Letteratura scientifica selezionata sul tema "Possible Wolrds"

Extensive research has been dedicated to the solution-processable white organic light-emitting diodes (WOLEDs), which can potentially influence future solid-state lighting and full-color flat-panel displays. The proposed strategy based on WOLEDs involves blending two or more emitting polymers or copolymerizing two or more emitting chromophores with different doping concentrations to produce white light emission from a single layer. Toward this direction, the development of blends was conducted using commercial blue poly(9,9-di-n-octylfluorenyl2,7-diyl) (PFO), green poly(9,9-dioctylfluorenealt-benzothiadiazole) (F8BT), and red spiro-copolymer (SPR) light-emitting materials, whereas the synthesized copolymers were based on different chromophores, namely distyryllanthracene, distyrylcarbazole, and distyrylbenzothiadiazole, as yellow, blue, and orange–red emitters, respectively. A comparative study between the two approaches was carried out to examine the main challenge for these doping systems, which is ensuring the proper balance of emissions from all the units to span the entire visible range. The emission characteristics of fabricated WOLEDs will be explored in terms of controlling the emission from each emitter, which depends on two possible mechanisms: energy transfer and carrier trapping. The aim of this work is to achieve pure white emission through the color mixing from different emitters based on different doping concentrations, as well as color stability during the device operation. According to these aspects, the WOLED devices based on the copolymers of two chromophores exhibit the most encouraging results regarding white color emission coordinates (0.28, 0.31) with a CRI value of 82.

Generally Gray Wolves (Canis lupus L., 1758) tend to focus predation on young-of-the-year ungulates during summer, and I hypothesized that wolves preying on Muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus Zimmerman, 1780) in summer would follow that trend. Over 23 July periods observing wolves on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, I found that packs of 2-12 adult wolves killed seven calves, one yearling, and five adult muskoxen at distances of 2.9 to 32 km from their current dens and pups. Given a possible bias against finding calves because of their fewer remains, these results do not necessarily refute the hypothesis, but they do make it clear that adult muskoxen form an important part of the wolves' diet in July and thus possibly at other times during summer.

Global Positioning System (GPS) radio-collars are increasingly used to estimate Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) kill rates. In interpreting results from this technology, researchers make various assumptions about wolf behavior around kills, yet no detailed description of this behavior has been published. This article describes the behavior of six wolves in an area of constant daylight during 30 hours, from when the pack killed a Muskox (Ovibos moschatus) calf and yearling on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, to when they abandoned the kill remains. Although this is only a single incident, it demonstrates one possible scenario of pack behavior around a kill. Combined with the literature, this observation supports placing a radio-collar on the breeding male to maximize finding kills via GPS collars and qualifying results depending on whatever other information is available about the collared wolf’s pack.

Vessey Ponds are a pair of irregularly-shaped hollows high on the Chalk Wolds of East Yorkshire at about 220 m OD (Fig. 1). Recent fieldwalking recovered a large flint scatter in the vicinity of these hollows. Mesolithic activity was represented by worked flint displaying soft hammer technology whereas hard hammer technologies indicate Neolithic and Bronze Age tool production and usage. The presence of large numbers of cores and a vast quantity of industrial waste indicates on-site preparation of tools. Statistical analysis of the fieldwalking data implies that the flints are concentrated around the hollows. Auger sampling across the ponds revealed natural clay deposits that still hold water close to the pond surface. Consideration of exploitation of mineral resources on the Wold top and possible mechanisms of formation of Vessey Ponds highlights the complex effects of glacial activities on the local surface geology. Karstic origins for some features of surface geology are suggested. The nature of the ‘prehistoric’ economies represented by the flint scatter is considered along with ethnoarchaeological evidence to support the assumption that the ponds at Vessey were a potential water supply during the Mesolithic, Neolithic, and Bronze Ages. Evidence from Vessey Ponds and elsewhere in Yorkshire implies an association between areas of ‘prehistoric’ activity and the availability of surface water. Above all else, this work highlights the impact of water supply on settlement pattern and land use on the Chalk of the Yorkshire Wolds.

Using scanning electron microscopy, a comparative morphological analysis of the fine structure of the guard hairs in the mummy of an adult male ancient wolf (Canis lupus ssp.) with an age of 45504 ± 150 BP, found in the late Pleistocene deposits in Yakutia, was carried out. Guard hairs selected for maximum thickness (guard I) vary significantly in different areas of the wolf’s skin in profile and metric data, and the vibrissae show a special medullary structure. The fine structure of the cellular medulla of the hair in the ancient wolf is shown to be similar to that of extant representatives of Caninae, such as the jackal (C. aureus), maned (Chrysocyon brachyurus) and red wolves (Cuon alpinus), some breeds of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) (Akita Inu, Basset, Dalmatian, Irish Terrier, Miniature Schnauzer, Russian Greyhound, Hortaya Greyhound), and African fox (Vulpes pallida). In these species, the disordered (lacey or spongy) medulla of the thickest part of the hair shaft (“shield”) differs from the ordered (cellular, with regularly located large cavities) medulla of the fox (V. vulpes), gray (V. ferrilata) and Tibetan foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), arctic fox (Alopex lagopus), corsac fox (Vulpes corsac), American corsac fox (V. velox). By this feature, it is possible to distinguish the hair of wolves and foxes, if we compare the medial part of the hair, since at the base of the hair a cellular medulla is found in some breeds of dogs (Akita Inu, Mastino Napoletano, Miniature Schnauzer, Hortai Greyhound) and corsac fox. The cuticle pattern greatly varies along the guard hair shaft, which is typical of wolves and foxes. This is especially specific in the area of the shaft in front of its thickened part, as it consists of lanceolate or diamond petal scales extended along the hair. The cuticle pattern formed by lance-shaped or diamond petal scales is quite similar in ancient and extant wolves, arctic foxes and African foxes. Yet the cuticle of the hair of many other species differs from that of wolves. Thus, such a feature as the presence of lanceolate or diamond petal cuticle on the hair is of limited importance for distinguishing between the species. We have shown that the hair of an ancient wolf in its fine structure (the thickness of the shaft, the degree of development of the medulla and its microanatomy, the cuticle pattern and its variability along the guard hair shaft) is practically not different from that of recent wolves, this confirming that the wolf as a species had already been fully formed in the Pleistocene. The fine structure of wolf hair differs from that of foxes, but has features similar to the hair of the jackal and domestic dog, this confirming the phylogenetic connections with the latter two genera.

