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External auditors regularly interact with various parties at work such as their accounting firm, engagement team members, and clients. These interactions can help shape the nature of auditors’ social exchange relationships with these entities, which in turn may influence their behavior toward these targets. This installment of Accounting Matters draws from recently published research by Herda et al., (1) to explain how constructive auditor-target connections can develop and lead to beneficial outcomes like reduced auditor burnout and turnover intentions and more citizenship behavior, and (2) to discuss how these upshots might ultimately impact audit quality. This topic is important because audit quality translates into improved financial reporting which aids stakeholders who rely on audited financial statements to make informed business decisions. Specifically, we underscore the key role auditors’ perceptions of fair treatment from a relationship partner play in fostering a strong psychological bond with the target via perceived support. We further consider how auditors’ consequent commitment to the target can result in favorable organizational outcomes, including enhanced audit and financial reporting quality. Practical implications for accounting firms are discussed.

PURPOSE The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons does not currently provide clinical practice guidelines for management of PAF. Accordingly, this article aims to review and consolidate the relevant historical and recent literature in important topics pertaining to perioperative management of PAF. METHODS A thorough literature review using PubMed, Cochrane and Embase databases was performed to assess preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative management of PAF fracture. Topics reviewed included: time from injury to definitive fixation, the role of inferior vena cava filters (IVCF), tranexamic acid (TXA) use, intraopoperative cell salvage, incisional negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT), intraoperative antibiotic powder use, heterotopic ossification prophylaxis, and pre- and postoperative venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis. RESULTS A total of 126 articles pertaining to the preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative management of PAF were reviewed. Articles reviewed by topic include 13 articles pertaining to time to fixation, 23 on IVCF use, 14 on VTE prophylaxis, 20 on TXA use, 10 on cell salvage, 10 on iNPWT 14 on intraoperative antibiotic powder and 20 on HO prophylaxis. An additional eight articles were reviewed to describe background information. Five articles provided information for two or more treatment modalities and were therefore included in multiple categories when tabulating the number of articles reviewed per topic. CONCLUSION The literature supports the use of radiation therapy for HO prophylaxis, early (

This paper develops and tests a process model examining the sequential mediating roles of emotional exhaustion and surface acting on the relationships between employee perceptions of unfair treatment from customers and three forms of employee performance: in-role performance, customer-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (OCBC), and customer-oriented counterproductive work behavior (CWBC). In Study 1, we found support for our model demonstrating that the relationships between customer injustice and supervisor ratings of employees’ in-role performance and OCBC are each sequentially mediated first by emotional exhaustion and then by surface acting. In Study 2, using time-lagged data, we found additional support for our sequential mediation process when predicting CWBC. Moreover, we found that emotional demands–abilities fit moderated the sequential indirect effect of customer injustice on CWBC. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Research on the ecology, behavior, and movements of wild pigs (Sus scrofa) often involves immobilization of study animals to attach GPS collars or other monitoring devices. In this process, it is important to minimize stress and injury to study subjects. Challenges in handling trapped wild pigs are common because multiple animals are often captured together, wild pigs exhibit intense fight-or-flight responses, large traps provide space for severe trap-related injuries, and immobilization drugs are less effective on excited wild pigs. We trapped and handled 148 wild pigs in corral traps in TX, USA, and evaluated two trap modifications for alleviating these issues, including: 1) using tightly spaced wire mesh for trap walls, and 2) enshrouding traps with a visual barrier prior to handling. We identified that the tightly spaced wire mesh of horse panels (10.2 × 5.1 cm) reduced injuries 88% compared to more widely spaced mesh sizes (10.2 × 10.2 cm or larger). We documented that it took an average of 71.6 s to enshroud traps, which corresponded to a rapid reduction in flight behaviors from wild pigs (i.e., ≤52.6 s until stationary). Enshrouding corral traps facilitated a 28% quicker delivery of chemical immobilization drugs via darting as wild pigs became inactive. We recommend using tightly spaced mesh of horse panels to reduce trap-related injuries and incorporation of trap shrouds to facilitate delivery of chemical immobilization drugs when handling wild pigs.

