The UK Civil Hydrography Programme: Changing the Mould

The Civil Hydrographic Programme (CHP) is funded by the government agency responsible for maritime safety in the United Kingdom (UK), the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). The CHP is now a major element of the UK strategy for delivering valid source data for maintenance of British Admiralty charts and associated nautical publications. Under the CHP, commercial survey companies such as Gardline Hydro compete for surveys of predefined areas on the UK continental shelf.El Programa de Hidrografîa Civil (CHP) es financiado por la agenda gubernamental responsable de la Seguridad Marîtima en el Reino Unido (UK), la Agenda Marîtima y Guarda Costa (MCA). El CHP esa hora un elemento principal de la estrategia de UK para la entrega de datos fuente vâiidos para mantener ias cartas del Almirantazgo Britânico y publicaciones nâuticas asociadas. Bajo el CHP, compahias de levantamientos comerciaies tai como Gardline Hydro, compiten por los levantamientos de âreas pre-definidas sobre la plataforma continental de UK.Le programme hydrographique civil (CHP) est financé par l'agence gouvernementale responsable de la sécurité maritime au Royaume- Uni (RU) et l ’Agence maritime et la garde côtière (MCA). Le CHP est à présent un élément majeur de la stratégie du RU pour la remise de données sources valables pour la tenue à jour des cartes de l’Amirauté britannique et des publications nautiques associées. Dans le cadre du CHP, les compagnies hydrographiques commerciales comme Gardline Hydro se font concurrence pour les levés de zones prédéfinies sur le plateau continental du RU

Variability in COVID-19 in-hospital mortality rates between national health service trusts and regions in England: A national observational study for the Getting It Right First Time Programme

Background A key first step in optimising COVID-19 patient outcomes during future case-surges is to learn from the experience within individual hospitals during the early stages of the pandemic. The aim of this study was to investigate the extent of variation in COVID-19 outcomes between National Health Service (NHS) hospital trusts and regions in England using data from March–July 2020. Methods This was a retrospective observational study using the Hospital Episode Statistics administrative dataset. Patients aged ≥ 18 years who had a diagnosis of COVID-19 during a hospital stay in England that was completed between March 1st and July 31st, 2020 were included. In-hospital mortality was the primary outcome of interest. In secondary analysis, critical care admission, length of stay and mortality within 30 days of discharge were also investigated. Multilevel logistic regression was used to adjust for covariates. Findings There were 86,356 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 included in the study, of whom 22,944 (26.6%) died in hospital with COVID-19 as the primary cause of death. After adjusting for covariates, the extent of the variation in-hospital mortality rates between hospital trusts and regions was relatively modest. Trusts with the largest baseline number of beds and a greater proportion of patients admitted to critical care had the lowest in-hospital mortality rates. Interpretation There is little evidence of clustering of deaths within hospital trusts. There may be opportunities to learn from the experience of individual trusts to help prepare hospitals for future case-surges

Precise measurements of the properties of the B-1(5721)(0,+) and B-2*(5747)(0,+) states and observation of B-+,B-0 pi(-,+) mass structures

Invariant mass distributions of B+π− and B0π+ combinations are investigated in order to study excited B mesons. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to 3.0 fb−1 of pp collision data, recorded by the LHCb detector at centre-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV. Precise measurements of the masses and widths of the B1(5721)0,+ and B2(5747)0,+ states are reported. Clear enhancements, particularly prominent at high pion transverse momentum, are seen over background in the mass range 5850-6000 MeV in both B+π− and B0π+ combinations. The structures are consistent with the presence of four excited B mesons, labelled BJ (5840)0,+ and BJ (5960)0,+, whose masses and widths are obtained under different hypotheses for their quantum numbers

Osteopontin is a novel downstream target of SOX9 with diagnostic implications for progression of liver fibrosis in humans

Osteopontin (OPN) is an important component of the extracellular matrix (ECM), which promotes liver fibrosis and has been described as a biomarker for its severity. Previously, we have demonstrated that Sex-determining region Y-box 9 (SOX9) is ectopically expressed during activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSC) when it is responsible for the production of type 1 collagen, which causes scar formation in liver fibrosis. Here, we demonstrate that SOX9 regulates OPN. During normal development and in the mature liver, SOX9 and OPN are coexpressed in the biliary duct. In rodent and human models of fibrosis, both proteins were increased and colocalized to fibrotic regions in vivo and in culture-activated HSCs. SOX9 bound a conserved upstream region of the OPN gene, and abrogation of Sox9 in HSCs significantly decreased OPN production. Hedgehog (Hh) signaling has previously been shown to regulate OPN expression directly by glioblastoma (GLI) 1. Our data indicate that in models of liver fibrosis, Hh signaling more likely acts through SOX9 to modulate OPN. In contrast to Gli2 and Gli3, Gli1 is sparse in HSCs and is not increased upon activation. Furthermore, reduction of GLI2, but not GLI3, decreased the expression of both SOX9 and OPN, whereas overexpressing SOX9 or constitutively active GLI2 could rescue the antagonistic effects of cyclopamine on OPN expression. Conclusion: These data reinforce SOX9, downstream of Hh signaling, as a core factor mediating the expression of ECM components involved in liver fibrosis. Understanding the role and regulation of SOX9 during liver fibrosis will provide insight into its potential modulation as an antifibrotic therapy or as a means of identifying potential ECM targets, similar to OPN, as biomarkers of fibrosis. (HEPATOLOGY 2012;56:1108–1116

Longitudinal study of the associations between change in sedentary behavior and change in adiposity during childhood and adolescence:Gateshead Millennium Study

