Estudio de la Capa Límite Atmosférica Nocturna: SABLES2006

[EN]Preliminary results from SABLES2006 field campaign (Stable Atmospheric Boundary Layer Experiment in Spain) are shown. This campaign took place from 19 June to 5 July 2006 at the CIBA (Research Centre for the Lower Atmosphere) site, which is located at Valladolid on a fairly homogeneous terrain. Different instrumentation was available on a 100m tower (cups and sonic anemometers, thermometers, humidity sensors and three high resolution microbarometers). Additionally, a triangular array of microbarometers close to surface was also deployed in order to characterize wave events. Moreover a tethered balloon was used to get vertical profiles of the atmosphere up to 1000 m. Mean micrometeorological variables, stability and turbulent parameters (all of them 5 minute averaged) have been analysed for 10 consecutive nights, showing the main characteristics of the stable nocturnal boundary layer: surface-based inversions, intermittent turbulence, katabatic winds, low level jets, developing gravity waves, etc. The boundary layer height in stable conditions is also evaluated from different definitions. The range of values found is analysed.[ES]En este trabajo se muestran resultados preliminares de la campaña SABLES2006 (Experimento en Capa Límite Atmosférica Estable en España). La campaña tuvo lugar entre el 19 de junio y el 5 de julio en el CIBA (Centro de Investigaciones en la Baja Atmósfera), localizando en la provincia de Valladolid sobre terreno homogéneo. En una torre de 100 m se dispuso de diferente instrumentación (anemómetros de cazoletas y sónicos, termómetros, sensores de humedad y tres microbarómetros de alta sensibilidad). Adicionalmente, se utilizaron tres microbarómetros dispuestos en un triángulo junto a la superficie con el objeto de caracterizar eventos ondulatorios. Además de empleó un globo cautivo para obtener perfiles de la atmósfera hasta 1000 m. Se han analizado variables micrometeorológicas medias, parámetros de estabilidad y turbulentos (todos promediados en 5 minutos) para 10 noches consecutivas, mostrando las principales características de la capa límite estable nocturna: inversiones junto al suelo, turbulencia intermitente, vientos catabáticos, chorros a bajo nivel, desarrollo de ondas de gravedad, etc. La altura de la capa límite en condiciones de estabilidad fue evaluada según diferentes definiciones. Los rangos de valores encontrados han sido analizados.This work has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education & Science from the projects: CGL2004-03109 and CGL2006-12474-C03-03. IV PRICIT program (supported by Comunidad de Madrid and UCM) has also partially financed this work through the Research Group “Micrometeorology and Climate Variability” (nº 910437)

Behavioural and energetic consequences of competition among three overwintering swan (Cygnus spp.) species

Funder: Peter Scott Trust for Education and Research in ConservationFunder: Peter Smith Charitable Trust for NatureFunder: Olive Herbert Charitable TrustFunder: D’Oyly Carte Charitable TrustFunder: N. Smith Charitable SettlementFunder: Robert Kiln Charitable TrustFunder: The estate of the late Professor Geoffrey Matthews OBEAbstractBackgroundWinter numbers of the northwest European population of Bewick’s Swans (Cygnus columbianus bewickii) declined recently by c. 40%. During the same period, numbers of two sympatric and ecologically-similar congeners, the Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) and Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus) showed increases or stability. It has been suggested that these opposing population trends could have a causal relationship, as Mute and Whooper Swans are larger and competitively dominant to Bewick’s Swans in foraging situations. If so, effects of competition of Mute and Whooper Swans on Bewick’s Swans should be detectable as measurable impacts on behaviour and energetics.MethodsHere, we studied the diurnal behaviour and energetics of 1083 focal adults and first-winter juveniles (“cygnets”) of the three swan species on their winter grounds in eastern England. We analysed video recordings to derive time-activity budgets and these, together with estimates of energy gain and expenditure, were analysed to determine whether individual Bewick’s Swans altered the time spent on key behaviours when sharing feeding habitat with other swan species, and any consequences for their energy expenditure and net energy gain.ResultsAll three swan species spent a small proportion of their total time (0.011) on aggressive interactions, and these were predominantly intraspecific (≥ 0.714). Mixed-effects models indicated that sharing feeding habitat with higher densities of Mute and Whooper Swans increased the likelihood of engaging in aggression for cygnet Bewick’s Swans, but not for adults. Higher levels of interspecific competition decreased the time spent by Bewick’s Swan cygnets on foraging, whilst adults showed the opposite pattern. When among low densities of conspecifics (&lt; c. 200 individuals/km2), individual Bewick’s Swans spent more time on vigilance in the presence of higher densities of Mute and Whooper Swans, whilst individuals within higher density Bewick’s Swan flocks showed the opposite pattern. Crucially, we found no evidence that greater numbers of interspecific competitors affected the net energy gain of either adult or cygnet Bewick’s Swans.ConclusionsWe found no evidence that Bewick’s Swan net energy gain was affected by sharing agricultural feeding habitat with larger congeners during winter. This was despite some impacts on the aggression, foraging and vigilance behaviours of Bewick’s Swans, especially among cygnets. It is unlikely therefore that competition between Bewick’s Swans and either Mute or Whooper Swans at arable sites in winter has contributed to the observed decline in Bewick’s Swan numbers. Further research is needed, however, to test for competition in other parts of the flyway, including migratory stopover sites and breeding areas.</jats:sec

