The role of aesthetic style in the visual communication of climate change

Public apathy on the issue of Anthropogenic Climate Change (ACC) is widespread, with more than half of surveyed Australians and Britons in denial of the phenomenon. While much is known about media influences and strategies such as message framing, there is little in the way of research on the impact of designed visual communication. This study builds knowledge and challenges assumptions by employing a relational approach between ACC visual communications, the professionals producing them, and the members of society that these communications are attempting to influence, contributing knowledge to the fields of graphic design, science communication and social science.

Integrated semantic processing of complex pictures and spoken sentences - Evidence from event-related potentials

It has been suggested that semantic information processing is modularized according to the input form (e.g., visual, verbal, non-verbal sound). A great deal of research has concentrated on detecting a separate verbal module. Also, it has traditionally been assumed in linguistics that the meaning of a single clause is computed before integration to a wider context. Recent research has called these views into question. The present study explored whether it is reasonable to assume separate verbal and nonverbal semantic systems in the light of the evidence from event-related potentials (ERPs). The study also provided information on whether the context influences processing of a single clause before the local meaning is computed. The focus was on an ERP called N400. Its amplitude is assumed to reflect the effort required to integrate an item to the preceding context. For instance, if a word is anomalous in its context, it will elicit a larger N400. N400 has been observed in experiments using both verbal and nonverbal stimuli. Contents of a single sentence were not hypothesized to influence the N400 amplitude. Only the combined contents of the sentence and the picture were hypothesized to influence the N400. The subjects (n = 17) viewed pictures on a computer screen while hearing sentences through headphones. Their task was to judge the congruency of the picture and the sentence. There were four conditions: 1) the picture and the sentence were congruent and sensible, 2) the sentence and the picture were congruent, but the sentence ended anomalously, 3) the picture and the sentence were incongruent but sensible, 4) the picture and the sentence were incongruent and anomalous. Stimuli from the four conditions were presented in a semi-randomized sequence. Their electroencephalography was simultaneously recorded. ERPs were computed for the four conditions. The amplitude of the N400 effect was largest in the incongruent sentence-picture -pairs. The anomalously ending sentences did not elicit a larger N400 than the sensible sentences. The results suggest that there is no separate verbal semantic system, and that the meaning of a single clause is not processed independent of the context.

Auditory - Visual Matching in Learning Disabilities : Intervention Studies from Finland and Sweden

The present thesis discusses relevant issues in education: 1) learning disabilities including the role of comorbidity in LDs, and 2) the use of research-based interventions. This thesis consists of a series of four studies (three articles), which deepens the knowledge of the field of special education. Intervention studies (N=242) aimed to examine whether training using a nonverbal auditory-visual matching computer program had a remedial effect in different learning disabilities, such as developmental dyslexia, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Specific Language Impairment (SLI). These studies were conducted in both Finland and Sweden. The intervention’s non-verbal character made an international perspective possible. The results of the intervention studies confirmed, that the auditory-visual matching computer program, called Audilex had positive intervention effects. In Study I of children with developmental dyslexia there were also improvements in reading skills, specifically in reading nonsense words and reading speed. These improvements in tasks, which are thought to rely on phonological processing, suggest that such reading difficulties in dyslexia may stem in part from more basic perceptual difficulties, including those required to manage the visual and auditory components of the decoding task. In Study II the intervention had a positive effect on children with dyslexia; older students with dyslexia and surprisingly, students with ADD also benefited from this intervention. In conclusion, the role of comorbidity was apparent. An intervention effect was evident also in students’ school behavior. Study III showed that children with SLI experience difficulties very similar to those of children with dyslexia in auditory-visual matching. Children with language-based learning disabilities, such as dyslexia and SLI benefited from the auditory-visual matching intervention. Also comorbidity was evident among these children; in addition to formal diagnoses, comorbidity was explored with an assessment inventory, which was developed for this thesis. Interestingly, an overview of the data of this thesis shows positive intervention effects in all studies despite learning disability, language, gender or age. These findings have been described by a concept inter-modal transpose. Self-evidently these issues need further studies. In learning disabilities the aim in the future will also be to identify individuals at risk rather than by deficit; this aim can be achieved by using research-based interventions, intensified support in general education and inclusive special education. Keywords: learning disabilities, developmental dyslexia, attention deficit disorder, specific language impairment, language-based learning disabilities, comorbidity, auditory-visual matching, research-based interventions, inter-modal transpose

