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Risk Of Fatal Injury In Older Adult Drivers, Passengers, And Pedestrians, Jj Rolison, Pj Hewson, E Hellier, P Husband Aug 2012

Risk Of Fatal Injury In Older Adult Drivers, Passengers, And Pedestrians, Jj Rolison, Pj Hewson, E Hellier, P Husband

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Objectives To compare risk of fatal injury in elderly road users (drivers, passengers, pedestrians) with that of younger age groups and to assess the contribution of elderly road users to the number of reported fatalities in the population. Design Fatality age was categorized as 21 to 29, 30 to 39, 40 to 49, 50 to 59, 60 to 69, or 70 and older, and road user was categorized as driver, passenger, or pedestrian. Estimated number of trips made by each age group was used to adjust for exposure and to measure individual risk. Setting Fatalities recorded in Britain between 1989 …

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The Neighbourhood Links Project: Interim Evaluation Report, July 2012, Hl Donnellan, Gg Giarchi Jul 2012

The Neighbourhood Links Project: Interim Evaluation Report, July 2012, Hl Donnellan, Gg Giarchi

School of Health Professions

An interim service evaluation study to identify the key elements of the Neighbourhood Links Project, funded by Big Lottery and delivered by TorrAGE in North Devon, that improve the quality of life and well-being of older residents (aged 60+) in one district in North Devon.

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Swimming Education In Society: Developing Ability And Confidence., Tj Lynch Jul 2012

Swimming Education In Society: Developing Ability And Confidence., Tj Lynch

Plymouth Institute of Education

No abstract provided.

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Re-Examining Green Revolution Diffusion And Factor/Input Markets In Bangladesh After Market Liberalization, S Rahman, Ia Begum, Mj Alam Jul 2012

Re-Examining Green Revolution Diffusion And Factor/Input Markets In Bangladesh After Market Liberalization, S Rahman, Ia Begum, Mj Alam

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

This paper re‐examines the effect of green revolution (GR) diffusion on factor/inputs demand in Bangladesh using an empirical model that allows for simultaneous determination of factors influencing adoption of GR technology at the current mature stage, as well as access to irrigation. Results reveal some alignments with conventional wisdom as well as few surprises. For example, while an increased demand for major inputs is expected, an increased demand for organic manure is an unexpected positive outcome. The GR adoption rate is significantly higher in villages with access to irrigation and fertile soils and, surprisingly, in infrastructurally underdeveloped villages. Together with …

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Cyanoexpress: A Web Database For Exploration And Visualisation Of The Integrated Transcriptome Of Cyanobacterium Synechocystis Sp. Pcc6803, Ma Hernandez-Prieto Jul 2012

Cyanoexpress: A Web Database For Exploration And Visualisation Of The Integrated Transcriptome Of Cyanobacterium Synechocystis Sp. Pcc6803, Ma Hernandez-Prieto

School of Biomedical Sciences

UNLABELLED: Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 is one of the best studied cyanobacteria and an important model organism for our understanding of photosynthesis. The early availability of its complete genome sequence initiated numerous transcriptome studies, which have generated a wealth of expression data. Analysis of the accumulated data can be a powerful tool to study transcription in a comprehensive manner and to reveal underlying regulatory mechanisms, as well as to annotate genes whose functions are yet unknown. However, use of divergent microarray platforms, as well as distributed data storage make meta-analyses of Synechocystis expression data highly challenging, especially for researchers with limited …

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Excited State Effects In Nucleon Matrix Element Calculations, S Dinter, C Alexandrou, M Constantinou, V Drach, K Jansen, T Leontiou, Db Renner Jul 2012

Excited State Effects In Nucleon Matrix Element Calculations, S Dinter, C Alexandrou, M Constantinou, V Drach, K Jansen, T Leontiou, Db Renner

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

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Sustainable Housing Strategies For The Growing Indian Demographics: Contextual Study Of Mysore, India, S Basavapatna Kumaraswamy, J Brennan Jul 2012

Sustainable Housing Strategies For The Growing Indian Demographics: Contextual Study Of Mysore, India, S Basavapatna Kumaraswamy, J Brennan

School of Art, Design and Architecture

For developing nations the development of sustainable communities has to go hand in hand with the achievement of wider goals, where emphasis has to be given to the importance of lifestyle and social change. This inter-disciplinary research draws understanding from the social, cultural and economic studies to define the values and aspirations of the middle class and its implications on sustainable housing. One of the fastest growing economies in Asia, India, has empowered a large and powerful consumer oriented middle class. Middle class mores are aspirational and aimed at achieving western living standard and moving away from a traditional communitarian …

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Achieving A Sustainable Transport Sector In The Uk: The Effect Of Uk Transport Reform And Change In Population's Travel Decisions On The Reduction Of Energy Consumption And Co2 Emission Within The Transport Sector, Jessica Herring Jul 2012

Achieving A Sustainable Transport Sector In The Uk: The Effect Of Uk Transport Reform And Change In Population's Travel Decisions On The Reduction Of Energy Consumption And Co2 Emission Within The Transport Sector, Jessica Herring

The Plymouth Student Scientist

With the onset of climate change and diminishing global energy supplies, it is a concern that global fuel demand, energy consumption and carbon release are increasing. The transport sector is one of the largest contributors to environmental pressure and degradation, yet it is making a very limited contribution to carbon emission and energy reliance reduction. This paper presents a critique of the UK approach to transport sustainability, focusing mainly on aspects of an unsuccessful transport scheme; Transport 2010, whilst analysing three reform approaches stated in Haan et al (2007) study; reducing demand, energy intensity and carbon intensity to conclude with …

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The Study Of Human Interaction When Playing Rock-Paper-Scissors, Neil Drew Jul 2012

The Study Of Human Interaction When Playing Rock-Paper-Scissors, Neil Drew

The Plymouth Student Scientist

It has been suggested the mirror neuron system provides an important neural substrate for humans‟ ability to imitate. Thus, the purpose of this experiment was to measure whether you can predict winning and losing frequencies in games of rock-paper-scissors (RPS), using techniques governed by the known effects of mirror neurons and imitation. Winning and Losing sequences were created for the experimenters use against participants, and Autistic-spectrum-quotient measures were taken to determine whether autism affects imitation. Results found no significant difference in the two sequences and no correlation between participants‟ autism scores and their imitation levels. This suggests participants didn‟t show …

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Effects Of Uv Radiation And Salinity On The Intertidal Macroalgae Palmaria Palmata And Ulva Lactuca: Effects On Photosynthetic Performance, Growth And Pigments, Elizabeth Beauchamp Jul 2012

Effects Of Uv Radiation And Salinity On The Intertidal Macroalgae Palmaria Palmata And Ulva Lactuca: Effects On Photosynthetic Performance, Growth And Pigments, Elizabeth Beauchamp

The Plymouth Student Scientist

The tolerance of Palmaria palmata and Ulva lactuca from two positions (upper and lower) of the shoreline to low salinity and Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) was assessed using chlorophyll fluorescence, relative growth rates, chlorophyll a (Chla) and carotenoid concentrations. Species differences and position on shore at collection were major factors in the ability to tolerate increases in UVR. Both species were found to have sensitivity to both UVR and low salinities, although P.palmata was more sensitive to treatment than Ulva. The ability to increase chlorophyll and carotenoid concentrations when under low salinities and Ultraviolet B (UVB) compared to normal salinity was …

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Environmental Influence In Animal Contests, Mark Fox-Powell Jul 2012

Environmental Influence In Animal Contests, Mark Fox-Powell

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Contests between individual animals over the possession of particular limited resources have played an important role in shaping the evolution of life history, morphology and ecology of the vast majority of animal taxa. Whilst the phenomenon has been and continues to be extensively scrutinized via theory and experimentation, theses and predictions based on mathematics and optimality are frequently confounded by experimental observation. If successful demonstrations of evolutionarily stable strategies are to occur it is vital that the complex interplay of variables potentially affecting an animal‟s fighting ability are understood and controlled for experimentally. This review addresses the significance of external …

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Epiphytes: A Study Of The History Of Forest Canopy Research, Sven Batke Jul 2012

Epiphytes: A Study Of The History Of Forest Canopy Research, Sven Batke

The Plymouth Student Scientist

The development of new and more versatile access techniques is a major contributor to the continuously growing field of canopy research. Methods such as cranes, canopy walkways, hot-air balloons, ladders and rope access techniques enabled scientist for the first time to conduct proximate studies of canopy organisms. One of the most studied groups of canopy dwellers are epiphytes. With their versatile adaptations to a life above ground level and their vast abundance, epiphytes contribute profoundly to the forest diversity and ecosystem processes. Most epiphytes have species-specific habitat preference within individual phorophytes. However these preferences are limited by biotic and abiotic …

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A Test Of Time-Place Learning In Fish Living In A Public Aquarium, Rhona Macbeth-Seath Jul 2012

A Test Of Time-Place Learning In Fish Living In A Public Aquarium, Rhona Macbeth-Seath

The Plymouth Student Scientist

This study presents the findings of a test of time-place learning in Atlantic Ocean fish in the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth (a public aquarium). All the fish, which varied in sizes and species, were observed, excluding ocean predators. Observations of the fish‟s location and behaviour five weeks prior and during the three-week intervention period were carried out. The quantitative data does show major differences in the distribution of the fish, a 100% increase in the fish being evenly distributed across the tank. Results suggest that some fish are capable of exhibiting time-place learning.

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A Review Into The Role Of Voltage Gated Sodium Channels 1.8 And 1.9 In Pain States: And Medical Uses Of This Knowledge, Matt Morfey Jul 2012

A Review Into The Role Of Voltage Gated Sodium Channels 1.8 And 1.9 In Pain States: And Medical Uses Of This Knowledge, Matt Morfey

The Plymouth Student Scientist

This review is aimed at discussing the role of voltage gated sodium channels (VGSC) Nav 1.8 and 1.9 in pain states. This involves establishing their role in pain states such as neuropathic and inflammatory pain, and which of these pain states the individual channels impact on and to what effect. Establishing this will involve an exploration of which neurones these channels are located around the body, sensory or nociceptive, as well how their activity impacts on their function. Also discussed will be how the routes of activation of these VGSC impacts on their role in pain sensation and detection within …

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Inside Your Search For Understanding, Glen Crust Jul 2012

Inside Your Search For Understanding, Glen Crust

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Guest editorial from Glen Crust (Careers Advisor)

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Pregabalin For Treating Painful Diabetic Neuropathy In Type 1 And Type 2 Diabetic Patients, Keri Kruckow Jul 2012

Pregabalin For Treating Painful Diabetic Neuropathy In Type 1 And Type 2 Diabetic Patients, Keri Kruckow

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Background: It has been estimated that chronic painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN) affects 1 in 6 (16.2%) of all diabetic patients (Diabetes UK, 2010) yet the symptoms of PDN continue to present a huge challenge in its management both for physicians and patients. Objectives: To ascertain whether pregabalin is effective as a treatment for relieving pain in PDN and to identify which dose: 150/300/600 mg/d is most effective. Search methods: ";Pregabalin"; and ";Painful Diabetic Neuropathy"; were entered into Pubmed and Scirus. ";Humans"; and ";randomised controlled trial"; were entered as limiters. The search was completed using the Athens log in through the …

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Do Age And Conditions At Rehoming Affect Behaviour In Puppies?, Tamara Chamberlain Jul 2012

Do Age And Conditions At Rehoming Affect Behaviour In Puppies?, Tamara Chamberlain

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Many dogs are abandoned, surrendered to rescue shelters or euthanised in the United Kingdom every year, with one of the most common reasons being undesirable behaviour. The age at which puppies are rehomed is widely thought to affect their behaviour. It has also been suggested that the conditions from which puppies are rehomed may increase the prevalence of some behaviours, such as fear. This study aimed to see if there are any management factors which can reduce the prevalence of undesirable behaviours in puppies. 65 puppy owners that attend puppy classes participated in this study. Owners of puppies from the …

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Is There A Visitor Effect On Behaviour And Enclosure Use Of Mixed Bird Species In A Zoo Enclosure?, Katie Downes Jul 2012

Is There A Visitor Effect On Behaviour And Enclosure Use Of Mixed Bird Species In A Zoo Enclosure?, Katie Downes

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Potential visitor effects on captive animals are poorly understand, with most studies focused on non-human primates, it is an area of research which in recent years has become important as a way of understanding welfare in a captive environment. Research into how this effects birds in captivity is limited, therefore this study looks at whether visitor density effects behaviour and enclosure use in six different bird species including red-billed choughs, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax northern lapwings, Vanellus vanellus, red-crested turacos, Tauraco erythrolophus, Madagascar teal, Anas bernieri, grey gulls, Larus modestus and one Palawan peacock pheasant, Polyplectron napoleonis all housed together in a …

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Climatic Variation: Effects On Global Seabird Populations, Laura Draycott Jul 2012

Climatic Variation: Effects On Global Seabird Populations, Laura Draycott

The Plymouth Student Scientist

This review will identify and outline four dominant climatic systems and describe associated environmental factors including discussion of subsequent effects that they have on global seabird populations. Finally, the review will highlight studies which have investigated how environmental variations affect key behavioural adaptations of seabirds and the consequent effects on their life history traits.

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The Health Benefits Of Tea Varieties From Camellia Sinensis, Katie Taylerson Jul 2012

The Health Benefits Of Tea Varieties From Camellia Sinensis, Katie Taylerson

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Background and aims: Varieties of tea from the plant Camellia sinensis have been consumed for around 50 centuries and today are a popular beverage worldwide. Over the past 30 years much research has gone into the medicinal properties and health benefits that these teas provide consumers. This review aims to consolidate the benefits of tea’s antioxidant and antimicrobial properties and evaluate the research to this date. Methods: This review plans to use the primary literature available from journals and online sources found using search engines. Most recent literature will be used primarily, as well as that from 10-20 years ago …

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Measuring The Haemodynamic Responses Elicited In The Visual Cortex From Various Spatial And Temporal Frequencies Using Nirs, Thomas Bridge Jul 2012

Measuring The Haemodynamic Responses Elicited In The Visual Cortex From Various Spatial And Temporal Frequencies Using Nirs, Thomas Bridge

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Previous research has found the optimum spatial and temporal frequency of a stimulus can elicit peak activation in the visual cortex. In this study eight participants looked at bullseye gratings with low and high spatial frequencies (0.5 & 3 c/deg) at varying temporal frequencies (1, 4, 8 & 30Hz). Their haemoglobin response in the visual cortex was recorded using Near Infra-red Spectroscopy (NIRS). Insignificant results were found in all measures, including oxygenated haemoglobin which reported F (1, 8, 5.63) = .75, p<.44. Trigonometric regression did illustrate increased visual activation when the bullseye grating was presented. It appears different frequencies can cause different haemodynamic response, but a larger sample and the elimination of disadvantages in NIRS is required to obtain significance.

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Could Negative Affect Be 'Part' Of The 'Whole' Picture In Weak Central Coherence? A Study Of Weak Central Coherence And Its Relation To Affect And Autistic Traits, Warren Dunger Jul 2012

Could Negative Affect Be 'Part' Of The 'Whole' Picture In Weak Central Coherence? A Study Of Weak Central Coherence And Its Relation To Affect And Autistic Traits, Warren Dunger

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Weak Central Coherence (WCC) is recognised as a major cognitive theory of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and is characterised by a processing bias for local information. Furthermore, individuals with ASD have been found to be more susceptible to depression and lower mood. Considering negative mood seems to result in better performance on detail-based processing tasks, the present study suggests that WCC could be a result of high levels of negative affect in ASD. This was explored in two experiments using a non-clinical sample with autistic traits. Experiment 1 involved manipulating mood, whereas Experiment 2 was a longitudinal study. The study‟s …

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Silicon: A Benefit Or A Detriment To Plant Physiology For Creeping Bent (Agrostis Stolonifera L.), Sheep's Fescue (Festuca Ovina L.) And Perennial Ryegrass (Lolium Perenne L.)?, Nicola Warburton, Jo Bayley, Stuart Lane Jul 2012

Silicon: A Benefit Or A Detriment To Plant Physiology For Creeping Bent (Agrostis Stolonifera L.), Sheep's Fescue (Festuca Ovina L.) And Perennial Ryegrass (Lolium Perenne L.)?, Nicola Warburton, Jo Bayley, Stuart Lane

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Silicon shows alleviatory effects in many previous studies involving abiotic and biotic stress factors. A germination trial for the optimum concentration of ERA-3 initially showed an optimum dilution factor of 2,500:1 (Distilled water: ERA-3). Over one hundred individuals of each species of Agrostis stolonifera L., Festuca ovina L. and Lolium Perenne L. were all grown for eight weeks in closed hydroponic systems, in warmed greenhouse conditions (15°C). When solely tested, the effects on all three species showed contrasting results to what was expected. In all three selected species, silicon significantly reduced the shoot area, and photosynthetic efficiency (measured as Fv/Fm …

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Osmoregulators Proline And Glycine Betaine Counteract Salinity Stress In Canola, Mt Sakr, Nm El-Sarkassy, Mp Fuller Jul 2012

Osmoregulators Proline And Glycine Betaine Counteract Salinity Stress In Canola, Mt Sakr, Nm El-Sarkassy, Mp Fuller

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Salt inundation leads to increased salinization of arable land in many arid and semi-arid regions. Until genetic solutions are found farmers and growers must either abandon salt-affected fields or use agronomic treatments that alleviate salt stress symptoms. Here, field experiments were carried out to study the effect of the osmoregulators proline at 200 mg L-1 and glycine betaine at 400 mg L-1 in counteracting the harmful effect of soil salinity stress on canola plants grown in Egypt. We assessed growth characteristics, yield and biochemical constituents. Results show first that all growth characters decreased with increasing salinity stress but applied osmoregulators …

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Parent Or Community: Where Do 20-Month-Olds Exposed To Two Accents Acquire Their Representation Of Words?, Caroline Floccia, Luche C Delle, Samantha Durrant, Joseph Butler, Jeremy Goslin Jul 2012

Parent Or Community: Where Do 20-Month-Olds Exposed To Two Accents Acquire Their Representation Of Words?, Caroline Floccia, Luche C Delle, Samantha Durrant, Joseph Butler, Jeremy Goslin

School of Psychology

The recognition of familiar words was evaluated in 20-month-old children raised in a rhotic accent environment to parents that had either rhotic or non-rhotic accents. Using an Intermodal Preferential Looking task children were presented with familiar objects (e.g. 'bird') named in their rhotic or non-rhotic form. Children were only able to identify familiar words pronounced in a rhotic accent, irrespective of their parents' accent. This suggests that it is the local community rather than parental input that determines accent preference in the early stages of acquisition. Consequences for the architecture of the early lexicon and for models of word learning …

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Spectral Quantification Of Nonlinear Behaviour Of The Nearshore Seabed And Correlations With Potential Forcings At Duck, N.C., U.S.A., V Magar, M Lefranc, Rb Hoyle, De Reeve Jun 2012

Spectral Quantification Of Nonlinear Behaviour Of The Nearshore Seabed And Correlations With Potential Forcings At Duck, N.C., U.S.A., V Magar, M Lefranc, Rb Hoyle, De Reeve

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Local bathymetric, quasi-periodic patterns of oscillation are identified from 26 years of monthly profile surveys taken at two shore-perpendicular transects at Duck, North Carolina, USA. The data cover both the swash and surf zones. Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA) and Multi-channel Singular Spectrum analysis (MSSA) methods are applied, on the shoreface, to three potential forcings: the monthly wave heights, the monthly mean water levels and the large scale atmospheric index known as the North Atlantic Oscillation. The patterns within these forcings are compared to the local bathymetric patterns; it is found that the patterns extracted using SSA and MSSA agree well …

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Water Bathing Alters Threat Perception In Starlings, Bo Brilot, M Bateson Jun 2012

Water Bathing Alters Threat Perception In Starlings, Bo Brilot, M Bateson

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

The majority of bird taxa perform water bathing, but little is known about the adaptive value of this behaviour. If bathing is important for feather maintenance then birds that have not bathed should have poorer feather condition, compromised escape ability and therefore increased responsiveness to cues of predation. We conducted two experiments examining the behaviour of captive starlings responding to conspecific alarm calls. Birds that had no access to bathing water showed a decreased willingness to feed and increased their vigilance behaviour following an alarm call. We argue that birds denied access to bathing water interpreted an ambiguous cue of …

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Long-Term Retrospective Analysis Of Mackerel Spawning In The North Sea: A New Time Series And Modeling Approach To Cpr Data, T Jansen, K Kristensen, M Payne, Et Al Jun 2012

Long-Term Retrospective Analysis Of Mackerel Spawning In The North Sea: A New Time Series And Modeling Approach To Cpr Data, T Jansen, K Kristensen, M Payne, Et Al

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

We present a unique view of mackerel (Scomber scombrus) in the North Sea based on a new time series of larvae caught by the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey from 1948-2005, covering the period both before and after the collapse of the North Sea stock. Hydrographic backtrack modelling suggested that the effect of advection is very limited between spawning and larvae capture in the CPR survey. Using a statistical technique not previously applied to CPR data, we then generated a larval index that accounts for both catchability as well as spatial and temporal autocorrelation. The resulting time series documents the …

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Exploring Religious Education And Health And Physical Education Key Learning Area Connections In Primary Schools., Tj Lynch Jun 2012

Exploring Religious Education And Health And Physical Education Key Learning Area Connections In Primary Schools., Tj Lynch

Plymouth Institute of Education

The purpose of this study was to explore if connections were made by teachers and students in schools between Religious Education (RE) and Health and Physical Education (HPE) key learning areas (KLA). The research was conducted within three Brisbane (Queensland, Australia) Catholic primary schools of varying enrolment size. It is argued that within Catholic education the HPE curriculum documents are strongly connected to the Religious Education curriculum material (Lynch, 2004). The spiritual dimension of the HPE curriculum is defined in the syllabus as the “sense of connection to phenomena and unusual events beyond self and usual sensory and rational existence; …

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Is Mri Better Than Ct For Detecting A Vascular Component To Dementia? A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis., Rebecca Beynon, Jonathan A.C. Sterne, Gordon Wilcock, Marcus Likeman, Roger M. Harbord, Margaret Astin, Margaret Burke, Alysson Bessell, Yoav Ben-Shlomo, James Hawkins, William Hollingworth, Penny Whiting Jun 2012

Is Mri Better Than Ct For Detecting A Vascular Component To Dementia? A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis., Rebecca Beynon, Jonathan A.C. Sterne, Gordon Wilcock, Marcus Likeman, Roger M. Harbord, Margaret Astin, Margaret Burke, Alysson Bessell, Yoav Ben-Shlomo, James Hawkins, William Hollingworth, Penny Whiting

School of Psychology

BACKGROUND: Identification of causes of dementia soon after symptom onset is important, because appropriate treatment of some causes of dementia can slow or halt its progression or enable symptomatic treatment where appropriate. The accuracy of MRI and CT, and whether MRI is superior to CT, in detecting a vascular component to dementia in autopsy confirmed and clinical cohorts of patients with VaD, combined AD and VaD ("mixed dementia"), and AD remain unclear. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate this question. METHODS: We searched eight databases and screened reference lists to identify studies addressing the review question. We …

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