Breeding behavior under temporal risk of predation in male root voles (Microtus oeconomus)

We examined breeding behavior responses of male root votes (Microtus oeconomus) to temporal risk of predation by using acute and chronic exposure to predator odor. The 2 series of exposure experiments provided 2 types of temporal patterns of risk: continuous safety with a brief period of risk and Sustained risk with a brief period of safety. Male root votes that were acutely exposed to predator odor for I h suppressed their breeding behavior, but bred immediately after exposure to control odor for I h. Those chronically exposed to predator odor for 20 days maintained behavioral suppression during the 1-h period of exposure to control odor. Acutely exposed males did not change their physiological patterns of breeding, but those chronically exposed to predator odor had reduced testosterone concentration and epididymis index. Our results indicate that breeding behavior in a given situation depends on the overall patterns of risk experienced by male root votes, and the acute and chronic stress responses that affect reproduction are responsible for different behavioral responses to the 2 types of temporal patterns of risk. We also discuss the reasons for conflicting results about breeding suppression of votes between previous studies in the laboratory and the field.

Seasonal patterns of gross primary production and ecosystem respiration in an alpine meadow ecosystem on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

We measured the net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) in an alpine meadow ecosystem (latitude 37degrees29'-45'N, longitude 101degrees12'-23'E, 3250 m above sea level) on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau throughout 2002 by the eddy covariance method to examine the carbon dynamics and budget on this unique plateau. Diurnal changes in gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (R-e) showed that an afternoon increase of NEE was highly associated with an increase of R-e. Seasonal changes in GPP corresponded well to changes in the leaf area index and daily photosynthetic photon flux density. The ratio of GPP/R-e was high and reached about 2.0 during the peak growing season, which indicates that mainly autotrophic respiration controlled the carbon dynamics of the ecosystem. Seasonal changes in mean GPP and R-e showed compensatory behavior as reported for temperate and Mediterranean ecosystems, but those of GPP(max) and R-emax were poorly synchronized. The alpine ecosystem exhibited lower GPP (575 g C m(-2) y(-1)) than, but net ecosystem production (78.5 g C m(-2) y(-1)) similar to, that of subalpine forest ecosystems. The results suggest that the alpine meadow behaved as a CO2 sink during the 1-year measurement period but apparently sequestered a rather small amount of C in comparison with similar alpine ecosystems.

认知电位时空模式研究

This report mainly focused on methodology of spatiotemporal patterns (STP) of cognitive potentials or event-related potentials (ERP). The representation of STP of brain wave is an important issue in the research of neural assemblies. This paper described methods of parametric 3D head or brain modeling and its corresponding interpolation for functional imaging based on brain waves. The 3D interpolation method is an extension of cortical imaging technique. It can be used with transformed domain features of brain wave on realistic head or brain models. The simulating results suggests that it is a better method in comparison with the global nearest neighbor technique. A stable and definite STP of brainwave referred as microstate may become basic element for comprehending sophisticated cognitive processes. Fuzzy c-mean algorithm was applied to segmentation STPs of ERP into microstates and corresponding membership functions. The optimal microstate number was estimated with both the trends of objective function against increasing clustering number and the decorrelation technique base don microstate shape similarity. Comparable spatial patterns may occur at different moments in time with fuzzy indices and thus the serial processing limit generated from behavioral methods has been break through. High-resolution frequency domain analysis was carried out with multivariate autoregressive model. Bases on a 3D interpolation mentioned above, visualization of dynamical coordination of cerebral network was realized with magnitude-squared partial coherence. Those technique illustrated with multichannel ERP of 9 subjects when they undertook Strop task. Stroop effects involves several regions during post-perception stage with technique of statistical parameter mapping based F-test [SPM(F)]. As SPM(F) suggested task effects occurred within 100 ms after stimuli presentation involved several sensory regions, it may reflect the top-down processing effect.

Spatial Reference Frames for Object Recognition: Tuning for Rotations in Depth

The inferior temporal cortex (IT) of monkeys is thought to play an essential role in visual object recognition. Inferotemporal neurons are known to respond to complex visual stimuli, including patterns like faces, hands, or other body parts. What is the role of such neurons in object recognition? The present study examines this question in combined psychophysical and electrophysiological experiments, in which monkeys learned to classify and recognize novel visual 3D objects. A population of neurons in IT were found to respond selectively to such objects that the monkeys had recently learned to recognize. A large majority of these cells discharged maximally for one view of the object, while their response fell off gradually as the object was rotated away from the neuron"s preferred view. Most neurons exhibited orientation-dependent responses also during view-plane rotations. Some neurons were found tuned around two views of the same object, while a very small number of cells responded in a view- invariant manner. For five different objects that were extensively used during the training of the animals, and for which behavioral performance became view-independent, multiple cells were found that were tuned around different views of the same object. No selective responses were ever encountered for views that the animal systematically failed to recognize. The results of our experiments suggest that neurons in this area can develop a complex receptive field organization as a consequence of extensive training in the discrimination and recognition of objects. Simple geometric features did not appear to account for the neurons" selective responses. These findings support the idea that a population of neurons -- each tuned to a different object aspect, and each showing a certain degree of invariance to image transformations -- may, as an assembly, encode complex 3D objects. In such a system, several neurons may be active for any given vantage point, with a single unit acting like a blurred template for a limited neighborhood of a single view.

