The Significance of Micas in Ancient Cross-bedded Sandstones

In our study of thin sections of the cross-bedded Coconino Sandstone we encountered muscovite as a trace mineral in almost every thin section of the hundreds that we cut. As we began to study other similar cross-bedded sandstones like the Tensleep, Lyons and Hopeman the same pattern began to emerge. All of these sandstones have been conventionally interpreted as desert wind-blown deposits. A novel set of experiments were performed and recently published by some Cedarville University geology students and the lead author of this paper (Anderson et al., 2017). They found when muscovite-rich quartz sand was experimentally placed into a simulated eolian setting, muscovite only survived for a matter of days. When muscovite-rich quartz sand was experimentally placed into a simulated subaqueous setting it was still present after a year of constant agitation before the experiment was finally terminated. Even though this was a simple experiment and only a limited number of trials were performed it confirms field observations by the authors that mica is rare in modern eolian deposits (unless they are very near a granitic source) and its relative abundance in beach and marine sands. The implications are significant. Although more experiments could be performed, the experiments and observations suggest that mica is rapidly degraded in wind-blown environments and survives when transported by water. Evidently water cushions the grain-to-grain collisions and prevents rapid deterioration of the muscovite in subaqueous settings. This proposed paper will catalog and illustrate the large number of cross-bedded sandstones we have found that contain mica (mostly muscovite) as an accessory mineral. The dominant conventional view is that these sandstones are eolian, but the presence of muscovite based on experimental data and field observations suggests otherwise. The presence of muscovite in cross-bedded sandstones can be used as one of many criteria to argue for subaqueous deposition

The Effects And Efficiency Of Hearing Stories On Vocabulary Acquisition By Students Of German AS A Second Foreign Language In Japan

The usual approach to vocabulary learning is to present students with a list of words to be memorized, present them in the context of a text, and then provide exercises to “reinforce” the vocabulary. The purpose of these studies with beginning level German-as-a-foreign language university students in Japan was to determine whether beginning level students with limited vocabulary in German could sustain their interest in hearing a story for over 20 minutes, and to determine how much vocabulary could be gained just from hearing stories, without a list to memorize and supplementary vocabulary exercises. The first experiment showed that hearing a story had a higher acquisition/learning rate than a list method. The second and third experiments showed that supplementary focus on form activities were not worthwhile on vocabulary acquisition/learning, and that the rate of acquisition/learning was .10 words per minute during the seven weeks. It appears to be the case that students acquire six words per hour when they hear stories, while they learn 2.4 words per hour in traditional classes

Qualification of electron-beam welded joints between copper and stainless steel for cryogenic application

Joints between copper and stainless steel are commonly applied in cryogenic systems. A relatively new and increasingly important method to combine these materials is electron-beam (EB) welding. Typically, welds in cryogenic applications need to withstand a temperature range from 300K down to 4 K, and pressures of several MPa. However, few data are available for classifying EB welds between OFHC copper and 316L stainless steel. A broad test program was conducted in order to qualify this kind of weld. The experiments started with the measurement of the hardness in the weld area. To verify the leak-tightness of the joints, integral helium leak tests at operating pressures of 16MPa were carried out at roomand at liquid nitrogen temperature. The tests were followed by destructive tensile tests at room temperature, at liquid nitrogen and at liquid helium temperatures, yielding information on the yield strength and the ultimate tensile strength of the welds at these temperatures. Moreover, nondestructive tensile tests up to the yield strength, i.e. the range in which the weld can be stressed during operation, were performed. Also, the behavior of the weld upon temperature fluctuations between room- and liquid nitrogen temperature was tested. The results of the qualification indicate that EB welded joints between OFHC copper and 316L stainless steel are reliable and present an interesting alternative to other technologies such as vacuum brazing or friction welding

Label-free imaging flow cytometry for analysis and sorting of enzymatically dissociated tissues

