cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Canopy uptake of atmospheric N deposition at a conifer forest: part I -canopy N budget, photosynthetic efficiency and net ecosystem exchange

Global carbon cycle assessments of anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition influences on carbon sequestration often assume enhanced sequestration results. This assumption was evaluated at a Rocky Mountains spruce-fir forest. Forest canopy N uptake (CNU) of atmospheric N deposition was estimated by combining event wet and throughfall N fluxes with gradient measured HNO 3 and NH 3 as well as inferred (NOx and particulate N) dry fluxes. Approximately 80% of the growing-season 3 kgN ha -1 total deposition is retained in canopy foliage and branches. This CNU constitutes ∼1/3 of canopy growing season new N supply at this conifer forest site. Daytime net ecosystem exchange (NEE) significantly (P= 0.006) and negatively (CO 2 uptake) correlated with CNU. Multiple regression indicates ∼20% of daytime NEE may be attributed to CNU ( P < 0.02); more than soil water content. A wet deposition N-amendment study (Tomaszewski and Sievering—part II), at canopy spruce branches, increased their growing-season CNU by 40–50% above ambient. Fluorometry and gas exchange results show N-amended spruce branches had greater photosynthetic efficiency and higher carboxylation rates than control and untreated branches. N-amended branches had 25% less photoinhibition, with a 5–9% greater proportion of foliar-N-in-Rubisco. The combined results provide, partly, a mechanistic explanation for the NEE dependence on CNU. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0889.2007.00264.x
Stochastic simulation of non-Gaussian/non-stationary properties in a functionally graded plate

Abstract Composites with a graded profile between two distinct phases, titled functionally graded materials (FGM’s), have been proposed for a variety of applications. Many current numerical models of FGM’s overlook the inherent randomness observed in actual specimens, which arises due to the complexity and difficulty in tailoring the gradients to exact specifications during manufacturing processes. The effect of random variations, in both the component volume fractions and the porosity, on the response of a functionally graded metal/ceramic plate subjected to constant thermal boundary conditions is investigated in this work. These random variations are introduced into the FGM model via stochastic simulation. Of interest is the fact that the volume fraction and the porosity are both non-Gaussian and non-stationary. The non-stationarity is present due to the fact that the non-Gaussian probability density function describing both properties changes with location. Sample simulations are performed using a translation mapping from a stationary, standard Gaussian process to a non-stationary, non-Gaussian process. The results are used to quantify the effects of variations in the micromechanical configuration on the temperature, thermal stresses and safety factor within a functionally graded plate.
Adaptation of respiratory syncytial (RS) virus to brain of suckling mice.

SummaryRespiratory syncytial virus (Long strain) was adapted to growth in suckling mice through 2 separate serial intracerebral passage series. The virus(es) produced a lethal effect in the animals 6 to 14 days following inoculation. Identification of the mouse passage virus was established by serum neutralization tests in tissue culture and in suckling mice. Further identification was established by direct fluorescent antibody staining of the mouse passaged virus after one passage in tissue culture. It is suggested that the growth of RS virus in brain of suckling mouse with resultant illness and death may have practical value in the evaluation of prospective vaccines.
A computer model of uterine contractions based on action potential propagation and intercellular calcium waves

Objective To simulate a uterine contraction using a novel computer model for uterine communication and to validate the assumptions of the computer model by comparing the simulated contraction with a real uterine contraction. Methods The computer model assumed two known mechanisms of intercellular communication: action potential propagation and calcium wave propagation. Simulations were performed on a desktop computer using available programming language. Model validity was assessed by fitting the computer-simulated contraction to a real contraction and comparing the fit values with values measured independently. Results The simulated contraction demonstrated five characteristics that are also observed in human labor: 1) gradual onset, 2) a linear rising segment, 3) a plateau region, 4) a symmetrical fall, and 5) gradual offset. The fit values agreed well with values determined experimentally and supported the model. Conclusions Our results support the model, strongly suggesting that intercellular communication occurs throughout the uterus by action potentials and locally within the tissue by calcium waves.
Tracking the time-course of attentional involvement in spatial working memory: an event-related potential investigation

