Group Of Elements Research Articles

E-Governance and the ICT Legislative Framework

This study assesses the effect of ICT policies and practices toward ensuring the governance supported by information sharing in Tanzania. Logically, the work is organized in four main categories. The first category introduces the study through providing the background, statement of the problem and objectives. This part is followed by a research method. The study was based on Interpretive principles, and it used secondary data to arrive to its conclusions. The analysis is conducted through grouping elements, which responds to the same pattern of the study, under the same section. The last part of the study provides the conclusion and recommendations to the local legislative framework.

The physics of categorization

In the context of cognition, categorization is the process through which several elements (i.e., words) are grouped into a single set which by naming becomes an abstraction of its elements. For example, tiger, kitty, and max can be categorized as Cats. In this article, we aim to show how the physical, biological and cognitive dimensions are related in the process of categorization or abstraction through the physics of computation. Drawing on Landauer's principle, we show that the price paid in terms of entropy is higher when grouping elements of low ranking (high probability) than when grouping elements of high ranking (low probability). Therefore, the logic of the cognitive process of abstraction is explained through constraints imposed by memory on the computation of categories. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 21: 269–274, 2016

A contribution to the synsedimentary versus epigenetic origin of the Cu mineralizations hosted by terminal Neoproterozoic to Cambrian formations of the Bou Azzer–El Graara inlier: New insights from the Jbel Laassel deposit (Anti Atlas, Morocco)

The Neoproterozoic to Cambrian formations that compose the cover of the Bou Azzer–El Graara inlier, host a great number of Copper occurrence whose origin is largely discussed. To bring some light to this debate, structural, petrographic and geochemical observations were performed on the copper deposit of Jbel Laassel. This deposit, located at the extreme ESE of the Bou Azzer–El Graara inlier, is mined since 2012. At the district scale, the ore bodies localize in a folding band that extends along a NE–SW direction. At macroscopic, microscopic and scanning electron microscope scales the mineralization appears as banding veins, with locally cockade breccia and comb quartz textures. From the macroscopic scale to the scale of the scanning electron microscope, all these mineralized textures are connected there between forming a stockwork with an auto-similar structure in the range of used scales of observation. At the district scale, this stockwork is preferentially located in the anticlinal hinges of the folding band. Principal component analyses of geochemical database enable to distinguish several groups of chemical elements, each of these groups corresponding to the different lithologies and to the copper mineralization. This last group does not show any correlation with the distinguished lithological groups. All these observations bring new arguments to an epigenetic origin for the copper mineralization of the Jbel Laassel deposit, with a formation contemporary or posterior with the folding band development attributed to Variscan deformation.

The influence of water migration of microelements on the ecological soil condition of Ukraine

It is shown the role of natural geochemical processes of migration of trace elements for forming of food chains. Calculations of the coefficients of water migration Co, Zn, Mo, Mn, Cu and ionic strength of waters of small rivers in Ukraine were made. Intensity of water migration of chemical elements were assessed by coefficient (Kx), complex mobility of certain groups of chemical elements in aqueous solutions was evaluated by the coefficient of ionic strength of solutions (CIS). It is shown that spatial imbalance of quantity of microelements Zn, Mo, Co, Mn, Cu in soils Ukraine related with water mobility of these elements and the degree of metamorphization of natural waters.

The clinician in the driver’s seat: Part 2 – Intelligent uses of space in a drag/drop user-composable electronic health record

User-composable approaches provide clinicians with the control to design and assemble information elements on screen via drag/drop. They hold considerable promise for enhancing the electronic-health-records (EHRs) user experience. We previously described this novel approach to EHR design and our illustrative system, MedWISE. The purpose of this paper is to describe clinician users’ intelligent uses of space during completion of real patient case studies in a laboratory setting using MedWISE.Thirteen clinicians at a quaternary academic medical center used the system to review four real patient cases. We analyzed clinician utterances, behaviors, screen layouts (i.e., interface designs), and their perceptions associated with completing patient case studies.Clinicians effectively used the system to review all cases. Two coding schemata pertaining to human–computer interaction and diagnostic reasoning were used to analyze the data. Users adopted three main interaction strategies: rapidly gathering items on screen and reviewing (‘opportunistic selection’ approach); creating highly structured screens (‘structured’ approach); and interacting with small groups of items in sequence as their case review progressed (‘dynamic stage’ approach). They also used spatial arrangement in ways predicted by theory and research on workplace spatial arrangement. This includes assignment of screen regions for particular purposes (24% of spatial codes), juxtaposition to facilitate calculation or other cognitive tasks (‘epistemic action’), and grouping elements with common meanings or relevance to the diagnostic facets of the case (20.3%). A left-to-right progression of orienting materials, data, and action items or reflection space was a commonly observed pattern. Widget selection was based on user assessment of what information was useful or relevant.We developed and tested an illustrative system that gives clinicians greater control of the EHR, and demonstrated its feasibility for case review by typical clinicians. Producing the simplifying inventions, such as user-composable platforms that shift control to the user, may serve to promote productive EHR use and enhance its value as an instrument of patient care.

