The gendered impact agenda - how might more female academics' research be submitted as REF impact case studies?

As the impact agenda increases in importance, appropriate consideration should be given to its effects on female academics. The REF has obviously gendered implications, with a number of different factors combining to exacerbate existing inequalities in the academy. Emily Yarrow and Julie Davies have examined impact case study submissions to the REF2014 business and management studies unit of assessment and and found women to be significantly underrepresented. There is clearly scope to foster further inclusion of women in the impact agenda through doctoral education, while institutions might also consider the creation of a new career path of “REF impact case fellows” who are rewarded for their focus on impact as a clear career track

A professional challenge for science educators

Continuing professional development (CPD) is key to improvement in pupil and teacher outcomes, yet teachers in England are not yet entitled to participate in it. Wellcome’s CPD programme aims to ensure that all teachers have access to high quality, predominantly subject-focused CPD annually, all of which is aligned to their own professional development needs. As part of this programme, Wellcome has funded a pilot study to understand how schools would implement a CPD entitlement for teachers alongside work to design, develop and test a system to quality assure CPD provision

Pilus distribution among lineages of group b <i>streptococcus</i>: an evolutionary and clinical perspective

&lt;b&gt;Background&lt;/b&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is an opportunistic pathogen in both humans and bovines. Epidemiological and phylogenetic analyses have found strains belonging to certain phylogenetic lineages to be more frequently associated with invasive newborn disease, asymptomatic maternal colonization, and subclinical bovine mastitis. Pilus structures in GBS facilitate colonization and invasion of host tissues and play a role in biofilm formation, though few large-scale studies have estimated the frequency and diversity of the three pilus islands (PIs) across diverse genotypes. Here, we examined the distribution of pilus islands (PI) 1, 2a and 2b among 295 GBS strains representing 73 multilocus sequence types (STs) belonging to eight clonal complexes. PCR-based RFLP was also used to evaluate variation in the genes encoding pilus backbone proteins of PI-2a and PI-2b.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Results&lt;/b&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; All 295 strains harbored one of the PI-2 variants and most human-derived strains contained PI-1. Bovine-derived strains lacked PI-1 and possessed a unique PI-2b backbone protein allele. Neonatal strains more frequently had PI-1 and a PI-2 variant than maternal colonizing strains, and most CC-17 strains had PI-1 and PI-2b with a distinct backbone protein allele. Furthermore, we present evidence for the frequent gain and loss of genes encoding certain pilus types.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Conclusions&lt;/b&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; These data suggest that pilus combinations impact host specificity and disease presentation and that diversification often involves the loss or acquisition of PIs. Such findings have implications for the development of GBS vaccines that target the three pilus islands

Buried alive: Aquatic plants survive in ‘ghost ponds’ under agricultural fields

The widespread loss of wetlands due to agricultural intensification has been highlighted as a major threat to aquatic biodiversity. However, all is not lost as we reveal that the propagules of some aquatic species could survive burial under agricultural fields in the sediments of ‘ghost ponds’ - ponds in-filled during agricultural land consolidation. Our experiments showed at least eight aquatic macrophyte species to germinate from seeds and oospores, following 50–150 years of dormancy in the sediments of ghost ponds. This represents a significant proportion of the expected macrophyte diversity for local farmland ponds, which typically support between 6 and 14 macrophyte species. The rapid (< 6 months) re-colonisation of resurrected ghost ponds by a diverse aquatic vegetation similarly suggests a strong seed-bank influence. Ghost ponds represent abundant, dormant time capsules for aquatic species in agricultural landscapes around the globe, affording opportunities for enhancing landscape-scale aquatic biodiversity and connectivity. While reports of biodiversity loss through agricultural intensification dominate conservation narratives, our study offers a rare positive message, demonstrating that aquatic organisms survive prolonged burial under intensively managed agricultural fields. We urge conservationists and policy makers to consider utilizing and restoring these valuable resources in biodiversity conservation schemes and in agri-environmental approaches and policies

Varied effects of algal symbionts on transcription factor NF-κB in a sea anemone and a coral: possible roles in symbiosis and thermotolerance

