Feeding Off Research Articles

Order within chaos: potential migratory strategies and individual associations in fin whales feeding off Iceland

BackgroundThe life cycle of most baleen whales involves annual migrations from low-latitude breeding grounds to high latitude feeding grounds. In most species, these migrations are traditionally considered to be carried out according to information acquired through vertical social learning during the first months of life and made individually. However, some recent studies have suggested a more complex scenario, particularly for the species of the Balaenoptera genus.MethodsHere, we studied the variation of δ15N and δ13C values along the growth axis of the baleen plate from 24 fin whales feeding off western Iceland to delve into their pattern of movements and to identify potential associations between individuals. The segment of baleen plate analyzed informed about at least two complete migratory cycles. We performed cluster analyses through two different methodologies and, whenever possible, we genotyped 20 microsatellite loci to determine potential existence of kinship.ResultsResults of the of δ15N and δ13C values agree with a dispersion strategy in the winter breeding grounds. However, and despite the overall large variability, several pairs or groups of individuals with no kinship showed highly similar isotopic patterns for two consecutive years for both δ15N and δ13C values.ConclusionsOur results suggest that, notably, some whales without kinship share the same migratory regime and destinations. We hypothesize that this could reflect either: (i) the sharing of particularly beneficial migratory regimes, and/or (ii) long-term association between individuals.

Feeding off Each Other: Journalistic Role Negotiations Between Local and Foreign Reporters in Nairobi

ABSTRACT Nairobi, a vibrant hub for international journalism in East Africa, hosts a varied mix of foreign and national reporters. This paper centres on the interplay between these groups and how their relationships impact their professional role conceptions and performance. It is based on 35 interviews—with Kenyan journalists, media critics and foreign correspondents—and ethnographic data collected in Nairobi in 2021. Findings show that journalists working in Nairobi sometimes understand their job as trying to compensate for the professional roles that their counterparts cannot fulfil—like being a watchdog or disseminator. Foreign correspondents are aware of criticism toward stereotypical representations of Africa in the news media and carefully consider their performances to try to circumvent these, whilst national journalists often motivate their reporting to offer counter-narratives. While at first glance the interaction between these groups is minimal, I pose that it is precisely the constant awareness of each other’s work that generates manifold tensions that, in turn, reflect on their roles and practices.

Innovation and Artificial Intelligence: Towards A Better Understanding of the Two Strategies

In a world where technology is seen as the ultimate solution to all progress, this study aims to explore and deepen the relationship between innovation and artificial intelligence (AI), highlighting their complex interactions and impact on the economic, social and technological domains. The main aim is to provide a comprehensive perspective on these two key strategies in the contemporary technological landscape. What sets this article apart is its attempt to synthesise existing research on innovation and AI, while offering new perspectives and analyses on their mutual relationship. The results of this study highlight the deep interconnection between innovation and AI, demonstrating how these two concepts feed off each other to catalyse technological advances. The article also highlights the ethical, social and economic challenges associated with the increasing integration of AI into innovation processes. The contribution of this article lies in its ability to provide a solid conceptual framework for understanding and analysing the interaction between innovation and AI.

Study of erosion-induced leakage flow in guide vane of Francis turbine using erosion-coupled mesh deformation simulations

Erosion of the hydro-turbine components in sediment-laden flows results in a reduction in the efficiency and life of turbine components. The particles in the water affect the operation of both stationary and dynamic components. In the present study, the guide vanes and facing plates of a Francis turbine are numerically investigated regarding their susceptibility towards erosion using an erosion-induced geometry deformation approach. The effects of non-uniform changes in the clearance gap between the guide vanes and facing plates on the erosion and leakage flow are explored. A segment of the actual distributor is analysed for the design and part load operation of the turbine. The simulations were performed for a period equivalent to 2400 h and the comparisons are drawn with the geometry at the end of 240 and 1200 h, respectively. The results show an increase in thickness loss with operation time, however, the position of maximum thickness loss shifted towards the tailing edge for guide vanes and towards center for the face plate. The increase in clearance gap leads to higher cross-flow across the clearance gap and thus, the crossflow and the erosion rate feed off each other. The erosion of the guide vane and face plate was symmetric for BEP but asymmetric for PL. Further, the simulations were performed with three different initial clearance gaps ranging from 0.5 mm to 1.5 mm highlighting the changes in erosion rate for different clearances. The present work provides important engineering insights for the design and operation of the Francis turbine guide vanes to control their erosion and leakage flow.

