The MUMBA campaign: measurements of urban, marine and biogenic air

The Measurements of Urban, Marine and Biogenic Air (MUMBA) campaign took place in Wollongong, New South Wales (a small coastal city approximately 80 km south of Sydney, Australia) from 21 December 2012 to 15 February 2013. Like many Australian cities, Wollongong is surrounded by dense eucalyptus forest, so the urban airshed is heavily influenced by biogenic emissions. Instruments were deployed during MUMBA to measure the gaseous and aerosol composition of the atmosphere with the aim of providing a detailed characterisation of the complex environment of the ocean–forest–urban interface that could be used to test the skill of atmospheric models. The gases measured included ozone, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane and many of the most abundant volatile organic compounds. The aerosol characterisation included total particle counts above 3 nm, total cloud condensation nuclei counts, mass concentration, number concentration size distribution, aerosol chemical analyses and elemental analysis. The campaign captured varied meteorological conditions, including two extreme heat events, providing a potentially valuable test for models of future air quality in a warmer climate. There was also an episode when the site sampled clean marine air for many hours, providing a useful additional measure of the background concentrations of these trace gases within this poorly sampled region of the globe. In this paper we describe the campaign, the meteorology and the resulting observations of atmospheric composition in general terms in order to equip the reader with a sufficient understanding of the Wollongong regional influences to use the MUMBA datasets as a case study for testing a chemical transport model. © Author(s) 2017.The data are available from PANGAEA (http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.871982)

Novel truncating mutations in CTNND1 cause a dominant craniofacial and cardiac syndrome.

CTNND1 encodes the p120-catenin (p120) protein, which has a wide range of functions, including the maintenance of cell-cell junctions, regulation of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition and transcriptional signalling. Due to advances in next-generation sequencing, CTNND1 has been implicated in human diseases including cleft palate and blepharocheilodontic (BCD) syndrome albeit only recently. In this study, we identify eight novel protein-truncating variants, six de novo, in 13 participants from nine families presenting with craniofacial dysmorphisms including cleft palate and hypodontia, as well as congenital cardiac anomalies, limb dysmorphologies and neurodevelopmental disorders. Using conditional deletions in mice as well as CRISPR/Cas9 approaches to target CTNND1 in Xenopus, we identified a subset of phenotypes that can be linked to p120-catenin in epithelial integrity and turnover, and additional phenotypes that suggest mesenchymal roles of CTNND1. We propose that CTNND1 variants have a wider developmental role than previously described and that variations in this gene underlie not only cleft palate and BCD but may be expanded to a broader velocardiofacial-like syndrome

Effect of broodfish exchange strategy on the spawning performance and sex steroid hormone levels of Oreochromis niloticus broodfish in hapas

The productivity of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.) broodfish, spawned in large hapas (120 m2) in ponds under different exchange and management strategies, was monitored over a 70-day period. Female fish were checked for eggs twice weekly and returned to the same spawning hapa throughout the experiment (0 day) or exchanged for females maintained in separate single sex groups at high density for a period of 7 days at each (3.5 days) or alternate (7 days) harvests. Exchanged females were conditioned in separate hapas (20 m2) in the same pond. Production of eggs per unit area were significantly higher (P less than 0.05) in females exchanged weekly (7 days, 64 eggs m−2 day−1) or at each harvest (3.5 days; 55 eggs m−2 day−1) than for fish remaining in the spawning hapas throughout the trial (0 day, 33 eggs m−2 day−1). A greater proportion of conditioned females (3.5 days and 7 days) was spawned than in the control group (18% females compared to 11% per harvest). Conditioning of female broodfish had no effect on the egg clutch size (P greater than 0.05). Female productivity (eggs kg−1 day−1) was significantly lower for fish exchanged after every harvest (3.5 days) than those remaining in spawning hapas for alternate harvest (7 days) or throughout the experiment (0 day). Gonadal steroid (testosterone, T and oestradiol, 17β-E2) and calcium levels sampled at the end of the experiment reflected spawning performance; serum T and E2 were highest in exchanged females. Non-spawned fish had elevated steroid levels compared to females incubating seed at harvest (e.g., 19.5–91.4 and 7.2–21.5 ng ml−1 T for non-spawned and spawned fish, respectively). Stocking of the Indian Major carp Labeo rohita in spawning hapas to control fouling did not improve water quality and led to a significant depression of seed production (P less than 0.05). Regular exchange of female broodfish from spawning hapas with conditioned fish can improve productivity of hapa-in-pond system

