Search

The fundamental argument in this contribution is that quality teaching is inseparable from the quality of curriculum thought, and this includes a crucial focus on the role of geography teachers as curriculum makers and knowledge workers. This thinking is explored from a Future 3 curriculum thinking perspective - to unlock the potential of the school subject - and a GeoCapabilities approach and practice. 'Knowledge working' with powerful disciplinary knowledge in relation to other ways of knowing, is seen as a bridge between the level of epistemological principle and classroom content selection. This opens the possibility for developing a practical theory of content for teachers to engage with.

In this paper, we investigate the impact of latency aging on exchangeable (invariant under permutation of indices) inter-arrival times arising from mixed renewal point processes (statistical mixtures of point processes with renewal inter-arrival times) and explore the implications for reliability and survival analysis. We prove that aging preserves the exchangeability of inter-arrival times. Our data analysis, which includes both surrogate data and a Bayesian approach to high-frequency currency exchange-rate data, shows how aging impacts key survival analysis metrics such as failure survival, renewal, and hazard rate functions.

This article introduces an analytical framework that interprets individual measures of entropy-based mobility derived from mobile phone data. We explore and analyze two widely recognized entropy metrics: random entropy and uncorrelated Shannon entropy. These metrics are estimated through collective variables of human mobility, including movement trends and population density. By employing a collisional model, we establish statistical relationships between entropy measures and mobility variables. Furthermore, our research addresses three primary objectives: firstly, validating the model; secondly, exploring correlations between aggregated mobility and entropy measures in comparison to five economic indicators; and finally, demonstrating the utility of entropy measures. Specifically, we provide an effective population density estimate that offers a more realistic understanding of social interactions. This estimation takes into account both movement regularities and intensity, utilizing real-time data analysis conducted during the peak period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract The reproduction number of an infectious disease, such as CoViD-19, can be described through a modified version of the susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) model with time-dependent contact rate, where mobility data are used as proxy of average movement trends and interpersonal distances. We introduce a theoretical framework to explain and predict changes in the reproduction number of SARS-CoV-2 in terms of aggregated individual mobility and interpersonal proximity (alongside other epidemiological and environmental variables) during and after the lockdown period. We use an infection-age structured model described by a renewal equation. The model predicts the evolution of the reproduction number up to a week ahead of well-established estimates used in the literature. We show how lockdown policies, via reduction of proximity and mobility, reduce the impact of CoViD-19 and mitigate the risk of disease resurgence. We validate our theoretical framework using data from Google, Voxel51, Unacast, The CoViD-19 Mobility Data Network, and Analisi Distribuzione Aiuti.

This paper combines perspectives from evolutionary biology and linguistics to discuss the early evolution of laughter and the possible role of laughter-like vocalisation as a bonding mechanism in hominins and early human species. From the perspective of evolutionary biology, we here emphasise several things: the role of exaptation, the typically very slow pace of evolutionary change, and the danger of projecting backwards from the current utilities of laughter to infer its earlier function, hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of years ago. From the perspective of linguistics, we examine both the semantics of the word ‘laugh’ and the vocal mechanics of human laughter production, arguing that greater terminological care is needed in talking about the precursors of laughter in the ancient evolutionary past. Finally, we turn to hypotheses about how laughter-like vocalisations may have arisen, long before articulate language as we know it today. We focus in particular on Robin Dunbar’s hypothesis that laughter-like vocalisation, which stimulated endorphin production, might have functioned as a bonding mechanism (a kind of “vocal grooming”) among hominins and early human species. The paper contributes to the special issue theme (Humour and Belonging) by casting a long look backwards in time to laughter-like vocalisation as a distant evolutionary precursor of humour, and to bonding as an evolutionary precursor to cognitively and socially modern forms of “belonging”. At the same time, it cautions against casual theorising about the evolutionary origins of laughter.

In this paper, we study the spreading of epidemic in a network of individuals who may either contract a disease through contact with infected nearest neighbors or be vaccinated under the influence of neighbors who are already vaccinated. We show that both interaction between susceptible S and infected individuals I and the imitation of vaccination, a form of sociological interaction between susceptible S and vaccinated V individuals, may lead to a phase transition. If the spreading of epidemic is in the supercritical condition, corresponding to an unlimited growth of infection, the interaction between S and V must reach the supercritical condition to generate control of the spreading of infection, and bring the system to criticality. By adopting a theoretical perspective like that of multilayer complex networks, we study the case where the epidemiological network is under the influence of a sociological debate on whether to be vaccinated. We show that at criticality this debate generates clusters of individuals in favor of vaccination and clusters of individuals opposing it.3,4 We study the influence of this debate on the spread of infection. We show that because of this debate in the epidemic network, a pattern emerges mirroring the structures of the sociological network. Finally, we introduce feedback of the epidemic network on the sociological network, and we prove that because of this feedback the sociological system undergoes a process of self-organization maintaining it at criticality. This system exhibits temporal complexity and critical slowing down.1 We hope that these results may have an important effect of giving interesting suggestions to behavioral psychologists and information scientists actively involved in the analysis of the social debate on the moral issues connected to sexual activities.

Several studies have used the logistic equation to model the growth of cancer cell populations1 as seen in Eq. (1). This has included correlated multiplicative, [Formula: see text] and additive, [Formula: see text], noise terms. These noise terms can affect the growth rate, [Formula: see text], and death rate, [Formula: see text], of tumor cells and can be induced from factors such as radiotherapy or other cancer treatments. Depending on the intensity of the noise the terms, the fluctuations can induce a phase transition. Noise-induced transitions of nonlinear stochastic systems have applications in the fields of physics, chemistry and biology. (1)dxdt=ax−bx2+xϵ(x)−Γ(t). We study the logistic differential equation with a multiplicative noise term before and at phase transition. Computational methods used to investigate this cancer cell model include a Diffusion Entropy Analysis method and a waiting time distribution method.2,3,4 DEA will establish the scaling of a simulated series without altering the data through detrending. We hypothesize the treatment that causes a phase transition in the logistic model will induce tumor extinction and management. Understanding how to better evaluate and study cancer cell growth models will assist in assessing the efficacy of cancer treatments. Future work will include running simulations with a modified DEA method that includes the use of stripes.2 For better statistics, the code will be adopted to run ensembles of simulated data instead of a single series. Generating and analyzing these large datasets can be computationally expensive. Through multiprocessing and the use of a supercomputer, we believe these computational limitations can be overcome.

Abstract Background DNA barcoding utilises a standardised region of the cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene to identify specimens to the species level. It has proven to be an effective tool for identification of avian samples. The unique island avifauna of New Zealand is taxonomically and evolutionarily distinct. We analysed COI sequence data in order to determine if DNA barcoding could accurately identify New Zealand birds. Results We sequenced 928 specimens from 180 species. Additional Genbank sequences expanded the dataset to 1416 sequences from 211 of the estimated 236 New Zealand species. Furthermore, to improve the assessment of genetic variation in non-endemic species, and to assess the overall accuracy of our approach, sequences from 404 specimens collected outside of New Zealand were also included in our analyses. Of the 191 species represented by multiple sequences, 88.5% could be successfully identified by their DNA barcodes. This is likely a conservative estimate of the power of DNA barcoding in New Zealand, given our extensive geographic sampling. The majority of the 13 groups that could not be distinguished contain recently diverged taxa, indicating incomplete lineage sorting and in some cases hybridisation. In contrast, 16 species showed evidence of distinct intra-species lineages, some of these corresponding to recognised subspecies. For species identification purposes a character-based method was more successful than distance and phylogenetic tree-based methods. Conclusions DNA barcodes accurately identify most New Zealand bird species. However, low levels of COI sequence divergence in some recently diverged taxa limit the identification power of DNA barcoding. A small number of currently recognised species would benefit from further systematic investigations. The reference database and analysis presented will provide valuable insights into the evolution, systematics and conservation of New Zealand birds.

Paleogenetics is a relatively new and promising field that has the potential to provide new information about past Indigenous social systems, including insights into the complexity of burial practices. We present results of the first ancient DNA (aDNA) investigation into traditional mortuary practices among Australian Aboriginal people with a focus on North-East Australia. We recovered mitochondrial and Y chromosome sequences from five ancestral Aboriginal Australian remains that were excavated from the Flinders Island group in Cape York, Queensland. Two of these individuals were sampled from disturbed beach burials, while the other three were from bundle burials located in rock shelters. Genomic analyses showed that individuals from all three rock shelter burials and one of the two beach burials had a close genealogical relationship to contemporary individuals from communities from Cape York. In contrast the remaining male individual, found buried on the beach, had a mitochondrial DNA sequence that suggested that he was not from this location but that he was closely related to people from central Queensland or New South Wales. In addition, this individual was associated with a distinctive burial practice to the other four people. It has been suggested that traditionally non-locals or lower status individuals were buried on beaches. Our findings suggest that theories put forward about beach burials being non-local, or less esteemed members of the community, can potentially be resolved through analyses of uniparental genomic data. Generally, these results support the suggestion often derived from ethnohistoric accounts that inequality in Indigenous Australian mortuary practices might be based on the status, sex, and/or age of individuals and may instead relate to place of geographic origin. There is, however, some departure from the traditional ethnohistoric account in that complex mortuary internments were also offered to female individuals of the community, with genomic analyses helping to confirm that the gender of one of the rockshelter internments was that of a young female.

The ancient catacombs of Egypt harbor millions of well-preserved mummified Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) dating from ~600BC. Although it is known that a very large number of these 'votive' mummies were sacrificed to the Egyptian God Thoth, how the ancient Egyptians obtained millions of these birds for mummification remains unresolved. Ancient Egyptian textual evidences suggest they may have been raised in dedicated large-scale farms. To investigate the most likely method used by the priests to secure birds for mummification, we report the first study of complete mitochondrial genomes of 14 Sacred Ibis mummies interred ~2500 years ago. We analysed and compared the mitogenomic diversity among Sacred Ibis mummies to that found in modern Sacred Ibis populations from throughout Africa. The ancient birds show a high level of genetic variation comparable to that identified in modern African populations, contrary to the suggestion in ancient hieroglyphics (or ancient writings) of centralized industrial scale farming of sacrificial birds. This suggests a sustained short-term taming of the wild migratory Sacred Ibis for the ritual yearly demand.

Urotensin-II controls ion/water homeostasis in fish and vascular tone in rodents. We hypothesised that common genetic variants in urotensin-II pathway genes are associated with human blood pressure or renal function. We performed family-based analysis of association between blood pressure, glomerular filtration and genes of the urotensin-II pathway (urotensin-II, urotensin-II related peptide, urotensin-II receptor) saturated with 28 tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms in 2024 individuals from 520 families; followed by an independent replication in 420 families and 7545 unrelated subjects. The expression studies of the urotensin-II pathway were carried out in 97 human kidneys. Phylogenetic evolutionary analysis was conducted in 17 vertebrate species. One single nucleotide polymorphism (rs531485 in urotensin-II gene) was associated with adjusted estimated glomerular filtration rate in the discovery cohort (p = 0.0005). It showed no association with estimated glomerular filtration rate in the combined replication resource of 8724 subjects from 6 populations. Expression of urotensin-II and its receptor showed strong linear correlation (r = 0.86, p

A common question posed to environmental scientists by nonscientists, particularly policymakers, is the following: In a world that is globally warmer, what will the new climate be like in specific geographical regions? This question has been and continues to be addressed by computer modeling, a technique that is out of reach for vast majority of students. However, an alternate approach to investigating this issue exists that is more practical for students. Past climates can be inferred for specific regions from fossils, utilizing climate tolerances of related modern organisms. When these inferred past climates correspond to periods of the Earth's history where levels of carbon dioxide were as high or higher than today, these data can be used to extrapolate possible future local climates in a globally warmer world. The last Pleistocene interglacial period (known as the Eemian), which occurred approximately 120,000 years ago, is an ideal time period for studies of this kind for the following reasons. First, carbon dioxide levels were elevated at this time to levels approximating modern global conditions, and the world was warmer as evidenced by a much higher sea level than exists today. Secondly, most Eemian-age animals (especially mollusks) still exist, have known climate tolerances, and are relatively common as fossils. Students examining fossil mollusk faunas have applied this methodology to infer the Eemian climates of South Florida and coastal Virginia and found unexpectedly that for both regions the Eemian climate did not greatly differ from the modern one. The methodology described here can be used to address other important questions and puts such authentic and potentially valuable scientific research within practical reach of student scientists.

In the wide literature on the brain and neural network dynamics the notion of criticality is being adopted by an increasing number of researchers, with no general agreement on its theoretical definition, but with consensus that criticality makes the brain very sensitive to external stimuli. We adopt the complexity matching principle that the maximal efficiency of communication between two complex networks is realized when both of them are at criticality. We use this principle to establish the value of the neuronal interaction strength at which criticality occurs, yielding a perfect agreement with the adoption of temporal complexity as criticality indicator. The emergence of a scale-free distribution of avalanche size is proved to occur in a supercritical regime. We use an integrate-and-fire model where the randomness of each neuron is only due to the random choice of a new initial condition after firing. The new model shares with that proposed by Izikevich the property of generating excessive periodicity, and with it the annihilation of temporal complexity at supercritical values of the interaction strength. We find that the concentration of inhibitory links can be used as a control parameter and that for a sufficiently large concentration of inhibitory links criticality is recovered again. Finally, we show that the response of a neural network at criticality to a harmonic stimulus is very weak, in accordance with the complexity matching principle.

