bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Transport Properties of Non-Spherical Gases
Authors: Maghari Ali , Jalili Amir Hossein
Published: April 2007

Transport properties of dilute gases consisting of non-spherical molecules are described in this work via permanent and induced electric multipole moments. We separated the part dependent on the angular variables and considered it as a perturbation to the central-type intermolecular potential energy. The spherically symmetric component of the potential function was assumed to be the Lennard–Jones 12–6 form. In this work, we obtained the general expressions for non-central contributions to the collision integrals. These expressions were applied to cases of axially symmetric with respect to the z-axis. Numerical examples of the effects of non-spherical interactions are given for NO and CO.
Fragmentation Position Dependency of the Total Energy and Atomic Charge Difference between the Fragment MO Method and Conventional Ab Initio SCF-MO Method. A Case of (−)-Epicatechin Gallate with STO-3G Basis Set
Authors: Tamura Katsuhiro , Inadomi Yuichi , Nagashima Umpei
Published: April 2007

The fragmentation pattern dependence of the total energy and atomic charge difference between the fragment MO method and conventional ab initio Hartree–Fock SCF-MO method (HFMO) was investigated using 44 patterns of (−)-Epicatechin gallate. Both differences were sensitive to the fragmentation pattern. A “best” pattern for which results comparable to HFMO can be achieved, exists.
Copper–Dioxygen Reactivity Using Dinucleating Ligands with Activated Methylene or Ketone Function
Authors: Lee Dong-Heon , Murthy Narasimha N , Karlin Kenneth D
Published: April 2007

Copper(I)–dioxygen reactivity studies utilizing new binucleating ligands are described. When catalytic quantities of either CuI or CuII salts were introduced to LH2, which is a dinucleating ligand with two tridentate donors connected via a methylene group at a bis(2-pyridyl)methane junction, dioxygen addition caused complete oxygenation to give bis(2-pyridyl)ketone product L=O. Isolated dicopper(I) complex [CuI2(LH2)]2+ (1) also reacted with excess O2 to give L=O. Additional observations were consistent with a mechanism that does not involve “oxygen-activation” in this process. Ketone hydration and gem-diol(ate) copper(II)-coordination occurred by addition of copper(II)–perchlorate to L=O, giving [CuII2{L(OH)(O−)}Cu2II(−OClO3)]2+ (4), with a bridging alkoxide moiety (X-ray). Oxygenation of [CuI2(L=O)(CH3CN)2]2+ (2) (2/O2 = 0.5, i.e., Cu/O2 = 4:1 manometry), gave [CuII2{L(O−)2}(−OClO3)]+ (5), where both oxygen atoms of the doubly deprotonated gem-diolate bind separate copper(II) ions; mass spectrometric data showed that one of the two oxygen atoms of the gem-diolate L(O−)2 came from O2. An oxo–dicopper(II) species is suggested as an important intermediate, which is supported by the observation that reaction of 2 with NO or iodosylbenzene also produced 5 in high yields. Complexes 4 and 5 are acid–base conjugate pairs and can be readily interconverted using Et3N or HClO4(aq) reagents.
Molecular Design and Synthesis of Fluorinated Polyethers toward Organic Materials with High Dielectric Constants and Ferroelectricity
Authors: Okano Takashi , Hiraishi Makiko , Mizutani Tomonori
Published: April 2007

Molecular design and synthesis of organic ferroelectric materials with a –OCH2CF2CH2O– moiety as the basic molecular structure were conducted in order to improve the high coercive field value of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF). The synthesis of the designed molecules were based on the half ester 2,2-difluoro-1,3-propanediol N,N-diethylcarbamamic acid. The sequence of alkylation of alcohol, deprotection, and the second alkylation efficiently produced the desired polyethers except in the case of the Williamson ether synthesis, which occurs between a fluorinated alcohol and a fluorinated tosylate. The dielectric constants of the prepared polyethers at room temperature were relatively high, although no ferroelectric properties were observed. Another method had functional groups at the end of the molecules for intermolecular interaction. Hydrogen-bonded bisacetamide showed dielectric relaxation and ferroelectricity.
Photocyclization of 2-(N-Benzoyl-N-benzylamino)ethyl Benzoylacetate via Remote Hydrogen Abstraction. Enhancing Effect on Biradical Cyclization by the N-Benzoyl Group
Authors: Hasegawa Tadashi , Anma Takashi , Suzuki Satoko , Maeda Yutaka , Horn Ernst
Published: April 2007

Upon irradiation 2-(N-benzoyl-N-benzylamino)ethyl benzoylacetate underwent photocyclization to give 8-membered azalactones in high yields. Intramolecular hydrogen bonding between the hydroxy and benzoyl carbonyl group in the 1,8-biradical intermediate produced from the benzoylacetate enhanced the photocyclization.
Iridium(III) Complexes Bearing Quinoxaline Ligands with Efficient Red Luminescence Properties
Authors: Tani Kazuyasu , Fujii Hiroyuki , Mao Lisheng , Sakurai Hidehiro , Hirao Toshikazu
Published: April 2007

