A landscape-scale, applied fire management experiment promotes recovery of a population of the threatened Gouldian Finch, Erythrura gouldiae, in Australia's tropical savannas

Fire is an integral part of savanna ecology and changes in fire patterns are linked to biodiversity loss in savannas worldwide. In Australia, changed fire regimes are implicated in the contemporary declines of small mammals, riparian species, obligate-seeding plants and grass seed-eating birds. Translating this knowledge into management to recover threatened species has proved elusive. We report here on a landscape-scale experiment carried out by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) on Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary in northwest Australia. The experiment was designed to understand the response of a key savanna bird guild to fire, and to use that information to manage fire with the aim of recovering a threatened species population. We compared condition indices among three seed-eating bird species-one endangered (Gouldian finch) and two non-threatened (long-tailed finch and double-barred finch)-from two large areas (> 2,830 km2) with initial contrasting fire regimes ('extreme': frequent, extensive, intense fire; versus 'benign': less frequent, smaller, lower intensity fires). Populations of all three species living with the extreme fire regime had condition indices that differed from their counterparts living with the benign fire regime, including higher haematocrit levels in some seasons (suggesting higher levels of activity required to find food), different seasonal haematocrit profiles, higher fat scores in the early wet season (suggesting greater food uncertainty), and then lower muscle scores later in the wet season (suggesting prolonged food deprivation). Gouldian finches also showed seasonally increasing stress hormone concentrations with the extreme fire regime. Cumulatively, these patterns indicated greater nutritional stress over many months for seed-eating birds exposed to extreme fire regimes. We tested these relationships by monitoring finch condition over the following years, as AWC implemented fire management to produce the 'benign' fire regime throughout the property. The condition indices of finch populations originally living with the extreme fire regime shifted to resemble those of their counterparts living with the benign fire regime. This research supports the hypothesis that fire regimes affect food resources for savanna seed-eating birds, with this impact mediated through a range of grass species utilised by the birds over different seasons, and that fire management can effectively moderate that impact. This work provides a rare example of applied research supporting the recovery of a population of a threatened species.

Patient and nurse preferences for nurse handover-using preferences to inform policy: a discrete choice experiment protocol

INTRODUCTION: Nursing bedside handover in hospital has been identified as an opportunity to involve patients and promote patient-centred care. It is important to consider the preferences of both patients and nurses when implementing bedside handover to maximise the successful uptake of this policy. We outline a study which aims to (1) identify, compare and contrast the preferences for various aspects of handover common to nurses and patients while accounting for other factors, such as the time constraints of nurses that may influence these preferences.; (2) identify opportunities for nurses to better involve patients in bedside handover and (3) identify patient and nurse preferences that may challenge the full implementation of bedside handover in the acute medical setting. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We outline the protocol for a discrete choice experiment (DCE) which uses a survey design common to both patients and nurses. We describe the qualitative and pilot work undertaken to design the DCE. We use a D-efficient design which is informed by prior coefficients collected during the pilot phase. We also discuss the face-to-face administration of this survey in a population of acutely unwell, hospitalised patients and describe how data collection challenges have been informed by our pilot phase. Mixed multinomial logit regression analysis will be used to estimate the final results. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study has been approved by a university ethics committee as well as two participating hospital ethics committees. Results will be used within a knowledge translation framework to inform any strategies that can be used by nursing staff to improve the uptake of bedside handover. Results will also be disseminated via peer-reviewed journal articles and will be presented at national and international conferences.