Impact of working conditions on the quality of working life: Case manufacturing sector colombian Caribbean Region [Impacto de las Condiciones de Trabajo en Calidad de Vida Laboral: Caso del Sector Manufacturero de la Región Caribe Colombiana]

La presenta investigación centra su atención en evaluar el impacto de las Condiciones de Trabajo en la Calidad de Vida Laboral del talento humano de sector manufacturero de la región Caribe colombiana. Para analizar este proceso se entrevistaron a 518 empleados del sector. El diseño utilizado fue no experimental de tipo transversal descriptivo, puesto que a cada participante se le aplicó una entrevista con el instrumento de Condiciones de Trabajo y la Herramienta de Calidad de Vida Laboral (Condiciones Salariales y Subjetivas). Los datos fueron analizados mediante análisis de correlación y modelos de regresión logística. Los resultados mostraron que el ambiente térmico y las normas de seguridad en el trabajo afectan de forma positiva la Calidad de Vida Laboral de los empleados del sector. Estos resultados ponen de manifiesto que la relación entre las condiciones de trabajo y la CVL se basa en la competencia y distan de ser una relación lineal y simple relacionada con la consideración de la presencia o la ausencia de las condiciones de trabajo. Ello tiene implicaciones a la hora de formular políticas, programas e intervenciones para prevenir, erradicar y amortiguar los efectos negativos de las condiciones de trabajo y mejorar la seguridad industrial dentro de las empresas.

Analysis and Modelling of the Effects of Water Stress on Maize Growth and Yield in Dryland Conditions.

It is essential to provide experimental evidence and reliable predictions of the effects of water stress on crop production in the drier, less predictable environments. A field experiment undertaken in southeast Queensland, Australia with three water regimes (fully irrigated, rainfed and irrigated until late canopy expansion followed by rainfed) was used to compare effects of water stress on crop production in two maize (Zea mays L.) cultivars (Pioneer 34N43 and Pioneer 31H50). Water stress affected growth and yield more in Pioneer 34N43 than in Pioneer 31H50. A crop model APSIM-Maize, after having been calibrated for the two cultivars, was used to simulate maize growth and development under water stress. The predictions on leaf area index (LAI) dynamics, biomass growth and grain yield under rain fed and irrigated followed by rain fed treatments was reasonable, indicating that stress indices used by APSIM-Maize produced appropriate adjustments to crop growth and development in response to water stress. This study shows that Pioneer 31H50 is less sensitive to water stress and thus a preferred cultivar in dryland conditions, and that it is feasible to provide sound predictions and risk assessment for crop production in drier, more variable conditions using the APSIM-Maize model.

Factors contributing to wear tolerance of Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers., C. dactylon x C. transvaalensis Burtt-Davey) on a sand-based profile under simulated sports field conditions

Wear resistance and recovery of 8 Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.) and hybrid Bermudagrass (C. Dactylon x C. transvaalensis Burtt-Davey) cultivars grown on a sandbased soil profile near Brisbane, Australia, were assessed in 4 wear trials conducted over a two year period. Wear was applied on a 7-day or a 14-day schedule by a modified Brinkman Traffic Simulator for 6-14 weeks at a time, either during winter-early spring or during summer-early autumn. The more frequent wear under the 7-day treatment was more damaging to the turf than the 14-day wear treatment, particularly during winter when its capacity for recovery from wear was severely restricted. There were substantial differences in wear tolerance among the 8 cultivars investigated, and the wear tolerance rankings of some cultivars changed between years. Wear tolerance was associated with high shoot density, a dense stolon mat strongly rooted to the ground surface, high cell wall strength as indicated by high total cell wall content, and high levels of lignin and neutral detergent fiber. Wear tolerance was also affected by turf age, planting sod quality, and wet weather. Resistance to wear and recovery from wear are both important components of wear tolerance, but the relative importance of their contributions to overall wear tolerance varies seasonally with turf growth rate.

Expression of functional GABAc receptors in the brain

γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the main inhibitory transmitter in the nervous system and acts via three distinct receptor classes: A, B, and C. GABAC receptors are ionotropic receptors comprising ρ subunits. In this work, we aimed to elucidate the expression of ρ subunits in the postnatal brain, the characteristics of ρ2 homo-oligomeric receptors, and the function of GABAC receptors in the hippocampus. In situ hybridization on rat brain slices showed ρ2 mRNA expression from the newborn in the superficial grey layer of the superior colliculus, from the first postnatal week in the hippocampal CA1 region and the pretectal nucleus of the optic tract, and in the adult dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus. Quantitative RT-PCR revealed expression of all three ρ subunits in the hippocampus and superior colliculus from the first postnatal day. In the hippocampus, ρ2 mRNA expression clearly dominated over ρ1 and ρ3. GABAC receptor protein expression was confirmed in the adult hippocampus, superior colliculus, and dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus by immunohistochemistry. From the selective distribution of ρ subunits, GABAC receptors may be hypothesized to be specifically involved in aspects of visual image motion processing in the rat brain. Although previous data had indicated a much higher expression level for ρ2 subunit transcripts than for ρ1 or ρ3 in the brain, previous work done on Xenopus oocytes had suggested that rat ρ2 subunits do not form functional homo-oligomeric GABAC receptors but need ρ1 or ρ3 subunits to form hetero-oligomers. Our results demonstrated, for the first time, that HEK 293 cells transfected with ρ2 cDNA displayed currents in whole-cell patch-clamp recordings. Homomeric rat ρ2 receptors had a decreased sensitivity to, but a high affinity for picrotoxin and a marked sensitivity to the GABAC receptor agonist CACA. Our results suggest that ρ2 subunits may contribute to brain function, also in areas not expressing other ρ subunits. Using extracellular electrophysiological recordings, we aimed to study the effects of the GABAC receptor agonists and antagonists on responses of the hippocampal neurons to electrical stimulation. Activation of GABAC receptors with CACA suppressed postsynaptic excitability and the GABAC receptor antagonist TPMPA inhibited the effects of CACA. Next, we aimed to display the activation of the GABAC receptors by synaptically released GABA using intracellular recordings. GABA-mediated long-lasting depolarizing responses evoked by high-frequency stimulation were prolonged by TPMPA. For weaker stimulation, the effect of TPMPA was enhanced after GABA uptake was inhibited. Our data demonstrate that GABAC receptors can be activated by endogenous synaptic transmitter release following strong stimulation or under conditions of reduced GABA uptake. The lack of GABAC receptor activation by less intensive stimulation under control conditions suggests that these receptors are extrasynaptic and activated via spillover of synaptically released GABA. Taken together with the restricted expression pattern of GABAC receptors in the brain and their distinctive pharmacological and biophysical properties, our findings supporting extrasynaptic localization of these receptors raise interesting possibilities for novel pharmacological therapies in the treatment of, for example, epilepsy and sleep disorders.

Developmental, functional brain imaging and electrophysiological evidence of visual and auditory working memory

Intact function of working memory (WM) is essential for children and adults to cope with every day life. Children with deficits in WM mechanisms have learning difficulties that are often accompanied by behavioral problems. The neural processes subserving WM, and brain structures underlying this system, continue to develop during childhood till adolescence and young adulthood. With functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) it is possible to investigate the organization and development of WM. The present thesis aimed to investigate, using behavioral and neuroimaging methods, whether mnemonic processing of spatial and nonspatial visual information is segregated in the developing and mature human brain. A further aim in this research was to investigate the organization and development of audiospatial and visuospatial information processing in WM. The behavioral results showed that spatial and nonspatial visual WM processing is segregated in the adult brain. The fMRI result in children suggested that memory load related processing of spatial and nonspatial visual information engages common cortical networks, whereas selective attention to either type of stimuli recruits partially segregated areas in the frontal, parietal and occipital cortices. Deactivation mechanisms that are important in the performance of WM tasks in adults are already operational in healthy school-aged children. Electrophysiological evidence suggested segregated mnemonic processing of visual and auditory location information. The results of the development of audiospatial and visuospatial WM demonstrate that WM performance improves with age, suggesting functional maturation of underlying cognitive processes and brain areas. The development of the performance of spatial WM tasks follows a different time course in boys and girls indicating a larger degree of immaturity in the male than female WM systems. Furthermore, the differences in mastering auditory and visual WM tasks may indicate that visual WM reaches functional maturity earlier than the corresponding auditory system. Spatial WM deficits may underlie some learning difficulties and behavioral problems related to impulsivity, difficulties in concentration, and hyperactivity. Alternatively, anxiety or depressive symptoms may affect WM function and the ability to concentrate, being thus the primary cause of poor academic achievement in children.

Expression and function of angiotensins in the regulation of intraocular pressure - an experimental study

Glaucoma is a multifactorial long-term ocular neuropathy associated with progressive loss of the visual field, retinal nerve fiber structural abnormalities and optic disc changes. Like arterial hypertension it is usually a symptomless disease, but if left untreated leads to visual disability and eventual blindness. All therapies currently used aim to lower intraocular pressure (IOP) in order to minimize cell death. Drugs with new mechanisms of action could protect glaucomatous eyes against blindness. Renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is known to regulate systemic blood pressure and compounds acting on it are in wide clinical use in the treatment of hypertension and heart failure but not yet in ophthalmological use. There are only few previous studies concerning intraocular RAS, though evidence is accumulating that drugs antagonizing RAS can also lower IOP, the only treatable risk factor in glaucoma. The main aim of this experimental study was to clarify the expression of the renin-angiotensin system in the eye tissues and to test its potential oculohypotensive effects and mechanisms. In addition, the possible relationship between the development of hypertension and IOP was evaluated in animal models. In conclusion, a novel angiotensin receptor type (Mas), as well as ACE2 enzyme- producing agonists for Mas, were described for the first time in the eye structures participating in the regulation of IOP. In addition, a Mas receptor agonist significantly reduced even normal IOP. The effect was abolished by a specific receptor antagonist. Intraocular, local RAS would thus to be involved in the regulation of IOP, probably even more in pathological conditions such as glaucoma though there was no unambiguous relationship between arterial and ocular hypertension. The findings suggest the potential as antiglaucomatous drugs of agents which increase ACE2 activity and the formation of angiotensin (1-7), or activate Mas receptors.

Gaseous Nitrogen Losses Following Soil Amendment with Biosolids under Controlled Conditions.

This paper quantifies gaseous N losses due to ammonia volatilisation and denitrification under controlled conditions at 30 degrees C and 75% to 150% of Field Capacity (FC). Biosolids were mixed with two contrasting soils from subtropical Australia at a rate designed to meet crop N requirements for irrigated cotton or maize (i.e., equivalent to 180 kg N ha(-1)). In the first experiment, aerobically (AE) and anaerobically (AN) digested biosolids were mixed into a heavy Vertosol soil and then incubated for 105 days. Ammonia volatilization over 72 days accounted for less than 4% of the applied NH4-N but 24% (AN) to 29% (AE) of the total applied biosolids' N was lost through denitrification in 105 days. In the second experiment AN biosolids with and without added polyacrimide polymer were mixed with either a heavy Vertosol or a lighter Red Ferrosol and then incubated for 98 days. The N loss was higher from the Vertosol with 16-29% of total N applied versus the Red Ferrosol with 7-10% of total N applied, while addition of polymer to the biosolids increased N loss from 7 to 10% and from 16 to 29% in the Red Ferrosol and Vertosol, respectively. A major product from the denitrification process was N-2 gas, accounting for >90% of the emitted N gases from both experiments. Our findings demonstrate that denitrification could be a major pathway of gaseous N losses under warm and moist conditions.

Role of pharmacists in collaborative care of travellers with chronic conditions

We refer to a paper recently published in the Journal of travel Medicine and Infectious Disease where clinicians have been shown to have in have many questions related to travellers to multiple destinations, going for prolonged duration of travel, with chronic medical conditions, and potential drug interactions.[1] This study highlighted the inadequacy of available information sources to resolve the wide range of different medical issues for travellers. In addition, the study also highlighted the significance of collaboration in travel health...

Sexing Sirenians: Validation of Visual and Molecular Sex Determination in Both Wild Dugongs (Dugong dugon) and Florida Manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris)

Sexing wild marine mammals that show little to no sexual dimorphism is challenging. For sirenians that are difficult to catch or approach closely, molecular sexing from tissue biopsies offers an alternative method to visual discrimination. This paper reports the results of a field study to validate the use of two sexing methods: (1) visual discrimination of sex vs (2) molecular sexing based on a multiplex PCR assay which amplifies the male-specific SRY gene and differentiates ZFX and ZFY gametologues. Skin samples from 628 dugongs (Dugong dugon) and 100 Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) were analysed and assigned as male or female based on molecular sex. These individuals were also assigned a sex based on either direct observation of the genitalia and/or the association of the individual with a calf. Individuals of both species showed 93 to 96% congruence between visual and molecular sexing. For the remaining 4 to 7%, the discrepancies could be explained by human error. To mitigate this error rate, we recommend using both of these robust techniques, with routine inclusion of sex primers into microsatellite panels employed for identity, along with trained field observers and stringent sample handling.

Duckweed-based Wastewater Treatment Systems: Design Aspects and Integrated Reuse Options for Queensland Conditions

Point sources of wastewater pollution, including effluent from municipal sewage treatment plants and intensive livestock and processing industries, can contribute significantly to the degradation of receiving waters (Chambers et al. 1997; Productivity Commission 2004). This has led to increasingly stringent local wastewater discharge quotas (particularly regarding Nitrogen, Phosphorous and suspended solids), and many municipal authorities and industry managers are now faced with upgrading their existing treatment facilities in order to comply. However, with high construction, energy and maintenance expenses and increasing labour costs, traditional wastewater treatment systems are becoming an escalating financial burden for the communities and industries that operate them. This report was generated, in the first instance, for the Burdekin Shire Council to provide information on design aspects and parameters critical for developing duckweed-based wastewater treatment (DWT) in the Burdekin region. However, the information will be relevant to a range of wastewater sources throughout Queensland. This information has been collated from published literature and both overseas and local studies of pilot and full-scale DWT systems. This report also considers options to generate revenue from duckweed production (a significant feature of DWT), and provides specifications and component cost information (current at the time of publication) for a large-scale demonstration of an integrated DWT and fish production system.

Heat exposure and hypothyroid conditions decrease hydrogen peroxide generation in liver mitochondria

Exposure of rats to heat (39 +/- 1 degree C) decreased H2O2 generation in mitochondria of the liver, but not of the kidney or the heart. The effect was obtained with three substrates, succinate, glycerol 1-phosphate and choline, with a decrease to 50% in the first 2-3 days of exposure, and a further decrease on longer exposure. The dehydrogenase activity with only glycerol 1-phosphate decreased, which is indicative of the hypothyroid condition, whereas choline dehydrogenase activity remained unchanged and that of succinate dehydrogenase decreased on long exposure. The serum concentration of thyroxine decreased in heat-exposed rats. Thyroxine treatment of rats increased H2O2 generation. Hypothyroid conditions obtained by treatment with propylthiouracil or thyroidectomy caused a decrease in H2O2 generation and changes in dehydrogenase activities similar to those with heat exposure. Treatment of heat-exposed or thyroidectomized rats with thyroxine stimulated H2O2 generation by a mechanism apparently involving fresh protein synthesis. The results indicate that H2O2 generation in mitochondria of heat-exposed animals is determined by thyroid status.

Quantifying the impacts of rehabilitating degraded lands

Quantifying the impacts of rehabilitating degraded lands on soil health, pastures, runoff, erosion, nutrient and sediment movement.