No One To Bear Witness: Country Information and LGBTQ Asylum Seekers

This article examines the use of country information in determining claims for refugee status based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Limitations to country information remove diverse individual experiences from the “historical record” and obstruct marginalized individuals’ ability to prove their claims for protection. Discrimination and marginalization may be echoed and perpetuated within country information itself, which privileges certain voices over others. MD (same-sex-oriented males: risk) India CG [2014], the United Kingdom’s current “country guidance” decision on claims for protection by same-sex oriented men from India, is examined in light of these themes. Cet article étudie l’utilisation de renseignements sur le pays d’origine afin de déterminer les demandes de statut de réfugié en lien avec l’orientation sexuelle et l’identité de genre. Les limites en matière de renseignements sur le pays d’origine effacent du registre historique diverses expériences individuelles et font obstruction à la capacité qu’ont des personnes marginalisées de justifier leur demande de protection. La discrimination et la marginalisation peuvent être répétées et prorogées par l’information même délivrée par les pays, qui privilégie certaines voix sur d’autres. À la lumière de ces thèmes de réflexion est étudié le document du Upper Tribunal (Royaume-Uni) MD (same-sex oriented males: risk) India CG [2014], qui établit les lignes directrices actuelles de pays en matière de décision concernant les demandes de protection pour les hommes homosexuels provenant d’Inde

A demonstration of an advanced library based approach to the initial design exploration of different hullform configurations

The importance of requirement elucidation, in shaping both the customers' needs and initial solutions during the concept stage of the ship design process, has previously been emphasised in the choice of initial design methods. It is well known that alternative hullform styles can bring distinct performance benefits in certain design investigations. However, current design methods or tools suitable for exploring alternate hullform styles during requirement elucidation do not readily facilitate this. This paper describes a library based ship concept design tool and its ability to include exploration of hullform options in the initial exploratory stage of the ship design process. The library based approach utilises sub-structuring to describe the design in terms of four functional subsets to increase the efficiency of the search process. The example presented looks at monohull, catamaran and trimaran hullform options for a fast naval combatant. The paper concludes with the advantages seen in adopting the tool in concert with a configuration-oriented approach to ship design, namely, the UCL Design Building Block approach. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Reconciling actual and perceived rates of predation by domestic cats

This is the final version. Available on open access from Wiley via the DOI in this recordThe predation of wildlife by domestic cats (Felis catus) is a complex problem: Cats are popular companion animals in modern society but are also acknowledged predators of birds, herpetofauna, invertebrates, and small mammals. A comprehensive understanding of this conservation issue demands an understanding of both the ecological consequence of owning a domestic cat and the attitudes of cat owners. Here, we determine whether cat owners are aware of the predatory behavior of their cats, using data collected from 86 cats in two UK villages. We examine whether the amount of prey their cat returns influences the attitudes of 45 cat owners toward the broader issue of domestic cat predation. We also contribute to the wider understanding of physiological, spatial, and behavioral drivers of prey returns among cats. We find an association between actual prey returns and owner predictions at the coarse scale of predatory/nonpredatory behavior, but no correlation between the observed and predicted prey-return rates among predatory cats. Cat owners generally disagreed with the statement that cats are harmful to wildlife, and disfavored all mitigation options apart from neutering. These attitudes were uncorrelated with the predatory behavior of their cats. Cat owners failed to perceive the magnitude of their cats' impacts on wildlife and were not influenced by ecological information. Management options for the mitigation of cat predation appear unlikely to work if they focus on "predation awareness" campaigns or restrictions of cat freedom. We consider both the ecological consequence of owning a domestic cat and the attitudes of cat owners. Our findings suggest cat owners fail to perceive the magnitude of their cats' impacts on wildlife, with no correlation between the observed and predicted prey return rates among predatory cats. On the basis of opinions of cat owners in this study, management options for the mitigation of cat predation appear unlikely to work if they focus on "predation awareness" campaigns, or restrictions of cat freedom.International Fund for Animal WelfareUniversity of ExeterEuropean Social FundNatural Environment Research Council (NERC

