Temporal scale of habitat selection for large carnivores: Balancing energetics, risk and finding prey.

When navigating heterogeneous landscapes, large carnivores must balance trade-offs between multiple goals, including minimizing energetic expenditure, maintaining access to hunting opportunities and avoiding potential risk from humans. The relative importance of these goals in driving carnivore movement likely changes across temporal scales, but our understanding of these dynamics remains limited. Here we quantified how drivers of movement and habitat selection changed with temporal grain for two large carnivore species living in human-dominated landscapes, providing insights into commonalities in carnivore movement strategies across regions.

Nationwide epidemiological approach to identify associations between keratoconus and immune-mediated diseases.

Background: The aetiology of keratoconus (KC) remains poorly understood. KC has typically been described as a non-inflammatory disorder of the cornea. Nonetheless, there is increasing presumptive evidence for the role of the immune system in the pathogenesis of KC.

Prevalence of Potentially Traumatic Events, Other Life Events and Subsequent Reactions Indicative for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in the Netherlands: A General Population Study Based on the Trauma Screening Questionnaire.

The 12-month and lifetime prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in different country populations has been assessed while using clinical interviews. Because this methodology is relatively time-consuming and resource-intensive, disaster health researchers adopted instruments, like the Trauma Screening Questionnaire (TSQ). This study (1) used the TSQ to estimate the lifetime prevalence of potentially traumatic events and other life events (PTE/OLEs) and the one-week prevalence of subsequent reactions indicative for PTSD (based on DSM-IV PTSD criteria) in The Netherlands and (2) investigated risk and protective factors for the development of PTSD to overcome the lack of baseline comparison data on general populations and subgroups.

Parameters Associated With Endothelial Cell Density Variability After Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty.

Purpose: To evaluate which parameters may affect endothelial cell loss after Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) by comparing eyes in the low vs high quartile of endothelial cell loss over a follow-up period of 4 years.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Methods: Donor endothelial cell density (ECD) decline was evaluated for 351 eyes of 275 patients up to 4 years after DMEK for Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD).

Behavior-specific habitat selection by African lions may promote their persistence in a human-dominated landscape.

Co-occurrence with humans presents substantial risks for large carnivores, yet human-dominated landscapes are increasingly crucial to carnivore conservation as human land use continues to encroach on wildlife habitat. Flexibility in large carnivore behavior may be a primary factor mediating coexistence with people, allowing carnivores to calibrate their activity and habitat use to the perceived level of human risk. However, our understanding of how large carnivores adjust the timing and location of behaviors in response to variations in human activity across the landscape remains limited, impacting our ability to identify important habitat for populations outside of protected areas.

Resolving a conservation dilemma: Vulnerable lions eating endangered zebras.

When predators are removed or suppressed for generations, prey populations tend to increase and when predators are re-introduced, prey densities should fall back to pre-control levels. In cases of apparent competition where there are alternate abundant and rare prey species, rare species may decline further than expected or disappear altogether. Recently, concern about the impact of recovering predator populations on wildlife in Laikipia County, Kenya, has led to questions of whether lions (Panthera leo, IUCN Red List Vulnerable) exert top-down pressure on Grevy's zebra (Equus grevyi, IUCN Red List Endangered).

Multicenter Study of 6-Month Clinical Outcomes After Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty.

Purpose: To report the 6-month clinical outcomes of a large cohort of Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) eyes operated by 55 starting or experienced surgeons.

Methods: This is a retrospective, multicenter, interventional, cohort study with a total of 2485 eyes. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), endothelial cell density (ECD) decrease, and intra- and post-operative complications were evaluated.

Clinical Outcome of Rebubbling for Graft Detachment After Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty.

Purpose: To assess the clinical outcome after successful rebubbling procedures for visually significant graft detachment after Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK).

Methods: From a total of 760 consecutive DMEK surgeries, 41 eyes required rebubbling. Of those, 33 eyes of 31 patients were successful and were included in our retrospective outcome analysis study.

Two-Year Clinical Outcome of 500 Consecutive Cases Undergoing Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty.

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical outcome of 500 consecutive cases up to 2 years after Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) and to assess which parameters may have influenced the clinical outcome.

Methods: From a group of 500 eyes (393 patients), which underwent DMEK for Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD), bullous keratopathy, failed corneal transplants and other indications, clinical outcomes [best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central endothelial cell density (ECD), and central corneal thickness] were evaluated before, and at 6, 12, and 24 months after DMEK and postoperative complications were documented.

Results: At 12 months postoperatively, 81% of eyes reached a BCVA of ≥20/25 (≥0.

Two-Year Refractive Outcomes After Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty.

Purpose: To monitor refractive changes after Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) and to determine what may influence these changes and the time point of stabilization.

Methods: From 67 pseudophakic DMEK eyes operated on for Fuchs endothelial dystrophy at a tertiary referral center, biomicroscopy, visual acuity, subjective refraction, and Scheimpflug-based corneal tomography data were obtained before and up to 2 years postoperatively. Visual acuity and changes in spherical equivalent (SE), mean anterior and posterior simulated keratometry (Km), and central pachymetry were analyzed.

Conservation and monitoring of a persecuted African lion population by Maasai warriors.

Although Africa has many threatened species and biological hot spots, there are few citizen science schemes, particularly in rural communities, and there has been limited evaluation of existing programs. We engaged traditional Maasai warriors (pastoralist men aged 15 to 35) in community-based conservation and demographic monitoring of a persecuted African lion (Panthera leo) population. Through direct engagement, we investigated whether a citizen science approach employing local warriors, who had no formal education, could produce reliable data on the demographics, predation, and movements of a species with which their communities have been in conflict for generations.

