A critical assessment of marine aquarist biodiversity data and commercial aquaculture:identifying gaps in culture initiatives to inform local fisheries managers

It is widely accepted that if well managed, the marine aquarium trade could provide socio-economic stability to local communities while incentivising the maintenance of coral reefs. However, the trade has also been implicated as having potentially widespread environmental impacts that has in part driven developments in aquaculture to relieve wild collection pressures. This study investigates the biodiversity in hobbyist aquaria (using an online survey) and those species currently available from an aquaculture source (commercial data and hobbyist initiatives) in the context of a traffic light system to highlight gaps in aquaculture effort and identify groups that require fisheries assessments. Two hundred and sixty nine species including clown fish, damsels, dotty backs, angelfish, gobies, sea horses and blennies, have reported breeding successes by hobbyists, a pattern mirrored by the European and US commercial organisations. However, there is a mismatch (high demand and low/non-existent aquaculture) for a number of groups including tangs, starfish, anemones and hermit crabs, which we recommend are priority candidates for local stock assessments. Hobbyist perception towards the concept of a sustainable aquarium trade is also explored with results demonstrating that only 40% of respondents were in agreement with industry and scientists who believe the trade could be an exemplar of a sustainable use of coral reefs. We believe that a more transparent evidence base, including the publication of the species collected and cultured, will go some way to align the concept of a sustainable trade across industry stakeholders and better inform the hobbyist when purchasing their aquaria stock. We conclude by proposing that a certification scheme established with government support is the most effective way to move towards a self-regulating industry. It would prevent industry "greenwashing" from multiple certification schemes, alleviate conservation concerns, and, ultimately, support aquaculture initiatives alongside well managed ornamental fisheries

The importance of old and new symbolism in modern Scottish national identity

This paper considers the use of myths and symbols, and the culture and values that underpin contemporary Scottish Identity. Symbols and myths play very important role in contemporary Scottish national identity, and many have a centuries-old tradition and are clearly associated with Scottishness, while others, created much later, are an important element of national belonging for Scots. Interestingly, some of these symbols and myths are so prominent and expressive that they are associated with Scottishness around the world. Others, on the other hand, are less recognisable worldwide, but have significant efficacy in Scotland. The importance of symbols that underpin, define and re-enforce Scottish national identity cannot be understated. They are evidence of pride in being Scottish and of belonging to the Scottish nation.  Symbols and myths enable Scots, both old and new to express their national belonging. Furthermore, they provide an important element of national cohesion and a sense of national identity in turbulent times. We consider the issue of the song, dress, land and flag of the nation, and how they contribute to a sense of Scottishness at home (and abroad) today

Endogenous IL-33 and Its Autoamplification of IL-33/ST2 Pathway Play an Important Role in Asthma.

IL-33 and its receptor ST2 are contributing factors to airway inflammation and asthma exacerbation. The IL-33/ST2 signaling pathway is involved in both the onset and the acute exacerbations of asthma. In this study, we address the role of endogenous IL-33 and its autoamplification of the IL-33/ST2 pathway in Ag-dependent and Ag-independent asthma-like models. Wild-type, IL-33 knockout, ST2 knockout mice were either intratracheally administrated with 500 ng of rIL-33 per day for four consecutive days or were sensitized and challenged with OVA over 21 d. In wild-type mice, IL-33 or OVA induced similar airway hyperresponsiveness and eosinophilic airway inflammation. IL-33 induced its own mRNA and ST2L mRNA expression in the lung. IL-33 autoamplified itself and ST2 protein expression in airway epithelial cells. OVA also induced IL-33 and ST2 protein expression. In IL-33 knockout mice, the IL-33- and OVA-induced airway hyperresponsiveness and eosinophilic airway inflammation were both significantly attenuated, whereas IL-33-induced ST2L mRNA expression was preserved, although no autoamplification of IL-33/ST2 pathway was observed. In ST2 knockout mice, IL-33 and OVA induced airway hyperresponsiveness and eosinophilic airway inflammation were both completely diminished, and no IL-33/ST2 autoamplification was observed. These results suggest that endogenous IL-33 and its autoamplification of IL-33/ST2 pathway play an important role in the induction of asthma-like phenotype. Thus an intact IL-33/ST2 pathway is necessary for both Ag-dependent and Ag-independent asthma-like mouse models

The clinical burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis among infants in the United Kingdom (UK)

Background and Aim: Studies of the epidemiology of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis to date have been small; focused only on the hospital setting and selective groups of high-risk infants such as those born preterm; lacked long-term follow-up and few have been based on data from the United Kingdom (UK). Hence, the existing evidence base was likely to underestimate the scale and impact of RSV on health in UK infants. The aim of this thesis was to provide better estimates of the wider clinical burden of RSV bronchiolitis among infants presenting across primary and secondary care settings in the UK. Methods: The clinical spectrum of bronchiolitis illness across different healthcare settings was examined using routine data from electronic health records to develop longitudinal, population-based cohorts with follow-up from birth through early childhood. Databases examined in this thesis included Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES), the General Practice Research Database (GPRD) and the National Neonatal Research Database (NNRD). Results: The estimated bronchiolitis admission rate in NHS hospitals in England was 24.2 admissions per 1000 infants aged less than 1 year (95% CI 23.7 to 24.8) with a median length of stay of 1 day (IQR 0 to 3 days) at a median age of 120 days (IQR 61 to 209 days). 15% of infants admitted with bronchiolitis were born preterm (47.3 per 1000 infants) and 24% had at least one known clinical risk factor for severe RSV infection. Cystic fibrosis, cerebral palsy and Down‟s syndrome also increase an infant‟s risk of bronchiolitis admission. The bronchiolitis consultation rate in UK general practice was 58.1 per 1000 infants (95% CI 56.5 to 59.8) at a mean age of 5.5 months (SD=3.2). Using a broader bronchiolitis case definition the estimated consultation rate was 206.7 per 1000 infants (95% CI 204.0 to 209.6). 36% of bronchiolitis consultations resulted in a prescription, of which 28% were for antibiotics and 27% for beta agonists, despite no evidence to support their use. Bronchiolitis in infancy is a predictor of subsequent hospital admissions and general practice consultations for asthma and wheezing in early childhood. Conclusions: The clinical burden of RSV bronchiolitis across healthcare settings in the UK is greater than previously estimated. Between 4% and 21% of infants have a bronchiolitis GP consultation in their first year. 2.4% of the national birth cohort are admitted to hospital with bronchiolitis in the first year of life, most of whom are born at term with no known clinical risk factors for severe RSV infection. This thesis has identified new groups of infants who may be at increased risk of severe RSV disease including those with cystic fibrosis, cerebral palsy and Down‟s syndrome. These findings highlight the need to prioritise development of new approaches for the prevention and treatment of RSV infection and have important implications for clinical training and management of bronchiolitis across healthcare settings

