For an animal invading a novel region, the ability to develop new behaviors should facilitate the use of novel food resources and hence increase its survival in the new environment. However, the need ...to explore new resources may entail costs such as exposing the animal to unfamiliar predators. These two opposing forces result in an exploration-avoidance conflict, which can be expected to interfere with the acquisition of new resources. However, its consequences should be less dramatic in highly urbanized environments where new food opportunities are common and predation risk is low. We tested this hypothesis experimentally by presenting three foraging tasks to introduced common mynas (Acridotheres tristis) from environments with low and high urbanization levels from Australia. Individuals from the highly urbanized environments, where mynas are both more opportunistic when foraging and less fearful to predators, resolved a technical task faster than those from less urbanized environments. These differences did not reflect innovative 'personalities' and were not confounded by sex, morphology or motivational state. Rather, the principal factors underlying differences in mynas' problem-solving ability were neophobic-neophilic responses, which varied across habitats. Thus, mynas seem to modulate their problem-solving ability according to the benefits and costs of innovating in their particular habitat, which may help us understand the great success of the species in highly urbanized environments.
Studies of learning have consistently shown that animals form strong associations between aversive events, such as a predatory attack, and the environments in which those events are experienced. ...Place learning through direct exposure to threat puts the individual at a risk that may be avoided, however, by remembering the location in which encounters between conspecifics and dangerous events are observed. Despite much theoretical work predicting that individuals should rely less on private information and more on public information as the risk of individual assessment increases, there have been no tests of observational spatial memory for potentially dangerous places. We investigated whether Indian mynahs learn about an area in which they observe another individual experience an aversive event, namely capture by a human. Experimental observers watched a human chase, catch and remove a conspecific from a feeding site in which observers were accustomed to feeding. A control group watched a human perform the same capture gestures, but with no mynah present. Analysis of observer behaviour at the feeding site both before and after observational training revealed that experimental observers locomoted more after training than before, relative to control observers, suggesting that mynahs acquired a fear response after watching a predatory attack on a conspecific. It appears that, in addition to learning about the location in which aversive events are experienced directly, animals learn about an environment in which they observe others encounter dangerous events.
It is widely established that social alarm signals trigger learning about discrete stimuli present at the same time. Such learning facilitates, for example, acquisition of responses to novel ...predators and has the functional advantage that individuals avoid exposing themselves to a potentially risky situation. Avoidance of potential danger might equally apply to learning about risky places, but would require social alarm signals to trigger learning about contextual cues, rather than discrete stimuli. Here, we tested this hypothesis by analysing the behaviour of experimental observer Indian mynahs, Acridotheres tristis, both before and after they had watched demonstrator mynahs showing alarm behaviour at a foraging site where observers were accustomed to feeding. To isolate changes specifically attributable to the behaviour of demonstrators, we compared this group's post-training behaviour with that of a control group, which watched social companions foraging at the feeding site. Unexpectedly, we found no evidence that experimental observers became more wary of the feeding site after observational training relative to control observers, suggesting that social alarm signals do not trigger learning about the location in which an alarmed individual is observed. In light of previous work in our laboratory showing that Indian mynahs become more wary in a place in which they have observed a predator attack on a social companion, we suggest that social learning about places may require observation of both social alarm and its cause.
Patients with cancer are purported to have poor COVID-19 outcomes. However, cancer is a heterogeneous group of diseases, encompassing a spectrum of tumour subtypes. The aim of this study was to ...investigate COVID-19 risk according to tumour subtype and patient demographics in patients with cancer in the UK.
We compared adult patients with cancer enrolled in the UK Coronavirus Cancer Monitoring Project (UKCCMP) cohort between March 18 and May 8, 2020, with a parallel non-COVID-19 UK cancer control population from the UK Office for National Statistics (2017 data). The primary outcome of the study was the effect of primary tumour subtype, age, and sex and on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) prevalence and the case–fatality rate during hospital admission. We analysed the effect of tumour subtype and patient demographics (age and sex) on prevalence and mortality from COVID-19 using univariable and multivariable models.
