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Population management of herbivores is widely applied to decrease damage to forests in the northern hemisphere. Culling more antlerless deer, including females and fawns, is an effective means of reducing the population and helps to improve management efficiency. To increase the efficiency of antlerless-biased culling, we assessed the spatiotemporal distribution of the antlerless ratio in culled sika deer (Cervus nippon) in relation to population density. We hypothesized that the antlerless ratio is higher at the center of the distribution than at the margins of the deer’s range, because dispersal processes differ according to sex and age: Young male deer first disperse into an unoccupied area, and then males may become established in the new area for approximately 10–15 years before the number of females increases. A statistical model revealed spatiotemporal changes in the antlerless ratio of culled sika deer. The change in the ratio basically fit the density distribution of the deer, which was estimated independently on the basis of fecal pellet count surveys. The antlerless ratio estimated from the model increased asymptotically as deer density rose. The results support our hypothesis and suggest that antlerless sika deer will be more easily culled at the center rather than at the margins of the distribution range. These findings should help to increase the efficiency of managing the deer via antlerless-biased culling.

Ranging behaviour is a fundamental characteristic of wild animal movement. Recent studies have shown that movement propensity can easily vary between migrant and resident tactics in various herbivorous mammals. Understanding the flexibility of ranging behaviour as an adjustment to changing environmental conditions under natural and anthropogenic processes provides deep insights into the ecology, management, and conservation of herbivores. Animal movement based on locations can be described in the form of a matrix of time and days, representing the continuous and discrete variables of ranging behaviour time scales. The matrix yields two independent structural characteristics of animal location distributions: the day range and the time-of-day range. These ranges are multi-dimensional variables that enable the quantification of the extent of spatiotemporal location variation by eliminating the influence of the absolute value of the range size. Sika deer (Cervus nippon) is a cervid species that exhibits diverse and flexible ranging behaviour. The present study aimed to apply new indices to a GPS dataset of the movements of 46 individuals to conduct a structural analysis of ranging behaviour. Learning and memory play important roles in movement and habitat selection. We analysed the visiting frequency and interval to clarify whether sedentary Sika deer utilise their ranges monotonously. The ratio of the time-of-day range to the day range only succeeded at detecting the structural modifications of range shifting, while the largest distance among time-series pairs of GPS locations and the maximum size of the day range did not correspond identically to the range-shift period. An analysis of revisits illuminated behavioural similarity between sedentary and range-shifting individuals in terms of their qualitative experience with local travelling. The findings of the present study suggest a species-specific characteristic of bipolarized space-use tactics, potentially leading to high behavioural flexibility in the Sika deer on Kyushu Island.

This research study focuses on wall fouling and electrostatic charging in gas–solid fluidized beds. Experiments were conducted with glass bead particles with different mass median diameters in an acrylic column at different humidity levels. The coverage ratio of particles on a wall was measured with two different methods. To obtain the local coverage ratio, the number of particles was counted with digital image processing. To achieve the required average coverage ratio, all the particles which adhered to the wall were weighed. The electrostatic charges of these particles and in the dense phase of the fluidized beds were measured individually with the use of a Faraday cup combined with a vacuum device. The surface potential of the wall was also measured with an electrostatic potential meter. The coverage ratio of the particles was high at low humidity because of the electrostatic attraction that was affected considerably by the surface potential of the wall compared with the surface charge density of the particles. The relationship between the wall fouling and electrostatic charging could be explained based on (a) the charge that the wall provided to the particles according to the triboelectric charging and (b) the number of particles that acquired the charge.

Native sika deer (Cervus nippon) had not been observed in and around Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan. However, deer have recently been confirmed in this area, and the number of individuals and the range have been expanding, causing damage to forestry and natural vegetation. Although the origin of these deer is unknown, it may be derived from Formosan sika deer (C. n. taiouanus), which is listed as an invasive alien species in Japan. There is concern about hybridization between this subspecies and the native Japanese sika deer. In the present study, we used genetic methods to assess the current status of the deer in the Sasebo area of Nagasaki Prefecture, particularly its origin and hybridization. Our study showed that the deer did not originate from Formosan sika deer, and we found no evidence of hybridization. The deer in the Sasebo area were found to have a haplotype included in the southern Japanese sika deer lineage. The current study was unable to identify the specific origin of the deer due to limitations in PCR-RFLP and mitochondrial DNA sequencing analysis.

