2,006 research outputs found
Eating Biodiversity: Investigating the Links Between Grassland Biodiversity and Quality Food Production
Modern food production systems are generally detrimental to biodiversity, and the widespread loss of species-diverse grassland as a consequence of intensive farming methods is well documented. Since the 1980s, a range of policy measures and financial incentives for farmers have been introduced in Europe to halt (and in some cases, reverse) this trend, primarily to meet environmental objectives of species and habitat conservation and landscape protection. Biodiversity, where associated with agricultural production, has largely been regarded as a positive \u27externality\u27 to the process of food production; a ‘product’ which benefits wider society without necessarily conferring an agricultural benefit to the producer. However, with increasing emphasis on food quality, and the marketing of food products by geographical origin, method of production, gastronomic value and nutritional and health properties, there is potential to improve financial returns for farmers and the wider rural economy. Production in which grassland biodiversity is an ‘input’ to the livestock production food chain are embedded in some speciality systems, notably in mountain areas of Europe (Peeters and Frame, 2002). In the context of conserving grassland biodiversity there is a need to improve our understanding of the links between food products and animal diets, including pasture composition. This paper outlines a 3-year project funded by the UK RELU programme (RELU, 2005) which commenced in 2005. Results are not yet available so this summary focuses on the strategy being followed and the wider implications of linking enhanced food-product value to biodiversity
Deception and self-awareness
This paper presents a study conducted for the Shades of Grey EPSRC research project (EP/H02302X/1), which aims to develop a suite of interventions for identifying terrorist activities. The study investigated the body movements demonstrated by participants while waiting to be interviewed, in one of two conditions: preparing to lie or preparing to tell the truth. The effect of self-awareness was also investigated, with half of the participants sitting in front of a full length mirror during the waiting period. The other half faced a blank wall. A significant interaction was found for the duration of hand/arm movements between the deception and self-awareness conditions (F=4.335, df=1;76, p<0.05). Without a mirror, participants expecting to lie spent less time moving their hands than those expecting to tell the truth; the opposite was seen in the presence of a mirror. This finding indicates a new research area worth further investigation
“It’s Always Good to Ask”:A Mixed Methods Study on the Perceived Role of Sexual Health Practitioners Asking Gay and Bisexual Men About Experiences of Domestic Violence and Abuse
Development of joint displays is a valued approach to merging qualitative and quantitative findings in mixed methods research. This study aimed to illustrate a case series mixed methods display and the utility of using mixed methods for broadening our understanding of domestic violence and abuse. Using a convergent design, 532 gay and bisexual men participated in a Health and Relationship Survey in a U.K. sexual health service and 19 in an interview. Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed separately and integrated at the level of interpretation and reporting. There were inconsistencies in perceptions and reports of abuse. Men were supportive of selective enquiry for domestic violence and abuse by practitioners (62.6%; 95% confidence interval = 58.1% to 66.7%) while being mindful of contextual factors.</p
Analysis of detector performance in a gigahertz clock rate quantum key distribution system
We present a detailed analysis of a gigahertz clock rate environmentally robust phase-encoded quantum key distribution (QKD) system utilizing several different single-photon detectors, including the first implementation of an experimental resonant cavity thin-junction silicon single-photon avalanche diode. The system operates at a wavelength of 850 nm using standard telecommunications optical fibre. A general-purpose theoretical model for the performance of QKD systems is presented with reference to these experimental results before predictions are made about realistic detector developments in this system. We discuss, with reference to the theoretical model, how detector operating parameters can be further optimized to maximize key exchange rates
A survey of Edwardsiella ictaluri in wild catfish populations in Australia
This report contains the findings of the first survey of the exotic bacterium Edwardsiella ictaluri in wild freshwater fish populations in Australia. Edwardsiella ictaluri causes enteric septicaemia of catfish (ESC), which is a serious disease of farmed channel catfish in the USA. The bacterium has previously been detected in imported ornamental fish and in native catfish held in Australian aquarium facilities, but wild fish populations in Australia are considered free of the disease. The Australian Government Department of Agriculture, through the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, funded an active surveillance program to provide further evidence for this claim of disease freedom
Polymerase chain reaction detection of avipox and avian papillomavirus in naturally infected wild birds: comparisons of blood, swab and tissue samples
Avian poxvirus (avipox) is widely reported from avian species, causing cutaneous or mucosal lesions. Mortality rates of up to 100% are recorded in some hosts. Three major avipox clades are recognized. Several diagnostic techniques have been reported, with molecular techniques used only recently. Avipox has been reported from 278 different avian species, but only 111 of these involved sequence and/or strain identification. Collecting samples from wild birds is challenging as only few wild bird individuals or species may be symptomatic. Also, sampling regimes are tightly regulated and the most efficient sampling method, whole bird collection, is ethically challenging. In this study, three alternative sampling techniques (blood, cutaneous swabs and tissue biopsies) from symptomatic wild birds were examined. Polymerase chain reaction was used to detect avipoxvirus and avian papillomavirus (which also induces cutaneous lesions in birds). Four out of 14 tissue samples were positive but all 29 blood samples and 22 swab samples were negative for papillomavirus. All 29 blood samples were