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Though urban-associated shifts in behavior of adult animals are well documented in the literature, few studies have investigated how urbanization shapes juvenile behavior. For birds, the transition from nestling to fledgling (i.e., leaving the nest or fledging) marks a critical transition that profoundly affects survival. Though species often fledge at different times during the day, young birds are thought to time their fledging relative to civil dawn—which may mark when habitats are first visible for birds. Because sensory pollution within cities can affect the timing of daily activities, we hypothesized that urbanization and light pollution (artificial light at night (ALAN), in particular) would promote earlier fledging times. To test this hypothesis, we examined whether urbanization and light pollution were associated with shifts in diel patterns of fledging in Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) breeding across a rural-to-urban gradient in central-Ohio, USA. From 2007 to 2010, we deployed nest cameras across 227 nests and documented 72 fledging events, from which we characterized and compared diel patterns of fledging between urban and rural cardinals. Consistent with our hypothesis, fledging times were ~ 23% earlier in urban cardinals (5.49 ± 0.63 SE h after civil dawn) compared to their rural counterparts (7.13 ± 0.62 SE h), and cardinals fledged progressively earlier as the landscape became more urbanized and light-polluted. Our findings suggest that ALAN is among many urban-associated factors (e.g., changes in predator communities, predation risk) that may shape juvenile behavior, but future studies are required to identify the mechanisms underlying this shift in fledging behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the degree to which parental gender preferences in the USA have changed over time. To quantify levels of parental sex preference, we compare the likelihood that mothers have a third child given the gender makeup of their first two children. We construct a novel dataset of women's fertility histories using full-count censuses from 1850–1880 and 1900–1940 and extend the sample to 2019 using more recent datasets. We find a preference for having a mix of genders with only a small preference for sons. We find that a woman is about 2 percentage points more likely to have a third child if the sex of her first two children is the same, and this effect was very stable from 1850 to 1940. In contrast, we find that this effect gets much larger after 1940, reaching a high point in 1990–2000 of about 6–7 percentage points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many important crops including sorghum, use of CRISPR/Cas technology is limited not only by the delivery of the gene-modification components into a plant cell, but also by the ability to regenerate a fertile plant from the engineered cell through tissue culture. Here, we report that Wuschel2 (Wus2)-enabled transformation increases not only the transformation efficiency, but also the CRISPR/Cas-targeted genome editing frequency in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.). Using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, we have demonstrated Wus2-induced direct somatic embryo formation and regeneration, bypassing genotype-dependent callus formation and significantly shortening the tissue culture cycle time. This method also increased the regeneration capacity that resulted in higher transformation efficiency across different sorghum varieties. Subsequently, advanced excision systems and "altruistic" transformation technology have been developed to generate high-quality morphogenic gene-free and/or selectable marker-free sorghum events. Finally, we demonstrate up to 6.8-fold increase in CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene dropout frequency using Wus2-enabled transformation, compared to without Wus2, across various targeted loci in different sorghum genotypes. Che et al. use Wuschel2-enabled genome transformation to induce somatic embryo formation in sorghum, a grain used in human food. Their approach not only overcomes the genotype-dependent barrier for genetic transformation without the introduction of morphogenic genes, but also increases the frequency of CRISPR/Castargeted genome editing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The antagonistic arms races between obligate brood parasites and their hosts provide critical insights into coevolutionary processes and constraints on the evolution of life history strategies. In avian brood parasites—a model system for examining host–parasite dynamics—research has primarily focused on the egg and nestling stage, while far less is known about the behavior and ecology of fledgling and juvenile brood parasites. To provide greater insights into the post-fledging period of generalist brood parasites, we used handheld and automated telemetry systems to examine the behavior and survival of fledgling brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater). Our host community-wide analysis (data on cowbirds fledged from different host species were pooled) shows that fledgling cowbirds' follow patterns of movement and survival found across the post-fledging literature on parental passerine species. Cowbird fledgling survival was lowest during the first 3 days post-fledging, whereas daily rates of survival neared 100% after about 16 days post-fledging. Cowbird daytime post-fledging activity rates, perch heights, and distance from the