Prey

When is suicide acceptable? Are their acceptable and unacceptable reasons for suicide? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Jared has decided to enter a government program that, after 15 hours of counseling, will allow him to legally take his own life. Doctor Ansley is the top government therapist with 199 “saves” for the year. After several sessions it becomes clear that Jared has serious conviction about dying, but he also has a secret reason for his choice. Only after Doctor Ansley tricks him by giving him a fake test does he divulge his true reason for wanting to die. Jared believes the earth is feeding off of humans and has instilled, through chemical responses, our desire to stay alive so we will continue feeding it. In short, all humans are the earth’s food source and, only by becoming unattached from being alive, can we break the cycle. Jared completes the required sessions and dies. And Doctor Ansley now has questions as well.

A Digital Humanities Approach to the Emergence of CULTURE as a Liquid Modern Word: Evidence From Synchronic and Diachronic Language Resources

As empirical approaches to the study of natural language based on digital technology, corpus linguistics and computational linguistics are two faces of the same coin, whosevalue lies in the attempt to integrate quantitative and qualitative aspects of linguistic analysis. This attempt has become all the more challenging in recent years as the language data at our disposal grows day by day. Indeed, the changing nature of language resources in the era of big data has inevitably also changed the research questions that it is possible to address (Hiltunen et al, 2017). The increase and variety of the data available has opened up new horizons, by empirically supporting research questions concerning social phenomena, or by providing new hints for tracking language change, as is the case with the novel discipline of Modern Diachronic Corpus-Assisted Language Change (Alessi & Partington, 2020). These new research areas are continually evolving and expanding also thanks to a growing number of easy-to-access resources and tools so that the fields of corpus linguistics, digital linguistics and digital humanities “overlap, intertwine and feed off each other when it comes to making use of the increasing variety of resources available for linguistic research today” (Nevalainen, Suhr and Taavitsainen, 2019, p.1).It is against this background that the present article reports on the preliminary results of a corpus-based investigation into the process that has transformed the very specific material meaning of the word “culture” into the extremely elusive, liquid concept we are familiar with today. The analysis starts from the findings of earlier investigation of the lexico-grammar profile of the world “culture” based on contemporary synchronic corpus resources and attempts further exploration of these findings on the basis of diachronic language resources, such as Google Books and the English Historical Book Collection.

Optimization of Wire EDM Process Parameters for Machining Hybrid Composites Using Grey Relational Analysis

The materials used in engineering have seen a significant transformation in the contemporary world. Numerous composites are employed to overcome these problems because conventional materials are unable to meet the needs of current applications. For quite some time, professional engineers and researchers have been captivated by the problem of choosing the best machining parameters for new composite materials. Wire electrical discharge machining is a popular unconventional machining process that is often used for making complex shapes. Numerous process parameters influence the WEDM process. Thus, to achieve affordable and high-quality machining, the right set of process parameters must be provided. Finding the wire cut EDM optimized settings for the fabricated LM5/ZrO2/Gr composite is the main aim of this research. The chosen input parameters are the wire feed, pulse on and pulse off times, the gap voltage, and the reinforcing percentage. In this study, LM5/ZrO2/Gr composites were made from stir casting with 6-weight percent ZrO2 as the reinforcement and varying graphite percentages of 2, 3, and 4 wt%. Then they were machined in WEDM using L27 OA to seek the best parameters for machining by adjusting the input parameters. The findings were analysed by means of grey relation analysis (GRA) to achieve the supreme material removal rate (MRR), lowest surface roughness (SR), and a smaller kerf width (Kw) simultaneously. GRA determines the impact of the machining variables on the standard characteristics and tests the impact of the machining parameters. Confirmation experiments were performed finally to acquire the best findings. The experimental findings and GRA show that the ideal process conditions for achieving the highest grey relational grade (GRG) are 6% ZrO2 with 2% graphite reinforcement, a wire feed of 6 m/min, a pulse off time (Toff) of 40 µs, a pulse on time (Ton) of 110 µs, and a gap voltage (GV) of 20 V. The gap voltage (22.87%) has the greatest impact on the GRG according to analysis of variance (ANOVA), subsequent to the interaction between the pulse on time and the gap voltage (16.73%), pulse on time (15.28%), and pulse off time (14.42%). The predicted value of the GRG is 0.679; however, the experimental GRG value is 0.672. The values are well-aligned between the expected and the experimental results. The error is only 3.29%, which is really little. Finally, mathematical models were created for each response.

Improved models for the relationship between age and the probability of trypanosome infection in female tsetse, Glossina pallidipes Austen.

