A 170 year spring phenology index of plants in eastern China

Extending phenological records into the past is essential for the understanding of past ecological change and evaluating the effects of climate change on ecosystems. A growing body of historical phenological information is now available for Europe, North America, and Asia. In East Asia, long-term phenological series are still relatively scarce. This study extracted plant phenological observations from old diaries in the period 1834–1962. A spring phenology index (SPI) for the modern period (1963–2009) was defined as the mean flowering time of three shrubs (first flowering of Amygdalus davidiana and Cercis chinensis, 50% of full flowering of Paeonia suffruticosa) according to the data availability. Applying calibrated transfer functions from the modern period to the historical data, we reconstructed a continuous SPI time series across eastern China from 1834 to 2009. In the recent 30 years, the SPI is 2.1–6.3 days earlier than during any other consecutive 30 year period before 1970. A moving linear trend analysis shows that the advancing trend of SPI over the past three decades reaches upward of 4.1 d/decade, which exceeds all previously observed trends in the past 30 year period. In addition, the SPI series correlates significantly with spring (February to April) temperatures in the study area, with an increase in spring temperature of 1°C inducing an earlier SPI by 3.1 days. These shifts of SPI provide important information regarding regional vegetation-climate relationships, and they are helpful to assess long term of climate change impacts on biophysical systems and biodiversity.

The influence of sampling design on tree-ring-based quantification of forest growth

Tree-rings offer one of the few possibilities to empirically quantify and reconstruct forest growth dynamics over years to millennia. Contemporaneously with the growing scientific community employing tree-ring parameters, recent research has suggested that commonly applied sampling designs (i.e. how and which trees are selected for dendrochronological sampling) may introduce considerable biases in quantifications of forest responses to environmental change. To date, a systematic assessment of the consequences of sampling design on dendroecological and-climatological conclusions has not yet been performed. Here, we investigate potential biases by sampling a large population of trees and replicating diverse sampling designs. This is achieved by retroactively subsetting the population and specifically testing for biases emerging for climate reconstruction, growth response to climate variability, long-term growth trends, and quantification of forest productivity. We find that commonly applied sampling designs can impart systematic biases of varying magnitude to any type of tree-ring-based investigations, independent of the total number of samples considered. Quantifications of forest growth and productivity are particularly susceptible to biases, whereas growth responses to short-term climate variability are less affected by the choice of sampling design. The world's most frequently applied sampling design, focusing on dominant trees only, can bias absolute growth rates by up to 459% and trends in excess of 200%. Our findings challenge paradigms, where a subset of samples is typically considered to be representative for the entire population. The only two sampling strategies meeting the requirements for all types of investigations are the (i) sampling of all individuals within a fixed area; and (ii) fully randomized selection of trees. This result advertises the consistent implementation of a widely applicable sampling design to simultaneously reduce uncertainties in tree-ring-based quantifications of forest growth and increase the comparability of datasets beyond individual studies, investigators, laboratories, and geographical boundaries.

The beginnings of the Chicago Sinai congregation : a contribution to the inner history of American judaism

by B. Felsenthal

Individual differences in inhibitory control - relationship between baseline activation in lateral PFC and an electrophysiological index of response inhibition

The capacity to inhibit inappropriate responses is crucial for goal-directed behavior. Inhibiting such responses seems to come more easily to some of us than others, however. From where do these individual differences originate? Here, we measured 263 participants' neural baseline activation using resting electroencephalogram. Then, we used this stable neural marker to predict a reliable electrophysiological index of response inhibition capacity in the cued Continuous Performance Test, the NoGo-Anteriorization (NGA). Using a source-localization technique, we found that resting delta, theta, and alpha1 activity in the left middle frontal gyrus and resting alpha1 activity in the right inferior frontal gyrus were negatively correlated with the NGA. As a larger NGA is thought to represent better response inhibition capacity, our findings demonstrate that lower levels of resting slow-wave oscillations in the lateral prefrontal cortex, bilaterally, are associated with a better response inhibition capacity.

