Co-cultivation of the marine sponge Halichondria panicea and its associated microorganisms

Publisher's version (útgefin grein).Marine sponges host bacterial symbionts with biotechnological potential, yet isolation of true sponge symbionts remains difficult due to their host dependency. Moreover, attempts to grow sponges for their pharmacologically-active compounds outside of their habitat often results in a shift of their microbial community. In this study we evaluate suitable sponge cultivation methods that allow maintenance of both the marine sponge Halichondria panicea and its associated bacteria in an ex situ environment. In addition, we present a method for co-cultivation of sponge explants and microbes separated by a membrane in a multi-chamber device. Tests on ex situ cultivation of H. panicea under different controlled conditions showed that only high water exchange rates in the aquarium enabled maintenance of its dominant symbiont “Candidatus Halichondribacter symbioticus” at a high relative abundance in the sponge body, a prerequisite for co-cultivation. The bacterial enrichment retrieved from co-cultivation contained bacteria from nine different classes in addition to sequences corresponding to “Ca. H. symbioticus”. This represents an increase of the cultivable bacterial classes from H. panicea compared to standard isolation techniques on solid media plates. The current study provides insights into sponge-microbe maintenance under ex situ conditions and proposes a new method for the isolation of sponge-associated bacteria.We thank Ásgeir Guðnason and Þorkell Heiðarsson for providing facilities and help with the cultivation experiments. This work was supported by the EC Marie Curie Actions ITN Project BluePharmTrain [No. 607786].Peer Reviewe

Lýðhyggja: Hvað fyllir á fóðurtrog hennar?

Í ritgerðinni er fyrirbærið lýðhyggja skoðuð og reynt að svara spurningunni: Hvað gæti útskýrt auknar vinsældir lýðhyggju í vestrænum ríkjum og hvernig gætu fjölmiðlar tengst því? Ritgerðin byggir á kenningum sem á ensku nefnast „4D“ og eru smíðaðar af þeim Matthew Goodwin og Roger Eatwell, en þær eru taldar geta varpað ljósi á auknar vinsældir lýðhyggju. Hin 4D eru eftirfarandi á íslensku: aukið vantraust til fjórvaldsins, samfélagslegar breytingar sem ógn við sögulega menningu og lifnaðarhætti Vesturlanda, efnahagslegar breytingar vegna aukins hlutfallslegs skorts á Vesturlöndum og loks minnkandi tryggð fólks við hefðbundna flokka. Allir þættirnir fjórir hafa haft mismunandi áhrif og eru þau könnuð í þessari ritgerð. Einnig verða nokkrir útbreiddir fjölmiðlar skoðaðir, bæði hinir hefðbundnu t.d. BBC, New York Times og fleiri, en einnig óhefðbundnir miðlar og þá sérstaklega samfélagsmiðlar og internetið í heild sinni. Sýnt er fram á hvernig hefðbundnir miðlar hafa þurft að aðlaga sig að þeim síðarnefndu sem og hvernig það hefur mögulega ýtt undir vinsældir lýðhyggju. Samfélagsmiðlarnir sem eru skoðaðir eru Facebook, Twitter og YouTube. Eru þeir meðal hinna mest notuðu samfélagsmiðla í heild sinni svo ágætis yfirsjón næst með því að athuga þá. Niðurstöður ritgerðarinnar eru þær að allir þættirnir fjórir (4D) eigi líklega þátt í auknum vinsældum lýðhyggju, en mismunandi vægi hvers þeirra geti verið ríkjandi í hverju landi fyrir sig, þó ákveðnar líkur séu á að samfélagslegar breytingar skipti hvað mestu. Fjölmiðlar og samfélagsmiðlar eiga svo þátt í að auka sýnileika þeirra vandamála sem lýðhyggjumenn notfæra sér til að auka fylgi sitt.In this essay, the ideology of populism is examined and an attempt is made to answer the question: What could explain the increased popularity of populism in the Western world and how could the media relate to it? The essay is based on the 4D model by Matthew Goodwin and Roger Eatwell as a possible explanation. The 4Ds are as follows: Distrust of politicians and institutions, Destruction of the national group historic identity and established way of life, relative Deprivation as a result of rising inequalities of income in the West and finally the weakening bonds between the traditional mainstream parties and the people or De-alignment. All four categories have had different effects and are examined in this essay. The media will also be examined, both the traditional e.g. BBC, New York Times, etc. but also non-traditional media, especially social media and the internet as a whole. It shows how traditional media have had to adapt to them and how this has possibly contributed to the popularity of populism. The social media that were used are Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. They are among the most used social media as a whole so they can be expected to give a decent insight into the matter. The conclusion of this essay is that all those factors are probably involved in the increasing popularity of populism, but their weight is probably different from one country to another, although there is a certain probability that social changes matter the most. The media and social media are involved in increasing the visibility of the various problems that populists use to increase the support to them