The MUMBA campaign: measurements of urban, marine and biogenic air

The Measurements of Urban, Marine and Biogenic Air (MUMBA) campaign took place in Wollongong, New South Wales (a small coastal city approximately 80 km south of Sydney, Australia) from 21 December 2012 to 15 February 2013. Like many Australian cities, Wollongong is surrounded by dense eucalyptus forest, so the urban airshed is heavily influenced by biogenic emissions. Instruments were deployed during MUMBA to measure the gaseous and aerosol composition of the atmosphere with the aim of providing a detailed characterisation of the complex environment of the ocean-forest-urban interface that could be used to test the skill of atmospheric models. The gases measured included ozone, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane and many of the most abundant volatile organic compounds. The aerosol characterisation included total particle counts above 3 nm, total cloud condensation nuclei counts, mass concentration, number concentration size distribution, aerosol chemical analyses and elemental analysis. The campaign captured varied meteorological conditions, including two extreme heat events, providing a potentially valuable test for models of future air quality in a warmer climate. There was also an episode when the site sampled clean marine air for many hours, providing a useful additional measure of the background concentrations of these trace gases within this poorly sampled region of the globe. In this paper we describe the campaign, the meteorology and the resulting observations of atmospheric composition in general terms in order to equip the reader with a sufficient understanding of the Wollongong regional influences to use the MUMBA datasets as a case study for testing a chemical transport model. The data are available from PANGAEA (http: //doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.871982)

Sustaining aquaculture by developing human capacity and enhancing opportunities for women

People are at the heart of sustaining aquaculture. Development of human capacity and gender, therefore, is an important human dimension. Human capacity development (HCD) was a major thrust of the 2000 Bangkok Declaration and Strategy, but gender was not addressed. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation's (FAO) Strategic Framework for Human Capacity Development (HCD) emphasized building human capacity in a coherent fashion at four levels - in individuals, organizations, sectors/networks and in the overall enabling environment. Although strategic HCD in aquaculture has not received attention, substantial HCD has occurred in aquaculture education and training. Aquaculture departments in universities, aquaculture research institutes, networks and professional societies all include training as central activities. Women are active participants in aquaculture supply chains, but a dearth of gender-disaggregated information hampers accurate understanding of their contribution. Research results and FAO National Aquaculture Sector Overview (NASO) fact sheets show that female participation rates vary by type and scale of enterprise and country. Women are frequently active in hatcheries and dominate fish processing plant labourers. Women's work in small-scale aquaculture frequently is unrecognized, under or unpaid. Most aquaculture development projects are not gender sensitive, and aquaculture success stories often do not report gender dimensions; projects can fail if their designs do not include gender. Lacking gender-disaggregated data on participation rates and trends in education, we conducted a preliminary survey of aquaculture tertiary institutes in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. The percentage of female graduates in aquaculture increased considerably over the last four decades, from zero or low numbers in the 1970s to recent rates of around 30-60 percent; rates vary both by country and within countries. No data are available to track whether female graduates are entering successful careers in aquaculture. To accelerate HCD to meet the needs of aquaculture growth, commodity and theme priorities for HCD must be established. Educational institutions should cooperate and harmonize work programmes and overcome language barriers. Aquaculture education needs the best students and should help prepare them for rewarding careers. More social science content is needed in aquaculture curricula to groom graduates for management and leadership roles. The gender balance in aquaculture faculty could be improved by recruiting and retaining more women. Gender should be put firmly on the policy agenda and built into normative instruments, old and new, complemented by the collection of gender-disaggregated data for aquaculture supply chains. Women should be empowered through gender equity in access to financial, natural, training and market resources. Women in aquaculture should not be stereotyped as 'small-scale' and poor. Women are often hampered by systemic barriers such as lack of legal rights. Women should be encouraged to build their management, leadership and entrepreneural skills. In circumstances where rural men have migrated for work, small-scale aquaculture has proven a suitable livelihood option to reduce the pressure on women. Because postharvest processing and fish trade are feminized occupations, gender equity deserves special attention in fair trade and fish certification schemes. HCD and gender are receiving more attention in rehabilitation efforts to assist survivors from disease and natural disasters

Optimisation of mesh enclosures for nursery rearing of juvenile sea cucumbers

Mariculture of tropical sea cucumbers is promising, but the nursery rearing of juveniles is a bottleneck for farming and sea ranching. We conducted four medium-scale experiments lasting 3–6 weeks, using thousands of cultured juvenile sandfish Holothuria scabra, to optimise nursery rearing in mesh enclosures in earthen seawater ponds and to test rearing in enclosures in the sea. In one experiment, survival in fine-mesh enclosures (1 m3; 660-µm mesh) related nonlinearly to juvenile size, revealing a threshold body length of 5–8 mm for initial transfer from hatchery tanks. Survival in enclosures within ponds in the other experiments ranged from 78–97%, and differences in growth rates among experiments were explained largely by seasonal differences in seawater temperatures in ponds. Stripped shadecloth units within fine-mesh enclosures increased feeding surfaces and improved growth rates by \u3e15%. On the other hand, shading over the enclosures may lower growth rates. Following the rearing in fine-mesh enclosures, small juveniles (0.5 to 1 g) were grown to stocking size (3–10 g) in coarse-mesh enclosures of 1-mm mesh. Sand or mud added to coarse-mesh enclosures did not significantly improve growth compared to controls without sediment. Survival of sandfish juveniles in coarse-mesh enclosures set on the benthos within seagrass beds differed between two sheltered bays and growth was slow compared to groups within the same type of enclosures in an earthen pond. Our findings should lead to significant improvement in the cost-effectiveness of rearing sandfish juveniles to a stocking size compared to established methods and highlight the need for further research into nursery systems in the sea