Teachers’ expectations of children with Down Syndrome starting school in the United Arab Emirates or United Kingdom

Starting school has been shown to correlate with later school outcomes. Teachers working in early years’ settings either the UAE or the UK completed a questionnaire taken from Dockett and Perry (2004), asking them to rate the importance of 20 statements in answer to the question “How important are the following for deciding whether a child with Down Syndrome has had a successful first two terms of school?” Findings demonstrated a different pattern of expectations depending on where the teacher was working. Specifically, teachers in the UK placed more importance on academic performance and the relationship with the family. Some similarities in the rankings of the scales were also obtained. Teachers, regardless of the location, placed most importance on children’s happiness and knowledge of school routines in successfully starting school. Implications for children with Down Syndrome starting school in the UAE and the UK are discussed

High prey-predator size ratios and unselective feeding in copepods: A seasonal comparison of five species with contrasting feeding modes

There has been an upsurge of interest in trait-based approaches to zooplankton, modelling the seasonal changes in the feeding modes of zooplankton in relation to phytoplankton traits such as size or motility. We examined this link at two English Channel plankton monitoring sites south of Plymouth (L4 and E1). At L4 there was a general transition from diatoms in spring to motile microplankton in summer and autumn, but this was not mirrored in the succession of copepod feeding traits; for example the ambushing Oithona similis dominated during the spring diatom bloom. At nearby E1 we measured seasonality of food and grazers, finding strong variation between 2014 and 2015 but overall low mesozooplankton biomass (median 4.5 mg C m−3). We also made a seasonal grazing study of five copepods with contrasting feeding modes (Calanus helgolandicus, Centropages typicus, Acartia clausi, Pseudocalanus elongatus and Oithona similis), counting the larger prey items from the natural seston. All species of copepod fed on all food types and differences between their diets were only subtle; the overriding driver of diet was the composition of the prey field. Even the smaller copepods fed on copepod nauplii at significant rates, supporting previous suggestions of the importance of intra-guild predation. All copepods, including O. similis, were capable of tackling extremely long (> 500 μm) diatom chains at clearance rates comparable to those on ciliates. Maximum observed prey:predator length ratios ranged from 0.12 (C. helgolandicus) up to 0.52 (O. similis). Unselective feeding behaviour and the ability to remove highly elongated cells have implications for how copepod feeding is represented in ecological and biogeochemical models

Ocean net heat flux influences seasonal to interannual patterns of plankton abundance

This is the final version. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Changes in the net heat flux (NHF) into the ocean have profound impacts on global climate. We analyse a long-term plankton time-series and show that the NHF is a critical indicator of ecosystem dynamics. We show that phytoplankton abundance and diversity patterns are tightly bounded by the switches between negative and positive NHF over an annual cycle. Zooplankton increase before the transition to positive NHF in the spring but are constrained by the negative NHF switch in autumn. By contrast bacterial diversity is decoupled from either NHF switch, but is inversely correlated (r = 20.920) with the magnitude of the NHF. We show that the NHF is a robust mechanistic tool for predicting climate change indicators such as spring phytoplankton bloom timing and length of the growing season.Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)European Union: 7th Framework ProgrammeINTERREG IV

The potential role of Antarctic krill faecal pellets in efficient carbon export at the marginal ice zone of the South Orkney Islands in spring

Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) play a central role in the food web of the Southern Ocean, forming a link between primary production and large predators. Krill produce large, faecal pellets (FP) which can form a large component of mesopelagic particulate organic carbon (POC) fluxes. However, the patchy distribution of krill swarms, highly variable pellet composition, and variable sinking and attenuation rates means that these episodic, but potentially large, carbon fluxes are difficult to sample or model. We measured particle flux and type using Marine Snow Catchers (MSC) in the marginal ice zone near the South Orkneys, Antarctica. Krill FP were the dominant component of the POC flux in the upper 200 m (typically 60–85%). FP sinking velocities measured onboard were highly variable (15–507 m d− 1) but overall high, with mean equivalent velocities of 172, 267, and 161 m d− 1 at our three stations. The high numbers of krill FP sinking through the mesopelagic suggest that krill FP can be transferred efficiently and/or that rates of krill FP production are high. We compared our direct MSC-derived estimates of krill FP POC flux (33–154 mg C m− 2 d− 1) and attenuation to estimates of krill FP production based on previous measurements of krill density and literature FP egestion rates, and estimated net krill FP attenuation rates in the upper mesopelagic. Calculated attenuation rates are sensitive to krill densities in the overlying water column but suggest that krill FP could be transferred efficiently through the upper mesopelagic, and, in agreement with our MSC attenuation estimates, could make large contributions to bathypelagic POC fluxes. Our study contrasts with some others which suggest rapid FP attenuation, highlighting the need for further work to constrain attenuation rates and assess how important the contribution of Antarctic krill FP could be to the Southern Ocean biological carbon pump

The Turbulent Structure of the Arctic Summer Boundary Layer During The Arctic Summer Cloud‐Ocean Study

The mostly ice covered Arctic Ocean is dominated by low‐level liquid‐ or mixed‐phase clouds. Turbulence within stratocumulus is primarily driven by cloud top cooling that induces convective instability. Using a suite of in situ and remote sensing instruments we characterize turbulent mixing in Arctic stratocumulus, and for the first time we estimate profiles of the gradient Richardson number at relatively high resolution in both time (10 min) and altitude (10 m). It is found that the mixing occurs both within the cloud, as expected, and by wind shear instability near the surface. About 75% of the time these two layers are separated by a stably stratified inversion at 100–200 m altitude. Exceptions are associated with low cloud bases that allow the cloud‐driven turbulence to reach the surface. The results imply that turbulent coupling between the surface and the cloud is sporadic or intermittent

