cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Rhenium abundances and systematics in oceanic basalts

Abstract We have examined the systematics of Re abundances in concert with new and published data on major and trace elements in oceanic basalts. Re abundances in MORB average 927 ppt (parts per trillion), a factor of 2.6 higher than the OIB average (350 ppt). The variability of Re abundances in both MORB and 01B is only 45%, similar to moderately incompatible major and trace elements such as Ca, Al, and the heavy rare earths. The inferred mantle/melt partitioning behavior of Re is similar to Yb, and average Re/Yb ratios in MORB, O1B, and the continental crust are within 50% of each other. The Re/Yb ratios of the depleted mantle and continental crust are both lower than the primitive mantle. The Re/Yb systematics place constraints on core-mantle exchange. The incorporation of material from the outer core into mantle plumes, and isolation of the upper mantle from the core, would result in Re/Yb ratios in OIB elevated by factors of 5–24 over MORB. Although the scatter of the OIB Re/Yb data may allow core addition up to the 1.2% level, the lack of a correlation between Re/Yb and Os isotopes in OIB, and the small difference in average Re/Yb ratios of MORB and OIB suggests an upper limit of 0.2 wt% core material in mantle plumes. A mass balance calculation between continental crust, depleted mantle, and primitive mantle indicates that the crustal abundance of Re is too low (by a factor of ten) to balance the Re depletion of the depleted MORB mantle (DMM). Anoxic sediments and black scales are an important crustal reservoir for Re, but the estimated abundance of these rocks in the continental crust cannot be increased substantially without upsetting the crustal U budget and ratios of Th/U, Nb/U, and U/Pb in the depleted mantle. The Re missing from DMM must therefore reside in recycled oceanic crust stored in the deep mantle. We propose that elevated Os isotope ratios in OIB are a direct measure of a ubiquitous component of recycled MORB crust in mantle plumes. The Re-Os mass balance allows a simple estimate of the total size of the OIB reservoirs to be made. A mass of recycled MORB equivalent to 4.4% of the mantle is required to balance the Re depletion of DMM. The total mass of the OIB reservoirs is estimated at 4.4% to 22% of the mantle mass, depending on whether the low- 187Os/ 188Os component(s) in OIB sources are external or intrinsic, respectively. Using an estimate of the present-day plume flux, the average residence time of subducted slabs in the convecting mantle is estimated at 700–3500 Ma; however, the slab residence time scales linearly with the size of the OIB reservoir (and thus the proportion of recycled crust in mantle plumes). We prefer a model in which individual mantle plumes incorporate slabs with distinct ages. Consideration of Os and He isotope covariations in OIB suggest a model in which subducted slabs are recycled through the whole mantle on timescales of
Therapeutic Strategies for Prevention of Sickle Cell Dehydration

The intracellular concentration of Hb S is an important determinant of the kinetic of polymer formation and cell sickling. A variable fraction of dense, dehydrated erythrocytes with high Hb S concentration is seen in the blood of patients with sickle cell disease; these dense cells play an important role in the pathophysiology of the vasoocclusive events of sickle cell disease, due to their higher tendency to polymerize and sickle. Sickle cell dehydration is due to loss of K+, Cl-, and water: the two major determinant pathways of dehydration of sickle erythrocytes are the Ca2+-activated K+ channel (IK1 or Gardos channel) and the K-Cl cotransport (KCC). Specific inhibitors of these pathways being tested in patients with sickle cell disease are Mg2+ pidolate, which inhibits KCC by increasing the sickle cell content of Mg2+, and clotrimazole and derivatives of clotrimazole metabolites, which specifically block the Gardos channel. An inhibitor of Cl- conductance has been shown to reduce dehydration in a transgenic mouse model of sickle cell disease but has not been tested in humans. If clinical efficacy and benefit are demonstrated, an inhibitor of cell dehydration could be used in patients as a single agent or in combination with existing therapies, such as hydroxyurea.
Oxidation of High‐Purity Aluminum and 5052 Aluminum‐Magnesium Alloy at Elevated Temperatures

Oxidation of chemically polished high‐purity aluminum in dry oxygen, water vapor, and moist air at temperatures from 450° to 640C° is characterized by a near‐linear reaction rate to a weight gain of 3 µg/cm2, followed by a rate that decreases rapidly with further weight gain. Oxidation beyond the 5–7 µg/cm2 weight gain range is very slow. Oxidation is slightly faster in the moist atmospheres than in dry oxygen at temperatures above 550 °C. Oxidation of a commercial aluminum‐magnesium alloy (5052) in dry oxygen and in moist air is much faster than for high‐purity aluminum and proceeds to much higher weight gains. The rate does not conform to any recognized oxidation law, but it is more nearly parabolic than linear. The much higher weight gains obtained by other workers who used mechanically polished samples of both high‐purity aluminum and aluminum‐magnesium alloy are attributed to surface roughness. Electron diffraction examination of oxidized specimens show only eta alumina on the high‐purity metal and magnesium oxide on the aluminum‐magnesium alloy.
Laser-induced fluorescence excitation spectrum of thiophosgene cooled by supersonic expansion

Abstract The vibrational structure in the laser-induced fluorescence excitation spectrum of the first excited π ∗ ← n transition of thiophosgene, seeded in a supersonic beam of argon, is reported. Hot bands are identified empirically by variation of beam temperature, and vibronic assignments are adjusted as required.
In vitro comparison of the erythrocyte sedimenting properties of dextran, hydroxyethyl starch and a new low-molecular-weight hydroxyethyl starch.

