Building development and roads: implications for the distribution of stone curlews across the Brecks

Background: Substantial new housing and infrastructure development planned within England has the potential to conflict with the nature conservation interests of protected sites. The Breckland area of eastern England (the Brecks) is designated as a Special Protection Area for a number of bird species, including the stone curlew (for which it holds more than 60% of the UK total population). We explore the effect of buildings and roads on the spatial distribution of stone curlew nests across the Brecks in order to inform strategic development plans to avoid adverse effects on such European protected sites. Methodology: Using data across all years (and subsets of years) over the period 1988 – 2006 but restricted to habitat areas of arable land with suitable soils, we assessed nest density in relation to the distances to nearest settlements and to major roads. Measures of the local density of nearby buildings, roads and traffic levels were assessed using normal kernel distance-weighting functions. Quasi-Poisson generalised linear mixed models allowing for spatial auto-correlation were fitted. Results: Significantly lower densities of stone curlew nests were found at distances up to 1500m from settlements, and distances up to 1000m or more from major (trunk) roads. The best fitting models involved optimally distance-weighted variables for the extent of nearby buildings and the trunk road traffic levels. Significance : The results and predictions from this study of past data suggests there is cause for concern that future housing development and associated road infrastructure within the Breckland area could have negative impacts on the nesting stone curlew population. Given the strict legal protection afforded to the SPA the planning and conservation bodies have subsequently agreed precautionary restrictions on building development within the distances identified and used the modelling predictions to agree mitigation measures for proposed trunk road developments

Digit-only sauropod pes trackways from China - evidence of swimming or a preservational phenomenon?

For more than 70 years unusual sauropod trackways have played a pivotal role in debates about the swimming ability of sauropods. Most claims that sauropods could swim have been based on manus-only or manus-dominated trackways. However none of these incomplete trackways has been entirely convincing, and most have proved to be taphonomic artifacts, either undertracks or the result of differential depth of penetration of manus and pes tracks, but otherwise showed the typical pattern of normal walking trackways. Here we report an assemblage of unusual sauropod tracks from the Lower Cretaceous Hekou Group of Gansu Province, northern China, characterized by the preservation of only the pes claw traces, that we interpret as having been left by walking, not buoyant or swimming, individuals. They are interpreted as the result of animals moving on a soft mud-silt substrate, projecting their claws deeply to register their traces on an underlying sand layer where they gained more grip during progression. Other sauropod walking trackways on the same surface with both pes and manus traces preserved, were probably left earlier on relatively firm substrates that predated the deposition of soft mud and silt . Presently, there is no convincing evidence of swimming sauropods from their trackways, which is not to say that sauropods did not swim at all

The HIF1A gene Pro582Ser polymorphism in Russian strength athletes

Hypoxiainducible factor-1a (encoded by HIF1A gene) controls a number of genes that are implicated in various cellular functions including glycolysis and cell proliferation and differentiation. The rs11549465 C > T polymorphism in the HIF1A gene, which produces the amino acid substitution Pro582Ser, increases protein stability and transcriptional activity and, therefore, improves glucose metabolism. The aim of our study was to investigate the association between the HIF1A Pro582Ser polymorphism and elite strength athlete status. A total of 208 Russian strength athletes (122 weightlifters and 86 wrestlers) of regional or national competitive standard and 1,413 controls were genotyped using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. We found that the frequency of the HIF1A 582Ser variant was significantly higher in weightlifters (13.1%, p = 0.0031) and wrestlers (15.7%, p = 0.0002) compared with the controls (7.5%). Additionally, the highest (21.1%, p = 0.0052) frequency of the 582Ser variant was found in a group of elite strength athletes. Thus, our study provides evidence for an association between the HIF1A gene Pro582Ser polymorphism and elite strength athlete status. Although more replication studies are needed, the preliminary data suggest an opportunity to use the analysis of HIF1A polymorphism along with other gene variations and standard phenotypic assessment in sports selection

Denitrification and nitrous oxide emissions from riparian forests soils exposed to prolonged nitrogen runoff

Compared to upland forests, riparian forest soils have greater potential to remove nitrate (NO3) from agricultural run-off through denitrification. It is unclear, however, whether prolonged exposure of riparian soils to nitrogen (N) loading will affect the rate of denitrification and its end products. This research assesses the rate of denitrification and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from riparian forest soils exposed to prolonged nutrient run-off from plant nurseries and compares these to similar forest soils not exposed to nutrient run-off. Nursery run-off also contains high levels of phosphate (PO4). Since there are conflicting reports on the impact of PO4 on the activity of denitrifying microbes, the impact of PO4 on such activity was also investigated. Bulk and intact soil cores were collected from N-exposed and non-exposed forests to determine denitrification and N2O emission rates, whereas denitrification potential was determined using soil slurries. Compared to the non-amended treatment, denitrification rate increased 2.7- and 3.4-fold when soil cores collected from both N-exposed and non-exposed sites were amended with 30 and 60 μg NO3-N g-1 soil, respectively. Net N2O emissions were 1.5 and 1.7 times higher from the N-exposed sites compared to the non-exposed sites at 30 and 60 μg NO3-N g-1 soil amendment rates, respectively. Similarly, denitrification potential increased 17 times in response to addition of 15 μg NO3-N g-1 in soil slurries. The addition of PO4 (5 μg PO4–P g-1) to soil slurries and intact cores did not affect denitrification rates. These observations suggest that prolonged N loading did not affect the denitrification potential of the riparian forest soils; however, it did result in higher N2O emissions compared to emission rates from non-exposed forests

Set optimization - a rather short introduction

Recent developments in set optimization are surveyed and extended including various set relations as well as fundamental constructions of a convex analysis for set- and vector-valued functions, and duality for set optimization problems. Extensive sections with bibliographical comments summarize the state of the art. Applications to vector optimization and financial risk measures are discussed along with algorithmic approaches to set optimization problems

A collaborative approach to forecasting product–service systems (PSS)

Copyright @ Springer-Verlag London Limited 2010. The final version of this article may be viewed at the link below.This paper examines the forecasting implications for product–service systems (PSS) applications in manufacturing firms. The approach taken is to identify the scope of operations for PSS applications by identifying all the activities associated with the service deployment in the telecom sector. The paper then develops a revenue model for manufacturing firms providing PSS applications. The revenue model identifies three generic revenue streams that provide the basis for discussion on the differences in forecasting approaches, including collaborative approaches based on PSS staff being geographically co-located

Cessation of smoking and drinking and the risk of laryngeal cancer

A case–control study was conducted in Italy and Switzerland between 1992 and 2000 on 527 cases of laryngeal cancer and 1297 hospital controls. The risk of laryngeal cancer steadily decreased from 3 years after stopping smoking. Some decline in risk was observed only 20 years or more after stopping drinking

Scoring and psychometric properties of the Eye-Drop Satisfaction Questionnaire (EDSQ), an instrument to assess satisfaction and compliance with glaucoma treatment

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The objective of this study was to ascertain the scoring and assess the psychometric properties of the Eye-Drop Satisfaction Questionnaire (EDSQ), a 43-item Patient-Reported Outcome instrument developed to assess patients' satisfaction and compliance with glaucoma treatment.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The EDSQ was administered during an observational, retrospective study to 184 French patients treated for glaucoma. The hypothesized structure, including six dimensions (patient-clinician relationship; patient experience; patient-treatment interaction; apprehension; patient knowledge; travel), was tested by assessing the internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha) and construct-related validity (item convergent and discriminant validity). As unsatisfactory results were demonstrated, another structure was defined using a principal component analysis (PCA) combined with content of items. Psychometric properties of this new structure were assessed. Scores were compared between low, moderate and high compliance profile groups defined using data collected with the Travalert electronic device.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Analyses were performed with the 169 patients who completed at least half of the EDSQ items. The hypothesized structure showed a Cronbach's alpha lower than 0.70 for four dimensions out of six and an overall poor construct-related validity (range of item-scale correlations: 0.00-0.68). The new structure obtained with the PCA included six dimensions: concern about treatment (five items); concern about disease (two items); satisfaction with patient-clinician relationship (five items); positive beliefs (three items); treatment convenience (three items); and self-declared compliance (three items). A score ranging from 0 to 100 was calculated for each dimension, with higher scores indicating more of the attribute referred to in the dimension. Internal consistency reliability was good (Cronbach's alpha greater than 0.70 for five dimensions). The structure offered good construct-related validity (range of item-scale correlations: 0.36-0.82). Ceiling effects of 21% and 49%, were observed for the satisfaction with patient-clinician relationship and self-declared compliance scores. Patients in low compliance profile group reported the lowest score for the satisfaction with patient-clinician relationship, positive beliefs, treatment convenience and self-declared compliance dimensions, and the highest score for the concern about treatment dimension.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The scoring of the EDSQ was developed and the questionnaire proved to have satisfactory psychometric properties. EDSQ scores showed a promising relationship to compliance profiles. The EDSQ could be used in future studies.</p

Narrative and Cognitive Modeling: Insights From Beckett Exploring Mind's Complexity

Complex systems exacerbate a common problem for scientific enquiry: the difficulty of creating models able to discriminate fundamental elements or patterns from random behaviours or corollary components in the event or process at issue. This chapter argues that a similar tension between order and randomness has been a chief modelling problem of Samuel Beckett’s narratives, tied to his interest in a specific kind of complex system (the mind) and its emergent properties (consciousness and the narrative sense of self). Bulding on narratology, complex system frameworks, cognitive theories of emergence and of scientific modelling, this chapter introduces the idea of “fictional cognitive modelling”. Through this concept, the chapter analyses Beckett’s treatment of narrative devices as formal tools for the creation of “exploratory models” able to atomise the emerging unity of conscious experience and of a narrative sense of self into its core components (defined as the “narrative dynamic core”). It concludes by suggesting that Beckett’s narrative method shows how literature can occupy a proper position in the investigation and exploration of complex systems