The Illawarra at Work: A Summary of the Major Findings of the Illawarra Regional Workplace Industrial Relations Survey

This paper summarises the main results of the Illawarra Regional Workplace Industrial Relations Survey (IRWIRS). The data is unique in that it provides the only comprehensive and statistically reliable source of information about workplace employee relations at the regional level in Australia, and compares regional patterns with national trends. The data collected relates to industrial relations indicators, workplace ownership, market conditions, management organisation and decision- making in the workplace, among other things. The results reveal a positive pattern of employment relations in the Illawarra, distinctive in many respects from national trends.Illawarra Regional Workplace Industrial Relations Survey, workplace employee relations, Australia

One-Pot Synthesis, Pharmacological Evaluation, Docking Study, and DFT Calculations for Selected Imidazolidine-2,4-Diones

The title compounds with different 5-substituted imidazolidine-2,4-dione were synthesized through a solvent-free reaction. Imidazolidine-2,4-dione derivatives are found to be an active pharmacophore for design and development of various bioactive lead compounds.  Positive values of energy obtained for compound 1and 3, while a negative value for compound 2 was calculated by DFT in Gaussian. keto-enol tautomerism was supported by energy values  and indicated the most stable tautomeric form. The biological evaluation has been supported by docking studies using molecular operating environment program to show binding with androgen receptor.  Supplementary Materials: https://sjuoz.uoz.edu.krd/suppm

Natural Resources Research Institute Technical Report

Plates 1-7B mentioned in the report are also attached to this record. Disks 1-4 have not been located yet.Minnesota has a variety of clays and shales that have potential as industrial clays. These clays are: 1) Precambrian clays; 2) Paleozoic shales; 3) pre-Late Cretaceous primary (residual) and secondary kaolins; 4) Late Cretaceous ball clays and marine shales; 5) Pleistocene glacial clays; and 6) Recent clays. Minnesota clays are currently used for brick and as a portland cement additive. Other potential uses include filler and coating grade kaolins, ceramic tile, refractory products, lightweight aggregate, sanitaryware, and livestock feed filler. Precambrian clays occur in the 1 .1 Ga Keweenawan interflow sediments of the North Shore Volcanic Group, the Middle Proterozoic Thomson Formation and in the Paint Rock member of the Biwabik Iron-Formation on the Mesabi Iron Range, all in northeastern Minnesota. The Paint Rock clays have potential as red coloring additives and glazes. Paleozoic shales in southeastern Minnesota are primarily kaolinitic and illitic shales that are interbedded with limestones. The Ordovician Decorah and Glenwood Formations are marine shales that, in the past, have been used to make bricks, tile, and lightweight aggregate. The thickness of these shales ranges from 10-90 feet. The Decorah Shale has the lowest firing temperature with the best shrinkage and absorption characteristics of all the Minnesota clays. The pre-Late Cretaceous primary and secondary kaolins are found in the western and central portions of Minnesota; the best exposures are located along the Minnesota River Valley from Mankato to the Redwood Falls area and in the St. Cloud area. The primary or residual kaolinitic clays are the result of intense weathering of Precambrian granites and gneisses prior to the Late Cretaceous. Subsequent reworking of these residual clays led to the development of a paleosol and the formation of pisolitic kaolinite clays. Physical and chemical weathering of the saprolitic kaolinite-rich rocks produced fluvial/lacustrine (secondary) kaolinitic shales and sandstones. Recent exploration activity is concentrated in the Minnesota River Valley where the primary kaolin thickness ranges from 0 to 200 + feet, and the thickness of the secondary kaolins ranges from 0-45 + feet (Setterholm, et al, 1989). Similar kaolinitic clays occur in other areas of Minnesota, e.g., St. Cloud and Bowlus areas. However, less information is available on their thickness, quality, and areal distribution due to varying thicknesses of glacial overburden. Cement grade kaolin is extracted from two mines in the residual clays in the Minnesota River Valley, and a third mine there yields secondary kaolinite-rich clays that are mixed with Late Cretaceous shales to produce brick. During the Late Cretaceous, Minnesota was flooded by the transgressing Western Interior Sea, which deposited both non-marine and marine sediments. These sediments are characterized by gray and black shales, siltstones, sandstones, and lignitic material. Significant occurrences of Late Cretaceous sediments are found throughout the western part of the state, with the best exposures located in Brown County, the Minnesota River Valley, and the St. Cloud area. In Brown County, the maximum thickness of the Late Cretaceous sediments is > 100 feet. These sediments thicken to the west and can be covered by significant thicknesses ( > 300 ft.) of glacial overburden in many areas. Current brick production comes from the Late Cretaceous shales in Brown County. In the past, the Red Wing pottery in Red Wing, Minnesota, used Cretaceous and some Ordovician sediments to produce pottery, stoneware, and sewer pipe. Glacial clays occur in glacial lake, till, loess, and outwash deposits, and these clay deposits range in thickness from 5 to 100 + feet. Much of the early brick and tile production (late 1800s and early 1900s) in Minnesota was from glacial clays. The last brickyards to produce from glacial lake clays, e.g., Wrenshall in northeastern Minnesota and Fertile in west-central Minnesota, closed in the 1950s and 1960s. There has also been some clay production from recent (Holocene) fluvial and lake clays that have thicknesses of 2-10 + feet. Both recent and glacial clays are composed of glacial rock flour with minor quantities of clay minerals. Carbonates can be a significant component of many of these clays. Glacial lake clays in northwestern Minnesota (Glacial Lake Agassiz - Brenna and Sherack Formations) begin to bloat at 1830 ° F due to the presence of dolomite and smectite clays. These clays are a potential lightweight aggregate resource. Geochemistry, clay mineralogy, particle size, cation exchange capacity (CEC), raw and fired color, and firing characteristics are useful in distinguishing different potential industrial uses for Minnesota clays. These physical and chemical characteristics help to distinguish potentially useful clays from those with less desirable characteristics, e.g., high quartz or silica content, high shrinkage or absorption upon firing, undesirable fired color, too coarse-grained, CEC of < 5 milliequivalents, etc. Certain clays, e.g., the bloating Decorah and Brenna Formation clays, and the high alumina, refractory, pisolitic clays of the Minnesota River Valley, have physical and chemical characteristics that indicate further exploration and product research are necessary to fully evaluate the potential of these clays.Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota Duluth, 5013 Miller Trunk Highway, Duluth, MN 55811-1442; Funded by the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resource

