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Provenancing of obsidian artefacts has become an increasingly common practice in Near Eastern archaeology. However, knowledge of the geological sources of obsidian remains variable. The Group 3d source remains the prime example; it was identified as chemically distinct in the 1960s and can be recognised as eastern Anatolian but it still lacks a specific geological location and has remained a minor detail in most publications. This article draws attention to the previously underappreciated importance of the source in later prehistoric periods, profiling assemblages of Group 3d obsidian artefacts from Ubaid and Chalcolitihic Kenan Tepe and Halaf Domuztepe in south east Turkey, as well as more isolated artefacts from a further twelve sites. It reviews our knowledge of the chemical composition of Group 3d obsidian and its physical characteristics. The article also explores the spatial and chronological distribution of this type of obsidian, which had a particular significance from the 7th millennium cal. BC onwards.

This study compared the mechanical and microstructural properties produced during friction stir welding (FSW) of S275 structural steel in air and underwater. Post weld tests assessed the tensile strength, micro-hardness, distortion, Charpy impact toughness and fatigue performance in each case. The study showed that there was no significant difference in the strength, hardness or fatigue life of the air and underwater specimens. However, Charpy impact toughness was shown to decrease for the underwater specimens and was attributed to the presence of a slightly less angular grain structure than the samples welded in air. Reduced angular and longitudinal distortion was observed in the underwater welded plate compared to the plate welded in air.

Social networking apps, sites and technologies offer a wide range of opportunities for businesses and developers to exploit the vast amount of information and user-generated content produced through social networking. In addition, the notion of second screen TV usage appears more influential than ever, with viewers continuously seeking further information and deeper engagement while watching their favourite movies or TV shows. In this work, the authors present SAM, an innovative platform that combines social media, content syndication and targets second screen usage to enhance media content provisioning, renovate the interaction with end-users and enrich their experience. SAM incorporates modern technologies and novel features in the areas of content management, dynamic social media, social mining, semantic annotation and multi-device representation to facilitate an advanced business environment for broadcasters, content and metadata providers, and editors to better exploit their assets and increase their revenues. This work has been partially funded by the European Commission under the Seventh (FP7 - 2007- 2013) Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development through the SAM (FP7-611312) project.

Overfishing is a major threat to the survival of shark species, primarily driven by international trade in high-value fins, as well as meat, liver oil, skin and cartilage. The Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) aims to ensure that commercial trade does not threaten wild species, and several shark species have recently been listed on CITES as part of international efforts to ensure that trade does not threaten their survival. However, as international trade regulations alone will be insufficient to reduce overexploitation of sharks, they must be accompanied by practical fisheries management measures to reduce fishing mortality. To examine which management measures might be practical in the context of a targeted shark fishery, we collected data from 52 vessels across 595 fishing trips from January 2014 to December 2015 at Tanjung Luar fishing port in East Lombok, Indonesia. We recorded 11,920 landed individuals across 42 species, a high proportion of which were threatened and regulated species. Catch per unit effort depended primarily on the number of hooks and type of fishing gear used, and to a lesser degree on month, boat engine power, number of sets and fishing ground. The most significant factors influencing the likelihood of catching threatened and regulated species were month, fishing ground, engine power and hook number. We observed significant negative relationships between standardised catch per unit effort and several indicators of fishing effort, suggesting diminishing returns above relatively low levels of fishing effort. Our results suggest that management measures focusing on fishing effort controls, gear restrictions and modifications and spatiotemporal closures could have significant benefits for the conservation of shark species, and may help to improve the overall sustainability of the Tanjung Luar shark fishery. These management measures may also be applicable to shark fisheries in other parts of Indonesia and beyond, as sharks increasingly become the focus of global conservation efforts.

This chapter surveys the figures of prehistoric Mesopotamia, from the Epipalaeolithic to the end of the Ubaid periods (10,000–4000 bp). Figurines take a wide range of forms in different times and places, but there are also marked continuities. As well as discussion of context and breakage, there is also consideration of the modelling or omission of sexual features on figurines. Increasing numbers of figurines during the period probably can be associated with a greater diversity of material culture, and suggests that figurines can be related to changes in other aspects of society, something that is mirrored in the decline of their numbers towards 4000 bp.

Excavations at Tell Khaiber in southern Iraq by the Ur Region Archaeological Project have revealed a substantial building (hereafter the Public Building) dating to the mid-second millenniumb.c. The results are significant for the light they shed on Babylonian provincial administration, particularly of food production, for revealing a previously unknown type of fortified monumental building, and for producing a dated archive, in context, of the little-understood Sealand Dynasty. The project also represents a return of British field archaeology to long-neglected Babylonia, in collaboration with Iraq's State Board for Antiquities and Heritage. Comments on the historical background and physical location of Tell Khaiber are followed by discussion of the form and function of the Public Building. Preliminary analysis of the associated archive provides insights into the social milieu of the time. Aspects of the material culture, including pottery, are also discussed.

