Relative Occurrence Research Articles

Relative avian mobility linked to use of fire-affected resources in forested landscapes

Increased fire frequency is predicted in global forests over the 21st century owing to climate change. Fire–averse animals are expected to be negatively impacted by frequent wildfire events, or corresponding habitat alteration and reduction in the extent of long unburnt forest in landscapes. Mobility is an attribute that may enable bird species persistence in this context, but the capacity to move varies among species. Our aim was to determine whether birds with similar movement strategies, i.e. groups of sedentary, migratory and nomadic species, have similar patterns of occurrence in relation to forest fire frequency and long unburnt forest in the landscape. We modelled occupancy of avian movement groups and species in austral temperate forests in relation to fire frequency in forest patches and the presence/absence of long unburnt forest in the landscape surrounding each patch. We also evaluated relationships between species body size and responses to fire, because larger species tend to disperse further and have larger territories. Migrants responded positively at the group level to the presence of long unburnt forest in the landscape. No other consistent responses of movement groups to fire were detected, although foraging or nesting niche overlaps were evident among species that responded similarly to fire within groups. Of the 20% of 74 total species that responded to one or both fire history predictors, there were twice as many mobile species (migrants, nomads) than sedentary species. Positive responses to the presence of long unburnt forest were dominated by migrants and were much stronger than positive or negative responses to fire frequency. No species was more likely to occur when long unburnt forest was absent from the landscape. Species that responded to fire were large (median body mass 243 g) compared with those that did not respond (median 23 g). Our structured approach to investigating how avian movement capacity and propensity influences occurrence in relation to fire frequency has increased understanding of the mechanisms that enable avian persistence in fire-prone forests. Many large, mobile bird species can and do move at landscape scales to use resources that may be affected by fire frequency, particularly those that are embodied in long unburnt forest.

First Results on E Region Irregularities From a 53 MHz Radar Experiment From Haringhata, India

AbstractWe present the first results on E region field‐aligned irregularities (FAIs) observed using a 53 MHz radar experiment conducted from Ionosphere Field Station, Haringhata (geographic latitude 22.93°N; geographic longitude 88.5°E; magnetic dip angle 35.2°N) of University of Calcutta, a location just on the Tropic of Cancer and below the Equatorial Ionization Anomaly. Results show that the E region FAI echoes, which occur with signal intensity as high as 35 dB above noise, are mostly confined to altitudes of 90–120 km with daytime FAI being confined to 100 km. The FAI echoes are often found to occur in the form of descending echoing region that includes continuous, quasi periodic and discrete patches of echoes. The FAI echoes display large day‐to‐day variations and tend to occur more during the morning (06–09 IST) and evening (18–21 IST) with relative less occurrence during the noon and midnight. Doppler spectra are type‐2 in nature with mean Doppler velocity in the range of −100–120 m s−1 and spectral width limited to 100 m s−1. While these characteristics are very similar to those of off‐equatorial low latitudes and mid‐latitudes, comparison of these results with those concurrently observed at Gadanki reveals remarkable difference in the echo occurrence, day‐to‐day variability and Doppler velocity, in spite of the small difference in ionospheric pierce points between these two stations. These results are discussed and the prospective of these observations in understanding the E region FAI over a convective active meteorological region is outlined.

A survey evaluating the spatial and temporal distribution of horseweed (Conyza canadensis) late season in Ohio soybean fields from 2013 to 2017

AbstractOn-site surveys of weed populations provide information on the relative occurrence and density of weeds that can be useful to growers in that region. Data generated by weed surveys can aid in the management of weed issues by monitoring the movement of problem weeds and forecasting areas susceptible to infestations. Currently, on-site surveys are often performed on a small scale, within single fields or counties. Questionnaire surveys are helpful for assessing relative abundance but do not always provide detailed information on weed distribution in time or space. A survey was conducted annually in Ohio from 2013 through 2017 in 49 counties with soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] production to assess the late-season occurrence of horseweed [Conyza canadensis (L.) Cronquist]. The objectives of this research were to: (1) determine the frequency, level of infestation, and distribution of C. canadensis in soybean fields in the primary soybean-producing Ohio counties over 5 yr; and (2) identify significant spatial clusters or movement trends over time. Conyza canadensis was encountered in each county from 2013 through 2017. Spatial cores of interest, or counties identified as having significant levels of C. canadensis infestations or a lack thereof relative to surrounding counties, were identified in all years except 2017. The lowest frequency of C. canadensis encountered at all rating levels occurred in 2017, which coincided with second-highest frequency of infestations (highest density level) among years. There was no distinct distribution or pattern of C. canadensis movement within the state from year to year, but there was an increase in counties with infestations over time compared with the early years of the survey when many counties had few to no infestations. These results suggest that C. canadensis persists as a common and troublesome threat to Ohio soybean producers and that growers should continue making C. canadensis management a priority when developing weed control programs.

