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Published in 2005, the United Nations Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) stressed that influencing governments, businesses and communities to address the supra-national challenge of limiting biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation requires a fuller understanding of the range of values and benefits people derive from ecosystems, including tourism. The MA was informed by, and has shaped, several conceptually and methodologically distinctive sub-global assessments (SGAs) of ecosystem services. Through content analysis, this paper is the first detailed examination of how tourism features in 14 extant SGAs identified in a database held by a major supra-national environmental organization. Although the SGAs should have incorporated the widest range of specialist subject expertise, tourism scholars played only peripheral roles in producing them even for territories where tourism is a significant land use. The SGAs examined did not benefit from the extensive body of knowledge relating to sustainable tourism. Limited portrayals of tourism restrict the capacity of SGAs in their current format as management solutions. It is also contradictory to the ethos, principles and purpose of ecosystem assessments. With the ecosystem services perspective set to become more important to policy and decision making, the paper argues for greater incorporation of recent progress in sustainable tourism in ecosystem assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young people have been identified as a key target group for whom participation in sport and physical activity could have important benefits to health and well-being and consequently have been the focus of several government policies to increase participation in the UK. Lifestyle sports represent one such strategy for encouraging and sustaining new engagements in sport and physical activity in youth groups, however, there is at present a lack of understanding of the use of these activities within policy contexts. This paper presents findings from a government initiative which sought to increase participation in sport for young people through provision of facilities for mountain biking in a forest in south-east England. Findings from qualitative research with 40 young people who participated in mountain biking at the case study location highlight the importance of non-traditional sports as a means to experience the natural environments through forms of consumption which are healthy, active and appeal to their identities. In addition, however, the paper raises questions over the accessibility of schemes for some individuals and social groups, and the ability to incorporate sports which are inherently participant-led into state-managed schemes. Lifestyle sports such as mountain biking involve distinct forms of participation which present a challenge for policy-makers who seek to create and maintain sustainable communities of youth participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through a theoretical and empirical consideration of gift exchange we argue in this paper that those with legal interests in land have constructed property relations around a claim of reciprocity with nature. This has been used to legitimate the ways in which they have deployed their property power to exclude others, thus seeking to retain their dominion over both humans and nonhumans. In so doing, however, people with such interests have failed to understand the dynamic of gift relationships, with their inherent inculcation of subject and other, to the point where the exercise of power becomes contingent on the continued hegemony of property relations. Using the politics of recreational access to inland waters in England and Wales, we show that power--over both humans and nonhumans--is temporary and conditional in ways that are not fully theorised in most contemporary debates about property rights and their deployment on nonhuman subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A consideration of occupation and space is outlined to advance nonrepresentational thinking about human-landscape relations. Empirical findings are presented from a research project based on data from the Mass Observation Archive relevant to gardens and gardening. These data are analysed to explore how 'ordinary' people (who have contributed to this Archive) express and experience issues concerning their home gardens. Our analysis suggests four distinct modes of occupation relevant to the ways in which these lay writers describe their garden and gardening experiences and activities. The naturalistic mode is occupied with the garden as expressive of 'nature'; the nostalgic mode is occupied with memory and self-reflection; the pragmatic mode concerns tasks/activities that constitute the routine practices of gardening; and the mimetic mode is occupied with the interpersonal dynamics and processes of human social activity. The analysis is situated in the theoretical context of some recent developments in nonrepresentational theory. We suggest that our approach and data are compatible with the process-orientation of nonrepresentational thinkers, and that-contrary to certain objectivist tendencies within nonrepresentational theorising-this approach does not need to neglect the importance of issues of subjectivity and experience, and the relevance of textual data. We aim to lend empirical substance to recent theoretical and philosophical discussions on space, and speculations about why the home garden appears to be so important to many people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the politics of recreational access to the natural environment has long been associated with walking, there is growing recognition that other forms of access can, in political terms, be more problematic. One such case is recreational access to inland waters in England and Wales, which has long been dominated by the oppositional politics of anglers and canoeists. Recognising the limitations of conventional evidence-based approaches to policy-making, this paper offers a phenomenological perspective on the politics of water related recreation, suggesting that approaches to the ‘solution’ of access problems may be found by understanding better the lifeworlds of those involved in the debates. This is illustrated by reference to a recent official inquiry into access along inland waters in Wales. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the connection between the public and gardening to understand everyday spaces and academic practice. It offers information on the Mass Observation Archive (MOA) which is designed to analyze the domestic garden with home, nature and the environment. It cites the Imagining the Garden exhibition at the Jubilee Library Brighton in England on June 25 to 30, 2007 where it displayed cards, posters and feedback from permaculture on how to improve the garden for public exhibition.

