Lower Tier Research Articles

Extensive two-tier structure and breccia stockwork formation by hydrothermal processes in the first Paraná lava flow covering the Botucatu paleoerg-turned-Guarani Paleoaquifer

The Catalán Flow in the southernmost Paraná Volcanic Province exhibits two extensive red and gray to white tiers and an areally vast breccia stockwork, both of which are unique within intraplate large igneous provinces. To comprehend the processes responsible for the formation of these structures, we integrated the study of satellite images with field surveys and the interpretation of published geochemical analyses. During the Early Cretaceous, a 30-m-thick layer of quartz andesite known as the Catalán Flow covered the 160-m-thick Botucatu + Guará formations, which had transformed into the Guarani Paleoaquifer. This flow consists of a lower Tier 1, which appears gray in satellite images and medium gray to white in the field, and an upper Tier 2, which is red in both images and in the field. Amethyst and agate geodes are present in Tier 1 but are absent in Tier 2. Within an area exceeding 100 by 100 km, a breccia stockwork composed of quartz andesite fragments can be found. These fragments either include silicified sandstone or hydrothermal zeolites. The chemical composition of rocks from Tier 2 features a loss on ignition (LOI) of less than 1.5 wt% and a composition similar to the original lava. In contrast, Tier 1 underwent significant alteration, particularly a reduction in SiO2 and K2O, along with an increase in Fe2O3T, with LOI exceeding 1.5 wt% and reaching up to 8 wt%. The formation of hematite and the reddening of the rock in Tier 1 were a result of heated, oxidizing aquifer water percolating through the lava. Subsequently, reducing, aquifer hot water percolated, causing intense chemical and mineralogical alteration in the previously oxidized flow, resulting in a gray to white color and the formation of amethyst and agate deposits. Tier 1 represents the reduced lower layer of the flow, while Tier 2 is the remaining red upper portion. Comparative fluid activity is observed in red and white dunes in the Etendeka, as well as in basalts from various environments. The breccia stockwork was formed through explosive hydrothermal processes beneath the upper crust, where overpressured fluids came into direct contact with the atmosphere, leading to flash vaporization. The structures observed are the outcome of the distant influence of paleodune patterns on the Catalán Flow, which corresponds to the presence of higher dunes in the two tiers and sand sheets in the breccia stockwork. The processes responsible for the two-tier (oxidation and reduction) and breccia formation (explosive pressure release and sand injection near the surface) are recognized in various hydrothermal systems worldwide. However, the extensive areal coverage and homogeneity of these features, coupled with the presence of world-class amethyst deposits, make the Paraná Volcanic Province unique among large igneous provinces worldwide.

Building solidarity during COVID-19 and HIV/AIDS.

While the WHO, public health experts, and political leaders have referenced solidarity as an important part of our responses to COVID-19, I consider how we build solidarity during pandemics in order to improve the effectiveness of our responses. I use Prainsack and Buyx's definition of solidarity, which highlights three different tiers: (1) interpersonal solidarity, (2) group solidarity, and (3) institutional solidarity. Each tier of solidarity importantly depends on the actions and norms established at the lower tiers. Although empathy and solidarity are distinct moral concepts, I argue that the affective component of solidarity is important for motivating solidaristic action, and empathetic accounts of solidarity help us understand how we actually build solidarity from tier to tier. During pandemics, public health responses draw on different tiers of solidarity depending on the nature, scope, and timeline of the pandemic. Therefore, I analyze both COVID-19 and HIV/AIDS using this framework to learn lessons about how solidarity can more effectively contribute to our ongoing public health responses during pandemics. Whereas we used institutional solidarity during COVID-19 in a top-down approach to building solidarity that often overlooked interpersonal and group solidarity, we used those lower tiers during HIV/AIDS in a bottom-up approach because governments and public health institutions were initially unresponsive to the crisis. Thus, we need to ensure that we have a strong foundation of respect, trust, and so forth, on which to build solidarity from tier to tier and promote whichever tiers of solidarity are lacking during a given pandemic to improve our responses.

