Background/Context The multiple worlds model is defined as the ability of students to connect, manage, and negotiate to cross the borders of their two worlds to successfully transition through different everyday worlds of school, family, and peers. Prior research has linked multiple worlds such as school, teacher, family, and peers to the academic success of immigrant students. However, there is a dearth of research about how Ghanaian-born immigrant youth (African-born immigrant youth) integrate the experiences surrounding their multiple worlds of families, schools, peers, and teachers in their daily lives to affect academic achievement. Purpose/Objectives/ Research/Focus of Study This qualitative study explores the factors associated with immigrant students from Ghana to strategize how to combine their multiple worlds of families, schools, peers, and teachers to affect academic engagement within contexts of school and classroom situations. Another aim was to was to explore teachers' perception and understanding of the sociocultural and past educational experiences of immigrant students from Ghana. I analyzed two interviews (face-to-face and focus group) transcripts (students and teachers). Population/Participants/Subjects Forty Ghanaian-born immigrant students and 10 certified teachers in the Atlanta, Georgia, metropolitan area were recruited and interviewed. I interviewed 40 students (n = 23 male and n = 17 female) in 10th grade (8 students), 11th grade (20 students) and 12th grade (12 students) and 10 teachers including 4 Whites, 2 African Americans, 3 Latino/as, and 1 Biracial. Research Design The study used a qualitative research design by using open-ended semi-structured and focus group interviews in which the participants were comfortable in the interviews. With the assistance of the Ghanaian Immigrant Association in Atlanta and the school district, I sampled for Ghanaian-born immigrant students (students who were born in Ghana with one or two African-born parents and who migrated to the U.S.) and teachers to participate in the study. All data from semistructured and focus group interviews were transcribed and analyzed to address the research questions of the study. Findings/Results The study findings revealed seven emergent themes: desire to succeed in school, managing two worlds and relationships with teachers and peers in the classroom, crossing boundaries with educational opportunities, managing transitions in school, and the role of parents. Conclusions and Recommendations The findings suggest that Ghanaian-born immigrant students undergo several complex transitional paradigms combining two worlds of African culture, education, family values, learning new cultures, and adapting to new school settings to achieve success in American educational systems. Overall, Ghanaian-born immigrant students developed strategies to manage two worlds in school, which shaped their perspectives and helped them to cross boundaries as stipulated in the students' multiple worlds model. Therefore, it is important that teachers, educators, and school administrators understand the social, cultural, and educational backgrounds of these immigrant students as not much is written about them with regards to their transition to schools in the United States educational system.


SUMMARY Current debates on the existence of mantle plumes largely originate from interpretations of supposed signatures of plume-induced surface topography that are compared with predictions of geodynamic models of plume‐lithosphere interactions. These models often inaccurately predict surface evolution: in general, they assume a fixed upper surface and consider the lithosphere as a single viscous layer. In nature, the surface evolution is affected by the elastic‐brittle‐ductile deformation, by a free upper surface and by the layered structure of the lithosphere. We make a step towards reconciling mantle- and tectonic-scale studies by introducing a tectonically realistic continental plate model in large-scale plume‐lithosphere interaction. This model includes (i) a natural free surface boundary condition, (ii) an explicit elastic‐viscous(ductile)‐plastic(brittle) rheology and (iii) a stratified structure of continental lithosphere. The numerical experiments demonstrate a number of important differences from predictions of conventional models. In particular, this relates to plate bending, mechanical decoupling of crustal and mantle layers and tension‐compression instabilities, which produce transient topographic signatures such as uplift and subsidence at large (>500 km) and small scale (300‐400, 200‐300 and 50‐100 km). The mantle plumes do not necessarily produce detectable large-scale topographic highs but often generate only alternating small-scale surface features that could otherwise be attributed to regional tectonics. A single large-wavelength deformation, predicted by conventional models, develops only for a very cold and thick lithosphere. Distinct topographic wavelengths or temporarily spaced events observed in the East African rift system, as well as over French Massif Central, can be explained by a single plume impinging at the base of the continental lithosphere, without evoking complex asthenospheric upwelling.


In boreholes with partial or no core recovery, interpretations of lithology in the remainder of the hole are routinely attempted using data from downhole geophysical sensors. We present a practical neural net-based technique that greatly enhances lithological interpretation in holes with partial core recovery by using downhole data to train classifiers to give a global classification scheme for those parts of the borehole for which no core was retrieved. We describe the system and its underlying methods of data exploration, selection and classification, and present a typical example of the system in use. Although the technique is equally applicable to oil industry boreholes, we apply it here to an Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) borehole (Hole 792E, Izu-Bonin forearc, a mixture of volcaniclastic sandstones, conglomerates and claystones). The quantitative benefits of quality-control measures and different subsampling strategies are shown. Direct comparisons between a number of discriminant analysis methods and the use of neural networks with back-propagation of error are presented. The neural networks perform better than the discriminant analysis techniques both in terms of performance rates with test data sets (2–3 per cent better) and in qualitative correlation with non-depth-matched core. We illustrate with the Hole 792E data how vital it is to have a system that permits the number and membership of training classes to be changed as analysis proceeds. The initial classification for Hole 792E evolved from a five-class to a three-class and then to a four-class scheme with resultant classification performance rates for the back-propagation neural network method of 83, 84 and 93 per cent respectively.


In today's world of distorted views of life, religious values and beliefs, powerlessness and despair, there is a growing need for the virtue of mercy which could grant hope, peace and justice to mankind. The aim of this paper is to identify a core terminology in a million-word specialized English corpus that was compiled for the purpose of this research, focusing on the concept of mercy and mercy-related terms  The corpus consists of the last three Holy Fathers' pontifical discourses freely available at the Holy See web site. The key-word lists g enerated by WordSmith tools for three subcorpora are contrasted to confirm preliminary assumption on their possible correspondence. The assumption is based on the fact that, regardless of different contexts and times the discourses were created, their authors share common religious legacy, beliefs, views and attitudes based on the Scriptures. The paper attempts to find the corpus-based evidences to an unbroken continuity of spiritual authorities in interpreting and pleading for mercy and justice in their pontifical discourses. This paper aims to contribute to the development of theological reflections based on the virtue of mercy, corpus linguistics, domain-specific terminology and clarity of religious concepts and ideas


The growing awareness of the role of spirituality in bringing about myriad of beneficial organizational outcomes is leading to a surge of interest in the topic in both in Corporates and academic world alike. On the other hand, wellness is witnessing substantial attention, especially regarding adoption of various intervention programs to facilitate healthy living. Interestingly, many wellness models include the dimension of spirituality at the core of their model (Myers, Sweeney and Witmer, 2000). This study attempts at examining the potential influence of workplace spirituality on the overall wellbeing of the respondents. A sample of 298 employees from IT, ITES and BFSI organizations based in Delhi NCR was empirically tested using a survey design to explore the relationship between workplace spirituality and employee wellness. Correlations and regressions were applied to the data and results indicate that workplace spirituality is indeed a significant predictor of employee wellbeing. The reasons for the data findings, its consequences and implications as well as directions for future research have been discussed.


Introduction Endovascular stenting is an effective treatment available for patients with clinically significant cerebral venous sinus stenosis. Traditionally, stenting success has been determined by intravascular pressure measurements; new imaging modalities, however, show great potential in documenting improved flow and providing noninvasive monitoring of venous patency after treatment. Quantitative MRA (NOVA, VasSol Inc) is a novel imaging modality that quantifies blood flow using MR imaging. Well established in the arterial system, applications to the cerebral venous sinuses have been limited. In this study, we examined venous QMRA flow in patients before and after venous stenting and correlated these results with intravascular pressure and clinical outcomes Methods Five patients underwent cerebral venous stenting between 2009 and 2013 at a single institution (Figure 1). Preoperatively patients were examined clinically, cerebral venous flow was determined using QMRA, and intravascular pressure measured during angiography. After stenting, intravascular pressure, QMRA flow, and clinical outcomes were repeated and compared Results An average prestenotic intravascular pressure of 45.2 mmHg (range 31–55) was recorded prior to stenting which decreased significantly to 27.4mmHg (range 16–37) afterwards (paired t-test p = 0.036). The average pressure gradient decreased by 20.4 mmHg. Flow on QMRA increased by 302.3ml/min at the area of stenosis and 304.4 ml/min at the ipsilateral internal jugular vein after stenting. When both jugular veins were considered, the total cerebral venous outflow increased by 260.2 ml/min (Figure 2). Statistical analysis of the change in intravascular pressure proximal to stenosis and change in QMRA flow identified a linear relationship (Pearson's correlation r = 0.926). Clinical improvement, including vision, was observed in all patients. Conclusions Ipsilateral and total venous quantitative flow measurements by QMRA increase after endovascular stenting and correlate with significantly improved intravascular pressures. These findings establish QMRA as a useful adjunct to measure venous flow after stenting, and as valuable tool for noninvasive monitoring of stent patency. Abstract O-011 Figure 1 Abstract O-011 Figure 2 Disclosures D. Esfahani: None. M. Stevenson: None. H. Moss: 1; C; NIH K12 021475, Research to Prevent Blindness (unrestricted departmental grant). S. Amin-Hanjani: 6; C; GE Healthcare, VasSol, Inc. V. Aletich: 2; C; Cordis-Codman. F. Charbel: 2; C; Transonic, Inc. 5; C; VasSol, Inc. A. Alaraj: 2; C; Cordis-Codman.