Individual‐ and species‐level heterogeneity in contact rates can alter the ability of a pathogen to invade a host community. Many pathogens have multiple modes of transmission—by direct or indirect contact. It is important to identify the role of heterogeneity in different types of transmission when managing the risk of disease spillover at the interface among different host species. We developed a network‐based analysis to explore how individual‐ and species‐level heterogeneity shape multi‐mode contact networks. We applied this network‐based approach to contact data from proximity loggers collected in a multi‐species host community that contributes to the spillover of the disease bovine tuberculosis (bTB) to cattle populations in Michigan, USA. We used this approach to (a) quantify how individual‐ and species‐level heterogeneity influence direct and indirect contacts in this system, (b) explore how management interventions to control spillovers, such as the installation of deer fences, can alter observed contact networks and c) predict the role that wildlife species have in maintaining bTB in the community. We found that individual‐ and species‐level heterogeneity disproportionately influenced indirect and direct contact networks, with individual‐level heterogeneity having a greater effect on indirect contact networks and species‐level heterogeneity having a greater effect on direct contact networks. We also found that the installation of deer fences significantly reduced deer‐specific indirect contacts. We used the results from our network analysis to show that white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) could act as the sole reservoir host for bTB in this community with important implications for understanding past bTB dynamics and managing the persistence of bTB in the future. Synthesis and applications. Analyses of epidemiological networks rarely account for multiple modes of contact, which can lead to an incomplete understanding of how individual‐ and species‐level heterogeneity affect disease transmission. The multi‐mode, multi‐species network analysis we develop in this study illustrates that individual‐ and species‐level heterogeneity can play significantly different roles depending on the type of contact network considered. This has important implications when managing disease at the wildlife–livestock interface, where strategies may need to be multi‐pronged to account for the variable role of heterogeneity on different modes of contact.

Toxic baiting of wild pigs (Sus scrofa) is a potential new tool for population control and damage reduction in the US. Field trials testing a prototype toxic bait (HOGGONE® 2 containing 5% sodium nitrite [SN]), though, revealed that wild pigs spilled small particles of toxic bait outside of bait stations which subsequently created hazards for non-target species that consumed those particles, primarily passerine birds. To deter non-target birds from consuming particles of spilled bait, we tested four deterrents at mock bait sites (i.e., baited with bird seed) in north-central CO, USA during April–May 2020. We found a programable, inflatable deterrent device (scare dancer) reduced bird visitation by an average of 96%. Then, we evaluated the deterrent devices at SN-toxic bait sites in north-central TX, USA during July 2020, where the devices were activated the morning following deployment of SN-toxic bait. Overall, we found 139 dead wild pigs at 10 bait sites following one night of toxic baiting, which represented an average of 91% reduction in wild pigs visiting bait sites. We found that deterrent devices were 100% effective at deterring birds from toxic bait sites. We found two dead non-target mice at bait sites without deterrent devices. We noted that deploying toxic bait in mid-summer rather than late-winter/early-spring reduced hazards to migrating birds because they were not present in our study area during July. We recommend using deterrent devices (i.e., novel, programmable, battery operated, continuous and erratic movement, and snapping sounds) to reduce hazards to non-target birds at SN-toxic bait sites. We further recommend deploying SN-toxic bait during seasons when migrating birds are not as abundant until further research demonstrates minimal risks to migrating birds.

