Responses of a Federally Endangered Songbird to Understory Thinning in Oak-Juniper Woodlands.

Wildlife conservation and management on military lands must be accomplished in the context of military readiness, which often includes ground-based training that is perceived to conflict with wildlife needs and environmental regulations. From 2008‒2012, we examined territory density, pairing success, and fledging success of the federally endangered golden-cheeked warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia; hereafter warbler) in relation to removal of small-diameter trees from the understory of mature oak-juniper (Quercus-Juniperus) woodland at the 87,890 ha Fort Hood Military Reservation in central Texas. Understory thinning created troop maneuver lanes, but left canopy vegetation intact. Warbler density, pairing success, and fledging success were similar across thinned and control sites. We found that warbler pairing and fledging success were best predicted by Ecological site (hereafter Ecosite), an indicator of hardwood tree species composition. Warbler pairing and fledging success were about 1.5 and 1.6 times higher, respectively, for territories dominated by the Low Stony Hill Ecosite than territories dominated by the Redlands Ecosite. Our results indicate that understory thinning for military training purposes did not have a negative effect on warblers at Fort Hood in the manner tested, and suggest that removal of smaller trees from the understory in a way that replicates historic conditions may elicit neutral responses from this forest-dependent songbird. Quantifying wildlife responses to military activities provides the Department of Defense and US Fish and Wildlife Service with data to guide conservation of threatened and endangered species on Department of Defense facilities while maintaining the military mission, and supports wildlife management efforts on other public and private lands.

Climatic variability, plasticity, and dispersal: A case study from Lake Tana, Ethiopia.

The numerous dispersal events that have occurred during the prehistory of hominin lineages are the subject of longstanding and increasingly active debate in evolutionary anthropology. As well as research into the dating and geographic extent of such dispersals, there is an increasing focus on the factors that may have been responsible for dispersal. The growing body of detailed regional palaeoclimatic data is invaluable in demonstrating the often close relationship between changes in prehistoric environments and the movements of hominin populations. The scenarios constructed from such data are often overly simplistic, however, concentrating on the dynamics of cyclical contraction and expansion during severe and ameliorated conditions respectively. This contribution proposes a two-stage hypothesis of hominin dispersal in which populations (1) accumulate high levels of climatic tolerance during highly variable climatic phases, and (2) express such heightened tolerance via dispersal in subsequent low-variability phases. Likely dispersal phases are thus proposed to occur during stable climatic phases that immediately follow phases of high climatic variability. Employing high resolution palaeoclimatic data from Lake Tana, Ethiopia, the hypothesis is examined in relation to the early dispersal of Homo sapiens out of East Africa and into the Levant. A dispersal phase is identified in the Lake Tana record between c. 112,550 and c. 96,975 years ago, a date bracket that accords well with the dating evidence for H. sapiens occupation at the sites of Qafzeh and Skhul. Results are discussed in relation to the complex pattern of H. sapiens dispersal out of East Africa, with particular attention paid to the implications of recent genetic chronologies for the origin of non-African modern humans.

Switching From Immediate-Release to Delayed-Release Prednisone in Moderate to Severe Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Practice-Based Clinical Study.

INTRODUCTION: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) produces debilitating morning stiffness. Exogenous glucocorticoids can help with these symptoms when timed appropriately. Bedtime dosing of delayed-release prednisone (DR-prednisone) matches the rise of inflammatory cytokines before awakening and can improve stiffness and other RA symptoms. A prospective open-label study was conducted in patients currently on stable doses of immediate-release prednisone (IR-prednisone) who were switched to DR-prednisone to analyze the incremental benefit of better timed and lower dose glucocorticoid therapy. METHODS: Twelve US sites enrolled patients with moderate-severe RA into a 12-week prospective study. Patients were switched from IR- to DR-prednisone while maintaining other existing background therapies. Change from baseline in morning stiffness severity, morning stiffness duration, swollen and tender joint counts (S-TJC), 28 joint disease activity score (DAS28), and patient/physician global assessment (PGA/PhGA), among others, were measured. Post-hoc analyses were performed on those completing 10 weeks of treatment and those with >60 min of morning stiffness at baseline. RESULTS: Fifty-six patients had at least one follow-up visit and were similar in demographics to previous controlled trials with DR-prednisone with regard to baseline age and DAS28-CRP but had lower morning stiffness and RA duration. DR-prednisone produced a trend toward lower morning stiffness severity and duration with a reduction in daily prednisone dose of almost 1 mg. Patients treated with DR-prednisone for ≥10 weeks demonstrated significant reductions in morning stiffness duration, SJC, TJC, DAS28-CRP, and PhGA (all p ≤ 0.04). Patients treated for ≥10 weeks with >60 min of baseline morning stiffness produced similar results in these measures as well as a 21% reduction in morning stiffness severity (p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Patients switched to DR-prednisone from IR-prednisone in this practice-based study maintained or improved their outcomes across a variety of domains, and results were comparable to previous controlled trials in which patients completed at least 10 weeks of treatment. FUNDING: Horizon Pharma USA, Inc. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT02287610.

