High-resolution view of the spring bloom initiation and net community production in the Subantarctic Southern Ocean using glider data

In the Southern Ocean, there is increasing evidence that seasonal to subseasonal temporal scales, and meso- to submesoscales play an important role in understanding the sensitivity of ocean primary productivity to climate change. This drives the need for a high-resolution approach to re- solving biogeochemical processes. In this study, 5.5 months of continuous, high-resolution (3 h, 2 km horizontal resolution) glider data from spring to summer in the Atlantic Subantarctic Zone is used to investigate: (i) the mechanisms that drive bloom initiation and high growth rates in the region and (ii) the seasonal evolution of water column production and respiration. Bloom initiation dates were analysed in the context of upper ocean boundary layer physics highlighting sensitivities of different bloom detection methods to different environmental processes. Model results show that in early spring (September to mid-November) increased rates of net community production (NCP) are strongly affected by meso- to submesoscale features. In late spring/early summer (late-November to mid-December) seasonal shoaling of the mixed layer drives a more spatially homogenous bloom with maximum rates of NCP and chlorophyll biomass. A comparison of biomass accumulation rates with a study in the North Atlantic highlights the sensitivity of phytoplankton growth to fine-scale dynamics and emphasizes the need to sample the ocean at high resolution to accurately resolve phytoplankton phenology and improve our ability to estimate the sensitivity of the biological carbon pump to climate change.

Identification of the p28 subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor 3(eIF3k) as a new interaction partner of cyclin D3.

Cyclin D3 is found to play a crucial role not only in progression through the G1 phase as a regulatory subunit of cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK 4) and CDK 6, but also in many other aspects such as cell cycle, cell differentiation, transcriptional regulation and apoptosis. In this work, we screened a human fetal liver cDNA library using human cyclin D3 as bait and identified human eukaryotic initiation factor 3 p28 protein (eIF3k) as a partner of cyclin D3. The association of cyclin D3 with eIF3k was further confirmed by in vitro binding assay, in vivo coimmunoprecipitation, and confocal microscopic analysis. We found that cyclin D3 specifically interacted with eIF3k through its C-terminal domain. Immunofluorescence experiments showed that eIF3k distributed both in nucleus and cytoplasm and colocalized with cyclin D3. In addition, the cellular translation activity in HeLa cells was upregulated by cyclin D3 overexpression and the mRNA levels are constant. These data provide a new clue to our understanding of the cellular function of cyclin D3.

Software project initiation and planning – an empirical study

This study describes a study of 14 software companies, on how they initiate and pre-plan software projects. The aim was to obtain an indication of the range of planning activities carried out. The study, using a convenience sample, was carried out using structured interviews, with questions about early software project planning activities. The study offers evidence that an iterative and incremental development process presents extra difficulties in the case of fixed-contract projects. The authors also found evidence that feasibility studies were common, but generally informal in nature. Documentation of the planning process, especially for project scoping, was variable. For incremental and iterative development projects, an upfront decision on software architecture was shown to be preferred over allowing the architecture to just ‘emerge’. There is also evidence that risk management is recognised but often performed incompletely. Finally appropriate future research arising from the study is described.

Mitochondrial translation initiation factor 3 polymorphism and Parkinson's disease

Mitochondrial dysfunction has been proposed to play a role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson s disease (PD) Supportive of this hypothesis several genetic variants that regulate mitochondrial function and homeostasis have been described to alter PD susceptibility A recent report demonstrated association of a single nucleotide polymorphism in the mitochondrial translation initiation factor 3 (MTIF3) gene with PD risk The protein encoded by this nuclear gene is essential for initiation complex formation on the mitochondrial 55S ribosome and regulates translation of proteins within the mitochondria Changes in the function or expression of the MTIF3 protein may result in altered mitochondrial function ATP production or formation of reactive oxygen species thereby affecting susceptibility to PD We examined the association of rs7669 with sporadic PD in three Caucasian case control series (n = 2434) A significant association was observed in the largest series (Norwegian n = 1650) when comparing CC vs CT/TT genotypes with the Irish and US series having a similar but non-significant trend The combined series also revealed an association with risk of PD (P = 0 01) supporting the possible involvement of this gene in PD etiology Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd

Patterns of hospitalisation before and following initiation of haemodialysis: a 5 year single centre study

Background: The utilisation of healthcare resources by prevalent haemodialysis patients has been robustly evaluated with regard to the provision of outpatient haemodialysis; however, the impact of hospitalisation among such patients is poorly defined. Minimal information is available in the UK to estimate the health and economic burden associated with the inpatient management of prevalent haemodialysis patients. The aim of this study was to assess the pattern of hospitalisation among a cohort of haemodialysis patients, before and following their initiation of haemodialysis. In addition the study sought to assess the impact of their admissions on bed occupancy in a large tertiary referral hospital in a single region in the UK.

Methods: All admission episodes were reviewed and those receiving dialysis with the Belfast City Hospital Programme were identified over a 5 year period from January 2001 to December 2005. This tertiary referral centre provides dialysis services for a population of approximately 700?000 and additional specialist renal services for the remainder of Northern Ireland. The frequency and duration of hospitalisation, and contribution to bed day occupancy of haemodialysis patients, was determined and compared to other common conditions which are known to be associated with high bed occupancy. In addition, the pattern and timing of admissions in dialysis patients in relation to their dialysis initiation date was assessed.

Results: Over the 5 year study period, 798 haemodialysis patients were admitted a total of 2882 times. These accounted for 2.5% of all admissions episodes; the median number of admissions for these patients was 3 (2–5) which compared with 1 (1–2) for non-dialysis patients. The majority of first hospitalisations (54%) were within 100 days before or after commencement of maintenance dialysis therapy. In all clinical specialties the median length of stay for haemodialysis patients was significantly longer than for patients not on haemodialysis (p=0.004). In multivariate analysis with adjustment for age, gender, and other clinically relevant diagnostic codes, maintenance haemodialysis patients stayed on average 3.75 times longer than other patient groups (ratio of geometric means 3.75, IQR 3.46–4.06).

Conclusions: Maintenance haemodialysis therapy is an important risk factor for prolonged hospitalisation regardless of the primary reason for admission. Such patients require admission more frequently than the general hospital population, particularly within 100 days before and after initiation of their first dialysis treatment.