bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Affirmative Action on the Employment of Minorities and Women: A Longitudinal Analysis Using Three Decades of EEO‐1 Filings
Authors: Kurtulus Fidan Ana 
Published: November 2015

AbstractWhat role has affirmative action played in the growth of minority and female employment in U.S. firms? This paper presents a longitudinal analysis of this question by exploiting rich variation across firms in the timing of federal contracting to identify affirmative action effects over the course of three decades spanning 1973 to 2003. It constitutes the first study to comprehensively document the long‐term and dynamic effects of affirmative action in federal contracting on employment composition within firms in the United States. I use a new panel of over 100,000 large private‐sector firms from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, including both firms that obtain federal contracts and are therefore mandated to implement affirmative action and firms that are noncontractors, across all industries and regions. The paper's key results indicate that the primary beneficiaries of affirmative action in federal contracting over 1973 to 2003 were black and Native American women and men. Dynamic event study analysis of workforce composition around the time of contracting reveals that a large part of the effect of affirmative action on increasing protected group shares occurred within the first four years of gaining a contract, and that these increased shares persisted even after a firm was no longer a federal contractor. The paper also uncovers important results on how the impact of affirmative action evolved over 1973 to 2003, in particular that the fastest growth in the employment shares of minorities and women at federal contractors relative to noncontracting firms occurred during the 1970s and early 1980s, decelerating substantially in ensuing years.
High‐efficiency Sb2S3‐based hybrid solar cell at low light intensity: cell made of synthesized Cu and Se‐doped Sb2S3
Authors: Janošević Valentina , Mitrić Miodrag , Bundaleski Nenad , Rakočević Zlatko , Validžić Ivana Lj 
Published: November 2015

AbstractCu‐doped (as p‐doped) and Se‐doped (as n‐doped) Sb2S3 were synthesized from undoped Sb2S3 using a newly developed technique, simple colloidal synthesis method. X‐ray diffraction measurements detected no peaks related to any of the Cu and Se compounds in Cu and Se‐doped samples. Energy dispersive X‐ray analysis, however, confirmed the presence of Cu and Se ions in the doped samples. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy revealed the optical band gap energy changes because of doping effect, as reported for both the p‐type and the n‐type material. The valence‐band X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy data showed a significant shift in the valence band to higher (Se‐doped; +0.53 eV) and a shift to lower (Cu‐doped; −0.41 eV) binding energy, respectively, when compared with the undoped sample. We report here on an inexpensive solar cell designed and made entirely of a synthesized material (indium tin oxide/p‐doped Sb2S3 + polyaniline (PANI)/amorphous/undoped Sb2S3 + PANI/n‐doped Sb2S3 + PANI/PANI/electrolyte (0.5 M KI + 0.05 M I2)/Al). The cell has a high efficiency of 8% to 9% at a very low light intensity of only 5% sun, which makes it particularly suitable for indoor applications. As found, the cell performance at the intensity of 5% sun is governed by high shunt resistance (RSH) only, which satisfies standard testing conditions. At higher light intensities (25% sun), however, the cell exhibits lower but not insignificant efficiency (around 2%) governed by both the series (RS) and the RSH. Minimal permeability in the UV region (up to 375 nm) and its almost constant value in the visible and the NIR region at low light intensity of 5% sun could be the reasons for higher cell efficiency. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effect of Snow Cover on the Active‐Layer Thermal Regime – A Case Study from James Ross Island, Antarctic Peninsula
Authors: Hrbáček Filip , Láska Kamil , Engel Zbyněk 
Published: November 2015

