Reproductive bribing and policing as evolutionary mechanisms for the suppression of within-group selfishness.

We show that a new, simple, and robust general mechanism for the social suppression of within-group selfishness follows from Hamilton's rule applied in a multilevel selection approach to asymmetrical, two-person groups: If it pays a group member to behave selfishly (i.e., increase its share of the group's reproduction, at the expense of group productivity), then its partner will virtually always be favored to provide a reproductive "bribe" sufficient to remove the incentive for the selfish behavior. The magnitude of the bribe will vary directly with the number of offspring (or other close kin) potentially gained by the selfish individual and inversely with both the relatedness r between the interactants and the loss in group productivity because of selfishness. This bribe principle greatly extends the scope for cooperation within groups. Reproductive bribing is more likely to be favored over social policing for dominants rather than subordinates and as intragroup relatedness increases. Finally, analysis of the difference between the group optimum for an individual's behavior and the individual's inclusive fitness optimum reveals a paradoxical feedback loop by which bribing and policing, while nullifying particular selfish acts, automatically widen the separation of individual and group optima for other behaviors (i.e., resolution of one conflict intensifies others).

Rock Island Centennial Bridge, Final Report on Construction of the Mississippi River Bridge Between Rock Island, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa, 1945

The Rock Island Centennial Bridge spanning the Mississippi River between Rock Island, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa was opened to traffic on July 12, 1940. It is a thoroughly modern, four-lane highway bridge, adequate in every respect for present day high speed passenger and transport traffic. The structure is ideally situated to provide rapid transit between the business districts of Rock Island and Davenport and serves not only the local or shuttle traffic in the Tri-City Area, but also heavy through motor travel on U.S. Highways 67 and 150. The Centennial Bridge is notable in several respects. The main spans are box girder rib tied arches, a type rather unusual in America and permitting simplicity in design with pleasing appearance. The Centennial Bridge is the only bridge across the Mississippi providing for four lanes of traffic with separation of traffic in each direction. It is a toll bridge operating alongside a free bridge and has the lowest rates of toll of any toll bridge on the Mississippi River. It was financed entirely by the City of Rock Island with no obligation on the taxpayers; there was no federal or state participation in the financing. But perhaps the most outstanding feature of the new bridge is its great need. A few remarks on the communities served by the new structure, the services rendered, and some statistics on cross-river traffic in the Tri-City Area will emphasize the reasons for constructing the Centennial Bridge.

Analysis of variance of primary data on plant growth analysis

Plant growth analysis presents difficulties related to statistical comparison of growth rates, and the analysis of variance of primary data could guide the interpretation of results. The objective of this work was to evaluate the analysis of variance of data from distinct harvests of an experiment, focusing especially on the homogeneity of variances and the choice of an adequate ANOVA model. Data from five experiments covering different crops and growth conditions were used. From the total number of variables, 19% were originally homoscedastic, 60% became homoscedastic after logarithmic transformation, and 21% remained heteroscedastic after transformation. Data transformation did not affect the F test in one experiment, whereas in the other experiments transformation modified the F test usually reducing the number of significant effects. Even when transformation has not altered the F test, mean comparisons led to divergent interpretations. The mixed ANOVA model, considering harvest as a random effect, reduced the number of significant effects of every factor which had the F test modified by this model. Examples illustrated that analysis of variance of primary variables provides a tool for identifying significant differences in growth rates. The analysis of variance imposes restrictions to experimental design thereby eliminating some advantages of the functional growth analysis.

On-line desorption of dried blood spot: A novel approach for the direct LC/MS analysis of micro-whole blood samples.