This paper examines how the domestic garden is experienced as an intimate place in everyday life. With reference to Bachelard we seek to analyse prosaic pleasures and enchanting encounters that are revealed through multi-sensorial engagements and emotional attachments within the social/natural world. In particular we focus on three modalities of the everyday: work or tasks involved in gardening; that is, sensuous and embodied experiences explored through the notion of haptic perception; 'cultivation' in the sense of taking care of the garden, as well as caring for the self and others; and emotional attachments invoking body/place memories, especially of childhood gardens. To illustrate these themes we use garden narratives drawn from the Mass Observation Archive (MOA). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antineuronal antibodies (ANAs) have been implicated in the pathophysiology of postinfectious movement disorders, such as Sydenham's chorea. However, their relevance in other movement disorders-in the absence of infectious triggers-remains much disputed. We sought to assess the frequency of ANAs in idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD) and to explore whether a specific phenotype is associated with the presence of ANAs. For this purpose, we recruited 76 IPD patients, 9 patients with genetic parkinsonism, and 10 with one of the parkinson-plus syndromes. They were all subjected to a comprehensive clinical review. In addition, 50 patients with non-extrapyramidal neurological disease and 30 healthy blood donors served as control populations. Blood samples were tested for the presence of ANAs with Western blotting, using recombinant proteins of the three putative antigens (aldolase C, neuron-specific enolase, and pyruvate kinase M1). We found these antibodies in 11.8% of the 76 IPD patients, which differed significantly from healthy controls (0%, P = 0.043), but nonsignificantly from patients with genetic parkinsonism (11.1%), with a parkinson-plus syndrome (10%), or from neurological disease controls (4%). With respect to relevant disease characteristics, IPD patients with or without ANAs were indistinguishable, except for atypical disease features (mainly early falls or freezing and marked Pisa syndrome), which were more frequent in the ANA-positive IPD group. We conclude that ANAs do not play a role in the majority of patients with IPD, but might be relevant in the pathogenesis of IPD with atypical features. © 2008 Movement Disorder Society [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses recreational conflict between anglers and boaters in England. While recognizing that interpersonal conflicts between individual anglers and boaters exist much as they do in other countries, the article argues that the position in England is mediated through complex land and property rights that position the stakeholders asymmetrically, as legal rights holders (anglers) and moral rights claimants (boaters). Under this scenario, negotiated attempts to increase access for boaters are interpreted not primarily as a means of addressing the asymmetry, but as a mechanism for underwriting the dominant property power of the anglers. Using data collected from focus groups involving stakeholders, the article suggests that in cases where recreational access to natural resources is mediated through sociopolitical institutions such as law, weaker stakeholders have very limited options in terms of the legal or social mechanisms through which he can pursue or assert their claims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article assesses the importance and clinical usefulness of antibasal ganglia antibodies (ABGAs). ABGAs as a diagnostic marker are useful because they support the clinical diagnosis of Sydenham's chorea and post-streptococcal acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. A brief discussion on how ABGA-associated disorders should be treated and the clinicopathological spectrum of the disorders associated with ABGAs is provided.

Global cities, such as London, are viewed as distinctive in terms of their role in the increasingly globalized economy. There has been considerable academic debate over the nature of global city labour markets and how these can be explained in relation to global city functions. New empirical evidence is presented for the tourism labour market in London and the UK. The pay, conditions and social characteristics of tourism workers in London are examined, and they appear distinctive in terms of their full-time, gender (male), student, ethnicity and migrant characteristics. An explanation is developed that explores the interactions between the global city role of London and other scaled geographical processes that originate, especially at the national level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Talks about topics discussed during the annual conference of the Royal Geographical Society with the Institute of British Geographers in London, England. Recent developments in tourism and leisure; Explanation concerning the term creative tourism; Views related to critical reappraisal of tourism and sustainability.

