Relationships between colleague ratings and faculty compensation

Resource acquisition and allocation to different biological functions over the course of life have strong implications for animal reproductive success. Animals can experience different environmental conditions during their lifetime, and this may play an important role in shaping their life-history and resource allocation strategies. In this study we investigate larval and adult resource allocation to reproductive and survival functions in the parasitoid wasp Ibalia leucospoides (family Ibaliidae). The pattern of larval resource allocation was inferred from the relationship between adult body size and ovigeny index (OI; a relative measure of investment in early reproduction determined as the ratio between the initial egg load and the potential lifetime fecundity); and adult resource allocation was explored through the influence of adult feeding on reproduction, maintenance and metabolism, in laboratory experiments. Food acquisition by this parasitoid in the wild was also examined. The relationship between size and OI was constant, suggesting no differential resource allocation to initial egg load and potential lifetime fecundity with size. This finding is in line with that predicted by adaptive models for the proovigenic egg maturation strategy (OI = 1). Despite of this, I. leucospoides showed a high OI of 0.77, which places this species among the weakly synovigenic ones (OI < 1). Adult feeding had no effect on post-emergence egg maturation. However, wasps extended their lifespan through feeding albeit only when food was provided ad libitum. Although the information we obtained on the feeding behaviour of free-foraging wasps is limited, our results suggest that food intake in the wild, while possible, may not be frequent in this parasitoid. We discuss the results relative to the environmental factors, such as reproductive opportunities and food availability, which may have driven the evolution of larval and adult pattern of resource allocation in parasitoids.

A functional-structural model for growth of clonal bunchgrasses

Japanese stinging nettles, Urtica thunbergiana, in Nara Park (660 ha), central Japan, where several hundred sika deer Cervus nippon have been protected for 1200 years, bear quite dense stinging hairs on leaves and stems compared to those in surrounding areas where the deer density is very low. Our previous studies have suggested that nettles in the park have evolved such a trait as a constitutive resistance against sika deer through natural selection. Here, we explored differences in plant architecture, flowering phenology, resource allocation pattern and sexual expression between a heavily haired and a lightly haired population with relationship to defence against sika deer. We raised seedlings from the two populations in a greenhouse and monitored relevant traits for three successive years. Individuals from the heavily haired population had earlier flowering, longer flowering period and lower growth rate than those from the lightly haired population. The former allocated more resources to inflorescences and leaves but less to stems and rhizomes than the latter. Most individuals from the heavily haired population were monoecious irrespective of age, while in the lightly haired population the proportion of females increased with age. These results indicate that the historically browsed population has evolved constitutive tolerance conferred by early and prolonged reproduction and that a resource allocation trade-off exists between defence and growth. Consequently, this study suggests that sika deer have exerted selection on U. thunbergiana for changes not only in defensive traits but also in resource allocation pattern and sexual expression.

Patterns of resource allocation in the dioecious Rumex acetosa and R. acetosella were investigated. Males were found to allocate more to reproduction during flower production than females, whereas females invested considerably more in reproduction during seed production. Altogether, females allocated both a higher total amount and a higher proportion of energy to reproduction than did males. By regression analysis, the influence of plant size on reproductive effort was examined separately for males and females. The results indicated that while reproductive effort is sometimes lower for tall plants than for small plants, size-independent effects have a greater influence on reproductive effort than size distribution. An analysis of variance was conducted to investigate the effects of population, season, sex and their interactions on plant size, and an analysis of covariance was used to study differences in resource allocation patterns. Different interaction effects were found to be most important in the two species of Rumex.

Resource-constrained project scheduling (RCPS) aims to minimize project duration under limited resource availabilities. The heuristic methods that are often used to solve the RCPS problem make use of different priority rules. The comparative merits of different priority rules have not been discussed in the literature in sufficient detail. This study is a response to this research gap. It compares 17 heuristic priority rules and seeks the best performing heuristic priority rule. This is the first study ever that compares heuristic priority rules by considering combinations of variations in (1) resource allocation procedures, (2) number of activities, (3) number of resource constraints, and (4) resource supply levels. The objective is to understand the relative merits of heuristic rules used in solving the RCPS problem. The findings indicate that the “minimum late finish time” rule generates the shortest predicted project duration when used in parallel resource allocation, whereas the “minimum late start time”, “minimum late finish time”, and the “highest rank of positional weight 2” rules perform best in serial resource allocation. It was also found that parallel resource allocation is slightly superior to serial resource allocation in most instances.

Traditional algorithm for resource leveling optimization is based on the resource allocation pattern which is conventional distribution, i.e. the amount of resource invested is constant through the time when the leveling activity is underway. However, that assumption is always incompatible with practical working pattern of resource. In practice, resource allocation varies often with different features of activity and resource. The practical situation of multiple resource allocation patterns in network is studied in this paper, and the logical relation and resource constrains among activities under the condition of unconventional resource allocation pattern is analyzed. Mean square deviation of resource is taken as an evaluation function for evaluating resource equilibrium. Network schedule leveling optimization model based on unconventional allocation pattern of resource is constructed. By examples and contrastive analysis, this model is proved to be practical and effective.

Persistency of plant growth is closely related to the manner of resource allocation; however, plants often shift the pattern of resource allocation depending on their growth condition. We examined how the plants with different levels of persistency change their resource allocation patterns in response to defoliation using three Lolium species: L. temulentum (annual); L. multiflorum (predominantly annual but occasionally overwinter); and L. perenne (perennial). We subjected the plants to clipping treatment by excising approximately 70% of the aboveground body parts of the plants from the three species, and compared the growth pattern of clipped plants with that of the intact controls. Lolium species with different persistency have developed different reaction norms for resource allocation to clipping treatment. After clipping, L. temulentum and L. multiflorum maintained the proportion of reproductive tillers and seed productivity resulting in an increase in the resource investment in the development of reproductive parts, which was compensated with the loss of allocation to the development of vegetative parts. Annual species, which can propagate themselves only through seed generation, possibly enhanced seed production to ensure regeneration under undesirable condition at the cost of vegetative growth. In contrast, L. perenne invested more resources in foliage development by reducing seed production in response to clipping treatment. Perennial plants that can endure adverse effects possibly allocate substantial portion of the resources to vegetative growth for ensuring survival. L. multiflorum showed similar regrowth habits with respect to the constant foliage and seed production per panicle as those of L. perenne, but differed from those of L. temulentum. This may be because the two former species have common ancestors.

Evolutionary maintenance of dioecy is a complex phenomenon and varies by species and underlying pathways. Also, different sexes may exhibit variable resource allocation (RA) patterns among the vegetative and reproductive functions. Such differences are reflected in the extent of sexual dimorphism. Though rarely pursued, investigation on plant species harbouring intermediate sexual phenotypes may reveal useful information on the strategy pertaining to sex-ratios and evolutionary pathways. We studied H. rhamnoides ssp. turkestanica, a subdioecious species with polygamomonoecious (PGM) plants, in western Himalaya. The species naturally inhabits a wide range of habitats ranging from river deltas to hill slopes. These attributes of the species are conducive to test the influence of abiotic factors on sexual dimorphism, and RA strategy among different sexes. The study demonstrates sexual dimorphism in vegetative and reproductive traits. The sexual dimorphism index, aligned the traits like height, number of branches, flower production, and dry-weight of flowers with males while others including fresh-weight of leaves, number of thorns, fruit production were significantly associated with females. The difference in RA pattern is more pronounced in reproductive traits of the male and female plants, while in the PGM plants the traits overlap. In general, habitat conditions did not influence either the extent of sexual dimorphism or RA pattern. However, it seems to influence secondary sex-ratio as females show their significant association with soil moisture. Our findings on sexual dimorphism and RA pattern supports attributes of wind-pollination in the species. The observed extent of sexual dimorphism in the species reiterates limited genomic differences among the sexes and the ongoing evolution of dioecy via monoecy in the species. The dynamics of RA in the species appears to be independent of resource availability in the habitats as the species grows in a resource-limited and extreme environment.

Multiple asynchronous devices, that exploit a pool of radio resources to communicate, form a key 5G communication scenario. Considering multicarrier transmission for this scenario, the expected multiuser synchronization errors at a receiving node, may be compensated by inserting guard subcarriers between transmissions from different devices. We analyze the radio resource overhead due to the use of guard subcarriers in correlation with the adopted multicarrier waveform and subcarrier allocation scheme. We show that Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) can hardly serve the aforementioned scenario, while, in general case the use of guard subcarriers introduces another strain on the resource allocation procedure, questioning the performance of resource allocators that in conventional scenarios are highly efficient.

6 - Optimality Approaches to Resource Allocation in Woody Tissues

Background:Emergency medical services (EMS) encounters with palliative care patients present unique operational challenges. As EMS providers increasingly care for individuals with life-limiting illnesses, understanding the intersection of emergency care and palliative medicine has become essential to optimizing healthcare delivery.Objective:This study examines EMS operational metrics, resource allocation patterns, and clinical outcomes among palliative care patients in Thailand.Methods:This retrospective analysis study investigated operational times, resource utilization, and clinical outcomes in palliative care patients utilizing EMS services, derived from electronic medical records and EMS documentation. This study was conducted at the Srinagarind Hospital EMS unit from October 2019 to September 2024. All patients diagnosed with palliative care (ICD-10 code Z51.5) who utilized EMS services were included.Results:Palliative care patients represented 6.9% (N = 340) of total EMS utilization (N = 4520), with cases increasing from 51 patients (15.0%) in 2019–2020 to 89 patients (26.2%) in 2023–2024. The median age was 72 years, with 62.9% male patients. Palliative care patients demonstrated significantly prolonged EMS operational times: activation (1.51 min vs 1.27 min), response (10.21 min vs 9.35 min), and scene time (22.05 min vs 10.02 min, p < 0.001). Resource utilization showed higher rates of pain medication administration (30.88% vs 7.79%) and exclusive use of comfort-focused interventions. Patient outcomes revealed significantly higher discharge rates.Conclusion:Palliative care patients utilizing EMS services represent a distinct population requiring specialized operational approaches. Extended scene times reflect appropriate symptom-focused care delivery rather than rapid transport protocols. Higher discharge rates validate the EMS role as a symptom management bridge.

