Parent-offspring and inter-offspring responses to conspecific vs heterospecific distress calls in two sympatric birds

Distress calls, as a type of alarm call, play important roles in expressing bodily condition and conveying information concerning predation threats. In this study, we examined the communication via distress calls in parent–offspring and inter-offspring interactions. First, we used playback of chick distress calls of two sympatric breeders, the vinous-throated parrotbill Sinosuthora webbiana and the oriental reed warbler Acrocephalus orientalis, to the adults/chicks of these two species respectively and measured the responses of conspecifics or heterospecifics. The playback-to-chicks experiment showed that both species of chicks reduced the number of begging calls and begging duration time as a response to conspecific/heterospecific distress calls compared with natural begging and background noise controls. However, reed warbler chicks also reduced beak opening frequency in the response to conspecific distress calls compared with other playback stimuli. Second, the results of the playback-to-adults experiment showed that reed warbler adults could eavesdrop on distress calls of conspecific neighbors and sympatric heterospecifics. Furthermore, the nest-leaving behavior of reed warblers did not differ significantly when they heard the distress calls of conspecifics or parrotbills. Finally, reed warbler adults responded to conspecific distress calls more quickly than to heterospecific distress calls, while parrotbill adults presented the opposite response. Our results supported the warn-kin hypothesis and show that chick distress calls play an important role in conveying risk and the condition of chicks to enhance individual fitness. In addition, we also found that eavesdropping on distress calls is a congenital behavior that begins in the chick stage.

Time as the result of the observer’s measurement

Since the beginning of physics, time is the duration of material changes. We measure time with clocks. The notion of time in Newton physics, Einstein’s relativity, and quantum physics are different despite we always measure the same time with the same apparatuses that are clocks. We showed in this article that the act of the measurement done by the observer is generating duration. Time as duration is the result of the interaction between the observer and physical reality via clocks. In the universe, only changes exist. Changes have no duration on their own. Time as duration is born with the measurement done by the observer. Duration is relative and depends on the variable energy density of time-invariant superfluid quantum space that is the carrier of EPR-type entanglement.

Some climatological features of thunderstorms at Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode airports

The average monthly frequency of thunderstorms, its annual and monthly frequency of duration, time of commencement and frequency of thunderstorms in relation to duration and time of commencement at three aerodrome stations of Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode have been presented in this paper. It is found that thunderstorm activity is maximum in pre-monsoon months at Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi and in post monsoon months at Kozhikode. Majority of the thunderstorms are of duration less than three hours and have a preference to commence between 9 and 18 UTC in all stations whereas long duration thunderstorms generally commence between 9 and 15 UTC.

Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) guidance is helpful in reducing dose exposure to pediatric patients undergoing radiofrequency ablation of osteoid osteoma

Purpose To assess efficacy and safety of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in the radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of osteoid osteoma (OO) in children and adolescents, and to compare technical success, clinical success, radiation dose and procedure duration time of CBCT guidance to conventional computed tomography (CT) guidance. Materials and methods Between 2015 and 2019, 53 consecutive percutaneous RFA were performed on pediatric patients with CBCT or conventional CT guidance, respectively, in 24 and 29 children and adolescents with 24-month follow-up. Dose area product (DAP) and dose length product (DLP) were recorded, respectively, for CBCT and conventional CT and converted to effective doses (ED). Results CBCT and conventional CT groups were similar in terms of patient age and weight, tumor size and tumor location. Technical success was achieved in all cases. Primary clinical success was 91.67% (22/24) for the CBCT group and 89.66% (26/29) for the conventional CT group. Mean DAP was 64.75Gycm2 (range 6.0–266.7). Mean DLP was 972.62mGycm (range 337–2344). ED was significantly lower in the CBCT group compared to the conventional CT group (0.34 mSv vs. 5.53 mSv, p = 0.0119). Procedure duration time was not significantly longer in the CBCT group (102.25 min vs. 92.34 min, p = 0.065). No major complication was registered. Minor complications were observed in 4 patients (2 in CBCT; 2 in conventional CT). Conclusions Compared to conventional CT guidance, CBCT guidance for percutaneous OO ablation shows similar technical and clinical success rates, with reduced radiation dose and equivalent procedure duration time. This technique helps sparing dose exposure to pediatric patients.

