Evaluation of the Environmental Impact of Milk Quotas

The aim of this study is to examine the environmental impacts of the different systems for allocation and transfer of milk quota under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in individual Member States of the European Union (EU). In particular, it seeks to identify the ways in which differences in the implementation of milk quota regimes can impact on various sectoral and farm management trends and the environmental implications of these

Long-Wave Forcing by the Breaking of Random Gravity Waves on a Beach

This paper presents new laboratory data on long-wave (surf-beat) forcing by the random breaking of shorter gravity water waves on a plane beach. The data include incident and outgoing wave amplitudes, together with shoreline oscillation amplitudes at long-wave frequencies, from which the correlation between forced long waves and short-wave groups is examined. A detailed analysis of the cross-shore structure of the long-wave motion is presented, and the observations are critically compared with existing theories for two-dimensional surf-beat generation. The surf beat shows a strong dependency on normalized surf-zone width, consistent with long-wave forcing by a time-varying breakpoint, with little evidence of the release and reflection of incident bound long waves for the random-wave simulations considered. The seaward-propagating long waves show a positive correlation with incident short-wave groups and are linearly dependent on short-wave amplitude. The phase relationship between the incident bound long waves and radiated free long waves is also consistent with breakpoint forcing. In combination with previous work, the present data suggest that the breakpoint variability may be the dominant forcing mechanism during conditions with steep incident short waves

Clarification of the relationship between bound and scattering states in quantum mechanics: Application to 12C + alpha

Using phase-equivalent supersymmetric partner potentials, a general result from the inverse problem in quantum scattering theory is illustrated, i.e., that bound-state properties cannot be extracted from the phase shifts of a single partial wave, as a matter of principle. In particular, recent R-matrix analyses of the 12C + alpha system, extracting the asymptotic normalization constant of the 2+ subthreshold state, C12, from the l=2 elastic-scattering phase shifts and bound-state energy, are shown to be unreliable. In contrast, this important constant in nuclear astrophysics can be deduced from the simultaneous analysis of the l=0, 2, 4, 6 partial waves in a simplified potential model. A new supersymmetric inversion potential and existing models give C12=144500+-8500 fm-1/2.Comment: Expanded version (50% larger); three errors corrected (conversion of published reduced widths to ANCs); nine references added, one remove

Management and drivers of change of pollinating insects and pollination services. National Pollinator Strategy: for bees and other pollinators in England, Evidence statements and Summary of Evidence

These Evidence Statements provide up-to-date information on what is known (and not known) about the status, values, drivers of change, and responses to management of UK insect pollinators (as was September 2018). This document has been produced to inform the development of England pollinator policy, and provide insight into the evidence that underpins policy decision-making. This document sits alongside a more detailed Summary of Evidence (Annex I) document written by pollinator experts. For information on the development of the statements, and confidence ratings assigned to them, please see section ‘Generation of the statements’ below. Citations for these statements are contained in the Summary of Evidence document

Financing SME growth in the UK: meeting the challenges after the global financial crisis

In the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis new forms of SME finance are emerging in the place of traditional banking and equity finance sources. This Special Issue has its origins in a conference organised in June 2014 by the Centre for Enterprise and Economic Development Research (CEEDR) at Middlesex University Business School, where all but the final two papers were presented. The Conference was designed to provide a timely forum for leading academics, practitioners and policy makers to disseminate current research and practitioner knowledge exploring finance gaps and how best to address the financing needs of small high growth potential businesses

Management and drivers of change of pollinating insects and pollination services. National Pollinator Strategy: for bees and other pollinators in England, Evidence statements and Summary of Evidence

These Evidence Statements provide up-to-date information on what is known (and not known) about the status, values, drivers of change, and responses to management of UK insect pollinators (as was September 2018). This document has been produced to inform the development of England pollinator policy, and provide insight into the evidence that underpins policy decision-making. This document sits alongside a more detailed Summary of Evidence (Annex I) document written by pollinator experts. For information on the development of the statements, and confidence ratings assigned to them, please see section ?Generation of the statements? below. Citations for these statements are contained in the Summary of Evidence document

Modelling tsunami inundation on coastlines with characteristic form

This paper provides an indication of the likely difference in tsunami amplification and dissipation between different characteristic coastal embayments, coastal entrances and estuaries. Numerical modeling is performed with the ANU/Geoscience Australia tsunami inundation model. Characteristic coastal morphology is represented by simpler generic morphological shapes which can be applied easily in the ANUGA model, such that key non-dimensional parameters (e.g. embayment depth/bay width) can be varied. Modeling is performed with a range of bay shapes, seabed gradient and different incident tsunami wave shapes and wave angles, including sine waves, solitary waves and leading depression Nwaves. The results show a complex pattern for both large and small embayments, with wave breaking an important control on the amplification of the wave between the 20m contour and the shore. For large embayments, the wave run-up can be amplified by a factor six in comparison to the amplitude at the model boundary. For small embayments, the amplification is dependent on the location of the ocean water line, or tidal stage

Retrospective case note review of chronic spontaneous urticaria outcomes and adverse effects in patients treated with omalizumab or ciclosporin in UK secondary care.

BACKGROUND: Omalizumab is approved in the UK as add-on treatment for chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) in patients with inadequate response to H1-antihistamines. Ciclosporin is an established but unlicensed 3rd line option for CSU. Two parallel retrospective observational studies were conducted to describe outcomes of treatment and adverse events with omalizumab or ciclosporin for CSU treatment. METHODS: Data from UK specialist centres prescribing omalizumab (five centres) or ciclosporin (three centres) in CSU patients were collected from hospital records by clinical staff and pooled for analysis. RESULTS: Forty-six patients prescribed omalizumab and 72 patients prescribed ciclosporin were included. Twenty-two (48%) omalizumab-treated patients had paired Urticaria Activity Scores (UAS7), showing a 25.4 point improvement during treatment (P < 0.0001). Paired Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) was available in 28 (61%) omalizumab-treated and 17 (24%) ciclosporin-treated patients. At least a 75% improvement in DLQI score was observed in 79% of omalizumab-treated and 41% of ciclosporin-treated patients, and 65% of omalizumab-treated patients had complete resolution of their quality-of-life impairment (DLQI 0-1) versus 21% of ciclosporin-treated patients. Clinician comments reported symptom clearance in 15/36 (42%) omalizumab-treated and 10/60 (17%) ciclosporin-treated patients. Proportions of patients with adverse events were similar but those for omalizumab resembled CSU symptoms, making causality assignment difficult, whereas those for ciclosporin were consistent with its known adverse effect profile. CONCLUSIONS: Validated patient-reported measures of disease severity and quality of life should be used routinely in CSU management. Based on clinician comments and DLQI scores, symptoms and quality of life showed a greater improvement in the omalizumab-treated cohort than in the ciclosporin-treated cohort