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Global manta and devil ray population declines: closing policy and management gaps to reduce fisheries mortality
No full textSignificant progress has been made in advancing priority actions to conserve manta and devil rays, yet implementation and enforcement of protective measures often fall short, leaving most mobulid populations at risk of overfishing. Drawing on a literature review, fisheries databases, agency reports, and expert interviews, we assess global trends in mobulid catch and mortality. We examine both targeted and incidental catch, in small (<15m, ‘SV’) and large (>15m, ‘LV’) vessel fisheries to identify hotspots with the highest risk of fisheries-related mortality and population decline. We estimate global fisheries catch 264,520 (184,407 – 344,987) mobulids per year, with SV fisheries accounting for 87% of global mortality. The highest-risk hotspots, based on mortality and declines, are located in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Peru, and Myanmar. Mobulid retention is driven by demand, with higher mortality rates observed in countries exporting gill plates, and to a lesser extent, in those trading meat domestically or internationally. We recommend urgent implementation and enforcement of mobulid listings under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), and national protective measures, including (i) uplisting mobulids to CITES Appendix I, (ii) full legislative protection for all mobulid species in high-risk fishing nations to reduce demand, (iii) avoiding fishing in critical habitats through permanent or temporary targeted area closures, or management, (iv) limiting drift gillnet effort, and (v) involving fishers in management decisions and implementation
Preterm birth, socioeconomic status, and white matter development across childhood
No full textBACKGROUND: Preterm birth and socioeconomic status (SES) are associated with brain development in early life, but the contribution of each over time is uncertain. We examined the effects of gestational age (GA) and SES on white matter microstructure in the neonatal period and at five years.METHODS: Participants included preterm and term children. Diffusion MRI was collected at term-equivalent age (n=153 preterm, n=90 term [127/243 female]) and from a subset at five years (n=26 preterm, n=32 term [22/58 female]). We assessed linear associations of GA, SES (Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation [SIMD] and maternal education), and GA×SES interactions on fractional anisotropy (FA) using tract-based spatial statistics. We compared the proportion of voxels with significant associations between timepoints.RESULTS: In preterm neonates, higher GA and higher maternal education, but not SIMD, were associated with higher FA (p corrected for family-wise error rate, p FWER <0.05). GA-FA associations depended on maternal education and SIMD (β=|0.001-0.005|, p<0.001). At five years, the strength and direction of GA-FA associations depended on SIMD (β=|0.013-0.028|, p<0.001), but not maternal education. In term infants, lower SES was associated with higher FA at the neonatal timepoint only (p FWER <0.05).CONCLUSIONS: Preterm birth and SES both shape brain development at birth and continue to do so at five years. The SES measure most strongly associated with FA in preterm infants switches from a family-level (i.e. maternal education) to neighborhood-level (i.e. SIMD) measure between birth and five years, which suggests strategies to mitigate adverse effects of social inequalities on development may require adaptation as children grow.</p
Selective reconstruction:Re-engagement in the post-Brexit UK–EU security relationship
No full textThe United Kingdom's departure from the European Union has significantly reshaped the UK–EU security relationship, including both foreign, security and defence policy and police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters. Whilst Brexit has mainly been discussed in the academic literature as a form of disengagement from the EU, recent developments indicate a nuanced process of selective reconstruction and re-engagement in the current post-Brexit period. This editorial introduces the concept of ‘re-engagement’ as a distinct analytical framework to capture the unique dynamics emerging in the wake of Brexit, which are distinct from both prior EU membership and the disengagement experienced during the withdrawal period. Specifically, it proposes seven characteristics of re-engagement that can contribute to a greater understanding of post-Brexit security co-operation: (1) the perceived directionality of the co-operation, (2) increased re-institutionalisation incentives, (3) political path dependence, (4) temporal distance, (5) institutional change, (6) alternatives to re-engagement and (7) sustainability. By reflecting on these seven characteristics in the context of contemporary developments in the UK–EU security relationship, the editorial underscores how past political trajectories and evolving geopolitical contexts, such as the Ukraine war, have shaped current co-operative practices and enabled different outcomes for different policy areas within the UK–EU security relationship
A Tamed Euler Scheme for SDEs with Non-Locally Integrable Drift Coefficient
Full text linkIn this article we show that for SDEs with a drift coefficient that is non-locally integrable, one may define a tamed Euler scheme that converges in L p at rate 1/2 to the true solution. The taming is required in this case since one cannot expect the regular Euler scheme to have finite moments in L p. Our proof strategy involves controlling the inverse moments of the distance of scheme and the true solution to the singularity set. We additionally show that our setting applies to the case of two scalar valued particles with singular interaction kernel. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first work to prove strong convergence of an Euler-type scheme in the case of non-locally integrable drift.</p