Newly designed cyclometalated iridium(III) complexes bearing 2,3-diphenylquinoxalines, which were shown to be highly efficient and pure-red emitting materials for electrophosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), were synthesized and characterized. Excellent quantum efficiencies for photoluminescence within the range of 50–79% were attained in dichloromethane solution at room temperature. Luminescence peak wavelengths of the complexes were within the preferred range of 653–671 nm in thin films. The most vivid red electrophosphorescence with CIE chromaticity coordinates x = 0.70 and y = 0.28, which are the closest to the ultimate limit of pure red among reported OLEDs, was achieved with the acetylacetonatoiridium complex bearing 2,3-diphenylquinoxaline.
Churn, Baby, Churn: Strategic Dynamics Among Dominant and Fringe Firms in a Segmented Industry
Authors: de Figueiredo John M. , Silverman Brian S.
Published: April 2007

This paper integrates and extends the literatures on industry evolution and dominant firms to develop a dynamic theory of dominant and fringe competitive interaction in a segmented industry. It argues that a dominant firm, seeing contraction of growth in its current segment(s), enters new segments in which it can exploit its technological strengths, but that are sufficiently distant to avoid cannibalization. The dominant firm acts as a low-cost Stackelberg leader, driving down prices and triggering a sales takeoff in the new segment. We identify a “churn” effect associated with dominant firm entry: fringe firms that precede the dominant firm into the segment tend to exit the segment, while new fringe firms enter, causing a net increase in the number of firms in the segment. As the segment matures and sales decline in the segment, the process repeats itself. We examine the predictions of the theory with a study of price, quantity, entry, and exit across 24 product classes in the desktop laser printer industry from 1984 to 1996. Using descriptive statistics, hazard rate models, and panel data methods, we find empirical support for the theoretical predictions.
Strategic Management of R&D Pipelines with Cospecialized Investments and Technology Markets
Authors: Chan Tat , Nickerson Jack A. , Owan Hideo
Published: April 2007

The theoretical literature on managing R&D pipelines is largely based on real option theory making decisions about undertaking, continuing, or terminating projects. The theory typically assumes that each project or causally related set of projects is independent. However, casual observation suggests that firms expend much effort on managing and balancing their R&D pipelines, where managing appears to be related to the choice of R&D selection thresholds, project risk, and whether to buy or sell projects to fill the pipeline. Not only do these policies appear to differ across firms, they also appear to vary over time for the same firm. Changes in management policies suggest that the choice of R&D selection thresholds is a time-varying strategic decision and there may be some type of vertical interdependency among R&D projects in different stages. In this paper we develop a model using dynamic-programming techniques that explain why firms vary in their R&D project-management policies. The novelty and value of our model derives from the central insight that some firms invest in downstream cospecialized activities that would incur substantial adjustment costs if R&D efforts are unsuccessful whereas other firms have no such investment. If transaction costs in technology markets are positive, which implies that accessing the market for projects is costly, these investments lead to state-contingent project-selection rules that create a dynamic and vertical interdependency among R&D activities and product mix. We describe how choices of R&D selection thresholds, preferences over project risk, and use of technology markets for the buying and selling of projects differ by the state of the firm’s pipeline, the magnitude of transaction costs in the adjustment market, and the magnitude of technology costs. These results yield interesting managerial and public policy implications.
The Timing of Resource Development and Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Authors: Pacheco-de-Almeida Gonçalo , Zemsky Peter
Published: April 2007

We develop a formal model of the timing of resource development by competing firms. Our aim is to deepen and extend resource-level theorizing about sustainable competitive advantage. Our analysis formalizes the notion of barriers to imitation, particularly those based on time compression diseconomies where the faster a firm develops a resource, the greater the cost. Time compression diseconomies are derived from a micromodel of resource development with diminishing returns to effort. We use a continuous time model of the flows of development costs and market revenues, which allows us to integrate strategic and financial analyses of firm investment problems.

We examine two dimensions of sustainability: whether the resources underlying a firm’s competitive advantage are economically imitable and, if so, how long imitation takes. Surprisingly, we show that sustainable competitive advantage does not necessarily lead to superior performance. We find that imitators sometimes benefit from reductions in their absorptive capacity and that innovators should license either all or none of their knowledge. Despite recent criticisms, we reaffirm the usefulness of a resource level of analysis for strategy research, especially when the focus is on resources developed through internal projects with identifiable stopping times.
Introduction to the Special Issue on Strategic Dynamics
Authors: Ghemawat Pankaj , Cassiman Bruno
Published: April 2007

This introductory essay connects the various contributions included in the special issue on strategic dynamics and contrasts them with the static analyses that predominate in the strategy field. In addition to highlighting a variety of methodological approaches, the contributions shed substantive light on strategic dynamics at the value system and industry and firm levels. Taken together, they also suggest some broad directions for further work aimed at making dynamics a more important part of the future of the field of strategy.
At the end of a huge crit in the summer, it was crap I'd worked really hard but all she said was fine and I was gutted.
Authors: Blair Bernadette
Published: April 2007

This article reflects on the learning value for students of formative assessment feedback in the large studio crit. A variety of research studies have established that formative assessment and feedback can affect the quality of learning (Black and Wiliam 1998; Crooks 1988, 2001; Gibbs
1992; Harlen and James 1997; Ramsden 1992; Sadler 1989, 2005; Torrance 1993; Torrance and Pryor 1998).

The article draws on the findings of a small focused study (Blair 2006) and references other research studies into the studio crit in art and design and architecture. The study premises
that the learning value of feedback students receive at the large crit is often affected by their perception of self. This, the study evidences, results in much of the verbal formative assessment feedback literally falling on deaf ears.
Drawing or writing the circle: an investigation into the cognitive potential of art
Authors: Kouvou Ourania
Published: April 2007

This article explores how art activities like drawing and painting encourage spontaneous learning processes in young children. Seven works by first-graders (children aged 56 years old) are analysed in terms of efforts they made to assimilate symbols such as letters, numbers and other
non-art elements, into the drawing process. Their unconventional use of grammatical and numerical symbols is explained as an innate strategy for making sense of the new and the unknown. Displacing them from their original fields of knowledge and using them in the context of an action plan
enabled greater control. In conclusion, this article stresses the importance of art as a subject that encourages and promotes a self-initiated multimodal learning process that integrates early schooling experience.
Playful robberies in Palookaville (1995): Alan Taylor, Italo Calvino and a new paradigm for adaptation
Authors: Bolongaro Eugenio
Published: April 2007

As a highly personal and imaginative interpretation of three short stories by Italo Calvino, Alan Taylor's Palookaville helps us to rethink film adaptation as a dialogical and intertextual practice, as well as an ethical/political project. Drawing on the irreverent and whimsical
aspects of Calvino's texts, Taylor also engages in a dialogue with Italian cinematic neorealism and especially the commedia all'italiana best exemplified by Monicelli's landmark film Big Deal on Madonna Street. These sources are not simply cited but seriously confronted by the
American director who finds in the fictional worlds created by Calvino and Monicelli the visual and emotional language he needs to talk about the collapse of the American Dream of the 1950s. The modern Fordist dream centred on family values and the work ethic is replaced 1990s by a postmodern
American Dream focused on the spectaclacularization of everyday life in a real world increasingly pervaded by film and TV images.
On the road to nowhere? Contemporary Austrian popular film
Authors: Standn Regina
Published: April 2007

Apart from the internationally-esteemed filmmakers Michael Haneke and, in the avant-garde tradition, Valie Export or Peter Kubelka, contemporary Austrian film directors have gained little recognition outside Austria. However, since the late 1980s a new film genre has come to fruition
in Austria. These films, often called Kabarettfilme/cabaret films, are popular among all levels of the Austrian population, even though they show the dark side of life in Austria. In this respect, they are similar to the Neues Volksstck/popular play. In tone, however, these films
are more humorous and more accessible to a wider audience. This article attempts to describe the strategy that makes these films so popular in Austria. It discusses the strategy employed to entwine tragedy and comedy and, at the level of reception, the interaction between audience and film.
Ultimately, the article tries to explain why these films seem to produce great national but only minor international success.
Lungenkrebsscreening mit Tumormarkern? Eine Betrachtung unter Berücksichtigung sozioökonomischer Aspekte / Lung cancer screening using tumour markers? – A view in consideration of socioeconomic aspects
Authors: Bitterlich Norman , Schneider Joachim
Published: April 2007

Die nachfolgend dargestellten Beispielrechnungen belegen exemplarisch die Möglichkeit, durch sequentielle Messauswertung der Kostensteigerung beim Lungenkrebsscreening entgegenzuwirken, die aus umfangreicheren Folgeuntersuchungen resultiert. Verbindet man diese Vorgehensweise mit noch leistungsfähigeren Verfahren der Datenauswertung, wird der erzielbare Informationsgewinn ökonomisch sinnvoll. Die dargelegten konkreten Zahlenwerte hängen maßgeblich vom Patientenkollektiv ab und sind für andere Anwendungen anzupassen. Die Berechnungen sind jedoch für retrospektives Datenmaterial unkompliziert ausführbar und nicht auf die Tumormarkerprofilauswertung beschränkt. So können beispielsweise auch die alternativen Diagnoseverfahren für ein potentielles Lungenkrebsscreening wie CT-Thorax-Untersuchung oder Sputumanalysen in dieser Weise unter ökonomischer Sicht analysiert und diskutiert werden.
CEA und CA15-3 beim fortgeschrittenen Mammakarzinom / CEA and CA 15-3 during disease progression in metastatic breast cancer
Authors: Laessig Dorit , Nagel Dorothea , Heinemann Volker , Untch Michael , Kahlert Steffen , Bauerfeind Ingo , Stieber Petra
Published: April 2007

Fragestellung: Das Ziel der deskriptiven Analyse war es, eine Korrelation zwischen erhöhten Werten von carcinoembryonalem Antigen (CEA) und Cancer Antigen (CA) 15-3 und dem Fortschreiten der Erkrankung bei Patientinnen mit metastasiertem Mammakarzinom zu zeigen.

Patienten und Methoden: Für die Studie wurden die Krankengeschichten und Befunde von Patientinnen retrospektiv analysiert, die im Zeitraum Januar 1992 bis Dezember 2004 im Klinikum München Großhadern behandelt wurden. Wir evaluierten CEA- und CA 15-3-Werte von 71 Patientinnen zum Zeitpunkt der ersten Fernmetastasierung (1. FM), von 85 Patientinnen zum Zeitpunkt der 1. Tumorprogression (1. PD), sowie von 86, 72, 62 und 47 Patientinnen zum Zeitpunkt der folgenden Tumorprogressionen (2. PD bis 5. PD). Dabei war es möglich, dass Patientinnen mehrmals in die Auswertung eingingen.

