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The emergence of bacterial strains resistant to topical antimicrobials in both human and veterinary medicine has raised concerns over retaining the efficacy of these preparations. Yet, little information is available regarding the use of topical antimicrobials in either sector for planning targeted interventions. This study aims to quantify the use of topical antimicrobials in 44 Dutch companion animal clinics before and during their participation in an antimicrobial stewardship programme (ASP), to explore the effect of the intervention on topical antimicrobial use (AMU). Hence, prescription and clinic animal population data, collected from July 2012 until June 2018 were used. Specifically, the period from July 2012 until June 2015 was defined as pre-intervention period, whereas clinics started to participate in the ASP from March 2016 onwards. As quantification metric, the Defined Daily Dose for Animals (DDDA) was used and a mixed effect times series model with auto-regression was applied to monthly topical AMU data. The intervention effect was modelled using a step function with a change in (linear) time trend and clinic characteristics, as potential determinants of topical AMU, were assessed using a multivariable regression model. A seasonal pattern was identified, in the pre-intervention period, where topical AMU was highest in July-August and lowest in February-March. In addition, total topical AMU appeared to significantly decrease over time in the pre-intervention period and the proportion of dogs in the clinic was positively associated with topical AMU. The intervention effect was significant only for second line and for skin product AMU. This study demonstrates that during participation in an ASP, second line and skin product AMU decreased in Dutch companion animal clinics. Additionally, this study demonstrates the existence of a seasonal effect and a decrease in topical AMU over time already before introduction of a targeted intervention.

Escherichia coli (E. coli) is the most common Gram-negative pathogen isolated in human infections. Antimicrobial resistant (AMR) E. coli originating from dogs may directly or indirectly cause disease in humans. The objective of this study was to calculate the proportion of antimicrobial susceptible E. coli isolated from canine specimens submitted to the Indiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory and to identify temporal patterns of susceptibility among these isolates. Susceptibility data of 2,738 E. coli isolates from dogs from 2010 through 2019 were used in this study. Proportions of isolates susceptible to the various antimicrobials were calculated using SAS statistical software and the Cochran-Armitage trend test was used to investigate the temporal trends in susceptibility. A multivariable binary logistic regression model was built to investigate the association between host factors and AMR. Overall, 553/2,738 (20.2%) of the isolates were susceptible to 17 of the 27 antimicrobials examined. Of the 2,638 isolates examined for amikacin susceptibility, 2,706 (97.5%) were susceptible, 2,657/2,673 (99.4%) isolates were susceptible to imipenem, and 2,099/2,670 (78.6%) were susceptible to marbofloxacin. A significant decreasing trend in susceptibility was observed for amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (PPPP = 0.0067), chloramphenicol (PP = 0.008). The overall percentage of AMR isolates (isolates not susceptible to at least one antimicrobial) was 61.7% (1,690/2,738) and 29.3% (801/2,738) of isolates were multidrug resistant. Multivariable regression analyses showed significant associations between AMR and age (P = 0.0091), breed (P = 0.0008), and sample isolation site/source (PEscherichia coli in dogs to these antimicrobials could be increasing in Indiana. The decreasing trend in susceptibility to these drugs could be due to selection pressure from antimicrobial use.

The aim of this study is to examine whether technical characteristics predict current and future tennis performance of youth tennis players. Twenty-nine male youth tennis players (age 13.40 ± .51) were assessed on anthropometrical characteristics (height, weight, maturity status) and technical characteristics (ball speed, accuracy and percentage errors) using an on-court tennis test when they were under-14 (U14). Game situations were simulated, which were either fixed or variable. The variable game situations required players to consider the direction of the ball, as opposed to the fixed game situations where players needed to play every ball to the same side. Players’ tennis ratings were obtained U14 (‘current performance’) and under-18 (U18) (‘future performance’). According to their rating U18 players were classified as future elite (n = 9) or future competitive (n = 20). A multiple linear regression analysis showed that ball speed and accuracy were significant predictors of current and future performance (p < .001), with R2 of .595 and .463, respectively. When controlling for age, a one-way MANCOVA revealed that future elite players were more accurate than future competitive players (p = .048, 95% CI [.000 to .489]), especially in variable compared to fixed game situations (p < .05). In conclusion, the current study is the first to show that technical characteristics are crucial for current as well as future performance in youth male tennis players. Findings of this prospective study provide essential information to coaches about characteristics that require most attention in performance development in youth players.

Fish populations subject to heavy exploitation are expected to evolve over time smaller average body sizes. We introduce Stackelberg evolutionary game theory to show how fisheries management should be adjusted to mitigate the potential negative effects of such evolutionary changes. We present the game of a fisheries manager versus a fish population, where the former adjusts the harvesting rate and the net size to maximize profit, while the latter responds by evolving the size at maturation to maximize the fitness. We analyze three strategies: i) ecologically enlightened (leading to a Nash equilibrium in game-theoretic terms); ii) evolutionarily enlightened (leading to a Stackelberg equilibrium) and iii) domestication (leading to team optimum) and the corresponding outcomes for both the fisheries manager and the fish. Domestication results in the largest size for the fish and the highest profit for the manager. With the Nash approach the manager tends to adopt a high harvesting rate and a small net size that eventually leads to smaller fish. With the Stackelberg approach the manager selects a bigger net size and scales back the harvesting rate, which lead to a bigger fish size and a higher profit. Overall, our results encourage managers to take the fish evolutionary dynamics into account. Moreover, we advocate for the use of Stackelberg evolutionary game theory as a tool for providing insights into the eco-evolutionary consequences of exploiting evolving resources.

The objective was to investigate the persistence of sleep difficulties for over 16 years amongst a population of working age. In this prospective cohort study, a group-based trajectory analysis of repeated surveys amongst 66,948 employees in public sector (mean age 44.7 [SD 9.4] years, 80% women) was employed. The main outcome measure was sleep difficulties based on Jenkins Sleep Scale (JSS). Up to 70% of the respondents did not experience sleep difficulties whereas up to 4% reported high frequency of notable sleep difficulties through the entire 16-year follow-up. Heavy drinking predicted sleep difficulties (OR 2.3 95% CI 1.6 to 3.3) except for the respondents younger than 40 years. Smoking was associated with sleep difficulties amongst women younger than 40 years (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.0 to 1.5). Obesity was associated with sleep difficulties amongst men (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.4 to 2.7) and women (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.1 to 1.3) of middle age and amongst women older than 50 (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.2 to 1.8) years. Physical inactivity predicted sleep difficulties amongst older men (OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.1 to 1.6). In this working-age population, sleep difficulties showed a great persistence over time. In most of the groups, the level of sleep difficulties during the follow-up was almost solely dependent on the level of initial severity. Depending on sex and age, increasing sleep problems were sometimes associated with high alcohol consumption, smoking, obesity and physical inactivity, but the strength of these associations varied.

Do islands harbour less diverse disease communities than mainland? The island biogeography theory predicts more diverse communities on mainland than on islands due to more niches, more diverse habitats and availability of greater range of hosts. We compared bacteria prevalences of Campylobacter, Chlamydia and Salmonella in cloacal samples of a small shorebird, the Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) between two island populations of Macaronesia and two mainland locations in the Iberian Peninsula. Bacteria were found in all populations but, contrary to the expectations, prevalences did not differ between islands and mainland. Females had higher prevalences than males for Salmonella and when three bacteria genera were pooled together. Bacteria infection was unrelated to bird’s body condition but females from mainland were heavier than males and birds from mainland were heavier than those from islands. Abiotic variables consistent throughout breeding sites, like high salinity that is known to inhibit bacteria growth, could explain the lack of differences in the bacteria prevalence between areas. We argue about the possible drivers and implications of sex differences in bacteria prevalence in Kentish plovers

Over the past decades, brain imaging studies in fluently speaking participants have greatly advanced our knowledge of the brain areas involved in speech production. In addition, complementary information has been provided by investigations of brain activation patterns associated with disordered speech. In the present study we specifically aimed to revisit and expand an earlier study by De Nil and colleagues, by investigating the effects of simulating disfluencies on the brain activation patterns of fluent speakers during overt and covert speech production. In contrast to the De Nil et al. study, the current findings show that the production of voluntary, self-generated disfluencies by fluent speakers resulted in increased recruitment and activation of brain areas involved in speech production. These areas show substantial overlap with the neural networks involved in motor sequence learning in general, and learning of speech production, in particular. The implications of these findings for the interpretation of brain imaging studies on disordered and non-habitual speech production are discussed. ispartof: PloS one vol:15 issue:1 ispartof: location:United States status: published

The mechanisms of epileptic discharge generation and spread are not yet fully known. A recently proposed simple biophysical model of interictal and ictal discharges, Epileptor-2, reproduces well the main features of neuronal excitation and ionic dynamics during discharge generation. In order to distinguish between two hypothesized mechanisms of discharge propagation, we extend the model to the case of two-dimensional propagation along the cortical neural tissue. The first mechanism is based on extracellular potassium diffusion, and the second is the propagation of spikes and postsynaptic signals along axons and dendrites. Our simulations show that potassium diffusion is too slow to reproduce an experimentally observed speed of ictal wavefront propagation (tenths of mm/s). By contrast, the synaptic mechanism predicts well the speed and synchronization of the pre-ictal bursts before the ictal front and the afterdischarges in the ictal core. Though this fact diminishes the role of diffusion and electrodiffusion, the model nevertheless highlights the role of potassium extrusion during neuronal excitation, which provides a positive feedback that changes at the ictal wavefront the balance of excitation versus inhibition in favor of excitation. This finding may help to find a target for a treatment to prevent seizure propagation.

