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Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) of James Latham Accoya® Cladding uncoated
Get PDFThis Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) evaluates the environmental impact of Lathams uncoated Accoya cladding from a cradle-to-gate perspective, covering raw material extraction, transportation, manufacturing, and packaging. The study follows the EN 15804: 2012 + A2: 2019 and PCR 2019:14 v1.3.3 standards to ensure consistency and comparability with other Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). The assessment incorporates primary production data from Lathams and accounts for resource use, waste generation, and energy consumption throughout the manufacturing process.The findings indicate that the production of 1m² of uncoated Accoya cladding results in 20.23 kg of CO₂e emissions, which is significantly reduced to 6.65 kg CO₂e when biogenic carbon uptake is factored in. The primary environmental hotspot is the Accoya wood itself due to the material requirements and the associated waste generated during processing. While transportation and energy use contribute to the overall impact, they play a relatively minor role in comparison. The analysis highlights that optimising material efficiency and reducing wood waste during production would have the greatest potential for minimising the product’s environmental footprint. These insights provide valuable information for customers and stakeholders seeking sustainable cladding solutions
Observational energy transfers of a spiral cold filament within an anticyclonic eddy
Get PDFThe ocean surface mixed layer represents a critical interface linking the ocean and atmosphere. The physical processes determining the surface mixed layer properties and mediate atmosphere-ocean exchange. Submesoscale processes play a key role in cross-scale oceanic energy transformation and the determination of surface mixed-layer properties, including the enhancement of vertical nutrient transport, leading to increased primary productivity. Herein, we presented observations of the spiral chlorophyll-a filament and its influence on turbulence within an anticyclonic eddy in the western South China Sea during August 2021. The filament had a negative Ertel potential vorticity associated with strong upwelled/downward currents (approximately 20-40 m/day). Across-filament sections of the in-situ profiles showed turbulent dissipation rates enhanced in the filament. We suggested this enhancement values can be attributed to submesoscale processes, which accounted for 25% of the total parameterized turbulent dissipation rates. The present parametrized submesoscale turbulent scheme overestimated the in-situ values. The filament transferred kinetic energy upward to anticyclonic eddy via barotropic instability and gained energy from the anticyclonic eddy via baroclinic instability. After kinetic energy budget diagnostic, we suggested besides symmetric instability, centrifugal instability and mixed layer baroclinic instability should also be included in the turbulence scheme to overcome the overestimation. The observed dual energy transfers between the anticyclonic eddy and filament, and the observed high turbulent energy dissipation within the filament, emphasized the need for these processes to be accurately parameterized regional and climate models
Developing a Consensus Statement to Target Oral Health Inequalities in People With Severe Mental Illness
Get PDFIntroductionOral diseases are more prevalent in people with severe mental illness (SMI) compared to those without mental illnees. A greater focus on oral health is needed to reverse unacceptable but often neglected oral health inequality in people with SMI. This provided the impetus for developing ‘The Right to Smile’ consensus statement. We aimed to develop and disseminate a consensus statement to address oral health inequality, highlighting the main areas for concern and recommending an evidence‐based 5‐year action plan to improve oral health in people with SMI.MethodsThe Right to Smile consensus statement was developed by experts from several professional disciplines and practice settings (mental, dental and public health) and people with lived experience, including carers. Stakeholders participated in a series of online workshops to develop a rights‐based consensus statement. Subsequent dissemination activities were conducted to maximise its reach and impact.ResultsThe consensus statement was developed to focus on how oral health inequalities could be addressed through a set of 5‐year improvement targets for practice, policy and training. The consensus was reached on three 5‐year action plans: ‘Any assessment of physical health in people experiencing SMI must include consideration of oral health’, ‘Access to dental services for people with SMI needs to improve’ and ‘The importance of oral health for people experiencing SMI should be recognised in healthcare training, systems, and structures’.ConclusionThis consensus statement urges researchers, services and policymakers to embrace a 5‐year action plan to improve oral health for people with SMI.Patient or Public ContributionThe team included people with lived experience of SMI, their carers/family members and mental and dental health service providers. They were involved in every stage of developing the consensus statement, from conception to development and dissemination
The threat of Peters’s Rock Agama (Agama picticauda) to reptile diversity across the Lesser Antilles
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A reliance on human habitats is key to the success of an introduced predatory reptile
