Monitoring Flower Visitation Networks and Interactions between Pairs of Bumble Bees in a Large Outdoor Flight Cage

Pollinators, such as bees, often develop multi-location routes (traplines) to exploit subsets of flower patches within larger plant populations. How individuals establish such foraging areas in the presence of other foragers is poorly explored. Here we investigated the foraging patterns of pairs of bumble bees (Bombus terrestris) released sequentially into an 880m² outdoor flight cage containing 10 feeding stations (artificial flowers). Using motion-sensitive video cameras mounted on flowers, we mapped the flower visitation networks of both foragers, quantified their interactions and compared their foraging success over an entire day. Overall, bees that were released first (residents) travelled 37% faster and collected 77% more nectar, thereby reaching a net energy intake rate 64% higher than bees released second (newcomers). However, this prior-experience advantage decreased as newcomers became familiar with the spatial configuration of the flower array. When both bees visited the same flower simultaneously, the most frequent outcome was for the resident to evict the newcomer. On the rare occasions when newcomers evicted residents, the two bees increased their frequency of return visits to that flower. These competitive interactions led to a significant (if only partial) spatial overlap between the foraging patterns of pairs of bees. While newcomers may initially use social cues (such as olfactory footprints) to exploit flowers used by residents, either because such cues indicate higher rewards and/or safety from predation, residents may attempt to preserve their monopoly over familiar resources through exploitation and interference. We discuss how these interactions may favour spatial partitioning, thereby maximising the foraging efficiency of individuals and colonies.     

Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Disease in Children – Epidemiology,Diagnosis & Management at a Tertiary Center

Background

There are limited data on the epidemiology, diagnosis and optimal management of nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) disease in children.

Methods

Retrospective cohort study of NTM cases over a 10-year-period at a tertiary referral hospital in Australia.

Results

A total of 140 children with NTM disease, including 107 with lymphadenitis and 25 with skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs), were identified. The estimated incidence of NTM disease was 0.6–1.6 cases / 100,000 children / year; no increasing trend was observed over the study period. Temporal analyses revealed a seasonal incidence cycle around 12 months, with peaks in late winter/spring and troughs in autumn. Mycobacterium-avium-complex accounted for most cases (77.8%), followed by Mycobacterium ulcerans (14.4%) and Mycobacterium marinum (3.3%). Polymerase chain reaction testing had higher sensitivity than culture and microscopy for acid-fast bacilli (92.0%, 67.2% and 35.7%, respectively). The majority of lymphadenitis cases underwent surgical excision (97.2%); multiple recurrences in this group were less common in cases treated with clarithromycin and rifampicin compared with clarithromycin alone or no anti-mycobacterial drugs (0% versus 7.1%; OR:0.73). SSTI recurrences were also less common in cases treated with two anti-mycobacterial drugs compared with one or none (10.5% versus 33.3%; OR:0.23).

Conclusions

There was seasonal variation in the incidence of NTM disease, analogous to recently published observations in tuberculosis, which have been linked to seasonal variation in vitamin D. Our finding that anti-mycobacterial combination therapy was associated with a reduced risk of recurrences in patients with NTM lymphadenitis or SSTI requires further confirmation in prospective trials.     

Metabolic and Body Composition Risk Factors Associated with Metabolic Syndrome in a Cohort of Women with a High Prevalence of Cardiometabolic Disease

BackgroundThe aetiology of the metabolic syndrome and the inter-relationship between risk factors for this syndrome are poorly understood. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the risk factors for metabolic syndrome and their interactions in a cohort of women with a high prevalence of metabolic syndrome.ResultsMetabolic syndrome was present in 49.6% of the study cohort. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that adiponectin (odds ratio [95% CIs]: 0.84 [0.77, 0.92], p<0.0005) and abdominal subcutaneous fat (0.56 [0.39, 0.79], p = 0.001) reduced metabolic syndrome risk whilst insulin resistance (1.31 [1.16, 1.48], p<0.0005) and trunk fat-free soft-tissue mass (1.34 [1.10, 1.61], p = 0.002) increased risk. Within this group of risk factors, the relationship of adiponectin with metabolic syndrome risk, when analysed across adiponectin hexiles, was the least affected by adjustment for the other risk factors.ConclusionsAdiponectin has a significant protective role against metabolic syndrome and is independent of other risk factors. The protective and possible augmentive effects of abdominal subcutaneous fat and lean trunk mass, respectively on metabolic syndrome risk demonstrate the existence of novel interactions between body composition and cardiometabolic disease.     

