Search

Three-dimensional (3D) vegetation structure influences animal movements and, consequently, ecosystem functions. Animals disperse the seeds of 60%-90% of trees in tropical rainforests, which are among the most structurally complex ecosystems on Earth. Here, we investigated how 3D rainforest structure influences the movements of large, frugivorous birds and resulting spatial patterns of seed dispersal. We GPS-tracked white-thighed (Bycanistes albotibialis) and black-casqued hornbills (Ceratogymna atrata) in a study area surveyed by light detection and ranging (LiDAR) in southern Cameroon. We found that both species preferred areas of greater canopy height and white-thighed hornbill preferred areas of greater vertical complexity. In addition, 33% of the hornbills preferred areas close to canopy gaps, while 16.7% and 27.8% avoided large and small gaps, respectively. White-thighed hornbills avoided swamp habitats, while black-casqued increased their preference for swamps during the hottest temperatures. We mapped spatial probabilities of seed dispersal by hornbills, showing that 3D structural attributes shape this ecological process by influencing hornbill behaviour. These results provide evidence of a possible feedback loop between rainforest vegetation structure and seed dispersal by animals. Interactions between seed dispersers and vegetation structure described here are essential for understanding ecosystem functions in tropical rainforests and critical for predicting how rainforests respond to anthropogenic impacts.

Purpose: During the COVID-19 crisis in Victoria, Australia the complexity of school leadership increased greatly for school principals. This study focused on the lived experiences of early career principals in the independent school sector from March to November 2020 in Victoria, Australia. It investigates transformative work that was undertaken by these leaders in leading their schools over a protracted crisis. Design/methodology/approach: The study builds on constructs of crisis leadership, adaptive leadership, agile leadership and emotional intelligence, exploring the leadership approaches undertaken by twenty-two early career principals in Victoria, Australia. Using a narrative inquiry approach, across three temporal points in 2020, storied productions drawn from the findings present four emergent types of emotionally intelligent leadership approaches undertaken by these principals. These leadership approaches are presented as the commander-leader, the conductor-leader, the gardener-leader and the engineer-leader with each approach demonstrating both organisational leadership approaches as well as individual leadership styles used by these principals as they led their schools. Findings: The findings have direct implications for professional development programs focusing on aspiring principals and early career principals with emphasis on the importance of developing emotionally intelligent skillsets in principals for use during periods of rapid change or high crisis in schools. The findings present insight into the support useful for early career principals in the first five years of principalship. Originality/value: This study uses a unique emotional intelligence approach to understand school leadership during and after a crisis.

Accurately quantifying species' area requirements is a prerequisite for effective area-based conservation. This typically involves collecting tracking data on species of interest and then conducting home-range analyses. Problematically, autocorrelation in tracking data can result in space needs being severely underestimated. Based on the previous work, we hypothesized the magnitude of underestimation varies with body mass, a relationship that could have serious conservation implications. To evaluate this hypothesis for terrestrial mammals, we estimated home-range areas with global positioning system (GPS) locations from 757 individuals across 61 globally distributed mammalian species with body masses ranging from 0.4 to 4000 kg. We then applied block cross-validation to quantify bias in empirical home-range estimates. Area requirements of mammals 1, meaning the scaling of the relationship changed substantially at the upper end of the mass spectrum.

These appendixes summarize the graduate programs and points of contact for students interested in pursuing comparative psychology or a related fields in the field today. Both a google doc and a current list are provided. Individuals interested in having their programs or names included in the list, please contact Dr. Heather Hill at hhill1@stmarytx.edu or ijcpmail@gmail.com.

In this paper, I will elaborate somewhat on Slobin's notion of 'thinking for speaking' by introducing the construct of 'rhetorical style', by which I mean a set of related constructions employed to achieve a particular discourse effect. Just as the presence of a particular grammatical category may impel speakers to organize their thinking to meet the demands of the linguistic encoding of that category on-line, so the use of a given rhetorical style may require similar adjustments in thinking for speaking.The goals of this paper are threefold. First I will present data, drawn primarily from narrative discourses, on the use of direct quotes in Chantyal, a Tibeto-Burman language of Nepal. In Chantyal, direct quotes are conveyed by a set of constructions which I will refer to collectively as 'quotatives': quotatives always include a form of the verb 'say' together with a complement of 'say' presented as a direct quote. Second, I will argue that quotatives are used in Chantyal to affect the 'direct speech style', a mode of exploiting quotatives to further narrative goals that in many other languages are achieved by means other than quotatives. And third, I will discuss the direct speech style as a 'rhetorical style', and go on to present an overview of rhetorical styles, their uses, their status as areal features, and their diachronic developments.

The Chantyal people are a relatively small ethnic group, numbering no more than 10,000. They can be divided into two groups, the Myagdi Chantyal and the Baglung Chantyal, named for the districts they inhabit within the Dhaulagiri Zone of central Nepal. Untill the recent immigration to towns and cities, the interaction between the two groups was, in general, quite limited. The Baglung Chantyal ceased to speak the Chantyal language some time in the 19th century and now know only the national language, Nepali; the majority of the Myagdi Chantyal continue to speak Chantyal in their home villages. There are approximately 2000 or so who still speak the Chantyal language.

The Chantyal people are a relatively small ethnic group, numbering no more than 10,000. They can be divided into two groups, the Myagdi Chantyal and the Baglung Chantyal, named for the districts they inhabit within the Dhaulagiri Zone of central Nepal. Untill the recent immigration to towns and cities, the interaction between the two groups was, in general, quite limited. The Baglung Chantyal ceased to speak the Chantyal language some time in the 19th century and now know only the national language, Nepali; the majority of the Myagdi Chantyal continue to speak Chantyal in their home villages. There are approximately 2000 or so who still speak the Chantyal language.

There has long been an "us" and "them" mentality when it comes to the production of disability narratives on screen, driven by an assumption that non-disabled people cannot accurately interpret the disabled experience. Given the appalling history of representations by non-disabled filmmakers, it is easy to understand why many academics and members of the disability community favour the complete control of disability content by disabled people. But this approach has failed the many compelling "disabled voices" that go unheard because they do not reach audiences. The most practical solution is to forge new models of creative collaboration between disabled and non-disabled people, something I attempted to do with my PhD film, a comedy feature entitled "Down Under Mystery Tour". I discovered that the most important tool in such collaborations is the utilisation and management of manipulation, one that prioritises skill and experience and best expresses the unique perspective of intellectually-disabled collaborators.

Objective: Haemorrhagic shock is a life-threatening complication of trauma, but remains a preventable cause of death. Early recognition of retroperitoneal haemorrhage (RPH) is crucial in preventing deleterious outcomes including mortality. Injury to the 9-11th intercostal arteries (i.e. arteries of the lower thoracic region) are complicit in RPH. However, the associated injuries, implications and management of such bleeds remain poorly characterised. Methods: We performed a retrospective review of the medical records of patients diagnosed with RPH who presented to our level-1 trauma centre (2009-2019). We described the associated injuries, management and outcomes relating to RPH of the lower thoracic region (the 9-11th intercostal arteries) from this cohort to identify potential predictors and evaluate the impact of early identification and management of non-cavitary bleeds. Results: Haemorrhage of the lower intercostal arteries (LIA) into the retroperitoneal space is associated with an increased number of posterior lower rib fractures and pneumothorax/haemothorax. A higher proportion of patients in the LIA group required massive transfusion, angioembolisation or surgical ligation when compared to other causes of RPH. Conclusion: The present study highlights the importance of injury patterns, particularly posterior lower rib fractures, as predictors for early recognition and management of RPH in the prevention of deleterious patient outcomes. RPH secondary to bleeding of the LIA may require early and aggressive management of haemorrhage through massive transfusion, and angioembolisation or surgical ligation when compared to RPH because of other causes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objectives of the Pentagon's new Quadrennial Defense Review's (QDR), released in February 2006, its relative strengths and limitations and how it differs from QDR 2001 are discussed. The QDR 2005 is the third review that is designed to ensure that the Pentagon is conducting long-range planning in regards to the nation's defense policy.

The official U.S. Army doctrinal manual for operations declares that 'the American people expect decisive victory and abhor unnecessary casualties.'(1) This supposed lesson of both the Vietnam War and the [...]

The official U.S. Army doctrinal manual for operations declares that 'the American people expect decisive victory and abhor unnecessary casualties.'(1) This supposed lesson of both the Vietnam War and the [...]

Abstract Background To assess the long-term pediatric safety of 2 doses of mometasone furoate administered via a dry powder inhaler (MF-DPI) for mild-to-moderate persistent asthma and compare them with that of beclomethasone dipropionate administered via a metered dose inhaler (BDP-MDI) in the treatment of persistent asthma. Both MF-DPI doses tested are twice the approved pediatric dosage of 100 μg once-daily (QD) for children aged 4–11 years. Methods Children (N = 233) aged 4–11 years were randomized to 52 weeks of treatment with MF-DPI 200 μg QD AM, MF-DPI 100 μg twice daily (BID), or BDP-MDI 168 μg BID. Patients had used inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) daily for ≥ 30 days before the screening visit and were on stable ICS doses for ≥ 2 weeks before screening. The primary safety variable was the incidence of adverse events. Secondary safety variables were laboratory tests (including cortisol concentrations), vital signs, and physical examination. Results The incidence of adverse events was similar in all 3 treatment groups. The most frequently reported adverse event was upper respiratory tract infection, reported by 47%–49% of the MF-DPI-treated patients and 51% of the BPD-treated patients. Most adverse events were considered unrelated to study drug. The most frequently reported related adverse events were headache (MF-DPI 200 μg QD AM, 8%; MF-DPI 100 μg BID, 4%; BDP-MDI 168 μg BID, 2%) and oral candidiasis (4% in each treatment group). No clinically relevant changes in laboratory values, including plasma cortisol, vital signs, or physical examinations were noted in any treatment group. Conclusion Both MF-DPI doses were well tolerated, with no unusual or unexpected adverse events or safety concerns, and had a similar adverse event profile to that of BDP-MDI 168 μg BID.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to describe the epidemiology and clinical features of patients presenting to the ED with suspected and confirmed COVID‐19. Methods: The COVID‐19 ED (COVED) Project is an ongoing prospective cohort study in Australian EDs. This analysis presents data from eight sites across Victoria and Tasmania for July 2020 (during Australia's 'second wave'). All adult patients who met criteria for 'suspected COVID‐19' and underwent testing for SARS‐CoV‐2 in the ED were eligible for inclusion. Study outcomes included a positive SARS‐CoV‐2 test result and mechanical ventilation. Results: In the period 1 July to 31 July 2020, there were 30 378 presentations to the participating EDs and 2917 (9.6%; 95% confidence interval 9.3–9.9) underwent testing for SARS‐CoV‐2. Of these, 50 (2%) patients returned a positive result. Among positive cases, two (4%) received mechanical ventilation during their hospital admission compared to 45 (2%) of the SARS‐CoV‐2 negative patients (odds ratio 1.7, 95% confidence interval 0.4–7.3; P = 0.47). Two (4%) SARS‐CoV‐2 positive patients died in hospital compared to 46 (2%) of the SARS‐CoV‐2 negative patients (odds ratio 1.7, 95% confidence interval 0.4–7.1; P = 0.49). Strong clinical predictors of a positive SARS‐CoV‐2 result included self‐reported fever, non‐smoking status, bilateral infiltrates on chest X‐ray and absence of a leucocytosis on first ED blood tests (P < 0.05). Conclusion: In this prospective multi‐site study from July 2020, a substantial proportion of ED patients required SARS‐CoV‐2 testing, isolation and enhanced infection prevention and control precautions. Presence of SARS‐CoV‐2 on nasopharyngeal swab was not associated with death or mechanical ventilation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]