Abstract Spatial working memory is a cognitive brain mechanism that enables the temporary maintenance and manipulation of spatial information. Recent neuroimaging and behavioral studies have led to the proposal that directed spatial attention is the mechanism by which location information is maintained in spatial working memory. Yet it is unclear whether attentional involvement is required throughout the period of active maintenance or is only invoked during discrete task-phases such as mnemonic encoding. In the current study, we aimed to track the time-course of attentional involvement during spatial working memory by recording event-related brain potentials (ERPs) from healthy volunteers. In Experiment 1, subjects performed a delayed-recognition task. Each trial began with the presentation of a brief stimulus (S1) that indicated the relevant location that subjects were to maintain in working memory. A 4.8–5.3 sec delay interval followed during which a single task-irrelevant probe was presented. The delay interval concluded with a test item (S2) to which subjects made a response indicating whether the S2-location was the same as the S1-memory location. To determine if attention was differentially engaged during discrete phases of the trial, task-irrelevant probes were presented early (400–800 msec following S1-offset) or late (2600–3000 msec following S1-offset) during the delay interval. Sensory-evoked ERPs (P1 and N1) elicited by these irrelevant probes showed attention-like modulations with greater amplitude responses for probes occurring at the S1-memory locations in comparison to probes presented at other locations. This pattern was obtained for both early- and late-delay probes. Probe-evoked activity during delayed-recognition trials was similar to activity observed when spatial attention was explicitly focused on a location in visual space (Experiment 2). These results are consistent with a model of spatial working memory in which perceptual level selective attention is utilized throughout the entire period of active maintenance to keep relevant spatial information in mind.
Hartree−Fock Orbital Instabilities and Symmetry-Breaking in ScO2: Is a Cs Equilibrium Structure Viable?†

We have applied high-level coupled cluster methods, in conjunction with a variety of reference molecular orbitals and basis sets, to consider the possibility that the equilibrium geometry of the ground state of ScO 2 breaks C 2 v symmetry. The force constants for the antisymmetric stretching vibration (b 2 symmetry) have been computed across a domain of Sc-O bond distances and O-Sc-O bond angles at the spin-restricted open-shell Hartree-Fock (ROHF) and spin-unrestricted Hartree-Fock (UHF) levels of theory in order to investigate the importance of artifactual orbital instability envelopes on the properties computed with correlated wave functions. In most cases, Hartree-Fock instability regions are located far from the pertinent optimized geometries, suggesting that the corresponding harmonic vibrational frequencies should be free from artifactual orbital effects. Nevertheless, ROHF- and UHF-based coupled cluster models disagree qualitatively on the symmetry of ScO 2 , and Brueckner orbital based methods give variable results with respect to basis set and level of electron correlation. Although full coupled cluster single-, double-, and triple-excitation results indicate symmetry breaking with smaller basis sets, extrapolation of the results to larger basis sets is inconclusive. The current results indicate with certainty only a flat symmetry-breaking potential. Furthermore, although all methods considered here predict that C s optimized structures lie lower in energy than their C 2 v counterparts, the highest levels of theory predict very low effective barriers to interconversion of equivalent C s minimalow enough that the zero-point vibrational energy (even when computed with anharmonicity corrections) lies above the barrier leading to an overall dynamical C 2 v symmetry.
Systematics of low-energy πN scattering

Abstract A simple current algebra model is shown to account for a wide range of low-energy πN experimental data including twenty-eight subthreshold expansion coefficients, six scattering lengths, and the scattering phase shifts below T π = 300 MeV. A sigma term of σ NN = 62 ± 10 MeV is obtained.
Use of omalizumab in the treatment of food allergy and anaphylaxis

Omalizumab is a humanized monoclonal anti-IgE antibody that is currently FDA-approved for allergic asthma. Given its mechanism of action, recent reports have suggested its possible clinical use for food allergy and some forms of anaphylaxis. Omalizumab exerts its action by binding to circulating IgE, reducing IgE receptor expression, and decreasing mediator release from mast cells and basophils. Clinical trials using omalizumab in patients with food allergy resulted in achieving tolerance to higher amounts of the allergen in some patients. When used as an adjunct therapy during immunotherapy trials in patients with food allergy and anaphylaxis, omalizumab allowed more rapid and higher doses of immunotherapy to be given. Omalizumab has also been reported to be effective in a few patients with idiopathic anaphylaxis and mast cell disorders. Large multi-center trials are needed to confirm the above findings, and to identify subsets of patients that would benefit the most from omalizumab.
Prediction model to identify patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia at risk for methicillin resistance.

OBJECTIVES: To identify institution-specific risk factors for MRSA bacteremia and develop an objective mechanism to estimate the probability of methicillin resistance in a given patient with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB). DESIGN: A cohort study was performed to identify institution-specific risk factors for MRSA. Logistic regression was used to model the likelihood of MRSA. A stepwise approach was employed to derive a parsimonious model. The MRSA prediction tool was developed from the final model. SETTING: A 279-bed, level 1 trauma center. PATIENTS: Between January 1, 1999, and June 30, 2001, 494 patients with clinically significant episodes of SAB were identified. RESULTS: The MRSA rate was 45.5%. Of 18 characteristics included in the logistic regression, the only independent features for MRSA were prior antibiotic exposure (OR, 9.2; CI 95 , 4.8 to 17.9), hospital onset (OR, 3.0; CI 95 , 1.9 to 4.9), history of hospitalization (OR, 2.5; CI 95 , 1.5 to 3.8), and presence of decubitus ulcers (OR, 2.5; CI 95 , 1.2 to 4.9). The prediction tool was derived from the final model, which was shown to accurately reflect the actual MRSA distribution in the cohort. CONCLUSION: Through multivariate modeling techniques, we were able to identify the most important determinants of MRSA at our institution and develop a tool to predict the probability of methicillin resistance in a patient with SAB. This knowledge can be used to guide empiric antibiotic selection. In the era of antibiotic resistance, such tools are essential to prevent indiscriminate antibiotic use and preserve the longevity of current antimicrobials (Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2003;24:655-661).
Entropy Filtered Density Function for Large Eddy Simulation of Turbulent Flows

