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Selected AbstractsPredicting the relationship between local and regional species richness from a patch occupancy dynamics modelJOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2000B. Hugueny Summary 1.,A linear relationship between the number of species in ecological communities (local richness) and the species pools from which the communities are drawn (regional richness) suggests that species interactions are not sufficient to limit local richness and that communities are not saturated with species. Instead, this relationship implies that communities are open to regional influences and are interlinked by dispersal. 2.,Here we show how the linear relationship between local and regional richness in real, noninteractive, assemblages of cynipid gall wasps on California oaks, can be predicted from a simple patch-occupancy model. 3.,One cynipid assemblage has been surveyed for 3 years, allowing for crude estimates of colonization and extinction rates per patch. Using the mainland/island model of patch occupancy dynamics, these rates are combined with the observed number of cynipid species associated with each oak species (regional richness) to predict the expected local species richness in each patch. Assuming that species are independently distributed among localities, the expected variance in species richness among localities is also computed. 4.,The model is then tested on an independent data set. When differences in sampling effort (number of surveyed trees per locality) were accounted for, the regression equation relating observed (n = 41) to predicted local species richness does not differ statistically from the line of perfect agreement. The residuals are also distributed according to the predicted variance. 5.,Although not statistically significant, the variance in local richness appears to be slightly underestimated by the model. One explanation may be that cynipid species display some positive covariance in their distribution among localities, that is, groups of species occur together in given localities more frequently than would be expected by chance. Variance ratio tests identified statistically positive covariance within cynipid assemblages for three oaks species. 6.,The close fit of the model to the data supports the theoretical scenario for noninteractive communities, that the slope of the local,regional richness relationship and patch-occupancy processes are different expressions of the same phenomenon. [source] Instrumental and Expert Assessment of Mahon Cheese TextureJOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE, Issue 7 2000J. Benedito ABSTRACT: To improve Mahon cheese texture assessment, the relationship between instrumental and sensory measurements was sought. For that purpose 30 pieces of Mahon cheese from different batches and 2 different manufacturers were examined. Textural characteristics at different curing times were evaluated by uniaxial compression, puncture, and sensory analysis. Significant linear correlations were found between instrumental and sensory measurements. A logarithmic model (Weber-Fechner) fitted data better than a linear one. Only 1 factor was extracted when considering all the instrumental and sensory variables, thus indicating that both sets of measurements are related to the same phenomenon. The best predictors for Mahon cheese sensory attributes were found to be cheese moisture, deformability modulus, and slope in puncture. [source] Post-transfusion white cell count in the sick preterm neonateJOURNAL OF PAEDIATRICS AND CHILD HEALTH, Issue 1 2001IMR Wright Objective: A previous report demonstrated post-transfusion leucocytosis as a potential confounding factor in the diagnosis of sepsis in critically ill adult patients. In We wished to establish if the same phenomenon occurred in the sick preterm neonate and whether this significantly altered the indices considered for potential neonatal infection. Methodology: Transfusion and full blood count data in a level 3 neonatal intensive care unit were prospectively recorded for 3 months. Results: One hundred and fourteen transfusion events were recorded from 37 infants. Median white blood cell count increased 0.9 × 109/L (confidence interval (CI) 0.4,2.4) in the first 8 h following transfusion (P = 0.032). Median neutrophil count increased by 0.4 × 109/L (CI 0.1,1.7) in the same 8 h (P = 0.05). Median neutrophil left shift decreased 1.2% (CI 1.1,5.8%) over the 24 h post-transfusion. No change in band count was observed. Conclusions: A mild post-transfusion white cell increase occurs in sick neonates. Because of the magnitude of effect, it is unlikely that this interesting physiological response would interfere with the diagnosis of sepsis in this population. [source] Disagreement between subjective and actigraphic measures of sleep duration in a population-based study of elderly persons,JOURNAL OF SLEEP RESEARCH, Issue 3 2008JULIA F. VAN DEN BERG Summary Sleep duration is an important concept in epidemiological studies. It characterizes a night's sleep or a person's sleep pattern, and is associated with numerous health outcomes. In most large studies, sleep duration is assessed with questionnaires or sleep diaries. As an alternative, actigraphy may be used, as it objectively measures sleep parameters and is feasible in large studies. However, actigraphy and sleep diaries may not measure exactly the same phenomenon. Our study aims to determine disagreement between actigraphic and diary estimates of sleep duration, and to investigate possible determinants of this disagreement. This investigation was embedded in the population-based Rotterdam Study. The study population consisted of 969 community-dwelling participants aged 57,97 years. Participants wore an actigraph and kept a sleep diary for, on average, six consecutive nights. Both measures were used to determine total sleep time (TST). In 34% of the participants, the estimated TST in the sleep diaries deviated more than 1 h from actigraphically measured TST. The level of disagreement between diary and actigraphic measures decreased with subjective and actigraphic measures of sleep quality, and increased with male gender, poor cognitive function and