The need to identify interactions with the potential for pathogen transmission among the community of hosts at the wildlife–livestock interface has led to the development of multiple approaches in the field of epidemiology. Methodologies can be broadly classified into those that allow the quantification of interactions and those whose objective is to detect the existence of potential interactions at the interface. Regardless of their capacity to quantify or detect this potential, it is possible to study both direct (i.e., the simultaneous presence of two individuals at a certain point) and indirect (i.e., the sequential presence of two individuals at a certain point) interactions. Although each methodology has its specific pros and cons, when individuals are not marked, the main limitations are the difficulty involved in assessing the spatio-temporal resolution of events and, obviously, the role played by the individuals involved, the nature of the interaction, and the associated level of epidemiological risk. Furthermore, marking a limited number of individuals with different devices (e.g. GPS, proximity loggers) normally implies the possibility of low representativeness of the target population, especially when high variability exists in behaviour and connectedness of individual animals. The present chapter reviews the methodologies most commonly used to collect the data employed to assess interactions at the wildlife–livestock interface, namely, the direct observation of animals, epidemiological sampling, epidemiological questionnaires, camera traps, GPS technology, and proximity loggers. We also present the complementary nature of different methodologies by means of a specific case study of animal tuberculosis in the Iberian Peninsula. The methods selected have to adapt to the objectives of the study, logistic constraints, target host species and pathogens, and the routes of transmission at the wildlife/livestock interface.

The rapid expansion of technology and computing processes are facilitating research on unprecedented scales. The multitude of proprietary file formats and data storage systems make data location and sharing difficult. Many bioimaging modalities generate terabytes of imaging data per day and pose new challenges for data analysis and management. These challenges can be partially addressed by using standardised data descriptors (metadata) to capture scientific, regulatory and business-related features of a dataset. This report is aimed to highlight the importance of metadata, to provide an insight into the different metadata types and to compare the current bioimaging annotation practices at three high profile partner sites: AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline and the National Physical Laboratory. The report is focussed on three life science imaging techniques: high-content screening, mass spectroscopy imaging, and light-sheet microscopy.

Background An international effort to develop an acute and humane toxic bait for invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa) is underway to curtail their expansion. We evaluated the ability to expose a population of wild pigs to a simulated toxic bait (i.e., placebo bait containing a biomarker, rhodamine B, in lieu of the toxic ingredient) to gain insight on potential population reduction. We used 28 GPS-collars and sampled 428 wild pigs to examine their vibrissae for evidence of consuming the bait. Results We estimated that 91% of wild pigs within 0.75 km of bait sites (total area = 16.8 km2 ) consumed the simulated toxic bait, exposing them to possible lethal effects. Bait sites spaced 0.75-1.5 km apart achieved optimal delivery of the bait, but wild pigs ranging ≥ 3 km away were susceptible. Use of wild pig-specific bait stations resulted in no non-target species directly accessing the bait. Conclusion Results demonstrate the potential for exposing a large proportion of wild pigs to a toxic bait in similar ecosystems. Toxic baits may be an effective tool for reducing wild pig populations especially if used as part of an integrated pest management strategy. Investigation of risks associated with a field-deployment of the toxic bait is needed. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

This chapter highlights the state of research tools, emphasizing advancements in technologies and methodologies used to study wild pig ecology, management, and damage assessment. It focuses on research in North America, these technologies and methods are applied globally to study wild pigs. Capturing wild pigs for research is considerably different from capture for population control. Capture techniques vary widely and should be tailored to intended research or management outcomes. There are 2 basic types of gates most commonly used for trapping wild pigs, single-catch gates that remain closed once triggered and continuous-catch gates that are intended to allow additional captures once the gate is shut. Gate designs are shifting away from narrow side-hinged styles to larger overhead guillotine-style gates, although there is limited evidence to suggest a marked increase in trapping efficacy. Trap triggers typically include a gate retention mechanism that is released when a trip line is pulled.

Organizational justice research tends to focus on the effects of fair treatment from organizations or supervisors on employee attitudes and behaviors. Thus, there is a dearth of research on the eff...

Recent research has uncovered the debilitating effect that customers’ unfair treatment of service workers has for both employees and their employers. These studies have largely explained the effect...

