Is Nitrogen a Major Stressor of Eelgrass (Zostera marina) in Puget Sound?

The deep, cold and well-flushed waters of Puget Sound, WA (USA) are experiencing areas of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) decline. Eelgrass faces anthropogenic stresses ranging from eutrophication and sedimentation to shoreline hardening, ship traffic, and aquaculture, which are currently being evaluated with a weight-of-evidence analysis. Since 2000, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources’ Submerged Vegetation Monitoring Program has assessed status and trends in eelgrass area and depth distribution throughout Puget Sound. Over this same time period, WA Department of Ecology has been monitoring nitrogen in the Sound’s waters; increasing concentrations of nitrate have been measured, linked to anthropogenic sources. The human-derived nitrogen comes on top of the already high background nitrogen level from the Pacific Ocean upwelling. The result is very high phytoplankton productivity, most evident in the more poorly flushed parts of the Sound. In many of these areas, nitrate concentrations have increased 4-10 times over the last 10 years while eelgrass beds have declined, with eelgrass losses seen at the deep edge where light is most limited. Nitrogen loading is by no means the only stressor impacting eelgrass in the Sound. Sediment loading also shades eelgrass and is derived from river input to the Sound and surface runoff that results from watershed deforestation, agriculture, and impervious surfaces, in addition to the fine sediment from glacial melting. There are a variety of additional direct physical impacts to eelgrass, including aquaculture, shoreline hardening, dredging and filling, boating and fishing practices, and overwater structures all contribute to direct physical impacts on eelgrass and each was evaluated in terms of its spatial extent and type of threat. The weight-of-evidence analysis shows that the nitrogen stressor has the broadest spatial extent and most lethal impacts to eelgrass and is the primary stressor of eelgrass in Puget Sound. The Puget Sound Partnership’s goal of a 20% increase in eelgrass area by 2020 cannot be achieved with existing management practices; the stresses on eelgrass must be reduced to create gains in eelgrass area and insure the health of Puget Sound

Estimating adolescent sleep patterns: parent reports versus adolescent self-report surveys, sleep diaries, and actigraphy

In research and clinical contexts, parent reports are often used to gain information about the sleep patterns of their adolescents; however, the degree of concordance between parent reports and adolescent-derived measures is unclear. The present study compares parent estimates of adolescent sleep patterns with adolescent self-reports from surveys and sleep diaries, together with actigraphy. Methods: A total of 308 adolescents (59% male) aged 13–17 years completed a school sleep habits survey during class time at school, followed by a 7-day sleep diary and wrist actigraphy. Parents completed the Sleep, Medical, Education and Family History Survey. Results: Parents reported an idealized version of their adolescent’s sleep, estimating significantly earlier bedtimes on both school nights and weekends, significantly later wake times on weekends, and significantly more sleep than either the adolescent self-reported survey, sleep diary, or actigraphic estimates. Conclusion: Parent reports indicate that the adolescent averages a near-optimal amount of sleep on school nights and a more than optimal amount of sleep on weekends. However, adolescent-derived averages indicate patterns of greater sleep restriction. These results illustrate the importance of using adolescent-derived estimates of sleep patterns in this age group and the importance of sleep education for both adolescents and their parents

The genome sequence of the cabbage moth, Mamestra brassicae (Linnaeus, 1758)

We present a genome assembly from an individual male Mamestra brassicae (the Cabbage Moth; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Noctuidae). The genome sequence is 576.2 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into 31 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the Z sex chromosome. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 15.38 kilobases in length. Gene annotation of this assembly on Ensembl identified 12,891 protein coding genes

The Iowa Homemaker vol.31, no.6

The Wiles of Pammel, Dorothy Strickland, page 5 Alaska, Peggy McClaren, page 6 Who’s You, Carol Dee Legg, page 8 Her Classroom Is State-Wide, Nancy Voss, page 9 Make Your Own Jewelry, Barbara Short, page 10 What’s New, Constance Cornwell and Harriet LaRue, page 11 It’s Your T-V, Dorothy Owen, page 12 Information, Please, Jean McGhie, Darleen Bornschein, page 13 Marjorie S. Garfield, Jean Goul, page 15 Trends, Ruth Anderson, page 1

Contribution of retrotransposition to developmental disorders.

Mobile genetic Elements (MEs) are segments of DNA which can copy themselves and other transcribed sequences through the process of retrotransposition (RT). In humans several disorders have been attributed to RT, but the role of RT in severe developmental disorders (DD) has not yet been explored. Here we identify RT-derived events in 9738 exome sequenced trios with DD-affected probands. We ascertain 9 de novo MEs, 4 of which are likely causative of the patient's symptoms (0.04%), as well as 2 de novo gene retroduplications. Beyond identifying likely diagnostic RT events, we estimate genome-wide germline ME mutation rate and selective constraint and demonstrate that coding RT events have signatures of purifying selection equivalent to those of truncating mutations. Overall, our analysis represents a comprehensive interrogation of the impact of retrotransposition on protein coding genes and a framework for future evolutionary and disease studies

Resource Characterization of Sites in the Vicinity of an Island near a Landmass

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Renewable energy technologies are undergoing rapid development, the global aim being to achieve energy security and lower carbon emissions. Of marine renewable energy sources, tidal power has inherent predictability and large theoretical potential, estimated to exceed 8000 (TW h)a−1 in coastal basins. Coastal sites in the vicinity of an island near a landmass are prime candidates for tidal stream power exploitation by arrays of turbines. This paper characterizes numerically the upper limit to power extraction of turbines installed at such sites. It is demonstrated that the maximum power extracted from the strait is generally not well approximated by either the power dissipated naturally at the seabed or the undisturbed kinetic power of flow in the strait. An analytical channel model [C. Garrett and P. Cummins, “The power potential of tidal currents in channels,” Proc. R. Soc. A Math. Phys. Eng. Sci., vol. 461, no. 2060, pp. 2563–2572, Aug. 2005] provides lower predictions than the present numerical model of available power in the strait due to the analytical model not accounting for changes to the driving head resulting from power extraction and flow diversion offshore of the island. For geometrically long islands extending parallel to the landmass, the numerically predicted extracted power is satisfactorily approximated by the power naturally dissipated at the seabed, and there is reasonable agreement with the estimate by the channel analytical model. It is found that the results are sensitive to choice of boundary conditions used for the coastlines, the eddy viscosity, and bed friction. Increased offshore depth and lower blockage both reduce the maximum power extracted from the strait. The results indicate that power extracted from the site can be maximum if extraction is implemented both in the strait and offshore of the island. Presence of the landmass and increasing island dimensions both enhance power extraction.This work was supported by General Electric Renewable Energy with funding from the ETI and the EPSRC through the Industrial Doctoral Centre for Offshore Renewable Energy (EP/J500847/1). The authors would like to thank the Applied Modelling and Computation Group at Imperial College of London for free access to the software Fluidity and their support