Lithostratigraphy of the Prince Edward Island redbeds

The redbeds of Prince Edward Island are of Stephanian-late Early Permian age and represent the youngest known on-land exposed strata of uk post (Acadian) orogenic Maritimes Basin of eastern Canada. The Island redbeds have previously been informally subdivided into four Fining-upwards megacyclic sequences I, II, HI and IV, on the basis of variations in grain size and composition. It has also been past practice to informally assign the redbeds to the top of the Pictou Group of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick with which they merge uninterruptedly at depth below the Island. Regional variations in conglomerate composition, maturity and sediment dispersal trends indicate tiiat the redbeds comprise two separate lithofacies sequences representing: (1) die relative distal platformal Pictou Group lithofacies of New Brunswick to the southwest, and (2) the more proximal Cumberland Sub-basin Pictou Group lithofacies of Nova Scotia to the south. It is suggested here that lithostratigraphic purpose may be best served by die following changes: The Northumberland Strait Supergroup be established to accommodate die Pictou Group below (grey and red terrestrial strata, locally coal measures) and the Prince Edward Island Group (redbeds) above. The Prince Edward Island Group is to be subdivided on the basis of their internal megacyclic order into five formal formations and two members. From oldest to youngest these are: Miminegash, Egmont Bay, Kildare Capes, Hillsborough River and Orby Head formations. The Hillsborough River Formation is further subdivided into die Malpeque and Wood Islands members. The Stephanian-late Early Permian age of the Prince Edward Island redbeds is reasonably well established on the basis of paleontological evidence. RÉSUMÉ Les séries rouges de L’lie du Prince-Edouard, d'âge compris entre le Stéphanien et la Fin du Permien précoce, représentent les plus jeunes strates connues du Bassin post-orogénique (post-acadien) des Maritimes à affleurer sur la lerre ferme. On a auparavant subdivisé ces séries de façon informelle, en raison de variations dans leur granuloma trie et leur composition, en quatre mégaséquences granodecroissantcs (I, II, HI et IV). H était aussi coutume d'attribuer de façon informelle ces séries rouges au sommet du Groupe de Pictou (Nouvelle-Écosse et Nouveau-Brunswick), auquel elles s'incorporent continument, et ce en profondeur sous l’ile. Les variations régionales dans la composition des poudingues, la maturité des sédiments ainsi que les tendances dans la dispersion des sédiments démontrent que les assises rouges s'articulentendeux séries distinctesde lithofaciès représentant (1) vers le sud-ouest (Nouveau-Brunswick), le lithofaciès de plate-forme plus externe du Groupe de Pictou et (2) vers le sud (Nouvelle-Écosse), le lithofacèis plus proximal du Sous-Bassin de Cumberland dans le Groupe de Pictou. On suggère que la lithostratigraphie serai t favorisée par les changements suivants: que le Supergroupe de Northumberland Strait soit établi pour concilier en bas le Groupe de Pictou (strates terrestres grises et rouges, veines de charbon locales) et en haut le Groupe de Prince Edward Island (séries rouges). On subdivise de façon formelle le Groupe de Prince Edward Island en cinq formations et deux membres en s'appuyant sur leur disposition mégacyclique interne. De la plus vieille à la plus jeune, celles-ci englobent les formations de Miminegash, d'Egmont Bay, de Kildare Capes, de Hillsborough River et d'Orby Head. On subdivise aussi la Formation de Hillsborough River en deux membres: les membres de Malpeque et de Wood Islands. L'âges stéphanien-éopermien tardif des assises rouges de l'ile du Prince-Edouard est raisonnablement établi sur des bases paléontologiques. [Traduit par le journal

