A grazer's niche edge is associated with increasing diet diversity and poor population performance

The core-periphery hypothesis predicts niche cores should be associated with greater survivorship, reproductive output and population performance rates than marginal habitats at niche edges. However, there is very little empirical evidence of whether niche centrality influences population trends in animals. Using the Cape mountain zebra (Equus zebra zebra) as a model system, we evaluated whether niche centrality is associated with population trends, resource availability and diet across a core-periphery gradient. Population growth rates and density progressively declined towards niche peripheries. Niche peripheries were resource-poor and Cape mountain zebra consumed more phylogenetically diverse diets dominated by non-grass families. In core habitats they consumed grass-rich diets and female reproductive success was higher. This combination of spatial niche modelling and functional ecology provides a novel evaluation of how bottom-up resource limitation can shape species distributions, population resilience and range change and can guide conservation management.

Next Level Health: a holistic health and wellbeing program to empower New Zealand women

Improving equity in women's health requires gender-specific and empowering approaches. However, health programs often disempower women by adopting a 'one-size-fits-all' approach that emphasizes diet, exercise and weight loss over other important aspects like sleep and mental wellbeing. This article reports on the design of Next Level Health (NLH), a program that aims to empower women through developing a wide range of health behaviors to support their holistic wellbeing. NLH is grounded by ethics, theory and evidence to support women to make achievable, sustainable changes that are relevant to their everyday lives. Women utilized the NLH framework to develop an integrative health routine across six domains: physical activity, sleep, nutrition, eating behavior, self-care and stress management. The framework guided them to set small, incremental goals that were adaptive to their needs and built from their existing circumstances. Participants reflected on their progress with a facilitator during monthly meetings, accessed a social media support page and received monthly text messages. Health programs remain an essential approach to improving women's health alongside community- and policy-level strategies. The development of NLH exemplifies how evidence may partner with modern health promotion values to inform relevant and ethical program design for women.

Evidence of infanticide in the Cape mountain zebra (Equus zebra zebra)

Infanticide has been described across mammal species. Infanticide is thought to be a tactic which increases reproductive opportunities or reduces competition over local resources. Species of the genus Equus exhibit life history traits such as expensive young, long gestation, lactation and dependency, extended inter-birth interval when there is a foal at foot and strong male reproductive skew. These traits suggest infanticide may be present throughout the genus. However, most documented cases of infanticide attempts come from captive populations and rely heavily on indirect accounts in free-roaming populations. Here, we report an infanticide attempt in Cape mountain zebra (Equus zebra zebra). The aggression was perpetrated by multiple bachelor males on two foals belonging to the same family group. The foals were separated from the parent group, chased and harried for a total of 45 minutes before the mothers and herd stallion were able to regain their offspring. We also report three cases of infanticide from necropsy. The injuries sustained by the foals are consistent with infanticide-based injuries documented in other equids species. The timing of these deaths occurs after a stallion turnover. These two cases provide the most conclusive evidence to date that infanticide takes place within mountain zebra.

Miniaturized GPCR signaling studies in 1536-well format

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are involved in various physiological processes, such as behavior changes, mood alteration, and regulation of immune-system activity. Thus, GPCRs are popular targets in drug screening, and a well-designed assay can speed up the discovery of novel drug candidates. The Promega cAMP-Glo Assay is a homogenous bioluminescent assay to monitor changes in intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) concentrations in response to the effect of an agonist, antagonist, or test compound on GPCRs. Together with the Labcyte Echo 555 acoustic liquid handler and the Deerac Fluidics Equator HTS reagent dispenser, this setup can screen compounds in 96-, 384-, and 1536-well formats for their effects on GPCRs. Here, we describe our optimization of the cAMP-Glo assay in 1536-well format, validate the pharmacology, and assess the assay robustness for HTS. We have successfully demonstrated the use of the assay in primary screening applications of known agonist and antagonist compounds, and confirmed the primary hits via secondary screening. Implementing a high-throughput miniaturized GPCR assay as demonstrated here allows effective screening for potential drug candidates.