. A low-molecular-weight preparation of hydroxyethyl starch (LMW-HES) may serve as a desirable substitute for the erythrocyte sedimenting agents presently employed to improve neutrophil yields in centrifugation and gravity leukapheresis. The cell-separating and erythrocyte-sedimenting properties of LMW-HES, assessed in vitro by the recovery of various blood cells in plasma supernatant fluids, were similar to those of the higher-molecular-weight hydroxyethyl starch in current use and to dextran under a variety of conditions. These data predict success for LMW-HES as a sedimenting agent in leukapheresis and recommend that it be evaluated in clinical trials.
What's in store for academic libraries? Leadership and management issues

Abstract Significant changes in academic libraries will bring them new management and leadership techniques. This article discusses some of these changes and techniques. The author has identified some relevant articles and books on these topics; it was not his intent to be inclusive in coverage.
Soil probe lubrication and effects on soil chemical composition

Abstract Deep soil‐profile sampling in wet, clayey soils can be difficult. Friction against the probe surface can cause core compression and impedes extraction of intact cores from the probe tube. Lubrication of the probe tube reduces friction and improves core extraction. Two studies were conducted to determine soil‐sample contamination resulting from probe lubrication and possible interactions with probe diameter (surface‐area:volume ratio) and sampling depth. Soils were sampled following probe lubrication and analyzed for organic matter and seven common nutrients. Lubricants tested contained varying amounts of organic matter (24‐>700 g/kg), nitrate‐N (NO3‐N, 3–205 m/kg), phosphate‐P (PO4‐P, 244 mg/kg), potassium (K, 2–1200 mg/kg), and zinc (Zn, <0.1–460 mg/kg) but relatively small amounts of manganese (Mn, <0.1–0.2 mg/kg), iron (Fe, 0.2–2.9 mg/kg), and copper (Cu, <0.1–0.6 mg/kg). Macronutrient content of soil samples was not affected by lubrication beyond variation typical among replicated soil sample...
Distance String Models for Program Behavior

To analyze or simulate an operating/computer system, one must construct a model of the programs executing within the system. Many recent analyses, particularly queueing models, have used mathematically convenient program models. For example, in one popular model the times between page faults are assumed to be exponentially distributed and independent. However, such a program model is inaccurate, which may cause the analysis to be unrepresentative of the real world. Simulation models of systems, on the other hand, have relied largely on traces of actual programs. Such traces are undoubtedly more accurate than simple mathematical models, but they have several drawbacks. They are expensive to generate, they may not be truly representative of typical programs, and they may contain more detail than is necessary for accurate system modeling. Moreover, it is difficult to extrapolate their behavior to other similar programs.
Mass and cost comparison of lightweight array and rigid array structures

Lightweight solar array structures continue to be developed to take advantage of the mass savings afforded by thin-film photovoltaic (TFPV) and thin crystalline multijunction (MJ) technologies currently under development. A comparison of one such lightweight array concept to a state of the practice rigid array concept using state of the practice, TFPV, and next-generation thin MJ solar cells is presented. The results demonstrate that lightweight arrays with TFPV technology can provide advantages in cost and mass savings over state of the practice rigid solar array technology, particularly in high radiation orbits and should be considered in the trade space for future space power systems.
Dynamic proxy tree-based data dissemination schemes for wireless sensor networks

In wireless sensor networks, efficiently disseminating data from a dynamic source to multiple mobile sinks is important for applications such as mobile target detection and tracking. A tree-based multicasting scheme can be used. However, due to the short communication range of each sensor node and the frequent movement of sources and sinks, a sink may fail to receive data due to broken paths, and the tree should frequently be reconfigured to reconnect sources and sinks. To address the problem, we propose a dynamic proxy tree-based framework. A big challenge in implementing the framework is how to reconfigure the proxy tree efficiently as sources and sinks change. We model the problem as on-line construction of a minimum Steiner tree in a Euclidean plane, and propose centralized schemes to solve it. Considering the strict energy constraints in wireless sensor networks, we further propose two distributed on-line schemes, a shortest path-based (SP) scheme and a spanning range-based (SR) scheme. Extensive simulations are conducted to evaluate the schemes. The results show that the distributed schemes have similar performance to the centralized ones, and among the distributed schemes, SR outperforms SP.
Drugs, Sex, Rock, and Roll: A Theory of Morality Politics

