Sustainability appraisal and public examination of a regional spatial strategy

UK spatial planning guidance now recognises the importance of engaging stakeholders in appraisal processes at an early stage in the plan-making process. Regional Planning Authorities are required to consult proactively with a wide range of stakeholders on both the development of planning policy and the sustainability appraisal of that policy. However, there is no clear indication as to how they might go about this process, other than to confront the various stakeholders with a Sustainability Appraisal Report. Participation in Sustainability Appraisal therefore still relies on reaction to a technical appraisal of an existing plan – and in this situation stakeholders might lack the incentive to participate. More thoughtful ways need to be devised to involve people in the sustainability debate – so that spatial policy more accurately reflects their knowledge and aspirations. The focus of this paper is to investigate ways in which Sustainability Appraisal of spatial plans can be made more accessible and transparent within the context of wider governance mechanisms. Of particular interest is the Public Examination of a Regional Spatial Strategy. The following research questions attempt to address the gaps in knowledge: 1. How can the quality and extent of engagement of stakeholders be improved, so that policy approaches delivered via Sustainability Appraisal more effectively reflect their ambitions, whilst continuing to meet the objectives for sustainability ? 2. How can the sustainability issues that might form the basis of discussions in a proactive engagement of interests be identified, and how can these issues be framed within a contextual setting that is meaningful to a range of stakeholders ? 3. What mediatory techniques can be identified to accommodate the various frames of reference that arise in potentially conflict situations

Moment inequalities and their application

This paper provides conditions under which the inequality constraints generated by either single agent optimizing behavior, or by the Nash equilibria of multiple agent problems, can be used as a basis for estimation and inference. We also add to the econometric literature on inference in models defined by inequality constraints by providing a new specification test and methods of inference for the boundaries of the model's identified set. Two applications illustrate how the use of inequality constraints can simplify the problem of obtaining estimators from complex behavioral models of substantial applied interest.

Predictive habitat modelling as a tool to assess the change in distribution and extent of an OSPAR priority habitat under an increased ocean temperature scenario:consequences for marine protected area networks and management

The aims of this study were to determine the extent and distribution of an OSPAR priority habitat under current baseline ocean temperatures; to illustrate the prospect for habitat loss under a changing ocean temperature scenario; and to demonstrate the potential application of predictive habitat mapping in "future-proofing" conservation and biodiversity management. Maxent modelling and GIS environmental envelope analysis of the biogenic bed forming species, Modiolus modiolus was carried out. The Maxent model was tested and validated using 75%/25% training/test occurrence records and validated against two sampling biases (the whole study area and a 20km buffer). The model was compared to the envelope analysis and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (Area Under the curve; AUC) was evaluated. The performance of the Maxent model was rated as 'good' to 'excellent' on all replicated runs and low variation in the runs was recorded from the AUC values. The extent of "most suitable", "less suitable" and "unsuitable" habitat was calculated for the baseline year (2009) and the projected increased ocean temperature scenarios (2030, 2050, 2080 and 2100). A loss of 100% of "most suitable" habitat was reported by 2080. Maintaining a suitable level of protection of marine habitats/species of conservation importance may require management of the decline and migration rather than maintenance of present extent. Methods applied in this study provide the initial application of a plausible "conservation management tool"

Adaptive management, international co-operation and planning for marine conservation hotspots in a changing climate

Acknowledgements This work received funding from the MASTS pooling initiative (The Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland) and their support is gratefully acknowledged. MASTS is funded by the Scottish Funding Council (Grant reference HR09011) and contributing institutions.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The effects of continuous vs intermittent oxygen supplementation on repeat sprint cycling performance

The use of handheld cannisters providing supplementary oxygen to use ‘track side’ is becoming popular. The aim of this study was to determine the optimal time to administer oxygen supplementation (O2Supp) during a repeat sprint protocol on cycling performance. Ten male recreationally active University students participated. Testing comprised four visits to the laboratory in a counterbalanced design. Each session entailed ten x 15s repeated sprints interspersed with 45s passive recovery, during which the air inspired was either 100% oxygen (H) or normal air, (N), thus the oxygen content inspired during the sprints and/or the recovery periods, determined the four conditions; NH, HN, HH, NN respectively. It was hypothesised that the HH condition would evoke the largest performance improvements. Repeated measures ANOVA were used to examine the difference between conditions in the outcome measures of mean power (W), rate of power decline (%) and blood lactate (mmol·L-1). There was no significant effect of O2Supp on mean power (W), blood lactate or performance decline (%) (p > .05), although. the HH condition did result in the lowest levels of lactate accumulation and the shallowest decline in performance. The NH and HN conditions resulted a greater decline in performance than both HH and NN. Continuous O2Supp during repeat sprint cycling is more effective on cycling performance, than when it is administered in short repeated bouts. It appears that the rapid changing of oxygen availability may have a detrimental effect on performance. O2Supp can be applied to training programmes that have extended (>1min) periods of recovery

The use of acute oxygen supplementation upon muscle tissue saturation during repeat sprint cycling

This study examined performance and physiological responses (power output, tissue saturation index) to repeat sprint cycling with oxygen supplementation (O2Supp [fraction of inspired oxygen 1.00]). Fourteen amateur male cyclists took part. Two visits to the laboratory entailed; 15min relative intensity warm-up, 10min of passive recovery, followed by 10x15s repeated sprints, during which air inspired had FiO21.00 oxygen or normal air. Outcome measures include, mean power (W) and change in Tissue Saturation Index (ΔTSI%). Repeated measures ANOVA were used to examine difference between conditions in mean power output. Paired samples t-tests were used to examine differences between conditions in ΔTSI (%) and rate of muscle reoxygenation and deoxygenation (%·s-1). Mean power output was 4% higher in the oxygen condition compared to normoxia (p<.01). There was a significant positive correlation between power output and reoxygenation rate during O2Supp (r=0.65, p=.04). No correlation was seen between power output and reoxygenation rate during normoxia (r=-0.30, p=.40). A significantly increased deoxy rate was seen in the O2Supp condition compared to normoxia (p=.05). Oxygen supplementation appears to elicit the greatest performance improvements in mean power, potentially facilitated by an increasing muscle reoxygenation rate. This evidences the utility of oxygen as an ergogenic aid to in cycling performance

A multi-Omic approach to food spoilage and nutritional composition within a food matrix

Foods are subject to microbiological and physiochemical alterations during preparation that influence the shelf life, but the comprehensive nutritional composition of food remains unassessed. At present, food deterioration is determined using techniques based on microbial and physiochemical assessments that are both outdated and lacking sensitivity. However, advances in-Omic technologies enables a greater understanding of bacterial dynamics and spoilage mechanisms. In this study, a novel multi-omic characterisation of spoilage in a commercially available vegetable matrix was performed. To profile spoilage the vegetable matrix was stored for 5-days under baseline condition (20 °C) and a series of conditions composing of various temperature, gas composition and pH environments. The B-vitamin composition was determined through the development of an efficient analytical method which showed excellent linearity (r 2=0.98-0.99), reproducibility (intra-day=%CV <7) and low detection (2.4-9.0 ng/mL) and quantification limits (8-30 ng/mL). Amplicon sequencing revealed the genera Lactococcus, Leuconostoc and Yersinia were responsible for spoilage under baseline conditions. However, overall bacterial dynamics were dependent on the storage condition, for example storage in air promoted Bacillus. Storage at different temperatures 7 °C and 37 °C promoted Pseudomonas and Bacillus alongside lactic acid bacteria respectively. Amplicon sequencing was complemented with untargeted metabolite profiling of volatile and non-volatile metabolites which highlighted metabolites linked to freshness (e.g. glutathione, adenosine 5’monophosphate, arginine) or spoilage (e.g. hypoxanthine and biogenic amines). This further showed metabolic pathways such as purine, glutathione, arginine and proline metabolism were pathways involved in the spoilage of the vegetable matrix. The main volatile groups that changed during storage included, aldehydes, alkanes, alcohols, free fatty acids (FFAs), ketones and monoterpenoids. However, metabolites were shown to be dependent on microbial load and the bacterial communities present. Furthermore, this research highlighted a relationship between B-vitamins and spoilage activity. The content of riboflavin and thiamine reduced by 85.2% and 41% respectively, and nicotinamide was fully exhausted when growth of Lactococcus, Leuconostoc and Yersinia reached spoilage levels (2.105 x 108 CFU/g). This relationship was also influenced by the storage conditions, but in all conditions where growth of microorganisms reached 107-108 CFU/g, nicotinamide was depleted. Therefore, nicotinamide has the potential to be a marker of product freshness and on-going spoilage. In conclusion, this comprehensive -Omic evaluation of food spoilage has provided novel findings regarding food spoilage dynamics that could inform future studies into food spoilage detection and shelf-life extension