Knowledge of an animal's home range is a crucial component in making informed management decisions. However, many home range studies are limited by study area size, and therefore may underestimate the size of the home range. In many cases, individuals have been shown to travel outside of the study area and utilize a larger area than estimated by the study design. In this study, data collected by multiple research groups studying bottlenose dolphins on the east coast of Florida were combined to determine how home range estimates increased with increasing study area size. Home range analyses utilized photo-identification data collected from 6 study areas throughout the St Johns River (SJR; Jacksonville, FL, USA) and adjacent waterways, extending a total of 253 km to the southern end of Mosquito Lagoon in the Indian River Lagoon Estuarine System. Univariate kernel density estimates (KDEs) were computed for individuals with 10 or more sightings (n = 20). Kernels were calculated for the primary study area (SJR) first, then additional kernels were calculated by combining the SJR and the next adjacent waterway; this continued in an additive fashion until all study areas were included. The 95% and 50% KDEs calculated for the SJR alone ranged from 21 to 35 km and 4 to 19 km, respectively. The 95% and 50% KDEs calculated for all combined study areas ranged from 116 to 217 km and 9 to 70 km, respectively. This study illustrates the degree to which home range may be underestimated by the use of limited study areas and demonstrates the benefits of conducting collaborative science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abundance analyses of the two newly discovered R Coronae Borealis (RCB) stars ASAS-RCB-8 and ASAS-RCB-10 were conducted using high-resolution optical spectra and model atmospheres. Their chemical compositions place the pair among the majority class of RCBs. ASAS-RCB-10 is one of the most N-poor majority RCBs with an above average O abundance. Relative to ASAS-RCB-10, ASAS-RCB-8 is H poor by 1.6 dex, O-poor by 0.7 dex but N-rich by 0.8 dex suggesting a higher contamination by CNO-cycled material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wide literature on the brain and neural network dynamics the notion of criticality is being adopted by an increasing number of researchers, with no general agreement on its theoretical definition, but with consensus that criticality makes the brain very sensitive to external stimuli. We adopt the complexity matching principle that the maximal efficiency of communication between two complex networks is realized when both of them are at criticality. We use this principle to establish the value of the neuronal interaction strength at which criticality occurs, yielding a perfect agreement with the adoption of temporal complexity as criticality indicator. The emergence of a scale-free distribution of avalanche size is proved to occur in a supercritical regime. We use an integrate-and-fire model where the randomness of each neuron is only due to the random choice of a new initial condition after firing. The new model shares with that proposed by Izikevich the property of generating excessive periodicity, and with it the annihilation of temporal complexity at supercritical values of the interaction strength. We find that the concentration of inhibitory links can be used as a control parameter and that for a sufficiently large concentration of inhibitory links criticality is recovered again. Finally, we show that the response of a neural network at criticality to a harmonic stimulus is very weak, in accordance with the complexity matching principle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the 1953–54 Royal Tour and in particular the planning and eventual reception of the Queen and her party when they arrived in Gibraltar. These events are considered in terms of three overlapping contexts: the imperial, the colonial and the geopolitical. First, the Royal Tour marked not only the debut of a new Queen but also the realization that the British Empire was beginning to fragment with the eruption of independence movements in South Asia and the Middle East. Hence, its international itinerary bound the remaining empire symbolically together, but also served as a reminder of the ‘gaps’ that were beginning to appear. Second, the analysis considers how the Royal Tour presented an opportunity for the local residents of Gibraltar to ‘perform their loyalty’ to the new Queen and the British Empire. The focus on performance is significant because the article does not presume that ‘loyalty’ is simply pre-given. A great deal of work was involved in realizing the reception of the Queens party in May 1954 against a backdrop of a territorial dispute with Spain over the future legal status of Gibraltar. The Royal Tour offered the possibility, therefore, of persuading the British and Spanish governments of the local residents’ qualities including a continued loyalty to the British/imperial Royal Family and indirectly to Britain. Third, the article underscores the significance of such loyal performances by considering Spanish opposition to the Queens visit in the light of Francos efforts to establish his countrys anti-Communist credentials. The Royal Tour, and the Gibraltar leg in particular, are thus show to be an intense locus of performances linked to the politics of empire, colonial rights and anti-imperialism. Animated, happy faces gazing at the sights and decorations show better than words the true feelings of the people of the fortress-colony towards their young, beloved Queen. One correspondent of a British newspaper said that he thought the 27,000 servicemen and civilians on the Rock were so fervidly loyal that they would tear to pieces anyone discovered in their midst with evil designs, and that was sufficient guarantee of their Majestys safety.1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List Index of Threatened Species. Among the challenges terrapins encounter are habitat loss due to coastal development and sea level rise, mortality at all life stages by mammalian and avian predators, road mortality, boat strikes, harvest for the pet trade, and drowning in crab traps. The primary objective of this study was to locate populations and nesting areas of diamondback terrapins in the four northeastern-most counties of Florida (Nassau, Duval, St. Johns, and Flagler). We conducted head counts and performed land surveys of shorelines and high spots for evidence of terrapin presence. During the land surveys we searched for crawls, intact and depredated nests, dead terrapins, and terrapin bones. To evaluate whether woody plant presence affected nest site choices, we recorded the occurrence of 10 common woody plant species during each land survey and compared areas where nesting did and did not occur. We collected 404 records of terrapin activity in 2013 and 2014. Most were from Nassau County (277) and only one was from Flagler County. Most data were in the form of depredated nests (205) and terrapin remains (147). The woody plant data suggest that terrapins were significantly more likely to nest when Christmas berry (Lycium carolinianum) was present, and nesting was less likely when either wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera) or oak (Quercus spp.) were present.

Spiralians have ciliary bands, used for locomotion and feeding, but defining molecular features of these structures are unknown. Here, the authors report a gene, Lophotrochin, that contains a protein domain only found in spiralians, and specifically expressed in diverse ciliary bands across the group, which provides a molecular signature for these structures.

