Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas and also plays a role in reducing ozone in the stratosphere. It is produced in the ocean through the action of bacteria which act on oceanic chemical species formed during the breakdown of organic matter. The burning of fossil fuels and the application of nitrogen based fertilisers releases reactive nitrogen species into the atmosphere. These reactive nitrogen species can be transported by air currents over the open ocean where they are deposited on the ocean surface. Here they provide a source of 'new' nitrogen nutrients for the oceanic micro-organisms which can then produce additional oceanic organic matter. The breakdown of this 'additional' organic matter acts to release an additional source of nitrous oxide from the ocean to the atmosphere, where it can affect the earth's radiation balance (through its role as a greenhouse gas), or travel to the stratosphere and increase ozone depletion. A recent study has attempted to quantify the potential increases in ocean fluxes of nitrous oxide caused by predicted increases of fossil fuel use and fertiliser application. The investigators lacked a realistic model of ocean biology which also represented the processes governing the formation of nitrous oxide, and so estimated the increased flux to the atmosphere with a simple linearised calculation. In this proposal we plan to build a realistic global model of the processes controlling oceanic nitrous oxide formation (and destruction); a model with the ability to represent the spatial and temporal variations of the interactions between nitrous oxide cycling processes, ocean biology and ocean circulation. This model will extend an existing ocean biology model (PlankTOM) at UEA. We will use the combined model to estimate the changes in nitrous oxide fluxes from the ocean to the atmosphere for future scenarios of increased reactive nitrogen addition to the ocean. Although this proposal focuses on the consequences for nitrous oxide, the modelling tool we plan to build can be applied to a broad range of problems involving the interactions of ocean biology, other greenhouse gases such as CO2, and climate.

Proteins in all eukaryotes are transcribed from encoding genes by RNA polymerase II (Pol II). Pol II transcription initiation requires a complex interplay of transcription factors, transcriptional co-activators and enhancers to achieve ordered assembly of protein complexes on the DNA template, forming the preinitiation complex (PIC). The traditional text-book view suggests that transcription is initiated by a defined set of general transcription factors (GTFs), step-wise assembled on a core promoter recognized by the TATA-box binding protein (TBP). This 'monolithic' view has been challenged by the discovery of specialized paralogues of PIC components, including three distinct TBP homologs, revealing a level of variability in the mechanism of core promoter recognition that is poorly understood. To date, transcription initiation mechanisms have mainly been deciphered in dividing cells. Our multidisciplinary proposal aims, for the first time, to provide a step-change in our understanding of transcription initiation mechanisms present in a non-dividing cell type, the growing oocyte. Here, TBP has been replaced by a paralogue, TBPL2, and sets of GTF components are absent, providing a unique model system. How transcription is initiated in the growing oocyte in absence of these factors, and how a functional oocyte-specific PIC is assembled in this essential cell-type, remains elusive. We aim to fill this vital knowledge gap, with implications for development, disease states, and infertility - a growing concern particularly in developed societies. Our joint proposal stems from successful collaborations on the structure and mechanism of eukaryotic transcription complexes between the Berger and Schaffitzel groups in the Schools of Biochemistry and Chemistry at Bristol University, and our international network of collaborators including the Tora and Vincent groups (IGBMC France), the Grohmann group (Regensburg, Germany) and the Taatjes group (Boulder USA). Our work combines the disciplines of structural biology, biochemistry and cell biology, with each informing the other. The recent discovery of a unique transcription pre-initiation complex in the growing oocyte sets the stage for the present project. Together, we aim to elucidate the structure and mechanisms of the oocyte-specific transcription machinery at the molecular level.

