Genetic diversity of liver flukes (Fasciola hepatica) from Eastern Europe.

The genetic diversity of liver fluke populations in three different countries from Eastern Europe (Greece, Bulgaria, and Poland) in comparison with available data from other countries was determined. Specifically, SNPs from regions of two nuclear genes, 28S rDNA, ß-tubulin 3 and an informative region of the mitochondrial genome were examined. Two major lineages for the 28S rDNA gene based on the highly polymorphic 105th nucleotide position were found. These lineages were widely and almost equally spread not only through the countries studied but also in other investigated geographical areas. Two basic lineages and additional haplotypes were defined for the mtDNA gene region, consisting of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit III gene, transfer RNA histidine gene and cytochome b gene. The basic lineages were observed within Greek, Bulgarian, and Polish Fasciola hepatica populations but the distribution of additional haplotypes differed between the populations from the three countries. For the ß-tubulin 3 gene multiple polymorphic sites were revealed but no explicit clades. The SNPs were spread unequally in all studied geographical regions with an evident distinction between the Greek and Polish specimens. Additional genotypes for the 28S rDNA region as well as haplotypes of the mtDNA region that were typical for the Greek or Polish populations were observed. Significant polymorphisms for ß-tubulin 3 gene were displayed with decreasing percentage of presence within populations from Greece to Poland. There was an amino acid substitution in ß-tubulin 3 protein found only among Polish specimens. It is hypothesized that genotypic differences between Greek, Bulgarian, and Polish liver fluke populations are due to territorial division and genetic drift in past epochs.

Testate amoebae as indicators of hydroseral change: an 8,500 year record from Mer Bleue Bog, eastern Ontario, Canada.

Testate amoebae have been used widely as a proxy of hydrological change in ombrotrophic peatlands, although their response to abiotic controls in other types of mire and fenland palaeo-environments is less well understood. This paper examines the response of testate amoebae to hydroseral and other environmental changes at Mer Bleue Bog, Ontario, Canada, a large ombrotrophic peatland, which evolved from a brackish-water embayment in the early Holocene. Sediments, plant macrofossils and diatoms examined from a 5.99 m core collected from the dome of the bog record six stages of development: i) a quiet, brackish-water riverine phase (prior to ca. 8500 cal BP); ii) a shallow lake (ca. 8500–8200 cal BP); iii) fen (8200–7600 cal BP); iv) transitional mire (7600–6900 cal BP); v) pioneer raised mire (6900–4450 cal BP); and vi) ombrotrophic bog (4450 cal BP-present).

Testate amoebae, notably small (<25 µm diameter) specimens of Centropyxis aculeata type, first appear in low abundances in sediments ascribed to the lacustrine phase. Diatoms from the same horizons record a shallowing in water depth, a decline in salinity and the development of emergent macrophytic vegetation, which may have provided favourable conditions for testate amoeba colonization. The testate amoeba communities of the inferred fen phase are more diverse and include centropyxids, cyclopyxids, Arcellidae and Hyalospheniidae, although the assemblages show some differences to those recently reported in modern European fen environments. The Fen–Bog Transition (FBT) is also dominated by C. aculeata type. The change in testate amoeba communities around this key transition is apparent in the results of Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA), and appears to reflect a latent nutrient gradient and a secondary moisture gradient. DCA analyses of plant macrofossil remains around the FBT show a similar trend, although the sensitivity of the two proxies to the inferred environmental changes differs. Comparisons with other regional mid-Holocene peatland records confirm the important influence of reduced effective precipitation on the testate amoeba communities during the initiation and development of Sphagnum-dominated, raised bog communities.

Mid to late Holocene hydrological change in continental eastern Canada: assessing regional trends from ombrotrophic peat records.

ABSTRACT High resolution records of mid-late Holocene hydro-climatic change are presented from Mer Bleue Bog, eastern Ontario. Past climatic changes in this region have previously been inferred from lake sediments, but rain-fed peatlands can offer additional insights into the spatial and temporal pattern of moisture availability. In this study, reconstructed water table depths are based on a testate amoeba-derived transfer function developed for the region and changes in bog surface wetness are compared with plant macrofossil and peat humification data.

RÉSUMÉ Nous présentons les enregistrements hautes résolutions des variations hydrologique durant la second moitié de l’Holocène pour les tourbières Mer Bleue á l’est de l'Ontario. Précédemment, les changements climatiques de cette région ont été dérivés à partir de prélèvement de sédiments de lac. Mais ils s’avèrent que les tourbières ombrotrophes offrir un éclairage supplémentaire sur les schémas de répartition spatiale et temporelle de la disponibilité de l'humidité. Dans cette étude, des profondeurs reconstruites de nappe phréatique sont basées sur un modèle de function de transfert d’amibes (Arcellinida) et des changements de l’humidité de surface de la tourbière sont comparés avec les macrofossils et au humification de tourbe dans une analyse multi-proxy.

Church of St George and St Thomas

Abstract: A vibrant inner city parish needed space for meetings, language classes, children’s play and other support accommodation as well as a clearer link between the interior of the listed church and the space outside.

The project builds itself about the entrance to the church. The form is manipulated such that the intervention recedes from those entering the church, drawing them into the plan before becoming readable as an addition. The resultant poché between this entrance sequence and the fabric of the church is hollowed out to provide the required accommodation. These rooms are insulated and lined in cork to allow for their use separate to the main body of the church. With budget at a premium the construction methodology was developed from an analysis of traditional Irish boat building techniques, which allowed the use of the solid timber to act as the primary structure with no additional material support.

Constructed in solid walnut the intervention reads with the existing brick interior and yet is clearly identifiable as a contemporary addition.

Aims / Objectives Questions

1 To accommodate new space inside an existing protected structure.
2 To form a new threshold between interior and exterior.
3 To develop an affordable means of construction that would be durable and rapid to erect.
4 To make a contemporary addition in sympathy with the qualities of the existing protect structure, in line with best conservation practice and research.
5 Traditional forms of construction as a model for contemporary technologies.