International audience; Classical land rent theories imply that the best land is cultivated first. This principle forms the basis of many land-use studies, but empirical evidence remains limited, especially on a global scale. In this paper, we estimate the effects of agricultural suitability and market accessibility on the spatial allocation of cultivated areas at a 30 arc-min resolution in 15 world regions. Our results show that both determinants often have a significant positive effect on the cropland fraction, but with large variations in strength across regions. Based on a quantile analysis, we find that agricultural suitability is the dominant driver of cropland allocation in North America, Middle East and North Africa and Eastern Europe, whereas market accessibility shows a stronger effect in other regions, such as Western Africa. In some regions, such as South and Central America, both determinants have a limited effect on cropland fraction. Comparison of high versus low quantile regression coefficients shows that, in most regions, densely cropped areas are more sensitive to agricultural suitability and market accessibility than sparsely cropped areas.

Objectives Smoking is a significant independent risk factor for postmenopausal osteoporosis, leading to genome variations in postmenopausal smokers. This study investigates potential biomarkers and molecular mechanisms of smoking-related postmenopausal osteoporosis (SRPO). Materials and methods The GSE13850 microarray dataset was downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Gene modules associated with SRPO were identified using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis, and pathway and functional enrichment analyses. Feature genes were selected using two machine learning methods: support vector machine-recursive feature elimination (SVM-RFE) and random forest (RF). The diagnostic efficiency of the selected genes was assessed by gene expression analysis and receiver operating characteristic curve. Results Eight highly conserved modules were detected in the WGCNA network, and the genes in the module that was strongly correlated with SRPO were used for constructing the PPI network. A total of 113 hub genes were identified in the core network using topological network analysis. Enrichment analysis results showed that hub genes were closely associated with the regulation of RNA transcription and translation, ATPase activity, and immune-related signaling. Six genes (HNRNPC, PFDN2, PSMC5, RPS16, TCEB2, and UBE2V2) were selected as genetic biomarkers for SRPO by integrating the feature selection of SVM-RFE and RF. Conclusion The present study identified potential genetic biomarkers and provided a novel insight into the underlying molecular mechanism of SRPO.

BACKGROUND: The temporal distribution of trauma mortality has been classically described as a trimodal pattern with an immediate, early and late peak. In modern health care systems this time distribution has changed. METHODS: Data from the TraumaRegister DGU was analysed retrospectively. Between 2002 and 2015, all registered in-hospital deaths with an Injury Severity Score (ISS) ≥ 16 were evaluated considering time of death, trauma mechanism, injured body area, age distribution, rates of sepsis and multiple organ failure. Pre-hospital and post-discharge trauma deaths were not considered. RESULTS: 78 310 severely injured patients were registered, non-survivors constituted 14 816, representing an in-hospital mortality rate of 18.9%. Mean ISS of non-survivors was 36.0±16.0, 66.7% were male, mean age was 59.5±23.5. Within the first hour after admission to hospital, 10.8% of deaths occurred, after 6 hours the percentage increased to 25.5%, after 12 hours 40.0%, after 24 hours 53.2% and within the first 48 hours 61.9%. Mortality showed a constant temporal decrease. Severe head injury (defined by Abbreviated Injury Scale, AIS-Head≥3) was found in 76.4% of non-survivors. Patients with an isolated head injury showed a more distinct decrease in survival rate, which was accentuated in the first days after admission. The correlation of age and time of death showed a proportional increase with age (55-74a). The rate of sepsis and multiple organ failure among non-survivors was 11.5% and 70.1%, respectively. CONCLUSION: In a modern trauma care system, the mortality distribution of severely injured patients has changed its pattern, where especially the third peak is no longer detectable.

*Kaya, Murat ( Aksaray, Yazar ), Biological materials such as chiton tooth, squid beak, and byssal threads of bivalves have inspired the development of new technologies. To this end, we have characterized the acellular components in the buccal mass of the terrestrial slug Ariolimax californicus (banana slug). These components are the radula, the jaw, and the odontophore. In the radula, calcium-rich denticles are tightly interlocked one to the other on top of a nanofibrous chitin membrane. The jaw has a nanostructured morphology made of chitin to achieve compression resistance and is directly linked to the foregut cuticle, which has a protective nanofibrous structure. Finally, in the odontophore, we observed a structurally elastic microstructure that interfaces soft tissues with a highly stressed radula membrane. Based on those observations, we discuss the interaction between these components and highlight how the materials in these task-specific components have evolved. This structure-properties-function study of the A. californicus’ buccal mass may aid in the design and fabrication of novel bioinspired materials.

