Sound Design for a System of 1000 Distributed Independent Audio-Visual Devices

This paper describes the sound design for Bloom, a light and sound installation made up of 1000 distributed independent audio-visual pixel devices, each with RGB LEDs, Wifi, Accelerometer, GPS sensor, and sound hardware. These types of systems have been explored previously, but only a few systems have exceeded 30-50 devices and very few have included sound capability, and therefore the sound design possibilities for large systems of distributed audio devices are not yet well understood. In this article we describe the hardware and software implementation of sound synthesis for this system, and the implications for design of media for this context

Sound design for a system of 1000 distributed independent audio-visual devices

This paper describes the sound design for Bloom, a light and sound installation made up of 1000 distributed independent audio-visual pixel devices, each with RGB LEDs, Wifi, Accelerometer, GPS sensor, and sound hardware. These types of systems have been explored previously, but only a few systems have exceeded 30-50 devices and very few have included sound capability, and therefore the sound design possibilities for large systems of distributed audio devices are not well understood. In this article we describe the hardware and software implementation of sound synthesis for this system, and the implications for design of media for this context

Monitoring whales within the Reef 2050 Integrated Monitoring and Reporting Program: final report of the whales team in the megafauna expert group

Two species of great whales are commonly encountered on a seasonal basis in the Reef, the humpback, Megaptera novaeangliae, and the dwarf minke, Balaenoptera acutorostrata subsp. This report focuses on these two species, acknowledging that many other large and migratory whales utilise the Reef. Other limitations of this report include spatial and jurisdictional boundaries (i.e. a focus on specific information needs for agencies responsible for protection and management of values within the World Heritage Area). We acknowledge the need for more research to improve our overall understanding of these whale populations (e.g. stock structure and population connectivity through the south Pacific and Southern oceans), and the significance of risks to them through their extended habitat and range outside the World Heritage Area.An accessible copy of this report is not yet available from this repository, please contact [email protected] for more information

Coral restoration effectiveness: multiregional snapshots of the long-term responses of coral assemblages to restoration

Coral restoration is rapidly becoming a mainstream strategic reef management response to address dramatic declines in coral cover worldwide. Restoration success can be defined as enhanced reef functions leading to improved ecosystem services, with multiple benefits at socio-ecological scales. However, there is often a mismatch between the objectives of coral restoration programs and the metrics used to assess their effectiveness. In particular, the scales of ecological benefits currently assessed are typically limited in both time and space, often being limited to short-term monitoring of the growth and survival of transplanted corals. In this paper, we explore reef-scale responses of coral assemblages to restoration practices applied in four well-established coral restoration programs. We found that hard coral cover and structural complexity were consistently greater at restored compared to unrestored (degraded) sites. However, patterns in coral diversity, coral recruitment, and coral health among restored, unrestored, and reference sites varied across locations, highlighting differences in methodologies among restoration programs. Altogether, differences in program objectives, methodologies, and the state of nearby coral communities were key drivers of variability in the responses of coral assemblages to restoration. The framework presented here provides guidance to improve qualitative and quantitative assessments of coral restoration efforts and can be applied to further understanding of the role of restoration within resilience-based reef management

An invasive mammal (the gray squirrel, sciurus carolinensis) commonly hosts diverse and atypical genotypes of the zoonotic pathogen borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato

Invasive vertebrate species can act as hosts for endemic pathogens and may alter pathogen community composition and dynamics. For the zoonotic pathogen Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the agent of Lyme borreliosis, recent work shows invasive rodent species can be of high epidemiological importance and may support host-specific strains. This study examined the role of gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) (n � 679), an invasive species in the United Kingdom, as B. burgdorferi sensu lato hosts. We found that gray squirrels were frequently infested with Ixodes ricinus, the main vector of B. burgdorferi sensu lato in the United Kingdom, and 11.9% were infected with B. burgdorferi sensu lato. All four genospecies that occur in the United Kingdom were detected in gray squirrels, and unexpectedly, the bird-associated genospecies Borrelia garinii was most common. The second most frequent infection was with Borrelia afzelii. Genotyping of B. garinii and B. afzelii produced no evidence for strains associated with gray squirrels. Generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) identified tick infestation and date of capture as significant factors associated with B. burgdorferi sensu lato infection in gray squirrels, with infection elevated in early summer in squirrels infested with ticks. Invasive gray squirrels appear to become infected with locally circulating strains of B. burgdorferi sensu lato, and further studies are required to determine their role in community disease dynamics. Our findings highlight the fact that the role of introduced host species in B. burgdorferi sensu lato epidemiology can be highly variable and thus difficult to predict

