Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

University of Plymouth

Discipline
Keyword
Publication Year
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 151 - 180 of 2981

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

The Use Of Social Prescribing And Community-Based Wellbeing Activities As A Potential Prevention And Early Intervention Pathway To Improve Adolescent Emotional And Social Development: A Systematic Mapping Review, Siobhan B. Mitchell, Lucy Cartwright, Alex Gude, Alison Bethel, Harriet Hunt, Jane R. Smith, Daniel Hayes, Marcello Bertotti, Paul Jarvis-Beesley, Vashti Berry, Kerryn Husk Oct 2025

The Use Of Social Prescribing And Community-Based Wellbeing Activities As A Potential Prevention And Early Intervention Pathway To Improve Adolescent Emotional And Social Development: A Systematic Mapping Review, Siobhan B. Mitchell, Lucy Cartwright, Alex Gude, Alison Bethel, Harriet Hunt, Jane R. Smith, Daniel Hayes, Marcello Bertotti, Paul Jarvis-Beesley, Vashti Berry, Kerryn Husk

Peninsula Medical School

BACKGROUND: Social prescribing (SP) initiatives which aim to connect individuals to community-based assets have received increased research and policy attention, however schemes have mostly centred on adults. There is little research examining how social prescribing might work for children and young people (CYP), and specifically, what pathways into social prescribing look like for this group.

METHODS: We conducted a systematic mapping review to understand what social prescribing pathways look like for CYP. Searches were carried out in February 2022. We reviewed published journal articles and grey literature on pathways for CYP accessing activities or services in the community. We synthesised …


Numerical Modelling Of The 1 July 2022 Flooding Event, Southwest Huvadhoo Atoll, Maldives: Implications For The Future, Gerd Masselink, Tim Poate, Timothy Scott, Floortje Roelvink, Robert Mccall Oct 2025

Numerical Modelling Of The 1 July 2022 Flooding Event, Southwest Huvadhoo Atoll, Maldives: Implications For The Future, Gerd Masselink, Tim Poate, Timothy Scott, Floortje Roelvink, Robert Mccall

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Low-lying atoll islands are among the world's most vulnerable coastal environments to sea-level rise (SLR). Global application of coastal flooding models suggests that centennial flood events may become annual events by 2050 in tropical regions. This article addresses this claim by modelling an island flooding event that occurred in the Maldives on 1 July 2022 as a result of a distant-swell event coinciding with an extra high spring tide. Hydrodynamic data collected after the event on one of the affected islands were used to calibrate and validate a one-dimensional non-hydrostatic XBeach model. The model overpredicted wave setup and underpredicted the …


Rescue Epilepsy Medication And Training: A Comparison Between Midazolam Use, Guidelines, Clinical Practice, And Possibilities In The Uk And Norway, Rohit Shankar Oct 2025

Rescue Epilepsy Medication And Training: A Comparison Between Midazolam Use, Guidelines, Clinical Practice, And Possibilities In The Uk And Norway, Rohit Shankar

Peninsula Medical School

Objectives: Status epilepticus (SE) is a prolonged epileptic seizure carrying significant risk of long-term disability and death. Rescue therapies are prescribedfor prehospital administration to terminate SE. This study compared prescribingpractices of rescue therapies of midazolam in the UK and Norway.Methods: A cross-sectional, online, 21-item Likert-style survey was administeredto epilepsy professionals in the UK circulated via ILAE/ESNA and in Norway viaILAE/Epilepsinet using a non-discriminatory exponential snowballing techniqueleading to non-probability sampling. Data were collected anonymously and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Mann–Whitney, Chi-square, and Fisher's exact tests. Significance was accepted at p<0.05.Results: All 86 UK and 53 Norway respondents identified buccal midazolam as the first-line rescue medication choice in the community for prolonged and/or generalized tonic–clonic seizures. Norwegian respondents had significantly more experience in epilepsy-related work (p=0.002), were more likely to have a larger caseload on buccal midazolam (p<0.001), prescribed higher midazolam doses (p<0.001), and provided training yearly (p<0.001). UK respondents were more likely to delegate rescue medication prescribing to primary care (p=0.006) and reviewed emergency management plans more frequently (p=0.006). There was an inter-country difference in the period of midazolam non-use that respondents required before withdrawing from treatment plans (p<0.001). Concern about inappropriate use of buccal midazolam was similarly high in both countries.Significance: This study compared epilepsy professionals in two neighboringhigh-income countries. Findings suggest an urgent need for international guidelines to recommend best practices on prescribing doses and withdrawal of buccal midazolam. The potential abuse of buccal midazolam by patients and carers warrants further investigation.


