Linear and field-independent relation between vortex core state energy and gap in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d

We present a scanning tunneling spectroscopy study on quasiparticle states in vortex cores in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ. The energy of the observed vortex core states shows an approximately linear scaling with the superconducting gap in the region just outside the core. This clearly distinguishes them from conventional localized core states and is a signature of the mechanism responsible for their discrete appearance in high-temperature superconductors. The energy scaling of the vortex core states also suggests a common nature of vortex cores in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ and YBa2Cu3O7-δ. Finally, these states do not show any dependence on the applied magnetic field between 1 and 6 T

A new model for comprehensive service-Learning : a case study in Long-chi Village

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Effects of different doses of melamine in the diet on melamine concentrations in milk, plasma, rumen fluid, urine and feces in lactating dairy cows

The objectives of this paper were to evaluate the effects of feeding diets containing different levels of melamine on melamine concentrations in milk, plasma, rumen fluid, urine and feces in Holstein dairy cows. Sixteen Chinese Holstein dairy cows fixed with permanent ruminal cannulas were assigned to 1 of 4 treatments within a completely randomized design for 10 days. Cows were fed different amounts of melamine {20 (group 1), 40 (group 2), 60 (group 3) or 80 (group 4) g/day/cow} once daily in the morning mixed with a melamine free basal diet for 7-days adaptation followed by 3-days urine and feces sample collections. Melamine was found in all samples tested and its concentration generally increased as dose increased in the diet. These results indicated that different doses of melamine in the diet could result in different concentrations of melamine in milk, plasma, rumen fluid, urine and feces. Data suggested that melamine primarily cleared by urinary excretion, followed by fecal excretion in lactating dairy cows. Mammary tissue was apparently not a major tissue to dispose melamine, especially when fed a relatively low dose (lower than 40 g/day/cow).Key words: Melamine, excretion, lactating dairy cow

Effort estimation of FLOSS projects: A study of the Linux kernel

This is the post-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2011 SpringerEmpirical research on Free/Libre/Open Source Software (FLOSS) has shown that developers tend to cluster around two main roles: “core” contributors differ from “peripheral” developers in terms of a larger number of responsibilities and a higher productivity pattern. A further, cross-cutting characterization of developers could be achieved by associating developers with “time slots”, and different patterns of activity and effort could be associated to such slots. Such analysis, if replicated, could be used not only to compare different FLOSS communities, and to evaluate their stability and maturity, but also to determine within projects, how the effort is distributed in a given period, and to estimate future needs with respect to key points in the software life-cycle (e.g., major releases). This study analyses the activity patterns within the Linux kernel project, at first focusing on the overall distribution of effort and activity within weeks and days; then, dividing each day into three 8-hour time slots, and focusing on effort and activity around major releases. Such analyses have the objective of evaluating effort, productivity and types of activity globally and around major releases. They enable a comparison of these releases and patterns of effort and activities with traditional software products and processes, and in turn, the identification of company-driven projects (i.e., working mainly during office hours) among FLOSS endeavors. The results of this research show that, overall, the effort within the Linux kernel community is constant (albeit at different levels) throughout the week, signalling the need of updated estimation models, different from those used in traditional 9am–5pm, Monday to Friday commercial companies. It also becomes evident that the activity before a release is vastly different from after a release, and that the changes show an increase in code complexity in specific time slots (notably in the late night hours), which will later require additional maintenance efforts

