1,349 research outputs found
Competitive interactions moderate the effects of elevated temperature and atmospheric CO2 on the health and functioning of oysters
Global increases in sea temperatures and atmospheric concentrations of CO2 may affect
the health of calcifying shellfish. Little is known, however, about how competitive inter actions
within and between species may influence how species respond to multiple stressors. We experimentally
assessed separate and combined effects of temperature (12 or 16°C) and atmospheric CO2
concentrations (400 and 1000 ppm) on the health and biological functioning of native (Ostrea edulis)
and invasive (Crassostrea gigas) oysters held alone and in intraspecific or inter specific mixtures. We
found evidence of reduced phagocytosis under elevated CO2 and, when combined with increased
temperature, a reduction in the number of circulating haemocytes. Generally, C. gigas showed
lower respiration rates relative to O. edulis when the species were in intraspecific or interspecific
mixtures. In contrast, O. edulis showed a higher respiration rate relative to C. gigas when held in an
interspecific mixture and exhibited lower clearance rates when held in intraspecific or interspecific
mixtures. Overall, clearance rates of C. gigas were consistently greater than those of O. edulis. Collectively,
our findings indicate that a speciesâ ability to adapt metabolic processes to environmental
conditions can be modified by biotic context and may make some species (here, C. gigas) competitively
superior and less vulnerable to future climatic scenarios at local scales. If these conclusions
are generic, the relative role of species interactions, and other biotic parameters, in altering the outcomes
of climate change will require much greater research emphasis
âNo One Manages It; We Just Sign Them Up and Do Itâ: A Whole System Analysis of Access to Healthcare in One Remote Australian Community
Objective: To assess the accessibility, availability and utilisation of a comprehensive range of community-based healthcare services for Aboriginal people and describe contributing factors to providing effective healthcare services from the provider perspective. Setting: A remote community in New South Wales, Australia. Participants: Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal health and education professionals performing various roles in healthcare provision in the community. Design: Case study. Methodology: The study was co-designed with the community. A mixed-methods methodology was utilised. Data were gathered through structured interviews. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the availability of 40 health services in the community, whilst quotations from the qualitative research were used to provide context for the quantitative findings. Results: Service availability was mapped for 40 primary, specialised, and allied health services. Three key themes emerged from the analysis: (1) there are instances of both underservicing and overservicing which give insight into systemic barriers to interagency cooperation; (2) nurses, community health workers, Aboriginal health workers, teachers, and administration staff have an invaluable role in healthcare and improving patient access to health services and could be better supported through further funding and opportunities for specialised training; and (3) visiting and telehealth services are critical components of the system that must be linked to existing community-led primary care services. Conclusion: The study identified factors influencing service availability, accessibility and interagency cooperation in remote healthcare services and systems that can be used to guide future service and system planning and resourcing
Testing the waters: Exploring the teaching of genres in a Cape flats primary school in South Africa
Twenty years after democracy, the legacy of apartheid and hitherto unmet challenges of
resourcing and teacher development are reflected in a severely inequitable and
underperforming education system. This paper focuses on second language writing in the
middle years of schooling when 80% of learners face a double challenge: to move from
âcommon senseâ discourses to the more abstract, specialised discourses of school subjects
and, simultaneously, to a new language of learning, in this case English. It describes an
intervention using a systemic functional linguistic (SFL) genre-based pedagogy involving
72 learners and two teachers in a low socio-economic neighbourhood of Cape Town.
Using an SFL analytical framework, we analyse learnersâ development in the information
report genre. All learners in the intervention group made substantial gains in control of
staging, lexis, and key linguistic features. We argue that the scaffolding provided by SFL
genre-based pedagogies together with their explicit focus on textual and linguistic
features offer a means of significantly enhancing epistemic access to the specialised
language of school subjects, particularly for additional language learners. Findings have
implications for language-in-education policy, teacher education, curriculum, pedagogy,
and assessment in multilingual classrooms
Indicators for relational values of natureâs contributions to good quality of life:The IPBES approach for Europe and Central Asia
Relational values are values of desirable relationships between people and nature and among people (through nature). We report on the approach to capture relational values of nature s contributions to people in the regional assessment for Europe and Central Asia of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). We present a framework considering indicators along four relational value dimensions about people s relationships with nature: security and sovereignty; health; equity and justice; and heritage, social identity and stewardship. The framework has been operationalized for three nature s contributions to people (NCP): regulation of freshwater quality and quantity, food and feed, and physical and psychological experiences derived from nature. We identify ways to empirically assess relational values of nature s contributions to people at regional and continental scales with social-ecological indicators and proxies, ranging from biophysical indicators to indicators that intersect socio-economic with biophysical data. We conclude that many of the identified indicators can be considered as useful proxies of relational values in a quantitative way. The analysis shows that relational values are essential to consider at the science-policy interface as they are an important set of values that people hold about nature and that go beyond instrumental relations. © 2020, © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor and Francis Group
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Dynamic meta-analysis: a method of using global evidence for local decision making
Background
Meta-analysis is often used to make generalisations across all available evidence at the global scale. But how can these global generalisations be used for evidence-based decision making at the local scale, if the global evidence is not perceived to be relevant to local decisions? We show how an interactive method of meta-analysisâdynamic meta-analysisâcan be used to assess the local relevance of global evidence.
Results
We developed Metadataset (www.metadataset.com) as a proof-of-concept for dynamic meta-analysis. Using Metadataset, we show how evidence can be filtered and weighted, and results can be recalculated, using dynamic methods of subgroup analysis, meta-regression, and recalibration. With an example from agroecology, we show how dynamic meta-analysis could lead to different conclusions for different subsets of the global evidence. Dynamic meta-analysis could also lead to a rebalancing of power and responsibility in evidence synthesis, since evidence users would be able to make decisions that are typically made by systematic reviewersâdecisions about which studies to include (e.g. critical appraisal) and how to handle missing or poorly reported data (e.g. sensitivity analysis).
Conclusions
In this study, we show how dynamic meta-analysis can meet an important challenge in evidence-based decision makingâthe challenge of using global evidence for local decisions. We suggest that dynamic meta-analysis can be used for subject-wide evidence synthesis in several scientific disciplines, including agroecology and conservation biology. Future studies should develop standardised classification systems for the metadata that are used to filter and weight the evidence. Future studies should also develop standardised software packages, so that researchers can efficiently publish dynamic versions of their meta-analyses and keep them up-to-date as living systematic reviews. Metadataset is a proof-of-concept for this type of software, and it is open source. Future studies should improve the user experience, scale the software architecture, agree on standards for data and metadata storage and processing, and develop protocols for responsible evidence use
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A systematic map of cassava farming practices and their agricultural and environmental impacts using new ontologies: Agriâontologies 1.0
Cassava is consumed by 800 million people and is a staple crop in Africa. Its production may increase under climate change due to its high drought tolerance. We produced a systematic map of scientific studies about cassava farming practices, with the aim of identifying knowledge gaps and clusters. Our secondary aim was to develop a classification system for [1] farming interventions and [2] agricultural, economic and environmental outcomes. Standardised classification systems facilitate data reuse, including for evidence synthesis, and promote research efficiency.
Following our published protocol, we searched eight publication databases using the search string âcassava OR mandioca OR manihot OR manioc OR yucaâ in December 2017. We screened 36,580 records and included publications that measured the impact of cassava farming practices on agricultural, economic or environmental outcomes, including yield, soil, water, wildlife and labour. We classified the resultant 1599 publications by interventions, outcomes, location, study year and study design. We assessed coding consistency using Kappa scores.
We found regional knowledge clusters (Nigeria, Columbia and Brazil accounted for 45.5% of country occurrences) and gaps (e.g. the Democratic Republic of Congo). There were knowledge clusters for interventions testing cultivar type, fertiliser use and diversifying crop rotations and outcomes related to crop production (e.g. yield/biomass). We found knowledge gaps for environmental interventions and outcomes (e.g. 5% of studies measured pollutants or wildlife). In terms of study design, reporting standards were poor (e.g. 24% of studies did not report start dates), average study duration was 2âyears, and average publication delays were 4âyears. The Kappa scores indicated that we successfully developed consistent ontologies (named Agri-ontologies 1.0). The map and ontologies are available online: https://www.metadataset.com/.
