Automated data analysis to rapidly derive and communicate ecological insights from satellite-tag data: A case study of reintroduced red kites

Analysis of satellite-telemetry data mostly occurs long after it has been collected, due to the time and effort needed to collate and interpret such material. Such delayed reporting does reduce the usefulness of such data for nature conservation when timely information about animal movements is required. To counter this problem we present a novel approach which combines automated analysis of satellite-telemetry data with rapid communication of insights derived from such data. A relatively simple algorithm (comprising speed of movement and turning angle calculated from fixes), allowed instantaneous detection of excursions away from settlement areas and automated calculation of home ranges on the remaining data Automating the detection of both excursions and home range calculations enabled us to disseminate ecological insights from satellite-tag data instantaneously through a dedicated web portal to inform conservationists and wider audiences. We recommend automated analysis, interpretation and communication of satellite tag and other ecological data to advance nature conservation research and practice

Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy Methods for the Analysis of Nanoparticles

Here we review the scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) characterization technique and STEM imaging methods. We describe applications of STEM for studying inorganic nanoparticles, and other uses of STEM in biological and health sciences and discuss how to interpret STEM results. The STEM imaging mode has certain benefits compared with the broad-beam illumination mode; the main advantage is the collection of the information about the specimen using a high angular annular dark field (HAADF) detector, in which the images registered have different levels of contrast related to the chemical composition of the sample. Another advantage of its use in the analysis of biological samples is its contrast for thick stained sections, since HAADF images of samples with thickness of 100–120 nm have notoriously better contrast than those obtained by other techniques. Combining the HAADF-STEM imaging with the new aberration correction era, the STEM technique reaches a direct way to imaging the atomistic structure and composition of nanostructures at a sub-angstrom resolution. Thus, alloying in metallic nanoparticles is directly resolved at atomic scale by the HAADF-STEM imaging, and the comparison of the STEM images with results from simulations gives a very powerful way of analysis of structure and composition. The use of X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy attached to the electron microscope for STEM mode is also described. In issues where characterization at the atomic scale of the interaction between metallic nanoparticles and biological systems is needed, all the associated techniques to STEM become powerful tools for the best understanding on how to use these particles in biomedical application

The institutional shaping of management: in the tracks of English individualism

Globalisation raises important questions about the shaping of economic action by cultural factors. This article explores the formation of what is seen by some as a prime influence on the formation of British management: individualism. Drawing on a range of historical sources, it argues for a comparative approach. In this case, the primary comparison drawn is between England and Scotland. The contention is that there is a systemic approach to authority in Scotland that can be contrasted to a personal approach in England. An examination of the careers of a number of Scottish pioneers of management suggests the roots of this systemic approach in practices of church governance. Ultimately this systemic approach was to take a secondary role to the personal approach engendered by institutions like the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, but it found more success in the different institutional context of the USA. The complexities of dealing with historical evidence are stressed, as is the value of taking a comparative approach. In this case this indicates a need to take religious practice as seriously as religious belief as a source of transferable practice. The article suggests that management should not be seen as a simple response to economic imperatives, but as shaped by the social and cultural context from which it emerges

A near-IR study of the host galaxies of 2Jy radio sources at 0.03 < z < 0.5: I - the data

We present the results of a program of K- and Ks-band imaging of a sample of 2Jy radio galaxies with redshifts 0.03 < z < 0.5, for which the host galaxy morphologies and structural parameters (effective radius, Sersic index and unresolved nuclear point source contribution) have been determined using GALFIT. Two-thirds of our sample are best modelled as being hosted by massive elliptical galaxies with Sersic indices of n=4-6, with the remainder being better suited either by a mixture of morphological components (usually a bulge plus a small, less luminous, disk component) or by more disky galaxy models with n=1-2. Our measured galaxy sizes are generally in very good agreement with other imaging programs, both space- and ground-based. We also determine a slightly higher average nuclear point source contribution than similar HST-based programs. This is due to our inability to separate the AGN emission from compact circum-nuclear stellar emission, but does not bias our modelling of the remainder of the host galaxies and our results remain robust. We also observe that roughly half of the objects in our sample are either undergoing major or minor merger activity or are clearly morphologically disturbed.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 31 pages, 9 figures, 6 tables. Landscape table 4 added as extra included figur

