Search

The very first days of mammalian embryonic development are accompanied by epigenetic reprogramming and extensive changes in nuclear organization. In particular, genomic regions located at the periphery of the nucleus, termed lamina-associated domains (LADs), undergo major rearrangements after fertilization. However, the role of LADs in regulating gene expression as well as the interplay with various chromatin marks during preimplantation development remains elusive. In this study, we obtained single-cell LAD profiles coupled with the corresponding gene expression readout throughout the first days of mouse development. We detect extensive cell-cell LAD variability at the 2-cell stage, which surprisingly does not seem to functionally affect gene expression. This suggests an unusual uncoupling between 3D-nuclear genome organization and gene expression during totipotent developmental stages. By analyzing LAD dynamics and chromatin states across early developmental stages in an allelic-specific manner, we identify genomic regions that transiently detach from the nuclear lamina and are enriched by non-canonical H3K27me3. Upon maternal knock-out of a component of the Polycomb repressive complex 2 and concomitant loss of H3K27me3 during early embryogenesis, these regions relocate to the lamina at the 2-cell stage. Our results suggest that H3K27me3 is the prime determinant in establishing the atypical distribution of the genome at the nuclear periphery during the first days of embryonic development. This study provides insight into the molecular mechanisms regulating nuclear organization of parental genomes during very early mammalian development.

Spatial genome organization is considered to play an important role in mammalian cells, by guiding gene expression programs and supporting lineage specification. Yet it is still an outstanding question in the field what the direct impact of spatial genome organization on gene expression is. To elucidate this relationship further, we have recently developed scDamT-seq, a method that simultaneously quantifies protein-DNA interactions and transcriptomes in single cells. This method efficiently combines two preexisting methods: DamID for measuring protein-DNA contacts and CEL-Seq2 for quantification of the transcriptome in single cells. scDamT-seq has been successfully applied to measure DNA contacts with the nuclear lamina, while at the same time revealing the effect of these contacts on gene expression. This method is applicable to many different proteins of interest and can thereby aid in studying the relationship between protein-DNA interactions and gene expression in single cells.

Spatial genome organization is considered to play an important role in mammalian cells, by guiding gene expression programs and supporting lineage specification. Yet it is still an outstanding question in the field what the direct impact of spatial genome organization on gene expression is. To elucidate this relationship further, we have recently developed scDam&T-seq, a method that simultaneously quantifies protein-DNA interactions and transcriptomes in single cells. This method efficiently combines two preexisting methods: DamID for measuring protein-DNA contacts and CEL-Seq2 for quantification of the transcriptome in single cells. scDam&T-seq has been successfully applied to measure DNA contacts with the nuclear lamina, while at the same time revealing the effect of these contacts on gene expression. This method is applicable to many different proteins of interest and can thereby aid in studying the relationship between protein-DNA interactions and gene expression in single cells.

We investigate how firms adjust their target quality levels when they - or their competitors - become subject to an information disclosure requirement. Our setting is the U.S. airline industry, where all large domestic carriers are required to report their on-time performance (OTP). OTP is measured by comparing a flight’s actual arrival time to its scheduled arrival time, which is chosen by the airline. Therefore, airlines can improve their OTP by simply increasing their scheduled flight times. We study three airlines which become subject to the disclosure requirement and find that they lengthen their schedule times by 1.4 min on average. Moreover, other airlines also increase their schedule times on routes where they compete with newly reporting airlines, by about 2.3 min, while actual flight times remain unchanged. While these numbers are small, the longer schedule times translate into a 15% improvement in OTP for previously reporting airlines. We conclude that newly reporting airlines and their direct competitors adjust their quality targets when they become subject to quality disclosure, which improves their reported quality without improving the actual time that it takes to travel from gate to gate.

