Global predictors of language endangerment and the future of linguistic diversity

Language diversity is under threat. While each language is subject to specific social, demographic and political pressures, there may also be common threatening processes. We use an analysis of 6,511 spoken languages with 51 predictor variables spanning aspects of population, documentation, legal recognition, education policy, socioeconomic indicators and environmental features to show that, counter to common perception, contact with other languages per se is not a driver of language loss. However, greater road density, which may encourage population movement, is associated with increased endangerment. Higher average years of schooling is also associated with greater endangerment, evidence that formal education can contribute to loss of language diversity. Without intervention, language loss could triple within 40 years, with at least one language lost per month. To avoid the loss of over 1,500 languages by the end of the century, urgent investment is needed in language documentation, bilingual education programmes and other community-based programmes.Results and discussion - Current patterns of endangerment. - Predictors of language endangerment. - Predicting future language. - Safeguarding language diversity. Method

Erratum: “Radiative heat load distribution on the EU-DEMO first wall due to mitigated disruptions” (Nuclear Materials and Energy (2020) 25, (S2352179120300971), (10.1016/j.nme.2020.100824))

The publisher regrets for the incorrect affiliation reported in the paper for one of the authors (S. Dulla, Politecnico di Torino). The publisher would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused

Radiative heat load distribution on the EU-DEMO first wall due to mitigated disruptions

The EU-DEMO First Wall (FW) will be a relatively thin structure. In order not to damage this layer, heat loads distributed onto the wall should be carefully controlled. In the case of transient events, as for example plasma disruptions, the steady-state heat load limit (~1-2 MW/m^2) can be largely exceeded for a timespan sufficiently long to cause damages. Therefore, when the control system detects an upcoming disruption, Shattered Pellet Injection (SPI) or Massive Gas Injection (MGI) mitigation techniques can be employed to inject impurities and switch off the plasma safely. In the present work, the Monte-Carlo ray-tracing code CHERAB is used to compute the radiative heat load distribution on the EU-DEMO Plasma Facing Components (PFCs) due to a mitigated plasma disruption. By applying ad-hoc techniques to improve the quality of the Monte Carlo calculation, we obtain a peak radiative load of ~490 MW/m^2 on the PFCs, which is ~25% lower than previous estimates

The pharmaceutical use of permethrin: Sources and behavior during municipal sewage treatment

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.Permethrin entered use in the 1970s as an insecticide in a wide range of applications, including agriculture, horticultural, and forestry, and has since been restricted. In the 21st century, the presence of permethrin in the aquatic environment has been attributed to its use as a human and veterinary pharmaceutical, in particular as a pedeculicide, in addition to other uses, such as a moth-proofing agent. However, as a consequence of its toxicity to fish, sources of permethrin and its fate and behavior during wastewater treatment are topics of concern. This study has established that high overall removal of permethrin (approximately 90%) was achieved during wastewater treatment and that this was strongly dependent on the extent of biological degradation in secondary treatment, with more limited subsequent removal in tertiary treatment processes. Sources of permethrin in the catchment matched well with measured values in crude sewage and indicated that domestic use accounted for more than half of the load to the treatment works. However, removal may not be consistent enough to achieve the environmental quality standards now being derived in many countries even where tertiary treatment processes are applied.United Utilities PL

Description of complex viewing geometries of fusion tomography diagnostics by ray-tracing

Ray-tracing techniques are applied to bolometry, a diagnostic where the finite collection volume is particularly sensitive to the machine and detector configuration. A technique is presented that can handle arbitrarily complex aperture and collimator geometries, neglecting reflection effects. Sight lines from the ASDEX Upgrade bolometer foils were ray-traced with a path tracing algorithm, where the optical path is represented by a statistical bundle of ray paths connecting the foil surface with the slit geometry. By using the full 3D machine model for the detector box and first wall, effects such as occlusion and vignetting were included in the calculation of the bolometer’s étendue. Inversion matrices calculated with the ray-tracing technique were compared with the more conventional single-ray approach and shown to be naturally more constrained, requiring less regularisation. The two models were tested on a sample radiation scenario, and the common single-ray approximation is shown to be insufficient. These results are particularly relevant for the divertor where strong emission gradients may be present. The technique developed generalises well to arbitrarily complex viewing geometries and collimators, opening up a new design space for bolometer configurations that might not normally have been considered

