The consequences of nuclear transfer for mammalian foetal development and offspring survival : a mitochondrial DNA perspective

Review of the articleThe introduction of nuclear transfer (NT) and other technologies that involve embryo reconstruction require us to reinvestigate patterns of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) transmission, transcription and replication. MtDNA is a 16.6 kb genome located within each mitochondrion. The number of mitochondria and mtDNA copies per organelle is specific to each cell type. MtDNA is normally transmitted through the oocyte to the offspring. However, reconstructed oocytes often transmit both recipient oocyte mtDNA and mtDNA associated with the donor nucleus. We argue that the transmission of two populations of mtDNA may have implications for offspring survival as only one allele might be actively transcribed. This could result in the offspring phenotypically exhibiting mtDNA depletion-type syndromes. A similar occurrence could arise when nucleo-cytoplasmic interactions fail to regulate mtDNA transcription and replication, especially as the initiation of mtDNA replication post-implantation is a key developmental event. Furthermore, failure of the donor somatic nucleus to be reprogrammed could result in the early initiation of replication and the loss of cellular mtDNA specificity. We suggest investigations should be conducted to enhance our understanding of nucleo-cytoplasmic interactions in order to improve NT efficiency

A framework on information behaviour of SME managers for decision-making on emerging ICTs

The aim of this study is to explore the perceived information needs and information behaviours of manager of UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). As technology advancement and innovation are changing rapidly affecting organisations in different ways, organization executives are introducing new technologies for their operations and business environment becomes more complex and dynamic, government introducing different policies to guide the use of these emerging ICTs. As a result, information becomes significant during adoption decision-making process for SME managers to make an inform decision. To achieve this aim, a framework is developed based on existing literature, using the technology organization environmental (TOE) model as the theoretical underpinning for empirical investigation on information behaviour of SME managers in this study. This study is qualitative in nature, and semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with twenty SME managers in the UK service sector. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. Following Myers and Newman’s (2007) guidelines for qualitative interview and triangulation method were used to validate the conceptual framework and established the research rigour and quality. The research findings explained information behaviours of SME managers in the contexts of technology organisation environment as information behaviour triggered and perceived information needs during the adoption decision in SMEs. These findings provide further insight into ICT adoption in SMEs through information behaviours and highlighted the significant of sources of information and pre-information needed during the decision-making process. The research also contributes to theory in the information systems field by using relevant literature from information science field to explore information behaviours of SME managers. Future research can be done in other sectors of the economy to show more holistic behaviours of SME managers

Energy detection based spectrum sensing over two-wave and diffuse power fading channels

(c) 2016 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other users, including reprinting/ republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted components of this work in other works.One of the most important factors that affects the performance of energy detection (ED) is the fading channel between the wireless nodes. This paper investigates the performance of ED-based spectrum sensing, for cognitive radio (CR), over two-wave with diffuse power (TWDP) fading channels. The TWDP fading model characterizes a variety of fading channels, including well-known canonical fading distributions, such as Rayleigh and Rician, as well as worse-than-Rayleigh fading conditions modeled by the two-ray fading model. Novel analytic expressions for the average probability of detection over TWDP fading that account for single-user and cooperative spectrum sensing and square law selection diversity reception are derived. These expressions are used to analyze the behavior of ED-based spectrum sensing over moderate, severe, and extreme fading conditions and to investigate the use of cooperation and diversity as a means of mitigating the fading effects. The obtained results indicate that TWDP fading conditions can significantly degrade sensing performance; however, it is shown that detection performance can be improved when cooperation and diversity are employed. The presented outcomes enable identifying the limits of ED-based spectrum sensing and quantifying the tradeoffs between detection performance and energy efficiency for CR systems deployed within confined environments, such as in-vehicular wireless networks

