Metrics for linking emissions of gases and aerosols to global precipitation changes

Recent advances in understanding have made it possible to relate global precipitation changes directly to emissions of particular gases and aerosols that influence climate. Using these advances, new indices are developed here called the Global Precipitation-change Potential for pulse (GPP_P) and sustained (GPP_S) emissions, which measure the precipitation change per unit mass of emissions. The GPP can be used as a metric to compare the effects of different emissions. This is akin to the global warming potential (GWP) and the global temperature-change potential (GTP) which are used to place emissions on a common scale. Hence the GPP provides an additional perspective of the relative or absolute effects of emissions. It is however recognised that precipitation changes are predicted to be highly variable in size and sign between different regions and this limits the usefulness of a purely global metric. The GPP_P and GPP_S formulation consists of two terms, one dependent on the surface temperature change and the other dependent on the atmospheric component of the radiative forcing. For some forcing agents, and notably for CO2, these two terms oppose each other – as the forcing and temperature perturbations have different timescales, even the sign of the absolute GPP_P and GPP_S varies with time, and the opposing terms can make values sensitive to uncertainties in input parameters. This makes the choice of CO2 as a reference gas problematic, especially for the GPP_S at time horizons less than about 60 years. In addition, few studies have presented results for the surface/atmosphere partitioning of different forcings, leading to more uncertainty in quantifying the GPP than the GWP or GTP. Values of the GPP_P and GPP_S for five long- and short-lived forcing agents (CO2, CH4, N2O, sulphate and black carbon – BC) are presented, using illustrative values of required parameters. The resulting precipitation changes are given as the change at a specific time horizon (and hence they are end-point metrics) but it is noted that the GPPS can also be interpreted as the time-integrated effect of a pulse emission. Using CO2 as a references gas, the GPP_P and GPP_S for the non-CO2 species are larger than the corresponding GTP values. For BC emissions, the atmospheric forcing is sufficiently strong that the GPP_S is opposite in sign to the GTP_S. The sensitivity of these values to a number of input parameters is explored. The GPP can also be used to evaluate the contribution of different emissions to precipitation change during or after a period of emissions. As an illustration, the precipitation changes resulting from emissions in 2008 (using the GPP_P) and emissions sustained at 2008 levels (using the GPP_S) are presented. These indicate that for periods of 20 years (after the 2008 emissions) and 50 years (for sustained emissions at 2008 levels) methane is the dominant driver of positive precipitation changes due to those emissions. For sustained emissions, the sum of the effect of the five species included here does not become positive until after 50 years, by which time the global surface temperature increase exceeds 1 K

Lactobacillus fermentum (PCC®) supplementation and gastrointestinal and respiratory-tract illness symptoms: a randomised control trial in athletes

BACKGROUND Probiotics purportedly reduce symptoms of gastrointestinal and upper respiratory-tract illness by modulating commensal microflora. Preventing and reducing symptoms of respiratory and gastrointestinal illness are the primary reason that dietary supplementation with probiotics are becoming increasingly popular with healthy active individuals. There is a paucity of data regarding the effectiveness of probiotics in this cohort. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a probiotic on faecal microbiology, self-reported illness symptoms and immunity in healthy well trained individuals. METHODS Competitive cyclists (64 males and 35 females; age 35 ± 9 and 36 ± 9 y, VO2max 56 ± 6 and 52 ± 6 ml.kg-1.min-1, mean ± SD) were randomised to either probiotic (minimum 1 × 109 Lactobacillus fermentum (PCC®) per day) or placebo treatment for 11 weeks in a double-blind, randomised, controlled trial. The outcome measures were faecal L. fermentum counts, self-reported symptoms of illness and serum cytokines. RESULTS Lactobacillus numbers increased 7.7-fold (90% confidence limits 2.1- to 28-fold) more in males on the probiotic, while there was an unclear 2.2-fold (0.2- to 18-fold) increase in females taking the probiotic. The number and duration of mild gastrointestinal symptoms were ~2-fold greater in the probiotic group. However, there was a substantial 0.7 (0.2 to 1.2) of a scale step reduction in the severity of gastrointestinal illness at the mean training load in males, which became more pronounced as training load increased. The load (duration×severity) of lower respiratory illness symptoms was less by a factor of 0.31 (99%CI; 0.07 to 0.96) in males taking the probiotic compared with placebo but increased by a factor of 2.2 (0.41 to 27) in females. Differences in use of cold and flu medication mirrored these symptoms. The observed effects on URTI had too much uncertainty for a decisive outcome. There were clear reductions in the magnitude of acute exercise-induced changes in some cytokines. CONCLUSION L. fermentum may be a useful nutritional adjunct for healthy exercising males. However, uncertainty in the effects of supplementation on URTI and on symptoms in females needs to be resolved. TRIAL REGISTRATION The trial was registered in the Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12611000006943).The study was funded by Christian Hansen A/S, Probiomics and the Australian Institute of Sport

Određivanje dužine korijenskog kanala: procjena CDR® intraoralnog radiografskog sustava in vivo