The challenges faced in the design, conduct and analysis of surgical randomised controlled trials

Randomised evaluations of surgical interventions are rare; some interventions have been widely adopted without rigorous evaluation. Unlike other medical areas, the randomised controlled trial (RCT) design has not become the default study design for the evaluation of surgical interventions. Surgical trials are difficult to successfully undertake and pose particular practical and methodological challenges. However, RCTs have played a role in the assessment of surgical innovations and there is scope and need for greater use. This article will consider the design, conduct and analysis of an RCT of a surgical intervention. The issues will be reviewed under three headings: the timing of the evaluation, defining the research question and trial design issues. Recommendations on the conduct of future surgical RCTs are made. Collaboration between research and surgical communities is needed to address the distinct issues raised by the assessmentof surgical interventions and enable the conduct of appropriate and well-designed trials.The Health Services Research Unit is funded by the Scottish Government Health DirectoratesPeer reviewedPublisher PD

CV15015

This report provides the main results of the 2015 underwater television survey on the ‘Labadie, Jones and Cockburn Banks’ ICES assessment area; Functional Unit 20-21. This was the second survey to achieve full coverage of the full area. The 2015 survey was multidisciplinary in nature collecting UWTV, CTD and other ecosystem data. A total of 96 UWTV stations were completed at 6 nmi intervals over a randomised isometric grid design. The mean burrow density was 0.20 burrows/m2 compared with 0.19 burrows/m2 in 2014. The 2015 geostatistical abundance estimate was 2.0±0.02 billion a 2% decrease on the abundance for 2014 with a CV of 3% which is well below the upper limit of 20% recommended by SGNEPS 2012. Highest densities were general observed towards the north and southwest of the ground, and there were also high densities observed close to boundaries. Using the 2015 abundance estimate and updated stock data implies catch of 3045 tonnes and landings of 2225 tonnes. Only one species of sea pen Virgilaria mirabilis was recorded as present at the stations surveyed. Trawl marks were observed at 30% of the stations surveyed

Salmonella enterica serotype Virchow associated with human infections in Switzerland: 2004-2009

BACKGROUND: Salmonellosis is one of the most important foodborne diseases and a major threat to public health. Salmonella serotype Virchow ranks among the top five serovars in Europe. METHOD: A total of 153 strains isolated from different patients from 2004 through 2009 in Switzerland were further characterized by (i) assessing phenotypic antibiotic resistance profiles using the disk diffusion method and (ii) by genotyping using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) after macrorestriction with XbaI in order to evaluate strain relationship. RESULTS: The relative frequency of S. Virchow among other Salmonella serovars varied between 4th to 8th rank. The annual incidence ranged from 0.45/100'000 in 2004 to 0.40/100'000 in 2009. A total of 48 strains (32%) were resistant to one to 3 antimicrobials, 54 strains (36%) displayed resistance patterns to more than three antibiotics. No trend was identifiable over the years 2004 to 2009. We found a high prevalence (62%) of nalidixic acid resistant strains, suggesting an equally high rate of decreased fluoroqionolone susceptibility, whereas intermediate resistance to ciprofloxacin was negligible. Two strains were extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producers. Analysis of PFGE patterns uncovered a predominant cluster (similarity coefficient above 80%) consisting of 104 of the 153 strains. CONCLUSION: The worldwide increase of antibiotic resistances in Salmonella is an emerging public health problem. For Switzerland, no clear trend is identifiable over the years 2004 to 2009 for S. Virchow. Antimicrobial susceptibility and resistance profiles varied considerably within this period. Nevertheless, the situation in Switzerland coincided with findings in other European countries. Genotyping results of this strain collection revealed no evidence for an undetected outbreak within this time period