Effective risk governance for environmental policy making: a knowledge management perspective

Effective risk management within environmental policy making requires knowledge on natural, economic and social systems to be integrated; knowledge characterised by complexity, uncertainty and ambiguity. We describe a case study in a (UK) central government department exploring how risk governance supports and hinders this challenging integration of knowledge. Forty-five semi-structured interviews were completed over a two year period. We found that lateral knowledge transfer between teams working on different policy areas was widely viewed as a key source of knowledge. However, the process of lateral knowledge transfer was predominantly informal and unsupported by risk governance structures. We argue this made decision quality vulnerable to a loss of knowledge through staff turnover, and time and resource pressures. Our conclusion is that the predominant form of risk governance framework, with its focus on centralised decision-making and vertical knowledge transfer is insufficient to support risk-based, environmental policy making. We discuss how risk governance can better support environmental policy makers through systematic knowledge management practices

New approaches to social skills training: Blended group interventions for girls with social communication difficulties

Social skills group interventions are increasing popular for children with social communication disorders but there is little evidence of their acceptability or effectiveness when delivered online. We report a feasibility study that adapted the Program for Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS) to provide an intensive 8 week online delivery to female adolescents, blended with some face‐to‐face group meetings. A systematic multiple‐case series design with case tracking was developed, comprising a 3‐month baseline, a 2‐month intervention and a 3‐month follow‐up period. Seven adolescents with Turner Syndrome and social communication difficulties (17–20 years) took part, together with their parents. Acceptability and feasibility were assessed by means of qualitative feedback and attendance rates. Changes in social adaptation were tracked using measures of social knowledge, social behaviour and autistic symptoms, plus anxiety and self‐esteem. Attendance rates were consistently high and there were no dropouts. Qualitative feedback indicated the online format was acceptable to both the participants and their families. Objective outcome measures showed significant gains in social knowledge and improved social initiations from measures made during the pre‐intervention baseline. This proof‐of‐principle pilot study demonstrated blended social skills interventions are both feasible and acceptable to adolescent females with social communication difficulties

City of clones: Facsimiles and governance in Sao Paulo, Brazil

São Paulo is a megacity defined by formal and informal patterns of urbanization. Informally urbanized spaces are not absent of state intent, despite appearances. Grassroots-led social and spatial practices for survival, agency and self-governance contribute to the reproduction of urban political order in surprisingly unoriginal and routinely recognizable ways. This article argues that these unexceptional informal practices can be understood as ‘facsimiles’ of their formal institutional originals. Using the example of cloned cars the article shows that the facsimile and the original are the same in form and function. Facsimiles do not exist outside of political authority, but are a byproduct and a component of it. They are indistinguishable in their bureaucratic deployment, recognition and acceptance as part of social and spatial order. This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Sage via https://doi.org/10.1177/001139211665729

Formation of the Stomatal Outer Cuticular Ledge Requires a Guard Cell Wall Proline-Rich Protein

Stomata are formed by a pair of guard cells which have thickened, elastic cell walls to withstand the large increases in turgor pressure that have to be generated to open the pore that they surround. We have characterised FOCL1, a guard cell-expressed, secreted protein with homology to hydroxyproline-rich cell wall proteins. FOCL1-GFP localises to the guard cell outer cuticular ledge and plants lacking FOCL1 produce stomata without a cuticular ledge. Instead the majority of stomatal pores are entirely covered-over by a continuous fusion of the cuticle, and consequently plants have decreased levels of transpiration and display drought tolerance. The focl1 guard cells are larger and less able to reduce the aperture of their stomatal pore in response to closure signals suggesting that the flexibility of guard cell walls is impaired. FOCL1 is also expressed in lateral root initials where it aids lateral root emergence. We propose that FOCL1 acts in these highly specialised cells of the stomata and root to impart cell wall strength at high turgor and/or to facilitate interactions between the cell wall and the cuticle

Mechanism of sporicidal activity for the synergistic combination of peracetic acid and hydrogen peroxide

There is still great interest in controlling bacterial endospores. The use of chemical disinfectants and, notably, oxidizing agents to sterilize medical devices is increasing. With this in mind, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and peracetic acid (PAA) have been used in combination, but until now there has been no explanation for the observed increase in sporicidal activity. This study provides information on the mechanism of synergistic interaction of PAA and H2O2 against bacterial spores. We performed investigations of the efficacies of different combinations, including pretreatments with the two oxidizers, against wild-type spores and a range of spore mutants deficient in the spore coat or small acid-soluble spore proteins. The concentrations of the two biocides were also measured in the reaction vessels, enabling the assessment of any shift from H2O2 to PAA formation. This study confirmed the synergistic activity of the combination of H2O2 and PAA. However, we observed that the sporicidal activity of the combination is largely due to PAA and not H2O2. Furthermore, we observed that the synergistic combination was based on H2O2 compromising the spore coat, which was the main spore resistance factor, likely allowing better penetration of PAA and resulting in the increased sporicidal activity

