The impact of environmental enrichment on the outcome variability and scientific validity of laboratory animal studies.

It has been widely accepted for some time that species-appropriate environmental enrichment is important for the welfare of research animals, but its impact on research data initially received little attention. This has now changed, as the use of enrichment as one element of routine husbandry has expanded. In addition to its use in the care of larger research animals, such as nonhuman primates, it is now being used to improve the environments of small research animals, such as rodents, which are used in significantly greater numbers and in a wide variety of studies. Concern has been expressed that enrichment negatively affects both experimental validity and reproducibility. However, when a concise definition of enrichment is used, with a sound understanding of the biology and behaviour of the animal as well as the research constraints, it becomes clear that the welfare of research animals can be enhanced through environmental enrichment without compromising their purpose. Indeed, it is shown that the converse is true: the provision of suitable enrichment enhances the well-being of the animal, thereby refining the animal model and improving the research data. Thus, the argument is made that both the validity and reproducibility of the research are enhanced when proper consideration is given to the research animal's living environment and the animal's opportunities to express species-typical behaviours

A taxonomy of network threats and the effect of current datasets on intrusion detection systems

As the world moves towards being increasingly dependent on computers and automation, building secure applications, systems and networks are some of the main challenges faced in the current decade. The number of threats that individuals and businesses face is rising exponentially due to the increasing complexity of networks and services of modern networks. To alleviate the impact of these threats, researchers have proposed numerous solutions for anomaly detection; however, current tools often fail to adapt to ever-changing architectures, associated threats and zero-day attacks. This manuscript aims to pinpoint research gaps and shortcomings of current datasets, their impact on building Network Intrusion Detection Systems (NIDS) and the growing number of sophisticated threats. To this end, this manuscript provides researchers with two key pieces of information; a survey of prominent datasets, analyzing their use and impact on the development of the past decade's Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) and a taxonomy of network threats and associated tools to carry out these attacks. The manuscript highlights that current IDS research covers only 33.3% of our threat taxonomy. Current datasets demonstrate a clear lack of real-network threats, attack representation and include a large number of deprecated threats, which together limit the detection accuracy of current machine learning IDS approaches. The unique combination of the taxonomy and the analysis of the datasets provided in this manuscript aims to improve the creation of datasets and the collection of real-world data. As a result, this will improve the efficiency of the next generation IDS and reflect network threats more accurately within new datasets

Can biological quantum networks solve NP-hard problems?

There is a widespread view that the human brain is so complex that it cannot be efficiently simulated by universal Turing machines. During the last decades the question has therefore been raised whether we need to consider quantum effects to explain the imagined cognitive power of a conscious mind. This paper presents a personal view of several fields of philosophy and computational neurobiology in an attempt to suggest a realistic picture of how the brain might work as a basis for perception, consciousness and cognition. The purpose is to be able to identify and evaluate instances where quantum effects might play a significant role in cognitive processes. Not surprisingly, the conclusion is that quantum-enhanced cognition and intelligence are very unlikely to be found in biological brains. Quantum effects may certainly influence the functionality of various components and signalling pathways at the molecular level in the brain network, like ion ports, synapses, sensors, and enzymes. This might evidently influence the functionality of some nodes and perhaps even the overall intelligence of the brain network, but hardly give it any dramatically enhanced functionality. So, the conclusion is that biological quantum networks can only approximately solve small instances of NP-hard problems. On the other hand, artificial intelligence and machine learning implemented in complex dynamical systems based on genuine quantum networks can certainly be expected to show enhanced performance and quantum advantage compared with classical networks. Nevertheless, even quantum networks can only be expected to efficiently solve NP-hard problems approximately. In the end it is a question of precision - Nature is approximate.Comment: 38 page

Tumor-Derived Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor Regulates Myeloid Inflammation and T Cell Immunity in Pancreatic Cancer

