Genomic evidence of past and future climate-linked loss in a migratory Arctic fish

Acknowledgements We thank staff of the Newfoundland DFO Salmonids section, Parks Canada, the Nunatsiavut Government, the NunatuKavut Community Council, the Sivunivut Inuit Community Corporation, the Innu Nation, the Labrador Hunting and Fishing Association and fishers for their support, participation and tissue collections and the staff of the Aquatic Biotechnology Lab at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography for DNA extractions. This study was supported by the Ocean Frontier Institute, a Genomics Research and Development Initiative (GRDI) Grant, a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Discovery Grant and Strategic Project Grant to I.R.B., the Weston Family Award for research at the Torngat Mountains Base Camp and an Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and Department of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation grant allocated to the Labrador Institute. Author Correction: Layton, K.K.S., Snelgrove, P.V.R., Dempson, J.B. et al. Author Correction: Genomic evidence of past and future climate-linked loss in a migratory Arctic fish. Nat. Clim. Chang. 11, 551 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-021-01023-8Peer reviewedPostprin

Resolving fine-scale population structure and fishery exploitation using sequenced microsatellites in a northern fish

Funding Information Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Strategic Project Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and Department of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation grants allocated to the Labrador Institute (MC) Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Genomics Research and Development Initiative (GRDI) Weston Family AwardPeer reviewedPublisher PD

Refining the Choosing Health Infant feeding for Infant Health intervention and implementation strategy: Re-CHErIsH Study Protocol

BackgroundChildhood obesity is a significant global public health challenge, with significant adverse effects on both mental and physical health outcomes. During the period from birth to one-year, modifiable caregiver behaviours, such as what, how and when infants are fed, can influence obesity development and prevention. The Choosing Healthy Eating for Infant Health (CHErIsH) intervention was developed to support healthy infant feeding practices to prevent childhood obesity in the first year. A feasibility study examined acceptability and feasibility of the CHErIsH intervention in primary care and identified key challenges and possible areas for refinement of the intervention and trial processes. The current project aims to refine delivery of the CHErIsH intervention and trial processes to maximise the likelihood of successful future implementation and evaluation.MethodsThis study will utilise a mixed-methods approach and will be conducted in three phases. In Phase 1 potential refinements to the CHErIsH intervention delivery and trial processes will be developed from a review of the feasibility study findings and input from the multidisciplinary team. An online mixed-methods survey will be conducted in Phase 2 to evaluate caregiver attitudes about the proposed refinements from Phase 1. Participants will be pregnant women, their partners, and/or parents/primary caregivers of infants up to 2-years of age, based in Ireland. Participants will be recruited using convenience and snowball sampling. In Phase 3 a stakeholder consensus meeting, using the nominal group technique, will be conducted to agree the refined intervention and trial processes. Stakeholders will include healthcare professionals, researchers, policymakers, and parents/caregivers, who will discuss and rate refinements in terms of preference.ConclusionsFindings from this study will address uncertainties in the intervention delivery and trial processes of the CHErIsH intervention, with the potential to maximise the likelihood of successful future implementation and evaluation of a primary-care based obesity prevention intervention

Factors influencing use and choice of Core Outcome Sets and outcome measurement instruments in trials of interventions to prevent childhood obesity: A survey protocol

BackgroundTwo core outcome sets for childhood obesity prevention have been developed; standardised sets of outcome measurement instruments for these core outcome sets are currently being developed. Core outcome sets and standardised measurement sets can reduce heterogeneity and improve evidence syntheses for trials of interventions to prevent childhood obesity and/or interventions to improve child health behaviours related to childhood obesity. Such benefits are only realised if core outcome sets and standardised measurement sets are used in trials. The aims of this study are 1) to examine trialists’ awareness and attitudes towards the two existing core outcome sets and factors influencing their use; 2) to explore the characteristics of outcome measurement instruments that trialists currently use; and 3) to better understand how trialists choose outcome measurement instruments and the factors that influence those choices.MethodsA cross-sectional online survey will be conducted with researchers involved in the design and/or conduct of trials of interventions to prevent childhood obesity and/or to improve child health behaviours related to childhood obesity, in children aged 0 to 5 years (trialists). Trialists will be recruited using purposive sampling, and will complete a 22-item survey examining trialist characteristics, awareness of the existing core outcome sets, factors influencing use of the existing core outcome sets, characteristics of measurement instruments, how trialists choose measurement instruments, and factors influencing choice of measurement instrument. Quantitative data will be analysed descriptively; responses to open-ended questions will be analysed using qualitative content analysis.ConclusionsFindings from this study will inform approaches to maximising use of core outcome sets and standardised measurement sets for childhood obesity prevention. Use of standardised approaches to what and how outcomes are measured in this area will reduce heterogeneity and research waste and enhance evidence syntheses to better determine intervention effects

