“Please let me visit”: Management options for marine ecosystems in a Mediterranean Marine Protected Area

Designation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) as a means to support conservation of marine ecosystems is expected to depend on local communities and stakeholder’ participation and support. This paper presents the preferences of residents of Malta for measures intended to protect Posidonia oceanica seagrasses and coralligenous formations from threats from the anchoring and mooring of vessels in an offshore MPA area. The results indicate that only the most modest of restrictions increase the economic welfare of residents as participants are, overall, against further restrictions to enter the MPA. Survey participants wish to see an increase in provisioning ecosystem services such as fish caught and increases in carbon sequestration and are willing to pay to secure such benefits. Respondents also appear to have individualistic and use-driven values as a result of interacting with the MPA while past experiences play an important role in preferences, with frequent visitors strongly objecting to further restrictions to entry. The good current condition of the seagrass beds might explain the rejection of stringent restrictions but fails to account for threats from climate change and projected increase in tourism vessels’ visits. Such findings make co-operation and appropriate communication of threats and policies for management of marine resources through MPAs to the public more imperative

Supplementary Medial Locking Plate Fixation Of Ludloff Osteotomy versus Sole Lag Screw Fixation: A Biomechanical evaluation

Background: The Ludloff oblique osteotomy is inherently unstable, which might lead to delayed union and loss of correction. Supplementary fixation to two lag screw fixation has been proposed. The hypothesis is that the osteotomy fixation constructs supplemented by a mini locking plate provide greater resistance to osteotomy gaping and loss of angular correction in response to cyclic loading. Methods: Twenty fourth generation composite 1st metatarsals were used and underwent a Ludloff osteotomy. They were divided in two fixation groups: two lag screws (Group A), and with a supplementary mini locking plate (Group B). Specimens were subjected to either monotonic loading up to failure or to fatigue (cyclic) tests and tracked using an optical system for 3D Digital Image Correlation. Findings: The osteotomy gap increased in size under maximum loading and was significantly greater in Group A throughout the test. This increase was observed very early in the loading process (within the first 1000 cycles). The most important finding though, was that with the specimens completely unloaded the residual gap increase was significantly greater in Group A after only 5000 cycles of loading up to the completion of the test. The lateral angle change under maximum loading was also significantly greater in Group A throughout the test, with that increase observed early in the loading process (5000 cycles). With the specimens completely unloaded the residual lateral angle change was also significantly greater in Group A at the completion of the test. Interpretation: Supplementary fixation with a mini locking plate of the Ludloff osteotomy provided greater resistance to osteotomy gaping and loss of angular correction compared to sole lag screws, in response to cyclic loading

A window into land managers’ preferences for new forms of agri-environmental schemes: Evidence from a post-Brexit analysis

Securing the provision of environmental public goods from agriculture is central to addressing the critical challenge of ensuring global food security while halting ecosystem degradation. Agri-environment schemes (AES) are considered to have a key role to play in supporting the transition to more sustainable ways of producing food. Existing evidence suggests that farmers are generally willing to enrol in AES for the delivery of environmental features, but robust policy support requires further exploration of land managers’ preferences and how these interplay with contract features to achieve higher environmental targets. We undertook a discrete choice experiment with land managers in post-Brexit UK, with what can be considered a ‘benchmark’ sample of younger AES-inclined land managers. This provides a window into the future of the UK farming landscape, but also, given the revision of the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy and other international discussions, it also provides insights into land managers’ preferences for new contract features more widely. Our results suggest that (such type of) land managers are likely to be receptive to a transition to result-based, collaborative schemes supporting landscape-wide interventions in alignment with net zero agendas. These interventions could be done in exchange for levels of compensation similar to current levels. While this raises promise, our results also emphasize challenges, particularly to attract those less generally AES-prone land managers. Payments levels probably need to remain close to the current ones (not lower), farmers’ awareness and support for net-zero agendas need to be reinforced and more interaction between land managers and policy makers will be needed

The economic impacts of ocean acidification on shellfish fisheries and aquaculture in the United Kingdom