319 (30·6%) of 1044 patients in the UKCCMP cohort died, 295 (92·5%) of whom had a cause of death recorded as due to COVID-19. The all-cause case–fatality rate in patients with cancer after SARS-CoV-2 infection was significantly associated with increasing age, rising from 0·10 in patients aged 40–49 years to 0·48 in those aged 80 years and older. Patients with haematological malignancies (leukaemia, lymphoma, and myeloma) had a more severe COVID-19 trajectory compared with patients with solid organ tumours (odds ratio OR 1·57, 95% CI 1·15–2·15; p<0·0043). Compared with the rest of the UKCCMP cohort, patients with leukaemia showed a significantly increased case–fatality rate (2·25, 1·13–4·57; p=0·023). After correction for age and sex, patients with haematological malignancies who had recent chemotherapy had an increased risk of death during COVID-19-associated hospital admission (OR 2·09, 95% CI 1·09–4·08; p=0·028).
Patients with cancer with different tumour types have differing susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 phenotypes. We generated individualised risk tables for patients with cancer, considering age, sex, and tumour subtype. Our results could be useful to assist physicians in informed risk–benefit discussions to explain COVID-19 risk and enable an evidenced-based approach to national social isolation policies.
University of Birmingham and University of Oxford.
Large cohorts of patients with active cancers and COVID-19 infection are needed to provide evidence of the association of recent cancer treatment and cancer type with COVID-19 mortality.
To evaluate ...whether systemic anticancer treatments (SACTs), tumor subtypes, patient demographic characteristics (age and sex), and comorbidities are associated with COVID-19 mortality.
The UK Coronavirus Cancer Monitoring Project (UKCCMP) is a prospective cohort study conducted at 69 UK cancer hospitals among adult patients (≥18 years) with an active cancer and a clinical diagnosis of COVID-19. Patients registered from March 18 to August 1, 2020, were included in this analysis.
SACT, tumor subtype, patient demographic characteristics (eg, age, sex, body mass index, race and ethnicity, smoking history), and comorbidities were investigated.
The primary end point was all-cause mortality within the primary hospitalization.
Overall, 2515 of 2786 patients registered during the study period were included; 1464 (58%) were men; and the median (IQR) age was 72 (62-80) years. The mortality rate was 38% (966 patients). The data suggest an association between higher mortality in patients with hematological malignant neoplasms irrespective of recent SACT, particularly in those with acute leukemias or myelodysplastic syndrome (OR, 2.16; 95% CI, 1.30-3.60) and myeloma or plasmacytoma (OR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.04-2.26). Lung cancer was also significantly associated with higher COVID-19-related mortality (OR, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.11-2.25). No association between higher mortality and receiving chemotherapy in the 4 weeks before COVID-19 diagnosis was observed after correcting for the crucial confounders of age, sex, and comorbidities. An association between lower mortality and receiving immunotherapy in the 4 weeks before COVID-19 diagnosis was observed (immunotherapy vs no cancer therapy: OR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.31-0.86).
The findings of this study of patients with active cancer suggest that recent SACT is not associated with inferior outcomes from COVID-19 infection. This has relevance for the care of patients with cancer requiring treatment, particularly in countries experiencing an increase in COVID-19 case numbers. Important differences in outcomes among patients with hematological and lung cancers were observed.
Patients with cancer have been shown to have increased risk of COVID-19 severity. We previously built and validated the COVID-19 Risk in Oncology Evaluation Tool (CORONET) to predict the likely ...severity of COVID-19 in patients with active cancer who present to hospital. We assessed the differences in presentation and outcomes of patients with cancer and COVID-19, depending on the wave of the pandemic. We examined differences in features at presentation and outcomes in patients worldwide, depending on the waves of the pandemic: wave 1 D614G (n = 1430), wave 2 Alpha (n = 475), and wave 4 Omicron variant (n = 63, UK and Spain only). The performance of CORONET was evaluated on 258, 48, and 54 patients for each wave, respectively. We found that mortality rates were reduced in subsequent waves. The majority of patients were vaccinated in wave 4, and 94% were treated with steroids if they required oxygen. The stages of cancer and the median ages of patients significantly differed, but features associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes remained predictive and did not differ between waves. The CORONET tool performed well in all waves, with scores in an area under the curve (AUC) of >0.72. We concluded that patients with cancer who present to hospital with COVID-19 have similar features of severity, which remain discriminatory despite differences in variants and vaccination status. Survival improved following the first wave of the pandemic, which may be associated with vaccination and the increased steroid use in those patients requiring oxygen. The CORONET model demonstrated good performance, independent of the SARS-CoV-2 variants.
