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To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2005.12.009 Byline: Stephen H. Jones (a), David B. Clarke (b) Abstract: Against the background of the broad intellectual response to the events of 9/11, the paper examines the complicity of the media in the West's so-called War on Terror. Rejecting erroneous conceptions of a conspiratorial state control of the media (and consequent distortion of the picture of a given reality), the paper focuses primarily on the form of the media: its role in distorting the nature of reality itself. By elucidating problems with the kind of media analysis that portrays the media as a propaganda machine, the significance of the mediasphere itself is highlighted. The paper considers the media's role in promulgating the myth of antagonistic collective identities ('Us'vs. 'Them'); in promoting a desire that subjugates the individual to the social formations that feed off it; in sustaining a range of fundamentalisms; and in characterizing terrorism as Evil incarnate. The paper thus offers a sympathetic reassessment of Baudrillard's consistent attempt to engage with the geopolitics of the real, measured against a contrasting range of responses from Badiou, Latour, A1/2iA3/4ek, and others. Author Affiliation: (a) Sociology Department, Goldsmiths College, University of London, New Cross, London SE14 6NW, UK (b) Department of Geography, University of Wales Swansea, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK

Abstract Small fringing marshes are ecologically important habitats often impacted by petroleum. We characterized the phylogenetic structure (16S rRNA) and petroleum hydrocarbon degrading alkane hydroxylase genes (alkB and CYP 153A1) in a sediment microbial community from a New Hampshire fringing marsh, using alkane-exposed dilution cultures to enrich for petroleum degrading bacteria. 16S rRNA and alkB analysis demonstrated that the initial sediment community was dominated by Betaproteobacteria (mainly Comamonadaceae) and Gammaproteobacteria (mainly Pseudomonas), while CYP 153A1 sequences predominantly matched Rhizobiales. 24 h of exposure to n -hexane, gasoline, dodecane, or dilution culture alone reduced functional and phylogenetic diversity, enriching for Gammaproteobacteria, especially Pseudomonas. Gammaproteobacteria continued to dominate for 10 days in the n -hexane and no alkane exposed samples, while dodecane and gasoline exposure selected for gram-positive bacteria. The data demonstrate that small fringing marshes in New England harbor petroleum-degrading bacteria, suggesting that petroleum degradation may be an important fringing marsh ecosystem function. Highlights • A fringing tidal marsh microbial community is dominated by Beta- and Gammaproteobacteria. • Pseudomonad and Rhizobiales type alkB and CYP 153A1 alkane hydroxylase genes were detected. • Pseudomonads dominated communities enriched with shorter chain n-alkanes. • Rhodococci dominated a community enriched with dodecane. • AlkB alkane hydroxylases were more abundant than CYP 153A1 hydroxylases in marsh sediments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is the leading cause of seafood-borne human infections in the United States, and many of these illnesses are associated with consumption of raw molluscan shellfish. V. parahaemolyticus levels in shellfish vary temporally and spatially with environmental conditions in and around production areas. The objective of this study was to study the potential for reducing levels of V. parahaemolyticus in live oysters by relaying them during higher-risk warm weather to a site with elevated salinity and consistently low V. parahaemolyticus levels. The effectiveness of relaying was assessed by analyzing oyster samples collected on days 0, 2, 7, 10, and 14 for V. parahaemolyticus levels using a three-tube most-probable-number enrichment method in conjunction with genetic marker-based quantitative PCR. The salinity at the relay site was always higher than the salinity at the harvest site, with the difference between the two sites ranging from 3.4 to 19.1 ppt (average, 12 ppt) during 2011 to 2014. Oysters relayed during June, July, and August in 2011 and 2012 showed consistently reduced V. parahaemolyticus levels after 14 days, whereas relaying was less successful and V. parahaemolyticus populations changed to include trh-positive strains during 2013. When effective, relay required at least 10 days to reduce V. parahaemolyticus levels. A sample of oysters collected in August 2012, which was temperature abused to increase initial V. parahaemolyticus levels, showed a 4.5-log decrease in V. parahaemolyticus levels after 14 days of relay. These results suggest that relaying oysters to reduce V. parahaemolyticus levels holds promise, but that both microbial community and environmental conditions at relay sites can affect relay success. Further investigation to discover key factors that affect V. parahaemolyticus levels in relayed oysters may aid in developing a consistent approach for reducing V. parahaemolyticus in oysters to eliminate the risk of illness for oyster consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microbiology of summer flounder, Paralichthys dentatus, fingerling production was monitored over the course of 10 production cycles during 1996–1999 at a commercial marine fish hatchery. Samples of the rearing water, fish larvae and live feed were analyzed to quantify the total heterotrophic bacteria (marine agar) and total presumptive vibrios. Selected bacterial isolates were characterized to the group or species level. The tank water was compared between two larviculture methods to see if greenwater densities or the timing of fish movements could affect the tank microbiology. The extensive use of phytoplankton as rotifer enrichment and as greenwater reduced the incidence of vibrios as a percentage of total heterotrophs in the rotifers and water. Rinsed enriched Artemia had high levels of vibrios, and the fish larvae experienced increased mortality during the period of Artemia feeding although known bacterial fish pathogens were not detected at significant levels. The microbiota of the rearing water and fish intestine were similar to that of the live feed being utilized at the time of the sampling. A succession of bacterial phenotypes was observed in the rearing water and the fish intestine from day 1 to day 90 post-hatch, and the fish larvae showed evidence of the development of a stable indigenous microbiota during and after metamorphosis. Acinetobacter, Agrobacterium, Flavobacterium, Moraxella and Pseudomonas were the dominant bacterial groups in phytoplankton, rotifers and the early larval fish and tanks.However, Artemia and older larval stages and tanks showed a shift towards the microbiota with higher levels of Vibrio and Enterobacter. Bacillus was detected in juvenile fish but not in larval stages. The results provide a database for analyzing the role of the microbiota in health and disease of summer flounder and suggest that this microbiota may be amenable to probiotic type manipulations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]