District Nursing Sister Attached to Hospital Surgical Department

An experiment of attaching a district nursing sister to the surgical department of a general hospital was designed to show the use of the district nursing service for the after-care of patients discharged from hospital after surgical treatment. In a 15-week period about 590 bed days were saved, and only six out of 126 patients discharged early had to be readmitted. Most of the patients and the general practitioners who replied to questionaries about the scheme were in favour of it.     

Effect of apolipoprotein A-IV genotype and dietary fat on cholesterol absorption in humans

We investigated the effect of the A-IV-2 allele, which encodes a Q360H substitution in apolipoprotein (apo) A-IV, and dietary fat on cholesterol absorption in humans. In three separate studies we compared fractional intestinal cholesterol absorption between groups of subjects heterozygous for the A-IV-2 allele (1/2) and homozygous for the common allele (1/1) receiving high cholesterol ( approximately 800 mg/day) diets with different fatty acid compositions. All subjects had the apoE 3/3 genotype. There was no difference in cholesterol absorption between the two genotype groups receiving a high saturated fat diet (33% of total energy as fat; 18% saturated, 3% polyunsaturated, 12% monounsaturated) or a low fat diet (22% of total energy as fat; 7% saturated, 7% polyunsaturated, 8% monounsaturated) diet. However, on a high polyunsaturated fat diet (32% of total energy as fat; 7% saturated, 13% polyunsaturated, 12% monounsaturated) mean fractional cholesterol absorption was 56. 7% +/- 1.9 in 1/1 subjects versus 47.5% +/- 2.1 in 1/2 subjects (P = 0.004). A post hoc analysis of the effect of the apoA-IV T347S polymorphism across all diets revealed a Q360H x T347S interaction on cholesterol absorption, and suggested that the A-IV-2 allele lowers cholesterol only in subjects with the 347 T/T genotype.We conclude that a complex interaction between apoA-IV genotype and dietary fatty acid composition modulates fractional intestinal cholesterol absorption in humans.     

The effect of a liquid seaweed extract from Ascophyllum nodosum (Fucales,Phaeophyta) on the two-spotted red spider mite Tetranychus urticae

This paper presents evidence from an initial trial in favor of claims that the liquid seaweed extract of Ascophyllum nodosum, marketed in the UK as Maxicrop, can reduce numbers of the two-spotted red spider mite Tetranychus urticae on crop plants. Seven applications of Maxicrop Triple over 20 days significantly suppressed the population build-up of two-spotted red spider mites on treated strawberry plants (Fragaria sp. var. Redgauntlet) raised under high polythene tunnels as compared to untreated controls.     

Management of acute stroke in the elderly: follow-up of a controlled trial.

Follow-up of a controlled trial of the management of acute stroke in the elderly showed that the improvement in functional outcome at the time of discharge from hospital that had been achieved through establishing a stroke unit had disappeared by one year. Factors that might have contributed to this included overprotection by the families of patients who had been treated in the stroke unit, who were not permitted to carry out activities of daily living in which they were independent, and the early discharge from medical units of patients whose full rehabilitation potential had not been realised. Prolonging the benefits of short-term gains in functional outcome through the intervention of a stroke unit requires that all the links in the chain of stroke rehabilitation are maintained, including the proper orientation of patients'' families before discharge from hospital.     

Further localization of the gene for nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome (NBCCS) in 15 Australasian families: Linkage and loss of heterozygosity

Nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome (NBCCS; basal cell nevus syndrome or Gorlin syndrome) is a cancer-predisposition syndrome characterized by multiple basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) and diverse developmental defects. The gene for NBCCS has been mapped to 9q23.1-q31 in North American and European families. In addition, loss of heterozygosity (LOH) for genetic markers in this region has been detected in sporadic BCCs, indicating that the NBCCS gene is probably a tumor-suppressor gene. In this study we have determined that the NBCCS gene is also linked to this region in Australasian pedigrees and that there is no significant evidence of heterogeneity. We have defined the localization of the gene by multipoint and haplotype analysis of 15 families, using four microsatellite markers. LOH at these loci was detected in 50% of sporadic BCCs, a rate that is significantly higher than that in other skin lesions used as controls.     

Blowing in the wind? Identity, materiality, and the destinations of human ashes

This article asks whether the recent UK-based practice of removing ashes from crematoria has led to entirely new, innovative rituals of disposal, or whether contemporary practice is an appropriation of late nineteenth-century Romantic values and beliefs. Drawing on findings from a major empirical study among both professionals and lay people involved in the removal of ashes, it explores the potentiality of ash remains as a mobile material residue of the corpse, and considers whether they enable disposal strategies which no longer reflect concerns with space and place – particularly those associated with traditional burial grounds.     

