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The Tuchengzi Formation represents a Jurassic – Cretaceous boundary regional lithological unit that bridges the temporal gap between the Yanliao biota and the Jehol biota. Tetrapod tracks represent the most significant vertebrate fossil records in the formation, and can be employed to supplement the Late Jurassic fauna and palaeoecological data from northern China. Here, we present a re-analysis of the theropod tracks from the Luofenggou site in northern Hebei Province, utilising an additional 3D model and a locomotory analysis to provide further insights into the ecological context. A morphological analysis indicates that these tracks are more similar to Grallator than to the previously proposed Therangospodus. The latter is diagnosed by coalesced, elongate, oval digital pads lacking a separation in distinct phalangeal pads, whereas these are clearly defined in the presented Tuchengzi material. They can therefore be assigned to the widespread G. ssatoi ichnospecies from the Tuchengzi Formation, although they are longer and more variable in size than other G. ssatoi. A general consideration of speed-related locomotive parameters, trackway morphology, and superposition allows for the speculation of the existence of cooperative or predatory relationships between theropod trackmakers that were differentiated by size or stages of ontogeny, but had similar foot structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aerodynamic behavior of a square-shaped formation of four quadcopter UAVs flying in a swarm is investigated in detail through three-dimensional computer simulations utilizing Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methodology. The swarm configuration comprises four UAVs positioned with two in the upper row and two in the lower row along the same propeller axes. The flow profile generated by the UAV propellers rotating at 10,000 revolutions per minute is analyzed parametrically using the Multiple Reference Frame (MRF) technique. UAVs within the swarm are positioned at 75 cm from the motion centers of adjacent propellers. This distance, the effects of horizontally and vertically positioned UAVs on each other, and the collective behavior of the swarm are thoroughly examined. Pressure, velocity, and turbulent kinetic energy values are meticulously analyzed. This research represents a milestone in understanding the aerodynamic characteristics of UAV swarms and the optimization of swarm performance. The findings highlight effective factors in swarm flights and their consequences for UAVs. Additionally, the article describes the "near-UAV phenomenon". Furthermore, the methodology developed for CFD simulations provides an approach to analyzing close flight scenarios and evaluating their performance in various swarm configurations. These achievements contribute to the future development of UAV technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To identify the typology and describe the sheep farmers benefited by the Programa para el Mejoramiento de la Producción y Productividad Indígena (PROIN: Program for the Improvement of Indigenous Production and Productivity) of the Instituto Nacional de Pueblos Indígenas (INPI: National Institute for Indigenous Peoples), in Campeche. Design/Methodology/Approach: One-hundred ninety-nine sheep farmers registered as beneficiaries in the Program were interviewed. They belonged to 27 sheep farms (SF), located in seven municipalities. A questionnaire including socioeconomic and technical questions and 15 quantitative and qualitative variables was conducted. Variables were correlated and a principal components analysis was carried out to define types of farms. The variables that explained the highest variability in the data set were number of sheep, number of sheep sold per year, annual income from sheep sales, productive purpose of the sheep farming, and feeding system. These variables were then used to perform a cluster analysis in order to identify and cluster the sheep farms. Results: Three groups of farmers were identified: Conventional (C, 74%) with 70 sheep and annual sales for $10,109.00; Transitional (T, 15%) with 169 sheep and annual sales for $36,680.00; and those in business (B, 11%) with 142 sheep and annual sales for $48,443.00. All the producers (100%) carry out extensive grazing. The breeds used by C and T are Pelibuey × Black Belly (78%), while B uses Pelibuey × Kathadin (21.7%). Study Limitations/Implications: Implemented support strategies must differentiate according to the type of farm. Findings/Conclusions: Three types of sheep farmers were identified: Conventional, Transitional, and Enterprise. Farmer types were differentiated by the number of sheep, sales, income, sheep production system, and feeding system they use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrostatic flocking technology has been widely used, but there are few theoretical studies on the flocking process. In this paper, the key factors affecting the motion of the flock are investigated by analyzing the dynamics of the flock in an electrostatic field. The obtained equation of motion is solved using MATLAB. The influence of flock specification on the rotation and translation process is analyzed. At a constant electric field intensity, the rotation time is linearly positively correlated with the flock's linear density; the maximum translational velocity is linearly positively correlated with the flock length-to-diameter ratio; and the minimum plate distance is linearly positively correlated with the flock's linear density. The flock's maximum translational velocity is proportional to the electric field intensity, and the change in the electric field intensity does not affect the rotation time and the minimum plate distance. The paper also provides the minimum plate distance of eight kinds of nylon flock under the electric field intensity of 50 kV/10 cm. Based on the calculation results, it is suggested that the flocking test first calculates the minimum plate