Effects of Salinity on Reproduction and Survival of the Calanoid Copepod Pseudodiaptomus Pelagicus

Four experiments were conducted on the calanoid copepod, Pseudodiaptomus pelagicus, to determine the effects of salinity on survival, development time, reproductive output, and population growth in order to define the optimal salinity for culture. To determine the appropriate experimental salinity range we exposed nauplii and adults to abrupt salinity changes from 35 g/L to 5, 10, 15, 35, 42, and 48 g/L at 30 °C and determined survival after 24 hours. The second experiment stocked early stage nauplii into 1 L beakers after which they were cultured using standard procedures for 10 days at six salinities (10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 g/L); from this survival, sex ratio, time to maturation, and fecundity were measured. The third experiment evaluated the effects of salinity on brood size, brood interval, and nauplii production by stocking individual adult pairs and monitoring nauplii production daily for 10 days. The fourth experiment determined the effects of salinity on population growth and composition of the population produced by stocking 10 adult pairs and culturing them until five days after the first mature adults were observed. Results from the abrupt salinity change experiment showed nauplii survival decreased following abrupt changes in salinity from 35 g/L to \u3c 15 g/L and \u3e 35 g/L. Additionally, adults do not tolerate rapid changes in salinity from 35 g/L to \u3c 15 g/L but are rather tolerant of changes in salinity up to 48 g/L. Survival from early nauplii to adult was not significantly affected by salinity but survival declined at 35 g/L. Time to first maturation and maturation of the entire population was significantly influenced by salinity and took from 6.3 to 9.5 days. In the individual paired adults experiment, salinity significantly affected nauplii production by affecting brood interval and brood size. The percentage of ovigerous females peaked at 20 g/L and declined at salinities above and below this value. When developing production objectives, aquaculturists must consider salinity because of its numerous effects on the culture of P. pelagicus. The optimal salinity range to achieve high survival and the greatest nauplii production is 15–25 g/L

Cascading the use of Web 2.0 technology in secondary schools in the United Kingdom: identifying the barriers beyond pre-service training

This paper reports on research that took place at Nottingham Trent University and Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom, over two years. The research focuses on the use of Web 2.0 technology, specifically web logs, with pre-service teachers, both during their university programme and the first year of teaching as full-time newly qualified teachers (NQTs). The purpose of this research was to add a developing body of knowledge by identifying whether technology used by pre-service teachers during their training course can be cascaded into their practice once qualified. Key findings identify a number of enablers and barriers to cascading technology in the classroom; these include curriculum time, pupil skills and support. The research concludes that early professional support and development should be on-going and assumptions about new teachers as champions of cascading innovative use of Web 2 technologies into their practice as NQTs may be over optimisti

Determination of vancomycin and gentamicin clearance in an in vitro, closed loop dialysis system

Background\ud The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of utilizing an in-vitro, closed loop hemodialysis system as a method to assess drug clearance. Secondarily, this study tested the influence of variables (blood flow rate, dialysate flow rate, and type of filter) in the hemodialysis procedure on the clearance of vancomycin and gentamicin.\ud \ud Methods\ud An in-vitro, closed loop hemodialysis system was constructed. The vancomycin (30 mg/L) and gentamicin (25 mg/L) were added to a simulated blood system (SBS). Four conditions (C1-C4) were tested by defining the filter (Polyflux 170H or F180) and the blood and dialysate flow rates (BFR and DFR). All hemodialysis sessions were 3 hours in length and each condition was completed in duplicate. Dialysate effluent was collected in a 50 gallon polyethylene drum. Samples were collected (in duplicate) from the SBS and the dialysate effluent at baseline and at the end of the hemodialysis session. Samples were analyzed for vancomycin and gentamicin with an ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method.\ud \ud Results\ud A total of eight 3-hour hemodialysis sessions were conducted. For all tested conditions (C1-C4), vancomycin was undetectable in the SBS at the end of dialysis. However, total vancomycin recovery in the dialysis effluent was 85±18%, suggesting that up to 15% may have adsorbed to the dialysis filter or tubing. Gentamicin clearance from SBS was >98% in all tested conditions. Average gentamicin recovery in the dialysate effluent was 99±15%.\ud \ud Conclusion\ud Both vancomycin and gentamicin were readily removed by high-flux hemodialysis under all conditions studied. No significant differences in drug clearance were observed between conditions used in this in vitro study. The clinical implications of changing these hemodialysis parameters are unknown

Protonation state of glutamate 73 regulates the formation of a specific dimeric association of mVDAC1.

The voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) is the most abundant protein in the outer mitochondrial membrane and constitutes the primary pathway for the exchange of ions and metabolites between the cytosol and the mitochondria. There is accumulating evidence supporting VDAC's role in mitochondrial metabolic regulation and apoptosis, where VDAC oligomerization has been implicated with these processes. Herein, we report a specific pH-dependent dimerization of murine VDAC1 (mVDAC1) identified by double electron-electron resonance and native mass spectrometry. Intermolecular distances on four singly spin-labeled mVDAC1 mutants were used to generate a model of the low-pH dimer, establishing the presence of residue E73 at the interface. This dimer arrangement is different from any oligomeric state previously described, and it forms as a steep function of pH with an apparent pKa of 7.4. Moreover, the monomer-dimer equilibrium affinity constant was determined using native MS, revealing a nearly eightfold enhancement in dimerization affinity at low pH. Mutation of E73 to either alanine or glutamine severely reduces oligomerization, demonstrating the role of protonated E73 in enhancing dimer formation. Based on these results, and the known importance of E73 in VDAC physiology, VDAC dimerization likely plays a significant role in mitochondrial metabolic regulation and apoptosis in response to cytosolic acidification during cellular stress

Using keystroke logging to understand writers’ processes on a reading-into-writing test

Background Integrated reading-into-writing tasks are increasingly used in large-scale language proficiency tests. Such tasks are said to possess higher authenticity as they reflect real-life writing conditions better than independent, writing-only tasks. However, to effectively define the reading-into-writing construct, more empirical evidence regarding how writers compose from sources both in real-life and under test conditions is urgently needed. Most previous process studies used think aloud or questionnaire to collect evidence. These methods rely on participants’ perceptions of their processes, as well as their ability to report them. Findings This paper reports on a small-scale experimental study to explore writers’ processes on a reading-into-writing test by employing keystroke logging. Two L2 postgraduates completed an argumentative essay on computer. Their text production processes were captured by a keystroke logging programme. Students were also interviewed to provide additional information. Keystroke logging like most computing tools provides a range of measures. The study examined the students’ reading-into-writing processes by analysing a selection of the keystroke logging measures in conjunction with students’ final texts and interview protocols. Conclusions The results suggest that the nature of the writers’ reading-into-writing processes might have a major influence on the writer’s final performance. Recommendations for future process studies are provided

Subclinical thyroid dysfunction and depressive symptoms: protocol for a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies

INTRODUCTION: Prospective cohort studies on the association between subclinical thyroid dysfunction and depressive symptoms have yielded conflicting findings, possibly because of differences in age, sex, thyroid-stimulating hormone cut-off levels or degree of baseline depressive symptoms. Analysis of individual participant data (IPD) may help clarify this association. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will conduct a systematic review and IPD meta-analysis of prospective studies on the association between subclinical thyroid dysfunction and depressive symptoms. We will identify studies through a systematic search of the literature in the Ovid Medline, Ovid Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) databases from inception to April 2019 and from the Thyroid Studies Collaboration. We will ask corresponding authors of studies that meet our inclusion criteria to collaborate by providing IPD. Our primary outcome will be depressive symptoms at the first available individual follow-up, measured on a validated scale. We will convert all the scores to the Beck Depression Inventory scale. For each cohort, we will estimate the mean difference of depressive symptoms between participants with subclinical hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism and control adjusted for depressive symptoms at baseline. Furthermore, we will adjust our multivariable linear regression analyses for age, sex, education and income. We will pool the effect estimates of all studies in a random-effects meta-analysis. Heterogeneity will be assessed by I2. Our secondary outcomes will be depressive symptoms at a specific follow-up time, at the last available individual follow-up and incidence of depression at the first, last and at a specific follow-up time. For the binary outcome of incident depression, we will use a logistic regression model. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Formal ethical approval is not required as primary data will not be collected. Our findings will have considerable implications for patient care. We will seek to publish this systematic review and IPD meta-analysis in a high-impact clinical journal. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42018091627

