How scalable is sustainable intensification?

Sustainable intensification is a concept of growing importance, yet it is in danger of becoming scientifically obsolete because of the diversity of meanings it has acquired. To avoid this, it is important to consider the various scales on which it can aid progress towards feeding human populations while also protecting our environment

"The good guys are doing it anyway": the accommodation of environmental concern among English and Welsh farmers

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from SAGE Publications via the DOI in this record.Farmers today are increasingly facing pressure from policy and market forces to improve their environmental performance. Yet – despite widespread recognition of the negative externalities of agriculture on a national and global scale - many farmers would argue that, as ‘custodians of the countryside’ they have always respected and cared for the local environment, and play a central role in creating and maintaining the countryside as we know it today. In this paper, we use evidence emerging from research with farmers across England and Wales to explore farmer accounts of environmental concern and action in the context of both traditional farming values and contemporary imperatives. We draw particularly on scholarly work around constructs of ‘good farming’ to consider the extent to which environmental concern has been accommodated within a wide range of farming contexts across England and Wales. Our findings highlight an intrinsic sense of care towards the environment among farmers and reveal how environmental management has in many ways become an integral part of farming discourse; recognised as synergistic with personal and business goals concerning i) personal respect for the environment and conservation; ii) countryside custodianship; iii) farm legacy and succession; iv) ‘good’ agricultural practice and compliance with regulation; and/or v) financial profitability. We discuss some of the issues arising from our findings and offer our thoughts on implications for efforts to encourage farmers to carry out environmentally beneficial activities. Whilst expressions of environmental concern do not necessarily equate to effective action on the ground, recognising that many farmers believe environmental management to be part of good farming practice provides a more positive foundation for engaging with them on this topic than assuming they need to be cajoled into action.The research on which this paper is based was funded as part of Defra’s Sustainable Intensification Research Platform (Project LM0302)

Surgical and conservative treatment of patients with congenital scoliosis: α search for long-term results

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In view of the limited data available on the conservative treatment of patients with congenital scoliosis (CS), early surgery is suggested in mild cases with formation failures. Patients with segmentation failures will not benefit from conservative treatment. The purpose of this review is to identify the mid- or long-term results of spinal fusion surgery in patients with congenital scoliosis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Retrospective and prospective studies were included, reporting on the outcome of surgery in patients with congenital scoliosis. Studies concerning a small numbers of cases treated conservatively were included too. We analyzed mid-term (5 to 7 years) and long-term results (7 years or more), both as regards the maintenance of the correction of scoliosis and the safety of instrumentation, the early and late complications of surgery and their effect on quality of life.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A small number of studies of surgically treated patients were found, contained follow-up periods of 4-6 years that in the most cases, skeletal maturity was not yet reached, and few with follow-up of 36-44 years. The results of bracing in children with congenital scoliosis, mainly in cases with failure of formation, were also studied.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Spinal surgery in patients with congenital scoliosis is regarded in short as a safe procedure and should be performed. On the other hand, early and late complications are also described, concerning not only intraoperative and immediate postoperative problems, but also the safety and efficacy of the spinal instrumentation and the possibility of developing neurological disorders and the long-term effect these may have on both lung function and the quality of life of children.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Few cases indicate the long-term results of surgical techniques, in the natural progression of scoliosis. Similarly, few cases have been reported on the influence of conservative treatment.</p> <p>In conclusion, patients with segmentation failures should be treated surgically early, according to the rate of deformity formation and certainly before the pubertal growth spurt to try to avoid cor- pulmonale, even though there is lack of evidence for that in the long-term. Furthermore, in patients with formation failures, further investigation is needed to document where a conservative approach would be necessary.</p

Structural basis for the RING catalyzed synthesis of K63 linked ubiquitin chains

This work was supported by grants from Cancer Research UK (C434/A13067), the Wellcome Trust (098391/Z/12/Z) and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/J016004/1).The RING E3 ligase catalysed formation of lysine 63 linked ubiquitin chains by the Ube2V2–Ubc13 E2 complex is required for many important biological processes. Here we report the structure of the RING domain dimer of rat RNF4 in complex with a human Ubc13~Ub conjugate and Ube2V2. The structure has captured Ube2V2 bound to the acceptor (priming) ubiquitin with Lys63 in a position that could lead to attack on the linkage between the donor (second) ubiquitin and Ubc13 that is held in the active “folded back” conformation by the RING domain of RNF4. The interfaces identified in the structure were verified by in vitro ubiquitination assays of site directed mutants. This represents the first view of the synthesis of Lys63 linked ubiquitin chains in which both substrate ubiquitin and ubiquitin-loaded E2 are juxtaposed to allow E3 ligase mediated catalysis.PostprintPeer reviewe

The effects of glare and inhomogeneous visual fields on contrast detection in the context of driving

An experiment was carried out to investigate how contrast threshold for target detection is affected by the presence of glare and by extraneous light sources using the method of ascending limits. The target was located at either a foveal or a peripheral (10° right) location, glare was adjacent to the foveal location, simulating the headlamps of an oncoming vehicle, and extraneous light sources were at either foveal or peripheral (10° right or left) locations. Contrast threshold for a foveal target without glare was affected mainly by the surrounding local luminance distribution. However, in the presence of glare and also for the peripheral target (both with and without glare) the global luminance distribution matters. Glare increased the contrast needed for detection of the foveal target, but this effect was reduced by the presence of extraneous light sources that were peripheral to the target. For peripheral targets, contrast threshold was also reduced by the presence of extraneous light at a non-target location and this effect was increased in the presence of glare. Glare equations tend to be based on tests using uniform, homogenous fields: these data indicate that, in the presence of extraneous light sources, the influence of glare is over-estimated

