CSM-IXIM: A New Maize Simulation Model for DSSAT Version 4.5

Th e CERES-Maize model is the most widely used maize (Zea mays L.) model and is a recognized reference for comparing new developments in maize growth, development, and yield simulation. Th e objective of this study was to present and evaluate CSMIXIM, a new maize simulation model for DSSAT version 4.5. Code from CSM-CERES-Maize, the modular version of the model, was modifi ed to include a number of model improvements. Model enhancements included the simulation of leaf area, C assimilation and partitioning, ear growth, kernel number, grain yield, and plant N acquisition and distribution. Th e addition of two genetic coeffi cients to simulate per-leaf foliar surface produced 32% smaller root mean square error (RMSE) values estimating leaf area index than did CSM-CERES. Grain yield and total shoot biomass were correctly simulated by both models. Carbon partitioning, however, showed diff erences. Th e CSM-IXIM model simulated leaf mass more accurately, reducing the CSM-CERES error by 44%, but overestimated stem mass, especially aft er stress, resulting in similar average RMSE values as CSM-CERES. Excessive N uptake aft er fertilization events as simulated by CSM-CERES was also corrected, reducing the error by 16%. Th e accuracy of N distribution to stems was improved by 68%. Th ese improvements in CSM-IXIM provided a stable basis for more precise simulation of maize canopy growth and yield and a framework for continuing future model developments

The P-Adaptive BIEM Version in Elastostatics

This paper introduces the p-adaptive version of the boundary element method as a natural extension of the homonymous finite element approach. After a brief introduction to adaptive techniques through their finite element formulation in elastostatics, the concepts are cast into the boundary element environment. Thus, the p-adaptive version of boundary integral methods is shown to be a generalization of already well known ideas. In order to show the power of these numerical procedures, the results of two practical analysis using both methods are presented.

New version of a laboratory impact device for firmness sensing of fruits.

Results of previous studies conducted by different researchers have shown that impact techniques can be used to evaluate firmness (Delwiche et al., 1989; Delwiche et al.;1996; Jaren et al., 1992; Ruiz Altisent et al., 1996). To impact the fruit with a small spherical impactor of known mass and radius of curvature and measure the acceleration of the impactor is a technique described by Chen et al. (1985) and used by several researchers for sensing fruit firmness (Jaren et al., 1992; Correa et al.; 1992). The advantages of this method vs. a force sensor that measures the force as a function of time is that the measured impact-acceleration response is independent of the fruit mass and is less sensitive to the variation in the radius of curvature of the fruit (Chen et al., 1996). Ruiz Altisent et al. (1993) developed and used a 50 g impactor with a 19 mm diameter spherical tip, dropping from different height for fruits (apples, pears, avocados, melons, peaches ...). Another impact device for firmness sensing of fruits was developed by Chen and Ruiz Altisent (1996). They designed and fabricated an experimental low-mass impact sensor for high-speed sensing of fruit firmness. The impactor consisted of a semi-spherical impacting tip attached to the end (near the centre of percussion) of a pivoting arm. Impact is done by swinging the impactor to collide with the fruit. It has been implemented for on-line use. In both devices a small accelerometer is mounted behind the impacting tip. Lateral impactor and vertical impactor have been used in laboratory and the results from non-destructive impact tests have contributed to standardise methods to measure fruit firmness: Barreiro (1992) compared impact parameters and results of Magness-Taylor penetration tests for apples, pears, apricots [and peaches; Agulheiro (1994) studied the behaviour of the impact parameters during seven weeks of cold storage of two melon varieties; Ortiz (1998) used low energy impact and NIR procedures to segregate non crispy, non firm and soft peaches. Steinmetz (1996) compared various non-destructive firmness sensors, based on sound, impact and micro-deformation.