The growth in the provision of gardens has been an important feature of housing in the UK during the 20th century, and yet the significance of the humble domestic garden has been neglected in studies of housing and home. This paper examines the role of the garden in the meaning of home, and draws on theoretical discussions of nature, environmental risk and social uncertainty in late modernity. Secondary empirical data is used to investigate the changing uses of gardens and practices of gardening. A survey of garden owners provides primary empirical data to examine meanings of gardens and personal experiences of nature. The paper concludes that the garden is an important site for privacy, sociability and sensual connections to nature, and these activities can be understood as negotiations and practices to address the social and environmental paradoxes of late modern life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous investigations have suggested that Sydenham''s chorea (SC) may be an autoantibody mediated disorder. We examined this autoimmune hypothesis by measuring Th1 (IFN-γ, IL-12) and Th2 (IL-4, IL-10) cytokines, oligoclonal bands (OCB) and anti-basal ganglia antibodies (ABGA). CSF IL-4 was elevated in 31% of acute SC and 50% of persistent SC. CSF IL-10 was also elevated in 31% of acute SC but 0% of persistent SC. CSF IFN-γ was undetectable in all patients. Serums IL-4, IL-10 and IL-12 were elevated in acute compared to persistent SC. OCB were found in 46% of acute SC, ABGA were in 93% of acute SC and 50% of persistent SC was of IgG1 and IgG3 subclass. These findings support an autoantibody pathogenesis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper we seek to engage with contemporary environmental debates concerning human--nature relations at the everyday level. Our focus is on the domestic or home garden, which we argue is a significant locale for understanding human--nature relations. Secondary empirical data illustrate the growth of gardening and its connections to changes in housing tenure, consumption patterns and the 'commodification of nature' by the garden industry. Primary empirical data on the meanings of home and garden (and gardening activities) are utilised to understand the relations between human agency and contemporary human--nature relations. The findings suggest that a variety of social and economic processes encourage utilitarian and consumerist orderings of nature in gardens. But the meanings of gardens are also structured by personal practices, often reflecting relationships with family and friends, that produce complex and personalised connections with nature that illustrate the ambiguity of human--nature relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several previous studies have established statistical relationships between the severity of convection and environmental conditions determined from rawinsonde observations. Here, the authors seek 1) to determine whether similar relationships are observed when severe weather reports are associated with gridded short-term numerical forecasts, and 2) to develop and demonstrate a prototypal probabilistic model to forecast the likelihood a thunderstorm will be tornadic. Severe weather reports and lightning network data from 1 January 1999 through 30 June 1999 were used to classify the weather at a set of Rapid Update Cycle (RUC-2) grid points into four weather categories. These were no thunderstorms, nonsupercellular thunderstorms, supercellular thunderstorms without significant tornadoes, and thunderstorms with significant tornadoes (F2 or greater). RUC-2 forecast convective available potential energy (CAPE), helicity, and 0-4-km mean wind shear from the same period were associated with this gridded classification of the weather. In general similar relationships were found between environmental parameters and storm categorization as others have previously documented. The Bayesian probabilistic model used here forecasts the likelihood that a thunderstorm will produce a strong or violent tornado, given a certain value of CAPE and helicity (or CAPE and wind shear). For two selected cases when significant tornadoes occurred, this model reasonably located the high-threat areas many hours in advance of the severe weather. An enhanced version of this prototypal tool may be of use to operational severe weather forecasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the changing nature of tourism policy in Great Britain. Supranational tourism policy influences of the European Union; Consequences of the uneven development of tourism policy in Britain; Proposal of a research agenda for tourism geography.

Focuses on the importance of contemporary gardens as leisure sites in the process of homemaking. Reflection of contemporary garden on social relations; Examination of the gender relations depicted in gardens and gardening; Social construction of the home; Presentation of the gendered meaning of gardens.