A methodology termed entropy filtered density function (En-FDF) is developed to account for entropy transport in large eddy simulation of turbulent flows. The filtered entropy transport equation includes several unclosed terms which are the subgrid scale entropy flux and the filtered entropy generation resulting from irreversibilities in heat conduction, mass diffusion, chemical reaction and viscous dissipation. The En-FDF contains the complete statistical information about entropy, velocity, scalar and turbulent frequency fields and thus, provides closure for all the unclosed terms in the filtered transport equations. An exact transport equation is derived for the En-FDF which contains the effects of convection along with chemical reaction and its associated entropy generation in closed forms. The En-FDF transport is modeled by a set of stochastic differential equations. The numerical solution procedure is based on a hybrid finite difference/Monte Carlo method in which the large eddy simulation filtered ...
Glycation of albumin, not glomerular basement membrane, alters permeability in an in vitro model.

The effects of glycation of either albumin, a plasma protein, or GBM were examined in an in vitro model of GBM permeability. Albumin was incubated with glucose in vitro, and nonglycated and glycated albumin were separated by affinity chromatography. Rat GBM was glycated either in vivo after the induction of diabetes or in vitro after incubation with 25 mM glucose. 150 μg of GBM was consolidated in an ultrafiltration cell, and albumin permeability across the GBM filter was assessed at an applied pressure (50 mmHg) selected to approximate glomerular capillary pressure in vivo. The sieving coefficient of glycated albumin was greater than the sieving coefficient of nonglycated albumin (0.25 ± 0.03 vs. 0.10 ± 0.02; P
The extended Kalman filter as a pulmonary blood flow estimator

Pulmonary blood flow is represented as a time-varying parameter in a simple model of the bodily uptake of gases that are soluble in blood. The pulmonary blood flow is estimated on-line using Ljung's modification of the extended Kalman filter. The experimental technique for estimation of pulmonary blood flow is based on Zwart's soluble gas method, modified to permit time-varying ventilation and pulmonary perfusion, and also to permit binary dynamic forcing of the inhaled soluble gas. Computer simulations were performed to determine the convergence time and to choose values of algorithmic parameters. Experiments done in humans gave agreement to within the accuracy of that measured invasively by a thermal dilution technique. The method shows promise for use in many biomedical applications, including patient monitoring, physiological experimentation, and clinical heart function tests.
Robotic Surgery of the Kidney and Ureter in Pediatric Patients

Robotic actuators have revolutionized surgery for urologic disorders in pediatric patients. Robotic procedures have become widely available for several different ablative and reconstructive operations in children. The success rates have paralleled those of open surgical techniques and provide the benefit of smaller incisions and less manipulation of tissue during the procedures. Robotics employs increased dexterity, better visualization, and less fatigue, allowing greater precision. We must continue to evolve with the ever-changing advancements in technology and take a keen interest in maintaining our skills to ensure excellent outcomes and patient safety.
The roles of history and ecology in chloroplast phylogeographic patterns of the bird-dispersed plant parasite Phoradendron californicum (Viscaceae) in the Sonoran Desert

UNLABELLED • PREMISE OF THE STUDY A recurrent explanation for phylogeographic discontinuities in the Baja California Peninsula and the Sonoran Desert Region has been the association of vicariant events with Pliocene and Pleistocene seaway breaks. Nevertheless, despite its relevance for plant dispersal, other explanations such as ecological and paleoclimatic factors have received little attention. Here, we analyzed the role of several of these factors to describe the phylogeographic patterns of the desert mistletoe, Phoradendron californicum.• METHODS Using noncoding chloroplast regions, we assess the marginal probability of 19 a priori hypotheses related to geological and ecological factors to predict the cpDNA variation in P. californicum using a Bayesian coalescent framework. Complementarily, we used the macrofossil record and niche model projections on Last Glacial Maximum climatic conditions for hosts, mistletoe, and a bird specialist to interpret phylogeographic patterns.• KEY RESULTS Genealogical reconstructions revealed five clades, which suggest a combination of cryptic divergence, long-distance seed dispersal, and isolating postdivergence events. Bayesian hypothesis test favored a series of Pliocene and Pleistocene geological events related to the formation of the Baja California Peninsula and seaways across the peninsula as the most supported explanation for this genealogical pattern. However, age estimates, niche projections, and fossil records show dynamic host-mistletoe interactions and evidence of host races, indicating that ecological and geological factors have been interacting during the formation and structuring of phylogeographic divergence.• CONCLUSIONS Variation in cpDNA across the species range results from the interplay of vicariant events, past climatic oscillations, and more dynamic factors related to ecological processes at finer temporal and spatial scales.
Black Economic Gains in the Sixties: A Methodological Critique and Reassessment

Recent publications heralding "substantial black economic gains" in the sixties are found to share a common preoccupation with gaps (rather than distributions) and to rely on a common methodology. We contend that their findings are, at least in part, an artifact of their method. A new measure of trends in income inequality is developed, resulting in quite different findings. The substantive implications of the pattern of actual gains and losses is discussed. Since the recent publication of the 1970 census data on income distribution, a number of researchers have attempted to assess the magnitude of black economic gains in the previous decade. Most have concluded that these gains have been substantial. In the most well-publicized' of these attempts, Wattenberg and Scammon (1973) called the gains since 1960 a "massive achievement." Others (e.g., Farley and Hermalin, 1972; Freeman, 1973) have been somewhat less euphoric, but have nonetheless pointed to large and meaningful black gains. All have failed to focus on distributional changes and instead have based their analyses in large degree upon comparisons of the ratios of black to white median income over time, which shows a steady increase; and upon comparisons within each group of median income at T, to median income at T2, which invariably shows a greater percentage gain for blacks. Yet there are other data which make these findings suspect. For example, nonwhites made up 26.9 percent of those below the poverty level in 1959, and 31.] percent in 1970 (Bureau of the Census, 1973a). Also, nonwhites made up 20.4 percent of the unemployed population in 1960 and 18.4 percent in 1970 (and this latter figure had increased to 19.8 percent by 1972) (Bureau of the Census, 1973a). And for a more subtle indicator, the ratio of black to white infant mortality rates remained virtually constant from 1959-70, with the black 1970 rate (30.211000) still higher than the white 1950 rate (26.811000) (Bureau of the Census, 1973a). These, and a great many other statistics from related areas, seem at variance with the notion of substantial black economic gains. Wattenberg and Scammon (1973:41) shrug off such contraindicators by asserting that ". . . the fact that some blacks have been 'left behind' does not in itself negate the fact of massive black success." But the existence of a prospering majority is moot and has been debated at length. Those insisting on substantial gains point to the undeniably larger ratio of black to white median income, while those denying "massive success" point to similar black-white absolute gains in median family income and discount ratio gains. In a recent article
A Monte Carlo procedure for straight convecting boundaries

Presentation d'une methode de Monte Carlo pour le calcul de la temperature du vortex d'un secteur de cercle echangeant de la chaleur par convection situe sur la frontiere d'un solide
Revisiting the Benefits Debate: Does Qualitative Social Work Research Produce Salubrious Effects?

Social work discussion about the intersection of therapy and research has been heated. There is ongoing theoretical debate about the fit of qualitative research and social work practice, as well as the proper goals and potential impact of clinical research. In this article, two qualitative researchers report empirical findings and discuss the implications of their research participants' unsolicited identification of the benefits of engaging in intensive interviews. These benefits include therapeutic benefits such as telling a story to an interested, empathic researcher and experiencing social validation in having one's story accepted; a sense that participants' experiences may be joined with others through the research process to create or enhance voices of stigmatized or marginalized populations; and the possibility that the research, through publication and dissemination, will influence individuals and society to become aware of the social justice and political implications of research participants' experiences.
Physical properties of wave scattering by a chiral grating

Wave scattering by a chiral grating is studied in this paper. Numerical results are given, and physical properties are discussed, including the influence of frequency, angle of incidence, and aspect ratio. At high frequencies we find anomalous coupling regions known as Wood’s anomalies, which are explained by the excitation and reradiation of leaky waveguide modes in the periodic layer. The chiral grating can possess both frequency-selection and mode-conversion properties.
Mixed-mode multicore reliability

Future processors are expected to observe increasing rates of hardware faults. Using Dual-Modular Redundancy (DMR), two cores of a multicore can be loosely coupled to redundantly execute a single software thread, providing very high coverage from many difference sources of faults. This reliability, however, comes at a high price in terms of per-thread IPC and overall system throughput.We make the observation that a user may want to run both applications requiring high reliability, such as financial software, and more fault tolerant applications requiring high performance, such as media or web software, on the same machine at the same time. Yet a traditional DMR system must fully operate in redundant mode whenever any application requires high reliability.This paper proposes a Mixed-Mode Multicore (MMM), which enables most applications, including the system software, to run with high reliability in DMR mode, while applications that need high performance can avoid the penalty of DMR. Though conceptually simple, two key challenges arise: 1) care must be taken to protect reliable applications from any faults occurring to applications running in high performance mode, and 2) the desire to execute additional independent software threads for a performance application complicates the scheduling of computation to cores. After solving these issues, an MMM is shown to improve overall system performance, compared to a traditional DMR system, by approximately 2X when one reliable and one performance application are concurrently executing.
A bulk silicon dissolved wafer process for microelectromechanical devices