AbstractThe response of active‐layer thickness and the ground thermal regime to climatic conditions on the Ulu Peninsula (James Ross Island, northeastern Antarctic Peninsula) in 2011–13 is presented. The mean air temperature over this period was –8.0°C and ground temperature at 5 cm depth varied from –6.4°C (2011–12) to –6.7°C (2012–13). The active‐layer thickness ranged between 58 cm (January 2012) and 52 cm (February 2013). Correlation analyses indicate that air temperature affects ground temperature more significantly on snow‐free days (R2 = 0.82) than on snow cover days (R2 = 0.53). Although the effect of snow cover on the daily amplitude of ground temperature was observable to 20 cm depth, the overall influence of snow depth on ground temperature was negligible (freezing n‐factor of 0.95–0.97). Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Characterizing a partially ordered miniprotein through folding molecular dynamics simulations: Comparison with the experimental data
Authors: Baltzis Athanasios S. , Glykos Nicholas M. 
Published: November 2015

AbstractThe villin headpiece helical subdomain (HP36) is one of the best known model systems for computational studies of fast‐folding all‐α miniproteins. HP21 is a peptide fragment—derived from HP36—comprising only the first and second helices of the full domain. Experimental studies showed that although HP21 is mostly unfolded in solution, it does maintain some persistent native‐like structure as indicated by the analysis of NMR‐derived chemical shifts. Here we compare the experimental data for HP21 with the results obtained from a 15‐μs long folding molecular dynamics simulation performed in explicit water and with full electrostatics. We find that the simulation is in good agreement with the experiment and faithfully reproduces the major experimental findings, namely that (a) HP21 is disordered in solution with <10% of the trajectory corresponding to transiently stable structures, (b) the most highly populated conformer is a native‐like structure with an RMSD from the corresponding portion of the HP36 crystal structure of <1 Å, (c) the simulation‐derived chemical shifts—over the whole length of the trajectory—are in reasonable agreement with the experiment giving reduced χ2 values of 1.6, 1.4, and 0.8 for the Δδ13Cα, Δδ13CO, and Δδ13Cβ secondary shifts, respectively (becoming 0.8, 0.7, and 0.3 when only the major peptide conformer is considered), and finally, (d) the secondary structure propensity scores are in very good agreement with the experiment and clearly indicate the higher stability of the first helix. We conclude that folding molecular dynamics simulations can be a useful tool for the structural characterization of even marginally stable peptides.
Ka band enabling technologies for high throughput satellite (HTS) communications
Authors: Hasan Mohamed , Bianchi Christopher 
Published: November 2015

AbstractGlobal demands for personal, businesses and governments connected data continue to challenge our communication technologies and infrastructure. Both wired and wireless terrestrial communications systems are realizing advancements in technologies and their applied infrastructure enhancements. These ever evolving terrestrial communication systems are providing for increased data capacity, an enhanced quality of service and a lower cost per bit for all users. Satellite systems are especially challenged in order to remain relevant for these same enhancements in order to augment and compete with these terrestrial global communication systems. In order to meet these global demands the next generation satellite communications systems are evolving by advancing their own technologies and infrastructure. The resulting next generation communication satellite systems include utilization of the Ka frequency band and also through the application of other key advancements in antenna systems and processing payloads. This paper provides an overview of many of the communication satellite system advancements which are in part enabled through the utilization of the Ka frequency band. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An ensemble method for detecting shilling attacks based on ordered item sequences
Authors: Zhang Fuzhi , Chen Honghong 
Published: November 2015

AbstractCollaborative filtering systems are vulnerable to shilling attacks in which malicious users bias the systems' recommendation output by inserting fake profiles. While many approaches have been proposed to detect shilling attacks, they suffer from low precision. To solve this problem, an ensemble method for detecting shilling attacks based on ordered item sequences is proposed. Firstly, by analyzing the differences of rating patterns between genuine and attack profiles, we construct ordered popular item sequences and ordered novelty item sequences, and based on which, the popular and novelty item rating series are constructed for each user profile. Secondly, we propose six features to characterize the attack profiles. Particularly, we extract two features based on the popular and novelty item rating series. We partition the item set according to the ordered item sequences and combine them with mutual information to extract another four features. Finally, we propose an ensemble framework to detect shilling attacks. In particular, we create base training sets with great diversities using bootstrap resampling technique. Based on these base training sets, we train decision tree algorithm to generate diverse base classifiers. The simple majority voting strategy is used to combine the predictive results of these base classifiers. Experimental results indicate that ensemble method for detecting shilling attacks based on ordered item sequences can significantly improve the precision while maintaining a high recall. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Design Catalogs: A Systematic Approach to Design and Value Flexibility in Engineering Systems
Authors: Cardin Michel‐Alexandre , de Neufville Richard , Geltner David M. 
Published: November 2015

ABSTRACTThis paper proposes design catalogs as an efficient systematic process for identifying and evaluating improved designs in engineering systems by exploiting ideas of flexibility. Standard design and evaluation approaches typically do not cope well with a range of possible operating conditions. They often simplify considerations of uncertainty, which may lead to designs that do not perform as well as those responding dynamically to changing conditions. The proposed process addresses the complexity of the design problem under uncertainty, recognizing that it is impossible to analyze all possible combinations of evolutions, and the flexible ways in which the system could adapt over time. The process creates a small subset of designs that collectively perform well over a range of scenarios. It bundles representative scenarios and their flexible responses to enable a more thorough analysis that accounts explicitly for uncertainty—and enable considerations of improved designs. Each element consists of combinations of design variables, parameters, and management decision rules carefully selected, and referred as operating plans. In the example analysis, the process improves economic performance by 37% as compared to standard methods in an infrastructure system case study, while exploring only 3% of the design space. It reaches 86% of the stochastically optimal solution while being 183 times faster computationally in the example numerical study. The systematic property aims for practical applications in industry. In each phase, it gives the freedom to rely on the designer's expertise with the system, or to consider analytical tools already in use at the design organization.
Perspectives of wildlife conservation professionals on intensive deer management
Authors: Chitwood M. Colter , Peterson M. Nils , Bondell Howard D. , Lashley Marcus A. , Brown Robert D. , Deperno Christopher S. 
Published: November 2015

ABSTRACTIntensive deer management (IDM) is fundamentally changing how one of the most important game species in North America is being managed, but little is known about how wildlife conservation professionals view these changes. The IDM approach encourages privatization of deer (Odocoileus spp.) through practices including feeding, high fencing, artificial insemination and markets in deer semen, and translocation. To evaluate support for IDM practices, we surveyed 208 registrants of the 2010 Southeast Deer Study Group Meeting held in San Antonio, Texas, USA. Specifically, we evaluated support for IDM practices using state‐agency wildlife biologists, private wildlife managers, and academics, and we evaluated how geographic region and employment type are related to opinions about IDM. Using Principal Components Analysis, we created 3 new scales that measured respondents’ opinions about deer management, deer husbandry, and deer hunting. We detected strong opposition to IDM among respondents, with respondents from universities having the strongest opposition, followed by state‐agency employees from Texas, and private consultants from Texas (the latter having the greatest support for IDM). Our study highlights the need for critical and empirical evaluation of the articulation between IDM and the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, particularly the tenets that assert wildlife are held in the public trust and advocate elimination of markets for wildlife. © 2015 The Wildlife Society.
A comparison of automated and traditional monitoring techniques for marbled murrelets using passive acoustic sensors
Authors: Borker Abraham L. , Halbert Portia , Mckown Matthew W. , Tershy Bernie R. , Croll Donald A. 
Published: November 2015

ABSTRACTAutonomous sensors and automated analysis have great potential to reduce cost and increase efficacy of wildlife monitoring. By increasing sampling effort, autonomous sensors are powerful at detecting rare and elusive species such as the marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus). New approaches must be tested for comparability to existing methodologies, so we compared the results of inland audio–visual and of automated acoustic monitoring for marbled murrelets, conducted during the 2010 breeding season, at 7 sites in the Santa Cruz Mountains, California, USA. We found automated acoustic surveys and analysis had fewer detections per morning compared with audio–visual surveyors, but the rate of automated acoustic detections per morning was positively and strongly correlated with the rate of audio–visual detections per mornings (r = 0.96, P < 0.01). Furthermore, acoustic monitoring sampled 10 times more mornings per site ( = 48) than were monitored by human surveyors ( = 4.4) at a comparable cost. We used resampling to estimate the power to detect murrelet presence with acoustic sensors at >80% within 8 continuous days of recordings, even at low‐activity sites. Our results suggest that autonomous sensor and automated analysis approaches could greatly increase the scale and efficacy of murrelet monitoring, allowing for more cost‐effective surveying of large and remote areas of potential habitat, as well as, improved ability to measure changes in inland activity. Further study of passive acoustic recordings would be valuable to examine for acoustic signs of breeding phenology, and site occupancy, if acoustic surveys are to replace the utility of audio–visual surveys. © 2015 The Wildlife Society.
Syntheses, Crystal Structures, and Photophysical Properties of Heteronuclear Zinc(II)/Cadmium(II)‐Lanthanide(III) Coordination Complexes based on Benzoic Acid
Authors: Chi Yu‐Xian , Liu Yu‐Qian , Hu Xiao‐Shuang , Tang Xiao‐Yun , Liu Yu‐Juan , Jin Jing , Niu Shu‐Yun , Zhang Guang‐Ning 
Published: November 2015

AbstractThe heteronuclear d‐f coordination complexes [Er2Zn2(C6H5COO)10(phen)2] (1), [Ho2Zn2(C6H5COO)10(phen)2] (2), [Pr3Zn6(C6H5COO)21(phen)3] (3), [ErCd(C6H5COO)5(phen)·H2O] (4), [Ho2Cd3(C6H5COO)12(phen)2] (5), [EuCd2(C6H5COO)7(phen)2] (6) (C6H5COOH = benzoic acid;phen = 1,10‐phenanthroline) were synthesized by hydrothermal methods, and their structures were studied by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction. Complexes 1, 2, 4, and 5 crystallize in the triclinic space group P and complexes 3 and 6 in the monoclinic space group C2/c. The room temperature IR, UV/Vis/NIR absorption, and emission spectra of the six complexes were determined and assigned. In the visible and NIR regions, the emission spectra of complexes show characteristic bands of corresponding LnIII ions, which are attributed to the sensitization from the d block (Zn/Cd‐ligand section) and ligands. In comparison with isolated LnIII ions, the NIR emission bands of complexes 1–5 exhibit shifting, broadening and splitting, which are also present in their UV/Vis/NIR absorption spectra. Thus, the two spectra of complexes can evidence each other.
Degradation of Phytic Acid and Soy Protein in Soy Meal via Co‐fermentation of Aspergillusoryzae and Aspergillusficuum
Authors: Chen Liyan , Vadlani Praveen V. , Madl Ronald L. , Gibbons William 
Published: November 2015

AbstractThe usage of soy meal (SM) as a protein source for young monogastric animals is limited by the presence of antinutritional factors. To address this problem, fermentation was applied to simultaneously degrade phytic acid and soy protein in SM. Aspergillusoryzae (ATCC 9362) and Aspergillusficuum (ATCC 66876), sources of protease and thermostable phytase, respectively, were co‐fermented using a two‐stage temperature protocol: 36.5 °C (0–28 h), then 50 °C (28–40 h). The two‐stage co‐fermentation approach achieved a 17 % increase of phytic acid degradation compared to A. oryzae fermentation and 72 % increase in protein degree of hydrolysis (DH) compared to A. ficuum fermentation. The two‐stage temperature fermentation produced a 27 % increase in phytic acid degradation and 90 % increase in DH compared to a single‐stage fermentation. The fermented SM with reduced levels of antinutritional factors would serve as high quality feedstuff.
Improving Patient Care by Incorporation of Multidisciplinary Breast Radiology-Pathology Correlation Conference
Authors: Prakash Seema , Venkataraman Shambhavi , Slanetz Priscilla J. , Dialani Vandana , Fein-Zachary Valerie , Littlehale Nancy , Mehta Tejas S. 
Published: November 2015