The role of zinc in the adaptive evolution of polar phytoplankton

Zinc is an essential trace metal for oceanic primary producers with the highest concentrations in polar oceans. However, its role in the biological functioning and adaptive evolution of polar phytoplankton remains enigmatic. Here, we have applied a combination of evolutionary genomics, quantitative proteomics, co-expression analyses and cellular physiology to suggest that model polar phytoplankton species have a higher demand for zinc because of elevated cellular levels of zinc-binding proteins. We propose that adaptive expansion of regulatory zinc-finger protein families, co-expanded and co-expressed zinc-binding proteins families involved in photosynthesis and growth in these microalgal species and their natural communities were identified to be responsible for the higher zinc demand. The expression of their encoding genes in eukaryotic phytoplankton metatranscriptomes from pole-to-pole was identified to correlate not only with dissolved zinc concentrations in the upper ocean but also with temperature, suggesting that environmental conditions of polar oceans are responsible for an increased demand of zinc. These results suggest that zinc plays an important role in supporting photosynthetic growth in eukaryotic polar phytoplankton and that this has been critical for algal colonization of low-temperature polar oceans.</p

Satisfaction and annoyance of residents in neighbourhoods situated near industrial activity. Analysis of telephone survey data on the residential environment

In many of the Dutch national policy plans, environmental quality is a strong guiding principle. From an environmental science and policy perspective, environmental quality at the local level is affected by sound, odour and air pollution, as well as external safety risks. This study examines the relationship between people's perception of sound and odour (noise and odour annoyance) and the perceived environmental quality, represented as residential satisfaction (RS). Data from 19 telephone surveys (TLO) were compiled in a large TLO database. In the present study data from 17 TLOs performed in 86 locations, covering 18,000 respondents were analysed. Typically, TLOs are used for policy or maintenance purposes to assess the RS of people living in the vicinity of industrial plants or factories. Data on (individual) exposure levels were not available for these analyses. A remarkeble finding is the observed dispersion of correlations between annoyance and satisfaction per location (n=84, correlations for sound and satisfaction: -0,57 en 0,07; for odour and satisfaction between: -0,57 en 0,37). For this reason a multi-level analysis (MLA) was performed. This finding indicates location specific differences, probably due to differences in exposure levels. Furthermore, tenure and type of dwelling appeared to be relatively strong predictors of residential satisfaction. Homeowners appeared to be more satisfied than tenants. People in flats were more dissatisfied than people living in (semi-)detached houses. Annoyance from noise and (offensive) odours was another, relatively strong, predictor of RS. In general, residents reporting more annoyance were less satisfied with their residential situation. Other predictors of RS were age, gender, and the number of facilities in the dwelling. Older people and women were more satisfied with their residential situation than younger people and men, respectively. The more facilities present in the dwelling, the more satisfied residents appeared to be. Residential satisfaction is determined by a combination of subjective (e.g. annoyance), objective (e.g. number of facilities) and personal factors (e.g. age, gender). Annoyance appears to be a relatively important factor of residential satisfaction but tenure and dwelling type appear to be, relatively, more important. It is strongly recommended to add sound and odour exposure data to the TLO-database.Het begrip 'kwaliteit' speelt in steeds meer beleidsvoornemens van de (rijks)overheid een krachtig sturende rol. Voor de lokale omgeving, de leefomgeving, is de algemene beleidsdoelstelling van VROM het verbeteren en in stand houden van de woonkwaliteit. Belangrijke determinanten van de ervaren kwaliteit van de leefomgeving zijn (hinder van) geluid, geur, luchtverontreiniging en externe veiligheid. In dit onderzoek wordt de invloed van hinder van geluid en geur op de ervaren kwaliteit (tevredenheid) van de leefomgeving onderzocht. De belangrijkste vragen waren a) wat is de invloed van hinder op de woontevredenheid en b) welke persoons- en/of woonkenmerken zijn van invloed op de woontevredenheid? De gegevens zijn verzameld met behulp van Telefonische Leefsituatie Onderzoeken (TLO's) bij mensen die in de buurt van (industriele) bedrijvigheid wonen. Verschillende TLO's (n=19) zijn in een groot TLO-bestand samengevoegd. In deze analyse is gebruik gemaakt van 17 TLO's met daarin in totaal 86 onderzoekslocaties en ongeveer 18.000 respondenten. Vanwege de gelaagde structuur van de gegevens is uitgevoerd. Gegevens over (individuele) blootstellingniveaus waren voor deze analyses niet beschikbaar. Een opmerkelijk bevinding is de grote spreiding in de (cor)relatie tussen woontevredenheid en hinder per locatie (n=84, correlaties voor geluid tussen: -0,57 en 0,07; voor geur tussen -0,57 en 0,37). Dit is de reden waarom in afwijking van eerder onderzoek een multi-level analyse (MLA) is uitgevoerd. Deze bevinding duidt op locatie-specifieke verschillen die van invloed kunnen zijn op de relatie woontevredenheid en hinder. Verschillen in blootstellingsnivo's zouden hieraan ten grondslag kunnen liggen. De andere bevindingen zijn in overeenstemming met resultaten van soortgelijk onderzoek. De bezitsvorm van de woning (eigenaar-huurder) en het type woning blijken relatief belangrijke voorspellers van tevredenheid met de leefomgeving. In het algemeen zijn huurders minder tevreden dan eigenaren. Flatbewoners zijn minder tevreden dan mensen in (half)vrijstaande huizen. Daarnaast blijkt hinder (van lawaai en stank) een relatief belangrijke voorspeller van woontevredenheid te zijn. Naarmate respondenten meer hinder ondervinden zijn ze minder tevreden met hun leefomgeving. De leeftijd, het geslacht, en het aantal voorzieningen in de woning van de respondent zijn eveneens voorspellers van woontevredenheid, zij het in mindere mate. Vrouwen en oudere mensen zijn meer tevreden met hun leefomgeving dan mannen respectievelijk jongere mensen. Naarmate in een woning meer voorzieningen aanwezig zijn tonen de bewoners zich meer tevreden. De tevredenheid met de leefomgeving in woongebieden nabij industriele activiteit wordt bepaald door een mix van persoons-, belevings- en omgevingsgebonden kenmerken. De mate van hinder is een relatief belangrijke determinant van woontevredenheid maar is niet de belangrijkste. Bezitsvorm van de woning en type woning zijn, relatief gezien, belangrijker. Het is aan te bevelen de, mede op basis van de variatie in de relatie tussen hinder en woontevredenheid de TLO-data uit te breiden met (vergelijkbare) blootstellingsgegevens

