Foraging Behaviour and Landscape Utilisation by the Endangered Golden-Crowned Flying Fox (Acerodon jubatus), The Philippines

Species of Old World fruit-bats (family Pteropodidae) have been identified as the natural hosts of a number of novel and highly pathogenic viruses threatening livestock and human health. We used GPS data loggers to record the nocturnal foraging movements of Acerodon jubatus, the Golden-crowned flying fox in the Philippines to better understand the landscape utilisation of this iconic species, with the dual objectives of pre-empting disease emergence and supporting conservation management. Data loggers were deployed on eight of 54 A. jubatus (two males and six females) captured near Subic Bay on the Philippine island of Luzon between 22 November and 2 December 2010. Bodyweight ranged from 730 g to 1002 g, translating to a weight burden of 3–4% of bodyweight. Six of the eight loggers yielded useful data over 2–10 days, showing variability in the nature and range of individual bat movements. The majority of foraging locations were in closed forest and most were remote from evident human activity. Forty-six discrete foraging locations and five previously unrecorded roost locations were identified. Our findings indicate that foraging is not a random event, with the majority of bats exhibiting repetitious foraging movements night-to-night, that apparently intact forest provides the primary foraging resource, and that known roost locations substantially underestimate the true number (and location) of roosts. Our initial findings support policy and decision-making across perspectives including landscape management, species conservation, and potentially disease emergence.

Jer. (Jerusalem) - Temple Pl. (place) - Golden Gate

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Modelling the manager: Representing rule-based management in farming systems simulation models

We trace the evolution of the representation of management in cropping and grazing systems models, from fixed annual schedules of identical actions in single paddocks toward flexible scripts of rules. Attempts to define higher-level organizing concepts in management policies, and to analyse them to identify optimal plans, have focussed on questions relating to grazing management owing to its inherent complexity. “Rule templates” assist the re-use of complex management scripts by bundling commonly-used collections of rules with an interface through which key parameters can be input by a simulation builder. Standard issues relating to parameter estimation and uncertainty apply to management sub-models and need to be addressed. Techniques for embodying farmers' expectations and plans for the future within modelling analyses need to be further developed, especially better linking planning- and rule-based approaches to farm management and analysing the ways that managers can learn.

Modeling multi-stakeholder multi-objective decisions during public participation in major infrastructure and construction projects: A decision rule approach

Major infrastructure and construction (MIC) projects are those with significant traffic or environmental impact, of strategic and regional significance and high sensitivity. The decision making process of schemes of this type is becoming ever more complicated, especially with the increasing number of stakeholders involved and their growing tendency to defend their own varied interests. Failing to address and meet the concerns and expectations of stakeholders may result in project failures. To avoid this necessitates a systematic participatory approach to facilitate decision-making. Though numerous decision models have been established in previous studies (e.g. ELECTRE methods, the analytic hierarchy process and analytic network process) their applicability in the decision process during stakeholder participation in contemporary MIC projects is still uncertain. To resolve this, the decision rule approach is employed for modeling multi-stakeholder multi-objective project decisions. Through this, the result is obtained naturally according to the “rules” accepted by any stakeholder involved. In this sense, consensus is more likely to be achieved since the process is more convincing and the result is easier to be accepted by all concerned. Appropriate “rules”, comprehensive enough to address multiple objectives while straightforward enough to be understood by multiple stakeholders, are set for resolving conflict and facilitating consensus during the project decision process. The West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) project is used as a demonstration case and a focus group meeting is conducted in order to confirm the validity of the model established. The results indicate that the model is objective, reliable and practical enough to cope with real world problems. Finally, a suggested future research agenda is provided.

A curve shortening flow rule for closed embedded plane curves with a prescribed rate of change in enclosed area

Motivated by a problem from fluid mechanics, we consider a generalization of the standard curve shortening flow problem for a closed embedded plane curve such that the area enclosed by the curve is forced to decrease at a prescribed rate. Using formal asymptotic and numerical techniques, we derive possible extinction shapes as the curve contracts to a point, dependent on the rate of decreasing area; we find there is a wider class of extinction shapes than for standard curve shortening, for which initially simple closed curves are always asymptotically circular. We also provide numerical evidence that self-intersection is possible for non-convex initial conditions, distinguishing between pinch-off and coalescence of the curve interior.

