Exacerbation of visual hallucinations in Charles Bonnet syndrome due to the social implications of COVID-19

Objective: Charles Bonnet syndrome (CBS) occurs secondary to sight loss, characterised by spontaneous visual hallucinations. Symptom manifestation can be influenced by social isolation. This research aims to evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on patients with CBS. / Methods and analysis: A prospective cross-sectional survey of 45 individuals with active CBS. Open and closed ended questions were used to measure patient-reported features of hallucinatory experiences during the COVID-19 lockdown and perceived episode triggers. Analysis comprised of descriptive statistics, analysis of variance and associations, supplemented with qualitative descriptions. / Results: The survey was operational for 31 days during the COVID-19 pandemic (June–July 2020). The mean (±SD) age of respondents was 69.3 (±18) years and the majority (42.2%) had macular disease. Loneliness during the lockdown was associated with changes in the nature of visual hallucinations (p=0.04). Individuals experiencing greater loneliness were, on average, older than those with no changes to their feelings of loneliness (mean age 73.3±17 vs 60.2±19 years; p=0.03). Despite experiencing greater feelings of loneliness (67%), most individuals (60%) had not accessed support services for this reason. / Conclusions: Around half of respondents in this survey experienced exacerbation of visual hallucinations during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may partly be explained by loneliness and/or environmental triggers. We provide suggestions to promote effective patient self-management of symptoms

Are Regions Important in British Elections? Valence Politics and Local Economic Contexts at the 2010 General Election

Pattie C. J., Johnston R. J., Schipper M. and Potts L. Are regions important in British elections? Valence politics and local economic contexts at the 2010 General Election, Regional Studies. Electoral support for major parties is influenced by judgements of economic performance. This helps account for electoral geographies, as economic conditions vary spatially. Past work, concentrating on objective economic indicators or on voters' personal economic evaluations, suggested that contextual effects work most powerfully when very local, suggesting that regional voting trends are artefacts of more intimate geographies. This paper extends that work by examining how voters' decisions are influenced by the economic evaluations of others in their communities and demonstrates that some contextual effects, at least, really are more powerful at the regional than at more local scales

Shelf slope convection: A note for antarctic regions

Some basic processes associated with buoyancy-driven convection in the presence of coastal upwellingcurren ts were investigated in a 2.5D framework near the Adelie Coast of Antarctica. The surface buoyancy forcingw as derived from coolingand brine deposition due to ice formation, and was specified over a persistent off-shore polynya maintained by the off-shore katabatic winds. Rotational effects and the formation of a turbulent surface mixed layer were included in the model. The representation of topography was done via the VBM (virtual Boundary Method) that utilizes equivalent body forces in the momentum equation, thus enabling the use of very efficient Poisson solvers for the pressure, based on FFTs. The simulations were carried out near longitude 143E, between latitude 68S and 65S, over the nearshore shelf region. The hydrography was initialized with the 1/4 deg Levitus annual climatology. Two cases of idealized meteorological forcing were considered: constant winds blowingalong -shore and off-shore. The resultant motions in each case were characterized by interaction between the wind-driven upwellingmotions and the downward movingdense convection plumes, but with marked differences: a) the formation of a strongfron t under the open sea edge of the polynya only by off-shore winds; b) the periodic suppression of the surface off-shore currents and of the coastal upwelling only by the along-shore winds; c) the formation of deep upwelling currents along the slope between 400 and 200 meters only for along-shore winds, and d) the rapid filling of the surface layers (depths < 100m) with high salinities under the whole polynya by the off-shore forcing, vs. the delayed fillingof a narrow region near the downwellingplume with intermediate salinity values by the along-shore forcing

The need for an inland fisheries policy in South Africa : a case study of the North West Province

In contrast to many other African countries, inland fisheries in South Africa are poorly developed and the fish populations in many of the country’s 3 000 major dams are under-utilised. While the primary purpose South Africa’s dams is to supply water for domestic and agricultural use, there has been an increasing realisation that their fish populations could make a contribution to food security through the establishment of capture fisheries. Historically, the fish in most South African dams have primarily been utilised for recreational fishing purposes, as subsistence use was criminalised by the apartheid regime in all waters except in the former homeland areas. This legacy persists as many of South Africa’s rural communities do not have a fishing tradition and there is a lack of an institutional framework to facilitate managed and sustainable access to the fish resource in inland waters. Current utilisation of many inland dams is often complicated by the existence of multiple authorities and interest groups, often with competing agendas. As a result, the economic potential of these water bodies is unknown and often grossly underutilised. Our study outlines a case study of fisheries resources in the North West Province of South Africa that could be used for the creation of income and food security for local communities through the development of subsistence, commercial, and recreational fisheries. The study identifies the lack of guidelines for the development of inland fisheries and the lack of an inland fisheries policy, both at the provincial and national level, as major bottlenecks for the sustainable development of these resources and outlines possible focal areas for intervention

Numerical investigation of the performance of engineered barriers in controlling stormwater runoff

In this paper, 2-dimensional, hydro-mechanically coupled finite element analyses are conducted to assess the performance of an engineered barrier, constructed from natural geomaterials, aimed at reducing flood risk in urban environments. The barrier consists of an unsaturated compacted soil layer with water holding properties and a drainage layer of a coarse granular material, that acts as a capillary break, and is constructed on top of the natural soil, in this case London clay. The barrier is vegetated so that its water storage capacity is renewed after each rainfall event. Sophisticated boundary conditions are used to simulate the effect of precipitation and evapotranspiration. The evolution of the rainfall infiltration and runoff rate is simulated both for a treated soil column with an engineered barrier and an untreated one consisting solely of in-situ London Clay. The percolation rate of rainfall water from the bottom of the barrier is also estimated. This comparison highlights the effectiveness of the engineered barrier in reducing the risk of fast flooding, in preventing excessive deformations and in protecting underground infrastructure during wetting and drying cycles. The effect of the hydraulic properties and geometry of the barrier is investigated by means of an extensive parametric analysis. Finally, recommendations for the design of barrier systems are made