Simulation of the Hydrologic-Economic Flow System in an Agricultural Area

Like the allocation of water resources among water users, the distribution of allocated water to the subusers requires an estimate of the economic costs and benefits from a number of distribution alternatives. The most satisfactory solution maximizes the benefit cost ratio. This study is based on the premise that equitable water distribution to agricultural subusers can be more easily accomplished through the use of a technique to predict the marginal value of agricultural water. A hydro-economic model is formulated to distribute the water supply to the crops and to determine the unit value of water for the given supply. By incrementing the supply, the marginal value of water for a given cropping pattern is determined. Water is in short supply if the potential evapotranspiration of all the crops can not be satisfied. The link between the economic and hydrologic system is the production function which is the relationship between the actual evapotranspiration and the yield of the crop. Other variables affecting crop production are assumed to be relatively constant. The simulation model is applied to a prototype system to demonstrate the applicability of the model to management and planning problems. The model provides a means of determining the marginal value of water in water short years where potential evapotranspiration of all crops can not be met

Access to and adequacy of psychological services for adult patients in UK hospices: a national, cross-sectional survey

Abstract Background Providing psychological support to people living with terminal illness is a fundamental part of hospice care. Recent research on delivery of psychological services in hospices in the United Kingdom (UK) on a national level, including inequalities or variation in practice, is limited. A nationwide survey will highlight any differences in provision and in doing so help focus future research and inform best practice both within the UK, and internationally. The specific objectives of this survey are to (1) chart the types of psychological support available to adult patients in hospices in the UK in line with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence model; (2) explore how services are organised; and (3) gather service perspectives on adequacy of care, and facilitators and barriers to appropriate practice. Methods A cross-sectional online survey emailed to adult hospices in the UK in November–December 2019. One staff member involved in the delivery and/or organisation of psychological support was invited to participate per hospice. Of 193 invited hospices, 116 took part. Results Sixteen percent rated their hospice psychological service as wholly adequate. The majority reported that services can access specialist professionals, but many relied on external referrals. Barriers to best practice included funding and staff capacity; facilitators included clear referral structures, audit and appropriate needs and outcome assessments. Conclusions Access to psychological professionals has improved since the last survey 15 years ago, but the majority of responders felt their overall service was not wholly adequate. Basic emotional support is largely felt to be sufficient, but our results indicate a need for improvements in access to more specialist care. Partnerships with external mental health services may be key. Our findings highlight core facilitators and barriers to providing good psychological care at the end of life that should be considered by services both within the UK and on an international level. </jats:sec

Modifications of bovine prothrombin fragment 1 in the presence and absence of Ca (II) ions. Loss of positive cooperativity in Ca (II) ion binding for the modified proteins.

Chemical modification of bovine prothrombin fragment 1 according to the procedure of D. J. Welsch and G. L. Nelsestuen (1988) [Biochemistry 27, 4946-4952 and ealier papers] provided a series of fragment 1 derivatives in which various nitrogen-containing side chains were N-acetylated and/or N-2,4,6-trinitrophenylated. In addition the des-[Ala-1,Asn-2]- and des-[Ala-1,Asn-2,Lys-3]-fragment 1 derivatives were prepared by limited enzymatic hydrolysis of fragment 1 using cathepsin C and plasmin, respectively. Quantitative studies on the Ca(II) binding of these proteins have been accomplished using 45Ca(II) equilibrium dialysis. Binding of these fragment 1 derivatives to phosphatidylserine/phosphatidylcholine (PS/PC) vesicles (25:75) in the presence of Ca(II) ions has been studied using the light-scattering technique. Acylation of the 5 lysine residues of fragment 1 by the action of acetic anhydride (500-fold molar excess) in the presence of 75 mM Ca(II), pH 8.0, results in loss of positive cooperativity in Ca(II) binding (Scatchard plot) and an increase in the number of Ca(II) ions bound. The Ca(II)-dependent PS/PC binding of the acylated protein is reduced. Removal of 2 and 3 residues from the amino terminus likewise leads to loss of positive cooperativity in Ca(II) binding and reduced binding affinity to PS/PC vesicles. The important role of the amino-terminal 1-10 sequence is discussed. We conclude that positive cooperativity in Ca(II) binding is not a prerequisite for the Ca(II)-dependent binding of bovine prothrombin fragment 1 to PS/PC vesicles

