bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Body size variation of the floodwater mosquito Aedes albifasciatus in Central Argentina
Authors: Gleiser R. M. , Urrutia J. , Gorla D. E. 
Published: March 2003

SummaryAn inverse relationship between larval density and adult body size has been reported for several mosquito species, affecting their survival and vector competence, response to repellents and other factors. Larvae of the floodwater mosquito Aedes (Ochlerotatus) albifasciatus (Macquart) (Diptera: Culicidae) develop quickly in temporary pools, so intraspecific competition (for food or space) might regulate population abundance and affect the size of adult mosquitoes. We investigated the temporal variation of adult female wing‐length (an index of body‐size) in natural populations of Ae. albifasciatus, using adults collected during each phase of the rainy season. The relationships between adult mosquito abundance, female wing‐length, rainfall and temperature were analysed through simple regressions. Skewness of the frequency distribution of wing‐lengths showed a strong negative relationship with mean wing‐length. The distribution of wing‐lengths varied seasonally and was correlated with rainfall 7–15 days previously as the major consequence of breeding site volume. Thus temporal variation of body size in natural populations of Ae. albifasciatus reflected density‐dependent changes in the aquatic habitat where immature stages develop, influenced more by rainfall than by temperature or other environmental variables.
Dispersal range of Simulium neavei in an onchocerciasis focus of western Uganda
Authors: Mpagi J. , Katamanywa J. , Garms R. 
Published: March 2003

SummaryThe dispersal range of the vector Simulium neavei Roubaud (Diptera: Simuliidae) was investigated in an onchocerciasis focus in Kabarole district, western Uganda, adjacent to the Itwara Forest Reserve, where the species breeds in phoretic association with the river crab Potamonautes aloysiisabaudiae (Nobili) (Decapoda: Potamonautidae). Biting rates were highest at the edge of the forest, but blood‐seeking flies were collected up to a distance of about 4 km from the forest. Entomological data did not agree with the geographical distribution of onchocerciasis, which is hyperendemic in larger distances from the forest. The possible reasons are discussed.
Blood‐feeding in mosquitoes: probing time and salivary gland anti‐haemostatic activities in representatives of three genera (Aedes, Anopheles, Culex)
Authors: Ribeiro J. M. C. 
Published: March 2003

SummaryMosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) face their hosts' haemostatic mechanisms when attempting to feed on blood. Accordingly, they antagonize haemostasis by salivary agents that include anti‐clotting, anti‐platelet and vasodilatory compounds. Because haemostasis is a complex and redundant physiological response that varies between vertebrates, it is to be expected that haematophagous animals have a salivary armoury that most efficiently counteracts their preferred hosts. The mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus Say, which has a strong tendency to ornithophagy, appears to have only recently adapted to mammals and may not have evolved efficient mechanisms to counteract mammalian platelet responses, while birds only have relatively inefficient thrombocytes. Accordingly, we compared the probing behaviour of Cx. quinquefasciatus with two other mosquito species from different backgrounds: Aedes aegypti (L.) and Anopheles albimanus Weidemann, that have apparently had a longer evolutionary association with mammals. Culex takes much more time to find blood on a mammalian host (human or mouse) when compared to the two other mosquito species, but does not differ in probing behaviour when feeding on a chicken. Salivary anti‐haemostatic components were also measured in those three species of mosquito and results are discussed in context with the probing behaviour.
Differential ecology of Anopheles punctulatus and three members of the Anopheles farauti complex of mosquitoes on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, identified by PCR‐RFLP analysis
Authors: Beebe N. W. , Bakote'e B. , Ellis J. T. , Cooper R. D. 
Published: March 2003

SummaryFrom a series of larval collections made across northern Guadalcanal during the dry season, October–November 1997, four members of the Anopheles punctulatus group of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) were identified using PCR‐RFLP analysis. Anopheline larvae were found in 54/57 (95%) of the sites sampled, comprising An. farauti Laveran sensu stricto (32 sites), An. farauti species no. 2 (39 sites), An. farauti no. 7 (36 sites) and An. punctulatus Dönitz (10 sites). Anopheles punctulatus occurred only on the coastal plain, where it was associated with the more transient sites. Anopheles farauti sensu lato was more widespread throughout the survey region, with similar proportions of all three sibling species in both transient and permanent sites. Two members of the An. farauti complex, An. farauti s.s. and species no. 2, were found in brackish water. All breeding sites of An. punctulatus were cohabited by An. farauti s.l., sometimes by all three sibling species. Anopheles farauti s.s. was the only species collected on human bait, with a much higher biting rate early in the evening (57 bites/human/hour at 18.30–20.00 hours) than later (0.8 bites/human/hour at 21.00–24.00 hours).
Effects of infection of the tick Ornithodoros moubata with African swine fever virus
Authors: Rennie L. , Wilkinson P. J. , Mellor P. S. 
Published: March 2003

