Time is a stronger predictor of microbiome community composition than tissue in external mucosal surfaces of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) reared in a semi-natural freshwater environment

Open Access via the Elsevier Agreement This work was supported by the UKRI project ROBUSTSMOLT [grant numbers BBSRC BB/S004270/1 and BB/S004432/1]. There was also co-funding from the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

A Temporally Dynamic Gut Microbiome in Atlantic Salmon During Freshwater Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) Production and Post-seawater Transfer

This study was funded by the UKRI project ROBUSTSMOLT (BBSRC BB/S004270/1 and BB/S004432/1). There was also cofunding from the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors would like to thank John Richmond and staff at MOWI and the Centre for Genome Enabled Biology and Medicine (CGEBM) at the University of Aberdeen, particularly Dr. Ewan Campbell, for help with amplification protocols, conducting 16S library preparation and sequencing. The datasets presented in this study can be found in online repositories. The names of the repository/repositories and accession number(s) can be found below: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA729215.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Cytoplasmic levels of cFLIP determine a broad susceptibility of breast cancer stem/progenitor-like cells to TRAIL

Background The clinical application of TRAIL receptor agonists as a novel cancer therapy has been tempered by heterogeneity in tumour responses. This is illustrated in breast cancer, where TRAIL is cytotoxic in cell lines of mesenchymal origin but refractory in lines with an epithelial-like phenotype. However, it is now evident that intra-tumour heterogeneity includes a minority subpopulation of tumour-initiating stem/progenitor-like cells (CSCs) that possess mesenchymal characteristics. We hypothesised therefore that TRAIL may target these phenotypically distinct CSC-like cells that are common to most - if not all - breast cancers, thus impacting on the source of malignancy in a much broader range of breast tumour subtypes than previously envisaged. Methods We used colony formation, tumoursphere, flow cytometry and xenograft tumour initiation assays to observe the TRAIL sensitivity of CSC-like cells in a panel of two mesenchymal-like (TRAIL-sensitive) and four epithelial-like (TRAIL-resistant) breast cancer cell lines. Subcellular levels of the endogenous TRAIL inhibitor, cFLIP, were determined by western blot and immunofluorescence microscopy. The effect of the subcellular redistribution of cFLIP on TRAIL sensitivity and Wnt signalling was determined using cFLIP localisation mutants and the TOPFlash reporter assay respectively. Results TRAIL universally suppressed the clonal expansion of stem/progenitors in all six of the breast cancer cell lines tested, irrespective of their phenotype or overall sensitivity to TRAIL. A concomitant reduction in tumour initiation was confirmed in the TRAIL-resistant epithelial cell line, MCF-7, following serial dilution xenotransplantation. Furthermore TRAIL sensitivity of breast CSCs was inversely proportional to the relative cytoplasmic levels of cFLIP while overexpression of cFLIP in the cytosol using subcellular localization mutants of cFLIP protected these cells from cytotoxicity. The accumulation of nuclear cFLIP on the other hand did not influence TRAIL cytotoxicity but instead promoted Wnt-dependent signalling. Conclusion These data propose a novel role for TRAIL as a selective CSC agent with a broad specificity for both epithelial and mesenchymal breast tumour subtypes. Furthermore we identify a dual role for cFLIP in the maintenance of breast CSC viability, dependent upon its subcellular distribution

A multivariate analysis of women's mating strategies and sexual selection on men's facial morphology

The strength and direction of sexual selection via female choice on masculine facial traits in men is a paradox in human mate choice research. While masculinity may communicate benefits to women and offspring directly (i.e. resources) or indirectly (i.e. health), masculine men may be costly as long-term partners owing to lower paternal investment. Mating strategy theory suggests women's preferences for masculine traits are strongest when the costs associated with masculinity are reduced. This study takes a multivariate approach to testing whether women's mate preferences are context-dependent. Women (n = 919) rated attractiveness when considering long-term and short-term relationships for male faces varying in beardedness (clean-shaven and full beards) and facial masculinity (30% and 60% feminized, unmanipulated, 30% and 60% masculinized). Participants then completed scales measuring pathogen, sexual and moral disgust, disgust towards ectoparasites, reproductive ambition, self-perceived mate value and the facial hair in partners and fathers. In contrast to past research, we found no associations between pathogen disgust, self-perceived mate value or reproductive ambition and facial masculinity preferences. However, we found a significant positive association between moral disgust and preferences for masculine faces and bearded faces. Preferences for beards were lower among women with higher ectoparasite disgust, providing evidence for ectoparasite avoidance hypothesis. However, women reporting higher pathogen disgust gave higher attractiveness ratings for bearded faces than women reporting lower pathogen disgust, providing support for parasite-stress theories of sexual selection and mate choice. Preferences for beards were also highest among single and married women with the strongest reproductive ambition. Overall, our results reflect mixed associations between individual differences in mating strategies and women's mate preferences for masculine facial traits

User needs assessment for climate services in Zambia

Between February and April 2021 research was conducted to assess the user needs of selected farmer groups in Zambia for farmer centric agrometeorological information services. Specifically, it aimed to: • Identify the types of weather information and agronomic advice that farmers currently receive, the sources that they use and how satisfied they are with the information they receive; • Better understand the effects of climate variability and change on different agricultural activities and the decisions farmers are able to make; and • Enable farmers to identify what weather and climate information, services and agronomic advice they need and how they would like to access it. The results were then presented to key stakeholders and used in an ideation process to help design potential climate services for implementation at scale. Key findings from the user research are that: • Respondents articulated a demand for information and advice on a range of different weather variables at a range of different timescales to aid both their long-term planning and more immediate decisions. • There is a gap between the climate and weather information and services that are produced (by Zambia Meteorological Department) and those that farmers are accessing. • The complexities of challenges facing respondents, and the variety of different decisions affected, means that addressing these challenges is not simply about the provision of climate information but supporting farmers to contextualise and use this information. Farmers outlined a range of existing practices that they use to address challenges that are related to weather and climate. Many of these practices address multiple challenges and are often proactive rather than reactive options for farmers. • Engaging farmers with climate services requires a range of different and complimentary approaches. Radio is the most commonly used and requested going forward. Extension staff, lead farmers and farmer groups are important sources of information and support in farmer decision making. Climate services products should be designed with the aim to address multiple farmer ‘problems’. For example, information on the amount of rainfall to expect in a season can aid decision making on choice of land preparation and cultivation methods, choice of crop variety, weeding, as well requirements for pest and disease management in cattle

State-of-the-art monitoring techniques for Samarco tailings dams

Good tailings dam management becomes critical as the complexity of mining projects increases, along with the increasing global focus on safe and sustainable development. The industry standard, and fundamental benchmark for a tailings storage facility, is to provide ‘safe, stable, and economical storage of tailings presenting negligible public health and safety risks and acceptably low social and environmental impacts during operation and post-closure’. Geotechnical stability is a key consideration in many tailings dam failures, and monitoring and instrumentation of tailings dams provides valuable insights into potential tailings dam failure mechanism. Given the extremely high costs of tailing dam failures, such monitoring and instrumentation is a cost effective means of determining the critical parameters that may mitigate the risks and potential consequences of tailings dam failures. This paper discusses the outcomes of a back-analysis of state-of-the art slope monitoring techniques undertaken at a number of sites at Samarco Mine in Brazil. The data are assessed in terms of geotechnical stability and the associated alarm levels. The ability to pre-emptively identify, and respond appropriately to slope instabilities is explored

Multivariate Intra-Sexual Selection on Men’s Perceptions of Male Facial Morphology

Objectives Intra-sexual selection has shaped the evolution of sexually dimorphic traits in males of many primates, including humans. In men, sexual dimorphism in craniofacial shape (i.e. facial masculinity) and facial hair have both been shown to communicate aspects of social and physical dominance intra-sexually. However, less attention has been given to how variation in physical and social dominance among receivers impacts on perceptions of facial masculinity and beards as intra-sexual signals of formidability. Methods In the current study, male participants (N = 951) rated male faces varying in masculinity and beardedness when judging masculinity, dominance and aggressiveness. These participants also responded to scales measuring their psychological dominance, sexual jealousy, status seeking, and masculine morphology (facial masculinity, facial hair, and height). Results Beardedness exerted strong effects over clean-shaven faces on ratings of masculinity, dominance, and aggressiveness. Trait ratings of masculinity, dominance, and aggressiveness rose linearly with increasing craniofacial masculinity. The significant facial masculinity × facial hair interaction suggests that beardedness caused strong effects on all trait ratings over clean-shaven faces at every level of facial masculinity. Participants with full beards also reported higher scores on dominance and assertiveness scales. Participants high in dominance and assertiveness also gave higher ratings for dominance, but not masculinity or aggressiveness, to bearded over clean-shaven faces. Participants low in intra-sexual jealousy rated clean-shaven and/or feminised faces as less dominant, less masculine, and less aggressive. Conclusions These findings demonstrate that facial hair enhances perceptions of masculinity, dominance, and aggressiveness above ratings of facial masculinity, potentially by augmenting masculine craniofacial features. Individual differences in intra-sexual dominance showed associations with judgments of facial hair but not facial masculinity. Our study demonstrates that when two sexually dimorphic androgen dependent facial traits are judged in concert, ornamental rather than structural masculine facial features underpin men’s intra-sexual judgments of formidability

Stimulating small-scale farmer innovation and adaptation with Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture (PICSA): lessons from successful implementation in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and South Asia

How to cope with climate variability and adapt to climate change are key challenges for smallholder farmers globally. In low-income countries, farmers have typically received little, if any locally relevant weather or climate information. Although climate services have contributed to increased availability and accessibility of climate information, this has rarely achieved the desired impacts for farmers’ decision-making, adaptation and resilience to climate variability and change. This has been attributed to a lack of engagement with intended users of climate information and a top-down approach to development and delivery of climate services that fails to adequately consider and account for farmers’ context-specific requirements. Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture (PICSA) is an approach that was developed to support and empower farmers in their decision-making processes. More than 200,000 farmers have been trained in 23 countries and this paper presents evidence from evaluations in 7 countries including that most (87%; n = 4,299) have made beneficial changes in their crops, livestock and/or livelihood enterprises. The approach has strengthened key institutions that support farmers through deliberative scoping, tailoring, and capacity-building activities with extension and meteorological services. It has been well received by those that use it and is being integrated into policy and training curricula. Key reasons for the success of the approach include the importance of supporting farmers as decision makers and empowering them to relate relatively complex weather and climate information to their own contexts. Key considerations for the future include ensuring sustainability and further scaling as well as maintaining quality