Thermokarst lake waters across the permafrost zones of western Siberia

Abstract. This work describes the hydrochemical composition of thermokarst lake and pond ecosystems, which are observed in various sizes with different degrees of permafrost influence and are located in the northern part of western Siberia within the continuous and discontinuous permafrost zones. We analysed the elemental chemical composition of the lake waters relative to their surface areas (from 10 to 106 m2) and described the elemental composition of the thermokarst water body ecosystems in detail. We revealed significant correlations between the Fe, Al, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and various chemical elements across a latitude gradient covering approximately 900 km. Several groups of chemical elements that reflect the evolution of the studied water bodies were distinguished. Combining the data for the studied latitude profile with the information available in the current literature demonstrated that the average dissolved elemental concentrations in lakes with different areas depend specifically on the latitudinal position, which is presumably linked to (1) the elements leached from frozen peat, which is the main source of the solutes in thermokarst lakes, (2) marine atmospheric aerosol depositions, particularly near the sea border and (3) short-range industrial pollution by certain metals from the largest Russian Arctic smelter. We discuss the evolution of the chemical compositions observed in thermokarst lakes during their formation and drainage and predict the effect that changing the permafrost regime in western Siberia has on the hydrochemistry of the lakes.

The development of individuation in autism.

Evidence suggests that people with autism rely less on holistic visual information than typical adults. The current studies examine this by investigating core visual processes that contribute to holistic processing--namely, individuation and element grouping--and how they develop in participants with autism and typically developing (TD) participants matched for age, IQ, and gender. Individuation refers to the ability to "see" approximately four elements simultaneously; grouping elements can modify how many elements can be individuated. We examined these processes using two well-established paradigms, rapid enumeration and multiple object tracking (MOT). In both tasks, a performance limit of four elements in typical adults is thought to reflect individuation capacity. Participants with autism displayed a smaller individuation capacity than TD controls, regardless of whether they were enumerating static elements or tracking moving ones. To manipulate the holistic information available via element grouping, elements were arranged into a design in rapid enumeration, or moved together in MOT. Performance in participants with autism was affected to a similar degree as TD participants by element grouping, whether the manipulation helped or hurt performance, consistent with evidence that some types of gestalt/grouping information are processed typically in autism. There was substantial development from childhood to adolescence in the speed of individuation in those with autism, but not from adolescence to adulthood, a pattern distinct from TD participants. These results reveal how core visual processes function in autism, and provide insight into the architecture of vision (i.e., individuation appears distinct from visual strengths in autism, such as visual search).

Evaluation of signal-to-background and Mg II/Mg I ratios as response for the optimization of rare earth elements determination by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry

Rare earth elements (REEs) is a peculiar group of chemical elements. Their determination in geological samples is important and complex due to their low concentrations and problems with spectral and non-spectral interferences. Herein, the operating conditions of an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer were optimized for the determination of REEs using experimental designs. The signal-to-background ratio (SBR) of the REEs emission signals and the Mg II/Mg I line intensity ratio were evaluated as response functions. According to the results obtained, three different sets of operating conditions were selected and classified as robust, semi‑robust and best SBR conditions. Limits of detection (LOD), SBR and relative standard deviation of the blank solution (RSDblank) were determined. The semi-robust condition (RF power of 1250 W and nebulizer gas flow rate of 0.90 L min-1) exhibited lower LOD and RSDblank than others tested operating conditions.

The Fate of Visible Features of Invisible Elements

To investigate the integration of features, we have developed a paradigm in which an element is rendered invisible by visual masking. Still, the features of the element are visible as part of other display elements presented at different locations and times (sequential metacontrast). In this sense, we can “transport” features non-retinotopically across space and time. The features of the invisible element integrate with features of other elements if and only if the elements belong to the same spatio-temporal group. The mechanisms of this kind of feature integration seem to be quite different from classical mechanisms proposed for feature binding. We propose that feature processing, binding, and integration occur concurrently during processes that group elements into wholes.

