Characterizations of how species mediate ecosystem properties require more comprehensive functional effect descriptors

The importance of individual species in mediating ecosystem process and functioning is generally accepted, but categorical descriptors that summarize species-specific contributions to ecosystems tend to reference a limited number of biological traits and underestimate the importance of how organisms interact with their environment. Here, we show how three functionally contrasting sediment-dwelling marine invertebrates affect fluid and particle transport - important processes in mediating nutrient cycling - and use high-resolution reconstructions of burrow geometry to determine the extent and nature of biogenic modification. We find that individual functional effect descriptors fall short of being able to adequately characterize how species mediate the stocks and flows of important ecosystem properties and that, in contrary to common practice and understanding, they are not substitutable with one another because they emphasize different aspects of species activity and behavior. When information derived from these metrics is combined with knowledge of how species behave and modify their environment, however, detailed mechanistic information emerges that increases the likelihood that a species functional standing will be appropriately summarized. Our study provides evidence that more comprehensive functional effect descriptors are required if they are to be of value to those tasked with projecting how altered biodiversity will influence future ecosystems

A serious games platform for cognitive rehabilitation with preliminary evaluation

In recent years Serious Games have evolved substantially, solving problems in diverse areas. In particular, in Cognitive Rehabilitation, Serious Games assume a relevant role. Traditional cognitive therapies are often considered repetitive and discouraging for patients and Serious Games can be used to create more dynamic rehabilitation processes, holding patients' attention throughout the process and motivating them during their road to recovery. This paper reviews Serious Games and user interfaces in rehabilitation area and details a Serious Games platform for Cognitive Rehabilitation that includes a set of features such as: natural and multimodal user interfaces and social features (competition, collaboration, and handicapping) which can contribute to augment the motivation of patients during the rehabilitation process. The web platform was tested with healthy subjects. Results of this preliminary evaluation show the motivation and the interest of the participants by playing the games.- This work has been supported by FCT - Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia in the scope of the projects: PEst-UID/CEC/00319/2015 and PEst-UID/CEC/00027/2015. The authors would like to thank also all the volunteers that participated in the study

EVALUATION OF RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN REPORTED RESILIENCE AND SOLDIER OUTCOMES, Report #2: Positive Performance Outcomes in Officers (Promotions, Selections, & Professions)

This technical report presents an analysis of reported resilience and psychological health among the U.S. Army’s Officer Corps. The focus of the current report is on linking resilience and psychological health (hereafter referred to as R/PH) to objective outcomes associated with high job performance. Specifically, this report examines the statistical relationships between officer R/PH - as measured by the Army’s Global Assessment Tool (GAT) - and promotions to Brigadier General, early (below zone) Field Grade Officer promotions, selections for command / key billet assignments, and officers who serve in career fields that require terminal professional degrees (e.g., medical doctors, dentists, lawyers, etc). Results show that officers who have been promoted to Brigadier General are more emotionally and socially fit than their peers who have not received a promotion to Brigadier General. These officers are more engaged with their work, have higher levels of organizational trust and friendship, report lower levels of loneliness, are more optimistic, and report higher levels of positive affect and lower levels of negative affect. Each of these findings is in line with our expectations regarding R/PH and job performance, and the findings comport with a substantial body of work in the academic literature. Additionally, analysis of R/PH for officers promoted early resulted in findings similar to above. In particular, those who have been promoted below zone report higher levels of work engagement, friendship, organizational trust, optimism, and coping abilities. In short, these officers score higher on the GAT dimensions of Emotional and Social Fitness than their peers who were not promoted early (“due course” officers). Similar results were found for officers selected for command for key billet assignments. They are also more emotionally and socially fit than their peers who were not selected for command (more engaged with their work, have higher levels of organizational trust and friendship, are less lonely, are more optimistic, and report higher levels of positive affect and lower levels of negative affect). There are no practical differences in R/PH between officers serving in career fields that require terminal professional degrees and other officers serving in “line” career fields (rank-matched analysis, Captain - Colonel). In light of academic literature on the subject, this finding is somewhat surprising as it suggests that advanced professional education / training alone may not influence (or be influenced by) R/PH. When taken together, the findings above strongly suggest there is a relationship between reported resilience and psychological health and outcomes associated with high job performance, but we are currently unable to determine causality. Stated differently, we do not know if the reported R/PH contributed to the performance outcomes, or if the high job performance outcomes contributed to the reported R/PH. Further data collection and analysis over the next 12-24 months will broaden our understanding of the relationships

Logics of knowledge and action: critical analysis and challenges

International audienceWe overview the most prominent logics of knowledge and action that were proposed and studied in the multiagent systems literature. We classify them according to these two dimensions, knowledge and action, and moreover introduce a distinction between individual knowledge and group knowledge, and between a nonstrategic an a strategic interpretation of action operators. For each of the logics in our classification we highlight problematic properties. They indicate weaknesses in the design of these logics and call into question their suitability to represent knowledge and reason about it. This leads to a list of research challenges

The effect of participation in the Ugandan National Agricultural Advisory Services on willingness to pay for extension services

Uganda’s National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS), established in 2001, is a demand-driven extension program for developing farmer organizations and improving farmer production and welfare. The program is expected to be 50% client funded after 25 years. However, varying returns to extension services and inconclusive evidence about their effectiveness suggest that farmers may not be willing to pay for these services. Using a choice experiment, this study found that longer participation in NAADS increased farmers’ willingness to pay and that NAADS had a cost beneficial effect at farm level. The findings suggest that farmers are willing to pay for extension advice (US$0.20, which is higher than that found for most other African extension systems) if they see they are given good information, though they should not be asked to pay the full cost. Longer association with NAADS promoted the adoption of new crops, reduced the vulnerability of farms by increasing technology adoption and improved farmer welfare

Accountability for Practical Reasoning Agents

Postprin

Bacterial Biodiversity-Ecosystem Functioning Relations Are Modified by Environmental Complexity

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The expression of hyperpolarization activated cyclic nucleotide gated (HCN) channels in the rat ovary are dependent on the type of cell and the reproductive age of the animal: a laboratory investigation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that levels of hyperpolarization activated cyclic nucleotide gated channels 1 to 4 (HCN1-4) are linked to the reproductive age of the ovary.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Young, adult, and reproductively aged ovaries were collected from Sprague-Dawley rats. RT-PCR and western blot analysis of ovaries was performed to investigate the presence of mRNA and total protein for HCN1-4. Immunohistochemistry with semiquantitative H score analysis was performed using whole ovarian histologic sections.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>RT-PCR analysis showed the presence of mRNA for HCN1-4. Western blot analysis revealed HCN1-3 proteins in all ages of ovarian tissues. Immunohistochemistry with H score analysis demonstrated distinct age-related changes in patterns of HCN1-3 in the oocytes, granulosa cells, theca cells, and corpora lutea. HCN4 was present only in the oocytes, with declining levels during the reproduction lifespan.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The evidence presented here demonstrates cell-type and developmental age patterns of HCN1-4 channel expression in rat ovaries. Based on this, we hypothesize that HCN channels have functional significance in rat ovaries and may have changing roles in reproductive aging.</p

An Open Source Simulation Model for Soil and Sediment Bioturbation

Bioturbation is one of the most widespread forms of ecological engineering and has significant implications for the structure and functioning of ecosystems, yet our understanding of the processes involved in biotic mixing remains incomplete. One reason is that, despite their value and utility, most mathematical models currently applied to bioturbation data tend to neglect aspects of the natural complexity of bioturbation in favour of mathematical simplicity. At the same time, the abstract nature of these approaches limits the application of such models to a limited range of users. Here, we contend that a movement towards process-based modelling can improve both the representation of the mechanistic basis of bioturbation and the intuitiveness of modelling approaches. In support of this initiative, we present an open source modelling framework that explicitly simulates particle displacement and a worked example to facilitate application and further development. The framework combines the advantages of rule-based lattice models with the application of parameterisable probability density functions to generate mixing on the lattice. Model parameters can be fitted by experimental data and describe particle displacement at the spatial and temporal scales at which bioturbation data is routinely collected. By using the same model structure across species, but generating species-specific parameters, a generic understanding of species-specific bioturbation behaviour can be achieved. An application to a case study and comparison with a commonly used model attest the predictive power of the approach