Get PDFUnderstanding the success of animals in novel environments is increasingly important as human-mediated introductions continue to move species far beyond their natural ranges. Alongside these introductions, inhabited and agricultural areas are spreading, and correspondingly most animal introductions occur in populated areas. Commensal species which can live alongside humans by making use of specific conditions, structures, or prey, have a significant advantage. Introduced mammal species often use anthropogenic features in their environment and demonstrate a higher tolerance of human disturbance, but their importance remains understudied in ectotherms. The Aesculapian snake (Zamenis longissimus) is an ectotherm which has been introduced beyond the northern extremities of its natural range. To understand their persistence, we radio-tracked snakes daily over two active seasons, including high-frequency tracking of a subset of males. We investigated snake home range size using Autocorrelated Kernel Density Estimators (AKDE). Using AKDE-weighted Habitat Selection Functions we identified preferences for habitat features in a mosaic of habitats, and we used Integrated Step Selection Functions to further explore how these features influence movement. We revealed a particular preference for buildings in male snakes, while females preferred woodland. We demonstrate that the success of this ectothermic predator is likely tied to a willingness to use human features of the landscape
Telehealth-delivered cognitive rehabilitation for people with cognitive impairment as part of the post-COVID syndrome: protocol for a randomised controlled trial as part of the CICERO (Cognitive Impairment in Long COVID: Phenotyping and Rehabilitation) study
Get PDFBackgroundBetween 25 and 75% of people with persistent post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) experience cognitive difficulties, compromising functional ability, quality of life, and activities of daily living, including work. Despite this significant morbidity, there is a paucity of interventions for this disorder that have undergone evaluation within a formal trial setting. Therefore, we have developed a cognitive rehabilitation programme, specifically designed to address the cognitive symptoms of PASC, notably impaired attention and processing speed, while also accounting for other PASC symptoms (fatigue, post-exertional malaise) that may aggravate the cognitive impairment. This study protocol outlines a randomised controlled trial (RCT) designed to evaluate the effectiveness of this programme compared to standard clinical care.MethodsThis is a multi-centre, parallel-group, individually randomised controlled trial, comparing standard clinical care with and without cognitive rehabilitation. We will recruit 120 non-hospitalised adults (aged 30–60 years) from three NHS sites in England with a history of COVID-19 infection and cognitive impairment persisting more than 3 months after the acute infection. Participants will be randomised (1:1) to the intervention or control groups, with the latter represented as a provision of standard clinical care without cognitive rehabilitation. The cognitive rehabilitation programme consists of ten 1-hour sessions, delivered weekly. Outcomes will be collected at baseline, 3, and 6 months, with participant-defined goal-attainment scores, relating to functional goals, at 3 months as the primary outcome measure. Secondary outcomes will be cognitive function, measures of quality of life, social functioning, mental health, fatigue, sleep, post-exertional malaise, and social and health care service use. We will also evaluate the health-economic benefits of cognitive rehabilitation in this population.DiscussionCognitive impairment in PASC is a major cause of functional disability with no effective treatment. Accordingly, we will undertake an RCT of cognitive rehabilitation, the protocol of which is published here. If this trial is successful in delivering improvements in trial outcomes, it will address a major unmet need relating to this emergent disorder, with a significant impact on affected individuals and the wider health economy.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT05731570. Registered on February 16, 202
Exploring longitudinal changes in implicit awareness of dementia: An investigation of the emotional Stroop effect in healthy ageing and mild dementia
Get PDFThe aim of the study was to investigate responses to dementia-relevant words in healthy older people and to investigate changes in response over 20-months in people with early-stage dementia. An emotional Stroop task, using colour-naming dementia-relevant words, was used as an indicator of implicit awareness of dementia. Overall, 24 people with dementia and 24 healthy older people completed an emotional Stroop task (T1). People with dementia completed the same task again after 12 (T2) and 20 (T3) months. For people with dementia emotional Stroop performance was contrasted with ratings of explicit awareness based on a detailed interview at T1 and at T2. For healthy older people and people with dementia response times to dementia-relevant words were significantly longer than those for neutral words. The effect was absent for people with dementia at T3. This decline in the emotional Stroop effect was not associated with cognitive decline as measured by the MMSE. Ratings of explicit awareness showed no significant change over time. There was no association between explicit awareness and implicit awareness. Implicit awareness of the condition is evident in early-stage dementia and can be elicited even where there is reduced explicit awareness. The emotional Stroop effect for dementia-relevant words in people with dementia appears to decline over time, independently of changes in MMSE score, suggesting that implicit awareness fades as time progresses
