Informal Action—Adjudication—Rule Making: Some Recent Developments in Federal Administrative Law

Direct energy consumption of ICT hardware is only “half the story.” In order to get the “whole story,” energy consumption during the entire life cycle has to be taken into account. This chapter is a first step toward a more comprehensive picture, showing the “grey energy” (i.e., the overall energy requirements) as well as the releases (into air, water, and soil) during the entire life cycle of exemplary ICT hardware devices by applying the life cycle assessment method. The examples calculated show that a focus on direct energy consumption alone fails to take account of relevant parts of the total energy consumption of ICT hardware as well as the relevance of the production phase. As a general tendency, the production phase is more and more important the smaller (and the more energy-efficient) the devices are. When in use, a tablet computer is much more energy-efficient than a desktop computer system with its various components, so its production phase has a much greater relative importance. Accordingly, the impacts due to data transfer when using Internet services are also increasingly relevant the smaller the end-user device is, reaching up to more than 90 % of the overall impact when using a tablet computer.QC 20140825</p

The solar photospheric abundance of carbon.Analysis of atomic carbon lines with the CO5BOLD solar model

The use of hydrodynamical simulations, the selection of atomic data, and the computation of deviations from local thermodynamical equilibrium for the analysis of the solar spectra have implied a downward revision of the solar metallicity. We are in the process of using the latest simulations computed with the CO5BOLD code to reassess the solar chemical composition. We determine the solar photospheric carbon abundance by using a radiation-hydrodynamical CO5BOLD model, and compute the departures from local thermodynamical equilibrium by using the Kiel code. We measure equivalent widths of atomic CI lines on high resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio solar atlases. Deviations from local thermodynamic equilibrium are computed in 1D with the Kiel code. Our recommended value for the solar carbon abundance, relies on 98 independent measurements of observed lines and is A(C)=8.50+-0.06, the quoted error is the sum of statistical and systematic error. Combined with our recent results for the solar oxygen and nitrogen abundances this implies a solar metallicity of Z=0.0154 and Z/X=0.0211. Our analysis implies a solar carbon abundance which is about 0.1 dex higher than what was found in previous analysis based on different 3D hydrodynamical computations. The difference is partly driven by our equivalent width measurements (we measure, on average, larger equivalent widths with respect to the other work based on a 3D model), in part it is likely due to the different properties of the hydrodynamical simulations and the spectrum synthesis code. The solar metallicity we obtain from the CO5BOLD analyses is in slightly better agreement with the constraints of helioseismology than the previous 3D abundance results. (Abridged)Comment: Astronomy and Astrophysics, accepte

Red cell differential width (RDW) as a predictor of survival outcomes with palliative and adjuvant chemotherapy for metastatic penile cancer.

PURPOSE: Red cell distribution width (RDW) measures red cells' size variability. Metastatic penile cancer displays poor chemotherapy response. As no validated prognostic predictor exists, we investigated whether RDW correlates independently with survival outcomes in metastatic penile cancer treated by chemotherapy. METHODS: Electronic chemotherapy files of patients with metastatic penile cancer (M1 or N3) from a large academic supra-regional centre were retrospectively analysed between 2005 and 2018. Patients were stratified into RDW > 13.9% and < 13.9%, as per published data on RDW in renal cell carcinoma. Survival time was calculated from the date of chemotherapy initiation until the date of death. RESULTS: 58 patients were analysed. The RDW-high group (n = 31) had a poorer survival than the RDW-low group (n = 27). Median overall survival (mOS) in all patients was 19.0 months (95% CI 13.1-24.9). mOS for RDW-high was 15.0 months (95% CI 10.1-19.9) and 37.0 months (95% CI 32.3-43.1) for RDW-low. Kaplan-Meier curves showed a clear disparity in survival (log rank p = 0.025). Cox proportional hazard ratio for death, corrected for T-stage, grade, age and deprivation score was 0.43 (p = 0.04). Sub-analysis of the M1 patients showed mOS in RDW-high of 17 m (95% CI 11.6-22.4) vs. NR; HR for death of 0.42. N3 patients' mOS in RDW-high cohort was 30 months (95% CI 4.5-55.9) vs. 13 months (95% CI 1.8-24.2) in RDW-low; HR for death was 0.30. CONCLUSION: RDW correlates independently with survival outcomes in metastatic penile cancer and may act as a potential predictor of survival outcomes for patients with metastatic penile cancer receiving chemotherapy

A Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer Survey of Coronal Forbidden Lines in Late-Type Stars

We present a survey of coronal forbidden lines detected in Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) spectra of nearby stars. Two strong coronal features, Fe XVIII 974 A and Fe XIX 1118 A, are observed in 10 of the 26 stars in our sample. Various other coronal forbidden lines, observed in solar flares, also were sought but not detected. The Fe XVIII feature, formed at log T (K) = 6.8, appears to be free of blends, whereas the Fe XIX line can be corrupted by a C I multiplet. FUSE observations of these forbidden iron lines at spectral resolution R ~ 15,000 provides the opportunity to study dynamics of hot coronal plasmas. We find that the velocity centroid of the Fe XVIII feature deviates little from the stellar rest frame, confirming that the hot coronal plasma is confined. The observed line widths generally are consistent with thermal broadening at the high temperatures of formation and show little indication of additional turbulent broadening. The fastest rotating stars, 31 Com, alpha Aur Ab, and AB Dor, show evidence for excess broadening beyond the thermal component and the photospheric v sin i. The anomalously large widths in these fast rotating targets may be evidence for enhanced rotational broadening consistent with emission from coronal regions extending an additional delta R ~ 0.4-1.3 R_star above the stellar photosphere or represent the turbulent broadening caused by flows along magnetic loop structures. For the stars in which Fe XVIII is detected, there is an excellent correlation between the observed Rontgensatellit} (ROSAT) 0.2-2.0 keV soft X-ray flux and the coronal forbidden line flux. As a result, Fe XVIII is a powerful new diagnostic of coronal thermal conditions and dynamics that can be utilized to study high temperature plasma processes in late-type stars.Comment: 29 pages, 7 figures, AASTEX v5.0, accepted by Ap

Recoilless resonant neutrino capture and basics of neutrino oscillations

It is shown that the experiment on recoilless resonant emission and absorption of $\bar \nu_{e}$, proposed recently by Raghavan, could have an important impact on our understanding of the physics of neutrino oscillations.Comment: Additional information in the last chapte

Biomass fuel use and indoor air pollution in homes in Malawi

Background: Air pollution from biomass fuels in Africa is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity both in adults and children. The work describes the nature and quantity of smoke exposure from biomass fuel in Malawian homes. Methods: Markers of indoor air quality were measured in 62 homes (31 rural and 31 urban) over a typical 24 h period. Four different devices were used (one gravimetric device, two photometric devices and a carbon monoxide (HOBO) monitor. Gravimetric samples were analysed for transition metal content. Data on cooking and lighting fuel type together with information on indicators of socioeconomic status were collected by questionnaire. Results: Respirable dust levels in both the urban and rural environment were high with the mean (SD) 24 h average levels being 226 μg/m3 (206 μg/m3). Data from real-time instruments indicated respirable dust concentrations were >250 μg/m3 for >1 h per day in 52% of rural homes and 17% of urban homes. Average carbon monoxide levels were significantly higher in urban compared with rural homes (6.14 ppm vs 1.87 ppm; p<0.001). The transition metal content of the smoke was low, with no significant difference found between urban and rural homes. Conclusions: Indoor air pollution levels in Malawian homes are high. Further investigation is justified because the levels that we have demonstrated are hazardous and are likely to be damaging to health. Interventions should be sought to reduce exposure to concentrations less harmful to health

Cyprus' image—a sun and sea destination—as a detrimental factor to seasonal fluctuations. Exploration into motivational factors for holidaying in Cyprus

Cyprus is established as a summer destination. To aid the destination in developing its winter season as well, this research uses a qualitative inductive approach to explore the tourists’ current image of the island and their motivations of visiting it. The research indicates that the current image, which essentially portrays Cyprus as a sun-and-sea destination is thought to dissuade tourists from perceiving the island as a year-round destination. Nonetheless, increasing the pull factors of the destination through the development of unique special interest products can help in extending the tourism season as well as broaden its narrow image

Going to the exclusive show : exhibition strategies and moviegoing memories of Disneys animated feature films in Ghent (1937-1982)

This is a case study of the exploitation and experience of Disney's animated feature films from the 1930s to the 1980s in Ghent (Belgium). It is a historical study of programming practices and financial strategies which constructed childhood memories on watching Disney. The study is a contribution to a historical understanding of the implications of global distribution of film as cultural products and the counter pull of localism. Using a multi-method approach, the argument is made that the scarce screenings were strategically programmed to uplift the moviegoing experience into something out of the ordinary in everyday life. Programming and revenue data characterize the screenings as exclusive and generating high intakes. Consequently, the remembered screenings did not exhale an easy accessible social status nor an image of pervasiveness of popular childhood film, contradictory to conventional accounts of Disney's ubiquity in popular culture

Soroepidemiologia do lentivirus em ovinos no Semiárido baiano.

[Epidemiology of small ruminant lentiviruses in sheep semiarid of Bahia]. Abstract: To verify the occurrence of antibodies against SRLV in sheep flocks from farms located in Microregion of Feira de Santana, Bahia, we performed a seroepidemiological survey of 10 municipalities with the most effective micro sheep: Antonio Cardoso, Feira de Santana, Ipecaetá , Ipirá, Itatim, Pintadas, Rafael Jambeiro, Santa Terezinha, Santo Estevão e Serra Preta, totaling 384 samples collected from 48 municipalities visited properties. The samples were subjected to the test of agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) to give negative results in all sera investigated. This finding can be attributed to the composition of herds, which are mostly of animals breed, the system of creation predominantly semi-extensive and type of exploitation for meat, which reduced the risk of introduction of lentivirus . Therefore, in order to preserve the genetic material already adapted to semi-arid climatic adversities, sanitary measures can be taken to prevent the entry of infectious agents circulating in these herds. This is necessary especially because of the tendencies of improving the productivity of small ruminant animals by the introduction of imported breed