UCL open environment最新文献

{"title":"Reflections on trust and COVID-19: do politics, medicine and the environment need each other?","authors":"Alistair Cole,&nbsp;Frederic Dutheil,&nbsp;Julien S Baker","doi":"10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000010","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This short article is centred on how trust can be a valuable resource for developing cognate responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the medical and social sciences. Politics and medicine can learn from each other. Governments need to persuade individuals to adapt their behaviours, and such persuasion will be all the more convincing in that it is nested in social networks. Trust in government requires consistent (benevolent, performative and joined-up) explanations. The distinction between hard medical and soft social science blurs when patients/citizens are required to be active participants in combatting a pandemic virus.</p>","PeriodicalId":75271,"journal":{"name":"UCL open environment","volume":"2 ","pages":"e010"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10208311/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9530816","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Normal background levels of air and surface mould reserve in English residential building stock: a preliminary study towards benchmarks based on NAHA measurements.","authors":"Yasemin Didem Aktas,&nbsp;Morten Reeslev,&nbsp;Hector Altamirano,&nbsp;Neil May,&nbsp;Dina D'Ayala","doi":"10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000005","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This paper reports results obtained from a surface (both visually clean and dirty/dusty surfaces) and active (aggressive or activated) air testing scheme on 140 residential rooms in England, without visible water damage or mould growth, along with a few rooms with visible mould growth/water damage tested for comparison purposes. The aim was to establish normal background levels of mould in non-water-damaged interiors to benchmark a 'normal' indoor environment, and in turn when there is a need for further investigation, and, possibly, remediation. Air and surface mould was quantified based on the activity of β-N-acetylhexosaminidase (EC 3.2.1.52; NAHA). The obtained readings showed a log-normal distribution. Ninety-eight percent of the samples obtained from visually clean surfaces were equal to or less than 25 relative fluorescence units (RFU), which is suggested to be the higher bound for the range which can be used as a success criterion for surface cleaning/remediation. Of samples obtained from visually dirty/dusty surfaces, around 98% were below 450 RFU, which is suggested to define the lower-bound for abnormally high levels of mould, rare even on dirty/dusty surfaces. Similarly, around 98% of the air samples were found to have 1700 RFU or below. Values above 1700 RFU are therefore deemed unlikely in a non-problem indoor environment and can be indicative of a possible problem inducing mould growth. The samples with values below 1700 were further divided into three proposed sub-categories. Finally, the obtained RFU values and the suggested benchmarks were compared to those obtained from 17 non-residential indoor environments tested previously in Copenhagen, and the benchmarks that are currently used in Danish national standards, and they were both found to be highly congruent, suggesting that local climate regimes and room functions might not be as influential on indoor mould levels as commonly thought, or that the nuances between England and Denmark in terms of these factors are not strong enough to lead to sizable changes in the typical indoor mould levels in these countries' building stocks.</p>","PeriodicalId":75271,"journal":{"name":"UCL open environment","volume":"2 ","pages":"e005"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10171414/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9525613","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Economic impact of Ebola virus disease outbreak on an extractive firm: a case study.","authors":"Hisham Tariq,&nbsp;David Tresco Emes,&nbsp;Yebeen Ysabelle Boo,&nbsp;Alexander Light,&nbsp;Zia Sadique,&nbsp;Mishal Khan,&nbsp;Alan Knight,&nbsp;Osman Dar,&nbsp;Logan Manikam","doi":"10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000007","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>The recent Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic was one of the most severe public health emergencies in modern times. The economic impact of epidemics has mostly been analysed at the macroeconomic level. Conversely, we aimed to estimate the economic costs of preventive measures of the epidemic to an extractive firm, ArcelorMittal (AM), using data in the epidemic region from March 2014 to December 2015. AM is the world's largest steel producer and is particularly important in West Africa, where the extractive industry is economically crucial.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Qualitative methods, in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs), were used to investigate the events and channels of impact of the epidemic on the firm, as perceived by employees and contractors. Quantitative data regarding these costs were also collected. Retrospective cost analysis estimated the actual cost of preventive methods adopted.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Most respondents indicated the largest cost impact was suspension of the Phase II expansion, a series of projects designed to increase iron ore production in Liberia. The next largest cost was the preventive measures adopted to counter disease spread. Total costs incurred for adopting preventive measures were USD 10.58-11.11 million. The overall direct costs of preventive measures adopted within the fence, meaning within the physical boundary of the firm's sites, shared 30-31% of the total costs incurred. The share of external donations supporting humanitarian response was 11-12% of the total costs, followed by 7-12% of relational costs.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The firm's response during the EVD epidemic focussed on its employees and operations, which was later expanded to the wider community and then in supporting the international humanitarian response.