Emon: an R-package to support the design of marine ecological and environmental studies, surveys and monitoring programmes

1. Marine systems and their biota are always changing, in response to environmental and human pressures such as climate variation and change, eutrophication, fisheries exploitation, litter, noise and accidental releases or regular discharges of contaminants, radioactivity and hazardous substances. Studies, surveys and monitoring help to describe and understand system responses to these pressures, and provide evidence to assess the needs for, and effects of, management interventions. Studies, surveys and monitoring are often costly, especially offshore, so small investments in preliminary data collection and systematic planning of these activities can help to make best use of resources and inform trade-offs between budgets and expectations. 2. To meet recognised needs for accessible tools to plan some aspects of studies, surveys and monitoring, we developed the R package emon. Emon includes routines for study design through power analysis (assuming independence of observations) and feature detection; which are the focus of this paper. 3. We hope that access to the functions in emon, many drawing on work which was previously published but without code for implementation, will raise awareness of what marine studies, surveys and monitoring can achieve, thus encouraging cost-effective, needs- and evidence-based designs

MODELING RATIOS WITH POTENTIAL ZERO-INFLATION TO ASSESS SOIL NEMATODE COMMUNITY STRUCTURE

The southern root-knot nematode (SRKN) and the weedy perennials, yellow nutsedge (YNS) and purple nutsedge (PNS) are simultaneously-occurring pests in the irrigated agricultural soils of southern New Mexico. Previous research has characterized SRKN, YNS and PNS as a mutually beneficial pest complex and has shown their enhanced population growth and survival when they occur together. In addition, it was shown that the density of nutsedge in a field could be used as a predictor of SRKN juveniles in the soil. In addition to SRKN, which is the most harmful of the plant parasitic nematodes, in southern New Mexico other species or categories of nematodes were identified and counted. Some of them are not as damaging to crop plants as SRKN, and some of them may be essential for soil health. The nematode species could be grouped into categories according to trophic level (what nematodes eat) and herbivore feeding behavior (how herbivore nematodes eat). Then three ratios of counts each were calculated for trophic and feeding behavior categories to investigate the soil nematode community structure. These proportions were modeled as functions of the weed hosts YNS and PNS by generalized linear regression models using the logit link function and three distributions: the Binomial, Zero-Inflated Binomial (ZIB) and Binomial Hurdle (BH). The latter two were used to account for potential high proportions of zeroes in the data. Formulas for the probability mass functions and moments were developed for the ZIB and BH. The SAS NLMIXED procedure was used to fit models for each of three sampling dates (May, July and September) in the two years of an alfalfa field study. General results showed that the Binomial generally provided the best fit, indicating lower zero-inflation than expected, but that ZIB and BH are often comparable. Importance of YNS and PNS predictors varied over sample dates and ratios. Specific results for one selected ratio illustrate the differences in estimated probabilities between Binomial, ZIB and BH distributions as YNS counts increase

DNA Double-Strand Breakage as an Endpoint to Examine Metal and Radionuclide Exposure Effects to Water Snakes on a Nuclear Industrial Site

This study examined metal levels (especially U and Ni) in the tail tissues of water snakes from contaminated (Tim’s Branch) and reference areas on the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS). Home ranges of snakes were quantified to determine the ratio of the habitat that they use in relation to the contaminated areas to better estimate exposure Compared to conventional methods that do not. The exposure assessment indicated that water snakes in the contaminated areas could expect U exposure at 3–4 orders of magnitude greater than the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry’sMinimum Risk Level (MRL) from ingestion of amphibians and fish. Ni and U, in addition to Se, Mn, and Cu, were related to increased DNA double-strand breakage (DDSB) in water snakes.We report burdens for each metal individually, but the results of the DDSB indicated that these metals did not behave independently, but as a suite. If we did not have a secondary endpoint (DDSB), we might have assumed from the exposure predictions and tissue burden analyses that U was the sole metal of concern to water snakes in Tim’s Branch. These data also imply that these toxicants do not biomagnify at the spatial and temporal scale of this study

Postfledging Survival, Movements, and Dispersal of Ring Ouzels (Turdus torquatus)

We thank Invercauld Estate for cooperation with access to Glen Clunie. S. Redpath, J. Wilson, and S. Roos provided valuable comments on the manuscript. This study was funded by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Scottish Natural Heritage, and the Cairngorms National Park Authority. J.L.L. was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council.Peer reviewedPublisher PD