Temporal and spatial variation in active layer depth in the McMurdo Sound Region, Antarctica

A soil climate monitoring network, consisting of seven automated weather stations, was established between 1999 and 2003, ranging from Minna Bluff to Granite Harbour and from near sea level to about 1700m on the edge of the polar plateau. Active layer depth was calculated for each site for eight successive summers from 1999/2000 to 2006/2007. The active layer depth varied from year to year and was deepest in the warm summer of 2001–02 at all recording sites. No trends of overall increase or decrease in active layer depth were evident across the up-to-eight years of data investigated. Average active layer depth decreased with increasing latitude from Granite Harbour (778S, active layer depth of.90 cm) to Minna Bluff (78.58S, active layer depth of 22 ± 0.4 cm), and decreased with increasing altitude from Marble Point (50m altitude, active layer depth of 49 ± 9 cm) through to Mount Fleming (1700m altitude, active layer depth of 6 ± 2 cm). When all data from the sites were grouped together and used to predict active layer depth the mean summer air temperature, mean winter air temperature, total summer solar radiation and mean summer wind speed explained 73% of the variation (R250.73)

A Systematic Review of Neuropsychological Rehabilitation for Prospective Memory Deficits as a Consequence of Acquired Brain Injury

AcceptedArticleThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Cambridge University Press via the DOI in this record.Objective: Prospective memory (PM) impairments are common following acquired brain injury (ABI). PM is the ability to keep a goal in mind for future action and interventions have the potential to increase independence. This review aimed to evaluate studies examining PM rehabilitation approaches in adults and children with ABI. Method: Relevant literature was identified using PsycARTICLES (1894 to present), PsycINFO (1880 to present), the Cochrane Library (1972 to present), MEDLINE PubMed, reference lists from relevant journal articles, and searches of key journals. Literature searches were conducted using variants of the terms brain injury, stroke, encephalitis, meningitis, and tumour, combined with variants of the terms rehabilitation and prospective memory. Results: Of the 435 papers identified, 11 were included in the review. Findings demonstrated a variety of interventions to alleviate PM deficits, including compensatory strategies (e.g., external memory aids) that provide either content-specific or content-free cueing, and remediation strategies (e.g., meta-cognitive training programmes) aimed at improving the self-monitoring of personal goals. Risk of bias for individual studies was considered and the strengths and limitations of each of the included studies and the review itself were discussed. Conclusions: Interventions utilised with adults can be effective; PM abilities can be improved by utilising simple reminder systems and performance can be generalised to facilitate everyday PM functioning. There is, however, a lack of research of PM interventions conducted with children with ABI, and paediatric interventions need to consider on-going cognitive maturation

Identifying culturally significant areas for marine spatial planning

Despite the growing recognition of their importance, immaterial cultural values associated with the sea still tend to be neglected in marine spatial planning (MSP). This socio-cultural evidence gap is due to inherent difficulties in defining and eliciting cultural values, but also to difficulties in linking cultural values to specific places, thus enabling an area-based approach to management. This paper addresses three aspects that are important for including marine cultural values in MSP: Defining cultural values, identifying places of cultural importance, and establishing the relative significance of places of cultural importance. We argue that common classification schemes such as cultural ecosystem services can be a helpful starting point for identifying cultural values, but only go so far in capturing communities' cultural connections with the sea. A method is proposed for structuring a community-based narrative on cultural values and “spatialising” them for MSP purposes, using five criteria that can lead to the definition of “culturally significant areas”. A baseline of culturally significant areas is suggested as an aid to planners to pinpoint places where cultural connections to the sea are particularly strong. Throughout, we emphasise the need for participative processes

Enhanced task-related brain activation and resting perfusion in healthy older adults after chronic blueberry supplementation

© 2017, Canadian Science Publishing. All rights reserved. Blueberries are rich in flavonoids, which possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. High flavonoid intakes attenuate age-related cognitive decline, but data from human intervention studies are sparse. We investigated whether 12 weeks of blueberry concentrate supplementation improved brain perfusion, task-related activation, and cognitive function in healthy older adults. Participants were randomised to consume either 30 mL blueberry concentrate providing 387 mg anthocyanidins (5 female, 7 male; age 67.5 ± 3.0 y; body mass index, 25.9 ± 3.3 kg·m−2) or isoenergetic placebo (8 female, 6 male; age 69.0 ± 3.3 y; body mass index, 27.1 ± 4.0 kg·m−2). Pre-and postsupplementation, participants undertook a battery of cognitive function tests and a numerical Stroop test within a 1.5T magnetic resonance imaging scanner while functional magnetic resonance images were continuously acquired. Quantitative resting brain perfusion was determined using an arterial spin labelling technique, and blood biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress were measured. Significant increases in brain activity were observed in response to blueberry supplementation relative to the placebo group within Brodmann areas 4/6/10/ 21/40/44/45, precuneus, anterior cingulate, and insula/thalamus (p < 0.001) as well as significant improvements in grey matter perfusion in the parietal (5.0 ± 1.8 vs-2.9 ± 2.4%, p = 0.013) and occipital (8.0 ± 2.6 vs-0.7 ± 3.2%, p = 0.031) lobes. There was also evidence suggesting improvement in working memory (2-back test) after blueberry versus placebo supplementation (p = 0.05). Supplementation with an anthocyanin-rich blueberry concentrate improved brain perfusion and activation in brain areas associated with cognitive function in healthy older adults

