(Un)frozen spaces: Exploring the role of sea ice in the marine socio-legal spaces of the Bering and Beaufort Seas

Sea ice is a dynamic physical element of the greater Arctic marine system, one that has myriad connections to human systems on a variety of spatial and temporal scales. Changes to the spatial extent of sea ice simultaneously permits and endangers maritime operations, as well as impacts current debates over maritime boundaries, presenting an interesting challenge for international law. Sea ice is not a stationary object; it moves through time and space in response to the physical forces of wind, ocean currents, and heating. It has a tangible, material and substantive role in contestations over territory, resources and marine boundaries in both the Beaufort and Bering Seas. We suggest here that sea ice’s material nature in these marine regions continuously challenges stationary conceptions of law in complex and sometimes contradictory ways. Building on recent work on the human geographies of sea ice, the dynamic field of legal geography and recent contributions in ocean-space geography, we outline how the dynamism of sea ice could influence notions of boundary, resources and climate change in ocean-spaces of the greater Arctic region

Coupling ecological and social network models to assess “transmission” and “contagion” of an aquatic invasive species

Network analysis is used to address diverse ecological, social, economic, and epidemiological questions, but few efforts have been made to combine these field-specific analyses into interdisciplinary approaches that effectively address how complex systems are interdependent and connected to one another. Identifying and understanding these cross-boundary connections improves natural resource management and promotes proactive, rather than reactive, decisions. This research had two main objectives; first, adapt the framework and approach of infectious disease network modeling so that it may be applied to the socio-ecological problem of spreading aquatic invasive species, and second, use this new coupled model to simulate the spread of the invasive Chinese mystery snail (Bellamya chinensis) in a reservoir network in Southeastern Nebraska, USA. The coupled model integrates an existing social network model of how anglers move on the landscape with new reservoir-specific ecological network models. This approach allowed us to identify 1) how angler movement among reservoirs aids in the spread of B. chinensis, 2) how B. chinensis alters energy flows within individual-reservoir food webs, and 3) a new method for assessing the spread of any number of non-native or invasive species within complex, social-ecological systems

An Efficient Approach to Correspondences between Multiple Non-Rigid Parts

Identifying multiple deformable parts on meshes and establishing dense correspondences between them are tasks of fundamental importance to computer graphics, with applications to e.g. geometric edit propagation and texture transfer. Much research has considered establishing correspondences between non-rigid surfaces, but little work can both identify similar multiple deformable parts and handle partial shape correspondences. This paper addresses two related problems, treating them as a whole: (i) identifying similar deformable parts on a mesh, related by a non-rigid transformation to a given query part, and (ii) establishing dense point correspondences automatically between such parts. We show that simple and efficient techniques can be developed if we make the assumption that these parts locally undergo isometric deformation. Our insight is that similar deformable parts are suggested by large clusters of point correspondences that are isometrically consistent. Once such parts are identified, dense point correspondences can be obtained by an iterative propagation process. Our techniques are applicable to models with arbitrary topology. Various examples demonstrate the effectiveness of our techniques

Validity of a pictorial perceived exertion scale for effort estimation and effort production during stepping exercise in adolescent children

This is the author's PDF version of an article published in European Physical Education Review ©2002. The definitive version is available at http://epe.sagepub.com.Recent developments in the study of paediatric effort perception have continued to emphasise the importance of child-specific rating scales. The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of an illustrated 1 – 10 perceived exertion scale; the Pictorial Children’s Effort Rating Table (PCERT). 4 class groups comprising 104 children; 27 boys and 29 girls, aged 12.1±0.3 years and 26 boys, 22 girls, aged 15.3±0.2 years were selected from two schools and participated in the initial development of the PCERT. Subsequently, 48 of these children, 12 boys and 12 girls from each age group were randomly selected to participate in the PCERT validation study. Exercise trials were divided into 2 phases and took place 7 to 10 days apart. During phase 1, children completed 5 x 3-minute incremental stepping exercise bouts interspersed with 2-minute recovery periods. Heart rate (HR) and ratings of exertion were recorded during the final 15 s of each exercise bout. In phase 2 the children were asked to regulate their exercising effort during 4 x 4-minute bouts of stepping so that it matched randomly prescribed PCERT levels (3, 5, 7 and 9). Analysis of data from Phase 1 yielded significant (P<0.01) relationships between perceived and objective (HR) effort measures for girls. In addition, the main effects of exercise intensity on perceived exertion and HR were significant (P<0.01); perceived exertion increased as exercise intensity increased and this was reflected in simultaneous significant rises in HR. During phase 2, HR and estimated power output (POapprox) produced at each of the four prescribed effort levels were significantly different (P<0.01). The children in this study were able to discriminate between 4 different exercise intensities and regulate their exercise intensity according to 4 prescribed levels of perceived exertion. In seeking to contribute towards children’s recommended physical activity levels and helping them understand how to self-regulate their activity, the application of the PCERT within the context of physical education is a desirable direction for future research

Retraction Notice of the Article: The DYRK-family kinase Pom1 phosphorylates the F-BAR protein Cdc15 to prevent division at cell poles

Division site positioning is critical for both symmetric and asymmetric cell divisions. In many organisms, positive and negative signals cooperate to position the contractile actin ring for cytokinesis. In rod-shaped fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe cells, division at midcell is achieved through positive Mid1/anillin-dependent signaling emanating from the central nucleus and negative signals from the dual-specificity tyrosine phosphorylation-regulated kinase family kinase Pom1 at the cell poles. In this study, we show that Pom1 directly phosphorylates the F-BAR protein Cdc15, a central component of the cytokinetic ring. Pom1-dependent phosphorylation blocks Cdc15 binding to paxillin Pxl1 and C2 domain protein Fic1 and enhances Cdc15 dynamics. This promotes ring sliding from cell poles, which prevents septum assembly at the ends of cells with a displaced nucleus or lacking Mid1. Pom1 also slows down ring constriction. These results indicate that a strong negative signal from the Pom1 kinase at cell poles converts Cdc15 to its closed state, destabilizes the actomyosin ring, and thus promotes medial septation

Global Incidence and mortality of oesophageal cancer and their correlation with socioeconomic indicators temporal patterns and trends in 41 countries

Oesophageal cancers (adenocarcinomas [AC] and squamous cell carcinomas [SCC]) are characterized by high incidence/mortality in many countries. We aimed to delineate its global incidence and mortality, and studied whether socioeconomic development and its incidence rate were correlated. The age-standardized rates (ASRs) of incidence and mortality of this medical condition in 2012 for 184 nations from the GLOBOCAN database; national databases capturing incidence rates, and the WHO mortality database were examined. Their correlations with two indicators of socioeconomic development were evaluated. Joinpoint regression analysis was used to generate trends. The ratio between the ASR of AC and SCC was strongly correlated with HDI (r = 0.535 [men]; r = 0.661 [women]) and GDP (r = 0.594 [men]; r = 0.550 [women], both p &lt; 0.001). Countries that reported the largest reduction in incidence in male included Poland (Average Annual Percent Change [AAPC] = −7.1, 95%C.I. = −12,−1.9) and Singapore (AAPC = −5.8, 95%C.I. = −9.5,−1.9), whereas for women the greatest decline was seen in Singapore (AAPC = −12.3, 95%C.I. = −17.3,−6.9) and China (AAPC = −5.6, 95%C.I. = −7.6,−3.4). The Philippines (AAPC = 4.3, 95%C.I. = 2,6.6) and Bulgaria (AAPC = 2.8, 95%C.I. = 0.5,5.1) had a significant mortality increase in men; whilst Columbia (AAPC = −6.1, 95%C.I. = −7.5,−4.6) and Slovenia (AAPC = −4.6, 95%C.I. = −7.9,−1.3) reported mortality decline in women. These findings inform individuals at increased risk for primary prevention