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Social media has provided challenges and opportunities for education for democracy. There have always been structural elements of communication that are hidden and perpetuate inequalities. Social media has accelerated and empowered these hidden structures through algorithms. In this argumentative essay, we examine how critical media literacy can uncover hidden power structures and support education for democracy. Critical media literacy can help students identify exclusionary, inaccurate, missing, and polarizing elements of social media while examining and discussing issues and events. Seen through this lens, social media provides opportunities for education for democracy. Critical media literacy and education for democracy provide opportunities for increasing civic engagement and renewal.

In drag-based swimming, individual propulsors operating at low Reynolds numbers (where viscous forces dominate over inertial forces) must execute a spatially asymmetric stroke to produce net fluid displacement. Temporal asymmetry (that is, differing duration between the power vs. recovery stroke) does not affect the overall generated thrust in this time-reversible regime. Metachronal rowing, in which multiple appendages beat sequentially, is used by a wide variety of organisms from low to intermediate Reynolds numbers. At the upper end of this range, inertia becomes important, and increasing temporal asymmetry can be an effective way to increase thrust. However, the combined effects of spatial and temporal asymmetry are not fully understood in the context of metachronal rowing. To explore the role of spatiotemporal asymmetry in metachronal rowing, we combine laboratory experiments and reduced-order analytical modeling. We measure beat kinematics and generated flows in two species of lobate ctenophores across a range of body sizes, from 7 to 40 mm in length. We observe characteristically different flows in ctenophores of differing body size and Reynolds number, and a general decrease in spatial asymmetry and increase in temporal asymmetry with increasing Reynolds number. We also construct a one-dimensional mathematical model consisting of a row of oscillating flat plates whose flow-normal areas change with time, and use it to explore the propulsive forces generated across a range of Reynolds numbers and kinematic parameters. The model results show that while both types of asymmetry increase force production, they have different effects in different regions of the parameter space. These results may have strong biological implications, as temporal asymmetry can be actively controlled while spatial asymmetry is likely to be partially or entirely driven by passive fluid-structure interaction.

Full paper presented at the Association of Fashion & Textile Courses (FTC) conference Futurescan 4: Valuing Practice, University of Bolton, UK, 23rd-24th January 2019.Futurescan 4: Valuing PracticeEdited by: Helena Britt, Kevin Almond, Laura MorganISBN: 978-1-5272-4969-1

J. G. Ballard – sometime science fiction (sf) writer, catastrophist, literary provocateur, war writer, and diagnostician of late-twentieth and early-twenty-first century consumer society – launched...

The manipulation of host organisms by their parasites has captured the attention of ecologists, parasitologists, and the public. However, our knowledge of parasite behavior independent of a host is limited despite the far-reaching implications of parasite behavior. Parasite behaviors can help explain trematode community structure, the aggregation of parasites within host populations, and can potentially be harnessed in biocontrol measures. In this study, we used a simple choice chamber design to examine whether trematode parasites can detect the infection status of a potential host and avoid hosts infected with a competitively dominant species. Our results show that

The culture of pelagic marine invertebrates, especially the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi, has been demonstrated in past studies dating back to the 1960s; however, the mass culture of delicate pelagic invertebrates has remained elusive. By using a pair of acrylic tubes and enabling water diffusion between them, we have been able to reliably and cost effectively mass culture several genera of ctenophores (Pleurobrachia, Hormiphora, Bolinopsis, Mnemiopsis and Leucothea), one species of siphonophore (Nanomia) and one species of larvacean (Oikopleura). The simple, compact method is effective enough to support two permanent exhibits of ctenophores at the Monterey Bay Aquarium while minimizing live food culture requirements with the potential to support further investigation of pelagic marine invertebrate ontogeny, ecology and genomics.

China Mieville has been identified with the “new weird”, a loose-knit cabal of contemporary writers unsettling the generic borders between horror, sf and speculative fiction. Donna Haraway’s call for “tentacular thinking” seems aimed at smothering, feeling around and through, creeping out of the binaries and border policing of the Anthropocene/Capitalocene/Chthulucene, while Mieville’s novels thrill in different ways to the overrunning of borders—borders between ideas, beliefs, languages, people and species. Such border crossings abound in Mieville’s short fictions, too, and this chapter focusses on the short stories “Looking for Jake” (1998) “The Tain” (2002) and “Sacken” (2014), as ways into his weird and eerie border crossings.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium (MBA) has been exhibiting jellyfish since 1985. Mr. David Powell, MBA's first Curator, learned culturing techniques for moon jellies ( Aurelia aurita ) from Mr. Yoshitaka Abe, who was then Curator at Ueno Zoo. Abe-san sent Mr. Powell and his staff their first Aurelia aurita polyps, and they used his tank design to build MBA's first moon jelly exhibit. Since those early days, a number of passionate aquarists have sought to find new gelatinous species to culture and new ways to interpret them to the public. After the first moon jelly exhibit, MBA next exhibited jellyfish in the temporary exhibitions Living Treasures of the Pacific (1989) and Planet of the Jellies (1992), testing out not only the ability to maintain a jellyfish gallery long term but also the public's interest in these ill-known creatures. In 1996, MBA committed to a permanent jellyfish gallery. The construction of the Outer Bay Wing included the Drifters Gallery, which exhibits jellyfish species local to Monterey Bay and the California coast. In the subsequent years, MBA continued to work with tropical and other exotic species in temporary exhibitions, including Jellies: Living Art and The Jellies Experience. These exhibitions gave the team opportunities to experiment with new ways to culture and exhibit unique species. In addition, MBA has been able to contribute to science by describing the life cycles of several jellyfish species and discovering new jellyfish species in the Monterey Submarine Canyon. MBA's work has not been conducted in a vacuum, however, as we have collaborated with institutions in the United States, Japan, and around the world to expand our collective knowledge of jellyfish husbandry.

Background Detailed knowledge of the dimensions and shape of the main arteries of the body and how they change with age and disease is important for understanding arterial pathophysiology and improving minimally invasive devices to treat arterial diseases. Our goal was to describe and compare geometric remodeling of the aorta and peripheral arteries in the context of patient demographics and cardiovascular risk factors. Methods Three-dimensional reconstructions of computed tomography angiography scans were performed in 122 subjects 5–93 years of age (mean 47 ± 24 years, 64 M/58 F). Best-fit arterial diameters, lengths, and tortuosity for the principle named arteries in the chest, abdomen, pelvis, and upper thigh were measured, and multiple linear regression analysis was performed to examine how these morphologic parameters associate with patient demographics and risk factors. Results Large elastic arteries increased their diameter, length, and tortuosity with age, whereas muscular arteries primarily became more tortuous. Demographics and risk factors explained >70% of the variation in diameters of the abdominal aorta, paravisceral aorta, and the aortic arch; and >75% of variation in tortuosity from the profunda femoris to the brachiocephalic artery. Male sex, larger body mass index, and hypertension contributed to larger diameters, whereas the presence of diabetes was associated with somewhat-straighter arteries. Overall, the effects of cardiovascular risk factors on geometric remodeling were small compared with those of demographics. Conclusion The geometry of the vascular tree is greatly affected by aging, demographics, and some risk factors. Elastic and muscular arteries remodel differently, possibly as the result of differences in their microstructure.

The manipulation of host organisms by their parasites has captured the attention of ecologists, parasitologists, and the public. However, our knowledge of parasite behavior independent of a host is limited despite the far-reaching implications of parasite behavior. Parasite behaviors can help explain trematode community structure, the aggregation of parasites within host populations, and can potentially be harnessed in biocontrol measures. In this study, we used a simple choice chamber design to examine whether trematode parasites can detect the infection status of a potential host and avoid hosts infected with a competitively dominant species. Our results show that Schistosoma mansoni, a competitively subordinate species, can detect and avoid hosts infected with a competitively dominant parasite, Echinostoma caproni. However, E. caproni, despite showing a significant preference for snails infected with S. mansoni over uninfected snails, showed little ability to detect the infection status of the host or even the host's presence. We propose subordinate species may be under stronger selection to avoid dominant competitors whereas dominant competitors may be more strongly selected to find any suitable host, regardless of infection status. Previous research has focused on parasites distinguishing between ‘host’ and ‘non-host’, which does not fully capture the complexity of these interactions. However, the ability of subordinate parasites to determine the infection status of a host results in a consistent evolutionary advantage.

Olindiasspp. medusae are found worldwide in sublittoral tropical and sub-tropical coastal regions; their occurrence near shore can result in human envenomation events. While behaviour of medusae and human contact with medusae has been documented for the genus, the hydroid (polyp) phase of theOlindiaslife cycle has eluded investigators for over a century. Given the recent debate among public media and scientific communities that jellyfish blooms are increasing worldwide, there is a growing urgency to understand how and why jellyfish populations bloom. In order to understand jellyfish population dynamics, the asexual benthic phase must be studied to determine when, where, and how juvenile medusae are produced. In this study, husbandry management strategies, including the creation of artificial habitat forOlindias formosusmedusae in aquaria were developed to encourage spawning and larval settlement. The resultant hydroid colony ofOlindias formosuswas discovered in November of 2012, utilizing the natural fluorescence of the medusa as a detection method. A description of the hydroid and early medusa stage is presented. These techniques provide a basis for locatingin situthe benthic hydroid phases within this genus and other fluorescent medusae, the discovery of which may lead to a better understanding of the causative factors for jellyfish blooms.

Jellyfish have become a topic of interest of many marine scientists and managers alike due to their conspicuous socio-economic and environmental impacts. However, our knowledge about their "everyday life" remains limited. While electronic tags (transmitters and loggers) have been extensively used to study marine vertebrates for the past 50 years, tagging is still in its infancy for marine invertebrates and jellyfish in particular. Progress has been hampered by the difficulty and limited knowledge of attaching tags to soft-bodied animals. We argue that there is huge potential to use tagging to gather basic information on the ecology and behaviour of these species. Here, we give an overview of what has been learned so far by deploying tags on jellyfish, and why tagging is an appropriate method to study their behaviour and ecology. We then describe different tagging techniques, their advantages, disadvantages and challenges, and the steps to ensure future successful jellyfish tagging studies.

The nineteenth-century asylum was the scene of both terrible abuses and significant advancements in treatment and care. The essays in this collection look at the asylum from the perspective of the place itself - its architecture, funding and purpose - and at the experience of those who were sent there. © Taylor & Francis 2015. All rights reserved.

Appraisal of air contamination by micro‐organisms which are responsible for infectious diseases or result in spoilage of products requires devices for sampling the air to determine bacterial content. The simplest technique involves the use of open petri dishes containing culture media upon which colonies of the organisms can grow. However, quantitative data require the use of devices which will sample the bacterial content of definite volumes of air.Air samplers which yield quantitative data may be roughly divided into bubbler and impinger types. In the former type a definite quantity of air, with or without atomization, is bubbled through water, thus collecting a large part of the organisms. In the impinger types the organisms are deposited on the culture medium, either by use of high linear velocity of the air or by application of an electrostatic field.The authors have developed two types of impinger samplers. One of these, weighing approximately 12 pounds, employs an electrostatic field of about 7000 ...