An examination and assessment of the development and application of a management framework for coastal zone management within the Moray firth coastal zone

The management framework for coastal zone management developed in this thesis was based on two fundamental principles concerned with a proper understanding of the coastal zone and a structurally representative management process. The rigorous application of these two principles within the Moray Firth resulted in the development of a four stage management framework with the potential to overcome the inadequacies of the existing planning and management regime operating within the coastal zone. The effectiveness of this framework to deal with coastal issues of concern was assessed in an investigation of conflict management and resolution through the development of a zoning scheme. The framework proved capable of answering five questions identified as having to be answered if zoning is to be used to achieve stakeholder consensus and agreement concerning conflicts of use. The management framework thus has much to recommend it as an essential requirement for the successful implementation of coastal zone management within the other twenty coastal regions identified in the UK. As opposed to earlier recommendations made concerning coastal zone management in the UK, the framework developed provides a more effective means of: (a) generating and disseminating information, (b) increasing public participation from a consultation to partnership level, (c) increasing communication between and awareness of stakeholders, (d) reaching management decisions regarding coastal issues of concern, and (e) implementing and enforcing management decisions. These products of the management framework result in the co-ordinated management of the coastal zone

Increased salinity improves the thermotolerance of mesophilic nitrification

Nitrification is a well-studied and established process to treat ammonia in wastewater. Although thermophilic nitrification could avoid cooling costs for the treatment of warm wastewaters, applications above 40 A degrees C remain a significant challenge. This study tested the effect of salinity on the thermotolerance of mesophilic nitrifying sludge (34 A degrees C). In batch tests, 5 g NaCl L-1 increased the activity of aerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AerAOB) by 20-21 % at 40 and 45 A degrees C. For nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB), the activity remained unaltered at 40 A degrees C, yet decreased by 83 % at 45 A degrees C. In a subsequent long-term continuous reactor test, temperature was increased from 34 to 40, 42.5, 45, 47.5 and 50 A degrees C. The AerAOB activity showed 65 and 37 % higher immediate resilience in the salt reactor (7.5 g NaCl L-1) for the first two temperature transitions and lost activity from 45 A degrees C onwards. NOB activity, in contrast to the batch tests, was 37 and 21 % more resilient in the salt reactor for the first two transitions, while no difference was observed for the third temperature transition. The control reactor lost NOB activity at 47.5 A degrees C, while the salt reactor only lost activity at 50 A degrees C. Overall, this study demonstrates salt amendment as a tool for a more efficient temperature transition for mesophilic sludge (34 A degrees C) and eventually higher nitrification temperatures

Media Optimization, Strain Compatibility, and Low-Shear Modeled Microgravity Exposure of Synthetic Microbial Communities for Urine Nitrification in Regenerative Life-Support Systems

Urine is a major waste product of human metabolism and contains essential macro- and micronutrients to produce edible microorganisms and crops. Its biological conversion into a stable form can be obtained through urea hydrolysis, subsequent nitrification, and organics removal, to recover a nitrate-enriched stream, free of oxygen demand. In this study, the utilization of a microbial community for urine nitrification was optimized with the focus for space application. To assess the role of selected parameters that can impact ureolysis in urine, the activity of six ureolytic heterotrophs (Acidovorax delafieldii, Comamonas testosteroni, Cupriavidus necator, Delftia acidovorans, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Vibrio campbellii) was tested at different salinities, urea, and amino acid concentrations. The interaction of the ureolytic heterotrophs with a nitrifying consortium (Nitrosomonas europaea ATCC 19718 and Nitrobacter winogradskyi ATCC 25931) was also tested. Lastly, microgravity was simulated in a clinostat utilizing hardware for in-flight experiments with active microbial cultures. The results indicate salt inhibition of the ureolysis at 30 mS cm(-1), while amino acid nitrogen inhibits ureolysis in a strain-dependent manner. The combination of the nitrifiers with C. necator and V. campbellii resulted in a complete halt of the urea hydrolysis process, while in the case of A. delafieldii incomplete nitrification was observed, and nitrite was not oxidized further to nitrate. Nitrate production was confirmed in all the other communities; however, the other heterotrophic strains most likely induced oxygen competition in the test setup, and nitrite accumulation was observed. Samples exposed to low-shear modeled microgravity through clinorotation behaved similarly to the static controls. Overall, nitrate production from urea was successfully demonstrated with synthetic microbial communities under terrestrial and simulated space gravity conditions, corroborating the application of this process in space

Subglacial drainage processes at a High Arctic polythermal valley glacier

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Lumbar puncture for the generalist

