OATP (Evaluation of the promotion of Offshore Aquaculture Through a Technology Platform)

CORDIS: Community Research and Development Information Service. Sixth Framework Programme Project reference: 44290.http://cordis.europa.eu/publication/rcn/12069_en.htmlThis is the final report of the project OATP which investigated the opportunity and usefulness for the aquaculture industry to promote offshore aquaculture through a technological platform. The report is divided into five sections and begins with an executive summary of the project. In section two it discusses the European aquaculture sector including vision, strengths and gaps. The third section involves stakeholder consultation feedback, touching on potential species, regulation, planning frameworks, safety, environmental considerations and technology involved. Section four offers recommendations for stakeholders, covering ethical issues, potential species, regulation, planning, safety and environment as well. The fifth and last section features a sector overview by country and report appendices.Funder: FP6-POLICIE

Spatial prediction in the presence of positional error

Standard analyses of spatial data assume that measurement and prediction locations are measured precisely. In this paper we consider how appropriate methods of estimation and prediction change when this assumption is relaxed and the locations are subject to positional error. We describe basic models for positional error and assess their impact on spatial prediction. Using both simulated data and lead concentration pollution data from Galicia, Spain, we show how the predictive distributions of quantities of interest change after allowing for the positional error, and describe scenarios in which positional errors may affect the qualitative conclusions of an analysis. The subject of positional error is of particular relevance in assessing the exposure of an individual to an environmental pollutant when the position of the individual is tracked using imperfect measurement technology

Molecular machines governing exocytosis of synaptic vesicles.

Calcium-dependent exocytosis of synaptic vesicles mediates the release of neurotransmitters. Important proteins in this process have been identified such as the SNAREs, synaptotagmins, complexins, Munc18 and Munc13. Structural and functional studies have yielded a wealth of information about the physiological role of these proteins. However, it has been surprisingly difficult to arrive at a unified picture of the molecular sequence of events from vesicle docking to calcium-triggered membrane fusion. Using mainly a biochemical and biophysical perspective, we briefly survey the molecular mechanisms in an attempt to functionally integrate the key proteins into the emerging picture of the neuronal fusion machine