73 research outputs found
Isolation of microsatellite loci from the common buzzard, <i>Buteo buteo</i> (Aves: Accipitridae)
No full textWe isolated 56 common buzzard (Buteo buteo) microsatellite loci from (AC)n- and (AAAG)n-enriched genomic libraries. Eleven loci were tested on 90 individuals from Eastern Westphalia in Germany, yielding two to 17 alleles per locus (average 5.7) and expected heterozygosities ranging from 0.11 to 0.93 (average 0.53). These highly variable microsatellite markers provide a powerful means for investigating population genetic diversity in the common buzzard, a little-understood aspect of this widespread species
Identification and characterization of 14 polymorphic microsatellite loci for a member of the Herpestidae (Mungos mungo)
No full textIn most cooperative breeders, reproductive skew is high. However, in the banded mongoose, Mungos mungo, multiple females reproduce concurrently within a social group, indicating that skew is relatively low in this species. In order to evaluate the degree of reproductive skew in the banded mongoose, we identified 14 polymorphic microsatellite loci for parentage analysis. Markers were found to have low levels of variability in this cooperative breeder, and several loci were found to be polymorphic in another member of the Herpestidae, the slender-tailed meerkat (Suricata suricatta). For the banded mongoose, this suite of polymorphic loci provides a paternity exclusion of over 90%
Software for quantifying and simulating microsatellite genotyping error
No full textMicrosatellite genetic marker data are exploited in a variety of fields, including forensics, gene mapping, kinship inference and population genetics. In all of these fields, inference can be thwarted by failure to quantify and account for data errors, and kinship inference in particular can benefit from separating errors into two distinct classes: allelic dropout and false alleles. Pedant is MS Windows software for estimating locus-specific maximum likelihood rates of these two classes of error. Estimation is based on comparison of duplicate error-prone genotypes: neither reference genotypes nor pedigree data are required. Other functions include: plotting of error rate estimates and confidence intervals; simulations for performing power analysis and for testing the robustness of error rate estimates to violation of the underlying assumptions; and estimation of expected heterozygosity, which is a required input
Field test for environmental correlates of dispersal in hedgehogs Erinaceus europaeus
No full text1. We report a field experiment designed to explore the responses by hedgehogs to novel and unfavourable terrain, which they encounter when dispersing between fragmented local populations in farmland. We identified four replicate sites as unused by hedgehogs, but lying between existing populations and containing locally abundant food. At each site, we released six hedgehogs from distant sources at 2-day intervals and monitored their subsequent dispersals over 20 days by radio-tracking. We compared movement trajectories under this treatment to those of 29 hedgehogs released at two sites known to support abundant hedgehogs. A third treatment comprised 20 unmanipulated hedgehogs at three sites. We estimated habitat use and proximity to habitats by comparing each observed trajectory to simulated random walks of equal length. We sought differences between treatments in movement and habitat use from nested analysis of variance.2. No two trajectories of any translocated hedgehogs followed the same route; most involved little change in body weight, and took the animal into or through existing populations. Hedgehogs moved substantially further and faster on average from the unfavourable than from the favourable sites. They showed a significantly stronger attraction to habitat edges, which therefore acted as corridors, and a significant proportion of them stayed closer to roads and to urban habitat than random expectation. Habitat preferences also shifted significantly towards urban and away from arable areas. Six were predated, and two killed by road traffic. At least three returned to their release point, with P < 0·05 of this occurring by chance.3. In this region, natural dispersals between populations up to 4 km apart are rare events. We have shown, however, that hedgehogs are capable of travelling distances of up to 3·8 km from a release point, and up to 9·9 km in total, compared to an average home range span of 0·8 km, and it appears that none of the local populations in the study area are out of reach of neighbours
