Annotated draft genome sequence of the apple scab pathogen Venturia inaequalis

Apple scab is one of the most economically important diseases of ap- ples worldwide. The disease is caused by the haploid ascomycete Venturia inaequalis. We present here an annotated V. inaequalis whole-genome sequence of 72 Mb, assembled into 238 contigs, with 13,761 predicted genes

Population genetics and epidemiological effects on Venturia inaequalis from mixed cultivar apple orchards

The apple industry in the UK produces half a million tonnes of fruit a year; its most economically important disease is apple scab caused by the fungal pathogen Venturia inaequalis. Mixing cultivars with differing resistance to the pathogen, in the same orchard, has been shown to reduce the levels of apple scab. In this study we investigated the population genetics and epidemiology of apple scab in mixed cultivar orchards. Using molecular techniques, populations of V. inaequalis differed on the hosts present in an orchard, this difference remained over time. This indicates a “super race” of the pathogen that can infect all of the cultivars present has not emerged and become dominant, therefore making the concept of mixed cultivar orchards more feasible. The lack of emergence of a super race might be, in part, due to asexual conidia spores forming a proportion of primary inoculum as opposed to being purely from sexually produced ascospores. Conidia accounted for 20-50% of the primary inoculum in the orchard studied. The importance of conidia is likely to be heavily dependent on local conditions. For a reduction in levels of apple scab in a mixed cultivar orchard it is important that the cultivars present have differing resistance. Comparing scab populations on a number of desert and cider cultivars showed that populations on cider cultivars are most different. An assembled V. inaequalis genome is presented and was used to align isolates from different cultivars within the same orchard. Looking at differences between these isolates has indicated that there is a lack of mating occurring between isolates from the different cultivars present within the same orchard. This indicates that mating is most likely initiated between isolates on the same leaf. The findings of this thesis could contribute to apple orchard practises, regarding apple scab control, in the short, medium and long term

Smoking Mull: a grounded theory model on the dynamics of combined tobacco and cannabis use among men

Issue addressed: Australians’ use of cannabis has been increasing. Over a third of Australians (35.4%) have used cannabis at some time in their lives and 10.3% are recent users. Almost two-thirds of cannabis users combine cannabis with tobacco. The aim of this study was to understand the process of mulling – smoking tobacco and cannabis together – using a grounded theory approach. Methods: Twenty-one in-depth semi structured interviews were conducted with men aged 25–34 and living on the North Coast of New South Wales. Interviews explored participants’ smoking practices, histories and cessation attempts. Results: A model describing mulling behaviour and the dynamics of smoking cannabis and tobacco was developed. It provides an explanatory framework that demonstrates the flexibility in smoking practices, including substance substitution – participants changed the type of cannabis they smoked, the amount of tobacco they mixed with it and the devices they used to smoke according to the situations they were in and the effects sought. Conclusion: Understanding these dynamic smoking practices and the importance of situations and effects, as well as the specific role of tobacco in mulling, may allow health workers to design more relevant and appropriate interventions. So what?: Combining tobacco with cannabis is the most common way of smoking cannabis in Australia. However, tobacco cessation programmes rarely address cannabis use. Further research to develop evidence-based approaches for mull use would improve cessation outcomes. Keywords: concomitant use, marijuana, mulling, nicotineNHMR

Seasonal Bias in Soil Carbonate Formation and Its Implications for Interpreting High‐Resolution Paleoarchives: Evidence From Southern Utah

Pedogenic carbonate is commonly used as a paleoarchive, but its interpretation is limited by our understanding of its formation conditions. We investigated laminated soil carbonate rinds as a high‐resolution paleoarchive in Torrey, Utah, USA, by characterizing and modeling their formation conditions. We compared late Holocene (<5 ka) soil carbonate conventional (C and O) and “clumped” isotopes to modern soil environment and isotope measurements: soil CO2 partial pressure, soil temperature, soil moisture, δ13C‐soil CO2, δ18O precipitation, and δ18O‐soil water. Data unambiguously identified a strong summer seasonality bias, but modeling suggested soil carbonate formed several times throughout the year during infiltration events causing dissolution‐formation reactions. This apparent discrepancy resulted from preferential preservation of calcite formed from the largest annual infiltration events (summer) overprinting previously formed calcite. Soil carbonate therefore formed predominantly due to changes in soil water content. As soil CO2 was at its annual maximum during soil carbonate formation, assuming uniformly low soil CO2 formation conditions for soil carbonate in estimating paleoatmospheric CO2 is likely not viable. Additionally, we showed modern summer δ13C‐soil CO2 and soil CO2 measurements could not produce a modeled δ13C‐soil carbonate consistent with late Holocene observations. We suggest using multiple lines of evidence to identify nonanalogous modern conditions. Finally, a nearly linear radiocarbon age model from a laminated rind showed that rinds can be used as a high‐resolution paleoarchive if samples are from a single depth and the timing and conditions of soil carbonate formation can be constrained through time.Key PointsAt Torrey, UT, comparison between modern soil and late Holocene soil carbonate isotopes shows soil carbonate forms during the summerSummer formation seasonality occurs because calcite dissolution‐formation reactions during infiltration events overprint prior materialTorrey soil carbonate rinds are suitable material for high‐resolution paleorecords as proxies of summer soil and vegetation conditionsPeer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149224/1/jgrg21287_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149224/2/jgrg21287.pd