distance based on the flock's linear density. Then the optimal electric field intensity should be determined according to the flocked fabric's flocking effect and fastness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aerodynamic behavior of a square-shaped formation of four quadcopter UAVs flying in a swarm is investigated in detail through three-dimensional computer simulations utilizing Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methodology. The swarm configuration comprises four UAVs positioned with two in the upper row and two in the lower row along the same propeller axes. The flow profile generated by the UAV propellers rotating at 10,000 revolutions per minute is analyzed parametrically using the Multiple Reference Frame (MRF) technique. UAVs within the swarm are positioned at 75 cm from the motion centers of adjacent propellers. This distance, the effects of horizontally and vertically positioned UAVs on each other, and the collective behavior of the swarm are thoroughly examined. Pressure, velocity, and turbulent kinetic energy values are meticulously analyzed. This research represents a milestone in understanding the aerodynamic characteristics of UAV swarms and the optimization of swarm performance. The findings highlight effective factors in swarm flights and their consequences for UAVs. Additionally, the article describes the “near-UAV phenomenon”. Furthermore, the methodology developed for CFD simulations provides an approach to analyzing close flight scenarios and evaluating their performance in various swarm configurations. These achievements contribute to the future development of UAV technology.

Summand absorbing submodules are common in modules over (additively) idempotent semirings, for example, in tropical algebra. A submodule W of V is summand absorbing, if x + y ∈ W implies x ∈ W,y ∈ W for any x,y ∈ V. This paper proceeds the study of these submodules, and more generally of additive monoids, with emphasis on their archimedean classes and quotient structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prey species that form groups gain a range of benefits from associating with conspecifics, including access to social information. Groups typically coordinate collective movement through local interactions, where individuals copy their nearest neighbours' behaviour to generate group level decisions. However, individuals in a group may not always make 'correct' decisions, and blind copying of behaviour can lead to the spread of poor information and maladaptive cascades. To impede the spread of poor information, many animals that form groups have developed information-dampening mechanisms such as consensus decision making through the quorum response. In this study we monitored flocks of roosting Eurasian oystercatchers with a view to understanding the mechanics of group departure decisions and to test for the presence of a quorum response. Nearing high tide, oystercatchers would leave the roosting site en masse, where the timing of departure of many individuals was coordinated. Coordinating the timing of mass departures was a complex task as single birds and small groups frequently joined and departed from the roosting site, meaning individuals had to decide which departures to copy and which to ignore. Individual oystercatchers were more likely to depart within 10 s of another bird if they were closer together in the group, suggesting that departure information may be transferred locally between neighbouring birds. While single departures were very common, most individuals departed in groups of 10 or more, showing that single departures were a relatively weak departure cue and were frequently ignored by the rest of the group. The probability of an individual joining a departure event was higher with increasing departure group size in a nonlinear (sigmoidal) relationship. This trend is consistent with a quorum response with the propensity to copy the departure of groupmates sharply increasing at a quorum threshold of about 10 birds. • Roosting oystercatchers departed en masse in response to the rising tide. • Departure information flows locally between close neighbouring birds. • The likelihood of joining a departure sharply rises at departing group sizes of >10. • Oystercatchers may use consensus decision making to regulate mass departures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines various aspects of shepherdship mentioned by St. Theodore the Studite in the collection of his letters. The collection contains letters sent to patriarchs, bishops, abbots and abbesses, as well as their flocks. There are few letters to priests and they do not touch on pastoral topics, in contrast to the epistles to the bishops that multiplied after 815. Among them, it is necessary to mention the letter 11 to bishop Anastasius, as a text completely devoted to the episcopal ministry. In total, there are more than fifty letters to the bishops, and a little less than eighty to the heads of the monasteries. The correspondence of St. Theodore with Mother Superior Euphrosyne is especially interesting. Descripting the episcopal ministry, St. Theodore makes extensive use of the teachings of St. Gregory the Theologian, and when talking about pastoral qualities works of St. Maximus the Confessor. Despite not the fact that St. Theodore often uses the word "pastor" simply to designate a ruler, bishop or abbot, it is not just a designation of the holy dignity for him, but the title of shepherd can be received by one owing to his deeds. The basis of shepherding, from the point of view of St. Theodore, there must be a realization in oneself of the image of Christ, the image of a virtuous life, approaching God, the realization of the pastoral logos in the right way, the acquisition of a disposition towards spiritual life. A shepherd who does this is capable of being a legislator for his disciples, capable of raising their souls to God. An important aspect of pastoral ministry for St. Theodora - accepting this service as obedience and service of love.

