Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry U-Pb Dating of Detrital and Magmatic Zircons of Glacial Diamictites and Pebbles in Late Ordovician Sediments of the Taurides and Southeast Anatolian Autochthon Belt, Turkey: Indications for Their Arabian-Nubian Provenance

Late Ordovician (Hirnantian) glacio-marine deposits in the Central and Eastern Taurides and Southeast Anatolian Autochthon Belt (SAAB) in Turkey are mainly composed of diamictites, subrounded granitic pebbles, and rounded/subrounded lonestone pebbles. The granitic pebbles are dated as 576.5 ± 3.3, 576.7 ± 5.7, 598.4 ± 7.5, 717.5 ± 8.0, 789.5 ± 3.7, and 964.6 ± 4.6 Ma. The geochemical signatures and dated granitic pebbles in the Central and Eastern Taurides are interpreted to have been derived from the Late Neoproterozoic granitoids/metagranitic rocks of the Arabian-Nubian Shield (ANS; the Sinai Peninsula and the Eastern Desert of Egypt). The youngest 206Pb/238U ages in the diamictites (499.1 ± 4.2 Ma in the SAAB, 530.5 ± 5.3 Ma in the Eastern Taurides, and 562.5 ± 5.4 Ma in the Central Taurides) and in the lonestones (528.2 ± 4.5 Ma in the Central Taurides, 530.8 ± 5.2 Ma in the Eastern Taurides) indicate that detrital zircons were directly transported mainly from the northern margin of Gondwana and/or Arabia during the Late Ordovician, not from peri-Gondwanan parts of the European margin. Kernel/probability density diagrams of zircon ages from the lonestone pebbles in the Eastern and Central Taurides are interpreted as evidence for their derivation from Late/Middle Cambrian siliciclastic rocks in the Israeli part of the Sinai Peninsula. The provenance of detrital zircon populations in the diamictites in the Central and Eastern Taurides is directly correlated with magmatic activity of the Elat (Taba)–Feiran island arc, the Sa’al island arc, and the postcollisional magmatic suites in the Sinai Peninsula (Egypt). However, the corresponding successions in the SAAB have more abundant Late Cryogenian age components, suggesting the Ha’il/Afif/Ad Dawadimi/Ar-Rayn terranes of the eastern Arabian Shield as their provenance. These distinctive age patterns indicate that glacio-marine successions in the SAAB had different paleogeographic positions than their equivalent units in the Central and Eastern Taurides during deposition of the Late Ordovician glacio-marine units

Edge states in a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice of massive magnetic skyrmions

We study the collective dynamics of a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice of magnetic skyrmions. By performing large-scale micromagnetic simulations, we find multiple chiral and non-chiral edge modes of skyrmion oscillations in the lattice. The non-chiral edge states are due to the Tamm-Shockley mechanism, while the chiral ones are topologically protected against structure defects and hold different handednesses depending on the mode frequency. To interpret the emerging multiband nature of the chiral edge states, we generalize the massless Thiele's equation by including a second-order inertial term of skyrmion mass as well as a third-order non-Newtonian gyroscopic term, which allows us to model the band structure of skrymion oscillations. Theoretical results compare well with numerical simulations. Our findings uncover the importance of high order effects in strongly coupled skyrmions and are helpful for designing novel topological devices.Comment: 6 pages,4 figures,accepted by Physical Review B as a Rapid Communicatio

Self-reported antibiotic stewardship and infection control measures from 57 intensive care units: An international ID-IRI survey