Электрофизические свойства пленок оксида ванадия, нанесенных методом реактивного магнетронного распыления

The aim of this work was to study the effect of the gas composition during sputtering on the electrophysical properties of vanadium oxide films deposited by pulsed reactive magnetron sputtering of a vanadium target in an Ar/O2 medium of working gases.The dependences of the magnetron discharge voltage, deposition rate, resistivity, temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR), and the band gap of vanadium oxide films on the oxygen concentration in the gas mixture are obtained. It was found that amorphous films of vanadium oxide are formed during reactive magnetron sputtering. It is shown that the properties of the deposited vanadium oxide films have a strong dependence on the oxygen concentration in the Ar/O2 gas mixture, which is associated with the formation of a mixture of various intermediate vanadium oxides in the film. It was found that from the point of view of using vanadium oxide films as thermosensitive layers of microbolometers, the films must be deposited at oxygen concentrations in the gas mixture of 17 to 25 %. At the given oxygen concentrations without heating the substrates, vanadium oxide films with a resistivity (0.6–4.0)·10-2 Ohm·m, TCR 2.2–2.3%/°C and a band gap for direct transitions of 3.7–3.78 eV. The obtained characteristics make it possible to use these films as thermosensitive layers of microbolometers.Целью работы являлось исследование влияния состава газовой среды в процессе распыления на электрофизические характеристики пленок оксида ванадия, нанесенных методом импульсного реактивного магнетронного распыления ванадиевоaй мишени в среде Ar/O2 рабочих газов.Получены зависимости напряжения разряда магнетрона, скорости нанесения, удельного сопротивления, температурного коэффициента сопротивления (ТКС), ширины оптической запрещенной зоны пленок оксида ванадия от концентрации кислорода в смеси газов. Установлено, что при реактивном магнетроном распылении формируются аморфные пленки оксида ванадия. Показано, что электрофизические свойства нанесенных пленок оксида ванадия имеют сильную зависимость от концентрации кислорода в Ar/O2 смеси газов, что связано с образованием в пленке смеси различных промежуточных оксидов ванадия. Установлено, что с точки зрения использования пленок оксида ванадия в качестве термочувствительных слоев пленки необходимо наносить при концентрациях кислорода в смеси газов от 17 до 25 %. При данных концентрациях кислорода без нагрева подложек получены пленки оксида ванадия с удельным сопротивлением (0,6–4,0)·10-2 Ом·м, ТКС 2,2–2,3 %/°C и шириной запрещенной зоны для прямых переходов 3,7–3,78 эВ. Полученные характеристики позволяют использовать данные пленки в качестве термочувствительных слоев микроболометров

Candidate glutamatergic and dopaminergic pathway gene variants do not influence Huntington’s disease motor onset