Январская палеотемпература воздуха в период МИС-3-2 в северо-восточной Якутии, реконструированная по высокоразрешающей записи изотопного состава сингенетических повторно-жильных льдов Батагайской едомы

The work is aimed at determining the age of ice wedges, as well as at characterizing winter temperature fluctuations during the formation of the Yedoma based on the isotopic composition of ice wedges in the unique outcrop of the Batagay mega-slump. The researchers carried out a detailed sampling from the Upper Ice Wedge Complex of the Batagay Yedoma, determined the isotopic composition in three ice wedges at different altitudes. The results of radiocarbon dating of organic matter from ice wedge confirm the time of syngenetic formation of the upper-tier ice wedges in the range from 27.2 to 30.8 thousand cal. years. Ice wedges of the lower tier, according to the results of radiocarbon dating of ice accumulated 44.7—47.9 thousand years ago simultaneously at different levels: 274—268 m and 224—227 respectively. The study of yedoma deposits and ice-wedge ice made it possible to obtain data on climatic fluctuations in a region with the most severe continental climate. Direct radiocarbon dating of syngenetic ice wedges provided dating of ice growth in the Batagay yedoma, data on the content of stable isotopes in the ice demonstrated stable and very harsh conditions of the winter season. The air paleotemperature in Batagay in January 47—42 and 30—25 thousand cal. years ago was consistently low about –51°C.

The Growth Activity and Productivity of Apple Trees Depending on the Form of the Crown and the Time of Pruning

Abstract The apple tree is the most common fruit crop in the temperate climate zone. Modern intensive fruit cultivation involves the use of new, highly productive cultivars and cultivation technologies, thanks to the creation of small crown shapes with an increased number of trees per hectare. Reducing planting patterns and creating more dense plantation systems can significantly improve their yields. However, the limiting factor that can reduce tree productivity and deteriorate fruit quality is the degree of crown illumination. Ensuring even access of sunlight to all parts of the crown is the main task in the formation and pruning trees. The study aimed to determine the effect of crown pruning at BBCH 0 (winter) and BBCH 74 (early summer) and various types of crown formation on the growth activity and productivity of ‘Fuji’ and ‘Honeycrisp’ apple trees. A significant decrease (20%) in the number of newly formed shoots in the form of the French axis crown compared to the ballerina and slender spindle crowns was found. However, their length and total growth were significantly higher. The formation of the ballerina crown (with the removal of overgrown wood in the 25 cm zone on the central conductor above the lower tier of semi-cross-branched branches) contributed to a decrease in shoot length and total growth. The introduction of crown pruning in the summer also improved crown illumination – shoot length decreased by 17% and total growth by 12%. Specific productivity per bole cross-section and total shoot length was the highest in ballerina crown trees, followed by trees with a slender spindle crown, and trees pruned in winter and summer.

Netting Multidimensionality of Energy for Indoor Space Heating Across Rural Households of Rawalpindi division: A Multi-Tier Frame Work Approach

Energy make a emergence a good, sufficient and just life. The worldwide endorsement of "energy access for all" has come from Sustainable Development Goal 7. Fifty-six percent of people in Pakistan still rely on conventional biomass fuels. Current study aimed to evaluate the space heating access of rural household in districts of Rawalpindi division. For this intend, a framework has been operationalized put up by Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) World Bank for the very first time. This framework involves a comprehensive comparison of dimensional storage to determine various aspects of energy access i.e. electricity, cooking solutions, and space heating.. Primary data of 730 rural households of the Rawalpindi division using Multi stage random sampling techniques was collected through a wellself-structured questionnaire from districts namely, Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum and Chakwal. There are varying reflections of energy access of heating among districts of Rawalpindi division. Results of the analysis referred that Heating access rate was predominantly spoiled by collection time of fuel and lack of capacity to get their localities warm at desirable level in district Jhelum by scoring 56,8 points Weekly more than 7 hours is being spent on collection of fuel across rural households in all Districts. 40 % of the time, households are not able to get themselves warm in face of cold conditions. The study recommends that in order to place sixty percent households of lower tiers to finish in arena of higher energy access rate and with mission to escaping energy poverty, rigorous efforts would be required, through implementation of area specific interventions rather more generalized endorsements.

