A practical tool for assessing ecosystem services enhancement and degradation associated with invasive alien species.

Current approaches for assessing the effects of invasive alien species (IAS) are biased toward the negative effects of these species, resulting in an incomplete picture of their real effects. This can result in an inefficient IAS management. We address this issue by describing the INvasive Species Effects Assessment Tool (INSEAT) that enables expert elicitation for rapidly assessing the ecological consequences of IAS using the ecosystem services (ES) framework. INSEAT scores the ecosystem service "gains and losses" using a scale that accounted for the magnitude and the reversibility of its effects. We tested INSEAT on 18 IAS in Great Britain. Here, we highlighted four case studies: Harmonia axyridis (Harlequin ladybird), Astacus leptodactylus (Turkish crayfish), Pacifastacus leniusculus (Signal crayfish) and Impatiens glandulifera (Himalayan balsam). The results demonstrated that a collation of different experts' opinions using INSEAT could yield valuable information on the invasive aliens' ecological and social effects. The users can identify certain IAS as ES providers and the trade-offs between the ES provision and loss associated with them. This practical tool can be useful for evidence-based policy and management decisions that consider the potential role of invasive species in delivering human well-being.

Evaluation of a follow up protocol of infants born to mothers with antithyroid antibodies during pregnancy.

AIM: To evaluate the usefulness of a follow up intervention of newborns to mothers with antithyroid antibodies during pregnancy. RESULTS: We evaluated a 72 mother-infant pairs. Two to three blood tests were done at least in 50% of the infants included in the study during the follow up. Each patient was required to go to hospital to do the blood tests. Others hospital visits were required to medical examinations and collect the results. One patient required eight blood tests. We only could establish a correlation between thyroperoxidase antibodies (TPO-Ab) titres between controls done in mothers during pregnancy and samples obtained in newborn at 48 h of life. There was not effect of mother's TPO-Ab titres in infant's thyroid function. No cases of transitory hypothyroidism in infants were found. CONCLUSIONS: It is important to do a follow up in infants born of mothers with antithyroid antibodies during pregnancy. Transitory congenital hypothyroidism (TCH) in these infants is described in literature, with deleterious effects in neurodevelopment. Many blood tests and hospital visits were required analysing our protocol. There were no cases of TCH. Screening of CH from a heel blood sample at 48 h of life is universal in our region. Follow up protocols in these patients could be much less aggressive.