Molecular shape as a means to control the incidence of the nanostructured twist bend phase

Liquid crystalline phases with a spontaneous twist-bend modulation are most commonly observed for dimers and bimesogens with nonamethylene spacers. In order to redress this balance we devised a simple chemical intermediate that can be used to prepare unsymmetrical bimesogens; as a proof of concept we prepared and studied eleven novel materials with all found to exhibit the twist-bend phase and exhibit a linear relationship between TN-I and TTB-N. A computational study of the conformational landscape reveals the octamethyleneoxy spacer to have a broader distribution of bend-angles than the nonamethylene equivalent, leading to reductions in the thermal stability of the TB phase. This result indicates that a tight distribution of bend-angles should stabilise the TB phase and lead to direct TB-Iso phase transitions, and conversely a broader distribution should destabilise the TB phase which may allow new states of matter that are occluded by the incidence of this phase to be revealed

Data-derived metrics describing the behaviour of field-based citizen scientists provide insights for project design and modelling bias

Around the world volunteers and non-professionals collect data as part of environmental citizen science projects, collecting wildlife observations, measures of water quality and much more. However, where projects allow flexibility in how, where, and when data are collected there will be variation in the behaviour of participants which results in biases in the datasets collected. We develop a method to quantify this behavioural variation, describing the key drivers and providing a tool to account for biases in models that use these data. We used a suite of metrics to describe the temporal and spatial behaviour of participants, as well as variation in the data they collected. These were applied to 5,268 users of the iRecord Butterflies mobile phone app, a multi-species environmental citizen science project. In contrast to previous studies, after removing transient participants (those active on few days and who contribute few records), we do not find evidence of clustering of participants; instead, participants fall along four continuous axes that describe variation in participants’ behaviour: recording intensity, spatial extent, recording potential and rarity recording. Our results support a move away from labelling participants as belonging to one behavioural group or another in favour of placing them along axes of participant behaviour that better represent the continuous variation between individuals. Understanding participant behaviour could support better use of the data, by accounting for biases in the data collection process

A novel on-field training intervention improves novice goalkeeper penalty kick performance

This study developed an on-field anticipation training intervention with the aim of improving novice goalkeeper penalty kick performance. Eighteen participants were allocated to either one-player (OP); or three-player (TP) training. The OP group faced “traditional” practice, with one player running-up to execute each kick. The TP group faced three players in a form of variable practice; two players stopped their run-up approximately 1.2m from the ball with the third-player executing the kick. Following training, results revealed that TP made significantly more saves when facing non-deception kicks in comparison with OP. An implication for applied practice is that there are potential gains to be made through training anticipation skills via new on-field practices rather than the current research focus on video-based training

Pollination by nocturnal Lepidoptera, and the effects of light pollution: A review

1. Moths (Lepidoptera) are the major nocturnal pollinators of flowers. However, their importance and contribution to the provision of pollination ecosystem services may have been under-appreciated. Evidence was identified that moths are important pollinators of a diverse range of plant species in diverse ecosystems across the world. 2. Moth populations are known to be undergoing significant declines in several European countries. Among the potential drivers of this decline is increasing light pollution. The known and possible effects of artificial night lighting upon moths were reviewed, and suggest how artificial night lighting might in turn affect the provision of pollination by moths. The need for studies of the effects of artificial night lighting upon whole communities of moths was highlighted. 3. An ecological network approach is one valuable method to consider the effects of artificial night lighting upon the provision of pollination by moths, as it provides useful insights into ecosystem functioning and stability, and may help elucidate the indirect effects of artificial light upon communities of moths and the plants they pollinate. 4. It was concluded that nocturnal pollination is an ecosystem process that may potentially be disrupted by increasing light pollution, although the nature of this disruption remains to be tested

Effects of model choice, network structure, and interaction strengths on knockout extinction models of ecological robustness

