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Short-term effects of red deer overabundance on herbaceous communities in Mediterranean woody ecosystems
Get PDFHerbaceous communities are vital for biodiversity in forests and scrublands. Herbivory influences their cover, richness, and diversity. Overabundant herbivores disrupt these communities and ecosystem processes. In recent decades, vast territories (e.g., North America, Europe) have experienced a remarkable increase in deer (Cervidae) populations. However, few studies have examined the effects of increasing ungulate densities in different Mediterranean habitats. This study explores the short-term impacts of red deer overabundance on the cover, richness, and diversity (taxonomic and functional) of herbaceous layers in Mediterranean scrublands and forests to guide management. In three enclosures across two habitats (scrubland and oak forest), we manipulated deer densities: control (no deer), high density (18–63 deer/km2), and hyper density (58–113 deer/km2). Herbaceous species occurrence and cover were recorded in 90 quadrats (50 × 50 cm), alongside bibliographic data for six functional traits. Herbaceous cover, richness, and diversity (taxonomic and functional) were analysed with Generalized Linear Mixed Models. Hyper deer density negatively affected herbaceous cover, taxonomic richness, and diversity in both forests and scrublands. The high density treatment already showed a clear trend towards reducing these three variables that were heavily increased for the hyper density scenario (e.g. 84.2 % cover loss in the scrubland and 64.2 % in the forest). Functional diversity remained unchanged, likely due to a > 40-year legacy of deer herbivory favoring traits typical of grazing areas. Deer overabundance is causing rapid, drastic changes in herbaceous communities, even in short term. Managers should reduce deer populations to protect these communities, which offer high-quality forage and essential ecological roles
Phenomenological Observations of Thick Liquid Sheet Breakup Mechanisms in a Transient Flat-fan Water Spray at High Frame Rates
No full textThis study investigates the transient breakup processes during liquid atomisation, which is key for applications that require control of droplet size and velocity distributions, such as drug delivery or fuel sprays. Using high-speed imaging, the breakup of a liquid flat fan spray under controlled conditions has been observed. Water was injected vertically at 20 bar pressure and 15 ms injection duration through a slit nozzle (effective orifice diameter of 0.48 mm) into quiescent air at ambient conditions. An ultra high-speed camera (Kirana, Specialised Imaging Ltd), equipped with an industrial lens and laser background illumination were utilised to capture detailed images of the spray at various stages of the breakup process. The data was collected at frame rates ranging from 20 kHz to 5 MHz, with images of the liquid sheet, breakup, and dispersed droplets captured at different times during the injection event. The results revealed three distinct stages in the breakup process. In the first stage, a laminar liquid sheet with thick rims forms, and Squire waves develop. In the second stage, the spray stabilises, with low-amplitude wave fluctuations. In the third stage, the sheet undergoes kinematic thinning, causing instabilities and the formation of bag-like structures and perforations. These create small satellite droplets, which interact with vortical flows, moving upstream, opposite to the main flow. Some droplets glide or splash, forming capillary patterns, while others puncture the sheet, leading to further breakup. The study categorises these phenomena, contributing to a better understanding of spray breakup that can aid in the development of predictive models for improving spray atomisation system design
Understanding footwear needs:a conceptual review
Get PDFIntroduction: This conceptual review is the first work to explore the concept of footwear needs. The review draws upon multidisciplinary literature to synthesise and formulate the first iteration of conceptual understanding of footwear needs. Methods: A systematic search was performed and through a screening process, 81 studies were included in this conceptual review. The included studies were analysed using the pragmatic utility meta‐synthesis method to develop conceptual understanding and framework. The review process was further strengthened through expert consultation. Results: The definition of footwear needs is defined as ‘footwear requirements for the well‐being of a person’. Preconditions of footwear needs include characteristics related to the person, product (footwear) and circumstances. Attributes of footwear needs encompass physical (fit for foot and fit for purpose), safety (footwear safety and financial safety), social (fit for person and fit for society) and emotional (increase positive emotions and decrease negative emotions) needs. Outcomes of footwear needs are related to physical, psychological and social aspects of a person. The conceptual framework of footwear needs illustrates the relationships between various factors underlying footwear needs. Footwear comfort is also identified as an allied concept and a potential outcome when footwear needs are achieved. Conclusion: This conceptual review provides valuable insights into footwear needs, offering a foundation for future research and practical applications in footwear assessment, education and interventions
Between cultures and challenges: First‐generation British South Asian women's experiences of discrimination, intersectionality and woman‐to‐woman support in the workplace
Get PDFWomen from ethnically minoritised groups navigate challenges in the Western workforce using unique strategies. However, less is known about multicultural women's workplace experiences. The current study aimed to examine the research question: How do multicultural first-generation British South Asian women experience intersectionality in the workplace, and what role does woman-to-woman support play in such experiences? We conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 first-generation British South Asian women in the United Kingdom (UK). Participants were asked about (a) the impact of their identities on their employment and (b) the role of woman-to-woman support. Thematic analysis revealed that multicultural South Asian women living in the UK experience workplace discrimination due to their single-group identity (e.g., being South Asian) and their intersectional identities (e.g., being a South Asian woman). Moreover, contextual factors (e.g., workplace demographics) and individual-level factors (e.g., accent) offered protection against workplace discrimination. Participants also received practical and emotional woman-to-woman support; notably, support rooted in cultural understanding was especially effective. Our findings demonstrated the importance of social and community contexts in shaping British South Asian women's individual and social functioning. These findings held implications by providing a multicultural and intersectional lens for understanding workplace inclusivity and diversity
