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We report a unique case of a 34-year-old man with ulcerative colitis, previously in complete remission with intravenous vedolizumab monotherapy, who developed an urticarial injection-site reaction on switching to a subcutaneous preparation and thereafter experienced a new hypersensitivity reaction on switch back to intravenous vedolizumab, necessitating complete discontinuation from this drug. This case highlights the need for vigilance on switching back to intravenous preparations of vedolizumab, in response to injection-site reactions with a subcutaneous preparation, even if the intravenous preparation had been previously well tolerated by the patient.

Much of what we know about sexual offenders and risk management is derived from empirical studies on sex offender populations in North America. In comparison to Canada and the United States, the evidence base in Australia on sexual offender risk management is under-developed. In this paper, we describe a current research project tasked with developing a national sex offender recidivism database to advance the evidence base in Australia. It is argued that a national database would advance knowledge and practice in the field of sex offender risk management in Australia in a multitude of ways. Yet there are many obstacles and difficulties in developing such a database. After putting forward a case for the need for such a database, we outline the issues we have encountered and the approaches we have adopted to develop this database. It is intended that this contemporary comment may not only alert readers to this emerging data resource in Australia but also function as a road map to guide future empirical research on offender population databases in Australia.

Abstract Urbanisation is a globally occurring phenomenon and is predicted to continue increasing rapidly. Urban ecosystems present novel environments and challenges which species must acclimate or adapt to. These novel challenges alter existing or create new selection pressures on behaviours which provide an opportunity to investigate eco-evolutionary responses to contemporary environmental change. We used 7 years of breeding data from urban and forest populations of blue and great tits to understand whether selection for timing of breeding or clutch size differed between the two habitats and species. We found that urban great tits laid eggs earlier than their forest counterparts, but there was no evidence of a difference in selection for earlier breeding. Blue tits, however, did not differ in timing of egg laying between the two habitats, but selection for earlier laying was weaker in the urban environment. Both species laid smaller clutches in the urban site and had positive selection for larger clutch sizes which did not differ in strength for the great tits but did for blue tits, with weaker selection in the urban population. Our results suggest that food availability for nestlings may be constraining urban birds, and that the temporal cues females use to time breeding correctly, such as tree budburst and food availability, may be absent or reduced in urban areas due to lower caterpillar availability. These results have implications for our understanding of the adaptation of wild animals to city life. Significance statement Urbanisation is expanding rapidly and changing the environment many species live in. A key challenge is to understand how species adapt to the urban environment, why some species can adapt, why others cannot and what we can do to ensure that cities are ecologically sustainable and biodiversity rich. Here we show that the strength of natural selection for early breeding and larger clutch size is weaker in urban than non-urban blue tits, likely due to reduced and irregular availability of natural insect food in urban areas. This effect was not found in great tits. Thus, urbanisation can alter the selection pressures wild animals are exposed to, but this effect may differ between species, even when closely related. This has implications for our understanding of how species adapt to urban life.

The effects of stress exposure are likely to vary depending on life-stage and stressor. While it has been postulated that mild stress exposure may have beneficial effects, the duration of such effects and the underlying mechanisms are unclear. While the long-term effects of early-life stress are relatively well studied, we know much less about the effects of exposure in adulthood since the early- and adult-life environments are often similar. We previously reported that repeated experimental exposure to a relatively mild stressor in female zebra finches, first experienced in young adulthood, initially had no effect on mortality risk, reduced mortality in middle age, but the apparently beneficial effects disappeared in old age. We show here that this is underpinned by differences between the control and stress-exposed group in the pattern of telomere change, with stress-exposed birds showing reduced telomere loss in middle adulthood. We thereby provide novel experimental evidence that telomere dynamics play a key role linking stress resilience and aging.