Patients with cancer are at increased risk of severe COVID-19 disease, but have heterogeneous presentations and outcomes. Decision-making tools for hospital admission, severity prediction, and ...increased monitoring for early intervention are critical. We sought to identify features of COVID-19 disease in patients with cancer predicting severe disease and build a decision support online tool, COVID-19 Risk in Oncology Evaluation Tool (CORONET).
Patients with active cancer (stage I-IV) and laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 disease presenting to hospitals worldwide were included. Discharge (within 24 hours), admission (≥ 24 hours inpatient), oxygen (O
) requirement, and death were combined in a 0-3 point severity scale. Association of features with outcomes were investigated using Lasso regression and Random Forest combined with Shapley Additive Explanations. The CORONET model was then examined in the entire cohort to build an online CORONET decision support tool. Admission and severe disease thresholds were established through pragmatically defined cost functions. Finally, the CORONET model was validated on an external cohort.
The model development data set comprised 920 patients, with median age 70 (range 5-99) years, 56% males, 44% females, and 81% solid versus 19% hematologic cancers. In derivation, Random Forest demonstrated superior performance over Lasso with lower mean squared error (0.801
0.807) and was selected for development. During validation (n = 282 patients), the performance of CORONET varied depending on the country cohort. CORONET cutoffs for admission and mortality of 1.0 and 2.3 were established. The CORONET decision support tool recommended admission for 95% of patients eventually requiring oxygen and 97% of those who died (94% and 98% in validation, respectively). The specificity for mortality prediction was 92% and 83% in derivation and validation, respectively. Shapley Additive Explanations revealed that National Early Warning Score 2, C-reactive protein, and albumin were the most important features contributing to COVID-19 severity prediction in patients with cancer at time of hospital presentation.
CORONET, a decision support tool validated in health care systems worldwide, can aid admission decisions and predict COVID-19 severity in patients with cancer.
Short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are produced in the gut as a result of microbial action on ingested dietary fiber and have been associated with several health benefits. Herein an undergraduate ...student experiment that uses gas chromatography equipped with either a flame ionization detector or mass spectrometer for the analysis and quantitation of SCFAs in synthetic fecal material is described. The experiment provides students with valuable sample preparation and instrument operation skills and provides an opportunity for students to perform quantitative analysis using the method of internal standards. Subsequently, the experiment provides an opportunity for students to consolidate their learning of the key theoretical concepts including chromatographic separation by gas chromatography, and methods for confirming analyte identity using each detector type. Due to recent global interest in gut health, the experiment is topical and of interest to students. The experiment is designed for upper-division undergraduate analytical chemistry students.
A student experiment that uses QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) methodology for extraction and HPLC for quantitative determination of tocopherols from seeds and nuts is ...described here. Chromatographic separation is achieved by using a pentafluorophenyl stationary phase which gives enhanced separation of the tocopherols when compared to the more common C18 reversed phase. Sensitive detection is by fluorescence which is also compared to the less sensitive and less selective UV–vis method. The experiment provides students with valuable laboratory skills including sample preparation and cleanup using QuEChERS methodology and quantitative analysis using the method of internal standards by HPLC. Subsequently, the experiment provides an opportunity for students to consolidate their learning of the key theoretical concepts including liquid chromatography separation mechanisms and relevant sample preparation and cleanup methods for complex samples. The experiment is designed for upper-division undergraduate analytical chemistry students.
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