The distribution of the European sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax, in Irish waters

In Irish waters comparatively little is known about the life history of the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) compared to other fish species. Based on long term extensive offshore surveys, the geographical location of sea bass catches and similarities of their life history trajectories in other regions suggest those found in offshore Irish waters may be a prespawning feeding aggregation which is part of a larger aggregation extending from the south coast of Ireland to the Bristol Channel. Particle tracking model results show that it may be possible that the dispersal of sea bass larvae from putative spawning areas in inshore and offshore waters may influence recruitment at regional, national and international scales. Acoustic tracking of sea bass in inshore waters found some evidence of inshore movement between localities while also providing evidence of site fidelity. The residency of up to one third of tagged fish during the assumed spawning season in inshore waters suggested potential inshore spawning or skipped spawning. The long absence periods for two thirds of tagged fish during this same period may suggest substantial offshore migration. The findings using pop-off satellite archival tags suggest that at least some sea bass that originate in both Irish and British coastal waters may aggregate in the same approximate location in the Celtic Sea during the assumed peak spawning period. Genetic analysis supports the contention that sea bass from inshore Irish waters, from offshore waters in the Celtic Sea and from the North Sea may be part of the same panmictic population. The evidence presented here points to sea bass occurring in Irish waters as being part of the larger trans-Celtic Sea population. Therefore, the sustainable management and conservation of the species occurring in Irish waters must be undertaken on a basis which is international, as well as local

Aligning Perspectives and Methods for Value-Driven Design

Recent years have seen a push to use explicit consideration of “value” in order to drive design. This paper conveys the need to explicitly align perspectives on “value” with the method used to quantify “value.” Various concepts of value are introduced in the context of its evolution within economics in order to propose a holistic definition of value. Operationalization of value is discussed, including possible assumption violations in the aerospace domain. A series of prominent Value-Centric Design Methodologies for valuation are introduced, including Net Present Value, Multi-Attribute Utility Theory, and Cost-Benefit Analysis. These methods are compared in terms of the assumptions they make with regard to operationalizing value. It is shown that no method is fully complete in capturing the definition of value, but selecting the most appropriate one involves matching the particular system application being valued with acceptable assumptions for valuation. Two case studies, a telecommunications mission and a deep-space observation mission, are used to illustrate application of the three prior mentioned valuation methods. The results of the studies show that depending on method used for valuation, very different conclusions and insights will be derived, therefore an explicit consideration of the appropriate definition of value is necessary in order to align a chosen method with desired valuation insights.Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Systems Engineering Advancement Research Initiativ

Analysis of the Effects of Dietary Pattern on the Oral Microbiome of Elite Endurance Athletes

Although the oral microbiota is known to play a crucial role in human health, there are few studies of diet x oral microbiota interactions, and none in elite athletes who may manipulate their intakes of macronutrients to achieve different metabolic adaptations in pursuit of optimal endurance performance. The aim of this study was to investigate the shifts in the oral microbiome of elite male endurance race walkers from Europe, Asia, the Americas and Australia, in response to one of three dietary patterns often used by athletes during a period of intensified training: a High Carbohydrate (HCHO; = 9; with 60% energy intake from carbohydrates; ~8.5 g kg day carbohydrate, ~2.1 g kg day protein, 1.2 g kg day fat) diet, a Periodised Carbohydrate (PCHO; = 10; same macronutrient composition as HCHO, but the intake of carbohydrates is different across the day and throughout the week to support training sessions with high or low carbohydrate availability) diet or a ketogenic Low Carbohydrate High Fat (LCHF; = 10; 0.5 g kg day carbohydrate; 78% energy as fat; 2.1 g kg day protein) diet. Saliva samples were collected both before (Baseline; BL) and after the three-week period (Post treatment; PT) and the oral microbiota profiles for each athlete were produced by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Principal coordinates analysis of the oral microbiota profiles based on the weighted UniFrac distance measure did not reveal any specific clustering with respect to diet or athlete ethnic origin, either at baseline (BL) or following the diet-training period. However, discriminant analyses of the oral microbiota profiles by Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) Effect Size (LEfSe) and sparse Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (sPLS-DA) did reveal changes in the relative abundance of specific bacterial taxa, and, particularly, when comparing the microbiota profiles following consumption of the carbohydrate-based diets with the LCHF diet. These analyses showed that following consumption of the LCHF diet the relative abundances of and spp. were decreased, and the relative abundance of spp. was increased. Such findings suggest that diet, and, in particular, the LCHF diet can induce changes in the oral microbiota of elite endurance walkers