Objective There has been considerable interest in the impact of reproductive factors on health but there are little data on how these have varied over time. We explore trends in reproductive/lifestyle factors of postmenopausal British women by analysing self-reported data from participants of the UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS). Design Prospective birth cohort analysis. Setting Population cohort invited between 2001 and 2005 from age-sex registers of 27 Primary Care Trusts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and recruited through 13 National Health Service Trusts. Participants 202 638 postmenopausal women aged 50–74 years at randomisation to UKCTOCS between April 2001 and October 2005. Interventions Women were stratified into the following six birth cohorts (1925–1929, 1930–1934, 1935–1939, 1940–1944, 1945–1949, 1950–1955) based on year of birth. Self-reported data on reproductive factors provided at recruitment were explored using tabular and graphical summaries to examine for differences between the birth cohorts. Outcome measures Trends in mean age at menarche and menopause, use of oral contraceptives, change in family size, infertility treatments, tubal ligation and hysterectomy rates. Results Women born between 1935 and 1955 made up 86% of the cohort. Median age at menarche decreased from 13.4 for women born between 1925 and 1929 to 12.8 for women born between 1950 and 1955. Increased use of the oral contraceptives, infertility treatments and smaller family size was observed in the younger birth cohorts. Tubal ligation rates increased for those born between 1925 and 1945, but this increase did not persist in subsequent cohorts. Hysterectomy rates (17–20%) did not change over time. Conclusions The trends seen in this large cohort are likely to reflect the reproductive history of the UK female postmenopausal population of similar age. Since these are risk factors for hormone-related cancers, these trends are important in understanding the changing incidence of these cancers. Trial registration number International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number: 22488978.

Background Transvaginal ultrasound and serum CA125 are routinely used for differential diagnosis of pelvic adnexal mass. Use of human epididymis 4 was approved in the United States in 2011. However, there is scarcity of studies evaluating the additional value of human epididymis 4. Objective The objective of the study was to evaluate the performance characteristics of transvaginal ultrasound, CA125, and human epididymis 4 for differential diagnosis of ovarian cancer in postmenopausal women with adnexal masses. Study Design This was a cohort study nested within the screen arms of the multicenter randomized controlled trial, United Kingdom Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening, based in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. In United Kingdom Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening, 48,230 women randomized to transvaginal ultrasound screening and 50,078 to multimodal screening (serum CA125 interpreted by Risk of Ovarian Cancer Algorithm with second line transvaginal ultrasound) underwent the first (prevalence) screen. Women with adnexal lesions and/or persistently elevated risk were clinically assessed and underwent surgery or follow-up for a median of 10.9 years. Banked samples taken within 6 months of transvaginal ultrasound from all clinically assessed women were assayed for human epididymis 4 and CA125. Area under the curve and sensitivity for diagnosing ovarian cancer of multiple penalized logistic regression models incorporating logCA125, log human epididymis 4, age, and simple ultrasound features of the adnexal mass were compared. Results Of 1590 (158 multimodal, 1432 ultrasound) women with adnexal masses, 78 were diagnosed with ovarian cancer (48 invasive epithelial ovarian, 14 type I, 34 type II; 24 borderline epithelial; 6 nonepithelial) within 1 year of scan. The area under the curve (0.893 vs 0.896; P = .453) and sensitivity (74.4% vs 75.6% ;P = .564) at fixed specificity of 90% of the model incorporating age, ultrasound, and CA125 were similar to that also including human epididymis 4. Both models had high sensitivity for invasive epithelial ovarian (89.6%) and type II (>91%) cancers. Conclusion Our population cohort study suggests that human epididymis 4 adds little value to concurrent use of CA125 and transvaginal ultrasound in the differential diagnosis of adnexal masses in postmenopausal women.

