Nutritional and social hierarchy establishment of the primitively eusocial wasp Mischocyttarus cassununga (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Mischocyttarini) and related aspects

The results on the nutritional influence in the social hierarchy establishment among females from six colonies of Mischocyttarus cassununga show that: - there was no caste determination in the pre-imaginal period concerning ingested food quantities, however, in relation to qualification (proteins and carbohydrate) the Mann-Whitney test applied showed variation among colonies: in two colonics (colony 3, p=0.0209; colony 4, p=0.0090) the larvae which ingested a higher quantity of solid food became adults of hierarchically higher position, however in two other colonies, colony 1 (p=0.6744) and colony 2 (p=0.3367) this difference was not statistically significant; in two experimentally manipulated colonies the caste determination was observed in the imaginal phase (it was verified that the larger the food quantity consumed, the higher the assumed hierarchical position by the individuals); - adult individuals of hierarchically higher position in two colonies ingested a greater amount of solid than liquid food (Mann-Whitney; p ≤ 0.05), however in the other three colonies there was no difference. It can be seen that for all colonies (2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) the high tendency to solid food ingestion occurs. In colony 1, this data was not collected because the observation purpose was different); - inside the colony hierarchy, the older individuals were the ones that occupied higher hierarchical positions; - more than one inseminated female per colony was found in the two experimentally manipulated colonies ; - ovarian development is greater in inseminated females; - the average height of the 3rd tergite was greater for inseminated females, indicating an adaptation to accommodate larger ovary development (t-Student test; p ≤ 0.05).

Implication of scaling hierarchy associated with nonequilibrium: field and particulate

The advent of nanotechnology has necessitated a better understanding of how material microstructure changes at the atomic level would affect the macroscopic properties that control the performance. Such a challenge has uncovered many phenomena that were not previously understood and taken for granted. Among them are the basic foundation of dislocation theories which are now known to be inadequate. Simplifying assumptions invoked at the macroscale may not be applicable at the micro- and/or nanoscale. There are implications of scaling hierrachy associated with in-homegeneity and nonequilibrium. of physical systems. What is taken to be homogeneous and equilibrium at the macroscale may not be so when the physical size of the material is reduced to microns. These fundamental issues cannot be dispensed at will for the sake of convenience because they could alter the outcome of predictions. Even more unsatisfying is the lack of consistency in modeling physical systems. This could translate to the inability for identifying the relevant manufacturing parameters and rendering the end product unpractical because of high cost. Advanced composite and ceramic materials are cases in point. Discussed are potential pitfalls for applying models at both the atomic and continuum levels. No encouragement is made to unravel the truth of nature. Let it be partiuclates, a smooth continuum or a combination of both. The present trend of development in scaling tends to seek for different characteristic lengths of material microstructures with or without the influence of time effects. Much will be learned from atomistic simulation models to show how results could differ as boundary conditions and scales are changed. Quantum mechanics, continuum and cosmological models provide evidence that no general approach is in sight. Of immediate interest is perhaps the establishment of greater precision in terminology so as to better communicate results involving multiscale physical events.

Effect of water renewal on dominance hierarchy of juvenile Nile tilapia

RECAW - CNPq

Correspondence establishment in statistical modeling of shapes with arbitrary topology

Correspondence establishment is a key step in statistical shape model building. There are several automated methods for solving this problem in 3D, but they usually can only handle objects with simple topology, like that of a sphere or a disc. We propose an extension to correspondence establishment over a population based on the optimization of the minimal description length function, allowing considering objects with arbitrary topology. Instead of using a fixed structure of kernel placement on a sphere for the systematic manipulation of point landmark positions, we rely on an adaptive, hierarchical organization of surface patches. This hierarchy can be built on surfaces of arbitrary topology and the resulting patches are used as a basis for a consistent, multi-scale modification of the surfaces' parameterization, based on point distribution models. The feasibility of the approach is demonstrated on synthetic models with different topologies.

Deniable Authenticated Key Establishment for Internet Protocols

We propose two public-key schemes to achieve “deniable authentication” for the Internet Key Exchange (IKE). Our protocols can be implemented using different concrete mechanisms and we discuss different options; in particular we suggest solutions based on elliptic curve pairings. The protocol designs use the modular construction method of Canetti and Krawczyk which provides the basis for a proof of security. Our schemes can, in some situations, be more efficient than existing IKE protocols as well as having stronger deniability properties.

Application of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) in multi-criteria analysis of the selection of intelligent building systems

The availability of innumerable intelligent building (IB) products, and the current dearth of inclusive building component selection methods suggest that decision makers might be confronted with the quandary of forming a particular combination of components to suit the needs of a specific IB project. Despite this problem, few empirical studies have so far been undertaken to analyse the selection of the IB systems, and to identify key selection criteria for major IB systems. This study is designed to fill these research gaps. Two surveys: a general survey and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) survey are proposed to achieve these objectives. The first general survey aims to collect general views from IB experts and practitioners to identify the perceived critical selection criteria, while the AHP survey was conducted to prioritize and assign the important weightings for the perceived criteria in the general survey. Results generally suggest that each IB system was determined by a disparate set of selection criteria with different weightings. ‘Work efficiency’ is perceived to be most important core selection criterion for various IB systems, while ‘user comfort’, ‘safety’ and ‘cost effectiveness’ are also considered to be significant. Two sub-criteria, ‘reliability’ and ‘operating and maintenance costs’, are regarded as prime factors to be considered in selecting IB systems. The current study contributes to the industry and IB research in at least two aspects. First, it widens the understanding of the selection criteria, as well as their degree of importance, of the IB systems. It also adopts a multi-criteria AHP approach which is a new method to analyse and select the building systems in IB. Further research would investigate the inter-relationship amongst the selection criteria.

Nation & internation practices in decision support tools in road asset management

This document provides a review of international and national practices in investment decision support tools in road asset management. Efforts were concentrated on identifying analytic frameworks, evaluation methodologies and criteria adopted by current tools. Emphasis was also given to how current approaches support Triple Bottom Line decision-making. Benefit Cost Analysis and Multiple Criteria Analysis are principle methodologies in supporting decision-making in Road Asset Management. The complexity of the applications shows significant differences in international practices. There is continuing discussion amongst practitioners and researchers regarding to which one is more appropriate in supporting decision-making. It is suggested that the two approaches should be regarded as complementary instead of competitive means. Multiple Criteria Analysis may be particularly helpful in early stages of project development, say strategic planning. Benefit Cost Analysis is used most widely for project prioritisation and selecting the final project from amongst a set of alternatives. Benefit Cost Analysis approach is useful tool for investment decision-making from an economic perspective. An extension of the approach, which includes social and environmental externalities, is currently used in supporting Triple Bottom Line decision-making in the road sector. However, efforts should be given to several issues in the applications. First of all, there is a need to reach a degree of commonality on considering social and environmental externalities, which may be achieved by aggregating the best practices. At different decision-making level, the detail of consideration of the externalities should be different. It is intended to develop a generic framework to coordinate the range of existing practices. The standard framework will also be helpful in reducing double counting, which appears in some current practices. Cautions should also be given to the methods of determining the value of social and environmental externalities. A number of methods, such as market price, resource costs and Willingness to Pay, are found in the review. The use of unreasonable monetisation methods in some cases has discredited Benefit Cost Analysis in the eyes of decision makers and the public. Some social externalities, such as employment and regional economic impacts, are generally omitted in current practices. This is due to the lack of information and credible models. It may be appropriate to consider these externalities in qualitative forms in a Multiple Criteria Analysis. Consensus has been reached in considering noise and air pollution in international practices. However, Australia practices generally omitted these externalities. Equity is an important consideration in Road Asset Management. The considerations are either between regions, or social groups, such as income, age, gender, disable, etc. In current practice, there is not a well developed quantitative measure for equity issues. More research is needed to target this issue. Although Multiple Criteria Analysis has been used for decades, there is not a generally accepted framework in the choice of modelling methods and various externalities. The result is that different analysts are unlikely to reach consistent conclusions about a policy measure. In current practices, some favour using methods which are able to prioritise alternatives, such as Goal Programming, Goal Achievement Matrix, Analytic Hierarchy Process. The others just present various impacts to decision-makers to characterise the projects. Weighting and scoring system are critical in most Multiple Criteria Analysis. However, the processes of assessing weights and scores were criticised as highly arbitrary and subjective. It is essential that the process should be as transparent as possible. Obtaining weights and scores by consulting local communities is a common practice, but is likely to result in bias towards local interests. Interactive approach has the advantage in helping decision-makers elaborating their preferences. However, computation burden may result in lose of interests of decision-makers during the solution process of a large-scale problem, say a large state road network. Current practices tend to use cardinal or ordinal scales in measure in non-monetised externalities. Distorted valuations can occur where variables measured in physical units, are converted to scales. For example, decibels of noise converts to a scale of -4 to +4 with a linear transformation, the difference between 3 and 4 represents a far greater increase in discomfort to people than the increase from 0 to 1. It is suggested to assign different weights to individual score. Due to overlapped goals, the problem of double counting also appears in some of Multiple Criteria Analysis. The situation can be improved by carefully selecting and defining investment goals and criteria. Other issues, such as the treatment of time effect, incorporating risk and uncertainty, have been given scant attention in current practices. This report suggested establishing a common analytic framework to deal with these issues.

