Delaying mowing and leaving uncut refuges boosts orthopterans in extensively managed meadows: Evidence drawn from field-scale experimentation

Semi-natural grasslands are widely recognized for their high ecological value. They often count among the most species-rich habitats, especially in traditional cultural landscapes. Maintaining and/or restoring them is a top priority, but nevertheless represents a real conservation challenge, especially regarding their invertebrate assemblages. The main goal of this study was to experimentally investigate the influence of four different mowing regimes on orthopteran communities and populations: (1) control meadow (C-meadow): mowing regime according to the Swiss regulations for extensively managed meadows declared as ecological compensation areas, i.e. first cut not before 15 June; (2) first cut not before 15 July (delayed treatment, D-meadow); (3) first cut not before 15 June and second cut not earlier than 8 weeks from the first cut (8W-meadow); (4) refuges left uncut on 10–20% of the meadow area (R-meadow). Data were collected two years after the introduction of these mowing treatments. Orthopteran densities from spring to early summer were five times higher in D-meadows, compared to C-meadows. In R-meadows, densities were, on average, twice as high as in C-meadows, while mean species richness was 23% higher in R-meadows than in C-meadows. Provided that farmers were given the appropriate financial incentives, the D- and R-meadow regimes could be relatively easy to implement within agri-environment schemes. Such meadows could deliver substantial benefits for functional biodiversity, including sustenance to many secondary consumers dependent on field invertebrates as staple food.

The CIAO Multi-Dialect Compiler and System: An Experimentation Workbench for Future (C)LP Systems

CIAO is an advanced programming environment supporting Logic and Constraint programming. It offers a simple concurrent kernel on top of which declarative and non-declarative extensions are added via librarles. Librarles are available for supporting the ISOProlog standard, several constraint domains, functional and higher order programming, concurrent and distributed programming, internet programming, and others. The source language allows declaring properties of predicates via assertions, including types and modes. Such properties are checked at compile-time or at run-time. The compiler and system architecture are designed to natively support modular global analysis, with the two objectives of proving properties in assertions and performing program optimizations, including transparently exploiting parallelism in programs. The purpose of this paper is to report on recent progress made in the context of the CIAO system, with special emphasis on the capabilities of the compiler, the techniques used for supporting such capabilities, and the results in the áreas of program analysis and transformation already obtained with the system.

The CIAO multi-dialect compiler and system: An experimentation workbench for future (C)LP systems

Abstract is not available.

Using configuration management and product line software paradigms to support the experimentation process in software engineering.

There is no empirical evidence whatsoever to support most of the beliefs on which software construction is based. We do not yet know the adequacy, limits, qualities, costs and risks of the technologies used to develop software. Experimentation helps to check and convert beliefs and opinions into facts. This research is concerned with the replication area. Replication is a key component for gathering empirical evidence on software development that can be used in industry to build better software more efficiently. Replication has not been an easy thing to do in software engineering (SE) because the experimental paradigm applied to software development is still immature. Nowadays, a replication is executed mostly using a traditional replication package. But traditional replication packages do not appear, for some reason, to have been as effective as expected for transferring information among researchers in SE experimentation. The trouble spot appears to be the replication setup, caused by version management problems with materials, instruments, documents, etc. This has proved to be an obstacle to obtaining enough details about the experiment to be able to reproduce it as exactly as possible. We address the problem of information exchange among experimenters by developing a schema to characterize replications. We will adapt configuration management and product line ideas to support the experimentation process. This will enable researchers to make systematic decisions based on explicit knowledge rather than assumptions about replications. This research will output a replication support web environment. This environment will not only archive but also manage experimental materials flexibly enough to allow both similar and differentiated replications with massive experimental data storage. The platform should be accessible to several research groups working together on the same families of experiments.

IDR/UPM facilities for liquid bridge experimentation on earth under microgravity conditions

Besides space laboratories for in-orbit experimentation, Earth based facilities for laboratory experimentation are of paramount importance for the enhancement on liquid bridge knowledge. In spite of the constraints imposed by simulated microgravity (which force to work either with very small size liquid bridges or by using the Plateau tank technique, amongst other techniques), the availability and accessibility of Earth facilities can circumvent in many cases the drawbacks associated with simulated microgravity conditions. To support theoretical and in orbit experimental studies on liquid bridges under reduced gravity conditions, several ground facilities were developed at IDR. In the following these ground facilities are briefly described, and main results obtained by using them are cited.

A Reliable Open-Source System Architecture for the Fast Designing and Prototyping of Autonomous Multi-UAV Systems: Simulation and Experimentation

During the process of design and development of an autonomous Multi-UAV System, two main problems appear. The first one is the difficulty of designing all the modules and behaviors of the aerial multi-robot system. The second one is the difficulty of having an autonomous prototype of the system for the developers that allows to test the performance of each module even in an early stage of the project. These two problems motivate this paper. A multipurpose system architecture for autonomous multi-UAV platforms is presented. This versatile system architecture can be used by the system designers as a template when developing their own systems. The proposed system architecture is general enough to be used in a wide range of applications, as demonstrated in the paper. This system architecture aims to be a reference for all designers. Additionally, to allow for the fast prototyping of autonomous multi-aerial systems, an Open Source framework based on the previously defined system architecture is introduced. It allows developers to have a flight proven multi-aerial system ready to use, so that they can test their algorithms even in an early stage of the project. The implementation of this framework, introduced in the paper with the name of “CVG Quadrotor Swarm”, which has also the advantages of being modular and compatible with different aerial platforms, can be found at https://​github.​com/​Vision4UAV/​cvg_​quadrotor_​swarm with a consistent catalog of available modules. The good performance of this framework is demonstrated in the paper by choosing a basic instance of it and carrying out simulation and experimental tests whose results are summarized and discussed in this paper.

Helping teachers change their behavior, an inservice training project utilizing sound filmstrips, interaction analysis, self-directed experimentation:

Mode of access: Internet.

More information is needed on the advantages and limitations of animal experimentation before deciding whether legislation is needed for research funds.

Mode of access: Internet.

Experimentation in the adaptation of the overhead projector utilizing 200 transparencies and 800 overlays in teaching engineering descriptive geometry curricula, June 1, 1959 to August 31, 1960. Final report, grant no. 741023.09, U. S. Office of Education, Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare.

"Corrected graph iv" leaf inserted.

Report of the Northeast demonstration farm and experimentation station.

Mode of access: Internet.

The American railroad in laboratory; a brief digest of research and experimentation, conducted by railroads individually and collectively through the American railway association in the interest of constant improvement of their facilities and service,

Mode of access: Internet.

An act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to regulate the transportation, sale, and handling of dogs, cats, and certain other animals intended to be used for purposes of research or experimentation, and for other purposes. (Public Law 89-544) (89th Cong., H. R. 13881)

Citation titles: Dogs, cats, and other animals intended for research or experimental use.

Concrete bridge deck overlays in Illinois : mix design experimentation and investigation of construction methods /

"IL-PRR-133"--Technical report documentation page.