Analysis of Transaction Logs from National Museums Liverpool

The websites of Cultural Heritage institutions attract the full range of users, from professionals to novices, for a variety of tasks. However, many institutions are reporting high bounce rates and therefore seeking ways to better engage users. The analysis of transaction logs can provide insights into users’ searching and navigational behaviours and support engagement strategies. In this paper we present the results from a transaction log analysis of web server logs representing user-system interactions from the seven websites of National Museums Liverpool (NML). In addition, we undertake an exploratory cluster analysis of users to identify potential user groups that emerge from the data. We compare this with previous studies of NML website users

Increased insolation threshold for runaway greenhouse processes on Earth like planets

Because the solar luminosity increases over geological timescales, Earth climate is expected to warm, increasing water evaporation which, in turn, enhances the atmospheric greenhouse effect. Above a certain critical insolation, this destabilizing greenhouse feedback can "runaway" until all the oceans are evaporated. Through increases in stratospheric humidity, warming may also cause oceans to escape to space before the runaway greenhouse occurs. The critical insolation thresholds for these processes, however, remain uncertain because they have so far been evaluated with unidimensional models that cannot account for the dynamical and cloud feedback effects that are key stabilizing features of Earth's climate. Here we use a 3D global climate model to show that the threshold for the runaway greenhouse is about 375 W/m$^2$, significantly higher than previously thought. Our model is specifically developed to quantify the climate response of Earth-like planets to increased insolation in hot and extremely moist atmospheres. In contrast with previous studies, we find that clouds have a destabilizing feedback on the long term warming. However, subsident, unsaturated regions created by the Hadley circulation have a stabilizing effect that is strong enough to defer the runaway greenhouse limit to higher insolation than inferred from 1D models. Furthermore, because of wavelength-dependent radiative effects, the stratosphere remains cold and dry enough to hamper atmospheric water escape, even at large fluxes. This has strong implications for Venus early water history and extends the size of the habitable zone around other stars.Comment: Published in Nature. Online publication date: December 12, 2013. Accepted version before journal editing and with Supplementary Informatio

New technical approach for the repair of an abdominal wall defect after a transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Breast reconstruction with autologous tissue transfer is now a standard operation, but abnormalities of the abdominal wall contour represent a complication which has led surgeons to invent techniques to minimize the morbidity of the donor site.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report the case of a woman who had bilateral transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap (TRAM-flap) breast reconstruction. The surgery led to the patient developing an enormous abdominal bulge that caused her disability in terms of abdominal wall and bowel function, pain and contour. In the absence of rectus muscle, the large defect was repaired using a combination of the abdominal wall component separation technique of Ramirez et al and additional mesh augmentation with a lightweight, large-pore polypropylene mesh (Ultrapro^®).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The procedure of Ramirez et al is helpful in achieving a tension-free closure of large defects in the anterior abdominal wall. The additional mesh augmentation allows reinforcement of the thinned lateral abdominal wall.</p

Testimonial Injustice and Vulnerability: A Qualitative Analysis of Participation in the Court of Protection

This article explores participation in Court of Protection (COP) proceedings by people considered vulnerable. The paper is based on original data obtained from observing COP proceedings and reviewing COP case files. It is argued that the observed absence of the subject of proceedings is a form of testimonial injustice, that is, a failure to value a person in their capacity as a giver of knowledge. The issue of competence to give evidence is considered but it is argued that it is not the formal evidential rules that prohibit a vulnerable adult from giving evidence. Instead, it is the result of a persistent assumption that they are inherently vulnerable and therefore lack credibility as a knowledge giver. This assumption results in the voices of vulnerable adults being routinely absent from legal proceedings. It is argued that having a voice in the courtroom is essential and has a number of intrinsic and instrumental benefits. The paper concludes with a discussion about the implications of the research, including the current trend towards the increased use of special measures, and recommends a presumption in favour of the subject of COP proceedings giving evidence

Consultant medical trainers, modernising medical careers (MMC) and the European time directive (EWTD): tensions and challenges in a changing medical education context

Background: We analysed the learning and professional development narratives of Hospital Consultants training junior staff ('Consultant Trainers') in order to identify impediments to successful postgraduate medical training in the UK, in the context of Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) and the European Working Time Directive (EWTD). Methods: Qualitative study. Learning and continuing professional development (CPD), were discussed in the context of Consultant Trainers' personal biographies, organisational culture and medical education practices. We conducted life story interviews with 20 Hospital Consultants in six NHS Trusts in Wales in 2005. Results: Consultant Trainers felt that new working patterns resulting from the EWTD and MMC have changed the nature of medical education. Loss of continuity of care, reduced clinical exposure of medical trainees and loss of the popular apprenticeship model were seen as detrimental for the quality of medical training and patient care. Consultant Trainers' perceptions of medical education were embedded in a traditional medical education culture, which expected long hours' availability, personal sacrifices and learning without formal educational support and supervision. Over-reliance on apprenticeship in combination with lack of organisational support for Consultant Trainers' new responsibilities, resulting from the introduction of MMC, and lack of interest in pursuing training in teaching, supervision and assessment represent potentially significant barriers to progress. Conclusion: This study identifies issues with significant implications for the implementation of MMC within the context of EWTD. Postgraduate Deaneries, NHS Trusts and the new body; NHS: Medical Education England should deal with the deficiencies of MMC and challenges of ETWD and aspire to excellence. Further research is needed to investigate the views and educational practices of Consultant Medical Trainers and medical trainees