</p>","PeriodicalId":75271,"journal":{"name":"UCL open environment","volume":"2 ","pages":"e007"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10208325/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9525609","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Some considerations on the use of space sound absorbers with next-generation materials reflecting COVID situations in Japan: additional sound absorption for post-pandemic challenges in indoor acoustic environments.","authors":"Kimihiro Sakagami,&nbsp;Takeshi Okuzono","doi":"10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000012","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In this study, we first point out the possible acoustic problems associated with the post-pandemic operation of built environments. In particular, we focus on the problem of acoustic deficiency due to the lack of absorption. This deficiency, which is likely to be encountered in most enclosed spaces in a range of establishments, is due to the reduced number of audience members or users of the space as a result of social distancing. As one of the promising solutions to this problem, we introduce a sound absorption technique using three-dimensional (3D) space sound absorbers developed through our recent research projects. Significantly, the type of sound absorber proposed herein is made of materials that are especially suited to hygiene considerations. The materials are microperforated panels (MPPs) and permeable membranes (PMs), both of which are easily washable and sanitised. Furthermore, we point out that 3D-MPP or PM space absorbers possess the additional value of aesthetic designability.</p>","PeriodicalId":75271,"journal":{"name":"UCL open environment","volume":"2 ","pages":"e012"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10208322/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9525611","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The COVID-19 global challenge and its implications for the environment - what we are learning.","authors":"Francesco Aletta,&nbsp;Dan Osborn","doi":"10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000008","url":null,"abstract":"https://doi.org/10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000008 During the last months, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has changed the lives of many and had a more or less direct effect on virtually everyone on the planet. This international public health emergency has endless socio-economic ramifications and will have long-lasting consequences [1]. It triggered unprecedented responses from governments around the world, which included implementing strict social distancing and stopping every non-essential productive activity and the related movements of people and goods.","PeriodicalId":75271,"journal":{"name":"UCL open environment","volume":"2 ","pages":"e008"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10208340/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9530818","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"COVID-19 and informal settlements - implications for water, sanitation and health in India and Indonesia.","authors":"Priti Parikh,&nbsp;Yasmin Bou Karim,&nbsp;Jacob Paulose,&nbsp;Pam Factor-Litvak,&nbsp;Emily Nix,&nbsp;Dewi Nur Aisyah,&nbsp;Hemant Chaturvedi,&nbsp;Logan Manikam,&nbsp;Monica Lakhanpaul","doi":"10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000011","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Informal settlements are home to over 1 billion people worldwide and are characterised by high population densities and poor environmental conditions. The authors identify the impact of COVID-19 on existing water and sanitation practices and potential pathways for the transmission of COVID-19 in informal settlements in India and Indonesia. In the short term, there is an urgent need for mobile and contactless hand washing, washing/bathing facilities and toilets. In the long term, COVID-19 provides an opportunity to invest in centralised water and sanitation networked solutions appropriate for high-density settings to integrate those settlements into cities and improve environmental conditions and health in these cities.</p>","PeriodicalId":75271,"journal":{"name":"UCL open environment","volume":"2 ","pages":"e011"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10208312/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9525612","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Research priorities for maintaining biodiversity’s contributions to people in Latin America","authors":"R. Pearson, E. Martínez‐Meyer, M. Velázquez, M. Caron, R. Corona-Núñez, K. Davis, A. P. Durán, Rodrigo García-Morales, Talya D Hackett, Daniel J. Ingram, Rafael Loyola Díaz, J. Lescano, A. Lira‐Noriega, Yolanda Lopez-Maldonado, D. Manuschevich, A. Mendoza, Ben M. Milligan, Simon Mills, D. Moreira‐Arce, L. F. Nava, Vicencio Oostra, Nathan Owen, David A. Prieto‐Torres, Clarita Rodríguez Soto, Thomas Smith, Andrew J. Suggitt, Camila Tejo Haristoy, J. Velásquez-Tibatá, S. Díaz, P. Marquet","doi":"10.14324/111.444/000014.V1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14324/111.444/000014.V1","url":null,"abstract":"Maintaining biodiversity is crucial for ensuring human well-being. The authors participated in a workshop held in Palenque, Mexico, in August 2018, that brought together 30 mostly early-career scientists working in different disciplines (natural, social and economic sciences) with the aim of identifying research priorities for studying the contributions of biodiversity to people and how these contributions might be impacted by environmental change. Five main groups of questions emerged: (1) Enhancing the quantity, quality, and availability of biodiversity data; (2) Integrating different knowledge systems; (3) Improved methods for integrating diverse data; (4) Fundamental questions in ecology and evolution; and (5) Multi-level governance across boundaries. We discuss the need for increased capacity building and investment in research programmes to address these challenges.","PeriodicalId":75271,"journal":{"name":"UCL open environment","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49361992","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"What are cascading disasters?","authors":"David Alexander,&nbsp;Gianluca Pescaroli","doi":"10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cascades have emerged as a new paradigm in disaster studies. The high level of dependency of modern populations on critical infrastructure and networks allows the impact of disasters to propagate through socio-economic systems. Where vulnerabilities overlap and interact, escalation points are created that can create secondary effects with greater impact than the primary event. This article explains how complexity can be categorised and analysed in order to find those weak points in society that enable cascading impacts to develop. Scenarios can be used to identify critical dependencies and guide measures designed to increase resilience. Experience suggests that many potential impacts of cascading disasters remain uninvestigated, which provides ample scope for escalation of impacts into complex forms of crisis.