Obsessed
No full text'Obsessed' is an evolving body of work by artist duo Thomas & Maloney, shown at the Dorset Place gallery in November 2025. The immersive exhibition invited audiences into a world of obsessive image making - a dissecting and reimagining of the representation of flowers through analogue processes. At the heart of this work is a shared fascination: each artist has an enduring fixation on a particular flower—tulips for Thomas and pansies for Maloney. This exhibition showcased hand printed darkroom works, a handmade book and large digital prints by Kirsty Thomas, ‘Tulip Fever’ (2025) and a 16mm film piece and cameraless C-Type colour darkroom prints by Rachel Maloney ‘We are obsessed with you’ (2025).<br/
Rivers, rainfall and risk: monitoring and managing water quality in the UK under a changing climate
No full textHealthy rivers are a powerful ally in mitigating the effects of climate change; they can protect communities from flood and drought events, and bolster ecosystem and biodiversity resilience (The Rivers Trust, 2024). However, our surface waters (rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal waters) have historically been used as disposal routes for human, agricultural and industrial wastes, harming water quality. Many of our rivers have also been straightened, had weirs, flow gauging and other infrastructure introduced to facilitate agriculture and to protect against flooding. All of these alterations can degrade habitats, affect fish passage and reduce biodiversity. Consequently, the state of many of our surface waters in England is far from healthy, with only 14% of rivers, 14% of lakes, 19% of estuaries and 46% of coastal waters currently classified as being in ‘good ecological status’ (EA, 2024). What ‘good ecological status’ means is that there has been only a ‘slight change from the natural state as a result of human impact’, whereas ‘moderate’ or ‘poor’ status implies that a moderate or major change has occurred as a result of human impact. This article sets out to explore some of the reasons why water pollution incidents occur and importantly identifies what needs to be done to protect water quality in the UK in the face of climate change. This involved: (i) outlining potential sources of water pollution; (ii) highlighting the effect that rainfall can have on water quality and health; and (iii) concludes by introducing some of the novel water quality monitoring tools and approaches needed to meet this challenge
Le Sel Noir:Städtische Galerie
No full textTouring group exhibitions featuring the installation by Harold Offeh: Performers: Harold Offeh, Veronica Codova de la Rosa, Samra Mayanja, Ebun A Sodipo Photography: Eloise CalandreChoreography: Vânia GalaSound design: XanaProject support: Jack Scott, James Jordan Johnso
Two-Phase Swirling Flow and Gas Hydrate Particle Deposition Behavior in Bending Pipelines
No full textThe present study employs numerical simulation to analyze the behavior of gas hydrate particles in bending pipelines, focusing on the influence of swirl flow on particle deposition under varying bending angles, pipe-to-diameter ratios, Reynolds numbers, and twist rates. Results indicate that larger bending angles, smaller twist rates, and higher Reynolds numbers produce stronger swirl flows at pipe entry and sustain higher swirl numbers along the pipeline. Conversely, larger pipe-to-diameter ratios result in greater swirl number variations, slower attenuation, and weaker outflow. Moreover, the phenomenon of hydrate particle deposition is more serious in the straight pipe section. Particle retention at the pipe outlet is 1.5 times higher than in the bending section. The bent pipe is more conducive to the flow of particles. For instance, with a bend rate increasing from 1 to 4, the swirl number decreases by 57.49%. Additionally, the deposition rate of particles is reduced at higher Reynolds numbers, with rates falling below 1% at a Reynolds number of 20,000. These findings highlight the need to optimize swirl flow parameters to reduce hydrate deposition, preventing blockages and improving pipeline safety in industrial applications.</p
Re-imagined Ecologies
No full textThis exhibition of recent practice-based work by colleagues in the Photography Research Excellence Group explores ecological themes through depictions of human and animal bodies and environments. Featuring work by Holly Birtles, Daniel C Blight, Zoe Childerley, Rachel K Gillies, Fergus Heron, Åsa Johannesson and Martin Seeds.The selection of work in the exhibition offers various ways to reimagine how human and non-human natures relate to one another with photography as a disclosive medium embedded in ecological relations.Different approaches to photography are presented in the exhibition that refer to and challenge traditional realist categories of picturing, as well as contrasting methods of image appropriation, montage and collage. The exhibition contributes new perspectives on relations of art and ecology with which to reflect upon current circumstances and consider uncertain futures.Re-imagined Ecologies builds upon recent Photography Research Excellence Group activities, including previous exhibitions during Photo Fringe 2024 in our School of Art and Media DorsetPlace and Willmot Galleries, an exhibition responding to the British Antarctic Survey Archive and Stranger than Fiction at Phoenix Art Space Project Space in 2024
Extension of Fisher’s least significant difference method to multi-armed group-sequential response-adaptive designs
No full textMulti-armed multi-stage designs evaluate experimental treatments using a control arm at interim analyses. Incorporating response-adaptive randomisation in these designs allows early stopping, faster treatment selection and more patients to be assigned to the more promising treatments. Existing frequentist multi-armed multi-stage designs demonstrate that the family-wise error rate is strongly controlled, but they may be too conservative and lack power when the experimental treatments are very different therapies rather than doses of the same drug. Moreover, the designs use a fixed allocation ratio. In this article, Fisher’s least significant difference method extended to group-sequential response-adaptive designs is investigated. It is shown mathematically that the information time continues after dropping inferior arms, and hence the error-spending approach can be used to control the family-wise error rate. Two optimal allocations were considered. One ensures efficient estimation of the treatment effects and the other maximises the power subject to a fixed total sample size. Operating characteristics of the group-sequential response-adaptive design for normal and censored survival outcomes based on simulation and redesigning the NeoSphere trial were compared with those of a fixed-sample design. Results show that the adaptive design attains efficient and ethical advantages, and that the family-wise error rate is well controlled