Complications associated with deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease: a MAUDE study

Introduction Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a common surgical option for the treatment of medically refractory Parkinson’s disease (PD). Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience (MAUDE), a United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-compiled database of adverse event reports related to medical devices, is a public resource that can provide insight into the relative frequency of complications and patient complaints. Materials and Methods We accessed the MAUDE database and queried for adverse reports for deep brain stimulators implanted for PD from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2018. Complaints were classified into device malfunction, patient non-compliance, patient complaint, surgically managed complications (i.e. complications that are corrected via surgery), and death. Patient complaints were further stratified into ineffective stimulation, shock, overstimulation, battery-related problems, or pain at the pulse generator site. Surgically managed complications were classified as intraoperative complications, impedance, migration, erosion, infection, lead fracture, and lead disconnection. Each event could receive multiple classifications and subclassifications. Results A total of 4,189 adverse event reports was obtained. These encompassed 2,805 patient complaints. Within this group, 797 (28%) events were classified as ineffective stimulation. There were 1,382 surgically managed complications, 104 (8%) of which were intraoperative complications, 757 (55%) documented impedance issues, 381 (28%) infections, and 413 (30%) lead-related issues. There were 53 documented deaths. Conclusions The MAUDE database has potential use as a real time monitor for elucidating the relative occurrence of complications associated with deep brain stimulation. It also allows for the analysis of device-related complications in specific patient populations. Although the database is useful in this endeavor, it requires improvements particularly in the standardization of reporting adverse events.

Combining Ergonomic Risk Assessment (RULA) with Inertial Motion Capture Technology in Dentistry-Using the Benefits from Two Worlds.

Traditional ergonomic risk assessment tools such as the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) are often not sensitive enough to evaluate well-optimized work routines. An implementation of kinematic data captured by inertial sensors is applied to compare two work routines in dentistry. The surgical dental treatment was performed in two different conditions, which were recorded by means of inertial sensors (Xsens MVN Link). For this purpose, 15 (12 males/3 females) oral and maxillofacial surgeons took part in the study. Data were post processed with costume written MATLAB® routines, including a full implementation of RULA (slightly adjusted to dentistry). For an in-depth comparison, five newly introduced levels of complexity of the RULA analysis were applied, i.e., from lowest complexity to highest: (1) RULA score, (2) relative RULA score distribution, (3) RULA steps score, (4) relative RULA steps score occurrence, and (5) relative angle distribution. With increasing complexity, the number of variables times (the number of resolvable units per variable) increased. In our example, only significant differences between the treatment concepts were observed at levels that are more complex: the relative RULA step score occurrence and the relative angle distribution (level 4 + 5). With the presented approach, an objective and detailed ergonomic analysis is possible. The data-driven approach adds significant additional context to the RULA score evaluation. The presented method captures data, evaluates the full task cycle, and allows different levels of analysis. These points are a clear benefit to a standard, manual assessment of one main body position during a working task.

Growth forms and life-history strategies predict the occurrence of aquatic macrophytes in relation to environmental factors in a shallow peat lake complex