The involvement of urban and regional governments in transnational cooperative arrangements and policy networks has led to considerable debate regarding the political and theoretical implications. This paper examines networking and cooperation between urban areas and regions in the UK and France with a shared sea border. Such cross-border cooperation involving local authorities in Europe is a growing phenomenon and has certain implications for the analysis of local and urban politics. Three study areas are examined in detail: the Transmanche region involving Kent County Council and the French region Nord-Pas-de-Calais; the Transmanche Metropole which includes Southampton, Portsmouth, Bournemouth and Poole in Britain and Caen, Rouen and Le Havre in France; the cooperative initiative between the English county of East Sussex and the French de partements of Somme and Seine-Maritime. In all three case studies, the development of cooperation has been influenced by the availability of funds from the European Union Interreg programme which supports transfrontier networking. A number of political consequences of cross-border cooperation are identified. The implications of these policy initiatives for theories of urban politics are considered, including a discussion of the political and economic construction of competition and cooperation between cities and regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines employer involvement in the evaluation of student oral presentations in geography courses in Great Britain. Description of the geography curriculum, skills teaching and employer-student program at Birkbeck College; Employer involvement in assessment and feedback for oral presentations; Benefits from employer involvement.

Examines the recent evolution of a sub-regional planning initiative in the Thames Gateway which is part of London and the South East region of England. Analysis of economic and social change affecting the characteristics of sub-areas of the Thames Gateway; Aims of redevelopment strategies in the late 1980s; Thames Gateway Planning Framework's principles.

Reports on the progress in German- and English-speaking worlds symposium held at the University of Munster on September 13-15, 2002. Developments in leisure and tourism geography research; Outline of the historical development of tourism and leisure geography in the United Kingdom; Exploration of the governance of tourism spaces and sustainable tourism initiatives.

This paper documents and discusses the creation of a performance (dance and song) by 12 sanitation workers in Nepal working with artists Alice Fox (UK) and Ashmina Ranjit (Nepal). This creative work was one element within an international, interdisciplinary research programme that explored shit flow, wastewater and marginality in five rapidly developing off-grid towns. Performed at the Lumbini Peace Park as part of the 2022 Women of the World Festival, an important objective of the work was raising awareness of issues affecting sanitation workers, who are among the most precarious workers in the world. Using photos and artist commentary, 'we' (geographers and artists) show how the performance (un)seen (un)clean opened a creative space through which to engage and circulate the lived experiences of workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

However, case reports of NMDA receptor antibody encephalitis occurring in the context of infection with I Haemophilus influenzae i , human herpesvirus 6, mumps virus, I Enterovirus i , I Mycoplasma pneumoniae i and Japanese encephalitis virus have been reported [[3]], but the most robust association is with herpes simplex encephalitis, which one study found to be followed within a year by NMDA receptor antibody encephalitis in 18% of individuals [[5]]. The other potential effect is that the restrictions instituted by many countries could have suppressed the circulation of other infectious agents that may trigger NMDA receptor antibody encephalitis. Dear Sirs, I N i -methyl d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antibody encephalitis, since its description in 2007, has emerged as one of the most common causes of encephalitis among young people in the developed world [[1]]. Most importantly, there are limitations in this study's face validity in that it measured antibody results rather than actual diagnoses of NMDA receptor antibody encephalitis. [Extracted from the article]

Honeybee larvae produce a silk made up of proteins in predominantly a coiled coil molecular structure. These proteins can be produced in recombinant systems, making them desirable templates for the design of advanced materials. However, the atomic level structure of these proteins is proving difficult to determine: firstly, because coiled coils are difficult to crystalize; and secondly, fibrous proteins crystalize as fibres rather than as discrete protein units. In this study, we synthesised peptides from the central structural domain, as well as the N- and C-terminal domains, of the honeybee silk. We used circular dichroism spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and molecular dynamics to investigate the folding behaviour of the central domain peptides. We found that they folded as predicted by bioinformatics analysis, giving the protein engineer confidence in bioinformatics predictions to guide the design of new functionality into these protein templates. These results, along with the infrared structural analysis of the N- and C-terminal domain peptides and the comparison of peptide film properties with those of the full-length AmelF3 protein, provided significant insight into the structural elements required for honeybee silk protein to form into stable materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws on learning from the YOUR World Research project in Ethiopia and Nepal, which uses the socioecological Change-scape framework to understand how participants in research need to be understood within a landscape of changing institutional, environmental, and political contexts. The article explores whether trustful relationships, ownership, and commitment can bring about more effective societal change through research. Through group discussion and reflective perspectives, the authors draw out possible indicators of successful partnership from the different contexts in which YOUR World Research was working. These include histories of interpersonal relationships; shared vision and motivations; building ownership; shared platforms and spaces for dialogue; and flexibility to respond to shocks and changes in context. The article suggests that whilst being realistic about the power and politics of partnership, there are mechanisms in partnership models that can help support high-quality rigorous research whilst creating impact at local, national, and international levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor in response to the article "Dynamically Typed Languages," by Laurence Tratt and Roel Wyuts in the September/October 2007 issue is presented.

