Phylogenetically Widespread Polyembryony in Cyclostome Bryozoans and the Protracted Asynchronous Release of Clonal Brood-Mates

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Satellite mapping in cities and below cities: how good is it now?

Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) have existed since the launch of the US global positioning system constellation in 1978. There is an increasing need for better maps in the digital age, particularly for buried utilities. One of the most convenient methods for creating accurate maps is the use of navigation satellites for positioning. However, built-up urban areas are not ideal for the use of this positioning technology. This paper provides an update on the situation regarding GNSS and assesses how new satellites and signals are contributing to better positioning availability by carrying out a test in a controlled environment. The results show that using combined satellite systems improves availability in urban canyons in some cases, but not in all scenarios. In addition, pipeline mapping technology has been tested and been shown to be an effective means of mapping pipes deep under the ground over short distances

How and Why Parents Guide the Media Use of Young Children

Abstract Children use electronic screens at ever younger ages, but there is still little empirical research on howand why parents mediate this media use. In line with Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development, we explored whether children’s media skills and media activities, next to parents’ attitudes about media for children, and several child and parent-family characteristics, predicted parental mediation practices. Furthermore, we investigated children’s use and ownership of electronic screens in the bedroomin relationship to the child’s media skills. Data from an online survey among 896 Dutch parents with young children (0–7 years) showed that children’s use and ownership of TV, game consoles, computers and touchscreens, primarily depended on their media skills and age, not on parent’s attitudes about media for children. Only touchscreens were used more often by children, when parents perceived media as helpful in providing moments of rest for the child. In line with former studies, parents consistently applied co-use, supervision, active mediation, restrictive mediation, and monitoring, depending on positive and negative attitudes about media. The child’s media skills andmedia activities, however, had stronger relationshipswith parental mediation styles, whereas age was not related. Canonical discriminant analysis, finally, captured how the five mediation strategies varied among infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and early childhood children, predominantly as a result of children’s media skills, and media activities, i.e., playing educational games and passive entertainment use

Usefulness and engagement with a guided workbook intervention (WorkPlan) to support work related goals among cancer survivors

Background: Returning to work after cancer is associated with improved physical and psychological functioning, but managing this return can be a challenging process. A workbook based intervention (WorkPlan) was developed to support return-to-work among cancer survivors. The aim of this study was to explore how participants using the workbook engaged with the intervention and utilised the content of the intervention in their plan to return-to-work. Methods: As part of a feasibility randomised controlled trial, 23 participants from the intervention group were interviewed 4-weeks post intervention. Interviews focussed on intervention delivery and data was analysed using Framework analysis. Results: Participants revealed a sense of empowerment and changes in their outlook as they transitioned from patient to employee, citing the act of writing as a medium for creating their own return-to-work narrative. Participants found the generation of a return-to-work plan useful for identifying potential problems and solutions, which also served as a tool for aiding discussion with the employer on return-to-work. Additionally, participants reported feeling less uncertain and anxious about returning to work. Timing of the intervention in coordination with ongoing cancer treatments was crucial to perceived effectiveness; participants identified the sole or final treatment as the ideal time to receive the intervention. Conclusions: The self-guided workbook supports people diagnosed with cancer to build their communication and planning skills to successfully manage their return-to-work. Further research could examine how writing plays a role in this process

