Table 4. Trace gas concentrations from samples taken at Ginninderra

We assess the performance of an inverse Lagrangian dispersion technique for its suitability to quantify leakages from geological storage of CO2. We find the technique is accurate ((QbLS/Q)=0.99, sigma=0.29) when strict meteorological filtering is applied to ensure that Monin-Obukhov Similarity Theory is valid for the periods analysed and when downwind enrichments in tracer gas concentration are 1% or more above background concentration. Because of their respective baseline atmospheric concentrations, this enrichment criterion is less onerous for CH4 than for CO2. Therefore for geologically sequestered gas reservoirs with a significant CH4 component, monitoring CH4 as a surrogate for CO2 leakage could be as much as 10 times more sensitive than monitoring CO2 alone. Additional recommendations for designing a robust atmospheric monitoring strategy for geosequestration include: continuous concentration data; exact inter-calibration of up- and downwind concentration measurements; use of an array of point concentration sensors to maximise the use of spatial information about the leakage plume; and precise isotope ratio measurement to confirm the source of any concentration elevations detected.

2015 David Cushing Prize

The prize honors the memory of David Cushing, Founding Editor of Journal of Plankton Research. It is awarded annually for the best paper by an early career stage scientist published in the journal during the previous year. The prize helps foster the interesting and high-quality papers by young scientists that David Cushing so actively supported. The 2015 David Cushing Prize has been awarded to Bingzhang Chen for his paper, “Patterns of thermal limits of phytoplankton” (J. Plankton Res. 37, 285–292) Bingzhang Chen obtained his PhD with a major in Marine Environmental Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology under the supervision of Dr Hongbin Liu in 2008. He also worked with Dr Zoe Finkel and Dr Andrew Irwin in Mount Allison University, Canada, from 2009 to 2010. During this time, he started to learn the R language and entered the field of data analysis and programming. This experience has been proved very useful for his later work.

2015 David Cushing Prize

The prize honors the memory of David Cushing, Founding Editor of Journal of Plankton Research. It is awarded annually for the best paper by an early career stage scientist published in the journal during the previous year. The prize helps foster the interesting and high-quality papers by young scientists that David Cushing so actively supported. The 2015 David Cushing Prize has been awarded to Bingzhang Chen for his paper, “Patterns of thermal limits of phytoplankton” (J. Plankton Res. 37, 285–292) Bingzhang Chen obtained his PhD with a major in Marine Environmental Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology under the supervision of Dr Hongbin Liu in 2008. He also worked with Dr Zoe Finkel and Dr Andrew Irwin in Mount Allison University, Canada, from 2009 to 2010. During this time, he started to learn the R language and entered the field of data analysis and programming. This experience has been proved very useful for his later work.

Strategies to prevent oral disease in dependent older people (Protocol).

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows:
To assess the effects and costs of primary, secondary and tertiary strategies to prevent oral disease in dependent older people.

Exploring Children’s Experiences of Participating in a Mindfulness Intervention

In recent years there has been a rapid growth in mindfulness practices being applied to improve the health and wellbeing of those who participate. As a result mindfulness-based interventions (MBI’s) have been applied in medical and educational settings. The purpose of this piece of research is to explore children’s understanding of mindfulness following their involvement in a 12 week mindfulness based intervention. The research provides an in-depth explorative interpretation of both the pupils and the mindfulness practitioner’s experience of mindfulness. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was employed as a method of analysis which resulted in 3 master themes being identified. The themes include ‘physiological activities promote mindfulness’, ‘cognitive elements’ and ‘states of being’. Interpretation of the findings considered participants experiences in relation to the 7 attitudinal foundations as proposed by Kabat–Zinn (1990). A number of similarities between the participants were evident, as represented in the 3 master themes. However the degree to which each individual participant expressed their awareness and understating of mindfulness varied. Therefore the findings indicated that the participants were in the process of developing their understanding of mindfulness which differed between them on a conceptual level. This study is considered of relevance for those in the profession of Educational Psychology and those interested in the application of mindfulness-based interventions to improve the health and wellbeing outcomes for children and young people. The research has made a distinctive contribution within the field of mindfulness in light of the findings. Recommendations are made to inform the practices of Educational Psychology Services with reference to the work of Educational Psychologists. Suggestions for further research have also been made to aid the direction of future research.

