Meeting their potential: the role of education and technology in overcoming disadvantage and disaffection in young people

This report is a review of literature, policy and reported practice, exploring the potential of technology to mitigate disaffection and disadvantage in education and raise attainment of those young people who are under-achieving in school or other educational settings

Warming by 1°C drives species and assemblage level responses in Antarctica’s marine shallows

Forecasting assemblage-level responses to climate change remains one of the greatest challenges in global ecology [1 , 2 ]. Data from the marine realm are limited because they largely come from experiments using limited numbers of species [3 ], mesocosms whose interior conditions are unnatural [4 ], and long-term correlation studies based on historical collections [5 ]. We describe the first ever experiment to warm benthic assemblages to ecologically relevant levels in situ. Heated settlement panels were used to create three test conditions: ambient and 1°C and 2°C above ambient (predicted in the next 50 and 100 years, respectively [6]). We observed massive impacts on a marine assemblage, with near doubling of growth rates of Antarctic seabed life. Growth increases far exceed those expected from biological temperature relationships established more than 100 years ago by Arrhenius. These increases in growth resulted in a single “r-strategist” pioneer species (the bryozoan Fenestrulina rugula) dominating seabed spatial cover and drove a reduction in overall diversity and evenness. In contrast, a 2°C rise produced divergent responses across species growth, resulting in higher variability in the assemblage. These data extend our ability to expand, integrate, and apply our knowledge of the impact of temperature on biological processes to predict organism, species, and ecosystem level ecological responses to regional warming

Evaluating the Likelihood of Tree Failure in Naples, Florida (United States) Following Hurricane Irma

Trees in residential landscapes provide many benefits, but can injure persons and damage property when they fail. In hurricane-prone regions like Florida, USA, the regular occurrence of hurricanes has provided an opportunity to assess factors that influence the likelihood of wind-induced tree failure and develop species failure profiles. We assessed open-grown trees in Naples, Florida, following the passage of Hurricane Irma in September 2017 to determine the effect of relevant factors on the degree of damage sustained by individual trees. Of 4034 assessed individuals (n = 15 species), 74% sustained no damage, 4% sustained only minor damage (i.e., minimal corrective pruning needed), 6% sustained significant damage (i.e., major corrective pruning needed), and 15% were whole-tree failures (i.e., overturned trees or trees requiring removal). The proportion of individuals in each damage category varied among species, stem diameter at 1.4 m above ground, and the presence of utility lines, which was a proxy for maintenance. We compared our results with the findings of seven previous hurricanes in the region to explore species’ resilience in hurricanes

A realist interview study of a participatory public mental health project “#KindnessByPost”

Background: #KindnessByPost (KbP) is a participatory public health initiative in which people anonymously send and receive cards containing messages of goodwill with others also taking part in the programme. Quantitative evaluations of KbP consistently find evidence of improvements to people’s mental wellbeing and feelings of loneliness after participation and three months later. Our aim in the present study is to develop a programme theory of KbP, which describes for whom the KbP intervention improves mental wellbeing, other reported impacts, in which contexts it has these effects, and the mechanisms by which it works. Methods: We use a realist interviewing methodology to develop the programme theory. We conducted a focus group with the KbP executive team, and 20 one-to-one interviews with KbP participants. During analysis, a co-production working group iteratively developed a Theory of Change model comprising context-mechanism-outcome statements [CMOs] to map out the mechanisms present in KbP. Results: We developed 145 CMO statements, which we condensed and categorized into 32 overarching CMOs across nine thematic topics: access to scheme; pathways to involvement; resources; culture; giving post; receiving post; content of received post; community; long term impact. These CMOs set out pathways through which KbP benefited participants, including from doing something kind for someone else, of receiving post and appreciating the effort that went into it, and from the creative process of creating post and writing the messages inside them. Effects were sustained in part through people keeping the cards and through the social media communities that emerged around KbP. Discussion: Both giving and receiving post and the sense of community benefited participants and improved their mood and feelings of connectedness with others. Connection with a stranger, rather than friends or family, was also an important feature of the initiative for participants. Our wide range of CMO pathways by which KbP produced positive outcomes may mean that the intervention is applicable or adaptable across many communities and settings. Taken together with evidence from the quantitative evaluations, KbP is potentially an effective, low-cost, and highly scalable public health intervention for reducing loneliness and improving wellbeing.</p

