Exploring voice hearers’ relationships with their voices: Can voices serve an adaptive function?

Background Voice hearers’ relationships with their voices can mirror their wider social relating (e.g. Paulik, 2012). Research has found a relationship between social isolation and beliefs about voices being benevolent (e.g. Favrod et al., 2004). Attachment style impacts on aspects on the voice hearing experience (e.g. Berry et al., 2012) but no previous study has used a measure of attachment to investigate voice hearers’ relationship with their voices. Aims To investigate whether voice hearers develop attachment bonds with their voices, and whether this relates to general attachment style, social isolation and dependence on the voice. Method 83 voice hearers were recruited online. Measures were: The Experiences in Close Relationships Revised (ECR-R), Dependence Scale of Voice and You (VAY), Reciprocal Attachment Questionnaire (RAQ), the Frequency and Distress items from the Hamilton Programme for Schizophrenia Voices Questionnaire (HPSVQ), UCLA Loneliness Scale, and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Narrative information was also collected. Analysis A cross-sectional correlational design was used with additional content analysis of the narrative data. Doctoral Thesis: Exploring voice hearers’ relationships Teresa Nevard with their voices: Can voices serve an adaptive function? ii Results Initial evidence was found of attachment bonds to voices in a proportion of voice hearers. Voice hearers with high attachment anxiety reported greater fear of losing their voice. Correlations between attachment to voice and loneliness lost significance after post hoc adjustment and controlling for low mood. As this is the first study using a measure of attachment for relationships with voices it is important to interpret the results with caution. Conclusion The research highlights the importance of considering individuals relationships with their voices. It is hoped that the results of this research will lead to further investigation of attachment bonds with voices and the elucidation of how general attachment style and social isolation impacts on this. Further investigation of this could lead to clinical benefits for voice hearers who are distressed by their voices

Foraging behaviour and niche differentiation in two South Asian bee species

Pollination across the tropics, including in South Asia, is dominated by social bees. I investigated the behaviour of two species: Apis cerana (Eastern honeybee) and Tetragonula iridipennis (Indian stingless bee) which co-exist in the same environment. The behaviour of these pollinators is somewhat understudied, and this work aims to fill some of the gaps in our knowledge Given the differences in size, colony organisation, and recruitment strategies, I hypothesised that there may be niche partitioning, perhaps mediated by spatial or temporal distribution. I analysed pollen from both species to assess their use of plant resources and found that the two species used different sources, and this is context-dependent. I performed an artificial feeder experiment to investigate the foraging distance of each species. The results indicate that A.cerana has a longer foraging range than T. iridipennis and may be a more efficient forager. Finally, I recorded the daily activity patterns of both species, which show similarities in general foraging activity. However, the results also show that the species may have different temporal patterns with regard to pollen foraging. Temperature also influences activity and pollen foraging in A. cerana but not in T. iridipennis. These behavioural differences may be mediating niche differentiation between the two species.UK-India Education and Research Initiative (British Council, UK and DST, India

Digital demos: Exploring communicative rationality on Reddit

Centring around the 2016 American election, this thesis explores how Reddit and its subreddits actualize Habermas’ notion of the public sphere and communicative rationality. It compares and contrasts two of the largest and most popular political subreddits, /r/Politics and /r/The_Donald, to analyze how political groups contextualize political issues, and the discourse that manifests regarding them. The purpose is not to study all the ways in which individuals use Reddit to discuss general politics, but the ways in which consensus and majority opinions are reached and perpetuated through these subreddits. This thesis seeks to examine the extent to which political discussion on the social news aggregate website Reddit facilitates the conditions of a public sphere, and fosters democratic communicative characteristics

Using MINEHOUND in Cambodia and Afghanistan

The HALO Trust uses the MINEHOUND dual sensor detector in Cambodia and Afghanistan to reduce false-alarm rates. MINEHOUND combines a metal detector with ground-penetrating radar to improve efficiency of mine removal in areas highly contaminated with metallic false alarms

SALMFamide2 and serotonin immunoreactivity in the nervous system of some acoels (Xenacoelomorpha)

