Urbanization and species occupancy frequency distribution patterns in core zone areas of European towns

More and more of the globe is becoming urbanized. Thus, characterizing the distribution and abundance of species occupying different towns is critically important. The primary aim of this study was to examine the effect of urbanization and latitude on the patterns of species occupancy frequency distribution (SOFD) in urban core zones of European towns (38 towns) along a 3850-km latitudinal gradient. We determined which of the three most common distributional models (unimodal-satellite dominant, bimodal symmetrical, and bimodal asymmetrical) provides the best fit for urban bird communities using the AICc-model selection procedure. Our pooled data exhibited a unimodal-satellite SOFD pattern. This result is inconsistent with the results from previous studies that have been conducted in more natural habitats, where data have mostly exhibited a bimodal SOFD pattern. Large-sized towns exhibited a bimodal symmetric pattern, whereas smaller-sized towns followed a unimodal-satellite dominated SOFD pattern. The difference in environmental diversity is the most plausible explanation for this observation because habitat diversity of the study plots decreased as urbanization increased. Southern towns exhibited unimodal satellite SOFD patterns, central European towns exhibited bimodal symmetric, and northern towns exhibited bimodal asymmetric SOFD patterns. One explanation for this observation is that urbanization is a more recent phenomenon in the north than in the south. Therefore, more satellite species are found in northern towns than in southern towns. We found that core species in European towns are widely distributed, and their regional population sizes are large. Our results indicated that earlier urbanized species are more common in towns than the species that have urbanized later. We concluded that both the traits of bird species and characteristics of towns modified the SOFD patterns of urban-breeding birds. In the future, it would be interesting to study how the urban history impacts SOFD patterns and if the SOFD patterns of wintering and breeding assemblages are the same

A Qualitative Inquiry on Academic Social Identity A Case Study on Students of Department of Psychology Universitas Pembangunan Jaya

What does being a student of Psychology in Universitas Pembangunan Jaya (UPJ) mean to you? This question was given to 33 students-cum-participants of this research. The background was that academic social identity – defined as how individuals identify to their academic institutions and/or subject areas they undertake during the time spent throughout their educational process – is key to their achievements. The objective was to understand the academic social identity of UPJ Department of Psychology students, particularly those who took Qualitative Research Method course in 2019/2020 Academic Year, to better understand their trajectories. This writing used qualitative research method with youth participatory action approach, applying photovoice as data collecting method, which produced visual and textual data analyzed from interpretative phenomenological perspective. The result showed that their academic social identity comprised of the following stages: understanding what Psychology is, their own personal and non-personal reasons to choose this discipline and then understanding their roles as students – both in Department Psychology and in UPJ. Discussion touched upon the stage that seemed to be particularly painstaking: understanding their roles as students – opening doors to provide student service supports to ensure smoother transition. It was concluded that academic social identity is a never-ending process

Mapping the HealthPathways literature: a scoping review protocol

Objective: This scoping review will identify what literature exists on HealthPathways and make suggestions for the direction of future HealthPathways research. Background: HealthPathways is a free to access, password protected online tool containing practical, easy to use, localised clinical and referral information that is primarily aimed at GPs. HealthPathways originated in Canterbury, New Zealand in 2008. Since this time the program has spread and is being used in 50 health systems across New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom (Streamliners, 2022a). Despite such large spread of the program there has been relatively little literature published on the utility, usefulness and cost-effectiveness of HealthPathways. This scoping review aims to identify and describe all current HealthPathways literature and make recommendations for the direction of future HealthPathways research. Methods: The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology will be used to develop the scoping review. Databases included in the search include MEDLINE (PubMEd), Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Emerald and Cochrane. The inclusion criteria are studies and grey literature on HealthPathways that are published in English, with no time limit. Grey literature will be identified through searching relevant credible organisations and websites. All results will be entered into Covidence to be assessed by two reviewers against a set tool. The PRISMA extension for scoping reviews will be used for reporting. Ethics approval is not required as only published information will be used. The research will be disseminated through publication in an open access peer reviewed journal. Conclusions: This protocol is published to make the process for the review transparent and replicable. The scoping review will highlight the extent of evidence that exists on HealthPathways and may provide direction for decision making and future research

Developing and enhancing biodiversity monitoring programmes: a collaborative assessment of priorities

