From 19th Century to Present: Changes in Hydrographic Surveying Techniques and Determination of Sounding Accuracy

Calculation of morphological change between hydrographic surveys is marred by uncertainties, in particular when methods have changed. When examining estuarine evolution, an approximation of measurement errors is needed. An overview of the changing approaches since the 19th century is given to aid error estimation and subsequent comparison with modern surveys. Changes and errors in horizontal positioning, soundings and datums need to be considered when interpreting sediment gains and losses. As a case study, the derivation of error estimates for an 1845 and modern hydrographic dataset on the south-west coast of Ireland is described.El cálculo del cambio morfológico entre los levantamientos hidrográficos está deformado por incertidumbres, en particular cuando los métodos han cambiado. Al examinar la evolución de los estuarios, se requiere una aproximación de los errores de medida. Se proporciona una visión general de los aproches cambiantes desde el siglo 19, para ayudar a efectuar la estimación de errores y la consiguiente comparación con los estudios modernos. Tienen que considerarse los cambios y errores en el posicionamiento horizontal, en las sondas y los datums, al interpretar los aumentos y las pérdidas de sedimentos. Como estudio de un caso, se describe la derivación de las estimaciones de errores para una colección de datos hidrográficos de 1845 y una colección moderna en la costa suroccidental de Irlanda.Les calculs du changement morphologique entre les levés hydrographiques sont faussés par les incertitudes, en particulier, lorsque les méthodes changent. Lorsqu’on examine l’évolution des estuaires, il est nécessaire d’avoir une estimation des erreurs de mesurage. Une vue d’ensemble du changement d’approches depuis le 19ème siècle est présentée aux fins d’appuyer l’estimation des erreurs et la comparaison ultérieure avec les levés modernes. Les changements et les erreurs dans le positionnement horizontal, les sondes et les systèmes de référence doivent être pris en compte pour interpréter les gains et les pertes en sédiments. Comme étude de cas, l’évolution des estimations d’erreurs pour une série de données de 1845 et pour un ensemble de données hydrographiques modernes sur la côte sud-ouest de l’Irlande est décrite

Social dynamics and cooperation: The case of nonhuman primates and its implications for human behavior.

The social factors that influence cooperation have remained largely uninvestigated but have the potential to explain much of the variation in cooperative behavior observed in the natural world. We show here that certain dimensions of the social environment, namely the size of the social group, the degree of social tolerance expressed, the structure of the dominance hierarchy, and the patterns of dispersal, may influence the emergence and stability of cooperation in predictable ways. Furthermore, the social environment experienced by a species over evolutionary time will have shaped their cognition to provide certain strengths and strategies that are beneficial in their species' social world. These cognitive adaptations will in turn impact the likelihood of cooperating in a given social environment. Experiments with one primate species, the cottontop tamarin, illustrate how social dynamics may influence emergence and stability of cooperative behavior in this species. We then take a more general viewpoint and argue that the hypotheses presented here require further experimental work and the addition of quantitative modeling to obtain a better understanding of how social dynamics influence the emergence and stability of cooperative behavior in complex systems. We conclude by pointing out subsequent specific directions for models and experiments that will allow relevant advances in the understanding of the emergence of cooperation.Ángel Sánchez was partially supported by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Spain) through grants MOSAICO, PRODIEVO and Complexity-NET RESINEE, and by Comunidad de Madrid (Spain) through grant MODELICO-CM.Publicad

Upregulation of the Coagulation Factor VII Gene during Glucose Deprivation Is Mediated by Activating Transcription Factor 4