High Dose Atorvastatin Associated With Increased Risk of Significant Hepatotoxicity in Comparison to Simvastatin: A Retrospective Cohort Study Using the UK General Practice Research Database
No full textNo abstract available
Plastic debris in great skua (Stercorarius skua) pellets corresponds to seabird prey species
No full textPlastic is a common item in marine environments. Studies assessing seabird ingestion of plastics have focused on species that ingest plastics mistaken for prey items. Few studies have examined a scavenger and predatory species that are likely to ingest plastics indirectly through their prey items, such as the great skua (Stercorarius skua). We examined 1034 regurgitated pellets from a great skua colony in the Faroe Islands for plastics and found approximately 6% contained plastics. Pellets containing remains of Northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) had the highest prevalence of plastic. Our findings support previous work showing that Northern fulmars have higher loads of plastics than other sympatric species. This study demonstrates that marine plastic debris is transferred from surface feeding seabird species to predatory great skuas. Examination of plastic ingestion in species that do not ingest plastics directly can provide insights into how plastic particles transfer vertically within the food web
Music during interventional radiological procedures, effect on sedation, pain and anxiety: a randomised controlled trial
No full text<br>Objective: To assess the effects of playing patient-selected music during interventional procedures on (1) the doses of sedation and analgesia and (2) anxiety levels.</br>
<br>Methods: Patients undergoing interventional radiological procedures were randomised to either the intervention (music) or the control (no music) group. Patients in the intervention group had music of their choice played via headphones during the procedure. The primary outcomes were reductions in the doses of drugs for sedation (midazolam) and analgesia (fentanyl). Anxiety levels were assessed both before and after the procedure using the validated State Anxiety Inventory. Mean pulse rate and average of mean blood pressures were also recorded before and during the procedures as surrogate indicators of anxiety levels.</br>
<br>Results: 100 patients were randomised in a 1:1 ratio. There were 58 males and 42 females, with a mean age of 58 years. Sedation was required in 21 (42%) patients in the music group compared with 30 (60%) patients in the control group (p=0.046). The mean [standard deviation (SD)] midazolam dose was 2.1 mg (2.3 mg) in the control group and 1.3 mg (2.2 mg) in the music group (p=0.027). The mean (SD) fentanyl dose was 29 mg (40 mg) in the control group and 18 mg (34 mg) in the music group (p=0.055). There was no significant effect of music on the change from baseline in anxiety levels (p=0.74), pulse rate (p=0.56) or blood pressure (p=0.34).</br>
<br>Conclusion: Sedation requirements are significantly reduced by playing self-selected music to the patient during interventional radiology procedures. By lowering sedation during interventional radiology, music makes the procedure safer. It also contributes favourably to the overall patient experience.</br>
Antidepressant treatment and cultural differences: a survey of the attitudes of physicians and patients in Sweden and Turkey
No full text<b>Background</b><br></br>
The presenting symptoms of depression can be influenced by cultural differences. This study was conducted to compare the presenting symptoms and response to antidepressant medication of patients in Sweden and Turkey, two culturally different European countries.
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<b>Methods</b><br></br>
Recruitment was triggered when adult patients were diagnosed with a depressive or anxiety disorder by a primary care physician and prescribed an antidepressant. Physicians and patients recorded presenting symptoms and completed relevant questionnaires just before and 8 weeks after starting treatment with an antidepressant. These included the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Clinical Global Impressions (CGI) scale, the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS), and Likert scales gauging the importance of physical and psychological symptoms. Patients also rated severity of prominent symptoms (depression, anxiety, stress, sleep and pain) from zero to ten. The outcomes were compared between patients from Sweden and Turkey using Fisher's Exact test and two-sample t-tests.
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<b>Results</b><br></br>
The study was conducted in 460 patients (107, 23.3% in Sweden; 353, 76.7% in Turkey). Presenting symptoms differed between Sweden and Turkey, with Turkish patients more likely to present with physical symptoms, and report a higher number of physical symptoms (mean 2.4 vs. 1.4, p<0.001). In both countries, the diagnosis made by the physician differed from that derived from the HADS score at the start of the study. The HADS diagnosis varied between the countries with significantly different proportions of patients in each country being diagnosed with depression alone, anxiety alone or depression with anxiety. While all symptoms improved after antidepressant treatment in both countries, Turkish patients showed a greater degree of response than Swedish patients in depression (p=0.048), stress (p=0.014) and pain (p<0.001) as measured by the prominent symptoms assessment (PSA).
<b>Conclusions</b><br></br>
The presenting symptoms of patients diagnosed with a depressive or anxiety disorder by a primary care physician and prescribed an antidepressant differ between Turkey and Sweden. Patients in Turkey were more likely to present with physical symptoms than patients in Sweden and present with more physical symptoms. After 8 weeks of antidepressant treatment, the improvement from baseline was greater in Turkish patients, and this was reflected in their improved functioning
The development and psychometric evaluation of a safety climate measure for primary care
No full text<b>Introduction:</b> Building a safety culture is an important part of improving patient care. Measuring perceptions of safety climate among healthcare teams and organisations is a key element of this process. Existing measurement instruments are largely developed for secondary care settings in North America and many lack adequate psychometric testing. Our aim was to develop and test an instrument to measure perceptions of safety climate among primary care teams in National Health Service for Scotland.
<b>Method:</b> Questionnaire development was facilitated through a steering group, literature review, semistructured interviews with primary care team members, a modified Delphi and completion of a content validity index by experts. A cross-sectional postal survey utilising the questionnaire was undertaken in a random sample of west of Scotland general practices to facilitate psychometric evaluation. Statistical methods, including exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and Cronbach and Raykov reliability coefficients were conducted.
<b>Results:</b> Of the 667 primary care team members based in 49 general practices surveyed, 563 returned completed questionnaires (84.4%). Psychometric evaluation resulted in the development of a 30-item questionnaire with five safety climate factors: leadership, teamwork, communication, workload and safety systems. Retained items have strong factor loadings to only one factor. Reliability coefficients was satisfactory (α=0.94 and ρ=0.93).
<b>Discussion:</b> This study is the first stage in the development of an appropriately valid and reliable safety climate measure for primary care. Measuring safety climate perceptions has the potential to help primary care organisations and teams focus attention on safety-related issues and target improvement through educational interventions. Further research is required to explore acceptability and feasibility issues for primary care teams and the potential for organisational benchmarking
Comparative evaluation of the sticky-resting-box-trap, the standardised resting-bucket-trap and indoor aspiration for sampling malaria vectors
No full textBackground
Understanding mosquito resting behaviour is important for the control of vector-borne diseases, but this remains a challenge because of the paucity of efficient sampling tools. We evaluated two novel sampling methods in the field: the Sticky Resting Box (SRB) and the Resting Bucket trap (RBu) to test their efficiency for sampling malaria vectors resting outdoors and inside houses in rural Tanzania. The performance of RBu and SRB was compared outdoors, while indoors SRB were compared with the Back Pack Aspiration method (BP). Trapping was conducted within 4 villages in the Kilombero Valley, Tanzania over 14 nights. On each night, the performance for collecting Anopheles vectors and Culicinae was compared in 4 households by SRB and RBu outdoors and by SRB or fixed-time Back Pack aspirator in 2 of the 4 focal households indoors.
Findings
A total of 619 Anopheles gambiae s.l., 224 Anopheles funestus s.l. and 1737 Culicinae mosquitoes were captured. The mean abundance of An. arabiensis and An. funestus s.l. collected with SRB traps inside and outdoors was significantly lower than with BP or RBu. The SRB however, outperformed BP aspiration for collection of Culicinae indoors.
Conclusions
Of the methods trialled indoors (BP and SRB), BP was the most effective, whilst outdoors RBu performed much better than SRB. However, as SRB can passively sample mosquitoes over a week they could provide an alternative to the RBu where daily monitoring is not possible
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