Aquatic ecosystems provide vital services, and macrophytes play a critical role in their functioning. Conceptual models indicate that in shallow lakes, plants with different growth strategies are expected to inhabit contrasting habitats. For shallow peat lakes, characterized by incohesive sediments, roles of growth forms, life-history strategies and environmental factors in determining the occurrence of aquatic vegetation remain unknown. In a field survey, we sampled 64 points in a peat lake complex and related macrophyte occurrence to growth forms (floating-leaved rooted and submerged), life-history strategies for overwintering (turions, seeds, rhizomes) and environmental factors (water depth, fetch, and porewater nutrients). Our survey showed that macrophyte occurrence relates to water depth, wind-fetch, and nutrients, and depends on growth form and life-history strategies. Specifically, rooted floating-leaved macrophytes occur at lower wind-fetch/shallower waters. Submerged macrophytes occur from low to greater wind-fetch/water depth, depending on life-history strategies; macrophytes with rhizomes occur at greater wind-fetch/depth relative to species that overwinter with seeds or turions. We conclude that growth form and life-history strategies for overwintering predict macrophytes occurrence regarding environmental factors in peat lakes. Therefore, we propose an adapted model for macrophyte occurrence for such lakes. Altogether, these results may aid in species-selection to revegetate peat lakes depending on its environment.

The hopping mechanism of the hydrated excess proton and its contribution to proton diffusion in water.

In this work, a series of analyses are performed on ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of a hydrated excess proton in water to quantify the relative occurrence of concerted hopping events and "rattling" events and thus to further elucidate the hopping mechanism of proton transport in water. Contrary to results reported in certain earlier papers, the new analysis finds that concerted hopping events do occur in all simulations but that the majority of events are the product of proton rattling, where the excess proton will rattle between two or more waters. The results are consistent with the proposed "special-pair dance" model of the hydrated excess proton wherein the acceptor water molecule for the proton transfer will quickly change (resonate between three equivalent special pairs) until a decisive proton hop occurs. To remove the misleading effect of simple rattling, a filter was applied to the trajectory such that hopping events that were followed by back hops to the original water are not counted. A steep reduction in the number of multiple hopping events is found when the filter is applied, suggesting that many multiple hopping events that occur in the unfiltered trajectory are largely the product of rattling, contrary to prior suggestions. Comparing the continuous correlation function of the filtered and unfiltered trajectories, we find agreement with experimental values for the proton hopping time and Eigen-Zundel interconversion time, respectively.

Response of anestrous heifers fed local grass or oak foliage-based diet with two different mineral mixtures.

The effect of incorporation of two different mineral mixtures and/or oak leaves was studied on nutrient utilization and reproductive performance in anestrous heifers. Twenty-one anestrous heifers (18.2 ± 1.45 months; 229 ± 14.2 kg body weight) were randomly distributed into three similar groups. Heifers in control (T1) and first treatment group (T2) were fed concentrate mixture incorporated with Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) specific mineral mixture and a customized mineral mixture developed specially for Kumaon hills (MMKH), respectively, along with local green grass (Pennisetum orientale). In the second treatment group (T3), concentrate mixture was the same as that of T2, while the source of roughage was local oak (Quercus leucotricophora) leaves containing 3.35% condensed tannin. A digestibility trial was conducted after 120 days of study. The feed intake was similar among the groups. Digestibility coefficient of crude protein (CP) was lower in T3 than T2 and comparable to T1. Feeding oak leaves improved absorption of calcium as compared to grass-fed animals. Bioavailability of copper and zinc was higher (P < 0.05) in oak leaves and MMKH fed group (T3) as compared to T1, but similar to T2. Conversely, absorption of iron had the reverse trend and was reflected in serum Fe concentration. Hematological, biochemical, enzyme and hormonal profiles were not influenced by any of the treatments. The relative occurrence of estrus cyclicity and conception rate was more in groups T2 and T3, respectively, than other groups. It was concluded that feeding oak foliage-based diet containing 1.87% tannin along with customized mineral mixture developed for Kumaon hills improved certain nutrient utilization and reproductive performance as compared to local green grass supplemented with BIS-specific mineral mixture or MMKH.

Analysis of Pneumonia Occurrence in Relation to Climate Change in Tanga, Tanzania.