Towards new horizons in shrimp cell culture: A streamlined protocol for culturing healthy, enduring haemocytes and lymphoid organ cells from Pacific whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei)
Full text linkWhiteleg shrimp is one of the most important species in global aquaculture, second in value only to Atlantic salmon. Nonetheless, a wide array of pathogenic diseases threatens the sustainability and profitability of the industry. There is an increasing demand for a solution, but this is hindered by the lack of resources and tools available for research. One of the most valuable tools lacking in marine invertebrates is an accessible in-vitro cell culture platform, where host-pathogen interactions can be studied and novel therapeutic strategies tested and refined. In absence of an immortalized cell line, a long-lived primary cell culture system is a practical alternative.The current study aimed to establish novel cell culture protocols for creating healthy primary cell and tissue cultures that could be widely used in shrimp research. We extracted haemolymph and lymphoid organ from Pacific whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) and cultured them in a range of new cell media. The cultures were monitored for growth and survivability. The results show that both the haemocytes and the lymphoid organ tissue cultures can be kept viable in a Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium/Nutrient Mixture F-12(DMEM/F-12)-based medium for over 20 and 40 days respectively, before the onset of ageing or senescence, with a maximum culture time for haemocytes and lymphoid organ of 28 and 50 days respectively. Two-colour fluorescence cell viability assays show undergoing cellular division in cultured cells, opening up the possibility of immortalising these cell lines in the future. Our study provides a novel in-vitro platform suitable to study host-pathogen interactions in Pacific whiteleg shrimp
Learning in the experiential continuum:A philosophically informed view of professional socialisation
Full text linkProfessional socialisation is a concept that encapsulates the multifactorial and complex learning process through which a person becomes a member of a profession. In the field of nursing, existing literature on professional socialisation has primarily focused on describing students' key learning experiences during university education. This tendency has been crucial to identifying and characterising the relevance of students' interactions with faculty, patients, and peers and their engagement with the occupational culture and institutional norms, among other learning experiences. However, few studies have taken a step back to elaborate on the theoretical underpinnings of students' socialisation, such as the underlying approach to learning or, more fundamentally, what is understood by human experience. We argue that this omission has precluded a more comprehensive view of professional socialisation. Addressing this gap, in this article, we integrate philosophy to develop a framework that intertwines the concepts of experience, learning, and socialisation. In so doing, we propose that learning occurs within an experiential continuum. Ultimately, this framework operates as theoretical scaffolding that offers a deeper understanding of students' learning during professional socialisation and paves the way for new avenues of empirical research.</p
Exploratory analysis of inter-connected factors related to secondary school absenteeism:Caregivers’ perspectives
Full text linkSecondary school absenteeism in the UK arises from complex, interconnected issues within and beyond school systems, making it difficult for some pupils to attend full-time. This study adopted an ecosystemic approach to examine factors related to pupils' absence from caregivers’ perspectives. Caregivers (N = 198) completed online surveys. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine how school participation, absenteeism, pupil and caregiver characteristics, and caregivers’ attitudes predict absenteeism severity among UK pupils aged 11–16. Results show that habitual absence increases with age, particularly for pupils with co-occurring conditions, those who faced exclusion, and caregivers who are doubtful about the benefits of education. The beliefs held by some caregivers that school do not constitute part of the solution may result in insufficient support for students' reintegration into the school, thereby perpetuating absenteeism. National policies should address overlapping issues outside education that contribute to the resource gap for pupils facing attendance barriers
Localised variants of multilinear restriction
Full text linkWe revisit certain localised variants of the Bennett-Carbery-Tao multilinear restriction theorem, recently proved by Bejenaru. We give a new proof of Bejenaru's theorem, relating the estimates to the theory of Kakeya-Brascamp-Lieb inequalities. Moreover, the new proof allows for a substantial generalisation, exploiting the full power of the Kakeya-Brascamp-Lieb theory
Absorbance of two light wavelengths through human fingertip during small changes in hand position, using a light transmission probe