I assume that (a) the demand for sin is characterized by heterogeneous preferences and (b) private behavior diverges from public statements. From these assumptions, in the first section of this article I derive a series of propositions about morality policy. Rational politicians will perceive that demand for restrictive policies will be greater than it actually is and thus compete to produce more extreme policies. Bureaucracies will lack expertise and thus will not provide a check on political excesses. This “politics of sin” can be translated into a contemporary form of redistributive morality policy politics if the issue can be refrained by political actors to legitimate an opposition position. In the second portion of the article, I argue formally that sin policies in general will fail because they operate on subsets of the population that are more and more resistant to the policy instruments available to government. I conclude with potential expansions of this theory, including how it might be generalized to other types of public policy.
Exact unconditional tests for testing non‐inferiority in matched‐pairs design

The problem of testing non-inferiority in a 2 × 2 matched-pairs sample is considered. Two exact unconditional tests based on the standard and the confidence interval p-values are proposed. Although tests of non-inferiority have two nuisance parameters under the null hypothesis, the exact tests are defined by reducing the dimension of nuisance parameter space from two to one using the monotonicity of the distribution. The exact sizes and powers of these tests and the existing asymptotic test are considered. The exact tests are found to be accurate in view of their size property. In addition, the exact test based on the confidence interval p-value is more powerful than the other exact test. It is shown that the asymptotic test is inaccurate, that is, its size exceeds the claimed nominal level α. Therefore, it recommends a cautious approach in use of the asymptotic test for the problem of testing non-inferiority, particularly when sample sizes are small or moderately large. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Non-invasive microwave and RF applications for local hyperthermia

Local hyperthermia is usually administered by noninvasive microwave applicators which produce therapeutic temperatures only to depths of 2-3 cm. The deeper penetration theoretically possible with RF applicators is not realized because of the practical limitations of applicator dimensions. Temperature distributions are generally nonuniform due to the attenuation of power with depth, the nonuniformity of the RF or microwave field, and heterogeneities in blood flow and tissue. Improved applicator designs are needed to improve temperature distributions in local hyperthermia. >
The pitch of electrically presented sinusoids

A patient who uses the Ineraid cochlear implant, and who has hearing thresholds less than 50 dB HL for frequencies under 500 Hz in his nonimplanted ear, was asked to match the pitch of low‐frequency signals presented to his two ears. The patient produced pitch matches, for frequencies of 125, 200, and 300 Hz presented to his most apical electrode, that were slightly higher than the reference frequency. When signals of fixed frequency were presented to electrodes located in successively more basal cochlear locations, pitch increased in an orderly fashion—an average of 57 Hz (range =31–87 Hz) for each change in electrode location.
The acquisition value of oil and gas firms: The role of historical costs, reserve recognition accounting, and analysts' appraisals*

. Our research confirms that book values possess significant ability to explain the acquisition values of oil and gas firms. It also indicates that RRA information provides incremental information over book values in determining acquisition values. However, when analyst information is more current than competing information, analysts' appraisals provide a significant incremental contribution beyond the explanatory ability of book values and reserve recognition data. Current analysts' information provides a stronger basis for predicting acquisition values than any model supplementing analysts' appraisals with additional information. This implies that current analysts' information captures all information sources and is consistent with the findings of “analysts superiority” in the extensive literature on earnings forecasts. Resume. Les travaux des auteurs confirment que les valeurs comptables peuvent assez bien expliquer les valeurs d'acquisition des entreprises petrolieres et gazieres. Ils revelent egalement que les renseignements livres par la methode de la capitalisation des gisements fournissent de l'information marginale par rapport aux valeurs comptables dans la determination des valeurs d'acquisition. Toutefois, lorsque l'information des analystes financiers est plus recente que l'information concurrente, les evaluations des analystes apportent une contribution marginale importante au-dela de la capacite explicative des valeurs comptables et de donnees relatives a la capitalisation des gisements. L'information recente des analystes offre une base plus solide pour la prevision des valeurs d'acquisition que tout modele qui sert de complement aux evaluations des analystes. Cela suppose que l'information recente des analystes recouvre toutes les sources d'information et vient confirmer la conclusion reconnaissant la «superiorite des analystes » a laquelle se range une abondante documentation sur les previsions de resultats.
Estimating the parameters of a gamma distribution

Generalized minimum chi-square estimators of the parameters involved in a gamma distribution are obtained, and their asymptotic generalized variance is compared with that of maximum likelihood estimators.
Common femoral vein dimensions and hemodynamics including Valsalva response as a function of sex, age, and ethnicity in a population study.

