Phakomatosis pigmentovascularis is a diagnosis that denotes the coexistence of pigmentary and vascular birthmarks of specific types, accompanied by variable multisystem involvement, including CNS ...disease, asymmetrical growth, and a predisposition to malignancy. Using a tight phenotypic group and high-depth next-generation sequencing of affected tissues, we discover here clonal mosaic variants in gene PTPN11 encoding SHP2 phosphatase as a cause of phakomatosis pigmentovascularis type III or spilorosea. Within an individual, the same variant is found in distinct pigmentary and vascular birthmarks and is undetectable in blood. We go on to show that the same variants can cause either the pigmentary or vascular phenotypes alone, and drive melanoma development within pigmentary lesions. Protein structure modeling highlights that although variants lead to loss of function at the level of the phosphatase domain, resultant conformational changes promote longer ligand binding. In vitro modeling of the missense variants confirms downstream MAPK pathway overactivation and widespread disruption of human endothelial cell angiogenesis. Importantly, patients with PTPN11 mosaicism theoretically risk passing on the variant to their children as the germline RASopathy Noonan syndrome with lentigines. These findings improve our understanding of the pathogenesis and biology of nevus spilus and capillary malformation syndromes, paving the way for better clinical management.
Domestic cooking education programs are typically designed to improve an individual’s food and cooking skills, although not necessarily diet quality. Currently, there are no comprehensive models to ...guide the planning, implementation and evaluation of domestic cooking education programs that focus on improving diet and health. Our aim was to address this through development of the Cooking Education (“Cook-EdTM”) model, using the PRECEDE-PROCEED model as the underlying Cook-EdTM framework. A review of the food and cooking skills education literature informed the content of the Cook-EdTM model. Cook-EdTM was critiqued by experts in consumer behaviour, cooking and nutrition education research and education until consensus on model content and format was reached. Cook-EdTM leads cooking program developers through eight distinct stages, engaging key stakeholders in a co-design process from the outset to tailor programs to address the need of individuals and inform the development of program content, program delivery, and evaluation. A Cook-EdTM scenario applied in practice is described. The proposed Cook-EdTM model has potential to be adapted for use in domestic cooking education programs delivered in clinical, community, school or research settings. Further research will establish Cook-EdTM’s utility in enhancing program development and in improving food and cooking skills, dietary patterns and health outcomes.
The intense absorption in the red part of the visible range, and the presence of a lowest charge-transfer excited state, render Platinum(II) diimine catecholates potentially promising candidates for ...light-driven applications. Here, we test their potential as sensitisers in dye-sensitised solar cells and apply, for the first time, the sensitive method of photoacoustic calorimetry (PAC) to determine the efficiency of electron injection in the semiconductor from a photoexcited Pt(II) complex. Pt(II) catecholates containing 2,2′-bipyridine-4,4′-di-carboxylic acid (dcbpy) have been prepared from their parent iso-propyl ester derivatives, complexes of 2,2′-bipyridine-4,4′-di-C(O)OiPr, (COOiPr)2bpy, and their photophysical and electrochemical properties studied. Modifying diimine Pt(II) catecholates with carboxylic acid functionality has allowed for the anchoring of these complexes to thin film TiO2, where steric bulk of the complexes (3,5-di(t)Bu-catechol vs. catechol) has been found to significantly influence the extent of monolayer surface coverage. Dye-sensitised solar cells using Pt(dcbpy)((t)Bu2Cat), 1a, and Pt(dcbpy)(pCat), 2a, as sensitisers, have been assembled, and photovoltaic measurements performed. The observed low, 0.02–0.07%, device efficiency of such DSSCs is attributed at least in part to the short excited state lifetime of the sensitisers, inherent to this class of complexes. The lifetime of the charge-transfer ML/LLCT excited state in Pt((COO(I)Pr)2bpy)(3,5-di-(t)Bu-catechol) was determined as 250 ps by picosecond time-resolved infrared spectroscopy, TRIR. The measured increase in device efficiency for 2a over 1a is consistent with a similar increase in the quantum yield of charge separation (where the complex acts as a donor and the semiconductor as an acceptor) determined by PAC, and is also proportional to the increased surface loading achieved with 2a. It is concluded that the relative efficiency of devices sensitised with these particular Pt(II) species is governed by the degree of surface coverage. Overall, this work demonstrates the use of Pt(diimine)(catecholate) complexes as potential photosensitizers in solar cells, and the first application of photoacoustic calorimetry to Pt(II) complexes in general.
The relative energetic benefits of foraging on one type of prey rather than another are not easily measured, particularly for large free‐ranging predators. Nonetheless, assumptions about preferred ...and alternative prey are frequently made when predicting how a predator may impact its environment, adapt to environmental change or interact with human activities.
We developed and implemented a process‐based model to investigate the potential energetic benefit (PEB) of in situ foraging opportunities in rorqual whales. The model integrates and evaluates the energetic importance of measured prey patch characteristics (prey distribution, energy content and predator avoidance) and predator characteristics (morphometrics, foraging tactics and feeding rates). We applied the model to test the assumption that hatchery‐released juvenile salmon are an ‘easy meal’ for humpback whales compared to more common prey: herring and krill.
In 11 out of the 13 foraging situations considered, whales were found to be feeding in a manner where net energy gain was greater than the energetic costs of non‐foraging swimming. Humpback whale PEB for hatchery‐released juvenile salmon fell within the range of the PEB for krill and herring but varied by species, from relatively high PEB for chum salmon to relatively low for coho salmon. Our model provides behavioural insight as well, indicating that shallow feeding may be more important for reducing energy expenditure through slower lunge speeds than for increasing prey capture. The model also provides a means of identifying prey patch characteristics, with prey aggregation playing the largest role in determining PEB despite being a poor overall proxy for PEB, supporting the use of the complex model framework.
Modelling approaches are especially valuable where they can use reasonable assumptions to substitute for lack of reliable observations, thereby integrating a range of interacting factors into a single framework. Additionally, because process‐based models can be used to make predictions outside the range of previously observed conditions, they will be increasingly useful in a changing climate.
A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
Despite their enormous size, whales make their living as voracious predators. To catch their much smaller, more maneuverable prey, they have developed several unique locomotor strategies that require ...high energetic input, high mechanical power output and a surprising degree of agility. To better understand how body size affects maneuverability at the largest scale, we used bio-logging data, aerial photogrammetry and a high-throughput approach to quantify the maneuvering performance of seven species of free-swimming baleen whale. We found that as body size increases, absolute maneuvering performance decreases: larger whales use lower accelerations and perform slower pitch-changes, rolls and turns than smaller species. We also found that baleen whales exhibit positive allometry of maneuvering performance: relative to their body size, larger whales use higher accelerations, and perform faster pitch-changes, rolls and certain types of turns than smaller species. However, not all maneuvers were impacted by body size in the same way, and we found that larger whales behaviorally adjust for their decreased agility by using turns that they can perform more effectively. The positive allometry of maneuvering performance suggests that large whales have compensated for their increased body size by evolving more effective control surfaces and by preferentially selecting maneuvers that play to their strengths.