HST/NICMOS Observations of NGC 1333: The Ratio of Stars to Sub-Stellar Objects

We present an analysis of NICMOS photometry and low-resolution grism spectroscopy of low-mass stars and sub-stellar objects in the young star-forming region NGC 1333. Our goal is to constrain the ratio of low-mass stars to sub- stellar objects down to 20 Mjup in the cluster as well as constrain the cluster IMF down to 30 Mjup in combination with a previous survey of NGC 1333 by Wilking et al. Our survey covers 4 fields of 51.2" x 51.2", centered on brown dwarf candidates previously identified in Wilking et al. We extend previous work based on the use of a water vapor index for spectral typing to wavelengths accessible with NICMOS on the HST. Spectral types were derived for the 14 brightest objects in our fields, ranging from <M0 - M8, which at the age of the cluster (0.3 Myr) corresponds to a range in mass of >0.25 - 0.02 Msun. In addition to the spectra, we present an analysis of the color-magnitude diagram using pre-main sequence evolutionary models of D'Antona & Mazzitelli. Using an extinction-limited sample, we derive the ratio of low-mass stars to brown dwarfs. Comparisons of the observed ratio to that expected from the field IMF of Chabrier indicate that the two results are consistent. We combine our data with that of Wilking et al. to compute the ratio of intermediate-mass stars (0.1 - 1.0 Msun) to low-mass objects (0.03 - 0.1 Msun) in the cluster. We also report the discovery of a faint companion to the previously confirmed brown dwarf ASR 28, as well as a possible outflow surrounding ASR 16. If the faint companion is confirmed as a cluster member, it would have a mass of ~ 5 Mjup (mass ratio 0.15) at a projected distance of 350 AU, similar to 2MASS 1207-3923 B.Comment: 33 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication by A

Inter-laboratory automation of the in vitro micronucleus assay using imaging flow cytometry and deep learning.

The in vitro micronucleus assay is a globally significant method for DNA damage quantification used for regulatory compound safety testing in addition to inter-individual monitoring of environmental, lifestyle and occupational factors. However, it relies on time-consuming and user-subjective manual scoring. Here we show that imaging flow cytometry and deep learning image classification represents a capable platform for automated, inter-laboratory operation. Images were captured for the cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN) assay across three laboratories using methyl methanesulphonate (1.25-5.0 μg/mL) and/or carbendazim (0.8-1.6 μg/mL) exposures to TK6 cells. Human-scored image sets were assembled and used to train and test the classification abilities of the "DeepFlow" neural network in both intra- and inter-laboratory contexts. Harnessing image diversity across laboratories yielded a network able to score unseen data from an entirely new laboratory without any user configuration. Image classification accuracies of 98%, 95%, 82% and 85% were achieved for 'mononucleates', 'binucleates', 'mononucleates with MN' and 'binucleates with MN', respectively. Successful classifications of 'trinucleates' (90%) and 'tetranucleates' (88%) in addition to 'other or unscorable' phenotypes (96%) were also achieved. Attempts to classify extremely rare, tri- and tetranucleated cells with micronuclei into their own categories were less successful (≤ 57%). Benchmark dose analyses of human or automatically scored micronucleus frequency data yielded quantitation of the same equipotent concentration regardless of scoring method. We conclude that this automated approach offers significant potential to broaden the practical utility of the CBMN method across industry, research and clinical domains. We share our strategy using openly-accessible frameworks

A randomised controlled trial of memory flexibility training (MemFlex) to enhance memory flexibility and reduce depressive symptomatology in individuals with major depressive disorder.