Ergebnisse: Es zeigte sich sowohl ein Ansteigen von CEA als auch von CA 15-3 in Korrelation zur Anzahl der Tumorprogressionen (PD). Zum Zeitpunkt der 1. FM ergaben sich Mediane von 2,7 ng/mL für CEA und 43,8 U/mL für CA 15-3. Beim erneuten Progress einer bekannten Metastasierung oder Auftreten einer zusätzlichen Metastasierung (1. PD-5. PD) wurden folgende Mediane für CEA/CA 15-3 beobachtet: 2,8 ng/mL/44,7 U/mL beim 1. PD; 4,1 ng/mL/65,4 U/mL beim 2. PD; 5,2 ng/mL/94 U/mL beim 3. PD; 8,2 ng/mL/97 U/mL beim 4. PD und 8,8 ng/mL bzw. 139 U/mL beim 5. PD. Analog dazu stieg die Sensitivität für das Erkennen von Fernmetastasen sowohl für CEA als auch für CA 15-3. Die Kombination beider Tumormarker führte im Laufe der Tumorerkrankung zu einer Verbesserung der Sensitivität von 80,3% zum Zeitpunkt der 1. FM bis zu 95,7% zum Zeitpunkt der 5. PD.

Schlussfolgerung: Es besteht eine Korrelation zwischen der Höhe von CEA und/oder CA 15-3 und dem Fortschreiten der Tumorerkrankung. Dabei führt die Kombination beider Tumormarker zu einer deutlichen Verbesserung der Sensitivität.
Testing the Feasibility of an Interactive Learning Styles Measure for U.S. Latino Adults with Type 2 Diabetes and Low Literacy
Authors: Carbone Elena T. , Lennon Karen M. , Torres M. Idalí , Rosal Milagros C.
Published: April 2007

This study designed and piloted an interactive measure to assess learning preferences of Latinos in the United States with diabetes and limited literacy. The measure utilized interactive learning activities to represent four learning styles: visual (seeing), kinesthetic (doing), affective (feeling/sensing), and cognitive (thinking), targeting four diabetes self-management behaviors: choosing healthy foods; understanding portion sizes; distinguishing foods to eat often/sometimes/rarely; and limiting fat. Quantitative data were collected using the Spanish Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (S-TOFHLA). Individual, structured cognitive interview questions asked participants to identify learning activities that most reflected their own experience with diabetes. Participant observations provided additional qualitative data. Ten Spanish-speaking adults with type 2 diabetes and limited literacy participated in two randomly selected target behaviors and identified easiest and most difficult to understand learning activities. S-TOFHLA scores ranged from 0 to 21 points (mean 7.0) and identified eight participants with inadequate and two with marginal health literacy. Easiest to understand tasks were kinesthetic, most difficult to understand tasks were cognitive. This is one of the first known studies of its kind and offers insight for measuring learning styles of Latinos with diabetes and low health literacy.
Psychosocial Risk Factors among Telephone Service Workers: A Study of the Interaction between Customer and Worker
Authors: Scarone Mireya , Cedillo Leonor A.
Published: April 2007

Many activities in the telephone industry involve interaction with customers, including both traditional (for example, client assistance) and emerging services (product sales). Interaction with customers has been reported to cause stress in workers. The study was initiated as a consequence of changes in dialing of long-distance numbers. The main sources of stress among workers in Traffic and Customer Services Departments were analyzed, together with the resulting psychological distress and other health symptoms. Information was gathered through semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire containing the Spanish version of the Job Content Questionnaire, as well as psychological strain and health symptoms items. Questions developed specifically for this study concerned emotional demands, client interactions, and mechanisms used to deal with violent or unpleasant interactions. Workers received valuable information from the study that empowered them to demand improved working conditions.
Choose Sunwest: One Airline's Organizational Communication Strategies in a Campaign against the Teamsters Union
Authors: Ortiz Lorelei A. , Ford Julie Dyke
Published: April 2007

This article presents a qualitative text analysis of persuasive documents written by a major U.S. airline in a 2004 counter-campaign against the Teamsters union. The methodology for this study is based on Stephen Toulmin's argument model, including his “double triad” and his interpretation of artistic proofs, which parallel the three classical rhetorical appeals. Actual corporate documents are featured in this article, supported by content from management conference calls that were attended by the researchers. The article concludes with implications for teaching and research in the field of technical and professional communication.
Evidence of Political Interference / EPA Air Pollution Decision Threatens Public Health: Science Disregarded, Misrepresented on Particulate Matter Standard
Authors:   Union Of Concerned Scientists
Published: April 2007

Political interference with federal agency science threatens our health, safety, and environment. The Environmental Protection Agency's recent air pollution rules on fine particulate matter (PM) are particularly egregious assaults on public health and the integrity of science in federal policy making. The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has been actively monitoring and documenting cases of such interference and mobilizing scientists and citizens alike to push for reforms. Information on the PM case, and many others, are available on the UCS website ( http://www.ucsusa.org ).
Precommercial Thinning Reduces Snowshoe Hare Abundance in the Short Term
Authors: GRIFFIN PAUL C. , MILLS L. SCOTT
Published: April 2007