Children's suggestibility in relation to their understanding about sources of knowledge

In the experiments reported here, children chose either to maintain their initial belief about an object's identity or to accept the experimenter's contradicting suggestion. Both 3– to 4–year–olds and 4– to 5–year–olds were good at accepting the suggestion only when the experimenter was better informed than they were (implicit source monitoring). They were less accurate at recalling both their own and the experimenter's information access (explicit recall of experience), though they performed well above chance. Children were least accurate at reporting whether their final belief was based on what they were told or on what they experienced directly (explicit source monitoring). Contrasting results emerged when children decided between contradictory suggestions from two differentially informed adults: Three– to 4–year–olds were more accurate at reporting the knowledge source of the adult they believed than at deciding which suggestion was reliable. Decision making in this observation task may require reflective understanding akin to that required for explicit source judgments when the child participates in the task

TrackMapper Rises

This project repaired and upgraded non-functional Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) TrackMapper software, to a faster, functional, user-friendly, web-based application that can be directly accessed by researchers, fishery managers and others. TrackMapper is database software that was developed by DAF researchers in 2007 as part of an externally funded Fisheries Research and Development Corporation project (FRDC project 2002/056 Innovative stock assessment and effort mapping using VMS and electronic logbooks). However, over the last 5-6 years, the program has become incompatible with contemporary Windows-based operating platforms, rendering it inoperable. TrackMapper was developed for the Queensland east coast otter trawl fishery, which is the state’s most valuable commercial fishery, harvesting 7000-8000 t of seafood annually valued at $80-90 million. The most useful feature of TrackMapper is that it can produce maps of fishing effort, catch and catch rates for the fishery at a spatial resolution that is 10-50 times that reported using logbook data alone. This information can be used for a range of fisheries management and research tasks, including the assessment of targeted stocks of prawns, scallops, bugs and stout whiting, as well as impacts on the bottom and other non-target bycatch species. This is noteworthy as much of the fishery occurs in waters of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP), which has World Heritage status

The development of Australian Army officers for the 1980's

During the 1970s Australia's defence policy and strategic environment have undergone major changes. 'Forward defence' is no longer the basis of Australia's strategic posture; revolutionary changes in weapons technology are making existing operational methods ineffective in crucial aspects; and Australia has to develop a more self reliant national defence capability. As the same time, rapid developments are occuring in the ways in which complex decisions are taken, in the rate at which the frontiers of knowledge are expanding and in the beliefs and expectations held by members of Australian society.Therefore the Australian Army has to plan the development of its leaders to meet fundamentally new requirements. In this monograph, the authors attempt to analyse the Army's problems in this regard and to suggest ways in which they might be solved

