The population and range expansion of the Egyptian Goose (Alopachen aegyptiacus) across the UK 1993-2014

Non-native waterbird populations are increasing through much of Europe with some species showing conspicuously successful invasions. Much uncertainty surrounds the potential impacts of invasive waterbirds on native waterbird communities and wetlands. Understanding the processes and phases of population and range expansion of non-native waterbirds, and their environmental drivers, is an important research topic to inform management of these species. This study investigates the trajectories of population and range expansion of the Egyptian Goose (Alopachen aegypticus) across the UK between 1993 and 2014, and the environmental and spatial drivers of population density and site occupancy for three representative time periods, using the British Trust for Ornithology’s Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) data. Egyptian Goose showed an accelerating rate of occupancy of new grid cells (at 20-km resolution) over the time period of the study. There is no apparent reduction in the rate of spread of this species, insofar as through time there is an increase of both grid cell occupancy and of wetland area occupancy, although in the latter stages of expansion (post-2003) it appears that there is more of a filling out effect going on, at the same time as the increased rate of expansion. Environmental models supported the a priori hypothesis that waterbodies have a negative association with densities of Egyptian Goose, which was born out in the results. Environmental models also showed that rainfall was consistently negatively associated with density and presence/absence, whilst stately homes were shown to be consistently positively associated

The Use of PET-CT in the Assessment of Patients with Colorectal Carcinoma

Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer, accounting for 53,219 deaths in 2007 and an estimated 146,970 new cases in the USA during 2009. The combination of FDG PET and CT has proven to be of great benefit for the assessment of colorectal cancer. This is most evident in the detection of occult metastases, particularly intra- or extrahepatic sites of disease, that would preclude a curative procedure or in the detection of local recurrence. FDG PET is generally not used for the diagnosis of colorectal cancer although there are circumstances where PET-CT may make the initial diagnosis, particularly with its more widespread use. In addition, precancerous adenomatous polyps can also be detected incidentally on whole-body images performed for other indications; sensitivity increases with increasing polyp size. False-negative FDG PET findings have been reported with mucinous adenocarcinoma, and false-positive findings have been reported due to inflammatory conditions such as diverticulitis, colitis, and postoperative scarring. Therefore, detailed evaluation of the CT component of a PET/CT exam, including assessment of the entire colon, is essential

Cigarette brands with flavour capsules in the filter: Trends in use and brand perceptions among smokers in the USA, Mexico and Australia, 2012-2014

Objective To describe trends, correlates of use and consumer perceptions related to the product design innovation of flavour capsules in cigarette filters.  Methods Quarterly surveys from 2012 to 2014 were analysed from an online consumer panel of adult smokers aged 18–64, living in the USA (n=6865 observations; 4154 individuals); Mexico (n=5723 observations; 3366 individuals); and Australia (n=5864 observations; 2710 individuals). Preferred brand varieties were classified by price (ie, premium; discount) and flavour (ie, regular; flavoured without capsule; flavoured with capsule). Participants reported their preferred brand variety's appeal (ie, satisfaction; stylishness), taste (ie, smoothness, intensity), and harm relative to other brands and varieties. GEE models were used to determine time trends and correlates of flavour capsule use, as well as associations between preferred brand characteristics (ie, price stratum, flavour) and perceptions of relative appeal, taste and harm.  Results Preference for flavour capsules increased significantly in Mexico (6% to 14%) and Australia (1% to 3%), but not in the USA (4% to 5%). 18–24 year olds were most likely to prefer capsules in the USA (10%) and Australia (4%), but not Mexico. When compared to smokers who preferred regular brands, smokers who preferred brands with capsules viewed their variety of cigarettes as having more positive appeal (all countries), better taste (all countries), and lesser risk (Mexico, USA) than other brand varieties.  Conclusions Results indicate that use of cigarettes with flavour capsules is growing, is associated with misperceptions of relative harm, and differentiates brands in ways that justify regulatory action

Determination of a suitable low-dose abdominopelvic CT protocol using model-based iterative reconstruction through cadaveric study.

Introduction: Cadaveric studies provide a means of safely assessing new technologies and optimizing scanning prior to clinical validation. Reducing radiation exposure in a clinical setting can entail incremental dose reductions to avoid missing important clinical findings. The use of cadavers allows assessment of the impact of more substantial dose reductions on image quality. Our aim was to identify a suitable low‐dose abdominopelvic CT protocol for subsequent clinical validation. Methods: Five human cadavers were scanned at one conventional dose and three low‐dose settings. All scans were reconstructed using three different reconstruction algorithms: filtered back projection (FBP), hybrid iterative reconstruction (60% FBP and 40% adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR40)), and model‐based iterative reconstruction (MBIR). Two readers rated the image quality both quantitatively and qualitatively. Results: Model‐based iterative reconstruction images had significantly better objective image noise and higher qualitative scores compared with both FBP and ASIR40 images at all dose levels. The greatest absolute noise reduction, between MBIR and FBP, of 34.3 HU (equating to a 68% reduction) was at the lowest dose level. MBIR reduced image noise and improved image quality even in CT images acquired with a mean radiation dose reduction of 62% compared with conventional dose studies reconstructed with ASIR40, with lower levels of objective image noise, superior diagnostic acceptability and contrast resolution, and comparable subjective image noise and streak artefact scores. Conclusion: This cadaveric study demonstrates that MBIR reduces image noise and improves image quality in abdominopelvic CT images acquired with dose reductions of up to 62%

