LILAC 2023: An audio-visual report

The authors work together at Middlesex University as subject liaison librarians and what follows is a report on the LILAC 2023 conference at the University of Cambridge. The authors chose to combine their reflections in a collaborative report, and when considering a focus for this, it was noted that a number of sessions incorporating non-traditional methods and formats, such as podcasting, cartooning and audiobooks, had attracted the attention of the authors. Therefore, the theme of audio-visual learning is the focus for this conference report. Moreover, the authors were keen for the format of the output to align with the content, so rather than submitting a written report, what follows is an audio-visual report comprising a discussion of conference experiences, a photo diary and an artwork, where the authors reflect on their impressions, highlights and key takeaways from the event

Global soil moisture bimodality in satellite observations and climate models

A new diagnostic metric based on soil moisture bimodality is developed in order to examine and compare soil moisture from satellite observations and Earth System Models. The methodology to derive this diagnostic is based on maximum likelihood estimator encoded into an iterative algorithm, which is applied to the soil moisture probability density function. This metric is applied to satellite data from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System and global climate models data from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5). Results show high soil moisture bimodality in transitional climate areas and high latitudes, potentially associated with land-atmosphere feedback processes. When comparing satellite versus climate models, a clear difference in their soil moisture bimodality is observed, with systematically higher values in the case of CMIP5 models. These differences appear related to areas where land-atmospheric feedback may be overestimated in current climate models

A Handbook for Students with Dyslexia Learning to Understand it and Learning How to Help Themselves

The purpose of this project was to expand upon a current workshop that taught students about positive self-esteem and how to self-advocate for themselves, by creating a handbook of information about dyslexia and some strategies to pre-expose them to the workshop content. The handbook includes an appendix with all required material to complete the workshop. The project also contains, a review of current literature and research related to dyslexia including the definition, diagnosis, testing, remediation, and self-esteem in regards to dyslexia was conducted

Multi-locus sequence data illuminate demographic drivers of Pleistocene speciation in semi-arid southern Australian birds (Cinclosoma spp.)

Background: During the Pleistocene, shifts of species distributions and their isolation in disjunct refugia led to varied outcomes in how taxa diversified. Some species diverged, others did not. Here, we begin to address another facet of the role of the Pleistocene in generating today's diversity. We ask which processes contributed to divergence in semi-arid southern Australian birds. We isolated 11 autosomal nuclear loci and one mitochondrial locus from a total of 29 specimens of the sister species pair, Chestnut Quail-thrush Cinclosoma castanotum and Copperback Quail-thrush C. clarum. results: A population clustering analysis confirmed the location of the current species boundary as a well-known biogeographical barrier in southern Australia, the Eyrean Barrier. Coalescent-based analyses placed the time of species divergence to the Middle Pleistocene. Gene flow between the species since divergence has been low. The analyses suggest the effective population size of the ancestor was 54 to 178 times smaller than populations since divergence. This contrasts with recent multi-locus studies in some other Australian birds (butcherbirds, ducks) where a lack of phenotypic divergence was accompanied by larger historical population sizes. Post-divergence population size histories of C. clarum and C. castanotum were inferred using the extended Bayesian skyline model. The population size of C. clarum increased substantially during the late Pleistocene and continued to increase through the Last Glacial Maximum and Holocene. The timing of this expansion across its vast range is broadly concordant with that documented in several other Australian birds. In contrast, effective population size of C. castanotum was much more constrained and may reflect its smaller range and more restricted habitat east of the Eyrean Barrier compared with that available to C. clarum to the west. Conclusions: Our results contribute to awareness of increased population sizes, following significant contractions, as having been important in shaping diversity in Australian arid and semi-arid zones. Further, we improve knowledge of the role of Pleistocene climatic shifts in areas of the planet that were not glaciated at that time but which still experienced that period's cyclical climatic fluctuations.Gaynor Dolman and Leo Josep

Evaluating antibiotics for use in medicine using a poloxamer biofilm model

BACKGROUND: Wound infections, due to biofilms, are a constant problem because of their recalcitrant nature towards antibiotics. Appropriate antibiotic selection for the treatment of these biofilm infections is important. The traditional in vitro disc diffusion method for antibiotic selection uses bacterial cultures grown on agar plates. However, the form of bacterial growth on agar is not representative of how bacteria grow in wounds and other tissue sites as here bacteria grow naturally in a biofilm. The aim of this research was to test a more appropriate method for testing antimicrobial efficacy on biofilms and compare with the standard methods used for antibiotic sensitivity testing. METHODS: Outer Membrane Protein analysis was performed on E.coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus mirabilis and Acinetobacter juni when grown on Mueller Hinton agar ('quasi-biofilm state') and 30% Poloxamer hydrogel ('true- biofilm state). Susceptibility to antibiotics on 28 clinical isolates was determined using the modified Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method, on agar and 30% Poloxamer. RESULTS: Similar outer membrane proteins [OMPs] were identified in bacteria grown in a biofilm state and on a 30% poloxamer hydrogel, which were very different to the OMPs identified in bacteria grown on Mueller-Hinton agar and broth. There was a significant difference between the means of the clearance zones around the antibiotic discs on standard agar and poloxamer gels [P < 0.05]. The zones of clearance were generally smaller for poloxamer-grown bacteria than those grown on standard agar. Diffusion distances of various antibiotics through agar and 30% poloxamer showed no significant difference [P > 0.05]. CONCLUSION: The findings of this experiment suggest that poloxamer gel could be used as an appropriate medium on which to conduct biofilm antibiotic susceptibility tests as it enables bacteria to be grown in a state representative of the infected surface from which the culture was taken

Consistent nest-site selection across habitats increases fitness in Asian Houbara

Nest-site choice profoundly influences reproductive success and the survival of incubating adults. Asian Houbara (Chlamydotis macqueenii) nest in subtly contrasting habitats where the main cause of nest failure is predation. We examined nest-site selection across three semi-arid shrub habitats that differed in vegetation structure and hypothesized that increased concealment would reduce nest predation. We quantified vegetation structure at 210 nests and 194 random control sites at two scales, the ‘nest area’ (50 m radius, considering mean ‘shrub height’ and mean ‘shrub frequency’) and ‘nest scrape’ (2 m radius,  considering a ‘concealment index’). Variance ratio tests showed variance in both shrub height and concealment index were lower at nests than at random sites, indicating non-random selection. Analysis of the probability of nest occurrence for nest area indicated consistent selection of intermediate shrub heights (shrub height + shrub height2) in the Astragalus, Salsola arbuscula and S. rigida shrub assemblages (29.5–31.5 cm), although this was not supported statistically in S. rigida as the vegetation available was already similar to the optimal nest structure. Nest survival analysis, controlling for date, showed that shrub height (but not its quadratic term) in the nest area reduced nest predation rate. Females likely traded off nesting in even taller shrubs that may confer greater nest success against the ability to see approaching danger and thus to reduce the risk of being depredated themselves (head height during vigilance when incubating is ~30cm), as we have no records of females being depredated on the nest. At the nest scrape, females strongly selected better concealed locations, although the concealment index did not affect nest success. We suggest that concealing the scrape among shrubs may have other roles, such as thermoregulation

Modelling representation errors of atmospheric CO2 mixing ratios at a regional scale

Inverse modelling of carbon sources and sinks requires an accurate quality estimate of the modelling framework to obtain a realistic estimate of the inferred fluxes and their uncertainties. So-called "representation errors" result from our inability to correctly represent point observations with simulated average values of model grid cells. They may add substantial uncertainty to the interpretation of atmospheric CO2 mixing ratio data. We simulated detailed variations in the CO2 mixing ratios with a high resolution (2 km) mesoscale model (RAMS) to estimate the representation errors introduced at larger model grid sizes of 10 100 km. We found that meteorology is the main driver of representation errors in our study causing spatial and temporal variations in the error estimate. Within the nocturnal boundary layer, the representation errors are relatively large and mainly caused by unresolved topography at lower model resolutions. During the day, convective structures, mesoscale circulations, and surface CO2 flux variability were found to be the main sources of representation errors. Interpreting observations near a mesoscale circulation as representative for air with the correct footprint relative to the front can reduce the representation error substantially. The remaining representation error is 0.5 1.5 ppm at 20 100 km resolution

The carbon budget of a tundra in the north-eastern Russian Arctic during the snow free season and its stability in the 2003-2016 period

Large quantities of carbon are stored in the terrestrial permafrost of the Arctic region where the rate of climate warming is two to three times more than the global mean and the largest temperature anomalies observed in autumn and winter. The quantification of the impact of climate warming on the degradation of permafrost and the associated potential release to the atmosphere of carbon stocked in the soil in the form of greenhouse gases, thus further increasing the radiative forcing of the atmosphere, is a research priority in the field of biogeosciences. Land-atmosphere turbulent fluxes of CO2 and CH4 have been monitored at the tundra site of Kytalyk in north-eastern Siberia (70,82 N; 147.48 E) by means of eddy covariance since 2003 and 2008, respectively; regular measurement campaigns have been carried out since then. Here we present results of the seasonal CO2 budget of the tundra ecosystem for the 2003-2016 period based on observations encompassing the permafrost thawing season and analyze the inter-annual differences in the seasonal patterns of CO2 fluxes considering the separate the contribution of climatic drivers and ecosystem functional parameters relative to the processes of respiration and photosynthesis. The variability of the CO2 budget is also discussed in view of the impact of the timing and length of the snow free period. The Kytalyk tundra acted as an atmospheric carbon dioxide sink with relatively small inter-annual variability (-96.1±11.9 gC m-2) during the snow free season and the seasonal CO2 budget did not show any trend over time. The pronounced meteorological variability characterizing Arctic summers was a key factor in shaping the length of the carbon uptake period, which did not progressively increased despite its tendency to start earlier, and in determining the magnitude of CO2 fluxes. No clear evidence of inter-annual changes in the eco-physiological response parameters of CO2 fluxes to climatic drivers (global radiation and air temperature) was found along the course of the analysed period. Methane fluxes had a minor contribution to the carbon budget of the snow-free season representing on average an emission of 3.2 gC m-2 (2008-2016) with apparently small inter-annual variability. Similarly, the size of the carbon exported laterally from the ecosystem in the form of dissolved organic carbon flux amounted to 3.1 gC m-2 as determined experimentally. After including these last terms in the budget, the magnitude of the carbon sink associated with the net ecosystem productivity is reduced by 6%, while the GHG budget still denotes a sink of -60.4 ± 11.9 gC-CO2eq (methane GWP over 100-year time horizon). The monitored tundra was to date exerting a steady climate warming mitigation effect as far as the snow free season is concerned, however the figure of its carbon sink could be potentially sensibly lower due to overlooked emissions in the autumn freeze-up and early winter periods. Also, nonlinear accelerations in the permafrost degradation could happen once tipping points in the Arctic climate are exceeded. Both aspects underline the relevance of long term and continuous biogeochemical monitoring in permafrost tundra environments