Flying Camelot Hankins, Michael W
2021, 2021-12-15
eBook
Flying Camelot brings us back to the post-Vietnam era, when the US Air Force launched two new, state-of-the art fighter aircraft: the F-15 Eagle and the F-16 Fighting Falcon. It was an era when ...debates about aircraft superiority went public—and these were not uncontested discussions. Michael W. Hankins delves deep into the fighter pilot culture that gave rise to both designs, showing how a small but vocal group of pilots, engineers, and analysts in the Department of Defense weaponized their own culture to affect technological development and larger political change. The design and advancement of the F-15 and F-16 reflected this group's nostalgic desire to recapture the best of World War I air combat. Known as the "Fighter Mafia, " and later growing into the media savvy political powerhouse "Reform Movement, " it believed that American weapons systems were too complicated and expensive, and thus vulnerable. The group's leader was Colonel John Boyd, a contentious former fighter pilot heralded as a messianic figure by many in its ranks. He and his group advocated for a shift in focus from the multi-role interceptors the Air Force had designed in the early Cold War towards specialized air-to-air combat dogfighters. Their influence stretched beyond design and into larger politicized debates about US national security, debates that still resonate today. A biography of fighter pilot culture and the nostalgia that drove decision- making, Flying Camelot deftly engages both popular culture and archives to animate the movement that shook the foundations of the Pentagon and Congress.
Flood mitigation efforts (flood fighting), including raising awareness among local residents, have been crucial in Japan to reduce damage during flood events. In this study, interviews were conducted ...with three flood fighting management bodies on the Yodo and Yamato Rivers, which still have strong flood fighting corps, and field investigations were performed focusing on the actual operation of flood fighting warehouses, which serve as infrastructure bases for flood fighting. Targets included the flood fighting affairs associations on the left and right banks for the Yodo River and that on the right bank for the Yamato River. The survey results showed that with the progress of flood control measures and river improvement, opportunities to conduct actual flood fighting work during floods decreased in all cases in recent years, but flood fighting techniques and knowledge were passed on through exercises and drills. In addition, the flood fighting warehouses were well managed and maintained their functions as material and equipment storage places and as waiting and meeting places for flood fighting corps members. Considering the intensification of external flood forces due to future extreme weather changes, it was deemed that the role of the flood fighting corps is expected to increase in importance, and it was judged that preparations were being made to respond to this trend. On the other hand, there were some challenges in terms of securing a sufficient number of members due to the shortage resulting from the aging of the corps members and maintaining warehouses from a budgetary standpoint.
Because of their rapid maneuverability, extended operational range, and improved personnel safety, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with vision-based systems have great potential for monitoring, ...detecting, and fighting forest fires. Over the last decade, UAV-based forest fire fighting technology has shown increasing promise. This paper presents a systematic overview of current progress in this field. First, a brief review of the development and system architecture of UAV systems for forest fire monitoring, detection, and fighting is provided. Next, technologies related to UAV forest fire monitoring, detection, and fighting are briefly reviewed, including those associated with fire detection, diagnosis, and prognosis, image vibration elimination, and cooperative control of UAVs. The final section outlines existing challenges and potential solutions in the application of UAVs to forest firefighting.
Play fighting can originate from different behavioural systems, including aggression and affiliation and can have a competitive and/or cooperative nature. Domestic pigs engage in vigorous play ...fighting that strongly resembles real fighting in motor patterns from their first days of life and heavier subjects usually win agonistic contests. Here we tested whether play fighting in piglets could be a substitute for real fighting and predicted that, if so: (1) play invitations would be more successful when not involving possibly dangerous body contact (Prediction 1); (2) piglets would preferentially play with similar-sized mates, easier to outcompete (Prediction 2); (3) play fighting and real fighting outcomes (winner/loser) and social networks would largely match (Prediction 3). We videorecorded three litters of preweaning piglets housed at the ethical farm Parva Domus (Turin, Italy) and analysed the play, aggression and suckling sessions. Sociomatrix and social network analyses were also used to compare play fighting and real fighting. Our findings confirmed all predictions, as they showed that piglets engaged in play fighting when the danger of being harmed was lowest (no-contact invitation patterns; Prediction 1) and their chance of winning was highest (similar weight players; Prediction 2). During the preweaning period, play fighting decreased as real fighting increased and just after suckling time declined, with piglets consistently winning/losing both playful and real fights and possessing comparable network centrality values in both play fighting and real fighting networks (Prediction 3). Although the mechanisms underlying the competitive nature of play fighting remain to be determined, this study provides evidence that it can be a harmless replacement for real fighting (possibly mediated by the oxytocin consumed via maternal milk). This study also points towards the more extreme hypothesis that play fighting is a different form of aggression that includes elements of play.
