Prevalence and characteristics of road traffic injuries among young drivers in Oman, 2009–2011

Objectives: Studies from different parts of the world have indicated that the impact of road traffic incidents disproportionally affects young adults. Few known studies have been forthcoming from Arabian Gulf countries. Within Oman, a high proportion of the population is under the age of 20. Coupled with the drastic increase in motorization in recent years, there is a need to understand the state of road safety among young people in Oman. The current research aimed to explore the prevalence and characteristics of road traffic injuries among young drivers aged 17–25 years.

Methods: Crash data from 2009 to 2011 were extracted from the Directorate General of Traffic, Royal Oman Police (ROP) database in Oman. The data were analyzed to explore the impact of road crashes on young people (17–25 years), the characteristics of young driver crashes, and how these differ from older drivers and to identify key predictors of fatalities in young driver crashes.

Results: Overall, young people were overrepresented in injuries and fatalities within the sample time period. Though it is true that many young people in crashes were driving at the time, it was also evident that young people were often victims in a crash caused by someone else. Thus, to reduce the impact of road crashes on young people, there is a need to generally address road safety within Oman. When young drivers were involved in crashes they were predominantly male. The types of crashes these drivers have can be broadly attributed to risk taking and inexperience. Speeding and nighttime driving were the key risk factors for fatalities.

Conclusion: The results highlight the need to address young driver safety in Oman. From these findings, the introduction of a graduated driver licensing system with nighttime driving restrictions could significantly improve young driver safety.     

Maternal characteristics and the production and recruitment of sons in the eastern kingbird (<Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">Tyrannus tyrannus</Emphasis>)

Sex allocation theory predicts that if variance in reproductive success differs between the sexes, females who are able to produce high-quality young should bias offspring sex ratio towards the sex with the higher potential reproductive success. We tested the hypothesis that high-quality (i.e., heavy) female eastern kingbirds (Tyrannus tyrannus) that bred early in the breeding season would produce male-biased clutches. A significant opportunity for sexual selection also exists in this socially monogamous but cryptically polygamous species, and we predicted that successful extra-pair (EP) sires would be associated with an excess of male offspring. Although population brood sex ratio did not differ from parity, it increased significantly with female body mass and declined with female breeding date, but was independent of the morphology and display (song) behavior (correlates of reproductive success) of social males and EP sires. Male offspring were significantly heavier than female offspring at fledging. Moreover, the probability that male offspring were resighted in subsequent years declined with breeding date, and was greater in replacement clutches, but lower when clutch size was large. Probability of resighting female offspring varied annually, but was independent of all other variables. Given that variance in reproductive success of male kingbirds is much greater than that of females, and that male offspring are more expensive to produce and have a higher probability of recruitment if fledged early in the season, our results support predictions of sex allocation theory: high-quality (heavy) females breeding when conditions were optimal for male recruitment produced an excess of sons.     

Do male plumage and song characteristics influence female off-territory forays and paternity in the hooded warbler?

Extra-pair fertilizations are common in many socially monogamous species, and paternity studies have indicated that females may use male vocal performance and plumage ornaments as cues to assess male quality. Female off-territory forays may represent a key component of female choice and male extra-pair mating success, and female foray behaviour is expected to be strongly influenced by indictors of male quality. In this study, we examined how male song and ornamentation affect how often females left their territories, which males they visited and extra-pair paternity in a socially monogamous passerine, the hooded warbler (Wilsonia citrina). We radiotracked 17 females during the fertile period and quantified male vocal performance (song output and rate) and plumage characteristics (size of the black melanin hood and colour of the black hood, yellow cheeks and breast areas). We obtained blood samples and determined paternity at 35 nests including those of 14 females that we radiotracked. Eleven (65%) of the 17 females forayed off-territory, whilst fertile and female foray rate was positively correlated with the number of extra-pair young in the nest. Females that left their territories more frequently were paired with males that sang at a low rate. In addition, extra-pair mates had higher song rates than the social mates they cuckolded (5.3 songs/min vs. 4.4 songs/min). Female off-territory forays or extra-pair paternity were not significantly related to male plumage characteristics. Our results indicate that a high song rate influences both the foray behaviour of a male’s social mate and the likelihood that he will sire extra-pair offspring with neighbouring females.     