Resource partitioning is an important process driving habitat use and foraging strategies in sympatric species that potentially compete. Differences in foraging behavior are hypothesized to ...contribute to species coexistence by facilitating resource partitioning, but little is known on the multiple mechanisms for partitioning that may occur simultaneously. Studies are further limited in the marine environment, where the spatial and temporal distribution of resources is highly dynamic and subsequently difficult to quantify. We investigated potential pathways by which foraging behavior may facilitate resource partitioning in two of the largest co‐occurring and closely related species on Earth, blue (Balaenoptera musculus) and humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae) whales. We integrated multiple long‐term datasets (line‐transect surveys, whale‐watching records, net sampling, stable isotope analysis, and remote‐sensing of oceanographic parameters) to compare the diet, phenology, and distribution of the two species during their foraging periods in the highly productive waters of Monterey Bay, California, USA within the California Current Ecosystem. Our long‐term study reveals that blue and humpback whales likely facilitate sympatry by partitioning their foraging along three axes: trophic, temporal, and spatial. Blue whales were specialists foraging on krill, predictably targeting a seasonal peak in krill abundance, were present in the bay for an average of 4.7 months, and were spatially restricted at the continental shelf break. In contrast, humpback whales were generalists apparently feeding on a mixed diet of krill and fishes depending on relative abundances, were present in the bay for a more extended period (average of 6.6 months), and had a broader spatial distribution at the shelf break and inshore. Ultimately, competition for common resources can lead to behavioral, morphological, and physiological character displacement between sympatric species. Understanding the mechanisms for species coexistence is both fundamental to maintaining biodiverse ecosystems, and provides insight into the evolutionary drivers of morphological differences in closely related species.
This paper investigates resource partitioning in two of the largest co‐occurring and closely related species on Earth, blue and humpback whales. By integrating long‐term whale surveys, sampling of oceanographic conditions, stable isotope diet analysis, and surveys of prey species we constructed a detailed and comprehensive picture of their differential foraging ecology and resultant resource partitioning. Taken together, our comparisons provide strong evidence of resource partitioning facilitating coexistence, and identify the multiple behavioral mechanisms underlying partitioning.
The coastal upwelling ecosystem near Monterey Bay, California, is a productive yet variable ecosystem and an important foraging area for many mobile apex predators, such as marine mammals. Long-term ...studies are necessary to better understand how wide-ranging predators respond to temporal environmental variability; however, few of these studies exist. We conducted monthly shipboard line-transect surveys in Monterey Bay from 1997 to 2007. We identified 22 species of marine mammals, and calculated monthly and annual densities for the 12 most commonly sighted (focal) species. Species richness remained relatively constant (mean richness ± SE: 13.7 ± 0.396 species yr−1) from 1997 to 2006. Focal species were most evenly distributed (Shannon’s equitability,E
H= 0.820) but least dense (mean density ± SE: 0.0598 ± 0.0141) during the anomalous upwelling conditions of 2005, and least even (1997E
H= 0.413; 1998E
H= 0.407) but dense (mean density ± SE: 1997:0.433 ± 0.177; 1998:0.438 ± 0.169 ind. km–2) during the 1997/1998 El Niño event. There were no statistically significant differences in the densities of marine mammal species between warmer and cooler years. The community and species-specific responses of marine mammals to warm-water years differed depending on the mechanism of oceanographic variability. During the 1997/1998 El Niño (a basin-wide event), marine mammals aggregated in nearshore areas, such as Monterey Bay, with relatively greater productivity than offshore regions, whereas during anomalous upwelling conditions of 2005 (a more localized oceanographic event), marine mammals redistributed away from Monterey Bay to areas less affected by the anomaly.
The intense absorption in the red part of the visible range, and the presence of a lowest charge-transfer excited state, render Platinum(
ii
) diimine catecholates potentially promising candidates ...for light-driven applications. Here, we test their potential as sensitisers in dye-sensitised solar cells and apply, for the first time, the sensitive method of photoacoustic calorimetry (PAC) to determine the efficiency of electron injection in the semiconductor from a photoexcited Pt(
ii
) complex. Pt(
ii
) catecholates containing 2,2′-bipyridine-4,4′-di-carboxylic acid (dcbpy) have been prepared from their parent iso-propyl ester derivatives, complexes of 2,2′-bipyridine-4,4′-di-C(O)O
i
Pr, (COO
i
Pr)
2
bpy, and their photophysical and electrochemical properties studied. Modifying diimine Pt(
ii
) catecholates with carboxylic acid functionality has allowed for the anchoring of these complexes to thin film TiO
2
, where steric bulk of the complexes (3,5-di
t
Bu-catechol
vs.
