Distribution, occurrence and biotoxin composition of the main shellfish toxin producing microalgae within European waters: A comparison of methods of analysis

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are a natural global phenomena emerging in severity and extent. Incidents have many economic, ecological and human health impacts. Monitoring and providing early warning of toxic HABs are critical for protecting public health. Current monitoring programmes include measuring the number of toxic phytoplankton cells in the water and biotoxin levels in shellfish tissue. As these efforts are demanding and labour intensive, methods which improve the efficiency are essential. This study compares the utilisation of a multitoxin surface plasmon resonance (multitoxin SPR) biosensor with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and analytical methods such as high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for toxic HAB monitoring efforts in Europe. Seawater samples (n = 256) from European waters, collected 2009-2011, were analysed for biotoxins: saxitoxin and analogues, okadaic acid and dinophysistoxins 1/2 (DTX1/DTX2) and domoic acid responsible for paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP), diarrheic shellfish poisoning (DSP) and amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP), respectively. Biotoxins were detected mainly in samples from Spain and Ireland. France and Norway appeared to have the lowest number of toxic samples. Both the multitoxin SPR biosensor and the RNA microarray were more sensitive at detecting toxic HABs than standard light microscopy phytoplankton monitoring. Correlations between each of the detection methods were performed with the overall agreement, based on statistical 2 × 2 comparison tables, between each testing platform ranging between 32% and 74% for all three toxin families illustrating that one individual testing method may not be an ideal solution. An efficient early warning monitoring system for the detection of toxic HABs could therefore be achieved by combining both the multitoxin SPR biosensor and RNA microarray.

A Microgrid Testbed for Interdisciplinary Research on Cyber-Secure Industrial Control in Power Systems

This paper describes a smart grid test bed comprising embedded generation, phasor measurement units (PMUs), and supporting ICT components and infrastructure. The test bed enables the development of a use case focused on a synchronous islanding scenario, where the embedded generation becomes islanded from the mains supply. Due to the provisioned control components, control strategy, and best-practice ICT support infrastructure, the islanded portion of the grid is able to continue to operate in a secure and dependable manner.

Ultraviolet emission lines of Si II in cool star and solar spectra

Recent atomic physics calculations for Si II are employed within the CLOUDY modelling code to analyse Hubble Space Telescope (HST) STIS ultraviolet spectra of three cool stars, β Geminorum, α Centauri A and B, as well as previously published HST/GHRS observations of α Tau, plus solar quiet Sun data from the High Resolution Telescope and Spectrograph. Discrepancies found previously between theory and observation for line intensity ratios involving the 3s²3p ²PJ-3s3p^{2 4}P^J' intercombination multiplet of Si II at ~ 2335 Å are significantly reduced, as are those for ratios containing the 3s²3p ²PJ-3s3p^{2 2}DJ ~ transitions at ~1816 Å. This is primarily due to the effect of the new Si II transition probabilities. However, these atomic data are not only very different from previous calculations, but also show large disagreements with measurements, specifically those of Calamai et al. for the intercombination lines. New measurements of transition probabilities for Si II are hence urgently required to confirm (or otherwise) the accuracy of the recently calculated values. If the new calculations are confirmed, then a long-standing discrepancy between theory and observation will have finally been resolved. However, if the older measurements are found to be correct, then the agreement between theory and observation is simply a coincidence and the existing discrepancies remain.

Climate drives temporal replacement and nested‐resultant richness patterns of Scottish coastal vegetation

Beta diversity quantifies spatial and/or temporal variation in species composition. It is comprised of two distinct components, species replacement and nestedness, which derive from opposing ecological processes. Using Scotland as a case study and a β-diversity partitioning framework, we investigate temporal replacement and nestedness patterns of coastal grassland species over a 34-yr time period. We aim to 1) understand the influence of two potentially pivotal processes (climate and land-use changes) on landscape-scale (5 × 5 km) temporal replacement and nestedness patterns, and 2) investigate whether patterns from one β-diversity component can mask observable patterns in the other.

We summarised key aspects of climate driven macro-ecological variation as measures of variance, long-term trends, between-year similarity and extremes, for three important climatic predictors (minimum temperature, water-balance and growing degree-days). Shifts in landscape-scale heterogeneity, a proxy of land-use change, was summarised as a spatial multiple-site dissimilarity measure. Together, these climatic and spatial predictors were used in a multi-model inference framework to gauge the relative contribution of each on temporal replacement and nestedness patterns.

Temporal β-diversity patterns were reasonably well explained by climate change but weakly explained by changes in landscape-scale heterogeneity. Climate was shown to have a greater influence on temporal nestedness than replacement patterns over our study period, linking nestedness patterns, as a result of imbalanced gains and losses, to climatic warming and extremes respectively. Important climatic predictors (i.e. growing degree-days) of temporal β-diversity were also identified, and contrasting patterns between the two β-diversity components revealed.

Results suggest climate influences plant species recruitment and establishment processes of Scotland's coastal grasslands, and while species extinctions take time, they are likely to be facilitated by climatic perturbations. Our findings also highlight the importance of distinguishing between different components of β-diversity, disentangling contrasting patterns than can mask one another.

Maxwell perturbations on asymptotically Anti-de-Sitter spacetimes: generic boundary conditions and a new branch of quasinormal modes

Perturbations of asymptotically Anti-de-Sitter (AdS) spacetimes are often considered by imposing field vanishing boundary conditions (BCs) at the AdS boundary. Such BCs, of Dirichlet-type, imply a vanishing energy flux at the boundary, but the converse is, generically, not true. Regarding AdS as a gravitational box, we consider vanishing energy flux (VEF) BCs as a more fundamental physical requirement and we show that these BCs can lead to a new branch of modes. As a concrete example, we consider Maxwell perturbations on Kerr-AdS black holes in the Teukolsky formalism, but our formulation applies also for other spin fields. Imposing VEF BCs, we find a set of two Robin BCs, even for Schwarzschild-AdS black holes. The Robin BCs on the Teukolsky variables can be used to study quasinormal modes, superradiant instabilities and vector clouds. As a first application, we consider here the quasinormal modes of Schwarzschild-AdS black holes. We find that one of the Robin BCs yields the quasinormal spectrum reported in the literature, while the other one unveils a new branch for the quasinormal spectrum.

The PREDICTS database: a global database of how local terrestrial biodiversity responds to human impacts

Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of alien species. Existing global databases of species’ threat status or population time series are dominated by charismatic species. The collation of datasets with broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents, and that support computation of a range of biodiversity indicators, is necessary to enable better understanding of historical declines and to project – and avert – future declines. We describe and assess a new database of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database contains measurements taken in 208 (of 814) ecoregions, 13 (of 14) biomes, 25 (of 35) biodiversity hotspots and 16 (of 17) megadiverse countries. The database contains more than 1% of the total number of all species described, and more than 1% of the described species within many taxonomic groups – including flowering plants, gymnosperms, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, beetles, lepidopterans and hymenopterans. The dataset, which is still being added to, is therefore already considerably larger and more representative than those used by previous quantitative models of biodiversity trends and responses. The database is being assembled as part of the PREDICTS project (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems – www.predicts.org.uk). We make site-level summary data available alongside this article. The full database will be publicly available in 2015.

The Impact of Critical Thinking Disposition on Learning Using Business Simulations

This research seeks to determine the relationship between students’ critical thinking disposition and their learning while engaging in a business simulation at a UK higher education institution (HEI). The research informs educators making decisions about the use of simulations as to the value of considering critical thinking dispositions. Previous research has found that simulations are an effective way for students to engage actively in learning, bridging the gap between theory and practice. It has also been found that such simulations can develop students’ critical thinking skills. However, hitherto no research has been undertaken into the role that existing critical thinking disposition has on the learning of students, as measured by the degree to which students perceived that they met the module’s intended learning outcomes. This research offers insights into the role and importance of critical thinking disposition and its component dimensions and how this impacts student learning. The results indicate that the level of critical thinking disposition is positively related to the students’ learning. The implications of the research suggest educators should target business simulations at specific cohorts of students. The relative importance of the critical thinking disposition constructs and the practical educational implications of these findings are discussed.

Unpacking the Link Between Entrepreneurialism and Employability: an Assessment of the Relationship Between Entrepreneurial Attitudes and Likelihood of Graduate Employment in a Professional Field

Purpose This research investigates the relationship between students’ entrepreneurial attitudes and traits and their classification of employment six months after university graduation. It aims to identify what specific attitudes and traits of entrepreneurial graduates are linked to employability in a professional or managerial field. Design/Methodology The research adopts a quantitative approach to measure the entrepreneurial drive of final-year undergraduate business school students and regresses this measurement against the employment level of the same students six months after their graduation. The employment classification of each respondent was classified as ‘professional/managerial’ or ‘non-professional/non-managerial’, in line with the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) 2010. Findings The research found that both proactive disposition and achievement motivation were statistically linked to the likelihood of graduates being employed in a professional or managerial position six months after graduation. Originality/Value This research goes beyond existing literature linking entrepreneurship to employability to quantitatively examine what specific attitudes and traits can be linked to employability in recent graduates. By identifying the aspects of entrepreneurialism that have a relationship with employability, more information is available for educators who are designing entrepreneurial education programs and allows for greater focus on aspects that may be of greatest benefit to all students.

Replicating the Networking, Mentoring and Venture Creation Benefits of Entrepreneurship Centres on a Shoestring: A Student-centred Approach to Entrepreneurship Education and Venture Creation

As support for both university-level entrepreneurial education and the use of experiential learning methods to foster student entrepreneurs increases, so too have the number of university-established or affiliated entrepreneurship centers. The activity at the center of this study aimed to combine experiential learning methods with assets associated with entrepreneurship centers, including venture creation, networking, and mentoring. Students were invited to participate in a competition wherein they were guided through the business creation process and pitched their ideas to investor judges who chose the winner and provided capital start-up funding and consulting. This research puts forth that university faculty at institutions without entrepreneurship centers can organize experiences to provide the benefits of entrepreneurship centers. The study used interviews to find that many of the benefits of entrepreneurship centers were able to be replicated using this method. The project is outlined, outcomes are analyzed, and the results and lessons learned are discussed.

Twelfth Annual Concerto Competition, November 18, 2002

Concert program for Twelfth Annual Concerto Competition, November 18, 2002

Pacific Northwest Chamber Music Festival, June 28, 30 and July 5, 9, 1988

Concert program for Pacific Northwest Chamber Music Festival, June 28, 30 and July 5, 9, 1988

A Concerto Program, February 20, 1966

Concert program for A Concerto Program, February 20, 1966