Chemical separation techniques with their roots in classical analysis have been highly developed since the turn of the century. During the last two decades, X-ray spectrography has proven to be a very acceptable method of analysis because of the relative ease and rapidity of measurement of the intensity of characteristic wavelengths, the ready knowledge of the precision of the measurement, the facility of automating the analysis, and the nondestructive nature of the method. When chemical separation techniques are combined with X-ray spectrography, the problem of matrix effects is eliminated and the element being analyzed is substantially concentrated, which affords a means of performing trace element analyses. Published examples of preconcentration followed by X-ray measurement both outside and in the field of metallurgy are cited.

Inappropriate antibiotic use is associated with increased antimicrobial resistance and adverse events that can lead to further downstream patient harm. Preventative strategies must be employed to improve antibiotic use while reducing avoidable harm. We use the term “antibiotic never events” to globally recognize and define the most inappropriate antibiotic use.

Assessing the significance of current glacier loss on Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, demands a well-constrained temporal perspective. That context is provided by direct measurements, ancillary observations of the ice fields and the analyses of the ice cores collected from them. Ice retreat mechanisms observed there today are consistent with the preservation of the oldest ice, ~11.7 ka, in the central deepest part of the Northern Ice Field (NIF). This ice-core derived paleoclimate history published by Thompson and others (2002) is further confirmed by more recent paleoclimate records from tropical East Africa. Mounting evidence suggests that the (anticipated) loss of the entire NIF will be unprecedented within the past 10 000 years. New evidence bears directly on the mechanisms driving the current ice loss. Measurements made in 2000 on the NIF document that air temperature at 0.5 and 1.5 m above the surface remained below 5°C, while a surface temperature of 0.0°C was sustained for up to 8 hours d-1 under clear conditions, consistent with observations of melting on all Kilimanjaro summit ice fields. The linear relationship between oxygen and hydrogen isotopic ratios for all six ice cores drilled in 2000 lies very close to the global meteoric waterline and does not support sublimation (evaporation) as a major driver of ice loss today or in the past on Kilimanjaro.

In this study photo-identification data were used to better understand movements, population structure and abundance of common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) in south-west England and surrounding waters, to inform conservation efforts. A catalogue of 485 photographic sightings of 113 individuals was compiled from ~150 common bottlenose dolphin encounters made on 87 dates between March 2007 and January 2014. From these and other data, three likely sub-populations were identified in the western English Channel, demarcated by bathymetry and distance to land: (1) south-west England – inshore Cornwall to Devon, (2) offshore English/French waters and (3) inshore France from Brittany to Normandy. Maximum abundance estimates for south-west England coastal waters, using two methods, ranged between 102 and 113 (range 87–142, 95% CL) over the period 2008–2013, likely qualifying the region as nationally important, whilst the yearly maximum was 58 in 2013. The population was centred on Cornwall, where 19 well-marked animals were considered ‘probable’ residents. There were no ‘probable’ resident well-marked individuals found to be restricted to either Devon or Dorset, with animals moving freely within coastal areas across the three counties. Movements were also detected within offshore English waters and French waters (from other studies) of the western English Channel, but no interchange has as yet been detected between the three regions, highlighting the possible separation of the populations, though sample sizes are insufficient to confirm this. Given the findings, south-west England waters should be considered as a separate management unit requiring targeted conservation efforts.