A single-sided bulk silicon dissolved wafer process that has been used to fabricate several different micromechanical structures is described. It involves the simultaneous processing of a glass wafer and a silicon wafer, which are eventually bonded together electrostatically. The silicon wafer is then dissolved to leave heavily boron doped devices attached to the glass substrate. Overhanging features can be fabricated without additional masking steps. It is also possible to fabricate elements with thickness-to-width aspect ratios in excess of 10:1. Measurements of various kinds of laterally driven comb structures processed in this manner, some of which are intended for application in a scanning thermal profilometer, are described. They comprise shuttle masses supported by beams that are 160-360 mu m long, 1-3 mu m wide, and 3-10 mu m thick. Some of the shuttles are mounted with probes that overhang the edge of the die by 250 mu m. Resonant frequencies from 18 to 100 kHz and peak-to-peak displacements up to 18 mu m have been measured. >
Localized interface trap generation in SILO-isolated MOSFETs during PECVD nitride passivation

The authors report the generation of interface traps during the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition of silicon nitride passivation in MOS structures that utilize a sealed-interface local oxidation scheme (SILO) for device isolation. These traps are highly localized at the boundaries between gate and field oxides, causing enhanced subthreshold conduction. Localized interface traps of this type were not observed in identical MOS structures that use conventional LOCOS (local oxidation of silicon) isolation and were eliminated by thermal anneals at 450 degrees C. Anneals in hydrogen ambients resulted in enhanced rates of hot-carrier-induced degradation. The high densities and localized nature of these anomalous traps make possible a novel mode of device operation in which source-drain conduction is strongly modulated by substrate bias. >
URETEROPELVIC JUNCTION OBSTRUCTION IN ANOMALOUS KIDNEYS

UPJ obstructions occurring in anomalous kidneys require special consideration. Many anomalous kidneys are dysmorphic with extrarenal pelves, making the distinction between obstructed and nonobstructed hydronephrosis crucial. The radiographic evaluation must be thorough because there are often other associated anomalies of the ipsilateral or contralateral kidney. Operative intervention must be tailored to the specifics of the case. Although most UPJ obstructions in anomalous kidneys can be reconstructed successfully with dismembered pyeloplasty or treated with newer minimally invasive techniques, issues regarding access, operative detail, and adjunct procedures make these cases challenging for the urologic surgeon.
Impact of battery sizing on stochastic optimal power management in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles

This paper examines the impact of battery sizing on the performance and efficiency of power management algorithms in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). Existing studies examine this impact for power management algorithms derived using either rule-based or deterministic dynamic programming methods. This paper extends the above investigations to power management algorithms optimized using stochastic dynamic programming (SDP). The paper treats both PHEV trip duration and PHEV power demand over the course of a given trip as stochastic. Furthermore, the paper examines two power management optimization objectives: one emphasizing fuel consumption only, and one that emphasizes the total cost of the blended use of fuel and electricity. The paper shows that blending provides significant benefits for small batteries, but this effect diminishes with increasing battery size.
Kinetic Processes Involved in the Sintering and Crystallization of Glass Powders

Viscometry, crystal growth kinetics, and glass powder sintering were used to determine the activation energies of viscous flow, crystal growth, and sintering behavior of a standard NBS 710 glass and two crystallizable glass powders in the calciaaluminosilicate system. In a system which sintered successfully to zero porosity, the activation energy for sintering was comparable to the activation energy of viscous flow. When the apparent activation energy for the sintering process was lower than that of viscous flow, sintering was found to proceed at a slower rate because the precipitated crystalline phase retarded viscous flow and the shrinkage of the pores. Initial crystallization appeared to occur on the surfaces of coalesced particles. A chemical treatment was partially successful in suppressing the onset of surface nucleation of the precursor powder.
Malignant Gliomas in Children

Childhood supratentorial malignant gliomas, though less common than those in adults, are responsible for disproportionately high morbidity and mortality rates. Important advances have been made in our ability to diagnose these tumors by noninvasive neuroimaging techniques. In addition, progress has been made in our ability to correlate pathology and biological features with clinical outcomes to provide prognostic information. Neuroimaging and tissue prognostic factors now have important roles which directly affect clinical management. While surgery and radiation therapy are critical components of the treatment of childhood supratentorial gliomas, the role of chemotherapy is less clear. Significant responses have been demonstrated for chemotherapy regimens in infants with malignant gliomas and high-dose chemotherapy and ABMR regimens also produce encouraging response rates. The results of current clinical trials will help us determine if these response rates will translate into prolonged patient survival and allow us to identify subgroups of childhood malignant glioma patients that may benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy.
Fascism and Political Religion in Italy: A Reassessment

