DNA barcoding uncovers cryptic diversity in 50% of deep-sea Antarctic polychaetes

The Antarctic marine environment is a diverse ecosystem currently experiencing some of the fastest rates of climatic change. The documentation and management of these changes requires accurate estimates of species diversity. Recently, there has been an increased recognition of the abundance and importance of cryptic species, i.e. those that are morphologically identical but genetically distinct. This article presents the largest genetic investigation into the prevalence of cryptic polychaete species within the deep Antarctic benthos to date. We uncover cryptic diversity in 50% of the 15 morphospecies targeted through the comparison of mitochondrial DNA sequences, as well as 10 previously overlooked morphospecies, increasing the total species richness in the sample by 233%. Our ability to describe universal rules for the detection of cryptic species within polychaetes, or normalization to expected number of species based on genetic data is prevented by taxon-specific differences in phylogenetic outputs and genetic variation between and within potential cryptic species. These data provide the foundation for biogeographic and functional analysis that will provide insight into the drivers of species diversity and its role in ecosystem function

Structural colour in Chondrus crispus.

The marine world is incredibly rich in brilliant and intense colours. Photonic structures are found in many different species and provide extremely complex optical responses that cannot be achieved solely by pigments. In this study we examine the cuticular structure of the red alga Chondrus crispus (Irish Moss) using anatomical and optical approaches. We experimentally measure the optical response of the multilayer structure in the cuticle. Using finite-difference time-domain modelling, we demonstrate conclusively for the first time that the dimensions and organisation of lamellae are responsible for the blue structural colouration on the surface of the fronds. Comparison of material along the apical-basal axis of the frond demonstrates that structural colour is confined to the tips of the thalli and show definitively that a lack of structural colour elsewhere corresponds with a reduction in the number of lamellae and the regularity of their ordering. Moreover, by studying the optical response for different hydration conditions, we demonstrate that the cuticular structure is highly porous and that the presence of water plays a critical role in its ability to act as a structural light reflector.The research leading to these results has received funding from the BBSRC David Phillips fellowship (BBSRC David Phillips, BB/K014617/1). BJG thanks the Leverhulme Trust grant (F/09-741/G). RHW thanks the British Phycological Society for a Project Award (2012).This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from NPG via http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep1164

Soluble oligomers are sufficient for transmission of a yeast prion but do not confer phenotype

Amyloidogenic proteins aggregate through a self-templating mechanism that likely involves oligomeric or prefibrillar intermediates. For disease-associated amyloidogenic proteins, such intermediates have been suggested to be the primary cause of cellular toxicity. However, isolation and characterization of these oligomeric intermediates has proven difficult, sparking controversy over their biological relevance in disease pathology. Here, we describe an oligomeric species of a yeast prion protein in cells that is sufficient for prion transmission and infectivity. These oligomers differ from the classic prion aggregates in that they are soluble and less resistant to SDS. We found that large, SDS-resistant aggregates were required for the prion phenotype but that soluble, more SDS-sensitive oligomers contained all the information necessary to transmit the prion conformation. Thus, we identified distinct functional requirements of two types of prion species for this endogenous epigenetic element. Furthermore, the nontoxic, self-replicating amyloid conformers of yeast prion proteins have again provided valuable insight into the mechanisms of amyloid formation and propagation in cells