Differential Effects of p38, MAPK, PI3K or Rho Kinase Inhibitors on Bacterial Phagocytosis and Efferocytosis by Macrophages in COPD

Pulmonary inflammation and bacterial colonization are central to the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Defects in macrophage phagocytosis of both bacteria and apoptotic cells contribute to the COPD phenotype. Small molecule inhibitors with anti-inflammatory activity against p38 mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPKs), phosphatidyl-inositol-3 kinase (PI3K) and Rho kinase (ROCK) are being investigated as novel therapeutics in COPD. Concerns exist, however, about off-target effects. We investigated the effect of p38 MAPK inhibitors (VX745 and SCIO469), specific inhibitors of PI3K α (NVS-P13K-2), δ (NVS-P13K-3) or γ (NVS-P13K-5) and a ROCK inhibitor PF4950834 on macrophage phagocytosis, early intracellular killing of bacteria and efferocytosis of apoptotic neutrophils. Alveolar macrophages (AM) obtained from broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL) or monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) from COPD patients (GOLD stage II/III) enrolled from a well characterized clinical cohort (MRC COPD-MAP consortium) or from healthy ex-smoker controls were studied. Both COPD AM and MDM exhibited lower levels of bacterial phagocytosis (using Streptococcus pneumoniae and non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae) and efferocytosis than healthy controls. None of the inhibitors altered bacterial internalization or early intracellular bacterial killing in AM or MDM. Conversely PF4950834, but not other inhibitors, enhanced efferocytosis in COPD AM and MDM. These results suggest none of these inhibitors are likely to exacerbate phagocytosis-related defects in COPD, while confirming ROCK inhibitors can enhance efferocytosis in COPD

Alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs, and sex: An analysis of risky behaviors among Young adults

This paper reexamines data from two previous surveys. It looks at self-reported alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use and sexual risk-taking among three subgroups of young adults. All subjects (N = 1,387) were aged 20-30. The samples consisted of nurses in the Lothian Region, and residents in Muirhouse (Edinburgh) and Easterhouse (Glasgow). Factor analysis revealed that risk-taking behavior was neither entirely general nor entirely specific. Although there was some tendency for a risk-taker in one area to be a risk-taker in others, five fairly distinct types of risk-taking could be distinguished. These included sexual risk-taking, illicit use of drugs, and excessive alcohol consumption. The samples differed in the extent to which they indulged in the different types of risk-taking, and various other predictors of these behaviors were found. Different patterns of association emerged in relation to specific subgroups of respondents. © 1995 Informa UK Ltd All rights reserved: reproduction in whole or part not permitted

Queen’s Communities and Place: towards the alignment of higher education place-based strategy with local need

Serving as a key delivery mechanism for Queen’s University Belfast’s (UK) strategic commitment to social and civic responsibility and economic prosperity, Queen’s Communities and Place is a research initiative based on engagement and partnership between communities, policy makers and academics. Combining academic expertise and experiential knowledge from the community, Queen’s Communities and Place uses a ‘place-based’ approach to co-create new solutions to address persistent physical, economic and social challenges, as well as to strengthen the engagement between Queen’s University and its surrounding communities. Queen’s Communities and Place launched in November 2021 with our anchor partner in the Market community in inner south Belfast. We are also working collaboratively with projects and communities in the north, west and east of Belfast across a range of sectors and academic disciplines. We have sought to challenge existing frameworks, with evidence-led, data-driven approaches to build interventions and practices together to identify what might work better here for communities to thrive. Capturing three perspectives – academic, community and local government – this co-written reflective article details the experience of establishing a working partnership with our pilot community, and provides some examples of how our approach is working to address the challenges on the ground to date