With the development of a toxic bait (HOGGONE®) for the control of invasive wild pig (IWP; Sus scrofa) populations in the United States, there is a need to develop a bait station to mitigate potential effects on nontarget species. Our objective was to identify characteristics of a bait station that can successfully exclude raccoons (Procyon lotor)—a ubiquitous and dexterous nontarget species—while facilitating bait consumption by IWPs that exhibit group-feeding behaviors. We evaluated abilities of captive raccoons (n = 19) and IWPs (n = 41) to open the lids of prototype resistance assessment bait stations (RABS) under various levels of resistance (range = 1.1–18.1 kg) at research facilities in Colorado and Texas, USA, during July–August 2014. We found that similar proportions (0.65) of individual raccoons and IWPs in our tests opened lids with 0–1.4 kg resistance, which decreased as resistance increased. No raccoons opened lids with ≥13.6 kg of resistance. However, equal proportions (0.45) of IWPs opened lids with 13.6 kg and 18.1 kg, and a greater proportion (0.73) secondarily accessed RABS after other IWPs opened them. Scrounging behaviors of IWPs (i.e., aggressively taking access to food from less dominate IWPs) increased as the levels of resistance increased, but similar proportions of animals gained access. These results suggest that a threshold-weight-of-resistance of 13.6–18.1 kg on hinged lids excludes raccoons and allows access by IWPs. Furthermore, bait stations designed to allow multiple IWPs to feed simultaneously may be preferred because of group feeding behaviors. Field evaluations are required to evaluate the exclusion of other nontarget species (e.g., white-tailed deer [Odocoileus virginianus], black bears [Ursus americanus], and coyotes [Canis latrans]), potential scrounging behaviors by nontargets, and bait consumption by IWPs. Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Effective delivery of vaccines and other pharmaceuticals to wildlife populations is needed when zoonotic diseases pose a risk to public health and natural resources or have considerable economic consequences. The objective of our study was to develop a bait-distribution strategy for potential delivery of oral bovine tuberculosis (bTB) vaccine to white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) where deer are reservoirs for the disease. During 17 February and 2 March 2011, we created a grid of experimental bait stations (n = 64) on Sandhill Wildlife Management Area, Wisconsin, USA, to assess station densities needed to attract and deliver placebo baits to free-ranging white-tailed deer and look for associations among deer density, number of bait stations per deer, and bait consumption. We placed 1 L of commercially available alfalfa cubes at bait stations 652 m apart, and monitored stations with motion-activated cameras for 5 days to document visitation and consumption by deer and nontarget species. Deer discovered 38% of all bait stations within 37 hr, on average (SE = 3.91 hr), and consumed variable amounts of bait at each station. Deer were documented in 94% of all photographs of wildlife at bait stations. We found no correlation between bait consumption and deer density or the number of bait stations per deer. We provide the first information on use of baits by free-ranging deer and nontarget wildlife to eventually vaccinate deer against bTB at a landscape level. The results of this study can further the development of strategies in delivery of pharmaceuticals to free-ranging white-tailed deer. Published 2016. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

The MC1R/cAMP/MITF pathway is a key determinant for growth, differentiation, and survival of melanocytes and melanoma. MITF-M is the melanocyte-specific isoform of Microphthalmia-associated Transcription Factor (MITF) in human melanoma. Here we use two melanocyte cell lines to show that forced expression of hemagglutinin (HA) -tagged MITF-M through lentiviral transduction represents an oncogenic insult leading to consistent cell transformation of the immortalized melanocyte cell line Hermes 4C, being a melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) compound heterozygote, while not causing transformation of the MC1R wild type cell line Hermes 3C. The transformed HA-tagged MITF-M transduced Hermes 4C cells form colonies in soft agar and tumors in mice. Further, Hermes 4C cells display increased MITF chromatin binding, and transcriptional reprogramming consistent with an invasive melanoma phenotype. Mechanistically, forced expression of MITF-M drives the upregulation of the AXL tyrosine receptor kinase (AXL), with concomitant downregulation of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), leading to increased activation of the PI3K/AKT pathway. Treatment with AXL inhibitors reduces growth of the transformed cells by reverting AKT activation. In conclusion, we present a model system of melanoma development, driven by MITF-M in the context of MC1R loss of function, and independent of UV exposure. This model provides a basis for further studies of critical changes in the melanocyte transformation process.