The flowability of powders used in tableting significantly affects tablet weight and content uniformity of active pharmaceutical ingredients. Use of granulated materials instead of powdered materials can improve flowability. In this study, the effect of particle size distribution on flowability of granulated lactose was quantitatively analyzed. Three types of granulated lactose were classified into progressively narrower size fractions, and nine samples were systematically prepared. The mass median diameters were nearly constant (i.e., 130.5 ± 13.5 μm) and the geometric standard deviations ranged from 1.29 to 2.04. Two flow properties (angle of repose and compressibility) were measured. The correlations between flow properties and the particle size distributions were analyzed, and the coefficients of determination were obtained for different particle diameters and cumulative mass fractions. The optimal conditions to maximize the coefficients of determination were defined. Furthermore, static and dynamic friction properties were evaluated, and their correlations with particle size distribution were calculated.

Electrification and levitation of particles in a continuous particle feed and dispersion system have been studied both theoretically and experimentally. This system consisted of a vibrator and inclined parallel electrodes. A mesh and a vibrating plate were used for the upper and lower electrodes, respectively. A dc voltage was applied to one of the electrodes and the other electrode was grounded. Particles fed to the lower electrode were charged by induction and levitated upward by the Coulomb forces. When the applied voltage was high enough, the particles passed through the mesh electrode. The charge of the particles was measured with a Faraday cup, and the particle behavior was observed with a high-speed microscope camera. The particle charges were also analyzed from experimentally obtained particle trajectories and numerically calculated electric fields. Finally, the conditions for the effective levitation and dispersion of the charged particles and their mechanisms were studied and have been described in detail.

Regional management of large herbivore populations is known to be effective in reducing local economic damages and conserving local endemic plants. However, herbivores often move across management areas, and the effect of population management on a large spatial scale is poorly understood, even though it is necessary to use a large-scale approach across multiple management units to implement appropriate management. In this study, to better understand large-scale management and improve management efficiency, we evaluated effects of large-scale management of a sika deer (Cervus nippon) population on Kyushu Island (approximately 36,750 km2) in Japan. We estimated the population dynamics and spatial distributions of the deer and evaluated the effects of harvests, density dependence, and climatic conditions on the population dynamics both across Kyushu Island and in smaller prefectural management units. Fecal pellet count surveys conducted from 1995 to 2019 and results from a vector autoregressive spatio-temporal model showed relatively stable population dynamics and four high-density core areas. No increasing or decreasing trends were observed in the population dynamics, even though harvesting increased annually until it reached about 110,000 in 2014, indicating that harvesting was not related to the population dynamics. In addition, although no effects of density dependence were confirmed, maximum snow depth during winter decreased deer density at the management unit scale. Harvesting represents a major source of mortality in the Kyushu Island population because of the absence of predators. Although, approximately 110,000 sika deer were harvested annually after 2014, it is surprising that the effect of harvesting on population dynamics was not significant. A main cause of no reduction of the population was that the population used to determine the harvest number was underestimated. In addition, it was indicated that multi-management units need to manage the core areas because the high-density core areas were located across a few management units. This study highlights the difficulties involved with wide-area management of large herbivores and points out the importance of accurate stock assessment, reduction of the risk of management failure, and cooperation among management units. Our research is an important contribution to the study of the effects of large-scale harvesting in a large geographic area.

