An Agent-based Collective Model to Simulate Peer Pressure Effect on Energy Consumption

This paper presents a novel model for simulating peer pressure effect on energy awareness and consumption of families. The model is built on two well-established theories of human behaviour to obtain realistic peer effect: the collective behaviour theory and the theory of cognitive dissonance. These theories are implemented in a collective agentbased model that produces fine-grained behaviour and consumption data based on social parameters. The model enables the application of different energy efficiency interventions which aim to obtain more aware occupants and achieve more energy saving. The presented experiments show that the implemented model reflects the human behaviour theories. They also provide examples of how the model can be used as an analytical tool to interpret the effect of energy interventions in the given social parameters and decide the optimal intervention needed in different cases

Down by the riverside: urban riparian ecology

Riparian areas are hotspots of interactions between plants, soil, water, microbes, and people. While urban land use change has been shown to have dramatic effects on watershed hydrology, there has been surpris- ingly little analysis of its effects on riparian areas. Here we examine the ecology of urban riparian zones, focusing on work done in the Baltimore Ecosystem Study, a component of the US National Science Foundation's Long Term Ecological Research network. Research in the Baltimore study has addressed how changes in hydrology associated with urbanization create riparian "hydrologic drought" by lowering water tables, which in turn alters soil, vegetation, and microbial processes. We analyze the nature of past and cur- rent human interactions with riparian ecosystems, and review other urban ecosystem studies to show how our observations mirror those in other cities

Differential responses to woodland character and landscape context by cryptic bats in urban environments

© 2015 Lintott et al. Urbanisation is one of the most dramatic forms of land use change which relatively few species can adapt to. Determining how and why species respond differently to urban habitats is important in predicting future biodiversity loss as urban areas rapidly expand. Understanding how morphological or behavioural traits can influence species adaptability to the built environment may enable us to improve the effectiveness of conservation efforts. Although many bat species are able to exploit human resources, bat species richness generally declines with increasing urbanisation and there is considerable variation in the responses of different bat species to urbanisation. Here, we use acoustic recordings from two cryptic, and largely sympatric European bat species to assess differential responses in their use of fragmented urban woodland and the surrounding urban matrix. There was a high probability of P. pygmaeus activity relative to P. pipistrellus in woodlands with low clutter and understory cover which were surrounded by low levels of built environment. Additionally, the probability of recording P. pygmaeus relative to P. pipistrellus was considerably higher in urban woodland interior or edge habitat in contrast to urban grey or non-wooded green space. These results show differential habitat use occurring between two morphologically similar species; whilst the underlying mechanism for this partitioning is unknown it may be driven by competition avoidance over foraging resources. Their differing response to urbanisation indicates the difficulties involved when attempting to assess how adaptable a species is to urbanisation for conservation purposes

Urban Biodiversity and Landscape Ecology: Patterns, Processes and Planning

Effective planning for biodiversity in cities and towns is increasingly important as urban areas and their human populations grow, both to achieve conservation goals and because ecological communities support services on which humans depend. Landscape ecology provides important frameworks for understanding and conserving urban biodiversity both within cities and considering whole cities in their regional context, and has played an important role in the development of a substantial and expanding body of knowledge about urban landscapes and communities. Characteristics of the whole city including size, overall amount of green space, age and regional context are important considerations for understanding and planning for biotic assemblages at the scale of entire cities, but have received relatively little research attention. Studies of biodiversity within cities are more abundant and show that longstanding principles regarding how patch size, configuration and composition influence biodiversity apply to urban areas as they do in other habitats. However, the fine spatial scales at which urban areas are fragmented and the altered temporal dynamics compared to non-urban areas indicate a need to apply hierarchical multi-scalar landscape ecology models to urban environments. Transferring results from landscape-scale urban biodiversity research into planning remains challenging, not least because of the requirements for urban green space to provide multiple functions. An increasing array of tools is available to meet this challenge and increasingly requires ecologists to work with planners to address biodiversity challenges. Biodiversity conservation and enhancement is just one strand in urban planning, but is increasingly important in a rapidly urbanising world

Prevalence of Staphylococcus spp. nasal colonization among doctors of podiatric medicine and associated risk factors in Spain

Abstract Background This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of methicillin-susceptible and -resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA and MRSA) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE) nasopharyngeal carriage among Doctors of Podiatric Medicine (Podiatrists) and to determine the potential risk factors. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out in 2016–2017 among 239 podiatrists in Spain. The presence of MSSA, MRSA, and MRSE was determined by microbiological analysis of nasal exudate and antimicrobial susceptibility was determined. Each podiatrist completed a questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised various parameters such as sex, age, podiatry experience duration, underlying diseases, prior antibiotic treatment, hospitalization during the last year, and use of a protective mask, an aspiration system, or gloves. Results The prevalence of MSSA, MRSA, and MRSE was 23.0%, 1.3%, and 23.8%, respectively. The MSSA prevalence was higher among podiatrists who did not use an aspiration system (32.3%) compared to those who did (19.3%; p = 0.0305), and among podiatrists with respiratory diseases (36.8%) compared to those without (20.8%; p = 0.0272). The MRSE prevalence was higher among men (33.7%) compared to women (8.6%; p = 0.0089), podiatrists aged ≥50 (38.5%) compared to ≤35 (17.8%; p = 0.0101), and podiatrists with ≥15 (39.3%) compared to ≤5 years of podiatry experience (12.5%; p = 0.0015). Among the S. aureus strains, 84.5% were resistant to penicillin, 22.4% to erythromycin, 20.7% to clindamycin, and 12.7% to mupirocin. The MRSE strains were resistant to penicillin (93.0%), erythromycin (78.9%), and mupirocin (73.7%). Conclusions The prevalence of S. aureus and S. epidermidis nasal carriage is low among Spanish podiatrists compared to other health professionals