Still room for improvement? The educational experiences of looked after children in Scotland

In this chapter Kirstie Maclean and Graham Connelly present an analysis of joined-up thinking in Scotland from both social services and education perspectives

A multi-temporal image analysis of habitat modification in the Coastal Watershed, NH

Habitat modification has become a progressively important concern as human populations increase and urbanization continues to replace natural environments with anthropogenic landscapes. Habitat modification concerns both the loss and fragmentation of environments, and these actions can have profound effects on ecosystem function, including increasing the potential of invasion by exotic species in vulnerable landscapes. The Coastal Watershed of New Hampshire (NH) has seen a 52% growth in population over the last 30 years which has led to marked urbanization and land use change. However, little has been done to study current land cover types, levels of fragmentation, and how fragmentation might be affecting the spread of woody invasive species. This research investigated new ways of using remote sensing techniques, such as object-based image analysis (OBIA) and multi-temporal image analysis, to create accurate land cover maps and corresponding fragmentation metrics. These products were then used to determine if habitats of interest in the Coastal Watershed were potentially more susceptible to invasion by woody invasive species. To map the Coastal Watershed, new sampling protocols were designed and implemented for labeling forest types on Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery. In classification, an OBIA approach, coupled with the multi-temporal analysis, performed better than creating maps using a single Landsat 5TM image. A new fragmentation program, PolyFrag was also created to compute fragmentation metrics from the vector land cover maps generated by the OBIA approach. Finally, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) woody invasive species data were used along with the PolyFrag fragmentation maps to create a predicted probability map of the presence of woody invasive species. When compared to other programs, PolyFrag performed equally well to the more prevalent FRAGSTATS program in creating a predictive model from fragmentation metrics. However, the advantage of PolyFrag over FRAGSTATS is that it creates a fragmentation map in addition to the patch, class, and landscape metrics. Interestingly, both predictive models indicated that woody invasive species were less likely to be found in deciduous forests than in either coniferous or mixed forests. The maps and methods designed in this research are useful for fragmentation and invasive species management

Abiotic immobilization of nitrate in forest soil: A double level approach

Abiotic immobilization of nitrogen may help explain nitrogen retention in soils under chronic nitrogen addition. Methodological limitations have made differentiating between abiotic and biotic immobilization in live soils difficult. This study attempted to make this differentiation with isotopically labeled nitrate, 15N18O3- . My hypothesis was that during biological reduction and assimilation of 15N, 18O would be lost as labeled water, but some 18O would be retained in abiotic reactions with soil chemicals. Lab incubations of soils from a Pinus resinosa stand were treated with 0.140 mg 15N g-1 dry soil of K15N18O3, for 0.25, 1 and 4 hours. Mean mass retained was 2.465 mug 15N (+/-0.208 mug), and 7.875 mug 18O (+/-0.677 mug). The ratio 18O:15N was inconsistent with a hypothesized limit of 2:1 for abiotic immobilization of NO3-, suggesting either biotic assimilation of 18O or unreacted 15N18O3-. Further investigation of this method is required before drawing conclusions on abiotic immobilization

Everything old is new again: Finding a place for knowledge structures in a satisficing world

The authors use an exploratory project involving Web resources related to Alzheimer’s Disease to explore ways in RDF metadata can more effectively translate the virtues of the traditional vertical file to a Web environment form using Semantic Web descriptive standards. In so doing, they argue against the separation of “bibliographic control” from the socially-embedded institutional practices of reference work, collection development, and the management of information ephemera. Libraries of the future will use specific Web technologies that lend themselves to sophisticated and rigorous knowledge structures, and link them with librarians’ skills in information harvesting and evaluatio

New proof-of-concept in viral inactivation: virucidal efficacy of 405 nm light against feline calicivirus as a model for norovirus decontamination

The requirement for novel decontamination technologies for use in hospitals is ever present. One such system uses 405 nm visible light to inactivate microorganisms via ROS-generated oxidative damage. Although effective for bacterial and fungal inactivation, little is known about the virucidal effects of 405 nm light. Norovirus (NoV) gastroenteritis outbreaks often occur in the clinical setting, and this study was designed to investigate potential inactivation effects of 405 nm light on the NoV surrogate, feline calicivirus (FCV). FCV was exposed to 405 nm light whilst suspended in minimal and organically-rich media to establish the virucidal efficacy and the effect biologically-relevant material may play in viral susceptibility. Antiviral activity was successfully demonstrated with a 4 Log10 (99.99%) reduction in infectivity when suspended in minimal media evident after a dose of 2.8 kJ cm−2. FCV exposed in artificial faeces, artificial saliva, blood plasma and other organically rich media exhibited an equivalent level of inactivation using between 50–85% less dose of the light, indicating enhanced inactivation when the virus is present in organically-rich biologically-relevant media. Further research in this area could aid in the development of 405 nm light technology for effective NoV decontamination within the hospital environment

