Ludwig Koch and the Music of Nature

Ludwig Koch was a pioneer of outside broadcast, natural history recording in the first half of the 20th century. This programme explores his methods, techniques and personality through archive recordings and interviews, and includes attempts t recreating his experiments using modern equipment

A framework for the development of a global standardised marine taxon reference image database (SMarTaR-ID) to support image-based analyses

Video and image data are regularly used in the field of benthic ecology to document biodiversity. However, their use is subject to a number of challenges, principally the identification of taxa within the images without associated physical specimens. The challenge of applying traditional taxonomic keys to the identification of fauna from images has led to the development of personal, group, or institution level reference image catalogues of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) or morphospecies. Lack of standardisation among these reference catalogues has led to problems with observer bias and the inability to combine datasets across studies. In addition, lack of a common reference standard is stifling efforts in the application of artificial intelligence to taxon identification. Using the North Atlantic deep sea as a case study, we propose a database structure to facilitate standardisation of morphospecies image catalogues between research groups and support future use in multiple front-end applications. We also propose a framework for coordination of international efforts to develop reference guides for the identification of marine species from images. The proposed structure maps to the Darwin Core standard to allow integration with existing databases. We suggest a management framework where high-level taxonomic groups are curated by a regional team, consisting of both end users and taxonomic experts. We identify a mechanism by which overall quality of data within a common reference guide could be raised over the next decade. Finally, we discuss the role of a common reference standard in advancing marine ecology and supporting sustainable use of this ecosystem

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

The Effective Delivery of a Streaming Video Course Lecture

This study compares the effects of a faculty-read non-interactive streaming video lecture to the same lecture read by paid actors on student performance and perceptions. The scope of the study is limited to one learning objective of the first accounting course. No significant differences were found in student performance (n = 46), as measured by quiz grades, or student perceptions, as measured by a survey instrument, between the lectures read by faculty members and the lectures read by actors. These findings have implications for authors of online course content because the results suggest that the effectiveness of a non-interactive video presentation might not be dependent on the presenter. Faculty time might best be spent developing content with paid student actors going on-camera for recording the actual presentation.Streaming video lecture, online course,

Reliability, Sensitivity, and Specificity of the VA Traumatic Brain Injury Screening Tool

Item does not contain fulltextOBJECTIVE:: To provide item analyses, estimates of temporal reliability and internal consistency, and examination of the sensitivity and specificity of a traumatic brain injury-screening tool. PARTICIPANTS:: Five hundred veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan enrolled in the study, approximately half of whom (248) volunteered. The remaining 252 participants were referred to Veteran Affairs (VA) neuropsychology or polytrauma clinics. DESIGN:: This psychometric study constitutes part of a larger 4-year, multisite prospective cohort study of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. SETTING:: Five VA medical centers and one VA outpatient clinic. MAIN MEASURES:: Veteran traumatic brain injury screening tool (VATBIST), a structured diagnostic interview for traumatic brain injury; a military-oriented posttraumatic stress disorder checklist. RESULTS:: The VATBIST appeared to have high-internal consistency (0.77) and test-retest reliability (0.80), high sensitivity (0.94) and moderate specificity (0.59). Diagnostic odds ratios for the screening tool ranged from 12.6 for the total sample to 24, when veterans with probable posttraumatic stress disorder were excluded from analysis. CONCLUSIONS:: The VATBIST appears to be a reliable and valid instrument. The presence of significant posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, however, reduces the accuracy of the measure and highlights the need for careful clinical follow-up of persons who screen positive

Marine Litter Distribution and Density in European Seas, from the Shelves to Deep Basins

Anthropogenic litter is present in all marine habitats, from beaches to the most remote points in the oceans. On the seafloor, marine litter, particularly plastic, can accumulate in high densities with deleterious consequences for its inhabitants. Yet, because of the high cost involved with sampling the seafloor, no large-scale assessment of distribution patterns was available to date. Here, we present data on litter distribution and density collected during 588 video and trawl surveys across 32 sites in European waters. We found litter to be present in the deepest areas and at locations as remote from land as the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone across the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The highest litter density occurs in submarine canyons, whilst the lowest density can be found on continental shelves and on ocean ridges. Plastic was the most prevalent litter item found on the seafloor. Litter from fishing activities (derelict fishing lines and nets) was particularly common on seamounts, banks, mounds and ocean ridges. Our results highlight the extent of the problem and the need for action to prevent increasing accumulation of litter in marine environments

Litter items on the seafloor of European waters.

<p>A  =  Plastic bag entrapped by a small drop stone harbouring sponges (<i>Cladorhiza gelida</i>, <i>Caulophacus arcticus</i>), shrimps (<i>Bythocaris</i> sp.) and a crinoid (<i>Bathycrinus carpenterii</i>) recorded by an OFOS at the HAUSGARTEN observatory (Arctic) at 2500 m; B  =  Litter recovered within the net of a trawl in Blanes open slope at 1500 m during the PROMETO V cruise on board the R/V “García del Cid”; C  =  “Heineken” beer can in the upper Whittard canyon at 950 m water depth with the ROV Genesis; D  =  Plastic bag in Blanes Canyon at 896 m with the ROV “Liropus”; E  =  “Uncle Benn's Express Rice” packet at 967 m in Darwin Mound with the ROV “Lynx” (National Oceanography Centre, UK); F  =  Cargo net entangled in a cold-water coral colony at 950 m in Darwin Mound with the ROV “Lynx” (National Oceanography Centre, UK).</p