The Arctic is at the forefront of climate change, undergoing some of the most rapid environmental transformations globally. Here, we examine the impacts of climate change on the livelihoods in the coastal Inuit community of Hopedale, Nunatsiavut, Canada. The study examines recently evolved adaptation strategies employed by Inuit and the challenges to these adaptations. We document changing sea ice patterns, changing weather patterns and the impact of invasive species on food resources and the environment. Utilising knowledge co-production and drawing upon Indigenous knowledge, we monitor the changes and multiple stresses through direct observations, engagement with rights holders and community experiences to characterise climate risks and associated changes affecting livelihoods. We use both decolonising research and participatory methodologies to develop collaboration and partnership, ensuring that monitoring reflects local priorities and realities while also fostering trust and collaboration. We showcase that monitoring environmental trends involves more than data collection; it includes observing and analysing how environmental changes affect community well-being, particularly in terms of food security, cultural practices, economic activities, mental health, sea ice changes and weather patterns. The paper contributes to a nuanced understanding of Inuit resilience and experiences in confronting climate risks and the broader implications for Indigenous communities confronting climate challenges.

This article analyses the challenges that online marketplaces and e-commerce pose to traditional product liability doctrines. It uses a comparative perspective to examine whether an online platform can be liable to a consumer for a defective product purchased on its platform, and the adaption of product liability law to this challenge in a series of jurisdictions. It reflects on the role of litigation and regulation, focusing on Europe and the United States, and considers reform in a number of jurisdictions in this area. It concludes with proposals for increasing the accountability of online marketplaces for products sold on their websites.

Close-range sensors are employed to observe glaciological processes that operate over short timescales (e.g. iceberg calving, glacial lake outburst floods, diurnal surface melting). However, under poor weather conditions optical instruments fail while the operation of radar systems below 17 GHz do not have sufficient angular resolution to map glacier surfaces in detail. This letter reviews the potential of millimetre-wave radar at 94 GHz to obtain high-resolution 3-D measurements of glaciers under most weather conditions. We discuss the theory of 94 GHz radar for glaciology studies, demonstrate its potential to map a glacier calving front and summarise future research priorities.

ABSTRACT IMPACT: We hope to provide a more nuanced understanding of the type-III IFN system, thereby exploring its therapeutic potential in the realm of infectious diseases. OBJECTIVES/GOALS: The role of IFNLR1 receptor dynamics and plasticity in regulating the type-III IFN response is largely unknown. As a specific, powerful component of innate immunity, understanding how the type-III IFN system is regulated could lead to the development of novel therapeutic targets and strategies to face a multitude of viral illnesses. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: To facilitate our investigation, we will generate doxycycline-inducible FLAG-tagged IFNLR1-expression plasmids representing all known transcriptional variants. These plasmids will allow us to: 1) Evaluate the effect of IFNLR1 surface abundance on the type-III IFN transcriptional profile and 2) Assess the extent of IFNLR1-FLAG co-localization with several notable intracellular structures using immunofluorescence, before and after stimulation with IFNL3. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: We have successfully generated three IFNLR1-FLAG transcriptional variants and confirmed inducible-expression and function in vitro. We are currently assessing the role of surface abundance, internalization, differential isoform expression, and trafficking. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF FINDINGS: By completing this study, we hope to provide a more nuanced understanding of the type-III IFN system, thereby exploring its therapeutic potential in the realm of infectious diseases.