So close, yet so far away? the effects of city size, density, and growth on local civic participation

Recent studies in the U.S. context have suggested that political participation is a function of the size and concentration of a city’s population. Most of this research focuses on the idea that there is an optimal size and concentration of population that favors active political participation in terms of a higher propensity to vote in local elections, contact local officials, and attend community meetings. The conventional argument suggests a negative relationship between city size and political participation that is mitigated to some extent by the deeper social interactions generated by increased population density. We extend this research by also investigating the influence of population growth on the broader concept of civic participation. Civic participation is a multidimensional concept that requires the use of a broad set of indicators. We expand the number of measures to gauge civic participation at the local level by including data on the formation of volunteer associations, volunteer fire brigades and not-for-profit organizations as well as voter turnout. We test the hypotheses derived from extant research using aggregate data collected from Portuguese cities and discuss the implications of our findings for the literature on local civic participatio

Total Synthesis of Paracaseolide A

The total synthesis of paracaseolide A, a valuable cell-cycle progression inhibitor, was accomplished in 8 steps from known compounds, with 6.6% overall yield. The synthetic strategy creates strong potential for diversification

A longitudinal investigation of repressive coping and ageing

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Aging & Mental Health on October 2016, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13607863.2015.1060941.Two studies investigated the possibility that repressive coping is more prevalent in older adults and that this represents a developmental progression rather than a cohort effect. Study 1 examined repressive coping and mental health cross-sectionally in young and old adults. Study 2 examined whether there was a developmental progression of repressive coping prevalence rates in a longitudinal sample of older adults.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Electrochemical study of gold recovery from ammoniacal thiosulfate, simulating the PCBs leaching of mobile phones

[EN] The high volume of sales and the high degree of obsolescence of mobile phones, together with the reduction of the natural reserves of the metals used in the composition of their printed circuit boards (PCBs), makes the recycling of these devices economically and environmentally attractive. Moreover, the search for the reduction of toxicity levels inherent to the gold leaching processes with alternatives to cyanide, such as thiosulfate is a priority. Thus, it is necessary to search for efficient alternatives for the recovery of gold from solutions containing thiosulfate, in the presence of copper, used in the leaching of PCBs of mobile phones. One of these alternatives could be the electrochemical recovery of the metals present in solution. Thus, this study aimed to verify some variables involved in the process of recovery of gold and copper and to determine the electrochemical yield obtained for these solutions. Initially, cyclic scanning voltammetry with a rotating disk electrode (RDE) was performed to verify the electrochemical behavior of gold and copper in solution. Then, electrowinning tests were used to determine the recovery rates of these metals and to calculate the yield obtained in the process. The results showed that this electrochemical reaction is mass transport controlled, which allowed the calculation of the diffusion coefficients of the metal in solution. In real solutions, the gold fraction recovered reached a 94%, and the copper fraction recovered was 95%, applying electrode potential values of -500 mV(Ag/AgCl) and -700 mV(Ag/AgCl), respectively. The current efficiency for the gold electrowinning achieved in the experiments was lower than 3%. (c) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.The authors would like to thank the Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq) from Brazil for financial support.Kasper, AC.; Veit, HM.; García Gabaldón, M.; Pérez-Herranz, V. (2018). Electrochemical study of gold recovery from ammoniacal thiosulfate, simulating the PCBs leaching of mobile phones. Electrochimica Acta. 259:500-509. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2017.10.161S50050925

The Role of Electrolyte Additives on Passivation Behaviour During Copper Electrorefining

Additives, such as chloride, thiourea and glue, are commonly added to electrorefining electrolyte to control deposition structure and morphology. Very few studies have been performed to observe their effects on anode passivation. Chronopotentiometry was utilized to observe the passivation behaviour of commercial copper anodes in synthetic electrolyte. The effect of chloride, thiourea and glue were investigated individually. A simulated electrolyte containing all three additives was used in conjunction with twenty commercial copper anode samples to determine possible interactions between additives and anode composition