TIERED ACCESS TO RESEARCH DATA FOR SECONDARY ANALYSIS.

Research data have expanded in their gradation of the risks associated with both re-identification and harm, which has created a need for multiple levels of access controls beyond public and restricted access. Public-access data have typically been available for download from websites while restricted-access data usually require an application and formal authorization process. The old paradigm of classifying data as public-access or restricted-access is no longer sufficient. Access to research data requires more nuance to ensure the protection of human subjects. In this paper, we describe seven tiers of access to research data. Each tier adds requirements that are necessary to mitigate disclosure risk and confirm appropriate management of the data. Improper handling of the data includes attempting to find a specific individual or household or failing to follow disclosure protection rules for data and output included in papers and presentations. By establishing a ladder of access conditions, each higher tier meets and exceeds the requirements of the lower tiers. While the highest tier meets all requirements, this tier will impede legitimate research for most data. The challenge for repositories is to provide access in a manner that promotes research while specifying security that provides appropriate protections against the risks of re-identification and harm.

FACTORS DETRIMENTAL TO MANAGEMENT OF DEVOLVED FUNDS IN KENYA. A CASE OF NAIROBI COUNTY

Decentralization is meant to improve public services, but relatively few studies examine this question empirically. Poverty, inequality and social exclusion are deeply-rooted structural and historical phenomena in Kenya. Successive Kenyan governments have attempted fiscal decentralization as a way of ensuring the country achieves equitable development across the many regions. Fiscal decentralization consists primarily of devolving revenue sources and expenditure functions to lower tiers of government. By bringing the government closer to the people, fiscal decentralization is expected to boost public sector efficiency, as well as accountability and transparency in service delivery and policy-making. Decentralization also entails greater complexity in intergovernmental fiscal relations. Coordination failures in fiscal relations are likely to have a bearing on the fiscal positions, nationally and sub nationally. The purpose of this project was to find the factors that are detrimental to the management of the devolved funds in two levels of government. Increased local financing after fiscal decentralization has opposite two effects, that is, (1) the local finance derives incentive for effective management, and (2) it may induce the lack of public resource for managing public expenditure, which is particularly needed in the basics of managing the lower levels of government. This project analyzed the detrimental factors that affect management of fiscal funds by a county government. The objectives used by this study were; To establish the effects of corruption in the management of devolved funds in Nairobi City County, to determine the effect of accountability in the management of devolved funds in Nairobi City County, to determine the effect of financial regulations in the management of devolved funds in Nairobi City County and to establish the effects of adoption of IFMIS in the management of county funds in Nairobi City County. The study adopted a descriptive research design. From the findings, Accountability, Adoption of IFMIS, and Financial Regulations were found to have positive and significant effect on Financial Management while the effect of corruption was found to have a negative relationship with financial management. From the findings and conclusions therefore, this study recommended that Nairobi County Government consider Accountability, Adoption of IFMIS, and Financial Regulations as the key factors that could determine the management of devolved funds.

Citizen’s motivation in Neighbourhood Planning in North West England

Although some researchers have addressed the question of what motivates citizens to become involved in lower tier planning in the UK, the phenomenon is not yet fully understood. A lack of hard data, combined with some mutually contradictory arguments in the field, makes for imperfect analysis, and this can potentially undermine the effectiveness of individual engagement in Neighbourhood Plans (NPs). This paper focuses on what motivates citizens to participate in the process of creating NPs in North West England, and explores past theories on individual motivation. This study achieved its research aims through extensive research of the relevant literature, combined with an empirical study of five neighbourhoods in North West England. The main conclusion drawn from the dissertation is that there are complex and multiple motivations of people participating in NPs, and these impetuses are affected by a range of political, environmental and socio-economic factors. This research offers opportunities to enhance the effectiveness of NPs for researchers and NP stakeholders alike.

