A Bird’s-Eye View of the Past: Digital History, Distant Reading and Sport History

Advances in computer technologies have made it easier than ever before for historians to access a wealth of sources made available in the digital era. This article investigates one way that historians have engaged with the challenges and opportunities of this ‘infinite archive’: distant reading. We define distant reading as an umbrella term that embraces many practices, including data mining, aggregation, text analysis, and the visual representations of these practices. This paper investigates the utility of distant reading as a research tool via three newspaper case studies concerning Muhammad Ali, women’s surfing in Australia, and homophobic language and Australian sport. The research reveals that the usefulness, effectiveness, and success of distant reading is dependent on numerous factors. While valuable in many instances, distant reading is rarely an end in itself and can be most powerful when paired with the traditional historical skills of close reading

The Black River: a comprehensive study of physical and chemical characteristics and their potential management implications.

An analysis of the Black River's biological and physicochemical characteristics was conducted for comparison to the model proposed by the river continuum theory. The theory specifies that the biological fauna, physical characteristics and chemical composition observed, are reflected in river order changes in terms of the presence, absence, or density of producer and consumer communities. The study reflected consistencies between the model and observed physical parameters and chemical attributes, but biological indicators were less corroborating. Physical characteristics such as temperature, depth, width, velocity, discharge, and suspended sediments increased with river mile and trends in the data became apparent. Chemical factors such as nitrates, dissolved oxygen, pH, alkalinity, and hardness, though not as clearly conclusive, show a gradient associated with river order transition. Biological indicators were not as conclusive in supporting the river continuum theory since there was no representation of shredders in the headwaters and predatory species were found at most sites. Management issues of the Black River address the control of soil erosion, species composition, and sedimentation as well as maintaining water temperature.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/54342/1/2778.pd

Topographic controls on soil nitrogen availability in a lowland tropical forest

Geomorphic position often correlates with nutrient cycling across landscapes. In tropical forests, topography is known to influence phosphorus (P) availability, but its effect on nitrogen (N) cycling has received less exploration, especially in lowland forests where widespread N richness is frequently assumed. Here, we report significant effects of topographic slope and landscape position on multiple aspects of the N cycle across a highly dissected lowland tropical forest on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. A suite of N cycle metrics measured along a topographic sequence revealed a distinct gradient in N availability. Values of soil d15N, inorganic N pools, net nitrification rates, and nitrification potentials were all substantially lower on a flanking steep hillslope (;288) compared to a relatively flat ridge top (;68), indicating lower N availability and a less open N cycle in steep parts of the landscape. Slope soils also hosted smaller total carbon and nitrogen stocks and notably less weathered soil minerals than did ridge soils. These latter findings suggest that elevated N loss resulting from high rates of soil and particulate organic matter erosion could underpin the spatial variation in N cycling and availability. Expanding our analysis to the larger study landscape, a strong negative linear relationship between soil d15N values and surface slope angles was observed. N isotope mass balance models suggest that this pattern is most plausibly explained by an increase in N loss via erosive, non-fractioning pathways from steep zones, as most other variables commonly assumed to affect soil d15N values (such as temperature, precipitation, and vegetation type) did not vary across the sampled region. Together, these results reveal notable hillslope-scale variation in N richness and suggest an important role for nonfractionating N loss in the maintenance of this pattern. Such findings highlight the importance of geomorphology and the significant capacity of erosion to influence N availability in steepland ecosystems

Harnessing case isolation and ring vaccination to control Ebola.

As a devastating Ebola outbreak in West Africa continues, non-pharmaceutical control measures including contact tracing, quarantine, and case isolation are being implemented. In addition, public health agencies are scaling up efforts to test and deploy candidate vaccines. Given the experimental nature and limited initial supplies of vaccines, a mass vaccination campaign might not be feasible. However, ring vaccination of likely case contacts could provide an effective alternative in distributing the vaccine. To evaluate ring vaccination as a strategy for eliminating Ebola, we developed a pair approximation model of Ebola transmission, parameterized by confirmed incidence data from June 2014 to January 2015 in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Our results suggest that if a combined intervention of case isolation and ring vaccination had been initiated in the early fall of 2014, up to an additional 126 cases in Liberia and 560 cases in Sierra Leone could have been averted beyond case isolation alone. The marginal benefit of ring vaccination is predicted to be greatest in settings where there are more contacts per individual, greater clustering among individuals, when contact tracing has low efficacy or vaccination confers post-exposure protection. In such settings, ring vaccination can avert up to an additional 8% of Ebola cases. Accordingly, ring vaccination is predicted to offer a moderately beneficial supplement to ongoing non-pharmaceutical Ebola control efforts

Cardiac Biomarkers and Risk of Atrial Fibrillation in Chronic Kidney Disease: The CRIC Study.

