Effectiveness and specificity of a classroom-based group intervention in children and adolescents exposed to war in Lebanon

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness and specificity of a classroom-based psychosocial intervention after war. All students (n=2500) of six villages in Southern Lebanon designated as most heavily exposed to war received a classroom-based intervention delivered by teachers, consisting of cognitive-behavioural and stress inoculation training strategies. A random sample of treated students (n=101) and a matched control group (n=93) were assessed one month post-war and one year later. Mental disorders and psychosocial stressors were assessed using the Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents - Revised with children and parents. War exposure was measured using the War Events Questionnaire. The prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD), separation anxiety disorder (SAD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was examined pre-war, one month post-war (pre-intervention), and one year post-war. Specificity of treatment was determined by rating teachers’ therapy diaries. The rates of disorders peaked one month post-war and decreased over one year. There was no significant effect of the intervention on the rates of MDD, SAD or PTSD. Post-war MDD, SAD and PTSD were associated with pre-war SAD and PTSD, family violence parameters, financial problems and witnessing war events. These findings have significant policy and public health implications, given current practices of delivering universal interventions immediately post-war.     

Intraspecies Variability in the Esterases and Acid Phosphatases of Paramecium jenningsi and Paramecium multimicronucleatum: Assignment of Unidentified Paramecia; Comparison with the P. aurelia Complex1

ABSTRACT. Enzyme electrophoresis was exploited to identify stocks of paramecia previously not identified to particular species. Stocks collected in India and one from Panama belong to Paramecium jenningsi, while others collected in Panama or in Brazil are assignable to syngen 2 of P. multimicronucleatum on the basis of similarity of their esterase and acid phosphatase phenotypes. Inclusion of these doubled the numbers of stocks available in the two species, thereby facilitating examination of intraspecies variation and comparison of particular features of intraspecies variation found for the P. aurelia complex. Variant stocks were observed in P. jenningsi and in syngens 2, 3, and 4 of P. multimicronucleatum. In some cases the variant lacked the enzyme; in others, a change in mobility of the enzyme occurred that resulted in an electrophoretic form similar to one common in another species. Unique phenotypes were displayed by the variants of syngen 2 in P. multimicronucleatum. Hypervariability for Esterase B was observed in this syngen, where, in addition, several subtypes were seen for three other esterases. Unique phenotypes and hypervariability were also noted in P. biaurelia. Clustered variations were observed in these species and in the P. aurelia species. Unlike the situation for members of the aurelia complex, where lack of geographical differentiation between stocks in the same species is a unique feature, some such differentiation does occur in P. multimicronucleatum-2. The frequency of variant stocks in P. jenningsi was similar to that observed in the aurelia sibling species. In contrast, a significantly higher frequency of variant stocks was found in syngens 2, 3, and 4 of P. multimicronucleatum.     

Phylogeography of two cryptic species of African desert jerboas (Dipodidae: Jaculus)

The lesser Egyptian jerboa Jaculus jaculus is a desert dwelling rodent that inhabits a broad Arabian–Saharan arid zone. Recently, two distant sympatric lineages were described in North‐West Africa, based on morphometric and molecular data, which may correspond to two cryptic species. In the current study, phylogenetic relationships and phylogeographical structure among those lineages and geographical populations from North Africa and the Middle East were investigated. The phylogeographical patterns and genetic diversity of the cytochrome b gene (1110 bp) were addressed on 111 jerboas from 41 localities. We found that the variation in Africa is partitioned into two divergent mitochondrial clades (10.5% divergence relating to 1.65–4.92 Mya) that corresponds to the two cryptic species: J. jaculus and J. deserti. Diversifications within those cryptic species/clades were dated to 0.23–1.13 Mya, suggesting that the Middle Pleistocene climatic change and its environmental consequences affected the evolutionary history of African jerboas. The third distant clade detected, found in the Middle East region, most likely represents a distinct evolutionary unit, independent of the two African lineages. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, ??, ??–??.     

Cicada ear geometry: species and sex effects

Many insect species rely on their sense of audition to find a mate, to localize prey or to escape from a predator. Cicadas are particularly known for their loud call and the conspicuous tympanal hearing system located in their abdomen. The vibration pattern of the tympanal membrane (TM) has been investigated recently revealing mechanical properties specific to species and sex. Although TM size and shape is likely to affect these patterns, the geometry of the cicada ear has never been examined per se. Focusing on three Mediterranean cicada species, namely Cicadatra atra, Cicada orni and Lyristes plebejus, we investigated the structure of TM shape variation at two levels, within and across species. Applying an elliptic Fourier analysis to the outlines of both male and female TMs, we estimated sexual dimorphism and species effects. Cicadatra atra showed a large TM compared with its small size, probably as a result of selective constraints related to the role of the TM in sound production. Sexual dimorphism seemed to be greater than interspecific variation, indicating that constraints operating on sex might be more selective than those acting on species identification. In addition, C. orni appeared to be significantly different from the two other species. This morphological peculiarity could be related to the unique vibrational pattern of its membrane. This would establish for the first time a direct link between the shape and mechanism of a hearing organ. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2010, 101 , 922–934.     

Can ecosystem services be integrated with conservation? A case study of breeding waders on grassland

We review published studies to show that changes in soil moisture levels have significant impacts on a range of wading bird species that use UK lowland grassland, including wet grassland, and obtain their food predominantly by probing the soil. We examine both the hydrological and the ecological literature and assess how management options could alter (1) ecosystem services (via water quality and flooding) and (2) habitat quality for wading birds. The combination of biodiversity goals with broader ecosystem services has been widely advocated and we suggest that appropriate management at multiple scales (e.g. small‐scale: ponds; large‐scale: integrated washlands) could potentially provide both ecosystem services and habitat for wading grassland birds. However, there is only a limited base of evidence on which to assess the potential linkage between these two areas, particularly for non‐wading bird species. Future work should be directed at identifying (1) how crop yield, ecosystem services and biodiversity relate to each other, (2) the extent of land needed to be managed to benefit these multiple purposes and bring about measurable gain (e.g. one or two ponds may make significant inroads in reducing run‐off and pollution but make little difference to wading birds) and (3) solutions to the challenges of setting up management options at large spatial scales (e.g. catchments).     

Control of Sucrose Metabolism in Polyethylene Glycol-stressed Carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) Young Seedlings. The Role of Sucrose

Four-d-old Ceratonia siliqua L. seedlings were treated with30% PEG 4000 for several time periods, or with 26.5% and 25%PEG for 48 h. Drought stress was imposed on some seedlings inorder to compare the results of stress due to drought with thosedue to the application of PEG. The water content of the axisand cotyledons and their osmotic potentials decreased with stressfor the first 72 h and then remained constant, whilst dry weightincreased after the first 24 h of imposed stress. Results implythe existence of an osmoregulation mechanism which was morepronounced when the stress was mild. Sucrose content increasedwith stress in both axes and cotyledons, and a negative correlationwas found between osmotic potential and sucrose content in bothembryo parts, suggesting the involvement of sucrose in the osmoregulationmechanism. Upon stress recovery sucrose content decreased andfructose accumulated in the axes. Sucrose synthetase activitywas very low in cotyledons, while acid and alkaline invertaseactivity was too low to be measured. PEG-induced stress causedsucrose synthetase activity to decrease in both axes and cotyledons,while upon stress recovery sucrose synthetase activity increased.The activity of both invertases in the axes did not change significantlywith stress. Correlation of sucrose content with sucrose synthetaseactivity suggests that this enzyme is involved in the controlof osmoregulation in both parts of the embryo.