We examined predation habits of cougars (Puma concolor (L., 1771)) following the recent recovery of gray wolves (Canis lupus L., 1758) in the southern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. With the extirpation of wolves in the early 20th century, cougars likely expanded their niche space to include space vacated by wolves, and increased use of habitat better suited to the foraging of a coursing predator, like wolves. We predicted that as wolves recolonized their former range, competitive exclusion would compel cougars to cede portions of niche space occupied in the absence of wolves. To examine this hypothesis, we radio-tracked cougars and examined their predation sites from winter 2000–2001 through summer 2009. Variation in foraging by cougars was associated with increasing wolf presence. As wolf numbers increased and the mean distance between wolf pack activity centers and cougar predation sites decreased, cougars made kills at higher elevations on more north-facing slopes during summer and in more rugged areas during winter. In addition, cougars preyed on a higher proportion of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus (Rafinesque, 1817)), consistent with predictions of exploitative competition with wolves. Observed changes in predation characteristics reflect differences in predation strategy between cougars and wolves, given that wolves are coursing predators and cougars are ambush predators. These possible predation effects should be considered when developing management strategies in systems where the recolonization of wolves may occur.

We used data on the polymorphic status of α1-antitrypsin (α1AT) to study the relationship of Minnesota wolves to the gray wolf (Canis lupus), which was thought to have evolved in Eurasia, and to red wolves (Canis rufus) and coyotes (Canis latrans), which putatively evolved in North America. Recent evidence had indicated that Minnesota wolves might be more closely related to red wolves and coyotes. Samples from wild-caught Minnesota wolves and from captive wolves, at least some of which originated in Alaska and western Canada, were similarly polymorphic for α1AT, whereas coyote and red wolf samples were all monomorphic. Our findings, in conjunction with earlier results, are consistent with the Minnesota wolf being a gray wolf of Eurasian origin or possibly a hybrid between the gray wolf of Eurasian origin and the proposed North American wolf.

After the emergence of African swine fever (ASF), the wild boar population numbers fell drastically in Eastern Europe. This situation made it possible to verify the changes in the wolves’ diet that occurred. The material collection was carried out in two regions, Grodno and Vitebsk, in Belarus. In total, 19 species/groups of prey were observed in the gray wolf diet, but the most important were wild boar, elk, red deer, roe deer and beaver. The decrease in the number of wild boar caused changes in the diet of wolves but only in Vitebsk region, where wolves’ diet before the ASF epidemic outbreak consisted mainly of elk and wild boar. After the decrease of wild boar numbers, wolves still mainly hunted elk, but other types of prey included roe deer, red deer and beaver. We found a negative correlation between wild boar and both deer species (roe deer and red deer) in the wolves’ diet. Moreover, the more the wolves consumed elk, the less they consumed beaver. In our opinion, only intensive hunting of wolves by humans can explain the resulting dietary fluctuations between elk and beaver, as well as the fact that wolves did not turn to other food sources.

The elk or wapiti (Cervus elaphus) and bison (Bison bison) of Yellowstone National Park have lived in an environment free of wolves (Canis lupus) for the last 50 years. In the winter of 1994-1995, wolves were reintroduced into parts of Yellowstone National Park. Foraging theory predicts that elk and bison would respond to this threat by increasing their vigilance levels. We tested this prediction by comparing vigilance levels of elk and bison in areas with wolves with those of elk still in "wolf-free" zones of the Park. Male elk and bison showed no response to the reintroduction of wolves, maintaining the lowest levels of vigilance throughout the study ([Formula: see text]12 and 7% of the time was spent vigilant, respectively). Female elk and bison showed significantly higher vigilance levels in areas with wolves than in areas without wolves. The highest vigilance level (47.5 ± 4.1%; mean ± SE) was seen by the second year for female elk with calves in the areas with wolves and was maintained during the subsequent 3 years of the study. As wolves expanded into non-wolf areas, female elk with and without calves in these areas gradually increased their vigilance levels from initially 20.1 ± 3.5 and 11.5 ± 0.9% to 43.0 ± 5.9 and 30.5 ± 2.8% by the fifth year of the study, respectively. We discuss the possible reasons for the differences seen among the social groups. We suggest that these behavioural responses to the presence of wolves may have more far-reaching consequences for elk and bison ecology than the actual killing of individuals by wolves.

Two types of wolves, gray ( Canis lupus L., 1758) and eastern ( Canis lupus lycaon Schreber, 1775 or Canis lycaon ) or Great Lakes wolves, representing Old World (OW) and New World (NW) mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes, have been reported in eastern Canada and the Great Lakes region. Both haplotypes were found in Duck Mountain Provincial Park and Forest, Manitoba. Only OW haplotypes have been reported from the isolated Riding Mountain National Park (RMNP), 30 km to the south. Wolves with NW haplotypes hybridize with C. lupus and coyotes ( Canis latrans Say, 1823) and could mediate gene flow between canids. We examined available data on wolf body mass, skull morphology, and mtDNA from the RMNP region, as well as mtDNA from Manitoba and Saskatchewan, to assess the occurrence of NW haplotypes in wolves and possible canid hybridization. Mean body mass of female (n = 54) and male (n = 42) RMNP wolves during 1985–1987 was higher than that of females (n = 12) and males (n = 8) during 1999–2004. Thirteen skull measures from 29 wolf skulls did not suggest significant differences between RMNP and Duck Mountain wolves. Nineteen of 20 RMNP samples had OW haplotypes, whereas one clustered together with NW haplotypes.

