Lines in the mud; revisiting the boundaries of important shorebird areas

Many shorebird populations are declining throughout the world, concurrent with declines and degradation of wetland habitats. Such declines necessitate a more consistent approach towards conserving habitats used by shorebird populations. Individuals of many shorebird species congregate in specific areas during their non-breeding season. Worldwide, non-breeding areas are designated as ‘important’ for shorebird conservation based primarily on the abundance of birds found in an area. However, the boundaries of any area are often defined with incomplete information regarding how shorebirds use that habitat. This paper discusses examples in Australia where improved knowledge of shorebird habitat use led to the identification of very different boundaries of important shorebird areas than those identified originally. We highlight how simple questioning of those who count shorebirds in an area, led to an improved understanding of which areas were apparently used by the same local population of non-breeding shorebirds. Subsequent analysis of available count, recapture and/or home range data of particular shorebird species is needed to verify expert opinion regarding most of these boundaries. We review how enhanced boundaries improve the ability of shorebird monitoring to detect population changes; allow management of shorebird habitats at relevant spatial scales; and lead to appropriate designations of important areas. While the kinds of approaches to boundary setting described here are not new, they are not consistently applied worldwide. We suggest additional guidelines to those produced under the Ramsar Convention in regard to designating important areas. We also call for more studies on the movements of migratory shorebirds during the non-breeding season to direct more consistent boundary setting around important non-breeding habitats used by local populations of migratory shorebirds.     

Vulvar syringoma,report of a case and review of the literature

Syringomas are common intraepidermal sweat gland tumors most often found in women around the time of adolescence. Frequent sites of involvement include the lower eyelids and malar areas, however vulvar involvement is relatively rare. These lesions often present as small, multiple, skin-colored-to-yellowish papules and are often associated with increased vulvar discomfort and itching. We present a case of a 29-year old female who presented to her gynecologist complaining of vulvar itching and burning. A small condylomatous-type wart observed on her vulva was biopsied and found to be a syringoma. Because of their clinical presentation and associated symptoms, vulvar syringomas should be considered in the differential diagnosis of any multicentric papular lesion of the vulva, vulvar pain syndrome, and pruritis vulvae.     

Leveraging remote learning during the Covid‐19 pandemic to enhance student understanding of biodiversity

We evaluated whether individual nature‐based ecological (NBE) study used in tandem with group collaboration enhanced undergraduate student understanding of ecological concepts and pro‐environmental perceptions. In response to the Covid‐19 pandemic, we developed a multiweek unit on the latitude diversity gradient (LDG) for fully online instruction that leveraged the unique situation of students learning in disparate geographic locations. Student understanding of the LDG and pro‐environmental perceptions were assessed with surveys administered both pre‐ and post‐activity in an introductory‐level biology laboratory course. Student understanding of the geographic location where biodiversity is the highest was high prior to the start of the laboratory unit and exhibited only a small improvement after the unit. In contrast, students’ higher order thinking around the LDG was enhanced by the lab activity. Student environmental perceptions shifted toward ecocentric views and away from anthropocentric views after the laboratory unit. The greatest gains in ecological understanding and shifts toward ecocentric viewpoints occurred in the group of students who visited their field sites most often. Our results provide further evidence as to the value of NBE for the introductory biology laboratory, even in an online learning setting. The lab unit described in this study provides a potential approach to teaching ecology in an online format that could easily be adapted to fit the needs of a particular curriculum.     

What can we Learn from Patients’ Ethical Thinking about the right ‘not to know’ in Genomics? Lessons from Cancer Genetic Testing for Genetic Counselling

This article is based on a qualitative empirical project about a distinct kinship group who were among the first identified internationally as having a genetic susceptibility to cancer (Lynch Syndrome). 50 were invited to participate (42 were tested; eight declined genetic testing). 15, who had all accepted testing, were interviewed. They form a unique case study. This study aimed to explore interviewees’ experiences of genetic testing and how these influenced their family relationships. A key finding was that participants framed the decision to be tested as ‘common sense’; the idea of choice around the decision was negated and replaced by a moral imperative to be tested. Those who did not follow ‘common sense’ were judged to be imprudent. Family members who declined testing were discussed negatively by participants. The article addresses what is ethically problematic about how test decliners were discussed and whether these ethical concerns extend to others who are offered genetic testing. Discussions showed that genetic testing was viewed as both an autonomous choice and a responsibility. Yet the apparent conflict between the right to autonomy and the moral imperative of responsibility allowed participants to defend test decliners’ decisions by expressing a preference for or defending choice over responsibility. The ‘right not to know’ seemed an important moral construct to help ethically manage unpopular decisions made by close family who declined testing. In light of this research, the erosion of the ‘right not to know’ in the genomic age could have subtle yet profound consequences for family relationships.     

