Green space context and vegetation complexity shape people’s preferences for urban public parks and residential gardens

Landscape preferences shape decision-making and drive the ecological outcomes of urban landscapes. We investigate how people’s landscape preferences are shaped by the green space context (public park vs private residential garden landscapes) and by physical features such as vegetation complexity. A postal questionnaire was sent to households near seven urban parks in Melbourne, Australia. Results showed that landscapes were grouped into four categories based on patterns of preference response. Landscapes with moderate vegetation complexity were placed in separate categories distinguished by green space context (parks vs gardens), while very simple and very complex landscapes were placed in different categories irrespective of green space context. Surprisingly, dense vegetation was highly preferred by respondents. As areas of dense vegetation also provide complex habitats for wildlife, this highlights the possibility of developing policies and designing landscapes that can benefit both people and nature.     

Early intervention for spelling problems: Teaching functional spelling units of varying size with a multiple-connections framework.

Poor spellers in 2nd grade (n?=?128) participated in 24 20-min sessions that included (a) direct instruction in the alphabet principle (most frequent phoneme-spelling connections); (b) modeling of different approaches, singly and in combination, for developing connections between spoken and written words for 48 words ordered by sound-spelling predictability; and (c) practice in composing. Results of this multilayered intervention showed that (a) more than 1 way of developing sound-spelling connections is effective in teaching spelling but that after training in the alphabet principle, combining whole word and onset-rime training is most effective in achieving transfer of the alphabet principle across word contexts; (b) functional spelling units of not only a single letter but also 2 or more letters are important in beginning spelling; and (c) training in spelling transfers to composition and word recognition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extracts of Mexican Oregano (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lippia berlandieri</Emphasis> Schauer) with Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activity

Antimicrobial activity of fractions obtained from Mexican oregano (Lippia berlandieri Schauer) chloroform extract was tested by growth inhibition against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus, and antioxidant capacity was tested by inhibition of linoleic acid oxidation. Fractions were obtained by differences in polarity or structure (phenolic and non-phenolic fraction). Gram-positive organisms were more susceptible to Mexican oregano extracts. Fraction 3 (by polarity) and phenolic fractions I, II, III, IV and V were the extracts with higher antimicrobial activity. The non-phenolic fraction had effect against B. cereus. Polarity fraction 5 and phenolic Fraction II had a high antioxidant capacity; a 0.08% concentration of fraction 5 had a similar effect as butylated hydroxytoluene at 0.01% concentration. Fractions of Mexican oregano with different polarity and functional groups had antioxidant and antimicrobial activity and can be used in a variety of applications.     

Perceptions of counselor source characteristics by premature and successful terminators.

Examined 56 premature and 148 successful terminators' perceptions of counselor source characteristics and satisfaction with counseling services at a university counseling center. S-completed measures included the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire and a counselor rating form. Results indicate that Ss who terminated prematurely were less satisfied with counseling services that they received and viewed their counselors as less expert, attractive, and trustworthy than did Ss who terminated successfully. Ss who responded anonymously to the evaluation form viewed the counselors as less attractive and trustworthy and also expressed less satisfaction with counseling than did those who did not respond anonymously. Significant though modest correlations between ratings of source characteristics and client satisfaction were also found. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Passive sensitization of human airways induces myogenic contractile responses in vitro

We assessed effects of passive sensitization on human bronchial smooth muscle (BSM) response to mechanical stretching in vitro. Bronchial rings were sham (control) or passively sensitized overnight by using sera from donors demonstrating sensitivity to Dermatophagoides farinae and having immunoglobulin E (IgE) concentrations of 2,600 +/- 200 U/ml. Tissues were fixed isometrically to force transducers to measure responses to electrical field stimulation (EFS) and quick stretch (QS). The myogenic response to QS was normalized to the maximal response to EFS (%EFS). The myogenic response of sensitized BSM was 47.9 +/- 10.9 %EFS to a QS of approximately 6.5% optimal length (Lo); sham-sensitized tissues had a myogenic response of 13.5 +/- 6.4 %EFS (P = 0.012 vs. passively sensitized). A QS of approximately 13% Lo in sensitized BSM caused a response of 82.8 +/- 20.9 %EFS; sham-sensitized tissues developed a response of 38.2 +/- 17.3 %EFS (P = 0.004). BSM incubated with serum from nonallergic donors did not demonstrate increased QS response (4.6 +/- 1.4 %EFS, P = not significant vs. tissue exposed to atopic sera). However, tissues incubated in sera from nonatopic donors supplemented with hapten-specific chimeric IgE (JW8) demonstrated augmented myogenic response to QS of approximately 6.5% Lo (21.9 +/- 6.2 %EFS, P = 0. 027 vs. nonatopic sera alone). We demonstrate that passive sensitization of human BSM preparations causes induction and augmentation of myogenic contractions to QS; this hyperresponsiveness corresponds to the IgE concentration in sensitizing sera.     

Metabolomics of Genetically Modified Crops

Metabolomic-based approaches are increasingly applied to analyse genetically modified organisms (GMOs) making it possible to obtain broader and deeper information on the composition of GMOs compared to that obtained from traditional analytical approaches. The combination in metabolomics of advanced analytical methods and bioinformatics tools provides wide chemical compositional data that contributes to corroborate (or not) the substantial equivalence and occurrence of unintended changes resulting from genetic transformation. This review provides insight into recent progress in metabolomics studies on transgenic crops focusing mainly in papers published in the last decade.     

Influence of birth rates and transmission rates on the global seasonality of rotavirus incidence

Rotavirus is a major cause of mortality in developing countries, and yet the dynamics of rotavirus in such settings are poorly understood. Rotavirus is typically less seasonal in the tropics, although recent observational studies have challenged the universality of this pattern. While numerous studies have examined the association between environmental factors and rotavirus incidence, here we explore the role of intrinsic factors. By fitting a mathematical model of rotavirus transmission dynamics to published age distributions of cases from 15 countries, we obtain estimates of local transmission rates. Model-predicted patterns of seasonal incidence based solely on differences in birth rates and transmission rates are significantly correlated with those observed (Spearman''s ρ = 0.65, p < 0.05). We then examine seasonal patterns of rotavirus predicted across a range of different birth rates and transmission rates and explore how vaccination may impact these patterns. Our results suggest that the relative lack of rotavirus seasonality observed in many tropical countries may be due to the high birth rates and transmission rates typical of developing countries rather than being driven primarily by environmental conditions. While vaccination is expected to decrease the overall burden of disease, it may increase the degree of seasonal variation in the incidence of rotavirus in some settings.     

The Capital Cities

The labour market is perhaps the best place to observe the impact of a national recession. There the flow on from falls in national demand can be seen directly in increased unemployment and falling numbers of jobs.     

Association of cyclists’ age and sex with risk of involvement in a crash before and after adjustment for cycling exposure

This study aimed to estimate the association of cyclists’ age and sex with the risk of being involved in a crash with and without adjustment for their amount of exposure. We used the distribution of the entire population and cyclists (total and non-responsible) involved in road crashes in Spain between 1993 and 2009 held by the Spanish National Institute of Statistics and the Spanish General Traffic Directorate to calculate rates of exposure and involvement in a crash. Males aged 45–49 years were used as the reference category to obtain exposure rate ratios (ERR) and unadjusted crash rate ratios (URR). We then used these values in decomposition analysis to calculate crash rate ratios adjusted for exposure (ARR). The pattern of ARR was substantially different from URR. In both sexes the highest values were observed in the youngest age groups, and the values decreased as age increased except for a slight increase in the oldest age groups. In males, a slight increase in the lowest and highest age categories was observed for crashes resulting in severe injury or death, and a decrease was observed for the youngest cyclists who were wearing a helmet. The large differences between age and sex groups in the risk of involvement in a cycling crash are strongly dependent on differences in their exposure rates. Taking exposure rates into account, cyclists younger than 30 years and older than 65 years of age had the highest risk of being involved in a crash.