No abstract available.

Objective The objective of the study was to understand and document socio-economic characteristics, production parameters, challenges and management practices used by Fijian households which keep indigenous chickens. Methods A survey involving 200 households was carried out in coastal and inland communities of Fiji’s wet and semi-dry ecoregions. Data on the influence of ecoregion and location of households relative to the sea on management practices, challenges and productivity of indigenous chickens were analyzed using logistic regression and general linear model of SAS software. Results Irrespective of location relative to the sea and ecoregion, households indicated that they kept indigenous chickens for food and income generation. The Welsummer was the most (p>0.05) preferred breed. Households in the semi-dry inland communities had the largest (p0.05) common predator followed by domestic dogs. Most households in the wet ecoregion’s coastal communities housed their chickens at night, whereas communities in semi-dry ecoregion housed their chickens most of the time (p0.05). Households in semi-dry ecoregion were more likely (p>0.05) to sell their chickens at the local market place. Conclusion The productivity of local chickens in Fiji is low because of feed shortage, predators such as the mongoose and lack of market linkages.

Flow cytometry is used in cell-based diagnostic evaluation for blood-borne malignancies including leukemia and lymphoma. The current practice for cytometry data analysis relies on manual gating to identify cell subsets in complex mixtures, which is subjective, labor-intensive, and poorly reproducible. This article reviews recent efforts to develop, validate, and disseminate automated computational methods and pipelines for cytometry data analysis that could help overcome the limitations of manual analysis and provide for efficient and data-driven diagnostic applications. It demonstrates the performance of an optimized computational pipeline in a pilot study of chronic lymphocytic leukemia data from the authors' clinical diagnostic laboratory.

A new bio-inspired method for optimizing the objective function on a parallelepiped set of admissible solutions is proposed. It uses a model of the behavior of tomtits during the search for food. This algorithm combines some techniques for finding the extremum of the objective function, such as the memory matrix and the Levy flight from the cuckoo algorithm. The trajectories of tomtits are described by the jump-diffusion processes. The algorithm is applied to the classic and nonseparable optimal control problems for deterministic discrete dynamical systems. This type of control problem can often be solved using the discrete maximum principle or more general necessary optimality conditions, and the Bellman's equation, but sometimes it is extremely difficult or even impossible. For this reason, there is a need to create new methods to solve these problems. The new metaheuristic algorithm makes it possible to obtain solutions of acceptable quality in an acceptable time. The efficiency and analysis of this method are demonstrated by solving a number of optimal deterministic discrete open-loop control problems: nonlinear nonseparable problems (Luus–Tassone and Li–Haimes) and separable problems for linear control dynamical systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kinky back (KB) disease in chickens causes significant economic loss in the commercial poultry industries. The aim of the present study was to determine blood glucose levels in broilers with KB disease and the bacterial agents that affect their organs. The glucose levels were measured and Enterococcus cecorum infections were investigated in animals with KB disease. The sixth thoracic vertebrae (T6) and liver samples were taken from 42-d-old Cobb 500 broilers with KB disease from farms located within various geographical areas of Turkey. Ten broilers were selected from each of 10 flocks that showed clinical signs of KB disease (n = 100). Blood samples were taken from the animals in both the control (n = 10) and experimental groups (n = 100) to assess their blood glucose levels. Organ samples were taken from the animals and analyzed using microbiological matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. One-way analysis of variance was used to determine whether there were any statistically significant differences between the means of the control and experimental groups. The bacteriological analyses of the liver and T6 showed that the E. cecorum level significantly increased in the experimental group, which was positively correlated with the increasing glucose levels. Enterococcus cecorum is one of the most important factors causing KB disease, and the most effective method by which to prevent KB disease is a strong biosecurity program inside the poultry houses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of the study was to understand and document socio-economic characteristics, production parameters, challenges and management practices used by Fijian households which keep indigenous chickens. Methods: A survey involving 200 households was carried out in coastal and inland communities of Fiji’s wet and semi-dry ecoregions. Data on the influence of ecoregion and location of households relative to