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Insights from measuring pollen deposition: quantifying the pre-eminence of bees as flower visitors and effective pollinators
Get PDFUsing our accumulated datasets from Kenyan savanna, Mediterranean garigue, UK gardens and heathland, involving 76 plants from 30 families, we present detailed data to quantify the superiority of bees as pollinators of most flowering plants when compared with other flower visitors. Bees provided the majority of visits to study species at all sites, and 33 of the 76 plants received more than 90% of their visits from bees. Furthermore, pollen deposition onto stigmas from single-visit events (SVD, a measure of pollination effectiveness) was significantly higher for bees than non-bees at all the four sites where a major proportion of the flora was sampled. Solitary bees, and also bumblebees in temperate habitats, were the best potential pollinators for most plants in this respect, and significantly out-performed honeybees. Only a few plants were well served by bombyliid flies, and fewer again by larger hoverflies, butterflies, or solitary wasps. Bees also achieved better matches of their visit timing to peak pollen availability (measured indirectly as peak SVD), and made much shorter visits to flowers than did non-bees, permitting a substantially greater visit frequency. Additionally, they deposited significantly lower levels of potentially deleterious heterospecific pollen on stigmas in heathland and Mediterranean garigue, though not in the UK garden with densely clustered high-diversity flowering, or in the Kenyan savanna site with particularly dispersed flowering patches and some specialist non-bee flowers. Our data provide a novel and quantified characterisation of the specific advantages of bees as flower visitors, and underline the need to conserve diverse bee communities
“If she wants to eat…and eat and eat…fine! It's gonna feed the baby”: Pregnant women and partners' perceptions and experiences of pregnancy with a BMI >40kg/m2
Get PDFIntroduction: women with a raised BMI are more likely to gain excessive weight in pregnancy compared towomen with a BMI in the normal range. Recent behaviour change interventions have had moderate to noinfluence on GWG, and no effect on other perinatal outcomes. Evidence is required regarding the social andcultural contexts of weight and pregnancy. No studies to date have included the views of partners.Aims: to explore the experiences, attitudes and health-related behaviours of pregnant women with a BMI >40 kg/m2; and to identify the factors and considerations which shape their beliefs, experiences and behaviours,and how these may change during and after pregnancy. 2. To determine the impact, if any, of the beliefs andattitudes of significant members of the women's families and social networks upon the women's experiences,attitudes and health-related behaviours in relation to weight and pregnancyMethods: this was a prospective serial interview study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11pregnant women with a BMI > 40 kg/m2, during pregnancy and after birth, and once with 7 partners (all male)of women. Interview questions were designed to be appropriately but flexibly framed, in order to explore andgather data on participants' everyday life, lifestyles, views, experiences, relationships and behaviours, focussingmore specifically on beliefs about health, pregnancy, weight and diet. Thematic content analysis was used toformally analyse and unearth patterns in the data.Findings: the findings can be grouped into six interrelated themes: the complexities of weight histories andrelationships with food; resisting risk together; resisting stigma together; pregnancy as a 'pause';receivingdietary advice; postnatal intentions. These themes are interrelated due to the 'spoiled identity' (Goffman, 1963)that the large body represents in western culture and related stigma.Conclusion and implications: this study provides evidence that there exist deeply ingrained social and culturalbeliefs among women and in particular their partners, regarding pregnancy diet and weight gain. Further, thisstudy provides evidence that male partners may resist stigmatised risk on behalf of a pregnant partner. Allwomen (and several men) expressed an intention to adopt healthy behaviours and lose weight once their babywas born. Further evidence is required regarding the means by which women who experience stigmatised riskduring pregnancy, and their partners, might be engaged and receptive to health advice. Models which draw onideals of relationship-centred care, and selfefficacy via open discussion with women and families, engagingwomen and partners by providing them with an opportunity to talk about their beliefs and concerns, could beexplored to inform future research and practice
Identifying competitive strategies for each phase of the intermodal terminal life cycle