Ocean acidification may pose a major threat to commercial fisheries, especially those for calcifying shellfish species. This study was undertaken to estimate the potential economic costs resulting from ocean acidification on UK wild capture and aquaculture shellfish production. Applying the net present value (NPV) and partial equilibrium (PE) models, we estimate both direct and economy-wide economic losses of shellfish production by 2100. Estimates using the NPV method show that the direct potential losses due to reduced shellfish production range from 14% to 28% of fishery NPV. This equates to annual economic losses of between o3 and o6 billion of the UK's GDP in 2013, for medium and high emission scenarios. Results using the PE model showed the total loss to the UK economy from shellfish production and consumption ranging from o23-o88 million. The results from both the direct valuation and predicted estimate for the economic losses on shellfish harvest indicate that there are regional variations due to different patterns of shellfish wild-capture and aquaculture, and the exploitation of species with differing sensitivities to ocean acidification. These results suggest that the potential economic losses vary depending on the chosen valuation method. This analysis is also partial as it did not include a wider group of species in early-life-stages or predator-prey effects. Nevertheless, findings show that the economic losses to the UK and its devolved administrations due to ocean acidification could be substantial. We conclude that addressing ocean acidification with the aim of preserving commercially valuable shellfish resources will require regional, national or international solutions using a combined approach to reduce atmospheric CO2 emissions and shift in focus to exploit species that are less vulnerable to ocean acidification

False positive and false negative errors in the design and implementation of agri-environmental policies: a case study on water quality and agricultural nutrients

When designing and implementing agri-environmental policies to reduce nutrient loss, action programmes may falsely address areas where the nutrient issue from agricultural activity is not currently important and is not likely to become so in the future (a false positive), or may fail to address areas where the agricultural nutrient issue is currently important or may likely become so in the future (a false negative). Based on a case study of the Louros watershed in Greece, this work identifies database and modelling sources of false positives and negatives and proposes a decision making process aimed at minimizing the possibility of committing such errors. The baseline is well simulated and shows that the Louro’s watershed falls behind a Good Environmental Status, at least marginally. Simulated mitigation measures show that the river’s status can be upgraded to “Good”, at least as concerns nitrates and ammonium. Simulated climate change does not seem to exert an important positive or negative effect. Land use changes forecasting considerably less cultivated area have a significant effect on Total Phosphorous but not on nitrates or ammonium concentrations. The non-linearity between nutrient disposition (inputs) and nutrient concentration in downstream water bodies (output) and the many factors that affect the nutrient disposition-transportation-concentration chain, highlights the importance of simulating the effects of mitigation actions and of future climate and land use changes before adopting and establishing agri-environmental measures

Sarcopenic Obesity in Individuals With Neurodisabilities: The SarcObeNDS Study.

IntroductionPatients with neurodisabilities (NDS) are prone to alterations in body composition. Sarcopenic obesity (SO) is a condition characterized by increased adipose tissue accompanied by sarcopenia. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of SO in patients with NDS, including stroke, spinal cord, and traumatic brain injuries.MethodsThe study Sarcopenic Obesity in NeuroDisabled Subjects (acronym: SarcObeNDS) was a cross-sectional study of hospitalized patients (n = 82) and healthy controls (n = 32) with a mean age of 60.00 ± 14.22 years old. SO and sarcopenia were assessed through total body fat % (TBF %), fat mass index (fat mass to height2: FMI = FM/h2; kg/m2), and skeletal muscle index (appendicular skeletal muscle to height2: SMI = ASM/h2; kg/m2) via full-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). This study was registered in the international database ClinicalTrials.gov with the unique identification number NCT03863379.ResultsA statistically significant difference was found in SMI (7.18 ± 0.95 vs. 6.00 ± 1.13 kg/m2, p p = 0.783) and FMI (p = 0.143) between groups. The results remained the same after controlling the results for gender and BMI. A strong positive correlation was demonstrated between BMI and TBF for the total population (r = 0.616, p r = 0.616, p r = 0.728, p ConclusionIn summary, we observed significantly lower BMI and SMI scores in both genders compared to healthy controls. At the clinical level, a timely diagnosis and rapid treatment of sarcopenia and/or obesity in this population may prevent further metabolic repercussions accompanied by higher functional decline and lower quality of life