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The high spatial complexities of soil temperature modeling over semiarid land have challenged the calibration–forecast framework, whose composited objective lacks comprehensive evaluation. Therefore, this study, based on the Noah land surface model and its full parameter table, utilizes two global searching algorithms and eight kinds of objectives with dimensional-varied metrics, combined with dense site soil moisture and temperature observations of central Tibet, to explore different metrics' performances on the spatial heterogeneity and uncertainty of regional land surface parameters, calibration efficiency and effectiveness, and spatiotemporal complexities in surface forecasting. Results have shown that metrics' diversity has shown greater influence on the calibration—predication framework than the global searching algorithm's differences. The enhanced multi-objective metric (EMO) and the enhanced Kling–Gupta efficiency (EKGE) have their own advantages and disadvantages in simulations and parameters, respectively. In particular, the EMO composited with the four metrics of correlated coefficient, root mean square error, mean absolute error, and Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency has shown relatively balanced performance in surface soil temperature forecasting when compared to other metrics. In addition, the calibration–forecast framework that benefited from the EMO could greatly reduce the spatial complexities in surface soil modeling of semiarid land. In general, these findings could enhance the knowledge of metrics' advantages in solving the complexities of the LSM's parameters and simulations and promote the application of the calibration–forecast framework, thereby potentially improving regional surface forecasting over semiarid regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a comprehensive study on the 3D nanoscale topography of LaMnO 3 thin films, focusing on the influence of calcination temperature on surface morphology. The study reveals significant structural, chemical, and morphological changes as a function of the calcination temperature. XRD analysis confirmed the formation of the orthorhombic LaMnO 3 structure at 700 °C, 750 °C, and 800 °C, with increasing unit cell volume and crystallite size observed at higher temperatures. FTIR spectra identified characteristic functional groups associated with molecular vibrations, indicating the perovskite structure. SEM imaging showed grain growth with temperature, while EDS analysis confirmed compound formation and substrate interactions. AFM analysis revealed increased surface roughness with temperature, attributed to nucleation and crystal growth. Morphological and microtextural analyses further detailed changes in surface features, peaks, valleys, and voids. Fractal characterization highlighted variations in surface texture with temperature, with a decrease in dominant wavelength indicating changes in microtexture complexity. Overall, the findings provide insights into the temperature-dependent properties of LaMnO 3 thin films, essential for optimizing growth conditions and understanding their potential applications in various fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Hippocampal neurogenesis is critical for improving learning, memory, and spatial navigation. Inhabiting and navigating spatial complexity is key to stimulating adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) in rodents because they share similar hippocampal neuroplasticity characteristics with humans. AHN in humans has recently been found to persist until the tenth decade of life, but it declines with aging and is influenced by environmental enrichment. This systematic review investigated the impact of spatial complexity on neurogenesis and hippocampal plasticity in rodents, and discussed the translatability of these findings to human interventions. Methods: Comprehensive searches were conducted on three databases in English: PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. All literature published until December 2023 was screened and assessed for eligibility. A total of 32 studies with original data were included, and the process is reported in accordance with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) statement and checklist. Results: The studies evaluated various models of spatial complexity in rodents, including environmental enrichment, changes to in-cage elements, complex layouts, and navigational mazes featuring novelty and intermittent complexity. A regression equation was formulated to synthesize key factors influencing neurogenesis, such as duration, physical activity, frequency of changes, diversity of complexity, age, living space size, and temperature. Conclusion: Findings underscore the cognitive benefits of spatial complexity interventions and inform future translational research from rodents to humans. Home-cage enrichment and models like the Hamlet complex maze and the Marlau cage offer insight into how architectural design and urban navigational complexity can impact neurogenesis in humans. In-space changing complexity, with and without physical activity, is effective for stimulating neurogenesis. While evidence on intermittent spatial complexity in humans is limited, data from the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns provide preliminary evidence. Existing equations relating rodent and human ages may allow for the translation of enrichment protocol durations from rodents to humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of the complex interior structure of a building, indoor navigation is an important tool for people to arrive at their destination in large public buildings. In this research, we first analyze the complexity of indoor space, which mainly includes spatial entities with rich semantics, but corridors lacking in semantics, poor visibility, and multi-dimensional floors. Then, we designed various indoor navigation maps based on spatial complexity and conducted a comparative analysis between the existing maps and the ones we designed. Participants were recruited to perform three navigation tasks in the study area on-site. The results demonstrate the advantages of using a hierarchical landmark representation for improved spatial knowledge acquisition and the effectiveness of scene-enhanced directional guidance in areas with poor visibility. It is worth noting that the introduction of three-dimensional maps was found to have a positive impact on users’ spatial perception and their ability to sketch routes accurately. In summary, this evidence confirms that maps based on spatial complexity not only enhance navigation efficiency but also have the potential to improve the overall indoor navigation experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regulation of insect pests by predators is an integral component of biological pest control. However, predator-prey interactions often reach a stable state leading to coexistence, which can be problematic for plant protection if the persisting herbivores exceed a damage threshold. Consequently, understanding the factors mediating this stability is crucial for successful biocontrol. Here, we investigated the predator-prey interaction of an important apple pest, the woolly apple aphid (WAA) (Eriosoma lanigerum Hausm.) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), and its predator, the omnivorous common earwig (Forficula auricularia L.) (Dermaptera: Forficulidae). To this end, we introduced increasing densities of earwigs in gauze-bagged branches harbouring defined amounts of WAA and recorded predation on individual WAA colonies for almost one month. We showed that the spatial complexity of the predation environment and the earwig density determined the predation efficiency on WAAs. Earwigs could eradicate WAAs regardless of density on short apple branches without lateral twigs (first trial). However, on longer, more complex branches (second trial), stable states of WAAs and earwigs were observed. Only the highest earwig density could completely consume WAA regardless of branch complexity. We introduce a conceptual model to describe the searching capability of earwigs, which determines their efficiency in locating prey. Our model predicts that searching capability is reduced by environmental complexity; this effect is alleviated by increased earwig density, as more predators possess a higher searching capability. Conclusively, our model explains why only the highest earwig density could completely consume WAA irrespective of complexity and illustrates how predator density and environmental complexity jointly influence predation. Thus environmental characteristics not inherent to our predator-prey interaction were a decisive factor for effective predation on gauze-bagged branches. Based on these results, reducing tree complexity by pruning or augmenting earwig populations in orchards can increase biocontrol of the WAA.

Regulation of insect pests by predators is an integral component of biological pest control. However, predator-prey interactions often reach a stable state leading to coexistence, which can be problematic for plant protection if the persisting herbivores exceed a damage threshold. Consequently, understanding the factors mediating this stability is crucial for successful biocontrol. Here, we investigated the predator-prey interaction of an important apple pest, the woolly apple aphid (WAA) (Eriosoma lanigerum Hausm.) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), and its predator, the omnivorous common earwig (Forficula auricularia L.) (Dermaptera: Forficulidae). To this end, we introduced increasing densities of earwigs in gauze-bagged branches harbouring defined amounts of WAA and recorded predation on individual WAA colonies for almost one month. We showed that the spatial complexity of the predation environment and the earwig density determined the predation efficiency on WAAs. Earwigs could eradicate WAAs regardless of density on short apple branches without lateral twigs (first trial). However, on longer, more complex branches (second trial), stable states of WAAs and earwigs were observed. Only the highest earwig density could completely consume WAA regardless of branch complexity. We introduce a conceptual model to describe the searching capability of earwigs, which determines their efficiency in locating prey. Our model predicts that searching capability is reduced by environmental complexity; this effect is alleviated by increased earwig density, as more predators possess a higher searching capability. Conclusively, our model explains why only the highest earwig density could completely consume WAA irrespective of complexity and illustrates how predator density and environmental complexity jointly influence predation. Thus environmental characteristics not inherent to our predator-prey interaction were a decisive factor for effective predation on gauze-bagged branches. Based on these results, reducing tree complexity by pruning or augmenting earwig populations in orchards can increase biocontrol of the WAA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IntroductionHippocampal neurogenesis is critical for improving learning, memory, and spatial navigation. Inhabiting and navigating spatial complexity is key to stimulating adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) in rodents because they share similar hippocampal neuroplasticity characteristics with humans. AHN in humans has recently been found to persist until the tenth decade of life, but it declines with aging and is influenced by environmental enrichment. This systematic review investigated the impact of spatial complexity on neurogenesis and hippocampal plasticity in rodents, and discussed the translatability of these findings to human interventions.MethodsComprehensive searches were conducted on three databases in English: PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. All literature published until December 2023 was screened and assessed for eligibility. A total of 32 studies with original data were included, and the process is reported in accordance with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) statement and checklist.ResultsThe studies evaluated various models of spatial complexity in rodents, including environmental enrichment, changes to in-cage elements, complex layouts, and navigational mazes featuring novelty and intermittent complexity. A regression equation was formulated to synthesize key factors influencing neurogenesis, such as duration, physical activity, frequency of changes, diversity of complexity, age, living space size, and temperature.ConclusionFindings underscore the cognitive benefits of spatial complexity interventions and inform future translational research from rodents to humans. Home-cage enrichment and models like the Hamlet complex maze and the Marlau cage offer insight into how architectural design and urban navigational complexity can impact neurogenesis in humans. In-space changing complexity, with and without physical activity, is effective for stimulating neurogenesis. While evidence on intermittent spatial complexity in humans is limited, data from the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns provide preliminary evidence. Existing equations relating rodent and human ages may allow for the translation of enrichment protocol durations from rodents to humans.

Video streaming has become an integral part of our digital lives, driving the need for efficient video delivery. With the growing demand for seamless video delivery, adaptive video streaming has emerged as a solution to support users with varying device capabilities and network conditions. Traditional adaptive streaming relies on a predetermined set of bitrate-resolution pairs, known as bitrate ladders, for encoding. However, this “one-size-fits-all” approach is suboptimal when dealing with diverse video content. Consequently, per-title encoding approaches dynamically select the bitrate ladder for each content. However, in an era when carbon dioxide emissions have become a paramount concern, it is crucial to consider energy consumption. Therefore, this paper addresses the pressing issue of increasing energy consumption in video streaming by introducing a novel approach, ESTR, which goes beyond traditional quality-centric resolution selection approaches. Instead, the ESTR considers both video quality and decoding energy consumption to construct an optimal bitrate ladder tailored to the unique characteristics of each video content. To accomplish this, ESTR encodes each video content using a range of spatial and temporal resolutions, each paired with specific bitrates. It then establishes a maximum acceptable quality drop threshold ( $\tau $ ), carefully selecting resolutions that not only preserve video quality above this threshold but also minimize decoding energy consumption. Our experimental results, at a fixed $\tau $ of 2 VMAF steps, demonstrate a 32.87% to 41.86% reduction in decoding energy demand for HEVC-encoded videos across various software decoder implementations and operating systems, with a maximum bitrate increase of 2.52%. Furthermore, on a hardware-accelerated client device, a 46.37% energy saving was achieved during video playback at the expense of a 2.52% bitrate increase. Remarkably, these gains in energy efficiency are achieved while maintaining consistent video quality.

The high spatial complexities of soil temperature modeling over semiarid land have challenged the calibration–forecast framework, whose composited objective lacks comprehensive evaluation. Therefore, this study, based on the Noah land surface model and its full parameter table, utilizes two global searching algorithms and eight kinds of objectives with dimensional-varied metrics, combined with dense site soil moisture and temperature observations of central Tibet, to explore different metrics’ performances on the spatial heterogeneity and uncertainty of regional land surface parameters, calibration efficiency and effectiveness, and spatiotemporal complexities in surface forecasting. Results have shown that metrics’ diversity has shown greater influence on the calibration—predication framework than the global searching algorithm’s differences. The enhanced multi-objective metric (EMO) and the enhanced Kling–Gupta efficiency (EKGE) have their own advantages and disadvantages in simulations and parameters, respectively. In particular, the EMO composited with the four metrics of correlated coefficient, root mean square error, mean absolute error, and Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency has shown relatively balanced performance in surface soil temperature forecasting when compared to other metrics. In addition, the calibration–forecast framework that benefited from the EMO could greatly reduce the spatial complexities in surface soil modeling of semiarid land. In general, these findings could enhance the knowledge of metrics’ advantages in solving the complexities of the LSM’s parameters and simulations and promote the application of the calibration–forecast framework, thereby potentially improving regional surface forecasting over semiarid regions.

Monoterpene indole alkaloids (MIAs) are endowed with high structural and spatial complexity and characterized by diverse biological activities. Given this complexity‐activity combination in MIAs, rapid and efficient access to chemical matter related to and with complexity similar to these alkaloids would be highly desirable, since such compound classes might display novel bioactivity. We describe the design and synthesis of a pseudo‐natural product (pseudo‐NP) collection obtained by the unprecedented combination of MIA fragments through complexity‐generating transformations, resulting in arrangements not currently accessible by biosynthetic pathways. Cheminformatic analyses revealed that both the pseudo‐NPs and the MIAs reside in a unique and common area of chemical space with high spatial complexity‐density that is only sparsely populated by other natural products and drugs. Investigation of bioactivity guided by morphological profiling identified pseudo‐NPs that inhibit DNA synthesis and modulate tubulin. These results demonstrate that the pseudo‐NP collection occupies similar biologically relevant chemical space that Nature has endowed MIAs with. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IntroductionEnvironmental enrichment (EE) improves various health outcomes, such as hippocampal neurogenesis, in rodents, which is thought to be caused, in part, by increased physical activity. However, the specific effect of each enrichment component, such as enlarged housing spaces and increased spatial complexity with a variety of objects, on physical activity remains unclear because of methodological limitations in measuring physical activity. We aimed to examine whether enlarged housing spaces and increased spatial complexity increase physical activity in mice using a body-implantable actimeter.MethodsAdult male C57BL/6J mice were assigned to either standard housing or EE groups. The housing environment in the EE mice was gradually enriched by enlarging the housing space and the placement of a variety of objects. Physical activity was measured using a body-implanted actimeter. Hippocampal neurogenesis was immunohistochemically examined.ResultsEnlarged housing spaces and the placement of a variety of objects did not increase physical activity in mice. In contrast, hippocampal neurogenesis was enhanced in the EE mice, suggesting that environmental interventions successfully provided enriched housing conditions for these mice.ConclusionsThese results indicate that enlarged housing spaces and increased spatial complexity do not increase physical activity in mice. Furthermore, we found that EE enhanced hippocampal neurogenesis without increasing activity volume. Besides the current understanding that increasing the amount of physical activity is key to improving hippocampal function, our result suggests that the environment in which physical activity takes place is also a crucial contextual factor in determining the impact of physical activity on hippocampal function.

Objective: To explore the association between high‐frequency oscillations (HFOs) and epilepsy types and to improve the accuracy of source localization. Methods: Magnetoencephalography (MEG) ripples of 63 drug‐resistant epilepsy patients were detected. Ripple rates, distribution, spatial complexity, and the clustering coefficient of ripple channels were used for the preliminary classification of lateral temporal lobe epilepsy (LTLE), mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE), and nontemporal lobe epilepsy (NTLE), mainly frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE). Furthermore, the seizure site identification was improved using the Tucker LCMV method and source‐level betweenness centrality. Results: Ripple rates were significantly higher in MTLE than in LTLE and NTLE (p < 0.05). The LTLE and MTLE were mainly distributed in the temporal lobe, followed by the parietal lobe, occipital lobe, and frontal lobe, whereas MTLE ripples were mainly distributed in the frontal lobe, then parietal lobe and occipital lobe. Nevertheless, the NTLE ripples were primarily in the frontal lobe and partially in the occipital lobe (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, the spatial complexity of NTLE was significantly higher than that of LTLE and MTLE and was lowest in MTLE (p < 0.01). However, an opposite trend was observed for the standardized clustering coefficient compared with spatial complexity (p < 0.01). Finally, the tucker algorithm showed a higher percentage of ripples at the surgical site when the betweenness centrality was added (p < 0.01). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that HFO rates, distribution, spatial complexity, and clustering coefficient of ripple channels varied considerably among the three epilepsy types. Additionally, tucker MEG estimation combined with ripple rates based on the source‐level functional connectivity is a promising approach for presurgical epilepsy evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing urban carbon emissions (UCEs) holds paramount importance for global sustainable development. However, the complexity of interactions among urban spatial units has impeded further research on UCEs. This study investigates synergistic emission reduction between cities by analyzing the spatial complexity within the UCEs network. The future potential for synergistic carbon emissions reduction is predicted by the link prediction algorithm. A case study conducted in the Pearl River Basin of China demonstrates that the UCEs network has a complex spatial structure, and the synergistic capacity of emission reduction among cities is enhanced. The core cities in the UCEs network, including Dongguan, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, have spillover effects that contribute to synergistic emission reduction. Community detection reveals that the common characteristics associated with UCEs become concentrated, thereby enhancing the synergy of joint efforts between cities. The link prediction algorithm indicates a high probability of strengthened carbon emission connections in the Pearl River Delta, alongside those between upstream cities, which shows potential in forecasting synergistic emission reductions. Our research framework offers a comprehensive analysis for synergistic emission reduction from the spatial complexity of UCEs network and link prediction. It acts as a worthwhile reference for developing differentiated policies on synergistic emission reduction., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Resting-state EEG microstate and omega complexity analyses have been widely used to explore deviant brain function in various neuropsychiatric disorders. This study aimed to investigate the features of microstate dynamics and spatial complexity in patients with late-life schizophrenia (LLS). Method: Microstate and omega complexity analyses were performed on restingstate EEG data from 39 in patients with LLS and compared with 40 elderly normal controls (NCs). Result: The duration of microstate classes A and D were significantly higher in patients with LLS compared with NCs. The occurrence of microstate classes A, B, and C was significantly lower in patients with LLS compared with NCs. LLS patients have a lower time coverage of microstate class A and a higher time coverage of class D than NCs. Transition probabilities from microstate class A to B and from class A to C were significantly lower in patients with LLS compared with NCs. Transition probabilities betweenmicrostate class B and D were significantly higher in patientswith LLS compared with NCs. Global omega complexity and anterior omega complexity were significantly higher in patients with LLS compared with NCs. Conclusion: This study revealed an altered pattern of microstate dynamics and omega complexity in patients with LLS. This may reflect the disturbed neural basis underlying LLS and enhance the understanding of the pathophysiology of LLS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Artificial light at night provides convenience and a perception of safety for humans. However, it is an environmental pollutant to many wildlife species. We found that in the city artificial light at night attracted insects, which could be a source of food for bats. However, whether bats could use this food source depended on their ability to navigate through objects in space. We found that bats that preferred open habitats did not fully use insects attracted by artificial light at night when foraging sites were cluttered by fences, billboards, and other objects. In contrast, bats that were considered not to benefit from artificial light at night could take advantage of cluttered sites and be more active and forage more. Lastly, there were a few species absent in our study, which could be light-sensitive and not adaptive to urban environments. We suggest that limiting or reducing artificial light at night is needed to conserve bats. Predators respond to the increase of prey by aggregation in space or foraging more often. However, foraging habitat suitability limits predators' responses. For nocturnal insectivorous bats, artificial light at night (ALAN) can trigger insect prey aggregation. It is not clear how ALAN might affect predator-prey relationships in the urban setting, where urban bats could have adapted to the city, and novel spatial complexity introduced by man-made objects might alter foraging habitat suitability. We strategically selected sites to represent different levels of ALAN and spatial complexity. We recorded bat commuting and foraging activities and collected aerial insects to examine how ALAN and spatial complexity affected bat-insect relationships. We found that insect biomass was positively correlated with ALAN, but was not affected by spatial complexity. Large-sized big brown bats and hoary bats positively responded to change of prey in open sites whereas small-sized eastern red bats and silver-haired bats positively responded in cluttered sites, suggesting that the impact of ALAN could vary when ALAN is coupled with urban spatial complexity. Our study demonstrates that foraging habitat suitability can alter which species might benefit from ALAN. Predator-prey relationships in cities are complex, but general ecological principles still apply in novel urban ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Question: Stand structural complexity is increasingly valued by forest managers to promote resilience, and quantitative spatial data from reference stands can help achieve these goals. We questioned how stand structural elements were spatially distributed across a Pinus palustris woodland. Specifically, we sought to quantify patterns of individual trees, tree clumps, openings, and canopy disturbance and examine spatial relationships between P. palustris saplings and P. palustris and Quercus spp. trees. Location: Fall Line Hills, Alabama, USA (32°56′12′′ N, 87°25′37′′ W). Methods: We recorded tree species, diameter, age, and location of all trees, and reconstructed canopy disturbance events across a 1-ha site in a P. palustris woodland. We used global point pattern analysis (g(r) function) and a local spatial classification method (individuals, clumps, and openings) to examine the distribution of stand structural elements and canopy disturbance. Results: Trees were generally clustered by taxa and diameter. Pinus palustris saplings exhibited no spatial relationship with P. palustris trees, but were clustered around Quercus trees at variable distances. Approximately half of the trees in the stand occurred in large clumps, and ca. 10% of trees occurred as individuals that did not touch crowns with neighbors. For three of the five disturbance periods, canopy disturbances were clustered in space at various distances. Conclusions: Spatial randomness and clustering of structural elements and canopy disturbance events were evident across the reference site. The spatial patterns of stand structure quantified here, in conjunction with data from other georeferenced studies, can be used to develop silvicultural guidelines to enhance structural complexity and promote resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a wide range of visual and spatial complexity measurement methods that aim to quantify perceived image complexity. While image-based calculation methods (edge detection, image compression, contrast) characterize a digital image, visual perception studies focus on fundamental visual mechanisms, such as contrast sensitivity and visual task performance. Despite the evidence from several vision studies, spatial frequency information has not been widely utilized to assess image complexity. Previous studies suggest that image-based performance metrics are limited in explaining perceived complexity due to confounding factors, such as context, memory, familiarity, and expectation. Here, a visual experiment is conducted to assess the performance of image-based metrics and spatial frequency information using 16 abstract and natural images. Anew image complexity metric(Rspt), based on detectability suprathreshold, was proposed to benchmark the performance of existing measures. Forty-four naïve participants used a 5-point Likert-type scale to judge the visual complexity of the images displayed on a tablet. Results indicate that root-mean-square error (RMSE) and Rspt correlate statistically significantly with subjective evaluations. Biological sex did not affect perceived spatial complexity. While RMSE and Rspt can potentially be used to estimate the spatial complexity of display images, the performance of spatial frequency information and image assessment measures in immersive viewing conditions require further research.

This paper presents a combination of three pre-processing tools that allow energy system modelers to define the number and shape of their model regions flexibly. Firstly, weather reanalysis data and other geographic maps are combined in pyGRETA to downscale wind and solar data and obtain renewable energy potential maps in high spatial resolution, while pyPRIMA can provide the spatial distribution of the energy demand and a pre-processed network of transmission lines. Secondly, the raster maps and the transmission grid are fed into pyCLARA to obtain a shapefile of regions with homogeneous characteristics. Thirdly, the obtained shapefile is used in pyGRETA to generate representative time series of renewable power generation, and in pyPRIMA to pre-process the rest of the data (power plants, demand, grid, etc.) to prepare input files for model frameworks. The three tools have a similar software architecture and are available in GitHub with an open source license and a detailed description. A minimal working example shows how they can operate together to ensure a high degree of modeling flexibility.

Substrate surface area and fractal complexity have been reported to influence the abundance and diversity of mobile cryptic animal communities. Surfaces with higher fractal dimensions not only offer additional space for colonization, but bias space availability toward smaller size ranges, increasing the number of available niches. Conversely, smaller surface areas tend to be associated with a decrease in abundances while reduced fractal complexities may support less diversity in the benthic community. In this study, we compared morphological parameters between rubble sampled from rubble mounds accumulated at the seaward side of artificial breakwaters and rubble sampled from a nearby location with no breakwaters (=control site). The purpose of this work was to establish a methodology for comparing the surface area and fractal complexity of coral rubble fragments using easily available equipment that could be efficiently utilized during field work. Rubble fragments were individually weighed and photographed in controlled light conditions. Each photograph was then analyzed using ImageJ software. Rubble pieces from each photograph went through segmentation, the separation of sample outlines from the picture background, before being measured and analyzed for surface area, width, and length (size estimators), and circularity, aspect ratio, roundness, solidity, and Feret properties (shape estimators). Surface fractal complexity was also measured, using the box counting method on segmented rubble surfaces. We observed lowered surface areas, weight, and fractal complexity for rubble fragments sampled at the breakwater. We demonstrate how this method could be used to compare coral rubble from a variety of environmental conditions, thus becoming a useful aid in environmental monitoring, in addition to adding important information to the collection and analyses of biological data.

