Improving the Simultaneous Application of the DSN-PC and NOAA GFS Datasets

Our surface-based sensor network, called Distributed Sensor Network for Prediction Calculations (DSN-PC) obviously has limitations in terms of vertical atmospheric data. While efforts are being made to approximate these upper-air parameters from surface-level, as a first step it was necessary to test the network’s capability of making distributed computations by applying a hybrid approach. We accessed public databases like NOAA Global Forecast System (GFS) and the initial values for the 2-dimensional computational grid were produced by using both DSN-PC measurements and NOAA GFS data for each grid point. However, though the latter consists of assimilated and initialized (smoothed) data the stations of the DSN-PC network provide raw measurements which can cause numerical instability due to measurement errors or local weather phenomena. Previously we simultaneously interpolated both DSN-PC and GFS data. As a step forward, we wanted for our network to have a more significant role in the production of the initial values. Therefore it was necessary to apply 2D smoothing algorithms on the initial conditions. We found significant difference regarding numerical stability between calculating with raw and smoothed initial data. Applying the smoothing algorithms greatly improved the prediction reliability compared to the cases when raw data were used. The size of the grid portion used for smoothing has a significant impact on the goodness of the forecasts and it’s worth further investigation. We could verify the viability of direct integration of DSN-PC data since it provided forecast errors similar to the previous approach. In this paper we present one simple method for smoothing our initial data and the results of the weather prediction calculations

Természetvédelem és kutatás hazánk egyik legnagyobb gyurgyalag (Merops apiaster Linnaeus, 1758) költőtelepén

Az albertirsai Golyófogó-völgyben található gyurgyalag kolónia több száz méteres löszfalon létesült. Az állomány nagyságát évtizedek óta nyomon követik a helyi természetvédők, az utóbbi években a Jászkun Természetvédelmi Egyesület koordinálásával végzik az állományfelmérést a fal teljes területén. Az egyesület a partfal és a hozzátartozó öthektáros löszgyep megvásárlása után környezetrekonstrukciós munkát kezdett 2003-tól, majd 2009-ben a löszfal rekonstrukcióját is elvégezték. A korábban szemétlerakóként üzemelő bányaudvarban a löszfal felújítását a gyurgyalagok számára kedvező lejtésszög kialakítása és a rajta megtelepedett növényzet eltávolítása révén érték el. Az élőhely-rekonstrukció hatására a 2000-es évek elején 30–50 gyurgyalag párra csökkent helyi állomány növekedésnek indult; 2010-től rendszeresen 200 feletti pár fészkelt itt. A gyurgyalag állományváltozása mellett a fiókák számára hordott rovarokat is felmértük. A mezőgazdasági művelésbe vont területekkel és rétekkel körülvett albertirsai telepnél a hártyásszárnyúak alkották a táplálék felét, emellett a szitakötők, egyenesszárnyúak és kétszárnyúak hasonló, 10% körüli arányban szerepeltek a táplálékban. A terület botanikai érdekességeit, a gyűrűzött és észlelt madárfajok listáját is közöljük

Improving the simultaneous application of the DSN-PC and NOAA GFS datasets

Our surface-based sensor network, called Distributed Sensor Network for Prediction Calculations (DSN-PC) obviously has limitations in terms of vertical atmospheric data. While efforts are being made to approximate these upper-air parameters from surface-level, as a first step it was necessary to test the network’s capability of making distributed computations by applying a hybrid approach. We accessed public databases like NOAA Global Forecast System (GFS) and the initial values for the 2-dimensional computational grid were produced by using both DSN-PC measurements and NOAA GFS data for each grid point. However, though the latter consists of assimilated and initialized (smoothed) data the stations of the DSN-PC network provide raw measurements which can cause numerical instability due to measurement errors or local weather phenomena. Previously we simultaneously interpolated both DSN-PC and GFS data. As a step forward, we wanted for our network to have a more significant role in the production of the initial values. Therefore it was necessary to apply 2D smoothing algorithms on the initial conditions. We found significant difference regarding numerical stability between calculating with raw and smoothed initial data. Applying the smoothing algorithms greatly improved the prediction reliability compared to the cases when raw data were used. The size of the grid portion used for smoothing has a significant impact on the goodness of the forecasts and it’s worth further investigation. We could verify the viability of direct integration of DSN-PC data since it provided forecast errors similar to the previous approach. In this paper we present one simple method for smoothing our initial data and the results of the weather prediction calculations

