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Climate justice in land use planning : exploring the potential and challenges of nature-based solutions integration in Nigeria
Get PDFLand use management stands at the forefront of addressing the intricate challenges posed by climate change while balancing societal needs and environmental sustainability. In the face of climate disasters, such as flooding, the urgency to reevaluate land management practices becomes paramount. Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) have emerged as a promising approach, leveraging natural resilience to mitigate climate change impacts, and offering additional benefits like biodiversity conservation and community well-being. However, the integration of NbS into urban planning raises critical considerations regarding climate justice. Concerns revolve around the equitable distribution of benefits and burdens, with the risk of NbS disproportionately benefiting affluent communities. Moreover, the framing of NbS as alternatives or complements to technological solutions raises questions about perpetuating environmental injustices and exacerbating social inequalities. Long-term sustainability and management of NbS, coupled with the need for community engagement and participatory decision-making, further complicate the integration process. The Nigerian context exemplifies these challenges, with existing land use policies struggling to accommodate NbS principles amidst fragmentation and ambiguity. The Land Use Act of 1978 falls short in addressing the needs of stakeholders in informal settlements, perpetuating marginalization, and hindering effective climate adaptation efforts. Against this backdrop, this study aims to unravel specific barriers within Nigerian land use policies impeding NbS integration and climate adaptation. Through insights from policymakers, planners, and stakeholders, this research seeks to illuminate pathways for policy reforms fostering inclusive and effective climate adaptation strategies. Ultimately, the findings aspire to equip policymakers and planners with actionable insights to navigate Nigeria's complex climate adaptation landscape, promoting resilience and sustainability amid changing climatic conditions.Peer reviewe
Factors associated with positive blood cultures in children in nine African and Asian countries : the ACORN2 surveillance network
Get PDFFunding: This research was funded in whole by the Wellcome Trust [222156/Z/20/Z]. CAG was funded by a Postdoctoral Mobility Fellowship from the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant number P500PM_217605).Background Blood culture (BC) in children has relatively low diagnostic yield and high contamination rates, limiting cost-effectiveness. We aimed to determine readily available baseline characteristics to identify hospitalised children with a likelihood of higher diagnostic yield in low- and middle-income countries. Methods We used data from ACORN2, a prospective clinical surveillance network including 19 hospitals across Africa and Asia. We included participants <18 years, hospitalised for a suspected infection, prescribed parenteral antibiotics and with a BC sample. Sociodemographic and clinical data were recorded for each infection episode and linked to routine microbiology data. We described true pathogen (non-contaminant) BC positivity proportion and performed mixed-effects logistic regression, with study site and patient as the random effect, to identify factors associated with BC positivity. Results Of the 26 407 paediatric infection episodes, 17 815 (67%) had a BC sample and 15 384 were included in the analysis. BC results were: true pathogens in 689 (4.5%), contaminants in 1399 (9%) and uncertain pathogens in 143 (0.9%). In the multivariable model, factors associated with a positive BC were age (29 days–12-month-olds OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.66 and 5–18 year-olds OR 1.62, 95% CI 1.30 to 2.01 vs 1–4 year-olds), number of clinical severity signs (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.18 to 1.40 per one sign) and hospital acquired infection (OR 3.05, 95% CI 2.30 to 4.06 vs community-acquired). Suspected diagnosis of sepsis (OR 2.09, 95% CI 1.67 to 2.61), gastrointestinal/abdominal (OR 2.36, 95% CI 1.78 to 3.13), skin and soft tissue or bone (OR 3.64, 95% CI 2.57 to 5.14) and genitourinary infection (OR 2.22, 95% CI 1.39 to 3.56) were more likely to have a positive BC, compared with respiratory infections. Conclusion We confirmed the low BC yield among hospitalised children. We identified groups for which diagnostic stewardship efforts to increase BC uptake should be prioritised and others in which it could be limited in times of financial or logistic constraints.Peer reviewe
Magnetic fields in star formation
No full textThe question ‘how do massive stars obtain their mass?’ has been a topic of much debate. Most high-mass stars form in young stellar clusters, under conditions distinct from low-mass star formation. The two dominant theories - Turbulent Core and Competitive Accretion - propose contrasting views: the former suggests a slow, quasi-static formation, while the latter invokes dynamic, accretion-driven growth. Neither fully explains observations of massive star-forming regions.