Pentoxifylline induces hyperactivation and acrosome reaction in spermatozoa of golden hamsters: changes in motility kinematics

Pentoxifylline (PF) is used to enhance motility of spermatozoa from infertile human subjects. We have previously shown that 0.45 mM PF improved capacitation of spermatozoa and fertilization of oocytes in vitro in hamsters. The present study was carried out to assess PF- induced changes in motility kinematics of hamster spermatozoa by a computer-aided sperm analyser (CASA) and determine the timing of onset of hyperactivation (HA) and acrosome reaction (AR) in PF-treated spermatozoa. Motility kinematics were analysed by CASA for 0-8 h in the absence or presence of 0.45 mM PF in Tyrode's medium supplemented with lactate, pyruvate and polyvinyl alcohol (TLP-PVA) or in TLP-PVA with bovine serum albumin (TALP-PVA). Conventional assessment was also made on the percentage of motility and quality of motility of spermatozoa; values were expressed as sperm motility index (SMI). Both in TALP-PVA and TLP-PVA, PF markedly increased SMI, especially the quality of motility (P < 0.02) by 2-3 h which was sustained up to 6 h. The motility kinematic data of PF-treated spermatozoa in TALP-PVA showed that average path velocity, curvilinear velocity and amplitude of lateral head displacement significantly (P < 0.05) increased as early as 2 h, with the expected decrease in straightness (STR) and linearity (LIN). Similar changes were also observed with PF-treated spermatozoa in TLP-PVA. Moreover, the percentage of hyperactivated spermatozoa in PF-treated samples was significantly (P < 0.001) higher than the untreated control at 2 h. To determine whether PF could induce AR, independent of bovine serum albumin, quantitative AR was assessed by observing the presence or absence of acrosomal cap on viable spermatozoa. PF significantly (P < 0.001) increased the percentage of AR as early as 2 h, reaching maximum at 4 h both in TALP-PVA (P < 0.05) and in TLP-PVA (P < 0.001). These results show that, in hamsters, PF induces early onset (by 2 h) of HA and AR and increases the proportion of spermatozoa undergoing physiological maturation.

Mathematical model and rule extraction for tool wear monitoring problem using nature inspired techniques

In this paper, pattern classification problem in tool wear monitoring is solved using nature inspired techniques such as Genetic Programming(GP) and Ant-Miner (AM). The main advantage of GP and AM is their ability to learn the underlying data relationships and express them in the form of mathematical equation or simple rules. The extraction of knowledge from the training data set using GP and AM are in the form of Genetic Programming Classifier Expression (GPCE) and rules respectively. The GPCE and AM extracted rules are then applied to set of data in the testing/validation set to obtain the classification accuracy. A major attraction in GP evolved GPCE and AM based classification is the possibility of obtaining an expert system like rules that can be directly applied subsequently by the user in his/her application. The performance of the data classification using GP and AM is as good as the classification accuracy obtained in the earlier study.

A cloud-based intelligent computing system for contextual exploration on personal sleep-tracking data using association rule mining

With the development of wearable and mobile computing technology, more and more people start using sleep-tracking tools to collect personal sleep data on a daily basis aiming at understanding and improving their sleep. While sleep quality is influenced by many factors in a person’s lifestyle context, such as exercise, diet and steps walked, existing tools simply visualize sleep data per se on a dashboard rather than analyse those data in combination with contextual factors. Hence many people find it difficult to make sense of their sleep data. In this paper, we present a cloud-based intelligent computing system named SleepExplorer that incorporates sleep domain knowledge and association rule mining for automated analysis on personal sleep data in light of contextual factors. Experiments show that the same contextual factors can play a distinct role in sleep of different people, and SleepExplorer could help users discover factors that are most relevant to their personal sleep.

