What Use is Half a Wing in the Ecology and Evolution of Birds?

The use of incipient wings during ontogeny in living birds reveals not only the function of these developing forelimbs in growing birds’ survival but also the possible employment of protowings during transitional stages in the evolution of flight. When startled, juvenile galliform birds attempt aerial flight even though their wings are not fully developed. They also flap their incipient wings when they run up precipitous inclines, a behavior we have described as wing-assisted incline running (WAIR), and when they launch from elevated structures. The functional benefit of beating these protowings has only recently been evaluated. We report the first ontogenetic aerial flight performance for any bird using a ground bird, the chukar partridge (Alectoris chukar), as a model species. We provide additional ontogenetic data on WAIR, a recently described locomotor mode in which fully or even partially developed flapping forelimbs are recruited to increase hindlimb traction and escape performance. We argue that avian ancestors may have used WAIR as an evolutionary transition from bipedal locomotion to flapping flight

The relationship between the need for closure and support for military action against Iraq: moderating effects of national attachment.

A variety of studies suggest that a high need for closure—that is,a desire for knowledge that is clear, stable, and unambiguous as opposed to confusing or uncertain—may be associated with greater hostility toward relevant outgroups. Using international attitudes as the context, the authors examine the hypothesis that the relationship between the need for closure and support for military action against Iraq may be moderated by identification with the national ingroup. Specifically, it is expected that this relationship will be moderated by nationalism (i.e., an aggressive form of identification based on a desire for national dominance)but not patriotism (i.e., a more neutral love of one’s country). The data provided a clear pattern of support for this hypothesis and additional analyses indicated that a high need for closure reduced variability about the use of force among the highly nationalistic but not the highly patrioti

Control system design using optimization techniques Final report

Optimization techniques for control of fuel valve systems for air breathing jet engines and 40-60 inlet control problem

Antimicrobial Drugs and Community–acquired Clostridium difficile–associated Disease, UK

In a population-based case-control study of community-acquired Clostridium difficile–associated disease (CDAD), we matched 1,233 cases to 12,330 controls. CDAD risk increased 3-fold with use of any antimicrobial agent and 6-fold with use of fluoroquinolones. Prior use of antimicrobial agent did not affect risk for CDAD after 6 months

Topics concerning state variable feedback in automatic control systems. Part 1 - Specification. Part 2 - Sensitivity. Part 3 - Intentional nonlinearities. Part 4 - Unavailable states

Specifications, sensitivity, intentional nonlinearities, and unavailable states concerned with state variable feedback in automatic control system

Search for Mars lander/rover/sample-return sites: A status review

Ten Mars sites were studied in the USA for four years. The sites are the Chasma Boreale (North Pole), Planum Australe (South Pole), Olympus Rupes, Mangala Valles, Memnonia Sulci, Candor Chasma, Kasel Valles, Nilosyrtis Mensae, Elysium Montes, and Apollinaris Patera. Seven sites are being studied by the USSR; their prime sites are located at the east mouth of Kasel Valles and near Uranius Patera. Thirteen geological maps of the first six USA sites are compiled and in review. Maps of the Mangala East and West sites at 1:1/2 million scale and a 1:2 million scale map show evidence of three episodes of small-channel formation interspersed with episodes of volcanism and tectonism that span the period from 3.5 to 0.6 b.y. ago. The tectonic and geological history of Mars, both ancient and modern, can be elucidated by sampling volcanic and fluvial geologic units at equatorial sites and layered deposits at polar sites. The evidence appears clear for multiple episodes of fluvial channeling, including some that are quite recent; this evidence contrasts with the theses of Baker and Partridge (1986) and many others that all channels are ancient. Verification of this hypothesis by Mars Observer will be an important step forward in the perception of the history of Mars

A bi-level programming approach for trip matrix estimation and traffic control problems with stochastic user equilibrium link flows

This paper deals with two mathematically similar problems in transport network analysis: trip matrix estimation and traffic signal optimisation on congested road networks. These two problems are formulated as bi-level programming problems with stochastic user equilibrium assignment as the second-level programming problem. We differentiate two types of solutions in the combined matrix estimation and stochastic user equilibrium assignment problem (or, the combined signal optimisation and stochastic user equilibrium assignment problem): one is the solution to the bi-level programming problem and the other the mutually consistent solution where the two sub-problems in the combined problem are solved simultaneously. In this paper, we shall concentrate on the bi-level programming approach although we shall also consider mutually consistent solutions so as to contrast the two types of solutions. The purpose of the paper is to present a solution algorithm for the two bi-level programming problems and to test the algorithm on several networks

The association between histamine 2 receptor antagonist use and Clostridium difficile infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a major health problem. Epidemiological evidence suggests that there is an association between acid suppression therapy and development of CDI. Purpose We sought to systematically review the literature that examined the association between histamine 2 receptor antagonists (H2RAs) and CDI. Data source We searched Medline, Current Contents, Embase, ISI Web of Science and Elsevier Scopus from 1990 to 2012 for all analytical studies that examined the association between H2RAs and CDI. Study selection Two authors independently reviewed the studies for eligibility. Data extraction Data about studies characteristics, adjusted effect estimates and quality were extracted. Data synthesis Thirty-five observations from 33 eligible studies that included 201834 participants were analyzed. Studies were performed in 6 countries and nine of them were multicenter. Most studies did not specify the type or duration of H2RAs therapy. The pooled effect estimate was 1.44, 95% CI (1.22–1.7), I2 = 70.5%. This association was consistent across different subgroups (by study design and country) and there was no evidence of publication bias. The pooled effect estimate for high quality studies was 1.39 (1.15–1.68), I2 = 72.3%. Meta-regression analysis of 10 study-level variables did not identify sources of heterogeneity. In a speculative analysis, the number needed to harm (NNH) with H2RAs at 14 days after hospital admission in patients receiving antibiotics or not was 58, 95% CI (37, 115) and 425, 95% CI (267, 848), respectively. For the general population, the NNH at 1 year was 4549, 95% CI (2860, 9097). Conclusion In this rigorous systematic review and meta-analysis, we observed an association between H2RAs and CDI. The absolute risk of CDI associated with H2RAs is highest in hospitalized patients receiving antibiotics