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Plausible Cause (plausible + cause)
Selected AbstractsThe Vanishing Trial: An Examination of Trials and Related Matters in Federal and State CourtsJOURNAL OF EMPIRICAL LEGAL STUDIES, Issue 3 2004Marc Galanter This article traces the decline in the portion of cases that are terminated by trial and the decline in the absolute number of trials in various American judicial fora. The portion of federal civil cases resolved by trial fell from 11.5 percent in 1962 to 1.8 percent in 2002, continuing a long historic decline. More startling was the 60 percent decline in the absolute number of trials since the mid 1980s. The makeup of trials shifted from a predominance of torts to a predominance of civil rights, but trials are declining in every case category. A similar decline in both the percentage and the absolute number of trials is found in federal criminal cases and in bankruptcy cases. The phenomenon is not confined to the federal courts; there are comparable declines of trials, both civil and criminal, in the state courts, where the great majority of trials occur. Plausible causes for this decline include a shift in ideology and practice among litigants, lawyers, and judges. Another manifestation of this shift is the diversion of cases to alternative dispute resolution forums. Within the courts, judges conduct trials at only a fraction of the rate that their predecessors did, but they are more heavily involved in the early stages of cases. Although virtually every other indicator of legal activity is rising, trials are declining not only in relation to cases in the courts but to the size of the population and the size of the economy. The consequences of this decline for the functioning of the legal system and for the larger society remain to be explored. [source] Spatial Tests of the Pesticide Drift, Habitat Destruction, UV-B, and Climate-Change Hypotheses for California Amphibian DeclinesCONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2002Carlos Davidson In California, the transport and deposition of pesticides from the agriculturally intensive Central Valley to the adjacent Sierra Nevada is well documented, and pesticides have been found in the bodies of Sierra frogs. Pesticides are therefore a plausible cause of declines, but to date no direct links have been found between pesticides and actual amphibian population declines. Using a geographic information system, we constructed maps of the spatial pattern of declines for eight declining California amphibian taxa, and compared the observed patterns of decline to those predicted by hypotheses of wind-borne pesticides, habitat destruction, ultraviolet radiation, and climate change. In four species, we found a strong positive association between declines and the amount of upwind agricultural land use, suggesting that wind-borne pesticides may be an important factor in declines. For two other species, declines were strongly associated with local urban and agricultural land use, consistent with the habitat-destruction hypothesis. The patterns of decline were not consistent with either the ultraviolet radiation or climate-change hypotheses for any of the species we examined. Resumen: Por mucho tiempo se ha sugerido que los pesticidas transportados por el viento son una causa de la declinación de anfibios en áreas sin destrucción de hábitat evidente. En California, el transporte y depósito de pesticidas provenientes del Valle Central, donde se practica la agricultura intensiva, hacia la Sierra Nevada adyacente está bien documentado y se han encontrado pesticidas en el cuerpo de ranas de la Sierra. Por lo tanto, los pesticidas son una causa verosímil de las declinaciones, pero a la fecha no se han encontrado relaciones directas entre los pesticidas y la declinación de anfibios. Construimos mapas de sistemas de información geográfica del patrón espacial de las declinaciones de ocho taxones de anfibios de California, y comparamos los patrones de declinación observados con los esperados por las hipótesis de pesticidas transportados por el viento, la destrucción del hábitat, la radiación ultravioleta y el cambio climático. En cuatro especies, encontramos una fuerte asociación positiva entre las declinaciones y la cantidad de tierras de uso agrícola en dirección contraria a los vientos, lo que sugiere que los pesticidas transportados por el viento pueden ser un factor importante en las declinaciones. Para otras dos especies, las declinaciones se asociaron contundentemente con el uso del suelo urbano y agrícola, lo cual es consistente con la hipótesis de la destrucción del hábitat. Los patrones de declinación no fueron consistentes con la hipótesis de la radiación ultravioleta ni la de cambio climático para ninguna de las especies examinadas. [source] A major fish stranding caused by a natural hypoxic event in a shallow bay of the eastern South Pacific OceanJOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue 7 2010E. Hernández-Miranda A massive beaching and mortality of fishes occurred in Coliumo Bay, a shallow bay located along the coast of the eastern South Pacific Ocean on 3 January 2008. This stranding was a consequence of an abrupt decrease in the dissolved oxygen concentration throughout the whole water column, due to the effect of intense upwelling along the coast off central-southern Chile. The main objectives of this study were: (1) to characterize taxonomically and biologically the fish species assemblage present in this beaching; (2) to evaluate several physiological indicators for the condition of the beached species at the time of their death; and (3) to assess the