The development and use of farm level indicators in England

In recent years the concept of ‘sustainability indicators’ has become important within agricultural policy development. Numerous indicators have been proposed by agricultural scientists and statisticians, which reflect the wide range of interests that are impacted by agriculture. In support of UK policy objectives the pilot national set of indicators of agricultural sustainability have been re-cast into indicators that can be collected, interpreted and compared at a farm level. The revised indicator set is directly linked to the national set via either disaggregation of the original data or by using a surrogate measure. A simple to use software package which prioritises the indicators according to farm type and which links trends with farm management decisions and practices identifying steps for improvements is being used as the main means of knowledge transfer.Peer reviewe

The impact of national approaches to early years education on the cultivation of creativity in young children : a tale of two systems

Prompted by the prevalence of discourses surrounding the need to cultivate creativity for the benefit of wider society and for children themselves, this study aims to explore how creativity is fostered in young children aged 3 to 4. The study recognises that the cultivation of creativity in young children is indivisible from the social ecology in which they are located: it is subject to a network of influences, from the cultural to the local. By inquiring into these influences, it creates an account of how they interact to shape a national approach to early years education and the fostering of children's creativity within it. Using the concept of story as a model, this study has adopted a narrative-style methodological approach in order to look at the phenomenon in a holistic manner. For this purpose, the approach combined documentary analysis with interviews, reflective stories, observations, walking tours and map-making with children and early years practitioners. Beyond this, it compares the educational system of England with Catalonia in order to look beyond more popularly researched national systems of early years education and to use the comparison as a lens to help identify the dominant influences on the cultivation of creativity of children in a national approach to early years education. The study particularly highlights the effects of history, cultural values, policy and practice on the fostering of individual children's creativity in early years settings, extending understanding of this process beyond the confines of classroom and curriculum

The pathobiology of subclinical pyelonephritis—An experimental evaluation

The pathobiology of subclinical pyelonephritis—An experimental evaluation. Clinical studies have demonstrated a poor correlation between localization tests, which are designed to determine the site of urinary tract infection, and symptoms of upper urinary tract infection. One explanation is that microorganisms may be present in the kidney but not initiate an inflammatory response with associated symptoms. An animal model has been developed to obtain quantitative information on the comparative pathobiology of lesion-inducing and non-lesion-inducing infections. In this model, non-manipulated kidneys had acquired a persistent microbial flora within 48 hours of the lower urinary tract becoming infected. This bacterial invasion was not associated with gross or histologic changes within the renal parenchyma, but minor foci of inflammatory cells were seen beneath the epithelium lining the calyces. Ureteric urines from such kidneys contained many leukocytes and high numbers of bacteria. These results showed that the kidneys were infected, rather than colonized, and the term “subclinical” infection was appropriate. Antimicrobial agents were variably successful at eradicating the infection. These experimental observations support the concept of subclinical pyelonephritis and may explain the absence of symptoms in the clinically equivalent situation in humans

Remote and blended teacher education : a rapid review

Initial and continuing teacher education are increasingly making use of remote and blended modes of education. Conducted in the summer of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, this rapid review brings together literature and evidence to inform planning for remote and blended teacher education during restrictions in face-to-face teaching activity. The review consists of three main parts: first, a descriptive framework of modes of remote and blended teacher education; second, an exploratory review of the affordances and limitations of remote and blended approaches connecting the literature on effective teacher education with reviews of remote and blended approaches; third, a rapid review of evidence on the efficacy of remote and blended approaches, including of a small number of studies comparing these to face-to-face equivalents. We conclude that remote and blended teacher education is likely to become an increasingly important part of the teacher education landscape and there are plausible theoretical reasons suggesting that it can be effective with suitable design. However, we find too few studies presenting robust evidence to enable firm conclusions to be drawn on the relative effectiveness of modes and approaches. The review provides a foundation for further research and practice in this area

Sorption of chromium (VI) by spent grain under batch conditions

Batch experiments were performed to evaluate the ability of spent grain to remove chromium (VI) from aqueous solution. Parameters investigated include pH, contact time, sorbent dosage, agitation rate, and the presence of other anions. Application of the Langmuir isotherm to the Cr(VI)–spent grain system provided a maximum sorption capacity of 18.94 mg/g. This value compares favorably with other reported values for low-cost materials. Anions such as phosphate, arsenate, nitrate, and sulfate were antagonistic toward the uptake of Cr(VI) by spent grain. It was successful in removing Cr(VI) from a sample of electroplating waste

Predicting the diagnosis of autism in adults using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) questionnaire

