Background: Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIg) use for Central Nervous System (CNS) conditions has increased over the last decade. In many CNS disorders, robust evidence for IVIg efficacy is still lacking. Building on the success of the British Columbia (BC) Neuromuscular IVIg utilization initiative, Guidelines for IVIg use in CNS conditions were developed. A provincial screening program was launched in 2023. Methods: For CNS IVIg, requests, diagnosis, dosing, consultation letters and treatment questionnaires were reviewed. Patient management was compared to provincial guidelines. A letter was sent to the ordering physician with the results of the review and treatment recommendations when management differed significantly from guidelines. Review of the first year’s cases was conducted. Results: Over the first 11 months of the program, 79 IVIg renewal requests were reviewed. The most common diagnoses were antibody mediated autoimmune encephalitis, severe drug resistant non-surgical epilepsy and Susac’s syndrome. Recommendations included dose reduction, discontinuation of IVIg, or initiation of alternative therapies for many of the requests. Conclusions: IVIg may be effective in the management of some CNS inflammatory conditions. A physician-led utilization program in BC with targeted education to ordering physicians promotes best practice. Review of year one data will inform a quality improvement cycle to optimize the guidelines.

Members of the cat family are highly motivated to hunt, but in captivity are unable to do so for a variety of reasons. This inability to hunt may reduce their welfare. In this study we used a moving bait to stimulate and release hunting motivation in two captive cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus). Essentially our enrichment device consisted of a dead rabbit, hung from a pulley, just above the ground, moving down a 34 metre length of wire by the force of gravity. We observed the cheetahs for 140 minutes per day over three sequential food presentation periods: Baseline (10 consecutive days), Device (10 consecutive days) and Post-device (5 consecutive days). The moving bait significantly increased the frequency of sprinting (hunting) and time spent performing observations. It significantly decreased time spent in affiliation and feeding. These effects were also observed at times other than when the moving bait was presented. Thus, a moving bait allows captive cheetahs to perform ‘natural-looking’ hunting in captivity.

Background: Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) may benefit many inflammatory central nervous system (CNS) disorders based on multiple immunomodulatory effects. IVIg is being used in inflammatory CNS conditions however robust evidence and guidelines are lacking in many disorders. Over the last 5 years, the percentage of IVIg used for CNS indications within neurology almost doubled in British Columbia (BC), Canada. Clear local guidelines may guide rational use. Methods: Consensus guidelines for IVIG use for CNS indications were developed by a panel of subspecialty neurologists and the Provincial Blood Coordinating Office, informed by focused literature review. Guidelines were structured similarly to existing BC peripheral nervous system guidelines and Australian Consensus Guidelines. Utilization and efficacy will be monitored provincewide on an ongoing basis. Results: Categories of conditions for Conditionally Approved (N=11) and Exceptional Circumstance Use (N=5) were created based on level of evidence for efficacy. Dosing and monitoring recommendations were made and outcomes measures defined. Rationale for Not Indicated conditions (N=2) was included. Guidelines were distributed to BC neurologists for feedback. This system will be re-evaluated after 1 year. Conclusions: IVIG use in CNS inflammatory conditions has an emerging role. Guidelines for use and monitoring of outcomes will help improve resource utilization and provide further evidence regarding effectiveness.

Background: Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) may benefit many inflammatory central nervous system (CNS) disorders based on multiple immunomodulatory effects. IVIG is being used in inflammatory CNS conditions however robust evidence and guidelines are lacking in many disorders. Over the last 5 years, the percentage of IVIG used for CNS indications within neurology almost doubled in British Columbia (BC), Canada. Clear local guidelines may guide rational use. Methods: Consensus guidelines for IVIG use for CNS indications were developed by a panel of subspecialty neurologists and the Provincial Blood Coordinating Office, informed by focused literature review. Guidelines were structured similarly to existing BC peripheral nervous system guidelines and Australian Consensus Guidelines. Utilization and efficacy will be monitored provincewide on an ongoing basis. Results: Categories of conditions for Possible Indication (N=11) and Exceptional Circumstance Use (N=4) were created based on level of evidence for efficacy. Dosing and monitoring recommendations were made and outcomes measures defined. Rationale for Not Indicated conditions (N=3) was included. Guidelines will be distributed to BC neurologists for feedback and re-evaluated after 1 year. Conclusions: IVIG use in CNS inflammatory conditions has an emerging role. Guidelines for use and monitoring of outcomes will help improve resource utilization and provide further evidence regarding effectiveness.

