Reindeer habitat selection under the risk of brown bear predation during calving season

The depredation of semi-domesticated reindeer by large carnivores reflects an important human-wildlife conflict in Fennoscandia. Recent studies have revealed that brown bears (Ursus arctos) may kill substantial numbers of reindeer calves (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) in forest areas in Sweden. Several authors have suggested that predation risk is an important driver of habitat selection in wild Rangifer populations where predation is a limiting factor, but little is known about these mechanisms in semi-domesticated populations. We examined the habitat selection of female reindeer in relation to spatial and temporal variations in brown bear predation risk on the reindeer calving grounds and evaluated the simultaneous responses of brown bears and reindeer to landscape characteristics. We used GPS data from 110 reindeer years (97 individuals) and 29 brown bear years (19 individuals), from two reindeer herding districts in the forest area of northern Sweden. Our results did not indicate that reindeer alter their behavior in response to spatiotemporal variation in brown bear predation risk, on the scale of the calving range. Instead, we suggest that spatiotemporal behavioral adjustments by brown bears were the main driver of prey-predator interactions in our study system. Contrasting responses by brown bears and reindeer to clear-cuts and young forest indicate that forestry can influence species interactions and possibly yield negative consequences for the reindeer herd. Even if clear-cuts may be beneficial in terms of calf survival, logging activity will eventually cause greater abundance of young regenerating forest, reducing available reindeer habitats and increasing habitat preferred by brown bears. Domestication may have made semi-domesticated reindeer in Fennoscandia less adapted to cope with predators. Areal restrictions, limiting the opportunity for dispersion and escape, possibly make the calves more susceptible to predation. Also, a generally higher population density in semi-domesticated herds compared to wild populations can make dispersion a less efficient strategy and the reindeer calves easier prey. Overall, the lack of ability of the reindeer females to reduce brown bear encounter risk on the scale of the calving range is probably an important reason for the high brown bear predation rates on reindeer calves documented in our study areas. 

Ofrivillig hypotermi under den perioperativa vården : Inadvertent hypothermia in the perioperativ care

Abstract Syftet med denna studie var att påvisa effekter av ofrivillig hypotermi samt beskriva anestesisjuksköterskans omvårdnadsåtgärder för att belysa vilka förebyggande faktorer som bibehåller normotermi i den perioperativa vården. Metod: Studien genomfördes som en litteraturöversikt. Artiklarna har sökts via Cinahl och Medline. Studiens resultat baserades på sjutton vetenskapliga artiklar med kvantitativ ansats, dessa grupperades under olika teman. Resultatet redovisas i följande huvudteman fysiologiska effekter, komplikationer, perioperativa teamet, aktiv uppvärmning, administrering av intravenösa vätskor, miljön i operationssalen samt riktlinjer för bibehållande av normotermi. Ofrivillig hypotermi i samband med ett kirurgiskt ingrepp ökade risken för komplikationer i form av ökad infektionsbenägenhet, påverkan på koagulationen med ökad blödningsrisk och hjärtpåverkan med risk för myocardischemi. Hypotermi påverkade också läkemedelsmetabolismen. Dessa effekter av ofrivillig hypotermi under den perioperativa vården orsakade patienten onödigt lidande, förlängd sjukhus vistelse och ökade kostnader för samhället.Slutsats: Anestesisjuksköterskans mest framgångsrika omvårdnadsåtgärder i den perioperativa fasen för att bibehålla normotermi var att använda aktiv uppvärmning, (värmetäcke) vätskevärmare och förhöjd rumstemperatur i operationssalen. Därigenom minskade värmeförlusten via strålning från patientens hud till omgivande miljö. Dessa omvårdnadsåtgärder förutsätter gott samarbete och ska vara självklara i det perioperativa teamet.

Effectiveness of artemether-lumefantrine provided by community health workers in under-five children with uncomplicated malaria in rural Tanzania : an open label prospective study

Background: Home-management of malaria (HMM) strategy improves early access of anti-malarial medicines to high-risk groups in remote areas of sub-Saharan Africa. However, limited data are available on the effectiveness of using artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) within the HMM strategy. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of artemether-lumefantrine (AL), presently the most favoured ACT in Africa, in under-five children with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Tanzania, when provided by community health workers (CHWs) and administered unsupervised by parents or guardians at home. Methods: An open label, single arm prospective study was conducted in two rural villages with high malaria transmission in Kibaha District, Tanzania. Children presenting to CHWs with uncomplicated fever and a positive rapid malaria diagnostic test (RDT) were provisionally enrolled and provided AL for unsupervised treatment at home. Patients with microscopy confirmed P. falciparum parasitaemia were definitely enrolled and reviewed weekly by the CHWs during 42 days. Primary outcome measure was PCR corrected parasitological cure rate by day 42, as estimated by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00454961. Results: A total of 244 febrile children were enrolled between March-August 2007. Two patients were lost to follow up on day 14, and one patient withdrew consent on day 21. Some 141/241 (58.5%) patients had recurrent infection during follow-up, of whom 14 had recrudescence. The PCR corrected cure rate by day 42 was 93.0% (95% CI 88.3%-95.9%). The median lumefantrine concentration was statistically significantly lower in patients with recrudescence (97 ng/mL [IQR 0-234]; n = 10) compared with reinfections (205 ng/mL [114-390]; n = 92), or no parasite reappearance (217 [121-374] ng/mL; n = 70; p <= 0.046). Conclusions: Provision of AL by CHWs for unsupervised malaria treatment at home was highly effective, which provides evidence base for scaling-up implementation of HMM with AL in Tanzania.

Likelihood prediction for generalized linear mixed models under covariate uncertainty

This paper presents the techniques of likelihood prediction for the generalized linear mixed models. Methods of likelihood prediction is explained through a series of examples; from a classical one to more complicated ones. The examples show, in simple cases, that the likelihood prediction (LP) coincides with already known best frequentist practice such as the best linear unbiased predictor. The paper outlines a way to deal with the covariate uncertainty while producing predictive inference. Using a Poisson error-in-variable generalized linear model, it has been shown that in complicated cases LP produces better results than already know methods.