SummaryThe effects of infection with African swine fever virus (ASFV) on adult and nymphal Ornithodoros moubata Murray (Ixodoidea, Argasidae) ticks were examined. Three groups of ticks were used, an uninfected control group, one group infected with the VIC T90/1 isolate of ASFV and another group infected with the LIV 13/33 isolate of ASFV. Infection with ASFV did not affect the oviposition rates of infected ticks when compared with uninfected ticks. There was no difference between infected and uninfected ticks in progeny hatching rates and first nymphal stage feeding rates. Feeding rates of infected adult ticks were also unaffected. However, a significant increase in mortality rates was observed amongst the adult ticks that fed on an infective bloodmeal compared to ticks fed on an unifected bloodmeal.
Transovarial transmission of African swine fever virus in the argasid tick Ornithodoros moubata
Authors: Rennie L. , Wilkinson P. J. , Mellor P. S. 
Published: March 2003

SummaryThe aim of this study was to determine filial infection prevalence of experimentally infected colony Ornithodoros moubata Walton (Ixodoidea: Argasidae) ticks for African swine fever virus (ASFV). Three groups of ticks were used: an uninfected control group, one group orally infected with the VIC T90/1 isolate and another group orally infected with the LIV 13/33 isolate of ASFV. The results show that filial infection prevalences were not constant but were highly variable between egg batches from different ticks and between successive egg batches from the same tick. Filial infection prevalences ranged from 1.8% to 31.8% for ticks infected with the VICT90/1 isolate and from 1.2% to 35.5% for ticks infected with the LIV 13/33 isolate. A similar pattern was noted after the third feed. Immunohistochemisty showed that virus replicates in the developing larval cells and not in the yolk sac cells or within the outer layers of the eggs. The results show that ASFV can replicate to a high titre (105.1log10HAD50) within the larval cells of the developing egg.
Portfolio learning in general practice vocational training – does it work?
Authors: Snadden David , Thomas Mary L 
Published: March 2003

Reflective learning has been widely addressed as an important learning mechanism in the educational literature. The creation of portfolios has been seen as a mechanism to promote this, though there has been little exploration of the place of a portfolio in general practice training. This study examined the introduction of a model of a portfolio learning strategy into one training region. The model had been developed by previous pilot work. The study explored the model in terms of its usefulness in general practice training and its relationship to reflective learning. An educational facilitator was used to support this introduction.Workshops and written material were developed to disseminate and refine ideas generated in the pilot study. This was followed by visits to trainer/general practice registrar (GPR) pairs over a 2‐year period. These visits included semistructured interviews, which were tape‐recorded and analysed using qualitative methods. Additional written resources, video and audio material as well as new workshops were designed with the researched participants in order to promote the development of the concepts of portfolio learning.Sixty interviews were carried out over a 2‐year period with 44 pairs of trainers and GPRs. This included a total of 27 trainers and 44 registrars. Eighteen pairs were interviewed twice. Two focus groups were used at the end of the project.Portfolios have a place to play in general practice vocational training. They act as a bridge between hospital and general practice. They can be used to develop a learner‐centred curriculum, explore difficult emotive concerns and facilitate feedback. They do not suit all learning styles. Their use is determined by a cost–benefit analysis described in this study.
Education as a means of reducing medical expenses
Authors: Tajima  , Nagasawa  , Tanabe  , Kusaba  , Tadano  
Published: March 2003

In treating patients with infectious diseases, key knowledge and experience are essential in making appropriate clinical decisions.Medical students in Japan receive limited tuition in clinical pharmacology and microbiology in their undergraduate curriculum. Education and guidance in these fields are not always provided, even during postgraduate training. To help overcome this problem, we have devised a quick medical reference system to support antimicrobial chemotherapy, and this has been operating in our hospital since May 1994. This system is integrated in order to convey the maximal significance of test results by providing detailed information on various kinds of pathogens and antibiotics immediately on every computer display. This is a unique system in Japan, and aims to help doctors provide effective therapy. Using this system, we have succeeded in reducing medical expenditure for antimicrobials by around 10%.
Variation in medical students' approaches to diagnosis: a basis for initiating conceptual change among teachers and students
Authors: Lindblom‐Ylänne  , Meyer  
Published: March 2003

