The role of perceived threat in Australians’ endorsement of asylum-seeker policies

Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers continues to polarise public debate. The present study sought to investigate the factors that may influence an individual’s endorsement of deterrence-based government policies. Using the integrated threat theory of prejudice, the present study examined the role of perceived threat in shaping Australian voters’ political attitudes toward asylum seekers. A total of 255 Australian citizens completed an online questionnaire that assessed their support for aspects of government policy and their perceptions of asylum seekers as a threat. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to examine the combined and unique influences of perceived threat and sociodemographic factors on overall and individual government policy endorsement. Results indicated that various types of threat (realistic, symbolic, and negative stereotypes) were significant predictors of policy support. Practical implications regarding the development of anti-discriminatory strategies and directions for future research are discussed

Drivers of moth phenology in England and Wales

Climate change has led to changes in the phenology of Lepidoptera species. While phenological shifts have been previously measured for moth species in England and Wales, the drivers of these shifts are not well known. Here, we use data from the National Moth Recording Scheme and the Garden Moth Scheme to investigate the drivers of phenology in 149 moth species over a 50 year period from 1970 to 2019. We investigate whether there have been phenological shifts in adult emergence using three phenology metrics: First Emergence (FE), Peak Emergence (PE), and Emergence Standard Deviation (ESD) in relation to life history traits and temperature. Overwintering stage had a significant impact on moth phenology, so we analysed species that spend the winter as eggs, larvae or pupae separately. Overall phenological changes were different depending on overwintering stage category and phenological measure, with the rate of phenological shifts increasing with later overwintering life stages in response to both temperature and year. The overwintering stage larva was the only one impacted by diet, with those that feed on woody hostplants emerging ~ 17 days later than species with herbaceous hostplants. These results indicate that species that either overwinter in earlier life stages or have woody hostplants may be less adaptable to climate change, and thus should be the targets of conservation efforts

Drivers of moth phenology in England and Wales

Climate change has led to changes in the phenology of Lepidoptera species. While phenological shifts have been previously measured for moth species in England and Wales, the drivers of these shifts are not well known. Here, we use data from the National Moth Recording Scheme and the Garden Moth Scheme to investigate the drivers of phenology in 149 moth species over a 50 year period from 1970 to 2019. We investigate whether there have been phenological shifts in adult emergence using three phenology metrics: First Emergence (FE), Peak Emergence (PE), and Emergence Standard Deviation (ESD) in relation to life history traits and temperature. Overwintering stage had a significant impact on moth phenology, so we analysed species that spend the winter as eggs, larvae or pupae separately. Overall phenological changes were different depending on overwintering stage category and phenological measure, with the rate of phenological shifts increasing with later overwintering life stages in response to both temperature and year. The overwintering stage larva was the only one impacted by diet, with those that feed on woody hostplants emerging ~ 17 days later than species with herbaceous hostplants. These results indicate that species that either overwinter in earlier life stages or have woody hostplants may be less adaptable to climate change, and thus should be the targets of conservation efforts

Synthesising 35 years of invasive non-native species research

The growing focus on the threat of invasive non-native species (INNS) in international biodiversity targets highlights a need for targeted research to support effective understanding, legislation, and management. However, the publishing landscape of invasion biology is complex and expanding rapidly, making consolidation of information increasingly challenging. To identify the major research themes in the INNS literature and to understand how these have changed over the last 35 years, we applied a topic modelling approach. We analysed approximately 10,000 peer-reviewed article abstracts to identify 50 key topics being discussed in the literature. We also quantified how publications on these topics changed over time and how commonly different topics interacted within articles as a measure of their connectedness. Topics covering Population genetics, Policy, First records and Insect biocontrol were the most frequent. Topics were grouped into broad themes, with the largest theme related to Ecosystems, followed by Monitoring, then Management and decision-making. Significant overrepresentation for particular geographical regions and taxa in the literature were apparent. Considering relative changes through time, the most prevalent topics in each decade reflected policy influences, and technological developments. When assessing the degree of connectedness- Policy, Population Genetics and Management Strategies showed low levels of co-occurrence with other topics. This is of particular concern for topics focussed on Policy and Management Strategy as it suggests a weakness at the science-policy interface around accessing and exchanging of evidence. If progress towards future global targets is to be made, we argue that more interdisciplinary research must be encouraged, in particular to better incorporate policy and management considerations into the wider research landscape

Human Labor Pain Is Influenced by the Voltage-Gated Potassium Channel KV6.4 Subunit.

