A primer for use of genetic tools in selecting and testing the suitability of set-aside sites protected from deep-sea seafloor massive sulfide mining activities

Seafloor massive sulfide (SMS) mining will likely occur at hydrothermal systems in the near future. Alongside their mineral wealth, SMS deposits also have considerable biological value. Active SMS deposits host endemic hydrothermal vent communities, whilst inactive deposits support communities of deep water corals and other suspension feeders. Mining activities are expected to remove all large organisms and suitable habitat in the immediate area, making vent endemic organisms particularly at risk from habitat loss and localised extinction. As part of environmental management strategies designed to mitigate the effects of mining, areas of seabed need to be protected to preserve biodiversity that is lost at the mine site and to preserve communities that support connectivity among populations of vent animals in the surrounding region. These "set-aside" areas need to be biologically similar to the mine site and be suitably connected, mostly by transport of larvae, to neighbouring sites to ensure exchange of genetic material among remaining populations. Establishing suitable set-asides can be a formidable task for environmental managers, however the application of genetic approaches can aid set-aside identification, suitability assessment and monitoring. There are many genetic tools available, including analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences (e.g. COI or other suitable mtDNA genes) and appropriate nuclear DNA markers (e.g. microsatellites, single nucleotide polymorphisms), environmental DNA (eDNA) techniques and microbial metagenomics. When used in concert with traditional biological survey techniques, these tools can help to identify species, assess the genetic connectivity among populations and assess the diversity of communities. How these techniques can be applied to set-aside decision making is discussed and recommendations are made for the genetic characteristics of set-aside sites. A checklist for environmental regulators forms a guide to aid decision making on the suitability of set-aside design and assessment using genetic tools. This non-technical primer document represents the views of participants in the VentBase 2014 workshop.

Occurrence and Partitioning of Cadmium, Arsenic and Lead in Mine Impacted Paddy Rice: Hunan, China

Paddy rice has been likened to nictiana sp in its ability to scavenge cadmium (Cd) from soil, whereas arsenic (As) accumulation is commonly an order of magnitude higher than in other cereal crops. In areas such as those found in parts of Hunan province in south central China, base-metal mining activities and rice farming coexist. Therefore there is a considerable likelihood that lead (Pb), in addition to Cd and As, will accumulate in rice grown in parts of this region above levels suitable for human consumption. To test this hypothesis, a widespread provincial survey of rice from mine spoilt paddies (n = 100), in addition to a follow-up market grain survey (n = 122) conducted in mine impacted areas was undertaken to determine the safety of local rice supply networks. Furthermore, a specific Cd, As, and Pb biogeochemical survey of paddy soil and rice was conducted within southern China, targeting sites impacted by mining of varying intensities to calibrate rice metal(loid) transfer models and transfer factors that can be used to predict tissue loading. Results revealed a number of highly significant correlations between shoot, husk, bran, and endosperm rice tissue fractions and that rice from mining areas was enriched in Cd, As, and Pb. Sixty-five, 50, and 34% of all the mine-impacted field rice was predicted to fail national food standards for Cd, As, and Pb, respectively. Although, not as elevated as the grains from the mine-impacted field survey, it was demonstrated that metal(loid) tainted rice was entering food supply chains intended for direct human consumption.

“They might as well be walking around the inside of a biscuit tin”: Barriers to Employment and Reintegration for ‘Politically Motivated’ Former Prisoners in Northern Ireland

The prisoner provisions under the Northern Ireland Peace Agreement clearly emphasised the importance of the reintegration and civic inclusion of ‘politically motivated’ former prisoners; however, numerous barriers to full reintegration remain. Even though these prisoners were released as part of a peace process, based on principles of conflict transformation and reconciliation, there were still The prisoner provisions under the Northern Ireland Peace Agreement emphasised the importance of the reintegration and civic inclusion of ‘politically motivated’ former prisoners; however, numerous barriers to full reintegration remain. Notwithstanding the fact that these prisoners were released as part of a peace process, based on principles of conflict transformation and reconciliation, there were still numerous conditions placed upon them as part of their release process and they continued to hold a ‘criminal’ record upon release. As with ‘ordinary’ ex-prisoners, these ‘politically motivated’ former prisoners have subsequently faced numerous obstacles in their attempts to reintegrate back into society, particularly in the area of employment. Recognising that they needed to deal with the consequences of imprisonment, ‘politically motivated’ former prisoners formed numerous self-help organisations to assist in the reintegration process and have mobilised to lobby for protection against the discrimination and unequal treatment experienced by ex-prisoners seeking employment. This article explores the remaining barriers to employment for ‘politically motivated’ former prisoners and the consequences of these barriers. The article moves to assess how prisoner groups have subsequently used a ‘rights based’ discourse to engage local government in their struggle to overcome existing obstacles before finally concluding that any piecemeal attempt to remove barriers to full reintegration will only impede the longer term conflict transformation process in Northern Ireland.