RegulonDB (version 3.2): transcriptional regulation and operon organization in Escherichia coli K-12

RegulonDB is a database on mechanisms of transcription regulation and operon organization in Escherichia coli K-12. The current version has considerably increased numbers of regulatory elements such as promoters, binding sites and terminators. The complete repertoire of known and predicted DNA-binding transcriptional regulators can be considered to be included in this version. The database now distinguishes different allosteric conformations of regulatory proteins indicating the one active in binding and regulating the different promoters. A new set of operon predictions has been incorporated. The relational design has been modified accordingly. Furthermore, a major improvement is a graphic display enabling browsing of the database with a Java-based graphic user interface with three zoom-levels connected to properties of each chromo­somal element. The purpose of these modifications is to make RegulonDB a useful tool and control set for tran­scriptome experiments. RegulonDB can be accessed on the web at the URL: http://www.cifn.unam.mx/Computational_Biology/regulondb/

A fully automatic evolutionary classification of protein folds: Dali Domain Dictionary version 3

The Dali Domain Dictionary (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/dali/domain) is a numerical taxonomy of all known structures in the Protein Data Bank (PDB). The taxonomy is derived fully automatically from measurements of structural, functional and sequence similarities. Here, we report the extension of the classification to match the traditional four hierarchical levels corresponding to: (i) supersecondary structural motifs (attractors in fold space), (ii) the topology of globular domains (fold types), (iii) remote homologues (functional families) and (iv) homologues with sequence identity above 25% (sequence families). The computational definitions of attractors and functional families are new. In September 2000, the Dali classification contained 10 531 PDB entries comprising 17 101 chains, which were partitioned into five attractor regions, 1375 fold types, 2582 functional families and 3724 domain sequence families. Sequence families were further associated with 99 582 unique homologous sequences in the HSSP database, which increases the number of effectively known structures several-fold. The resulting database contains the description of protein domain architecture, the definition of structural neighbours around each known structure, the definition of structurally conserved cores and a comprehensive library of explicit multiple alignments of distantly related protein families.

Psychometric properties of the School Anxiety Inventory-Short Version in Spanish secondary education students

Background: The School Anxiety Inventory (SAI) can be applied in different fields of psychology. However, due to the inventory’s administration time, it may not be useful in certain situations. To address this concern, the present study developed a short version of the SAI (the SAI-SV). Method: This study examined the reliability and validity evidence drawn from the scores of the School Anxiety Inventory-Short Version (SAI-SV) using a sample of 2,367 (47.91% boys) Spanish secondary school students, ranging from 12 to 18 years of age. To analyze the dimensional structure of the SAI-SV, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were applied. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were calculated for SAISV scores. Results: A correlated three-factor structure related to school situations (Anxiety about Aggression, Anxiety about Social Evaluation, and Anxiety about Academic Failure) and a three-factor structure related to the response systems of anxiety (Physiological Anxiety, Cognitive Anxiety, and Behavioral Anxiety) were identified and supported. The internal consistency and test-retest reliability were determined to be appropriate. Conclusions: The reliability and validity evidence based on the internal structure of SAI-SV scores was satisfactory.

The Spanish version of the Prenatal Breast-feeding Self-efficacy Scale: Reliability and validity assessment

Background: Only a minority of infants are exclusively breastfed for the recommended 6 months postpartum. Breast-feeding self-efficacy is a mother's confidence in her ability to breastfeed and is predictive of breastfeeding behaviors. The Prenatal Breast-feeding Self-efficacy Scale (PBSES) was developed among English-speaking mothers to measure breastfeeding self-efficacy before delivery. Objectives: To translate the PBSES into Spanish and assess its psychometric properties. Design: Reliability and validity assessment. Setting: A public hospital in Yecla, Spain. Participants: A convenience sample of 234 pregnant women in their third trimester of pregnancy. Methods: The PBSES was translated into Spanish using forward and back translation. A battery of self-administered questionnaires was completed by participants, including a questionnaire on sociodemographic variables, breastfeeding experience and intention, as well as the Spanish version of the PBSES. Also, data on exclusive breastfeeding at discharge were collected from hospital database. Dimensional structure, internal consistency and construct validity of the Spanish version of PBSES were assessed. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis suggested the presence of one construct, self-efficacy, with four dimensions or latent variables. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for internal consistency was 0.91. Response patterns based on decision to breastfeed during pregnancy provided evidence of construct validity. In addition, the scores of the Spanish version of the PBSES significantly predicted exclusive breastfeeding at discharge. Conclusions: The Spanish version of PBSES shows evidences of reliability, and contrasting group and predictive validity. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated marginal fit and further studies are needed to provide new evidence on the structure of the scale. The Spanish version of the PBSES can be considered a reliable measure and shows validity evidences.

