Reported Acquisition Practices of Australian Dog Owners

In Australia, the UK and the US dog ownership is prevalent with an estimated 40% ofAustralian households, 25% of UK households, and 50% of US households owning a dog. Onceacquired, a dog usually becomes a family companion so, unlike a faulty product, it can rarely bereturned or resold without some emotional impact on both the acquirer and the dog. Regarding thereality of dog relinquishment, there is a growing need for cross-disciplinary research that considershow dog owners are making their acquisition choices and, if prioritising different attributes, leads tomore optimal acquisition choices. This research collected data from 2840 dog owners via an onlinesurvey and examines how owners prioritised various attributes when acquiring their latest dog.The Pearson-Blotchky analysis of survey results show owners are split into two groups, with eachgroup prioritising different attributes or characteristics in their search for a new dog. The first groupare those dog owners who prioritised: the ability to rescue a dog, how compatible the dog wason the first meeting, and how compatible they believed the dog would be with their household.The second group are those owners who prioritised: a dog’s morphology, temperament predictability,and breeding practices. While each group prioritised different attributes, neither group madesubstantially more optimal acquisition choices in terms of overall satisfaction with the dog that theyultimately selected

Novel results in STM, ARPES, HREELS, Nernst, neutron, Raman, and isotope substitution experiments and their relation to bosonic modes and charge inhomogeneity, from perspective of negative-Ueff boson-fermion modelling of HTSC

This paper seeks to synthesize much recent work on the HTSC materials around the latest STM results from Davis and coworkers. The conductance diffuse scattering results in particular are used as point of entry to discuss bosonic modes, both of condensed and uncondensed form. The bosonic mode picture is essential to understanding an ever growing range of observations within the HTSC field. The work is expounded within the context of the negative-U, boson-fermion modelling long advocated by the author. This general approach is presently seeing much theoretical development, into which I have looked to couple many of the experimental advances. While the formal theory is not yet sufficiently detailed to cover adequately all the experimental complexities presented by the real cuprate systems, it is clear that it affords very appreciable support to the line taken. An attempt is made throughout to say why and how it is that these events are tied so very closely to this particular set of materials.Comment: 36 pages pdf with 3 figures and 1 table included, Submitted to J. Phys. Cond. Mat

A coherent middle Pliocene magnetostratigraphy, Wanganui Basin, New Zealand

We document magnetostratigraphies for three river sections (Turakina, Rangitikei, Wanganui) in Wanganui Basin and interpret them as corresponding to the Upper Gilbert, the Gauss and lower Matuyama Chrons of the Geomagnetic Polarity Timescale, in agreement with foraminiferal biostratigraphic datums. The Gauss-Gilbert transition (3.58 Ma) is located in both the Turakina and Wanganui River sections, while the Gauss-Matuyama transition (2.58 Ma) is located in all three sections, as are the lower and upper boundaries of the Mammoth (3.33–3.22 Ma) and Kaena (3.11–3.04 Ma) Subchrons. Our interpretations are based in part on the re-analysis of existing datasets and in part on the acquisition and analysis of new data, particularly for the Wanganui River section. The palaeomagnetic dates of these six horizons provide the only numerical age control for a thick (up to 2000 m) mudstone succession (Tangahoe Mudstone) that accumulated chiefly in upper bathyal and outer neritic palaeoenvironments. In the Wanganui River section the mean sediment accumulation rate is estimated to have been about 1.8 m/k.y., in the Turakina section it was about 1.5 m/k.y., and in the Rangitikei section, the mean rate from the beginning of the Mammoth Subchron to the Hautawa Shellbed was about 1.1 m/k.y. The high rates may be associated with the progradation of slope clinoforms northward through the basin. This new palaeomagnetic timescale allows revised correlations to be made between cyclothems in the Rangitikei River section and the global Oxygen Isotope Stages (OIS) as represented in Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 846. The 16 depositional sequences between the end of the Mammoth Subchron and the Gauss-Matuyama Boundary are correlated with OIS MG2 to 100. The cyclothems average 39 k.y. in duration in our age model, which is close to the 41 k.y. duration of the orbital obliquity cycles. We support the arguments advanced recently in defence of the need for local New Zealand stages as a means of classifying New Zealand sedimentary successions, and strongly oppose the proposal to move stage boundaries to selected geomagnetic polarity transitions. The primary magnetisation of New Zealand mudstone is frequently overprinted with secondary components of diagenetic origin, and hence it is often difficult to obtain reliable magnetostratigraphic records. We suggest specific approaches, analytical methods, and criteria to help ensure robustness and coherency in the palaeomagnetic identification of chron boundaries in typical New Zealand Cenozoic mudstone successions

Social genetic and social environment effects on parental and helper care in a cooperatively breeding bird

Phenotypes expressed in a social context are not only a function of the individual, but can also be shaped by the phenotypes of social partners. These social effects may play a major role in the evolution of cooperative breeding if social partners differ in the quality of care they provide and if individual carers adjust their effort in relation to that of other carers. When applying social effects models to wild study systems, it is also important to explore sources of individual plasticity that could masquerade as social effects. We studied offspring provisioning rates of parents and helpers in a wild population of long-tailed tits Aegithalos caudatus using a quantitative genetic framework to identify these social effects and partition them into genetic, permanent environment and current environment components. Controlling for other effects, individuals were consistent in their provisioning effort at a given nest, but adjusted their effort based on who was in their social group, indicating the presence of social effects. However, these social effects differed between years and social contexts, indicating a current environment effect, rather than indicating a genetic or permanent environment effect. While this study reveals the importance of examining environmental and genetic sources of social effects, the framework we present is entirely general, enabling a greater understanding of potentially important social effects within any ecological population

