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Climate change adaptation in the port industry: Evaluating evidence of implemented adaptation using a national adaptation inventory
Get PDFPorts provide critical infrastructure services, supporting global trade, economic growth and development. Owing to their exposed coastal locations, ports are expected to face increasing climate-related risks, such as sea-level rise (SLR) and changes in storminess. However, there is a gap in current literature evaluating how ports are addressing climate-related risks through implementation of adaptation actions. This study explores if, and how, some of the largest commercial ports in the UK are adapting to risk in practice. Evidence of implemented adaptation action is extracted from Adaptation Reporting Power (ARP) reports, as mandated under the UK Climate Change Act 2008. Evidence of incremental adaptation was identified, in response to an increasingly diverse range of perceived climate-related risks. However, uncertainty around future changes in some climate-related risks, and different risk perceptions, meant ports were also coming to different judgments on when and how they should adapt. A discord between short and longer-term planning was also identified. Consequently, there remains the need to shift thinking from business-as-usual toward a more systematic and integrated consideration of short- and longer-term climate risks, adaptation and wider benefits to support decision making. This would align with a more transformational adaptation approach. This could include exploiting the renewal and investment cycle so new port infrastructure is climate-proofed when constructed. The framework presented here, to identify, catalog and evaluate implemented adaptation actions in the UK, could be applied to other regions. This would provide a more comprehensive picture of how ports are implementing adaptation globally
Algebraic invariants for inferring 4-leaf semi-directed phylogenetic networks
Get PDFA core goal of phylogenomics is to determine the evolutionary history of a set of species from biological sequence data. Phylogenetic networks are able to describe more complex evolutionary phenomena than phylogenetic trees but are more difficult to accurately reconstruct. Recently, there has been growing interest in developing methods to infer semi-directed phylogenetic networks. As computing such networks can be computationally intensive, one approach to building such networks is to puzzle together smaller networks. Thus, it is essential to have robust methods for inferring semi-directed phylogenetic networks on small numbers of taxa. In this paper, we investigate an algebraic method for performing phylogenetic network inference from nucleotide sequence data on 4-leaf semi-directed phylogenetic networks by analysing the distribution of leaf-pattern probabilities. On simulated data, we found that we can correctly identify with high accuracy the undirected phylogenetic network for sequences of length at least 10kbp. We found that identifying the semi-directed network is more challenging and requires sequences of length approaching 10Mbp. We are also able to use our approach to identify tree-like evolution and determine the underlying tree. Finally, we employ our method on a real dataset from Xiphophorus species and use the results to build a phylogenetic network
The TECPR1:ATG5-ATG12 complex conjugates LC3/ATG8 to damaged lysosomes that expose luminal glycans in response to osmotic imbalance
Get PDFHydrolytic enzymes within lysosomes maintain cell and tissue homoeostasis by degrading macromolecules delivered by endocytosis and autophagy. The release of lysosomal enzymes into the cytosol can induce apoptosis and “lysosome-dependent cell death” making it important for damaged lysosomes to be repaired or removed. Extensive lysosome damage exposes luminal sugars to galectin-dependent autophagy pathways that use ATG16L1:ATG5-ATG12 complex to conjugate LC3/ATG8 to autophagosomes to facilitate removal by lysophagy. Sphingomyelin exposed on stressed lysosomes recruits the lysosome tethering protein TECPR1 (tectonin beta propeller repeat-containing protein) allowing an alternative TECRP1:ATG5-ATG12 complex to conjugate LC3 directly to lysosomes. Here we have used cells lacking ATG16L1 to follow the recruitment of TECPR1, galectin-3 and LC3/ATG8 to lysosomes in response to osmotic imbalance induced by chloroquine. TECPR1 was recruited to swollen lysosomes that exposed sphingomyelin. LC3II was absent from swollen lysosomes but located to small puncta that contained the V-ATPase and LAMP1. The presence of galectin-3 and PI4P in the small LC3 puncta suggested that the TECPR1:ATG5-ATG12 complex conjugates LC3 to lysosome remnants that have ruptured in response to osmotic imbalance
Promising Words, Evaluating Actions: Assessing Carbon Dioxide Removal in National Net Zero Plans
Get PDFRecent climate policy efforts are shaped by two connected trends, the rise of national net zero targets as the organising principle of climate policy, and the increasing recognition that Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) is unavoidable to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement, avoiding the worsts of climate change (Babiker et al., 2022). Net zero targets, by definition, require the deployment of CDR. National governments, however, have only recently engaged with the need for CDR to compensate for residual hard-to-abate emissions across their economies.