Cette thèse de recherche-création s’appuie sur le travail de création mené par r∆∆dio c∆∆rgo , collectif de création radiophonique, autour de la notion de plateau-radio, en tant que dispositif de SF dans le sens que lui donne Donna Haraway, à savoir un espace de recherche-création dans lequel s’entremêlent Spéculation Féministe, Faits Scientifiques (Science Fact, Science-Fiction et jeu de ficelle (String Figure en anglais), c’est-à- dire une pratique collective qui produit autant un échange et une circulation de la pensée interdisciplinaire, qu’elle en cartographie son propre processus. La thèse tente de démontrer que le studio radiophonique tel qu’on le connaît aujourd’hui -avec ses micros, ses casques, ses animateur·ices qui reçoivent des invité·es et sa technicité qui canalise la parole et les sons au service d’une production adressée à des auditeur·ices - peut être appréhendé d’autres manières et à d’autres fins. La thèse se construit de manière polyphonique dans deux temporalités qui se superposent. Tout d’abord celle de comptes-rendus d’expériences artistiques réalisées entre 2017 et 2021, dans lesquels des collectifs vivent et expérimentent l’objet d’étude et dont l’écriture autorise une forme de style, celui d’un journal autoreflexif permettant de rendre compte des relations que les participant·es ont entre elles et eux et avec les dispositifs. En parallèle, une partie théorique, reposant elle sur une écriture scientifique, observera l’objet d’étude du plateau-radio avec le recul nécessaire pour produire une pensée théorique. Cette partie théorique propose une approche du plateau-radio en tant que dispositif de recherche-création artistique, scientifique et politique mais aussi en tant qu’espace relationnel de création aurale et émancipatrice. L’écriture polyphonique permet ainsi une friction entre spéculation artistique et écriture scientifique afin de faire émerger, dans l’entre-deux, une méthodologie de recherche-création. Une troisième voix apparaîtra donc peu à peu pour manifester une théorie-pratique à travers la méthodologie. Pour construire cette thèse il a ainsi été nécessaire de tresser au moins trois approches méthodologiques. La recherche débute par le concept de SF de Donna Haraway. Celui-ci découle des travaux d’Isabelle Stengers et Didier Debaise sur les gestes spéculatifs qui s’intéressent à comment la théorie peut-elle passer vers la pratique. Ce glissement de la théorie à la pratique par un arc à plusieurs cordes qu’offre le concept de SF se révèle nécessaire lorsqu’il n’y a pas encore assez de faits scientifiques pour poser une hypothèse et qu’il implique de passer par la pratique pour rendre manifeste un objet d’étude. Les deux autres approches sont mentionnées dans le plan résumé.Cette recherche débute donc avec la spéculation suivante :Et si,le plateau radio était un dispositif sorcier qui permet de tracer le cercle, dans le sens que lui donne Isabelle Stengers, à savoir un espace temporairement clos qui permet [aux sorcières éco-féministes] de récupérer les pouvoirs dont iels ont besoin ?
This creative research thesis is based on the creative work carried out by r∆∆dio c∆∆rgo, a collective of radio creation, around the notion of the radio platform, understood as a science fiction device in the sense given by Donna Haraway, that is, a space of research-creation where Feminist Speculation, Scientific Facts (Science Fact, Science Fiction), and String Figures intertwine. This approach constitutes a collective practice that produces not only an exchange and circulation of interdisciplinary thought but also maps its own process. The thesis aims to demonstrate that the radio studio as we know it today—with its microphones, headsets, hosts who invite guests, and its technical apparatus that channels speech and sounds for the purpose of production aimed at an audience—can be approached in other ways and for other purposes.The thesis is constructed in a polyphonic manner, unfolding in two overlapping temporalities. First, through reports on artistic experiments conducted between 2017 and 2021, in which collectives live and experiment with the object of study, and where the writing adopts a particular style—a self-reflexive journal that reflects on the relationships between the participants and with the devices. In parallel, a theoretical part, written in a scientific style, observes the object of study—the radio platform—with enough distance to produce theoretical thought. This theoretical section proposes an approach to the radio platform as a device for artistic, scientific, and political research-creation, but also as a relational space for aural and emancipatory creation. The polyphonic writing thus allows for friction between artistic speculation and scientific writing, to bring forth, in the in-between, a research-creation methodology. A third voice will gradually emerge to manifest a theory-practice through the methodology. In constructing this thesis, it was necessary to weave together at least three methodological approaches. The research begins with Donna Haraway’s concept of SF (science fiction/speculative fabulation), drawing from the work of Isabelle Stengers and Didier Debaise on speculative gestures, which examine how theory can move into practice. This shift from theory to practice, through the multi-string arc offered by the concept of SF, becomes necessary when there are not yet enough scientific facts to formulate a hypothesis, requiring practice to make the object of study manifest. The other two approaches are outlined in the summarized plan.Thus, this research begins with the following speculation:What if the radio platform was a witch’s device, enabling the drawing of the circle, in the sense given by Isabelle Stengers—namely, a temporarily enclosed space that allows [eco-feminist witches] to reclaim the powers they need ?

The main focus of this study concerns the contribution of focalisation to the creation of fictional worlds through the combination of the “building blocks” of a fictional world, namely the central focalising and focalised character(s), focalised social contexts, events and spaces, in Hermann Hesse’s Demian (1919), Narziß und Goldmund (1930), E.L. Doctorow’s Welcome to Hard Times (1960) and Homer & Langley (2009). The relationship between the focalisers and their social contexts influence their human, subjective perspectives and represented perceptions of their textual actual worlds. Focalisation is constructive in the synergistic relationship between the “building blocks” that leads to the creation of fictional worlds. Chapter 2 discusses the theoretical basis of the thesis which is formed by the concepts of M. Ryan, L. Doležel, R. Ronen and T.G. Pavel with regard to possible worlds and fictional worlds. G. Genette’s and M. Bal’s theories provide the foundation of this study with regard to this concept as regards focalisation. Chapter 3 contextualises focalisation and fictional worlds as possible worlds in Hesse’s and Doctorow’s fiction and as such constitutes part of a twofold basis for the following analyses and comparisons. Four textual analyses of the individual novels by Hesse and Doctorow then follow. In the textual analysis of Demian the notions of M. Bal, M. Ryan and A. Nünning provide a theoretical basis that is specifically relevant for the argument that through his consciousness the individual, Emil Sinclair, creates the fictional world, i.e. by “transforming” textual actual world components into individualised fictional world ones. The views of Viktor Frankl, feminist activists against prostitution such as M. Farley, M.A. Baldwin and C.A. MacKinnon as well as the views of Talcott Parsons (in conjunction with those of G.M. Platt and N.J. Smelser) offer a theoretical underpinning for the analysis of the social context as the product of the mindset in the community in Doctorow’s Welcome to Hard Times and the mindset of the focaliser, Blue, that concurs with the mindset of the community. Focalised events are considered as psychologically credible and as contributing to the fictional world in Hesse’s Narziß und Goldmund. In this textual analysis the theoretical points of departure were based on theories proposed by D. Cohn, M. Ryan and S. Chatman. Concepts advanced by J. Lothe, J. Lotman, H. Lefebvre, L. Doležel, N. Wolterstorff and D. Coste comprise the theoretical basis of the analysis of social spaces in Doctorow’s Homer & Langley. Chapter 8 consists of comparative analyses of the said focalised “building blocks” of Hesse’s and Doctorow’s novels. The analyses and comparisons argue that focalising characters “filter” their actual worlds and “transform” them through their individualistic and subjective representations, as actual people do. Even if characters are “non-actual individuals” their mindsets or physical, social and mental properties (Margolin, 1989:4) are like those of actual people, i.e. “psychologically credible”. Ryan (1991:45) identifies “psychological credibility” or “a plausible portrayal of human psychology” as an “accessibility relation”, i.e. one that allows the mental properties of a fictional character to be accessible from and possible for the actual world. The interaction between a focalising character and his social context that affects his consciousness and focalisation is comparable to the interaction between a hypothetical actual person and his social world, that would also influence his mindset and how he communicates about the actual world. Perspectives of characters such as Sinclair, Blue, Goldmund and Homer Collyer are recognisable to hypothetical actual world readers as psychologically credible. In the light of Bal’s (1990:9) argument that the whole text content is related to the (focalising) character(s), one could say that the elements of a textual actual world become, as it were, focalised “building blocks” of the fictional world. The central finding is that focalisation contributes to the creation of fictional worlds. The relationship between a fictional world and the actual one becomes apparent in literary texts through focalisation that transforms the textual actual world and its elements, i.e. the central (self-focalising) character, the social context, events and space(s), through a focaliser’s consciousness. The focaliser’s consciousness in Hesse’s and Doctorow’s fiction is marked by psychological credibility. A fictional world is comparable to the actual world with regard to other accessibility relations that Ryan (cf. 1991:31-47) identifies, but focalisation specifically allows a fictional world to become possible in actual world terms by creating credibility of this kind. A fictional world is plausible not in mimetic terms, as a factual text presents itself to be, but in possible terms, i.e. through the comparability of human psychology in fictional worlds and the actual world. Focalisation significantly contributes to the creation of a fictional world through the interaction between psychologically credible subjectivity and the imaginary level of the text on which the textual actual world obtains human value through focalisation. A fictional world is, in this sense, a possible world and, in fact, comes about through being a possible world.
Thesis (Ph.D. (Applied Language and Literary Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The genealogical connection that London so clearly draws between the Fire People and modern humans in Before Adam suggests the centrality of technology—most basically, the transformation of natural resources into tools and crafts—to his vision of human evolution and species dominance. Indeed, we can follow London’s technological focus from the prehistoric world of Before Adam to the author’s Klondike stories set in the primitive wild to urban dramas like The People of The Abyss (1903) and The Iron Heel (1908), which take as their environment the modern industrial metropolis. Tracking the movement of technology throughout these works illuminates London’s sense of the evolutionary trajectories possible for his own turn-of-the-century historical moment, the “machine age,” as he sometimes called it.

Many present-day Australians see the dingo as a threat and a pest to human production systems. An alternative viewpoint, which is more in tune with Indigenous culture, allows others to see the dingo as a means to improve human civilisation. The dingo has thus become trapped between the status of pest animal and totemic creature. This book helps readers to recognise this dichotomy, as a deeper understanding of dingo behaviour is now possible through new technologies which have made it easier to monitor their daily lives. Recent research on genetic structure has indicated that dingo ‘purity’ may be a human construct and the genetic relatedness of wild dingo packs has been analysed for the first time. GPS telemetry and passive camera traps are new technologies that provide unique ways to monitor movements of dingoes, and analyses of their diet indicate that dietary shifts occur during the different biological seasons of dingoes, showing that they have a functional role in Australian landscapes. Dingo brings together more than 50 years of observations to provide a comprehensive portrayal of the life of a dingo. Throughout this book dingoes are compared with other hypercarnivores, such as wolves and African wild dogs, highlighting the similarities between dingoes and other large canid species around the world.