Between 1990 and 1999, at Rekomitjie Research Station, Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe, 29,360 female G. pallidipes were dissected to determine their ovarian category and trypanosome infection status. Overall prevalences were 3.45 and 2.66% for T. vivax and T. congolense, respectively, declining during each year as temperatures increased from July - December. Fits to age-prevalence data using Susceptible-Exposed-Infective (SEI) and SI compartmental models were statistically better than those obtained using a published catalytic model, which made the unrealistic assumption that no female tsetse survived more than seven ovulations. The improved models require knowledge of fly mortality, estimated separately from ovarian category distributions. Infection rates were not significantly higher for T. vivax than for T. congolense. For T. congolense in field-sampled female G. pallidipes, we found no statistical support for a model where the force of infection was higher at the first feed than subsequently. The long survival of adult female tsetse, combined with feeding at intervals ≤3 days, ensures that post-teneral feeds, rather than the first feed, play the dominant role in the epidemiology of T. congolense infections in G. pallidipes. This is supported by estimates that only about 3% of wild hosts at Rekomitjie were harbouring sufficient T. congolense to ensure that tsetse feeding off them take an infected meal, so that the probability of ingesting an infected meal is low at every meal.

Rhamnogalacturonan-I as a nematode chemoattractant from Lotus corniculatus L. super-growing root culture.

The soil houses a tremendous amount of micro-organisms, many of which are plant parasites and pathogens by feeding off plant roots for sustenance. Such root pathogens and parasites often rely on plant-secreted signaling molecules in the rhizosphere as host guidance cues. Here we describe the isolation and characterization of a chemoattractant of plant-parasitic root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne incognita, RKN). The Super-growing Root (SR) culture, consisting of excised roots from the legume species Lotus corniculatus L., was found to strongly attract infective RKN juveniles and actively secrete chemoattractants into the liquid culture media. The chemo-attractant in the culture media supernatant was purified using hydrophobicity and anion exchange chromatography, and found to be enriched in carbohydrates. Monosaccharide analyses suggest the chemo-attractant contains a wide array of sugars, but is enriched in arabinose, galactose and galacturonic acid. This purified chemoattractant was shown to contain pectin, specifically anti-rhamnogalacturonan-I and anti-arabinogalactan protein epitopes but not anti-homogalacturonan epitopes. More importantly, the arabinose and galactose sidechain groups were found to be essential for RKN-attracting activities. This chemo-attractant appears to be specific to M. incognita, as it wasn't effective in attracting other Meloidogyne species nor Caenorhabditis elegans. This is the first report to identify the nematode attractant purified from root exudate of L corniculatus L. Our findings re-enforce pectic carbohydrates as important chemicals mediating micro-organism chemotaxis in the soil, and also highlight the unexpected utilities of the SR culture system in root pathogen research.

The Witch in Flight

The Witch in Flight

Returning to the "Natural State": Trail Trees and Settler Colonial Conservation in the Arkansas Ozarks

The trees at the heart of this paper are not an isolated story but contribute to the machinery of the settler colonial present, feeding off indigenous dispossession of the Arkansas Ozarks. In this paper, I explore “trail trees,” a form of culturally-modified tree used to sustain and perpetuate replacement narratives romanticizing a lost Native American past and constructing a pure, modern, scientific “reality” of White settler possession of the region. My critique is directed at the settler colonial worldview and the systems through which it is constructed, legitimated, and spread. I ask: What is at stake for advocates for the existence of “trail trees”? What can disrupt and dismantle the “trail tree” discourse and the replacement narrative that it functions within? What work can we do to create an opening for anti-colonial praxis? The answers to these questions involve direct engagement with conservation and conservationists and the narratives of replacement that suffuse their work.

Experimental investigation and prediction modelling of slicing speed and surface roughness during wafer slicing using WEDM

To keep up with the rising demand for silicon solar cells in the photovoltaic sector, an alternative slicing method that can achieve high throughput with minimal waste is required. In recent research efforts, Wire electro-discharge machining (WEDM) has become the possible alternative method for slicing. The experimental investigation focuses on slicing monocrystalline silicon using the WEDM process with a brass wire electrode of 250 μm in diameter. The face-centered central composite design was employed for planning and conducting experiments. The investigational experiments were conducted with five different process parameters serving as inputs: peak current, wire tension, wire feed rate, pulse on and off time. The response parameter measured was the slicing speed and the surface roughness. Further, comparisons were made between different kernel functions in support vector regression (SVR) for the prediction modelling of slicing speed and surface roughness. The difficulty in prediction modelling can be attributed to the complexity of the WEDM process, which is caused by the involvement of various process parameters. The primary purpose of this work is to determine the best predictive kernel among the linear, polynomial, radial basis function (Rbf), and sigmoid kernel functions based on the experimental data. The predictive performance of different kernel functions was evaluated and compared. Grid search was used for the hyper tuning of the kernel parameters. The radial basis function produces R2 of 99.751% and 97.552%, MSE values of 0.00046 and 0.00079, RSME values of 0.0215 and 0.02814, MAE values of 0.01645 and 0.01894, and MAPE values of 1.2% and 0.9% for slicing speed and surface roughness. Support vector regression with radial basis function gives better results in comparison to other kernel functions, which concludes that support vector regression with radial basis function is well suited for the prediction of slicing speed and surface roughness.

