This book examines claims involving unjust enrichment and public bodies in France,England and the EU. Part 1 explores the law as it now stands in England and Wales as a result of cases such as ...Woolwich EBS v IRC, those resulting from the decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Metallgesellschaft and Hoechst v IRC and those involving Local Authority swaps transactions. So far these cases have been viewed from either a public or a private law perspective, whereas in fact both branches of the law are relevant, and the author argues that the courts ought not to lose sight of the public law issues when a claim is brought under the private law of unjust enrichment, or vice versa. In order to achieve this a hybrid approach is outlined which would allow the law access to both the public and private law aspects of such cases. Since there has been much discussion, particularly in the context of public body cases, of the relationship between the common law and civilian approaches to unjust enrichment, or enrichment without cause, Part 2 considers the French approach in order to ascertain what lessons it holds for England and Wales. And finally, as the Metallgesellschaft case itself makes clear, no understanding of such cases can be complete without an examination of the relevant EU law. Thus Part 3 investigates the principle of unjust enrichment in the European Union and the division of labour between the European and the domestic courts in the ECJ’s so-called ‘remedies jurisprudence’. In particular it examines the extent to which the two relevant issues, public law and unjust enrichment, are defined in EU law, and to what extent this remains a task for the domestic courts. Cited with approval in the Court of Appeal by Beatson, LJ in Hemming and others v The Lord Mayor and Citizens of Westminster, 2013 EWCA Civ 5912 Cited with approval in the Supreme Court by Lord Walker, in Test Claimants in the Franked Investment Income Group Litigation (Appellants) v Commissioners of Inland Revenue and another 2012 UKSC 19
Elevated CO₂ and temperature strongly affect crop production, but understanding of the crop response to combined CO₂ and temperature increases under field conditions is still limited while data are ...scarce. We grew wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and rice (Oryza sativa L.) under two levels of CO₂ (ambient and enriched up to 500 μmol mol⁻¹) and two levels of canopy temperature (ambient and increased by 1.5–2.0 °C) in free‐air CO₂ enrichment (FACE) systems and carried out a detailed growth and yield component analysis during two growing seasons for both crops. An increase in CO₂ resulted in higher grain yield, whereas an increase in temperature reduced grain yield, in both crops. An increase in CO₂ was unable to compensate for the negative impact of an increase in temperature on biomass and yield of wheat and rice. Yields of wheat and rice were decreased by 10–12% and 17–35%, respectively, under the combination of elevated CO₂ and temperature. The number of filled grains per unit area was the most important yield component accounting for the effects of elevated CO₂ and temperature in wheat and rice. Our data showed complex treatment effects on the interplay between preheading duration, nitrogen uptake, tillering, leaf area index, and radiation‐use efficiency, and thus on yield components and yield. Nitrogen uptake before heading was crucial in minimizing yield loss due to climate change in both crops. For rice, however, a breeding strategy to increase grain number per m² and % filled grains (or to reduce spikelet sterility) at high temperature is also required to prevent yield reduction under conditions of global change.
The first generation of forest free‐air CO₂ enrichment (FACE) experiments has successfully provided deeper understanding about how forests respond to an increasing CO₂ concentration in the ...atmosphere. Located in aggrading stands in the temperate zone, they have provided a strong foundation for testing critical assumptions in terrestrial biosphere models that are being used to project future interactions between forest productivity and the atmosphere, despite the limited inference space of these experiments with regards to the range of global ecosystems. Now, a new generation of FACE experiments in mature forests in different biomes and over a wide range of climate space and biodiversity will significantly expand the inference space. These new experiments are: EucFACE in a mature Eucalyptus stand on highly weathered soil in subtropical Australia; AmazonFACE in a highly diverse, primary rainforest in Brazil; BIFoR‐FACE in a 150‐yr‐old deciduous woodland stand in central England; and SwedFACE proposed in a hemiboreal, Pinus sylvestris stand in Sweden. We now have a unique opportunity to initiate a model–data interaction as an integral part of experimental design and to address a set of cross‐site science questions on topics including responses of mature forests; interactions with temperature, water stress, and phosphorus limitation; and the influence of biodiversity.
We analysed the responses of 11 ecosystem models to elevated atmospheric CO₂ (eCO₂) at two temperate forest ecosystems (Duke and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Free‐Air CO₂ Enrichment (FACE) ...experiments) to test alternative representations of carbon (C)–nitrogen (N) cycle processes. We decomposed the model responses into component processes affecting the response to eCO₂ and confronted these with observations from the FACE experiments. Most of the models reproduced the observed initial enhancement of net primary production (NPP) at both sites, but none was able to simulate both the sustained 10‐yr enhancement at Duke and the declining response at ORNL: models generally showed signs of progressive N limitation as a result of lower than observed plant N uptake. Nonetheless, many models showed qualitative agreement with observed component processes. The results suggest that improved representation of above‐ground–below‐ground interactions and better constraints on plant stoichiometry are important for a predictive understanding of eCO₂ effects. Improved accuracy of soil organic matter inventories is pivotal to reduce uncertainty in the observed C–N budgets. The two FACE experiments are insufficient to fully constrain terrestrial responses to eCO₂, given the complexity of factors leading to the observed diverging trends, and the consequential inability of the models to explain these trends. Nevertheless, the ecosystem models were able to capture important features of the experiments, lending some support to their projections.
