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Abstract: This paper hypothesizes that a System‐of‐Systems (SoS) that is not fit‐for‐purpose is so because it cannot implement the correct, timely and complete transfers of Material, Energy and/or Information (MEI) between its constituents and with its external environment that are necessary to achieve a particular result. This research addresses the problem of maintaining a SoS fit‐for‐purpose after unpredictable changes in operation, composition or external factors by creating a method, implemented as an engineering process and supported by an analysis technique to enhance the affordance {“Features that provide the potential for interaction by “Affording the ability to do something” [1]} of SoS constituents for MEI transfer and reveal potential undesirable transfers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Habitat creation and management within wooded networks is a potentially effective strategy to reduce ecological isolation and the deleterious effects of fragmentation. However, questions remain over the relative advantages of different approaches, e.g. buffering patches vs. increasing connectivity. Potential effects of woodland fragmentation include reduction in regional woodland cover, reduced patch size, edge effects with loss of core habitat, and increased isolation with disruption of dispersal and metapopulation dynamics. We adopt an evidence-based approach to review how each of these affects woodland birds with an emphasis on studies from the UK and use this to identify management priorities for mitigation. There is evidence for both patch area and composition effects: larger woodlands support more woodland bird species, and woods located within sparsely wooded landscapes are less valuable to specialist woodland species. Bird assemblages show a nested pattern with respect to area, and thus species found in small woods also occur in large woods but not vice versa. However, small woods may be preferred by a few edge species, while small woods also have greater variability in bird species composition. Consideration of the metapopulation dynamics of specialist species with poor dispersal shows that creating or buffering large woodlands is more efficient than a greater total area of small fragments. Connectivity appears most useful for widespread generalist species with almost continuous populations. Woodland structure and quality are of overwhelming importance: as well as mature woodland, young growth, scrub and edges are also key components. There is an urgent need to examine the relationship between nest predation and landscape structure within UK woodlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the use of airborne laser scanning (ALS) data in predicting habitat quality for Great Tits. Inference of habitat quality from demographic rates, patterns of territory occupancy and stability of resource availability in avian ecology; Operation of ALS based on a principle of light detection and ranging; Identification of vegetation structure as a key determinant of both nesting and foraging habitat quality for terrestrial birds.

Use of non-farmland habitats by species generally perceived as‘farmland birds’ is common, yet these habitats are not always considered in conservation strategies aimed at population recovery. At the national scale, many farmland species occur in landscapes not dominated by farmland. An analysis of distribution atlas data coupled with remotely sensed habitat data showed that for 16 out of 28 farmland species, less than half of the breeding range was associated with high cover of lowland farmland. However, with a few exceptions, populations breeding in non-farmland habitats are likely to depend on farmland at some time in the year. Within farmland landscapes, uncropped areas and patches of non-farmland habitat can provide nesting, foraging or roosting resources. Habitats that are scarce on farmland and that provide potential supplementary or complementary resources to those available within the productive areas of farmland include ruderal vegetation, rough grassland and scrub. Enhancing habitat diversity through provision of modest quantities of these habitats will benefit farmland birds. Complete knowledge of year-round habitat requirements and patterns of resource use at all scales is needed if robust national conservation plans are to be developed for farmland species. Similarly, interactions between the farmland and non-farmland sections of populations need to be determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Including ecological information within the planning process is problematic. Individual species response to landscape change will be complex and is often difficult to express in terms of cost or benefit. Pressure on land, particularly in densely populated countries such as the UK, means that land-use needs to be planned in all areas, urban and rural. Designing landscapes to conserve biodiversity is challenging, and a holistic perspective must be retained at all times. A Geographic Information System (GIS) is described which integrates ecologicalmodels of species occurrence with spatial data on known landscapes. The use of the tool is illustrated with a series of models of woodland birds within the fragmented landscape of East Anglia, England. Scenarios of woodland loss or gain can be visualised quickly through the creation of altered landscapes; the bird models can then be re-run and the predicted impact on species distributions displayed. The tool is generic, in that any species can be modelled at any scale if ecological models are available to describe its distribution in terms of landscape variables. It is argued that it remains the job of the ecologist to make knowledge about species distributions accessible to the planning process. The key to this is that mathematical models must be expressed spatially in a format suitable for scenario-testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The addition of bisphosphonates to adjuvant therapy improves survival in postmenopausal breast cancer (BC) patients. We report a meta-analysis of four randomised trials of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (CT) +/– zoledronic acid (ZA) in stage II/III BC to investigate the potential for enhancing the pathological response. Methods Individual patient data from four prospective randomised clinical trials reporting the effect of the addition of ZA on the pathological response after neoadjuvant CT were pooled. Primary outcomes were pathological complete response in the breast (pCRb) and in the breast and lymph nodes (pCR). Trial-level and individual patient data meta-analyses were done. Predefined subgroup-analyses were performed for postmenopausal women and patients with triple-negative BC. Results pCRb and pCR data were available in 735 and 552 patients respectively. In the total study population ZA addition to neoadjuvant CT did not increase pCRb or pCR rates. However, in postmenopausal patients, the addition of ZA resulted in a significant, near doubling of the pCRb rate (10.8% for CT only versus 17.7% with CT+ZA; odds ratio [OR] 2.14, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01–4.55) and a non-significant benefit of the pCR rate (7.8% for CT only versus 14.6% with CT+ZA; OR 2.62, 95% CI 0.90–7.62). In patients with triple-negative BC a trend was observed favouring CT+ZA. Conclusion This meta-analysis shows no impact from the addition of ZA to neoadjuvant CT on pCR. However, as has been seen in the adjuvant setting, the addition of ZA to neoadjuvant CT may augment the effects of CT in postmenopausal patients with BC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]