Spatially Variable Response Of Antarctica's Ice Sheets To Orbital Forcing During The Pliocene, Molly P. Patterson, Christiana Rosenberg, Masanobu Yamamoto, Oscar Romero, Mei Nelissen, Francesca Sangiorigi, Nick Golledge, Georgia Grant, William Arnuk, Benjamin Keisling, Tim Naish, Richard Levy, Stephen Meyers, Nicholas Sullivan, Jeanine Ash, Denise Kulhanek, Brian Romans, Natalia Verela, Harold Jones, Francois Beny, Imogene Browne, Giuseppe Cortese, Isabela Cordeiro De Sousa, Justin Dodd, Oliver Esper, Jenny Gales, David Harwood, Saki Ishino, Sookwan Kim, Sunghan Kim Oct 2025

Spatially Variable Response Of Antarctica's Ice Sheets To Orbital Forcing During The Pliocene, Molly P. Patterson, Christiana Rosenberg, Masanobu Yamamoto, Oscar Romero, Mei Nelissen, Francesca Sangiorigi, Nick Golledge, Georgia Grant, William Arnuk, Benjamin Keisling, Tim Naish, Richard Levy, Stephen Meyers, Nicholas Sullivan, Jeanine Ash, Denise Kulhanek, Brian Romans, Natalia Verela, Harold Jones, Francois Beny, Imogene Browne, Giuseppe Cortese, Isabela Cordeiro De Sousa, Justin Dodd, Oliver Esper, Jenny Gales, David Harwood, Saki Ishino, Sookwan Kim, Sunghan Kim

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Variations in Earth’s orbit pace global ice-volume/sea-level changes, but the variability in the response for different sectors of the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) to orbitally-forced climate change remains unclear. We present geological records of iceberg-rafted debris (IBRD) and other proxies from locations adjacent to the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) and East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) spanning ~3.3-2.3 Ma. Iceberg calving events from the WAIS recorded in Ross Sea sediment cores show a linear response to orbital forcing at timescales corresponding to obliquity (40 kyr) and precession (23-19 kyr) modulated by eccentricity (100 kyr). This contrasts with records adjacent to …


Vegetation Dynamics And Land-Use History During The Holocene In Corsica (Western Mediterranean): Regional Patterns And Local Landscape Transformation In Changing Coastal Ecosystems, Jordi Revelles, Ralph Fyfe, Matthieu Ghilardi, Andrés Currás, Federico Di Rita Oct 2025

Vegetation Dynamics And Land-Use History During The Holocene In Corsica (Western Mediterranean): Regional Patterns And Local Landscape Transformation In Changing Coastal Ecosystems, Jordi Revelles, Ralph Fyfe, Matthieu Ghilardi, Andrés Currás, Federico Di Rita

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

The archaeoecological research conducted in Corsica underscores the critical role of integrating palynological studies from sedimentary deposits to reconstruct past human-environment interactions. This approach sheds new light on evidence of farming activities and redefines archaeological territories and human occupation temporalities. Understanding the influence of human activities on coastal ecosystems requires outlining natural and climatic dynamics at a regional scale while evaluating landscape transformations at local scale, where human imprints are clearly evidenced. To achieve this, we applied quantitative methodologies to disentangle regional pollen loading from local vegetation signals. The Landscape Reconstruction Algorithm (LRA) was employed as an advanced tool to …


Examining The Role Of Social Environment On Covid-19 Infections And Vaccine Uptake Among Migrants In Japan: Findings From Nationwide Surveys In 2021 And 2023, Yuanyuan Teng, Clive E Sabel, Tomoya Hanibuchi, Tomoki Nakaya Oct 2025

Examining The Role Of Social Environment On Covid-19 Infections And Vaccine Uptake Among Migrants In Japan: Findings From Nationwide Surveys In 2021 And 2023, Yuanyuan Teng, Clive E Sabel, Tomoya Hanibuchi, Tomoki Nakaya

