Characterization of olive oil by carbon isotope analysis of individual fatty acids: Implications for authentication

The fatty acids of olive oils of distinct quality grade from the most important European Union (EU) producer countries were chemically and isotopically characterized. The analytical approach utilized combined capillary column gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and the novel technique of compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) through gas chromatography coupled to a stable isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) via a combustion (C) interface (GC/C/IRMS). This approach provides further insights into the control of the purity and geographical origin of oils sold as cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil with certified origin appellation. The results indicate that substantial enrichment in heavy carbon isotope (C-13) of the bulk oil and of individual fatty acids are related to (1) a thermally induced degradation due to deodorization or steam washing of the olive oils and (2) the potential blend with refined olive oil or other vegetable oils. The interpretation of the data is based on principal component analysis of the fatty acids concentrations and isotopic data (delta(13)C(oil), delta(13)C(16:0), delta(13)C(18:1)) and on the delta(13)C(16:0) vs delta(13)C(18:1) covariations. The differences in the delta(13)C values of palmitic and oleic acids are discussed in terms of biosynthesis of these acids in the plant tissue and admixture of distinct oils.

Individual vocal signatures in barn owl nestlings: does individual recognition have an adaptive role in sibling vocal competition?

To compete over limited parental resources, young animals communicate with their parents and siblings by producing honest vocal signals of need. Components of begging calls that are sensitive to food deprivation may honestly signal need, whereas other components may be associated with individual-specific attributes that do not change with time such as identity, sex, absolute age and hierarchy. In a sib-sib communication system where barn owl (Tyto alba) nestlings vocally negotiate priority access to food resources, we show that calls have individual signatures that are used by nestlings to recognize which siblings are motivated to compete, even if most vocalization features vary with hunger level. Nestlings were more identifiable when food-deprived than food-satiated, suggesting that vocal identity is emphasized when the benefit of winning a vocal contest is higher. In broods where siblings interact iteratively, we speculate that individual-specific signature permits siblings to verify that the most vocal individual in the absence of parents is the one that indeed perceived the food brought by parents. Individual recognition may also allow nestlings to associate identity with individual-specific characteristics such as position in the within-brood dominance hierarchy. Calls indeed revealed age hierarchy and to a lower extent sex and absolute age. Using a cross-fostering experimental design, we show that most acoustic features were related to the nest of origin (but not the nest of rearing), suggesting a genetic or an early developmental effect on the ontogeny of vocal signatures. To conclude, our study suggests that sibling competition has promoted the evolution of vocal behaviours that signal not only hunger level but also intrinsic individual characteristics such as identity, family, sex and age.

Are Chileans equally supportive? Analysis of the individual differences in money donations

In the public discourse it is commonly assumed that Chile is a solidary country, an assumption that is mixed with the idea of homogeneity in the country as far as helping behavior and solidarity values is concerned. The present paper is aimed at challenging this homogeneity assumption by proposing that helping behavior is associated to personal resources, which at the same time are linked to the position in the stratification structure. Using data from the Solidarity Survey implemented by the assessment center MIDE UC of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in 2009, the paper focuses on a specific type of helping behavior: money donations. The analysis centers on the influence of personal resources such as income, education and networks on this kind of donations. Results indicate that individuals with greater resources are more given to donate, whereby the educational level plays a key role.

The world distribution of income (estimated from individual country distributions)

We estimate the world distribution of income by integrating individualincome distributions for 125 countries between 1970 and 1998. Weestimate poverty rates and headcounts by integrating the density functionbelow the $1/day and $2/day poverty lines. We find that poverty ratesdecline substantially over the last twenty years. We compute povertyheadcounts and find that the number of one-dollar poor declined by 235million between 1976 and 1998. The number of $2/day poor declined by 450million over the same period. We analyze poverty across different regionsand countries. Asia is a great success, especially after 1980. LatinAmerica reduced poverty substantially in the 1970s but progress stoppedin the 1980s and 1990s. The worst performer was Africa, where povertyrates increased substantially over the last thirty years: the number of$1/day poor in Africa increased by 175 million between 1970 and 1998,and the number of $2/day poor increased by 227. Africa hosted 11% ofthe world s poor in 1960. It hosted 66% of them in 1998. We estimatenine indexes of income inequality implied by our world distribution ofincome. All of them show substantial reductions in global incomeinequality during the 1980s and 1990s.

On prediction of individual sequences

Sequential randomized prediction of an arbitrary binary sequence isinvestigated. No assumption is made on the mechanism of generating the bit sequence. The goal of the predictor is to minimize its relative loss, i.e., to make (almost) as few mistakes as the best ``expert'' in a fixed, possibly infinite, set of experts. We point out a surprising connection between this prediction problem and empirical process theory. First, in the special case of static (memoryless) experts, we completely characterize the minimax relative loss in terms of the maximum of an associated Rademacher process. Then we show general upper and lower bounds on the minimaxrelative loss in terms of the geometry of the class of experts. As main examples, we determine the exact order of magnitude of the minimax relative loss for the class of autoregressive linear predictors and for the class of Markov experts.

Individual Classification of Mild Cognitive Impairment Subtypes by Support Vector Machine Analysis of White Matter DTI.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: MCI was recently subdivided into sd-aMCI, sd-fMCI, and md-aMCI. The current investigation aimed to discriminate between MCI subtypes by using DTI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-six prospective participants were included: 18 with sd-aMCI, 13 with sd-fMCI, and 35 with md-aMCI. Statistics included group comparisons using TBSS and individual classification using SVMs. RESULTS: The group-level analysis revealed a decrease in FA in md-aMCI versus sd-aMCI in an extensive bilateral, right-dominant network, and a more pronounced reduction of FA in md-aMCI compared with sd-fMCI in right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus and inferior longitudinal fasciculus. The comparison between sd-fMCI and sd-aMCI, as well as the analysis of the other diffusion parameters, yielded no significant group differences. The individual-level SVM analysis provided discrimination between the MCI subtypes with accuracies around 97%. The major limitation is the relatively small number of cases of MCI. CONCLUSIONS: Our data show that, at the group level, the md-aMCI subgroup has the most pronounced damage in white matter integrity. Individually, SVM analysis of white matter FA provided highly accurate classification of MCI subtypes.

Iowa Individual Income Tax School District, Tax Year 1997

Iowa School District Surtax Report 1997

Iowa Individual Income Tax School District, Tax Year 1998

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Iowa Individual Income Tax School District Report, Tax Year 1999

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Iowa Individual Income Tax School District Report, Tax Year 2000

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Iowa Individual Income Tax School District Report, Tax Year 2001

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Iowa Individual Income Tax School District Report, Tax Year 2002

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Iowa Individual Income Tax School District Report, Tax Year 2003

Iowa School District Surtax Report 2003

Iowa Individual Income Tax School District Report, Tax Year 2004

Iowa School District Surtax Report 2004