Teaching, learning and assessing generic scientific skills early in an undergraduate degree

Learning goals related to generic scientific skills often appear in courses ranging from basic nature-of-science courses to specialized graduate courses. This presentation focuses upon impacts on second year students of a course designed expressly to promote skills associated with critical scientific thinking, synthesis and presentation, and framing of scientific arguments or questions. Based on best practices from the literature, specific aspects of scientific expertise were first identified and corresponding learning goals were articulated. Then, learning activities and assessments were developed based on an active, team-based approach to learning and instruction. Examples include workshops on reading, writing and question posing; regular journal readings with synthesis and questioning assignments; team-based quizzing and data analysis exercises; discursive rather than didactic instruction; oral and poster-based presentation projects with peer assessment; and pre-post assessments of model-based reasoning skills. Success was measured based on student improvements at these tasks and several types of student feedback.First we will present our experiences designing, developing and assessing this course. Results include demonstrable improvements in model-based reasoning, abstract writing, questioning abilities and student attitudes towards scientific communication. Particular attention will be paid to the challenging task of teaching and measuring question posing abilities. If time permits, a short activity will be included aimed at identifying opportunities for transferring lessons we have learned into courses taught by others. We anticipate that discussions with colleagues will contribute towards understanding and refinement of learning goals and pedagogies that increase scientific expertise among undergraduate science students

A record of aerobic methane oxidation in tropical Africa over the last 2.5 Ma

Methane and CO2 are climatically active greenhouse gases (GHG) and are powerful drivers of rapid global warming. Comparable to the Arctic, the tropics store large volumes of labile sedimentary carbon that is vulnerable to climate change. However, little is known about this labile carbon reservoir, in particular the behaviour of high methane–producing environments (e.g. wetlands), and their role in driving or responding to past periods of global climate change. In this study, we use a microbial biomarker approach that traces continental aerobic methane oxidation (AMO) from sedimentary organic matter in deep-sea fan sediments off the Congo River to reconstruct the link between central African methane cycling and continental export during key periods of global Pleistocene warmth. We use 35-amino bacteriohopanepolyols (BHPs), specifically aminobacteriohopane-31,32,33,34-tetrol (aminotetrol) and 35-aminobacteriohopane-30,31,32,33,34-pentol (aminopentol) as diagnostic molecular markers for AMO (CH4 oxidation markers) and the prevalence of continental wetland environments. BHPs were analysed in sediments from the Congo fan (ODP 1075) dated to 2.5 Ma. High resolution studies of key warm marine isotope stages (MIS) 5, 11 and 13 are included to test the relationship between CH4 oxidation markers in sediments at different levels of elevated global atmospheric GHG

A community change in the algal endosymbionts of a scleractinian coral following a natural bleaching event: field evidence of acclimatization

The symbiosis between reef-building corals and their algal endosymbionts (zooxanthellae of the genus Symbiodinium) is highly sensitive to temperature stress, which makes coral reefs vulnerable to climate change. Thermal tolerance in corals is known to be substantially linked to the type of zooxanthellae they harbour and, when multiple types are present, the relative abundance of types can be experimentally manipulated to increase the thermal limits of individual corals. Although the potential exists for this to translate into substantial thermal acclimatization of coral communities, to date there is no evidence to show that this takes place under natural conditions. In this study, we show field evidence of a dramatic change in the symbiont community of Acropora millepora, a common and widespread Indo-Pacific hard coral species, after a natural bleaching event in early 2006 in the Keppel Islands (Great Barrier Reef). Before bleaching, 93.5% (n=460) of the randomly sampled and tagged colonies predominantly harboured the thermally sensitive Symbiodinium type C2, while the remainder harboured a tolerant Symbiodinium type belonging to clade D or mixtures of C2 and D. After bleaching, 71% of the surviving tagged colonies that were initially C2 predominant changed to D or C1 predominance. Colonies that were originally C2 predominant suffered high mortality (37%) compared with D-predominant colonies (8%). We estimate that just over 18% of the original A. millepora population survived unchanged leaving 29% of the population C2 and 71% D or C1 predominant six months after the bleaching event. This change in the symbiont community structure, while it persists, is likely to have substantially increased the thermal tolerance of this coral population. Understanding the processes that underpin the temporal changes in symbiont communities is key to assessing the acclimatization potential of reef corals

Global inequities and political borders challenge nature conservation under climate change

Underlying sociopolitical factors have emerged as important determinants of wildlife population trends and the effectiveness of conservation action. Despite mounting research into the impacts of climate change on nature, there has been little consideration of the human context in which these impacts occur, particularly at the global scale. We investigate this in two ways. First, by modeling the climatic niches of terrestrial mammals and birds globally, we show that projected species loss under climate change is greatest in countries with weaker governance and lower Gross Domestic Product, with loss of mammal species projected to be greater in countries with lower CO2 emissions. Therefore, climate change impacts on species may be disproportionately significant in countries with lower capacity for effective conservation and lower greenhouse gas emissions, raising important questions of international justice. Second, we consider the redistribution of species in the context of political boundaries since the global importance of transboundary conservation under climate change is poorly understood. Under a high-emissions scenario, we find that 35% of mammals and 29% of birds are projected to have over half of their 2070 climatic niche in countries in which they are not currently found. We map these transboundary range shifts globally, identifying borders across which international coordination might most benefit conservation and where physical border barriers, such as walls and fences, may be an overlooked obstacle to climate adaptation. Our work highlights the importance of sociopolitical context and the utility of a supranational perspective for 21st century nature conservation

Quantum feedback with weak measurements

The problem of feedback control of quantum systems by means of weak measurements is investigated in detail. When weak measurements are made on a set of identical quantum systems, the single-system density matrix can be determined to a high degree of accuracy while affecting each system only slightly. If this information is fed back into the systems by coherent operations, the single-system density matrix can be made to undergo an arbitrary nonlinear dynamics, including for example a dynamics governed by a nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation. We investigate the implications of such nonlinear quantum dynamics for various problems in quantum control and quantum information theory, including quantum computation. The nonlinear dynamics induced by weak quantum feedback could be used to create a novel form of quantum chaos in which the time evolution of the single-system wave function depends sensitively on initial conditions.Comment: 11 pages, TeX, replaced to incorporate suggestions of Asher Pere

The transfer of fibres in the carding machine

The problem of understanding the transfer of fibres between carding-machine surfaces is addressed by considering the movement of a single fibre in an airflow. The structure of the aerodynamic flow field predicts how and when fibres migrate between the different process surfaces. In the case of a revolving-flats carding machine the theory predicts a “strong” aerodynamic mechanism between taker-in and cylinder and a “weak” mechanism between cylinder and removal cylinder resulting in effective transfer in the first case and a more limited transfer in the second