the sea on management practices, challenges and productivity of indigenous chickens were analyzed using logistic regression and general linear model of SAS software. Results: Irrespective of location relative to the sea and ecoregion, households indicated that they kept indigenous chickens for food and income generation. The Welsummer was the most (p>0.05) preferred breed. Households in the semi-dry inland communities had the largest (p<0.05) flocks compared to those in semi-dry coastal communities and the wet region. Chickens in the semi-dry region performed better (p<0.05) than those in the wet region in terms of number of clutches per year and mature live weight. Predators and feed shortages were the biggest challenges faced by households in all areas. The mongoose was ranked as the most (p>0.05) common predator followed by domestic dogs. Most households in the wet ecoregion’s coastal communities housed their chickens at night, whereas communities in semi-dry ecoregion housed their chickens most of the time (p<0.05). In all regions, no households sold their chickens to commercial markets (p>0.05). Households in semi-dry ecoregion were more likely (p>0.05) to sell their chickens at the local market place. Conclusion: The productivity of local chickens in Fiji is low because of feed shortage, predators such as the mongoose and lack of market linkages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

History: The Cuban bubaline herd is characterized by an indiscriminate mixture of the River subspecies, represented by the Buffalypso and Mediterranean breeds and the Marsh subspecies, with the Carabaos. The results of the pure Buffalypso animals cover the years from 1983 to 1992 and their scientific publications are very scarce. Objective. To report on the reproductive, productive and fattening behavior of Buffalypso in Cuba. Methods: Three databases were used: one with reproductive information of 625 buffaloes and 2222 births to determine age (EINC) and weight at incorporation (PINC) at reproduction, age at first calving (EPP9), calving interval (IPP) and seasonality of calving, the second contained milk production data of 826 lactations from 323 buffaloes, to establish production in the following traits: milk in 244 (L244), milk in 305 (L305) and total milk (LTOT), lactation duration (DLAC), fat in 305 days (G305) and total fat (GTOT), the last base was conformed with the weighing of 43 males in a stall fattening in the Livestock Company Los Naranjos, to know the average daily gain (GMD) and the weights at entry and end. The data were processed using the GLM, Freq and Corr procedures of SAS (1995). Results: EINC was 20.8±1.8 months, PINC 369.2±5.7 kg; EPP 37 months and IPP 401.9±9.4 months, 65.7% of calvings were concentrated from July to October. Average milk production was 742.5±19.9 kg in 202.1±8.9 months. G305 was 5.9%; 6.1% and 5.8%, while GTOT presented values of 5.1%; 6.9% and 5.1% for buffaloes of Panamanian, Trinidadian and Cuban origin respectively. Conclusions: Buffalypso manifested very good behavior during the first years of breeding, although it was affected by herd growth, decreased food supply and low selection index, aspects that should be taken into consideration together with the non-genetic factors that affect them, in herd management planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examined an ecclesiology that has led to the administrative and spiritual subjugation of members of local assemblies as God's will and modus operandi under the New Covenant. The article will help adherents to re-examine the conclusions of the ecclesiology through a careful exegesis of the texts used in support. This article aimed at highlighting to Christians the potential dangers of this ecclesiology. It provided an analysis that can be consulted by any Christian who has been affected by this ecclesiology. This article examined a specific articulation of the teachings supporting a new ecclesiology and its bases in a local assembly in Lusaka, Zambia, during a 're-envisioning' process. The author participated in this process, purchased the videos, transcribed the teachings and used them as his primary research data. The research was based on transcriptions of a series of teachings that were recorded in video format. The author explored key themes in the teachings, identified the texts used in support, examined those texts by critically using the historical-critical method and drew conclusions. A careful examination of the ecclesiology and the texts used as its proof-texts showed that it was based on flawed exegesis of the texts. The ecclesiology extracted from the transcripts was based on grounds other than careful interpretation of the texts used. The outcomes of this study were that proponents of this ecclesiology must find biblical texts that support it, or consider it to be wrongly derived doctrine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses seasonal changes in flock size and winter flower-foraging habits of Bushtits (Psaltriparus minimus) in Washington state with compare it to that of California and Arizona. It mentions Bushtits spent a similar percentage of time foraging in deciduous trees, evergreen trees, and mixed shrubs in fall and winter; and also mentions winter flowers of leatherleaf mahonias served as an early morning food source.