•In piglets play fighting can function as a substitute for real fighting.•Play fighting in piglets decreases right after the suckling time reduction.•The same piglets occupy central positions in play and real fighting social network.•Play fighting and real fighting outcomes (winner/loser) largely match.
Conspecific male animals fight for resources such as food and mating opportunities but typically stop fighting after assessing their relative fighting abilities to avoid serious injuries. ...Physiologically, how the fighting behavior is controlled remains unknown. Using the fighting fish Betta splendens, we studied behavioral and brain-transcriptomic changes during the fight between the two opponents. At the behavioral level, surface-breathing, and biting/striking occurred only during intervals between mouth-locking. Eventually, the behaviors of the two opponents became synchronized, with each pair showing a unique behavioral pattern. At the physiological level, we examined the expression patterns of 23,306 brain transcripts using RNA-sequencing data from brains of fighting pairs after a 20-min (D20) and a 60-min (D60) fight. The two opponents in each D60 fighting pair showed a strong gene expression correlation, whereas those in D20 fighting pairs showed a weak correlation. Moreover, each fighting pair in the D60 group showed pair-specific gene expression patterns in a grade of membership analysis (GoM) and were grouped as a pair in the heatmap clustering. The observed pair-specific individualization in brain-transcriptomic synchronization (PIBS) suggested that this synchronization provides a physiological basis for the behavioral synchronization. An analysis using the synchronized genes in fighting pairs of the D60 group found genes enriched for ion transport, synaptic function, and learning and memory. Brain-transcriptomic synchronization could be a general phenomenon and may provide a new cornerstone with which to investigate coordinating and sustaining social interactions between two interacting partners of vertebrates.
The still escalating COVID-19 pandemic also has a substantial impact on energy structure, requirements and related emissions. The consumption is unavoidable and receives a lower priority in the ...critical situation. However, as the pandemic continues, the impacts on energy and environment should be assessed and possibly reduced. This study aims to provide an overview of invested energy sources and environmental footprints in fighting the COVID-19. The required energy and resources consumption of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and testing kits have been discussed. The protecting efficiency returned on environmental footprint invested for masks has been further explored. The main observation pinpointed is that with a proper design standard, material selection and user guideline, reusable PPE could be an effective option with lower energy consumption/environmental footprint. Additional escalated energy consumption for aseptic and disinfection has been assessed. This includes the energy stemming from emergency and later managed supply chains. The outcomes emphasised that diversifying solutions to achieve the needed objective is a vital strategy to improve the susceptibility and provide higher flexibility in minimising the environmental footprints. However, more comprehensive research proof for the alternative solution (e.g. reusable option) towards low energy consumption without compromise on the effectiveness should be offered and advocated.
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•COVID-19 pandemic impacts on energy structure, energy requirements and related emissions.•Overview of the invested energy sources and environmental footprints increased.•Required energy and resources consumption of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and testing kits.•An assessment of intensive energy consumption for aseptic and disinfection.•The outcomes emphasised that diversifying solutions are a vital strategy needed.
In primates, as well as in other mammals, play fighting (PF) is a complex form of playful activity that is structurally similar to real fighting (RF) and may also be used in a competitive way. Here, ...we verify the structural key differences that can distinguish PF from RF in adult chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). We collected 962 h of video recording on 30 adult individuals belonging to four chimpanzee groups (Mona Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Spain; La Vallée des Singes and ZooParc de Beauval, France). We applied different indices—two of which were borrowed from the ecological measures of biodiversity—to test for structural differences between PF (345 sessions) and RF (461 sessions) in the levels of behavior repetition (Repeatability of Same Behavior Index, RSBI), distribution uniformity (Pielou Index, J), variability (Shannon Index, H′) and, symmetry (i.e., reciprocal exchange of offensive/defensive behaviors; Asymmetry Index, AI). Moreover, we compared the session duration between PF and RF. We found that duration and RSBI were higher in PF than RF while AI was higher in RF than PF. No difference was found between J and H′. Interestingly, both females and males maintained similar ranking positions (determined via Normalized David's scores) in RF and PF. Our study indicates that session duration, behavior repetition, and symmetry can be distinctive structural key features of PF whereas dominance role‐reversal, behavior variability, and distribution uniformity were not. PF in adult chimpanzees may have elements of serious contexts (e.g., absence of role‐reversal as in RF) which is in line with the view that play is a blended, multifunctional behavior deriving from the re‐combination of different behavioral systems. Our findings highlight the need to investigate play structure and manifestation in a nuanced way to better understand the actual motivation that underlies what appears to be play.
