Avian population dynamics and human induced change in an urban environment

The predominantly urban boroughs of Warrington and Halton straddle the river Mersey in northwest England. Since the 1970s there has been a major change in land-use associated with both innovative town design and the decline of manufacturing and chemical industries in the boroughs. Also, co-ordinated programmes have directly addressed air and water pollution. The breeding birds of the two boroughs were surveyed in 1978-84 and 2004-06 as part of the bird atlases of Cheshire and Wirral, based on tetrads (2x2 km squares). We divided the breeding species into eight guilds based on broad ecological characteristics of habitat or food, omitting the generalists and colonial species, and compared the change between our two atlases in the number of occupied tetrads in Halton and Warrington and in the rest of the county. Four of our eight guilds have fared significantly better within our study area: waterbirds (24 species), those feeding on invertebrates (16 species), woodland specialists (21 species) and the two species that decorate their nests with lichens. The remaining four guilds showed no difference between Halton and Warrington and the rest of Cheshire and Wirral: raptors (5 species) have increased throughout, while breeding waders (7 species), farmland seedeaters (7 species) and aerial insectivores (5 species) have declined throughout. We interpret these results in relation to improved quality of water and air and changing patterns of land-use in the urban greenspace, especially an increase in woodland cover and connectivity

The Behavioral Effects of (Unenforceable) Contracts

Do contracts influence behavior independent of the law governing their enforceability? We explore this question in the context of employment noncompetes using nationally representative data for 11,500 labor force participants. We show that noncompetes are associated with reductions in employee mobility and changes in the direction of that mobility (i.e., toward noncompetitors) in both states that do and do not enforce noncompetes. Decomposing mobility into job offer generation and acceptance, we detect no evidence of differences in job search, recruitment, or offer activity associated with noncompetes. Rather, we find that employees with noncompetes—even in states that do not enforce them—frequently point to their noncompete as an important reason for declining offers from competitors. Our data further show that these employees’ beliefs about the likelihood of a lawsuit or legal enforcement are important predictors of their citing a noncompete as a factor in their decision to decline competitor offers

The Underestimation Of Egocentric Distance: Evidence From Frontal Matching Tasks

There is controversy over the existence, nature, and cause of error in egocentric distance judgments. One proposal is that the systematic biases often found in explicit judgments of egocentric distance along the ground may be related to recently observed biases in the perceived declination of gaze (Durgin & Li, Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, in press), To measure perceived egocentric distance nonverbally, observers in a field were asked to position themselves so that their distance from one of two experimenters was equal to the frontal distance between the experimenters. Observers placed themselves too far away, consistent with egocentric distance underestimation. A similar experiment was conducted with vertical frontal extents. Both experiments were replicated in panoramic virtual reality. Perceived egocentric distance was quantitatively consistent with angular bias in perceived gaze declination (1.5 gain). Finally, an exocentric distance-matching task was contrasted with a variant of the egocentric matching task. The egocentric matching data approximate a constant compression of perceived egocentric distance with a power function exponent of nearly 1; exocentric matches had an exponent of about 0.67. The divergent pattern between egocentric and exocentric matches suggests that they depend on different visual cues

The experience of enchantment in human-computer interaction

Improving user experience is becoming something of a rallying call in human–computer interaction but experience is not a unitary thing. There are varieties of experiences, good and bad, and we need to characterise these varieties if we are to improve user experience. In this paper we argue that enchantment is a useful concept to facilitate closer relationships between people and technology. But enchantment is a complex concept in need of some clarification. So we explore how enchantment has been used in the discussions of technology and examine experiences of film and cell phones to see how enchantment with technology is possible. Based on these cases, we identify the sensibilities that help designers design for enchantment, including the specific sensuousness of a thing, senses of play, paradox and openness, and the potential for transformation. We use these to analyse digital jewellery in order to suggest how it can be made more enchanting. We conclude by relating enchantment to varieties of experience.</p

Role of endolysosomes in HIV-1 Tat-induced neurotoxicity

Combined anti-retroviral therapeutic drugs effectively increase the lifespan of HIV-1-infected individuals who then have a higher prevalence of HAND (HIV-1 associated neurocognitive disorder). Soluble factors including HIV-1 proteins released from HIV-1-infected cells have been implicated in the pathogenesis of HAND, and particular attention has been paid to the HIV-1 Tat (transactivator of transcription) protein because of its ability to directly excite neurons and cause neuronal cell death. Since HIV-1 Tat enters cells by receptor-mediated endocytosis and since endolysosomes play an important role in neuronal cell life and death, we tested here the hypothesis that HIV-1 Tat neurotoxicity is associated with changes in the endolysosome structure and function and also autophagy. Following the treatment of primary cultured rat hippocampal neurons with HIV-1 Tat or as controls mutant-Tat or PBS, neuronal viability was determined using a triple staining method. Preceding observations of HIV-1 Tat-induced neuronal cell death, we observed statistically significant changes in the structure and membrane integrity of endolysosomes, endolysosome pH and autophagy. As early as 24 h after HIV-1 Tat was applied to neurons, HIV-1 Tat accumulated in endolysosomes, endolysosome morphology was affected and their size increased, endolysosome membrane integrity was disrupted, endolysosome pH increased, specific activities of endolysosome enzymes decreased and autophagy was inhibited, as indicated by the significant changes in three markers for autophagy. In contrast, statistically significant levels of HIV-1 Tat-induced neuronal cell death were observed only after 48 h of HIV-1 Tat treatment. Our findings suggest that endolysosomes are involved in HIV-1 Tat-induced neurotoxicity and may represent a target for therapeutic intervention against HAND