Development and psychometric testing of the clinical learning environment, supervision and nurse teacher evaluation scale (CLES+T): The Spanish version

Background: The Clinical Learning Environment, Supervision and Nurse Teacher scale is a reliable and valid instrument to evaluate the quality of the clinical learning process in international nursing education contexts. Objectives: This paper reports the development and psychometric testing of the Spanish version of the Clinical Learning Environment, Supervision and Nurse Teacher scale. Design: Cross-sectional validation study of the scale. Setting: 10 public and private hospitals in the Alicante area, and the Faculty of Health Sciences (University of Alicante, Spain). Participants: 370 student nurses on clinical placement (January 2011–March 2012). Methods: The Clinical Learning Environment, Supervision and Nurse Teacher scale was translated using the modified direct translation method. Statistical analyses were performed using PASW Statistics 18 and AMOS 18.0.0 software. A multivariate analysis was conducted in order to assess construct validity. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to evaluate instrument reliability. Results: An exploratory factorial analysis identified the five dimensions from the original version, and explained 66.4% of the variance. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the factor structure of the Spanish version of the instrument. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the scale was .95, ranging from .80 to .97 for the subscales. Conclusion: This version of the Clinical Learning Environment, Supervision and Nurse Teacher scale instrument showed acceptable psychometric properties for use as an assessment scale in Spanish-speaking countries.

Validation of a Spanish Version of the Lille Apathy Rating Scale for Parkinson’s Disease

Introduction. To date, no rating scales for detecting apathy in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients have been validated in Spanish. For this reason, the aim of this study was to validate a Spanish version of Lille apathy rating scale (LARS) in a cohort of PD patients from Spain. Participants and Methods. 130 PD patients and 70 healthy controls were recruited to participate in the study. Apathy was measured using the Spanish version of LARS and the neuropsychiatric inventory (NPI). Reliability (internal consistency, test-retest, and interrater reliability) and validity (construct, content, and criterion validity) were measured. Results. Interrater reliability was 0.93. Cronbach’s α for LARS was 0.81. The test-retest correlation coefficient was 0.97. The correlation between LARS and NPI scores was 0.61. The optimal cutoff point under the ROC curve was , whereas the value derived from healthy controls was . The prevalence of apathy in our population tested by LARS was 42%. Conclusions. The Spanish version of LARS is a reliable and useful tool for diagnosing apathy in PD patients. Total LARS score is influenced by the presence of depression and cognitive impairment. However, both disorders are independent identities with respect to apathy. The satisfactory reliability and validity of the scale make it an appropriate instrument for screening and diagnosing apathy in clinical practice or for research purposes.

Reliability and Validity Evidence of Scores on the French Version of the Questionnaire about Interpersonal Difficulties for Adolescents

This study examined the reliability and validity evidence drawn from the scores of the French version of the Questionnaire about Interpersonal Difficulties for Adolescents (QIDA) in a sample of 957 adolescents (48.5% boys) ranging in age from 11 to 18 years (M = 14.48, SD = 1.85). A principal axis factoring (PAF) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were performed to determine the fit of the factor structure of scores on the QIDA. PAF and CFA replicated the previously identified correlated five-factor structure of the QIDA: Assertiveness, Heterosexual Relationships, Public Speaking, Family Relationships, and Close Friendships. The QIDA yielded acceptable reliability scores for French adolescents. Validity evidence of QIDA was also established through correlations with scores on the School Anxiety Inventory and the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents. Most of the correlations were positive and exceeded the established criteria of statistical significance, but the magnitude of these varied according to the scales of the QIDA. Results supported the reliability and validity evidence drawn from the scores of the French version of the QIDA.