Background CXCR4, a transmembrane-receptor located on epithelial cells that is activated by CXCL12, may have a role in IPF via migration of CXCR4+ fibrocytes to the lung. However, its expression has not been fully characterised in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) or other fibrotic interstitial lung diseases (ILDs). CXCL12 is constitutively expressed in the bone marrow, and levels of CXCR4 regulate control of this signalling pathway. The aim of this study was to profile the expression of CXCR4 in lung tissue and peripheral circulation of patients with IPF and other fibrotic ILDs. Methods Expression of CXCR4 on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was examined by flow cytometry in 20 patients with IPF and 10 age-matched non-disease control (NDC) donors. Levels of CXCL12 in human plasma were measured by ELISA. Expression of CXCR4, CXCL12, CD45, and e-cadherin was assessed in IPF (n = 10), other fibrotic ILD (n = 8) and NDC (n = 10) lung tissue by multiplex immunohistochemistry (OPAL) and slides were scanned using a Vectra 3 scanner. Cells were quantified with computer automated histological analysis software (HALO). Results In blood, the number of CXCR4+ cells was lower but the level of CXCL12 was higher in patients with IPF compared to NDC donors. Elevated CXCR4 expression was detected in lung tissue from patients with IPF and other fibrotic ILDs compared to NDC. There were higher levels of CXCR4+/e-cadherin+/CXCL12+ (epithelial) cells in IPF lung tissue compared to NDC, but there was no difference in the numbers of CXCR4+/CD45+/CXCL12+ (myeloid) cells between the two groups. Conclusions This report demonstrates that CXCR4 is overexpressed not only in IPF but also in other ILDs and expression is particularly prominent within both honeycomb cysts and distal airway epithelium. This observation supports the hypothesis that CXCR4 may drive tissue fibrosis through binding its specific ligand CXCL12. Although CXCR4 expressing cells could be either of epithelial or myeloid origin it appears that the former is more prominent in IPF lung tissue. Further characterization of the cells of the honeycomb cyst may lead to a better understanding of the fibrogenic processes in IPF and other end-stage fibrotic ILDs.

French novels, plays, poems and short stories, however temporally or culturally distant from us, continue to be incarnated and reincarnated on cinema screens across the world. From the silent films of Georges Méliès to the Hollywood production of Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary directed by Sophie Barthes, The History of French Literature on Film explores the key films, directors, and movements that have shaped the adaptation of works by French authors since the end of the 19th century. Across six chapters, Griffiths and Watts examine the factors that have driven this vibrant adaptive industry, as filmmakers have turned to literature in search of commercial profits, cultural legitimacy, and stories rich in dramatic potential. The volume also explains how the work of theorists from a variety of disciplines (literary theory, translation theory, adaptation theory), can help to deepen both our understanding and our appreciation of literary adaptation as a creative practice. Finally, this volume seeks to make clear that adaptation is never a simple transcription of an earlier literary work. It is always simultaneously an adaptation of the society and era for which it is created. Adaptations of French literature are thus not only valuable artistic artefacts in their own right, so too are they important historical documents which testify to the values and tastes of their own time.

Fleas, mainly Ctenocephalides felis on both cats and dogs, are a very basic but continuing and common issue in veterinary practice. Fleas are important for their direct effects on infested pets, particularly when animals develop flea allergic dermatitis, and for their transmission of pathogens that can cause serious disease in cats and/or in humans – such as Bartonella spp. Fleas also bite humans, and negatively affect the pet-human bond. This roundtable discussed flea biology, flea-borne diseases, efficacy of control measures available, and improving compliance and client engagement. Effective control of fleas requires an understanding of their biology, as this affects what strategies will and will not be effective: for example leaving a house empty will not control a flea infestation as the pupae can stay dormant for months. There is now a wide range of products that can be used to control fleas both on the pet and in the environment, including not only sprays but spot-on formulations, collars, oral tablets and injections. Used correctly, these are generally both safe and highly effective, with no signs of resistance developing, thankfully. However, owners often do not use products correctly, whether through inability to do so; lack of understanding of why correct use is important; or simple forgetfulness. A range of measures must be used to engage with clients, educate them and help them to remember to treat their pets against these pernicious parasites

