Explore the vast range of titles available.

New evidence of commercialization and consumption of wild meat in Amazonian cities has exposed an alarming yet poorly understood threat to Neotropical biodiversity. In response to the limitations of field sampling for large-scale surveys, we sought to develop a method of rapidly assessing wildlife harvest and trade in multiple areas using expert knowledge. Using caiman as a model taxon, we surveyed experts across the Brazilian Amazon. Expert responses to a Likert-style questionnaire suggest that caiman hunting, generally considered a localized rural activity, is in fact common and geographically widespread. Contrary to previous assumptions we found evidence that urban demand is partly driving the harvest, including via interstate trafficking. We highlight the need for further field validation of wild-meat trade and urban consumption patterns in Amazonia. We conclude that expert elicitation is a simple, cost-effective technique that can be a valuable precursor to inform and direct applied conservation research, especially where there are significant knowledge gaps and at large spatial scales.

This dissertation examines the question of girlhood as a social and legal category, within contemporary feminist frameworks. Turning to Jamaica today, girls are disproportionately apprehended by the law and sentenced to prison for a range of so-called deviant behaviors. Colloquially, they are known as uncontrollable girls, and the law that incarcerates them, the uncontrollable law. This dissertation examines how girlhood has long been a site of Jamaican governance. I argue that the figure of the uncontrollable girl and the uncontrollable law must be analyzed as a project of state building, revealing carceral and colonial logics from chattel slavery into the present. Further, I examine the perceived deviance or vulnerability that girlhood elicits— as a dissident body that transgresses, or an innocent class in need of legal protection. Drawing across multiple discursive domains—from archival travelogues, colonial acts and amendments, to contemporary newspapers, legal documents, Jamaican literature, and ethnographic fieldwork—the dissertation situates girlhood as an analytic lens through which we might better understand how Jamaican citizenship, rights, and political futures are forestalled or qualified. The legal-historical perspective illuminates how constructions of deviance and vulnerability are predicated on colonial governmentality and knowledge production.First, I explore British abolitionist archives to examine pre- and post-Emancipation Jamaican vagrancy laws. The contemporary uncontrollable law, however, does not fit neatly into the category of vagrancy law. Instead, I argue, we must understand the governance of girlhood in Jamaica as a pliable historical-legal project of state building that extends into family law, labor law, juvenile acts, and small charges. Noticeably, this continues through coercively heteronormative laws, which I suggest speaks to a larger project of building “respectable” families in post-independent Jamaica.Second, I explore how the dual edge of a girl’s deviance and vulnerability comes to play in the politics of contemporary constitutional reform and legal rights. Four ethnographic sites and related actors have my attention: the lower magisterial courts, the Jamaican Parliament floor, a civil society NGO working to overturn the uncontrollable law, and feminist activists. I show how advocacy work attempts to overturn the harms of colonial law through the discourse and practice of human rights. Within the work of overturning, however, emerge various political re-entrenchments of colonial law. This, I argue, reveals a continuing colonial present, through legal frameworks that manage and qualify citizenship. The historical particularity of Jamaica exemplifies the role the state plays in discursively producing and surveilling the domestic—from the intimate register of the family to the everyday lives of girls.

