Rethinking Urban Nature: The Rise and Value of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) in Europe

Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) have been proposed by the European Union as the most contemporary approach to delivering resilient cities in Europe. Through official guidance and funded projects, the Horizon 2020 programme, the EU has positioned nature at the centre of landscape and urban planning debates. However, there remains a scepticism regarding whether the support of NBS as an alternative to green infrastructure (GI) planning is meaningful and appropriate or damaging to existing practices. Furthermore, the framing of NBS does not, to date, extend the conceptual, practical or political parameters of ‘green space’ planning beyond terminological changes. Its most significant contribution to urban planning is the emphasis it places on urban ecology as a foundational principle of all development. To assess the added value of NBS in the planning and management of urban landscapes the paper reflects on the academic discussions surrounding the approach. This examines how NBS are being used to shape support for investment in urban nature but also argues that it potentially creates a schism between advocates of existing green space terminology and approaches. It concludes by setting the parameters for further analysis of how NBS are being, and may be used, going forward to socio-economic and ecological agendas in the EU

Steps towards the development of a ‘culture of innovation’ amongst undergraduate industrial designers

Developing innovative solutions to problems is no easy task. Firstly there has to be a desire within the individual to seek out the innovative solution; secondly there is the problem of how to identify what constitutes an innovative solution; and finally one has to combat the natural tendency toward risk aversion. Successful industrial design is by its very nature innovative. Therefore generating a culture of innovation is a vital requirement in the development of a successful designer. Do we know how to stimulate, incubate and nurture innovation? What are the factors that give rise to an innovative mindset? This paper describes the experiences of an industrial design programme that for five years operated with a degree of success. However on review the programme was deemed to be lacking in innovation. Changes were made and after three years the impact was assessed and quantified and the results are now reported. Through the review strategies were developed which led to the creation of an environment for the promotion and nurturing of innovation appropriate to an undergraduate industrial design programme. Following the three year review further refinements to the model have been implemented, this will be the subject of further study

Novel Solutions or Rebranded Approaches: Evaluating the use of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) in Europe

The Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) concept is the most recent entry to discussions around how “nature” can be mobilized to render urban areas more resilient to the threat of climate change. The concept has been championed by the European Commission (EC) as a tool that can transform contemporary environmental, social and economic challenges into opportunities for innovation, bolstering Europe's position as a leader in climate change mitigation and adaptation. With its current research and innovation programme—Horizon 2020—the EC looks to position itself as the global NBS frontrunner, providing funding to cities to act as NBS demonstrator projects across the continent. These are expected to provide best-practice examples that can be replicated globally. This paper focuses on three Horizon 2020-funded NBS demonstrator projects: Connecting Nature, URBAN GreenUP and Grow Green, each of which brings together a suite of urban partners from both within and outside the European Union (EU). It examines the internal “politics” i.e., the aims and internal governance and implementation issues associated with these projects, and analyses how partners perceive the NBS concept. To engage with these aims, interviews were conducted with a diverse set of NBS “practitioners” working within the three projects. Analysis showed that the projects aim to influence climate-change resilient and sustainable urbanism through the process of retrofitting cities with small-scale green and blue interventions, as well as help the EU secure stronger diplomatic relations with neighboring non-EU countries and key international trade partners. It also illustrated that for many project partners, NBS is perceived to be a novel concept, because it re-frames pre-existing terms such as Green and Blue Infrastructure (GBI) and Ecosystem Services (ES) in a way that makes principles of urban greening more understandable to lay audiences and more politically palatable for urban governments. However, partners also warn that this framing of NBS has led to a narrow and idealized representation of nature; one that simultaneously undervalues biodiversity and oversells the capacity of natural processes to provide “solutions” to urban climate vulnerability and broader patterns of unsustainable urbanism.</jats:p

Discovery of Eight z ~ 6 Quasars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Overlap Regions

We present the discovery of eight quasars at z~6 identified in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) overlap regions. Individual SDSS imaging runs have some overlap with each other, leading to repeat observations over an area spanning >4000 deg^2 (more than 1/4 of the total footprint). These overlap regions provide a unique dataset that allows us to select high-redshift quasars more than 0.5 mag fainter in the z band than those found with the SDSS single-epoch data. Our quasar candidates were first selected as i-band dropout objects in the SDSS imaging database. We then carried out a series of follow-up observations in the optical and near-IR to improve photometry, remove contaminants, and identify quasars. The eight quasars reported here were discovered in a pilot study utilizing the overlap regions at high galactic latitude (|b|>30 deg). These quasars span a redshift range of 5.86<z<6.06 and a flux range of 19.3<z_AB<20.6 mag. Five of them are fainter than z_AB=20 mag, the typical magnitude limit of z~6 quasars used for the SDSS single-epoch images. In addition, we recover eight previously known quasars at z~6 that are located in the overlap regions. These results validate our procedure for selecting quasar candidates from the overlap regions and confirming them with follow-up observations, and provide guidance to a future systematic survey over all SDSS imaging regions with repeat observations.Comment: AJ in press (8 pages