Habitat preferences of hazel dormice Muscardinus avellanarius and the effects of tree-felling on their movement

This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Modern management of multifunctional woodlands must address many and various demands, including for recreation, timber production and the conservation of biodiversity. The responses of individuals and populations of protected species to woodland management and habitat change are often not well understood. Using radio-tracking and LiDAR, we investigated the short-term habitat preferences of hazel dormice Muscardinus avellanarius, and their ranging and resting behaviours before and after small-scale tree felling, following a before-after control-impact design. Mean dormouse home range size was 0.51 Ha (±0.07 SE, n = 16) and did not vary between sexes or among sites, though heavier animals had smaller ranges. Dormice preferred mid-height woodland habitat (5–10 m tall), with low proportions of high forest (over 10 m tall), for both ranging and resting sites. Ranging habitats were often located on woodland edges and relatively dense vegetation. Dormice preferentially used yew, rowan and hazel during ranging. There was no difference in the distances travelled by dormice before and after felling, but dormice in areas where trees had been felled showed less evidence of a shift in ranging area than those in unfelled areas. Although the limited response of dormice to tree felling activities has the potential to be associated with increased mortality and/or limited dispersal of individual dormice, the requirements of dormice for mid-successional and edge habitats that arise after tree removal means that a dynamic optimum of felling and regeneration is essential for conservation of dormouse populations.CEDG’s work was supported by a PhD studentship funded by The Forestry Commission and the Natural Environment Research Council

The application of statistical network models in disease research

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via the DOI in this record.Host social structure is fundamental to how infections spread and persist, and so the statistical modelling of static and dynamic social networks provides an invaluable tool to parameterise realistic epidemiological models. We present a practical guide to the application of network modelling frameworks for hypothesis testing related to social interactions and epidemiology, illustrating some approaches with worked examples using data from a population of wild European badgers Meles meles naturally infected with bovine tuberculosis. Different empirical network datasets generate particular statistical issues related to non-independence and sampling constraints. We therefore discuss the strengths and weaknesses of modelling approaches for different types of network data and for answering different questions relating to disease transmission. We argue that statistical modelling frameworks designed specifically for network analysis offer great potential in directly relating network structure to infection. They have the potential to be powerful tools in analysing empirical contact data used in epidemiological studies, but remain untested for use in networks of spatio-temporal associations. As a result, we argue that developments in the statistical analysis of empirical contact data are critical given the ready availability of dynamic network data from bio-logging studies. Furthermore, we encourage improved integration of statistical network approaches into epidemiological research to facilitate the generation of novel modelling frameworks and help extend our understanding of disease transmission in natural populations.M.J.S. is funded by a NERC standard grant (NE/M004546/1) awarded to R.A.M., D.P.C., D.J.H. and M.B., with the APHA team at Woodchester Park, UK (lead scientist is R.J.D.) as project partners

