Relationships between geochemistry, carbon content, and grain size in clastic cave sediments

Understanding geochemical and physical properties of cave sediment gives insight to sediment characterization and carbon storage in the cave system. Previous work on clastic sediments largely encompasses physical properties, neglecting the importance of geochemical parameters on sediment deposition. This study reports physical and chemical properties of sediment cores from three caves: two caves in Puerto Rico and one cave in Virginia. A total of 25 cores were used in this study; 6 of these cores were new and collected in 2022 from Butler Cave (BTC) in Virginia to focus on the effects of water level. Core samples were analyzed for elemental concentrations through Xray fluorescence, grain size, organic carbon, and nitrogen. Select samples were sent for mineralogical analysis. Grain size in the three caves ranged from poorly sorted to extremely poorly sorted. The majority of sediment was composed of sand and silt-sized grains. Sediment samples from Cueva Clara (CAM) and El Tallonal (TAL), the caves from Puerto Rico, had greater organic carbon and nitrogen concentration ranges and higher maximum values than in Butler Cave. Elemental chemistry in samples from all three caves had concentrations of Fe, Al, and Si that were three times to an order-of-magnitude higher than other elemental concentrations in those samples. Organic carbon was positively correlated with S and Fe in Cueva Clara sediment; organic carbon had a negative correlation with S and a positive correlation with Ti in El Tallonal. Organic carbon did not have significant linear correlations with elemental concentrations in Butler Cave sediment. Limited mineralogical analyses of sediment indicated that quartz is the most abundant mineral in the three caves, followed by 2:1-layer silicates. Differences were observed in organic carbon, nitrogen, and their elemental correlations in sediment above or below the water level. Sediment below the water level has a greater range and higher maximums of organic carbon, nitrogen, and C:N ratios than sediment above the water level. Organic carbon had positive correlations with Fe, Al, Ca, and Mn in Butler Cave sediment above the water level; organic carbon had negative correlations with mean grain diameter and Mg in Butler Cave sediment above the water level. C:N ratios in sediment below the water level were, on average, twice as high as C:N ratios in sediment above the water level. The majority of C:N ratios are between the amino acid and humic/fulvic acid range and indicate a possible terrestrial source of carbon. Results of this study show that there are differences between caves in Puerto Rico and Virginia, indicating possible differences in cave sediment in temperate or tropical regions. Additionally, sample location relative to water level influences the geochemical and physical trends found in sediment

Combining personal with social information facilitates host defences and explains why cuckoos should be secretive.

Individuals often vary defences in response to local predation or parasitism risk. But how should they assess threat levels when it pays their enemies to hide? For common cuckoo hosts, assessing parasitism risk is challenging: cuckoo eggs are mimetic and adult cuckoos are secretive and resemble hawks. Here, we show that egg rejection by reed warblers depends on combining personal and social information of local risk. We presented model cuckoos or controls at a pair's own nest (personal information of an intruder) and/or on a neighbouring territory, to which they were attracted by broadcasts of alarm calls (social information). Rejection of an experimental egg was stimulated only when hosts were alerted by both social and personal information of cuckoos. However, pairs that rejected eggs were not more likely to mob a cuckoo. Therefore, while hosts can assess risk from the sight of a cuckoo, a cuckoo cannot gauge if her egg will be accepted from host mobbing. Our results reveal how hosts respond rapidly to local variation in parasitism, and why it pays cuckoos to be secretive, both to avoid alerting their targets and to limit the spread of social information in the local host neighbourhood.We thank the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and Society in Science – Branco Weiss for financial support.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Nature Publishing Group via http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep1987

The role of international trade in Lesotho’s economic growth: a review

This paper investigates the role of international trade in Lesotho's economy. Over the years, the increasing role of international trade in the economy of Lesotho has become evident, particularly with the impetus from the country‘s export sector. An exploratory review approach has been used in this paper, in which the discussion mainly focuses on Lesotho‘s economic growth policy, trade policy, trends in economic growth, and trade performance. The findings point to the connection between Lesotho‘s economic growth and exports from the manufacturing sector, which driven by trade privileges. There is a further indication from this review that Lesotho‘s growth policy has been largely shaped by the country‘s need to pursue export-led growth and private-sector led growth. In recent years, developments in the country‘s trade policy have moved towards the implementation of a more liberal trade approach, as opposed to the initial import substitution industrialisation that Lesotho adopted in the 1960s. This change in trade policy has resulted in an enforcement of measures that have helped to enhance policy-driven trade. The graphical analysis shows that, generally, trends in Lesotho‘s economic growth correspond to the performance of the country‘s trade sector. Nevertheless, while international trade has made some significant contributions to Lesotho‘s economic growth, a heavy reliance on manufactured exports, which are known to be volatile to global economic downturns, poses some challenges to the country. Therefore, it is recommended that Lesotho relies on a wider range of exports, rather than manufactured exports, in order to strengthen trade-related growth in the country

Measuring the Food Environment: A Systematic Technique for Characterizing Food Stores Using Display Counts

Marketing research has documented the influence of in-store characteristics—such as the number and placement of display stands—on consumer purchases of a product. However, little information exists on this topic for key foods of interest to those studying the influence of environmental changes on dietary behavior. This study demonstrates a method for characterizing the food environment by measuring the number of separate displays of fruits, vegetables, and energy-dense snack foods (including chips, candies, and sodas) and their proximity to cash registers in different store types. Observations in New Orleans stores (N = 172) in 2007 and 2008 revealed significantly more displays of energy-dense snacks than of fruits and vegetables within all store types, especially supermarkets. Moreover, supermarkets had an average of 20 displays of energy-dense snacks within 1 meter of their cash registers, yet none of them had even a single display of fruits or vegetables near their cash registers. Measures of the number of separate display stands of key foods and their proximity to a cash register can be used by researchers to better characterize food stores and by policymakers to address improvements to the food environment

Determining Coal's Place in the Appalachian Regional Commission and Its Impact on Poverty and Migration in Appalachian Kentucky

The purpose of this study is to analyze the role of coal in the Appalachian Regional Commission's (ARC) discourse and to analyze the influence of coal on poverty and migration in Appalachian Kentucky. This is accomplished by using a thematic discourse analysis to discover coal's role in the ARC's discourse. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression is used to analyze coal's influence on poverty and migration in Appalachian Kentucky. During the course of my research I found four key themes that help to explain the ARC's discourse. These four themes are: (1) isolation and the road network have set the region apart; (2) energy investment brings coal center-stage but coal is not the only cause of Appalachia's economic fluctuation; (3) community involvement; and (4) economic diversification. After analyzing these four themes my conclusion is that coal has an important role in the ARC's discourse, as long as coal is important at the national level. Also, this study highlights a shift in the ARC's discourse in 1984, which moves the agency away from detailed analysis of the coal industry. According to my findings, coal's influence on poverty and migration in Appalachian Kentucky is minimal. During my OLS regression I discovered that a direct coal variable, such as the coal severance tax, is not significant in determining poverty. The variable that provides the most explanation is per capita income. This relationship confirms the commonly held fact that poverty and income are related. However, these results do show that there is instability in the region and this instability contributes to poverty in Appalachian Kentucky. This thesis provides a common ground for both the analysis of the ARC's discourse and the analysis of variables that may affect poverty in Appalachia. By showing coal's significance as a social and geographic constraint and not just an energy source, this study supplies information the ARC may be able to use to provide a more balanced assessment of how coal impacts the region.Department of Geograph

CAN WE ALTER YOUTH ATHLETE’S LANDING STRATEGY IN A STOP-JUMP MOVEMENT?

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of four different neuromuscular training programs on the kinematic landing patterns of pre elite youth athletes during a stop-jump movement. Eighty-nine pre-elite youth athletes from the Western Region Academy of Sports Basketball, Netball, Softball, Triathlete and Hockey squads were recruited for biomechanical analysis before and after the completion of one of four randomly assigned 12-week training intervention programs, in conjunction with a strength and conditioning program. Results of this study identify youth athletes with poor movement competency acquire similar alterations in their kinematic landing pattern regardless of the type of training intervention completed, identifying that a basic strength and conditioning program can implemented to alter landing technique in a stop-jump task

A Consultation to Identify the Research Needs in Research Methods in the UK Social Sciences

An extensive consultation is reported with members of the UK research methods community, broadly conceived, into the perceived needs for research into research methods for social sciences. Research needs identified are the following, grouped by topic; the first four were particularly prominent in the consultation