In situ non-invasive Raman spectroscopic characterisation of succinic acid polymorphism during segmented flow crystallisation

The kinetically regulated automated input crystalliser for Raman spectroscopy (KRAIC-R) combines highly controlled crystallisation environments, via tri segmented flow, with non-invasive confocal Raman spectroscopy. Taking advantage of the highly reproducible crystallisation environment within a segmented flow crystalliser and the non-invasive nature of confocal spectroscopy, we are able to shine light on the nucleation and growth of Raman active polymorphic materials without inducing unrepresentative crystallisation events through our analysis technique. Using the KRAIC-R we have probed the nucleation and subsequent growth of succinic acid. Succinic acid typically crystallises as β-SA from solution-based crystallisation although some examples of a small proportion of α-SA have been reported in the β-SA product. Here we show that α-SA and β-SA nucleate concomitantly but undergo Ostwald ripening to a predominantly β-SA product

A histidine residue and a tetranuclear cuprous‐thiolate cluster dominate the copper loading landscape of a copper storage protein from Streptomyces lividans

The chemical basis for protecting organisms against the toxic effect imposed by excess cuprous ions is to constrain this through high‐affinity binding sites that use cuprous‐thiolate coordination chemistry. In bacteria, a family of cysteine rich four‐helix bundle proteins utilise thiolate chemistry to bind up to 80 cuprous ions. These proteins have been termed copper storage proteins (Csp). The present study investigates cuprous ion loading to the Csp from Streptomyces lividans (SlCsp) using a combination of X‐ray crystallography, site‐directed mutagenesis and stopped‐flow reaction kinetics with either aquatic cuprous ions or a chelating donor. We illustrate that at low cuprous ion concentrations, copper is loaded exclusively into an outer core region of SlCsp via one end of the four‐helix bundle, facilitated by a set of three histidine residues. X‐ray crystallography reveals the existence of polynuclear cuprous‐thiolate clusters culminating in the assembly of a tetranuclear [Cu4(μ2‐S‐Cys)4(Νδ1‐His)] cluster in the outer core. As more cuprous ions are loaded, the cysteine lined inner core of SlCsp fills with cuprous ions but in a fluxional and dynamic manner with no evidence for the assembly of further intermediate polynuclear cuprous‐thiolate clusters as observed in the outer core. Using site‐directed mutagenesis a key role for His107 in the efficient loading of cuprous ions from a donor is established. A model of copper loading to SlCsp is proposed and discussed

Opposite environmental and genetic influences on body size in North American Drosophila pseudoobscura

BACKGROUND: Populations of a species often differ in key traits. However, it is rarely known whether these differences are associated with genetic variation and evolved differences between populations, or are instead simply a plastic response to environmental differences experienced by the populations. Here we examine the interplay of plasticity and direct genetic control by investigating temperature-size relationships in populations of Drosophila pseudoobscura from North America. We used 27 isolines from three populations and exposed them to four temperature regimes (16°C, 20°C, 23°C, 26°C) to examine environmental, genetic and genotype-by-environment sources of variance in wing size. RESULTS: By far the largest contribution to variation in wing size came from rearing temperature, with the largest flies emerging from the coolest temperatures. However, we also found a genetic signature that was counter to this pattern as flies originating from the northern, cooler population were consistently smaller than conspecifics from more southern, warmer populations when reared under the same laboratory conditions. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that local selection on body size appears to be acting counter to the environmental effect of temperature. We find no evidence that local adaptation in phenotypic plasticity can explain this result, and suggest indirect selection on traits closely linked with body size, or patterns of chromosome inversion may instead be driving this relationship. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-015-0323-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Use of Online Health Forums by Patients with Chronic Cough: Qualitative Study

Background: Online health discussion forums are used by different patient groups for sharing advice and information. Chronic cough is a common problem, and people with chronic cough use online health forums alongside formal medical therapies. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess how chronic cough sufferers use online health forums, including the treatment advice they share with one another and the possible clinical uses of online forums in chronic cough. Methods: Three open-access health forums were searched for threads related to chronic cough. Identified threads were screened against inclusion and exclusion criteria adapted from the British Thoracic Society (BTS) Guidelines related to chronic cough diagnosis. Included data were subjected to qualitative thematic analysis. All study data were cross-validated by a second author and discrepancies were resolved. Results: In total, 96 threads were included in the analysis, consisting of posts by 223 forum users. Three main themes were identified: the effect of chronic cough on the lives of patients, the treatment advice shared between users, and the provision of support within forums. Conclusions: Chronic cough symptoms had impacts on multiple aspects of patients’ health and well-being. To try and combat these issues, forum users suggested a variety of treatments to one another, ranging from mainstream traditional therapies to odd alternative remedies. The provision of support and empathy were also prominent themes in discussion threads. Online forums themselves may provide increasing benefit to users through the addition of a moderator