Citizen Perceptions of the Sustainability of Marine Aquaculture

As the world confronts the need for sustainable food systems, marine aquaculture serves as a key opportunity to produce safe, sustainable seafood. However, marine aquaculture still faces social resistance to its adoption with environmental and economic concerns leading to citizen and consumer hesitations regarding the industry and its products. In this study, we explore factors that lead to a citizen holding primarily positive or negative views of marine aquaculture with a focus on whether these views are driven by environmental or economic perceptions. Using a survey of Maine coastal residents (n=295), we find that individuals whose use of the Maine coast has been positively impacted by marine aquaculture were more likely to view marine aquaculture as positive, less likely to have concerns over the implementation of marine aquaculture farms, and more likely to view mariculture as both environmentally and economically positive. Additionally, individuals who were unemployed and experiencing more financial stress were more likely to view marine aquaculture as having negative economic impacts along with other associated negative impacts on communities. Finally, we find that individuals who think they need to know more about marine aquaculture and have high financial stress are less likely to view mariculture as economically positive. In contrast participants who thought they needed to know more about marine aquaculture and have low financial stress were more likely to view the industry as economically positive. Understanding public perception of marine aquaculture ensures that coastal managers can make decisions that are consistent with preferred uses of Maine’s coastlin

The Full Genome Sequence of an Antarctic Microbe Constructed Using a Rapid, Portable Sequencer and a Hybrid Assembly

Microbial genomes contain combinations of nucleotides that code for genes which subsequently determines the function of the cell. This information provides significant insight into the unique niche of microbes from extreme environments. Here we use two sequencing technologies, the Oxford Nanopore MinION with accompanying software and Illumina HiSeq, to generate a hybrid genome for a Shewanella strain isolated from an Antarctic glacier. Bioinformatic programs, Albacore and SPAdes, allowed us to decrease the time of genome assembly while also obtaining a large quantity of information related to the Shewanella sp. Our combined approach yielded a high quality genome assembly 5.3 Mb in length, consisting of 24 scaffolded contigs with an N50 value of 2.8 Mb. The hybrid assembly method allowed for use of higher quality data than older methods to generate the genome sequence. After gene annotation, using prokka, we found several genes that inform us on the lifestyle of this isolate including a potentially horizontally transferred fabf gene, polar flagellar synthesis pathway, and the QseC-QseB (quorum sensing) two-component regulatory system. Ultimately, we aim to modify our pipeline for remote genome sequencing to extract information from microbial field samples in remote locations allowing us to understand microbial life in environmental conditions

Analysis of terrestrial and Martian volcanic compositions using thermal emission spectroscopy

This dissertation comprises four separate parts, revised from individual research papers, which address the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) investigation objective of determining and mapping the composition and distribution of surface minerals and rocks on Mars from orbit. Each part is self-contained and addresses a specific aspect of this objective while collectively building on results of the previous studies. In Part 1, laboratory thermal infrared spectra (5-25 μm, at 2 cm-1 spectral sampling), deconvolved modal mineralogies, and derived mineral and bulk rock chemistries of basalt, basaltic andesite, andesite, and dacite were used to evaluate and revise volcanic rock classification schemes. Modal mineralogies derived from linear deconvolution of terrestrial volcanic rocks were compared to modes measured by an electron microprobe phase-mapping technique to determine the accuracy of linear deconvolution in modeling specific mineral abundances. One-cr standard deviations of the absolute differences between modeled and measured mineral abundances range from 2.4 to 12.2 vol %, with an average standard deviation of 4.8 vol % being in agreement with average uncertainties calculated in previous studies. Weighted average compositions of feldspars in the deconvolution generally overlap the measured ranges of plagioclase compositions and the presence of low-calcium and high-calcium pyroxenes was correctly identified

A manifesto for a socio-technical approach to NHS and social care IT-enabled business change - to deliver effective high quality health and social care for all