The role that genetic background may play in the responsiveness of organisms to interventions such as caloric restriction (CR) is underappreciated but potentially important. We investigated the impact of genetic background on a suite of metabolic parameters in female recombinant inbred ILSXISS mouse strains previously reported to show divergent lifespan responses to 40% CR (TejJ89-lifespan extension; TejJ48-lifespan unaffected; TejJ114-lifespan shortening). Body mass was reduced across all strains following 10 months of 40% CR, although this loss (relative to ad libitum controls) was greater in TejJ114 relative to the other strains. Gonadal white adipose tissue (gWAT) mass was similarly reduced across all strains following 40% CR, but brown adipose tissue (BAT) mass increased only in strains TejJ89 and TejJ48. Surprisingly, glucose tolerance was improved most notably by CR in TejJ114, while both strains TejJ89 and TejJ114 were hyperinsulinemic following CR relative to their AL controls. We subsequently undertook an unbiased metabolomic approach in gWAT and BAT tissue derived from strains TejJ89 and TejJ114 mice under AL and 40% CR. In gWAT from TejJ89 a significant reduction in several long chain unsaturated fatty acids was observed following 40% CR, but gWAT from TejJ114 appeared relatively unresponsive to CR with far fewer metabolites changing. Phosphatidylethanoloamine lipids within the BAT were typically elevated in TejJ89 following CR, while some phosphatidylglycerol lipids were decreased. However, BAT from strain TejJ114 again appeared unresponsive to CR. These data highlight strain-specific metabolic differences exist in ILSXISS mice following 40% CR. We suggest that precisely how different fat depots respond dynamically to CR may be an important factor in the variable longevity under 40% CR reported in these mice., Highlights • ILSXISS mice show strain-specific variation in longevity following CR. • Enhanced glucose homeostasis did not correlate with reported longevity under CR. • Shortened lifespan under CR was associated with relatively unresponsive WAT and BAT. • How fat depots respond to CR may help explain lifespan differences in ILSXISS mice.

This article describes the development of a horizontal stabbing machine with an interchangeable knife holder to simulate stab events. The machine consists of a motorised arm with a pneumatic system designed to deliver 60 unique stabbing positions. The mechanics were robust and the positioning system highly reproducible with standard deviations of less than 1.0mm in the x-axis and 2.3mm in the y-axis for a given stab position. The force of the instrument may be varied by the operator to a maximum of approximately 221N. The suitability of the instrument for simulating stab events was evaluated by measuring the severance length and textile damage from stab delivered from four different knives and nine penetrating angles.

Offspring produced by older parents often have reduced longevity, termed the Lansing effect. Because adults usually have similar-aged mates, it is difficult to separate effects of maternal and paternal age, and environmental circumstances are also likely to influence offspring outcomes. The mechanisms underlying the Lansing effect are poorly understood. Variation in telomere length and loss, particularly in early life, is linked to longevity in many vertebrates, and therefore changes in offspring telomere dynamics could be very important in this context. We examined the effect of maternal age and environment on offspring telomere length in zebra finches. We kept mothers under either control (ad libitum food) or more challenging (unpredictable food) circumstances and experimentally minimized paternal age and mate choice effects. Irrespective of the maternal environment, there was a substantial negative effect of maternal age on offspring telomere length, evident in longitudinal and cross-sectional comparisons (average of 39% shorter). Furthermore, in young mothers, sons reared by challenged mothers had significantly shorter telomere lengths than sons reared by control mothers. This effect disappeared when the mothers were old, and was absent in daughters. These findings highlight the importance of telomere dynamics as inter-generational mediators of the evolutionary processes determining optimal age-specific reproductive effort and sex allocation.

