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Evaluating To What Extent The ‘Scientific Exemption Clause’ Acts As A Loophole And Influences International Whaling, Amy Wick Dec 2023

Evaluating To What Extent The ‘Scientific Exemption Clause’ Acts As A Loophole And Influences International Whaling, Amy Wick

The Plymouth Student Scientist

The purpose of the study was to identify if the scientific exemption clause of the international whaling ban is a loophole for commercial hunting to continue under disguise and to evaluate the level of public perception towards whaling exemptions and longevity of policy. The study used secondary data from the International Whaling Commission to calculate total catch data for commercial and scientific brackets. It also used primary data in the form of questionnaires to identify public knowledge and belief. From the results, it was identified that Japan had the most consistent scientific programme and Norway the most consistent commercial programme. …

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How Can Informal Education Settings Be Best Used To Influence Engagement With Environmental Issues?, Hayley L. Hill Dec 2023

How Can Informal Education Settings Be Best Used To Influence Engagement With Environmental Issues?, Hayley L. Hill

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Increasing global impacts of environmental issues will affect children’s futures. Formal primary school curriculums are insufficient in providing the information children need to understand these issues which increases the need for informal education settings, such as extracurricular eco clubs. By studying how classroom-based clubs engage primary school children with environmental issues through motivations to join, activities undertaken within clubs, and level of engagement they inspire outside the sessions, recommendations can be made to maximise knowledge and engagement opportunities for children both in and out of sessions. Primary school children attending an after school eco club over five weeks were given …

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Diversity And Bioactive Potential Of Leaf-, And Root Sediment-Associated Bacteria From Zostera Marina In The Yealm Estuary, Southwest England, Eva Capps Dec 2023

Diversity And Bioactive Potential Of Leaf-, And Root Sediment-Associated Bacteria From Zostera Marina In The Yealm Estuary, Southwest England, Eva Capps

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among human pathogenic bacteria demands urgent efforts to uncover novel natural products for developing new antibiotic drugs. Since terrestrial sources of natural products are overmined, attention in biodiscovery is shifting towards marine microbial ecosystems which are subject to unique environmental stressors. Resulting metabolic adaptations provide potential for potent antibacterial compounds. Thus, the microbiomes of seagrass components in Zostera marina, and the activity of culturable isolates against human pathogens, were explored in this study. The sample site used was in the Yealm Estuary, Southwest England, a location previously unexplored in this context. Seagrass leaves at 20cm and …

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Assessing The Spatial And Temporal Distribution Of Microplastics Within The Sediment Of Plymouth Sound, Keira N. Lintin Dec 2023

Assessing The Spatial And Temporal Distribution Of Microplastics Within The Sediment Of Plymouth Sound, Keira N. Lintin

The Plymouth Student Scientist

The pollution of microplastics in the marine environment is a growing issue that impacts us globally. These invasive particles have been discovered in all regions of the world, including human body tissue. It is well understood that microplastics settle within seafloor sediment and hotspots are found close to human activity. However, the way microplastics are distributed both spatially and temporally in urban marine environments, and why this might be, is little known. Using the ‘primary analytical process’, a study was conducted in Plymouth Sound, United Kingdom, to assess how microplastics were distributed within the sediment here. General sediment samples and …

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Fostering Academic Literacy And Unveiling Student Excellence In Stem (Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics) Research At The University Of Plymouth, Uk, Jason B. Truscott Dec 2023

Fostering Academic Literacy And Unveiling Student Excellence In Stem (Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics) Research At The University Of Plymouth, Uk, Jason B. Truscott

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Six years ago, when I stepped into the role of Editor for this journal, I couldn't have foreseen the incredible wealth of talent nestled within the student cohort at the University of Plymouth (Truscott, 2018). The journey through their undergraduate research endeavours has been truly remarkable, a testament not just to their inherent abilities but also to the exceptional guidance provided by their research project supervisors and external sponsors. Each passing year unfolds as a unique odyssey through the diverse realms of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), all thanks to the steadfast commitment of these students to inquiry within …

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Bat Activity And Diversity In Plymouth’S Green Spaces: Implications For Future Conservation And Management, Ellie Hawcutt Dec 2023

Bat Activity And Diversity In Plymouth’S Green Spaces: Implications For Future Conservation And Management, Ellie Hawcutt

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Urbanisation and human population growth is a threat to biodiversity at a global scale. Bats in urban green areas are becoming increasingly acknowledged within the literature as we begin to understand their importance as useful bioindicators. Bat activity and diversity was examined through passive acoustic monitoring of four sites in Plymouth (UK) during October 2022 (Central Park, Ham Wood, Radford Lake, Saltram Park). This was completed to compare sites with differing percentages of habitats, and make implications for the future management of urban green spaces to benefit bats. Basic habitat surveys of each site were undertaken, estimating the percentage of …

