Use Of Snakes Research Articles

Traditional use and perception of snakes by the Nahuas from Cuetzalan del Progreso, Puebla, Mexico

BackgroundIndigenous cultures are the result of their adaptation to the natural surroundings, in such a way that, amongst their main features is a set of knowledge, technologies and strategies for the appropriation of nature. In Cuetzalan del Progreso, Puebla, Mexico snakes represent 71.1% of the total local herpetofauna; and in addition to this, different groups of Nahuas have shown to have information of their use of various snake species in many ways. This study was conducted to investigate the traditional uses of snakes in this cultural group.MethodsFormal and informal interviews were conducted with the inhabitants of the communities. During these interviews, 30 images of the different species of snakes present in the area were presented to the subjects, so that they would recognize them and reveal information about the knowledge they possess on them. A usage analysis was applied to each species considering the following categories: food purposes, medicinal, artisanal and magical-religious. Likewise, the frequency, the diversity and the value of use was estimated for these snakes.ResultsA total of 51 interviews were carried out. The individuals recognized 18 out of 30 images of snakes that were presented. The total of usage categories was five; we found that the magic-religious use was the most mentioned by 32 personas. Boa imperator and Antropoides nummifer were the species with the highest value of use. More than half of the interviewees mentioned killing snakes because they’re poisonous and aggressive. In the magic-religious aspect the “Danza de los Negritos” is highlighted; this is a local festival, brought by Africans, and alludes to snakes.ConclusionsThis study revealed that snakes are still very important for the culture in Cuetzalan del Progreso, finding that the magical-religious and the medicinal use stand out. On the other hand, the fear and misperception on the toxicity of snakes might represent a potential threat for their conservation. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out a long-term monitoring of the ethno-zoological activities, and develop a sustainable management plan compatible with the cultural characteristics of the natives of the region.

The joint movement of pebbles in solving the ( $$N^2-1$$ N 2 - 1 )-puzzle suboptimally and its applications in rule-based cooperative path-finding

The present paper deals with the problem of solving the ($$n^2 - 1$$n2-1)-puzzle and cooperative path-finding (CPF) problems sub-optimally by rule-based algorithms. To solve the puzzle, we need to rearrange $$n^2 - 1$$n2-1 pebbles in the $$n \times n$$n×n-sized square grid using one vacant position to achieve the goal configuration. An improvement to the existing polynomial-time algorithm is proposed and experimentally analyzed. The improved algorithm represents an attempt to move pebbles in a more efficient way compared to the original algorithm by grouping them into so-called snakes and moving them together as part of a snake formation. An experimental evaluation has shown that the snakeenhanced algorithm produces solutions which are 8---9 % shorter than the solutions generated by the original algorithm. Snake-like movement has also been integrated into the rule-based algorithms used in solving CPF problems sub-optimally, which is a closely related task. The task in CPF consists in moving a group of abstract robots on an undirected graph to specific vertices. The robots can move to unoccupied neighboring vertices; no more than one robot can be placed in each vertex. The ($$n^2 - 1$$n2-1)-puzzle is a special case of CPF where the underlying graph is a 4-connected grid and only one vertex is vacant. Two major rule-based algorithms for solving CPF problems were included in our study--BIBOX and PUSH-and-SWAP (PUSH-and-ROTATE). The use of snakes in the BIBOX algorithm led to consistent efficiency gains of around 30 % for the ($$n^2 - 1$$n2-1)-puzzle and up to 50 % in for CPF problems on biconnected graphs with various ear decompositions and multiple vacant vertices. For the PUSH-and-SWAP algorithm, the efficiency gain achieved from the use of snakes was around 5---8 %. However, the efficiency gain was unstable and hardly predictable for PUSH-and-SWAP.