Satellite telemetry is an increasingly utilized technology in wildlife research, and current devices can track individual animal movements at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions. However, as we enter the golden age of satellite telemetry, we need an in-depth understanding of the main technological, species-specific and environmental factors that determine the success and failure of satellite tracking devices across species and habitats. Here, we assess the relative influence of such factors on the ability of satellite telemetry units to provide the expected amount and quality of data by analyzing data from over 3,000 devices deployed on 62 terrestrial species in 167 projects worldwide. We evaluate the success rate in obtaining GPS fixes as well as in transferring these fixes to the user and we evaluate failure rates. Average fix success and data transfer rates were high and were generally better predicted by species and unit characteristics, while environmental characteristics influenced the variability of performance. However, 48% of the unit deployments ended prematurely, half of them due to technical failure. Nonetheless, this study shows that the performance of satellite telemetry applications has shown improvements over time, and based on our findings, we provide further recommendations for both users and manufacturers. Forest and Nature for Society (FONASO) Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate programme [2013-09] University of Goettingen Norwegian Environment Agency Research Council of Norway [212919] Norwegian Institute for Nature Research Messerli Foundation, WWF Landcare Research Ltd New Zealand TBfree New Zealand (AHB project) [R10737] Norwegian Research Counsil, Smafefondet, NMBU Research Council of Norway Federal State of Baden-Wuerttemberg (Landesjagdabgabe) Wildlife Conservation Society Swedish Environmental Protection Agency private foundation "Marie Clair Cronstedts stiftelse" NASA Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment [NNX15AV92A] National Geographic Society Waitt Grant Program [W157-110] FAPESP [2013/50421-2, 2014/23132-2] CNPq [312045/2013-1, 312292/2016-3, 161089/2014-3] Silicon Valley Community Foundation The Overbrook Foundation International ReSource Award WCS Brasil Vanderbilt University PROCAD/CAPES [88881.068425/2014-01] MLSJ Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo Fapesp [2013/50421-2, 2014/23132-2] Projeto Pecarideos - WCS Brasil Howard G Buffett Foundation Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia -CONACYT Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) [814274, 834118] Leobner Realgemeinschaft Forstbetrieb Kletschach WWF Nedbank Green Trust [GT 2251] DFG [Fi707/9-1/DFG Zi548/6-1/DAAD (D/12/41834), FI707/9-1, ZI548/6-1] DAAD [D/12/41834] Nottingham Trent University The Howard G. Buffett Foundation ISRO-IISc Space Technology Cell Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance and Space Technology Cell, Indian Institute of Science Lower Saxony Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection Panthera Kaplan Graduate Award Bank of America Reindeer Development Fund in Norway Rhodes University Robin Hurt Wildlife Foundation Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute Wildlife Conservation Network Humboldt State University HSU Marine and Coastal Science Initiative Humboldt State University Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities Grant Claude Leon Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship The Cape Leopard Trust Conservation South Africa South African National Parks HERD project (Hwange Environmental Research Development) - Agence Nationale de la Recherche (FEAR project) [ANR-08-BLAN-0022] Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (Programme Zones Ateliers) National Geographic Society [C151-08] NSERC CGS D U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Service public de Wallonie Direction generale de l'Agriculture, des Ressources naturelles et de l'Environnement U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Parrotia-Stiftung Stiftung Dr. Joachim de Giacomi Basler Stiftung fur biologische Forschung Messerli Stiftung Carl Burger Stiftung CIC Schweiz CIC Deutschland Paul Schiller Stiftung Karl Mayer Stiftung Consorcio Capim Branco de Energia Ministere de l'Agriculture de l'Agroalimentaire et de la Foret Conseil Regional de Bourgogne Conseil General de la Cote d'Or Federation Departementale des Chasseurs de Cote d'Or Groupement de Defense Sanitaire de Cote d'Or Federation Nationale des Chasseurs Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage South African National Research Foundation [107099] Sao Paulo Research Foundation [FAPESP 2013/04957-8, FAPESP 2013/18526-9] MAVA Foundation, Switzerland The Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt DBU (German Federal Environmental Foundation) Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) Project GLOBE - Polish-Norwegian Research Programme [POLNOR/198352/85/2013] ASer: Norway Grants under the Polish-Norwegian Research Program [POL-NOR/198352/85/2013] The People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) Zoologische Gesellschaft fur Arten-und Populationsschutz (ZGAP) Iranian Cheetah Society Quagga Conservation Fund IdeaWild Association Francaise des Parcs Zoologiques (AFdPZ) DEAL (Direction de l'Environnement de l'Amenagement et du Logement) de Guyane CNES (Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales) The Nedbank WWF Green Trust The International Foundation for Science Cape Leopard Trust German Research Foundation [DFG: KA 1082/16-1] The Wildlife and Reserve Management Research Group (WRMRG) International Foundation for Science (IFS) Safari Club International Foundation (SCIF) The Rufford Small Grants Foundation Ernst & Ethel Eriksen Trust WWF Sweden Leakey Foundation National Geographic Society WennerGren Foundation Departamento Administrativo de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovacion Colciencias, Project "Efecto de la presencia de saladosnaturales en la distribucion y uso de habitat de la danta de tier-ras bajas (Tapirus terrestris) en las amazonas colombiano" [1101569-33286, 0385-2013] Alexander von Humboldt Foundation NSF Graduate Research Fellowship [DEG-125608] Sustainability East Asia LLC - SEA Amarula Trust National Geographic Earthwatch Institute World Wildlife Fund for Nature Columbus Zoo California North Coast Chapter of The Wildlife Society Sequoia Park Zoo Foundation Anses This work was supported by: Forest and Nature for Society (FONASO) Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate programme (CONTRACT NO. 2013-09) to MPGH, Publication costs were covered by the Open Access Publication Fund of the University of Goettingen; The Norwegian Environment Agency, the Research Council of Norway (project 212919), Norwegian Institute for Nature Research to JM; Messerli Foundation, WWF to JMel; CRou: The author was supported in the form of salary by a postdoctoral grant funded by Landcare Research Ltd New Zealand and data provided was funded by research project grant from TBfree New Zealand (AHB project number R10737). Norwegian Research Counsil, Smafefondet, NMBU to NHJ; The Research Council of Norway to GS; Federal State of Baden-Wuerttemberg (Landesjagdabgabe) to MK; Funding for the capture and collaring of khulan was received from Wildlife Conservation Society, administered through a cooperative agreement with Sustainability East Asia LLC - SEA and originating from Oy Du Tolgoi -OT gold and copper mining company to PK; Swedish fieldwork was supported by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and by the private foundation "Marie Clair Cronstedts stiftelse" to PKje; NASA Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (project #NNX15AV92A), National Geographic Society Waitt Grant Program (Grant #W157-110) to SL; Research Council of Norway to JDCL; FAPESP (2013/50421-2, 2014/23132-2), CNPq (312045/2013-1; 312292/2016-3; 161089/2014-3), Silicon Valley Community Foundation, The Overbrook Foundation, the International ReSource Award, WCS Brasil, and Vanderbilt University. PROCAD/CAPES (88881.068425/2014-01); MLSJ Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo Fapesp (process: 2013/50421-2 and scholarship: 2014/23132-2) and CNPQ (scholarship: 161089/2014-3), Projeto Pecarideos - WCS Brasil and Vanderbilt University for funding this research to JEFO.; Howard G Buffett Foundation, Amarula Trust to AS; Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia -CONACYT with resources from the FEE to JJT; Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) grant numbers 814274 and 834118, Leobner Realgemeinschaft and Forstbetrieb Kletschach to RS; WWF Nedbank Green Trust (grant number GT 2251) to MD; DFG Fi707/9-1/DFG Zi548/6-1/DAAD (D/12/41834) to MKla; DFG FI707/9-1, DFG ZI548/6-1, DAAD D/12/41834 to DZ; GPS tags were funded by Nottingham Trent University, National Geographic, Earthwatch Institute, World Wildlife Fund for Nature, Columbus Zoo to RY; The Howard G. Buffett Foundation to AStr; ISRO-IISc Space Technology Cell to MT; Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance and Space Technology Cell, Indian Institute of Science to ATV; D.R.E. Am. Italia provided support in the form of salary for author SN, but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific role of this author is articulated in the 'author contributions' section.; RG was supported by funds of the Lower Saxony Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection; Panthera Kaplan Graduate Award to AD; Bank of America to JAM; The Norwegian Environment Agency, the Research Council of Norway (Project 212919), the Reindeer Development Fund in Norway, and several County administrations around Norway to JO; Rhodes University to DMP; Robin Hurt Wildlife Foundation, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute to AC; Wildlife Conservation Network, Panthera to CT; Humboldt State University, HSU Marine and Coastal Science Initiative, California North Coast Chapter of The Wildlife Society, Sequoia Park Zoo Foundation to CLA; Humboldt State University Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities Grant to IA; Humboldt State University Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities Grant to WTB; Claude Leon Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, The Cape Leopard Trust, Conservation South Africa, South African National Parks to BC; GPS collars were funded by the HERD project (Hwange Environmental Research Development), funded by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (FEAR project ANR-08-BLAN-0022), and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (Programme Zones Ateliers). Some collars were funded by the National Geographic Society GRANT #C151-08 to SP; NSERC CGS D to KJT; SK: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to SK; Service public de Wallonie. Direction generale de l'Agriculture, des Ressources naturelles et de l'Environnement to AL; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to KB; Parrotia-Stiftung, Stiftung Dr. Joachim de Giacomi, Basler Stiftung fur biologische Forschung, Messerli Stiftung, Carl Burger Stiftung, CIC Schweiz, CIC Deutschland, Paul Schiller Stiftung and Karl Mayer Stiftung to SCS; Consorcio Capim Branco de Energia to FCA; Consorcio Capim Branco de Energia to FGL; Ministere de l'Agriculture de l'Agroalimentaire et de la Foret, the Conseil Regional de Bourgogne, the Conseil General de la Cote d'Or, the Federation Departementale des Chasseurs de Cote d'Or, the Groupement de Defense Sanitaire de Cote d'Or, the Federation Nationale des Chasseurs and the Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage to AP.; ; South African National Research Foundation (Grant number: 107099) to LHS; Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP 2013/04957-8 and FAPESP 2013/18526-9) to ABer; MAVA Foundation, Switzerland; The Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt DBU (German Federal Environmental Foundation) to DM; Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) to CRic; Anses to ER; Project GLOBE (POLNOR/198352/85/2013) funded by the Polish-Norwegian Research Programme operated by the National Centre for Research and Development; ASer: Norway Grants under the Polish-Norwegian Research Program operated by the National Centre for Research and Development (GLOBE, POL-NOR/198352/85/2013) to NS; The People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES), Zoologische Gesellschaft fur Arten-und Populationsschutz (ZGAP), Iranian Cheetah Society, Quagga Conservation Fund, IdeaWild, Panthera and Association Francaise des Parcs Zoologiques (AFdPZ) to MSF; DEAL (Direction de l'Environnement de l'Amenagement et du Logement) de Guyane, CNES (Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales) to RBer; The Nedbank WWF Green Trust, The International Foundation for Science, the Cape Leopard Trust, Rhodes University to GKM; German Research Foundation (DFG: KA 1082/16-1) to LP; The Wildlife and Reserve Management Research Group (WRMRG), International Foundation for Science (IFS), Safari Club International Foundation (SCIF), The Rufford Small Grants Foundation, Ernst & Ethel Eriksen Trust to TG; WWF Sweden to RSte; Leakey Foundation, National Geographic Society, WennerGren Foundation to LS; Departamento Administrativo de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovacion Colciencias, Project "Efecto de la presencia de saladosnaturales en la distribucion y uso de habitat de la danta de tier-ras bajas (Tapirus terrestris) en las amazonas colombiano" (grantnumber 1101569-33286, contract: 0385-2013) to DA; PostDoctoral Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to ORB; NSF Graduate Research Fellowship DEG-125608 to SKac. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.; We thank Horst Reinecke and Christian Trothe for database management and data entry, and James Gibbons, Matthias Schmid and Benjamin Hofner for their enlightening explanations on the statistics. We thank Stan Tomkiewicz for insightful discussion on GPS collar functioning, and the Eurodeer. org network, Sarah Davidson of Movebank. org, and Stephanie O'Donnell of WILDLABS. NET for helping to spread the word about this study. We also thank Jonah Gula, Olav Strand, Ole Roer, Liu Yanlin, Bernt-Erik Saether, Anders Borstad, Laura McMahon, Thomas Morrison, Maurizio Ramanzin, Vebjorn Veiberg, Erling Johan Solberg, Leif Soennichsen, Hans Christian Pedersen, Tom McCarthy, Jacqueline L. Frair, Siobhan Dyer, Morten Odden, Lars Haugaard, and Peter G. Crawshaw, Jr. for their data contributions. The publication was supported by the Open Access Publication Fund of the University of Goettingen.

