Dynamics of the atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) population of the River Foyle, Ireland

This study examines the dynamics of the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) population of the Foyle catchment in Ireland, through the analysis of long-term datasets and extensive field data. In chapter 1 the current conservation status of the salmon is discussed with particular reference to the Foyle. Chapter 2 considers the interaction between commercial netting and recreational sport angling and the effect of total combined exploitation on an independent measure of population size (redd counts) using a 49 year dataset. The evidence suggests that year class strength is the principal modulator of variation in commercial catches, sport angling catches and spawning escapement. Chapter 3 examines the role of density-dependence in the Foyle salmon population. A Ricker density-dependent model showed that spawning adult population size significantly predicted variation in the resultant filial generation; however, a significant amount of variation (ca. 68%) remained unexplained. Environmental factors were significant in explaining some of the remaining variance and these influences were linked to specific life stages. Chapter 4 investigates the effect of marine climatic conditions in the North Atlantic on the abundance of returning migrant Atlantic salmon, using a 126 year dataset of commercial catches and an index of climate in the northern hemisphere, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAOI). The NAOI when below 0.151 explained a significant proportion of variation in five year running mean catches of migrant Atlantic salmon returning to the River Foyle. This indicates that a significant proportion of the variance in population size in the past was the result of variability in conditions in the marine environment. However, when the NAOI was above 0.151 this relationship uncoupled. Chapter 5 tests the capacity of local instream and broadscale catchment characteristics to predict 0+ salmon abundance within the Foyle area. This chapter also highlighted the potential detrimental impact of increasing urbanisation on the salmon stocks of the Foyle area

Serious Gordon Using Serious Games To Teach Food Safety in the Kitchen

This paper will describe the development of Serious Gordon, an interactive digital game developed to tech the basics of kitchen food safety to workers in industries dealing with food. The motivations driving the development of the game will be described as will the development process itself. An initial evaluation of the game, from both a technical and pedagogical point of view, will be presented as will conclusions on the viability of using a commercial game engine for the purpose of developing educational games

Serious Gordon: Using Serious Games to Teach Food Safety in the Kitchen.

This paper will describe the development of Serious Gordon, an interactive digital game developed to tech the basics of kitchen food safety to workers in industries dealing with food. The motivations driving the development of the game will be described as will the development process itself. An initial evaluation of the game, from both a technical and pedagogical point of view, will be presented as will conclusions on the viability of using a commercial game engine for the purpose of developing educational games

Complex pattern of genetic structuring in the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) of the River Foyle system in northwest Ireland: disentangling the evolutionary signal from population stochasticity

Little is known about the microevolutionary processes shaping within river population genetic structure of aquatic organisms characterized by high levels of homing and spawning site fidelity. Using a microsatellite panel, we observed complex and highly significant levels of intrariver population genetic substructure and Isolation-by-Distance, in the Atlantic salmon stock of a large river system. Two evolutionary models have been considered explaining mechanisms promoting genetic substructuring in Atlantic salmon, the member-vagrant and metapopulation models. We show that both models can be simultaneously used to explain patterns and levels of population structuring within the Foyle system. We show that anthropogenic factors have had a large influence on contemporary population structure observed. In an analytical development, we found that the frequently used estimator of genetic differentiation, FST, routinely underestimated genetic differentiation by a factor three to four compared to the equivalent statistic Jost's Dest (Jost 2008). These statistics also showed a near-perfect correlation. Despite ongoing discussions regarding the usefulness of “adjusted”FST statistics, we argue that these could be useful to identify and quantify qualitative differences between populations, which are important from management and conservation perspectives as an indicator of existence of biologically significant variation among tributary populations or a warning of critical environmental damage

Risk for Pneumocystis carinii Transmission among Patients with Pneumonia: a Molecular Epidemiology Study

We report a molecular typing and epidemiologic analysis of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) cases diagnosed in our geographic area from 1990 to 2000. Our analysis suggests that transmission from patients with active PCP to susceptible persons caused only a few, if any, PCP cases in our setting