1.Biodiversity is changing at unprecedented rates, and it is increasingly important that these changes are quantified through monitoring programmes. Previous recommendations for developing or enhancing these programmes focus either on the end goals, that is the intended use of the data, or on how these goals are achieved, for example through volunteer involvement in citizen science, but not both. These recommendations are rarely prioritized. 2.We used a collaborative approach, involving 52 experts in biodiversity monitoring in the UK, to develop a list of attributes of relevance to any biodiversity monitoring programme and to order these attributes by their priority. We also ranked the attributes according to their importance in monitoring biodiversity in the UK. Experts involved included data users, funders, programme organizers and participants in data collection. They covered expertise in a wide range of taxa. 3.We developed a final list of 25 attributes of biodiversity monitoring schemes, ordered from the most elemental (those essential for monitoring schemes; e.g. articulate the objectives and gain sufficient participants) to the most aspirational (e.g. electronic data capture in the field, reporting change annually). This ordered list is a practical framework which can be used to support the development of monitoring programmes. 4.People's ranking of attributes revealed a difference between those who considered attributes with benefits to end users to be most important (e.g. people from governmental organizations) and those who considered attributes with greatest benefit to participants to be most important (e.g. people involved with volunteer biological recording schemes). This reveals a distinction between focussing on aims and the pragmatism in achieving those aims. 5.Synthesis and applications. The ordered list of attributes developed in this study will assist in prioritizing resources to develop biodiversity monitoring programmes (including citizen science). The potential conflict between end users of data and participants in data collection that we discovered should be addressed by involving the diversity of stakeholders at all stages of programme development. This will maximize the chance of successfully achieving the goals of biodiversity monitoring programmes

New country record for Tetramereia convexa (Harold, 1869) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae)

Tetramereia convexa (Harold, 1869) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) is reported for the first time from Loreto in Peru, being the western most record of the species in South America.Tetramereia convexa (Harold, 1869) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) es reportado por primera vez para Loreto en Perú, siendo el registro más occidental de la especie para Sur America

Comparative analysis of the genes UL1 through UL7 of the duck enteritis virus and other herpesviruses of the subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae

The nucleotide sequences of eight open reading frames (ORFs) located at the 5' end of the unique long region of the duck enteritis virus (DEV) Clone-03 strain were determined. The genes identified were designated UL1, UL2, UL3, UL4, UL5, UL6 and UL7 homologues of the herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1). The DEV UL3.5 located between UL3 and UL4 had no homologue in the HSV-1. The arrangement and transcription orientation of the eight genes were collinear with their homologues in the HSV-1. Phylogenetic trees were constructed based on the alignments of the deduced amino acids of eight proteins with their homologues in 12 alpha-herpesviruses. In the UL1, UL3, UL3.5, UL5 and UL7 proteins trees, the branches were more closely related to the genus Mardivirus. However, the UL2, UL4, and UL6 proteins phylogenetic trees indicated a large distance from Mardivirus, indicating that the DEV evolved differently from other viruses in the subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae and formed a single branch within this subfamily

The Protein Products of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Genes UL31, UL45, UL46 and UL47

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), contains a large (153Kb) double-stranded DNA genome, the complete sequence of which has now been fully determined. Of the predicted open-reading frames (ORFs), a number have still to have a protein product assigned to them and their ability to encode a polypeptide confirmed. The availability of this sequence has allowed the use of short oligopeptides to generate antisera reactive with HSV-l proteins of which the peptide was predicted to form a part. This technique has been used successfully to identify a number of HSV-1 encoded polypeptides or to assign previously identified viral encoded proteins to their ORF. Unfortunately the antipeptide sera produced using the standard method whereby peptides are coupled to carrier proteins are often of low titre making experimentation difficult. Work presented here has shown that peptides presented in a branched form attached to a polylysine core were more immunogenic than monomeric peptides coupled to carrier proteins or peptides attached to a resin matrix. Branched peptides elicited both higher titre antipeptide and antiprotein immune reponses in rabbits. In addition, these responses were achieved after a single immunisation of peptide, whereas both other forms of antigen required two or more immunisations to produce a response. Branched peptides were also shown to be successful at producing high titre antipeptide responses in inbred mice when presented in combination with a "foreign" TH-cell epitope. Antisera generated in this study were used to identify the protein products of four HSV-1 genes namely; UL31, UL45, UL46 and UL47. The product of gene UL31 has an apparent Mr of 30,000. This polypeptide was first detected in infected cells in minor amounts at 5 hours after infection at 3

Two roles for ecological surrogacy : indicator surrogates and management surrogates

Ecological surrogacy - here defined as using a process or element (e.g., species, ecosystem, or abiotic factor) to represent another aspect of an ecological system - is a widely used concept, but many applications of the surrogate concept have been controversial. We argue that some of this controversy reflects differences among users with different goals, a distinction that can be crystalized by recognizing two basic types of surrogate. First, many ecologists and natural resource managers measure "indicator surrogates" to provide information about ecological systems. Second, and often overlooked, are "management surrogates" (e.g., umbrella species) that are primarily used to facilitate achieving management goals, especially broad goals such as "maintain biodiversity" or "increase ecosystem resilience." We propose that distinguishing these two overarching roles for surrogacy may facilitate better communication about project goals. This is critical when evaluating the usefulness of different surrogates, especially where a potential surrogate might be useful in one role but not another. Our classification for ecological surrogacy applies to species, ecosystems, ecological processes, abiotic factors, and genetics, and thus can provide coherence across a broad range of uses. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 5 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Philip Barton" is provided in this record*