Search Results (4)

We report the results of a survey of farmers and landowners to identify the most likely potential food system disruption scenarios for the UK and compare these with a previous expert elicitation with a much wider set of food system stakeholders. We found that 60% of farmers think a Societal Event in which 1 in 2000 people are injured in the UK is at least 20% likely to occur over the coming decade. Over a timeframe of 50 years, this increased to almost 90% of farmers. These results show that farmers and landowners are considerably more concerned about the vulnerability of the food system in the UK than the wider group of food system experts are. Farmers agreed with experts on the majority of potential causes of such vulnerability, which are climate change, trade policies (import and export), competition for land and ecological collapse (over 50 years). However, they also highlighted the importance of the power structure within the food system, with large corporations supplying to, or buying from, farmers creating lower revenue, making farming an unsustainable business. We conclude that an urgent systematic review of potential interventions that would improve resilience be conducted by the UK Government, in partnership with farmers. Full article

We report the results of a structured expert elicitation to identify the most likely types of potential food system disruption scenarios for the UK, focusing on routes to civil unrest. We take a backcasting approach by defining as an end-point a societal event in which 1 in 2000 people have been injured in the UK, which 40% of experts rated as “Possible (20–50%)”, “More likely than not (50–80%)” or “Very likely (>80%)” over the coming decade. Over a timeframe of 50 years, this increased to 80% of experts. The experts considered two food system scenarios and ranked their plausibility of contributing to the given societal scenario. For a timescale of 10 years, the majority identified a food distribution problem as the most likely. Over a timescale of 50 years, the experts were more evenly split between the two scenarios, but over half thought the most likely route to civil unrest would be a lack of total food in the UK. However, the experts stressed that the various causes of food system disruption are interconnected and can create cascading risks, highlighting the importance of a systems approach. We encourage food system stakeholders to use these results in their risk planning and recommend future work to support prevention, preparedness, response and recovery planning. Full article

(1) Background: Family psychoeducation is a well-recognized intervention which aims to improve the outcomes of illness in patients affected by psychosis. It has benefits in treatment adherence and leads to a reduction in relapses, higher levels of patient insight, and lower levels of stress within the family and among caregivers. (2) Methods: Eight patients and their families were recruited and randomly assigned to a Falloon-based family psychoeducation (FPP) intervention, and nine patients and their families were randomized to a Gestalt-based family intervention (GT). We compared the outcomes of these two treatment groups at a baseline assessment (T0), at the end of the programs (T1), and 6 and 12 months after the end of the programs (T2 and T3). The assessments included examinations of cognition (The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and The Five Point Test (5 Point)), the psychopathology and severity of illness (The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and The Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI)), expressed emotion in families (Expressed Emotionality (Family Questionnaire-EE)), patient quality of life (The World Health Organization Quality of Life—BREF (WHOQOL-B)), social functioning (The Personal Social Performance (SPS)), aggression (Modified Overt Aggression Scale (MOAS)), and treatment adherence (The Brief Medication Adherence Report Scale (BMARS)). The primary aim was to test whether the FFP vs. GT program was more effective in improving treatment adherence over time. (3) Results: treatment adherence improved much more in the FFP group over time at any follow-up: +43.1% at T1, +24.0% at T2, and +41.6% at T3. Other characteristics, including psychopathology and the clinical stability of the subject, did not change over time. (4) Discussion: Family psychoeducation based on the Falloon program was effective at improving treatment adherence and contributed to avoiding relapses in the long term. Further studies on larger samples should be conducted to confirm this evidence, and similar psychoeducational programs should be routinely promoted in the clinical setting. Full article

Lava samples from the Christmas Island Seamount Province (CHRISP) record an extreme range in enriched mantle (EM) type Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf isotope signatures. Here we report osmium isotope data obtained on four samples from the youngest, Pliocene petit-spot phase (Upper Volcanic Series, UVS; ~4.4 Ma), and four samples from the earlier, Eocene (Lower Volcanic Series, LVS; ~40 Ma) shield building phase of Christmas Island. Osmium concentrations are low (5–82 ppt) with initial Os isotopic values (¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os_i) ranging from (0.1230–0.1679). Along with additional new geochemical data (major and trace elements, Sr-Nd-Pb isotopes, olivine δ¹⁸O values), we demonstrate the following: (1) The UVS is consistent with melting of shallow Indian mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) mantle enriched with both lower continental crust (LCC) and subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) components; and (2) The LVS is consistent with recycling of SCLM components related to Gondwana break-up. The SCLM component has FOZO or HIMU like characteristics. One of the LVS samples has less radiogenic Os (γOs –3.4) and provides evidence for the presence of ancient SCLM in the source. The geochemistry of the Christmas Island lava series supports the idea that continental breakup causes shallow recycling of lithospheric and lower crustal components into the ambient MORB mantle. Full article