EU agricultural reform fails on biodiversity Pe'er, G; Dicks, LV; Visconti, P ...
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
06/2014, Letnik:
344, Številka:
6188
Journal Article
Recenzirano
In December 2013, the European Union (EU) enacted the reformed Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for 2014-2020, allocating almost 40% of the EU's budget and influencing management of half of its ...terrestrial area. Many EU politicians are announcing the new CAP as "greener," but the new environmental prescriptions are so diluted that they are unlikely to benefit biodiversity. Individual Member States (MSs), however, can still use flexibility granted by the new CAP to design national plans to protect farmland habitats and species and to ensure long-term provision of ecosystem services.
Summary Background Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) remains an infection control challenge, especially when environmental spore contamination and suboptimal cleaning may increase transmission ...risk. Aim To substantiate the long-term effectiveness throughout a stroke rehabilitation unit (SRU) of deep cleaning and hydrogen peroxide decontamination (HPD), following a high incidence of CDI. Methods Extensive environmental sampling (342 sites on each occasion) for C. difficile using sponge wipes was performed: before and after deep cleaning with detergent/chlorine agent; immediately following HPD; and on two further occasions, 19 days and 20 weeks following HPD. C. difficile isolates underwent polymerase chain reaction ribotyping and multi-locus variable repeat analysis (MLVA). Findings C. difficile was recovered from 10.8%, 6.1%, 0.9%, 0% and 3.5% of sites at baseline, following deep cleaning, immediately after HPD, and 19 days and 20 weeks after HPD, respectively. C. difficile ribotypes recovered after deep cleaning matched those from CDI cases in the SRU during the previous 10 months. Similarly, 10/12 of the positive sites identified at 20 weeks post-HPD harboured the same C. difficile ribotype (002) and MLVA pattern as the isolate from the first post-HPD CDI case. CDI incidence number of cases on SRU per 10 months (January–October 2011) declined from 20 before to seven after the intervention. Conclusion HPD, after deep cleaning with a detergent/chlorine agent, was highly effective for removing environmental C. difficile contamination. Long-term follow-up demonstrated that a CDI symptomatic patient can rapidly recontaminate the immediate environment. Determining a role for HPD should include long-term cost-effectiveness evaluations.
We describe the HadGEM2 family of climate configurations of the Met Office Unified Model, MetUM. The concept of a model "family" comprises a range of specific model configurations incorporating ...different levels of complexity but with a common physical framework. The HadGEM2 family of configurations includes atmosphere and ocean components, with and without a vertical extension to include a well-resolved stratosphere, and an Earth-System (ES) component which includes dynamic vegetation, ocean biology and atmospheric chemistry. The HadGEM2 physical model includes improvements designed to address specific systematic errors encountered in the previous climate configuration, HadGEM1, namely Northern Hemisphere continental temperature biases and tropical sea surface temperature biases and poor variability. Targeting these biases was crucial in order that the ES configuration could represent important biogeochemical climate feedbacks. Detailed descriptions and evaluations of particular HadGEM2 family members are included in a number of other publications, and the discussion here is limited to a summary of the overall performance using a set of model metrics which compare the way in which the various configurations simulate present-day climate and its variability.
We report the repeated isolation of the fungus Geosmithia argillacea from sputum samples of people with cystic fibrosis. Identification was based on morphology and DNA sequence analysis. Isolation of ...G. argillacea did not appear to be associated with clinical deterioration. The pathogenic potential of G. argillacea is discussed.
Imitation and Identification in Autism Hobson, R. Peter; Lee, Anthony
Journal of child psychology and psychiatry,
19/May , Letnik:
40, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
This study was designed to test the prediction that adolescents with autism would have
specific limitations in imitating the “style” of another person's actions. In a series of original
tasks that ...tested the delayed imitation of novel nonsymbolic actions, 16 participants with
autism and 16 nonautistic participants group-matched for age and verbal ability were
proficient in copying goal-directed actions, but in 3 out of 4 tasks, strikingly fewer
participants with autism imitated with style with which the demonstrator executed the
actions. An additional finding was that on 2 conditions that involved copying self-orientated
actions, only 5 of the participants with autism but 15 of the 16 nonautistic participants
spontaneously adopted the orientation-to-self on at least 1 occasion. The results are
discussed with reference to theories concerning imitation deficits in autism, and with regard
to the proposal that autism involves an impairment in intersubjective contact between
affected individuals and others (Hobson, 1989, 1993; Rogers & Pennington, 1991).
Invasive candidiasis is a condition of major medical importance. Its incidence has increased dramatically over the last 50 years, reflecting increasingly interventional standards of medical care.
...Candida spp. are regularly reported to be the fourth commonest cause of bloodstream infection, and it is perceived that the incidence of invasive
Candida spp. infections continues to increase. The global disease burden of invasive
Candida spp. infections is difficult to quantify because of wide geographic variation. Data originating from the United States indicate that mortality from candidiasis has been falling since 1989. Data from several locations have shown that the dramatic increases in
Candida spp. bloodstream infections seen during the 1980s were not sustained through the 1990s. Some authors have reported a decreasing incidence. The contribution of non-
albicans Candida spp. to invasive infection is rising. Invasive infections with
Candida spp. continue to represent a major economic burden, increasing both mortality and morbidity in an already expensive group of hospital patients. There remains much scope for ongoing and future research into the epidemiology and basic disease processes underlying these infections.
Charged-particle tracking in the international Muon Ionisation Cooling Experiment (MICE) will be performed using two solenoidal spectrometers, each instrumented with a tracking detector based on ...350μm diameter scintillating fibres. The design and construction of the trackers is described along with the quality-assurance procedures, photon-detection system, readout electronics, reconstruction and simulation software and the data-acquisition system. Finally, the performance of the MICE tracker, determined using cosmic rays, is presented.
Background & Aims
:
Visceral hypersensitivity is a common feature of functional gastrointestinal disorders. One speculated mechanism is an activity-dependent increase in spinal cord neuronal ...excitability (central sensitization), which is dependent on activation of the
N-methyl-
d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor. Our aims were to determine whether the development and maintenance of human visceral hypersensitivity is NMDA receptor mediated.
Methods
:
Healthy subjects were studied using a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design. Pain thresholds to electrical stimulation were determined both in the proximal esophagus and in the foot (control) before and after a 30-minute distal esophageal infusion of 0.15 mol/L HCl acid. Ketamine (NMDA receptor antagonist) or saline (vehicle) was given intravenously either prior to or following acid infusion, and pain thresholds were measured for the following 120 minutes. Protocol 1: In 6 subjects, the effect of ketamine in the esophagus was assessed without acid infusion. Protocol 2: In 14 subjects, ketamine was given prior to esophageal acid. Protocol 3: In 12 subjects, ketamine was given after esophageal acid.
Results
:
Protocol 1: In the absence of esophageal acid, ketamine had no effect on either esophageal or foot pain thresholds (area-under-the-curve, AUC
P = 0.36 esophagus,
P = 0.34 foot, ANOVA) within 30 minutes of cessation of the infusion. Protocol 2: Acid-induced esophageal hypersensitivity was prevented by ketamine (AUC,
P < 0.0001, ANOVA) without affecting foot pain thresholds (AUC,
P = 0.06, ANOVA). Protocol 3: Ketamine delivered after acid reversed the induction of esophageal hypersensitivity induced by acid (AUC,
P < 0.0001, ANOVA).
Conclusions
:
The induction and maintenance of acid-induced esophageal hypersensitivity is prevented and reversed by ketamine. This finding strongly indicates that central sensitization is a mechanism of visceral hypersensitivity.
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