A scion of the Crimean Khans in the Crimean war: The allied powers and the question of the future of the Crimea

[No abstract available

Uzbekistan in the new world order

[No abstract available

Quantification of environmental impacts associated with the full life cycle of the global nickel supply chain

The global energy transition has been accelerating recently in many ways. To achieve ambitious goals set by countries and organizations, significant developments in energy infrastructure are needed, requiring a 60-70% increase in demand over the next two decades for nickel, an important input for stainless-steel (SS) and lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, nickel mining and production come at a cost to the environment. This research aims to provide a comprehensive life-cycle assessment (LCA) of global nickel supply chains, expanding beyond past efforts that have focused only on sulfidic ore bodies or limited environmental parameters. Here, we also assess laterite ore bodies, 11 variations in ore grade, 64 nickel supply routes, four processing technologies (i.e., HPAL, Caron, pyrometallurgy, POX), and three nickel products (nickel sulfate, nickel metal, and ferronickel). In total, we consider cradle-to-grave system boundaries for 683 unique scenarios. In each case, we use one metric ton of nickel content, incorporated into either SS or LIBs in wind turbines, as a functional unit. The inventory was compiled from mass-balance sheets, company reports, Ecoinvent (v3), and then processed in OpenLCA software. Life cycle impacts were assessed for 16 different pathways. Results showed that impacts of nickel production from laterites are 1-13 times higher than sulfides in 11 out of 16 impact pathways. As the ore grade drops below 1.3% Ni, emissions begin to increase non-linearly for all impacts. We found that, as ore grade decreases from 2.6% Ni to 0.1% Ni, relative impact of diesel versus electricity for mining, processing, and refining increases from minimum of 4% up to the highest of 76%, when most emissions stem from the mining stage and less from processing. Similarly, land use increases by 25.7-fold as ore grade decreases in the same range. Results showed that pyrometallurgy was the most emission-intensive route for laterite and sulfide ore processing for most environmental pathways studied. This research will help policy makers and private sector identify ways to reduce environmental burdens related to nickel supply chain.Energy and Earth Resource

Crimean Tatars, Nogays, and Scottish missionaries

RésuméLes Tatars de Crimée, les Nogaïs et les missionnaires écossais : l’histoire de Kattı Geray et des autres descendants baptisés des khans de Crimée.Au début du xixe siècle, un groupe de missionnaires écossais fit son apparition dans les régions septentrionales du Caucase sous domination russe dans le but de prêcher la bonne parole aux Nogaïs, aux Adyghés et aux autres musulmans de la région. Le plus souvent, leurs efforts ne furent pas couronnés de succès, mais parmi les quelques personnes qu’ils réussirent à convertir se trouvait un jeune descendant de l’ancienne dynastie royale du khanat de Crimée, Kattı Geray. Ce fut là le point de départ d’une carrière très inhabituelle pour un Geray -- même peu représentatif et déjà mis au ban --, car le jeune homme allait se consacrer à la christianisation de ses compatriotes, les Tatars de Crimée. Il partit pour l’Écosse dans ce but et, avec la bénédiction du tsar Alexandre Ier, tenta de mettre sur pied de grands projets d’évangélisation en Crimée. Bien que ses efforts se soient soldés par un échec, sa mémoire demeure et continue d’éclairer les relations exceptionnelles qui se sont établies entre les Écossais, les Tatars de Crimée, les Nogaïs, les Adyghés et les Russes pendant la première moitié du xixe siècle.AbstractAt the beginning of the nineteenth century a group of Scottish missionaries came to the Russian controlled parts of the northern Caucasus to proselytize the Nogays, Adyges, and other Muslims in the region. Although, by and large, their missionary work among the native population proved hardly successful, among the very few converts they managed to make was Kattı Geray, a young member of the Geray line, the former royal dynasty of the Crimean Khanate. This was the beginning of a very unusual carreer for a Geray, though a minor and an already ostracized one, who would devote himself to the spread of Christianity among his countrymen, the Crimean Tatars. For this purpose, Kattı Geray travelled to Scotland and, with the blessing of the Tsar Alexander I, he attempted to launch grandiose projects for missionary work in the Crimea. Though all these efforts failed eventually, Kattı Geray’s story remained to illuminate the exceptional relations between the Scots, Crimean Tatars, Nogays, Adyges, and Russians during the first half of the nineteenth century