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

The Evolution of the CareerAdvance® Program in Tulsa, Oklahoma

CareerAdvance®n collaboration with a multi-disciplinary team of partners, the Ray Marshall Center (RMC) is developing and implementing a sectoral workforce development strategy for low-skilled, low-income parents of children served by early childhood programs in Tulsa, Oklahoma. There is emerging evidence that children whose parents hold stable jobs with progressively rising incomes exhibit better academic and behavioral outcomes. RMC and its partners have undertaken a dual-generation approach to poverty reduction that strengthens the investment in early childhood development by equipping Head Start parents with workforce training and gainful employment opportunities. This approach employs a more holistic model than traditional workforce development programs, as it also includes employee counseling and other support services to help parents complete training and adult basic education, retain their jobs, advance in their careers, and become economically self-sufficient. The goal is to develop a sustainable sectoral strategy that can be replicated beyond Tulsa to other communities across the nation. In the first phase of the project (2008-2009), RMC designed a sectoral job development strategy focused on industries featuring jobs that pay well and provide much-needed employee benefits (e.g., health insurance, annual and sick leave) as well as career advancement opportunities. In April 2009, Community Action Program of Tulsa County launched the pilot, CareerAdvance, at two Head Start sites in Tulsa involving 15 parents. The components of the CareerAdvance are 1) GED and college readiness instruction, as needed; 2) skills training in the healthcare sector progressing from Certified Nursing Aide to Licensed Practical Nurse to Registered Nurse; 3) weekly peer support meetings addressing a flexible set of topics (e.g., life skills, work readiness, family finances); 4) conditional cash incentives (up to $3,000 a year) for participants meeting specified benchmarks to reinforce continued participation and help offset foregone earnings; and 5) workforce intermediation between healthcare employers and training institutions provided through Workforce Tulsa. The report on the project’s first year of operation is available at the link below. In partnership with Harvard University and the University of Oklahoma – Tulsa School of Medicine, a second pilot site was opened in July 2009 at a Tulsa Educare Center. The second pilot, EduCareers, includes all components described above as well as enhanced mental health services for participating households, curriculum enhancements for the children, parent engagement training, and a medical home. The CareerAdvance project has now been expanded to 2015 with support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families. RMC and partners at Northwestern and Columbia University have been engaged to provide ongoing on data collection, implementation and outcomes analysis of project participants.George Kaiser Family Foundation, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and FamiliesRay Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resource

The opportunities and challenges of partnership working in Teacher Education, The Open University Partnership in Wales PGCE Programme

In September 2020 The Open University and partner schools welcomed the first cohort of students to a new flexible PGCE Programme in Wales. The introduction of this two-year part time or salaried PGCE is an important element of the ongoing education reform underway in Wales as the Initial Teacher Education (ITE) sector continue to respond to the criticisms and weaknesses of previous ITE provision and develop a sector ‘dramatically different’ to elsewhere (Furlong, 2015; Cochran-Smith, 2020). The partnership working between schools and universities in Wales is already being recognised as transformative and a major step forward (Waters, 2020, p. 37). This round table discussion explores the opportunities and challenges of the partnership working with schools and regional education improvement services experienced by The Open University Partnership during the development and early implementation of the new flexible PGCE Programme. Partnerships between schools and universities to deliver Teacher Education have existed in a range of formats but those led by universities dominate (Furlong et al., 2006, p. 3). Working together rather than in parallel is proposed to reflect Third-Space working, where a neutral space is used by the partners to develop and implement the jointly shared vision of Teacher Education (Jackson and Burch, 2019, p. 139). It is also recognised that student teachers’ learning needs to be placed at the centre of all activities, with principles and practices agreed by all in the partnership, and all those involved need to perceive the collaboration to be meaningful (Lillejord and Børte, 2016, p. 560). The importance of ‘research-informed clinical practice’ is also key for effective Teacher Education and for ‘secure partnerships’ to ensure true integration (Burn and Mutton, 2015, p. 229). This session will reflect on some of the opportunities that the new way of partnership working in Wales has experienced. For instance, the shared responsibilities of accreditation and course development. Some of the challenges that emerged, such as accommodating the views of all those involved and meeting each partner’s expectations, will also be discussed. KEY REFERENCES Burn, K. and Mutton, T. (2015) 'A review of ‘research-informed clinical practice’ in Initial Teacher Education', Oxford Review of Education, 15(2), pp. 217-233. Cochran-Smith, M. (2020). 'Accountability and Initial teacher Education Reform: A Perspective from Abroad', Wales Journal of Education. 22(1), pp. 59-81. Furlong, J. (2015) Teaching Tomorrow's Teachers: Options for the future of initial teacher education in Wales. Furlong, J., Campbell, A., Howson, J., Lewis, S. and McNamara, O. (2006) 'Partnership in English Initial Teacher Education: Changing times, changing definitions – Evidence from the Teacher Training Agency National Partnership Project', Scottish Educational Review, 37(1), pp. 32-45. Jackson, A. and Burch, J. (2019) New directions for teacher education: investigating school/university partnership in an increasingly school-based context, Professional Development in Education, 45(1), pp. 138-150. Lillejord, S. and Børte, K. (2016) 'Partnership in teacher education – a research mapping', European Journal of Teacher Education, 39(5), pp. 550-563. Waters, M. (2020) Learning to be a teacher for Wales: the induction of teachers into the profession. Cardiff: Welsh Government