Purpose: In this study we assessed the normal common femoral vein (CFV) dimensions and related hemodynamics in a cohort assembled to permit contrasts by means of sex, age, and ethnicity. Methods: The CFV diameter and the flow velocity were analyzed by means of duplex ultrasonography at rest and with a standardized Valsalva maneuver, with the subject in a 15% reverse Trendelenberg position. Mean levels of each of the CFV measurements were analyzed with age category, sex, and ethnicity, each adjusted for the other two. Multiple linear regression was used as a means of assessing the independent associations of age, sex, ethnicity, body mass index (BMI), and height to the CFV measurements. Results: The average CFV diameter at rest was 11.84 mm, increasing to 14.27 mm during the Valsalva maneuver. There was a significant (P < .0001) decline in both diameter measures beginning in patients 60 years old. The CFV diameter was larger in men (12.90 mm) than in women (11.22 mm; P < .0001). The average CFV diameter in Hispanics, Africian Americans, and Asians was significantly smaller (P < .001) than in the non-Hispanic whites in multivarate analysis. The independence of these associations was confirmed by means of multivariate analysis, and positive associations of CFV diameter with height and BMI were documented. The Valsalva response was higher in men than in women (2.67 mm vs 2.29 mm), but the percentage change was similar. CFV velocity at rest decreased significantly (P < .0001) in patients older than 50 years. The mean CFV velocity was 13.87 cm/s, and the values were significantly (P < .0001) higher in women (14.58 cm/s) than in men (12.67 cm/s). In multivariate analysis CFV velocity was higher in African Americans than in the other ethnic groups. We also documented an independent inverse association of CFV with BMI. The CFV velocity response (peak expiration post-Valsalva) increased significantly at all ages, from 52% to 83%. The percentage increase in women (68%) was slightly higher than that in men (58%). African American subjects had a somewhat higher percentage increase (74%) than the other three ethnic groups (63% to 64%). Because the flow rate is determined more by the diameter than the velocity, CFV flow associations were similar to those for diameter. Because an older age predicted both decreased diameter and velocity, the flow reduction with age was pronounced. Conclusion: Quantitative normative data that are age-, sex-, and ethnic group-specific are reported on CFV diameter, velocity, and total flow rate, both at rest and with the Valsalva maneuver. CFV diameter, velocity, and flow rate varied significantly as a function of age, sex, ethnicity, height, and BMI. The data also provide a baseline assessment for subsequent evaluations of changes with time in this cohort. (J Vasc Surg 2001;33:1050-6.)
Box–Cox Transformations—II

The Box–Cox transformation is a potentially powerful technique for extending the applicability of the classical linear model. The procedure is described, and three examples are given to illustrate its power as well as its limitations. Philosophical issues regarding the interpretation of the results have led to some controversy and debate. Keywords: Bayes; homoscedasticity; maximum likelihood; normal distribution
Four Cases of Pitch-Specific Chromesthesia in Trained Musicians with Absolute Pitch:

Subjects underwent a structured interview and aural testing. Aural testing revealed idiosyncratic but consistent color associations for specific pitches and confirmed the subjects' reported absolute pitch. Higher octaves of a note were described as being lighter shades of the basic color for that pitch. Chords were perceived as combinations of the colors of the individual notes in the chord. Subjects generally were not able to divorce their absolute pitch ability from the color associations, and reported that their chromesthesia helped them to identify pitches, take dictation, play by ear. and memorize music. All subjects were formally trained musicians who had begun piano study at about age five. All were actively involved in the visual arts or reported considerable arts training. Two subjects reported childhood pairings of colors and pitches in books where notes or pitch letter names were colored.
Edge-based rich representation for vehicle classification

In this paper, we propose an approach to vehicle classification under a mid-field surveillance framework. We develop a repeatable and discriminative feature based on edge points and modified SIFT descriptors, and introduce a rich representation for object classes. Experimental results show the proposed approach is promising for vehicle classification in surveillance videos despite great challenges such as limited image size and quality and large intra-class variations. Comparisons demonstrate the proposed approach outperforms other methods
Digestive System, Tubular Portion

The digestive system consists of (1) a convoluted 26-foot epithelium-lined tube (Fig. 12.1), and (2) a number of associated glands derived by evagination and extended growth of the epithelium into or through the other layers of the tube. This chapter deals with the first of these two major subdivisions.
Comparative performance of two mite-resistant stocks of honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Alabama beekeeping operations.

The utility of USDA-developed Russian and varroa sensitive hygiene (VSH) honey bees, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), was compared with that of locally produced, commercial Italian bees during 2004–2006 in beekeeping operations in Alabama, USA. Infestations of varroa mites, Varroa destructor Anderson & Truman (Acari: Varroidae), were measured twice each year, and colonies that reached established economic treatment thresholds (one mite per 100 adult bees in late winter; 5–10 mites per 100 adult bees in late summer) were treated with acaricides. Infestations of tracheal mites, Acarapis woodi (Rennie) (Acari: Tarsonemidae), were measured autumn and compared with a treatment threshold of 20% mite prevalence. Honey production was measured in 2005 and 2006 for colonies that retained original test queens. Throughout the three seasons of measurement, resistant stocks required less treatment against parasitic mites than the Italian stock. The total percentages of colonies needing treatment against varroa mites were 12% of VSH, 24% of Russian, and 40% of Italian. The total percentages requiring treatment against tracheal mites were 1% of Russian, 8% of VSH and 12% of Italian. The average honey yield of Russian and VSH colonies was comparable with that of Italian colonies each year. Beekeepers did not report any significant behavioral problems with the resistant stocks. These stocks thus have good potential for use in nonmigratory beekeeping operations in the southeastern United States.
Unusual isolates of Thermoascus crustaceus from three monocyte cultures of aids patients

lished on twigs of U. alata, Fraxinus caroliniana Miller, Alnus serrulata (Aiton) Willd., and Platanus occidentalis L. The inability of spores and hyphal fragments of Padgett and Heitman's test fungi to survive exposure to 25%o NaCl suggests, however, that survival of hyphal fragments in the present study may not represent a widespread phenomenon within the Saprolegniaceae. As is often the case with ecological investigations the present study poses more questions than it answers. One must wonder, for instance, why water molds are not routinely recovered from euryhaline water samples if hyphal fragments or infested detritus are contained therein? How long can these fungi tolerate exposure to seawater? What is the mechanism of their resistance, and, more importantly, what are the ecological implications of this phenomenon relative to fish diseases, decomposition, or fungal distribution? It is hoped that these preliminary findings will invite additional research in this area. I am indebted to Drs. Armando A. De La Cruz (Mississippi State Univ.) and Courtney T. Hackney (UNC-Wilmington) for their critical comments on prelim? inary drafts of this manuscript.
Cerebral microhaemorrhages secondary to fat embolus syndrome in sickle cell disease

Fat embolus syndrome (FES) is a distinct pattern of clinical symptoms and signs following circulation of fat globules, or emboli, in the lung parenchyma and peripheral circulation. It leads to multisystem dysfunction, most commonly involving the lungs, skin, brain and kidneys. It is usually seen following trauma; however, it is a rare but potentially fatal and under-diagnosed complication of bone marrow infarction in patients with sickle cell disease. Neurological involvement forms part of the classical clinical triad of presentation, composed of respiratory changes, neurological abnormalities and a petechial rash. The Gurd and Wilson Criteria1 are the most widely accepted criteria for diagnosis and require the presence of at least one major criterion and at least four minor criteria (table 1). View this table: Table 1 The Gurd and Wilson Criteria MRI should be performed on patients with neurological deterioration. The presence of numerous cerebral microhaemorrhages on Gradient Echo (GRE) MRI is a key finding which can prompt the clinician to the diagnosis of FES. Early clinical and radiological diagnosis of FES is essential to institute life-saving therapies such …
Treatment of Severe Aortic Bleeding Using Hemopatch in Swine on Dual Antiplatelet Therapy

ABSTRACTPurpose: The perioperative management of patients on antithrombotic therapy is currently an unresolved problem as these therapies pose a considerable risk for perioperative hemorrhagic complications. The presented studies investigated the efficacy of a new collagen technology to achieve hemostasis. A polyethylene glycol-coated collagen pad (PCC) was compared to a marketed fibrinogen-thrombin coated collagen pad (FTC) for the treatment of an aortotomy incision in heparinized swine on dual antiplatelet therapy. Materials and Methods: Twenty-eight 3-mm aortotomy incisions were created in nine heparinized pigs without antiplatelet therapy and treated with PCC. Sixty-eight aortotomy incisions were created in ten heparinized pigs that received clopidogrel (10–11 mg/kg) and acetylsalicylic acid (8–11 mg/kg) orally for 5 days, and treated with either PCC or FTC (N = 34/group). Dual antiplatelet therapy resulted in significantly reduced platelet function. Aortotomy incisions resulted in life-threatening bl...
Sterile-male technique for suppression of the horn fly: effects of irradiation, handling, and release on laboratory-reared flies

Pupae of laboratory-reared Haematobia irritans (L.) were irradiated with 2000 rad, packaged in a perforated styrofoam thermos, shipped on a commercial bus, and then released at the site of a pilot study of the sterile-male technique. Emergence of adults was reduced slightly by irradiation and significantly by shipment and release. Also, refrigeration of pupae to delay emergence of adults reduced percentage emergence (significantly when it was done before irradiation), and refrigeration for 48 h after day 7 reduced survival (significantly among irradiated males and normal females). More males than females emerged from all pupae, and significantly more (1.26:1) emerged from irradiated pupae held in the laboratory. Cross-mating studies demonstrated that all irradiated females were sterile, and only 2 of 7598 eggs hatched from normal females crossed with irradiated males. No significant difference was detected in the fecundity of normal females crossed with either normal or irradiated males.
eOrganic: The Organic Agriculture Community of Practice for eXtension

