Small Water Bodies in Great Britain and Ireland: Ecosystem function, human-generated degradation, and options for restorative action

© 2018 Small, 1st and 2nd-order, headwater streams and ponds play essential roles in providing natural flood control, trapping sediments and contaminants, retaining nutrients, and maintaining biological diversity, which extend into downstream reaches, lakes and estuaries. However, the large geographic extent and high connectivity of these small water bodies with the surrounding terrestrial ecosystem makes them particularly vulnerable to growing land-use pressures and environmental change. The greatest pressure on the physical processes in these waters has been their extension and modification for agricultural and forestry drainage, resulting in highly modified discharge and temperature regimes that have implications for flood and drought control further downstream. The extensive length of the small stream network exposes rivers to a wide range of inputs, including nutrients, pesticides, heavy metals, sediment and emerging contaminants. Small water bodies have also been affected by invasions of non-native species, which along with the physical and chemical pressures, have affected most groups of organisms with consequent implications for the wider biodiversity within the catchment. Reducing the impacts and restoring the natural ecosystem function of these water bodies requires a three-tiered approach based on: restoration of channel hydromorphological dynamics; restoration and management of the riparian zone; and management of activities in the wider catchment that have both point-source and diffuse impacts. Such activities are expensive and so emphasis must be placed on integrated programmes that provide multiple benefits. Practical options need to be promoted through legislative regulation, financial incentives, markets for resource services and voluntary codes and actions

The Rise and Fall, and the Rise (Again) of Feminist Research in Music: 'What Goes Around Comes Around'

This article reports from a two-phase study that involved an analysis of the extant literature followed by a three-part survey answered by seventy-one women composers. Through these theoretical and empirical data, the authors explore the relationship between gender and music’s symbolic and cultural capital. Bourdieu’s theory of the habitus is employed to understand the gendered experiences of the female composers who participated in the survey. The article suggests that these female composers have different investments in gender but that, overall, they reinforce the male habitus given that the female habitus occupies a subordinate position in relation to that of the male. The findings of the study also suggest a connection between contemporary feminism and the attitudes towards gender held by the participants. The article concludes that female composers classify themselves, and others, according to gendered norms and that these perpetuate the social order in music in which the male norm dominates

Gene × dietary pattern interactions in obesity: Analysis of up to 68 317 adults of European ancestry

Obesity is highly heritable. Genetic variants showing robust associations with obesity traits have been identified through genome-wide association studies. We investigated whether a composite score representing healthy diet modifies associations of these variants with obesity traits. Totally, 32 body mass index (BMI)- and 14 waist-hip ratio (WHR)-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms were genotyped, and genetic risk scores (GRS) were calculated in 18 cohorts of European ancestry (n = 68 317). Diet score was calculated based on self-reported intakes of whole grains, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts/seeds (favorable) and red/processed meats, sweets, sugar-sweetened beverages and fried potatoes (unfavorable). Multivariable adjusted, linear regression within each cohort followed by inverse variance-weighted, fixed-effects meta-analysis was used to characterize: (a) associations of each GR

Genome-Wide Association Study in BRCA1 Mutation Carriers Identifies Novel Loci Associated with Breast and Ovarian Cancer Risk

BRCA1-associated breast and ovarian cancer risks can be modified by common genetic variants. To identify further cancer risk-modifying loci, we performed a multi-stage GWAS of 11,705 BRCA1 carriers (of whom 5,920 were diagnosed with breast and 1,839 were diagnosed with ovarian cancer), with a further replication in an additional sample of 2,646 BRCA1 carriers. We identified a novel breast cancer risk modifier locus at 1q32 for BRCA1 carriers (rs2290854, P = 2.7×10-8, HR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.09-1.20). In addition, we identified two novel ovarian cancer risk modifier loci: 17q21.31 (rs17631303, P = 1.4×10-8, HR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.17-1.38) and 4q32.3 (rs4691139, P = 3.4×10-8, HR = 1.20, 95% CI: 1.17-1.38). The 4q32.3 locus was not associated with ovarian cancer risk in the general population or BRCA2 carriers, suggesting a BRCA1-specific associat

The native shrub, Piliostigma reticulatum , as an ecological “resource island” for mango trees in the Sahel

