Contexts, Conditions and Methods Conducive to Knowledge Co-Production: Three Case Studies Involving Scientific and Community Perspectives in Arctic Wildlife Research

Decision-makers require current and robust information to address the effects of social-ecological changes facing ecosystems, wildlife, and humans; however, research defined by single disciplines and knowledge systems is often challenged in fully representing the complexity of such problems. There is a recognized need to include the perspectives of academic and local knowledge holders in research as evidence argues this can produce more robust knowledge and lead to greater public acceptance of policy. Knowledge co-production has been proposed as a research approach that can include academic and non-academic actors in addressing complex problems that transcend disciplinary and epistemological boundaries and have societal and scientific significance. While knowledge co-production has gained attention in environmental research in many regions, its application has not been extensively explored in the Arctic. This research used a case study approach to examine the contexts, conditions, and methods that support knowledge co-production on wildlife issues with Canadian Arctic communities. Three cases were selected to examine knowledge co-production in the context of a past research study, an ongoing study, and to consider the pre-conditions necessary for knowledge co-production to benefit future research. Data collection included semi-structured interviews, workshops, and participant observation with scientists and Inuit community members involved in ringed seal research in Kugaaruk and Iqaluit and fisheries research in Pangnirtung, Nunavut. Results indicate that Arctic wildlife research can benefit from knowledge co-production. There are particular structural and process conditions that help facilitate successful knowledge co-production and establishing these conditions requires deliberate work on the part of researchers and community members involved. Establishing shared goals and problem definitions, creating the space to identify and share positionalities and perspectives on issues, and clarifying roles of academic and community actors all emerged as important conditions in the cases. Further, results suggest that semi-structured interviews and purposefully designed and facilitated thematic workshops provide the flexibility to create the time and space needed for participants to learn about and engage with one anothers values, perspectives, and priorities. This research shows that when effort is made to establish the necessary conditions for knowledge co-production early on in the research process, projects can produce knowledge that is perceived as more credible, salient, and legitimate by all involved

Place vs. Node transit: Planning policies revisited

A core contemporary planning approach is the promotion of transit-oriented developments (TODs) and in recent times cities have committed substantial financial investment to encourage sustainable precincts around public transport. Evaluation of the success of TODs is key for continuing the planning efforts. A frequently applied framework for characterizing TODs draws on Bertolini's Node-Place (N-P) model, enriched through application in various contexts. We offer here an extension to the N-P model, using a case study in a low-density city, Perth,Western Australia. A typology of railway stations is developed using 43 indicators and then linear models are applied to ascertain the association between patronage and station precinct features. The results show that various types of measures are required to increase public transport ridership for the four clusters that emerged from the analysis. Density alone does not lead to increased use of public transport; it must be associated with city-wide accessibility, as well as access/egress to and from the station

A 3D track finder for the Belle II CDC L1 trigger

Machine learning methods are integrated into the pipelined first level (L1) track trigger of the upgraded flavor physics experiment Belle II at KEK in Tsukuba, Japan. The novel triggering techniques cope with the severe background from events outside the small collision region provided by the new SuperKEKB asymmetric-energy electron-positron collider. Using the precise drift-time information of the central drift chamber which provides axial and stereo wire layers, a neural network L1 trigger estimates the 3D track parameters of tracks, based on input from the axial wire planes provided by a 2D track finder. An extension of this 2D Hough track finder to a 3D finder is proposed, where the single hit representations in the Hough plane are trained using Monte Carlo. This 3D finder improves the track finding efficiency by including the stereo sense wires as input. The estimated polar track angle allows a specialization of the subsequent neural networks to sectors in the polar angle

The occurrence of Sea Lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis Krøyer) on Farmed Salmon in Ireland (1995 to 2000)

Lepeophtheirus salmonis is the most frequently recorded ecto-parasite on farmed salmon in Europe, and parasitises only salmonid fish species. It is regarded as being commercially damaging to farmed salmon, with major economic losses to the fish farming community resulting per annum. Lepeophtheirus salmonis is a member of the Family Caligidae and has a direct life cycle. Annual data from around Ireland are analysed, as well as per region and per bay. Data is compiled up to the year 2000 and results are based on lice inspections undertaken bimonthly for the months March to May inclusive, and monthly for the remainder of the year, with one exception, December/January, when only one sample was taken. Mean ovigerous and mean mobile lice levels are presented. These estimate, respectively, successful breeding females and successful infection. Results obtained indicate, to some extent, that control methods on different farms differ in the efficacy they have on sea lice infestation, and that depending on which treatment type is used rates of reduction can be different for various life cycle stages. Overall mean ovigerous and mean mobile lice levels were lower in the year 2000 than in 1999. It was apparent that lateral transfer of sea lice during harvesting did occur at a number of sites in the country. It was also apparent that some individual bays appeared to have a greater control over lice infestation levels than others, especially during the critical spring period March to May. The decrease in the control of infestation levels can possibly be attributed to changes in treatments that occurred during the study period, and also to difficulties in achieving effective treatments due to inclement weather and low water temperatures. Since the initiation of monitoring in 1991, improved control of sea lice infestation has always been one of the goals of the programme. Single Bay Management (SBM), introduced in 1993 by the Marine Institute, implemented new measures to minimise re-infection by these parasites, with protocols agreed by all salmon producers within each bay. These plans were later extended and incorporated in 1998 into the Co-ordinated Local Aquaculture Management System (CLAMS), aiming to optimise environmental conditions within each bay for all users of the bay.Funder: Marine Institut