Selection method for sustainable building

For a sustainable building industry, not only should the environmental and economic indicators be evaluated but also the societal indicators for building. Current indicators can be in conflict with each other, thus decision making is difficult to clearly quantify and assess sustainability. For the sustainable building, the objectives of decreasing both adverse environmental impact and cost are in conflict. In addition, even though both objectives may be satisfied, building management systems may present other problems such as convenience of occupants, flexibility of building, or technical maintenance, which are difficult to quantify as exact assessment data. These conflicting problems confronting building managers or planners render building management more difficult. This paper presents a methodology to evaluate a sustainable building considering socio-economic and environmental characteristics of buildings, and is intended to assist the decision making for building planners or practitioners. The suggested methodology employs three main concepts: linguistic variables, fuzzy numbers, and an analytic hierarchy process. The linguistic variables are used to represent the degree of appropriateness of qualitative indicators, which are vague or uncertain. These linguistic variables are then translated into fuzzy numbers to reflect their uncertainties and aggregated into the final fuzzy decision value using a hierarchical structure. Through a case study, the suggested methodology is applied to the evaluation of a building. The result demonstrates that the suggested approach can be a useful tool for evaluating a building for sustainability.

Establishment of a preclinical ovine model for tibial segmental bone defect repair by applying bone tissue engineering strategies

Currently, well-established clinical therapeutic approaches for bone reconstruction are restricted to the transplantation of autografts and allografts, and the implantation of metal devices or ceramic-based implants to assist bone regeneration. Bone grafts possess osteoconductive and osteoinductive properties, however they are limited in access and availability and associated with donor site morbidity, haemorrhage, risk of infection, insufficient transplant integration, graft devitalisation, and subsequent resorption resulting in decreased mechanical stability. As a result, recent research focuses on the development of alternative therapeutic concepts. The field of tissue engineering has emerged as an important approach to bone regeneration. However, bench to bedside translations are still infrequent as the process towards approval by regulatory bodies is protracted and costly, requiring both comprehensive in vitro and in vivo studies. The subsequent gap between research and clinical translation, hence commercialization, is referred to as the ‘Valley of Death’ and describes a large number of projects and/or ventures that are ceased due to a lack of funding during the transition from product/technology development to regulatory approval and subsequently commercialization. One of the greatest difficulties in bridging the Valley of Death is to develop good manufacturing processes (GMP) and scalable designs and to apply these in pre-clinical studies. In this article, we describe part of the rationale and road map of how our multidisciplinary research team has approached the first steps to translate orthopaedic bone engineering from bench to bedside byestablishing a pre-clinical ovine critical-sized tibial segmental bone defect model and discuss our preliminary data relating to this decisive step.