Fresh-Water Mollusca of the Finger Lakes Region of New York

Author Institution: Biology Department, New York State University College, Oneonta, New York 13820, and Department of Entomology and Limnology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14850A study of the molluscan fauna in central New York State has provided information on the distribution of fresh-water mollusks in that region, and on the species composition of snails and pearly fresh-water mussels in the major Finger Lakes and thirteen additional lakes and reservoirs in the Oswego River drainage basin. The data are based on 120 collections taken by hand picking, sieving, and the utilization of diving equipment. Small isolated upland lakes (Dryden, Cazenovia, Como, Panther, Kasoag Lakes), meromictic lakes (Fayetteville Green, Round, and Clark Reservation Lakes), and reservoirs with abnormal silt content and frequently fluctuating water levels (Jamesville and DeRuyter Reservoirs) support only a few species of mollusks. In the meromictic lakes in particular, empty shells collected are believed to represent former molluscan populations whose shells are preserved by the calcium-rich waters. Morphometrically oligotrophic lakes on the major waterways (the seven largest Finger Lakes) possess moderate numbers of molluscan species. In contrast, the shallow lakes of the limestone belt that are in direct communication with the larger rivers have the greatest species diversity. A table is included that shows the distributions of the species of mollusks collected in these bodies of water, distinguishing between living and dead representatives

The Duffin-Schaeffer Conjecture with extra divergence II

This paper takes a new step in the direction of proving the Duffin-Schaeffer Conjecture for measures arbitrarily close to Lebesgue. The main result is that under a mild `extra divergence' hypothesis, the conjecture is true.Comment: 7 page

A Strategy for utilisation of low grade high phosphorus manganese ores in the production of high carbon ferro manganese

A two step process is outlined to utilise low grade high phosphorus ores containing Mn 31-35%, Fe 11-13%, S102 8-10%, P 0.35% to 0.5%, whereby in the first step, smelting is carried out in an Electric furnace to produce High MnO containing slag with equivalent Mn 45 to 50% which can be used as synthetic high grade ore and is almost free from phosphorus and iron.The metal obtained is "Spiegeleisen" containing 14 to 18% Mn and 1.5 - 2.0% phosphorus. In the second step the high manganese slag from the first step is blended with additional quantities of low and medium grade manganese ores and smelled to produce high grade High carbon ferro manganese and a discard slag containing about 16.0% Mn. The smelting trials carried out at FACOR is briefly mentioned

Development of an Objective Structured Clinical Examination as a Component of Assessment for Initial Board Certification in Anesthesiology.

With its first administration of an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in 2018, the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) became the first US medical specialty certifying board to incorporate this type of assessment into its high-stakes certification examination system. The fundamental rationale for the ABA's introduction of the OSCE is to include an assessment that allows candidates for board certification to demonstrate what they actually "do" in domains relevant to clinical practice. Inherent in this rationale is that the OSCE will capture competencies not well assessed in the current written and oral examinations-competencies that will allow the ABA to judge whether a candidate meets the standards expected for board certification more properly. This special article describes the ABA's journey from initial conceptualization through first administration of the OSCE, including the format of the OSCE, the process for scenario development, the standardized patient program that supports OSCE administration, examiner training, scoring, and future assessment of reliability, validity, and impact of the OSCE. This information will be beneficial to both those involved in the initial certification process, such as residency graduate candidates and program directors, and others contemplating the use of high-stakes summative OSCE assessments

Production of Intermediate or Medium Carbon Ferro Chrome at FACOR

FACOR has foreseen the need to develop the intermediate carbon ferro chrome alloy to meet the demands of alloy and stainless steel manufacturers.The paper describes the decarbonisation of liquid high carbon ferro chrome in. an AOD convertor with respect to : (a) Theoretical aspects and fundamentals, (b) Plant and equipment, (c) Process of making intermediate carbon ferro chromium., (d) Advantages of the processto improve the quality with respect to titanium, silicon, hydrogen and nitrogen in intermediate carbon ferro chromium