International audience; The Eurasian wild boar (Sus scrofa) is increasingly considered as a relevant actor in the epidemiology of animal tuberculosis (TB). Therefore, monitoring TB in this species is key when establishing comprehensive control schemes for this disease still present in Europe. No data are available on direct and indirect TB diagnostic methods in wild boars in epidemiological contexts where TB is endemic in cattle and detected in wild boars at low prevalence. We aimed to estimate and compare sensitivity and specificity values for bacterial culture, PCR and three commercial ELISAs, i.e. the TB ELISA-VK (using the bPPD antigen), INgezim TB Porcine and IDEXX M. bovis Ab Test (both using the MPB83 and MPB70 antigens), under field conditions in France. We used frequentist methods, with bacteriology as the gold standard, and a Bayesian formulation of the latent class analysis (LCA), without using a gold standard. Submandibular lymph nodes and sera from 495 wild boars hunter-harvested in three endemic areas (Aquitaine region, Côte d’Or region, and Corsica region) were collected between 2014 and 2016. Only eight individuals were positive for M. bovis by bacteriology (1.61%; CI95% 0.70–3.51%). The LCA method provided high specificities (99.2%; CI95% 98.2–99.8% for INgezim TB Porcine and 99.7%; CI95% 98.8–100% for IDEXX M. bovis Ab Test) and sensitivities (78.5%; CI95% 65.1–88.8% for INgezim TB Porcine and 83.9%; CI95% 58.9–97.2% for IDEXX M. bovis Ab Test) for both ELISAs using the MPB83 and MPB70 antigens. Bacterial culture showed limited sensitivity (42.8%; CI95% 19.0–70.6%), estimated as the probability of a positive result in an animal exposed to M. bovis. PCR and ELISA using the bPPD antigens demonstrated high specificities, and sensitivities intermediates between culture and the ELISAs using the MPB83 and MPB70 antigens. These results suggest that ELISA tests using the MPB83 and MPB70 antigens are useful to detect and monitor TB exposure of wild boar populations in field conditions in France.

A teaching workforce with good quality is a key factor in the process of China's rapid development. Although 76% of Chinese pupils are studying at schools within county areas, a general portray of the corresponding teaching workforce is still not clear. This study presents data from a nationally representative survey of primary education teachers in 35 counties of 18 provinces in China. Findings presented include demographic and professional characteristics, living conditions as well as attitudes towards work. Besides, variations among school locations and geographical regions are also examined. The key findings are the followings: 1) Quality of primary school teachers in county areas has been improved regarding education background; 2) Teaching force in village primary schools has an unbalanced age and gender composition; 3) Out-of-field teaching practice is widespread, especially for minor subjects. 4) Primary school teachers perceived relative low salary and low social status. ispartof: PLOS ONE vol:16 issue:1 ispartof: location:United States status: published

Aquaculture is increasing rapidly to meet global seafood demand. Some hydroid populations have been linked to mortality and health issues in finfish and shellfish, but their dynamics in and around aquaculture farms remain understudied. In the present work, two experiments, each with 36 panels, tested colonization (factors: depth, season of immersion) and succession (factors: depth, submersion duration) over one year. Hydroid surface cover was estimated for each species, and data were analyzed with multivariate techniques. The assemblage of hydrozoans was species-poor, although species richness, frequency and abundance increased with time, paralleling the overall increase in structural complexity of fouling assemblages. Submersion duration and season of immersion were particularly important in determining the species composition of the assemblages in the succession and colonization experiments, respectively. Production of water-borne propagules, including medusae, from the hydroids was observed from locally abundant colonies, among them the well-known fouling species Obelia dichotoma, potentially representing a nuisance for cultured fish through contact-driven envenomations and gill disorders. The results illustrate the potential importance of fouling hydroids and their medusae to the health of organisms in the aquaculture industry.

International audience; Gorgonopsia is one of the major clades of non-mammalian synapsids, and includes an array of large-bodied carnivores that were the top terrestrial predators of the late Permian. Most research on the clade has focused on these largest members; small-bodied gorgonopsians are relatively little-studied. Here, we redescribe a small gorgonopsian skull (MB.R.999) from the late Permian (Tropidostoma Assemblage Zone) of South Africa on the basis of neutron and synchrotron CT reconstructions, which yield new data on internal cranial morphology in Gorgonopsia. Because of the largely undistorted nature of MB.R.999, we were also able to reconstruct unossified areas such as the brain endocast and the otic labyrinth. MB.R.999 can be referred to the taxon Cynariops robustus based on its general skull proportions, postcanine tooth count, preparietal morphology, and vomerine morphology. We refer additional small gorgonopsian specimens from the Victoria West area to Cynariops robustus, and consider Cynarioides grimbeeki and Cynarioides laticeps to be synonymous with C. robustus. Inclusion of Cynariops in a phylogenetic analysis of Gorgonopsia recovers it within a large clade of African taxa, more closely related to Lycaenops and rubidgeines than Eriphostoma or Gorgonops.

Introduction The inconclusive clinical results for ST-waveform analysis (STAN) in detecting fetal hypoxemia may be caused by the signal processing of the STAN-device itself. We assessed the performance of a clinical STAN device in signal processing and in detecting hypoxemia in a fetal sheep model exposed to prolonged umbilical cord occlusion (UCO). Methods Eight fetal lambs were exposed to 25 minutes of UCO. ECG recordings were analyzed during a baseline period and during UCO. STAN-event rates and timing of episodic T/QRS rise, baseline T/QRS rise and the occurrence of biphasic ST-waveforms, as well as signal loss, were assessed. Results During baseline conditions of normoxemia, a median of 40 (IQR, 25–70) STAN-events per minute were detected, compared to 10 (IQR, 2–22) during UCO. During UCO STAN-events were detected in five subjects within 10 minutes and in six subjects after 18 minutes, respectively. Two subjects did not generate any STAN-event during UCO. Biphasic ST event rate was reduced during UCO (median 0, IQR 0–5), compared to baseline (median 32, IQR, 6–55). ST-waveforms could not be assessed in 62% of the recording time during UCO, despite a good quality of the ECG signal. Conclusions The STAN device showed limitations in detecting hypoxemia in fetal sheep after prolonged UCO. The STAN device produced high false positive event rates during baseline and did not detect T/QRS changes adequately after prolonged fetal hypoxemia. During 14% of baseline and 62% of the UCO period, the STAN-device could not process the ECG signal, despite its good quality. Resolving these issues may improve the clinical performance of the STAN device.

Rationale The lower airway microbiota is important in normal immunological development and chronic lung diseases (CLDs). Young children cannot expectorate and because of the uncertainty whether upper airway samples reflect the lower airway microbiota, there have been few longitudinal paediatric studies to date. Objectives To assess whether throat swabs (TS) and cough swabs (CS) are representative of the lower airway microbiota. Methods TS, CS, bronchoalveolar lavage and bronchial brushings were prospectively collected from 49 children undergoing fibreoptic bronchoscopy for CLDs. Bacterial DNA was extracted and the 16S rRNA gene V4 region sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq. Results 5.97 million high quality reads were obtained from 168 samples (47 TS, 37 CS, 42 BALF and 42 bronchial brushings). CS sequenced poorly. At a community level, no difference in alpha diversity (richness, evenness or Shannon Diversity Index) was seen between lower airway samples and TS (P > 0.05). Less than 6.31% of beta diversity variation related to sampling method for TS (P = 0.001). Variation between pathologies and individual patients was greater (20%, 54% respectively P ≤ 0.001) than between TS and lower airway samples. There was strong correlation in the relative abundance of genera between samples (r = 0.78, P < 0.001). Similarity between upper and lower airway samples was observed to be less for individuals where one sample type was dominated by a single organism. Conclusions At the community structure level, TS correlate with lower airway samples and distinguish between different CLDs. TS may be a useful sample for the study of the differences in longitudinal changes in the respiratory microbiota between different CLDs. Differences are too great however for TS to be used for clinical decision making.

Post-abortion family planning (PAFP) has been proposed as a key strategy to decrease unintended pregnancy and repeat induced abortions. However, the accessibility and quality of PAFP services remain a challenge in many countries including China where more than 10 million unintended pregnancies occur each year. Most of these unwanted pregnancies end in repeated induced abortions. This paper aims to explore service providers’ perceptions of the current situation regarding family planning and abortion service needs, provision, utilization, and the feasibility and acceptability of high quality PAFP in the future. Qualitative methods, including in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, were used with family planning policy makers, health managers, and service providers. Three provinces—Zhe-jiang, Hubei and Yunnan—were purposively selected, representing high, medium and relatively undeveloped areas of China. A total of fifty-three in-depth interviews and ten focus-group discussions were conducted and analysed thematically. Increased numbers of abortions among young, unmarried women were perceived as a major reason for high numbers of abortions. Participants attributed this to increasing socio-cultural acceptability of premarital sex, and simultaneously, lack of understanding or awareness of contraception among young people. The majority of service stakeholders acknowledged that free family planning services were neither targeted at, nor accessible to unmarried people. The extent of PAFP provision is variable and limited. However, service providers expressed willingness and enthusiasm towards providing PAFP services in the future. Three main considerations were expressed regarding the feasibility of developing and implementing PAFP services: policy support, human resources, and financial resources. The study indicated that key service stakeholders show demand for and perceive considerable opportunities to develop PAFP in China. However, changes are needed to enable the systematic development of high quality PAFP, including actively targeting young and unmarried people in service provision, obtaining policy support and increasing the investment of human and financial resources., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

International audience; Oceanic islands have been providing important insights on the structuring of ecological communities and, under the context of the present biodiversity crisis, they are paramount to assess the effects of biological invasions on community assembly. In this study we compare the taxonomic and functional diversity of insect herbivore assemblages associated with the dominant tree species of Azorean native forests and investigate the ecological processes that may have originated current patterns of plant-herbivore associations. Five dominant trees—Erica azorica, Ilex perado subsp. azorica, Juniperus brevifolia, Laurus azorica and Vaccinium cylindraceum—were sampled in the remnants of the native forest of Terceira Island (Azores) using a standardised methodology. The taxonomic and functional diversity of insect herbivore assemblages was assessed using complementary metrics and beta diversity partitioning analysis (species replacement and richness differences) aiming to evaluate the variation in insect herbivore assemblages within and between the study plant species. Sixty two insect species, mostly bugs (Hemiptera) and caterpillars (Lepidoptera), were found in the five study plants with indigenous (endemic and native non-endemic) insects occurring with higher species richness and abundance than introduced ones. Species replacement was the most important component of insect herbivore taxonomic beta diversity while differences in trait richness played a major role on functional beta diversity. The endemic E. azorica stands out from the other study plants by having associated a very distinct insect herbivore assemblage with a particular set of functional attributes, mainly composed by large bodied and long shaped species that feed by chewing. Despite the progressive biotic homogenization witnessed in the Azores during the last few decades, several strong associations between the endemic trees and their indigenous insect herbivores remain.