Human impact on the natural world is pervasive. The effects of historical and contemporary industrialisation, agricultural expansion and globalisation can be felt even in remote environments. Addressing anthropogenic threats to biodiversity is becoming ever more urgent, and ever more challenging. Conservationists must navigate increasingly complex problems that consider not only natural processes, but also the inextricable social dimensions of environmental change, and must do so with limited human and financial resources. The challenge is particularly great in tropical regions. These are home to the majority of terrestrial biodiversity and are facing unprecedented pressures due to expanding and impoverished human populations, urbanisation and exploitation of natural resources. Conservation strategies in the tropics increasingly recognise the need to embrace social-ecological approaches, often designed around initiatives that aim to safeguard biodiversity and the benefits provided to humans by ecosystems, and promote social progress. Yet development of monitoring techniques to better inform these strategies has lagged behind. Despite recent growth in the presence of social science theory and methods in conservation, research to characterise threats and identify conservation priorities rely heavily on traditional ecological methods. These methods have limitations, including restricted replication capacity, small spatial scales and sampling error. Perhaps more importantly, they fail to elicit the social context of human activities and behaviours.The main objective of this thesis was to critically examine and develop methods to address complex conservation problems in tropical forest contexts strongly influenced by human actions. The research is based in Brazil, a mega-diverse country experiencing turbulent economic and political times.The thesis begins in the Brazilian Amazon, where recent evidence indicates that urban consumption and commercial trade of wild-meat may be widespread, presenting an important threat to Neotropical biodiversity. Yet adequate regional data is scarce. Subsequently the first two data chapters of this thesis examine two approaches that could provide important insights into the extent and characteristics of wildlife harvest and trade across large spatial scales: expert knowledge and federal enforcement reports. First, using caiman as a model taxon, I surveyed experts across the Brazilian Amazon using a Likert-style questionnaire (Chapter 2). The results of expert responses revealed novel evidence of common and geographically widespread caiman hunting, driven in part by urban demand for meat and resulting in long-distance trade networks. Chapter 3 examines the potential of federal enforcement data to provide valuable regional information on illegal harvest and trade activities, utilising reports of enforcement events in 549 Amazonian municipalities. I also examine spatial and temporal patterns of institutional capacity of Brazil’s environmental agency to understand the efficacy of governance in tropical forests against this cryptic and hard-to-detect activity; and in turn how these realities impact our interpretations of the species data contained within enforcement reports. The analyses revealed evidence of inadequate institutional capacity and low enforcement of wildlife crime, particularly in smaller towns far from deforestation frontiers. Nonetheless, the approach yielded vital conservation information on spatial patterns and dynamics of species-level harvest and trade, including evidence of large-scale commercial trade in larger cities, and local-level harvest of vulnerable terrestrial vertebrates. The study also highlighted a potential Amazonian enforcement vacuum resulting from decentralization and institutional reforms.From here, we move to the Atlantic forest, a severely modified biome and conservation hotspot, to explore the use of Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) to inform on local-scale occupancy and population trends of large-bodied mammals and birds. I conducted interviews with rural people to assess their knowledge of selected native species, and also to elicit their perceptions of social, environmental and economic processes of change. The results demonstrate that LEK can provide valuable information on species responses within severely modified tropical landscapes. Perhaps more importantly, qualitative insights from respondent interviews illustrated the inter-linked social, economic and political drivers of changing landscapes and livelihoods that have shaped contemporary species patterns.The findings of this thesis demonstrate the value of alternative and innovative research methods for eliciting important conservation-relevant information in tropical forest contexts. The research presented highlights the importance of critical and robust development and application of methods, recognizing the challenges that stem from integrating social-ecological knowledge systems and approaching complex problems at different spatial scales.

Clive Palmer has dismissed the leaking of an internal email from one of his MPs, which described voters as \"bogans\", as the actions of a disaffected former candidate exacting revenge...

OBJECTIVE:--The most promising β-cell replacement therapy for children with type 1 diabetes is a closed-loop artificial pancreas incorporating continuous glucose sensors and insulin pumps. The Medtronic MiniMed external physiological insulin delivery (ePID) system combines an external pump and sensor with a variable insulin infusion rate algorithm designed to emulate the physiological characteristics of the β-cell. However, delays in insulin absorption associated with the subcutaneous route of delivery inevitably lead to large postprandial glucose excursions. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS--We studied the feasibility of the Medtronic ePID system in youth with type 1 diabetes and hypothesized that small manual premeal \"priming\" boluses would reduce postprandial excursions during closed-loop control. Seventeen adolescents (aged 15.9 ± 1.6 years; A1C 7.1 ± 0.8%) underwent 34 h of closed-loop control; 8 with full closed-loop (FCL) control and 9 with hybrid closed-loop (HCL) control (premeal priming bolus). RESULTS:--Mean glucose levels were 135 ± 45 mg/dl in the HCL group versus 141 ± 55 mg/dl in the FCL group (P = 0.09); daytime glucose levels averaged 149 ± 47 mg/dl in the HCL group versus 159 ± 59 mg/dl in the FCL group (P = 0.03). Peak postprandial glucose levels averaged 194 ± 47 mg/dl in the HCL group versus 226 ± 51 mg/dl in the FCL group (P = 0.04). Nighttime control was similar in both groups (111 ± 27 vs. 112 ± 28 mg/dl). CONCLUSIONS:--Closed-loop glucose control using an external sensor and insulin pump provides a means to achieve near-normal glucose concentrations in youth with type 1 diabetes during the overnight period. The addition of small manual priming bolus doses of insulin, given 15 min before meals, improves postprandial glycemic excursions.