Free‐air CO₂ enrichment (FACE) experiments have demonstrated increased plant productivity in response to elevated (e)CO₂, with the magnitude of responses related to soil nutrient status. Whilst ...understanding nutrient constraints on productivity responses to eCO₂ is crucial for predicting carbon uptake and storage, very little is known about how eCO₂ affects nutrient cycling in phosphorus (P)‐limited ecosystems. Our study investigates eCO₂ effects on soil N and P dynamics at the EucFACE experiment in Western Sydney over an 18‐month period. Three ambient and three eCO₂ (+150 ppm) FACE rings were installed in a P‐limited, mature Cumberland Plain Eucalyptus woodland. Levels of plant accessible nutrients, evaluated using ion exchange resins, were increased under eCO₂, compared to ambient, for nitrate (+93%), ammonium (+12%) and phosphate (+54%). There was a strong seasonality to responses, particularly for phosphate, resulting in a relatively greater stimulation in available P, compared to N, under eCO₂ in spring and summer. eCO₂ was also associated with faster nutrient turnover rates in the first six months of the experiment, with higher N (+175%) and P (+211%) mineralization rates compared to ambient rings, although this difference did not persist. Seasonally dependant effects of eCO₂ were seen for concentrations of dissolved organic carbon in soil solution (+31%), and there was also a reduction in bulk soil pH (‐0.18 units) observed under eCO₂. These results demonstrate that CO₂ fertilization increases nutrient availability – particularly for phosphate – in P‐limited soils, likely via increased plant belowground investment in labile carbon and associated enhancement of microbial turnover of organic matter and mobilization of chemically bound P. Early evidence suggests that there is the potential for the observed increases in P availability to support increased ecosystem C‐accumulation under future predicted CO₂ concentrations.
Sonic enrichment at the zoo Kleinberger, Rébecca
Interaction Studies,
11/2023, Volume:
24, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Abstract
There is a strong disconnect between humans and other species in our societies. Zoos particularly expose this
disconnect by displaying the asymmetry between visitors in search of ...entertainment, and animals often suffering from a lack of
meaningful interactions and natural behaviors. In zoos, many species are unable to mate, raise young, or exhibit engagement
behaviors. Enrichment is a way to enhance their quality of life, enabling them to express natural behaviors and reducing
stereotypies. Prior work on sound-based enrichment and interactivity suggest that a better understanding of animals’ sensory needs
and giving them options to shape their surroundings can yield substantial benefits. However, current zoo management and
conservation practices lack tools and frameworks to leverage innovative technology to improve animal well-being and zookeepers’
ability to care for them. Ethical considerations are called for in developing such interventions as human understanding of
animals’ worlds is still limited, and assumptions can have detrimental consequences. Based on several interventions, four
principles are proposed to guide a more systematic implementation of sonic enrichment in zoos. The goal is to lay the groundwork
for the design of the zoos of the future, with a focus on sounds, for the benefit of the animals.
Deterministic lateral displacement (DLD) pillar arrays are an efficient technology to sort, separate and enrich micrometre-scale particles, which include parasites, bacteria, blood cells and ...circulating tumour cells in blood. However, this technology has not been translated to the true nanoscale, where it could function on biocolloids, such as exosomes. Exosomes, a key target of 'liquid biopsies', are secreted by cells and contain nucleic acid and protein information about their originating tissue. One challenge in the study of exosome biology is to sort exosomes by size and surface markers. We use manufacturable silicon processes to produce nanoscale DLD (nano-DLD) arrays of uniform gap sizes ranging from 25 to 235nm. We show that at low Peclet (Pe) numbers, at which diffusion and deterministic displacement compete, nano-DLD arrays separate particles between 20 to 110nm based on size with sharp resolution. Further, we demonstrate the size-based displacement of exosomes, and so open up the potential for on-chip sorting and quantification of these important biocolloids.
