Selfies of imperial cormorants (Phalacrocorax atriceps): What is happening underwater?

During the last few years, the development of animal-borne still cameras and video recorders has enabled researchers to observe what a wild animal sees in the field. In the present study, we deployed miniaturized video recorders to investigate the underwater foraging behavior of Imperial cormorants (Phalacrocorax atriceps). Video footage was obtained from 12 animals and 49 dives comprising a total of 8.1 h of foraging data. Video information revealed that Imperial cormorants are almost exclusively benthic feeders. While foraging along the seafloor, animals did not necessarily keep their body horizontal but inclined it downwards. The head of the instrumented animal was always visible in the videos and in the majority of the dives it was moved constantly forward and backward by extending and contracting the neck while travelling on the seafloor. Animals detected prey at very short distances, performed quick capture attempts and spent the majority of their time on the seafloor searching for prey. Cormorants foraged at three different sea bottom habitats and the way in which they searched for food differed between habitats. Dives were frequently performed under low luminosity levels suggesting that cormorants would locate prey with other sensory systems in addition to sight. Our video data support the idea that Imperial cormorants' efficient hunting involves the use of specialized foraging techniques to compensate for their poor underwater vision.Fil: Gómez Laich, Agustina Marta. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos; ArgentinaFil: Yoda, Ken. Nagoya University; JapónFil: Zavalaga, Carlos. Universidad Científica del Sur; Perú. Nagoya University; JapónFil: Quintana, Flavio Roberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos; Argentina. Wildlife Conservation Society; Estados Unido

Second language learners’ divergence from target language pragmatic norms

Pragmatic competence is an indispensable aspect of language ability in order for second and foreign language (L2/FL) learners to understand and be understood in their interactions with both native and nonnative speakers of the target language. Without a proper understanding of the pragmatic rules in the target language, learners may run the risk of coming across as insensitive and rude. Several researchers (Bardovi-Harlig, 2001; Kasper & Rose, 2002) suggest that L2 pragmatics not only can be taught in the L2/FL classroom, but, more importantly, that explicit approaches that involve direct explanation of target pragmatic features are beneficial for learning pragmatics. Just as native speakers of a language acquire a “set of dispositions to act in certain ways, which generates cognitive and bodily practices in the individual” (Watts, 2003, p. 149), instructors can help learners to become aware of the pragmatic features that characterize the target language. Although the importance of explicit teaching of pragmatics is well recognized in the literature, learning norms and rules of pragmatics largely depends on learners’ subjectivity. Learners’ convergence or divergence from the L2 pragmatic norms, both consciously and out of awareness, sometimes depends on whether these norms fit their image of self and their L1 cultural identity. Since identity-related conflict can have significant consequences for the acquisition of second language pragmatics, failing to consider the centrality of learners’ identities will produce an inadequate understanding of SLA. This paper synthesizes studies that document the reasons why learners opt to remain foreign by resisting certain L2 practic-es. The following synthesis question was proposed: Why do language learners resist the pragmatic norms of the target language

Graph partitioning and scheduling for distributed dataflow computation

During the last years, the amount of data which can be represented and processed as graph structured data has massively increased. To process these large data sets, graph processing systems have been developed which distribute and partition a graph among multiple machines. Due to an increase in processing power and data collection, machine learning and especially neural networks have become very popular. Consequently, machine learning systems like TensorFlow have emerged. Machine learning models can be represented as dataflow graphs and often take days to train as the dataflow graph is executed thousands of times. Graph partitioning determines how the graph is divided and which node is placed on which device. Scheduling decides which node should be computed next during execution. Smart partitioning and scheduling can drastically reduce the total execution time. Most existing solutions do not consider several important constraints like memory limitations, device or colocation constraints which can be directly derived from the machine learning library TensorFlow. This thesis presents and evaluates different partitioning and scheduling strategies meeting the constraints required for a realistic environment. One of these developed partitioning algorithms is based on a heuristic function considering execution time, memory and traffic and tries to map time-critical nodes on fast devices. This partitioning algorithm performed very well in combination with a scheduling strategy which schedules the executable node first whose upwards path takes longest to compute. On the evaluated graphs extracted from TensorFlow, this strategy was up to 75 % and at least 45% better in terms of graph execution time than the slightly adapted popular HEFT algorithm which is a common benchmark. In combination with the aforementioned scheduling strategy a partitioning which aims to assign the critical path nodes to the fastest device showed equally promising results

Assessment of allostasis and of the allostatic load as a control tool of the training

[EN] The training aimed to participate successfully in competitions of high performance is a constant internal struggle..

Organization of the gene cluster for biosynthesis of penicillin in Penicillium nalgiovense and antibiotic production in cured dry sausages

[EN] Several fungal isolates obtained from two cured meat products from Spain were identified as Penicillium nalgiovense by their morphological features and by DNA fingerprinting. All P. nalgiovense isolates showed antibiotic activity in agar diffusion assays, and their penicillin production in liquid complex medium ranged from 6 to 38 μg · ml−1. We constructed a restriction map of the penicillin gene cluster of P. nalgiovense and found that the organization of the penicillin biosynthetic genes (pcbAB, pcbC, andpenDE) is the same as in Penicillium chrysogenum and Aspergillus nidulans. ThepcbAB gene is located in an orientation opposite that of the pcbC and penDE genes in all three species. Significant amounts of penicillin were found in situ in the casing and the outer layer of salami meat during early stages of the curing process, coinciding with fungal colonization, but no penicillin was detected in the cured salami. The antibiotic produced in situ was sensitive to penicillinaseS

A Shock Tube Chemical Kinetic Study of Ethanol Oxidation at Elevated Pressures

Understanding the combustion chemistry of ethanol is critical for continued proliferation and use in future internal combustion engines (ICEs) that will operate in a downsized, turbo-charged, high compression configuration. Detailed chemical kinetic reaction mechanisms already exist for ethanol, which have been validated over a range of operating conditions; however, capturing the conditions that may be seen in future ICEs requires extension of these conditions, namely at elevated pressure. Investigating the kinetics of ethanol existing in a combustion system first involve, for example, understanding a key global metric like ignition delay time (IDT) and measuring major or minor species in a time resolved fashion capturing both formation and decomposition stages. A shock tube facility offers ideal (thermodynamically) operation that can be used to study the high pressure kinetics across a wide range of temperatures, all the while enabling non- intrusive temporal in situ measurements within the given test time. Oxidation of ethanol was carried out behind reflected shock waves at elevated pressures by measuring IDTs and carbon monoxide (CO) time-histories, the latter of which utilized a distributed feedback quantum cascade laser centered at a wavelength in the infrared (IR). With the gathered data, various ignition regimes and sensitive chemistry were investigated for high pressure CO formation. Since CO is an important product of combustion, having an accurate prediction of its formation is necessary to preliminarily understand the efficiency and sustainability of future engine designs. Moving forward, hazardous products like CO among other harmful emissions will have stricter governmental constrains, which further supports studies as these that aid in the continued refinement of such chemical kinetic mechanisms

Psychological support for children with autism by applying Teach program

تهدف الدراسة الحالية إلى معرفة فاعلية برنامج تيتش الخاص بالتكفل النفسي بالأطفال المصابين باضطراب التوحد. حيث يعد البرنامج العلاجي تيتش (Teacch) من أشهر البرامج العلاجية والتربوية والسلوكية لأطفال التوحد، فهو يساهم في مساعدة الأطفال التوحديين لأن يكونوا أكثر استقلالية من خلال مساعدتهم على تحقيق فهم أفضل للعالم من حولهم.    وقد طبقت الدراسة على حالة مصابة باضطراب التوحد في مدينة الأغواط ،وأسفرت نتائج الدراسة عن اكتساب الحالة لبعض المهارات السلوكية واللغوية.    The current study aims to know the effectiveness of the "Tech" program on psychological well-being for children with autism. As the Teacch program is one of the most popular therapeutic, educational and behavioral programs for autistic children, it contributes to helping autistic children be more independent by helping them achieve a better understanding of the world around them.    The study was applied to a case of autistic disorder in the city of Laghouat. The results of the study resulted in the case gaining some behavioral and linguistic skills