RRS James Clark Ross, 30 June-8 Aug 2017. The Changing Arctic Ocean Cruise JR16006

The Arctic environment is changing, rapidly. Sea ice concentrations and ice extent are decreasing, the ocean and atmosphere are warming, fresh water discharges are increasing and stratification, mixing and circulation regimes are altering. All these changes impact the Arctic Oceans ecosystem, from the sea surface to the sea floor. For example, longer and more expansive open water periods influence the timing and longevity of phytoplankton blooms which are important for sustaining life at all trophic levels, from tiny zooplankton in the water column and microscopic benthic fauna, right up to the whales and seals at the top of the food chain. Changes in the light and nutrient regimes have consequences for the amount and quality of particulate and dissolved organic matter, the cycling of nutrients in the water and sediments, and consequently the biodiversity of life that can be supported. The migration and grazing of zooplankton, behaviours that transfer huge quantities of carbon into the ocean interior, may also be affected. In 2017 the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) started an investment of £16 million in its 5-year Changing Arctic Ocean Programme (www.changing-arctic-ocean.ac.uk). The overarching aim of the programme is to better understand and quantify the impacts of climate change on Arctic ecosystems. The findings will ultimately inform our conservation and management strategies of polar regions. Four large projects were initially funded: ARISE (led by Claire Mahaffey, Uni. Liverpool), Arctic PRIZE (led by Finlo Cottier, SAMS), ChAOS (led by Christian März, Uni. Leeds) and DIAPOD (led by David Pond, SAMS). JR16006 was the first in a series of Changing Arctic Ocean cruises to the Barents Sea in support of all four projects. The overarching aim of the cruise was to collect a suite of pelagic and benthic samples across water mass (Atlantic to Arctic) and sea-ice gradients to enable: • Determination of dissolved and particulate organic material and inorganic nutrients • Estimation of water column primary production, phytoplankton community composition, photo-physiology and biomass • Foodweb tracer analysis using stable isotopes techniques • A mapping of the baseline ‘isoscape’ • Determination of the total zooplankton community and lipid content • Determination of the sediment and pore water geochemistry - amount of organic material and its degradation and interactions with biological processes (e.g., bioturbation, microbial community structures) • Determination of the structure, function (e.g. nitrogen cycling, bioturbation), diversity and reproductive state of benthic communities (from epifauna to meiofauna) • Determination of water column and seabed microbial community and diversity All of the 18 stations (B1- B18) identified pre-cruise were sampled by the ARISE, PRIZE and DIAPOD projects. The ChAOS project conducted extensive sediment and benthic fauna sampling at 6 of these stations (B3, B13-B17)

Evolution of mitochondrial and nuclear genomes in Pennatulacea

We examine the phylogeny of sea pens using sequences of whole mitochondrial genomes and the nuclear ribosomal cluster generated through low coverage Illumina sequencing. Taxon sampling includes 30 species in 19 genera representing 13 families. Ancestral state reconstruction shows that most sea pen mitochondrial genomes have the ancestral gene order, and that Pennatulacea with diverse gene orders are found in a single clade. The monophyly of Pennatulidae and Protoptilidae are rejected by both the mitochondrial and nuclear dataset, while the mitochondrial dataset further rejects monophyly of Virgulariidae, and the nuclear dataset rejects monophyly of Kophobelemnidae. We show discordance between nuclear ribosomal gene cluster phylogenies and whole mitochondrial genome phylogenies and highlight key Pennatulacea taxa that could be included in cnidarian genome-wide studies to better resolve the sea pen tree of life. We further illustrate how well frequently sequenced markers capture the overall diversity of the mitochondrial genome and the nuclear ribosomal genes in sea pens

Haemodynamics in the retinal vasculature during the progression of diabetic retinopathy

