Team payroll and team performance in major league baseball: 1985-2002

This paper examines the relationship between team payroll and team performance in major league baseball from 1985 to 2002. The results indicate that the relationship has changed over time. Unlike the early years, there is now a much clearer relationship between payroll and performance. Specifically, in the latter part of the 1990s and continuing into the 21st century, the greater the team payroll and the more equally this payroll is distributed among team members, the better the on-field performance of the team. This is a problem of particular concern because of the growing disparity in team payrolls which, in turn, affects the competitive balance of the sport. This growing disparity was also at the heart of last year's contract negotiations between players and owners.Competitive balance Gini coefficient Perforamnce Salary structure Major League Baseball

On the Reporting of Response Rates in Extension Research

Extension researchers have been encouraged to report response rates obtained in sample surveys. Unfortunately, there is little agreement among survey researchers as to the exact meaning of this term or how it should be calculated and operationally defined. Recently, the work of an industry-wide task force attempted to resolve this problem by recommending alternative definitions and methods of calculation that could be used. Researchers are encouraged to implement the task force\u27s recommendations so that others might be in a better position to properly evaluate the projectability of survey results

First‐in‐Human Study of the Safety and Efficacy of TOL101 Induction to Prevent Kidney Transplant Rejection

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107383/1/ajt12698.pd

Upper limit map of a background of gravitational waves

We searched for an anisotropic background of gravitational waves using data from the LIGO S4 science run and a method that is optimized for point sources. This is appropriate if, for example, the gravitational wave background is dominated by a small number of distinct astrophysical sources. No signal was seen. Upper limit maps were produced assuming two different power laws for the source strain power spectrum. For an f^-3 power law and using the 50 Hz to 1.8 kHz band the upper limits on the source strain power spectrum vary between 1.2e-48 Hz^-1 (100 Hz/f)^3 and 1.2e-47 Hz^-1 (100 Hz /f)^3, depending on the position in the sky. Similarly, in the case of constant strain power spectrum, the upper limits vary between 8.5e-49 Hz^-1 and 6.1e-48 Hz^-1. As a side product a limit on an isotropic background of gravitational waves was also obtained. All limits are at the 90% confidence level. Finally, as an application, we focused on the direction of Sco-X1, the closest low-mass X-ray binary. We compare the upper limit on strain amplitude obtained by this method to expectations based on the X-ray luminosity of Sco-X1.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, 2 table

Upper limit map of a background of gravitational waves

We searched for an anisotropic background of gravitational waves using data from the LIGO S4 science run and a method that is optimized for point sources. This is appropriate if, for example, the gravitational wave background is dominated by a small number of distinct astrophysical sources. No signal was seen. Upper limit maps were produced assuming two different power laws for the source strain power spectrum. For an f^-3 power law and using the 50 Hz to 1.8 kHz band the upper limits on the source strain power spectrum vary between 1.2e-48 Hz^-1 (100 Hz/f)^3 and 1.2e-47 Hz^-1 (100 Hz /f)^3, depending on the position in the sky. Similarly, in the case of constant strain power spectrum, the upper limits vary between 8.5e-49 Hz^-1 and 6.1e-48 Hz^-1. As a side product a limit on an isotropic background of gravitational waves was also obtained. All limits are at the 90% confidence level. Finally, as an application, we focused on the direction of Sco-X1, the closest low-mass X-ray binary. We compare the upper limit on strain amplitude obtained by this method to expectations based on the X-ray luminosity of Sco-X1.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, 2 table

Effects of Anacetrapib in Patients with Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease

BACKGROUND: Patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease remain at high risk for cardiovascular events despite effective statin-based treatment of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. The inhibition of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) by anacetrapib reduces LDL cholesterol levels and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. However, trials of other CETP inhibitors have shown neutral or adverse effects on cardiovascular outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 30,449 adults with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive atorvastatin therapy and who had a mean LDL cholesterol level of 61 mg per deciliter (1.58 mmol per liter), a mean non-HDL cholesterol level of 92 mg per deciliter (2.38 mmol per liter), and a mean HDL cholesterol level of 40 mg per deciliter (1.03 mmol per liter). The patients were assigned to receive either 100 mg of anacetrapib once daily (15,225 patients) or matching placebo (15,224 patients). The primary outcome was the first major coronary event, a composite of coronary death, myocardial infarction, or coronary revascularization. RESULTS: During the median follow-up period of 4.1 years, the primary outcome occurred in significantly fewer patients in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (1640 of 15,225 patients [10.8%] vs. 1803 of 15,224 patients [11.8%]; rate ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.85 to 0.97; P=0.004). The relative difference in risk was similar across multiple prespecified subgroups. At the trial midpoint, the mean level of HDL cholesterol was higher by 43 mg per deciliter (1.12 mmol per liter) in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (a relative difference of 104%), and the mean level of non-HDL cholesterol was lower by 17 mg per deciliter (0.44 mmol per liter), a relative difference of -18%. There were no significant between-group differences in the risk of death, cancer, or other serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive statin therapy, the use of anacetrapib resulted in a lower incidence of major coronary events than the use of placebo. (Funded by Merck and others; Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN48678192 ; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01252953 ; and EudraCT number, 2010-023467-18 .)

Paleoecology and prehistoric Maya: a history of man-land relationships in the tropics

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Agricultural and historical ecology of the lake region of Peten, Guatemala

The modern Maya lowlands are covered by a variety of vegetation types, ranging from freshwater swamps, through high "quasi rainforest," to open grasslands, each with its own exploitable potential and effect upon subsistence. Limiting factors such as pests, leaching, and competition would have decreased the potential harvests of prehistoric Mayan agriculture. Several ecologically sound methods, including increased crop diversity, mulching, and quarantine measures, reduce the impact of these limiting factors. Modern Maya agriculture is practiced at such low levels that it evades some limits to its potential productivity. Hypothesized prehistoric systems, such as intensive milpa, ramon cultivation, raised fields, and artificial rain forest, must have reached equilibrium with their biotic, climatic and edaphic environments. Using ethnographic and crop productivity data, with certain assumptions, quantified systems models of prehistoric agriculture have been derived. An ecologically compatible combination of intensive milpa, artificial rain forest, ridged fields, and marsh cultivation theoretically will support over 400 people per square kilometer of upland in the Peten. These data are within the limits of archaeological demographic estimates ranging from 40 to 900 people/km². Principal components analyses of pollen from edaphic and successional gradients serve as modern analogs for statistical comparison with two cores taken in the lake district of central Peten, Guatemala. Results indicate that agricultural activity, not climatic change, caused changes in the prehistoric vegetation. The Maya Classic landscape was an agriculture-dominated regime, with little untouched natural vegetation. Orchards, artificial rain forest and woodlots, although not supported by pollen evidence, may have covered much of the lowlands. The Maya collapse was followed by a general depopulation of the Peten. The Peten-Itza recolonization of the lake district, and the modern population influx appear as two minor agricultural episodes in a largely arboreal Postclassic landscape.hydrology collectio

On the Reporting of Response Rates in Extension Research

Extension researchers have been encouraged to report response rates obtained in sample surveys. Unfortunately, there is little agreement among survey researchers as to the exact meaning of this term or how it should be calculated and operationally defined. Recently, the work of an industry-wide task force attempted to resolve this problem by recommending alternative definitions and methods of calculation that could be used. Researchers are encouraged to implement the task force\u27s recommendations so that others might be in a better position to properly evaluate the projectability of survey results