Background: Susac Syndrome (SuS) is a rare autoimmune disorder of the cerebral, retinal, and inner ear microvasculature. One of the cardinal manifestations of central nervous system (CNS) involvement is encephalopathy, however the cognitive profile in SuS is poorly characterized in the literature. Methods: In this cross-sectional case series of seven participants diagnosed with Susac Syndrome in remission in British Columbia, we use a battery of neuropsychological testing, subjective disease scores, and objective markers of disease severity to characterize the affected cognitive domains and determine if any disease characteristics predict neuropsychological performance. We also compare this battery of tests to neuroimaging markers to determine if correlation exists between radiographic markers of CNS disease and clinical evaluation of disease severity. Results: There were a variety of cognitive deficits, with memory and language dysfunction being the most common. Despite the variability, performance on some neuropsychological tests (MoCA) correlated to markers of functional disability (EDSS). Additionally, MoCA and EDSS scores correlated with neuroimaging findings of both corpus callosum and white matter changes. Finally, psychiatric scores correlated with participant reported scores of disease severity. Conclusions: There is a relationship between cognitive deficits, subjective and objective disease disability, and neuroimaging findings in Susac Syndrome.

This paper reviews recent results on the mechanics and aerodynamics of perching in a large bird of prey, the Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis. Data collected using onboard and high-speed video cameras are used to examine gross morphing of the wing planform by the flight muscles, and smaller-scale morphing of the wing profile by aeroelastic deflection of the feathers, Carruthers et al. High-resolution still images are used to reconstruct the shape of the wing using multi-station photogrammetry, and the performance of the measured wing profile is analysed using a panel code, Carruthers et al. In bringing these lines of research together, we examine the role of aeroelastic feather deflection, and show that the key to perching in birds lies not in high-lift aerodynamics, but in the way in which the wings and tail morph to allow the bird to transition quickly from a steady glide into a deep stall.

Uncertainty about reporting rates of tags returned by fishermen has often prevented tagging data from being used in stock assessments. In this study we conduct a meta-analysis to estimate tag reporting rates of commercial tuna fleets by comparing their tag return data with those of the USA longline pelagic observer program. The longline fleets of Venezuela and the USA are estimated to report about 0.8% of tags caught, compared with less than 0.1% for Canadian, Spanish and Japanese longline fleets. For some fleets with sparse return data or for those that do not overlap often with the observer fleet, reporting rate estimates are sensitive to changes in the spatio-temporal resolution over which comparisons are made. Regardless of these sensitivities, the estimated reporting rates are low and there are likely to be large differences in reporting rate between different combinations of flag and gear.

Chronic schizophrenic patients in a long stay hospital were found to have low levels of intelligence (mean IQ of 80), which was attributed to the effects of substantial intellectual deterioration on below average pre-morbid levels of functioning. Patients with the lowest IQ scores had the least severe positive symptoms but symptomatology was not related to age or extent of intellectual decline. Speed of functioning was relatively more impaired than level of intellectual functioning, with cognitive speed being more affected than motor speed. The severity of negative but not positive symptoms was significantly related to the severity of bradyphrenia (cognitive slowing), a result which would be consistent with the notion of a subcortical pathology in patients with Type II schizophrenia.

Regional gravity and aeromagnetic data of Wales have been processed using a variety of techniques. Image processing has greatly assisted qualitative interpretation, whilst automated procedures have provided additional quantitative information. The shaded relief images emphasize gradients in the potential fields, and are useful for displaying strong linear features. The Euler deconvolution method produces plotted solution maps, which define the position of the source of the gravity and magnetic anomalies. Euler solution maps of Wales and the adjacent continental shelf are presented for the first time. These maps are interpreted in relation to the known geology, with special emphasis on the Lower Palaeozoic Welsh Basin. It is proposed that the Euler solutions define a network of fault-bounded blocks within the Precambrian basement.

