Sea ice extent and seasonality for the Early Pliocene northern Weddell Sea

Growth increment analysis coupled with stable isotopic data (δ18O/δ13C) from Early Pliocene (ca 4.7 Ma) Austrochlamys anderssoni from shallow marine sediments of the Cockburn Island Formation, northern Antarctic Peninsula, suggest these bivalves grew through much of the year, even during the coldest parts of winter recorded in the shells. The high frequency fluctuation in growth increment width of A. anderssoni appears to reflect periodic, but year-round, agitation of the water column enhancing benthic food supply from organic detritus. This suggests that Austrochlamys favoured waters that were largely sea ice free. Our data support interpretation of the Cockburn Island Formation as an interglacial marine deposit and the previous hypothesis that Austrochlamys retreated from the Antarctic as sea ice extent expanded, this transition occurring during climate cooling in the Late Pliocene

Sexual Size Dimorphism and Body Condition in the Australasian Gannet

Funding: The research was financially supported by the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment. Acknowledgments We thank the Victorian Marine Science Consortium, Sea All Dolphin Swim, Parks Victoria, and the Point Danger Management Committee for logistical support. We are grateful for the assistance of the many field volunteers involved in the study.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Characterizing college science instruction: The Three-Dimensional Learning Observation Protocol

The importance of improving STEM education is of perennial interest, and to this end, the education community needs ways to characterize transformation efforts. Three-dimensional learning (3DL) is one such approach to transformation, in which core ideas of the discipline, scientific practices, and crosscutting concepts are combined to support student development of disciplinary expertise. We have previously reported on an approach to the characterization of assessments, the Three-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol (3D-LAP), that can be used to identify whether assessments have the potential to engage students in 3DL. Here we present the development of a companion, the Three-Dimensional Learning Observation Protocol (3D-LOP), an observation protocol that can reliably distinguish between instruction that has potential for engagement with 3DL and instruction that does not. The 3D-LOP goes beyond other observation protocols, because it is intended not only to characterize the pedagogical approaches being used in the instructional environment, but also to identify whether students are being asked to engage with scientific practices, core ideas, and crosscutting concepts. We demonstrate herein that the 3D-LOP can be used reliably to code for the presence of 3DL; further, we present data that show the utility of the 3D-LOP in differentiating between instruction that has the potential to promote 3DL from instruction that does not. Our team plans to continue using this protocol to evaluate outcomes of instructional transformation projects. We also propose that the 3D-LOP can be used to support practitioners in developing curricular materials and selecting instructional strategies to promote engagement in three-dimensional instruction

Transcriptomic analysis of mRNA expression and alternative splicing during mouse sex determination

Mammalian sex determination hinges on sexually dimorphic transcriptional programs in developing fetal gonads. A comprehensive view of these programs is crucial for understanding the normal development of fetal testes and ovaries and the etiology of human disorders of sex development (DSDs), many of which remain unexplained. Using strand-specific RNA-sequencing, we characterized the mouse fetal gonadal transcriptome from 10.5 to 13.5 days post coitum, a key time window in sex determination and gonad development. Our dataset benefits from a greater sensitivity, accuracy and dynamic range compared to microarray studies, allows global dynamics and sex-specificity of gene expression to be assessed, and provides a window to non-transcriptional events such as alternative splicing. Spliceomic analysis uncovered female-specific regulation of Lef1 splicing, which may contribute to the enhanced WNT signaling activity in XX gonads. We provide a user-friendly visualization tool for the complete transcriptomic and spliceomic dataset as a resource for the field

Recurrent structural variation, clustered sites of selection, and disease risk for the complement factor H (CFH) gene family

Data deposition: The data reported in this paper have been deposited as a National Center for Biotechnology Information BioProject (accession no. PRJNA401648). Author contributions: S.C. and E.E.E. designed research; S.C., C.B., L.H., K.P., K.M.M., M.S., A.E.W., V.D., T.A.G.-L., and R.K.W. performed research; S.C., J.H., C.B., L.H., K.P., K.M.M., M.S., A.E.W., V.D., F.G., A.J.R., R.H.G., T.A.G.-L., R.K.W., B.H.F.W., P.N.B., R.A., and E.E.E. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; S.C., B.J.N., J.H., and E.E.E. analyzed data; and S.C., B.J.N., and E.E.E. wrote the paper.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Multiple Merging Events in the Double Cluster A3128/A3125