Introduction to Domain-Driven Data Mining Special Section

In the last decade, data mining has emerged as one of the most dynamic and lively areas in information technology. Although many algorithms and techniques for data mining have been proposed, they either focus on domain independent techniques or on very specific domain problems. A general requirement in bridging the gap between academia and business is to cater to general domain-related issues surrounding real-life applications, such as constraints, organizational factors, domain expert knowledge, domain adaption, and operational knowledge. Unfortunately, these either have not been addressed, or have not been sufficiently addressed, in current data mining research and development.Domain-Driven Data Mining (D3M) aims to develop general principles, methodologies, and techniques for modeling and merging comprehensive domain-related factors and synthesized ubiquitous intelligence surrounding problem domains with the data mining process, and discovering knowledge to support business decision-making. This paper aims to report original, cutting-edge, and state-of-the-art progress in D3M. It covers theoretical and applied contributions aiming to: 1) propose next-generation data mining frameworks and processes for actionable knowledge discovery, 2) investigate effective (automated, human and machine-centered and/or human-machined-co-operated) principles and approaches for acquiring, representing, modelling, and engaging ubiquitous intelligence in real-world data mining, and 3) develop workable and operational systems balancing technical significance and applications concerns, and converting and delivering actionable knowledge into operational applications rules to seamlessly engage application processes and systems.

Punishment, blame and stigma after conflict: the experience of politically motivated former prisoners in Northern Ireland

This paper examines the relationship between the politics of blame in post-conflict Northern Ireland and the treatment of politically motivated former prisoners. Using the examples of direct and indirect discrimination in the areas of employment and access to mental health services, the paper considers how the discursive operation of blaming produces evasions and attributions of guilt. It argues that such blaming practices have very real material consequences for the allocation or withholding of goods and burdens in the community. The paper notes also that the ‘cause of victims’ is often appropriated by the press and other political actors for their own purposes, frequently to block the provision of public goods to one particular group of ex-combatants: ex-politically motivated prisoners. It concludes by posing a series of questions about blaming, justice and the moral authority of the victim in a transitional justice context. The claim of the paper is simply to offer some starting points for understanding the relationship between processes of blame, stigma and social exclusion.

High Percentage Inorganic Arsenic Content of Mining Impacted and Nonimpacted Chinese Rice

Two approaches were undertaken to characterize the arsenic (As) content of Chinese rice. First, a national market basket survey (n = 240) was conducted in provincial capitals, sourcing grain from China's premier rice production areas. Second, to reflect rural diets, paddy rice (n = 195) directly from farmers fields were collected from three regions in Hunan, a key rice producing province located in southern China. Two of the sites were within mining and smeltery districts, and the third was devoid of large-scale metal processing industries. Arsenic levels were determined in all the samples while a subset (n = 33) were characterized for As species, using a new simple and rapid extraction method suitable for use with Hamilton PRP-X100 anion exchange columns and HPLC-ICP-MS. The vast majority (85%) of the market rice grains possessed total As levels <150 ng g(-1). The rice collected from mine-impacted regions, however, were found to be highly enriched in As, reaching concentrations of up to 624 ng g(-1). Inorganic As (As(i)) was the predominant species detected in all of the speciated grain, with As(i) levels in some samples exceeding 300 ng g(-1). The As(i) concentration in polished and unpolished Chinese rice was successfully predicted from total As levels. The mean baseline concentrations for As(i) in Chinese market rice based on this survey were estimated to be 96 ng g(-1) while levels in mine-impacted areas were higher with ca. 50% of the rice in one region predicted to fail the national standard.

The legacy of past manuring practices on soil contamination in remote rural areas

This paper demonstrates that there can be a legacy of contamination on former arable land in remote rural areas as a result of past manuring practices. In the first part of the study four farms abandoned in the late 19th to mid-20th century were investigated with samples collected from residual material in domestic hearths, the midden heaps, kailyards (walled garden for vegetables), infields (intensively managed arable land) and outfields (less intensively managed land for cropping or grazing). Consistent sequences in concentration values were found for such elements as Pb, Zn, Cu and P in the order hearth>midden>kailyard>infield>outfield. Such patterns can in part be explained in terms of atmospheric deposition on peat and turf which were subsequently burnt in hearths to result in enhanced elemental concentrations. The ash then was deposited in midden heaps and subsequently on kailyards or infields. In the second part, microanalytical results from St. Kilda are discussed. Enhanced loadings of Pb and Zn were found in the old arable land. The highest levels of Zn were found in small fragments of carbonised and humified material and bone fragments; in contrast Pb tended to be more uniformly distributed. Seabird waste was extensively applied to the arable land and some of the Zn may have accumulated in the soil by this pathway. The retention of Zn in bone is likely to have been very minor given the rarity of bone fragments as evident in thin sections (0.3%); this compares with 6.8% for black carbonised particles which are likely to provide the main storage sites for Zn.

Arsenic Speciation and Localization in Horticultural Produce Grown in a Historically Impacted Mining Region

A field and market basket study (similar to 1300 samples) of locally grown fruits and vegetables from historically mined regions of southwest (SW) England (Cornwall and Devon), and as reference, a market basket study of similarly locally grown produce from the northeast (NE) of Scotland (Aberdeenshire) was conducted to determine the concentration of total and inorganic arsenic present in produce from these two geogenically different areas of the U.K. On average 98.5% of the total arsenic found was present in the inorganic form. For both the market basket and the field survey, the highest total arsenic was present in open leaf structure produce (i.e., kale, chard, lettuce, greens, and spinach) being most likely to soil/dust contamination of the open leaf structure. The concentration of total arsenic in potatoes, swedes, and carrots was lower in peeled produce compared to unpeeled produce. For baked potatoes, the concentration of total arsenic in the skin was higher compared to the total arsenic concentration of the potato flesh, this difference in localization being confirmed by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (LA-ICP-MS). For all above ground produce (e.g., apples), peeling did not have a significant effect on the concentration of total arsenic present.