Pharmacokinetic role of protein binding of mycophenolic acid and its glucuronide metabolite in renal transplant recipients

Mycophenolic acid (MPA), the active compound of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), is used to prevent graft rejection in renal transplant recipients. MPA is glucuronidated to the metabolite MPAG, which exhibits enterohepatic recirculation (EHC). MPA binds for 97% and MPAG binds for 82% to plasma proteins. Low plasma albumin concentrations, impaired renal function and coadministration of cyclosporine have been reported to be associated with increased clearance of MPA. The aim of the study was to develop a population pharmacokinetic model describing the relationship between MMF dose and total MPA (tMPA), unbound MPA (fMPA), total MPAG (tMPAG) and unbound MPAG (fMPAG). In this model the correlation between pharmacokinetic parameters and renal function, plasma albumin concentrations and cotreatment with cyclosporine was quantified. tMPA, fMPA, tMPAG and fMPAG concentration–time profiles of renal transplant recipients cotreated with cyclosporine (n = 48) and tacrolimus (n = 45) were analyzed using NONMEM. A 2- and 1-compartment model were used to describe the pharmacokinetics of fMPA and fMPAG. The central compartments of fMPA and fMPAG were connected with an albumin compartment allowing competitive binding (bMPA and bMPAG). tMPA and tMPAG were modeled as the sum of the bound and unbound concentrations. EHC was modeled by transport of fMPAG to a separate gallbladder compartment. This transport was decreased in case of cyclosporine cotreatment (P < 0.001). In the model, clearance of fMPAG decreased when creatinine clearance (CrCL) was reduced (P < 0.001), and albumin concentration was correlated with the maximum number of binding sites available for MPA and MPAG (P < 0.001). In patients with impaired renal function cotreated with cyclosporine the model adequately described that increasing fMPAG concentrations decreased tMPA AUC due to displacement of MPA from its binding sites. The accumulated MPAG could also be reconverted to MPA by the EHC, which caused increased tMPA AUC in patients cotreated with tacrolimus. Changes in CrCL had hardly any effect on fMPA exposure. A decrease in plasma albumin concentration from 0.6 to 0.4 mmol/l resulted in ca. 38% reduction of tMPA AUC, whereas no reduction in fMPA AUC was seen. In conclusion, a pharmacokinetic model has been developed which describes the relationship between dose and both total and free MPA exposure. The model adequately describes the influence of renal function, plasma albumin and cyclosporine co-medication on MPA exposure. Changes in protein binding due to altered renal function or plasma albumin concentrations influence tMPA exposure, whereas fMPA exposure is hardly affected

Shunting operations at flat yards : retrieving freight railcars from storage tracks

In this paper, we study the railcar retrieval problem (RRT) where specified numbers of certain types of railcars have to be withdrawn from the storage tracks of a flat yard. This task arises in the daily operations of workshop yards for railcar maintenance. The objective is to minimize the total cost of shunting via methods such as minimizing the usage of shunting engines. We describe the RRT formally, present a mixed-integer program formulation, and prove the general case to be NP-hard. For some special cases, exact algorithms with polynomial runtimes are proposed. We also analyze several intuitive heuristic solution approaches motivated by observed real-world planning routines. We evaluate their average performances in simulations with different scenarios and provide their worst-case performance guarantee. We show that although the analyzed heuristics result in much better solutions than the naive planning approach, they are still on average 30%-50% from the optimal objective value and may result in up to 14 times higher costs in the worst case. Therefore, we conclude that optimization should be implemented in practice in order to save valuable resources. Furthermore, we analyze the impacts of yard layout and the widespread organizational routine of presorting on the railcar retrieval cost

Variation in the Meaning of Alarm Calls in Verreaux’s and Coquerel’s Sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi, P. coquereli)

The comprehension and usage of primate alarm calls appear to be influenced by social learning. Thus, alarm calls provide flexible behavioral mechanisms that may allow animals to develop appropriate responses to locally present predators. To study this potential flexibility, we compared the usage and function of 3 alarm calls common to 2 closely related sifaka species (Propithecus verreauxi and P. coquereli), in each of 2 different populations with different sets of predators. Playback studies revealed that both species in both of their respective populations emitted roaring barks in response to raptors, and playbacks of this call elicited a specific anti-raptor response (look up and climb down). However, in Verreaux’s sifakas, tchi-faks elicited anti-terrestrial predator responses (look down, climb up) in the population with a higher potential predation threat by terrestrial predators, whereas tchi-faks in the other population were associated with nonspecific flight responses. In both populations of Coquerel’s sifakas, tchi-fak playbacks elicited anti-terrestrial predator responses. More strikingly, Verreaux’s sifakas exhibited anti-terrestrial predator responses after playbacks of growls in the population with a higher threat of predation by terrestrial predators, whereas Coquerel’s sifakas in the raptor-dominated habitat seemed to associate growls with a threat by raptors; the 2 other populations of each species associated a mild disturbance with growls. We interpret this differential comprehension and usage of alarm calls as the result of social learning processes that caused changes in signal content in response to changes in the set of predators to which these populations have been exposed since they last shared a common ancestor

Consequentialism and Virtue

We examine the following consequentialist view of virtue: a trait is a virtue if and only if it has good consequences in some relevant way. We highlight some motivations for this basic account, and offer twelve choice points for filling it out. Next, we explicate Julia Driver’s consequentialist view of virtue in reference to these choice points, and we canvass its merits and demerits. Subsequently, we consider three suggestions that aim to increase the plausibility of her position, and critically analyze them. We conclude that one of those proposed revisions would improve her account. NOTE: I will self-archive the paper after the 24 month embargo period ends. If you want a copy, just email me