What happens when 55% of acute psychiatric beds are closed in six days: an unexpected naturalistic observational study.

OBJECTIVE: The sudden closure of 30 out of 54 acute psychiatric beds in Cornwall presented a stressful challenge to staff but also a natural experiment on how a service dealt with this situation. We aimed to evaluate the outcomes of patients needing to leave the closed ward, how bed occupancy rates were affected and the impact on admission rates. DESIGN: A service evaluation of the impact of the ward closure. SETTING: A comprehensive secondary NHS mental health service in Cornwall serving 550,000 population. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The destination of the patients needing to leave the acute unit, the effect of the closure on bed occupancy, admission rates and serious untoward incidents. RESULTS: Of 26 patients needing to be moved from the acute ward, only 10 needed an acute psychiatric bed. None of the seven patients who had been on the ward longer than nine weeks needed an acute unit. Admission rates fell over the subsequent three months. There was no increase in serious incidents due to the closure. CONCLUSIONS: This naturalistic event suggests that many patients on acute units could be cared for elsewhere, especially recovery/rehabilitation care environments, if political and financial urgency is present. Admission rates are responsive to the pressure on beds.

Suboptimal reporting of adverse medical events to the FDA Adverse Events Reporting System by nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

OBJECTIVES: The Adverse Events Reporting System (AERS) of the FDA is used to identify toxicities of drugs that are on the market. Nurse practitioners (NP) and physician assistants (PA), having an increasing role in the delivery of medical care, are also needed to participate in post-marketing pharmacovigilance. This study was performed to assess awareness and use of the AERS in voluntary reporting of drug toxicities by NPs and PAs. METHODS: A cluster sample survey was issued at the Principles of Gastroenterology for the Nurse Practitioner and Physician Assistant course in August 2010. The survey assessed familiarity with the AERS, the number of adverse events seen and the frequency of reports sent to the AERS. NP and PA responses were compared using the two-tailed Fisher's exact. RESULTS: Of the 92 respondents, 67 (72%) were NPs and 24 (26%) PAs. Of the 50 (54%) respondents that reported being familiar with the AERS system, 20 (40%) incorrectly identified the methods to report using the AERS. Overall reporting of adverse events was low, particularly in respondents seeing 5-12 adverse events per year. CONCLUSION: The study suggests that improved education regarding the importance of using AERS for pharmacovigilance is suggested for NPs and PAs. Due to the small size of the study, these data should be viewed as preliminary, pending a larger confirmatory study.

Osteoblast: osteoclast co-cultures on silk fibroin, chitosan and PLLA films.

This study investigates the growth of a co-culture of osteoblasts and osteoclasts on four different types of degradable biomaterials with bone tissue engineering potential. Single or co-cultures of osteoblasts and osteoclasts (used at a ratio of 1:100 osteoblast:osteoclasts) were cultured on vapour stabilised silk fibroin, methanol stabilised silk fibroin, chitosan and poly (l lactic acid) (PLLA) films for 10 days. Osteoclast differentiation was determined by tartrate resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining, total cell number by a picogreen DNA assay, cell morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the material topography by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Samples were also monitored for degradation by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and fourier transform infrared (FTIR). Results demonstrated that vapour stabilised silk fibroin, methanol stabilised silk fibroin and chitosan all support the growth of osteoblasts and osteoclasts in both single and co-cultures. PLLA showed poor osteoclast differentiation in both single and co-cultures but supported osteoblast attachment and proliferation. Both silk fibroin materials showed sign of early degradation in the ten-day period, but very little change was seen in chitosan and PLLA samples. This study indicates that this novel co-culture approach for bone tissue engineering may be possible if scaffolds are created from silk fibroin or chitosan.

Faceted and vertically aligned GaN nanorod arrays fabricated without catalysts or lithography.

Monocrystalline, vertically aligned and faceted GaN nanorods with controlled diameter have been synthesized by selective organometallic vapor phase epitaxy (OMVPE) onto GaN exposed at the bottom of pores in silicon dioxide templates patterned by reactive ion etching through self-organized porous anodic alumina films. This process is free of foreign catalysts, and the nanorod diameter control is achieved without the need for low-throughput nanolithographic techniques. The use of conventional OMVPE growth conditions allows for the straightforward adaptation of conventional doping and heterostructure growth as will be necessary for the fabrication of nanorod-based strain-relaxed electrically pumped lasers and light-emitting diodes.