Providing baseline data for conservation–Heart rate monitoring in captive scimitar-horned oryx

Heart rate biologging has been successfully used to study wildlife responses to natural and human-caused stressors (e.g., hunting, landscape of fear). Although rarely deployed to inform conservation, heart rate biologging may be particularly valuable for assessing success in wildlife reintroductions. We conducted a case study for testing and validating the use of subcutaneous heart rate monitors in eight captive scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dammah), a once-extinct species that is currently being restored to the wild. We evaluated biologger safety and accuracy while collecting long-term baseline data and assessing factors explaining variation in heart rate. None of the biologgers were rejected after implantation, with successful data capture for 16–21 months. Heart rate detection accuracy was high (83%–99%) for six of the individuals with left lateral placement of the biologgers. We excluded data from two individuals with a right lateral placement because accuracies were below 60%. Average heart rate for the six scimitar-horned oryx was 60.3 ± 12.7 bpm, and varied by about 12 bpm between individuals, with a minimum of 31 bpm and a maximum of 188 bpm across individuals. Scimitar-horned oryx displayed distinct circadian rhythms in heart rate and activity. Heart rate and activity were low early in the morning and peaked near dusk. Circadian rhythm in heart rate and activity were relatively unchanged across season, but hourly averages for heart rate and activity were higher in spring and summer, respectively. Variation in hourly heart rate averages was best explained by a combination of activity, hour, astronomical season, ambient temperature, and an interaction term for hour and season. Increases in activity appeared to result in the largest changes in heart rate. We concluded that biologgers are safe and accurate and can be deployed in free-ranging and reintroduced scimitar-horned oryx. In addition to current monitoring practices of reintroduced scimitar-horned oryx, the resulting biologging data could significantly aid in 1) evaluating care and management action prior to release, 2) characterizing different animal personalities and how these might affect reintroduction outcomes for individual animals, and 3) identifying stressors after release to determine their timing, duration, and impact on released animals. Heart rate monitoring in released scimitar-horned oryx may also aid in advancing our knowledge about how desert ungulates adapt to extreme environmental variation in their habitats (e.g., heat, drought)

Behind Closed Lock Screens: How Terrorists are Taking Advantage of Encryption

The creation of the internet and the many advances that have followed have made the world a more complicated, and in some ways, more dangerous place. Terrorists have taken advantage of the growing technology, and are now using blogs, forums, and other innovations to further their goals. One of these innovations is encrypted messaging. Nowadays people can utilize online applications to send instant messages to each other in a format that is impossible to decipher if intercepted. Through data collection and analysis, this paper examines what applications are being used, what groups are using them, and for what purposes. It looks at the differences in how each active terrorist group uses the encryption applications and, based on findings, suggests new measures for policy makers when requesting decryption tools for law enforcement

The Learner Revolution: How Colleges Can Thrive in a New Skills and Competencies Marketplace

Higher education is in the throes of a learner revolution that will fundamentally change the way students and institutions interact. Work-relevant skills and competencies should be at the center of institutional leaders’ plans as they strive to meet students’ expectations, says this report. The report includes five models that traditional institutions can use to meet the changing demands of today’s learners.Education Design La

Energy-Efficient Dry-Type Distribution Transformers: New Opportunities to Cut Energy Bills and Lock-in Long-Term Energy Savings

Nearly 90% of the electricity that powers the industrial sector flows through dry-type distribution transformers. These transformers are very efficient- most convert in excess of 95% of input power to output power. However, because transformers are generally energized 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, even small efficiency improvements can yield big energy and dollar savings for power users. Until now, energy-efficient dry-type transformers have been hard to identify. As a result, most users either have failed to specify efficiency at all or relied on the imperfect indicator of low temperature rise. Most manufactures have not offered an "energy-efficient" product line. Now, the National Electrical Manufacturers' Association (NEMA), the transformer manufacturers' trade association, has published a standard defining energy-efficient transformers. This new standard, NEMA standard TP-1, makes it easier for vendors, specifiers, contractors and end-users to identify and determine the cost-effectiveness of energy-efficient transformers. In addition, some manufacturers are beginning to offer equipment lines specifically designed to meet the energy efficiency levels defined in NEMA standard TP-1