Nowadays energy is a fundamental driver of economic growth and hence is essential to our well being and quality of life. Pinch technology and its recent extensions offer an effective and practical method for designing the HEN for new and retrofit projects. Crude distillation unit is the basic processing step in oil refinery and is a highly energyintensive process and represents one of the most important areas for energy integration in a refinery. Frequently the heat exchanger network (HEN) of this unit, one of the most complex in oil refinery, need retrofit. The HEN of the Distillation unit considered here consists of a crude preheat-exchanger network and flashing section, atmospheric distillation section, and vacuum distillation section. Because some of the heat exchangers in this unit have a relation to the S.R.G. unit we consider this unit, too. The Case Study to be considered is for a reasonably complex refinery of moderate capacity is Esfahan refinery. In the paper the approach is to produce different acceptable scenarios of retrofit using an integrated instrument: process simulator and process integration software. In this case Aspen Plus environment integrated with Aspen Pinch software from Aspen Tech CO. are used to illustrate the pinch methodology. The incremental area efficiency methodology was used for the targeting stage of the design and the design was carried out using the network pinch method consisting of both a diagnosis and optimization stage. In the diagnosis stage promising designs were generated using Aspen pinch software. The generated design was then optimized to trade-off capital cost and energy savings. The design option were compared and evaluated and the retrofit design suggested. The stream data consists of 21 hot and 10 cold streams and cost and economic data required for the analysis were specified. The existing hot utility consumption of the process was 96962.09 kW. The area efficiency of existing design was 0.5895. The targeting stage using incremental area efficiency sets the minimum approach temperature at 33°C, thereby establishing the scope for potential energy savings. To achieve a practical project, the number of modifications is limited. The modifications include resequencing (changing the order of exchangers on a stream), addition of new heat exchanger units, repiping of existing exchanger and split of stream. We search a lot of option for heat recovery, in best option we can save about 9.2464% of overall energy consumption in furnace.


Aims. We present the capabilities of GALAPAGOS-2 and GALFITM in the context of fitting two-component profiles – bulge–disk decompositions – to galaxies, with the ultimate goal of providing complete multi-band, multi-component fitting of large samples of galaxies in future surveys. We also release both the code and the fit results to 234 239 objects from the DR3 of the GAMA survey, a sample significantly deeper than in previous works. Methods. We use stringent tests on both simulated and real data, as well as comparison to public catalogues to evaluate the advantages of using multi-band over single-band data. Results. We show that multi-band fitting using GALFITM provides significant advantages when trying to decompose galaxies into their individual constituents, as more data are being used, by effectively being able to use the colour information buried in the individual exposures to its advantage. Using simulated data, we find that multi-band fitting significantly reduces deviations from the real parameter values, allows component sizes and Sérsic indices to be recovered more accurately, and – by design – constrains the bandto-band variations of these parameters to more physical values. On both simulated and real data, we confirm that the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of the two main components can be recovered to fainter magnitudes compared to using single-band fitting, which tends to recover 'disks' and 'bulges' with – on average – identical SEDs when the galaxies become too faint, instead of the different SEDs they truly have. By comparing our results to those provided by other fitting codes, we confirm that they agree in general, but measurement errors can be significantly reduced by using the multi-band tools developed by the MEGAMORPH project. Conclusions. We conclude that the multi-band fitting employed by GALAPAGOS-2 and GALFITM significantly improves the accuracy of structural galaxy parameters and enables much larger samples to be be used in a scientific analysis.


The syntactic bootstrapping hypothesis suggests that children's verb learning is guided by the structural cues that the linguistic context provides. However, the onset of syntactic bootstrapping in word learning is not well studied. To investigate the impact of linguistic information on word learning during early stages of language acquisition, we use a computational model of learning syntactic constructions from usage data, and adapt it to the task of identifying target words in novel situations. Our results show that having access to linguistic information significantly improves performance in identifying verbs (but not nouns) in later stages of learning, yet no such effect can be observed in earlier stages.


Fractional functional differential equations with delay (FDDEs) have recently played a significant role in modeling of many real areas of sciences such as physics, engineering, biology, medicine, and economics. FDDEs often cannot be solved analytically so the approximate and numerical methods should be adapted to solve these types of equations. In this paper we consider a new method of backward differentiation formula- (BDF-) type for solving FDDEs. This approach is based on the interval approximation of the true solution using the Clenshaw and Curtis formula that is based on the truncated shifted Chebyshev polynomials. It is shown that the new approach can be reformulated in an equivalent way as a Runge-Kutta method and the Butcher tableau of this method is given. Estimation of local and global truncating errors is deduced and this leads to the proof of the convergence for the proposed method. Illustrative examples of FDDEs are included to demonstrate the validity and applicability of the proposed approach.


The aim of this paper is the design of a hybrid nonlinear observer for mobile vehicles. The main problem is that position and velocity measurements are provided with a very low frequency, and the time between two consecutive measurements could be not constant, but it could vary randomly within a certain interval of time. For this reason the proposed observer has been contextualized in the hybrid systems framework. The convergence analysis of the estimation error has been carried out, and the sensitivity analysis has been performed in order to evaluate the bound of the estimation error when the measurements are biased and/or noisy. Simulation and experimental results, carried out on a mobile vehicle, show the feasibility of the proposed observer and the good behaviors in terms of estimation error that can be achieved.


ABSTRACT Secreted aspartyl proteinases (Saps) are important virulence factors of Candida albicans during mucosal and disseminated infections and may also contribute to the induction of an inflammatory host immune response. We used a model of vaginal candidiasis based on reconstituted human vaginal epithelium (RHVE) to study the epithelial cytokine response induced by C. albicans. In order to study the impact of the overall proteolytic activity and of distinct Sap isoenzymes, we studied the effect of the proteinase inhibitor pepstatin A on the immune response and compared the cytokine expression pattern induced by the wild-type strain SC5314 with the pattern induced by Sap-deficient mutants. Infection of RHVE with the C. albicans wild-type strain induced strong interleukin 1α (IL-1α), IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, gamma interferon, and tumor necrosis factor alpha responses in comparison with cytokine expression in noninfected tissue. Addition of the aspartyl proteinase inhibitor pepstatin A strongly reduced the cytokine response of RHVE. Furthermore, SAP-null mutants lacking either SAP1 or SAP2 caused reduced tissue damage and had a significantly reduced potential to stimulate cytokine expression. In contrast, the vaginopathic and cytokine-inducing potential of mutants lacking SAP4 to SAP6 was similar to that of the wild-type strain. These data show that the potential of specific Saps to cause tissue damage correlates with an epithelium-induced proinflammatory cytokine response, which may be crucial in controlling and managing C. albicans infections at the vaginal mucosa in vivo.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the aetiological understanding of auricular fibrillation, the control of ventricular frequency and treatment with anticoagulant drugs and plasmatic antiaggregants.

DESIGN
Descriptive study.

SETTING
The study was carried out in the Just Oliveras Primary Care Centre (Basic Health Area) in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona.

PATIENTS AND OTHERS PARTICIPANTS
Between May and December, 1991, the clinical records of 59 patients with auricular fibrillation was checked.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
The predisposing factors found were as follows: arterial hypertension, 34%; alcohol intake, 23%; valvulopathy, 19%; ischaemic cardiopathy, 14%; and other cardiopathies, 10%. The average ventricular frequency found was 83 beats per minute. The most common drugs used were digitalis and amiodarone, this latter either alone or with other drugs. Out of a total of 21 patients suffering valvulopathy, 9 received treatment with coumarin. Of these 5 presented mitral valvulopathy and 3 a double mitral lesion. Eight patients (13.5%) received acetylsalicylic acid and 4 (6.8%) took other plasmatic antiaggregants. We can conclude that hyperthyroidism has little relevance as a cause of TA x AF. Each patient's possibilities for cardioversion were not assessed in depth. There were an excessive number of patients who had not had antiaggregant/anticoagulant treatment. Finally, we consider that amiodarone, given to control ventricular response, is over-used.


This document describes the standardization process of the Harmonized Histories. The Harmonized Histories is a comparative database of rich reproductive and union histories from surveys conducted in a number of countries in Europe. Given that birth and union data has been collected in a number of ways in different surveys, it has been very difficult to conduct cross-national analyses of recent union and fertility behavior over time. A team of researchers called the Nonmarital Childbearing Network has cleaned and standardized the surveys according to guidelines set out in this manual. Currently, the database includes data from the Generations and Gender Surveys (GGSs) in Italy, Germany, France, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Russia; the 2003 Dutch Fertility and Family Survey; and the British Household Panel Survey.


Doxorubicin-induced DNA damage promotes cancer cell migration downstream of eIF2α phosphorylation. Moved by DNA damage Doxorubicin is a commonly used therapeutic that kills cancer cells by inducing genotoxic stress. Harvey et al. found that, at clinically relevant doses, doxorubicin promoted cancer cell migration. Doxorubicin inhibited the multiprotein complex mTORC1, which led to the phosphorylation of the translation factor eIF2α. This phosphorylation event would normally be expected to inhibit protein synthesis, but instead, it led to increased migration of doxorubicin-treated cancer cells. Inhibiting eIF2α phosphorylation with an FDA-approved drug restricted doxorubicin-induced cell migration. These results suggest that although inhibiting mTORC1 may shut down protein synthesis in tumors, it may enhance metastasis in response to doxorubicin. After exposure to cytotoxic chemotherapeutics, tumor cells alter their translatome to promote cell survival programs through the regulation of eukaryotic initiation factor 4F (eIF4F) and ternary complex. Compounds that block mTOR signaling and eIF4F complex formation, such as rapamycin and its analogs, have been used in combination therapies to enhance cell killing, although their success has been limited. This is likely because the cross-talk between signaling pathways that coordinate eIF4F regulation with ternary complex formation after treatment with genotoxic therapeutics has not been fully explored. Here, we described a regulatory pathway downstream of p53 in which inhibition of mTOR after DNA damage promoted cross-talk signaling and led to eIF2α phosphorylation. We showed that eIF2α phosphorylation did not inhibit protein synthesis but was instead required for cell migration and that pharmacologically blocking this pathway with either ISRIB or trazodone limited cell migration. These results support the notion that therapeutic targeting of eIF2α signaling could restrict tumor cell metastasis and invasion and could be beneficial to subsets of patients with cancer.


