HBrowse: a GRACE tool for browsing R-matrix H-files

An H-file is used to convey information from the inner-region to the outer-region in R-matrix computations. HBrowse is a workstation tool for displaying a graphical abstraction of a local or remote R-matrix H-file. While it is published as a stand-alone tool for post-processing the output from R-matrix inner-region computations it also forms part of the Graphical R-matrix Atomic Collision Environment (GRACE), HBrowse is written in C and OSF/Motif for the UNIX operating system. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Optimal diet choice for large herbivores: an extended contingency model

1. A more general contingency model of optimal diet choice is developed, allowing for simultaneous searching and handling, which extends the theory to include grazing and browsing by large herbivores.</p><p>2. Foraging resolves into three modes: purely encounter-limited, purely handling-limited and mixed-process, in which either a handling-limited prey type is added to an encounter-limited diet, or the diet becomes handling-limited as it expands.</p><p>3. The purely encounter-limited diet is, in general, broader than that predicted by the conventional contingency model,</p><p>4. As the degree of simultaneity of searching and handling increases, the optimal diet expands to the point where it is handling-limited, at which point all inferior prey types are rejected,</p><p>5. Inclusion of a less profitable prey species is not necessarily independent of its encounter rate and the zero-one rule does not necessarily hold: some of the less profitable prey may be included in the optimal diet. This gives an optimal foraging explanation for herbivores' mixed diets.</p><p>6. Rules are shown for calculating the boundary between encounter-limited and handling-limited diets and for predicting the proportion of inferior prey to be included in a two-species diet,</p><p>7. The digestive rate model is modified to include simultaneous searching and handling, showing that the more they overlap, the more the predicted diet-breadth is likely to be reduced.</p>

Spatio-temporal feeding selection of red deer in a mountainous landscape

Understanding the dietary consumption and selection of wild populations of generalist herbivores is hampered by the complex array of factors. Here, we determine the influence of habitat, season, and animal density, sex, and age on the diet consumption and selection of 426 red deer (Cervus elaphus scoticus) culled in Fiordland National Park, New Zealand. Our site differs from studies elsewhere both in habitat (evergreen angiosperm-dominated forests) and the intensity of hunting pressures. We predicted that deer would not consume forage in proportion to its relative availability, and that dietary consumption would change among and within years in response to hunting pressures that would also limit opportunities for age and sex segregation. Using canonical correspondence analysis, we evaluated the relative importance of different drivers of variation in diet consumption assessed from gut content and related these to available forage in the environment. We found that altitude explained the largest proportion of variation in diet consumption, reflecting the ability of deer to alter their consumption and selection in relation to their foraging grounds. Grasses formed a high proportion of the diet consumption, even for deer culled several kilometres from the alpine grasslands. In the winter months, when the alpine grasslands were largely inaccessible, less grass was eaten and deer resorted to woody plants that were avoided in the summer months. Surprisingly, there were no significant dietary differences between adults and juveniles and only subtle differences between the sexes. Sex-based differences in diet consumption are commonly observed in ungulate species and we suggest that they may have been reduced in our study area owing to decreased heterogeneity in available forage as the diversity of palatable species decreased under high deer browsing pressures, or by intense hunting pressure. © 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2009 Ecological Society of Australia.

Impacts of culling and exclusion of browsers on vegetation recovery across New Zealand forests

Introduced browsing animals negatively impact New Zealand's indigenous ecosystems. Eradicating introduced browsers is currently unfeasible at large scales, but culling since the 1960s has successfully reduced populations to a fraction of their earlier sizes. Here we ask whether culling of ungulates has allowed populations of woody plant species to recover across New Zealand forests. Using 73 pairs of permanent fenced exclosure and unfenced control plots, we found rapid increases in sapling densities within exclosures located in disturbed forests, particularly if a seedling bank was already present. Recovery was slower in thinning stands and hampered by dense fern cover. We inferred ungulate diet preference from species recovery rates inside exclosures to test whether culling increased abundance of preferred species across a national network of 574 unfenced permanent forest plots. Across this network, saplings were observed irrespective of their preference to ungulates in the 1970s, but preferred species were rarer within disturbed sites in the 1990s after long-term culling and despite nationwide increases in sapling densities. This indicates that preferred species are relatively heavily affected by browsing after culling, presumably because remaining animals will increase consumption of preferred species as competition is reduced. Our results clearly suggest that culling will not return preferred plants to the landscape immediately, even given suitable conditions for regeneration. Complete removal of ungulates rather than simply reducing their densities may be required for recovery in heavily browsed temperate forests, but since this is only feasible at small spatial scales, management efforts must target sites of high conservation value. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

The effectiveness, acceptability and cost-effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for maltreated children and adolescents: An evidence synthesis

DESIGN We will address our research objectives by searching the published and unpublished literature and conducting an evidence synthesis of i) studies of the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions provided for children and adolescents who have suffered maltreatment, ii) economic evaluations of these interventions and iii) studies of their acceptability to children, adolescents and their carers. SEARCH STRATEGY: Evidence will be identified via electronic databases for health and allied health literature, social sciences and social welfare, education and other evidence based depositories, and economic databases. We will identify material generated by user-led,voluntary sector enquiry by searching the internet and browsing the websites of relevant UK government departments and charities. Additionally, studies will be identified via the bibliographies of retrieved articles/reviews; targeted author searches; forward citation searching. We will also use our extensive professional networks, and our planned consultations with key stakeholders and our study steering committee. Databases will be searched from inception to time of search. REVIEW STRATEGY Inclusion criteria: 1) Infants, children or adolescents who have experienced maltreatment between the ages of 0 17 years. 2) All psychosocial interventions available for maltreated children and adolescents, by any provider and in any setting, aiming to address the sequelae of any form of maltreatment, including fabricated illness. 3) For synthesis of evidence of effectiveness: all controlled studies in which psychosocial interventions are compared with no-treatment, treatment as usual, waitlist or other-treated controls. For a synthesis of evidence of acceptability we will include any design that asks participants for their views or provides data on non-participation. For decision-analytic modelling we may include uncontrolled studies. Primary and secondary outcomes will be confirmed in consultation with stakeholders. Provisional primary outcomes are psychological distress/mental health (particularly PTSD, depression and anxiety, self-harm); ii) behaviour; iii) social functioning; iv) cognitive / academic attainment, v) quality of life, and vi) costs. After studies that meet the inclusion criteria have been identified (independently by two reviewers), data will be extracted and risk of bias (RoB) assessed (independently by two reviewers) using the Cochrane Collaboration RoB Tool (effectiveness), quality hierarchies of data sources for economic analyses (cost-effectiveness) and the CASP tool for qualitative research (acceptability). Where interventions are similar and appropriate data are available (or can be obtained) evidence synthesis will be performed to pool the results. Where possible, we will explore the extent to which age, maltreatment history (including whether intra- or extra-familial), time since maltreatment, care setting (family / out-of-home care including foster care/residential), care history, and characteristics of intervention (type, setting, provider, duration) moderate the effects of psychosocial interventions. A synthesis of acceptability data will be undertaken, using a narrative approach to synthesis. A decision-analytic model will be constructed to compare the expected cost-effectiveness of the different types of intervention identified in the systematic review. We will also conduct a Value of information analysis if the data permit. EXPECTED OUTPUTS: A synthesis of the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for maltreated children (taking into account age, maltreatment profile and setting) and their acceptability to key stakeholders.