Investigating Some of the Factors That Influence “Consumer” Choice When Adopting a Shelter Dog in the United Kingdom

This study examined which characteristics of dogs available at a large rehoming organization in the United Kingdom influenced prospective adopters' choices. The revealed preference data used to model “consumer” choice were from the Dogs Trust rehoming web pages. The analysis of the probability of adoption involved a logistic regression model with multiple imputation. The factors that had a significant impact on the adopters' choices were age, size, pedigree status, coat length, behavior (e.g., fearfulness, adjustment issues), friendliness (toward children, dogs, and other pets), and training. This study offers a quantitative analysis of adopters' preferences that could prove to be useful for shelter personnel and researchers interested in the analysis of companion animal markets.     

Consumer‐resource stoichiometry as a predictor of trophic discrimination (Δ13C, Δ15N) in aquatic invertebrates

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Cytotoxic withanolides from the aerial parts of Tubocapsicum anomalum

Ten new withanolides (1–10) and three artificial withanolides (11–13) were isolated from the aerial parts of Tubocapsicum anomalum, together with five known analogues (14–18). Their structures were determined on the basis of extensive spectroscopic and chemical methods. They include seven acnistin–type (1–4, 11, 14 and 15), three withajardin–type (5–7), and eight normal–type (8–10, 12, 13 and 16–18) withanolides. Of normal–type withanolides, a chemical conversion from the 16α,17α–epoxywithanolide (16) to Δ^13,14–16α–hydroxywithanolide (18) was achieved by Wagner–Meerwein rearrangement. All isolates were evaluated for their cytotoxicity against four human tumor cell lines (HCT–116, HepG2, MCF–7 and A375). Among them, compounds 1–3, 6–8, 14, 16–18 showed cytotoxic activity with IC₅₀ values of 0.24–8.71 μM.     

Ethical Review of Research on Human Subjects at Unilever: Reflections on Governance

This article considers the process of ethical review of research on human subjects at a very large multinational consumer products company. The commercial context of this research throws up unique challenges and opportunities that make the ethics of the process of oversight distinct from mainstream medical research. Reflection on the justification of governance processes sheds important, contrasting light on the ethics of governance of other forms and context of research.     

Dissimilar numerical responses of macroinvertebrates to disturbance from drying and predatory sunfish

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Mechanics,Structure and Function of Biopolymer Condensates

The spontaneous nature of biopolymer phase separation in cells entails that the resulting condensates can be thermodynamic machines, which, in the process of condensing, can take on distinct forms themselves and deform neighboring cellular structures. We introduce here general notions of material and mechanical properties of protein condensates with an emphasis on how molecular arrangements and intermolecular interaction within condensates determine their ability to do work on their surroundings. We further propose functional implications of these concepts to cellular and subcellular morphology and biogenesis.     

Predicted future distribution of the African skimmer in response to a changing climate,land cover and distance from water in the mid-Zambezi Valley

Climate models project a hot and dry future for Southern Africa. In this research, Maximum Entropy was used to model the extent to which climate change, land cover and distance from water edges may influence current and future distribution of the African skimmer in the mid-Zambezi Valley. Global Biodiversity Information Facility data collected between the years 2000–2019 were used to develop the models. Three models were built: one for current distribution and two for future distribution under Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 2.6 and 6.0. Results revealed that annual precipitation and distance from water edges were the most important predictors of habitat suitability for the African skimmer under current and future climate. Temperature and land cover were least important in explaining current and future distribution of the species. The RCP 2.6 predicted future decrease in suitable habitat for the African skimmer in the mid-Zambezi Valley, while RCP 6.0 predicted future increase in suitable habitat for the species. This research conclusively revealed that precipitation and distance from water edges were consistently key predictors of suitable habitat for the African skimmer.     

Individual tree context and contrast dictate tree physiological features and arthropod biodiversity patterns across multiple trophic levels

1. The present study tested the hypothesis that tree context (natural, semi-natural or planted) and contrast (height of surrounding vegetation) affect tree physiological characters (leaf size, nutrient content, and stress-related factors), and also alter the arthropod biodiversity patterns either directly or indirectly. 2. Arthropods were collected from tree canopies using chemical fogging from the ecologically important South African native tree Podocarpus elongatus. 3. Low contrast trees had significantly larger leaves than those in high contrast environments and harboured an overall higher richness, abundance, and biomass of arthropods, although this was guild-dependent. 4. Trees in natural contexts had less foliar δ¹³C, suffered less from artificial nitrogen enrichment, and harboured significantly higher herbivore and predator arthropod richness and unique assemblages, compared with planted trees. 5. Semi-natural trees supported natural levels of arthropod richness, although these were mostly generalist species. 6. Tree context and contrast can therefore dictate associated biota at multiple trophic levels and native trees may fail to maintain natural biodiversity in transformed landscapes.