BACKGROUND: The temporal distribution of trauma mortality has been classically described as a trimodal pattern with an immediate, early and late peak. In modern health care systems this time distribution has changed.METHODS: Data from the TraumaRegister DGU was analysed retrospectively. Between 2002 and 2015, all registered in-hospital deaths with an Injury Severity Score (ISS) ≥ 16 were evaluated considering time of death, trauma mechanism, injured body area, age distribution, rates of sepsis and multiple organ failure. Pre-hospital and post-discharge trauma deaths were not considered.RESULTS: 78 310 severely injured patients were registered, non-survivors constituted 14 816, representing an in-hospital mortality rate of 18.9%. Mean ISS of non-survivors was 36.0±16.0, 66.7% were male, mean age was 59.5±23.5. Within the first hour after admission to hospital, 10.8% of deaths occurred, after 6 hours the percentage increased to 25.5%, after 12 hours 40.0%, after 24 hours 53.2% and within the first 48 hours 61.9%. Mortality showed a constant temporal decrease. Severe head injury (defined by Abbreviated Injury Scale, AIS-Head≥3) was found in 76.4% of non-survivors. Patients with an isolated head injury showed a more distinct decrease in survival rate, which was accentuated in the first days after admission. The correlation of age and time of death showed a proportional increase with age (55-74a). The rate of sepsis and multiple organ failure among non-survivors was 11.5% and 70.1%, respectively.CONCLUSION: In a modern trauma care system, the mortality distribution of severely injured patients has changed its pattern, where especially the third peak is no longer detectable.

The historically developed practice of learning to play a music instrument from notes instead of by imitation or improvisation makes it possible to contrast two types of skilled musicians characterized not only by dissimilar performance practices, but also disparate methods of audiomotor learning. In a recent fMRI study comparing these two groups of musicians while they either imagined playing along with a recording or covertly assessed the quality of the performance, we observed activation of a right-hemisphere network of posterior superior parietal and dorsal premotor cortices in improvising musicians, indicating more efficient audiomotor transformation. In the present study, we investigated the detailed performance characteristics underlying the ability of both groups of musicians to replicate music on the basis of aural perception alone. Twenty-two classically-trained improvising and score-dependent musicians listened to short, unfamiliar two-part excerpts presented with headphones. They played along or replicated the excerpts by ear on a digital piano, either with or without aural feedback. In addition, they were asked to harmonize or transpose some of the excerpts either to a different key or to the relative minor. MIDI recordings of their performances were compared with recordings of the aural model. Concordance was expressed in an audiomotor alignment score computed with the help of music information retrieval algorithms. Significantly higher alignment scores were found when contrasting groups, voices, and tasks. The present study demonstrates the superior ability of improvising musicians to replicate both the pitch and rhythm of aurally perceived music at the keyboard, not only in the original key, but also in other tonalities. Taken together with the enhanced activation of the right dorsal frontoparietal network found in our previous fMRI study, these results underscore the conclusion that the practice of improvising music can be associated with enhanced audiomotor transformation in response to aurally perceived music.

This paper investigates a biologically motivated model of peripersonal space through its implementation on a humanoid robot. Guided by the present understanding of the neurophysiology of the fronto-parietal system, we developed a computational model inspired by the receptive fields of polymodal neurons identified, for example, in brain areas F4 and VIP. The experiments on the iCub humanoid robot show that the peripersonal space representation i) can be learned efficiently and in real-time via a simple interaction with the robot, ii) can lead to the generation of behaviors like avoidance and reaching, and iii) can contribute to the understanding the biological principle of motor equivalence. More specifically, with respect to i) the present model contributes to hypothesizing a learning mechanisms for peripersonal space. In relation to point ii) we show how a relatively simple controller can exploit the learned receptive fields to generate either avoidance or reaching of an incoming stimulus and for iii) we show how the robot can select arbitrary body parts as the controlled end-point of an avoidance or reaching movement.

00000 ăWOS:000384167300004; International audience; Morphological and molecular tools were combined to resolve the misidentification between Glycymeris glycymeris and Glycymeris pilosa from Atlantic and Mediterranean populations. The ambiguous literature on the taxonomic status of these species requires this confirmation as a baseline to studies on their ecology and sclerochronology. We used classical and landmark-based morphometric approaches and performed bivariate and multivariate analyses to test for shell character interactions at the individual and population level. Both approaches generated complementary information. The former showed the shell width to length ratio and the valve asymmetry to be the main discriminant characters between Atlantic and Mediterranean populations. Additionally, the external microsculpture of additional and finer secondary ribs in G. glycymeris discriminates it from G. pilosa. Likewise, landmark-based geometric morphometrics revealed a stronger opisthogyrate beak and prosodetic ligament in G. pilosa than G. glycymeris. Our Bayesian and maximum likelihood phylogenetic analyses based on COI and ITS2 genes identified that G. glycymeris and G. pilosa form two separate monophyletic clades with mean interspecific divergence of 11% and 0.9% for COI and ITS2, respectively. The congruent patterns of morphometric analysis together with mitochondrial and nuclear phylogenetic reconstructions indicated the separation of the two coexisting species. The intraspecific divergence occurred during the Eocene and accelerated during the late Pliocene and Pleistocene. Glycymeris pilosa showed a high level of genetic diversity, appearing as a more robust species whose tolerance of environmental conditions allowed its expansion throughout the Mediterranean.

Reasoning, solving mathematical equations, or planning written and spoken sentences all must factor in stimuli perceptual properties. Indeed, thinking processes are inspired by and subsequently fitted to concrete objects and situations. It is therefore reasonable to expect that the mental representations evoked when people solve these seemingly abstract tasks should interact with the properties of the manipulated stimuli. Here, we investigated the mental representations evoked by conjunction and disjunction expressions in language-picture matching tasks. We hypothesised that, if these representations have been derived using key Gestalt principles, reasoners should use perceptual compatibility to gauge the goodness of fit between conjunction/disjunction descriptions (e.g., the purple and/ or the green) and corresponding binary visual displays. Indeed, the results of three experimental studies demonstrate that reasoners associate conjunction descriptions with perceptually-dependent stimuli and disjunction descriptions with perceptually-independent stimuli, where visual dependency status follows the key Gestalt principles of common fate, proximity, and similarity.

Two blue mussel lineages of Pliocene origin, Mytilus edulis (ME) and M. trossulus (MT), co-occur and hybridize in several regions on the shores of the North Atlantic. The two species were distinguished from each other by molecular methods in the 1980s, and a large amount of comparative data on them has been accumulated since that time. However, while ME and MT are now routinely distinguished by various genetic markers, they tend to be overlooked in ecological studies since morphological characters for taxonomic identification have been lacking, and no consistent habitat differences between lineages have been reported. Surveying a recently discovered area of ME and MT co-occurrence in the White Sea and employing a set of allozyme markers for identification, we address the issue whether ME and MT are true biological species with distinct ecological characteristics or just virtual genetic entities with no matching morphological and ecological identities. We find that: (1) in the White Sea, the occurrence of MT is largely concentrated in harbors, in line with observations from other subarctic regions of Europe; (2) mixed populations of ME and MT are always dominated by purebred individuals, animals classified as hybrids constituting only ca. 18%; (3) in terms of shell morphology, 80% of MT bear a distinct uninterrupted dark prismatic strip under the ligament while 97% of ME lack this character; (4) at sites of sympatry MT is more common on algal substrates while ME mostly lives directly on the bottom. This segregation by the substrate may contribute to maintaining reproductive isolation and decreasing competition between taxa. We conclude that while ME and MT are not fully reproductively isolated, they do represent clearly distinguishable biological, ecological and morphological entities in the White Sea. It remains to be documented whether the observed morphological and ecological differences are of a local character, or whether they have simply been overlooked in other contact zones.