Previous land use and climate influence differences in soil organic carbon following reforestation of agricultural land with mixed-species plantings

Reforestation of agricultural land with mixed-species environmental plantings (native trees and shrubs) can contribute to mitigation of climate change through sequestration of carbon. Although soil carbon sequestration following reforestation has been investigated at site- and regional-scales, there are few studies across regions where the impact of a broad range of site conditions and management practices can be assessed. We collated new and existing data on soil organic carbon (SOC, 0–30 cm depth, N = 117 sites) and litter (N = 106 sites) under mixed-species plantings and an agricultural pair or baseline across southern and eastern Australia. Sites covered a range of previous land uses, initial SOC stocks, climatic conditions and management types. Differences in total SOC stocks following reforestation were significant at 52% of sites, with a mean rate of increase of 0.57 ± 0.06 Mg C ha−1 y−1. Increases were largely in the particulate fraction, which increased significantly at 46% of sites compared with increases at 27% of sites for the humus fraction. Although relative increase was highest in the particulate fraction, the humus fraction was the largest proportion of total SOC and so absolute differences in both fractions were similar. Accumulation rates of carbon in litter were 0.39 ± 0.02 Mg C ha−1 y−1, increasing the total (soil + litter) annual rate of carbon sequestration by 68%. Previously-cropped sites accumulated more SOC than previously-grazed sites. The explained variance differed widely among empirical models of differences in SOC stocks following reforestation according to SOC fraction and depth for previously-grazed (R2 = 0.18–0.51) and previously-cropped (R2 = 0.14–0.60) sites. For previously-grazed sites, differences in SOC following reforestation were negatively related to total SOC in the pasture. By comparison, for previously-cropped sites, differences in SOC were positively related to mean annual rainfall. This improved broad-scale understanding of the magnitude and predictors of changes in stocks of soil and litter C following reforestation is valuable for the development of policy on carbon markets and the establishment of future mixed-species environmental plantings.

Improved models for estimating temporal changes in carbon sequestration in above-ground biomass of mixed-species environmental plantings

Plantings of mixed native species (termed 'environmental plantings') are increasingly being established for carbon sequestration whilst providing additional environmental benefits such as biodiversity and water quality. In Australia, they are currently one of the most common forms of reforestation. Investment in establishing and maintaining such plantings relies on having a cost-effective modelling approach to providing unbiased estimates of biomass production and carbon sequestration rates. In Australia, the Full Carbon Accounting Model (FullCAM) is used for both national greenhouse gas accounting and project-scale sequestration activities. Prior to undertaking the work presented here, the FullCAM tree growth curve was not calibrated specifically for environmental plantings and generally under-estimated their biomass. Here we collected and analysed above-ground biomass data from 605 mixed-species environmental plantings, and tested the effects of several planting characteristics on growth rates. Plantings were then categorised based on significant differences in growth rates. Growth of plantings differed between temperate and tropical regions. Tropical plantings were relatively uniform in terms of planting methods and their growth was largely related to stand age, consistent with the un-calibrated growth curve. However, in temperate regions where plantings were more variable, key factors influencing growth were planting width, stand density and species-mix (proportion of individuals that were trees). These categories provided the basis for FullCAM calibration. Although the overall model efficiency was only 39-46%, there was nonetheless no significant bias when the model was applied to the various planting categories. Thus, modelled estimates of biomass accumulation will be reliable on average, but estimates at any particular location will be uncertain, with either under- or over-prediction possible. When compared with the un-calibrated yield curves, predictions using the new calibrations show that early growth is likely to be more rapid and total above-ground biomass may be higher for many plantings at maturity. This study has considerably improved understanding of the patterns of growth in different types of environmental plantings, and in modelling biomass accumulation in young (<25. years old) plantings. However, significant challenges remain to understand longer-term stand dynamics, particularly with temporal changes in stand density and species composition. © 2014.