The aim of this work is to present a new concept, called on-line desorption of dried blood spots (on-line DBS), allowing the direct analysis of a dried blood spot coupled to liquid chromatography mass spectrometry device (LC/MS). The system is based on an inox cell which can receive a blood sample (10 microL) previously spotted on a filter paper. The cell is then integrated into LC/MS system where the analytes are desorbed out of the paper towards a column switching system ensuring the purification and separation of the compounds before their detection on a single quadrupole MS coupled to atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation (APCI) source. The described procedure implies that no pretreatment is necessary in spite the analysis is based on whole blood sample. To ensure the applicability of the concept, saquinavir, imipramine, and verapamil were chosen. Despite the use of a small sampling volume and a single quadrupole detector, on-line DBS allowed the analyses of these three compounds over their therapeutic concentrations from 50 to 500 ng/mL for imipramine and verapamil and from 100 to 1000 ng/mL for saquinavir. Moreover, the method showed good repeatability with relative standard deviation (RSD) lower than 15% based on two levels of concentration (low and high). Function responses were found to be linear over the therapeutic concentration for each compound and were used to determine the concentrations of real patient samples for saquinavir. Comparison of the founded values with those of a validated method used routinely in a reference laboratory showed a good correlation between the two methods. Moreover, good selectivity was observed ensuring that no endogenous or chemical components interfered with the quantitation of the analytes. This work demonstrates the feasibility and applicability of the on-line DBS procedure for bioanalysis.

Determination of the Enantiomers of Mianserin and its Metabolites in Plasma by Capillary Electrophoresis After Liquid-Liquid Extraction and On-Column Sample Preconcentration

Capillary electrophoresis has drawn considerable attention in the past few years, particularly in the field of chiral separations because of its high separation efficiency. However, its routine use in therapeutic drug monitoring is hampered by its low sensitivity due to a short optical path. We have developed a capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method using 2mM of hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin as a chiral selector, which allows base-to-base separation of the enantiomers of mianserin (MIA), desmethylmianserin (DMIA), and 8-hydroxymianserin (OHMIA). Through the use of an on-column sample concentration step after liquid-liquid extraction from plasma and through the presence of an internal standard, the quantitation limits were found to be 5 ng/mL for each enantiomer of MIA and DMIA and 15 ng/mL for each enantiomer of OHMIA. To our knowledge, this is the first published CE method that allows its use for therapeutic monitoring of antidepressants due to its sensitivity down to the low nanogram range. The variability of the assays, as assessed by the coefficients of variation (CV) measured at two concentrations for each substance, ranged from 2 to 14% for the intraday (eight replicates) and from 5 to 14% for the interday (eight replicates) experiments. The deviations from the theoretical concentrations, which represent the accuracy of the method, were all within 12.5%. A linear response was obtained for all compounds within the range of concentrations used for the calibration curves (10-150 ng/mL for each enantiomer of MIA and DMIA and 20-300 ng/mL for each enantiomer of OHMIA). Good correlations were calculated between [(R) + (S)]-MIA and DMIA concentrations measured in plasma samples of 20 patients by a nonchiral gas chromatography method and CZE, and between the (R)- and (S)-concentrations of MIA and DMIA measured in plasma samples of 37 patients by a previously described chiral high-performance liquid chromatography method and CZE. Finally, no interference was noted from more than 20 other psychotropic drugs. Thus, this method, which is both sensitive and selective, can be routinely used for therapeutic monitoring of the enantiomers of MIA and its metabolites. It could be very useful due to the demonstrated interindividual variability of the stereoselective metabolism of MIA.

A topological view of the replicon.

The replication of circular DNA faces topological obstacles that need to be overcome to allow the complete duplication and separation of newly replicated molecules. Small bacterial plasmids provide a perfect model system to study the interplay between DNA helicases, polymerases, topoisomerases and the overall architecture of partially replicated molecules. Recent studies have shown that partially replicated circular molecules have an amazing ability to form various types of structures (supercoils, precatenanes, knots and catenanes) that help to accommodate the dynamic interplay between duplex unwinding at the replication fork and DNA unlinking by topoisomerases.

