The implications of improving the conservation value of field margins on crop production

The effect of field margin management on crop yield and weed biomass in the crop edge (headland) was investigated. Treatment did not have any significant effect on cereal yields, and taking a one metre strip out of crop production to establish a sterile, natural regeneration or sown strip, did not significantly reduce yields compared to cropping to the field edge. Conservation headlands generally contained greater amounts of weed biomass than fully sprayed headlands, but grain yields were not significantly reduced. Soil compaction affected yield in one of the field experiments, but not the other, where soil density values were fairly uniform. No relationship was found between fertiliser application and yield. In a survey of cereal headlands, distance from the field boundary was the most important factor affecting yield. Where yield increased with distance from the field boundary, there was a strong linear relationship with log distance (P<0.001). Weed dry matter was related to distance, and there was a significant relationship between weed dry matter and grain yield in the first year of the survey (p<0.001), but not in the second. Communities of herbaceous field margin species were established, and the effects of nitrogen fertiliser and sublethal glyphosate application were examined over two years. Cover abundance of grasses was greater than that of dicotyledonous species throughout. Bromus sterilis was the most abundant species in 1995, but by 1996 it had been replaced by Arrhenatherum elatius. Increasing fertiliser rate had a negative effect on total vegetation cover in 1995, due to individual plants lodging. During 1996, fertiliser application increased the cover abundance of the dominant perennial species A. e/atius (p<0.001), and also the annuals B. sterilis and Galium aparine (p<0.05). Sublethal doses of glyphosate significantly reduced total cover abundance (P<0.001), and had a greater effect on grasses compared to dicotyledonous species. Measurement of spray drift into a hedgerow showed that positioning the end of the tractormounted spray boom 2m or 6m away from the crop edge reduced drift into the hedgebottom compared with spraying up to the crop edge (P<0.001)

Peterborough Trades Union Council 1899-1979: A Forgotten Arena for Working Class Politics

Labour historians have only analysed trades union councils briefly. These encounters have rarely looked beyond high-profile events such as suspected communist infiltration in the early interwar and post-war periods and the 1926 General Strike, neglecting much of the significant work which trades councils have done. This kind of analysis has led academics to conclude that trades councils had three functions: industrial; political; and civic. But their work also suggested that these organisations did not make much of an impact in any of these areas during the twentieth century. This thesis will add to the scant literature on trades councils in the academic field by producing an intimate study of Peterborough Trades Union Council (PTUC) established in 1899. The study will assess PTUC’s industrial, political, and civic functions and establish the extent of delegates’ relationships with civic society and the working class. The research methodology was to use local newspapers which reported regularly on PTUC meetings throughout the period to provide analysis alongside PTUC documents. These documents included correspondence and annual reports from the TUC archives at the University of Warwick and London Metropolitan University and meeting minutes from the trades council’s archive at Peterborough Archive Service. These documents were used to demonstrate the variety of activities which PTUC took part in between 1899 and 1979. The research found that PTUC started its transition to a civic body in 1914 and by the late 1920s industrial and political functions no longer feature much in the trades council’s activities. It concluded that trades councils provided a useful link between the working class and civic leaders which put them in a unique position in local society

Genomic analysis of shifts in life history traits in the Trinidadian guppy, Poecilia reticulata

It is widely accepted that size selective mortality induced by commercial fishing can and does cause changes in life history traits that include shifts in maturation age, growth rate and body size. However, whether these changes are the result of fisheries induced evolution (genetic change) or phenotypic plasticity is still unclear. Moreover, where evolution is rapid, epigenetic or regulatory change has also been found to drive major shifts in life history change. To examine the genetic and phenotypic response to size selective harvesting, a previous study (van Wijk 2011a) subjected guppies to divergent size-specific selection. Following selection, a significant difference in both body size and age at maturation was identified as well as signatures of selection at five candidate loci. The project described here utilised these selection lines to examine the genome wide factors contributing to such life history shifts. To assess the genome wide response to size selective harvesting, RAD sequencing was employed to identify and type large numbers of SNPs in individuals from the selection lines, as well as individuals from the generation prior to selection. Significant and consistent signs of selection were identified at 37 SNPs, the majority of which were located on the sex chromosome. The results showed that, in addition to previously observed genetic change, additional regions of the guppy genome responded to, and were associated with, observed phenotypic shifts. Variation in the level of predation in wild populations creates variation in life history traits similar to those seen after size selective harvesting. We therefore examined the 37 SNPs identified by the RAD sequencing of the selected lines in 18 populations of wild guppy. No consistent signs of selection were identified in these wild populations, suggesting that the genetic architecture underpinning variation in life history traits in the guppy varies in different populations. To determine the role of epigenetic change the focus has been on DNA methylation. In order to assess the levels of DNA methylation a technique known as methylation sensitive AFLP has been used. Using this technique, comparisons of the level of DNA methylation between both the selection lines and the before and after selection fish were made as well as comparisons in the levels of DNA methylation between a range of tissue types from the guppy. Results showed that patterns of DNA methylation differ significantly between different tissues in the guppy. Genome wide patterns of genome wide methylation did not differ significantly between the selection lines, however locus-specific variation in DNA methylation was identified

