108 research outputs found
Review of Viola, L.A. (2020) The closure of the international system: how institutions create political equalities and hierarchies
History and International Relation
Timing of deployment does not affect the biodiversity outcomes of ecological enhancement of coastal flood defences in northern Europe
Timing of installation is an important factor when planning the deployment of ecological enhancements to intertidal coastal and marine infrastructure. Such nature-based solutions (NbS) are increasingly used worldwide, so understanding whether the timing of deployment affects colonisation success is crucial to enhance their success and identify any ecological sensitivities that must be taken into consideration during construction. To date, none of the previous marine eco-engineering studies globally have looked specifically at timing. An unexpected COVID19 interruption in retrofitting Ecotiles designed to improve urban marine biodiversity provided a unique window of opportunity to address this research gap. We examined if time of deployment affects the early colonisation (within 18 months) success of eco-engineering enhancements. Thirty concrete tiles (Ecotiles) cast with a novel multi-scale, multi-species textured formliner were deployed on rock armour in three sites along the coast in Edinburgh, Scotland, at two different time periods (early March and late May 2020). After two settlement seasons, the colonisation success of 85% of the studied species did not vary between the times of deployment. Early colonisation success of intertidal species equalised within two settlement seasons of deployment, along with an overall increase in species richness. Crucially, these results also show that summer construction periods designed to reduce impacts on overwintering birds, do not adversely impact intertidal species during their peak (spring-summer) recruitment period in northern Europe. This novel result provides further support for widespread use of eco-engineering to enhance large coastal infrastructure projects and achieve ecological goals in northern Europe. More widely, this work contributes to the understanding of the impact of deployment timing on the success of similar NbS worldwide
"Barriers" to Child Development and Human Potential: The Case for Including the "Neglected Enteric Protozoa" (NEP) and Other Enteropathy-Associated Pathogens in the NTDs
The World Health Organization
(WHO) has set forth ambitious efforts to
control, and where possible, eliminate the
neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) that
contribute to poverty and ‘‘impair the
ability of those infected to achieve their full
potential, both developmentally and socioeconomically’’
[1,2]. This neglected disease
initiative’s (NDI) purpose has been to
close the existing poverty gap between
individuals living in low/middle-income
and high-income countries, and thus
facilitate the achievement of the 2000
Millennium Developmental Goals [3].
The gap is still large. Yet, some marked
achievements of the NDI, including coordinated
administration of preventive chemotherapy
to nearly 670 million children
globally and the imminent elimination of
dracunculiasis, give hope that the WHO’s
NTD paradigm, a ‘‘five-pronged’’ approach
of 1) preventive chemotherapy, 2)
intensified case-management, 3) vector
control, 4) provision of safe water, sanitation,
and hygiene, and 5) veterinary public
health, are proving beneficia
Persistent G. lamblia impairs growth in a murine malnutrition model
Giardia lamblia infections are nearly universal among children in low-income countries and are syndemic with the triumvirate of malnutrition, diarrhea, and developmental growth delays. Amidst the morass of early childhood enteropathogen exposures in these populations, G. lamblia-specific associations with persistent diarrhea, cognitive deficits, stunting, and nutrient deficiencies have demonstrated conflicting results, placing endemic pediatric giardiasis in a state of equipoise. Many infections in endemic settings appear to be asymptomatic/subclinical, further contributing to uncertainty regarding a causal link between G. lamblia infection and developmental delay. We used G. lamblia H3 cyst infection in a weaned mouse model of malnutrition to demonstrate that persistent giardiasis leads to epithelial cell apoptosis and crypt hyperplasia. Infection was associated with a Th2-biased inflammatory response and impaired growth. Malnutrition accentuated the severity of these growth decrements. Faltering malnourished mice exhibited impaired compensatory responses following infection and demonstrated an absence of crypt hyperplasia and subsequently blunted villus architecture. Concomitantly, severe malnutrition prevented increases in B220+ cells in the lamina propria as well as mucosal Il4 and Il5 mRNA in response to infection. These findings add insight into the potential role of G. lamblia as a "stunting" pathogen and suggest that, similarly, malnourished children may be at increased risk of G. lamblia-potentiated growth decrements
Low-mass pre--main-sequence stars in the Magellanic Clouds
[Abridged] The stellar Initial Mass Function (IMF) suggests that sub-solar
stars form in very large numbers. Most attractive places for catching low-mass
star formation in the act are young stellar clusters and associations, still
(half-)embedded in star-forming regions. The low-mass stars in such regions are
still in their pre--main-sequence (PMS) evolutionary phase. The peculiar nature
of these objects and the contamination of their samples by the evolved
populations of the Galactic disk impose demanding observational techniques for
the detection of complete numbers of PMS stars in the Milky Way. The Magellanic
Clouds, the companion galaxies to our own, demonstrate an exceptional star
formation activity. The low extinction and stellar field contamination in
star-forming regions of these galaxies imply a more efficient detection of
low-mass PMS stars than in the Milky Way, but their distance from us make the
application of special detection techniques unfeasible. Nonetheless, imaging
with the Hubble Space Telescope yield the discovery of solar and sub-solar PMS
stars in the Magellanic Clouds from photometry alone. Unprecedented numbers of
such objects are identified as the low-mass stellar content of their
star-forming regions, changing completely our picture of young stellar systems
outside the Milky Way, and extending the extragalactic stellar IMF below the
persisting threshold of a few solar masses. This review presents the recent
developments in the investigation of PMS stars in the Magellanic Clouds, with
special focus on the limitations by single-epoch photometry that can only be
circumvented by the detailed study of the observable behavior of these stars in
the color-magnitude diagram. The achieved characterization of the low-mass PMS
stars in the Magellanic Clouds allowed thus a more comprehensive understanding
of the star formation process in our neighboring galaxies.Comment: Review paper, 26 pages (in LaTeX style for Springer journals), 4
figures. Accepted for publication in Space Science Review
Glasgow’s Floating Estuarine Wetlands Long-Term Ecosystem Services and Function Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
No abstract available
An assessment of the links between biogenic processes and shore platform geomorphology, Glamorgan Heritage Coast, South Wales, UK
SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DN049209 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo
Within site geological contingency and its effect on rock coast erosion
In this paper we investigate how geological contingency causes variations in scales of erosion within a single
study site as opposed to variations between sites. Discontinuity data were collected on different layers of Blue
Lias limestone on a shore platform in Wales, United Kingdom. Significant differences in block size were found
between stratigraphic layers exposed on the surface of the platform. Evidence of geological contingency from
this study illustrates that erosion susceptibility is dependent on which layer of limestone is at the surface, as
different layers provide variations in resistance to erosion. Since the size of blocks varies between layers
depending on the depth of beds and joint spacing, variations occur in the magnitude of wave energies required to
remove blocks. Therefore the rate at which the shore platform and cliff develops is geologically contingent and
variable through time and space. The findings of this research: 1) highlights how rock control influences
processes and rates of environmental change of a coastal landform; 2) illustrates the critical importance of local
scale contingency in shaping/controlling environmental processes and resultant landforms and; 3) demonstrates
that greater detail and quantification of geological parameters is required by geomorphologists in all aspects of
rock geomorphology
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