title: Characterization of active layer water contents in the McMurdo Sound region, Antarctica

authors: Seybold, Cathy A.

subjects: active layer

abstract: The liquid soil water contents in the seasonally thawed layer (active layer) were characterized from seven soil climate monitoring sites - four coastal sites from south to north (Minna Bluff, Scott Base, Marble Point and Granite Harbour), and inland sites from low to high altitude (Wright Valley, Victoria Valley and Mount Fleming). Mean water contents ranged from 0.013 m³ m⁻³ near the surface at Victoria Valley to 0.013 m³ m⁻³ near the ice-cemented layer at Granite Harbour. The coastal sites have greater soil water contents than the McMurdo Dry Valley and Mount Fleming sites, and moisture contents increase with depth in the active layer. The Wright Valley site receives very little infiltration from snowmelt, with none in most years. All other sites, except Mount Fleming, received between one and four wetting events per summer, and infiltrated water moved to greater depths (≈ 10–25 cm). The Scott Base and Granite Harbour sites are on sloping ground and receive a subsurface flow of water along the ice-cemented permafrost. Our findings indicate that water contents are low with very little recharge, are greatly influenced by the local microclimate and topography, and show no significant increasing or decreasing trend over 10 years of monitoring.

text: Characterization of active layer water contents in the McMurdo Sound region, Antarctica The liquid soil water contents in the seasonally thawed layer (active layer) were characterized from seven soil climate monitoring sites - four coastal sites from south to north (Minna Bluff, Scott Base, Marble Point and Granite Harbour), and inland sites from low to high altitude (Wright Valley, Victoria Valley and Mount Fleming). Mean water contents ranged from 0.013 m³ m⁻³ near the surface at Victoria Valley to 0.013 m³ m⁻³ near the ice-cemented layer at Granite Harbour. The coastal sites have greater soil water contents than the McMurdo Dry Valley and Mount Fleming sites, and moisture contents increase with depth in the active layer. The Wright Valley site receives very little infiltration from snowmelt, with none in most years. All other sites, except Mount Fleming, received between one and four wetting events per summer, and infiltrated water moved to greater depths (≈ 10–25 cm). The Scott Base and Granite Harbour sites are on sloping ground and receive a subsurface flow of water along the ice-cemented permafrost. Our findings indicate that water contents are low with very little recharge, are greatly influenced by the local microclimate and topography, and show no significant increasing or decreasing trend over 10 years of monitoring.

year: 2010

title: Characterisation of VapC in Mycobacterium smegmatis

authors: Willcock, Duncan Mark Koorey

abstract: Members of the VapC family of proteins cleave RNA at specific sites in order to regulate biological processes with a cell. Characterization of the sites targeted by a specific protein using conventional biochemical techniques is resource intensive. This study explores the potential use of computational models to characterize the sites targeted by VapC in Mycobacterium smegmatis. Previous work has reported the impact of VapC upon each gene in the M. smegmatis genome and produced a hypothesis model for the specific motif targeted by the enzyme. However, this model has been shown to be insufficient for the differentiation of sites cleaved by VapC from those not cleaved. This study aims to extend this model to accurately describe the features which influence VapC activity at a site. A model capable of accurately predicting the VapC target sites could supplement the existing biochemical techniques. Furthermore, a process developed to train such a model could potentially be generalized and applied to other proteins and species.
This thesis explores increasingly complex representations of RNA sites and a suite of supervised learning techniques to train models that predict the efficiency with which sites are cleaved by VapC. The simplest representations of RNA sites consider only the RNA sequence. More detail is added to the representation in the form of secondary structures and the potential influences of tertiary structures are discussed. No model is produced that is capable of accurate, meaningful predictions. This suggests that the construction of a successful model requires significant alterations to the representation of RNA sites or that the data available is insufficient for training an accurate model.

text: Characterisation of VapC in Mycobacterium smegmatis Members of the VapC family of proteins cleave RNA at specific sites in order to regulate biological processes with a cell. Characterization of the sites targeted by a specific protein using conventional biochemical techniques is resource intensive. This study explores the potential use of computational models to characterize the sites targeted by VapC in Mycobacterium smegmatis. Previous work has reported the impact of VapC upon each gene in the M. smegmatis genome and produced a hypothesis model for the specific motif targeted by the enzyme. However, this model has been shown to be insufficient for the differentiation of sites cleaved by VapC from those not cleaved. This study aims to extend this model to accurately describe the features which influence VapC activity at a site. A model capable of accurately predicting the VapC target sites could supplement the existing biochemical techniques. Furthermore, a process developed to train such a model could potentially be generalized and applied to other proteins and species.
This thesis explores increasingly complex representations of RNA sites and a suite of supervised learning techniques to train models that predict the efficiency with which sites are cleaved by VapC. The simplest representations of RNA sites consider only the RNA sequence. More detail is added to the representation in the form of secondary structures and the potential influences of tertiary structures are discussed. No model is produced that is capable of accurate, meaningful predictions. This suggests that the construction of a successful model requires significant alterations to the representation of RNA sites or that the data available is insufficient for training an accurate model.

year: 2016

title: Participatory design in Māori cultural contexts

authors: Bowen, Judy

subjects: computer science

abstract: The Hakituri project aims to develop practical and ethical wearable monitoring solutions for workers in hazardous industries. We identified specific challenges pertinent to our participatory design process for this project which relate to the indigenous participants, cultural expectations and data sovereignty. As we developed the ideas for our design process, further challenges became evident. In this paper we explore the challenges that unfolded and describe how we began to mitigate them and develop ideas for similar future challenges.

text: Participatory design in Māori cultural contexts The Hakituri project aims to develop practical and ethical wearable monitoring solutions for workers in hazardous industries. We identified specific challenges pertinent to our participatory design process for this project which relate to the indigenous participants, cultural expectations and data sovereignty. As we developed the ideas for our design process, further challenges became evident. In this paper we explore the challenges that unfolded and describe how we began to mitigate them and develop ideas for similar future challenges.

year: 2020