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Subglacial sediments have the potential to reveal information about the controls on glacier flow, changes in ice-sheet history and characterise life in those environments. Retrieving sediments from beneath the ice, through hot water drilled access holes at remote field locations, present many challenges. Motivated by the need to minimise weight, corer diameter and simplify assembly and operation, British Antarctic Survey, in collaboration with UWITEC, developed a simple mechanical percussion corer. At depths over 1000 m however, manual operation of the percussion hammer is compromised by the lack of clear operator feedback at the surface. To address this, we present a new auto-release-recovery percussion hammer mechanism that makes coring operations depth independent and improves hammer efficiency. Using a single rope tether for both the corer and hammer operation, this modified percussion corer is relatively simple to operate, easy to maintain, and has successfully operated at a depth of >2130 m.
Life course research embraces the complexity of health and disease development, tackling the extensive interactions between genetics and environment. This interdisciplinary blueprint, or theoretical framework, offers a structure for research ideas and specifies relationships between related factors. Traditionally, methodological approaches attempt to reduce the complexity of these dynamic interactions and decompose health into component parts, ignoring the complex reciprocal interaction of factors that shape health over time. New methods that match the epistemological foundation of the life course framework are needed to fully explore adaptive, multilevel, and reciprocal interactions between individuals and their environment. The focus of this article is to (1) delineate the differences between lifespan and life course research, (2) articulate the importance of complex systems science as a methodological framework in the life course research toolbox to guide our research questions, (3) raise key questions that can be asked within the clinical and translational science domain utilizing this framework, and (4) provide recommendations for life course research implementation, charting the way forward. Recent advances in computational analytics, computer science, and data collection could be used to approximate, measure, and analyze the intertwining and dynamic nature of genetic and environmental factors involved in health development.
Jamie Gundry’s dramatic image of a white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) on the cover of this book reflects the twisting changes in fortune experienced by this species, with a revival that can be attributed to a successful interplay of science, policy and practice. White-tailed eagles were historically much more widely distributed than they are today (Yalden, 2007), once breeding across much of Europe, but by the early twentieth century the species was extinct across much of western and southern Europe. The main cause of its decline was persecution by farmers and shepherds, who considered the eagles a threat to their livestock, but, along with other raptors, white-tailed eagles were also seriously affected by DDT in the 1960s and 1970s, which had disastrous effects on the breeding success of remaining populations.
In the Anthropocene, when our environment is changing rapidly and the windows of opportunity for action to prevent further biodiversity loss are narrow, conservation researchers are increasingly encouraged to think and operate beyond the traditional approaches of producing peer-reviewed papers and presenting results to other members of the research community. Indeed, the perception that researchers belong in their ivory tower, from which they deliver evidence for others to interpret, disseminate and use in decision-making, is thankfully now widely recognised as outdated. The rise of fake news, a deliberate lack of consideration for scientific evidence, and changes to the ways of assessing the value of researchers’ work probably all play a role in supporting this shift in perception. Moreover, for many researchers, the prospect of their work ‘making a difference’ and having an impact on wider society is at least as great a motivation for doing research as generating new knowledge, however interesting that may be.
Conservation research is essential for advancing knowledge but to make an impact scientific evidence must influence conservation policies, decision making and practice. This raises a multitude of challenges. How should evidence be collated and presented to policymakers to maximise its impact? How can effective collaboration between conservation scientists and decision-makers be established? How can the resulting messages be communicated to bring about change? Emerging from a successful international symposium organised by the British Ecological Society and the Cambridge Conservation Initiative, this is the first book to practically address these questions across a wide range of conservation topics. Well-renowned experts guide readers through global case studies and their own experiences. A must-read for practitioners, researchers, graduate students and policymakers wishing to enhance the prospect of their work 'making a difference'. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
