Biomarker responses to weaning stress in beef calves

The study objective was to investigate the physiological effects of weaning on beef calves and identify a panel of blood-based welfare biomarkers. On the day (d) of weaning (d 0), 16 spring-born, singlesuckled, beef bull calves that previously grazed with their dams at pasture, were assigned to one of two treatments: (1) control (n = 8), calves were loose-housed with their dam, (2) weaned (n = 8), calves were abruptly separated from their dam and loose-housed. Jugular blood was collected on d −4, 0, 1, 2, 3, 7, and 14 relative to weaning (d 0) and assayed for inflammatory and steroid variables. Total leukocyte counts were measured in whole blood. It is concluded that neutrophil number is a robust biomarker of stress and that plasma CXCL8 is a sensitive indicator of stress in weaned and control calves. In future studies, these two biomarkers should be central to the characterisation of stress responses

Development of the Global Width Database for Large Rivers

River width is a fundamental parameter of river hydrodynamic simulations, but no global-scale river width database based on observed water bodies has yet been developed. Here we present a new algorithm that automatically calculates river width from satellite-based water masks and flow direction maps. The Global Width Database for Large Rivers (GWD-LR) is developed by applying the algorithm to the SRTM Water Body Database and the HydroSHEDS flow direction map. Both bank-to-bank river width and effective river width excluding islands are calculated for river channels between 60S and 60N. The effective river width of GWD-LR is compared with existing river width databases for the Congo and Mississippi Rivers. The effective river width of the GWD-LR is slightly narrower compared to the existing databases, but the relative difference is within ±20% for most river channels. As the river width of the GWD-LR is calculated along the river channels of the HydroSHEDS flow direction map, it is relatively straightforward to apply the GWD-LR to global- and continental-scale river modeling

Use of acute psychiatric hospitalisation: a study of the factors influencing decisions to arrange acute admission to inpatient mental health facilities

Background: Human decision-making involves a complex interplay of intra- and inter-personal factors. The decisions clinicians make in practice are subject to a wide range of influences. Admission to a psychiatric hospital is a major clinical intervention, but the decision-making processes about admissions remain unclear. Aims: To delineate the range of factors influencing clinicians’ decisions to arrange acute psychiatric admissions. Methods: We undertook six focus groups with teams centrally involved in decisions to admit patients to hospital (crisis resolution home treatment teams, liaison psychiatry, approved mental health practitioners and consultant psychiatrists). The data were analysed using qualitative thematic analysis. Results: Our data show a complex range of factors influencing decision making that were categorised as those related to: (i) Clinical or Risk factors; (ii) Threat or fear factors influencing Clinicians; (iii) Interpersonal dynamics between staff and patients; (iv) Contextual factors. Conclusions: Decisions to arrange acute admission to hospital are not just a result of the appraisal of clinical and risk-related information. Emotional, interpersonal and contextual factors are also critical in decision-making. Delineating the breadth of factors that bear on clinical decision-making can inform approaches to (i) clinical-decision-making research, (ii) the training and supervision of clinicians, and (iii) service delivery models

Development of the Global Width Database for Large Rivers

River width is a fundamental parameter of river hydrodynamic simulations, but no global-scale river width database based on observed water bodies has yet been developed. Here we present a new algorithm that automatically calculates river width from satellite-based water masks and flow direction maps. The Global Width Database for Large Rivers (GWD-LR) is developed by applying the algorithm to the SRTM Water Body Database and the HydroSHEDS flow direction map. Both bank-to-bank river width and effective river width excluding islands are calculated for river channels between 60S and 60N. The effective river width of GWD-LR is compared with existing river width databases for the Congo and Mississippi Rivers. The effective river width of the GWD-LR is slightly narrower compared to the existing databases, but the relative difference is within ±20% for most river channels. As the river width of the GWD-LR is calculated along the river channels of the HydroSHEDS flow direction map, it is relatively straightforward to apply the GWD-LR to global- and continental-scale river modeling

Development of a global ~90m water body map using multi-temporal Landsat images

This paper describes the development of a Global 3 arc-second Water Body Map (G3WBM), using an automated algorithm to process multi-temporal Landsat images from the Global Land Survey (GLS) database. We used 33,890 scenes from 4 GLS epochs in order to delineate a seamless water body map, without cloud and ice/snow gaps. Permanent water bodies were distinguished from temporal water-covered areas by calculating the frequency of water body existence from overlapping, multi-temporal, Landsat scenes. By analyzing the frequency of water body existence at 3 arc-second resolution, the G3WBM separates river channels and floodplains more clearly than previous studies. This suggests that the use of multi-temporal images is as important as analysis at a higher resolution for global water body mapping. The global totals of delineated permanent water body area and temporal water-covered area are 3.25 and 0.49 million km2 respectively, which highlights the importance of river-floodplain separation using multi-temporal images. The accuracy of the water body classification was validated in Hokkaido (Japan) and in the contiguous United States using an existing water body databases. There was almost no commission error, and about 70% of lakes > 1 km2 shows relative water area error < 25%. Though smaller water bodies (< 1 km2) were underestimated mainly due to omission of shoreline pixels, the overall accuracy of the G3WBM should be adequate for larger scale research in hydrology, biogeochemistry, and climate systems and importantly includes a quantification of the temporal nature of global water bodies