UNLABELLED: Successful navigation within the autobiographical memory store is integral to daily cognition. Impairment in the flexibility of memory retrieval can thereby have a detrimental impact on mental health. This randomised controlled phase II exploratory trial (N = 60) evaluated the potential of a novel intervention drawn from basic science - an autobiographical Memory Flexibility (MemFlex) training programme - which sought to ameliorate memory difficulties and improve symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder. MemFlex was compared to Psychoeducation (an evidence-based low-intensity intervention) to determine the likely range of effects on a primary cognitive target of memory flexibility at post-intervention, and co-primary clinical targets of self-reported depressive symptoms and diagnostic status at three-month follow-up. These effect sizes could subsequently be used to estimate sample size for a fully-powered trial. Results demonstrated small-moderate, though as expected statistically non-significant, effect sizes in favour of MemFlex for memory flexibility (d = 0.34, p = .20), and loss of diagnosis (OR = 0.65, p = .48), along with the secondary outcome of depression-free days (d = 0.36, p = .18). A smaller effect size was observed for between-group difference in self-reported depressive symptoms (d = 0.24, p = .35). Effect sizes in favour of MemFlex in this early-stage trial suggest that fully-powered evaluation of MemFlex may be warranted as an avenue to improving low-intensity treatment of depression. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, Identifier NCT02371291

Trial outcomes and information for clinical decision-making: a comparative study of opinions of health professionals

Background: Trials are robust sources of data for clinical practice, however, trial outcomes may not reflect what is important to communicate for decision making. The study compared clinicians’ views of outcomes to include in a core outcome set for colorectal cancer (CRC) surgery, with what clinicians considered important information for clinical practice (core information). Methods: Potential outcomes/information domains were identified through systematic literature reviews, reviews of hospital information leaflets and interviews with patients. These were organized into 6 categories, and used to design a questionnaire survey that asked surgeons and nurses from a sample of CRC centers to rate the importance of each domain as an outcome or as information on a 9-point Likert scale. Respondents were re-surveyed (round 2) following group feedback (Delphi methods). Comparisons were made by calculating the difference in mean scores between the outcomes and information domains, and paired t-tests were used to explore the difference between mean scores of the 6 outcome/information categories. Results: Data sources identified 1216 outcomes/information of CRC surgery that informed a 94 item questionnaire. First round questionnaires were returned from 63/81 (78%) of centers. Clinicians rated 76/94 (84%) domains of higher importance to measure in trials than to information to communicate to patients in Round 1. This was reduced to 24/47 (51%) in Round 2. The greatest difference was evident in domains about survival, which was rated much more highly as a trial outcome than important piece of information for decision-making (mean difference 2.3, 95% CI 1.9-2.8, p<0.0001). Specific complications and quality-of-life domains were rated similarly (mean difference 0.18, 95% CI -0.1-0.4, p=0.2 and 0.2, 95% CI -0.1-0.5, p=0.2 respectively). Conclusions: Whilst clinicians want to measure key outcomes in trials, they rate these as less important to communicate in decision-making with patients. This discrepancy needs to be explored and addressed to maximize the impact of trials on clinical practice