Biomedical research relies on identification and isolation of specific cell types using molecular biomarkers and sorting methods such as fluorescence or magnetic activated cell sorting. Labelling processes potentially alter the cells’ properties and should be avoided, especially when purifying cells for clinical applications. A promising alternative is the label-free identification of cells based on physical properties. Sorting real-time deformability cytometry (soRT-DC) is a microfluidic technique for label-free analysis and sorting of single cells. In soRT-FDC, bright-field images of cells are analyzed by a deep neural net (DNN) to obtain a sorting decision, but sorting was so far only demonstrated for blood cells which show clear morphological differences and are naturally in suspension. Most cells, however, grow in tissues, requiring dissociation before cell sorting which is associated with challenges including changes in morphology, or presence of aggregates. Here, we introduce methods to improve robustness of analysis and sorting of single cells from nervous tissue and provide DNNs which can distinguish visually similar cells. We employ the DNN for image-based sorting to enrich photoreceptor cells from dissociated retina for transplantation into the mouse eye

Stable Carbon Isotope Signature of Methane Released From Phytoplankton

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-MAquatic ecosystems play an important role in global methane cycling and many field studies have reported methane supersaturation in the oxic surface mixed layer (SML) of the ocean and in the epilimnion of lakes. The origin of methane formed under oxic condition is hotly debated and several pathways have recently been offered to explain the "methane paradox." In this context, stable isotope measurements have been applied to constrain methane sources in supersaturated oxygenated waters. Here we present stable carbon isotope signatures for six widespread marine phytoplankton species, three haptophyte algae and three cyanobacteria, incubated under laboratory conditions. The observed isotopic patterns implicate that methane formed by phytoplankton might be clearly distinguished from methane produced by methanogenic archaea. Comparing results from phytoplankton experiments with isotopic data from field measurements, suggests that algal and cyanobacterial populations may contribute substantially to methane formationobserved in the SML of oceans and lakes

The Economic Archaeology of Roman Economic Performance

Recent years have witnessed a paradigm shift in the study of the Roman economy. Methodologically modern economic analysis is now far more acceptable than it once was, and archaeology has become the major source of empirical data for many questions. On the substantive side there is now a far clearer appreciation of the major changes that the Roman economy underwent, with substantial growth of population and aggregate production and even some improvements in standard of living, but followed by equally dramatic decline. This economic success was not limited to the imperial core, but also extended to the provinces

Unemployment and retirement and ill-health: a cross-sectional analysis across European countries

Objective To determine the associations between different measures of health and labor market position across ten European countries. Methods We studied 11,462 participants of the Survey on Health and Ageing in Europe (SHARE) who were 50–64 years old. Logistic regression was used to calculate the associations between health and other determinants and being retired, unemployed, or a homemaker. Results A large variation across European countries was observed for the proportion of persons 50–65 years with paid employment, varying among men from 42% in Austria to 75% in Sweden and among women from 22% in Italy to 69% in Sweden. Among employed workers 18% reported a poor health, whereas this proportion was 37% in retirees, 39% in unemployed persons, and 35% in homemakers. A perceived poor health was strongly associated with non-participating in labor force in most European countries. A lower education, being single, physical inactivity and a high body mass index were associated with withdrawal from the labor force. Long-term illnesses such as depression, stroke, diabetes, chronic lung disease, and musculoskeletal disease were significantly more common among those persons not having paid employment. Conclusion In many European countries a poor health, chronic diseases, and lifestyle factors were associated with being out of the labor market. The results of this study suggest that in social policies to encourage employment among older persons the role of ill-health and its influencing factors needs to be incorporated

Contested firm governance, institutions and the undertaking of corporate restructuring practices in Germany

This article investigates the undertaking of corporate restructuring practices (employee downsizing and wage moderation) in Germany from 2008 to 2015. The article presents a political perspective that draws on the insights of the power resources approach and of institutional analyses. The theoretical framework highlights how institutional arrangements structure power relations within companies by empowering, in an asymmetrical manner, different categories of firm stakeholders (employees, managers and shareholders) as well as shaping how they relate to each other in an interactive manner. The article’s empirical findings point to the importance of extensive, but contingent, corporate restructuring in Germany. Companies are more likely to implement ‘defensive’ corporate restructuring practices under conditions of high leverage/debt than when confronted by shareholder value driven investors, thereby reflecting the presence of overlapping interests between employees and managers