Background: Constitutive production of blood coagulation proteins by hepatocytes is necessary for hemostasis. Stressful conditions trigger adaptive cellular responses and delay processing of most proteins, potentially affecting plasma levels of proteins secreted exclusively by hepatocytes. We examined the effect of glucose deprivation on expression of coagulation proteins by the human hepatoma cell line, HepG2. Methodology/Principal Findings: Expression of coagulation factor VII, which is required for initiation of blood coagulation, was elevated by glucose deprivation, while expression of other coagulation proteins decreased. Realtime PCR and ELISA demonstrated that the relative percentage expression +/− SD of steady-state F7 mRNA and secreted factor VII antigen were significantly increased (from 100+/−15% to 188+/−27% and 100+/−8.8% to 176.3+/−17.3% respectively, p<0.001) at 24 hr of treatment. The integrated stress response was induced, as indicated by upregulation of transcription factor ATF4 and of additional stress-responsive genes. Small interfering RNAs directed against ATF4 potently reduced basal F7 expression, and prevented F7 upregulation by glucose deprivation. The response of the endogenous F7 gene was replicated in reporter gene assays, which further indicated that ATF4 effects were mediated via interaction with an amino acid response element in the F7 promoter. Conclusions/Significance: Our data indicated that glucose deprivation enhanced F7 expression in a mechanism reliant on prior ATF4 upregulation primarily due to increased transcription from the ATF4 gene. Of five coagulation protein genes examined, only F7 was upregulated, suggesting that its functions may be important in a systemic response to glucose deprivation stress

Hierarchy is Detrimental for Human Cooperation

Studies of animal behavior consistently demonstrate that the social environment impacts cooperation, yet the effect of social dynamics has been largely excluded from studies of human cooperation. Here, we introduce a novel approach inspired by nonhuman primate research to address how social hierarchies impact human cooperation. Participants competed to earn hierarchy positions and then could cooperate with another individual in the hierarchy by investing in a common effort. Cooperation was achieved if the combined investments exceeded a threshold, and the higher ranked individual distributed the spoils unless control was contested by the partner. Compared to a condition lacking hierarchy, cooperation declined in the presence of a hierarchy due to a decrease in investment by lower ranked individuals. Furthermore, hierarchy was detrimental to cooperation regardless of whether it was earned or arbitrary. These findings mirror results from nonhuman primates and demonstrate that hierarchies are detrimental to cooperation. However, these results deviate from nonhuman primate findings by demonstrating that human behavior is responsive to changing hierarchical structures and suggests partnership dynamics that may improve cooperation. This work introduces a controlled way to investigate the social influences on human behavior, and demonstrates the evolutionary continuity of human behavior with other primate species.We are indebted to Luis Quevedo for discussions about the origin of rank societies. We thank Lydia Hopper, Antonio Cabrales, Gary Charness, Arno Riedl, Jordi Brandts, and Gross Jörg for feedback on an earlier version of this manuscript. We thank the anonymous reviewers for feedback that improved this manuscript. This work was supported by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, by Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, MEC Spain (ECO2013-46550-R) and the Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEOII/2014/054)

Tool use for corpse cleaning in chimpanzees

For the first time, chimpanzees have been observed using tools to clean the corpse of a deceased group member. A female chimpanzee sat down at the dead body of a young male, selected a firm stem of grass, and started to intently remove debris from his teeth. This report contributes novel behaviour to the chimpanzee’s ethogram, and highlights how crucial information for reconstructing the evolutionary origins of human mortuary practices may be missed by refraining from developing adequate observation techniques to capture non-human animals’ death responses.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Development and Validation of a Food-Frequency Questionnaire for the Determination of Detailed Fatty Acid Intakes