Highlights the annual meeting of the Geography of Parks, Recreation and Tourism (GEOPARETO) Study Group of the Canadian Association of Geographers, held in Lethbridge, Alberta. Resignation of the group's chair; Consensus that the organization should exist as a mechanism for encouraging Canadian geographers with a common interest in recreation and tourism to share their research and experiences.

The Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS) spectrum includes psychiatric comorbidities, mainly obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The role of environmental factors, e.g., antineuronal antibodies (ANeA), remains unclear. We compared the clinical features of ANeA-positive and ANeA-negative patients in 53 children and 75 adults with GTS. All diagnoses were made according to DSM-IV-TR criteria. A positive ANeA Western immunoblot showed bands for at least 1 of 3 reported striatal antigens (40, 45, and 60 kDa). Twelve children (23%) and 18 adults (25%) with GTS were ANeA-positive. Disease duration, tic phenomenology and severity, frequency of echo/pali/coprophenomena, self-injurious and aggressive behavior, or frequency of OCD comorbidity did not significantly differ between ANeA-positive and negative patients. Similar findings were obtained analyzing separately the three different antibody reactivities. A comorbid diagnosis of ADHD was significantly less frequent in GTS patients positive for the anti-60 kDa antibody only. Using a multivariate logistic regression model, adjusting for age, gender, and age at disease onset, a comorbid diagnosis of ADHD remained inversely associated with anti-60 kDa antibodies (odds ratio = 0.14; P = 0.002; 95% confidence interval 0.04-0.49). ANeA status does not differentiate a specific phenotype of GTS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Infection with the Group A Streptococcus (GAS) can result in immune mediated brain disease characterised by a spectrum of movement and psychiatric disorders. We have previously described anti-neuronal antibodies in patients that bind to a restricted group of brain antigens with molecular weights 40 kDa, 45 kDa (doublet) and 60 kDa. The aim of this study was to define these antigens using 2-dimensional electrophoresis or ion exchange and hydrophobic interaction chromatography, followed by mass spectrometry. The findings were confirmed using commercial antibodies, commercial antigens and recombinant human antigens. The autoantigens were neuronal glycolytic enzymes—NGE (pyruvate kinase M1, aldolase C, neuronal-specific and non-neuronal enolase). These are multifunctional proteins that are all expressed intracellularly and on the neuronal cell surface. On the neuronal plasma membrane, NGE are involved in energy metabolism, cell signalling and synaptic neurotransmission. Anti-NGE antibodies were more common in the 20 unselected post-streptococcal CNS patients compared to 20 controls. In vitro experiments using cultured neurons showed that commercial anti-NGE antibodies induced apoptosis compared to blank incubation and control anti-HuD antibody. GAS also expresses glycolytic enzymes on cell surfaces that have 0–49% identity with human NGE, suggesting molecular mimicry and autoimmune cross-reactivity may be the pathogenic mechanism in post-streptococcal CNS disease. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Soluble adhesion molecules are overexpressed in neuroinflammatory disorders. Their synthesis parallels that of their membrane-bound counterparts, which modulate lymphocyte transmigration through the blood–brain barrier. Blood–brain barrier cellular migration may be essential in the evolution of postinfectious inflammatory central nervous system disease. The serum levels of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1, soluble vascular adhesion molecule-1, and soluble E-selectin were measured in 12 children with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis and in two control groups (35 healthy and 35 affected by noninflammatory neurologic diseases) of similar age. In patients with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, soluble E-selectin serum levels were significantly higher (median 113 ng/mL, range 54-144) than in both control groups (median 44, range 31-63, and median 58, range 43-89, respectively; one-way analysis of variance, P < 0.0001); a statistical trend for higher levels of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule−1 was observed in acute disseminated encephalomyelitis subjects, whereas soluble vascular adhesion molecule−1 titers did not differ between the three groups. The specific role played by each of these molecules in lymphocyte extravasation and the differential cytokine modulation of their expression might explain the result. Further larger studies are required including serial measurements and cerebrospinal fluid analysis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The onset of tics in adulthood is rare and, unlike the childhood variety, there is commonly a secondary environmental cause. We present four cases (1 man, 3 women) with an adult onset tic disorder (mean age of onset, 36 years; range, 27-42 years) associated with the presence of serum antibasal ganglia antibodies (ABGA). One patient had motor tics and