Valuing nature-conservation interests on agricultural floodplains

The ecosystem approach and evaluation of ecosystem services is gaining increasing attention from scientists, practitioners and policy makers. An important part of this process is to establish the `value' of the nature-conservation assets within an area. This value can then be compared with data for other ecosystem services to identify management priorities under different future scenarios. However, there is little consensus on how to perform such an evaluation. In this study, we assess seven methods of valuing nature-conservation interest and compare their utility. Five agricultural land drainage schemes across lowland England were selected for study. The current land-use was determined and four different scenarios of future management were developed. The land-use and habitats predicted under each scenario were assessed using seven methods of determining value, namely: Ecological Impact Assessment method, reserve-selection criteria, target-based criteria, stakeholder-choice analysis, reserve-selection criteria guided by stakeholders, agri-environment scheme payments and contingent valuation. The first three methods derive values based on pre-defined priorities, the next two use stated preferences of stakeholders, and the last two methods derive monetary values based on revealed and expressed preference, respectively. The results obtained from the different methods were compared. The methods gave broadly similar results and were highly correlated, but each method emphasized a different aspect of conservation value, leading to different possible outcomes in some cases. The advantages and disadvantages of each method were evaluated. Synthesis and applications. As the ecosystem services approach becomes embedded in decision-making, ecologists are increasingly called upon to value the biodiversity of a site or to compare the value of different sites. This study has shown that seven different valuation methods, although all giving significantly correlated findings, resulted in seven different rankings of nature-conservation value for the 25 situations studied. This difference occurred in spite of the sites being of the same landscape type and occurring within the same country. The discussion concludes that each method has its strengths; monetary valuations are appropriate in some contexts, stakeholder preferences are paramount in others, but where objectivity is key, then assessment against independently defined criteria or targets should be the preferred method

Rare diseases: matching wheelchair users with rare metabolic, neuromuscular or neurological disorders to electric powered indoor/outdoor wheelchairs (EPIOCs)

Purpose: To describe the clinical features of electric powered indoor/outdoor wheelchair (EPIOC) users with rare diseases (RD) impacting on EPIOC provision and seating. Method: Retrospective review by a consultant in rehabilitation medicine of electronic and case note records of EPIOC recipients with RDs attending a specialist wheelchair service between June 2007 and September 2008. Data were systematically extracted, entered into a database and analysed under three themes; demographic, diagnostic/clinical (including comorbidity and associated clinical features (ACFs) of the illness/disability) and wheelchair factors. Results: Fifty-four (27 male) EPIOC users, mean age 37.3 (SD 18.6, range 11–70) with RDs were identified and reviewed a mean of 64 (range 0–131) months after receiving their wheelchair. Diagnoses included 27 types of RDs including Friedreich’s ataxia, motor neurone disease, osteogenesis imperfecta, arthrogryposis, cerebellar syndromes and others. Nineteen users had between them 36 comorbidities and 30 users had 44 ACFs likely to influence the prescription. Tilt-in-space was provided to 34 (63%) users and specialised seating to 17 (31%). Four users had between them complex control or interfacing issues. Conclusions: The complex and diverse clinical problems of those with RDs present unique challenges to the multiprofessional wheelchair team to maintain successful independent mobility and community living

e-Social Science and Evidence-Based Policy Assessment : Challenges and Solutions

Peer reviewedPreprin

Hip osteoarthritis: patients with complex comorbidities can make exceptional improvements following intensive exercise and education.