High angular resolution N-band observation of the silicate carbon star IRAS08002-3803 with the VLTI/MIDI instrument

We present the results of N-band spectro-interferometric observations of the silicate carbon star IRAS08002-3803 with the MID-infrared Interferometric instrument (MIDI) at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The observations were carried out using two unit telescopes (UT2 and UT3) with projected baseline lengths ranging from 39 to 47 m. Our observations of IRAS08002-3803 have spatially resolved the dusty environment of a silicate carbon star for the first time and revealed an unexpected wavelength dependence of the angular size in the N band: the uniform-disk diameter is found to be constant and ~36 mas (72 Rstar) between 8 and 10 micron, while it steeply increases longward of 10 micron to reach ~53 mas (106 Rstar) at 13 micron. Model calculations with our Monte Carlo radiative transfer code show that neither spherical shell models nor axisymmetric disk models consisting of silicate grains alone can simultaneously explain the observed wavelength dependence of the visibility and the spectral energy distribution (SED). We propose that the circumstellar environment of IRAS08002-3803 may consist of two grain species coexisting in the disk: silicate and a second grain species, for which we consider amorphous carbon, large silicate grains, and metallic iron grains. Comparison of the observed visibilities and SED with our models shows that such disk models can fairly -- though not entirely satisfactorily -- reproduce the observed SED and N-band visibilities. Our MIDI observations and the radiative transfer calculations lend support to the picture where oxygen-rich material around IRAS08002-3803 is stored in a circumbinary disk surrounding the carbon-rich primary star and its putative low-luminosity companion.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Spatial and temporal dynamics of Antarctic shallow soft-bottom benthic communities: ecological drivers under climate change

Background: Marine soft sediments are some of the most widespread habitats in the ocean, playing a vital role in global carbon cycling, but are amongst the least studied with regard to species composition and ecosystem functioning. This is particularly true of the Polar Regions, which are currently undergoing rapid climate change, the impacts of which are poorly understood. Compared to other latitudes, Polar sediment habitats also experience additional environmental drivers of strong seasonality and intense disturbance from iceberg scouring, which are major structural forces for hard substratum communities. This study compared sediment assemblages from two coves, near Rothera Point, Antarctic Peninsula, 67°S in order to understand the principal drivers of community structure, for the frst time, evaluating composition across all size classes from mega- to micro-fauna. Results: Morpho-taxonomy identifed 77 macrofaunal species with densities of 464–16,084 individuals m−2 . eDNA metabarcoding of microfauna, in summer only, identifed a higher diversity, 189 metazoan amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) using the 18S ribosomal RNA and 249 metazoan ASVs using the mitochondrial COI gene. Both techniques recorded a greater taxonomic diversity in South Cove than Hangar Cove, with diferences in communities between the coves, although the main taxonomic drivers varied between techniques. Morphotaxonomy identifed the main diferences between coves as the mollusc, Altenaeum charcoti, the cnidarian Edwardsia sp. and the polychaetes from the family cirratulidae. Metabarcoding identifed greater numbers of species of nematodes, crustaceans and Platyhelminthes in South Cove, but more bivalve species in Hangar Cove. There were no detectable diferences in community composition, measured through morphotaxonomy, between seasons, years or due to iceberg disturbance. Conclusions: This study found that unlike hard substratum communities the diversity of Antarctic soft sediment communities is correlated with the same factors as other latitudes. Diversity was signifcantly correlated with grain size and organic content, not iceberg scour. The increase in glacial sediment input as glaciers melt, may therefore be more important than increased iceberg disturbance

