Sources and effects of catchment-derived bioavailable contaminants in Hamilton urban streams

Awareness of the consistently degraded state of urban streams, with lower biodiversity has heightened worldwide, increasing restoration initiatives to ameliorate the adverse effects. The present study examined anthropogenically-derived contaminants in water and sediments and bioaccumulation in tissues and bile of shortfin eels (Anguilla australis) in Hamilton City urban gully streams. Bioassays were also conducted with two native Crustacea; the amphipod Paracorophium lucasi and freshwater crayfish (kōura) (Paranephrops planifrons) to test endpoints of survival, reburial behaviour and growth. Results of dissolved Cu, Pb and Zn showed the industrial Waitawhiriwhiri catchment, with higher impervious surfaces, to have the greatest potential for generating contaminants in stream waters. Relationships between sediment contaminant concentrations and upstream % impervious area suggest an association with stormwater runoff and metal accumulation. Shortfin eels from Gibbons Creek and Lake Rotoroa bioaccumulated high concentrations of Pb and As respectively in livers, and PAH metabolite pyrene-1-glucuronide in bile was found in many eels, highlighting the bioavailability of these contaminants. Muscle tissues cocnentrations of Pb and Hg in some sites triggered food safety guidelines presenting a low risk for human consumption. Amphipods exposed to sediments from Lake Rotoroa had significantly reduced survival compared with those exposed to other site sediments in a 10-day sediment toxicity test. Photo-induced toxicity is not of concern for biota exposed to these sediments. Sediments did not induce any sub-lethal effect on reburial behaviour. Growth rates of kōura fed Salix fragilis leaf material incubated in Hamilton streams were not significantly different, and the short duration of the study meant conclusions could not be made on the significance of observed accumulated metals and metalloids on differences in growth rates. Results of this study highlight a number of locations in the Hamilton stream network, where contaminants are of concern, especially in streams with fully urbanised catchments with high effective imperviousness and legacies of past land use or pollution. Bioavailability of some metals, metalloids and PAHs is constraining the diversity of some species present in these streams, although not apparent for shortfin eels, as they are very common

The C-Band All-Sky Survey (C-BASS): Simulated parametric fitting in single pixels in total intensity and polarization

The cosmic microwave background (CMB) B-mode signal is potentially weaker than the diffuse Galactic foregrounds over most of the sky at any frequency. A common method of separating the CMB from these foregrounds is via pixel-based parametric-model fitting. There are not currently enough all-sky maps to fit anything more than the most simple models of the sky. By simulating the emission in seven representative pixels, we demonstrate that the inclusion of a 5 GHz data point allows for more complex models of low-frequency foregrounds to be fitted than at present. It is shown that the inclusion of the C-BASS data will significantly reduce the uncertainties in a number of key parameters in the modelling of both the galactic foregrounds and the CMB. The extra data allow estimates of the synchrotron spectral index to be constrained much more strongly than is presently possible, with corresponding improvements in the accuracy of the recovery of the CMB amplitude. However, we show that to place good limits on models of the synchrotron spectral curvature will require additional low-frequency data

C-Band All-Sky Survey (C-BASS): Simulated parametric fitting in single pixels in total intensity and polarization

The cosmic microwave background (CMB) B-mode signal is potentially weaker than the diffuse Galactic foregrounds over most of the sky at any frequency. A common method of separating the CMB from these foregrounds is via pixel-based parametric-model fitting. There are not currently enough all-sky maps to fit anything more than the most simple models of the sky. By simulating the emission in seven representative pixels, we demonstrate that the inclusion of a 5 GHz data point allows for more complex models of low-frequency foregrounds to be fitted than at present. It is shown that the inclusion of the C-BASS data will significantly reduce the uncertainties in a number of key parameters in the modelling of both the galactic foregrounds and the CMB. The extra data allow estimates of the synchrotron spectral index to be constrained much more strongly than is presently possible, with corresponding improvements in the accuracy of the recovery of the CMB amplitude. However, we show that to place good limits on models of the synchrotron spectral curvature will require additional low-frequency data