More than sense of place? Exploring the emotional dimension of rural tourism experiences

It is widely suggested that participation in rural tourism is underpinned by a sense of rural place or “rurality”. However, although nature and the countryside have long been recognised as a source of spiritual or emotional fulfilment, few have explored the extent to which tourism, itself often claimed to be a sacred experience, offers an emotional/spiritual dimension in the rural context. This paper addresses that literature gap. Using in-depth interviews with rural tourists in the English Lake District, it explores the extent to which, within respondents’ individual understanding of spirituality, a relationship exists between sense of place and deeper, emotional experiences and, especially, whether participation in rural tourism may induce spiritual or emotional responses. The research revealed that all respondents felt a strong attachment to the Lake District; similarly, and irrespective of their openness to spirituality, engaging in rural tourism activities resulted in highly emotive experiences for all respondents, the description/interpretation of such experiences being determined by individual “beliefs”. However, sense of place was not a prerequisite to emotional or spiritual experiences. Being in and engaging with the landscape � effectively becoming part of it � especially through physical activity is fundamental to emotional responses

Cell envelope proteins of Staphylococcus epidermidis grown in vivo in a peritoneal chamber implant

Staphylococcus epidermidis was grown in vivo in chambers implanted intraperitoneally in rats. The cell wall and cytoplasmic membrane protein profiles of the in vivo-grown organisms were compared with those of S. epidermidis grown in vitro in nutrient broth (NB), in iron-restricted NB, or in pooled human peritoneal dialysate (HPD). Compared with growth in broth and in common with growth in HPD, growth in vivo in chambers resulted in the repression of many S. epidermidis wall proteins, with proteins of 27, 42, 54, and 70 kDa predominating. Growth in vivo also resulted in the induction of two iron-repressible cytoplasmic membrane proteins of 32 and 36 kDa, which were also present in staphylococci grown in HPD and in iron-restricted NB. Immunoblotting experiments revealed that in sera taken 21 days after inoculation of the intraperitoneal chambers, the predominant antibody response to cell envelope proteins was directed against the 32- and 36-kDa iron-repressible membrane proteins

Dog leucocyte antigen (DLA) class II haplotypes and risk of canine diabetes mellitus in specific dog breeds

Abstract: Background: Canine diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common endocrine disease in domestic dogs. A number of pathological mechanisms are thought to contribute to the aetiopathogenesis of relative or absolute insulin deficiency, including immune-mediated destruction of pancreatic beta cells. DM risk varies considerably between different dog breeds, suggesting that genetic factors are involved and contribute susceptibility or protection. Associations of particular dog leucocyte antigen (DLA) class II haplotypes with DM have been identified, but investigations to date have only considered all breeds pooled together. The aim of this study was to analyse an expanded data set so as to identify breed-specific diabetes-associated DLA haplotypes. Methods: The 12 most highly represented breeds in the UK Canine Diabetes Register were selected for study. DLA-typing data from 646 diabetic dogs and 912 breed-matched non-diabetic controls were analysed to enable breed-specific analysis of the DLA. Dogs were genotyped for allelic variation at DLA-DRB1, -DQA1, -DQB1 loci using DNA sequence-based typing. Genotypes from all three loci were combined to reveal three-locus DLA class II haplotypes, which were evaluated for statistical associations with DM. This was performed for each breed individually and for all breeds pooled together. Results: Five dog breeds were identified as having one or more DLA haplotype associated with DM susceptibility or protection. Four DM-associated haplotypes were identified in the Cocker Spaniel breed, of which one haplotype was shared with Border Terriers. In the three breeds known to be at highest risk of DM included in the study (Samoyed, Tibetan Terrier and Cairn Terrier), no DLA haplotypes were found to be associated with DM. Conclusions: Novel DLA associations with DM in specific dog breeds provide further evidence that immune response genes contribute susceptibility to this disease in some cases. It is also apparent that DLA may not be contributing obvious or strong risk for DM in some breeds, including the seven breeds analysed for which no associations were identified