Population genetics and demographic inferences in a recovering shorebird,the African Black Oystercatcher Haematopus moquini

The extensive literature on the African Black Oystercatcher is a testament to what is now a conservation success story. Here we provide the first genetic insight into the population dynamics of this recovering shorebird and an assessment of genetic variation within the species using microsatellite markers. Although behavioural studies suggest strong natal philopatry, we found a single genetic cluster across all of the locations sampled and a significant signal of isolation by distance suggesting some geographical structuring. The microsatellite markers used in this study are useful at a population level, and the limited genetic variation detected is likely to be due to a low historical population size.     

The costs of keeping cool in a warming world: implications of high temperatures for foraging,thermoregulation and body condition of an arid‐zone bird

Recent mass mortalities of bats, birds and even humans highlight the substantial threats that rising global temperatures pose for endotherms. Although less dramatic, sublethal fitness costs of high temperatures may be considerable and result in changing population demographics. Endothermic animals exposed to high environmental temperatures can adjust their behaviour (e.g. reducing activity) or physiology (e.g. elevating rates of evaporative water loss) to maintain body temperatures within tolerable limits. The fitness consequences of these adjustments, in terms of the ability to balance water and energy budgets and therefore maintain body condition, are poorly known. We investigated the effects of daily maximum temperature on foraging and thermoregulatory behaviour as well as maintenance of body condition in a wild, habituated population of Southern Pied Babblers Turdoides bicolor. These birds inhabit a hot, arid area of southern Africa where they commonly experience environmental temperatures exceeding optimal body temperatures. Repeated measurements of individual behaviour and body mass were taken across days varying in maximum air temperature. Contrary to expectations, foraging effort was unaffected by daily maximum temperature. Foraging efficiency, however, was lower on hotter days and this was reflected in a drop in body mass on hotter days. When maximum air temperatures exceeded 35.5 °C, individuals no longer gained sufficient weight to counter typical overnight weight loss. This reduction in foraging efficiency is likely driven, in part, by a trade‐off with the need to engage in heat‐dissipation behaviours. When we controlled for temperature, individuals that actively dissipated heat while continuing to forage experienced a dramatic decrease in their foraging efficiency. This study demonstrates the value of investigations of temperature‐dependent behaviour in the context of impacts on body condition, and suggests that increasingly high temperatures will have negative implications for the fitness of these arid‐zone birds.     

MORPHOMETRICS AND SEXING OF THE AFRICAN BLACK OYSTERCATCHER

Summary

Hockey, P. A. R. 1981. Morphometries and sexing of the African Black Oystercatcher. Ostrich 52: 244–247.

109 African Black Oystercatchers Haematopus moquini were caught, measured and sexed by cloacal examination during the 1979/1980 breeding season. Six standard taxonomic variables were measured. Females were larger than males in all dimensions considered. The most dimorphic characters were mass and exposed culmen length. The data were subjected to stepwise discriminant analysis and a linear function was derived which allowed birds of unknown sex to be sexed. The function is D = ?0,391x₁ ?0,016 x₂ +0,218 x₃ +0,714 x₄ +15,946 where x₁ = exposed culmen length (mm), x₂ = body mass (g), x₃ = length of tarsometatarsus (mm) and x₄ = culmen depth at the gonys. Values of D from the above equation less than zero indicate a female while those greater than zero indicate a male. The greater the divergence of D from zero, the higher the probability of correctly sexing an unknown individual: once D> ± 1,2, p>0,99.     

Dispersal and migration of juvenile African Black Oystercatchers Haematopus moquini

African Black Oystercatchers Haematopus moquini are sedentary as adults. However, colour-ringing of more than 700 juveniles has revealed complex post-fledging movements that vary geographically. Young from the western part of the breeding range either remain within 150 km of their natal site or migrate 1500–2000 km to one of five discrete nursery areas on the Namib Desert coast of central and northern Namibia, and southern Angola. These nurseries all lie north of the species' breeding range. We calculate that 36–46% of all juveniles born in South Africa migrate to nurseries. Birds return to their natal sites from nurseries at 2–3 years old, but never migrate again. Juveniles from the eastern part of the range undertake 'diffusion dispersal', regularly up to 1000 km, but these journeys mostly end within the breeding range, where there are no nurseries. Very few eastern birds reach nurseries. There is no evidence that movements of western birds are density-dependent responses to hatching date, but long-distance migrants are significantly heavier as chicks than are short-distance dispersers. We hypothesize that a genetic basis exists to these movements, possibly triggered by body condition, that could account not only for the highly dichotomous behaviour of western birds, but also for the intermediate behaviour of eastern birds.