Introduction: Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) remains a major ocular disease, which can potentially lead to blindness if left untreated. The human retina is a very dynamic tissue, making it difficult to associate any changes with a disease and not with normal variability among people. 96 images from twenty-four subjects were used in this study, including the period of the three years before DR and the first year of DR (4 images per patient, one per year). Methods: The images were firstly segmented to obtain the vascular trees, selecting the same segments in the entire four-year period, to make a meaningful comparison. The trees, which included a parent vessel and two children branches, were connected using an implemented semi-automated tool. Some hemodynamic features were calculated, using the geometric measurements from the segmentation. At the branching points, the fluid dynamics conditions were estimated under the assumptions of Pouiseuille flow: stiff, straight and uniform tube. Blood fl ow velocity (v), blood fl ow rate (Q), Reynolds number (Re), pressure (P) and wall sheer stress (WSS) were calculated, both for arteries and veins. Blood viscosity (mu=0.04 P), tube ́s length (L) and diameter (D), were used to compute fl uid resistance to fl ow (R=128 mu L / pi D^4) through each vessel. Based on previous studies, the boundary conditions adopted to solve the problem were P_CRA = P_CRV = 45mmHg. Q_CRA and Q_CRV were derived from v_CRA, d_CRA, v_CRV, d_CRV by using the formula Q=VA. WSS was computed as WSS=32muQ/d^3. Re was calculated as Re=v d rho/mu, where rho=1.0515 g/mL is the blood density. Each feature (response variable) was analysed by using a linear mixed model, with the levels of the disease being the fixed effects explanatory variable, and the patients being the random effect with a random intercept. Results: Our study showed that veins were mostly affected during the last stages of the diabetic eye. Furthermore, the blood fl ow of both children and the Re in the small child branch were mostly affected in the arteries. Table 1 includes only the signifi cant features, with the relevant p-values (a=0.05) and Akaike Information Criterion (AIC). Conclusion: Alongside the already established importance of the retinal geometry, this study showed that the hemodynamic features can also be used as biomarkers of progression to DR. During this four-year period of the disease‘s progression, retina is adapting to the new underlying conditions

Phylogenetics and Mitogenome Organisation in Black Corals (Anthozoa: Hexacorallia: Antipatharia): An Order-Wide Survey Inferred From Complete Mitochondrial Genomes

Black corals (Anthozoa: Antipatharia) are an ecologically and culturally important group of deep-sea cnidarians. However, as the majority of species inhabit depths >50 m, they are relatively understudied. The inaccessibility of well-preserved tissue for species of interest has limited the scope of molecular analysis, and as a result only a small number of antipatharian mitochondrial genomes have been published. Using next generation sequencing, 18 complete and five partial antipatharian mitochondrial genomes were assembled, increasing the number of complete mitochondrial genomes to 22. This includes species from six antipatharian families, four of which were previously unrepresented, enabling the first family-level, full mitochondrial gene analysis over the whole order. The circular mitogenomes ranged in size from 17,681 to 21,669 bp with the large range in size due to the addition of an intron in COX1 in some species and size variation of intergenic regions. All mitogenomes contained the genes standard to all hexacoral mitogenomes (13 protein coding genes, two rRNAs and two tRNAs). The only difference in gene content is the presence of the COX1 intron in five families. The most variable mitochondrial gene is ND4 which may have implications for future barcoding studies. Phylogenetic analysis confirms that Leiopathidae is sister to all other families. Families Antipathidae, Cladopathidae and Schizopathidae are polyphyletic, supporting previous studies that call for a taxonomic revision

E-cigarettes in the Middle East: The known, unknown, and what needs to be known next

The prevalence of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) is increasing globally. Population-level data from several nations suggest that a higher proportion of youth and young adults are using e-cigarettes compared to the general population. Though significant work has been done in Western countries to better understand various aspects of e-cigarette use among youth and young adults, there is limited evidence about this phenomenon in Middle Eastern countries. This commentary summarizes the known aspects of youth and young adult e-cigarette use and the limitations of the evidence in the Middle East. Specifically, the limitations of the current literature indicate an overreliance on university-based samples, the overuse of non-user samples, a lack of studies on behaviour change, high variance in existing data, and a lack of uniform instruments to measure e-cigarette use. Lending from findings in other regions, we identify how these limitations should be addressed through future research to fill knowledge gaps in the Middle East.The publication of this article was funded by Qatar National Library

Denunciation and the construction of norms in group conflict: examples from an Al-Qaeda-supporting group

In situations of violent group conflict, group members often argue about how to deal with the outgroup. While some argue for aggression, force and separation, others argue for negotiation and cooperation. Each side attempts to persuade the group that their own position is normative and is most in line with the interests and essence of the group. These arguments often involve denunciations of opponents as disloyal or deviant. In such situations, definitions of group identities and norms, and what counts as loyalty and deviance, are therefore disputed. This paper analyses how a UK-based Al-Qaeda-supporting organisation denounces ‘moderate’ Muslims in the UK who engage with secular institutions and who ally themselves with non-Muslims in political disputes. Drawing on theological, historical and political arguments, a prescriptive norm is constructed whereby the correct behaviour of Muslims in the West is to avoid participation in secular political systems and to avoid political cooperation with non-Muslims. Muslims who are seen as breaking these norms are denounced and denigrated in a variety of ways by assigning them a range of deviant identity positions. Denunciations involve explanatory accounts which construct opponents as unworthy representatives of the group based on their deviation from Islam, or from ignorance, cowardice, mental weakness or self-interest. This paper illustrates that the practice of denunciation is an important aspect of the organisation of group conflict. Finally, it argues that it is dangerous for social psychologists to treat group norms and protoypes as consensual