Factors influencing participation in a vascular disease prevention lifestyle program among participants in a cluster randomized trial

BackgroundPrevious research suggests that lifestyle intervention for the prevention of diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD) are effective, however little is known about factors affecting participation in such programs. This study aims to explore factors influencing levels of participation in a lifestyle modification program conducted as part of a cluster randomized controlled trial of CVD prevention in primary care.MethodsThis concurrent mixed methods study used data from the intervention arm of a cluster RCT which recruited 30 practices through two rural and three urban primary care organizations. Practices were randomly allocated to intervention (n = 16) and control (n = 14) groups. In each practice up to 160 eligible patients aged between 40 and 64 years old, were invited to participate. Intervention practice staff were trained in lifestyle assessment and counseling and referred high risk patients to a lifestyle modification program (LMP) consisting of two individual and six group sessions over a nine month period. Data included a patient survey, clinical audit, practice survey on capacity for preventive care, referral and attendance records at the LMP and qualitative interviews with Intervention Officers facilitating the LMP. Multi-level logistic regression modelling was used to examine independent predictors of attendance at the LMP, supplemented with qualitative data from interviews with Intervention Officers facilitating the program.ResultsA total of 197 individuals were referred to the LMP (63% of those eligible). Over a third of patients (36.5%) referred to the LMP did not attend any sessions, with 59.4% attending at least half of the planned sessions. The only independent predictors of attendance at the program were employment status - not working (OR: 2.39 95% CI 1.15-4.94) and having high psychological distress (OR: 2.17 95% CI: 1.10-4.30). Qualitative data revealed that physical access to the program was a barrier, while GP/practice endorsement of the program and flexibility in program delivery facilitated attendance.ConclusionBarriers to attendance at a LMP for CVD prevention related mainly to external factors including work commitments and poor physical access to the programs rather than an individuals&rsquo; health risk profile or readiness to change. Improving physical access and offering flexibility in program delivery may enhance future attendance. Finally, associations between psychological distress and attendance rates warrant further investigation

Population differentiation of the apple scab fungus Venturia inaequalis on cultivars within a mixed cultivar orchard

Apple cultivars differ in their resistance to the fungal pathogen Venturia inaequalis, the causal agent of apple scab. Mixed cultivar orchards, where the cultivars present have differing resistance to V. inaequalis, have been shown to reduce the levels of scab compared to monoculture. To maximise the mixture effect on reducing scab development, cultivars need to be selected with maximum differences in their scab resistance. One indirect, yet efficient, method of selecting such cultivars is to quantify population differences of scab from different cultivars, which are expected to largely reflect the differences in the resistance to the pathogen. We sampled early season scab lesions from different cultivars in two mixed cider cultivar orchards in the Southwest of England and from various desert and cider cultivars in an orchard in the Southeast of England. Using Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) markers we compared the scab populations sampled from the different cultivars. Scab populations from different cultivars differed significantly, depend ng on specific pairs of cultivars; however, larger differences appear to be among fungal populations from different sites. The results demonstrate that certain cultivars likely share much of their genetic resistance factors to V. inaequalis. For dessert apple the scab populations on Cox, Gala, Bramley and Fiesta were not different and therefore it is not advisable to plant these cultivars in the same orchard with a view to reducing scab development. On the other hand, a reduction in scab would be more likely if one of the above cultivars were planted together with Golden Delicious, Red Falstaff or Spartan. There was a very large difference in the scab population from cv. Three Counties and populations from all other cider cultivars. This was particularly surprising given the shared parentage (Dabinett x James Greave) between Three Counties and all but one of the other cider cultivars sampled, suggesting considerable differences in the resistance to V. inaequalis between the two parents. It also indicates that selection of cultivars for inclusion in mixed orchards cannot be reliably made based on pedigree information alone

A qualitative synthesis of practice-based learning from case studies on COVID community champion programmes in England, UK.