SummaryCancer-associated inflammation is thought to be a barrier to immune surveillance, particularly in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA). Gr-1+ CD11b+ cells are a key feature of cancer inflammation in PDA, but remain poorly understood. Using a genetically engineered mouse model of PDA, we show that tumor-derived granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is necessary and sufficient to drive the development of Gr-1+ CD11b+ cells that suppressed antigen-specific T cells. In vivo, abrogation of tumor-derived GM-CSF inhibited the recruitment of Gr-1+ CD11b+ cells to the tumor microenvironment and blocked tumor development—a finding that was dependent on CD8+ T cells. In humans, PDA tumor cells prominently expressed GM-CSF in vivo. Thus, tumor-derived GM-CSF is an important regulator of inflammation and immune suppression within the tumor microenvironment

Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) territory placement near seismic lines is influenced by forest regeneration and conspecific density

. 2013. Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) territory placement near seismic lines is influenced by forest regeneration and conspecific density. Avian Conservation and Ecology 8(1):5. http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ACE-00596-080105 Research Paper Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) Territory Placement Near Seismic Lines is Influenced by Forest Regeneration and Conspecific Density Le positionnement des territoires de la Paruline couronnée (Seiurus aurocapilla) près des lignes sismiques est influencé par la régénération forestière et la densité des conspécifiques ABSTRACT. The boreal forest of western Canada is being dissected by seismic lines used for oil and gas exploration. The vast amount of edge being created is leading to concerns that core habitat will be reduced for forest interior species for extended periods of time. The Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) is a boreal songbird known to be sensitive to newly created seismic lines because it does not include newly cut lines within its territory. We examined multiple hypotheses to explain potential mechanisms causing this behavior by mapping Ovenbird territories near lines with varying states of vegetation regeneration. The best model to explain line exclusion behavior included the number of neighboring conspecifics, the amount of bare ground, leaf-litter depth, and canopy closure. Ovenbirds exclude recently cut seismic lines from their territories because of lack of protective cover (lower tree and shrub cover) and because of reduced food resources due to large areas of bare ground. Food reduction and perceived predation risk effects seem to be mitigated once leaf litter (depth and extent of cover) and woody vegetation cover are restored to forest interior levels. However, as conspecific density increases, lines are more likely to be used as landmarks to demarcate territorial boundaries, even when woody vegetation cover and leaf litter are restored. This behavior can reduce territory density near seismic lines by changing the spatial distribution of territories. Landmark effects are longer lasting than the effects from reduced food or perceived predation risk because canopy height and tree density take >40 years to recover to forest interior levels. Mitigation of seismic line impacts on Ovenbirds should focus on restoring forest cover as quickly as possible after line cutting. RÉSUMÉ. La forêt boréale de l'ouest du Canada subit un découpage par les lignes sismiques effectuées dans le cadre de l'exploration pétrolière et gazière. La grande quantité de bordures ainsi créées soulève des préoccupations quant à l'intégrité des milieux pour les espèces forestières de massifs continus, et ce, pour de longues périodes. La Paruline couronnée (Seiurus aurocapilla) est un passereau boréal reconnu pour sa sensibilité aux lignes sismiques récemment créées parce qu'elle exclut les bandes nouvellement coupées de son territoire. Afin d'examiner les nombreuses hypothèses pouvant expliquer les mécanismes possibles derrière ce comportement, nous avons cartographié les territoires de parulines situés près de lignes, selon différents stades de régénération de la végétation. Le modèle qui explique le mieux le comportement d'exclusion des lignes inclut le nombre de conspécifiques voisins, la superficie de sol nu, la profondeur de la litière forestière et la superficie du couvert forestier. Les parulines excluent les lignes sismiques récemment coupées de leur territoire en raison du manque de couvert de protection (couvert arbustif et en petits arbres) et des ressources alimentaires réduites attribuables aux grandes superficies de sol nu. La faible quantité de ressources alimentaires et les risques perçus de prédation semblent être compensés une fois que la litière forestière (profondeur et étendue) et le couvert forestier ont ratteint les niveaux des massifs continus de forêts. Toutefois, à mesure que la densité de conspécifiques augmente, les lignes sismiques servent vraisemblablement de repères pour démarquer les limites des territoires, même lorsque le couvert forestier et la litière ont été restaurés. En modifiant la répartition spatiale des territoires, ce comportement peut amener une réduction de la densité de territoires près des lignes sismiques. L'effet de repère dure plus longtemps que les effets imputables aux ressources alimentaires réduites et au risque perçu de prédation étant donné que la hauteur et la densité des arbres prennent plus de 40 ans à ratteindre les niveaux des massifs continus de forêts. Les mesures destinées à atténuer l'impact des lignes sismiques devraient viser à restaurer le couvert forestier dès que possible