Bulan April-Mei 2010 Perairan Andaman termasuk perairan Aceh mengalami kenaikan suhu permukaan air laut yang drastis. Kenaikan suhu permukaan air laut tersebut telah menyebabkan pemutihan karang di beberapa tempat di dunia, termasuk perairan utara Aceh. Survei pemutihan karang telah dilakukan untuk mengukur dampak pemutihan karang terhadap ekosistem terumbu karang yang meliputi, index pemutihan karang, tutupan karang keras dan kelimpahan ikan karang. Hasil survey menunjukkan bahwa lebih dari 35% karang keras yang memutih mengalami kematian. Genera karang yang mengalami tingkat kematian yang sangat besar adalah karang keras dari Genera Acropora dan Pocillopora. Pemutihan karang yang disertai dengan tingkat kematian karang yang tinggi telah menyebabkan penurunan tutupan karang keras di Perairan Utara Aceh secara signifikan bahkan di beberapa tempat tutupan karang dari Genera Acropora mengalami kematian sebesar 100%. Selain berdampak kepada penurunan tutupan karang keras, pemutihan karang pada tahun 2010 juga berdampak pada penurunan kelimpahan ikan karang terutama ikan karang pemakan polip karang (Corallivore) yang mengalami penurunan kelimpahan secara signifikan antara tahun 2009 dengan 2011 dan 2013. Data tersebut bisa disimpulkan bahwa, pemutihan karang pada tahun 2010 di Perairan Utara Aceh merupakan peristiwa yang paling parah yang pernah dilaporkan di Indonesia khususnya di Utara Aceh.

Protected areas are currently the primary strategy employed worldwide to maintain ecosystem services and mitigate biodiversity loss. Despite the prevalence and planned expansion of protected areas, the impact of this conservation tool on human communities remains hotly contested in conservation policy. The social impacts of protected areas are poorly understood largely because previous evaluations have tended to focus on one or very few outcomes, and few have had the requisite data to assess causal effects (i.e. longitudinal data for protected and control sites). Here, we evaluated the short-, medium- and long-term impacts of marine protected areas (MPAs) that were specifically designed to achieve the dual goals of conservation and poverty alleviation (hereafter “integrated MPAs”), on three key domains of poverty (security, opportunity and empowerment) in eight villages in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Using social data for villages with and without integrated MPAs from pre-, mid- and post-the five-year implementation period of the integrated MPAs, we found that the integrated MPAs appeared to contribute to poverty alleviation. Positive impacts spanned all three poverty domains, but within each domain the magnitude of the effects and timescales over which they manifested were mixed. Importantly, positive impacts appeared to occur mostly during the implementation period, after which integrated MPA activities all but ceased and reductions in poverty did not continue to accrue. This finding questions the efficiency of the short-term approach taken in many international donor-assisted protected area projects that integrate development and conservation, which are often designed with the expectation that project activities will be sustained and related benefits will continue to accumulate after external support is terminated.

This study implemented an iterative experimental approach in order to determine the shielding gas flow required to produce high-quality welds in the gas metal arc welding process with alternating shielding gases when subjected to varying velocities of cross drafts, thus determining the transitional zone where the weld quality deteriorates as a function of cross-draft velocity. An artificial neural network was developed using the experimental data that would predict the weld quality based primarily on shielding gas composition, alternating frequency and flow rate and cross-draft velocity, but also incorporated other important input parameters, including voltage and current. A series of weld trials were conducted to validate and test the robustness of the model generated. It was found that the alternating shielding gas process does not provide the same level of resistance to the adverse effects of cross drafts as a conventional argon/carbon dioxide mixture. The use of such a prediction tool is of benefit to industry in that it allows the adoption of a more efficient shielding gas flow rate, while removing the uncertainty of the resultant weld quality.

Multi-scale social-ecological systems (SES) approaches to conservation and commons management are needed to address the complex challenges of the Anthropocene. Although SES approaches to monitoring and evaluation are advocated in global science and policy arenas, real-world applications remain scarce. Here, we describe the first operationalization and implementation of Ostrom’s influential SES framework for monitoring practice across multiple countries. Designed to inform management aimed at sustaining coral reefs and the people that depend on them, we developed our SES monitoring framework through a transdisciplinary process involving academics and practitioners with expertise in social and ecological sciences. We describe the SES monitroing framework, including how it operationalizes key insights from the SES and program evaluation literatures, and demonstrate how insights from its implementation in more than 85 communities in four countries (Fiji, Indonesia, Kenya and Madagascar) are informing decision-making at multiple levels. Responding to repeated calls for guidance on applying SES approaches to monitoring and management practice, we outline the key steps of the transdisciplinary development of the framework and lessons learnt. Therefore, our work contributes to bridging the gap between SES science and commons management practice through not only providing an SES monitoring framework that can be readily applied to coral reefs and other commons, but also through demonstrating how to operationalize SES approaches for real-world monitoring and management practice.

Titanium is well suited to implantology: it is naturally abundant, readily machined, shows up well on dental radiographs and, perhaps most importantly, it is biocompatable with human tissue. However, the dental literature suggests that metal sensitivity may occur after exposure to titanium dental implants. The prevalence of such cases is likely to increase and, although allergies represent the most frequent chronic diseases in Europe today, affecting the daily lives of more than 60 million people, the role of titanium as a potential allergen is under-investigated. With this in mind, this paper seeks to review the literature to investigate if titanium in dental implants can induce clinically relevant hypersensitivity reactions.

A shield gas flowrate of 15–20 L min−1 is typically specified in metal inert gas welding, but is often adjusted to as high as 36 L min−1 by welders in practice. Not only is this overuse of shield gas wasteful, but uncontrolled high gas flows can lead to significant turbulence induced porosity in the final weld. There is therefore a need to understand and control the minimum shield gas flowrate used in practical welding where cross-drafts may affect the coverage. Very low gas coverage or no shielding leads to porosity and spatter development in the weld region. A systematic study is reported of the weld quality achieved for a range of shield gas flowrates, cross-draft speeds and nozzle diameters using optical visualisation and numerical modelling to determine the shield gas coverage. As a consequence of the study, the shield gas flow has been reduced to 12 L min−1 in production welding, representing a significant process cost saving and reduced environmental impact with no compromise to the final w...

Missing teeth may be restored with conventional bridgework. A modified approach to traditional bridge design may be necessary to restore edentulous spaces in the presence of poorly aligned abutment teeth and abutment teeth of guarded prognosis. The coping bridge is a useful technique in the dentist's armamentarium for patients in whom implant-supported or removable prostheses are inappropriate. This paper examines the use of coping-retained bridges as a modification on traditional design and discusses how these appliances may be applied in general practice. A case report is presented describing the application of this design in general practice. Clinical Relevance: Applying a modified approach to bridge design may allow complicated edentulous spaces to be restored successfully in general practice.

The transient variation of the shielding gas present in the alternating shielding gas process produces a dynamic action within the liquid weld metal. Flow vectors opposite in direction have been reported due to the various forces acting on the weld metal when argon and helium are present; however, no data have been provided to substantiate this claim. This part of the study evaluates the various forces acting on the liquid weld metal when using argon and helium, and their effects are discussed. It was determined that argon produces a greater vertically downward force in the central region than does helium for both the arc force and Lorentz force. However, helium produces a greater radially outward force at the pool surface than does argon due to plasma shear stress and Marangoni convection. In addition, the buoyancy force, i.e. the vertically upward force in the central portion of the weld metal, was greater for helium.

Karimunjawa National Park (KNP) was among the first maritime areas recognized in Indonesia as being important for the conservation of marine biodiversity. Economic incentives in the KNP aim to decrease community dependency on wild-captured natural resources and achieve biodiversity and development objectives. Various participatory mechanisms facilitate community involvement in governance, whilst other incentives promoting awareness and support for fishery regulations are being delivered. Monitoring programs have demonstrated some ecological improvements and reductions in destructive fishing in the park over the past five years. The findings demonstrate that MPA policies and regulations can improve the social well-being and political power of fishing communities, particularly when appropriate economic, legal and participatory incentives are provided.

Seagrass beds are of exceptional economic, ecological and social value in the Coral Triangle. The large number of people who live close to the coast and rely directly on marine resources for food and income paradoxically increases the value of, but also the threats to, these ecosystems. A key strategy of the Coral Triangle Initiative is to protect shallow coastal ecosystems through the design and implementation of resilient networks of marine protected areas (MPAs). This strategy requires accurate spatial data on the distribution and extent of coastal habitats (coral reef, seagrass and mangrove) at scales which match conservation planning decisions. In the Coral Triangle, seagrass distribution maps are not readily available at ecoregional scales. The Lesser Sunda ecoregion, extending from Bali, Indonesia to Timor-Leste, is one of 11 ecoregions of the Coral Triangle and a high priority for conservation and sustainable management of marine resources. To support the design of a resilient MPA network for the Lesser Sunda ecoregion, a seagrass distribution map was generated based on Landsat imagery, literature review and groundtruth data. Seagrass beds were estimated to cover an area of 273 km(2) at an overall accuracy of 78%. Use of the seagrass distribution map in the MPA design improved the habitat representation and connectivity - key criteria for resilient MPA design. The final MPA design included 80 km(2) of seagrass beds, with more than half the beds adjacent to coral reefs and mangroves. This study demonstrates the effective use of Landsat imagery and remote sensing techniques to derive ecoregional scale seagrass maps supporting MPA network design.

1. Human population growth, rising incomes, and increased commercialization of marine resources promote demand for reef fish, yet few studies in Indonesia have examined how artisanal fisheries are influenced by the socio-cultural conditions that contribute to their exploitation. This study examined artisanal fisheries of Karimunjawa National Park, Java, to understand how the condition of an artisanal fishery was related to socio-cultural factors, along a gradient in fishing pressure. 2. A total of 8674 fishes landed in Karimunjawa by fishers using four artisanal fishing gears were examined to understand how the condition of the artisanal fishery (standard and infinite fish length, trophic level and weight) related to fishing gear use, village fishing grounds, management, human population size, human population density and estimated fishing pressure. 3. Depletion in fish lengths and trophic structure were found at or above 46 fishing trips day(-1)km(-2), suggesting that fishing pressure is a key factor driving fishery catch structure. When catch characteristics were examined in relation to the fishing pressure estimates from each village, negative correlations were found between inshore fishing pressure (no. trips day(-1)km(-2)) and all four fish catch characteristics, but owing to small sample sizes (n=5), only the effects on trophic level were significant. 4. Fishery closures had limited impact on fish characteristics, and lack of any effect of spatial controls on fishing also supports the notion that fishing pressure and the types of fishing gears used, most likely driven by human population densities, are the greatest drivers of reef fish catch characteristics in the Karimunjawa fishery. 5. In the absence of support for fishery closures from local fishing communities or adequate enforcement of fishery closures, targeted gear or species management strategies that limit impacts on large-bodied fish and aim to conserve key species may be more effective in improving the size and trophic structure of fish populations.

The corallivorous crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS), Acanthaster planci, is recognised as a major cause of coral reef degradation throughout much of the Pacific Ocean. However, the effects of COTS on the high diversity reefs in Indonesia have been largely overlooked. In 2007, high densities of COTS were observed in two regions of Indonesia: Aceh and Halmahera. Densities of COTS ranged from 0 to 52 starfish 2,000 m2 across 24 sites in Aceh and from 0 to 18 starfish 2,000 m2 at 10 sites in Halmahera. Mortality rates of Acropora spp. were very high at affected sites: over 50 % of colonies had been killed at seven of the 16 affected sites. A review of historical sources going back to 1969 suggests that COTS have damaged many reefs throughout Indonesia, including much activity within the Indonesian section of the Coral Triangle. Furthermore, the data suggest that COTS activity has increased rapidly since 2000. Very little of this activity has been reported in the primary literature, and there is a general lack of awareness in Indonesia of COTS as a potential cause of reef degradation. This lack of awareness, combined with limited monitoring efforts, means that damage caused by COTS is often attributed to other causes, such as destructive fishing, bleaching or tsunami. COTS are clearly a major source of coral mortality in Indonesia of which scientists and government need to be more cognizant.

Menjangan Island is located off the coast of NW Bali. The island and surrounding waters lie within a Marine Protected Area (MPA), as part of the Bali Barat National Park (BBNP), officially formed in 1984. Although many organizations have surveyed this reef area over the span of four decades, this is the first time that data on reef quality is compared over a nine year timeframe, from 2002 until 2011. From 19 March to 10 April 2011, eleven sites were studied: eight were located within Bali Barat National Park (BBNP) and three were located outside. The sites were clustered into areas identified as “BBNP Menjangan Is.” (sites surrounding Menjangan Island), “BBNP Sumber Klampok” (sites adjacent to the mainland) and “Sumber Kima” (sites outside the MPA). Sites within BBNP Menjangan Is. contained the highest mean cover of live hard corals (42%) although these sites also had the highest incidence of damaged coral colonies and of fishing gear. Comparisons of the benthic substrate data in 2011 with data collected in 2002 suggests that there was an overall increase in coral coverage in each of the 3 areas, as well as an increase in the damage to live hard corals. The two areas within BBNP had more than twice as much fish biomass in comparison with the area outside BBNP. Using the Index of Fish Diversity in the Indo Pacific region (CFDI; Allen and Werner, 2002), fish species were judged to be moderately diverse within the BBNP and poorly diverse outside. Although Menjangan Island lies within an MPA where no fishing is allowed, there is no enforcement of the no-take zone or prevention of anchoring by visitors to the island, and even as recently as July 2009 blast fishing was observed (pers. comm.). To help maintain the area as a reservoir for biodiversity as well as maintain the economic viability for the people of NW Bali, the Biosphere Foundation initiated a community-based conservation program called “Friends of Menjangan” with Yayasan Dwi Asih Sejahtera, a local Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). This community-based conservation movement is led by members of the local community, with approval from BBNP and participation by all stakeholders.

