Springtime benthic fluxes in the Salish Sea: Environmental parameters driving spatial variation in the exchange of dissolved oxygen, inorganic carbon, nutrients, and alkalinity between the sediments and overlying water

Recent decades have seen changes to biogeochemical cycles in the Salish Sea, including alterations in water column nutrients, an expansion of hypoxic zones, and bottom water acidification. Marine sediments can be a major contributor to these biogeochemical cycles by exchanging solutes with bottom water. In an effort to understand the sediment biogeochemistry of the Salish Sea further, benthic fluxes of dissolved oxygen (DO), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), pH, total alkalinity (TA), and nutrients (ammonium, nitrate+nitrite, phosphate, silicate) between the sediment and the overlying water were directly measured using incubated flux cores at 42 sites in April and early May 2018. Explanatory variables describing bottom water conditions (salinity, temperature, DO, DIC, pH, and TA), sediment properties (grain size, total organic carbon, and C:N ratio), and site depth at the time of sampling were also collected. Denitrification estimates for each station were made using the benthic fluxes and estimates of C:N ratios of organic matter suspended in bottom water near each station. Benthic fluxes varied considerably across the Salish Sea and high variability was observed between core replicates. In general, DO fluxes were larger than DIC fluxes and we attributed this to the oxidation of reduced compounds stored in sediments. The ratio phosphorus to DIC fluxes were less than the Redfield ratio, indicating phosphorus storage in the sediments. At all but two sites denitrification was present, with a median rate of 1 mmol m-2 d-1. Using canonical redundancy analysis, the spatial variation observed in benthic fluxes and denitrification rates was determined to be primarily driven by water column depth and bottom water DO. Spatial variation was also observed in the estimations of sediment contribution to water column biogeochemistry in Puget Sound basins. Denitrification rates were estimated to remove 11% of the dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) supplied to the bottom water in Hood Canal, while in the Central Basin only 1% was removed. This difference was due to the long bottom water residence time in Hood Canal, where the denitrification can have a larger impact on bottom water DIN concentrations as the water slowly moves through the basin. Nearly all of the particulate phosphorus that reached the seafloor during the early spring was estimated to be stored in the sediment. Sediment oxygen uptake was found to account for approximately 80% of the bottom water DO removal in the South Basin compared to 21 – 35% in the other basins. The sediments play a large role in the South Basin because it is shallow. This spatial study illuminates the varying contributions that sediments make to the functioning of Salish Sea biogeochemistry. Seasonal benthic flux measurements should be made to further understand and quantify the influence that sediments have on water column biogeochemistry in the Salish Sea

Miscellaneous Rheumatic Diseases [73-83]: 73. Is There a Delay in Specialist Referral of Hot Swollen Joint?

Background: Patients with acute, hot, swollen joints commonly present to general practitioners, emergency departments and/or acute admitting teams rather than directly to rheumatology. It is imperative to consider septic arthritis in the differential diagnosis of these patients. The British Society of Rheumatology (BSR) has produced guidelines for the management of this condition, which include recommendations for early specialist referral and joint aspiration of all patients with suspected septic arthritis. We examined whether the initial management of patients with acute hot swollen joint(s) at University College London Hospital (UCLH) follows BSR guidelines. Methods: For the period Feb to Nov 2009, appropriate patients were identified by searching the UCLH database using the diagnostic terms, "pyogenic arthritis”, "septic arthritis” and "gout”; and from all joint aspirate requests sent to microbiology. Medical notes were obtained and any patients who had elective arthroscopies or chronic (> 6 weeks) symptoms were excluded. Data were collected on the time taken from the onset of symptoms to specialist (orthopaedic/rheumatology) referral and joint aspiration, collection of blood cultures and antibiotic treatment with or without microbiology advice. Results: Twenty patients were identified with hot swollen (18 monoarticular, 3 prosthetic) joint(s) of < 2 weeks duration. Of whom, 3/20 (15%) were admitted directly to rheumatology, 7/20 (35%) to the acute admissions unit, 3/20 (15%) to orthopaedic, 4/20 (20%) to a medical team and 1/20 (5%) to general surgery. In 19 (95%) cases, specialist (rheumatology/orthopaedic) advice was sought. Of 14 cases not seen directly by specialists 9 (64%) were referred at 24-48 h and 5 (36%) at 48-192 h. All 20 patients had joint aspiration. In 9/20 (45%) of cases, joint aspiration was performed in less than 6 h, 3/20 (15%) cases at 6-24h and 6/20 (30%) cases at 24-192 h and was not recorded in two patients. Of these, crystals were identified in two and one was culture positive. Blood cultures were received for only 6/20 (30%) of cases and only clearly documented to have been taken prior to antibiotic therapy and none were positive. Of 14/20 (70%) started on antibiotic treatment empirically, only 6 (42%) were preceded by joint aspiration. In the 6 patients not treated with antibiotics due to low index of suspicion of septic arthritis, synovial fluid and blood cultures were negative. Microbiology advice was sought in 10/20 (50%) of cases by the admitting teams but the timing of this advice is unclear. Conclusions: Despite the provision of 24 h rheumatology and orthopaedic cover at UCLH, we found a significant delay in acute medical firms seeking specialist advice on the management of patients with acute, hot swollen joints with subsequent deviation from BSR guidelines. Consequently, we plan to increase awareness of these guidelines amongst medical firms at UCLH. Disclosure statement: All authors have declared no conflicts of interes

