THE DEVELOPMENT OF DIATOM-NUTRIENT PALAEOLIMNOLOGICAL INFERENCE MODELS FOR UK LOWLAND RESERVOIRS

Deterioration of UK lowland reservoir water quality through cultural eutrophication is of concern for both water supply and conservation. This study represents the first attempt to develop diatom-based palaeolimnological inference models for the assessment of eutrophication in UK lowland reservoirs. Models are developed from a 46-reservoir calibration set comprising surface sediment diatom assemblages and contemporary environmental data measured seasonally between May 1999 and October 2000. Following removal of outliers the dataset spans a total phosphorus (TP) gradient of 12-242 µgl ˉ¹ (mean = 63), a chlorophyll-α (Chla) gradient of 1.8-25.5 µgl ˉ¹ (mean = 63) and a conductivity (EC) gradient of 119-781 µScm ˉ¹ (mean = 424). Reservoir mean annual epilimnetic TP, Chla and EC are reconstructed using weighted averaging (WA) and weighted average partial least squares (WAPLS) techniques. Jack-knifed error statistics for the best performing models (WA inverse deshrinking), are comparable to those reported from similar studies. The plankton provides the dominant habitat for diatom growth in reservoirs, thus plankton-only models are also created and perform almost as well as models developed using all taxa. Examination of seasonal diatom plankton populations indicates that many taxa display defined seasonal growth preferences. The transition of frustules from live to sedimentary assemblages reveals that reservoir productivity and hence sedimentation rates affect subsequent representation of seasonal diatom populations in surface sediment samples. Fossil diatom assemblages in sediment cores from two contrasting reservoirs are analysed and the UK lowland reservoirs TP, EC and Chla inference models applied to reconstruct reservoir nutrient histories, yielding a fuller account of ecological change than either model alone. Twentieth-century reconstructions from Blackbrook reservoir illustrate an early history of limited impact mesotrophy, followed by a shift to cultural eutrophication during recent decades. Daventry reservoir shows a history of nutrient enrichment to hypertrophy, followed by subsequent re-oligotrophication as a result of pollution-reduction measures. Available historical data support the broad trends inferred by the diatom-based inference models. UK lowland reservoirs are considered suitable environments for the development of diatom-nutrient inference models and their application where intact sediment profiles exist

Vectoring algal toxin in marine planktonic food webs: sorting out nutritional deficiency from toxicity effects

The present study determined whether increased mortality and delayed development of larval crabs fed heterotrophic prey that themselves have been fed toxin-containing algae is due to toxicity effects or nutritional deficiency. The effects on larval crabs of previous exposure to heterotrophic prey fed toxin-containing algae were examined. Effects of varying length of exposure of larvae to toxin-containing prey were also examined. The rotifer Brachionus plicatilis was used as a heterotrophic prey source for three larval crab species (Lophopanopeus bellus, Metacarcinus magister, and Glebocarcinus oregonensis). Two rotifer treatments were created, one of rotifers fed a toxin-containing alga (Alexandrium andersoni or A. fundyense); the other of rotifers fed a non-toxic, nutritionally sufficient alga (Isochrysis galbana). To distinguish between toxic and nutritional effects, groups of larvae were fed various combinations of the two rotifer types. Diet treatments included the following ratios of toxin-containing algal fed and non-toxic algal fed rotifers: 100%/0%, 75%/25%, 50%/50%, 25%/75%, and 0%/100%. Larval crabs showed no differences in feeding rates or feeding preferences for the two rotifer diets. Crab survival was lower on the 100% toxin-containing algal fed rotifer diet when compared to the 100% nontoxin- containing algae fed rotifer diet for all three crab species. In all three crab species, stage duration was also extended in larvae fed the 100% toxin-containing algal fed rotifers compared to the 100% non-toxin-containing algal fed rotifers. Increased survival and accelerated development when toxin-containing rotifers were replaced in treatments with non-toxin-containing rotifers implicates nutritional deficiency in the former diet rather than its potential toxic effects. Reduction in time of exposure to a prey source reduced survival and extended development to a greater degree in toxin-containing rotifer treatments than in non-toxincontaining diets. There was no apparent effect of prior exposure to toxin-containing prey on survival or stage duration of later larval stage exposed to the same diet. Larval crabs face an unpredictable and complex prey environment once they enter the plankton. Encounters with Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB) or heterotrophic prey that have ingested HAB species may injure larvae that have no other food source. While my research suggests that nutritional deficiency of the rotifers fed toxin-containing algae causes higher mortality rates and delayed development in the crab larvae, toxin transfer cannot be totally eliminated and a combination of the two factors is most likely causing the negative effects. If the prey environment for these larval crabs includes a nutritionally sufficient animal prey source, negative impacts (i.e. delay in stage duration and decreased survival) caused by exposure to HABs and prey that have ingested HABs can be supplemented

Alcohol consumption and cardiovascular disease: A Mendelian randomization study

Background: The causal role of alcohol consumption for cardiovascular disease remains unclear. We used Mendelian randomization (MR) to predict the effect of alcohol consumption on eight cardiovascular diseases.The study was supported by research grants from the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet; Grant number 2019-00977), the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (Forte; Grant number 2018-00123), and the Swedish HeartLung Foundation (Hjärt-Lungfonden; Grant number 20190247). SB is supported by a Sir Henry Dale Fellowship jointly funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society (Grant number 204623/Z/16/Z)

You Want Me to Reach Them All by When? How?