Evaluation of the Queensland Minimum Passing Distance Road Rule

The two-year trial of the Queensland minimum passing distance (MPD) road rule began on 7 April 2014. The rule requires motor vehicles to provide cyclists a minimum lateral passing distance of one metre when overtaking cyclists in a speed zone of 60 km/h or less, and 1.5 metres when the speed limit is greater than 60 km/h. This document summarises the evaluation of the effectiveness of the new rule in terms of its: 1. practical implementation; 2. impact on road users’ attitudes and perceptions; and 3. road safety benefits. The Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland (CARRS-Q) developed the evaluation framework (Haworth, Schramm, Kiata-Holland, Vallmuur, Watson & Debnath; 2014) for the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) and was later commissioned to undertake the evaluation. The evaluation included the following components: • Review of correspondence received by TMR; • Interviews and focus groups with Queensland Police Service (QPS) officers; • Road user survey; • Observational study; and • Crash, injury and infringement data analysis.

The quest for golden bananas: Investigating carotenoid regulation in a Fe’i group Musa cultivar

The regulation of carotenoid biosynthesis in a high-carotenoid-accumulating Fe’i group Musa cultivar, “Asupina”, has been examined and compared to that of a low-carotenoid-accumulating cultivar, “Cavendish”, to understand the molecular basis underlying carotenogenesis during banana fruit development. Comparisons in the accumulation of carotenoid species, expression of isoprenoid genes, and product sequestration are reported. Key differences between the cultivars include greater carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase 4 (CCD4) expression in “Cavendish” and the conversion of amyloplasts to chromoplasts during fruit ripening in “Asupina”. Chromoplast development coincided with a reduction in dry matter content and fruit firmness. Chromoplasts were not observed in “Cavendish” fruits. Such information should provide important insights for future developments in the biofortification and breeding of banana.

Managing in the “Golden Cage” An Ethnographic Study of Work, Management and Gender in Parliamentary Administration

Parliaments are political institutions, but they are also places where people work; the MPs and the people who are employed there work, albeit in rather different ways. In this research the focus is on those in a Parliament who work there as employees and managers, and thereby, in some senses, run the organisation. Accordingly, this involves seeing the Parliament as a working environment, for MPs and employees, for men and women. The institution of Parliament is thus here examined by looking at it from a different and new angle. Instead of the usual focus on politicians the focus is on the administration of this institution. The aim is, amongst other things, to increase knowledge and offer different perspectives on democracy and democratic institutions. Unpacking the nearly mythical institution into smaller, more digestible, graspable realities should at the very least help to remind the wider society that although nations, to a certain extent, do need national institutions they should not become mystified or seen as larger than life. Institutions should work on behalf of people and thus be accountable to these same people. The main contribution of this work is to explore and problematise how managing and working is done inside an institution that both largely fulfils the characteristics of a bureaucracy and yet also has added special features that seem to be rather far removed from clear bureaucratic structures. This research offers a new kind of information on working life inside this elite institution. The joys and the struggles of working and managing in this particular public sector organisation are illustrated here and offer a view, a glimpse, into the experiences of managing and working in this House.

The condensed nearest neighbor rule using the concept of mutual nearest neighborhood (Corresp.)

A two-stage iterative algorithm for selecting a subset of a training set of samples for use in a condensed nearest neighbor (CNN) decision rule is introduced. The proposed method uses the concept of mutual nearest neighborhood for selecting samples close to the decision line. The efficacy of the algorithm is brought out by means of an example.

A Low-Complexity, Full-Rate, Full-Diversity 2 x 2 STBC with Golden Code's Coding Gain

This paper presents a low-ML-decoding-complexity, full-rate, full-diversity space-time block code (STBC) for a 2 transmit antenna, 2 receive antenna multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system, with coding gain equal to that of the best and well known Golden code for any QAM constellation. Recently, two codes have been proposed (by Paredes, Gershman and Alkhansari and by Sezginer and Sari), which enjoy a lower decoding complexity relative to the Golden code, but have lesser coding gain. The 2 x 2 STBC presented in this paper has lesser decoding complexity for non-square QAM constellations, compared with that of the Golden code, while having the same decoding complexity for square QAM constellations. Compared with the Paredes-Gershman-Alkhansari and Sezginer-Sari codes, the proposed code has the same decoding complexity for non-rectangular QAM constellations. Simulation results, which compare the codeword error rate (CER) performance, are presented.