Background: Neurosurgery is a long and arduous training program, and the demands of neurosurgical training have led to resident burnout prevalence ranging from 11-67%, attrition, and suicide. We aimed to assess whether implementation of a weekly self-assessment tool with optional psychological counselling improves neurosurgical resident quality of life. Methods: We performed a one year prospective cohort study including 14 Calgary (intervention group) and 12 Toronto/Winnipeg residents (control group). Calgary residents utilized a mobile application (“HONE”) weekly, and all residents responded to questionnaires at baseline, midpoint and endpoint: EQ-5D-5L, Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), and Mayo Clinic Well-being Index (WBI). Between and within group results were compared using two-tailed t-tests. Results: Pooled baseline scores were comparable to population norms, with increased mean MBI depersonalization scores (10.28 versus 7.12, p=0.033), and more WBI “at risk” scores compared to normative data. There were no baseline differences between cohorts. EQ-5D-5L, MBI, and WBI scores were comparable between and within cohorts at all three time points. Three intervention group residents accessed psychological counselling, totalling ten sessions. Conclusions: Weekly use of the HONE application did not impact resident quality of life, although multiple residents displayed help-seeking behaviours. HONE provided tangible data for the program director to track trends in team well-being.

Specimen samples of Crook County montmorillonite and Silver Hill illite, purified and prepared in the Na-form, were imaged under 80% relative humidity using an atomic force microscope. The direct images showed clearly the hexagonal array of hexagonal rings of oxygen ions expected for the basal planes of 2:1 phyllosilicates. Fourier transformation of the digital information obtained by the microscope scanning tip led to an estimate of 5.1 ± 0.3 Å for the nearest-neighbor separation, in agreement with the ideal nearest-neighbor spacing of 5.4 Å for hexagonal rings as derived from X-ray powder diffraction data. The atomic force microscope should prove to be a useful tool for the molecular-scale resolution of clay mineral surfaces that contain adsorbed macromolecules.

Possible welfare benefits of qualitative rather than quantitative food restriction were investigated with growing female broiler breeder chickens (Ross 1). In Experiment 1, body-weight gains from 2 to 6 weeks of age were compared among different diet dilution, appetite suppression and low protein treatments, with free access to food at all times, to identify qualitative treatments causing weight gains similar to that recommended in the Ross 1 Parent Stock Management Manual. Based on these results, four diet dilution (400g kg−1 unmolassed sugar-beet pulp, 300 and 600g kg−1 oat hulls, 500g kg−1 softwood sawdust) and one appetite suppression (50g kg−1 calcium propionate) treatments were compared with two quantitative restriction (the recommended daily ration and twice that amount) and one ad libitum control treatments, from 2 to 10 weeks of age, in Experiment 2. As well as growth, food intake, excreta production and digestibility, measurements were also made of behaviour and blood indices of stress. Several conclusions were drawn. Different methods of qualitative food restriction can be used to control growth rate within desired limits. Problems with these methods include reduced uniformity in weight gain, increased excreta production and/or increased cost. Although they appear to suppress abnormal oral behaviours, they do not alter the increased general activity which is correlated with suppression of growth rate, and which may more accurately reflect associated hunger. Suppression of abnormal oral behaviours may only rarely correspond with reduction in blood indices of stress, and so cannot be taken to indicate improved welfare. Some of these methods can add to physiological stress. Finally, there was insufficient evidence of improved welfare, based on both behavioural and physiological criteria, to justify advocating the suitability of any of these methods for commercial use.

Minimising the effects of restraint and human interaction on the endocrine physiology of animals is essential for collection of accurate physiological measurements. Our objective was to compare stress-induced cortisol (CORT) and noradrenalin (NorA) responses in automated vs manual blood sampling in pigs. A total of 16 pigs (30 kg) were assigned to either: (i) automated blood sampling via an indwelling catheter using a novel-penning system called PigTurn® which detects the pig's rotational movement and responds by counter-rotating, allowing free movement while preventing catheter twisting; (ii) automated sampling while exposed to visual and auditory responses of manually sampled pigs; or (iii) manual sampling by jugular venipuncture while pigs were restrained in dorsal recumbency. During sampling of (i), personnel were not permitted in the room; samplings of (ii) and (iii) were performed simultaneously in the same room. Blood samples were collected every 20 min for 120 min and measured for CORT (ng ml−1) using mass spectrometry and NorA (pg ml−1) using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Effects of treatment and time were computed with mixed models adjusted by Tukey post hoc. CORT and NorA concentrations were lowest in group (i) followed by group (ii), which were not different. However, CORT and NorA levels in manually sampled animals (iii) were highest compared to automated methods (i) and (ii). Plasma concentrations across time were not different for CORT, but NorA concentration at time 0 min was higher than at 120 min. The presence of visual and auditory stimuli evoked by manual sampled animals did not affect non-handled pigs’ responses. Restraint and manual sampling of pigs can be extremely stressful while the automated blood sampling of freely moving pigs, housed in the PigTurn® was significantly less stressful for the animals.