We explored the self-reported antibiotic stewardship (AS), and infection prevention and control (IPC) activities in intensive care units (ICUs) of different income settings. A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online questionnaire to collect data about IPC and AS measures in participating ICUs. The study participants were Infectious Diseases-International Research Initiative (IDI-IR) members, committed as per their institutional agreement form. We analyzed responses from 57 ICUs in 24 countries (Lower-middle income (LMI), n = 13; Upper-middle income (UMI), n = 33; High-income (HI), n = 11). This represented (similar to 5%) of centers represented in the ID-IRI. Surveillance programs were implemented in (76.9%-90.9%) of ICUs with fewer contact precaution measures in LMI ones (p = 0.02); (LMI:69.2%, UMI:97%, HI:100%). Participation in regional antimicrobial resistance programs was more significantly applied in HI (p = 0.02) (LMI:38.4%,UMI:81.8%,HI:72.2%). AS programs are implemented in 77.2% of institutions with AS champions in 66.7%. Infectious diseases physicians and microbiologists are members of many AS teams (59%&50%) respectively. Unqualified healthcare professionals(42.1%), and deficient incentives(28.1%) are the main barriers to implementing AS. We underscore the existing differences in IPC and AS programs' implementation, team composition, and faced barriers. Continuous collaboration and sharing best practices on APM is needed. The role of regional and international organizations should be encouraged. Global support for capacity building of healthcare practitioners is warranted. (C) 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

A new ex-ante efficiency criterion and implications for the probabilistic serial mechanism

We introduce and analyze an efficiency criterion for probabilistic assignment of objects, when only ordinal preference information is available. This efficiency criterion is based on the following domination relation: a probabilistic assignment dominates another assignment if it is ex-ante efficient for a strictly larger set of utility profiles consistent with the ordinal preferences. We provide a simple characterization of this domination relation. We revisit an extensively studied assignment mechanism, the Probabilistic Serial mechanism (Bogomolnaia and Moulin, 2001), which always chooses a “fair” assignment. We show that the Probabilistic Serial assignment may be dominated by another fair assignment. We provide conditions under which the serial assignment is undominated among fair assignments

Вплив практики зеленого ланцюжка поставок на результати компанії: емпіричне дослідження

Environmental dimensions have been included in every area of life and every activity with the increasing environmental sensitivity and the concern to leave resources for future generations. This strategic path and strategic decisions gained an environmental dimension under the name of green supply chain management and green supplier selection, and attracted great attention in both academic and corporate life. New strategies such as green principles and related environmental performance are imperative and very important for companies, with increasing awareness of environmental issues and increasing concerns for future generations and our world. In order to address the growing environmental concerns of various stakeholders, companies have focused on external partners in the supply chain. The purpose of the current study is to investigate the effect of green supply chain practices on firm performance. To this end, a survey was conducted with the managers of 120 large-scale firms operating in Turkey in order to measure this effect. Explanatory and confirmatory factor analyses, correlation analysis and multiple regression estimators were used in the empirical analysis. Since all items of the Green Supply Chain Applications Scale and Firm Performance Scale had factor loads (>60), all items remained in the analysis. In DFA, item factor weight values with 3 sub-dimensions are in the range (0.73; 0.90). According to these results, the internal and external supply chain practices have a positive and significant effect on all the indicators of firm performance that are reduction of pollutants, reduction of green costs and firm competitiveness. Similarly, reduction of pollutants and reduction of green costs, two indicators of green performance, positively affect firm competitiveness.Екологічні аспекти були включені у всі сфери життя та кожного виду діяльності з підвищенням чутливості до навколишнього середовища та турботою про те, щоб залишити ресурси для майбутніх поколінь. Цей стратегічний шлях і стратегічні рішення набули екологічного виміру під назвою «зелене» управління ланцюжками постачання та вибору «зелених» постачальників і привернули велику увагу як в академічному, так і в корпоративному житті. Нові стратегії, такі як екологічні принципи та пов'язані з ними екологічні показники, є обов'язковими та дуже важливими для компаній, оскільки все більше усвідомлюють екологічні проблеми та все більше дбають про майбутні покоління та наш світ. Для вирішення екологічних проблем різних зацікавлених сторін компанії зосередили увагу на зовнішніх партнерах у ланцюжку поставок. Метою цього дослідження вивчення впливу практики «зеленої» ланцюжка поставок на ефективність фірми. З цією метою було проведено опитування менеджерів 120 великих фірм, які працюють у Туреччині, щоб виміряти цей ефект. В емпіричному аналізі використовувалися пояснювальний та підтверджуючий факторний аналіз, кореляційний аналіз та оцінки множинної регресії. Оскільки всі елементи шкали додатків зеленого ланцюжка поставок та шкали ефективності фірми мали факторні навантаження (>60), всі елементи залишилися в аналізі. У DFA значення факторної ваги елемента з 3 підрозмірами знаходяться в діапазоні (0,73; 0,90). Згідно з цими результатами, практика внутрішнього та зовнішнього ланцюжка поставок надає позитивний і значний вплив на всі показники діяльності фірми, такі як скорочення викидів забруднюючих речовин, зниження екологічних витрат та конкурентоспроможність фірми. Так само скорочення викидів забруднюючих речовин та зниження витрат на «зелене» — два показники «зелених» результатів — позитивно впливають на конкурентоспроможність компаній