TERAPAN MEDIA PERMAINAN ULAR TANGGA PINTAR DALAM MENINGKATAN MOTIVASI DAN HASIL BELAJAR

Use appropriate media often affect the level of motivation and the level of student learning outcomes. Teachers who rarely use the media in the learning process of students' learning motivation and result in low student learning outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine the increase in learning motivation and learning outcomes through the use of media in a clever snakes and ladders games or thematic integrative learning. Subjects were fourth grade students of SD Negeri 2 Kronggen, totaling 18 students, which consisted of eight male students and 10 female students. The result showed that the students' motivation has increased from 61.11% to pre cycles, 72.22% in the first cycle, while the cycle I 72.22% to 94.44% in the second cycle. Then the student learning outcomes on cognitive aspects showed an increase in pre-cycle condition of the average value of student learning outcomes 68.34 and 61.12% of students learning completeness. While in the first cycle, the average value of student learning outcomes increased to 72.78% and 77.78% mastery learning students. While in the second cycle the average value of student learning outcomes increased to 93.34% and 100% complete learn student. Based on the analysis of research data, it can be concluded that the use of snakes and ladders games or smart media can enhance learning motivation and learning outcomes thematic integrative Elementary School fourth grade students 2 Kronggen

Serpents in jars: the snake wine industry in Vietnam

Exploitation of snakes in Vietnam takes place for different purposes, and among them the snake wine industry is prominent but has received far less attention than other dealings, such as the pet trade. Despite widespread commercialisation there is a general lack of information about this snake trade, which makes it difficult to evaluate its magnitude and impact on snake populations. This study documents the use of snakes in snake wine in four cities in Vietnam through surveys conducted in 127 locations selling snake wine in September 2009. This study provides a list of species used along with the number of individuals observed. While none of the species involved are listed in the IUCN Red List, seven species are listed in the Vietnam Red Data Book, of which five are regulated by CITES. On the other hand, the most abundant species used in the trade, Xenochrophis flavipunctatus, is not listed in any conservation document. The popularity and economic importance of snakes in the form of snake wine demonstrates the need for the development of sustainable use programs for these species.

Ratsnakes and Brush Piles: Intended and Unintended Consequences of Improving Habitat for Wildlife?

Brush pile creation is a common habitat management method used to attract wildlife. However, there is a paucity of data regarding effectiveness of brush pile creation and the indirect effects of brush piles on multi-species interactions. Here we document use of man-made brush piles by Texas ratsnakes (Elaphe obsoleta), examine mechanisms behind that use, and present results of a pilot study comparing avian nest success in areas with and without brush piles to determine if predator attraction to brush piles negatively affects the surrounding bird community. Radio-tracked snakes were found in brush piles 10% of the time, despite brush piles comprising less than 0.2% of the habitat by area. More abundant small mammals and more moderate temperatures in brush piles than in surrounding habitats could explain snakes' attraction to brush piles. Nest success of birds was similar in areas with and without brush piles in the year following brush pile creation. Because it may take substantially longer than 1 y for snake use to reach its maximum, however, it is premature to conclude that brush piles do not affect birds nesting in adjacent habitat. Given the apparent prevalence of brush pile creation, and the demonstrated preference of brush piles by ratsnakes, further research to document the consequences of brush pile creation is warranted.

Potential of IRS P-6 LISS IV for agriculture field boundary delineation

Monitoring and management of land use plays an important role in the economic development of agriculture regions around the world. In this regard, field boundary extraction for agriculture land parcels is crucial for further analysis and mapping. An effective image analysis needs to perform this task by automatically extracting the features with minimum operator efforts. Many researchers have attempted land use/land cover classification using IRS P6 LISS IV data. However little emphasis has been given to agriculture field boundary extraction. This paper explores the potential of IRS P-6 LISS IV dataset for agriculture field boundary extraction. The segmentation of field areas based on the tonal and textural gradients of the imagery is carried out. The segmented regions were classified to derive preliminary field boundaries. Finally, the derived field boundaries are geometrically refined using snakes. The use of snakes resulted in marked improvement in preliminary results. It was observed that traditional snakes can be effectively applied on single closed boundary at a time, which makes it suitable for single target detection. An attempt has been made in this study to develop looping snakes which can deal with multiple boundaries as will be the case with objects like agriculture fields.

A Technique For External Radio-Transmitter Attachment And The Use Of Thread-Bobbins For Studying Snake Movements

Radio-tracking is a widely used method in studies of snake movement and habitat use. However, radio-tracking has some inconveniences, such as the invasiveness of surgical transmitter implantation and the high costs of receivers and transmitters. Here we describe a technique for external radio-transmitter attachment in snakes and the use of thread-bobbins (quilt-cocoons or spool-and-line device) as an alternative for tracking snakes. Both methods allow the animals to resume their natural behavior just after handling and to be monitored until the detachment of the device, usually upon shedding. These characteristics seemed to be particularly useful when the survey must be done within short periods of time with a high number of snakes. The use of thread-bobbins greatly facilitates the gathering of data on movement, habitat use, effective distance moved, and substrate use of snakes in the wild.

SNAKES USED IN ETHNOMEDICINE IN NORTHEAST BRAZIL

This paper documents zootherapeutic practices in Northeast Brazil. It is primarily based on field surveys carried out in fishing villages located in the States of Maranhao and Paraiba, where dwellers provided information on snake species used as medicine, body parts used to prepare the remedies, and the illnesses to which the remedies were prescribed. The species used as medicinal drug and their respective families were: Crotalus durissus (rattlesnake), Bothrops leucurus (‘lance head’, a venomous snake), and Lachesis muta (bushmaster) of the family Crotalidae; and Boa constrictor (boa constrictor), Epicrates cenchria (‘salamanta’), and Eunectes murinus (anaconda) of the family (Boidae). These zootherapeutical resources were used for the cure of 14 illnesses. The most commonly cited species were Crotalus durissus (n=26) e Boa constrictor (n=6), Apparently, the medicinal use of snakes does not pose a threat for their population in the studied sites.

Commercialization and Use of Snakes in North and Northeastern Brazil: Implications for Conservation and Management

Snakes are sold in many markets and religious article stores in Brazil. Besides their use as food, snakes are exploited in a variety of ways, such as pets, or for use in traditional medicine and magic/religious rituals (especially in Afro-Brazilian religions). Despite widespread commercialization, there is a general lack of information about this snake trade, which makes it difficult to evaluate its magnitude and its impact on reptile populations. This work documents the commercialization and use of snakes in five cities in Northeastern (Sao Luis, Teresina, Joao Pessoa and Campina Grande) and Northern (Belem) Brazil, through interviews with 119 merchants of biological products in outdoor markets and religious articles stores. The data was gathered through the use of semi-structured questionnaires, complemented by semi-directed interviews. The products derived from 11 snake species were being commercialized for medicinal or magical/religious purposes. Boa constrictor, Crotalus durissus and Eunectes murinus were the species most commonly sold. The economic importance of snakes as sources of medicines and religious products demonstrates the need for the development of sustainable use programs for these species.

Using an Energy Minimization Technique for Polygon Generalization

Snakes are iterative energy-minimizing splines controlled by both internal constraint forces (internal energy) and external forces (external energy). This paper investigates the use of snakes for the resolution of conflicts in polygonal subdivisions (i.e., polygon maps or polygon mosaics) resulting from the violation of metric constraints which exist if a polygonal object is too small, too narrow, or too close to another polygon. Such metric conflicts are denoted as size and proximity conflicts. In the generalization of polygonal subdivisions, internal energy reflects the resistance of an object to deformation and external energy describes the need for generalization. This paper suggests the usage of a snakes-based algorithm which is triggered in such a way that it achieves the translation, a local and global increase (or decrease) of polygons, or an arbitrary combination of these transformations, depending on the conflicts encountered. Hence, size and proximity conflicts within a group of polygons can be solved simultaneously and holistically. Furthermore, snakes support the propagation of a change of a polygon's geometry to all adjacent neighbors. The proposed algorithm has been implemented in a prototype system that also supports a variety of other polygon generalization algorithms. The main difficulties identified are the intricate setup and fine-tuning of the snakes parameters and the computer resources required by the algorithm. However, the experiments showed that the proposed algorithm is a valuable method for the automated generalization of polygonal subdivisions.

Image metamorphosis with scattered feature constraints

This paper describes an image metamorphosis technique to handle scattered feature constraints specified with points, polylines, and splines. Solutions to the following three problems are presented: feature specification, warp generation, and transition control. We demonstrate the use of snakes to reduce the burden of feature specification. Next, we propose the use of multilevel free-form deformations (MFFD) to compute C/sup 2/-continuous and one-to-one mapping functions among the specified features. The resulting technique, based on B-spline approximation, is simpler and faster than previous warp generation methods. Furthermore, it produces smooth image transformations without undesirable ripples and foldovers. Finally, we simplify the MFFD algorithm to derive transition functions to control geometry and color blending. Implementation details are furnished and comparisons among various metamorphosis techniques are presented.

The Use of Snakes as a Pollution Indicator Species

The Use of Snakes as a Pollution Indicator Species