Current knowledge, status and future for plant and fungal diversity in Great Britain and the UK Overseas Territories

Societal Impact Statement We rely on plants and fungi for most aspects of our lives. Yet plants and fungi are under threat, and we risk losing species before we know their identity, roles, and potential uses. Knowing names, distributions, and threats are first steps toward effective conservation action. Accessible products like field guides and online resources engage society, harnessing collective support for conservation. Here, we review current knowledge of the plants and fungi of the UK and UK Overseas Territories, highlighting gaps to help direct future research efforts toward conserving these vital elements of biodiversity. Summary This review summarizes current knowledge of the status and threats to the plants and fungi of Great Britain and the UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs). Although the body of knowledge is considerable, the distribution of information varies substantially, and we highlight knowledge gaps. The UK vascular flora is the most well studied and we have a relatively clear picture of its 9,001 native and alien taxa. We have seedbanked 72% of the native and archaeophyte angiosperm taxa and 78% of threatened taxa. Knowledge of the UKOTs flora varies across territories and we report a UKOTs flora comprising 4,093 native and alien taxa. We have conserved 27% of the native flora and 51% of the threatened vascular plants in Kew's Millennium Seed Bank, UK. We need a better understanding of the conservation status of plants in the wild, and progress toward completion or updating national red lists varies. Site‐based protection of key plant assemblages is outlined, and progress in identifying Important Plant Areas analyzed. Knowledge of the non‐vascular flora, especially seaweeds remains patchy, particularly in many UKOTs. The biggest gaps overall are in fungi, particularly non‐lichenized fungi. Considerable investment is needed to fill these knowledge gaps and instigate effective conservation strategies

Silk garments plus standard care compared with standard care for treating eczema in children: A randomised, controlled, observer-blind, pragmatic trial (CLOTHES Trial)

© 2017 Thomas et al. Background: The role of clothing in the management of eczema (also called atopic dermatitis or atopic eczema) is poorly understood. This trial evaluated the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of silk garments (in addition to standard care) for the management of eczema in children with moderate to severe disease. Methods and findings: This was a parallel-group, randomised, controlled, observer-blind trial. Children aged 1 to 15 y with moderate to severe eczema were recruited from secondary care and the community at five UK medical centres. Participants were allocated using online randomisation (1:1) to standard care or to standard care plus silk garments, stratified by age and recruiting centre. Silk garments were worn for 6 mo. Primary outcome (eczema severity) was assessed at baseline, 2, 4, and 6 mo, by nurses blinded to treatment allocation, using the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI), which was log-transformed for analysis (intention-to-treat analysis). A safety outcome was number of skin infections. Three hundred children were randomised (26 November 2013 to 5 May 2015): 42% girls, 79% white, mean age 5 y. Primary analysis included 282/300 (94%) children (n = 141 in each group). The garments were worn more often at night than in the day (median of 81% of nights [25th to 75th centile 57% to 96%] and 34% of days [25th to 75th centile 10% to 76%]). Geometric mean EASI scores at baseline, 2, 4, and 6 mo were, respectively, 9.2, 6.4, 5.8, and 5.4 for silk clothing and 8.4, 6.6, 6.0, and 5.4 for standard care. There was no evidence of any difference between the groups in EASI score averaged over all follow-up visits adjusted for baseline EASI score, age, and centre: adjusted ratio of geometric means 0.95, 95% CI 0.85 to 1.07, (p = 0.43). This confidence interval is equivalent to a difference of −1.5 to 0.5 in the original EASI units, which is not clinically important. Skin infections occurred in 36/142 (25%) and 39/141 (28%) of children in the silk clothing and standard care groups, respectively. Even if the small observed treatment effect was genuine, the incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year was £56,811 in the base case analysis from a National Health Service perspective, suggesting that silk garments are unlikely to be cost-effective using currently accepted thresholds. The main limitation of the study is that use of an objective primary outcome, whilst minimising detection bias, may have underestimated treatment effects. Conclusions: Silk clothing is unlikely to provide additional benefit over standard care in children with moderate to severe eczema. Trial registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN77261365

Measurement and Modeling of Hydrogen Sulfide Lagoon Emissions from a Swine Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation

Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) emissions were determined from an anaerobic lagoon at a swine concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) in North Carolina. Measurements of H₂S were made continuously from an anaerobic lagoon using a dynamic flow-through chamber for ∼1 week during each of the four seasonal periods from June 2007 through April 2008. H₂S lagoon fluxes were highest in the summer with a flux of 3.81 ± 3.24 μg m^–2 min^–1 and lowest in the winter with a flux of 0.08 ± 0.09 μg m^–2 min^–1. An air-manure interface (A-MI) mass transfer model was developed to predict H₂S manure emissions. The accuracy of the A-MI mass transfer model in predicting H₂S manure emissions was comprehensively evaluated by comparing the model predicted emissions to the continuously measured lagoon emissions using data from all four seasonal periods. In comparison to this measurement data, the A-MI mass transfer model performed well in predicting H₂S fluxes with a slope of 1.13 and an <i>r</i>² value of 0.60, and a mean bias value of 0.655 μg m^–2 min^–1. The A-MI mass transfer model also performed fairly well in predicting diurnal H₂S lagoon flux trends

The potential of high temporal resolution automatic measurements of PM2.5 composition as an alternative to the filter-based manual method used in routine monitoring

•Under the EU Air Quality Directive (AQD) 2008/50/EC member states are required to undertake routine monitoring of PM2.5 composition at background stations. The AQD states for PM2.5 speciation this should include at least: nitrate (NO3−), sulfate (SO42−), chloride (Cl−), ammonium (NH4+), sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), magnesium (Mg2+), calcium (Ca2+), elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC). Until 2017, it was the responsibility of each country to determine the methodology used to report the composition for the inorganic components of PM2.5. In August 2017 a European standard method of measurement of PM2.5 inorganic chemical components (NO3−, SO42−, Cl−, NH4+, Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+) as deposited on filters (EN16913:2017) was published. From August 2019 this then became the European standard method. This filter method is labour-intensive and provides limited time resolution and is prone to losses of volatile compounds. There is therefore increasing interest in the use of alternative automated methods. For example, the UK reports hourly PM2.5 chemical composition using the Monitor for AeRosols and Gases in Ambient air (MARGA, Metrohm, NL). This study is a pre-assessment review of available data to demonstrate if or to what extent equivalence is possible using either the MARGA or other available automatic methods, including the Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM, Aerodyne Research Inc. US) and the Ambient Ion Monitor (AIM, URG, US). •To demonstrate equivalence three objectives were to be met. The first two objectives focused on data capture and were met by all three instruments. The third objective was to have less than a 50% expanded uncertainty compared to the reference method for each species. Analysis of this objective was carried out using existing paired datasets available from different regions around the world. It was found that the MARGA (2006–2019 model) had the potential to demonstrate equivalence for all species in the standard, though it was only through a combination of case studies that it passed uncertainty criteria. The ACSM has the potential to demonstrate equivalence for NH4+, SO42−, and in some conditions NO3−, but did not for Cl− due to its inability to quantify refractory aerosol such as sea salt. The AIM has the potential for NH4+, NO3−, SO42−, Cl− and Mg2+. Future investigations are required to determine if the AIM could be optimised to meet the expanded uncertainty criterion for Na+, K+ and Ca2+. •The recommendation is that a second stage to demonstrate equivalence is required which would include both laboratory and field studies of the three candidate methods and any other technologies identified with the potential to report the required species