This thesis investigates these models with the addition of magnetic fields, a fundamental component of molecular clouds. Magnetic fields inhibit collapse across field lines, shape cloud morphology, and may suppress fragmentation, which would facilitate the formation of high-mass prestellar cores. We simulate six magnetised molecular clumps spanning mass-to-flux ratios M/Φ = 3, 5, 10, 100, plus two purely hydrodynamical clouds for comparison: one virialised, one cold (T/U = 0.4).
Using an in-house potential-based clump-finding algorithm, we identify prestellar cores and track their evolution. We find that all cores begin as low-mass `seeds' and grow via mergers and accretion, becoming bound near the thermal Jeans mass - independent of the initial field strength. Growth prior to collapse suggests a Competitive Accretion-like scenario, regulated by the magnetic field.
The strength of the initial field modulates the nature of cloud collapse. Strong fields channel collapse along field-lines, whereas weaker fields initially collapse more spherically. These trends are reflected in the B–ρ^κ relation, with κ < 2/3 where fields dominate and κ ~ 2/3 in spherical collapse. These differences mean that by the time cores form, the field strength in the densest regions is comparable. Core morphological evolution confirms this: strong fields produce initially oblate cores evolving into prolate forms, while weaker fields favour filamentary/prolate structures from the outset, highlighting the field’s role in shaping both dynamics and morphology."This project was supported by the Science and Technologies Funding Council (STFC) training grant ST/W507817/1 (Project reference 2599346)."--Fundin
Epistemic violence towards the mothers of colonial Métis children : evidence from Belgium’s 'Africa archives'
Get PDFFunding: This work was supported by the Royal Society of Edinburgh [4374].Between 1958 and 1961, as Ruanda-Urundi approached independence, the Belgian State deported 283 Métis children to Belgium where they were placed in orphanages or with foster families. Most of these illegitimate children of Black women and white colonial men would never see their birth mothers again, believing the ‘official’ narrative that their mothers had abandoned them. This article focuses on the mothers’ stories uncovered in visits to Belgium’s ‘Africa archives’ in Brussels. Previously inaccessible for over 40 years, the files consulted debunk the notion that the mothers wilfully gave up their children. Instead, they expose the racial discrimination and prejudices to which the mothers were subjected by Belgian colonial officials determined to segregate the children from their African families and subsequently remove them to Belgium indefinitely. Using Miranda Fricker’s concepts of ‘testimonial injustice’ and ‘hermeneutical injustice’ as a theoretical framework, we examine the marginalization, coercion, and manipulation of the mothers in terms of epistemic violence facilitated by the colonial racial hierarchy. Additionally we suggest that, despite recent improvements pertaining to accessing Belgium's colonial archives, the continued difficulties in accessing the files for the mothers and their families residing in Africa points to a perpetuation of colonial injustice.Peer reviewe
Effectiveness of seller reputation as a solution to online lemon markets
No full textLemon markets, markets of asymmetric information in favour of sellers, cause selective market participation and exploitation of market conditions, known as adverse selection and moral hazard. To prevent both in online lemon markets that emerged with the Sharing Economy, connecting fragmented individuals to share, exchange, or sell underutilised assets, seller reputation mechanisms have been installed to signal trust.
Their impact is corroborated by the reputation effect: commercial outcome increases with seller reputation. However, the underlying assumption of rational market participants, small, heterogeneous effect sizes, and few, unclear findings on marketplace design- and product-related moderation of the reputation effect question: Is seller reputation an effective solution to the problems associated with online lemon markets?
In a twofold approach, seller reputation is studied through an observational study analysing eBay data and experimental studies using consumer behaviour in virtual marketplaces – to better understand the reputation effect, commercial effects of marketplace design and product attributes, and their moderation of the reputation effect.