Konspecifikus és heterospecifikus szociális információszerzés lehetőségei és korlátai kutyák esetében = Possibilities and constrains of conspecific and heterospecific acquisition of social information in dogs

Jelen kutatás fő célja az volt, hogy kibővítsük ismeretünket a kutyák szociális tanulási képességeit illetőleg. Számos különböző helyzetben vizsgáltuk, hogy vajon a kutyák tanulnak-e fajtárstól illetve embertől megfigyelés révén. Az ún. „két-akciós”teszt alkalmazásával kimutattuk, hogy a fajspecifikus preferenciák ellenére a kutyák preferenciát mutatnak a demonstrátor által mutatott akcióra. Először végeztünk olyan kísérletsorozatot, amelyben a kutyákat három eltérő szociális tanuláson alapuló tesztben vizsgáltuk. Kiderült, hogy egyes egyedek konzekvensen jobban teljesítenek az ilyen feladatokban, ugyanakkor az eredményeik nem függnek össze a kommunikációs valamint egyéni tanulási helyzetben mutatott viselkedéssel. Egy új kísérletsorozat révén általánosítottuk korábbi eredményeinket, azaz kimutattuk, hogy a kutyák általában rendelkeznek a funkcionális imitációhoz minimálisan szükséges képességekkel. A megfelelően tréningezett kutyák képesek kételemű akciósorozat ismétlésére, rövid ideig emlékeznek a demonstrált akcióra. Más kutatókkal együtt kidolgoztuk és összehasonlító kísérletekben vizsgáltok, hogy miképp lehet az ún. pedagógiai modellt alkalmazni a kutya esetében. Az eredmények itt is felvetik a viselkedés szintű funkcionális analógia lehetőségét kutya és ember (10-12 hónapos csecsemő) között. Összefoglalva, jelen pályázat keretében nagyon fontos felismeréseket tettünk a kutyák szociális tanulási képességeit illetően, így ma jobban tudjuk értelmezni, hogy milyen jellegű szociális információ segíti a kutyák beilleszkedését az emberi csoportokba. | The main aim of the present studies was to extend our knowledge on dogs' ability to learn socially. We have investigated in several experimental situations whether dogs can learn from humans or conspecifics. In the so called ""two action tests"" we have shown that despite species-specific preferences dogs show preferences for the action which was shown by the demonstrator. We were the first to use such a series of social learning tests in which we investigated the dogs in all three tasks in parallel. We have revealed that certain individual dogs are more inclined to perform well is social learning tasks, but at the same times this seems not to be associated with their ability to read human communicative cues, and their performance in spatial learning tasks. In a novel series of experiments we have generalised our previous findings that dogs have the minimal skills to show functional imitative behaviour. Dogs trained to imitate human actions are able to copy two-action sequences, memorize the demonstration for a short time. Together with other researchers we have worked out and tested in comparative how to so called pedagogical hypothesis can be tested in dogs. Our results showed that this phenomenon in dogs could be also a case for functional analogy between humans (10-12 months old children) and dogs. In summary, we have made important new insights on social learning skills in dogs, so today we can understand much better what sort of social information is gathered by dogs, and how this helps them to get integrated into human groups

Association between subjective rating and behaviour coding and the role of experience in making video assessments on the personality of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris)

In this paper our first aim was to investigate the association between behaviour coding based on a test battery called the FIDO Personality test for dogs (Canis familiaris) and a subjective rating given by dog owners. For the latter we asked dog owners to fin in the Dog Personality Questionnaire (DPQ) which established four personality traits for dogs: Stranger-directed Sociability, Activity, Aggressiveness and Trainability. The FIDO Personality test consists of a series of subtests in which we utilised an ethogram and measured different aspects of dog behaviour. Prior to this study we established a set of possible associations between the behavioural and the questionnaire variables. With regard to Trainability no correlation could be detected between any of the questionnaire variables and the hypothetically corresponding test battery variables. In the case of Stranger-directed Sociability, we revealed correlation between owners' reports and the dogs' behaviour during the test situation. Those dogs which were reported 'initiative' and 'not mistrustful with unfamiliar humans' approached the experimenter with shorter latency (r = -0.25, p < 0.01; r = 0.24, p < 0.01) and played more with her than those who were scored lower on these questionnaire items (r = -0.27, p < 0.01). For the factor Activity, no correlation was found between the owners' report and the behaviour of dogs displayed in the Spontaneous activity phase of the test battery. Association was revealed between the owners' report regarding the dogs' preference for ball games and playing and their behaviour in the corresponding subtest. Those dogs which were reported to like ball games and like playing with the owner played with the ball as well as with a tug more in the test situation than those which were scored lower on the questionnaire variable 'likes fetching balls' (r = 0.47, p < 0.001; r = 0.25, p < 0.01). As regards the factor Aggressiveness, the questionnaire variable 'shows a tendency to bark' correlated with the dogs' aggressive reactions (growl, bite, attack) (r = 0.25, p < 0.01) in the Bone take-away subtest and with the 'latency of getting the DNA sample' (r = 0.30, p < 0.001) in the Getting DNA sample subtest. The results show that despite of the investigated associations there is a need for more effort to refine both questionnaire-based and behaviour-based assessment of dog personality. The second aim of our experiments was to reveal whether owner ratings on the above personality factors converged with the ratings of independent groups of observers based on the video recordings of the FIDO Personality test. First, in the case of each factor, we compared the degrees of ratings given by the owners and by the three rater groups with different levels of hands-on experience with dogs. We found no difference in the case of Stranger-directed Sociability, Activity and Trainability (F(3, 128) = 1.17, p = 0.17; F(3, 128) = 0.99, p = 0.4; F(3, 128) = 1.6,p = 0.18 respectively) but there was a significant variability in judging Aggressiveness (F(3, 128)= 2.86, p = 0.04). In the case of Stranger-directed Sociability, Activity and Aggressiveness the owner's report correlated with the assessments of all the three rater groups and the assessments of the rater groups correlated with each other as well. As regards Trainability, the owners' report did not correlate with the assessments of any of the rating groups, but the assessments of all the rating groups correlated with each other. Our investigations provide a contribution to the field of research on comparing behaviour coding based on test batteries and subjective rating based on questionnaire studies as methods for establishing the personality factors of individual animals

Human Analogue Safe Haven Effect of the Owner : Behavioural and Heart Rate Response to Stressful Social Stimuli in Dogs

The secure base and safe haven effects of the attachment figure are central features of the human attachment theory. Recently, conclusive evidence for human analogue attachment behaviours in dogs has been provided, however, the owner’s security-providing role in danger has not been directly supported. We investigated the relationship between the behavioural and cardiac response in dogs (N = 30) while being approached by a threatening stranger in separation vs. in the presence of the owner, presented in a balanced order. Non-invasive telemetric measures of heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) data during the threatening approaches was compared to periods before and after the encounters. Dogs that showed distress vocalisation during separation (N = 18) and that growled or barked at the stranger during the threatening approach (N = 17) were defined as behaviourally reactive in the given situation. While characteristic stress vocalisations were emitted during separations, the absence of the owner did not have an effect on dogs’ mean HR, but significantly increased the HRV. The threatening approach increased dogs’ mean HR, with a parallel decrease in the HRV, particularly in dogs that were behaviourally reactive to the encounter. Importantly, the HR increase was significantly less pronounced when dogs faced the stranger in the presence of the owner. Moreover, the test order, whether the dog encountered the stranger first with or without its owner, also proved important: HR increase associated with the encounter in separation seemed to be attenuated in dogs that faced the stranger first in the presence of their owner. We provided evidence for human analogue safe haven effect of the owner in a potentially dangerous situation. Similarly to parents of infants, owners can provide a buffer against stress in dogs, which can even reduce the effect of a subsequent encounter with the same threatening stimuli later when the owner is not present

Polymorphism in the Tyrosine Hydroxylase (TH) Gene Is Associated with Activity-Impulsivity in German Shepherd Dogs

We investigated the association between repeat polymorphism in intron 4 of the tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) gene and two personality traits, activity-impulsivity and inattention, in German Shepherd Dogs. The behaviour of 104 dogs was characterized by two instruments: (1) the previously validated Dog-Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Rating Scale (Dog-ADHD RS) filled in by the dog owners and (2) the newly developed Activity-impulsivity Behavioural Scale (AIBS) containing four subtests, scored by the experimenters. Internal consistency, inter-observer reliability, test-retest reliability and convergent validity were demonstrated for AIBS