion protein 1 monoclonal antibody BTT1023 in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis over a 78-day treatment period.Design: A single-arm, two-stage, open-label, multicentre, Phase II clinical trial.Setting: Ambulatory liver disease practices in tertiary care hospitals.Participants: Patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis at risk of disease progression, based on elevated activity of serum alkaline phosphatase, and without evidence of infection, liver failure or advanced disease.Intervention: Seven intravenous infusions of BTT1023 (8 mg/kg of timolumab) over a 78-day treatment period. The intervention was split into a dose-confirmatory stage (to confirm pharmacokinetics), followed by a confirmed expansion cohort stage.Main outcome measures: Our primary outcome measure was patient response to treatment at day 99, measured by a reduction in activity of serum alkaline phosphatase of ≥ 25% from baseline to day 99. Secondary markers of efficacy were assessed based on evaluation of changes in markers of liver injury and liver fibrosis. Safety assessments were performed throughout. Results: Thirty-five patients were consented and screened for eligibility. Twenty-three patients were treated across the two stages of the trial. Interim assessment demonstrated a failure to meet the primary end point, leading to trial discontinuation on the grounds of futility. Multiple exploratory markers were evaluated in a final cohort of 22 patients (modified intention-to-treat analysis). No treatment-related effects were evident. No new safety concerns were seen.Conclusions: No preliminary evidence for disease modification was demonstrated.Limitations: It is clear that this study is limited in its design. Even if there were a better biomarker of fibrosis turnover that could be considered the ‘gold standard’, the design and duration would have had real-world resource limitations. With limited opportunity to test a new agent in large numbers of patients over a prolonged period, it was necessary to aim to see efficacy in a small cohort over a short period. Given the absence of any proven biochemical surrogate of disease activity in primary sclerosing cholangitis, alkaline phosphatase was chosen as an end point. This remains a difficult end point (yet one that does capture biliary injury) and, therefore, despite limitations, this study did demonstrate short-term safety.Future work: Future research will require attention to an ongoing debate regarding the optimal end points for assessing efficacy, as well as consideration of duration of treatment, even in early-phase studies. This raises the challenge of how to fund early experimental trials with ‘high risk of failure’ adequately to ensure that clearer results (negative or positive) arise by the end of the study.Trial registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN11233255, EudraCT 2014-002393-37 and NCT02239211.Funding: This project was funded by the Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation programme, a Medical Research Council and National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) partnership. This will be published in full in Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation; Vol. 9, No. 1. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information

Ten-year mortality, disease progression, and treatment-related side effects in men with localised prostate cancer from the ProtecT randomised controlled trial according to treatment received

Background The ProtecT trial reported intention-to-treat analysis of men with localised prostate cancer randomly allocated to active monitoring (AM), radical prostatectomy, and external beam radiotherapy. Objective To report outcomes according to treatment received in men in randomised and treatment choice cohorts. Design, setting, and participants This study focuses on secondary care. Men with clinically localised prostate cancer at one of nine UK centres were invited to participate in the treatment trial comparing AM, radical prostatectomy, and radiotherapy. Intervention Two cohorts included 1643 men who agreed to be randomised and 997 who declined randomisation and chose treatment. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis Analysis was carried out to assess mortality, metastasis and progression and health-related quality of life impacts on urinary, bowel, and sexual function using patient-reported outcome measures. Analysis was based on comparisons between groups defined by treatment received for both randomised and treatment choice cohorts in turn, with pooled estimates of intervention effect obtained using meta-analysis. Differences were estimated with adjustment for known prognostic factors using propensity scores. Results and limitations According to treatment received, more men receiving AM died of PCa (AM 1.85%, surgery 0.67%, radiotherapy 0.73%), whilst this difference remained consistent with chance in the randomised cohort (p = 0.08); stronger evidence was found in the exploratory analyses (randomised plus choice cohort) when AM was compared with the combined radical treatment group (p = 0.003). There was also strong evidence that metastasis (AM 5.6%, surgery 2.4%, radiotherapy 2.7%) and disease progression (AM 20.35%, surgery 5.87%, radiotherapy 6.62%) were more common in the AM group. Compared with AM, there were higher risks of sexual dysfunction (95% at 6 mo) and urinary incontinence (55% at 6 mo) after surgery, and of sexual dysfunction (88% at 6 mo) and bowel dysfunction (5% at 6 mo) after radiotherapy. The key limitations are the potential for bias when comparing groups defined by treatment received and changes in the protocol for AM during the lengthy follow-up required in trials of screen-detected PCa. Conclusions Analyses according to treatment received showed increased rates of disease-related events and lower rates of patient-reported harms in men managed by AM compared with men managed by radical treatment, and stronger evidence of greater PCa mortality in the AM group. Patient summary More than 95 out of every 100 men with low or intermediate risk localised prostate cancer do not die of prostate cancer within 10 yr, irrespective of whether treatment is by means of monitoring, surgery, or radiotherapy. Side effects on sexual and bladder function are better after active monitoring, but the risks of spreading of prostate cancer are more common

The impact of immediate breast reconstruction on the time to delivery of adjuvant therapy: the iBRA-2 study

Background: Immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) is routinely offered to improve quality-of-life for women requiring mastectomy, but there are concerns that more complex surgery may delay adjuvant oncological treatments and compromise long-term outcomes. High-quality evidence is lacking. The iBRA-2 study aimed to investigate the impact of IBR on time to adjuvant therapy. Methods: Consecutive women undergoing mastectomy ± IBR for breast cancer July–December, 2016 were included. Patient demographics, operative, oncological and complication data were collected. Time from last definitive cancer surgery to first adjuvant treatment for patients undergoing mastectomy ± IBR were compared and risk factors associated with delays explored. Results: A total of 2540 patients were recruited from 76 centres; 1008 (39.7%) underwent IBR (implant-only [n = 675, 26.6%]; pedicled flaps [n = 105,4.1%] and free-flaps [n = 228, 8.9%]). Complications requiring re-admission or re-operation were significantly more common in patients undergoing IBR than those receiving mastectomy. Adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy was required by 1235 (48.6%) patients. No clinically significant differences were seen in time to adjuvant therapy between patient groups but major complications irrespective of surgery received were significantly associated with treatment delays. Conclusions: IBR does not result in clinically significant delays to adjuvant therapy, but post-operative complications are associated with treatment delays. Strategies to minimise complications, including careful patient selection, are required to improve outcomes for patients