A discrete choice experiment to examine the preferences of patients with cancer and their willingness to pay for different types of health care appointments

BACKGROUND: This study sought to understand the preferences of patients with cancer and the trade-offs between appointment attributes using discrete choice experiment (DCE). METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: Patients with cancer at 3 hospitals completed a self-administered DCE. Each scenario described 6 attributes: expertise of health care professionals (HCPs), familiarity of doctors with patients' medical history, waiting time, accompaniment by family/friends, travel time, and out-of-pocket costs. Patient preferences were estimated using logistic regression. Willingness to pay (WTP) estimates were derived from regression coefficients. RESULTS: Of 512 patients contacted, 185 returned the questionnaire. The mean age was 61 years, and 60% of respondents were female. The mean time since cancer diagnosis was 34 months, 90% had received treatment; and 61% had early-stage disease. The most important attributes were expertise and familiarity of doctors with patients' medical history; distance traveled was least likely to influence patient preferences. The WTP analysis estimated that patients were willing to pay $680 (95% CI, 470-891) for an appointment with a specialist, $571 (95% CI, 388-754) for doctors familiar with their history, $422 (95% CI, 262-582) for shorter waiting times, $399 (95% CI, 249-549) to be accompanied by family/friends, and $301 (95% CI, 162-441) for shorter traveling times. Male patients had a stronger preference for accompaniment by family/friends. The expertise of HCP was the most important attribute for patients regardless of geographic remoteness. CONCLUSIONS: Our study can assist the development of patient-centered health care models that improve patient access to experienced HCPs, support the role of primary care providers during the cancer journey, and educate patients about the roles of non-oncology HCPs to cope with increasing demand for cancer care.

Intrahousehold allocation in an unintentional random experiment

None

Rent-sharing in Brazil: using trade liberalization as a natural experiment

This paper examines the extent of rent-sharing in Brazil, between 1988 and 1995, combining two different data sets: annual industrial surveys (pIA) and annual household surveys (PNADs). The aim is to use the trade liberalization policies that took place in Brazil in the early 1990s as a "natural experiment" to examine the impact ofproduct market rents on wages. We first estimate inter-industry wage differentials in Brazil, using the household surveys, afier controlling for various observable workers' characteristics. In a reduced form fixed effects equation, these controlled inter-industry differentials are seen to depend on the industries' rate of effective tariff. We also find that LSDV estimates of the effect of value-added per worker (computed using the industrial surveys) on the wage differentials are positive, but somewhat small. However, we find that instrumenting the valued-added with the effective tariffs more than doubles the estimated rent-sharing coefficient. The paper concludes that rent-sharing is prevalent in the Brazilian manufacturing sector, and this mechanism transferred part of the productivity gains due to trade liberalization to manufacturing workers in the form ofhigher (controlled) wage premium.

Do brazilian states engage in the fiscal war of ports? An empiric study of tax competition and an analysis of a natural experiment: the brazilian senate resolution 13/2012

O fim do ano de 2014 marcou o segundo aniversário da Resolução 13/2012 (R13) do Senado brasileiro. Grosso modo, R13 constituiu-se de um normativo do Senado cujo objetivo era o de por um fim na Guerra Fiscal dos Portos (FWP), uma competição fiscal entre os estados que se dá através da concessão de benefícios fiscais sobre operações interestaduais com mercadorias importadas de modo a atrair empresas importadoras para o território do estado concedente. R13 diminuiu o nível da tributação sobre tais operações, esperando com isso diminuir os lucros auferidos e a propensão das firmas de aceitarem tais regimes especiais de incentivação fiscal. Nada obstante, R13 gerou uma grande discussão sobre se os benefícios da atração de investimentos para um estado em particular superariam ou não os custos que esse estado incorreria em renunciar receitas tributárias em razão concessão desses benefícios fiscais. O objetivo do presente trabalho é o de dar uma contribuição a essa discussão, testando se um comportamento de interação estratégica entre estados, tal como aquele que supostamente ocorre no contexto da FWP, de fato emerge dos dados de importação coletados de janeiro de 2010 a maio de 2015, e, também, testando se a R13 de fato afetou tal comportamento de interação estratégica. Utiliza-se aqui um modelo de econometria espacial, no qual se especifica uma matriz de pesos que agrega o nível de importação das jurisdições concorrentes, organizando os dados em um painel de efeitos fixos. Os resultados sugerem que existe um comportamento de interação estratégica entre os estados e que a R13 de fato impactou tal comportamento.

