(Table T3) Distribution of radiolarian taxa in sediments of ODP Leg 180 sites

Cores from the 11 sites drilled during Leg 180 showed radiolarian assemblages that appear only in the Quaternary sediments. The most diverse and well-preserved assemblages were found in hemipelagic sediments from Holes 1108A, 1110A, and 1115B.

(Table T1) Carbon contents, alkenone concentrations, alkenone unsaturation index, and SST in sediments of ODP Leg 190 sites

We have preliminarily generated the downcore records of total organic carbon (TOC) content, total alkenone concentration, alkenone unsaturation index, and the estimated sea-surface temperature (SST) in the northern three sites (Sites 1175, 1176, and 1178) of the Muroto Transect, Nankai Trough. The TOC content will be used for the evaluation of the burial of organic matter, which plays a role in the generation of natural gas and the formation of gas hydrate in this region. The downcore records of alkenone SST will benefit studies for the paleoceanography of the northwestern Pacific. Because those sites are located in the main path of the Kuroshio Current, the records provide the temperature change of the Kuroshio water, which is an end-member water mass in the northwestern Pacific.

(Table T1) Mineral composition of oriented clay aggregates from ODP Leg 190 sites

Three sites were cored on the landward slope of the Nankai margin of southwest Japan during Leg 190 of the Ocean Drilling Program. Sites 1175 and 1176 are located in a trench-slope basin that was constructed during the early Pleistocene (~1 Ma) by frontal offscraping of coarse-grained trench-wedge deposits. Rapid uplift elevated the substrate above the calcite compensation depth and rerouted a transverse canyon-channel system that had delivered most of the trench sediment during the late Pliocene (1.06-1.95 Ma). The basin's depth is now ~3000 to 3020 m below sea level. Clay-sized detritus (<2 µm) did not change significantly in composition during the transition from trench-floor to slope-basin environment. Relative mineral abundances for the two slope-basin sites average 36-37 wt% illite, 25 wt% smectite, 22-24 wt% chlorite, and 15-16 wt% quartz. Site 1178 is located higher up the landward slope at a water depth of 1741 m, ~70 km from the present-day deformation front. There is a pronounced discontinuity ~200 m below seafloor between muddy slope-apron deposits (Quaternary-late Miocene) and sandier trench-wedge deposits (late Miocene; 6.8-9.63 Ma). Clay minerals change downsection from an illite-chlorite assemblage (similar to Sites 1175 and 1176) to one that contains substantial amounts of smectite (average = 45 wt% of the clay-sized fraction; maximum = 76 wt%). Mixing in the water column homogenizes fine-grained suspended sediment eroded from the Izu-Bonin volcanic arc, the Izu-Honshu collision zone, and the Outer Zone of Kyushu and Shikoku, but the spatial balance among those contributors has shifted through time. Closure of the Central America Seaway at ~3 Ma was particularly important because it triggered intensification of the Kuroshio Current. With stronger and deeper flow of surface water toward the northeast, the flux of smectite from the Izu-Bonin volcanic arc was dampened and more detrital illite and chlorite were transported into the Shikoku-Nankai system from the Outer Zone of Japan.

Clay mineralogy of ODP Leg 178 sites

The clay mineral compositions of upper Miocene to Quaternary sediments recovered at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 178, Sites 1095 and 1096, from the continental rise west of the Antarctic Peninsula were analyzed in order to reconstruct the Neogene and Quaternary Antarctic paleoclimate and ice dynamics. The clay mineral assemblages are dominated by smectite, illite, and chlorite. Kaolinite occurs only in trace amounts. Analysis of a surface-sample data set facilitates the assignment of these clay minerals to particular source areas on the Antarctic Peninsula and, thus, the reconstruction of transport pathways. In the ODP cores, clay mineral composition cyclically alternates between two end-member assemblages. One assemblage is characterized by <20% smectite and >40% chlorite. The other assemblage has >20% smectite and <40% chlorite. Illite fluctuates between 30% and 50% without a significant affinity to one end-member assemblage. By comparison with a Quaternary sediment sequence from gravity core PS1565, the clay mineral fluctuations can be ascribed to glacial and interglacial periods, respectively. The cyclic changes in the clay mineral composition suggest that glacial-interglacial cycles, repeated ice advances and retreats, and changes in the Antarctic ice volume were already a main control of the global climate in late Miocene time. Throughout the late Neogene and Quaternary, the clay mineral records in the drift sediments exhibit only slight long-term changes predominantly attributed to local changes in glacial erosion and supply of source rocks. The absence of clear long-term trends associated with major climatic or glaciological changes points to an onset of vast glaciation in the Antarctic Peninsula region before ~9 Ma and to relative stability of the Antarctic ice sheet since then.

Ambient Lake Monitoring Program Summary

Summary of sites and parameters monitored as part of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources lake monitoring program.

Database-backed library web sites: a case study of the use of PHP and MySQL at the University of Nottingham

This paper discusses the advantages of database-backed websites and describes the model for a library website implemented at the University of Nottingham using open source software, PHP and MySQL. As websites continue to grow in size and complexity it becomes increasingly important to introduce automation to help manage them. It is suggested that a database-backed website offers many advantages over one built from static HTML pages. These include a consistency of style and content, the ability to present different views of the same data, devolved editing and enhanced security. The University of Nottingham Library Services website is described and issues surrounding its design, technological implementation and management are explored.