How do we achieve the third space? The challenges and strengths of partnership working to deliver a flexible PGCE Programme in Wales

Wales has devolved powers for education and training. There has been much focus on the quality of education and related factors in Wales in recent years. The nation’s education system is shifting from a ‘managerial’ one to being based more on trust and professionalism. It is increasingly recognised that the efforts being made to ensure this educational reform is coherent and effectively communicated are successfully progressing. Reforms to Initial Teacher Education (ITE) in Wales provide examples of this successful progress. The leadership and management of ITE programmes are now led by partnerships of a university working in collaboration with lead partner schools. The new two-year flexible distance l earning approach of The Open University Partnership in Wales PGCE Programme demonstrates such success, with students studying on a part-time or salaried PGCE. Third space theory is applied to consider how truly effective and fair collaborative partnership working is achieved. Twenty stakeholders gave their views on the challenges and strengths of the new Open University Partnership during the development and early implementation stage. The early challenges focus on processes, such as communication issues and the number of programme documents. It was recognised that the global Covid-19 pandemic has been a contributory factor for some of the concerns raised. The strengths of a clear shared vision, co-construction of programme materials and collaborative governance indicate the positive progress the new PGCE programme is making towards existing in the ‘third space’. This study offers important learning for the partnership concerned and for others to consider as partnership working between schools and universities gains momentum within ITE

Assessing the skill of a high-resolution marine biophysical model using geostatistical analysis of mesoscale ocean chlorophyll variability from field observations and remote sensing

© The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creaive Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Eveleth, R., Glover, D. M., Long, M. C., Lima, I. D., Chase, A. P., & Doney, S. C. . Assessing the skill of a high-resolution marine biophysical model using geostatistical analysis of mesoscale ocean chlorophyll variability from field observations and remote sensing. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, (2021): 612764, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.612764.High-resolution ocean biophysical models are now routinely being conducted at basin and global-scale, opening opportunities to deepen our understanding of the mechanistic coupling of physical and biological processes at the mesoscale. Prior to using these models to test scientific questions, we need to assess their skill. While progress has been made in validating the mean field, little work has been done to evaluate skill of the simulated mesoscale variability. Here we use geostatistical 2-D variograms to quantify the magnitude and spatial scale of chlorophyll a patchiness in a 1/10th-degree eddy-resolving coupled Community Earth System Model simulation. We compare results from satellite remote sensing and ship underway observations in the North Atlantic Ocean, where there is a large seasonal phytoplankton bloom. The coefficients of variation, i.e., the arithmetic standard deviation divided by the mean, from the two observational data sets are approximately invariant across a large range of mean chlorophyll a values from oligotrophic and winter to subpolar bloom conditions. This relationship between the chlorophyll a mesoscale variability and the mean field appears to reflect an emergent property of marine biophysics, and the high-resolution simulation does poorly in capturing this skill metric, with the model underestimating observed variability under low chlorophyll a conditions such as in the subtropics.This work was supported in part by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the North Atlantic Aerosol and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES; NASA grant 80NSSC18K0018). The CESM project is supported by the National Science Foundation and the Office of Science (BER) of the United States Department of Energy. Computing resources were provided by the Climate Simulation Laboratory at NCAR’s Computational and Information Systems Laboratory (CISL), sponsored by the National Science Foundation and other agencies. This research was enabled by CISL compute and storage resources

Improving Economic and Nutritional Stability Among Female-headed Households in Cleveland County, NC

Economic stability is a social determinant of health that measures poverty and economic opportunity and establishes target objectives to reduce the proportion of people living in poverty. Female-headed households experience higher rates of poverty and food insecurity compared to other populations in Cleveland County, North Carolina (NC). The objective is to increase economic stability and food security among female-headed households in Cleveland County. This proposal describes a fruit and vegetable program that provides funds to women and children to improve diet quality and food security. Additionally, a tax support program will boost tax returns and tax credits received through the support of a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance site. These two policies have the potential to increase economic stability and improve food security among female-headed households in Cleveland County, NC. The Cleveland County Government and Department of Health will lead these policies and will rely on the support of local partners.Master of Public Healt