The COllaborative project of Development of Anthropometrical measures in Twins (CODATwins) project is a large international collaborative effort to analyze individual-level phenotype data from twins in multiple cohorts from different environments. The main objective is to study factors that modify genetic and environmental variation of height, body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) and size at birth, and additionally to address other research questions such as long-term consequences of birth size. The project started in 2013 and is open to all twin projects in the world having height and weight measures on twins with information on zygosity. Thus far, 54 twin projects from 24 countries have provided individual-level data. The CODATwins database includes 489,981 twin individuals (228,635 complete twin pairs). Since many twin cohorts have collected longitudinal data, there is a total of 1,049,785 height and weight observations. For many cohorts, we also have information on birth weight and length, own smoking behavior and own or parental education. We found that the heritability estimates of height and BMI systematically changed from infancy to old age. Remarkably, only minor differences in the heritability estimates were found across cultural–geographic regions, measurement time and birth cohort for height and BMI. In addition to genetic epidemiological studies, we looked at associations of height and BMI with education, birth weight and smoking status. Within-family analyses examined differences within same-sex and opposite-sex dizygotic twins in birth size and later development. The CODATwins project demonstrates the feasibility and value of international collaboration to address gene-by-exposure interactions that require large sample sizes and address the effects of different exposures across time, geographical regions and socioeconomic status.

Corundum xenocrysts from alkaline basalt fields differ in characteristics and hence lithospheric origins. Trace element, fluid/melt inclusion and oxygen isotope studies on two eastern Australian corundum deposits are compared to consider their origins. Sapphires from Weldborough, NE Tasmania, are magmatic (high-Ga, av. 200 ppm) and dominated by Fe (av. 3300 ppm) and variable Ti (av. 400 ppm) as chromophores. They contain Cl, Fe, Ga, Ti and CO2-rich fluid inclusions and give δ18O values (5.1–6.2‰) of mantle range. Geochronology on companion zircons suggests several sources (from 290 Ma to 47 Ma) were disrupted by basaltic melts (47 ± 0.6 Ma). Gem corundums from Barrington, New South Wales, also include magmatic sapphires (Ga av. 170 ppm; δ18O (4.6–5.8‰), but with more Fe (av. 9000 ppm) and less Ti (av. 300 ppm) as chromophores. Zircon dating suggests that gem formation preceded and was overlapped by Cenozoic basaltic melt generation (59–4 Ma). In contrast, a metamorphic sapphire-ruby suite (low-Ga, av. 30 ppm) here incorporates greater Cr into the chromophores (up to 2250 ppm). Fluid inclusions are CO2-poor, but melt inclusions suggest some alkaline melt interaction. The δ18O values (5.1–6.2‰) overlap magmatic sapphire values. Interactions at contact zones (T = 780–940°C) between earlier Permian ultramafic bodies and later alkaline fluid activity may explain the formation of rubies.

Whether monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins differ from each other in a variety of phenotypes is important for genetic twin modeling and for inferences made from twin studies in general. We analyzed whether there were differences in individual, maternal and paternal education between MZ and DZ twins in a large pooled dataset. Information was gathered on individual education for 218,362 adult twins from 27 twin cohorts (53% females; 39% MZ twins), and on maternal and paternal education for 147,315 and 143,056 twins respectively, from 28 twin cohorts (52% females; 38% MZ twins). Together, we had information on individual or parental education from 42 twin cohorts representing 19 countries. The original education classifications were transformed to education years and analyzed using linear regression models. Overall, MZ males had 0.26 (95% CI [0.21, 0.31]) years and MZ females 0.17 (95% CI [0.12, 0.21]) years longer education than DZ twins. The zygosity difference became smaller in more recent birth cohorts for both males and females. Parental education was somewhat longer for fathers of DZ twins in cohorts born in 1990–1999 (0.16 years, 95% CI [0.08, 0.25]) and 2000 or later (0.11 years, 95% CI [0.00, 0.22]), compared with fathers of MZ twins. The results show that the years of both individual and parental education are largely similar in MZ and DZ twins. We suggest that the socio-economic differences between MZ and DZ twins are so small that inferences based upon genetic modeling of twin data are not affected.

