Social Value of Marine and Coastal Protected Areas in England and Wales.

The U.K. government is committed to establishing a coherent network of marine protected areas by 2012 and the recentMarine and Coastal Access Act, 2009 will designate marine conservation zones and provide wider access rights to the coast. To fulfill these goals, this article argues the need for a clearer, shared understanding of the social value of protected areas in creating new designations and managing existing ones. Although marine and coastal environments attract many people and are vitally important in terms of realized and potential social value, the majority of the public in the United Kingdom lacks understanding and awareness regarding them. Combined with this, the social value of marine and coastal protected areas (MCPAs) have been largely ignored relative to conservation and economics, with the latter invariably taking precedence in environmental policymaking. Social value reflects the complex, individual responses that people experience in a given place. Many reasons determine why one area is valued above another, and this research investigates the social value of MCPAs from a practitioner’s perspective through a series of interviews. Understanding why we “socially” value MCPAs will ultimately equip managers with an informed understanding of these spaces, influence management decisions, and, potentially, policymaking. This article defines social value in the context of MCPAs in England and Wales from a practitioner perspective, explores key concepts, and suggests possible improvements in decision-making

Chronotype ontogeny related to gender

Chronotype is an established concept designed to identify distinct phase relationships between the expression of circadian rhythms and external synchronizers in humans. Although it has been widely accepted that chronotype is subjected to ontogenetic modulation, there is no consensus on the interaction between age and gender. This study aimed to determine the relationship between age- and gender-related changes in the morningness-eveningness character in a large sample of people. A total of 14,650 volunteers were asked to complete the Brazilian version of the Horne and Östberg chronotype questionnaire. The data demonstrated that, on average, women were more morning-oriented than men until the age of 30 and there were no significant differences between men and women from 30 to 45 years of age. In contrast to the situation observed until the age of 30, women older than 45 years were more evening-oriented than men. These results suggest that the ontogenetic development of the circadian timekeeping system is more plastic in men, as represented by the larger amplitude of chronotype changes throughout their aging process. The phase delay of adolescence and phase advance of the elderly seem to be phenomena that are more markedly present in men than in women. Thus, our data, for the first time, provide support that sharply opposes the view that there is a single path toward morningness as a function of age, regardless of gender

Introducing New Guidelines on Geoheritage Conservation in Protected and Conserved Areas

The Cultural Heritage Administration, Republic of Korea, funded the design and publication of the Guidelines on which this paper is based.This paper introduces newly published guidelines on geoheritage conservation in protected and conserved areas within the “IUCN WCPA Best Practice Guidelines” series. It explains the need for the guidelines and outlines the ethical basis of geoheritage values and geoconservation principles as the fundamental framework within which to advance geoheritage conservation. Best practice in establishing and managing protected and conserved areas for geoconservation is described with examples from around the world. Particular emphasis is given to the methodology and practice for dealing with the many threats to geoheritage, highlighting in particular how to improve practice for areas with caves and karst, glacial and periglacial, and volcanic features and processes, and for palaeontology and mineral sites. Guidance to improve education and communication to the public through modern and conventional means is also highlighted as a key stage in delivering effective geoconservation. A request is made to geoconservation experts to continue to share best practice examples of developing methodologies and best practice in management to guide non-experts in their work. Finally, a number of suggestions are made on how geoconservation can be further promoted.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

The Emirates at 2050: Balancing Development and Environmental Stewardship

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) faces the challenge of balancing rapid economic development with environmental preservation and conservation in the Anthropocene era. The nation’s unique ecosystems, characterized by arid desert, rugged mountains, and diverse marine habitats, are vulnerable to disturbances such as urbanization, habitat degradation, groundwater extraction and climate change. To chart a more sustainable course for the Emirates by 2050, the paper proposes policy recommendations such as adopting a national strategy for sustainable development, strengthening environmental policies, investing in urban planning and design, promoting sustainable water management, encouraging use of nature-based solutions, addressing climate change, fostering environmental education, supporting research in environmental sciences, encouraging national and regional cooperation, promoting sustainable business practices in the private sector, and monitoring the progress of environmental policies. By embracing a vision of development that respects the natural environment and safeguards its plant and animal life, the UAE can demonstrate its commitment and serve as a model for other nations to follow, becoming a shining example of responsible development by 2050

Devolving the heartland: making up a new social policy for the 'South East'