Case–Control Studies of Gene–Environment Interaction: Bayesian Design and Analysis

Summary With increasing frequency, epidemiologic studies are addressing hypotheses regarding gene‐environment interaction. In many well‐studied candidate genes and for standard dietary and behavioral epidemiologic exposures, there is often substantial prior information available that may be used to analyze current data as well as for designing a new study. In this article, first, we propose a proper full Bayesian approach for analyzing studies of gene–environment interaction. The Bayesian approach provides a natural way to incorporate uncertainties around the assumption of gene–environment independence, often used in such an analysis. We then consider Bayesian sample size determination criteria for both estimation and hypothesis testing regarding the multiplicative gene–environment interaction parameter. We illustrate our proposed methods using data from a large ongoing case–control study of colorectal cancer investigating the interaction of N‐acetyl transferase type 2 (NAT2) with smoking and red meat consumption. We use the existing data to elicit a design prior and show how to use this information in allocating cases and controls in planning a future study that investigates the same interaction parameters. The Bayesian design and analysis strategies are compared with their corresponding frequentist counterparts.     

Autophagy as mechanism for cell death in degenerative aortic valve disease

Once degenerative aortic valve disease becomes symptomatic, valve replacement is necessary for prognostic and symptomatic reasons. In elderly patients, symptoms of degenerative aortic valve can often be doubtful. Therefore, it is difficult but important to distinguish patients who need surgery from those who do not. Estimation of the rate of the progression of this disease can be helpful herein because one needs to bear in mind that aortic valve degeneration is an active process, which can influence the rate of progression. Recently, autophagy was discovered as a mechanism of cell death in different cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis, aortic valve degeneration, heart failure and at regions around heart infarctions. Thus understanding autophagy in all its details can be helpful to contribute insights into the cell death machinery of cardiovascular diseases. This could open ways for inhibition of cell death in cardiovascular disease and possibly define targets for future drug design.     

Les stratégies de débitage dans les industries lithiques archaïques des premiers habitants de l’Europe

Barranco León and Fuente Nueva 3 sites at Orce in the south of Spain, and Vallonnet cave in the south of France, are some of the oldest sites in Europe, testimonies of the first settlements of these territories. The Orce sites, dated around 1.3-1.2 Ma, have given away numerous lithic artifacts principally issued from an important débitage activity. The beginning of flake production processes is few represented into these two consummation sites. In return, full débitage flakes are in high proportion, with generally short dimensions, in consequence of which, in some case an intense core reduction. Two percussion methods are identified: with direct percussion or on anvil. Sometimes, there was débitage on flake, taking advantage of the inferior face natural convexity of the core-flake, permitting the maximal exploitation and the economy of the best raw materials. The bipolar percussion on anvil permitted the maximal exploitation of the short dimensions supports, often in naturally cubic or sub-cubic form. A lot of the producted flakes, sometimes called “pièces esquillées”, show some scales on the distal and/or proximal transversal edges, issued from this bipolar knapping method. In the Vallonnet cave, where the occupation levels are dated around 1 Ma, the lithic industry show a lot of percussion tools and hammerstone flakes, but also some core reduction flakes and some very rares cores, especially in flint. This good raw material was chosen for the débitage, and the flakes show on superior face several anterior removals, and a butt which could reveal a striking platform preparation. At the gates of Europe, in Georgia, Dmanisi site give away an abundant lithic industry associated with faunal and human remains, dated around 1.81 to 1.77 Ma. Amid the lithic assemblages, cores are rather frequent and are characterized by a poor degree of exploitation, most often unifacial, and high frequency of cortical striking platforms. Raw materials, essentially volcanic cobbles, were from local origin, and the knapped supports were often chosen for their angular morphology adequate to begin the débitage in easier way, débitage which was essentially by direct percussion.     

Cleaning Up After a Meal: The Consequences of Prey Disposal for Pit‐Building Antlion Larvae

Predators use a variety of strategies for capturing prey. Trap‐building predators can save on searching and encountering costs by investing in the construction and maintenance of traps such as webs and pits. However, what to do with partially consumed prey poses a potential problem. Antlion larvae (Myrmeleon acer) catch ants in conical pits, and dispose of partially consumed carcasses by flicking them a short distance away. We tested whether this prey‐disposal behaviour affects the effectiveness of antlion pits. We observed ant behaviour around artificially constructed pits and compared falls into pits with clean margins to those with conspecific ant carcasses or control objects around the pit edge. The presence of objects near pits affected the behaviour of live ants, and reduced the effectiveness of pits. Live ants spent the most time examining fresh ant carcasses, but the presence of any object near pits deterred pitfalls. Ants fell into pits significantly more often when pit edges were clean, suggesting that antlions could incur a prey capture cost from flicking carcasses from pits as well as from the accumulation of other debris around pit margins.     

