Improved Modified Ratio Estimation of Population Mean Using Information on Size of the Sample

In sample surveys, auxiliary information is used for estimation to improve the efficiency of estimators. Increased precision can be obtained when the variable under study is highly correlated with auxiliary information. In this study, the sample size has been used as information for improved estimation of population mean of the main variable under study. A new modified generalized ratio type estimator of population mean has been proposed and the efficiency was examined using Murthy (1967) and Mukhopadhyay (2009) dataset. The large sample properties, the bias and the mean squared error of the newly proposed modified ratio estimator were obtained up to first order of approximation. The optimum value of the characterizing scalar which minimizes the mean squared error was obtained and the minimum value of the mean squared error of the proposed modified ratio estimator for this optimum value was also obtained. A theoretical comparison of the proposed modified ratio estimators was made with the other existing related estimators of population mean using auxiliary information. The conditions under which the proposed modified ratio estimators perform better than the other existing estimators of population mean are given. A numerical study was also carried out to see the performances of the proposed modified ratio estimators and some existing related ratio estimators of population mean and verify the conditions under which the proposed modified ratio estimators are better than some other existing related ratio estimators considered. It was shown that the proposed modified ratio estimators perform better than some existing related ratio estimators as they are having lower mean squared errors. Keywords: Ratio Estimator, Sample size, Bias, Mean Squared Error, Efficienc

Presence of a stridulatory apparatus in the manca stages of isopods (Crustacea, Isopoda, Oniscidea)

Armadillo officinalis Duméril, 1816 (Armadillidae) is a widespread terrestrial isopod species in the Mediterranean basin and on the western coasts of the Black Sea. The species is adapted to live in xeric environments and has mainly nocturnal habits. This species is capable of producing stridulations, which is nowadays recognized as a synapomorphy of the genus. In both sexes, these vibrations are produced by a line of scales on the propodus of pereopod 4 and 5. The main goals of this study are: to describe the manca stages of Armadillo officinalis; to detect the presence of the stridulatory apparatus in the manca stages; to evaluate the differences of such apparatus in the various manca stages. The manca stages (I, II, III) of Armadillo officinalis are described for the first time showing: i, the shortest duration (known in literature) of the manca stage I (approximately 30 minutes); ii, the presence of a rudimental stridulatory organ that may be of great importance in terms of evolutionary aspects and adaptation to terrestrial life. Notes on the reproductive biology are also reported. Furthermore, some considerations on future perspectives for A. officinalis as a model species in biotremology are also discussed

Valproic Acid-Associated Liver Failure

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, and other centers analyzed the records of 17 children undergoing liver transplantation (LT) for valproic acid-associated liver failure (VPA-ALF) and 98 with ALF caused by other drugs (non-VPA-drug-induced acute liver failure [DIALF]

Status of Exosphaeroma amplicauda (Stimpson, 1857), E-aphrodita (Boone, 1923) and description of three new species (Crustacea, Isopoda, Sphaeromatidae) from the north-eastern Pacific

Exosphaeroma amplicauda (Stimpson, 1857) from the west coast of North America is reviewed and redescribed and revealed to be a group of closely related species. A neotype is designated and the species redescribed based on the neotype and topotypic specimens. Exosphaeroma amplicauda is known only from the coast of California, at Marin, Sonoma and San Mateo Counties. E. aphrodita (Boone, 1923), type locality La Jolla, California and previously considered nomen dubium is taken out of synonymy and re-validated. A further three species: E. paydenae sp. n., E. russellhansoni sp. n., and E. pentcheffi sp. n. are described herein. Sphaeroma octonctum Richardson, 1899 is placed into junior synonymy with Exosphaeroma amplicauda. A key to the Pacific West Coast Exosphaeroma is provided

Checklist of the Mammals of Iraq (Chordata: Mammalia)

A checklist of the mammals of Iraq including their current status and geographical distribution is provided. Data were collected from literature and combined with field observations obtained during 2013–2014. The checklist comprises 93 species of wild mammals occurring in Iraq and belonging to eight orders, 28 families, and 65 genera. The status and distribution of three Erinaceomorphs, three Soricomorphs, 20 Bats, 23 Carnivores, eight Artiodactyls, two Lagomorphs, 28 Rodents, and six Cetaceans are reported. The checklist includes 24 species evaluated by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources: one was listed as Extinct, one as Critically Endangered, four as Endangered, eight as Vulnerable, seven as Near Threatened, and three as Data Deficient. One subspecies of carnivores (Smooth-coated Otter Lutrogale perspicillata maxwelli) and one rodent species (Long-tailed Nesokia Nesokia bunnii) endemic to Mesopotamian marshlands were highlighted as taxa with conservation priority to Iraq. We also focused on main threats to the most common wild mammals with special attention to impacts of illegal hunting and poaching

BANOVA: An R Package for Hierarchical Bayesian ANOVA

In this paper, we develop generalized hierarchical Bayesian ANOVA, to assist experimental researchers in the behavioral and social sciences in the analysis of experiments with within- and between-subjects factors. The method alleviates several limitations of classical ANOVA, still commonly employed in those fields of research. An accompanying R Package for BANOVA is developed. It offers statistical routines and several easy-to-use functions for estimation of hierarchical Bayesian ANOVA models that are tailored to the analysis of experimental research. MCMC simulation is used to simulate posterior samples of the parameters of each model specified by the user. The core program is written in R and JAGS. After preparing the data in the required format, users simply select an appropriate model, and can estimate it without any advanced coding being required. The main aim of the R package is to offer freely accessible resources for hierarchical Bayesian ANOVA analysis, which makes it easy to use for applied researchers

Revisão taxonômica e análise filogenética em Bathytropidae Vandel, 1952 (CRUSTACEA: ISOPODA: ONISCIDEA)

A ordem Isopoda é um dos o grupo mais diverso dentre os crustáceos, sendo composta por dez subordens. Os representantes da subordem Oniscidea, conhecidos como “tatuzinhos de jardim”, obtiveram grande sucesso no domínio do ambiente terrestre. Para isso, foram necessárias várias adaptações morfológicas, fisiológicas e comportamentais, tais como comportamento gregário para diminuição da perda de água, presença de marsúpio fechado para reprodução e a presença de pulmões pleopodais. Apesar do grupo apresentar ampla uma distribuição geográfica, as espécies apresentam limitada capacidade de dispersão. Essa baixa dispersão resulta em isolamento de populações e alta diversidade genética. Dessa forma, o número de espécies dos isópodos é subestimado, sendo necessários mais esforços taxonômicos a fim de ampliar o conhecimento para o grupo. Frequentemente, revisões taxonômicas resultam em ampliação do número de espécies, reforçando a importância destes estudos para o grupo. Identificações usualmente se baseiam em pequenas variações morfológicas, o que muitas vezes dificulta a distinção entre espécies, sendo dados moleculares representam uma importante ferramenta para a delimitação das relações de parentesco entre espécies. O gênero Neotroponiscus ocorre na America do Sul e possui uma grande diversidade de espécies distribuídas ao longo da Mata Atlântica Brasileira. Oito espécies são conhecidas na literatura e foram revisadas para o levantamento de caracteres, necessários para os estudos filogenéticos. Além disso, neste trabalho, cinco novas espécies novas foram identificadas. Com base em dados morfológicos e moleculares a monofilia do gênero foi testada, e o grupo foi recuperado como monofilético. As relações de parentesco entre Neotroponiscus e os integrantes da família Bathytropidae foi testada e a família foi recuperada como um grupo parafilético, corroborando para hipóteses anteriores. Estudos futuros com uma abordagem biogeográfica serão importantes para elucidar os padrões de distribuição das espécies de Neotroponiscus.The order Isopoda is one of the most diverse groups among crustaceans. Species from the suborder Oniscidea, commonly known as woodlice, were very successful in conquering the terrestrial environment. For that, many morphological, physiological and behavioral adaptations were necessary, such as, closed marsupium for reproduction, presence of pleopodal lungs, and gregarious behavior to diminish water losses. Although the group has large geographical distribution, species have limited dispersion capacity. This low dispersion results in population isolation and high genetic diversity. Therefore, the number of species of terrestrial isopods is greatly underestimated and more taxonomical studies are necessary in order to broaden the knowledge on the group. Taxonomical revisions on terrestrial isopods frequently result in higher number of species reinforcing the importance of these studies for the fore the mentioned group. Identification is usually based on subtle morphological differences, so molecular data is an important tool to elucidate the relationship within the group. The genus Neotroponiscus occurs in South America and has high species diversity throughout the Atlantic Forest. A total of eight species are known from the literature and were reviewed to identify characters that are necessary for phylogenetic studies. In this study, five new species were identified and described. Based on morphological and molecular data, the monophyly of the group was tested and the group was confirmed as monophyletic. The relationship between Neotroponiscus and the other species from the family Bathytropidae were also tested, showing that the family represents a paraphyletic group, which corroborates previous suggestions. Future studies with biogeographic approuch will be important to elucidate the distribution pattern of the genus Neotroponiscus

