Motivations to select an Airbnb

This literature review explores the phenomenon of the sharing economy, specifically the popular home-sharing concept of Airbnb. Peer-reviewed articles were used that report on the results of studies conducted via data research by studying Airbnb listings and third-party hotel data and various online surveys that reveal what drives traveler\u27s decisions to select Airbnb accommodations over traditional hotels. “Airbnb describes itself as a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover and book unique accommodations around the world” (Zervas, Proserpio & Byers, 2017, p.689). This paper also looks at the company and the availability of booking Airbnb accommodations across the world. The uncovered motivations for selecting Airbnb include price, authenticity and household amenities. Several other opportunities for additional research are also presented

A water quality study of Lough Gowna

Lough Gowna, located on the borders of Counties Cavan and Longford is an important\ud coarse fish angling lake, and also has stocks of brown trout. The lake attracts thousands\ud of British, European and local anglers and has been the venue for the All Ireland Course\ud Angling Competition. Lough Gowna is popular for swimming, water skiing and power\ud boat racing. The lake is also used for abstraction of public water supplies by Longford and\ud Cavan County Councils.\ud Suitable water quality criteria to protect the above mentioned uses are;\ud (i) EC (Quality of Salmonid Waters) Regulations, 1988.\ud (ii) EC (Quality of Surface Water Intended for the Abstraction of Drinking Water)\ud Regulations, 1989.\ud The water quality monitoring data complied by Cavan and Longford County Councils, the\ud E.P.A. and the Northern Regional Fisheries Board is reviewed and compared with studies\ud carried out in the 1970’s and 1980’s by An Foras Forbartha. High phosphorus and\ud chlorophyll a concentrations and very low transparency levels together with the dominance\ud of blue-green algae in the phytoplankton indicate the lake is eutrophic. Stratification of the\ud lake in the summer months gives rise to severe deoxygenation in the hypolimnion.\ud “Excessive” and “permissible” annual phosphorus loadings for Lough Gowna were\ud calculated using Vollenweider’s equation (Vollenweider 1976). The “permissible” annual\ud loading of phosphorus is 174 mg P rh 2 yr' 1 and the “excessive” annual loading is\ud 349 mg P m 2 yr"1; this corresponds to 2.24 tonnes P and 4.5 tonnes P respectively. The\ud actual orthophosphorus loading is 527 mg P m 2 yr"1. This is calculated from average lake\ud orthophosphorus concentrations using another equation by Vollenweider (Vollenweider\ud 1980).\ud A large scale fish kill in Lough Gowna in July 1993 was caused by deoxygenation due to\ud eutrophication and resulted in 99.9% perch fry mortality. This prompted a trial in 1994\ud using barley straw to inhibit the growth of algae in the lake. The results of the trial were\ud inconclusive as the straw failed to decompose completely and was not replaced with fresh\ud straw. There was some evidence to indicate the algae in the treated section of the lake\ud were under stress.\ud As there are no direct industrial or sewage discharges in the catchment area , agricultural\ud wastes are the most likely cause of eutrophication in Lough Gowna. Controlling disposal\ud of farm wastes under Section 12 of the Local Government (Water Pollution) Act, 1977\ud should help to limit the impact of agricultural activity on Lough Gowna. A phosphorus\ud budget for the lake should be prepared to establish the extent to which farm wastes and the\ud use of artificial fertilisers should be controlled

Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) analysis is an effective tool for the detection of novel intragenic PLA2G6 mutations: Implications for molecular diagnosis

Phospholipase associated neurodegeneration (PLAN) comprises a heterogeneous group of autosomal recessive neurological disorders caused by mutations in the PLA2G6 gene. Direct gene sequencing detects 85% mutations in infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy. We report the novel use of multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) analysis to detect novel PLA2G6 duplications and deletions. The identification of such copy number variants (CNVs) expands the PLAN mutation spectrum and may account for up to 12.5% of PLA2G6 mutations. MLPA should thus be employed to detect CNVs of PLA2G6 in patients who show clinical features of PLAN but in whom both disease-causing mutations cannot be identified on routine sequencin

Census of the Local Universe (CLU) Narrow-Band Survey I: Galaxy Catalogs from Preliminary Fields

