University of Stirling

About: University of Stirling is a education organization based out in Stirling, Stirling, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 7722 authors who have published 20549 publications receiving 732940 citations. The organization is also known as: Stirling University.

Western gorilla diet: a synthesis from six sites.

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to collate information on western gorilla diet from six study sites throughout much of their current range, including preliminary information from two sites (Afi and Lossi), where studies of diet have begun only recently. Food lists were available from each site, derived from indirect signs of gorilla feeding (such as feces), with some observational data. Important staple, seasonal, and fallback foods have been identified, and a number of striking similarities across sites have been revealed based on a much larger data set than was previously available. It was confirmed that the western gorilla diet is always eclectic, including up to 230 items and 180 species. The greatest diversity is found among the fruit species eaten, fruit being included in western gorilla diets from all sites and throughout most or all of the year. Eight plant families provide important foods at five, or all six, sites, suggesting that it may be possible in the future to predict which habitats are the most suitable for gorillas. Gorillas exploit both rare and common forest species. Similarities and differences among sites can be explained superficially on the basis of geography and the past history of the forest. Gorilla density across sites appears to be most affected by the density of monocotyledonous bulk food plants, but its relationship to the density of important tree food species has yet to be tested.

Major quantitative trait loci affect resistance to infectious pancreatic necrosis in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar).

Abstract: Infectious pancreatic necrosis (IPN) is a viral disease currently presenting a major problem in the production of Atlantic salmon (Salmon salar) IPN can cause significant mortality to salmon fry within freshwater hatcheries and to smolts following transfer to seawater, although challenged populations show clear genetic variation in resistance To determine whether this genetic variation includes loci of major effect, a genomewide quantitative trait loci (QTL) scan was performed within 10 full-sib families that had received a natural seawater IPN challenge To utilize the large difference between Atlantic salmon male and female recombination rates, a two-stage mapping strategy was employed Initially, a sire-based QTL analysis was used to detect linkage groups with significant effects on IPN resistance, using two to three microsatellite markers per linkage group A dam-based analysis with additional markers was then used to confirm and position any detected QTL Two genomewide significant QTL and one suggestive QTL were detected in the genome scan The most significant QTL was mapped to linkage group 21 and was significant at the genomewide level in both the sire and the dam-based analyses The identified QTL can be applied in marker-assisted selection programs to improve the resistance of salmon to IPN and reduce disease-related mortality

Including older people with dementia in research: challenges and strategies.

Abstract: This paper examines key challenges and strategies for including older people with dementia in an ethnographic study of quality of life in institutional care settings. The methods of interview and observation are described in relation to meeting four research challenges: verbal communication impairment, memory loss, decision-making capacity, and emotional disposition. A range of strategies for privileging the voice of the person with dementia is recommended which include: using different methods be spoke to each person with dementia; greater flexibility and time; preliminary meetings with the person with dementia; discussions with formal and informal carers; and research training. The researchers also conclude that the use of observation and interview are 'meaning-making occasions' which are qualitatively different but equally valuable for understanding quality of life in care settings.

The principal components of natural images

Abstract: A neural net was used to analyse samples of natural images and text. For the natural images, components resemble derivatives of Gaussian operators, similar to those found in visual cortex and inferred from psychophysics. While the results from natural images do not depend on scale, those from text images are highly scale dependent. Convolution of one of the text components with an original image shows that it is sensitive to inter-word gaps.