Since 1987, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has required all large domestic airlines to report on the on-time performance of their flights. Using the data collected by the DOT, we analyze how schedule times, actual flight times and on-time performance have changed in the industry between 1990 and 2016. We find that schedule times have increased in most years, with the largest increases occurring after 2008. In 2016, schedules were about 8 minutes longer than they were in 1990, for flights by the same airline on the same route in the same month of the year. We find that actual flight times and total travel times have also increased over this period but by less than the increase in schedule times and with the gap growing over time. This has resulted in reduced arrival delays despite the fact that flights are taking longer to complete. We discuss the implications of these findings for quality provision and information disclosure within the airline industry.

Protein-DNA interactions are essential for establishing cell type-specific chromatin architecture and gene expression. We recently developed scDam&T-seq, a multi-omics method that can simultaneously quantify protein-DNA interactions and the transcriptome in single cells. The method effectively combines two existing methods: DNA adenine methyltransferase identification (DamID) and CEL-Seq2. DamID works through the tethering of a protein of interest (POI) to the Escherichia coli DNA adenine methyltransferase (Dam). Upon expression of this fusion protein, DNA in proximity to the POI is methylated by Dam and can be selectively digested and amplified. CEL-Seq2, in contrast, makes use of poly-dT primers to reverse transcribe mRNA, followed by linear amplification through in vitro transcription. scDam&T-seq is the first technique capable of providing a combined readout of protein-DNA contact and transcription from single-cell samples. Once suitable cell lines have been established, the protocol can be completed in 5 d, with a throughput of hundreds to thousands of cells. The processing of raw sequencing data takes an additional 1-2 d. Our method can be used to understand the transcriptional changes a cell undergoes upon the DNA binding of a POI. It can be performed in any laboratory with access to FACS, robotic and high-throughput-sequencing facilities.

The nuclear lamina (NL) is a thin meshwork of filaments that lines the inner nuclear membrane, thereby providing a platform for chromatin binding and supporting genome organization. Genomic regions contacting the NL are lamina associated domains (LADs), which contain thousands of genes that are lowly transcribed, and enriched for repressive histone modifications. LADs are dynamic structures that shift spatial positioning in accordance with cell-type specific gene expression changes during differentiation and development. Furthermore, recent studies have linked the disruption of LADs and alterations in the epigenome with the onset of diseases such as cancer. Here we focus on the role of LADs and the NL in gene regulation during development and cancer.

Assessment of the observing system fitness for HAB warning bulletin in the Atlantic

This work received support and funding from • The BOHAB project (Biological Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms off the west coast of Ireland) through the National Development Plan 2000 – 2006 with the support of the Marine Institute and the Marine RTDI (Research, Technology, Development and Innovation) Measure, Productive Sector Operational Programme, Grant-aid Agreement No. ST/02/01. • the ASIMUTH project (Applied simulations and Integrated modelling for the understanding of toxic and harmful algal blooms) through the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) for Research and Technological Development - EC FP7 Programme, Space Theme, Grant Agreement No. 261860 • the MyOcean 2 project through the EC FP7 Programme, Space Theme, Grant Agreement No. 283367 • the AtlantOS project through the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Grant Agreement No. 633211 • The PRIMROSE (Predicting the impact of regional scale events on the aquaculture sector) project, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the Interreg Atlantic Area Programme, EAPA_182/2016 • The CoCliME (Co-development of climate services for adaptation to changing marine ecosystems) project is part of the European Research Area for Climate Services (ERA4CS), an ERA-NET initiated by JPI Climate, and funded by EPA (IE), ANR (FR), BMBF (DE), UEFISCDI (RO), RCN (NO) and FORMAS (SE), with co-funding by the European Union (Grant Agreement No. 690462)., This document describes the procedural steps in creating an information product focused on toxic and harmful phytoplankton. The product is an online Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) bulletin for aquaculturists, who can face serious operational challenges in the days after a HAB event. Data from satellite, numerical hydrodynamic models and In-situ ocean observations are organised and presented into visual information products. These products are enhanced through local expert evaluation and their interpretation is summarised in the bulletin. This document aims to provide both process overviews (the “what” of the Best Practice in producing the bulletins) and detail procedures (the “how” of the Best Practice”) so that the bulletins may be replicated in other geographic regions., European Commission

Prokaryotes encode various host defense systems that provide protection against mobile genetic elements. Restriction–modification (R–M) and CRISPR–Cas systems mediate host defense by sequence specific targeting of invasive DNA. T-even bacteriophages employ covalent modifications of nucleobases to avoid binding and therefore cleavage of their DNA by restriction endonucleases. Here, we describe that DNA glucosylation of bacteriophage genomes affects interference of some but not all CRISPR–Cas systems. We show that glucosyl modification of 5-hydroxymethylated cytosines in the DNA of bacteriophage T4 interferes with type I-E and type II-A CRISPR–Cas systems by lowering the affinity of the Cascade and Cas9–crRNA complexes for their target DNA. On the contrary, the type V-A nuclease Cas12a (also known as Cpf1) is not impaired in binding and cleavage of glucosylated target DNA, likely due to a more open structural architecture of the protein. Our results suggest that CRISPR–Cas systems have contributed to the selective pressure on phages to develop more generic solutions to escape sequence specific host defense systems.

Disclosure programs exist in many industries in which consumers are poorly informed about product quality. We study a disclosure program for airline on-time performance, which ranks airlines based on the fraction of their flights that arrive less than 15 minutes late. The program creates incentives for airlines to focus their efforts on flights close to this threshold. We find that firms in this industry are heterogeneous in how they respond to these incentives. Moreover, this heterogeneity correlates with internal firm characteristics. Our findings highlight the importance of interactions between incentives created by a disclosure program and firms' internal organizational practices. (JEL D22, L15, L25, L93)

BackgroundInsufficient postmatch recovery in elite players may cause an increased risk of injuries, illnesses and non-functional over-reaching.ObjectiveTo evaluate postmatch recovery time courses of physical performance and biochemical markers in team ball sport players.Study designSystematic review.Data sourcesPubMed and Web of Science.Eligibility criteria for selecting studiesThis systematic review was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The Critical Review Form for Quantitative Studies was used to evaluate quality. Studies were included if they met the following criteria: (1) original research evaluated players’ physical recovery postmatch; (2) team/intermittent sports; and (3) at least two postmeasurements were compared with baseline values.ResultsTwenty-eight studies were eligible. Mean methodological quality was 11.2±1.11. Most used performance tests and biochemical markers were the countermovement jump test, sprint tests and creatine kinase (CK), cortisol (C) and testosterone (T), respectively.Summary/conclusionsThe current evidence demonstrates that underlying mechanisms of muscle recovery are still in progress while performance recovery is already reached. CK recovery time courses are up to ≥72 hours. Soccer and rugby players need more time to recover for sprint performance, CK and C in comparison to other team ball sports. There are more high-quality studies needed regarding recovery in various team sports and recovery strategies on an individual level should be evaluated.Clinical relevanceOngoing insufficient recovery can be prevented by the use of the presented recovery time courses as specific practical recovery guidelines.

MCCIP Science Review 2017, 100-107

All major U.S. carriers subcontract portions of their networks to regional partners who may either be owned or governed with contracts. Beginning in the late 1990s, there is a change in the nature of contracts in this industry, with fixed price contracts replacing revenue sharing contracts as the predominant contractual form. Moreover, this change is correlated with the diffusion of a new aircraft technology, the regional jet (RJ). To explain this correlation, we investigate whether technological features of the RJ led majors to subcontract new types of flights to their regionals and whether these new flights had characteristics that favored the new contractual form. In particular, we argue that, in addition to the standard insurance/incentives tradeoff, there may be a second advantage to fixed price contracts in this setting as they eliminate the haggling over route selection that can arise under revenue sharing. Combining detailed data on RJ adoption with a novel dataset on contractual form, we show that the emergence of the new technology did result in regionals being used in new ways - for example, serving long, thin spokes and supplementing or replacing the major’s own flights. We then investigate whether these new uses are consistent with a change in the optimal contract and find that they are. Specifically, relative to turboprops, RJs were more likely to serve to serve flights whose characteristics suggested that the standalone revenue of the flight might provide limited incentives for a regional to operate that flight.