catechol) has been found to significantly influence the extent of monolayer surface coverage. Dye-sensitised solar cells using Pt(dcbpy)(
t
Bu
2
Cat),
1a
, and Pt(dcbpy)(pCat),
2a
, as sensitisers, have been assembled, and photovoltaic measurements performed. The observed low, 0.02-0.07%, device efficiency of such DSSCs is attributed at least in part to the short excited state lifetime of the sensitisers, inherent to this class of complexes. The lifetime of the charge-transfer ML/LLCT excited state in Pt((COO
i
Pr)
2
bpy)(3,5-di-
t
Bu-catechol) was determined as 250 ps by picosecond time-resolved infrared spectroscopy, TRIR. The measured increase in device efficiency for
2a
over
1a
is consistent with a similar increase in the quantum yield of charge separation (where the complex acts as a donor and the semiconductor as an acceptor) determined by PAC, and is also proportional to the increased surface loading achieved with
2a
. It is concluded that the relative efficiency of devices sensitised with these particular Pt(
ii
) species is governed by the degree of surface coverage. Overall, this work demonstrates the use of Pt(diimine)(catecholate) complexes as potential photosensitizers in solar cells, and the first application of photoacoustic calorimetry to Pt(
ii
) complexes in general.
Photoacoustic calorimetry investigates electron injection into semiconductors from Pt(
ii
) diimine catecholates incorporated into DSSCs.
Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are one of the biggest animals on the planet and thus require large quantities of dense prey to meet their energetic requirements. They feed using discrete ...lunges and filtration to capture their euphausiid (krill) and schooling fish prey. They forage independently, in small groups, or in larger coordinated groups of up to 15 or more individuals. This dissertation aims to improve our understanding of the fine-scale foraging behavior of humpback whales in Southeast Alaska. High-resolution biologging tags (DTAGs) were deployed and focal follows were conducted on foraging humpback whales in Sitka Sound, Alaska in September 2012 and Tenakee Inlet, Alaska in April 2013. Concurrently, prey around tagged foraging whales was sampled using a Simrad EK 60 scientific echosounder, and acoustic data were ground-truthed with net tows for krill and hook and line samples for fish. Whale and prey data were then spatially and temporally integrated to determine characteristics of prey patches upon which whales fed. Results indicate that humpbacks targeted the densest layer of krill in Sitka Sound, maximizing their energetic gain by capturing the most prey with each lunge. When foraging together in groups, bubble-net feeding humpback whales repeated specific behaviors within a foraging bout, suggesting that whales were feeding cooperatively using role specialization and a division of labor to improve foraging efficiency. Finally, the group size of humpbacks increased throughout a week-long study as whales exploited a pre-spawning Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) aggregation in Tenakee Inlet, which responded to the increased predation pressure with changes in school behavior. As the population of North Pacific humpback whales increases and global warming continues to affect marine ecosystems, a better understanding of predator-prey interactions is crucial to best conserve and manage humpback whales and their ecosystem as a whole.
Domestic cooking education programs are typically designed to improve an individual's food and cooking skills, although not necessarily diet quality. Currently, there are no comprehensive models to ...guide the planning, implementation and evaluation of domestic cooking education programs that focus on improving diet and health. Our aim was to address this through development of the Cooking Education ("Cook-Ed
") model, using the PRECEDE-PROCEED model as the underlying Cook-Ed
framework. A review of the food and cooking skills education literature informed the content of the Cook-Ed
model. Cook-Ed
was critiqued by experts in consumer behaviour, cooking and nutrition education research and education until consensus on model content and format was reached. Cook-Ed
leads cooking program developers through eight distinct stages, engaging key stakeholders in a co-design process from the outset to tailor programs to address the need of individuals and inform the development of program content, program delivery, and evaluation. A Cook-Ed
scenario applied in practice is described. The proposed Cook-Ed
model has potential to be adapted for use in domestic cooking education programs delivered in clinical, community, school or research settings. Further research will establish Cook-Ed
's utility in enhancing program development and in improving food and cooking skills, dietary patterns and health outcomes.
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