This article challenges the currently dominant understanding of Italian Fascism as a ‘political religion’, arguing that this view depends upon an outdated model of secularisation and treats Fascism's sacralisation of politics in isolation from church–state relations, the Catholic Church itself and popular religious experience in Italy. Based upon an historiographical review and analysis of what we now know about secularisation and these other religious phenomena, the article suggests that only when we grasp Italian Fascist political religion in relation to secularisation properly understood, and treat it in the context of religious experience and its history as a whole can the nature of Italian Fascism be adequately grasped.
Phenomenology of Dirac Neutralino Dark Matter

In supersymmetric models with an unbroken $R$ symmetry (rather than only $R$ parity), the neutralinos are Dirac fermions rather than Majorana. In this article, we discuss the phenomenology of neutralino dark matter in such models, including the calculation of the thermal relic abundance, and constraints and prospects for direct and indirect searches. Because of the large elastic scattering cross sections with nuclei predicted in $R$-symmetric models, we are forced to consider a neutralino that is predominantly bino, with very little Higgsino mixing. We find a large region of parameter space in which binolike Dirac neutralinos with masses between 10 and 380 GeV can annihilate through slepton exchange to provide a thermal relic abundance in agreement with the observed cosmological density, without relying on coannihilations or resonant annihilations. The signatures for the indirect detection of Dirac neutralinos are very different than predicted in the Majorana case, with annihilations proceeding dominantly to ${\ensuremath{\tau}}^{+}{\ensuremath{\tau}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$, ${\ensuremath{\mu}}^{+}{\ensuremath{\mu}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ and ${e}^{+}{e}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ final states, without the standard chirality suppression. And unlike Majorana dark matter candidates, Dirac neutralinos experience spin-independent scattering with nuclei through vector couplings (via $Z$ and squark exchange), leading to potentially large rates at direct detection experiments. These and other characteristics make Dirac neutralinos potentially interesting within the context of recent direct and indirect detection anomalies. We also discuss the case in which the introduction of a small Majorana mass term breaks the $R$ symmetry, splitting the Dirac neutralino into a pair of nearly degenerate Majorana states.
Towards Scaling Up Classification-Based Speech Separation

Formulating speech separation as a binary classification problem has been shown to be effective. While good separation performance is achieved in matched test conditions using kernel support vector machines (SVMs), separation in unmatched conditions involving new speakers and environments remains a big challenge. A simple yet effective method to cope with the mismatch is to include many different acoustic conditions into the training set. However, large-scale training is almost intractable for kernel machines due to computational complexity. To enable training on relatively large datasets, we propose to learn more linearly separable and discriminative features from raw acoustic features and train linear SVMs, which are much easier and faster to train than kernel SVMs. For feature learning, we employ standard pre-trained deep neural networks (DNNs). The proposed DNN-SVM system is trained on a variety of acoustic conditions within a reasonable amount of time. Experiments on various test mixtures demonstrate good generalization to unseen speakers and background noises.
Toward an understanding of consumers’ perceptions of food labels

Abstract This study examines the factors that influence consumers’ perceptions or beliefs about food labels. The results indicate that health and diet related attitudes, special diet status, perceived importance of product attributes like nutrition and ease of preparation, race, gender, income, and body mass index are important factors affecting consumers’ perceptions and beliefs about label use. Understanding the type of consumers who have these perceptions and beliefs as well as the factors that influence these beliefs and perceptions is crucial for designing effective marketing and nutrition education campaigns.
A Comprehensive Review of Prone Position in ARDS.

Prone position (PP) has been used since the 1970s to treat severe hypoxemia in patients with ARDS because of its effectiveness at improving gas exchange. Compared with the supine position (SP), placing patients in PP effects a more even tidal volume distribution, in part, by reversing the vertical pleural pressure gradient, which becomes more negative in the dorsal regions. PP also improves resting lung volume in the dorsocaudal regions by reducing the superimposed pressure of both the heart and the abdomen. In contrast, pulmonary perfusion remains preferentially distributed to the dorsal lung regions, thus improving overall alveolar ventilation/perfusion relationships. Moreover, the larger tissue mass suspended from a wider dorsal chest wall effects a more homogeneous distribution of pleural pressures throughout the lung that reduces abnormal strain and stress development. This is believed to ameliorate the severity or development of ventilator-induced lung injury and may partly explain why PP reduces mortality in severe ARDS. Over 40 years of clinical trials have consistently reported improved oxygenation in approximately 70% of subjects with ARDS. Early initiation of PP is more likely to improve oxygenation than initiation during the subacute phase. Maximal oxygenation improvement occurs over a wide time frame ranging from several hours to several days. Meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials suggest that PP provides a survival advantage only in patients with relatively severe ARDS (PaO2 /FIO2 10-12 h/session). Combining adjunctive therapies (high PEEP, recruitment maneuvers, and inhaled vasodilators) with PP has an additive effect in improving oxygenation and may be particularly helpful in stabilizing gas exchange in very severe ARDS.
Further Affirmative Action Strategies for Racial and Ethnic Equality in The Jury System: The Case Study of The Eugene 'Bear' Lincoln Trial and The Native American Jury