A sphere sinking through a chemical gradient drags fluid with it, deforming the gradient. The sphere leaves a trail of gradient enhancement that persists longer than the velocity disturbance in the Reynolds
$10^{-2}\leqslant Re\leqslant 10^{2}$
, Froude
$10^{-1}\leqslant Fr\leqslant 10^{3}$
and Péclet
$10^{2}<Pe\leqslant 10^{6}$
regime considered here. We quantify the enhancement of the gradient and the diffusive flux in the trail of disturbed chemical left by the passing sphere using a combination of numerical simulations and scaling analyses. When
$Fr$
is large and buoyancy forces are negligible, dragged isosurfaces of chemical form a boundary layer of thickness
$\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}}$
around the sphere with diameter
$l$
. We derive the scaling
$\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}}/l\sim \mathit{Pe}^{-1/3}$
from the balance of advection and diffusion in the chemical boundary layer. The sphere displaces a single isosurface of chemical a maximum distance
$\mathit{L}_{Def}$
that increases as
$\mathit{L}_{Def}/l\sim l/\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}}\sim \mathit{Pe}^{1/3}$
. Increased flux through the chemical boundary layer moving with the sphere is described by a Sherwood number,
$Sh\sim l/\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}}\sim \mathit{Pe}^{1/3}$
. The gradient enhancement trail extends much farther than
$\mathit{L}_{Def}$
as displaced isosurfaces slowly return to their original positions through diffusion. In the reference frame of a chemical isosurface moving past the sphere, a new quantity describing the Lagrangian flux is found to scale as
$\mathit{M}\sim (\mathit{L}_{Def}/l)^{2}\sim \mathit{Pe}^{2/3}$
. The greater
$\mathit{Pe}$
dependence of
$\mathit{M}$
versus
$Sh$
demonstrates the importance of the deformation trail for determining the total flux of chemical in the system. For
$\mathit{Fr}\geqslant 10$
, buoyancy forces are weak compared to the motion of the sphere and the preceding results are retained. Below
$\mathit{Fr}=10$
, an additional Froude dependence is found and
$l/\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}}\sim Sh\sim Re^{1/6}Fr^{-1/6}Pe^{1/3}$
. Buoyancy forces suppress gradient deformation downstream, resulting in
$\mathit{L}_{Def}/l\sim Re^{-1/3}Fr^{1/3}Pe^{1/3}$
and
$\mathit{M}\sim Re^{-1/3}Fr^{1/3}Pe^{2/3}$
. The productivity of marine plankton – and therefore global carbon and oxygen cycles – depends on the availability of microscale gradients of chemicals. Because most plankton exist in the fluids regime under consideration, this work describes a new mechanism by which sinking particles and plankton can stir weak ambient chemical gradients a distance
$\mathit{L}_{Def}$
and increase chemical flux in the trail by a factor of
$\mathit{M}$
.
This study investigated metabolic, endocrine, appetite and mood responses to a maximal eating occasion in fourteen men (mean: age 28 (sd 5) years, body mass 77·2 (sd 6·6) kg and BMI 24·2 (sd 2·2) kg/m2) who completed two trials in a randomised crossover design. On each occasion, participants ate a homogenous mixed-macronutrient meal (pizza). On one occasion, they ate until ‘comfortably full’ (ad libitum) and on the other, until they ‘could not eat another bite’ (maximal). Mean energy intake was double in the maximal (13 024 (95 % CI 10 964, 15 084) kJ; 3113 (95 % CI 2620, 3605) kcal) compared with the ad libitum trial (6627 (95 % CI 5708, 7547) kJ; 1584 (95 % CI 1364, 1804) kcal). Serum insulin incremental AUC (iAUC) increased approximately 1·5-fold in the maximal compared with ad libitum trial (mean: ad libitum 43·8 (95 % CI 28·3, 59·3) nmol/l × 240 min and maximal 67·7 (95 % CI 47·0, 88·5) nmol/l × 240 min, P < 0·01), but glucose iAUC did not differ between trials (ad libitum 94·3 (95 % CI 30·3, 158·2) mmol/l × 240 min and maximal 126·5 (95 % CI 76·9, 176·0) mmol/l × 240 min, P = 0·19). TAG iAUC was approximately 1·5-fold greater in the maximal v. ad libitum trial (ad libitum 98·6 (95 % CI 69·9, 127·2) mmol/l × 240 min and maximal 146·4 (95 % CI 88·6, 204·1) mmol/l × 240 min, P < 0·01). Total glucagon-like peptide-1, glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide and peptide tyrosine–tyrosine iAUC were greater in the maximal compared with ad libitum trial (P < 0·05). Total ghrelin concentrations decreased to a similar extent, but AUC was slightly lower in the maximal v. ad libitum trial (P = 0·02). There were marked differences on appetite and mood between trials, most notably maximal eating caused a prolonged increase in lethargy. Healthy men have the capacity to eat twice the energy content required to achieve comfortable fullness at a single meal. Postprandial glycaemia is well regulated following initial overeating, with elevated postprandial insulinaemia probably contributing.
Physical activity (PA) may be therapeutic for people with severe mental illness (SMI) who generally have low PA and experience numerous life style-related medical complications. We conducted a meta-review of PA interventions and their impact on health outcomes for people with SMI, including schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder. We searched major electronic databases until January 2018 for systematic reviews with/without meta-analysis that investigated PA for any SMI. We rated the quality of studies with the AMSTAR tool, grading the quality of evidence, and identifying gaps, future research needs and clinical practice recommendations. For MDD, consistent evidence indicated that PA can improve depressive symptoms versus control conditions, with effects comparable to those of antidepressants and psychotherapy. PA can also improve cardiorespiratory fitness and quality of life in people with MDD, although the impact on physical health outcomes was limited. There were no differences in adverse events versus control conditions. For MDD, larger effect sizes were seen when PA was delivered at moderate-vigorous intensity and supervised by an exercise specialist. For schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, evidence indicates that aerobic PA can reduce psychiatric symptoms, improves cognition and various subdomains, cardiorespiratory fitness, whilst evidence for the impact on anthropometric measures was inconsistent. There was a paucity of studies investigating PA in bipolar disorder, precluding any definitive recommendations. No cost effectiveness analyses in any SMI condition were identified. We make multiple recommendations to fill existing research gaps and increase the use of PA in routine clinical care aimed at improving psychiatric and medical outcomes.
White-chinned petrels Procellaria aequinoctialis L. are the most frequently recorded procellariiform species in the bycatch of Southern Hemisphere longline fisheries. Our study investigated the year-round movements of ten adult white-chinned petrels (seven breeders, three non-breeders/suspected pre-breeders) from Marion Island tracked with global location sensor (GLS) loggers for three years. Additionally, 20 global positioning system (GPS) tracks were obtained from breeding white-chinned petrels during incubation (n=9) and chick-rearing (n=11). All GLS-tagged birds remained, year-round, in the area between southern Africa and Antarctica, not making any major east/west movements. Three core areas (50% kernels) were utilized: around the Prince Edward Islands (PEI; incubation and early chick-rearing), c. 1000 km west of PEI (pre-breeding and early incubation) and around South Africa (non-breeding birds). The only area where 50% utilization kernels overlapped with intensive longline fishing effort was off the Agulhas Bank (non-breeding season). Our results confirm the lack of foraging overlap between the two subspecies; nominate birds (South Georgia/south-western Indian Ocean) utilize separate areas to P. a. steadi (New Zealand/sub-Antarctic islands), and thus should be treated as separate management units. Knowledge of the year-round movements of a vagile species, such as the white-chinned petrel, is important for its continued conservation.
We report the breeding success of four species of burrow-nesting petrels at sub-Antarctic Marion Island where house mice Mus musculus are the sole introduced mammal. Feral cats Felis catus were present on Marion for four decades from 1949, killing millions of seabirds and greatly reducing petrel populations. Cats were eradicated by 1991, but petrel populations have shown only marginal recoveries. We hypothesize that mice are suppressing their recovery through depredation of petrel eggs and chicks. Breeding success for winter breeders (grey petrels Procellaria cinerea (34±21%) and great-winged petrels Pterodroma macroptera (52±7%)) were lower than for summer breeders (blue petrels Halobaena caerulea (61±6%) and white-chinned petrels Procellaria aequinoctialis (59±6%)) and among winter breeders most chick fatalities were of small chicks up to 14 days old. We assessed the extent of mouse predation by monitoring the inside of 55 burrow chambers with video surveillance cameras (4024 film days from 2012–16) and recorded fatal attacks on grey (3/18 nests filmed, 17%) and great-winged petrel chicks (1/19, 5%). Our results show that burrow-nesting petrels are at risk from mouse predation, providing further motivation for the eradication of mice from Marion Island.
Holocene tephrostratigraphy in Alaska provides independent chronology and stratigraphic correlation in a region where reworked old (Holocene) organic carbon can significantly distort radiocarbon chronologies. Here, we present new glass chemistry and chronology for Holocene tephras preserved in three Alaskan lakes: one in the eastern interior and two in the southern Brooks Range. Tephra beds in the eastern interior lake-sediment core are correlated with the White River Ash and the Hayes tephra set H (~4200–3700 cal yr BP), and an additional discrete tephra bed is likely from the Aleutian arc/Alaska Peninsula. Cryptotephras (nonvisible tephras) found in the Brooks Range include the informally named “Ruppert tephra” (~2700–2300 cal yr BP) and the Aniakchak caldera-forming event II (CFE II) tephra (~3600 cal yr BP). A third underlying Brooks Range cryptotephra is chemically indistinguishable from the Aniakchak CFE II tephra (4070–3760 cal yr BP) and is likely to be from an earlier eruption of the Aniakchak volcano.