The climatic significance of tropical forest edges and their representation in global climate models

An emerging theme in global climate modelling is whether land covers created in the clearance of tropical humid forests influence water exchange between remnant forest patches and the atmosphere, and, if so, how this affects regional and global water exchange. Fieldwork presented in this thesis ascertains whether the amount of water transferred to the atmosphere from a humid tropical forest situated in Sabah, Northern Borneo, Malaysia, differs between its edge and interior due to the influence of surrounding clearings through horizontal heat transfer. Using satellite imagery to measure the shape and size of tropical forests, field measurements of water transfer were extrapolated to continental and global levels to infer how differences in water exchange with the atmosphere between forest edges and interiors may influence regional and global forest-atmosphere water exchange. Mean sap flow in trees within 50 meters of a forest-clearing boundary was found to be 73% greater than that in trees further into the forest; an observation supported by the decreased canopy temperature also recorded there. Evaporation from the forest canopy constituted a high fraction of annual rainfall (33%), but showed no edge effect similar to that of sap flow. Edge plots, however, expressed evapotranspiration rates 22% lower than forest interiors (657-890 mm yr-1), owing to the lower number and size of trees there. One edge plot, however, exhibited evapotranspiration 49.5% greater than that of forest interiors. Gradients of air temperature, vapour pressure deficit and wind speed from the adjacent clearing to the forest interior indicated that warm, dry air moving from the clearing to the forest was the most credible cause of increased sap flow of trees near the forest edge. This hypothesis was supported by a strong correlation between the amount of vapour in the air moving from the clearing and tree water use. It was estimated that the influence of differences in water transfer to the atmosphere between the edges and interiors of tropical forest would not alter global water transfer to the atmosphere by more than 0.25-4%, or by 4-7% in the most fragmented tropical continent, Africa. However, it remains unclear whether the inclusion of tropical forest edge effects within climate models is necessary, as the pioneering nature of this thesis, and of existing studies reviewed within it, means that solid conclusions will be dependent upon future work. This thesis concludes with suggestions for future research that will most effectively consolidate the provisional conclusions and recommendations herein

Children see rabbit, not Peter:Young children’s responses to an Anthropomorphic Picture Scale

Previous research suggests that character realism influences children’s responses to stories. This study explored 3- to 7-year-old children’s ratings of thought, feeling, self-knowledge and intention for humans, real animals and anthropomorphised animal characters. Ratings were similar for real and anthropomorphised animals and significantly lower than those for humans. These findings may relate to the observed poorer outcomes following stories depicting anthropomorphic animals, relative to human characters. Individual differences in internal state attribution and corresponding responses to anthropomorphised narratives might be usefully explored with this scale

RCS2 J232727.6-020437: An Efficient Cosmic Telescope at z=0.6986z=0.6986

We present a detailed gravitational lens model of the galaxy cluster RCS2 J232727.6-020437. Due to cosmological dimming of cluster members and ICL, its high redshift ($z=0.6986$) makes it ideal for studying background galaxies. Using new ACS and WFC3/IR HST data, we identify 16 multiple images. From MOSFIRE follow up, we identify a strong emission line in the spectrum of one multiple image, likely confirming the redshift of that system to $z=2.083$. With a highly magnified ($\mu\gtrsim2$) source plane area of $\sim0.7$ arcmin$^2$ at $z=7$, RCS2 J232727.6-020437 has a lensing efficiency comparable to the Hubble Frontier Fields clusters. We discover four highly magnified $z\sim7$ candidate Lyman-break galaxies behind the cluster, one of which may be multiply-imaged. Correcting for magnification, we find that all four galaxies are fainter than $0.5 L_{\star}$. One candidate is detected at ${>10\sigma}$ in both Spitzer/IRAC [3.6] and [4.5] channels. A spectroscopic follow-up with MOSFIRE does not result in the detection of the Lyman-alpha emission line from any of the four candidates. From the MOSFIRE spectra we place median upper limits on the Lyman-alpha flux of $5-14 \times 10^{-19}\, \mathrm{erg \,\, s^{-1} cm^{-2}}$ ($5\sigma$).Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, submitted to ApJ on 3/06/201

Sound categories : category formation and evidence-based taxonomies

Five evidence-based taxonomies of everyday sounds frequently reported in the soundscape literature have been generated. An online sorting and category-labelling method that elicits rather than prescribes descriptive words was used. A total of N=242 participants took part. The main categories of the soundscape taxonomy were people, nature, and manmade, with each dividing into further categories. Sounds within the nature and manmade categories, and two further individual sound sources, dogs and engines, were explored further by repeating the procedure using multiple exemplars. By generating multidimensional spaces containing both sounds and the spontaneously generated descriptive words the procedure allows for the interpretation of the psychological dimensions along which sounds are organized. This reveals how category formation is based upon different cues - sound source-event identification, subjective-states, and explicit assessment of the acoustic signal - in different contexts. At higher levels of the taxonomy the majority of words described sound source-events. In contrast, when categorizing dog sounds a greater proportion of the words described subjective-states, and valence and arousal scores of these words correlated with their coordinates along the first two dimensions of the data. This is consistent with valence and arousal judgements being the primary categorization strategy used for dog sounds. In contrast, when categorizing engine sounds a greater proportion of the words explicitly described the acoustic signal. The coordinates of sounds along the first two dimensions were found to correlate with fluctuation strength and sharpness, consistent with explicit assessment of acoustic signal features underlying category formation for engine sounds. By eliciting descriptive words the method makes explicit the subjective meaning of these judgements based upon valence and arousal and acoustic properties, and the results demonstrate distinct strategies being spontaneously used to categorize different types of sounds

