Conceptual Ecological Modelling of Shallow Sublittoral Coarse Sediment Habitats to Inform Indicator Selection

The purpose of this study is to produce a series of Conceptual Ecological Models (CEMs)that represent the Shallow Sublittoral Coarse Sediment Habitat in the UK. CEMs are diagrammatic representations of the influences and processes that occur within an ecosystem. They can be used to identify critical aspects of an ecosystem that may be taken forward for further study, or serve as the basis for the selection of indicators for environmental monitoring purposes. The models produced by this project are 'control diagrams', representing the state of the environment free from adverse anthropogenic impacts and pressures

Conceptual Ecological Modelling of Shallow Sublittoral Sand Habitats to Inform Indicator Selection

The purpose of this study is to produce a series of conceptual ecological models (CEMs) which represent shallow sublittoral sand habitats in the UK. CEMs are diagrammatic representations of the influences and processes which occur within an ecosystem. They can be used to identify critical aspects of an ecosystem which may be taken forward for further study, or serve as the basis for the selection of indicators for environmental monitoring purposes. The models produced by this project are control diagrams, representing the unimpacted state of the environment free from anthropogenic pressures. The project scope included the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) predominant habitat type ‘shallow sublittoral sand’. This definition includes those habitats which fall into the EUNIS Level 4 classifications A5.23 Infralittoral Fine Sand, A5.24 Infralittoral Muddy Sand, A5.25 Circalittoral Fine Sand and A5.26 Circalittoral Muddy Sand, along with their constituent Level 5 biotopes which are relevant to UK waters. A species list of characterising fauna to be included within the scope of the models was identified using an iterative process to refine the full list of species found within the relevant Level 5 biotopes. A literature review was conducted to gather evidence regarding species traits and information to inform the models. All information gathered during the literature review was entered into a data logging pro forma spreadsheet which accompanies this report. Wherever possible, attempts were made to collect information from UK-specific peer-reviewed studies, although other sources were used where necessary. All data gathered was subject to a detailed confidence assessment. Expert judgement by the project team was utilised to provide information for aspects of the models for which references could not be sourced within the project timeframe. A model hierarchy was developed based on groups of fauna with similar species traits which aligned with previous sensitivity studies of ecological groups. A general model was produced to indicate the high level drivers, inputs, biological assemblages, ecosystem processes and outputs which occur in shallow sublittoral sand habitats. In addition to this, four detailed sub-models were produced. Each focussed on a particular functional group of fauna within the habitat: “suspension and deposit feeding infauna”, “small mobile fauna and tube dwelling species”, “mobile epifauna, scavengers and predators”, and “attached epifauna and macroalgae”. Each sub-model is accompanied by an associated confidence model which presents confidence in the links between each model component. The models are split into seven levels and take spatial and temporal scale into account through their design, as well as magnitude and direction of influence. The seven levels include regional to global drivers, water column processes, local inputs/processes at the seabed, habitat and biological assemblage, output processes, local ecosystem functions, and regional to global ecosystem functions. The models indicate that whilst the high level drivers which affect each functional group are largely similar, the output processes performed by the biota and the resulting ecosystem functions vary both in number and importance between groups. Confidence within the models as a whole is generally high, reflecting the level of information gathered during the literature review. Important drivers which influence the ecosystem include factors such as wave exposure, depth, water currents, climate and propagule supply. These factors, in combination with seabed and water column processes such as primary production, seabed mobility, suspended sediments, water chemistry and temperature and recruitment define and influence the biological assemblages. In addition, the habitat sediment type plays an important factor in shaping the biology of the habitat. Conceptual Ecological Modelling of Shallow Sublittoral Sand Habitats Output processes are variable between functional faunal groups depending on the fauna present. Important processes include secondary production, biodeposition, bioturbation, bioengineering and the supply of propagules. These influence ecosystem functions at the local scale such as nutrient and biogeochemical cycling, supply of food resources, sediment stability, habitat provision and in some cases microbial activity. The export of biodiversity and organic matter, biodiversity enhancement and biotope stability are the resulting ecosystem functions which occur at the regional to global scale. Features within the models which are most useful for monitoring habitat status and change due to natural variation have been identified using the information gathered during the literature review, through interpretation of the models and through the application of expert judgement. Features within the models which may be useful for monitoring to identify anthropogenic causes of change within the ecosystem have also been identified. Physical and biological features of the ecosystem have mostly been identified as potential indicators to monitor natural variation, whilst physical features and output processes have predominantly been identified as most likely to indicate change due to anthropogenic pressures