In 2018, 70% of global fatalities due to pneumonia occurred in about fifteen countries, with Tanzania being among the top eight countries contributing to these deaths. Environmental and individual factors contributing to these deaths may be multifaceted, but they have not yet been explored in Tanzania. Therefore, in this study, we explore the association between climate change and the occurrence of pneumonia in the Tanga Region, Tanzania. A time series study design was employed using meteorological and health data of the Tanga Region collected from January 2016 to December 2018 from the Tanzania Meteorological Authority and Health Management Information System, respectively. The generalized negative binomial regression technique was used to explore the associations between climate indicators (i.e., precipitation, humidity, and temperature) and the occurrence of pneumonia. There were trend differences in climate indicators and the occurrence of pneumonia between the Tanga and Handeni districts. We found a positive association between humidity and increased rates of non-severe pneumonia (incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 1.01; 95% CI: 1.01–1.02; p ≤ 0.05) and severe pneumonia (IRR = 1.02; 95% CI: 1.01–1.03; p ≤ 0.05). There was also a significant association between cold temperatures and the rate of severe pneumonia in Tanga (IRR = 1.21; 95% CI: 1.11–1.33; p ≤ 0.001). Other factors that were associated with pneumonia included age and district of residence. We found a positive relationship between humidity, temperature, and incidence of pneumonia in the Tanga Region. Policies focusing on prevention and control, as well as promotion strategies relating to climate change-related health effects should be developed and implemented.

Reporting only relative effect measures was potentially misleading: some good practices for improving the soundness of epidemiological results

ObjectiveIn the medical and epidemiological literature there is a growing tendency to report an excessive number of decimal digits (often three, sometimes four), especially when measures of relative occurrence are small; this can be misleading. Study Design and SettingWe combined mathematical and statistical reasoning about the precision of relative risks with the meaning of the decimal part of the same measures from biological and public health perspectives. ResultsWe identified a general rule for minimizing the mathematical error due to rounding of relative risks, depending on the background absolute rate, which justifies the use of one or more decimal digits for estimates close to 1. ConclusionsWe suggest that both relative and absolute risk measures (expressed as a rates) should be reported, and two decimal digits should be used for relative risk close to 1 only if the background rate is at least 1/1,000 py. The use of more than two decimal digits is justified only when the background rate is high (ie, 1/10 py).

HPV73 in cervical cancer and distribution of HPV73 variants in cervical dysplasia.

HPV73 is classified as possibly oncogenic and is not recognized by most commercial primary HPV screening platforms. The aim was to determine the prevalence of HPV73 among invasive cervical cancers, formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) samples (N = 69), from southern Sweden during 2009 to 2010. Another aim was to determine proportions of HPV73 among Aptima HPV assay negative cervical cancers (N = 9, out of 206 cancers) and of high-grade cytological cervical diagnosis (N = 75, out of 5807 high grade lesions) in liquid-based cytology (LBC) samples collected between 2016 and 2019. We also investigated the distribution of HPV73 variants A1, A2 and B among HPV73-positive cases. HPV73 was detected by multiplex MGP-PCR and Luminex, and HPV73 variants were identified by sequencing PCR amplicons. HPV73 was detected in 2.9% (2/69, 95% CI: 0.18-9.9) of the FFPE cervical cancer series. Among the Aptima HPV-negative LBC samples, HPV73 was present in 55.5% (5/9) of the cancers and 29.3% (22/75) of the different grades of cervical diagnosis. The A1, A2 and B variants were present in 6.9% (2/29), 82.7% (24/29) and 10.3% (3/29) of the HPV73-positive women, respectively. Among the seven HPV73 cancer cases (two FFPE samples and five LBC samples), six A2 and one A1 isolate were detected. In summary, the A2 variant of HPV73 was most common in our region. In addition, the observed prevalence of HPV73 (2.9%) in cervical cancers and its relative high occurrence (55.5%) among Aptima HPV-negative cancers urge that detection of HPV73 should be included in future primary HPV screening programs.

The Harris Hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus) in Urban Areas of Argentina: Arrival in Mar Del Plata City and Green Area Use in Buenos Aires City.

