Tracking Eye Movements over Source Code

Studies on software developers’ behavior guide the development of tools that facilitate source code reading and reviewing. Eye trackers have allowed researchers to study this behavior in more detail–to pinpoint where the developer is looking, or even to detect which source code element the developer is viewing. However, systems that map gaze to characteristics as specific as source code elements are often expensive, either because of the cost of compatible eye trackers or because of the cost of the required software. This project aims to use existing technology to create a lower-cost system that provides information on the source code elements that the developer views

City profile: Ningbo

Ningbo is located in the south-east of Yangtze River Delta by the East China Sea, 220 km south of Shanghai. The city has been an important port in East China for foreign trade since 7th century. Since 1980s, encouraged by China’s economic “open-door” policy, one of the ways the city attracted foreign investment and thus grew its economy was by establishing multi-functional economic development zones near its deep-water port. As a result, Ningbo is now one of the top ten coastal ports in the world (as measured in Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units, TEUs). Similarly, the city’s GDP per capita is approximately three times the national average. The current and historic prosperity of Ningbo is in no small way related to its geographical position, just 20 km inland from the Hangzhou estuary and the gateway to the East China Sea. It is also the approximate centre of a 1000 km2 coastal plain, at the confluence of the Fenghua and Yao Rivers, and from where the Yong River leads to the sea. However, also a result of this geographic location the city is now facing an increasing risk of coastal flooding caused by increase in urban area; climate change (increased rainfall intensity); and predicted sea-level rise. As a result both water management and current flood management practice (and related infrastructure) are under scrutiny. In addition to describing the evolution of the city, this paper focuses on the implication of current planning practices in Ningbo, which aim to ensure the sustainable development of the city both in terms of its natural resources and its expected rate of economic growth

Identifying enablers and barriers to the implementation of the green infrastructure for urban flood management: a comparative analysis of the UK and China

Climate change and urbanization are increasing the urban flood risk, which can cause adverse on socio-economic and environmental impacts. Green Infrastructure (GI) can reduce stormwater runoff and offer multiple benefits that have been initiated in the United Kingdom (UK) and China, namely Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) and Sponge Cities Program (SCP) respectively. Currently, the implementation of GI is restricted to small spatial (site specific) scale and facing several constraints such as financial investment and governance, that limited its fuller functions and potential. This study aims to identify the barriers and enablers for the adoption of GI by investigating SUDS and SCP in the UK and China, through twelve in-depth semi-structured interviews with stakeholders. Our results found that multiple benefits of the SUDS and SCP were identified, as the main enablers in both countries with reducing the stormwater runoff and alleviating peak discharge in the drainage system, also contributing to social well-being and climate adaptations. Some barriers found the current practices are facing challenges from financial, biophysical and socio-political circumstances in both cases. We conclude that it is beneficial to learn the comparative findings and experiences from both countries, which contributes to stakeholders for improving current GI practices, in prior to achieve more sustainable long-term deliverables

Defunct brain stem cardiovascular regulation underlies cardiovascular collapse associated with methamphetamine intoxication

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Intoxication from the psychostimulant methamphetamine (METH) because of cardiovascular collapse is a common cause of death within the abuse population. For obvious reasons, the heart has been taken as the primary target for this METH-induced toxicity. The demonstration that failure of brain stem cardiovascular regulation, rather than the heart, holds the key to cardiovascular collapse induced by the pesticide mevinphos implicates another potential underlying mechanism. The present study evaluated the hypothesis that METH effects acute cardiovascular depression by dampening the functional integrity of baroreflex via an action on brain stem nuclei that are associated with this homeostatic mechanism.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The distribution of METH in brain and heart on intravenous administration in male Sprague-Dawley rats, and the resultant changes in arterial pressure (AP), heart rate (HR) and indices for baroreflex-mediated sympathetic vasomotor tone and cardiac responses were evaluated, alongside survival rate and time.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Intravenous administration of METH (12 or 24 mg/kg) resulted in a time-dependent and dose-dependent distribution of the psychostimulant in brain and heart. <b/>The distribution of METH to neural substrates associated with brain stem cardiovascular regulation was significantly larger than brain targets for its neurological and psychological effects; the concentration of METH in cardiac tissues was the lowest among all tissues studied. In animals that succumbed to METH, the baroreflex-mediated sympathetic vasomotor tone and cardiac response were defunct, concomitant with cessation of AP and HR. On the other hand, although depressed, those two indices in animals that survived were maintained, alongside sustainable AP and HR. Linear regression analysis further revealed that the degree of dampening of brain stem cardiovascular regulation was positively and significantly correlated with the concentration of METH in key neural substrate involved in this homeostatic mechanism.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We conclude that on intravenous administration, METH exhibits a preferential distribution to brain stem nuclei that are associated with cardiovascular regulation. We further found that the concentration of METH in those brain stem sites dictates the extent that baroreflex-mediated sympathetic vasomotor tone and cardiac responses are compromised, which in turn determines survival or fatality because of cardiovascular collapse.</p

Challenges in urban stormwater management in Chinese cities: A hydrologic perspective