Multi-fiber spectroscopy has been obtained for 335 galaxies in the field of the double cluster A3128/A3125, using the 2dF multi-fiber positioner on the AAT. A total of 532 objects in the double cluster now have known redshifts. We have also obtained a 20 ks Chandra ACIS-I image of A3128 and radio imaging with the MOST and the ATCA. The spatial-kinematic distribution of redshifts in the field of A3128/A3125, when combined with the Chandra image of A3128, reveals a variety of substructures present in the galaxy distribution and in the hot ICM. The most striking large-scale feature in the galaxy distribution is an underpopulated redshift zone ~4000 km/s on either side of the cluster velocity at ~17500 km/s. We attribute this depletion zone to the effect of the extensive Horologium-Reticulum Supercluster (HRS), within which A3128/A3125 is embedded. In addition, numerous smaller groups of galaxies are identified, particularly in the underpopulated region within +-4000 km/s of the cluster redshift. Due to the large gravitational influence of the HRS, these groups arrive at A3128 with a very high (hypersonic) infall velocity. Two of these groups appear as elongated filaments in position-velocity diagrams, indicating that they are tidally distended groups which have been disrupted after a close passage through A3128. We have identified a primary NE-SW merger axis connecting A3128 with A3125, along which the filaments are also oriented. In addition, the Chandra image reveals that the X-ray emission is split into two components, each with very small core radii, that are separated by ~1 Mpc along the NE-SW axis. We propose that the complex X-ray morphology is likely the result of the hypersonic infall of a relatively small group into A3128. The group produces a major disruption in the ICM due to its high infall velocity.Comment: 52 pages, 27 figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal. A more easily down-loaded version with full resolution figures is available at http://www.physics.unc.edu/~jim/a3128/LANL

Models for Predicting Effective HIV Chemoprevention in Women

Model systems which rapidly identify tissue drug concentrations protective of HIV infection could streamline the development of chemoprevention strategies. Tissue models are promising, but limited concentration targets exist, and no systematic comparison to cell models or clinical studies has been performed

Stable Isotope Metabolic Labeling with a Novel 15N-Enriched Bacteria Diet for Improved Proteomic Analyses of Mouse Models for Psychopathologies

The identification of differentially regulated proteins in animal models of psychiatric diseases is essential for a comprehensive analysis of associated psychopathological processes. Mass spectrometry is the most relevant method for analyzing differences in protein expression of tissue and body fluid proteomes. However, standardization of sample handling and sample-to-sample variability are problematic. Stable isotope metabolic labeling of a proteome represents the gold standard for quantitative mass spectrometry analysis. The simultaneous processing of a mixture of labeled and unlabeled samples allows a sensitive and accurate comparative analysis between the respective proteomes. Here, we describe a cost-effective feeding protocol based on a newly developed 15N bacteria diet based on Ralstonia eutropha protein, which was applied to a mouse model for trait anxiety. Tissue from 15N-labeled vs. 14N-unlabeled mice was examined by mass spectrometry and differences in the expression of glyoxalase-1 (GLO1) and histidine triad nucleotide binding protein 2 (Hint2) proteins were correlated with the animals' psychopathological behaviors for methodological validation and proof of concept, respectively. Additionally, phenotyping unraveled an antidepressant-like effect of the incorporation of the stable isotope 15N into the proteome of highly anxious mice. This novel phenomenon is of considerable relevance to the metabolic labeling method and could provide an opportunity for the discovery of candidate proteins involved in depression-like behavior. The newly developed 15N bacteria diet provides researchers a novel tool to discover disease-relevant protein expression differences in mouse models using quantitative mass spectrometry

The impact of unhealthy food sponsorship vs. pro-health sponsorship models on young adults' food preferences: A randomised controlled trial

Background: Unhealthy foods are promoted heavily, through food company sponsorship of elite sport, resulting in extensive exposure among young adults who are avid sport spectators. This study explores the effects of sponsorship of an elite sporting event by: (A) non-food brands (control), (B) unhealthy food brands, (C) healthier food brands, or (D) an obesity prevention public health campaign on young adults' brand awareness, attitudes, image perceptions, event-sponsor fit perceptions, and preference for food sponsors' products. Methods: A between-subjects web-based experiment was conducted, consisting of four sponsorship conditions (A through D) featuring three product categories within each condition. Australian adults (N = 1132) aged 18-24 years were recruited via a national online panel. Participants viewed promotional videos and news stories about an upcoming international, multi-sport event (with sponsor content edited to reflect each condition), completed a distractor task, and then answered questions assessing the response variables. Regression analyses were conducted to test for differences by sponsorship condition on the respective outcome measures. Results: Compared to the control condition, unhealthy food sponsorship promoted higher awareness of, and more favourable attitudes towards, unhealthy food sponsor brands. Unhealthy food sponsorship also led to greater perceived event-sponsor fit and transfer of perceptions of the sporting event to the unhealthy food sponsor brands, relative to the control group. Exposure to sponsorship for healthier foods produced similar sponsorship effects for healthier food sponsor brands, as well as prompting a significant increase in the proportion of young adults showing a preference for these products. Obesity prevention campaign sponsorship promoted higher campaign awareness and perceived event-sponsor fit, but did not impact food attitudes or preference for unhealthy versus healthier foods. Conclusion: Findings suggest that restricting elite sport sponsorship to healthier food brands that meet set nutritional criteria could help promote healthier eating among young adults. Sporting organisations should be encouraged to seek sponsorship from companies who produce healthier food brands and government-funded social marketing campaigns. Clinical trial registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) registration number ACTRN12618000368235. Retrospectively registered 12 March 2018