Background We tested associations of cardiac biomarkers of myocardial stretch, injury, inflammation, and fibrosis with the risk of incident atrial fibrillation (AF) in a prospective study of chronic kidney disease patients. Methods and Results The study sample was 3053 participants with chronic kidney disease in the multicenter CRIC (Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort) study who were not identified as having AF at baseline. Cardiac biomarkers, measured at baseline, were NT-proBNP (N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide), high-sensitivity troponin T, galectin-3, growth differentiation factor-15, and soluble ST-2. Incident AF ("AF event") was defined as a hospitalization for AF. During a median follow-up of 8 years, 279 (9%) participants developed a new AF event. In adjusted models, higher baseline log-transformed NT-proBNP (N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide) was associated with incident AF (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] per SD higher concentration: 2.11; 95% CI, 1.75, 2.55), as was log-high-sensitivity troponin T (HR 1.42; 95% CI, 1.20, 1.68). These associations showed a dose-response relationship in categorical analyses. Although log-soluble ST-2 was associated with AF risk in continuous models (HR per SD higher concentration 1.35; 95% CI, 1.16, 1.58), this association was not consistent in categorical analyses. Log-galectin-3 (HR 1.05; 95% CI, 0.91, 1.22) and log-growth differentiation factor-15 (HR 1.16; 95% CI, 0.96, 1.40) were not significantly associated with incident AF. Conclusions We found strong associations between higher NT-proBNP (N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide) and high-sensitivity troponin T concentrations, and the risk of incident AF in a large cohort of participants with chronic kidney disease. Increased atrial myocardial stretch and myocardial cell injury may be implicated in the high burden of AF in patients with chronic kidney disease

The molecular characterisation of Escherichia coli K1 isolated from neonatal nasogastric feeding tubes

Background: The most common cause of Gram-negative bacterial neonatal meningitis is E. coli K1. It has a mortality rate of 10–15%, and neurological sequelae in 30– 50% of cases. Infections can be attributable to nosocomial sources, however the pre-colonisation of enteral feeding tubes has not been considered as a specific risk factor. Methods: Thirty E. coli strains, which had been isolated in an earlier study, from the residual lumen liquid and biofilms of neonatal nasogastric feeding tubes were genotyped using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and 7-loci multilocus sequence typing. Potential pathogenicity and biofilm associated traits were determined using specific PCR probes, genome analysis, and in vitro tissue culture assays. Results: The E. coli strains clustered into five pulsotypes, which were genotyped as sequence types (ST) 95, 73, 127, 394 and 2076 (Achman scheme). The extra-intestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) phylogenetic group B2 ST95 serotype O1:K1:NM strains had been isolated over a 2 week period from 11 neonates who were on different feeding regimes. The E. coli K1 ST95 strains encoded for various virulence traits associated with neonatal meningitis and extracellular matrix formation. These strains attached and invaded intestinal, and both human and rat brain cell lines, and persisted for 48 h in U937 macrophages. E. coli STs 73, 394 and 2076 also persisted in macrophages and invaded Caco-2 and human brain cells, but only ST394 invaded rat brain cells. E. coli ST127 was notable as it did not invade any cell lines. Conclusions: Routes by which E. coli K1 can be disseminated within a neonatal intensive care unit are uncertain, however the colonisation of neonatal enteral feeding tubes may be one reservoir source which could constitute a serious health risk to neonates following ingestion

Remotely Sensed Canopy Nitrogen Correlates With Nitrous Oxide Emissions in a Lowland Tropical Rainforest