Simple SummaryThe process of city colonization by raptors has been documented, if scarcely, in the Northern Hemisphere, whereas this kind of event has been seldom documented in the Southern Hemisphere. Additionally, raptor habitat use in urban areas has been scarcely studied in the Southern Hemisphere. The objectives of this study were: (1) to describe an event of Harris Hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus) arrival in Mar del Plata city, Argentina, and (2) to analyze its green area use in a recently colonized city, Buenos Aires. The Harris Hawk arrival was observed during 2019, mainly in periurban areas of Mar del Plata, and at least three pairs were breeding. In Buenos Aires, the occurrence of the Harris Hawk in green areas was related to the proximity to other large green spaces. The results obtained suggest the importance of green areas for raptor colonization in cities.Urbanization has a negative impact on raptor species diversity and abundance. However, some species can adapt to urban areas, and the process of city colonization by raptors has been documented scarcely in the Northern Hemisphere. Information about city colonization by raptors in the Southern Hemisphere is null, and studies about habitat use by raptors are scarce. The objectives of this study were: (1) to describe an event of Harris Hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus) arrival in Mar del Plata city, Argentina, and (2) to analyze its green area use in a recently colonized city, Buenos Aires. Long-term data collected during 2002–2019, along an urbanization gradient of Mar del Plata, was used to describe the city arrival by the Harris Hawk. Surveys of green areas in Buenos Aires were used to model the Harris Hawk occurrence in relation to green area size and isolation to other green spaces. The Harris Hawk arrival was observed during 2019, mainly in periurban areas of Mar del Plata, and at least three pairs were breeding. In Buenos Aires, the occurrence of the Harris Hawk in green areas was related to the proximity to other large green areas. The results obtained suggest the importance of green areas for raptor colonization in cities.

Unpacking some of the linkages between uncertainties in observational data and the simulation of different hydrological processes using the Pitman model in the data scarce Zambezi River basin

AbstractThe main objective of this study was to use an uncertainty version of a widely used monthly time step, semi‐distributed model (the Pitman model) to explore the equifinalities in the way in which the main hydrological processes are simulated and any identifiable linkages with uncertainties in the available observational data. The study area is the Zambezi River basin and 17 gauged sub‐basins have been included in the analyses. Unfortunately, it is not generally possible to quantify some of the observational uncertainties in such a data scarce area and mostly we are limited to identifying where these data are clearly deficient (i.e., erroneous or non‐representative). The overall conclusion is that the equifinalities in the model are hugely dominant in terms of the uncertainties in the relative occurrence of different runoff generating processes, although water use uncertainties in the semi‐arid parts of the basin can contribute to these uncertainties. The identification of landscape features that suggest the occurrence of saturation excess surface runoff provides some information to constrain the model. Improved independent estimates of groundwater recharge is also identified as a key source of observational data that would help a great deal in constraining the model parameter space and therefore reducing some of the model equifinality.

Group dynamics in a spontaneously established group of newly weaned piglets

The weaning process poses considerable challenge in pig production. The standard procedure usually involves mixing multiple litters in a relatively dense group where the pigs do not have much space and opportunity to interact uninterruptedly and therefore cannot exhibit the full natural display of agonistic behaviour to establish a hierarchy. Understanding the newly-formed group dynamics in this way is hardly possible under standard weaning procedures. Therefore, we implemented a weaning approach that allowed piglets to mix spontaneously and willingly – each litter was weaned in its pen, separated with an empty pen, with all pens connected by narrow passages that were opened 24 h after weaning. Twelve litters (117 piglets) were included in the study. A total of 2792 fights and 1567 mounts were recorded during the 8-day study period. Fighting was the predominant interaction between litters, most frequent at the beginning of mixing. We found no territorial tendencies in the interactions, except for a lower probability of winning the fight in the piglet’s pen of origin. Heavier piglets were involved in fighting to a significantly greater extent immediately (first day) after mixing, while there were no differences in the frequency of fights regarding body weight later on. However, the probability of initiating a fight increased with body weight, and usually, the initiator was also the winner. On the other hand, mounting was the activity initiated and performed mainly by the piglets of medium body weight. In general, females were more involved in both fighting and mounting. These two interactions showed clear opposing temporal dynamics, with the frequency of fighting steadily decreasing over time, while mounting increased and surpassed fighting in relative occurrence. Thus, the formation of the new dominance hierarchy appears to be a two-phase process: an early phase of high aggression, followed by a phase of low aggression in which mounting replaces fighting. Mounting appeared to serve as a means of mutually determining strength in order to avoid fighting; thus, it plays an important role when the relative strengths of group members are known from previous confrontations. Therefore, in assessing the establishment of social structure, we should not neglect subtle agonistic behaviours (e.g., mounting) that serve as a means of establishing or reinforcing social positions within a group.

