title: The nuclear disarmament chimera

authors: Smith, Ron C.

subjects: nuclear disarmament

abstract: Nuclear disarmament is at the top of the New Zealand security agenda. We are active through the government and through numerous peace and disarmament groups in virtually every international forum that debates this issue, whether official or unofficial. The New Zealand government makes a significant contribution to the deliberations of the UN Conference on Disarmament and in discussions surrounding the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty(NPT). We are particularly active in an informal grouping of countries that is pressing through the United Nations for an immediate commitment to the total abolition of all nuclear weapons- the so-called New Agenda Coalition. This is the subject of an annual resolution in the General Assembly that commands substantial support.

text: The nuclear disarmament chimera Nuclear disarmament is at the top of the New Zealand security agenda. We are active through the government and through numerous peace and disarmament groups in virtually every international forum that debates this issue, whether official or unofficial. The New Zealand government makes a significant contribution to the deliberations of the UN Conference on Disarmament and in discussions surrounding the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty(NPT). We are particularly active in an informal grouping of countries that is pressing through the United Nations for an immediate commitment to the total abolition of all nuclear weapons- the so-called New Agenda Coalition. This is the subject of an annual resolution in the General Assembly that commands substantial support.

year: 2002

title: Actinobacteria and cyanobacteria diversity in terrestrial Antarctic microenvironments using culture-dependent and independent methods

authors: Rego, Adriana

subjects: Actinobacteria

abstract: Bacterial diversity from McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica, the largest desert on earth, has become more easily assessed with the development of High Throughput Sequencing (HTS) techniques. However, some of the diversity remains unachievable by the power of sequencing. In this study, we combine cultivation and HTS techniques to survey Actinobacteria and Cyanobacteria diversity along different soil and endolithic micro-environments of Victoria Valley in McMurdo Dry Valleys. Our results have demonstrated that the Dry Valleys Actinobacteria and Cyanobacteria distribution is driven by environmental forces, in particular the effect of water availability and endolithic environments clearly conditioned the distribution of those communities. Data derived from HTS show that the percentage of Cyanobacteria decreases from about 20% in the sample closest to the water source to neglectable values on the last three samples of the transect with less water availability. Inversely, Actinobacteria abundance increases from the wet to the driest samples. Over 30% of the total HTS data set was composed of Actinobacterial strains, mainly distributed by 5 families: Sporichthyaceae, Euzebyaceae, Patulibacteraceae, Nocardioidaceae and Rubrobacteraceae. However, the 11 actinobacterial strains isolated in this study, belonged to Micrococcaceae and Dermacoccaceae families that were underrepresented in the HTS data set. A total of 10 cyanobacterial strains from the order Synechococcales were also isolated, distributed by 4 different genera (Nodosilinea, Leptolyngbya, Pectolyngbya, Acaryochloris). In agreement with the cultivation results, Lepyolyngbya was identified as dominant genera in the HTS data set. Acaryochloris genus were found exclusively in the endolithic sample and represented 44% of the total 16S rDNA sequences, although despite our efforts we were not able to properly isolate any strain from Acaryochloris genus. The importance of combining cultivation and sequencing techniques is highlighted, as we have shown that culture-dependent methods employed in this study were able to retrieve Actinobacteria and Cyanobacteria taxa that were not detected in HTS data set, suggesting that the combination of both strategies can be usefull to recover both abundant and rare members of the communities.

text: Actinobacteria and cyanobacteria diversity in terrestrial Antarctic microenvironments using culture-dependent and independent methods Bacterial diversity from McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica, the largest desert on earth, has become more easily assessed with the development of High Throughput Sequencing (HTS) techniques. However, some of the diversity remains unachievable by the power of sequencing. In this study, we combine cultivation and HTS techniques to survey Actinobacteria and Cyanobacteria diversity along different soil and endolithic micro-environments of Victoria Valley in McMurdo Dry Valleys. Our results have demonstrated that the Dry Valleys Actinobacteria and Cyanobacteria distribution is driven by environmental forces, in particular the effect of water availability and endolithic environments clearly conditioned the distribution of those communities. Data derived from HTS show that the percentage of Cyanobacteria decreases from about 20% in the sample closest to the water source to neglectable values on the last three samples of the transect with less water availability. Inversely, Actinobacteria abundance increases from the wet to the driest samples. Over 30% of the total HTS data set was composed of Actinobacterial strains, mainly distributed by 5 families: Sporichthyaceae, Euzebyaceae, Patulibacteraceae, Nocardioidaceae and Rubrobacteraceae. However, the 11 actinobacterial strains isolated in this study, belonged to Micrococcaceae and Dermacoccaceae families that were underrepresented in the HTS data set. A total of 10 cyanobacterial strains from the order Synechococcales were also isolated, distributed by 4 different genera (Nodosilinea, Leptolyngbya, Pectolyngbya, Acaryochloris). In agreement with the cultivation results, Lepyolyngbya was identified as dominant genera in the HTS data set. Acaryochloris genus were found exclusively in the endolithic sample and represented 44% of the total 16S rDNA sequences, although despite our efforts we were not able to properly isolate any strain from Acaryochloris genus. The importance of combining cultivation and sequencing techniques is highlighted, as we have shown that culture-dependent methods employed in this study were able to retrieve Actinobacteria and Cyanobacteria taxa that were not detected in HTS data set, suggesting that the combination of both strategies can be usefull to recover both abundant and rare members of the communities.

year: 2019

title: One hundred years of Sylvia Ashton-Warner: An introduction.

authors: Middleton, Sue

subjects: Sylvia Ashton-Warner

abstract: A biography of Sylvia Ashton-Warner is presented. She was born on 17 December 1908 in New Zealand. She studied at the Auckland Teachers' Training College and taught in several native schools including Horoera Native School and Pipiriki Native School. Later she started writing, starting with "Teacher," a book about teaching schemes and followed by "Incense to Idols," "Bell Call," and "Greenstone." Also, her travels to various places are mentioned.

text: One hundred years of Sylvia Ashton-Warner: An introduction. A biography of Sylvia Ashton-Warner is presented. She was born on 17 December 1908 in New Zealand. She studied at the Auckland Teachers' Training College and taught in several native schools including Horoera Native School and Pipiriki Native School. Later she started writing, starting with "Teacher," a book about teaching schemes and followed by "Incense to Idols," "Bell Call," and "Greenstone." Also, her travels to various places are mentioned.

year: 2008