Association Between Graft Storage Time and Donor Age With Endothelial Cell Density and Graft Adherence After Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty.

Importance: After retrospectively evaluating the clinical outcome of 500 consecutive cases after Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK), we extended the analysis in this study by assessing the effect of donor-related parameters on endothelial cell density (ECD) decline and detachment rate in this group.

Observations: This retrospective case series included 500 cases who had undergone DMEK from October 2007 to September 2012 at the Netherlands Institute for Innovative Ocular Surgery (NIIOS), Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Logistic regression analysis (n = 332 eyes) showed that donor age might be associated with a 3% increase in the risk for a detachment (odds ratio, 0.

Endothelial Survival After Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty: Effect of Surgical Indication and Graft Adherence Status.

Importance: This study evaluates the longevity of Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) grafts in terms of endothelial survival and endothelial failure.

Objective: To determine endothelial survival and its association with the indication for surgery and/or partial graft detachment in DMEK.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Retrospective cross-sectional study of data collected from August 8, 2006, until June 17, 2015, at a tertiary referral center.

Association of Childhood Complex Trauma and Dissociation With Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms in Adulthood.

This study replicates and extends prior research on the relationship of childhood complex trauma (CCT) and complex posttraumatic stress disorder (cPTSD) in adulthood, examining the role of psychoform and somatoform dissociation as a potential mediator. CCT, dissociation, and cPTSD were assessed in a large sample of adult psychiatric inpatients. Almost two thirds of participants reported having experienced CCT.

Efficacy of two lion conservation programs in Maasailand, Kenya.

Lion (Panthera leo) populations are in decline throughout most of Africa. The problem is particularly acute in southern Kenya, where Maasai pastoralists have been spearing and poisoning lions at a rate that will ensure near term local extinction. We investigated 2 approaches for improving local tolerance of lions: compensation payments for livestock lost to predators and Lion Guardians, which draws on local cultural values and knowledge to mitigate livestock-carnivore conflict and monitor carnivores.

A metapopulation approach to African lion (Panthera leo) conservation.

Due to anthropogenic pressures, African lion (Panthera leo) populations in Kenya and Tanzania are increasingly limited to fragmented populations. Lions living on isolated habitat patches exist in a matrix of less-preferred habitat. A framework of habitat patches within a less-suitable matrix describes a metapopulation.

Prevalence of use of performance enhancing drugs by fitness centre members.

Studies on the use of performance enhancing drugs (PED) in fitness centres rely predominately on conventional survey methods using direct questioning. However, research indicates that direct questioning of sensitive information is characterized by under-reporting. The aim of the present study was to contrast direct questioning of different types of PED use by Dutch fitness centre members with results obtained with the Randomized Response Technique (RRT).

Dual imputation model for incomplete longitudinal data.

Missing values are a practical issue in the analysis of longitudinal data. Multiple imputation (MI) is a well-known likelihood-based method that has optimal properties in terms of efficiency and consistency if the imputation model is correctly specified. Doubly robust (DR) weighing-based methods protect against misspecification bias if one of the models, but not necessarily both, for the data or the mechanism leading to missing data is correct.

Incidence of irregular astigmatism eligible for contact lens fitting after Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty.

Purpose: To evaluate the incidence and causes of anterior corneal surface irregularities after successful Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) and the efficacy of contact lens fitting in these cases.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Design: Retrospective study of prospectively collected data.

Rabies virus and canine distemper virus in wild and domestic carnivores in Northern Kenya: are domestic dogs the reservoir?

Rabies virus (RV) and canine distemper virus (CDV) can cause significant mortality in wild carnivore populations, and RV threatens human lives. We investigated serological patterns of exposure to CDV and RV in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris), African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus), black-backed jackals (Canis mesomelas), spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta), striped hyenas (Hyaena hyaena) and African lions (Panthera leo), over a 10-year period, in a Kenyan rangeland to assess the role domestic dogs may play in the transmission dynamics of these two important canid pathogens. Observed patterns of RV exposure suggested that repeated introduction, rather than maintenance, occurred in the wild carnivore species studied.

Outcomes of Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty in phakic eyes.

Purpose: To determine the clinical outcomes of isolated Descemet membrane transplantation (ie, Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty [DMEK]) in phakic eyes.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Design: Cohort study.

Towards an evidence-based treatment model for cognitive behavioral interventions focusing on chronic fatigue syndrome.

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to develop a treatment model for cognitive behavioral interventions focusing on chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) based on the model of perpetuating factors introduced by Vercoulen et al. [Journal of Psychosomatic Research 1998;45:507-17].

Methods: For this purpose, we reanalyzed the data of a previously conducted randomized controlled trial in which a low intensity cognitive behavioral intervention was compared to a waiting list control group.

Prevention and management of graft detachment in descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty.

Objective: To describe the prevention and management of various types of graft detachment after Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty.

Methods: In 150 consecutive eyes that underwent Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty, the incidence and type of graft detachment were studied at 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 24 months after surgery in a nonrandomized, prospective clinical study at a tertiary referral center. Four groups of detachments were identified: a partial detachment of one-third or less of the graft surface area (n = 16; group 1); a partial detachment of more than one-third of the graft surface area (n = 8; group 2); a graft positioned upside down (n = 4; group 3); and a free-floating Descemet roll in the host anterior chamber (n = 8; group 4).

Refractive change and stability after Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty. Effect of corneal dehydration-induced hyperopic shift on intraocular lens power calculation.

Purpose: To determine the refractive change and stability of the transplanted cornea after Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) through a 3.0 mm clear corneal incision.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.