施用基肥对加勒比松幼林生长的影响

加勒比松幼林基肥试验结果表明,施基肥后１～３ａ肥效显著,以第２ａ的肥效最大,树高、地径比不施基肥的分别增加 ５６％～９４％和 ２９％～６０％; ６ ａ后肥效下降,但施基肥的树高、胸径、材积仍比不施基肥的有所增长。基肥对树高的效应大于对径粗的效应。氮、磷、钾配合施用的效果最佳,但当氮、磷、钾相同配比（Ｎ_（３０）Ｐ_（３０）Ｋ_（３０））时,则有特殊的低效应。在施氮、磷、钾全肥时,前期配施氮对加勒比松生长有利,而磷、钾的肥效较持久。氮、磷、钾无机肥配施滤泥在２ａ内无增产效果,３ａ后方显肥效。６ａ树龄时,氮、磷、钾配施滤泥与单施无机肥相比,胸径、材积分别有所增长。     

Sperm competition and sexual selection: a meta-analysis of paternity studies of birds

Sperm competition (the competition among the sperm of different males for fertilization of the eggs of a female) has been suggested to be an important component of sexual selection, but no general assessment has been made of this proposition. We used a meta-analytic approach to assess the extensive literature on paternity (the proportion of offspring in a focal nest sired by an attending male) in birds based on allozyme and molecular techniques. The relative variance in male mating success was on average increased by a factor of 4.6 over the variance in apparent male success. Males with more extravagant secondary sexual characters had higher paternity in their own nests than less adorned males. There was a weak effect of male age being positively associated with paternity in own nests. Male body size measured as the length of wing and tarsus was weakly positively associated with paternity in own nests. Male survival prospect was positively associated with paternity in own nests. Polygynous males generally had decreased paternity of their broods compared to monogamous males. Paternity of the resident male decreased with increasing population density and breeding asynchrony. The intensity of paternity guards such as within-pair copulation rate and mate guarding were not significantly related to extra-pair paternity. Sperm competition was thus an important component of sexual selection by increasing the variance in male mating success, and by being associated with the expression of secondary sexual characters, in particular in dense and asynchronously breeding populations of birds. Received: 12 February 1998 / Accepted after revision: 31 May 1998     

淹水对菖蒲(Acorus calamus)根际氧环境的影响

为研究淹水对湿地植物根际氧环境的影响,选择典型湿地植物菖蒲幼苗(株高约15 cm、根长约6 cm)和成株(株高约40 cm、根长约11 cm)在沉积物中培养并完全淹没,利用微型电机控制氧气微光极对菖蒲根中部根际氧浓度及组织内部氧浓度原位测定3周. 结果表明:短期(7 d) 淹水,菖蒲幼苗及成株根际氧扩散层厚度及氧浓度比对照组均显著下降;在淹水第14天,在幼苗根际未检出氧扩散层;在淹水第21天,成株根际氧扩散层厚度及平均氧浓度仍分别为0.34 mm和11.18%,并保持至淹水试验结束. 淹水组菖蒲的根际氧扩散层厚度、平均氧浓度均随根组织内部氧浓度的下降而降低,其中幼苗3个指标分别由初始的0.22 mm、1.4%和50.3%降至0 mm、0%和32.9%,成株分别由0.64 mm、19.3%和64.6%降至0.34 mm、11.2%和55.3%,表明前2个指标的下降程度显著超过后者;淹水组菖蒲幼苗、成株根组织内部氧浓度主要受植株光合作用的影响,而对照组则受光合作用及气体交换作用的共同影响,淹水能在短期(7 d)内促进菖蒲成株根通气组织的发育,使其孔隙率从28.45%升至32.44%,并有助于维持根组织内的氧浓度水平,根组织内部氧浓度淹水组(65.6%)与对照组(67.1%)无显著差异. 研究表明,淹水胁迫下,根组织内部氧浓度水平是影响菖蒲根氧扩散的核心因素,其中幼苗根组织内部氧浓度显著下降并威胁到自身存活时,其已无氧扩散效应,而成株根组织内部较高的氧浓度使其仍能保持一定程度的氧扩散.      