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Studies have shown that migrants and ethnic minority groups were disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, yet the role of the social environment in shaping their vulnerabilities remains underexplored in Japan. This study explored the experiences of migrants in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic and examined the association between social environmental factors (i.e., population density, neighborhood deprivation, ethnic density, and social networks) and both COVID-19 infections and vaccination uptake. Two nationwide online surveys were conducted in 2021 and 2023 to capture migrants' experiences and analyze these associations during the middle and waning stages of the pandemic. Modified Poisson regressions with …


Biodiversity Performance Of Living Wall Systems In Temperate Urban Environments: Plant Selection And Substrate Effects On Multi-Taxa Communities: Biodiversity Performance Of Living Wall Systems In Urban Environments, Paul Lunt, Thomas Murphy, James Buckley Sep 2025

Biodiversity Performance Of Living Wall Systems In Temperate Urban Environments: Plant Selection And Substrate Effects On Multi-Taxa Communities: Biodiversity Performance Of Living Wall Systems In Urban Environments, Paul Lunt, Thomas Murphy, James Buckley

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Urban densification threatens biodiversity, yet conventional greenspace expansion is con-strained by limited land availability. Living wall systems (LWS) offer potential biodiversity enhancement through vertical green infrastructure, though their ecological value re-mains underexplored. This study evaluated the biodiversity performance of three LWS in Plymouth, UK, using multi-taxa surveys to assess invertebrate communities, bird assemblages, and bat activity. A scoping review of 2,638 publications revealed limited research on LWS biodiversity, with only 27% of biodiversity-focused papers referencing specific species. Field surveys employed standardized protocols including flower-visiting pollinator observations, spider assessments, soil invertebrate extraction using Tullgren funnels, acoustic bird monitoring, and bat emergence …


Sibling Species Differently Distributed Around A Co2 Vent Show Transplantation Proteomic Remodelling, While Displaying Metabolomic Signatures Associated With Their Origin, Lucy Turner Sep 2025

Sibling Species Differently Distributed Around A Co2 Vent Show Transplantation Proteomic Remodelling, While Displaying Metabolomic Signatures Associated With Their Origin, Lucy Turner

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

The cellular homeostatic response (CHR) and cellular stress response (CSR) work together to maintain homeostasis. Studying phylogenetically closely-related species inhabiting different environments can help investigate the interplay between the CHR and CSR. We conducted reciprocal in situ transplant experiments in a natural CO2 vent (Ischia, Italy), using the sibling annelid species Platynereis cf.. dumerilii and Platynereis cf.. massiliensis which have been shown to have different preferential distributions around the CO2 vent. Following transplantations, we characterised the response of each individual’s proteome, metabolome, and lipidome, to short or long-term exposure to different pCO2 regimes (i.e., high and low), and confirmed its …


Identifying The Big Questions In Paleontology: A Community-Driven Project, Tracy Aze Sep 2025

Identifying The Big Questions In Paleontology: A Community-Driven Project, Tracy Aze

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Paleontology provides insights into the history of the planet, from the origins of life billions of years ago to the biotic changes of the Recent. The scope of paleontological research is as vast as it is varied, and the field is constantly evolving. In an effort to identify “Big Questions” in paleontology, experts from around the world came together to build a list of priority questions the field can address in the years ahead. The 89 questions presented herein (grouped within 11 themes) represent contributions from nearly 200 international scientists. These questions touch on common themes including biodiversity drivers and …


Increasing Tree Size Across Amazonia, Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert, Rebecca Banbury Morgan, Roel Brienen, Emanuel Gloor, Simon L. Lewis, Kyle G. Dexter, Everton Almeida, Edmar Almeida De Oliveira, Esteban Álvarez-Dávila, Atila Alves De Oliveira, Ana Andrade, Simone Aparecida Vieira, Luiz Aragão, Alejandro Araujo-Murakami, Eric Arets, Luzmila Arroyo, Gerardo Aymard-Corredor, Olaf Banki, Plinio Barbosa De Camargo, Jorcely Barroso, Lilian Blanc, Foster Brown, José Luís Camargo, Wendeson Castro, Victor Chama Moscoso, Jérôme Chave, Ezequiel Chavez, James Comiskey, Antônio Carlos Lola Da Costa, Jhon Del Aguila Pasquel Sep 2025