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor, cognitive, and behavioral disturbances. It is caused by the expansion of the HTT CAG repeat, which is the major determinant of age at onset (AO) of motor symptoms. Aberrant function of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors and/or overexposure to dopamine has been suggested to cause significant neurotoxicity, contributing to HD pathogenesis. We used genetic association analysis in 1,628 HD patients to evaluate candidate polymorphisms in N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subtype genes (GRIN2A rs4998386 and rs2650427, and GRIN2B rs1806201) and functional polymorphisms in genes in the dopamine pathway (DAT1 3′ UTR 40-bp variable number tandem repeat (VNTR), DRD4 exon 3 48-bp VNTR, DRD2 rs1800497, and COMT rs4608) as potential modifiers of the disease process. None of the seven polymorphisms tested was found to be associated with significant modification of motor AO, either in a dominant or additive model, after adjusting for ancestry. The results of this candidate-genetic study therefore do not provide strong evidence to support a modulatory role for these variations within glutamatergic and dopaminergic genes in the AO of HD motor manifestations

Population stratification may bias analysis of PGC-1α as a modifier of age at Huntington disease motor onset

Huntington’s disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor, cognitive and behavioral disturbances, caused by the expansion of a CAG trinucleotide repeat in the HD gene. The CAG allele size is the major determinant of age at onset (AO) of motor symptoms, although the remaining variance in AO is highly heritable. The rs7665116 SNP in PPARGC1A, encoding the mitochondrial regulator PGC-1α, has been reported to be a significant modifier of AO in three European HD cohorts, perhaps due to affected cases from Italy. We attempted to replicate these findings in a large collection of (1,727) HD patient DNA samples of European origin. In the entire cohort, rs7665116 showed a significant effect in the dominant model (p value = 0.008) and the additive model (p value = 0.009). However, when examined by origin, cases of Southern European origin had an increased rs7665116 minor allele frequency (MAF), consistent with this being an ancestry-tagging SNP. The Southern European cases, despite similar mean CAG allele size, had a significantly older mean AO (p < 0.001), suggesting population-dependent phenotype stratification. When the generalized estimating equations models were adjusted for ancestry, the effect of the rs7665116 genotype on AO decreased dramatically. Our results do not support rs7665116 as a modifier of AO of motor symptoms, as we found evidence for a dramatic effect of phenotypic (AO) and genotypic (MAF) stratification among European cohorts that was not considered in previously reported association studies. A significantly older AO in Southern Europe may reflect population differences in genetic or environmental factors that warrant further investigation

Structural and phase characteristics of vanadium oxide films

Проведены исследования влияния параметров процесса нанесения и последующего отжига на структуру и фазовый состав пленок оксида ванадия (VOx ). Пленки VOx наносились методом импульсного реактивного магнетронного распыления V мишени в Ar/O2 смеси газов и подвергались отжигу в атмосфере O2 при давлении 10 5 Па. Температура отжига изменялась от 100 до 450 °С. Время отжига варьировалось от 10 до 120 мин. Установлено, что при отжиге начальные процессы кристаллизации наблюдаются при температурах 250–275 °С. При этом, в зависимости от концентрации кислорода в процессе распыления, формируются поликристаллические пленки кубической или смешанной моноклинной/кубической кристаллической решеткой. При увеличении температуры отжига происходит переход от промежуточного оксида V 4 O 9 к смешанной фазе VO 2 /VO x /V 2 O 5 и далее к высшему оксиду V 2 O 5 . При увеличении времени отжига формирование высшего оксида V 2 O 5 наблюдается при более низких температурах и его концентрация увеличивается. The article The influence of the parameters of the deposition and subsequent annealing on the structure and phase composition of vanadium oxide (VO x ) films has been studied. VO x films were deposited by pulsed reactive magnetron sputtering of a V target in an Ar/O 2 gas mixture and annealed in an O 2 atmosphere at a pressure of 105 Pa. The temperature of the annealing varied from 100 to 450 °C. The time of the annealing varied from 10 to 120 min. It was found that during annealing, the initial crystallization processes are observed at temperatures of 250–275 °C. In this case, depending on the oxygen concentration during sputtering, polycrystalline films of a cubic or mixed monoclinic (cubic) crystal lattice are formed. As the temperature of the annealing rises, a transition occurs from the intermediate oxide V 4 O 9 to the mixed phase VO 2 /VO x /V 2 O 5 and then to the higher oxide V 2 O 5. With an increase in the annealing time, the formation of the higher oxide V 2 O 5 is observed at lower temperatures and its concentration increases

Формирование и исследование характеристик терморезистивных структур на основе пленок оксида ванадия