ZusammenfassungMit dem anwachsenden Wolfsbestand nehmen auch die Übergriffe auf Nutztiere in Deutschland von Jahr zu Jahr zu. In einem Punkt sind sich Landwirtschaft, Naturschutz und Politik einig: Wolfsübergriffe auf Nutztiere sollen nachhaltig minimiert werden. Darüber, wie dieses Ziel am besten erreicht werden kann, gibt es jedoch unterschiedliche Ansichten. In der öffentlichen Debatte werden Forderungen nach einem vereinfachten Abschuss von Wölfen oder einer generellen Bejagung immer lauter. Dabei wird davon ausgegangen, dass durch solche Maßnahmen Nutztierschäden durch Wölfe nachhaltig minimiert werden könnten.Bevor Maßnahmen des Wildtiermanagements angewandt werden, braucht es klare Zielvorgaben. Die erste Frage muss daher lauten: Was ist das primäre Ziel der Managementmaßnahme? Auf Basis wissenschaftlicher Evidenz muss dann vorab evaluiert werden, ob die in Frage kommenden Maßnahmen geeignet sind, das Ziel zu erreichen. Dies ist zwingend, wenn die Maßnahmen auch das Töten von empfindungsfähigen und noch dazu streng geschützten Tieren beinhalten. Um überprüfen zu können, wie wirksam die gewählten Managementmaßnahmen im konkreten Einsatz sind, werden Kriterien zur Bewertung des Erfolgs benötigt.In diesem Kapitel gehen wir der Frage nach, welche Managementmaßnahmen nach aktuellem Wissensstand geeignet sind, das Ziel, Wolfsübergriffe auf Nutztiere nachhaltig zu minimieren, zu erreichen. Wir erläutern zunächst, warum Wölfe Nutztiere töten und ob es einen Zusammenhang zwischen der Anzahl der Wölfe und der Höhe der Nutztierschäden gibt. Dafür untersuchen wir unter anderem die Daten von Wolfsübergriffen auf Nutztiere in Deutschland. Anhand einer umfangreichen Literaturübersicht analysieren wir, ob die folgenden Managementmaßnahmen geeignet sind, Wolfsübergriffe auf Nutztiere nachhaltig zu minimieren: 1) eine generelle Bejagung von Wölfen, 2) die selektive Entnahme von einzelnen schadensverursachenden Wölfen und 3) nicht-letale Herdenschutzmethoden. Abschließend legen wir Empfehlungen zu einem evidenzbasierten und lösungsorientierten Wolfsmanagement in Bezug auf den Wolf-Nutztierkonflikt vor.In Deutschland steigen mit der Zunahme der Wolfsterritorien auch die Übergriffe auf Schafe und Ziegen. Allerdings unterscheidet sich die Stärke des Anstiegs zwischen den Bundesländern erheblich. Einzelne Bundesländer erreichen bei der gleichen Anzahl an Wolfsterritorien sehr unterschiedliche Schadensniveaus. Dies deutet darauf hin, dass das Ausmaß der Schäden nicht allein durch die Anzahl der Wölfe bestimmt wird. Wir vermuten, dass die Unterschiede im Schadensniveau vor allem in der unterschiedlichen Umsetzung von Herdenschutzmaßnahmen in den einzelnen Bundesländern begründet sind.Die Ergebnisse der Literaturrecherche bezüglich der Wirksamkeit von letalen und nicht-letalen Managementmaßnahmen zum Schutz von Nutztieren zeigen klar: Eine generelle Bejagung von Wölfen führt nicht zu einer Reduktion von Nutztierschäden. Es gibt keine wissenschaftlichen Belege dafür, dass durch eine Bejagung die Schäden deutlich und nachhaltig verringert werden, es sein denn, der Bestand wird drastisch reduziert oder ganz ausgelöscht. Das ist in Deutschland und in der Europäischen Union bei aktueller Rechtslage nicht möglich. Im Gegensatz zu einer undifferenzierten Bejagung des Wolfs kann der gezielte Abschuss von Einzeltieren wirksam sein, wenn es sich tatsächlich um Individuen handelt, die gelernt haben, empfohlene funktionstüchtige Schutzmaßnahmen zu überwinden. Allerdings sind solche Fälle selten, und es ist schwierig in der freien Natur, ein bestimmtes Individuum sicher zu identifizieren und zu töten. Nicht-letale Herdenschutzmaßnahmen sind im Vergleich zu letalen Maßnahmen deutlich besser geeignet, eine nachhaltige Reduktion der Schäden zu erreichen. Der einzige Weg, um in Koexistenz mit Wölfen eine dauerhafte Reduktion von Schäden an Nutztieren zu erreichen, ist die fachgerechte Umsetzung von Herdenschutzmaßnahmen in breiter Fläche. Übergriffe auf Nutztiere lassen sich zwar auch dadurch nicht vollständig verhindern, sie können jedoch durch korrekt angewandte Herdenschutzmaßnahmen deutlich reduziert werden.Das Wissen, wie Schäden an Weidetieren durch Herdenschutzmaßnahmen verringert werden können, ist auch in Deutschland vorhanden. Viele Tierhaltende haben hier inzwischen ein hohes Maß an Fachkompetenz entwickelt. Die Erfahrung aus den vergangenen 20 Jahren zeigt allerdings auch, dass die Auszahlung von Fördergeldern für Herdenschutzmittel allein nicht ausreicht, um die Anzahl der Übergriffe deutlich zu senken. Es muss auch gewährleistet werden, dass die fachliche Expertise für die korrekte Anwendung und Wartung zur Verfügung steht. Vor allem in Gebieten mit Prädations-Hotspots sollte aktiv auf die Tierhaltenden zugegangen werden und sollten die Gründe für die vermehrten Übergriffe analysiert und abgestellt werden.Bisher fehlen aus Deutschland Daten zur Funktionstüchtigkeit der geförderten und im Einsatz befindlichen Schutzmaßnahmen. Solche Daten sind notwendig, um zu verstehen, warum trotz steigender Präventionsausgaben die Nutztierschäden teilweise auch in Gebieten mit jahrelanger Wolfspräsenz nicht zurückgehen. Sie sind zudem die Grundlage für wissenschaftliche Studien zu möglichen Unterschieden in der Wirksamkeit verschiedener Herdenschutzmethoden. Daten zur Funktionstüchtigkeit von geförderten Herdenschutzmaßnahmen sollten zumindest stichprobenartig gesammelt werden, unabhängig davon, ob es in dem jeweiligen Gebiet Wolfsübergriffe gibt. Neben der Untersuchung der rein technischen Aspekte des Herdenschutzes ist es ebenso wichtig herauszufinden, wie die Akzeptanz gegenüber Herdenschutzmaßnahmen bei den Tierhaltenden verbessert und deren Eigenmotivation erhöht werden kann. Hierfür sind Daten zur Umsetzbarkeit und Akzeptanz der eingesetzten Herdenschutzmaßnahmen erforderlich. Nutztierhaltende sollten schon in die Konzeption entsprechender Studien mit eingebunden werden, um sicherzustellen, dass die Fragen untersucht werden, deren Beantwortung für sie am dringendsten ist.Der Weg von einem emotionsbasierten zu einem evidenzbasierten Wolfsmanagement führt über wissenschaftlich robuste Daten und Analysen. Entsprechende Untersuchungen sind nur in enger Zusammenarbeit zwischen Weidetierhaltung und Wissenschaft möglich. Basierend auf der Fachkompetenz und den praktischen Erfahrungen der Weidetierhaltenden kann die Wissenschaft helfen, die Herdenschutzmaßnahmen zu identifizieren und weiterzuentwickeln, die Nutztierübergriffe am effektivsten reduzieren.SummaryAs the wolf population grows, the number of attacks on livestock in Germany also increases from year to year. Agriculture, nature conservation and politics agree on one point: that wolf attacks on livestock should be reduced sustainably. However, there are differing views on how this goal can best be achieved. In the public debate, calls for simplified shooting of wolves or general hunting are becoming louder and louder. The assumption is that such measures could sustainably reduce livestock damage caused by wolves.Before wildlife management measures are applied, clear objectives are needed. The first question, therefore, must be: What is the primary objective of the management measure? Based on scientific evidence, it must be evaluated in advance whether the measures under consideration are suitable for achieving the objective. This is mandatory if the measures include the killing of sentient animals, particularly if they are strictly protected. Criteria for evaluating if the objective was reached are needed in order to be able to verify how effective the selected management measures are when applied.In this chapter, we address the question of which management measures are suitable, based on current knowledge, to achieve the goal of sustainably reducing wolf attacks on livestock. We first explain why wolves kill livestock and whether there is a relationship between the number of wolves and the amount of livestock damage. To do this, we examine, among other things, data on wolf attacks on livestock in Germany. Based on an extensive literature review, we analyse whether the following management measures are suitable to sustainably reduce wolf attacks on livestock: 1) a general hunting of wolves, 2) the selective removal of individual wolves causing damage, and 3) non-lethal livestock protection methods. Finally, we present recommendations for evidence-based and solution-oriented wolf management with respect to wolf-livestock conflict.In Germany, as wolf territories increase, attacks on sheep and goats also increase. However, the magnitude of the increase differs considerably among the federal states. Individual federal states achieve very different levels of damage with the same number of wolf territories. This suggests that the extent of damage is not solely determined by the number of wolves. We suspect that the differences in damage levels are mainly due to the different implementation of livestock protection measures in the individual federal states.The results of the literature review regarding the effectiveness of lethal and non-lethal management measures to protect livestock clearly show that general hunting of wolves does not reduce livestock damage. There is no scientific evidence that hunting significantly and sustainably reduces damage, unless the wolf population is drastically reduced or completely eradicated. This is not possible in Germany and in the European Union under the current legal situation. In contrast to an undifferentiated hunting of the wolf, the targeted shooting of individual animals can be effective if they are actually individuals that have learned to overcome recommended functional livestock protection measures. However, such cases are rare and it is difficult in the field to safely identify and kill a specific individual. Non-lethal livestock protection measures are much better at achieving sustained reductions in damage compared to lethal measures. The only way to achieve a lasting reduction of damage to livestock in coexistence with wolves is the professional implementation of livestock protection measures on a broad scale. Non-lethal livestock protection measures do not completely prevent attacks on livestock. However, if correctly applied they can significantly reduce wolf caused damages on livestock.The knowledge of how to reduce livestock depredation by wolves through herd protection measures is also available in Germany. Many livestock farmers have developed a high level of expertise in this field. However, experience from the past 20 years also shows that the funding of livestock protection measures alone is not enough to significantly reduce the number of wolf attacks. It is also necessary to ensure that technical expertise is available for proper application and maintenance of the measures. Especially in areas with predation hotspots, livestock owners should be actively approached and the reasons for increased attacks analysed and remedied.To date, there is a lack of data from Germany on the functionality of funded and applied protection measures. Such data are necessary to understand why, despite increasing prevention expenditures, livestock damage has not decreased in some cases, even in areas where wolves have been present for years. Moreover, such data are the basis for scientific studies on possible differences in the effectiveness of different livestock protection methods. Data on the functionality of funded protection measures should be collected at least on a random basis, regardless of whether there are wolf attacks in the respective area. In addition to investigating the purely technical aspects of herd protection, it is equally important to find out how the acceptance towards livestock protection measures can be improved among livestock owners and how their self-motivation can be increased. This requires data on the feasibility and acceptance of the applied protection measures. Livestock keepers should be involved already in the conception of appropriate studies to ensure that the investigations will answer the most urgent questions for them.The path from emotion-based to evidence-based wolf management is through scientifically robust data and analysis. Appropriate research is only possible through close collaboration between livestock owners and science. Based on the expertise and practical experience of farmers, science can help identify and improve the livestock protection measures that most effectively reduce wolf attacks on livestock.

