Molt induction in lobsters (Homarus americanus) by intramuscular injection of ecdysterone triacetate

Summary The principal component of the successful, molt-inducing ecdysterone acetate mixture was established as ecdysterone triacetate and shown to have the same activity as the acetate mixture. The triacetate induced ecdysis in male lobsters collected in winter and summer and in female lobsters collected in winter. Intramuscular injections of triacetate in ethanol were as effective as those with oil emulsions.We thank Dr A. G. McInnes and D. Smith of the Atlantic Regional Laboratory, N. R. C., Halifax for obtaining the NMR-spectrum.     

Classification of micrococcus(Staphylococcus aureus) by means of differences in electro-phoretical mobility of extractable proteins

Zusammenfassung Mit Agar-Gel-Mikroelektrophorese war es möglich, typenspezifische Unterschiede in Mobilitäten von löslichen Proteinen der drei Typen,Staphylococcus aureus, «Cowan», zu demonstrieren. Diese Methode kann wahrscheinlich zur Typenbestimmung von Staphylococci und anderen Bakterien benützt werden.     

Measurement of vitamin A in milk and cheese by means of high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC)

Summary A high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) procedure has been developed for the determination of vitamin A in milk and cheese. Recovery studies and reproducibility data showed an average recovery of 93±6% and a SD of 4%. We also report results obtained from HPLC in comparison with the colorimetric procedure.Acknowledgments. We thank Prof. H. Isliker, Institute of Vitamins, Lausanne, for his hospitality and for making available the necessary working rooms. We also thank Mrs L. Paris for her technical assistance.     

Automatic recognition of squirrel monkey vocalisations by means of a filterbank

Summary Up to now the problem of classifying squirrel monkey vocalizations has not been solved satisfactorily. The problem is now approached by a method, which consists of 2 phases. At first the monkey vocalizations are compared with the aid of physical criteria and classified by types. According to the classification of types, the membership of the individual vocalizations is tested.     

Depth perception by means of ambient sounds in a small mammal

Summary Golden hamsters placed on a jumping stand from which they can descend onto a shallow or deep landing platform prefer to descend on to the shallow platform, even when tested under IR-light without tactile cues. This preference disappears for subjects with plugged ears. The simultaneous recording of the animal's behaviour and possible emission of ultrasound as well as experiments in which the external acoustical conditions or the sound-reflecting properties of the jumping apparatus were altered suggest that the animals use certain parameters of the ambient sound field for depth perception. Acknowledgments. This research was supported by the Fonds National Suisse de la Recherche Scientifique, grant No. 3.349.74.     

Quantitative determination of adenovirus antigens by means of a fluorescent precipitin test

Zusammenfassung Es wird die Anwendung eines quantitativen Fluoreszenz-Präzipitin-Tests für Adenovirus-Antigene beschrieben. Die Methode wurde für 11 verschiedene Adenoviren angewendet und hat sich als relativ typenspezifisch erwiesen.

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This investigation was supported in part by contract PH43-63-80 from the National Institutes of Health.     

Automatic recognition of squirrel monkey vocalisations by means of a filterbank.

Up to now the problem of classifying squirrel monkey vocalizations has not been solved satisfactorily. The problems is now approached by a method, which consists of 2 phases. At first the monkey vocalizations are compared with the aid of physical criteria and classified by types. According to the classification of types, the membership of the individual vocalizations is tested.     

Experimental modification of direction-finding inTalitrus saltator (Montagu) andTalorchestia deshayesei (Aud.) (crustacea-amphipoda)

Riassunto Talitrus saltator (Montagu) eTalorchestia deshayesei (Aud.) (Crustacea-Amphipoda), allontanati dalla sabbia umida della spiaggia, sono in grado di ritornarvi, mantenendo una direzione di fuga praticamente costante in base alla posizione azimutale del Sole. La regolazione dell'angolo di orientamento col Sole nel corso del giorno è basata sul senso del tempo, come dimostrano esperienze simili a quelle recentemente eseguite daHoffmann per gli Storni. È possibile ottenere una significativa deviazione della direzione di fuga, sottoponendo gli animali a temperature relativamente alte prima di saggiare il loro orientamento.     

Forecasting volatility by means of threshold models

The aim of this paper is to compare the forecasting performance of competing threshold models, in order to capture the asymmetric effect in the volatility. We focus on examining the relative out‐of‐sample forecasting ability of the SETAR‐Threshold GARCH (SETAR‐TGARCH) and the SETAR‐Threshold Stochastic Volatility (SETAR‐THSV) models compared to the GARCH model and Stochastic Volatility (SV) model. However, the main problem in evaluating the predictive ability of volatility models is that the ‘true’ underlying volatility process is not observable and thus a proxy must be defined for the unobservable volatility. For the class of nonlinear state space models (SETAR‐THSV and SV), a modified version of the SIR algorithm has been used to estimate the unknown parameters. The forecasting performance of competing models has been compared for two return time series: IBEX 35 and S&P 500. We explore whether the increase in the complexity of the model implies that its forecasting ability improves. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.