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Begging nestlings from different species use similar displays when seeking food from their parents. Mouth colour is thought to act as a guide for parents. The mouth colours of nestlings from 31 species were studied and it was found that changes in mouth colour signalled need only amongst seed-regurgitating finches. No evidence was found to suggest that mouth colour was correlated with the light available in the nest.

Comparisons were made between the nestling begging calls of four hosts and the host-races of the common cuckoo. Research has determined how differences in cuckoo begging could happen.

The incidence of epidural abscess following epidural catheterisation appears to be increasing, being recently reported as one in 1000 among surgical patients. This study was designed to investigate the antibacterial activity of various local anaesthetics and additives, used in epidural infusions, against a range of micro-organisms associated with epidural abscess. The aim was to determine which, if any, epidural infusion solution has the greatest antibacterial activity. Bupivacaine, ropivacaine and levobupivacaine crystals were dissolved and added to Mueller-Hinton Agar in concentrations of 0.06%, 0.125%, 0.2%, 0.25%, 0.5% and 1%. Fentanyl, adrenaline and clonidine were also mixed with agar in isolation and in combination with the local anaesthetics. Using a reference agar dilution method, the minimum inhibitory concentrations were determined for a range of bacteria. Bupivacaine showed antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis and Escherichia coli with minimum inhibitory concentrations between 0.125% and 0.25%. It did not inhibit the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa at any of the concentrations tested. Levobupivacaine and ropivacaine showed no activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, even at the highest concentrations tested, and minimal activity against Escherichia coli (minimum inhibitory concentrations 0.5% and 1% respectively). The presence of fentanyl, adrenaline and clonidine had no additional effect on the antibacterial activity of any of the local anaesthetic agents. The low concentrations of local anaesthetic usually used in epidural infusions have minimal antibacterial activity. While the clinical implications of this in vitro study are not known, consideration should be given to increasing the concentration of bupivacaine in an epidural infusion or to administering a daily bolus of 0.25% bupivacaine to reduce the risk of epidural bacterial growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A set of 17 microsatellite loci was shown to provide at least seven that were polymorphic in each of three bronze-cuckoo species ( Chalcites basalis, C. lucidus and C. minutillus) representing the taxonomic range of this genus. This set includes nine newly isolated loci from genomic libraries constructed from C. basalis and C. lucidus. For these three species, each had seven or more polymorphic loci that showed no significant linkage or Hardy–Weinberg disequilibrium with more than five alleles (mean 7.6–12.1) and expected heterozygosity greater than 0.5 (mean 0.78–0.85). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigating fundamental processes in biology requires the ability to ground broad questions in species-specific natural history. This is particularly true in the study of behavior because an organism's experience of the environment will influence the expression of behavior and the opportunity for selection. Here, we provide a review of the natural history and behavior of burying beetles of the genus Nicrophorus to provide the groundwork for comparative work that showcases their remarkable behavioral and ecological diversity. Burying beetles have long fascinated scientists because of their well-developed parenting behavior, exhibiting extended post-hatching care of offspring that varies extensively within and across taxa. Despite the burgeoning success of burying beetles as a model system for the study of behavioral evolution, there has not been a review of their behavior, ecology, and evolution in over 25 years. To address this gap, we leverage a developing community of researchers who have contributed to a detailed knowledge of burying beetles to highlight the utility of Nicrophorus for investigating the causes and consequences of social and behavioral evolution., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2024 The Author(s). Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Controlled and real-world evidence have demonstrated the efficacy of calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP) monoclonal antibodies (MABs) in migraine. However, data on the over-one-year sustained effectiveness of CGRP MABs in resistant chronic migraine (CM) is sparse.  