Use of mass-participation outdoor events to assess human exposure to tickborne pathogens

Mapping the public health threat of tickborne pathogens requires quantification of not only the density of infected host-seeking ticks but also the rate of human exposure to these ticks. To efficiently sample a high number of persons in a short time, we used a mass-participation outdoor event. In June 2014, we sampled ≈500 persons competing in a 2-day mountain marathon run across predominantly tick-infested habitat in Scotland. From the number of tick bites recorded and prevalence of tick infection with Borrelia burgdoferi sensu lato and B. miyamotoi, we quantified the frequency of competitor exposure to the pathogens. Mass-participation outdoor events have the potential to serve as excellent windows for epidemiologic study of tickborne pathogens; their concerted use should improve spatial and temporal mapping of human exposure to infected ticks

Multi-Locus Sequence Analysis Reveals Profound Genetic Diversity among Isolates of the Human Pathogen Bartonella bacilliformis

Bartonella bacilliformis is the aetiological agent of human bartonellosis, a potentially life threatening infection of significant public health concern in the Andean region of South America. Human bartonellosis has long been recognised in the region but a recent upsurge in the number of cases of the disease and an apparent expansion of its geographical distribution have re-emphasized its contemporary medical importance. Here, we describe the development of a multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) scheme for B. bacilliformis and its application to an archive of 43 isolates collected from patients across Peru. MLST identified eight sequence types among these isolates and the delineation of these was generally congruent with those of the previously described typing scheme. Phylogenetic analysis based on concatenated sequence data derived from MLST loci revealed that seven of the eight sequence types were closely related to one another; however, one sequence type, ST8, exhibited profound evolutionary divergence from the others. The extent of this divergence was akin to that observed between other members of the Bartonella genus, suggesting that ST8 strains may be better considered as members of a novel Bartonella genospecies

One health: the importance of companion animal vector-borne diseases

The international prominence accorded the 'One Health' concept of co-ordinated activity of those involved in human and animal health is a modern incarnation of a long tradition of comparative medicine, with roots in the ancient civilizations and a golden era during the 19th century explosion of knowledge in the field of infectious disease research. Modern One Health tends to focus on zoonotic pathogens emerging from wildlife and production animal species, but one of the most significant One Health challenges is rabies for which there is a canine reservoir. This review considers the role of small companion animals in One Health and specifically addresses the major vector-borne infectious diseases that are shared by man, dogs and cats. The most significant of these are leishmaniosis, borreliosis, bartonellosis, ehrlichiosis, rickettsiosis and anaplasmosis. The challenges that lie ahead in this field of One Health are discussed, together with the role of the newly formed World Small Animal Veterinary Association One Health Committee

Multi-Locus Sequence Typing of Bartonella henselae Isolates from Three Continents Reveals Hypervirulent and Feline-Associated Clones

Bartonella henselae is a zoonotic pathogen and the causative agent of cat scratch disease and a variety of other disease manifestations in humans. Previous investigations have suggested that a limited subset of B. henselae isolates may be associated with human disease. In the present study, 182 human and feline B. henselae isolates from Europe, North America and Australia were analysed by multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) to detect any associations between sequence type (ST), host species and geographical distribution of the isolates. A total of 14 sequence types were detected, but over 66% (16/24) of the isolates recovered from human disease corresponded to a single genotype, ST1, and this type was detected in all three continents. In contrast, 27.2% (43/158) of the feline isolates corresponded to ST7, but this ST was not recovered from humans and was restricted to Europe. The difference in host association of STs 1 (human) and 7 (feline) was statistically significant (P≤0.001). eBURST analysis assigned the 14 STs to three clonal lineages, which contained two or more STs, and a singleton comprising ST7. These groups were broadly consistent with a neighbour-joining tree, although splits decomposition analysis was indicative of a history of recombination. These data indicate that B. henselae lineages differ in their virulence properties for humans and contribute to a better understanding of the population structure of B. henselae