This thesis serves to address what is a key gap in climate policy research, the planning of national entities towards deploying CDR (Schenuit et al., 2021). To address this gap, this thesis analyses one of the main reporting provisions in the Paris Agreement, long-term low emission development strategies (LT-LEDS) and similar long-term strategies (LTS). LT-LEDS are overlooked in climate policy research to date, given the more prominent role of the shorter-term Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in the Paris Agreement, and the need to align NDCs with the 2030 benchmarks mainstreamed in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC’s) Assessment Reports (Den Elzen et al., 2022). LTLEDS, by contrast, given their focus on the mid-century, and the more prominent role of CDR to compensate for residual hard-to-abate emissions as a country approaches net zero, more readily communicate the role of CDR in decarbonisation. LT-LEDS, however, have only recently reached a critical mass, whereby they cover the majority of global emissions and global economic activity, with submissions from 74 countries.
Using a consistent methodology and inductive and deductive coding, this thesis analyses the contents of LT-LEDS and similar LTS, and the scenarios and pathways detailed therein. Assessing the inclusion of CDR methods in scenarios or pathways, and in text, across 41 strategies, reveals a reliance upon nature-based methods, notably forest and soil carbon sinks. National government’s simultaneously stress the risks of relying upon these methods, such as the reversal risks to forests from wildfires, pests, and disease. Assessing the positive emissions that remain at the point of net zero, so called ‘residual emissions’, across a larger sample of 71 LTS, reveals that residual emissions are considerable in size. As a proportion of peak emissions, residual emissions average 21% for Annex I countries, and upwards of 52% in specific cases. These emissions are commonly considered ‘hard-to-abate’, stressing the technical and political complexities to their abatement, meaning they may be best indirectly mitigated through CDR, as opposed to directly abated at source (Babiker et al., 2022). Residual emissions therefore serve as the basis for the deployment of CDR. High residual emission scenarios, show how some countries may retain or expand their fossil fuel production and use, using more CDR or international offsets to achieve net zero, substantiating concerns of mitigation deterrence. By sector, agriculture represents the largest contributor to total residual emissions and the sector with the least relative ambition compared with current emissions. The coding of supporting rationales, detailing why an emission source is considered hard-to-abate or residual, reveals many countries treat residual emissions as an inevitability, overlooking agriculture and emphasising emissions from industry.
LT-LEDS, however, provide a broad overview of climate policy efforts, not detailed policies. They reflect largely promises of decarbonisation, as opposed to concrete actions. This thesis therefore evaluates a national case study where a national strategy has led to advanced policies and plans for CDR, that of the United Kingdom (UK). Through 25 interviews with experts active in CDR policymaking, this thesis identifies a desire for greater government intervention, with calls for the UK government to take a more active role in stimulating market demand, overseeing the sector, and governing the standards through which projects are assessed and credited. Participants were sceptical of the voluntary carbon market (VCM), looking towards government to stimulate demand in addition to the government’s current emphasis on ensuring supply. Participants welcomed greater government oversight, via, for example, the planned government monitoring, reporting and verification standard. These interviews demonstrate the challenge of CDR policymaking, including how concerns towards the role of CDR reflect wider debates in climate policy, such as the need for net-negative emission targets as an extension of net zero ambitions, given the seeming inevitability of temperature overshoot.