Display rate by male fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus) during the fertile period of females has little influence on extra-pair mate choice

Empirical and theoretical studies have only recently begun to examine how females use complex multi-component displays when selecting mates. Superb fairy-wrens are well suited to the study of female choice because females have control over extra-group paternity and cuckold their mates at high rates, while males possess a variety of sexually selected traits. Available evidence suggests that females base their extra-group mate choice on the timing of male moult into breeding plumage or the onset of display. However, males continue to perform elaborate displays throughout the season, and direct most displays to females during their fertile period. We therefore conducted focal observations on fertile females to quantify the frequency of male display and used microsatellite genotyping to compare the role of display rate during the breeding season and the timing of male moult on female mate choice. We show that the addition of data on male display rate does not improve our ability to predict which males obtain extra-group paternity. The timing of male moult into breeding plumage remains the only predictor of male extra-group reproductive success. Nevertheless, we found that males displayed more to females that were unable to select extra-group mates on the basis of the timing of moult or the onset of display. This raises the possibility that there are circumstances when females use display rate to discriminate between potential extra-group sires. Overall this study supports the theoretical prediction that females are more likely to base their mate choice on reliable indicators of male quality such as fixed morphological traits and displays of endurance, in this case an early moult into breeding plumage and the performance of an elaborate display during the winter, than a flexible behavioural trait such as display rate during the breeding season. Received: 26 January 2000 / Revised: 1 August 2000 / Accepted: 26 August 2000     

电厂冷却系统对梭幼鱼和对虾仔虾卷载效应的初步探讨

根据青岛电厂运行观测和模拟实验，分析了卷载效应中机械损伤和高温冲击对梭幼鱼和对虾仔虾的危害。研究表明，电厂冷却系统内流速≥２．０ｍ／ｓ，滤网孔径８ｍｍ时，对体长７－１７ｍｍ和２０－３４ｍｍ仔虾的致死率分别为２８．３％－５５．３％和２８．６％－６６．９％；对体长２０－４０ｍｍ梭幼鱼的致死率为６３．４％－７８．８％。卷载致死率与生物的密度、体长及形态特征有关。模拟实验结果为：０．９－１．０５ｍ／ｓ的流     

Correlates of extra-pair fertilization success in hooded warblers

We examined correlates of extra-pair fertilization (EPF) success in the hooded warbler (Wilsonia citrina), a species where females pursue extra-pair matings. The good genes hypothesis predicts that females choose extra-pair mates with morphological or behavioral traits that reflect differences in male genetic quality. EPFs were common, as 35.3% (42/119) of broods contained extra-pair young (EPY) and 26.7% (95/356) of nestlings were the result of EPFs. There was a strong skew in male EPF success which increased the variance in annual male mating success 2–3 fold. However, male morphology did not predict EPF success, as extra-pair males were not older or larger than the males they cuckolded. Likewise, there were no significant correlations between the proportion of extra-pair young in a brood and male size or age. The good genes hypothesis predicts that high-quality males will be consistently preferred as genetic mates, but the number of young sired by a male with his social mate was not consistent from one year to the next. There was a significant negative correlation between female age and proportion of EPY produced, which could result if older females obtain higher-quality social mates. We found no strong evidence that females choose extra-pair mates for good genes, but females may use behavioral rather than morphological cues to assess relative male quality. Received: 31 May 1996 / Accepted after revision: 17 October 1996     

High paternal investment in unrelated young: extra-pair paternity and male parental care in house martins

The response of males to reduced paternity has important consequences for the evolution and maintenance of a mixed reproductive strategy. Paternity is predicted to affect directly the level of male parental care in some cases but not in others. The response of males to reduced paternity will be influenced by their ability to assess their paternity, the predictability of cuckoldry and the costs and benefits of parental care. Although male house martins (Delichon urbica) provide among the highest levels of male parental care known in passerines (incubation, brooding and feeding nestlings), there was no evidence that cuckolded males substantially reduced their level of parental care, and, as a result, all young fledged successfully. Thus, extra-pair fertilizations enhanced the reproductive success of some males because they were able to parasitize the parental care of cuckolded males. We discuss several conditions which may favor extensive male parental care even when the male's paternity is very low.