Integrated population modelling reveals a perceived source to be a cryptic sink

This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Demographic links among fragmented populations are commonly studied as source-sink dynamics, whereby source populations exhibit net recruitment and net emigration, while sinks suffer net mortality but enjoy net immigration. It is commonly assumed that large, persistent aggregations of individuals must be sources, but this ignores the possibility that they are sinks instead, buoyed demographically by immigration. We tested this assumption using Bayesian integrated population modelling of Greenland white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons flavirostris) at their largest wintering site (Wexford, Ireland), combining capture-mark-recapture, census and recruitment data collected from 1982 to 2010. Management for this subspecies occurs largely on wintering areas; thus, study of source-sink dynamics of discrete regular wintering units provides unprecedented insights into population regulation and enables identification of likely processes influencing population dynamics at Wexford and among 70 other Greenland white-fronted goose wintering subpopulations. Using results from integrated population modelling, we parameterized an age-structured population projection matrix to determine the contribution of movement rates (emigration and immigration), recruitment and mortality to the dynamics of the Wexford subpopulation. Survival estimates for juvenile and adult birds at Wexford and adult birds elsewhere fluctuated over the 29-year study period, but were not identifiably different. However, per capita recruitment rates at Wexford in later years (post-1995) were identifiably lower than in earlier years (pre-1995). The observed persistence of the Wexford subpopulation was only possible with high rates of immigration, which exceeded emigration in each year. Thus, despite its apparent stability, Wexford has functioned as a sink over the entire study period. These results demonstrate that even large subpopulations can potentially be sinks, and that movement dynamics (e.g. immigration) among winters can dramatically obscure key processes driving subpopulation size. Further, novel population models which integrate capture-mark-recapture, census and recruitment data are essential to correctly ascribing source-sink status and accurately informing development of site-safeguard networks.This research was funded through a joint PhD studentship to M.D.W. from the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust and the University of Exeter, and through a NERC grant (NE/L007770/1) to D.J.

Electrochemically-triggered spatially and temporally resolved multi-component gels

Spatial control over gelation with low molecular weight gelators is possible using an electrochemically-driven pH triggering method. Gelation occurs at the electrode surface. We show here that composition control in multi-component low molecular weight hydrogels can also be achieved, allowing simultaneous spatial, temporal and compositional control

The metabolome as a diagnostic for maximal aerobic capacity during exercise in type 1 diabetes

\ua9 The Author(s) 2024.Aims/hypothesis: Our aim was to characterise the in-depth metabolic response to aerobic exercise and the impact of residual pancreatic beta cell function in type 1 diabetes. We also aimed to use the metabolome to distinguish individuals with type 1 diabetes with reduced maximal aerobic capacity in exercise defined by V˙O2peak. Methods: Thirty participants with type 1 diabetes (≥3 years duration) and 30 control participants were recruited. Groups did not differ in age or sex. After quantification of peak stimulated C-peptide, participants were categorised into those with undetectable (<3 pmol/l), low (3–200 pmol/l) or high (>200 pmol/l) residual beta cell function. Maximal aerobic capacity was assessed by V˙O2peak test and did not differ between control and type 1 diabetes groups. All participants completed 45 min of incline treadmill walking (60% V˙O2peak) with venous blood taken prior to exercise, immediately post exercise and after 60 min recovery. Serum was analysed using targeted metabolomics. Metabolomic data were analysed by multivariate statistics to define the metabolic phenotype of exercise in type 1 diabetes. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to identify circulating metabolomic markers of maximal aerobic capacity (V˙O2peak) during exercise in health and type 1 diabetes. Results: Maximal aerobic capacity (V˙O2peak) inversely correlated with HbA1c in the type 1 diabetes group (r2=0.17, p=0.024). Higher resting serum tricarboxylic acid cycle metabolites malic acid (fold change 1.4, p=0.001) and lactate (fold change 1.22, p=1.23 710−5) differentiated people with type 1 diabetes. Higher serum acylcarnitines (AC) (AC C14:1, F value=12.25, p=0.001345; AC C12, F value=11.055, p=0.0018) were unique to the metabolic response to exercise in people with type 1 diabetes. C-peptide status differentially affected metabolic responses in serum ACs during exercise (AC C18:1, leverage 0.066; squared prediction error 3.07). The malic acid/pyruvate ratio in rested serum was diagnostic for maximal aerobic capacity (V˙O2peak) in people with type 1 diabetes (ROC curve AUC 0.867 [95% CI 0.716, 0.956]). Conclusions/interpretation: The serum metabolome distinguishes high and low maximal aerobic capacity and has diagnostic potential for facilitating personalised medicine approaches to manage aerobic exercise and fitness in type 1 diabetes. Graphical Abstract: (Figure presented.)