The Computed Dental Radiolography System® (CDR: Schick Technologies, Long Island City, NY) is a CCD-based digital intraoral radiographic device which possesses a measurement software algorithm that can be adjusted with respect to an object of known dimension. This “calibration ” algorithm was compared to the CDR® preset mode and analog film using 30 root canals in vivo. The three measurement methods differed significantly from each other for 40% o f the canals sampled. Two o f the three differed significantly for 50% o f canals. No difference existed between the methods for 10% o f the canals. Estimates of tooth length using the calibrated mode differed from those obtained using a conventional radiographic technique by an average o f 1.2 mm, while those using the calibrated mode differed by 1.9 mm. The 1.2 mm average for the calibrated CDR® was judged to be an acceptable degree o f clinical error for most root canal procedures and indicates that the calibration function of the CDR® system should be used when measuring endodontic working lengths. The results demonstrated that calibration to a 15 mm probe when using the Schick CDR® system is more consistent with a comparable measurement, if film is used as the “gold standard”, than are measurements of the tooth length using the CDR® without calibration.Sustav "Kompjuterizirane dentalne radiografije" (CDR: Schick Technologies. Long Island City. NY) je na CDD-u zasnovan uređaj za digitalnu intraoralnu radio grafiju koji posjeduje "Software-ski algoritam" za mjerenja koji se može prilagoditi prema objektu poznate veličine. Ovaj "kalibracijski" algoritam uspoređen je sa sustavom CDR (kompjutorizirane dentalne radiografije) bez mjernog algoritma i analognim filmom rabeći 30 korijenskih kanala in vivo. Tri postupka mjerenja značajno su se razlikovali u 40% mjerenih korijenskih kanala. Dva od tri postupka razlikovala su se u 50% mjerenih kanala. Nikakve razlike između postupaka nije bilo u 10% mjerenih korijenskih kanala. Procjena duljine zuba korištenjem kalibriranog načina razlikovala se od procjene dobivene konvencionalnom (analognom) radio grafskom tehnikom za otprilike 1,2 mm, dok se od digitalnog sustava bez mjernog algoritma razlikovala za prosječno 1,9 mm. Razlika od 1,2 mm za "kalibrirani CDR" se procjenjuje kao prihvatljiva klinička greška za većinu endodontskih postupaka i ukazuje da bi se "kalibracijski sustav CDRa" trebao rabiti pri mjerenju radne duljine korijenskog kanala. Rezultati ukazuju da je kalibracija sonde do 15 mm kad se rabi Schch-ov CDR sustav postojanija s usporednim mjerenjem ako se film koji se mjeri uzme kao "zlatni standard", nego je mjerenje duljine CDR sustavom bez kalibracije

Characterizing changes in soybean spectral response curves with breeding advancements

Citation: Christenson, Brent S., William T. Schapaugh, Nan An, Kevin P. Price, and Allan K. Fritz. “Characterizing Changes in Soybean Spectral Response Curves with Breeding Advancements.” Crop Science 54, no. 4 (2014): 1585–97. https://doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2013.08.0575.Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) crop yield has steadily increased in the past 60 yr due in part to breeding advances. Relations between canopy spectral reflectance to specific plant functions may help characterize the impact of breeding on soybean cultivar development. The objectives of this study were to: 1) find specific regions of the soybean canopy spectral reflectance response curves that show genotypic differences; and 2) determine the effect of the breeding process on spectral reflectance response curves of soybean cultivars. Canopy spectral reflectance measurements were taken on 20 maturity group III (MGIII) and 20 maturity group IV (MGIV) soybean cultivars ranging in release year from 1923 to 2010 (arranged in a randomized complete block design) in 2011 and 2012 in Manhattan, KS. Large genotypic differences were found among cultivars, especially in the green (500 nm–600 nm), red (600 nm–700 nm), and red-edge (700nm–730 nm) portions of the spectra. Reflectance in the visible (VIS) (400–700 nm), red-edge (700–730 nm), and near-infrared (NIR) (730–1305) portions of the spectra varied with year of release (YOR) among cultivars. The more recently released cultivars tended to have lower reflectance values in the VIS and red-edge spectra portions and higher values in the NIR portion of the spectra than earlier-released cultivars. Results also indicate that spectral reflectance in the NIR portion of the spectra are highly confounded with maturity and other agronomic traits. These results indicate that breeding advancement has had an impact on canopy spectral reflectance curves and the VIS and red-edge portions of the spectra may be a source of variation for further cultivar development and advancement

Absolute Proper Motions to B~22.5: V. Detection of Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Debris in the Direction of the Galactic Anticenter

