Upper Range Thermal Stress Tolerance in Channel and Hybrid Catfish Strains

Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) have a broad distribution from Canada to Mexico, suggesting that different strains may have different thermal tolerances. In aquaculture, daily temperature maximums up to 36-40°C and fluctuations of 3-6°C occur, and may be exacerbated by future climate change. To quantify differences in thermal tolerance amongst geographically-distinct channel catfish strains and corresponding hybrid catfish (I. punctatus x [blue catfish] I. furcatus): acute critical thermal maximum (CTmax), and the effects of chronic thermal regimes on growth, survival and differential gene expression were examined. Southern channel catfish had higher CTmax than northern, and channel catfish had higher CTmax than hybrid catfish. Under chronic thermal stress, hybrid catfish had the greatest survival and most consistent growth. Further, northern channel catfish had the greatest magnitude and largest amount of upregulated gene transcripts in response to high temperatures, indicating greater thermal stress. Therefore, catfish thermal tolerance varies by geographic region and species

James Hogg, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and romantic anachronism

Thesis (M.A.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2013This thesis explores the problematic nature of the term "Romanticism" as traditionally dictated by national and temporal constraints. Most scholars and literary institutions (i.e., anthologies) define Romanticism as a solely European phenomenon of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This definition, intentionally or not, serves an elitist function in assuming that only Europeans of a specific era were capable of producing texts with Romantic qualities. Further, even authors who fall into this temporal and nationalistic category are often excluded due to their social class. This thesis seeks to extend the boundaries of Romanticism through examining two authors who, despite some recent efforts at re-appropriation, had previously been excluded by Romanticism: Scotland's James Hogg (1770-1835) and Russia's Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881). Specifically, this thesis explores a defining Romantic aesthetic trait -- the Romantic Anachronism -- as it operates in both authors' uncannily similar masterworks, Hogg's The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824), and Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov (1880). By placing emphasis on aesthetic rather than temporal and national constraints, Romanticism may be redefined towards an inclusivity that bolsters the relevance of Romanticism for current and future scholars operating in an increasingly globalized and rapidly diversifying world.Introduction: The problem with Romanticism -- Chapter 1: James Hogg's characters as definition-resistant romantic subjects -- Chapter 2: Dostoevsky's "paradoxalist": Romantic Anachronism and Ivan Karamazov -- Conclusion -- Works cited

Physiotherapists’ reported attitudes and perceived influences to their continuing professional development – results of an online questionnaire

Introduction – There are intrinsic and extrinsic factors that influence physiotherapists’ participation in continuing professional development (CPD). A number of benefits of and barriers to CPD participation are identified in the literature, but relatively little is known about factors that influence attitudes towards continued learning. The aim of this study was to identify factors influencing UK physiotherapists’ attitudes towards CPD, with a focus on career point and type of employment, in the context of motivational theories. Methods – An online questionnaire consisting of likert style questions was used to collect data from UK physiotherapists. Nominal and ordinal data were analysed to determine differences between subgroups within the dataset. Results – 205 physiotherapists completed the online questionnaire. Physiotherapists were generally internally motivated towards CPD, but attitudes were influenced by career point, and whether physiotherapists worked in the National Health Service (NHS) or in the private sector. External factors appeared to have a negative effect on motivation towards CPD. Discussion – Differences in attitudes at different points on the career path suggests that organisational structure may impede lifelong learning at some stages in career progression, while differences between those working privately and in the NHS may potentially reflect organisational differences between these types of employment. Implications for Practice – individual attitudes towards CPD are affected by a number of factors and employers should strive to encourage engagement, while recognising the different drivers within different types of employment and at different career points. By increasing physiotherapists’ engagement with CPD, patient experience of care and best practice will improve

Safeguarding the Protection Rights of Children in the Eastern Caribbean

As signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the Eastern Caribbean region’s island states have made policy commitments and significant social progress in protecting children from violence, abuse and exploitation. Nevertheless, many Eastern Caribbean children continue to experience violence, abuse and exploitation, which hinders their positive development and indicates that UNCRC rights enshrined in Articles 19, 34, 37 and 39 have not been achieved universally. This chapter considers how the UNICEF Eastern Caribbean Area Office (UNICEF ECA) collaborates with governments, non-governmental and civil society organisations across health, education and social development sectors to address the issue of sexual abuse of children. The chapter discusses prevention and responsive protection strategies, implemented by the UNICEF ECA with its partners, including governments. The authors argue that the paramount challenges to the implementation of those strategies reside in finding strategies to promote the Eastern Caribbean states’ recognition of the multidimensional nature of the issue of child sexual abuse and their realisation of multifaceted, integrated solutions

Authoritarianism, Populism, and the Global Retreat of Democracy: A Curated Discussion

To the surprise of many in the West, the fall of the USSR in 1991 did not lead to the adoption of liberal democratic government around the world and the much anticipated “end of history.” In fact, authoritarianism has made a comeback, and liberal democracy has been on the retreat for at least the last 15 years culminating in the unthinkable: the invasion of a democratic European country by an authoritarian regime. But why does authoritarianism continue to spread, not only as an alternative to liberal democracy, but also within many liberal democracies where authoritarian leaders continue to gain strength and popularity? In this curated piece, contributors discuss some of the potential contributions of management scholarship to understanding authoritarianism, as well as highlight a number of directions for management research in this area.publishedVersio

Erratum: Author Correction: Identification of genes required for eye development by high-throughput screening of mouse knockouts.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/s42003-018-0226-0.]

What are we eating? Consumer information requirement within a workplace canteen

The workplace is a captive environment where the overall contribution of the meal served could be an important element of the overall diet. Despite growing demand little information is available to aid healthy dish selection. This study identifies information valued by consumers in the UK, Greece, Denmark and France using best-worst scaling. Value for Money, Nutrition and Naturalness are key elements of information that consumers require to be able to make a conscious decision about dish selection in all four countries. Latent class analysis shows that consumers align to one of five cluster groups, i.e., Value Driven, Conventionalists, Socially Responsible, Health Conscious and Locavores. Understanding key information needs can allow food operators to align their service with consumer preferences across different market segments

A large scale hearing loss screen reveals an extensive unexplored genetic landscape for auditory dysfunction

The developmental and physiological complexity of the auditory system is likely reflected in the underlying set of genes involved in auditory function. In humans, over 150 non-syndromic loci have been identified, and there are more than 400 human genetic syndromes with a hearing loss component. Over 100 non-syndromic hearing loss genes have been identified in mouse and human, but we remain ignorant of the full extent of the genetic landscape involved in auditory dysfunction. As part of the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium, we undertook a hearing loss screen in a cohort of 3006 mouse knockout strains. In total, we identify 67 candidate hearing loss genes. We detect known hearing loss genes, but the vast majority, 52, of the candidate genes were novel. Our analysis reveals a large and unexplored genetic landscape involved with auditory function