The early history of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall 1814-1850

The origins and early membership of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, founded in Penzance in 1814, are examined, and it is concluded that the institution was established mainly to provide a source of culture for a middle class group of men; however in the initial years, the Cornish mining industry, in which many of them had investments, was also a major concern. Comparisons are made with a number of similar societies, including the Royal Institution of Cornwall (f. 1818) and the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic society (f. 1833). It is shown that the RGSC had some similarities with other provincial societies, but two important differences are singled out; specialisation in geology, and the relative unimportance of religious dissent. Three case studies are presented. The first describes the society's efforts to produce a geological map of Cornwall, and argues that a map published in 1832 was inadequate, and met the needs neither of the society, nor of the mining industry. The second study looks at investigations of mineral veins and a survey of Cornish mines made by WJ Henwood, and concludes that although some useful results were presented, these were of little lasting value. The work of RW Fox on the electromagnetic origins of mineral veins is discussed, with attention to the reasons for Fox's presentation of his work to institutions other than the RGSC. The final case study examines the subject of health and safety in mines. The geological work of the society is described, and it is concluded that although the Geological Society of London was possibly used as a model, members of the RGSC were prepared to follow more diverse geological interests than were members of the London Society, partly because of the nature of Cornish geology, but also because they initially paid attention to the utilitarian applications of the subject

Uncertainty and Reasonable Assurance: Why We Need to Teach Regulators to Focus on Uncertainty in Risk Assessment and Risk Management

The rationality of regulatory decisions is inextricably linked to an explicit representation of the uncertainty underlying scientific predictions. The level of coverage of uncertainty in training programs on risk assessment and risk management developed by the EPA is examined in light of the above thesis. Using the EPA's Office Of Drinking Water's Workshops on Assessment and Management of Drinking Water Contamination (EPA, 1988) as an example, concepts for formalizing consideration of uncertainty are presented. A case study on the risks from radon in drinking water is developed to illustrate the recommended level of coverage of uncertainty in EPA training programs.Master of Science in Public Healt

Reduced incidence of hypertension after heterotopic cardiac transplantation compared with orthotopic cardiac transplantation Evidence that excision of the native heart contributes to post-transplant hypertension

ObjectivesThis study was designed to test the hypothesis that heterotopic heart transplant (HHT) patients have lower blood pressure than orthotopic cardiac transplant (OCT) patients because their native heart is involved in blood pressure homeostasis.BackgroundHypertension occurs more frequently after OCT than after liver or lung transplantation, suggesting that transplantation of the heart itself contributes to post-transplant hypertension.MethodsBlood pressure and related measurements in 233 OCT and 38 HHT patients were studied retrospectively post-transplant.ResultsSystolic blood pressure (SBP) was persistently lower among HHT patients (means 121 vs. 137, 126 vs. 137, 125 vs. 139, and 128 vs. 143 mm Hg at month 3 and years 1, 3, and 5 respectively, p < 0.005). Left ventricular and aortic systolic pressures were also lower (130 vs. 143 mm Hg, p = 0.01 and 129 vs. 142 mm Hg, p = 0.01). Multivariable analysis with age, gender, body mass index, creatinine, steroids, cyclosporine, use of antihypertensive medication, donor left ventricular ejection fraction, donor weight, and type of transplant as covariables showed HHT to be independently associated with a lower SBP at each time point (beta-coefficients −16.2, −12.1, −13.3, and −14.2 mm Hg, p < 0.01). The adjusted hazard ratio for the development of systolic hypertension among HHT compared with OCT patients was 0.59 (95% confidence interval 0.39 to 0.91, p = 0.017).ConclusionsHeterotopic heart transplant patients had lower SBP than OCT patients, consistent with the hypothesis that the native heart continues to contribute to blood pressure homeostasis

Reduced calcification and lack of acclimatization by coral colonies growing in areas of persistent natural acidification

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2013. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of National Academy of Sciences for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 110 (2013):11044-11049, doi:10.1073/pnas.1301589110.As the surface ocean equilibrates with rising atmospheric CO2, the pH of surface seawater is decreasing with potentially negative impacts on coral calcification. A critical question is whether corals will be able to adapt or acclimate to these changes in seawater chemistry. We use high precision CT scanning of skeletal cores of Porites astreoides, an important Caribbean reef-building coral, to show that calcification rates decrease significantly along a natural gradient in pH and aragonite saturation (Ωarag). This decrease is accompanied by an increase in skeletal erosion and predation by boring organisms. The degree of sensitivity to reduced Ωarag measured on our field corals is consistent with that exhibited by the same species in laboratory CO2 manipulation experiments. We conclude that the Porites corals at our field site were not able to acclimatize enough to prevent the impacts of local ocean acidification on their skeletal growth and development, despite spending their entire lifespan in low pH, low Ωarag seawater.This research was funded by Na¬tional Science Foundation (NSF) OCE-1040952, a University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States (UC-Mexus) grant (to A.P.), and NSF OCE-1041106 (to A.L.C.). E.D.C. was funded through NSF-GFR and a EPA-STAR fellowships.2013-12-1

Attitudes towards the use and acceptance of eHealth technologies : a case study of older adults living with chronic pain and implications for rural healthcare

Acknowledgements The research described here is supported by the award made by the RCUK Digital Economy programme to the dot.rural Digital Economy Hub; award reference: EP/G066051/1. MC’s time writing the paper is funded by the Scottish Government’s Rural and Environmental Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS) under Theme 8 ‘Vibrant Rural Communities’ of the Food, Land and People Programme (2011–2016). MC is also an Honorary Research Fellow at the Division of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen. The input of other members of the TOPS research team, Alastair Mort, Fiona Williams, Sophie Corbett, Phil Wilson and Paul MacNamee who contributed to be wider study and discussed preliminary findings reported here with the authors of the paper is acknowledged. We acknowledge the feedback on earlier versions of this paper provided by members of the Trans-Atlantic Rural Research Network, especially Stefanie Doebler and Carmen Hubbard. We also thank Deb Roberts for her comments.Peer reviewedPublisher PD