Objectively Measured Physical Activity in European Adults: Cross-Sectional Findings from the Food4Me Study

Background

Comparisons of objectively measured physical activity (PA) between residents of European countries measured concurrently with the same protocol are lacking. We aimed to compare PA between the seven European countries involved in the Food4Me Study, using accelerometer data collected remotely via the Internet.

Methods

Of the 1607 participants recruited, 1287 (539 men and 748 women) provided at least 3 weekdays and 2 weekend days of valid accelerometer data (TracmorD) at baseline and were included in the present analyses.

Results

Men were significantly more active than women (physical activity level = 1.74 vs. 1.70, p < 0.001). Time spent in light PA and moderate PA differed significantly between countries but only for women. Adherence to the World Health Organization recommendation to accumulate at least 150 min of moderate-equivalent PA weekly was similar between countries for men (range: 54–65%) but differed significantly between countries for women (range: 26–49%). Prevalence estimates decreased substantially for men and women in all seven countries when PA guidelines were defined as achieving 30 min of moderate and vigorous PA per day.

Conclusions

We were able to obtain valid accelerometer data in real time via the Internet from 80% of participants. Although our estimates are higher compared with data from Sweden, Norway, Portugal and the US, there is room for improvement in PA for all countries involved in the Food4Me Study.     

A scale‐down mimic for mapping the process performance of centrifugation,depth and sterile filtration

In the production of biopharmaceuticals disk‐stack centrifugation is widely used as a harvest step for the removal of cells and cellular debris. Depth filters followed by sterile filters are often then employed to remove residual solids remaining in the centrate. Process development of centrifugation is usually conducted at pilot‐scale so as to mimic the commercial scale equipment but this method requires large quantities of cell culture and significant levels of effort for successful characterization. A scale‐down approach based upon the use of a shear device and a bench‐top centrifuge has been extended in this work towards a preparative methodology that successfully predicts the performance of the continuous centrifuge and polishing filters. The use of this methodology allows the effects of cell culture conditions and large‐scale centrifugal process parameters on subsequent filtration performance to be assessed at an early stage of process development where material availability is limited. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 1934–1941. © 2016 The Authors. Biotechnology and Bioengineering Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Laparoscopic appendectomy to remove a metallic foreign body in a wild Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) undergoing rehabilitation

A laparoscopic appendectomy was performed in a wild orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) undergoing rehabilitation, for a metal nail found on radiographs, using 3‐mm instrumentation. Post‐operative healing was rapid and uneventful, with return to the forest within 10 days. This is the first report of minimally invasive surgery in a wild orangutan.     

Biodegradability of Vegetation-Derived Dissolved Organic Carbon in a Cool Temperate Ombrotrophic Bog

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) plays a key role in the peatland carbon balance and serves numerous ecological and chemical functions including acting as a microbial substrate. In this study, we quantify the concentration, biodegradability, and intrinsic properties of DOC obtained from peat, fresh material, and litter from nine species of ombrotrophic bog vegetation. Potential biodegradability was assessed by incubating vegetation extracts for 28 days in the dark and measuring percent DOC loss as the fraction of biodegradable DOC (%BDOC) while DOC properties were characterized using UV–Vis absorbance and fluorescence measurements. The mean initial DOC concentration extracted differed significantly among species (P < 0.05) and was significantly higher in fresh material, 217 ± 259 mg DOC l^?1, than either litter or peat extracts with mean concentrations of 82.1 ± 117 mg DOC l^?1 and 12.7 ± 1.0 mg DOC l^?1, respectively (P < 0.05). %BDOC also differed significantly among species (P < 0.05) and ranged from 52 to 73% in fresh cuttings with the greatest fraction observed in S. magellanicum; 22–46% in litter; and 24% in peat. The majority of variability (82.5%) in BDOC was explained by initial absorbance at 254 nm and total dissolved nitrogen concentration which was further resolved into significant non-linear relationships between %BDOC and both humic-like and protein-like DOC fractions (P < 0.05). Our results highlight the extremely heterogeneous nature of the surface vegetation-derived DOC input in peatlands and stress the importance of vegetation species in peatland ecosystem function.