Nethlutleysi. Áhrif nethlutleysis á netfrelsi og framtíð Internetsins

Umræða um að takmarka rétt símfyrirtækja og internetveita til að hafa áhrif á og stýra netumferð á eigin netum hefur farið vaxandi undanfarin ár. Hugtakið nethlutleysi er í því samhengi notað til að lýsa þeim rétti notenda að hafa óheftan aðgang að Internetinu; að símfyrirtæki og internetveitur miðli gögnum af netinu hlutlaust til notenda. Í ritgerðinni er leitast við að kryfja þetta hugtak og skýra. Farið er yfir umræðu um kosti þess og galla að binda nethlutleysi í lög og hvaða tilraunir hafa verið gerðar þess efnis. Mikilvægi nethlutleysis er skoðað og mat lagt á þýðingu þess fyrir netfrelsi og framtíð Internetsins

The Influence of Personality Traits and Emotions on Negotiation Agreements

Þessi ritgerð og sú rannsókn sem var gerð, er liður í að glöggva sig á hvort og þá hvernig persónuþættir og tilfinningar hafa áhrif á niðurstöðu samninga. Persónuþættir og tilfinningar hafa verið rannsökuð í auknum mæli undanfarin ár og virðist rannsóknirnar gefa til kynna að ákveðnir persónuþættir og tilfinningar geti haft mismunandi áhrif á niðurstöður samninga. Settar voru fram nokkrar tilgátur og rannsóknarspurningar um hvort persónuþættirnir ákveðni, samstarfsvilji, að eiga auðvelt með að treysta öðrum, áhættusækni, félagslyndi og lítil næmi fyrir tilfinningum skiluðu samningamönnum betri útkomu í samningum. Rannsóknin var einnig til að átta sig á hvort jákvæðar eða neikvæðar tilfinningar hefðu áhrif á niðurstöður samninga. Rannsóknin var lögð fyrir háskólanema í framhaldsnámi; voru metnar þrjár samningaæfingar sem þátttakendur tóku þátt í. Milli æfinga lærðu þátttakendur meira í samningatækni og þegar mætt var í aðra og þriðju æfingu voru þátttakendur orðnir reynslunni ríkari og búnir að auka þekkingu sína í samningagerð. Æfingarnar sem notast var við eru byggðar upp til að hámarka ágóða beggja aðila. Helstu niðurstöður þessarar rannsóknar voru að samningamenn sem eru ákveðnir eru líklegastir til þess að ná ekki samningum í fyrstu þegar þeir hafa ekki hlotið þjálfun né öðlast reynslu til þess að semja til að hámarka ágóðann. Eftir að samningamenn sem eru ákveðnir hafa fengið þjálfun og reynslu af samningum standa þeir sig mun betur en í fyrstu.The purpose of this thesis is to find out if, and how, personality traits and emotions influence negotiation agreements. Research on personality traits and emotions suggest that different personality traits and emotions may have differential influence on negotiation agreements. A few hypotheses where proposed: Do personality traits, such as; decisiveness, cooperativeness, trustfulness, risk-loving, extraversion, and low neuroticism result in better negotiation agreements? The purpose of the research was also to inquire if positive or negative emotions influenced and lead to different negotiation agreements. The research subjects were graduate students at the University of Iceland. Three separate mixed-motive negotiation exercises (also called integrative bargaining) were conducted and evaluated. In the interim between negotiation exercises the subjects were instructed on negotiation technique. The main conclusion of this research study is that decisive negotiators that have not been trained in negotiation technique are less likely to reach an agreement. When decisive negotiators have been trained in negotiation technique and have gained experience they become more effective

mPOS for iOS

The printed version and all other attachments are available at the Reykjavik University Library. Heildartexti lokaskýrslu. Prentuð útgáfa og öll fylgiskjöl á CD eru varðveitt í bókasafni HR.This report describes the final project entitled “mPOS for iOS” which is a B.Sc final project at the Department of computer science at Reykjavík University spring 2013. The mobile Point Of Sale (mPOS) is an application for the iOS mobile operating system developed for a company named Handpoint. mPOS is an application that enables merchants to accept credit/debit card payments using an iPhone and a card reader, the MPED-400 from Datec, that is custom made for Handpoint. In short the merchant inputs the total amount for the product or service that he/she is selling and sends the amount using wireless bluetooth technology to the card reader, the customer then inserts his/her card into the reader and then enters the personal identification number (PIN) and the transaction takes place. A receipt for the transaction is created in the application that the merchant can send to the customer as an email attachment.Handpoin