Tropical forests exhibit significant heterogeneity in plant functional and chemical traits that may contribute to spatial patterns of key soil biogeochemical processes, such as carbon storage and greenhouse gas emissions. Although tropical forests are the largest ecosystem source of nitrous oxide (N2O), drivers of spatial patterns within forests are poorly resolved. Here, we show that local variation in canopy foliar N, mapped by remote‐sensing image spectroscopy, correlates with patterns of soil N2O emission from a lowland tropical rainforest. We identified ten 0.25 ha plots (assemblages of 40–70 individual trees) in which average remotely‐sensed canopy N fell above or below the regional mean. The plots were located on a single minimally‐dissected terrace (km2) where soil type, vegetation structure and climatic conditions were relatively constant. We measured N2O fluxes monthly for 1 yr and found that high canopy N species assemblages had on average three‐fold higher total mean N2O fluxes than nearby lower canopy N areas. These differences are consistent with strong differences in litter stoichiometry, nitrification rates and soil nitrate concentrations. Canopy N status was also associated with microbial community characteristics: lower canopy N plots had two‐fold greater soil fungal to bacterial ratios and a significantly lower abundance of ammonia‐oxidizing archaea, although genes associated with denitrification (nirS, nirK, nosZ) showed no relationship with N2O flux. Overall, landscape emissions from this ecosystem are at the lowest end of the spectrum reported for tropical forests, consist with multiple metrics indicating that these highly productive forests retain N tightly and have low plant‐available losses. These data point to connections between canopy and soil processes that have largely been overlooked as a driver of denitrification. Defining relationships between remotely‐sensed plant traits and soil processes offers the chance to map these processes at large scales, potentially increasing our ability to predict N2O emissions in heterogeneous landscapes

Predicting the Impact of Climate Change on Threatened Species in UK Waters

Global climate change is affecting the distribution of marine species and is thought to represent a threat to biodiversity. Previous studies project expansion of species range for some species and local extinction elsewhere under climate change. Such range shifts raise concern for species whose long-term persistence is already threatened by other human disturbances such as fishing. However, few studies have attempted to assess the effects of future climate change on threatened vertebrate marine species using a multi-model approach. There has also been a recent surge of interest in climate change impacts on protected areas. This study applies three species distribution models and two sets of climate model projections to explore the potential impacts of climate change on marine species by 2050. A set of species in the North Sea, including seven threatened and ten major commercial species were used as a case study. Changes in habitat suitability in selected candidate protected areas around the UK under future climatic scenarios were assessed for these species. Moreover, change in the degree of overlap between commercial and threatened species ranges was calculated as a proxy of the potential threat posed by overfishing through bycatch. The ensemble projections suggest northward shifts in species at an average rate of 27 km per decade, resulting in small average changes in range overlap between threatened and commercially exploited species. Furthermore, the adverse consequences of climate change on the habitat suitability of protected areas were projected to be small. Although the models show large variation in the predicted consequences of climate change, the multi-model approach helps identify the potential risk of increased exposure to human stressors of critically endangered species such as common skate (Dipturus batis) and angelshark (Squatina squatina)

Physical, Psychological and Emotional Benefits of Green Physical Activity: An Ecological Dynamics Perspective

© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland Increasing evidence supports the multiple benefits to physical, psychological and emotional wellbeing of green physical activity, a topic of increasing interest in the past decade. Research has revealed a synergistic benefit of green physical activity, which includes all aspects of exercise and physical activity in the presence of nature. Our theoretical analysis suggests there are three distinct levels of engagement in green physical activity, with each level reported to have a positive effect on human behaviours. However, the extent to which each level of green physical activity benefits health and wellbeing is assumed to differ, requiring confirmation in future research. This elucidation of understanding is needed because previous literature has tended to focus on recording empirical evidence rather than developing a sound theoretical framework to understand green physical activity effects. Here we propose an ecological dynamics rationale to explain how and why green physical activity might influence health and wellbeing of different population groups. This framework suggests a number of unexplored, interacting constraints related to types of environment and population groups, which shape reported levels of benefit of green physical activity. Further analysis is needed to clarify the explicit relationship between green physical activity and health and wellbeing, including levels of engagement, types of environmental constraints, levels of physical activity, adventure effects, skill effects and sampling of different populations