Core Outcomes for Colorectal Cancer Surgery: A Consensus Study

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major cause of worldwide morbidity and mortality. Surgical treatment is common, and there is a great need to improve the delivery of such care. The gold standard for evaluating surgery is within well-designed randomized controlled trials (RCTs); however, the impact of RCTs is diminished by a lack of coordinated outcome measurement and reporting. A solution to these issues is to develop an agreed standard “core” set of outcomes to be measured in all trials to facilitate cross-study comparisons, meta-analysis, and minimize outcome reporting bias. This study defines a core outcome set for CRC surgery. Methods and Findings: The scope of this COS includes clinical effectiveness trials of surgical interventions for colorectal cancer. Excluded were nonsurgical oncological interventions. Potential outcomes of importance to patients and professionals were identified through systematic literature reviews and patient interviews. All outcomes were transcribed verbatim and categorized into domains by two independent researchers. This informed a questionnaire survey that asked stakeholders (patients and professionals) from United Kingdom CRC centers to rate the importance of each domain. Respondents were resurveyed following group feedback (Delphi methods). Outcomes rated as less important were discarded after each survey round according to predefined criteria, and remaining outcomes were considered at three consensus meetings; two involving international professionals and a separate one with patients. A modified nominal group technique was used to gain the final consensus. Data sources identified 1,216 outcomes of CRC surgery that informed a 91 domain questionnaire. First round questionnaires were returned from 63 out of 81 (78%) centers, including 90 professionals, and 97 out of 267 (35%) patients. Second round response rates were high for all stakeholders (>80%). Analysis of responses lead to 45 and 23 outcome domains being retained after the first and second surveys, respectively. Consensus meetings generated agreement on a 12 domain COS. This constituted five perioperative outcome domains (including anastomotic leak), four quality of life outcome domains (including fecal urgency and incontinence), and three oncological outcome domains (including long-term survival). Conclusion: This study used robust consensus methodology to develop a core outcome set for use in colorectal cancer surgical trials. It is now necessary to validate the use of this set in research practice

De Novo Mutations in SLC1A2 and CACNA1A Are Important Causes of Epileptic Encephalopathies

Epileptic encephalopathies (EEs) are the most clinically important group of severe early-onset epilepsies. Next-generation sequencing has highlighted the crucial contribution of de novo mutations to the genetic architecture of EEs as well as to their underlying genetic heterogeneity. Our previous whole-exome sequencing study of 264 parent-child trios revealed more than 290 candidate genes in which only a single individual had a de novo variant. We sought to identify additional pathogenic variants in a subset (n = 27) of these genes via targeted sequencing in an unsolved cohort of 531 individuals with a diverse range of EEs. We report 17 individuals with pathogenic variants in seven of the 27 genes, defining a genetic etiology in 3.2% of this unsolved cohort. Our results provide definitive evidence that de novo mutations in SLC1A2 and CACNA1A cause specific EEs and expand the compendium of clinically relevant genotypes for GABRB3. We also identified EEs caused by genetic variants in ALG13, DNM1, and GNAO1 and report a mutation in IQSEC2. Notably, recurrent mutations accounted for 7/17 of the pathogenic variants identified. As a result of high-depth coverage, parental mosaicism was identified in two out of 14 cases tested with mutant allelic fractions of 5%–6% in the unaffected parents, carrying significant reproductive counseling implications. These results confirm that dysregulation in diverse cellular neuronal pathways causes EEs, and they will inform the diagnosis and management of individuals with these devastating disorders

Greenhouse gas and ammonia emission mitigation priorities for UK policy targets

Publication history: Accepted - 16 March 2023; Published online - 6th May 2023.Agriculture is essential for providing food and maintaining food security while concurrently delivering multiple other ecosystem services. However, agricultural systems are generally a net source of greenhouse gases and ammonia. They, therefore, need to substantively contribute to climate change mitigation and net zero ambitions. It is widely acknowledged that there is a need to further reduce and mitigate emissions across sectors, including agriculture to address the climate emergency and emissions gap. This discussion paper outlines a collation of opinions from a range of experts within agricultural research and advisory roles following a greenhouse gas and ammonia emission mitigation workshop held in the UK in March 2022. The meeting identified the top mitigation priorities within the UK’s agricultural sector to achieve reductions in greenhouse gases and ammonia that are compatible with policy targets. In addition, experts provided an overview of what they believe are the key knowledge gaps, future opportunities and co-benefits to mitigation practices as well as indicating the potential barriers to uptake for mitigation scenarios discussed.This work was supported with funding from the Scottish Government Strategic Research Programme (2022−2027, C2-1 SRUC) and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) (BBS/E/C/000I0320 and BBS/E/C/000I0330). We also acknowledge support from UKRI-BBSRC (UK Research and Innovation-Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council) via grants BBS/E/C/000I0320 and BBS/E/C/000I0330, and Rothamsted Research Science Initiative Catalyst Award supported by BBSRC