Determination of selected water-soluble vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, nicotinamide and pyridoxine) from a food matrix using hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectroscopy

Water-soluble vitamins are essential dietary components with a multitude of important functions that require quantification from food sources to characterise the nutritional status of food. In this study, we have developed a hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) based method coupled to single-quadrupole mass spectrometry (MS) for the analysis of selected water-soluble vitamins. Due to their involvement in energy release from macronutrients, the quantification of thiamine (B ), riboflavin (B ), nicotinamide (B ) and pyridoxine (B ) offers significant value in food analysis. A commercially available vegetable soup was selected as the food matrix for this study and utilised to develop an efficient extraction procedure for the vitamins of interest. Vitamins were extracted using meta-phosphoric acid coupled with a reducing agent, DL-dithiothreitol (DTT) to produce the parent compound. The extracted vitamins were then analysed using an LC-MS system with electrospray - atmospheric pressure ionization (ES-API) source, operated in positive single ion monitoring (SIM) mode. The MS provided good linearity within the investigated range from 5 to 400 ng/mL with coefficient of determination (r ) ranging from 0.98 to 0.99. Retention times (0.65-9.04 min) were reproducible and no coelution between vitamins was observed. Limit of detection (LOD) varied from 2.4 to 9.0 ng/mL and limit of quantification (LOQ) was from 8 to 30 ng/mL, comparable to previously published studies. The extraction method provided good intra-day (%CV 1.56-6.56) and inter-day precision (%CV 8.07-10.97). Standard injections were used as part of quality control measures and provided excellent reproducibility (%CV 0.9-3.4). The overall runtime of this method was 19 min, including column reconditioning. Using this method, the quantity of thiamine (67 ± 7 ng/g), riboflavin (423 ± 39 ng/g), nicotinamide (856 ± 77 ng/g) and pyridoxine (133 ± 11 ng/g) was determined from a complex food matrix. In conclusion, we have developed a rapid and reliable, HILIC-single quad MS method utilising SIM for the low-level quantification of four B vitamins in a vegetable soup matrix in under 20 min. This method has shown excellent linearity, intra- and inter-day reproducibility and is directly applicable to other plant-based food matrices. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Comparative study of numerical modelling techniques to estimate tidal turbine blade loads

This paper presents a method to obtain the pressure distribution across the surface of a tidal turbine blade, but without the extensive computational time that is required by 3D CFD modelling. The approach uses a combination of blade element momentum theory (BEMT) and 2D CFD modelling, where the inflow velocity vector for each blade element computed from the BEMT model is input to a 2D CFD model of each of the blade sections. To assess the validity of this approach, a comparison is made with both a BEMT and a 3D CFD model for three different blade profiles at full scale (NACA 63-8xx, NREL S814 and Wortmann FX 63-137). A comparison is also made of the NREL blade at smaller scale to investigate any Reynolds number effects on the model performance. The agreement is shown to be very reasonable between the three methods, although the forces are consistently slightly over-predicted by the BEMT method compared to the 2D-CFD-BEMT model, and the 2D-CFD-BEMT model over-predicts the pressure along the leading edge compared to the 3D CFD results. The proposed method is shown to be particularly useful when conducting initial blade structural analysis under dynamic loading