ObjectivesThis study examines Finnish medical students' approaches to diagnosis and investigates further how medical teachers can use information about variation in their students' approaches to diagnosis to foster teaching in medical school.DesignThe medical students responded to the Conceptions and Experiences of Diagnosis Inventory (CEDI).SettingFaculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki.SubjectsNinety medical students in their clinical years and eight clinical teachers from the same Faculty of Medicine.ResultsThe 11 subscales of the CEDI formed two contrasting factors: the first reflecting variation in `non‐virtuously' labelled, and the second in `virtuously' labelled, aspects of diagnosis.ConclusionsCluster analyses revealed subgroup characteristics of students' diagnostic processes that are of potential benefit to both students and teachers. Teacher interviews indicated that, for students, the CEDI may act as a self‐assessment tool to help develop their diagnostic and metacognitive skills. For teachers, the CEDI was seen to offer important information about their students' conceptions of diagnosis and diagnostic skills.
A comparison of the educational opportunities on junior medical attachments in general practice and in a teaching hospital: a questionnaire survey
Authors: Murray Elizabeth , Jolly Brian , Modell Michael 
Published: March 2003

Objectives To obtain students' perceptions of the educational quality of the general internal medicine teaching overall and to determine whether specific learning objectives were better addressed in general practice or in hospital.Design The survey was carried out after a 10 week block of general internal medicine, consisting of five weeks taught in general practice and five weeks taught in a teaching hospital. Students were randomly allocated to start in either general practice or hospital. The outcome measure was a questionnaire survey of students perceptions' of their learning on the two halves of the block. Each student completed the same questionnaire twice: once after their hospital experience and once after their general practice experience. Statistical Analysis was carried out using the SPSS package for Windows 3·1. Group means were calculated for each response, and the mean differences for each student's responses for the two learning environments were analysed using t‐tests for paired samples.Setting Royal Free and University College Medical School at University College London.Subjects The study population was the entire annual intake (n = 225) of students into the first clinical year at one UK medical school.Results Students perceived they learnt more about history taking and physical examination in the community, whereas they learnt more about writing up their clerkings, keeping progress notes and disease management in hospital.Conclusions The community and hospital environments appear to have different strengths for the teaching of medical students. These data support judicious transfer of clinical skills teaching from teaching hospitals into general practice, when the circumstances achieved here can be duplicated. However, some aspects of the clinical attachment, particularly record keeping and disease management, are probably better taught in hospital at present.
Selecting medical students: a case report of the need for change
Authors: Marley  , Carman  
Published: March 2003

ObjectivesTo review the selection of medical students by academic score alone.SettingThe University of Adelaide.MethodsSurveys of students, staff, school counsellors and review of matriculation scores and rankings in the medical course.ResultsStaff and school counsellors both rated personal qualities such as problem solving ability and communication skills as highly desirable attributes to be sought, but not rote learning ability. School counsellors reported intense pressure on students and schools to achieve the required high scores, with educationally undesirable narrowing of subject choices and reduced involvement in sport and extra‐curricular activities. Matriculation scores did not predict placings in our medical course. Only 52% of students had a clear ambition to do medicine, while parental pressure and a high mark featured strongly as other reasons for entry. Only 11% of students claimed any reasonable knowledge about their chosen career before entry.ConclusionThis case report confirmed that selecting medical students by academic score alone was no longer desirable.
Continuing education courses in dentistry: assessing impact on practice
Authors: Bullock A D , Belfield C R , Butterfield S , Ribbins P M , Frame J W 
Published: March 2003

IntroductionIn the context of movement towards mandatory continuing dental education, this paper describes how a delayed postal questionnaire can be used in course evaluation. Specifically, the value of the questionnaire as a tool for assessing the impact of short course attendance on general dental practice is examined.MethodQuestionnaires were distributed to all those attending three courses, ranging in size, in the West Midlands region. As well as reflecting on the course, respondents were asked their views on the usefulness of the questionnaire, the length of time between course attendance and assessment of impact, and types of courses likely to have greatest impact.ResultsRespondents thought the questionnaire an appropriate tool for assessing impact on practice, that an appropriate interval of time between the course and the delayed questionnaire is about six weeks, and that courses most likely to impact on practice are those which offer updates on common clinical topics and are hands‐on in nature.DiscussionA delayed questionnaire could be a useful mechanism for evaluating the impact on practice of some types of courses. Response rates from those attending large lecture courses might be low. Course evaluation is also limited by resources and time. Criteria for identifying which courses should be subject to such evaluation might include high cost per participant and links with review cycles.ConclusionThere is scope for more structured evaluation of continuing dental education, including the assessment of impact on practice. The questionnaire described is a useful component of an evaluation framework.
Single‐handed practices – their contribution to an undergraduate teaching network in the first year of the new curriculum
Authors: Wylie A M , Stephenson A , Copperman J , Wingfield R , Turner M , Steward C 
Published: March 2003

