A broad typology of dry rainforests on the western slopes of New South Wales

Dry rainforests are those communities that have floristic and structural affinities to mesic rainforests and occur in parts of eastern and northern Australia where rainfall is comparatively low and often highly seasonal. The dry rainforests of the western slopes of New South Wales are poorly-understood compared to other dry rainforests in Australia, due to a lack of regional scale studies. This paper attempts to redress this by deriving a broad floristic and structural typology for this vegetation type. Phytogeographical analysis followed full floristic surveys conducted on 400 m2 plots located within dry rainforest across the western slopes of NSW. Cluster analysis and ordination of 208 plots identified six floristic groups. Unlike in some other regional studies of dry rainforest these groups were readily assigned to Webb structural types, based on leaf size classes, leaf retention classes and canopy height. Five community types were described using both floristic and structural data: 1) Ficus rubiginosa–Notelaea microcarpa notophyll vine thicket, 2) Ficus rubiginosa–Alectryon subcinereus–Notelaea microcarpa notophyll vine forest, 3) Elaeodendron australe–Notelaea microcarpa–Geijera parviflora notophyll vine thicket, 4) Notelaea microcarpa– Geijera parviflora–Ehretia membranifolia semi-evergreen vine thicket, and 5) Cadellia pentastylis low microphyll vine forest. Floristic groupings were consistent with those described by previous quantitative studies which examined smaller portions of this study area. There was also general agreement between the present analytical study and a previous intuitive classification of dry rainforest vegetation throughout the study area, but little concurrence with a continental scale floristic classification of rainforest

Genetics of rheumatic disease

Many of the chronic inflammatory and degenerative disorders that present to clinical rheumatologists have a complex genetic aetiology. Over the past decade a dramatic improvement in technology and methodology has accelerated the pace of gene discovery in complex disorders in an exponential fashion. In this review, we focus on rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and ankylosing spondylitis and describe some of the recently described genes that underlie these conditions and the extent to which they overlap. The next decade will witness a full account of the main disease susceptibility genes in these diseases and progress in establishing the molecular basis by which genetic variation contributes to pathogenesis

Service user experience of the Norfolk youth service

Purpose: There is an international drive to improve mental health services for young people. This study aims to investigate service user experience of a youth mental health service in Norfolk, UK. In addition to suggesting improvements to this service, recommendations are made for the development of youth mental health services in general. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed-methods approach was used. Quantitative data from satisfaction questionnaires were analysed using descriptive statistics and compared between two time points. A semi-structured interview was used to generate qualitative data. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes in the interview transcripts and triangulation was used to synthesise quantitative and qualitative data. Findings: Service users appeared satisfied with the service. Significant improvements in satisfaction were found between two time points. Qualitative analysis identified three main themes that were important to service users, including support, information and personhood. Practical implications: Recommendations for the development of youth mental health services are provided. Although these are based on findings from the Norfolk youth service, they are likely to apply to other mental health services for young people. Originality/value: Mental health care for young people requires significant improvement. The Norfolk youth service is one of the first services of its kind in the UK. The findings from this study might be helpful to consider in the development of youth mental health services across the world

Hydraulics of Subglacial Supercooling: Theory and Simulations for Clear Water Flows

Glaciohydraulic supercooling is a mechanism for accreting ice and sediment to the base of glaciers. We extend existing models by reworking the Spring‐Hutter model for subglacial water flow in tubular conduits to allow for distributed water sheets. Our goal is to determine diagnostic features of supercooling relative to controlling variables. Results focus on along‐path water flow under time‐varying conditions, with attention to ice accretion in and along subglacial overdeepenings. We contrast simulations with constant recharge to diurnally‐varying recharge and expose behavior that cannot be inferred from simple models. For example, locations of simulated ice accretion differ from those found for steady state models, even though total ice accretion remains comparable to field estimates. Downstream accretion influences upstream effective pressures that then modify the hydraulic gradient that drives water flow. This modified gradient tends to inhibit additional accretion by increasing velocity and heat production via viscous dissipation. During diurnal cycles, accretion varies considerably: in daytime, viscous dissipation dominates the heat balance and ice melts. In morning and evening, when flow is rising or falling, viscous dissipation is lower and accretion can proceed. Over nighttime, the largest temperature depressions occur in the subglacial system, but water flux is lowest and accretion rates are negligible. We conclude by inferring that overdeepened glaciers with only clear water flows evolve toward stronger supercooling regimes rather than toward a dynamic equilibrium. Stabilizing feedbacks are unlikely to occur through glacier hydrology alone, and other processes, such as erosion, sedimentation, and sliding, must play an important role