Many cnidarians, including the reef-building corals, undergo symbiotic mutualisms with photosynthetic dinoflagellate algae of the family Symbiodiniaceae. These partnerships are sensitive to temperature extremes, which cause symbiont loss and increased coral mortality. Previous studies have implicated host immunity and specifically immunity transcription factor NF-κB as having a role in the maintenance of the cnidarian-algal symbiosis. Here we have further investigated a possible role for NF-κB in establishment and loss of symbiosis in various strains of the anemone Exaiptasia (Aiptasia) and in the coral Pocillopora damicornis. Our results show that NF-κB expression is reduced in Aiptasia larvae and adults that host certain algae strains. Treatment of Aiptasia larvae with a known symbiosis-promoting cytokine, transforming growth factor β, also led to decreased NF-κB expression. We also show that aposymbiotic Aiptasia (with high NF-κB expression) have increased survival following infection with the pathogenic bacterium Serratia marcescens as compared to symbiotic Aiptasia (low NF-κB expression). Furthermore, a P. damicornis coral colony hosting Durusdinium spp. (formerly clade D) symbionts had higher basal NF-κB expression and decreased heat-induced bleaching as compared to two individuals hosting Cladocopium spp. (formerly clade C) symbionts. Lastly, genome-wide gene expression profiling and genomic promoter analysis identified putative NF-κB target genes that may be involved in thermal bleaching, symbiont maintenance, and/or immune protection in P. damicornis. Our results provide further support for the hypothesis that modulation of NF-κB and immunity plays a role in some, but perhaps not all, cnidarian-Symbiodiniaceae partnerships as well as in resistance to pathogens and bleaching.Accepted manuscrip

Modulation of human airway barrier functions during Burkholderia thailandensis and Francisella tularensis Infection: Running Title: Airway Barrier Functions during Bacterial Infections

The bronchial epithelium provides protection against pathogens from the inhaled environment through the formation of a highly-regulated barrier. In order to understand the pulmonary diseases melioidosis and tularemia caused by Burkholderia thailandensis and Fransicella tularensis, respectively, the barrier function of the human bronchial epithelium were analysed. Polarised 16HBE14o- or differentiated primary human bronchial epithelial cells (BECs) were exposed to increasing multiplicities of infection (MOI) of B. thailandensis or F. tularensis Live Vaccine Strain and barrier responses monitored over 24–72 h. Challenge of polarized BECs with either bacterial speciescaused an MOI- and time-dependent increase in ionic permeability, disruption of tight junctions, and bacterial passage from the apical to the basolateral compartment. B. thailandensis was found to be more invasive than F. tularensis. Both bacterial species induced an MOI-dependent increase in TNF-α release. An increase in ionic permeability and TNF-α release was induced by B. thailandensis in differentiated BECs. Pretreatment of polarised BECs with the corticosteroid fluticasone propionate reduced bacterial-dependent increases in ionic permeability, bacterial passage, and TNF-α release.TNF blocking antibody Enbrel® reduced bacterial passage only. BEC barrier properties are disrupted during respiratory bacterial infections and targeting with corticosteroids or anti-TNF compounds may represent a therapeutic option

Multiwavelength Observations of Massive Stellar Cluster Candidates in the Galaxy

The Galaxy appears to be richer in young, massive stellar clusters than previously known, due to advances in infrared surveys which have uncovered deeply embedded regions of star formation. Young, massive clusters can significantly impact the surrounding interstellar medium (ISM) and hence radio observations can also be an important tracer of their activity. Several hundred cluster candidates are now known by examining survey data. Here we report on multiwavelength observations of six of these candidates in the Galaxy. We carried out 4.9 and 8.5 GHz VLA observations of the radio emission associated with these clusters to obtain the physical characteristics of the surrounding gas, including the Lyman continuum photon flux and ionized gas mass. Spitzer Infrared Array Camera observations were also made of these regions, and provide details on the stellar population as well as the dust continuum and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emission. When compared to the known young, massive clusters in the Galaxy, the six cluster candidates have less powerful Lyman ionizing fluxes and ionize less of the H II mass in the surrounding ISM. Therefore, these cluster candidates appear to be more consistent with intermediate-mass clusters (10^3-10^4 Msun).Comment: 39 pages, 20 figures. Accepted in the Astronomical Journal; to be published Fall 201