1,995 research outputs found
Do functional traits offset the effects of fragmentation? The case of large-bodied diurnal lemur species
No full textPrimates worldwide are faced with increasing threats making them more vulnerable to extinction. Anthropogenic disturbances, such as habitat degradation and fragmentation, are among the main concerns, and in Madagascar, these issues have become widespread. As this situation continues to worsen, we sought to understand how fragmentation affects primate distribution throughout the island. Further, because species may exhibit different sensitivity to fragmentation, we also aimed to estimate the role of functional traits in mitigating their response. We collated data from 32 large‐bodied lemur species ranges, consisting of species from the families Lemuridae (five genera) and Indriidae (two genera). We fitted Generalized Linear Models to determine the role of habitat fragmentation characteristics, for example, forest cover, patch size, edge density, and landscape configuration, as well as the protected area (PA) network, on the species relative probability of presence. We then assessed how the influence of functional traits (dietary guild, home range size) mitigate the response of species to these habitat metrics. Habitat area had a strong positive effect for many species, and there were significantly negative effects of fragmentation on the distribution of many lemur species. In addition, there was a positive influence of PAs on many lemur species’ distribution. Functional trait classifications showed that lemurs of all dietary guilds are negatively affected by fragmentation; however, folivore‐frugivores show greater flexibility/variability in terms of habitat area and landscape complexity compared to nearly exclusive folivores and frugivores. Furthermore, species of all home range sizes showed a negative response to fragmentation, while habitat area had an increasingly positive effect as home range increased in size. Overall, the general trends for the majority of lemur species are dire and point to the need for immediate actions on a multitude of fronts, most importantly landscape‐level reforestation efforts
Selected Contributions of Sister Mary Berenice Beck, O.S.F. to Nursing in the United States, 1923-1956
No full textby Sister M. Timothy Costello.Typescript.Thesis (M.S.N.)--Catholic University of America.Bibliography: leaves 44-47.Also available in microfilm
ASO Author Reflections: Re-resection of Positive Bile Duct Margin for Hilar Cholangiocarcinoma
No full textAuthor Reflections: Re-resection of Positive Bile Duct Margin for Hilar Cholangiocarcinom
t-pollington/developments_tau_statistic: First release
No full textCode release archived on Zenodo from the following paper:
@ARTICLE{Pollington2021, author={Pollington, T.M. and Tildesley, M.J. and Hollingsworth, T.D. and Chapman, L.A.C.},
volume = {42},
pages = {100438},
year = {2021},
note = {Towards Spatial Data Science},
issn = {2211-6753},
title={{Developments in statistical inference when assessing spatiotemporal disease clustering with the tau statistic}},
journal={Spatial Statistics},
doi={10.1016/j.spasta.2020.100438},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211675320300324},
keywords = {Second order dependence, Pointwise confidence interval, Bias corrected accelerated BCa, Percentile confidence interval, Spatial bootstrap, Graphical hypothesis test} }Please contact Timothy M Pollington as corresponding author on [email protected] for any assistance.
