Constraining the Variation in Fine-Structure Constant Using SDSS DR8 QSO Spectra

We report a robust constrain on the possible variation of fine-structure constant, alpha = e^2/(hbar*c), obtained using O III 4959,5007, nebular emission lines from QSOs. We find Delta-alpha/alpha=-(2.1 +/- 1.6) x 10^(-5) based on a well selected sample of 2347 QSOs from Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 8 with 0.02 < z < 0.74. Our result is consistent with a non-varying alpha at a level of 2 x 10^(-5) over approximately 7 Gyr. This is the largest sample of extragalactic objects yet used to constrain the variation of alpha. While this constraint is not as stringent as those determined using many-multiplet method it is free from various systematic effects. A factor of ~ 4 improvement in Delta-alpha/alpha achieved here compared to the previous study (Bahcall et al. 2004) is just consistent with what is expected based on a factor of 14 times bigger sample used here. This suggests that errors are mainly dominated by the statistical uncertainty. We also find the ratio of transition probabilities corresponding to the O III 5007 A and 4959 A lines to be 2.933+/-0.002, in good agreement with the National Institute of Standards and Technology measurements.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures; Accepted for publication in MNRAS Lette

Optimization of molybdenite flotation using response surface method

Purpose. The paper is aimed to study the molybdenite flotation from a low-grade uranium ore containing 0.2% of Mo. Methods. Three control parameters including frother (MIBC) dosage, collector (gasoline) dosage and pH, each in five levels, were investigated. Response surface methodology (RSM) was performed for statistical design and analysis of experiments and process modeling. Four quadratic mathematical models were derived for prediction of Mo recovery and Mo grade. Findings. Analysis of variance showed that frother and collector dosage were the most significant factors affecting Mo recovery and grade. In process optimization, maximum values of Mo recovery and grade were achieved as 79.13% and 2.93%, respectively. Optimum frother concentration of 78.93 g/t, gasoline dosage of 507.70 g/t, and pH of 9.77, for Mo recovery were obtained. However, in optimization studies, a case proposed the model in which the same consumption of reagents is used. Originality. There is a recognized need for type of uranium ore which contains Molybdenite, therefore working on molybdenite removing from this ore helps to recover uranium in the next steps. This research provides a novel approach to gain the optimum recovery and grade to extract uranium so easily. Practical implications. This study showed that response surface methodology could be effectively used for flotation process modeling as well as finding an optimum condition to achieve maximum recovery and grade under minimum consumption of flotation reagents.Мета. Дослідження особливостей процесу флотації молібденіту з низькозбагаченої уранової руди, що містить 0.2% молібдену. Методика. Проаналізовано три контрольних параметра флотації – дозу спінювача (метил-ізобутил-карбінол), колекторне (газолінове) дозування і ph (кожен – у п’яти різницях рівнів). Для статистичного розрахунку, аналізу експериментів і моделювання процесу флотації застосовано метод поверхневого відклику (МПВ). Були розроблені чотири квадратичні математичні моделі для розрахункових даних отримання Мо і визначення його якості. Результати. Встановлено, що спінювач і колекторне дозування є найбільш впливовими факторами при отриманні Мо та його якості. У процесі оптимізації максимальні рівні отримання Мо та якості були, відповідно, 79.13% і 2.93%. Виявлено наступну оптимальну концентрацію для Мо: спінювач – 78.93 г/т, газолінове дозування – 507.70 г/т, pH – 9.7, що підтверджено моделюванням. Наукова новизна. Запропоновано інноваційний підхід для отримання легкого й оптимального способу відновлення і ступеня вилучення урану до високої якості. Практична значимість. Метод поверхневого відклику може ефективно застосовуватися для моделювання процесу флотації з метою визначення оптимальних умов досягнення максимальної рекуперації та якості при мінімальних витратах флотаційних реагентів.Цель. Исследование особенностей процесса флотации молибденита из низкообогащенной урановой руды, содержащей 0.2% молибдена. Методика. Проанализированы три контрольных параметра флотации – доза вспенивателя (метил-изобутил-карбинол), коллекторная (газолиновая) дозировка и pH (каждый – в пяти разностях уровней). Для статистического расчета, анализа экспериментов и моделирования процесса флотации применен метод поверхности отклика (МПО). Были разработаны четыре квадратичные математические модели для расчетных данных получения Мо и определения его качества. Результаты. Установлено, что вспениватель и коллекторная дозировка являются наиболее влияющими факторами при получении Мо и его качества. В процессе оптимизации максимальные уровни получения Мо и качества были, соответственно, 79.13% и 2.93%. Выявлена следующая оптимальная концентрация для Мо: вспениватель – 78.93 г/т, газолиновая дозировка – 507.70 г/т, pH – 9.7, что подтвержденно моделированием. Научная новизна. Предложен инновационный подход для получения легкого и оптимального способа восстановления и степени извлечения урана до высокого качества. Практическая значимость. Метод поверхностного отклика может эффективно применяться для моделирования процесса флотации с целью определения оптимальных условий достижения максимальной рекуперации и качества при минимальном расходе флотационных реагентов.The financial support of the Jaber Ibn Hayan Research Laboratories, Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute and Mr. Hasan Sedighi helps and the university of Imam Khomeini (IKIU) is gratefully acknowledged