This graphical presents a comparison between play fighting (photo on the left side) and real fighting (photo on the right side) in adult chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Considering structural features, behavioral pattern repetition, reciprocity in offensive‐defensive behavioral pattern exchange (i.e., play symmetry) and session duration are significantly higher in play rather than in real fighting. A positive correlation is found between individual ranking positions calculated for play fighting and real fighting. Hence, chimpanzees having dominance positions during real fighting maintain such positions during play fighting too.
Highlights
Session duration, pattern repetition, and reciprocity were higher in play fighting (PF) than in real fighting (RF). No difference was found in pattern variability and evenness between PF and RF.
Dominant male and female chimpanzees in RF maintained similar ranking positions in PF, thus we did not confirm the occurrence of role reversal during play.
In adult chimpanzees, PF may have elements of serious context, thus being a possible substitute for aggression or a way to determine and/or maintain dominance relationships.
The ubiquity of polymeric materials in daily life comes with an increased fire risk, and sustained research into efficient flame retardants is key to ensuring the safety of the populace and material ...goods from accidental fires. Phosphorus, a versatile and effective element for use in flame retardants, has the potential to supersede the halogenated variants that are still widely used today: current formulations employ a variety of modes of action and methods of implementation, as additives or as reactants, to solve the task of developing flame‐retarding polymeric materials. Phosphorus‐based flame retardants can act in both the gas and condensed phase during a fire. This Review investigates how current phosphorus chemistry helps in reducing the flammability of polymers, and addresses the future of sustainable, efficient, and safe phosphorus‐based flame‐retardants from renewable sources.
The burning issue: The ubiquitous use of polymeric materials in daily life comes with an increased fire risk. Continued research into efficient flame retardants is key to ensuring safety. This Review investigates how modern phosphorus chemistry helps to reduce the flammability of polymers, and addresses the future of sustainable, efficient, and safe phosphorus‐based flame retardants from renewable sources.
ABSTRACT
In many species that fight over resources, individuals use specialized structures to gain a mechanical advantage over their rivals during contests (i.e. weapons). Although weapons are ...widespread across animals, how they affect the probability of winning contests is still debated. According to theory, understanding weapon function during contests is essential to: (i) understanding its importance in determining the winner, and (ii) identifying what weapon traits (e.g. weapon length versus shape versus performance) are most relevant for contest success. However, quantitative evaluations of how weapon function affects the extent to which weapon traits influence contest success are still lacking. Here, we first develop an individual‐based model to evaluate how increasing the influence of the weapon in determining the winner translates to differences between winners and losers. Then, we use a meta‐analysis to identify: (i) whether different weapon measures influence contest outcome differently; (ii) how animals use their weapons during fights – i.e. weapon function; and (iii) if weapon function correlates to how weapons influence contest outcome. Our model showed that, as weapons increased the chance of determining the winner, the mean difference between winners and losers also increased. Therefore, in our meta‐analysis we used the mean trait difference between winners and losers as a proxy for the extent to which weapons influence contest success. The literature search identified 49 suitable studies, containing information for 52 species, totalling 107 effect sizes. Four main patterns emerged. First, most of the literature focuses on linear measures of weapons, while performance measures are concentrated on Crustacea and Squamata; other types of measures were rare. Second, differences between winners and losers in linear measurements were greater than differences in performance measurements when all species were combined (and when we used only a subset). Third, species that bear weapons almost always perform visual/tactile displays before engaging in physical contact. And fourth, while the way individuals display their weapons did not influence the importance of weapon size on contest outcomes, fighting style predicted when differences between winners and losers would be higher. Species that used their weapons to push or lift (even when combined with other functions) showed greater differences between winners and losers when compared to species that used their weapons to impact, pierce, pull or squeeze. Overall, our results show that we have an incomplete understanding of animal weapons built mostly on weapon size and a few select taxa. Thus, we should start focusing on measuring weapons according to how they are used during contests and in a wider diversity of species. One way forward is to conduct studies that integrate weapon morphology to weapon function to ensure we are measuring the most ecologically relevant variables.
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