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Source-to-Sea: The Transport and Storage of Organic Carbon and Iron from Forested Environments to (Fjord) Sediments
No full textFjords are globally important carbon stores due to their ability to store carbon long-term. However, the source of organic carbon and the influence of catchment processes and land cover on sedimentary carbon storage is poorly understood. This impacts our ability to effectively protect and manage dynamic coastal environments. Globally, ~ 20 % of organic carbon (OC) stored in sediment is directly bound to reactive iron (FeR). In this study, I explore the role of OC-FeR associations on the preservation and storage of OC in catchment and sediments of a mid-latitude Scottish fjord, Loch Creran. On average 37 % of OC was bound to FeR in forested catchment soils, 41 % in freshwater sediments, and ~16 % in fjord sediments. Ferrihydrite was found to be the dominant species of iron throughout the catchment and sediments, indicating that some OC-FeR complexes may travel from source (upstream and surrounding terrestrial environments) to fjord sediments without extensive reworking. On average, 47 – 67 % of OC in fjord sediments originated from terrestrial sources, identified from Bayesian modelling, and this was further explored using n-alkanes, specific δ¹³C isotopic signatures and pine resins. Methyl dehydroabietate (pine resin) was able to capture the presence of coniferous material where n-alkane abundance and isotopes could not. Furthermore, biomarkers were stored effectively in fjord sediments over long time periods, showing little degradation of either proxy downcore. Through conducting a source to sea study and utilising biogeochemical information across vegetation, soils, rivers and sediments, I was able to create a better understanding of the mechanisms that promote lateral carbon movement and the chemical changes that carbon complexes can withstand. I demonstrate that in mid-latitude fjords OC-FeR complexes play an important role in biogeochemical cycling, OC storage in forest soils, and OC transport and storage from source towards sea
Speed-dating and simulation data explain the discrepancy between stated and revealed mate preferences.
Get PDFThere is little evidence in speed-dating studies that stated preferences – what people say they prefer in a partner – are associated with revealed preferences – what people actually find attractive in a partner. In Study 1, a high-powered speed-dating study (n = 1145) revealed that four out of nine traits provided evidence of a correspondence between stated and revealed preferences. In Study 2, simulations based on the constraints of Study 1’s speed-dating design showed that when attractiveness depends on multiple independent traits, the stated preference for an individual trait can only be, on average, minimally related to the revealed preference for that trait. In Study 3, we investigated methods that simultaneously combine multiple traits when testing the association between stated and revealed preferences (e.g. Euclidean distance, pattern metric). All four omnibus methods indicated an apparent association between stated and revealed preferences in our speed-dating data. However, additional analyses and permutation tests suggest that these significant associations reflect statistical artefacts rather than true correspondences. We conclude that detecting any association between stated and revealed preferences will be difficult under realistic assumptions about the number of traits involved in partner evaluation. In this light, we discuss previous findings and provide suggestions for future studies in this vein.Output Status: Forthcoming/Available Onlin
Liability to a hirer for damage to property: Armstead v Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company Ltd
Get PDFThe article discusses the decision of the UK Supreme Court in Armstead v Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company Ltd [2024] UKSC 6, and in particular how it is likely to be received by the Scottish courts. The case considers the rights of a hirer of corporeal moveable property (in this case a car) if the property is damaged through the fault of a third party.Output Status: Forthcomin
Korean Dual Career Judokas’ Junior-to-Senior Transition: A Longitudinal Study
Get PDFThis study adopts the athletic career transition model to explore the experiences of Korean dual-career (DC) judokas during their junior-to-senior transition using a longitudinal approach. We recruited 12 Korean elite judokas, all of whom were in their first year of university during their initial interview. Participants were organized into three focus groups, with three rounds of interviews conducted over approximately 2 years, totaling nine focus-group sessions. Thematic analysis was applied, which led to the identification of three key themes: (a) multifaceted challenges, (b) coping strategies, and (c) perceived needs of DC athletes prioritizing sport over study. The results indicate that Korean DC judokas share some common challenges (e.g., increased training demands, balancing their studies with training demands) with their European counterparts, but they also face unique challenges (e.g., managing weight control, laundry duties, and relationships with senior judokas) specific to the Korean judokas. Their coping strategies include both internal resources (e.g., focusing on performance target, utilizing resilience) and external ones (e.g., seeking social support), emphasizing the critical role of psychological support during their junior-to-senior transition. Proactive psychological support is recommended through a specialized system tailored to this group. Given that Korean DC judokas significantly prioritize sport over education, this system should also address balancing both sport and education.Output Status: Forthcoming/Available Onlin