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Testing The Potential Use Of Uk Wetland Plant Species In Paludiculture Using Examples From The Somerset Levels, Olivia Bentley Dec 2023

Testing The Potential Use Of Uk Wetland Plant Species In Paludiculture Using Examples From The Somerset Levels, Olivia Bentley

The Plymouth Student Scientist

The trade-off between economic benefits and environmental sustainability results in the unsustainable use of wetlands through conversion to agricultural land. As a result, causing peat degradation, reducing the ecosystem’s capacity to provide ecosystem services. Paludiculture, the concept of cultivating wetland plant species in rewetted conditions that can be converted and utilised commercially, presents an opportunity to harmonise economic stability and environmental protection. However, most research into paludiculture has been conducted in continental Europe; there is a knowledge gap regarding paludiculture in the UK. In this research, seven UK wetland plant species were harvested from the Somerset Levels, a low-lying wetland …

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The Role Of Colony Morphology And Substratum Inclination On The Distribution Of Eunicella Verrucosa On Shallow Reefs, Luke Thompson Dec 2023

The Role Of Colony Morphology And Substratum Inclination On The Distribution Of Eunicella Verrucosa On Shallow Reefs, Luke Thompson

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Eunicella verrucosa plays an important role in shallow reefs, where they produce a complex 'sheet tree' morphology that supports a variety of benthic-dwelling organisms. E. verrucosa is considered 'vulnerable' by the IUCN Red List, which validates the importance of understanding the biotic and abiotic factors influencing the species morphology and survival. This study analyses how horizontal and vertical slope inclinations influence colony morphology. A population of 115 E. verrucosa colonies were observed at Plymouth's inner breakwater fort at 8–13.8m in depth. The influence of inclination on morphology was investigated by observing colony height, encrusting branch diameter and branch complexity for …

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Impact Of Marine Heatwaves On The Physiological Health Of Two Fucoid Species, Lily Burnet Dec 2023

Impact Of Marine Heatwaves On The Physiological Health Of Two Fucoid Species, Lily Burnet

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Marine Heatwaves (MHWs) are periods of high-water temperature that have become an increasingly significant threat to marine ecosystem biodiversity in recent decades with rising anthropogenic carbon driving greater severity of MHW events. The two intertidal fucoid species, Fucus serratus and Fucus vesiculosus, are keystone primary producers supporting an extensive biodiverse community of associated flora and fauna. As intertidal species, fucoids are adapted to cope with high atmospheric temperatures during exposure at low tide, however, are prone to changes in abundance, distribution, and life cycles during MHW events. Changes to fucoid communities resulting in reduced primary production and habitat biomass will …

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Diversity, Abundance, And Distribution Of Ground Invertebrates In Lower Sharpham Farm, Valeria Zavala Quiroga Dec 2023

Diversity, Abundance, And Distribution Of Ground Invertebrates In Lower Sharpham Farm, Valeria Zavala Quiroga

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Invertebrates constitute the largest group of animals on Earth and represent the bulk of biodiversity. They are responsible for numerous essential ecosystems services and are at the centre of many terrestrial food webs. Due to habitat loss from land use change and conversion to intensive agriculture, they are experiencing a substantial decline in biodiversity, hence conservation approaches such as rewilding have been sought. There are limited studies of invertebrate biodiversity in rewilding projects, therefore the aim of this study is to investigate the diversity and abundance of ground invertebrates at Lower Sharpham Farm and the influences of vegetation structure in …

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Why Are Some Beaches More Conducive To Surfing? Bathymetric Effects On Nearshore Waves At Croyde, Jonathan Bailey Dec 2023

Why Are Some Beaches More Conducive To Surfing? Bathymetric Effects On Nearshore Waves At Croyde, Jonathan Bailey

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Good surfing waves require high peel angles, allowing surfers to ride the face of the wave. However, these waves are not present at every beach, leading to some having better surfing conditions than others. The production of high-quality surfing waves requires preliminary transformations such as refraction, to occur on the nearshore wave field. Mead and Black (2001), previously assessed how various bathymetric combinations, or components, affected the wave field at world-class surfing breaks. More recently, many articles have been published as a result of advancements made in numerical wave modelling, enabling a comprehensive evaluation of the impact these components have …

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The Different Factors Affecting Chiroptera Emergences With A Focus On Pipistrellus Pipistrellus And Pipistrellus Pygmaeus, Hannah Mccabe Dec 2023

The Different Factors Affecting Chiroptera Emergences With A Focus On Pipistrellus Pipistrellus And Pipistrellus Pygmaeus, Hannah Mccabe

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Chiroptera (bats) are important within different ecosystems and biomes due to the different ecosystem services that they provide. The services that they provide to the United Kingdom include organic agricultural pest control and worldwide bats provide pollination and seed dispersal. The rationale for this study is to understand emergence preferences based on natural and anthropogenic factors such as building structure, habitats, and time. Bat roosts are species specific, with urban exploiter species relying on urban habitats such as Pipistrellus pipistrellus and urban-adapter species such as Nyctalus noctule relying on natural roosts. A range of surveys sites were studied across, Hampshire …

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Embedding Patient Input In Outcome Measures For Long‐Term Disease‐Modifying Parkinson Disease Trials, C Gonzalez‐Robles, Michèle Bartlett, Matthew Burnell, Caroline S. Clarke, Shlomi Haar, Michele T. Hu, Brook Huxford, Ashwani Jha, Michael Lawton, Alastair Noyce, Paola Piccini, Kuhan Pushparatnam, Lynn Rochester, Carroll Siu, Wamelen D Van, Ch Williams‐Gray, Marie Louise Zeissler, Henrik Zetterberg, Camille B. Carroll, Thomas Foltynie, Rimona S. Weil, Anette Schrag Dec 2023

Embedding Patient Input In Outcome Measures For Long‐Term Disease‐Modifying Parkinson Disease Trials, C Gonzalez‐Robles, Michèle Bartlett, Matthew Burnell, Caroline S. Clarke, Shlomi Haar, Michele T. Hu, Brook Huxford, Ashwani Jha, Michael Lawton, Alastair Noyce, Paola Piccini, Kuhan Pushparatnam, Lynn Rochester, Carroll Siu, Wamelen D Van, Ch Williams‐Gray, Marie Louise Zeissler, Henrik Zetterberg, Camille B. Carroll, Thomas Foltynie, Rimona S. Weil, Anette Schrag

Peninsula Medical School

Background Clinical trials of disease-modifying therapies in PD require valid and responsive primary outcome measures that are relevant to patients. Objectives The objective is to select a patient-centered primary outcome measure for disease-modification trials over three or more years. Methods Experts in Parkinson's disease (PD), statistics, and health economics and patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) representatives reviewed and discussed potential outcome measures. A larger PPIE group provided input on their key considerations for such an endpoint. Feasibility, clinimetric properties, and relevance to patients were assessed and synthesized. Results Although initial considerations favored the Movement Disorder Society-sponsored revision of …

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Exploring Attitudes Toward “Sugar Relationships” Across 87 Countries: A Global Perspective On Exchanges Of Resources For Sex And Companionship, Norbert Meskó, Marta Kowal, András Láng, Ferenc Kocsor, Szabolcs A. Bandi, Adam Putz, Piotr Sorokowski, David A. Frederick, Felipe E. García, Leonardo A. Aguilar, Anna Studzinska, Chee Seng Tan, Biljana Gjoneska, Taciano L. Milfont, Bulut M Topcu, Dmitry Grigoryev, Toivo Aavik, Mahmoud Boussena, Alan D.A. Mattiassi, Reza Afhami, Rizwana Amin, Roberto Baiocco, Hamdaoui Brahim, Ali R. Can, Joao Carneiro, Hakan Çetinkaya, Dimitri Chubinidze, Eliane Deschrijver, Yahya Don, Dmitrii Dubrov, Izzet Duyar, Marija Jovic, Julia A. Kamburidis, Farah Khan, Hareesol Khun-Inkeeree, Maida Koso-Drljevic, David Lacko, Karlijn Massar, Mara Morelli, Jean C. Natividade, Ellen K. Nyhus, Ju Hee Park, Farid Pazhoohi, Ekaterine Pirtskhalava, Koen Ponnet, Pavol Prokop, Dušana Šakan, Singha Tulyakul, Austin H. Wang, Sibele D. Aquino, Derya D. Atamtürk, Nana Burduli, Antonio Chirumbolo, Seda Dural, Edgardo Etchezahar, Moharrampour N Ghahraman, Balazs Aczel, Luca Kozma, Samuel Lins, Efisio Manunta, Tiago Marot, Moises Mebarak, Kirill G. Miroshnik, Katarina Misetic, Marietta Papadatou-Pastou, Bence Bakos, Fatima Zahra Sahli, Sangeeta Singh, Çağlar Solak, Tatiana Volkodav, Anna Wlodarczyk, Grace Akello, Marios Argyrides, Ogeday Çoker, Katarzyna Galasinska, Yepes T Gómez, Aleksander Kobylarek, Miguel Landa-Blanco, Marlon Mayorga, Barış Özener, Ma Criselda T. Pacquing, Marc Eric S. Reyes, Ayşegül Şahin, William Tamayo-Agudelo, Gulmira Topanova, N/A Toplu-Demir Dec 2023

Exploring Attitudes Toward “Sugar Relationships” Across 87 Countries: A Global Perspective On Exchanges Of Resources For Sex And Companionship, Norbert Meskó, Marta Kowal, András Láng, Ferenc Kocsor, Szabolcs A. Bandi, Adam Putz, Piotr Sorokowski, David A. Frederick, Felipe E. García, Leonardo A. Aguilar, Anna Studzinska, Chee Seng Tan, Biljana Gjoneska, Taciano L. Milfont, Bulut M Topcu, Dmitry Grigoryev, Toivo Aavik, Mahmoud Boussena, Alan D.A. Mattiassi, Reza Afhami, Rizwana Amin, Roberto Baiocco, Hamdaoui Brahim, Ali R. Can, Joao Carneiro, Hakan Çetinkaya, Dimitri Chubinidze, Eliane Deschrijver, Yahya Don, Dmitrii Dubrov, Izzet Duyar, Marija Jovic, Julia A. Kamburidis, Farah Khan, Hareesol Khun-Inkeeree, Maida Koso-Drljevic, David Lacko, Karlijn Massar, Mara Morelli, Jean C. Natividade, Ellen K. Nyhus, Ju Hee Park, Farid Pazhoohi, Ekaterine Pirtskhalava, Koen Ponnet, Pavol Prokop, Dušana Šakan, Singha Tulyakul, Austin H. Wang, Sibele D. Aquino, Derya D. Atamtürk, Nana Burduli, Antonio Chirumbolo, Seda Dural, Edgardo Etchezahar, Moharrampour N Ghahraman, Balazs Aczel, Luca Kozma, Samuel Lins, Efisio Manunta, Tiago Marot, Moises Mebarak, Kirill G. Miroshnik, Katarina Misetic, Marietta Papadatou-Pastou, Bence Bakos, Fatima Zahra Sahli, Sangeeta Singh, Çağlar Solak, Tatiana Volkodav, Anna Wlodarczyk, Grace Akello, Marios Argyrides, Ogeday Çoker, Katarzyna Galasinska, Yepes T Gómez, Aleksander Kobylarek, Miguel Landa-Blanco, Marlon Mayorga, Barış Özener, Ma Criselda T. Pacquing, Marc Eric S. Reyes, Ayşegül Şahin, William Tamayo-Agudelo, Gulmira Topanova, N/A Toplu-Demir

School of Psychology

The current study investigates attitudes toward one form of sex for resources: the so-called sugar relationships, which often involve exchanges of resources for sex and/or companionship. The present study examined associations among attitudes toward sugar relationships and relevant variables (e.g., sex, sociosexuality, gender inequality, parasitic exposure) in 69,924 participants across 87 countries. Two self-report measures of Acceptance of Sugar Relationships (ASR) developed for younger companion providers (ASR-YWMS) and older resource providers (ASR-OMWS) were translated into 37 languages. We tested cross-sex and cross-linguistic construct equivalence, cross-cultural invariance in sex differences, and the importance of the hypothetical predictors of ASR. Both measures …

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Exploring The Relationships Between Psychological Variables And Loot Box Engagement, Part 1: Pre-Registered Hypotheses, James Close, Stuart Gordon Spicer, Laura Louise Nicklin, Maria Uther, Ben Whalley, Chris Fullwood, Jonathan Parke, J Lloyd, H Lloyd Dec 2023

Exploring The Relationships Between Psychological Variables And Loot Box Engagement, Part 1: Pre-Registered Hypotheses, James Close, Stuart Gordon Spicer, Laura Louise Nicklin, Maria Uther, Ben Whalley, Chris Fullwood, Jonathan Parke, J Lloyd, H Lloyd

Peninsula Medical School

Loot boxes are purchasable randomized rewards in video games that share structural and psychological similarities with gambling. Systematic review evidence has established reproducible associations between loot box purchasing and both problem gambling and problem video gaming, perhaps driven by a range of overlapping psychological processes (e.g. impulsivity, gambling-related cognitions, etc.) It has also been argued that loot box engagement may have negative influences on player financial and psychological wellbeing. We conducted a pre-registered survey of 1495 loot box purchasing gamers (LB cohort) and 1223 gamers who purchase other, non-randomized game content (nLB cohort). Our survey confirms 15 of our 23 …