Computerization, occupational tasks and the labor market : evidence from a natural experiment in Brazil

A hipótese de “rotinização" ou estabelece que computadores substituem tarefas rotineiras e complementam tarefas abstratas não rotineiras. Essa dissertação de mestrado test algumas predições naturais sobre o impacto “rotinização" sobre o mercado de trabalho de uma grande economia em desenvolvimento. Uso o final da política de reserva de mercado para mini e micro-computador (Outubro de 1992) como um experimento natural que gera variação exógena nos preços de tecnologia para identificar os efeitos do uso de computadores em salários e insumos de trabalho. Conjuntamente, os resultados contribuem para a crescente literatura sobre “perspectiva das tarefas" por trazer implicações testáveis de um queda exógena de preços de computador em um contexto com uma estratégia de identificação crível.

Enhancing comprehension in low achievement 9th grades: a quasi-experiment study

This article describes the application of a Comprehension Strategies Programme (CSP) designed to improve the reading comprehension of students with learning difficulties. The programme was implemented with 102 ninth grade students from Portuguese public schools with low achievement on a particular subject: Portuguese. An evaluation was done on the effects of the programme on reading comprehension and on school achievement. The Experimental Group presented significant improvements when compared to the Control Group (n=108) on the dimensions considered. This indicates that the CSP an bring benefits to low achieving students who have Portuguese as a mother tongue.

Chromic oxide as a digestibility marker for dogs - A comparison of methods of analysis

The study reported compared coefficients of apparent digestibility (CAD) obtained by total collection (TC) and by chromic oxide (Cr2O3) determined by visible absorption spectrometry (VIS) and flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry (FAAS). These quantification methods were also investigated to assess their precision. Nineteen adult dogs housed in individual digestibility cages were fed three commercial diets, each test including five or seven animals. The experiment was carried out in a completely randomized design with three among-subjects factors (foods) and three within-subject factors (methods), and the dogs were the experimental unit. Estimated CAD for all dietary components in the three diets by either chromium quantification methods did not differ and showed fair agreement with TC results (P > 0.05). Coefficients of chromic oxide recoveries in feces were 1.06 +/- 0.044 and 1.01 +/- 0.045 for VIS and FAAS, respectively, values significantly different (P < 0.05), indicating better recovery for FAAS. Significant differences (P<0.05) were found in the mean concentration of Cr2O3 for diets and feces (17 +/- 0.6 and 19 +/- 0.8g/kg for VIS and FAAS, respectively). Coefficient of variation for FAAS was 1.69% and 1.77% for VIS, which did not differ significantly (P > 0.05). Pearson's correlation coefficient (r=0.99; P < 0.01) indicated positive and significant association among the results for VIS and FASS, indicating reasonable precision and agreement of chromic oxide contents determined by these methods. Therefore, FAAS and VIS can be used successfully to determine Cr2O3 in dog foods and feces. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Utilização de medidas biométricas para predizer características da carcaça de cabritos Saanen

Foram determinadas medidas biométricas de caprinos leiteiros com o objetivo de estimar equações que permitam predizer o peso e as características da carcaça de animais sob diferentes condições nutricionais. Realizou-se um experimento em duas fases, utilizando-se 27 cabritos machos da raça Saanen em cada uma, distribuídos nos tratamentos: alimentação à vontade, 30 e 60% de restrição. O peso vivo (PV) inicial foi de 5 kg na Fase 1 e 20 kg na Fase 2, abatendo-se os animais ao atingirem 20 e 35 kg de PV, respectivamente. Foram determinadas as medidas biométricas e avaliada a condição corporal no animal vivo e, após o abate e resfriamento de 24 horas, as medidas da carcaça. Estimaram-se o peso em jejum (PJ), o peso da carcaça fria (PCF) e a compacidade da carcaça, em função das medidas biométricas. O perímetro torácico e o comprimento corporal foram as medidas biométricas que apresentaram melhor ajuste para estimar o PJ, o PCF e a compacidade da carcaça e, por isso, são recomendados, por serem precisos, práticos e de fácil execução.