We have detected a population of predominantly blue (B-V <= 1.1) stars in the direction l = 167 deg., b = -35 deg. (Kapteyn Selected Area 71) that cannot be accounted for by standard starcount models. Down to V ~ 20, the colors and magnitudes of these stars are similar to those of the southern overdensity detected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and identified as stripped material from the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy. We present absolute proper motions for the stars in SA 71, and we find that the excess blue stars represent a distinct, kinematically cooler component than the Galactic field, and in reasonable agreement with predictions of Sgr disruption models. The density of the excess SA 71 stars at V ~ 18.8 and B-V <=1.1 is within a factor of two of the density of the SDSS-south Sgr stripped material, and of that predicted by the Helmi and White disruption model. Three additional anticenter fields (SA 29, 45 and 118) show very good agreement with standard starcount models.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, submitted to ApJL, accepted for Ap

Ursinus College Alumni Journal, March 1957

The Corporate alumnus program grows • Companies with gift-matching programs • Progress on the dormitories continues • Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines scholarships • Dr. Pfahler dies • Records that defy the tooth of time • College becomes owner of five properties • The faculty cornered • Dr. Jessie Royer Greaves, \u2792, receives award • New associate members • Associate alumni members • Meeting of Washington area alumni • New York area alumni plan spring meeting • South Jersey alumni plan buffet supper • Schuylkill Valley alumni to dine at Stokesay • Washington alumni plan spring meeting on May 24 • York alumni to meet April 27 • Lehigh Valley alumni to meet April 26 • Philadelphia alumni to meet for third year at Casa Conti • Laucks museum reopened • Senior class elects permanent class officers • Alumni-prospective student day successful • Educators rally in Philadelphia • Alumni elections • 1957 Loyalty Fund campaign increases in the number of contributors: Mid-year Loyalty Fund report • The Touchdown Twins • Football season 1956 • Soccer 1956 • Women\u27s basketball • Football banquet • Watson new court coach • Aucott, Gros, Shillingford receive all-American honors • News about ourselves • Weddings • Births • Necrology • From the Office of Admissions • Ursinus Evening School • Booster sticker boosterhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/alumnijournal/1058/thumbnail.jp

Ursinus College Alumni Journal, November 1957

Gulf Oil program to aid education • Letters to the editor • Autumn report from the Admissions Office • Early acceptance policy announced • Evening School continues growth • Messiah • The faculty cornered • Young Ursinus missionaries • Note from the Dean\u27s Office • I. C. G. Society looking for lost members • Attention classes 1944-1950 • Famous Ursinus player • G. E. corporate alumnus program extended • Old Timers\u27 Day has excellent alumni turnout • Ursinus teachers meet during Schoolmen\u27s Week • Fall meeting for Washington alumni • Alumni senior banquet • Curtain Club presents Ten Little Indians • Salmon River expedition, part of the International Geophysical Year • Four years of alumni sponsorship completed: 1957 Loyalty Fund report • Glenn Eshbach to head Loyalty Fund Committee • Alfred Gemmell scholarship fund • Contributors for the 1957 Loyalty Fund campaign • Alumnae hockey • Varsity football report • Tentative varsity and junior varsity basketball schedule, 1957-8 • Tentative varsity wrestling schedule, 1958 • Ursinus appoints new court coach • Women\u27s basketball schedule, 1958 • Coull appointed grid aid • News about ourselves • Weddings • Births • Cornelius Weygandt dies • Reunion \u2743 • Necrologyhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/alumnijournal/1060/thumbnail.jp

Ursinus College Alumni Journal, July 1957

Bachelor\u27s degrees awarded to 135 • Letters to the editor • Ursinus evaluated • Note from the Admissions Office • Commencement 1957 • Ursinus astronomers record celestial event • The faculty cornered • York County alumni meet • April election results • New York alumni honor H. Dean Steward \u2707 • H. Ober Hess \u2733 speaks at college • History Department advises saving of documents • \u27Id al-Jalus, Ta\u27izz, Yemen, 1953 • May Day festivities • Washington alumni meet • Seventeen annual prizes awarded at commencement • Ursinus Woman\u27s Club • Mrs. William U. Helfferich feted • 1957 track season • 1957 varsity baseball • 1957 varsity tennis • 1957 top athletes • Women\u27s basketball • Blazer award • Memorial trophy for Ken Walker • Tennis and badminton undefeated season • News about ourselves • Weddings • Births • Necrologyhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/alumnijournal/1059/thumbnail.jp

Neutron Diffraction Structural Study of Ce₂Fe₁₇₋ₓGaₓ

Six samples of Ce2Fe17-xGax with nominal Ga content x equal to 0, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 1.0, 2.0 have been studied by powder neutron diffraction at room temperature. Both crystalline and magnetic refinements have been carried out. All six samples adopt the Th2Zn17-type rhombohedral structure. The only additional phase found is α-iron. Gallium atoms are found to have high affinity for the iron 18h site, and are absent from the 9d and 18f sites. The Ga substitution for Fe leads to an expansion of both the a and c axes. The Curie temperature increases from 238 K for Ce2Fe17 to 406 K for Ce2Fe15Ga2. Magnetic refinements on the samples with x = 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 1.0, and 2.0 reveal that the magnetic moments of the four Fe sites are in the basal plane and that their values increase with increasing Ga content