scholarly journals Solar activity affects avian timing of reproduction

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 739-742 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel E. Visser ◽  
Juan José Sanz
Keyword(s):  
Solar Activity ◽  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Laying Date ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Timing Of Reproduction ◽  
Crucial Difference ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time

Avian timing of reproduction is strongly affected by ambient temperature. Here we show that there is an additional effect of sunspots on laying date, from five long-term population studies of great and blue tits ( Parus major and Cyanistes caeruleus ), demonstrating for the first time that solar activity not only has an effect on population numbers but that it also affects the timing of animal behaviour. This effect is statistically independent of ambient temperature. In years with few sunspots, birds initiate laying late while they are often early in years with many sunspots. The sunspot effect may be owing to a crucial difference between the method of temperature measurements by meteorological stations (in the shade) and the temperatures experienced by the birds. A better understanding of the impact of all the thermal components of weather on the phenology of ecosystems is essential when predicting their responses to climate change.

Supplementary Information – Chapter 2

2020 ◽  
pp. 34-35
Author(s):  
Marta Szulkin ◽  
Colin J. Garroway ◽  
Michela Corsini ◽  
Andrzej Z. Kotarba ◽  
Davide Dominoni
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Environmental Variation ◽  
Supplementary Information ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Gis And Remote Sensing ◽  
Urban Sites ◽  
Blue Tits

Environmental variation was quantified at nestboxes monitored as part of a prospectively long-term project on the ecology and evolution of great tits Parus major and blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus in Warsaw, Poland. Nine axes of environmental variation were investigated across 9 different urban sites, for a total of 565 specific locations (here: nestboxes). Data was collected on the ground, with the use of GIS and remote sensing using the following methodology:...

The decline and rise of class voting? From occupation to culture in Australia

2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 426-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian McAllister ◽  
Toni Makkai
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Capital ◽  
National Survey ◽  
Social And Cultural Capital ◽  
Class Voting ◽  
Party Support ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Economic Assets ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time

Conventional wisdom has long held that class is declining as an influence on voting. More recently, new conceptions of class, focusing on the ownership of economic assets and the possession of social and cultural capital, have challenged this view. This article evaluates these arguments in two ways. First, we examine trends in the impact of traditional measures of class on the vote in Australia from the 1960s to the present day. Second, using a 2015 national survey that measures different aspects of class voting, we assess for the first time the relative effects on the vote of occupation, assets, and social and cultural capital. The results show that while occupation has declined and is now unimportant, the ownership of both assets and cultural capital are major influences on the vote. We argue that the impact of class on the vote has not declined, but rather transformed itself in new and different ways, which has important long-term implications for party support.

scholarly journals An Introduction to Nicos Hadjinicolaou's “Art Centers and Peripheral Art” (1982)

ARTMargins ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-118
Author(s):  
Terry Smith
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Political Art ◽  
Book Art ◽  
Hard Edge ◽  
War Of Independence ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time

Change in the history of art has many causes, but one often overlooked by art historical institutions is the complex, unequal set of relationships that subsist between art centers and peripheries. These take many forms, from powerful penetration of peripheral art by the subjects, styles and modes of the relevant center, through accommodation to this penetration to various degrees and kinds of resistance to it. Mapping these relationships should be a major task for art historians, especially those committed to tracing the reception of works of art and the dissemination of ideas about art. This lecture, delivered by Nicos Hadjinicolaou in 1982, outlines a “political art geography” approach to these challenges, and demonstrates it by exploring four settings: the commissioning of paintings commemorating key battles during the Greek War of Independence; the changes in Diego Rivera's style on his return to Mexico from Paris in the 1920s; the impact on certain Mexican artists in the 1960s of “hard edge” painting from the United States; and the differences between Socialist Realism in Moscow and in the Soviet Republics of Asia during the mid-twentieth century. The lecture is here translated into English for the first time and is introduced by Terry Smith, who relates it to its author's long-term art historical quest, as previously pursued in his book Art History and Class Struggle (1973).

