The George-Anne

Performers: Bob CrosbyPiano, Voice and Chord

Spatial and seasonal fluxes of the greenhouse gases N2O, CO2 and CH4 in a UK macrotidal estuary

The spatial and seasonal dynamics of surface water fluxes of the greenhouse gases (GHG) CO2, CH4, and N2O were quantified in the Tay estuary, Scotland, on seven sampling occasions every 3 months during 2009/2010. This estuary is a relatively pristine river-dominated macrotidal estuary system of a type that is sparsely represented in global GHG flux studies. Significant spatial and temporal variability in GHG fluxes were measured, with similar spatial dynamics to that of other European estuaries. Greatest temporal and spatial variability in gas saturations were found for CH4, which was higher in the summer, with peaks in saturation occurring in the freshwater upper estuary and sharply decreasing in the mid-estuary mixing zone. Concentrations of CO2 and N2O were also generally higher in the upper to middle estuary in summer, although seasonality was less pronounced. Estimated air-sea fluxes also displayed significant spatial and temporal variability. Total annual CO2 emissions were greatest in the middle estuary zone (13.8 × 106 kg C yr−1), and lowest in the upper estuary (1.52 × 106 kg C yr−1). Seasonally, the highest CO2 emissions integrated across the estuary were in spring and autumn, with the lowest in winter. Total annual CH4 emissions were also highest in the middle estuary (0.05 × 106 kg C yr−1) and lowest in the upper estuary (0.01 × 106 kg C yr−1), whereas total N2O emissions, whilst highest in the middle estuary (2344 kg N yr−1), were lowest in the outer estuary (−435 kg N yr−1). Emissions of CH4 and N2O were substantially higher in the summer than any other season and lowest emissions were found in winter. The estimated annual exchange of both CO2 and N2O is substantially lower than those reported in other European macrotidal estuaries

Finding music in music data : a summary of the DaCaRyH Project

The international research project, “Data science for the study of calypso-rhythm through history” (DaCaRyH), involved a collaboration between ethnomusicologists, computer scientists, and a composer. The primary aim of DaCaRyH was to explore how ethnomusicology could inform data science, and vice versa. Its secondary aim focused on creative applications of the results. This article summarises the results of the project, and more broadly discusses the benefits and challenges in such interdisciplinary research. It concludes with suggestions for reducing the barriers to similar work

Multi-ethnic genome-wide association study for atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) affects more than 33 million individuals worldwide and has a complex heritability. We conducted the largest meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for AF to date, consisting of more than half a million individuals, including 65,446 with AF. In total, we identified 97 loci significantly associated with AF, including 67 that were novel in a combined-ancestry analysis, and 3 that were novel in a European-specific analysis. We sought to identify AF-associated genes at the GWAS loci by performing RNA-sequencing and expression quantitative trait locus analyses in 101 left atrial samples, the most relevant tissue for AF. We also performed transcriptome-wide analyses that identified 57 AF-associated genes, 42 of which overlap with GWAS loci. The identified loci implicate genes enriched within cardiac developmental, electrophysiological, contractile and structural pathways. These results extend our understanding of the biological pathways underlying AF and may facilitate the development of therapeutics for AF

Twenty-three unsolved problems in hydrology (UPH) – a community perspective

This paper is the outcome of a community initiative to identify major unsolved scientific problems in hydrology motivated by a need for stronger harmonisation of research efforts. The procedure involved a public consultation through on-line media, followed by two workshops through which a large number of potential science questions were collated, prioritised, and synthesised. In spite of the diversity of the participants (230 scientists in total), the process revealed much about community priorities and the state of our science: a preference for continuity in research questions rather than radical departures or redirections from past and current work. Questions remain focussed on process-based understanding of hydrological variability and causality at all space and time scales. Increased attention to environmental change drives a new emphasis on understanding how change propagates across interfaces within the hydrological system and across disciplinary boundaries. In particular, the expansion of the human footprint raises a new set of questions related to human interactions with nature and water cycle feedbacks in the context of complex water management problems. We hope that this reflection and synthesis of the 23 unsolved problems in hydrology will help guide research efforts for some years to come

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Using RNA interference to identify genes required for RNA interference

RNA interference (RNAi) is a phenomenon in which double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) silences endogenous gene expression. By injecting pools of dsRNAs into Caenorhabditis elegans, we identified a dsRNA that acts as a potent suppressor of the RNAi mechanism. We have used coinjection of dsRNAs to identify four additional candidates for genes involved in the RNAi mechanism in C. elegans. Three of the genes are C. elegans mes genes, some of which encode homologs of the Drosophila chromatin-binding Polycomb-group proteins. We have used loss-of-function mutants to confirm a role for mes-3, -4, and -6 in RNAi. Interestingly, introducing very low levels of dsRNA can bypass a requirement for these genes in RNAi. The finding that genes predicted to encode proteins that associate with chromatin are involved in RNAi in C. elegans raises the possibility that chromatin may play a role in RNAi in animals, as it does in plants