The multidimensionality of behavioural defences against brood parasites: evidence for a behavioural syndrome in magpies?

Studies of antiparasite defences against cuckoo parasites have largely neglected the possibility that behavioural components of host defence may correlate giving rise to a behavioural syndrome. Furthermore, the different contribution of the host’s sex in nest defence has traditionally been disregarded. Here, we studied magpie (Pica pica) mobbing behaviour towards dummies of great spotted cuckoo (Clamator glandarius) and non-harmful hoopoes (Upupa epops) and egg rejection of parasite eggs in a population of colour-banded magpies. We predicted a positive correlation between the intensity of nest defence and egg rejection within each sex and that females respond more intensely than males to the threat of brood parasitism as they undertake incubation. Magpie males, but not females, defended their nests more intensely in those nests in which cuckoo model eggs were rejected. Individual magpies did significantly differ in their baseline level of nest attentiveness; however, there were no individual differences once pair identity was considered. Males and females defended their nests more intensely when it was exposed to the presence of a great spotted cuckoo dummy. Males, but not females, were more prone to appear at their nests, and females, but not males, were more prone to defend more intensely when their nests were challenged by a parasite threat. Our results thus agree with the view that mobbing behaviour and egg rejection in magpies may actually constitute a pseudosyndrome and highlight the necessity to integrate interindividual variation and the sex of the host in studies of the evolution of host defences.     

Implementation of a medical command and control team in Switzerland

In case of a major incident or disaster, the advance medical rescue command needs to manage several essential tasks simultaneously. These include the rapid deployment of ambulance, police, fire and evacuation services, and their coordinated activity, as well as triage and emergency medical care on site. The structure of such a medical rescue command is crucial for the successful outcome of medical evacuation at major incidents. However, little data has been published on the nature and structure of the command itself. This study presents a flexible approach to command structure, with two command heads: one emergency physician and one experienced paramedic. This approach is especially suitable for Switzerland, whose federal system allows for different structures in each canton. This article examines the development of these structures and their efficiency, adaptability and limitations with respect to major incident response in the French‐speaking part of the country.     

Implementing cash for work programmes in post-tsunami Aceh: experiences and lessons learned

Cash for work (CFW) programmes are utilised in various disaster and emergency contexts and were a prominent component of the tsunami response in Aceh province, Indonesia. This paper describes Mercy Corps' CFW programme, discusses CFW implementation experiences and provides key recommendations for similar programmes in future emergencies. For the majority of CFW participants and their households, CFW was the only source of household income and 93 per cent of household incomes were attributable to it. The CFW programme empowered displaced populations to return to their communities; 91 per cent of participants indicated that CFW facilitated their return. Other reported psychosocial benefits included providing productive activities and giving communities an opportunity to work together. Mercy Corps' experience in Aceh demonstrates that cash disbursements can be safely delivered in a widespread manner in emergencies, and that when implemented on a short-term basis, can have positive impacts at the individual and community level.     

Smoking is a marker of risky behaviors independent of substance abuse in injured drivers