We investigate the effects of vertical integration on operational performance. Large U.S. airlines use regional partners to operate some of their flights. Regionals may be owned or governed through contracts. We estimate whether an airline’s use of an owned, rather than independent, regional at an airport affects delays and cancellations on the airline’s own flights out of that airport. We find that integrated airlines perform systematically better than nonintegrated airlines at the same airport on the same day. Furthermore, the performance advantage increases on days with adverse weather and when airports are more congested. These findings suggest that, in this setting, vertical integration may facilitate real-time adaptation decisions.

We explore patterns of vertical integration in the US airline industry. Major air lines subcontract portions of their network to regional partners, which may or may not be owned. We investigate if ownership economizes on ex post renego tiation costs. We estimate whether airlines are more likely to use owned region als on city pairs with adverse weather {which makes adaptation decisions more frequent) and on city pairs that are more integrated into the major's network (which raises the costs of having adaptation decisions resolved suboptimally). Our results suggest a robust empirical relationship between adaptation and vertical integration in this setting. (JEL L14, L22, L24, L93) How do firms decide which transactions to carry out in-house and which to procure through the market? In response to this question, a large theoretical literature has developed. One branch of this literature-transaction cost economics-argues that integration may be a more efficient way to organize when contracts are incomplete and parties cannot easily switch trading partners (Oliver Williamson 1975, 1985).J Under these conditions, ex post renegotiation will be both nec essary and costly and, as a result, the transaction costs of market exchange may be substantial. Empirical studies testing this hypothesis have focused primarily on the effect of asset specific ity on vertical integration and have generally found a positive relationship.2 However, as Steven Tadelis (2002) emphasizes, holding asset specificity constant, variation in transaction costs will also result from differences in transaction complexity. Complex transactions are associated with greater contractual incompleteness, and in turn more costly haggling over ex post adaptation decisions. Yet, relative to asset specificity, the frequency of adaptation decisions as a determinant of vertical integration has received considerably less attention in the empirical literature.3

The relationship between air traffic delays and competition has received much attention recently. I estimate the price responses to longer flight delays in competitive and non-competitive markets, using a policy change to instrument for potentially endogenous flight delays in the price regressions. I find that prices fall substantially in competitive markets but not so in non-competitive markets. Quantile regressions on the price distribution imply that prices fall most for business travelers who have sufficient flexibility to switch to more restricted tickets while the price decrease is smallest for the least elastic travelers at the top of the price distribution.

The notion of real radicals is a fundamental tool in Real Algebraic Geometry. It takes the role of the radical ideal in Complex Algebraic Geometry. In this article I shall describe the zero-dimensional approach and efficiency improvement I have found during the work on my diploma thesis at the University of Kaiserslautern (cf. [6]). The main focus of this article is on maximal ideals and the properties they have to fulfil to be real. New theorems and properties about maximal ideals are introduced which yield an heuristic prepare_max which splits the maximal ideals into three classes, namely real, not real and the class where we can't be sure whether they are real or not. For the latter we have to apply a coordinate change into general position until we are sure about realness. Finally this constructs a randomized algorithm for real radicals. The underlying theorems and algorithms are described in detail.

Customer complaints measure consumers' dissatisfaction with the quality of a product or service. If product quality is unobservable ex ante, customer complaints may be driven by expectations as well as by the actually experienced quality level. I test whether the level of quality that could be expected prior to consumption affects the number of customer complaints after controlling for–ex post observable–actual quality, using data from the U.S. airline industry. I find that there are fewer complaints when actual quality is higher. Controlling for actual quality, a higher level of expected quality leads to more complaints.