Social interactions and reproductive tactics in red–necked wallabies (Macropus rufogriseus banksianus)

Male red–necked wallabies established dominance relationships by fighting, and dominance rankings among males were positively correlated with body size. Females became outstandingly attractive to males during the week preceding mating, and males, who normally ranged widely and solitarily in search of mates, gathered in groups around such females. It is suggested that females, by prolonging their advertisement of oestrus, and thereby inciting sustained competitive interactions among the males who were attracted to them, contributed to a bias in the distribution of male mating success in favour of very large dominant individuals. High–ranking males mated within discrete but undefended areas of absolute dominance ('dominions'). Direct interactions between dominion–holding males were rare, but males just below dominion–holding status often fought with one another, and were frequently harassed by dominional males.     

Abdominal resection of rectal cancer]

Preservation of anal sphincters in the surgical treatment of rectal cancer is often controversial as far as an extent of surgery, incidence of complications and an increase in mortality rate in perioperative period are concerned. The study was aimed at results of the retrospective analysis of patients, who undergone abdominal excision of the rectum for malignant tumours. Totally 136 patients were operated. Perioperative mortality rate was 5.14%. Totally 26.4% of patients survived for at least 5 years, including 80% of patients operated in A stage of cancer, according to Duke, and 43.3% of patients with tumour in B stage. An emphasis is on the necessity to leave a 2-centimeter margin of healthy tissues around the tumour, provided, that the result of intraoperative histological examination was negative. Such a margin is sufficient for anastomosis. Low anastomoses do not produce early complications and recurrences.     

Influence of a Capuchin Monkey Companion on the Social Life of a Person with Quadriplegia: An Experimental Study

ABSTRACT

As a consequence of a severe reduction in their autonomy, the social life of people with quadriplegia becomes highly routine. In addition, the social environment becomes very limited because people without disabilities may feel awkward around, or have an aversion to, people with quadriplegia. A pet animal often facilitates social interactions between humans, and in this study we investigated the influence of a capuchin monkey companion on the social environment of a person with quadriplegia. In three different public areas, we compared the behaviors of passers-by confronted with a person with quadriplegia or a person who had no disabilities, either alone or with a capuchin companion. In both situations the capuchin companion greatly modified the behaviors of the passers-by, inducing more positive social behaviors such as smiles, and higher frequencies of visual contact. In addition, passers-by tended to avoid the person with quadriplegia less often when the capuchin was present. The presence of a capuchin companion potentially improves the social environment of people with quadriplegia.     

Starting from scratch: A first look at a “displacement activity” in group-living rhesus monkeys

Data on scratching behavior were collected from a group of rhesus monkeys living in spacious surroundings. Juveniles scratched more often than adults. Adults scratched most often in social contexts and in close temporal association with a change of behavior. Subjects of intermediate dominance rank, in particular, scratched around the time of a behavioral change, and these subjects were the only ones to show increased scratching during tests involving restricted access to food (thwarting or frustration). The outer thighs, lower back, and sides were the sites scratched most frequently, not necessarily matching sites reported to be preferred for self-grooming. Scratching in monkeys has certain characteristics in common with some well-studied displacement activities in other species, and it possibly also serves as a signal that the individual is preparing to change behavior.     

Viscosity-mediated motion coupling between pairs of trichobothria on the leg of the spider <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cupiennius salei</Emphasis>

Arachnids and insects use long, thin hairs as motion sensors to detect signals contained in the movement of the surrounding air. These hairs often form groups with a small spacing of tens to hundreds of micrometers between them. For air oscillation frequencies of biological interest, the potential exists for viscosity-mediated coupling among hairs in a group affecting their response characteristics. Even a small diameter hair can, in principle, affect the flow field around it and the dynamics of the hairs in its neighborhood. The viscosity-mediated coupling between a pair of hairs is investigated here both experimentally and theoretically. The conditions for the existence of the coupling effect, and its magnitude as a function of relevant parameters, are determined. In the range of biologically relevant frequencies (30–300 Hz), viscous coupling between pairs of hairs is only very small in the case of the spider Cupiennius salei. Theoretical analysis points to the relatively large spacing between hairs (20 to 50 hair diameters) and the tuning of the hairs to the above-mentioned frequencies to explain the practical absence of coupling.     

