Digital Commons Network^™

Rivers Of Power: How A Natural Force Raised Kingdoms, Destroyed Civilizations, And Shapes Our World By Laurence C. Smith (Little, Brown Spark, 2020), Stephen Earsom

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

Waste: One Woman’S Fight Against America’S Dirty Secret By Catherine Coleman Flowers (The New Press, 2020), Deanna Warren

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

The Plight Of Western Rivers, W. Howard Brandenburg

Natural Resources Journal

My oil paintings weave a narrative about the human species. I am interested in the space where our proliferation infringes upon ecosystem function. I am fascinated in what makes our species so successful and what that success means for the balance of nature. My paintings often target concepts around environmental transformations attributed to human activities and economies. Visual art provides me the latitude and freedom to explore and communicate these concepts, using a visual language which conveys disparate perspectives; universally and individualistically.

This duality is what I strive for in my work; producing an image that not only speaks a …

Premature Grey Wolf Delisting, Dr. Edward A. Fitzgerald

Natural Resources Journal

On November 3, 2020 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”)1 issued “Removing the Gray Wolf (Canis Lupus) From the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife” (“Final Rule”) delisting the gray wolf in forty-eight states, except for the Mexican gray wolf in the Southwest.2 This Final Rule returned gray wolf management to the states. Wolf delisting was a last-minute gift from the Trump administration to conservative voters, particularly hunters, trappers, and livestock owners right before the November 2020 presidential election. Hunters and trappers view the wolf as a competitor for the game that they want to kill, while livestock owners …

Microplastics In The School Classrooms Of Shiraz, Iran, Sajjad Abbasi, Andrew Turner, Reza Sharifi, Mohammad Javad Nematollahi, Mehrzad Keshavarzifard, Tahereh Moghtaderi

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Microplastics (MPs) are a pervasive and ubiquitous environmental contaminant. However, very little information exists on the quantities or characteristics of MPs in the indoor setting. In the present study, MPs have been isolated from settled classroom dust samples collected from 50 schools in the city of Shiraz, Iran. Concentrations of MPs on a number basis ranged from about 80 to over 56,000 MP per g of dry dust and there was an increase in concentration towards the centre and southeast of the city. The geographical distribution is attributed to a larger population and student density, higher traffic loading and greater …

Geophagy And Microplastic Ingestion, Hoda Amiri, Mohammad Hoseini, Sajjad Abbasi, Mohammad Malakootian, Majid Hashemi, Neamatollah Jaafarzadeh, Andrew Turner

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

No abstract provided.

Mesoscale Eddies And The Impact Of Coastal Iron Supply On Primary Production In The South Pacific Subtropical Front, Stephen M. Chiswell, Philip W. Boyd, Sylvia G. Sander, Michael J. Ellwood, Angela Milne

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

No abstract provided.

Atomic Spectrometry Update: Review Of Advances In The Analysis Of Metals, Chemicals And Materials, Simon Carter, Robert Clough, Andy Fisher, Bridget Gibson, Ben Russell

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

This review covers advances in the analysis of advanced materials, metals, fuels and lubricants, nanostructures, ceramics, refractories, organic and inorganic chemicals, catalysts and nuclear materials by a range of techniques including X-ray, ICP, LIBS, mass spectrometry, synchrotron-based techniques, plus non-destructive and ablation surface techniques.

Preliminary Report On The 2021 Season Of Excavations At As-Khirbat Safra, Paul Gregor, Paul Ray, Talmadge Gerald, Trisha Broy

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Emerging Contradictions In The Enforcement Of Bird Hunting Regulations In Malta, Bertie Ferns, Brian Campbell, Diogo Veríssimo

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

‘A Platform For Goodness, Not For Badness’: The Heuristics Of Hope In Patients' Evaluations Of Online Health Information, Alan Petersen, Allegra Schermuly, Alison Anderson

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

Patient advocates and activists are increasingly relying on online health information that can assist them to manage their health condition. Yet once online, they will confront diverse information whose veracity and utility are difficult to determine. This article offers a sociological analysis of the practical methods, or heuristics, that patient advocates and activists use when making judgements about the credibility and utility of online information. Drawing on the findings from interviews with fifty Australian patient advocates and activists, it is argued that these individuals' use of these heuristics reflects their hopes that information can help them manage their condition which …

The Application Of Precaution In Elasmobranch Conservation And Management In The Mediterranean Sea, Lydia Koehler, Ioannis Giovos, Jason Lowther

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Policy Making For Sharks And The Role And Contribution Of Non-Governmental Organisations In The Fulfilment Of International Legal Obligations, Lydia Koehler, Jason Lowther