Mammals play a crucial role for the biotic processes of the rainforest ecosystem. Studying their behaviour and biology are vital to fully understand the jigsaw of rainforest dynamics. This study was made to update the diversity checklist of mammals in Gunung Ledang. This study was done in Taman Negara Johor; Gunung Ledang (2.37°N, 102.60°E) where it is known to be the highest mountain (1,276 m asl.) in the southern Malay Peninsula. This study was conducted from July 2018 to April 2019. In total, 22 cameras were installed along three nature trails which are Sagill trail, Telekom Trail, and Resort Trail. Overall, a total of 31 species of terrestrial mammals from small- to large-sized were recorded in our camera trapping study of 3434 camera-days.Mammals such as the Leopard (Panthera pardus), Sumatran Serow (Capricornis sumatraensis), and Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus) were caught in the videos of camera trap. This showed that the diversity of mammals in Gunung Ledang is quite high. Tthis paper already gave valuable insights in a rainforest guild that is highly diverse and of outstanding value to the forest ecosystem. Management plans and strategy to conserve the mammals in Gunung Ledang can be done as accordingly afterwards.

Background: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at risk for bone loss and sarcopenia because of associated mineral and bone disorders (MBD), malnutrition, and chronic inflammation. Both osteoporosis and sarcopenia are associated with a poor prognosis; however, few studies have evaluated the relationship between muscle mass and bone mineral density (BMD) in hemodialysis (HD) patients. The present study examined the association between skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) and BMD in the lumbar spine and femoral neck in HD patients. Methods: Fifty HD patients (mean age, 69 ± 10 years; mean HD duration, 9.0 ± 8.8 years) in Minami-Uonuma City Hospital were evaluated. BMD was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and SMI was measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis (InBodyTM) after HD. The factors affecting lumbar spine and femoral neck BMD were investigated, and multivariate analysis was performed. Results: In simple linear regression analysis, the factors that significantly affected the lumbar spine BMD were sex, presence of hypertension, presence of diabetes mellitus, body mass index, triglyceride level, grip strength, and SMI; the factors that significantly affected the femoral neck BMD were sex, HD duration, serum creatinine level, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b level, undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC) level, N-terminal propeptide of type I procollagen level, grip strength, and SMI. In multivariate analysis, SMI (standardized coefficient: 0.578) was the only independent factor that affected the lumbar spine BMD; the independent factors that affected the femoral neck BMD were SMI (standardized coefficient: 0.468), ucOC (standardized coefficient: −0.366) and sex (standardized coefficient: 0.231). Conclusion: SMI was independently associated with the BMD in the lumbar spine and femoral neck in HD patients. The preservation of skeletal muscle mass could be important to prevent BMD decrease in HD patients, in addition to the management of CKD-MBD.

Summary Background and aims The use of the psoas muscle mass index (PMI) using computed tomography (CT) has become a marker of interest to evaluate whole body muscle mass. However, in hemodialysis (HD) patients, reports about the clinical significance of psoas muscle evaluation are limited. We aimed to clarify the association between PMI and skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), and to investigate factors affecting PMI in HD patients. Methods In this prospective observational study, to evaluate muscle mass, SMI was measured using BIA after HD, and PMI was measured by the manual trace method on routinely available CT scans. PMI measurement was assessed twice by two physicians to compute intra-rater and inter-rater reliability. The correlations between PMI and the clinical factors were evaluated using Pearson's correlation coefficient and a linear regression analysis. Variables with a p-value Results Fifty HD patients were recruited (31 males and 19 females; HD duration, 9.0 ± 8.8 years). The SMI was 6.10 ± 1.20 kg/m2, and the PMI was 4.79 ± 1.61 cm2/m2. Regarding the reliability of PMI measurements, intra-rater reliability [intra-class correlation (ICC) = 0.999] and inter-rater reliability (ICC = 0.998) were high in this study. The mean PMI of male patients was 5.40 ± 1.62 cm2/m2, while that of female patients was significantly lower (3.78 ± 0.98 cm2/m2; p Conclusions PMI assessed with CT positively correlated with SMI measured using BIA. PMI might be one of the methods for evaluating the muscle mass in HD patients, when CT scans are taken as part of routine care.

