Acid-adaption by a medic microsymbiont: new insights from the genome of Sinorhizobium medicae WSM419

The poor availability of nitrogen is one of the principal factors limiting global biomass. Legumes are vital components of agricultural systems because of their ability to associate symbiotically with root nodule bacteria (RNB) and subsequently fix atmospheric nitrogen to a form that can be utilised by the plant partner. Furthermore, this symbiotic relationship provides available soil nitrogen for subsequent non-leguminous crops. This RNB-legume interaction is affected by a number of environmental factors. Progressive acidification of agricultural soils is one of the big challenges in agriculture as soil acidity negatively impacts legume productivity. One genus of RNB, Sinorhizobium, is particularly acid-sensitive causing a major reduction in Medicago productivity in acidic soils. Due to the importance of Medic pasture production, alternative strains have been captured, and are still being captured, from the genetic pool that display superior acid tolerance characteristics. This presentation will focus on the acid-tolerant species S. medicae (previously known as S. meliloti) and in particular on the previously used commercial inoculant WSM419

Tackling overdiagnosis : supporting the re-emergence of generalist expertise

Overdiagnosis – the problem of too much medicine (1) - is big business. Literally so, as described in the writing offered by the pharmaceuticalisation and medicalisation critiques (2). Transforming ever more of human existence in to a medical condition to be diagnosed and treated offers promise of ever greater market share to big companies around the world. But also figuratively speaking, if we look at the growing array of papers, journals, and conferences which discuss and debate the phenomenon

The Stratigraphic Record of Pre-breakup Geodynamics: Evidence from the Barrow Delta, offshore Northwest Australia

The structural and stratigraphic evolution of rift basins and passive margins has been widely studied, with many analyses demonstrating that delta systems can provide important records of post-rift geodynamic processes. However, the apparent lack of ancient syn-breakup delta systems and the paucity of seismic imaging across continent-ocean boundaries means the transition from continental rifting to oceanic spreading remains poorly understood. The Early Cretaceous Barrow Group of the North Carnarvon Basin, offshore NW Australia was a major deltaic system that formed during the latter stages of continental rifting, and represents a rich sedimentary archive, documenting uplift, subsidence and erosion of the margin. We use a regional database of 2D and 3D seismic and well data to constrain the internal architecture of the Barrow Group. Our results highlight three major depocentres: the Exmouth and Barrow sub-basins, and southern Exmouth Plateau. Over-compaction of pre-Cretaceous sedimentary rocks in the South Carnarvon Basin, and pervasive reworking of Permian and Triassic palynomorphs in the offshore Barrow Group, suggests that the onshore South Carnarvon Basin originally contained a thicker sedimentary succession, which was uplifted and eroded prior to breakup. Backstripping of sedimentary successions encountered in wells in the Exmouth Plateau depocentre indicate anomalously rapid tectonic subsidence (≤0.24 mm yr-1) accommodated Barrow Group deposition, despite evidence for minimal, contemporaneous upper crustal extension. Our results suggest that classic models of uniform extension cannot account for the observations of uplift and subsidence in the North Carnarvon Basin, and may indicate a period of depth-dependent extension or dynamic topography preceding breakup

Tests of reproductive-skew models in social insects.

Reproductive-skew theory can be broadly divided into transactional models, in which reproduction is shared among group members in return for some fitness benefit, and tug-of-war models, in which reproductive sharing arises solely from an inability of each group member to fully control the others. For small-colony social insects in which complete reproductive control by a single individual is plausible, transactional-concession models account, better than any other existing model, for observed relationships between each of the dependent variables of skew, changes in reproductive partitioning over time, group size, and within-group aggression, and each of the predictor variables of genetic relatedness, ecological constraints on solitary breeding, and benefits of group living. An extension of transactional-concession models via the "workers-as-a-collective-dominant" model potentially offers new insights into some of the most striking reproductive patterns in large-colony eusocial Hymenopteran species, from the loss of worker capacity to produce female offspring to patterns of skew and aggression in polygynous societies

Appraising the situation : a framework for understanding compassionate care

Background: Compassion in healthcare represents an ideal way of interacting with patients. It entails an active response to suffering, distress or discomfort that can be associated with people seeking health related support or treatment. However, reports from within healthcare highlight that compassionate care (CC) is not always achieved. It may be especially problematic when trying to work with a patient who seems unwilling or unable to engage with advice provided by a healthcare professional (HCP). Methods: We conducted a grounded theory study to understand the meaning of CC for HCPs working with patients with type 2 diabetes. Data were collected between May-October 2015 using focus groups and individual interviews; 36 HCPs took part in total. For the current paper, we used constant comparison to analyse data from transcripts where participants talked about working with a ‘non-adherent’ patient. Results: Analysis highlighted how appraisal of their encounter with a non-adherent patient could affect whether CC was seen as possible by participants. Therefore, we used a transactional model of emotions as a framework for understanding HCPs’ narratives. This involved a consideration of their primary appraisal of such encounters, which participants said often resulted in a sense of threat, failure and rejection. Their secondary appraisals, which centred on coping resources, included problem-focused approaches (e.g. supporting the patient to plan how to move forwards in managing their health) and emotion-focused approaches (e.g. recognising change was hard, appreciating it may not be the right time for the patient to change). These appraisals could be modified by: a) gaining experience as a HCP; b) altering what was seen as professional success; c) their connection with the patient; d) how much autonomy they had in their job. Conclusions: Our findings provide new insights and emphasise that CC in response to non-adherent patients is not determined solely by a HCP’s innate nature, but can be affected by an individual’s appraisal of this interaction and the resources he/she has available to cope. This has implications for the environment within which staff work

Measuring compassionate care : views of healthcare staff

Aim: To explore healthcare professionals' views of measuring compassionate care. Method: As part of a grounded theory study participants, who were healthcare professionals involved in the care of patients with type 2 diabetes, were invited to discuss the topic of compassionate care measurement through semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Results: Measuring compassionate care was regarded as problematic because of its complex nature. Categories identified in the data that reflect this difficulty include distinguishing compassionate care from other concepts, relying on informal indicators, making the subjective objective, incorporating external influences and putting a measurement tool to use. Conclusion: Findings highlighted the complexities associated with measuring compassionate care, and how attempts to do this by managers could be problematic

Interaction anisotropy and random impurities effects on the critical behaviour of ferromagnets

The theory of phase transitions is based on the consideration of "idealized" models, such as the Ising model: a system of magnetic moments living on a cubic lattice and having only two accessible states. For simplicity the interaction is supposed to be restricted to nearest--neighbour sites only. For these models, statistical physics gives a detailed description of the behaviour of various thermodynamic quantities in the vicinity of the transition temperature. These findings are confirmed by the most precise experiments. On the other hand, there exist other cases, where one must account for additional features, such as anisotropy, defects, dilution or any effect that may affect the nature and/or the range of the interaction. These features may have impact on the order of the phase transition in the ideal model or smear it out. Here we address two classes of models where the nature of the transition is altered by the presence of anisotropy or dilution.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, To appear in Journal of Physics: Conference Serie