Assessment of stress and nutritional biomarkers in cultured Octopus vulgaris paralarvae: Effects of geographical origin and dietary regime

The common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) is a promising species for aquaculture diversification, but massive mortality during the first life-cycle stages (paralarvae) is the main bottleneck for its commercial production in captivity. The aim of this study was to assess stress and nutritional condition biomarkers (HSP70, ROS enzymes and lipid peroxidation) (RNA/DNA, RNA/protein, protein/DNA and protein) inO.vulgarisparalarvae from different geographical origins and fed withArtemiaenriched with marine phospholipids or microalgae (control group). To this end paralarvae were cultured for 30days, in three different centres in Spain (Tarragona-Mediterranean area, Tenerife-Central Atlantic area and Vigo-North Atlantic area), under the same protocol, and fed onArtemiaenriched with marine phospholipids (LC60) (Marine Lecithin LC 60®, PhosphoTech Laboratoires) or microalgae (control group). Dry weight and most biomarkers analysed in hatchlings showed significant differences related to their origin (centre). Fifteen day old paralarvae presented significant differences in specific growth rate (SGR) associated with their dietary regime, and also showed differences in biomarkers associated both with their geographical origin and dietary regime. The results suggest that the SGR of paralarvae were positively influenced by LC60, promoting growth and in agreement with the results of nutritional condition biomarkers (nucleic acids ratios). The antioxidant defences against oxidative damage were also boosted in the LC60 paralarvae group, possibly as a result of the elevated content in highly polyunsaturated fatty acids. In addition, the partial correlations found between biomarkers varied according to diet. However, no positive effect of LC60 on survival was observed. The high variability found among geographical origins, despite the use of the same rearing protocol, highlights the need to clarify the sources of such variability

Forearm muscle oxidative capacity index predicts sport rock-climbing performance

Abstract: Rock-climbing performance is largely dependent on the endurance of the forearm flexors. Recently, it was reported that forearm flexor endurance in elite climbers is independent of the ability to regulate conduit artery (brachial) blood flow, suggesting that endurance is not primarily dependent on the ability of the brachial artery to deliver oxygen, but rather the ability of the muscle to perfuse and use oxygen, i.e., skeletal muscle oxidative capacity. Purpose: The aim of the study was to determine whether an index of oxidative capacity in the flexor digitorum profundus (FDP) predicts the best sport climbing red-point grade within the last 6 months. Participants consisted of 46 sport climbers with a range of abilities. Methods: Using near-infrared spectroscopy, the oxidative capacity index of the FDP was assessed by calculating the half-time for tissue oxygen resaturation (O2HTR) following 3–5 min of ischemia. Results: Linear regression, adjusted for age, sex, BMI, and training experience, revealed a 1-s decrease in O2HTR was associated with an increase in red-point grade by 0.65 (95 % CI 0.35–0.94, Adj R2 = 0.53). Conclusions: Considering a grade of 0.4 separated the top four competitors in the 2015 International Federation Sport Climbing World Cup, this finding suggests that forearm flexor oxidative capacity index is an important determinant of rock-climbing performance

Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV: mapping the Milky Way, nearby galaxies, and the distant universe

We describe the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV), a project encompassing three major spectroscopic programs. The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) is observing hundreds of thousands of Milky Way stars at high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratios in the near-infrared. The Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey is obtaining spatially resolved spectroscopy for thousands of nearby galaxies (median ). The extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) is mapping the galaxy, quasar, and neutral gas distributions between and 3.5 to constrain cosmology using baryon acoustic oscillations, redshift space distortions, and the shape of the power spectrum. Within eBOSS, we are conducting two major subprograms: the SPectroscopic IDentification of eROSITA Sources (SPIDERS), investigating X-ray AGNs and galaxies in X-ray clusters, and the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS), obtaining spectra of variable sources. All programs use the 2.5 m Sloan Foundation Telescope at the Apache Point Observatory; observations there began in Summer 2014. APOGEE-2 also operates a second near-infrared spectrograph at the 2.5 m du Pont Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, with observations beginning in early 2017. Observations at both facilities are scheduled to continue through 2020. In keeping with previous SDSS policy, SDSS-IV provides regularly scheduled public data releases; the first one, Data Release 13, was made available in 2016 July

Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV: Mapping the Milky Way, Nearby Galaxies, and the Distant Universe

We describe the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV), a project encompassing three major spectroscopic programs. The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) is observing hundreds of thousands of Milky Way stars at high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratios in the near-infrared. The Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey is obtaining spatially resolved spectroscopy for thousands of nearby galaxies (median $z\sim 0.03$). The extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) is mapping the galaxy, quasar, and neutral gas distributions between $z\sim 0.6$ and 3.5 to constrain cosmology using baryon acoustic oscillations, redshift space distortions, and the shape of the power spectrum. Within eBOSS, we are conducting two major subprograms: the SPectroscopic IDentification of eROSITA Sources (SPIDERS), investigating X-ray AGNs and galaxies in X-ray clusters, and the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS), obtaining spectra of variable sources. All programs use the 2.5 m Sloan Foundation Telescope at the Apache Point Observatory; observations there began in Summer 2014. APOGEE-2 also operates a second near-infrared spectrograph at the 2.5 m du Pont Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, with observations beginning in early 2017. Observations at both facilities are scheduled to continue through 2020. In keeping with previous SDSS policy, SDSS-IV provides regularly scheduled public data releases; the first one, Data Release 13, was made available in 2016 July

Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV : mapping the Milky Way, nearby galaxies, and the distant universe