Analysis of ecological networks is a valuable approach to understanding the vulnerability of systems to disturbance. The tolerance of ecological networks to coextinctions, resulting from sequences of primary extinctions (here termed “knockout extinction models”, in contrast with other dynamic approaches), is a widely used tool for modeling network “robustness”. Currently, there is an emphasis to increase biological realism in these models, but less attention has been given to the effect of model choices and network structure on robustness measures. Here, we present a suite of knockout extinction models for bipartite ecological networks (specifically plant–pollinator networks) that can all be analyzed on the same terms, enabling us to test the effects of extinction rules, interaction weights, and network structure on robustness. We include two simple ecologically plausible models of propagating extinctions, one new and one adapted from existing models. All models can be used with weighted or binary interaction data. We found that the choice of extinction rules impacts robustness; our two propagating models produce opposing effects in all tests on observed plant–pollinator networks. Adding weights to the interactions tends to amplify the opposing effects and increase the variation in robustness. Variation in robustness is a key feature of these extinction models and is driven by the structural heterogeneity of nodes (specifically, the skewness of the plant degree distribution) in the network. Our analysis therefore reveals the mechanisms and fundamental network properties that drive observed trends in robustness

Caesarean section and risk of unexplained stillbirth in subsequent pregnancy

Background Caesarean section is associated with an increased risk of disorders of placentation in subsequent pregnancies, but effects on the rate of antepartum stillbirth are unknown. We aimed to establish whether previous caesarean delivery is associated with an increased risk of antepartum stillbirth. Methods We linked pregnancy discharge data from the Scottish Morbidity Record (1980–98) and the Scottish Stillbirth and Infant Death Enquiry (1985–98). We estimated the relative risk of antepartum stillbirth in second pregnancies using time-to-event analyses. Findings For 120 633 singleton second births, there were 68 antepartum stillbirths in 17 754 women previously delivered by caesarean section (2–39 per 10 000 women per week) and 244 in 102879 women previously delivered vaginally (1·44; p<0·001). Risk of unexplained stillbirth associated with previous caesarean delivery differed significantly with gestational age (p=0·04); the excess risk was apparent from 34 weeks (hazard ratio 2·23 [95% Cl 1·48–3·36]). Risk was not attenuated by adjustment for maternal characteristics or outcome of the first pregnancy (2·74 [1·74–4·30]). The absolute risk of unexplained stillbirth at or after 39 weeks' gestation was 1·1 per 1000 women who had had a previous caesarean section and 0·5 per 1000 in those who had not. The difference was due mostly to an excess of unexplained stillbirths among women previously delivered by caesarean section. Interpretation Delivery by caesarean section in the first pregnancy could increase the risk of unexplained stillbirth in the second. In women with one previous caesarean delivery, the risk of unexplained antepartum stillbirth at or after 39 weeks' gestation is about double the risk of stillbirth or neonatal death from intrapartum uterine rupture

Effects of street lighting technologies on the success and quality of pollination in a nocturnally pollinated plant

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is an increasingly important driver of global change. Lighting directly affects plants, but few studies have investigated indirect effects mediated by interacting organisms. Nocturnal Lepidoptera are globally important pollinators, and pollen transport by moths is disrupted by lighting. Many street lighting systems are being replaced with novel, energy‐efficient lighting, with unknown ecological consequences. Using the wildflower Silene latifolia, we compared pollination success and quality at experimentally lit and unlit plots, testing two major changes to street lighting technology: in lamp type, from high‐pressure sodium lamps to light‐emitting diodes, and in lighting regime, from full‐night (FN) to part‐night (PN) lighting. We predicted that lighting would reduce pollination. S. latifolia was pollinated both diurnally and nocturnally. Contrary to our predictions, flowers under FN lighting had higher pollination success than flowers under either PN lighting or unlit controls, which did not significantly differ from each other. Lamp type, lighting regime, and distance from the light all significantly affected aspects of pollination quality. These results confirm that street lighting could affect plant reproduction through indirect effects mediated by nocturnal insects, and further highlight the possibility for novel lighting technologies to mitigate the effects of ALAN on ecosystems