18 research outputs found
The long-term health and wellbeing impacts of Healthy New Towns (HNTs): protocol for a baseline and feasibility study of HNT demonstrator sites in England.
Background: Increasing levels of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), mental health problems, high rates of unhealthy behaviours and health inequalities remain major public health challenges worldwide. In the context of increasing urbanisation, there is an urgent need to understand how evidence that living environments shape health, wellbeing and behaviour can be used to design and deliver healthy environments in local urban settings. The Healthy New Town (HNT) programme implemented in England from 2015 consists of ten major housing developments that aim to improve population health through healthy design principles, new models for integrating health and social care and the creation of strong and connected communities. The programme provides a natural experiment in which to investigate the effects on health, wellbeing and inequalities of large-scale interventions targeting the wider social determinants of health. Methods: The research described in this protocol aims to examine the feasibility of a larger study to assess the longer-term health impacts of HNTs, by addressing two research questions: (1) what are the similarities and differences in the HNT programme developments, processes, contexts and expected impacts and outcomes across HNT sites? and (2) how feasible is the use of data from routine sources and existing HNT evaluations and as the baseline for a definitive study to assess impact on health, wellbeing, behavioural and economic outcomes and programme processes? The research will consist of (a) participatory systems mapping with stakeholders to produce a theoretical framework for a longer-term study on the HNT programme, (b) synthesis of existing qualitative data from local HNT evaluations to understand local processes and intervention mechanisms, (c) scoping local and routinely available data to establish a baseline and feasibility for a longer-term study of health and economic outcomes, and (d) building relationships and recruiting HNT sites into the proposed research. Discussion: The proposed research will produce a theoretical framework and assess the feasibility of a definitive study of outcomes of the HNT programme. This research is necessary to understand how longer-term health, wellbeing, behavioural and economic outcomes can be measured, and to inform a definitive study to generate evidence on the effectiveness of the HNT programme
Smart specialisation, entrepreneurship and SMEs: issues and challenges for a results-oriented EU regional policy
Framing the sustainable energy challenge and implications for solutions
Sustainable consumption policies often rely on ecological modernisation rationality, where the focus is usually on making current consumption patterns more sustainable in such a way that status quo (ideas about the quality of life and growth) is not challenged. As a result, sustainable energy policies tend to black box the demand-side, often resulting in abstracting efficiency strategies from the social organisation within which the strategies and resulting solutions unfold. Rebound effects and other unintended consequences often happen as a result of this type of efficiency strategies. This chapter introduces alternative problem framings that may offer a way to mitigate rebound effects by addressing and challenging a wider set of socio-material, cultural and institutional aspects of energy demand.Not peer reviewe
Reactions in nanofilms of trifluoroacetic acid (CF3COOH) driven by low energy electrons
International audienc
Reactions in nanofilms of trifluoroacetic acid (CF3COOH) driven by low energy electrons
International audienc
Eavesdropping in plants: delayed germination via biochemical recognition
Allelopathy has traditionally been viewed as a phytotoxic disruption of recipient plant metabolism, and allelopathic effects are generally strongest on species lacking historic exposure to particular phytotoxins (Novel Weapons Hypothesis). However, mounting evidence suggests phytochemical-induced germination inhibition can be an adaptive response to competitive conditions, not the consequence of toxin exposure. That is, selective advantages can exist for seeds to chemically recognize potential competitor presence and defer germination until better establishment conditions occur. This Biochemical Recognition Hypothesis (BRH) contrasts the allelopathy paradigm by predicting greater germination inhibition following phytochemical exposure of sympatric compared to allopatric species.
In a glasshouse, we grew 12 species native to Argentinean and North American grasslands and tested whether phytochemical leachates from co-occurring species reduced seedling emergence more than those having no historic association.
Two species had 13% and 27% emergence reductions following leachate exposure of sympatric relative to allopatric species, supporting species-specific BR. Intraspecific leachates reduced emergence more than those from heterospecifics, suggesting within-species BR may be common. Only the four smallest seeded species exhibited heterospecific BR responses, suggesting that selection for assessing local competition potential may intensify as seed reserves decline. Importantly, leachate origin did not affect seedling biomass nor accelerate germination, indicating a non-toxic biochemical effect on germination reduction but not growth.
Synthesis. Coupling ample theoretical support with empirical evidence here and elsewhere, an âeavesdrop-and-wait' competition avoidance strategy could be a common phenomenon. Our findings suggest sympatric association may contribute to evolution of species-specific BR and that seed traits are important in its development. The underlying mechanism affecting these germination decisions may be simple phytochemical-induced hormonal regulation. Factors preclude BR from being ubiquitous but nonetheless, BR provides a potentially powerful mechanism by which some plant populations and the spatiotemporal diversity of some communities are structured. Lastly, allelopathy may be erroneously invoked when phytochemical-induced germination reduction occurs but a toxicity mechanism has not been elucidated. In many cases, this fits more with the BRH than classic allelopathy.Fil: Renne, Ian J.. Youngstown State University; Estados UnidosFil: Sinn, Brandon T.. Youngstown State University; Estados UnidosFil: Shook, Gregory W.. Youngstown State University; Estados UnidosFil: Sedlacko, David M.. Youngstown State University; Estados UnidosFil: Dull, Jessica R.. Youngstown State University; ArgentinaFil: Villarreal, Diego. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Hierro, Jose Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa; Argentin
Perfluoroalkyl Acid Uptake in Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and Strawberry (Fragaria ananassa) Irrigated with Reclaimed Water
Using reclaimed water to irrigate
food crops presents an exposure
pathway for persistent organic contaminants such as perfluoroalkyl
acids (PFAAs) to enter the human food chain. This greenhouse study
used reclaimed water augmented with varying concentrations (0.2â40
ÎŒg/L) of PFAAs, including perfluorocarboxylates (C<sub>3</sub>F<sub>7</sub>COO<sup>â</sup> to C<sub>8</sub>F<sub>17</sub>COO<sup>â</sup>) and perfluorosulfonates (C<sub>4</sub>F<sub>9</sub>SO<sub>2</sub>O<sup>â</sup>, C<sub>6</sub>F<sub>13</sub>SO<sub>2</sub>O<sup>â</sup>, C<sub>8</sub>F<sub>17</sub>SO<sub>2</sub>O<sup>â</sup>), to investigate potential uptake and
concentrationâresponse trends in lettuce (Lactuca
sativa) and strawberry (Fragaria ananassa). In addition, studies were conducted to evaluate the role of soil
organic carbon concentrations on plant uptake of PFAAs. PFAA concentrations
in lettuce leaves and strawberry fruit were measured for each aqueous
PFAA concentration applied. PFAA plant concentrations increased linearly
with the aqueous concentration for all PFAAs, with PFCAs bioaccumulating
to a greater degree than PFSAs in the edible portions of the tested
plants. Chain-length-dependency trends were evident in both lettuce
shoot and strawberry fruit, with decreasing concentrations associated
with increasing chain length. Perfluorobutanoate (PFBA) and perfluoropentanoate
(PFPeA), both short-chain PFAAs (<8 carbon chain length), accumulated
the most compared with other PFAAs tested in the edible parts of both
lettuce and strawberry. PFAA concentrations in strawberry root and
shoot were also measured at selected PFAA aqueous concentrations (0.4,
4, and 40 ÎŒg/L). Short-chain perfluorocarboxylates were the
dominant fraction in the strawberry fruit and shoot compartments,
whereas a more even distribution of all PFAAs appeared in the root
compartment. Lettuce grown in soils with varying organic carbon contents
(0.4%, 2%, 6%) was used to assess the impact of organic carbon sorption
on PFAA bioaccumulation. The lettuce grown in soil with the 6% organic
carbon content had the lowest bioaccumulation of PFAAs. Bioaccumulation
factors for lettuce were correlated to carbon chain length of PFAAs,
showing approximately a 0.4 to 0.6 log decrease per CF<sub>2</sub> group. This study confirms that PFAAs can enter and bioaccumulate
in food crops irrigated with reclaimed water. Bioaccumulation potential
depends on analyte functional group and chain length, concentration
in the reclaimed water, and organic carbon content of the soil
Perfluoroalkyl Acid Distribution in Various Plant Compartments of Edible Crops Grown in Biosolids-Amended soils
Crop
uptake of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) from biosolids-amended
soil has been identified as a potential pathway for PFAA entry into
the terrestrial food chain. This study compared the uptake of PFAAs
in greenhouse-grown radish (<i>Raphanus sativus</i>), celery
(<i>Apium graveolens</i> var. <i>dulce</i>), tomato
(<i>Lycopersicon lycopersicum</i>), and sugar snap pea (<i>Pisum sativum </i>var.<i> macrocarpon</i>) from an
industrially impacted biosolids-amended soil, a municipal biosolids-amended
soil, and a control soil. Individual concentrations of PFAAs, on a
dry weight basis, in mature, edible portions of crops grown in soil
amended with PFAA industrially impacted biosolids were highest for
perfluorooctanoate (PFOA; 67 ng/g) in radish root, perfluorobutanoate
(PFBA; 232 ng/g) in celery shoot, and PFBA (150 ng/g) in pea fruit.
Comparatively, PFAA concentrations in edible compartments of crops
grown in the municipal biosolids-amended soil and in the control soil
were less than 25 ng/g. Bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) were calculated
for the root, shoot, and fruit compartments (as applicable) of all
crops grown in the industrially impacted soil. BAFs were highest for
PFBA in the shoots of all crops, as well as in the fruit compartment
of pea. Root-soil concentration factors (RCFs) for tomato and pea
were independent of PFAA chain length, while radish and celery RCFs
showed a slight decrease with increasing chain length. Shoot-soil
concentration factors (SCFs) for all crops showed a decrease with
increasing chain length (0.11 to 0.36 log decrease per CF<sub>2</sub> group). The biggest decrease (0.54â0.58 log decrease per
CF<sub>2</sub> group) was seen in fruit-soil concentration factors
(FCFs). Crop anatomy and PFAA properties were utilized to explain
data trends. In general, fruit crops were found to accumulate fewer
long-chain PFAAs than shoot or root crops presumably due to an increasing
number of biological barriers as the contaminant is transported throughout
the plant (roots to shoots to fruits). These data were incorporated
into a preliminary conceptual framework for PFAA accumulation in edible
crops. In addition, these data suggest that edible crops grown in
soils conventionally amended for nutrients with biosolids (that are
not impacted by PFAA industries) are unlikely a significant source
of long-chain PFAA exposure to humans