River Invertebrate Classification Tool

Background to research The Regulatory Agencies in the UK (the Environment Agency; Scottish Environment Protection Agency; and the Environment & Heritage Service) currently use RIVPACS III+ software to classify the ecological quality of rivers. However, because RIVPACS III+ pre-dates the WFD, there has been a requirement to ensure that the RIVPACS reference sites are fully WFD compliant, to add new biotic indices to the RIVPACS models, and to improve the robustness of the RIVPACS software to fully meet the needs of the Agencies in their delivery of WFD monitoring. These issues have been addressed in this project and have led to the development of new RIVPACS IV predictive models that will be programmed into a new River Invertebrate Classification Tool being built by SEPA. This new system will be based on a modern software programming language, be compatible with the agencies’ computer systems and include the ability to predict new biological indices, produce biological status assessments based on these new indices and be able to estimate the errors involved in using these new indices. Because access to the new system will be essential for the UK Agencies to be able to implementation the WFD, the new tool will be readily and freely available to anyone who might seek to use it. Objectives of research • The overall objective of the project was to produce a new set of RIVPACS predictive models for use within a new River Invertebrate Classification Tool that will be used to classify the ecological status of rivers for Water Framework Directive compliance monitoring • The new RIVPACS models constructed with this project required considerably enhanced functionality compared to RIVPACS III+ to properly address the monitoring requirements of the UK Agencies in their implementation of the Water Framework Directive. Key findings and recommendations This project has produced new RIVPACS IV models with considerably enhanced functionality compared to RIVPACS III+. These models incorporate: • A full revision of the taxonomic framework of RIVPACS to bring the taxonomy up-to-date and enable compatiability across the revised Miatland, Furse code and National Biodiversity Network taxon coding systems used across the UK Agencies and beyond • Predictions that fully satisfy the WFD definition of ‘reference condition’ by adjusting predictions for certain stream types and by removal of sites that were not in reference condition when sampled • Allocation of actual abundance values to family level records in the RIVPACS reference data set. Lack of actual abundance data, especially at family level, has affected all versions of RIVPACS and has constrained the types of biotic indices that RIVPACS can predict • Extension to the suite of biotic indices so that the new system can predict a wider range of reference state “expected” index values. This enables full WFD quality reporting capabilities as well as providing the system with the general functionality to predict a much wider range of indices e.g. intercalibration indices (e.g. ICMi), stress-specific indices, and ecological and functional trait indices • Extension of the uncertainty/errors module to estimate and assess uncertainty in (i) assignment to status class and (ii) comparison of samples for temporal change in quality and status. This needs to be done for a wider range of biotic indices (including those incorporating abundance data) These new RIVPACS IV models can be used by the UK Agencies across Great Britain and Northern Ireland in their WFD compliance monitoring. All of the algorithms, variables and data necessary to build these models have been provided to SEPA for programming into a new River Invertebrate Classification Tool that will be disseminated made free of charge to all interested user

Ab initio calculation of the neutron-proton mass difference

The existence and stability of atoms rely on the fact that neutrons are more massive than protons. The measured mass difference is only 0.14\% of the average of the two masses. A slightly smaller or larger value would have led to a dramatically different universe. Here, we show that this difference results from the competition between electromagnetic and mass isospin breaking effects. We performed lattice quantum-chromodynamics and quantum-electrodynamics computations with four nondegenerate Wilson fermion flavors and computed the neutron-proton mass-splitting with an accuracy of $300$ kilo-electron volts, which is greater than $0$ by $5$ standard deviations. We also determine the splittings in the $\Sigma$, $\Xi$, $D$ and $\Xi_{cc}$ isospin multiplets, exceeding in some cases the precision of experimental measurements.Comment: 57 pages, 15 figures, 6 tables, revised versio

Urinary active transforming growth factor ß in feline chronic kidney disease

The cytokine transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) has been widely implicated in the development and progression of renal fibrosis in chronic kidney disease (CKD) in humans and in experimental models. The aims of this study were to assess the association between urinary active TGF-β1 and (a) development of CKD in a cross-sectional study, (b) deterioration of renal function over 1 year in a longitudinal study, and (c) renal histopathological parameters in cats. A human active TGF-β1 ELISA was validated for use in feline urine. Cross-sectional analysis revealed no significant difference in urinary active TGF-β1:creatinine ratio (aTGF-β1:UCr) between groups with differing renal function. Longitudinally, non-azotaemic cats that developed CKD demonstrated a significant (P = 0.028) increase in aTGF-β1:UCr approximately 6 months before the development of azotaemia, which remained elevated (P = 0.046) at diagnosis (approximately 12 months prior, 8.4 pg/mg; approximately 6 months prior, 22.2 pg/mg; at CKD diagnosis, 24.6 pg/mg). In the histopathology study, aTGF-β1:UCr was significantly higher in cats with moderate (P = 0.02) and diffuse (P = 0.005) renal fibrosis than in cats without fibrosis. Cats with moderate renal inflammation had significantly higher urinary active aTGF-β1 concentrations than cats with mild (P = 0.035) or no inflammatory change (P = 0.004). The parameter aTGF-β1:UCr was independently associated with Log urine protein:creatinine ratio in a multivariable analysis of clinicopathological parameters and interstitial fibrosis score in a multivariable analysis of histopathological features. These results suggest that urinary aTGF-β1 reflects the severity of renal pathology. Increases in urinary aTGF-β1 followed longitudinally in individual cats may indicate the development of CKD