Visual Storytelling: A Methodological Approach to Designing and Implementing a Visualisation Poster
Get PDFWe present a design study of developing a visualisation poster. Posters can be difficult to create, and the story on a poster is notalways clear. Using a case-study approach we propose three important aspects: the poster should have a clear focus (especiallya hero visualisation), envisioning its use helps to drive the important aspects, and third the essence (its fundamental conceptand guiding idea) must be clear. We will use case studies that have focused on the use of the Five Design-Sheet method (FdS) asa way to sketch and plan a visualisation, before successfully implementing and creating the visual poster. The case studies serveas a practical illustration of the workflow, offering a means to explain the three key processes involved: (1) comprehending thedata, (2) employing a design study with the FdS (Five Design-Sheet), (3) crafting, evaluating and refining the visualisation
Respiration and carbon use efficiency characteristics of soluble protein-derived carbon by soil microorganisms: A case study at afforested sites
Get PDFSoluble protein makes an important contribution to the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) in soils, however, knowledge on the respiration and C use efficiency (CUE) characteristics of soluble protein-derived C by soil microorganisms remains limited. To address this issue, we sampled surface soils (0−10 cm) from seven tree monocultures and investigated the temporal dynamics of turnover of 14C-labelled soluble protein-derived C by soil microorganisms. Two double first-order exponential kinetic decay models were applied to analyze the mineralization data (i.e., with and without abiotic protein-surface interactions). The model incorporating the immobilization of protein on the non-living solid phase exhibited the best fit to the experimental data (R2 > 99.6%). Our results suggest that 66.1−73.9% of the soluble protein-derived C was immobilized by the non-living solid phase in soils. After uptake by the soil microbial community, 8.0−13.8% of the C was rapidly respired as CO2, while 15.0−20.8% was used in anabolic processes, resulting in a CUE of 55.1−70.2%. However, there was little effect of forest type on protein turnover rate in the soil. The C:N ratio of soil microbial biomass (C/Nmic) was positively related to the CUE of protein and showed less variation within a forest type. Compared with soil microbial biomass C and N, C/Nmic could serve as a better indicator of the CUE of protein by soil microorganisms. This study sheds light on the respiration and CUE characteristics of soluble protein-derived C by soil microorganisms at afforested sites and enhances our understanding of the trade-off between the metabolism of protein-derived C by soil microorganisms and its immobilization by the non-living solid phase in soils
A transdisciplinary co-conceptualisation of marine identity
Get PDFChallenge 10 of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030) calls for the restoration of society's relationship with the ocean. Research suggests that the relationship people have with marine environments can influence their depth of engagement in marine citizenship action, and the important role for ‘marine identity’ in driving that action. Although identity is well‐researched, marine identity is a concept novel to academia and a baseline understanding is required, both to grasp the scope of the concept, and to support research into its role in transforming the human‐ocean relationship. Here, a transdisciplinary study, endorsed as a UN Ocean Decade Activity and by the EU Mission Ocean & Waters, brought together a multinational community of marine researchers and practitioners to co‐produce a baseline conceptualisation of marine identity, drawing on photovoice and deliberative methodology. This paper presents the findings of the co‐production process and offers a first introduction in the literature of the multiple variations and formations of marine identity. We find marine identity to be a complex and multidimensional concept, suffused with individual experiences and understandings of the marine environment, based on social and cultural understandings of the ocean, contemporarily and historically. We present real‐world examples of marine identity to illustrate key themes that were developed through co‐production. Policy implications: We propose marine identity as a catalyst for understanding existing multifaceted and caring relationships with the ocean, as well as the restoration of society's relationship with the ocean. Marine identity research should, therefore, be prioritised in research seeking to contribute to the UN Ocean Decade Challenge 10, as this will support integration of non‐material values of the ocean into marine planning processes and policy making, enabling effective responses to Challenge 10's emphasis on integrating traditional/cultural ways of knowing and valuing the marine environment, through diverse marine identities. We welcome research efforts that will further develop the marine identity concept and empirically investigate the relationships between marine identity, marine citizenship, and people's relationships with the ocean. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog