Response suppression as a function of a vacation from punishment

Response suppression as function of vacation from punishment in pigeon

The Birth of a Forearc: The Basal Great Valley Group, California, USA

The Great Valley basin of California (USA) is an archetypal forearc basin, yet the timing, structural style, and location of basin development remain controversial. Eighteen of 20 detrital zircon samples (3711 new U-Pb ages) from basal strata of the Great Valley forearc basin contain Cretaceous grains, with nine samples yielding statistically robust Cretaceous maximum depositional ages (MDAs), two with MDAs that overlap the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary, suggesting earliest Cretaceous deposition, and nine with Jurassic MDAs consistent with latest Jurassic deposition. In addition, the pre-Mesozoic age populations of our samples are consistent with central North America sources and do not require a southern provenance. We interpret that diachronous initiation of sedimentation reflects the growth of isolated depocenters, consistent with an extensional model for the early stages of forearc basin development

Epidemiology of diabetes mellitus among 193,435 cats attending primary-care veterinary practices in England

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common endocrine disease of cats. The prevalence of DM in cats in England is not well‐defined. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: To estimate the prevalence and identify risk factors for DM in a large population of cats attending primary‐care practices. ANIMALS: A cohort of 193,563 cats in the VetCompass Programme attending 118 primary‐care practices in England. METHODS: Cross‐sectional analysis of cohort clinical data. Data were extracted covering September 1st 2009 and August 31st 2014. Period prevalence of DM was calculated. Associations between risk factors and DM were assessed using logistic regression modelling. RESULTS: Of 1,128 DM cases were identified among 194,563 cats (period prevalence 0.58%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.54–0.61). Multivariable modelling indicated that Tonkinese (OR 4.1; 95% CI 1.8–9.6; P = .001), Norwegian Forest (odds ratio [OR] 3.5; 95% CI 1.3–9.6; P = .001) and Burmese (OR 3.0; 95% CI 2.0–4.4; P < .001) cats had increased odds of DM compared with crossbred cats. DM odds increased as bodyweight categories increased above 4 kg (P < .001), as cats aged beyond 6 years old (P < .001) and in insured cats (OR 2.0; 95% CI 1.6–2.4; P < .001) but sex was not significantly associated with DM. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Diabetes mellitus is an important component of the primary‐care practice caseload with 1‐in‐200 cats affected. An increased risk of DM in certain cat breeds supports a genetic predisposition. These results can guide future research and preventative healthcare

A heteroskedasticity robust Breusch-Pagan test for contemporaneous correlation in dynamic panel data models

Working paper dated August 16, 2011This paper proposes a heteroskedasticity-robust Breusch-Pagan test of the null hypothesis of zero cross-section (or contemporaneous) correlation in linear panel data models. The procedure allows for either xed, strictly exogenous and/or lagged de- pendent regressor variables, as well as quite general forms of both non-normality and heteroskedasticity in the error distribution. Whilst the asymptotic validity of the test procedure, under the null, is predicated on the number of time series observations, T, being large relative to the number of cross-section units, N, independence of the cross-sections is not assumed. Across a variety of experimental designs, a Monte Carlo study suggests that, in general (but not always), the predictions from asymptotic the- ory provide a good guide to the finite sample behaviour of the test. In particular, with skewed errors and/or when N=T is not small, discrepancies can occur. However, for all the experimental designs, any one of three asymptotically valid wild bootstrap approximations (that are considered in this paper) gives very close agreement between the nominal and empirical signi cance levels of the test. Moreover, in comparison with wild bootstrap version of the original Breusch-Pagan test (Godfrey and Yamagata, 2011) the corresponding version of the heteroskedasticity-robust Breusch-Pagan test is more reliable. As an illustration, the proposed tests are applied to a dynamic growth model for a panel of 20 OECD countries

Previous high-intensity activity affects lower limb strength ratios

Lower limb strength ratios are important in assessing muscular imbalances. Typically, these ratios are derived from assessment of explosive, maximum effort activities. Such assessment can be functional or isokinetic. The single-effort nature of these assessments does not provide information on imbalance changes after muscular contractions. Any such change could indicate an increased risk of injury after a period of activity, thus raising questions as to the correct procedure of muscle imbalance assessment. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to assess muscle imbalances over maximum effort repeated cycling sprints. Seventeen healthy, physically active young adults (females: n=4, height 1.62±0.03 m, body mass 68.0±6.5 kg; males: n=13, height 1.80±0.06 m, body mass 80.5±13.8 kg) performed five 6-s sprints with 24-s rest interval on a Lode Excalibur bike with torque and power data recorded for each leg. Average, average maximum (average of maximum from each sprint) and peak torque (TAv, TAvM and TP respectively) and power (PAv, PAvM and PP respectively) were obtained for each leg. Ratios of these variables were calculated as . Wilcoxon's test revealed a significantly stronger leg (p<0.05) for all torque and power variables. Friedman's test indicated a significant ratio increase between TAv (11.7±6.8%) and TAvM (4.6±3.0%, p=0.001) and TP (4.1±3.5%, p=0.001), as well as between PAv (8.8±5.0%) and PAvM (4.5±2.9%, p=0.003) and PP (4.2±2.6, p=0.003%) but not between TAvM and TP (p=0.421) or PAvM and PP (p=0.981). The results indicate that high-intensity activity increases lower limb strength imbalance, resulting in different ratios. The authors posit that muscle imbalance assessment activities conducted at rested state may not accurately reflect the true strength difference between limbs, leading to inaccurate training or rehabilitation advice

Eucalyptus largiflorens F. Muell.

https://thekeep.eiu.edu/herbarium_specimens_byname/9502/thumbnail.jp

Eucalyptus largiflorens F. Muell.

https://thekeep.eiu.edu/herbarium_specimens_byname/9502/thumbnail.jp

First-order asymptotic theory for parametric misspecification tests of Garch models

publication-status: Publishedtypes: ArticleFinal version of the article as published in Econometric Theory, vol. 35, issue 2, pp. 364-410. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009. Available online at http://journals.cambridge.org/This paper develops a framework for the construction and analysis of parametric misspecification tests for generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedastic (GARCH) models, based on first-order asymptotic theory. The principal finding is that estimation effects from the correct specification of the conditional mean (regression) function can be asymptotically nonnegligible. This implies that certain procedures, such as the asymmetry tests of Engle and No. (1993, Journal of Finance 48. 1749-1777) and the nonlinearity test of Lundbergh and Terasvirta (2002, Journal of Econometrics 110, 417-435), are asymptotically invalid. A second contribution is the proposed use of alternative tests for asymmetry and/or nonlinearity that, it is conjectured, should enjoy improved power properties. A Monte Carlo study supports the principal theoretical findings and also suggests that the new tests have fairly good size and very good power properties when compared with the Engle and Ng (1993) and Lundbergh and Terasvirta (2002) procedures