Birds and people in Europe

At a regional scale, species richness and human population size are frequently positively correlated across space. Such patterns may arise because both species richness and human density increase with energy availability. If the species-energy relationship is generated through the 'more individuals' hypothesis, then the prediction is that areas with high human densities will also support greater numbers of individuals from other taxa. We use the unique data available for the breeding birds in Europe to test this prediction. Overall regional densities of bird species are higher in areas with more people; species of conservation concern exhibit the same pattern. Avian density also increases faster with human density than does avian biomass, indicating that areas with a higher human density have a higher proportion of small-bodied individuals. The analyses also underline the low numbers of breeding birds in Europe relative to humans, with a median of just three individual birds per person, and 4 g of bird for every kilogram of human

Teletraffic Performance of GSM900/DCS1800 in Street Microcells

Radio planners often refer to the buildings in cities as "urban clutter," a nuisance they must accomrnodate. A more appropriate attitude for personal communication systems is to utilize the electromagnetic shielding offered by buildings to form microcells

Analysis of the Socio-Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Transboundary Highway between Pucallpa, Peru and Cruzeiro do Sul, Brazil

As road building across the Amazon continues to be proposed by both Brazilian and Peruvian governments, it becomes increasingly important to consider the effects this infrastructure could have on diverse Amazonian cultures and ecosystems. One proposal being discussed is a 200 km road that would connect the cities of Pucallpa, Peru and Cruzeiro do Sul, Brazil. While promoted as economically beneficial, the road could infringe upon protected conservation areas and indigenous lands, bringing illegal activity with it as well. This research aims to evaluate the potential impacts the Pucallapa-Cruzeiro do Sul road project presents to the ecosystems, societies, and economies of the southwestern Amazon using a mixed methodology including geospatial analysis, remote sensing, and a literature review of previous studies on the impact of roads in tropical forests. These analyses will attempt to express the scale of the repercussions that road construction may bring to the bioculturally rich Amazon borderlands

‘I’d rather you didn’t come’: The impact of stigma on exercising with epilepsy

Epilepsy is a common but hidden disorder, leading to stigma in everyday life. Despite stigma being widely researched, little is known about the impact of stigma for people with epilepsy within a sports and exercise setting. Using constructionist grounded theory, we explored the barriers and adaptations to exercise for people with epilepsy. Three focus groups (2-3 participants per group) and three semi-structured interviews were conducted (11 participants total). Stigma negatively impacted joining team sports, running groups, and disclosure to others. The effect of stigma was reduced by educating others about epilepsy, thus creating more awareness and understanding

Direct measurement of the mechanism by which magnesium specifically modifies the mechanical properties of DNA

International audienc

Low serum sodium level during cardiopulmonary bypass predicts increased risk of postoperative stroke after coronary artery bypass graft surgery

ObjectiveRapid decreases in serum sodium levels are associated with altered mental status, seizures, and coma. During cardiac surgery, serum sodium levels decrease rapidly when cardiopulmonary bypass is initiated because cardiopulmonary bypass causes hemodilution. However, whether this decrease influences neurologic outcome after cardiac surgery remains unclear. We investigated whether the average serum sodium level during cardiopulmonary bypass is independently predictive of postoperative stroke or 30-day all-cause mortality in patients who undergo primary coronary artery bypass grafting.MethodsIn a single-institution, retrospective cohort of 2348 consecutive patients who underwent primary, isolated coronary artery bypass grafting, sequential multivariate logistic regression was performed to determine the threshold below which the average serum sodium level during cardiopulmonary bypass independently predicts postoperative stroke or early death. To further test the validity of this threshold and to control for selection bias, stepwise multivariate logistic regression was also performed on propensity score–matched patients (n = 924).ResultsAn average serum sodium level less than 130 mEq/L during cardiopulmonary bypass was independently predictive of stroke, both in the entire study cohort (1.44% vs 2.92%; odds ratio, 2.09; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-4.1; P = .03) and in the propensity-matched patients (0.9% vs 3.0%; odds ratio, 4.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.3-13.0; P = .02). The average serum sodium level during cardiopulmonary bypass was not independently associated with early death, regardless of what threshold value was used.ConclusionsAn average serum sodium level of less than 130 mEq/L during cardiopulmonary bypass is independently associated with an increased risk of postoperative stroke in patients who undergo primary coronary artery bypass grafting

Which Method-Stereotype Changes are Indicators of Code Smells?

A study of how method roles evolve during the lifetime of a software system is presented. Evolution is examined by analyzing when the stereotype of a method changes. Stereotypes provide a high-level categorization of a method\u27s behavior and role, and also provide insight into how a method interacts with its environment and carries out tasks. The study covers 50 open-source systems and 6 closed-source systems. Results show that method behavior with respect to stereotype is highly stable and constant over time. Overall, out of all the history examined, only about 10% of changes to methods result in a change in their stereotype. Examples of methods that change stereotype are further examined. A select number of these types of changes are indicators of code smells

Behavioral Modernity and the Cultural Transmission of Structured Information: The Semantic Axelrod Model

Cultural transmission models are coming to the fore in explaining increases in the Paleolithic toolkit richness and diversity. During the later Paleolithic, technologies increase not only in terms of diversity but also in their complexity and interdependence. As Mesoudi and O'Brien (2008) have shown, selection broadly favors social learning of information that is hierarchical and structured, and multiple studies have demonstrated that teaching within a social learning environment can increase fitness. We believe that teaching also provides the scaffolding for transmission of more complex cultural traits. Here, we introduce an extension of the Axelrod (1997} model of cultural differentiation in which traits have prerequisite relationships, and where social learning is dependent upon the ordering of those prerequisites. We examine the resulting structure of cultural repertoires as learning environments range from largely unstructured imitation, to structured teaching of necessary prerequisites, and we find that in combination with individual learning and innovation, high probabilities of teaching prerequisites leads to richer cultural repertoires. Our results point to ways in which we can build more comprehensive explanations of the archaeological record of the Paleolithic as well as other cases of technological change.Comment: 24 pages, 7 figures. Submitted to "Learning Strategies and Cultural Evolution during the Paleolithic", edited by Kenichi Aoki and Alex Mesoudi, and presented at the 79th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Austin TX. Revised 5/14/1

From evidence to practice:development of web-based Dutch lipid reference values

Introduction: In the Netherlands, the total number of yearly measured lipid profiles exceeds 500,000. While lipid values are strongly affected by age and sex, until recently, no up-to-date age- and sex-specific lipid reference values were available. We describe the translation of big-cohort lipid data into accessible reference values, which can be easily incorporated in daily clinical practice. Methods: Lipid values (total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides) from all healthy adults and children in the LifeLines cohort were used to generate age- and sex-specific percentiles. A combination of RStudio, Cascading Style Sheets and HyperText Markup Language was used to interactively display the percentiles in a responsive web layout. Results: After exclusion of subjects reporting cardiovascular disease or lipid-lowering therapy at baseline, 141,611 subjects were included. On the website, input fields were created for age, sex and all main plasma lipids. Upon input of these values, corresponding percentiles are calculated, and output is displayed in a table and an interactive graph for each lipid. The website has been made available in both Dutch and English and can be accessed at www.lipidtools.com. Conclusion: We constructed the first searchable, national lipid reference value tool with graphical display in the Netherlands to use in screening for dyslipidaemias and to reduce the underuse of lipid-lowering therapy in Dutch primary prevention. This study illustrates that data collected in big-cohort studies can be made easily accessible with modern digital techniques and preludes the digital health revolution yet to come