Introduction The objective of Resilience Plus was to design, test, implement and evaluate an intervention to support health care employee wellbeing. A positive and supportive work environment is associated with reduced hospitalisation and costs, increased effectiveness and innovation, increased well-being, improved multi-disciplinary team delivered patient care, lower patient mortality, reduced error rates, reduced turnover and reduced sickness absence. Methods Following a learning needs analysis and informed by clinical experience the programme was co – designed to combine direct learning, peer support and home practice over nine weeks. Staff across mixed disciplines and grades come together to share experiences and learning in a supportive, non-judgemental environment. Three quantitative questionnaires were selected to collect data: General Health Questionnaire (GHO – 12), Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT) and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. Measures are completed prior to programme, at week 9 and 6 months post completion. Results More than 130 employees attended the training programme during 2015/16, with 99% of participants completing the programme. ANOVA testing determined there were statistically significant differences pre and post on the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (F 91.73, 46.82)=6.16, p Discussion Resilience Plus is contributing to autonomous self-care and improvements in general health and wellbeing amongst employees in a large acute Hospital setting. The diversity of programme attendees is contributing to shared learning and networking across boundaries. By tapping into internal expertise and developing internal capacity to deliver the programme we have created a cost effective, sustainable model that is directly transferable to the wider health care setting.

Author(s): Snow, Nathan P.; Lavelle, Michael J.; Halseth, Joseph M.; Glow, Michael P.; VanNatta, Eric H.; Davis, Amy J.; Pepin, Kim M.; VerCauteren, Kurt C.; Staples, Linton D. | Abstract: Invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are a widely distributed and destructive invasive species throughout parts of North America, Australia, South America, Africa, and many island nations (Barrios-Garcia and Ballari 2012). The invasion of wild pigs is associated with extensive agricultural, ecological, and control costs (Hone 1995, Pimentel et al. 2000, Pimentel 2007). Wild pigs are expanding in distribution and population density throughout the United States and Australia (Bevins et al. 2014, Lewis et al. 2017, Snow et al. 2017b). These increases are attributed to intentional and accidental introductions by humans (Spencer and Hampton 2005, Barrios-Garcia and Ballari 2012), high reproductive potential (Mayer and Brisbin 2009), lack of predators (Bevins et al. 2014), human alterations to the landscape that improve suitability for wild pigs, and the adaptability of wild pigs to occupy a variety of landscapes and opportunistically feed on many food items (Seward et al. 2004). An international effort to develop an acute and humane toxic bait for invasive wild pigs is underway to assist in curtailing their expansion (Snow et al. 2017a). We evaluated the ability to expose a population of wild pigs to a simulated toxic bait (i.e., placebo bait containing a biomarker, rhodamine B, in lieu of the toxic ingredient) to gain insight on potential population reduction. We used 28 GPS collars and sampled 428 wild pigs to examine their vibrissae for evidence of consuming the bait. Overall, we found that (74.1%) of wild pigs tested were positive for RB from consuming the RB bait. These wild pigs were sampled from an average distance of 0.61 km (SE = 0.04) from the nearest bait sites. We estimated that 91% of wild pigs within 0.75 km of bait sites (total area = 16.8 km2) consumed the simulated toxic bait, exposing them to possible lethal effects. Bait sites spaced 0.75-1.5 km apart achieved optimal delivery of the bait, but wild pigs ranging ≥3 km away were susceptible. Use of wild pig-specific bait stations resulted in no non-target species directly accessing the bait. Most of the collared wild pigs visited g1 bait sites during the final night with biomarker deployment, leading to two relevant conclusions. First, the 18-day baiting strategy for locating, and accustoming wild pigs to the placebo bait and bait stations, was adequate for overcoming neophobic tendencies of wild pigs. Secondly, the spacing of the bait stations (i.e., 1 bait site per 0.75 km2) was adequate for exposing all wild pigs in between bait sites to the bait, and may have been expanded to expose more wild pigs. This study demonstrated the potential for exposing a large proportion of wild pigs to a toxic bait. Bait sites should be spaced 0.75-1.5 km apart, and closer will provide better efficacy. Approximately 18 days of coordinated pre-baiting should be sufficient for accustoming wild pigs to using the wild pig-specific bait stations and readily consuming a novel bait. Toxic baits may be an effective tool for reducing wild pigs especially if used as part of an integrated pest management strategy. Investigation of risks associated with a field-deployment of the toxic bait is needed.

SUMMARY This article summarizes our recent study, “Client Identification and Client Commitment in a Privately Held Client Setting: Unique Constructs with Opposite Effects on Auditor Objectivity” (Herda and Lavelle 2015), which examines how individual auditors' identification with, and commitment to, privately held audit clients affects their objectivity. Based on a survey of 102 external auditors, we find that client identification is distinct from client commitment. This distinction is important because identification as a construct is easily and often confused with commitment, and the terms are often used interchangeably. Client identification entails auditors perceiving themselves as one with the client. In contrast, client commitment reflects a responsibility for and dedication to the client, but the auditor and client remain separate psychological entities. Consistent with prior research, we find that client identification impairs auditor objectivity. Conversely, we find that client commitment enhances auditor objectivity.

Disease and damage from white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) continually threaten the livelihood of agricultural producers and the economy in the United States, as well as challenge state and federal wildlife managers. Threats can be partially addressed by excluding free-ranging deer from livestock-related resources. Throughout the year, use of stored livestock feed by deer in northern Lower Michigan (MI), USA fluctuates, though their presence is relatively consistent. Since 2008, use of livestock areas and resources by deer has been reduced through intensive efforts by livestock producers in cooperation with state and federal agencies. These efforts focused on excluding deer from stored cattle feed in areas where deer were abundant. We monitored deer activity from Jan 2012 to June 2013 on 6 cattle farms in northern MI using GPS collars to evaluate behavioral effects of excluding deer from stored feed. We characterized areas deer occupied before and after installing 2361 m of fences and gates to exclude deer from stored cattle feed. Following fence installation, 9 deer previously accessing stored feed shifted to patterns of habitat use similar to 5 deer that did not use stored feed. However, continued attempts to regain access to stored feed were made at low frequencies, emphasizing the need to maintain the integrity of fences and keep gates closed for damage prevention and biosecurity. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Many factors influence what and why animals select the foods they eat. Several methods have been used to estimate food habits of herbivores, but they all have limitations such as defining available foods and misrepresenting particular forages. We evaluated plant consumption by adult male white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) with camera collars in a semi-enclosed population in southern Texas, USA, during late autumn 2010. We collected 1,241 videos taken at all times of the day and night from 15 camera collars and confirmed consumption of 40 plant species with an 84% probability of identification. Diets of individual deer varied considerably, though there was an apparent preference for prickly-pear cactus (Opuntia engelmannii) and blackbrush acacia (Vachellia rigidula). Our results were consistent with other conventional studies of food habits of deer in the region. Yet, we feel camera collars provide a more thorough and detailed representation of forage species available and consumed. Strategic deployments of camera collars could advance the understanding of nutritional requirements and behavior of deer because a broad array of concurrent data can be collected. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