Detection of the 5p-4f orbital crossing and its optical clock transition in Pr9+

Recent theoretical works have proposed atomic clocks based on narrow optical transitions in highly charged ions. The most interesting candidates for searches of new physics are those which occur at rare orbital crossings where the shell structure of the periodic table is reordered. There are only three such crossings expected to be accessible in highly charged ions, and hitherto none have been observed as both experiment and theory have proven difficult. In this work we observe an orbital crossing in highly charged ions for the first time, in a system chosen to be tractable from both sides: Pr9+. We present electron beam ion trap measurements of its spectra, including the inter-configuration lines that reveal the sought-after crossing. The proposed nHz-wide clock line, found to be at 452.334(1) nm, proceeds through hyperfine admixture of its upper state with an E2-decaying level. With state-of-the-art calculations we show that it has a very high sensitivity to new physics and extremely low sensitivity to external perturbations, making it a unique candidate for proposed precision studies

Pre-conceptual Design Assessment of DEMO Remote Maintenance

EDFA, as part of the Power Plant Physics and Technology programme, has been working on the pre-conceptual design of a Demonstration Power Plant (DEMO). As part of this programme, a review of the remote maintenance strategy considered maintenance solutions compatible with expected environmental conditions, whilst showing potential for meeting the plant availability targets. A key finding was that, for practical purposes, the expected radiation levels prohibit the use of complex remote handling operations to replace the first wall. In 2012/13, these remote maintenance activities were further extended, providing an insight into the requirements, constraints and challenges. In particular, the assessment of blanket and divertor maintenance, in light of the expected radiation conditions and availability, has elaborated the need for a very different approach from that of ITER. This activity has produced some very informative virtual reality simulations of the blanket segments and pipe removal that are exceptionally valuable in communicating the complexity and scale of the required operations. Through these simulations, estimates of the maintenance task durations have been possible demonstrating that a full replacement of the blankets within 6 months could be achieved. The design of the first wall, including the need to use sacrificial limiters must still be investigated. In support of the maintenance operations, a first indication of the requirements of an Active Maintenance Facility (AMF) has been elaborated.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Global Sex Disparity Of Covid-19: A Descriptive Review Of Sex Hormones And Consideration For The Potential Therapeutic Use Of Hormone Replacement Therapy In Older Adults

The 2019-2020 SARS-related coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to healthcare sectors around the world. As of November 2020, there have been over 64 million confirmed cases and approaching 2 million deaths globally. Despite the large number of positive cases, there are very limited established standards of care and therapeutic options available. To date, there is still no Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved vaccine for COVID-19, although there are several options in various clinical trial stages. Herein, we have performed a global review evaluating the roles of age and sex on COVID-19 hospitalizations, ICU admissions, deaths in hospitals, and deaths in nursing homes. We have identified a trend in which elderly and male patients are significantly affected by adverse outcomes. There is evidence suggesting that sex hormone levels can influence immune system function against SARS-CoV-2 infection, thus reducing the adverse effects of COVID-19. Since older adults have lower levels of these sex hormones, we therefore speculate, within rational scientific context, that sex steroids, such as estrogen and progesterone, needs further consideration for use as alternative therapeutic option for treating COVID-19 elderly patients. To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive article evaluating the significance of sex hormones in COVID-19 outcomes in older adults

Consequentialism and Virtue

We examine the following consequentialist view of virtue: a trait is a virtue if and only if it has good consequences in some relevant way. We highlight some motivations for this basic account, and offer twelve choice points for filling it out. Next, we explicate Julia Driver’s consequentialist view of virtue in reference to these choice points, and we canvass its merits and demerits. Subsequently, we consider three suggestions that aim to increase the plausibility of her position, and critically analyze them. We conclude that one of those proposed revisions would improve her account. NOTE: I will self-archive the paper after the 24 month embargo period ends. If you want a copy, just email me