Recruitment of the limpet Patella ulyssiponensis was investigated in relation to the presence of living crustose coralline algae (CCA) in rocky-shore habitats. Juvenile limpets (≤10 mm maximum shell length) were counted in CCA-present and CCA-absent habitats, on three shores in SW Portugal during summer 2007 and winter 2009. Furthermore, the settling response of laboratory-reared larvae of P. ulyssiponensis to CCA-covered substratum, and bare-rock, was examined. Across the intertidal zone, we found a clear association between the distribution and abundance of juveniles and the presence of CCA. Although the presence of CCA was not an absolute requisite for juvenile occurrence, null juvenile densities were mostly recorded in CCA-absent areas. The highest juvenile densities (maximum of 64 individuals in 15 × 15 cm) were consistently found in CCA-dominated habitats, namely steep wave-exposed areas at low-shore and rock-pools. The hypothesis of CCA-enhanced settlement was not supported, as settlement intensities of laboratory-reared larvae were similar between chips of rock encrusted by CCA and chips of bare-rock. From the overall number of settlers onto CCA-encrusted rock chips, 51% were found in tiny pits lacking CCA. This was the first study of the settlement patterns of larvae of the genus Patella using naturally occurring rocky substrata. These results are preliminary and should be confirmed with choice-experiments and improved monitoring of the position of settlers. We suggest that CCA plays a role in the recruitment of P. ulyssiponensis, potentially promoting survivorship of early benthic stages, but possibly not enhancing settlement.

Molecular characterization of pediatric low-grade glioma (pLGG) over the last decade has identified recurrent alterations, most commonly involving BRAF, and less frequently other pathways including MYB and MYBL1. Many of these molecular markers have been exploited clinically to aid in diagnosis and treatment decisions. However, their frequency and prognostic significance remain unknown. Further, a significant portion of cases do not have any of these alterations and what underlies these cases remains unknown. To address this we compiled a cohort of 562 patients diagnosed at SickKids from 1990-2017. We identified molecular alterations in 454 cases (81% of the cohort). The most frequent events were those involving BRAF; either as fusions (most commonly with KIAA1549 (30%)) or V600E mutations (17%) and NF-1 (22%). Less frequently, we identified recurrent FGFR1 fusions and mutations (3%), MYB/MYBL alterations (2%), H3F3AK27M (2%) or IDH1R132H (0.5%) mutations, as well as other novel rare events. Survival analysis revealed significantly better progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of KIAA1549-BRAF fused patients compared to BRAFV600E with 10-year OS 97.7% (95%, CI 95.5-100) and 83.9% (95%, CI 72.5-95.6), respectively. In addition to survival, molecular alterations predicted differences in response to conventional therapeutics; BRAF fused patients showed a 46% response-rate, versus only 14% in V600E patients. pLGGs harboring H3F3AK27M progressed early with median PFS of 11 months. In patients with MYB/MYBL1, FGFR1/FGFR2 alterations, we observed only one death (FGFR1N546K case). The work here represents the largest cohort of pLGGs with molecular profiling and their impact on the clinical behaviour of the disease.

For livestock production systems to play a positive role in global food security, the balance between their benefits and disbenefits to society must be appropriately managed. Based on the evidence provided by field-scale randomised controlled trials around the world, this debate has traditionally centred on the concept of economic-environmental trade-offs, of which existence is theoretically assured when resource allocation is perfect on the farm. Recent research conducted on commercial farms indicates, however, that the economic-environmental nexus is not nearly as straightforward in the real world, with environmental performances of enterprises often positively correlated with their economic profitability. Using high-resolution primary data from the North Wyke Farm Platform, an intensively instrumented farm-scale ruminant research facility located in southwest United Kingdom, this paper proposes a novel, information-driven approach to carry out comprehensive assessments of economic-environmental trade-offs inherent within pasture-based cattle and sheep production systems. The results of a data-mining exercise suggest that a potentially systematic interaction exists between ‘soil health’, ecological surroundings and livestock grazing, whereby a higher level of soil organic carbon (SOC) stock is associated with a better animal performance and less nutrient losses into watercourses, and a higher stocking density with greater botanical diversity and elevated SOC. We contend that a combination of farming system-wide trials and environmental instrumentation provides an ideal setting for enrolling scientifically sound and biologically informative metrics for agricultural sustainability, through which agricultural producers could obtain guidance to manage soils, water, pasture and livestock in an economically and environmentally acceptable manner. Priority areas for future farm-scale research to ensure long-term sustainability are also discussed.

In the period since the inception of civil jet transport, during which a dramatic increase in travel and commerce by air has taken place, the research and development directed towards the containment and reduction of aircraft noise has spread across a steadily broadening front. The noise of the simple jet engines which propelled the first civil transport aircraft was almost entirely due to the high exhaust jet velocities that were used to obtain thrust from comparatively small mass flows. This is illustrated in Fig. 1(a), where it is seen that noise from other sources, such as the compressor and turbine, is comparatively insignificant. Thus aero engine noise research in the late fifties and early sixties was concentrated mainly on the prediction of jet noise and the development of noise-reducing propelling nozzles. It was not until bypass engines began to appear, with higher propulsive efficiencies resulting from lower exhaust jet velocities and higher mass flows, that the noise of their larger compressors drew attention to the turbomachinery as an additional source requiring investigation.