A 71-year-old man presenting with hip osteoarthritis, with a complex range of comorbidities was referred by his general practitioner to CHAIN (Cycling against Hip PAIN), a 6 week programme developed to aid self-management of hip osteoarthritis through exercise, education and advice, as defined by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. Significant improvements were seen in Oxford hip score, the Hip disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (HOOS) - function score, sit-to-stand test, timed up and go test, pain scores and hip flexion. There was also a weight loss of 2.1 kg. The man reported 'an amazing difference' in his affected hip and leg, and improved fitness. Many clinicians would have questioned the man's suitability for the programme due to his coexisting medical conditions. This case study shows that patients may be much more able than we think to achieve significant improvement with exercise

Internationalisation and religious inclusion in United Kingdom higher education

Although not new, the concept of internationalisation, the inclusion of intercultural perspectives and the development of cross-cultural understanding, has gained particular currency and support across the United Kingdom (UK) higher education sector over the last decade. However, within the academic literature, as well as within institutional policy and practice, there has been little disaggregation of the concept of ‘culture’; rather there appears to be a tacit belief that all aspects of students’ cultures should be valued and ‘celebrated’ on campus. Through the stories told by fifteen Sikh, Muslim, Jewish and Christian students studying at a UK post-1992 university the paper highlights the ways in which religion, a fundamental aspect of the cultural identity, values and practices of many students, is rarely recognised or valorised on campus. This lack of recognition can act to ‘other’, marginalise and isolate students and thus undermine the aims of internationalisation, in particular cross-cultural understanding. The paper concludes by arguing that religion should be considered within debates around internationalisation so that all students are represented within a multicultural institutional ethos and to ensure meaningful cross-cultural engagement for all students

Visual Data Mining

Occlusion is one of the major problems for interactive visual knowledge discovery and data mining in the process of finding patterns in multidimensional data.This project proposes a hybrid method that combines visual and analytical means to deal with occlusion in visual knowledge discovery called as GLC-S which uses visualization of n-D data in 2D in a set of Shifted Paired Coordinates (SPC). A set of Shifted Paired Coordinates for n-D data consists of n/2 pairs of common Cartesian coordinates that are shifted relative to each other to avoid their overlap. Each n-D point A is represented as a directed graph A* in SPC, where each node is the 2D projection of A in a respective pair of the Cartesian coordinates. The proposed GLC-S method significantly decrease cognitive load for analysis of n-D data and simplify pattern discovery in n-D data. The GLC-S method iteratively splits n-D data into non-overlapping clusters (hyper-rectangles) around local centers and visualizes only data within these clusters at each iteration. The requirements for these clusters are to contain cases of only one class and be the largest cluster with this property in SPC visualization. Such sequential splitting allows: (1) avoiding occlusion, (2) finding visually local classification patterns, rules, and (3) combine local sub-rules to a global rule that classifies all given data of two or more classes. The computational experiment with Wisconsin Breast Cancer data(9-D), User Knowledge Modeling data(6-D), and Letter Recognition data(17-D) from UCI Machine Learning Repository confirm this capability. At each iteration, these data have been split into training (70%) and validation (30%) data. It required 3 iterations in Wisconsin Breast Cancer data, 4 iterations in User Knowledge Modeling and 5 iterations in Letter Recognition data and respectively 3, 4, 5 local sub-rules that covered over 95% of all n-D data points with 100% accuracy at both training and validation experiments. After each iteration, the data that were used in this iteration are removed and remaining data are used in the next iteration. This removal process helps to decrease occlusion too. The GLC-S algorithm refuses to classify remaining cases that are not covered by these rules, i.e.,., do not belong to found hyper-rectangles. The interactive visualization process in SPC allows adjusting the sides of the hyper-rectangles to maximize the size of the hyper-rectangle without its overlap with the hyper-rectangles of the opposing classes. The GLC-S method splits data using the fixed split of n coordinates to pairs. This hybrid visual and analytical approach avoids throwing all data of several classes into a visualization plot that typically ends up in a messy highly occluded picture that hides useful patterns. This approach allows revealing these hidden patterns. The visualization process in SPC is reversible (lossless). i.e.,., all n-D information is visualized in 2D and can be restored from 2D visualization for each n-D case. This hybrid visual analytics method allowed classifying n-D data in a way that can be communicated to the user’s in the understandable and visual form

The effectiveness of conventional trickling filter treatment plants at reducing concentrations of copper in wastewaters