Increasing Tree Size Across Amazonia, Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert, Rebecca Banbury Morgan, Roel Brienen, Emanuel Gloor, Simon L. Lewis, Kyle G. Dexter, Everton Almeida, Edmar Almeida De Oliveira, Esteban Álvarez-Dávila, Atila Alves De Oliveira, Ana Andrade, Simone Aparecida Vieira, Luiz Aragão, Alejandro Araujo-Murakami, Eric Arets, Luzmila Arroyo, Gerardo Aymard-Corredor, Olaf Banki, Plinio Barbosa De Camargo, Jorcely Barroso, Lilian Blanc, Foster Brown, José Luís Camargo, Wendeson Castro, Victor Chama Moscoso, Jérôme Chave, Ezequiel Chavez, James Comiskey, Antônio Carlos Lola Da Costa, Jhon Del Aguila Pasquel

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Climate change and increasing availability of resources such as carbon dioxide are modifying forest functioning worldwide, but the effects of these changes on forest structure are unclear. As additional resources become available, for example, through CO2 fertilization or nitrogen deposition, large trees, with greater access to light, may be expected to gain further advantages. Conversely, smaller light-suppressed trees might benefit more if their light compensation point changes, while bigger trees may be the most negatively impacted by increasing heat and drought. We assessed recent changes in the structure of Earth’s largest tropical forest by analysing 30 years of Amazonian …


Spatial And Temporal Distribution Of Large (1–5 Mm) Microplastics On The Strandline Of A Macrotidal Sandy Beach (Polzeath, Southwest England) And Their Association With Beach-Cast Seaweed, Catherine Beale, Andrew Turner Sep 2025

Spatial And Temporal Distribution Of Large (1–5 Mm) Microplastics On The Strandline Of A Macrotidal Sandy Beach (Polzeath, Southwest England) And Their Association With Beach-Cast Seaweed, Catherine Beale, Andrew Turner

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous and persistent contaminants of the marine environment, but a clear understanding of their cycling, fate, and impacts in coastal zones is lacking. In this study, large MPs (1–5 mm) were sampled spatially and temporally from the strandline of a macrotidal, sandy beach (Polzeath) in southwest England. MPs encompassing a diversity of sources were categorised by morphology (foams, nurdles, biobeads, fragments, fibres, films) and quantified by number and mass, with a selection analysed for polymer type. A total of about 17,600 particles of around 350 g in mass were retrieved from 30 samples over a period of …


Outlook On The Knowledge Gaps To Reduce Soil Erosion, Helena Guimarães, Martinho Martins, Nuno Guiomar, Claire Kelly, Diana Vieira, Teresa Nóvoa, Isabel Brito, Melpomeni Zoka, Sergio Prats, Artemi Cerdà, Pandi Zdruli, Nikolaos Stathopoulos, João Madeira, Lília Fidalgo, Pierfrancesco Di Giuseppe, Saskia Keesstra, Endre Dobos Sep 2025

Outlook On The Knowledge Gaps To Reduce Soil Erosion, Helena Guimarães, Martinho Martins, Nuno Guiomar, Claire Kelly, Diana Vieira, Teresa Nóvoa, Isabel Brito, Melpomeni Zoka, Sergio Prats, Artemi Cerdà, Pandi Zdruli, Nikolaos Stathopoulos, João Madeira, Lília Fidalgo, Pierfrancesco Di Giuseppe, Saskia Keesstra, Endre Dobos

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

No abstract provided.


Addressing Food System Determinants Of Health Inequalities In Urban Environments:: Learnings From The Foodsequal And Foodsequal-Health Projects, Carol Wagstaff, Clare Pettinger Sep 2025

Addressing Food System Determinants Of Health Inequalities In Urban Environments:: Learnings From The Foodsequal And Foodsequal-Health Projects, Carol Wagstaff, Clare Pettinger

School of Health Professions

Diet is just one social determinant of health, with obesity and diet-related illness as leading causes of premature deaths and disability in the UK. People living in deprived areas of the UK are more likely to experience poor health outcomes, linked to many social determinants of health such as diet, housing, employment, education, power and discrimination and psycho-social factors such as isolation, quality of social network and perceived level of control. While socio-economic deprivation is a key risk for health inequalities, protected characteristics, vulnerable groups and geographical factors also indicate populations at risk of experiencing health inequalities. In this ‘opinion …


