Estimating source area of pollen and pollen productivity in the cultural landscapes of southern Sweden - developing a palynological tool for quantifying past plant cover

Fossil pollen records retrieved from peat and lake sediments have great potential for quantifying past plant cover. This thesis is a contribution to the development of a palynological interpretation tool for reconstructing past cultural landscapes in terms of plant abundance and distribution. The aims of this thesis are (1) to explore pollen-vegetation relationships in the ancient, traditional cultural landscape of southern Sweden, (2) to test the potentials and limits of using mechanistic models of pollen dispersal and deposition to reconstruct past cultural landscapes from fossil pollen assemblages, (3) to estimate pollen productivity for the most common plant taxa characteristic of the past cultural landscapes of southern Sweden, and (4) to define and estimate the spatial scale of the cultural landscape reflected by pollen assemblages in moss polsters and small lakes. Data collection included sampling moss polsters and lake sediments for pollen and making vegetation surveys. The compilation of vegetation data was performed using GIS software. Pollen/vegetation relationships were explored using numerical techniques (PCA, RDA, Monte Carlo permutation test). Pollen productivity was estimated using Extended R-Value (ERV) -models. These models imply that vegetation is distance-weighted, which required the development of an appropriate design of vegetation survey in the field. The spatial scale of the landscape reflected by pollen assemblages is defined as the area beyond which the correlation of pollen and vegetation does not improve, and is named "relevant source area of pollen" (RSAP). RSAP was estimated using the maximum likelihood method. For hypothesis testing, a computer simulation model (POLLSCAPE) developed for forest vegetation was used to simulate pollen dispersal and deposition in cultural landscapes. The empirical pollen/vegetation data shows a major difference between the two contrasting vegetation regions of southern Sweden in terms of the relationship between NAP (herb pollen) percentages and open-land percentage cover. The relationship between NAP % and open-land % cover was also simulated using POLLSCAPE. The simulated and empirical relationships are very similar, which demonstrates that POLLSCAPE can be used for semi-open and open landscapes. Pollen productivity estimates (PPE) were obtained for 25 herb and tree taxa. RSAP for small lakes and moss polsters was estimated to be 800-1000 m and 400 m, respectively. Empirical data and simulations show that random site selection is required in order to obtain reliable estimates of RSAP, and that the spatial resolution of the vegetation survey close to the pollen sample, i.e. the size distribution of the vegetation mosaic, plays a critical role in RSAP estimates. Major implications of the results are (1) the cover of open land is likely to be strongly underestimated on the basis of NAP percentages alone in a mosaic semi-open landscape, (2) provided that past and present landscapes have a similar vegetation structure, a quantitative reconstruction of the past landscape would be possible within 1000 m radius around small lakes and 400 m radius around soil profiles, (3) the availability of PPE for critical herb taxa and the demonstration that POLLSCAPE may be used to study open and semi-open landscapes provide a reliable tool for proceeding with the study of pollen dispersal and deposition in cultural landscapes

Participation in Research and the CRPD

This article discusses the implications of the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (“CRPD”) for domestic policies on research involving persons with disabilities, including those with limited decision-making abilities. It starts with an examination of the protection the Convention affords to persons with disabilities against being enrolled in research projects, and argues that it does offer some such protection, but that the precise extent of this protection depends on conceptual and other matters that are not easily resolved by straightforward treaty interpretation. The article then proceeds with an analysis of whether the CRPD includes a right to participate in research projects on an equal basis with others. It argues that there are good reasons to interpret the CRPD to include such a right and explores its normative content. The article describes how the prohibition on discrimination delineates the scope for lawful exclusion of persons with disabilities in research studies and illustrates how discrimination analysis can be used to distinguish lawful practices from unlawful ones. It stops short, however, of drawing general conclusions about when exclusion is prohibited by the CRPD, arguing that this will depend on unresolved issues about the correct interpretation of the Convention’s right to legal capacity, and on an analysis of the rights and interests at stake in any given situation

Modeling of radical structures in biochar using DFT calculations

Carbon is a key ingredient for producing metals used for cellphones, laptop computers, photovoltaic panels, and related solid state silicon devices employed by mankind. Thus, introduction of an alternative reductant based on bioresources into steel manufacturing without significant investments in a new technology is of high importance and wide impact. The production of iron, steel, and many other metals can employ biocarbon as the needed reductant; but because of cost, coals are usually used instead. Please click on the file below for full content of the abstract

Pollen productivity estimates of key European plant taxa for quantitative reconstruction of past vegetation: a review