SYNOPSIS In this paper, we examine individual auditors' identification with, and commitment to, privately held clients, and their effects on auditor objectivity. Client identification reflects the extent to which an auditor's self-concept and self-definition are derived from a perceived oneness with the client. In contrast, client commitment reflects a responsibility for and a dedication to the client, but the auditor and client remain separate psychological entities. Drawing from the unique perspectives of social identity theory and social exchange theory, we hypothesize and find that client identification is distinct from client commitment. Further, we hypothesize and find that client identification and client commitment have different effects on auditor objectivity. Specifically, client identification is negatively related to auditor objectivity, whereas client commitment is positively related. The findings of this study apply predominantly to the audit of private companies where clients are more likely to exert influence over auditors and auditors may be less likely to withstand client pressures. Data Availability: Please contact the first author.

Drawing from a social predicament and identity management framework, we argue that procedural unfairness on the part of decision makers places messengers in a dilemma where they attempt to protect their professional image or legitimacy by engaging in refusals (e.g., curbing explanations) and exhibiting distancing behaviors (e.g., minimizing contact with victims) when delivering bad news. Such behaviors however, violate key tenets of fair interpersonal treatment. The results of two experiments supported our hypotheses in samples of experienced managers. Specifically, we found that levels of messengers’ distancing and refusals were greater when the procedures used by decision makers were unfair rather than fair. Additionally, messengers’ perceptions of a predicament (honesty versus disclosure) mediated these relationships. Implications and future research directions regarding the ethical delivery of bad news in the workplace are discussed.

Background Invasive wild pigs damage agriculture, property, and natural ecosystems. To curtail damage, an effective and humane toxic bait containing microencapsulated sodium nitrite is under development. Strategies for delivering the toxic bait are needed to establish adequate spacing of bait sites, and for simultaneously accustoming wild pigs to the novel bait and wild pig-specific bait stations designed to exclude non-target species. Results We monitored movements of 32 Global Positioning System (GPS)-collared wild pigs relative to 41 bait sites containing placebo bait. Among the bait sites, we compared three experimental baiting strategies (and a control) to evaluate which strategy led to the most wild pigs accessing the placebo bait inside bait stations. We found that bait sites should be spaced 0.5-1 km apart to maximize opportunities for all wild pigs to find and utilize the bait sites. Baiting strategies that allowed ≥ 15 days for accustoming wild pigs to bait stations were most effective and resulted in nearly 90% of wild pigs accessing the placebo bait inside the bait stations. Bait stations excluded all non-target animals, except one instance with a raccoon (Procyon lotor). Conclusion These results demonstrate the potential for toxic bait to be an effective tool for reducing populations of wild pigs with minimal risks to non-target species, if optimized delivery procedures are followed. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Populations of wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are burgeoning around the globe, and they are currently the target of extensive research and management efforts. Wild pigs are a highly successful invasive species that cause extensive damage to agriculture and native plant and animal communities. Lethal control is the most common management strategy used to reduce wild pig populations and their damage, and many lethal strategies rely on luring wild pigs to a specific location. Most commonly, a food commodity such as corn or maize (Zea mays) is used for attracting wild pigs to a site, but baiting with food is sometimes prohibited under wildlife laws, and visitation can be variable due to availability of alternative foods, level of harassment by humans, and acceptance of novel food source, devices, and activity. Wild pigs are highly adaptable with refined senses that enable them to interact with their environment and conspecifics in a complex manner. Wild and domestic pigs share keen senses, though differences exist due to suppressed stimuli, evolutionary gains and losses, or other factors related to needs for survival and fitness. Wild pigs routinely rely on acute olfaction to locate food, detect predators, and communicate with conspecifics. A pig’s sense of taste is also considered to be refined and more acute than that of humans. An abundance of evaluations regarding various attractants for wild pigs has been conducted over the last several decades; yet, a scarcity of conclusive results on which attractants to use when and where still exists. As such, we undertook a comprehensive review of available information on potential attractants that could be used to aid management strategies of wild pigs such as hunting/shooting, trapping, pharmaceutical delivery, or density estimation. To complete this review, we assimilated and synthesized the most relevant literature, provide recommendations, and identify attractant evaluation needs for the enhancement of the global management of wild pigs.