TMP, LACC & TDH gratefully acknowledge funding of the NTD Modelling Consortium by the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) (grant number OPP1184344) and LACC acknowledges funding of
the SPEAK India consortium by BMGF (grant number OPP1183986). Views, opinions, assumptions
or any other information set out in this article should not be attributed to BMGF or any person
connected with them. TMP's PhD is supported by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research
Council, Medical Research Council and University of Warwick (grant number EP/L015374/1). TMP
thanks Big Data Institute for hosting him during this work
A web-based screening tool for near-port air quality assessments
No full textAuthor(s): Isakov, Vlad; Barzyk, Timothy M; Smith, Elizabeth R; Arunachalam, Saravanan; Naess, Brian; Venkatram, Akul
Increasing Distributed Generation Penetration using Soft Normally-Open Points
No full textThis paper considers the effects of various voltage control solutions on facilitating an increase in allowable levels of distributed generation installation before voltage violations occur. In particular, the voltage control solution that is focused on is the implementation of `soft' normally-open points (SNOPs), a term which refers to power electronic devices installed in place of a normally-open point in a medium-voltage distribution network which allows for control of real and reactive power flows between each end point of its installation sites. While other benefits of SNOP installation are discussed, the intent of this paper is to determine whether SNOPs are a viable alternative to other voltage control strategies for this particular application. As such, the SNOPs ability to affect the voltage profile along feeders within a distribution system is focused on with other voltage control options used for comparative purposes. Results from studies on multiple network models with varying topologies are presented and a case study which considers economic benefits of increasing feasible DG penetration is also given
Factors Influencing Terrestriality in Primates of the Americas and Madagascar
No full textAmong mammals, the order Primates is exceptional in having a high taxonomic richness in which the taxa are arboreal, semiterrestrial, or terrestrial. Although habitual terrestriality is pervasive among the apes and African and Asian monkeys (catarrhines), it is largely absent among monkeys of the Americas (platyrrhines), as well as galagos, lemurs, and lorises (strepsirrhines), which are mostly arboreal. Numerous ecological drivers and species-specific factors are suggested to set the conditions for an evolutionary shift from arboreality to terrestriality, and current environmental conditions may provide analogous scenarios to those transitional periods. Therefore, we investigated predominantly arboreal, diurnal primate genera from the Americas and Madagascar that lack fully terrestrial taxa, to determine whether ecological drivers (habitat canopy cover, predation risk, maximum temperature, precipitation, primate species richness, human population density, and distance to roads) or species-specific traits (bodymass, group size, and degree of frugivory) associate with increased terrestriality. We collated 150,961 observation hours across 2,227 months from 47 species at 20 sites in Madagascar and 48 sites in the Americas. Multiple factors were associated with ground use in these otherwise arboreal species, including increased temperature, a decrease in canopy cover, a dietary shift away from frugivory, and larger group size. These factors mostly explain intraspecific differences in terrestriality. As humanity modifies habitats and causes climate change, our results suggest that species already inhabiting hot, sparsely canopied sites, and exhibiting more generalized diets, are more likely to shift toward greater ground use
Evidence from North Carolina Shows that Immigrant Students with Limited English Have a Very Minor Impact on Native Students' Performance
No full textMuch of the recent concern about undocumented immigration into the U.S. can be linked to the perceived burden that these immigrants may create on the public education system. But is this really the case? Through analyzing detailed information on the performance of students in North Carolina,Timothy M. Diette and Ruth Uwaifo Oyelere find that the presence of students with limited English does have a negative, though small, effect on the math and reading achievement of natives that are male and black. They argue, however, that these effects are so small as not to warrant policy interventions. KEYWORDS: Education, English Language, Immigrants, Impact, Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education, Educatio
Evaluating Research Impact through Open Access to Scholarly Communication
No full textScientific research is a competitive business – in order to secure funding, promotion and tenure researchers must demonstrate their work has impact in their field. To maximise impact researchers undertake high priority research, aim to get results first, and publish in the highest impact journals. The Internet now presents a new opportunity to the scholarly author seeking higher impact: s/he can now make their work instantly accessible on the Web through author self-archiving. This growing body of open access literature (coupled with new publishing models that make journals available for-free to the reader) maximises research impact by maximising the number of people who can read it, and making it available sooner. Open access also provides a new opportunity for bibliometric research. This thesis describes the relatively recent phenomenon of open access to research literature, tools that were built to collect and analyse that literature, and the results of analyses of the effect of open access and its effect on author behaviour. It shows that articles self-archived by authors receive between 50-250% more citations, that rapid pre-printing on the Web has dramatically reduced the peak citation rate from over a year to virtually instant and how citation-impact – now widely used for evaluation – can be expanded to include a new web metric of download impact
Timothy Findley's True Fictions: A Conversation at Stone Orchard
No full textHistory, myth, the process of writing and using language, and other works of fiction come together in Timothy Findley's work. The author sees parallels between fiction and history writers: he says that fiction writers are trying to articulate all the versions of reality, all the different points of view. While discussing two of his novels, Famous Last Words and The Wars, he elaborates on the difficulties of ever getting the complete story. The author attempts to land on just the right image, to say: "This is what was in that moment.
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