ABSTRACTManagement of young forests is not often considered in conservation plans, but young forests provide habitat for some species of conservation concern. Snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus), critical prey of forest carnivores including the United States federally threatened Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), can be abundant in young montane and subalpine forests with densely spaced saplings and shrub cover. Precommercial thinning (PCT) is a silvicultural technique that reduces sapling and shrub density on young forest stands. We tested for effects of PCT on snowshoe hare abundance for 2 years after experimental treatment at 3 replicate study areas. We also tested the effectiveness of a precommercial thinning with reserves (PCT‐R) prescription, where 20% of the total stand was retained in uncut quarter‐hectare patches. All stands were in montane—subalpine coniferous forests of western Montana, USA, where there is a persistent population of Canada lynx. Posttreatment changes in abundance were strongly negative on stands treated with standard PCT prescriptions (100% of the stand was treated), relative to both controls and stands treated with PCT‐R. Trapping, snowtrack, and winter fecal‐pellet indices indicated that snowshoe hares used the quarter‐ha retention patches more than thinned portions of the PCT‐R‐treated stands in winter. We suggest that managing forest landscapes for high snowshoe hare abundance will require adoption of silvicultural techniques like PCT‐R for stands that will be thinned, in addition to conservation of structurally valuable early and late‐successional forest stands.
Landscape Correlates Along Mourning Dove Call‐Count Routes in Mississippi
Authors: ELMORE R. DWAYNE , VILELLA FRANCISCO J. , GERARD PATRICK D.
Published: April 2007

ABSTRACT Mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) call‐count surveys in Mississippi, USA, suggest declining populations. We used available mourning dove call‐count data to evaluate long‐term mourning dove habitat relationships. Dove routes were located in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, Deep Loess Province, Mid Coastal Plain, and Hilly Coastal Plain physiographic provinces of Mississippi. We also included routes in the Blackbelt Prairie region of Mississippi and Alabama, USA. We characterized landscape structure and composition within 1.64‐km buffers around 10 selected mourning dove call‐count routes during 3 time periods. Habitat classes included agriculture, forest, urban, regeneration stands, wetland, and woodlot. We used Akaike's Information Criterion to select the best candidate model. We selected a model containing percent agriculture and edge density that contained approximately 40% of the total variability in the data set. Percent agriculture was positively correlated with relative dove abundance. Interestingly, we found a negative relationship between edge density and dove abundance. Researchers should conduct future research on dove nesting patterns in Mississippi and threshold levels of edge necessary to maximize dove density. During the last 20 years, Mississippi lost more than 800,000 ha of cropland while forest cover represented largely by pine (Pinus taeda) plantations increased by more than 364,000 ha. Our results suggest observed localized declines in mourning dove abundance in Mississippi may be related to the documented conversion of agricultural lands to pine plantations.
Microhabitat Characteristics of Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse High‐Use Areas
Authors: TRAINOR ANNE M. , SHENK TANYA M. , WILSON KENNETH R.
Published: April 2007

ABSTRACTRiparian wetlands are complex ecosystems containing species diversity that may easily be affected by anthropogenic disturbances. Preble's meadow jumping mouse (Zapus hudsonius preblei) is a federally threatened subspecies dependent upon riparian wetlands along the Front Range of Colorado and southeastern Wyoming, USA. Although habitat improvements for Preble's meadow jumping mouse are designed at multiple spatial scales, most knowledge about its habitat requirements has been described at a landscape scale. Our objective was to improve our understanding of Preble's meadow jumping mouse microhabitat characteristics within high‐use areas (hotspots), which are essential for the development of effective management and conservation strategies. We evaluated Preble's meadow jumping mouse habitat by describing areas of high use and no use as determined from monitoring radiocollared individuals. A comparison of microhabitat characteristics from random samples of high‐use and no‐use areas indicated that mice use areas closer to the center of the creek bed and positively associated with shrub, grass, and woody debris cover. Distance to center of the creek bed, and percent of shrub and grass cover also had the greatest relative importance of habitat variables modeled when describing high‐use areas. High‐use areas contained 3 times more grass cover than forb cover, and overall had a greater proportion of wetland shrub and grass cover. However, proportion of cover type (shrub or grass) did not vary greatly between high‐use and no‐use areas. Our results suggest that management and conservation efforts should continue to focus on establishment of native wetland vegetation near streams and creeks. For example, vegetation should include shrubs such as willow (Salixspp.), narrowleaf cottonwood (Populus angustifolia), alder (Alnus incana), grasses such as fescue (Fescuespp.), sedges (Carexspp.), and rush (Juncusspp).
Microhabitat Association of Blanding's Turtles in Natural and Constructed Wetlands in Southeastern New York
Authors: HARTWIG TANESSA SUZAN , KIVIAT ERIK
Published: April 2007

ABSTRACT We studied Blanding's turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) microhabitat in natural wetlands and wetlands constructed for the turtles in Dutchess County, New York, USA. Investigation of these topics can provide information on ways to increase the extent of Blanding's turtle habitat, improve its quality, and assure that conservation or restoration managers do not overlook key habitat characteristics. Microhabitat was determined by radiotracking individuals to their exact locations and recording habitat variables. Blanding's turtles were associated with shallow water depths (x̄ = 30 cm), muck substrates, and areas of abundant vegetation (total cover xM = 87%). Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)had the greatest mean total cover (29%). In the constructed wetlands, Blanding's turtles were associated with significantly less cover and warmer water than in the natural wetlands. Blanding's turtles appeared to be using the constructed wetlands to bask and forage in the spring and early summer but moved to deeper wetlands in late summer when the constructed wetlands dried up or became too warm. For Blanding's turtles, new habitat should contain abundant emergent vegetation (including buttonbush in Dutchess County and other areas where the turtles are known to use buttonbush swamps), basking areas, muck, floating plant material, and submerged aquatic vegetation. Blanding's turtle's use of constructed wetlands highlights the value of a complex of connected wetland habitats in providing for the varied needs of the turtle.
Forest and Landscape Structure as Predictors of Capercaillie Occurrence
Authors: GRAF ROLAND F. , BOLLMANN KURT , BUGMANN HARALD , SUTER WERNER
Published: April 2007