CA1 hippocampal N-methyl-d-aspartate-receptors (NMDARs) are necessary for contextually related learning and memory processes. Extinction, a form of learning, has been shown to require intact hippocampal NMDAR signalling. Renewal of fear expression can occur after fear extinction training, when the extinguished fear stimulus is presented in an environmental context different from the training context and thus, renewal is dependent on contextual memory. In this study, we show that a Grin1 knock-out (loss of the essential NR1 subunit for the NMDAR) restricted to the bilateral CA1 subfield of the dorsal hippocampus does not affect acquisition of learned fear, but does attenuate extinction of a cued fear response even when presented in the extinction-training context. We propose that failure to remember the (safe) extinction context is responsible for the abnormal fear response and suggest it is a dysfunctional renewal. The results highlight the difference in outcome of extinguished fear memory resulting from a partial rather than complete loss of function of the hippocampus and suggest a potential mechanism for abnormally increased fear expression in PTSD.

Compared to the knowledge on toxin structure, detection methods, and toxicology, convincing clarification of the aetiology of AZP was seriously lacking behind for quite a long time. Based upon the seasonal and episodic accumulation of AZA toxins in suspension-feeding bivalve molluscs – a situation similar to several other marine biotoxins - a planktonic source has been suspected from the outset. Furthermore, due to their polyether structural features, AZA has been suspected to be a dinoflagellate metabolite. Thus, it was no surprise that is was a dinoflagellate species which was first claimed to be the source of AZA. The link between AZA and P. crassipes, however, remained controversial because production of AZA by P. crassipes could not be verified in spite of numerous attempts based upon field surveys and laboratory investigations of cultured and isolated cells. Moreover, in contrast to other proven producers of phycotoxins, which are all primarily phototrophic, P. crassipes is a heterotrophic dinoflagellate, known to prey upon other dinoflagellates as food. The likelihood, therefore, that another dinoflagellate may produce AZA, which then accumulates in P. crassipes through normal feeding processes, could not be neglected.

NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Food Chemistry. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Food Chemistry, Volume 142, 1 January 2014, Pages 48–60, DOI:10.1016/j.foodchem.2013.07.027, The consumption of marine mussels as popular seafood has increased steadily over the past decades. Awareness of mussel derived molecules, that promote health, has contributed to extensive research efforts in that field. This review highlights the bioactive potential of mussel components from species of the genus Mytilus (e.g. M. edulis) and Perna (e.g. P. canaliculus). In particular, the bioactivity related to three major chemical classes of mussel primary metabolites, i.e. proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates, is evaluated. Within the group of proteins the focus is mainly on mussel peptides e.g. those obtained by bio-transformation processes, such as fermentation. In addition, mussel lipids, comprising polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), are discussed as compounds that are well known for prevention and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Within the third group of carbohydrates, mussel polysaccharides are investigated. Furthermore, the importance of monitoring the mussel as food material in respect to contaminations with natural toxins produced by microalgae is discussed