India’s agricultural output, economy, and societal well-being are strappingly dependent on the stability of summer monsoon rainfall, its variability and extremes. Spatial aggregate of intensity and frequency of extreme rainfall events over Central India are significantly increasing, while at local scale they are spatially non-uniform with increasing spatial variability. The reasons behind such increase in spatial variability of extremes are poorly understood and the trends in mean monsoon rainfall have been greatly overlooked. Here, by using multi-decadal gridded daily rainfall data over entire India, we show that the trend in spatial variability of mean monsoon rainfall is decreasing as exactly opposite to that of extremes. The spatial variability of extremes is attributed to the spatial variability of the convective rainfall component. Contrarily, the decrease in spatial variability of the mean rainfall over India poses a pertinent research question on the applicability of large scale inter-basin water transfer by river inter-linking to address the spatial variability of available water in India. We found a significant decrease in the monsoon rainfall over major water surplus river basins in India. Hydrological simulations using a Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model also revealed that the water yield in surplus river basins is decreasing but it is increasing in deficit basins. These findings contradict the traditional notion of dry areas becoming drier and wet areas becoming wetter in response to climate change in India. This result also calls for a re-evaluation of planning for river inter-linking to supply water from surplus to deficit river basins.

Introduction The association between education and wealth, as fundamental determinants of health, and smoking is well-established. Yet, social inequalities have received little attention in the expanding field of tobacco research in the Arab region. In this study, we examine inequalities in cigarette smoking by education and wealth in four Arab countries. Methods Utilizing the most recently available population-level data sets (Syria 2009 PAPFAM, Jordan 2012 DHS, Palestine 2010 Family Health Survey, and Lebanon 2004 PAPFAM), we tested the association between cigarette smoking and education and wealth-controlling for age, marital status, and region of residence-for each country, and among men and women depending on data availability. Results Cigarette smoking prevalence among Arab men is high- 51.3% in Syria, 39.7% in Palestine, and 42.1% in Lebanon; among women, prevalence is 8.4% in Syria, 10.9% in Jordan, and 24.3% Lebanon. Cigarette smoking shows the expected patterns inequalities by education among men in Syria, Palestine, and Lebanon, and among women in Jordan and Lebanon. On the other hand, wealth does not show a clear pattern in its association with cigarette smoking and, in some cases (men in Palestine and women in Syria) the behavioral risk is higher among the wealthiest. Conclusions Available data from 2004-2012 show that cigarette smoking among men and women in the four Arab countries is predominant among those with limited access to education as a fundamental cause. The weak or absent negative association between wealth and cigarette smoking suggests that access to material resources does not precipitate a reduction in the consumption of tobacco.

Terrestrial and marine wildlife populations have been severely reduced by hunting, fishing and habitat destruction, especially in the last centuries. Although management regulations have led to the recovery of some populations, the underlying processes are not always well understood. This study uses a 40-year time series of counts of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) in the Wadden Sea to study these processes, and demonstrates the influence of historical regional differences in management regimes on the recovery of this population. While the Wadden Sea is considered one ecologically coupled zone, with a distinct harbour seal population, the area is divided into four geo-political regions i.e. the Netherlands, Lower Saxony including Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark. Gradually, seal hunting was banned between 1962 and 1977 in the different regions. Counts of moulting harbour seals and pup counts, obtained during aerial surveys between 1974 and 2014, show a population growth from approximately 4500 to 39,000 individuals. Population growth models were developed to assess if population growth differed between regions, taking into account two Phocine Distemper Virus (PDV) epizootics, in 1988 and 2002 which seriously affected the population. After a slow start prior to the first epizootic, the overall population grew exponentially at rates close to assumed maximum rates of increase in a harbour seal population. Recently, growth slowed down, potentially indicative of approaching carrying capacity. Regional differences in growth rates were demonstrated, with the highest recovery in Netherlands after the first PDV epizootic (i.e. 17.9%), suggesting that growth was fuelled by migration from the other regions, where growth remained at or below the intrinsic growth rate (13%). The seals' distribution changed, and although the proportion of seals counted in the German regions declined, they remained by far the most important pupping region, with approximately 70% of all pups being born there. It is hypothesised that differences in hunting regime, preceding the protection in the 1960's and 1970's, created unbalance in the distribution of breeding females throughout the Wadden Sea, which prevailed for decades. Breeding site fidelity promoted the growth in pup numbers at less affected breeding sites, while recolonisation of new breeding areas would be suppressed by the philopatry displayed by the animals born there. This study shows that for long-lived species, variable management regimes in this case hunting regulations, across a species' range can drive population dynamics for several generations.

INTRODUCTION: Since 2000, the world has been coalesced around efforts to reduce maternal mortality. However, few studies have estimated the significance of eliminating maternal deaths on female life expectancy. We estimated, based on census data, the potential gains in female life expectancy assuming complete elimination of pregnancy-related mortality in Zambia. METHODS: We used data on all-cause and pregnancy-related deaths of females aged 15-49 reported in the Zambia 2010 census, and evaluated, adjusted and smoothed them using existing and verified techniques. We used associated single decrement life tables, assuming complete elimination of pregnancy-related deaths to estimate the potential gains in female life expectancy at birth, at age 15, and over the ages 15-49. We compared these gains with the gains from eliminating deaths from accidents, injury, violence and suicide. RESULTS: Complete elimination of pregnancy-related deaths would extend life expectancy at birth among Zambian women by 1.35 years and life expectancy at age 15 by 1.65 years. In rural areas, this would be 1.69 years and 2.19 years, respectively, and in urban areas, 0.78 years and 0.85 years. An additional 0.72 years would be spent in the reproductive age group 15-49; 1.00 years in rural areas and 0.35 years in urban areas. Eliminating deaths from accidents, injury, suicide and violence among women aged 15-49 would cumulatively contribute 0.55 years to female life expectancy at birth. CONCLUSION: Eliminating pregnancy-related mortality would extend female life expectancy in Zambia substantially, with more gains among adolescents and females in rural areas. The application of life table techniques to census data proved very valuable, although rigorous evaluation and adjustment of reported deaths and age was necessary to attain plausible estimates. The collection of detailed high quality cause-specific mortality data in future censuses is indispensable.

Introduction:\ud Inappropriate DNA methylation is frequently associated with human tumour development, and in specific cases, is associated with clinical outcomes. Previous reports of DNA methylation in low/intermediate grade non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) have suggested that specific patterns of DNA methylation may have a role as diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers. In view of the aggressive and clinically unpredictable nature of high-grade (HG) NMIBC, and the current shortage of the preferred treatment option (Bacillus:Calmette-Guerin), novel methylation analyses may similarly reveal biomarkers of disease outcome that could risk-stratify patients and guide clinical management at initial diagnosis.\ud \ud Methods:\ud Promoter-associated CpG island methylation was determined in primary tumour tissue of 36 initial presentation high-grade NMIBCs, 12 low/intermediate-grade NMIBCs and 3 normal bladder controls. The genes HOXA9, ISL1, NKX6-2, SPAG6, ZIC1 and ZNF154 were selected for investigation on the basis of previous reports and/or prognostic utility in low/intermediate-grade NMIBC. Methylation was determined by Pyrosequencing of sodium-bisulphite converted DNA, and then correlated with gene expression using RT-qPCR. Methylation was additionally correlated with tumour behaviour, including tumour recurrence and progression to muscle invasive bladder cancer or metastases.\ud \ud Results:\ud The ISL1 genes' promoter-associated island was more frequently methylated in recurrent and progressive high-grade tumours than their non-recurrent counterparts (60.0% vs. 18.2%, p = 0.008). ISL1 and HOXA9 showed significantly higher mean methylation in recurrent and progressive tumours compared to non-recurrent tumours (43.3% vs. 20.9%, p = 0.016 and 34.5% vs 17.6%, p = 0.017, respectively). Concurrent ISL1/HOXA9 methylation in HG-NMIBC reliably predicted tumour recurrence and progression within one year (Positive Predictive Value 91.7%), and was associated with disease-specific mortality (DSM).\ud \ud Conclusions:\ud In this study we report methylation differences and similarities between clinical sub-types of high-grade NMIBC. We report the potential ability of methylation biomarkers, at initial diagnosis, to predict tumour recurrence and progression within one year of diagnosis. We found that specific biomarkers reliably predict disease outcome and therefore may help guide patient treatment despite the unpredictable clinical course and heterogeneity of high-grade NMIBC. Further investigation is required, including validation in a larger patient cohort, to confirm the clinical utility of methylation biomarkers in high-grade NMIBC.

International audience; Spatial patterns of beta diversity are a major focus of ecology. They can be especially valuable in conservation planning. In this study, we used a generalized dissimilarity modeling approach to analyze and predict the spatial patterns of beta diversity for commercially exploited, demersal marine species assemblages along the Tunisian coasts. For this study, we used a presence/absence dataset which included information on 174 species (invertebrates and fishes) and 9 environmental variables. We first performed the modeling analyses and assessed beta diversity using the turnover component of the Jaccard’s dissimilarity index. We then performed nonmetric multidimensional scaling to map predicted beta diversity. To delineate the biogeographical regions, we used fuzzy cluster analysis. Finally, we also identified a set of indicator species which characterized the species assemblages in each identified biogeographical region. The predicted beta diversity map revealed two patterns: an inshore-offshore gradient and a south-north latitudinal gradient. Three biogeographical regions were identified and 14 indicator species. These results constitute a first contribution of the bioregionalisation of the Tunisian waters and highlight the issues associated with current fisheries management zones and conservation strategies. Results could be useful to follow an Ecosystem Based Management approach by proposing an objective spatial partitioning of the Tunisian waters. This partitioning could be used to prioritize the adjustment of the actual fisheries management entities, identify current data gaps, inform future scientific surveys and improve current MPA network.