Fungsi Tari Babangsai Dalam Upacara Aruh Ganal Di Desa Loksado Hulu Sungai Selatan Kalimantan Selatan

Tari Babangsai disajikan sebagai ungkapan rasa syukur dan rasa gembira atas berhasilnya panen padi. Tarian ini tersaji menjadi bagian tak terpisahkan dari pelaksanaan upcara Aruh Ganal. Kegembiraan masyarakat penyangga ini tampak terlihat dengan hadirnya masyarakat Loksado sebagai pelaku maupun penyelenggara upacara Aruh Ganal. Penyelengaraan upacara Aruh Ganal diadalan setahun sekali, sesuai dengan ketentuan masyarakat adat Loksado Hulu Sungai di Kalimantan Selatan. Kehadiran tari Babangsari dalam upacara Aruh Ganal berfungsi sebagai sarana upcara di satu sisi, dan di sisi yang lain juga untuk hiburan bagi masyarakat pelaku upacara sehingga dapat melaksanakan upacara secara berurutan selama tujuh hari tujuh malam. The Babangsaidance is performed as an expression of thankfulness and happiness due to the successful rice harvest. This dance is an inseparable part of the AruhGanalceremony. The joyfulness of the supporting community can be seen from the presence of the members of Loksado society as both the performers and organizers of the ceremony. The AruhGanalceremony is carried out once a year, that is in accordance with the rule of the society of the village of river upstream Loksado, south Borneo. The existence of the Babangsaidance in the AruhGanalritual ceremony functions as a means of ceremony on one hand, and as an entertainment for the society carrying out the ritual ceremony on the other. Consequently, the ceremony may take place continually for seven days and seven nights

Etude des altérations post-thérapeutiques visualisées en IRM et en CT après ablation de tumeurs rénales par Radiofréquence ou par Cryo-ablation

1 Résumé Introduction La thermo-ablation percutanée est devenue une technique standard reconnue pour le traitement des petites masses rénales chez des patients présentant un risque chirurgical élevé. La littérature a démontré l'efficacité de ces techniques ainsi qu'un taux très bas de complications (1). En l'absence d'analyse histologique, le succès du traitement est jugé sur la base d'un suivi à long terme par imagerie. L'aspect des lésions rénales traitées par thermo-ablation a bien été décrit dans la littérature (2-4). Néanmoins, il n'existepasdevéritableconsensusrelatifàladescriptionstandardiséedesaltérationsobservées. Lebut de notre étude était de répertorier les altérations post-thérapeutiques visualisées en IRM et CT selon une grille de lecture standardisée (Figure 1) afin d'identifier le type d'image qui correspondait à la survenue d'une récidive. Dans un deuxième temps, de voir l'évolution des valeurs du coefficient apparent de diffusion (ADC) au sein de la zone d'ablation sur les images IRM de suivi ce qui n'a, à notre connaissance, jamais été étudié. Il pourrait s'agir d'un critère supplémentaire permettant de déceler une récidive dans certains cas d'interprétation difficile. Matériels et Méthodes Après obtention de l'accord du comité d'éthique de notre institution (N° de dossier 182/14050614), nous avons effectué une analyse rétrospective portant sur 65 patients (50 hommes, 15 femme, âge moyen était de 69,02 ±0,36. les extrêmes étaient de 32 et 89 ans) traités en radiologie interventionnelle au CHUV pour 66 petites masses rénales (26 traités par la RFA et 40 par CRA). Les paramètres démographiques ont été extraits des dossiers médicaux afin de définir leur influence sur le choix de la technique et sur la survenue de complications. Les images CT après injection de produit de contraste (PdC) et IRM pondérées en T1 après injection de gadolinium ont été relues et les prises de contraste (rehaussement) visualisées au sein ou autour de la zone d'ablation ont été répertoriées selon une grille de lecture (Figure 1). Les valeurs de l'ADC ont été mesurées afin d'évaluer leurs évolutions dans le temps en fonction de la technique d'ablation utilisée. L'ensemble des données ont été anonymisées puis consignées dans un tableau Excel (Microsoft Excel 2013). Une étude statistique multifactorielle (Stata version 2011) a été réalisée pour déterminer les facteurs cliniques, histologiques et d'imagerie associés à une récidive tumorale. La valeur p &lt; 0,05 a été considérée comme une différence significative. Résultats Un total de 66 lésions rénales (diamètre moyen 26,81±0,27 mm, avec un min 10 mm et max 70 mm) a été étudiées. Deux tiers de ces tumeurs avaient un diamètre ≤ 3cm (T1A). Les tumeurs de 3cm ou moins ont été traitées le plus souvent par RFA (p &lt; 0,004, test du2) (Figure 2) On a observé que les prises de contraste de type 2 et 4 (Figure 5) étaient corrélées avec la survenue d'une récidive. Cependant il n'y avait pas suffisamment de de récidive pour que ce résultat soit statistiquement significatif. L'évolution des valeurs d'ADC au niveau de la lésion traitée suit une courbe de régression logarithmique (Figure 6). Il augmente rapidement dans le temps immédiatement en post ablation indépendamment de la technique utilisée (p = 2,12.10-6, ANCOVA) avant d'atteindre une valeur plateau d'environ1440 mm2/sec vers le 10ème mois post ablation. Conclusion Le CT et l'IRM avec injection du produit de contraste (PdC) sont les modalités d'imagerie de premier choix pour le suivi post thermo-ablation. Les valeurs de l'ADC au sein des zones d'ablation augmentent rapidement dans le temps puis se stabilise en plateau indépendamment de la technique utilisée. Toute chute des valeurs de L'ADC devrait faire suspecter une récidive tumorale. Les séquences de diffusion (DWI) pouvant être réalisée sans injection de Gadolinium ce qui peut se révéler utiles en cas de contre- indication à ce PdC

Ark or park: the need to predict relative effectiveness of ex situ and in situ conservation before attempting captive breeding

1. When species face extinction, captive breeding may be appropriate. However, captive breeding may be unsuccessful, while reducing motivation and resources for in situ conservation and impacting wild source populations. Despite such risks, decisions are generally taken without rigorous evaluation. We develop an individual-based, stochastic population model to evaluate the potential effectiveness of captive-breeding and release programmes, illustrated by the Critically Endangered Ardeotis nigriceps Vigors great Indian bustard. 2. The model was parameterized from a comprehensive review of captive breeding and wild demography of large bustards. To handle uncertainty in the standards of captive-breeding performance that may be achieved we explored four scenarios of programme quality: ‘full-range’ (parameters sampled across the observed range), ‘below-average’, ‘above-average’ and ‘best possible’ (performance observed in exemplary breeding programmes). Results are evaluated examining i) the probability of captive population extirpation within 50 years and ii) numbers of adult females subsequently established in the wild following release, compared to an alternative strategy of in situ conservation without attempting captive breeding. 3. Successful implementation of captive breeding, involving permanent retention of 20 breeding females and release of surplus juveniles, required collection of many wild eggs and consistent ‘best possible’ performance across all aspects of the programme. Under ‘full-range’ and ‘above-average’ scenarios captive population extirpation probabilities were 73–88% % and 23‒51%% respectively, depending on egg collection rates. 4. Although most (73‒92%) ‘best possible’ programmes supported releases, re-establishment of free-living adults also required effective in situ conservation. Incremental implementation of effective conservation measures over the initial 10 years resulted in more free-living adults within 35 years if eggs were left in the wild without attempting captive breeding. 5. Synthesis and applications. For the great Indian bustard Ardeotis nigriceps, rapid implementation of in situ conservation offers a better chance to avoid extinction than captive breeding. Demographic modelling should be used to examine whether captive breeding is likely to bring net benefits to conservation programmes

Creating Initial Digital Soil Properties Map Of Afghanistan

Afghanistan is a country with a population of more than 31 million people and is located in south central Asia. The total arable land in the country is 12%, 5% is irrigated and the remaining 7% is rainfed. Due to the lack of available soil information, poor farming practices and land management planning severely affect the yield of agriculture products. In order to ensure sustainable agriculture and prevent land degradation problems, understanding spatial variability of soil is crucial. The overall objective of this research study was to use digital soil mapping techniques to identify the soil resources and generate a spatially explicit soil map of a 8,358,160 ha pilot study area. The specific objective is to develop a version 1 map of the six Northern provinces of Afghanistan. Several techniques such as artificial neural networks, multiple regression analysis, hybrid geostatisitcal approaches are developed to create digital soil maps. However, most of these procedures required large amounts of data to create digital soil maps at a useful resolution. Countries like Afghanistan have limited available data and it is difficult to develop the map based on the aforementioned procedures. For this research, we utilized a knowledge based approach utilizing fuzzy logic to create a version 1 map with limited point data. The fuzzy logic maps are developed based on five soil forming factors; therefore soil knowledge and soil landscape relationship is required. From the ecoregion map of the study area, we assumed that climate, organisms and time were constant and geology and topography were the deriving factors of soil formation. Therefore, the fuzzy property map of the study area was developed from geology and geomorphon composition. In ordered to capture the variability of the soil, we used those terrain attributes which have close relationship with water redistribution. geomorphon was used to classify the landforms of the study area. As a part of the fuzzy process, membership curves are required to define the soil similarity vectors. Traditionally, the membership curves are manually defined by the soil scientists based on their tacit knowledge of the soil and landscape. Even though, the manual method adequately predicts soil properties, it is time consuming and limits the application of fuzzy logic. In order to make fuzzy logic an easy and time effective approach for developing functional property maps, it is essential to use the Automatic Landform Inference Mapping (ALIM) model to automatically generate the accurate membership functions. Purdue University developed ALIM model was used for this research to define the membership functions. To generate the membership functions, ALIM model combines the digital elevation model derived terrain attributes to the soil classes. The determined membership values and soil property values were then assigned to the Zhu (1997), equation to predict the soil property maps of the pilot area. The overall results showed that predicted properties generally followed the landscape patterns but in some cases, they did not. The accuracy test of Normalized Root Mean Square Prediction Error (RMSPEr) also showed that the model prediction was insignificant. Several factors such as few data points, inaccurate coordinate location of the data points and low 90 m resolution DEM were assumed to be the reason for inaccurate assessment. Overall, the methods did produce a spatially explicit map that will be useful for the next map version. More data and a higher resolution DEM is necessary for improving the soil property predictions of the pilot area