UCL (University College London) Libraries Masterplan: Masterplanning Report

BDP were appointed to undertake a Masterplan for the UCL Main Library and the UCL Science Library and to identify how these buildings could be re-ordered to significantly improve the quality of the library environment and to facilitate the delivery of library services. An initial brief was agreed with UCL’s Estates Management Committee and a Masterplan Steering Group established including academic representatives, library staff and design consultants. To inform the development of this brief, UCL Library Services undertook a number of consultation exercises with users of the Library; students, academic staff and external users, together with Library staff. A number of visits to exemplar library buildings in the UK and continental Europe were also undertaken to inform the development of options for the buildings. Following the development and review of initial options for both the Main Library and Science Library, it was agreed a further, hypothetical New Build Central Library Option should be reviewed, to accommodate a relocated and consolidated library service encompassing 7 of the 16 existing libraries currently distributed across the UCL Estate

UCL (University College London) Libraries Masterplan: Library Report to Estates Management Committee January 2008

This document is a Report from UCL Library Services to UCL on Master Planning activities and outputs which have been undertaken to quantify use and development of estate in UCL Library Services. Prioritised options have been identified for the UCL Main and Science Libraries, and for a new central site option. This work has also addressed the needs of UCL for long-term offsite storage, which concludes that UCL needs to retain its facility at Wickford for at least the next ten years

The CLAG Nitrogen Network: data report

This report aims to provide a summary of the data collected under the DETR critical loads for freshwaters programme at a network of upland freshwater sites in Great Britain, the CLAG Nitrogen Network. No interpretation of the data is provided here: this report is intended to be used for data reference purposes only. Previous and planned applications of the data are detailed below

Modifications of Gait as Predictors of Natural Osteoarthritis Progression in STR/Ort Mice

OBJECTIVE: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common chronic disease for which disease-modifying therapies are not currently available. Studies to seek new targets for slowing the progress of OA rely on mouse models, but these do not allow for longitudinal monitoring of disease development. This study was undertaken to determine whether gait can be used to measure disease severity in the STR/Ort mouse model of spontaneous OA and whether gait changes are related to OA joint pain. METHODS: Gait was monitored using a treadmill-based video system. Correlations between OA severity and gait at 3 treadmill speeds were assessed in STR/Ort mice. Gait and pain behaviors of STR/Ort mice and control CBA mice were analyzed longitudinally, with monthly assessments. RESULTS: The best speed to identify paw area changes associated with OA severity in STR/Ort mice was found to be 17 cm · seconds(−1). Paw area was modified with age in CBA and STR/Ort mice, but this began earlier in STR/Ort mice and correlated with the onset of OA at 20 weeks of age. In addition, task noncompliance appeared at 20 weeks. Surprisingly, STR/Ort mice did not show any signs of pain with OA development, even when treated with the opioid antagonist naloxone, but did exhibit normal pain behaviors in response to complete Freund's adjuvant–induced arthritis. CONCLUSION: The present results identify an animal model in which OA severity and OA pain can be studied in isolation from one another. The findings suggest that paw area and treadmill noncompliance may be useful tools to longitudinally monitor nonpainful OA development in STR/Ort mice. This will help in providing a noninvasive means of assessing new therapies to slow the progression of OA

Prevalence, patterns, and predictors of patient-reported non-motor outcomes at 30 days after acute stroke: prospective observational hospital cohort study

Background: Adverse non-motor outcomes are common after acute stroke and likely to substantially affect quality of life, yet few studies have comprehensively assessed their prevalence, patterns, and predictors across multiple health domains.// Aims: We aim to identify the prevalence, patterns and the factors associated with non-motor outcomes 30 days after stroke.// Methods: This prospective observational hospital cohort study (Stroke Investigation in North and Central London (SIGNAL) identified patients with acute ischaemic stroke or intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) admitted to the Hyperacute Stroke Unit (HASU) University College Hospital (UCH), London, between August 1st 2018 and August 31st 2019. We assessed non-motor outcomes (anxiety, depression, fatigue, sleep, participation in social roles and activities, pain, bowel, and bladder function) at 30-day follow-up using the Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System-Version 29 (PROMIS-29) scale and Barthel Index scale.// Results: We obtained follow-up data for 605/719 (84.1%) eligible patients (mean age 72.0 years; 48.3% female; 521 with ischaemic stroke, 84 with ICH). Anxiety (57.0%), fatigue (52.7%), bladder dysfunction (50.2%), reduced social participation (49.2%), and pain (47.9%) were the commonest adverse non-motor outcomes. The rates of adverse non-motor outcomes in ≥1, ≥2 and ≥3 domains were 89%, 66.3% and 45.8%, respectively; in adjusted analyses, stroke due to ICH (compared to ischaemic stroke) and admission stroke severity were the strongest and most consistent predictors. There were significant correlations between; bowel dysfunction and bladder dysfunction (κ= 0.908); reduced social participation and bladder dysfunction (κ= 0.844); and anxiety and fatigue (κ= 0.613). We did not identify correlation for other pairs of non-motor domains.// Conclusions: Adverse non-motor outcomes are very common at one month after stroke, affecting nearly 90% of evaluated patients in at least one health domain, about two-thirds in two or more domains, and almost 50% in three or more domains. Stroke due to ICH and admission stroke severity were the strongest and most consistent predictors. Adverse outcomes occur in pairs of domains such as with anxiety and fatigue.Our findings emphasise the importance of a multi-domain approach to effectively identify adverse non-motor outcomes after stroke to inform the development of more holistic patient recovery programs

Establishing a monitoring programme for the Allt a’Mharcaidh river restoration project: Monitoring sites and initial surveys

The Allt a’Mharcaidh is a stream located on the western side of the Cairngorm Mountains, Scotland. The catchment rises to 1111m above sea level (ECN, 2015) and drains via the River Feshie to the River Spey. Although originally naturally meandering, a stream section of approximately 1150m was artificially straightened in the early1800s (Henderson, 2014) to power saw-mills on the River Feshie and to ease the floating of timber downstream. Despite changes in ownership and catchment land-use over the intervening two centuries, this section of the Mharcaidh has remained straightened. In 2014, a restoration programme for the site was initiated with several objectives (Henderson, 2014) including: 1. enhancing sediment transport to improve the morphology of the straightened channel; 2. improving the stream’s connection with the flood plain; 3. creating erosion and deposition features to improve stream habitat. This was implemented through the addition of woody debris along the stream and the (re-)opening of sediment sources to allow for gravel injection. In addition, riparian tree planting has been undertaken along the course of the straightened section (Spey Fishery Board, 2014). In October 2015, a programme of monitoring at the Allt a’Mharcaidh was established by UCL MSc Aquatic Science students to ascertain changes in stream morphology and substrate at a location where woody debris had recently been introduced. A second ‘control’ section, with no added debris, was later established a few hundred metres upstream. The aim of this monitoring programme is to develop a long-term data-set of morphological changes during MSc field classes undertaken annually in October. This document describes the initial condition of the ‘experimental’ and ‘control’ sampling stretches of the Mharcaidh at the start of this programme as a base-line against which to assess any future change