Radio Continuum Surveys with Square Kilometre Array Pathfinders

In the lead-up to the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project, several next-generation radio telescopes and upgrades are already being built around the world. These include APERTIF (The Netherlands), ASKAP (Australia), e-MERLIN (UK), VLA (USA), e-EVN (based in Europe), LOFAR (The Netherlands), MeerKAT (South Africa), and the Murchison Widefield Array. Each of these new instruments has different strengths, and coordination of surveys between them can help maximise the science from each of them. A radio continuum survey is being planned on each of them with the primary science objective of understanding the formation and evolution of galaxies over cosmic time, and the cosmological parameters and large-scale structures which drive it. In pursuit of this objective, the different teams are developing a variety of new techniques, and refining existing ones. To achieve these exciting scientific goals, many technical challenges must be addressed by the survey instruments. Given the limited resources of the global radio-astronomical community, it is essential that we pool our skills and knowledge. We do not have sufficient resources to enjoy the luxury of re-inventing wheels. We face significant challenges in calibration, imaging, source extraction and measurement, classification and cross-identification, redshift determination, stacking, and data-intensive research. As these instruments extend the observational parameters, we will face further unexpected challenges in calibration, imaging, and interpretation. If we are to realise the full scientific potential of these expensive instruments, it is essential that we devote enough resources and careful study to understanding the instrumental effects and how they will affect the data. We have established an SKA Radio Continuum Survey working group, whose prime role is to maximise science from these instruments by ensuring we share resources and expertise across the projects. Here we describe these projects, their science goals, and the technical challenges which are being addressed to maximise the science return

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Normative cruelties and gender deviants : the performative effects of bully discourses for girls and boys in school

Since the 1990s the educational community has witnessed a proliferation of ‘bullying’ discourses, primarily within the field of educational developmental social psychology. Drawing on ethnographic and qualitative interview data of primary and secondary school girls and boys, this article argues that the discourse ‘bullying’ operates to simplify and individualise complex gendered/classed/sexualised/racialised power relations embedded in children’s school‐based cultures. Using a feminist post‐structural approach, this article critically traces the discursive production of how the signifiers ‘bully’ and ‘victim’ are implicated in the ‘normative cruelties’ of performing and policing ‘intelligible’ heteronormative masculinities and femininities. It shows how these everyday gender performances are frequently passed over by staff and pupils as ‘natural’. The analysis also illustrates how bully discourses operate in complex racialised and classed ways that mark children out as either gender deviants, or as not adequately performing normative ideals of masculinity and femininity. In conclusion, it is argued that bully discourses offer few symbolic resources and/or practical tools for addressing and coping with everyday school‐based gender violence, and some new research directions are suggested

\u3ci\u3eDrosophila\u3c/i\u3e Muller F Elements Maintain a Distinct Set of Genomic Properties Over 40 Million Years of Evolution

The Muller F element (4.2 Mb, ~80 protein-coding genes) is an unusual autosome of Drosophila melanogaster; it is mostly heterochromatic with a low recombination rate. To investigate how these properties impact the evolution of repeats and genes, we manually improved the sequence and annotated the genes on the D. erecta, D. mojavensis, and D. grimshawi F elements and euchromatic domains from the Muller D element. We find that F elements have greater transposon density (25–50%) than euchromatic reference regions (3–11%). Among the F elements, D. grimshawi has the lowest transposon density (particularly DINE-1: 2% vs. 11–27%). F element genes have larger coding spans, more coding exons, larger introns, and lower codon bias. Comparison of the Effective Number of Codons with the Codon Adaptation Index shows that, in contrast to the other species, codon bias in D. grimshawi F element genes can be attributed primarily to selection instead of mutational biases, suggesting that density and types of transposons affect the degree of local heterochromatin formation. F element genes have lower estimated DNA melting temperatures than D element genes, potentially facilitating transcription through heterochromatin. Most F element genes (~90%) have remained on that element, but the F element has smaller syntenic blocks than genome averages (3.4–3.6 vs. 8.4–8.8 genes per block), indicating greater rates of inversion despite lower rates of recombination. Overall, the F element has maintained characteristics that are distinct from other autosomes in the Drosophila lineage, illuminating the constraints imposed by a heterochromatic milieu