Science and innovation for catchment management: report of scientific workshop May 2019

The India-UK Water Centre (IUKWC) promotes cooperation and collaboration between the complementary priorities of NERC-MoES water security research. This report represents an overview of the participation, activities and conclusions at a Scientific Workshop, held at Warwick Conferences at the University of Warwick, UK from 8th to 10th May, 2019. The workshop was convened by the India-UK Water Centre and led by Mr Ant Parsons (ALP Synergy Ltd) and Dr Kapil Gupta (IIT Bombay). The three-day workshop aimed to explore and build on existing knowledge and research to enhance collaboration and identify pathways to impact (including relevant NERC-MoES Science), identify gaps in research and innovation that are constraining sustainable catchment management, explore innovative approaches to monitoring and management, and consider the potential for SMART Rivers as part of integrated catchment management. The aims of the workshop were met by bringing together early career researchers, seasoned professors and experienced professionals from India and the UK, who covered a wide range of topics across the themes of climate, water quality, water quantity, and land and catchment management. The following report outlines some common challenges, cross-cutting themes and activities required for improving catchment management, potential solutions to catchment management and shares some of the ideas for new collaborative projects that were developed. The report is intended for the workshop participants, India-UK Water Centre members and stakeholders

Guest Editorial: Special issue Rescuing Legacy data for Future Science

Research and discovery in the natural sciences, particularly for documenting changes in our planet, is empowered by gathering, mining, and reusing observational data. However much of the data required, particularly data from the pre-digital era, are no longer accessible to science. The data are hidden away in investigators’ desks on printed paper records, or are no longer readable as they are on deteriorating or outdated media, and are not documented in a way that makes them re-usable. Special initiatives are required to rescue them and preserve such data so that they can contribute to the scientific debates of today and those of the future. Data rescue efforts are key to making data resources accessible that are at risk of being lost forever when researchers retire or die, or when data formats or storage media are obsolete and unreadable

Cultural analytics in the UK:Events data potential for the creative and cultural industries

This article investigates the potential for novel research utilising data generated by the Creative and Cultural Industries (CCI) in the UK, focussing on the long tail of metadata associated with the UK’s rich cultural events landscape. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 29 researchers and related domain experts to ascertain: (1) How cultural data is valued by academic, social and industry research in the UK and how this relates to how culture is valued; (2) How large-scale cultural events data fits into the existing landscape of cultural data; (3) How UK research can make better use of cultural events data (skills and infrastructure); (4) The benefits and pitfalls of an evidence-based approach to cultural policy; and (5) The repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic on how data-led work is positioned within the CCI. We advocate for the potential value of cultural events data to academic research, policy and industry, and also for a humanities-led approach to counter the trends towards data-driven understandings of and appraisal of culture. We suggest that a centralised cultural events data service for use in research, industry and policy is one way of supporting this

Evaluating events data for cultural analytics : a case study on the economic and social effects of Covid-19 on the Edinburgh Festivals

Funding: This work was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council under Grant AH/W007533/1.The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Creative and Cultural Industries can be difficult to quantify. Metadata about events (theatre productions, music and comedy gigs, sporting fixtures, days out, and more) are an untapped resource for cultural analytics that can be used as a proxy metric for financial and social impact. This article uses a sample of large-scale cultural events data from UK industry providers Data Thistle to ask: how can events data at scale be used to quantify the financial and social effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the cultural events sector in a particular region? We analysed the changes in event provision in Edinburgh in August 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, revealing an estimated 97.3% fall in ticketing revenue between 2019 and 2020. Additionally, the effects that pandemic restrictions had on different categories of event reveal a disparity in how different audience sectors were affected, with ‘Visual Art’ and ‘Days Out’ showing most resilience and ‘Theatre’, ‘Comedy’ and ‘LGBT’ events being most reduced. Our findings indicate that events data are a rich but heterogenous source of information regarding the cultural and creative economy, which is not yet routinely used by researchers.Peer reviewe

Neurochemical and Behavioural Factors Affecting the Sensitive Period for Imprinting

An investigation of the neurochemical properties underlying the sensitive period for imprinting was undertaken by exploring the action of a mixture of an N-methyl-Daspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist ketamine (55 mg/kg) and an ∝₂-aradrenergic agonist, xylazine (6 mg/kg) (KX) on the ability of dark-reared chicks to imprint on day 8 posthatching. Chicks treated with this mixture at 10, 20 or 40 h after hatching and which were reared in the dark were able to imprint on day 8. Controls treated with saline were unable to imprint on day 8. Similarly, chicks treated with the KX mixture or with saline on day 4 or day 7 were not able to imprint on day 8. Two stimuli were used to imprint the chicks; a rotating stuffed hen, and a rotating red and black box. While day 2 chicks were able to imprint on the hen or the box, groups of day 8 chicks that had been treated with KX at 10, 20 or 40 h after hatching only imprinted if they had been exposed to the hen. Box-exposed groups did not imprint. This is not a predisposition-like effect because KX-treated chicks showed a preference for the hen only if they had previously been exposed to it

Population-based study of autoimmune conditions and the risk of specific lymphoid malignancies

Some autoimmune conditions are associated with increased risk of lymphoid malignancies, but information on specific malignancy subtypes is limited. From the U.S. Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results-Medicare database, we selected 44,350 lymphoid malignancy cases (≥67 years) and 122,531 population-based controls. Logistic regression was used to derive odds ratios (ORs) comparing the prevalence of autoimmune conditions in cases and controls, by lymphoid malignancy subtype, adjusted for gender, age at malignancy/selection, year of malignancy/selection, race and number of physician claims. The strongest associations observed by Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) subtypes were diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with rheumatoid arthritis (OR 1.4, 95%CI 1.2-1.5) and Sjögren syndrome (2.0, 1.5-2.8); T-cell lymphoma with hemolytic anemia (9.7, 4.3-22), psoriasis (3.1, 2.5-4.0), discoid lupus erythematosus (4.4, 2.3-8.4), and celiac disease (5.0, 2.4-14.); and marginal zone lymphoma with Sjögren syndrome (6.6, 4.6-9.5), systemic lupus erythematosus (2.8, 1.7-4.7), and hemolytic anemia (7.4, 3.1-18). Hodgkin lymphoma was associated with several autoimmune conditions. Multiple myeloma was associated only with pernicious anemia (1.5, 1.3-1.7). Several autoimmune conditions were associated with increased risk of lymphoid neoplasms, especially NHLs of diffuse large B-cell, marginal zone and T-cell subtypes. These results support a mechanism whereby chronic antigenic stimulation leads to lymphoid malignancy

Synthesis and properties of [Pt(4-CO₂CH₃-py)₂(mnt)]: Comparison of pyridyl and bipyridyl-based dyes for solar cells

In the present paper, we consider a position vector of an arbitrary curve in the three-dimensional Galilean space G3. Furthermore, we give some conditions on the curvatures of this arbitrary curve to study special curves and their Smarandache curves. Finally, in the light of this study, some related examples of these curves are provided and plotted

Three Novel Pigmentation Mutants Generated by Genome-Wide Random ENU Mutagenesis in the Mouse

Three mutant mice with pigmentation phenotypes were recovered from a genomewide random mouse chemical mutagenesis study. White toes (Whto; MGI:1861986), Belly spot and white toes (Bswt; MGI:2152776) and Dark footpads 2 (Dfp2; MGI:1861991) were identified following visual inspection of progeny from a male exposed to the point mutagen ethylnitrosourea (ENU). In order to rapidly localize the causative mutations, genome-wide linkage scans were performed on pooled DNA samples from backcross animals for each mutant line. Whto was mapped to proximal mouse chromosome (Mmu) 7 between Cen (the centromere) and D7Mit112 (8.0 cM from the centromere), Bswt was mapped to centric Mmul between D1Mit214 (32.1 cM) and D1Mit480 (32.8 cM) and Dfp2 was mapped to proximalMmu4 between Cen and D4Mit18 (5.2 cM). Whto, Bswt and Dfp2 may provide novel starting points in furthering the elucidation of genetic and biochemical pathways relevant to pigmentation and associated biological processes

The spectrum of BRCA1 and BRCA2 pathogenic sequence variants in Middle Eastern, North African, and South European countries.

BRCA1 BRCA2 mutational spectrum in the Middle East, North Africa, and Southern Europe is not well characterized. The unique history and cultural practices characterizing these regions, often involving consanguinity and inbreeding, plausibly led to the accumulation of population-specific founder pathogenic sequence variants (PSVs). To determine recurring BRCA PSVs in these locales, a search in PUBMED, EMBASE, BIC, and CIMBA was carried out combined with outreach to researchers from the relevant countries for unpublished data. We identified 232 PSVs in BRCA1 and 239 in BRCA2 in 25 of 33 countries surveyed. Common PSVs that were detected in four or more countries were c.5266dup (p.Gln1756Profs), c.181T>G (p.Cys61Gly), c.68_69del (p.Glu23Valfs), c.5030_5033del (p.Thr1677Ilefs), c.4327C>T (p.Arg1443Ter), c.5251C>T (p.Arg1751Ter), c.1016dup (p.Val340Glyfs), c.3700_3704del (p.Val1234Glnfs), c.4065_4068del (p.Asn1355Lysfs), c.1504_1508del (p.Leu502Alafs), c.843_846del (p.Ser282Tyrfs), c.798_799del (p.Ser267Lysfs), and c.3607C>T (p.Arg1203Ter) in BRCA1 and c.2808_2811del (p.Ala938Profs), c.5722_5723del (p.Leu1908Argfs), c.9097dup (p.Thr3033Asnfs), c.1310_1313del (p. p.Lys437Ilefs), and c.5946del (p.Ser1982Argfs) for BRCA2. Notably, some mutations (e.g., p.Asn257Lysfs (c.771_775del)) were observed in unrelated populations. Thus, seemingly genotyping recurring BRCA PSVs in specific populations may provide first pass BRCA genotyping platform.[CIMBA: The CIMBA data management and data analysis were supported by Cancer Research – UK grants C12292/A20861, C12292/A11174. iCOGS: the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement n° 223175 (HEALTH-F2-2009-223175) (COGS), Cancer Research UK (C1287/A10118, C1287/A 10710, C12292/A11174, C1281/A12014, C5047/A8384, C5047/A15007, C5047/A10692, C8197/A16565), the National Institutes of Health (CA128978) and Post-Cancer GWAS initiative (1U19 CA148537, 1U19 CA148065 and 1U19 CA148112 - the GAME-ON initiative), the Department of Defence (W81XWH-10-1-0341), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) for the CIHR Team in Familial Risks of Breast Cancer (CRN-87521), and the Ministry of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade (PSR-SIIRI-701), Komen Foundation for the Cure, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. The work of Barbara Pasini has been supported by the program "Dipartimenti di Eccellenza 2018 – 2022". Project n°D15D18000410001. This work was partially funded by the Associazione Italiana Ricerca Cancro (AIRC)"; IG2015 no.16732) to P. Peterlongo. Funds from Italian citizens who allocated the 5x1000 share of their tax payment in support of the Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale Tumori, according to Italian laws (INT-Institutional strategic projects ‘5x1000’) to S. Manoukian. DEMOKRITOS: European Union (European Social Fund – ESF) and Greek national funds through the Operational Program "Education and Lifelong Learning" of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) - Research Funding Program of the General Secretariat for Research & Technology: SYN11_10_19 NBCA. kConFab: The National Breast Cancer Foundation, and previously by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), the Queensland Cancer Fund, the Cancer Councils of New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia, and the Cancer Foundation of Western Australia. MAYO: NIH grants CA116167, CA192393 and CA176785, an NCI Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in Breast Cancer (CA116201) and a grant from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. UCHICAGO: NCI Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in Breast Cancer (CA125183), R01 CA142996, 1U01CA161032 and by the Ralph and Marion Falk Medical Research Trust, the Entertainment Industry Fund National Women's Cancer Research Alliance and the Breast Cancer research Foundation. OIO is an ACS Clinical Research Professor. UCLA: Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Foundation; Breast Cancer Research Foundation

Association of germline variation with the survival of women with BRCA1/2 pathogenic variants and breast cancer

Germline genetic variation has been suggested to influence the survival of breast cancer patients independently of tumor pathology. We have studied survival associations of genetic variants in two etiologically unique groups of breast cancer patients, the carriers of germline pathogenic variants in BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. We found that rs57025206 was significantly associated with the overall survival, predicting higher mortality of BRCA1 carrier patients with estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer, with a hazard ratio 4.37 (95% confidence interval 3.03-6.30, P = 3.1 × 10-9). Multivariable analysis adjusted for tumor characteristics suggested that rs57025206 was an independent survival marker. In addition, our exploratory analyses suggest that the associations between genetic variants and breast cancer patient survival may depend on tumor biological subgroup and clinical patient characteristics