Golden-cheeked warbler nest success and nest predators in urban and rural landscapes

The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file.Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on November 1, 2007)Includes bibliographical references.Thesis (M.S.) University of Missouri-Columbia 2007.Dissertations, Academic -- University of Missouri--Columbia -- Fisheries and wildlife.We studied nesting success of Golden-cheeked Warblers (Dendroica chrysoparia) from 2005-2006 in urban and rural landscapes in central Texas. We used an information-theoretic approach to evaluate models representing hypotheses about effects of temporal, nest-site, nest-patch, edge, landscape, and urban factors on nest success. We found the most support for the model with temporal and edge effects and little support for other effects. The 25-day period nest survival was 0.374. We monitored 61 nests with cameras to identify urban nest predators. The period predation rate was 0.541. Eight nests were depredated by Texas rat snakes (Elaphe obsoleta lindheimeri), four by Western Scrub-Jays (Aphelocoma californica) and two by Cooper's Hawks (Accipter cooperii), three by fox squirrels (Sciurus niger), and one by fire ants (Solenopsis sp.). We recorded three predations on adult females by snakes. The predation rate and predator composition were similar between the two landscapes

Attentional allocation of autism spectrum disorder individuals: Searching for a Face-in-the-Crowd.

A study is reported which tests the proposition that faces capture the attention of those with autism spectrum disorders less than a typical population. A visual search task based on the Face-in-the-Crowd paradigm was used to examine the attentional allocation of autism spectrum disorder adults for faces. Participants were required to search for discrepant target images from within 9-image arrays. Both participants with autism spectrum disorder and control participants demonstrated speeded identification of faces compared to non-face objects. This indicates that when attention is under conscious control, both autism spectrum disorder and typically developing comparison adults show an attentional bias for faces, which contrasts with previous research which found an absence of an attentional bias for faces in autism spectrum disorder. Theoretical implications of this differentiation are discussed

Anodic Dissolution of Copper in the Acidic and Basic Aluminum Chloride 1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium Chloride Ionic Liquid

The anodic dissolution of copper was investigated at a copper RDE in the Lewis acidic and basic composition regions of the room-temperature AlCl3-EtMeImCl ionic liquid (IL) to assess the utility of chloroaluminate liquids as solvents for the electrochemical machining and electropolishing of copper. In the Lewis acidic IL (60 mol % AlCl3), the dissolution of Cu0 proceeds under mixed kinetic-mass transport control with an exchange current density of 7.00 mA cm-2 at 306 K and an apparent activation free energy of 19.7 kJ mol-1. A formal potential of 0.843 V was obtained for the Cu+/Cu0 reaction from potentiometric measurements. In the basic IL (\u3c 50 mol % AlCl3), potentiometric measurements showed that the oxidation of Cu0 resulted in the formation of [CuCl2]-. In this case, the formal potential of the [CuCl2]-/Cu0 reaction is -0.412 V. At small positive overpotentials, the reaction exhibited mixed control and was first order in the chloride concentration, indicating that only a single Cl- is involved in the RDS. However, at more positive overpotentials, the reaction transitions to mass transport control, and a well-defined limiting current is observed for the anodization process. This limiting current scales linearly with the free chloride concentration in the IL

Laser surface colouring of titanium for contemporary jewellery

This paper describes work which emerged through a need to understand more about the potential of laser surface engineering for use in the creative industries. The method of creation of contemporary jewellery pieces and the resultant 'Ocular' jewellery series are described from the creative point of view. The work demonstrates how laser controlled oxide growth on Ti–6Al–4V alloy under ambient conditions can be used as an artistic tool by producing precisely defined colours. Use of the method to produce regular areas of even colour and to reproduce freehand drawings on a titanium alloy surface is described. Analysis highlights interference as the main colouring mechanism and suggests a graded surface layer, progressing from an outer layer of TiO2 to lower layers rich in TiO and Ti2O. The model of research by practice presented in this paper offers a contribution to the current debate on partnerships between art and science and engineering

Facial Electromyography-based Adaptive Virtual Reality Gaming for Cognitive Training

Cognitive training has shown promising results for delivering improvements in human cognition related to attention, problem solving, reading comprehension and information retrieval. However, two frequently cited problems in cognitive training literature are a lack of user engagement with the training programme, and a failure of developed skills to generalise to daily life. This paper introduces a new cognitive training (CT) paradigm designed to address these two limitations by combining the benefits of gamification, virtual reality (VR), and affective adaptation in the development of an engaging, ecologically valid, CT task. Additionally, it incorporates facial electromyography (EMG) as a means of determining user affect while engaged in the CT task. This information is then utilised to dynamically adjust the game's difficulty in real-time as users play, with the aim of leading them into a state of flow. Affect recognition rates of 64.1% and 76.2%, for valence and arousal respectively, were achieved by classifying a DWT-Haar approximation of the input signal using kNN. The affect-aware VR cognitive training intervention was then evaluated with a control group of older adults. The results obtained substantiate the notion that adaptation techniques can lead to greater feelings of competence and a more appropriate challenge of the user's skills

Nachhaltigkeit von drei graslandbasierten Milchproduktionssystemen in der Schweiz mit der Bewertungsmethode RISE

Dairy farming is a key sector for Swiss agriculture and the food industry. Therefore, sustainability of dairy farms is important. Grassland-based farming systems are the most common production system, combining the indoor feeding of fresh grass with partial grazing. The effects of three dairy production systems (VW: full grazing plus on avg. 46±93 SD kg concentrate (KF), GFKF: indoor feeding/partial grazing plus on avg. 345±204 SD kg KF and GFKFplus: indoor feeding/partial grazing plus on avg. 1007±353 SD kg KF) on sustainability, according to RISE, were studied on 12 pilot farms in the lowland of Switzerland. In most of the sustainability themes, the farms performed medium to good according to the RISE evaluation scale. The GFKFplus farms produced the highest output of milk by low N- and P-self-sufficiency, showed the highest energy input and the lowest greenhouse gas output per kg milk. The GFKF group achieved remarkable results by moderate N-, P- and energy inputs. The VW farms showed a lower milk output but a higher level of feed self-sufficiency and a lower energy consumption. In the search for the optimal production strategy, farms should consider the individual farm structure (contiguous areas), the market potential but also social aspects such as the preferences of the farmer`s family