On eBay, the reputation effect holds with substantial commercial impact, despite limited seller distinction given ceiling effects in reputation system design. Sniping, incentivised by marketplace design generally reduces commercial outcome. Product attributes, sealed packaging and private photos, increase commercial outcome, and reduce the reputation effect. The reputation effect is experimentally confirmed and its product-related moderation supported. On eBay, photo frequency increases commercial outcome across seller cues and prior photo exposure is experimentally linked to it, partly via trust – in line with mere exposure, a preference for familiar stimuli.
Findings suggest that seller reputation systems, though constrained by design deficiencies, effectively address problems associated with online lemon markets. While product attributes appear to complement seller reputation as trust-building signalling mechanisms, prior exposure to them may constitute an independent mechanism; jointly contributing to explain differences in observed commercial outcome
Origin, generation, and destination country context : employment changes and childbearing among female immigrants and their descendants in the UK, France, and Germany
Get PDFFunding: This paper is part of the MigrantLife project that has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement No. 834103).This study investigates the link between childbearing and employment changes of female immigrants and their descendants in three European countries: the UK, France, and Germany. Although childbearing significantly influences female labour force participation, the interrelationship between fertility and employment changes among migrant populations is poorly understood. We use event history models to study employment entry and exit by migration background and parity. Mothers are less likely to enter and more likely to exit employment than childless women among native women, immigrants, and their descendants. The largest differences in employment entry and exit are observed between migrant origin groups and generations, and between destination countries. European and Western immigrants are more likely to (re-)enter and less likely to exit employment than those from non-European countries. The descendants of immigrants have higher employment levels than immigrants and the differences compared to natives are smaller, but they persist, particularly among those of non-European descent. We also observe some differences across countries: mothers are the most likely to exit employment in Germany and the least likely in France. Our study highlights the importance of work–family reconciliation and immigration policies for reducing labour market disadvantage among mothers overall and particularly among immigrants and their descendants.Peer reviewe
Old age variably impacts chimpanzee engagement and efficiency in stone tool use
Get PDFFunding: The Daiwa Foundation; European Unions 8th Framework Programme, Horizon 2020 (802719) (CH). Natural Environment Research Council (NE/L002612/1) (EH-S). Levehulme Trust (ECF-2022-322) (KA-W).We know vanishingly little about how long-lived apes experience senescence in the wild, particularly with respect to their foraging behaviors. Chimpanzees use tools during foraging, and given the cognitive and physical challenges presented by tool use, tool-use behaviors are potentially at a heightened risk of senescence, though this has never been investigated in wild individuals. Accordingly, we sampled data from a longitudinal video archive that contained footage of wild chimpanzees using stone hammers and anvils to crack hard-shelled nuts (nut cracking) at an ‘outdoor laboratory’ over a 17-year period (with focal chimpanzees aging from approximately 39–44 to 56–61 years across this period). Over time, elderly chimpanzees began attending experimental nut-cracking sites less frequently than younger individuals. Several elderly chimpanzees exhibited reductions in efficiency across multiple stages of nut cracking, including taking longer to both select stone tools prior to use and use tools to crack open nuts and consume the associated pieces of kernel. Two chimpanzees began using less streamlined behavioral sequences to crack nuts, including a greater number of actions (such as more numerous hammer strikes). Notably, we report interindividual variability in the extent to which elderly chimpanzees’ tool-use behaviors changed during our sample period – ranging from small to profound reductions in engagement and efficiency – as well as differences in the specific aspects of nut cracking that changed for each individual. We discuss the possible causes of these changes – and recommendations for future research – with reference to literature surrounding the senescence of captive and wild primates.Peer reviewe
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on antimicrobial usage : an international patient-level cohort study
Get PDFFunding: The study is funded by Wellcome Trust (221579/Z/20/Z) and Ineos Oxford Institute for Antimicrobial Research.Background: This study aimed to evaluate the trends in antimicrobial prescription during the first 1.5 years of COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This was an observational, retrospective cohort study using patient-level data from Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Italy, Malawi, Nigeria, South Korea, Switzerland and Turkey from patients with pneumonia and/or acute respiratory distress syndrome and/or sepsis, regardless of COVID-19 positivity, who were admitted to critical care units or COVID-19 specialized wards. The changes of antimicrobial prescription between pre-pandemic and pandemic were estimated using logistic or linear regression. Pandemic effects on month-wise antimicrobial usage were evaluated using interrupted time series analyses (ITSAs). Results: Antimicrobials for which prescriptions significantly increased during the pandemic were as follows: meropenem in Bangladesh (95% CI: 1.94-4.07) with increased prescribed daily dose (PDD) (95% CI: 1.17-1.58) and Turkey (95% CI: 1.09-1.58), moxifloxacin in Bangladesh (95% CI: 4.11-11.87) with increased days of therapy (DOT) (95% CI: 1.14-2.56), piperacillin/tazobactam in Italy (95% CI: 1.07-1.48) with increased DOT (95% CI: 1.01-1.25) and PDD (95% CI: 1.05-1.21) and azithromycin in Bangladesh (95% CI: 3.36-21.77) and Brazil (95% CI: 2.33-8.42). ITSA showed a significant drop in azithromycin usage in India (95% CI: -8.38 to -3.49 g/100 patients) and South Korea (95% CI: -2.83 to -1.89 g/100 patients) after WHO guidelines v1 release and increased meropenem usage (95% CI: 93.40-126.48 g/100 patients) and moxifloxacin (95% CI: 5.40-13.98 g/100 patients) in Bangladesh and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim in India (95% CI: 0.92-9.32 g/100 patients) following the Delta variant emergence. Conclusions: This study reinforces the importance of developing antimicrobial stewardship in the clinical settings during inter-pandemic periods.Peer reviewe
Towards a global history of the 1860 total solar eclipse
Get PDFFunding: This work was supported by EPSRC grant EP/Z000580/1.The path of eclipse totality across North America, Spain, and Northern Africa on 18 July 1860 was accessible to a wide range of observers in diverse geographical and socio-political contexts, the infrastructures of which shaped individual expedition logistics. This joint paper combines in a single frame of reference accounts from British, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Algerian, and North American expedition parties. A focus on the scientific objectives of these observers with varied circumstances, institutions, and funding sources raises the question of a global approach to the history of observing the total solar eclipse in 1860.Peer reviewe
Pulses of ocean acidification at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary
Get PDFFunding: This work was supported by European Research Council Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme grant agreement No. 805246 to JWBR, NERC Large Grant NE/P01903X/1 to SEG and MA, NERC Independent Research Fellowship NE/L011050/1 to SEG, NERC IAPETUS PhD Studentships NE/RO12253/1 to MT, JCB, NERC GW4+ PhD Studentship S136361 to MA and NERC CENTA PhD Studentship NE/L002493/1 to DD. MT acknowledges the support of the EUR IPSL-Climate Graduate School (reference ANR-11-IDEX-0004-17-EURE-0006).Mass extinctions have repeatedly perturbed the history of life, but their causes are often elusive. Ocean acidification has been implicated during Triassic–Jurassic environmental perturbations, but this interval lacks direct reconstructions of ocean pH. Here, we present boron isotope data from well-preserved fossil oysters, which provide evidence for acidification of ≥ 0.29 pH units coincident with a 2 ‰ negative carbon isotope excursion (the “main” CIE) following the end–Triassic extinction. These results suggest a prolonged interval of CO2-driven environmental perturbation that may have delayed ecosystem recovery. Earth system modelling with cGENIE paired with our pH constraints demonstrates this was driven by predominantly mantle-derived carbon. Ocean acidification therefore appears to be associated with three of the five largest extinction events in Earth history, highlighting the catastrophic ecological impact of major perturbations to the carbon cycle in Earth’s past, and possibly Earth’s anthropogenically perturbed future.Peer reviewe
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