BACKGROUND: Community-based volunteering supports outbreak management by extending reach into at-risk communities. This paper examines the application of a 'community champions' model in England, UK, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Evidence pre-pandemic shows that community champion interventions tap into social networks to strengthen connections with disadvantaged communities. During the pandemic, the UK government set up a COVID community champions funding award scheme for local authorities to develop local programmes that addressed emerging inequalities. The study aim was to identify transferable learning on community engagement in the pandemic by undertaking a secondary qualitative synthesis of practice-based case studies of local COVID community champion programmes. METHODS: A systematic staged approach for synthesis of practice-based case studies was used. In total, 16 COVID community champion case studies, which were written by practitioners involved in local programme implementation and published by the Local Government Association, were included. Case studies covered aims, programme development and delivery, examples of activities and a discussion of learning. Framework qualitative analysis methods were used to code and organise data prior to cross case analysis. The final stage produced an overarching thematic framework that best represented descriptive and interpretive themes. RESULTS: The results provide an overview of common features of COVID community champion programmes and emergent learning. All local programmes aimed to reduce health inequalities by involving at-risk communities in local prevention efforts, adapting the approach to local priorities. Two levels of community engagement were volunteer mobilisation and subsequent community-based outreach activities. Elements of capacity building, such as training and creation of networks, were common. The synthesis of practice-based learning found that stronger relationships with communities were regarded as a key mechanism to support more equitable prevention strategies. Other learning themes related to champion roles, community engagement strategies and programme implementation. CONCLUSIONS: By focusing on how community champion approaches were applied by local authorities in England during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study contributes to knowledge on volunteer mobilisation as a mechanism to improve public health communication and outreach. Notwithstanding the limitations of experiential evidence, the synthesis of practice-based learning highlights potentially transferable community engagement strategies for health protection and health improvement

Pre-service teachers’ engagement in a cross-curricular television news project: impact on professional identity

This paper focuses on the impact of pre-service teachers’ engagement in the annual BBC News School Report project on their emerging professional identity and on the evidence they provide as part of the process of becoming qualified. The research reported on is drawn from three years of enquiry. Respondents included pre-service teachers themselves, their tutors as representatives of teacher education providers and their mentors as representatives of schools in which they were placed. The methodological approach was interpretative and phenomenological with qualitative and quantitative data being analysed for emergent themes. Two years of evaluations were followed by a third year in which a set of case studies were developed. The research showed that professional identity is enhanced through being in a leading role in respect of curriculum and working with other staff. Through engagement in such projects, this paper moots that preservice teachers develop richer evidence of emerging professionalism as defined by standards of initial teacher training. Moreover, self-perception of role was modified to one in which they saw themselves, and were seen, as equals to qualified staff rather than subservient to or dependent on them. A new more equal power relationship developed as they took on responsibility for the project. Preservice teachers’ move to become full members of the professional community for which they are training was accelerated

Volunteering and wellbeing in the pandemic. Part I: Learning from practice

This report explores the relationship between volunteering and wellbeing during the pandemic in Wales by analysing practice-based case studies of volunteering

The future of social care funding: who pays?

With the UK population ageing, deciding upon a satisfactory and sustainable system for the funding of people’s long-term care (LTC) needs has long been a topic of political debate. Phase 1 of the Care Act 2014 (“the Act”) brought in some of the reforms recommended by the Dilnot Commission in 2011. However, the Government announced during 2015 that Phase 2 of “the Act” such as the introduction of a £72,000 cap on Local Authority care costs and a change in the means testing thresholds 1 would be deferred until 2020. In addition to this delay, the “freedom and choice” agenda for pensions has come into force. It is therefore timely that the potential market responses to help people pay for their care within the new pensions environment should be considered. In this paper, we analyse whether the proposed reforms meet the policy intention of protecting people from catastrophic care costs, whilst facilitating individual understanding of their potential care funding requirements. In particular, we review a number of financial products and ascertain the extent to which such products might help individuals to fund the LTC costs for which they would be responsible for meeting. We also produce case studies to demonstrate the complexities of the care funding system. Finally, we review the potential impact on incentives for individuals to save for care costs under the proposed new means testing thresholds and compare these with the current thresholds. We conclude that: ∙ Although it is still too early to understand exactly how individuals will respond to the pensions freedom and choice agenda, there are a number of financial products that might complement the new flexibilities and help people make provision for care costs. ∙ The new care funding system is complex making it difficult for people to understand their potential care costs. ∙ The current means testing system causes a disincentive to save. The new means testing thresholds provide a greater level of reward for savers than the existing thresholds and therefore may increase the level of saving for care; however, the new thresholds could still act as a barrier since disincentives still exist