African farmers are increasingly adopting sustainable agricultural practices including use of native shrub intercropping approaches. In one village of Sénégal (near Thiès) it was reported that farmers planted mango (Mangifera indica) seedlings within the canopies of a native shrub (Piliostigma reticulatum). Anecdotal information and qualitative observations suggested that the presence of P. reticulatum promoted soil quality and a competitive advantage for establishing mango plantations. We hypothesized that soil chemical and microbial properties of mango rhizosphere soil growing in the presence of P. reticulatum would be significantly improved over soils associated with mango growing outside the influence of P. reticulatum. The results showed that mango-shrub interplanting significantly lowered pH, and increased arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization of mango roots, enzyme activities, and microbial biomass compared to mango alone. Phylogenetic analyses by PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) showed that community structures of fungi, bacteria, and bacterial genes responsible for denitrification (nirK) of the soil from the rooting zone of the mango-shrub intercropping system were distinct from all other soil outside the influence of P. reticulatum. It is concluded that P. reticulatum enhances soil biological functioning and that there is a synergistic effect of intercropping mango with the native shrub, P. reticulatum, in soil quality with a more diverse community, greater AMF infection rates, and greater potential to perform decomposition and mineralize nutrients

Genome-wide association meta-analysis identifies five novel loci for age-related hearing impairment

Previous research has shown that genes play a substantial role in determining a person's susceptibility to age-related hearing impairment. The existing studies on this subject have different results, which may be caused by difficulties in determining the phenotype or the limited number of participants involved. Here, we have gathered the largest sample to date (discovery n = 9,675; replication n = 10,963; validation n = 356,141), and examined phenotypes that represented low/mid and high frequency hearing loss on the pure tone audiogram. We identified 7 loci that were either replicated and/or validated, of which 5 loci are novel in hearing. Especially the ILDR1 gene is a high profile candidate, as it contains our top SNP, is a known hearing loss gene, has been linked to age-related hearing impairment before, and in addition is preferentially expressed within hair cells of the inner ear. By verifying all previously published SNPs, we can present a paper that combines all new and existing findings to date, giving a complete overview of the genetic architecture of age-related hearing impairment. This is of importance as age-related hearing impairment is highly prevalent in our ageing society and represents a large socio-economic burden

The Process of Master’s Education in Nursing: Evolution or Revolution?

In this qualitative, descriptive study, the process of achieving change in knowledge and attitudes through Master’s education in nursing is examined. Twenty-two recent graduates from three Ontario universities participated in semi-structured, taped interviews. Participants recounted personal and professional changes they attributed to completing a Master’s program in Nursing and their experience of the process of change. After responding to questions about differences they perceived in themselves, participants reviewed Mezirow’s (1991; 1994) 11 stages of perspective transformation and discussed whether these phases resonated for them. Some felt that the stages described their experience accurately; others reported their experience of the process was not as dramatic as Mezirow’s description implied. Several who had taken degree completion baccalaureate programs perceived their baccalaureate experience to be more congruent with Mezirow’s transformation process than the change process in their Master’s program. At the Master’s level, the majority felt the changes were evolutionary, not revolutionary. Most reported that rather than undergoing a perspective transformation, they were building on values and attitudes from the baccalaureate level. This study contributes to understanding the processes of change experienced by students in graduate education in nursing

Outcomes of Master\u27s Education in Nursing

This qualitative, descriptive study examined changes in perspective experienced by 22 recent graduates of Master’s in Nursing programs from three Ontario universities. Participants responded to semi-structured, taped interviews and recounted personal, practice, and attitudinal changes they could attribute to completing a Master’s program in Nursing. Among outcomes were personal ones including greater self-confidence, credibility, and acuity of critical thinking. Deeper and broader world-views of the profession and health care were evident. All participants valued evidence-based practice, reporting greater use of multiple information sources. Participants communicated with other professionals on more equal terms and some described a multicultural function, translating knowledge between staff nurses and members of other disciplines. Pride in nursing and its potential for shaping health care was a recurring theme. More professional opportunities became available following Master’s studies. The outcomes of this study contribute to understanding the effects of graduate education in nursing

The Middle Low German version of the legend of Mary Magdalen /

Life.Separate from Journal of Germanic philology, v. 4, no. 2.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Chicago.Bibliography: p. 212-214.Mode of access: Internet