Sediment budget and source in the catchment of the River Rother, West Sussex

The purpose of the study was to undertake a quantitative assessment of the proportions of river sediment derived from the various rock types within the catchment.b) to determine the rate of removal of sediment from the catchment.The former purpose involved the determination of the mineralogy of source rocks, soils, alluvium and sediment by X.R.D. and heavy mineral analysis. The data indicate that each source rock has a characteristic mineralogy, but that this is not sufficiently variable for a quantitative assessment of proportions of sediment from each source rock to be determined. Certain conclusions, however, are drawn from the data, including a tentative formation, by sorting on a basis of specific gravity, of heavy mineral assemblage zones in channel sediment, that are probably indicative of areas of aggradation and degradation.To determine the rate of sediment loss from the catchment, the dissolved load, the suspended load and thebed load were investigated. The dissolved load includes Ca2+ and HCO3 formed from the solution of Chalk, anderosion rates of CaCO3 have been estimated at approximately 39.8 tonnes/km. 2/year.Suspended sediment concentrations were determined for samples collected from a variety of stations during a variety of flow conditions. An estimated 2,182 tonnes of suspended sediment was lost from the catchment in 1972 , of which 1,720 tonnes was non-organic. The data indicate that the frequency and duration of storm events is a major controlling factor for suspended sediment concentration. Pates of bed load movement were determined using fluorescent sand tracers for two stretches of the Pother and a relationship between grain size, river discharge and sediment loss is presented for each. Modifications of techniques and methodology for use of fluorescent tracers are suggested and the data indicate the probability of aggradation of sizes of medium sand and larger between the two experimental stretches.<p

Assessing societal vulnerability of U.S. Pacific Northwest communities to storm induced coastal change

Progressive increases in storm intensities and extreme wave heights have been documented along the U.S. West Coast. Paired with global sea level rise and the potential for an increase in El Niño occurrences, these trends have substantial implications for the vulnerability of coastal communities to natural coastal hazards. Community vulnerability to hazards is characterized by the exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of human-environmental systems that influence potential impacts. To demonstrate how societal vulnerability to coastal hazards varies with both physical and social factors, we compared community exposure and sensitivity to storm-induced coastal change scenarios in Tillamook (Oregon) and Pacific (Washington) Counties. While both are backed by low-lying coastal dunes, communities in these two counties have experienced different shoreline change histories and have chosen to use the adjacent land in different ways. Therefore, community vulnerability varies significantly between the two counties. Identifying the reasons for this variability can help land-use managers make decisions to increase community resilience and reduce vulnerability in spite of a changing climate. (PDF contains 4 pages

Long-term condition management in adults with intellectual disability in primary care: a systematic review

Background: Adults with intellectual disabilities have higher morbidity and earlier mortality than the general population. Access to primary health care is lower, despite a higher prevalence of many long-term conditions. Aim: To synthesise the evidence for the management of long-term conditions in adults with intellectual disabilities and identify barriers and facilitators to management in primary care. Design &amp; setting: Mixed-methods systematic review. Method: Seven electronic databases were searched to identify both quantitative and qualitative studies concerning identification and management of long-term conditions in adults with intellectual disability in primary care. Both the screening of titles, abstracts, and full texts, and the quality assessment were carried out in duplicate. Findings were combined in a narrative synthesis. Results: Fifty-two studies were identified. Adults with intellectual disabilities are less likely than the general population to receive screening and health promotion interventions. Annual health checks may improve screening, identification of health needs, and management of long-term conditions. Health checks have been implemented in various primary care contexts, but the long-term impact on outcomes has not been investigated. Qualitative findings highlighted barriers and facilitators to primary care access, communication, and disease management. Accounts of experiences of adults with intellectual disabilities reveal a dilemma between promoting self-care and ensuring access to services, while avoiding paternalistic care. Conclusion: Adults with intellectual disabilities face numerous barriers to managing long-term conditions. Reasonable adjustments, based on the experience of adults with intellectual disability, in addition to intervention such as health checks, may improve access and management, but longer-term evaluation of their effectiveness is required

Have we been overestimating fall rates in Parkinson’s disease?

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137450/1/mds26994.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137450/2/mds26994_am.pd

Pedagogic inclusion in professional education : challenges and possibilities?

This thesis describes a qualitative, interview-based case study of the experiences of\ud adult female learners accessing/reaccessing Higher Education following a Widening\ud Participation (WP) route on a part-time Physiotherapy undergraduate course and\ud an accelerated Masters course in Occupational Therapy at a single HEI. The\ud research questioned student and staff perceptions of and attitudes to study, and to\ud what extent the HEI had adapted its pedagogic approaches to accommodate\ud student learning preferences. Data are drawn from discussions with sixteen\ud participants, comprising four students and four tutors on each course.\ud The research outcomes revealed a tension between the tutors' theoretically and\ud ideologically driven views on teaching and learning, which included responding to\ud diverse student needs, and the more pragmatic orientations of the students and\ud their tutors. These were underpinned in the students' case by the financial need to\ud gain a qualification in spite of the constraints of time and family life, and on the\ud tutors' and institution's part by the need to attract student numbers and to meet\ud completion targets in spite of shortages of time, staffing and space. Analysis of the\ud responses of students and tutors draws on Bernstein's theory of\ud recontextualisation, in which ideas such as WP undergo significant transformations\ud first in the official policy process then when they are put into practice. The study\ud also draws on Bernstein's account of pedagogic identities, which describe how\ud teachers and institutions negotiate teaching and learning processes within the\ud competing demands of market forces, mandated policy and their own local\ud ideologies and circumstances. In its exploration of the meaning of WP and its\ud underpinning rationales, the research suggests that the pragmatic approach of the\ud institution has the effect of widening access in terms of course eligibility but failing\ud to offer correspondingly inclusive pedagogies, more flexible curricula, or adequate\ud student support services

A logistical perspective on the potential for modal shift of freight from road to rail in Great Britain

Freight modal shift from road to rail is a potential means by which the negative environmental and social impacts of transport can be reduced. This paper explores recent supply chain changes and assesses their impacts on the mode choice decision-making process, specifically addressing the implications for the use of rail. Despite many of the identified changes effectively making the use of rail more difficult, considerable evidence has been found of the potential for rail to attract new traffic. Much of the identified potential is unlikely to materialise, however, without improvements in rail network capability and capacity and a greater customer focus from rail freight operators

Effect of Fluorine on Near-Liquidus Phase Equilibria of Basalts

Volatile species such as H2O, CO2, F, and Cl have significant impact in generation and differentiation of basaltic melts. Thus far experimental work has primarily focused on the effect of water and carbon dioxide on basalt crystallization, liquid-line of descent, and mantle melting [e.g., 1, 2] and the effects of halogens have received far less attention [3-4]. However, melts in the planetary interiors can have non-negligible chlorine and fluorine concentrations. Here, we explore the effects of fluorine on near-liquidus phase equilibria of basalt. We have conducted nominally anhydrous piston cylinder experiments using graphite capsules at 0.6 - 1.5 GPa on an Fe-rich model basalt composition. 1.75 wt% fluorine was added to the starting mix in the form of AgF2. Fluorine in the experimental glass was measured by SIMS and major elements of glass and minerals were analyzed by EPMA. Nominally volatile free experiments yield a liquidus temperature from 1330 C at 0.8GPa to 1400 at 1.6GPa and an olivine(Fo72)-pyroxene(En68)-liquid multiple saturation point at 1.25 GPa and 1375 C. The F-bearing experiments yield a liquiudus temperature from 1260 C at 0.6GPa to 1305 at 1.5GPa and an ol(Fo66)-pyx(En64)-MSP at 1 GPa and 1260 C. This shows that F depresses the basalt liquidus, extends the pyroxene stability field to lower pressure, and forces the liquidus phases to be more Fe-rich. KD(Fe-Mg/mineral-melt) calculated for both pyroxenes and olivines show an increase with increasing F content of the melt. Therefore, we infer that F complexes with Mg in the melt and thus increases the melt s silica activity, depressing the liquidus and changing the composition of the crystallizing minerals. Our study demonstrates that on a weight percent basis, the effect of fluorine is similar to the effect of H2O [1] and Cl [3] on freezing point depression of basalts. But on an atomic fraction basis, the effect of F on liquidus depression of basalts is xxxx compared to the effect of H. Future studies on kimberlitic and subduction zone magmas, which could have significant amount of fluorine, will need to consider the combined effects of F, Cl, and H on their stability and chemical evolution

