Biological and physical forcing of carbonate chemistry in an upwelling filament off northwest Africa: Results from a Lagrangian study

The Mauritanian upwelling system is one of the most biologically productive regions of the world's oceans. Coastal upwelling transfers nutrients to the sun-lit surface ocean, thereby stimulating phytoplankton growth. Upwelling of deep waters also supplies dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), high levels of which lead to low calcium carbonate saturation states in surface waters, with potentially adverse effects on marine calcifiers. In this study an upwelled filament off the coast of northwest Africa was followed using drifting buoys and sulphur hexafluoride to determine how the carbonate chemistry changed over time as a result of biological, physical and chemical processes. The initial pHtot in the mixed layer of the upwelled plume was 7.94 and the saturation states of calcite and aragonite were 3.4 and 2.2, respectively. As the plume moved offshore over a period of 9 days, biological uptake of DIC (37 ?mol kg?1) reduced pCO2 concentrations from 540 to 410 ?atm, thereby increasing pHtot to 8.05 and calcite and aragonite saturation states to 4.0 and 2.7 respectively. The increase (25 ?mol kg?1) in total alkalinity over the 9 day study period can be accounted for solely by the combined effects of nitrate uptake and processes that alter salinity (i.e., evaporation and mixing with other water masses). We found no evidence of significant alkalinity accumulation as a result of exudation of organic bases by primary producers. The ongoing expansion of oxygen minimum zones through global warming will likely further reduce the CaCO3 saturation of upwelled waters, amplifying any adverse consequences of ocean acidification on the ecosystem of the Mauritanian upwelling system

Neonatal outcomes of waterbirth: a systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION: In 2015, 9% of babies born in the UK were delivered underwater. Waterbirth is increasing in popularity, despite uncertainty regarding its safety for neonates. This systematic review and meta-analysis appraises the existing evidence for neonatal outcomes following waterbirth. // METHODS: A structured electronic database search was performed with no language restrictions. All comparative studies which reported neonatal outcomes following waterbirth, and that were published since 1995, were included. Quality appraisal was performed using a modified Critical Appraisal Skills Programme scoring system. The primary outcome was neonatal mortality. Data for each neonatal outcome were tabulated and analysed. Meta-analysis was performed for comparable studies which reported sufficient data. // RESULTS: The majority of the 29 included studies were small, with limited follow-up and methodological flaws. They were mostly conducted in Europe and high-income countries. Reporting of data was heterogeneous. No significant difference in neonatal mortality, neonatal intensive care unit/special care baby unit admission rate, Apgar scores, umbilical cord gases or infection rates was found between babies delivered into water and on land. // CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review and meta-analysis did not identify definitive evidence that waterbirth causes harm to neonates compared with land birth. However, there is currently insufficient evidence to conclude that there are no additional risks or benefits for neonates when comparing waterbirth and conventional delivery on land

Influence of PB2 host-range determinants on the intranuclear mobility of the influenza A virus polymerase

Avian influenza A viruses often do not propagate efficiently in mammalian cells. The viral polymerase protein PB2 is important for this host restriction, with amino-acid polymorphisms at residue 627 and other positions acting as ‘signatures’ of avian- or human-adapted viruses. Restriction is hypothesized to result from differential interactions (either positive or inhibitory) with unidentified cellular factors. We applied fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) to investigate the mobility of the viral polymerase in the cell nucleus using A/PR/8/34 and A/Turkey/England/50-92/91 as model strains. As expected, transcriptional activity of a polymerase with the avian PB2 protein was strongly dependent on the identity of residue 627 in human but not avian cells, and this correlated with significantly slower diffusion of the inactive polymerase in human but not avian nuclei. In contrast, the activity and mobility of the PR8 polymerase was affected much less by residue 627. Sequence comparison followed by mutagenic analyses identified residues at known host-range-specific positions 271, 588 and 701 as well as a novel determinant at position 636 as contributors to host-specific activity of both PR8 and Turkey PB2 proteins. Furthermore, the correlation between poor transcriptional activity and slow diffusional mobility was maintained. However, activity did not obligatorily correlate with predicted surface charge of the 627 domain. Overall, our data support the hypothesis of a host nuclear factor that interacts with the viral polymerase and modulates its activity. While we cannot distinguish between positive and inhibitory effects, the data have implications for how such factors might operate

Quantification of a subsea CO2 release with lab-on-chip sensors measuring benthic gradients

We present a novel approach to detecting and quantifying a subsea release of CO2 from within North Sea sed�iments, which mimicked a leak from a subsea CO2 reservoir. Autonomous lab-on-chip sensors performed in situ measurements of pH at two heights above the seafloor. During the 11 day experiment the rate of CO2 release was gradually increased. Whenever the currents carried the CO2-enriched water towards the sensors, the sensors measured a decrease in pH, with a strong vertical gradient within a metre of the seafloor. At the highest release rate, a decrease of over 0.6 pH units was observed 17 cm above the seafloor compared to background mea�surements. The sensor data was combined with hydrodynamic measurements to quantify the amount of CO2 escaping the sediments using an advective mass transport model. On average, we directly detected 43 ± 8% of the released CO2 in the water column. Accounting for the incomplete carbonate equilibration process increases this estimate to up to 61 ± 10%. This technique can provide long-term in situ monitoring of offshore CO2 res�ervoirs and hence provides a tool to support climate change mitigation activities. It could also be applied to characterising plumes and quantifying other natural or anthropogenic fluxes of dissolved solutes