This article examines possible applications of two affirmative action strategies in jury selection -- affirmative jury structures and affirmative peremptory inclusion -- in order to create racially mixed juries. I contend that, with the use of affirmative jury structures such as de medietate linguae jury, the Hennepin jury, and social science models, the court can effectively design three specific forms of racially mixed tribunals by requiring varying mandatory racial quotas to ensure the allocation of jury seats to racial minorities. Affirmative peremptory inclusion is a procedural jury selection strategy in voir dire to neutralize the biasing effect of race-based peremptory challenges so that a racially mixed jury is achieved through affirmatively choosing, rather than peremptorily excluding, potential jurors who share the same racial and ethnic background as the defendants. In order to illustrate the importance of affirmative jury selection structures and peremptory inclusion, this paper specifically focuses on People of the State of California v. Eugene "Bear" Lincoln (no. cl2632), the recent criminal trial and racially explosive case that received extensive national attention and international media coverage. The present author participated in the Lincoln trial as a defense jury consultant in assessing the extent of racial discrimination in jury selection at Mendocino County Superior Court, California. The critical analysis of the Lincoln case demonstrates that racially diverse tribunals may be the only effective and equitable solution to increase public's perceptions of trial fairness and verdict legitimacy in racially sensitive trials.
Mount Sinai clinical experience with leucovorin and 5-fluorouracil.

The early Mount Sinai clinical experience appears to be relevant to unresolved questions concerning both leucovorin (LV) dosage and 5-fluorouracil (FU) schedules examined in the Gastrointestinal Tumor Study Group (GITSG) and Mayo Clinic-North Central trials. In addition, recent findings in the course of evolving practice provide support for specific new applications of LV-FU for combined modality and combination chemotherapy.
Estimation of the spatial mean and peak flow velocities using real-time 3D color Doppler echocardiography: in vitro and in vivo studies

Using real-time, three-dimensional (3D) color Doppler, experimental studies were performed to quantify velocity in the out flow tract from cross-sectional, short axis images. In vitro experiments showed an excellent linear correlation between the reference pulsed wave (PW) Doppler and 3D color estimates of the peak velocities (r=0.98). In an animal experiment 3D peak flow velocities showed a reasonably good agreement with reference peak velocities by PW Doppler (r=0.76, delta =+11.6%). The spatial mean velocity by 3D showed a good linear relationship with PW peak velocity, but with an anticipated underestimation (r=0.81, delta=-43 %) due to the non-uniform velocity profile. Real-time, color 3D echocardiography was capable of quantifying velocities accurately, permitting the calculation of flow volume without any geometrical assumptions about flow distribution.
Late-Onset Development of Eyelid Ptosis in Chronic Progressive External Ophthalmoplegia: A 30-Year Follow-up

Chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia (CPEO) is a mitochondrial myopathy with slowly progressive, often symmetric blepharoptosis and limitation of ocular motility in all directions of gaze. The authors present an unusual case of CPEO that initially presented with the unique features of markedly asymmetric facial weakness and the lack of blepharoptosis. However, over the subsequent three decades, the patient developed progressive facial and eyelid dysfunction more consistent with a classical description of CPEO. The authors present the 30-year progression of this patient to emphasise the chronic and progressive nature of the condition.
Formale Methoden oder pragmatisches Vorgehen für die Software-Fehlertoleranz und -Zuverlässigkeit?

An der Abschlusdiskussion nahmen „auf dem Podium“ F. Belli, B. Eggers, W. Ehrenberger, R. Duschl, E. Schmitter, und S. Shrivastava mit z.T. mehreren kurzen Beitragen teil, die durch viele Wortmeldungen der Workshop-Teilnehmer erganzt oder auch in Frage gestellt wurden.
The Developmental Expression of Glial Specific mRNAs in Cultured Rat Brain Cells Identified by inSitu Hybridization

The differentiation of glial cells in brain and in tissue culture preparations has been extensively analysed through the visualization of cell specific marker antigens by immunocytochemical techniques (see Kim, 1985). The technique of in situ hybridization, while complementing immunohistochemistry, provides an advantage by allowing for the detection of mRNAs at the single cell level which reflects the activation of genes necessary for the differentiation of specific cell types. As cDNAs encoding glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), (Lewis and Cowan, 1985), a known astrocyte marker, and myelin basic protein (MBP), (de Ferra et al., 1985), a known oligodendrocyte marker, have been made available to our laboratory, it is now possible to study the expression of those mRNAs in glial cell cultures. The developmental appearance of GFAP and MBP mRNA in primary cultures of newborn rat brain by in situ hybridization is described.
Publication Rates for Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Members at Nonresearch-Intensive US Schools of Pharmacy.

Objective. To provide benchmarking data for faculty productivity by determining publication rates for pharmaceutical sciences faculty members at nonresearch-intensive schools and colleges of pharmacy between January 2010 and December 2013.Methods. Scopus and Web of Science databases were searched using faculty names from the AACP faculty and professional staff roster. Annual publication rates were calculated and compared for various demographic subcategories.Results. The average annual publication rate for the 4-year period was 0.82 per faculty member, and 10.95 per institution. Publication rates were significantly higher in departments offering a PhD program or with NIH funding.Conclusion. Because institutional missions are diverse, it can be useful to evaluate faculty scholarly productivity in relation to similar organizations. Pharmaceutical science faculty members at nonresearch-intensive institutions contribute to the literature despite institutional missions less focused on research.
Co-Rumination Exacerbates Stress Generation among Adolescents with Depressive Symptoms

Through stress generation, individuals' own thoughts and behaviors can actually lead to increases in their experience of stress. Unfortunately, stress generation is especially common among individuals who are already suffering from elevated depressive symptoms. However, despite the acknowledgement that some individuals with depressive symptoms generate greater stress than others, few studies have identified specific factors that could exacerbate stress generation among individuals with depressive symptoms. The present study examines co-rumination as a factor that might exacerbate stress generation among adolescents with depressive symptoms using a short-term longitudinal design. Considering these processes among adolescents was critical given that many youth experience increases in depressive symptoms at this developmental stage and that co-rumination also becomes more common at adolescence. Participants were 628 adolescents (326 girls; 302 boys) who reported on their depressive symptoms, experiences of stress, and co-rumination with a best friend. Interpersonal stressors (peer and family stress) and non-interpersonal stressors (school and sports stress) were assessed. Consistent with past research, adolescents with depressive symptoms experienced greater interpersonal and non-interpersonal stress over time. Importantly, co-rumination interacted with both depressive symptoms and gender in predicting increases in peer stress. Depressive symptoms predicted the generation of peer stress only for girls who reported high levels of co-rumination with friends. Implications for protecting youth with depressive symptoms against stress generation are discussed.
Eastern margin of Tibet supplies most sediment to the Yangtze River

Zircon provenance studies of modern and ancient fluvial systems help reveal the relative contributions and importance of upstream sediment sources. A 2014 study of detrital zircon U-Pb age distributions from the Yangtze River (China) and its tributaries proposed a strong anthropogenic control on sediment flux. Those data, along with other data from the region, were reanalyzed using multiple detrital zircon U-Pb age distribution comparison techniques and a distribution-mixing model to construct an improved and quantitative view of provenance. The variability in the Yangtze River trunk stream U-Pb age distributions is evaluated with respect to trunk-to-trunk stream comparisons, trunk-to-tributary comparisons, and in mixture models that consider tributary and bedrock contributions, the latter using a comprehensive compilation of bedrock source terranes. Uniformity in the zircon age distribution of the Yangtze River trunk stream is established in the upper reaches, downstream of the first bend, and maintained by the left-bank tributaries to its outlet. Whether considering the bedrock source terranes or only the modern Yangtze River sediments, the major source of sediments contributing to Yangtze River is clearly the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau (e.g., Songpan Ganze complex, Longmenshan Range), where rock uplift rates are high. The purported increase in anthropogenic impact on sediment yield in the lowlands, at least as viewed through detrital zircon age distributions, is insignificant.
Dental students' ability to locate emergency equipment-lessons learned from aviation.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the dental student's ability to locate medical emergency equipment/items at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry clinic. Methods A total of 138 second-year dental students (traditional group) participated in this study as part of a simulation-based medical emergencies rotation course held during the winter term of 2014 and 2015. Without prior training, students were tested on their ability to locate nine predetermined items on the clinic floor using a self-reported checklist. Six months later, a convenience sample of 18 students (novel group) from the same cohort were later trained on their location and retested individually. Results Of the 138 students tested, only 10.14% students could locate seven of the nine items when compared to 100% in the novel group. Only 5.07% of students in the traditional group could locate all items initially, compared with 72.22% students in the novel group. Conclusion Whilst our students have lecture-based knowledge about medical emergencies, the results of our study identified a gap of knowledge of emergency equipment/item location amongst students. Therefore, an intervention performed with a similar group of second-year dental students supported that proper training may be used to achieve retention of knowledge. Based on our “novel group” results, we have incorporated targeted training in the dental curriculum that leads to students being better prepared in locating emergency equipment/items. This study suggests that other populations, such as faculty or staff, may also benefit from hands-on training.
Weak Reflection of Water Waves by Bottom Obstacles

For a gradually varying bottom, an approximate theory is developed for the calculation of scattering properties of two-dimensional water waves. An integral representation is first formed with the help of a Green's function. An iterative solution is then obtained by using Rayleigh's wave shoaling equation as the first approximation. The reflection coefficient is found to depend on the smoothness of the obstacle; more abrupt depth changes at the ends cause stronger wave interference. For obstacles with a flat top it is found that under certain conditions only the sloping ends are responsible for wave scattering.