An evaluation of coastal dune forest restoration in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Ecological restoration has the potential to stem the tide of habitat loss, fragmentation and transformation that are the main threats to global biological diversity and ecosystem services. Through this thesis, I aimed to evaluate the ecological consequences of a 33 year old rehabilitation programme for coastal dune forest conservation. The mining company Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) initiated what is now the longest running rehabilitation programme in South Africa in 1977. Management of the rehabilitation process is founded upon the principles of ecological succession after ameliorating the mine tailings to accelerate initial colonisation. Many factors may detract from the predictability of the ecological succession. For example, if historical contingency is a reality, then the goal of restoring a particular habitat to its former state may be unattainable as a number of alternative stable states can result from the order by which species establish. Succession appears to be a suitable conceptual basis (at this stage in regeneration at least) for the restoration of coastal dune forest. Patterns of community characteristics observed in rehabilitating coastal dune forest sites were similar to those predicted by ecological succession, with few exceptions. Changes in the species pool such as the establishment of strong dominants may lead to divergence of regenerating trajectories away from the desired endpoints. The species composition of herbaceous plants in regenerating coastal dune forest sites became increasingly uniform as the time since disturbance increased. Despite initially becoming more similar they II deviated away from an undisturbed reference site. Contrary to our expectations, non-native species did not contribute the most to dissimilarity. The deviation from the reference forest is attributable to the higher abundance of a native forest specialist in the reference site and the higher abundances of native woodland adapted species in the rehabilitating sites. Changes in the disturbance regime under which species have evolved may lead to arrested succession. The rehabilitation of coastal dune forest relies on the Acacia karroo successional pathway which, has been criticised because Acacia dominated woodlands may stagnate succession. The patterns of species composition within regenerating coastal dune forest are a response to the canopy characteristics and represent an early stage in forest succession. Succession did not appear to be stagnant. Ecological succession does not pay much heed to the role that the surrounding landscape composition can play in the assembly of communities. The theory of Island biogeography provides predictions about how landscape composition influences community assembly. Landscape spatial parameters, measuring edge, isolation, and area explained the patch occupancy of the several bird and tree species, however, responses to patch characteristics were varied and idiosyncratic. For restoration to succeed, managers need to consider the spatial configuration of the landscape to facilitate colonization of rehabilitating patches. From this thesis and previous work, it appears that processes are in place that will lead to the reassembly of dune forest communities. As the rehabilitating sites are at an early stage of regeneration this may take some time to give rise to these coastal dune forest communities, and the management of rehabilitating coastal dune forest must allow for this. In addition, it is III important to remember that time may be interacting with the landscapes spatial attributes, which may limit the presence of certain species.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011.Zoology and Entomologyunrestricte

Resilience of the medicinal plant community of rehabilitating coastal dune forests, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

No abstract available.http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/loi/ajehttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-2028ab201

The role of canopy gaps in the regeneration of coastal dune forest

In regenerating coastal dune forest, the canopy consists almost exclusively of a single species, Acacia karroo. When these trees die they create large canopy gaps. If this promotes the persistence of pioneer species to the detriment of other forest species then the end-goal of a restored coastal dune forest may be unobtainable. We wished to ascertain if tree species composition and richness differed significantly between canopy gaps and intact canopy, and across a gradient of gap sizes. In three known-age regenerating coastal dune forest sites, we measured 146 gaps, the species responsible for gap creation, the species most likely to reach the canopy and the composition of adults, seedlings and saplings. We paired each gap with an adjacent plot of the same area that was entirely under intact canopy and sampled in the same way. Most species (15 out of 23) had higher abundance in canopy gaps. The probability of self-replacement was low for A. karroo even in the largest gaps. Despite this predominance of shade intolerant species, regenerating dune forest appears to be in the first phase of succession with “forest pioneers” replacing the dominant canopy species. The nature of these species should lead to successful regeneration of dune forest.The University of Pretoria, Richards Bay Minerals and the South African Department of Trade & Industryhttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-2028am2013ab201

The use of systems models to identify food waste drivers

In developed countries, the largest share of food waste is produced at household level. Most studies on consumers’ food waste use models that identify covariates as significant when in fact they may not be, particularly where these models use many variables. Here, relying on EU-level Eurobarometer data from 2013, we use alternative analytical methods that avoid these problems (Bayesian Networks) to identify the impact of household characteristics and other variables on self-assessed food waste. Our analysis confirms that the country, the age of the respondent, the status (student/non-student), and a belief that the family wastes too much are related to the level of self-assessed food waste. But we found no evidence that waste behaviours differ between people living in urban and rural areas, and little support of a difference between genders. Households from lower-income EU countries (e.g. Portugal, Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Latvia), as well as students and young adults tend to report higher levels of food waste. Hence, the adoption of an EU strategy based on the concept of subsidiarity, and of country-level policy measures targeting different age groups is suggested. Furthermore, our analysis shows that policy makers need to be wary of relying on analysis based on large datasets that do not control for false-positives, particularly when sample sizes are small

Independent Predictors of Repeat Emergency Room Presentations: Insights from a Cohort of 1066 Consecutive Patients with Non-Cardiac Chest Pain Generating 4770 Repeat Presentations

Background and importanceChest pain (CP) is one of the most frequent presentations to the emergency department (ED), a large proportion of which is non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP). Repeat attendances to ED are common and impose considerable burden to overstretched departments.ObjectiveOur aim was to determine drivers for repeat ED presentations using NCCP as the primary cause of index presentation.Design, setting and participantsThis was a retrospective cohort study of 1066 consecutive presentations with NCCP to a major urban hospital ED in North England. Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), a postcode-derived validated index of deprivation, was computed. Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) was determined by reference to known comorbidity variables. Repeat presentation to ED to any national hospital was determined by a national linked database (population 53.5 million). Independent predictors of ED representation were computed using logistic regression analysis.ResultsMedian age was 43 (IQR 28-59), and 50.8% were male. Furthermore, 27.8%, 8.1% and 3.8% suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), hypertension and diabetes mellitus, respectively. The most frequent diagnoses, using ICD-10 coding, were non-cardiac chest pain (55.1%), followed by respiratory conditions (14.7%). One-year incidence of adjudicated myocardial infarction, urgent or emergency coronary revascularisation and all-cause death was 0.6%, 2% and 5.3%, respectively. There was a total of 4770 ED repeat presentations 1 year prior to or following index presentation with NCCP in this cohort. Independent (multivariate) predictors for frequent re-presentation (defined as ≥2 representations) were a history of COPD (OR [odds ratio] 2.06, p = 0.001), previous MI (OR3.6, p = 0.020) and a Charlson comorbidity index ≥1 (OR 1.51, p = 0.030). The frequency of previous MI was low as only 3% had sustained a previous MI.ConclusionsThis analysis indicates that COPD and complex health care needs (represented by high CCI), but not socio-economic deprivation, should be health policy targets for lessening repeat ED presentations. What is already known on this topic: Repeat presentations with non-ischaemic chest pain are common, placing a considerable burden on emergency departments.What this study addsCOPD and complex health care needs, denoted by Charlson comorbidity index, are implicated as drivers for repeat presentation to accident and emergency department. Socio-economic deprivation was not an independent predictor of re-presentation. How might this study affect research, practice, or policy: Community-based support for COPD and complex health care needs may reduce frequency of ED attendance

Natural and Vaccine-Mediated Immunity to Salmonella Typhimurium is Impaired by the Helminth Nippostrongylus brasiliensis

The impact of exposure to multiple pathogens concurrently or consecutively on immune function is unclear. Here, immune responses induced by combinations of the bacterium Salmonella Typhimurium (STm) and the helminth Nippostrongylus brasiliensis (Nb), which causes a murine hookworm infection and an experimental porin protein vaccine against STm, were examined. Mice infected with both STm and Nb induced similar numbers of Th1 and Th2 lymphocytes compared with singly infected mice, as determined by flow cytometry, although lower levels of secreted Th2, but not Th1 cytokines were detected by ELISA after re-stimulation of splenocytes. Furthermore, the density of FoxP3+ T cells in the T zone of co-infected mice was lower compared to mice that only received Nb, but was greater than those that received STm. This reflected the intermediate levels of IL-10 detected from splenocytes. Co-infection compromised clearance of both pathogens, with worms still detectable in mice weeks after they were cleared in the control group. Despite altered control of bacterial and helminth colonization in co-infected mice, robust extrafollicular Th1 and Th2-reflecting immunoglobulin-switching profiles were detected, with IgG2a, IgG1 and IgE plasma cells all detected in parallel. Whilst extrafollicular antibody responses were maintained in the first weeks after co-infection, the GC response was less than that in mice infected with Nb only. Nb infection resulted in some abrogation of the longer-term development of anti-STm IgG responses. This suggested that prior Nb infection may modulate the induction of protective antibody responses to vaccination. To assess this we immunized mice with porins, which confer protection in an antibody-dependent manner, before challenging with STm. Mice that had resolved a Nb infection prior to immunization induced less anti-porin IgG and had compromised protection against infection. These findings demonstrate that co-infection can radically alter the development of protective immunity during natural infection and in response to immunization

Combinatorial hydrogel library enables identification of materials that mitigate the foreign body response in primates

