32151 research outputs found
Sort by
Ethnobotanical contributions to global fishing communities : a review
Get PDFFunding: The study was funded by the Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca Foscari University of Venice, Italy.Background Ethnobotanical knowledge about the role of plants in fisheries provides valuable ecological information vital for sustainable management of local resources; however, it is diluted and understudied globally. This literature review aims to map the knowledge of plant use within traditional fishing communities. Methods Through the PRISMA method, we identified and selected 34 articles reporting the use of plants in fisheries, and including 344 taxa of plants and algae. Uses of plants and algae were grouped into different categories. Results In the novel categorization of fishery-related uses we proposed, the most mentioned were for fishing and building/repair of fishing artifacts and habitat-related uses, while the records of plants related to fiber uses, providing aid in fishing management and species causing problems, were among the least mentioned. Semi-structured interview is most commonly used with local resource users, especially fishery experts, in exploring perceptions on plant use within traditional fishing communities. Diversity was high in all the recorded families, but most were reported locally. Conclusion Ethnobotanical studies with fishers are not common in the documented literature but they provide a large number of use reports. On the basis this review, in most of the world, the information is of a casual and sporadic nature. Fishers can provide information on aquatic plants and algae that create problems and aid in fishing management, which are crucial in understanding the ecosystem of a region experiencing environmental challenges. This knowledge is greatly understudied globally and undergoing a rapid decline, as highlighted in several of the reviewed articles. Thus, further systematic research on fishery-related uses of plants by fisherfolk is needed considering its potential contribution to the sustainable management of fishery resources.Peer reviewe
MHSXtraPy : a Python code for the extrapolation of magnetohydrostatic fields on the Sun using analytical solutions
Get PDFFunding: LN acknowledges financial support by the School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews, throughout her PhD. TN acknowledges financial support by the UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) via Consolidated Grants ST/S000402/1 and ST/W001195/1.We present a Python code for calculating and displaying magnetic field extrapolations from given 2D boundary conditions, specifically from solar surface magnetograms. The code implements analytical magnetohydrostatic models that incorporate the transition from non-force-free to force-free magnetic fields in the solar atmosphere. It allows for different parametrizations of this transition and includes functions to compute magnetic fields, plasma pressure, and density. Fast Fourier methods ensure efficient computation, and the output includes 3D visualizations of field lines and plasma structures. The implementation is optimized for accessibility and speed, making it suitable for both research and educational purposes. The only prerequisite for running the code is a Python compiler. All source code, examples, input files, solutions, and instructions are available for download from GitHub.Peer reviewe
A model of the impact of government revenue and quality of governance on the pupil/teacher ratio for every country in the world
Get PDFThis study explores the relationship between government revenue per capita, governance quality, and the supply of teachers—an indicator under Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Target 4.c). Using annual data from 217 countries spanning 1980 to 2022, we apply a non-linear panel model with a logistic function that incorporates country-specific governance measures. Our findings reveal that increased government revenue is positively associated with teacher supply, and that improvements in governance amplify this effect. The model provides predictive insights into how changes in revenue may influence progress toward education-related SDG targets at the country level.Peer reviewe
Structure of Kerr black hole spacetimes in Weyl conformal gravity
Get PDFWe analyze the stationary, uncharged, rotating, vacuum solution to Weyl conformal gravity. We elucidate the causal and ergoregion structure of the spacetimes found in the parameter space of the metric for positive mass. These are then compared to the analogous Kerr, Kerr–de Sitter, and Kerr–Anti-de Sitter solutions to general relativity. Additionally, we investigate and derive the extremal limits for both the horizons and ergosurfaces of the spacetimes. The horizon surface gravities and Hawking temperatures at the extremal horizon limits are then calculated to show that they vanish.Peer reviewe
The role of turbulence in setting the phase of the ISM and implications for the star formation rate
Get PDFFunding: This research has received funding from the European Research Council synergy grant ECOGAL (Grant 855130). NB acknowledges support from the ANR BRIDGES grant (ANR23-CE31-0005). In addition to ECOGAL, RSK and SCOG acknowledge funding from the German Excellence Strategy via the Heidelberg Excellence Cluster STRUCTURES (EXC2181/1 - 390900948). TC acknowledges funding received from the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (JU) and Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, and Spain under grant agreement no. 101093441 (SPACE).What regulates star formation in different regions of the Galaxy is still debated and especially the role of turbulence is not fully understood. In this work, we explore the link between star formation, turbulence and the thermal state of the multi-phase interstellar medium (ISM). We analyse a suite of stratified box simulations modelling a realistic ISM that aims to probe environments similar to those found in the Milky Way. Turbulence is injected through stellar feedback and an external large-scale driving force. We find that star formation can be either boosted or reduced when increasing the external driving strength, depending on the environment. When the density is sufficiently high or the initial UV background weak, warm neutral gas naturally transitions to the cold phase, leading to high cold neutral medium (CNM) fractions of around 30 - 40%. Under these conditions, excessive large-scale driving leads to a slight reduction of the CNM fraction and an increase in the amount of gas that is thermally unstable. What limits the star formation in this regime is a reduced fraction of dense gas due to additional turbulent support against collapse. For low density regions subject to significant external UV background, overdensities in which cooling is efficient are much rarer and we find that star formation is regulated by the formation of cold gas. In such cases, turbulence can significantly boost star formation by compressing gas in shocks and increasing the CNM fraction dramatically. In our simulations we see an increase from almost no CNM to up to a fraction of 15 % when including external turbulence driving; leading to an associated increase in the star formation rate. We provide a model to quantify this behaviour and predict the CNM fraction by combining the standard ISM cooling/heating model with the density PDF generated by turbulence. The change in the dominant limiting process for star formation between low-density/externally heated and intermediate-density/feedback heated environments could provides a natural explanation for the observed break in the Kennicutt-Schmidt relation around column densities of 9 M⊙ pc-2.Peer reviewe
Does distinctiveness enhance memory for cooperative events in Norway rats?
Get PDFFunding: the authors would like to thank the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (grant number: BB/X00631X/1) for funding this work.Reciprocity – defined as selectively helping those who were previously cooperative – is ubiquitous in humans, but its prevalence in other species is debated due to its apparently high cognitive demands. To effectively direct help to others via direct and indirect (but not generalised) reciprocity, individuals must memorise and correctly recall details of potentially many interactions with different partners, which can be challenging. However, the distinctiveness effect, whereby memory is enhanced for stimuli or events that are rare, unique, or surprising, could lower these demands. Using a reciprocal allogrooming paradigm, we tested whether distinctiveness could increase memory of experienced help in Norway rats. Focal rats experienced more cooperative and less cooperative allogrooming partners in either a distinct or a routine environment. After a time delay with intervening social interactions to increase memory demands, focal rats were given the opportunity to return allogrooming to their previous partners. In the routine environment, focal rats groomed more cooperative partners longer than less cooperative partners. In the distinct environment, focal rats started grooming more cooperative partners earlier than less cooperative partners, whilst the opposite was true in the routine scenario. These results demonstrate that rats allogroom partners in accordance with reciprocity. Whilst our results suggest a potential distinctiveness effect in the focal rats’ latency to reciprocate help, further research is needed to disentangle distinctiveness from confounds such as neophobia.Peer reviewe
Taxation and bank liquidity creation
Get PDFWe investigate the impact of taxes on bank liquidity creation using the Tokyo bank tax as a quasinatural experiment. Drawing on data for Japanese banks, we find that the tax reduces retained earnings and capital, leading to a significant reduction in liquidity creation. The decline in liquidity creation is concentrated on the asset-side of bank balance sheets. Banks reduce the supply of long-term loans and shift toward short-term government securities. The results suggest that tax-induced erosion of capital constraints banks’ ability to provide liquidity through productive lending, and highlight the role of capital as a risk-absorbing buffer.Peer reviewe
Geometric and information-theoretic approaches to high-dimensional search
No full textThis thesis comprises a brief introduction along with a presentation of ten selected research papers, the primary author of each being the candidate
Assessments of abundance for British seal populations
No full textThe harbour (Phoca vitulina) and grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) populations around Britain have experienced dramatic and contrasting changes over the last thirty years. In many areas grey seal numbers have recently started to level off after a long period of near exponential growth, while most of the harbour seals populations have suffered substantial reductions.
The main part of this thesis investigates these changes, primarily using aerial survey data from the long-term monitoring programmes carried out by the Sea Mammal Research Unit. It concentrates on the analysis and interpretation of the data rather than the methodology of collection.
An analysis of recent moult counts of harbour seals is presented. This shows that the population in East Anglia has not recovered from the effects of the 2002 epidemic of phocine distemper, and that there have been declines in all the populations in eastern Scotland. Electronic flipper tags are used to show that the proportion of the Orkney population that is hauled out during the moult has remained high, indicating that the reductions in the counts represent real declines in abundance.
A simplified method, based on Approximate Bayesian Computing, is used to fit agestructured population models to pup production estimates for the British grey seal population. Archived data from telemetry studies are combined with aerial survey data to show that the recent deceleration in the population’s growth is due to reductions in pup survival.
The setting of conservation goals for, and allowable takes from, such populations is also examined. In particular, the assumptions underlying the use of Potential Biological Removal and other common approaches are described. The thesis concludes with a brief discussion that considers how these results fit together and might contribute robust scientific information to support the conservation and management of these populations
Talk about pop muzik : discussion of Enrico Terrone, ‘Listening to other minds: a phenomenology of pop songs’, Bja 60 (2020), 435–453
Get PDFIn ‘Listening to Other Minds’, Enrico Terrone provides an account of the mental activity in which we ought to engage to appreciate pop music. He argues that we should ‘play a game of make-believe’ (p. 452) in which we imagine that we can ‘hear … the mind’ of a fictional character (pp. 452, 440). We should use this ability to grasp the thoughts and feelings that the mind contains, and thus undertake ‘exploration’ of the character’s ‘inner life’ (p. 445). This article argues, first, that only a simplified version of the account is plausible; second, that its plausibility as a general account of pop music depends on a dubious conception of the ‘paradigm cases’ (p. 449); third, that its desirability as an account of a narrower range of cases is questionable; and, fourth, that it is motivated by unsuitable assumptions about representation in pop.Peer reviewe
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage St Andrews Research Repository? Access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard!