Distribution and habitat associations of the Critically Endangered frog Walkerana phrynoderma (Anura: Ranixalidae), with an assessment of potential threats, abundance, and morphology

Distribuição e associações de habitat do anuro Criticamente Ameaçado Walkerana phrynoderma (Anura: Ranixalidae), com uma avaliação das ameaças potenciais, abundância e morfologia. Pouco se sabe sobre Walkerana phrynoderma, um anuro endêmico dos Montes Anamalai dos Ghats Ocidentais da Índia. Com o objetivo de aumentar nosso conhecimento do status da espécie na natureza, fornecemos informações básicas (i.e., distribuição, ameaças, características do habitat, padrões de atividade e abundância relativa). Foram feitas investigações por encontro visual, transectos e orçamento temporal no interior e entorno dos Montes Anamalai dos Ghats Ocidentais. A secreção da pele dos animais foi amostrada para determinar a presença/ausência de Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, e foram registradas as características do habitat e do ambiente nos locais onde W. phrynoderma foi encontrada. Esses dados foram comparados com os dos locais em que a espécie estava aparentemente ausente. Walkerana phrynoderma está restrita às forestas perenifolias situadas entre 1300 e 1700 m a.s.l. na Reserva Anamalai Tiger e em Munnar; dessa forma, sua distribuição foi extendida do estado de Tamil Nadu para o estado vizinho de Kerala. As ameaças mais severas a essa espécia são o uso de pesticidas e perturbações antrópicas; B. dendrobatidis não foi detectado. Esse anuro norturno prefere bordas forestais e está associado com chãos de forestas bem sombreadas em áreas frescas próximo a riachos. Walkerana phrynoderma é raramente encontrada, enquanto sua congênere, W. leptodactyla, é mais comum. O impacto de perturbações antropogênicas, especialmente deposição de lixo e desenvolvimento de infraestrutura turística, deveria ser avaliado. A área de propriedade do Departamento de Florestas na periferia das áreas protegidas poderia ser designada como locais ecossensíveis para prevenir mudanças no uso da terra que pudessem ter um efeito adverso sobre W. phrynoderma.Distribution and habitat associations of the Critically Endangered frog Walkerana phrynoderma (Anura: Ranixalidae), with an assessment of potential threats, abundance, and morphology. Little is known about Walkerana phrynoderma, a frog endemic to the Anamalai Hills of the Western Ghats of India. Baseline information (i.e., distribution, threats, habitat characteristics, activity patterns, and relative abundance) is provided for this species, with the aim of improving our understanding of the status of the species in the wild. Visual-encounter, transect, and time-activity budget surveys were conducted in and around the Anamalai Hills of the Western Ghats. The frog skin was swabbed to determine the presence/absence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, and habitat and environmental characteristics were recorded at sites where W. phrynoderma was found. These data were compared with those of sites apparently lacking this species that had suitable habitat. Walkerana phrynoderma is restricted to evergreen forests between 1300 and 1700 m a.s.l. in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve and at Munnar; thus, its range was extended from the state of Tamil Nadu to the adjoining state of Kerala. Pesticide runoff and human disturbance are the most severe threats to the species; B. dendrobatidis was not detected. This nocturnal anuran prefers forest edges and is associated with well-shaded forest foors in cool areas near freshwater streams. Walkerana phrynoderma is rarely encountered whereas its congener, W. leptodactyla, is more common. The impact of anthropogenic disturbances, especially waste disposal and development of tourism infrastructure, should be evaluated. The land that is owned by the Forest Department peripheral to the protected areas could be designated as eco-sensitive sites to prevent changes in land use that could have an adverse effect on W. phrynoderma

Formal requirements analysis techniques for software-intensive automotive electronic control systems

The ever increasing number and complexity of software-controlled features in today's automotive vehicles mandate the use of numerous techniques and tools for ensuring the absence of any kind of defects in them. In this connection, one of the key areas of applied research today involves the identification, development and use of various analyses on Feature Requirements so that any defects can be caught early in the system development lifecycle. In this paper, the following aspects will be covered: 1) an overview of various analyses available within current commercial requirements tools, 2) a discussion on what additional analyses at the requirements level would be desirable to help various stakeholders in the system development lifecycle, 3) an overview of what GM R&D has been developing/have developed to-date in order to identify or help identify various kinds of defects and thereby improve the requirements, 4) some key results and experiences in utilizing such analyses in one/more pilot applications and 5) a discussion of how the benefits of both current and new techniques and tools can be made use of in the development of new software -based automotive electronic control systems

Conservation implications of wildlife utilization by indigenous communities in the southern Western Ghats of India

Wildlife utilization in the tropics is massive, with nearly 5 million tons of bushmeat consumed by local communities. In India, a megadiversity nation, hunting—although illegal—is widespread among indigenous communities. However, the extent, frequency, and rationale for hunting, and factors influencing wildlife utilization are poorly known. Our study, based on 19 different indigenous communities in the Western Ghats region, revealed the utilization of 54 wild species/taxa. Although freshwater fish, herpetofauna, and small mammals were most frequently utilized, enforcement by the Forest Department was largely focused on large mammals. Gender, land ownership, number of domestic meats consumed, distance to markets, time spent hunting, and distance to hunting areas were major factors that affected wild meat utilization in the region. Although conservation needs to be focused on the most utilized groups, increasing access to domestic meats at remote settlements and integrating utilization of common, culturally prominent species can improve conservation of threatened fauna

Systems and methods for generating high-quality formal executable software feature requirements

Systems and methods for generating formal software requirements using an informal requirements document having informal requirements and annotations associated with the informal requirements. The systems and methods extract syntax from the annotations and generate artifacts as a function of the syntax

Immediate nasal reconstruction with a forehead flap in a 2.5-year-old girl following Pseudomonas aeruginosa-induced necrotising fasciitis – A case report and literature review

Necrotising Fasciitis (NF) can be a devastating condition. It is rare to occur in the Head and Neck region and reportedly rare to occur in children. Nasal reconstruction in the paediatric age-group has been described in the literature for various conditions but rarely after such a serious infection. In this case report and literature review, we report a rare case of an immediately successful nasal reconstruction, using forehead flap, in a 2.5-year-old girl following Pseudomonas aeruginosa-induced necrotising fasciitis. Early and aggressive management can reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with this disease allowing for a safe reconstruction of the paediatric nose

New Prodcut Development - Development Log

This is a development log for ETM 547 Winter 2009

Implementation of Companywide Project Management System: Beyond Brain, An Artificial Intelligence Company

Beyond Brain, Inc. is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research and Development Company that provides consulting and custom Product development services to the world. It develops linguistic and artificial intelligence (AI) software providing a full line of document recognition, document conversion, and data capture technologies and products. Beyond Brain, Inc. is an US based firm which was formed on January 2006 as research focused company with 10 smart people. In mid 2007 the company transitioned from a research focus to practical implementation and now (as of November 2008) has 40 full‐time members who in a relatively short time ‐ operating on a modest budget ‐ have made significant headway towards company goals. The annual revenue of the company hits around 2 million dollars. Along with good establishment, the company is still in an intense engineering and development phase geared towards better commercialization all over the world. The overall number of users of Beyond Brain’s product and technology exceeds 1 million people all over the world (according to the internal business research). Most Beyond Brain’s products are developed in Beyond Brain, Inc. Headquarters in Portland, Oregon

Evolution of Machine Learning in Tuberculosis Diagnosis: A Review of Deep Learning-Based Medical Applications

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that has been a major menace to human health globally, causing millions of deaths yearly. Well-timed diagnosis and treatment are an arch to full recovery of the patient. Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) has been a hopeful choice for TB diagnosis. Many CAD approaches using machine learning have been applied for TB diagnosis, specific to the artificial intelligence (AI) domain, which has led to the resurgence of AI in the medical field. Deep learning (DL), a major branch of AI, provides bigger room for diagnosing deadly TB disease. This review is focused on the limitations of conventional TB diagnostics and a broad description of various machine learning algorithms and their applications in TB diagnosis. Furthermore, various deep learning methods integrated with other systems such as neuro-fuzzy logic, genetic algorithm, and artificial immune systems are discussed. Finally, multiple state-of-the-art tools such as CAD4TB, Lunit INSIGHT, qXR, and InferRead DR Chest are summarized to view AI-assisted future aspects in TB diagnosis