The central Western Sudan and its vegetation: with supplementary papers on forestry research in Northern Nigeria and the identification and examination of forest types from aerial photographs

Increased interest in the wise use of land has focussed attention in recent years on the study of the vegetation of the Western Sudan and the question of progressive desiccation and accelerated soil erosion in Northern Nigeria and in French West Africa has received serious investigation. It is now appreciated that soil deterioration has occurred over large areas of arable land which has been unwisely over-exploited and that accelerated soil erosion does not occur to any extent, (although there is normal soil erosion), in the southern portion of the French Niger Colony and in Northern Nigeria; this is largely because the region is for the most part, an undulating if somewhat elevated plain.The writer was engaged on the investigation of possible desiccation in the Kano and Katsina Provinces and part of Bornu Province in Northern Nigeria and also travelled extensively in Sokoto Province. He has been fortunate in spending several years of service in Northern Nigeria and in having been able to carry out a number of vegetational surveys throughout French West Africa; these included journeys in 1933 from Gao across the Sahara to North Africa, in 1935 from Lagos via Niamey to Dakar, in 1939 from Katsina to Agades and the Bagzan Mountains, in 1943 to the Matamaye area and in January of 1944 from Kano to Zinder and Maradi. The writing of this paper was interrupted for three years during the period of hostilities; the interruption was fortunate. for the writer was able to obtain a wider knowledge of French West Africa with over two years of constant study of it in connexion with his Military duties. French Niger Colony was visited during that period at a number of points on the frontier.The journeys in French West Africa were made specific- :ally to study the vegetation and ecology of the area, of which so much is yet to be learned, so that it might be compared with the vegetation, the land-utilisation and the ecology of Northern Nigeria with its much denser population. The vegetation was plotted continuously on the journeys to Agades and Birnin Konni and to Zinder and Maradi: These with the Gao and Dakar journeys form the basis of the vegetational classification included in this paper. A number of aerial photographs which were taken over Northern Nigeria and Niger Colony are included so as better to illustrate the vegetation types; ground photographs of some of the actual points recorded in the aerial photographs were taken afterwards by the writer for the purpose of comparison.Two supplementary papers are included in the thesis, one on the identification and examination of forest types from aerial photographs, the second on silvicultural and ecological research from which definite data have been obtained

On an improved construction of axleboxes and coupling rods for locomotive engines

n/

An examination of judicial independence in China

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Emerald via https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-12-2015-0068 Purpose The purpose of this paper is to consider and evaluate judicial independence in China, through reviewing the value in its presence, assessing its current state in China and evaluating what the future holds for it. Design/methodology/approach The paper reviews the benefits of judicial independence in its support of the rule of law. Following this, an evaluation of the current independence of the judiciary in China is presented. The reforms of the judiciary in the Fourth Plenary Session and the outlook for judicial independence in China are assessed. Findings The paper finds that judicial independence in China cannot be said to exist, being vulnerable to influence from a variety of sources. There is, however, progress observed, and this is expected to continue. Originality/value This paper’s consideration of judicial independence in China and its outlook are framed with discussions of the relationships between judicial independence and the rule of law, and the Chinese state and the rule of law. The paper should thus contribute to discussion of the development trajectory of China in this important facet. </jats:sec

An Examination of Judicial Independence in China

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Emerald via https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-12-2015-0068Purpose – The purpose of this paper is consider and evaluate judicial independence in China, through reviewing the value in its presence, assessing its current state in China, and evaluating what the future holds for it. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews the benefits of judicial independence in its support of the rule of law. Following this, an evaluation of the current independence of the judiciary in China is presented. The reforms of the judiciary in the Fourth Plenary Session and the outlook for judicial independence in China is assessed. Findings – The paper finds that judicial independence in China cannot be said to exist, being vulnerable to influence from a variety of sources. There is, however, progress observed and this is expected to continue. Originality/value – This paper’s consideration of judicial independence in China and its outlook is framed with discussions of the relationships between judicial independence and the rule of law, and the Chinese state and the rule of law. The paper should thus contribute to discussion of the development trajectory of China in this important facet

Relationship of dissociation and repression considered from the point of view of medical psychology

The object of this thesis is to consider the conceptions of Dissociation and Repression with a view to determining in what way, if any, the processes are related to one another. These two conceptions have played a part of unrivalled importance in modern psycho-pathology, but no satisfactory attempt seams to have bean made to determine the exact nature of their relationship to one another. The conclusions reached in this thesis regarding their relationship constitute, so far as the writer is aware, an original contribution to the subject

A Viable LoRa Framework for Smart Cities

This research is intended to provide practical insights to empower designers, developers and management to develop smart cities underpinned by Long Range (LoRa) technology. LoRa, one of most prevalent long-range wireless communication technologies, can be used to underpin the development of smart cities. This study draws upon relevant research to gain an understanding of underlying principles and issues involved in the design and management of long-range and low-power networks such as LoRa. This research uses empirical evidence that has been gathered through experiments with a LoRa network to analyse network design and identify challenges and then proposes cost-effective and timely solutions. Particularly, practical measurements of LoRa network dependencies and performance metrics are used to support our proposals. This research identifies a number of network performance metrics that need to be considered and controlled when designing and managing LoRa- specific networks from the perspectives of hardware, software, networking and security

Recommendations of the LHC Dark Matter Working Group: Comparing LHC searches for heavy mediators of dark matter production in visible and invisible decay channels

Weakly-coupled TeV-scale particles may mediate the interactions between normal matter and dark matter. If so, the LHC would produce dark matter through these mediators, leading to the familiar "mono-X" search signatures, but the mediators would also produce signals without missing momentum via the same vertices involved in their production. This document from the LHC Dark Matter Working Group suggests how to compare searches for these two types of signals in case of vector and axial-vector mediators, based on a workshop that took place on September 19/20, 2016 and subsequent discussions. These suggestions include how to extend the spin-1 mediated simplified models already in widespread use to include lepton couplings. This document also provides analytic calculations of the relic density in the simplified models and reports an issue that arose when ATLAS and CMS first began to use preliminary numerical calculations of the dark matter relic density in these models.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures; v2: author list and LaTeX problem fixe

Vertebrate cells genetically deficient for Cdc14A or Cdc14B retain DNA damage checkpoint proficiency but are impaired in DNA repair

Cdc14A and Cdc14B knockout cells with double-strand breaks still arrest in G2, but they fail to repair the damage

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Release of engineered nanomaterials from personal care products throughout their life cycle

The impetus for this study was to provide release estimates that can serve to improve predictions of engineered nanomaterial (ENM) exposure for risk assessment. We determined the likely release of ENMs from personal care products (PCPs) through a consumer survey on use and disposal habits, and research on the types and quantities of ENMs in PCPs. Our estimates show that in the US zinc oxide (ZnO), with 1,800-2,100 mt yr-1, and titanium dioxide (TiO2), with 870-1,000 mt yr-1, represent 94 % of ENMs released into the environment or landfills from the use of PCPs. Around 36-43 % of ENMs from PCPs were estimated to end up in landfills, 24-36 % released to soils, 0.7-0.8 % to air, and 28-32 % to water bodies. ENMs in sunscreen represent around 81-82 % of total release, from ZnO and TiO2 as UV blockers, followed by facial moisturizer (7.5 %), foundation (5.7 %), and hair coloring products (3.1 %). Daily care products such as body wash, shampoo, and conditioner had by far the highest per capita and total use, but contributed little to the ENM release estimates as these products generally contain little or no ENMs. However, if ENMs are incorporated into these daily care products, this may substantially increase ENM release. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media