METHODS: This is a two-year real-world prospective analysis of an ongoing single centre audit conducted in patients with resistant CM. Patients received monthly erenumab for six months before assessing its effectiveness. Responders were considered those who achieved at least 30% reduction in monthly migraine days (MMD) by month 6, compared to baseline. Secondary outcomes were also analysed, including changes of the Headache Impact Test version 6 (HIT-6)., Results: One hundred sixty-four patients [135 (82.3%) females; mean age 46 SD 14) years] were included in the audit and 160 patients analysed. Patients had failed a mean of 8.4 preventive treatments at baseline. At month 6, 76 patients (48%) were 30% responders to erenumab, 50 patients (31%) were 50% responders and 25 (15%) were 75% responders. The mean reduction in MMD at month 6 was 7.5 days compared to baseline (P < 0.001). At month 12 and month 18, 61 patients (38%) and 52 patients (33%) remained 30% responders respectively. At month 24, 36 patients (23%) remained 30% responders, 25 patients (16%) and 13 patients (8%) were respectively 50% and 75% responders. Compared to 95% of patients at baseline, at months 6, 12 and 24, 46%, 29% and 16% of responders respectively had severe disability. At least one adverse event at month 6, 12, 18 and 24 was reported by 49%, 19%, 11% and 3% of patients. By month 6, 13% of patients discontinued the treatment because of side effects, often constipation., Conclusions: Long-term sustained effectiveness of erenumab was reported only by a minority of resistant CM patients. Although more research in resistant migraine is needed, Erenumab can provide long-term meaningful reduction in migraine load and migraine-related disability in some patients., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Objective: We aimed to describe patients' views of a new referral pathway of general practitioner (GP) direct access to MRI, versus imaging after referral to a specialist., Design: This qualitative study involved 20 semistructured interviews. Twenty patients (10 from each pathway) were purposively recruited and interviewed to describe their attitudes., Setting: A neurology headache clinic and neuroradiology services from the boroughs of Southwark and Lambeth in South London, UK., Participants: Twenty patients were involved in this study., Results: Over half of the participants felt relieved once they received their scan results, while some remained uncertain about the underlying cause of their symptoms. Some participants described a long wait to see a specialist. Others described a long wait time to receive scan results, especially from their GP. Spontaneous reduction in headache symptoms occurred for some participants and for others, normal imaging results allowed them to focus more on symptom management., Conclusion: Relief was reported especially when scan results had been explained clearly and without too much delay. Those with continuing pain focused on how to get relief from symptoms. Patient experience might be improved with clearer information from GPs about how patients can access results, standard reporting procedures and closer liaison between neuroradiology and GPs., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Objectives: To develop a better understanding of general practitioners' (GPs) views and experiences of the management of patients with headaches and use of direct-access MRI scans, and observe outcomes of an educational session offered by a GP with a special interest (GPwSI) to GPs., Design: A qualitative study using semistructured interviews, analysed using thematic analysis. A GPwSI in headaches visited practices delivering a talk on headache medication, diagnosis and management., Setting: Sixteen (16) primary care family practices in South London, UK., Participants: Twenty (20) GPs., Results: Not all GPs were aware of the availability of direct-access MRI, but all acknowledged having used referral or direct scans to manage patients' concern about their headaches. A normal scan result helped resolve uncertainty for patient and GP and helped management towards discussion of preventative treatment. However, patients with psychological and/or severe headache symptoms could not necessarily be reassured. GPs reported difficulty interpreting radiology reports, particularly incidental abnormalities. Those who received the educational talk gained knowledge in diagnosis and medication, improving their confidence in management., Conclusions: Increased access to imaging, training in headache management, addressing physical and psychological symptoms and standardised reporting of scans may improve GPs' use of direct-access MRI in the future., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.)

Some group-living species exhibit social immunity, where the immune response of one individual can protect others in the group from infection. In burying beetles, this is part of parental care. Larvae feed on vertebrate carcasses which their parents smear with exudates that inhibit microbial growth. We have sequenced the transcriptome of the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides and identified six genes that encode lysozymes-a type of antimicrobial enzyme that has previously been implicated in social immunity in burying beetles. When females start breeding and producing antimicrobial anal exudates, we found that the expression of one of these genes was increased by approximately 1000 times to become one of the most abundant transcripts in the transcriptome. Females varied considerably in the antimicrobial properties of their anal exudates, and this was strongly correlated with the expression of this lysozyme. We conclude that we have likely identified a gene encoding a key effector molecule in social immunity and that it was recruited during evolution from a function in personal immunity., (© 2016 The Author(s).)

A healthy, asymptomatic man living in London, presented with seeing 'worms' in his toilet for two successive summer seasons. Repeated microscopic examination and cultures of both his faeces and urine were normal. He was empirically treated with multiple courses of antihelminthics without resolution of this problem. A sample of the worms was obtained, and positively identified as arthropod larvae under microscopic examination. These larvae do not parasitically colonise humans. It was subsequently deduced that a flying arthropod (most likely Culex pipiens mosquito) had laid eggs in standing toilet water, and the hatched larvae had been mistaken for parasitic worms. The patient was declared free of parasites and remains healthy. This case illustrates the dangers of starting empirical treatment without positive confirmation of causative organisms, which can result in unnecessary and potentially harmful treatment.

Hermansky Pudlak syndrome type 2 (HPS2) is a rare disorder associated with mutations in the Adaptor Protein 3 (AP-3) complex, which is involved in sorting transmembrane proteins to lysosomes and related organelles. We now report 2 unrelated subjects with HPS2 who show a characteristic clinical phenotype of oculocutaneous albinism, platelet and T-lymphocyte dysfunction and neutropenia. The subjects were homozygous for different deletions within AP3B1 (g.del180242-180866, c.del153-156), which encodes the AP-3beta3A subunit, resulting in frame shifts and introduction of nonsense substitutions (p.E693fsX13, p.E52fsX11). In the subject with p.E693fsX13, this resulted in expression of a truncated variant beta3A protein. Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) clones from both study subjects showed increased cell-surface expression of CD63 and reduced cytotoxicity. Platelets showed impaired aggregation and reduced uptake of (3)H-serotonin. These findings are consistent with CTL granule and platelet dense granule defects, respectively. This report extends the clinical and laboratory description of HPS2.

Nestling birds solicit food from adults by using begging displays that appear paradoxically costly and wasteful. Theoretical work suggests that the evolution of such exuberant offspring behavior reflects parent-offspring conflict over the supply of parental investment. Originally, extravagant begging was seen as a means of psychological trickery by which offspring could wheedle additional resources from resistant parents. Subsequently, costly begging came to be viewed as the hallmark of resolved parent-offspring conflict, serving either to prevent escalated scramble competition or to enforce honest signaling. However, the theoretical assumption of costly solicitation has been called into question by the low level of energy expenditure measured empirically during begging. This finding has prompted new theoretical work that shows that begging can be cost-free and yet still resolve parent-offspring conflict. Here, I report that begging is more costly than recent work suggests. My experimental evidence from captive canaries demonstrates a marginal cost of begging through impaired growth. Furthermore, I argue that previous studies of energy expenditure during solicitation do not measure the cost of begging, as defined theoretically. More generally, my results may account for the evolution of nestling growth rates, as well as the observation that begging is typically most flamboyant in older offspring.

Wild zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata, breed opportunistically when there is sufficient food available, often rapidly mobilizing their reproductive systems in response to an ephemeral boom in grass seed production. For females in captivity, fecundity, attractiveness to mates and survival to reproduction are all correlated with their fledging weight. By contrast, for males, only attractiveness is related to fledging weight; the relationship between fledging weight and male mortality is much weaker and that for male fecundity is unknown. Previous work thus suggests that how much food nestlings receive will have a profound impact on their reproductive success, and that this effect may be more marked for females than for males. I manipulated the food available to domesticated breeding zebra finches to test Trivers & Willard's (1973, Science, 179, 90-92) hypothesis of adaptive sexual investment. When food availability was restricted, clutch sex ratios were significantly more male biased than when food was available in excess. Within clutches, daughters hatched sooner than sons and first-hatched chicks fledged at higher weights than those that hatched last. Chick mortality was female biased when food availability was low but male biased when food availability was unrestricted. I compared the song output of brothers of differing weight at independence, but found no significant difference between them. These data suggest that zebra finches manipulate both their primary and secondary sex ratios in relation to food availability to invest adaptively in sons and daughters, and support Trivers & Willard's hypothesis. Copyright 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Throughout the animal kingdom, distinctive behaviour by offspring commonly precedes and accompanies their provisioning by parents. Here, we assess empirical support for the recent theory that begging advertises offspring need, that parents provision young in relation to begging intensity, and that the apparently costly nature of begging ensures the reliability of the signal. While there is some support for the predictions of honest signalling models, empirical work has also revealed a host of complexities (such as the use of multiple signals) that existing theoretical analyses have only begun to address.