Analysis of selected elements in water in the drinking water preparation plants in Belgrade, Serbia

Belgrade's water supply relies mainly on the River Sava and groundwater supply wells, which are located in the vicinity of the river and Ada Ciganlija. In this paper, the content of aluminum, boron, chromium, manganese, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, arsenic, cadmium, barium and lead was analyzed in raw water as well as drinking water distributed by the Water Supply and Sewage of Belgrade. A total of 14 samples were examined from all water treatment plants that are part of the distribution system. The measurements were conducted using the inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) technique. The aim of this research was to examine the effectiveness of drinking water preparation process in the plants belonging to the Water Supply and Sewage of Belgrade. The content of certain elements varies considerably in raw water (river and groundwater): the concentration of boron in river water is two to three times lower than the concentration in groundwater; the concentration of arsenic in river water is ten to twenty five times lower than the concentration in groundwater; the concentration of aluminum in all groundwater samples was below the detection limit of the instrument (0.50 ?g/dm3), whilst in the river water the content of aluminum was about 50 ?g/dm3 and the concentration of manganese in the river water was up to 10 times lower than the concentrations in groundwater. In all drinking water samples the concentration of the elements were bellow the maximum allowed levels according to the Serbian regulations. Correlation coefficients determined for boron, manganese, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, arsenic, barium and lead, which were analyzed in raw waters, show that four groups of elements can be distinguished. Boron, manganese, arsenic and barium are related to each other and probably have a common natural origin; copper and lead probably have a common anthropogenic origin; correlation of nickel and cobalt was observed, while zinc was not in correlation with any other element.

Echoes of Gilgamesh in the Jacob Story

It was popular for some time to seek apparent Near Eastern parallels to bibli cal narratives. The methodology employed was at times problematic, and conclu sions were often overstated, as similarities between texts explicable in any number of ways were attributed to direct relationship.1 For some biblical texts, of course, there is stronger evidence for Near Eastern influence. I propose that this is the case in regard to one text for which a Near Eastern counterpart has not previously been suggested: the story of Jacobs wrestling match in Gen 32:23-33 (Eng. 32:22-32). There is reason to believe that the Israelite author knew some form of Gilgamesh, and particularly the scene of the wrestling match between Gilgamesh and Enkidu.2 The case presented here is not simply one of a shared motif or logical group ing of elements, but one of an unexpected and striking series of correspondences

Symbolic and Structural Representation of Melodic Expression

A method for expressive melody synthesis is presented seeking to capture the structural and prosodic (stress, direction, and grouping) elements of musical interpretation. The interpretation of melody is represented through a hierarchical structural decomposition and a note-level prosodic annotation. An audio performance of the melody is constructed using the time-evolving frequency and intensity functions. A method is presented that transforms the expressive annotation into the frequency and intensity functions, thus giving the audio performance. In this framework, the problem of expressive rendering is cast as an estimation of structural decomposition and the prosodic annotation. Examples are presented on a dataset of around 50 folk-like melodies, realized both from hand-marked and estimated annotations.

The Ben Lawers Historic Landscape Project: Simultaneous Multi-element Analysis of Former Settlement and Arable Soils by X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry

X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRFS) was used in the analysis of A horizon soil samples collected from a former farming settlement and its associated area of infield (i.e. arable) located in the Central Highlands of Scotland. To date, XRFS has not been extensively used in geoarchaeological research, but in our study the simultaneous multi-element capabilities of this instrumental technique allowed the total concentrations of 25 major, minor, and trace elements to be fully quantified with acceptable levels of accuracy and precision. Included within this group of chemical elements are a number (e.g. Ba, Ca, P, Pb, Sr and Zn) that have proved to be of value to archaeological interpretation in earlier investigations undertaken in Scotland. In our preliminary work documented here, significant differences were found between the A horizon soils of former settlement and infield areas for 18 chemical elements. Subjecting the XRFS data—and three other measured variables: soil organic carbon (SOC), pH and A horizon depth—to discriminant analysis indicates that soils of former settlement and arable farming can be effectively classified according to their pH, SOC content and Ca, Cu, Mg, Rb, and Zn concentrations. The inference is that areas of former infield and settlement elsewhere at this study location in the Central Highlands may be able to be identified according to their soil chemical composition and use of discriminant function, even though the surface remains of pre-eighteenth century settlement sites are not readily evident today because they were constructed of perishable materials.

The concentration function of the bottom fauna at the deep sea hydrothermal vent fields

Specific features of the concentration of a group of chemical elements in the dominant bottom organisms are analyzed. The studied organisms inhabit geochemically different hydrothermal fields: Menez-Gwen, Broken-Spur, and Rainbow on the Mid Atlantic Ridge (MAR), as well as 9°50′N and Guyamas on the East Pacific Rise (EPR). It was revealed for the first time that bottom organisms accumulate 102 to 105 times less the macro-ions of marine water Na and K from the water of biotopes than heavy metals. The intensive concentration of chemical elements, especially of heavy metals, and the high biomasses of bottom organisms associated with hydrothermal vents suggest that this fauna serves as a powerful deepwater biofilter. The absence of pronounced differences between values of coefficients of accumulation for the same metals in the benthos of various MAR and EPR fields evidences the uniformity of the concentration function of the hydrothermal fauna.