This article examined an ecclesiology that has led to the administrative and spiritual subjugation of members of local assemblies as God’s will and modus operandi under the New Covenant. The article will help adherents to re-examine the conclusions of the ecclesiology through a careful exegesis of the texts used in support. This article aimed at highlighting to Christians the potential dangers of this ecclesiology. It provided an analysis that can be consulted by any Christian who has been affected by this ecclesiology. This article examined a specific articulation of the teachings supporting a new ecclesiology and its bases in a local assembly in Lusaka, Zambia, during a ‘re-envisioning’ process. The author participated in this process, purchased the videos, transcribed the teachings and used them as his primary research data. The research was based on transcriptions of a series of teachings that were recorded in video format. The author explored key themes in the teachings, identified the texts used in support, examined those texts by critically using the historical-critical method and drew conclusions. A careful examination of the ecclesiology and the texts used as its proof-texts showed that it was based on flawed exegesis of the texts. The ecclesiology extracted from the transcripts was based on grounds other than careful interpretation of the texts used. The outcomes of this study were that proponents of this ecclesiology must find biblical texts that support it, or consider it to be wrongly derived doctrine. Contribution: The primary contribution of this article is re-examination of a specific teaching that is purportedly derived from the Bible, through a critical analysis of the texts used in its support. The article fits with the scope of the journal to be a critical forum for theological reflection and praxis.

A new bio-inspired method for optimizing the objective function on a parallelepiped set of admissible solutions is proposed. It uses a model of the behavior of tomtits during the search for food. This algorithm combines some techniques for finding the extremum of the objective function, such as the memory matrix and the Levy flight from the cuckoo algorithm. The trajectories of tomtits are described by the jump-diffusion processes. The algorithm is applied to the classic and nonseparable optimal control problems for deterministic discrete dynamical systems. This type of control problem can often be solved using the discrete maximum principle or more general necessary optimality conditions, and the Bellman’s equation, but sometimes it is extremely difficult or even impossible. For this reason, there is a need to create new methods to solve these problems. The new metaheuristic algorithm makes it possible to obtain solutions of acceptable quality in an acceptable time. The efficiency and analysis of this method are demonstrated by solving a number of optimal deterministic discrete open-loop control problems: nonlinear nonseparable problems (Luus–Tassone and Li–Haimes) and separable problems for linear control dynamical systems.

The exposition attempts to use Micah’s metaphor of shepherd-king (Mi 2:12–13) as a heuristic ethical model for reversing oppression and violence in leadership praxis. Given the reality of widespread oppression and violence perpetrated by the powerful, Micah 2:12–13 is interjected into the oracle as a means of accentuating the hope of those who are marginalised and dispossessed. Although Micah’s shepherd-king metaphor interrupts the foregoing context of the oracle of condemnation and doom, the unit logically balances the general rhetorical pattern of judgement, and afterward salvation. Such a canonical and ideological reading presents a window through which informed ethical models are constructed for the reversal of oppression and violence in the readers’ socio-economic and religious context. Micah’s shepherd-king metaphor imagines a restoration of fortune under the leadership of a coming eschatological shepherd-leader allows one a positive construct of a visionary leader, who is a passionate agent of restoration rather than one who is an agent of exploitation, oppression and bondage. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: As a rhetorical literary production, there are seemingly noteworthy ideological and theological intentions in the Book of Micah. Consequently, this exposition brings together biblical, literary, exegetical and theological discourses into dialogue with ethics, ethical demands and practical theology. Granted that leadership affects every aspect of community life, Micah’s beautifully harmonised, biblical shepherd-king in time and context generates insightful alternative and viable components of the process of conveying its life-giving and instructive power for contemporary leadership praxis, both within the ecclesia community and larger human society.