The safe and successful performance of a lumbar puncture demands a working and yet specific knowledge as well as competency in performance. This review aims to aid understanding of the knowledge framework, the pitfalls and complications of lumbar puncture. It includes special reference to three dimensional relationships, functional anatomy, imaging anatomy, normal variation and living anatomy. A lumbar puncture is a commonly performed procedure for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Epidural and spinal anaesthesia, for example, are common in obstetric practice and involve the same technique as a lumbar puncture except for the endpoint of the needle being in the epidural space and subarachnoid space respectively. The procedure is by no means innocuous and some anatomical pitfalls include inability to find the correct entry site for placement of the lumbar puncture needle and lack of awareness of structures in relation to the advancing needle. Headache is the most common complication and it is important to avoid traumatic and dry taps, herniation syndromes and injury to the terminal end of the spinal cord. With a thorough knowledge of the contraindications, the regional anatomy and rationale of the technique and adequate prior skills practice, a lumbar puncture can be performed safely and successfully

A European research agenda for lifelong learning

It is a generally accepted truth that without a proper educational system no country will prosper, nor will its inhabitants. With the arrival of the post-industrial society, in Europe and elsewhere, it has become increasingly clear that people should continue learning over their entire life-spans lest they or their society suffer the dire consequences. But what does this future lifelong learning society exactly look like? And how then should education prepare for it? What should people learn and how should they do so? How can we afford to pay for all this, what are the socio-economic constraints of the move towards a lifelong-learning society? And, of course, what role can and should the educational establishment of schools and universities play? This are questions that demand serious research efforts, which is what this paper argues for

A new method for detection and source analysis of EEG spikes

In the past our research group has developed a method for the detection of focal epileptic EEG (electroencephalogram) spikes that is based on the dipole source localization technique and provides a source localization for each detected spike. In this paper we revisit this method and propose a more accurate explanation of its behavior. Based on this we (i) propose a new method for the detection of epileptic EEG spikes in which the eccentricity of the fitted dipole serves as a new decision variable (ii) conclude that for EEG spike detection one has to make a distinction between EEGs acquired during sleep and during wake

Niche differentiation in nitrogen metabolism among methanotrophs within an operational taxonomic unit

Background: The currently accepted thesis on nitrogenous fertilizer additions on methane oxidation activity assumes niche partitioning among methanotrophic species, with activity responses to changes in nitrogen content being dependent on the in situ methanotrophic community structure Unfortunately, widely applied tools for microbial community assessment only have a limited phylogenetic resolution mostly restricted to genus level diversity, and not to species level as often mistakenly assumed. As a consequence, intragenus or intraspecies metabolic versatility in nitrogen metabolism was never evaluated nor considered among methanotrophic bacteria as a source of differential responses of methane oxidation to nitrogen amendments. Results: We demonstrated that fourteen genotypically different Methylomonas strains, thus distinct below the level at which most techniques assign operational taxonomic units (OTU), show a versatile physiology in their nitrogen metabolism. Differential responses, even among strains with identical 16S rRNA or pmoA gene sequences, were observed for production of nitrite and nitrous oxide from nitrate or ammonium, nitrogen fixation and tolerance to high levels of ammonium, nitrate, and hydroxylamine. Overall, reduction of nitrate to nitrite, nitrogen fixation, higher tolerance to ammonium than nitrate and tolerance and assimilation of nitrite were general features. Conclusions: Differential responses among closely related methanotrophic strains to overcome inhibition and toxicity from high nitrogen loads and assimilation of various nitrogen sources yield competitive fitness advantages to individual methane-oxidizing bacteria. Our observations proved that community structure at the deepest phylogenetic resolution potentially influences in situ functioning

Microbial protein out of thin air : fixation of nitrogen gas by an autotrophic hydrogen-oxidizing bacterial enrichment

For the production of edible microbial protein (MP), ammonia generated by the Haber-Bosch process or reclaimed ammonia from waste streams is typically considered as the nitrogen source. These processes for ammonia production are highly energy intensive. In this study, the potential for using nitrogen gas (N-2) as a direct nitrogen source for MP production by hydrogen-oxidizing bacteria (HOB) was evaluated. The use of N-2 versus ammonium as nitrogen source during the enrichment process resulted in differentiation of the bacterial community composition of the enrichments. A few previously unknown potential N-2-fixing HOB taxa (i.e., representatives of the genus Azonexus and the family Comamonadaceae) dominated the enrichments. The biomass yield of a N-2-fixing HOB enrichment was 30-50% lower than that of the ammonium-based HOB enrichment from the same inoculum source. The dried biomass of N-2-fixing HOB had a high protein content (62.0 +/- 6.3%) and an essential amino acid profile comparable to MP from ammonium-based HOB. MP from N-2-fixing HOB could potentially be produced in situ without entailing the emissions caused by ammonia production and transportation by conventional means. It could be a promising substitute for N-2-fixing protein-rich soybean because it has 70% higher protein content and double energy conversion efficiency from solar energy to biomass