Highly Parallel Translation of DNA Sequences into Small Molecules

A large body of in vitro evolution work establishes the utility of biopolymer libraries comprising 1010 to 1015 distinct molecules for the discovery of nanomolar-affinity ligands to proteins.[1], [2], [3], [4], [5] Small-molecule libraries of comparable complexity will likely provide nanomolar-affinity small-molecule ligands.[6], [7] Unlike biopolymers, small molecules can offer the advantages of cell permeability, low immunogenicity, metabolic stability, rapid diffusion and inexpensive mass production. It is thought that such desirable in vivo behavior is correlated with the physical properties of small molecules, specifically a limited number of hydrogen bond donors and acceptors, a defined range of hydrophobicity, and most importantly, molecular weights less than 500 Daltons.[8] Creating a collection of 1010 to 1015 small molecules that meet these criteria requires the use of hundreds to thousands of diversity elements per step in a combinatorial synthesis of three to five steps. With this goal in mind, we have reported a set of mesofluidic devices that enable DNA-programmed combinatorial chemistry in a highly parallel 384-well plate format. Here, we demonstrate that these devices can translate DNA genes encoding 384 diversity elements per coding position into corresponding small-molecule gene products. This robust and efficient procedure yields small molecule-DNA conjugates suitable for in vitro evolution experiments

The State-of-Play of Anomalous Microwave Emission (AME) Research

Anomalous Microwave Emission (AME) is a component of diffuse Galactic radiation observed at frequencies in the range $\approx 10$-60 GHz. AME was first detected in 1996 and recognised as an additional component of emission in 1997. Since then, AME has been observed by a range of experiments and in a variety of environments. AME is spatially correlated with far-IR thermal dust emission but cannot be explained by synchrotron or free-free emission mechanisms, and is far in excess of the emission contributed by thermal dust emission with the power-law opacity consistent with the observed emission at sub-mm wavelengths. Polarization observations have shown that AME is very weakly polarized ($\lesssim 1$%). The most natural explanation for AME is rotational emission from ultra-small dust grains ("spinning dust"), first postulated in 1957. Magnetic dipole radiation from thermal fluctuations in the magnetization of magnetic grain materials may also be contributing to the AME, particularly at higher frequencies ($\gtrsim 50$ GHz). AME is also an important foreground for Cosmic Microwave Background analyses. This paper presents a review and the current state-of-play in AME research, which was discussed in an AME workshop held at ESTEC, The Netherlands, June 2016.Comment: Accepted for publication in New Astronomy Reviews. Summary of AME workshop held at ESTEC, The Netherlands, June 2016, 40 pages, 18 figures. Updated to approximately match published versio

Productivity and Profitability of Tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum M.) Production in Masbate Under Improved Nutrient Management with and without Mulching

Field trial on tomato production was conducted under two sources of fertilizer through integrated application with and without mulching material to measure the growth, productivity and profitability of the said crop in the province of Masbate. The study was laid in a two-factor factorial Randomized Complete Block Design. Fertilizer treatments were tested in treatment of mulching (rice straw and control). The factorial treatment combinations were as follows: A1B1 - no fertilizer and without mulching; A2B1 - complete fertilizer without mulching; A3B1 - goat manure without mulching; A4B1 - complete fertilizer + goat manure without mulching; A1B2 - no fertilizer and with mulching; A2B2 - complete fertilizer with mulching; A3B2 - goat manure with mulching; A4B2 - complete fertilizer + goat manure with mulching. The study revealed that the treatment that exhibits higher growth (plant height and number of branches) and yield (38.41 t/ha.) is in the treatment under complete fertilizer + goat manure. The same treatment also obtained higher number of fruits (543) and higher number of marketable fruits (424) per treatment with significant difference. In terms of the fruit size, length and diameter of the tomato, complete fertilizer + goat manure shows dominant effect. Profitability showed significant difference between treatments were the complete fertilizer + goat manure, complete fertilizer, goat manure, and control got 1,334, 1,265.15, 517.51 and 52.20 respectively. Therefore, the integration of organic (goat manure) and synthetic fertilizer (Triple 14) will enhance the yield of the tomato in Masbate and it is highly profitable