Distributed signal processing techniques for classification of objects are studied assuming knowledge of sensor measurement statistics. The spatio-temporal signal field generated by an object is modeled as a bandlimited stationary ergodic Gaussian field. The model suggests a simple abstraction of correlation between node measurements: it partitions the network into disjoint spatial coherence regions over which the signal remains strongly correlated, whereas the signal in distinct coherence regions is approximately uncorrelated. The size of coherence regions is determined by spatial signal bandwidths. It is shown that this partitioning imposes a structure on optimal distributed classification algorithms that is naturally suited to the communication constraints of the network: local high-bandwidth exchange of feature vectors within each coherence region to improve the measurement signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and global low-bandwidth exchange of local decisions across coherence regions to stabilize the inherent variability in the signal. Classifier performance is analyzed for both soft and hard decision fusion across coherence regions assuming noise-free, as well as noisy communication links between nodes. Under mild conditions, the probability of error of all classification schemes (soft, hard, noisy) decays exponentially to zero with the number of independent node measurements-the error exponent depends on both the measurement and communication SNRs and decreases from soft to hard to noisy fusion. Numerical results based on real data illustrate the remarkable advantage of multiple sensor measurements in distributed decision making.


The uppermost Cretaceous continental deposits of the Neuquén Basin (west-central Argentina) have yielded a high diversity vertebrate assemblage, including numerous dinosaur species. The Neuquén Group is the richest unit in remains of dinosaur of the basin and comprises the Río Limay, the Río Neuquén and the Río Colorado subgroups. In this group, there is abundance of isolated, disarticulated or partially articulated sauropods and theropods. However, little is known about the taphonomic history of fossil assemblages. In this study, dinosaur remains from the Plottier Formation (late Coniacian-early Santonian) found in the Cerro Guillermo area in southern Mendoza are examined. The investigation of fossil occurrences within the study area revealed the existence of different taphonomic modes, from isolated bones until partially articulated skeletons preserved in deposits of floodplain and fluvial channel settings. SEM-EDS analysis showed the substitution of hydroxyapatite by francolite in the bone microstructure. The presence of fluorine-in one of the cases-suggested a link between the elemental composition and depositional environments: floodplain and fluvial channel. The survey of the vertebrate accumulation types and their sedimentary context allowed documenting a wide range of processes responsible for their genesis, operating within a meandering fluvial environment. This contribution represents a holistic approach about taphonomic history of Cretaceous dinosaurs for assessing the differential preservation of fossil assemblages in fluvial environments.


Conductive polymeric membranes based on poly(siloxane-urethane)s (PSUR) and designed for potential application as separators in Li-ion batteries were obtained through consecutive heat and UV curing of compositions containing NCO-terminated PSUR prepolymers with both polysiloxane (SIL) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) segments in the polymer chain and unsaturated diols as chain extenders. Lithium salts in the form of solutions in ethylene carbonate/dimethyl carbonate (EC/DMC) mixture were incorporated into PSUR after curing ("post-cure" method) or (in some experiments only) also before curing (in situ method). The effect of polymer structural parameters (PEO segments content, NCO/OH ratio) as well as curing conditions and method of lithium salt incorporation on mechanical and thermal properties, swelling ability and specific conductivity of the corresponding membranes were investigated. Supramolecular structure of membranes was studied using scanning electron microscopy with X-ray analysis (SEM/EDS) technique. The selected membranes were tested as potential separators in lithium batteries.


Nodal architectures have received an ever-increasing endorsement in computer graphics in recent years. However, creating a node-based system specifically tailored to GPU-centered applications with real-time performance is not straightforward. In this paper, we discuss the design choices we took in the making of Gratin, our open-source node-based system. This information is useful to graphics experts interested in crafting their own node-based system working on the GPU, either starting from scratch or taking inspiration from our source code. We first detail the architecture of Gratin at the graph level, with data structures permitting real- time updates even for large pipelines. We then present the design choices we made at the node level, which provide for three levels of programmability and, hence, a gentle learning curve. Finally, we show the benefits of our approach by presenting use cases in research prototyping and teaching.


To date, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has infected millions of individuals around the world. This virus causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and has led to numerous deaths worldwide. A large percentage of infected patients present asymptomatically, augmenting the spread of the virus. Symptomatic COVID19 commonly causes mild to severe respiratory disease and fever, but some individuals experience serious complications that can result in death. Immune compromised, high risk, and elderly individuals are at an increased risk of more severe consequences of the illness such as respiratory failure, organ dysfunction, and shock. Cytokine storm (also known as cytokine release syndrome (CRS)), a systemic inflammatory response that can be triggered by an infection, has been associated with the symptom progression of COVID-19. This review evaluates several published studies that have implemented Tocilizumab (TCZ), an IL-6 receptor antibody (US20120253016A1), in COVID-19 treatment. Outcomes and biomarkers of patients treated with TCZ are compared to patients treated with standard of care regimens. Interleukin6 (IL-6), a prominent inflammatory cytokine involved in CRS in various inflammatory conditions, may have a vital role in the underlying mechanism involved in debilitating SARS-CoV-2 infections and could serve as a viable treatment target. Studies suggest that TCZ may aid in the recovery of patients with COVID-19 and reduce mortality.


A problem in uncalibrated stereo reconstruction is that cameras which deviate from the pinhole model have to be pre-calibrated in order to correct for nonlinear lens distortion. If they are not, and point correspondence is attempted using the uncorrected images, the matching constraints provided by the fundamental matrix must be set so loose that point matching is significantly hampered. This paper shows how linear estimation of the fundamental matrix from two-view point correspondences may be augmented to include one term of radial lens distortion. This is achieved by (1) changing from the standard radial-lens model to another which (as we show) has equivalent power, but which takes a simpler form in homogeneous coordinates, and (2) expressing fundamental matrix estimation as a quadratic eigenvalue problem (QEP), for which efficient algorithms are well known. I derive the new estimator, and compare its performance against bundle-adjusted calibration-grid data. The new estimator is fast enough to be included in a RANSAC-based matching loop, and we show cases of matching being rendered possible by its use. I show how the same lens can be calibrated in a natural scene where the lack of straight lines precludes most previous techniques. The modification when the multi-view relation is a planar homography or trifocal tensor is described.


The perception of achromatic colors is an important aspect of CRT color appearance. Achromatic colors are important for practical reasons such as image color balance and as fundamental components of chromatic adaptation and color constancy research. Data on achromatic colors is absolutely essential for applying CIE colorimetry to CRT-hardcopy matching. For example, the CIELAB formulas require the specification of the tristimulus values of white. Unfortunately, psychophysical data on the perception of achromatic colors, including white, in CRT-hardcopy matching situations is not readily available in the literature. The purpose of this research was to investigate factors that affect the perception of achromatic colors in CRT and hardcopy images viewed in a desktop environment. Four psychophysical experiments were performed in this research. In these experiments, three observers made judgements of achromatic colors on a CRTmonitor and in hardcopy images in isolated and matching situations. The color of image balance and ambient illumination in the laboratory was varied between 2700K tungsten and 6000K daylight-fluorescent. The results show that chromatic adaptation was controlled almost totally by the CRT image. Adaptation to tungsten was found to be incomplete. When adaptation was incomplete, the chromaticities of achromatic color judgements fell into two categories similar to Bartleson's type I and II, where type II show higher color constancy. Judgements were more likely to be of type II when surface color attributes were present in the CRT image and when the observers were instructed to consider the CRT colors in surface mode. When the images contained more illuminant attributes, the results resembled type I. Hardcopy always produced type II results.


To the Editor: —I feel that in justice to a not inconsiderable as well as a not inconsiderate minority, perhaps, of members of the American Medical Association who believe in the benefit of the Sheppard-Towner Act, some of the statements in an editorial in the issue of Nov. 27, 1926, should not go unchallenged. It was never represented that the reduction of infant and maternal mortality was going to be effected through "social and economic reforms." The type of work described at the hearings at the time the bill was pending in 1921—mainly, of course, the child health conference as a teaching center for mothers—is the method that is being used generally throughout the country. The proponents also never indicated that they thought the work could be accomplished in a five-year period. It represented, however, a new experiment in federal aid, and Miss Lathrop's testimony was to the effect that


Background: Time commitments, limited access, or unwillingness to join a group are some of the many reasons for low adherence to structured exercise in older adults. A promising alternative approach is integrating exercise into daily routines. Objective: This study tested whether an adapted Lifestyle-integrated Functional Exercise (aLiFE) programme is suitable for adults aged 60–70 years. Methods: The aLiFE approach was evaluated by interviews and focus-groups with participants and trainers following 4-week pre-post intervention pilot study. For data analyses, Framework Approach was used. Coding was managed using NVivo, and subsequently organised into overarching themes. Results: Twenty women and 11 men (mean age 66.4 ± 2.7 years) and 6 trainers (30.0 ± 6.2 years; 5 women) participated. Both participants and trainers were positive about the programme. Participants understood the concept of integrating balance, strength and physical activities into daily lives and valued the individual tailoring in the programme, the preventive approach, and the support of trainers. Trainers valued the flexible approach and peer support between trainers. However, both participants and trainers disliked the extensive study paperwork and reported some challenges to integrate activities into daily routines during the compressed intervention: busy and varied lifestyles, embarrassment performing activities in public, pain, difficulty of specific activities. Participants noted habitualisation of some activities within the short intervention period, even without continuous self-monitoring. Conclusions: aLiFE is a highly acceptable intervention amongst adults aged 60–70 years. Trainers are especially relevant as motivators and support providers. The effectiveness of the aLiFE approach should be tested in a randomised controlled trial.


