The impact of small-scale design interventions on the behaviour patterns of the users of an urban wasteland

Urban derelict space can form a valuable complementary element to the formal green spaces of a city: wastelands are often biologically diverse and their unregulated status can provoke innovative spatial activities by a wide range of users. Using the case of an urban brownfield in Tallinn, Estonia, this paper examines how such a space is used and evaluates the magnitude of the impact of minor design interventions – so-called urban acupuncture – on the activities carried out by the users. The study used field observations and behaviour mapping to compare the spatial pattern of the users before and after small design interventions. Although there was widespread use beforehand there was both an increase in use and a different pattern afterwards, which was clearly detectable from the composite behaviour maps of both arrangements, where users follow the properties of the particular environment. The small improvements tested showed the largest effect on the female and the older user groups, raising the number of overall visits and increasing the occurrence of active behaviour almost five times. The research demonstrates that small, inexpensive and possibly temporary interventions can have a major positive effect.     

New animal drug approvals and the United States aquaculture industry: a partnership for growth

Aquaculture, for better or worse, depends in part on drugs for the prevention, control and eradication of a variety of diseases. The US Food and Drug Administration's Centre for Veterinary Medicine, through the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, strictly controls the approval and use of drugs in animals, including aquatic animals. Laws and regulations exist that regulate the investigational use and approval of new animal drugs for all animals. However, in reality, these mandates must be uniquely interpreted for aquatic species. Very few drugs are approved for use in aquatic species. There is a growing effort by non-traditional sponsors (aquaculturists as opposed to pharmaceutical firms) to gain approvals for several new animal drugs. Simultaneously, the federal government, including the Centre for Veterinary Medicine, is working aggressively with the private and public aquaculture sectors to facilitate submission and subsequent approval of new animal drug applications. The drug approval procedures and requirements for aquatic animals are discussed. Special attention is given to their similarities and differences, relative to traditional terrestrial animals.     

Reducing the potential for processing contaminant formation in cereal products

Processing contaminants may be defined as substances that are produced in a food when it is cooked or processed, are not present or are present at much lower concentrations in the raw, unprocessed food, and are undesirable either because they have an adverse effect on product quality or because they are potentially harmful. The presence of very low levels of processing contaminants in common foods is becoming an increasingly important issue for the food industry, as developments in analytical techniques and equipment bring foods under closer and closer scrutiny. This review considers the formation of lipid oxidation products, hydrogenation of polyunsaturated fatty acids to prevent lipid oxidation and the associated risk of trans fatty acid formation. The formation of acrylamide in the Maillard reaction is described, as well as the genetic and agronomic approaches being taken to reduce the acrylamide-forming potential of cereal grain. The multiple routes for the formation of furan and associated chemicals, including hydroxymethylfurfuryl, are also described. The evolving regulatory and public perception situations for these processing contaminants and their implications for the cereal supply chain are discussed, emphasising the need for cereal breeders to engage with the contaminants issue.     

Allelic losses and gains during translocations of a high conservation value fish,Coregonus lavaretus

1. The use of translocations to establish new or ‘refuge’ populations for species with high conservation value is controversial but widely used in conservation management. One of the risks of this approach is that an establishing population does not adequately capture the genetic diversity of the donor gene pool. This effect, rarely examined, is tested here.
2. In this study the genetic consequences of two conservation translocations after five generations (16 years) of the European whitefish, Coregonus lavaretus, were quantified. Both translocations were made using almost the same genetic groups and thus represent a partly replicated natural study.
3. Analysis of 12 informative microsatellites showed that expected heterozygosity, the mean number of alleles per locus and allelic richness did not differ between donor and translocated populations. There was also no loss of heterozygosity in the translocated populations, nor deviations from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium expectations, nor signs of linkage disequilibrium.
4. All populations were genetically differentiated but pairwise F_ST values were low, indicating that the magnitude of divergence was small.
5. There was no evidence of inbreeding but there were significant differences in private allelic richness between donor and translocated populations. Of 50 alleles found in the donor population, 16% of the rarer alleles were lost in one translocated population and 8% in the other.
6. Allele loss without a reduction in heterozygosity strongly points to stochastic drift effects having occurred following translocation. The evidence indicates that alleles that were not detected in the donor population have arisen de novo in the translocated populations.
7. It is concluded that conservation translocations comprising even a modest number of propagules can successfully capture a high proportion of genetic variation of the host population, and that reduced genetic variation in the translocated population may be mitigated by the emergence of new variation over short time periods.