Devolution appears to challenge the traditional regional and national hierarchies of the UK, but in practice the dominance of the South East of England has been maintained through active state intervention. As social welfare has increasingly been redefined through economic success and access to the labour market, the focus of social policy has shifted accordingly. In this context the South East has been re-imagined not as a symbol of inequality and a potential source of redistribution, but rather as driver of economic prosperity and 'national' (UK) well-being

A randomised controlled trial of a lengthened and multi-disciplinary consultation model in a socially deprived community: a study protocol

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There has been little development of the general practice consultation over the years, and many aspects of the present consultation do not serve communities with multiple health and social problems well. Many of the problems presenting to general practitioners in socio-economically disadvantaged areas are not amenable to a purely medical solution, and would particularly benefit from a multidisciplinary approach. Socio-economic deprivation is also associated with those very factors (more psychosocial problems, greater need for health promotion, more chronic diseases, more need for patient enablement) that longer consultations have been shown to address. This paper describes our study protocol, which aims to evaluate whether a lengthened multidisciplinary primary care team consultation with families in a socially deprived area can improve the psychological health of mothers in the families.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>In a randomised controlled trial, families with a history of social problems, substance misuse or depression are randomly allocated to an intervention or control group. The study is based in three general practices in a highly deprived area of North Dublin. Primary health care teams will be trained in conducting a multidisciplinary lengthened consultation. Families in the intervention group will participate in the new style multidisciplinary consultation. Outcomes of families receiving the intervention will be compared to the control group who will receive only usual general practitioner care. The primary outcome is the psychological health of mothers of the families and secondary outcomes include general health status, quality of life measures and health service usage.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The main aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a lengthened multidisciplinary team consultation in primary care. The embedded nature of this study in general practices in a highly deprived area ensures generalisability to other deprived communities, but more particularly it promises relevance to primary care.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN70578736</p

Widening access to medicine may improve general practitioner recruitment in deprived and rural communities:survey of GP origins and current place of work

BACKGROUND: Widening access to medicine in the UK is a recalcitrant problem of increasing political importance, with associated strong social justice arguments but without clear evidence of impact on service delivery. Evidence from the United States suggests that widening access may enhance care to underserved communities. Additionally, rural origin has been demonstrated to be the factor most strongly associated with rural practice. However the evidence regarding socio-economic and rural background and subsequent practice locations in the UK has not been explored. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between general practitioners’ (GPs) socio-economic and rural background at application to medical school and demographic characteristics of their current practice. METHOD: The study design was a cross-sectional email survey of general practitioners practising in Scotland. Socio-economic status of GPs at application to medical school was assessed using the self-coded National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification. UK postcode at application was used to define urban–rural location. Current practice deprivation and remoteness was measured using NHS Scotland defined measures based on registered patients’ postcodes. RESULTS: A survey was sent to 2050 Scottish GPs with a valid accessible email address, with 801 (41.5 %) responding. GPs whose parents had semi-routine or routine occupations had 4.3 times the odds of working in a deprived practice compared to those with parents from managerial and professional occupations (95 % CI 1.8–10.2, p = 0.001). GPs from remote and rural Scottish backgrounds were more likely to work in remote Scottish practices, as were GPs originating from other UK countries. CONCLUSION: This study showed that childhood background is associated with the population GPs subsequently serve, implying that widening access may positively affect service delivery in addition to any social justice rationale. Longitudinal research is needed to explore this association and the impact of widening access on service delivery more broadly

Influence of Ecto-Nucleoside Triphosphate Diphosphohydrolase Activity on Trypanosoma cruzi Infectivity and Virulence

The protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi is the causative agent of Chagas disease, an endemic zoonosis present in some countries of South and Central Americas. The World Health Organization estimates that 100 million people are at risk of acquiring this disease. The infection affects mainly muscle tissues in the heart and digestive tract. There are no vaccines or effective treatment, especially in the chronic phase when most patients are diagnosed, which makes a strong case for the development of new drugs to treat the disease. In this work we evaluate a family of proteins called Ecto-Nucleoside-Triphosphate-Diphosphohydrolase (Ecto-NTPDase) as new chemotherapy target to block T. cruzi infection in mammalian cells and in mice. We have used inhibitors and antibodies against this protein and demonstrated that T. cruzi Ecto-NTPDases act as facilitators of infection in mammalian cells and virulence factors in mice model. Two of the drugs used in this study (Suramin and Gadolinium) are currently used for other diseases in humans, supporting the possibility of their use in the treatment of Chagas disease