A dataset of direct observations of sea ice drift and waves in ice

Variability in sea ice conditions, combined with strong couplings to the atmosphere and the ocean, lead to a broad range of complex sea ice dynamics. More in-situ measurements are needed to better identify the phenomena and mechanisms that govern sea ice growth, drift, and breakup. To this end, we have gathered a dataset of in-situ observations of sea ice drift and waves in ice. A total of 15 deployments were performed over a period of 5 years in both the Arctic and Antarctic, involving 72 instruments. These provide both GPS drift tracks, and measurements of waves in ice. The data can, in turn, be used for tuning sea ice drift models, investigating waves damping by sea ice, and helping calibrate other sea ice measurement techniques, such as satellite based observations

Automatisering av konfigurasjon og testoppsett i nettverkslaboratoriet ved NTNU i Gjøvik

Cisco-laboratoriet i Ametyst-bygget ved Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet (NTNU) i Gjøvik er benyttet i undervisningssammenheng for opplæring i bruk av nettverksutstyr, deriblant Cisco-rutere og svitsjer. Mye tid går til med å forberede Cisco-laben i forbindelse med undervisning. Laboratorieansvarlig Eigil Obrestad har oppdaget at deler av forberedelsene til laboratorieøvelsene kan automatiseres og effektiviseres. Oppgaven vil ta for seg de ulike løsningene som vil øke effektiviteten og redusere tidsbruk i forbindelse med forberedelse av nettverksutstyr før en eventuell laboratorieøvelse. Ved å utforske ulike løsninger for automasjon, vil gruppen oppdage at arbeidsflyten i større eller mindre grad kan automatiseres. Noen av løsningene krever mer manuelt arbeid, mens andre løsninger kan i større grad automatiseres. For å skape en optimalisert løsning som i større grad automatiserer manuelt arbeid, ble det utformet en løsning som benytter seg av Cisco Autoinstall, Python-skripting og konfigurasjonstyringsverktøyet Ansible. Programmering kan bli brukt som et verktøy for å oppdage nettverksutstyr i Cisco-laben og opprette en forbindelse til de respektive enhetene. Ansible vil gjøre det mulig å overføre tilpasset konfigurasjon til samtlige enheter via en datamaskin med den åpne linuxdistribusjonen Ubuntu installert som operativsystem. Denne løsningen vil gjøre det mulig for administratorene å automatisere oppsettet av alle rutere og svitsjer i Cisco-laboratoriet. Dette tillater foreleserne å konfigurere enhetene identisk hver gang, noe som vil resultere i mindre feil i konfigurasjonen, samt redusere forberedelsestid. Som en bonus kan foreleserne fokusere mer på innholdet i forelesningene, istedenfor forberedelsesarbeidet relatert til hver laboratorieøvelse

Geophysical Student Field Trip Baltic Sea, Cruise No. AL579, 20.08.2022 – 28.08.2022, Kiel (Germany) – Kiel (Germany), GÜ Uni Kiel

Research cruise AL579 is part of the bachelor course "Physics of the Earth System - Geophysics, Meteorology and Oceanography" at the University of Kiel. It is the field exercise for marine geophysics and hydroacoustics. The aim of the annually recurring cruise is to give students a practical insight into the acquisition, processing, documentation, and interpretation of marine geophysical data. AL579 took place from August 20th -28th 2022 with the main study areas in Eckernförde Bay and the Bay of Mecklenburg. Parts of the scientific crew changed during a stopover in Kiel on Wednesday, 24.8.2022. In Eckernförde Bay we mainly collected Multibeam Echosounder (MBES) and INNOMAR Subbottom Echosounder (SES) data calibrated by CTD measurements close to the pockmark field off Mittelgrund. On Wednesday, 24.8.2022 we tested a new Ocean Bottom Seismometer (OBS) prototype. In the Bay of Mecklenburg, the focus was on Blinkerhügel and the seafloor structures further west where an enigmatic stone structure was discovered in 2021. This area was surveyed with Sidescan Sonar, MBES, SES, and CTD measurements and several video transects with an underwater drone. We also collected two sets of multi-channel seismic data to investigate the deeper structures of the Western Baltic Sea and the Bay of Mecklenburg

Data from: The genomes of two key bumblebee species with primitive eusocial organisation

Background: The shift from solitary to social behavior is one of the major evolutionary transitions. Primitively eusocial bumblebees are uniquely placed to illuminate the evolution of highly eusocial insect societies. Bumblebees are also invaluable natural and agricultural pollinators, and there is widespread concern over recent population declines in some species. High-quality genomic data will inform key aspects of bumblebee biology, including susceptibility to implicated population viability threats. Results: We report the high quality draft genome sequences of Bombus terrestris and Bombus impatiens, two ecologically dominant bumblebees and widely utilized study species. Comparing these new genomes to those of the highly eusocial honeybee Apis mellifera and other Hymenoptera, we identify deeply conserved similarities, as well as novelties key to the biology of these organisms. Some honeybee genome features thought to underpin advanced eusociality are also present in bumblebees, indicating an earlier evolution in the bee lineage. Xenobiotic detoxification and immune genes are similarly depauperate in bumblebees and honeybees, and multiple categories of genes linked to social organization, including development and behavior, show high conservation. Key differences identified include a bias in bumblebee chemoreception towards gustation from olfaction, and striking differences in microRNAs, potentially responsible for gene regulation underlying social and other traits. Conclusions: These two bumblebee genomes provide a foundation for post-genomic research on these key pollinators and insect societies. Overall, gene repertoires suggest that the route to advanced eusociality in bees was mediated by many small changes in many genes and processes, and not by notable expansion or depauperation

The Crowdsourced Replication Initiative

Crowdsourced Research on Immigration and Social Policy Preference

RAD tag (SgrAI) derived SNPs from Bombus impatiens

RAD tag (SgrAI) derived SNPs from Bombus impatiens from Sadd et al. (2015) "The genomes of two key bumblebee species with primitive eusocial organisation

Data from: The genomes of two key bumblebee species with primitive eusocial organisation

Background: The shift from solitary to social behavior is one of the major evolutionary transitions. Primitively eusocial bumblebees are uniquely placed to illuminate the evolution of highly eusocial insect societies. Bumblebees are also invaluable natural and agricultural pollinators, and there is widespread concern over recent population declines in some species. High-quality genomic data will inform key aspects of bumblebee biology, including susceptibility to implicated population viability threats. Results: We report the high quality draft genome sequences of Bombus terrestris and Bombus impatiens, two ecologically dominant bumblebees and widely utilized study species. Comparing these new genomes to those of the highly eusocial honeybee Apis mellifera and other Hymenoptera, we identify deeply conserved similarities, as well as novelties key to the biology of these organisms. Some honeybee genome features thought to underpin advanced eusociality are also present in bumblebees, indicating an earlier evolution in the bee lineage. Xenobiotic detoxification and immune genes are similarly depauperate in bumblebees and honeybees, and multiple categories of genes linked to social organization, including development and behavior, show high conservation. Key differences identified include a bias in bumblebee chemoreception towards gustation from olfaction, and striking differences in microRNAs, potentially responsible for gene regulation underlying social and other traits. Conclusions: These two bumblebee genomes provide a foundation for post-genomic research on these key pollinators and insect societies. Overall, gene repertoires suggest that the route to advanced eusociality in bees was mediated by many small changes in many genes and processes, and not by notable expansion or depauperation.,RAD tag (SgrAI) derived SNPs from Bombus impatiensRAD tag (SgrAI) derived SNPs from Bombus impatiens from Sadd et al. (2015) &quot;The genomes of two key bumblebee species with primitive eusocial organisation&quot;Filtered_Bombus_imp_AEgenome.vcf,</span

An international observational study to assess the impact of the Omicron variant emergence on the clinical epidemiology of COVID-19 in hospitalised patients

Background: Whilst timely clinical characterisation of infections caused by novel SARS-CoV-2 variants is necessary for evidence-based policy response, individual-level data on infecting variants are typically only available for a minority of patients and settings. Methods: Here, we propose an innovative approach to study changes in COVID-19 hospital presentation and outcomes after the Omicron variant emergence using publicly available population-level data on variant relative frequency to infer SARS-CoV-2 variants likely responsible for clinical cases. We apply this method to data collected by a large international clinical consortium before and after the emergence of the Omicron variant in different countries. Results: Our analysis, that includes more than 100,000 patients from 28 countries, suggests that in many settings patients hospitalised with Omicron variant infection less often presented with commonly reported symptoms compared to patients infected with pre-Omicron variants. Patients with COVID-19 admitted to hospital after Omicron variant emergence had lower mortality compared to patients admitted during the period when Omicron variant was responsible for only a minority of infections (odds ratio in a mixed-effects logistic regression adjusted for likely confounders, 0.67 [95% confidence interval 0.61-0.75]). Qualitatively similar findings were observed in sensitivity analyses with different assumptions on population-level Omicron variant relative frequencies, and in analyses using available individual-level data on infecting variant for a subset of the study population. Conclusions: Although clinical studies with matching viral genomic information should remain a priority, our approach combining publicly available data on variant frequency and a multi-country clinical characterisation dataset with more than 100,000 records allowed analysis of data from a wide range of settings and novel insights on real-world heterogeneity of COVID-19 presentation and clinical outcome

Clinical manifestations of intermediate allele carriers in Huntington disease

Objective: There is controversy about the clinical consequences of intermediate alleles (IAs) in Huntington disease (HD). The main objective of this study was to establish the clinical manifestations of IA carriers for a prospective, international, European HD registry. Methods: We assessed a cohort of participants at risk with <36 CAG repeats of the huntingtin (HTT) gene. Outcome measures were the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) motor, cognitive, and behavior domains, Total Functional Capacity (TFC), and quality of life (Short Form-36 [SF-36]). This cohort was subdivided into IA carriers (27-35 CAG) and controls (<27 CAG) and younger vs older participants. IA carriers and controls were compared for sociodemographic, environmental, and outcome measures. We used regression analysis to estimate the association of age and CAG repeats on the UHDRS scores. Results: Of 12,190 participants, 657 (5.38%) with <36 CAG repeats were identified: 76 IA carriers (11.56%) and 581 controls (88.44%). After correcting for multiple comparisons, at baseline, we found no significant differences between IA carriers and controls for total UHDRS motor, SF-36, behavioral, cognitive, or TFC scores. However, older participants with IAs had higher chorea scores compared to controls (p 0.001). Linear regression analysis showed that aging was the most contributing factor to increased UHDRS motor scores (p 0.002). On the other hand, 1-year follow-up data analysis showed IA carriers had greater cognitive decline compared to controls (p 0.002). Conclusions: Although aging worsened the UHDRS scores independently of the genetic status, IAs might confer a late-onset abnormal motor and cognitive phenotype. These results might have important implications for genetic counseling. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01590589