ABSTRACT Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) is a large, endangered forest grouse species with narrow habitat preferences and large spatial requirements that make it susceptible to habitat changes at different spatial scales. Our aim was to evaluate the relative power of variables relating to forest versus landscape structure in predicting capercaillie occurrence at different spatial scales. We investigated capercaillie‐habitat relationships at the scales of forest stand and forest‐stand mosaic in 2 Swiss regions. We assessed forest structure from aerial photographs in 52 study plots each 5 km2. We classified plots into one of 3 categories denoting the observed local population trend (stable, declining, extinct), and we compared forest structure between categories. At the stand scale, we used presence‐absence data for grid cells within the plots to build predictive habitat models based on logistic regression. At this scale, habitat models that included only variables relating to forest structure explained the occurrence of capercaillie only in part, whereas variables selected by the models differed between regions. Including variables relating to landscape features improved the models significantly. At the scale of stand mosaic, variables describing forest structure (e.g., mean canopy cover, proportion of open forest, and proportion of multistoried forest) differed between plot categories. We conclude that small‐scale forest structure has limited power to predict capercaillie occurrence at the stand scale, but that it explains well at the scale of the stand mosaic. Including variables for landscape structure improves predictions at the forest‐stand scale. Habitat models built with data from one region cannot be expected to predict the species occurrence in other regions well. Thus, multiscale approaches are necessary to better understand species‐habitat relationships. Our results can help regional authorities and forest‐management planners to identify areas where suitable habitat for capercaillie is not available in the required proportion and, thus, where management actions are needed to improve habitat suitability.
Tree Selection and Landscape Analysis of Eastern Red Bat Day Roosts
Authors: LIMPERT DANA L. , BIRCH DIXIE L. , SCOTT MICHAEL S. , ANDRE MELISSA , GILLAM ERIN
Published: April 2007

ABSTRACT Declining bat populations and increasing demands on forest resources have prompted researchers to investigate tree roost selection of forest bats. Few studies, however, have investigated different spatial scales and landscape pattern as criteria for selection of tree roosts. In 1999 and 2000, we radiotracked 23 eastern red bats (Lasiurus borealis) to 64 day roosts. Using univariate and multivariate comparisons, we tested roost tree variables with random tree data at 3 circular spatial scales: roost tree, plot, and landscape. We found 15 variables that were entered in a stepwise discriminant analysis to best differentiate between the roost and random samples; 11 (73.3%) were landscape variables measured with a geographic information system. On average (x̄ ± SE), red bats roosted in deciduous trees (42.0 ± 2.1 cm dbh) that were located in plots with more (3.1 ± 0.1 m2) basal area, higher (84.0 ± 1.3) percentage of canopy closure, and lower (27.2 ± 2.2) percentage of groundcover than random plots. At the landscape scale (by percent magnitude), red bat buffers (1,000‐m‐radius circle) had significantly less development (81.6%), less feeding operations (70.4%), more deciduous (52.9%) and pine forest (63.8%), and fewer local roads (5.4%) but more trails (94.1%), open water (61.4%), wetland areas (80.4%), and stream areas (63.1%) than random buffers. Red bat roost trees were significantly closer (χ2 = 22.0088, df = 1, P < 0.001) to trails (106.2 ± 13.3 m) than to streams (279.4 ± 28.5 m). Our results suggest that red bats in our study area select roosts in mature riparian forests near trails, open water, and wetlands. The high percentage of landscape values in the discriminant analysis lends support to using landscape metrics as an investigative technique of resource selection. We recommend that managers consider landscape factors when protecting red bat day‐roost habitat.
Modeling and Mapping Abundance of American Woodcock Across the Midwestern and Northeastern United States
Authors: THOGMARTIN WAYNE E. , SAUER JOHN R. , KNUTSON MELINDA G.
Published: April 2007

ABSTRACT We used an over‐dispersed Poisson regression with fixed and random effects, fitted by Markov chain Monte Carlo methods, to model population spatial patterns of relative abundance of American woodcock (Scolopax minor) across its breeding range in the United States. We predicted North American woodcock Singing Ground Survey counts with a log‐linear function of explanatory variables describing habitat, year effects, and observer effects. The model also included a conditional autoregressive term representing potential correlation between adjacent route counts. Categories of explanatory habitat variables in the model included land‐cover composition, climate, terrain heterogeneity, and human influence. Woodcock counts were higher in landscapes with more forest, especially aspen (Populus tremuloides) and birch (Betula spp.) forest, and in locations with a high degree of interspersion among forest, shrubs, and grasslands. Woodcock counts were lower in landscapes with a high degree of human development. The most noteworthy practical application of this spatial modeling approach was the ability to map predicted relative abundance. Based on a map of predicted relative abundance derived from the posterior parameter estimates, we identified major concentrations of woodcock abundance in east‐central Minnesota, USA, the intersection of Vermont, USA, New York, USA, and Ontario, Canada, the upper peninsula of Michigan, USA, and St. Lawrence County, New York. The functional relations we elucidated for the American woodcock provide a basis for the development of management programs and the model and map may serve to focus management and monitoring on areas and habitat features important to American woodcock.
Immunocontraception in Wild Horses: One Inoculation Provides Two Years of Infertility
Authors: TURNER JOHN W. , LIU IRWIN K. M. , FLANAGAN DOUGLAS R. , RUTBERG ALLEN T. , KIRKPATRICK JAY F.
Published: April 2007