Learning and digital inclusion: the ELAMP project

The Electronic Learning and Mobility Project (ELAMP) was a nationally funded project by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, which ran from 2004 to 2010. The main aim of ELAMP was to improve the education of Traveller children, particularly highly mobile learners. ELAMP focussed upon the use of mobile technology and distance learning to support, enhance and extend young Travellers’ educational and vocational opportunities. This article will reflect upon the learning and technological experiences and opportunities that the ELAMP project provided for Traveller children, young people and their families. In doing so it will critically consider the value of information technology in working with Traveller communities and advancing their educational opportunities. Reviewing ELAMP work will also demonstrate how the use of mobile technology can improve educational outcomes and Traveller families’ digital inclusion. Now that the project has ended, this article will question why we are not using what we learnt from ELAMP to move forward

Nontrivial Galois module structure of cyclotomic fields

We say a game Galois field extension L/K with Galois group G has trivial Galois module structure if the rings of integers have the property that OL is a free OK[G]-module. The work of Greither, Replogle, Rubin, and Srivastav shows that for each algebraic number field other than the rational numbers there will exist infinitely many primes l so that for each there is a tame Galois field extension of degree l so that L/K has nontrivial Galois module structure. However, the proof does not directly yield specific primes l for a given algebraic number field K. For K any cyclotomic field we find an explicit l so that there is a tame degree l extension L/K with nontrivial Galois module structure

How can early years services improve access and inclusion into early years settings and primary schools for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children?

This research project explored how interagency working could put such policy and guidance into practice and considered what this work might look like at grassroots level. The research coordinator used the research to pilot a strategy, which if successful, could be rolled out and shared with other services

Supporting polyrepresentation in a quantum-inspired geometrical retrieval framework

The relevance of a document has many facets, going beyond the usual topical one, which have to be considered to satisfy a user's information need. Multiple representations of documents, like user-given reviews or the actual document content, can give evidence towards certain facets of relevance. In this respect polyrepresentation of documents, where such evidence is combined, is a crucial concept to estimate the relevance of a document. In this paper, we discuss how a geometrical retrieval framework inspired by quantum mechanics can be extended to support polyrepresentation. We show by example how different representations of a document can be modelled in a Hilbert space, similar to physical systems known from quantum mechanics. We further illustrate how these representations are combined by means of the tensor product to support polyrepresentation, and discuss the case that representations of documents are not independent from a user point of view. Besides giving a principled framework for polyrepresentation, the potential of this approach is to capture and formalise the complex interdependent relationships that the different representations can have between each other

Impacts of stratospheric aerosol geoengineering strategy on Caribbean coral reefs

Purpose: Currently, negotiation on global carbon emissions reduction is very difficult due to lack of international willingness. In response, geoengineering (climate engineering) strategy is proposed to artificially cool the planet. Meanwhile, as the harbor around one-third of all described marine species, coral reefs are the most sensitive ecosystem on the planet to climate change. However, until now, there is no any quantitative assessment on impacts of geoengineering on coral reefs. In this study, we model impacts of stratospheric aerosol geoengineering on coral reefs. Design/methodology/approach: We will use the HadGEM2-ES climate model to model and evaluate impacts of stratospheric aerosol geoengineering on coral reefs. Findings: This study shows that a) stratospheric aerosol geoengineering could significantly mitigate future coral bleaching throughout the Caribbean Sea; b) Changes in downward solar irradiation, sea level rise and sea surface temperature caused by geoengineering implementation should have very little impacts on coral reefs; c) although geoengineering would prolong the return period of future hurricanes, this may still be too short to ensure coral recruitment and survival after hurricane damage

Choice of activity-intensity classification thresholds impacts upon accelerometer-assessed physical activity-health relationships in children

It is unknown whether using different published thresholds (PTs) for classifying physical activity (PA) impacts upon activity-health relationships. This study explored whether relationships between PA (sedentary [SED], light PA [LPA], moderate PA [MPA], moderate-to-vigorous PA, vigorous PA [VPA]) and health markers differed in children when classified using three different PTs