Association of work related chronic stressors and psychiatric symptoms in a Swiss sample of police officers : a cross sectional questionnaire study

Purpose (1) To identify work related stressors that are associated with psychiatric symptoms in a Swiss sample of policemen and (2) to develop a model for identifying officers at risk for developing mental health problems. Method The study design is cross sectional. A total of 354 male police officers answered a questionnaire assessing a wide spectrum of work related stressors. Psychiatric symptoms were assessed using the "TST questionnaire" (Langner in J Health Hum Behav 4, 269-276, 1962). Logistic regression with backward procedure was used to identify a set of variables collectively associated with high scores for psychiatric symptoms. Results A total of 42 (11.9%) officers had a high score for psychiatric symptoms. Nearly all potential stressors considered were significantly associated (at P < 0.05) with a high score for psychiatric symptoms. A significant model including 6 independent variables was identified: lack of support from superior and organization OR = 3.58 (1.58-8.13), self perception of bad quality work OR = 2.99 (1.35-6.59), inadequate work schedule OR = 2.84 (1.22-6.62), high mental/intellectual demand OR = 2.56 (1.12-5.86), age (in decades) OR = 1.82 (1.21-2.73), and score for physical environment complaints OR = 1.30 (1.03-1.64). Conclusions Most of work stressors considered are associated with psychiatric symptoms. Prevention should target the most frequent stressors with high association to symptoms. Complaints of police officers about stressors should receive proper consideration by the management of public administration. Such complaints might be the expression of psychiatric caseness requiring medical assistance. Particular attention should be given to police officers complaining about many stressors identified in this study's multiple model. [Authors]

Three essays on major trends in a slow clockspeed industry : the case of industrial automation

The motivation for this research initiated from the abrupt rise and fall of minicomputers which were initially used both for industrial automation and business applications due to their significantly lower cost than their predecessors, the mainframes. Later industrial automation developed its own vertically integrated hardware and software to address the application needs of uninterrupted operations, real-time control and resilience to harsh environmental conditions. This has led to the creation of an independent industry, namely industrial automation used in PLC, DCS, SCADA and robot control systems. This industry employs today over 200'000 people in a profitable slow clockspeed context in contrast to the two mainstream computing industries of information technology (IT) focused on business applications and telecommunications focused on communications networks and hand-held devices. Already in 1990s it was foreseen that IT and communication would merge into one Information and communication industry (ICT). The fundamental question of the thesis is: Could industrial automation leverage a common technology platform with the newly formed ICT industry? Computer systems dominated by complex instruction set computers (CISC) were challenged during 1990s with higher performance reduced instruction set computers (RISC). RISC started to evolve parallel to the constant advancement of Moore's law. These developments created the high performance and low energy consumption System-on-Chip architecture (SoC). Unlike to the CISC processors RISC processor architecture is a separate industry from the RISC chip manufacturing industry. It also has several hardware independent software platforms consisting of integrated operating system, development environment, user interface and application market which enables customers to have more choices due to hardware independent real time capable software applications. An architecture disruption merged and the smartphone and tablet market were formed with new rules and new key players in the ICT industry. Today there are more RISC computer systems running Linux (or other Unix variants) than any other computer system. The astonishing rise of SoC based technologies and related software platforms in smartphones created in unit terms the largest installed base ever seen in the history of computers and is now being further extended by tablets. An underlying additional element of this transition is the increasing role of open source technologies both in software and hardware. This has driven the microprocessor based personal computer industry with few dominating closed operating system platforms into a steep decline. A significant factor in this process has been the separation of processor architecture and processor chip production and operating systems and application development platforms merger into integrated software platforms with proprietary application markets. Furthermore the pay-by-click marketing has changed the way applications development is compensated: Three essays on major trends in a slow clockspeed industry: The case of industrial automation 2014 freeware, ad based or licensed - all at a lower price and used by a wider customer base than ever before. Moreover, the concept of software maintenance contract is very remote in the app world. However, as a slow clockspeed industry, industrial automation has remained intact during the disruptions based on SoC and related software platforms in the ICT industries. Industrial automation incumbents continue to supply systems based on vertically integrated systems consisting of proprietary software and proprietary mainly microprocessor based hardware. They enjoy admirable profitability levels on a very narrow customer base due to strong technology-enabled customer lock-in and customers' high risk leverage as their production is dependent on fault-free operation of the industrial automation systems. When will this balance of power be disrupted? The thesis suggests how industrial automation could join the mainstream ICT industry and create an information, communication and automation (ICAT) industry. Lately the Internet of Things (loT) and weightless networks, a new standard leveraging frequency channels earlier occupied by TV broadcasting, have gradually started to change the rigid world of Machine to Machine (M2M) interaction. It is foreseeable that enough momentum will be created that the industrial automation market will in due course face an architecture disruption empowered by these new trends. This thesis examines the current state of industrial automation subject to the competition between the incumbents firstly through a research on cost competitiveness efforts in captive outsourcing of engineering, research and development and secondly researching process re- engineering in the case of complex system global software support. Thirdly we investigate the industry actors', namely customers, incumbents and newcomers, views on the future direction of industrial automation and conclude with our assessments of the possible routes industrial automation could advance taking into account the looming rise of the Internet of Things (loT) and weightless networks. Industrial automation is an industry dominated by a handful of global players each of them focusing on maintaining their own proprietary solutions. The rise of de facto standards like IBM PC, Unix and Linux and SoC leveraged by IBM, Compaq, Dell, HP, ARM, Apple, Google, Samsung and others have created new markets of personal computers, smartphone and tablets and will eventually also impact industrial automation through game changing commoditization and related control point and business model changes. This trend will inevitably continue, but the transition to a commoditized industrial automation will not happen in the near future.