We describe the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV), a project encompassing three major spectroscopic programs. The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) is observing hundreds of thousands of Milky Way stars at high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratios in the near-infrared. The Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey is obtaining spatially resolved spectroscopy for thousands of nearby galaxies (median z ~ 0.03). The extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) is mapping the galaxy, quasar, and neutral gas distributions between z ~ 0.6 and 3.5 to constrain cosmology using baryon acoustic oscillations, redshift space distortions, and the shape of the power spectrum. Within eBOSS, we are conducting two major subprograms: the SPectroscopic IDentification of eROSITA Sources (SPIDERS), investigating X-ray AGNs and galaxies in X-ray clusters, and the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS), obtaining spectra of variable sources. All programs use the 2.5 m Sloan Foundation Telescope at the Apache Point Observatory; observations there began in Summer 2014. APOGEE-2 also operates a second near-infrared spectrograph at the 2.5 m du Pont Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, with observations beginning in early 2017. Observations at both facilities are scheduled to continue through 2020. In keeping with previous SDSS policy, SDSS-IV provides regularly scheduled public data releases; the first one, Data Release 13, was made available in 2016 July

Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV: Mapping the Milky Way, Nearby Galaxies, and the Distant Universe

We describe the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV), a project encompassing three major spectroscopic programs. The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) is observing hundreds of thousands of Milky Way stars at high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio in the near-infrared. The Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey is obtaining spatially-resolved spectroscopy for thousands of nearby galaxies (median redshift of z = 0.03). The extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) is mapping the galaxy, quasar, and neutral gas distributions between redshifts z = 0.6 and 3.5 to constrain cosmology using baryon acoustic oscillations, redshift space distortions, and the shape of the power spectrum. Within eBOSS, we are conducting two major subprograms: the SPectroscopic IDentification of eROSITA Sources (SPIDERS), investigating X-ray AGN and galaxies in X-ray clusters, and the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS), obtaining spectra of variable sources. All programs use the 2.5-meter Sloan Foundation Telescope at Apache Point Observatory; observations there began in Summer 2014. APOGEE-2 also operates a second near-infrared spectrograph at the 2.5-meter du Pont Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, with observations beginning in early 2017. Observations at both facilities are scheduled to continue through 2020. In keeping with previous SDSS policy, SDSS-IV provides regularly scheduled public data releases; the first one, Data Release 13, was made available in July 2016

Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV: mapping the Milky Way, nearby galaxies, and the distant universe

We describe the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV), a project encompassing three major spectroscopic programs. The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) is observing hundreds of thousands of Milky Way stars at high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratios in the near-infrared. The Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey is obtaining spatially resolved spectroscopy for thousands of nearby galaxies (median ). The extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) is mapping the galaxy, quasar, and neutral gas distributions between and 3.5 to constrain cosmology using baryon acoustic oscillations, redshift space distortions, and the shape of the power spectrum. Within eBOSS, we are conducting two major subprograms: the SPectroscopic IDentification of eROSITA Sources (SPIDERS), investigating X-ray AGNs and galaxies in X-ray clusters, and the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS), obtaining spectra of variable sources. All programs use the 2.5 m Sloan Foundation Telescope at the Apache Point Observatory; observations there began in Summer 2014. APOGEE-2 also operates a second near-infrared spectrograph at the 2.5 m du Pont Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, with observations beginning in early 2017. Observations at both facilities are scheduled to continue through 2020. In keeping with previous SDSS policy, SDSS-IV provides regularly scheduled public data releases; the first one, Data Release 13, was made available in 2016 July

Teachers roles and training in intercultural education

Foreign language degree programmes have been engaged, more than ever, in an active dialogue with other disciplines (ethnography, anthropology, business, the arts among others) in an attempt to enrich their methodologies and content of the subject. In addition, these programmes have started to be delivered in innovative ICT-based environments, which have served as well as new means of communication in both local and international settings. These recent developments have enhanced the foreign language learning experience, but they have also highlighted important implications for the roles and responsibilities of foreign language teachers. This paper investigates to what extent new pedagogical theories on foreign language teaching have had an impact on our established models of teacher education. It focuses in particular on how effectively the intercultural agenda has been incorporated in language teacher education programmes. Our conclusions highlight a disparity between the speed at which the foreign language curriculum has been innovated and the impact this has had in teacher education. Unless teachers are given the opportunity to develop their own skills to help students to become intercultural speakers, the development of intercultural competence (IC) will remain as an objective yet to be fully achieved

Strategies for the development of multicultural competence in language learning

Over the past few years, the Open University (OU) has been involved in the development of a Spanish programme geared to students who want to learn the language at distance. The task has been a challenge not only because of the obvious difficulties that learning a language at a distance poses, but also because Spanish is a language spoken in three continents, by 21 countries and by at least as many cultures. The teaching of culture is therefore at the core of the development of the OU Spanish courses. It is an integral part of the syllabus, the writing of the materials and the development of strategies that will enable students to interact effectively in a multicultural setting. This paper will explore the main issues relating to the development of a language programme that gives equal importance to linguistic and cultural content, and will exemplify what the OU Spanish team has done in an attempt to address such issues

Language teacher education for intercultural understanding

Over recent decades language teaching and learning has undergone a redefinition of the subject and a rapid change in its methodology. Language programmes can now be delivered in technology based environments and communication at an international level can be a daily occurrence. This paper on the one hand analyses how these developments have extended and challenged the traditional roles and responsibilities of language teachers. On the other, it examines to what extent established models of language teacher education acknowledge and address the needs of language teachers today, in particular in relation to the integration of the intercultural dimension into language teaching and learning