Integrating machine learning detection and encrypted control for enhanced cybersecurity of nonlinear processes

This study presents an encrypted two-tier control architecture integrated with a machine learning (ML) based cyberattack detector to enhance the operational safety, cyber-security, and performance of nonlinear processes. The upper tier of this architecture employs an encrypted nonlinear Lyapunov-based model predictive controller (LMPC) to enhance closed-loop performance, while the lower tier utilizes an encrypted set of linear controllers to stabilize the process. Encrypted signals from the sensors are decrypted at the upper tier for plain text control input computation, while the lower tier computes control inputs in an encrypted space, due to its exclusive use of linear operations. While this design enhances closed-loop performance, it exposes the upper tier to potential cyberattacks. To mitigate this risk, an ML-based detector is developed in the form of a feed-forward neural network, utilizing sensor-derived data for attack detection. Upon attack detection, the control system logic deactivates the performance-enhancing upper tier and relies solely on the cybersecure lower tier for system stabilization. The study also includes a comprehensive stability analysis of the two-tier control structure, establishing error bounds related to quantization and sample-and-hold controller implementations. The proposed control framework can be extended to any nonlinear process that is controlled by a combination of linear and nonlinear controllers to enhance the system cybersecurity. Guidelines such as quantization parameter selection, cyberattack detector development, and sampling time criteria are included to facilitate practical implementation. Simulation results of a nonlinear chemical process network demonstrated the robustness of the encrypted control architecture and cyberattack detector, as well as its ability to detect previously unseen attack patterns.

Andhra Pradesh State Cooperative Bank: credit beyond convention

Learning outcomes After reading and analysing the case study, the students would be able to understand the various challenges in terms of credit expansion for a rural co-operative bank, discuss the role of an apex co-operative bank within the three-tier credit structure, understand the co-operative banks’ product offerings in the agribusiness space and understand the various styles of leadership and change management models within a rural bank. Case overview/synopsis This case study exemplified the enabling role played by a co-operative credit institution, Andhra Pradesh State Co-Operative Bank (APCOB). It discussed the issues and challenges APCOB faced in mainstreaming an unconventional lending process through its lower tiers. Although the three-tier credit structure played a significant role in the disbursal of short-term loan to farmers, the managing director strongly felt the need to reach out to farmer institutions like farmer producers organization through suitable product offering and right processes. Complexity academic level This case study could serve as an introduction to rural credit co-operatives in MBA courses such as bank management, agricultural finance and rural credit and organizational behaviour. The case study could also be administered as a part of training programmes for state co-operative banks, district central co-operative banks and urban co-operative bank that are involved in planning and execution of development strategies in the area of co-operative banking and agribusiness development. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only Subject code CSS: 1: Accounting and Finance.

Spatial distribution, movement, body damage, and feather condition of laying hens in a multi-tier system

The welfare and health of laying hens in the multitier system raise concern in public. The flock distributions during feeding time at 51 and 89 wk were studied in a multitier system. Furthermore, the ultra-high frequency radio frequency identification (UHF RFID) equipment was used to identify the transition between tiers and time spent in each tier of 48 focal hens (12 hens from each tier-group of the multitier system) at 92 wk of age. The body weight, tibia size (length and width), body damage (comb and rear part), and feather condition (neck, breast, back, tail, cloaca, and wings) of focal hens from different tier-groups were further compared. The results showed that the spatial distribution in flocks changed from top to bottom with increasing age. The hens at 51 wk of age were mainly distributed in the 4th tier (19.6 ± 5.0% in 1st tier, 9.6 ± 1.1% in 2nd tier, 23.6 ± 2.9% in 3rd tier and 47.3 ± 2.6% in 4th tier), and hens at 89 wk of age were mainly distributed in the lower tiers (33.5 ± 1.5% in 1st tier, 31.9 ± 5.1% in 2nd tier, 15.7 ± 3.4% in 3rd tier and 16.6 ± 3.1% in 4th tier). The spatial distribution of hens at 89 wk of age was more even than that at 51 wk of age. At 92 wk of age, the proportion of time spent in original tier of 4 tier-groups was 91.0 ± 5.7%, 51.9 ± 5.7%, 59.0 ± 7.0% and 63.0 ± 6.7%, respectively. Focal hens preferred to stay in the original tier and spent significantly less time in other tiers (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in body weight, body damage score, tibia width and partial feather scores (neck, breast, tail, and cloaca) of focal hens among 4 tier-groups (P > 0.05). However, focal hens from 1st tier had worse feather scores on wings and back, and shorter tibia length compared to other tiers suggesting that there were more lower ranking birds that located in lower tier to avoid competition, but had equal access to resource, which is good for their welfare and health. In summary, the overcrowding situation was improved near the end of the laying cycle in the multitier system, thereby mitigating the potential negative effects to the lower ranking hens and maintain a satisfactory level of welfare and health for laying hens near the end of the laying cycle.

