Previous research has shown that disfluency – the subjective experience of difficulty associated with cognitive operations – leads to deeper processing. Two studies explore the extent to which this ...deeper processing engendered by disfluency interventions can lead to improved memory performance. Study 1 found that information in hard-to-read fonts was better remembered than easier to read information in a controlled laboratory setting. Study 2 extended this finding to high school classrooms. The results suggest that superficial changes to learning materials could yield significant improvements in educational outcomes.
To improve lithium and sodium ion battery technology, it is imperative to understand how the properties of the different components are controlled by their chemical structures. Operando structural ...studies give us some of the most useful information for understanding how batteries work, but it remains difficult to separate out the contributions of the various components of a battery stack (e.g., electrodes, current collectors, electrolyte, and binders) and examine specific materials. We have used operando X‐ray diffraction computed tomography (XRD‐CT) to study specific components of an essentially unmodified working cell and extract detailed, space‐resolved structural information on both crystalline and amorphous phases that are present during cycling by Rietveld and pair distribution function (PDF) methods. We illustrate this method with the first detailed structural examination of the cycling of sodium in a phosphorus anode, revealing surprisingly different mechanisms for sodiation and desodiation in this promising, high‐capacity anode system.
Inside a battery: Operando X‐ray diffraction computed tomography was used to study specific components of an essentially unmodified working cell and extract structural information on crystalline and amorphous phases present during cycling by Rietveld and pair distribution function methods. This method was applied for the first detailed structural examination of the cycling of sodium in a phosphorus anode.
Subsea pipelines have been installed in all major hydrocarbon basins across the globe to support the offshore Oil & Gas (O&G) industry. These artificial structures provide hard substratum that can be ...colonised and utilised by sessile and mobile organisms. The present study utilises industry-collected remotely operated vehicle (ROV) video to assess fish species richness and abundance, and marine growth type, extent and complexity along sections of a subsea gas pipeline, in 56–82 m depth, that traverses the Australian Commonwealth Montebello Marine Park (MMP). A total of 7493 fish from 81 species and 33 families were recorded from 606 analysed 10 m transects spaced across sections of the pipeline. Of these 81 species, 27 are considered fishery-target species in the Pilbara Demersal Scalefish fishery (PDSF), with select commercial fishing activities permitted with authorisation within the Marine Park. A moderate abundance (175) of sub-adult red emperor (Lutjanus sebae), a fishery-indicator species, were observed along the pipeline. Eleven different categories of marine growth habitat were observed, with the pipeline possessing quite uniform coverage of encrusting marine growth (coralline algae, bryozoans, ascidians, etc.) with patchy occurrences of more structurally complex sponges and black/octocoral forms. Fish species richness and abundance of the commercially targeted Moses’ snapper (Lutjanus russellii) were correlated positively with increasing cover of sponges. The pipeline itself had very few spans and was never more than fractionally buried. Despite the somewhat homogenous habitats, depths, and position of the pipeline relative to the seafloor, presence of a field joint indent had a positive influence on the abundance of some common and commercially important fish species. This study demonstrates the ecological value of ROV footage obtained during industry inspection operations that were conducted for reasons unrelated to the determination of ecological information. The pipeline offers a corridor of hard bottom habitat within a marine park that facilitates epibiotic growth and the presence of reef-associated species in a region characterised by sandy sediments. Results indicate the potential importance of subsea O&G infrastructure as a habitat for fish, and in consequence, potentially also as structures with value to fisheries.
•Industry ROV video is used to assess fish-habitat associations on a subsea pipeline.•7493 fish from 81 species were recorded on this pipeline in a marine park.•Pipeline field joints had a positive influence on commercial fish abundance.•Historical industry ROV imagery can be repurposed for scientific benefit.
ID15A is a newly refurbished beamline at the ESRF devoted to operando and time‐resolved diffraction and imaging, total scattering and diffraction computed tomography. The beamline is optimized for ...rapid alternation between the different techniques during a single operando experiment in order to collect complementary data on working systems. The high available energy (up to 120 keV) means that even bulky and highly absorbing systems may be studied. The beamline is equipped with optimized focusing optics and a photon‐counting CdTe pixel detector, allowing for both unprecedented data quality at high energy and for very rapid triggered experiments. A large choice of imaging detectors and ancillary probes and sample environments is also available.
ID15A is a newly refurbished beamline at the ESRF devoted to operando and time‐resolved diffraction and imaging, total scattering and diffraction computed tomography.
Background
Parks are key community assets for physical activity, but some evidence suggests these resources are not equitably distributed.
Purpose
This study examined disparities by income and ...race/ethnicity in the availability, features, and quality of parks across Kansas City, Missouri.
Methods
All parks and census tracts (CTs) were mapped using geographical information systems, and park features and quality were determined via audits. Multivariate analyses of covariance analyzed differences in park availability, features, and quality across low-, medium-, and high-income and race/ethnicity CT tertiles.
Results
Low-income CTs contained significantly more parks, but also had fewer parks with playgrounds and more quality concerns per park. High minority CTs had more parks with basketball courts, but fewer parks with trails. Medium-income CTs contained more aesthetic features per park.
Conclusions
Future research should examine policies that contribute to and that might rectify disparities in park features and quality, especially in low-income and high minority areas.
This paper describes a tunable X‐ray focusing apparatus, referred to as a transfocator, based on compound refractive lenses. By varying the number of lenses in the beam, the X‐ray energy focused and ...the focal length can be varied continuously throughout a large range of energies and distances. The instrument can be used in both white and monochromatic beams to focus, pre‐focus or collimate the beam. The transfocator can be used with other monochromators and/or other focusing elements, leading to significant increases in flux. Furthermore, the chromatic nature of the focusing means the transfocator suppresses harmonics and can also be used as an extremely high flux broad‐band‐pass monochromator. These devices have been installed in the first optics and second experimental hutches at the ID11 beamline at the ESRF.
Both sharks and humans present a potentially lethal threat to mesopredatory fishes in coral reef systems, with implications for both population dynamics and the role of mesopredatory fishes in reef ...ecosystems. This study quantifies the antipredator behaviours mesopredatory fishes exhibit towards the presence of large coral reef carnivores and compares these behavioural responses to those elicited by the presence of snorkelers. Here, we used snorkelers and animated life-size models of the blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) to simulate potential predatory threats to mesopredatory reef fishes (lethrinids, lutjanids, haemulids and serranids). The responses of these reef fishes to the models and the snorkelers were compared to those generated by three non-threatening controls (life-size models of a green turtle Chelonia mydas, a PVC-pipe an object control and a Perspex shape a second object control). A Remote Underwater Stereo-Video System (Stereo-RUV) recorded the approach of the different treatments and controls and allowed accurate measurement of Flight Initiation Distance (FID) and categorization of the type of flight response by fishes. We found that mesopredatory reef fishes had greater FIDs in response to the approach of threatening models (1402 ± 402-1533 ± 171 mm; mean ± SE) compared to the controls (706 ± 151-896 ± 8963 mm). There was no significant difference in FID of mesopredatory fishes between the shark model and the snorkeler, suggesting that these treatments provoked similar levels of predator avoidance behaviour. This has implications for researchers monitoring behaviour in situ or using underwater census as a technique to estimate the abundance of reef fishes. Our study suggests that, irrespective of the degree to which sharks actually consume these mesopredatory reef fishes, they still elicit a predictable and consistent antipredator response that has the potential to create risk effects.
Background Transfusion of packed red blood cells (PRBCs) increases morbidity and mortality in select surgical specialty patients. The impact of low-volume, leukoreduced RBC transfusion on general ...surgery patients is less well understood. Study Design The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program participant use file was queried for general surgery patients recorded in 2005 to 2006 (n = 125,223). Thirty-day morbidity (21 uniformly defined complications) and mortality, demographic, preoperative, and intraoperative risk variables were obtained. Infectious complications and composite morbidity and mortality were stratified across intraoperative PRBCs units received. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess influence of transfusion on outcomes, while adjusting for transfusion propensity, procedure type, wound class, operative duration, and 30+ patient risk factors. Results After adjustment for transfusion propensity, procedure group, wound class, operative duration, and all other important risk variables, 1 U PRBCs significantly (p < 0.05) increased risk of 30-day mortality (odds ratio OR = 1.32), composite morbidity (OR = 1.23), pneumonia (OR = 1.24), and sepsis/shock (OR = 1.29). Transfusion of 2 U additionally increased risk for these outcomes (OR = 1.38, 1.40, 1.25, 1.53, respectively; p ≤ 0.05) plus surgical-site infection (OR = 1.25; p < 0.05). A risk index for calculating transfusion likelihood demonstrated very good discrimination (c-index = 0.844). Conclusions Intraoperative transfusion of PRBCs increases risk for mortality and several morbidities in general surgery patients. These risks, substantial for even 1 U, remain after adjustment for transfusion propensity and numerous risk factors available in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program. Transfusion for mildly hypovolemic or anemic patients should be discouraged in light of these risks.
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