The importance of ‘tooglies’ to the ethnography of F.E. Williams,government anthropologist

The theoretical orientation, encapsulated in the semi‐serious concept of ‘tooglies'of F.E. Williams, government anthropologist for the Territory of Papua in the inter‐war period, is considered. His ideas about culture change are contrasted with those of Bronislaw Malinowski, who acted as his mentor at one time. His treatment of the social organisational anomaly of Sogeri Koiari ‘sex affiliation’, often cited as a case of parallel bilineal descent, is compared with Margaret Mead's analysis of the ‘Mundugumor ropes’, which is classed as the opposite, cross‐sex bilineal descent. It is shown that Williams was able to get a clearer insight into this anomalous data than Mead and Fortune, and, on the whole, worked with an understanding of culture and Papuan social organisation that presages the relational approach of today.     

Koppel‐, Steck‐ und Einrastmechanismen

Besides basic machine elements as levers and hinge joints, especially more complex ones as connecting devices, plugs and sockets, and other “hard dock” mechanisms show up possibilities of finding biological‐technical analogies. Technical partners often turn out as heurisic valuable approximations. They can direct to elements that are hardly realized by the biologist, who tries to explain more complex biomechanical systems. A kinematic chain for example which is kinematically determined, must contain four parts, combined by four joints. If in a biological system an axis of rotation is missing, it can well be there, manifesting itself in a thin bending area of a bone.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Kretzschmaria varians</Emphasis> sp. nov., <Emphasis Type="Italic">Xylaria coremiifera</Emphasis> sp. nov. and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Xylaria umbonata</Emphasis> sp. nov. from Costa Rica

Kretzschmaria varians, a species apparently related to K. micropus, is described as new. It is distinguished primarily by having asci with 2 to 8 ascospores with inconstant germination slit length and remains of synnemata on stromata and surrounding substrate. Xylaria coremiifera, described here as new, bears small fragile coremia on pulvinate stromata and the surrounding substrate. Asci often have fewer than 8 ascospores, most frequently 4. Xylaria umbonata, described here as new, produces perithecia around a central umbo that appears to be the remains of a synnema. Ascospores have long spiralling germination slits.     

Bioinspiration as a method of problem‐based STEM education: A case study with a class structured around the COVID‐19 crisis

Bioinspiration is a promising lens for biology instruction as it allows the instructor to focus on current issues, such as the COVID‐19 pandemic. From social distancing to oxygen stress, organisms have been tackling pandemic‐related problems for millions of years. What can we learn from such diverse adaptations in our own applications? This review uses a seminar course on the COVID‐19 crisis to illustrate bioinspiration as an approach to teaching biology content. At the start of the class, students mind‐mapped the entire problem; this range of subproblems was used to structure the biology content throughout the entire class. Students came to individual classes with a brainstormed list of biological systems that could serve as inspiration for a particular problem (e.g., absorptive leaves in response to the problem of toilet paper shortages). After exploration of relevant biology content, discussion returned to the focal problem. Students dug deeper into the literature in a group project on mask design and biological systems relevant to filtration and transparency. This class structure was an engaging way for students to learn principles from ecology, evolution, behavior, and physiology. Challenges with this course design revolved around the interdisciplinary and creative nature of the structure; for instance, the knowledge of the participants was often stretched by engineering details. While the present class was focused on the COVID‐19 crisis, a course structured through a bioinspired approach can be applied to other focal problems, or subject areas, giving instructors a powerful method to deliver interdisciplinary content in an integrated and inquiry‐driven way.     

Gypsies and health care.

Gypsies in the United States are not a healthy group. They have a high incidence of heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension. When they seek medical care, Gypsies often come into conflict with medical personnel who find their behavior confusing, demanding, and chaotic. For their part, Gypsies are often suspicious of non-Gypsy people and institutions, viewing them as a source of disease and uncleanliness. Gypsy ideas about health and illness are closely related to notions of good and bad fortune, purity and impurity, and inclusion and exclusion from the group. These basic concepts affect everyday life, including the way Gypsies deal with eating and washing, physicians and hospitals, the diagnosis of illness, shopping around for cures, and coping with birth and death.     

Organoids and the genetically encoded self‐assembly of embryonic stem cells

Understanding the mechanisms of early embryonic patterning and the timely allocation of specific cells to embryonic regions and fates as well as their development into tissues and organs, is a fundamental problem in Developmental Biology. The classical explanation for this process had been built around the notion of positional information. Accordingly the programmed appearance of sources of Morphogens at localized positions within a field of cells directs their differentiation. Recently, the development of organs and tissues from unpatterned and initially identical stem cells (adult and embryonic) has challenged the need for positional information and even the integrity of the embryo, for pattern formation. Here we review the emerging area of organoid biology from the perspective of Developmental Biology. We argue that the events underlying the development of these systems are not purely linked to “self‐organization,” as often suggested, but rather to a process of genetically encoded self‐assembly where genetic programs encode and control the emergence of biological structures.