Community patterns in geothermally influenced sediments

This study examined the previously unknown macrofaunal of a deep-sea cold seep and two shallow hydrothermal vents. In Chapter I, I investigate a deep-sea cold seep ( Clam Field , 950m depth) located in Monterey Bay, California. In chapter II, I report upon shallow vents that were located in Bahia Concepcion (12m depth), Mexico, and in White Point (8m depth), California. I tested whether the infaunal community compositions in these systems were different from the surrounding communities, and if the observed differences were related to the abundance of food in the deep-sea and the chemosynthetic production of the cold seep. In Chapter II, my hypotheses relate the influence of the abiotic variables and the life-history of infaunal species. Microfaunal, gain size and pore water samples from the top 5cm of the sediment were collected at locations within the venting zones and 1-5m away. Clam Field data indicated that elevated hydrogen sulphide concentration was the most significant parameter related to the abundance of infauna, which was also revealed at White Point. At the Bahia Concepcion vent the temperature inside zones of venting was significantly elevated over the outside temperature, and was the most significant parameter related to the abundance of infauna. At all sites, there was no difference in grain size between seep or vent sediments and the surrounding areas. The pH and salinity or pore waters at all three study sites also exhibited similar patters, with decreases inside venting zones and with sediment depth. As in shallow areas, the infaunal community of the deep-sea cold seep differed in species composition between the seep and outside zones; a number of species were exclusive to the seep zone. However, there was no evidence for chemosynthetic strategies amongst the shallow vent infauna, unlike previous reports at deep-sea hydrothermal vents and cold seeps. Chemosynthetic bivalves were identified among the Clam Field infaunal species. Physiological and behavioral mechanisms were discussed to explain the presence of benthic infauna in the seep and vents. The species composition of the shallow vents was a sub-set of the surrounding community, but at the Clam Field contained a high number of unique species, and therefore the cold seep fauna was considered more isolated from the outside community

Factors that influence the use of practical work in the Grade 10 physical sciences classroom

The Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) for all approved subjects is the result of changes brought to the curriculum that was introduced in 1997. The review of the previous curricula has resulted in the National Curriculum Statement for Grade R-12. The changes in the curriculum were inspired by the Constitution of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996) which aims to “heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights” (DBE, 2011a, p. 1). The curriculum aims to ensure that children acquire and apply knowledge and skills in ways that are meaningful to their own lives. The National Curriculum Statement for Physical Sciences aimed to produce learners that are able to “Identify and solve problems and make decisions using critical and creative thinking; collect, analyse, organise and critically evaluate information and use science and technology effectively and critically showing responsibilities towards the environment and the health of others” (DBE, 2011a, p. 8). The aim of this study was to investigate the implementation of CAPS in the Physical Sciences in Grade 10 with particular emphasis on the use of practical work. Two secondary schools, both former Model C schools were used as research sites. Two Physical Sciences teachers and their respective learners participated. The research method used was a case study. The instrument used to collect data was an interview schedule and an observation schedule. Two teachers were interviewed using an interview schedule which consisted of open and closed ended questions. Classroom observation of the practical lessons was conducted with an observation schedule. The data obtained through these instruments was analysed using an interpretive approach. The findings of the research reveal that one school in the sample was not adequately resourced to conduct practical work. The outcome of this study would enable education officials to have an insight of challenges (e.g. lack of resources, larges class sizes, etc.), that are experienced by teachers in respect of the implementation of practical work in schools

Could NICE guidance on the choice of blood pressure lowering drugs be simplified?

Reecha Sofat and colleagues argue that prescribing advice needs updating in the light of recent evidence that all classes of blood pressure lowering drugs are broadly equivalen

Global Cities on the Web: An Empirical Typology of Municipal Websites

Municipalities across the world are rapidly adopting e-government to improve public service delivery and provide one-stop government access to citizens. Using data from a sample of world cities, we describe the features of municipal websites and employ cluster analysis to create an empirical typology. Our results suggest that world cities can be classified into four types: 1) digitally mature cities, 2) digitally moderate cities, 3) digitally minimal cities, and 4) digitally marginal cities. This classification of cities largely reflects the social, political and economic context of countries and the resulting clusters exhibit closely similar shapes and differ considerably in level, indicating the trend of staged adoption of e-government among world cities. Moreover, the cities in the digitally mature and moderate clusters are associated with a higher GDP per capita, and percentage of Internet users, however they are not necessarily in the most democratic nations. Based on our overall findings, we suggest some hypotheses that derive from our typology and lines of future investigation for e-governance researchers

Comment on "A proteomic surrogate for cardiovascular outcomes that is sensitive to multiple mechanisms of change in risk"

A 27-protein signature has been proposed to predict cardiovascular disease, but its applicability in clinical decision-making remains unclear

LERNZdb Freshwater Database – fact sheet

The LERNZdb Freshwater Database is a repository for freshwater quality data and biodiversity measurement data for lakes, rivers and wetlands in New Zealand. It was developed as part of the Lake Ecosystem Restoration New Zealand (LERNZ: LERNZ.co.nz) programme in co-operation between the Information & Technology Services Division (ITS) and LERNZ researchers at the University of Waikato. LERNZdb has the ability to store a wide variety of freshwater data in a consistent format, it also scores the quality of the data based on the provided quality controlled information. This allows the user to filter data based on the standard of data collection and encourages the provision of high quality data for use in modelling applications