Fine particles (aerosols) in the atmosphere have major impacts on human health and interact with the climate system through a range of different effects, either directly (by reflecting and scattering sun-light) or indirectly (e.g. by affecting the formation of cloud). The chemical composition of atmospheric aerosol is complex, especially the important contribution from organic aerosol, which itself is composed of thousands of different chemical compounds. These are either emitted directly (from fossil fuel combustion) or formed in the atmosphere (from gases either of biogenic or anthropogenic origin). In this project we are proposing to develop a new measurement system that can quantify the vertical fluxes (i.e. emission, deposition and formation) of organic aerosols. This system will be based on a recently developed Aerosol Mass Spectrometer system, incorporating a time-of-flight mass spectrometer, capable of detecting the full organic aerosol composition of atmospheric particles. By correlating this information with the vertical wind speed, we will be able to quantify organic aerosol fluxes and to derive information on the nature of the organic components that are moving up or down. We will deploy this instrument during four campaigns in three different environments, to (a) probe formation of organic aerosol above a Californian pine forest, (b) study fluxes of primary organic aerosol and the formation of secondary organic aerosol in the urban environment (through measurements from the BT Tower in London) and (c) to characterise organic aerosol formation above rain forest in Malaysian Borneo. The data will be analysed in the context of associated measurements of emissions of gases that may be involved in aerosol production (precursor gases), meteorological parameters and aerosol physical properties. From these data we will characterise the aerosol, quantify SOA formation and identify aerosol production mechanisms together with associated chemical time scales.

A joint program of research in chiral/polar liquid crystals showing fast analog electrooptics is proposed between experimental and computer simulation group at the University of Colorado, Boulder, experimental groups at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, the University of Stuttgart, Germany and Queen's University, Canada, and the theoretical group at the University of Strathclyde, UK. While various combinations of the partners have been collaborating separately over the past several years, all with joint publications, the proposed Network will create a uniquely powerful team for forefront research on chiral liquid crystals. The proposal is focused into synthesis, characterization and theoretical modelling of novel smectic liquid crystal materials, which will have a number of advantages over the existing materials including much faster switching, lower energy consumption and a broader range of applications in electrooptic and all optical devices. A number of exotic chiral smectic liquid crystal materials will be investigated including the V-shaped switching ferroelectric smectics with the most rapid analog liquid crystal electro-optic effects; the deVries materials which tilt without layer contraction in the Smectic C* phase, the closely related orthoconic high-tilt antiferroelectrics; and the recently discovered family of bent-core liquid crystals with a polar smectic A phase that give phase-only electrooptic modulation The de Vries type smectic materials are characterized by anomalously weak layer contraction which enables one to avoid buckling of smectic layers at the tilting transition leading to the formation of the so-called zig-zag defects which seriously degrade the optical quality of smectic materials.. All of these smectic materials will be studied experimentally using polarized microscopy, polarization and tilt angle measurements, x-ray scattering technique and refractometry, and new materials with advanced characteristics will be synthesized using guidance from experiment, molecular theory and atomistic computer simulations. The proposed research highlights fundamental studies of the relationships of the properties of these novel liquid crystal systems with ramifications for a variety of areas in soft materials science. The corresponding materials development will enable a variety of novelapplications, including holographic data storage and projection, beam steering, and chirality detection. The theoretical part of the whole proposal (Work package Strathclyde) is focused into the development of the advance molecular theory of de Vries type ferroelectric materials, taking into account short-range orientational and positional intermolecular correlations, and interpretation of the experimental results obtained by other teams. Using the results of experimental studies and computer simulations, molecular models of analog de Vries smectic materials with nano-segregating groups will be developed, order parameters of these materials will be calculated numerically and compared with experimental data. Effect of various molecular model parameters on the value and temperature variation of the spontaneous polarization in de Vries type materials will be investigated including the effects of molecular shape and flexibility, dipole distribution and nano-segregating groups.

Biodiversity loss and emerging infectious disease are two of the most formidable scientific challenges for the next century. These phenomena are also inextricably linked: infectious diseases can drive biodiversity loss and shape ecological communities, while community diversity can regulate parasite transmission and infection risk. Hence, understanding the relationship between them is paramount, particularly given intensifying changes in biodiversity and species mixing associated with human activities. However, substantial uncertainty and even seemingly contradictory hypotheses have emerged regarding the direction, magnitude, and generality of the diversity-disease relationship. Resolving these disparate lines of research and developing a more predictive framework requires (i) a more mechanistic approach to understand the direct and indirect pathways through which diversity influences transmission and (ii) assessments of how such effects depend on parasite traits, community assembly, and scale. The central aim of this proposal is to integrate parameterized transmission models with field surveys, laboratory experiments, and whole-ecosystem manipulations to identify the mechanisms through which community diversity affects transmission and their relative importance across an entire guild of parasites (amphibian macroparasites).