In addition to the functional, anatomical, and paleopathological reflections of the biology and behavior of the Sunghir humans, it has been possible to make indirect inferences regarding their average dietary profiles. These considerations derive from the mineral compositions of bone samples from Sunghir 1 to 4 (Kozlovskaya 2000d), carbon and nitrogen stable isotope data from the bone collagen of Sunghir 1 to 3 (Richards et al. 2001; Dobrovolskaya et al. 2012), and postcanine buccal microwear for Sunghir 1 to 3 (Pinilla 2012; Pinilla and Trinkaus in press). As noted in chapter 2, the site contained an abundance of large mammal remains, of which the bison, horse, saiga, and especially reindeer remains were undoubtedly brought to the site for human consumption. There was also an abundance of mammoth remains. There has been an ongoing debate as to the extent to which the mammoth remains, found at a number of central and eastern European and Siberian Mid Upper Paleolithic (MUP) sites, reflect human consumption, are largely incidental to the human presence having accumulating along the banks of gullies and streams, and/or were gathered from the landscape for use as raw material and even fuel (e.g., Soffer 1985; Derevianko et al. 2000; Svoboda et al. 2005; Wojtal and Wilczyński 2013). Systematic taphonomic analysis of the Sunghir faunal assemblage has not been undertaken, but Bader (1978) did notice the differential presence of mammoth skeletal elements at Sunghir, suggesting differential transport of body portions presumably for human consumption. Moreover, the mammoth bones were distributed through the cultural layer and apparently did not exist as a bone accumulation on the periphery of the site. At the same time, the faunal profile of the cultural layer contained a diversity of carnivores, of which the cave lions, wolves, and possibly brown bears could have been partially responsible for some of the herbivore remains at the site. It is possible that humans were hunting and eating the bears, given occasional cutmarks on bear bones at other MUP sites (Wojtal 2000; Münzel and Conard 2004).