natal area all increased with fledging age and young generally gained independence from host parents at 3–4 weeks post-fledging, with approximately the same latency as has been observed in studies on fledglings of cowbird host species. Our research demonstrates how automated telemetry systems can overcome past methodological limitations in post-fledging research and provides an important foundation for future studies examining adaptations that cowbirds and other brood parasites use to exploit hosts during the post-fledging period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generalist avian brood parasites commonly serve as a model system to test for plasticity in offspring growth and behavior under various host environmental and parental regimes. While past research has provided compelling evidence that developmental rates differ among hosts, the fitness consequences of such variation remain unclear. In hosts, carryover effects from the nesting to the post-fledging stage are critical in driving differential post-fledging survival within and among species, as well as the evolution of songbird life histories. Consequently, offspring of brood parasites may be subject to the same carryover effects and life history constraints observed in host species. Applying a pre- to post-fledging carryover effect framework to avian brood parasites may therefore provide novel insights into parasite life histories as well as parasite-host interactions. We assessed the potential influence of host carryover effects on the development and survival of juvenile cowbirds using empirical data from 10 realized host species in east-central Illinois, USA. We found that life history variation among juvenile cowbirds reflects variation in tradeoffs between mortality risk and nestling period length as well as pre- to post-fledging carryover effects found across host species. Cowbirds from host nests with higher mortality rates had shorter nestling periods, fledged with less developed wings, and exhibited higher rates of post-fledging mortality. Cowbird mass at fledging also predicted post-fledging survival, but was not associated with other life history traits. Our results provide novel links between juvenile growth, development, and mortality that help to explain differential survival in parasitic young across host species. Significance statement: Offspring of avian brood parasites develop at different rates based on the host environment in which they are raised, but the fitness consequences of such plasticity are poorly understood. Parasitic offspring may be subject to carryover effects from the nesting to the post-fledging stages and other life history constraints operating in host systems. We assessed the potential influence of host carryover effects on the development and survival of juvenile brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) using empirical data from 10 realized host species. Reflecting pre- to post-fledging carryover effects found across host species, cowbirds from host nests with higher mortality rates had shorter nestling periods, fledged with less developed wings, and exhibited higher rates of post-fledging mortality. Our results provide novel links between juvenile growth, development, and mortality that help to explain differential survival in parasitic young across host species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of Baby boom (Bbm) and Wuschel2 (Wus2) has made maize transformation more efficient across an increasingly wide range of inbreds. However, the benefits have come with the requirement of excising these transformation helper components to enable plant regeneration, which adds size to the T-DNA, and complexity to the transformation system. A new system with the advantages of smaller size and simplicity for the selectable marker gene-containing T-DNA is described. First, expression of Zm-Wus2 alone driven by the maize Pltp promoter (Zm-Pltppro), was determined to be sufficient to induce rapid somatic embryo formation from the scutella of maize immature embryos. It was also demonstrated that co-infecting with two strains of Agrobacterium, one with a Wus2 expression cassette, and the other with a combination of both selectable and visual marker cassettes, produced transformed T0 plants that contained only a single copy of the selectable marker T-DNA, without the integration of Wus2. Furthermore, the process was optimized by varying the ratio of the two Agrobacterium strains, and by modulating Wus2 expression to enable high-frequency recovery of selectable marker-containing T0 plants that did not contain Wus2. Several factors may have contributed to this outcome. Wus2 expression in localized cell(s) appeared to stimulate somatic embryogenesis in neighboring cells, including those that had integrated the selectable marker. In addition, in cells in which the Wus2 T-DNA did not integrate but the selectable marker T-DNA did, transient Wus2 expression stimulated somatic embryo formation and regeneration of stable T0 plants that contained the selectable marker. In addition, augmenting the Pltp promoter with three viral enhancer elements to increase Wus2 expression stimulated embryogenesis while precluding their regeneration. The phenomenon has now been designated as "altruistic transformation." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is one of three agencies that govern the importation, interstate movement, or environmental release of certain genetically engineered (GE) organisms. APHIS regulations are in 7 CFR part 340, originally issued in 1987 (https://www.aphis.usda.gov/biotechnology/downloads/7%5fcfr%5f340.pdf) and based on the premise that a GE crop could pose a plant pest risk. A major revision was proposed June 6, 2019 (https://www.aphis.usda.gov/brs/fedregister/BRS%5f20190606.pdf), with public comments accepted for 60 d. Members of the Society for In Vitro Biology (SIVB)—especially within the plant section—are impacted by the current rules and will be impacted by changes. Therefore, the public policy committee studied the changes and prepared a response that was reviewed by the board of directors and submitted to APHIS. APHIS received 6186 comments overall. In general, the SIVB welcomes the proposed revisions, which recognize established scientific guidelines and principles for plant pest risk assessment. In addition, they recognize the safety record accumulated over multiple decades of current GE mechanisms of action (MOA), so the proposed rules include an exemption for new events with established MOA's in a previously reviewed crop. Further, the proposed rules focus on DNA function and impact rather than its source organism with regulatory review triggered by potential for increased plant pest risk. Most importantly, the proposed revisions codify a light regulatory approach for many applications of genome editing, because these applications result in plants that could otherwise have been developed through traditional breeding techniques or found in nature. If implemented appropriately in the final rule, we find these changes remove many current barriers, and thus are likely to stimulate university and business "startup" innovation. The SIVB recognizes the need for exemption for further model species and gene delivery organisms. Such concerns were adequately expressed by the submitted response. Remaining hurdles for innovative plant incorporated protectants are still problematic. Nevertheless, the SIVB applauds the efforts to update APHIS rules in a scientifically defensible manner. The detailed response is shared below. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The maize Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation process normally takes about 10 to 15 wk from embryo infection and co-cultivation to sending "T0" plants to the greenhouse (GH). A new method was developed using the maize transcription factors Babyboom (BBM) and Wuschel2 (WUS2), to stimulate direct transgenic embryo formation and plant regeneration, that bypasses the need for prolonged tissue culture and regeneration from callus. In the present study, a design of experiment (DoE) method was used to test 10 factors to optimize the quality of somatic embryo maturation, root formation, and subsequent plantlet survival, without compromising the molecular event quality. The concentration of NO3− and the ratio of NH4+ to K+ had significant effects on the morphology of plantlets derived directly from germinated transgenic embryos. During early development, optimal tissue morphology required a NH4+/K+ ratio of 1:1 with 20 mM [NO3−], of 14.2 μM 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), the highest concentration tested, and a low light intensity of 50 μmol m−2 s−1. Later development of rooted shoots required additional macronutrients with reduced NH4NO3 (15 mM NH4NO3 and 25 mM KNO3), reduced BAP (7.4 μM), and 1 μM abscisic acid (ABA) and at a higher light intensity of 140 μmol m−2 s−1. Using the optimized parameters, the frequency of plants sent to the GH was improved by twofold compared with the current process and the number of single-copy T-DNA events was doubled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Dexamethasone and gabapentin are used in multimodal pain management protocols to reduce postoperative pain after total knee arthroplasty. For both analgesic adjuvants, the optimal dose regimen to reduce opioid usage is still unclear.Methods: The opioid consumption of patients undergoing primary TKA before and after a change of the analgesic adjuvant medication in our protocol (old protocol: 4 mg of dexamethasone daily for 2 days, 600 mg gabapentin daily for 1 week; new protocol: 10 mg dexamethasone daily for 2 days, 300 mg gabapentin every 8 h for 1 week) were retrospectively compared. All surgeries were performed under spinal anesthesia. Peri- and postoperative pain medication remained unchanged.Results: A total of 186 patients who received TKA between 11/29/2016 and 06/09/2017 were screened. Six patients who received general anesthesia, 4 patients who underwent simultaneous bilateral TKA, and 16 patients with ongoing opioid consumption at the time of surgery were excluded, leaving 80 patients in each group. Opioid consumption within 24 h [morphine equivalents in mg: mean 50.5, standard deviation (SD) 30.0 (old) vs. 39.8, SD 24.2 (new); P = 0.0470], cumulative consumption over 48 h (97.3, SD 64.4 vs. 70.4, SD 51.2; P = 0.0040) and cumulative consumption over 72 h (108.1, SD 79.5 vs. 82.5, SD 72.6; P = 0.0080), were all significantly lower in the new protocol.Conclusion: Increased postoperative administration of dexamethasone and gabapentin after TKA is associated with lower opioid consumption. Within the first 48 h, up to about 25% of opioids can be spared, comparing high-dose to low-dose protocols.Level Of Evidence: Therapeutic Level III. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Constitutive expression of the Zea mays L. (maize) morphogenic transcription factors Baby Boom (Bbm) and Wuschel2 (Wus2) in maize can not only greatly increase transformation efficiency but can also induce phenotypic abnormalities and sterility. In an effort to alleviate the pleiotropic effects of constitutive expression, a genome wide search was undertaken to find suitable maize promoters to drive tissue and timing-specific expression of the transformation enhancing genes Bbm and Wus2. A promoter from a maize phospholipid transferase protein gene (Zm-PLTPpro) was identified based on its expression in leaves, embryos, and callus while being downregulated in roots, meristems, and reproductive tissues. When Zm-PLTPpro driving Bbm was transformed into immature maize embryos along with a Wus2 expression cassette driven by the nopaline synthase promoter (Nospro::Wus2) abundant somatic embryos rapidly formed on the scutella. These embryos were individual and uniformly transformed and could be directly germinated into plants without a callus phase. Transformed plants could be sent to the greenhouse in as little as 1 mo and regenerated plants matched the seed-derived phenotype for the inbred and were fertile. However, T1 seed from these plants had poor germination. Replacing Nospro with a maize auxin-inducible promoter (Zm-Axig1pro) in combination with Zm-PLTPpro::Bbm, allowed healthy, fertile plants to be regenerated. Single-copy T1 seed germinated normally and had a predominantly wild-type inbred phenotype. For maize, this callus-free transformation process has worked in all inbred lines tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: A simple and versatile ternary vector system that utilizes improved accessory plasmids for rapid maize transformation is described. This system facilitates high-throughput vector construction and plant transformation.Abstract: The super binary plasmid pSB1 is a mainstay of maize transformation. However, the large size of the base vector makes it challenging to clone, the process of co-integration is cumbersome and inefficient, and some Agrobacterium strains are known to give rise to spontaneous mutants resistant to tetracycline. These limitations present substantial barriers to high throughput vector construction. Here we describe a smaller, simpler and versatile ternary vector system for maize transformation that utilizes improved accessory plasmids requiring no co-integration step. In addition, the newly described accessory plasmids have restored virulence genes found to be defective in pSB1, as well as added virulence genes. Testing of different configurations of the accessory plasmids in combination with T-DNA binary vector as ternary vectors nearly doubles both the raw transformation frequency and the number of transformation events of usable quality in difficult-to-transform maize inbreds. The newly described ternary vectors enabled the development of a rapid maize transformation method for elite inbreds. This vector system facilitated screening different origins of replication on the accessory plasmid and T-DNA vector, and four combinations were identified that have high (86-103%) raw transformation frequency in an elite maize inbred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study describes a robust, high-frequency Agrobacterium-mediated transformation protocol suitable for multiple recalcitrant modern elite commercial maize inbreds employing media modifications with glucose, cupric sulfate and a cytokinin, 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP). An optimal combination of these three key elements in the co-cultivation, resting, and selection media resulted in 4- to 14-fold improvements in transformation frequencies at the T plant level of 9.7, 31.9, 9.6 and 10.0 % for PH4CN, PH12BN, PHW0V and PH17R8, respectively. Transformation frequency in PH1CP1 was also improved at the T tissue level from 2.5 to 8.3 %. The addition of cupric sulfate and BAP in the co-cultivation medium improved transformation frequency in all inbreds except PH4CN. The use of cupric sulfate and BAP in combination with additional glucose in the selection medium was especially important, significantly improving the transformation frequency in 3 (PH4CN, PHW0V and PH1CP1) out of 5 inbreds by increasing the proliferation of high quality regenerable tissue. It was observed that the amount/ratio of these three components needed to be optimized for each inbred. The results in this study can be applied to optimize the tissue culture response and improve transformation frequency in other recalcitrant elite commercial maize inbreds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: Improving Agrobacterium -mediated transformation frequency and event quality by increasing binary plasmid copy number and appropriate strain selection is reported in an elite maize cultivar. Abstract: Agrobacterium-mediated maize transformation is a well-established method for gene testing and for introducing useful traits in a commercial biotech product pipeline. To develop a highly efficient maize transformation system, we investigated the effect of two Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains and three different binary plasmid origins of replication (ORI) on transformation frequency, vector backbone insertion, single copy event frequency (percentage of events which are single copy for all transgenes), quality event frequency (percentage of single copy events with no vector backbone insertions among all events generated; QE) and usable event quality frequency (transformation frequency times QE frequency; UE) in an elite maize cultivar PHR03. Agrobacterium strain AGL0 gave a higher transformation frequency, but a reduced QE frequency than LBA4404 due to a higher number of vector backbone insertions. Higher binary plasmid copy number positively correlated with transformation frequency and usable event recovery. The above findings can be exploited to develop high-throughput transformation protocols, improve the quality of transgenic events in maize and other plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: An improved Agrobacterium -mediated transformation protocol is described for a recalcitrant commercial maize elite inbred with optimized media modifications and AGL1. These improvements can be applied to other commercial inbreds. Abstract: This study describes a significantly improved Agrobacterium-mediated transformation protocol in a recalcitrant commercial maize elite inbred, PHR03, using optimal co-cultivation, resting and selection media. The use of green regenerative tissue medium components, high copper and 6-benzylaminopurine, in resting and selection media dramatically increased the transformation frequency. The use of glucose in resting medium further increased transformation frequency by improving the tissue induction rate, tissue survival and tissue proliferation from immature embryos. Consequently, an optimal combination of glucose, copper and cytokinin in the co-cultivation, resting and selection media resulted in significant improvement from 2.6 % up to tenfold at the T plant level using Agrobacterium strain LBA4404 in transformation of PHR03. Furthermore, we evaluated four different Agrobacterium strains, LBA4404, AGL1, EHA105, and GV3101 for transformation frequency and event quality. AGL1 had the highest transformation frequency with up to 57.1 % at the T plant level. However, AGL1 resulted in lower quality events (defined as single copy for transgenes without Agrobacterium T-DNA backbone) when compared to LBA4404 (30.1 vs 25.6 %). We propose that these improvements can be applied to other recalcitrant commercial maize inbreds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We often face a bewildering array of different explanations for the same social facts (e.g. biological, psychological, economic, and historical accounts). But we have few guidelines for whether and when we should think of different accounts as competing or compatible. In this paper, I offer some guidelines for understanding when custom or norm accounts do and don't compete with other types of accounts. I describe two families of non-competing accounts: (1) explanations of different (but similarly described) facts, and (2) accounts which seem to differ but are really different parts or versions of the same underlying explanation. I argue that, while many types of apparent competitors don't really compete with customs, there are some that do. I also describe some of the central problems, which suggest that custom accounts will compete poorly with their rivals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Talking reduces attention resulting in real-world crash risks to drivers that talk on a phone and drive. Driving is a behavior that is very demanding on spatial attention, suggesting potentially large interference by spatial codes in language. The current study investigated how different types of verbal codes influence visual attention during dual-task performance. In two experiments, participants performed a spatial or non-spatial verbal task while simultaneously performing a visual attention task. The results showed a larger decrement to visual attention performance when participants were concurrently engaged in a spatial verbal task. The results of the second experiment isolated this effect to the right cerebral hemisphere, consistent with a role for shared right parietal resources. These results are consistent with the idea that processing codes are an important component of coordinating talking and driving but generally inconsistent with a broad class of bottleneck approaches that describes dual-task decrements but treats component tasks as cognitively equivalent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the d-serine ammonia lyase ( dsdA) gene from Escherichia coli was evaluated as a selectable marker for maize transformation. Plants are incapable of utilizing the D-form of most amino acids, and d-serine has recently been demonstrated to be phytoinhibitory to plant growth. d-Serine ammonia lyase detoxifies d-serine via a substrate-specific reaction to pyruvate, ammonia, and water. d-Serine inhibits germination of isolated maize immature embryos and growth of embryogenic callus from wild-type plants at concentrations about approx. 2-15 mM. Transgenic plants were recovered in the presence of d-serine in tissue culture media with dsdA as the selection marker at efficiencies comparable to using a mutated acetohydroxy acid synthase selection marker gene and selection in the presence of imidazolinone herbicides. Immature embryos infected with an Agrobacterium strain containing an acetohydroxy acid synthase gene construct without dsdA did not yield any transgenic events on the selection medium with 10 mM d-serine, indicating that d-serine provided selection tight enough to prevent escapes. Molecular analysis confirmed the integration of the dsdA gene into the genome of the transgenic plants. No adverse phenotypes were observed in the greenhouse, and expression of the dsdA marker had no affect on agronomic characteristics or grain yield in multi-location field trials. Seed compositional analysis demonstrated no significant differences in the contents of seed protein, starch, fatty acids, fiber, phytic acid, and free amino acids between transgenic and