Riparian ecosystems support mosaics of terrestrial and aquatic plant species that enhance regional biodiversity and provide important ecosystem services to humans. Species composition and the distribution of functional traits - traits that define species in terms of their ecological roles - within riparian plant communities are rapidly changing in response to various global change drivers. Here, we present a conceptual framework illustrating how changes in dependent wildlife communities and ecosystem processes can be predicted by examining shifts in riparian plant functional trait diversity and redundancy (overlap). Three widespread examples of altered riparian plant composition are: shifts in the dominance of deciduous and coniferous species; increases in drought-tolerant species; and the increasing global distribution of plantation and crop species. Changes in the diversity and distribution of critical plant functional traits influence terrestrial and aquatic food webs, organic matter production and processing, nutrient cycling, water quality, and water availability. Effective conservation efforts and riparian ecosystems management require matching of plant functional trait diversity and redundancy with tolerance to environmental changes in all biomes.

  It's come to this: Pole dancing. Well, it's not quite what you imagine. [Zach] and I are not slumming it at Cheeks, learning the dance moves of professionals. Pole dancing is what animal-trainer Mary Leatherberry calls doing steps around a pole, which in our case is a toilet plunger. We are in our third week of Canine Ballroom Dancing - midpoint in a six-week course that will ultimately teach us how to dance with our dogs. It's freestyle obedience training with a beat. I think most of us in class are happy when our animal companion just stays, heels or generally pays attention. But here we are with plungers, in the middle of the practice session. For Zach, clothing is optional, but the real goal is to trot around the pole without disrupting it. When you circle your dog around the pole clockwise, Leatherberry said, it's called \"pole.\" The counterclockwise move is called \"loop.\" The pole also makes a nice stick to fetch, as I've found with Zach, but that's beyond the scope of our lessons. And then there was that unfortunate incident where Zach thought I was using it as a defensive instrument, but really I was only showing him I could dance and twirl the plunger like a baton. \"Look at me,\" I try to tell him. \"Isn't this fun?\" Zach, however, is a literalist. Quick movements provoke throaty barks and some aggressive behavior. Who can blame him? So far, we've developed a good repertoire of moves, not that Zach and I can do any of them for more than 15 seconds at a time. I'll recap for those dancing with their dogs at home: Back: Dog backs up in a straight line without sitting down. Front: Dog moves forward as you back up. Spin: Dog spins in clockwise circle. Loop: Dog spins in counterclockwise circle. Circle: Dog circles clockwise around dancing partner. Whee: Dog circles counterclockwise around dancing partner. Haw: Dog grapevines with dancer, a sideways move to the left. Gee: A grapevine to the right. Really, it all sounds as if we're guest stars on Hee- Haw, that old country-music television variety series. If only I could get Zach to like Country and Western, even a little bit. In our second week of practice, Zach and I watched patiently as a golden retriever named Rookie in a video showed us what dancing with a dog is really about: weaves, twirls, flashy moves and an exuberance that only a retriever can display. And all that to a snappy beat, in this case \"You're the One that I want.\" Please, God, I thought, not Grease.

