Relationships between estuarine habitats and coastal fisheries in Queensland, Australia

Worldwide, estuaries have been recognized as critical habitats for nearshore fish productivity through their capacity as nursery grounds and nutrient sources. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the importance of the habitat characteristics of estuaries to commercial fish catch in Queensland, Australia, with particular focus on the role of mangrove, saltmarsh, and seagrass habitats, and their connectivity. Traditionally, such analyses have taken the single-habitat approach, i.e., assessing the value of individual habitat types. Combined occurrence of these habitats and their collective accessibility may better explain the importance of estuaries to nekton. A literature review identifies the role of estuaries as integrated systems for fisheries. Our study provides strong supportive evidence for habitat-based, not species-based, management of fisheries in Queensland. Outcomes from preliminary analyses in Queensland suggest that collective spatial characteristics of estuarine habitats such as size and structural connectivity significantly correlate with fish catch data with r(2) values > 0.7 for 17 commercial species groups. The catch of one quarter of the investigated species was best explained by the presence of mud- and sandflats. An exploration of currently available data on habitat distribution and fisheries catch shows the need to scrutinise their spatial and temporal accuracy, and how best to use them to understand estuarine-fisheries links. We conclude that structural connectivity of estuarine habitats is fundamental to the size of fish stocks and to optimizing the sustainable yield for commercial and recreational fishers

Совершенствование процесса управления дебиторской задолженностью на предприятии

Объектом исследования является дебиторская задолженность предприятия ОА «Сибкабель». Цель работы - совершенствование процесса управления дебиторской задолженностью на предприятии. В процессе исследования проводился анализ объема, состава, структуры и динамики дебиторской задолженности за 2014 г ОА «Сибкабель». В результате исследования выявлено, что показатель оборачиваемости дебиторской задолженности низкий и предприятие использует не эффективную систему предоставления отсрочка платежа. Предприятию были предложены рекомендации по управлению дебиторской задолженности, результате которых наблюдается улучшение финансового положения предприятия.The object of this study is to receivables enterprise OA "Sibkabel". Purpose - improving accounts receivable management process across the enterprise. The study was conducted analysis of the scope, composition, structure and dynamics of accounts receivable for 2014, OA 'Sibkabel ". The study revealed that the rate of receivables turnover is low and the company does not use an effective system of deferred payment. FME were offered recommendations for the management of accounts receivable, which resulted in the financial situation of the company have improved

Shifting new media: from content to consultancy, from heterarchy to hierarchy

This is a detailed case history of one of London’s iconic new media companies, AMX Studios. Some of the changes in this firm, we assume, are not untypical for other firms in this sector. Particularly we want to draw attention to two transformations. The first change in AMX and in London’s new media industry more generally refers to the field of industrial relations. What can be observed is a shift from a rather heterarchical towards a more hierarchical organized new media industry, a shift from short-term project networks to long-term client dependency. The second change refers to new media products and services. We want to argue for a shift from cool content production towards consultancy and interactive communications solutions

Влияние CaO на синтез и микроструктуру керамики на основе бората алюминия

Осуществлен синтез бората алюминия на основе природных сырьевых материалов, изучено влияние добавки CaO на структуру и свойства материала. Было выявлено, что введение CaO в состав исходной сырьевой смеси способствует формированию игольчатых кристаллов и увеличению выхода фазы бората алюминия, а также снижению плотности материала. Показано, что двухстадийный обжиг позволяет повысить прочность образцов с добавкой CaO с сохранением низкой плотности

On the Deformation of Dendrites During Directional Solidification of a Nickel-Based Superalloy

International audienc

Exchange of nutrients and oxygen across the sediment-water interface below a Sparus aurata marine fish farm in the north-western Mediterranean Sea

Purpose: This study analyzes the effects of aquaculture activities in open seawater in the north-western coastal waters of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the first of its kind to be based on benthic flux data gathered in situ below fish farms for this particular area. Materials and methods: Samples were collected on four sampling campaigns over a 1-year cycle under a Sparus aurata fish farm facility where benthic fluxes were measured in situ using light and dark benthic chambers. Bottom water and sediment samples were also collected. Data were compared to those for a nearby control station. Results and discussion: Significant differences were found (ANOVA, p < 0. 05) between concentrations of organic matter (OM), total phosphorus and redox potentials in sediments located under the cages and those of the control station. The consumption of dissolved oxygen (DO) by sediment and positive ammonium (NH4 +) fluxes was stimulated by OM content, with correlations of r = -0. 60 (p < 0. 01) and r = 0. 70 (p < 0. 01), respectively. The OM content of sediments was found to be consistently higher under the cages than at the control station, with the highest value (1. 8 ± 0. 7 %) under the cages observed during the early summer; values of DO and NH4 + fluxes were -64 ± 17 and 12. 7 ± 1. 0 mmol m-2 day-1, respectively. PO4 3- fluxes were consistently higher in the fish farm sediments (between 0. 58 and 0. 98 mmol m-2 day-1) than those observed at the control station. Nitrate (NO3 -) fluxes were found to be consistently negative due to denitrification occurring in the sediments and were related to the concentration of NO3 - in bottom waters (r = 0. 92, p < 0. 01). Si fluxes were shown to be associated with water temperature (r = 0. 59, p < 0. 05). Conclusions: The results imply that sediments located below cages accumulate organic matter originating from aquaculture activities, especially during summer months when this activity increases. Sediments undergo biogeochemical changes that mainly affect fluxes of DO, NH4 + and soluble reactive phosphorus, although these do not seem to have a significant impact on the quality of the water column due to the hydrodynamic characteristics of the area. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.We would like to thank the Caja del Mediterraneo for a predoctoral fellowship fund for this research and Antonio Asuncion Acuigroup Maremar manager for the facilities and support in conducting the study. The translation of this paper was funded by the Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, Spain. We are grateful for the valuable comments of the anonymous reviewers on previous versions of the manuscript.Morata Higón, T.; Sospedra, J.; Falco Giaccaglia, SL.; Rodilla Alama, M. (2012). Exchange of nutrients and oxygen across the sediment-water interface below a Sparus aurata marine fish farm in the north-western Mediterranean Sea. Journal of Soils and Sediments. 12(10):1623-1632. doi:10.1007/s11368-012-0581-2S162316321210APHA, AWWA, and WEF (2005) Standard methods for the examination of water wastewater, 21st edn. American Public Health Association, WashingtonAksu M, Kocatas A (2007) Environmental effects of the three fish farms in Izmir Bay (Aegean Sea-Turkey) on water column and sediment. Rapport du 38e Congrés de la Commission Internationale Pour L’exploration Scientifique de la Mer Méditerranée 38, 414Aminot A, Chaussepied M (1983) Manuel des analyses chimiques en milieu marin. Centre National pour l’Explotation des Oceans, BrestArocena R, Conde D (1999) Sedimento. Métodos en ecología de aguas continentales. 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J Appl Ichthyol 18:129–133Borja A, Rodríguez JG, Black K, Bodoy A, Emblow C, Fernandes TF, Forte J, Karakassis I, Muxika I, Nickell TD, Papageorgiou N, Pranovi F, Sevastou K, Tomassetti P, Angel D (2009) Assessing the suitability of a range of benthic indices in the evaluation of environmental impact of fin and shellfish aquaculture located in sites across Europe. Aquaculture 293:231–240Cermelj B, Ogrinc N, Faganeli J (2001) Anoxic mineralization of biogenic debris in near-shore marine sediments (Gulf of Trieste, northern Adriatic). Sci Total Environ 266:143–152Dell’Anno A, Mei ML, Pusceddu A, Danovaro R (2002) Assessing the trophic state and eutrophication of coastal marine systems: a new approach based on the biochemical composition of sediment organic matter. Mar Pollut Bull 44:611–622Dosdat A (2001) Environmental impact of aquaculture in the Mediterranean: nutritional and feeding aspects. Environmental impact assessment of Mediterranean aquaculture farms. Cah Options Méditerr CIHEAM-FAO 55:23–36Ferrón S, Ortega T, Forja JM (2009) Benthic fluxes in a tidal salt marsh creek by fish farm activities: Río San Pedro (Bay of Cádiz, SW Spain). Mar Chem 113:50–62Freitas U, Niencheski LFH, Zarzur S, Manzolli RP, Vieira JPP, Rosa LC (2008) Influência de um cultivo de camaraô sobre o metabolismo béntico e a qualidade da agua. Rev Bras Eng Agríc Ambient 12:293–301Hall POJ, Holby O, Kollberg S, Samuelsson MO (1992) Chemical fluxes and mass balances in a marine fish cage farm: IV. Nitrogen. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 89:81–91Hargrave B (2005) Environmental effects of marine finfish aquaculture. The handbook of environmental. chemistry, vol. 5. Part M. Springer, BerlinHargrave BT, Phillips GA, Doucette LI, White MJ, Milligan TG, Wildish DJ, Cranston RE (1997) Assessing benthic impacts of organic enrichment from marine aquaculture. Water Air Soil Pollut 99:641–650Heilskov AC, Holmer M (2001) Effects of benthic fauna on organic matter mineralization in fish-farm sediments: importance of size and abundance. ICES J Mar Sci 58:427–434Herbert RA (1999) Nitrogen cycling in coastal marine ecosystems. FEMS Microbiol Rev 23:563–590Holby O, Hall POJ (1991) Chemical fluxes and mass balances in a marine fish cage farm. 11. Phosphorus. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 70:263–272Holby O, Hall POJ (1994) Chemical fluxes and mass balances in a marine fish cage farm. III. Silicon. Aquaculture 120:305–318Jackson C, Preston N, Thompson PJ (2004) Intake and discharge nutrient loads at three intensive shrimp farms. Aquacult Res 35:1053–1061Karakassis I, Tsapakis M, Hatziyanni E (1998) Seasonal variability in sediment profiles beneath fish farm cages in the Mediterranean. 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Two-Step Co-Immunoprecipitation (TIP) Enables Efficient and Highly Selective Isolation of Native Protein-Complexes.

