Development of a suitable detection method for silver nanoparticles in fish tissue using single particle ICP-MS

A strong alkali extraction technique and suitable single particle ICP-MS method is described for the routine quantifying of particle number concentration, particle size and particle mass concentration for silver nanomaterials in fish tissue.</p

The impact of out-of-hours admission on patient mortality: longitudinal analysis in a tertiary acute hospital

Background Emergency hospital admission at weekends is associated with an increased risk of mortality. Previous studies have been limited to examining single years and assessing day – not time – of admission. We used an enhanced longitudinal dataset to estimate the ‘weekend effect’ over time and the effect of night-time admission on the mortality rate. Method We examined 246,350 emergency spells from a large teaching hospital in England between April 2004 and March 2014. Outcomes included 7-day, 30-day and in-hospital mortality rates. We conducted probit regressions to estimate the impact of two key predictors on mortality: i) admission at weekends (7.00 pm Friday to 6.59 am Monday); ii) night-time admission (7.00 pm to 6.59 am). Logistic regressions were estimated to produce odds ratios. Results Crude 30-day mortality rate decreased from 6.6% in 2004/05 to 5.2% in 2013/14. Adjusted mortality risk was elevated for all out-of-hours periods. The highest risk was associated with admission at weekend night-times: 30-day mortality increased by 0.6 percentage points (adjusted OR: 1.168), 7-day mortality by 0.4 percentage points (adjusted OR: 1.225), and in-hospital mortality by 0.5 percentage points (adjusted OR: 1.140) compared with admission on weekday day-times. Weekend night-time admission was associated with increased mortality risk in 9 out of 10 years, but this was only statistically significant (P≤ 0.05) in 5 out of 10 years. Conclusions There is an increased risk of mortality for patients admitted as emergencies both at weekends and during the night-time. These effects are additive, so that the greatest risk of mortality occurs in patients admitted during the night at weekends. This increased risk appears to be consistent over time, but the effects are small and are not statistically significant in individual hospitals in every year

Peat Bog Ecosystems: Domestic peat extraction

Small-scale peat extraction for fuel has probably been a feature of peat-dominated landscapes for many thousands of years. The cumulative scale and extent of this activity is often under-estimated, particularly in areas which are now remote parts of the landscape. A cut peat face acts as a one-sided drain and thus has a number of hydrological and morphological effects, including potentially the creation of weak zones within the peat which may trigger mass movement. This briefing note is part of a series aimed at policy makers, practitioners and academics to help explain the ecological processes that underpin peatland function. Understanding the ecology of peatlands is essential when investigating the impacts of human activity on peatlands, interpreting research findings and planning the recovery of damaged peatlands

Peat Bog Ecosystems: Tracks across peatlands

Tracks have been made across peatlands for as long as human society has existed. Un-made tracks (i.e. those created simply by regular use, with no construction involved) were probably first created by grazing animals and then presumably also used by early human communities. Finding these increasingly impassable with regular use, human societies began to construct 'corduroy roads' during Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Age times. These first constructed tracks were made from cut timbers(below). Across Europe, many examples of these corduroy roads have been found preserved in lowland bogs, perhaps most famously in the Somerset Levels and more recently at Hatfield Moors on the Humberhead Levels

Peat Bog Ecosystems: Grazing and Trampling

Bog vegetation is sensitive to trampling and thus is only able to sustain a combination of domestic and wild grazing stock at very low densities. Higher densities combine with impacts such as burning, drainage and atmospheric pollution to cause loss of the protective bog vegetation and development of erosion complexes. Trampling is also an issue for researchers repeatedly visiting monitoring locations, even if only once a year. This briefing note is part of a series aimed at policy makers, practitioners and academics to help explain the ecological processes that underpin peatland function. Understanding the ecology of peatlands is essential when investigating the impacts of human activity on peatlands, interpreting research findings and planning the recovery of damaged peatlands

Peat Bog Ecosystems: Weathering, Erosion and Mass Movement of Blanket Bog

When the protective living layer of the acrotelm of a peat bog is lost as a result of human activities, the catotelm peat beneath becomes subject to weathering and erosion. As much as 3 cm thickness can be lost in one year. More spectacular losses can occur if mass movement of the peat occurs because the stability of the peat on a hill-slope is compromised by the same factors as those which trigger erosion. With the recent reduction in human pressures on blanket bog landscapes, there is evidence of natural re-vegetation across many areas, although very extensive areas continue to erode. This briefing note is part of a series aimed at policy makers, practitioners and academics to help explain the ecological processes that underpin peatland function. Understanding the ecology of peatlands is essential when investigating the impacts of human activity on peatlands, interpreting research findings and planning the recovery of damaged peatlands

Peat Bog Ecosystems: Burning

Fires occur naturally on bogs through lightning strikes, but for any given location this is a rare occurrence - perhaps once every 200 or 300 years. Current burning practice for grazing or to encourage grouse means that ground is burnt 10x more frequently than this, resulting in loss of natural peat bog biodiversity and peat-forming species. Full recovery may take considerably more than a century. This briefing note is part of a series aimed at policy makers, practitioners and academics to help explain the ecological processes that underpin peatland function. Understanding the ecology of peatlands is essential when investigating the impacts of human activity on peatlands, interpreting research findings and planning the recovery of damaged peatlands

Peat Bog Ecosystems: Structure, Form, State and Condition

This briefing note is part of a series aimed at policy makers, practitioners and academics to help explain the ecological processes that underpin peatland function. Understanding the ecology of peatlands is essential when investigating the impacts of human activity on peatlands, interpreting research findings and planning the recovery of damaged peatlands. This report considers the structure, form, state and condition of bogs/mires. It recommends use of the JNCC '-tope' system in describing peat areas, which encompasses vegetation, microtopography and overal site hydrology, rather than only on vegetation description

Peat Bog Ecosystems: Ecological Impacts of Forestry on Peatlands

For the most part, UK blanket bogs have been treeless for many thousands of years, although in their natural state they would probably have had stunted woodland along streamlines and on steep marginal slopes. Commercial afforestation of UK bogs, on the other hand, requires intensive drainage to permit the trees to grow. This drainage results in substantial hydrological, morphological and carbon-storage impacts, as well as significant loss of typical peat bog biodiversity. This briefing note is part of a series aimed at policy makers, practitioners and academics to help explain the ecological processes that underpin peatland function. Understanding the ecology of peatlands is essential when investigating the impacts of human activity on peatlands, interpreting research findings and planning the recovery of damaged peatlands

Peat Bog Ecosystems: Commercial peat extraction

Removal of peat for commercial use, now largely as a horticultural growing medium but in earlier times as litter for stables, results in large-scale removal of the living vegetation, the peat and the carbon stored within the peat. The UK Government is seeking to replace the use of peat with sustainable peat alternatives by 2030. Restoration of cut-over bogs involves blocking the drainage system and encouraging growth of terrestrial Sphagnum species. This briefing note is part of a series aimed at policy makers, practitioners and academics to help explain the ecological processes that underpin peatland function. Understanding the ecology of peatlands is essential when investigating the impacts of human activity on peatlands, interpreting research findings and planning the recovery of damaged peatlands