ABSTRACT ABSTRACT Previous studies reported one year of contraception associated with a 1‐injection porcine zona pellucida (PZP) vaccine. We have subsequently determined contraceptive effectiveness of a presumptive 1‐injection, 2‐year‐duration PZP vaccine in free‐roaming wild horses (Equus caballus) in Nevada, USA. In January 2000, we captured, freeze‐branded, treated, and subsequently released 96 adult females that received 1) a primary dose of vaccine emulsion consisting of aqueous PZP and Freund's Complete Adjuvant, and 2) booster doses of PZP and adjuvant in controlled‐release polymer pellets. We determined PZP release characteristics of pellets in vitro, prior to field use. We determined reproductive success in treated and untreated females through October 2004 via measurement of estrone sulfate and progesterone metabolites in fresh feces collected from the ground and by twice‐annual foal counts. Among treated females, annual reproductive success from 2001 though 2004 sequentially was 5.9%, 14.0%, 32.0%, and 47.5%. Untreated females showed average reproductive success of 53.8 ± 1.3% across this period. This study revealed that: 1) PZP acted as an effective contraceptive for 2 years posttreatment; 2) some residual contraceptive effect remained in year 3; and 3) fertility returned to control levels by year 4 posttreatment. It appears that controlled‐release technology can replace both the second(1‐month) and annual booster injection of PZP vaccine, thereby decreasing cost and increasing efficiency of use of this vaccine in wild horse management.
Winter Movement Dynamics of Black Brant
Authors: LINDBERG MARK S. , WARD DAVID H. , TIBBITTS T. LEE , ROSER JOHN
Published: April 2007

ABSTRACT Although North American geese are managed based on their breeding distributions, the dynamics of those breeding populations may be affected by events that occur during the winter. Birth rates of capital breeding geese may be influenced by wintering conditions, mortality may be influenced by timing of migration and wintering distribution, and immigration and emigration among breeding populations may depend on winter movement and timing of pair formation. We examined factors affecting movements of black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) among their primary wintering sites in Mexico and southern California, USA, (Mar 1998‐Mar 2000) using capture‐recapture models. Although brant exhibited high probability (>0.85) of monthly and annual fidelity to the wintering sites we sampled, we observed movements among all wintering sites. Movement probabilities both within and among winters were negatively related to distance between sites. We observed a higher probability both of southward movement between winters (Mar to Dec) and northward movement between months within winters. Between‐winter movements were probably most strongly affected by spatial and temporal variation in habitat quality as we saw movement patterns consistent with contrasting environmental conditions (e.g., La Niña and El Niño southern oscillation cycles). Month‐to‐month movements were related to migration patterns and may also have been affected by differences in habitat conditions among sites. Patterns of winter movements indicate that a network of wintering sites may be necessary for effective conservation of brant.
Chytridiomycosis Widespread in Anurans of Northeastern United States
Authors: LONGCORE JERRY R. , LONGCORE JOYCE E. , PESSIER ALLAN P. , HALTEMAN WILLIAM A.
Published: April 2007

ABSTRACTAn emerging disease of amphibians caused by the chytrid fungusBatrachochytrium dendrobatidishas been associated with morbidity, mortality, and extinction of species. Typically, researchers have detectedB. dendrobatidisonly when examining amphibians for causes of mortalities; few data exist on infection rates where mortalities are lacking. During May‐September 2000–2002 we obtained amphibian specimens killed by vehicles and others collected at remote off‐road sites throughout Maine, USA, and from federal lands in 5 states in the Northeast. We detected infected specimens, mostly green frogs (Rana clamitans), at 5 of 7 national wildlife refuges, a federal waterfowl production area, and Acadia National Park. Seven of 9 species, including all Ranidae species, were infected throughout Maine; rates ranged from 14.6% in American toads (Bufo americanus) to 25.7% in northern leopard frogs (Rana pipiens). We did not detect any infections in 50 eastern gray tree frogs (Hyla versicolor) or 21 spring peepers (Pseudacris crucifer). Species that hibernate in terrestrial habitats seem to have lower rates of infection than species that hibernate in aquatic habitats. Infections peaked in spring and autumn and were associated with air temperatures optimal forB. dendrobatidisgrowth. The relatively high infection rates among species without documented die‐offs suggest that either losses have occurred undetected, that the fungus is endemic and species have attained a level of resistance to infections becoming lethal, or that climatic conditions of the Northeast have a role in preventing infections from being lethal. Data on prevalence and distribution of this chytrid fungus in the Northeast may be useful in modeling its origins and predicting long‐term ecosystem effects involving anurans.
Gravitational potential in fractional space
Authors: Muslih Sami , Baleanu Dumitru , Rabei Eqab
Published: April 2007