Genetic variation in growth and wood-quality traits of Corymbia citriodora subsp. variegata across three sites in south-east Queensland, Australia

Ten growth or wood-quality traits were assessed in three nearby Corymbia citriodora subsp. variegata (CCV) open-pollinated family-within-provenance trials (18 provenances represented by a total of 374 families) to provide information for the development of a breeding program targeting both pulp and solid-wood products. Growth traits (diameter at breast high over bark [DBH], height and conical volume) were assessed at 3 and 7 years of age. Wood-quality traits (density [DEN], Kraft pulp yield [KPY], modulus of elasticity [MoE] and microfibril angle [MfA]) were predicted using near-infrared spectroscopy on wood samples collected from these trials when aged between 10 and 12 years. The high average KPY, DEN and MoE, and low average MfA observed indicates CCV is very suitable for both pulp and timber products. All traits were under moderate to strong genetic control. In across- trials analyses, high (>0.4) heritability estimates were observed for height, DEN, MoE and MfA, while moderate heritability estimates (0.24 to 0.34) were observed for DBH, volume and KPY. Most traits showed very low levels of genotype × site interaction. Estimated age–age genetic correlations for growth traits were strong at both the family (0.97) and provenance (0.99) levels. Relationships among traits (additive genetic correlation estimates) were favourable, with strong and positive estimates between growth traits (0.84 to 0.98), moderate and positive values between growth and wood-quality traits (0.32 to 0.68), moderate and positive between KPY and MoE (0.64), and high and positive between DEN and MoE (0.82). However, negative (but favourable) correlations were detected between MfA and all other evaluated traits (−0.31 to −0.96). The genetic correlation between the same trait expressed on two different sites, at family level, ranged from 0.24 to 0.42 for growth traits, and from 0.29 to 0.53 for wood traits. Therefore simultaneous genetic improvement of growth and wood property traits in CCV for the target environment in south-east Queensland should be possible, given the moderate to high estimates of heritability and favourable correlations amongst all traits studied, unless genotype × site interactions are greater than was evident. © 2016 NISC (Pty) Ltd

Chronic disease self-management in Aboriginal communities : towards a sustainable program of care in rural communities

The Chronic Disease Self-Management (CDSM) strategy for Aboriginal patients on Eyre Peninsula, South Australia, was designed to develop and trial new program tools and processes for goal setting, behaviour change and self-management for Aboriginal people with diabetes. The project was established as a one-year demonstration project to test and trial a range of CDSM processes and procedures within Aboriginal communities and not as a formal research project. Over a one-year period, 60 Aboriginal people with type-2 diabetes in two remote regional centres participated in the pilot program. This represents around 25% of the known Aboriginal diabetic population in these sites. The project included training for four Aboriginal Health Workers in goal setting and self-management strategies in preparation for them to run the program. Patients completed a Diabetes Assessment Tool, a Quality of Life Questionnaire (SF12), the Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WASAS) at 0, 6 and 12 months. The evaluation tools were assessed and revised by consumers and health professionals during the trial to determine the most functional and acceptable processes for Aboriginal patients. Some limited biomedical data were also recorded although this was not the principal purpose of the project. Initial results from the COAG coordinated care trial in Eyre suggest that goal setting and monitoring processes, when modified to be culturally inclusive of Aboriginal people, can be effective strategies for improving self-management skills and health-related behaviours of patients with chronic illness. The CDSM pilot study in Aboriginal communities has led to further refinement of the tools and processes used in chronic illness self-management programs for Aboriginal people and to greater acceptance of these processes in the communities involved. Participation in a diabetes self-management program run by Aboriginal Health Workers assists patients to identify and understand their health problems and develop condition management goals and patient-centred solutions that can lead to improved health and wellbeing for participants. While the development of self-management tools and strategies led to some early indications of improvements in patient participation and resultant health outcomes, the pilot program and the refinement of new assessment tools used to assist this process has been the significant outcome of the project. The CDSM process described here is a valuable strategy for educating and supporting people with chronic conditions and in gaining their participation in programs designed to improve the way they manage their illness. Such work, and the subsequent health outcome research planned for rural regions, will contribute to the development of more comprehensive CDSM programs for Aboriginal communities generally.

Citizen science program shows urban areas have lower occurrence of frog species, but not accelerated declines

Understanding the influence of landscape change on animal populations is critical to inform biodiversity conservation efforts. A particularly important goal is to understand how urban density affects the persistence of animal populations through time, and how these impacts can be mediated by habitat provision; but data on this question are limited for some taxa. Here, we use data from a citizen science monitoring program to investigate the effect of urbanization on patterns of frog species richness and occurrence over 13 years. Sites surrounded by a high proportion of bare ground (a proxy for urbanization) had consistently lower frog occurrence, but we found no evidence that declines were restricted to urban areas. Instead, several frog species showed declines in rural wetlands with low-quality habitat. Our analysis shows that urban wetlands had low but stable species richness; but also that population trajectories are strongly influenced by vegetation provision in both the riparian zone and the wider landscape. Future increases in the extent of urban environments in our study area are likely to negatively impact populations of several frog species. However, existing urban areas are unlikely to lose further frog species in the medium term. We recommend that landscape planning and management focus on the conservation and restoration of rural wetlands to arrest current declines, and the revegetation of urban wetlands to facilitate the re-expansion of urban-sensitive species.

Characteristics of microcredit offering in brazilian program of microcredit in São Paulo state

The Programa Nacional do Microcrédito Produtivo Orientado (PNMPO) encourages productive activity of micro and small entrepreneurs as those present in São Paulo State, in Brazil. Thus this research aims to determine the characteristics of the supply of microcredit program of the national productive microcredit OSCIPs in the state of São Paulo. As a research method was used to develop documental analysis based on official sources of institutions’ information on their sites in the worldwide web. The results indicate the existence of different institutional settings, which show different characteristics in the supply of Oriented Productive Microcredit, but always focusing on the development of local actors.