eOrganic is the organic agriculture community of practice (CoP) and resource area for eXtension. eOrganic’s primary community of interest (CoI) is organic farmers and the agricultural professionals who support them. The 250 members of the eOrganic CoP include farmers, researchers, certifiers, and extension/other agricultural professionals. eOrganic’s mission is to build a diverse national CoP and use web technologies to synthesize existing information, emerging science, and practical knowledge into information resources and training materials for its CoI. eOrganic strategies to achieve that mission include collaborative publication, stakeholder engagement, community development, project management, evaluation, and fundraising. eOrganic’s public site currently offers 240 articles, 250 videos, 80 webinars and broadcasts, and 100 frequently asked questions (FAQs). eOrganic CoP members have answered more than 1000 ‘‘Ask an Expert’’ questions. eOrganic authors collaboratively develop articles in eOrganic’s collaborative workspace, which undergo review by two anonymous reviewers and National Organic Program (NOP) compliance review. eOrganic will offer online courses in 2012. eOrganic stakeholders evaluated eOrganic articles and videos in 2010 and overall they stated that they were relevant, science-based, and useful. Three quarters of webinar and broadcast participants said the webinar improved their understanding of the topic, and 83% said they would recommend the webinar to others. Sixty-nine percent of webinar survey respondents stated that they changed practices or provided others with information as the result of the webinar. eOrganic surveyed active CoP members in 2011. Members view eOrganic as important because it is the only national organic agriculture resource with direct ties to university research and they considered all of eOrganic’s core activities important. eOrganic is supported by small grants from eXtension and subawards in more than 20 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) research/extension projects. To enhance its financial sustainability, eOrganic will work to solidify its partnership with NIFA programs and diversify its funding sources to include course fees and underwriters.
Probe into Simulation Model of Single-reheat Steam Turbine Considering Impact of Boiler

Establishing an accurate steam turbine model is of great significance for improving the stability of power units and grid.Considering the influence of boiler on the main steam pressure of single-reheat steam turbine,the linearized incremental model of the boiler is joined to the original steam turbine model to establish an improved single-reheat steam model.The simulation results show that the improved model is closer to the reality when comparing with the original model in the main steam pressure,electromagnetic power and power angle,and can be applied in power system stability analysis.
Freezing of mammalian embryos without the aid of a programmable freezer

A simple, inexpensive and repeatable method of freezing/thawing (F/T) mammalian concepti was developed with the use of 2-cell mouse embryos. Cryoprotectants, length of exposure to protectants, and subzero holding times before liquid nitrogen (LN 2 ) exposure were examined in an effort to obtain an effective freezing protocol. Sequential examination of these variables provided data suggesting that 3.5 M dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) plus 0.25 M sucrose exposure for 5 minutes at room temperature, followed by a − 30°C environment for 90 minutes, best prepared embryos for LN 2 storage. After thawing and culture, 48 of the 93 (52%) embryos developed to the blastocyst stage.
Getting the picture

This chapter discusses the importance of getting a picture of a research study or survey. The object of interest in a research study or survey is a random variable, that is, a property with respect to which individuals in a specified group differ in some ascertainable way as a consequence of their biological diversity. Strictly speaking, a variable is a quantity that can take any one of a specified set of values. Quantitative variables involve the notion of a numerical scale, this being either discrete or continuous. Discrete quantitative variables can only assume certain fixed numerical values, with no intermediate values being possible. Continuous variables involve an underlying continuum such as length or optical density and as such they can theoretically assume an infinite number of values between any two points on that continuum. The distinction between discrete and continuous quantitative variables is clear in principle but quite ambiguous in practice. A random variable is defined not just by a set of permissible values but also by an associated frequency function that describes how often any particular value arises in the situation under study. The observation of a random variable involves the use of a measure—the technique or procedure by which the observation of the variable is transformed into a particular category or number.
Genetics of pediatric bone strength.

Abstract Osteoporosis is one of the most common chronic forms of disability in postmenopausal women and represents a major health burden around the world. Bone fragility is affected by bone mineral density (BMD), and, one of the most important factors in preventing osteoporosis is optimizing peak bone mass, which is achieved during growth in childhood and adolescence. BMD is a complex trait resulting from environmental and genetic factors. Genome-wide association studies have discovered robust genetic signals influencing BMD in adults, and similar studies have also been conducted to investigate the genetics of BMD in the pediatric setting. These latter studies have revealed that many adult osteoporosis-related loci also regulate BMD during growth. These investigations have the potential to profoundly impact public health and will allow for the eventual development of effective interventions for the prevention of osteoporosis.
The distinct traits of extracellular vesicles generated by transformed cells.