This thesis deals with several theoretical aspects of the interaction of an intense femtosecond laser pulse with a plasma. A mechanism for the enhancement of the collisional absorption of light at high intensities is described, involving the direct excitation of collective modes of the plasma, and the importance of this mechanism for a solid-density laser-produced plasma is studied under a range of conditions. An intensity-dependent collision rate is used in a numerical calculation of the reflectivity of a steep-gradient plasma, such as might be produced by an intense femtosecond laser pulse, and the conditions required to maximize absorption at high intensities are determined. The relative contributions of field-induced ionization and collisional ionization in laser-produced plasmas are studied, and it is shown that the behaviour of a gaseous plasma is almost solely governed by the field-induced process. A model is developed to simulate the propagation of an intense femtosecond laser pulse through an initially neutral gas, and this model is used to make predictions about spectral modifications to the laser pulse. Under certain conditions the spectrum is significantly broadened and suffers an overall blue shift. Quantitative fitting of theoretical spectra to experimental results in the literature is attempted, but is complicated by associated defocusing effects in the plasma. Field-induced ionization can produce a gaseous plasma which is significantly colder, for the same degree of ionization, than a plasma produced by collisional ionization. One possible application for a cold highly-ionized plasma is in a recombination x-ray laser, and the propagation model allows the calculation of the plasma temperature, which is a crucial parameter in assessing the feasibility of such schemes.

With the increasing practice of assisted conception, the health of the resulting children is becoming an increasingly important issue. Experience with four thousand children conceived by IVF or GIFT indicates that multiple pregnancy, which frequently results from assisted conception, is the main determinant of complications during pregnancy and of the health of the children at the time of birth. Overall malformation rates are similar to those in the country as a whole. There are, however, still insufficient numbers of children studied to draw firm conclusions about the risk of specific types of malformations. This will require the continued monitoring of children resulting from assisted conception, and the continued co-operation of many individuals and centres practising assisted conception.

© 2016 Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature. All rights reserved. Ongoing declines in the structure and function of the world's coral reefs require novel approaches to sustain these ecosystems and the millions of people who depend on them. A presently unexplored approach that draws on theory and practice in human health and rural development is to systematically identify and learn from the 'outliers' - places where ecosystems are substantially better ('bright spots') or worse ('dark spots') than expected, given the environmental conditions and socioeconomic drivers they are exposed to. Here we compile data from more than 2,500 reefs worldwide and develop a Bayesian hierarchical model to generate expectations of how standing stocks of reef fish biomass are related to 18 socioeconomic drivers and environmental conditions. We identify 15 bright spots and 35 dark spots among our global survey of coral reefs, defined as sites that have biomass levels more than two standard deviations from expectations. Importantly, bright spots are not simply comprised of remote areas with low fishing pressure; they include localities where human populations and use of ecosystem resources is high, potentially providing insights into how communities have successfully confronted strong drivers of change. Conversely, dark spots are not necessarily the sites with the lowest absolute biomass and even include some remote, uninhabited locations often considered near pristine. We surveyed local experts about social, institutional, and environmental conditions at these sites to reveal that bright spots are characterized by strong sociocultural institutions such as customary taboos and marine tenure, high levels of local engagement in management, high dependence on marine resources, and beneficial environmental conditions such as deep-water refuges. Alternatively, dark spots are characterized by intensive capture and storage technology and a recent history of environmental shocks. Our results suggest that investments in strengthening fisheries governance, particularly aspects such as participation and property rights, could facilitate innovative conservation actions that help communities defy expectations of global reef degradation.

The rate of cesarean delivery has become an important health care issue, and has attracted the attention of governments, professional organizations, health care administrators, clinicians, and patients. This has resulted in the generation of guidelines, clinical recommendations, and other documents aimed at increasing the likelihood of vaginal delivery. Sometimes, these recommendations are formulated with limited input from clinicians. In some countries, such as the United Kingdom, external pressure exerted on clinicians to reduce the rate of cesarean delivery has been the subject of public debate, and has led to unintended consequences, including an increase in medicolegal tensions. In the United States and Australia, recent recommendations generated by professional bodies have advocated that clinicians should change practice to reduce the rate of cesarean delivery. We do not summarize the risks and benefits of cesarean birth in different clinical situations, which have been the subject of numerous reviews. Rather, we try to examine the potential implications of such policies in light of recent observations made in maternity units, judicial decisions, and clinical research. The emphasis is on maternal morbidity and patient autonomy. This may include the negative consequences of increasingly risky attempts at vaginal birth after cesarean delivery such as uterine rupture, higher rates of pelvic floor and anal sphincter trauma due to rising forceps rates, and a bias against elective cesarean delivery on maternal request.