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Storage Protein Activator Controls Grain Protein Accumulation In Bread Wheat In A Nitrogen Dependent Manner, Anne Plessis, Catherine Ravel, Thierry Risacher, Nathalie Duchateau, Mireille Dardevet, Marielle Merlino, François Torney, Pierre Martre Dec 2023

Storage Protein Activator Controls Grain Protein Accumulation In Bread Wheat In A Nitrogen Dependent Manner, Anne Plessis, Catherine Ravel, Thierry Risacher, Nathalie Duchateau, Mireille Dardevet, Marielle Merlino, François Torney, Pierre Martre

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

The expression of cereal grain storage protein (GSP) genes is controlled by a complex network of transcription factors (TFs). Storage protein activator (SPA) is a major TF acting in this network but its specific function in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) remains to be determined. Here we generated an RNAi line in which expression of the three SPA homoeologs was reduced. In this line and its null segregant we analyzed GSP accumulation and expression of GSP and regulatory TF genes under two regimes of nitrogen availability. We show that down regulation of SPA decreases grain protein concentration at maturity under low …

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The Western Channel Observatory: A Century Of Physical, Chemical And Biological Data Compiled From Pelagic And Benthic Habitats In The Western English Channel, Andrea J. Mcevoy, Angus Atkinson, Ruth L. Airs, Rachel Brittain, Ian Brown, Elaine S. Fileman, Helen S. Findlay, Caroline L. Mcneill, Clare Ostle, Tim J. Smyth, Paul J. Somerfield, Karen Tait, Glen A. Tarran, Simon Thomas, Claire E. Widdicombe, E. Malcolm S. Woodward, Amanda Beesley, David V.P. Conway, James Fishwick, Hannah Haines, Carolyn Harris, Roger Harris, Pierre Hélaouët, David Johns, Penelope K. Lindeque, Thomas Mesher, Abigail Mcquatters-Gollop, Joana Nunes, Frances Perry, Ana M. Queiros, Andrew Rees, Saskia Rühl, David Sims, Ricardo Torres, Stephen Widdicombe Dec 2023

The Western Channel Observatory: A Century Of Physical, Chemical And Biological Data Compiled From Pelagic And Benthic Habitats In The Western English Channel, Andrea J. Mcevoy, Angus Atkinson, Ruth L. Airs, Rachel Brittain, Ian Brown, Elaine S. Fileman, Helen S. Findlay, Caroline L. Mcneill, Clare Ostle, Tim J. Smyth, Paul J. Somerfield, Karen Tait, Glen A. Tarran, Simon Thomas, Claire E. Widdicombe, E. Malcolm S. Woodward, Amanda Beesley, David V.P. Conway, James Fishwick, Hannah Haines, Carolyn Harris, Roger Harris, Pierre Hélaouët, David Johns, Penelope K. Lindeque, Thomas Mesher, Abigail Mcquatters-Gollop, Joana Nunes, Frances Perry, Ana M. Queiros, Andrew Rees, Saskia Rühl, David Sims, Ricardo Torres, Stephen Widdicombe

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

The Western Channel Observatory (WCO) comprises a series of pelagic, benthic and atmospheric sampling sites within 40 km of Plymouth, UK, that have been sampled by the Plymouth institutes on a regular basis since 1903. This longevity of recording and the high frequency of observations provide a unique combination of data; for example temperature data were first collected in 1903, and the reference station L4, where nearly 400 planktonic taxa have been enumerated, has been sampled on a weekly basis since 1988. While the component datasets have been archived, here we provide the first summary database bringing together a wide …

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Impacts Of Artificial Light At Night On The Early Life History Of Two Ecosystem Engineers, Svenja Tidau, Fraser T. Brough, Luis Gimenez, Stuart R. Jenkins, Thomas W. Davies Dec 2023

Impacts Of Artificial Light At Night On The Early Life History Of Two Ecosystem Engineers, Svenja Tidau, Fraser T. Brough, Luis Gimenez, Stuart R. Jenkins, Thomas W. Davies

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Sessile marine invertebrates play a vital role as ecosystem engineers and in benthic-pelagic coupling. Most benthic fauna develop through larval stages and the importance of natural light cycles for larval biology and ecology is long-established. Natural light-dark cycles regulate two of the largest ocean-scale processes that are fundamental to larvae’s life cycle: the timing of broadcast spawning for successful fertilisation and diel vertical migration for foraging and predator avoidance. Given the reliance on light and the ecological role of larvae, surprisingly little is known about the impacts of artificial light at night (ALAN) on the early life history of habitat-forming …

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Engaging With ‘Less Affluent’ Communities For Food System Transformation: A Community Food Researcher Model (Foodsequal Project), C. Pettinger, L. Hunt, H. Gardiner, P. Garg, L. Howard, C. Wagstaff Dec 2023

Engaging With ‘Less Affluent’ Communities For Food System Transformation: A Community Food Researcher Model (Foodsequal Project), C. Pettinger, L. Hunt, H. Gardiner, P. Garg, L. Howard, C. Wagstaff

School of Health Professions

The UK food system is distorted by inequalities in access, failing the people most in need, yet it should provide access to safe, nutritious affordable food for all citizens. Dietary patterns are associated with sociodemographic characteristics, with high levels of diet-related disease mortality attributed to poor dietary habits. Disadvantaged UK communities face urgent public health challenges, yet area often treated as powerless recipients of dietary and health initiatives. The need for food system transformation has been illustrated within recent UK government policy drivers and research funding. The Food Systems Equality project1 is a research consortium that aims to ‘co-produce healthy …

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Leaf Thermal Regulation Strategies Of Canopy Species Across Four Vegetation Types Along A Temperature And Precipitation Gradient, Yingying Zhou, Nawatbhrist Kitudom, Sophie Fauset, Martijn Slot, Zexin Fan, Jianping Wang, Weiwei Liu, Hua Lin Dec 2023

Leaf Thermal Regulation Strategies Of Canopy Species Across Four Vegetation Types Along A Temperature And Precipitation Gradient, Yingying Zhou, Nawatbhrist Kitudom, Sophie Fauset, Martijn Slot, Zexin Fan, Jianping Wang, Weiwei Liu, Hua Lin

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

The ecophysiological processes of leaves are more related to leaf temperature (Tl) than air temperature (Ta). Transpiration and leaf physical traits enable plants to maintain Tl within a thermal range. However, it is challenging to quantitatively study leaf thermal regulation strategies, due to the complex interaction between thermal effects of transpiration and leaf physical traits. We utilized a 3-T method that compares Tl, Ta, and Tn (the temperature of non-transpiring leaves) investigate thermal regulation strategies of dominant canopy species in four vegetation types, including a savanna woodland, a tropical rain forest, a subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest, and a temperate mixed …

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A Novel Patient-Derived Meningioma Spheroid Model As A Tool To Study And Treat Epithelial-To-Mesenchymal Transition (Emt) In Meningiomas, Laurien L Van De Weijer, Emanuela Ercolano, Ting Zhang, Maryam Shah, Matthew C Banton, Juri Na, Claire L Adams, David Hilton, Kathreena M Kurian, C Oliver Hanemann Dec 2023

A Novel Patient-Derived Meningioma Spheroid Model As A Tool To Study And Treat Epithelial-To-Mesenchymal Transition (Emt) In Meningiomas, Laurien L Van De Weijer, Emanuela Ercolano, Ting Zhang, Maryam Shah, Matthew C Banton, Juri Na, Claire L Adams, David Hilton, Kathreena M Kurian, C Oliver Hanemann

Peninsula Medical School

Meningiomas are the most common intracranial brain tumours. These tumours are heterogeneous and encompass a wide spectrum of clinical aggressivity. Treatment options are limited to surgery and radiotherapy and have a risk of post-operative morbidities and radiation neurotoxicity, reflecting the need for new therapies. Three-dimensional (3D) patient-derived cell culture models have been shown to closely recapitulate in vivo tumour biology, including microenvironmental interactions and have emerged as a robust tool for drug development. Here, we established a novel easy-to-use 3D patient-derived meningioma spheroid model using a scaffold-free approach. Patient-derived meningioma spheroids were characterised and compared to patient tissues and traditional …

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Triassic And Jurassic Possible Planktonic Foraminifera And The Assemblages Recovered From The Ogrodzieniec Glauconitic Marls Formation (Uppermost Callovian And Lowermost Oxfordian, Jurassic) Of The Polish Basin, Malcolm B. Hart, Holger Gebhardt, Eiichi Setoyama, Christopher W. Smart, Jarosław Tyszka Dec 2023

Triassic And Jurassic Possible Planktonic Foraminifera And The Assemblages Recovered From The Ogrodzieniec Glauconitic Marls Formation (Uppermost Callovian And Lowermost Oxfordian, Jurassic) Of The Polish Basin, Malcolm B. Hart, Holger Gebhardt, Eiichi Setoyama, Christopher W. Smart, Jarosław Tyszka

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

In the 1960s and 1970s Werner Fuchs of the Austrian Geological Survey (Vienna) described a significant number of new foraminiferal taxa that he considered ancestral to the planktonic foraminifera. All these taxa are well-curated in the collections of the Austrian Geological Survey and have been studied by one of us (Malcolm B. Hart). Some of these taxa, from the Triassic and lowermost Jurassic strata of Austria and northern Italy, are poorly preserved, possibly the result of having an original aragonitic wall structure. None of these taxa possess characters which give the appearance of a planktonic mode of life, although some …

