The radiation environment over the African continent at aviation altitudes: First results of the RPiRENA-based dosimeter

The radiation environment over the African continent, at aviation altitudes, remains mostly uncharacterized and unregulated. In this paper we present initial measurements made by a newly developed active dosimeter on-board long-haul flights between South Africa and Germany. Based on these initial tests, we believe that this low-cost and open-source dosimeter is suitable for continued operation over the Africa continent and can provide valuable long-term measurements to test dosimteric models and inform aviation policyComment: Accepted to appear in Journal of Space Weather and Space Climat

Female consumers' familiarity with clothing brands and their trust in brand names as an indication of certain desirable properties of clothing

Talle gevestigde, bekende handelsmerke het hulle produksie in onlangse jare na Oosterse lande verskuif om arbeidskoste te sny. Die land van herkoms (LvH) en die land van produksie (LvP) van gewilde, gesogte kledinghandelsmerke mag dus verskil. Dis nie duidelik of verbruikers bekend is met die LvH van gewilde han-delsmerke, of hulle aan die LvP aandag gee, of dit vir hulle ‘n probleem is die LvO en die LvP verskil, en hoe dit hulle persepsie van sulke produkte beinvloed nie. Hierdie studie het ondersoek ingestel na damesverbruikers se kennis van kledinghandelsname, hulle LvO asook die LvP, as deel van ‘n ondersoek na die gebruik van handelsname as aanduiding van sekere gesogte eienskappe van kleding, byvoorbeeld die funksionele- en gedragseienskappe, status en omgewingsvriendelikheid eerder as om kledingstukke deeglik te evalueer. ‘n Opname is deur middel van ‘n gestruktureerde vraelys in ‘n groot stedelike gebied in Suid-Afrika onder werkende dames gedoen gedoen. Data is deur geriefsteekproefneming ingesamel, en 322 dames tussen die ouderdom van 25 en 60 jaar het die gestruktureerde vraelys self voltooi. Data-analise het beskrywende statistiek, verkennende faktoranalise en ontledings soos Anova and post hoc toetse ingesluit. Die studie het die belang van handelsname as ‘n aanduiding van die funksionele- en gedrageienskappe van kledingprodukte bevestig en aangetoon dat die belang van handelsname as aanduiding van die status of omgewingsvriendelikheid in hierdie produkkategorie ondergeskik is aan die voorgenoemde ongeag ‘n verbruiker se ouderdom, inkomste, opleidingspeil of populasiegroep. In teenstelling met bestaande literatuur toon hierdie studie dat damesverbruikers handelsname gebruik as aanduiding van goeie pas, duursaamheid, gemak en goeie gehalte, eerder as ‘n simbool van status. Hoewel die studie handelsname wat wyd geadverteer word en geredelik in winkels beskikbaar is ingesluit het was respondente nie baie vertroud daarmee nie. Die meerderheid respondente het wel ver-kies dat die LvH en die LvP van handelsname ooreenstem. In die algemeen is Westerse lande as LvP verkies en is voorkeur gegee aan plaaslike- bo vervaardigers uit Oosterse lande. Verskille in die LvO en die LvP van handelsname, veral wanneer die LvP ‘n Oosterse land is, mag verbuikers se persepsie van handelsname nadelig beïnvloed tensy verbruikers ingelig word waarom die praktyk deesdae algemeen voorkom.http://reference.sabinet.co.za/sa_epublication/famecsam201

Enemy at the gates: Rapid defensive trait diversification in an adaptive radiation of lizards

Adaptive radiation (AR), the product of rapid diversification of an ancestral species into novel adaptive zones, has become pivotal in our understanding of biodiversity. Although it has widely been accepted that predators may drive the process of AR by creating ecological opportunity (e.g., enemy-free space), the role of predators as selective agents in defensive trait diversification remains controversial. Using phylogenetic comparative methods, we provide evidence for an “early burst” in the diversification of antipredator phenotypes in Cordylinae, a relatively small AR of morphologically diverse southern African lizards. The evolution of body armor appears to have been initially rapid, but slowed down over time, consistent with the ecological niche-filling model. We suggest that the observed “early burst” pattern could be attributed to shifts in vulnerability to different types of predators (i.e., aerial versus terrestrial) associated with thermal habitat partitioning. These results provide empirical evidence supporting the hypothesis that predators or the interaction therewith might be key components of ecological opportunity, although the way in which predators influence morphological diversification requires further study

