6,288 research outputs found
Attack of \u3ci\u3eUrophora Quadrifasciata\u3c/i\u3e (Meig.) (Diiptera: Tephritidae) A Biological Control Agent for Spotted Knapweed (\u3ci\u3eCentaurea Maculosa\u3c/i\u3e Lamarck) and Diffuse Knapweed (\u3ci\u3eC. Diffusa\u3c/i\u3e Lamarck) (Asteraceae) by a Parasitoid, \u3ci\u3ePteromalus\u3c/i\u3e Sp. (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) in Michigan
Urophora quadrifasciata (Meig.) a seedhead fly released in North America for biological control of Centaurea maculosa and C. diffusa is parasitized by a Pteromalus sp. Parasitism up to 60% of U. quadrifasciata was found in samples of seed heads of C. maculosa and C. diffusa collected from 54 of the 59 counties sampled in Michigan and in one sample of C. maculosa seed heads from Hennepin County, Minnesota. Parasitism of U. quadrifasciata has rarely been reported
Classroom and the Cloze Procedure: Interaction in Imagery
The paper will give the background research concerning cloze techniques, detail the steps teachers would follow to use Interactive Cloze, report behavioral observations within the classroom setting, and indicate direction for research into the efficacy of this procedure
THE PENCIL-LESS ARCHITECT\u27S OFFICE: A 66DEVIANT CASE STUDY OF THE DYNAMICS OF STRATEGIC CHANGE AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
The dominant view in the information technology (IT) strategy literature implicitly or explicitly incorporates a normative model of dynamic alignment in which business strategy is seen as the primary driver of strategic adaptation. This paper describes and analyzes a case study of the strategic application of IT where success emerged via a different process. As well as providing evidence of a path to strategic fit that is rarely discussed in the literature, the case points to mastery and the management of risk as critical factors in the process of IT-based strategic change
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Risk Model Development and Validation for Prediction of Coronary Artery Aneurysms in Kawasaki Disease in a North American Population.
Background Accurate prediction of coronary artery aneurysms ( CAAs ) in patients with Kawasaki disease remains challenging in North American cohorts. We sought to develop and validate a risk model for CAA prediction. Methods and Results A binary outcome of CAA was defined as left anterior descending or right coronary artery Z score ≥2.5 at 2 to 8 weeks after fever onset in a development cohort (n=903) and a validation cohort (n=185) of patients with Kawasaki disease. Associations of baseline clinical, laboratory, and echocardiographic variables with later CAA were assessed in the development cohort using logistic regression. Discrimination (c statistic) and calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow) of the final model were evaluated. A practical risk score assigning points to each variable in the final model was created based on model coefficients from the development cohort. Predictors of CAAs at 2 to 8 weeks were baseline Z score of left anterior descending or right coronary artery ≥2.0, age <6 months, Asian race, and C-reactive protein ≥13 mg/ dL (c=0.82 in the development cohort, c=0.93 in the validation cohort). The CAA risk score assigned 2 points for baseline Z score of left anterior descending or right coronary artery ≥2.0 and 1 point for each of the other variables, with creation of low- (0-1), moderate- (2), and high- (3-5) risk groups. The odds of CAA s were 16-fold greater in the high- versus the low-risk groups in the development cohort (odds ratio, 16.4; 95% CI , 9.71-27.7 [ P<0.001]), and >40-fold greater in the validation cohort (odds ratio, 44.0; 95% CI, 10.8-180 [ P<0.001]). Conclusions Our risk model for CAA in Kawasaki disease consisting of baseline demographic, laboratory, and echocardiographic variables had excellent predictive utility and should undergo prospective testing
Maternal obesity has little effect on the immediate offspring but impacts on the next generation
Maternal obesity during pregnancy has been linked to an increased risk of obesity and cardiometabolic disease in the offspring, a phenomenon attributed to developmental programming. Programming effects may be transmissible across generations through both maternal and paternal inheritance, although the mechanisms remain unclear. Using a mouse model, we explored the effects of moderate maternal diet-induced obesity (DIO) on weight gain and glucose-insulin homeostasis in first-generation (F1) and second-generation offspring. DIO was associated with insulin resistance, hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia before pregnancy. Birth weight was reduced in female offspring of DIO mothers (by 6%, P = .039), and DIO offspring were heavier than controls at weaning (males by 47%, females by 27%), however there were no differences in glucose tolerance, plasma lipids, or hepatic gene expression at 6 months. Despite the relative lack of effects in the F1, we found clear fetal growth restriction and persistent metabolic changes in otherwise unmanipulated second-generation offspring with effects on birth weight, insulin levels, and hepatic gene expression that were transmitted through both maternal and paternal lines. This suggests that the consequences of the current dietary obesity epidemic may also have an impact on the descendants of obese individuals, even when the phenotype of the F1 appears largely unaffected