Saliency Benchmarking Made Easy: Separating Models, Maps and Metrics

Dozens of new models on fixation prediction are published every year and compared on open benchmarks such as MIT300 and LSUN. However, progress in the field can be difficult to judge because models are compared using a variety of inconsistent metrics. Here we show that no single saliency map can perform well under all metrics. Instead, we propose a principled approach to solve the benchmarking problem by separating the notions of saliency models, maps and metrics. Inspired by Bayesian decision theory, we define a saliency model to be a probabilistic model of fixation density prediction and a saliency map to be a metric-specific prediction derived from the model density which maximizes the expected performance on that metric given the model density. We derive these optimal saliency maps for the most commonly used saliency metrics (AUC, sAUC, NSS, CC, SIM, KL-Div) and show that they can be computed analytically or approximated with high precision. We show that this leads to consistent rankings in all metrics and avoids the penalties of using one saliency map for all metrics. Our method allows researchers to have their model compete on many different metrics with state-of-the-art in those metrics: "good" models will perform well in all metrics.Comment: published at ECCV 201

Solubility of strontium-substituted apatite by solid titration

Solid titration was used to explore the solubility isotherms of partially (Srx-HAp, x = 1, 5, 10, 40, 60 mol.%) and fully substituted strontium hydroxyapatite (Sr-HAp). Solubility increased with increasing strontium content. No phase other than strontium-substituted HAp, corresponding to the original titrant, was detected in the solid present at equilibrium; in particular, dicalcium hydrogen phosphate was not detected at low pH. The increase in solubility with strontium content is interpreted as a destabilization of the crystal structure by the larger strontium ion. Carbonated HAp was formed in simulated body fluid containing carbonate on seeding with Sr10-HAp, but the precipitate was strontium-substituted on seeding with Sr-HAp. Strontium-substituted HAp might be usable as a template for the growth of new bone, since nucleation appears to be facilitated. © 2008 Acta Materialia Inc.postprin

Solubility of strontium-substituted apatite by solid titration

Solid titration was used to explore the solubility isotherms of partially (Srx-HAp, x = 1, 5, 10, 40, 60 mol.%) and fully substituted strontium hydroxyapatite (Sr-HAp). Solubility increased with increasing strontium content. No phase other than strontium-substituted HAp, corresponding to the original titrant, was detected in the solid present at equilibrium; in particular, dicalcium hydrogen phosphate was not detected at low pH. The increase in solubility with strontium content is interpreted as a destabilization of the crystal structure by the larger strontium ion. Carbonated HAp was formed in simulated body fluid containing carbonate on seeding with Sr10-HAp, but the precipitate was strontium-substituted on seeding with Sr-HAp. Strontium-substituted HAp might be usable as a template for the growth of new bone, since nucleation appears to be facilitated. © 2008 Acta Materialia Inc.postprin

Having a baby in your 40s with ART: the reproductive dilemma of autologous versus donor oocytes.

BACKGROUND:Increasing numbers of women ≥40 years old are accessing assisted reproductive technology (ART) due to age-related infertility. There is limited population-based evidence about the impact on the cumulative live birth rate (CLBR) of women aged ≥40 years using their own oocytes, compared to women of a similar age, using donor oocytes. AIMS:To compare the CLBR for women ≥40 years undergoing ART using autologous oocytes and women of similar age using donor oocytes. MATERIALS AND METHODS:This population-based retrospective cohort study used data from all women aged ≥40 years undergoing ART with donated (n = 987) or autologous oocytes (n = 19 170) in Victoria, Australia between 2009 and 2016. A discrete-time survival model was used to evaluate the CLBR following ART with donor or autologous oocytes. The odds ratio, adjusted for woman's age; male age; parity; cause of infertility; and the associated 95% confidence intervals (CI), were calculated. The numbers needed to be exposed (NNEs) were calculated from the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and the CLBR in the autologous group. RESULTS:The CLBR ranged from 28.6 to 42.5% in the donor group and from 12.5% to 1.4% in the autologous group. The discrete-time survival analysis with 95% CI demonstrated significant aOR on CLBR across all ages (range aOR: 2.56, 95% CI: 1.62-4.01 to aOR: 15.40, 95% CI: 9.10-26.04). CONCLUSIONS:Women aged ≥40 years, using donor oocytes had a significantly higher CLBR than women using autologous oocytes. The findings can be used when counselling women ≥40 years about their ART treatment options and to inform public policy