Mytilus galloprovincialis-type foot-protein-1 alleles occur at low frequency among mussels in the Dutch Wadden Sea

The presence of M. galloprovincialis-type genes among the population of mussels in the Dutch Wadden Sea, historically described as M. edulis, was assessed. We applied the molecular technique in which a fragment of the gene coding for an adhesive protein of the byssus of mussels is amplified by PCR and assayed for length using electrophoresis. Among 321 individual mussels collected in August–October 2001 at 14 sites (5 intertidal, 9 subtidal) widely dispersed over the Dutch Wadden Sea, 6 specimens (collected at 5 sites) were found that showed a heterozygote genotype with both the M. edulis- and the M. galloprovincialis-type alleles being amplified; all others were identified as homozygotes for the M. edulis-type allele. Differentiation in frequencies of heterozygotes among sites was not detected. The ofact that the M. galloprovincialis-type allele was present at low frequency (0.0093) may be attributed to one of three possible, and not mutually exclusive, causes: incomplete diagnosticity of this marker, an historically stable introgression zone in the Wadden Sea, or a recent invasion.

Sex-ratio and body size of sandpiper chicks at Zackenberg, north-east Greenland in 2003

There is growing evidence that female birds may adaptively bias the sex ratio of their young as a function of environmental conditions. Data on brood sex ratio in shorebirds are scarce, however. In this study we report the brood sex ratios and morphometrics of Arctic sandpipers. Sex was determined in 13–64 chicks of Sanderling Calidris alba, Red Knot Calidris canutus islandica, Dunlin Calidris alpina arctica, and Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres in NE Greenland during the 2003 breeding season. Brood sex ratios were biased significantly towards males in Dunlin and Ruddy Turnstone, but in Dunlin this bias disappeared in chicks older than two days. There was a non-significant bias towards females in Sanderling and Red Knot. Only for bill length in Dunlin hatchlings, there were significant differences between males and females. Surprisingly, in contrast to their parents, male chicks had longer bills than female chicks

Inclusive design of a sensitive virtual assistant to support people in vulnerable positions in their access to care

In many European societies, the demand for health and social care for people in vulnerable positions are increasing. Together with a lack of personal and growing societal care costs, it is warranted to look for innovative ways to better support people in vulnerable positions in their care. People in vulnerable positions often face challenges in the timely access to various forms of care they need, for example due an intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or a mental disorder. This project examines the possibility of a virtual assistant to improve access to care for people in vulnerable positions. Innovative in this project is the study of whether and how a ‘sensitive’ virtual assistant can be developed, i.e., a virtual assistant that modifies to the different needs of the target group through adaptive and inclusive artificial intelligence technology. The sensitive virtual assistant will be developed through a design thinking method, in which 1) the current and desired experiences of the target group regarding their care and support are mapped, and 2) the sensitive virtual assistant's ability to address these needs and adapt its functionalities to different users will be explored. Interestingly, this study takes place in close collaboration with ‘citizen scientists’ who have a cognitive impairment such as intellectual disability or ASD. In this inclusive research trajectory, they ensure that the virtual assistant will fit the needs and lifeworld of the target population. This project is expected to generate theoretical, methodological and technological contributions to the field of chatbot research, citizen science and inclusive research

Teaching and physics education research: bridging the gap

Physics faculty, experts in evidence-based research, often rely on anecdotal experience to guide their teaching practices. Adoption of research-based instructional strategies is surprisingly low, despite the large body of physics education research (PER) and strong dissemination effort of PER researchers and innovators. Evidence-based PER has validated specific non-traditional teaching practices, but many faculty raise valuable concerns toward their applicability. We address these concerns and identify future studies required to overcome the gap between research and practice