Study protocol: can a school gardening intervention improve children's diets?

BACKGROUND: The current academic literature suggests there is a potential for using gardening as a tool to improve children's fruit and vegetable intake. This study is two parallel randomised controlled trials (RCT) devised to evaluate the school gardening programme of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Campaign for School Gardening, to determine if it has an effect on children's fruit and vegetable intake. METHOD/DESIGN: Trial One will consist of 26 schools; these schools will be randomised into two groups, one to receive the intensive intervention as "Partner Schools" and the other to receive the less intensive intervention as "Associate Schools". Trial Two will consist of 32 schools; these schools will be randomised into either the less intensive intervention "Associate Schools" or a comparison group with delayed intervention. Baseline data collection will be collected using a 24-hour food diary (CADET) to collect data on dietary intake and a questionnaire exploring children's knowledge and attitudes towards fruit and vegetables. A process measures questionnaire will be used to assess each school's gardening activities. DISCUSSION: The results from these trials will provide information on the impact of the RHS Campaign for School Gardening on children's fruit and vegetable intake. The evaluation will provide valuable information for designing future research in primary school children's diets and school based interventions. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN11396528

Exome sequencing identifies NBEAL2 as the causative gene for gray platelet syndrome.

Gray platelet syndrome (GPS) is a predominantly recessive platelet disorder that is characterized by mild thrombocytopenia with large platelets and a paucity of α-granules; these abnormalities cause mostly moderate but in rare cases severe bleeding. We sequenced the exomes of four unrelated individuals and identified NBEAL2 as the causative gene; it has no previously known function but is a member of a gene family that is involved in granule development. Silencing of nbeal2 in zebrafish abrogated thrombocyte formation

Attenuation of Zinc Finger Nuclease Toxicity by Small-Molecule Regulation of Protein Levels

Zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) have been used successfully to create genome-specific double-strand breaks and thereby stimulate gene targeting by several thousand fold. ZFNs are chimeric proteins composed of a specific DNA-binding domain linked to a non-specific DNA-cleavage domain. By changing key residues in the recognition helix of the specific DNA-binding domain, one can alter the ZFN binding specificity and thereby change the sequence to which a ZFN pair is being targeted. For these and other reasons, ZFNs are being pursued as reagents for genome modification, including use in gene therapy. In order for ZFNs to reach their full potential, it is important to attenuate the cytotoxic effects currently associated with many ZFNs. Here, we evaluate two potential strategies for reducing toxicity by regulating protein levels. Both strategies involve creating ZFNs with shortened half-lives and then regulating protein level with small molecules. First, we destabilize ZFNs by linking a ubiquitin moiety to the N-terminus and regulate ZFN levels using a proteasome inhibitor. Second, we destabilize ZFNs by linking a modified destabilizing FKBP12 domain to the N-terminus and regulate ZFN levels by using a small molecule that blocks the destabilization effect of the N-terminal domain. We show that by regulating protein levels, we can maintain high rates of ZFN-mediated gene targeting while reducing ZFN toxicity

Facilitate Insight by Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation

Our experiences can blind us. Once we have learned to solve problems by one method, we often have difficulties in generating solutions involving a different kind of insight. Yet there is evidence that people with brain lesions are sometimes more resistant to this so-called mental set effect. This inspired us to investigate whether the mental set effect can be reduced by non-invasive brain stimulation. 60 healthy right-handed participants were asked to take an insight problem solving task while receiving transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the anterior temporal lobes (ATL). Only 20% of participants solved an insight problem with sham stimulation (control), whereas 3 times as many participants did so (p = 0.011) with cathodal stimulation (decreased excitability) of the left ATL together with anodal stimulation (increased excitability) of the right ATL. We found hemispheric differences in that a stimulation montage involving the opposite polarities did not facilitate performance. Our findings are consistent with the theory that inhibition to the left ATL can lead to a cognitive style that is less influenced by mental templates and that the right ATL may be associated with insight or novel meaning. Further studies including neurophysiological imaging are needed to elucidate the specific mechanisms leading to the enhancement

