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Reviewing the physio-chemical parameters associated with in-situ Austropotamobius pallipes populations and its application to the establishment of ark sites
Get PDFA psychosocial approach to illness cognition, emotional coping responses and lay referral: an exploratory mixed and multi-methods design within early diagnostic cancer research
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Underlying motives for activity: An agentic emotion regulation and attachment perspective.
No full textITE provision in minority language contexts: The case of Wales and Ireland
Get PDFWithin the broader contexts of language maintenance, revitalisation and use, schools have an important role to play in the early transmission of minority or minoritized languages. Through effective classroom-based practices, teachers can offer rich, continuous linguistic experiences for the young people they teach that can lead to long-term, sustained engagement with language over time. How effective a given approach or practice may be in delivering a linguistic outcome in different contexts depends to a large extent on the skills and competence of the teacher involved (Fitzpatrick et al., 2018, p. 59), and the skills and competence of the teacher are usually rooted in their early experiences as student teachers. Initial teacher education (ITE) programmes are therefore central to the delivery of effective classroom-based practices and fundamental in generating autonomous teachers who can explore critically the different pedagogical approaches as they pertain to minority language contexts. This paper provides a comparative overview of the current issues and challenges facing ITE for primary education in two distinct minority language settings, namely Wales and Ireland. Both settings provide Welsh-medium or Irish-medium immersion education, as well as English-medium education offering Welsh or Irish as statutory subjects up to age 16. Both contexts also offer ITE programmes through the medium of Welsh or Irish, catering specifically for those student teachers wishing to teach in immersion settings. Both contexts face a number of shared challenges in terms of the content, design and delivery of an effective ITE programme for the context. We therefore highlight areas in which resources and methodologies could be shared amongst all those involved in ITE where minority language maintenance is a key component of education
Comparative Assessment of Filtration- and Precipitation-Based Methods for the Concentration of SARS-CoV-2 and Other Viruses from Wastewater
Get PDFWastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been widely used to track levels of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the rapid expansion of WBE, many methods have been used and developed for virus concentration and detection in wastewater. However, very little information is available on the relative performance of these approaches. In this study, we compared the performance of five commonly used wastewater concentration methods for the detection and quantification of pathogenic viruses (SARS-CoV-2, norovirus, rotavirus, influenza, and measles viruses), fecal indicator viruses (crAssphage, adenovirus, pepper mild mottle virus), and process control viruses (murine norovirus and bacteriophage Phi6) in laboratory spiking experiments. The methods evaluated included those based on either ultrafiltration (Amicon centrifugation units and InnovaPrep device) or precipitation (using polyethylene glycol [PEG], beef extract-enhanced PEG, and ammonium sulfate). The two best methods were further tested on 115 unspiked wastewater samples. We found that the volume and composition of the wastewater and the characteristics of the target viruses greatly affected virus recovery, regardless of the method used for concentration. All tested methods are suitable for routine virus concentration; however, the Amicon ultrafiltration method and the beef extract-enhanced PEG precipitation methods yielded the best recoveries. We recommend the use of ultrafiltration-based concentration for low sample volumes with high virus titers and ammonium levels and the use of precipitation-based concentration for rare pathogen detection in high-volume sample
Iron-Modified Biochar Strengthens Simazine Adsorption and Decreases Simazine Decomposition in the Soil
Get PDFCurrently, modified biochar has been successfully used in the remediation of soil polluted with heavy metals. However, the effects of the modified biochar on pesticides (such as simazine) are still unclear. Herein, the environmental fate of simazine, such as decomposition, leaching, and adsorption in unamended soil, in the soil amended with unmodified and modified biochar (biochar + FeCl3, biochar + FeOS, biochar + Fe) were evaluated. In addition, an incubation experiment was also performed to observe the influence of modified biochar on the microbial community and diversity in the soil. The results showed that modified biochar significantly decreased the decomposition of simazine in the soil compared to its counterpart. Modified biochar also reduced the concentration of simazine in the leachate. Compared with the control, soil microbial biomass in the soil amended with unmodified biochar, biochar + FeCl3, biochar + Fe, and biochar + FeOS was decreased by 5.3%, 18.8%, 8.7%, and 18.1%, respectively. Furthermore, modified biochar changed the structure of the microbial community. This shows that modified biochar could increase the soil adsorption capacity for simazine and change the amount and microbial community that regulates the fate of simazine in the soil. This study concludes that iron-modified biochar has positive and negative effects on the soil. Therefore, its advantages and side effects should be considered before applying it to the soil