Evaluation of IL-23p19/Ebi3 (IL-39) gingival crevicular fluid levels in periodontal health, gingivitis, and periodontitis

OBJECTIVES: IL-23p19/Ebi3 (IL-39) was described as a new IL-12 family member. The aim of this study is to evaluate the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) IL-39 levels in periodontal diseases and health and to correlate them to GCF levels of IL-1β and periostin. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-six adult patients were included in the study. The study design was comprised of three groups, each containing 22 individuals: the periodontally healthy (PH), gingivitis (G), and periodontitis (P) groups. The clinical periodontal parameters were recorded and GCF samples were collected from the participants. GCF interleukin (IL)-39, IL-1β, and periostin levels were examined using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: GCF IL‑1β, periostin, and IL-39 levels were higher in the P and G groups than in the PH group (p < 0.001). Positive correlations were detected between all GCF biochemical parameters and clinical periodontal parameters (p < 0.05). In the multivariate generalized linear regression analysis, the P (β = 37.6, 95% CI = 22.9–52.4) and G (β = 28.4, 95% CI = 15.8–41) groups were associated with GCF IL-39 levels (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: IL-39 levels were elevated in the presence of periodontal disease paralleling the increase in IL‑1β and periostin levels. IL-39 may have a role in the periodontal inflammation process. STATEMENT OF CLINICAL RELEVANCE: IL-39, a new cytokine from the IL-12 family, can be a possible predictor marker of periodontal diseases. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00784-022-04681-w

Three-Dimensional CFD Modeling of Tubular Solid Oxide Fuel Cells with Different Fuels

Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology has been of great interest over many years due to its flexibility in using different fuels including the fundamental fuel i.e. hydrogen, for its operation. Various computational and numerical models have been developed along with experimental work to evaluate the performance as well as to identify and overcome the problems faced in the development of SOFC\u27s. In an attempt to achieve efficient operation with respect to design and combined thermal and electrochemical perspective, the main objective of the proposed study is to present a three-dimensional computational model which will serve as a framework for the analysis and optimization of SOFC\u27s. A three-dimensional (3-D) model of a tubular SOFC is being developed to study the effect of temperature and electrolyte thickness variations on its performance. A commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software ANSYS-FLUENT was used for the development of the tubular model which incorporates an interactive 3-D electro-thermo-chemical fluid flow analysis. The particular model, after validation against experimental observations for selected benchmark cases, was demonstrated to be compatible for intermediate temperatures using hydrogen as the fuel. The performance of the model was analyzed by varying electrolyte thicknesses from 2-100 μm. The same model was further evaluated using different fuels such as CH4 (methane) and CO (carbon monoxide), including the modeling of the reformation and water-gas shift reactions. The results were compared to other computationally less expensive, analytical and empirical models that could serve as basic models for future research on intermediate temperature SOFC\u27s