Archival ethics: The truth of the matter

This essay explores the question of whether records professionals are as aware of the ethical dimensions of their work as they should be. It consider first the historical and professional context of archival ethics, then examines a recent case about business archives involving the author that suggests the need for renewed attention to professional ethics, and concludes with a discussion about how archivists might reconsider the ethical dimensions of their work

Joint spatial modelling of malaria incidence and vector's abundance shows heterogeneity in malaria‐vector geographical relationships

Limited attention from the modelling community has been given to ecological approaches which aim to predict geographical patterns of malaria by accounting for the joint effects of different vectors and environmental drivers. A hierarchical multivariate joint spatial Gaussian generalised linear model was developed to provide joint parameters inference and mapping of counts of Anopheles gambiae, An. funestus, An. nili and malaria incidence collected in an area of Cote d'Ivoire. Variable‐selection methods were applied to select important predictors for each mosquito species and malaria incidence. The proposed joint model led to a general reduction of the variance in the estimates compared to independent modelling. There was high variability in the composition of Anopheles mosquito species in the villages with each species suitability only partly overlapping geographically. Abundances of An. gambiae, An. funestus and An. nili were primarily determined by temperature. None of the species were found as a significant predictor for the others. Anopheles gambiae was the predominant species and only An. gambiae female abundance was an important variable (linear predictor) for malaria incidence. However, the geographic correlation analyses show that the rest of Anopheles species are likely playing a role in malaria suitability. Residuals from the models of mosquito abundance and malaria cases are also correlated with each other and overlapping but in geographic patches, meaning that local drivers of vector‐malaria suitability are still present and not represented by the predictors used in the model. Synthesis and applications: Joint modelling improve predictive estimation compared to individual modelling. The accurate predictions highlighted high diversity in the association between malaria and vector species, with most of the area having more than one species suitability correlated with malaria suitability. These zones are unlikely to benefit from species‐specific interventions. Areas with correlated malaria and vector species suitability residuals contain local information, not included in the model, that requires further investigation. This will identify additional communal malaria and vectors factors that need to be considered for optimal malaria control and elimination strategies since these factors are expected to be linked to the local malaria transmission

Neuromuscular Blockade with Rocuronium Bromide Increases the Tolerance of Acute Normovolemic Anemia in Anesthetized Pigs

Background: The patient's individual anemia tolerance is pivotal when blood transfusions become necessary, but are not feasible for some reason. To date, the effects of neuromuscular blockade (NMB) on anemia tolerance have not been investigated. Methods: 14 anesthetized and mechanically ventilated pigs were randomly assigned to the Roc group (3.78 mg/kg rocuronium bromide followed by continuous infusion of 1 mg/kg/min, n = 7) or to the Sal group (administration of the corresponding volume of normal saline, n = 7). Subsequently, acute normovolemic anemia was induced by simultaneous exchange of whole blood for a 6% hydroxyethyl starch solution (130/0.4) until a sudden decrease of total body O-2 consumption (VO2) indicated a critical limitation of O-2 transport capacity. The Hb concentration quantified at this time point (Hb(crit)) was the primary end-point of the protocol. Secondary endpoints were parameters of hemodynamics, O-2 transport and tissue oxygenation. Results: Hb(crit) was significantly lower in the Roc group (2.4 +/- 0.5 vs. 3.2 +/- 0.7 g/dl) reflecting increased anemia tolerance. NMB with rocuronium bromide reduced skeletal muscular VO2 and total body O-2 extraction rate. As the cardiac index increased simultaneously, total body VO2 only decreased marginally in the Roc group (change of VO2 relative to baseline -1.7 +/- 0.8 vs. 3.2 +/- 1.9% in the Sal group, p < 0.05). Conclusion: Deep NMB with rocuronium bromide increases the tolerance of acute normovolemic anemia. The underlying mechanism most likely involves a reduction of skeletal muscular VO2. During acellular treatment of an acute blood loss, NMB might play an adjuvant role in situations where profound stages of normovolemic anemia have to be tolerated (e.g. bridging an unexpected blood loss until blood products become available for transfusion). Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Base

Sculpting Liquids with Two-Dimensional Materials: The Assembly of Ti3C2Tx MXene Sheets at Liquid–Liquid Interfaces

The self-assembly of nanoscale materials at the liquid–liquid interface allows for fabrication of three-dimensionally structured liquids with nearly arbitrary geometries and tailored electronic, optical, and magnetic properties. Two-dimensional (2D) materials are highly anisotropic, with thicknesses on the order of a nanometer and lateral dimensions upward of hundreds of nanometers to micrometers. Controlling the assembly of these materials has direct implications for their properties and performance. We here describe the interfacial assembly and jamming of Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets at the oil–water interface. Planar, as well as complex, programmed three-dimensional all-liquid objects are realized. Our approach presents potential for the creation of all-liquid 3D-printed devices for possible applications in all-liquid electrochemical and energy storage devices and electrically active, all-liquid fluidics that exploits the versatile structure, functionality, and reconfigurability of liquids