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of safflower and the efficient recovery of transgenic plants via grafting

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Safflower <it>(Carthamus tinctorius L.) </it>is a difficult crop to genetically transform being susceptible to hyperhydration and poor <it>in vitro </it>root formation. In addition to traditional uses safflower has recently emerged as a broadacre platform for the production of transgenic products including modified oils and pharmaceutically active proteins. Despite commercial activities based on the genetic modification of safflower, there is no method available in the public domain describing the transformation of safflower that generates transformed T₁progeny.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>An efficient and reproducible protocol has been developed with a transformation efficiency of 4.8% and 3.1% for S-317 (high oleic acid content) and WT (high linoleic acid content) genotypes respectively. An improved safflower transformation T-DNA vector was developed, including a secreted <it>GFP </it>to allow non-destructive assessment of transgenic shoots. Hyperhydration and necrosis of <it>Agrobacterium</it>-infected cotyledons was effectively controlled by using iota-carrageenan, L-cysteine and ascorbic acid. To overcome poor <it>in vitro </it>root formation for the first time a grafting method was developed for safflower in which ~50% of transgenic shoots develop into mature plants bearing viable transgenic T₁seed. The integration and expression of secreted <it>GFP </it>and hygromycin genes were confirmed by PCR, Southern and Western blot analysis. Southern blot analysis in nine independent lines indicated that 1-7 transgenes were inserted per line and T₁progeny displayed Mendelian inheritance.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This protocol demonstrates significant improvements in both the efficiency and ease of use over existing safflower transformation protocols. This is the first complete method of genetic transformation of safflower that generates stably-transformed plants and progeny, allowing this crop to benefit from modern molecular applications.</p

Development of large scale inland flood scenarios for disaster response planning based on spatial/temporal conditional probability analysis

Extreme event scenarios are useful for civil emergency services to help in developing contingency plans for responding effectively to major flooding incidents. In the UK, the official national risk register includes a scenario for inland flooding (from rivers and other sources), which is described in terms of a probability of occurrence over a five year period of between 1 in 200 and 1 in 20. This scenario was previously based on recent extreme floods, in conjunction with maps produced to aid in development planning on floodplains. At the time it was constructed, it was not feasible to assess scientifically the combined probability of a nationally-significant flood event of this type, therefore the scenario probability assessment was ambiguous. Recent developments in multivariate extreme value statistics now allow the probability of large scale flood events to be assessed with reference to hydrological summary statistics or impact metrics. Building on theory and pilot studies by Heffernan and Tawn [1], Lamb et al. [2] and Keef et al. [3], we describe the development of a set of national-scale scenarios based on a high-dimensional (ca. 1,100 locations) conditional probability analysis of extreme river flows and rainfall. The methodology provides a theoretically justified basis for extrapolation into the joint tail of the distribution of these variables, which is then used to simulate extreme events with associated probabilities. The probabilistic events are compared with current understanding of meteorological scenarios associated with significant, large-scale flooding in the UK, and with historical flooding, in order to identify plausible events that can inform national risk scenarios. Additionally, we combined scenarios of inland and coastal extremes that have been considered by linking the analysis discussed in this paper with methods presented in a companion paper by Wyncoll et al