CV12012

Use the URI link below to search the Marine Institute Data Discovery Catalogue for datasets relevant to this report.This report provides the main results and findings of the eleventh annual underwater television on the Aran, Galway Bay and Slyne head Nephrops grounds, ICES assessment area; Functional Unit 17. The survey was multi-disciplinary in nature collecting UWTV, fishing, CTD and other ecosystem data. The sampling intensity was reduced this year from around 75 stations in the past to 31 on the Aran grounds. A randomised isometric grid design was employed with UWTV stations at 3.5nmi or 6.5km intervals. Previously a 2.25 nmi square grid was used. The kigged burrow abundance estimate declined by 34% relative to 2011 with a CV (or relative standard error) of 5 %. Abundance estimates have fluctuated considerably over the time series but the 2012 abundance is the lowest in the 11 year history of the survey. Four UWTV stations were carried out on the Galway Bay and 3 on the Slyne Head Nephrops grounds. Raised abundance estimates for Galway Bay and Slyne Head are provided based on improved knowledge of the boundaries of those areas. Nephrops accounted for 85% of the benthic catch by weight from 4 beam trawl tows. The observed length frequency and maturity of female Nephops caught was similar to previous years. Various further investigations needed before the next ICES benchmark are discussed

The Passive Journalist: How sources dominate the local news

This study explores which sources are “making” local news and whether these sources are simply indicating the type of news that appears, or are shaping newspaper coverage. It provides an empirical record of the extent to which sources are able to dominate news coverage from which future trends in local journalism can be measured. The type and number of sources used in 2979 sampled news stories in four West Yorkshire papers, representing the three main proprietors of local newspapers in the United Kingdom, were recorded for one month and revealed the relatively narrow range of routine sources; 76 per cent of articles cited only a single source. The analysis indicates that journalists are relying less on their readers for news, and that stories of little consequence are being elevated to significant positions, or are filling news pages at the expense of more important stories. Additionally, the reliance on a single source means that alternative views and perspectives relevant to the readership are being overlooked. Journalists are becoming more passive, mere processors of one-sided information or bland copy dictated by sources. These trends indicate poor journalistic standards and may be exacerbating declining local newspaper sales

mRNA profiling of the cancer degradome in oesophago-gastric adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Degradation of the extracellular matrix is fundamental to tumour development, invasion and metastasis. Several protease families have been implicated in the development of a broad range of tumour types, including oesophago-gastric (OG) adenocarcinoma. The aim of this study was to analyse the expression levels of all core members of the cancer degradome in OG adenocarcinoma and to investigate the relationship between expression levels and tumour/patient variables associated with poor prognosis. METHODS: Comprehensive expression profiling of the protease families (matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), members of the ADAM metalloproteinase-disintegrin family (ADAMs)), their inhibitors (tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase), and molecules involved in the c-Met signalling pathway, was performed using quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in a cohort of matched malignant and benign peri-tumoural OG tissue (n=25 patients). Data were analysed with respect to clinico-pathological variables (tumour stage and grade, age, sex and pre-operative plasma C-reactive protein level). RESULTS: Gene expression of MMP1, 3, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16 and 24 was upregulated by factors >4-fold in OG adenocarcinoma samples compared with matched benign tissue (P<0.01). Expression of ADAM8 and ADAM15 correlated significantly with tumour stage (P=0.048 and P=0.044), and ADAM12 expression correlated with tumour grade (P=0.011). CONCLUSION: This study represents the first comprehensive quantitative analysis of the expression of proteases and their inhibitors in human OG adenocarcinoma. These findings implicate elevated ADAM8, 12 and 15 mRNA expression as potential prognostic molecular markers

Comparative susceptibility of mosquito populations in North Queensland, Australia to oral infection with dengue virus.

Dengue is the most prevalent arthropod-borne virus, with at least 40% of the world's population at risk of infection each year. In Australia, dengue is not endemic, but viremic travelers trigger outbreaks involving hundreds of cases. We compared the susceptibility of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes from two geographically isolated populations to two strains of dengue virus serotype 2. We found, interestingly, that mosquitoes from a city with no history of dengue were more susceptible to virus than mosquitoes from an outbreak-prone region, particularly with respect to one dengue strain. These findings suggest recent evolution of population-based differences in vector competence or different historical origins. Future genomic comparisons of these populations could reveal the genetic basis of vector competence and the relative role of selection and stochastic processes in shaping their differences. Lastly, we show the novel finding of a correlation between midgut dengue titer and titer in tissues colonized after dissemination