Collected Papers (on Neutrosophics, Plithogenics, Hypersoft Set, Hypergraphs, and other topics), Volume X

This tenth volume of Collected Papers includes 86 papers in English and Spanish languages comprising 972 pages, written between 2014-2022 by the author alone or in collaboration with the following 105 co-authors (alphabetically ordered) from 26 countries: Abu Sufian, Ali Hassan, Ali Safaa Sadiq, Anirudha Ghosh, Assia Bakali, Atiqe Ur Rahman, Laura Bogdan, Willem K.M. Brauers, Erick González Caballero, Fausto Cavallaro, Gavrilă Calefariu, T. Chalapathi, Victor Christianto, Mihaela Colhon, Sergiu Boris Cononovici, Mamoni Dhar, Irfan Deli, Rebeca Escobar-Jara, Alexandru Gal, N. Gandotra, Sudipta Gayen, Vassilis C. Gerogiannis, Noel Batista Hernández, Hongnian Yu, Hongbo Wang, Mihaiela Iliescu, F. Nirmala Irudayam, Sripati Jha, Darjan Karabašević, T. Katican, Bakhtawar Ali Khan, Hina Khan, Volodymyr Krasnoholovets, R. Kiran Kumar, Manoranjan Kumar Singh, Ranjan Kumar, M. Lathamaheswari, Yasar Mahmood, Nivetha Martin, Adrian Mărgean, Octavian Melinte, Mingcong Deng, Marcel Migdalovici, Monika Moga, Sana Moin, Mohamed Abdel-Basset, Mohamed Elhoseny, Rehab Mohamed, Mohamed Talea, Kalyan Mondal, Muhammad Aslam, Muhammad Aslam Malik, Muhammad Ihsan, Muhammad Naveed Jafar, Muhammad Rayees Ahmad, Muhammad Saeed, Muhammad Saqlain, Muhammad Shabir, Mujahid Abbas, Mumtaz Ali, Radu I. Munteanu, Ghulam Murtaza, Munazza Naz, Tahsin Oner, ‪Gabrijela Popović‬‬‬‬‬, Surapati Pramanik, R. Priya, S.P. Priyadharshini, Midha Qayyum, Quang-Thinh Bui, Shazia Rana, Akbara Rezaei, Jesús Estupiñán Ricardo, Rıdvan Sahin, Saeeda Mirvakili, Said Broumi, A. A. Salama, Flavius Aurelian Sârbu, Ganeshsree Selvachandran, Javid Shabbir, Shio Gai Quek, Son Hoang Le, Florentin Smarandache, Dragiša Stanujkić, S. Sudha, Taha Yasin Ozturk, Zaigham Tahir, The Houw Iong, Ayse Topal, Alptekin Ulutaș, Maikel Yelandi Leyva Vázquez, Rizha Vitania, Luige Vlădăreanu, Victor Vlădăreanu, Ștefan Vlăduțescu, J. Vimala, Dan Valeriu Voinea, Adem Yolcu, Yongfei Feng, Abd El-Nasser H. Zaied, Edmundas Kazimieras Zavadskas.‬