Intracellular lipid-binding proteins (iLBPs) of the fatty acid-binding protein (FABP) family of animals transport, mainly fatty acids or retinoids, are confined to the cytosol and have highly similar 3D structures. In contrast, nematodes possess fatty acid-binding proteins (nemFABPs) that are secreted into the perivitelline fluid surrounding their developing embryos. We report structures of As-p18, a nemFABP of the large intestinal roundworm Ascaris suum, with ligand bound, determined using X-ray crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. In common with other FABPs, As-p18 comprises a ten β-strand barrel capped by two short α-helices, with the carboxylate head group of oleate tethered in the interior of the protein. However, As-p18 exhibits two distinctive longer loops amongst β-strands not previously seen in a FABP. One of these is adjacent to the presumed ligand entry portal, so it may help to target the protein for efficient loading or unloading of ligand. The second, larger loop is at the opposite end of the molecule and has no equivalent in any iLBP structure yet determined. As-p18 preferentially binds a single 18-carbon fatty acid lig- and in its central cavity but in an orientation that differs from iLBPs. The unusual structural features of nemFABPs may relate to resourcing of developing embryos of nematodes. Fil: Ibáñez, Marina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata "Prof. Dr. Rodolfo R. Brenner". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata "Prof. Dr. Rodolfo R. Brenner"; Argentina Fil: Rey Burusco, M. Florencia. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas; Argentina Fil: Gabrielsen, Mads. University of Glasgow; Reino Unido Fil: Franchini, Gisela Raquel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata "Prof. Dr. Rodolfo R. Brenner". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata "Prof. Dr. Rodolfo R. Brenner"; Argentina Fil: Riboldi Tunnicliffe, Alan. Australian Synchrotron; Australia Fil: Roe, Andrew J.. University of Glasgow; Reino Unido Fil: Griffiths, Kate. University of Glasgow; Reino Unido Fil: Cooper, Alan. University of Glasgow; Reino Unido Fil: Córsico, Betina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata "Prof. Dr. Rodolfo R. Brenner". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata "Prof. Dr. Rodolfo R. Brenner"; Argentina Fil: Kennedy, Malcolm W.. University of Glasgow; Reino Unido Fil: Smith, Brian O.. University of Glasgow; Reino Unido

This chapter aims to explore the implication of a diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease and the effect that a diagnosis of a lifelong chronic condition can have on a patient. This involves exploring patients’ expectations of the service and support they should receive as demonstrated through a local departmental survey and service review. This allows services to be adapted to best support these patients and make goals for practical management.

Telomeres have emerged as important biomarkers of health and senescence as they predict chances of survival in various species. Tropical birds live in more benign environments with lower extrinsic mortality and higher juvenile and adult survival than temperate birds. Therefore, telomere biology may play a more important role in tropical compared to temperate birds. We measured mean telomere length of male stonechats (Saxicola spp.) at four age classes from tropical African and temperate European breeding regions. Tropical and temperate stonechats had similarly long telomeres as nestlings. However, while in tropical stonechats pre‐breeding first‐years had longer telomeres than nestlings, in temperate stonechats pre‐breeding first‐years had shorter telomeres than nestlings. During their first breeding season, telomere length was again similar between tropical and temperate stonechats. These patterns may indicate differential survival of high‐quality juveniles in tropical environments. Alternatively, more favorable environmental conditions, that is, extended parental care, may enable tropical juveniles to minimize telomere shortening. As suggested by previous studies, our results imply that variation in life history and life span may be reflected in different patterns of telomere shortening rather than telomere length. Our data provide first evidence that distinct selective pressures in tropical and temperate environments may be reflected in diverging patterns of telomere loss in birds.

The differential allocation hypothesis (DAH) predicts that an individual should vary its reproductive\ud investment according to the attractiveness of its mate. A recently revised version of the DAH makes\ud explicit that investment can be positive, i.e. higher for the offspring of attractive males which should be\ud of higher quality, or negative, i.e. higher for offspring of unattractive males, for example compensating for\ud inheriting poor paternal genes. Moreover, investment can be made by the father and the mother. Here,\ud we tested whether experimental manipulation of male attractiveness affected parental investment at\ud different reproductive stages and thus influenced fitness-related traits in offspring. In two aviaries, all\ud male zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata, were given red leg rings to increase attractiveness and in two\ud aviaries all males received green leg rings to decrease attractiveness. This controlled for assortative\ud mating between treatments. Ring colour was merely an experimental manipulation of male attractiveness,\ud not paternal quality, so we might expect additional investment to elevate offspring quality. Eggs\ud were cross-fostered between and within treatments to allow differentiation of effects of investment in\ud eggs and nestlings. Clutch and brood sizes were standardized. Both positive and negative investment\ud were observed: Eggs from red-ringed fathers had higher yolk to albumen ratios than eggs from greenringed\ud fathers. Nestlings from eggs laid and incubated by parents in the red-ringed group had higher\ud hatching masses than those in the green-ringed group. Both parents in the green-ringed group fed\ud nestlings more frequently than red-ringed parents. Offspring performance was influenced by the\ud treatment of both foster and biological parents, but combined effects of these different investment\ud patterns on fitness-related traits were ambiguous. Male attractiveness appeared to affect patterns of\ud reproductive investment but not consistently across all forms of reproductive investment suggesting that\ud the costs and benefits of differential allocation vary among individuals and across contexts.

