Reflective Journals

A reflective journal helps to think honestly about one’s actual thinking. This can be uncomfortable at first

Coherence of marine alien species biosecurity legislation: A study of England and Wales

The marine environment is particularly at risk from the intentional and unintentional introduction and spread of invasive alien species (IAS); preventing their introduction and spread from occurring is therefore, a key component in the on-going management of marine IAS. Ensuring legislation is coherent and consistent is essential to the success of managing the existing and future impacts of marine IAS. We explore the coherence (determined as consistency and interaction) of marine biosecurity legislation for IAS at different geopolitical scales. There was consistency between both the Bern Convention and Convention on Biological Diversity and European and national legislation that had been created in response. There was a lack of interaction evidenced by the Ballast Water Management Convention, which had not yet been transposed into regional (mainly European) or national legislation. Implementation measures such as legislation should be coherent as any failure in the chain could potentially weaken the overall effort to establish and maintain biosecurity and achieve behaviour change

Exploring the attitudes to and uptake of biosecurity practices for invasive non-native species: views amongst stakeholder organisations working in UK natural environments

Invasions by invasive non-native species (INNS) can have profound consequences for natural environments, impacting on biodiversity and the biophysical landscape in ways that can endanger other species, human wellbeing and infrastructure. The financial costs of dealing with established INNS populations can be extremely high. Biosecurity measures (simple procedures designed to reduce the risk of human activities spreading INNS to new areas) are being promoted in order to minimize these negative impacts and associated costs. This paper reports on research undertaken with stakeholder organisations that operate within UK natural environments. It aims to evaluate stakeholder perceptions of their role in INNS biosecurity practice in the UK, and the implications of this for INNS strategy more broadly. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with organisation representatives to explore current practices and communications about INNS and perceptions of barriers and opportunities to implement better biosecurity. Whilst participants generally agreed on the need for biosecurity, there were variations among participants in levels of knowledge about INNS (related to background) and the capacity of organisations to engage in biosecurity practices (related to organisational size). Critical barriers to biosecurity were identified as costs, lack of clear guidance, difficulties changing attitudes and implementing collective responsibility, and reactionary versus precautionary approaches. As a result, partnership working on INNS is difficult and action tends to focus on individual species perceived as the most threatening to a particular organisations’ interests. In this way, action on INNS biosecurity faces the kinds of barriers that are common to many environmental problems where individuals/organisations prioritise self-interest despite the potential to obtain greater benefits if collective action could be achieved

Physiotherapists’ opinions of the physiotherapy assessment of Breathing Pattern Dysfunction: a qualitative study

Presented at: British Thoracic Society Winter Meeting 2022, QEII Centre, Broad Sanctuary, Westminster, London SW1P 3EE. Part of the stream: ‘Chariots of fire’ – Interventions and assessment in respiratory physiotherapy.Copyright © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Introduction: Breathing Pattern Dysfunction (BPD) describes individuals whose breathing pattern is not aligned with their respiratory or metabolic requirements, resulting in breathlessness, air hunger and reduced quality of life.1 Physiotherapy assessment is essential to ensure that patients can access effective therapy. Currently, there are no best practice guidelines to inform physiotherapists of the essential components for BPD assessments.2 Objectives: Evaluate clinicians’ preferred descriptors for BPD Describe the components frequently included in a patient assessment Explore physiotherapists’ understanding of the assessment of BPD Methods: A 24-item survey was developed and distributed via social media and emailed to UK specialist physiotherapy interest groups. Two semi-structured focus groups, including open-ended discussion points, were subsequently completed with 15 specialist physiotherapists. Survey information was collated as percentages and focus groups transcribed verbatim before a thematic analysis was completed. Results: 103 physiotherapists completed the survey, which identified a lack of consensus in how to define BPD, but some agreement on the components to include in assessment (figure 1). Three main themes resulted from the focus groups. Participants expressed frustration with inconsistency of terms used to describe the condition (1. Nomenclature and Language) and felt that BPD sat within the broader concept of breathlessness as an important component of breathlessness assessment (2. BPD and Breathlessness). The importance of physiotherapy assessment was discussed as being an important part of the therapy and recovery itself (3. Value of assessment). Assessment of BPD was discussed as a specialist skill, and important in patients’ validation of their symptoms. However, there was lack of agreement of the assessment methods and importance of diaphragm assessment. Table 1 Survey results for the preferred term to describe this condition Term Percentage % Breathing Pattern Disorder 43% Dysfunctional Breathing 39% Breathing Pattern Dysfunction 14% Hyperventilation 4% Conclusion: This novel qualitative clinician-focused investigation of BPD assessment provides valuable insights into physiotherapists’ assessment preferences and will be important when designing clinical practice guidance for BPD Assessment. Patient perceptions will provide a deeper understanding of BPD and its assessment. References Vidotto LS, Carvalho CRF de, Harvey A, Jones M. Dysfunctional breathing: what do we know? Jornal Brasileiro de Pneumologia 2019;45(1). Todd S, Walsted ES, Grillo L et al. Novel assessment tool to detect BPD in patients with refractory asthma. Respirology 2018;23(3)

Two remarks on generalized entropy power inequalities

This note contributes to the understanding of generalized entropy power inequalities. Our main goal is to construct a counter-example regarding monotonicity and entropy comparison of weighted sums of independent identically distributed log-concave random variables. We also present a complex analogue of a recent dependent entropy power inequality of Hao and Jog, and give a very simple proof.Comment: arXiv:1811.00345 is split into 2 papers, with this being on

Subcellular heterogeneity of ryanodine receptor properties in ventricular myocytes with low T-tubule density

Rationale: In ventricular myocytes of large mammals, not all ryanodine receptor (RyR) clusters are associated with T-tubules (TTs); this fraction increases with cellular remodeling after myocardial infarction (MI). Objective: To characterize RyR functional properties in relation to TT proximity, at baseline and after MI. Methods: Myocytes were isolated from left ventricle of healthy pigs (CTRL) or from the area adjacent to a myocardial infarction (MI). Ca2+ transients were measured under whole-cell voltage clamp during confocal linescan imaging (fluo-3) and segmented according to proximity of TTs (sites of early Ca2+ release, F>F50 within 20 ms) or their absence (delayed areas). Spontaneous Ca2+ release events during diastole, Ca2+ sparks, reflecting RyR activity and properties, were subsequently assigned to either category. Results: In CTRL, spark frequency was higher in proximity of TTs, but spark duration was significantly shorter. Block of Na+/Ca2+ exchanger (NCX) prolonged spark duration selectively near TTs, while block of Ca2+ influx via Ca2+ channels did not affect sparks properties. In MI, total spark mass was increased in line with higher SR Ca2+ content. Extremely long sparks (>47.6 ms) occurred more frequently. The fraction of near-TT sparks was reduced; frequency increased mainly in delayed sites. Increased duration was seen in near-TT sparks only; Ca2+ removal by NCX at the membrane was significantly lower in MI. Conclusion: TT proximity modulates RyR cluster properties resulting in intracellular heterogeneity of diastolic spark activity. Remodeling in the area adjacent to MI differentially affects these RyR subpopulations. Reduction of the number of sparks near TTs and reduced local NCX removal limit cellular Ca2+ loss and raise SR Ca2+ content, but may promote Ca2+ waves

On the nonequilibrium entropy of large and small systems

Thermodynamics makes definite predictions about the thermal behavior of macroscopic systems in and out of equilibrium. Statistical mechanics aims to derive this behavior from the dynamics and statistics of the atoms and molecules making up these systems. A key element in this derivation is the large number of microscopic degrees of freedom of macroscopic systems. Therefore, the extension of thermodynamic concepts, such as entropy, to small (nano) systems raises many questions. Here we shall reexamine various definitions of entropy for nonequilibrium systems, large and small. These include thermodynamic (hydrodynamic), Boltzmann, and Gibbs-Shannon entropies. We shall argue that, despite its common use, the last is not an appropriate physical entropy for such systems, either isolated or in contact with thermal reservoirs: physical entropies should depend on the microstate of the system, not on a subjective probability distribution. To square this point of view with experimental results of Bechhoefer we shall argue that the Gibbs-Shannon entropy of a nano particle in a thermal fluid should be interpreted as the Boltzmann entropy of a dilute gas of Brownian particles in the fluid

Mutual information rate and bounds for it

The amount of information exchanged per unit of time between two nodes in a dynamical network or between two data sets is a powerful concept for analysing complex systems. This quantity, known as the mutual information rate (MIR), is calculated from the mutual information, which is rigorously defined only for random systems. Moreover, the definition of mutual information is based on probabilities of significant events. This work offers a simple alternative way to calculate the MIR in dynamical (deterministic) networks or between two data sets (not fully deterministic), and to calculate its upper and lower bounds without having to calculate probabilities, but rather in terms of well known and well defined quantities in dynamical systems. As possible applications of our bounds, we study the relationship between synchronisation and the exchange of information in a system of two coupled maps and in experimental networks of coupled oscillators

Detection of Exocometary CO within the 440 Myr Old Fomalhaut Belt: A Similar CO+CO 2 Ice Abundance in Exocomets and Solar System Comets

Recent Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations present mounting evidence for the presence of exocometary gas released within Kuiper Belt analogs around nearby main-sequence stars. This represents a unique opportunity to study their ice reservoir at the younger ages when volatile delivery to planets is most likely to occur. We here present the detection of CO J = 2-1 emission colocated with dust emission from the cometary belt in the 440 Myr old Fomalhaut system. Through spectrospatial filtering, we achieve a 5.4σ detection and determine that the ring's sky-projected rotation axis matches that of the star. The CO mass derived ((0.65\mbox{--}42)\times {10}^{-7}\,{M}_{\oplus }) is the lowest of any circumstellar disk detected to date and must be of exocometary origin. Using a steady-state model, we estimate the CO+CO2 mass fraction of exocomets around Fomalhaut to be between 4.6% and 76%, consistent with solar system comets and the two other belts known to host exocometary gas. This is the first indication of a similarity in cometary compositions across planetary systems that may be linked to their formation scenario and is consistent with direct interstellar medium inheritance. In addition, we find tentative evidence that $(49\pm 27)$% of the detected flux originates from a region near the eccentric belt's pericenter. If confirmed, the latter may be explained through a recent impact event or CO pericenter glow due to exocometary release within a steady-state collisional cascade. In the latter scenario, we show how the azimuthal dependence of the CO release rate leads to asymmetries in gas observations of eccentric exocometary belts

Adherence to the Eatwell Guide and cardiometabolic, cognitive and neuroimaging parameters: an analysis from the PREVENT dementia study

BackgroundThe Eatwell guide reflects the UK government\u27s recommendations for a healthy and balanced diet. Previous research has identified associations between healthy eating patterns and both cardiovascular and brain health, although there is little evidence specifically focusing on the Eatwell Guide. To date no research has investigated associations between the Eatwell Guide and risk for future dementia.MethodsData from the PREVENT dementia cohort study baseline visit was used in this analysis. Binary and graded Eatwell Guide scores (BEWG, GEWG) were created from a self-reported Food Frequency Questionnaire. The CAIDE score was included as the primary outcome measure to represent risk for future Alzheimer’s disease. Secondary outcome measures included cardiometabolic health measures and brain health measures. Generalised additive models were run in R.ResultsA total of 517 participants were included in the analysis, with a mean BEWG score of 4.39 (\ub1 1.66) (out of a possible 12 points) and GEWG score of 39.88 (\ub1 6.19) (out of a possible 60 points). There was no significant association between either Eatwell Guide score and the CAIDE score (BEWG β: 0.07, 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.07, 0.22; GEWG β: 0.02, 95% CI: -0.02, 0.06) or any measures of brain health. There was a significant association between higher GEWG score and lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure and body mass index (BMI) (systolic β: -0.24, 95% CI: -0.45, -0.03; diastolic β: -0.16, 95% CI: -0.29, -0.03; BMI β: -0.09, 95% CI: -0.16, -0.01).ConclusionsAlthough not directly associated with the CAIDE score, the Eatwell Guide dietary pattern may be beneficial for dementia prevention efforts through the modification of hypertension and obesity, which are both known risk factors for dementia. Future work could replicate these findings in other UK-based cohorts as well as further development of Eatwell Guide scoring methodologies