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Science of the Total Environment. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2009 Elsevier B.V.Eight different sewage treatment works were sampled in the North West of England. The effectiveness of the conventional treatment processes (primary sedimentation and biological trickling filters) as well as various tertiary treatment units in terms of both total and dissolved copper removal was evaluated. The removal of total copper across primary sedimentation averaged 53% and were relatively consistent at all sites, however, at three sites the removal of dissolved copper also occurred at this stage of treatment. Removal of total copper by the biological trickling filters averaged 49%, however, substantial dissolution of copper occurred at two sites, which highlighted the unpredictability of this treatment process in the removal of dissolved copper. Copper removal during tertiary treatment varied considerably even for the same treatment processes installed at different sites, primarily due to the variability of insoluble copper removal, with little effect on copper in the dissolved form being observed. The proportion of dissolved copper increased significantly during treatment, from an average of 22% in crude sewages to 55% in the final effluents. There may be the potential to optimise existing, conventional treatment processes (primary or biological treatment) to enhance dissolved copper removal, possibly reducing the requirement for installing any tertiary processes specifically for the removal of copper.United Utilities PL

Patients’ preferences for nutrition-related health outcomes in liver disease : a preliminary study using an electronic questionnaire

Background: Patients with liver disease frequently have nutritional problems but intervening to improve these is challenging. Healthcare interventions that respond to patients’ needs are associated with better health outcomes but no studies investigating patients’ preferences for nutrition-related outcomes in liver disease have been published. The aim of this study was to identify nutrition-related health outcomes that are important to patients with liver disease. Methodology: An electronic questionnaire was devised and reviewed by patients and dietitians with relevant experience. It comprised Likert scale and open questions focussing on six domains considered pertinent to patients with liver disease. An invitation to participate was posted on the website of a national liver charity and sent to liver patient support groups. Results: Fifty-one patients participated (22 men / 29 women). Responses indicated a wide range of preferred nutrition-related outcomes with those identified as very important most frequently focussing on gaining knowledge about which foods to eat more or less of, and on understanding why nutrition is important in liver disease. Women tended to score outcomes as more important than men. Participants who considered themselves overweight scored outcomes on body size and shape as more important than those with other nutritional problems. Additional outcomes were identified and included increased knowledge of healthy eating, interactions between medication and food, and supplementation. Conclusions: The study identified a wide range of nutrition-related outcomes that were important to this small sample of patients with liver disease and these may be useful to guide the direction of future nutrition-related management.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

A study of urgent and emergency referrals from NHS Direct within England

Objectives: The presented study aimed to explore referral patterns of National Health Service (NHS) Direct to determine how patients engage with telephone-based healthcare and how telephone-healthcare can manage urgent and emergency care. Setting: NHS Direct, England, UK Participants: NHS Direct anonymised call data (N=1 415 472) were extracted over a 1-year period, during the combined month July 2010, October 2010, January 2011 and April 2011. Urgent and emergency calls (N=269 558; 19.0%) were analysed by call factors and patient characteristics alongside symptom classification. Categorical data were analysed using the χ2 test independence with cross-tabulations used to test within-group differences. Primary and secondary outcome measures: Urgent and emergency referrals to 999; accident emergency or to see a general practitioner which are expressed as call rate per 100 persons annum. Outcomes related to symptom variations patient characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity and deprivation) alongside differences by patient characteristics of call factors (date and time of day). Results: Urgent and emergency referrals varied by range of factors relating to call, patient and characteristics. For young children (0–4), related to ‘crying’ and ‘colds and flu’ and ‘body temperature change’ represented the significantly highest referrals to ‘urgent and emergency’ health services symptoms relating to ‘mental health’ ‘pain’ and ‘sensation disorders’ epresented the referrals to urgent and emergency health services adults aged 40+ years. Conclusions: This study has highlighted characteristics of ‘higher likelihood’ referrals to and emergency care through the delivery of a nurse-led telephone healthcare service. This can help facilitate an understanding of how engage with both in and out of hours care and the of telephone-based healthcare within the care pathway