Increasing Paper and Cardboard Collection for Recycling in Copenhagen, Denmark

In light of Denmark’s goal of increasing municipal recycling rates to 50% by the year 2022, the purpose of this project was to assist the Danish Waste Association in increasing household paper and cardboard collection. To achieve our goal, we analyzed information collected from research, interviews, and on- site visits. By speaking with multinational stakeholders and some of the country’s largest waste management companies, we found the impacts that specific collection methods have on recycling, including the collection of mixed paper and cardboard, used beverage cartons, and contaminated cardboard. Finally, we developed three decision matrices which will aid municipalities in increasing their collection and recycling rates

What makes palliative care needs “complex”?:a multisite sequential explanatory mixed methods study of patients referred for specialist palliative care

Background: Specialist palliative care (SPC) providers tend to use the term ‘complex’ to refer to the needs of patients who require SPC. However, little is known about complex needs on first referral to a SPC service. We examined which needs are present and sought the perspectives of healthcare professionals on the complexity of need on referral to a hospice service. Methods: Multi-site sequential explanatory mixed method study consisting of a case-note review and focus groups with healthcare professionals in four UK hospices. Results: Documentation relating to 239 new patient referrals to hospice was reviewed; and focus groups involving 22 healthcare professionals conducted. Most patients had two or more needs documented on referral (96%); and needs were recorded across two or more domains for 62%. Physical needs were recorded for 91% of patients; psychological needs were recorded for 59%. Spiritual needs were rarely documented. Referral forms were considered limited for capturing complex needs. Referrals were perceived to be influenced by the experience and confidence of the referrer and the local resource available to meet palliative care needs directly. Conclusions: Complexity was hard to detail or to objectively define on referral documentation alone. It appeared to be a term used to describe patients whom primary or secondary care providers felt needed SPC knowledge or support to meet their needs. Hospices need to provide greater clarity regarding who should be referred, when and for what purpose. Education and training in palliative care for primary care nurses and doctors and hospital clinicians could reduce the need for referral and help ensure that hospices are available to those most in need of SPC input

Key Strategies for First-Time Interprofessional Teachers and those Developing New Interprofessional Education Programs

Background: Evidence that interprofessional education (IPE) leads to better teamwork and improved interprofessional collaboration has created a drive to establish pre-registration IPE health science and social care programs. Yet there is limited guidance available for teachers new to IPE.Objectives: To provide first-time teachers practical strategies to undertake IPE.Methods: Strategies developed from experience.Findings: First-time IPE teachers should: try to join an existing IPE team; observe and collaborate with experienced IPE teachers; contribute to the development of new IPE programs; seek institutional support; undertake IPE evaluation and research; and gain high-level institutional endorsement.Conclusions: Six strategies are designed to overcome commonly recognized problemsand enable first-time teachers to more confidently develop or engage in IPE,thus supporting students to attain skills in interprofessional collaboration

An integrated clinical program and crowdsourcing strategy for genomic sequencing and Mendelian disease gene discovery.

Despite major progress in defining the genetic basis of Mendelian disorders, the molecular etiology of many cases remains unknown. Patients with these undiagnosed disorders often have complex presentations and require treatment by multiple health care specialists. Here, we describe an integrated clinical diagnostic and research program using whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing (WES/WGS) for Mendelian disease gene discovery. This program employs specific case ascertainment parameters, a WES/WGS computational analysis pipeline that is optimized for Mendelian disease gene discovery with variant callers tuned to specific inheritance modes, an interdisciplinary crowdsourcing strategy for genomic sequence analysis, matchmaking for additional cases, and integration of the findings regarding gene causality with the clinical management plan. The interdisciplinary gene discovery team includes clinical, computational, and experimental biomedical specialists who interact to identify the genetic etiology of the disease, and when so warranted, to devise improved or novel treatments for affected patients. This program effectively integrates the clinical and research missions of an academic medical center and affords both diagnostic and therapeutic options for patients suffering from genetic disease. It may therefore be germane to other academic medical institutions engaged in implementing genomic medicine programs

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Creative Practice as Research: Discourse on Methodology

In recent years artistic practice has developed into a major focus of research activity, both as process and product, and discourse in various disciplines have made a strong case for its validity as a method of studying art and the practice of art. This paper presents a methodological approach to creative practice as research, and includes an overview of the different types of practice-related research currently undertaken across a variety of disciplines; discussion of the purposes and applications of creative practice research; and the Practitioner Model of Creative Cognition sample methodology I developed through my own creative practice research. The online version of this paper is a living discussion of practice-based methodologies in creative practice research, included as part of the special issue The Disrupted Journal of Media Practice, and invites reader contributions and discussion for future revisions