Humans' two closest primate living relatives, bonobos and chimpanzees, differ behaviorally, cognitively, and emotionally in several ways despite their general similarities. While bonobos show more affiliative behaviors towards conspecifics, chimpanzees display more overt and severe aggression against conspecifics. From a cognitive standpoint, bonobos perform better in social coordination, gaze-following and food-related cooperation, while chimpanzees excel in tasks requiring extractive foraging skills. We hypothesized that attention and motivation play an important role in shaping the species differences in behavior, cognition, and emotion. Thus, we predicted that bonobos would pay more attention to the other individuals' face and eyes, as those are related to social affiliation and social coordination, while chimpanzees would pay more attention to the action target objects, as they are related to foraging. Using eye-tracking we examined the bonobos' and chimpanzees' spontaneous scanning of pictures that included eyes, mouth, face, genitals, and action target objects of conspecifics. Although bonobos and chimpanzees viewed those elements overall similarly, bonobos viewed the face and eyes longer than chimpanzees, whereas chimpanzees viewed the other elements, the mouth, action target objects and genitals, longer than bonobos. In a discriminant analysis, the individual variation in viewing patterns robustly predicted the species of individuals, thus clearly demonstrating species-specific viewing patterns. We suggest that such attentional and motivational differences between bonobos and chimpanzees could have partly contributed to shaping the species-specific behaviors, cognition, and emotion of these species, even in a relatively short period of evolutionary time., ボノボはチンパンジーよりも頻繁にアイ・コンタクトする. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2015-06-22.

Constitutional delay of growth and puberty (CDGP) is the most common cause of pubertal delay. CDGP is defined as the proportion of the normal population who experience pubertal onset at least 2 SD later than the population mean, representing 2.3% of all adolescents. While adolescents with CDGP spontaneously enter puberty, they are at risk for short stature, decreased bone mineral density, and psychosocial problems. Genetic factors contribute heavily to the timing of puberty, but the vast majority of CDGP cases remain biologically unexplained, and there is no definitive test to distinguish CDGP from pathological absence of puberty during adolescence. Recently, we published a study identifying significant linkage between a locus at the pericentromeric region of chromosome 2 (chr 2) and CDGP in Finnish families. To investigate this region for causal variation, we sequenced chr 2 between the genomic coordinates of 79-124 Mb (genome build GRCh37) in the proband and affected parent of the 13 families contributing most to this linkage signal. One gene, DNAH6, harbored 6 protein-altering low-frequency variants (

BACKGROUND: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common psychiatric disorder in children and adolescents. Immediate-release methylphenidate (IR-MPH) is the medical treatment of first choice. The necessity to use several IR-MPH tablets per day and associated potential social stigma at school often leads to reduced compliance, sub-optimal treatment, and therefore economic loss. Replacement of IR-MPH with a single-dose extended release (ER-MPH) formulation may improve drug response and economic efficiency.OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness from a societal perspective of a switch from IR-MPH to ER-MPH in patients who are sub-optimally treated.METHODS: A daily Markov-cycle model covering a time-span of 10 years was developed including four different health states: (1) optimal response, (2) sub-optimal response, (3) discontinued treatment, and (4) natural remission. ER-MPH options included methylphenidate osmotic release oral system (MPH-OROS) and Equasym XL/Medikinet CR. Both direct costs and indirect costs were included in the analysis, and effects were expressed as quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Univariate, multivariate as well as probabilistic sensitivity analysis were conducted and the main outcomes were incremental cost-effectiveness ratios.RESULTS: Switching sub-optimally treated patients from IR-MPH to MPH-OROS or Equasym XL/Medikinet CR led to per-patient cost-savings of €4200 and €5400, respectively, over a 10-year treatment span. Sensitivity analysis with plausible variations of input parameters resulted in cost-savings in the vast majority of estimations.CONCLUSIONS: This study lends economic support to switching patients with ADHD with suboptimal response to short-acting IR-MPH to long-acting ER-MPH regimens.

Temporal variation in the composition of species assemblages could be the result of deterministic processes driven by environmental change and/or stochastic processes of colonization and local extinction. Here, we analyzed the relative roles of deterministic and stochastic processes on bird assemblages in an agricultural landscape of southwestern France. We first assessed the impact of land cover change that occurred between 1982 and 2007 on (i) the species composition (presence/absence) of bird assemblages and (ii) the spatial pattern of taxonomic beta diversity. We also compared the observed temporal change of bird assemblages with a null model accounting for the effect of stochastic dynamics on temporal beta diversity. Temporal assemblage dissimilarity was partitioned into two separate components, accounting for the replacement of species (i.e. turnover) and for the nested species losses (or gains) from one time to the other (i.e. nestedness-resultant dissimilarity), respectively. Neither the turnover nor the nestedness-resultant components of temporal variation were accurately explained by any of the measured variables accounting for land cover change (r2

Deforestation and fragmentation are major components of global change; both are contributing to the rapid loss of tropical forest area with important implications for ecosystem functioning and biodiversity conservation. The forests of South Ecuador are a biological 'hotspot' due to their high diversity and endemism levels. We examined the deforestation and fragmentation patterns in this area of high conservation value using aerial photographs and Aster satellite scenes. The registered annual deforestation rates of 0.75% (1976-1989) and 2.86% (1989-2008) for two consecutive survey periods, the decreasing mean patch size and the increasing isolation of the forest fragments show that the area is under severe threat. Approximately 46% of South Ecuador's original forest cover had been converted by 2008 into pastures and other anthropogenic land cover types. We found that deforestation is more intense at lower elevations (premontane evergreen forest and shrubland) and that the deforestation front currently moves in upslope direction. Improved awareness of the spatial extent, dynamics and patterns of deforestation and forest fragmentation is urgently needed in biologically diverse areas like South Ecuador. peerReviewed

Descending aortic dissection (DAD) is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. Aortic wall stiffness is a variable often altered in DAD patients and potentially involved in long-term outcome. However, its relevance is still mostly unknown. To gain more detailed knowledge of how wall elasticity (compliance) might influence intraluminal haemodynamics in DAD, a lumped-parameter model was developed based on experimental data from a pulsatile hydraulic circuit and validated for 8 clinical scenarios. Next, the variations of intraluminal pressures and flows were assessed as a function of wall elasticity. In comparison with the most rigid-wall case, an increase in elasticity to physiological values was associated with a decrease in systolic and increase in diastolic pressures of up to 33% and 63% respectively, with a subsequent decrease in the pressure wave amplitude of up to 86%. Moreover, it was related to an increase in multidirectional intraluminal flows and transition of behaviour as 2 parallel vessels towards a vessel with a side-chamber. The model supports the extremely important role of wall elasticity as determinant of intraluminal pressures and flow patterns for DAD, and thus, the relevance of considering it during clinical assessment and computational modelling of the disease. This study was partially supported by the Subprograma de Proyectos de Investigación en Salud (FIS), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain (ref. PI108/0608, PI11/01709); the Programa de ayudas destinadas a universidades, centros de investigación y fundaciones hospitalarias para la contratación de personal investigador novel (FI-DGR 2011), Spain; and the EU FP7 for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement VP2HF (no 611823).

In 2013 Zhou et al. concluded that Salmonella enterica serovar Agona represents a genetically monomorphic lineage of recent ancestry, whose most recent common ancestor existed in 1932, or earlier. The Abstract stated ‘Agona consists of three lineages with minimal mutational diversity: only 846 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have accumulated in the non-repetitive, core genome since Agona evolved in 1932 and subsequently underwent a major population expansion in the 1960s.’ These conclusions have now been criticized by Pettengill, who claims that the evolutionary models used to date Agona may not have been appropriate, the dating estimates were inaccurate, and the age of emergence of Agona should have been qualified by an upper limit reflecting the date of its divergence from an outgroup, serovar Soerenga. We dispute these claims. Firstly, Pettengill’s analysis of Agona is not justifiable on technical grounds. Secondly, an upper limit for divergence from an outgroup would only be meaningful if the outgroup were closely related to Agona, but close relatives of Agona are yet to be identified. Thirdly, it is not possible to reliably date the time of divergence between Agona and Soerenga. We conclude that Pettengill’s criticism is comparable to a tempest in a teapot.\ud