No disillusions in auditory extinction: perceiving a melody comprised of unperceived notes

The formation of coherent percepts requires grouping together spatio-temporally disparate sensory inputs. Two major questions arise: (1) is awareness necessary for this process; and (2) can non-conscious elements of the sensory input be grouped into a conscious percept? To address this question, we tested two patients suffering from severe left auditory extinction following right hemisphere damage. In extinction, patients are unaware of the presence of left side stimuli when they are presented simultaneously with right side stimuli. We used the ‘scale illusion’ to test whether extinguished tones on the left can be incorporated into the content of conscious awareness. In the scale illusion, healthy listeners obtain the illusion of distinct melodies, which are the result of grouping of information from both ears into illusory auditory streams. We show that the two patients were susceptible to the scale illusion while being consciously unaware of the stimuli presented on their left. This suggests that awareness is not necessary for auditory grouping and non-conscious elements can be incorporated into a conscious percept.

Effect of Arrangement of Design Elements on Recognition of Complex Signs

Due to the expansion of cities and the increasing number of large-scale and complex public spaces, there is an increase in public signage. Moreover, the information described on these signs tends to be diverse and complicated. Complex signs that contain multiple destinations or other information must be considered to determine not only the proper size, color, etc. but also the most effective arrangement of design elements. In the previous research, the cognitive utility of complex public signs was estimated using computer simulation software. In the current research, we focused on the objective estimation of the effectiveness of the results obtained in the previous research utilizing an eye mark recording system. Two cognitive engineering experiments clarified five points for improvement in the usability of complex signs, as follows: 1) Parallel construction of characters and pictograms is more efficient. 2) Grouping elements result in rapid recognition of information chunks. 3) Visual characters and pictograms are effective, along with proper density of information. 4) Specific arrangement of sign arrows is effective. 5) Figures on signs influence the sequence of information searches.

Pharmacological characterization of Aristolochia clematitis L. growing in the Stavropol Region

The amino acid and elemental composition of birthwort (Aristolochia clematitis L.) plant species occurring in the Stavropol region has been studied. The analyses showed a high content of tyrosine in the above-ground parts and revealed the presence of 25 elements (K, Ca, P, Mg, Al, Fe, Na, Si, Mn, Zn, Cu, Ni, Cr, V, Li, As, Pb, Co, J, Se, Cd, Hg, Be, Sn, Ti), some of which belong to the group of toxic metals. The differentiation of various plant organs with respect to the accumulation of different groups of chemical elements is established.

ON GROUPING IN RELATIONAL ALGEBRA

The concept of grouping in relational algebra is well-known from its connection to aggregation. In this paper we generalize the grouping notion by defining a simultaneous grouping of more than one relation, and we discuss the application of operations on grouping elements other than just arithmetic aggregation. Finally we show that this grouping mechanism can be added to relational algebra without increasing its computational power.

Geochemistry of Spanish sepiolite-palygorskite deposits: Genetic considerations based on trace elements and isotopes

Sepiolite-palygorskite deposits in Spanish Tertiary basins were formed in lacustrine environments. The mineral associations present in the mineralised intervals are made up of neoformed phyllosilicates (sepiolite, palygorskite, stevensite), detrital silicates (quartz, feldspars, illite, interstratified smectite-illite, Al-smectite and kaolinite) and carbonates (calcite, dolomite). Opal-A, gypsum and halite may also appear sporadically. Two groups of chemical elements and minerals can be distinguished according to their origin: Al, Ti, Fe, Mn, K, REE and transition trace elements are almost exclusively included in the detrital Al-silicates; Mg, Ca, Cl, F and Li are concentrated in the minerals formed in the depositional basins. Si, Na, Sr and Ba are contained in both detrital and neoformed minerals. REE, transition trace elements, F and Li contents can be used to distinguish between phyllosilicates formed by chemical precipitation in the depositional basins, detrital phyllosilicates, and those formed by transformation of the latter during early diagenetic processes. These data, together with those on δ 18O isotopic fractionation indicate the formation of sepiolite and Mg-smectite as chemical precipitates, whereas palygorskite would derive from diagenetic transformation of other inherited clay minerals. The values calculated for the α (sepiolite-water) and α (palygorskite-water) fractionation factors at 20°C are 1.031 and 1.027, respectively.

Methodologies of affective classification.

Three methodologies to classify the affective domain are reviewed: phenetic, cladistic, and ontological. The merits and seeming deficiencies of these approaches are analyzed, and illustrative applications of these methodologies are presented. A systems analysis of the affective domain is proposed as most adequately performing the classification functions of grouping elements to emphasize their autonomy and homonomy, indicate their nature and degree of relatedness, and structurally represent abstract conceptualizations of this domain.