BACKGROUND: Sedentary time (ST) has been reported to have a range of negative health effects in adults, however, the evidence for such effects among children and adolescents is sparse. The primary aim of the study was to examine associations between changes in sedentary behavior (time and fragmentation) and changes in adiposity across childhood and adolescence. METHODS: Participants were recruited as part of the Gateshead Millennium Study. Measures were taken at age 7y (n=502), 9y (n=506), 12y (n=420) and 15y (n=306). Participants wore an ActiGraph GT1M and accelerometer epochs were 'sedentary' when recorded counts were ⩽25 counts/15 s. ST was calculated and fragmentation (SF) was assessed by calculating the number of sedentary bouts per sedentary hour. Associations of changes in ST and SF with changes in adiposity (Body Mass Index (BMI), and Fat Mass Index (FMI)) were examined using bivariate linear spline models. RESULTS: Increasing ST by 1% per year was associated with an increase in BMI of 0.08 kg/m(2)/year (95%CI: 0.06-0.10; P<0.001) and FMI of 0.15 kg/m(2)/year (0.11-0.19; P<0.001). Change in SF was associated with BMI and FMI (P<0.001). An increase of 1 bout per sedentary hour per year (i.e. sedentary time becoming more fragmented) was associated with an increase in BMI of 0.07 kg/m(2)/year (0.06-0.09; P<0.001) and an increase in FMI of 0.14 kg/m(2)/year (0.10-0.18; P<0.001) over the 8y period. However, an increase in SF between 9y-12y was associated with a 0.09 kg/m(2)/year decrease in BMI (-0.18-0.00; p=0.046) and 0.11 kg/m(2)/year decrease in FMI (-0.22-0.00; P=0.049). CONCLUSIONS: Increased ST and increased SF from 7y to 15y were associated with increased adiposity. This is the first study to show age-specific associations between change in objectively measured sedentary behaviour and adiposity after adjustment of MVPA in children and adolescents.. The study suggests that, targeting sedentary behaviour for obesity prevention may be most effective during periods in which we see large increases in ST.International Journal of Obesity accepted article preview online, 15 March 2017. doi:10.1038/ijo.2017.69

Habitat-mediated population limitation in a colonial central-place forager: the sky is not the limit for the black-browed albatross

Animal populations are frequently limited by the availability of food or of habitat. In central-place foragers, the cost of accessing these resources is distance-dependent rather than uniform in space. However, in seabirds, a widely studied exemplar of this paradigm, empirical population models have hitherto ignored this cost. In part, this is because non-independence among colonies makes it difficult to define population units. Here, we model the effects of both resource availability and accessibility on populations of a wide-ranging, pelagic seabird, the black-browed albatross Thalassarche melanophris. Adopting a multi-scale approach, we define regional populations objectively as spatial clusters of colonies. We consider two readily quantifiable proxies of resource availability: the extent of neritic waters (the preferred foraging habitat) and net primary production (NPP). We show that the size of regional albatross populations has a strong dependence, after weighting for accessibility, on habitat availability and to a lesser extent, NPP. Our results provide indirect support for the hypothesis that seabird populations are regulated from the bottom-up by food availability during the breeding season, and also suggest that the spatio-temporal predictability of food may be limiting. Moreover, we demonstrate a straightforward, widely applicable method for estimating resource limitation in populations of central-place foragers

DID A SUBMARINE SLIDE TRIGGER THE 1918 PUERTO RICO TSUNAMI?

The 1918 tsunami that inundated northwest Puerto Rico with up to 6 m waves has been attributed to seafloor faulting associated with the 1918 Mona Canyon earthquake. During the earthquake a series of submarine cable breaks occurred directly off the northwest coast of Puerto Rico where the largest tsunami waves came ashore. Here, we use a recently compiled geophysical data set to reveal that a 9 km long landslide headwall exists in the region where cable breaks occurred during the 1918 earthquake. We incorporate our interpretations into a near-field tsunami wave model to evaluate whether the slide may have triggered the observed 1918 tsunami. Our analysis indicates that this slide could generate a tsunami with phase, arrival times, and run-ups similar to observations along the northwest coast of Puerto Rico. We therefore suggest that a submarine slide offers a plausible alternative explanation for generation of this large tsunami

Movement patterns and catch trends of the diamond ray Gymnura natalensis (Dasyatidae) in South African waters

The diamond ray Gymnura natalensis is endemic to southern Africa where its preference for shallow coastal habitats makes it vulnerable to recreational shore-based angling. Although it makes up approximately 1% of the shore-based tag numbers, little is known about its movements, reproduction or population status in South Africa. This study used three independent long-term (34–41 years) datasets, including tagging by recreational anglers, competitive shore angling catches and shark net catches, to investigate the species’ movements, catch composition and population status in South Africa. Of the 3 739 individuals tagged (1984–2018), only 30 (1%) were recaptured after an average of 487 days at liberty. The majority (60%) of the recaptures occurred within 10 km of the release site, while 7% had moved more than 1 000 km along the coast. The longest recorded movements (1 577 and 1 756 km) were undertaken by adult rays tagged in the Western Cape Province moving to KwaZulu-Natal Province (KZN). The competitive shore angling catch (1977–2018; n = 9 150) from KZN was dominated by adult rays caught north of Durban, while the shark net catch in KZN (1981–2018; n = 584) was dominated by juvenile rays primarily from the central beaches of Durban. All the datasets exhibited strong seasonal trends with most catches taking place in summer. A risk assessment confirmed a stable to increasing population trend over four generations, suggesting that the population sampled along the east coast of South Africa should be classified as Least Concern