Several airborne radar-sounding surveys are used to trace internal reflections around the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica Dome C and Vostok ice core sites. Thirteen reflections, spanning the last two glacial cycles, are traced within 200 km of Dome C, a promising region for million-year-old ice, using the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics High-Capacity Radar Sounder. This provides a dated stratigraphy to 2318 m depth at Dome C. Reflection age uncertainties are calculated from the radar range precision and signal-to-noise ratio of the internal reflections. The radar stratigraphy matches well with the Multichannel Coherent Radar Depth Sounder (MCoRDS) radar stratigraphy obtained independently. We show that radar sounding enables the extension of ice core ages through the ice sheet with an additional radar-related age uncertainty of ~1/3–1/2 that of the ice cores. Reflections are extended along the Byrd-Totten Glacier divide, using University of Texas/Technical University of Denmark and MCoRDS surveys. However, core-to-core connection is impeded by pervasive aeolian terranes, and Lake Vostok's influence on reflection geometry. Poor radar connection of the two ice cores is attributed to these effects and suboptimal survey design in affected areas. We demonstrate that, while ice sheet internal radar reflections are generally isochronal and can be mapped over large distances, careful survey planning is necessary to extend ice core chronologies to distant regions of the East Antarctic ice sheet.

A trend toward greater body size in dizygotic (DZ) than in monozygotic (MZ) twins has been suggested by some but not all studies, and this difference may also vary by age. We analyzed zygosity differences in mean values and variances of height and body mass index (BMI) among male and female twins from infancy to old age. Data were derived from an international database of 54 twin cohorts participating in the COllaborative project of Development of Anthropometrical measures in Twins (CODATwins), and included 842,951 height and BMI measurements from twins aged 1 to 102 years. The results showed that DZ twins were consistently taller than MZ twins, with differences of up to 2.0 cm in childhood and adolescence and up to 0.9 cm in adulthood. Similarly, a greater mean BMI of up to 0.3 kg/m2 in childhood and adolescence and up to 0.2 kg/m2 in adulthood was observed in DZ twins, although the pattern was less consistent. DZ twins presented up to 1.7% greater height and 1.9% greater BMI than MZ twins; these percentage differences were largest in middle and late childhood and decreased with age in both sexes. The variance of height was similar in MZ and DZ twins at most ages. In contrast, the variance of BMI was significantly higher in DZ than in MZ twins, particularly in childhood. In conclusion, DZ twins were generally taller and had greater BMI than MZ twins, but the differences decreased with age in both sexes.

For over 100 years, the genetics of human anthropometric traits has attracted scientific interest. In particular, height and body mass index (BMI, calculated as kg/m2) have been under intensive genetic research. However, it is still largely unknown whether and how heritability estimates vary between human populations. Opportunities to address this question have increased recently because of the establishment of many new twin cohorts and the increasing accumulation of data in established twin cohorts. We started a new research project to analyze systematically (1) the variation of heritability estimates of height, BMI and their trajectories over the life course between birth cohorts, ethnicities and countries, and (2) to study the effects of birth-related factors, education and smoking on these anthropometric traits and whether these effects vary between twin cohorts. We identified 67 twin projects, including both monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins, using various sources. We asked for individual level data on height and weight including repeated measurements, birth related traits, background variables, education and smoking. By the end of 2014, 48 projects participated. Together, we have 893,458 height and weight measures (52% females) from 434,723 twin individuals, including 201,192 complete twin pairs (40% monozygotic, 40% same-sex dizygotic and 20% opposite-sex dizygotic) representing 22 countries. This project demonstrates that large-scale international twin studies are feasible and can promote the use of existing data for novel research purposes.

The Mojave Desert has been long considered a suitable terrestrial analogue to Mars in many geological and astrobiological aspects. The Silver Lake region in the Mojave Desert hosts several different rock types (talc, marble, quartz, white carbonate and red-coated carbonate) colonized by hypoliths within a few kilometres. This provides an opportunity to investigate the effect of rock type on hypolithic colonization in a given environment. Transmission measurements from 300 to 800 nm showed that the transmission of blue and UVA varied between rock types. The wavelength at which the transmission fell to 1% of the transmission at 600 nm was 475 nm for white carbonate and quartz, 425 nm for red-coated carbonate and talc and 380 nm for marble. The comparative analysis of the cyanobacterial component of hypoliths under different rocks, as revealed by sequencing 16S rRNA gene clone libraries, showed no significant variation with rock type; hypoliths were dominated by phylotypes of the genus Chroococcidiopsis, although less abundant phylotypes of the genus Loriellopsis, Leptolyngbya and Scytonema occurred. The comparison of the confocal laser scanning microscopy-λ (CLSM-λ) scan analysis of the spectral emission of the photosynthetic pigments of Chroococcidiopsis in different rocks with the spectrum of isolated Chroococcidiopsis sp. 029, revealed a 10 nm red shift in the emission fingerprinting for quartz and carbonate and a 5 nm red shift for talc samples. This result reflects the versatility of Chroococcidiopsis in inhabiting dry niches with different light availability for photosynthesis.