Non-contact ACL injuries in female athletes: an International Olympic Committee current concepts statement

The incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury remains high in young athletes. Because female athletes have a much higher incidence of ACL injuries in sports such as basketball and team handball than male athletes, the IOC Medical Commission invited a multidisciplinary group of ACL expert clinicians and scientists to (1) review current evidence including data from the new Scandinavian ACL registries; (2) critically evaluate high-quality studies of injury mechanics; (3) consider the key elements of successful prevention programmes; (4) summarise clinical management including surgery and conservative management; and (5) identify areas for further research. Risk factors for female athletes suffering ACL injury include: (1) being in the preovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle compared with the postovulatory phase; (2) having decreased intercondylar notch width on plain radiography; and (3) developing increased knee abduction moment (a valgus intersegmental torque) during impact on landing. Well-designed injury prevention programmes reduce the risk of ACL for athletes, particularly women. These programmes attempt to alter dynamic loading of the tibiofemoral joint through neuromuscular and proprioceptive training. They emphasise proper landing and cutting techniques. This includes landing softly on the forefoot and rolling back to the rearfoot, engaging knee and hip flexion and, where possible, landing on two feet. Players are trained to avoid excessive dynamic valgus of the knee and to focus on the "knee over toe position" when cutting.

16. Postgraduate training and its effect on practice location, career choice and practice profile: Tracking 10 years of output from the University of Toronto

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between location and specialty of training and practice characteristics such as type of practice (i.e. community versus academic), socio-demographic profile of patients and their complexity, hospital/health facility affiliations and workload/productivity. The analysis required an extraction of registrant data from the University of Toronto Postgraduate Web Evaluation and Registration (POWER) system for a cohort of exiting residents and fellows from 1993 to 2003. The data extract was linked to several administrative databases held by ICES, including physician practice and billing information from the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) and anonymized patient demographic data from the Registered Persons Database (RPDB). Results of this study will inform workforce policy issues such as the overall contribution made by Toronto graduates to Ontario, other Canadian provinces and international practice pool of physicians, trends regarding medical career choice, similarities and differences between career choices of International Medical Graduates versus Canadian Medical Graduates, impact of location/program of training, impact of length of training and profile/geography of patients served by graduates of Toronto. The study will aim to create a methodology/template for analysis that can be applied to other medical schools and catchment areas in human health resource planning. Chan B, Willett J. Factors Influencing Participation in Obstetrics by Obstetrician-Gynecologists. 2004; 103(3):493-498. Noble J, Baerlocher MO. Future Practice Profiles of Canadian Medical Trainees. Clinical and Investigative Medicine 2006; 29(4):288-289. Watson DE, Katz A, Reid RJ, Bogdanovic B, Roos N. Family Physician Workloads and Access to Care in Winnipeg: 1991 to 2001. Canadian Family Physician 2004; 171(4):339-342.

Diclofenac disposition in Indian cow and goat with reference to Gyps vulture population declines

Gyps vultures across India are declining rapidly and the NSAID diclofenac has been shown to be the major cause. Vultures scavenge livestock carcasses that have been treated with diclofenac within the days preceding death. We present data on diclofenac disposition in Indian cow and goat, and field data on the prevalence of diclofenac in carcases in the environment. In the disposition experiment, animals were treated with a single intramuscular injection of diclofenac at 1000 microg kg-1 bw. In cow, diclofenac was detectable in liver, kidney and intestine up to 71 h post-treatment; in plasma, half-life was 12.2 h. In goat, tissue residues were undetectable after 26 h. Prevalence of diclofenac in liver from 36 dead livestock collected in the field was 13.9%. Data suggest that diclofenac residues in Indian cow and goat are short-lived, but diclofenac prevalence in carcasses available to vultures may still be very high.

Multiparallel microfluidic high-performance liquid chromatography for high-throughput normal-phase chiral analysis

The suitability of the Eksigent Express 800 microfluidic eight-channel HPLC instrument for multiparallel normal-phase chiral analysis in support of high-throughput pharmaceutical process research was investigated. Analysis of test mixtures containing the two enantiomers of benzoin and the closely related (R,S)-dihydrobenzoin, was carried out in a 96-well microplate, affording rapid (<2 h) and accurate assessment of enantiopurity. In a second example, use of the instrument to support high-throughput catalyst screening of the asymmetric hydrogenation of a prochiral unsaturated ester is presented, in which method development (gradient screening of four columns and two eluents, followed by optimization to afford a fast analytical method) and analysis of a 96-well microplate was carried out within a single working day. This represents a considerable improvement over conventional analysis techniques that usually take several days to complete.

Colouterine fistula and pyometrium treated with percutaneous drainage: a case report

Percutaneous drainage of intraabdominal abscesses has become a routine procedure for preoperative confirmation of diagnosis and patient stabilization, and often provides definitive therapy. Diverticulitis is a frequent cause of pericolonic abscess but rarely results in colouterine fistula and pyometrium. We describe the first reported percutaneous drainage of such a case of pyometrium.