The effects of elevated CO2 and ocean acidification on the production of marine biogenic trace gases

The human-induced increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide since the beginning of the industrial revolution have led to increasing oceanic carbon uptake and changes in seawater carbonate chemistry, resulting in lowering of surface water pH. To date, surface ocean acidity has increased by 30% compared with pre-industrial times. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between increasing pCO2, decreasing pH and changes in volatile dimethylsulphide (DMS) and halocarbon concentrations, through 70,000 litre, high pCO2 mesocosm experiments and laboratory culture studies. DMS is a climatically important trace gas produced by marine algae: it transfers sulphur into the atmosphere and is a major influence on biogeochemical climate feedbacks. Halocarbons are also important biogenic trace gases which undergo atmospheric photochemical degradation, releasing halide radicals to participate in atmospheric ozone cycling, and transfer halogens from sea to land. Evidence is presented from a Norwegian coastal study which showed a 60% DMS, 30% DMSP and 40% iodocarbon reduction in high pCO2 mesocosms, and in the Baltic Sea, known for its low-salinity, cyanobacterial dominated community, where DMS concentrations showed an 80% reduction under high pCO2 but halocarbon concentrations were unaffected. No decrease in DMS or DMSP concentrations were identified in high pCO2 laboratory cultures of the DMSproducing species Emiliania huxleyi RCC1229, and halocarbons were undetectable. Changes in trace gas concentrations may arise due to pH effects on the interactions between microbial producers and consumers. Other effects may arise from cell biochemistry due to long-term adaptation to increased ρCO2 and reduced pH on the enzymatic activity production of the compounds. Further studies should determine the nature of the pCO2 and pH effect on bacterial interactions with DMS, DMSP and halocarbon production and breakdown. There should also be attention given to the DMS source in the cyanobacterial-dominated community of the Baltic Sea

Impacts of Tourism on the Ecophysiology of the Endangered Northern Bahamian Rock Iguana (Cyclura cychlura)

Increased interest in ecotourism over recent years has led to more direct human-animal interactions and a striking concomitant increase in the provisioning of non-natural food, that may have unintended consequences for the wildlife involved. The critically endangered Northern Bahamian Rock Iguana provides a valuable model to address the potential impact of food provisioning on health as there are populations that represent a graded variation in human presence, with sites experiencing high, low, or no tourism. To assess the potential impacts of tourism on iguana physiology I first reviewed the relevant literature on iguana physiology and then performed three investigations focusing on different facets of the relationships between human presence and iguana health. First, because physiological changes related to reproduction can mask changes caused by human disturbance, I examined the endocrine profiles of steroid hormones involved in reproduction to better define this natural variation and a “post reproduction” period. Next, I examined how specific reproductive stages were related to physiological measures and found that increased reproductive investment significantly altered both energetics metabolites and measures of oxidative stress. Finally, in my third investigation, I examined the impact of tourism on iguana physiology during the post reproductive season and found that tourism and food supplementation significantly affected all measures of iguana physiology and body condition assessed

Eloquence in Talke and Vertue in Deedes: Education and Discontent in Early Modern England

The title for the project, Eloquence in Talke and Vertue in Deedes, comes from educational theorist William Kempe’s claim that the early modern humanist educational system was guaranteed to produce eloquence and virtue. It is, however, my argument that the educational failed in its promises. This project seeks to dissect the educational practices of the early modern period and reanimate the pieces to show how these practices were regularly critiqued on the early modern stage. More than showing the influence of the educational system in the production of drama, I point out that these practices are re-represented as rebuttals of the educational system. As such, Eloquence in Talke, and Vertue in Deedes is a series of essays united by the theme of discontentment with an educational system that failed to meet its promises

"Making the leap to medical education": a qualitative study of medical educators' experiences of career transition

Background Medical educators often have prior and primary experience in other academic and clinical disciplines. Individuals seeking successful careers in the education of medical students and doctors must, at some point in their development, make a conscious transition into a new identity as a medical educator. This is a necessary move if individuals are to commit to acquiring and maintaining specialist expertise in medical education. Some achieve this transition successfully, while others struggle and may even lose interest and abandon the endeavour. We explored senior educators’ experiences of achieving the transition into medical education and their views on what helps and hinders the process. Methods In 2015 we conducted three focus groups with 15 senior medical educators. All focus groups were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. We applied transition theory to guide our deductive analysis, using Schlossberg’s Four S (4S) framework to code and report the participants’ self-reported perceptions of those factors relating to Self, Situation, Support and Strategy that had assisted them to make a successful transition to a fully acknowledged medical educator identity. Through inductive analysis, we then identified 17 explanatory sub-themes that were common to all three focus groups. Results Background and circumstances, individual motivation, a sense of control, organisational support, and effective networking and information seeking behaviour were factors identified as contributing to successful transition into, and maintenance of, a strong self-identity as a medical educator. Conclusions The experiences of established medical educators, and in particular an exploration of the factors that have facilitated their transition to an acknowledged self-identity as a medical educator could assist in supporting new educators to cope with the changes involved in developing as a medical educator

Imagined Constructed Thought:how staff interpret the behaviour of patients with intellectual disabilities.

This paper examines ‘imagined constructed thought’: speakers giving voice to the inner world of a non-present other. Drawing on 9 hours of video footage of health-care staff discussing patients with intellectual disabilities during Discovery Awareness sessions, we explored times when the staff presented a possible version of a patient's thoughts. They used those versions to take a stance on the patient’s inner world, often as a bridge between description of objectively observable phenomena and subjective interpretation of its meaning. It also projected staff's own stance on what the patient was thinking, both in first-position descriptions, and as a competitive resource in those given in second position. The findings suggest that presenting the patients' thoughts from a first-person perspective can be a versatile way of enacting a variety of complex epistemic and empathic actions in this setting. Data are in English