Leveraging Deep Learning-Based Segmentation and Contours-Driven Deformable Registration for Dose Accumulation in Abdominal Structures

PURPOSE: Discrepancies between planned and delivered dose to GI structures during radiation therapy (RT) of liver cancer may hamper the prediction of treatment outcomes. The purpose of this study is to develop a streamlined workflow for dose accumulation in a treatment planning system (TPS) during liver image-guided RT and to assess its accuracy when using different deformable image registration (DIR) algorithms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-six patients with primary and metastatic liver cancer treated with external beam radiotherapy guided by daily CT-on-rails (CTOR) were retrospectively analyzed. The liver, stomach and duodenum contours were auto-segmented on all planning CTs and daily CTORs using deep-learning methods. Dose accumulation was performed for each patient using scripting functionalities of the TPS and considering three available DIR algorithms based on: (i) image intensities only; (ii) intensities + contours; (iii) a biomechanical model (contours only). Planned and accumulated doses were converted to equivalent dose in 2Gy (EQD2) and normal tissue complication probabilities (NTCP) were calculated for the stomach and duodenum. Dosimetric indexes for the normal liver, GTV, stomach and duodenum and the NTCP values were exported from the TPS for analysis of the discrepancies between planned and the different accumulated doses. RESULTS: Deep learning segmentation of the stomach and duodenum enabled considerable acceleration of the dose accumulation process for the 56 patients. Differences between accumulated and planned doses were analyzed considering the 3 DIR methods. For the normal liver, stomach and duodenum, the distribution of the 56 differences in maximum doses (D2%) presented a significantly higher variance when a contour-driven DIR method was used instead of the intensity only-based method. Comparing the two contour-driven DIR methods, differences in accumulated minimum doses (D98%) in the GTV were \u3e2Gy for 15 (27%) of the patients. Considering accumulated dose instead of planned dose in standard NTCP models of the duodenum demonstrated a high sensitivity of the duodenum toxicity risk to these dose discrepancies, whereas smaller variations were observed for the stomach. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated a successful implementation of an automatic workflow for dose accumulation during liver cancer RT in a commercial TPS. The use of contour-driven DIR methods led to larger discrepancies between planned and accumulated doses in comparison to using an intensity only based DIR method, suggesting a better capability of these approaches in estimating complex deformations of the GI organs

Nolanville Comprehensive Plan 2015-2030

Comprehensive plans are “the central organizing umbrella under which other plans, regulations, and initiatives exist.” They typically have long-range planning horizons between 20 and 30 years. These public documents, along with relevant zoning maps, can be used to guide, support, and justify city land use and decision-making in the future. A comprehensive plan should include the overall vision for the community, as well as a plan for the physical growth, development, and preservation of the land. Furthermore, an inclusive comprehensive plan should envision future growth in the various fields of transportation, community facilities and infrastructure, economy, parks and open spaces, natural and cultural resources, and housing.In the fall 2014, the City of Nolanville and Texas Target Communities partnered to create a planning task force to represent the community. The task force was integral to the planning process, contributing the thoughts, desires, and opinions of community members—as well as their enthusiasm about Nolanville’s future. This fourteen-month planning process ended in September 2015. All the material included in the plan is the result of work accomplished in four different graduate level classes spanning two semesters at Texas A&M University as part of the Master of Urban Planning program.The result of this collaboration is the City of Nolanville Comprehensive Plan 2015 - 2030, which is the official policy guide for the community’s growth over the next twenty years.Texas Target Communitie