Collecting And Sharing Person-Centered Ai Clinical Summaries Across Frailty Services Provided By The National Health Service And Voluntary, Community, And Social Enterprise: Protocol For A Co-Design And Feasibility Study, Kieran Green, John Downey, Sheena Asthana, Oscar Ponce Ponte, Joanne Watson Sep 2025

Collecting And Sharing Person-Centered Ai Clinical Summaries Across Frailty Services Provided By The National Health Service And Voluntary, Community, And Social Enterprise: Protocol For A Co-Design And Feasibility Study, Kieran Green, John Downey, Sheena Asthana, Oscar Ponce Ponte, Joanne Watson

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Background:Due to its association with multimorbidity, frailty gives rise to multidimensional needs for different services. Too often, patient preferences and service encounter information are not adequately shared.Objective:This developmental study aims to co-design, collect, and analyze encounter data from multiple community and primary-based multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) providing services for people with frailty to develop prototype large language models that can generate clinical and person-centered care summaries.Methods:Engaging stakeholders in 2 primary care networks, we will co-design the large language model to ensure it meets local needs and preferences as well as infrastructure, information governance, and regulation requirements. General practitioners will identify 50 …


A Growing Threat Of Multi-Hazard Cascades Highlighted By The Birch Glacier Collapse And Blatten Landslide In The Swiss Alps, Nazimul Islam, Jonathan L. Carrivick, Tom Coulthard, Matthew Westoby, Stuart Dunning, Saskia Gindraux Sep 2025

A Growing Threat Of Multi-Hazard Cascades Highlighted By The Birch Glacier Collapse And Blatten Landslide In The Swiss Alps, Nazimul Islam, Jonathan L. Carrivick, Tom Coulthard, Matthew Westoby, Stuart Dunning, Saskia Gindraux

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Rapid atmospheric warming, especially at high altitude, leads to alpine mountain landscapes becoming more vulnerable to mass movements and consequently unstable. For example, decay of mountain permafrost contributes to rockfalls, landslides and debris flows; glaciers are retreating and losing mass at alarming rates, exposing unstable slopes that are more likely to fail; and meltwater, which collects in a growing number of glacial lakes, can pose an outburst flood hazard, putting communities and infrastructure downstream at risk of damage. Occurring now with increasing frequency, these natural phenomena often combine to create complex multi-hazard cascades that are more powerful and have a …


Migration Kinetics Of Cadmium And Lead From Ceramic Mugs, Andrew Turner Sep 2025

Migration Kinetics Of Cadmium And Lead From Ceramic Mugs, Andrew Turner

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Cadmium and Pb are heavy metals of high concern owing to their impacts on human health. In this study, the migration of Cd and Pb from both the interior and exterior (lip area) surfaces of new and second-hand ceramic mugs has been measured as a function of time over a 24-h period using 4 % acetic acid. Via regression analysis, data were fitted with a diffusion equation, yielding reaction rate constants and 24-h migratable concentrations. Migration was more significant from the external surfaces for both metals, and especially where the rim area was overglazed with decorative Cd sulphoselenide pigments. Here, …


Validation Of The Yraffle: An Implementation Of The Raffle Inventory For Loot Box Engagement In A Youth Cohort, Ryan Statton, James Close, Joanne Lloyd, Laura Louise Nicklin, Stuart Spicer, Helen Lloyd Sep 2025

Validation Of The Yraffle: An Implementation Of The Raffle Inventory For Loot Box Engagement In A Youth Cohort, Ryan Statton, James Close, Joanne Lloyd, Laura Louise Nicklin, Stuart Spicer, Helen Lloyd

School of Psychology

BackgroundPlay is pivotal in human development, and as such the human experience. In young people, play is increasingly taking the form of video gaming—capturing a large share of the entertainment sector and potentially exposing young people to new instances of harmful behaviour. Loot boxes (purchasable items where the contents are chance based, which have structural and psychological similarities to gambling) generate significant income for the sector. They have, however, been understudied in young people. The present research validates a lightly modified version of the Reasons and Facilitators for Loot box Engagement (RAFFLE) inventory in a youth population – the youth …


Experimental Assessments Of Second-Hand Battery Degradation Under V2g Operation For Electric Vessels, Olamide Olagunju, Tamer Kamel, Sarah Fear, Lee J. Durndell Sep 2025