Building a Portuguese Coalition for Biodiversity Genomics

The diverse physiography of the Portuguese land and marine territory, spanning from continental Europe to the Atlantic archipelagos, has made it an important repository of biodiversity throughout the Pleistocene glacial cycles, leading to a remarkable diversity of species and ecosystems. This rich biodiversity is under threat from anthropogenic drivers, such as climate change, invasive species, land use changes, overexploitation or pathogen (re)emergence. The inventory, characterization and study of biodiversity at inter- and intra-specific levels using genomics is crucial to promote its preservation and recovery by informing biodiversity conservation policies, management measures and research. The participation of researchers from Portuguese institutions in the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) initiative, and its pilot effort to generate reference genomes for European biodiversity, has reinforced the establishment of Biogenome Portugal. This nascent institutional network will connect the national community of researchers in genomics. Here, we describe the Portuguese contribution to ERGA’s pilot effort, which will generate high-quality reference genomes of six species from Portugal that are endemic, iconic and/or endangered, and include plants, insects and vertebrates (fish, birds and mammals) from mainland Portugal or the Azores islands. In addition, we outline the objectives of Biogenome Portugal, which aims to (i) promote scientific collaboration, (ii) contribute to advanced training, (iii) stimulate the participation of institutions and researchers based in Portugal in international biodiversity genomics initiatives, and (iv) contribute to the transfer of knowledge to stakeholders and engaging the public to preserve biodiversity. This initiative will strengthen biodiversity genomics research in Portugal and fuel the genomic inventory of Portuguese eukaryotic species. Such efforts will be critical to the conservation of the country’s rich biodiversity and will contribute to ERGA’s goal of generating reference genomes for European species.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Authentic leadership, followership, and psychological capital as antecedents of work engagement

The present study investigated authentic leadership, psychological capital, and followership behaviour influences on work engagement of employees . Respondents were 901 South African employees within the healthcare industry organisation (n = 647) and mining industry (n = 254) . The employees completed questionnaires on authentic leadership, psychological capital, and followership behaviour, and work engagement . Results following structural equation modelling and mediation analysis suggest work engagement to be explained by the psychological capital of the employee rather than by authentic leadership qualities . Improving employee psychological capital has the potential to enhance the levels of work engagement of employees

The European Reference Genome Atlas: piloting a decentralised approach to equitable biodiversity genomics.

ABSTRACT: A global genome database of all of Earth’s species diversity could be a treasure trove of scientific discoveries. However, regardless of the major advances in genome sequencing technologies, only a tiny fraction of species have genomic information available. To contribute to a more complete planetary genomic database, scientists and institutions across the world have united under the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP), which plans to sequence and assemble high-quality reference genomes for all ∼1.5 million recognized eukaryotic species through a stepwise phased approach. As the initiative transitions into Phase II, where 150,000 species are to be sequenced in just four years, worldwide participation in the project will be fundamental to success. As the European node of the EBP, the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) seeks to implement a new decentralised, accessible, equitable and inclusive model for producing high-quality reference genomes, which will inform EBP as it scales. To embark on this mission, ERGA launched a Pilot Project to establish a network across Europe to develop and test the first infrastructure of its kind for the coordinated and distributed reference genome production on 98 European eukaryotic species from sample providers across 33 European countries. Here we outline the process and challenges faced during the development of a pilot infrastructure for the production of reference genome resources, and explore the effectiveness of this approach in terms of high-quality reference genome production, considering also equity and inclusion. The outcomes and lessons learned during this pilot provide a solid foundation for ERGA while offering key learnings to other transnational and national genomic resource projects.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio