Opening Phase Research Articles

Tectonic regime transition of the western South China Block in early Cambrian: Evidence from the Meishucun volcanic ash beds

The tectonic evolution of the South China Block, especially its western part, is ambiguous in the early Paleozoic owing to the lack of contemporary tectono-magmatic records. Thick ash beds preserved in the early Cambrian successions in the eastern Yunnan Province of the western South China Block provide new insights into their magmatic origins and tectonic evolution. We report here integrated in-situ zircon U-Pb data, Hf-O isotopes, and whole-rock geochemistry of two early Cambrian ash beds (Bed 5 and Bed 9) from the Meishucun section in the eastern Yunnan Province. SIMS zircon U-Pb data indicate the two ash layers were deposited at 533.2 ± 3.8 Ma and 526.2 ± 4.1 Ma, respectively. Zircon Hf-O isotopes and whole-rock geochemistry of the two ash beds demonstrate crustal origins of their parental magma and their close affinities to A-type granites. These features suggest that the ash beds were formed in extensional settings and the tectonic regime of the study area switched from compression to extension in the early Cambrian. The Meishucun volcanic records, in combination with other late Ediacaran–early Paleozoic magmatism along the northern margin of East Gondwana, may represent the initial opening phase of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean.

Термин различие в первых славянских грамматиках: проблемы сигнификата и денотата

The article is devoted to the analysis of the term razlichiye functioning in the first Slavic grammars. The research is based on the data contained in the works of Laurentiy Zizaniy and Meletius Smotrytsky, as well as in some later grammatical descriptions. On the basis of etymological, motivational and orienting analyzes, the ratio of denotative and significative components in the structure of the term, which in the first native grammars functioned as razlichiye, was identified. The review of theoretical research papers on the issue is introduced. The variability of the term usage resulting from the studied exponent signification and denotation ambiguity has been revealed. At the opening phase of the formation of grammatical terminology, reflected in the grammars of the Church Slavonic language in the 16 th – 17 th centuries the linguistic personality of grammarians, the cultural context of the era are proved to play an important role. The authors conclude that introducing the term razlichiye in the description of the Church Slavonic grammatical structure was the first step towards understanding the relational meaning of flexion as a morpheme. A comparative analysis of the term and its equivalents functioning in the grammars of ancient Greek, Latin, and Slavic languages has been performed. It was found that the interpretation of the medieval understanding of the term razlichiye as one of the parts of speech is recognized by the majority of modern researchers, but different assumptions are made about the significative and denotative correlation of the term (indicative-relative pronouns or articles). It is assumed that the signification of the term razlichiye in its modern interpretation can be explained as follows: it is a rudimentary inflectional category of syncretic (part-of-speech-and-affixal) nature, embodied in the forms of pronouns i, ja, e. The denotation of the term razlichiye is a transitional phenomenon between the realities corresponding to a definite article, an indicative-relative pronoun and an inflection.

Detection of the spontaneous blinking pattern of dry eye patients using the machine learning method

Objective: To establish a method to record the spontaneous blink pattern with a machine learning model, and to clarify the spontaneous blink pattern in patients with dry eye. Methods: It was a cross-setional study.We selected 357 dry eye patients (102 males and 255 females), aged (46.2±13.3) years, who visited corneal specialist clinics of Beijing Tongren Eye Center in 2019, as the dry eye group. The control group enrolled 152 normal controls, including 32 males and 120 females, aged (48.1±13.9) years. All participants completed the Ocular Surface Disease Index questionnaire, blink video capture, lipid layer thickness measurement, tear break-up time measurement, corneal fluorescein staining, and Schirmer Ⅱ test. Based on the assembled model built using UNet image segmentation algorithm and ResNet image classification algorithm, single frames of the blink video were analyzed, and then the palpebral opening height of each frame was obtained in order to establish a spontaneous blink wave. Finally, the characteristics of spontaneous blinks in dry eye patients were analyzed based on different types of complete blinks (types A, B and C) and partial blinks (types Ⅰ, Ⅱ and Ⅲ). Independent sample t test and Wilcoxon rank-sum test were used to judge if there was significant difference between the dry eye group and the normal group. Results: The accuracy of the segmentation model and the classification model was 96.3% and 96.0%, respectively, and the consistency with the manual analysis was 97.9%. In dry eye patients, the number of blinks was 30 (18, 42)/min, which was higher than that in normal controls [20 (9, 46)/min] (U=18 132.50, P=0.002). The number of complete blinks in dry eye cases was significantly lower than that in normal controls [6 (3, 24)/min vs. 12 (3,33)/min; U=12 361.00, P=0.016], and the number of partial blinks was significantly higher than that in normal controls [15 (6, 27)/min vs. 3 (0, 10)/min; U=22 839.00, P<0.001]. In complete blinks, the proportion of type A blinks in dry eye patients was significantly higher than that in normal controls [53.7% (2 796/5 177) vs. 39.3% (633/1 698); χ²=101.83, P<0.001]; in partial blinks, the proportion of type Ⅱ blinks in dry eye patients was significantly higher than that in normal controls [36.0%(2 334/6 477) vs. 29.6%(126/426); χ²=6.99, P=0.007]. The average interblink interval of dry eye patients was 1.2 s, which was not significantly different from that of normal controls (1.1 s; U=15 230.00, P=0.093). The eyelid closed phase of dry eye patients was 0.8 s, which was significantly shorter than that of normal controls (1.3 s; U=16 291.50, P=0.006). There were no significant differences in eyelid closing phase, early opening phase and late opening phase between the two groups (all P>0.05). Conclusions: In dry eye patients, the number of partial blinks increased, the number of complete blinks decreased, and the duration of eyelid closed phase shortened significantly. The main blink patterns of dry eye patients included type Ⅱ partial blinks with a reduced closure amplitude and type A complete blinks with a shortened closure time.

Development, Application and Effect Evaluation of the Remote-controlled Automated Needle Valve Intermittent Production System in the L Well Block in China

In order to solve the problem of liquid loading, some water-produced gas wells use intermittent production mode to produce: shut in gas wells to restore energy during the closing phase, and open up to carry the liquid to surface by the high velocity gas during well opening phase, which is cost effective. However, some wells need frequent opening and closing or adjusting gas flow, manual opening and closing is easily influenced by external interference factors (road conditions, weather, public relation issue, etc.), and cannot guarantee production time for intermittent producing well. In order to realize the remote-control and automation for these wells, the remote-control automated needle valve intermittent production system was developed and successfully applied to the L well block. The gas rate, production time and economy before and after the smart needle valve installed was compared to do the performance assessment. The results show that: (1) the stability of the remote-control automated needle valve intermittent production system is good, and it can meet the requirments of the remote automated opening and closing of gas wells. (2) After the installation of the remote-controlled automated needle valve system, 71% of the gas wells have a stable gas increase, 100% of the gas wells have a higher well opening time, and the liquid unloading in the gas wells has been significantly improved. The average gas production increased from 1.75×10⁴ m³/d to 1.87×10⁴ m³/d, which was 6.86% higher than that before installation. The well opening time of 7 wells increased by 5.16% on average. (3) Compared with manual operation, the comprehensive economic performance of the remote-controlled automated needle valve opening system is more excellent. The remote-controlled automated needle valve opening system can remotely intelligently control the intermittent production of gas wells, which has significant economic benefits and high application value and worth further spreading.

Emotional and Behavioural issues in children during early Phases of school opening after Covid 19 Pandemic in Eastern India

Introduction: The Covid 19 pandemic was first officially noted in China in late 2019. After that, the virus spread globally.At that time it was a new virus and we did know nothing about the virus. So lock down or home confinement was the onlyoption to control the spread of the virus (1). During that time children suffered the most as they were confined at home (2).During this period they showed various behavioural problems and when restrictions were withdrawn they still showedsome behavioural issues.Methodology: We conducted a cross-sectional study using an English questionnaire. The questionnaire was validatedby five independent psychiatrists who were finally excluded from the study. Responses from the parents of randomlyselected 76 children were recorded. We included the children aged between 3 to 12 years and who previously used to goto school.Results: 40.8 % of children were of 6 to 10 years of age and the male and females were almost equal in number in ourstudy (M: F = 40:36). Maximum children are from urban residences (about 59.2%) and the nuclear family (56.6%) followedby joint families (38.2%) and single-parent families (5.3%). In most of the cases ( 61.8%) father is the only earning memberfollowed by both parents working (34.2%) and in only 3.9% of cases, the mother is the only earning member of the family.About 76.3% of parents observed behavioural issues in their children. The problems were mostly observed in 6 to 10 yrsof age. Males showed the problem most often than females ( M:F = 33:25). Children from urban areas showed behaviouralproblems more often.Discussion: Most of the parents reported that their children were having different sorts of problems during this period(3).The families of small children aged 6 to 10 yrs of age were facing various problems more often. The children of this agegroup showed problems more often as they were isolated at home. Previously they were in the discipline of school andsociety. Due to the sudden release of pressure, all routine activities got disturbed.

NAPC: A Neural Algorithm for Automated Passenger Counting in Public Transport on a Privacy-Friendly Dataset

Real-time load information in public transport is of high importance for both passengers and service providers. Neural algorithms have shown a high performance on various object counting tasks and play a continually growing methodological role in developing automated passenger counting systems. However, the publication of public-space video footage is often contradicted by legal and ethical considerations to protect the passengers&#x2019; privacy. This work proposes an end-to-end Long Short-Term Memory network with a problem-adapted cost function that learned to count boarding and alighting passengers on a publicly available, comprehensive dataset of approx.13,000 manually annotated low-resolution 3D LiDAR video recordings (depth information only) from the doorways of a regional train. These depth recordings do not allow the identification of single individuals. For each door opening phase, the trained models predict the correct passenger count (ranging from 0 to 67) in approx.96&#x0025; of boarding and alighting, respectively. Repeated training with different training and validation sets confirms the independence of this result from a specific test set.

Analysis of the umbrella-type reflector opening process on a stand with an active gravity compensation system

During the verification of the functioning of the transformed structures in ground conditions, it is necessary to minimize the effect of gravity in order to exclude the occurrence of additional loads on the hinge assemblies and opening mechanisms. To perform this task, when testing a transformable umbrella-type reflector, stands with an active gravity compensation system are used, in which the gravity compensation force is applied to each spoke of the reflector. However, when compensating for the gravity spokes of the reflector, the fixing point of the suspension cable does not coincide with the center of mass of the spoke, which leads to the appearance of additional moments of forces acting on the suspended structure. Therefore, as an object of research, a part of the reflector was considered, consisting of a spoke, with cords of a formforming structure attached to it and a mesh. A 3D model has been developed, using which the positions of the center of mass of the structure under consideration were determined in the key phases of the reflector opening. A computational analysis of the driving forces and moments acting on the structure in the process of disclosure is carried out. The degree of influence of the suspension point position on the inaccuracy of gravity compensation has been established. The results of the analysis presented in the article can be used as initial data for the development of an algorithm for the operation of an active gravity compensation system, which will be able to take into account the position of the suspension point and the center of mass of the structure relative to the axis of rotation of the spoke during the opening of the reflector, by changing the gravity compensation force.

Faith, Fear, and Other F-Words

Faith, Fear, and Other F-Words

Early childhood teachers' and managers' lived experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa

The declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic by the World Health Organisation in March 2020 brought many changes to the early childhood sector internationally. The South African response is best understood in the context of an under-developed sector with pre-existing vulnerabilities. In this article, we present a contextual understanding of the lived experiences of early childhood development (ECD) teachers and managers during the lockdown and the opening phases of a risk-adjusted approach. Our use of a phenomenological lens together with systems theory provides a reality check through a focus on lived experiences. Data were produced through an online survey with 28 ECD teachers and managers. We conducted semi-structured interviews with a subset of 8 of these participants. Findings show that disruptions of COVID-19 led to entrenching inequities in service provision and early learning opportunities. These intersecting dimensions have implications for building effective ECD systems.

Een goed begin

Abstract Well begun is half done. Deontic and epistemic authority in the opening phase of medical consultations Context: An effective consultation opening with attention to patient participation not only increases patient satisfaction, but is also a prerequisite for shared decision making, which may improve health outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. Methods: Using conversation analysis, we examined linguistic and structural characteristics of 41 video recorded consultation openings of medical specialists at a large Dutch teaching hospital. The main purpose was to give an overview of how doctors and patients interactionally shape deontic and epistemic authority. Results: Conversation analysis showed different ways in which doctors open their consultations and patients’ reactions to this. Agenda setting occurred in 6 cases, this was always the doctor’s agenda. Most of the doctors’ utterances during this phase displayed a high deontic stance and none of the patients were invited to discuss their expectations or goals for the consultation. 30 doctors started with their opening question, which in itself also reflects a high deontic stance. During the opening questions, the doctors’ epistemic stances differed. Conclusion: During the consultation openings, the doctor was clearly in charge of the conversation and often did not explore the knowledge domain of the patient. This can limit patient participation and can hinder shared decision making in the consultation.

Compared structure and evolution of the conjugate Demerara and Guinea transform marginal plateaus

The Demerara and Guinea plateaus are conjugate Transform Marginal Plateaus (TMPs) formed at the junction of the Jurassic Central Atlantic Ocean and the Cretaceous Equatorial Atlantic Ocean. We compare their structure and evolution through a combined industrial/academic seismic dataset tied by well data. We show that these TMPs record a complete evolution history from the Jurassic Central Atlantic to the Equatorial Atlantic breakup and seafloor spreading phases. Both plateaus first formed as volcanic margins displaying successive SDR wedges migrating towards the newly forming Central Atlantic domain. In this context, Demerara and Guinea, conjugates of the Bahamas, seem to have formed in relation to plume activity at the southern end of the Central Atlantic domain. Our dataset suggests that the Demerara and Guinea plateaus initially represented two distinct extrusive centres separated by a crustal basement high. Later, during the Cretaceous Equatorial opening phase, both plateaus separated in a transform mode following this discontinuity. Deformation is notably asymmetric during this phase: Aptian to Albian folding, strike-slip, transtensive deformation and complex vertical movements on the Demerara side and only minor deformation on the Guinean side, except on its divergent Sierra Leone termination. The deformation is sealed on both plateaus by a regional upper Albian erosion unconformity. Extensional reactivation occurs on the Guinea side (probably through a general collapse?). To conclude, this study provides new insights into the nature and origin of TMPs and the key tectono-sedimentary archives they may contain to understand the polyphase breakup conditions of Gondwana.

Equiprobable and attacked-square chess entropies by phases, levels of play and game outcomes

In any legal chess position, we define an attacked-square entropy [Formula: see text] for either Black or White pieces in terms of the square occupation probability [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] is the number of all possible movements to square [Formula: see text] (free or occupied by an opponent’s piece) and [Formula: see text] is the total mobility defined as the sum of all possible movements. Thus, each attacked square contributes to the entropy according to its received “firepower” concentration. A simpler nonsquare-dependant equiprobable entropy [Formula: see text] in terms of equal probabilities [Formula: see text] always yields [Formula: see text]. On average, the difference [Formula: see text] is very large in the Opening phase and [Formula: see text] decreases faster for lower ranked players after move 25. A major cause of the reduction of [Formula: see text] during a game is material loss, which is an irreversible process. By game outcome, gaps in average [Formula: see text] among winners, draws and losers are larger for Amateur players than for Elite players, both in the Middlegame and Endgame. Statistically, Elite players exhibit narrower dispersions in [Formula: see text]. Also, the entropy rates of the Elite level fluctuate much less than the entropies of other levels. Density of attacks in the four-square central zone is very high in the Opening, specially for Elite players.

Sport Consumption Intentions during a Crisis: The COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic brought a disruption to daily life and to the sport industry not seen before by generations of consumers. The purpose of the present study was to examine the impact of three external factors (i.e., perceived State/County opening phase status, work status and sheltering status) along with consumers’ past spectating behavior on their intentions to attend live sport events in the near future. In this examination, we controlled for COVID-19-related beliefs, as well as for consumers’ emotional states (i.e., scared, optimistic). Data were collected from 382 Amazon Mechanical Turk respondents. The findings revealed how external factors happening due to a crisis (i.e., pandemic) and past spectating behavior influence consumers’ intentions to attend live sport events. Furthermore, beliefs and emotions related to the threat of COVID-19 sport spectators’ intentions to go to live sport events in the COVID-19 era.

Nucleosome Assembly and Disassembly in vitro Are Governed by Chemical Kinetic Principles.

As the elementary unit of eukaryotic chromatin, nucleosomes in vivo are highly dynamic in many biological processes, such as DNA replication, repair, recombination, or transcription, to allow the necessary factors to gain access to their substrate. The dynamic mechanism of nucleosome assembly and disassembly has not been well described thus far. We proposed a chemical kinetic model of nucleosome assembly and disassembly in vitro. In the model, the efficiency of nucleosome assembly was positively correlated with the total concentration of histone octamer, reaction rate constant and reaction time. All the corollaries of the model were well verified for the Widom 601 sequence and the six artificially synthesized DNA sequences, named CS1–CS6, by using the salt dialysis method in vitro. The reaction rate constant in the model may be used as a new parameter to evaluate the nucleosome reconstitution ability with DNAs. Nucleosome disassembly experiments for the Widom 601 sequence detected by Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) and fluorescence thermal shift (FTS) assays demonstrated that nucleosome disassembly is the inverse process of assembly and can be described as three distinct stages: opening phase of the (H2A–H2B) dimer/(H3–H4)2 tetramer interface, release phase of the H2A–H2B dimers from (H3–H4)2 tetramer/DNA and removal phase of the (H3–H4)2 tetramer from DNA. Our kinetic model of nucleosome assembly and disassembly allows to confirm that nucleosome assembly and disassembly in vitro are governed by chemical kinetic principles.

Samuel Stern and early Ismā‘īlism

ABSTRACT The pre-Fāṭimid or early period in Ismāʿīlī history is one of the most obscure major phases in the entire history of Ismāʿīlism. This is mainly because we do not have any reliable sources written by the Ismāʿīlīs of that period, and our knowledge of that phase is primarily based on non- Ismāʿīlī sources. As a result, many aspects of early Ismāʿīlism have continue to be shrouded in mystery, causing differences of opinion among the scholars in the field. Using a wide range of sources, including new ones, Samuel Stern was perhaps the earliest modern scholar who correctly identified the nature of early Ismāʿīlism and its evolution from the middle of the second/eight century to the foundation of the Fāṭimid caliphate in North Africa in 297/909. This article focuses on Stern's original views on the opening phase of Ismāʿīlism as well as the circumstances leading to the division of the early Ismāʿīlis into the loyal Ismāʿīlīs and the dissident Qarmaṭīs. Stern also shed light on the cosmological doctrine propounded by the early Ismāʿīlīs.

3D simulation of a ballistic direct injection cycle for the assessment of fuel property effects on cavitating injector internal flow dynamics and primary breakup

The fuel property effect on a high-pressure ballistic injection cycle is studied by n-dodecane and n-heptane because these pure fuels have well-known and well-specified properties. Distinct differences between both fuels are worked out for a ballistic injection cycle by dynamic 3D flow simulations. A two-phase volume of fluid Euler–Euler method for gas mixture is utilized to capture both cavitation and primary breakup in a seamless simulation of injector internal flow and near-nozzle spray. The split-off of primary ligaments is directly resolved down to the available grid limit in computational grid with about 100 million cells. A large-eddy simulation is employed. The simulation results are complemented by laser-induced fluorescence measurements of the spray’s near field. The spray head exhibits a mushroom shape for n-dodecane during the early opening phase, while a more complex and unstable misty initial spray head, which is attributed to lower density and viscosity, is observed for n-heptane. For high needle lift, the intensity of string cavitation is lower for n-dodecane due to its larger density and viscosity. During the opening phase, highly unsteady turbulent vortex and cavitation structures are generated. For n-dodecane, these structures survive far into the closing phase. This behavior is attributed to an inertia effect due to the larger density. This hysteresis is also observed for the ligament velocity, which still increases during the early closing phase. For n-heptane, the hysteresis is much less pronounced and ligament velocities are higher due to the lower density.

Safety of Bariatric Surgery During the Opening Phase After the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experience at an Academic Center.

IntroductionIncreased morbimortality in patients with COVID-19 infection who had undergone surgery has raised concerns about bariatric surgery safety during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, there is scarce literature on safety outcomes after bariatric surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic.ObjectivesTo determine the risk of symptomatic COVID-19 infection and associated complications during the first 30 days after bariatric surgery.Materials and MethodsProspective observational cohort study including all patients who consecutively underwent primary bariatric surgery between August and December 2020.ResultsA total of 189 patients were included. Median age and BMI were 36 (17–70) years and 38 (35–41) kg/m2, respectively. Forty percent of patients were women (n = 76), 59.3% (n = 112) underwent sleeve gastrectomy (SG), and 40.7% (n = 77) underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). All surgeries were performed laparoscopically. The median length of postoperative stay was 2 (0–5) days. Postoperative COVID-19 infection was detected in two patients (1.1%): one patient was readmitted without the need of intermediate or ICU care, and the other was managed as an outpatient. Major complications occurred in three patients (1.6%); none of them was COVID-19 related. Two patients required an unplanned reoperation. No patient required intermediate or ICU care, no severe COVID-19 complications were observed, and no mortality was reported.ConclusionBariatric surgery can be safely performed during the ongoing pandemic, albeit a low risk of COVID-19 symptomatic infection. Rigorous perioperative COVID-19 institutional protocols are required to perform bariatric surgery safely during the current pandemic.Graphical abstract

SO2 Capture by Two Aluminum-Based MOFs: Rigid-like MIL-53(Al)-TDC versus Breathing MIL-53(Al)-BDC.

Metal-organic frameworks MIL-53(Al)-TDC and MIL-53(Al)-BDC were explored in the SO2 adsorption process. MIL-53(Al)-TDC was shown to behave as a rigid-like material upon SO2 adsorption. On the other hand, MIL-53(Al)-BDC exhibits guest-induced flexibility of the framework with the presence of multiple steps in the SO2 adsorption isotherm that was related through molecular simulations to the existence of three different pore opening phases narrow pore, intermediate pore, and large pore. Both materials proved to be exceptional candidates for SO2 capture, even under wet conditions, with excellent SO2 adsorption, good cycling, chemical stability, and easy regeneration. Further, we propose MIL-53(Al)-TDC and MIL-53(A)-BDC of potential interest for SO2 sensing and SO2 storage/transportation, respectively.

Effects of Laryngeal Vibratory Asymmetry and Neuromuscular Compensation on Voice Quality.

Vibratory asymmetry and neuromuscular compensation are often seen in laryngeal neuromuscular pathology. However, the ramifications of these findings on voice quality are unclear. This study investigated the effects of varying levels of vibratory asymmetry and neuromuscular compensation on cepstral peak prominence (CPP), an analog of voice quality. In vivo canine phonation model. Varying degrees of vocal fold vibratory asymmetry were achieved by stimulating one recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) over 11 levels from threshold to maximal muscle activation. For each of these levels, phonation was induced at systematically varied combinations of neuromuscular compensation: three levels each of contralateral RLN stimulation (80%, 90%, and 100% of maximal), superior laryngeal nerve (SLN) activation (0%, 50%, and 100% of maximal), and airflow levels (500, 700, and 900 mL/s). Vocal fold symmetry was determined by assessing the opening phase of the vibratory cycle in high-speed video recordings. Voice quality was estimated acoustically by calculating CPP for each voice sample. Eight hundred twenty-two phonatory conditions with varying degrees of vibratory asymmetry were evaluated. CPP was highest at vibratory symmetry. Increasing levels of asymmetry resulted in significant decreases in CPP. CPP increased significantly with increasing contralateral RLN activation. CPP was significantly higher at 50% SLN activation than 0% or 100% SLN activation. Voice quality, as approximated by CPP, is best at vibratory symmetry and deteriorates with increasing degrees of asymmetry. Voice quality may be improved with neuromuscular compensation by increased adduction of the contralateral vocal fold or increased vocal fold tension at mid-levels of SLN activation. NA, Basic Science Laryngoscope, 132:130-134, 2022.

Integrated Analyses of Metabolomic Profiling and Associated Gene Expression of Catharanthus roseus Seedling Reveal the Metabolic Alternations of Primary Metabolites and Flavonoids During the Apical Hook Opening Phase

Integrated Analyses of Metabolomic Profiling and Associated Gene Expression of Catharanthus roseus Seedling Reveal the Metabolic Alternations of Primary Metabolites and Flavonoids During the Apical Hook Opening Phase