     

Assessment of plastic ingestion by pole-caught pelagic predatory fish from O'ahu,Hawai'i

1. Although the frequency of occurrence of plastic ingestion in the large-sized dolphinfish and tunas taken by the Hawai'i longline fishery is very low (frequency of occurrence < 5% of sampled individuals), the ingestion of plastic in smaller-sized specimens caught with pole-and-line gear by commercial and recreational fishers has not been investigated.
2. This study examined ingestion of >0.25 mm marine plastic debris (MPD) by four predatory fish species caught by commercial fishers around the Main Hawaiian Islands, and documented ingestion in three species: 85.7% of albacore tuna (n = 7), 40.0% of skipjack tuna (n = 10) and 12.5% of dolphinfish (n = 8).
3. Yellowfin tuna (n = 10) did not contain any MPD, probably owing to the high proportion of empty stomachs (60%).
4. For skipjack tuna, the frequency of occurrence of MPD ingestion was significantly higher for the smaller-sized specimens caught with pole-and-line (40%), compared with the larger-sized specimens caught with longlines (0%).
5. For dolphinfish, the frequency of occurrence of MPD ingestion was similar for the similar-sized specimens caught with pole-and-line and with longlines.
6. The ingested MPD items were micro–meso plastics, between 1 and 25 mm. While most ingested items were fragments, albacore also ingested line and skipjack also ingested sheets.
7. The predatory fishes ingested light MPD items that float in sea water, but there were species-specific differences in their polymer composition: albacore contained more polypropylene and polyethylene, and skipjack contained more elastomers, characterized by a high percentage of ester plasticizers.
8. Altogether, these results suggest that albacore and skipjack tunas ingest plastic of different types and polymers. Yet more research is needed to understand how differences in vertical distribution, foraging ecology and diet influence the MPD sampled by these predatory fish species.

     

Population isolation exacerbates conservation genetic concerns in the endangered Amargosa vole, Microtus californicus scirpensis

The ability of a taxon to maintain adaptive flexibility in a stochastic environment is a function of the genetic diversity within the population. In small, fragmented populations, genetic variation can become depleted more quickly than in larger, more contiguous populations. Characterizing the patterns of genetic variation and differentiation associated with these processes is an important step in establishing conservation priorities. The Amargosa vole, Microtus californicus scirpensis, is an endangered rodent persisting in the small, fragmented marsh complex surrounding the Amargosa River near Death Valley, California. This naturally patchy system has existed since the end of the Pleistocene (approximately 10,000 y.b.p.), however, fragmentation has been exacerbated by recent anthropogenic changes. For this study, I used five nuclear microsatellite loci and the cytochrome-b region of the mitochondrial genome to quantify levels of genetic variation, population substructure, and patterns of gene flow in M.c. scirpensis. These data were compared to a broadly distributed subspecies, Microtus californicus sanctidiegi. Overall levels of nuclear genetic variation were significantly lower in M.c. scirpensis, whether measured in terms of diversity or heterozygosity, compared to more broadly distributed conspecifics. Moreover, only two haplotypes were recovered from the mitochondrial data with over 90% of the observed haplotypes being identical. Despite low genetic diversity, significant genetic subdivision among M.c. scirpensis populations was detected using both pairwise F_ST and Bayesian clustering methods. Furthermore, isolation by distance analyses reveal that an important landscape feature, ephemeral tributaries, is critical for dispersal among population clusters. Recommendations for conservation management are presented.     