Experimental Assessments Of Second-Hand Battery Degradation Under V2g Operation For Electric Vessels, Olamide Olagunju, Tamer Kamel, Sarah Fear, Lee J. Durndell

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Vessel-to-Grid (V2G) technology offers significant potential for supporting grid stability, boosting renewable energy integration, and increasing the profitability of electric vessels (EVs) through intelligent energy management. However, concerns linger regarding the impact of frequent charge-discharge cycles on battery health, especially with the further inclusion of the V2G power cycles. The impact of this approach has been well-studied for road-based electric vehicles, where the concluded outcomes are particularly customised based on the road vehicle operational duty cycles. However, this approach remains largely unexplored for marine EV batteries, due to their unique duty cycles and implementation of second-hand battery systems for use …


Introduction To The Special Section On Earthquakes In Slowly Deforming Mountain Belts And The High Atlas Earthquake Of 8 September 2023, Fida Medina, Youssef Timoulali, Mustapha Meghraoui, Sarah Boulton, Eric Fielding Sep 2025

Introduction To The Special Section On Earthquakes In Slowly Deforming Mountain Belts And The High Atlas Earthquake Of 8 September 2023, Fida Medina, Youssef Timoulali, Mustapha Meghraoui, Sarah Boulton, Eric Fielding

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Earthquakes in slowly deforming mountain belts result from low‐tectonic loading and occur on individual fault segments. Although most of the significant seismic strain rate concentrates along the plate boundaries, large earthquakes with may still be generated along faults in regions at a distance (≫100 km) from plate boundaries. Intraplate regions, or continental interiors, exhibit active deformation characterized by relatively low tectonic and seismic strain rates (<5 mm/yr; Johnston, 1996), consistent with geodetic strain rates and models of plate motions that predict comparable velocities (Kreemer et al., 2014). Active faults in continental interiors...


Small Scale Analysis Of Urban Air Quality And Public Health In London, Uk, Provides Insights For Targeted Interventions, Alan Smith, Tim Daley Aug 2025

Small Scale Analysis Of Urban Air Quality And Public Health In London, Uk, Provides Insights For Targeted Interventions, Alan Smith, Tim Daley

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Understanding the impact of scale and zonation is critical for accurately assessing population health in relation to air quality and demographic data. Using existing census geographies, we analyse spatial clustering and statistical associations across different census scales, focussing on vulnerable sociodemographic groups and temporal exposure patterns. This study aims to assess how different spatial resolutions affect the strength and interpretation of associations between air pollution, sociodemographic variables, and self-reported health. It also evaluates whether finer-scale, health-need-based zoning provides a more accurate basis for public health analysis. Exposure to higher PM2.5 concentrations, and having an undrlying disability, or long-term illness shows …


A Potential New Sea Surface Temperature Proxy Based On Isomeric Highly Branched Isoprenoid Lipid Biomarkers: Ez25, Simon T. Belt, Lukas Smik, Katrine Husum, Jochen Knies Aug 2025

A Potential New Sea Surface Temperature Proxy Based On Isomeric Highly Branched Isoprenoid Lipid Biomarkers: Ez25, Simon T. Belt, Lukas Smik, Katrine Husum, Jochen Knies

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Two tri-unsaturated and isomeric (E/Z) highly branched isoprenoid (HBI) diatom lipid biomarkers were quantified in 228 water column samples collected from the English Channel, West Svalbard (Arctic), the Scotia Sea (Southern Ocean) and East Antarctica. We found that the relative amounts of the two HBIs correlate well with water temperatures taken at the time of sampling. Based on these findings and some other HBI data reported previously, we suggest that the proportion of the HBI E-isomer (termed EZ25) may serve as a new proxy for palaeo sea surface temperatures, including in the polar regions. Next steps will involve determination of …


Microplastics And Other Plastic-Like Microdebris In Sediments From The Dart River And Estuary, Southwest England, Maia Killian, Andrew Turner Aug 2025

Microplastics And Other Plastic-Like Microdebris In Sediments From The Dart River And Estuary, Southwest England, Maia Killian, Andrew Turner

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Surficial sediment samples (n = 10) collected from a transect of a river-estuary (Dart) in southwest England have been analysed for geochemical characteristics, anthropogenic metals (Cr, Cu, Sn, Pb, Zn), and microplastics (∼50 μm–5 mm) and other microplastic-like debris. Results indicated the finest grains towards the lower river and upper estuary, a seaward increase in sedimentary Ca, and loss on ignition ranging from about 0.7 to 4 %. Anthropogenic metals were heterogeneously distributed throughout the catchment with maximum concentrations in the river or lower estuary. Microplastics were dominated by fibres, with concentrations ranging from 110 to 1800 kg−1 and composition …


An Evidence-Based Report On Digital Inclusion In Cornwall: -, Katharine Willis Aug 2025

An Evidence-Based Report On Digital Inclusion In Cornwall: -, Katharine Willis

School of Art, Design and Architecture

This report establishes Cornwall’s first comprehensive baseline on digital inclusion, combining quantitative survey data with qualitative insights to reveal the scale, nature, and geography of digital exclusion across the county. Cornwall faces a dual challenge of ensuring equitable digital skills and addressing infrastructure and affordability barriers. While overall digital use is high, significant groups remain excluded, particularly older adults, low-income households, those without qualifications, and residents in rural or deprived areas. These challenges pose risks not only to individuals’ access to services and opportunities but also to Cornwall’s social and economic resilience.


Making Intra-Urban Monitoring ‘A Walk In The Park’: A Mobile Monitoring Approach For Assessing Pedestrians’ Environmental Conditions, Cho Kwong Charlie Lam, Halat Alnaqshabandy, Shaun Lewin, Jack Morewood, Xiaoxiong Xie, Steve Goodhew Jul 2025

Making Intra-Urban Monitoring ‘A Walk In The Park’: A Mobile Monitoring Approach For Assessing Pedestrians’ Environmental Conditions, Cho Kwong Charlie Lam, Halat Alnaqshabandy, Shaun Lewin, Jack Morewood, Xiaoxiong Xie, Steve Goodhew

School of Art, Design and Architecture

Heat island effects and air pollution influence urban climates and air quality, impacting pedestrians’ health, comfort, and well-being. This study develops and pilots the Trolley-based Environmental Monitoring System (TEMS), which was validated in a medium-sized city in the UK. Three monitoring campaigns took place during May and June 2024. The mobile transects covered the city's built and natural environments, including high-density university buildings, museum precinct, medium-density dwellings, highways, and two parks. Appropriate apparatus was specified to monitor environmental variables integrated into a trolley that was easily operated by a single pedestrian. Fisheye photographs were taken to calculate the sky view …


Husbandry And Management Interventions For The Conservation And Welfare Of Captive Animals – A Systematic Evidence Map, Anaelle Lemasson Lemasson Jul 2025

Husbandry And Management Interventions For The Conservation And Welfare Of Captive Animals – A Systematic Evidence Map, Anaelle Lemasson Lemasson

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Zoos and aquariums are poised to play increasingly important roles in mitigating the global biodiversity crisis. However, the ultimate success of ex-situ conservation depends on animal welfare and effective husbandry and management practices. As such, an empirical understanding of ‘what works’ in zoo management is crucial for guiding success and embedding cost-effective practices. Here, we present the first systematic evidence map for husbandry and management interventions used in zoos and aquariums. We identified and extracted 1,070 articles spread across 45 journals, and examined patterns within taxonomic, spatial, temporal, and thematic categories. Studies originated from 516 institutions in 69 countries, and …


Protective Multi-Stressor Interactions In The Anthropocene: Key Considerations For Investigating Cross-Tolerance In A Conservation Context, Essie M Rodgers, Simone Baldanzi, Michael Collins, W Wesley Dowd, Lauric Feugere, Giovanna Mottola, Fanny Vermandele, Daniel F Gomez Isaza Jul 2025

Protective Multi-Stressor Interactions In The Anthropocene: Key Considerations For Investigating Cross-Tolerance In A Conservation Context, Essie M Rodgers, Simone Baldanzi, Michael Collins, W Wesley Dowd, Lauric Feugere, Giovanna Mottola, Fanny Vermandele, Daniel F Gomez Isaza

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

In the Anthropocene, species are increasingly faced with multiple stressors that are more severe and less predictable than before. While multiple stressors often interact to affect organisms negatively, sometimes these interactions can be beneficial, enhancing resilience through cross-protection. Cross-protection interactions occur when exposure to one stressor, such as elevated temperature, enhances an organism’s tolerance to a different stressor, like hypoxia, through shared protective mechanisms or signaling pathways. Understanding the potential for cross-protection to combat rapid and diverse environmental change is crucial for conservation, as it potentially alters the predicted consequences of such change. Here, we outline 10 key considerations for …


But Who Is It For? Introducing A Framework For Critical Reflection On Design And Delivery Of Ethical Participatory Research, Hannah Gardiner, Clare Pettinger, Louise Hunt, Mary Hickson Jul 2025

But Who Is It For? Introducing A Framework For Critical Reflection On Design And Delivery Of Ethical Participatory Research, Hannah Gardiner, Clare Pettinger, Louise Hunt, Mary Hickson

School of Health Professions

Delivering ethical collaborative research is challenging, requiring disruption of assumptions, academic norms, and ways of working–including long-standing power dynamics. This article proposes a framework to support critical reflection on participatory practice; an adaptation of the wheel of consent. The adapted ‘ILBR’ framework explores the balance of who Initiates (makes requests/offers), does Labour (the action), gets Benefits, and takes on Risks (ILBR) in the conduct of research. This aims to support reflexive design and delivery of ethical participation, including a shift towards consent becoming an ongoing multi-way negotiation of agreements. Particularly it aims to support ‘interpersonal reflexivity’, and navigation of the …


Unpacking Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Elements: Insights Into Drivers Of Entrepreneurial Activity, Mohamed Yacine Haddoud, Samah Souleh, Omaima Munawar Albadry, Saeyeon Roh, Adah Kole Emmanuel Onjewu Jul 2025

Unpacking Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Elements: Insights Into Drivers Of Entrepreneurial Activity, Mohamed Yacine Haddoud, Samah Souleh, Omaima Munawar Albadry, Saeyeon Roh, Adah Kole Emmanuel Onjewu

Plymouth Business School

Thriving entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) are instrumental in new enterprise creation and growth, as they provide vital support for entrepreneurial activity. However, as this support may be context-specific, the existing literature has yet to capture the contextual factors that shape the contributions of EEs. To address this inertia, a fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) is employed, which examines the influence of ecosystem factors on new venture development in two key MENA countries, namely Algeria and Saudi Arabia. The findings indicate that physical, commercial, and legal infrastructure are important factors for EEs in both countries. Nevertheless, there are intriguing differences in the …


Insights Into Marine Biological Responses To Icelandic Glacial Outburst Floods From Remote Sensing Data, Cornelius Kaspar Jul 2025

Insights Into Marine Biological Responses To Icelandic Glacial Outburst Floods From Remote Sensing Data, Cornelius Kaspar

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Cryospheric change has altered discharge patterns of the subglacial Skaftá cauldrons and Grímsvötn volcano beneath the Vatnajökull ice cap, SE Iceland (64.4220° N, 16.7902° W) at least since 1940. Jökulhlaup (glacial outburst floods) frequency has increased but their magnitude has decreased. This study examines jökulhlaup effects on the marine environment at the Gígjukvísl, Skaftá, and Kúðafljót estuaries. Remote sensing data integrated in situ, observational, and modelled data to analyse sea surface salinity (1/8° resolution), temperature (0.05° resolution), and observational chlorophyll-a data (1 km² resolution). Covering 11 jökulhlaups in Gígjukvísl/Skaftá and seven in Kúðafljót, a systematic response emerged in residual data. …


We Are Tectonic! A Queer Geophysics For Intra-Solidarities And Resisting The Cloud Regime, Helen Pritchard, Femke Snelting, Seda Gürses, Jara Rocha, Miriyam Aouragh Jul 2025

We Are Tectonic! A Queer Geophysics For Intra-Solidarities And Resisting The Cloud Regime, Helen Pritchard, Femke Snelting, Seda Gürses, Jara Rocha, Miriyam Aouragh

School of Art, Design and Architecture

This paper analyses how Big Tech and global consultancy firms are asserting control over carbon removal certification and governance through infrastructure solutions and technical standards. We argue that defining gaps in the underground constitutes a global takeover of material sovereignty, encompassing both knowledge and geological formations. We unearth Big Tech’s strategies of infra-solutionism to demonstrate, drawing on the work of inhuman geographer Kathryn Yusoff, how this takeover reinforces geological grammars and essentialises racialised and sexualised categories that disconnect us from the Earth. Drawing on queer poetry together with work of Marxist agronomist Amílcal Cabral we advocate for resistance to dominant …