The activity patterns of mammals are highly variable across species and can be affected by many factors, such as daytime length (i.e., sunrise to sunset), temperature, precipitation, predator–prey or competitive interactions and human activities. However, while several studies have investigated the seasonal and diel activity patterns of mammals using camera traps, information on their diel activity patterns in relation to nonlethal tourist activity is limited. Therefore, here, we conducted video-camera-trap surveys in Endau Rompin National Park in Peninsular Malaysia to examine the detection rates and diel activity patterns of the mammals living there, as well as differences in their diel activity patterns between the open and closed tourist seasons. Barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak), bearded pig (Sus barbatus), wild boar (S. scrofa), greater oriental chevrotain (Tragulus napu) and Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus) exhibited significant differences in their diel activities among time periods: Malayan tapir was predominantly nocturnal, the greater oriental chevrotain was predominantly crepuscular and all other species were strongly diurnal. In addition, the data indicated that the Malayan porcupine (Hystrix brachyura) was nocturnal and the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) was cathemeral, although the differences between time periods were not significant for these species. The detection frequencies of barking deer, bearded pig, wild boar and Malayan porcupine were higher in the open season. However, these differences were not related to human activity recorded by the cameras, and none of the mammalian species exhibited significant differences in their diel activity patterns between the open and closed seasons, suggesting that nonlethal tourist activity has limited effects on the diel activity patterns of wild mammals in this National Park. Keywords: Endau Rompin, Nonlethal tourist activity, Large mammals, Tourism effects, Video-camera traps

In this study, vibration-induced convection was studied experimentally using a fine powder with a mass median particle diameter of 8 μm. A cylindrical rod arranged vertically in a powder container was vibrated horizontally with simple harmonic motion at a frequency of 300 Hz using a piezoelectric vibrator. For a vibration amplitude of 10 μm, particles around the cylindrical rod were consolidated to a certain extent due to gravity; however, for a vibration amplitude of 70 μm or more, a pair of convection rolls formed on both sides of the vibrating rod. The strength of the convection was quantified from the particle velocity distribution in the convection rolls, and the relationship between the convection strength and vibration amplitude was elucidated. In addition, the air-pressure distribution in the powder bed was measured showing that the convection strength correlates with the characteristic positive pressure, i.e., the average value of positive pressure measurements. Elliptical motion and circular motion as well as simple harmonic motion were applied to the cylindrical rod by adding two harmonic motions in directions orthogonally crossing each other with a phase difference of π/2 rad. The convection of the particles varied according to the Lissajous trajectory of the cylindrical rod. Even for simple harmonic motion, heaps of a pair of convection cells overlapped each other. In the case of elliptical motion, the overlapping portion of the heaps became larger. In the case of circular motion, the two heaps were integrated into one circular heap, and there were no effects of the circumferential angle on the particle velocity and the characteristic positive pressure.

application/pdf, Evolutionary history of Callosciurus squirrel species seems affected by geographical-isolation by huge rivers in Southeast Asia. Geographical isolation by rivers may have influenced phylogeographical structure between and within Callosciurus species. In Sundaland, Southeast Asia, however, phylogeographical structure within Callosciurus species may be explained by geographical isolation among islands. In a test of the effects of rivers and islands, we examined phylogeographical characteristics of C. prevostii based on mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequences. This squirrel is distributed from peninsular Thailand to Sumatra and Borneo and adjacent small islands. We collected specimens from four geographically different populations (the Malay Peninsula, central Sumatra, eastern Sumatra, and Borneo) and conducted phylogeographical analyses. Interestingly, the two Sumatra populations, geographically separated by the Batang Hari River, the longest river in Sumatra, did not show monophyly: the central Sumatra population was closely related to the Malay Peninsula population. The specimen from Borneo had clearly diverged from the others. Present geographical isolation by the ocean does not completely explain the phylogeographical structure of this species. The riverine barrier hypothesis helped explain their evolutionary history. Future studies should examine more C. prevostii specimens from more different places in Sundaland.

