Seasonal activity pattern of Swamp deer (Rucervus duvaucelii duvaucelii) in Dudhwa National Park, Uttar Pradesh, India

The data on activity pattern and time budget of Swamp deer (Rucervus duvauceli duvauceli) were collected through instantaneous scan sampling from Dudhwa National Park, Uttar Pradesh, India Diurnal activity pattern of Swamp deer showed marked reduction in resting in winter as compared to summer. In winter resting in adult males showed polymodal pattern with peaks occurring at different hours of the day and continued throughout the day without any break. Feeding of adult females in winter and summer seasons showed a polymodal pattern with peaks occurring at different hours of the day without break. In yearling males feeding and resting was observed to occur throughout the day during winter season with peaks occurring between 11:00 to 12:00 hours. Yearling females showed continuous feeding throughout the day with peaks in different times in both the seasons. The seasonal distribution of activity patterns of the fawns showed that feeding was slightly more in summer as compared to winter. In time budget, of the expenditure on different activities, resting accounted for 63.77% and feeding 24.70%. In both the seasons resting was the major portion of their activity. Analysis showed that in all age and sex categories of Swamp deer in the Dudhwa NP, resting dominated on all other activities. The observation on endangered Swamp deer indicates synchronization in activity only in the feeding in the morning and evening hours and resting throughout the day

Influence of environmental variations on physiological attributes of sunflower

High degree of adaptability, wide range of climatic conditions, high photosynthetic capacity, maximum stomatal conductance and efficient hydraulic mechanism allow sunflower crop to be productive in broad range of environments. Combined effects of environmental factors not only modify plant phenology but also cause many physiological changes. Field experiments, one each in spring and autumn were conducted at Pir Mehr Ali Shah, Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Pakistan for 2 years (2007 and 2008) to document the effect of environmental variations on the physiological functions of sunflower hybrids. Four sunflower hybrids, Alisson-RM, Parasio-24, MG-2 and S-278 were planted in randomized complete block design with 4 replications. The data on physiological attributes like photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance and transpiration rate at 10 days interval after complete emergence to 60 days after emergence (DAE) was recorded. Overall higher values of photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance and transpiration rate were recorded during spring as compared to autumn for both the years. Photosynthates accumulation and utilization was depressed in cold imposing a restriction on biomass production than at warm temperature. Physiological performance of all the hybrids during spring at the start was slower as compared to autumn. Progressive increase in photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance and transpiration was recorded with the gradual increase in temperature up to a certain level during spring but further increase in temperature caused decline in these attributes. However during autumn, values of all these 3 physiological attributes were higher at the start those declined with gradual decrease in temperature later in the season

The hegemony of Prevent: turning counter-terrorism policing into common sense

The British government’s Prevent Duty puts an obligation on specified public sectors to “keep people from being drawn into terrorism”. The policy has been a point of contention within the public discourse, but interview data shows that there is a grudging consent for Prevent policing amongst the civilians implementing it. This article explores how this consent is manufactured and what this tells us about the changing nature of counter-terrorism policing in civic life. Using Gramsci’s concept of hegemony, this article will explain how Prevent is being transformed from a coercive statutory instrument into a common sense approach by the co-optation of civic norms. This enquiry is informed by the findings of interviews conducted with Prevent co-ordinators and employees of specified authorities in England. These interviews provide insights into how counter-terrorism monitoring is diffused within civic spaces and the nature of consent for this policing. Analysing these findings through a Gramscian lens explains how Prevent is normalised as a civic duty. It also helps chart a course for this hegemonic regime, which is moving beyond specific sectors towards a community of counter-terrorism citizens conducting surveillance as common sense practice

Growth rhythms in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) in response to environmental disparity

Sunflower hybrids maintain high level of stability in a variety of environments. Environmental variations affect and modify plant attributes like growth, development and assimilation through physio-morphicfunctions, thus modifying plant phenology. Field experiments, one each in spring and autumn, were conducted at Pir Mehr Ali Shah, Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan for two years (2007 and 2008) to document the effect of environmental variations on growth rhythms of sunflower hybrids. Four Sunflower hybrids, Alisson-RM, Parasio-24, MG-2 and S-278 were planted in randomized complete block design with four replications. The data based on physiological attributes like leaf area (LA),specific leaf area (SLA), crop growth rate (CGR) and net assimilation rate (NAR) at 10 days interval after complete emergence to 60 days after emergence (DAE) were recorded. Overall higher values of LA, SLA, CGR and NAR were recorded during spring as compared to autumn for both years. LA, CGR and NAR of all the hybrids followed a sigmoid curve pattern during both seasons; however, at the start of the season lesser values were observed during spring as compared to autumn. SLA exhibited anopposite trend and continuously decreased till the end. Sigmoid curve pattern of LA, CGR and NAR may be related to environmental variables like temperature and sunshine hours. The decrease after a peak may be due to senescence of older leaves and shifting of crop from vegetative to reproductive phase

A transaction execution model for mobile computing environments

A mobile computing environment is characterized by limited execution capability at the mobile hosts, low bandwidth and the relatively high costs of wireless connection, and frequent disconnections and mobility of the mobile hosts. Such an environment naturally suggests an optimistic mode of execution, where the mobile host caches data and does the computation in disconnected mode and, on reconnection, the transaction is either committed or aborted based on the current values in the fixed network. -- We propose a new transaction execution model, based on optimistic concurrency control mechanism, which dynamically adjusts the transaction execution status at the mobile host to be consistent with the database state on the mobile support station. This increases the possibility of the transaction to commit successfully and hence makes the computation on the mobile host more meaningful. A detailed algorithm is presented and its adaptability to various aspects of the mobile environment discussed. -- We further strengthen the computation at the mobile host by facilitating partial guarantee against invalidation. This is accomplished by using a flexible concurrency control scheme which integrates optimistic and pessimistic approaches to access data items based on Read/Write and Write/Write-conflicts. -- Keywords: Mobile computing; Transaction processing; Concurrency control; Optimistic approach; Re-execution