Macquarie University

About: Macquarie University is a education organization based out in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Laser. The organization has 14075 authors who have published 47673 publications receiving 1416184 citations. The organization is also known as: Macquarie uni.

Training Captive‐Bred or Translocated Animals to Avoid Predators

Abstract: Animal reintroductions and translocations are potentially important interventions to save species from extinction, but most are unsuccessful. Mortality due to predation is a principal cause of failure. Animals that have been isolated from predators, either throughout their lifetime or over evolutionary time, may no longer express appropriate antipredator behavior. For this reason, conservation biologists are beginning to include antipredator training in pre-release preparation procedures. We describe the evolutionary and ontogenetic circumstances under which antipredator behavior may degenerate or be lost, and we use principles from learning theory to predict which elements can be enhanced or recovered by training. The empirical literature demonstrates that training can improve antipredator skills, but the effectiveness of such interventions is influenced by a number of constraints. We predict that it will be easier to teach animals to cope with predators if they have experienced ontogenetic isolation than if they have undergone evolutionary isolation. Similarly, animals should learn more easily if they have been evolutionarily isolated from some rather than all predators. Training to a novel predator may be more successful if a species has effective responses to similar predators. In contrast, it may be difficult to teach proper avoidance behavior, or to introduce specialized predator-specific responses, if appropriate motor patterns are not already present. We conclude that pre-release training has the potential to enhance the expression of preexisting antipredator behavior. Potential training techniques involve classical conditioning procedures in which animals learn that model predators are predictors of aversive events. However, wildlife managers should be aware that problems, such as the emergence of inappropriate responses, may arise during such training.

Handbook of Floating-Point Arithmetic

Abstract: Floating-point arithmetic is by far the most widely used way of implementing real-number arithmetic on modern computers. Although the basic principles of floating-point arithmetic can be explained in a short amount of time, making such an arithmetic reliable and portable, yet fast, is a very difficult task. From the 1960s to the early 1980s, many different arithmetics were developed, but their implementation varied widely from one machine to another, making it difficult for nonexperts to design, learn, and use the required algorithms. As a result, floating-point arithmetic is far from being exploited to its full potential. This handbook aims to provide a complete overview of modern floating-point arithmetic, including a detailed treatment of the newly revised (IEEE 754-2008) standard for floating-point arithmetic. Presented throughout are algorithms for implementing floating-point arithmetic as well as algorithms that use floating-point arithmetic. So that the techniques presented can be put directly into practice in actual coding or design, they are illustrated, whenever possible, by a corresponding program. Key topics and features include: * Presentation of the history and basic concepts of floating-point arithmetic and various aspects of the past and current standards * Development of smart and nontrivial algorithms, and algorithmic possibilities induced by the availability of a fused multiply-add (fma) instruction, e.g., correctly rounded software division and square roots * Implementation of floating-point arithmetic, either in softwareon an integer processoror hardware, and a discussion of issues related to compilers and languages * Coverage of several recent advances related to elementary functions: correct rounding of these functions and computation of very accurate approximations under constraints * Extensions of floating-point arithmetic such as certification, verification, and big precision Handbook of Floating-Point Arithmetic is designed for programmers of numerical applications, compiler designers, programmers of floating-point algorithms, designers of arithmetic operators, and more generally, students and researchers in numerical analysis who wish to better understand a tool used in their daily work and research.

What Will 5G Be

Abstract: What will 5G be? What it will not be is an incremental advance on 4G. The previous four generations of cellular technology have each been a major paradigm shift that has broken backwards compatibility. And indeed, 5G will need to be a paradigm shift that includes very high carrier frequencies with massive bandwidths, extreme base station and device densities and unprecedented numbers of antennas. But unlike the previous four generations, it will also be highly integrative: tying any new 5G air interface and spectrum together with LTE and WiFi to provide universal high-rate coverage and a seamless user experience. To support this, the core network will also have to reach unprecedented levels of flexibility and intelligence, spectrum regulation will need to be rethought and improved, and energy and cost efficiencies will become even more critical considerations. This paper discusses all of these topics, identifying key challenges for future research and preliminary 5G standardization activities, while providing a comprehensive overview of the current literature, and in particular of the papers appearing in this special issue.

Prevention and Early Intervention of Anxiety Disorders in Inhibited Preschool Children.

Abstract: This article reports results from an early intervention program aimed at preventing the development of anxiety in preschool children. Children were selected if they exhibited a high number of withdrawn/inhibited behaviors--one of the best identified risk factors for later anxiety disorders--and were randomly allocated to either a 6-session parent-education program or no intervention. The education program was group based and especially brief to allow the potential for public health application. Children whose parents were allocated to the education condition showed a significantly greater decrease in anxiety diagnoses at 12 months relative to those whose parents received no intervention. However, there were no significant effects demonstrated on measures of inhibition/withdrawal. The results demonstrate the value of (even brief) very early intervention for anxiety disorders, although these effects do not appear to be mediated through alterations of temperament.