Becoming-Bertha: virtual difference and repetition in postcolonial 'writing back', a Deleuzian reading of Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea

Critical responses to Wide Sargasso Sea have seized upon Rhys’s novel as an exemplary model of writing back. Looking beyond the actual repetitions which recall Brontë’s text, I explore Rhys’s novel as an expression of virtual difference and becomings that exemplify Deleuze’s three syntheses of time. Elaborating the processes of becoming that Deleuze’s third synthesis depicts, Antoinette’s fate emerges not as a violence against an original identity. Rather, what the reader witnesses is a series of becomings or masks, some of which are validated, some of which are not, and it is in the rejection of certain masks, forcing Antoinette to become-Bertha, that the greatest violence lies

Learning Enhancement for Active Student Community Engagement (LEAPSE).

This project explored the potential of public-student engagement to enhance the student experience through active community and public engagement activities. The project evaluates existing models of public engagement activities to build capacity in both the University and communities to gain greater benefit from the potential such co-generative relationships can provide. This project focused on one university with the intention of complementing this primary activity with collecting case study material from a range of contexts. The context for graduate employment is rapidly changing and there is evidence that students derive benefits when their programmes include opportunities for authentic engagement with real-world problems. There is evidence to suggest that communities can benefit from genuine engagement with universities and their staff and students. Over a two-year period at the University of Gloucestershire, the project team worked with academics, students and community groups with the aim that universities and communities can make the most of the relationships and in particular to enhance the students’ experience. This exciting and innovative project worked closely with the National Coordination Centre for Public Engagement to ensure transferability of the project outcomes and to promote outputs from the project. It finds that an estimated 63% students at the University of Gloucestershire are engaged in voluntary work of some kind (63% nationally), of whom, 22% have arranged this through the University or the Student Union (SU) (38 % nationally). Work carried out as part of a project to log voluntary and community engagement across the university involving staff and students has found that approximately 10,000 hours of voluntary work has been carried out in the 2012/13 academic year. The range of work makes understanding and planning this kind of engagement complex. This comprises • Individual self-organised voluntary work, such as brownie or cub scout leadership. • Individual volunteering through a university programme, such as a sports programme working with local teams, or a school mentoring programme (though some of these are paid and therefore not included here). • Individual or team volunteering through Student Union brokerage, such as the SU-run VolunteerShop, campus-based community gardens and an annual tea dance for elderly residents living near the university. • Individual voluntary work within the context of an internship or placement, which may or may not include work for academic credit, such as for a local community project or voluntary organisation, such as the for sports clubs. However, this does not include undergraduate community based research as part of a module that can also account for a considerable contribution of time, effort and expertise

"My husband, my hero": selling the political spouses in the 2010 general election.

In spite of a record number of female parliamentary candidates, the 2010 general election campaign became notable for the intensity of coverage given to the female spouses of the three main party leaders. We find that this resulted from a combination of party communication strategy, established media discourses, and the agency and visibility of the wives themselves. First, Labour and the Conservatives were the most prominent in integrating their leaders’ wives into their campaigns, often to counter the less marketable qualities of the leaders themselves. Second, while mainstream media outlets—particularly newspapers—sought to cover all three women, they did so drawing upon established gender-based conventions, focussing on the wives’ physical appearance and apparent dedication to their husbands. Third, while the wife of the Liberal Democrat leader opted for limited and strategic contact with media, the wives of the Conservative and Labour leaders exploited a range of new media platforms, combining official party websites, personal blogs, and webcasts. We argue that any assessment of the role of the spouses of party leaders has to look at media-driven priorities only alongside the various strategies open to parties and individuals in managing media activities. We also suggest that there is room to use the coverage of leaders’ spouses to explore the development, limits, and gender politics of any shift toward presidentialism

Encoding a magic state with beyond break-even fidelity

We distill magic states to complete a universal set of fault-tolerant logic gates that is needed for large-scale quantum computing. By encoding better quality input states for our distillation procedure, we can reduce the considerable resource cost of producing magic states. We demonstrate an error-suppressed encoding scheme for a two-qubit input magic state, that we call the CZ state, on an array of superconducting qubits. Using a complete set of projective logical Pauli measurements, that are also tolerant to a single circuit error, we propose a circuit that demonstrates a magic state prepared with infidelity $(1.87 \pm 0.16) \times 10^{-2}$. Additionally, the yield of our scheme increases with the use of adaptive circuit elements that are conditioned in real time on mid-circuit measurement outcomes. We find our results are consistent with variations of the experiment, including where we use only post-selection in place of adaptive circuits, and where we interrogate our output state using quantum state tomography on the data qubits of the code. Remarkably, the error-suppressed preparation experiment demonstrates a fidelity exceeding that of the preparation of the same unencoded magic-state on any single pair of physical qubits on the same device.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, comments welcom