Vegetation-soil relations in a highly sodic landscape, Yelarbon, southern Queensland

Soil and vegetation data were collected from a sodic-scald near Yelarbon in southern Queensland. The surface of the landscape includes relatively light textured pedestals of the A-horizon with slightly alkaline pH and slopes leading down to scalded basement representing the surface of the strongly alkaline B-horizon. The strongest gradient within the floristic patterns was associated with wetland vegetation in drainage lines, but a secondary and orthogonal gradient was related to soil pH, which was probably a function of lower alkalinity on the more stable and weathered A-horizons. There were few significant differences between soil or vegetation characteristics from plot data comparing parts of the landscape with differing historical grazing regimes. Sites included stock routes heavily grazed between the 1920s and 1970s, and subsequently almost ungrazed; and grazed paddocks that have had moderate use throughout this period. There is clear evidence that the area is naturally active in terms of erosion and deposition during flooding regardless of grazing

Managed livestock grazing is compatible with the maintenance of plant diversity in semidesert grasslands.

Even when no baseline data are available, the impacts of 150 years of livestock grazing on natural grasslands can be assessed using a combined approach of grazing manipulation and regional-scale assessment of the flora. Here, we demonstrate the efficacy of this method across 18 sites in the semidesert Mitchell grasslands of northeastern Australia. Fifteen-year-old exclosures (ungrazed and macropod grazed) revealed that the dominant perennial grasses in the genus Astrebla do not respond negatively to grazing disturbance typical of commercial pastoralism. Neutral, positive, intermediate, and negative responses to grazing disturbance were recorded amongst plant species with no single life-form group associated with any response type. Only one exotic species, Cenchrus ciliaris, was recorded at low frequency. The strongest negative response was from a native annual grass, Chionachne hubbardiana, an example of a species that is highly sensitive to grazing disturbance. Herbarium records revealed only scant evidence that species with a negative response to grazing have declined through the period of commercial pastoralism. A regional analysis identified 14 from a total of 433 plant species in the regional flora that may be rare and potentially threatened by grazing disturbance. However, a targeted survey precluded grazing as a cause of decline for seven of these based on low palatability and positive responses to grazing and other disturbance. Our findings suggest that livestock grazing of semidesert grasslands with a short evolutionary history of ungulate grazing has altered plant composition, but has not caused declines in the dominant perennial grasses or in species richness as predicted by the preceding literature. The biggest impact of commercial pastoralism is the spread of woody leguminous trees that can transform grassland to thorny shrubland. The conservation of plant biodiversity is largely compatible with commercial pastoralism provided these woody weeds are controlled, but reserves strategically positioned within water remote areas are necessary to protect grazing-sensitive species. This study demonstrates that a combination of experimental studies and regional surveys can be used to understand anthropogenic impacts on natural ecosystems where reference habitat is not available

Experience-based co-design - Adapting the method for a researcher-initiated study in a multi-site setting

YesBackground: Experience-based co-design (EBCD) brings patients and staff together to co-design services. It is normally conducted in one organization which initiates and implements the process. We used the traditional EBCD method with a number of adaptations as part of a larger research study in the British National Health Service.Methods: The primary aim was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of conduct-ing research-initiated EBCD, to enhance intervention development prior to testing. As well as embedding the method in a research study, there were 3 further key adap-tations: (a) working across primary and secondary care sectors, (b) working on multi-ple sites and (c) incorporating theory-informed analysis.Results: We recruited four sites (covering both primary and secondary care) and, on each site, conducted the initial traditional EBCD meetings, with separate staff and patient groups—followed by a single joint patient-staff event, where four priority areas for co-design were agreed. This event was driven by theory-informed analysis, as well as the traditional trigger film of patient experiences. Each site worked on one priority area, and the four co-design groups met over 2-3 months to design prototype tools. A second joint event was held (not usually undertaken in single-site EBCD) where they shared and compared outputs. The research team combined elements of these outputs to create an intervention, now being tested in a cluster randomized controlled trial.Conclusions: EBCD can be successfully adapted for use across an entire patient pathway with multiple organizations and as part of a research process to identify an intervention for subsequent testing in a randomized trial. Our pragmatic approach used the patient experience to identify areas for improvement and co-designed an intervention which directly reflected patient priorities.National Institute for Health Research programme ‘Improving the safety and continuity of medicines management at care transitions (ISCOMAT)’ RP‐PG‐0514‐2009

How effective are primary care pharmacists at running dyspepsia clinics for patients prescribed PPIs?

YesIntroduction As a consequence of the low cost and perceived safety, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are widely prescribed but they can cause longterm adverse effects and are often overprescribed. For most patients PPIs should not be continued long-term as patients can become dependent on PPIs and they are rarely stepped down/off treatment. We aimed to measure whether a dyspepsia review service could help patients on PPIs to step down/off treatment whilst still keeping them symptom free. Methods Pharmacists were provided with training on dyspepsia management. Four general practices were selected. Patients taking a PPI for more than two months were included. A list of exclusion criteria (e.g. active ulcers, newly initiated) was applied. Between six and eight dyspepsia review clinics were run at each site. Patients were booked into a 15-minute consultation. A concordance style consultation was held with clinicians providing information on dyspepsia management and exploring the patients’ ideas, concerns and expectations about stepping down or stepping off treatment. A follow-up audit was performed at four months to determine if patients had remained stepped down/off. An economic evaluation of clinic costs and drugs savings was performed. Results A total of 508 patients were invited to a review; 136 did not attend and 58 were excluded due to not meeting the inclusion criteria, leaving 314 patients reviewed for step-down/step-off. Successful step down/step off was achieved in 257 people (82% of those reviewed). The total cost savings of PPIs was £7,100. The additional cost of alginates was £1,207 giving a net saving on medicines of £5,893 per annum. Set-up costs were £1,194 and staff costs £3,524 to £5,156 giving total running costs, which vary dependent on the Agenda for Change (AfC) grade of pharmacist involved, of £4,720 - £6,351. Conclusion A dyspepsia review clinic is cost-neutral to run but, given that many patients are on polypharmacy, PPI step down might best be considered as part of a holistic medication review clinic.Reckitt Benckiser, National Institute for Health Research, Health Education Englan

Evolution of volatile and phenolic compounds during bottle storage of merlot wines vinified using pulsed electric fields-treated grapes

This study aimed to elucidate changes in volatile, phenolic, and oenological profiles of wines vinified from Pulsed Electric Fields (PEF)-treated and untreated Merlot grapes during bottle storage of up to 150, 90, and 56 days at 4 °C, 25 °C, and 45 °C, respectively, through chemometrics technique. Wines produced from untreated grapes and those PEF-treated at four different processing conditions (electric field strength 33.1 and 41.5 kV/cm and energy inputs between 16.5 and 49.4 kJ/kg) were used for the bottle storage study. Results showed that hydroxycinnamic and hydroxybenzoic acids in all stored wines, regardless vinified from untreated and PEF-treated grapes, increased as a function of time and temperature, while anthocyanins and selected esters (e.g., ethyl butanoate) decreased. Extreme storage temperature, at 45 °C particularly, resulted in a higher amount of linalool-3, 7-oxide in all stored wines. After prolonged storage, all wines produced from grapes PEF-treated with four different processing conditions were shown to favor high retention of phenolics after storage but induced faster reduction of anthocyanins when compared to wines produced from untreated grapes. Moreover, some volatiles in wines vinified using PEF-treated grapes, such as citronellol and 2-phenylethyl acetate, were found to be less susceptible towards degradation during prolonged storage. Production of furans was generally lower in most stored wines, particularly those produced from PEF-treated grapes at higher energy inputs (>47 kJ/kg). Overall, PEF pre-treatment on grapes may improve storage and temperature stability of the obtained wines

Essential prescribing tips for GP Associates-in-Training

Prescribing is an essential role in general practice but it is also, at times, a high risk activity. GP Associates-in-Training (GP AiTs) have been highlighted as needing further support to reduce the risk of prescribing errors. This article highlights some common prescribing errors to help GP AiTs to review their prescribing and develop prescribing habits to avoid errors. The general practice workforce is changing and there are more pharmacists working in general practice. This article describes the role of clinical pharmacists in prescribing safety and in supporting GP AiTs