A successful HIV vaccine will likely induce both humoral and cell-mediated immunity, however, the enormous diversity of HIV has hampered the development of a vaccine that effectively elicits both arms of the adaptive immune response. To tackle the problem of viral diversity, T cell-based vaccine approaches have focused on two main strategies (i) increasing the breadth of vaccine-induced responses or (ii) increasing vaccine-induced responses targeting only conserved regions of the virus. The relative extent to which set-point viremia is impacted by epitope-conservation of CD8(+) T cell responses elicited during early HIV-infection is unknown but has important implications for vaccine design. To address this question, we comprehensively mapped HIV-1 CD8(+) T cell epitope-specificities in 23 ART-naïve individuals during early infection and computed their conservation score (CS) by three different methods (prevalence, entropy and conseq) on clade-B and group-M sequence alignments. The majority of CD8(+) T cell responses were directed against variable epitopes (p<0.01). Interestingly, increasing breadth of CD8(+) T cell responses specifically recognizing conserved epitopes was associated with lower set-point viremia (r = - 0.65, p = 0.009). Moreover, subjects possessing CD8(+) T cells recognizing at least one conserved epitope had 1.4 log10 lower set-point viremia compared to those recognizing only variable epitopes (p = 0.021). The association between viral control and the breadth of conserved CD8(+) T cell responses may be influenced by the method of CS definition and sequences used to determine conservation levels. Strikingly, targeting variable versus conserved epitopes was independent of HLA type (p = 0.215). The associations with viral control were independent of functional avidity of CD8(+) T cell responses elicited during early infection. Taken together, these data suggest that the next-generation of T-cell based HIV-1 vaccines should focus on strategies that can elicit CD8(+) T cell responses to multiple conserved epitopes of HIV-1.

Increasing reliance on antibiotics of last resort to treat the rising numbers of multidrug-resistant bacterial infections in people has focused attention on how shared-use antibiotics are managed and regulated across human and animal health. Discussions at international and national levels have intensified since the identification of new plasmid-mediated genes for colistin resistance in 2016, first in China and subsequently in many other countries, removing the last line of defense against multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections with carbapenem resistance. South Africa has reacted to this threat by doing a situational analysis and review of the existing legislation concerning colistin use in animals and people, to inform which course of action to take. The experiences shared in this Personal View outline the process, institution of governance with widespread stakeholder engagement, surveillance, and interventions that South Africa has taken towards optimising the shared use of colistin. The instigation of stewardship guided by the principles of the One Health concept for shared-use antibiotics at the country level is a crucial component of any action plan to combat antibiotic resistance, and is as relevant to other existing antibiotics and new chemical entities that will be forthcoming from an invigorated antibiotic pipeline as it is to colistin.

Background. A preference-based quality-of-life index for non–small cell lung cancer was developed with a subset of Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT)–General (G) and FACT–Lung (L) items, based on clinician input and the literature. Design. A total of 236 non–small cell lung carcinoma patients contributed their preferences, randomly allocated among three survey groups to decrease burden. The FACT-L Utility Index (FACT-LUI) was constructed with two methods: 1) multiattribute utility theory (MAUT), where a visual analog scale (VAS)–based index was transformed to standard gamble (SG); and 2) an unweighted index, where items were summed, normalized to a 0 to 1.0 scale, and the result transformed to a scale length equivalent to the VAS or SG MAUT-based model on a Dead to Full Health scale. Agreement between patients’ direct utility and the indexes for current health was assessed. Results. The agreement of the unweighted index with direct SG was superior to the MAUT-based index (intraclass correlation for absolute agreement: 0.60 v. 0.35; mean difference: 0.03 v. 0.19; and mean absolute difference 0.09 v. 0.21, respectively). Mountain plots showed substantial differences, with the unweighted index demonstrating a median bias of 0.02 versus the MAUT model at 0.2. There was a significant difference (P = 0.0002) between early (I-II) and late stage (III-IV) patients, the mean difference for both indexes being greater than distribution-based estimates of minimal important difference. Limitations. The population was limited to non–small cell lung cancer patients. However, most quality-of-life literature consulted and the FACT instruments do not differentiate between lung cancer cell types. Minorities were also limited in this sample. Conclusions. The FACT-LUI shows early evidence of validity for informing economic analysis of lung cancer treatments.