Dogs can detect scat samples more efficiently than humans: an experiment in a continuous Atlantic Forest remnant

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Análise da imagem digital para estimativa da área foliar em plantas de laranja Pêra

Objetivou-se, com o trabalho, avaliar dois métodos de estimativa da área foliar, em plantas de laranja Pêra, pela análise da imagem digital obtida com scanner e câmera fotográfica digital. Para determinar a área das folhas, um grupo de discos foi colocado sobre um leitor de scanner, sendo que a imagem obtida foi armazenada. Os mesmos grupos de discos foram fixados sobre cartolina branca e fotografados com câmera fotográfica digital. As imagens obtidas da câmera fotográfica e do scanner foram processadas utilizando ferramentas de um editor de imagem que permite a contagem de pixels de determinada cor, no caso verde. Para a comparação dos métodos, os discos foram submetidos a integrador óptico de área foliar modelo LICOR-3100, utilizando os mesmos agrupamentos. Foram coletadas 20 folhas (cinco em cada quadrante da planta) por parcela de um experimento para comparação de fertilizantes comerciais e doses de zinco, aplicados via foliar, em plantas de sete anos de idade. O experimento foi composto de sete tratamentos e quatro repetições, num total de 28 parcelas. Os dois métodos apresentaram alta correlação com a área estimada pelo integrador óptico de área, considerado como método de referência. O método da análise da imagem obtida com câmera fotográfica, na resolução de 5.0 megapixel, foi mais precisa quando comparada à área estimada pelo integrador óptico de área.

Interferência de plantas daninhas na cultura do milho: I - efeito do número de repetições sobre a precisão dos resultados obtidos

Foi conduzido um experimento com o objetivo de determinar o mínimo de repetições para que níveis preestabelecidos de precisão sejam alcançados sobre a matointerferência na produtividade da cultura do milho mantida na presença ou na ausência das plantas daninhas até 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 e 120 dias após a emergência. O experimento foi conduzido no período de dezembro de 1997 a abril de 1998, correspondendo à safra de verão, na Fazenda Experimental Marcelo Mesquita Serva, Universidade de Marília - UNIMAR, município de Marília, Estado de São Paulo - Brasil. A precisão experimental avaliada pela diferença mínima significativa (dms) mostrou-se continuamente crescente com a adição de novas repetições, observando-se, contudo, reduções menores acima de seis repetições. Os valores médios do quadrado médio do resíduo (QMR) e do coeficiente de variação (CV) e o F dos tratamentos não foram alterados pelo aumento do número de repetições.

Analysis of relative humidity sensors at the WMO Radiosonde intercomparison experiment in Brazil

The quality of the vertical distribution measurements of humidity in the atmosphere is very important in meteorology due to the crucial role that water vapor plays in the earth's energy budget. The radiosonde is the humidity measurement device that provides the best vertical resolution. Also, radiosondes are the operational devices that are used to measure the vertical profile of atmospheric water vapor. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has carried out several intercomparison experiments at different climatic zones in order to identify the differences between the available commercial sensors. This article presents the results of an experiment that was carried out in Brazil in 2001 in which major commercial radiosonde manufacturers [e.g., Graw Radiosondes GmbH & Co., KG (Germany); MODEM (France); InterMet Systems (United States); Sippican, Inc. (United States); and Vaisala (Finland)] were involved. One of the main goals of this experiment was to evaluate the performance of the different humidity sensors in a tropical region. This evaluation was performed for different atmospheric layers and distinct periods of the day. It also considers the computation of the integrated water vapor (IWV). The results showed that the humidity measurements achieved by the different sensors were quite similar in the low troposphere (the bias median value regarding the RS80 was around 1.8%) and were quite dispersed in the superior layers (the median rms regarding the RS80 was around 14.9%).