Conceptual Ecological Modelling of Shallow Sublittoral Mixed Sediment Habitats to Inform Indicator Selection.

The purpose of this study is to produce a series of conceptual ecological models (CEMs) which represent shallow sublittoral mixed sediment habitats in the UK. CEMs are diagrammatic representations of the influences and processes which occur within an ecosystem. They can be used to identify critical aspects of an ecosystem which may be taken forward for further study, or serve as the basis for the selection of indicators for environmental monitoring purposes. The models produced by this project are control diagrams, representing the unimpacted state of the environment free from anthropogenic pressures. The project scope included the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) predominant habitat type ‘shallow sublittoral mixed sediment’. This definition includes those habitats which fall into the EUNIS Level 4 classifications A5.43 Infralittoral Mixed Sediments and A5.44 Circalittoral Mixed Sediments, along with their constituent Level 5 biotopes which are relevant to UK waters. A species list of characterising fauna to be included within the scope of the models was identified using an iterative process to refine the full list of species found within the relevant Level 5 biotopes. A literature review was conducted to gather evidence regarding species traits and information to inform the models. All information gathered during the literature review was entered into a data logging pro forma spreadsheet which accompanies this report. Wherever possible, attempts were made to collect information from UK-specific peer-reviewed studies, although other sources were used where necessary. All data gathered was subject to a detailed confidence assessment. Expert judgement by the project team was utilised to provide information for aspects of the models for which references could not be sourced within the project timeframe. A model hierarchy was developed based on groups of fauna with similar species traits which aligned with previous sensitivity studies of ecological groups. A general model was produced to indicate the high level drivers, inputs, biological assemblages, ecosystem processes and outputs which occur in shallow sublittoral mixed sediment habitats. In addition to this, five detailed sub-models were produced. Each focussed on a particular functional group of fauna within the habitat: ‘temporary or permanently attached epifauna’, ‘mobile epifauna, scavengers and predators’, ‘suspension and deposit feeding fauna’, ‘temporary or permanently attached surface dwelling or shallowly buried larger bivalves’ and ‘small mobile epifauna and tube dwelling crustaceans’. Each sub-model is accompanied by an associated confidence model which presents confidence in the links between each model component. The models are split into seven levels and take spatial and temporal scale into account through their design, as well as magnitude and direction of influence. The seven levels include regional to global drivers, water column processes, local inputs/processes at the seabed, habitat and biological assemblage, output processes, local ecosystem functions, and regional to global ecosystem functions. The models indicate that whilst the high level drivers which affect each functional group are largely similar, the output processes performed by the biota and the resulting ecosystem functions vary both in number and importance between groups. Confidence within the models as a whole is generally high, reflecting the level of information gathered during the literature review. Important drivers which influence the ecosystem include factors such as wave exposure, depth, water currents, climate and propagule supply. These factors, in combination with seabed and water column processes such as primary production, seabed mobility, suspended sediments, water chemistry and temperature and recruitment define and Conceptual Ecological Modelling of Shallow Sublittoral Mixed Sediment Habitats influence the biological assemblages. In addition, the habitat sediment type plays an important factor in shaping the biology of the habitat. Output processes are variable between functional faunal groups depending on the fauna present. Important processes include secondary production, biodeposition, bioturbation, bioengineering and the supply of propagules. These influence ecosystem functions at the local scale such as nutrient and biogeochemical cycling, supply of food resources, sediment stability, habitat provision and in some cases microbial activity. The export of biodiversity and organic matter, biodiversity enhancement and biotope stability are the resulting ecosystem functions which occur at the regional to global scale. Features within the models which are most useful for monitoring habitat status and change due to natural variation have been identified using the information gathered during the literature review, through interpretation of the models and through the application of expert judgement. Features within the models which may be useful for monitoring to identify anthropogenic causes of change within the ecosystem have also been identified. Physical and biological features of the ecosystem have mostly been identified as potential indicators to monitor natural variation, whilst physical features and output processes have predominantly been identified as most likely to indicate change due to anthropogenic pressures

Conceptual Ecological Modelling of Shallow Sublittoral Mud Habitats to Inform Indicator Selection

The purpose of this study is to produce a series of Conceptual Ecological Models (CEMs) that represent the shallow sublittoral mud habitat in the UK. CEMs are diagrammatic representations of the influences and processes that occur within an ecosystem. The models can be used to identify critical aspects of an ecosystem that may be developed for further study, or serve as the basis for the selection of indicators for environmental monitoring purposes. The models produced by this project are ‘control diagrams’, representing the unimpacted state of the environment, free from anthropogenic pressures. It is intended that the models produced by this project will be used to guide indicator selection for the monitoring of this habitat in UK waters. CEMs will eventually be produced for a range of habitat types defined under the UK Marine Biodiversity Monitoring R&D Programme (UKMBMP), which, along with stressor models designed to show the interactions within impacted habitats, would form the basis of a robust method for indicator selection. This project builds on the work to develop CEMs for shallow sublittoral coarse sediment habitats (Alexander. 2014). The project scope included the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) predominant habitat type ‘shallow sublittoral mud’. This definition includes those habitats that fall into the EUNIS Level 4 classifications A5.33 Infralittoral Sandy Mud, A5.34 Infralittoral Fine Mud, A5.35 Circalittoral Sandy Mud and A5.36 Circalittoral Fine Mud, along with their constituent Level 5 biotopes which are relevant to UK waters. A species list of characterising fauna to be included within the scope of the models was identified using an iterative process to refine the full list of species found within the relevant Level 5 biotopes. A literature review was conducted using a pragmatic and iterative approach to gather evidence regarding species traits and information that would be used to inform the models and the interactions that occur within the shallow sublittoral mud habitat. All information gathered during the literature review was entered into a data logging pro forma spreadsheet which accompanies this report. Wherever possible, attempts were made to collect information from UK-specific peer-reviewed studies, although other sources were used where necessary. All data gathered was subject to a detailed confidence assessment. Expert judgement by the project team was utilised to provide information for aspects of the models for which references could not be sourced within the project timeframe. A model hierarchy was developed based on groups of fauna with similar species traits which aligned with previous sensitivity studies of ecological groups. One general control model was produced that indicated the high level drivers, inputs, biological assemblages, ecosystem processes and outputs that occur in shallow sublittoral mud habitats. In addition to this, five detailed sub-models were produced, which each focussed on a particular functional group of fauna within the habitat: tube building fauna, burrowing fauna, suspension and deposit feeding infauna, mobile epifauna, scavengers and predators, and echinoderms and sessile epifauna. Each sub-model is accompanied by an associated confidence model that presents confidence in the links between each model component. The models are split into seven levels and take spatial and temporal scale into account through their design, as well as magnitude and direction of influence. The seven levels include regional to global drivers, water column processes, local inputs/processes at the seabed, habitat and biological assemblage, output processes, local ecosystem functions, and regional to global ecosystem functions. The models indicate that whereas the high level drivers which affect each functional group are largely similar, the output processes performed by the biota and the resulting ecosystem functions vary both in number and importance between groups. Confidence within the Conceptual Ecological Modelling of Shallow Sublittoral Mud Habitats models as a whole is generally high, reflecting the level of information gathered during the literature review. Important drivers that influence the ecosystem include factors such as wave exposure, depth, water currents, climate and propagule supply. These factors, in combination with seabed and water column processes, such as primary production, suspended sediments, water chemistry, temperature and recruitment define and influence the food sources consumed by the biological assemblages of the habitat, and the biological assemblages themselves. In addition, the habitat sediment type plays an important factor in shaping the biology of the habitat. Output processes performed by the biological assemblage are variable between functional faunal groups depending on the specific fauna present and the role they perform within the ecosystem. Important processes include secondary production, biodeposition, bioturbation, bioengineering and the supply of propagules; these in turn influence ecosystem functions at the local scale such as nutrient and biogeochemical cycling, supply of food resources, sediment stability, habitat provision and in some cases microbial activity. The export of biodiversity and organic matter, biodiversity enhancement and biotope stability are the resulting ecosystem functions that occur at the regional to global scale. Features within the models that are most useful for monitoring habitat status and change due to natural variation have been identified; as have those which may be useful for monitoring to identify anthropogenic causes of change within the ecosystem. Physical and chemical features of the ecosystem have mostly been identified as potential indicators to monitor natural variation, whilst biological factors have predominantly been identified as most likely to indicate change due to anthropogenic pressures