This paper explores the possible links between rapid climate change (RCC) and social change in the Near East and surrounding regions (Anatolia, central Syria, southern Israel, Mesopotamia, Cyprus and eastern and central Sahara) during the ‘long’ 4th millennium (∼4500–3000) BC. Twenty terrestrial and 20 marine climate proxies are used to identify long-term trends in humidity involving transitions from humid to arid conditions and vice versa. The frequency distribution of episodes of relative aridity across these records is calculated for the period 6300–2000 BC, so that the results may be interpreted in the context of the established arid episodes associated with RCC around 6200 and 2200 BC (the 8.2 and 4.2 kyr events). We identify two distinct episodes of heightened aridity in the early-mid 4th, and late 4th millennium BC. These episodes cluster strongly at 3600–3700 and 3100–3300 BC. There is also evidence of localised aridity spikes in the 5th and 6th millennia BC. These results are used as context for the interpretation of regional and local archaeological records with a particular focus on case studies from western Syria, the middle Euphrates, southern Israel and Cyprus. Interpretation of the records involves the construction of plausible narratives of human–climate interaction informed by concepts of adaptation and resilience from the literature on contemporary (i.e. 21st century) climate change and adaptation. The results are presented alongside well-documented examples of climatically-influenced societal change in the central and eastern Sahara, where detailed geomorphological studies of ancient environments have been undertaken in tandem with archaeological research. While the narratives for the Near East and Eastern Mediterranean remain somewhat speculative, the use of resilience and adaptation frameworks allows for a more nuanced treatment of human–climate interactions and recognises the diversity and context-specificity of human responses to climatic and environmental change. Our results demonstrate that there is a need for more local environmental data to be collected ‘at source’ during archaeological excavations.

BACKGROUND: Ovarian cancer has a poor prognosis, with just 40% of patients surviving 5 years. We designed this trial to establish the effect of early detection by screening on ovarian cancer mortality. METHODS: In this randomised controlled trial, we recruited postmenopausal women aged 50-74 years from 13 centres in National Health Service Trusts in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Exclusion criteria were previous bilateral oophorectomy or ovarian malignancy, increased risk of familial ovarian cancer, and active non-ovarian malignancy. The trial management system confirmed eligibility and randomly allocated participants in blocks of 32 using computer-generated random numbers to annual multimodal screening (MMS) with serum CA125 interpreted with use of the risk of ovarian cancer algorithm, annual transvaginal ultrasound screening (USS), or no screening, in a 1:1:2 ratio. The primary outcome was death due to ovarian cancer by Dec 31, 2014, comparing MMS and USS separately with no screening, ascertained by an outcomes committee masked to randomisation group. All analyses were by modified intention to screen, excluding the small number of women we discovered after randomisation to have a bilateral oophorectomy, have ovarian cancer, or had exited the registry before recruitment. Investigators and participants were aware of screening type. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00058032. FINDINGS: Between June 1, 2001, and Oct 21, 2005, we randomly allocated 202,638 women: 50,640 (25·0%) to MMS, 50,639 (25·0%) to USS, and 101,359 (50·0%) to no screening. 202,546 (>99·9%) women were eligible for analysis: 50,624 (>99·9%) women in the MMS group, 50,623 (>99·9%) in the USS group, and 101,299 (>99·9%) in the no screening group. Screening ended on Dec 31, 2011, and included 345,570 MMS and 327,775 USS annual screening episodes. At a median follow-up of 11·1 years (IQR 10·0-12·0), we diagnosed ovarian cancer in 1282 (0·6%) women: 338 (0·7%) in the MMS group, 314 (0·6%) in the USS group, and 630 (0·6%) in the no screening group. Of these women, 148 (0·29%) women in the MMS group, 154 (0·30%) in the USS group, and 347 (0·34%) in the no screening group had died of ovarian cancer. The primary analysis using a Cox proportional hazards model gave a mortality reduction over years 0-14 of 15% (95% CI -3 to 30; p=0·10) with MMS and 11% (-7 to 27; p=0·21) with USS. The Royston-Parmar flexible parametric model showed that in the MMS group, this mortality effect was made up of 8% (-20 to 31) in years 0-7 and 23% (1-46) in years 7-14, and in the USS group, of 2% (-27 to 26) in years 0-7 and 21% (-2 to 42) in years 7-14. A prespecified analysis of death from ovarian cancer of MMS versus no screening with exclusion of prevalent cases showed significantly different death rates (p=0·021), with an overall average mortality reduction of 20% (-2 to 40) and a reduction of 8% (-27 to 43) in years 0-7 and 28% (-3 to 49) in years 7-14 in favour of MMS. INTERPRETATION: Although the mortality reduction was not significant in the primary analysis, we noted a significant mortality reduction with MMS when prevalent cases were excluded. We noted encouraging evidence of a mortality reduction in years 7-14, but further follow-up is needed before firm conclusions can be reached on the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of ovarian cancer screening. FUNDING: Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK, Department of Health, The Eve Appeal.