A 15-month camera-trapping study (7302 camera-days) was done in Gunung Ledang Johor National Park on the southern Malay Peninsula from July 2018 to October 2019. Six video images of the endangered Sumatran serow, Capricornis sumatraensis (Bovidae, Cetartiodactyla), were obtained. This is the first confirmation of a wild population of the species on the southern Malay Peninsula. Serows were photographed at elevations of 500–1189 m from hill dipterocarp forest to montane ericaceous forest. Their size suggests that the individuals were adults. Gunung Ledang is an isolated, well-forested mountain surrounded by oil palm plantations, roads, and human settlements, suggesting that the serow population in the area is completely isolated from the other populations. Further studies are needed to evaluate the population status of the Sumatran serow in the area, as it represents the extreme southern limit of the species' distribution in the Continent of Asia, except Sumatra.

In this study, we propose a new method to effectively characterize particle tribocharging caused by repeated contact with a wall in an external electric field. We perform experiments using a two-stage system consisting of two inclined vibrating plates and electrodes. The mass flow rate and charge of particles were controlled at the first vibrating plate, and the charge that was transferred from the plate to the particles was obtained from the difference between the charges on particles at the lower and upper ends of the second vibrating plate. In addition, electric currents generated by the charge transfer were simultaneously measured at the second vibrating plate. From these measurements, we verified that the charge balance in this system holds. Furthermore, we found that the charge transfer depends on various factors, such as the initial charge, chemical and electrical properties, travel length of particles, and the external electric field. We also found that the equilibrium charge of particles depends on the chemical property and external electric field. The equilibrium charge and the rate of tribocharging were evaluated analytically from the relationship between the initial and transferred charges without changing the travel distance of particles. This method enables the rapid and reliable analysis of the particle tribocharging process.

Particle detachment from an obliquely oscillating plate was studied experimentally and theoretically. The plate was placed in a horizontal position, and vibrations were applied in the horizontal and vertical directions by piezoelectric vibrators. The frequency of vibration was constant at 280 Hz. The amplitude of vibration increased with time and approached a constant value in each experiment. The movement of micrometer-sized spherical particles was analyzed using images captured by a high-speed microscope camera, which showed that the particles rolled on the plate before detaching from the surface, and that the rolling significantly reduced the adhesive force between the particles and surface. Furthermore, the removal efficiency, defined by the number ratio of detached particles to total particles, was analyzed as a function of the horizontal and vertical vibration accelerations. It was found that the removal efficiency was significantly affected by the horizontal vibration acceleration. These experimental results can be explained by the force and moment balance model.

The saltation of fine particles on an obliquely oscillating plate was simulated using a mass-point model that considered the gravity, fluid resistance, restitution, and friction. To examine the effects of the restitution and fluid resistance on the horizontal transport velocity, the two-dimensional movements of three particles with different coefficients of restitution and diameters were calculated. The results showed that a particle with a higher restitution and smaller diameter had a smaller transport velocity. This can be explained as follows. A particle with a higher restitution bounces forward and backward repeatedly, whereas a particle with a lower restitution only bounces forward, because the higher bounce height increases the impulse exerted on the particle during a collision, which induces a drastic change in the horizontal velocity from the collision. The horizontal velocity of a smaller particle is decreased by the drag force during its flight between successive collisions., New Paradigm of Particle Science and Technology Proceedings of The 7th World Congress on Particle Technology

An improved airflow method to measure the distribution of adhesive strength between charged particles and a metal substrate in an external electric field is presented. In this study, toner particles were negatively charged with a corona charger and deposited on the substrate. The substrate with the particles on the surface was mounted in a rectangular air channel with parallel electrodes. Air velocity was increased at a constant rate, and entrained particles were detected by a laser particle monitor. By studying the relationships between particle entrainment efficiency and air velocity, the particle–substrate adhesion was analyzed in detail. It was found that particle adhesion increased with the increase in the initial charge of particles. It was also found that the particle adhesion increased in a vertically downward electric field but decreased in the upward electric field. These experimental results cannot be explained by the Coulomb force in the electric field. Therefore, a theoretical model based on charge transfer in the external electric field was proposed. This model explains the variation of the particle–substrate adhesion by considering the image force arising due to the transferred charges.