Equivalence problem for the orthogonal webs on the sphere

We solve the equivalence problem for the orthogonally separable webs on the three-sphere under the action of the isometry group. This continues a classical project initiated by Olevsky in which he solved the corresponding canonical forms problem. The solution to the equivalence problem together with the results by Olevsky forms a complete solution to the problem of orthogonal separation of variables to the Hamilton-Jacobi equation defined on the three-sphere via orthogonal separation of variables. It is based on invariant properties of the characteristic Killing two-tensors in addition to properties of the corresponding algebraic curvature tensor and the associated Ricci tensor. The result is illustrated by a non-trivial application to a natural Hamiltonian defined on the three-sphere.Comment: 32 page

The neural correlates of working memory training in typically developing children.

Working memory training improves children's cognitive performance on untrained tasks; however, little is known about the underlying neural mechanisms. This was investigated in 32 typically developing children aged 10-14 years (19 girls and 13 boys) using a randomized controlled design and multi-modal magnetic resonance imaging (Devon, UK; 2015-2016). Training improved working memory performance and increased intrinsic functional connectivity between the bilateral intraparietal sulci. Furthermore, improvements in working memory were associated with greater recruitment of the left middle frontal gyrus on a complex span task. Repeated engagement of fronto-parietal regions during training may increase their activity and functional connectivity over time, affording greater working memory performance. The plausibility of generalizable cognitive benefits from a neurobiological perspective and implications for neurodevelopmental theory are discussed

Solitons of the Resonant Nonlinear Schrodinger Equation with Nontrivial Boundary Conditions and Hirota Bilinear Method

Physically relevant soliton solutions of the resonant nonlinear Schrodinger (RNLS) equation with nontrivial boundary conditions, recently proposed for description of uniaxial waves in a cold collisionless plasma, are considered in the Hirota bilinear approach. By the Madelung representation, the model is transformed to the reaction-diffusion analog of the NLS equation for which the bilinear representation, soliton solutions and their mutual interactions are studied.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figure, talk presented in Workshop `Nonlinear Physics IV: Theory and Experiment`, 22-30 June 2006, Gallipoli, Ital

A preliminary examination of differential decomposition patterns in mass graves

This study represents a preliminary, quantitative approach to the examination of differential decomposition patterns in mass graves. Five pairs of mass graves, each containing the carcasses of 21 rabbits, were used to examine decomposition rates at four fixed positions within the burial. A pair of graves was exhumed at approximately 100 accumulated degree day (ADD) intervals. At exhumation the total body score (TBS) and internal carcass temperature of each rabbit were recorded. Although there was no significant difference between decomposition rates for core and deep-positioned carcasses (p = 0.13), all other position differences were significant (p < 0.001). Decomposition occurred fastest in shallow carcasses, followed by mid-outer carcasses; both deep and core carcasses exhibited a slower rate. Internal carcass temperature was significantly influenced by carcass location within the mass grave; there was a mean internal temperature difference of ca. 1 oC between deep and shallow carcasses (30 cm apart). Adipocere formation was minimal and confined, with the exception of a single individual in the mid- periphery, to the deepest level. Decomposition rate may be as affected by the compactness of a mass as by interment depth and/or peripheral substrate contact, and further investigation into the role of oxygenation and pH are required

Rethinking the law and politics of democratic police accountability

This paper evaluates the work and impact of a number of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales and attempts to refocus public discourse and scrutiny on their Police and Crime Plans as a key prism through which their performance should be measured. Drawing upon the literature published by various PCCs, the Stevens Commission, the Home Affairs Committee and numerous academics, the paper will argue that a major reform of democratic police accountability in England and Wales is needed. Due to the often voluminous and piecemeal nature of the documents published on the PCCs’ websites, the textual analysis is limited to the Police and Crime Plans for Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and the London Metropolitan are

Neuropilin 1 is essential for gastrointestinal smooth muscle contractility and motility in aged mice.

Neuropilin 1 (NRP1) is a non-tyrosine kinase receptor for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and class 3 semaphorins, playing a role in angiogenesis and neuronal axon guidance, respectively. NRP1 is expressed in smooth muscle cells (SMC) but the functional role of NRP1 in SMC has not been elucidated. We therefore investigated the biological relevance of NRP1 in SMC in vivo by generating mice with SMC-specific Nrp1 deficiency