Auto- und Heterotrophic Respiration in the Hohenheim Climate Change Experiment - The Importance of Temperature Change and Vegetation Period

Current Climate change (CC) research in soil science mainly focusses on natural ecosystems, without considering the potential of agro-ecosystems for feedback mechanisms to CC and CC mitigation through Carbon(C)-sequestration. We expect that CC induces increasing water limitation under elevated temperature, lowers the intensity of soil respiration and changes the ratio between the amount of root-dependent and basal soil respiration. Such changes might be due to differences in the intrinsic temperature and moisture sensitivity of microbial and root respiration and due to altered root exudation. In this project, we focus on CC-induced effects on plant-dependent and basal soil respiration to improve the estimation of long-term soil organic matter stabilization. Within the Hohenheim Climate Change (HoCC) experiment (established in 2008), barley plants were pulse-labelled with 20-atom% 13CO2 for 4 h using ventilated transparent chambers on warmed and control plots in an agricultural field. The labeling was done during three different stages (advanced tillering, booting and grain-filling) of the vegetation period, at which C-sink strength of shoot and root differs according to plant development. CO2-fluxes and isotopic composition were measured in real time in the field for the first 50h (post labeling) using a 13CO2 isotope analyzer. Results from tracing 13C-fluxes will clarify how soil moisture and long-term elevated temperature affect the overall C-balance in agricultural soils in dependence of the vegetation period. This will allow estimations of direction and strength of feedback mechanisms of terrestrial C-cycling under CC. Overall, insights obtained in this project will provide better understanding of the CC impact on and of temperate agricultural production systems

A Framework to Manage Sensitive Information during its Migration between Software Platforms

Software migrations are mostly performed by organisations using migration teams. Such migration teams need to be aware of how sensitive information ought to be handled and protected during the implementation of the migration projects. There is a need to ensure that sensitive information is identified, classified and protected during the migration process. This paper suggests how sensitive information in organisations can be handled and protected during migrations, by using the migration from proprietary software to open source software to develop a management framework that can be used to manage such a migration process. The research employed a sequential explanatory mixed methods case study to propose a management framework on information sensitivity during software migrations. The management framework is validated and found to be significant, valid and reliable, by using statistical techniques such as exploratory factor analysis, reliability analysis and multivariate analysis, as well as a qualitative coding process