Predators respond to the increase of prey by aggregation in space or foraging more often. However, foraging habitat suitability limits predators’ responses. For nocturnal insectivorous bats, artificial light at night (ALAN) can trigger insect prey aggregation. It is not clear how ALAN might affect predator-prey relationships in the urban setting, where urban bats could have adapted to the city, and novel spatial complexity introduced by man-made objects might alter foraging habitat suitability. We strategically selected sites to represent different levels of ALAN and spatial complexity. We recorded bat commuting and foraging activities and collected aerial insects to examine how ALAN and spatial complexity affected bat-insect relationships. We found that insect biomass was positively correlated with ALAN, but was not affected by spatial complexity. Large-sized big brown bats and hoary bats positively responded to change of prey in open sites whereas small-sized eastern red bats and silver-haired bats positively responded in cluttered sites, suggesting that the impact of ALAN could vary when ALAN is coupled with urban spatial complexity. Our study demonstrates that foraging habitat suitability can alter which species might benefit from ALAN. Predator-prey relationships in cities are complex, but general ecological principles still apply in novel urban ecosystems.

This study revisits the actions of the French audit regulator (H3C) and the French profession over the 2003–2013 period in response to the regulatory transformations that occurred both in the national and transnational space. Our analysis highlights how these actors have navigated through the spatial and institutional contradictions that characterize public audit oversight in order to manage variable and opposing interests from one space to another. In particular, we show how conflicting national and transnational conceptions of professionalism and commercialism have developed to support different regulatory agendas. Our analysis of the spatial dynamics of public audit oversight allows us to propose a much less confrontational representation of the relationships between public audit regulators and the audit profession. We maintain that more attention should be paid to the spatial variants of commercialism and professionalism to better understand the development of audit regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the high spatial complexity of signal processing methods and the low diversity between the base classifiers in the ensemble classifier, a new method with optimal multi‐resolution fast S‐transform (OMFST) with low spatial complexity and rotation forest (ROF) was proposed. Firstly, Gini importance of features is evaluated by random forest (RF), and the sequence forward search method was adopted for feature selection. Then, the intermediate matrix was constructed on the optimal feature set. The results of inverse fast Fourier transform in the main frequency points of signals based on OMFST are compressed in time domain. The intermediate matrix was used to extract features for power quality (PQ) disturbances recognition. Finally, the ROF was adopted to encourage simultaneously individual accuracy and diversity within the ensemble. The optimal ROF was applied to identify 17 kinds of PQ disturbance signals. The simulation results show that the new method can effectively compress the time–frequency matrix of the existing S‐transform (ST) method; the space complexity of the ST modular matrix is reduced significantly and has higher accuracy. Besides, the results of the experiment with real PQ data prove that the new method was effective for practical industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a method to quantitatively extract human emotions by analyzing images of the surrounding environment captured by a smartphone camera in real time. In the field of psychology, it is known that visual elements such as colors and complexity affect human emotions. Based on this knowledge, we developed an application for the extraction of emotions in real time using the colors and spatial complexity of images obtained with Android smartphones. Among the color components of images, the hue component, which indicates the color, is extracted as the color element and the spatial complexity is extracted by quantitatively determining the high- and low-frequency components that are visible in the images. The corresponding two-dimensional emotion is identified by using two support vector regression modules. The results show that the root-mean-square error between the estimated emotion and the subjectively evaluated emotion is approximately 0.36 on the −1 to +1 axes plane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexual selection is an important agent of evolutionary change, but the strength and direction of selection often vary over space and time. One potential source of heterogeneity may lie in the opportunity for male–male and/or male–female interactions imposed by the spatial environment. It has been suggested that increased spatial complexity permits sexual selection to act in a complementary fashion with natural selection (hastening the loss of deleterious alleles and/or promoting the spread of beneficial alleles) via two (not mutually exclusive) pathways. In the first scenario, sexual selection potentially acts more strongly on males in complex environments, allowing males of greater genetic "quality" a greater chance of outcompeting rivals, with benefits manifested indirectly in offspring. In the second scenario, increased spatial complexity reduces opportunities for males to antagonistically harm females, allowing females (especially those of greater potential fecundities) to achieve greater reproductive success (direct fitness benefits). Here, using Drosophila melanogaster, we explore the importance of these mechanisms by measuring direct and indirect fitness of females housed in simple vial environments or in vials in which spatial complexity has been increased. We find strong evidence in favor of the female conflict‐mediated pathway as individuals in complex environments remated less frequently and produced more offspring than those housed in a simpler spatial environment, but no difference in the fitness of sons or daughters. We discuss these results in the context of other recent studies and what they mean for our understanding of how sexual selection operates. Sexual interactions between male and female fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster, are mediated by spatial environmental complexity. In more complex environments, females remate less frequently and produce more offspring than in simple envionments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]