Tiered Assortment: Optimization and Online Learning

Due to the sheer number of available choices, online retailers frequently use tiered assortment to present products. In this case, groups of products are arranged across multiple pages or stages, and a customer clicks on “next” or “load more” to access them sequentially. Despite the prevalence of such assortments in practice, this topic has not received much attention in the existing literature. In this work, we focus on a sequential choice model that captures customers’ behavior when product recommendations are presented in tiers. We analyze multiple variants of tiered assortment optimization (TAO) problems by imposing “no-duplication” and capacity constraints. For the offline setting involving known customers’ preferences, we characterize the properties of the optimal tiered assortment and propose algorithms that improve the computational efficiency over the existing benchmarks. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to study the online setting of the TAO problem. A unique characteristic of our online setting, absent from the one-tier MNL bandit, is partial feedback. Products in the lower priority tiers are not shown when a customer has purchased a product or has chosen to exit at an earlier tier. Such partial feedback, along with product interdependence across tiers, increases the learning complexity. For both the noncontextual and contextual problems, we propose online algorithms and quantify their respective regrets. Moreover, we are able to construct tighter uncertainty sets for model parameters in the contextual case and thus improve the performance. We demonstrate the efficacy of our proposed algorithms through numerical experiments. This paper was accepted by J. George Shanthikumar, data science. Supplemental Material: The data files and e-companion are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4940 .

Динамика экосистем свежего бора центра Приволжской возвышенности

The results of a study of the dynamics of a rather rare type of forest ecosystem for the central part of the Volga Upland – fresh pinery (A2) – are presented. The research was carried out on the territory of the Upper Sura section of the Volga Forest-Steppe Nature Reserve. The progress of the process was studied in an age series, identified in homogeneous forest conditions based on the principles of dynamic classification of forest types. As a result of processing forest taxation data, average values of taxation indicators of forest stands were obtained for each age class. At the same time, an analysis of changes in all components of the plantings was carried out. On its basis, the age series was divided into separate periods and phases. Trends in the share of participation of each forest-forming species in the forest stand at different age stages are described by nonlinear equations. The study showed that the resulting age series represents a series of transformation of forest communities. Disruption of the forest formation process led to a large-scale replacement of indigenous plantings with derivatives. After the start of clear-cutting, the area occupied by deciduous trees (primarily birch) constantly grew. A consequence of the large-scale use of intermediate, sanitary and voluntary selective fellings was the formation of thinned pine stands. At the same time, a transformation of the lower tiers of communities also occurred. These factors caused a deterioration in the conditions for natural regeneration of pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). As a result, to date, the possibility of forming pine stands through natural regeneration is almost completely excluded.

Effective policies to promote sugar reduction in soft drinks: lessons from a comparison of six European countries.