negative but 6/22 swabs and 9/14 tissue samples were avipox-positive. The difference between the numbers of positives generated from tissue samples and from swabs was not significant. The difference in the avipox-positive specimens in paired swab (4/6) and tissue samples (6/6) was also not significant. These results therefore do not show the superiority of swab or tissue samples over each other. However, both swab (6/22) and tissue (8/9) samples yielded significantly more avipox-positive cases than blood samples, which are therefore not recommended for sampling these viruses.The authors thank bird ringers from Alula and Monticola, especially Alfredo Ortega and Chechu Aguirre, for help with the capture and ringing of birds, which made this project possible. Thanks to Alvaro Ramírez for samples. This research was funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spain (grant number: CGL2010-15734/BOS). R.A.J.W. was supported by the Programa Internacional de Captación de Talento (PICATA) de Moncloa Campus de Excelencia Internacional while writing the manuscript
Enhancing the fill-factor of CMOS SPAD arrays using microlens integration
Arrays of single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) detectors were fabricated, using a 0.35 μm CMOS technology process,
for use in applications such as time-of-flight 3D ranging and microscopy. Each 150 x 150 μm pixel comprises a 30 μm
active area diameter SPAD and its associated circuitry for counting, timing and quenching, resulting in a fill-factor of
3.14%. This paper reports how a higher effective fill-factor was achieved as a result of integrating microlens arrays on
top of the 32 x 32 SPAD arrays. Diffractive and refractive microlens arrays were designed to concentrate the incoming
light onto the active area of each pixel. A telecentric imaging system was used to measure the improvement factor (IF)
resulting from microlens integration, whilst varying the f-number of incident light from f/2 to f/22 in one-stop
increments across a spectral range of 500-900 nm. These measurements have demonstrated an increasing IF with fnumber,
and a maximum of ~16 at the peak wavelength, showing a good agreement with theoretical values. An IF of 16
represents the highest value reported in the literature for microlenses integrated onto a SPAD detector array. The results
from statistical analysis indicated the variation of detector efficiency was between 3-10% across the whole f-number
range, demonstrating excellent uniformity across the detector plane with and without microlenses
Creating an innovation ecosystem for rapid diagnostic tests for livestock to support sustainable antibiotic use
This is the final version. Available on open access from Routledge via the DOI in this recordAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of today’s greatest public health threats and reducing antimicrobial use in livestock is essential to prevent its spread, requiring rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) to ensure that the drug prescribed matches the sensitivity of the disease organism. However, despite decades of research on RDTs and a relatively permissive regulatory environment in the UK, few devices are in commercial use. Challenges discussed by RDT developers included identifying commercially-viable targets, and management of the innovation ecosystem, e.g. to create clear pathways to market supporting positive interactions between farmers, vets, and other actors along the value chain. Future support for RDT development could be provided through incorporation in: assured food systems; business service packages provided by centralised laboratories; or animal health monitoring packages related to the spread of AMR. Breeding stock sales could require an accompanying health package including RDTs, vaccines and/or antibiotics, linking to precision agriculture approaches. Unlike the example of RDT development for COVID-19, it seems that the urgency of the issue and the clarity of links between animal and human health outcomes are not yet sufficient to support a fast-tracking programme for the development of RDTs to combat AMR
Quantum key distribution system in standard telecommunications fiber using a short wavelength single-photon source
A demonstration of the principles of quantum key distribution is performed
using a single-photon source in a proof of concept test-bed over a distance of
2 km in standard telecommunications optical fiber. The single-photon source was
an optically-pumped quantum dot in a microcavity emitting at a wavelength of
895 nm. Characterization of the quantum key distribution parameters was
performed at a range of different optical excitation powers. An investigation
of the effect of varying the optical excitation power of the quantum dot
microcavity on the quantum bit error rate and cryptographic key exchange rate
of the system are presented.Comment: Final manuscript version, some grammatical differences from the
published version. 26 pages including 7 figures
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Food geographies I: relational foodscapes and the busy-ness of being more-than-food
The study of foodscapes has spread throughout geography at the same time as food scholarship has spearheaded post-disciplinary research. This report argues that geographers have taken to post-disciplinarity to explore the ways that food is ‘more-than-food’ through analyses of the visceral nature of eating and politics and the vital (re)materializations of food’s cultural geographies. Visceral food geographies illuminate what I call the ‘contingent relationalities’ of food in the critical evaluation of the indeterminate, situated politics of ‘feeling food’ and those of the embodied collectivities of obesity. Questions remain, however, about how a visceral framework might be deployed for broader critiques within foodscapes and the study of human geography. The study of food’s vital materialisms opens up investigation into the practices of the ‘makings’ of meat, food waste and eating networks. Analysis of affect, embodiment and cultural practices is central to these theorizations and suggests consideration of the multiple materialisms of food, space and eating. There is, I contend, in the more radical, ‘post-relational’ approaches to food, the need for a note of caution. Exuberant claims for the ontological, vital agency of food should be tempered by, or at least run parallel to, critical questions of the real politik of political and practical agency in light of recent struggles over austerity, food poverty and food justice
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