16,746 research outputs found
Historical Catch Data From California's Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessel Fleet: Status and Comparison of Two Sources
Two sources of historical landing data from California's commercial passenger fishing vessel (CPFV) fleet were examined to: 1) assess status and content of each archival data source, 2) identify reporting differences, and 3) evaluate potential usefulness of the data for enhancing
resource assessment. Current and historical CPFV logbook data collected by California Department of Fish and Game are described with respect to status, content, and approximate cost of recovering historical data (1936-78) to electronic format. CPFV landing data available from Los Angeles Times, archived in libraries since 1959, are similarly described.
CPFV logbook data were compared with observer data from 1985-89 to evaluate accuracy of logbook records. Comparison of catch and effort for major species targeted by southern California CPFV anglers revealed significant relationships between reported and observed catch rates for six of ten species examined. Agreement of catch rate trends validates use of logbook data for measuring relative changes in catch and effort for these sport fish species.
Direct comparisons of landings data from CPFV logs and Los Angeles Times fish reports were made for years in which Times data are already available in electronic database format, including 1959, 1967, 1975, 1983, 1991, and 1992. Comparisons of total landings by species among years revealed strong correlations between the two sources for those species (e.g., California barracuda, yellowtail, bonito) most heavily targeted over the entire period. Other
species, such as California sheephead, spotted scorpionfish, and ocean whitefish, were underreported or not reported by the Times until recently. Comparison of port-wide total landings of all species (1983, 1991, 1992) revealed varied reports of total catch (all species) between sources among ports and years. Times-logbook landing report comparisons were highly correlated for Los Angeles area ports (r2=0.956), but were also most different in absolute number, with Times reports being an average of 48% higher than logbook totals. Comparison of species landings by port in 1992 revealed additional port-wide differences in reporting between both sources.
Historical CPFV logbook records have higher spatial resolution (catch location as opposed to port of landing), span a greater period, and will be cheaper to recover into electronic database format than Times fish reports. Historical Times data have higher temporal resolution (daily v. monthly), but II cost approximately 11 ,000 for logbook data summaries covering a longer period. Strong correlation between the two sources shows usefulness of Times data for tracking real-time changes in sport catch in southern California. (53pp.
Some Aspects of Late Prehistoric and Protohistoric Archaeology in Southern Texas
This paper is concerned with the last several hundred years of the prehistoric period in the southern part of Texas. The earlier human occupation of this region, extending back perhaps 11,000 years, has been summarized elsewhere (Hester 197la). The Paleo-Indian period is represented by scattered surface finds of Clovis and Fol6om projectile points, and by a variety of Late Paleo-Indian point styles, such as Plainview, Scottsbluff, Golondrina, Angostura and Merserve.. The following Archaic era is poorly defined, although there are numerous surf ace sites and an abundance of chipped stone artifacts (cf. Weir 1956; Hester, White and White 1969)
Temperature dependent d-d excitations in manganites probed by resonant inelastic x-ray scattering
We report the observation of temperature dependent electronic excitations in
various manganites utilizing resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) at the
Mn K-edge. Excitations were observed between 1.5 and 16 eV with temperature
dependence found as high as 10 eV. The change in spectral weight between 1.5
and 5 eV was found to be related to the magnetic order and independent of the
conductivity. On the basis of LDA+U and Wannier function calculations, this
dependence is associated with intersite d-d excitations. Finally, the
connection between the RIXS cross-section and the loss function is addressed.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Study of an Alternate Mechanism for the Origin of Fermion Generations
In usual extended technicolor (ETC) theories based on the group
, the quarks of charge 2/3 and -1/3 and the charged
leptons of all generations arise from ETC fermion multiplets transforming
according to the fundamental representation. Here we investigate a different
idea for the origin of SM fermion generations, in which quarks and charged
leptons of different generations arise from ETC fermions transforming according
to different representations of . Although this
mechanism would have the potential, {\it a priori}, to allow a reduction in the
value of relative to conventional ETC models, we show that, at least
in simple models, it is excluded by the fact that the technicolor sector is not
asymptotically free or by the appearance of fermions with exotic quantum
numbers which are not observed.Comment: 6 pages, late
Improving prostate cancer detection in veterans through the development of a clinical decision rule for prostate biopsy
BACKGROUND: We sought to improve prostate cancer (PC) detection through developing a prostate biopsy clinical decision rule (PBCDR), based on an elevated PSA and laboratory biomarkers. This decision rule could be used after initial PC screening, providing the patient and clinician information to consider prior to biopsy. METHODS: This case–control study evaluated men from the Tampa, Florida, James A. Haley (JH) Veteran’s Administration (VA) (N = 1,378), from January 1, 1998, through April 15, 2005. To assess the PBCDR we did all of the following: 1) Identified biomarkers that are related to PC and have the capability of improving the efficiency of PC screening; 2) Developed statistical models to determine which can best predict the probability of PC; 3) Compared each potential model to PSA alone using Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curves, to evaluate for improved overall effectiveness in PC detection and reduction in (negative) biopsies; and 4) Evaluated dose–response relationships between specified lab biomarkers (surrogates for extra-prostatic disease development) and PC progression. RESULTS: The following biomarkers were related to PC: hemoglobin (HGB) (OR = 1.42 95% CI 1.27, 1.59); red blood cell (RBC) count (OR = 2.52 95% CI 1.67, 3.78); PSA (OR = 1.04 95% CI 1.03, 1.05); and, creatinine (OR = 1.55 95% CI 1.12, 2.15). Comparing all PC stages versus non-cancerous conditions, the ROC curve area under the curve (AUC) enlarged (increasing the probability of correctly classifying PC): PSA (alone) 0.59 (95% CI 0.55, 0.61); PBCDR model 0.68 (95% CI 0.65, 0.71), and the positive predictive value (PPV) increased: PSA 44.7%; PBCDR model 61.8%. Comparing PC (stages II, III, IV) vs. other, the ROC AUC increased: PSA (alone) 0.63 (95% CI 0.58, 0.66); PBCDR model 0.72 (95% CI 0.68, 0.75), and the PPV increased: 20.6% (PSA); PBCDR model 55.3%. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest evaluating certain common biomarkers in conjunction with PSA may improve PC prediction prior to biopsy. Moreover, these biomarkers may be more helpful in detecting clinically relevant PC. Follow-up studies should begin with replicating the study on different U.S. VA patients involving multiple practices
Residential Community College Student Awareness of Mental Health Problems and Resources
An exploratory survey study assessed community college student awareness of signs, risk factors, and resources for depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. The majority of the participants reported adequate awareness of mental disorders. Females were more likely than males and sophomores were more likely than freshmen to recognize signs and risk factors of mental illness. Half of the participants were unaware of campus mental health resources. Strategies for increasing student awareness of mental health problems, counseling, and other campus resources for mental illness are presented
Transient contractions of urinary bladder smooth muscle are drivers of afferent nerve activity during filling
Activation of afferent nerves during urinary bladder (UB) filling conveys the sensation of UB fullness to the central nervous system (CNS). Although this sensory outflow is presumed to reflect graded increases in pressure associated with filling, UBs also exhibit nonvoiding, transient contractions (TCs) that cause small, rapid increases in intravesical pressure. Here, using an ex vivo mouse bladder preparation, we explored the relative contributions of filling pressure and TC-induced pressure transients to sensory nerve stimulation. Continuous UB filling caused an increase in afferent nerve activity composed of a graded increase in baseline activity and activity associated with increases in intravesical pressure produced by TCs. For each ∼4-mmHg pressure increase, filling pressure increased baseline afferent activity by ∼60 action potentials per second. In contrast, a similar pressure elevation induced by a TC evoked an ∼10-fold greater increase in afferent activity. Filling pressure did not affect TC frequency but did increase the TC rate of rise, reflecting a change in the length-tension relationship of detrusor smooth muscle. The frequency of afferent bursts depended on the TC rate of rise and peaked before maximum pressure. Inhibition of small- and large-conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+) (SK and BK) channels increased TC amplitude and afferent nerve activity. After inhibiting detrusor muscle contractility, simulating the waveform of a TC by gently compressing the bladder evoked similar increases in afferent activity. Notably, afferent activity elicited by simulated TCs was augmented by SK channel inhibition. Our results show that afferent nerve activity evoked by TCs represents the majority of afferent outflow conveyed to the CNS during UB filling and suggest that the maximum TC rate of rise corresponds to an optimal length-tension relationship for efficient UB contraction. Furthermore, our findings implicate SK channels in controlling the gain of sensory outflow independent of UB contractility
Force-Velocity Relations of a Two-State Crossbridge Model for Molecular Motors
We discuss the force-velocity relations obtained in a two-state crossbridge
model for molecular motors. They can be calculated analytically in two limiting
cases: for a large number and for one pair of motors. The effect of the
strain-dependent detachment rate on the motor characteristics is studied. It
can lead to linear, myosin-like, kinesin-like and anomalous curves. In
particular, we specify the conditions under which oscillatory behavior may be
found.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, REVTeX; thoroughly revised version; also
available at http://www.physik.tu-muenchen.de/~frey
Community College Student Awareness of Mental Health Problems and Resources
An exploratory survey study assessed community college student awareness of signs, risk factors, and resources for depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. The majority of the participants reported adequate awareness of mental disorders. Females were more likely than males and sophomores were more likely than freshmen to recognize signs and risk factors of mental illness. Half of the participants were unaware of campus mental health resources. Strategies for increasing student awareness of mental health problems, counseling, and other campus resources for mental illness are presented
Definitive spectroscopic determination of the transverse interactions responsible for the magnetic quantum tunneling in Mn12-acetate
We present detailed angle-dependent single crystal electron paramagnetic
resonance (EPR) data for field rotations in the hard plane of the S=10 single
molecule magnet Mn12-acetate. A clear four-fold variation in the resonance
positions may be attributed to an intrinsic fourth order transverse anisotropy
(O44). Meanwhile, a four-fold variation of the EPR lineshapes confirms a
recently proposed model wherein disorder associated with the acetic acid of
crystallization induces a locally varying quadratic (rhombic) transverse
anisotropy (O22). These findings explain most aspects of the magnetic quantum
tunneling observed in Mn12-acetate.Comment: 7 pages, including figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Let
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