Many countries have sought to incentivise soft drinks manufacturers to reduce sugar in their products as part of efforts to address a growing prevalence of obesity. Are their policies effective? Using a difference-in-differences design, we compared trends in the sugar content of 10 695 new sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) launched between 2010 and 2019 in six European markets, including the UK and France (taxes designed to incentivise reformulation), the Netherlands (policy based on voluntary agreements to reduce sugar), Germany, Italy and Spain (no national policies). The announcement in 2016 and adoption in 2018 of the UK tax led to yearly reductions in average sugar content of 17% (95% CI: 15-19%) to 31% (13-48%) between 2016 and 2019, compared to 2015, while the 2018 French tax produced a 6% (95% CI: 5-7%) sugar reduction only in 2018, compared to 2017, shortly after it was redesigned to provide a stronger incentive for reformulation. Voluntary agreements implemented in the Netherlands in 2014 led to an 8% (95% CI: 4-13%) sugar reduction only in 2015, compared to 2013. The analysis supports the conclusions that sugar reductions in new SSBs have been greater in countries that have adopted specific policies to encourage them; a sugar-based tax design encourages more sugar reductions than a volume-based tax design; the tax rate and the amount of the tax reduction from switching to the next lower tier in a sugar-based tax design may be critical to incentivize reformulation.

Multi-energy Complementary Power System Economic Dispatch Considering Carbon Emission and Regional User Coordination

The integration of multi-energy complementarity and source-grid-load-storage is an important initiative to promote energy transformation and the high-quality development of power systems. This paper proposes a two-tier day-ahead multi-energy complementary power system economic dispatch model from the perspective of clean and low-carbon, taking into account carbon emissions and multi-regional user synergy. The model optimises the production and purchase of electricity through different decisions between the upper generation side and the lower user side, which minimises the energy production cost in the upper tier and the energy purchase cost in the lower tier, and achieves mutual benefits between the upper and lower tiers. This paper validates the algorithm and model with an improved IEEE 39-node system.

The cost of electrifying all households in 40 Sub-Saharan African countries by 2030

Electrifying sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) requires major investments and policy intervention. Existing analyses focus on the levelized cost of electricity at aggregate levels, leaving the feasibility and affordability of reaching Sustainable Development Goal #7 – access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all – by country unclear. Here, we use the electrification model OnSSET to estimate granular and spatially explicit levelized costs of electricity and costs per person per day (pp/d) for 40 countries in SSA. We find that solar-powered mini-grids and standalone systems drastically lower the cost of electrifying remote and high-cost areas, particularly for lower tiers of electrification. On average, least-cost electrification in SSA at Tier 3 (ca. 365 kWh/household/year), can be provided at 14c USD/kWh or 7c USD pp/d. These results are sensitive to demand assumptions, for example, misguided electrification planning or oversizing due to overestimated demand can lead to substantial cost increases. Our results highlight large variances within countries, which we propose to visualise using electrification cost curves by country. Policymakers should consider such cost curves and use a tailored approach by country and region to reach SDG7 in SSA.

Effects of lower tiers of government healthcare facilities on unmet need for contraception and contraception use in Bangladesh.

In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including Bangladesh, modern contraception use remains lower than desired, resulting in a higher unmet need. A potential factor contributing to lower contraceptive use is reduced access to and use of lower tiers of government healthcare facilities, including home visits by family welfare assistants (FWAs), as well as women's visits to community and satellite clinics. These relationships, however, are still unexplored in Bangladesh and LMICs more broadly. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of lower tiers of government healthcare facilities on unmet needs for contraception and contraception use in Bangladesh. Data from 17,585 sexually active married women were analyzed from the 2017 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey. The outcome variables were any contraceptive use, modern contraceptive use, unmet need for contraception, and unmet need for modern contraception. The explanatory variables considered were respondents' home visits by FWAs, respondents' visits to a community clinic, and respondents' visits to a satellite clinic. Multilevel mixed-effect Poisson regression with robust variance was used to determine the association between the outcome and explanatory variables, adjusted for individual-, household-, and community-level factors. Approximately 18% of respondents were visited by FWAs in the three months prior to the survey date and only 3.4% and 3.1% of women attended community and satellite clinics, respectively. Women who reported being visited by FWAs in the three months prior to the survey were approximately 36% less likely to report an unmet need for modern contraception and 42% more likely to report using modern contraception than women who did not report such a visit. A higher likelihood of unmet need for contraception and a lower likelihood of contraception use were found among women who did not visit these community or satellite clinics or visited these clinics for other reasons than collecting contraception as compared to women who visited these clinics to collect contraception. Home visits by FWAs to respondents' homes to provide contraception as well as respondents' visits to satellite and community clinics play a major role in Bangladesh to ensure contraception use and reduce the unmet need for contraception. However, their coverage is quite low in Bangladesh. The findings suggest an urgent need for greater government initiatives to increase the number of FWAs and proper monitoring of them at the field level.

The assimilation surface of winter wheat under the effect of seed treatment with biological preparations

Purpose. To establish the peculiarities of the winter wheat assimilation apparatus development under the effect of seed treatment with biological preparations.&#x0D; Methods. Research was conducted using field, laboratory and mathematical methods in 2019–2022 in the stationary crop rotation of the Department of Crop Production of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine on typical podzolized chernozems in the Right Bank Forest Steppe of Ukraine. The peculiarities of the formation of the assimilation area of winter wheat under the application of biological preparations for seed treatment were studied with the use of the following preparations: Binok Zerno, Rizomax, Trichodermin, Planoriz, Urozhai Start. N32P32K32 fertilizer and complex granular fertilizer DuraSOP actibition were applied in seedbed preparation. The leaf area and glumes were calculated using the Petiole Pro program. The area of the stem was determined by the formula of the external area of the cylinder.&#x0D; Results. The flag leaf is quite important for the formation of a high yield of winter wheat, since its loss or damage significantly reduces the flow of photosynthetic assimilates into the plant. In particular, in the earing phase (BBCH 57), on average its area was 7.68 thousand m2/ha and good indicators of the formation of the area of the flag leaf were in the treatments with Binok Zerno and Harvest Start, both separately and in combination. In the next phase of development – flowering (BBCH 65) – the patterns were preserved, although the combination of Binok Zerno in a complex with fertilizer Harvest Start was better – 9.24 thousand m2/ha. A decrease in the total assimilation area was observed as a result of the gradual dying off of the leaves of the lower tiers, a reduction in the possibility of photosynthesis of the flag leaf and a decrease in the area of the ear involved in assimilation. In particular, on average according to the experiment, in the earing phase (BBCH 57), the total assimilation area of winter wheat was 51.9 thousand m2/ha; in the flowering phase (BBCH 65) 51.8 and in the phase of milk grain ripeness (BBCH 75) 29.3 thousand m2/ha. The total area of the assimilation surface in the earing phase (BBCH 57) was the largest for the combined seed treatment with the biological preparation Binok Zerno and the fertilizer Urozhai Start – 61.7 thousand m2/ha. In the future, in the phases of flowering (BBCH 65) and milk ripeness of grain (BBCH 75), the obtained patterns were preserved and the best treatment was the combined application of Binok Zerno and Harvest Start. By the end of the vegetation season, the concentration of the main photopigments in the leaves of winter wheat decreased In the phase of milk ripeness of the grain (BBCH 75), the content of chlorophyll a was 11.01 mg/g and chlorophyll b 3.93 mg/g. However, at earlier stages of wheat ontogenesis, the content of chlorophyll b in leaves increased, while chlorophyll a per gram of leaf dry matter decreased. It was established that the average content of chlorophyll a was 11.6 mg/g during the earing phase (BBCH 57), while the content of chlorophyll b was 4.09 mg/ha. In the flowering phase (BBCH 65), their content was 11,4 and 4.14 mg/ha, respectively. It was determined that the complex seed treatment with Binok Zerno + Harvest Start together with fertilizer N32P32K32 + Actibion ensured a higher content of chlorophylls – 16.3; 16.0 and 15.4 mg/g of dry matter, respectively.&#x0D; Conclusions. The application of the studied biological preparations for the seed treatment of winter wheat seeds contributes to a significant increase of the indicators of the total assimilation area of plants throughout the vegetation season, in particular its components, such as the area of flag leaves, blumes and stems, as well as the content of photosynthetic pigments. Established regularities of plant growth and development are important factors for optimizing crop cultivation technology in the conditions of the Right Bank Forest Steppe of Ukraine.