The introduction of crystal defects into the microstructure of materials can lead to a considerable improvement of their properties. In particular, the effect of nanocrystallinity and nanotwinning is a current field of research. The present thesis contributes to this topic by the investigation of the microstructure, stability and properties of magnetron-sputtered Ni-based thin films using diffraction methods, mainly X-ray diffraction. The {111} fibre-textured films exhibit a very high density of planar faults oriented parallel to the surface of the films. This microstructure generates a peculiar intensity distribution in reciprocal space which is utilized to investigate the stress state and the planar-fault density of thin films with different compositions in the present thesis. The results of analyses performed ex situ and in situ during tensile testing and thermal treatments are presented. The appearance and thermal stability of an hcp-like solid-solution phase - which can be considered as an fcc-like stacking exhibiting a twin-fault density of more than 50 % - in a certain composition range of the Ni-W system is rationalized by first-principles calculations., Das Einbringen von Kristalldefekten in die Mikrostrukturen von Materialien kann deren Eigenschaften erheblich verbessern. Besonders die Effekte der Nanokristallinität und der Nanoverzwillingung sind derzeit im Fokus der Forschung. Die vorliegende Arbeit trägt zu diesem Thema durch die Untersuchung der Mikrostruktur, Stabilität und Eigenschaften magnetron-gesputterter Ni-basierter Dünnschichten mithilfe von Beugungsmethoden, hauptsächlich Röntgenbeugung, bei. Die {111}-fasertexturierten Schichten weisen eine hohe Dichte an planaren Defekten auf, die parallel zur Schichtoberfläche orientiert sind. Diese Mikrostruktur verursacht eine besondere Intensitätsverteilung im reziproken Raum, die zur Bestimmung des Spannungszustandes und der Defektdichte von Dünnschichten verschiedener Zusammensetzungen in der vorliegenden Arbeit genutzt wird. Die Ergebnisse der Analysen, die sowohl ex situ, als auch in situ während Zugversuchen und thermischen Behandlungen durchgeführt wurden, werden präsentiert. Das Auftreten und die thermische Stabilität eines hdp-artigen Mischkristalls - den man als kfz-Stapelfolge mit einer Zwillingsfehlerdichte von über 50 % beschreiben kann - in einem gewissen Zusammensetzungsbereich im Ni-W System wird durch sogenannte "first-principles calculations" erklärt.

High biomass Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) such as Karenia mikimotoi and shellfish toxin producing HAB species continue to be observed in UK and Republic of Ireland waters. Regional differences continue to be seen in the distribution of HABs in UK and RoI waters with impacts mainly observed in the south and west coast of Ireland and regions in the UK with a strong Atlantic influence, e.g. Regions 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7. There is little monitoring aside from the continuous plankton recorder (CPR) in Region 8. The impacts from HABs in Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man are generally low. Since the last MCCIP report card was issued, blooms of Karenia mikimotoi have caused problems in Ayrshire, Scotland, and also in the north-west coast of Ireland where concerns about the quantity of dead wild fish washing on shore during an event in Ireland in 2012 resulted in two beaches being closed to the public. No clear trend that can be attributed to climate change can be observed in the incidence of shellfish toxin producing HABs since the last report card was issued. During the last two years the incidence of some shellfish toxins has continued to decrease (e.g. paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins in Scotland). High concentrations of yessotoxins (YTX) and azaspiracids (AZAs) have been recorded for the first time in Scotland. Northern Ireland enforced its first shellfish harvesting closure for high concentrations of domoic acid (the toxin responsible for amnesic shellfish poisoning, ASP) in 2012. A recent survey in Scottish waters (Regions 1, 6 and 7) has revealed the presence of domoic acid in the urine and faeces of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina). The impacts of these toxins on the health of marine mammals are unknown and a more detailed study is currently being undertaken. Many of the future impacts of climate change are unknown. Increasing sea surface temperatures as a result of climate change may increase the potential for blooms of species that are not currently found in UK and RoI waters through range expansion or human mediated introduction. There is evidence that no new HAB species have become established during the last two years. An increase in the duration of stratification of the water column may influence the abundance of HABs in UK and RoI waters. This is particularly relevant in shelf areas and Region 8, an area where offshore high biomass K. mikimotoi blooms have been hypothesized to initiate and impact coastal areas along the west of Ireland and Regions 6, 7 and 1. Conversely, an increase in wind speed and duration may reduce the duration of stratification in the water column. This may result in a decrease of some HAB dinoflagellate species and an increase in HAB diatom species. Little is known about the impacts of ocean acidification or changes in offshore circulation on the incidence of HABs. The role of offshore blooms in seeding coastal blooms (e.g. of K. mikimotoi) remains unknown and the lack of monitoring in Region 8 and on the shelf edge compounds this knowledge gap.