Anecdotal data are currently the best data available to describe baseline conditions of beached oil tar balls on Florida’s First Coast beaches. This study combines field methods and numerical modeling to define a data-driven knowledge base of oil tar ball baseline conditions. Outcomes from the field study include an established methodology for field data collection and laboratory testing of beached oil tar balls, spatial maps of collected samples and analysis of the data as to transport/wash-up trends. Archives of the electronic data, including GPS locations and other informational tags, and collected samples are presented, as are the physical and chemical analyses of the collected samples. The thrust of the physical and chemical analyses is to differentiate the collected samples into highly suspect oil tar balls versus false/non-oil tar ball samples. The numerical modeling involves two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of astronomic tides. Results from the numerical modeling include velocity residuals that show ebb-dominated residual currents exiting the inlet via an offshore, counter-rotating dual-eddy system. The tidally derived residual currents are used as one explanation for the observed transport trends. The study concludes that the port activity in the St. Johns River is not majorly contributing to the baseline conditions of oil tar ball wash-up on Florida’s First Coast beaches.

Background: Physical activity (PA) yields moderate effect sizes for treating depression (Cooney et al., 2013). PA may also help reduce depressive relapse, providing additional psychological benefits such as positive self-regard and a sense of competence (Babyak et al., 2000). Behavioural Activation (BA) is an evidence-based psychological therapy for depression, which aims to get people more engaged with activities that provide positive reinforcement for non-depressed behaviours (Hopko, Lejuez, LePage, Hopko, & McNeil, 2003). The structured nature of BA is consistent with the use of good behaviour change techniques (specific goal-setting, self-regulation) offering a potential platform for promoting PA alongside depression treatment. BA may also be useful for gradually increasing PA in people who are more sedentary than the general population. Aims: This pilot randomised controlled trial aims to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and fidelity of a web-delivered intervention combining BA and PA (eBAcPAc) to enhance mental and physical health, and assess the trial methods. Method: A community sample of 120 people exhibiting symptoms of depression and who are participating in less than 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week will be randomized to receive eBAcPAc or be put on a wait list control group. eBAcPAc is informed by previous work (Farrand et al., 2014; Pentecost et al., 2015) and further developed using the Centre for eHealth Research and Disease management Roadmap (CeHReS) (van Gemert-Pijnen et al., 2011) in order to be applied in an web-based setting. A platform hosted by the University of Glasgow which has been used to deliver a wide range of successful web-delivered interventions for mental health, will be used to deliver eBAcPAc. Feasibility measures will include data on recruitment, attrition and acceptability. Pre-post outcome measures will include the PHQ-9, and self-reported and accelerometer measured PA. Process and fidelity measures will also be taken. Results: Preliminary results relating to recruitment and engagement will be reported. Results will be used to answer key questions relating to feasibility, acceptability and fidelity to inform a larger scale trial. Conclusion: This study will add to the body of literature exploring the utility of prescribing PA for depression along with adding to the emerging research investigating web-based delivery systems for depression and PA.

Cellular hypoxia, if severe enough, results usually in injury or cell death. Our research in this area has focused on the molecular mechanisms underlying hypoxic tissue injury to explore strategies to prevent injury or enhance tolerance. The current experiments were designed to determine the genetic basis for adaptation to long term low O(2) environments.With long term experimental selection over many generations, we obtained a Drosophila melanogaster strain that can live perpetually in extremely low, normally lethal, O(2) condition (as low as 4% O(2)). This strain shows a dramatic phenotypic divergence from controls, including a decreased recovery time from anoxic stupor, a higher rate of O(2 )consumption in hypoxic conditions, and a decreased body size and mass due to decreased cell number and size. Expression arrays showed that about 4% of the Drosophila genome altered in expression and about half of the alteration was down-regulation. The contribution of some altered transcripts to hypoxia tolerance was examined by testing the survival of available corresponding P-element insertions (and their excisions) under extremely low O(2) conditions. We found that down-regulation of several candidate genes including Best1, broad, CG7102, dunce, lin19-like and sec6 conferred severe hypoxia tolerance in Drosophila.We have identified a number of genes that play an important role in the survival of a selected Drosophila strain in extremely low O(2) conditions, selected by decreasing O(2) availability over many generations. Because of conservation of pathways, we believe that such genes are critical in hypoxia adaptation in physiological or pathological conditions not only in Drosophila but also in mammals.