By studying healthy women who do not request analgesia during their first delivery, we investigate genetic effects on labor pain. Such women have normal sensory and psychometric test results, except for significantly higher cuff pressure pain. We find an excess of heterozygotes carrying the rare allele of SNP rs140124801 in KCNG4. The rare variant KV6.4-Met419 has a dominant-negative effect and cannot modulate the voltage dependence of KV2.1 inactivation because it fails to traffic to the plasma membrane. In vivo, Kcng4 (KV6.4) expression occurs in 40% of retrograde-labeled mouse uterine sensory neurons, all of which express KV2.1, and over 90% express the nociceptor genes Trpv1 and Scn10a. In neurons overexpressing KV6.4-Met419, the voltage dependence of inactivation for KV2.1 is more depolarized compared with neurons overexpressing KV6.4. Finally, KV6.4-Met419-overexpressing neurons have a higher action potential threshold. We conclude that KV6.4 can influence human labor pain by modulating the excitability of uterine nociceptors.MCL, DKM, DW, and CGW acknowledge funding from Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust and the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre. MN was funded by the Wellcome Trust (200183/Z/15/Z); JH and ESS by a Rosetrees Postdoctoral Grant (A1296) and the BBSRC (BB/R006210/1); GC and ESS by Versus Arthritis Grants (RG21973); VBL and FR by the Wellcome Trust (106262/Z/14/Z and 106263/Z/14/Z) and a joint MRC programme within the Metabolic Diseases Unit (MRC_MC_UU_12012/3). EF, GI and CB were funded by the Cambridge NIHR Biomedical Research Centre Integrative Genomics theme and LAP by a BBSRC-funded studentship (BB/M011194/1)

Procalcitonin Is Not a Reliable Biomarker of Bacterial Coinfection in People With Coronavirus Disease 2019 Undergoing Microbiological Investigation at the Time of Hospital Admission

Abstract Admission procalcitonin measurements and microbiology results were available for 1040 hospitalized adults with coronavirus disease 2019 (from 48 902 included in the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infections Consortium World Health Organization Clinical Characterisation Protocol UK study). Although procalcitonin was higher in bacterial coinfection, this was neither clinically significant (median [IQR], 0.33 [0.11–1.70] ng/mL vs 0.24 [0.10–0.90] ng/mL) nor diagnostically useful (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.56 [95% confidence interval, .51–.60]).</jats:p

Implementation of corticosteroids in treating COVID-19 in the ISARIC WHO Clinical Characterisation Protocol UK:prospective observational cohort study

BACKGROUND: Dexamethasone was the first intervention proven to reduce mortality in patients with COVID-19 being treated in hospital. We aimed to evaluate the adoption of corticosteroids in the treatment of COVID-19 in the UK after the RECOVERY trial publication on June 16, 2020, and to identify discrepancies in care. METHODS: We did an audit of clinical implementation of corticosteroids in a prospective, observational, cohort study in 237 UK acute care hospitals between March 16, 2020, and April 14, 2021, restricted to patients aged 18 years or older with proven or high likelihood of COVID-19, who received supplementary oxygen. The primary outcome was administration of dexamethasone, prednisolone, hydrocortisone, or methylprednisolone. This study is registered with ISRCTN, ISRCTN66726260. FINDINGS: Between June 17, 2020, and April 14, 2021, 47 795 (75·2%) of 63 525 of patients on supplementary oxygen received corticosteroids, higher among patients requiring critical care than in those who received ward care (11 185 [86·6%] of 12 909 vs 36 415 [72·4%] of 50 278). Patients 50 years or older were significantly less likely to receive corticosteroids than those younger than 50 years (adjusted odds ratio 0·79 [95% CI 0·70–0·89], p=0·0001, for 70–79 years; 0·52 [0·46–0·58], p80 years), independent of patient demographics and illness severity. 84 (54·2%) of 155 pregnant women received corticosteroids. Rates of corticosteroid administration increased from 27·5% in the week before June 16, 2020, to 75–80% in January, 2021. INTERPRETATION: Implementation of corticosteroids into clinical practice in the UK for patients with COVID-19 has been successful, but not universal. Patients older than 70 years, independent of illness severity, chronic neurological disease, and dementia, were less likely to receive corticosteroids than those who were younger, as were pregnant women. This could reflect appropriate clinical decision making, but the possibility of inequitable access to life-saving care should be considered. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research and UK Medical Research Council

The effect of microbial challenge on the intestinal proteome of broiler chickens

Background: In poultry production intestinal health and function is paramount to achieving efficient feed utilisation and growth. Uncovering the localised molecular mechanisms that occur during the early and important periods of growth that allow birds to grow optimally is important for this species. The exposure of young chicks to used litter from older flocks, containing mixed microbial populations, is a widely utilised model in poultry research. It rarely causes mortality but effects an immunogenic stimulation sufficient enough to cause reduced and uneven growth that is reflective of a challenging growing environment. Methods: A mixed microbial challenge was delivered as used litter containing Campylobacter jejuni and coccidial oocysts to 120 male Ross 308 broiler chicks, randomly divided into two groups: control and challenged. On day 12, 15, 18 and 22 (pre- and 3, 6 and 10 days post-addition of the used litter) the proximal jejunum was recovered from 6 replicates per group and differentially abundant proteins identified between groups and over time using 2D DiGE. Results: The abundance of cytoskeletal proteins of the chicken small intestinal proteome, particularly actin and actin associated proteins, increased over time in both challenged and control birds. Villin-1, an actin associated anti-apoptotic protein, was reduced in abundance in the challenged birds indicating that many of the changes in cytoskeletal protein abundance in the challenged birds were as a result of an increased rate of apoptosis. A number of heat shock proteins decreased in abundance over time in the intestine and this was more pronounced in the challenged birds. Conclusions: The small intestinal proteome sampled from 12 to 22 days of age showed considerable developmental change, comparable to other species indicating that many of the changes in protein abundance in the small intestine are conserved among vertebrates. Identifying and distinguishing the changes in proteins abundance and molecular pathways that occur as a result of normal growth from those that occur as a result of a challenging microbial environment is important in this major food producing animal