Metagenomics analysis of marine eukaryotic community in water and sediments at Lang Co - Da Nang sea by throughput 18S rRNA gene sequencing

The present study applied metagenomics to characterize the diversity and relative occurrence of eukaryotic organisms in the sea water (LC05.W and LCDN.W) and sediment (LC05.S and LCDN.S) samples collected at the Lang Co - Da Nang sea in two years 2016 and 2017. The marine DNA metagenomes from water and sediments were isolated and analyzed by using specific primer 18S V4: 528F-706R with the barcode for gene-based metagenomic approach. Total tags were 374,336 (92,864 in LC05.W; 95,742 in LCDN.W; 86,593 in LC05.S and 91,385 in LCDN.S samples) and clustered at a 97% similarity into 5,204 unique operational taxonomic units (936 in LC05.W; 1631 in LCDN.W; 2,259 in LC05.S and 1,631 in LCDN.S). The taxonomic profile obtained by comparison with SILVA SSU database showed predominance of the kingdom: Eukaryote domain (61% in LC05.W; 32% in LCDN.W; 43% in LC05.S and 69% in LCDN.S); Metazoa (26% in LC05.W; 22% in LCDN.W; 37% in LC05.S and 19% in LCDN.S). Fungi in samples collected in 2017 (31% in LCDN.W and 10% in LCDN.S) were dominant as compared to 2016 (6.0% in LC05.W and 0.6% in LC05.S). In addition, 0.4% and 10.0% in water and 19% and 2% in sediment sequences were unclassified. Protalveolata, Annelida, Chlorophyta, Nematoda, Arthropoda, Rotifera, Ascomycota, Diatomea were top ten at the phylum level in Lang Co - Da Nang sea water and sediments. The abundance distribution of 35 dominant genera among all samples was displayed in the species abundance heatmap. The taxonomic assignment based on 18S ribosomal sequences with the SSU base possibly showed the presence of eukaryotic species (191 in LC05.W; 320 in LC05.S; 278 in LCDN.W and 207 in LCDN.S) in the marine water and sediments collected at Lang Co - Da Nang sea.

Investigating neural correlates of locomotion transition via temporal relation of EEG and EOG-recorded eye movements

The present study examines a temporal relation of walking behavior during locomotion transition (walking to stair ascent) to electrooculography (EOG) signals recorded from eye movement. Further, electroencephalography (EEG) signals from the occipital region of the brain are processed to understand the relative occurrence in EOG and EEG signals during the transition. The dipole sources in the occipital region with reference to EOG detection were estimated from independent components and then clustered using the k means algorithm. The dynamics of the dipoles in the occipital cluster in different frequency bands revealed significant desynchronization in the β and low γ bands, followed by resynchronization. This transitional behavior coincided with transient features suggesting possible saccadic movement of the eyes in the EOG signal. With the data from six able-bodied participants, the desynchronization in EEG from the occipital region was detected by nearly 2.2 ± 0.5s before the transition. Using preprocessing techniques on the EOG signal followed by detecting saccades from the derivative of the EOG signal, the eye movements were detected by nearly 2.5 ± 0.5s before the transition. The EOG decoded intention of transition appeared as early as 3.0 ± 1.63s before desynchronization in the EEG. A paired t-test analysis showed that the EOG-based intent decoding of transition reflects significantly earlier than occipital EEG (p < 0.00001). This study could lead to a multi-modal neural-machine interface that may produce results superior to previous attempts involving only EEG and EMG signals.

Orchestrating performance of healthcare networks subjected to the compound events of natural disasters and pandemic

The current COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the vulnerability of healthcare systems worldwide. When combined with natural disasters, pandemics can further strain an already exhausted healthcare system. To date, frameworks for quantifying the collective effect of the two events on hospitals are nonexistent. Moreover, analytical methods for capturing the dynamic spatiotemporal variability in capacity and demand of the healthcare system posed by different stressors are lacking. Here, we investigate the combined impact of wildfire and pandemic on a network of hospitals. We combine wildfire data with varying courses of the spread of COVID-19 to evaluate the effectiveness of different strategies for managing patient demand. We show that losing access to medical care is a function of the relative occurrence time between the two events and is substantial in some cases. By applying viable mitigation strategies and optimizing resource allocation, patient outcomes could be substantially improved under the combined hazards.