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A Quest For An Integrated Management System Of Children Following A Drowning Incident: A Review Of The Literature., S Rossaouw, Carin Maree, Jos M. Latour Dec 2023

A Quest For An Integrated Management System Of Children Following A Drowning Incident: A Review Of The Literature., S Rossaouw, Carin Maree, Jos M. Latour

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Purpose Management of children following a drowning incident is based on specific interventions which are used in the prehospital environment, the emergency department (ED) and the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). This paper presents a review of the literature to map and describe the management and interventions used by healthcare professionals when managing a child following a drowning incident. Of specific interest was to map, synthesise and describe the management and interventions according to the different clinical domains or practice areas of healthcare professionals. Design and Methods A traditional review of the literature was performed to appraise, map and describe …

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Artificial Light At Night Alters Predation On Colour-Polymorphic Camouflaged Prey, Emma Moyse, Louise Firth, Tim Smyth, Thomas Davies, Svenja Tidau Dec 2023

Artificial Light At Night Alters Predation On Colour-Polymorphic Camouflaged Prey, Emma Moyse, Louise Firth, Tim Smyth, Thomas Davies, Svenja Tidau

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Artificial light at night (ALAN) disrupts biological processes across taxa and at all levels of organisation. Despite growing interest in this globally pervasive sensory pollutant, its impact on colour-guided processes remains largely unexplored. This is especially concerning given the rapid transition in recent years away from narrow-spectrum lighting and towards broad-spectrum options such as white LEDs, which are rich in the short wavelengths of light to which many taxa are particularly sensitive. Camouflage is particularly likely to be disrupted by broader spectra of ALAN due to changes in conspicuousness in background matching prey, which may alter prey recognition in visually …

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Modulation Of Zebrafish (Danio Rerio) Intestinal Mucosal Barrier Function Fed Different Postbiotics And A Probiotic From Lactobacilli, Mark Rawling, Marion Schiavone, Amélie Mugnier, Eric Leclercq, Daniel Merrifield, Andrew Foey, Emmanuelle Apper Nov 2023

Modulation Of Zebrafish (Danio Rerio) Intestinal Mucosal Barrier Function Fed Different Postbiotics And A Probiotic From Lactobacilli, Mark Rawling, Marion Schiavone, Amélie Mugnier, Eric Leclercq, Daniel Merrifield, Andrew Foey, Emmanuelle Apper

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

It is generally accepted that microbes play a critical role in maintaining gut barrier function, making them ideal to target in order to mitigate the effects of intestinal diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease with specialist supplementations such as probiotic or postbiotic preparations. In this study, specific strains of Lactobacillus helvictus both live and inactivated and Lactobacillus plantarum inactivated were fed to zebrafish at an inclusion level of 6 × 106 cells/g in order to assess the effects on gut barrier function and protection. Taken together, our results indicate that dietary administration of pro- or postbiotics strengthens the gut barrier …

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Using Citizen Science Data To Assess The Vulnerability Of Bottlenose Dolphins To Human Impacts Along England's South Coast, S. Corr, R. Dudley, T. Brereton, N. Clear, A. Crosby, S. Duncan, P. G.H. Evans, D. Jones, S. Sayer, T. Taylor, N. Tregenza, R. Williams, M. J. Witt, S. N. Ingram Nov 2023

Using Citizen Science Data To Assess The Vulnerability Of Bottlenose Dolphins To Human Impacts Along England's South Coast, S. Corr, R. Dudley, T. Brereton, N. Clear, A. Crosby, S. Duncan, P. G.H. Evans, D. Jones, S. Sayer, T. Taylor, N. Tregenza, R. Williams, M. J. Witt, S. N. Ingram

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Coastal bottlenose dolphin populations are highly vulnerable due to their small population sizes and proximity to human activities. Long‐term studies in the UK have monitored populations protected within Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) since the 1990s, but a small community of bottlenose dolphins inhabiting the coastal waters of southern England has received much less attention. The English Channel is one of the most heavily impacted marine ecosystems worldwide and increasing anthropogenic pressures pose a severe threat to the long‐term viability of this population. Conservation measures to protect these animals have been hindered by a lack of knowledge of population size, …

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Role Of Atmospheric Indices In Describing Shoreline Variability Along The Atlantic Coast Of Europe, Gerd Masselink, Bruno Castelle, Tim Scott, Aikaterini Konstantinou Nov 2023

