Urban design and the better cities program: the influence of urban design on the outcomes of the program.

The aims of the research were to assess the influence of urban design on the Better Cities Program (BCP) and to explore and document the achievements of the Program in terms of urban design. This in turn led to the exploration of some 34 case studies of the BCP initiatives known as Area Strategies throughout Australia. The research outcomes provided an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the Program�s objectives and processes in relation to urban design and prompted suggested options or modifications, which could enhance outcomes in future initiatives. The thesis is an overview of the Program�s genesis and procedures, including comment on economic, political and social concerns, and draws from this broad analysis the specific issues and outcomes related to urban design practice. It was perceived that whilst not centrally an urban design program the BCP fell short of known urban design principles that could reasonably be expected to be present, given that the achievement of better cities is dependent in large part on better urban design. To maintain a comprehensive overview and sense of continuity the research included urban design evaluations of two projects from the earlier Department of Urban and Regional Development (DURD) period. This was done in order to review the state of urban design at that time and to discover whether fresh insights and approaches may have occurred over the intervening 25 years. To structure the research, a number of interlinking methods were implemented. These included literature reviews, interviews, questionnaires and case studies of the Program�s projects - called Area Strategies - and their ranking through a matrix. Methods extended to a comparative analysis of the Program�s objectives with those of DURD. The Area Strategies were interrogated from three positions, namely: by evaluation of these initiatives based on an Empirical approach; by critical literature where available, but mostly from a more abundant source of descriptive literature and by expert opinion through many interviews, discussions and the Questionnaire responses. The methods were essential in order to collate, analyse and categorise the gathered information for the purpose of evaluation, summarising and framing of conclusions. Central to the thesis was the reliance on the �enduring strands�, being those essential and timehonoured fundamental elements of the urban fabric. These enduring strands became the evaluation tools of the case studies, and comprised the following: buildings and their groupings, the public domain, issues of safety and security, activities, conservation and heritage, the role of landscape, architectural responses to the environment, ecological responses, circulation, public art, social responses and management processes. The discipline of urban design as distinct from city planning and architecture, developed signifi- cantly during the second half of the twentieth century and it received Commonwealth recognition during the life of the Program through the publication of the findings of Prime Minister Keating�s Urban Design Task Force. The thesis compares the recommendations of the Task Force and those of the research and finds sufficient parallels to affirm that both endeavours share a common basis. It is not the role of the thesis to recommend an urban design policy for potential future programs, but it does point to the way urban design might be better integrated in such programs. This research provides support for the argument that if urban design concerns had occupied a more central position in the range of objectives of the Better Cities Program, then the outcomes would have been more satisfactory in many of the projects. With greater recognition of the critical contribution of urban design skills, outcomes of future programs of this nature could potentially be significantly enhanced

Pollination of SliPPer orchidS (cyPriPedioideae): a review

AbstRAct. Cypripedioideae (five genera; ca. 176 species) are widespread in temperate and tropical Asia and America. About a quarter (42) of the species have been studied to determine their pollinators and/or breeding systems. All flowers are one-way traps pollinated by insects of particular types and size. Slipper orchids are selfcompatible and pollinated by deceit. Most Cypripedium species are pollinated by bees, whereas some smallerflowered species are pollinated by flies, and a few are pollinated by both. Most bee-pollinated Cypripedium species appear to be generalized food mimics. The fly-pollinated species have evolved diverse pollination systems that utilize a variety of flies as pollen vectors, including fruit flies, dung flies, and a fungal spore-eating hoverfly (Syrphidae). Most species of the tropical Asian Paphiopedilum and tropical American Phragmipedium are pollinated by hoverflies; flowers of many species in both genera have aphid-like spots that attract gravid female hoverflies that normally lay their eggs in aphid colonies. The more brightly colored Paphiopedilum micranthum and Phragmipedium besseae are pollinated by Hymenoptera. Autogamy is limited but occurs most frequently in Phragmipedium species. About two-thirds of the insect-pollinated slipper orchids (25/37) have evolved highly specialized flowers that are pollinated by a single pollinator or several pollinator species in the same genus. Species belonging to the same taxonomic section usually have the same pollination system. The deceit-pollination system of Cypripedioideae appears to have evolved early in diversification of Orchidaceae.

