Estimation of badger abundance using faecal DNA typing

1.Wildlife management and conservation programmes often require accurate information on population density, but this can be difficult to obtain, particularly when the species in question is nocturnal or cryptic. Badger populations in Britain are of intense management interest because they are a wildlife reservoir host of bovine tuberculosis (TB). Attempts to manage this infection in badgers, whether by population control or vaccination, require reliable methods of estimating population size. In addition, such estimates are also required to support research into badger ecology and TB epidemiology. Currently, the most accurate estimates of local badger population size are obtained from labour-intensive and time-consuming mark–recapture studies. 2. In recent years, DNA has been successfully extracted from the faeces of certain mammals, and used to generate a genetic profile of the defecating individual. Here we report on an application of this technology to estimate badger abundance.3.Faecal samples were collected on 10 consecutive days from every freshly deposited dropping at latrine sites close to occupied setts in three badger social groups. Badger DNA was extracted from 89% of samples, and 20 different individuals were reliably identified. The genotypes derived from the faecal samples were compared with those obtained from blood or samples from badgers live trapped at the same setts.4.The faecal genotypes from badgers with known trap histories revealed that latrines were used equally by males and females, and by badgers ranging in age from cubs(< 1 year old) to 9 years old. Individual badgers used the latrines on between one and six different nights. Rarefaction analysis produced abundance estimates that closely matched those obtained from live trapping. 5.Synthesis and applications. Systematic sampling and genetic typing of fresh faeces from badger latrines can provide data that can be used to estimate abundance accurately.This approach requires considerably less human resources than repeated live trapping and mark–recapture. The technique may be valuable for future badger research and management in relation to bovine TB, where accurate estimates of abundance at a local scale are required

Intergenerational social mobility and mid-life status attainment: influences of childhood intelligence, childhood social factors, and education

We examined the influences of childhood social background, childhood cognitive ability, and education on intergenerational social mobility and social status attainment at midlife. The subjects were men born in 1921 and who participated in the Scottish Mental Survey of 1932 and thereafter in the Midspan Collaborative study in Scotland between 1970 and 1973. In logistic regression analyses, childhood cognitive ability and height were associated with upward and downward change from father's social class to participant's social class at mid-life. Education significantly influenced upward social mobility. Number of siblings had no significant effect on social mobility. These effects were also examined after adjusting for the other variables. In structural equation modelling analyses, father's social class and childhood cognitive ability influenced social status attainment at midlife, with education and occupational status in young adulthood as partially mediating factors. It was noteworthy that childhood cognitive ability related more strongly to occupation in midlife than to first occupation. These data add to the relatively few studies that track the process of status attainment in adulthood, they provide information from a new geographical setting, and they contain information from a greater proportion of the lifecourse than do most existing studies

Radio Source Heating in the ICM: The Example of Cygnus A

One of the most promising solutions for the cooling flow problem involves energy injection from the central AGN. However it is still not clear how collimated jets can heat the ICM at large scale, and very little is known concerning the effect of radio lobe expansion as they enter into pressure equilibrium with the surrounding cluster gas. Cygnus A is one of the best examples of a nearby powerful radio galaxy for which the synchrotron emitting plasma and thermal emitting intra-cluster medium can be mapped in fine detail, and previous observations have inferred possible shock structure at the location of the cocoon. We use new XMM-Newton observations of Cygnus A, in combination with deep Chandra observations, to measure the temperature of the intra-cluster medium around the expanding radio cavities. We investigate how inflation of the cavities may relate to shock heating of the intra-cluster gas, and whether such a mechanism is sufficient to provide enough energy to offset cooling to the extent observed.Comment: To appear in the Proceedings of "Heating vs. Cooling in Galaxies and Clusters of Galaxies", August 2006, Garching (Germany), Eds. H. Boehringer, G.W. Pratt, A. Finoguenov, P. Schuecker, Springer-Verlag series "ESO Astrophysics Symposia", p.101, in press. 8 pages, 3 multiple figure

Childhood IQ and social factors on smoking behaviour, lung function and smoking-related outcomes in adulthood: linking the Scottish Mental Survey 1932 and the Midspan studies

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the associations of childhood IQ and adult social factors, and smoking behaviour, lung function (forced expiratory volume in one second; FEV(1)), and smoking-related outcomes in adulthood. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. METHOD: Participants were from the Midspan prospective studies conducted on Scottish adults in the 1970s. The sample consisted of 938 Midspan participants born in 1921 who were successfully matched with their cognitive ability test results on the Scottish Mental Survey 1932. RESULTS: Structural equation modelling showed that age 11 IQ was not directly associated with smoking consumption, but that IQ and adult social class had indirect effects on smoking consumption via deprivation category. The influence of IQ on FEV(1) was partly indirect via social class. Gender influenced smoking consumption and also IQ and social class. There was a 21&#37; higher risk of having a smoking-related hospital admission, cancer, or death during 25 years of follow-up for each standard deviation disadvantage in IQ. Adjustment for adult social class, deprivation category, and smoking reduced the association to 10&#37;. CONCLUSION: Childhood IQ was associated with social factors which influenced lung function in adulthood, but was not associated directly with smoking consumption. In future studies, it is important to consider other pathways which may account for variance in the link between childhood IQ and health in later life

Gene-flow between populations of cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is highly variable between years

