adaptive compression methods for color images. One, we use ferential pulse code modulation (DPCM) [25], transform clustering or segmentation procedures to determine self-similar coding [25, 30], and vector quantization [12], developed image regions. Two, for each such region we use a Karhunen– initially for encoding monochrome images. This approach Loeve compression method to model the importan...

New and emerging forms of data, including posts harvested from social media sites such as Twitter, have become part of the sociologist's data diet. In particular, some researchers see an advantage in the perceived 'public' nature of Twitter posts, representing them in publications without seeking informed consent. While such practice may not be at odds with Twitter's terms of service, we argue ...

Coastal sand dunes have attracted the attention of plant ecologists for over a century, but they have largely relied on correlations to explain dune plant community organization. We examined long-standing hypotheses experimentally that sand binding, inter-specific interactions, abiotic factors and seedling recruitment are drivers of sand dune plant community structure in Sardinia, Italy. Removi...

The worldwide interest in everyday culture, ways of living and doing things which underpin our sense of place is palpable. We have come to appreciate that there is an abundant culture out there with a rich array of meaning and significance. Nowhere is this more abundant than in Asia where outstanding examples of the continuous living/nourishing tradition of history are part of an intricate and ...

Abstract Evidence suggests that hurricanes can influence the evolution of organisms, with phenotypic traits involved in adhesion, such as toepads arboreal lizards, being particularly susceptible to natural selection during strong storms. To investigate this idea, we quantified trait variation before and after Hurricanes Irma Maria (2017) forest urban populations Puerto Rican lizard Anolis crist...

This article has two aims: first, to give an historic overview of the nature-nurture debate in relation to how mothers learn to breastfeed. The overview will relate how the 'nurture' perspective came to dominate our understanding of the ontogeny of breastfeeding. The second aim is to propose professional breastfeeding competencies in an attempt to integrate the 'nature' perspective within early...