The Iceland Greenland Seas Project

A coordinated atmosphere-ocean research project, centered on a rare wintertime field campaign to the Iceland and Greenland Seas, seeks to determine the location and causes of dense water formation by cold-air outbreaks. The Iceland Greenland Seas Project (IGP) is a coordinated atmosphere-ocean research program investigating climate processes in the source region of the densest waters of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. During February and March 2018, a field campaign was executed over the Iceland and southern Greenland Seas that utilized a range of observing platforms to investigate critical processes in the region – including a research vessel, a research aircraft, moorings, sea gliders, floats and a meteorological buoy. A remarkable feature of the field campaign was the highly-coordinated deployment of the observing platforms, whereby the research vessel and aircraft tracks were planned in concert to allow simultaneous sampling of the atmosphere, the ocean and their interactions. This joint planning was supported by tailor-made convection-permitting weather forecasts and novel diagnostics from an ensemble prediction system. The scientific aims of the IGP are to characterize the atmospheric forcing and the ocean response of coupled processes; in particular, cold-air outbreaks in the vicinity of the marginal-ice zone and their triggering of oceanic heat loss, and the role of freshwater in the generation of dense water masses. The campaign observed the lifecycle of a long-lasting cold-air outbreak over the Iceland Sea and the development of a cold-air outbreak over the Greenland Sea. Repeated profiling revealed the immediate impact on the ocean, while a comprehensive hydrographic survey provided a rare picture of these subpolar seas in winter. A joint atmosphere-ocean approach is also being used in the analysis phase, with coupled observational analysis and coordinated numerical modelling activities underway

Neuromuscular disease genetics in under-represented populations: increasing data diversity

\ua9 The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain. Neuromuscular diseases (NMDs) affect ∼15 million people globally. In high income settings DNA-based diagnosis has transformed care pathways and led to gene-specific therapies. However, most affected families are in low-to-middle income countries (LMICs) with limited access to DNA-based diagnosis. Most (86%) published genetic data is derived from European ancestry. This marked genetic data inequality hampers understanding of genetic diversity and hinders accurate genetic diagnosis in all income settings. We developed a cloud-based transcontinental partnership to build diverse, deeply-phenotyped and genetically characterized cohorts to improve genetic architecture knowledge, and potentially advance diagnosis and clinical management. We connected 18 centres in Brazil, India, South Africa, Turkey, Zambia, Netherlands and the UK. We co-developed a cloud-based data solution and trained 17 international neurology fellows in clinical genomic data interpretation. Single gene and whole exome data were analysed via a bespoke bioinformatics pipeline and reviewed alongside clinical and phenotypic data in global webinars to inform genetic outcome decisions. We recruited 6001 participants in the first 43 months. Initial genetic analyses \u27solved\u27 or \u27possibly solved\u27 ∼56% probands overall. In-depth genetic data review of the four commonest clinical categories (limb girdle muscular dystrophy, inherited peripheral neuropathies, congenital myopathy/muscular dystrophies and Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophy) delivered a ∼59% \u27solved\u27 and ∼13% \u27possibly solved\u27 outcome. Almost 29% of disease causing variants were novel, increasing diverse pathogenic variant knowledge. Unsolved participants represent a new discovery cohort. The dataset provides a large resource from under-represented populations for genetic and translational research. In conclusion, we established a remote transcontinental partnership to assess genetic architecture of NMDs across diverse populations. It supported DNA-based diagnosis, potentially enabling genetic counselling, care pathways and eligibility for gene-specific trials. Similar virtual partnerships could be adopted by other areas of global genomic neurological practice to reduce genetic data inequality and benefit patients globally

Lessons Learned Developing a Diagnostic Tool for HIV-Associated Dementia Feasible to Implement in Resource-Limited Settings: Pilot Testing in Kenya

Objective: To conduct a preliminary evaluation of the utility and reliability of a diagnostic tool for HIV-associated dementia (HAD) for use by primary health care workers (HCW) which would be feasible to implement in resource-limited settings. Background: In resource-limited settings, HAD is an indication for anti-retroviral therapy regardless of CD4 T-cell count. Anti-retroviral therapy, the treatment for HAD, is now increasingly available in resource-limited settings. Nonetheless, HAD remains under-diagnosed likely because of limited clinical expertise and availability of diagnostic tests. Thus, a simple diagnostic tool which is practical to implement in resource-limited settings is an urgent need. Methods: A convenience sample of 30 HIV-infected outpatients was enrolled in Western Kenya. We assessed the sensitivity and specificity of a diagnostic tool for HAD as administered by a primary HCW. This was compared to an expert clinical assessment which included examination by a physician, neuropsychological testing, and in selected cases, brain imaging. Agreement between HCW and an expert examiner on certain tool components was measured using Kappa statistic. Results: The sample was 57 % male, mean age was 38.6 years, mean CD4 T-cell count was 323 cells/mL, and 54 % had less than a secondary school education. Six (20%) of the subjects were diagnosed with HAD by expert clinical assessment. The diagnostic tool was 63 % sensitive and 67 % specific for HAD. Agreement between HCW and expert examiners was poor for many individual items of the diagnostic tool (K =.03–.65). This diagnostic tool had moderate sensitivity and specificity fo

Novel, multi-platform acoustic and optical sensors and data services developed in the NeXOS project

The European Union FP7 project “Next generation, Cost- effective, Compact, Multifunctional Web Enabled Ocean Sensor Systems Empowering Marine, Maritime and Fisheries Management” (NeXOS, 2013-2017) focused on innovative approaches for two classes of insitu observations, acoustic and optical. Two types of innovative passive acoustic sensors were developed - one having a single detector with increased dynamic range and internal processing to reduce communication requirements and the other having an array of four such sensors providing directional capabilities. The optical sensors developed were Matrix fluorescence sensors, a minifluo fluorescence sensor, flow-through cavity absorption sensors, and sensors for monitoring the carbon system. Additionally, optical sensors for chlorophyll-a and dissolved oxygen were adapted for use in fisheries. The sensors were modified to enable plug-and-play capabilities on basis of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OCG) PUCK protocol embedded in the internal software of the sensor. This protocol ensures that measured data are accompanied by metadata describing the sensor and its history. The OGC Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) and the Sensor Observation Service (SOS) web server make data from the NeXOS sensors available in real-time to the end- users. The final demonstrations took place during summer of 2017 in the Northeast Atlantic, Central Atlantic and the Mediterranean. This manuscript presents the main outcomes of the project.Le projet FP7 de l'Union européenne «Systèmes de capteurs océaniques compatibles avec le Web de nouvelle génération, rentables, compacts et multifonctionnels permettant une gestion marine, maritime et des pêches» (NeXOS, 2013-2017) s'est concentré sur des approches innovantes pour deux classes d'observations in situ, acoustiques et optiques. . Deux types de capteurs acoustiques passifs innovants ont été développés - l'un ayant un seul détecteur avec une plage dynamique accrue et un traitement interne pour réduire les exigences de communication et l'autre ayant un réseau de quatre capteurs offrant des capacités directionnelles. Les capteurs optiques développés étaient des capteurs de fluorescence Matrix, un capteur de fluorescence minifluo, des capteurs d'absorption à cavité traversante et des capteurs pour surveiller le système de carbone. De plus, des capteurs optiques pour la chlorophylle-a et l'oxygène dissous ont été adaptés pour une utilisation dans les pêcheries. Les capteurs ont été modifiés pour permettre des capacités plug-and-play sur la base du protocole PUCK d'Open Geospatial Consortium (OCG) intégré dans le logiciel interne du capteur. Ce protocole garantit que les données mesurées sont accompagnées de métadonnées décrivant le capteur et son historique. Le logiciel OGC Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) et le serveur Web Sensor Observation Service (SOS) mettent les données des capteurs NeXOS à la disposition des utilisateurs finaux en temps réel. Les dernières manifestations ont eu lieu au cours de l'été 2017 dans l'Atlantique Nord-Est, l'Atlantique Centre et la Méditerranée. Ce manuscrit présente les principaux résultats du projet

Educational and spatial justice in rural and urban areas in three Nordic countries : A meta-ethnographic analysis

This article is based on a meta-ethnographic analysis of educational research from rural and urban areas in Finland, Norway and Sweden following the reorganisation of educational supply there in line with market policies. Edward Soja’s concept of spatial justice shapes the analysis. Using meta-ethnography, we try to present a contextualising narrative account of spatial justice and injustice in the education systems in the three countries. Thirtyone Nordic ethnographic publications (a mix of monographs, book chapters and articles) have been used in the meta-analysis. Just over half of them come from Sweden, and most are from urban education studies. The other half are relatively evenly divided between Norway and Finland. All were published between 2000 and 2017. Sweden represents an extreme position in relation to the new politics of education markets. Its promotion of school choice and schools-for-profit has attracted significant attention from ethnographic researchers in recent decades and is given particular attention in the article.Peer reviewe