Data Development and Analysis Pathways for Marine Mammals and Turtles: Creating a User Interface

A major obstacle in genetic research is developing streamlined methods for analyzing large amounts of data. The statistical computer programming language R provides users with the ability to develop packages containing specific functions in order to create more accessible data analysis pipelines. However, writing code in R can still be intimidating to those with little to no coding experience. Fortunately, the R package shiny provides a framework for developing web applications based on R functions. Using shiny, we developed a user-friendly web application containing functions of the R package strataG. The strataG package contains several functions for summarizing genetic data and analyzing population structure. Researchers who do not know how to use R or may not feel comfortable with using strataG on the R command line can now use a browser-based graphical user interface to load their raw data, select and run analyses, and save the outputs generated. User-friendly data analysis tools such as ours will assist researchers as the field of biology continues to increasingly demand that scientists have advanced computing skills. The user interface of this web application is presented here for “Data Development and Analysis Pathways for Marine Mammals and Turtles.” The server will be presented by Warren Asfazadour, et al. separately in the same series

Guanidine based vehicle/binders for use with oxides, metals and ceramics

The use of guanidine salts of organic fatty acids (guanidine soaps) as vehicles and binders for coating substrate surfaces is disclosed. Being completely organic, the guanidine soaps can be burned off leaving no undesirable residue. Of special interest is the use of guanidine 2-ethyl hexanoate as the vehicle and binder for coating problematic surfaces such as in coating alumina fibers with platinum or zirconia. For this application the guanidine soap is used as a melt. For other applications the guanidine soap may be used in a solution with a variety of solvents, the solution containing chlorometalates or powdered metals, refractories or ceramics

Reproductive Biology of Breeding Harlequin Ducks in Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park and The University of Montana partnered up in 2011-2013 to study the reproductive biology of Harlequin Ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) breeding on Upper McDonald Creek (UMC) in Glacier National Park. The Harlequin Duck exhibits unusual migratory patterns compared to other ducks, moving east to west, rather than north to south; these birds winter along North America’s Pacific coast, then move inland to breed on alpine streams. The objectives of this study were to understand the environmental, physiological, and anthropogenic influences on reproduction. During the course of this study, 138 Harlequin Ducks were trapped and banded. We also attached radio transmitters to breeding females (n = 43) to enable daily tracking, behavioral observations, and nest discovery. Over the course of the study our team discovered 11 nests, tracked two broods, and located four females on their wintering grounds. With the use of radio telemetry, we documented novel habitat use and nesting habitat. Human presence along UMC is widespread. We used occupancy and presence/absence techniques to analyze these influences. To validate assumptions of stream flow on reproductive success, we used a 23-yr data set collected by park personnel and citizen scientists to confirm these assumptions. We found a strong relationship between unpredictable stream flow and reduced reproductive success. To further understand reproductive dynamics, we measured corticosterone concentrations in feathers, which significantly predicted reproductive decision. We address the management implications from this study for future Harlequin Duck conservation

Reexamining Por and Para in the Spanish Foreign Language Intermediate Classroom: A Usage-Based, Cognitive Linguistic Approach

The present chapter represents the first stage in the larger investigation; it examines two aspects of applying a usage-based, CL approach to teaching por and para. First, we presented the multiple meanings of the two forms gradually, building learners’ knowledge in a series of scaffolded treatments, throughout the course of an entire semester rather than presenting them all in one concentrated lesson. Second, we presented the multiple meanings of por and para and structured their order of presentation according to a Cognitive Linguistic-inspired analysis, which emphasizes the systematic relationships among the multiple meanings. Such a systematic analysis is consistent with studies in cognitive psychology which have shown that it is easier to retrieve complexes of information if there is a systematic, organizing structure that specifies the relationship among the items, since this structure offers additional routes for accessing information (e.g. Bousfield 1953; Bower et al. 1969; Deese 1959; Lam 2009; Mandler 1967; Tulving 1962). A third area of interest was in examining the efficacy of providing explicit CL explanations of por and para, including discussion of CL concepts, such as the many meanings being represented by a systematically connected polysemy network whose central sense is a spatial relationship between a focus element and a background element, versus an approach which did not explicitly articulate CL concepts and did not explicitly present the multiple meanings as comprising a polysemy network

The capital budgeting process and the energy trilemma - a strategic conduct analysis

This paper examines capital budgeting and its role in the ‘energy trilemma’. The key focus is on the role of knowledgeable agency in the analysis of strategic conduct. In particular, this study demonstrates how accounting tools can be used by executive managers, who, whilst dominant in their own organisations, are themselves subordinate to the government in the United Kingdom and at the European level. The strategic conduct of actors is examined in a narrative, theorised case study setting spanning an 11-year period from 2006 to 2017. The principal contribution to knowledge from this study is the extent to which strategic investment accounting has played a role in changing regulatory and government policy in a privatised industry. The government and regulators, were forced to take the generators’ concerns seriously, because the generators (based on knowledge derived from capital budgets) restricted their capital expenditure rather than mobilising their resources. The generators highlighted that not only was this a problem of environmental sustainability and price for consumers, but also one of long-term supply; arguing that the government had to address all aspects of the trilemma when creating policy

Correlates of criminal victimisation among police cell detainees in Victoria, Australia

People with mental illness are more likely to be crime victims than others; however, little is known about the relationship between offending and victimisation among mentally ill offenders. This study investigated the rates and types of victimisation among people detained in police cells (N = 764), with and without histories of mental illness. Those with mental disorders were 1.56 times (95% CI = 1.11–2.17) more likely to be victims of violent crimes than other detainees. Some subgroups of people with mental disorders were not over-represented as victims, raising the possibility that they were less inclined to report certain types of crimes. Implications are discussed with reference to police practice

Is there a correlation between infection control performance and other hospital quality measures?

Quality measures are increasingly reported by hospitals to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), yet there may be tradeoffs in performance between infection control (IC) and other quality measures. Hospitals that performed best on IC measures did not perform well on most CMS non–IC quality measures

Updated reproductive parameters for the shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus) in the North Atlantic Ocean with inferences of distribution by sex and reproductive stage

Prompted by recent concern about the stock status of the shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus) in the North Atlantic Ocean, we examined reproductive data from 731 individuals (351 females and 380 males) collected by 3 scientific organizations to improve estimates of size and age at maturity. Males ranged in size from 70 to 283 cm fork length (FL) and females from 71 to 338 cm FL. Females matured between 263 and 291 cm FL, with an estimated median length at maturity (L50) of 280 cm FL and a median weight at maturity (WT50) of 275 kg. Males matured between 173 and 187 cm FL, with an L50 of 182 cm FL and WT50 of 64 kg. Catch records from 4 international programs were also examined to investigate spatiotemporal variation in the distribution of life history stages based on updated size-at-maturity estimates and to identify potential parturition and nursery grounds. These records identified the Gulf of Mexico and the eastern North Atlantic Ocean off Portugal as birthing and nursery areas, with the most important nursery area occurring in the western North Atlantic Ocean.FCT MAKO-WIDE (Ref. FAPESP/19740/2014)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio