Differences between urban and rural hedges in England revealed by a citizen science project.

BACKGROUND: Hedges are both ecologically and culturally important and are a distinctive feature of the British landscape. However the overall length of hedges across Great Britain is decreasing. Current challenges in studying hedges relate to the dominance of research on rural, as opposed to urban, hedges, and their variability and geographical breadth. To help address these challenges and to educate the public on the importance of hedge habitats for wildlife, in 2010 the Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) programme coordinated a hedge-focused citizen science survey. RESULTS: Results from 2891 surveys were analysed. Woody plant species differed significantly between urban and rural areas. Beech, Holly, Ivy, Laurel, Privet and Yew were more commonly recorded in urban hedges whereas Blackthorn, Bramble, Dog Rose, Elder and Hawthorn were recorded more often in rural hedges. Urban and rural differences were shown for some groups of invertebrates. Ants, earwigs and shieldbugs were recorded more frequently in urban hedges whereas blowflies, caterpillars, harvestmen, other beetles, spiders and weevils were recorded more frequently in rural hedges. Spiders were the most frequently recorded invertebrate across all surveys. The presence of hard surfaces adjacent to the hedge was influential on hedge structure, number and diversity of plant species, amount of food available for wildlife and invertebrate number and diversity. In urban hedges with one adjacent hard surface, the food available for wildlife was significantly reduced and in rural hedges, one adjacent hard surface affected the diversity of invertebrates. CONCLUSIONS: This research highlights that urban hedges may be important habitats for wildlife and that hard surfaces may have an impact on both the number and diversity of plant species and the number and diversity of invertebrates. This study demonstrates that citizen science programmes that focus on hedge surveillance can work and have the added benefit of educating the public on the importance of hedgerow habitats.

Anxiety related to discharge from inpatient neurorehabilitation: Exploring the role of self-efficacy and internal health control beliefs.

The study aimed to determine the prevalence of anxiety related to discharge, among a group of 42 participants who were likely to have sustained an at least moderate to severe ABI and who were due to be discharged home following a period of inpatient neurorehabilitation. Differential relationships between psychological factors (self-efficacy and internal health control beliefs) were examined, alongside the relative influence of demographic and clinical characteristics on discharge anxiety. Data were obtained via self-report measures and retrospective reviews of participant's inpatient medical records. While relatively few participants (n = 6; 14%) reported markedly elevated trait-anxiety, almost half the sample (n = 19; 45%) reported clinically significant levels of transient state-anxiety. Notably, state-anxiety was strongly associated with discharge anxiety. Multivariate analyses revealed that age, self-efficacy and internal health control beliefs made independent contributions to self-reported discharge anxiety, with perceived self-efficacy alone explaining 69% of the variance and mediating the effects of age and internal health control beliefs. None of the other demographic or clinical characteristics examined was significantly associated with discharge anxiety. While causality cannot be inferred, findings suggest that anxiety related to discharge from rehabilitation might be best predicted by poor perceptions of self-efficacy. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.

Horizon scanning for invasive alien species with the potential to threaten biodiversity in Great Britain.

Invasive alien species (IAS) are considered one of the greatest threats to biodiversity, particularly through their interactions with other drivers of change. Horizon scanning, the systematic examination of future potential threats and opportunities, leading to prioritization of IAS threats is seen as an essential component of IAS management. Our aim was to consider IAS that were likely to impact on native biodiversity but were not yet established in the wild in Great Britain. To achieve this, we developed an approach which coupled consensus methods (which have previously been used for collaboratively identifying priorities in other contexts) with rapid risk assessment. The process involved two distinct phases: Preliminary consultation with experts within five groups (plants, terrestrial invertebrates, freshwater invertebrates, vertebrates and marine species) to derive ranked lists of potential IAS. Consensus-building across expert groups to compile and rank the entire list of potential IAS. Five hundred and ninety-one species not native to Great Britain were considered. Ninety-three of these species were agreed to constitute at least a medium risk (based on score and consensus) with respect to them arriving, establishing and posing a threat to native biodiversity. The quagga mussel, Dreissena rostriformis bugensis, received maximum scores for risk of arrival, establishment and impact; following discussions the unanimous consensus was to rank it in the top position. A further 29 species were considered to constitute a high risk and were grouped according to their ranked risk. The remaining 63 species were considered as medium risk, and included in an unranked long list. The information collated through this novel extension of the consensus method for horizon scanning provides evidence for underpinning and prioritizing management both for the species and, perhaps more importantly, their pathways of arrival. Although our study focused on Great Britain, we suggest that the methods adopted are applicable globally.

Regulation of emotions in psychogenic nonepileptic seizures.

BACKGROUND: Despite the long history of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES), relatively little is known about the mechanisms that cause and maintain this condition. Emerging research evidence suggests that patients with PNES might have difficulties in regulating their emotions. However, much remains to be learned about the nature of these difficulties and the emotional responses of individuals with PNES. This study aimed to gain a detailed understanding of emotion regulation processes in patients with PNES by examining differences between patients with PNES and a healthy control group with regard to intensity of emotional reactions, understanding of one's emotional experience, beliefs about emotions, and managing emotions by controlling emotional expression. METHOD: A cross-sectional design was used to compare the group with PNES (n=56) and the healthy control group (n=88) on a range of self-report measures. RESULTS: Participants with a diagnosis of PNES reported significantly poorer understanding of their emotions, more negative beliefs about emotions, and a greater tendency to control emotional expression compared to the control group. While intensity of emotions did not discriminate between the groups, poor understanding and negative beliefs about emotions were found to be significant predictors of PNES, even after controlling for age, education level, and emotional distress. Furthermore, the presence of some emotion regulation difficulties was associated with self-reported seizure severity. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study are largely consistent with previous literature and provide evidence for difficulties in emotion regulation in patients with PNES. However, this research goes further in bringing together different aspects of emotion regulation, including beliefs about emotions, which have not been examined before. As far as it is known, this is the first study to suggest that levels of alexithymia in a population with PNES are positively associated with self-reported seizure severity. The findings suggest a need for tailored psychological therapies addressing specific emotion regulation difficulties in individuals with PNES.

The genome sequence of the Downland Villa bee-fly, Villa cingulata (Meigen, 1804).

We present a genome assembly from an individual male Villa cingulata (the Downland Villa bee-fly; Arthropoda; Insecta; Diptera; Bombyliidae). The genome sequence is 412.6 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into 10 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the X and Y sex chromosomes. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 22.43 kilobases in length.

Annual estimates of occupancy for bryophytes, lichens and invertebrates in the UK, 1970-2015.

Here, we determine annual estimates of occupancy and species trends for 5,293 UK bryophytes, lichens, and invertebrates, providing national scale information on UK biodiversity change for 31 taxonomic groups for the time period 1970 to 2015. The dataset was produced through the application of a Bayesian occupancy modelling framework to species occurrence records supplied by 29 national recording schemes or societies (n = 24,118,549 records). In the UK, annual measures of species status from fine scale data (e.g. 1 × 1 km) had previously been limited to a few taxa for which structured monitoring data are available, mainly birds, butterflies, bats and a subset of moth species. By using an occupancy modelling framework designed for use with relatively low recording intensity data, we have been able to estimate species trends and generate annual estimates of occupancy for taxa where annual trend estimates and status were previously limited or unknown at this scale. These data broaden our knowledge of UK biodiversity and can be used to investigate variation in and drivers of biodiversity change.

Examination of a sociocultural model of disordered eating among male and female adolescents.

OBJECTIVES: The study tests a version of Stice's (1994) sociocultural model of disordered eating that was modified to incorporate social comparisons. Additionally, it examines how self-reported body-mass index and perceived weight status influence associations within the model. METHOD: Questionnaires were administered in a state secondary school; the sample consisted of 250 female and 257 male adolescents aged 11-16 years. RESULTS: The results supported the sociocultural model among both male and female adolescents. Perceived pressure to lose weight was directly associated with eating behaviour, as well as indirectly associated through social comparisons, internalization and body dissatisfaction. However, social comparisons were most strongly related to body dissatisfaction among adolescents who perceived themselves as overweight. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that models of eating disordered behaviour, developed for adolescent girls, are also appropriate for understanding this behaviour among male adolescents. The results suggest that social comparisons represent a useful addition to Stice's (1994) original model and a potentially fruitful target for interventions.

Patterns of contribution to citizen science biodiversity projects increase understanding of volunteers' recording behaviour.

The often opportunistic nature of biological recording via citizen science leads to taxonomic, spatial and temporal biases which add uncertainty to biodiversity estimates. However, such biases may also give valuable insight into volunteers' recording behaviour. Using Greater London as a case-study we examined the composition of three citizen science datasets - from Greenspace Information for Greater London CIC, iSpot and iRecord - with respect to recorder contribution and spatial and taxonomic biases, i.e. when, where and what volunteers record. We found most volunteers contributed few records and were active for just one day. Each dataset had its own taxonomic and spatial signature suggesting that volunteers' personal recording preferences may attract them towards particular schemes. There were also patterns across datasets: species' abundance and ease of identification were positively associated with number of records, as was plant height. We found clear hotspots of recording activity, the 10 most popular sites containing open water. We note that biases are accrued as part of the recording process (e.g. species' detectability) as well as from volunteer preferences. An increased understanding of volunteer behaviour gained from analysing the composition of records could thus enhance the fit between volunteers' interests and the needs of scientific projects.