Paleoredox conditions are commonly evaluated based on elemental proxies but, despite their frequency of use, most of these proxies have received little comparative evaluation or assessment of their ...range of applicability to paleomarine systems. Here, we evaluate 21 elemental proxies, including six proxies based on the C-S-Fe-P system (TOC, S, TOC/S, DOPT, Fe/Al, Corg/P), nine proxies based on trace-metal enrichment factors (CoEF, CrEF, CuEF, MoEF, NiEF, PbEF, UEF, VEF, ZnEF), and six additional proxies from Jones and Manning (1994) (U/Th, Uauth, V/Cr, Ni/Co, Ni/V, (Cu+Mo)/Zn), in 55 Phanerozoic marine formations. We used principal components analysis (PCA) to determine relationships among these 21 proxies in each formation and then sought to identify patterns across the full database. The first principal component (PC1) accounted for 40.1% of total dataset variance on average, with the highest median loadings on trace-metal enrichment factors (NiEF 0.82, MoEF 0.76, all nine >0.50). The next highest median loadings are on C-S-Fe-P proxies (TOC 0.58, DOPT 0.30, Corg/P 0.28), with bimetal proxies yielding uniformly lower loadings (Ni/Co 0.18, V/Cr 0.13). PCA of the factor loadings for the 55 study formations demonstrated associations among the 21 elemental proxies linked to specific sediment host phases: (1) an organic cluster associated with TOC, Mo, V, and Zn, (2) a uranium cluster associated with all U-based proxies, and (3) a sulfide cluster associated with S and Fe as well as the trace metals Co, Cu, Ni, and Pb (i.e., the major and typical minor constituents of diagenetic pyrite).
The findings of the present study have important ramifications for use of elemental proxies for paleoredox analysis. First, all of the proxies examined here are influenced by environmental redox conditions to some degree, although the degree of redox influence on any given proxy can vary considerably from one formation to the next. Second, sedimentary enrichment of most proxies depends on the presence of specific mineral and organic host phases, and evaluation of elemental redox proxy data requires an understanding of how elements are partitioned among those phases. Third, no single proxy is a universally reliable redox indicator, although some are more consistently useful than others—notably, TOC and trace-metal EFs. Fourth, because of this inherent variability in proxy response, adoption of redox proxy thresholds established in earlier published studies is discouraged. Instead, we recommend that future redox studies establish redox thresholds on a formation-specific basis through internal cross-calibration of multiple redox proxies.
•Evaluation of 21 elemental redox proxies, including C-S-Fe-P, trace metal ratios and EFs.•The most effective redox proxies are trace-metal EFs (Re, Ni, Mo) and TOC.•No proxy is universally reliable; all redox analyses should be on a formation-specific basis.•All elemental proxies are linked to a specific sediment fraction (organic, sulfide, etc.).•Different proxies thus inform about redox influences on specific sediment fractions.
Abstract
Microbes regulate the composition and turnover of organic matter. Here we developed a framework called Energy-Diversity-Trait integrative Analysis to quantify how dissolved organic matter ...and microbes interact along global change drivers of temperature and nutrient enrichment. Negative and positive interactions suggest decomposition and production processes of organic matter, respectively. We applied this framework to manipulative field experiments on mountainsides in subarctic and subtropical climates. In both climates, negative interactions of bipartite networks were more specialized than positive interactions, showing fewer interactions between chemical molecules and bacterial taxa. Nutrient enrichment promoted specialization of positive interactions, but decreased specialization of negative interactions, indicating that organic matter was more vulnerable to decomposition by a greater range of bacteria, particularly at warmer temperatures in the subtropical climate. These two global change drivers influenced specialization of negative interactions most strongly via molecular traits, while molecular traits and bacterial diversity similarly affected specialization of positive interactions.
Microalgae are emerging as promising sustainable sources for biofuels, biostimulants in agriculture, soil bioremediation, feed and human nutrients. Nonetheless, the molecular mechanisms underpinning ...microalgae physiology and the biosynthesis of compounds of biotechnological interest are largely uncharacterized. This hinders the development of microalgae full potential as cell-factories. The recent application of omics technologies into microalgae research aims at unraveling these systems. Nevertheless, the lack of specific tools for analysing omics raw data generated from microalgae to provide biological meaningful information are hampering the impact of these technologies. The purpose of ALGAEFUN with MARACAS consists in providing researchers in microalgae with an enabling tool that will allow them to exploit transcriptomic and cistromic high-throughput sequencing data.
ALGAEFUN with MARACAS consists of two different tools. First, MARACAS (MicroAlgae RnA-seq and Chip-seq AnalysiS) implements a fully automatic computational pipeline receiving as input RNA-seq (RNA sequencing) or ChIP-seq (chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing) raw data from microalgae studies. MARACAS generates sets of differentially expressed genes or lists of genomic loci for RNA-seq and ChIP-seq analysis respectively. Second, ALGAEFUN (microALGAE FUNctional enrichment tool) is a web-based application where gene sets generated from RNA-seq analysis as well as lists of genomic loci from ChIP-seq analysis can be used as input. On the one hand, it can be used to perform Gene Ontology and biological pathways enrichment analysis over gene sets. On the other hand, using the results of ChIP-seq data analysis, it identifies a set of potential target genes and analyses the distribution of the loci over gene features. Graphical representation of the results as well as tables with gene annotations are generated and can be downloaded for further analysis.
ALGAEFUN with MARACAS provides an integrated environment for the microalgae research community that facilitates the process of obtaining relevant biological information from raw RNA-seq and ChIP-seq data. These applications are designed to assist researchers in the interpretation of gene lists and genomic loci based on functional enrichment analysis. ALGAEFUN with MARACAS is publicly available on https://greennetwork.us.es/AlgaeFUN/ .
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