A global compilation of coccolithophore calcification rates

The biological production of calcium carbonate (CaCO3), a process termed calcification, is a key term in the marine carbon cycle. A major planktonic group responsible for such pelagic CaCO3 production (CP) is the coccolithophores, single-celled haptophytes that inhabit the euphotic zone of the ocean. Satellite-based estimates of areal CP are limited to surface waters and open-ocean areas, with current algorithms utilising the unique optical properties of the cosmopolitan bloom-forming species Emiliania huxleyi, whereas little understanding of deep-water ecology, optical properties or environmental responses by species other than E. huxleyi is currently available to parameterise algorithms or models. To aid future areal estimations and validate future modelling efforts we have constructed a database of 2765CP measurements, the majority of which were measured using 12 to 24h incorporation of radioactive carbon (14C) into acid-labile inorganic carbon (CaCO3). We present data collated from over 30 studies covering the period from 1991 to 2015, sampling the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic and Southern oceans. Globally, CP in surface waters ( < 20m) ranged from 0.01 to 8398µmolCm−3d−1 (with a geometric mean of 16.1µmolCm−3d−1). An integral value for the upper euphotic zone (herein surface to the depth of 1% surface irradiance) ranged from  < 0.1 to 6mmolCm−2d−1 (geometric mean 1.19mmolCm−2d−1). The full database is available for download from PANGAEA at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.888182

Rates of inclusion of teenagers and young adults in England into National Cancer Research Network clinical trials: Report from the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Teenage and Young Adult Clinical Studies Development Group

Poor inclusion rates into clinical trials for teenagers and young adults (TYA; aged 13–24 years) have been assumed but not systematically investigated in England. We analysed accrual rates (AR) from 1 April 2005 up to 31 March 2007 to National Cancer Research Network (NCRN) Phase III trials for the commonest tumour types occurring in TYA and children: leukaemia, lymphoma, brain and central nervous system, bone sarcomas and male germ cell tumours. AR for 2005–2007 were 43.2% for patients aged 10–14 years, 25.2% for patients aged 15–19 years, and 13.1% for patients aged 20–24 years in the tumour types analysed. Compared with accrual from 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006, AR between 1 April 2006 and 31 March 2007 increased for those aged 10–14 and 15–19 years, but fell for those aged 20–24 years. AR varied considerably among cancer types. Despite four trials being available, patients over 16 years with central nervous system tumours were not recruited. Rates of participation in clinical trials in England from 2005 to 2007 were much lower for TYA older than 15 years compared with children and younger teenagers. The variations in open trials, trial age eligibility criteria and extent of trial activation in treatment centres in part explain this observation. Other possible influences, such as difficulties associated with the consent of TYA require further evaluation. Closer dialogue between those involved in planning and running trials for children and for adults is necessary to improve trial availability and recruitment. Further research is required to identify trends in trial availability and accrual for those tumours constituting the remaining 26% of TYA cancers

Dietary and other lifestyle characteristics of Cypriot school children: results from the nationwide CYKIDS study

Dietary and lifestyle behaviors at young ages have been associated with the development of various chronic diseases. Schools are regarded as an excellent setting for lifestyle modification; there is a lack, however, of published dietary data in Cypriot school children. Thus, the objective of this work was to describe lifestyle characteristics of a representative segment of Cypriot school children and provide implications for school health education. Methods. The CYKIDS (Cyprus Kids Study) is a national, cross-sectional study conducted among 1140 school children (10.7 0.98 years). Sampling was stratified and multistage in 24 primary schools of Cyprus. Dietary assessment was based on a 154-item semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire and three supplementary questionnaires, assessing dietary patterns and behaviors. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was evaluated by the KIDMED index (Mediterranean Diet Quality Index for children and adolescents). Physical activity was assessed by a 32-item, semi-quantitative questionnaire. Results. Analysis revealed that 6.7% of the children were classified as high adherers, whereas 37% as low adherers to the Mediterranean diet. About 20% of boys and 25% of girls reported "not having breakfast on most days of the week", while more than 80% of the children reported having meals with the family at least 5 times/week. Some food-related behaviors, such as intake of breakfast, were associated with socio-demographic factors, mostly with gender and the geomorphological characteristics of the living milieu. With respect to physical activity, boys reported higher levels compared to girls, however, one fourth of children did not report any kind of physical activity. Conclusion. A large percentage of Cypriot school children have a diet of low quality and inadequate physical activity. Public health policy makers should urgently focus their attention to primary school children and design school health education programs that target the areas that need attention in order to reduce the future burden of metabolic disorders and chronic diseases

A multilevel examination of gender differences in the association between features of the school environment and physical activity among a sample of grades 9 to 12 students in Ontario, Canada

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Creating school environments that support student physical activity (PA) is a key recommendation of policy-makers to increase youth PA. Given males are more active than females at all ages, it has been suggested that investigating gender differences in the features of the environment that associate with PA may help to inform gender-focused PA interventions and reduce the gender disparity in PA. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to explore gender differences in the association between factors of the school environment and students' time spent in PA.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Among a sample of 10781 female and 10973 male students in grades 9 to 12 from 76 secondary schools in Ontario, Canada, student- and school-level survey PA data were collected and supplemented with GIS-derived measures of the built environment within 1-km buffers of the 76 schools.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Findings from the present study revealed significant differences in the time male and female students spent in PA as well as in some of the school- and student-level factors associated with PA. Results of the gender-specific multilevel analyses indicate schools should consider providing an alternate room for PA, especially for providing flexibility activities directed at female students. Schools should also consider offering daily physical education programming to male students in senior grades and providing PA promotion initiatives targeting obese male students.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Although most variation in male and female students' time spent in PA lies between students within schools, there is sufficient between-school variation to be of interest to practitioners and policy-makers. More research investigating gender differentials in environment factors associated with youth PA are warranted.</p