Purpose It is well known that radiologic-pathologic correlation is critical in managing patients with breast disease. Although regular multidisciplinary conferences addressing radiologic-pathologic correlation are common at most major academic institutions, this approach is not universal in community-based settings or even some of the smaller academic practices. This study was performed to assess the impact of a weekly multidisciplinary conference on patient care to determine whether all breast practices should adopt this approach as a means to streamline and improve the quality of patient care. Methods We reviewed cases of percutaneous breast core biopsies presented at our weekly breast radiology-pathology correlation conference from July 1, 2008, to June 30, 2012. Each reviewed case was assigned to 1 of 4 categories (concordant → concordant, concordant → discordant, discordant → discordant, and discordant → concordant) based on the “initial” and “final” impressions of concordance between radiology and pathology. Changes in concordance, histopathological diagnosis, or management that occurred during the conference were recorded prospectively and analysed. Changes in management that were considered significant included changes in recommendations for surgery, repeat core biopsy, or follow-up imaging. Results Of 1387 presented at the conference, 1313 (94.7%) had no change during the meeting, confirming 1279 (92.2%) concordant and 34 (2.4%) discordant cases. A total of 74 (5.3%) cases had a change during the conference: 22 of 74 (29.7%) were changed from discordant to concordant, avoiding surgical excision in 15 and short interval imaging in 7; 23 of 74 (31.1%) were changed from concordant to discordant; on excision 3 were cancer, 3 atypia, 10 benign, 2 stable on follow-up imaging, and 5 lost to follow-up; the remaining 29 of 74 (39.2%) stayed concordant after review, but had a change in management, avoiding surgery in 14 and short interval imaging in 15. Overall, as a result of this conference, repeat biopsy or excision was recommended in 23, surgery was avoided in 29, short interval imaging avoided in 22, and cancer detected in 3 cases. Conclusions Our weekly breast radiology-pathology correlation conference impacted patient management in up to 5.3% of cases. These results support the need to incorporate a weekly multidisciplinary case review of breast core biopsies into all breast care practices. Such a conference maximizes cancer detection, identifies discordant cases in a timely manner, decreases follow-up imaging, and avoids unnecessary surgical intervention.
Usefulness of filtered unipolar electrogram morphology for evaluating transmurality of ablated lesions during pulmonary vein isolation
Authors: Kogawa Rikitake , Watanabe Ichiro , Okumura Yasuo , Mano Hiroaki , Sonoda Kazumasa , Nagashima Koichi , Sasaki Naoko , Ohkubo Kimie , Takahashi Keiko , Iso Kazuki , Kurokawa Sayaka , Nakai Toshiko , Hirayama Atsushi 
Published: November 2015

AbstractBackgroundAlthough alteration of the amplitude and morphology of bipolar electrograms is used widely as a guide of the ablation effect, there is little information concerning unipolar electrograms. The amplitude and morphology of filtered bipolar (BP) and filtered unipolar (UP) electrograms were compared during pulmonary vein isolation in patients with atrial fibrillation.MethodsBP (30–250 Hz) and UP (30–100 Hz) signals from the ablation catheter were recorded before and after each ablation point at the pulmonary vein antrum in 6 patients with atrial fibrillation.ResultsIn the electrogram group with low‐voltage amplitude in BP electrograms before ablation (<0.5 mV), the reduction in amplitude after ablation was significantly greater in the UP than in the BP electrograms, whereas the reduction was similar between the two recording methods in the electrogram group with high‐voltage amplitude in BP electrograms (≥0.5 mV). Furthermore, the S wave in the UP electrograms disappeared at the sites of no pace capture after ablation, whereas no characteristic morphologic changes were observed in the BP electrograms.ConclusionFiltered UP electrograms may be useful in assessing the effectiveness of lesion formation.