Threads of Memory: A Culture of Commemoration in Kenya Colony, 1918-1930

The centenary of the First World War (2014-2018) proffered new interpretations of the conflict as a global war that stretched far beyond the Western Front. Historians of the Great War, however, have continued to characterize the African theatres of the war as ‘sideshows.’ Similarly, Africa has been largely absent from studies of the commemoration and memory of the First World War. While memory studies have contributed to an understanding of the long-term legacy of the conflagration for contemporary nation-states, Africa remains a regrettable exclusion. This study addresses a particular case study – Kenya Colony – as a locus of memory and meaning-making in the wake of the Great War. I argue that Imperial organizations, colonial administrators, and settlers all fashioned the First World War as a validation of the colonial project in East Africa, and the trajectory of the British Empire more generally. In the process, settlers, administrators, and the Imperial War Graves Commission pulled on Empire-wide threads of First World War memory, creating knots of memory that denied Kenyans a meaningful place in the public commemoration of the conflagration. Through their commemorative infrastructure, white settlers in Kenya Colony bolstered their political and social power by referencing the First World War. The memory of the First World War, however, was not homogenous within Kenya’s white community. The culture of commemoration that emerged during the 1920s in Kenya was multifaceted and politically charged. What resulted was a debate on the nature of colonialism in East Africa, where different interest groups posited different interpretations of 1914-1918. Ultimately, even though at least 45,000 Kenyans died in the First World War, on the eve of decolonization the First World War was no longer nationally significant in Kenya, relegating its history to the background of Kenyan politics and history

Application of a Novel Clay Stabilizer to Mitigate Formation Damage due to Clay Swelling

Clay swelling and fines migration can cause formation damage of hydrocarbon bearing zones and prevent economic realization of oil/gas wells. Identification and management of clay particles in the formation is a necessary component of production and drilling engineers’ responsibilities. This research focuses on the application of a cationic inorganic Al/Zr-based polymer clay stabilizer to prevent swelling of smectite particles in a sandstone matrix. Previous work has focused on mitigating fines migration; swelling mitigation is tested here. Berea sandstone cores were injected with a montmorillonite slurry to supplement the very low concentration of naturally occurring swelling clays. The modified Berea cores were subjected to a unique aluminum/zirconium-based clay stabilizer, via coreflood, to determine the effect of the stabilizer as a clay control mechanism. Pressure differential across the core and analysis of the coreflood effluent were used to measure the effectiveness of the treatment. The Al/Zr stabilizer performed well as a means to prevent clay swelling. When compared to an untreated core, permeability loss due to clay swelling and fines migration was negligible. Performance of the stabilizer at different concentrations suggests that an increase in stabilizer concentration does not correlate directly with permeability maintenance

Scientific Diversity, Scientific Uncertainty and Risk Mitigation Policy & Planning: Final Report

This is the Final Report of the ‘RMPP project’ (Scientific Diversity, Scientific Uncertainty and Risk Mitigation Policy and Planning project), which addressed the use and utility of science and other forms of knowledge by natural hazard practitioners, and the pragmatic meaning these hold for their risk mitigation work. Natural hazard managers often expect, and are expected, to achieve outcomes by using scientific facts and rational problem-solving to increase certainty of decisions in the face of hazardous events (Funtowitcz and Ravetz, 2003). At the same time, the uncertainties of natural hazards means that this sector has always set different terms to the this ‘pipeline’ approach to the use science (also called the ‘linear model of scientific expertise’). The ability of policymakers and practitioners to explain and justify risk mitigation and its evidence is compromised without greater insight into how science and other forms of knowledge are used in emergency management policy and practice. The sector does not receive the full range of information it requires, and continues to be vulnerable to the perpetuation of ‘myths’ about science, its use and its usefulness. Instead of relying on facts to generate better policy and practices, as invaluable as they are, we ask: what are ‘facts’, how do facts, values and action interrelate, and what are the implications of these insights to allow practitioners to make better decisions? Two literature reviews were conducted, the first examined the use of scenario methods for environmental risk, and the second identified the types of scientific uncertainties in flood and bushfire science. These uncertainties were then organised into three categories: historicist, reliance on historical data, due to assumed determining relationship between the past, the present and the future; instrumental, uncertainty arising out of limitations of a given apparatus, heuristic or theory, and interventionist, are those uncertainties in the predictive calculations about the effect of mitigation interventions (e.g. flood levy banks). Three case studies were conducted, each located in an important risk landscapes in which scientific knowledge was being used to change policy and/or practice and address a complex emergency management problem: Wildfire risk and prescribed burning, in the Barwon-Otway region, Victoria; Wildfire risk and an invasive fire-weed, in the Greater Darwin area, Northern Territory; and, Flood risk and mitigation planning in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley, New South Wales