Microbiological analysis of debris from STS-42 IML-1 by direct plating of rinse waters

Microbial analysis of air filter debris from the Spacelab International Microgravity Laboratory-1 (IML-1) mission was performed via direct plating of rinse waters on a battery of selective and nonselective nutrient agars. Microbial isolates were identified using Minitek and Biolog technologies. Twenty-four types of bacteria were recovered and classified; a similar number of fungal types was observed, but these were not identified. This procedure can provide information about the proportions of organism types present at the time of debris collection

Development of static system procedures to study aquatic biofilms and their responses to disinfection and invading species

The microbial ecology facility in the Analytical and Physical Chemistry Branch at Marshall Space Flight Center is tasked with anticipation of potential microbial problems (and opportunities to exploit microorganisms) which may occur in partially closed systems such as space station/vehicles habitats and in water reclamation systems therein, with particular emphasis on the degradation of materials. Within this context, procedures for microbial biofilm research are being developed. Reported here is the development of static system procedures to study aquatic biofilms and their responses to disinfection and invading species. Preliminary investigations have been completed. As procedures are refined, it will be possible to focus more closely on the elucidation of biofilm phenomena

Decomposition of thin titanium deuteride films: thermal desorption kinetics studies combined with microstructure analysis

The thermal evolution of deuterium from thin titanium films, prepared under UHV conditions and deuterated in situ at room temperature, has been studied by means of thermal desorption mass spectrometry (TDMS) and a combination of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The observed Ti film thickness dependent morphology was found to play a crucial role in the titanium deuteride (TiDy) film formation and its decomposition at elevated temperatures. TDMS heating induced decomposition of fine-grained thin Ti films, of 10–20 nm thickness, proceeds at low temperature (maximum peak temperature Tm about 500 K) and its kinetics is dominated by a low energy desorption (ED = 0.61 eV) of deuterium from surface and subsurface areas of the Ti film. The origin of this process is discussed as an intermediate decomposition state towards recombinative desorption of molecular deuterium. The TiDy bulk phase decomposition becomes dominant in the kinetics of deuterium evolution from thicker TiDy films. The dominant TDMS peak at approx. Tm = 670 K, attributed to this process, is characterized by ED = 1.49 eV

Transitions in coral reef accretion rates linked to intrinsic ecological shifts on turbid-zone nearshore reefs

Nearshore coral communities within turbid settings are typically perceived to have limited reef-building capacity. However, several recent studies have reported reef growth over millennial time scales within such environments and have hypothesized that depth-variable community assemblages may act as equally important controls on reef growth as they do in clear-water settings. Here, we explicitly test this idea using a newly compiled chronostratigraphic record (31 cores, 142 radiometric dates) from seven proximal (but discrete) nearshore coral reefs located along the central Great Barrier Reef (Australia). Uniquely, these reefs span distinct stages of geomorphological maturity, as reflected in their elevations below sea level. Integrated age-depth and ecological data sets indicate that contemporary coral assemblage shifts, associated with changing light availability and wave exposure as reefs shallowed, coincided with transitions in accretion rates at equivalent core depths. Reef initiation followed a regional ∼1 m drop in sea level (1200–800 calibrated yr B.P.) which would have lowered the photic floor and exposed new substrate for coral recruitment by winnowing away fine seafloor sediments. We propose that a two-way feedback mechanism exists where past growth history influences current reef morphology and ecology, ultimately driving future reef accumulation and morphological change. These findings provide the first empirical evidence that nearshore reef growth trajectories are intrinsically driven by changes in coral community structure as reefs move toward sea level, a finding of direct significance for predicting the impacts of extrinsically driven ecological change (e.g., coral-algal phase shifts) on reef growth potential within the wider coastal zone on the Great Barrier Reef

Cycles of coral reef ‘turn-on’, rapid growth and ‘turn-off’ over the past 8,500 years: a context for understanding modern ecological states and trajectories.

This is the author's post-print version of an article published in Global Change Biology, Vol. 17, pp. 76 - 86. Copyright © Wiley-Blackwell 2011. The definitive version is available at www3.interscience.wiley.comHuman activities threaten reef ecosystems globally, forcing ecological change at rates and scales regarded as unprecedented in the Holocene. These changes are so profound that a cessation of reef accretion (reef ‘turn-off’) and net erosion of reef structures is argued by many as the ultimate and imminent trajectory. Here, we use a regional scale reef growth dataset, based on 76 core records (constrained by 211 radiometric dates) from 22 reefs along and across the inner-shelf of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, to examine the timing of different phases of reef initiation (‘turn-on’), growth and ‘turn-off’ during the Holocene. This dataset delineates two temporally discrete episodes of reef-building over the last 8500 years: the first associated with the Holocene transgression-early highstand period [∼8.5–5.5 k calibrated years bp (cal ybp)]; the second since ∼2.3 k cal ybp. During both periods, reefs accreted rapidly to sea level before entering late evolutionary states – states naturally characterized by reduced coral cover and low accretion potential – and a clear hiatus occurs between these reef-building episodes for which no records of reef initiation exist. These transitions mimic those projected under current environmental disturbance regimes, but have been driven entirely by natural forcing factors. Our results demonstrate that, even through the late Holocene, reef health and growth has fluctuated through cycles independent of anthropogenic forcing. Consequently, degraded reef states cannot de facto be considered to automatically reflect increased anthropogenic stress. Indeed, in many cases degraded or nonaccreting reef communities may reflect past reef growth histories (as dictated by reef growth–sea level interactions) as much as contemporary environmental change. Recognizing when changes in reef condition reflect these natural ‘turn-on’– growth –‘turn-off’ cycles and how they interact with on-going human disturbance is critical for effective coral reef management and for understanding future reef ecological trajectories

Structural and chemical characterisation of titanium deuteride films covered by nanoscale evaporated palladium layers

Thin titanium deuteride (TiDy) films, covered by an ultra-thin palladium layer, have been compared with the corresponding titanium and palladium films using a combination of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The TiDy layers were prepared under ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions by precisely controlled deuterium sorption at 298 K on a Ti film evaporated onto a Si(100) substrate. Both Ti and TiDy films were then covered in situ by a nanoscale Pd layer. It was found that a 10- to 12-nm-thick Pd layer protects the TiDy films efficiently against extensive air interaction. The morphology of both the surface and bulk Pd/TiDy (Ti) films have been observed using SEM and cross-sectional TEM analysis, respectively. A polycrystalline bulk morphology in both Ti and TiDy films accompanied by a fine-grained Pd surface was observed. High-magnification cross-sectional TEM images reveal the TiDy film to be plastically deformed leading to an increase in the roughness of the top Pd layer. Complex structures, including Moiré patterns, have been identified within the Pd/TiDy interface. The chemical nature of this interface has been analysed after partial sputtering of the Pd top layer using XPS. Besides TiDy and Pd, TiO and PdO were found to be the main chemical species in the interface region of the Pd/TiHy film. The XPS valence-band spectra of the Pd/TiDy interface reveal electronic features characteristic of a Pd–Ti bimetallic structure

Rapid vertical accretion on a ‘young’ shore-detached turbid zone reef: Offshore Paluma Shoals, central Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Copyright © 2013, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. This is a post print version of the article. The final publication is available at link.springer.comWe report on the age structure and net accretion rates determined for an open water turbid zone reef, known as Offshore Paluma Shoals, located on the inner central Great Barrier Reef. Twenty-eight radiocarbon dates from 5 cores through the reef structure indicate that this reef began growing ~1,700 years ago and that net vertical accretion through the main phase of reef development was rapid (averaging 7.8 mm yr−1), this despite the reef growing in highly turbid waters. The most rapid growth phases coincided with the accumulation of mud-rich terrigenoclastic sediments within the reef fabric. The study emphasises the capacity of turbid zone reefs to vertically accrete at rates matching or exceeding many clear water reefs despite seemingly detrimental water quality conditions

Understanding the role of infant and toddler nutrition on population health : epidemiological resources in Australasia

The importance of understanding the relationship between weaning and toddler nutrition, which in turn impacts on health in later life, is highlighted. Emphasis is placed on the need for epidemiological research in Australasia for population-specific information on early life diet and health.Rebecca K Golley, Lisa G Smithers, Karen Campbell, and John Lync

The changing temporal association between caesarean birth and neonatal death in Ethiopia : Secondary analysis of nationally representative surveys

Peer reviewedPublisher PD