For managing the worsening urban water disasters in China, the Government of China proposed the concept of “Sponge City” in 2013 and initiated the strategy in 30 pilot cities from 2015. Despite the promise of the concept, there have been many challenges in implementing the “Sponge City” program (SCP). In this manuscript, we discuss the hydrology-related challenges in implementing the SCP. In particular, we consider two key challenges: (1) Determination of the “Volume Capture Ratio of Annual Rainfall” (VCRAR), as controlling urban stormwater runoff is one of the core targets of the SCP; and (2) Estimation of a proper rainfall threshold, which influences the layout of green-infrastructures in the SCP to achieve the core VCRAR target. To discuss these challenges, we consider the city of Beijing, the capital of China, as a case study. Our analysis shows that the trade-offs between the investment for the SCP and its potential economic benefits should be considered by undertaking a proper determination of VCRAR. The VCRAR estimated for Beijing from the present analysis is 0.73. This value is more reasonable than the empirical value of 0.80 that is presently used, as it can guarantee the positive rate of return on the investment. We also find that the nonstationary characteristics of rainfall data and their spatiotemporal differences are important for the estimation of the rainfall threshold in SCP. For instance, even using the daily rainfall data over a period of 30 years (1983–2012) in Beijing, as required by the National Assessment Standard, the estimated rainfall threshold of 27.3 mm underestimates the reasonable rainfall threshold that should at least be larger than 30.0 mm. Thus, the former cannot ensure the VCRAR target of 0.80. Based on these results, we offer proper approaches and key suggestions towards useful guidelines for delivering better SCP in the Chinese cities

Cognitive biases predict symptoms of depression, anxiety and wellbeing above and beyond neuroticism in adolescence

Adolescence represents a period of vulnerability to affective disorders. Neuroticism is considered a heritable risk factor for depression, but is not directly amenable to intervention. Therefore, it is important to identify the contributions of modifiable risk factors. Negative cognitive biases are implicated in the onset and maintenance of affective disorders in adults, and may represent modifiable risk factors in adolescence. This study sought to assess to what extent cognitive biases are able to predict depression, anxiety and wellbeing beyond that of neuroticism in adolescents. Adolescents (N = 99), recruited from Scottish secondary schools (54.5% female; mean age = 14.7), ensured a sample representing the breadth of the mental health spectrum. In line with prevalence estimates, 18% of this sample demonstrated clinical levels of depression symptoms. Cognitive biases of autobiographical memory, self-referential memory, ambiguous scenarios interpretation, facial expression recognition, rumination and dysfunctional attitudes were assessed. Depression, anxiety, and wellbeing were indexed using the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire, Spence Children's Anxiety Scale and the BBC Subjective Wellbeing Scale. Regression analyses demonstrated neuroticism to significantly predict depression, anxiety and wellbeing. The addition of cognitive biases resulted in a significant increase of explained variance with final models explaining just over 50% of variances of depression, anxiety and wellbeing. These findings demonstrate that cognitive biases explain mental health symptoms over and above that of neuroticism. Depressive symptomology was particularly related to self-referential memory bias, while anxiety was predicted by interpretive bias. The key clinical implication is that targeting specific biases based on diagnostic features may be of particular benefit in alleviating distress and promoting wellbeing

Spatio-temporal pattern of land degradation from 1990 to 2015 in Mongolia

Land degradation is an important environmental problem facing the world. "Land Degradation Neutrality" is one of the core indicators in the 15th goal of the "United Nations Sustainable Development Goals" for 2030. Mongolia is an important country for global land degradation. The increasingly serious land degradation has caused a direct impact on the ecosystem of the entire Mongolian plateau. We analyzed the patterns of land degradation and restoration during 1990-2010 and 2010-2015 and determined the driving forces behind the variations, by using fine resolution land cover data for the first time in Mongolia. The results showed that the spatial distribution of newly increased land degradation and restoration have a strong transitional nature. For the past 25 years, the trend of land change in Mongolia was dominated by land degradation. However, land degradation was accompanied by ongoing restoration of some land areas, and the capacity for land restoration has been gradually improved. This study discovers a series of typical land degradation and restoration regions and provides an interpretation of the driving forces in these areas. The joint effects of natural and socioeconomic factors have been found to result in land degradation and restoration in different regions

Understanding environmental justice capital in China — a new framework to study environmental justice in contexts

Environmental justice has drew worldwide attention since the 1982 protest in USA to against duping toxic waste. In the globalization era, worldwide scholars and environmental activists are actively engaged in related studies and social movements. However, these researches and movements usually ignore the influences of local contexts on local environmental justice configurations, including related researches in China. Whilst, evidences have been provided that different forms of capital from contexts, such as economic, social, political, natural capital and cultural capital, will affect the local concept of environmental justice. That is to say environmental justice should have different discourse from what has been researched in western countries in different contexts. Thus, this research will discuss the common ground of environmental justice study framework and promote the new conceptual framework “environmental justice capital” for having a better understanding environmental justice in contexts. Additionally, the framework of “environmental justice capital” will be put in Chinese contexts as a preliminary discussion to get an initial image of environmental justice in China

Mapping the research landscape of nature-based solutions in urbanism

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are an innovative concept that mimics the processes of natural ecosystems, popularized principally in the European Union. With a substantial body of literature amassed since the term’s inception in 2015, there is a need to systematically review existing literature to identify overarching gaps and trends, according to disciplinary focus, geographic scope, and key themes, and direct future research inquiry and policy recommendations. This review consists of bibliometric analysis and thematic analysis for NBS studies in urbanism. NBS studies were found to relate strongly with other concepts of ‘Ecosystem Services’, ‘Green Infrastructure’, ‘Climate Change’, and ‘Risk management and Resilience’, which align with four major thematic goals set by the European Commission. Within NBS scholarship, various sub-themes have emerged, namely, ‘Greening’, ‘Urban Development’, ‘Water’, ‘Wellbeing’, and ‘Governance’. Furthermore, we illustrate that the amount and thematic focus of NBS research have been unevenly distributed worldwide. Analysis of emerging trends shows a recent increase in topics, such as adaptive governance of NBS, and the incorporation of social justice in sustainability transitions. Based on an assessment of extant NBS literature, we offer some recommendations for the future direction of the research fields