Objective: To validate a fat intake questionnaire (FIQ) developed to assess habitual dietary intake while focusing on the assessment of detailed fatty acid intake including total trans unsaturated fatty acids (TUFA). Design: An 88 food item/food group FIQ was developed using a meal pattern technique. Validation was achieved by comparison with dietary intake assessed by a modified diet history (DH) in a cross-over design. Eighty-four individuals supplied adipose tissue biopsies for linoleic acid and total TUFA analysis as an independent validation of the FIQ and DH. Setting: Medical Centre, Dublin Airport, Republic of Ireland. Subjects: One hundred and five healthy volunteers (43 females and 62 males aged 23–63 years). Results: Significant correlations (P , 0.0005) were achieved for intakes of energy (0.78), total fat (0.77), saturated fat (0.77), monounsaturated fat (0.63), polyunsaturated fat (0.73), TUFA (0.67) and linoleic acid (0.71) assessed by the FIQ compared with the DH. Linoleic acid intake assessed by the FIQ and the DH was significantly correlated with adipose tissue concentrations (r ¼ 0.58 and 0.49, respectively; P , 0.005); however, total TUFA intake was poorly correlated with adipose tissue concentrations (r ¼ 0.17 and 0.10 for FIQ and DH, respectively). Conclusions: The FIQ compared favourably with the DH in assessing habitual diet, in particular fatty acid intake. In addition, the FIQ was successfully validated against the linoleic acid composition of adipose tissue, an independent biomarker of relative fatty acid status. The FIQ could therefore be used as an alternative to the DH as it is a shorter, less labour-intensive method

The future of the biodiversity of the Gran Caldera Scientific Reserve: Translating science into policy to develop an effective management plan

White paper prepared for the Workshop on ‘The future of the biodiversity of the Gran Caldera Scientific Reserve', celebrated in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, in June 201

Toward an Ontology of Collaborative Learning Healthcaresystems

Objective:To establish a basis for a domain ontology - a formal, explicit specificationof a shared conceptualization - of collaborative learning healthcare systems (CLHSs)in order to facilitate measurement, explanation, and improvement.Methods:We adapted the“Methontology”approach to begin building an ontologyof CLHSs. We specified the purpose of an ontology, acquired domain knowledge vialiterature review, conceptualized a common framework of CLHSs using a groundedapproach, refined these concepts based on expert panel input, and illustrated con-cept application via four cases.Results:The set of concepts identified as important to include in an ontologyincludes goals, values, structure, actors, environment, and products. To establish thisset of concepts, we gathered input from content experts in two ways. First, expertpanel methods were used to elicit feedback on these concepts and to test the elicita-tion of terms for the vocabulary of the Values concept. Second, from these discus-sions we developed a mapping exercise to test the intuitiveness of the concepts,requesting that network leaders from four CLHSs complete a mapping exercise toassociate characteristics of their networks with the high-level concepts, building thevocabulary for each concept in a grounded fashion. We also solicited feedback fromthese participants on the experience of completing the mapping exercise, finding thatthe exercise is acceptable and could aid in CLHS development and collaboration.Respondents identified opportunities to improve the operational definitions of eachconcept to ensure that corresponding vocabularies are distinct and non-overlapping.Discussion:Our results provide a foundation for developing a formal, explicit sharedconceptualization of CLHSs. Once developed, such a tool can be useful for measure-ment, explanation, and improvement. Further work, including alignment to a top-levelontology, expanding the vocabulary, and defining relations between vocabulary isrequired to formally build out an ontology for these uses

Advances in Maintenance of Ports and Waterways: Water Injection Dredging

The main objective of this chapter is to demonstrate developments in port maintenance techniques that have been intensively tested in major European ports. As regular port maintenance is highly expensive, port authorities are considering alternative strategies. Water Injection Dredging (WID) can be one of the most efficient alternatives. Using this dredging method, density currents near the bed are created by fluidizing fine-grained sediments. The fluidized sediment can leave the port channels and be transported away from the waterways via the natural force of gravity. WID actions can be successfully coupled with the tidal cycle for extra effectiveness. In addition, WID is combined with another strategy to reduce maintenance dredging: the nautical bottom approach, which enables the vessel to navigate through the WID-induced fluid mud layer. The nautical bottom approach uses the density or the yield stress of sediment to indicate the navigability after WID rather than the absolute depth to the sediment bed. Testing WID-based port maintenance requires thorough preparation. Over the years modeling and monitoring tools have been developed in order to test and optimize WID operations. In this chapter, the application of the recently developed tools is discussed