All too often, we see our evolutionary past as some inevitable ladder of progression. In considering our emotional connections, it is easy to imagine that the increased external friendliness and sensitivity seen in ‘modern’ humans represents some progressive or superior development from a more aggressive past. However, a close consideration of how external friendliness changes in closely related species reveals a far more complex picture, with advantages and disadvantages to different evolutionary pathways, each displaying a different type of prosocial or collaborative behaviour. There are always many possible evolutionary pathways, affecting brains, bodies and behaviours. Here, however, we focus on simple contrasts in the adaptive routes followed within our nearest living relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos, and those within our closest friends, wolves and dogs. This brings some insights into how an increased openness, and the capacities to develop new external bonds, may have evolved. We reveal that each evolutionary pathway brought both advantages and disadvantages, depending on context, rather than any specific pathway being a progression. Our similar physiological and behavioural adaptations under pressures to be more tolerant (discussed in Part 2) suggest that the same processes that occurred in these species also affected humans. An understanding of our evolutionary past as one of different alternative trajectories, and of possibilities and constraints along these, helps to frame our understanding of the process of human evolution, and the story of our origins.

Abstract The New Minster Charter was written in 966 to commemorate and perpetuate the replacement of secular clergy with Benedictine monks at the New Minster, Winchester, which had been achieved through the agency of King Edgar (959-75). This was a controversial affair, and the document is correspondingly unusual (Pl. 2). The lengthy text in hermeneutic Latin, for which Bishop JE the wold of Winchester himself (963-84) may well have been responsible, describes the spiritual implications and the practical details of the new settlement, and attempts to sanctify and hence legitimize the arrangement in the most powerful way possible-by casting the affair into a cosmic perspective of the fall and redemption of mankind. The designer of the document realized precisely the same aim by preparing it according to the format of a supremely de luxe liturgical book. This is the ultimate development of the well-attested practice of adding sacred authority to a record by copying it into a gospel book.

Recent terror acts took place in cities like Sydney, Australia; New York, U.S.A.; Ottawa, Canada; Oslo, Norway, Copenhagen, Denmark and more. These events were carried out by individuals who acted alone, the so called “lone wolf”. The motivations of these loners vary. For some, their relationship with society provided the backdrop for violence. Many of them were left behind and became the “black sheep” of society. Urban terrorism and especially lone actor terrorism has become an important phenomena and a significant threat to urban society worldwide. This behavior of some of the terrorists is rooted in their low quality of life and in their inability to integrate into society. This paper first discusses the roots of loneliness of individuals in modern urban areas and then examines the approach of “new urbanism” as a possible solution to address this phenomenon.

Abstract Many problems in multidimensional data analysis involve the optimization of quadratic functions, due to the common assumption of normally distributed errors, together with the prevalence of linear and bilinear models. By present standards, the resulting optimization problems are of moderate complexity, frequently involving the search for eigenvectors and eigenval ues, or projections of vectors on subspaces. Even in fairly complicated situations, such as for example generalized canonical correlation analysis with optimal scaling of the variables (Van der Burg, De Leeuw, and Verde gaal, 1988), it is often possible, by partitioning the parameter space into convenient regions, to split the problem into a connected series of simpler subproblems so that monotonic convergence to at least a local minimum remains guaranteed. This approach is called NIPALS (Wold, 1966), for Nonlinear Iterative PArtial Least Squares, or ALS (De Leeuw, Young, and Takane, 1976), for Alternating Least Squares, and is strongly related to the Gauss-Seidel and block decomposition (or relaxation) methods, which are well-known in numerical analysis for iteratively solving linear systems (e.g., Burden and Faires, 1985).

Ancient werewolf thinking was strongly articulated in accordance with an axis between an inside and an outside, in three ways. First, the werewolf was often understood as a combination of an outer carapace and an inner core: more often the human element formed the carapace, and the lupine element the core, but the opposite arrangement could also obtain. Usually the humanoid carapace was identified, awkwardly, with the werewolf’s human clothing, and the wolf was revealed once this was shed; but sometimes, perhaps, the wolf could be more deeply buried within, as in the cases of those, like Aristomenes, that boasted a hairy heart. The inner and outer form could be pinned together, as it were, by an identifying wound; it is also possible that the belief that a wound could force a werewolf back into human form existed already in the ancient world. Secondly, a werewolf transformation, in either direction, could be effected by the taking of a foodstuff within the body: a man could be transformed into a werewolf by eating an (enchanted?) piece of bread, or the food most appropriate to a wolf, human flesh; he could be transformed back into a man either by abstinence from human flesh or by the equal-and-opposite process of eating a wolf’s heart. And, thirdly, it was the impulse of the werewolf, when transformed from man to wolf, to make a bolt from the inner places of humanity and civilisation for the outer places of the wilderness and the forest.

Abstract “You had better put on plenty of clothes,” was the friendly caution I received from my companion as I entered the dressing-room. “ The thermometer marks 20 degrees below zero (Reaumur), and there is a wind.” People in this country who have never experienced a Russian winter have little idea of the difference even a slight breeze makes when the mercury stands low in the thermometer, for the wind then cuts through you, furs and all, and penetrates to the very bones. Determining to be on my guard against the frost, I dressed myself, as I thought, as warmly as possible, and so as to be utterly impervious to the elements.

In terms of human–animal relationships, pigs are perhaps one of the most iconic but also paradoxical domestic animals. On the one hand, they are praised for their fecundity, their intelligence, and their ability to eat almost anything, but on the other hand, they are unfairly derided for their apparent slovenliness, unclean ways, and gluttonous behaviour. In complete contrast, their ancestor (the wild boar) is perceived as a noble beast of the forest whose courage and ferocity has been famed and feared throughout human history. The relationship of wild boar and pig with humans has been a long and varied one. Archaeological evidence clearly shows that wild boar were important prey animals for early hunter-gatherers across wide areas of Eurasia for millennia. During the early Holocene, however, this simple predator–prey relation evolved into something much more complex as wild boar, along with several other mammal species, became key players in one of the most dramatic episodes in human history: the shift from hunting and gathering to agriculture, involving the domestication of plants and animals. From that moment, wild boar turned into pigs and became much more than mere components of human subsistence strategies. They were key entities in the complex cultural development of some human societies around the world and played an important role in the history of human dispersal. Interestingly, the consumption of pork also became (and still remains) perhaps the most celebrated, and widespread, case of dietary proscription. In terms of their relationships with humans, pigs are victims of their own success. Even more than wolves, they are highly adaptable and generalized omnivores, which means that they have a range of possible relationships with humans that is perhaps wider and more complex than for most other animal species. In fact, the biology and behaviour of pigs present a number of special challenges to their study, in addition to offering opportunities to further understand aspects of human history. The concept of this book grew out of an international workshop, entitled ‘Pigs and Humans’, held over the weekend of 26–28 September 2003, at Walworth Castle, County Durham, UK.

