Wind Turbines In The Landscape: Final Report & Script

The aim of this project was to produce a video film where the visual impact issues associated with current UK wind farms are addressed. The video is targeted to an audience of planners, planning committee members, planning consultants, environmental organisations and the public to assist their consideration of wind farm planning applications. It is also intended that the video be readily available to wind farm developers for use in consultative activities and to accompany their planning applications. It is both timely and appropriate to use video media for the study of this specific environmental issue. This report contains only a brief description of the activities undertaken and a transcript of the final video production

Early research on the biological effects of microwave radiation: 1940?1960

Two overriding considerations shaped the development of early research on the biological effects of microwave radiation?possible medical application (diathermy) and uncertainty about the hazards of exposure to radar. Reports in the late 1940s and early 1950s of hazards resulting from microwave exposure led to the near abandonment of medical research related to microwave diathermy at the same time that military and industrial concern over hazards grew, culminating in the massive research effort known as ?the Tri-Service program? (1957?1960). Both the early focus on medical application and the later search for hazards played important roles in dictating how this field of research developed as a science

A questionnaire elicitation of surgeons' belief about learning within a surgical trial

PMID: 23145113 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] PMCID: PMC3493499 Free PMC ArticlePeer reviewedPublisher PD

Audit of failure rate of sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine combined with chloroquine to treat falciparum malaria at single fourteen-day follow-up

Objective. To assess the failure rate of the present first line treatment regime for uncomplicated falciparum malaria of sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine combined with chloroquine. Design. A before-after study1 Setting. Ndumo Clinic, Ingwavuma District, South Africa, October 2000 Study Group. 55 patients presenting to Ndumo clinic with uncomplicated malaria and malaria trophozoites visible on thin film. Main outcome measures:Trophozoite count on thick film at day 14. Results. 15 out of 37 patients who returned for follow-up still had trophozoites on thick film. Symptoms of most patients at day 0 and day 14 were mild, parasite counts before and after treatment were low, and trophozoites were atypical. Conclusions. There appears to be an unacceptably high day 14 failure rate with the combination of sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine and chloroquine.The mildness of symptoms, low parasite counts and atypical trophozoites suggest immunity to falciparum malaria amongst the local population. With few antimalarials to chose from, the difficult question as to future treatment of uncomplicated malaria arises. Keywords: Falciparum malaria, chloroquine, sulfadoxine, pyrimethamine SA Fam Prac Vol.25(3) 2002: 4-

Violence in the city : inequality, intimidation and fear

The chapter discusses the rise in serious, weapon-enabled violence in major UK cities during the past several years. The chapter positions these rises in a context of austerity cuts and inequalities, and makes policy recommendations to address serious violence in UK cities

Charcoal production during the Norse and early medieval periods in Eyjafjallahreppur, Southern Iceland

Timber procurement and the use of woodlands is a key issue in the Norse and Medieval period in the North Atlantic islands. This paper outlines evidence for the timing and mechanisms of Norse deforestation in an area of southern Iceland which is tracked through the mapping and analysis of charcoal production pits. Precise dating of the use of these charcoal production pits within a Bayesian framework is demonstrated through the combination of tephrochronology, sediment accumulation rates and multiple radiocarbon dates on the archaeological charcoal. The implications for using charcoal as a dating medium for radiocarbon dating in Iceland and the wider North Atlantic are then explored. Finally, the nature of the deforestation and human impact on the environment is placed into the context of the Norse landnám across the North Atlantic

Oilseed rape (Brassica napus) as a resource for farmland insect pollinators: quantifying floral traits in conventional varieties and breeding systems

This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Oilseed rape (OSR; Brassica napus L.) is a major crop in temperate regions and provides an important source ofnutrition to many of the yield-enhancing insect flower visitors that consume floral nectar. The manipulation ofmechanisms that control various crop plant traits for the benefit of pollinators has been suggested in the bid toincrease food security, but little is known about inherent floral trait expression in contemporary OSR varieties orthe breeding systems used in OSR breeding programmes. We studied a range of floral traits in glasshouse-grown, certified conventional varieties of winter OSR to test for variation among and within breeding systems.We measured 24-h nectar secretion rate, amount, concentration and ratio of nectar sugars per flower, and sizesand number of flowers produced per plant from 24 varieties of OSR representing open-pollinated (OP), genicmale sterility (GMS) hybrid and cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) hybrid breeding systems. Sugar concentrationwas consistent among and within the breeding systems; however, GMS hybrids produced more nectar and moresugar per flower than CMS hybrid or OP varieties. With the exception of ratio of fructose/glucose in OP vari-eties, we found that nectar traits were consistent within all the breeding systems. When scaled, GMS hybridsproduced 1.73 times more nectar resource per plant than OP varieties. Nectar production and amount of nectarsugar in OSR plants were independent of number and size of flowers. Our data show that floral traits of glass-house-grown OSR differed among breeding systems, suggesting that manipulation and enhancement of nectarrewards for insect flower visitors, including pollinators, could be included in future OSR breeding programmes.This work was fundedby the BBSRC, including support from an Insect Pollinators Ini-tiative grant awarded to GAW (BB/I000968/1) that was jointlyfunded by the BBSRC, NERC, the Wellcome Trust, Defra, andthe Scottish Government. Support was also received from HighWycombe Beekeepers’ Association. Rothamsted Researchreceives strategic funding from the Biotechnology and BiologicalSciences Research Council (BBSRC) of the UK