"Building back better": seeking an equitable return to sport-for-development in the wake of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic affected sport programming by restricting in-person activities. Concurrently, global outcry for racial justice for Black and racialized communities promoted calls-to-action to assess equitable practices in sport, including Sport for Development (SfD). This study critically examined SfD ‘return to play’ programming to include perspectives from racialized persons’ lived experiences. We present findings based on data collected from MLSE Foundation’s Change the Game (CtG) research, which explored questions of sport inequity to ‘build back better’. Outcomes further SfD discourses challenging (potentially) harmful structures affecting participants, including under reported effects of racialization. The study used a mixed-method methodology with quantitative analysis of survey data, and thematic analysis of personal experience within an anti-racist, anti-oppressive, and decolonial conceptual framework

Medium-term performance and maintenance of SUDS:a case-study of Hopwood Park Motorway Service Area, UK

One of the main barriers to implementing SUDS is concern about performance and maintenance costs since there are few well-documented case-studies. This paper summarizes studies conducted between 2000 and 2008 of the performance and maintenance of four SUDS management trains constructed in 1999 at the Hopwood Park Motorway Service Area, central England. Assessments were made of the wildlife value and sedimentation in the SUDS ponds, the hydraulic performance of the coach park management train, water quality in all management trains, and soil/sediment composition in the grass filter strip, interceptor and ponds. Maintenance procedures and costs were also reviewed. Results demonstrate the benefits of a management train approach over individual SUDS units for flow attenuation, water treatment, spillage containment and maintenance. Peak flows, pond sediment depth and contaminant concentrations in sediment and water decreased through the coach park management train. Of the 2007 annual landscape budget of £15,000 for the whole site, the maintenance costs for SUDS only accounted for £2,500 compared to £4,000 for conventional drainage structures. Furthermore, since sediment has been attenuated in the management trains, the cost of sediment removal after the recommended period of three years was only £554 and, if the design is not compromised, less frequent removal will be required in future

Evaluation of the pathways of tropospheric nitrophenol formation using a multiphase model

International audiencePhenols are a major class of volatile organic compounds (VOC) whose reaction within, and partitioning between, the gas and liquid phases affects their lifetime within the atmosphere, the local oxidising capacity, and the extent of production of nitrophenols, which are toxic chemicals. In this work, a zero-dimension box model was constructed to quantify the relative nitration pathways, and partitioning into the liquid phase, of mono-aromatic compounds in order to help elucidate the formation pathways of 2- and 4-nitrophenol in the troposphere. The liquid phase contributed significantly to the production of nitrophenols for liquid water content (Lc) values exceeding 3×10-9, and for a range of assumed liquid droplet diameter, even though the resultant equilibrium partitioning to the liquid phase was much lower. For example, in a ''typical'' model scenario, with Lc=3×10-7, 58% of nitrophenol production occurred in the liquid phase but only 2% of nitrophenol remained there, i.e. a significant proportion of nitrophenol observed in the gas phase may actually be produced via the liquid phase. The importance of the liquid phase was enhanced at lower temperatures, by a factor ~1.5?2 at 278 K cf. 298 K. The model showed that nitrophenol production was particularly sensitive to the values of the rate coefficients for the liquid phase reactions between phenol and OH or NO3 reactions, but insensitive to the rate coefficient for the reaction between benzene and OH, thus identifying where further experimental data are required

Rigidity analysis of HIV-1 protease

We present a rigidity analysis on a large number of X-ray crystal structures of the enzyme HIV-1 protease using the 'pebble game' algorithm of the software FIRST. We find that although the rigidity profile remains similar across a comprehensive set of high resolution structures, the profile changes significantly in the presence of an inhibitor. Our study shows that the action of the inhibitors is to restrict the flexibility of the beta-hairpin flaps which allow access to the active site. The results are discussed in the context of full molecular dynamics simulations as well as data from NMR experiments.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Conference proceedings for CMMP conference 2010 which was held at the University of Warwic