Crowdsourcing the identification of organisms: A case-study of iSpot.

Accurate species identification is fundamental to biodiversity science, but the natural history skills required for this are neglected in formal education at all levels. In this paper we describe how the web application ispotnature.org and its sister site ispot.org.za (collectively, "iSpot") are helping to solve this problem by combining learning technology with crowdsourcing to connect beginners with experts. Over 94% of observations submitted to iSpot receive a determination. External checking of a sample of 3,287 iSpot records verified > 92% of them. To mid 2014, iSpot crowdsourced the identification of 30,000 taxa (>80% at species level) in > 390,000 observations with a global community numbering > 42,000 registered participants. More than half the observations on ispotnature.org were named within an hour of submission. iSpot uses a unique, 9-dimensional reputation system to motivate and reward participants and to verify determinations. Taxon-specific reputation points are earned when a participant proposes an identification that achieves agreement from other participants, weighted by the agreers' own reputation scores for the taxon. This system is able to discriminate effectively between competing determinations when two or more are proposed for the same observation. In 57% of such cases the reputation system improved the accuracy of the determination, while in the remainder it either improved precision (e.g. by adding a species name to a genus) or revealed false precision, for example where a determination to species level was not supported by the available evidence. We propose that the success of iSpot arises from the structure of its social network that efficiently connects beginners and experts, overcoming the social as well as geographic barriers that normally separate the two.

Developing and enhancing biodiversity monitoring programmes: a collaborative assessment of priorities.

Biodiversity is changing at unprecedented rates, and it is increasingly important that these changes are quantified through monitoring programmes. Previous recommendations for developing or enhancing these programmes focus either on the end goals, that is the intended use of the data, or on how these goals are achieved, for example through volunteer involvement in citizen science, but not both. These recommendations are rarely prioritized.We used a collaborative approach, involving 52 experts in biodiversity monitoring in the UK, to develop a list of attributes of relevance to any biodiversity monitoring programme and to order these attributes by their priority. We also ranked the attributes according to their importance in monitoring biodiversity in the UK. Experts involved included data users, funders, programme organizers and participants in data collection. They covered expertise in a wide range of taxa.We developed a final list of 25 attributes of biodiversity monitoring schemes, ordered from the most elemental (those essential for monitoring schemes; e.g. articulate the objectives and gain sufficient participants) to the most aspirational (e.g. electronic data capture in the field, reporting change annually). This ordered list is a practical framework which can be used to support the development of monitoring programmes.People's ranking of attributes revealed a difference between those who considered attributes with benefits to end users to be most important (e.g. people from governmental organizations) and those who considered attributes with greatest benefit to participants to be most important (e.g. people involved with volunteer biological recording schemes). This reveals a distinction between focussing on aims and the pragmatism in achieving those aims. Synthesis and applications. The ordered list of attributes developed in this study will assist in prioritizing resources to develop biodiversity monitoring programmes (including citizen science). The potential conflict between end users of data and participants in data collection that we discovered should be addressed by involving the diversity of stakeholders at all stages of programme development. This will maximize the chance of successfully achieving the goals of biodiversity monitoring programmes.

Reproductive autonomy rights and genetic disenhancement: sidestepping the argument from backhanded benefit.

John Robertson has famously argued that the right to reproductive autonomy is exceedingly broad in scope. That is, as long as a particular reproductive preference such as having a deaf child is "determinative" of the decision to reproduce then such preferences fall under the protective rubric of reproductive autonomy rights. Importantly, the deafness in question does not constitute a harm to the child thereby wrought since unless the child could be born deaf he or she would otherwise never have existed--his or her prospective parents would simply have chosen to abort. As such, for this child, being born deaf counts as a benefit, albeit of the "backhanded" variety, since the only other practical alternative is nonexistence. In what follows, I want to investigate this argument in detail. The target of my investigation will be the possible future use of gene therapy technology to "disenhance" one's offspring. I intend to show that the apparently unlimited right to reproductive autonomy, that is, the right to choose both the quantity and qualities of future offspring, entailed by the argument from backhanded benefit can in fact be "sidestepped" through considering what sorts of reproductive practices we as a society ought to allow.

Advance directives and the severely demented.

Should advance directives (ADs) such as living wills be employed to direct the care of the severely demented? In considering this question, I focus primarily on the claims of Rebecca Dresser who objects in principle to the use of ADs in this context. Dresser has persuasively argued that ADs are both theoretically incoherent and ethically dangerous. She proceeds to advocate a Best Interest Standard as the best way for deciding when and how the demented ought to be treated. I put forth a compromise position: both ADs and the Best Interest Standard have roles to play in guiding the care of the severely demented.