MORPHOLOGICAL VARIATION IN Eonycteris spelaea (CHIROPTERA: PTEROPODIDAE) FROM THE GREATER AND LESSER SUNDAS ISLANDS, INDONESIA AND DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SUBSPECIES

Morphological variation in the cave fruit bat, Eonycteris spelaea from Indonesia and the Philippines was examined using both univariate and multivariate statistical analyses based on measurements of 22 skull characters and 15 external body characters from 270 adult specimens. Other non-meristic characters were also examined.Multiple regression analyses indicated strong sexual dimorphism in both skull and external body characters. Almost all measured characters differed significantly between islands. Thirteen of the 37 characters were also influenced ~t:he age of adults.Four distinct morphological groups of E. spelaea.were recognised using discriminant function analysis following the removal of the effects of,age and sex on the measurements considered. These were: Jawa/Sumatera Group, Lesser Sunda/Philippines Group, Sulawesi Group and Kalimantan Group. These morphological groups were considered subspecifically distinct; the Kalimantan Group is herein described as a new subspecies

Captivating a captive audience : a quality improvement project increasing participation in intradialytic exercise across five renal dialysis units

Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Anne Bisset-Smith, Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist, for her support in planning and undertaking the project; Siobhan Crichton, King’s College London, for her assistance with the statistical analyses and Dr Jacky Jones, Head of Physiotherapy Guy’s & St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, for reviewing the manuscript. Due acknowledgement is given to Ros Tibbles, Service Improvement Nurse, and Debra Mundle, Clinical Nurse Manager Satellite Haemodialysis, for their assistance in planning the project. In addition, we thank the staff and patients at all the dialysis units for their participation. This study received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Parental attitudes and information needs in an adolescent HPV vaccination programme

We sent a questionnaire to 38% (1084) of 2817 parents whose daughters had been offered human papillomavirus vaccination and who had agreed to participate. Of these, 60% (651) returned a questionnaire. Responses suggested that fact sheets and parent information evenings confirmed, rather than changed, consent decisions. The views of active refusers on safety and efficacy may be difficult to change, lowering vaccine coverage

The mtDNA diversity of captive ruffed lemurs (Varecia spp.): Implications for conservation

Ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata and V. rubra) are considered Critically Endangered, and genetic studies are therefore needed for assessing the conservation value of captive populations. Using 280 mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop sequences, we studied the genetic diversity and structure of captive ruffed lemurs in Madagascar, Europe and North America. We found 10 new haplotypes, one from the European captive V. rubra population, three from captive V. variegata subcincta (one from Europe and two from Madagascar), and six from other captive V. variegata in Madagascar. There was low mtDNA genetic diversity in the European and North American captive populations of V. variegata. Several founder individuals shared the same mtDNA haplotype, and therefore should perhaps not be considered as unrelated founders for making breeding recommendations. The captive population in Madagascar has high genetic diversity, including haplotypes not yet identified in wild populations. The likely geographical provenance of founders of captive populations was determined by comparison with previous studies; all reported haplotypes from captive ruffed lemurs were identical to, or clustered with, haplotypes from wild populations located north of the Mangoro River in Madagascar. Effective conservation strategies for wild populations, with potentially unidentified genetic diversity, should still be considered the priority for conserving ruffed lemurs. However, our results illustrate that the captive population in Madagascar has conservation value as a source of potential release stock for reintroduction or reinforcement projects, and that cross-regional transfers within the global captive population could increase the genetic diversity and therefore the conservation value of each regional population

The significance of work allocation in the professional apprenticeship of solicitors

It is a peculiarity of the solicitors’ profession that it has historically relied on methods of pre-qualification ‘training’ by way of apprenticeship and that an entirely respectable non-graduate route into the profession remains. In a political context, however, where the profession is called upon positively to demonstrate its standards of performance, the professional regulator seeks to attach a competence framework to the existing model; shifting the focus from how the trainee learns to what the trainee learns. This paper will explore the period of traineeship from the perspective of the trainees themselves, drawing on two small qualitative studies, focussing on the fundamental context factor of the allocation and structuring of their work. In the first study the context for this evaluation is the set of outcomes being tested by the professional regulator and in the second, the perceptions of qualified individuals looking back at their apprenticeship, The paper concludes that there remains work for the profession to do not only in fostering supportive and expansive apprenticeships, but in attending, however, supportive the surrounding environment, to the work being carried out by trainees and its relationship with the work carried out by newly qualified solicitors

Providing mental health first aid in the workplace: a Delphi consensus study

BACKGROUND: Mental health problems are common in the workplace, but workers affected by such problems are not always well supported by managers and co-workers. Guidelines exist for the public on how to provide mental health first aid, but not specifically on how to tailor one\u27s approach if the person of concern is a co-worker or employee. A Delphi consensus study was carried out to develop guidelines on additional considerations required when offering mental health first aid in a workplace context. METHODS: A systematic search of websites, books and journal articles was conducted to develop a questionnaire with 246 items containing actions that someone may use to offer mental health first aid to a co-worker or employee. Three panels of experts from English-speaking countries were recruited (23 consumers, 26 managers and 38 workplace mental health professionals), who independently rated the items over three rounds for inclusion in the guidelines. RESULTS: The retention rate of the expert panellists across the three rounds was 61.7 %. Of the 246 items, 201 items were agreed to be important or very important by at least 80 % of panellists. These 201 endorsed items included actions on how to approach and offer support to a co-worker, and additional considerations where the person assisting is a supervisor or manager, or is assisting in crisis situations such as acute distress. CONCLUSIONS: The guidelines outline strategies for a worker to use when they are concerned about the mental health of a co-worker or employee. They will be used to inform future tailoring of Mental Health First Aid training when it is delivered in workplace settings and could influence organisational policies and procedures