OBJECTIVE: Smoking has been linked to disease and injury. The purpose of this study is to investigate the smoking habits of motor vehicular driver trauma center patients and their association with previous injury history and risky behaviors. METHODS: The studied population included 323 motor vehicular driver injury patients (123 smokers and 200 non-smokers) interviewed as part of a larger study of psychoactive substance use disorders at an adult Level I trauma center. Patients with head injuries, hospital stays of less than two days, and diminished cognition were excluded. Interviews included demographics (age, gender, race, marital status), socioeconomic status (SES; income, education, employment), risky behaviors (seatbelt non-use, drinking and driving, riding with drunk driver, binge drinking), and trauma history information (vehicular, assault, and other injuries). Substance abuse (alcohol and drug dependence) was evaluated in depth using DSM III-R criteria. Smokers and non-smokers were compared in relation to control and dependent variables using student's t test and chi-square (alpha = 0.05). Outcome variables included previous trauma history and risky behaviors. Multiple logistic regression models using step-down selection methods (alpha = 0.05) were constructed with risky behaviors and trauma history as dependent variables including demographics, SES and substance as independent variables. RESULTS: Smokers represented 38 percent of the 323 patients studied. Smokers (n = 123) were younger (34 vs. 43 years), more likely to be male (72 percent vs. 50 percent), not married (72 percent vs. 56 percent), and had higher rates of alcohol (29 percent vs. 9 percent) and drug dependence (14 percent vs. 3 percent) than non-smokers (n = 200). Educational achievement (20 percent vs. 15 percent less than high school) and income level (24 percent vs. 23 percent with less than $15,000 of yearly income) were not different between smokers and non-smokers. Smokers were more likely than non-smokers to have a history of prior vehicular trauma (48 percent vs. 26 percent), assault (25 percent vs. 9 percent), or other injury (50 percent vs 37 percent). The following injury-prone behaviors were also more common among the smokers than non-smokers: seatbelt non-use (49 percent vs. 29 percent), drinking and driving (38 percent vs. 15 percent), riding with drunk driver (38 percent vs. 13 percent), and binge drinking (68 percent vs. 26 percent). In multiple logistic regression models adjusting for demographics, SES, and substance abuse, smoking revealed significantly higher odds ratios (OR) for the following dependent variables: seatbelt non-use (OR = 2.9), riding with drunk driver (OR = 2.2), binge drinking (OR = 2.4), previous vehicular (OR = 2.0), and assault injuries (OR = 2.5). Smoking did not reach significance for drinking and driving and other (non-vehicular and non-assault) injury. CONCLUSION: Smoking is independently associated with risky behaviors and repeated history of vehicular or assault injury within the vehicular trauma population.     

Atrazine toxicity to Handroanthus heptaphyllus,a nontarget species from a Brazilian biome threatened by agriculture

The economic basis of the Brazilian midwest is agriculture, concentrating most of the grain production in the country. With the purpose of increasing yield, farmers have intensified land use and the use of atrazine among other pesticides, which can supposedly compromise human health and photosynthetic metabolism of plant species from Cerrado, such as Handroanthus heptaphyllus. The aim of this study was to determine experimentally the sensitivity level of H. heptaphyllus to atrazine, by measuring gas exchange, chlorophyll a fluorescence, chloroplastidic pigments, and membrane permeability. The experiment was conducted in a factorial scheme. Nine‐month‐old H. heptaphyllus plants were treated with six realistic doses of atrazine: 0, 25, 50, 100, 200, and 400 g a.i. ha^–1 (corresponding to 10, 20, 40, 80, and 100% of the commercial dose recommended for corn crops, respectively), with five replications. Evaluations were performed at 12, 36, 84, 180, and 276 h after treatment application. Photosynthesis, the effective quantum yield of photosystem II, and electron transport rate were gradually reduced by the action of atrazine. On the other hand, the nonphotochemical quenching increased gradually, which indicates that this mechanism was not sufficient to avoid oxidative stress and cellular damage in H. heptaphyllus treated plants. Based on these results, we concluded that the action of the herbicide in the photosynthetic reduction occurs by the electron transport rate limitation. Therefore, H. heptaphyllus trees are at risk in Cerrado areas next to agricultural lands.     

Production of new concrete with leather tannery waste used as partial replacement of the natural sand

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Leather production is a technology that boosts the economy because of its versatility and durability. However, the wastes generated throughout the...     

Unmanned aerial vehicle images in the machine learning for agave detection

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In this study, six supervised classification algorithms were compared. The algorithms were based on cluster analysis, distance, deep learning, and...     

Escherichia coli,Species C Human Adenovirus,and Enterovirus in Water Samples Consumed in Rural Areas of Goiás,Brazil

Food and Environmental Virology - Rural environments lack basic sanitation services. Facilities for obtaining water and disposing sewage are often under the initiative of each resident, who may not...