Complex spectral evolution in a BCS superconductor, ZrB12

We investigate the electronic structure of a complex conventional superconductor, ZrB12 employing high resolution photoemission spectroscopy and ab initio band structure calculations. The experimental valence band spectra could be described reasonably well within the local density approximation. Energy bands close to the Fermi level possess t2g symmetry and the Fermi level is found to be in the proximity of quantum fluctuation regime. The spectral lineshape in the high resolution spectra is complex exhibiting signature of a deviation from Fermi liquid behavior. A dip at the Fermi level emerges above the superconducting transition temperature that gradually grows with the decrease in temperature. The spectral simulation of the dip and spectral lineshape based on a phenomenological self energy suggests finite electron pair lifetime and a pseudogap above the superconducting transition temperature

As you like it: Understanding the relationship between packing design and accessibility

Accessible packaging is continually receiving greater attention as an ageing population becomes a primary driver behind inclusive design. As we age, our strength dexterity and some cognitive functions decline. For this reason, the ease of interaction with simple tasks in daily living becomes an ever increasing concern. ISO 17480 “Packaging Guidelines” consider capability issues relating to packaging and ageing to broadly come under three areas, namely, strength, dexterity, and cognition. Significant previous work has been undertaken looking at the issue of strength on packaging accessibility, with fewer studies looking at the relationship between the physical demands of dexterity and the understanding of how to open the pack. In this previous work, there has been little attempt to quantify the effect of the affordances, perceptual information and symbology, and the physical demands of the pack and how this relates to accessibility. Hence, this exploratory study seeks to use motion capture and a dexterity test, along with a cognitive demand test to study this relationship and any changes with age. This research indicates that the dexterous demands of a task are linked to the cognitive demands; and thus in reaching a level of comprehension of the pack and how to access the product a subject may interact with a pack effectivel

Phylogeny of Basal Iguanodonts (Dinosauria: Ornithischia): An Update

The precise phylogenetic relationships of many non-hadrosaurid members of Iguanodontia, i.e., basal iguanodonts, have been unclear. Therefore, to investigate the global phylogeny of basal iguanodonts a comprehensive data matrix was assembled, including nearly every valid taxon of basal iguanodont. The matrix was analyzed in the program TNT, and the maximum agreement subtree of the resulting most parsimonious trees was then calculated in PAUP. Ordering certain multistate characters and omitting taxa through safe taxonomic reduction did not markedly improve resolution. The results provide some new information on the phylogeny of basal iguanodonts, pertaining especially to obscure or recently described taxa, and support some recent taxonomic revisions, such as the splitting of traditional “Camptosaurus” and “Iguanodon”. The maximum agreement subtree also shows a close relationship between the Asian Probactrosaurus gobiensis and the North American Eolambia, supporting the previous hypothesis of faunal interchange between Asia and North America in the early Late Cretaceous. Nevertheless, the phylogenetic relationships of many basal iguanodonts remain ambiguous due to the high number of taxa removed from the maximum agreement subtree and poor resolution of consensus trees

The reporting of statistics in medical educational studies: an observational study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is confusion in the medical literature as to whether statistics should be reported in survey studies that query an entire population, as is often done in educational studies. Our objective was to determine how often statistical tests have been reported in such articles in two prominent journals that publish these types of studies.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>For this observational study, we used electronic searching to identify all survey studies published in <it>Academic Medicine </it>and the <it>Journal of General Internal Medicine </it>in which an entire population was studied. We tallied whether inferential statistics were used and whether p-values were reported.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Eighty-four articles were found: 62 in <it>Academic Medicine </it>and 22 in the <it>Journal of General Internal Medicine</it>. Overall, 38 (45%) of the articles reported or stated that they calculated statistics: 35% in <it>Academic Medicine </it>and 73% in the <it>Journal of General Internal Medicine</it>.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Educational enumeration surveys frequently report statistical tests. Until a better case can be made for doing so, a simple rule can be proffered to researchers. When studying an entire population (e.g., all program directors, all deans, and all medical schools) for factual information, do not perform statistical tests. Reporting percentages is sufficient and proper.</p