Impacts of climate change on plant diseases – opinions and trends

There has been a remarkable scientific output on the topic of how climate change is likely to affect plant diseases in the coming decades. This review addresses the need for review of this burgeoning literature by summarizing opinions of previous reviews and trends in recent studies on the impacts of climate change on plant health. Sudden Oak Death is used as an introductory case study: Californian forests could become even more susceptible to this emerging plant disease, if spring precipitations will be accompanied by warmer temperatures, although climate shifts may also affect the current synchronicity between host cambium activity and pathogen colonization rate. A summary of observed and predicted climate changes, as well as of direct effects of climate change on pathosystems, is provided. Prediction and management of climate change effects on plant health are complicated by indirect effects and the interactions with global change drivers. Uncertainty in models of plant disease development under climate change calls for a diversity of management strategies, from more participatory approaches to interdisciplinary science. Involvement of stakeholders and scientists from outside plant pathology shows the importance of trade-offs, for example in the land-sharing vs. sparing debate. Further research is needed on climate change and plant health in mountain, boreal, Mediterranean and tropical regions, with multiple climate change factors and scenarios (including our responses to it, e.g. the assisted migration of plants), in relation to endophytes, viruses and mycorrhiza, using long-term and large-scale datasets and considering various plant disease control methods

The promoter of ZmMRP-1, a maize transfer cell-specific transcriptional activator, is induced at solute exchange surfaces and responds to transport demands

Transfer cells have specializations that facilitate the transport of solutes across plant exchange surfaces. ZmMRP-1 is a maize (Zea mays) endosperm transfer cell-specific transcriptional activator that plays a central role in the regulatory pathways controlling transfer cell differentiation and function. The present work investigates the signals controlling the expression of ZmMRP-1 through the production of transgenic lines of maize, Arabidopsis, tobacco and barley containing ZmMRP-1promoter:GUS reporter constructs. The GUS signal predominantly appeared in regions of active transport between source and sink tissues, including nematode-induced feeding structures and at sites of vascular connection between developing organs and the main plant vasculature. In those cases, promoter induction was associated with the initial developmental stages of transport structures. Significantly, transfer cells also differentiated in these regions suggesting that, independent of species, location or morphological features, transfer cells might differentiate in a similar way under the influence of conserved induction signals. In planta and yeast experiments showed that the promoter activity is modulated by carbohydrates, glucose being the most effective inducer

Regulation of Gene Expression in Plants through miRNA Inactivation

Eukaryotic organisms possess a complex RNA-directed gene expression regulatory network allowing the production of unique gene expression patterns. A recent addition to the repertoire of RNA-based gene regulation is miRNA target decoys, endogenous RNA that can negatively regulate miRNA activity. miRNA decoys have been shown to be a valuable tool for understanding the function of several miRNA families in plants and invertebrates. Engineering and precise manipulation of an endogenous RNA regulatory network through modification of miRNA activity also affords a significant opportunity to achieve a desired outcome of enhanced plant development or response to environmental stresses. Here we report that expression of miRNA decoys as single or heteromeric non-cleavable microRNA (miRNA) sites embedded in either non-protein-coding or within the 3′ untranslated region of protein-coding transcripts can regulate the expression of one or more miRNA targets. By altering the sequence of the miRNA decoy sites, we were able to attenuate miRNA inactivation, which allowed for fine regulation of native miRNA targets and the production of a desirable range of plant phenotypes. Thus, our results demonstrate miRNA decoys are a flexible and robust tool, not only for studying miRNA function, but also for targeted engineering of gene expression in plants. Computational analysis of the Arabidopsis transcriptome revealed a number of potential miRNA decoys, suggesting that endogenous decoys may have an important role in natural modulation of expression in plants

Structure-Function Analysis of STRUBBELIG, an Arabidopsis Atypical Receptor-Like Kinase Involved in Tissue Morphogenesis

Tissue morphogenesis in plants requires the coordination of cellular behavior across clonally distinct histogenic layers. The underlying signaling mechanisms are presently being unraveled and are known to include the cell surface leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase STRUBBELIG in Arabidopsis. To understand better its mode of action an extensive structure-function analysis of STRUBBELIG was performed. The phenotypes of 20 EMS and T-DNA-induced strubbelig alleles were assessed and homology modeling was applied to rationalize their possible effects on STRUBBELIG protein structure. The analysis was complemented by phenotypic, cell biological, and pharmacological investigations of a strubbelig null allele carrying genomic rescue constructs encoding fusions between various mutated STRUBBELIG proteins and GFP. The results indicate that STRUBBELIG accepts quite some sequence variation, reveal the biological importance for the STRUBBELIG N-capping domain, and reinforce the notion that kinase activity is not essential for its function in vivo. Furthermore, individual protein domains of STRUBBELIG cannot be related to specific STRUBBELIG-dependent biological processes suggesting that process specificity is mediated by factors acting together with or downstream of STRUBBELIG. In addition, the evidence indicates that biogenesis of a functional STRUBBELIG receptor is subject to endoplasmic reticulum-mediated quality control, and that an MG132-sensitive process regulates its stability. Finally, STRUBBELIG and the receptor-like kinase gene ERECTA interact synergistically in the control of internode length. The data provide genetic and molecular insight into how STRUBBELIG regulates intercellular communication in tissue morphogenesis