This work was supported by a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) programme grant (RP-PG-0606-1045), by the BGC as well as by the European Union via the EU-AIMS consortium. J.H. was supported by the Wellcome Trust and by the Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) at King's College London. D.G.M was supported by the Dr Mortimer D. Sackler Foundation. P.B was supported by an NIHR Senior Investigator award and the BRC in Mental Health at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust. C.E.W receives postdoctoral research funding via the Marie Curie Action, co-financed by the Junta de Andalucía and the European Commission under Talentia Postdoc grant number 267 226. The authors acknowledge financial support from the Department of Health via the NIHR BRC and Dementia Unit awarded to South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, in partnership with King's College London and King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. This work was supported by EU-AIMS (European Autism Interventions), which receives support from the Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking under grant agreement no. 115300, the resources of which are composed of financial contributions from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (grant FP7/2007-2013), from the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations companies’ in-kind contributions, and from Autism Speaks

The effectiveness of protected areas in the conservation of species with changing geographical ranges

A cornerstone of conservation is the designation and management of protected areas (PAs): locations often under conservation management containing species of conservation concern, where some development and other detrimental influences are prevented or mitigated. However, the value of PAs for conserving biodiversity in the long term has been questioned given that species are changing their distributions in response to climatic change. There is a concern that PAs may become climatically unsuitable for those species that they were designated to protect, and may not be located appropriately to receive newly-colonizing species for which the climate is improving. In the present study, we analyze fine-scale distribution data from detailed resurveys of seven butterfly and 11 bird species in Great Britain aiming to examine any effect of PA designation in preventing extinctions and promoting colonizations. We found a positive effect of PA designation on species' persistence at trailing-edge warm range margins, although with a decreased magnitude at higher latitudes and altitudes. In addition, colonizations by range expanding species were more likely to occur on PAs even after altitude and latitude were taken into account. PAs will therefore remain an important strategy for conservation. The potential for PA management to mitigate the effects of climatic change for retracting species deserves further investigation

Rescue of Aspergillus nidulans severely debilitating null mutations in ESCRT-0, I, II and III genes by inactivation of a salt-tolerance pathway allows examination of ESCRT gene roles in pH signalling.

The Aspergillus pal pathway hijacks ESCRT proteins into ambient pH signalling complexes. We show that components of ESCRT-0, ESCRT-I, ESCRT-II and ESCRT-III are nearly essential for growth, precluding assessment of null mutants for pH signalling or trafficking. This severely debilitating effect is rescued by loss-of-function mutations in two cation tolerance genes, one of which, sltA, encodes a transcription factor whose inactivation promotes hypervacuolation. Exploiting a conditional expression sltA allele, we demonstrate that deletion of vps27 (ESCRT-0), vps23 (ESCRT-I), vps36 (ESCRT-II), or vps20 or vps32 (both ESCRT-III) leads to numerous small vacuoles, a phenotype also suppressed by SltA downregulation. This situation contrasts with normal vacuoles and vacuole-associated class E compartments seen in Saccharomyces cerevisiae ESCRT null mutants. Exploiting the suppressor phenotype of sltA− mutations, we establish that Vps23, Vps36, Vps20 and Vps32 are essential for pH signalling. Phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate-recognising protein Vps27 (ESCRT-0) is not, consistent with normal pH signalling in rabB null mutants unable to recruit Vps34 kinase to early endosomes. In contrast to the lack of pH signalling in the absence of Vps20 or Vps32, detectable signalling occurs in the absence of ESCRT-III subunit Vps24. Our data support a model in which certain ESCRT proteins are recruited to the plasma membrane to mediate pH signalling

Crossing the divide: a longitudinal study of effective treatments for people with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder across the lifespan.

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently persist into adolescence and young adulthood. However, there are few clinical services that support those with these disorders through adulthood. Objective: Our aim was to determine if clinical services meet the needs of people with ASD and ADHD, who are ‘at transition’ from childhood to adulthood. Design: A longitudinal study of individuals with ASD and ADHD, the impact of services and treatments. Methods: Our research methods included (1) interviewing > 180 affected individuals (and their families) with a confirmed diagnosis of ASD and/or ADHD, (2) screening for ASD and ADHD in approximately 1600 patients and (3) surveying general practitioner prescribing to 5651 ASD individuals across the UK. In addition, we tested the effectiveness of (1) new ASD diagnostic interview measures in 169 twins, 145 families and 150 non-twins, (2) a magnetic resonance imaging-based diagnostic aid in 40 ASD individuals, (3) psychological treatments in 46 ASD individuals and (4) the feasibility of e-learning in 28 clinicians. Setting: NHS clinical services and prisons. Participants: Focus – young people with ASD and ADHD as they ‘transition’ from childhood and adolescence into early adulthood. Interventions: Testing the utility of diagnostic measures and services, web-based learning interventions, pharmacological prescribing and cognitive–behavioural treatments