Numerical Studies on the Reinforced Fly Ash Wall in Tiered Configuration

This paper presents the findings of the numerical studies performed on a two-tiered reinforced fly ash wall. Fly ash was used as backfill material and jute geotextile was used as reinforcement as well as facing material. Wrap-around facing was used in which the jute geotextile was folded at the face. Three-dimensional models of fly ash walls showing offsets at varying distances between the two tiers and the length of reinforcement were prepared. The horizontal displacement on the wall face, tensile forces on reinforcement, and settlement behavior of the backfill wall were analyzed. Further, the wall model was scaled 10 times to generate large-scale fly ash models to understand the behavior of a life-size reinforced fly ash tiered wall. The displacement in the horizontal direction at the face of the wall reduced with the increase in length of the reinforcement and the distance between the tiers. The influence of the offset distance between the tiers on the tensile forces acting on the reinforcement was also investigated. The critical distance between the offsets was identified as 0.6 times the lower tier height. The tiered wall in the present study showed significant reduction in mobilized tensile force in the reinforcements especially at the lower tier as compared with a single (without tier) reinforced fly ash wall of the same height. The maximum tensile force for a single wall was observed to be 1.25 times and 5.35 times the two-tiered wall with D/L = 0.6 for upper and lower tiers, respectively, where D = distance of the offsets between the two tiers and L = height of lower tier. The safety factors were determined by using strength reduction factors. The factor of safety increased with an increase in the offset distance. Similar trends were observed for large-scale models.Practical ApplicationsJute geotextile reinforced fly ash models were analyzed using finite-element analysis. The results are relevant for the construction of fly ash wall reinforced with jute geotextile. The distance between the offsets was varied and a critical distance between the offsets was identified as 0.6L. The practical implication of the study is a reduced offset distance. The previous studies have identified a larger value of such distance. The current ratio for offset distance should be considered while designing the reinforced fly ash wall in tiered configuration. A change in position as well as value of tensile force acting on reinforcement was observed with the change in the distance between the offsets, thereby changing the location of failure plane. This should be taken in to account while designing the reinforcement for the wall.

Payer formulary tier increases of apixaban: how patients respond and potential implications

Objective To assess potential impacts of formulary tier increases of apixaban—an efficacious oral anticoagulant (OAC) for preventing stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF)—on patients’ prescription drug plan (PDP) switching and OAC treatment patterns. Methods Nationwide claims data for Medicare beneficiaries with Parts A, B, and D (100% sample) were used to assess apixaban-treated AF patients who faced a formulary tier increase for apixaban in 2017 by their Part D PDP. Patients’ out-of-pocket (OOP) costs for apixaban were described, along with PDP switching and OAC treatment patterns. Results Among 1845 included patients, 97.7% had apixaban on tier 3 of their plan’s formulary in 2016 and faced its increase to tier 4 for 2017. Approximately 4% (N = 81) of patients pre-emptively switched to a different PDP for 2017 with almost all switching to plans with apixaban on a lower formulary tier and 85.2% continuing apixaban treatment. Among the 96% (N = 1764) of patients who remained on the same PDP for 2017, over half (57.5%) continued apixaban treatment, despite increased OOP costs ($54 vs. $135 for a 30-day supply in 2016 vs. 2017). Only 12.4% of those who remained on the same plan for 2017 switched to another OAC, while as much as 30.1% discontinued OACs. These discontinuers exhibited higher comorbidity burdens than patients continuing on any OAC. Conclusion The majority of patients continued on apixaban despite higher OOP cost, suggesting patients’ reluctance to change treatment for non-medical reasons; however, 30% of patients discontinued OAC treatment after higher apixaban tier placement.