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

We propose a policy cycle for elasmobranch conservation and management and assessed the role and contribution of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) within this cycle on a case study basis for the Mediterranean region. Following a review of shark-related and relevant legal obligations under international and regional instruments, we classified them into ten focus areas: Capacity building, Conservation measures, Cooperation, Education and Awareness, Monitoring, Policy development and integration, Regulation, Reporting, Research, and Sustainable Management. Based on surveys and a supplementary, web-based research, we found that NGOs contribute substantially to the implementation stage of the proposed policy cycle and fulfil obligations under various …

Challenges And Prospects Of The Limited Liability Partnership And The Limited Partnership As Vehicles For Business In Nigeria, Chidi Halliday, Goodtime Okara

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Trauma In Transition - Lived Experiences Of Trauma Informed Approaches, Emma Taylor, Katie Mcbride

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

Increasing numbers of organisations are seeking the contributions of people who haveexperienced trauma in order to develop their services and support. The aims of this piece ofresearch were to understand the lived experiences of trauma. In particular, how policy anddecision makers can best learn from people with lived experiences of trauma to improvetheir service design and delivery. The overall ambitions of the research team in relation tothis piece of work are to produce accessible knowledge that can be used to inform futureresearch, and the way in which trauma can be better accounted for and supported in boththe design and delivery …

Company Reconstructions, Goodtime Okara, Chidi Halliday

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Post-Operative Goal-Directed Fluid Therapy (Gdft) On Organ Function After Orthotopic Liver Transplantation: Secondary Outcome Analysis Of The Colt Randomised Control Trial, Farid Froghi, Vignesh Gopalan, Zachos Anastasiou, Rahul Koti, Kurinchi Gurusamy, Christine Eastgate, Margaret Mcneil, Helder Filipe, Manuel Pinto, Jeshika Singh, Louise Longworth, Susan Mallett, Nick Schofield, Douglas Thorburn, Daniel Martin, Brian R. Davidson

Peninsula Medical School

No abstract provided.

Past, Present And Future Of Conservative Oxygen Therapy In Critical Care, Daniel Martin, David Harrison, Paul Mouncey, B. Ronan O'Driscoll, Mike Grocott, Lorna Miller, Doug Gould, Alvin Richards-Belle, Kathryn Rowan

Peninsula Medical School

Conservative oxygen therapy (COT) is the administration lower levels of supplemental oxygen than usual in order to tolerate a lower level of arterial oxygenation (either the partial pressure (PaO2) or haemoglobin saturation (SaO2)) than normal. Its purpose is to reduce a patient’s overall exposure to additional oxygen in order to minimise the risk of oxyen toxicity.1 This approach to oxygen therapy has also been called permissive hypoxaemia (PH) and the terms are frequently used interchangeably; here, we refer to all efforts to reduce supplemental oxygen administration or arterial oxygenation as COT. Studies have been conducted across a wide range of …

Early Computed Tomography Coronary Angiography In Adults Presenting With Suspected Acute Coronary Syndrome: The Rapid-Ctca Rct, Alasdair J. Gray, Carl Roobottom, Jason E. Smith, Steve Goodacre, Katherine Oatey, Rachel O’Brien, Robert F. Storey, Nick Curzen, Liza Keating, Attila Kardos, Dirk Felmeden, Robert J. Lee, Praveen Thokala, Steff C. Lewis, David E. Newby

Peninsula Medical School

Background Acute coronary syndrome is a common medical emergency. The optimal strategy to investigate patients who are at intermediate risk of acute coronary syndrome has not been fully determined. Objective To investigate the role of early computed tomography coronary angiography in the investigation and treatment of adults presenting with suspected acute coronary syndrome. Design A prospective, multicentre, open, parallel-group randomised controlled trial with blinded end-point adjudication. Setting Thirty-seven hospitals in the UK. Participants Adults (aged ≥ 18 years) presenting to the emergency department, acute medicine services or cardiology department with suspected or provisionally diagnosed acute coronary syndrome and at least …

What Matters Most To Adults With A Tracheostomy In Icu And The Implications For Clinical Practice: A Qualitative Systematic Review And Metasynthesis, Helen Newman, Gemma Clunie, Sarah Wallace, Christina Smith, Daniel Martin, Natalie Pattison

Peninsula Medical School

Purpose Tracheostomy is a common surgical procedure in ICU. Whilst often life-saving, it can have important impacts on patients. Much of the literature on tracheostomy focuses on timing and technique of insertion, risk factors and complications. More knowledge of patient experience of tracheostomy in ICU is needed to support person-centred care. Materials and methods Qualitative systematic review and metasynthesis of the literature on adult experience of tracheostomy in ICU. Comprehensive search of four bibliographic databases and grey literature. Title and abstract screening and full text eligibility was completed independently by two reviewers. Metasynthesis was achieved using thematic synthesis, supported by …