Blended Individualized Learning combines the best of online learning with traditional teaching. Presenters will share step-by-step how we designed an easy to follow K–5 school-wide blended learning model to engage and empower students through the use of playlists and “leveling up.” Participants will also have access to view the daily implementation manual, classroom videos, and sample playlists created by teachers. These best practices led our Title I inner-city school from an F (23 percent) to a C School while cutting our teacher turnover rate in half and changed the school’s image in the community for the better

Fathers' experiences of perinatal loss

This thesis is split into three sections comprising a systematic review and thematic synthesis of literature, an empirical study, and a critical appraisal of the thesis overall. The systematic review involved a thematic synthesis of 20 studies investigating experiences of perinatal loss, with the research question focusing the analysis on fathers’ experiences of support following miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant death. The review yielded three themes of this experience: (1) Gendered expectations and experiences of loss, (2) ‘if I talk about it, it upsets her even more’: conflict between supporting and needing support, and (3) Male experiences of support and service provision. The findings from the review are presented as a conceptualisation of the experience, highlighting the cyclical nature of barriers to support for fathers. The empirical study aimed to investigate fathers’ relational experiences of stillbirth through a lens of continuing bonds and the use of objects. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was conducted on data from semi-structured interviews with 6 fathers who had experienced stillbirth from 20 weeks of gestation onwards. Analysis revealed five themes: (1) ‘his baby didn’t die the mum’s baby died’: loss and continued bonds in a mother-mediated dynamic, (2) ‘its connected to your baby but it’s not connected to you and your baby together’: objects as manifestations of relational and meaningful memories, (3) ‘their death does not erase their existence’: exerting existence and continued connection to others, (4) ‘to replace the fact that she isn’t physically here’: a continued bond through physical presence, (5) ‘over time the relationship shifts too’: evolving expressions of love and fatherhood. The findings of both papers along with their strengths, limitations and pertinent clinical implications are presented in the critical appraisal along with the authors reflections on the completion of this thesis

Exploring research data management in the visual arts

This workshop will enable participants to explore the nature of research data in the visual arts and the essential elements of its appropriate management. For researchers, the effective management of research data helps validate and contextualise the outputs of artistic research, while at the same time supports the research method by enabling researchers to work more effectively and to mitigate against the risk of data lost. In addition, many funders now require data management plans to be submitted as part of the funding process. Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), and led by the Centre for Digital Scholarship (formerly VADS), at the University for the Creative Arts, and working in partnership with Falmouth University and the Glasgow School of Art, the VADS4R project is developing a series of tailored skills development workshops and materials on research data management in the visual arts. These are focused on the needs of early careers researchers and postgraduate students in the visual arts and will be piloted over the course of the academic year 2013-14

MR-Clust: clustering of genetic variants in Mendelian randomization with similar causal estimates.

MOTIVATION: Mendelian randomization is an epidemiological technique that uses genetic variants as instrumental variables to estimate the causal effect of a risk factor on an outcome. We consider a scenario in which causal estimates based on each variant in turn differ more strongly than expected by chance alone, but the variants can be divided into distinct clusters, such that all variants in the cluster have similar causal estimates. This scenario is likely to occur when there are several distinct causal mechanisms by which a risk factor influences an outcome with different magnitudes of causal effect. We have developed an algorithm MR-Clust that finds such clusters of variants, and so can identify variants that reflect distinct causal mechanisms. Two features of our clustering algorithm are that it accounts for differential uncertainty in the causal estimates, and it includes 'null' and 'junk' clusters, to provide protection against the detection of spurious clusters. RESULTS: Our algorithm correctly detected the number of clusters in a simulation analysis, outperforming methods that either do not account for uncertainty or do not include null and junk clusters. In an applied example considering the effect of blood pressure on coronary artery disease risk, the method detected four clusters of genetic variants. A post hoc hypothesis-generating search suggested that variants in the cluster with a negative effect of blood pressure on coronary artery disease risk were more strongly related to trunk fat percentage and other adiposity measures than variants not in this cluster. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: MR-Clust can be downloaded from https://github.com/cnfoley/mrclust. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online