Success in aerial dispersal involves a trade-off between propagule size and dispersal ability, such that reducing weight may increase dispersal capability. Therefore, dispersing propagules such as plant seeds, fungal spores, and insect alates need to settle in new habitats with very limited resources. In termites, the time from alate dispersal to colony foundation is the most critical period in their life cycle, because a male and female pair establishes a new colony without help from others. In addition, termites depend largely on gut microbes for their nutrition. However, little is known about how termite founding pairs with limited resources establish new colonies and raise their first brood in association with their gut symbionts. Here, we provide an integrated analysis of the reproduction schedule, gut microbial fluctuations, and resource allocation of founding pairs in incipient colonies of the subterranean termite Reticulitermes speratus. There was a steep increase followed by a rapid decrease in the numbers of intestinal protozoa (hereafter, gut microbial pulse) at the time of larval hatching. Besides the monogamous pairs, same-sex (male-male and female-female) pairs also form tentative colonies in this species. Comparisons of changes in the amounts of protein and lipids in the different pair types revealed that the gut microbial pulse played an essential role in the parental feeding of the first-brood larvae. It was also observed that founders utilized stored protein and lipids for brood production. Our study highlights a significant role for intestinal symbionts during the early stage of the termite life cycle. Propagules of most animals and plants encounter resource limitations after dispersal. This is especially true for termite alates; monogamous pairs found new colonies without help from workers. How do they manage the limited resources, including their nutritional reserves and gut microbes, during colony foundation? To gain a better understanding, we analyzed time-series data of reproduction schedules, gut microbial fluctuations, and resource allocation patterns in the founders of incipient termite colonies. We identified a “gut microbial pulse”, i.e., a steep increase followed by a rapid decrease in the number of intestinal protozoa, that occurred at the time of larval hatching. Our data imply that resources derived from the pulse play an essential role in parental provisioning to larvae. This study highlights a novel strategy of termites to overcome resource-limited situations and successfully establish a new colony.

The article examines the financial system of the Russian Empire in the form of money flows between the largest centers, implying that these flows were opposite to the flows of goods and services. The resource allocation pattern is thus revealed in aspects of the markets’ geography and hierarchy, which clarifies the capacity of the financial system to support economic growth. The source for this study is the statistics of the commercial transfers of the State Bank of the Russian Empire for 1898 (excluding treasury transfers), processed through network and geoinformation analysis. The study results show that the highest level of the payment network in the financial system topology of the Russian Empire was located around St. Petersburg and Moscow, which indicates a strong centralization of national money flows. To a great degree, Moscow was a nationwide wholesale center for the sale of goods and services, while St. Petersburg developed into the principal center for resource allocation throughout the country, implying various forms of investment in the economy. In such a centralized system, there was no great need for second-level interregional ties. For regional payment networks (the third level, around Odessa, Warsaw, Kiev, Riga, Baku, Nizhniy Novgorod, Kharkov, and Rostov-on-Don), closer and more intensive financial ties are revealed in the west, in the Odessa-Kiev-Warsaw “triangle”, which indicates a greater saturation of the western and southwestern regions with financial resources.

Examining resource allocation practices, including savings, of charter schools is critical to understanding their financial viability and sustainability. Using 9 years of finance data from California, we find charter schools spend less on instruction and pupil support services than traditional public schools. The lower spending on instruction and pupil support is offset, not by administrative costs, but by higher spending on operations, consultant services, and a greater rate of savings (carry-over). Further, analysis indicates that the differences in resource allocation patterns between charter schools and traditional public schools is not completely explained by the characteristics of students served. The resource allocation practices revealed in this study, combined with findings from prior research, shed some light on how charter schools may avoid financial deficiency and ensure their sustainability.

Although numerous studies have examined reproductive strategies in weedy species, many have overlooked the influence of plant size on resource allocation patterns. Resource investment in Cyperus esculentus , measured as allocation to sexual structures and clonal propagules (tubers), was assessed at the genet level in a potted experiment under two contrasting light‐availability conditions, using three clonal populations from northeastern Argentina. It was found that shading consistently reduces both sexual and clonal reproduction, along with declines in genet size, while the relative investment in leaf mass remains invariant. Both sexual and clonal mass are strongly dependent on genet size under shade, where resource availability for growth is limited. Under full sun, no evidence appears for a linear relationship between genet size and either sexual or tuber mass; nevertheless, the reallocation of resources and meristems towards clonal expansion (i.e., the production of new ramets) may influence both reproductive functions. No association is evident between reproductive allocation plasticity across populations and fitness traits (represented by sexual and clonal mass); differences in reproduction among populations arise from variation in vegetative size rather than allocation strategy. A minimum genet size is required for both sexual reproduction and tuber production. Although no significant phenotypic correlation is found between sexual and clonal allocations, the negative relationship between sexual allocation and mean tuber size suggests that a trade‐off exists between the two reproductive functions. A thorough understanding of size‐dependent reproductive relationships in Cyperus esculentus has significant implications for its control and preventive management.