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Beds of nongeniculate coralline algae, known as rhodolith beds or maerl, occur throughout the world. They are protected under European legislation due to their high conservation value; however, within Europe there are significant areas of dead maerl deposits and the causes of the demise of these past habitats is not always clear. In this study we utilize radiocarbon dating techniques to constrain the time of the maerl bed deaths from a number of historical or pre-historical possibilities. We highlight the threat from burial to these precious habitats, which has implications for contemporary conservation. We found that a maerl bed in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland, was killed around 4200 14C BP (before present, AD 1950), which is the same as a previously reported maerl bed death in Marseille, France. This also coincides with evidence of a significant period of climatic change. The case study of Belfast Lough highlights the modern threat to maerl bed by sedimentation caused by channel dredging, which complements previous experimental work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a consensus statement on pediatric cochlear implantation by the European Bilateral Pediatric Cochlear Implant Forum. The consensus statement was determined by review of current scientific literature to identify areas of scientific and clinical agreement of current understanding of bilateral cochlear implantation. The statement is "Currently we feel that the infant or child with unambiguous cochlear implant candidacy should receive bilateral cochlear implants simultaneously as soon as possible after definitive diagnosis of deafness to permit optimal auditory development; an atraumatic surgical technique designed to preserve cochlear function, minimize cochlear damage, and allow easy, possibly repeated re-implantation is recommended."