Both large and small scale migrations of Helicoverpa armigera Hübner in Australia were investigated using AMOVA analysis and genetic assignment tests. Five microsatellite loci were screened across 3142 individuals from 16 localities in eight major cotton and grain growing regions within Australia, over a 38-month period (November 1999 to January 2003). From November 1999 to March 2001 relatively low levels of migration were characterized between growing regions. Substantially higher than average gene-flow rates and limited differentiation between cropping regions characterized the period from April 2001 to March 2002. A reduced migration rate in the year from April 2002 to March 2003 resulted in significant genetic structuring between cropping regions. This differentiation was established within two or three generations. Genetic drift alone is unlikely to drive genetic differentiation over such a small number of generations, unless it is accompanied by extreme bottlenecks and/or selection. Helicoverpa armigera in Australia demonstrated isolation by distance, so immigration into cropping regions is more likely to come from nearby regions than from afar. This effect was most pronounced in years with limited migration. However, there is evidence of long distance dispersal events in periods of high migration (April 2001–March 2002). The implications of highly variable migration patterns for resistance management are considered.K.D. Scott, K.S. Wilkinson, N. Lawrence, C.L. Lange, L.J. Scott, M.A. Merritt, A.J. Lowe and G.C Graha

Spin- and charge-density oscillations in spin chains and quantum wires

We analyze the spin- and charge-density oscillations near impurities in spin chains and quantum wires. These so-called Friedel oscillations give detailed information about the impurity and also about the interactions in the system. The temperature dependence of these oscillations explicitly shows the renormalization of backscattering and conductivity, which we analyze for a number of different impurity models. We are also able to analyze screening effects in one dimension. The relation to the Kondo effect and experimental consequences are discussed.Comment: Final published version. 15 pages in revtex format including 22 epsf-embedded figures. The latest version in PDF format is available from http://fy.chalmers.se/~eggert/papers/density-osc.pd

On the dual structure of the auditory brainstem response in dogs

Objective: To use the over-complete discrete wavelet transform (OCDWT) to further examine the dual structure of auditory brainstem response (ABR) in the dog. Methods: ABR waveforms recorded from 20 adult dogs at supra-threshold (90 and 70 dBnHL) and threshold (0-15 dBSL) levels were decomposed using a six level OCDWT and reconstructed at individual scales (frequency ranges) A6 (0-391 Hz), D6 (391-781 Hz), and D5 (781-1563 Hz). Results: At supra-threshold stimulus levels, the A6 scale (0-391 Hz) showed a large amplitude waveform with its prominent wave corresponding in latency with ABR waves II/III; the D6 scale (391-781 Hz) showed a small amplitude waveform with its first four waves corresponding in latency to ABR waves I, II/III, V, and VI; and the D5 scale (781-1563 Hz) showed a large amplitude, multiple peaked waveform with its first six waves corresponding in latency to ABR waves I, II, III, IV, V, and VI. At threshold stimulus levels (0-15 dBSL), the A6 scale (0-391 Hz) continued to show a relatively large amplitude waveform, but both the D6 and D5 scales (391781 and 781-1563 Hz, respectively) now showed relatively small amplitude waveforms. Conclusions: A dual structure exists within the ABR of the dog, but its relative structure changes with stimulus level. Significance: The ABR in the dog differs from that in the human both in the relative contributions made by its different frequency components, and the way these components change with stimulus level. (c) 2006 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Electron correlation energy in confined two-electron systems

Radial, angular and total correlation energies are calculated for four two-electron systems with atomic numbers Z=0-3 confined within an impenetrable sphere of radius R. We report accurate results for the non-relativistic, restricted Hartree-Fock and radial limit energies over a range of confinement radii from 0.05 - 10 a0. At small R, the correlation energies approach limiting values that are independent of Z while at intermediate R, systems with Z > 1 exhibit a characteristic maximum in the correlation energy resulting from an increase in the angular correlation energy which is offset by a decrease in the radial correlation energy

Exact perturbative solution of the Kondo problem

We explicitly evaluate the infinite series of integrals that appears in the "Anderson-Yuval" reformulation of the anisotropic Kondo problem in terms of a one-dimensional Coulomb gas. We do this by developing a general approach relating the anisotropic Kondo problem of arbitrary spin with the boundary sine-Gordon model, which describes impurity tunneling in a Luttinger liquid and in the fractional quantum Hall effect. The Kondo solution then follows from the exact perturbative solution of the latter model in terms of Jack polynomials.Comment: 4 pages in revtex two-colum

Supernova Neutrinos, Neutrino Oscillations, and the Mass of the Progenitor Star

We investigate the initial progenitor mass dependence of the early-phase neutrino signal from supernovae taking neutrino oscillations into account. The early-phase analysis has advantages in that it is not affected by the time evolution of the density structure of the star due to shock propagation or whether the remnant is a neutron star or a black hole. The initial mass affects the evolution of the massive star and its presupernova structure, which is important for two reasons when considering the neutrino signal. First, the density profile of the mantle affects the dynamics of neutrino oscillation in supernova. Second, the final iron core structure determines the features of the neutrino burst, i.e., the luminosity and the average energy. We find that both effects are rather small. This is desirable when we try to extract information on neutrino parameters from future supernova-neutrino observations. Although the uncertainty due to the progenitor mass is not small for intermediate $\theta_{13}$ ($10^{-5} \lesssim \sin^{2}{2 \theta_{13}} \lesssim 10^{-3}$), we can, nevertheless, determine the character of the mass hierarchy and whether $\theta_{13}$ is very large or very small.Comment: 8 pages, 15 figure