With human influences driving populations of apex predators into decline, more information is required on how factors affect species at national and global scales. However, camera-trap studies are seldom executed at a broad spatial scale. We demonstrate how uniting fine-scale studies and utilizing camera-trap data of non-target species is an effective approach for broadscale assessments through a case study of the brown hyaena Parahyaena brunnea. We collated camera-trap data from 25 protected and unprotected sites across South Africa into the largest detection/non-detection dataset collected on the brown hyaena, and investigated the influence of biological and anthropogenic factors on brown hyaena occupancy. Spatial autocorrelation had a significant effect on the data, and was corrected using a Bayesian Gibbs sampler. We show that brown hyaena occupancy is driven by specific co-occurring apex predator species and human disturbance. The relative abundance of spotted hyaenas Crocuta crocuta and people on foot had a negative effect on brown hyaena occupancy, whereas the relative abundance of leopards Panthera pardus and vehicles had a positive influence. We estimated that brown hyaenas occur across 66% of the surveyed camera-trap station sites. Occupancy varied geographically, with lower estimates in eastern and southern South Africa. Our findings suggest that brown hyaena conservation is dependent upon a multi-species approach focussed on implementing conservation policies that better facilitate coexistence between people and hyaenas. We also validate the conservation value of pooling fine-scale datasets and utilizing bycatch data to examine species trends at broad spatial scales.

Ecosystem engineers such as the Antarctic scallop (Adamussium colbecki) shape marine communities. Thus, changes to their lifespan and growth could have far-reaching effects on other organisms. Sea ice is critical to polar marine ecosystem function, attenuating light and thereby affecting nutrient availability. Sea ice could therefore impact longevity and growth in polar bivalves unless temperature is the overriding factor. Here, we compare the longevity and growth of A. colbecki from two Antarctic sites: Explorers Cove and Bay of Sails, which differ by sea-ice cover, but share similar seawater temperatures, the coldest on Earth (-1.97°C). We hypothesize that scallops from the multiannual sea-ice site will have slower growth and greater longevity. We found maximum ages to be similar at both sites (18–19 years). Growth was slower, with higher inter-individual variability, under multiannual sea ice than under annual sea ice, which we attribute to patchier nutrient availability under multiannual sea ice. Contrary to expectations, A. colbecki growth, but not longevity, is affected by sea-ice duration when temperatures are comparable. Recent dramatic reductions in Antarctic sea ice and predicted temperature increases may irrevocably alter the life histories of this ecosystem engineer and other polar organisms.

Suicide, particularly in the case of current major depression, is quite common among patients who contact their GPs some weeks or months before their death. However, prior studies have shown that GP’s education, regarding the diagnosis and treatment of depressive disorders, can reduce suicide mortality in the given area served by trained GPs. The aim of our present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a depression-management educational program for GPs in a region with a very high suicide rate (over 50 per 100.000) in Hungary. Twenty-eight GPs and their lead nurses, servicing 73,000 inhabitants in the region of Kiskunhalas, participated the 5-year educational program together with estabilishment of a Depression Outpatient Clinic and psychiatrist telephone consultation service. The annual suicide rate in the Kiskunhalas region decreased from 59.7/100.000 (5-year preintervention average) to 49.9/100.000. This decrease was significantly greater than both the county and whole Hungary (p=0.001 and p=0.001, respectively). However, the increase of antidepressant prescription was greater in the intervention region compared with both the county and whole Hungary and in women compared with men (p=0.02). There was no change in alcohol-related deaths or rate of unemployment in the intervention region during the whole study period (1996-2000 vs 2001 and 2005). The findings support earlier studies showing that continuous GP education on diagnosis and treatment of depression is an effective method of suicide prevention. The high importance of alcoholism in local suicides was unanticipated and not addressed, suggesting that optimal suicide prevention plans must also consider major local risk factors.

The objective of this study was to develop new standardized alcohol-associated cues and assess their effects on brain activation with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Pictures of alcoholic and neutral beverages and affectively neutral pictures were presented to 44 abstinent alcoholics and 37 age-matched healthy control subjects. We assessed the skin conductance response, and the elicited arousal and valence. Alcoholics and control subjects did not differ in arousal, valence or skin conductance response evoked by alcohol-associated and affectively neutral stimuli, while nonalcoholic beverages were rated as more unpleasant and arousing by alcoholics compared with control subjects. In the fMRI pilot study, alcohol and abstract pictures were presented to six abstinent alcoholics and induced a significant activation of brain areas associated with visual emotional processes such as the fusiform gyrus, parts of the brain reward system (basal ganglia and orbitofrontal gyrus) and further brain regions in the frontal and parietal cortices associated with the attention network. These observations suggest that standardized pictures of alcoholic beverages can be used to assess brain circuits involved in the processing and evaluation of alcohol cues.