Unraveling Reactionary Care: The Experience of Mother-Caregivers of Adults with Severe Mental Disorders in Catalonia.

In most Mediterranean countries, people diagnosed with severe mental disorders (SMDs) are typically cared for by the mother, causing a significant burden on people in this family role. Based on a broader mental health participatory action and qualitative research carried out in Catalonia (Spain) of 12 in-depth interviews and 3 focus groups, this article analyses the mother-caregivers' experience in the domestic space. The results show that patients and caregivers are engaged in a relationship of "nested dependencies", which create social isolation. This produces the conditions of "reactionary care", practices that limit the autonomy of those affected and that reproduce forms of disciplinary psychiatric institutions. We conclude that both institutional violence derived from economic rationality and that which stems from the gender mandate feed off each other into the domestic sphere. This research argues for placing care at the center of clinical practice and shows the need to consider the structural forces shaping it.

The root-zone soil moisture spectrum in a mediterranean ecosystem

Storage of water within soil pores of the root zone introduce memory effects in the dynamics of soil moisture that are considerably longer than the integral timescale of many atmospheric processes. Thus, hydro-climatic states can be “sustained” through land-surface heat and water vapor fluxes primarily because they can “feed off” on this long-term soil moisture memory. Root-zone soil moisture memory is only but one feature characterizing the spectrum of soil moisture dynamics, which is analyzed here using a combination of long-term measurements and models. In particular, the spectrum of root-zone soil moisture content in a Mediterranean ecosystem is examined using 14-years of half-hourly measurements. A distinguishing hydro-climatic feature in such ecosystems is that sources (mainly rainfall) and sinks (mainly evapotranspiration) of soil moisture are roughly out of phase with each other. For over 4 decades of time scales and 7 decades of energy, the canonical shape of the measured soil moisture spectrum is shown to be approximately Lorentzian determined by the soil moisture variance and its memory but with two exceptions: the occurrences of a peak at diurnal-to-daily time scales and a weaker peak at near annual time scales. Model calculations and spectral analysis demonstrate that diurnal and seasonal variations in hydroclimate forcing responsible for variability in evapotranspiration had minor impact on the normalized shape of the soil moisture spectrum. However, their impact was captured by adjustments in the temporal variance. These findings indicate that precipitation and not evapotranspiration variability dominates the multi-scaling properties of soil moisture variability consistent with prior climate model simulations. Furthermore, the soil moisture memory inferred by the annual peak of soil moisture (340 d) is consistent with climate model simulations, while the memory evaluated from the loss function of a linearized mass balance approach leads to a smaller value (50 d), highlighting the effect of weak non-stationarity on soil moisture variability.

Modeling and optimization of Wire –EDM parameters for machining of Ni54.1Ti45.9 shape memory alloy using hybrid approach

Shape memory alloys are a distinct family of alloys recognized for their unique features, such as extreme anti-fatigue, exceptional specific strength, corrosion resistance, biocompatibility, and pseudo-elasticity. Due to strain-hardening effects displayed by the latter during a conventional machining process, these features make shape memory alloys particularly functional for machining utilizing non-traditional methods rather than conventional ones. The alloy's original qualities are at risk as a result of this consequence. Nickel-Titanium shape memory alloys with 54.1 and 45.9% Nickel-Titanium blends were employed in this investigation (Ni54.1Ti45.9). The surface characteristics of Ni54.1Ti45.9 alloy are investigated using the wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) technique with a brass tool electrode (zinc-coated) and the influence of process parameters on it. Variations in wire feed rate, wire tension, pulse on and off duration, and peak current were used as input factors to investigate variations in surface roughness and material removal rate. Surface roughness and material removal rate data from L27 orthogonal array (OA) studies were used to create artificial neural network (ANN) models. To improve the quality attributes, a model combining a hybrid version of the genetic algorithm (GA) and an ANN has been presented. The ANN models were found to accurately predict the results, which matched the experimental data. After the adjustment, the quality features also improved significantly.