Combined this thesis demonstrates that CDR is no longer a debate limited to CDR’s role in scenarios assessed by the IPCC (Fuss et al., 2014). Rather CDR has become an active part of the debate that animates climate policy, and a key feature of the visions of net zero laid out in LTS. In doing so CDR presents new challenges to national governments, such as the extent and reliance upon CDR, and the policies through which CDR is incentivised. CDR therefore brings new concepts to the forefront of climate governance, such as residual emissions.
This thesis ends by setting out future avenues for research, including the prospect of separate targets for CDR and emissions elsewhere in an economy, as a means to reduce the likelihood of high residual emission scenario. Research efforts should similarly be made to explore the means through which residual emissions in agriculture can be further reduced, given their emphasis in scenarios presented in LTS. Further case studies of CDR policymaking are also needed, particularly how government policies are incorporating early efforts to scale CDR through the VCM and the prospect of net-negative emissions
Merchant Networks and Knowledge Transfer in the British Textile Trade, 1820-1840: The case of Langworthy Brothers and Co.
Get PDFThis thesis looks at the importance of merchanting roles in the export of British textiles to overseas markets between 1820 and 1840 through a study of the surviving archival records of Langworthy Brothers & Co. Langworthy was a highly successful textile manufacturer and merchant firm which originated in Manchester during the early nineteenth century. During the 1820s and 1830s, Langworthy concentrated on adapting different textile product lines for overseas markets as well as importing slave-grown produce, including cotton. The Langworthy archive includes extensive items of correspondence, shipping records, cash books and receipts that provide a rich qualitative picture of the British textile trade. This work is the first in-depth study of a Manchester textile merchant firm since 1965 and bestows a fresh perspective on the merchanting aspect of the industry. It provides evidence for the significance of merchant roles, including merchant banks, Liverpool shipping firms, cotton brokers and commission agents. The thesis argues that it was a combination of strong and weak ties with these various merchant roles that allowed Manchester firms to globalise British textiles. It also reveals how information and expertise passed through these networks and produced comparative learning that gave British firms a competitive advantage in overseas markets, especially in Latin America. It was this information, combined with Manchester’s specialist suppliers, that allowed manufacturers to fine-tune products that could be successfully adapted for complex consumer demands in competitive markets. This included printing optimal patterns on products that were likely to succeed in overseas markets, or dyeing cottons in the most sought-after colours. Overall, this thesis contributes to our broader understanding of the nature of the British textile trade’s commercial success during the period between 1820 and 1840 with a specific focus on both Manchester and Latin America
Monitoring drought using the self-calibrating Palmer Drought Severity Index [in "State of the Climate in 2024"]
No full textThe Cultural Meaning of Fire in Juncana
Get PDFThis book aims to reclaim the cultural, symbolic, and territorial value of fire, demonstrating why its recognition is not only an act of historical justice but also an urgent necessity for designing fire management strategies that are more sensitive, context-specific, and sustainable, anchored in dialogue among science, policy, and Indigenous wisdom. Its content shows how deeply fire is rooted in the lives of communities in the Meseta Comiteca Tojolabal of Chiapa, Mexico, and how much local knowledge can contribute to appropriate fire management in the region
Integrating pharmacy students in general practice: a structured placement model supporting cardiovascular disease prevention
No full textIntroduction: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) accounts for a quarter of all deaths in the UK and remains a critical public health priority. The NHS Long Term Plan aims to address this by identifying individuals at risk through services like the NHS Health Check, delivered primarily in general practice [1]. Simultaneously, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has advised that MPharm graduates must be equipped to prescribe upon registration, requiring robust experiential learning to develop essential clinical assessment and decision-making skills [2]. However, general practice settings often face barriers to offering structured placement opportunities due to workload pressures and lack of integration with academic programmes [3]. Aim: This project aimed to evaluate whether a structured placement model in general practice could enhance the clinical competence of pharmacy students while contributing positively to organisation