Get PDFThis paper applies the marketing strategy literature to the four phases of the intermodal terminal life cycle (ITLC) to identify the appropriate competitive strategy to be undertaken at each phase, based on fluctuating markets and competitor behaviour. Not only can applying the correct strategy at each phase help to obtain a competitive advantage, but anticipating future strategies in advance can underpin the success of current strategies and ensure that both public and private stakeholders are prepared for future challenges.The paper derives the appropriate strategies, provides empirical examples and discusses the opportunities and challenges inherent in each strategy. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research on strategy options that go beyond the traditional view of terminals as homogeneous interchangeable assets. Rather than simple improvement of factor conditions by investing in the infrastructure, innovative strategies to obtain competitive advantage should focus on partnerships with external stakeholders such as rail operators, 3PLs and shippers.Free download until 7th May 2017: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1UkLi7sdbMeOv
Evaluation of the End Effect Impact on the Torsion Test for Determining the Shear Modulus of a Timber Beam through a Photogrammetry Approach
Get PDFThe timber beam end effect in the torsion test is evaluated using binocular stereo vision system. It is recommended by BS EN 408:2010+A1:2012 to exclude a distance of two to three times of cross-sectional thickness (b) from ends to avoid the end effect; whereas, this study indicates that this distance is not sufficiently far enough to remove this effect in slender cross-sections. The shear modulus of six timber beams with different aspect ratios is determined at the various angles and cross-sections. The result of this experiment shows that the end affected span of each specimen varies depending on their aspect ratios. It is concluded that by increasing the aspect ratio this span will increase. However, by increasing the distance from the ends to the values greater than 6b, the shear modulus trend becomes constant and end effect will be negligible. Moreover, it is concluded that end affected span is preferred to be depth-dependent rather than thickness-dependant
Quantum-to-the-Home: Achieving Gbits/s Secure Key Rates via Commercial Off-the-Shelf Telecommunication Equipment
Get PDFThere is current significant interest in Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) networks, i.e. end-to-end optical connectivity. Currently, it may be limited due to the presence of last-mile copper wire connections. However, in near future it is envisaged that FTTH connections will exist, and a key offering would be the possibility of optical encryption that can best be implemented using quantum key distribution (QKD). However, it is very important that the QKD infrastructure is compatible with the already existing networks for a smooth transition and integration with the classical data traffic. In this paper, we report the feasibility of using off-the-shelf telecommunication components to enable high performance Continuous-Variable Quantum Key Distribution (CV-QKD) systems that can yield secure key rates in the range of 100 Mbits/s under practical operating conditions. Multilevel phase modulated signals (m-PSK) are evaluated in-terms of secure key rates and transmission distances. The traditional receiver is discussed, aided by the phase noise cancellation based digital signal processing module for detecting the complex quantum signals. Furthermore , we have discussed the compatibility of multiplexers and de-multiplexers for wavelength division multiplexed quantum-to-the-home (QTTH) network as well the impact of splitting ratio is analyzed. The results are thoroughly compared with the commercially available high-cost encryption modules
Adaptive Resource Allocation and Provisioning in Multi-Service Cloud Environments
Get PDFIn the current cloud business environment, the cloud provider (CP) can provide a means for offering the required quality of service (QoS) for multiple classes of clients. We consider the cloud market where various resources such as CPUs, memory, and storage in the form of Virtual Machine (VM) instances can be provisioned and then leased to clients with QoS guarantees. Unlike existing works, we propose a novel Service Level Agreement (SLA) framework for cloud computing, in which a price control parameter is used to meet QoS demands for all classes in the market. The framework uses reinforcement learning (RL) to derive a VM hiring policy that can adapt to changes in the system to guarantee the QoS for all client classes. These changes include: service cost, system capacity, and the demand for service. In exhibiting solutions, when the CP leases more VMs to a class of clients, the QoS is degraded for other classes due to an inadequate number of VMs. However, our approach integrates computing resources adaptation with service admission control based on the RL model. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first attempt that facilitates this integration to enhance the CP's profit and avoid SLA violation. Numerical analysis stresses the ability of our approach to avoid SLA violation while maximizing the CP’s profit under varying cloud environment conditions
Megasonic elution of waterborne protozoa enhances recovery rates
Get PDFWaterborne pathogens represent a major concern for human and animal health making monitoring of water essential to prevent outbreaks. Sample preparation is critical to assess a spatio-temporally representative volume of water and identify pathogens present at low concentrations, with filtration being the commonly adopted approach. Numerous different filter types and operational strategies have been investigated to consistently improve the low recovery rates of pathogens, with work now investigating creation of automated sampling systems. Previous work has often focused on chemical strategies for maximising recovery rates during the elution from the filter. However, novel physical methods, like the use of megasonic sonication offer great potential for effective pathogen removal from filters. Compared to ultrasound assisted agitation, megasonic sonication, which operates at a higher excitation energy frequency, offers a gentler and more thorough process for elution with lower risk of pathogen damage during the process. Megasonic exposure of Cryptosporidium oocysts has been demonstrated to preserve their viability. This mode of elution enables the downstream identification of pathogen infectivity since viability and species information cannot be extracted from damaged or destroyed pathogens. Here we investigate the use of megasonic elution to improve the recovery rates of Cryptosporidium in two different filtration setups: firstly dead-end filtration using a Rexeed filter and secondly, tangential flow filtration using a Fresenius filter. The results demonstrate that recovery rates are increased by around 50% for both setups highlighting the potential of megasonic elution in this application
Paradigm Shift or Paradigm Paralysis? National Mental Health and Capacity Law and Implementing the CRPD in Scotland
Get PDFThe United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) highlights the need to actively remove obstacles to, and promote, the full and equal enjoyment of human rights by persons with disabilities. This is challenging us to revisit existing conceptions about what is genuine equal and non-discriminatory enjoyment of human rights by persons with cognitive, intellectual and psychosocial disabilities and to accept that a real and fundamental culture change is required in order to achieve this. Whilst many states are seeking to address CRPD requirements in law and policy, including those identified in its Article 12, it is arguable that these do not go far enough in order to secure this culture change. This article considers three issues that need to be resolved as part of the process of achieving this paradigm shift, namely capacity assessments as thresholds for involuntary interventions, authorising involuntary interventions and support for the exercise of legal capacity, both generally and in the particular context of Scotland’s mental health and capacity laws. In doing so, it argues that it is debatable whether the CRPD paradigm shift can be realistically achieved by simply adapted or supplementing current legal and policy models.(This article belongs to the Special Issue Concerns, Contradictions and Reality of Mental Health Law
Timber gridshells: Numerical simulation, design and construction of a full scale structure
Get PDFTimber gridshell structures, such as the Multihalle for the federal garden festival in Mannheim or the DownlandMuseum, have been the result of a creative–generative process that indissolubly ‘welded’ the structural contributionto that of form exploration. The challenging design and construction issues have been typically addressedand resolved in several inventive ways. However, still now, form-finding and erection of timber gridshells presentmany difficulties. In this regard, this paper aims to provide a series of novel steps to address some of the maindesign and construction issues that are associated with ‘actively-bent’ timber gridshell structures. First, the maincharacteristics of the construction process of timber gridshells are described and the basic theoretical conceptsfor its numerical simulation, through Dynamic Relaxation method, are introduced. Second, a practical methodfor sizing the laths' cross-section is presented. Third, a new erection technique for timber gridshells is proposedand applied to the construction of a full scale (prototype) structure, the Toledo gridshell 2.0. Fourth, a new bracingsystem for the same structure, which was built at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Naples Federico IIin June–July 2014, is explained and discussed. The paper also highlights the need for further application to validatethe techniques explained here, with particular attention being paid for the construction of large scale freeformstructures
Nature of child sexual abuse and psychopathology in adult survivors : results from a clinical sample in Scotland.
Get PDFThe relationship between history of childhood sexual abuse and psychopathology in adult life is well established. However, understanding of the mechanisms by which abuse exerts its effects is limited. To our knowledge, this is the first study which investigates the relationship between a wide range of sexual abuse characteristics (i.e. age at onset, frequency of assaults, number of perpetrators and their relationship to the victim) and the severity of psychopathological disorders in a large sample of adult child sexual abuse (CSA) survivors who attended a specialist Psychotherapy Service for CSA survivors. CSA survivors in our study experienced severe sexual assault(s) in their early years and presented with severe pathology which could suggest a strong causal link. However, none of the examined trauma characteristics significantly predicted severity of psychopathology. This may suggest that for severely disordered, treatment-seeking CSA survivors post-abuse psychopathology could be caused by other factors. The study adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting that CSA effects may be dependent on factors which are not necessarily related to the nature of sexual abuse. The study findings will help improve clinicians' insight into the determinants of psychopathology