Response to novel objects and foraging tasks by common marmoset (Callithrix Jacchus) female Pairs

Many studies have shown that environmental enrichment can significantly improve the psychological well-being of captive primates, increasing the occurrence of explorative behavior and thus reducing boredom. The response of primates to enrichment devices may be affected by many factors such as species, sex, age, personality and social context. Environmental enrichment is particularly important for social primates living in unnatural social groupings (i.e. same-sex pairs or singly housed animals), who have very few, or no, benefits from the presence of social companions in addition to all the problems related to captivity (e.g. increased inactivity). This study analyses the effects of enrichment devices (i.e. novel objects and foraging tasks) on the behavior of common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) female pairs, a species that usually lives in family groups. It aims to determine which aspects of an enrichment device are more likely to elicit explorative behaviors, and how aggressive and stress-related behaviors are affected by its presence. Overall, the marmosets explored foraging tasks significantly longer than novel objects. The type of object, which varied in size, shape and aural responsiveness (i.e. they made a noise when the monkey touched them), did not affect the response of the monkeys, but they explored objects that were placed higher in the enclosure more than those placed lower down.Younger monkeys were more attracted to the enrichment devices than the older ones. Finally, stress-related behavior (i.e. scratching) significantly decreased when the monkeys were presented with the objects; aggressive behavior as unaffected. This study supports the importance of environmental enrichment for captive primates and shows that in marmosets its effectiveness strongly depends upon the height of the device in the enclosure and the presence of hidden food. The findings can be explained ifone considers the foraging behavior of wild common marmosets. Broader applications for the research findings are suggested in relation to enrichment

Learning at the Interstices; Locating Practical Philosophies for Understanding Physical/virtual Inter-spaces

Virtual worlds are relatively recent developments, and so it is tempting to believe that they need to be understood through newly developed theories and philosophies. However, humans have long thought about the nature of reality and what it means to be “real.” This paper examines the three persistent philosophical concepts of Metaxis, Liminality and Space that have evolved across more than 2000 years of meditation, contemplation and reflection. Our particular focus here is on the nature of the interface between the virtual and the physical: at the interstices, and how the nature of transactions and transitions across those interfaces may impact upon learning. This may, at first, appear to be an esoteric pursuit, but we ground our arguments in primary and secondary data from research studies in higher education

Ontological transparency, (in)visibility, and hidden curricula:Critical pedagogy and contentious edtech

AbstractThe steady migration of higher education online has accelerated in the wake of Covid-19. The implications of this migration on critical praxis—the theory-in-practice of pedagogy—deserve further scrutiny. This paper explores how teacher and student-led educational technology research and development can help rethink online critical praxis. The paper is based on a recent research project at the University of Edinburgh that speculatively explored the potential for automation in teaching, which generated insights into current and future pedagogical practice among both teachers and students. From this project emerged a series of pedagogical positions that were centred around visions of the future of teaching in response to automation: the pedagogical potential of visibility and invisibility online, transparency, and interrogating the hidden curricula of both higher education and educational technology itself. Through the surfacing of these pedagogical positions, this paper explores how critical pedagogy can be built into the broader teacher function and begins to identify the institutional structures that could potentially impede or accelerate that process.</jats:p