The Center for Astrophysical Research in Antarctica conducts various educational outreach programs as part of its mission as a National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center. The method behind the outreach programs is one of forging partnerships between Center researchers and other educational organisations. The main program serves primary and secondary students in Chicago. The core of the program is called Space Explorers and is targeted at high school students. These students attend a summer residential institute at the University of Chicago’s Yerkes Observatory. The high school Space Explorers then extend the reach of the program during the academic year by teaching in primary schools using a portable planetarium. The Center also pursues many other outreach activities and is in the process of forming an Antarctic Education Alliance.

To cope with phosphorus (P) deficiency, plants adapt root morphology to enhance inorganic P (Pi) acquisition from soil by allocating more biomass to roots, but whether the responses can be modified across gradients of P supply is not fully understood. The present study examined changes in root-length density (RLD), root-hair density (RHD) and root-hair length (RHL) of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in two contrasting soils, the Rough and Barnfield soils. Wheat plants were grown for 3 weeks in thin-plate rhizotrons in two soils with additions of 0, 10, 25, 50, 100 and 200 mg P/kg soil. Contrary to published literature, as P additions increased it was observed that a concomitant increase in RHL (250 to 1054 µm in the Rough soil and 303–1075 µm in the Barnfield soil) and RHD (57 to 122/mm in the Rough soil and 56–120/mm in the Barnfield soil), while RLD generally decreased (2480–1130 cm/cm3 in the Rough soil and 1716–865 cm/cm3 in the Barnfield soil). The levels of added P that resulted in critical P concentrations in the soils enabling maximum shoot biomass production were 50 mg/kg P in the Rough soil and 100 mg/kg P in the Barnfield soil, and these additions influenced root morphological changes. Under severe P deficiency, P supply increased RHL and RHD, but RLD was decreased. Improvement in lateral root and root-hair responses in wheat at extreme P deficiency may be a worthy target for breeding more sustainable genotypes for future agroecosystems.

The new Core-XAS (X-ray absorption spectroscopy) beamline (B18) at Diamond aims to provide a reliable spectrometer for a broad scientific community. With this in mind, B18 has been built as a general-purpose beamline and offers to users a variety of sample environments and detection methods. Here we will present the first commissioning results and some of the capabilities of this versatile instrument.

The UK was one of few European countries to document a substantial wave of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza in summer 2009. The First Few Hundred (FF100) project ran from April–June 2009 gathering information on early laboratory-confirmed cases across the UK. In total, 392 confirmed cases were followed up. Children were predominantly affected (median age 15 years, IQR 10–27). Symptoms were mild and similar to seasonal influenza, with the exception of diarrhoea, which was reported by 27%. Eleven per cent of all cases had an underlying medical condition, similar to the general population. The majority (92%) were treated with antiviral drugs with 12% reporting adverse effects, mainly nausea and other gastrointestinal complaints. Duration of illness was significantly shorter when antivirals were given within 48 h of onset (median 5 vs. 9 days, P=0·01). No patients died, although 14 were hospitalized, of whom three required mechanical ventilation. The FF100 identified key clinical and epidemiological characteristics of infection with this novel virus in near real-time.

Patella vulgata were excluded from barnacle dominated areas at Port St Mary, Isle of Man by wire fences attached to the rock in September 1977, December 1977, April 1978 and July 1978. The sequences of algal colonization of these exclusion areas differed markedly with season: in autumn diatoms were followed directly by Fucus, in winter and spring diatoms were followed by green algae and then Fucus, and in late summer Fucus sporelings arose directly on the barnacles. There was no evidence that the initial stages were necessary for the subsequent recruitment of Fucus.

The effects of experimentally manipulated barnacle cover on the population size, mortality and growth of Patela vulgata L. were investigated on a vertical, barnaclecovered pier at Port Erin in the Isle of Man. One area was left untouched as a control, half of the barnacles on a second were scraped off in a chequered pattern, and on the third the barnacle cover was reduced to less than 2 °0. Subsequent growth rates were inversely proportional to barnacle cover. Mortality was highest on the control. Recruitment of limpets was markedly enhanced by the mosaic of 50 % barnacle cover.

Behaviour on this vertical face differed from that on nearby more gently sloping shores, with foraging during emersion being more prevalent: however, barnacle removal reduced this foraging when the tide was out. The foraging of Patella vulgata whilst emersed was similarly shown to be more prevalent on vertical than horizontal surfaces at other localities in Britain. Emersed foraging on the pier was dependent on high humidity. It is suggested that on vertical surfaces, particularly if barnacle-covered, P. vulgata are more dependent on foraging whilst emersed because of the greater risk of dislodgement by waves when feeding whilst the tide is in.

Chlorophyll analysis and methods of direct observation of rock surfaces under the SEM were used to estimate composition and abundance of epilithic microbial taxa. Effectiveness of different chlorophyll extraction techniques was assessed. Extraction from ground and intact rock was compared using both hot methanol and acetone extraction methods. Hot methanol extraction from intact rock provided the most accurate and precise estimates of chlorophyll content. SEM preparation methods were compared. Microbial taxa were counted under the SEM from cryostage, critically point dried and air-dried material. It was concluded that air drying was the most appropriate preparation method for SEM observation. Air drying provides reasonable estimates of microbial composition and abundance and was less time consuming so allowing an adequate number of samples to be analysed. Cumulative species number with sampling effort curves were used to establish minimal sample sizes with respect to estimates of species number. Sequential estimates of mean abundance with increasing sample size were used to determine the effects of increasing sample size on estimates of abundance of the dominant taxa. These estimates were compared at different times of the year and for two different locations. Microbial communities were found to be extremely patchy in distribution. However, sample sizes required to give good estimates of taxa number and abundance were established. These estimates were found to be similar for the main taxa at different times of the year and at different locations.