Essays on behavioral aspects of the design and disclosure of compensation contracts

This thesis consists of four essays on the design and disclosure of compensation contracts. Essays 1, 2 and 3 focus on behavioral aspects of mandatory compensation disclosure rules and of contract negotiations in agency relationships. The three experimental studies develop psychology- based theory and present results that deviate from standard economic predictions. Furthermore, the results of Essay 1 and 2 also have implications for firms’ discretion in how to communicate their top management’s incentives to the capital market. Essay 4 analyzes the role of fairness perceptions for the evaluation of executive compensation. For this purpose, two surveys targeting representative eligible voters as well as investment professionals were conducted. Essay 1 investigates the role of the detailed ‘Compensation Discussion and Analysis’, which is part of the Security and Exchange Commission’s 2006 regulation, on investors’ evaluations of executive performance. Compensation disclosure complying with this regulation clarifies the relationship between realized reported compensation and the underlying performance measures and their target achievement levels. The experimental findings suggest that the salient presentation of executives’ incentives inherent in the ‘Compensation Discussion and Analysis’ makes investors’ performance evaluations less outcome dependent. Therefore, investors’ judgment and investment decisions might be less affected by noisy environmental factors that drive financial performance. The results also suggest that fairness perceptions of compensation contracts are essential for investors’ performance evaluations in that more transparent disclosure increases the perceived fairness of compensation and the performance evaluation of managers who are not responsible for a bad financial performance. These results have important practical implications as firms might choose to communicate their top management’s incentive compensation more transparently in order to benefit from less volatile expectations about their future performance. Similar to the first experiment, the experiment described in Essay 2 addresses the question of more transparent compensation disclosure. However, other than the first experiment, the second experiment does not analyze the effect of a more salient presentation of contract information but the informational effect of contract information itself. For this purpose, the experiment tests two conditions in which the assessment of the compensation contracts’ incentive compatibility, which determines executive effort, is either possible or not. On the one hand, the results suggest that the quality of investors’ expectations about executive effort is improved, but on the other hand investors might over-adjust their prior expectations about executive effort if being confronted with an unexpected financial performance and under-adjust if the financial performance confirms their prior expectations. Therefore, in the experiment, more transparent compensation disclosure does not lead to more correct overall judgments of executive effort and to even lower processing quality of outcome information. These results add to the literature on disclosure which predominantly advocates more transparency. The findings of the experiment however, identify decreased information processing quality as a relevant disclosure cost category. Firms might therefore carefully evaluate the additional costs and benefits of more transparent compensation disclosure. Together with the results from the experiment in Essay 1, the two experiments on compensation disclosure imply that firms should rather focus on their discretion how to present their compensation disclosure to benefit from investors’ improved fairness perceptions and their spill-over on performance evaluation. Essay 3 studies the behavioral effects of contextual factors in recruitment processes that do not affect the employer’s or the applicant’s bargaining power from a standard economic perspective. In particular, the experiment studies two common characteristics of recruitment processes: Pre-contractual competition among job applicants and job applicants’ non-binding effort announcements as they might be made during job interviews. Despite the standard economic irrelevance of these factors, the experiment develops theory regarding the behavioral effects on employees’ subsequent effort provision and the employers’ contract design choices. The experimental findings largely support the predictions. More specifically, the results suggest that firms can benefit from increased effort and, therefore, may generate higher profits. Further, firms may seize a larger share of the employment relationship’s profit by highlighting the competitive aspects of the recruitment process and by requiring applicants to make announcements about their future effort. Finally, Essay 4 studies the role of fairness perceptions for the public evaluation of executive compensation. Although economic criteria for the design of incentive compensation generally do not make restrictive recommendations with regard to the amount of compensation, fairness perceptions might be relevant from the perspective of firms and standard setters. This is because behavioral theory has identified fairness as an important determinant of individuals’ judgment and decisions. However, although fairness concerns about executive compensation are often stated in the popular media and even in the literature, evidence on the meaning of fairness in the context of executive compensation is scarce and ambiguous. In order to inform practitioners and standard setters whether fairness concerns are exclusive to non-professionals or relevant for investment professionals as well, the two surveys presented in Essay 4 aim to find commonalities in the opinions of representative eligible voters and investments professionals. The results suggest that fairness is an important criterion for both groups. Especially, exposure to risk in the form of the variable compensation share is an important criterion shared by both groups. The higher the assumed variable share, the higher is the compensation amount to be perceived as fair. However, to a large extent, opinions on executive compensation depend on personality characteristics, and to some extent, investment professionals’ perceptions deviate systematically from those of non-professionals. The findings imply that firms might benefit from emphasizing the riskiness of their managers’ variable pay components and, therefore, the findings are also in line with those of Essay 1.

Refinement of experimental design and conduct in laboratory animal research.

The scientific literature of laboratory animal research is replete with papers reporting poor reproducibility of results as well as failure to translate results to clinical trials in humans. This may stem in part from poor experimental design and conduct of animal experiments. Despite widespread recognition of these problems and implementation of guidelines to attenuate them, a review of the literature suggests that experimental design and conduct of laboratory animal research are still in need of refinement. This paper will review and discuss possible sources of biases, highlight advantages and limitations of strategies proposed to alleviate them, and provide a conceptual framework for improving the reproducibility of laboratory animal research.

A dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic literature : with an index of scriptural quotations

compiled by Marcus Jastrow

Influence of Abutment Design on Stiffness, Strength, and Failure of Implant-Supported Monolithic Resin Nano Ceramic (RNC) Crowns

BACKGROUND Recent technical development allows the digital manufacturing of monolithic reconstructions with high-performance materials. For implant-supported crowns, the fixation requires an abutment design onto which the reconstruction can be bonded. PURPOSE The aim of this laboratory investigation was to analyze stiffness, strength, and failure modes of implant-supported, computer-assisted design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM)-generated resin nano ceramic (RNC) crowns bonded to three different titanium abutments. MATERIALS AND METHODS Eighteen monolithic RNC crowns were produced and loaded in a universal testing machine under quasi-static condition according to DIN ISO 14801. With regard to the type of titanium abutment, three groups were defined: (1) prefabricated cementable standard; (2) CAD/CAM-constructed individualized; and (3) novel prefabricated bonding base. Stiffness and strength were measured and analyzed statistically with Wilcoxon rank sum test. Sections of the specimens were examined microscopically. RESULTS Stiffness demonstrated high stability for all specimens loaded in the physiological loading range with means and standard deviations of 1,579 ± 120 N/mm (group A), 1,733 ± 89 N/mm (group B), and 1,704 ± 162 N/mm (group C). Mean strength of the novel prefabricated bonding base (group C) was 17% lower than of the two other groups. Plastic deformations were detectable for all implant-abutment crown connections. CONCLUSIONS Monolithic implant crowns made of RNC seem to represent a feasible and stable prosthetic construction under laboratory testing conditions with strength higher than the average occlusal force, independent of the different abutment designs used in this investigation.

Modification of aviary design reduces incidence of falls, collisions and keel bone damage in laying hens