Persuasion prosody in prosecutor’s speech: Ukrainian and english

This paper presents the research of prosodic means conveying the persuasion modality in a prosecutor’s speech in court. The material under study consists of English and Ukrainian speeches of the prosecutors (the total duration time is 16 hours). The results of the experimental material examination demonstrate common and specific characteristics of prosody components (melody, loudness, tempo, timber and sentence stress) in English and Ukrainian. Pragmatics of prosody semantics and correlation between its parameters have been proved. It has been stated that in both English and Ukrainian an utterance becomes emphatic due to the prosodic means of persuasion in a prosecutor’s speech as follows: 1) changes of tempo; 2) changes of the pitch of a voice; 3) replacements of the rising tone with the falling one and vice versa; 4) usage of complex tones; 5) use of an interrupted ascending or descending scale; 6) change of sentence stress type; 7) division of a sense group into two or more parts. The above mentioned facts enable us to conclude that: while describing the first of these aspects of typological similarity of prosody in the compared languages, the parameters of the pitch component of intonation are most informative when differentiating attitudinal ones. The specificity of interaction between prosodic and grammar means when expressing persuasion in Ukrainian and English prosecutor’s speech is caused by a degree of distinction between the grammatical and vocabulary systems of the compared languages.

Some characteristics of fog over Guwahati airport

The statistical characteristics like frequencies of occurrence, time of onset, duration, time of dispersal and intensity of fog over Guwahati airport are found out and analysed using 10 years data during 1994-95 to 2003-04 for the months of November to February. Also the interannual and intraseasonal variations of occurrence of fog are analysed by calculating the coefficient of variation of monthly frequency of fog and by calculating the significant periodicities in the daily probability of occurrence of fog respectively. The meteorological parameters at 1200 UTC leading to fog in the following night or morning over Guwahati airport are analysed to find out the precursors for occurrence of fog. Statistical characteristics are given in tables and their significance discussed. It is observed that monitoring of Dew Point Depression (DPD) and surface wind can help prediction of occurrence of fog and its intensity over Guwahati airport.

Use of body composition and phase angle analysis for the assessment of nutritional status and clinical outcomes in critically ill children

BackgroundMalnutrition is highly prevalent in critically ill children in the pediatric intensive care unit .We aimed to investigate the efficiency of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) measurements and phase angle (PhA) analysis for the assessment of nutritional risk and clinical outcomes in critically ill children.MethodsThis single-center observational study included patients admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of Chengdu Women’s and Children’s Central Hospital. All patients underwent anthropometric measurement in the first 24 h of admission and underwent BIA measurements within 3 days after the admission. The patients were classified into different groups based on body mass index (BMI) for age. Electronic hospital medical records were reviewed to collect clinical data for each patient. All the obtained data were analyzed by the statistics method.ResultsThere were 204 patients enrolled in our study, of which 32.4% were diagnosed with malnutrition. We found that BMI, arm muscle circumference, fat mass, and %body fat were lower in the group with poorer nutritional status (P < 0.05). Evident differences in the score of the Pediatric Risk of Mortality and the duration of mechanical ventilation (MV) among the three groups with different nutritional statuses were observed (P < 0.05). Patients in the severely malnourished group had the longest duration of MV. In the MV groups, there were significant differences (P < 0.05) in albumin level, PhA, and extracellular water/total body water (ECW/TBW ratio). The ECW/TBW ratio and the time for PICU stay had a weak degree of correlation (Pearson correlation coefficient = 0.375). PhA showed a weak degree of correlation with the duration time of medical ventilation (coefficient of correlation = 0.398).ConclusionBIA can be considered an alternative way to assess nutritional status in critically ill children. ECW/TBW ratio and PhA were correlated with PICU stay and duration time of medical ventilation, respectively.