Influence of vegetation on occurrence and time distributions of regional new aerosol particle formation and growth

Abstract. The occurrence frequency of regional atmospheric new aerosol particle formation and consecutive growth events (fNPF) were studied with respect to vegetation activity, aerosol properties, air pollutants and meteorological data in Budapest over the time interval from 2008 to 2018. The data set evaluated contained results of in situ measurements on the land surface that were mostly performed at the Budapest platform for Aerosol Research and Training Laboratory, of satellite-based products recorded by MODIS on Terra and of modelled vegetation emission-related properties from an advanced regional biogeochemical model. The annual mean relative occurrence frequencies were considerable (with an overall mean of 21 %), remained at a constant level (with an overall SD of 5 %) and did not exhibit tendentious change over the years. The shape of the distributions of monthly mean fNPF exhibited large variability from year to year, while the overall average distribution already possessed a characteristic pattern. The structure of the new particle formation (NPF) occurrence distributions was compared to those of environmental variables including concentrations of gas-phase H2SO4, SO2, O3, NO, NO2, CO, PM10 mass and NH3; particle numbers in the size fractions of 6–1000, 6–100 and 100–1000 nm; condensation sink; air temperature (T); relative humidity (RH); wind speed (WS); atmospheric pressure (P); global solar radiation (GRad); gross primary production (GPP) of vegetation; leaf area index (LAI); and stomatal conductance (SCT). There were no evident systematic similarities between fNPF on the one hand and all of the variables studied on the other hand, except for H2SO4 and perhaps NH3. The spring maximum in the NPF occurrence frequency distribution often overlapped with the time intervals of positive T anomaly in vegetated territories. The link between the potential heat stress exerted on plants in sultry summer intervals and the summer fNPF minimum could not be proven. The relevance of environmental variables was assessed by their ratios on NPF event days and on non-event days. The gas-phase H2SO4 concentration showed the largest monthly ratios, followed by O3. The WS, biogenic precursor gases and SO2 can generally favour NPF events, although their influence seemed to be constrained. An association between the fNPF and vegetation growth dynamics was clearly identified.

Female fertile phase synchrony, and male mating and reproductive skew, in the crested macaque

High social status is the primary determinant of reproductive success among group-living male mammals. Primates living in multimale–multifemale groups show the greatest variation in the strength of this link, with marked variation in reproductive skew by male dominance among species, dependent on the degree of female fertile phase synchrony, and the number of competing males. Here, we present data on two groups of wild crested macaques (Macaca nigra), living in the Tangkoko Reserve, Sulawesi, Indonesia. We investigated male monopolization of fertile females in 31 cycles of 19 females, and genetic paternity of 14 offspring conceived during the study period. We show that female fertile phase synchrony was low, that females had few mating partners in their fertile phase, and that dominant males monopolized a high proportion of consortships and matings, resulting in marked and steep mating and reproductive skew. We conclude that female cycle asynchrony provides the opportunity for strong direct male–male competition in crested macaques, resulting in monopolization of females by dominant males, consistent with their marked sexual dimorphism. Our study provides a test of the underlying factors that determine the relative occurrence and strength of different mechanisms of sexual selection, and the phenotypes that evolve as a result.

Relative occurrence rates of terrestrial planets orbiting FGK stars

ABSTRACT This paper aims to derive a map of relative planet occurrence rates that can provide constraints on the overall distribution of terrestrial planets around FGK stars. Based on the planet candidates in the Kepler DR25 data release, I first generate a continuous density map of planet distribution using a Gaussian kernel model and correct the geometric factor that the discovery space of a transit event decreases along with the increase of planetary orbital distance. Then, I fit two exponential decay functions of detection efficiency along with the increase of planetary orbital distance and the decrease of planetary radius. Finally, the density map of planet distribution is compensated for the fitted exponential decay functions of detection efficiency to obtain a relative occurrence rate distribution of terrestrial planets. The result shows two regions with planet abundance: one corresponds to planets with radii between 0.5 and 1.5 R⊕ within 0.2 au, and the other corresponds to planets with radii between 1.5 and 3 R⊕ beyond 0.5 au. It also confirms the features that may be caused by atmospheric evaporation: there is a vacancy of planets of sizes between 2.0 and 4.0 R⊕ inside of ∼0.5 au, and a valley with relatively low occurrence rates between 0.2 and 0.5 au for planets with radii between 1.5 and 3.0 R⊕.