Non-cage housing systems for laying hens such as aviaries provide greater freedom to perform species-specific behavior and thus are thought to improve welfare of the birds; however, aviaries are associated with a high prevalence of keel bone damage (fractures and deviations), which is a major welfare problem in commercial laying hens. Potential causes of keel bone damage are falls and collisions with internal housing structures that occur as birds move between tiers or perches in the aviary. The aim of this study was to investigate the scope for reducing keel bone damage by reducing falls and collisions through modifications of aviary design. Birds were kept in 20 pens in a laying hen house (225 hens per pen) that were assigned to four different treatments (n = 5 pens per treatment group) including (1) control pens and pens modified by the addition of (2) perches, (3) platforms and (4) ramps. Video recordings at 19, 22, 29, 36 and 43 weeks of age were used to analyze controlled movements and falls (including details on occurrence of collision, cause of fall, height of fall and behavior after fall) during the transitional dusk and subsequent dark phase. Palpation assessments (focusing on fractures and deviations) using 20 focal hens per pen were conducted at 18, 20, 23, 30, 37, 44, 52 and 60 weeks of age. In comparison to the control group, we found 44% more controlled movements in the ramp (P = 0.003) and 47% more controlled movements in the platform treatments (P = 0.014) as well as 45% fewer falls (P = 0.006) and 59% fewer collisions (P < 0.001) in the ramp treatment. There were no significant differences between the control and perch treatments. Also, at 60 weeks of age, 23% fewer fractured keel bones were found in the ramp compared with the control treatment (P = 0.0053). After slaughter at 66 weeks of age, no difference in keel bone damage was found between treatment groups and the prevalence of fractures increased to an average of 86%. As a potential mechanism to explain the differences in locomotion, we suggest that ramps facilitated movement in the vertical plane by providing a continuous path between the tiers and thus supported more natural behavior (i.e. walking and running) of the birds. As a consequence of reducing events that potentially damage keel bones, the installation of ramps may have reduced the prevalence of keel fractures for a major portion of the flock cycle. We conclude that aviary design and installation of specific internal housing structures (i.e. ramps and platforms) have considerable potential to reduce keel bone damage of laying hens in aviary systems.

Dei zweite Jahresconferenz der "Federation of American Zionists" in Baltimore

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Zuni elders: Ethnography of American Indian aging

Problem/purpose. The specific aim of this focused ethnography was to provide insight into the experience of aging of the American Indian (AI) elder as demonstrated by one tribe, the Zuni of New Mexico. Discovering how Zuni elders construct the experience of aging and the associated behaviors allowed the researcher to deconstruct aging and then re-present it in a cogent description for this population. Such a description is lacking in the literature and will be useful in planning for culturally relevant eldercare services. ^ Methods. Ethnographic field techniques were used to sample from elders, pueblo members-at-large, activities, events and places. Over 1800 hrs were spent in the field spanning 14 months and five site visits, with the longest at almost 4 weeks. Developing codes for transcribed interviews, field notes, supplementary documents, photographs, videos, and artifacts was carried out during analysis. Categories and ultimately a cognitive map and model were developed which represented aging in Zuni Pueblo in 2000. ^ Findings. Zuni elders are aging in two worlds. Their primary world has been described as a sevenfold universe, a complicated structure with seven planes wherein the middle plane refers to themselves, a synthesis of all the other planes. The increasing influence of the white world has formed a ‘new middle’ out of which everyday aspects of aging are viewed. ^ Implications for nursing/gerontology. Nurses and others in gerontology must recognize that vast differences in worldviews are present between themselves and AI elders regarding health practices, spirituality, eating patterns, family roles, medicine, religion and countless other aspects of life. Their centuries old beliefs and practices drive these differences coupled with a collision with the white world. Making a paradigm shift using an appropriate lens with which to view these differences can only increase our understanding and efficacy in delivering culturally relevant care. ^

Strategy and Circumstance: the Response of American Firms to Japanese Competition in Semiconductors, 1980-1995

The transistor was an American invention, and American firms led the world in semiconductor production and innovation for the first three decades of that industry's existence. In the 1980s, however, Japanese producers began to challenge American dominance. Shrill cries arose from the literature of public policy, warning that the American semiconductor industry would soon share the fate of the lamented American consumer electronics business. Few dissented from the implications: the only hope for salvation would be to adopt Japanese-style public policies and imitate the kinds of capabilities Japanese firms possessed. But the predicted extinction never occurred. Instead, American firms surged back during the 1990s, and it now seems the Japanese who are embattled. This striking American turnaround has gone largely unremarked upon in the public policy literature. And even scholarship in strategic management, which thrives on stories of success instead of stories of failure, has been comparatively silent. Drawing on a more thorough economic history of the worldwide semiconductor industry (Langlois and Steinmueller 1999), this essay attempts to collect some of the lessons for strategy research of the American resurgence. We argue that, although some of the American response did consist in changing or augmenting capabilities, most of the renewed American success is in fact the result not of imitating superior Japanese capabilities but rather of taking good advantage of a set of capabilities developed in the heyday of American dominance. Serendipity played at least as important a role as did strategy.