The relationship between environmental stress exposure and ageing is likely to vary with stressor severity, life-history stage and the time scale over which effects are measured. Such factors could influence whether stress exposure accelerates or slows the ageing process, but their interactions have not previously been experimentally investigated. We found that experimental exposure of zebra finches to mildly challenging environmental circumstances from young to old adulthood, which increased exposure to stress hormones, reduced breeding performance during early adulthood, but had positive effects when individuals were bred in old adulthood. This difference was not due to selective mortality, because the effects were evident within individuals, and no evidence of habituation in the response to the stressor was found. The more stressful environment had no effects on survival during young or old adulthood, but substantially improved survival during middle age. Changes in the effects at different ages could be due to the duration and nature of the challenging exposure, or to variation in coping capacity or strategy with age. These results show that living under challenging environmental circumstances can influence ageing trajectories in terms of both reproductive performance and longevity. Our results provide experimental support for the emerging idea that stress exposure needs to be optimized rather than minimized to obtain the best health outcomes. [Abstract copyright: © 2018 The Author(s).]

Understanding the links between environmental conditions and longevity remains a major focus in biological research. We examined within-individual changes between early- and mid-adulthood in the circulating levels of four oxidative stress markers linked to ageing, using zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata): a DNA damage product (8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine; 8-OHdG), protein carbonyls (PC), non-enzymatic antioxidant capacity (OXY), and superoxide dismutase activity (SOD). We further examined whether such within-individual changes differed among birds living under control (ad lib food) or more challenging environmental conditions (unpredictable food availability), having previously found that the latter increased corticosterone levels when food was absent but improved survival over a three year period. Our key findings were: (i) 8-OHdG and PC increased with age in both environments, with a higher increase in 8-OHdG in the challenging environment; (ii) SOD increased with age in the controls but not in the challenged birds, while the opposite was true for OXY; (iii) control birds with high levels of 8-OHdG died at a younger age, but this was not the case in challenged birds. Our data clearly show that while exposure to the potentially damaging effects of oxidative stress increases with age, environmental conditions can modulate the pace of this age-related change.

(2012). The Prosperity Gospel in Times of Austerity. Anthropology Now: Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 18-25.

International audience; Skewed adult sex ratio (ASR) has been proposed as a common pattern in birds, frequently biased towards males and with larger biases in globally threatened species. In albatrosses and petrels, it has been suggested that differential mortality of one gender in fisheries is caused either by sexual size dimorphism giving males a competitive advantage, which allows more access of the larger sex (i.e. males) to discards and/or baits, or to at sea segregation of sexes. Here, we tested these hypotheses by determining ASRs in albatrosses and petrels trapped at sea when attending longline fishing vessels for discards in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean, and searched in the literature for patterns in ASR in albatrosses and petrels killed by fisheries in this area and elsewhere. We show that skewed ASR is common in albatrosses and petrels in the community attending vessels for discards, confirming results found for birds in general. There was no correlation between skewed ASR and conservation status, or between ASR and sexual size dimorphism. Our review of the sex of birds incidentally killed in fisheries found skewed ASR toward males, females or parity to be equally reported. Thus, sexual dimorphism in size does not explain skewed ASR in the community we sampled or in incidental captures in fisheries in the review. Differential at-sea distribution of sexes appears to be a better explanation of the patterns found in the community sampled at sea as well as skewed ASR in seabird fatalities, particularly distant from breeding areas.