Heartwater in sheep : the Weil-Felix reaction and an investigation into the bacterial content of the blood with particular reference to the use of " K " medium

The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format

Studies of the rickettsias of the Typhus-Rocky-Mountain-Spotted-Fever group in South Africa. IV. Discussion and classification

1.The five strains of rickettsia are discussed and compared according to the criteria suggested by Pinkerton (1936). 2. It· is concluded that they fall into two groups: (a) Typhus group – endemic, murine or rat typhus. (b) Rocky Mountain spotted fever group - fievre boutonneuse, strains “Robertson”, “Appleton”, “Hare”, which are similar and show only minor strain differences. 3. A proposed nomenclature is discussed.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590: 300dpi. Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format

Studies of the Rickettsias of the Typhus-Rocky-Mountain-Spotted-Fever group in South Africa. III. The disease in the experimental animal. Cross-immunity tests

1. The effect of the rickettsias of rat typhus, tick-bite fever, fievre boutonneuse, and of two other tick-bite-fever-like diseases (" Hare " and "Appleton ") on the guinea-pig, rat, mouse, rabbit, dog, sheep, and ox is recorded. Rat typhus could be maintained in the guinea-pig and rat but not in the sheep, dog or mouse. "Hare", alone of the other four strains, could be easily passaged in guinea-pigs. Only by the use of cultures from the chorio-allantoic membrane of the developing chick could consistently readable reactions be got in guinea-pigs with the tick-bite fever and fievre boutonneuse strains. 2. A Weil-Felix reaction was obtained with the sera of rabbits inoculated with rat typhus, "Hare" and tick-bite fever. With rat typhus, OX19 was agglutinated by the sera of ten infected animals, OX2 by none and OXK by one serum only; with "Hare" one of nine sera agglutinated OX2, doubtfully OX19 and not OXK; one other serum agglutinated OX19 only. The serum of one of seven tick-bite-fever rabbits agglutinated, in a doubtful fashion, OX19 only. The serum of rats, infected with rat typhus, agglutinated OX19 only and that of guinea-pigs, infected with rat typhus and carrying a banal proteus in their intestine did not agglutinate any one of the three proteus OX strains. 3. Details are given of the duration of infectivity of the brain, blood, and tunica vaginalis of guinea-pigs infected with rat typhus and "Hare". The brain of rat-typhus-infected guinea-pigs was virulent after 22 days, the blood after 21 days, and the tunica after 12 days. The brain of "Hare" -infected guinea-pigs was virulent after 15 days and the blood after 13 days. 4. One two-thousandth hut not 1/4000 of the brain of a rat-typhus-infected guinea-pig was virulent. Much of the virus could be deposited from brain by centrifugation at 4,000 r.p.m. for half-an-hour, and all but a trace was removed at 14,000 r.p.m. for half-an-hour. 5. Attempts to neutralize the various rickettsias in vitro gave unsatisfactory results. 6. Cross-immunity experiments in guinea-pigs permitted the grouping of the 5 typhus strains in the following manner:- (a) Rat-typhus. - Immunized against itself and to a great extent against the other four typhus-like diseases. (b) "Hare", tick-bite fever, "Appleton" and fievre boutonneuse. -Gave almost complete reciprocal cross-immunity, but did not immunize against rat-typhus.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590: 300dpi. Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format

