Active and passive organic carbon fluxes during a bloom in the Southern Ocean (South Georgia).

The Controls Over Mesopelagic Interior Carbon Storage (COMICS) cruise DY086 took place aboard the RRS Discovery in the South Atlantic during November and December, 2017. Physical, chemical, biogeochemical and biological data were collected during three visits to ocean observatory station P3, off the coast of South Georgia, during an austral spring bloom. A diverse range of equipment including CTD-rosette, Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP), net deployments, marine snow catchers (MSCs), Stand Alone Pump System (SAPS) and PELAGRA Sediment Traps were used to produce a comprehensive, high-quality dataset.

Optimal phenology of life history events in : exit from diapause in relation to interannual variation in spring bloom timing and predation.

Respiration of lipids by copepods during diapause (overwintering dormancy) contributes to ocean carbon sequestration via the seasonal lipid pump (SLP). Parameterizing this flux in predictive models requires a mechanistic understanding of how life history adaptation in copepods shapes their timing of exit from diapause. We investigate the optimal phenology of in the Norwegian Sea using an individual-based model in which diapause exit is represented as a trait characterized by phenotypic mean and variance.

The influence of the toxin-producing dinoflagellate, Alexandrium catenella, on feeding, reproduction and toxin retention in Calanus helgolandicus.

Copepods of the genus Calanus dominate the biomass of pelagic ecosystems from the Mediterranean Sea up into the Arctic Ocean and form an important link between phytoplankton and higher trophic levels. Impacts from toxin-producing harmful algae (HA) have been recorded throughout this region over the last 50 years, with potentially negative effects on Calanus spp. populations and the ecosystem functions and services they provide.

Microplastics in commercial marine fish species in the UK - A case study in the River Thames and the River Stour (East Anglia) estuaries.

The aim of this study was to assess the abundance of microplastics in the gastro-intestinal tracts of three commercially important fish species in the UK, to determine whether catch location, feeding habits and fish size influence the amount of microplastics within fish. Fish were collected from two rivers in the UK: the River Thames and the River Stour (East Anglia). Fish were collected from two sites in the River Thames and one site in the River Stour.

Complexity and Entropy in Physiological Signals (CEPS): Resonance Breathing Rate Assessed Using Measures of Fractal Dimension, Heart Rate Asymmetry and Permutation Entropy.

Background: As technology becomes more sophisticated, more accessible methods of interpretating Big Data become essential. We have continued to develop (CEPS) as an open access MATLAB GUI (graphical user interface) providing multiple methods for the modification and analysis of physiological data.

Methods: To demonstrate the functionality of the software, data were collected from 44 healthy adults for a study investigating the effects on vagal tone of breathing paced at five different rates, as well as self-paced and un-paced.

Deuterium in marine organic biomarkers: toward a new tool for quantifying aquatic mixotrophy.

The traditional separation between primary producers (autotrophs) and consumers (heterotrophs) at the base of the marine food web is being increasingly replaced by the paradigm that mixoplankton, planktonic protists with the nutritional ability to use both phago(hetero)trophy and photo(auto)trophy to access energy are widespread globally. Thus, many 'phytoplankton' eat, while 50% of 'protozooplankton' also perform photosynthesis. Mixotrophy may enhance primary production, biomass transfer to higher trophic levels and the efficiency of the biological pump to sequester atmospheric CO into the deep ocean.

Can a key boreal Calanus copepod species now complete its life-cycle in the Arctic? Evidence and implications for Arctic food-webs.

The changing Arctic environment is affecting zooplankton that support its abundant wildlife. We examined how these changes are influencing a key zooplankton species, Calanus finmarchicus, principally found in the North Atlantic but expatriated to the Arctic. Close to the ice-edge in the Fram Strait, we identified areas that, since the 1980s, are increasingly favourable to C.

Mice and Rats Exhibit Striking Inter-species Differences in Gene Response to Acute Stroke.

Neuroprotection in acute stroke has not been successfully translated from animals to humans. Animal research on promising agents continues largely in rats and mice which are commonly available to researchers. However, controversies continue on the most suitable species to model the human situation.

CEPS: An Open Access MATLAB Graphical User Interface (GUI) for the Analysis of Complexity and Entropy in Physiological Signals.

Background: We developed CEPS as an open access MATLAB GUI (graphical user interface) for the analysis of (CEPS), and demonstrate its use with an example data set that shows the effects of paced breathing (PB) on variability of heart, pulse and respiration rates. CEPS is also sufficiently adaptable to be used for other time series physiological data such as EEG (electroencephalography), postural sway or temperature measurements.

Methods: Data were collected from a convenience sample of nine healthy adults in a pilot for a larger study investigating the effects on vagal tone of breathing paced at various different rates, part of a development programme for a home training stress reduction system.

Ocean carbon sequestration: Particle fragmentation by copepods as a significant unrecognised factor?: Explicitly representing the role of copepods in biogeochemical models may fundamentally improve understanding of future ocean carbon storage.

Ocean biology helps regulate global climate by fixing atmospheric CO and exporting it to deep waters as sinking detrital particles. New observations demonstrate that particle fragmentation is the principal factor controlling the depth to which these particles penetrate the ocean's interior, and hence how long the constituent carbon is sequestered from the atmosphere. The underlying cause is, however, poorly understood.

The Influence of the Toxin Producing Dinoflagellate, Alexandrium catenella (1119/27), on the Feeding and Survival of the Marine Copepod, Acartia tonsa.

Blooms of harmful algae are increasing globally, yet their impacts on copepods, an important link between primary producers and higher trophic levels, remain largely unknown. Algal toxins may have direct, negative effects on the survival of copepods. They may also indirectly affect copepod survival by deterring feeding and thus decreasing the availability of energy and nutritional resources.

Habitat partitioning in Antarctic krill: Spawning hotspots and nursery areas.

Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, have a circumpolar distribution but are concentrated within the south-west Atlantic sector, where they support a unique food web and a commercial fishery. Within this sector, our first goal was to produce quantitative distribution maps of all six ontogenetic life stages of krill (eggs, nauplii plus metanauplii, calyptopes, furcilia, juveniles, and adults), based on a compilation of all available post 1970s data. Using these maps, we then examined firstly whether "hotspots" of egg production and early stage nursery occurred, and secondly whether the available habitat was partitioned between the successive life stages during the austral summer and autumn, when krill densities can be high.

The Role of Low-Cost Microsurgical Training Models and Experience with Exercises Based on a Bovine Heart.

Background: Microscopic training is essential for development of neurosurgical skills. A range of models is reported in the literature for this purpose, including live animals, exvivo, and synthetic material. Among the factors involved in selection and development of a training station, cost is a decisive one.

Microbial Community Diversity Within Sediments from Two Geographically Separated Hadal Trenches.

Hadal ocean sediments, found at sites deeper than 6,000 m water depth, are thought to contain microbial communities distinct from those at shallower depths due to high hydrostatic pressures and higher abundances of organic matter. These communities may also differ from one other as a result of geographical isolation. Here we compare microbial community composition in surficial sediments of two hadal environments-the Mariana and Kermadec trenches-to evaluate microbial biogeography at hadal depths.

Individual Differences in Responsiveness to Acupuncture: An Exploratory Survey of Practitioner Opinion.

Previous research has considered the impact of personal and situational factors on treatment responses. This article documents the first phase of a four-stage project on patient characteristics that may influence responsiveness to acupuncture treatment, reporting results from an exploratory practitioner survey. Acupuncture practitioners from various medical professions were recruited through professional organisations to complete an online survey about their demographics and attitudes as well as 60 questions on specific factors that might influence treatment.

Terrestrial dissolved organic matter distribution in the North Sea.

The flow of terrestrial carbon to rivers and inland waters is a major term in the global carbon cycle. The organic fraction of this flux may be buried, remineralized or ultimately stored in the deep ocean. The latter can only occur if terrestrial organic carbon can pass through the coastal and estuarine filter, a process of unknown efficiency.

Neurotransmitters in the mediation of cerebral ischemic injury.

Under physiological conditions, neurotransmitters shape neuronal networks and control several cellular and synaptic functions. In the mammalian central nervous system (CNS), excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission are mediated in large part by glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which are excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters, respectively. Glutamate and GABA also play crucial roles in neurological disorders such as cerebral ischemia.

Will Invertebrates Require Increasingly Carbon-Rich Food in a Warming World?

Elevated temperature causes metabolism and respiration to increase in poikilothermic organisms. We hypothesized that invertebrate consumers will therefore require increasingly carbon-rich diets in a warming environment because the increased energetic demands are primarily met using compounds rich in carbon, that is, carbohydrates and lipids. Here, we test this hypothesis using a new stoichiometric model that has carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) as currencies.

Nonspecific Feelings Expected and Experienced during or Immediately after Electroacupuncture: A Pilot Study in a Teaching Situation.

Background: Some feelings elicited by acupuncture-type interventions are "nonspecific", interpretable as resulting from the placebo effect, our own self-healing capacities-or, indeed, the flow of qi. Expectation is thought to contribute to these nonspecific effects. Here we describe the use of two innovative 20-item questionnaires (EXPre and EXPost) in a teaching situation.

Detecting the presence of fish farm-derived organic matter at the seafloor using stable isotope analysis of phospholipid fatty acids.

The expansion of global aquaculture activities is important for the wellbeing of future generations in terms of employment and food security. Rearing animals in open-exchange cages permits the release of organic wastes, some of which ultimately reaches the underlying sediments. The development of rapid, quantitative and objective monitoring techniques is therefore central to the environmentally sustainable growth of the aquaculture industry.

The Role of Microbes in the Nutrition of Detritivorous Invertebrates: A Stoichiometric Analysis.

Detritus represents an important pool in the global carbon cycle, providing a food source for detritivorous invertebrates that are conspicuous components of almost all ecosystems. Our knowledge of how these organisms meet their nutritional demands on a diet that is typically comprised of refractory, carbon-rich compounds nevertheless remains incomplete. "Trophic upgrading" of detritus by the attached microbial community (enhancement of zooplankton diet by the inclusion of heterotrophic protozoans) represents a potential source of nutrition for detritivores as both bacteria and their flagellated protistan predators are capable of biosynthesizing essential micronutrients such as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs).

Oxygen dynamics in shelf seas sediments incorporating seasonal variability.

Shelf sediments play a vital role in global biogeochemical cycling and are particularly important areas of oxygen consumption and carbon mineralisation. Total benthic oxygen uptake, the sum of diffusive and faunal mediated uptake, is a robust proxy to quantify carbon mineralisation. However, oxygen uptake rates are dynamic, due to the diagenetic processes within the sediment, and can be spatially and temporally variable.

An approach for the identification of exemplar sites for scaling up targeted field observations of benthic biogeochemistry in heterogeneous environments.

Continental shelf sediments are globally important for biogeochemical activity. Quantification of shelf-scale stocks and fluxes of carbon and nutrients requires the extrapolation of observations made at limited points in space and time. The procedure for selecting exemplar sites to form the basis of this up-scaling is discussed in relation to a UK-funded research programme investigating biogeochemistry in shelf seas.

An international survey on the current use of electroacupuncture.

Background: Despite many research publications, it is unclear how widely electroacupuncture (EA) and related modalities are used in everyday practice. It is also uncertain who uses them, for what conditions, and with what results. We aimed to survey practitioners about their use of and training in EA.