Immune-Complex Mimics as a Molecular Platform for Adjuvant-Free Vaccine Delivery

Protein-based vaccine development faces the difficult challenge of finding robust yet non-toxic adjuvants suitable for humans. Here, using a molecular engineering approach, we have developed a molecular platform for generating self-adjuvanting immunogens that do not depend on exogenous adjuvants for induction of immune responses. These are based on the concept of Immune Complex Mimics (ICM), structures that are formed between an oligomeric antigen and a monoclonal antibody (mAb) to that antigen. In this way, the roles of antigens and antibodies within the structure of immune complexes are reversed, so that a single monoclonal antibody, rather than polyclonal sera or expensive mAb cocktails can be used. We tested this approach in the context of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection by linking the highly immunogenic and potentially protective Ag85B with the oligomeric Acr (alpha crystallin, HspX) antigen. When combined with an anti-Acr monoclonal antibody, the fusion protein formed ICM which bound to C1q component of the complement system and were readily taken up by antigen-presenting cells in vitro. ICM induced a strong Th1/Th2 mixed type antibody response, which was comparable to cholera toxin adjuvanted antigen, but only moderate levels of T cell proliferation and IFN-γ secretion. Unfortunately, the systemic administration of ICM did not confer statistically significant protection against intranasal MTB challenge, although a small BCG-boosting effect was observed. We conclude that ICM are capable of inducing strong humoral responses to incorporated antigens and may be a suitable vaccination approach for pathogens other than MTB, where antibody-based immunity may play a more protective role

Hsp90 orchestrates transcriptional regulation by Hsf1 and cell wall remodelling by MAPK signalling during thermal adaptation in a pathogenic yeast

Acknowledgments We thank Rebecca Shapiro for creating CaLC1819, CaLC1855 and CaLC1875, Gillian Milne for help with EM, Aaron Mitchell for generously providing the transposon insertion mutant library, Jesus Pla for generously providing the hog1 hst7 mutant, and Cathy Collins for technical assistance.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Towards a framework for attention cueing in instructional animations: Guidelines for research and design

This paper examines the transferability of successful cueing approaches from text and static visualization research to animations. Theories of visual attention and learning as well as empirical evidence for the instructional effectiveness of attention cueing are reviewed and, based on Mayer’s theory of multimedia learning, a framework was developed for classifying three functions for cueing: (1) selection—cues guide attention to specific locations, (2) organization—cues emphasize structure, and (3) integration—cues explicate relations between and within elements. The framework was used to structure the discussion of studies on cueing in animations. It is concluded that attentional cues may facilitate the selection of information in animations and sometimes improve learning, whereas organizational and relational cueing requires more consideration on how to enhance understanding. Consequently, it is suggested to develop cues that work in animations rather than borrowing effective cues from static representations. Guidelines for future research on attention cueing in animations are presented

Alternative splicing of barley clock genes in response to low temperature:evidence for alternative splicing conservation

Alternative splicing (AS) is a regulated mechanism that generates multiple transcripts from individual genes. It is widespread in eukaryotic genomes and provides an effective way to control gene expression. At low temperatures, AS regulates Arabidopsis clock genes through dynamic changes in the levels of productive mRNAs. We examined AS in barley clock genes to assess whether temperature-dependent AS responses also occur in a monocotyledonous crop species. We identify changes in AS of various barley core clock genes including the barley orthologues of Arabidopsis AtLHY and AtPRR7 which showed the most pronounced AS changes in response to low temperature. The AS events modulate the levels of functional and translatable mRNAs, and potentially protein levels, upon transition to cold. There is some conservation of AS events and/or splicing behaviour of clock genes between Arabidopsis and barley. In addition, novel temperature-dependent AS of the core clock gene HvPPD-H1 (a major determinant of photoperiod response and AtPRR7 orthologue) is conserved in monocots. HvPPD-H1 showed a rapid, temperature-sensitive isoform switch which resulted in changes in abundance of AS variants encoding different protein isoforms. This novel layer of low temperature control of clock gene expression, observed in two very different species, will help our understanding of plant adaptation to different environments and ultimately offer a new range of targets for plant improvement

Defining motility in the Staphylococci

The ability of bacteria to move is critical for their survival in diverse environments and multiple ways have evolved to achieve this. Two forms of motility have recently been described for Staphylococcus aureus, an organism previously considered to be non-motile. One form is called spreading, which is a type of sliding motility and the second form involves comet formation, which has many observable characteristics associated with gliding motility. Darting motility has also been observed in Staphylococcus epidermidis. This review describes how motility is defined and how we distinguish between passive and active motility. We discuss the characteristics of the various forms of Staphylococci motility, the molecular mechanisms involved and the potential future research directions