non-transgenic control plants. These data indicate that the dsdA gene is properly expressed in maize and the d-serine ammonia lyase (DSDA) enzyme functions appropriately to metabolize d-serine during in vitro selection. Preliminary safety assessments indicated that no adverse affects would be expected if humans were exposed to the DSDA protein in the diet from an allergenicity or toxicity perspective. The dsdA gene in combination with phytoinhibitory levels of d-serine represents a new and effective selectable marker system for maize transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In three experiments, a dual-process approach to face recognition memory is examined, with a specific focus on the idea that a recollection process can be used to retrieve configural information of a studied face. Subjects could avoid, with confidence, a recognition error to conjunction lure faces (each a reconfiguration of features from separate studied faces) or feature lure faces (each based on a set of old features and a set of new features) by recalling a studied configuration. In Experiment 1, study repetition (one vs. eight presentations) was manipulated, and in Experiments 2 and 3, retention interval over a short number of trials (0-20) was manipulated. Different measures converged on the conclusion that subjects were unable to use a recollection process to retrieve configural information in an effort to temper recognition errors for conjunction or feature lure faces. A single process, familiarity, appears to be the sole process underlying recognition of conjunction and feature faces, and familiarity contributes, perhaps in whole, to discrimination of old from conjunction faces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four experiments were conducted in order to examine the influence of elaborative processing at encoding on recognition memory conjunction lure errors. In these experiments, participants generated cues for compound words as wholes (e.g., haywire) or as separate entities (e.g., hay, wire). Studied words were re-presented in exact form (old) or recombined to form conjunction lures on the recognition test. Participants were asked to make old- new judgments and to indicate whether they had rejected items judged to be new because of recall of a studied item or because of lack of familiarity with an item. The results suggested that recall-to-reject processing and conjunction lure familiarity increased with both types of generation, although generation of cues for compound words as a whole did not influence conjunction lure error rates. An emphasis on processing each constituent of a compound word during encoding increased the familiarity of those constituents more than generation of a compound word as a whole, resulting in an increase in conjunction lure errors. These results suggest that both familiarity and recollection-based monitoring processes influence conjunction lure errors, and therefore support dual-process theories of recognition memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In three experiments, we evaluated potential sources of familiarity in the production of feature and conjunction errors with both word (Experiments 1 and 3) and nonword (Experiment 2) stimuli and related this work to various dual-process models of memory. The contributions of letter, syllable, lexical morpheme, and conceptual information were considered. Lexical morpheme information was consistently more potent than syllable information in leading to feature and conjunction errors across Experiments 1 and 2, and a word length explanation did not account for this consistent finding. In addition, there was no impact of conceptual information on these errors (Experiments 1–3). The results support a familiarity-based interpretation of feature and conjunction errors and a lexical morpheme basis for the familiarity in compound words. In order to be more comprehensive, memory models may need to account for a lexical morpheme source of familiarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kitcher's unification theory of explanation seems to suggest that only the most reductive accounts can legitimately be termed explanatory. This is not what we find in actual scientific practice. In this paper, I attempt to reconcile these ideas. I claim that Kitcher's theory picks out ideal explanations, but that our term “explanation” is used to cover other accounts that have a certain relationship with the ideal accounts. At times, “versions” and portions of ideal explanations can also be considered explanatory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Hawkes point process describes self-exciting behaviour where event arrivals are triggered by historic events. These models are increasingly becoming a popular choice in analysing event-type data. Like all other inhomogeneous Poisson point processes, the waiting time between events in a Hawkes process is derived from an exponential distribution with mean one. However, as with many ecological and environmental data, this is an unrealistic assumption. We, therefore, extend and generalise the Hawkes process to account for potential under- or overdispersion in the waiting times between events by assuming the Weibull distribution as the foundation of the waiting times. We apply this model to the acoustic cue production times of sperm whales and show that our Weibull–Hawkes model better captures the inherent underdispersion in the interarrival times of echolocation clicks emitted by these whales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]