Larval distribution of commercial fish species in waters around Ireland

In April 2000 a base line survey was conducted on the larval distribution of commercial fish species off the west, north and south coasts of Ireland. Ichthyoplankton samples and in situ CTD data were collected, whilst simultaneously capturing remote sensing images of chlorophyll and sea surface temperatures. The survey sampling area covered the Celtic Sea from the Irish south coast to 49 degree N, the western shelf including the Porcupine Bank and the northern shelf up to the Stanton Bank. The sample grid design was based on the international mackerel & horse mackerel egg survey with station spacings of 0.5 degree latitude and 0.5 degree longitude. Ichthyoplankton samples were collected with a Gulf III plankton sampler, which was deployed on oblique tows from the surface to within 5 metres of the bottom (200m max). A self-logging CTD sensor (Promonitor) was attached to the Gulf and recorded depth, temperature and salinity profiles for each deployment. Results from the Promonitor CTD showed that strong temperature and salinity gradients were encountered during the survey. Lowest temperatures coincided with lowest salinity in the North Channel of the Irish Sea while highest salinities and temperatures were found to the south west of Ireland.Thermal fronts were found in the eastern Celtic Sea and on the north west coast of Ireland.The AVHRR images showed a progressive increase in surface temperatures in the Celtic Sea and west of Ireland. Highest surface chlorophyll concentrations were associated with cooler less saline water in the Irish Sea and the coastal areas around Ireland. In the western Celtic Sea surface chlorophyll concentrations increased as the survey progressed to form a phytoplankton bloom towards the end of the survey. Larvae of interest showed distinct distribution patterns, with some species being confined to particular areas or spawning grounds while others were spread over the whole survey area. The survey identified two important larval hotspots: Cod larvae were concentrated in the eastern Celtic Sea, where other gadoid species such as haddock, whiting, pollack and saithe were also found in high numbers.This area is associated with the Celtic Sea front and shows increased primary productivity, which could present a favourable environment for successful larval survival. Stations in the southwest of Ireland sustained high concentrations of hake, megrim and mackerel larvae. The waters with high numbers of these three species stretched from shallow inshore stations to deeper ones along the continental shelf and were characterised by high temperatures and salinities. SeaWIFS satellite images suggest the formation of a phytoplankton bloom within this larval hotspot, which would provide the necessary resources for successful larval growth.Funder: Marine Institut

Acupuncture for chronic neck pain: a pilot for a randomised controlled trial

Background: Acupuncture is increasingly being used for many conditions including chronic neck pain. However the evidence remains inconclusive, indicating the need for further well-designed research. The aim of this study was to conduct a pilot randomised controlled parallel arm trial, to establish key features required for the design and implementation of a large-scale trial on acupuncture for chronic neck pain. Methods: Patients whose GPs had diagnosed neck pain were recruited from one general practice, and randomised to receive usual GP care only, or acupuncture ( up to 10 treatments over 3 months) as an adjunctive treatment to usual GP care. The primary outcome measure was the Northwick Park Neck Pain Questionnaire (NPQ) at 3 months. The primary analysis was to determine the sample size for the full scale study. Results: Of the 227 patients with neck pain identified from the GP database, 28 (12.3%) consenting patients were eligible to participate in the pilot and 24 (10.5%) were recruited to the trial. Ten patients were randomised to acupuncture, receiving an average of eight treatments from one of four acupuncturists, and 14 were randomised to usual GP care alone. The sample size for the full scale trial was calculated from a clinically meaningful difference of 5% on the NPQ and, from this pilot, an adjusted standard deviation of 15.3%. Assuming 90% power at the 5% significance level, a sample size of 229 would be required in each arm in a large-scale trial when allowing for a loss to follow-up rate of 14%. In order to achieve this sample, one would need to identify patients from databases of GP practices with a total population of 230,000 patients, or approximately 15 GP practices roughly equal in size to the one involved in this study (i.e. 15,694 patients). Conclusion: This pilot study has allowed a number of recommendations to be made to facilitate the design of a large-scale trial, which in turn will help to clarify the existing evidence base on acupuncture for neck pain

A systematic review of how homeopathy is represented in conventional and CAM peer reviewed journals

BACKGROUND: Growing popularity of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the public sector is reflected in the scientific community by an increased number of research articles assessing its therapeutic effects. Some suggest that publication biases occur in mainstream medicine, and may also occur in CAM. Homeopathy is one of the most widespread and most controversial forms of CAM. The purpose of this study was to compare the representation of homeopathic clinical trials published in traditional science and CAM journals. METHODS: Literature searches were performed using Medline (PubMed), AMED and Embase computer databases. Search terms included "homeo-pathy, -path, and -pathic" and "clinical" and "trial". All articles published in English over the past 10 years were included. Our search yielded 251 articles overall, of which 46 systematically examined the efficacy of homeopathic treatment. We categorized the overall results of each paper as having either "positive" or "negative" outcomes depending upon the reported effects of homeopathy. We also examined and compared 15 meta-analyses and review articles on homeopathy to ensure our collection of clinical trials was reasonably comprehensive. These articles were found by inserting the term "review" instead of "clinical" and "trial". RESULTS: Forty-six peer-reviewed articles published in a total of 23 different journals were compared (26 in CAM journals and 20 in conventional journals). Of those in conventional journals, 69% reported negative findings compared to only 30% in CAM journals. Very few articles were found to be presented in a "negative" tone, and most were presented using "neutral" or unbiased language. CONCLUSION: A considerable difference exists between the number of clinical trials showing positive results published in CAM journals compared with traditional journals. We found only 30% of those articles published in CAM journals presented negative findings, whereas over twice that amount were published in traditional journals. These results suggest a publication bias against homeopathy exists in mainstream journals. Conversely, the same type of publication bias does not appear to exist between review and meta-analysis articles published in the two types of journals

Structures of five salt forms of disulfonated monoazo dyes

The structures of five s-block metal salt forms of three disulfonated monoazo dyes are presented. These are [Na2L1(OH2)4]n (I), [CaL1(OH2)4]n (II), [NaL2(OH2)2]n.2nH2O (III), [Mg(OH2)6][L2]2·8H2O (IV) and [BaL3(OH2)4]n.2nH2O (V) where L1 = azobenzene-3,3′-disulfonate, L2 = 4-aminodiazeniumylbenzene-3,4′-disulfonate and L3 = 4-amino-2-methyl-5-methoxyazobenzene-2′,4′-disulfonate. Structure (III) is that obtained on crystallizing the commercial dyestuff Acid Yellow 9 [74543–21-8]. The Mg species is a solvent-separated ion-pair structure and the others are all coordination polymers with bonds from metal to sulfonate groups. (I) is a three-dimensional coordination polymer, (V) is a two-dimensional coordination polymer and both (II) and (III) are one-dimensional coordination polymers. The coordination behaviour of the azo ligands and the water ligands, the dimensionality of the coordination polymers and the overall packing motifs of these five structures are contrasted to those of monosulfonate monoazo congers. It is found that (I) and (II) adopt similar structural types to those of monosulfonate species but that the other three structures do not

Mindfulness-based interventions for people diagnosed with a current episode of an anxiety or depressive disorder: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

Objective Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) can reduce risk of depressive relapse for people with a history of recurrent depression who are currently well. However, the cognitive, affective and motivational features of depression and anxiety might render MBIs ineffective for people experiencing current symptoms. This paper presents a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of MBIs where participants met diagnostic criteria for a current episode of an anxiety or depressive disorder. Method Post-intervention between-group Hedges g effect sizes were calculated using a random effects model. Moderator analyses of primary diagnosis, intervention type and control condition were conducted and publication bias was assessed. Results Twelve studies met inclusion criteria (n = 578). There were significant post-intervention between-group benefits of MBIs relative to control conditions on primary symptom severity (Hedges g = −0.59, 95% CI = −0.12 to −1.06). Effects were demonstrated for depressive symptom severity (Hedges g = −0.73, 95% CI = −0.09 to −1.36), but not for anxiety symptom severity (Hedges g = −0.55, 95% CI = 0.09 to −1.18), for RCTs with an inactive control (Hedges g = −1.03, 95% CI = −0.40 to −1.66), but not where there was an active control (Hedges g = 0.03, 95% CI = 0.54 to −0.48) and effects were found for MBCT (Hedges g = −0.39, 95% CI = −0.15 to −0.63) but not for MBSR (Hedges g = −0.75, 95% CI = 0.31 to −1.81). Conclusions This is the first meta-analysis of RCTs of MBIs where all studies included only participants who were diagnosed with a current episode of a depressive or anxiety disorder. Effects of MBIs on primary symptom severity were found for people with a current depressive disorder and it is recommended that MBIs might be considered as an intervention for this population