Digital music and movement intervention to improve health and wellbeing in older adults in care homes: a pilot mixed methods study
Get PDFBackground Low physical activity among older adults is related to adverse health outcomes such as depression and loneliness, poor physical function and increased risk of falls. This study was designed to increase physical activity through a digital, group-based, physical activity and music intervention and to examine its effectiveness on social, mental and physical health outcomes. Methods Participants were 34 older adults (65 years +) recruited across four care homes in Scotland to a pilot study. Surveys were administered at baseline and post-intervention, comprising measures of fear of falling, depression and anxiety, loneliness, sleep satisfaction and quality of life. A battery of physical function tests and saliva sampling for cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone hormone analysis were also conducted at each time point. Additionally, process evaluation measures (recruitment, intervention fidelity, attendance, retention rates and safety) were monitored. The intervention comprised 12 weeks of three prescribed digital sessions per week: movement and music (n = 2) and music-only (n = 1), delivered by an activity coordinator in the care home. Post-intervention interviews with staff and participants were conducted to gain qualitative data on the acceptability of the intervention. Results An average of 88% of prescribed sessions were delivered. Pre-to post-intervention intention-to-treat analysis across all participants revealed significant improvements in anxiety, salivary DHEA, fear of falling and loneliness. There were no significant improvements in health-related quality of life, perceived stress, sleep satisfaction or physical function tests, including handgrip strength. Qualitative analysis highlighted benefits of and barriers to the programme. Conclusions The digital movement and music intervention was deemed acceptable and delivered with moderate fidelity, justifying progression to a full-scale trial. Although a proper control group would have yielded more confident causal relationships, preliminary psychosocial and biological effects were evident from this trial. To show significant improvements in physical function, it is likely that a bigger sample size providing sufficient power to detect significant changes, greater adherence, longer intervention and/or higher exercise volume may be necessary. Trial registration The trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT05601102 on 01/11/2022
The constructive nature of memories in insects: bumblebees as a case study
Get PDFThe view that human memory is constructive implies that recollections are not necessarily an accurate reproduction of past events. An approach to study this constructive nature of memory is by examining memory errors. In this regard, conjunction errors—i.e. incorrect recollection of new stimuli integrated by components from two previously studied stimuli—have attracted important attention in human memory research. Do animals other than humans make conjunction errors? To investigate this issue, a choice task in which training was not involved was used. Bees experienced two to-be-remembered stimuli. At the test, they were presented with four stimuli: one of the original items (i.e. old), an item made by combining two features of the original items (i.e. conjunction), an item containing a previously presented feature and a new one (i.e. feature), and an item integrated solely by new features (i.e. new). Bumblebees remembered the old items. Importantly, when making memory errors, bumblebees selected conjunction and feature lures more often than new items. These results indicate that bumblebees, like humans, spontaneously make memory conjunction errors and suggest that invertebrates’ memories might also be constructive in nature. I suggest that focusing on memory errors is a solid avenue to investigate episodic (like) memory in animals
Abundance Annex: Ape Population Abundance Estimates
Get PDFIn this online-only annex, ape population abundance estimates are presented at the level of a protected area and/or its buffer zone, a logging concession or group of concessions, or any discrete area where a survey has taken place in the past two decades
Women’s experiences of seeking healthcare for abdominal pain in Ireland: a qualitative study