</p>","PeriodicalId":75271,"journal":{"name":"UCL open environment","volume":"1 ","pages":"e003"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10171413/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9518280","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Research priorities for maintaining biodiversity's contributions to people in Latin America.","authors":"Richard G Pearson,&nbsp;Enrique Martínez-Meyer,&nbsp;Mercedes Andrade Velázquez,&nbsp;Mercedes Caron,&nbsp;Rogelio O Corona-Núñez,&nbsp;Katrina Davis,&nbsp;América Paz Durán,&nbsp;Rodrigo García-Morales,&nbsp;Talya D Hackett,&nbsp;Daniel J Ingram,&nbsp;Rafael Loyola Díaz,&nbsp;Julián Lescano,&nbsp;Andrés Lira-Noriega,&nbsp;Yolanda López-Maldonado,&nbsp;Daniela Manuschevich,&nbsp;Alma Mendoza,&nbsp;Ben Milligan,&nbsp;Simon C Mills,&nbsp;Darío Moreira-Arce,&nbsp;Luzma F Nava,&nbsp;Vicencio Oostra,&nbsp;Nathan Owen,&nbsp;David Prieto-Torres,&nbsp;Clarita Rodríguez Soto,&nbsp;Thomas Smith,&nbsp;Andrew J Suggitt,&nbsp;Camila Tejo Haristoy,&nbsp;Jorge Velásquez-Tibatá,&nbsp;Sandra Díaz,&nbsp;Pablo A Marquet","doi":"10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Maintaining biodiversity is crucial for ensuring human well-being. The authors participated in a workshop held in Palenque, Mexico, in August 2018, that brought together 30 mostly early-career scientists working in different disciplines (natural, social and economic sciences) with the aim of identifying research priorities for studying the contributions of biodiversity to people and how these contributions might be impacted by environmental change. Five main groups of questions emerged: (1) Enhancing the quantity, quality, and availability of biodiversity data; (2) Integrating different knowledge systems; (3) Improved methods for integrating diverse data; (4) Fundamental questions in ecology and evolution; and (5) Multi-level governance across boundaries. We discuss the need for increased capacity building and investment in research programmes to address these challenges.</p>","PeriodicalId":75271,"journal":{"name":"UCL open environment","volume":"1 ","pages":"e002"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10171404/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9518278","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Global evolution and paleogeographic distribution of mid-Cretaceous orbitolinids.","authors":"Marcelle BouDagher-Fadel,&nbsp;Geoffrey David Price","doi":"10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000001","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Members of the Larger Benthic Foraminiferal (LBF) family Orbitolinidae occurred from the Cretaceous to the Paleogene, however, they were most diverse during the mid-Cretaceous, and dominated the agglutinated LBF assemblages described from limestones of that period. Various orbitolinid species have been used to zone and date lithologies formed in the shallow, warm waters of the Aptian to the early Cenomanian, and many, sometimes inaccurate, generic and sub-generic nomenclatures have been proposed to differentiate the often-subtle morphological changes that orbitolinids exhibit over time. Also, until now, it has not been possible to develop an effective global overview of their evolution and environmental development because descriptions of specimens from Asia have been relatively rare. Following our recent study of over 1800 orbitolinid-rich thin sections of material from 13 outcrops of Langshan limestone, from the Southern Tibetan Plateau, and from the Barito Basin, South Kalimantan, Indonesia, it has been possible to compare the stratigraphic ranges of these orbitolinids with previously described Tethyan and American forms, based on the use of a planktonic zonal (PZ) scheme, itself tied to the most recent chronostratigraphic scale. This has allowed the reconstruction of the phylogenetic and paleogeographic evolution of the orbitolinids from their Valanginian origin in the Tethys. Although the Tethys remained the paleogeographic centre for the orbitolinids, it is inferred here for the first time that a bi-directional paleogeographic migration of some orbitolinid genera occurred from the Tethys to the Americas and also to the Western Pacific region. Our observations and dating suggest that global marine regressions in the Aptian were coincident with, and may well have facilitated, these orbitolinid transoceanic migrations. Migration stopped however after rising sea level in the early Albian appears to have again isolated these provinces from each other. Tectonic forces associated with the subduction of the Farallon Plate and further sea level raises led to the opening of the Western Interior Seaway in North America, which correlates with, and may have been the cause of, the middle Albian (top of PZ Albian 2) extinction of the American orbitolinids. The extinction of the orbitolinids revealed that the Western Pacific province was split into two sub-provinces, with extinction occurring at the end of the early Albian (top of PZ Albian 1) in the Northwest Pacific sub-province, and at the end of the Albian (top of PZ Albian 4) in the subprovince that is today South East Asia (on the margins and west of the Wallace Line). The final near extinction of the orbitolinids occurred at the end of the Cenomanian in the Tethyan province, which coincides with, and may have been caused by, global anoxic oceanic events that correlate with a near-peak Mesozoic eustatic sea level high-stand that led to the overall global collapse of the paleotropical reef ecosy","PeriodicalId":75271,"journal":{"name":"UCL open environment","volume":"1 ","pages":"e001"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10171425/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9518281","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}