The macro- and megabenthic fauna on the continental shelf of the eastern Amundsen Sea, Antarctica

In 2008 the BIOPEARL II expedition on board of RRS James Clark Ross sailed to the eastern Amundsen Sea Embayment and Pine Island Bay, one of the least studied Antarctic continental shelf regions due to its remoteness and ice cover. A total of 37 Agassiz trawls were deployed at depth transects along the continental and trough slopes. A total of 5,469 specimens, belonging to 32 higher taxonomic groups and more than 270 species, were collected. Species richness per station varied from 1–55. The benthic assemblages were dominated by echinoderms and clearly different to those in the Ross, Scotia and Weddell seas. Here we present the macro- and megafaunal assemblage structure, its species richness and the presence of several undescribed species

Reproducibility and predictive value of scoring stromal tumour infiltrating lymphocytes in triple-negative breast cancer : a multi-institutional study

Several studies have demonstrated a prognostic role for stromal tumour infiltrating lymphocytes (sTILs) in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). The reproducibility of scoring sTILs is variable with potentially excellent concordance being achievable using a software tool. We examined agreement between breast pathologists across Europe scoring sTILs on H&E-stained sections without software, an approach that is easily applied in clinical practice. The association between sTILs and response to anthracycline-taxane NACT was also examined. Pathologists from the European Working Group for Breast Screening Pathology scored sTILs in 84 slides from 75 TNBCs using the immune-oncology biomarker working group guidance in two circulations. There were 16 participants in the first and 19 in the second circulation. Moderate agreement was achieved for absolute sTILs scores (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.683, 95% CI 0.601-0.767, p-value = 25% (kappa = 0.53) and for LPBC (kappa = 0.49), but poor for sTILs as 10% increments (kappa = 0.24). Increasing sTILs was significantly associated with an increased likelihood of a pathological complete response (pCR) on multivariable analysis. Increasing sTILs in TNBCs improves the likelihood of a pCR. However, inter-observer agreement is such that H&E-based assessment is not sufficiently reproducible for clinical application. Other methodologies should be explored, but may be at the cost of ease of application.Non peer reviewe

Biodiversity in marine invertebrate responses to acute warming revealed by a comparative multi-omics approach

Understanding species' responses to environmental change underpins our abilities to make predictions on future biodiversity under any range of scenarios. In spite of the huge biodiversity in most ecosystems, a model species approach is often taken in environmental studies. To date, we still do not know how many species we need to study to input into models and inform on ecosystem-level responses to change. In this study, we tested current paradigms on factors setting thermal limits by investigating the acute warming response of six Antarctic marine invertebrates: a crustacean Paraceradocus miersi, a brachiopod Liothyrella uva, two bivalve molluscs, Laternula elliptica, Aequiyoldia eightsii, a gastropod mollusc Marseniopsis mollis and an echinoderm Cucumaria georgiana. Each species was warmed at the rate of 1 °C h−1 and taken to the same physiological end point (just prior to heat coma). Their molecular responses were evaluated using complementary metabolomics and transcriptomics approaches with the aim of discovering the underlying mechanisms of their resilience or sensitivity to warming. The responses were species-specific; only two showed accumulation of anaerobic end products and three exhibited the classical heat shock response with expression of HSP70 transcripts. These diverse cellular measures did not directly correlate with resilience to heat stress and suggested that each species may have a different critical point of failure. Thus, one unifying molecular mechanism underpinning response to warming could not be assigned, and no overarching paradigm was supported. This biodiversity in response makes future ecosystems predictions extremely challenging, as we clearly need to develop a macrophysiology-type approach to cellular evaluations of the environmental stress response, studying a range of well-rationalized members from different community levels and of different phylogenetic origins rather than extrapolating from one or two arbitrary model species

The global dimension in education and education for global citizenship: genealogy and critique

Encouraged by transnational organisations, curriculum policy-makers in the UK have called for curricula in schools and higher education to include a global dimension and education for global citizenship that will prepare students for life in a global society and work in a global economy. We argue that this call is rhetorically operating as a &lsquo;nodal point&rsquo; in policy discourse a floating signifier that different discourses attempt to cover with meaning. This rhetoric attempts to bring three educational traditions together: environmental education, development education and citizenship education. We explore this new point of arrival and departure and some of the consequences and critiques