Abstract Background Sheep production is a major component of the livestock sector in Ethiopia. The country owing to the large population of 30.70 million estimated numbers of sheep in the country and out of which about 72.14% are females, and 27.86% are males with diverse genetic resources. The real value of indigenous breeds was often under-estimated mostly due to their poor appearance and relatively low productivity. Developing countries in most cases opt for exotic breeds to increase animal productivity through crossbreeding or breed substitution without properly investigating the production potential of the indigenous breeds. The main objective of the research was to identify sheep flock composition and structure, farmers’ traits of interest and breeding objective of Wollo highland sheep, and their F1 crossbreed progenies. Results Smallholder farmers’ flock synthesized from breeding ewes, breeding rams, pre-weaned ewe lambs, pre-weaned ram lambs, unproductive ewes, castrated and fattened rams, with the percentage coverage of 29.2, 13.3, 15.5, 16.5, 12.4, and 12.5%, respectively. The maximum number of flock size was 289.0 sheep per flock and higher in the third stratum. The off-take rate percentage of the three strata presented as 21.9% in 1st stratum, 12% in the 2nd stratum, and 16.4% in the 3rd stratum and higher off-take rate recorded in the first stratum. Sheep producer’s traits of interest ranked by growth rate (first), body size (second) and marketing value was third rank. Communal breeding (random mating), village based controlled breeding, mixed type and private ram controlled breeding practice were comprised of 39.7, 61.7, 52 and 71.3%, respectively. The percentages of ewes per flock composition were presented as 36.5, 27.1 and 25.5%, respectively in the 3rd stratum, 2nd stratum and 3rd stratum in the order of their importance’s. Conclusion Genetic improvement practices at smallholder sheep producers situation was showing promising outcome with indigenous Washera F1 crossbred lambs and which designated for weaning rate, body size, marketing age, age at first lambing, good temperament and large litter size in the order of their rank. The contemporary breeding practice tendency indicated that, reduced flock size to improve flock productivity via crossbreeding practices.

Migrating birds may take advantage of V-shaped flocking to reduce the required energy for their flight. Studies have shown that the birds in different positions in V-shaped flight contend with different drag forces. Lead and follower birds may have to overcome more drag forces than the other birds in a V-shaped flock. Some observations of different kinds of flocking birds repositioning within a flock have been reported. This observation is here interpreted in an energetic context as well as its aerodynamic aspects. This paper presents the repositioning aerodynamics analysis of birds that fly in V-shaped flocks and their energy-saving consequences. This analysis demonstrates how Canada Geese can fly very far in a single day through repositioning. Extensive analysis shows that leader and tail position switching of 14 Canada Geese can improve the flight range and endurance of these migrating birds more than 44.6%. This study gives the guidelines for energy saving and optimization of flocking migrating birds through evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paratuberculosis is caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP), a chronic disease of a negative economic impact on sheep production. In the state of Sonora, Mexico, there are no reports on the prevalence of MAP in sheep and risk factors associated with it. The objective of this study was to estimate the seroprevalence of MAP and risk factors associated by testing antibody-positive in sheep flocks located in the arid and hot region of Sonora, Mexico. A cross-sectional study was conducted from February 2012 to December 2014, in 43 flocks. Serum samples from 1178 individual sheep were obtained to detect antibodies against MAP by immunodiffusion in agar-gel. During blood sampling, information about animal and flock management risk factors were obtained by applying a questionnaire to the owners. Risk factors associated with seroprevalence of MAP were estimated using binary logistic regression. The true prevalence of MAP was 7.48% (95% CI 5.98, 8.98) and 53.5% of flocks had at least one seropositive animal. An animal was more likely to be seropositive if it was from a large flock (> 300 animals; OR 3.52, 95% CI 1.24, 9.99) and was born outside the farm (OR 6.24; 95% CI 2.9-1, 3.52). This is the first report of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis seroprevalence in sheep, in Sonora, Mexico. Large flocks and the entry of new animals to the flock were critical risk factors associated with MAP seropositivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We characterize the para-associative ternary quasi-groups (flocks) applicable to knot theory, and show which of these structures are isomorphic. We enumerate them up to order 64. We note that the operation used in knot-theoretic flocks has its non-associative version