This paper presents a microscopic analysis of the saltation of particles on an obliquely oscillating plate driven by sine waves with an amplitude on the order of tens of micrometers and a frequency on the order of hundreds of hertz. To examine the effect of the diameter of a particle on its motion, the trajectories and velocities of different-sized particles, from 0.5 to 500 μm in mass median diameter, are analyzed using images captured by a high-speed microscope camera. The results show that larger particles bounce higher, whereas smaller particles easily agglomerate and bounce only slightly, owing to the low restitution caused by their loosely packed structure. In addition, larger particles bounce forward and backward repeatedly, while the agglomerated particles always bounce forward, and consequently have the highest transport velocity among these particles. The particle motion and the transport velocity can be explained by a theoretical probability model.

Particle saltation on an obliquely oscillating plate is simulated using a mass-point model that considers gravity, fluid resistance, restitution, and friction. The calculated results are in good agreement with results obtained experimentally for particles with different diameters and restitutions. A large particle with high restitution bounces forward and backward repeatedly, whereas a particle with low restitution only bounces forward and consequently has a high transport velocity. The mechanism for the difference in the motion of the particles can be explained by taking into account the phase angle of the oscillating plate and the impulse during particle collision.

Powder flowability of microcrystalline cellulose particles having different particle shapes, whose aspect ratios ranged from 1.8 to 6.4, was measured using the vibration shear tube method. Particles lubricated with magnesium stearate were also investigated in order to evaluate the effect of surface modification on powder flowability. Particles were discharged through a narrow gap between a vibrating tube edge and a flat bottom surface, where each particle experienced high shear forces, thus, overcoming adhesion and friction forces. Vibration amplitude was increased at a constant rate during measurement and the masses of the discharged particles were measured at consistent time intervals. Flowability profiles, i.e., the relationships between the mass flow rates of the discharged particles and their vibration accelerations, were obtained from these measurements. Critical vibration accelerations and characteristic mass flow rates were then determined from flowability profiles in order to evaluate static and dynamic friction properties. The results were compared with those obtained using conventional methods. It was found that angle of repose and compressibility were related to static and dynamic friction properties. Furthermore, it was found that particle aspect ratio more significantly affects powder flowability than does lubrication with magnesium stearate.

The movement of particles in the range from 0.5 to 500 μm in mass median diameter on a two-dimensional vibrating plate is observed through a high-speed digital camera with a zoom lens. The results show that larger particles saltate higher, while smaller particles easily agglomerate and slightly saltate because of the low restitution of their loosely packed structure. The salation heights are in good agreement with the results calculated by a model based on gravity, adhesion, drag force, and restitution., "Powders and Grains 2013"; Conference date: 8–12 July 2013; Location: Sydney, Australia

To examine the impact of human disturbance on mammalian community in a human-disturbed tropical landscape in Borneo, we conducted a baited camera trapping study in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, from 2005 to 2010. Along a gradient of habitat degradation, we established four camera trapping sites within a 20-km radius, one in Sungai Wain Protection Forest and three in Bukit Soeharto Grand Forest Park. From the camera trapping carried out for 1,017 camera-days, we obtained 3,753 images of 29 mammal species, including an alien species, the domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris). The trapping efficiency and species composition of mammals recorded differed between the two kinds of bait (banana and shrimp). The number of species decreased, and the species composition changed along the gradient of habitat degradation, suggesting that human-mediated habitat degradation has a significant effect on the mammalian communities. Our results suggest that forest cover is essential for at least 14 out of 29 recorded...

The flowability of powders with different mass median diameters ranging from micrometers to nanometers was measured using the vibration shear tube method. In the measurement system used in this study, the powder was discharged through a narrow gap between a vibrating tube edge and a flat bottom surface, where each particle could experience high shear forces to overcome the adhesion and friction forces. The vibration amplitude was increased during the measurement, and the mass of particles discharged was measured at constant time intervals. From the relationship between the mass flow rate and the vibration acceleration, static and dynamic properties of the powders were evaluated using the critical vibration acceleration, characteristic mass flow rate, and gradient of mass flow rate. The correlation between the static and dynamic properties was studied in detail.