Development And Evaluation Of A Collaborative Care Intervention For Male Prison Leavers With Mental Health Problems: The Engager Research Programme, Richard Byng, Charlotte Lennox, Tim Kirkpatrick, Cath Quinn, Rob Anderson, Sarah Louise Brand, Lynne Callaghan, Lauren Carroll, Graham Durcan, Laura Gill, Sara Goodier, Jonathan Graham, Rebecca Greer, Mark Haddad, Tirril Harris, William Henley, Rachael Hunter, Mike Maguire, Sarah Leonard, Susan Michie, Christabel Owens, Mark Pearson, Sarah Rybczynska-Bunt, Caroline Stevenson, Amy Stewart, Alex Stirzaker, Rod Taylor, Roxanne Todd, Florian Walter, Fiona C. Warren, Lauren Weston, Nat Wright, Jenny Shaw

Peninsula Medical School

Background Many male prison leavers have significant mental health problems. Prison leavers often have a history of trauma, ongoing substance misuse and housing insecurity. Only a minority of prison leavers receive mental health care on release from prison. Objectives The aim of the Engager research programme was to develop and evaluate a theory- and evidence-informed complex intervention designed to support individuals with common mental health problems (e.g. anxiety, depression) and other complex needs, including mental health comorbidity, before and after release from prison. Methods In phase 1, the intervention was developed through a set of realist-informed substudies, including a realist …

An Exploration Of The Contribution Of Embodied, Situated Research Strategies To Cultural Ecosystem Services And Landscape Assessment Frameworks: An Environmental Empathy Case Study, K Łucznik, Jv Serrano, J Martin

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Since the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment in 2005, interest has increased in cultural ecosystem services (CESs) research to understand the complexity of the non-material benefits that people obtain from ecosystems. The intangible and interactive characteris-tics of CESs present many challenges regarding how to approach, quantify and even de-fine CESs. In this paper, we suggest looking at CESs through the lens of embodied and situated cognition theories. We advocate that such an approach should be applied to the development stage of CES research projects, as the embodied and situated experience of the site aids the development of research questions and future interventions. …

Water Table Depth Modulates Productivity And Biomass Across Amazonian Forests, Thaiane R. Sousa, Juliana Schietti, Io Ribeiro, Thaise Emílio, Rafael Herrera Fernández, Steege H Ter, Carolina V. Castilho, A Esquivel‐Muelbert, Timothy Baker, A Pontes‐Lopes, Cvj Silva, Jm Silveira, Géraldine Derroire, Wendeson Castro, Am Mendoza, Ademir Ruschel, Adriana Prieto, Adriano José Nogueira Lima, Agustín Rudas, A Araujo‐Murakami, Alexander Parada Gutierrez, Ana Andrade, Anand Roopsind, Angelo Gilberto Manzatto, Fiore A Di, A Torres‐Lezama, Aurélie Dourdain, B Marimon, Bh Marimon, Benoit Burban

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Aim: Water availability is the major driver of tropical forest structure and dynamics. Most research has focused on the impacts of climatic water availability, whereas remarkably little is known about the influence of water table depth and excess soil water on forest processes. Nevertheless, given that plants take up water from the soil, the impacts of climatic water supply on plants are likely to be modulated by soil water conditions. Location: Lowland Amazonian forests. Time period: 1971–2019. Methods: We used 344 long-term inventory plots distributed across Amazonia to analyse the effects of long-term climatic and edaphic water supply on forest …

A Review Of The Pharmacotherapeutic Considerations For Managing Epilepsy In People With Autism, Lance V. Watkins, Maire O’Dwyer, Rohit Shankar

Peninsula Medical School

Introduction: Autism, like other neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), has a strong association with epilepsy. There are known common genetic pathways in both autism and epilepsy. There are also specific genetic syndromes associated with both complex epilepsy and the autism phenotype. Areas covered: This review explores the evidence for common genetic etiologies and pathophysiological pathways in relation to both epilepsy and autism. Autism with comorbid epilepsy are associated with a high prevalence of medical and psychiatric comorbidities. This paper discusses how this influences assessment, treatment, and outcomes. The evidence for the treatment of specific seizure types in the context of NDDs is …

General Practitioner Views On Addressing Weight Opportunistically In Primary Care: An Embedded Sequential Mixed-Methods Study, Maryam Kebbe, Susan A. Jebb, Rachna Begh, Anna Christian-Brown, Hannah Wheat, Amanda Farley, Amanda Lewis, Paul Aveyard

Peninsula Medical School

Objective: To assess GPs’ thoughts, feelings, and practices on providing opportunistic weight loss interventions before and after educational training and application in practice. Methods: In an embedded sequential mixed-methods design, 137 GPs delivered a 30-second brief opportunistic intervention to a mean of 14 patients with obesity. To assess GPs’ experiences and views on the intervention, all were invited to complete pre- and post-trial questionnaires and 18 were purposively interviewed. Data were transcribed verbatim and analysed using inductive framework analysis. Results: GPs’ attitudes (importance, feasibility, appropriateness, helpfulness, and effectiveness), capacities (comfort, confidence, and knowledge), perceived subjective norms (role expectations), willingness, and …

Neural Network Detection Of Pacemakers For Mri Safety, Mark Daniel Vernon Thurston, Daniel H. Kim, Huub K. Wit

Peninsula Medical School

Flagging the presence of cardiac devices such as pacemakers before an MRI scan is essential to allow appropriate safety checks. We assess the accuracy with which a machine learning model can classify the presence or absence of a pacemaker on pre-existing chest radiographs. A total of 7973 chest radiographs were collected, 3996 with pacemakers visible and 3977 without. Images were identified from information available on the radiology information system (RIS) and correlated with report text. Manual review of images by two board certified radiologists was performed to ensure correct labeling. The data set was divided into training, validation, and a …

Tackling Increased Risks In Older Adults With Intellectual Disability And Epilepsy: Data From A National Multicentre Cohort Study, L. V. Watkins, W. Henley, J. J. Sun, B. Perera, H. Angus-Leppan, I. Sawhney, K. Purandare, M. Eyeoyibo, M. Scheepers, G. Lines, R. Winterhalder, R. Shankar

Peninsula Medical School

Purpose People with intellectual disabilities (ID) suffer multimorbidity, polypharmacy and excess mortality at a younger age than general population. Those with ID and epilepsy are at higher risk of worse clinical outcomes than their peers without epilepsy. In the ID population the health profile of those aged ≥40 years can be compared to those aged over 65 in the general population. To date there is limited data available to identify clinical characteristics and risk factors in older adults (≥40 years) with ID and epilepsy. Methods The Epilepsy in ID National Audit (Epi-IDNA) identified 904 patients with ID and epilepsy from …

Cost-Effectiveness Of Mirtazapine For Agitated Behaviors In Dementia: Findings From A Randomized Controlled Trial, Catherine Henderson, Martin Knapp, Susan Stirling, Lee Shepstone, Juliet High, Clive Ballard, Peter Bentham, Alistair Burns, Nicolas Farina, Chris Fox, Julia Fountain, Paul Francis, Robert Howard, Iracema Leroi, Gill Livingston, Ramin Nilforooshan, Shirley Nurock, Jt O’Brien, Annabel Price, Ann Marie Swart, Naji Tabet, Tanya Telling, Alan J. Thomas, Sube Banerjee

Peninsula Medical School

Objectives: To examine the costs and cost-effectiveness of mirtazapine compared to placebo over 12-week follow-up. Design: Economic evaluation in a double-blind randomized controlled trial of mirtazapine vs. placebo. Setting: Community settings and care homes in 26 UK centers. Participants: People with probable or possible Alzheimer’s disease and agitation. Measurements: Primary outcome included incremental cost of participants’ health and social care per 6-point difference in CMAI score at 12 weeks. Secondary cost-utility analyses examined participants’ and unpaid carers’ gain in quality-adjusted life years (derived from EQ-5D-5L, DEMQOL-Proxy-U, and DEMQOL-U) from the health and social care and societal perspectives. Results: One hundred …

Adaptation Of The Stride Dementia Survey Into The Indonesian Context In North Sumatra, Fasihah Irfani Fitri, Ika Mariana Gultom, Eka Mahendrayana, Engki Irawan, Aldy S. Rambe, Tara Puspitarini Sani, Yuda Turana, Imelda Theresia, Nicolas Farina, Sube Banerjee

Peninsula Medical School

Background: North Sumatra is one of two provinces in Indonesia in which the prevalence and costs of care of dementia has been completed as part of the STrengthening Responses to dementia In Developing countries (STRiDE) program. The toolkit used in the study was developed in English and thus needed to be cross-culturally adapted into Bahasa Indonesia. Part of this process involved pre-testing as a way to maximize the cultural appropriateness of the toolkit, especially in a multi- ethnic province like North Sumatra. Here we report the adaptation process. Methods: The translated toolkit consisted of measures needed within the prevalence survey …

Real Talk: A Realist Dialogic Approach In A Realist Evaluation, Emilie Francis-Auton, Mitchell N. Sarkies, Chiara Pomare, Janet C. Long, Rebecca Hardwick, Hoa Mi Nguyen, Jeffrey Braithwaite

Peninsula Medical School

Realist evaluation is a method increasingly adopted to provide an understanding of how and why a program works, for whom, and under what circumstances. Initial program theories (IPT) are the crucial starting point of any realist evaluation, however descriptions about how they are developed in practice remain under-reported in the published literature. This article argues for the value of genuine research-group conversations using David Bohm’s concept of dialogue in realist research. We label it the realist dialogic approach. We draw out the relational qualities as well as the contextual circumstances of dialogue through our development of IPT and interview guides …