Micro-spectroscopic investigation of selenium-bearing minerals from the Western US Phosphate Resource Area

Mining activities in the US Western Phosphate Resource Area (WPRA) have released Se into the environment. Selenium has several different oxidation states and species, each having varying degrees of solubility, reactivity, and bioavailability. In this study we are investigating the speciation of Se in mine-waste rocks. Selenium speciation was determined using bulk and micro-x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), as well as micro-x-ray fluorescence mapping. Rocks used for bulk-XAS were ground into fine powders. Shale used for micro-XAS was broken along depositional planes to expose unweathered surfaces. The near edge region of the XAS spectra (XANES) for the bulk rock samples revealed multiple oxidation states, with peaks indicative of Se(-II), Se(IV), and Se(+VI) species. Micro-XANES analysis of the shale indicated that three unique Se-bearing species were present. Using the XANES data together with ab initio fitting of the extended x-ray absorption fine structure region of the micro-XAS data (micro-EXAFS) the three Se-bearing species were identified as dzharkenite, a di-selenide carbon compound, and Se-substituted pyrite. Results from this research will allow for a better understanding of the biogeochemical cycling of Se in the WPRA

The Achievement of a Decentralized Water Management Through Stakeholder Participation: An Example from the Drôme River Catchment Area in France (1981–2008)

International audienceDifferent water Acts (e.g., the European Water Framework Directive) and stakeholders involved in aquatic affairs have promoted integrated river basin management (IRBM) over recent decades. However, few studies have provided feedback on these policies. The aim of the current article is to fill this gap by exploring how local newspapers reflect the implementation of a broad public participation within a catchment of France known for its innovation with regard to this domain. The media coverage of a water management strategy in the Drôme watershed from 1981 to 2008 was investigated using a content analysis and a geographic information system (GIS). We sought to determine what public participation and decentralized decision-making can be in practice. The results showed that this policy was integrated because of its social perspective, the high number of involved stakeholders, the willingness to handle water issues, and the local scale suitable for participation. We emphasized the prominence of the watershed scale guaranteed by the local water authority. This area was also characterized by compromise, arrangements, and power dynamics on a fine scale. We examined the most politically engaged writings regarding water management, which topics each group emphasized, and how the groups agreed and disagreed on issues based on their values and context. The temporal pattern of participation implementation was progressive but worked by fits and starts

Bias and Evolution of the Mutationally Accessible Phenotypic Space in a Developmental System

Genetic and developmental architecture may bias the mutationally available phenotypic spectrum. Although such asymmetries in the introduction of variation may influence possible evolutionary trajectories, we lack quantitative characterization of biases in mutationally inducible phenotypic variation, their genotype-dependence, and their underlying molecular and developmental causes. Here we quantify the mutationally accessible phenotypic spectrum of the vulval developmental system using mutation accumulation (MA) lines derived from four wild isolates of the nematodes Caenorhabditis elegans and C. briggsae. The results confirm that on average, spontaneous mutations degrade developmental precision, with MA lines showing a low, yet consistently increased, proportion of developmental defects and variants. This result indicates strong purifying selection acting to maintain an invariant vulval phenotype. Both developmental system and genotype significantly bias the spectrum of mutationally inducible phenotypic variants. First, irrespective of genotype, there is a developmental bias, such that certain phenotypic variants are commonly induced by MA, while others are very rarely or never induced. Second, we found that both the degree and spectrum of mutationally accessible phenotypic variation are genotype-dependent. Overall, C. briggsae MA lines exhibited a two-fold higher decline in precision than the C. elegans MA lines. Moreover, the propensity to generate specific developmental variants depended on the genetic background. We show that such genotype-specific developmental biases are likely due to cryptic quantitative variation in activities of underlying molecular cascades. This analysis allowed us to identify the mutationally most sensitive elements of the vulval developmental system, which may indicate axes of potential evolutionary variation. Consistent with this scenario, we found that evolutionary trends in the vulval system concern the phenotypic characters that are most easily affected by mutation. This study provides an empirical assessment of developmental bias and the evolution of mutationally accessible phenotypes and supports the notion that such bias may influence the directions of evolutionary change