Dust in the 55 Cancri planetary system
The presence of debris disks around 1-Gyr-old main sequence stars
suggests that an appreciable amount of dust may persist even in mature
planetary systems. Here we report the detection of dust emission from 55
Cancri, a star with one, or possibly two, planetary companions detected through
radial velocity measurements. Our observations at 850m and 450m imply
a dust mass of 0.0008-0.005 Earth masses, somewhat higher than that in the the
Kuiper Belt of our solar system. The estimated temperature of the dust grains
and a simple model fit both indicate a central disk hole of at least 10 AU in
radius. Thus, the region where the planets are detected is likely to be
significantly depleted of dust. Our results suggest that far-infrared and
sub-millimeter observations are powerful tools for probing the outer regions of
extrasolar planetary systems.Comment: 8 pages and 2 figures, to appear in the Astrophysical Journa
New sub-millimeter limits on dust in the 55 Cancri planetary system
We present new, high-sensitivity sub-millimeter observations towards 55
Cancri, a nearby G8 star with one, or possibly two, known planetary
companion(s). Our 850 m map, obtained with the SCUBA instrument on the
James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, shows three peaks of emission at the 2.5 mJy
level in the vicinity of the star's position. However, the observed peaks are
25\arcsec--40\arcsec away from the star and a deep -band optical image
reveals faint point sources that coincide with two of the sub-millimeter peaks.
Thus, we do not find evidence for dust emission spatially associated with 55
Cancri. The excess 60 m emission detected with ISO may originate from one
or more of the 850 m peaks that we attribute to background sources. Our
new results, together with the HST/NICMOS coronographic images in the
near-infrared, place stringent limits on the amount of dust in this planetary
system, and argue against the existence of a detectable circumstellar dust disk
around 55 Cnc.Comment: 11 pages, 2 PostScript figures, to appear in The Astrophysical
Journal Letter
Frequency Control of Multi-Pulse 2-micron Laser Transmitter for Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Measurement
Laser sources with highly stabilized emission wavelength is of paramount importance for a long term atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) measurement from a space platform. Integrated Path Differential Absorption (IPDA) lidar is a promising instrument for such a task. The design of a laser transmitter, with emphasis on the method used to control and select several wavelengths, is presented. This multi-pulsed, injection seeded, 2-m transmitter uses a Ho:Tm:YLF laser crystal which has matching emission to the absorption of CO2 in the R30 spectroscopic area. The injection seeded laser produces triple single longitudinal mode transform limited line width pulses with a total of 80 mJ at a repetition rate of 50 Hz
The Cepheid Period-Luminosity Relation at Mid-Infrared Wavelengths: I. First-Epoch LMC Data
We present the first mid-infrared Period-Luminosity (PL) relations for Large
Magellanic Cloud (LMC) Cepheids. Single-epoch observations of 70 Cepheids were
extracted from Spitzer IRAC observations at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8 and 8.0 microns,
serendipitously obtained during the SAGE (Surveying the Agents of a Galaxy's
Evolution) imaging survey of the LMC. All four mid-infrared PL relations have
nearly identical slopes over the period range 6 - 88 days, with a small scatter
of only +/-0.16 mag independent of period for all four of these wavelengths. We
emphasize that differential reddening is not contributing significantly to the
observed scatter, given the nearly two orders of magnitude reduced sensitivity
of the mid-IR to extinction compared to the optical. Future observations,
filling in the light curves for these Cepheids, should noticeably reduce the
residual scatter. These attributes alone suggest that mid-infrared PL relations
will provide a practical means of significantly improving the accuracy of
Cepheid distances to nearby galaxies.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, Accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journa
Quantum simulations under translational symmetry
We investigate the power of quantum systems for the simulation of Hamiltonian
time evolutions on a cubic lattice under the constraint of translational
invariance. Given a set of translationally invariant local Hamiltonians and
short range interactions we determine time evolutions which can and those that
can not be simulated. Whereas for general spin systems no finite universal set
of generating interactions is shown to exist, universality turns out to be
generic for quadratic bosonic and fermionic nearest-neighbor interactions when
supplemented by all translationally invariant on-site Hamiltonians.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, references added, minor change
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