A new monotypic genus Tanopicobia gen. nov. is established for a new species Tanopicobia trachyphoni sp. nov., parasitizing Trachyphonus erythrocephalus Cabanis, 1878 (Piciformes: Lybiidae) from ...Tanzania. In phylogenetic analyses based on morphological data and constructed using the maximum parsimony approach, this taxon falls within the subfamily Picobiinae Johnston and Kethley, 1973 in the Neopicobia-species-group as closely related to the genus Pipicobia Glowska and Schmidt, 2014. Tanopicobia differs from Pipicobia by the following features in females: genital setae absent; setae ve are situated far and posteromedial to the level of setal bases vi; setae 3a are thick and knobbed. Additionally, a new generic key for subfamily Picobiinae is constructed and general host-parasite ecological and phylogenetic relationships are discussed. Picobiines are present in several lineages of neoavian birds, from basal Galloanseres to terminal Telluraves, which are infested by 70 (89.7% of all) species of these ectoparasites.
In today’s era, the e-government plays a significant role in providing better services to citizens. As a result, citizens are crucial in ensuring the success of the e-government and are involved in ...the government’s policies. Hence, the protection of personal information must be taken into consideration when designing any e-government model. Previous studies have shown that privacy and security are the main challenges in implementing an e-government in developing countries. This study aims to evaluate an e-government stage model that is proposed based on protecting personal information in developing countries. The methodology of this study uses SOAR (Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results) analysis to evaluate the stages and combines it with the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to determine the feasibility of the model. The results of the study show that the model is acceptable and suitable for adoption. Therefore, the model is a viable option for implementing an e-government in developing countries.
Timing of menarche has largely been studied in the context of a secular trend. However, since mortality and fertility rates are fundamental demographic factors linked to a population's developmental ...and reproductive characteristics, we expect that the timing of menarche, a precondition to reproduction, is also associated with these vital rates. We conduct an analysis of 89 countries and 21 demographic, socioeconomic, nutritional, and educational variables selected for their known influence on menarche. Model results predict that a country's fertility and adult female mortality rates are significant predictors of mean age at menarche, while other covariates are not. Specifically, menarche is delayed in countries with high mortality and high fertility, which may be proxies for assessing overall environmental quality. We emphasize that, for a comprehensive understanding of the timing of menarche, it is critical to take into account both individual- and population-level influences.
In terms of service provision, the electricity sector is the most important critical infrastructure sector, on the supply of which the vast majority of society and its basic vital functions depend. ...Extensive disruption of these supplies would have negative effects not only on basic human needs, but also on the economy and security of the state. For this reason, it is necessary to ensure permanent and comprehensive monitoring of the infrastructure elements resilience level, especially against threats with a multispectral impact on several areas of security. For this reason, the authors of the article developed the Converged Resilience Assessment (CRA) method, which enables advanced assessment of the electricity critical infrastructure elements resilience from the converged security point of view. Converged security in this case combines (converges) physical, cyber and operational security into a complementary unit. This reflects the integral determinants of resilience across related areas of security/safety. The CRA method focuses mainly on information and situation management, which integrates and correlates information (signals) from systems and sensors in order to obtain an overview of the situation and the subsequent effective management of its solution. The practical use of the proposed method is demonstrated on a selected element of the Czech Republic transmission system. The CRA method is currently embodied in a functional sample that has been piloted on several TSO elements. Further development of this method is seen mainly in fulfilling the logic of network infrastructure and reflection between elementary and intersectoral links in the context of synergistic and cascading effects in a broader context.
Power outages present a significant threat to all of humanity. However, elements of critical infrastructure are most affected by this event. Among other things, healthcare facilities can be ...considered critical infrastructure. They are the backbone for saving lives. However, even these medical facilities can be endangered. The primary aim of this paper is to design an algorithm to assess healthcare facilities to solve power outages. Several inputs are considered for the evaluation of healthcare facilities. Based on these inputs, we could gain several outputs, such as object priority, preparedness of the healthcare facility, missing aggregate capacity and fuel stocks. Calculations to obtain this information are available in this article. This algorithm follows up the methodology for the categorisation and prioritisation of objects necessary for the resumption of electricity supply after a blackout. We conclude that only 15% of the surveyed healthcare facilities are prepared for a power outage.
