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Relative Failure (relative + failure)
Selected AbstractsDifferential migration of chiffchaffs Phylloscopus collybita and P. ibericus in Europe and AfricaJOURNAL OF AVIAN BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2005Paulo Catry Differential migration is a widespread, but poorly understood, phenomenon in birds. In this paper, we present the first detailed field study of differential migration in the Old World warbler (Sylviidae) family. We studied two chiffchaff Phylloscopus [collybita] semispecies: the common chiffchaff P. [c.] collybita and the Iberian chiffchaff P. [c.] ibericus. Using data collected at several latitudes in Europe and Africa, we present convincing evidence for differential distance migration of sexes in chiffchaffs, with females moving further than males. Interestingly, while there was a pronounced gradient in the sex-ratios in Europe and North Africa (with an increasing proportion of females with declining latitude), no clear pattern was found south of the Sahara, where sex-ratios were more male-biased than predicted by a simple latitude model. This suggests that, amongst the chiffchaffs wintering in West Africa, a large proportion is composed by Iberian birds, and provides support to previous suggestions that Iberian chiffchaffs are long distance migrants. Results from detailed studies in Senegal also show that chiffchaffs display differential timing of spring migration, with males leaving the winter quarters considerably earlier than females. The results are discussed in the framework of the three main (non-mutually exclusive) hypotheses attempting to explain the latitudinal segregation of the sexes. Given the relative failure of standard comparative studies to discriminate between competing single-factor hypotheses to explain differential migration, it is argued that the chiffchaff species complex might be particularly suited to study this issue using a new approach suggested by Cristol et al. (1999): detailed (further) comparisons between closely related species (such as the common and the Iberian chiffchaffs) could help identifying the key factors to be incorporated into optimality models that can predict relative distance of migration of different sex or age classes. [source] Daily volatility forecasts: reassessing the performance of GARCH modelsJOURNAL OF FORECASTING, Issue 6 2004David G. McMillan Abstract Volatility plays a key role in asset and portfolio management and derivatives pricing. As such, accurate measures and good forecasts of volatility are crucial for the implementation and evaluation of asset and derivative pricing models in addition to trading and hedging strategies. However, whilst GARCH models are able to capture the observed clustering effect in asset price volatility in-sample, they appear to provide relatively poor out-of-sample forecasts. Recent research has suggested that this relative failure of GARCH models arises not from a failure of the model but a failure to specify correctly the ,true volatility' measure against which forecasting performance is measured. It is argued that the standard approach of using ex post daily squared returns as the measure of ,true volatility' includes a large noisy component. An alternative measure for ,true volatility' has therefore been suggested, based upon the cumulative squared returns from intra-day data. This paper implements that technique and reports that, in a dataset of 17 daily exchange rate series, the GARCH model outperforms smoothing and moving average techniques which have been previously identified as providing superior volatility forecasts. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Human duodenal phase III migrating motor complex activity is predominantly antegrade, as revealed by high-resolution manometry and colour pressure plotsNEUROGASTROENTEROLOGY & MOTILITY, Issue 4 2002J. M. Andrews Abstract,Late phase III migrating motor complex activity has been said to be primarily retroperistaltic but has not been assessed with high resolution manometry or three-dimensional colour pressure plots (pressure/time/distance). Duodenal phase III was examined in healthy young volunteers (seven male, two female) with a 20-lumen assembly. With the most proximal sidehole in the distal antrum, after a 4.5-cm interval 18 sideholes at 1.5-cm intervals spanned the duodenum with a final sidehole 3 cm beyond. Fasting pressures were recorded until phase III occurred. Comparisons were made between proximal (P) and distal (D) duodenum during early (E) (first 0.5,1 min) and late (L) (last 0.5,1 min) phase III. With colour pressure analysis, 121 of 180 pressure wave (PW) sequences were purely antegrade, two purely retrograde and 57 bidirectional. Ten of fifty-seven bidirectional PW sequences were complex, branching to become two separate sequences. Bidirectional sequences occurred more frequently in late than early phase III (L 43 vs. E 14 of 57), but their occurrence did not differ between proximal and distal duodenum (P31 vs. D 24 of 57). Antegrade propagation velocity was faster in late compared with early phase III (L 28.50 vs. E 17.05 mm s,1; P = 0.006), but did not differ between proximal and distal duodenum. Colour pressure analysis also indicated an intermittent segmental pattern to phase III, with each subject exhibiting a change in velocity or direction, or a relative failure of peristalsis somewhere along the duodenum during part of phase III. Duodenal phase III is not homogenous and, in contrast with previous studies, does not primarily constitute a retroperistaltic pump. Colour pressure analysis is useful in interpreting intraluminal pressure profiles and may improve the sensitivity and specificity of clinical studies. [source] The AMD-associated complement factor H (CFH) polymorphism Y402H results in decreased CFH localisation to Bruch's membraneACTA OPHTHALMOLOGICA, Issue 2009PN BISHOP Purpose CFH down-regulates the alternative pathway of the complement system by binding to polyanionic structures on host cells/tissues and inactivating surface associated C3b. Recently, the Y402H polymorphism in CFH has been shown to be a major risk factor for AMD. Here we investigated the functional consequences of the Y402H polymorphism by testing the hypothesis that the resultant amino acid substitution alters CFH binding to macular tissue Methods The 402H and 402Y forms of full-length CFH and recombinant CFH fragments (composed of CCP6-8) were labelled with different fluorophores (402Y with AlexFluor-488 and 402H with AlexaFluor-594). These were simultaneously incubated with frozen sections of human macular tissue from donor eyes and the relative binding of the two forms was investigated. In some experiments the tissue sections were digested with glycosidic enzymes prior to incubation with the fluorescently-labelled proteins. Results Whilst the 402H and 402Y variants showed similar levels of binding to the RPE, there was a marked reduction in binding of the 402H form to Bruch's membrane. The binding of both forms to Bruch's membrane was dependent upon interactions with heparan sulfates, and to a lesser extent dermatan sulfates. Conclusion Complement mediated damage is important in the pathogenesis of AMD and the relative failure of the 402H form of CFH to localise to Bruch's membrane may result in over activation of the complement system at the retinal pigment epithelium/Bruch's membrane interface. [source] | ||||||||||