A review of non-native seaweeds from California, USA and Baja California, Mexico

The seaweed flora of California, USA and Baja California, Mexico is a world-class treasure. The magnificent diversity and abundance of seaweed populations reflect the dramatic sweep of these rich coastal environments and habitats, from the Pacific Northwest to the subtropics, including rocky shores and reefs, sandy beaches, and offshore islands. Novel species have joined the flora, mostly via unintentional introductions of non-indigenous species by humans. Most of the 29 non-native seaweed species recorded from this coast originated in Asia. Many have been discovered within the last 30 years. Although the vectors that bring these plants or their propagules to the California and Baja California coasts (international shipping and shellfish aquaculture) may or may not be increasing within that time span, the conditions for the establishment of non-native species seem to have improved. Climate change, including the frequency and severity of ENSO events, may be responsible for creating space, diminishing competition, and permitting the persistence and spread of non-native species. Here we review these non-native seaweed species and speculate on the link between their establishment and climate change

Codium (Chlorophyta) species presented in the Galápagos Islands

Background. The Galápagos Islands have been the subject of numerous scientific expeditions. The chief source of information on their marine algae is the report published in 1945 by the late William Randolph Taylor on collections made by the Allan Hancock Pacific Expedition of 1934. Prior to this work, there were no published records of Codium from the Galápagos. Taylor recorder six species of Codium of which C. isabelae and C. santamariae were new descriptions. Goals. On the basis of collections made since 1939, we have reviewed the registry of Codium in these islands. Methods. Comparative analysis based on morphology and utricle anatomy. Results. Codium isabelae and C. santamariae are combined under the former name. Records of C. cervicorne and C. dichotomum also are referred to C. isabelae, those of C. setchellii are based partly on representatives of C. picturatum, a recently described species from the Mexican Pacific, Panama, Colombia, and Hawaii, and partly on representatives of a species similar if not identical to C. arabicum. The presence of C. foveolatum is corroborated. Codium fernandezianum, which was also reported by Taylor from the mainland of Ecuador, has been collected on Isla Santa Cruz. Conclusions. Five species of Codium are recognized from Galápagos Islands: C. arabicum, C. fernandezianum, C. foveolatum, C. isabelae and C. picturatum

Galaxy Star Formation as a Function of Environment in the Early Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

We present in this paper a detailed analysis of the effect of environment on the star formation activity of galaxies within the Early Data Release (EDR) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We have used the Halpha emission line to derive the star formation rate (SFR) for each galaxy within a volume-limited sample of 8598 galaxies with 0.05 less than or equal to z less than or equal to 0.095 and M (r*) less than or equal to 20.45. We find that the SFR of galaxies is strongly correlated with the local ( projected) galaxy density, and thus we present here a density-SFR relation that is analogous to the density-morphology relation. The effect of density on the SFR of galaxies is seen in three ways. First, the overall distribution of SFRs is shifted to lower values in dense environments compared with the field population. Second, the effect is most noticeable for the strongly star-forming galaxies (Halpha EW > 5 Angstrom) in the 75th percentile of the SFR distribution. Third, there is a break ( or characteristic density) in the density-SFR relation at a local galaxy density of similar to1 h(75)(-2) Mpc(-2). To understand this break further, we have studied the SFR of galaxies as a function of clustercentric radius from 17 clusters and groups objectively selected from the SDSS EDR data. The distribution of SFRs of cluster galaxies begins to change, compared with the field population, at a clustercentric radius of 3-4 virial radii (at the >1sigma statistical significance), which is consistent with the characteristic break in density that we observe in the density-SFR relation. This effect with clustercentric radius is again most noticeable for the most strongly star-forming galaxies. Our tests suggest that the density-morphology relation alone is unlikely to explain the density-SFR relation we observe. For example, we have used the ( inverse) concentration index of SDSS galaxies to classify late-type galaxies and show that the distribution of the star-forming (EW Halpha > 5Angstrom) late-type galaxies is different in dense regions ( within 2 virial radii) compared with similar galaxies in the field. However, at present, we are unable to make definitive statements about the independence of the density-morphology and density-SFR relation. We have tested our work against potential systematic uncertainties including stellar absorption, reddening, SDSS survey strategy, SDSS analysis pipelines, and aperture bias. Our observations are in qualitative agreement with recent simulations of hierarchical galaxy formation that predict a decrease in the SFR of galaxies within the virial radius. Our results are in agreement with recent 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey results as well as consistent with previous observations of a decrease in the SFR of galaxies in the cores of distant clusters. Taken together, these works demonstrate that the decrease in SFR of galaxies in dense environments is a universal phenomenon over a wide range in density (from 0.08 to 10 h(75)(-2) Mpc(-2)) and redshift (out to z similar or equal to 0.5)

Improving Library Resource Discovery: Exploring the Possibilities of VuFind and Web Scale Discovery in a Consortial Environment