Genetic determinants of cortical structure (thickness, surface area and volumes) among disease free adults in the CHARGE Consortium

Cortical thickness, surface area and volumes (MRI cortical measures) vary with age and cognitive function, and in neurological and psychiatric diseases. We examined heritability, genetic correlations and genome-wide associations of cortical measures across the whole cortex, and in 34 anatomically predefined regions. Our discovery sample comprised 22,824 individuals from 20 cohorts within the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) consortium and the United Kingdom Biobank. Significant associations were replicated in the Enhancing Neuroimaging Genetics through Meta-analysis (ENIGMA) consortium, and their biological implications explored using bioinformatic annotation and pathway analyses. We identified genetic heterogeneity between cortical measures and brain regions, and 160 genome-wide significant associations pointing to wnt/β-catenin, TGF-β and sonic hedgehog pathways. There was enrichment for genes involved in anthropometric traits, hindbrain development, vascular and neurodegenerative disease and psychiatric conditions. These data are a rich resource for studies of the biological mechanisms behind cortical development and aging

Doing politics in the recent Arab uprisings: Towards a political discourse analysis of the Arab Spring slogans

The present paper aims to analyse a number of those slogans collected from the sit-in quarters in Egypt, Libya and Yemen. Using political discourse analysis, it unravels various typical discourse structures and strategies that are used in slogans in the construction of a sub-genre of political discourse in the Arab world. Drawing data from several mediums, including banners, wall graffiti, audio-visual instruments, chanting, speeches and songs, this paper tries to show the extent to which the slogans serve as a medium by which political complaints and comments are dispensed and consumed. This paper draws on a rhetorical analysis to find out their persuasive effect on shaping the Arab intellect and on the change of the political atmosphere in the region. Lastly, this paper attempts to show to what extent the slogans meet the standards of political discourse and whether they can be considered as a sub-genre of political discourse or not.IS

ENIGMA and global neuroscience: A decade of large-scale studies of the brain in health and disease across more than 40 countries

This review summarizes the last decade of work by the ENIGMA (Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta Analysis) Consortium, a global alliance of over 1400 scientists across 43 countries, studying the human brain in health and disease. Building on large-scale genetic studies that discovered the first robustly replicated genetic loci associated with brain metrics, ENIGMA has diversified into over 50 working groups (WGs), pooling worldwide data and expertise to answer fundamental questions in neuroscience, psychiatry, neurology, and genetics. Most ENIGMA WGs focus on specific psychiatric and neurological conditions, other WGs study normal variation due to sex and gender differences, or development and aging; still other WGs develop methodological pipelines and tools to facilitate harmonized analyses of "big data" (i.e., genetic and epigenetic data, multimodal MRI, and electroencephalography data). These international efforts have yielded the largest neuroimaging studies to date in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorders, epilepsy, and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. More recent ENIGMA WGs have formed to study anxiety disorders, suicidal thoughts and behavior, sleep and insomnia, eating disorders, irritability, brain injury, antisocial personality and conduct disorder, and dissociative identity disorder. Here, we summarize the first decade of ENIGMA's activities and ongoing projects, and describe the successes and challenges encountered along the way. We highlight the advantages of collaborative large-scale coordinated data analyses for testing reproducibility and robustness of findings, offering the opportunity to identify brain systems involved in clinical syndromes across diverse samples and associated genetic, environmental, demographic, cognitive, and psychosocial factors