Acoel worms are simple, often microscopic animals with direct development, a multiciliated epidermis, a statocyst, and a digestive parenchyma instead of a gut epithelium. Morphological characters of acoels have been notoriously difficult to interpret due to their relative scarcity. The nervous system is one of the most accessible and widely used comparative features in acoels, which have a so-called commissural brain without capsule and several major longitudinal neurite bundles. Here, we use the selective binding properties of a neuropeptide antibody raised in echinoderms (SALMFamide2, or S2), and a commercial antibody against serotonin (5-HT) to provide additional characters of the acoel nervous system. We have prepared whole-mount immunofluorescent stainings of three acoel species: Symsagittifera psammophila (Convolutidae), Aphanostoma pisae, and the model acoel Isodiametra pulchra (both Isodiametridae). The commissural brain of all three acoels is delimited anteriorly by the ventral anterior commissure, and posteriorly by the dorsal posterior commissure. The dorsal anterior commissure is situated between the ventral anterior commissure and the dorsal posterior commissure, while the statocyst lies between dorsal anterior and dorsal posterior commissure. S2 and serotonin do not co-localise, and they follow similar patterns to each other within an animal. In particular, S2, but not 5-HT, stains a prominent commissure posterior to the main (dorsal) posterior commissure. We have for the first time observed a closed posterior loop of the main neurite bundles in S. psammophila for both the amidergic and the serotonergic nervous system. In I. pulchra, the lateral neurite bundles also form a posterior loop in our serotonergic nervous system stainings

Temperature-activity relationships in Meligethes aeneus: implications for pest management

BACKGROUNDPollen beetle (Meligethes aeneus F.) management in oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) has become an urgent issue in the light of insecticide resistance. Risk prediction advice has relied upon flight temperature thresholds, while risk assessment uses simple economic thresholds. However, there is variation in the reported temperature of migration, and economic thresholds vary widely across Europe, probably owing to climatic factors interacting with beetle activity and plant compensation for damage. The effect of temperature on flight, feeding and oviposition activity of M. aeneus was examined in controlled conditions. RESULTSEscape from a release vial was taken as evidence of flight and was supported by video observations. The propensity to fly followed a sigmoid temperature-response curve between 6 and 23 degrees C; the 10, 25 and 50% flight temperature thresholds were 12.0-12.5 degrees C, 13.6-14.2 degrees C and 15.5-16.2 degrees C, respectively. Thresholds were slightly higher in the second of two flight bioassays, suggesting an effect of beetle age. Strong positive relationships were found between temperature (6-20 degrees C) and the rates of feeding and oviposition on flower buds of oilseed rape. CONCLUSIONThese temperature relationships could be used to improve M. aeneus migration risk assessment, refine weather-based decision support systems and modulate damage thresholds according to rates of bud damage. (c) 2014 Society of Chemical Industr

The electronic frailty index as an indicator of community healthcare service utilisation in the older population

Background: older people with frailty are particularly high users of healthcare services, however a lack of standardised recording of frailty in different healthcare electronic datasets has limited investigations into healthcare service usage and demand of the older frail population. Objectives: to investigate the community service demand of frail patients using the electronic frailty index (eFI) as a measure of frailty. Study design and setting a retrospective cohort study using anonymised linked healthcare patient data from primary care, community services and acute hospitals in Norfolk. Participants: patients aged 65 and over who had an eFI assessment score established in their primary care electronic patient record in Norwich based General Practices. Results: we include data from 22,859 patients with an eFI score. Frailty severity increased with age and was associated with increased acute hospital admission within a 6-month window. Patients with a frail eFI score were also more likely to have a community service referral within a 6-month window of frailty assessment, with a RR of 1.84 (1.76–1.93) for mild frailty, 1.96 (1.83–2.09) for moderate frailty and 2.95 (2.76–3.14) for severe frailty scores. We also found that frail patients had more community referrals per patient then those classified as fit and required more care plans per community referral. Conclusions: eFI score was an indicator of community service use, with increasing severity of frailty being associated with higher community healthcare requirements. The eFI may help planning of community services for the frail population

Supporting local diversity of habitats and species on farmland: a comparison of three wildlife-friendly schemes

Restoration and maintenance of habitat diversity have been suggested as conservation priorities in farmed landscapes, but how this should be achieved and at what scale are unclear. This study makes a novel comparison of the effectiveness of three wildlife-friendly farming schemes for supporting local habitat diversity and species richness on 12 farms in England. The schemes were: (i) Conservation Grade (Conservation Grade: a prescriptive, non-organic, biodiversity-focused scheme), (ii) organic agriculture and (iii) a baseline of Entry Level Stewardship (Entry Level Stewardship: a flexible widespread government scheme). Conservation Grade farms supported a quarter higher habitat diversity at the 100-m radius scale compared to Entry Level Stewardship farms. Conservation Grade and organic farms both supported a fifth higher habitat diversity at the 250-m radius scale compared to Entry Level Stewardship farms. Habitat diversity at the 100-m and 250-m scales significantly predicted species richness of butterflies and plants. Habitat diversity at the 100-m scale also significantly predicted species richness of birds in winter and solitary bees. There were no significant relationships between habitat diversity and species richness for bumblebees or birds in summer. Butterfly species richness was significantly higher on organic farms (50% higher) and marginally higher on Conservation Grade farms (20% higher), compared with farms in Entry Level Stewardship. Organic farms supported significantly more plant species than Entry Level Stewardship farms (70% higher) but Conservation Grade farms did not (10% higher). There were no significant differences between the three schemes for species richness of bumblebees, solitary bees or birds. Policy implications. The wildlife-friendly farming schemes which included compulsory changes in management, Conservation Grade and organic, were more effective at increasing local habitat diversity and species richness compared with the less prescriptive Entry Level Stewardship scheme. We recommend that wildlife-friendly farming schemes should aim to enhance and maintain high local habitat diversity, through mechanisms such as option packages, where farmers are required to deliver a combination of several habitats

Delivery of floral resources and pollination services on farmland under three different wildlife-friendly schemes

Management that enhances floral resources can be an effective way to support pollinators and pollination services. Some wildlife-friendly farming schemes aim to enhance the density and diversity of floral resources in non-crop habitats on farms, whilst managing crop fields intensively. Others, such as organic farming, aim to support ecological processes within both crop and non-crop habitats. How effective these different approaches are for supporting pollination services at the farm scale is unknown. We compared organic farming with two non-organic wildlife-friendly farming schemes: one prescriptive (Conservation Grade, CG) and one flexible (Entry Level Stewardship, ELS), and sampled a representative selection of crop and non-crop habitats. We investigated the spatial distribution and overall level of: (i) flower density and diversity, (ii) pollinator density and diversity and (iii) pollination services provided to Californian poppy (Eschscholzia californica) potted phytometer plants. Organic crop habitats supported a higher density of flowers, insect-wildflower visits, and fruit set of phytometers than CG or ELS crop habitats. Non-crop habitats supported a higher density of flowers and insect-flower visits than crop habitats on CG and ELS farms. Pollination services were higher on organic farms overall compared to CG or ELS. Pollinator diversity and density did not differ between schemes, at the point or farm level. CG farms received the highest total number of insect-wildflower visits. The findings support organic farming practices that increase floral resources in crop habitats, such as sowing clover or reduced herbicide usage, as mechanisms to enhance pollination services. However trade-offs with other ecosystem services are likely and these are discussed. The findings support the CG scheme as a way of supporting pollinators within farms where high wheat yields are required

Transmission of bee-like vibrations in buzz-pollinated plants with different stamen architectures

In buzz-pollinated plants, bees apply thoracic vibrations to the flower, causing pollen release from anthers, often through apical pores. Bees grasp one or more anthers with their mandibles, and vibrations are transmitted to this focal anther(s), adjacent anthers, and the whole flower. Pollen release depends on anther vibration, and thus it should be affected by vibration transmission through flowers with distinct morphologies, as found among buzz-pollinated taxa. We compare vibration transmission between focal and non-focal anthers in four species with contrasting stamen architectures: Cyclamen persicum, Exacum affine, Solanum dulcamara and S. houstonii. We used a mechanical transducer to apply bee-like vibrations to focal anthers, measuring the vibration frequency and displacement amplitude at focal and non-focal anther tips simultaneously using high-speed video analysis (6000 frames per second). In flowers in which anthers are tightly arranged (C. persicum and S. dulcamara), vibrations in focal and non-focal anthers are indistinguishable in both frequency and displacement amplitude. In contrast, flowers with loosely arranged anthers (E. affine) including those with differentiated stamens (heterantherous S. houstonii), show the same frequency but higher displacement amplitude in non-focal anthers compared to focal anthers. We suggest that stamen architecture modulates vibration transmission, potentially affecting pollen release and bee behaviour