Search

We report on a recent innovation for one Departmental Select Committee. While government policy commitments are well publicised, little attention is paid to the quality of commitments made or to assessing progress against those commitments. In 2020, the Health and Social Care Select Committee commissioned an Expert Panel to conduct independent, in-depth evaluations of government progress on selected policy commitments. The first evaluations in 2021/22 assessed commitments in maternity, mental health and cancer services, and workforce and it was the first time a government department has been systematically graded against its own commitments. This is an important new method of scrutiny with the potential to complement and enhance the work of Select Committee inquiries. This paper reviews the development of select committees highlighting issues relating to their operation and, in particular, assessment of evidence. We describe the innovation of the Expert Panel and its role in reviewing policy commitments and discuss implications for parliamentary scrutiny, leadership and improvements to health service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landscape fire activity is changing in many regions because of climate change. Smoke emissions from landscape fires contain many harmful air pollutants, and beyond the potential hazard posed to human health, these also have ecological impacts. Insects play essential roles in most ecosystems worldwide, and some work suggests they may also be sensitive to smoke exposure. There is therefore a need for a comprehensive review of smoke impacts on insects. We systematically reviewed the scientific literature from 1930 to 2022 to synthesize the current state of knowledge of the impacts of smoke exposure from landscape fires on the development, behavior, and mortality of insects. We found: (1) 42 relevant studies that met our criteria, with 29% focused on the United States of America and 19% on Canada; (2) of these, 40 insect species were discussed, all of which were sensitive to smoke pollution; (3) most of the existing research focuses on how insect behavior responds to landscape fire smoke (LFS); (4) species react differently to smoke exposure, with for example some species being attracted to the smoke (e.g. some beetles) while others are repelled (e.g. some bees). This review consolidates the current state of knowledge on how smoke impacts insects and highlights areas that may need further investigation. This is particularly relevant since smoke impacts on insect communities will likely worsen in some areas due to increasing levels of biomass burning resulting from the joint pressures of climate change, land use change, and more intense land management involving fire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding habitat selection by individual animals within their home range is crucial to facilitating their conservation. Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) populations are increasingly urbanised, but little is known about their urban habitat use. In this study, we analysed the breeding habitat selection of peregrine falcons in London, United Kingdom, based on nest site locations identified through records of public sightings submitted to an online database between 2003 and 2018. We found peregrines displayed a preference for nesting in proximity to waterbodies, built-up areas and public parks and gardens, while wooded, agricultural and allotments areas were least preferred. We hypothesise that peregrines seek contrasting topography that proves advantageous for hunting in the vicinity of their nests, resulting in their selection of breeding sites within tall buildings that are adjacent to suitable foraging areas. From these findings, we conclude that (i) social drivers such as demand for green spaces and waterbodies near buildings shape peregrine nesting opportunities in the city and (ii) for urban planning to support conservation, we need further understanding of how each type of greenspace may be used differentially by raptors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal habitat selection, among other ecological phenomena, is spatially scale dependent. Habitat selection by American beavers Castor canadensis (hereafter, beaver) has been studied at singular spatial scales, but to date no research addresses multi-scale selection. Our objectives were to determine if beaver habitat selection was specialized to semiaquatic habitats and if variables explaining habitat selection are consistent between landscape and fine spatial scales. We built maximum entropy (MaxEnt) models to relate landscape-scale presence-only data to landscape variables, and used generalized linear mixed models to evaluate fine spatial scale habitat selection using global positioning system (GPS) relocation data. Explanatory variables between the landscape and fine spatial scale were compared for consistency. Our findings suggested that beaver habitat selection at coarse (study area) and fine (within home range) scales was congruent, and was influenced by increasing amounts of woody wetland edge density and shrub edge density, and decreasing amounts of open water edge density. Habitat suitability at the landscape scale also increased with decreasing amounts of grass frequency. As territorial, central-place foragers, beavers likely trade-off open water edge density (i.e., smaller non-forested wetlands or lodges closer to banks) for defense and shorter distances to forage and obtain construction material. Woody plants along edges and expanses of open water for predator avoidance may limit beaver fitness and subsequently determine beaver habitat selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental degradation resulting from warfare is a growing concern, particularly with increasing recognition of humanity's dependence on healthy ecosystems. Though environmental legislation does exist that seeks to prevent or mitigate environmental harm before, during and after conflict, it has limited scope and effectiveness. This may be one reason why the environmental laws of war are so rarely applied in attempts to bring parties responsible for environmental harm to justice. Enforcement of such legal instruments also requires appropriate quantification of environmental damage, which is particularly difficult in a warfare context. A focus on the loss of environmental resources, habitats or ecosystems is only part of the story-the real cost of environmental damage is in the loss of ecosystem services that such resources provide, both now and in the future, and which regional and global human societies depend upon. The ecosystem services framework, wherein the costs of damage to ecosystem services are quantified in economic terms, may prove a more effective way of highlighting the environmental damage resulting from warfare. Moreover, quantification along monetary lines is potentially more likely to establish a solid case for justifiable reparations than criteria relating to loss of biodiversity or ecosystem health, which are more difficult for society and governmental agencies to place specific values on. This article discusses the ecosystem services framework in the context of warfare, and highlights both the potential and the challenges that may accompany adoption of such a framework by the international community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the geomorphic and ecological importance of large wood in streams and rivers is well recognized, most studies consider only dead wood in channels. However, we have observed that living parts of trees are often found within active channels and that this "livewood" shares functions with both instream dead wood and live riparian trees, while also providing some functions unique to living woody material within a channel. We describe the mechanisms that produce livewood and illustrate its characteristics and influences on riparian and stream ecosystems with examples from Europe, North America, and New Zealand. We hypothesize that, compared with dead wood in channels, livewood (a) persists longer because of greater stability and greater resistance to decay, and (b) imparts greater structural complexity (with associated hydraulic roughness and retentiveness). The phenomenon of livewood implies that a broader range of tree species and sizes than previously considered may contribute functionally important wood to channels. We encourage the study of livewood in a range of forest-stream ecosystems to test our hypotheses and further our understanding of how forests interact with rivers and streams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with epidemic infections caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C were studied to assess the relationship of abnormal coagulation parameters to prognosis. Patients were categorized into stages within the first hour of observation according to severity of illness. During the epidemic years 1986 through 1991, 113 patients with bacteriologically proven N. meningitidis infection were observed, 15 of whom died. Purpura fulminans was seen in 28 patients, of whom 14 (50%) died. Among the 14 surviving patients who had purpura fulminans, 10 suffered gangrene with deforming autoamputation secondary to the dermal microvascular thrombosis and hemorrhagic necrosis. Evaluation of the induced diffuse intravascular coagulation in 59 patients included studies of the naturally occurring anticoagulants, focusing on protein C and protein S. The magnitude of the declining levels of protein C, the degree of thrombocytopenia, and the presence of fibrin split products are directly related to the clinical severity of the illness (P = .0053). Thus, in individuals with severe disease expression, the risk of purpura fulminans with death or deformity was significantly increased when the platelet count was <50,000 cells/mm3 (P = .0001) and protein C levels were low (P = .0158). The immaturity of the protein C system in children who are <4 years of age may contribute to the rapid and more frequent pathogenesis of purpura fulminans. Therapy directed at replacement of the naturally occurring anticoagulants, such as protein C, may ultimately improve the prognosis for individuals with purpura fulminans. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The American Negro is watching with vital interest the long awaited shake-up that is now taking place within the American Federation of Labor. Negroes have a right to show more than a passing interest in this upheaval because the organization which has been the mouthpiece for the working class within this country since the 1880s but which actually represents only a minority of the gainfully employed, has never done anything to aid directly the black workman. Many authorities thought the American Federation of Labor was about to pass out of the picture in the period immediately prior to the World War. This new development in the labor movement is of particular interest to the Negro because the split was ostensibly occasioned by Lewis's espousal of industrial unionism. Of course, John L. Lewis has been accused of being ambitious and a few other less complimentary things, but the type of unionism that he champions is the kind that appeals to the Negro. The fact that the American Federation of Labor has discriminated against the colored worker is known and accepted and needs no explanation here.