The Functional Anatomy of the Neck and Forelimbs of the Cape Golden Mole,Chrysochloris Asiatica (Lipotyphla: Chrysochloridae)

The anatomy of the neck and forelimb of Chrysochloris asiatica is described and illustrated. The sequence of events during digging and modifications for fossorial action are described. Modifications include the appearance of a third bone in the forearm; the shortening and fusion of bones in the manus; enlarged processes on the scapula, humerus and ulna for greater muscle attachment; enlarged neck muscles and a dip in the spine in the cervical region to accommodate these and the enlarged shoulder muscles; an enlarged occiput for insertion of the powerful neck muscles; a greatly enlarged triceps and movement of the shoulder girdle to a position anterior to that normal in mammals. The possibility of the third forearm bone being the ossified tendon of a flexor muscle is discussed, without any conclusion being reached as to its true origin.     

An investigation of the disease status of village poultry in Mauritania

Three contagious poultry diseases in Mauritania were studied. Serum samples and tracheal swabs were taken from 80 chickens in village poultry flocks in each of three different regions. Antibodies against Newcastle disease virus (NDV) were detected in 4.8% of chickens, antibodies against Gumboro disease virus in 15.8% of chickens and antibodies against Salmonella pullorum in 6.2% of chickens. Six isolates of NDV were made, of which four formed plaques on chicken embryo fibroblast monolayers. Seropositivity was highest in the Trarza region, bordering the River Senegal, and four out of six of the NDV isolates were made from chickens in this region.     

Serodiagnosis of Lyme disease in UK dogs

Lyme disease is a chronic, multisystemic, inflammatory disorder of man and animals associated with infection by the tick-borne spirochaete, Borrelia burgdorferi. Lyme disease was recently reported for the first time in a dog in the UK (May and others 1990). Using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), we have performed a serological survey to investigate the prevalence of antibodies to B burgdorferi in UK dogs. The survey has shown that dogs from many areas in the UK have serum antibodies to B burgdorferi, that the presence of serum antibodies is associated with known exposure to ticks and that some dogs seropositive for B burgdorferi have clinical signs consistent with Lyme disease. High levels of serum anti-Borrelia antibodies are not diagnostic for canine Lyme disease, but, in association with appropriate clinical signs, they help to confirm the diagnosis in suspected cases.     

A comparison of three combinations of injectable anesthetics in miniature donkeys

Objective To compare three combinations of injectable anesthetics in miniature donkeys for quality of induction, recovery, muscle relaxation, cardiopulmonary changes during anesthesia and duration of recumbency. Design Prospective, randomized experimental study. Animals Six miniature donkeys (< 90 cm in height at the withers) weighing 92–127 kg were used. Materials and methods The drug combinations were: xylazine?butorphanol?ketamine (XBK), xylazine?butorphanol?tiletamine?zolazepam (XBT) and xylazine?propofol (XP). Each miniature donkey was anesthetized with each combination at 1‐week intervals in random order. Heart and respiratory rates, indirect blood pressure and temperature were measured before and at 5‐minute intervals during recumbency. Arterial blood samples were drawn for blood‐gas analysis before and at 5, 15 and 30 minutes of anesthesia when samples could be collected. Recumbency time to sternal and time to standing were recorded and a subjective evaluation of induction, muscle relaxation and recovery were made. Results Mean recumbency time ± SD was 14.7 ± 9.4, 33.8 ± 6.3 and 14.6 ± 1.9 minutes with XBK, XBT and XP, respectively. Mean time to standing ± SD was 28.4 ± 11.3, 43.7 ± 7.2 and 26.3 ± 2.9 minutes with XBK, XBT and XP, respectively. Heart and respiratory rates and blood pressures varied from baseline but were always within normal ranges. Hemoglobin saturation, pH and PaO₂ tended to be lower with these doses of XBT and XP. Conclusions and clinical relevance Overall quality of anesthesia was poor with XBK. At the doses used this combination did not provide sufficient anesthesia compared with the combinations of XBT and XP, which appeared to provide acceptable anesthesia of short duration in miniature donkeys.