Tracemaking Activities of Crabs and Their Environmental Significance: The Ichnogenus \u3ci\u3ePsilonichnus\u3c/i\u3e

Modem crabs are common inhabitants of shallow subtidal, intertidal, and supratidal environments, and many crabs are capable of producing traces that can be preserved in the rock record. The first crabs, Early Jurassic in age, probably were not fossorial. By Cretaceous time, however, diverse endobenthic lineages were established. Many representatives of these lineages undoubtedly produced domiciles that are preserved in shallow marine to quasimarine sediments and that should be useful in characterizing the depositional environment of the sediments. Nonetheless, most such dwelling structures have been studied little and remain essentially unnamed. The ichnogenus Psilonichnus Fiirsich is amenable to the taxonomic concept of several forms of crab burrows; presently recognized ichnospecies include P. tubiformis Fiirsich and P. upsilon (n. ichnosp.). Future work may reveal the need for further ichnospecific differentiation. The occurrence of Psilonichnus upsilon and related burrow forms should prove to be a useful criterion for the identification of marine-margin facies in the rock record. Certain crabs also produce domiciles referable to Thalassinoides, Gyrolithes, and Skolithos, and possibly Macanopsis and Spongeliomorpha. Except for Skolithos, such structures traditionally have been attributed to shrimp, lobsters, or stomatopods. Ethologic and taxonomic re-evaluation of these burrow forms is needed

Spatio-temporal analysis of the potential toxicological burden of pollutants in a fluvial system, the River Irwell, Manchester, through anthropogenic activities (present and historical) and natural mechanisms

Anthropogenic addition of trace metals (lead, cadmium, copper, zinc and nickel), metalloids (arsenic) and common pollutingions (phosphate, nitrate, sodium and chlorine) to rivers degrades water quality and affects human, animal and plant health. The River Irwell, Greater Manchester, which has a long history of industrial pollution, was sampled along a rural-urban transect during summer (July) and autumn (November) to assess water quality of the river. Analysis of trace metals, metalloids and ions, via ICP-OES and IC, found concentrations of cadmium, copper, lead, zinc, phosphate and sodium exceeding environmental quality standards. Water quality has improved since the 1980s, but concentrations of copper, zinc and phosphate remain above guidelines and require urgent remediation. Several potential pollution sources were identified, including wastewater treatment plants, agricultural run-off and urban centres

Does infliximab increase complications after surgery for inflammatory bowel disease?

Conflicting data exist regarding the association between pre-operative monoclonal anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha antibody therapy with infliximab for Crohn disease and chronic ulcerative colitis, and the occurrence of post-operative complications. This report reviews the current literature that supports and refutes this association

Acceptability and feasibility of plasma phosphorylated-tau181 in two memory services

BACKGROUND: Plasma phosphorylated-tau181 (p-tau181) represents a novel blood-based biomarker of Alzheimer's disease pathology. We explored clinicians' experience of the utility of plasma p-tau181 in Camden and Islington Memory Services. METHODS: Patients were identified by their clinician as appropriate for p-tau181. Their p-tau181 result was plotted on a reference range graph provided to clinicians. This was discussed with the patient at diagnostic feedback appointment. RESULTS: Twenty-nine participants' plasma p-tau181 samples were included (mean age 74 SD 8.5, 65% female). Nine clinicians participated in the study. Eighty-six percent of clinicians found the p-tau181 result to be helpful and in 93% of cases it was clearly understandable. The p-tau181 result was useful in making the diagnosis in 44% of cases. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma p-tau181 is a feasible test for use in memory services and acceptable to clinicians. Clinician feedback on utility in dementia diagnoses was mixed. Further work is required to provide education and training in understanding and interpreting ambiguity in biomarker results

Rabbits, stoats and the predator problem: Why a strong animal rights position need not call for human intervention to protect prey from predators

Animal rights positions face the ‘predator problem’: the suggestion that if the rights of nonhuman animals are to be protected, then we are obliged to interfere in natural ecosystems to protect prey from predators. Generally, rather than embracing this conclusion, animal ethicists have rejected it, basing this objection on a number of different arguments. This paper considers but challenges three such arguments, before defending a fourth possibility. Rejected are Peter Singer’s suggestion that interference will lead to more harm than good, Sue Donaldson and Will Kymlicka’s suggestion that respect for nonhuman sovereignty necessitates non-interference in normal circumstances, and Alasdair Cochrane’s solution based on the claim that predators cannot survive without killing prey. The possibility defended builds upon Tom Regan’s suggestion that predators, as moral patients but not moral agents, cannot violate the rights of their prey, and so the rights of the prey, while they do exist, do not call for intervention. This idea is developed by a consideration of how moral agents can be more or less responsible for a given event, and defended against criticisms offered by thinkers including Alasdair Cochrane and Dale Jamieson