quality improvement targets in cardiovascular disease prevention. Methodology: Four second-year MPharm students undertook one-week structured placements at Great Hollands Practice over four weeks. The placement model was informed by the Best Practice Clinical Learning Environment (BPCLE) framework to align student learning objectives with practice-based quality improvement goals [4]. Students were trained and assessed at induction on the tasks needed to perform during the NHS Health Checks Clinics. This included blood pressure checks, smoking cessation counselling, lifestyle advice, and referrals to weight management services. The clinics were then integrated in the students’ placement timetable. Evaluation methods included direct workplace-based assessments, patient satisfaction surveys, and pre- and post-placement audits of CVD-related service outcomes. Ethical approval was not required due to the project’s classification as a service improvement initiative conducted within a single host organisation. Results: All students successfully completed the placement and passed competency-based assessment outcomes. Patient satisfaction with student-led counselling reached 77.6%, surpassing the practice's typical ratings. Post-placement audits demonstrated marked improvements in CVD prevention outcomes. There was a 47% increase in the number of patients aged 79 years or under with blood pressure ≤140/80 mmHg, and a 52% increase among those aged 80 years or over with blood pressure ≤150/90 mmHg. In addition, the rate of smoking status documentation rose by 47%, and smoking cessation advice increased by 13%. Students contributed to nine weight management referrals and delivered 77 episodes of healthy lifestyle counselling. The practice received regional recognition for its improved outcomes in cardiovascular disease prevention. Discussion: The placement model demonstrated a dual benefit: enhancing pharmacy students’ clinical skills through real-world practice while simultaneously supporting public health priorities. Students were integrated as valued members of the primary care team, contributing meaningfully to service delivery. These findings echo previous work suggesting that while placements initially require adjustment, they ultimately improve both learner development and organisational outcomes [5]. Structured pharmacy placements in general practice offer scalable, replicable models that enhance student education while contributing to NHS cardiovascular disease prevention goals. The success of this pilot has informed broader implementation across regional practices
Assessing the acceptability and cost consequences of implementing elastomeric devices for administration of intravenous antibiotics at home: A mixed-methods evaluation: A mixed-methods evaluation
Get PDFIntroduction: Pressure on NHS services necessitates implementation of innovative solutions to provide appropriate and cost-effective care. This study evaluates the acceptability, feasibility and cost-effectiveness of implementing home medication preparation and elastomeric device filling for the administration of intravenous antibiotics from the UK NHS perspective, focusing on regional implementation. Method: A mixed-methods design included a targeted literature review, routine patient data, questionnaires tailored to participant groups (community clinicians, remote monitoring clinicians, consultants and patients), and interviews with both patients and clinicians. A total of 24 patients were recruited in Hertfordshire between June and September 2024. Piperacillin with tazobactam (Tazocin) or flucloxacillin was prepared and administered at the patients’ home by trained nurses and delivered by the elastomeric pump over 24 h. Economic evaluations compared this home pathway against three alternative pathways using preprepared medications: hospital inpatient care (hospital), outpatient clinic visits (outpatient) and a hypothetical home visit (hypothetical). Findings: Survey responses were collected from 14 clinicians, five patients and two carers, and interviews were conducted with six clinicians, one patient, and one carer. Patients and carers were satisfied with the home pathway because of the perceived safety and freedom it gave them. Clinicians expressed positive feedback and considered it feasible, provided there was sufficient support for themselves and patients. Concerns were raised about design, ease of filling the elastomeric device and monitoring flow of medication. Other issues related to the type of cannula and concentration of the vials, improvements for care packages, communication and training. The home pathway demonstrated cost savings, with a per-patient cost of £2507.54, significantly lower than the hospital pathway (£6122.70), outpatient pathway (£3603.76), and hypothetical pathway (£4373.37). Conclusion: Overall, clinicians, patients and carers were pleased with the home pathway, with the additional benefit that the home pathway could be economically and realistically feasible to help the NHS meet the growing demand for high-quality care