Reator de leito estruturado com recirculação submetido à aeração intermitente no tratamento de esgoto sanitário

The release of nitrogen compounds in water bodies can result in many environmental problems, so treat wastewater, such as sewage in order to remove not only organic matter but also nitrogen has been studied a few decades. From the above, the objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of a structured bed reactor, continuous flow, with recirculation, in removing organic matter and nitrogen present in wastewater under different cycles of intermittent aeration (AI) and to evaluate the influence of these cycles in the development of nitrifying bacteria (Oxidizing Bacteria Ammonia - BOA and Bacteria Oxidizing Nitrite - BON) and denitrifying (DESN) adhered (Support Material - MS) and suspension (Effluent - EF and sludge - LD). The reactor used has usable volume of 9.4 L. As support materials (MS) polyurethane foam was used, cut and fixed in PVC rods. 3 were worked aeration phases (AE) and non-aeration (AN) at different stage: Stage 1 (4 h EA / AN 2H); Stage 2 (2H EA / AN 1 h) and Phase 3 (2H EA / AN 2 h). During all hydraulic detention time phases was kept at 16 h and the effluent recirculated at a rate of 3 times the inflow. Were analyzed: pH, total alkalinity, temperature, chemical oxygen demand (COD), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), nitrogen Kjeldhl Total (NKT), ammonia-N-N-NH4+, nitrito-N-NO2+andnitrato-NO3-. The concentration of BOA, BON and DESN was determined using the number More Provável.gSSV-1 (NMP.gSSV-1). In phase 1 the percentage removal NTK N-NH4+ and NT was 76±10%, 70±21% and 67±10% respectively. In Phase 2 80±15% of removel NKT, 86±15% of N-NH4+ e 68±9% of removel NT e na Fase 3 de 58±20%, 72±28% and 41±6% of NKT, N-NH4+ of NT, respectively. The denitrification efficiency in stage 3 was over 70%, indicating that occurred in the reactor the process of simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (NDS). DQOT the removal percentages were 88 ± 4% in Phase 1, 94 ± 7 in Phase 2 and 90± 11% in Phase 3. The multivariate ANOVA applied to NMP.gSSV-1, it indicated that there was significant (F: 20,2, p <0,01) between the analyzed concentration of organisms AI in different cycles, but the differences between NMP.gSSV-1 depends not only isolated factors but of which means, and phase groups being analysis. From the results it is concluded that the working system is efficient in terms of nitrogen removal and organic matter, and that the stage with the highest availability of Dissolved Oxygen (DO) and C/N ratio (Step 2), was the one obtained the lower concentrations of organic matter effluents and N-NH4+. Hinted that there was a significant difference between the concentration (NMP.100mL-1) of the analyzed organizations (BOA, BON and DESN), but this difference does not depend on factors alone but of which means (MS, EF or LD), stages (1, 2 or 3) and groups (BOA, BON and DESN) is being considered.

Biofloc contribution to antioxidant defence status, lipid nutrition and reproductive performance of broodstock of the shrimp Litopenaeus stylirostris: Consequences for the quality of eggs and larvae