in extra loops. We use a group action on the set of flock colorings to improve the cocycle invariant associated with the knot-theoretic flock (co)homology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exposition attempts to use Micah's metaphor of shepherd-king (Mi 2:12–13) as a heuristic ethical model for reversing oppression and violence in leadership praxis. Given the reality of widespread oppression and violence perpetrated by the powerful, Micah 2:12–13 is interjected into the oracle as a means of accentuating the hope of those who are marginalised and dispossessed. Although Micah's shepherd-king metaphor interrupts the foregoing context of the oracle of condemnation and doom, the unit logically balances the general rhetorical pattern of judgement, and afterward salvation. Such a canonical and ideological reading presents a window through which informed ethical models are constructed for the reversal of oppression and violence in the readers' socio-economic and religious context. Micah's shepherd-king metaphor imagines a restoration of fortune under the leadership of a coming eschatological shepherd-leader allows one a positive construct of a visionary leader, who is a passionate agent of restoration rather than one who is an agent of exploitation, oppression and bondage. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: As a rhetorical literary production, there are seemingly noteworthy ideological and theological intentions in the Book of Micah. Consequently, this exposition brings together biblical, literary, exegetical and theological discourses into dialogue with ethics, ethical demands and practical theology. Granted that leadership affects every aspect of community life, Micah's beautifully harmonised, biblical shepherd-king in time and context generates insightful alternative and viable components of the process of conveying its life-giving and instructive power for contemporary leadership praxis, both within the ecclesia community and larger human society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Kenya and East Africa, contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP) is one of the most prevalent infectious diseases affecting small ruminants in pastoral areas with adverse consequences on livelihoods. This is so despite the implementation of bi‐annual vaccination campaigns. Unfortunately, the impact of the disease and the cost‐effectiveness of its prevention and control in a pastoral context have been difficult to assess due to a lack of reliable data. The dynamic of flock population, high illiteracy and limited outreach are the main challenges for proper data collection. Nevertheless, such analysis is important to justify the implementation of national vaccination campaign for livestock disease control and to contribute to pastoral households' economy support programme. A continuous flock monitoring was performed for a year in Turkana County to collect data on flock dynamics and the different causes of mortalities. A stochastic model was developed to evaluate the annual economic losses due to CCPP in a standard flock of 100 heads and evaluate the cost–benefit ratio of the vaccination programmes based on different scenarios of 95%, 50% and 20% vaccination effectiveness. The annual economic losses due to CCPP for a standard flock of 100 heads were estimated at Euros 1,712.66 in average. The benefits‐costs ratio of the vaccination supports the current bi‐annual vaccination campaigns, even with a vaccine effectiveness limited to 20% (average benefits‐costs ratio of 5.715 with SD of 3.914). This justifies the campaigns as part of a food security or livelihood support programme. However, from an overall health perspective and for long‐term effects on livestock asset protection and disease control, a higher vaccination effectiveness is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El Niño influences the global climate through teleconnections that are not constant in space and time. In order to study and visualize the spatiotemporal patterns of the El Niño teleconnections, a new method inspired by the concept of attribute trajectories is proposed. The coordinates of the trajectories are the normalized anomalies of the relevant meteorological variables in El Niño. The data structures called flocks are extracted from the trajectories to indicate the regions that are subject to the same type of El Niño teleconnection for a certain period. It is then shown how these structures can be used to get a detailed, spatiotemporal picture of the dynamics of the El Niño teleconnections. The comparison between the flocks of the same temporal scale reveals the general dynamics of the teleconnection, while the analysis among the flocks of different temporal scales indicates the relationship between the coverage and their duration. As an illustration of this method, the spatiotemporal patterns of the anomalous temperature increase caused by El Niño are presented and discussed at the monthly and seasonal scales. This study demonstrates the capability of the proposed method in analyzing and visualizing the spatiotemporal patterns of the teleconnections.

