Climate, human behaviour or environment: individual-based modelling of Campylobacter seasonality and strategies to reduce disease burden

Acknowledgements: We thank colleagues within the Modelling, Evidence and Policy Research Group for useful feedback on this manuscript. Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Availability of data and materials: The R code used in this research is available at https://gitlab.com/rasanderson/campylobacter-microsimulation; it is platform independent, R version 3.3.0 and above. Funding: This research was funded by Medical Research Council Grant, Natural Environment Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, and the Food Standards Agency through the Environmental and Social Ecology of Human Infectious Diseases Initiative (Sources, seasonality, transmission and control: Campylobacter and human behaviour in a changing environment (ENIGMA); Grant Reference G1100799-1). PRH, SJO’B, and IRL are funded in part by the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Gastrointestinal Infection, at the University of Liverpool. PRH and IRL are also funded in part by the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Emergency Preparedness and Response, at King’s College London. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR, the Department of Health or Public Health England.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Summary of Panel Presentations

Can audio-visual practice be both a methodology and a form of dissemination for research? What are the particular issues for researchers working in media practice and what is the status of practice as research in terms of speaking for itself, or needing additional written documentation? How useful are the established definitions of practice research? In what ways is practice research pushing at the boundaries of documentary filmmaking? What is the relationship between academic practice research and the industry? These are the issues that arose in this very stimulating film panel, consisting of four presentations and screenings of practice research, each contributing to debates around the relationship between theory and practice.</jats:p

'High Definitions': Articulating Media Practice As Research

In this paper I explore the potential of researching media through the use of practice as a research tool, using my current research project as model. Practice is an important methodology through which debates within film theory, media, culture and communications can be explored and illuminated. However Practice Research in its own right remains a contested site within the academy.</jats:p

Electrochromism: a useful probe to study algal photosynthesis.

In photosynthesis, electron transfer along the photosynthetic chain results in a vectorial transfer of protons from the stroma to the lumenal space of the thylakoids. This promotes the generation of an electrochemical proton gradient (Deltamu(H)(+)), which comprises a gradient of electric potential (DeltaPsi) and of proton concentration (DeltapH). The Deltamu(H)(+) has a central role in the photosynthetic process, providing the energy source for ATP synthesis. It is also involved in many regulatory mechanisms. The DeltapH modulates the rate of electron transfer and triggers deexcitation of excess energy within the light harvesting complexes. The DeltaPsi is required for metabolite and protein transport across the membranes. Its presence also induces a shift in the absorption spectra of some photosynthetic pigments, resulting in the so-called ElectroChromic Shift (ECS). In this review, we discuss the characteristic features of the ECS, and illustrate possible applications for the study of photosynthetic processes in vivo

Characterization of the functional interactions of plastidial starch phosphorylase and starch branching enzymes from rice endosperm during reserve starch biosynthesis

Functional interactions of plastidial phosphorylase (Phol) and starch branching enzymes (BEs) from the developing rice endosperm are the focus of this study. In the presence of both Phol and BE, the same branched primer molecule is elongated and further branched almost simultaneously even at very low glucan concentrations present in the purified enzyme preparations. By contrast, in the absence of any BE, glucans are not, to any significant extent, elongated by Phol. Based on our in vitro data, in the developing rice endosperm, Phol appears to be weakly associated with any of the BE isozymes. By using fluorophore-labeled malto-oligosaccharides, we identified maltose as the smallest possible primer for elongation by Phol. Linear dextrins act as carbohydrate substrates for BEs. By functionally interacting with a BE, Phol performs two essential functions during the initiation of starch biosynthesis in the rice endosperm: First, it elongates maltodextrins up to a degree of polymerization of at least 60. Second, by closely interacting with BEs, Phol is able to elongate branched glucans efficiently and thereby synthesizes branched carbohydrates essential for the initiation of amylopectin biosynthesis