functional disability. Actigraphically measured poor sleep was often accompanied by longer subjective estimates of TST, whereas subjectively poor sleepers tended to report shorter TST in their diaries than was measured with actigraphy. We recommend, whenever possible, to use multiple measures of sleep duration, to perform analyses with both, and to examine the consistency of the results over assessment methods. [source] Experimental observation of a strange temporal oscillation of X-ray Pendellösung fringesJOURNAL OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION, Issue 5 2009Jun-ichi Yoshimura As a strange property not explained by existing theories, it has been known from experiment that X-ray moiré and Pendellösung interference fringes show a small spatial oscillation in the beam path in free space that the diffraction image carrying those fringes is propagated after emerging from the crystal. In connection with the investigation into this strange fringe oscillation, it has been found, by an experiment successively recording Pendellösung-fringe topographs using an X-ray CCD camera, that X-ray Pendellösung fringes also show a small temporal oscillation. Characteristics of this temporal Pendellösung-fringe oscillation, namely irregularities in the fringe profile, the manner of fringe oscillation and a reciprocal correlation between oscillation amplitude and fringe contrast, are shown to be very similar to those of the previously reported spatial oscillation of moiré and Pendellösung fringes. Therefore this temporal oscillation is supposed to have the same origin as the spatial oscillation, revealing another section of the same phenomenon. This discovery of the temporal oscillation advances a step nearer to the full understanding of this strange phenomenon, while disclosing a new property of Pendellösung fringes. As well as the above, a three-dimensional profile representation (surface plot) is given of the image of Pendellösung fringes, to make it clear that unidentified fine intensity modulations, called subfringes in this paper, are produced superposed on the main fringe system. Overall inspection of the intensity profiles of the fringe-imaged topographs suggests that temporal intensity oscillations also occur on a more global scale than the extension of individual fringes, as an unidentified action of the wavefield. [source] Organic matter from comet 81P/Wild 2, IDPs, and carbonaceous meteorites; similarities and differencesMETEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE, Issue 10 2009S. Wirick Sections were analyzed using a scanning transmission X-ray microscope (SXTM) and carbon X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectra were collected. We compared the carbon XANES spectra of these Wild 2 samples with a database of spectra on thirty-four interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) and with several meteorites. Two of the particles analyzed are iron sulfides and there is evidence that an aliphatic compound associated with these particles can survive high temperatures. An iron sulfide from an IDP demonstrates the same phenomenon. Another, mostly carbon free containing particle radiation damaged, something we have not observed in any IDPs we have analyzed or any indigenous organic matter from the carbonaceous meteorites, Tagish Lake, Orgueil, Bells and Murchison. The carbonaceous material associated with this particle showed no mass loss during the initial analysis but chemically changed over a period of two months. The carbon XANES spectra of the other four particles varied more than spectra from IDPs and indigenous organic matter from meteorites. Comparison of the carbon XANES spectra from these particles with 1. the carbon XANES spectra from thirty-four IDPs (<15 micron in size) and 2. the carbon XANES spectra from carbonaceous material from the Tagish Lake, Orgueil, Bells, and Murchison meteorites show that 81P/Wild 2 carbon XANES spectra are more similar to IDP carbon XANES spectra then to the carbon XANES spectra of meteorites. [source] Edge effects as the principal cause of area effects on birds in fragmented secondary forestOIKOS, Issue 6 2010Cristina Banks-Leite Bird communities in tropical forests are strongly affected by both patch area and habitat edges. The fact that both effects are intrinsically confounded in space raises questions about how these two widely reported ecological patterns interact, and whether they are independent or simply different spatial manifestations of the same phenomenon. Moreover, do small patches of secondary forest, in landscapes where the most sensitive species have gone locally extinct, exhibit similar patterns to those previously observed in fragmented and continuous primary forests? We addressed these questions by testing edge-related differences in vegetation structure and bird community composition at 31 sites in fragmented and continuous landscapes in the imperilled Atlantic forest of Brazil. Over a two-year period, birds were captured with mist nets to a standardized effort of 680 net-hours at each site (,22 000 net-hours resulting in 3381 captures from 114 species). We found that the bird community in patches of secondary forest was degraded in species composition compared to primary continuous forest, but still exhibited a strong response to edge effects. In fragmented secondary forests, edge and area effects also interacted, such that the magnitude of edge to interior differences on bird community composition declined markedly with patch size. The change in bird species composition between forest interiors and edges was similar to the change in community composition between large and small patches (because species had congruent responses to edge and area), but after controlling for edge effects community composition was no longer affected by patch area. Our results show that although secondary forests hold an impoverished bird community, ecological patterns such as area and edge effects are similar to those reported for primary forests. Our data provide further evidence that edge effects are the main drivers of area effects in fragmented landscapes. [source] Women's Perspective on Men's Control and Aggression in Intimate RelationshipsAMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 