The Integrability of Pauli System in Lorentz Violating Background

We systematically analyze the integrability of a Pauli system in Lorentz violating background at the non-relativistic level both in two- and three-dimensions. We consider the non-relativistic limit of the Dirac equation from the QED sector of the so-called Standard Model Extension by keeping only two types of background couplings, the vector a_mu and the axial vector b_mu. We show that the spin-orbit interaction comes as a higher order correction in the non-relativistic limit of the Dirac equation. Such an interaction allows the inclusion of spin degree non-trivially, and if Lorentz violating terms are allowed, they might be comparable under special circumstances. By including all possible first-order derivative terms and considering the cases a\ne 0, b\ne 0, and b_0\ne 0 one at a time, we determine the possible forms of constants of motion operator, and discuss the existence or continuity of integrability due to Lorentz violating background.Comment: 19 page

Evaluation of global EMEP MSC-W (rv4.34)-WRF (v3.9.1.1) model surface concentrations and wet deposition of reactive N and S with measurements

Atmospheric pollution has many profound effects on human health, ecosystems, and the climate. Of concern are high concentrations and deposition of reactive nitrogen (Nr) species, especially of reduced N (gaseous NH3, particulate NH4+). Atmospheric chemistry and transport models (ACTMs) are crucial to understanding sources and impacts of Nr chemistry and its potential mitigation. Here we undertake the first evaluation of the global version of the EMEP MSC-W ACTM driven by WRF meteorology (1∘×1∘ resolution), with a focus on surface concentrations and wet deposition of N and S species relevant to investigation of atmospheric Nr and secondary inorganic aerosol (SIA). The model–measurement comparison is conducted both spatially and temporally, covering 10 monitoring networks worldwide. Model simulations for 2010 compared use of both HTAP and ECLIPSEE (ECLIPSE annual total with EDGAR monthly profile) emissions inventories; those for 2015 used ECLIPSEE only. Simulations of primary pollutants are somewhat sensitive to the choice of inventory in places where regional differences in primary emissions between the two inventories are apparent (e.g. China) but are much less sensitive for secondary components. For example, the difference in modelled global annual mean surface NH3 concentration using the two 2010 inventories is 18 % (HTAP: 0.26 µg m−3; ECLIPSEE: 0.31 µg m−3) but is only 3.5 % for NH4+ (HTAP: 0.316 µg m−3; ECLIPSEE: 0.305 µg m−3). Comparisons of 2010 and 2015 surface concentrations between the model and measurements demonstrate that the model captures the overall spatial and seasonal variations well for the major inorganic pollutants NH3, NO2, SO2, HNO3, NH4+, NO3−, and SO42− and their wet deposition in East Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, and North America. The model shows better correlations with annual average measurements for networks in Southeast Asia (mean R for seven species: R7¯¯¯¯=0.73), Europe (R7¯¯¯¯=0.67), and North America (R7¯¯¯¯=0.63) than in East Asia (R5¯¯¯¯=0.35) (data for 2015), which suggests potential issues with the measurements in the latter network. Temporally, both model and measurements agree on higher NH3 concentrations in spring and summer and lower concentrations in winter. The model slightly underestimates annual total precipitation measurements (by 13 %–45 %) but agrees well with the spatial variations in precipitation in all four world regions (0.65–0.94 R range). High correlations between measured and modelled NH4+ precipitation concentrations are also observed in all regions except East Asia. For annual total wet deposition of reduced N, the greatest consistency is in North America (0.75–0.82 R range), followed by Southeast Asia (R=0.68) and Europe (R=0.61). Model–measurement bias varies between species in different networks; for example, bias for NH4+ and NO3− is largest in Europe and North America and smallest in East Asia and Southeast Asia. The greater uniformity in spatial correlations than in biases suggests that the major driver of model–measurement discrepancies (aside from differing spatial representativeness and uncertainties and biases in measurements) are shortcomings in absolute emissions rather than in modelling the atmospheric processes. The comprehensive evaluations presented in this study support the application of this model framework for global analysis of current and potential future budgets and deposition of Nr and SIA

Evaluation of Complex Whole-School Interventions: Methodological and Practical Considerations