The use of immunoassay technology as an adjunct method for monitoring biotoxins in shellfish was investigated at aquaculture sites in Killary Harbour, Ireland, during summer 2009. Sub-samples of mussels (Mytilus edulis) were taken from batches collected as part of the Irish National Phytoplankton and Biotoxin Monitoring Programme (NMP). Samples were analysed for Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP) toxins using a commercially available ELISA immunoassay kit. The results were compared with those obtained by chemical (liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry, LC-MS) and biological (mouse bioassay, MBA) methods from the monitoring programme. DSP levels increased in late June 2009 over the European Union maximum permitted level of 0.16 μg g-1 and positive MBA results led to harvest closures. This event was reflected in both the chemical and immunoassay results, where a positive relationship between them was found., This work is a contribution to project WATER and part-funded through Northern Periphery Programme.

Under Professor Dennis Davey's leadership, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology recognised the need for subspecialist expertise and training. Thus, the gynaecological subspecialties were developed, the first of which was gynaecological oncology. We review the research, and subsequent clinical application, which has evolved from the subspecialist units.

We investigate decision-making and the potential for social learning among school administrators in the market for school reform consulting services. Specifically, we estimate whether public schools are more likely to choose given Comprehensive School Reform service providers if their "peer" schools--defined by common governance or geography--have performed unusually well with those providers in the past. We find strong evidence that schools tend to contract with providers used by other schools in their own districts in the past, regardless of past performance. In addition, our point estimates are consistent with school administrators using information from peers to choose the plans they perceive to have performed best in the past. Despite choosing a market with an unusually comprehensive data source on contracts between public schools and private firms, our statistical power is sufficiently weak that we cannot reject the absence of social learning.

We investigate decision-making and the potential for social learning among school administrators in the market for school reform consulting services. Specifically, we estimate whether public schools are more likely to choose given Comprehensive School Reform service providers if their "peer" schools--defined by common governance or geography--have performed unusually well with those providers in the past. We find strong evidence that schools tend to contract with providers used by other schools in their own districts in the past, regardless of past performance. In addition, our point estimates are consistent with school administrators using information from peers to choose the plans they perceive to have performed best in the past. Despite choosing a market with an unusually comprehensive data source on contracts between public schools and private firms, our statistical power is sufficiently weak that we cannot reject the absence of social learning.

The Northeast Atlantic Shelf region includes the sites from all coastal waters of Ireland, the Irish Sea, and western Scottish and Norwegian Sea waters. The region was defined by WGPME to include locations on the northern margin of Europe that were outside the North Sea/English Channel influence. The character of sites in the region are shallow, coastal-water sites ranging from sheltered bays on the south coast of Ireland and fjordic sea lochs of Scotland to fully exposed locations on the west coasts of Ireland and Scotland. Bathymetry of the region ranges from shallow embayments to regions of shallow, exposed continental-shelf waters. The topography of the shelf drops rapidly to 80–100 m within 20 km of the coast, where it extends to the shelf edge as a relatively flat plateau. Time-series of phytoplankton data from the Atlantic Shelf exhibit a typical seasonal pattern of temperate waters, with considerable geographical and temporal variation. The well-mixed winter conditions lead to a region-wide strong spring bloom observed at all sites. The ensuing decrease in nutrient levels lead to a variable summer period characterized by stratified conditions in coastal areas and periodic blooms of mixed or occasionally monospecific diatom and dinoflagellate composition. The growth period tails off in autumn, when a secondary bloom may occur in response to increased mixing and breakdown of the summer thermocline. The seasonal cycle returns to a quiescent winter phase, with generally mixed conditions, light limitation, and increased nutrients return. Seasonal stabilization and destabilization of the water column in this region accounts for most of the natural variation in both phytoplankton species composition and biomass.