Abstract This paper describes the software architecture of an integrated simulator for the realistic simulation of multi Unmanned aerial vehicle applications. The integrated simulator exploits some already existing tools to simulate a specific part of the overall Unmanned aerial vehicle hardware and software structure: a 3D visualization engine , a physics simulator , a flight control stack and a network simulator to handle communications among Unmanned aerial vehicles. These features are provided by the tools Gazebo, ArduCopter and ns-3 that, however, are not designed to work together in an integrated manner. The solution proposed in this paper is based on a software middleware that coordinates all of these tools, which may optionally be run on multiple interconnected computers, and lets them have a common notion of simulated time during the simulation; moreover, the middleware coordinates the activities of the High-level Logic , which is the software part that implements the strategy and control of the multi Unmanned aerial vehicle application. A Python API is provided to allow developers to write their Unmanned aerial vehicle application (cooperative missions, flocking, etc.) in such a way as to be first simulated and then run onto the real platform with no or few modifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Establishing integration of an individual bird into a wild flock is particularly important in species that are highly gregarious and are reliant on the flock to increase their likelihood of survivorship. When individuals, rehabilitated and reintroduced to wild flocks, are tracked through satellite or global positioning system (GPS) telemetry, it is of further significance to establish integration to assess rehabilitation success and whether the individual can serve as a marker of the flock. To date, for black cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus spp.) this has been achieved through visual observations, which requires field‐based observations that may not be possible because of inaccessible terrain, or may be untenable because the tagged individual can move quickly or is cryptic within a given land cover type. To establish whether an individual had joined a flock, we proposed the use of behavioral change point analysis. Our analyses showed that for GPS data of 6 individuals of the 3 black cockatoo species endemic to Western Australia we could demonstrate behavioral differences in their movement paths that were either individual or flocked (integrated) behavior. We undertook field observations to validate integration into wild flocks. We characterized flocked behavior as a constant, repeated pattern at variable levels of velocity. Individual behavior manifested in 2 different forms: resident and exploratory behavior. The analysis showed that all birds had integrated into a wild flock within a month of release. Behavioral change point analysis is a useful method to characterize movement behavior in black cockatoos and to confirm their membership within a flock. Furthermore, confirmation of flock membership makes it possible to use the data from 1 tagged bird to indicate movement behavior at the flock level. © 2018 The Wildlife Society. From a wildlife conservation and habitat management perspective, it is valuable to know the difference between individual and group movement behavior. Behavior change point analysis is a useful tool in discerning between the 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Variations in local population densities are common in many fish, amphibian, bird, and smaller mammal species. Aggregations attract predators, the main factor of nonselective elimination in schooling fish shoals, smaller bird flocks, and aggregations of disseminating underyearling anuran amphibians and smaller rodents. Very high degrees of similarity of the external phenotypic traits are characteristic of monospecific fish shoals and smaller bird flocks. Aggregations are adaptive, because they facilitate locomotion and the location of abundant food sources irregularly distributed in space. The "multiple eyes" effect allows a timely detection of danger. Phenotypic monomorphism, including behavioral, hampers the predator's choice of prey, often rendering an attack unsuccessful. A group attack of predators disorganizes the defensive maneuvering of the aggregation and ensures hunting success. The "dilution effect" plays crucial roles in these conditions. The more numerous the aggregation, the higher the probability of survival of any individual member. The dilution effect is inherent in any aggregation irrespective of the degree of monomorphism of its constituent organisms, on the assumption of their equal availability to predators. This peculiarity is characteristic of many bird colonies, dispersing young smaller rodents, underyearling anurans leaving their native pond, etc. Aggregations are adaptations to two very important factors: food supply and defense. The more numerous the aggregation, the higher its adaptive value. Inside an aggregation, the fitness of all of its members is the same, but the more numerous the aggregation and the greater the dilution, the higher the chances for the survival of any individual. The larger aggregations are more fit than the less numerous ones. The reproductive success and thus the contributions to abundance of the next generation are higher in larger aggregations. That is what group selection is, groups rather than the constituent organisms being selected for. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brown et al. provide a representation of a spread of the Tits quadrangle T 2 (O) , O an oval of PG (2 , q) , q even, in terms of a certain family of q ovals of PG (2 , q). By combining this representation with the Vandendriessche classification of hyperovals in PG (2 , 64) and the classification of flocks of the quadratic cone in PG (3 , 64) , recently given by the authors, in this paper, we classify all the spreads of T 2 (O) , O an oval of PG (2 , 64) , up to equivalence. These complete the classification of spreads of T 2 (O) for q ≤ 64. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]