2 2009Zeev Winstok PhD The relationship of men's self-control capability; their need to control their wives; and their use of verbal aggression, threats, and physical forms of aggression against their partners, as reported by women, were examined. Data were obtained from a stratified probability sample of 2,544 women drawn from the general population in Israel. Initially, structural equation modeling analysis showed that (a) men's need to control their partners and their ability to control themselves were negatively related, and were 2 aspects of personal control; (b) men's verbal aggression, threats of physical aggression and actual physical aggression toward their partners were closely related, and were 3 aspects of aggressive behavior; (c) personal control and aggressive behavior were closely related. Next, a revised model that fitted the data better, demonstrated that verbal aggression was more closely related to personal control than to aggressive behavior. Finally, a model representing co-occurrence of control and violent expressions was tested. This model yielded the best fit to the data. We concluded that control and aggression are two conceptualizations of the same phenomenon, rather than 2 distinct, yet interrelated, concepts. [source] The feedback correct-related positivity: Sensitivity of the event-related brain potential to unexpected positive feedbackPSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 5 2008Clay B. Holroyd Abstract The N200 and the feedback error-related negativity (fERN) are two components of the event-related brain potential (ERP) that share similar scalp distributions, time courses, morphologies, and functional dependencies, which raises the question as to whether they are actually the same phenomenon. To investigate this issue, we recorded the ERP from participants engaged in two tasks that independently elicited the N200 and fERN. Our results indicate that they are, in fact, the same ERP component and further suggest that positive feedback elicits a positive-going deflection in the time range of the fERN. Taken together, these results indicate that negative feedback elicits a common N200 and that modulation of fERN amplitude results from the superposition on correct trials of a positive-going deflection that we term the feedback correct-related positivity. [source] The selective processing of briefly presented affective pictures: An ERP analysisPSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 3 2004Harald T. Schupp Abstract Recent event-related potential (ERP) studies revealed the selective processing of affective pictures. The present study explored whether the same phenomenon can be observed when pictures are presented only briefly. Toward this end, pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant pictures from the International Affective Pictures Series were presented for 120 ms while event related potentials were measured by dense sensor arrays. As observed for longer picture presentations, brief affective pictures were selectively processed. Specifically, pleasant and unpleasant pictures were associated with an early endogenous negative shift over temporo-occipital sensors compared to neutral images. In addition, affective pictures elicited enlarged late positive potentials over centro-parietal sensor sites relative to neutral images. These data suggest that a quick glimpse of emotionally relevant stimuli appears sufficient to tune the brain for selective perceptual processing. [source] Believing in the purpose of events,why does it occur, and is it supernatural?APPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 2 2010Annika M. Svedholm What is the cognitive basis for the common belief that random events have a purpose, and are these beliefs a form of supernatural thinking, as Bering has suggested? Two questionnaire studies with Finnish volunteer participants (N,=,2650, 1830 females, mean age 26) used structural equation modelling (SEM) to test the hypotheses that beliefs in the purpose of events are part of the same phenomenon as paranormal beliefs and that confusions of core knowledge of the psychological, biological and physical domains predict both sets of beliefs. In Study 1, participants were not given a definition of purpose, and in Study 2, purpose was explicitly defined as entailing planning by a supernatural agent. The results from both studies supported the predictions. The results indicate that construing events in terms of purpose is not a universal tendency but an individual cognitive bias that can be accounted for by false analogies from intuitive psychology, biology and physics. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] HCV infective virions can be carried by human plateletsCELL BIOCHEMISTRY AND FUNCTION, Issue 6 2004A. Pugliese Abstract It has been previously demonstrated that platelets (PLTs) can bind and transport HIV-1 infectious virions. Hepatitis C virus (HCV),HIV-1 co-infection occurs frequently among users of illicit intravenous drugs, thereby increasing the severity of HIV disease and the evolution towards chronic active hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma of HCV-related hepatitis. In the present study we investigated whether or not PLTs can carry HCV, and studied the binding mechanisms. Purified PLTs, obtained from healthy donors, HCV negative and HIV negative, were adsorbed with HCV-containing serum and then employed to infect a THP-1 monocytoid cell line. Replication of HCV was observed as shown by positivity for the E2 antigen within THP-1 cells, by indirect immunofluorescence; moreover, HCV-RNA was detected in supernatants of THP-1 cells at day 7 post-incubation with HCV-adsorbed PLTs. The binding of HCV to PLTs seems to involve fibronectin (FN), as already shown in the case of HIV-1. Indeed, treatment with RGD (Gly-Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser), the key oligopeptide of FN binding, inhibits the ability of HCV to be carried by PLTs in infective forms; the same phenomenon occurs with Mabs to FN. Moreover the infection of THP-1 cells seems to increase FN surface expression, as demonstrated by immunofluorescence tests. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] |