The Drugs and Natural Antioxidants as the Components of Anti-radiation Countermeasures during Cosmic Flights

2017 ◽  
pp. 66-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
И. Ушаков ◽  
I. Ushakov ◽  
М. Васин ◽  
M. Vasin
Keyword(s):  
Solar Activity ◽  
Cosmic Rays ◽  
Radiation Effects ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Galactic Cosmic Rays ◽  
Stress Factors ◽  
Solar Cosmic Rays ◽  
Post Radiation ◽  
The Impact

Radiation situation for cosmonauts over long-term cosmic flights is caused by low-rate radiation of galactic cosmic rays and solar cosmic rays consisting of high-energy proton as well as heavy particles (Z>10) within 1-2 % that is exclusively a threat of stochastic radiation effects (small increase of cancer risk and decrease of mean life span) for men. During interplanetary expedition periods the small probability of raised solar activity there is a threat of exposure to astronauts at doses that cause deterministic radiation effects leading to the development of the disease as a clinical manifestation of radiation injuries,. In a similar scenario it is necessary to have available to cosmic ship anti-radiation countermeasures for cosmonaut protection. Among radioprotective equipment can be provided with radiation protective agents and partial shielding of body separate section providing the best condition for post-radiation repair of radiosensitive body tissues. Preparation B-190 (indralin) is the most perspective from a small numbers of other radioprotectors permitting for men administration. Besides high radioprotective efficacy and large broadness of protective action B-190 is well tolerated including the impact of extrem flight factors. Antiemetic agent latran (ondansetron) is most interesting among preparation for prophylaxis and reduction of prodromal radiation reaction. To accelerate post-radiation hematopoietic recovery after raised solar activity an administration of radiomitigators (riboxin et al.) is substantiated. Neupomax (neupogen) is recommended as a preparation for pathogenesis therapy of acute radiation syndrome. Possible consequences of long-term cosmic voyages for oxidative stress development are taken into consideration. On their basis of nNatural antioxidants, preparations and nutrients radiomodulators, fully qualitative nutrition including vegetable food enriched flavonoids, vitamins C, E and carotene potentially prevent a shorten of cosmonaut biological age induced by solar cosmic rays and galactic cosmic rays and stress factors of long-term cosmic voyages. Radiomodulators are low and non-toxic and have not side effects in recommended doses. Their radioprotective effect is directly induced by adaption reaction on cellular and organismic levels through gene expression modulation and in that way the increase of non-specific body tolerance. The implementation of radiomodulator action is possible through hormesis mechanism.

scholarly journals Latent Antigen Vaccination in a Model Gammaherpesvirus Infection

2001 ◽  
Vol 75 (17) ◽  
pp. 8283-8288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward J. Usherwood ◽  
Kimberley A. Ward ◽  
Marcia A. Blackman ◽  
James P. Stewart ◽  
David L. Woodland
Keyword(s):  
Latent Infection ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Murine Gammaherpesvirus ◽  
Latently Infected ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Infected Cells ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time

ABSTRACT Vaccines that can reduce the load of latent gammaherpesvirus infections are eagerly sought. One attractive strategy is vaccination against latency-associated proteins, which may increase the efficiency with which T cells recognize and eliminate latently infected cells. However, due to the lack of tractable animal model systems, the effect of latent-antigen vaccination on gammaherpesvirus latency is not known. Here we use the murine gammaherpesvirus model to investigate the impact of vaccination with the latency-associated M2 antigen. As expected, vaccination had no effect on the acute lung infection. However, there was a significant reduction in the load of latently infected cells in the initial stages of the latent infection, when M2 is expressed. These data show for the first time that latent-antigen vaccination can reduce the level of latency in vivo and suggest that vaccination strategies involving other latent antigens may ultimately be successfully used to reduce the long-term latent infection.

scholarly journals The Grain Market between the Reigns of Alexey Mikhailovich and Catherine the Great: Was there a ‘Price Revolution’?

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur Mustafin
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Grain Market ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Regions Of Russia ◽  
Grain Prices

The author of this article attempts to reveal and systematise archival data on grain prices in Russia between the 1650s and 1700s and analyse their dynamics by comparing them with data for the eighteenth century. The study is based on a wide range of archival sources from the funds of the RSAAA (RGADA), CSA of Moscow (TsGA of Moscow), DM NLR (OR RNB), and SFI CANNR (GKU TsANO). The data from these sources make it possible to construct time series describing rye and oat price dynamics in the northern and central non-black earth regions of Russia. The author substantiates the homogeneity and reliability of the data received and determines the real prices. The resulting numbers make the author doubt the “price revolution” in eighteenth-century Russia. Throughout the eighteenth century, the average real prices remained below the level of the 1660s and 1670s. Only in the 1790s did prices briefly exceed this level. Overall, the Russian grain market was characterised by long-term price fluctuations. The author aims to explain this dynamic by analysing supply and demand in the grain market. More particularly, for the first time in the historiography, the author examines the connection between Russian grain prices and yield in the second half of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It is established that in most cases, the relationship between these indicators was direct: as grain yield increased, prices did too. The article explains this seeming paradox. The data published by the author help not only to estimate the impact of various factors on grain prices during the period in question, but also solve practical tasks regarding various price indicators in grain equivalents.

Do frequent acquirers outperform in cross-border acquisitions? A study of Indian companies

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 491-514
Author(s):  
Samta Jain ◽  
Smita Kashiramka ◽  
P.K. Jain
Keyword(s):  
Operating Performance ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Acquisition Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Acquisition Period ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Acquiring Firms ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of cross-border acquisitions (CBAs) on the financial and operating performance of acquiring firms from emerging economies in the long-term; the acquiring firms have been segregated into frequent (multiple) and first-time (single) acquirers based on their prior cross-border experience. The intent is to identify if overseas activities bring over and above advantage to multiple acquirers in terms of enhanced financial synergies and reduced costs, motivating them to engage in sequential international transactions. Design/methodology/approach The paper analyses the impact of CBAs announced and completed during 2004–2013 by Indian companies listed on the NIFTY 500 index. The post-acquisition financial and operating performance of Indian cross-border acquirers has been compared with their pre-acquisition performance. The average performance over three-years immediately preceding the acquisition year constitutes the benchmark for the post-acquisition performance. The post-acquisition period includes a year of integration followed by three successive post-integration years. Therefore, in operational terms, the research period extends from 2001–2017. The long-term performance of frequent (multiple) and first-time (single) Indian acquirers has been investigated comprehensively using a set of 16 financial ratios. The performance has been assessed using the secondary data collected from financial statements of acquiring companies; the financial statements and the list of CBAs by Indian companies have been obtained from Thomson Reuter’s EIKON database. Findings The financial and operating performance of frequent as well as first-time acquirers have depicted a similarly deteriorating trend during the post-acquisition period. These findings indicate that the international expansion of Indian companies is not guided by synergy creation potential and may be pushed by the overconfidence or over-optimism and agency conflicts of managers. This, perhaps, indicates that firms are being imprudent in investing free cash flows available with them. Originality/value The study is the first of its kind. No study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, has analysed the performance of acquiring firms by segregating them into frequent and first-time acquirers using accounting measures of performance. More so, an extensive analysis of the long-term financial and operating performance of acquiring companies is rare to come across in the extant literature.

scholarly journals “The tale of the three little tits”: Different nest building solutions under the same environmental pressures

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 49-56
Author(s):  
Iván Alambiaga ◽  
Elena Álvarez ◽  
David Diez-Méndez ◽  
José Verdejo ◽  
Emilio Barba
Keyword(s):  
Parus Major ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Nest Building ◽  
Mass Composition ◽  
Nest Size ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Environmental Pressures ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
First Time

Evolutionary selection pressures, and species-specific ecology and behavior, promote a great variability in the size and composition of nests. However, it would be expected that phylogenetically close species, with similar ecological needs, breeding at the same time in the same place, would also build similar nests. In contrast with this, previous studies have found differences in nest mass and composition among closely related sympatric species. These differences have been attributed to small differences in body size (smaller species building larger and/or more insulated nests), or to the different ways in which species perceive the environment (e.g. perceived predation risk). In this study, for the first time, we searched for differences between nest mass, composition, and importance of the different functional parts of the nest between Blue ( Cyanistes caeruleus), Great ( Parus major) and Coal tits ( Periparus ater) breeding under the same conditions. We found that smaller species built larger nests and/or include more thermoregulatory materials, probably having greater insulating capacity, which agrees with previous hypotheses. In particular, Blue Tits made greater use of bark, feathers and vegetable fiber, while Great Tits used wild boar hair in greater proportions. In addition, for the first time, we described in detail the nest composition of Coal Tits, which contained large amounts of fluff compared to the other two species. All these results are in line with previous hypothesis linking nest size and composition to the size of the birds, and the existence of species-specific characteristics in the selection of materials for nest building.

scholarly journals Impact of Thermal Throttling on Long-Term Visual Inference in a CPU-Based Edge Device

Electronics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 2106
Author(s):  
Théo Benoit-Cattin ◽  
Delia Velasco-Montero ◽  
Jorge Fernández-Berni
Keyword(s):  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Frame Rate ◽  
Raspberry Pi ◽  
Maximum Throughput ◽  
External Temperature ◽  
Active Cooling ◽  
The Impact

Many application scenarios of edge visual inference, e.g., robotics or environmental monitoring, eventually require long periods of continuous operation. In such periods, the processor temperature plays a critical role to keep a prescribed frame rate. Particularly, the heavy computational load of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) may lead to thermal throttling and hence performance degradation in few seconds. In this paper, we report and analyze the long-term performance of 80 different cases resulting from running five CNN models on four software frameworks and two operating systems without and with active cooling. This comprehensive study was conducted on a low-cost edge platform, namely Raspberry Pi 4B (RPi4B), under stable indoor conditions. The results show that hysteresis-based active cooling prevented thermal throttling in all cases, thereby improving the throughput up to approximately 90% versus no cooling. Interestingly, the range of fan usage during active cooling varied from 33% to 65%. Given the impact of the fan on the power consumption of the system as a whole, these results stress the importance of a suitable selection of CNN model and software components. To assess the performance in outdoor applications, we integrated an external temperature sensor with the RPi4B and conducted a set of experiments with no active cooling in a wide interval of ambient temperature, ranging from 22 °C to 36 °C. Variations up to 27.7% were measured with respect to the maximum throughput achieved in that interval. This demonstrates that ambient temperature is a critical parameter in case active cooling cannot be applied.

scholarly journals Long-term familiarity promotes joining in neighbour nest defence

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 544-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Grabowska-Zhang ◽  
B. C. Sheldon ◽  
C. A. Hinde
Keyword(s):  
Parus Major ◽  
Nest Defence ◽  
Call Rate ◽  
Cooperative Tasks ◽  
Direct Benefits ◽  
Evolution Of Sociality ◽  
First Time

Familiarity plays an important role in the evolution of sociality and cooperation. Familiar individuals may gain a reputation for participating in, or defecting from, cooperative tasks. Previous research suggests that long-term familiarity with territorial neighbours benefits breeders. We tested the hypothesis that great tits ( Parus major ) are more likely to join in neighbours' nest defence if those neighbours are familiar from the previous year. We show that neighbours that shared a territory boundary the previous year are more likely to join their neighbours' nest defence than neighbours that did not share a boundary before. Closer neighbours did not differ from distant neighbours in their latency to join. For familiar neighbours that joined, there was no difference in call rate in relation to whether one or both members of the focal pair were familiar. First-time breeders (by definition unfamiliar) did not join each other's nest defence. This is the first evidence of a relationship between familiarity and joining in nest defence. Such direct benefits of familiarity may have important implications in the evolution of sociality.

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