Introduction: Research into the experiences of having grown up with a parent with psychosis is limited and tends to focus on the detrimental impact. Therefore, this study aimed to find out how adults who grew up with a parent with psychosis made sense of these experiences as a child and during adulthood. It was hoped that if participants were given the opportunity to speak openly about their experiences it might allow for a broader perspective to be presented.

Method: Five participants who grew up with a parent with psychosis were interviewed using a semi structured interview approach. The interviews were transcribed, and then analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. This analysis was carried out for each participant before conducting a group analysis to identify major and subordinate themes.

Results: Four major themes were identified: "People don't want to care for me"; I'm different; What if people find out?; Finding my identity, with thirteen subordinate themes. The findings indicated that participants felt neglected and uncared for by their parent with psychosis but also by the other people in their lives. Participants described feeling different from their peers, alone with their experiences and they wondered whether they themselves would develop unusual experiences. The research identified that to increase their sense of belonging the participants attempt to find people who they see as different from others but similar to themselves. The findings also gave insight into participants' feelings of shame and their fear of humiliation if other people were to find out about their parents' experiences. The research also found that the participants were able to identify ways in which their experiences had negatively impacted on them and changes which they wanted to make. Two of the participants took the opportunity to try out some of these changes between the interviews. Participants reported positive growth from their experiences but their apparent need to find the positive, possibly in order to make the experience more meaningful, is reflected on.

Discussion: The findings were considered in relation to psychological theory in an attempt to understand the participants' experiences further. This study adds to the literature on the difficulties of growing up with a parent who experiences psychosis but provides a new element by considering the significance of developing positive growth from these experiences. The strengths and limitations of this study were considered, along with the clinical implications and areas for future research.


Under increasing demand for water, fertilizer and energy, waste and wastewater treatment can be potential options for considerably enhancing not only the supply of these valuable economic assets but also for improving sanitation and ecological conditions. Effluents and treated wastewater are important for meeting water demands for agricultural irrigation, landscape irrigation, and environmental system enhancement. Fertilizer and nutrients recovered though recycling organic waste and filtering wastewater, or embedded in effluents can be essential inputs for increasing crop biomass, timber output, and production of aquatic crops and marine species such as fish. Similarly, energy recovered from waste and wastewater recycling (including dry manure for cooking and heating) is important for enhanced energy supply especially in remote rural areas of the developing countries. Yet, the utilization of the waste and wastewater resources for additional gains should consider the accepted safety measures in order to prevent environmental and health risks. Focusing on potential benefits from resources recycling and recovery yet being cautious on their external effects, this review critically assesses the available waste and wastewater treatment options, and their economic, environmental and health benefits and risks.


A simple spark-gap light source together with an associated pulsing circuit has been utilized to produce light flashes of approximately 10−7-sec. duration suitable for the study of shock waves produced by high speed bullets and for the photography of shock and turbulent disturbances in supersonic air streams.


Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the major cause of dementia in the elderly people. In the molecular pathogenesis of AD, toxicity of secreted amyloid-β protein (Aβ), especially Aβ oligomers, is considered to play a pivotal role. While, we have long been focused on intraneuronal Aβ as a therapeutic target in AD. Intraneuronal Aβ accumulation is found in the early stage of AD neurons, and may be quite toxic and pathogenic. Recently, we have found apomorphine (APO), a kind of dopamine receptor agonists, to promote the intracellular Aβ degradation activating the Aβ-degrading enzymes, proteasome and insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE). We then found that APO treatment improved memory function and AD-related pathology in an AD mouse model, 3xTg-AD mice. Moreover, APO protected against oxidative stress in vitro and in vivo. We further investigated effects of APO on cellular anti-oxidative stress system, and found that APO activated glutathione peroxidase (GPx) specifically. Thus, APO may be a promising drug for the cure of AD and clinical trials are necessary in the future. In addition, further investigation to understand the molecular mechanism associated with the APO effect greatly contributes to the development of new drugs for AD.


High-profile news stories about excessive use of police force, often leading to a person's death, have filled our news feeds and become a hot-button issue. Karen Evans's column for this months' Alert Collector highlights some of the major books on this topic that will flesh out your collection, whether you serve a criminal justice program, students needing the best sources for a pros and cons essay, or a clientele wanting the best resources to help them understand this complex issue. Evans is the librarian for the School of Criminology and Security Studies at Indiana State University. She holds a graduate degree in criminology and criminal justice, and serves as the editor for the criminal justice section of Resources for College Libraries.


To date, there is still a lack of instruments for specifically assessing the impact of anti–hepatitis B virus prophylaxis after liver transplantation (LT) on health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) and treatment satisfaction. Focusing on the use of hepatitis B immune globulin (HBIG), we developed and validated the Immunoglobulin Therapy After Liver Transplantation Questionnaire (ITaLi‐Q), which includes 41 items and covers 5 domains (side effects, positive and negative feelings, impact on the flexibility of daily activities, support, and satisfaction). The questionnaire was tested by 177 consecutive LT patients [71.8% were male, 38.4% were more than 60 years old, 58.8% were on intramuscular (IM) HBIG, and 41.2% were on intravenous (IV) HBIG]. A factor analysis confirmed the hypothesized structure, and a multitrait, multi‐item analysis showed favorable psychometric characteristics for ITaLi‐Q: item‐scale correlations > 0.40 for all items but 1, high scaling success rates (>90% for all scales but 1), excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α ≥ 0.8 for all scales), and good reproducibility (test‐retest coefficient > 0.70 for all scales but 2). ITaLi‐Q was able to discriminate between subgroups of patients according to their clinical and sociodemographic characteristics. In comparison with patients on IV HBIG, patients on IM HBIG reported significantly better HRQOL scores on the Flexibility (81.5 ± 21.4 versus 73.1 ± 24.2, P = 0.01) and Negative Feelings scales (90.1 ± 17.3 versus 85.4 ± 20.7, P = 0.04), but they reported worse HRQOL scores on the Side Effects scale (81.8 ± 22.8 versus 95.6 ± 7.4, P < 0.001). No differences were found between the route of HBIG administration and the Satisfaction, Positive Feelings, Impact, and Support scales. In conclusion, ITaLi‐Q showed adequate psychometric characteristics and revealed that the route of HBIG administration has a significant impact on specific HRQOL domains beyond a patient's satisfaction. Liver Transpl 18:332–339, 2012. © 2012 AASLD.


This study examines diaspora's engagement in education development work in their fragile and conflict-affected countries of origin. Through analysis of 28 in-depth interviews with diaspora from four countries, we discuss diasporas' motivations to engage, activities of engagement, and factors that enable or constrain it. Our research highlights that diasporas' education development work seeks to transform conflict dynamics by attending to historical drivers of conflict. We found that diaspora were motivated to engage in education development by a sense of responsibility for communities, known and imagined, including a responsibility to act on the belief that education could transform fragility and conflict. Diaspora enacted their sense of responsibility through resources and rights they accessed through their insider/outsider status in two settings. In focusing on relationships with communities and authorities, diaspora reimagined where power lies in education development work, with implications for governments, development organizations, and diaspora working to transform conflict dynamics through education.


This paper addresses the application of green practices in existing buildings from a triple bottom line perspective. It describes the most widely used benchmark for assessing green practices, the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Rating System, and provides a "road map" for pursuing LEED certification. It concludes with a consideration of the triple bottom line, highlighting the economic, environmental, and social benefits of implementing green practices in existing buildings. The broad umbrella of green practices includes a wide range of applications. It encompasses developing highperformance buildings utilizing cutting edge technology to implementing management strategies in existing buildings that result in improvements to the economic, environmental, and social bottom lines—the triple bottom line. As the built environment of cities is largely old construction and not "green" by design, the benefits of green buildings remain largely untapped. It would not be practical to tear down all existing buildings and erect in their places high-performance structures. However, that does not mean the advantages of green practices remain outside the grasp of any real estate owner. By taking a broader, triple bottom line approach to managing existing buildings, building owners acknowledge the interconnections between building performance, environmental impacts, and tenant health and wellbeing. While many benefits of utilizing green practices in existing buildings are easily identifiable in terms of economic gains, ignoring less tangible benefits such as indoor air quality and thermal comfort creates a barrier in realizing a building's maximum potential. The U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Rating System for Existing Buildings provides a comprehensive approach to building evaluation which incorporates the economic, environmental, and social bottom lines. This paper details how green practices affect the triple bottom line through case studies and an analysis of current literature.


In this paper we test the empirical implications of a simple pricing model for commodity futures for the marginal process of prices of sugar futures. According to the pricing model, the futures price bias depends linearly on the conditional variance. We find significant coefficients, from monthly as well as daily data, if the conditional variance is modelled using the GARCH-M model. These estimates imply contango in the futures marked and a net hedging demand on the long side of it.


Initially, the project is started with conducting design, implementation and testing for water pump with a pressure tank system. This system is a simulation prototype for a household application water system which consists of a pump, pressure tank and pressure switch. This project is constructed for the use inside the ICE laboratory. With the need for energy savings, this project is purposely designed for controlled water supply inlet. For instance, the system works by automatically switch on and off the pump depending on the pressure of the pressure tank, which gives a respective water flow in and out from the system. Thus, this system may reduce the use of a pump for the entire day, which may prolong the pump lifetime.

In the ICE laboratory, the pressure tank with pump is installed on a trolley so that it is easier to locate the system. This system consist of three main module which are heated water tank module, pressure tank with pump module and liquid flow control module. The heated water tank module as the water supply to the pressure tank. In this system, the water pump is pump in the water to the pressure tank when the pressure switch reading is lower than 30 psi and the water pump will stop pump the water when the pressure switch reaches 50 psi. Meanwhile, the liquid flow control module is use to control the output flowrate of water from the pressure tank into the storage tank inside the lab.

Next, the second system is the air-liquid heat exchanger. This system is typically found in the car's front hood, which use for car cooling system. In other words, the air-liquid exchanger system simulates the process flow between the car radiators, fan radiator, water pump and a car engine that involved in the car cooling system. This system is used to run the hot coolant from the engine to the car radiator and push back the cold coolant from the radiator to the engine. This process helps to provide engine running at the ideal temperature and to avoid overheating to the car engine which may lead to engine broke down and also cause failure to the component and parts which located nearby or attach to the engine.

For that, the air-liquid exchanger system is designed and the prototype is implemented inside the ICE laboratory. This system consist of liquid temperature control module 1, liquid flow control module, air-liquid exchanger module and liquid temperature control module 2 which are used for heat up the water to mimic the hot engine condition, to control the flowrate of water, to cool down the water inside the radiator by controlling the speed of fan and to store the water from the radiator respectively.

The last system is an air mixing system, which consists of instruments such as heater, resistance temperature detector (RTD), valve, pressure gauge and differential pressure transmitter. This system mixes air from the hot and cold stream. The hot air comes from the compressed air in the heater to heat the air, and the cold air comes from the air supply which at the room temperature. This panel consists of some failure device which later may need troubleshoot, repair and replace for some of the components. All of the work done has to be recorded and documented well to provide proper identification of the main issue that causes the failure of the system.


Introduction Cystinuria is a rare cause of renal lithiasis, contributing to 7% of the cases of nephro/urolithiasis in childhood. An inherited autossomal recessive defect of the renal tubular and small intestine reabsorptive transport of cystine and dibasic amino acids leads to elevated excretion of cystine in the urine. Methods Retrospective study of patients in pediatric nephrology department with the diagnosis of nephro/urolitiasis and urinary increased excretion of cystine. The diagnosis of Cystinuria is made by urinary quantification of cystine. Cystinuria was detected when the cystine concentration is superior to 300 mg/L. Results We report three cases. The first one is a 5-months-old infant with gross hematuria. The renal ultrasound revealed renal bilateral lithiasis. The second case was a 15-years-old girl with urinary infection. The renal ultrasound detected bilateral stones. The last case is a 14-years-old boy, originating from Angola, with a personal history of repeated urinary infections and admitted with a severe renal chronic insufficiency. The work-up of renal disease confirmed the presence of renal bilateral lithiasis. The medical therapy consists of increased oral fluids intake, urine alkalinization, low-salt diet, reduced rich foods in cystine and eventually the use of medication. Conclusions This is a disease with variable expression, which may be clinically obvious from the neonatal period or remain silent, being revealed later under the form of renal chronic insufficiency. It should be considered during the work-up for causes of nephro/urolitiasis.


Environmental issues make the quest for better and cleaner energy sources a priority. Worldwide, researchers and companies are continuously working on this matter, taking one of two approaches: either finding new energy sources or improving the efficiency of existing ones. Hydrogen is a well-known energy carrier due to its high energy content, but a somewhat elusive one for being a gas with low molecular weight. This review examines the current electrolysis processes for obtaining hydrogen, with an emphasis on alkaline water electrolysis. This process is far from being new, but research shows that there is still plenty of room for improvement. The efficiency of an electrolyzer mainly relates to the overpotential and resistances in the cell. This work shows that the path to better electrolyzer efficiency is through the optimization of the cell components and operating conditions. Following a brief introduction to the thermodynamics and kinetics of water electrolysis, the most recent developments on several parameters (e.g., electrocatalysts, electrolyte composition, separator, interelectrode distance) are highlighted.


A new method of excision of painful plantar lesions in the forefoot was studied in 13 feet (12 patients). Etiology of the lesions was variable, including traumatic and iatrogenic scars. Localized transfer of partially undermined tissue is used to fill a triangular defect created by excising the lesions. The flap is advanced/rotated into place, without gapping or tension. Full sensation is maintained and because of the significant vascular contribution by the proximal plantar subcutaneous plexus, there is little chance of vascular compromise. Problematic scars occurred in only three feet (two patients). Complications included inclusion cysts in two cases, one parakeratotic nodule and an incidental occurrence of verruca in one case. Follow-up average was 25 months. This procedure provides an alternative method for resolving patients' painful plantar lesions.


OBJECTIVE
The objective of our study was to characterize enhancement of muscle and bone that occurs on standardized four-phase contrast-enhanced CT.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Two musculoskeletal radiologists reviewed standardized four-phase abdominal CT scans obtained with IV contrast material. The psoas area was measured, and the mean attenuation (in Hounsfield units) was recorded for the aorta, psoas muscles, posterior paraspinal muscles, and L4 vertebral body. CT attenuation measures were compared between anatomic regions and imaging phases with the paired t test; associations between measures were examined with the Pearson correlation coefficient (R).

RESULTS
The study included 201 patients (97 men, 104 women; mean age, 57.7 ± 12.5 [SD] years). Subject age was inversely correlated with unenhanced attenuation in the psoas muscles, posterior paraspinal muscles, and L4 (p < 0.001). The psoas muscles, posterior paraspinal muscles, and L4 enhanced significantly (p < 0.001) at all three contrast-enhanced phases. The greatest muscle enhancement was observed on delayed phase scans, whereas the greatest enhancement in L4 was seen on portal phase imaging. The unenhanced attenuation of the psoas muscles was significantly and negatively correlated with enhancement of the psoas muscles at the portal and delayed phases (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively), but these correlations were not seen for the posterior paraspinal muscles. Age was positively correlated with posterior paraspinal muscle enhancement at the portal and delayed phases in men (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively) but not in women.

CONCLUSION
Contrast enhancement of commonly measured muscle and bone regions is routinely observed and should be considered when using CT attenuation values as biomarkers of sarcopenia and osteoporosis. Furthermore, CT enhancement may be significantly influenced by age, sex, and unenhanced tissue attenuation.


Background: Impaired insulin secretion and insulin resistance are the underlying pathophysiological defects in Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) that lead to hyperglycaemia. The β-cell defect in T2DM is usually progressive, leading to eventual β-cell exhaustion and dependence on insulin. It is known that glucotoxicity and lipotoxicity contribute to the initial decreased insulin secretion at the time of diagnosis of T2DM. Therefore, an aggressive approach early in the course of the disease to correct these defects could possibly alter the natural history of T2DM. Objectives: Our aim was to study the effect of administration of a short course of insulin therapy at the onset of T2DM on glycaemic parameters and pancreatic β-cell function as assessed by C-peptide estimation. Materials and Methods: Treatment-naïve T2DM patients (n = 426) with known duration of diabetes of <3 months were recruited from Dr. Mohan's Diabetes Specialities Centre at Chennai. All patients were treated initially with short-term insulin therapy (4–6 weeks) along with oral hypoglycaemic agents (OHAs), usually metformin alone or sometimes in combination with sulphonylurea. Subsequently, they were continued on diet, exercise and OHA, wherever required. The baseline characteristics, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and postprandial plasma glucose (PPG) and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), were compared after (an initial) a mean follow-up period of 2.6 months. Patients were then followed up for another 2 years to evaluate their long-term glycaemic control. Fasting and stimulated C-peptide levels were measured in a subset of patients at baseline and at follow-up at 2–3 months, 1 year and 2 years. Results: There was a significant reduction in both FPG and PPG levels. The mean FPG decreased from 214 ± 82 to 111 ± 29mg/dl (P < 0.001), whereas the PPG decreased from 332 ± 120 to 158 ± 54mg/dl (P < 0.001). The HbA1c decreased from 11.8% ± 1.9% to 6.8% ± 1.1% (P < 0.001). There was a significant improvement in the serum C-peptide levels, indicating an improvement in β-cell function. The fasting C-peptide levels improved from a mean of 0.85 ± 0.3 to 1.09 ± 0.4 pmol/ml, whereas the stimulated C-peptide value increased from a mean of 1.63 ± 0.8 to 2.09 ± 1.0 pmol/ml even at the end of 2 years after the insulin was discontinued. There was also a favourable change in lipid profile of the patients. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that, in newly diagnosed T2DM, a short course of insulin therapy given for 4–6 weeks can lead to long-term good glycaemic control and beneficial effects on pancreatic β-cell function, which is sustained up to 2 years.


For decades, debates about Africa's contribution to the development of international law have been dominated by two opposing schools of thought. First, that European colonial powers deliberately erased Africa and Africans from the history of the creation and use of international law. Second, that, on the contrary, over the last six decades (since the emergence of the newly independent African states in the late 1950s and early 1960s), Africa has contributed to the making of international law and has not been merely a passive recipient of a Eurocentric international law.

This article underscores the role of the postcolonial periphery in the scheme of modern international law by highlighting specific examples of African states' contributions to international legal norms through multilateral treatymaking. To that end, this article assesses a number of African Union and Organisation of African Unity treaties for their content, relevance, and impact. It concludes that postcolonial African states have been active participants in developing new rules of international law—and strengthening existing ones—through the adoption of path-breaking conventions that work to either (1) establish African commitment to new norms with potential global application or (2) supplement existing global (United Nations) instruments with commitments specific to the African context. It also shines a light on the desirability and pertinence of regional diversity in the continuing development and application of international law, and on the changing geographies of international lawmaking.


This study was performed to clarify the mechanism of diesel fuel spray formation with the greatly magnified photographs and auto-correlation PIV technique by laser-light sheet method of pulsed ruby laser. From the magnified photographs taken at near the nozzle hole exit region, it was found that injected fuel under high ambient pressure condition was broken-up at peripheral area of spray. With PIV technique, local fuel spray particle motion was analyzed and velocity vector and vorticity of the fuel spray were obtained. The vortex number increased and vorticity scale became smaller and its value grew higher with the increase of fuel injection velocity. The mixing of fuel spray in ambient gas seems to be promoted and the turbulence is expected getting higher in those regions.


Amyloid fibrillae yere isolated from the spleen of a patient with secondary amyloidosis and their antigenic specificity was demonstrated. Pure antibody to the specific amyloid antigen was obtained. The possibility of mmunomorphological detecton of amyloid in tissues was proven. Amyloid protein was found to be absent in normal organs of adults and embryos.


Unun Nurhasanah (14121320240): "The Analysis of Schematic Structure Moves
in Journal of Education"
This study presents the analysis of schematic structure moves in journal of
education. This sudy also reveals the types of schematic structure moves of the
jouurnal. The schematic structure was explored the move pattern is called by
moves structure. As cited Martin and Rothey (1986) in Paltridge (1999) the
analysis of the schematic structure (or generic) structure of text involves the
identification of the discourse structure of a text. Furthermore, moves are
functional in character and often have some correlation, though not always one to
one, with linguistic realizations (Hewing, 2001: 86). In this case to analyze the
form of schematic structure that usually exists in some academic text such as: in
thesis (introduction, discussion, and conclusion), journal (abstract, discussion, and
conclusion), and book (book preface, discussion, and conclusion).
There are two aims that contains in this research. First aims to describe the
types of schematic structure moves are commonly used in the journal. It means
that researcher aims to analyze the types of schematic structure that used in the
journal. Furtheremore, the second aims is to describe how the way schematic
structure moves in journal the communicative purposes of text. It will describe
how the communicative purposes construct in the journal.
This study uses qualitative method. It focuses to use descriptive qualitative
research. Ary, et al (2010: 457) argues that content or document analysis is a
research method applied to written or visual materials for the purpose of
identifying specified characteristics of the material. Morever the study is
conducted taken from some selected journal entitle "Screen reading habits among
university students: Tim Van denhoek University of Limerick, Ireland. The data is
taken by document analysis or content analysis as the technique of collecting data.
The result of the research show that: (1) The types of schematic structure
moves are commonly used in the journal consists of seven moves that exist in the
journal, there are Move 1: Background information, Move 2: Reporting results
Move 3: Summarizing results, Move 4: Commenting on results, Move 5:
Summarizing the study, Move 6: Evaluating the study, Move 7: Deductions from the
research. (2) The communicative purposes of text in every sentences or paragraph
is different. It means that the moves in journal can construct the communicative
purposes of text such as to describe a background information of the study for the
readers. In every move includes some main statements such as the study's
research methodology.
Keywords: Discourse analysis, Schematic structure, Move.


Abstract. This contribution contains the mechanisms for calculation of magnetic shielding effectiveness from material samples, based on measured electrical parameters. For this, measurement systems for the electrical conductivity of high and low conductive material samples with respect to the direction of current flow are presented and discussed. Also a definition of isotropic and anisotropic materials with electrical circuit diagrams is given. For prediction of shielding effectiveness for isotropic and anisotropic materials, several analytical models are presented. Also adaptions to gain a near field solution are part of this contribution. All analytical models will also be validated with an adequate measurement system.


Although a lot of research has been done on utilising Online Social Media during disasters, there exists no system for a specific task that is critical in a post-disaster scenario – identifying resource-needs and resource-availabilities in the disaster-affected region, coupled with their subsequent matching. To this end, we present NARMADA, a semi-automated platform which leverages the crowd-sourced information from social media posts for assisting post-disaster relief coordination efforts. The system employs Natural Language Processing and Information Retrieval techniques for identifying resource-needs and resource-availabilities from microblogs, extracting resources from the posts, and also matching the needs to suitable availabilities. The system is thus capable of facilitating the judicious management of resources during post-disaster relief operations.


There are 70 vertical and 70 horizontal correctors for Pohang Light Source. Until mid of 2000, power supplies for these correctors were based on 1990's technology, so the global orbit feedback system was not possible with poor 12 bit resolution. A new task force team was assembled to develop new power supplies with BESSY type DAC cards. After the project, two vertical correctors in each lattice were connected with new power supplies, and the global orbit feedback was available within the accuracy of 5 microns. However, this replacement was not enough to satisfy the beam stability requirement of 2 microns for PLS. We have launched another power supply design based on all digital technology. This attempt was completed within a year, and 80 units were assembled in house. Currently, the global orbit feedback system is running successfully with new digital power supplies and the compensation of chamber motion due to the thermal load by using digital displacement transducers attached on each BPMs.


Extended-release ranolazine (ranolazine ER) (Ranexa) is an antianginal agent that achieves its effects via a novel mechanism of action (inhibition of the late phase of the inward sodium current), without affecting heart rate or blood pressure (BP). This article reviews the efficacy, safety and tolerability of ranolazine ER as add-on therapy in patients with chronic stable angina pectoris, as well as summarizing its pharmacological properties and its use in non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes. In the CARISA and ERICA trials, add-on therapy with ranolazine ER improved exercise tolerance and/or reduced angina frequency and nitroglycerin use in patients with chronic stable angina; benefits were seen across a variety of patient subgroups. Although results of the MERLIN-TIMI 36 trial do not support the use of ranolazine ER in the acute management of non-ST-elevation acute coronary syn- dromes, they do support its use as an antianginal therapy. Ranolazine ER was generally well tolerated, with the most commonly reported adverse events including dizziness, nausea, asthenia and constipation. Despite being associated with modest increases in the corrected QT interval, ranol- azine ER demonstrated antiarrhythmic effects in the MERLIN-TIMI 36 trial. In conclusion, ranolazine ER provides an important option for use as add-on therapy to reduce symptoms in patients with chronic stable angina.


Maize is one of the three most important crops in the world. It is used as feed, food, food ingredient and additive, and for industrial processing. Recently, its use as raw material for biofuels reaches 50% of the USA production. In addition to its economic importance, several maize lines were genetically engineered to express agriculturally desirable traits, including tolerance to pests and to herbicides, to increase crops productivity. Although, worldwide, several transgenic maize events may be cultivated, in European Union (EU), only one maize event is authorized for cultivation, the MON 810 event. Therefore, according to the European farmers' freedom of choice between conventional, organic and GM crop cultivation, European guidelines were developed to help those Member States who intended to cultivate MON 810 maize, to develop either national laws or best practices to ensure coexistence between GM crops and conventional and organic farming. Although, in 2009, fifteen countries had already developed coexistence rules, the uncertain regulatory system concerning both plant-breeding methods, namely those creating GM crops bearing more than one transgene (stacked traits), and thresholds for the presence of adventitious GM seeds in conventional seed lots complicated maize seed trade. In EU, a maize variety having stacked events cannot be cultivated as coexistence only applies to GM crops bearing the single event authorized for cultivation. Besides, the adventitious presence of GM seed in conventional seed lots must meet the requirements of conventional maize growers and their customers The most used methods to screen for the presence of unauthorized maize events in seeds, based on real-time PCR, show many severe impediments. There is no certified reference material for the quantification of screening elements as for the P35S promoter or T-nos terminator; the detection limit of screening methods do not provide the information needed to ensure the absence of non-unauthorized GM seeds in conventional maize seed lots; there is no means to known if an event is stacked or not in ground seeds. We made a review of the situation in Portugal, both at the seed importation level and at the national grain production. We found that Nk603 maize is being stacked together with MON 810 as adventitious presences in conventional seed lots. Additionally, we found that analytical results may vary substantially among laboratories as many 3 producers request the quantification of GM material despite of the transgene identification. We compared results obtained with commercial Kits for the quantification of P35S with event-specific methods.


We investigate several recently published benchmark criteria for storage or transmission of continuous-variable quantum information. A comparison reveals that criteria based on a Gaussian distribution of coherent states are most resilient to noise. We then address the issue of experimental resources and derive an equally strong benchmark, solely based on three coherent states and homodyne detection. This benchmark is further simplified in the presence of naturally occurring random phases, which remove the need for active input-state modulation.


Abstract Background Cervical cancer is common in Kenyan women. Cofactors in addition to infection with oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) are likely to be important in causing cervical cancer, because only a small percentage of HPV-infected women will develop this malignancy. Kenyan women are exposed to dietary aflatoxin, a potent carcinogen and immunosuppressive agent, which may be such a cofactor. Methods Demographics, behavioral data, plasma, and cervical swabs were collected from 88 human immunodeficiency virus-uninfected Kenyan women without cervical dysplasia. Human papillomavirus detection was compared between women with or without plasma aflatoxin B1-lysine (AFB1-lys) and evaluated in relation to AFB1-lys concentration. Results Valid HPV testing results were available for 86 women (mean age 34.0 years); 49 women (57.0%) had AFB1-lys detected and 37 (43.0%) had none. The AFB1-lys detection was not associated with age, being married, having more than secondary school education, home ownership, living at a walking distance to healthcare ≥60 minutes, number of lifetime sex partners, or age of first sex. The AFB1-lys detection and plasma concentrations were associated with detection of oncogenic HPV types. Conclusions The AFB1-lys positivity and higher plasma AFB1-lys concentrations were associated with higher risk of oncogenic HPV detection in cervical samples from Kenya women. Further studies are needed to determine whether aflatoxin interacts with HPV in a synergistic manner to increase the risk of cervical cancer.


How do you get a fourth-grader excited about history? How do you even begin to persuade high school students that mathematical functions are relevant to their everyday lives? In this volume, practical questions that confront every classroom teacher are addressed using the latest exciting research on cognition, teaching, and learning. How Students Learn: History, Mathematics, and Science in the Classroom builds on the discoveries detailed in the bestselling How People Learn. Now, these findings are presented in a way that teachers can use immediately, to revitalize their work in the classroom for even greater effectiveness. Organized for utility, the book explores how the principles of learning can be applied in teaching history, science, and math topics at three levels: elementary, middle, and high school. Leading educators explain in detail how they developed successful curricula and teaching approaches, presenting strategies that serve as models for curriculum development and classroom instruction. Their recounting of personal teaching experiences lends strength and warmth to this volume. The book explores the importance of balancing studentsa (TM) knowledge of historical fact against their understanding of concepts, such as change and cause, and their skills in assessing historical accounts. It discusses how to build straightforward science experiments into true understanding of scientific principles. And it shows how to overcome the difficulties in teaching math to generate real insight and reasoning in math students. It also features illustrated suggestions for classroom activities. How Students Learn offers a highly useful blend of principle and practice. It will be important not only to teachers, administrators, curriculum designers, and teacher educators, but also to parents and the larger community concerned about childrena (TM)s education.


BACKGROUND
The economic impact of the 9/11 terrorist attacks has rarely been studied. We examined the association between 9/11-related chronic health conditions with or without post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and one important aspect of the economic impact, retirement, and job loss before age 60.

METHODS
A total of 7,662 workers who participated in the World Trade Center Health Registry surveys were studied. Logistic regression models examined the association of 9/11-related health and labor force exit.

RESULTS
Workers with chronic conditions were more likely to experience early retirement and job loss, and the association was stronger in the presence of PTSD comorbidity: the odds ratios for reporting early retirement or job loss were increased considerably when chronic conditions were comorbid with PTSD.

CONCLUSIONS
Disaster-related health burden directly impacts premature labor force exit and income. Future evaluation of disaster outcome should include its long-term impact on labor force. Am. J. Ind. Med. 59:731-741, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Pyrogenic carbon (PyC) is a collective term for carbon‐rich residues comprised of a continuum of products arising from biomass burning and fossil‐fuel combustion. PyC is ubiquitous in the environment where it can be transported by wind and water before being deposited in aquatic sediments. We compare results from four different methods used to trace PyC that were applied to a high‐temporal resolution sedimentary record in order to constrain changes in PyC concentrations and fluxes over the past ~250 years. We find markedly discordant records for different PyC tracers, particularly during the preindustrial age, implying different origins and modes of supply of sedimentary PyC. In addition to providing new insights into the composition of sedimentary combustion products, this study reveals that elucidation of past combustion processes and development of accurate budgets of PyC production and deposition on local to regional scales requires careful consideration of both source characteristics and transport processes.


This paper presents the results of X-ray research on the structure of Cu/Ni multilayers magnetron-deposited on a Si (100) substrate. The multilayers, each consisting of a hundred Cu/Ni double-layers, but with a variable thickness of the Ni (1,2÷3nm) sublayer, were investigated. The thickness of the Cu sublayer was the same for all multilayers investigated and equalled 2nm. X-ray measurements were taken using filtered radiation with λCu=0.15405 nm and λCo=0.17902nm. The coatings were examined in respect of the angle at which the (111) reflection and satellite peaks appeared together. The obtained reflections were fitted using the Pseudo Voight curves. The thickness of the multilayer periods, resulting from the analysis of the diffraction pattern obtained for the above wavelengths of radiation, was compared. The thicknesses closest to those assumed in the deposition process were obtained for multilayers examined using radiation with Cu and utilizing the position of both satellite peaks, and multilayers examined using radiation with Co and utilizing the position of the main Cu/Ni(111) reflection and the S-1 satellite reflection.


The 4th edition of the Montreal AI Ethics Institute's The State of AI Ethics captures the most relevant developments in the field of AI Ethics since January 2021. This report aims to help anyone, from machine learning experts to human rights activists and policymakers, quickly digest and understand the ever-changing developments in the field. Through research and article summaries, as well as expert commentary, this report distills the research and reporting surrounding various domains related to the ethics of AI, with a particular focus on four key themes: Ethical AI, Fairness&Justice, Humans&Tech, and Privacy. In addition, The State of AI Ethics includes exclusive content written by world-class AI Ethics experts from universities, research institutes, consulting firms, and governments. Opening the report is a long-form piece by Edward Higgs (Professor of History, University of Essex) titled"AI and the Face: A Historian's View."In it, Higgs examines the unscientific history of facial analysis and how AI might be repeating some of those mistakes at scale. The report also features chapter introductions by Alexa Hagerty (Anthropologist, University of Cambridge), Marianna Ganapini (Faculty Director, Montreal AI Ethics Institute), Deborah G. Johnson (Emeritus Professor, Engineering and Society, University of Virginia), and Soraj Hongladarom (Professor of Philosophy and Director, Center for Science, Technology and Society, Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok). This report should be used not only as a point of reference and insight on the latest thinking in the field of AI Ethics, but should also be used as a tool for introspection as we aim to foster a more nuanced conversation regarding the impacts of AI on the world.


The aim of this paper is to learn how to be a better or more effective supervisor through a critical reflection on my own supervisory experience. The importance of the effective supervision is highlighted in view of the established link between effective supervision and greater completion rates of postgraduate degrees, where the latter is main focus of higher education institutions/authorities in the last decade. The reflection is used to not only to justify the way we were supervised, but to challenge it and find ways how we can improve our effective supervision. Several researchers argue that supervisors usually adopt the same supervisory practice and style as the one they experienced themselves as research students (Pearson and Brew, 2002; Lee, 2008; Wright et al., 2008), notwithstanding additional factors that might influence the effectiveness of supervision. Pearson and Brew (2002) argue that new supervisors should have an ability to critically reflect on their past experience as research student in light of the theoretical conceptions and research findings in the literature on supervision, a process called "a critical reflective journey" by Tait (2009, p.193). The methodology for this research is based on the framework for effective supervision adopted by Engebretson et al. (2008) who establish eleven characteristics of an effective supervision. Parallel to the examination of each of those individual characteristics, I provide my insight into each characteristic by reflecting on my own experience. The structure of the paper is as follows. Section 1 introduces the importance of an effective supervision in the modern educational environment, as well as the value that critical reflection brings to the learning. Section 2 provides a literature review of the characteristics of a good supervisor, along with a personal experience related to each of them. Section 3 concludes. Key words : Reflection, Learning, Supervision, Students, Oversees


Meeting the ever-growing global energy demand while reducing carbon emissions is one of the most prominent challenges of our era. In this context, efficient control of an operation, service or production process is a key tool to achieve this goal. While there are many opportunities for efficient control within the energy sustainability agenda, this work focuses on domestic space heating systems and intermittent energy resources. This is because in many countries, such as the UK and the US, the domestic sector accounts for more than 20% of the total energy consumption and over 40% of this share is related to space heating. In addition, in recent years, an increasing number of intermittent energy resources, such as photovoltaic systems and wind turbine generators are being integrated into the grid. As such, efficient control of domestic space heating systems and intermittent energy resources can lead to a major reduction in energy consumption and the corresponding CO2 emission. In more detail, domestic space heating automation systems (DHASs) aim to optimize the control process of domestic space heating systems with minimum user-input. Moreover, in the case of electricity-based heating, such systems can also incorporate economic control to exploit the energy buffer that heating loads provide in order to shift the heating consumption according to financial incentives, such as variable electricity import tariffs and/or the availability of cheap electricity coming from house-integrated intermittent energy resources. In the latter case, the financial benefits of economic control can be further amplified in domestic coalitions where a number of houses share their energy generation to minimize the collective energy imported from the grid. Against this background, the first main strand of work in this thesis is to develop a new DHAS, AdaHeat, that overcomes limitations of previous approaches regarding: (i) their efficiency in dealing with the thermal dynamics of houses, (ii) their efficiency in dealing with the inherent uncertainty of the occupancy schedule in domestic settings, (iii) their usability and effectiveness in meeting the user preferences, (iv) their ability to work in conjunction with a diverse range of heating systems, and (v) their ability to efficiently consider economic control in the case of electricity-based heating, exploiting also, for the first time, the aforementioned coalition potential. The backbone of AdaHeat is an adaptive model predictive control approach along with a new general heating schedule planning algorithm based on dynamic programming. In the case of economic control in the presence of house-integrated intermittent energy resources, our planning approach relies on stochastic predictions of the shared intermittent energy resource power output. To this end, we also develop a new adaptive site-specific calibration technique to improve such predictions based on Gaussian process modeling. We present thorough evaluation of the proposed system, and show its effectiveness in terms of Pareto efficiency and usability criteria against state-of-the-art DHASs. We also show that collective economic control, in the presence of house-integrated IERs, can improve heating cost-efficiency by up to 60%, compared to independent economic control, and even more when compared to no economic control. The second strand of work is concerned with increasing the efficiency of intermittent energy resources themselves, through efficient control. In particular, specifically for photovoltaic systems, solar tracking can be used to orient the system towards the greatest possible levels of incoming solar irradiance. This can increase the power output of a photovoltaic system by up to 100%. However, current solar tracking techniques suffer from several drawbacks: (i) they usually do not consider the forecasted or prevailing weather conditions; even when they do, they (ii) rely on complex closed-loop controllers and sophisticated instruments; and (iii) typically, they do not take the energy consumption of the trackers into account. As such, in this work, we propose PreST; a novel, low-cost and generic solar tracking approach that overcomes the above limitations, utilizing optimal control (proposed for the first time for solar tracking). In particular, our approach is able to calculate appropriate trajectories for efficient and effective day-ahead (predictive) solar tracking, based on available weather forecasts (that can come from on-line providers for free). To this end, we propose a new approximating policy iteration algorithm, suitable for large Markov decision processes, and a novel and generic solar tracking consumption model. Our simulations show that our approach can increase the power output of a photovoltaic system considerably, when compared to standard solar tracking techniques, that can lead to significant monetary gains. As outlined above, apart from their great share in contemporary economies, both domestic space heating systems and intermittent energy resources provide considerable opportunities for energy efficient improvements through efficient control. In this work we exploit this potential and propose respective systems that improve their independent, as well as their interaction, efficiency. This can considerably reduce the respective energy consumption and the corresponding CO2 emission towards fulfilling our goal for an energy sustainable future.


Organic osmolyte and halide permeability pathways activated in epithelial HeLa cells by cell swelling were studied by radiotracer efflux techniques and single-cell volume measurements. The replacement of extracellular Cl- by anions that are more permeant through the volume-activated Cl- channel, as indicated by electrophysiological measurements, significantly decreased taurine efflux. In the presence of less-permeant anions, an increase in taurine efflux was observed. Simultaneous measurement of the125I, used as a tracer for Cl-, and [3H]taurine efflux showed that the time courses for the two effluxes differed. In Cl--rich medium the increase in I- efflux was transient, whereas that for taurine was sustained. Osmosensitive Cl- conductance, assessed by measuring changes in cell volume, increased rapidly after hypotonic shock. The influx of taurine was able to counteract Cl- conductance-dependent cell shrinkage but only ∼4 min after triggering cell swelling. This taurine-induced effect was blocked by DIDS. Differences in anion sensitivity, the time course of activation, and sensitivity to DIDS suggest that the main cell swelling-activated permeability pathways for taurine and Cl- are separate.


Two man-made wooden objects, called here a "boat" and an "outrigger", were found above one another in 2004 and 2006 in Kuusamo, Finland. A layer of shore front mud and turf covered them entirely. With partial excavations, samples were taken for age determination and structural studies from both of the items. As measured by the radiocarbon method with a probability of 95.4 %, the items appear to be from periods 5480 – 5300 CalBC and 5025 – 4770 CalBC for the boat and the outrigger, respectively.


This paper presents an analysis of sources, orbital evolutions and distributions of small size debris near the geostationary ring. Paint flakes and MLI fragments were identified as potential sources for much larger populations of space debris in the microns to cm size range than predicted by present reference models. The orbital evolution of these particles was studied. In the absence of atmospheric drag, small particles will accumulate and spread over a relatively thin belt around GEO under the well known gravitational forces. Solar radiation pressure is the only perturbing force which can remove particles from the GEO region if they have high area-to-mass ratios. Population densities of small size space debris near GEO are presented for different but realistic assumptions on debris sources, production rates and size distributions. These results are compared to predictions from the MASTER-2005 model. It is concluded that small size (sub-cm) debris could form already now or in the near future a belt of particles around GEO (G-belt) that is visible in infrared or optical wavelengths by suitably located space sensors.


Protein kinase D (PKD) is a cytosolic serine/threonine kinase implicated in regulation of several cellular processes such as response to oxidative stress, directed cell migration, invasion, differentiation, and fission of the vesicles at the trans-Golgi network. Its variety of functions must be mediated by numerous substrates; however, only a couple of PKD substrates have been identified so far. Here we perform stable isotope labeling of amino acids in cell culture-based quantitative phosphoproteomic analysis to detect phosphorylation events dependent on PKD1 activity in human cells. We compare relative phosphorylation levels between constitutively active and kinase dead PKD1 strains of HEK293 cells, both treated with nocodazole, a microtubule-depolymerizing reagent that disrupts the Golgi complex and activates PKD1. We identify 124 phosphorylation sites that are significantly down-regulated upon decrease of PKD1 activity and show that the PKD target motif is significantly enriched among down-regulated phosphorylation events, pointing to the presence of direct PKD1 substrates. We further perform PKD1 target motif analysis, showing that a proline residue at position +1 relative to the phosphorylation site serves as an inhibitory cue for PKD1 activity. Among PKD1-dependent phosphorylation events, we detect predominantly proteins with localization at Golgi membranes and function in protein sorting, among them several sorting nexins and members of the insulin-like growth factor 2 receptor pathway. This study presents the first global detection of PKD1-dependent phosphorylation events and provides a wealth of information for functional follow-up of PKD1 activity upon disruption of the Golgi network in human cells.


Background: To determine the incidence and risk factors of fetal macrosomia and maternal and perinatal outcome. Patients and Methods: This was a 1-year prospective case–control study of singleton pregnancies in a Nigerian tertiary hospital. Only women who gave consent were recruited for the study. The maternal and perinatal outcomes in women who delivered macrosomic infants (birth weight ≥ 4000 g) were compared with the next consecutive delivery of normal birth weight (2500–3999 g) infants. Results: The total deliveries for the study period were 2437, of which 135 were macrosomic babies. The incidence of fetal macrosomia was 5.5%. The mean birth weights of macrosomic and nonmacrosomic babies were 4.26 ± 0.29 kg and 3.20 ± 0.38 kg, respectively, P = 0.000. Mothers with macrosomic babies were more likely to be older (P = 0.047), of higher parity (0.001), taller (P = 0.007), and weighed more at delivery (P = 0.000). Previous history of fetal macrosomia (P = 0.000) and maternal diabetes (P = 0.007) were factors strongly associated with the delivery of macrosomic infants. Pregnancies associated with fetal macrosomia had increased duration of labor (P = 0.007), interventional deliveries (P = 0.000), shoulder dystocia, and genital laceration (P = 0.000). There was no significant difference in the incidence of primary postpartum hemorrhage (P = 0.790), birth asphyxia, and perinatal mortality (P = 0.197). Conclusion: Fetal macrosomia is associated with maternal and fetal morbidities. The presence of the observed risk factors should elicit the suspicion of a macrosomic fetus and the need for appropriate management to reduce maternal and fetal morbidities.


The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of coating implants with hydroxyapatite (HA) by an ion beam-assisted deposition (IBAD) method and to compare them with implants prepared with machined and anodized surfaces. Twenty-four implants in this study were divided into three groups; machined, anodized, anodized plus IBAD surface implants. Implant stability and osseointegration were assessed by resonance frequency analysis (RFA) and histologic analysis. We can conclude that implants coated by HA by IBAD demonstrate characteristics of contact osteogenesis, but the research design does not permit conclusions regarding long-term treatment outcome with implants. Further studies are needed.


Abstract Twenty-nine sections were measured along a 135 km distance, in the Cyrenaican Miocene of Ar-Rajmah Group carbonate rocks, northeast Libya. Four sections were sampled every 0.5 m for sequence stratigraphy, stable isotope (δ18O and δ13C) chemostratigraphy, and diagenesis. Petrographic study helped to identify facies based on texture, grain types, mud content, cements, porosity types and amount, dolomitization, dedolomitization, silicification, and recrystallization. Combined sequence stratigraphy, chemostratigraphy, and petrography indicates two supersequences separated by a sequence boundary and two different diagenetic patterns. The Miocene Ar-Rajmah Group carbonate rocks record two 2nd-order supersequences with a 97 m maximum thickness; six 3rd-order sequences, and 10 parasequences. The Ar-Rajmah Group depositional facies are grouped into peritidal facies, ramp crest facies, and subtidal facies. The peritidal facies includes evaporites, microbialites, pelletal wackestone/packstone, Porites reef and bioclastic packstone, very fine to fine quartz sandstone, and green shale. The ramp crest facies includes oolitic grainstones. The subtidal facies includes bioclastic carbonates, reworked bioclastic carbonates, red algae reefs, and reworked red algae. The chemostratigraphic data of the Ar-Rajmah Group reconfirmed the preservation of the entire Miocene as indicated by previous biostratigraphic studies. The stable isotope data indicates the Lower Miocene is generally enriched in both δ18O and δ13C, the Middle Miocene is enriched in δ13C but depleted in δ18O, and the Upper Miocene is depleted in both δ18O and δ13C. The petrographic analysis shows two distinct lithological, textural and paragenetic patterns corresponding roughly to the Middle Miocene Langhian-Serravallian boundary. The older Miocene interval (Langhian and older) is dominated by silicified dedolomitized bioclastic-rich, bryozoan, and red algal packstone. The younger Miocene interval (Serravallian and younger) is dominated by silicified and recrystallized oolitic grainstone, microbial-bioclastic-oolitic grainstone. The main porosity types in the Miocene sequences are oomoldic, fenestral, dolomoldic, frame-growth, biomoldic, fracture, vuggy, cavernous, and intercrystalline. However, the dolomoldic and frame-growth porosity is restricted to the older dedolomitized Miocene interval, where the oomoldic and fenestral porosity is restricted to the younger recrystallized Miocene interval. The Upper Miocene has the lowest average porosity values, the Middle Miocene the highest average porosity values, and the Early Miocene has medial average porosity values. The paragenetic sequence in the Ar-Rajmah Group is: (1) micritization, (2) rim cement, (3) pore filling cement, (4) fracturing, (5) initial dissolution, (6) recrystallization, (7) dolomitization, (8) dedolomitization, (9) secondary dissolution, (10) silicification, (11) a second period of fracturing, and (12) a third episode of dissolution.