邻苯二甲酸二异癸酯对小鼠学习记忆的影响

为研究增塑剂邻苯二甲酸二异癸酯（DIDP）对小鼠学习和记忆能力的影响,以白藜芦醇（Res）作为保护剂,将42只雄性昆明小鼠随机分为6组,每组7只,分别为：生理盐水组、1.5,15,150mg/（kg·d） DIDP组、20mg/（kg·d） Res组、150mg/（kg·d） DIDP+20mg/（kg·d） Res组.连续灌胃染毒9d,期间同时进行Morris水迷宫实验.第10d将小鼠处死,取出脑组织,检测活性氧簇（ROS）、谷胱甘肽（GSH）、丙二醛（MDA）、8-羟基脱氧鸟苷（8-OHdG）、肿瘤坏死因子（TNF-α）、白细胞介素1β（IL-1β）的含量.并对小鼠海马体切片进行H&E染色,观察病理变化.结果显示,15,150mg/（kg·d） DIDP染毒可导致小鼠的学习和记忆能力显著低于对照组,同时可诱发脑组织产生氧化应激,并促进炎症因子释放,而Res能有效减弱脑组织氧化应激水平.由上可得,DIDP致小鼠学习和记忆能力下降可能与其引起的脑组织中海马体的氧化损伤有关,同时Res可能通过降低DIDP引起的氧化应激进而减轻其对小鼠造成的学习记忆损伤.     

Response to displaced neighbours in a territorial songbird with a large repertoire

Neighbour recognition allows territory owners to modulate their territorial response according to the threat posed by each neighbour and thus to reduce the costs associated with territorial defence. Individual acoustic recognition of neighbours has been shown in numerous bird species, but few of them had a large repertoire. Here, we tested individual vocal recognition in a songbird with a large repertoire, the skylark Alauda arvensis. We first examined the physical basis for recognition in the song, and we then experimentally tested recognition by playing back songs of adjacent neighbours and strangers. Males showed a lower territorial response to adjacent neighbours than to strangers when we broadcast songs from the shared boundary. However, when we broadcast songs from the opposite boundary, males showed a similar response to neighbours and strangers, indicating a spatial categorisation of adjacent neighbours’ songs. Acoustic analyses revealed that males could potentially use the syntactical arrangement of syllables in sequences to identify the songs of their neighbours. Neighbour interactions in skylarks are thus subtle relationships that can be modulated according to the spatial position of each neighbour.     

Cycle Aware: Piloting a module for novice drivers

Introduction: In low-cycling countries, motor-vehicle traffic and driver behavior are well known barriers to the uptake of bicycles, particularly for utility cycling. Lack of separation between cyclists and faster-moving traffic is one key issue, while attitudes of drivers toward and/or harassment of cyclists is another. Cyclist-related driver education has been recommended as a means to improve driver-cyclist interactions. Methods: The driver licensing process provides an opportunity for such education. The Cycle Aware module was developed to test and enhance novice drivers’ knowledge of interacting safely with cyclists. It was piloted across three Australian jurisdictions targeting both novice and experienced drivers. Participants were asked to complete the Cycle Aware module and an accompanying survey. A total of 134 novice and 97 experienced drivers completed the survey with 42 novice and 50 experienced drivers going on to complete the module. Results: Both groups of drivers scored equally well in the module but the very youngest and very oldest participants were more likely to have some incorrect responses. We did not find any relationship between correct module scores and attitudes toward cyclists. Survey results showed both novice and experienced drivers had somewhat positive attitudes toward cyclists. The two cohorts differed on several attitude questions. Sixty percent (60%) of novices compared to 30% of experienced drivers reported feeling concerned when sharing the road with cyclists, and novices were less likely to agree that cyclists had a right to use the roads. Conclusions and practical applications: The analysis suggests novices need to be better equipped to share roads confidently with cyclists and to recognize cyclists as legitimate traffic participants.     

Occupational safety and health education under the lifelong learning framework in Serbia

Serbia is aligning with European Union requirements and the occupational safety and health (OSH) administration is one of the most representative sectors of this alignment. Many efforts were made in this field, by introducing new laws and regulations, but it turned out to be insufficient. OSH professionals need to renovate and strengthen their knowledge in accordance with continuous, updated and improved OSH standards and regulation. Lifelong learning (LLL) programmes can contribute to forming professionals who are always up to date. This paper presents an implemented LLL programme, over the duration of two academic years, dedicated to OSH professionals, and investigates whether this programme will be helpful and accepted by professionals. The results from the study show that the given LLL programme had indeed a positive influence on the professional careers of the participants and that the LLL presents the future trend in OSH education.     

How do children learn to cross the street? The process of pedestrian safety training

Objective: Pedestrian injuries are a leading cause of child death and may be reduced by training children to cross streets more safely. Such training is most effective when children receive repeated practice at the complex cognitive–perceptual task of judging moving traffic and selecting safe crossing gaps, but there is limited data on how much practice is required for children to reach adult levels of functioning. Using existing data, we examined how children's pedestrian skills changed over the course of 6 pedestrian safety training sessions, each composed of 45 crossings within a virtual pedestrian environment.

Methods: As part of a randomized controlled trial on pedestrian safety training, 59 children ages 7–8 crossed the street within a semi-immersive virtual pedestrian environment 270 times over a 3-week period (6 sessions of 45 crossings each). Feedback was provided after each crossing, and traffic speed and density were advanced as children's skill improved. Postintervention pedestrian behavior was assessed a week later in the virtual environment and compared to adult behavior with identical traffic patterns.

Results: Over the course of training, children entered traffic gaps more quickly and chose tighter gaps to cross within; their crossing efficiency appeared to increase. By the end of training, some aspects of children's pedestrian behavior was comparable to adult behavior but other aspects were not, indicating that the training was worthwhile but insufficient for most children to achieve adult levels of functioning.

Conclusions: Repeated practice in a simulated pedestrian environment helps children learn aspects of safe and efficient pedestrian behavior. Six twice-weekly training sessions of 45 crossings each were insufficient for children to reach adult pedestrian functioning, however, and future research should continue to study the trajectory and quantity of child pedestrian safety training needed for children to become competent pedestrians.     

An empirical examination of personal learning within the context of teams

Using a sample of 588 employees in 59 work teams, we tested a model that situates personal learning within the context of teams, viewing it as a joint function of teams' leadership climate (i.e., transformational leadership) and task characteristics (i.e., task routineness and task interdependence). Consistent with our hypotheses, we found that the positive relationships between transformational leadership climate and the two dimensions of personal learning (relational job learning and personal skill development) were moderated by the nature of the teams' tasks. Specifically, transformational leadership climate was more strongly associated with personal learning for members of teams working on tasks that were less routine, rather than more routine. However, no significant moderation was found for leadership climate and task interdependence. Our findings underscore the importance of taking into account the contextual conditions within which leadership influence occurs while also demonstrating the potential role that leaders can play in promoting employees' personal learning. Overall, our study bolsters theories that conceptualize adult learning as a transaction between people and their social environments and points to a practical need to match leadership styles with team task characteristics to unleash transformational leadership effects. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Learning for social-ecological change: a qualitative review of outcomes across empirical literature in natural resource management

Learning is considered as a promising mechanism to cope with rapid environmental change. The implications of learning for natural resource management (NRM) have not been explored in-depth and the evidence on the topic is scattered across multiple sources. We provide a qualitative review of types of learning outcomes and consider their manifestations in NRM across selected empirical literature. We conducted a systematic search of the peer-reviewed literature (N = 1,223) and a qualitative meta-synthesis of included articles, with an explicit focus on learning outcomes and NRM changes (N = 53). Besides social learning, we found several learning concepts used, including policy and transformative learning, and multiple links between learning and NRM reported. We observe that the development of skills, together with a system approach involving multi-level capacities, is decisive for implications of learning for NRM. Future reviews could systematically compare how primary research applies different learning concepts and discusses links between learning and NRM changes.     

湖泊水质富营养化评价的模糊神经网络方法

为了探索人工神经网络用于湖泊营养化评价的可能性,提出了基于多准则学习的模糊神经网络湖泊水质营养化评价模型。该模型应用于我国五大主要湖泊水质营养化的评价结果表明,模糊神经网络用于湖泊水质营养化评价,具有简便、实用、客观性和广泛的通用性。      

RS-PSO-ELM下腐蚀管道失效压力预测

为提高腐蚀管道失效压力的预测精度并简化其计算过程,提出基于粗糙集(RS)和粒子群算法(PSO)融合极限学习机(ELM)的腐蚀管道失效压力预测模型。通过属性约简提取影响失效压力的关键因素,选用PSO优化ELM的输入权值和隐含层偏差,将归一化的核心指标数据代入计算。结果表明:该模型预测结果与实际值基本一致,与单一ELM模型相比,预测结果的均方差(MSE)降至0.255;与其他蚀管道失效压力评价模型相比,该模型预测结果的绝对误差平均值降至0.32。     

Identifying socioeconomic and biophysical factors driving forest loss in protected areas

Protected areas (PAs) are a commonly used strategy to confront forest conversion and biodiversity loss. Although determining drivers of forest loss is central to conservation success, understanding of them is limited by conventional modeling assumptions. We used random forest regression to evaluate potential drivers of deforestation in PAs in Mexico, while accounting for nonlinear relationships and higher order interactions underlying deforestation processes. Socioeconomic drivers (e.g., road density, human population density) and underlying biophysical conditions (e.g., precipitation, distance to water, elevation, slope) were stronger predictors of forest loss than PA characteristics, such as age, type, and management effectiveness. Within PA characteristics, variables reflecting collaborative and equitable management and PA size were the strongest predictors of forest loss, albeit with less explanatory power than socioeconomic and biophysical variables. In contrast to previously used methods, which typically have been based on the assumption of linear relationships, we found that the associations between most predictors and forest loss are nonlinear. Our results can inform decisions on the allocation of PA resources by strengthening management in PAs with the highest risk of deforestation and help preemptively protect key biodiversity areas that may be vulnerable to deforestation in the future.