SUMMARY: A research synthesis team formed by the Auditing Section of the American Accounting Association recently authored a paper (Chung et al. 2013) addressing the audit of subsequent events (SEs). The audit of SEs is a difficult audit area, as approximately one-third of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's inspection reports and numerous Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement releases identify deficiencies in this area (Chung et al. 2013). Chung et al. (2013) developed a model and proposed a series of research questions encouraging future academic research in this area. In this paper, we address several of these questions by surveying 76 practicing auditors. We summarize the auditors' responses and present recommendations that may be useful in improving audits of SEs.

denotes the junction of at least two objects. In the context of disease transmission, contact implies interaction with potential to spread disease. Mischaracterization of contacts may result in inaccurate estimates of transmission rates. To collect more-accurate contact data among white-tailed deer (

Free-ranging cervids acquire most of their essential minerals through forage consumption, though occasionally seek other sources to account for seasonal mineral deficiencies. Mineral sources occur as natural geological deposits (i.e., licks) or as anthropogenic mineral supplements. In both scenarios, these sources commonly serve as focal sites for visitation. We monitored 11 licks in Rocky Mountain National Park, north-central Colorado, using trail cameras to quantify daily visitation indices (DVI) and soil consumption indices (SCI) for Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) during summer 2006 and documented elk, mule deer, and moose (Alces alces) visiting licks. Additionally, soil samples were collected, and mineral concentrations were compared to discern levels that explain rates of visitation. Relationships between response variables; DVI and SCI, and explanatory variables; elevation class, moisture class, period of study, and concentrations of minerals were examined. We found that DVI and SCI were greatest at two wet, low-elevation licks exhibiting relatively high concentrations of manganese and sodium. Because cervids are known to seek Na from soils, we suggest our observed association of Mn with DVI and SCI was a likely consequence of deer and elk seeking supplemental dietary Na. Additionally, highly utilized licks such as these provide an area of concentrated cervid occupation and interaction, thus increasing risk for environmental transmission of infectious pathogens such as chronic wasting disease, which has been shown to be shed in the saliva, urine, and feces of infected cervids.

This paper develops and tests a process model examining the sequential mediating roles of emotional exhaustion and surface acting on the relationship between employee perceptions of unfair treatmen...

MC1R, the cAMP pathway and the response to solar UV are all elements involved in the growth, differentiation and survival of melanocytes and in malignant melanoma. Here we present a model of melanomagenesis based on the forced expression of MITF-M in the context of MC1R-inactivating variants in a way not dependent on sun exposure. We demonstrate that lentiviral transduction of MITF-M alone leads to consistent transformation of the Hermes4C cell line with inactive MC1R, but not the Hermes3C cell line having a wild type background. Hermes 4c cells transduced with MITF-M are able to form tumors in mice. We mapped MITF binding to chromatin and found that 4C cells displayed enhanced MITF chromatin binding compared to 3C. Expression analysis revealed that the altered binding pattern leads to enhanced transcription of epithelial to mesenchymal transition genes and consequent repression of key melanocyte-specific genes e.g. involved in pigmentation in the background of inactive MC1R. We observed a marked deregulation of AXL and EGFR, which is accompanied by downregulation of PTEN and increased phosphorylation of ERK and PI3K-AKT pathway. In conclusion, we show that MITF-M is a molecular switch in the context of MC1R-inactivating variant which leads to cell reprogramming and melanomagenesis. Citation Format: Tine Norman Alver, Timothy J. Lavelle, Karen-Marie Heintz, Patrik Wernhoff, Vegard Nygaard, Geir F. Øy, Sigurd L. Bøe, Alfonso Urbanucci, Eivind J. Hovig. Deregulation of MITF in the context of inactive MC1R leads to melanocyte transformation [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1049A.