This systematic map of cassava farming practices can direct researchers and funders to knowledge gaps that need addressing, and reviewers to knowledge clusters for synthesis. Better research practices should be promoted within cassava research, as poor reporting standards, short study durations and long publication delays result in an ineffective research environment. This systematic map provides an evidence base for cassava production and the ontologies (Agri-ontologies 1.0) can be applied to other systems to facilitate more efficient and effective synthesis
Limb-darkening measurements for a cool red giant in microlensing event OGLE 2004-BLG-482
Aims: We present a detailed analysis of OGLE 2004-BLG-482, a relatively
high-magnification single-lens microlensing event which exhibits clear
extended-source effects. These events are relatively rare, but they potentially
contain unique information on the stellar atmosphere properties of their source
star, as shown in this study. Methods: Our dense photometric coverage of the
overall light curve and a proper microlensing modelling allow us to derive
measurements of the OGLE 2004-BLG-482 source star's linear limb-darkening
coefficients in three bands, including standard Johnson-Cousins I and R, as
well as in a broad clear filter. In particular, we discuss in detail the
problems of multi-band and multi-site modelling on the expected precision of
our results. We also obtained high-resolution UVES spectra as part of a ToO
programme at ESO VLT from which we derive the source star's precise fundamental
parameters. Results: From the high-resolution UVES spectra, we find that OGLE
2004-BLG-482's source star is a red giant of MK type a bit later than M3, with
Teff = 3667 +/- 150 K, log g = 2.1 +/- 1.0 and an assumed solar metallicity.
This is confirmed by an OGLE calibrated colour-magnitude diagram. We then
obtain from a detailed microlensing modelling of the light curve linear
limb-darkening coefficients that we compare to model-atmosphere predictions
available in the literature, and find a very good agreement for the I and R
bands. In addition, we perform a similar analysis using an alternative
description of limb darkening based on a principal component analysis of ATLAS
limb-darkening profiles, and also find a very good agreement between
measurements and model predictions.Comment: Accepted in A&
OGLE-2005-BLG-071Lb, the Most Massive M-Dwarf Planetary Companion?
We combine all available information to constrain the nature of
OGLE-2005-BLG-071Lb, the second planet discovered by microlensing and the first
in a high-magnification event. These include photometric and astrometric
measurements from Hubble Space Telescope, as well as constraints from higher
order effects extracted from the ground-based light curve, such as microlens
parallax, planetary orbital motion and finite-source effects. Our primary
analysis leads to the conclusion that the host of Jovian planet
OGLE-2005-BLG-071Lb is an M dwarf in the foreground disk with mass M= 0.46 +/-
0.04 Msun, distance D_l = 3.3 +/- 0.4 kpc, and thick-disk kinematics v_LSR ~
103 km/s. From the best-fit model, the planet has mass M_p = 3.8 +/- 0.4 M_Jup,
lies at a projected separation r_perp = 3.6 +/- 0.2 AU from its host and so has
an equilibrium temperature of T ~ 55 K, i.e., similar to Neptune. A degenerate
model less favored by \Delta\chi^2 = 2.1 (or 2.2, depending on the sign of the
impact parameter) gives similar planetary mass M_p = 3.4 +/- 0.4 M_Jup with a
smaller projected separation, r_\perp = 2.1 +/- 0.1 AU, and higher equilibrium
temperature T ~ 71 K. These results from the primary analysis suggest that
OGLE-2005-BLG-071Lb is likely to be the most massive planet yet discovered that
is hosted by an M dwarf. However, the formation of such high-mass planetary
companions in the outer regions of M-dwarf planetary systems is predicted to be
unlikely within the core-accretion scenario. There are a number of caveats to
this primary analysis, which assumes (based on real but limited evidence) that
the unlensed light coincident with the source is actually due to the lens, that
is, the planetary host. However, these caveats could mostly be resolved by a
single astrometric measurement a few years after the event.Comment: 51 pages, 12 figures, 3 tables, Published in Ap
Extreme Magnification Microlensing Event OGLE-2008-BLG-279: Strong Limits on Planetary Companions to the Lens Star
We analyze the extreme high-magnification microlensing event
OGLE-2008-BLG-279, which peaked at a maximum magnification of A ~ 1600 on 30
May 2008. The peak of this event exhibits both finite-source effects and
terrestrial parallax, from which we determine the mass of the lens, M_l=0.64
+/- 0.10 M_Sun, and its distance, D_l = 4.0 +/- 0.6. We rule out Jupiter-mass
planetary companions to the lens star for projected separations in the range
0.5-20 AU. More generally, we find that this event was sensitive to planets
with masses as small as 0.2 M_Earth ~= 2 M_Mars with projected separations near
the Einstein ring (~3 AU).Comment: 25 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Ap
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