Get PDFBackground Evidence suggests that women's abdominal pain is more likely to be minimised or dismissed by healthcare professionals than men's. This can have a detrimental impact on health-related outcomes as well as quality of life. The aim of this study was to explore women's experiences of seeking healthcare for abdominal pain in Ireland. Method A qualitative design and opportunity sampling approach were employed in this study. Fourteen women living in Ireland with experience of seeking healthcare for abdominal pain took part in one-to-one semi-structured interviews via video-conferencing software. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results Four themes were constructed from the data: [1] "Just Get on with It"-Normalisation and Invalidation; [2] "Bad Enough"? Costs of (Not) Seeking Help; [3] "Fight Your Case, " Fight for Care; and [4] "Out of the Loop"-Systemic Barriers to Care. Perceived invalidation of pain by healthcare professionals was common, as was internalised normalisation of pain. This created challenges when negotiating pain management solutions. Despite functional interference, participants felt their pain needed to reach an extreme level of severity before seeking help. Costs of private healthcare were implicated in delayed help-seeking. Participants felt the onus was on them to fight for care. Social support and information-seeking facilitated participants in this fight while systemic issues were identified as barriers to adequate care. Despite their frustrations, participants expressed empathy for healthcare professionals operating in a flawed system. Conclusions Participants described mostly negative experiences of seeking healthcare for abdominal pain, characterised by dismissal of symptoms and internalisation of normative views of women's pain as less worthy of care. These experiences reinforced participants' views that self-advocacy is essential to access care for their pain. There are systemic issues at play within the Irish healthcare system that limit women's ability to access abdominal pain management support. Education and training for healthcare professionals on the Gender Pain Gap and its implications for patient care, as well as clear referral pathways for women presenting with abdominal pain, may help to ensure more equitable healthcare delivery for individuals with abdominal pain in Ireland
Housing and Papering Over the Cracks of the Welfare State: Exploring the Role and Impact of Technology as Part of Housing Service Provision in an Era of Multi-level Precarity
Get PDFThe UK welfare landscape is increasingly challenging due to ongoing austerity involving public sector cuts, service retrenchment, and withdrawal of statutory responsibilities. This article shows that as the welfare state contracts, precarity increases and responsibility for service provision is progressively devolved to front-line individuals and service users. To illustrate, the article examines the use of assistive and everyday technologies to improve social housing residents’ quality of life based on a longitudinal mixed methods study conducted between 2020 and 2022. The findings highlight how housing providers can support person-led technology interventions for older residents, where minor improvements positively impact day-to-day living. However, interventions are often limited by practicalities, capacity, and cost. This article connects technological engagement in housing to the ongoing ‘responsibilisation’ of many areas of housing provision to social landlords and tenants. This suggests an extension of responsibility where social housing providers are papering over the cracks in the welfare state
Omega-3 Futures in Aquaculture: Exploring the Supply and Demands for Long-Chain Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids by Aquaculture Species
Get PDFLong-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA), like 22:6n-3 (Docosahexaenoic acid; DHA) and 20:5n-3 (Eicosapentaenoic acid; EPA), are recognized for a range of important physiological roles in many aquaculture species. While the effects of EPA and DHA on a range of performance attributes and meat qualities are well recognized, an increasing awareness of their role in immune function, reproduction, bone formation and stress response is also emerging. Against this background of demand, global supplies of LC-PUFA are dominated by fish oil production from a diversified range of sources, though news sources are emerging. Among those aquaculture sectors that are the largest users of LC-PUFA resources (salmonids, shrimp, and marine fish), there are varying degrees of capacity by each to endogenously synthesize LC-PUFA and this affects the degree to which they must be obtained via the diet. Salmonids, which are the largest user of these nutrients possess some capacity to make EPA and DHA de novo, although evidence supports that salmonids perform better when provided with them preformed. Requirements by shrimp for LC-PUFA are variable, with evidence indicating that some species have capacity to desaturate and elongate fatty acids, whereas others do not. This is consistent with the observation that some species can utilize short-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, whereas others need pre-formed LC-PUFA in their diet. A third group, marine fish, have limited ability to desaturate and elongate precursor fatty acids and therefore have a critical requirement for LC-PUFA in their diet. Evidence across multiple species indicates that demands for these fatty acids are greater when the animals are young, and this demand decreases as they age. Among the various marine fish species examined estimates of requirements vary substantially and a one-size-fits all approach is clearly not applicable
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