ObjectivesThe new curriculum at King’s College School of Medicine and Dentistry, which commenced in September 1996, requires all medical undergraduates to have a general practice placement throughout the 5␣years of their medical education.DesignThis paper discusses recruitment, training and support of teaching practices for the new curriculum, reviews the distribution of single‐handed general practices in the network and, via a selection of monitoring and evaluation procedures, discusses the implications of a policy which is inclusive of single‐handed practices. The findings relate to the experience of the first semester of the first year of the new curriculum. It also examines the contributions that single‐handed practices have made to the teaching network and the kind of support needed, if single‐handed practices are to continue to contribute to the King’s teaching network.SettingKing’s College School of Medicine and Dentistry.SubjectsMedical undergraduates.ResultsThe findings of this paper revealed that over a third of general practice provision is via single‐handed practices in South‐east London. Within the undergraduate teaching network, 10% of practices are single‐handed. Students are welcomed and receive a learning experience comparable to those students in larger practices. Attendance at training events has proved difficult for some of these tutors, but the extra input from the department, in order to address this deficit, has not been onerous. Indeed, single‐handed practices have not been unique with regard to difficulties in attendance at training events.ConclusionsThe study concludes that single‐handed practices can make satisfactory provision for undergraduates in the new curriculum and there is no evidence from this study to suggest otherwise.
Influence of landscape on the population genetic structure of the alpine butterfly Parnassius smintheus (Papilionidae)
Authors: Keyghobadi Nusha , Roland Jens , Strobeck Curtis 
Published: March 2003

AbstractFour microsatellite DNA markers were developed which were used to examine the relationship between landscape and population genetic structure among a set of populations of the butterfly Parnassius smintheus located in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. Detailed information on the dispersal of adult butterflies among this same set of populations was available. Simple and partial Mantel tests were used to examine the relationships between genetic distances, predicted rates of dispersal, and a number of landscape variables, all measured pairwise for 17 sample sites. Nei’s standard genetic distance was negatively correlated with predicted dispersal. We observed a significant pattern of isolation by distance at a very small spatial scale. The distance between sites that was through forest was a stronger predictor of genetic distance than the distance through open meadow, indicating a significant effect of landscape on population genetic structure beyond that of simple isolation by distance. Our results suggest that rises in the tree‐line in alpine areas, caused by global warming, will lead to reduced gene flow among populations of P. smintheus.
Mitochondrial DNA analysis of sympatric morphotypes of bottlenose dolphins (genus: Tursiops) in Chinese waters
Authors: Wang J. Y. , Chou L.‐S. , White B. N. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractThe classification within the bottlenose dolphin (genus Tursiops) is controversial. Although many morphological variants exist, most authors have concluded that the genus is composed of a single species, Tursiops truncatus (Montagu 1821). Two distinct morphotypes of bottlenose dolphins, which have been referred to as T. truncatus and T. aduncus, exist in sympatry in Chinese waters. Comparisons of a 386‐bp fragment of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region (n = 47) indicated that the two sympatric morphotypes were genetically distinct, with seven fixed site differences and a sequence divergence of approximately 4.4%. Phylogenetic analyses using maximum likelihood, neighbour‐joining and maximum parsimony approaches showed that the truncatus‐type dolphins from Chinese waters were more closely related to Atlantic Ocean truncatus‐type than to the sympatric aduncus‐type dolphins. The Atlantic truncatus‐type dolphins also shared the same diagnostic sites that separated Chinese truncatus‐type from aduncus‐type dolphins. The molecular data agreed completely with the morphological classifications of the specimens. This congruence is strong evidence that the sympatric morphotypes in Chinese waters are reproductively isolated and comprise two distinct species. These findings have important implications for the conservation of bottlenose dolphins in Chinese waters.
Variation in clonal diversity in glasshouse infestations of the aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover in southern France
Authors: Fuller S. J. , Chavigny P. , Lapchin L. , Vanlerberghe‐Masutti F. 
Published: March 2003

Abstract Aphis gossypii is an aphid species that is found throughout the world and is extremely polyphagous. It is considered a major pest of cotton and cucurbit species. In Europe, A. gossypii is assumed to reproduce exclusively by apomictic parthenogenesis. The present study investigates the genetic diversity of A. gossypii in a microgeographic, fragmented habitat consisting of eight glasshouses of cucurbit crops. This analysis, which was based on the results from seven microsatellite loci, has confirmed that A. gossypii populations in southern France are primarily asexual, as only 12 nonrecombinant genotypic classes (clones) were identified from 694 aphids. Moreover, a high proportion of the aphids (87%) had one of three common genotypes. No significant correlation was found between genotypic class and host plant species. Within a glasshouse population of A. gossypii, a significant reduction in clonal diversity was observed as the spring/summer season progressed. The final predominance of a clone could result from interclonal competition. At the microgeographic level (i.e. glasshouses within a 500‐m radius), significant genetic subdivision was detected and could be attributed to founder effects and the limitation of gene flow imposed by the enclosed nature of the glasshouse structure. Finally, the three common clones of A. gossypii detected in 1996 reappeared in spring 1997 following the winter extinction, together with rare clones that had not previously been seen. The probability that A. gossypii overwinters within refuges at a microgeographic scale from which populations are renewed each spring is discussed.