possible cause,effect mechanisms involved in the fishes death and the changes that took place in the fish community throughout the time. In this beaching, 26 fish species were identified: 23 teleosts, one myxiniform and two elasmobranchs. Most beached specimens were juveniles. Haematological and histological evidence indicate that severe hypoxia that lasted for at least 48 h was the most plausible cause of death. The main conclusion of this study is that the presence of oxygen-poor equatorial sub-surface water in the shallow coastal zone due to intense regional-scale upwelling caused the fish stranding. Although the effect of the hypoxic event was severe for the fish assemblage of Coliumo Bay, the rapid recuperation observed suggests that hypoxic events at the local spatial scale can be buffered by migration processes from the fish community inhabiting close by areas non-affected by low oxygen conditions. The effect that severe hypoxic events may have on larger spatial scales remains unknown. [source] The distribution of mountain hares Lepus timidus in Europe: a challenge from brown hares L. europaeus?MAMMAL REVIEW, Issue 1 2003CARL-GUSTAF THULIN ABSTRACT 1.,Throughout the most recent glacial period (Weichsel), the mountain hare Lepus timidus had a continuous distribution in the tundra habitat south of the ice-rim. When the ice retreated, mountain hares colonized deglaciated land, and spread over northern Europe. 2.,Since the Weichsel, the mountain hare's distribution in Europe has been gradually reduced and at present comprises Ireland and the Scottish Highlands, high altitudes in the Alps, isolated forests in eastern Poland, most of Fennoscandia and from the Baltic countries eastwards through Russia. Declines during the last century have been observed in Sweden and Russia. 3.,This review defines and evaluates causes for this gradual reduction and fragmentation of the mountain hare's distribution, with special focus on interactions with brown hares Lepus europaeus. The relative importance of diseases, predation, cultivation and interactions with other herbivores than brown hares are discussed. 4.,A plausible cause of the possible permanent disappearance of mountain hares in Europe appears to be exclusion by interspecific competition and hybridization with, and/or epidemic diseases mediated by, the congeneric brown hare. [source] Selective lesion of retrotrapezoid Phox2b-expressing neurons raises the apnoeic threshold in ratsTHE JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 12 2008Ana C. Takakura Injection of the neurotoxin saporin,substance P (SSP-SAP) into the retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN) attenuates the central chemoreflex in rats. Here we ask whether these deficits are caused by the destruction of a specific type of interneuron that expresses the transcription factor Phox2b and is non-catecholaminergic (Phox2b+TH,). We show that RTN contains around 2100 Phox2b+TH, cells. Injections of SSP-SAP into RTN destroyed Phox2b+TH, neurons but spared facial motoneurons, catecholaminergic and serotonergic neurons and the ventral respiratory column caudal to the facial motor nucleus. Two weeks after SSP-SAP, the apnoeic threshold measured under anaesthesia was unchanged when fewer than 57% of the Phox2b+TH, neurons were destroyed. However, destruction of 70 ± 3.5% of these cells was associated with a dramatic rise of the apnoeic threshold (from 5.6 to 7.9% end-expiratory P). In anaesthetized rats with unilateral lesions of around 70% of the Phox2b+TH, neurons, acute inhibition of the contralateral intact RTN with muscimol instantly eliminated phrenic nerve discharge (PND) but normal PND could usually be elicited by strong peripheral chemoreceptor stimulation (8/12 rats). Muscimol had no effect in rats with an intact contralateral RTN. In conclusion, the destruction of the Phox2b+TH, neurons is a plausible cause of the respiratory deficits caused by injection of SSP-SAP into RTN. Two weeks after toxin injection, 70% of these cells must be killed to cause a severe attenuation of the central chemoreflex under anaesthesia. The loss of an even greater percentage of these cells would presumably be required to produce significant breathing deficits in the awake state. [source] Partial growth hormone deficiency in adults; should we be looking for it?CLINICAL ENDOCRINOLOGY, Issue 4 2010Stephen M. Shalet Summary Quantitatively, GH secretion exists as a continuum in states ranging from good health through to hypopituitarism. Currently, GH replacement is considered only for adults designated as being severely GH deficient (GHD). In clinical practice the gold standard, on which the biochemical diagnosis of severe GHD is based, centres on the presence of two or more additional anterior pituitary hormone deficits. Cohorts of adults with partial GHD (Growth Hormone Insufficiency [GHI]) have been reported with adverse body composition changes, dyslipidaemia, insulin resistance, altered cardiac performance and increased carotid intima-media thickness. The diagnosis of GHI in an individual patient, however, is extremely difficult because such patients rarely exhibit additional anterior pituitary hormone deficits, and the levels of GH-dependent proteins, including IGF-I, are normal in the majority. Currently, GH replacement therapy should only be considered in a patient characterized as GHI by dynamic GH testing in whom there is a plausible cause for hypopituitarism and in whom the IGF-I level is pathologically low. [source] Reproductive health of bass in the Potomac, USA, drainage: Part 1.ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 5 2009Exploring the effects of proximity to wastewater treatment plant discharge Abstract Intersex (specifically, testicular oocytes) has been observed in male smallmouth bass (SMB; Micropterus dolomieu) and other centrarchids in the South Branch of the Potomac River, USA, and forks of the Shenandoah River, USA, during the past five years. This condition often is associated with exposure to estrogenic endocrine-disrupting chemicals in some fish species, but such chemicals and their sources have yet to be identified in the Potomac. In an attempt to better understand the plausible causes of this condition, we investigated the reproductive health of bass sampled up- and downstream of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent point sources on the Potomac River in Maryland, USA. Smallmouth bass were sampled from the Conococheague Creek and the Monocacy River, and largemouth bass (LMB; Micropterus salmoides) were collected near the Blue Plains WWTP on the mainstem of the Potomac River. Chemical analyses of compounds captured in passive samplers at these locations also were conducted. A high prevalence of intersex (82,100%) was identified in male SMB at all sites regardless of collection area. A lower prevalence of intersex (23%) was identified in male LMB collected at the Blue Plains site. When up- and downstream fish were compared, significant differences were noted only in fish from the Conococheague. Differences included condition factor, gonadosomatic index, plasma vitellogenin concentration, and estrogen to testosterone ratio. In general, chemicals associated with waste-water effluent, storm-water runoff, and agriculture were more prevalent at the downstream sampling sites. An exception was atrazine and its associated metabolites, which were present in greater concentrations at the upstream sites. It appears that proximity to effluent from WWTPs may influence the reproductive health of bass in the Potomac watershed, but inputs from other sources likely contribute to the widespread, high incidence of testicular oocytes. [source] Investigating the Incidence of type i errors for chronic whole effluent toxicity testing using Ceriodaphnia dubiaENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 1 2000Timothy F. Moore Abstract The risk of Type I error (false positives) is thought to be controlled directly by the selection of a critical p value for conducting statistical analyses. The critical value for whole effluent toxicity (WET) tests is routinely set to 0.05, thereby establishing a 95% confidence level about the statistical inferences. In order to estimate the incidence of Type I errors in chronic WET testing, a method blank-type study was performed. A number of municipal wastewater dischargers contracted 16 laboratories to conduct chronic WET tests using the standard test organism Ceriodaphnia dubia. Unbeknownst to the laboratories, the samples they received from the wastewater dischargers were comprised only of moderately hard water, using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's standard dilution water formula. Because there was functionally no difference between the sample water and the laboratory control/dilution water, the test results were expected to be less than or equal to 1 TUc (toxic unit). Of the 16 tests completed by the biomonitoring laboratories, two did not meet control performance criteria. Six of the remaining 14 valid tests (43%) indicated toxicity (TUc > 1) in the sample (i.e., no-observed-effect concentration or IC25 < 100%). This incidence of false positives was six times higher than expected when the critical value was set to 0.05. No plausible causes for this discrepancy were found. Various alternatives for reducing the rate of Type I errors are recommended, including greater reliance on survival endpoints and use of additional test acceptance criteria. [source] Integrating artificial intelligence into on-line statistical process controlQUALITY AND RELIABILITY ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL, Issue 1 2003Ruey-Shiang Guh Abstract Statistical process control (SPC) is one of the most effective tools of total quality management, the main function of which is to monitor and minimize process variations. Typically, SPC applications involve three major tasks in sequence: (1) monitoring the process, (2) diagnosing the deviated process and (3) taking corrective action. With the movement towards a computer integrated manufacturing environment, computer based applications need to be developed to implement the various SPC tasks automatically. However, the pertinent literature shows that nearly all the researches in this field have only focussed on the automation of monitoring the process. The remaining two tasks still need to be carried out by quality practitioners. This project aims to apply a hybrid artificial intelligence technique in building a real time SPC system, in which an artificial neural network based control chart monitoring sub-system and an expert system based control chart alarm interpretation sub-system are integrated for automatically implementing the SPC tasks comprehensively. This system was designed to provide the quality practitioner with three kinds of information related to the current status of the process: (1) status of the process (in-control or out-of-control). If out-of-control, an alarm will be signaled, (2) plausible causes for the out-of-control situation and (3) effective actions against the out-of-control situation. An example is provided to demonstrate that hybrid intelligence can be usefully applied for solving the problems in a real time SPC system. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||