Hljodrit.is - Uppsetning á gagnagrunni og gangahreinsun

Verkefnið er unnið fyrir SFH (Samband flytjenda og hljómplötuframleiðenda) og snýr það að vefkerfi þeirra hljodrit.is. Verkefnið felst í því að setja upp nýjan gagnagrunn í MSSQL (Microsoft SQL Server). Gagnagrunnurinn er settur upp samkvæmt kröfum og stöðlum SFH með það í huga að lágmarka fjölföldun gagna. Núverandi gagnagrunnur inniheldur mikið af gögnum sem annaðhvort eru vitlaust skráð eða ónotuð/óþörf sem og töflum sem eru ónotaðar/óþarfar. Þetta eru lagfæringar sem þarf að útfæra samhliða flutningi gagnanna yfir í nýjan gagnagrunn. Gagnagrunnurinn tengist stjórnenda- og notendavef Hljóðrita, því þarf að tengja þessa hluti saman í lokin og gæti tengingin haft í för með sér breytingar á grunnlíkönum í kóða. Gagnagrunnur er höfuðið á báðum vefjum og er geymslu lagið (e. repository layer) sett upp í sambærilegri mynd og verkefnið yfir höfuð, þar sem þriggja laga högun er höfð að leiðarljósi ásamt því að nýta sér ákvæða innspýtingu (e. dependency injection) fyrir allar nýjar ákvæður (e. dependencies)

BASECOD - Stable and safe production of high quality cod larvae and juveniles

Stable supplies of high quality cod larvae and juveniles are urgently needed for the development of successful cod farming industries in countries around the North Atlantic. The project is a collaboration between key actors from the cod farming industry and the research sector in Iceland, Norway and the Faroe Islands, with involvement of additional key actors and stakeholders within the Nordic countries and Canad

Nordic Alternative Protein Potentials : Mapping of regional bioeconomy opportunities

Within agri- and aquaculture, a specific bioeconomy challenge – and a bioeconomy opportunity – has been identified concerning sustainable protein supply for livestock production and fish farming. Today, imported soy products are by far the most important protein source however several alternative ways of producing protein rich feed has been identified using regional resources. Production of legumes, pulses and grass can be expanded. Alternative protein rich sources include single cell protein (bacteria/fungi), macroalgae (seaweed), mussels and insects. Local protein production has a number of benefits in the form of generation of local jobs, reduction in the import of nutrients and in general boosting the bioeconomy. Many of the alternative ways of producing protein rich feed are still under development, this report therefor also includes recommendations concerning how to proceed

Seismic and geodetic insights into magma accumulation at Katla subglacial volcano, Iceland: 1999 to 2005

International audienceKatla is one of Iceland's most active volcanoes with at least 20 eruptions in the last 1100 years. The volcano is covered mostly by the Mýrdalsjökull ice cap; consequently, Katla eruptions are phreato-magmatic and are capable of producing jökulhlaups. A jökulhlaup in July 1999, preceded by an episode of continuous seismic tremor, was the first sign of renewed magma movement under the volcano since 1955. Using seismic and geodetic observations, and insights into geothermal activity from ice-surface observations, we analyze this period of unrest and assess the present state of Katla volcano. From 1999 to 2004, GPS measurements on nunataks exposed on the caldera edge revealed steady inflation of the volcano. Our measurements show uplift and horizontal displacement of the nuntatak benchmarks at a rate of up to 2 cm a−1, together with horizontal displacement of far-field stations (>11 km) at about 0.5 cm a−1 away from the caldera centre. Using a point-source model, these data place the center of the magma chamber at 4.9 km depth beneath the northern part of the caldera. However, this depth may be overestimated because of a progressive decrease in the mass of the overlying ice cap. The depth may be only 2–3 km. About 0.01 km3 of magma has accumulated between 1999 and 2004; this value is considerably less than the estimated 1 km3 of material erupted during the last eruption of Katla in 1918. Presently, rates of crustal deformation and earthquake activity are considerably less than observed between 1999 and 2004; nonetheless, the volcano remains in an agitated state