We present the Census of the Local Universe (CLU) narrow-band survey to search for emission-line (\ha) galaxies. CLU-\ha~has imaged $\approx$3$\pi$ of the sky (26,470~deg$^2$) with 4 narrow-band filters that probe a distance out to 200~Mpc. We have obtained spectroscopic follow-up for galaxy candidates in 14 preliminary fields (101.6~deg$^2$) to characterize the limits and completeness of the survey. In these preliminary fields, CLU can identify emission lines down to an \ha~flux limit of $10^{-14}$~$\rm{erg~s^{-1}~cm^{-2}}$ at 90\% completeness, and recovers 83\% (67\%) of the \ha~flux from catalogued galaxies in our search volume at the $\Sigma$=2.5 ($\Sigma$=5) color excess levels. The contamination from galaxies with no emission lines is 61\% (12\%) for $\Sigma$=2.5 ($\Sigma$=5). Also, in the regions of overlap between our preliminary fields and previous emission-line surveys, we recover the majority of the galaxies found in previous surveys and identify an additional $\approx$300 galaxies. In total, we find 90 galaxies with no previous distance information, several of which are interesting objects: 7 blue compact dwarfs, 1 green pea, and a Seyfert galaxy; we also identified a known planetary nebula. These objects show that the CLU-\ha~survey can be a discovery machine for objects in our own Galaxy and extreme galaxies out to intermediate redshifts. However, the majority of the CLU-\ha~galaxies identified in this work show properties consistent with normal star-forming galaxies. CLU-\ha~galaxies with new redshifts will be added to existing galaxy catalogs to focus the search for the electromagnetic counterpart to gravitational wave events.Comment: 28 pages, 22 figures, 4 tables (Accepted to ApJ

Consensus for genes to be included on cancer panel tests offered by UK genetics services: guidelines of the UK Cancer Genetics Group.

Genetic testing for hereditary cancer predisposition has evolved rapidly in recent years with the discovery of new genes, but there is much debate over the clinical utility of testing genes for which there are currently limited data regarding the degree of associated cancer risk. To address the discrepancies that have arisen in the provision of these tests across the UK, the UK Cancer Genetics Group facilitated a 1-day workshop with representation from the majority of National Health Service (NHS) clinical genetics services. Using a preworkshop survey followed by focused discussion of genes without prior majority agreement for inclusion, we achieved consensus for panels of cancer genes with sufficient evidence for clinical utility, to be adopted by all NHS genetics services. To support consistency in the delivery of these tests and advice given to families across the country, we also developed management proposals for individuals who are found to have pathogenic mutations in these genes. However, we fully acknowledge that the decision regarding what test is most appropriate for an individual family rests with the clinician, and will depend on factors including specific phenotypic features and the family structure

Hydrocarbon degradation, plant colonization and gene expression of alkane degradation genes by endophytic Enterobacter ludwigii strains

The genus Enterobacter comprises a range of beneficial plant-associated bacteria 2 showing plant growth-promotion. Enterobacter ludwigii belongs to the Enterobacter 3 cloacae complex and has been reported to include human pathogens but also plant-4 associated strains with plant beneficial capacities. To assess the role of Enterobacter 5 endophytes in hydrocarbon degradation, plant colonization, abundance and expression of 6 CYP153 genes in different plant compartments, three plant species (Italian ryegrass, 7 birdsfoot trefoil and alfalfa) were grown in sterile soil spiked with 1% diesel and 8 inoculated with three endophytic Enterobacter ludwigii strains. Results showed that all 9 strains were capable of hydrocarbon degradation and efficiently colonized the 10 rhizosphere and plant interior. Two strains, ISI10-3 and BRI10-9, showed highest 11 degradation rates of diesel fuel up to 68% and performed best in combination with Italian 12 ryegrass and alfalfa. All strains expressed the CYP153 gene in all plant compartments, 13 indicating an active role in degradation of diesel in association with plants.Higher Education Commission of Pakistanhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0269749

Meeting report : 1st international functional metagenomics workshop May 7–8, 2012, St. Jacobs, Ontario, Canada

This report summarizes the events of the 1st International Functional Metagenomics Workshop. The workshop was held on May 7 and 8 in St. Jacobs, Ontario, Canada and was focused on building a core international functional metagenomics community, exploring strategic research areas, and identifying opportunities for future collaboration and funding. The workshop was initiated by researchers at the University of Waterloo with support from the Ontario Genomics Institute (OGI), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the University of Waterloo