In this paper the gravitational potential with β-th order fractional mass distribution was obtained in α dimensionally fractional space. We show that the fractional gravitational universal constant G α is given by $$G_\alpha = \frac{{2\Gamma \left( {\frac{\alpha }{2}} \right)}}{{\pi ^{\alpha /2 - 1} (\alpha - 2)}}G$$ , where G is the usual gravitational universal constant and the dimensionality of the space is α > 2.
Computational studies of steady-state sound field and reverberant sound decay in a system of two coupled rooms
Authors: Meissner Mirosław
Published: April 2007

The acoustical properties of an irregularly shaped room consisting of two connected rectangular subrooms were studied. An eigenmode method supported by a numerical implementation has been used to predict acoustic characteristics of the coupled system, such as the distribution of the sound pressure in steady-state and the reverberation time. In the theoretical model a low-frequency limit was considered. In this case the eigenmodes are lightly damped, thusthey were approximated by normal acoustic modes of a hard-walled room. The eigenfunctions and eigenfrequencies were computed numerically via application of a forced oscillator method with a finite difference algorithm. The influence of coupling between subrooms on acoustic parameters of the enclosure was demonstrated in numerical simulations where different distributions of absorbing materials on the walls of the subrooms and various positions of the sound source were assumed. Calculation results have shown that for large differences in the absorption coefficient in the subrooms the effect of modal localization contributes to peaks of RMS pressure in steady-state and a large increase in the reverberation time.
Enhanced vigilin and anionic trypsinogen expression in experimental chronic pancreatitis
Authors: Hilgendorf Inken , Aßmuth Karen , Sparmann Gisela , Emmrich Jörg , Kruse Charli
Published: April 2007

The molecular principles that lead to chronic pancreatitis are incompletely understood. Trypsin(ogen) plays a key role in the development of pancreatitis. Since the production of trypsin(ogen) by acinary pancreatic cells is paralleled by the expression of vigilin we hypothesised that vigilin may be involved in the onset of pancreatitis. Vigilin is a ubiquitous protein and has apparently high affinity to RNA.

In the present study experimental pancreatitis was induced in male rats by a single intravenous application of dibutyltin dichloride (DBTC). Sections of rat pancreas were immunostained with an affinity-purified polyclonal antiserum against vigilin or trypsin(ogen). The changes in vigilin and trypsin(ogen) protein expression were determined by immunoblotting and subsequent sequence analysis of the amino acids.

Induction of pancreatitis by DBTC caused alterations in the distribution and the amount of both vigilin and trypsin(ogen) as shown by immunohistochemical and immunoblot analysis.

Furthermore we could demonstrate that anionic trypsinogen expression is up-regulated in DBTC-induced chronic pancreatitis. The obtained results suggest that vigilin as well as trypsin(ogen) are involved in the pathogenesis of pancreatitis and that the long-time DBTC-induced pancreatitis is a useful model for study of chronic pancreatitis.
Congenital fetal heart disease — course and outcome of pregnancies
Authors: Plešinac Snežana , Plećaš Darko , Ljubić Aleksandar , Parezanović Vojislav , Terzić Milan
Published: April 2007

The aim of the study was to analyze the course and outcome of pregnancies with congenital heart disease of the fetus, diagnosed and terminated at the Institute of gynecology and obstetrics Clinical Center of Serbia over four years.

The study included 71 patients, divided into 3 groups according to the fetal outcome. Group 1 had consisted of 9 pregnancies terminated artificially, Group 2 of 48 patients who delivered live fetuses, and Group 3 of 14 pregnancies terminated as fetal intrauterine death.

The types congenital heart diseases were categorized as follows: 40 had L-R shunting type, 18 R-L shunting type, 8 coartacion of aorta, and 7 valvular diseases. Intrauterine fetal death occurred in 11 pregnancies in Group 3 after 28 weeks of gestation. In 13 cases karyotypisation were done, because of maternal age or intrauterine growth retardation diagnosed with ultrasound, and 9 of them had genetic disorders. Forty-eight fetuses were born alive. Fourteen died in the first 2–7 days and 12 had successful heart surgery. Twenty-two needed no surgical correction. Ultrasound findings were false negative in 3 cases.

The diagnosis of fetal heart disease should be done by fetal echocardiogram, which can be preformed early in the beginning of the pregnancy.
Bakery Processes, Chemical Leavening Agents
Authors: Brodie John , Godber John
Published: April 2007

Chemical leavening involves the action of an acid on bicarbonate to release carbon dioxide gas for aeration of a dough or batter during mixing and baking. The aeration provides a light, porous cell structure, fine grain, and a texture with desirable appearance along with palatability to baked goods. There are essentially two components in a chemical leavening system: bicarbonate that supplies carbon dioxide gas and an acid that triggers the liberation of carbon dioxide from bicarbonate upon contact with moisture. Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) is the primary source of carbon dioxide gas in practically all chemical leavening systems. The prevalent baking acids in modern chemical leavening systems are sodium or calcium salts of ortho, pyro, and complex phosphoric acids. Baking soda determines the amount of carbon dioxide evolved, whereas the type of acid controls the speed of liberation. By far, the greatest use of leavening in the home is in preleavened mixes. Pancake, biscuit, and cake mixes have long been established as commercial products. Sales of frozen or refrigerated doughs and batters have increased rapidly in recent years. This trend is attributable to increased refrigeration and freezer capacity in stores and to the development of new and improved ingredients. Practically all of the leavening acids used in the mix industry today are of the phosphate type. The blending of baking powder is essentially a physical mixing of the various components in a large‐scale batch mixer and is often carried out in automated plants.