Advanced Programming Language Features for Executable Design Patterns "Better Patterns Through Reflection

The Design Patterns book [GOF95] presents 24 time-tested patterns that consistently appear in well-designed software systems. Each pattern is presented with a description of the design problem the pattern addresses, as well as sample implementation code and design considerations. This paper explores how the patterns from the "Gang of Four'', or "GOF'' book, as it is often called, appear when similar problems are addressed using a dynamic, higher-order, object-oriented programming language. Some of the patterns disappear -- that is, they are supported directly by language features, some patterns are simpler or have a different focus, and some are essentially unchanged.

Characteristic infrared spectroscopic patterns in the protein bands of human breast cancer tissue

Infrared (IR) spectra of normal, hyperplasia, fibroadenoma and carcinoma tissues of human breast obtained from 96 patients have been determined and analyzed statistically. Several spectral differences were detected in the frequency regions of N-H stretching, amide I, II and III bands: (1) the bands in the region 3000-3600cm-1 shifted to lower frequencies for the carcinomatous tissue; (2) the A(3300)/A(3075) absorbance ratio was significantly higher for the fibroadenoma than for the other types of tissues; (3) the frequency of the a-helix amide I band decreased for the malignant tissue, while the corresponding beta -sheet amide I band frequency increased; (4) the A(1657)/A(1635) and A(1553)/A(1540) absorbance ratios were the highest for fibroadenoma and carcinoma tissues; (5) the A(1680)/A(1657) absorbance ratio decreased significantly in the order of normal > hyperplasia > fibroadenoma > carcinoma; (6) the A(1651)/A(1545) absorbance ratio increased slightly for the fibroadenoma and the carcinoma tissues; (7) the bands at 1204 and 1278 cm(-1), assigned to the vibrational modes of the collagen, did not appear in the original spectra as resolved peaks and were distinctly stronger in the deconvoluted spectra of the carcinoma tissue and (8) the A(1657)/A(1204) and A(1657)/A(1278) absorbance ratios, both yielding information on the relative content of collagen, increased in the order of normal < hyperplasia < carcinoma < fibroadenoma. The said differences imply that the information is useful for the diagnosis of breast cancer and malignant breast abnormalities, and may serve as a basis for further studies on conformational changes in tissue proteins during carcinogenesis. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Distribution patterns of PCDD/Fs in chlorinated chemicals

The purpose of this research was to determine polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/F) in five chlorinated chemicals (phthalocyanine copper, phthalocyanine green, chloranil-1 and 2, and triclosan), and to compare their 2,3,7,8-tetrachlordibenzo-IpI-dioxin equivalents (TEQ). The distribution patterns of total PCDD/Fs and 2,3,7,8-substituted PCDD/Fs were elucidated in detail. The TEQ values of toxic PCDD/Fs in all chemicals were in the range of 5.03-1379.55 ng I-TEQ/kg. The contribution of OCDD and OCDF in phthalocyanine green was 75% of the total TEQ. For chloranils, the maximum contribution of toxic PCDD/Fs was from 2,3,7,8-substituted HxCDF and 2,3,7,8-substituted HpCDF. The TEQ of HxCDF and HpCDF in chloranil-1 was 90% and in chloranil-2 was 71%. And the toxic contribution increased with the degree of chlorination for PCDFs. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Learning from patterns during information technology configuration.

This paper asks how people can be assisted in learning from practice, as a basis for informing future action, when configuring information technology (IT) in organizations. It discusses the use of Alexanderian Patterns as a means of aiding such learning. Three patterns are presented that have been derived from a longitudinal empirical study that has focused on practices surrounding IT configuration. The paper goes on to argue that Alexanderian Patterns offer a valuable means of learning from past experience. It is argued that learning from experience is an important dimension of deciding “what needs to be done” in configuring IT with organizational context. The three patterns outlined are described in some detail, and the implications of each discussed. Although it is argued that patterns, per se, provide a valuable tool for learning from experience, some potential dangers in seeking to codify experience with a patterns approach are also discussed.

Analyses of patterns of copper and lead mineralisation in human skeletons excavated from an ancient mining and smelting centre in the Jordanian desert

Grattan, J.P., Al-Saad, Z., Gilbertson, D.D., Karaki, L.O., Pyatt, F.B 2005 Analyses of patterns of copper and lead mineralisation in human skeletons excavated from an ancient mining and smelting centre in the Jordanian desert Mineralogical Magazine. 69(5) 653-666.

Detecting False Identity through Behavioural Patterns

T. Boongoen and Q. Shen. 'Detecting False Identity through Behavioural Patterns', In Proceedings of International Crime Science Conference, British Library, London UK, 2008. Publisher's online version forthcoming.;The full text is currently unavailable in CADAIR pending approval by the publisher. Sponsorship: UK EPSRC grant EP/D057086

Can theories of social capital explain dissenting patterns of engagement in the new Europe?

Korosteleva-Polglase, Elena, 'Can theories of social capital explain dissenting patterns of engagement in the new Europe?', Contemporary Politics, (2006) 12(2) pp.175-191 RAE2008