Comparative psychometrics: establishing what differs is central to understanding what evolves

Cognitive abilities cannot be measured directly. What we can measure is individual variation in task performance. In this paper, we first make the case for why we should be interested in mapping individual differences in task performance on to particular cognitive abilities: we suggest that it is crucial for examining the causes and consequences of variation both within and between species. As a case study, we examine whether multiple measures of inhibitory control for non-human animals do indeed produce correlated task performance; however, no clear pattern emerges that would support the notion of a common cognitive ability underpinning individual differences in performance. We advocate a psychometric approach involving a three-step programme to make theoretical and empirical progress: first, we need tasks that reveal signature limits in performance. Second, we need to assess the reliability of individual differences in task performance. Third, multi-trait multi-method test batteries will be instrumental in validating cognitive abilities. Together, these steps will help us to establish what varies between individuals that could impact their fitness and ultimately shape the course of the evolution of animal minds. Finally, we propose executive functions, including working memory, inhibitory control and attentional shifting, as a sensible starting point for this endeavour

Non-stationarity in daily and sub-daily intense rainfall – Part 1: Sydney, Australia

This study was driven by a need to clarify how variations in climate might affect intense rainfall and the potential for flooding. Sub-daily durations are of particular interest for urban applications. Worldwide, few such observation-based studies exist, which is mainly due to limitations in data. While there are still large discrepancies between precipitation data sets from observations and models, both show that there is a tendency for moist regions to become wetter and for dry regions to become drier. However, changes in extreme conditions may show the opposite sign to those in average conditions. Where changes in observed intense precipitation have been studied, this has typically been for daily durations or longer. <br><br> The purpose of this two-part study is to examine daily and sub-daily rainfall extremes for evidence of non-stationarity. Here the problem was addressed by supplementing one long record (Part 1) by a set of shorter records for a 30-yr concurrent period (Part 2). Variations in frequency and magnitude of rainfall extremes across durations from 6 min to 72 h were assessed using data from sites in the south-east of Australia. For the analyses presented in this paper, a peaks-over-threshold approach was chosen since it allows investigating changes in frequency as well as magnitude. Non-parametric approaches were used to assess changes in frequency, magnitude, and quantile estimates as well as the statistical significance of changes for one station (Sydney Observatory Hill) for the period 1921 to 2005. Deviations from the long-term average vary with season, duration, and threshold. The effects of climate variations are most readily detected for the highest thresholds. Deviations from the long-term average tend to be larger for frequencies than for magnitudes, and changes in frequency and magnitude may have opposite signs. <br><br> Investigations presented in this paper show that variations in frequency and magnitude of events at daily durations are a poor indicator of changes at sub-daily durations. Studies like the one presented here should be undertaken for other regions to allow the identification of regions with significant increase/decrease in intense rainfall, whether there are common features with regards to duration and season exhibiting most significant changes (which in turn could lead to establishing a theoretical framework), and assist in validation of projections of rainfall extremes

Economics knowledge, attitudes and experience of student teachers in Scotland

There is a move away from teaching economics as a separate subject in Scotland. It is now mainly taught within Business Management courses in upper secondary school and is embedded within several subject areas in both primary and early secondary curricula, a move that is in step with broader curricular aims to break down barriers among subjects. This writing discusses the need for clearly situated teaching and learning of economics, provided by teachers provided by teachers who have sufficient background knowledge to devise effective contexts for learning, whether or not it is taught as a discrete subject. The results of a survey of student teachers' levels of economic literacy are analysed and recommendations made for the preparation of teachers to deal effectively with embedded approaches to teaching about economics

miRNAs as Regulators of Antidiabetic Effects of Fucoidans

open access articleDiabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease with a high mortality rate worldwide. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), and other small noncoding RNAs, serve as endogenous gene regulators through binding to specific sequences in RNA and modifying gene expression toward up- or down-regulation. miRNAs have become compelling therapeutic targets and play crucial roles in regulating the process of insulin resistance. Fucoidan has shown potential function as an a-amylase inhibitor, which may be beneficial in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus. In recent years, many studies on fucoidan focused on the decrease in blood glucose levels caused by ingesting low-glucose food or glucose-lowering components. However, the importance of miRNAs as regulators of antidiabetic effects was rarely recognized. Hence, this review emphasizes the antidiabetic mechanisms of fucoidan through regulation of miRNAs. Fucoidan exerts a vital antidiabetic effect by regulation of miRNA expression and thus provides a novel biological target for future research