unusual motor stereotypies, 2 had multiple motor and vocal tics, and the remaining patient had motor tics only. Concomitant psychiatric disturbance was noted in 3 cases. In 2 cases, there was a close temporal relationship between upper respiratory tract infection and the subsequent onset of tics. Imaging was possible in three cases and was normal in two but revealed a lesion involving the right caudate and lentiform nuclei in the other. We suggest that there might be a causal relationship between ABGA and the clinical syndrome in these cases and that ABGA should be considered as a possible etiology for adult-onset tics. © 2004 Movement Disorder Society [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relational values are values of desirable relationships between people and nature and among people (through nature). We report on the approach to capture relational values of nature's contributions to people in the regional assessment for Europe and Central Asia of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). We present a framework considering indicators along four relational value dimensions about people's relationships with nature: security and sovereignty; health; equity and justice; and heritage, social identity and stewardship. The framework has been operationalized for three nature's contributions to people (NCP): regulation of freshwater quality and quantity, food and feed, and physical and psychological experiences derived from nature. We identify ways to empirically assess relational values of nature's contributions to people at regional and continental scales with social-ecological indicators and proxies, ranging from biophysical indicators to indicators that intersect socio-economic with biophysical data. We conclude that many of the identified indicators can be considered as useful proxies of relational values in a quantitative way. The analysis shows that relational values are essential to consider at the science-policy interface as they are an important set of values that people hold about nature and that go beyond instrumental relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relational values are values of desirable relationships between people and nature and among people (through nature). We report on the approach to capture relational values of nature's contributions to people in the regional assessment for Europe and Central Asia of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). We present a framework considering indicators along four relational value dimensions about people's relationships with nature: security and sovereignty; health; equity and justice; and heritage, social identity and stewardship. The framework has been operationalized for three nature's contributions to people (NCP): regulation of freshwater quality and quantity, food and feed, and physical and psychological experiences derived from nature. We identify ways to empirically assess relational values of nature's contributions to people at regional and continental scales with social-ecological indicators and proxies, ranging from biophysical indicators to indicators that intersect socio-economic with biophysical data. We conclude that many of the identified indicators can be considered as useful proxies of relational values in a quantitative way. The analysis shows that relational values are essential to consider at the science-policy interface as they are an important set of values that people hold about nature and that go beyond instrumental relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

people (through nature). We report on the approach to capture relational values of nature's contributions to people in the regional assessment for Europe and Central Asia of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). We present a framework considering indicators along four relational value dimensions about people's relationships with nature: security and sovereignty; health; equity and justice; and heritage, social identity and stewardship. The framework has been operationalized for three nature's contributions to people (NCP): regulation of freshwater quality and quantity, food and feed, and physical and psychological experiences derived from nature. We identify ways to empirically assess relational values of nature's contributions to people at regional and continental scales with social-ecological indicators and proxies, ranging from biophysical indicators to indicators that intersect socio-economic with biophysical data. We conclude that many of the identified indicators can be considered as useful proxies of relational values in a quantitative way. The analysis shows that relational values are essential to consider at the science-policy interface as they are an important set of values that people hold about nature and that go beyond instrumental relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), a joint global effort by governments, academia, and civil society, which aims to assess and promote the Earth's biodiversity and ecosystems, particularly the nature's contributions to people (NCP). Topics include the beneficial contributions of the NCP, the relationship between nature and humans, and the NCP categories within the generalizing and context-specific perspectives.