Mass-Losing Semiregular Variable Stars in Baade's Windows

By cross-correlating the results of two recent large-scale surveys, the general properties of a well defined sample of semi-regular variable stars have been determined. ISOGAL mid-infrared photometry and MACHO lightcurves are assembled for approximately 300 stars in the Baade's Windows of low extinction towards the Galactic bulge. These stars are mainly giants of late M spectral type, evolving along the asymptotic giant branch (AGB). They are found to possess a wide and continuous distribution of pulsation periods and to obey an approximate log~period -- bolometric magnitude relation or set of such relations. Approximate mass-loss rates in the range of 1e-8 to 5e-7 M_sun per year are derived from ISOGAL mid-infrared photometry and models of stellar spectra adjusted for the presence of optically-thin circumstellar silicate dust. Mass-loss rates depend on luminosity and pulsation period. Some stars lose mass as rapidly as short-period Miras but do not show Mira-like amplitudes. A period of 70 days or longer is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for mass loss to occur. For AGB stars in the mass-loss ranges that we observe, the functional dependence of mass-loss rate on temperature and luminosity is found to be in agreement with recent theoretical predictions. If we include our mass-loss rates with a sample of extreme mass-losing AGB stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud, we get the general result for AGB stars that mass-loss rate is proportional to luminosity^{2.7}, valid for AGB stars with 10^{-8} to 10^{-4} M_sun per year (Abridged).Comment: to appear in The Astrophysical Journal, 51 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables; table 1 will be available in machine-readable format at the electronic Ap

Studying Genetic Research Participants: Lessons from the "Learning About Research in North Carolina" Study

Given the prohibitive cost of recruiting large and diverse populations for genetic explorations in cancer research, there has been a call for genetic studies to engage existing cohorts of research participants. This strategy could lead to more efficient recruitment and potentially result in significant advances in the understanding of cancer etiology and treatment. The Learning About Research in North Carolina (LeARN) study responded to the National Human Genome Research Institute interest in research on how study participants from diverse populations who had participated in genetic research perceived the risks and benefits of participating in combined epidemiologic-genetic research, how well they understand the purpose of the research and the uses to which the research results may be put, and how involvement in such research affects perceptions of disease causality. In this paper we give an overview of the LeARN study, summarizing the methods we used, challenges we encountered, and lessons learned about recruiting participants who have previously participated in genetic research

Genetic and shared couple environmental contributions to smoking and alcohol use in the UK population

Alcohol use and smoking are leading causes of death and disability worldwide. Both genetic and environmental factors have been shown to influence individual differences in the use of these substances. In the present study we tested whether genetic factors, modelled alongside common family environment, explained phenotypic variance in alcohol use and smoking behaviour in the Generation Scotland (GS) family sample of up to 19,377 individuals. SNP and pedigree-associated effects combined explained between 18 and 41% of the variance in substance use. Shared couple effects explained a significant amount of variance across all substance use traits, particularly alcohol intake, for which 38% of the phenotypic variance was explained. We tested whether the within-couple substance use associations were due to assortative mating by testing the association between partner polygenic risk scores in 34,987 couple pairs from the UK Biobank (UKB). No significant association between partner polygenic risk scores were observed. Associations between an individual's alcohol PRS (b = 0.05, S.E. = 0.006, p &lt; 2 × 10 ) and smoking status PRS (b = 0.05, S.E. = 0.005, p &lt; 2 × 10 ) were found with their partner's phenotype. In support of this, G carriers of a functional ADH1B polymorphism (rs1229984), known to be associated with greater alcohol intake, were found to consume less alcohol if they had a partner who carried an A allele at this SNP. Together these results show that the shared couple environment contributes significantly to patterns of substance use. It is unclear whether this is due to shared environmental factors, assortative mating, or indirect genetic effects. Future studies would benefit from longitudinal data and larger sample sizes to assess this further

Girls and Boys Born before 28 Weeks Gestation: Risks of Cognitive, Behavioral, and Neurologic Outcomes at Age 10 Years

To compare the prevalence of cognitive, neurological, and behavioral outcomes at 10 years of age in 428 girls and 446 boys who were born extremely preterm (EP)