New cod war of words:'Cod is God' versus 'sod the cod'—Two opposed discourses on the North Sea Cod Recovery Programme

New insights into the North Sea Cod Recovery Programme (CRP), initiated in 2003 by the European Commission to reverse the long-term decline in cod stocks, are presented using discourse analysis. The main conservation measures taken under the CRP have been to reduce catch limits drastically and to increase control over vessels' fishing activities. There has been considerable controversy over the programme from its inception, with protagonists broadly divided into two discourses: (1) 'cod is God'-in which cod has assumed the status of the defining test of the European Union's (EU) resolve to manage fish stocks sustainably in EU waters; (2) 'sod the cod'-in which cod is regarded as one of a number of target commercial fish species, with no special status. Drawing on Frank Fischer's distinction between hegemonic and challenging discourses, we analyse the conflict between them at three levels: empirical; conceptual; and political. We consider moves to reconcile the two discourses in a policy consensus on a revised CRP, which suggest that the challenging discourse (sod-the-cod) has had some success in modifying the impact of the hegemonic discourse (cod-is-God

Copper Mining in the Bronze Age at Mynydd Parys, Anglesey, Wales

Acknowledgements This article was researched and written by David Jenkins. The final editing was undertaken by Andrew Davidson and Jane Kenney (Gwynedd Archaeological Trust) and Dr Simon Timberlake (Early Mines Research Group and McDonald Institute, University of Cambridge), who contributed additional background information. Further contributions and corrections were provided by Peter Marshall (Historic England) and Tim Mighall (University of Aberdeen) who oversaw the palaeoenvironmental study. Cadw generously funded the work through grant aid. The suggestion to edit and publish the article came from John Llywelyn Williams, who has worked closely with David Jenkins on this and a number of other significant projects. The editors are also very grateful for the help and encouragement provided by Paul Jenkins (David’s son). Members of the Parys Underground Group, particularly Oliver Burrows, and the Early Mines Research Group have helped source illustrations, provided corrections and comments, and supported the work. Thanks also to Anglesey Mining plc.Peer reviewedPostprin

Who speaks for the future of Earth? How critical social science can extend the conversation on the Anthropocene

This paper asks how the social sciences can engage with the idea of the Anthropocene in productive ways. In response to this question we outline an interpretative research agenda that allows critical engagement with the Anthropocene as a socially and culturally bounded object with many possible meanings and political trajectories. In order to facilitate the kind of political mobilization required to meet the complex environmental challenges of our times, we argue that the social sciences should refrain from adjusting to standardized research agendas and templates. A more urgent analytical challenge lies in exposing, challenging and extending the ontological assumptions that inform how we make sense of and respond to a rapidly changing environment. By cultivating environmental research that opens up multiple interpretations of the Anthropocene, the social sciences can help to extend the realm of the possible for environmental politics

Incidence of WHO stage 3 and 4 conditions following initiation of Anti-Retroviral Therapy in resource limited settings

To determine the incidence of WHO clinical stage 3 and 4 conditions during early anti-retroviral therapy (ART) in resource limited settings (RLS)

At Sea Test 2 deployment cruise : cruise 475 on board R/V Oceanus September 22 – 26, 2011 Woods Hole –Woods Hole, MA

The R/V Oceanus, on Cruise 475, carried out the deployment of three moorings for the Coastal and Global Scale Nodes (CGSN) Implementing Organization of the NSF Ocean Observatories Initiative. These three moorings are prototypes of the moorings to be used by CGSN at the Pioneer, Endurance, and Global Arrays. Oceanus departed from Woods Hole, Massachusetts on September 22, 2011 and steamed south to the location of the mooring deployments on the shelf break. Over three days, September 23-25, Oceanus surveyed the bottom at the planned mooring sites, deployed the moorings, and carried out on site verification of the functioning of the moorings and moored hardware. Oceanus returned to Woods Hole on September 26, 2011.Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation through the Consortium for Ocean Leadershi

Minimum Unit Pricing: Qualitative Study of the Experiences of Homeless Drinkers, Street Drinkers and Service Providers

Aims: Alcohol Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) was introduced in Scotland in May 2018. Existing evidence suggests MUP can reduce drinking in the general population, but there is little evidence regarding its impact on vulnerable groups. This qualitative study aimed to capture the experiences of MUP among homeless drinkers, street drinkers, and the support services that work with them

A high throughput array microscope for the mechanical characterization of biomaterials

In the last decade, the emergence of high throughput screening has enabled the development of novel drug therapies and elucidated many complex cellular processes. Concurrently, the mechanobiology community has developed tools and methods to show that the dysregulation of biophysical properties and the biochemical mechanisms controlling those properties contribute significantly to many human diseases. Despite these advances, a complete understanding of the connection between biomechanics and disease will require advances in instrumentation that enable parallelized, high throughput assays capable of probing complex signaling pathways, studying biology in physiologically relevant conditions, and capturing specimen and mechanical heterogeneity. Traditional biophysical instruments are unable to meet this need. To address the challenge of large-scale, parallelized biophysical measurements, we have developed an automated array high-throughput microscope system that utilizes passive microbead diffusion to characterize mechanical properties of biomaterials. The instrument is capable of acquiring data on twelve-channels simultaneously, where each channel in the system can independently drive two-channel fluorescence imaging at up to 50 frames per second. We employ this system to measure the concentration-dependent apparent viscosity of hyaluronan, an essential polymer found in connective tissue and whose expression has been implicated in cancer progression

Intramuscular oxytocin versus Syntometrine® versus carbetocin for prevention of primary postpartum haemorrhage after vaginal birth: a randomised double-blinded clinical trial of effectiveness, side effects and quality of life

Objective: To compare intramuscular oxytocin, Syntometrine® and carbetocin for prevention of postpartum haemorrhage after vaginal birth. Design: Randomised double-blinded clinical trial. Setting: Six hospitals in England. Population: A total of 5929 normotensive women having a singleton vaginal birth. Methods: Randomisation when birth was imminent. Main outcome measures: Primary: use of additional uterotonic agents. Secondary: weighed blood loss, transfusion, manual removal of placenta, adverse effects, quality of life. Results: Participants receiving additional uterotonics: 368 (19.5%) oxytocin, 298 (15.6%) Syntometrine and 364 (19.1%) carbetocin. When pairwise comparisons were made: women receiving carbetocin were significantly more likely to receive additional uterotonics than those receiving Syntometrine (odds ratio [OR] 1.28, 95% CI 1.08–1.51, P=0.004); the difference between carbetocin and oxytocin was non-significant (P=0.78); Participants receiving Syntometrine were significantly less likely to receive additional uterotonics than those receiving oxytocin (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.65–0.91, P=0.002). Non-inferiority between carbetocin and Syntometrine was not shown. Use of Syntometrine reduced non-drug PPH treatments compared with oxytocin (OR 0.64, 95% CI 0.42–0.97) but not carbetocin (P=0.64). Rates of PPH and blood transfusion were not different. Syntometrine was associated with an increase in maternal adverse effects and reduced ability of the mother to bond with her baby. Conclusions: Non-inferiority of carbetocin to Syntometrine was not shown. Carbetocin is not significantly different to oxytocin for use of additional uterotonics. Use of Syntometrine reduced use of additional uterotonics and need for non-drug PPH treatments compared with oxytocin. Increased maternal adverse effects are a disadvantage of Syntometrine. Tweetable abstract: IM carbetocin does not reduce additional uterotonic use compared with IM Syntometrine or oxytocin