Co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP) is one of the most frequently used techniques to study protein-protein (PPIs) or protein-nucleic acid interactions (PNIs). However, the presence of co-precipitated contaminants is a well- recognized issue associated with single-step co-IPs. To overcome this limitation, we developed the two-step co-IP (TIP) strategy that enables sequential co-immunoprecipitations of endogenous protein complexes. TIP can be performed with a broad range of mono- and polyclonal antibodies targeting a single protein or different components of a given complex. TIP results in a highly selective enrichment of protein complexes and thus outperforms single-step co-IPs for downstream applications such as mass spectrometry for the identification of PPIs and quantitative PCR for the analysis of PNIs. We benchmarked TIP for the identification of CD95/FAS-interacting proteins in primary human CD4+ T cells, which recapitulated all major known interactors, but also enabled the proteomics discovery of PPM1G and IPO7 as new interaction partners. For its feasibility and high performance, we propose TIP as an advanced tool for the isolation of highly purified protein-protein and protein-nucleic acid complexes under native expression conditions

Columnar and Equiaxed Solidification of Al-7 wt.% Si Alloys in Reduced Gravity in the Framework of the CETSOL Project

International audienceDuring casting, often a dendritic microstructure is formed, resulting in a columnar or an equiaxed grain structure, or leading to a transition from columnar to equiaxed growth (CET). The detailed knowledge of the critical parameters for the CET is important because the microstructure affects materials properties. To provide unique data for testing of fundamental theories of grain and microstructure formation, solidification experiments in microgravity environment were performed within the European Space Agency Microgravity Application Promotion (ESA MAP) project Columnar-to-Equiaxed Transition in SOLidification Processing (CETSOL). Reduced gravity allows for purely diffusive solidification conditions, i.e., suppressing melt flow and sedimentation and floatation effects. On-board the International Space Station, Al-7 wt.% Si alloys with and without grain refiners were solidified in different temperature gradients and with different cooling conditions. Detailed analysis of the microstructure and the grain structure showed purely columnar growth for nonrefined alloys. The CET was detected only for refined alloys, either as a sharp CET in the case of a sudden increase in the solidification velocity or as a progressive CET in the case of a continuous decrease of the temperature gradient. The present experimental data were used for numerical modeling of the CET with three different approaches: (1) a front tracking model using an equiaxed growth model, (2) a three-dimensional (3D) cellular automaton–finite element model, and (3) a 3D dendrite needle network method. Each model allows for predicting the columnar dendrite tip undercooling and the growth rate with respect to time. Furthermore, the positions of CET and the spatial extent of the CET, being sharp or progressive, are in reasonably good quantitative agreement with experimental measurements

Recruitment of the Linear Ubiquitin Chain Assembly Complex Stabilizes the TNF-R1 Signaling Complex and Is Required for TNF-Mediated Gene Induction

TNF is a key inflammatory cytokine. Using a modified tandem affinity purification approach, we identified HOIL-1 and HOIP as functional components of the native TNF-R1 signaling complex (TNF-RSC). Together, they were shown to form a linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex (LUBAC) and to ubiquitylate NEMO. We show that LUBAC binds to ubiquitin chains of different linkage types and that its recruitment to the TNF-RSC is impaired in TRADD-, TRAF2-, and cIAP1/2- but not in RIP1- or NEMO-deficient MEFs. Furthermore, the E3 ligase activity of cIAPs, but not TRAF2, is required for HOIL-1 recruitment to the TNF-RSC. LUBAC enhances NEMO interaction with the TNF-RSC, stabilizes this protein complex, and is required for efficient TNF-induced activation of NF-κB and JNK, resulting in apoptosis inhibition. Finally, we demonstrate that sustained stability of the TNF-RSC requires LUBAC's enzymatic activity, thereby adding a third form of ubiquitin linkage to the triggering of TNF signaling by the TNF-RSC. © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

On the Deformation of Dendrites During Directional Solidification of a Nickel-Based Superalloy

Abstract: Synchrotron X-ray imaging has been used to examine in situ the deformation of dendrites that takes place during the solidification of a nickel-based superalloy. By combining absorption and diffraction contrast imaging, deformation events could be classified by their localization and permanence. In particular, a deformation mechanism arising from thermal contraction in a temperature gradient was elucidated through digital image correlation. It was concluded that this mechanism may explain the small misorientations typically observed in single crystal castings