Amongst the Carboniferous corals, not the least interesting are those species which, for one reason or another, may be difficult to classify, or at any rate diverge somewhat from the common order. It is with one of these aberrant members that the present communication is concerned; and it is, perhaps, not altogether unfitting that most of the material happens to be of Irish origin.

Gravity and aeromagnetic data sets provide systematic coverage over the whole of the Welsh Basin. Physical property information shows considerable overlap in densities within the Lower Palaeozoic and Precambrian formations, with relatively few units of the exposed succession being strongly magnetic. While the geophysical anomalies cannot be interpreted unambiguously in terms of these sources, the data can still be used to test different geological models and to indicate the range of possible solutions. The major fault zones are seen to influence the anomaly patterns in a variety of ways, reflecting a combination of differing near-surface contrasts and effects within the underlying basement. The general increase in gravity values towards Cardigan Bay may originate from the lower crust, and the large amplitude aeromagnetic low seen over Cardigan Bay indicates that a distinctive change in the character of the crust occurs here. Two-dimensional modelling in central Wales shows that a westward thickening of the Welsh Basin, to a maximum of about 10 km, may also be significant. It is necessary to postulate a separation of the base of denser, Lower Palaeozoic rocks from the underlying, more magnetic basement in order to account for offsets in anomaly source locations. This implies the presence of less dense Cambrian sediments and/or non-magnetic components of the Precambrian basement.

More than sixty years have now elapsed since the publication of the classical monograph of MM. Milne-Edwards and Jules Haime, “Les Polypes Fossiles des Terrains Palæozoïques.” It can only be expected that many of the original descriptions of species in that work have for long been in need of amplification and revision. This applies with added force to the corals of the Carboniferous Limestone, in view of the impetus given to the palæontological study of that formation, by the vigorous revival of zonal work witnessed in the last few years. Those species in most urgent need of revision belong to the lower, or Tournaisian division of the Limestone, since their satisfactory determination affords a basis for evolutionary studies on the succeeding faunas, and an attempt is here made to deal with a few of these forms.

Three years ago when I was discussing certain Carboniferous Corals from Arctic regions the opinion was expressed that the genus Lophophyllum of Milne-Edwards & Haime had been erroneously interpreted by palæontologists, and that in reality it included Thomson and Nicholson's well-known genus Koninckophyllum The main object of the present communication is to substantiate this view with illustrative sections from topotypes, accompanied by some further observations on the genus. At the same time the opportunity is taken to deal with several points in the morphology of the similar genus Cyathaxonia; in the latter case the work is in the nature of a preliminary note rather than of a formal revision. Pending the appearance of a general memoir on the British Carboniferous Corals, it seems desirable that these notes should be published without further delay, as all these genera are commonly met with in zonal work. Most of the material has come either from the Geological Survey Collection or is in my own possession, but Dr. Vaughan has always been very helpful, while I have to thank Dr. T. F. Sibly for some unusually fine examples of Cyathaxonia from Matlock. Other specimens of this genus, from Yorkshire, have very kindly been sent to me from time to time by Dr. A. Wilmore, often at some personal inconvenience.

Amongst the corals collected by the Geological Survey during the past season, and submitted to me for determination, two specimens call for special remark, since they appear at first sight to occur out of their true zonal position. They were found by Mr. Dixon on the Pembrokeshire coast, to the south and south-west of Castle Martin. In each case Mr. Dixon gives the horizon as C2–S1, in the terms of Dr. Vaughan's classification. They are, accordingly, of Lower Visean age.

Whilst examining the tract of Lower Palæozoic rocks and metamorphic schists around Killary Harbour, in Connemara (an examination primarily undertaken to ascertain the relations of the fossiliferous sediments to the schists in that area), an extensive tract of Arenig rocks has been discovered on both sides of the harbour. In 1905 Didgmograpti of the extensus and superstes types were found, and during last Summer several specimens, of Phyllograptus and Tetragraptus also, together with many other forms.