The alternating shielding gas technique is a method of achieving transient arc characteristics during arc welding; however the complex flow that occurs through its use has not been investigated previously. A schlieren system was used to image density gradients that arise when alternating argon and helium shield gases, under varying flow parameters, with gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW). A theoretical analysis was carried out to determine the conditions under which the technique facilitates arc pulsing, in particular to avoid mixing of the shield gases in the delivery pipe prior to the welding nozzle. At appropriate pulsing frequency and flow rates, a stable horizontal region of helium was observed in the weld region, maintained in position by the denser argon from the preceding pulse. This higher than average mass fraction of helium when applying the shielding gases alternately, compared to a premixed gas with the same volume of argon and helium, increased the weld penetration by 13% on average, suggesting a modest improvement in heat transfer. Keywords: GTAW, Alternating, Shielding, Gases, Schlieren, Visualisation

One of the major goals of coral reef conservation is to determine the most effective means of managing marine resources in regions where economic conditions often limit the options available. For example, no-take fishing areas can be impractical in regions where people rely heavily on reef fish for food. In this study we test whether coral reef health differed among areas with varying management practices and socio-economic conditions on Pulau Weh in the Indonesian province of Aceh. Our results show that gear restrictions, in particular prohibiting the use of nets, were successful in minimizing habitat degradation and maintaining fish biomass despite ongoing access to the fishery. Reef fish biomass and hard-coral cover were two- to eight-fold higher at sites where fishing nets were prohibited. The guiding principle of the local customary management system, Panglima Laot, is to reduce conflict among community members over access to marine resources. Consequently, conservation benefits in Aceh have arisen from a customary system that lacks a specific environmental ethic or the means for strong resource-based management. Panglima Laot includes many of the features of successful institutions, such as clearly defined membership rights and the opportunity for resource users to be involved in making, enforcing and changing the rules. Such mechanisms to reduce conflict are the key to the success of marine resource management, particularly in settings that lack resources for enforcement.

The Coral Triangle Initiative is an ambitious attempt to conserve the marine biodiversity hotspot known as the Coral Triangle. However, the reef fauna in many nearby regions remains poorly explored and, consequently, the focus on the Coral Triangle risks overlooking other areas of high conservation significance. One region of potential significance, Aceh, Indonesia, has not been visited by coral taxonomists since the Dutch colonial period. Here we document the species richness of scleractinian corals of Pulau Weh, Aceh. We also compare the species richness of the genus Acropora at 3–5 sites in each of nine regions in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Although dominated by widespread Indo-Pacific species, the coral fauna of Pulau Weh is also the eastern and western boundary for many Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean species, respectively. We identified a total of 133 scleractinian species, of which three have been previously recorded only in the western Indian Ocean and five are presently undescribed. The mean species richness of the Acropora at Pulau Weh is similar to regions within the Coral Triangle. This high species richness plus the high proportion of endemics suggests that the Andaman Sea is of similarly high conservation value to the Coral Triangle. We suggest that an international initiative similar to the Coral Triangle Initiative is required to conserve this region, which includes the territorial waters of six countries.

We describe the successful creation of new reef habitat on Pulau Weh, Indonesia. Coral cover on artificial reef modules increased from a mean of 24±SE 2.4% 1 year after the initial attachment of Acropora spp. coral fragments to 64±SE 4.8% after 3 years. The artificial reef modules were also rapidly colonized by coral recruits. Recruit densities were 53±SE 3.2 m−2 on modules that had been submerged for only 1 year, nearly twice as high as recruit densities on natural reef substratum (31±2.8 m−2). Consequently, the original Acropora assemblage had increased to include at least 23 coral taxa, including 10 additional Acropora species. The artificial reefs also supported at least 29 reef fish species, from 11 families. Unfortunately, this initial success in habitat creation was abruptly halted by a rapid rise in sea temperature in May 2010 that killed almost all corals on the artificial reefs and on nearby natural reefs. Notwithstanding the general view that reef rehabilitation is yet to deliver ecological and conservation benefits at meaningful scales, other benefits of this project included raising the awareness of reef conservation in the local community, promotion of tourism on Pulau Weh and job creation. We conclude, therefore, that habitat creation has a legitimate role as part of an integrated marine conservation strategy.

Extensive experimental trials were conducted, emulating the conditions modelled, in order to validate the computational fluid dynamic results. Final results demonstrated that a more constricted nozzle was more effective at creating a stable gas column when subjected to side draughts. Higher shielding gas flow rates further reduce the gas column's vulnerability to side draughts and thus create a more stable coverage. The results have highlighted potential economic benefits for draught free environments, in which, the shielding gas flow rate can effectively be reduced.