Evidence of potential synergy between aquaculture and offshore renewable energy
Get PDFWorldwide increased demand for offshore renewable energy (ORE) industries and aquaculture requires developing efficient tools to optimize the use of the offshore space, reducing anthropic pressure. The synergetic development of marine renewable energy infrastructure with mariculture has been hypothesized as a way to reduce costs through shared infrastructure. In the Irish Sea, blue mussels (Mytilus edulis L.) represent 40 - 50 % of the total gross turnover of Welsh shellfish industries and the industry has been operating sustainably for over 50 years in North Wales. However, the region is also attractive for tidal energy projects, with strong tidal currents (> 2m/s) occurring, and offshore wind farms, with shallow waters (approx. 50 m) and consistent winds. In this context, it is of scientific and economic interest to study the potential impact of ORE on shellfish larvae recruitment. A numerical approach has been developed using an Eulerian hydrodynamic model coupled with a Lagrangian particle tracking model, which allowed the simulation of tidal currents, wind-driven currents and larval dispersal. Results show: 1) interannual variability of density distribution of larvae; and 2) strong connectivity between commercial shellfish beds and ORE sites. This study shows the importance of ORE site selection in order to: 1) reduce biofouling on ORE infrastructures and 2) develop multi-use platforms at sea to combine needs for ORE and for mariculture
Evaluation of Family Disability Worker: Conwy County Borough Council
Get PDFThough our understanding of the impact of disabilities/complex additional needs on children/young people has developed over the years, there continues to be limited understanding of the impact on the whole family. This evaluation focused on a local study completed across Conwy, which included a focus on a survey for professionals (n=23) and parents/carers (n=5) to explore their attitudes and views on the role of the Family Disability Worker (FDW). Following this, a series of semi-structured interviews were completed in order to gather in-depth information from professionals (n=23) and parents/carers (n=3). The aim of the interviews was to explore the experiences of participants of supporting the needs of a child(ren) with a disability or additional needs. This included an exploration of their views on working with the FDW, including their perspectives on the uses and limitations of this role. The analysis identified several key points: firstly, that a delay in a specialist neurodevelopment diagnosis has a significant impact on the whole family, which results in families experiencing the impact of significant behaviours of concerns over a prolonged period of time; secondly, the sustained impact of addressing this behaviour results in families feeling social excluded and isolated; thirdly, these family often suffer the impact of poor housing, overcrowding and poverty and finally, the overall positive impact of robust multi-agency working on the well-being outcomes for the whole family. The findings have relevance for policy and practice and contribute to an emerging field of literature exploring the nature of disability and additional needs on families who are often perceived to be the ‘missing middle’. The findings suggest the importance of preventative services to support the needs of families with children who have a disability or additional needs. A key finding is the overwhelming agreement on a multi-agency basis and across families of the importance of the contribution offered by the FDW role. This finding suggests that any future developments around enhancing this role would be a welcome additional to the multi-agency services supporting families across Conwy
Six Decades of Thermal Change in a Pristine Lake Situated North of the Arctic Circle
Get PDFAbstractThe majority of lake temperature studies have investigated climate‐induced changes occurring at the lake surface, primarily by analyzing detailed satellite images of surface water temperature. Whilst essential to observe long‐term change, satellite images do not provide information on the thermal environment at depth, thus limiting our understanding of lake thermal responses to a warming world. Long‐term in situ observational data can fill some of the information gap, with depth‐resolved field measurements providing a detailed view of thermal change throughout the water column. However, many previous studies that have investigated multi‐decadal changes in lake temperature, both at the surface and at depth, have typically focused on north temperate lakes. Relatively few studies have investigated temperature variations in lakes situated north of the Arctic Circle, which is one of the most rapidly warming regions on Earth. Here, using a 60‐year (1961–2020) observational data set of summer water temperature (July–September) from Lake Inari (Finland), we investigate changes in the thermal environment of this pristine lake. Our analysis suggests a statistically significant summer warming trend at the lake surface (+0.25°C decade−1, p‐value <0.1), whilst deepwater temperatures remain largely unchanged. This contrasting thermal response of surface and bottom water temperature to climatic warming has likewise resulted in a strengthening of summer stratification in this high latitude lake. Implications of the observed change in both temperature and stratification on the lake ecosystem will likely be extensive, including impacts on aquatic organisms which this lake supports. Our work builds on the ever‐growing literature regarding lake thermal responses to climate change