Modern Esophageal Function Testing and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease in Morbidly Obese Patients

n/

Geochemistry of the cretaceous-tertiary boundary (Fish clay) at Stevns Klint (Denmark): Ir, Ni and Zn in kerogen

Geochemical analyses of trace metals (Ir, Ni and Zn) in the kerogen of the black marl of the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary succession (Fish Clay) at Stevns Klint (Hojerup Church) were undertaken. The data for this kerogen were in accordance with a previous hypothesis(1) that this (insoluble) geoorganic polymer was derived from humic substances (mainly humic acids) of a nearshore soil. Substantial proportions of Ir, Ni and Zn within the kerogen structure were probably contained in these substances arriving at the sedimentary site. It is proposed that these humics were probably transported by acid surface waters (induced by the KT asteroid impact) into the shallow marine basin of Stevns Klint. It is also suggested that local leaching/weathering of the asteroidal impact fallout oil the land near these waters played an important role in providing Ir, Ni and Zn for these substances. Apparently, Ir, Ni and Zn of the kerogen were created by the chondritic component of the impact ejecta fallout

The role of conviction and narrative in decision-making under radical uncertainty

We propose conviction narrative theory (CNT) to broaden decision-making theory for it better to understand and analyse how subjectively means-end rational actors cope in contexts in which the traditional assumptions in decision-making models fail to hold. Conviction narratives enable actors to draw on their beliefs, causal models and rules of thumb to identify opportunities worth acting on, to simulate the future outcome of their actions and to feel sufficiently convinced to act. The framework focuses on how narrative and emotion combine to allow actors to deliberate and to select actions that they think will produce the outcomes they desire. It specifies connections between particular emotions and deliberative thought, hypothesizing that approach and avoidance emotions evoked during narrative simulation play a crucial role. Two mental states, Divided and Integrated, in which narratives can be formed or updated, are introduced and used to explain some familiar problems that traditional models cannot

Human Resource Management in Public Sector

It is very often expected from civil servants to respond to pressure and even to requests which are at the same time contradictory. In order to ensure a more efficient public sector, it is necessary to redefine the priorities: to treat human resources as a means and as an investition and not as a cost, to put emphasis on performance and results, not on the process and the rules, to encourage better performance and to differentiate between different talents and not to make equality based on equity, to assess and award people based on individual contributions in organizational goals and not to make assessments based on individual activity.... In order to fulfill the previously mentioned priorities, it is necessary for human resource managers, who are the carriers of those working processes, to be trained in the way that they carry out all those transformational processes, which are the prerequisite for transforming the existing state into the wanted state, with minimal effort and expenses. In this way, managers should ensure leadership in reconciling competitive demands, design the system for firing staff, balance the budget and at the same time retain the ethical principles and, in this way, adjust the traditional public sector to the 21st century system

Analysis and Cost Planning in Contemporary Retail Trade

The Internet is world computer network that enables access to pieces of information and documents from distant sources. It is a combination of world communication system and the largest market in the world. Basic goal of internet sales is to enable more effective ways of approaching the buyer with reduced costs. Buyer is, at the same time, given the opportunity to compare prices between different offers of the same goods or services – competing prices. With classic retail trade it is not possible to achieve without significant loss in time spent on visiting competing stores looking for the same goods or services. This type of retail trade can increase the number of buyers in other words income, and it diminishes the costs of printing, inventory storing, salaries, etc. Internet retail trade is more and more present, but this form of trade needs cost analysis and planning in order for it to turn profit

Synthesis and properties biobased waterborne polyurethanes from glycolysis product of PET waste and poly(caprolactone) diol

Novel biobased poly(ester-urethane)s (PUDs) were synthesized by solvent free homogeneous solution polymerization of poly(caprolactone) diol (PCL), castor oil-based polyols (COLs), dimethylolpropionic acid (DMPA), isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) and 1,4-butane diol (BD) as the chain extender. The polyurethane dispersions were prepared by adding required amount of triethylamine (TEA) and water. In this Work, castor oil-based polyols have been synthesized using the depolymerized oligoester obtained from glycolysis of PET waste with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG 400) and castor oil. The effects of the soft segments content on the thermal and coatings properties of resulting polyurethane films have been examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and measurement of the coatings properties. Phase separation of polyurethane shows a strong correlation with crystallization behaviour of the polyurethane prepared. It is established that all PUD samples containing PCL as a part soft segment with different molar ratio of castor-oil polyol are crystallisable polymers. The results from XRD analysis have showed that highest degree of crystallinity (23 and 22%) is reached in polyurethanes based on the largest content PCL diol (CPU77 and CPU73). The thermal stability of samples based on (COL/PCL molar ratio 0.25:0.75) possesses the best thermal properties but less values hardness coatings which can be ascribed to a decrease of the hard segment i.e. DMPA content in polyurethane dispersions. The long-term stability of polyurethane dispersions has been investigated using UV vis spectroscopy. The physico-mechanical properties such as hardness adhesion test and gloss of the dried films have also been determined considering the effect of soft segment content on coating properties. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Raman study of single wall carbon nanotube thin films treated by laser irradiation and dynamic and isothermal oxidation

The effect of visible and infrared irradiation on the structure of single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) is still an insufficiently resolved subject. In this paper, we report a detailed study of two types of SWCNT thin films treated by pulsed laser irradiation and dynamic and isothermal oxidation, respectively. Raman features of treated films were investigated by 532, 633 and 780?nm excitation lines, respectively. It was established that the 532?nm excitation laser line probes the surface of SWCNT films, while the two others probe the bulk of SWCNT films. It was found that during Raman measurements, one type of SWCNTs warms up significantly while the other type does not change temperature. Raman analysis of SWCNTs probed with 532?nm showed that effects of high power laser irradiation on two types of SWCNTs are completely different. Major effects are decomposition, debundlation and photooxidation. It was found that debundlation and removal of defective carbon are much more pronounced in one type of SWCNTs treated with dynamic oxidation. Dynamic oxidation affects mostly thinner SWCNTs that easily burn in air. The only significant effects of isothermal oxidation are the increase of defective amorphous carbon in the first type of SWCNTs and the decrease of D band and debundlation in the second type. Copyright (c) 2012 John Wiley and Sons, Ltd