Criminal directionality and the structure of urban form

Spatial criminology has three interrelated elements: place, distance, and direction. Though directionality has had theoretical support for many years, very few empirical verifications of this component of crime have emerged. In this article, we investigate the strength of directionality by comparing a simulated randomized dataset and a large incident-based dataset of repeat offenders. We find strong evidence for a strong presence of directionality in criminal spatial decision-making. This aspect of the spatiality of crime must be considered in any attempts to understand the aetiology of crime.     

Prediction and uncertainty source analysis of the spatial and temporal disturbance from off-road vehicular traffic in a complex ecosystem

Vehicle use during military training activities results in soil disturbance and vegetation loss. The capacity of lands to sustain training is a function of the sensitivity of lands to vehicle use and the pattern of land use. The sensitivity of land to vehicle use has been extensively studied. Less well understood are the spatial patterns of vehicle disturbance. Since disturbance from off-road vehicular traffic moving through complex landscapes varies spatially, a spatially explicit nonlinear regression model (disturbance model) was used to predict the pattern of vehicle disturbance across a training facility. An uncertainty analysis of the model predictions assessed the spatial distribution of prediction uncertainty and the contribution of different error sources to that uncertainty.For the most part, this analysis showed that mapping and modeling process errors contributed more than 95% of the total uncertainty of predicted disturbance, while satellite imagery error contributed less than 5% of the uncertainty. When the total uncertainty was larger than a threshold, modeling error contributed 60% to 90% of the prediction uncertainty. Otherwise, mapping error contributed about 10% to 50% of the total uncertainty. These uncertainty sources were further partitioned spatially based on other sources of uncertainties associated with vehicle moment, landscape characterization, satellite imagery, etc.     

Weapons or mating signals? Claw shape and mate choice in a fiddler crab

Males often possess traits, such as horns, claws, and tusks, which are used during male–male combat. Studies suggest that selection has fine tuned these weapons to improve their effectiveness and that the shape of these weapons provides cues for males to assess the strength of rivals. Similarly, females might also assess a male’s weaponry to determine his value as a mate. The largest weapon relative to body size is the major claw of male fiddler crabs (genus: Uca). Males use their claws both as a weapon and as a courtship signal, waving it to attract females. We used robotic crabs in two-choice experiments to test female mating preferences based on male claw shape in Uca mjoebergi. First, females did not prefer conspecific claws over any of three alternatively shaped stimuli matched for color and for the rate and pattern of waving. The alternative stimuli were two different heterospecific claws and a plain rectangular shape. Second, females significantly preferred the alternative stimuli when they were presented at a faster wave rate. We conclude that claw shape in U. mjoebergi has not evolved under sexual selection imposed by female mating preferences and is more likely to have evolved under selection for effectiveness during male–male competition.     

Cd2+ adsorption on alkaline-pretreated diatomaceous earth: equilibrium and thermodynamic studies

Naturally occurring diatomaceous earth was modified by alkaline pretreatment, and its effectiveness for Cd²⁺ removal from contaminated water was investigated. Batch experiments were carried out to determine Cd²⁺ adsorption capacity and the efficiency of the sorption process under different experimental conditions. Experimental data showed good fitting to Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms models. The Cd²⁺ maximum adsorption capacity was 0.058 mmol g⁻¹ for raw diatomite and increased to 0.195 mmol g⁻¹ for alkaline-pretreated diatomite with efficiency higher than 96% (diatomite dose 2.5 g L⁻¹, pH 6). Adsorption of Cd²⁺ to alkaline-pretreated diatomite increased as the temperature increased. Thermodynamic parameters were calculated to evaluate the feasibility of the adsorption process at different temperatures. The adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic. The interaction between Cd²⁺ ions and diatomite surface was weak enough to be considered as physical sorption, confirmed by the low value of activation energy.     

Detecting pigments from colourful eggshells of extinct birds

The known chemical basis of diverse avian eggshell coloration is generated by the same two classes of tetrapyrrole pigments in most living birds. We aimed to extend the evolutionary scope of these patterns by detecting pigments from extinct birds’ eggs. In our samples biliverdin was successfully extracted from subfossil shell fragments of the blue-green egg-laying upland moa Megalapteryx didinus, while protoporphyrin was extracted from the beige eggs of two other extinct moa species. Our data on pigment detection from eggshells of other extant paleognath birds, together with published information on other modern lineages, confirm tetrapyrroles as ubiquitous and conserved pigments contributing to diverse eggshell colours throughout avian evolution.     

A CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARISON OF PRIVACY DEFINITIONS AND FUNCTIONS: A SYSTEMS APPROACH

As a further step in developing a systems model of privacy, variables involved in the process of achieving a condition of privacy were examined cross-culturally. Subjects were students from Ireland, Senegal and the United States. Striking commonalities were found in the reasons why subjects required privacy, the affect that was associated with a desire for privacy, the definition of privacy as a condition of the person, the duration of the average privacy experience and the change in affect at the completion of the experience which supported the suggestion that privacy has a therapeutic effect. Within culture, variability was associated with age, gender and in the case of Senegal, with income. Between culture, variability was hardly noticeable. The majority of the subjects in each culture believed that not being disturbed was the most important element of privacy and grief, fatigue and need to focus were the main affective sets associated with seeking privacy. It is believed that several universals have been identified which may be used in later research, and that the study supports a systems-based model of privacy.     

Chronic exposure to lead acetate promotes changes in the alveolar bone of rats: microstructural and physical–chemical characterization

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - There are a few data relating to the effects of lead (Pb) exposure on the alveolar bone, which has very distinct morphophysiological characteristics...