The rise of angiosperms to ecological dominance and the breakup of Gondwana during the Mesozoic marked major transitions in the evolutionary history of insect-plant interactions. To elucidate how contemporary trophic interactions were influenced by host plant shifts and palaeogeographical events, we integrated molecular data with information from the fossil record to construct a time tree for ancient phytophagous weevils of the beetle family Belidae. Our analyses indicate that crown-group Belidae originated approximately 138 Ma ago in Gondwana, associated with Pinopsida (conifer) host plants, with larvae likely developing in dead/decaying branches.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Prescribing cascades, which occur when a medication is used to treat the side effect of another medication, are important contributors to polypharmacy. There is an absence of studies that evaluate interventions to address them. We describe an application of the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW) to design theory-informed interventions for addressing prescribing cascades within interprofessional primary care teams.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Appropriate use of medication is a key indicator of the quality of care provided in long-term care (LTC). The objective of this study was to determine whether resident-facility language concordance/discordance is associated with the odds of potentially inappropriate prescribing of antipsychotics (PIP-AP) in LTC.
Methods: We conducted a population-based, retrospective cohort study of LTC residents in Ontario, Canada from 2010 to 2019.
Background: Previous research has highlighted links between occupation and risk of COVID-19 transmission and suggests that occupational risk is influenced by covariates including socio-economic status, and deprivation. This study examined the perspectives of local authority teams of how changes in policy and advice, as set out in the UK government report 'Living with COVID,' affected COVID-19 transmission risk, response and resilience in workplace settings in Greater Manchester, an area that was disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
Methods: The project, which took place between August and November 2022, undertook a mixed methods approach to incorporate wide-ranging reflections of changes following the publication of 'Living with COVID'.