No full textAbsorbance of two light wavelengths through human fingertip during small changes in hand position, using a light transmission probe (Nellcor DS100A Adult SpO2 sensor) These are data from a paper submitted to Physiological Measurement. This journal has a policy that data be shared in a data repository. The study “Effect of venous pressure on light absorbance by the finger” was ethically approved by the School of Engineering Ethics Officer in the University of Edinburgh. At the time the study was done, this process involved a standard form that was submitted to, and approved by, the department’s research administrator. The Principal Investigators were Dr Gordon Drummond (School of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine) and Dr Jamie Marland (School of Engineering). Written informed consent was obtained from all subjects. Conditions. The subjects were non smokers and had not recently taken food or caffeine. They were allowed time to acclimatise to a warm environment. The study room was quiet and dimly lit. The mean room air temperature was 23.7(SD 0.9) °C, and never cooler than 22°C: relative humidity was between 34 and 45%. The subject sat in a comfortable upholstered armchair with full back and head support. The left arm and hand, with hand pronated and the fingers outstretched, were supported in a padded trough with the elbow flexed at about 30° from the extended position. The entire arm was aligned in a horizontal plane at the level of the shoulder, using arm supports suspended using a pulley system so that the arm could be promptly moved, with no subject effort, to either raise or lower the hand by exactly 5 cm above and below the original position, with an axis of rotation close to the shoulder. Measurements A standard sphygmomanometer cuff, (14 cm x 48 cm) containing a flexible elastic bladder (10×28 cm) was loosely wrapped around the subject’s left wrist and lower forearm and firmly secured. When deflated, this cuff did not constrict the wrist. A pulse oximeter transmission probe (Nellcor DS100A Adult SpO2 sensor, Covidien, Mansfield, MA02048 USA), with two light emitting diodes (LEDs, 660 nm and 905 nm wavelengths) and a photodiode detector, was applied to the middle finger. We made sure the end of the fingertip did not touch the inside of the probe. During recording, the hand was covered first in a black felt glove and then an opaque black plastic bag. The probe was connected to a commercial pulse oximeter analogue front-end board (AFE4490SPO2EVM, Texas Instruments, Dallas, Tx USA). Data were sampled at 370 Hz using the manufacturer’s GUI software (Texas Instruments), recorded to a battery powered laptop computer, and subsequently processed using Python3 software. Before each study, the light intensity from the LEDs in the probes was measured without the finger present. The probe was fixed open using black vertical cardboard props at each edge of the finger location, so that it was held open in the position it would take when the finger was inserted, and all extraneous light was excluded. The power settings for the LEDs were adjusted to prevent saturation of the photodiode sensor pathway, and then not changed for the duration of the study. These values were used as measures of the incident radiant flux (ϕi). Absorbance was later calculated as log10 (ϕi / ϕt), where ϕt was the recorded signal. After recording started there was an initial 2 minute run-in period. The arm was then moved to the first study position, either 5 cm above or below the horizontal. To minimise any order effect, this position was randomised for each subject, either up or down, using allocation by sealed envelope. The starting position is indicated in the subject data. After five minutes in the first position, the arm was moved to the alternative position for another five minutes, and then placed horizontally for a recovery period of two minutes. In the second phase of the study, the arm was moved into the up position for 5 minutes of observation. The wrist cuff was then inflated, in less than five seconds, to a pressure of 10 cm water (water manometer) and this pressure was sustained for a further 5 minute period of observation. The times of these events are stated in the data. Each CSV file is for a single subject. The data have been processed to represent Absorbance, as stated above in this description The columns are labelled. Time is in seconds from the recording start. The file basic data contains Subject numbers, physical data, times of recording periods, and hand position for the first and second time periods. Skin pigment noted if not white
Polyanionic Non-Collagenous Proteins and Their Analogues Promote Artificial Mineralization of Embryonic Mouse Bone
No full textNon-collagenous proteins (NCPs) are specialized biomacromolecules within the extracellular matrix (ECM) that regulate the mineralization of calcified tissues, such as bone and dentin. Numerous in vitro studies have demonstrated that natural polyanionic NCPs and their analogues can mediate intrafibrillar mineralization, characterized by the infiltration of apatite minerals into collagen fibrils. However, these studies primarily utilize self-assembled collagen fibrils or demineralized mature tissues, leaving it unclear whether pristine embryonic bone ECM at a developmental stage permissive to mineral deposition can regulate intrafibrillar mineralization independently or requires polyanionic NCP substitutes to promote the process artificially. To address this, we employed an ex vivo model of endochondral ossification using metatarsals isolated from 15-day-old embryonic mice (E15). In addition to a supersaturated calcium (Ca) and inorganic phosphate (Pi) medium, we introduced fetuin-A, a native polyanionic NCP or poly-DL-aspartic acid (pAsp), commonly used as an NCP substitute. The incorporation of either additive was essential for the effective mineralization of embryonic metatarsals. Both fetuin-A and pAsp played a direct role in facilitating the infiltration of Ca-Pi precursors into the avascular cartilaginous matrix. Raman spectroscopy and electron microscopy confirmed the formation of hydroxyapatite (HAp) exhibiting diverse levels of crystallinity, with fetuin-A supplementation resulting in the greatest HAp accumulation within the rudiments. HAp was localized in the perichondrium, a region conducive to initial mineralization and enriched with a fibrillar network of collagen types I and II. Three-dimensional reconstructions implementing Dijkstra’s algorithm revealed the association between HAp and collagen fibrils either organized in an intrafibrillar, extrafibrillar, or combined arrangement
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