Evaluating the impact of complex whole-school interventions (CWSIs) is challenging. However, what evidence there is suggests that school leadership and other elements of whole-school contexts are important for pupils’ attainment (Leithwood et al., 2006), suggesting that interventions aimed at changing these have significant potential to improve pupil outcomes. Furthermore, strong leadership is likely important for the effective implementation of many interventions funded by the EEF since even class-level or targeted programmes are more likely to work best within supportive and effective settings. We therefore welcome the EEF’s commitment to exploring the issues inherent in evaluating CWSIs. Developing design and practice for evaluations of this type of intervention, focusing on the issues of complexity and managing change across a whole school, increases the scope of projects of which the EEF may confidently fund evaluations. In this document, we provide key messages for EEF evaluators on how to get the most out of evaluations of CWSIs, including considerations for both design and implementation. As far as possible, our suggestions aim to be practical steps that evaluators can implement immediately. A number of issues, and points 13 and 14 below in particular, require either further investigation or decisions from the EEF

Land cover influence on catchment scale subsurface water storage investigated by multiple methods:Implications for UK Natural Flood Management

Study region: United Kingdom (UK). Study Focus: ‘Natural flood management’ (NFM) schemes manipulating land use and other catchment features to control runoff are increasingly promoted across the UK. Catchment water storage and mixing processes influence runoff, but our understanding of the effects of land cover change on these processes is still limited. This study combined hydrometric, isotopic and geochemical measurements to investigate land cover versus potential topographic, soil and geological controls. It compared storage-discharge dynamics in nine nested catchments within a 67 km2 managed upland catchment in southern Scotland. Storage and mixing dynamics were characterised from hydrometric data using recession analysis and from isotopic data using mean transit time and young water fraction estimates. To give information on water sources, groundwater fraction was estimated from end member mixing analysis based on acid neutralising capacity.New hydrological insights: The analysis showed low but variable sub-catchment scale dynamic storage (16–200 mm), mean transit times (134–370 days) and groundwater fractions (0.20–0.52 of annual stream runoff). Soil hydraulic conductivity was most significantly positively correlated with storage and mixing measures, whilst percentage forest cover was inversely correlated. Any effects of forest cover on increasing catchment infiltration and storage are masked by soil hydraulic properties even in the most responsive catchments. This highlights the importance of understanding dominant controls on catchment storage when using tree planting as a flood management strategy

Evaluation of local measurement-driven adjustments of modelled cloud-free atmospheric photolysis rate coefficients

Photolysis rate constants (j-values) play a crucial role in atmospheric chemistry modelling, but capturing the variability in local conditions needed for their accurate simulation is computationally challenging. One approach is to adjust modelled clear-sky estimates using ratios of measured-to-modelled j-values of a reference photolysis, typically j(NO2) or j(O1D). However, application of such adjustments to other photolysis reactions introduces uncertainty. Using spectral radiometer data from the UK, this study examines how hourly measurement driven adjustment factors (MDAF) across a set of 12 photolysis reactions group together using cluster analysis, and evaluates the uncertainties in using j(NO2) and j(O1D)-derived MDAF values to adjust modelled j-values of other photolysis reactions. The NO2-MDAF reference is suitable for adjusting photolysis reactions that absorb at λ > 360 nm (HONO, methylglyoxal, ClNO2, ClONO2 → Cl), which are largely independent of solar zenith angle and total ozone column (<31% error). In particular, NO2-MDAF is a good reference for j(HONO) and j(ClNO2). The O1D-MDAF performed better at adjusting modelled j-values for species that predominantly photodissociate at λ < 350 nm, such as HNO3, H2O2, CH3CHO, HCHO → H, HCHO → H2 and ClONO2 → ClO (errors ≤ 30%). However, j(O1D) radiometers require more data processing to account for local conditions. The maximum error determined using NO2-MDAF was within a factor of two (91% for j(H2O2)), which may still be acceptable in some instances. It is important that MDAFs are used to improve accuracy and uncertainty in simulated j-values caused by variation in local conditions