80% of IT projects are known to fail. Adopting a socio-technical approach will help them to succeed in the future. The socio-technical proposition is simply that any work system comprises both a social system (including the staff, their working practices, job roles, culture and goals) and a technical system (the tools and technologies that support and enable work processes). These elements together form a single system comprising interacting parts. The technical and the social elements need to be jointly designed (or redesigned) so that they are congruent and support one another in delivering a better service. Focusing on one aspect alone is likely to be sub-optimal and wastes money (Clegg, 2008). Thus projects that just focus on the IT will almost always fail to deliver the full benefits

Resolved Imaging of the HR 8799 Debris Disk with Herschel

We present Herschel far-infrared and submillimeter maps of the debris disk associated with the HR 8799 planetary system. We resolve the outer disk emission at 70, 100, 160 and 250 um and detect the disk at 350 and 500 um. A smooth model explains the observed disk emission well. We observe no obvious clumps or asymmetries associated with the trapping of planetesimals that is a potential consequence of planetary migration in the system. We estimate that the disk eccentricity must be <0.1. As in previous work by Su et al. (2009), we find a disk with three components: a warm inner component and two outer components, a planetesimal belt extending from 100 - 310 AU, with some flexibility (+/- 10 AU) on the inner edge, and the external halo which extends to ~2000 AU. We measure the disk inclination to be 26 +/- 3 deg from face-on at a position angle of 64 deg E of N, establishing that the disk is coplanar with the star and planets. The SED of the disk is well fit by blackbody grains whose semi-major axes lie within the planetesimal belt, suggesting an absence of small grains. The wavelength at which the spectrum steepens from blackbody, 47 +/- 30 um, however, is short compared to other A star debris disks, suggesting that there are atypically small grains likely populating the halo. The PACS longer wavelength data yield a lower disk color temperature than do MIPS data (24 and 70 um), implying two distinct halo dust grain populations.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures (6 color), accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Herschel Observations of Debris Discs Orbiting Planet-hosting Subgiants

Debris discs are commonly detected orbiting main-sequence stars, yet little is known regarding their fate as the star evolves to become a giant. Recent observations of radial velocity detected planets orbiting giant stars highlight this population and its importance for probing, for example, the population of planetary systems orbiting intermediate mass stars. Our Herschel survey observed a subset of the Johnson et al program subgiants, finding that 4/36 exhibit excess emission thought to indicate debris, of which 3/19 are planet-hosting stars and 1/17 are stars with no current planet detections. Given the small numbers involved, there is no evidence that the disc detection rate around stars with planets is different to that around stars without planets. Our detections provide a clear indication that large quantities of dusty material can survive the stars' main-sequence lifetime and be detected on the subgiant branch, with important implications for the evolution of planetary systems and observations of polluted or dusty white dwarfs. Our detection rates also provide an important constraint that can be included in models of debris disc evolution.Comment: 12 pages, MNRAS, accepte

Credit Enhancement Strategies for Higher Efficiency Vehicles in Maine

Credit enhancements are a necessary, but not sufficient policy tool to expand access to clean, reliable vehicles. They are necessary because lower-income and historically disadvantaged groups have less access to low-cost financing. They are not sufficient in that credit enhancements alone, while helpful, are not likely to substantially increase the purchase of clean, reliable vehicles with a higher initial purchase price, but comparable or lower long-term cost of ownership. We review two credit enhancement mechanisms: loan loss reserves and interest rate buy-downs

The Use of and Interest in Ancient Grains in Northeastern Institutional Kitchens

We report on a survey of institutional kitchens in the Northeast, seeking to better understand the extent to which institutions currently use locally produced grain products and what barriers they face in increasing their use of local grain products. We focus additional attention on local, organic grains, and ask specifically about a set of “ancient” grains: barley, einkorn, farro, rye, and spelt. Results indicate that current use of these products is extremely low. Familiarity with the grains in question, both by kitchen staff and their customers, emerges as a first-order barrier to expanding use of ancient grains in institutional kitchens. Additionally, while many of the respondents are open to the idea of substituting ancient grain products for their current grain products (rice, wholewheat flour), limited budgets, uncertainties regarding the procurement process and staff and equipment limitations pose additional challenges