Virtual reality distraction for acute pain in children

Background Virtual reality (VR) computer technology creates a simulated environment, perceived as comparable to the real world, with which users can actively interact. The eDectiveness of VR distraction on acute pain intensity in children is uncertain. Objectives To assess the eDectiveness and adverse eDects of virtual reality (VR) distraction interventions for children (0 to 18 years) with acute pain in any healthcare setting. Search methods We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO and four trial registries to October 2019. We also searched reference lists of eligible studies, hand searched relevant journals and contacted study authors. Selection criteria Randomised controlled trials (RCTs), including cross-over and cluster-RCTs, comparing VR distraction to no distraction, non-VR distraction or other VR distraction. Data collection and analysis We used standard Cochrane methodological processes. Two reviewers assessed risk of bias and extracted data independently. The primary outcome was acute pain intensity (during procedure, and up to one hour post-procedure). Secondary outcomes were adverse eDects, child satisfaction with VR, pain-related distress, parent anxiety, rescue analgesia and cost. We used GRADE and created 'Summary of findings' tables. Main results We included 17 RCTs (1008 participants aged four to 18 years) undergoing various procedures in healthcare settings. We did not pool data because the heterogeneity in population (i.e. diverse ages and developmental stages of children and their diDerent perceptions and reactions to pain) and variations in procedural conditions (e.g. phlebotomy, burn wound dressings, physical therapy sessions), and consequent level of pain experienced, made statistical pooling of data impossible. We narratively describe results. We judged most studies to be at unclear risk of selection bias, high risk of performance and detection bias, and high risk of bias for small sample sizes. Across all comparisons and outcomes, we downgraded the certainty of evidence to low or very low due to serious study limitations and serious or very serious indirectness. We also downgraded some of the evidence for very serious imprecision

WHOI Hawaii Ocean Timeseries Station (WHOTS) : WHOTS-8 2011 mooring turnaround cruise report

Note: author "Ludovic Bariteau" is incorrectly listed as "Bariteau Ludovic" on the Cover and Title Page.The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Hawaii Ocean Timeseries (HOT) Site (WHOTS), 100 km north of Oahu, Hawaii, is intended to provide long-term, high-quality air-sea fluxes as a part of the NOAA Climate Observation Program. The WHOTS mooring also serves as a coordinated part of the HOT program, contributing to the goals of observing heat, fresh water and chemical fluxes at a site representative of the oligotrophic North Pacific Ocean. The approach is to maintain a surface mooring outfitted for meteorological and oceanographic measurements at a site near 22.75°N, 158°W by successive mooring turnarounds. These observations will be used to investigate air–sea interaction processes related to climate variability. This report documents recovery of the seventh WHOTS mooring (WHOTS-7) and deployment of the eighth mooring (WHOTS-8). Both moorings used Surlyn foam buoys as the surface element and were outfitted with two Air–Sea Interaction Meteorology (ASIMET) systems. Each ASIMET system measures, records, and transmits via Argos satellite the surface meteorological variables necessary to compute air–sea fluxes of heat, moisture and momentum. The upper 155 m of the moorings were outfitted with oceanographic sensors for the measurement of temperature, conductivity and velocity in a cooperative effort with R. Lukas of the University of Hawaii. A pCO2 system was installed on the WHOTS-8 buoy in a cooperative effort with Chris Sabine at the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory. A set of radiometers were installed in cooperation with Sam Laney at WHOI. The WHOTS mooring turnaround was done on the NOAA ship Hi’ialakai by the Upper Ocean Processes Group of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The cruise took place between 5 July and 13 July 2011. Operations began with deployment of the WHOTS-8 mooring on 6 July. This was followed by meteorological intercomparisons and CTDs. Recovery of WHOTS-7 took place on 11 July 2011. This report describes these cruise operations, as well as some of the in-port operations and pre-cruise buoy preparations.Funding was provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under Grant No. NA090AR4320129 and the Cooperative Institute for the North Atlantic Region (CINAR)

ETN Valued Species and Sites Report

Provide operations and maintenance support to scientific teams initiating studies of valued species, such as Bluefin tuna, European eel, sea bass, sea trout. To achieve this deliverable a workshop will be hold focussing on launching and networking activities

The evolution of massive black holes and their spins in their galactic hosts

[Abridged] [...] We study the mass and spin evolution of massive black holes within a semianalytical galaxy-formation model that follows the evolution of dark-matter halos along merger trees, as well as that of the baryonic components (hot gas, stellar and gaseous bulges, and stellar and gaseous galactic disks). This allows us to study the mass and spin evolution of massive black holes in a self-consistent way, by taking into account the effect of the gas present in galactic nuclei both during the accretion phases and during mergers. Also, we present predictions, as a function of redshift, for the fraction of gas-rich black-hole mergers -- in which the spins prior to the merger are aligned due to the gravito-magnetic torques exerted by the circumbinary disk -- as opposed to gas-poor mergers, in which the orientation of the spins before the merger is roughly isotropic. These predictions may be tested by LISA or similar spaced-based gravitational-wave detectors such as eLISA/NGO or SGO.Comment: 26 pages, 15 figures. This version includes minor changes to figs 10 and 11 (left-hand panels) described in erratum (MNRAS 440, 1295, 2014, doi: 10.1093/mnras/stu361), see also http://www2.iap.fr/users/barausse/erratum.pd

Molecular Evidence of Interhuman Transmission of Pneumocystis Pneumonia among Renal Transplant Recipients Hospitalized with HIV-Infected Patients

Molecular evidence indicates that P. jirovecii may be nosocomially transmitted to severely immunosuppressed patients