The Marine Institute in Ireland carries out a national phytoplankton monitoring programme which extends back to the late 1980s. This includes a harmful algal blooms (HABs) monitoring service that warns producers and consumers of concentrations of toxic plankton in Irish coastal waters that could contaminate shellfish or cause fish deaths. This programme is primarily located along the Atlantic seaboard and Celtic Sea. Scientists working on this monitoring programme have developed an understanding of phytoplankton populations and dynamics around the Irish coastline, especially in relation to those that cause shellfish toxicity. Particular emphasis is put on the detection and enumeration of harmful species. The importance of phytoplankton as an indicator of water quality is also studied and is a key component of the European Water Framework.

A 79-year-old man, an 81-year-old woman and a 60-year-old woman were referred to our oral and maxillofacial surgery clinic with a large submandibular swelling. All three patients had a history of prior excision of a small carcinoma of the lower lip. Primary treatment had been carried out by a number of different medical specialists. In the first two patients, none of the caregivers had recognized this swelling as a possible lymph node metastasis. Oncological follow-up had not been performed and the patients were unaware of the metastatic potential of their cancers. Although in the third patient follow-up was adequate, there was too much delay between confirmation of the metastasis and planning of the surgery. All three patients died of a small lip carcinoma. Stage I lip carcinomas generally have a good prognosis. However, patients have to be informed about the risk of lymph node metastasis and need to be followed up on a routine basis.

This focuses on the impacts of ocean acidification (OA) on ecosystems and higher trophic levels in the ICES Area. One of ICES distinguishing features is its access to scientists across the entire marine field. This report is based on the Report of the Workshop on the Significance of Changes in Surface CO2 and Ocean pH in ICES Shelf Sea Ecosystems (WKCpH; ICES, 2007c), updated to include recent research, using inputs from the chairs of ICES working groups. Oceanic uptake of atmospheric CO2 has led to a perturbation of the chemical environment, primarily in ocean surface waters, which is associated with an increase in dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). The increase in atmospheric CO2 from ca. 280 ppmv (parts per million by volume) 200 years ago to 390 ppmv today (2011) has most probably been caused by an average reduction across the surface of the oceans of ca. 0.08 pH units (Caldeira and Wickett, 2003) and a decrease in the carbonate ion (CO32−) of ca. 20 μmol kg −1 (Keshgi, 1995; Figure 5.1). It has been estimated that the level could drop by a further 0.3 – 0.4 pH units by the year 2100 if CO2 emissions are not regulated (Caldeira and Wickett, 2003; Raven et al., 2005). A study of potential changes in most of the North Sea (Blackford and Gilbert, 2007) suggests that pH change this century may exceed its natural annual variability. Impacts of acidity induced change are likely, but their exact nature remains largely unknown, and they may occur across the whole range of ecosystem processes. Most work has concentrated on open‐ocean systems, and little research has been applied to the complex systems found in shelf‐sea environments.

The National Monitoring programme for phytoplankton is a well established programme and this was shown through the improvement and refinement of Phytoplankton shellfish and finfish sites around the country. One important development in the last 2 years has been to increase the number of sentinel sites. A sentinel site is a designated sampling site where a total community Phytoplankton cell count and identification is carried out. The number of sentinel sites has increased from 11 in 2005 to 24 in 2008. This means a better coverage of all the bays around the country. The number of phytoplankton samples analysed in 2008 has seen an increase from the previous year.

The 9th Irish Shellfish Safety Workshop was held on the 20th March, 2009, in Kenmare, County Kerry. The Workshop was co-sponsored by the Marine Institute, Bord Iascaigh Mhara, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, and the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, with support from IFA Aquaculture. The topics addressed at the workshop included an update on the National Biotoxin monitoring programme, and a number of research projects with Irish participation and international perspectives on toxin detection. Finding mechanisms to improve our product was a common theme with presentations on improving food safety, increasing productivity, providing easily applied test methods, and research in support of the shellfish industry. The focus of the three Workshop sessions was on a review of the year, research and legislation., Funder: Food Safety Authority of Ireland, Funder: Irish Sea Fisheries Board, Funder: Seafood Protection Authority