Threatened plant translocation in Australia: A review

Translocation of plants has become a common approach in conservation biology in the past two decades, but it is not clear how successful it is in achieving long-term conservation outcomes. We combined a literature review with extensive consultations with translocation practitioners to compile data on translocations of threatened Australian plants. We documented 1001 translocations involving 376 taxa, concentrated in regions and habitats with high numbers of threatened species. Only 109 translocation attempts encompassing 71 taxa are documented in peer-reviewed literature. Over 85% of translocations have occurred since 2000 and half since 2010, with an especially rapid increase in development mitigation translocations, which account for 30% of all translocations documented. Many translocations involved extremely small numbers of propagules, with 45% using 250. Of the 724 translocations with sufficient data to assess performance, 42% have <10 plants surviving, and 13% have at least 50 plants surviving and some second-generation recruitment into the population. Translocation performance, measured by number of plants surviving and second-generation recruitment, was highly variable between plant lifeforms, habitats and propagule type. However, species was more variable than all of these, suggesting that some species are more conducive to translocation than others. Use of at least 500 founder individuals increased the chances of creating a viable population. Four decades after the first conservation translocations, our evaluation highlights the need to consider translocation in the broad context of conservation actions for species recovery and the need for long-term commitment to monitoring, site maintenance and documentation.J.L. Silcock, C.L. Simmons, L. Monks, R. Dillon, N. Reiterc, M. Jusaitise, P.A. Veskg, M. Byrne, D.J. Coate

The most luminous, merger-free AGN show only marginal correlation with bar presence

The role of large-scale bars in the fuelling of active galactic nuclei (AGN) is still debated, even as evidence mounts that black hole growth in the absence of galaxy mergers cumulatively dominated and may substantially influence disc (i.e., merger-free) galaxy evolution. We investigate whether large-scale galactic bars are a good candidate for merger-free AGN fuelling. Specifically, we combine slit spectroscopy and Hubble Space Telescope imagery to characterise star formation rates (SFRs) and stellar masses of the unambiguously disc-dominated host galaxies of a sample of luminous, Type-1 AGN with 0.02 < z 0.024. After carefully correcting for AGN signal, we find no clear difference in SFR between AGN hosts and a stellar mass-matched sample of galaxies lacking an AGN (0.013 < z < 0.19), although this could be due to a small sample size (n_AGN = 34). We correct for SFR and stellar mass to minimise selection biases, and compare the bar fraction in the two samples. We find that AGN are marginally (1.7$\sigma$) more likely to host a bar than inactive galaxies, with AGN hosts having a bar fraction, fbar = 0.59^{+0.08}_{-0.09} and inactive galaxies having a bar fraction fbar = 0.44^{+0.08}_{-0.09}. However, we find no further differences between SFR- and mass-matched AGN and inactive samples. While bars could potentially trigger AGN activity, they appear to have no further, unique effect on a galaxy's stellar mass or SFR.Comment: 15 pages (9 figures). Accepted for publication in MNRA

Threatened plant translocation in Australia: A review

Translocation of plants has become a common approach in conservation biology in the past two decades, but it is not clear how successful it is in achieving long-term conservation outcomes. We combined a literature review with extensive consultations with translocation practitioners to compile data on translocations of threatened Australian plants. We documented 1001 translocations involving 376 taxa, concentrated in regions and habitats with high numbers of threatened species. Only 109 translocation attempts encompassing 71 taxa are documented in peer-reviewed literature. Over 85% of translocations have occurred since 2000 and half since 2010, with an especially rapid increase in development mitigation translocations, which account for 30% of all translocations documented. Many translocations involved extremely small numbers of propagules, with 45% using 250. Of the 724 translocations with sufficient data to assess performance, 42% have <10 plants surviving, and 13% have at least 50 plants surviving and some second-generation recruitment into the population. Translocation performance, measured by number of plants surviving and second-generation recruitment, was highly variable between plant lifeforms, habitats and propagule type. However, species was more variable than all of these, suggesting that some species are more conducive to translocation than others. Use of at least 500 founder individuals increased the chances of creating a viable population. Four decades after the first conservation translocations, our evaluation highlights the need to consider translocation in the broad context of conservation actions for species recovery and the need for long-term commitment to monitoring, site maintenance and documentation.This research was funded by the National Environmental Science Program through the Threatened Species Recovery Hu