Cross-Latitude Behavioural Axis in an Adult Damselfly Calopteryx splendens (Harris, 1780)

Simple Summary Animals adapt to the environment they live in. If the environment changes, animals usually adapt behaviourally as a first response. By studying behavioural profiles across long distances, we can detect environmental change reflected in shifts in behavioural profiles. This study examined variation in three behavioural axes: activity, courtship and boldness, and the association between these behaviours, i.e., behavioural syndromes, across three damselfly populations along a latitudinal gradient (i.e., climatic gradient). Our study organism was the temperate damselfly Calopteryx splendens. We predicted that behavioural expressions would gradually increase from southern to northern regions. This is because northern animals should compensate behaviourally for a brief and cold breeding season (i.e., time constraint). Activity was the only behaviour feature positively associated with latitudinal gradient. Courtship effort was highest in the central region, whereas boldness values were highest in the north but did not differ between central and south. In the southern region, an activity-boldness and a courtship-boldness syndrome were present, and in the northern region, only an activity-boldness syndrome was found. Our results confirm that environmental variability in biotic and abiotic factors across studied latitudes generates regional differences in behavioural profiles, which do not always follow latitudinal gradient. Behavioural variation is important for evolutionary and ecological processes, but can also be useful when predicting consequences of climate change and effects on species ranges. Latitudinal differences in behaviour have received relatively limited research interest when compared to morphological, life history and physiological traits. This study examined differences in expression of three behavioural axes: activity, courtship and boldness, and their correlations, along a European latitudinal gradient spanning ca. 1500 km. The study organism was the temperate damselfly Calopteryx splendens (Harris). We predicted that the expression of both behavioural traits and behavioural syndromes would be positively correlated to latitude, with the lowest values in the southern populations, followed by central and the highest in the north, because animals usually compensate behaviourally for increasing time constraints and declining environmental conditions. We found that behavioural expression varied along the latitudinal cline, although not always in the predicted direction. Activity was the only behaviour that followed our prediction and gradually increased northward. Whereas no south-to-north gradient was seen in any of the behavioural syndromes. The results, particularly for activity, suggest that climatic differences across latitudes change behavioural profiles. However, for other traits such as courtship and boldness, local factors might invoke stronger selection pressures, disrupting the predicted latitudinal pattern

Factors affecting the growth of small privately-owned financial planning businesses

Over the past 10 years, there have been many financial scandals in the financial advice industry, which has caused substantial losses for investors. Large wealth institutions controlled by major Australian banks have significantly contributed to investor losses by promoting their products which were not always in the best interests of clients. The aim of this study was to explore the factors affecting the current and future growth of small privately-owned financial planning businesses as a competitive marketplace provides better consumer outcomes. The study undertook a qualitative approach using an exploratory research design which involved the recruitment of 51 privately-owned financial planning practice owners who were personally interviewed with semi-structured interview questions. Using a theoretical framework based on Michael Porter\u27s five competitive forces model, the study found that the main factors enhancing growth were differentiation of service, technology enhancement, target marketing and business and client referral arrangements. Factors that negatively affected growth included the affordability of providing advice due to regulatory changes and the negative public perception associated with various industry scandals. The results provide existing and new entrant adviser practices with valuable knowledge to make informed decisions in the areas of practice management and direction. Additionally, the study provides policymakers and regulators with further knowledge to better support the privately-owned financial planning sector, thus enabling consumers to benefit from a more competitive marketplace

Adult insect personality in the wild-Calopteryx splendens as a model for field studies

Animal personality has received increasing interest and acknowledgment within ecological research over the past two decades. However, some areas are still poorly studied and need to be developed. For instance, field studies focused on invertebrates are currently highly underrepresented in the literature. More studies including a wider variety of traits measured and species tested are needed to improve our understanding of trait-correlation patterns and generalities. We studied nine behavioral traits, in the damselfly Calopteryx splendens, from an array of three experiments: (i) courtship, (ii) aggressiveness, and (iii) boldness, and calculated their repeatability. The behaviors were measured twice in two different contexts: (i) undisturbed territory and (ii) partially deteriorated territory. Traits related to courtship and boldness were all repeatable across the two contexts. Among aggressive behaviors, only one trait (number of hits) was repeatable. This work demonstrates, for the first time, the presence of within-population personality differences in an adult damselfly in the wild. We further propose C. splendens as a promising model species for testing personality in the wild under highly controlled environmental conditions

Publication of RDF streams with Ztreamy

Proceedings of ESWC 2014 Satellite Events, Anissaras, Crete, Greece, May 25–29, 2014There is currently an interest in the Semantic Web community for the development of tools and techniques to process RDF streams. Implementing an effective RDF stream processing system requires to address several aspects including stream generation, querying, reasoning, etc. In this work we focus on one of them: the distribution of RDF streams through the Web. In order to address this issue, we have developed Ztreamy, a scalable middleware which allows to publish and consume RDF streams through HTTP. The goal of this demo is to show the functionality of Ztreamy in two different scenarios with actual, heterogeneous streaming data.This work has been partially funded by the Spanish Government through the project HERMES-SMARTDRIVER (TIN2013-46801-C4-2-R)

Optimization and regeneration kinetics of lymphatic-specific photodynamic therapy in the mouse dermis.

Lymphatic vessels transport fluid, antigens, and immune cells to the lymph nodes to orchestrate adaptive immunity and maintain peripheral tolerance. Lymphangiogenesis has been associated with inflammation, cancer metastasis, autoimmunity, tolerance and transplant rejection, and thus, targeted lymphatic ablation is a potential therapeutic strategy for treating or preventing such events. Here we define conditions that lead to specific and local closure of the lymphatic vasculature using photodynamic therapy (PDT). Lymphatic-specific PDT was performed by irradiation of the photosensitizer verteporfin that effectively accumulates within collecting lymphatic vessels after local intradermal injection. We found that anti-lymphatic PDT induced necrosis of endothelial cells and pericytes, which preceded the functional occlusion of lymphatic collectors. This was specific to lymphatic vessels at low verteporfin dose, while higher doses also affected local blood vessels. In contrast, light dose (fluence) did not affect blood vessel perfusion, but did affect regeneration time of occluded lymphatic vessels. Lymphatic vessels eventually regenerated by recanalization of blocked collectors, with a characteristic hyperplasia of peri-lymphatic smooth muscle cells. The restoration of lymphatic function occurred with minimal remodeling of non-lymphatic tissue. Thus, anti-lymphatic PDT allows control of lymphatic ablation and regeneration by alteration of light fluence and photosensitizer dose

A wearable headset for monitoring electromyography responses within spinal surgery

Purpose: This research examines an approach for enhancing the efficiency of spinal surgery utilising the technological capabilities and design functionalities of wearable headsets, in this case Google Glass. The aim was to improve the efficiency of the selective dorsal rhizotomy neurosurgical procedure initially through the use of Glass via an innovative approach to information design for an intraoperative monitoring display. Methods Utilising primary and secondary research methods the development of a new electromyography response display for a wearable headset was undertaken. Results: Testing proved that Glass was fit for purpose and that the new intraoperative monitor design provided an example platform for the innovative intraoperative monitoring display; however, alternative wearable headsets such as the Microsoft HoloLens could also be equally viable. Conclusion: The new display design combined with the appropriate wearable technology could greatly benefit the selective dorsal rhizotomy procedure