The warm-water nemertean species Paradrepanophorus crassus, described from Mediterranean shores, was first recorded in Lough Hyne, County Cork, Ireland in 1931 by Renouf. This large nemertean that forms membranous tubes under low intertidal to shallow subtidal rocks has increased in frequency, particularly from 2009 to 2012 with peak values of 0.26 specimens per metre of shoreline. Eggs were noted within the membranous tube of one specimen collected in June 2012. Furthermore, based on digital photographs of specimens, the striped nemertean species Punnettia splendida was also noted in September 2011; this is a new species record for Lough Hyne.

The need to provide policy-makers with succinct, yet informative, messages is widespread in biodiversity management, and has led to the development of various “indicators” that can serve this purpose. While global data on the status of animal genetic resources for food and agriculture (AnGR) have been made available in a number of publications, the issue of developing a global indicator for AnGR has come to prominence only relatively recently. This paper describes the policy background to these developments and reviews initiatives in AnGR indicator development at national and regional levels. It also outlines some of the issues raised at an expert meeting on indicators organized by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in January 2010. To date, AnGR indicator development has largely been restricted to Europe. Globally, options are restricted by the limited availability of data. The expert meeting favoured an indicator set that describes both the relative abundance of native versus non-native breeds and summarizes breed risk status. The former will require a new breed classification system that is acceptable to countries and applicable globally. The risk-status categories of approximately 64 percent of reported breeds are available in the Domestic Animal Diversity Information System, but a lack of regular updates of countries' breed population data means that trends cannot be described adequately at present.

There is a wide international consensus that there is an urgent need to compile national inventories of animal genetic resources, supported by periodic monitoring of trends and threats, to underpin their effective management. This paper gives an overview of how to set about this task, primarily through national strategies but also through ad hoc surveys. It is important to establish stakeholder involvement at an early stage of setting up the national strategy so that the surveys can be made more effective and the emergent actions can be more readily implemented. There are a wide variety of tools available for surveying and monitoring, ranging from mapping expeditions to household surveys and censuses, encompassing methods associated with rapid rural appraisals. Tools have different strengths and weaknesses and their relative cost effectiveness will depend on objectives. Performing a baseline survey is a key step because it serves as a reference point for future monitoring; however, to be cost effective, more rudimentary surveys may be needed beforehand to establish reliable design parameters. Calibration of one method to another is an important task when several methods are being used for monitoring. Planning and design, communication, sensitive field work, data management and an analysis appropriate to the objectives are all necessary elements of a successful survey.

Numerous threats to animal genetic resources for food and agriculture (AnGR) have been described in the literature. Yet knowledge regarding the threats facing particular breeds and production systems is patchy and often unavailable to relevant stakeholders. Lack of knowledge about threats often goes hand in hand with a more general lack of knowledge about the characteristics, use, management and distribution of livestock breeds. The study of threats should be an integral part of national surveying and monitoring strategies for AnGR. Field surveys are an opportunity to draw upon the knowledge of livestock keepers and other local stakeholders and to map breed distributions. Insights from the field should be integrated, together with information on economic trends, policy developments and the distribution of risks associated with epidemics and other disasters, into a broader understanding of threats. If a large-scale survey of stakeholder opinion is envisaged, it is important to be clear about the objectives of the exercise when designing any classification framework to be used for data collection and analysis. Analysis of threats should aim not only to record the presence or absence of particular threats but also to provide a better understanding of their spatial and temporal dynamics and how they are affected by context (location, production environment, human attitudes and objectives, etc.).

Background: Researchers in clinical trials usually pay close attention to therapist selection, training, supervision and monitoring, but the extent of this input has not been systematically documented. Aims: To describe the extent of training and supervision activity within clinical trials, and to consider any implications for transporting therapies from research to routine clinical contexts. Method: Twenty-seven randomized studies examining the efficacy of CBT interventions for people with depression or anxiety disorders were selected on the basis of their quality and impact on the field. Published and unpublished sources were used to gather information about therapist selection, training and supervision within these trials. Results: The review identified the extent of investment by researchers in assuring therapist expertise, adherence and competence. It also indicated inconsistencies in the clarity with which this input was reported. Conclusions: The ubiquity of intervention-specific training in research contexts risks being overlooked when commissioning evidence-based therapies in routine practice. This has clear implications for the likely effectiveness of interventions. Greater consistency in the reporting of training in clinical trials may help to draw attention to the role of training and supervision in maximizing clinical outcomes.

We present experimental studies on the interaction of soft X-rays on gas-phase and solid-phase amino acids and nucleobases in an attempt to verify if these molecules (supposed to be formed in molecular clouds/protostellar clouds) can survive long enough to be observed or even to be found in meteorites. Measurements have been undertaken employing 150 eV photons under high vacuum conditions at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS). The produced ions from the gas-phase experiments (glycine, adenine and uracil) have been mass/charge analyzed by time-of-flight spectrometer. The analysis of solid phase samples (glycine, DL-proline, DL-valine, adenine and uracil) were performed by a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer coupled to the experimental chamber. Photodissociation cross sections and halflives were determined and extrapolated to astrophysical environments. The nucleobases photostability was up to two orders of magnitude higher than for the amino acids.

The ciliate list for Plymouth waters has been extended by 14 species using modern taxonomic techniques. Ciliates were abundant in the plankton where they formed a significant food resource. Their community biomass and production was estimated to average 12 µ C 1 and 9 µ C 1 respectively during the summer. The ciliate community was dominated by a diverse assemblage of aloricate choreotrichs, suggesting a complex trophic role for this protozoan group.

Ciliate protozoans are ubiquitous and often abundant in marine waters where they are frequently considered to play an important ecological role in trophic flux and nutrient cycling within the plankton (Fenchel, 1987). In spite of this, however, their ecological role in British coastal waters is poorly understood. In Plymouth waters, for instance, there has been only one previous study of marine pelagic Protozoa (Lackey & Lackey, 1963), despite the presence of a marine laboratory in the region for over 100 years. As the study by Lackey & Lackey (1963) focused solely upon the taxonomy of local protists, the ecological role of protozoans in Plymouth waters is unknown. To redress this anomaly the present pilot study was undertaken in Plymouth waters with the following objectives: to identify the dominant ciliates from this region using techniques unavailable to Lackey & Lackey (1963), to quantify ciliate abundance and cell sizes, and to estimate their biomass and production.

Triplicate water samples were collected, using a 3-litre water bottle, from surface waters at each of four stations along a 20-km transect between Plymouth Sound (50°21'N 04°09'W) and the Eddystone Rock (50°ll'N 04°16'W) during June, July and August 1988.

Demographic data describe the size, structure and distribution of livestock populations and how these change over time. They are fundamental to determining the risk status of breed populations both on a national and a global scale. Currently, no population data are available for 36 percent of the breeds recorded in the Domestic Animal Diversity Information System (DAD-IS), and for many other breeds data are updated so infrequently that monitoring trends in risk status is difficult or impossible. Data on the geographical distribution of breeds are also generally inadequate. A baseline survey of the breed population needs to be followed by periodic monitoring. The required frequency of the monitoring activities will depend on the generation interval of the species in question. Data may be collected via breed-level censuses or surveys, or estimated based on species level data. It is important that national decision-making takes account of the global demographics of the breed; a classification system distinguishing breeds present only in one country from those present in several countries has been developed. Much remains to be done to improve the availability of demographic data. Moreover, methods need to be developed that account for the risks of genetic erosion associated with indiscriminate cross-breeding. A further key requirement is the development of methods for representative sampling of national animal populations to allow estimates of their total population size and other demographic data to be obtained in a cost-effective manner.

A number of developments make the formal specification of competences in CBT both timely and relevant, in particular the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme, the increasing focus on process and therapist variables in determining outcome, and the increasing diversity of CBT. This paper outlines the development of an evidence-based methodology for determining both a model and a framework for CBT competences, and considers issues related to the implementation of the framework.

We present experimental studies on the photoionization and photodissociation processes (photodestruction) of gaseous amino acids and nucleobases in interstellar and interpla-netary radiation analogs conditions. The measurements have been undertaken at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS), employing vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) and soft X-ray photons. The experimental set up basically consists of a time-of-flight mass spectrometer kept under high vacuum conditions. Mass spectra were obtained using a photoelectron photoion coincidence technique. We have shown that the amino acids are effectively more destroyed (up to 70–80%) by the stellar radiation than the nucleobases, mainly in the VUV. Since polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons have the same survival capability and seem to be ubiquitous in the ISM, it is not unreasonable to predict that nucleobases could survive in the interstellar medium and/or in comets, even as a stable cation.

We present experimental results obtained from photoionization and photodissociation processes of abundant interstellar methanol (CH3OH) as an alternative route for the production of H3+ in dense clouds. The measurements were taken at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS) employing soft X-ray and time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Mass spectra were obtained using the photoelectron-photoion coincidence techniques. Absolute averaged cross sections for the production of H3+ due to molecular dissociation of methanol by soft X-rays (C1s edge) were determined. The H3+'s photoproduction rate and column density were been estimated adopting a typical soft X-ray luminosity inside dense molecular and the observed column density of methanol. Assuming a steady state scenario, the highest column density value for the photoproduced H3+ was about 1011 cm2, which gives the ratio photoproduced/observed of about 0.05%, as in the case of dense molecular cloud AFGL 2591. Despite the small value, this represent a new and alternative source of H3+ into dense molecular clouds and it is not been considered as yet in interstellar chemistry models.

As part of the country-driven strategy for the management of animal genetic resources, FAO invited 188 countries to participate in the preparation of the First Report on the State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources. Utilizing the information provided in the 148 country reports ready for analysis in July 2005, this paper presents a global overview of the state of capacity and utilization of reproductive and molecular biotechnologies in the management of animal genetic resources. Regional descriptions outline the distribution of different biotechnologies, along with a discussion of the species and breed focus of their use, and stakeholder involvement in service delivery. Unsurprisingly, there is a big gap in biotechnology use between developed and developing countries, with artificial insemination being the technology most widely applied in developing countries. More complex technologies such as embryo transfer and molecular tools, are even less common in developing countries. Use of biotechnologies is in general biased towards cattle, and examples of the application of biotechnologies in the management of locally adapted breeds are limited. Most developing countries express the wish to increase the utilization of biotechnologies. However, in many cases clear plans for incorporating technologies into animal genetic resource management are lacking.

Some countries have introduced a requirement for genetic impact assessments prior to granting permission for the import of new exotic livestock breeds. However, the merits of such a system are not universally accepted. During February 2007 a discussion on the subject took place on FAO's Domestic Animal Diversity Network (DAD-Net) electronic forum. This paper presents a description of how the discussion developed, and a summary of the issues raised. Arguments both for and against requiring impact assessments were put forward. Those opposing such measures focused on the risks of limiting access to animal genetic resources (AnGR), and questioned the benefits of government interference. Practical constraints to implementation and enforcement were also noted. Counter arguments pointed to the potential for avoiding the loss of valuable AnGR, and stressed governments' responsibilities to intervene where necessary to promote sustainable development, to defend the interests of the poor, or to protect national heritage. The debate ranged more widely — encompassing the respective roles of local and exotic AnGR in different regions of the world and in different production systems.