Phylogenetics of Olea (Oleaceae) based on plastid and nuclear ribosomal DNA sequences: tertiary climatic shifts and lineage differentiation times.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The genus Olea (Oleaceae) includes approx. 40 taxa of evergreen shrubs and trees classified in three subgenera, Olea, Paniculatae and Tetrapilus, the first of which has two sections (Olea and Ligustroides). Olive trees (the O. europaea complex) have been the subject of intensive research, whereas little is known about the phylogenetic relationships among the other species. To clarify the biogeographical history of this group, a molecular analysis of Olea and related genera of Oleaceae is thus necessary. METHODS: A phylogeny was built of Olea and related genera based on sequences of the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer-1 and four plastid regions. Lineage divergence and the evolution of abaxial peltate scales, the latter character linked to drought adaptation, were dated using a Bayesian method. KEY RESULTS: Olea is polyphyletic, with O. ambrensis and subgenus Tetrapilus not sharing a most recent common ancestor with the main Olea clade. Partial incongruence between nuclear and plastid phylogenetic reconstructions suggests a reticulation process in the evolution of subgenus Olea. Estimates of divergence times for major groups of Olea during the Tertiary were obtained. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates the necessity of revising current taxonomic boundaries in Olea. The results also suggest that main lines of evolution were promoted by major Tertiary climatic shifts: (1) the split between subgenera Olea and Paniculatae appears to have taken place at the Miocene-Oligocene boundary; (2) the separation of sections Ligustroides and Olea may have occurred during the Early Miocene following the Mi-1 glaciation; and (3) the diversification within these sections (and the origin of dense abaxial indumentum in section Olea) was concomitant with the aridification of Africa in the Late Miocene.

