A universal specification for multicore fiber crosstalk

© 2019 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes,creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.In order to transition multi-core fiber (MCF) technologies from their research state to volume production, the key design specifications have to be broadly agreed upon, first and foremost an acceptable level of inter-core crosstalk per unit length. Against common belief, we show that MCF crosstalk requirements per unit length are fairly independent of transmission distance in the context of modern coherent optical communication systems. As a consequence, a single value for the tolerable inter-core crosstalk per unit length can be used to specify MCFs, valid from metropolitan (~100 km) to trans-pacific (~10 000 km) deployment scenarios. The notion of a universal inter-core crosstalk specification allows for application-independent MCF designs (including a distance-independent optimum core density) and will facilitate the standardization and volume manufacturing of MCF.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Developing general cultural awareness in a monocultural English as a foreign language context in a Mexican university: a wiki-based critical incident approach

© 2013 Association for Language Learning. This article explores what the ‘intercultural turn’ might mean in the case of teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). The discussion is contextualised in what has been termed the ‘expanding circle’ of English and focuses on an English as a foreign language (EFL) class in a Mexican university, a context where the full implications of a shift from EFL to English as a lingua franca (ELF) have yet to be addressed. We consider how the intercultural turn might be understood in this Mexican context and then present the rationale for, and design of, a technology-based (wiki) extra-curricular pilot project which adopted less of an EFL/cultural and more of an ELF/intercultural approach. We evaluate the evidence from this small-scale project in terms of students\u27 developing general cultural awareness and suggest that this type of project, an example of the intercultural turn, might be more widely applicable in similar ‘expanding circle’ EFL contexts

In Vitro Studies Evaluating Leaching of Mercury from Mine Waste Calcine Using Simulated Human Body Fluids

In vitro bioaccessibility (IVBA) studies were carried out on samples of mercury (Hg) mine-waste calcine (roasted Hg ore) by leaching with simulated human body fluids. The objective was to estimate potential human exposure to Hg due to inhalation of airborne calcine particulates and hand-to-mouth ingestion of Hg-bearing calcines. Mine waste calcines collected from Hg mines at Almadén, Spain, and Terlingua, Texas, contain Hg sulfide, elemental Hg, and soluble Hg compounds, which constitute primary ore or compounds formed during Hg retorting. Elevated leachate Hg concentrations were found during calcine leaching using a simulated gastric fluid (as much as 6200 μg of Hg leached/g sample). Elevated Hg concentrations were also found in calcine leachates using a simulated lung fluid (as much as 9200 μg of Hg leached/g), serum-based fluid (as much as 1600 μg of Hg leached/g), and water of pH 5 (as much as 880 μg of Hg leached/g). The leaching capacity of Hg is controlled by calcine mineralogy; thus, calcines containing soluble Hg compounds contain higher leachate Hg concentrations. Results indicate that ingestion or inhalation of Hg mine-waste calcine may lead to increased Hg concentrations in the human body, especially through the ingestion pathway

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Background: Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. // Methods: We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung's disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. // Findings: We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung's disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middle-income countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in low-income countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. // Interpretation: Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

A universal specification for multicore fiber crosstalk

© 2019 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes,creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.In order to transition multi-core fiber (MCF) technologies from their research state to volume production, the key design specifications have to be broadly agreed upon, first and foremost an acceptable level of inter-core crosstalk per unit length. Against common belief, we show that MCF crosstalk requirements per unit length are fairly independent of transmission distance in the context of modern coherent optical communication systems. As a consequence, a single value for the tolerable inter-core crosstalk per unit length can be used to specify MCFs, valid from metropolitan (~100 km) to trans-pacific (~10 000 km) deployment scenarios. The notion of a universal inter-core crosstalk specification allows for application-independent MCF designs (including a distance-independent optimum core density) and will facilitate the standardization and volume manufacturing of MCF.Peer Reviewe

Aplicación de análisis micropaleontológicos cuantitativos en estratigrafía secuencial : el Cretácico inferior de la cuenca de Organyà (Pirineos, España)

El análisis cuantitativo de los componentes fosilíferos de las microfacies en rocas carbonatadas se manifiesta como una herramienta útil para reconocer ciclos sedimentarios de diferente orden que pasarían desapercibidos en análisis únicamente cualitativos. El método cuantitativo utilizado se basa en el recuento de todos los organismos fósiles presentes en la misma superficie de cada lámina delgada o equivalente, los cuales son clasificados según su biotopo particular en función de su situación en la plataforma. Ello permite cuantificar las variaciones del medio por pequeñas que éstas sean e interpretar el aumento o disminución de la lámina de agua en una plataforma, así como otras características del medio, como el tipo de sustrato. El método se ha aplicado al estudio de los sedimentos urgonianos de la Cuenca de Organyà (Barremiense-Aptiense inferior), tanto de secuencias deposicionales mayores como de secuencias elementales

Stratigraphic distribution of Valanginian-Early Aptian shallow-water benthic foraminifera and algae, and depositional sequences of a carbonate platform in a tectonically-controlled basin: the Organyà Basin, Pyrenees, Spain.

International audienc

Aplicación de análisis micropaleontológicos cuantitativos en estratigrafía secuencial : el Cretácico inferior de la cuenca de Organyà (Pirineos, España)

El análisis cuantitativo de los componentes fosilíferos de las microfacies en rocas carbonatadas se manifiesta como una herramienta útil para reconocer ciclos sedimentarios de diferente orden que pasarían desapercibidos en análisis únicamente cualitativos. El método cuantitativo utilizado se basa en el recuento de todos los organismos fósiles presentes en la misma superficie de cada lámina delgada o equivalente, los cuales son clasificados según su biotopo particular en función de su situación en la plataforma. Ello permite cuantificar las variaciones del medio por pequeñas que éstas sean e interpretar el aumento o disminución de la lámina de agua en una plataforma, así como otras características del medio, como el tipo de sustrato. El método se ha aplicado al estudio de los sedimentos urgonianos de la Cuenca de Organyà (Barremiense-Aptiense inferior), tanto de secuencias deposicionales mayores como de secuencias elementales

Larger foraminifera and strontium isotope stratigraphy of middle Campanian shallow-water lagoonal facies of the Pyrenean Basin (NE Spain)

The Upper Cretaceous Terradets Limestone of the south Pyrenean Basin consists of two subunits, named the Lower Terradets and the Upper Terradets. In the Lower Terradets subunit, sedimentological features and fossil content permit distinguishing mid-ramp, bioclastic shoal and inner-ramp lagoonal facies associations, each characterized by a distinctive larger foraminiferal assemblage. Mid-ramp facies contain epibenthic, relatively small foraminifera like Cuneolina cylindrica, Dictyopsella cf. cuvillieri, Pseudocyclammina sphaeroidea, Nummofallotia cretacea, Fallotia? sp., Pararotalia cf. tuberculifera, Praestorr- sella roestae and Praesiderolites praevidali. Bioclastic shoal facies are dominated by Orbitoides cf. tissoti, Praesiderolites douvillei, and Pseudosiderolites sp. The inner-ramp lagoonal facies contain a rich and diverse assemblage of epiphytes, like Ilerdorbis decussatus, Dicyclina schlumbergeri, and Cyclopsinella roselli n. sp., and epibenthic foraminifera, like Calvezi- conus lecalvezae and Orbitokathina campaniana. Strontium isotope stratigraphy indicates a middle Campanian age for the Lower Terradets limestone