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A multispecies red-light district for Amsterdam: a propositional image
No full textThis project was made in relation to the exhibition Perfect Nature with Dutch hosts zone2source, who are based in Amstelpark, the location of our three-month “Test Site” residency. The research we undertook highlights art's role as an eco-social practice that requires forms which respect futures orientated toward cohabitation and coexistence with other species. In this brief text and visual essay, we explore light as pollution as we gradually shifted our gaze away from operational images of anthropogenic noise toward a propositional image both in situ at Amstelpark and further afield through symbiotic activism
Reverse shoulder prosthesis for proximal humeral fractures: primary treatment vs. salvage procedure
Get PDFBackground: The optimal treatment for complex proximal humerus fractures (PHFs) lacks
consensus, with reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA) often being a final resort rather than a
primary approach. This study aimed to compare outcomes and satisfaction rates of primary RTSA
for PHFs versus salvage RTSA for previously unsuccessful treatments. We hypothesized that
primary RTSA would yield superior clinical outcomes, functional scores, and patient satisfaction.
Methods: A retrospective analysis of RSA procedures between 2011 and 2021 was conducted,
focusing on primary RTSA for PHFs or salvage RTSA for failed osteosynthesis. Patients meeting
inclusion criteria underwent clinical and radiological follow-up for at least two years. Demographic
characteristics, outcomes scores, and range of motion (ROM) were assessed. Results: Of 63 patients,
42 underwent primary RTSA and 21 underwent salvage RTSA. The median follow-up was 50
months. Statistically significant differences favored primary RTSA in forward flexion, abduction,
internal rotation, and Constant shoulder score. Patient satisfaction levels did not significantly differ
between groups. Complications occurred in 7.15% of primary RTSA cases and 14.28% of salvage
RTSA cases. Conclusions: Primary RTSA may yield slightly better outcomes and lower
complication rates compared to salvage RTSA. Further prospective studies are necessary to validate
these findings
Improving assessment for work-based learning and degree apprenticeships in business: case study of student-led peer review
Get PDFInvolving students in peer review has substantial benefits for students’ learning and development and, more pragmatically, for staff workload. This paper reports on a student-led effort to co-design a peer review formative assessment task. The assessment is part of a personal development module within a higher education degree apprenticeship programme delivered via blended mode by a business school in South-East England. This case study on student-staff partnership offers a description of the process and a reflection on the impacts from both the student and staff perspective. It suggests that student co-design and peer review activities complement work-based learning, effectively bringing the prior experiences and academic skills of mature / professional students into the classroom
A UK framework for the assessment and integration of different scientific evidence streams in chemical risk assessmentt
Get PDFBackground
Few methods are available for transparently combining different evidence streams for chemical risk assessment to reach an integrated conclusion on the probability of causation. Hence, the UK Committees on Toxicity (COT) and on Carcinogenicity (COC) have reviewed current practice and developed guidance on how to achieve this in a transparent manner, using graphical visualisation.
Methods/approach
All lines of evidence, including toxicological, epidemiological, new approach methodologies, and mode of action should be considered, taking account of their strengths/weaknesses in their relative weighting towards a conclusion on the probability of causation. A qualitative estimate of the probability of causation is plotted for each line of evidence and a combined estimate provided.