Reemergence of Syphilitic Uveitis Masquerading as Other Diseases: A Report of Two Cases

During a 6-month period in 2010, 2 patients with uveitis were examined at our department and diagnosed with ocular syphilis. They initially presented with symptoms and signs resembling Harada's disease and Behçet's disease and were therefore treated with systemic steroids with suboptimal responses. When laboratory workup revealed neurosyphilis, they were given a course of intravenous penicillin G, which led to significant clinical and visual improvement. Epidemiological data indicates a worldwide reemergence of syphilis and a high degree of suspicion is necessary in view of its multitude of presenting ocular signs without pathognomonic features

Comparison of synthetic turbulence approaches for blade element momentum theory prediction of tidal turbine performance and loads

Turbulence is a crucial flow phenomenon for tidal energy converters (TECs), as it influences both the peak loads they experience and their fatigue life. To best mitigate its effects we must understand both turbulence itself and how it induces loads on TECs. To that end, this paper presents the results of blade element momentum theory (BEMT) simulations of flume-scale TEC models subjected to synthetic turbulent flows. Synthetic turbulence methods produce three-dimensional flowfields from limited data, without solving the equations governing fluid motion. These flowfields are non-physical, but match key statistical properties of real turbulence and are much quicker and computationally cheaper to produce. This study employs two synthetic turbulence generation methods: the synthetic eddy method and the spectral Sandia method. The response of the TECs to the synthetic turbulence is predicted using a robust BEMT model, modified from the classical formulation of BEMT. We show that, for the cases investigated, TEC load variability is lower in stall operation than at higher tip speed ratios. The variability of turbine loads has a straightforward relationship to the turbulence intensity of the inflow. Spectral properties of the velocity field are not fully reflected in the spectra of TEC loads

The management of tree genetic resources and the livelihoods of rural communities in the tropics: non-timber forest products, smallholder agroforestry practices and tree commodity crops

Products and services provided by trees in forests and farmland support the needs and promote the wellbeing of hundreds of millions of people in the tropics. Value depends on managing both the diversity of tree species present in landscapes and the genetic variation within these species. The benefits from trees and their genetic resources are, however, often not well quantified because trade is frequently outside formal markets, there is a multiplicity of species and ways in which trees are used and managed, and genetic diversity within species is frequently not given proper consideration. We review here what is known about the value of trees to rural communities through considering three production categories: non-timber products harvested from trees in natural and managed forests and woodlands; the various products and services obtained from a wide range of trees planted and/or retained in smallholders’ agroforestry systems; and the commercial products harvested from cultivated tree commodity crops. Where possible, we focus on the role of intra-specific genetic variation in providing support to livelihoods, and for each of the three production categories we also consider wider conservation and sustainability issues, including the linkages between categories in terms of management. Challenges to ‘conventional wisdom’ on tree resource use, value and management – such as in the posited links between commercialisation, cultivation and conservation – are highlighted, and constraints and opportunities to maintain and enhance value are described

Action research for transformative change

As major policy actors (e.g. governments, global organisations) grapple with 'wicked’ sustainability challenges, the use of demonstration projects or ‘living labs’ has promise in showcasing potential solutions. However, these projects can struggleto realise enduring change, with initial experimental deliverables tending not to be replicated and remaining as once-offs. As well as demonstrating solutions, projects also need to overcome the considerable inertia in the complex systems of organisations and institutions that govern (or indeed generate) sustainability problems. Here we argue that demonstration projects, while initially impactful, could be more likely to realise transformative change if they were designed more thoroughly as action research projects, working with partners to not only deliver and measure demonstrations of solutions, but also demonstrate changes to organisations and institutions to remove barriers and facilitate replication. We note the important role ofboth engaged leadership and explicitly-stated theories of change in maximising the potential of projects designed in this way

Cytokine-mediated induction and regulation of tissue damage during cytomegalovirus infection

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a β-herpesvirus with high sero-prevalence within the human population. Primary HCMV infection and life-long carriage are typically asymptomatic. However, HCMV is implicated in exacerbation of chronic conditions and associated damage in individuals with intact immune systems. Furthermore, HCMV is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the immunologically immature and immune-compromised where disease is associated with tissue damage. Infection-induced inflammation, including robust cytokine responses, is a key component of pathologies associated with many viruses. Despite encoding a large number of immune-evasion genes, HCMV also triggers the induction of inflammatory cytokine responses during infection. Thus, understanding how cytokines contribute to CMV-induced pathologies and the mechanisms through which they are regulated may inform clinical management of disease. Herein, we discuss our current understanding based on clinical observation and in vivo modeling of disease of the role that cytokines play in CMV pathogenesis. Specifically, in the context of the different tissues and organs in which CMV replicates, we give a broad overview of the beneficial and adverse effects that cytokines have during infection and describe how cytokine-mediated tissue damage is regulated. We discuss the implications of findings derived from mice and humans for therapeutic intervention strategies and our understanding of how host genetics may influence the outcome of CMV infections