Regional Invasive Species & Climate Change Management Challenge: Forest Pest Risk is Heating Up

Insect pests and pathogens, and climate change, each threaten forest health. But what happens when the two are combined? Climate change brings pests to new areas, makes pests more damaging, reduces trees’ defenses to pests, and can alter how forests recover after pest disturbance. Strategies for managing the combined impacts of forest pests and climate change include preventing new pest introductions, resisting pest spread by treating individual trees and diversifying forest stands, promoting more resilient forests that can rebound from pests, and helping forests transition to a state better adapted to our future climate

Regional Invasive Species & Climate Change Management Challenge: Embracing the Future. Promoting adaptation and resilience to invasive species and climate change

Climate change and invasive species can interact to increase disturbances and magnify changes in ecosystem form and function (Double Trouble). Increasing resilience is one of several management approaches for enabling healthy ecosystems to persist despite these changes. While resilience can be complicated and take many forms, it can generally be thought of as the “ability [of an ecosystem] to experience disturbances or environmental change without changing to a fundamentally different state” [Holling, 1973]. The accumulating effects of climate change, invasive species, or interacting effects of multiple disturbances can push an ecosystem past a tipping point and into a new ecological state. These alternative states are characterized by a different suite of species or functions, which are difficult or impossible to recover from (e.g. a shift from a closed-canopy to an open-canopy forested wetland). Actions to increase resilience help an ecosystem to maintain or return to its fundamental structure or function after a disturbance. Resilience falls in the middle of a spectrum of management goals ranging from preventing change (resistance) to promoting change (transformation) in the species composition, structure, or functions provided by an ecosystem. Clear management goals (See Table) and an understanding of the range of disturbances affecting focal ecosystems are necessary for deciding between managing for resistance, resilience, or transformation and what actions are required for successful management outcomes

Can professional football clubs deliver a weight management programme for women: a feasibility study

Background Levels of obesity remain high in the UK. The Football Fans in Training (FFIT) randomised controlled trial (RCT) demonstrated that a 12-week, gender-sensitised weight management, physical activity and healthy eating group programme delivered through professional football clubs helped men aged 35–65 years with BMI at least 28 kg/m2 lose a clinically-significant amount of weight. We aimed to test the feasibility of a minimally-adapted FFIT programme for delivery to women by assessing recruitment and completion rates; determining if the programme content and delivery required further refinement; and evaluating the potential of FFIT for Women to deliver improvements in weight and other clinical, behavioural and psychological outcomes. Methods A feasibility study of the FFIT for Women programme including before-and-after measurements of clinical (weight, waist, body mass index [BMI], blood pressure) behavioural (self-reported physical activity, food and alcohol intake) and psychological (self-esteem, positive and negative affect, physical and mental HRQoL) outcomes at five professional football clubs. Post-programme focus groups assessed acceptability of the programme format, content and style of delivery for women. Results Recruitment across the five clubs resulted in 123 women aged 35–65 years with BMI at least 28 kg/m2 taking part in the study. The mean weight (95.3 kg) and BMI (36.6 kg/m2) of the cohort were both suggestive of high risk of future disease. Of 123 women who started the programme, 94 (76%) completed it; 72 (58.5%) returned for 12-week follow-up measurements. Participants compared FFIT for Women favourably to commercial weight loss programmes and emphasised the importance of the programme’s physical activity content. They also spoke positively about group dynamics, suggested that the approach to food was less restrictive than in other weight loss approaches, and broadly enjoyed the football setting. Mean weight loss was 2.87 kg (95% CI 2.09, 3.65, p ≤ 0.001). Mean waist reduction was 3.84 cm (2.92, 4.77, p ≤ 0.001). Conclusion In this evaluation, FFIT for Women was feasible, acceptable and demonstrated potential as a weight loss programme. Our findings suggest the programme has the potential to produce outcomes that are on a par with existing commercial and state-funded offerings