Mapping the broad habitats of the Burren using satellite imagery

Teagasc acknowledges the support of the Research Stimulus Fund of the Department of Agriculture and Food, funded by the Irish Government under the National Development Plan 2000 – 2006.End of project reportThis project has successfully used satellite imagery to survey and map the extent and spatial distribution of broad habitat types within the Burren, and we have represented this information on a digitised habitat map. this information on a digitised habitat map. This map is the first to show the distribution of the broad habitats of the Burren and will be an important tool in aiding future decisions as to how the habitats of the Burren should be managed to the benefit of both the farmer and the environment. The map provides the first estimate of the area of the Burren affected by scrub encroachment – this being one of the most significant threats to the EU priority habitats in the region. On a particularly challenging area with a high diversity and complexity of habitats, remote sensing appears to offer a very effective and cost-efficient alternative to broad-scale habitat mapping on a field-by-field basis. The use of high-resolution imagery and ground-truthing should be adopted to complete a detailed national survey of habitats and land use in Ireland. This would support more effective implementation of both the Agriculture sector’s obligations under the Habitats Directive, and agri-environmental schemes with wildlife objectives. The outputs provided by such mapping approaches could inform the targeting of agri-environmental objectives, and increase the efficiency of detecting areas of high conservation value for monitoring by more conventional methods. The detailed land use descriptions offered by such imagery are also of high relevance to modelling approaches and risk assessment for implementation of land use policies such as the Water Framework Directive and Nitrates Directive.Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marin

Botanical rejuvenation of field margins and benefits for invertebrate fauna on a drystock farm in County Longford

peer-reviewedThis study investigates methods to rejuvenate the fl ora of previously degraded fi eld margins on a pastoral farm in County Longford. We also assess the effects of individual treatments on the abundance of various orders of invertebrates recorded within the experimental plots. Field margin treatments were 1.5m-wide unfenced control margins, 1.5m-wide fenced margins or 3.5m-wide fenced margins. Nutrient inputs were excluded from all of the experimental plots. The botanical composition of the plots was examined on four occasions between 2002 and 2004 using permanent, nested quadrats. Emergence traps were used to measure invertebrate abundance within treatment plots and the main sward. Results indicated that 1) exclusion of nutrient inputs had a positive effect on plant species richness within the fi eld margins; 2) plant species richness decreased with increased distance from the hedgerow; 3) herb species richness was greatest in the 1.5m closest to the hedgerow; 4) greater abundance of invertebrates occurred within the 3.5m-wide margins; 5) successful control of Pteridium aquilinum was achieved through spot treatment with the selective herbicide ‘Asulox’; and 6) a combination of management techniques such as cutting and grazing is likely to enhance plant species richness and facilitate the structural diversity of vegetation that is necessary for many invertebrate taxa.Teagasc Walsh Fellowship Programm

A PERSPECTIVE ON DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL FLUIDIZED BED PROCESSES FOR A MORE SUSTAINABLE GLOBAL FUTURE

Faced with the need for transformative changes to solve global problems, fluidization could play a major role in contributing in areas like carbon capture, use of renewable resources, and recovery of valuable materials from waste streams. Some current examples are discussed where the fluidization community can help to find solution

The Habitat and Cost of Production of Domestic Petroleum Resources.

The geologic characteristics of an oil field, most importantly its depth and surface area, have significant impacts on the average cost of extracting petroleum. These characteristics of petroleum habitat constitute a measure of deposit quality, as ore grade does in the production of metals. This measure can be used to separately evaluate the effects on cost, over time, of changing depost quality and technological advance. A sample of 156 U.S. fields, with average estimated ultimate recovery of 50 million barrels, was analyzed to quantify the cross-sectional differences in average production cost on the basis of depth, area, productive capacity, reservoir lithology and reservoir drive mechanism. Changes each year between 1942 and 1972 in the quality of new discoveries was computed on the basis of depth, surface area and productive capacity. Increasing average depth and decreasing productive capacity during the period would have produced annual increases in average cost of 2.4%, in the absence of technological change. Using the year of field discovery to measure variation in cost attributable to technological change, the negative influence on cost arising from this factor exceeded the increase from declining deposit quality to produce a net decline in average cost of 0.74%/year. Statistical insignificance and inconsistency of the parameter estimate on technological change late in the time series indicated that the magnitude and direction of the net change in average cost may have been changing by the late 1960s. Increases in the price of inputs, particularly capital, may have been responsible, along with transition of the U.S. resource base from one of increasing to decreasing production. Integration of field characteristics into modified Cobb-Douglas and engineering production/cost functions demonstrated the value of these parameters in analysis of variation in average cost of extracting crude oil. The additional information produced by this approach enhances usefulness of average cost as an indicator of scarcity of mineral resources. The research also showed that in the case of petroleum, decreases in deposit quality were not associated with increases in the physical quantity of the mineral resource in place