International audienceInformation on the spatial distribution of past vegetation on local, regional and global scales is increasingly used within climate modelling, nature conservancy and archaeology. It is possible to obtain such information from fossil pollen records in lakes and bogs using the landscape reconstruction algorithm (LRA) and its two models, REVEALS and LOVE. These models assume that reliable pollen productivity estimates (PPEs) are available for the plant taxa involved in the quantitative reconstruc -tions of past vegetation, and that PPEs are constant through time. This paper presents and discusses the PPEs for 15 tree and 18 herb taxa obtained in nine study areas of Europe. Observed differences in PPEs between regions may be explained by methodological issues and environmental variables, of which climate and related factors such as reproduction strategies and growth forms appear to be the most important. An evaluation of the PPEs at hand so far suggests that they can be used in modelling applications and quantitative reconstructions of pastvegetation, provided that consideration of past environmental variability within the region is used to inform selection of PPEs, and bearing in mind that PPEs might have changed through time as a response to climate change. Application of a range of possible PPEs will allow a better evaluation of the results

Minor neurological signs and behavioural function at age 2 years in neonatal hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE)

Background: Neurodevelopmental follow-up in Neonatal Hypoxic Ischaemic Encephalopathy (HIE) typically focusses on major neuromotor (cerebral palsy, CP) and severe cognitive impairment. Outcomes in those without major neuromotor impairment are less well explored. Objectives: To examine behavioural, cognitive and neurological outcomes after neonatal HIE, in a clinical cohort of children without CP, at age 2 years. Methods: Clinical routine outcome data from children admitted to a tertiary centre with neonatal HIE for hypothermia treatment between 05/08/09 - 30/05/2016. Children were assessed for neuromotor status – particularly minor neurological signs (MNS), with Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development III (Bayley III) or Ages and Stages Questionnaire-3 (ASQ), Child Behavior Checklist 1.5-5 (CBCL), Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (Q-CHAT). Results: Of 107 children, 75.5% had normal neurology, 12.1% CP, 12.1% MNS. Children with CP were excluded from analyses. For those without CP, Bayley-III scores were in the average range for the majority; mild cognitive delay observed in 5%, 4.2% language, 1.3% motor development; severe delay in 1.3% for cognitive, 4.2% for language. More than in the normative population scored in clinical ranges for CBCL externalising, sleep, and other problems. No significant difference was seen for Q-CHAT. Children with MNS were significantly more likely to have impaired Bayley-III scores, parent-reported internalising, sleep, and other problems. Conclusions: In this clinical cohort, the majority of children had favourable outcome at 2 years. However, children with MNS were at risk for cognitive and behavioural difficulties and will benefit from enhanced clinical follow-up and support

Characterization and reactivity of soot from fast pyrolysis of lignocellulosic compounds and monolignols

peer-reviewedThis study presents the effect of lignocellulosic compounds and monolignols on the yield, nanostructure and reactivity of soot generated at 1250  ° C in a drop tube furnace. The structure of soot was characterized by electron microscopy techniques, Raman spectroscopy and electron spin resonance spectroscopy. The CO2 reactivity of soot was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis. Soot from cellulose was more reactive than soot produced from extractives, lignin and monolignols. Soot reactivity was correlated with the separation distances between adjacent graphene layers, as measured using transmission electron microscopy. Particle size, free radical concentration, differences in a degree of curvature and multi-core structures influenced the soot reactivity less than the interlayer separation distances. Soot yield was correlated with the lignin content of the feedstock. The selection of the extraction solvent had a strong influence on the soot reactivity. The Soxhlet extraction of softwood and wheat straw lignin soot using methanol decreased the soot reactivity, whereas acetone extraction had only a modest effect

Creating spatially continuous maps of past land cover from point estimates: A new statistical approach applied to pollen data

International audienceReliable estimates of past land cover are critical for assessing potential effects of anthropogenic land-cover changes on past earth surface-climate feedbacks and landscape complexity. Fossil pollen records from lakes and bogs have provided important information on past natural and human-induced vegetation cover. However, those records provide only point estimates of past land cover, and not the spatially continuous maps at regional and sub-continental scales needed for climate modelling. We propose a set of statistical models that create spatially continuous maps of past land cover by combining two data sets: 1) pollen-based point estimates of past land cover (from the REVEALS model) and 2) spatially continuous estimates of past land cover, obtained by combining simulated potential vegetation (from LPJ-GUESS) with an anthropogenic land-cover change scenario (KK10). The proposed models rely on statistical methodology for compositional data and use Gaussian Markov Random Fields to model spatial dependencies in the data. Land-cover reconstructions are presented for three time windows in Europe: 0.05, 0.2, and 6 ka years before present (BP). The models are evaluated through cross-validation, deviance information criteria and by comparing the reconstruction of the 0.05 ka time window to the present-day land-cover data compiled by the European Forest Institute (EFI). For 0.05 ka, the proposed models provide reconstructions that are closer to the EFI data than either the REVEALS-or LPJ-GUESS/KK10-based estimates; thus the statistical combination of the two estimates improves the reconstruction. The reconstruction by the proposed models for 0.2 ka is also good. For 6 ka, however, the large differences between the REVEALS-and LPJ-GUESS/KK10-based estimates reduce the reliability of the proposed models. Possible reasons for the increased differences between REVEALS and LPJ-GUESS/KK10 for older time periods and further improvement of the proposed models are discussed