The foreign body response is an immune-mediated reaction that can lead to the failure of implanted medical devices and discomfort for the recipient. There is a critical need for biomaterials that overcome this key challenge in the development of medical devices. Here we use a combinatorial approach for covalent chemical modification to generate a large library of variants of one of the most widely used hydrogel biomaterials, alginate. We evaluated the materials in vivo and identified three triazole-containing analogs that substantially reduce foreign body reactions in both rodents and, for at least 6 months, in non-human primates. The distribution of the triazole modification creates a unique hydrogel surface that inhibits recognition by macrophages and fibrous deposition. In addition to the utility of the compounds reported here, our approach may enable the discovery of other materials that mitigate the foreign body response.Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust (3-SRA-2014-285-M-R)United States. National Institutes of Health (EB000244)United States. National Institutes of Health (EB000351)United States. National Institutes of Health (DE013023)United States. National Institutes of Health (CA151884)United States. National Institutes of Health (P41EB015871-27)National Cancer Institute (U.S.) (P30-CA14051

Training future generations to deliver evidence-based conservation and ecosystem management

1. To be effective, the next generation of conservation practitioners and managers need to be critical thinkers with a deep understanding of how to make evidence-based decisions and of the value of evidence synthesis. 2. If, as educators, we do not make these priorities a core part of what we teach, we are failing to prepare our students to make an effective contribution to conservation practice. 3. To help overcome this problem we have created open access online teaching materials in multiple languages that are stored in Applied Ecology Resources. So far, 117 educators from 23 countries have acknowledged the importance of this and are already teaching or about to teach skills in appraising or using evidence in conservation decision-making. This includes 145 undergraduate, postgraduate or professional development courses. 4. We call for wider teaching of the tools and skills that facilitate evidence-based conservation and also suggest that providing online teaching materials in multiple languages could be beneficial for improving global understanding of other subject areas.Peer reviewe

BHPR research: qualitative1. Complex reasoning determines patients' perception of outcome following foot surgery in rheumatoid arhtritis

Background: Foot surgery is common in patients with RA but research into surgical outcomes is limited and conceptually flawed as current outcome measures lack face validity: to date no one has asked patients what is important to them. This study aimed to determine which factors are important to patients when evaluating the success of foot surgery in RA Methods: Semi structured interviews of RA patients who had undergone foot surgery were conducted and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis of interviews was conducted to explore issues that were important to patients. Results: 11 RA patients (9 ♂, mean age 59, dis dur = 22yrs, mean of 3 yrs post op) with mixed experiences of foot surgery were interviewed. Patients interpreted outcome in respect to a multitude of factors, frequently positive change in one aspect contrasted with negative opinions about another. Overall, four major themes emerged. Function: Functional ability & participation in valued activities were very important to patients. Walking ability was a key concern but patients interpreted levels of activity in light of other aspects of their disease, reflecting on change in functional ability more than overall level. Positive feelings of improved mobility were often moderated by negative self perception ("I mean, I still walk like a waddling duck”). Appearance: Appearance was important to almost all patients but perhaps the most complex theme of all. Physical appearance, foot shape, and footwear were closely interlinked, yet patients saw these as distinct separate concepts. Patients need to legitimize these feelings was clear and they frequently entered into a defensive repertoire ("it's not cosmetic surgery; it's something that's more important than that, you know?”). Clinician opinion: Surgeons' post operative evaluation of the procedure was very influential. The impact of this appraisal continued to affect patients' lasting impression irrespective of how the outcome compared to their initial goals ("when he'd done it ... he said that hasn't worked as good as he'd wanted to ... but the pain has gone”). Pain: Whilst pain was important to almost all patients, it appeared to be less important than the other themes. Pain was predominately raised when it influenced other themes, such as function; many still felt the need to legitimize their foot pain in order for health professionals to take it seriously ("in the end I went to my GP because it had happened a few times and I went to an orthopaedic surgeon who was quite dismissive of it, it was like what are you complaining about”). Conclusions: Patients interpret the outcome of foot surgery using a multitude of interrelated factors, particularly functional ability, appearance and surgeons' appraisal of the procedure. While pain was often noted, this appeared less important than other factors in the overall outcome of the surgery. Future research into foot surgery should incorporate the complexity of how patients determine their outcome Disclosure statement: All authors have declared no conflicts of interes

Is succession-based management of coastal dune forest restoration valid?

Here we test the predictions of succession in a restoration context to ascertain the validity of succession-based management. Our study took place in seven coastal dune forest sites of various ages regenerating after mining disturbance. We used our 16 yr of data on 4 taxa to test the predictions of succession theories. Patterns in turnover for all taxa showed a decelerating decrease contradicting Clements’s classical theory of succession. Changes in composition followed patterns predicted by the individualistic model of succession. Trends in species diversity measures did not always match predictions with bird species diversity declining in most sites over time. Regional disturbances may explain this phenomenon. Succession-based management is a valid approach to dune forest rehabilitation as long as restoration managers recognise disturbance as an ecological reality.The University of Pretoria, Richards Bay Minerals, and the South African Department of Trade and Industry.http://www.wisc.edu/wisconsinpress/journals/journals/er.htmlab201