A new Mississippian tetrapod from Fife, Scotland, and its environmental context.

The Visean stage of the Mississippian was a time of rapid tetrapod diversification which marks the earliest appearance of temnospondyls, microsaurs and the limbless aïstopods. Tetrapod finds from this stage are very rare and only a dozen sites are known worldwide. Here we announce the discovery of a new Visean site in Fife, Scotland, of Asbian age, and from it describe a new species of the baphetoid Spathicephalus. These specimens represent the oldest known baphetoid by three million years, yet belong to the most specialized members of the clade. Unlike typical baphetoids with large marginal teeth and palatal fangs characteristic of early tetrapods, spathicephalids had very broad flattened heads with a dentition consisting of a large number of small, uniform teeth. Spathicephalids were probably one of the earliest tetrapod groups to use suction feeding on small, aquatic prey. Palynological and sedimentological analysis indicates that the new fossil bed was deposited in a large, stratified, freshwater lake that became increasingly saline.Natural Environment Research Council. Grant Numbers: NE/J020621/1, NE/J020729/1, NE/J021091/1, NE/J022713/1, NEJ021067/

The prevalence of malnutrition according to the new ESPEN definition in four diverse populations

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism.Background & aims: Consensus on the definition of malnutrition has not yet been reached. Recently, The European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) proposed a consensus definition of malnutrition. The aim of the present study was to describe the prevalence of malnutrition according to the ESPEN definition in four diverse populations. Methods: In total, 349 acutely ill middle-aged patients, 135 geriatric outpatients, 306 healthy old individuals and 179 healthy young individuals were included in the study. Subjects were screened for risk of malnutrition using the SNAQ. The ESPEN definition of malnutrition, i.e. low BMI (< 18.5 kg/m2) or a combination of unintentional weight loss and low FFMI or low BMI was applied to all subjects. Results: Screening identified 0, 0.5, 10 and 30% of the healthy young, the healthy old, the geriatric outpatients and the acutely ill middle-aged patients as being at risk of malnutrition. The prevalence of malnutrition ranged from 0% in the healthy young, 0.5% in healthy old individuals, 6% in the geriatric outpatients to 14% in the acutely ill middle-aged patients. Prevalence of low FFMI was observed in all four populations (14-33%), but concurred less frequently with weight loss (0-13%). Conclusions: Using the ESPEN definition, 0%-14% malnutrition was found in the diverse populations. Further work is needed to fully address the validity of a two-step approach, including risk assessment as an initial step in screening and defining malnutrition. Furthermore, assessing the predictive validity of the ESPEN definition is needed

Inventory and quantitative assessment of geosites and geodiversity sites: a review

"Published online: 15 January 2015"The inventory and quantitative assessment of the most valuable occurrences of geodiversity are essential steps in any geoconservation strategy and in the establishment of priorities in site management. Despite the existence of many site inventories applied to different scales (countries, municipalities, parks, etc.), the criteria used for their selection are often unclear and poorly defined. This paper proposes a new approach to the concepts of geosite and geodiversity site and reviews the procedures used in the development of a systematic site inventory applied to different scales and values. Procedures to achieve a numerical evaluation of the value and degradation risk of sites are reviewed and new criteria are proposed. Finally, guidelines are presented, bearing in mind the preparation of effective geodiversity inventories, to support geoparks’ strategies. This paper aims to contribute to a better understanding and use of the above-mentioned concepts, which are essential for the implementation of geoconservation actions worldwide.The author thanks Diamantino Pereira, Flavia Lima, and Paulo Pereira for fruitful discussions and insights; Teresa Mota for the English revision; and the reviewers for significant improvements of the first submitted version. This paper results of the research done at the University of Minho and at the Geology Centre of the University of Porto, partially founded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (Portugal), strategic project with reference PEst-OE/CTE/UI0039/2014

Working in the Public Interest Law Conference

Entirely student organized, WIPI seeks to bring together eminent practitioners in their respective fields, students, and faculty to discuss practical approaches to lawyering which can best serve the poor. Practical methods of challenging poverty are often not covered in traditional law school courses. This conference seeks to remedy that and provide dynamic, creative ways to combat poverty through the vehicle of the law

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Correction to: Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

The 2010 Hans Cloos lecture : the contribution of urban geology to the development, regeneration and conservation of cities

Urban geology began to develop in the 1950s, particularly in California in relation to land-use planning, and led to Robert Legget publishing his seminal book “Cities and geology” in 1973. Urban geology has now become an important part of engineering geology. Research and practice has seen the evolution from single theme spatial datasets to multi-theme and multi-dimensional outputs for a wide range of users. In parallel to the development of these new outputs to aid urban development, regeneration and conservation, has been the growing recognition that city authorities need access to extensive databases of geo-information that are maintained in the long-term and renewed regularly. A further key advance has been the recognition that, in the urban environment, knowledge and understanding of the geology need to be integrated with those of other environmental topics (for example, biodiversity) and, increasingly, with the research of social scientists, economists and others. Despite these advances, it is suggested that the value of urban geology is not fully recognised by those charged with the management and improvement of the world’s cities. This may be because engineering geologists have failed to adequately demonstrate the benefits of urban geological applications in terms of cost and environmental improvement, have not communicated these benefits well enough and have not clearly shown the long-term contribution of geo-information to urban sustainability. Within this context future actions to improve the situation are proposed