The aim of this study was to determine biofloc contributions to the antioxidant status and lipid nutrition of broodstock of Litopenaeus stylirostris in relationship with their reproductive performance and the health of larvae produced. Shrimp broodstock reared with Biofloc technology (BFT) compared to Clear water (CW) exhibited a higher health status with (i) a better final survival rate during the reproduction period (52.6% in CW against 79.8% in BFT); (ii) higher glutathione level (GSH) and total antioxidant status (TAS), reduced oxidized/reduced glutathione ratio and a higher spawning rate and frequency as well as higher gonado-somatic index and number of spawned eggs. Finally, larvae from broodstock from BFT exhibited higher survival rates at the Zoe 2 (+ 37%) and Post Larvae 1 (+ 51%) stages when compared with those from females from CW treatment. The improved reproductive performance of the broodstock and higher larvae survival rate resulting from BFT treatment may be linked to the dietary supplement obtained by the shrimp from natural productivity during BFT rearing. Indeed, our study confirms that biofloc particulates represent a potential source of dietary glutathione and a significant source of lipids, particularly essential phospholipids and n-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA) for shrimps. Thus, broodstock from BFT treatment accumulated phospholipids, n-3 HUFA and arachidonic acid, which are necessary for vitellogenesis, embryogenesis and pre-feeding larval development. The predominant essential fatty acids, arachidonic acid (ARA), eicopentaeonic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), had levels in the eggs that were, respectively, 2.5, 2.8 and 3 fold higher for BFT compared to the CW treatment. Statement of Relevance Today, the influence of biofloc technology on shrimp broodstock is not enough described and no information was available on the larvae quality. Moreover, two key pieces of new information emerge from the present study. Firstly, biofloc is a source of further dietary lipids that can act as energetic substrates, but also as a source of phospholipids and essential fatty acids necessary to sustain reproduction, embryonic and larval development. Second, improving the reproduction of the broodstock also leads to an improvement in the quality of the larvae. We think that our research is new and important to increase knowledge on biofloc topic. We believe the paper will contribute to the development of more efficient and therefore more sustainable systems.

Análisis de los conceptos del movimiento vibracional y sonido con el uso de las TIC's

Los sonidos y vibraciones de estas toman una importancia muy grande en nuestras vidas, nos ayudan a estar más atentos y a comunicarnos a diario, un mundo sin sonidos no hubiera funcionado de la misma manera ya que ha sido parte en descubrir cosas grandes .A diario nos comunicamos por medio de comunicación verbal que es transmitida atreves de ondas invisibles que escuchamos a través de nuestros oídos que conocemos como sonidos. El timbre de un sonido es aquello que nos permite distinguir la voz de dos personas que cantan una misma canción, o bien diferentes instrumentos que emiten una misma nota musical. Longitud de onda: La distancia existente entre dos crestas o valles consecutivos es lo que llamamos longitud de onda. La reflexión es una propiedad de la propagación del sonido, junto con la atenuación, dispersión, absorción y la refracción. Todo el mundo suele tener claro lo que significa la reflexión de una onda. Este fenómeno, que se aprecia muy claramente con la luz en un espejo, se produce de igual forma con el sonido. Cuando el sonido tropieza con un obstáculo, lo que hace la mayor parte de la energía de la onda, es cambiar de fase y volver por el mismo camino por el que ha llegado, pero en sentido contrario.

La Habana, mon amour

This flyer promotes a book presentation of "La Habana, mon amour", a new novel by Zoe Valdes. The book chronicles the author's personal history with her hometown of Havana, Cuba. The event was held in Spanish on October 29, 2015 at Coral Gables Congregational Church.

Cuban Literature in Exile

This flyer promotes a lecture by Zoe Valdes on recent literary trends, works, and authors of Cuban origin living outside the island. Valdes was born in Havana, Cuba and is the authors of 32 novels. This lecture was conducted in Spanish, held on October 28, 2015 at the Modesto A. Maidique Campus, Graham Center, Room 140.

New prophylactic and therapeutic treatments to combat pathogenic Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli

Bacterial diarrhoeal diseases have significant influence on global human health, and are a leading cause of preventable death in the developing world. Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC), pathogenic strains of E. coli that carry potent toxins, have been associated with a high number of large-scale outbreaks caused by contaminated food and water sources. This pathotype produces diarrhoea and haemorrhagic colitis in infected humans, and in some patients leads to the development of haemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which can result in mortality and chronic kidney disease. A major obstacle to the treatment of EHEC infections is the increased risk of HUS development that is associated with antibiotic treatment, and rehydration and renal support are often the only options available. New treatments designed to prevent or clear E. coli infections and reduce symptoms of illness would therefore have large public health and economic impacts. The three main aims of this thesis were: to explore mouse models for pre-clinical evaluation in vivo of small compounds that inhibit a major EHEC colonisation factor, to assess the production and role of two proteins considered promising candidates for a broad-spectrum vaccine against pathogenic E. coli, and to investigate a novel compound that has recently been identified as a potential inhibitor of EHEC toxin production. As EHEC cannot be safely tested in humans due to the risk of HUS development, appropriate small animal models are required for in vivo testing of new drugs. A number of different mouse models have been developed to replicate different features of EHEC pathogenesis, several of which we investigated with a focus on colonisation mediated by the Type III Secretion System (T3SS), a needle-like structure that translocates bacterial proteins into host cells, resulting in a tight, intimate attachment between pathogen and host, aiding colonisation of the gastrointestinal tract. As E. coli models were found not to depend significantly on the T3SS for colonisation, the Citrobacter rodentium model, a natural mouse pathogen closely related to E. coli, was deemed the most suitable mouse model currently available for in vivo testing of T3SS-targeting compounds. Two bacterial proteins, EaeH (an outer membrane adhesin) and YghJ (a putative secreted lipoprotein), highly conserved surface-associated proteins recently identified as III protective antigens against E. coli infection of mice, were explored in order to determine their suitability as candidates for a human vaccine against pathogenic E. coli. We focused on the expression and function of these proteins in the EHEC O157:H7 EDL933 strain and the adherent-invasive E. coli (AIEC) LF82 strain. Although expression of EaeH by other E. coli pathotypes has recently been shown to be upregulated upon contact with host intestinal cells, no evidence of this upregulation could be demonstrated in our strains. Additionally, while YghJ was produced by the AIEC strain, it was not secreted by bacteria under conditions that other YghJ-expressing E. coli pathotypes do, despite the AIEC strain carrying all the genes required to encode the secretion system it is associated with. While our findings indicate that a vaccine that raises antibodies against EaeH and YghJ may have limited effect on the EHEC and AIEC strains we used, recent studies into these proteins in different E. coli pathogens have suggested they are still excellent candidates for a broadly effective vaccine against E. coli. Finally, we characterised a small lead compound, identified by high-throughput screening as a possible inhibitor of Shiga toxin expression. Shiga toxin production causes both the symptoms of illness and development of HUS, and thus reduction of toxin production, release, or binding to host receptors could therefore be an effective way to treat infections and decrease the risk of HUS. Inhibition of Shiga toxin production by this compound was confirmed, and was shown to be caused by an inhibitory effect on activation of the bacterial SOS response rather than on the Shiga toxin genes themselves. The bacterial target of this compound was identified as RecA, a major regulator of the SOS response, and we hypothesise that the compound binds covalently to its target, preventing oligomerisation of RecA into an activated filament. Altogether, the results presented here provide an improved understanding of these different approaches to combating EHEC infection, which will aid the development of safe and effective vaccines and anti-virulence treatments against EHEC.

Designing for learner engagement with computer-based testing

The issues influencing student engagement with high-stakes computer-based exams were investigated, drawing on feedback from two cohorts of international MA Education students encountering this assessment method for the first time. Qualitative data from surveys and focus groups on the students’ examination experience were analysed, leading to the identification of engagement issues in the delivery of high-stakes computer-based assessments.The exam combined short-answer open-response questions with multiple-choice-style items to assess knowledge and understanding of research methods. The findings suggest that engagement with computer-based testing depends, to a lesser extent, on students’ general levels of digital literacy and, to a greater extent, on their information technology (IT) proficiency for assessment and their ability to adapt their test-taking strategies, including organisational and cognitive strategies, to the online assessment environment. The socialisation and preparation of students for computer-based testing therefore emerge as key responsibilities for instructors to address, with students requesting increased opportunities for practice and training to develop the IT skills and test-taking strategies necessary to succeed in computer-based examinations. These findings and their implications in terms of instructional responsibilities form the basis of a proposal for a framework for Learner Engagement with e-Assessment Practices.