In the context of the health emergency generated by the COVID19 pandemic, authors investigate the way in which the Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iasi (TUIASI) addressed this big challenge with respect to the fields of education and administration. After providing an overview of activity changes since the installing of the pandemic situation to the current situation, the aim of this paper is to explore the opportunity for crisis breakthrough proposals in the sense of education and business models for TUIASI. To this end, the paper accounts for the post-COVID19 higher education scenarios existing in the literature, i.e., passing storm, good company, sunrise in the east, lone wolves. The main university models comprise: the Traditional University (bricks-and-mortar institution, face-to-face oral and written communication), enhanced with Blended Learning approaches (online platforms used as means to complement the educational resources and information exchange); Online University (where the physical infrastructure is used only for administrative purposes, while for education it is replaced by connected computing platforms supporting the whole processes), that evolved from distance education and aims towards MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses); Virtual University (purely online or hybrid approaches possible), that reflects the principle of different entities sharing their core competences to form a Virtual Organization. The authors' methodology includes the exploration and systematization of the post-COVID19 higher education scenarios in parallel to the university models exposed by the literature. The main outcome of the paper consists then in the critical analysis of each model against the previsioned scenarios with respect to the TUIASI objectives related to the learner, teacher, learning environment and education, exposing for each of them the benefits and drawbacks as well as possible improvement proposals.

In developed countries there is a valuable experience how to include people with disabilities into society: involve in several activities and let them know as people valuable for the society. More and more academic research is devoted to those aspects as well as public policy is developed to create and support social entrepreneurship. Aim of the paper is to analyse findings and good practice of employment of people with mental disabilities in several countries and analyse the situation and possible developments on employment of people with mental disabilities in Latvia. Tasks of research: 1) analyse results of academic findings on good practice and challenges in employment of people with mental disabilities wold-wide; 2) analyse the developments and trends on employment of people with mental disabilities in Latvia; 3) propose possible development scenarios on employment of people with mental disabilities in Latvia. Research methods used in research: scientific publications analysis; analysis of legislative documents on employment of people with mental disabilities, analysis of statistical data on employment of people with mental disabilities. Research results have shown that in recent years many important steps in employment of people with mental disabilities in Latvia has been reached but there are some difficulties in realise of sustainability in this aspect.

During routine inspection of an N5 feedwater nozzle dissimilar metal weld (DMW) of a BWR, an axial flaw was detected in the weld. The flaw was mitigated by applying a full structural weld overlay (WOL) repair consisting of Alloy 52M weld metal and using the gas tungsten arc welding process (GTAW). Because of the ductile nature and very high toughness of the Alloy 52M material, the limit load approach of ASME Code, Section XI, Appendix C was used for the sizing of the overlay. The use of limit load for the design of weld overlays for Alloy 52M material is supported by several studies documented in the industry [1]. In order to address other fracture failure modes such as failure by ductile tearing and brittle fracture, a failure assessment diagram (FAD) approach was used to evaluate the acceptability of the weld overlay design. FADs have been used for evaluating flaws in piping components, but not for acceptance of flaws in WOLs. The FAD evaluation was performed in accordance with the ASME Code, Section XI, Appendix H requirements which address brittle fracture, elastic-plastic fracture mechanics (ductile tearing), and limit load failure modes. The applicable stress combinations were used in combination with the materials JR resistance curve to determine flaw acceptability at the end of the evaluation period. The evaluation considered the presence of both a circumferential flaw (360° around the circumference and 100% through the original pipe wall; the design basis for the full structural weld overlay) and an axial flaw. For both circumferential and axial flaws, several assessment points corresponding to the JR resistance curve were determined and plotted on the FAD curve for austenitic steels in ASME Section XI, Appendix H. The FAD curve in Appendix H was derived based on strength properties of stainless steel and is considered conservative in application to Alloy 52M since Alloy 52M has higher strength. All the assessment points were found to be below the FAD curve thus indicating the acceptability of the weld overlay with consideration to all the three possible fracture regimes.

In February 2023, the wolf population was likely composed of 31 wolves. This is a slight increase from last year’s estimate of 28 wolves (Fig. 1). The wolf population includes an East Pack with 11 wolves, a West Pack with five wolves, three groups of at least three wolves each, and several other wolves that are either loners or only loosely affiliated with one of the smaller groups. There is evidence that pups were born into three, possibly four, litters in April 2022. For context, no litters are thought to have been born between 2015 and 2018. However, following the translocation of wolves to Isle Royale between 2018 and 2019, one litter was born in 2019, two litters were born in both 2020 and 2021, and possibly four litters were born in 2022. Thus, the reproductive success of the wolf population has steadily increased over the last five years. The per-capita kill rate, which is an indication of the rate that wolves acquire food, was 0.52 moose per wolf per month. That rate is somewhat lower than last year’s estimate of 0.71, but similar to what is expected given the number of wolves and moose currently on the island. The estimated abundance of moose is 967, which is a 28 percent decline from last year’s estimate of 1,346. Longer-term population trends suggest that the moose population had increased greatly over an eight-year period (2011-2019) but then started to decline rapidly over the last few years. The proportion of the moose population that is newly recruited individuals (i.e., nine-month-old calves in February) was 1.7 percent, which is very low compared to the long-term average. Predation rate was estimated to be 10 percent, which is similar to last year’s estimate and close to the long-term average. While predation and low recruitment were important contributors to the moose decline, starvation also played an important role.