Galaxy Assembly Bias on the Red Sequence

Using samples drawn from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we study the relationship between local galaxy density and the properties of galaxies on the red sequence. After removing the mean dependence of average overdensity (or "environment") on color and luminosity, we find that there remains a strong residual trend between luminosity-weighted mean stellar age and environment, such that galaxies with older stellar populations favor regions of higher overdensity relative to galaxies of like color and luminosity (and hence of like stellar mass). Even when excluding galaxies with recent star-formation activity (i.e., younger mean stellar ages) from the sample, we still find a highly significant correlation between stellar age and environment at fixed stellar mass. This residual age-density relation provides direct evidence for an assembly bias on the red sequence such that galaxies in higher-density regions formed earlier than galaxies of similar mass in lower-density environments. We discuss these results in the context of the age-metallicity degeneracy and in comparison to previous studies at low and intermediate redshift. Finally, we consider the potential role of assembly bias in explaining recent results regarding the evolution of post-starburst (or post-quenching) galaxies and the environmental dependence of the type Ia supernova rate.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA

Agronomic and Kernel Compositional Traits of Blue Maize Landraces from the Southwestern United States

Diverse landraces of maize have been cultivated for centuries in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico primarily for human food consumption. A striking feature of these landraces is the wide array of kernel colors displayed. Traditional cultivation is declining, but blue maize has received increasing commercial interest due to rising consumer demand for unique food products with health benefits and special culinary uses. We evaluated grain yield, agronomic and morphological traits, and analyzed the kernel biochemical composition of five blue and one purple landraces representative of diversity in the Southwest. These were compared with selected open-pollinated populations derived from Southwest and Corn Belt blue maize at several New Mexico locations in 2012 and 2013. Kernel amino acids, oil, protein, starch, fatty acids, crude fiber, ash and anthocyanin pigment contents were determined. Grain yield across all locations, years, and accessions averaged 2.11 Mg ha−1. Navajo Blue and Hopi Blue were the highest and lowest yielding accessions, respectively. The majority of southwestern landraces displayed higher oil content, and two displayed higher protein content, than the Corn Belt Dent variety. Little variation in total amino acid content was observed. Several southwestern floury accessions displayed ∼10% greater lysine and methionine than did dent or flint genotypes. Considerable variation for plant, ear, and kernel compositional traits within and across southwestern landraces was consistent with the presence of racial admixtures. The health-promoting properties of anthocyanin-rich landraces contribute to sound dietary nutrition and human health. This study further illustrates the diversity of southwestern maize and supports the rationale for their continued conservation through sustained cultivation and utilization. Directed selection to improve grain yield and uniformity will be necessary to enhance their potential for commercial production

Single hadron response measurement and calorimeter jet energy scale uncertainty with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

The uncertainty on the calorimeter energy response to jets of particles is derived for the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). First, the calorimeter response to single isolated charged hadrons is measured and compared to the Monte Carlo simulation using proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of sqrt(s) = 900 GeV and 7 TeV collected during 2009 and 2010. Then, using the decay of K_s and Lambda particles, the calorimeter response to specific types of particles (positively and negatively charged pions, protons, and anti-protons) is measured and compared to the Monte Carlo predictions. Finally, the jet energy scale uncertainty is determined by propagating the response uncertainty for single charged and neutral particles to jets. The response uncertainty is 2-5% for central isolated hadrons and 1-3% for the final calorimeter jet energy scale.Comment: 24 pages plus author list (36 pages total), 23 figures, 1 table, submitted to European Physical Journal

Measurements of fiducial and differential cross sections for Higgs boson production in the diphoton decay channel at s√=8 TeV with ATLAS

Measurements of fiducial and differential cross sections are presented for Higgs boson production in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of s√=8 TeV. The analysis is performed in the H → γγ decay channel using 20.3 fb−1 of data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The signal is extracted using a fit to the diphoton invariant mass spectrum assuming that the width of the resonance is much smaller than the experimental resolution. The signal yields are corrected for the effects of detector inefficiency and resolution. The pp → H → γγ fiducial cross section is measured to be 43.2 ±9.4(stat.) − 2.9 + 3.2 (syst.) ±1.2(lumi)fb for a Higgs boson of mass 125.4GeV decaying to two isolated photons that have transverse momentum greater than 35% and 25% of the diphoton invariant mass and each with absolute pseudorapidity less than 2.37. Four additional fiducial cross sections and two cross-section limits are presented in phase space regions that test the theoretical modelling of different Higgs boson production mechanisms, or are sensitive to physics beyond the Standard Model. Differential cross sections are also presented, as a function of variables related to the diphoton kinematics and the jet activity produced in the Higgs boson events. The observed spectra are statistically limited but broadly in line with the theoretical expectations