WESTT (Workload, Error, Situational Awareness, Time and Teamwork): An analytical prototyping system for command and control

Modern developments in the use of information technology within command and control allow unprecedented scope for flexibility in the way teams deal with tasks. These developments, together with the increased recognition of the importance of knowledge management within teams present difficulties for the analyst in terms of evaluating the impacts of changes to task composition or team membership. In this paper an approach to this problem is presented that represents team behaviour in terms of three linked networks (representing task, social network structure and knowledge) within the integrative WESTT software tool. In addition, by automating analyses of workload and error based on the same data that generate the networks, WESTT allows the user to engage in the process of rapid and iterative “analytical prototyping”. For purposes of illustration an example of the use of this technique with regard to a simple tactical vignette is presented

Next Generation Sequencing Reveals the Hidden Diversity of Zooplankton Assemblages

Zooplankton play an important role in our oceans, in biogeochemical cycling and providing a food source for commercially important fish larvae. However, difficulties in correctly identifying zooplankton hinder our understanding of their roles in marine ecosystem functioning, and can prevent detection of long term changes in their community structure. The advent of massively parallel next generation sequencing technology allows DNA sequence data to be recovered directly from whole community samples. Here we assess the ability of such sequencing to quantify richness and diversity of a mixed zooplankton assemblage from a productive time series site in the Western English Channel. Methodology/Principle Findings Plankton net hauls (200 µm) were taken at the Western Channel Observatory station L4 in September 2010 and January 2011. These samples were analysed by microscopy and metagenetic analysis of the 18S nuclear small subunit ribosomal RNA gene using the 454 pyrosequencing platform. Following quality control a total of 419,041 sequences were obtained for all samples. The sequences clustered into 205 operational taxonomic units using a 97% similarity cut-off. Allocation of taxonomy by comparison with the National Centre for Biotechnology Information database identified 135 OTUs to species level, 11 to genus level and 1 to order, <2.5% of sequences were classified as unknowns. By comparison a skilled microscopic analyst was able to routinely enumerate only 58 taxonomic groups. Conclusions Metagenetics reveals a previously hidden taxonomic richness, especially for Copepoda and hard-to-identify meroplankton such as Bivalvia, Gastropoda and Polychaeta. It also reveals rare species and parasites. We conclude that Next Generation Sequencing of 18S amplicons is a powerful tool for elucidating the true diversity and species richness of zooplankton communities. While this approach allows for broad diversity assessments of plankton it may become increasingly attractive in future if sequence reference libraries of accurately identified individuals are better populated

Feeding rates and prey selectivity of planktonic decapod larvae in the Western English Channel

Meroplankton are seasonally important contributors to the zooplankton, particularly at inshore sites, yet their feeding ecology is poorly known relative to holoplankton. While several studies have measured feeding in decapod larvae, few studies have examined the feeding rates of decapod larvae on natural prey assemblages throughout the reproductive season. We conducted 8 feeding experiments with Necora puber, Liocarcinus spp. and Upogebia spp. zoea larvae collected from the L4 monitoring site off Plymouth (50°15.00′N, 4°13.02′W) during spring–summer 2009 and 2010. This period spanned moderate-to-high food availability (0.5–1.6 µg chl-a L−1), but a great range in food composition with small cells <20 µm dominating in 2010. Daily rations averaged 17, 60 and 22 % of body C for the 3 respective decapod species. Clearance rates differed according to prey type, and all 3 decapod genera showed evidence of selection of dinoflagellates. Importantly, small cells including nano- and pico-plankton were ingested, this being demonstrated independently by flow cytometric analysis of the feeding experiments and molecular analysis. PCR-based analysis of the haptophyte portion of the diet revealed ingestion of Isochrysis galbana by decapod larvae in the bottle incubations and Isochrysis galbana and Phaeocystis globosa by decapod larvae collected directly from the field. This study has shown that pico- and nano-sized plankton form an important supplement to the diverse and variable diet of decapod larvae

Issues potentially affecting quality of life arising from long-term medicines use: a qualitative study

Background Polypharmacy is increasing and managing large number of medicines may create a burden for patients. Many patients have negative views of medicines and their use can adversely affect quality of life. No studies have specifically explored the impact of general long-term medicines use on quality of life. Objective To determine the issues which patients taking long-term medicines consider affect their day-to-day lives, including quality of life. Setting Four primary care general practices in North West England Methods Face-to-face interviews with adults living at home, prescribed four or more regular medicines for at least 1 year. Interviewees were identified from primary care medical records and purposively selected to ensure different types of medicines use. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically. Results Twenty-one interviews were conducted and analysed. Patients used an average of 7.8 medicines, 51 % were preventive, 40 % for symptom relief and 9 % treatment. Eight themes emerged: relationships with health professionals, practicalities, information, efficacy, side effects, attitudes, impact and control. Ability to discuss medicines with health professionals varied and many views were coloured by negative experiences, mainly with doctors. All interviewees had developed routines for using multiple medicines, some requiring considerable effort. Few felt able to exert control over medicines routines specified by health professionals. Over half sought additional information about medicines whereas others avoided this, trusting in doctors to guide their medicines use. Patients recognised their inability to assess efficacy for many medicines, notably those used for prophylaxis. All were concerned about possible side effects and some had poor experiences of discussing concerns with doctors. Medicines led to restrictions on social activities and personal life to the extent that, for some, life can revolve around medicines. Conclusion There is a multiplicity and complexity of issues surrounding medicines use, which impact on day-to-day lives for patients with long-term conditions. While most patients adapt to long-term medicines use, others did so at some cost to their quality of life