Priority water research questions as determined by UK practitioners and policy makers.

Several recent studies have emphasised the need for a more integrated process in which researchers, policy makers and practitioners interact to identify research priorities. This paper discusses such a process with respect to the UK water sector, detailing how questions were developed through inter-disciplinary collaboration using online questionnaires and a stakeholder workshop. The paper details the 94 key questions arising, and provides commentary on their scale and scope. Prioritization voting divided the nine research themes into three categories: (1) extreme events (primarily flooding), valuing freshwater services, and water supply, treatment and distribution [each >150/1109 votes]; (2) freshwater pollution and integrated catchment management [100-150 votes] and; (3) freshwater biodiversity, water industry governance, understanding and managing demand and communicating water research [50-100 votes]. The biggest demand was for research to improve understanding of intervention impacts in the water environment, while a need for improved understanding of basic processes was also clearly expressed, particularly with respect to impacts of pollution and aquatic ecosystems. Questions that addressed aspects of appraisal, particularly incorporation of ecological service values into decision making, were also strongly represented. The findings revealed that sustainability has entered the lexicon of the UK water sector, but much remains to be done to embed the concept operationally, with key sustainability issues such as resilience and interaction with related key sectors, such as energy and agriculture, relatively poorly addressed. However, the exercise also revealed that a necessary condition for sustainable development, effective communication between scientists, practitioners and policy makers, already appears to be relatively well established in the UK water sector.

Clinical features and associated psychopathology in a Tourette syndrome cohort.

OBJECTIVE: This study explored in detail the association between tic symptomatology, related clinical variables, and psychopathology in 91 consecutive adult TS subjects from a UK clinic. METHODS: Consecutive patients from a specialized Tourette clinic who met the DSM-III criteria for TS were evaluated using standardized rating scales for Tourette syndrome and other psychopathology. RESULTS: The male female ratio in our cohort was 1.8:1. Significantly more males had an earlier age at onset of TS and history of birth complications. Obsessive compulsive behaviors in the patient was positively correlated with presence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and self-injurious behaviors. With regard to adult psychopathology, principal components factor analysis yielded two factors, 'obsessionality' and 'anxiety/depression', which accounted for 72% of the variance. CONCLUSION: Our results support the high occurrence of anxiety, depression and obsessionality in adult TS subjects.

Personality disorder and psychopathology in Tourette's syndrome: a controlled study.

BACKGROUND: Some specialists associate a wide variety of psychopathologies with Tourette's syndrome (TS), while others suggest that there is no psychopathology specifically associated. Few controlled studies have been conducted to address this issue, and none has investigated personality disorder in TS. METHOD: Adults with TS and controls were evaluated using standardised psychiatric rating scales, including self-rated (STPCD) and clinician-rated (SCID-II) assessments of personality disorder, to investigate associations between personality disorder, other psychopathology and TS. RESULTS: Significantly more TS patients (25/39 (64%)) than controls (2/34 (6%)) had one or more personality disorders. TS subjects were also more likely to have more personality disorders. TS patients had significantly more depression, anxiety and obsessionality than controls. The SCID-II and STCPD were moderately well correlated. CONCLUSIONS: TS patients have a high prevalence of personality disorder and psychopathology when compared with controls. These results are the first to suggest a high level of personality disorder in a TS clinic population.

Sodium and chloride in cows' drinking water and freezing point of milk.

The study was in two dairying regions of British Columbia, Canada, 700 Holstein-Friesian cows in 10 herds, to examine sodium and chloride in the drinking water of cows and to relate these to the composition of milk and to its freezing point. The Peace River had more sodium and more variation between herds in natural water supplies, which usually derive from surface dugouts, whereas the Fraser Valley region draws its water from mountain reservoirs. There were associated differences in the sodium content of milk between the two regions. These did not result in any regional differences in the freezing point of milk and there were no detectable changes in the chloride and lactose contents of milk to compensate for the higher sodium. The relationships between concentrations of milk lactose and milk chloride on the one hand and milk freezing point variations on the other were as expected.

Effect of lipid solvents on cutaneous moisture loss.

Application of various lipid solvents and dimethyl sulphoxide to the skin of cattle, sheep, eland and African buffalo exposed to an air temperature of 20 degrees C caused an increase in cutaneous moisture loss. The effect did not occur after exposure to an air temperature of 40 degrees C or after adrenaline administration. Blockage of sweating by either bethanidine or phenoxybenzamine did not affect the response. Camel, donkey, dog and man showed no increase in cutaneous moisture loss after lipid solvent application to the skin. It is concluded that lipid solvents directly stimulate the secretory cells of the sweat glands of members of the family Bovidae and that this is not due to the release of transmitter substance nor to stimulation of adrenergic receptors, but is due to direct stimulation of the sweat glands themselves.

The thermoreculatory responses of the galago (Galago crassicaudatus), the baboon (Papio cynocephalus) and the chimpanzee (Pan stayrus) to heat stress.

1. The thermoregulatory response of the galago, the baboon and the chimpanzee were studied on exposure to dry bulb temperatures of up to 40 degrees C in a temperature controlled room. 2. Heat exposure caused an elevation in the respiratory frequency of all three species. The increase in the galago was significantly greater than that in the baboon and the chimpanzee. 3. Heat exposure also caused an increase in the cutaneous moisture loss of the baboon and the chimpanzee but not in the galago. 4. Rectal temperatures always rose on heat exposure but the animals never become hypethermic. 5. Sweat gland activity in the baboon and the chimpanzee was stimulated by the administration of acetylcholine and was blocked by the administration of atropine. Sympathetic and parasympathetic drugs had no stimulatory effect on the sueat glands of the galago. 6. Local, infra-red heating of the skin of the galago and the baboon did not stimulate any sweat gland activity. 7. The sweat glands in the galago and the baboon were found to be epitrichial. 8. These findings are discussed in relation to the habitat of each species. They are also compared to thermoregulation in other primate species, especially in relation to the unique nature of thermoregulation in man.