The bloodstream differentiation - division of Trypanosoma brucei studied using mitochondrial markers

In the bloodstream of its mammalian host, the African trypanosome Trypanosoma brucei undergoes a life cycle stage differentiation from a long, slender form to a short, stumpy form. This involves three known major events: exit from a proliferative cell cycle, morphological change and mitochondrial biogenesis. Previously, models have been proposed accounting for these events (Matthews & Gull 1994a). Refinement of, and discrimination between, these models has been hindered by a lack of stage-regulated antigens useful as markers at the single-cell level. We have now evaluated a variety of cytological markers and applied them to investigate the coordination of phenotypic differentiation and cell cycle arrest. Our studies have focused on the differential expression of the mitochondrial enzyme dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase relative to the differentiation-division of bloodstream trypanosomes. The results implicate a temporal order of events: commitment, division, phenotypic differentiation

Effectiveness of PV Drains for Mitigating Earthquake-Induced Deformations in Sandy Slopes

This paper considers the effectiveness of a Pre-fabricated Vertical (PV) drain array for mitigating the earthquake-induced permanent ground deformations of a water-fronting loose sand fill based on results of numerical simulations. The numerical simulations are performed using the OpenSees finite element framework to represent the non-linear coupled ground deformation and transient pore pressures with customized 1-D finite elements to describe flow in the PV drains. Soil behavior is modeled using an advanced elasto-plastic effective stress soil model ("DM" for Dafalias & Manzari, 2004). The analyses focus on the performance of an 18.3m high sand fill, representative of many west-coast port facilities, and compare the response with and without the PV drain mitigation system for a suite of 58 reference seismic ground motions. The computed permanent slope deformations are well correlated with the peak ground accelerations (PGA) and especially the Arias intensity (I[subscript a]). The PV drain mitigation system is effective in reducing permanent lateral deformations at the crest of the slope by a factor of 1.2 - 3.5. The system effectiveness is largely independent of the characteristics of the ground motions. The damage results have been incorporated in slope fragility curves that can be used to quantify the expected costs from earthquake damage.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant CMS-0530478)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation Research (NEESR) Challenge Project

What happened? Do preschool children and capuchin monkeys spontaneously use visual traces to locate a reward?

This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (grant agreement no. 639072). Edinburgh Zoo's Living Links Research Facility is core supported by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (registered charity no.: SC004064) through funding generated by its visitors, members and supporters.The ability to infer unseen causes from evidence is argued to emerge early in development and to be uniquely human. We explored whether preschoolers and capuchin monkeys could locate a reward based on the physical traces left following a hidden event. Preschoolers and capuchin monkeys were presented with two cups covered with foil. Behind a barrier, an experimenter (E) punctured the foil coverings one at a time, revealing the cups with one cover broken after the first event and both covers broken after the second. One event involved hiding a reward, the other event was performed with a stick (order counterbalanced). Preschoolers and, with additional experience, monkeys could connect the traces to the objects used in the puncturing events to find the reward. Reversing the order of events perturbed the performance of 3-year olds and capuchins, while 4-year-old children performed above chance when the order of events was reversed from the first trial. Capuchins performed significantly better on the ripped foil task than they did on an arbitrary test in which the covers were not ripped but rather replaced with a differently patterned cover. We conclude that by 4 years of age children spontaneously reason backwards from evidence to deduce its cause.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Response of Two Dams in the 1987 Whittier Narrows Earthquake

The 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake (ML = 5.9) shook two dams, the Puddingstone and Cogswell dams, which were instrumented as part of the California Strong Motion Instrumentation Program (CSMIP). The resulting recorded accelerograms provided a valuable opportunity to investigate and evaluate the accuracy and reliability of conventional geotechnical procedures for evaluation of dynamic response characteristics of earth and rockfill dams. This paper presents the results of these studies, which provide insight regarding current techniques for dynamic soil property evaluation and the applicability of one- and two-dimensional analytical procedures to evaluation of the dynamic response of these types of dams