Light Bulbs and Round Tables

Why seek further education when working in the curatorial field? How does practice and theory feed off each other in curatorial work? And what is the status of the white cube? Do we need to move beyond this naturalised institution of exhibition making in order to engage with the urgencies of today? These are the main questions of the conversation between Line Sandvad Mengers and Nanna Balslev Strøjer, curators and graduates of the study programme MA in Curating at Aarhus University, and programme coordinator Trine Friis Sørensen.

Wire Electrical Discharge Machining (WEDM) of Hybrid Composites (Al-Si12/B4C/Fly Ash)

The present study looks into the effect of WEDM process parameters on the material removal rate (MRR) and surface roughness (SR) responses when machining hybrid composites (Al-Si12/boron carbide/fly ash) using the Taguchi technique. Fly ash and boron carbide (B4C) particles were used for reinforcement (3%, 6%, and 9% by weight), and aluminium alloy (Al-Si12) was used as a matrix material. ANOVA was used to find out the importance of machining factors that affect the quality features of the WEDM process, as well as the relative role of input parameters in determining the WEDM process’ responses. The greatest impact on the response is finalised by the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio response analysis. However, as a last step, a confirmation experiment with the best combination was carried out to predict and validate the accuracy of the observed values. As the pulse on time and reinforcement increases, MRR also increases. As the gap voltage, wire feed, and pulse off time decrease, it increases. SR is increased by increasing the gap voltage, pulse on time, and pulse off time, wire feed, and reinforcement. The maximum MRR of 38.01 mm3/min and the minimum SR of 3.24 μm were obtained using optimal machining conditions.

THE ORIGINS OF INTELLIGENCE TESTING, 1860-1920

ABSTRACT It is well established that intelligence testing in its modern form developed and was deployed slightly differently in several countries, most notably France, England and the United States. Less widely recognized is the fact that its originators were all part of a close network of scholars who liaised internationally, exchanged ideas and were thoroughly acquainted with each other’s work. Their exchanges resulted from the transnational drive to develop a new social science of psychology involving a determination to find empirical evidence on which to base understandings of the human mind. This soon led to the development of a means of testing human performance, not least in the field of intelligence. In the process, close contacts between all those who were to be pioneers of intelligence testing around the globe developed, in touch with and feeding off each others’ ideas. This article is an account of the development of that network.

Governance by Perpetual Conflict: How Early Colonial Political Practices Undermine Democracy in Post-Civil War Sri Lanka

Abstract The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka established a semi-presidential system within the country with constitutional provisions for a powerful executive presidency. Three decades later, practices of the presidents in the post-war period show commonalities with the Sinhala monarchy that prevailed in early colonial Sri Lanka. To substantiate this argument, this paper focuses on four kings from the Sithavaka and Kandyan kingdoms who reigned in Sri Lanka during the Portuguese colonization and the early years of Dutch colonization, i.e. from 1521 to 1687. These kings governed by feeding off perpetual conflict, using such as a political tool to retain their dictatorial authority and political relevance. Despite being formally constrained by the 1978 Constitution, presidents in the post-war period engage in a similar form of governance. However, this local conceptualization of the executive as a monarch clashes with the substantive democratic rationality of the office of president, which requires constitutional and political checks that apply beyond elections. Due to this clash between governance by perpetual conflict, which gains legitimacy from and has been instituted since Sri Lanka’s early colonial past, and democratic governance, the establishment of democratic constitutional norms within the country has been unstable.

Slaying the dragons that sabotage protection measures to feed on the ash of your plant

AbstractDragons are legendary winged monsters that breathe fire and feed on ash. Or so we think. This is a tale of three dragons that have evolved to hide in plain sight and quietly feed on the underpinnings of protection layers, eroding the effectiveness of process safety mitigation measures. These dragons are mischievous and feed off process upsets, near misses, and accidents. The Invisible Dragon roams around the plant breaking devices and causing people to make mistakes that set off alarms and causes safety instrumented systems (SIS) trips to initiate. Its special joy is creating initiating events that were not considered in the design. Tiny and Giant Dragons specialize in defeating the SIS protection layers, so that all three dragons can feed on the ash of an accident. The Tiny Dragon baits SIS designers with devices having extremely low failure rate data causing the humans to believe safety instrumented functions (SIF) are more reliable than they actually are. The Giant Dragon works alongside the Tiny Dragon to further undermine the SIS with its song of near perfect proof testing. This paper will illustrate the impacts of underestimating SIF demand rate, using overly optimistic failure rate data, and overestimating proof test coverage. We will discuss techniques to identify and correct these issues and suggest metrics to monitor SIS performance thus slaying the dragons.