Intercellular communication mediated by extracellular vesicles (EVs), membrane-enclosed packages released by cells, plays important roles in several physiological and pathological settings. Moreove...
A diagonal factorization for integral equation matrices

This paper reports on an improved factorization strategy for integral equation matrices based on source and field transformations that have localizing radiation and reception properties. In addition to the use of localizing functions, the method incorporates orthogonally matched receivers. It is shown that this yields a controllably diagonal multilevel matrix factorization. To simplify the presentation, the algorithm is described for symmetric systems. Numerical results are presented for both symmetric and non-symmetric matrices.
Brain–Machine Interface Control Algorithms

Motor brain–machine interfaces (BMI) allow subjects to control external devices by modulating their neural activity. BMIs record the neural activity, use a mathematical algorithm to estimate the subject’s intended movement, actuate an external device, and provide visual feedback of the generated movement to the subject. A critical component of a BMI system is the control algorithm, termed decoder. Significant progress has been made in the design of BMI decoders in recent years resulting in proficient control in non-human primates and humans. In this review article, we discuss the decoding algorithms developed in the BMI field, with particular focus on recent designs that are informed by closed-loop control ideas. A motor BMI can be modeled as a closed-loop control system, where the controller is the brain, the plant is the prosthetic, the feedback is the biofeedback, and the control command is the neural activity. Additionally, compared to other closed-loop systems, BMIs have various unique properties. Neural activity is noisy and stochastic, and often consists of a sequence of spike trains. Neural representations of movement could be non-stationary and change over time, for example as a result of learning. We review recent decoder designs that take these unique properties into account. We also discuss the opportunities that exist at the interface of control theory, statistical inference, and neuroscience to devise a control-theoretic framework for BMI design and help develop the next-generation BMI control algorithms.
Current Concepts of Cardiac Amyloidosis: Diagnosis, Clinical Management, and the Need for Collaboration

Cardiac amyloidosis is a complex and vexing clinical condition that requires a high degree of suspicion for the diagnosis with a substantial amount of discipline to discern the extent of disease and the best available therapy. There is a complex interplay between multiple organ systems, and the clinical presentation may involve a myriad of confusing clinical symptoms. The diagnosis of cardiac amyloidosis can be confirmed with a combination of physical findings, cardiac biomarkers, noninvasive testing, and, if necessary, myocardial biopsy. Genetic testing is critical to establish the type of amyloidosis.
Influence of stress concentrations on failure of shape memory alloy actuators

Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) are drawing much attention from the active materials community due to the solid-solid phase transformation which exhibits large actuation strains at large actuation stress levels. As SMAs become better understood, SMAs may become more commonly utilized as components of a system. Such systems would require SMAs to be attached to other components, often leading to a stress concentration at the attachment point. Therefore it is necessary to develop a more thorough understanding of how stress concentrations affect the failure in SMA actuators. One such stress concentration which is often encountered when attaching structural components together is a hole or notch, which lead to triaxial states of stress around these stress concentrations. In this work, notched cylindrical SMA specimens are investigated to elucidate how the triaxiality of the notches affect the stress profiles and phase transformation behavior. Numerical results indicate that by changing the radius of the notch in cylindrical specimens, the evolution of the phase transformation is directly affected, which also impacts the distribution of stress along the area of minimum cross-sectional area. Experimental results are also presented, providing evidence that phase transformation in the presence of a stress concentration while at sufficient loads may lead to failure of the SMA.
Feed horn optimization using feed+reflector co-simulation for advanced reflector antennas

Optimal illumination of a reflector is essential to maximize a reflector antenna's gain. In practice, this has been accomplished by specifying certain feed horn pattern characteristics, e.g. 10 dB BW, and independently optimizing the feed antenna to meet these requirements. In this investigation, we consider the possibility of optimizing the reflector antenna system through a co-simulation of the feed horn and reflector. Each test design is evaluated by first computing the feed horn pattern, followed by a physical optics reflector analysis using the simulated far-field feed pattern. Such a platform enables the fine-tuning of important pattern features within the feed+reflector system, such as cross-polarization, aperture efficiency, or sidelobes. As an example, the application of this reflector-feed co-simulation to a 1 meter Ka-Band offset reflector is compared to the conventional feed optimization approach, where the feed is optimized independently.
Engineering and Economic Aspects of Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell Systems

Abstract The objective of this paper was to investigate the uses for a molten carbonate fuel cell system. The fuel cell system was found to be directly competitive with diesel-power generator systems in auxiliary power installations in the range 10–50 kw electric. A reference performance was established based on experimental data. A procedure was determined to make an economic comparison. Finally a number of applications were examined in some detail to determine which was the most promising for a first use.
RAM: Role Representation and Identification from combined Appearance and Activity Maps

This work introduces a multimodal multiview camera network for role identification and re-identification in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) room, where identifying individuals is not permitted. The analysis challenges include imaging conditions such as medical isolation (where all visitors wear scrubs), poor and non-uniform illumination, or variable camera views. We propose a role representation, which combines static appearance features such as texture and color, together with a dynamic quantification of human locations and interactions that results in a semantic map. The proposed representation is easy to compute and robust to varying ICU conditions and network configurations, which make the methods suitable for low-power distributed sensor network deployment. Thorough evaluations and comparisons with competing methods are performed. The findings from this approach enable the compliant analysis of workflows in healthcare, while protecting the privacy of patients and medical staff.
Differences in brain metabolism in Early and Late Onset Alzheimer’s Disease and Suspected Non-Alzheimer’s Pathophysiology (P4.099)