We measured the spin-orbit misalignment for WASP-79b, a transiting hot Jupiter from the WASP survey. Using the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect during the transit event, we determined the sky-projected obliquity to be λ = −106+10−8○. This result indicates that the planet is in a nearly polar orbit.

The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) will give us an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the transient sky at radio wavelengths. In this paper we present VAST, an ASKAP survey for Variables and Slow Transients. VAST will exploit the wide-field survey capabilities of ASKAP to enable the discovery and investigation of variable and transient phenomena from the local to the cosmological, including flare stars, intermittent pulsars, X-ray binaries, magnetars, extreme scattering events, interstellar scintillation, radio supernovae, and orphan afterglows of gamma-ray bursts. In addition, it will allow us to probe unexplored regions of parameter space where new classes of transient sources may be detected. In this paper we review the known radio transient and variable populations and the current results from blind radio surveys. We outline a comprehensive program based on a multi-tiered survey strategy to characterise the radio transient sky through detection and monitoring of transient and variable sources on the ASKAP imaging timescales of 5 s and greater. We also present an analysis of the expected source populations that we will be able to detect with VAST.

Fifteen persons who admitted to chronic worry were asked to complete morning and evening diaries in which they reported the occurrence of headaches, assessed their mood, and observed a visually stressful pattern, noting the illusions it induced. Results showed an association between both trait and state measures of mood and headache occurrence, and between trait and state measures of headache occurrence and illusion susceptibility. However, mood and illusion susceptibility did not appear themselves to be associated either as trait or state variables. The implications of these results for remediation of headaches are discussed.

It is generally recognized that social relationships occupy a central position in psychiatry. To examine the role of social relationships in the onset of minor psychiatric morbidity it is necessary to construct an instrument which will meet the need for a valid, reliable and comprehensive index of social relationships. Such an instrument has now been developed and used in a sample of the general population.

The Interview Schedule for Social Interaction arose from a research need, and was constructed to assess the availability and perceived adequacy for any individual of a number of facets of social relationships. These consist both of persons and of the provisions obtained through them. Data from a general population sample suggest this instrument to be sufficiently valid and reliable, and also sensitive to predictable variations between sociodemographic groups, to justify its use in clinical and epidemiological studies, both in psychiatry and general medicine.

Faecal samples were taken in 2 consecutive years from Scottish Blackface lambs on a commercial farm in central Scotland to examine variation among lambs in the number of nematode eggs in their faeces. Samples were taken at intervals of 4 weeks from 1 to 5 months of age. Lambs were treated with a broad-spectrum anthelmintic at each sample date. Ewes and lambs were naturally infected by grazing pasture contaminated with mixed, predominantly Ostertagia circumcincta, nematode species. The ewes were removed from the lambs when the lambs were three months old. Only 3 of the 6 sets of samples taken prior to removal of the ewes fitted a negative binomial distribution but all sets of samples taken after this did so. The mean and the variance differed with the month and year of sampling. The amount of variation among lambs increased as the lambs grew from 3 to 5 months of age, possibly because of heterogeneity in the rate of development of protective responses. Counts taken in August and September, when the lambs were 4 and 5 months of age, were positively correlated with each other. In contrast, counts taken at 1 or 2 months of age were negatively correlated with counts taken when the lambs were 3–5 months old. Sex, date of birth, sire and dam were all associated with variation in faecal egg counts but the size and significance of their influence was dependent upon the date when faecal samples were taken. Four factors: sire, dam, sex and year accounted for over two-thirds of the variation among older lambs in faecal egg counts.