Discussion/conclusions
Guidance is provided on integration of multiple lines of evidence for causation, based on current best practice. Qualitative estimates of probability for each line of evidence are plotted graphically. This ensures a deliberative, consensus conclusion on likelihood of causation is reached. It also ensures clear communication of the influence of the different lines of evidence on the overall conclusion on causality. Issues on which advice from the respective Committees is sought varies considerably, hence the guidance is designed to be sufficiently flexible to meet this need
Innovative use of chitosan/ZnO NPs bio-nanocomposites for sustainable antimicrobial food packaging of poultry meat
Get PDFA novel nanocomposite was developed by integrating zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) into chitosan (CS) matrix and investigated for its impact on the quality and shelf life of refrigerated poultry meat over 11 days. Physicochemical properties including weight, pH, titratable acidity, color, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances assay, microbiological growth studies encompassed total psychotropic and mesophilic aerobic microorganisms, Enterobacteriaceae analyses, and zinc migration levels were conducted to determine the optimal nanocomposite concentration. Results revealed that bio-nanocomposite exhibited superior characteristics compared to chemogenic nanocomposite, chitosan, polyvinyl alcohol, and unwrapped meats. Bio-nanocomposite with reduced unsaturated lipid content extends poultry shelf life to 7 days in packaging, outperforming chemogenic-nanocomposites (5 days) and chitosan (4 days). This study proves that CS/ZnO NP nanocomposite is a promising active packaging material for meat, extending their shelf life without deteriorating its physicochemical characteristics and supporting sustainability, though further research on its toxicological properties is warranted
On the robustness of methods to account for background bias in data assimilation to uncertainties in the bias estimates
Get PDFFundamental to the theory of data assimilation is that the data (i.e. the observations and the background) provide an unbiased estimate of the true state. There are many situations when this assumption is known to be far from valid and without bias correction significant biases will be present in the resulting analysis. Here we compare two methods to account for biases in the background that do not require a change to the data assimilation algorithm: explicit bias correction (BC) and covariance inflation (CI). When the background bias is known perfectly it is clear that the BC method outperforms the CI method in that it can completely remove the effect of the background bias whereas the CI method can only reduce it. However, the background bias can only be estimated when unbiased observations are available. A lack of unbiased observations means that the estimate of the background will always be subject to sample errors as well as structural errors due to poor assumptions about how the bias varies in space and time. Given these difficulties in estimating the background bias, the robustness of the two methods in producing an unbiased analysis is studied within an idealised linear system. It is found that the CI method is much less sensitive to errors in the background bias estimate and that a smooth estimate of the bias is crucial to the success of the BC method. However, the CI method is more sensitive to uncorrected biases in the observations
Path analysis reveals combined winter climate and pollution effects on the survival of a marine top predator
Get PDFMarine ecosystems are experiencing growing pressure from multiple threats caused by human activities, with far-reaching consequences for marine food webs. Determining the effects of multiple stressors is complex, in part, as they can affect different levels of biological organisation (behaviour, individual traits, demographic rates). Knowledge of the cumulative effects of stressors is key to predict the consequences for threatened populations’ viability under global change. Due to their position in the food chain, top predators such as seabirds are considered more sensitive to environmental changes. Climate change is affecting the prey resources available for seabirds, through bottom-up effects, while organic pollutants can bioaccumulate in food chains with the greatest impacts on top predators. However, knowledge of their combined effects on seabird population dynamics is lacking. Using a path analysis, we quantify the effects of both climate change and pollution, via an effect on body mass, on the survival of adult great black-backed gulls. Warmer ocean temperatures in gulls’ winter foraging areas in the North Sea were correlated with higher survival, potentially explained by shifts in prey availability associated with global climate change. We also found support for indirect negative effects of organochlorines, highly toxic pollutants to seabirds, on survival acting through a negative effect on body mass. The results from this path analysis highlight how, even for such long-lived species where variance in survival tends to be limited, two stressors still have had a marked influence on adult survival and illustrate the potential of such models to improve predictions of population variability under multiple 36 stressors
A global assessment of the effects of solar farms on albedo, vegetation, and land surface temperature using remote sensing
Get PDFThe rapid development of solar energy worldwide has attracted increasing attention due to its climatic and environmental impacts. Using MODIS data, we quantified the effects of solar farms (SFs) on albedo, vegetation (using enhanced vegetation index (EVI) as a proxy), and land surface temperature (LST) based on 116 large SFs across the world. The results show that the installation of SFs decreased the annual mean surface shortwave albedo by 0.016 ± 0.009 (mean ± 1 STD) and reduced the EVI by 0.015 ± 0.019 relative to the surrounding areas. SFs produced a strong cooling effect of −0.49 ± 0.43 K in the annual mean land surface temperature during the daytime and a weaker cooling effect of −0.21 ± 0.25 K during the nighttime. The greatest impacts on albedo and daytime LST were observed in barren land, followed by grassland and cropland, while the opposite order applied for vegetation impact. In terms of seasonal and latitudinal variations, the largest impact was observed at high latitudes in winter on albedo, at mid-latitudes in summer on vegetation, and at low latitudes in spring–summer transitions on daytime LST. Correlation analysis showed that the albedo and LST impacts were enhanced over large SFs with high capacity. The vegetation and LST impacts were both correlated with geographic and climatic factors and dependent on the type of SF (photovoltaic or concentrating solar power). Our global assessment provides observational evidence for the effects of SF construction on the environment and local climate, which can help the sustainable development of solar energy