Efectes de les separacions o divorcis en el rendiment acadèmic dels alumnes de 5è i 6è d’una escola local

Aquest Treball Final de Grau aporta els resultats d’un estudi sobre els efectes i condicionats que suposa pel rendiment acadèmic dels alumnes de cicle superior de primària el divorci o la separació dels seus progenitors. Ens trobem davant l’augment del nombre de trencaments familiars, que ha esdevingut un fenomen clarament observable en la societat, es tracta d’un fenomen complex, en el qual entren en joc nombroses variables. I el trencament també suposa conseqüències socials, en primer lloc, pels fills/es. En una primera part ens endinsem en les aportacions i teories que han defensat diversos experts al llarg del temps sobre aquest fet. En una segona part es presenten les conclusions i els acords extrets de diverses entrevistes amb mestres d’una escola local en relació a la possible vinculació entre trencament familiar i rendiment acadèmic. I, per últim, s’acaben comparat les visions dels autors teòrics amb les aportacions i visions dels educadors professionals; per arribar a les principals conclusions que, no es pot generalitzar els efectes negatius de la ruptura, cal veure també les possibilitats positives del moment i, per últim, destacar que la manera amb la qual la família s'afronta a la ruptura té una importància crucial a l'hora de determinar l'impacte d'aquesta la ruptura en els fills.

Electrophoretic mobility of supercoiled, catenated and knotted DNA molecules.

We systematically varied conditions of two-dimensional (2D) agarose gel electrophoresis to optimize separation of DNA topoisomers that differ either by the extent of knotting, the extent of catenation or the extent of supercoiling. To this aim we compared electrophoretic behavior of three different families of DNA topoisomers: (i) supercoiled DNA molecules, where supercoiling covered the range extending from covalently closed relaxed up to naturally supercoiled DNA molecules; (ii) postreplicative catenanes with catenation number increasing from 1 to ∼15, where both catenated rings were nicked; (iii) knotted but nicked DNA molecules with a naturally arising spectrum of knots. For better comparison, we studied topoisomer families where each member had the same total molecular mass. For knotted and supercoiled molecules, we analyzed dimeric plasmids whereas catenanes were composed of monomeric forms of the same plasmid. We observed that catenated, knotted and supercoiled families of topoisomers showed different reactions to changes of agarose concentration and voltage during electrophoresis. These differences permitted us to optimize conditions for their separation and shed light on physical characteristics of these different types of DNA topoisomers during electrophoresis.

A Generalized Model Study of Scour Around Bridge Piers and Abutments, HR-24, 1953

Four classes of variables are apparent in the problem of scour around bridge piers and abutments--geometry of piers and abutments, stream-flow characteristics, sediment characteristics, and geometry of site. The laboratory investigation, from its inception, has been divided into four phases based on these classes. In each phase the variables in three of the classes are held constant and those in the pertinent class are varied. To date, the first three phases have been studied. Typical scour bole patterns related to the geometry of the pier or abutment have been found. For equilibrium conditions of scour with uniform sand, the velocity of flow and the sand size do not appear to have any measurable effects on the depth of scour. This result is especially encouraging in the search for correlation between model and prototype since it would indicate that, primarily, only the depth of flow might be involved in the scale effect. The technique of model testing has been simplified, therefore, because rate of sediment transportation does not need to be scaled. Prior to the establishment of equilibrium conditions, however, depths of scour in excess of those for equilibrium conditions have been found. A concept of active scour as an imbalance between sediment transport capacity and rate of sediment supply has been used to explain the laboratory observations.

Prediction of cottonseed longevity

The objective of this work was to determine the viability equation constants for cottonseed and to detect the occurrence and depletion of hardseededness. Three seedlots of Brazilian cultivars IAC-19 and IAC-20 were tested, using 12 moisture content levels, ranging from 2.2 to 21.7% and three storage temperatures, 40, 50 and 65ºC. Seed moisture content level was reached from the initial value (around 8.8%) either by rehydration, in a closed container, or by drying in desiccators containing silica gel, both at 20ºC. Twelve seed subsamples for each moisture content/temperature treatment were sealed in laminated aluminium-foil packets and stored in incubators at those temperatures, until complete survival curves were obtained. Seed equilibrium relative humidity was recorded. Hardseededness was detected at moisture content levels below 6% and its releasing was achieved either naturally, during storage period, or artificially through seed coat removal. The viability equation quantified the response of seed longevity to storage environment well with K E = 9.240, C W = 5.190, C H = 0.03965 and C Q = 0.000426. The lower limit estimated for application of this equation at 65ºC was 3.6% moisture content.

Gravity-driven slug motion in capillary tubes

The velocity of a liquid slug falling in a capillary tube is lower than predicted for Poiseuille flow due to presence of menisci, whose shapes are determined by the complex interplay of capillary, viscous, and gravitational forces. Due to the presence of menisci, a capillary pressure proportional to surface curvature acts on the slug and streamlines are bent close to the interface, resulting in enhanced viscous dissipation at the wedges. To determine the origin of drag-force increase relative to Poiseuille flow, we compute the force resultant acting on the slug by integrating Navier-Stokes equations over the liquid volume. Invoking relationships from differential geometry we demonstrate that the additional drag is due to viscous forces only and that no capillary drag of hydrodynamic origin exists (i.e., due to hydrodynamic deformation of the interface). Requiring that the force resultant is zero, we derive scaling laws for the steady velocity in the limit of small capillary numbers by estimating the leading order viscous dissipation in the different regions of the slug (i.e., the unperturbed Poiseuille-like bulk, the static menisci close to the tube axis and the dynamic regions close to the contact lines). Considering both partial and complete wetting, we find that the relationship between dimensionless velocity and weight is, in general, nonlinear. Whereas the relationship obtained for complete-wetting conditions is found in agreement with the experimental data of Bico and Quere [J. Bico and D. Quere, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 243, 262 (2001)], the scaling law under partial-wetting conditions is validated by numerical simulations performed with the Volume of Fluid method. The simulated steady velocities agree with the behavior predicted by the theoretical scaling laws in presence and in absence of static contact angle hysteresis. The numerical simulations suggest that wedge-flow dissipation alone cannot account for the entire additional drag and that the non-Poiseuille dissipation in the static menisci (not considered in previous studies) has to be considered for large contact angles.

Structure of the ovaries of the Nimba otter shrew, Micropotamogale lamottei, and the Madagascar hedgehog tenrec, Echinops telfairi.

The otter shrews are members of the subfamily Potamogalinae within the family Tenrecidae. No description of the ovaries of any member of this subfamily has been published previously. The lesser hedgehog tenrec, Echinops telfairi, is a member of the subfamily Tenrecinae of the same family and, although its ovaries have not been described, other members of this subfamily have been shown to have ovaries with non-antral follicles. Examination of these two species illustrated that non-antral follicles were characteristic of the ovaries of both species, as was clefting and lobulation of the ovaries. Juvenile otter shrews range from those with only small follicles in the cortex to those with 300- to 400-microm follicles similar to those seen in non-pregnant and pregnant adults. As in other species, most of the growth of the oocyte occurred when follicles had one to two layers of granulosa cells. When larger follicles became atretic in the Nimba otter shrew, hypertrophy of the theca interna produced nodules of glandular interstitial tissue. In the tenrec, the hypertrophying theca interna cells in most large follicles appeared to undergo degeneration. Both species had some follicular fluid in the intercellular spaces between the more peripheral granulosa cells. It is suggested that this fluid could aid in separation of the cumulus from the remaining granulosa at ovulation. The protruding follicles in lobules and absence of a tunica albuginea might also facilitate ovulation of non-antral follicles. Ovaries with a thin-absent tunica albuginea and follicles with small-absent antra are widespread within both the Eulipotyphla and in the Afrosoricida, suggesting that such features may represent a primitive condition in ovarian development. Lobulated and deeply crypted ovaries are found in both groups but are not as common in the Eulipotyphla making inclusion of this feature as primitive more speculative.