As the number of threats and the severity of their impact increases, an ever greater emphasis is being placed on the protection of critical infrastructure. Thus, the issue of resilience, or its ...assessment and strengthening, is increasingly coming to the fore. The resilience assessment of critical infrastructure, especially in the energy sector, has received considerable attention due to the high level of interest in this issue. However, the issue of strengthening resilience poses a significant challenge not only in the energy sector but also in the entire critical infrastructure system. Despite the great importance of this area, there is not a large number of authors moving in this direction and paying attention to resilience-strengthening tools. For this reason, the aim of this article is to provide the reader with a comprehensive methodological overview of resilience strengthening in the critical energy infrastructure sector. This article also provides an overview of internal and external tools suitable for strengthening resilience and presents a possible procedure for their application to energy critical infrastructure elements.
Abstract Animals living close to human settlements more often experience disturbance, but also reduced predation risk. Because an escape response is costly, behavioural adjustments of animals in ...terms of increased tolerance of humans occurs and is often reported in the literature. However, most such studies have been conducted in and around long-existing cities in Europe and North America, on well-established animal populations. Here, we investigate the degree of tolerance of human disturbance across 132 bird species occurring in disturbed (small farms) and undisturbed (intact wetlands and grasslands) areas in Pantanal, Mato Grosso (Brazil), a region with only a very recent history of human-induced disturbance. We found a clear across-species trend toward higher tolerance of human disturbance in birds near farms when compared with birds in wild areas. Such a flexible and perhaps also rapid emergence of tolerance when facing small-scale and very recent human disturbance presumably involves learning and might be attributed to behavioural plasticity. The ability of birds to modify their degree of tolerance of human disturbance may play a key role in the facilitation of wildlife–human coexistence.
Due to the biological uniqueness of the Galápagos Islands, ectoparasites of their avian fauna are relatively well-studied compared with other oceanic islands. However, in this study, quill mites ...(Acariformes: Prostigmata: Syringophilidae) were investigated for the first time in this archipelago. We investigated 7 species (out of 9) and 133 specimens of Darwin’s Finches of the genus Geospiza. Quill mite parasites were confirmed in two host species, Vampire Ground-Finch G. septentrionalis (Prevalence Index = 5%) and Small Ground-Finch G. fuliginosa (PI = 4%). Both hosts were infested by a new mite species, Aulonastus darwini sp. n., inhabiting the quills of their contour feathers. The host–parasite relationship is discussed.
Current research on smart cities is primarily focused on the area of applicability of information and communication technologies. However, in the context of a multidisciplinary approach, it is also ...necessary to pay attention to the resilience and converged security of individual infrastructures. Converged security represents a particular security type based on a selected spectrum of certain convergent security types of, assuming the creation of a complementary whole. Considering the outputs of the analysis of security breaches manifestations, this kind of security makes it possible to detect emerging security breaches earlier (still in the symptom stage), thus providing a more efficient and targeted solution suitable for building smart city infrastructure. In its essence, the article refers to the practical application of the converged security theoretical principles presented in the publication to a functional sample, deployed and tested in practical conditions in context of selected smart city infrastructure protection and resilience. Considering the nature of the practical application, the convergence of a wider spectrum of smart security alarm systems in the resilience assessment context is defined. In the beginning, the general principles of security/safety and the need for their convergence are presented. In this context, the mathematical model called Converged Resilience Assessment (CRA) method is presented for better understanding. Subsequently, Physical Security Information Management (PSIM) and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems are described as a technological concept that can be used for resilience assessment. The most beneficial part is the structural, process, and functional description of the Converged Security and Information Management System (CSIM) using the concept of smart security alarm systems converged security.
Technical sectors compose an inseparable and elementary part of a complex critical infrastructure (CI) system. Their provided services are essential to the functioning of all of the dependent sectors ...of CI on which society and states depend, especially in areas experiencing high levels of urbanisation. The initial point for effective CI elements’ protection is the permanent assessment and strengthening of their capacity for resilience to the negative effects of internal and external threats. The current perceptions of resilience focus primarily on repressive components responsive to incidents (i.e., robustness, recoverability, and adaptability), while minimal attention is paid to the preventative components. The article’s contribution to this literature gap is its definition of resistance, which can be considered as a CI element’s ability to prevent the occurrence of incidents. To this goal, the current study defines (1) the individual factors (variables and parameters) determining CI resistance and (2) the methodological procedure for infrastructure element resistance assessment in order to identify the weak points throughout a complex CI system and subsequently strengthen them. Moreover, a practical example of resistance assessment for a selected critical energy infrastructure element is presented. The main outcome of this article is the definition of the primary steps for the expansion of the CIERA method, via the enhancement of CI components’ resilience capacity in the prevention phase.
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