Publications by authors named "Laird M"

A binomially distributed statistic pchi2i is defined which in conjunction with a set of critical tables permits, for peptides or proteins of arbitrary lengths, a well-defined answer to the question: Does the proportion of a particular amino acid iota present in that protein deviate significantly from random expectation? An analogous statistic is defined for nucleic acids. This statistic is simply related to the classical chi-squared test. The classical chi2 and the pchi2i are supplementary in that the former permits one to determine that a non-randomness in amino acid composition exists in a protein, while the latter permits one to localize that non-randomness to particular amino acids.

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Authorship of the genus Leucocytozoon has been variously assigned to several investigatiors, especially Danilewsky and Ziemann. Recently Hsu, Campbell & Levine (1973) have credited it to Berestneff. It is herein submitted that they erred in doing so and in relegating Akiba Bennett, Garnham & Fallis, 1965 and Saurocytozoon Lainson & Shaw, 1969 to synonymy with it.

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The elucidation of population regulatory mechanisms calls for exhaustive biological and ecological studies of whole ecosystems. Until lately, little effort was made to relate insect control activities to such a background, and the use of non-selective pesticides has often resulted in biotic equilibria being disrupted to the ultimate advantage of the organism under attack or of some other undesirable species. However, there is a growing realization in the field of economic entomology at large that biotic control agents usually constitute the major portion of the environmental resistance to increases in pest numbers and that insecticides should be fitted into the ecosystem, and not imposed upon it-in fact, that integrated control procedures are called for.

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