In late 2010, the Bridge Consortium (Carleton College and St. Olaf College) formed a task force to investigate web scale discovery. The goal? Recommend a product (like Summon or Primo Central) in time for the start of Fall 2011 classes. During this two-part session, members of the Bridge will take you inside what we did instead, why, how it’s going, and what we plan to do next. Part 1: Improving Discovery...It’s More Than a Single Product To improve access to and discovery of Bridge resources, we recommended (1) implementing an open source (VuFind) catalog overlay, with setup and ongoing support provided by Minnesota’s PALS consortium and also (2) redesigning web access to disparate library resources. We also recommended (3) continuing the search for the right web scale discovery tool. This first hour will discuss how we revised our charge, our criteria, why and how open source, and more about our selection process. Part 2: All About VuFind In the second hour, we will talk about how implemented VuFind as the Bridge catalog overlay for our current III system during the summer of 2011 and were live when students returned in September. We will cover the initial implementation process, our work to improve the interface based on user feedback, and potential future work as the consortium moves to new models of resource discovery. We will discuss the features of VuFind we found attractive, the pros and cons of working with an open source overlay, and our experience hosting VuFind at PALS, as well as our process for obtaining, analyzing, and applying users’ responses to the new overlay.To access the Part 1 presentation, please click on the DOWNLOAD button on the right

Discovery of chlorophyll d: isolation and characterization of a far-red cyanobacterium from the original site of manning and strain (1943) at Moss Beach, California

© The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Kiang, N. Y., Swingley, W. D., Gautam, D., Broddrick, J. T., Repeta, D. J., Stolz, J. F., Blankenship, R. E., Wolf, B. M., Detweiler, A. M., Miller, K. A., Schladweiler, J. J., Lindeman, R., & Parenteau, M. N. Discovery of chlorophyll d: isolation and characterization of a far-red cyanobacterium from the original site of manning and strain (1943) at Moss Beach, California. Microorganisms, 10(4), (2022): 819, https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10040819.We have isolated a chlorophyll-d-containing cyanobacterium from the intertidal field site at Moss Beach, on the coast of Central California, USA, where Manning and Strain (1943) originally discovered this far-red chlorophyll. Here, we present the cyanobacterium’s environmental description, culturing procedure, pigment composition, ultrastructure, and full genome sequence. Among cultures of far-red cyanobacteria obtained from red algae from the same site, this strain was an epiphyte on a brown macroalgae. Its Qyin vivo absorbance peak is centered at 704–705 nm, the shortest wavelength observed thus far among the various known Acaryochloris strains. Its Chl a/Chl d ratio was 0.01, with Chl d accounting for 99% of the total Chl d and Chl a mass. TEM imagery indicates the absence of phycobilisomes, corroborated by both pigment spectra and genome analysis. The Moss Beach strain codes for only a single set of genes for producing allophycocyanin. Genomic sequencing yielded a 7.25 Mbp circular chromosome and 10 circular plasmids ranging from 16 kbp to 394 kbp. We have determined that this strain shares high similarity with strain S15, an epiphyte of red algae, while its distinct gene complement and ecological niche suggest that this strain could be the closest known relative to the original Chl d source of Manning and Strain (1943). The Moss Beach strain is designated Acaryochloris sp. (marina) strain Moss Beach.N.Y.K., M.N.P. and R.E.B. were supported by the NASA Virtual Planetary Laboratory team (VPL), which was funded under NASA Astrobiology Institute Cooperative Agreement Number NNA13AA93A, and Grant Number 80NSSC18K0829. This work also benefited from participation in the NASA Nexus for Exoplanet Systems Science (NExSS) research coordination network (RCN). W.D.S, N.Y.K. and M.N.P. were also supported by a NASA Exobiology grant No. 80NSSC19K0478. J.TB. was supported by the NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) award number NPP168014S. N.Y.K. received training support from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Training Office to take the Microbial Diversity course at the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, USA

Growing old in a transnational social field: belonging, mobility and identity among Italian migrants

This article focuses on ageing in transnationalism. Drawing on the experiences of Italians in the UK as a paradigmatic example of settled European migrants, it explores the lived experiences of this group of older migrants. Using Levitt and Glick Schiller’s framework,it concentrates first on migrants’ways of being and then on their ways of belonging. The article argues that a transnational lens is necessary to understand the experiences of older migrants and that a focus on older people needs to be incorporated into studies of transnationalism. Through a discussion of their narratives and experiences, the article offers a long view on the migration process and brings attention to the significance of gender, time and the life course to understand both migrants’transnationalism and their integration

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

Biologic Phenotyping of the Human Small Airway Epithelial Response to Cigarette Smoking

BACKGROUND: The first changes associated with smoking are in the small airway epithelium (SAE). Given that smoking alters SAE gene expression, but only a fraction of smokers develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), we hypothesized that assessment of SAE genome-wide gene expression would permit biologic phenotyping of the smoking response, and that a subset of healthy smokers would have a "COPD-like" SAE transcriptome. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: SAE (10th-12th generation) was obtained via bronchoscopy of healthy nonsmokers, healthy smokers and COPD smokers and microarray analysis was used to identify differentially expressed genes. Individual responsiveness to smoking was quantified with an index representing the % of smoking-responsive genes abnormally expressed (I(SAE)), with healthy smokers grouped into "high" and "low" responders based on the proportion of smoking-responsive genes up- or down-regulated in each smoker. Smokers demonstrated significant variability in SAE transcriptome with I(SAE) ranging from 2.9 to 51.5%. While the SAE transcriptome of "low" responder healthy smokers differed from both "high" responders and smokers with COPD, the transcriptome of the "high" responder healthy smokers was indistinguishable from COPD smokers. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The SAE transcriptome can be used to classify clinically healthy smokers into subgroups with lesser and greater responses to cigarette smoking, even though these subgroups are indistinguishable by clinical criteria. This identifies a group of smokers with a "COPD-like" SAE transcriptome