Introduction: Since 2000, the world has been coalesced around efforts to reduce maternal mortality. However, few studies have estimated the significance of eliminating maternal deaths on female life expectancy. We estimated, based on census data, the potential gains in female life expectancy assuming complete elimination of pregnancy-related mortality in Zambia. Methods: We used data on all-cause and pregnancy-related deaths of females aged 15–49 reported in the Zambia 2010 census, and evaluated, adjusted and smoothed them using existing and verified techniques. We used associated single decrement life tables, assuming complete elimination of pregnancy-related deaths to estimate the potential gains in female life expectancy at birth, at age 15, and over the ages 15–49. We compared these gains with the gains from eliminating deaths from accidents, injury, violence and suicide. Results: Complete elimination of pregnancy-related deaths would extend life expectancy at birth among Zambian women by 1.35 years and life expectancy at age 15 by 1.65 years. In rural areas, this would be 1.69 years and 2.19 years, respectively, and in urban areas, 0.78 years and 0.85 years. An additional 0.72 years would be spent in the reproductive age group 15–49; 1.00 years in rural areas and 0.35 years in urban areas. Eliminating deaths from accidents, injury, suicide and violence among women aged 15–49 would cumulatively contribute 0.55 years to female life expectancy at birth. Conclusion: Eliminating pregnancy-related mortality would extend female life expectancy in Zambia substantially, with more gains among adolescents and females in rural areas. The application of life table techniques to census data proved very valuable, although rigorous evaluation and adjustment of reported deaths and age was necessary to attain plausible estimates. The collection of detailed high quality cause-specific mortality data in future censuses is indispensable. publishedVersion

The Ruff Figural Fluency Test (RFFT) is a cognitive test to measure executive function. Longitudinal studies have shown that repeated testing improves performance on the RFFT. Such a practice effect may hinder the interpretation of test results in a clinical setting. Therefore, we investigated the longitudinal performance on the RFFT in persons aged 35–82 years. Performance on the RFFT was measured three times over an average follow-up period of six years in 2,515 participants of the Prevention of REnal and Vascular ENd-stage Disease (PREVEND) study in Groningen, the Netherlands: 53% men; mean age (SD), 53 (10) years. The effect of consecutive measurements on performance on the RFFT was investigated with linear multilevel regression models that also included age, gender, educational level and the interaction term consecutive measurement number x age as independent variables. It was found that the mean (SD) number of unique designs on the RFFT increased from 73 (26) at the first measurement to 79 (27) at the second measurement and to 83 (26) at the third measurement (p

Background TNBC is an aggressive subset of breast cancer (BC) without specific target therapy. Methods This observational, retrospective study included 45 cases of TNBC. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of the AR, E-cadherin and Ki-67 in relation to histological type, time to relapse and overall survival (OS). Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was carried out on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor samples obtained from patients defined TNBC. Results The AR was positive (IHC >10%) in 26.6%. E-cadherin (CDH1) expression was considered positive if the score was ≥ 2. This expression was negative in 53.3% cases. The Ki-67 index was ≥ 20% in 37.7%. Univariate analyses showed that AR, CDH1 and Ki-67 are significantly associated with OS. Multivariate analysis showed that AR and Ki-67 expression are independent variables associated with OS. The statistical analysis showed that patients with AR negative and Ki-67 positive expression have a significant correlation with poor outcome. Conclusions Our data suggest that the combination of AR and E-cadherin expression as well as Ki-67 status might be useful prognostic markers in TNBC. Hence, these molecular determinants could play an interesting role to classify subgroups of TNBC.

Unintentional injuries are among the ten leading causes of death in older adults; falls cause 60% of these deaths. Despite their effectiveness to improve balance and reduce the risk of falls, balance training programs have several drawbacks in practice, such as lack of engaging elements, boring exercises, and the effort and cost of travelling, ultimately resulting in low adherence. Exergames, that is, digital games controlled by body movements, have been proposed as an alternative to improve balance. One of the main challenges for exergames is to automatically quantify balance during game-play in order to adapt the game difficulty according to the skills of the player. Here we perform a multidimensional exploratory data analysis, using visualization techniques, to find useful measures for quantifying balance in real-time. First, we visualize exergaming data, derived from 400 force plate recordings of 40 participants from 20 to 79 years and 10 trials per participant, as heat maps and violin plots to get quick insight into the nature of the data. Second, we extract known and new features from the data, such as instantaneous speed, measures of dispersion, turbulence measures derived from speed, and curvature values. Finally, we analyze and visualize these features using several visualizations such as a heat map, overlapping violin plots, a parallel coordinate plot, a projection of the two first principal components, and a scatter plot matrix. Our visualizations and findings suggest that heat maps and violin plots can provide quick insight and directions for further data exploration. The most promising measures to quantify balance in real-time are speed, curvature and a turbulence measure, because these measures show age-related changes in balance performance. The next step is to apply the present techniques to data of whole body movements as recorded by devices such as Kinect.

Macular degeneration is the main cause for diminished visual acuity in the elderly. The juvenile form of macular degeneration has equally detrimental consequences on foveal vision. To compensate for loss of foveal vision most patients with macular degeneration adopt an eccentric preferred retinal location that takes over tasks normally performed by the healthy fovea. It is unclear however, whether the preferred retinal locus also develops properties typical for foveal vision. Here, we investigated whether the fixation characteristics of the preferred retinal locus resemble those of the healthy fovea. For this purpose, we used the fixation-offset paradigm and tracked eye-position using a high spatial and temporal resolution infrared eye-tracker. The fixation-offset paradigm measures release from fixation under different fixation conditions and has been shown useful to distinguish between foveal and non-foveal fixation. We measured eye-movements in nine healthy age-matched controls and five patients with juvenile macular degeneration. In addition, we performed a simulation with the same task in a group of five healthy controls. Our results show that the preferred retinal locus does not adopt a foveal type of fixation but instead drifts further away from its original fixation and has overall increased fixation instability. Furthermore, the fixation instability is most pronounced in low frequency eye-movements representing a slow drift from fixation. We argue that the increased fixation instability cannot be attributed to fixation under an unnatural angle. Instead, diminished visual acuity in the periphery causes reduced oculomotor control and results in increased fixation instability.

Atherosclerosis may be triggered by an elevated net transport of lipid-carrying macromolecules from plasma into the arterial wall. We hypothesised that whether lesions are of the thin-cap fibroatheroma (TCFA) type or are less fatty and more fibrous depends on the degree of elevation of transport, with greater uptake leading to the former. We further hypothesised that the degree of elevation can depend on haemodynamic wall shear stress characteristics and nitric oxide synthesis. Placing a tapered cuff around the carotid artery of apolipoprotein E -/- mice modifies patterns of shear stress and eNOS expression, and triggers lesion development at the upstream and downstream cuff margins; upstream but not downstream lesions resemble the TCFA. We measured wall uptake of a macromolecular tracer in the carotid artery of C57bl/6 mice after cuff placement. Uptake was elevated in the regions that develop lesions in hyperlipidaemic mice and was significantly more elevated where plaques of the TCFA type develop. Computational simulations and effects of reversing the cuff orientation indicated a role for solid as well as fluid mechanical stresses. Inhibiting NO synthesis abolished the difference in uptake between the upstream and downstream sites. The data support the hypothesis that excessively elevated wall uptake of plasma macromolecules initiates the development of the TCFA, suggest that such uptake can result from solid and fluid mechanical stresses, and are consistent with a role for NO synthesis. Modification of wall transport properties might form the basis of novel methods for reducing plaque rupture.

International audience; Understanding the drivers of species' geographic distribution has fundamental implications for the management of biodiversity. For coral reef fishes, mangroves have long been recognized as important nursery habitats sustaining biodiversity in the Western Atlantic but there is still debate about their role in the Indo-Pacific. Here, we combined LA-ICP-MS otolith microchemistry, underwater visual censuses (UVC) and mangrove cartography to estimate the importance of mangroves for the Indo-Pacific coral reef fish Lutjanus fulviflamma in the archipelago of New Caledonia. Otolith elemental compositions allowed high discrimination of mangroves and reefs with 83.8% and 98.7% correct classification, respectively. Reefs were characterized by higher concentrations of Rb and Sr and mangroves by higher concentrations of Ba, Cr, Mn and Sn. All adult L. fulviflamma collected on reefs presented a mangrove signature during their juvenile stage with 85% inhabiting mangrove for their entire juvenile life (about 1 year). The analysis of 2942 UVC revealed that the species was absent from isolated islands of the New Caledonian archipelago where mangroves were absent. Furthermore, strong positive correlations existed between the abundance of L. fulviflamma and the area of mangrove (r = 0.84 for occurrence, 0.93 for density and 0.89 for biomass). These results indicate that mangrove forest is an obligatory juvenile habitat for L. fulviflamma in New Caledonia and emphasize the potential importance of mangroves for Indo-Pacific coral reef fishes.

Characterizing the variability of resting-state functional brain connectivity across subjects and/or over time has recently attracted much attention. Principal component analysis (PCA) serves as a fundamental statistical technique for such analyses. However, performing PCA on high-dimensional connectivity matrices yields complicated "eigenconnectivity" patterns, for which systematic interpretation is a challenging issue. Here, we overcome this issue with a novel constrained PCA method for connectivity matrices by extending the idea of the previously proposed orthogonal connectivity factorization method. Our new method, modular connectivity factorization (MCF), explicitly introduces the modularity of brain networks as a parametric constraint on eigenconnectivity matrices. In particular, MCF analyzes the variability in both intra-and inter-module connectivities, simultaneously finding network modules in a principled, data-driven manner. The parametric constraint provides a compact module based visualization scheme with which the result can be intuitively interpreted. We develop an optimization algorithm to solve the constrained PCA problem and validate our method in simulation studies and with a resting-state functional connectivity MRI dataset of 986 subjects. The results show that the proposed MCF method successfully reveals the underlying modular eigenconnectivity patterns in more general situations and is a promising alternative to existing methods.