Studies of the Rickettsias of the Typhus-Rocky-Mountain-Spotted-Fever Group in South Africa. II. Morphology and cultivation

In the previous article (this journal) details were given of the source and method of isolation of five strains of rickettsia. These strains have been maintained either by serial passage in guinea pigs, or by cultivation on the chorio-allantoic membrane of the chick embryo, or by both methods. In this paper the microscopic appearance of the scrotal exudate and method of egg-membrane cultivation will be described and the morphology of the rickettsias compared particularly in view of Pinkerton's classification of this group of organisms.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590: 300dpi. Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format

Evaluating the Intra-Rater and Inter-Rater Reliability of Fixed Tension Scale Instrumentation for Determining Isometric Neck Strength

International Journal of Exercise Science 14(3): 563-577, 2021. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability of a fixed tension scale instrumentation, comparing the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability between seating and standing measurement techniques. Instrumentation developed from this study will be utilized to assess isometric neck strength in future studies comparing neck strengthening protocols. METHODS: Isometric neck strength for eight movements (cervical/capital flexion, cervical/capital extension, left/right lateral flexion, left/right cervical rotation) as well as anthropometric measurements were evaluated for thirty-one participants through the use of a novel neck strength assessment protocol. RESULTS: The fixed tension scale instrumentation and methods used in this study demonstrated good to excellent intra-rater reliability (ICC range from 0.78 to 0.97) as well as moderate to excellent inter-rater reliability (ICC range from 0.73 to 0.91) for both measurement techniques. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: This study will provide foundational knowledge for the reliable assessment of neck strength. Additionally, the findings will provide a cost-effective, portable, and reliable instrument for measuring isometric neck strength. CONCLUSIONS: Seated and standing measurement techniques demonstrated similar intra and inter-rater reliability. Inter-rater reliability tended to be lower with motions (capital flexion and extension) that required the participants to face directly towards or away from the instrumentation. This could be due to participant positioning or unfamiliarity with those specific movements. The assessment protocol utilized in this study demonstrated comparable inter-rater reliability to another cost-effective method for evaluating isometric neck strength

Thermal and mechanical properties of W/Cu composite materials for ITER heat sink applications

One of the main challenges in the development of a fusion power plant is the adequate selection of the materials that will withstand the extreme conditions of temperature, load and radiation. Among those issues, the control of the heat removal by the divertor is critical, hence the highest heat load inside the reactor will be found in it. For this purpose, one solution proposed is a novel optimized water-cooled monoblock divertor consisting of W as plasma facing material and W/Cu composites as the baseline heat sink material. The attraction of these metal matrix composites in fusion applications is twofold: the W matrix provides the necessary strength of the composite at high temperatures, while Cu provides the required high thermal conductivity for efficient heat removal in the cooling system. In this context, the goal of this study is the characterization of W-Cu composite materials produced by means of liquid Cu infiltration of open porous W preforms. In order to achieve it, a new experimental device was set up to test the composites under high vacuum atmosphere while in the temperature range between 273 K and 1073 K. Tensile and fracture tests in three point bending configuration have been conducted in this temperature range and atmosphere. Additionally, micromechanical and physical characterization was also performed by means of micro and nanoindentation and High Temperature X-Ray Diffraction respectively