Social valuation of ecosystem services and public policy alternatives is one of the greatest challenges facing ecological economists today. Frameworks for valuing nature increasingly include shared/social values as a distinct category of values. However, the nature of shared/social values, as well as their relationship to other values, has not yet been clearly established and empirical evidence about the importance of shared/social values for valuation of ecosystem services is lacking. To help address these theoretical and empirical limitations, this paper outlines a framework of shared/social values across five dimensions: value concept, provider, intention, scale, and elicitation process. Along these dimensions we identify seven main, non-mutually exclusive types of shared values: transcendental, cultural/societal, communal, group, deliberated and other-regarding values, and value to society. Using a case study of a recent controversial policy on forest ownership in England, we conceptualise the dynamic interplay between shared/social and individual values. The way in which social value is assessed in neoclassical economics is discussed and critiqued, followed by consideration of the relation between shared/social values and Total Economic Value, and a review of deliberative and non-monetary methods for assessing shared/social values. We conclude with a discussion of the importance of shared/social values for decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent reports of autoantibodies that bind to neuronal surface receptors or synaptic proteins have defined treatable forms of autoimmune encephalitis. Despite these developments, many cases of encephalitis remain unexplained. We have previously described a basal ganglia encephalitis with dominant movement and psychiatric disease, and proposed an autoimmune aetiology. Given the role of dopamine and dopamine receptors in the control of movement and behaviour, we hypothesized that patients with basal ganglia encephalitis and other putative autoimmune basal ganglia disorders harboured serum autoantibodies against important dopamine surface proteins. Basal ganglia encephalitis sera immunolabelled live surface cultured neurons that have high expression of dopamine surface proteins. To detect autoantibodies, we performed flow cytometry cell-based assays using human embryonic kidney cells to express surface antigens. Twelve of 17 children (aged 0.4–15 years, nine males) with basal ganglia encephalitis had elevated immunoglobulin G to extracellular dopamine-2 receptor, compared with 0/67 controls. Immunofluorescence on wild-type mouse brain showed that basal ganglia encephalitis sera immunolabelled microtubule-associated protein 2-positive neurons in striatum and also in cultured striatal neurons, whereas the immunolabelling was significantly decreased in dopamine-2 receptor knock-out brains. Immunocytochemistry confirmed that immunoreactivity localized to the surface of dopamine-2 receptor-transfected cells. Immunoabsorption of basal ganglia encephalitis sera on dopamine-2 receptor-transfected human embryonic kidney cells decreased immunolabelling of dopamine-2 receptor-transfected human embryonic kidney cells, neurons and wild-type mouse brain. Using a similar flow cytometry cell-based assay, we found no elevated immunoglobulin G binding to dopamine 1, 3 or 5 receptor, dopamine transporter or N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor. The 12 dopamine-2 receptor antibody-positive patients with encephalitis had movement disorders characterized by parkinsonism, dystonia and chorea. In addition, the patients had psychiatric disturbance with emotional lability, attention deficit and psychosis. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed lesions localized to the basal ganglia in 50% of the patients. Elevated dopamine-2 receptor immunoglobulin G was also found in 10/30 patients with Sydenham’s chorea, 0/22 patients with paediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infection and 4/44 patients with Tourette’s syndrome. No dopamine-1 receptor immunoglobulin G was detected in any disease or control groups. We conclude that assessment of dopamine-2 receptor antibodies can help define autoimmune movement and psychiatric disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Three paired serial samples of CSF and serum (from days 8, 13 and 22) were taken from a patient referred to the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery with what was duly confirmed as having herpes simplex encephalitis using PCR. The samples were investigated using affinity-mediated immunoblotting followed by incubation with sodium thiocyanate. Digitisation of the blots enabled further analysis. We showed that the clones of antigen-specific IgG, which were produced intrathecally, were of higher relative affinity than polyclonal antigen-specific IgG. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]