Objective: Detect the hypometabolic patterns in amnestic EOAD, LOAD and SNAP. Background: Approximately 5% of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients develop symptoms before the age of 65 (EO). EOAD is believed to follow a more aggressive course than late onset AD (LOAD). Design/Methods: We analyzed the FDG PET data of 116 amnestic EO, 266 amnestic LO and 211 amyloid-negative normal control ADNI subjects. 108 EO and all LO cases had amyloid PET or CSF Abeta molecular biomarkers of amyloid pathology. Comparisons of each diagnostic group to NC were done using linear regression in SPM8 controlling for age, gender and education. Results were displayed using p Results: EO were more likely to be APOE4+ (65.5% vs. 54.1%, p Conclusions: Consistent with previous reports amnestic EOAD patients from ADNI show more severe hypometabolism compared to LOAD. The pattern of hypometabolism in LO SNAP is suggestive of primary age related tauopathy. Study Supported by: NIA R01 AG040770, NIA K02 AG048240, NIA P30 AG010133 and the Easton Consortium for Alzheimer Drug Discovery and Biomarker Development. Disclosure: Dr. Canela has nothing to disclose. Dr. Stage has nothing to disclose. Dr. Phillips has nothing to disclose. Dr. Duran has nothing to disclose. Dr. Rabinovici has received personal compensation for activities with Eisai, Roche, Lundbeck, and Putnam as a speaker or consultant. Dr. Rabinovici has received research support from NIH, Alzheimer9s Association, Tau Consortium, American College of Radiology, Michael J Fox Foundation, Association for Frontotemporal Degneration, Avid Radiopharmaceuticals/Eli Lilly, GE Healthcare, and Piramal Imaging. Dr. Dickerson has received personal compensation for activities with Merck as a consultant. Dr. Dickerson has received personal compensation in an editorial capacity for Neuroimage: clinical. Dr. Carrillo has nothing to disclose. Dr. De Santi has received personal compensation for activities with Piramal Pharma as an employee. Dr. Risacher has nothing to disclose. Dr. Apostolova received personal compensation for activities with Eli Lilly and Piramal as a speaker and/or advisor. Dr. Apostolova has received research support from General Electric Healthcare.
Psychological Distress and Psychiatric Comorbidities in Palliative Care

Palliative care medicine has expanded awareness of, and the refinement of treatment efforts directed at, alleviating physical symptoms of patients with terminal conditions. Over the years, medical and psychological discourse on end-of-life care has increasingly drawn attention to many of the distinct psychosocial challenges that patients confront, emphasizing the importance of integrating the physical and psychological aspects of care essential to improving quality of life. Addressing the multiplicity of psychological issues faced by patients can be daunting, especially when considered in the context of the limited time available before death ensues. This chapter will highlight the psychological needs of the terminal patient. An emphasis will be placed on subsyndromal, but nonetheless distressing, psychological states, as well as the assessment and management of psychiatric disorders frequently encountered within the context of palliative care. Although much of the data come from studies of patients with terminal cancer, many of the principles outlined herein are likely to apply to a broad spectrum of patients requiring end-of-life care.
Improving spontaneous children's emotion recognition by acoustic feature selection and feature-level fusion of acoustic and linguistic parameters

This paper presents an approach to improve emotion recognition from spontaneous speech. We used a wrapper method to reduce an acoustic set of features and feature-level fusion to merge them with a set of linguistic ones. The proposed system was evaluated with the FAU Aibo Corpus. We considered the same emotion set that was proposed in the Interspeech 2009 Emotion Challenge. The main contribution of this work is the improvement, with the reduced set of features, of the results obtained in this Challenge and the combination of the best ones. We built this set with a selection of 28 acoustic and 5 linguistic features and concatenation of the feature vectors from an original set of 389 parameters.
Multiple Forms of Enzymes

Multiple forms of enzymes have been defined1 as “all proteins possessing the same enzyme activity and occurring naturally in a single species.” This is a much broader term than “isoenzymes” which arise from genetically determined differences in primary structure.1 Therefore, in this chapter the term “multiple forms” is used as a rule; the “isoenzymes” are mentioned only when the authors of the papers referred to are themselves sure of the isoenzyme nature of the molecular forms studied.
One-Dimensional Stochastic Simulation of Advection-Diffusion-Reaction Couplings in Turbulent Combustion

The study of turbulent reacting flows invariably involves simplifying assumptions. Here an alternative modeling strategy is adopted that explicitly represents certain nonlinear couplings among the various subprocesses governing turbulent combustion, including unsteadiness and multi-scale interactions. This strategy involves fully resolved simulation at moderately large Reynolds numbers, which is rendered affordable for fully turbulent regimes by formulating a one-dimensional stochastic representation of turbulent flow evolution. The modeling challenges that arise, and the present approach to addressing these challenges, are illustrated by applying the new methodology, denoted one-dimensional turbulence (ODT), to nonpremixed jet flames that exhibit varying degrees of localized extinction and reignition. The role of unsteady strain and molecular transport in ODT in representing extinction and reignition processes in a turbulent environment is noted.