Role Of Atmospheric Indices In Describing Shoreline Variability Along The Atlantic Coast Of Europe, Gerd Masselink, Bruno Castelle, Tim Scott, Aikaterini Konstantinou

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Beaches are highly variable environments and respond to changes in wave forcing, themselves modulated by climate variability. Here, we analyze three high‐quality beach profile data sets to robustly investigate, for the first time, the link between shoreline change, wave forcing and climate variability along the Atlantic coast of Europe. Winter wave conditions are strongly associated with North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and Western Europe Pressure Anomaly (WEPA), with WEPA explaining 50%–80% of the winter wave power variability. Shoreline variability during winter is also strongly linked to NAO and WEPA, with WEPA explaining 25% of the winter shoreline variability. Winter wave conditions …

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Covid-19 Vaccination, Acceptance, Safety, And Side-Effects In European Patients With Severe Asthma, Apostolos Bossios, Alison M. Bacon, Katrien Eger Nov 2023

Covid-19 Vaccination, Acceptance, Safety, And Side-Effects In European Patients With Severe Asthma, Apostolos Bossios, Alison M. Bacon, Katrien Eger

School of Psychology

Background Vaccination is vital for achieving population immunity to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, but vaccination hesitancy presents a threat to achieving widespread immunity. Vaccine acceptance in chronic potentially immunosuppressed patients is largely unclear, especially in patients with asthma. The aim of this study was to investigate the vaccination experience in people with severe asthma. Methods Questionnaires about vaccination beliefs (including the Vaccination Attitudes Examination (VAX) scale, a measure of vaccination hesitancy-related beliefs), vaccination side-effects, asthma control and overall safety perceptions following coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination were sent to patients with severe asthma in 12 European countries between …

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Amphibian Diversity Across Three Adjacent Ecosystems In Área De Conservación Guanacaste, Costa Rica, Alex W. Edwards, Xavier A. Harrison, M. Alex Smith, Mm Chavarria, Mahmood Sasa, Daniel H. Janzen, Winnie Hallwachs, Gerardo Chaves, R Fernandez, Caroline Palmer, Chloe Wilson, Alexandra North, Robert Puschendorf Nov 2023

Amphibian Diversity Across Three Adjacent Ecosystems In Área De Conservación Guanacaste, Costa Rica, Alex W. Edwards, Xavier A. Harrison, M. Alex Smith, Mm Chavarria, Mahmood Sasa, Daniel H. Janzen, Winnie Hallwachs, Gerardo Chaves, R Fernandez, Caroline Palmer, Chloe Wilson, Alexandra North, Robert Puschendorf

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Amphibians are the most threatened species-rich vertebrate group, with species extinctions and population declines occurring globally, even in protected and seemingly pristine habitats. These ‘enigmatic declines’ are generated by climate change and infectious diseases. However, the consequences of these declines are undocumented as no baseline ecological data exists for most affected areas. Like other neotropical countries, Costa Rica, including Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) in north-western Costa Rica, experienced rapid amphibian population declines and apparent extinctions during the past three decades. To delineate amphibian diversity patterns within ACG, a large-scale comparison of multiple sites and habitats was conducted. Distance and …

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The Distribution And Characterisation Of Microplastics In Air, Surface Water And Sediment Within A Major River System, Imogen E. Napper, Anju Baroth, Aaron C. Barrett, Sunanda Bhola, Gawsia W. Chowdhury, Bede F.R. Davies, Emily M. Duncan, Sumit Kumar, Sarah E. Nelms, Md Nazmul Hasan Niloy, Bushra Nishat, Taylor Maddalene, Natalie Smith, Richard C. Thompson, Heather Koldewey Nov 2023

The Distribution And Characterisation Of Microplastics In Air, Surface Water And Sediment Within A Major River System, Imogen E. Napper, Anju Baroth, Aaron C. Barrett, Sunanda Bhola, Gawsia W. Chowdhury, Bede F.R. Davies, Emily M. Duncan, Sumit Kumar, Sarah E. Nelms, Md Nazmul Hasan Niloy, Bushra Nishat, Taylor Maddalene, Natalie Smith, Richard C. Thompson, Heather Koldewey

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Rivers are key pathways for the transfer of microplastics (MP) to marine environments. However, there are considerable uncertainties about the amount of microplastics transported by rivers to the ocean; this results in inaccuracies in our understanding of microplastic quantity and transport by freshwater systems. Additionally, it has been suggested that rivers may represent long-term sinks, with microplastics accumulating in sediment due to their high density or other biological, chemical, and physical factors. The atmosphere is also an important pathway by which airborne microplastics may enter aquatic habitats. Here, we compare for first time microplastics type and concentration in these key …

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