Divorce adjustment: Anxiety, self-esteem, and locus-of-control

The purpose of this study was to examine personality factors related to adult divorce adjustment with a particular focus on anxiety, self esteem and locus of control.;Bowen Theory, with particular emphasis on the concept of differentiation of self, provided the theoretical rationale for this study. While Bowen related his concepts to marital and family functioning, the theory did not address the process of divorce. The present study attempted to fill a gap in the divorce literature by expanding Bowen Theory, with a primary investigative focus on adult post divorce adjustment and level of differentiation.;All 62 research subjects completed instrument packets which included a consent form, a demographic questionnaire, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Tennessee Self Concept Scale, the Rotter Internal-External Scale, The Blair Divorce Adjustment Inventory (modified version), and the Haber Level of Differentiation of Self Scale.;Data from the participants included a sample of 26 men and 36 women. A large percentage of the subjects were 20-39 years of age (67.5%), of middle class status (59%), had marriages which tended to last a duration of less than 10 years (66%), and had children under the age of 18 (46.7%). The results from the instruments indicated a sample who were internally directed, had a moderate level of self concept, and a low level of both State and Trait anxiety. When the variables of divorce adjustment and level of differentiation were computed, the results indicated that the sample exhibited high levels of differentiation and moderate to strong levels of divorce adjustment.;The Tennessee Self Concept Scale exhibited the strongest correlation coefficient when measured with both the Blair Divorce Adjustment Inventory (58%) and the Haber Level of Differentiation of Self Scale (51%). Step-wise analysis indicated that both the Tennessee with a t-ratio of 2.220 and a p-value of.030, and the Trait level of anxiety, with a t-value of {dollar}-{dollar}2.156 and a p-value of.035 resulted in high predictive values with the Blair. When the personality variables were computed with the Level of Differentiation Scale, the results were similar to the Blair analysis. The Tennessee obtained the strongest predictive value. as with divorce adjustment, self concept was the strongest predictor of level of differentiation. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Cost and Cost-Effectiveness of Cervical Precancerous Lesion Treatment in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review

Background: Cervical cancer is the second leading cause of cancer mortality in women in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). About 90% of all cervical cancer mortality occurs in LMICs. WHO recommends the use of thermal ablation, cryotherapy, loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP), and cold knife colonization (CKC) for the treatment of precancerous lesions and as the second prevention for cervical cancer. This study aims to collate data about the cost and cost-effectiveness of the recommended strategies for the treatment of cervical precancerous lesions in LMIC to help policy-makers, managers, program officers, and other health professionals to make informed resource allocation decisions. Methods: A systematic search of published and unpublished literature was conducted to identify cost and cost-effectiveness studies of cervical precancerous lesions treatment in LMICs. The search was conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases, and grey literature. The search was limited to the English language and without time restriction. The review was registered in PROSPERO with registration number CRD42022333979. Rayyan and Endnote Software were used for screening the identified studies, which was done by two reviewers independently followed by risk of bias assessment. Cost and cost-effectiveness data were extracted and converted to 2021 US Dollars using relevant Consumer Price Indices. Results: 99 studies were identified and after removing duplicates and screening, eight studies were included in the analysis. The provider cost for treatment of cervical precancerous lesions using cryotherapy ranged from $3.85 in Tanzania to$134.35 in South Africa, and for LEEP it ranged from $74.66 in Tanzania to$596.73 in South Africa. for CKC, the cost ranged from $335.03 in India to$766.86 in Thailand. One study from Kenya reported the cost of $52.89 for cryotherapy and$113.20 for LEEP, from the societal perspective. Only one cost-effectiveness study was identified, which reported that cryotherapy was more cost-effective than LEEP with an Incremental Cost-effectiveness Ratio (ICER) per disease-free case of $566.81 (2021 USD) in South Africa. Conclusion: The number of cost and cost-effectiveness studies for the recommended treatment strategies of cervical precancerous lesions in LMICs is scarce. However, the few existing studies show that treatment costs for cervical precancerous lesions in LMIC vary widely and are high relative to the Gross National Income (GNI) per capita of their respective countries. More studies should be conducted on cost and cost-effectiveness of the recommended treatment strategies to provide information for evidence-based decisions.M.Phil. in Global Health - ThesisINTH395AMAMD-GLO