The processes of reactive magnetron sputtering of a V target in Ar/O2 gas mixture are investigated. It was found that when using a pulsed current for sputtering and a pressure in the chamber less than 0.06 Pa, the intensities of the emission lines of vanadium at 437.922 nm, argon at 750.386 nm, and oxygen at 777.417 nm with a change in the oxygen concentration in Ar/O2 gas mixtures (ГO2) have no hysteresis and unambiguously depend on the parameters of the sputtering process, which makes it possible to stabilize the process without using feedback systems. By monitoring the sputtering process by optical emission spectroscopy and depositing films on a rotating substrate of diameter 100 mm, vanadium oxide (VOx) films with nonuniformity thickness less than ±2.4 % and surface resistance less than ±2.5 % were obtained. Studies by transmission line method of the influence of the parameters of the reactive magnetron sputtering and subsequent annealing at O2 pressure of 0.04 Pa on the characteristics of thermoresistive structures based on VOx films showed that when the contacts are deposited without ion cleaning, the current-voltage characteristics (IV) and the dependence of the resistance on the length of resistors R(L) are nonlinear, which indicates the presence of a potential barrier in the contacts. Preliminary ion cleaning can significantly improve the linearity of the IV characteristic. The most linear IV characteristics were obtained for Ti contacts. However, the specific contact resistance of the VOx/Ti contact increases with an increase in the oxidation state of the VOx films and reaches ρc = 0.1 Ohm·m2 at the specific resistance of vanadium oxide ρ = 0.1 Ohm·m. The analysis of the dependences of the temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) and ρ of VOx films on the annealing temperature showed that, upon annealing, ρ and TCR slightly decrease, i. e. there occurs a partial deoxidation of the films. However, unlike annealing at atmospheric pressure, there are no temperature regions at which a sharp decrease in the resistivity and TCR occurs.Исследованы процессы реактивного магнетронного распыления V мишени в среде Ar/O2 газов. Установлено, что при использовании для распыления импульсного тока и давлении в камере менее 0,06 Па интенсивности линий излучения ванадия 437,922 нм, аргона 750,386 нм и кислорода 777,417 нм при изменении концентрации кислорода в Ar/O2 смеси газов (ГO2) не имеют гистерезиса и однозначно зависят от параметров процесса распыления, что позволяет стабилизировать процесс без использования систем обратной связи. При контроле процесса распыления методом оптической эмиссионной спектроскопии и нанесении пленок на вращающуюся подложку диаметром 100 мм получены пленки оксида ванадия (VOx) с неравномерностью толщины менее ±2,4 % и неравномерностью поверхностного сопротивления менее ±2,5 %. Исследования методом длинной линии влияния параметров процесса реактивного распыления и последующего отжига при давлении O2 0,04 Па на характеристики терморезистивных структур на основе пленок VOx показали, что при нанесении контактов без ионной очистки вольт-амперные характеристики (ВАХ) и зависимости сопротивления от длины резисторов R(L) нелинейны, что свидетельствует о наличии в контактах потенциального барьера. Предварительная ионная очистка позволяет значительно улучшить линейность ВАХ. Наиболее линейные ВАХ получены для Ti контактов. Однако удельное контактное сопротивление контакта VOx/Ti увеличивается при увеличении степени окисления пленок VOx и достигает ρc = 0,1 Ом·м2 при удельном сопротивлении оксида ванадия ρ = 0,1 Ом·м. Анализ зависимостей температурного коэффициента сопротивления (ТКС) и ρ пленок VOx от температуры отжига показал, что при отжиге ρ и ТКС незначительно снижаются, т. е. происходит частичное восстановление пленок. Однако, в отличие от отжига при атмосферном давлении, отсутствуют области температур, при которых происходит резкое снижение удельного сопротивления и ТКС

Влияние отжига на структурно-фазовые и электрофизические свойства пленок оксида ванадия

The aim of this work was to study the effect of the parameters of deposition process and subsequent annealing on the properties of vanadium oxide VOx films deposited by the pulsed reactive magnetron sputtering of a V target in an Ar/O2 gas  mixture.  The  dependences  of  the  structure,  phase,  temperature  coefficient of resistance (TCR), resistivity p, band gap Egof the films on the oxygen concentration in Ar/O2 gas mixture during the deposition ГO2, and the temperature of annealing in an O2 atmosphere were obtained. The films were found to have an amorphous structure after deposition. Crystallization processes are observed at temperatures above  275 °C.  In  this  case,  depending  on  the  temperature,  polycrystalline  films  with  a  monoclinic,  cubic or mixed crystal lattice are formed and a transition occurs from the intermediate oxide V4O9 to the mixed phase VO2/VOx/V2O5 and then to the higher oxide V2O5. The character of changes in p, TCR and Egof films coming from the change in the annealing temperature is complex and largely determined by ГO2. It was established that with the view of using VOx films as thermosensitive layers, the following conditions of deposition and annealing would be preferable: films deposited at the oxygen concentration 25 % in Ar/O2 gas mixture and annealed at a  temperature  of  250–275 °C  in  an  O2 atmosphere  for  10  min.  Under  these  conditions  VOx films  with  the following properties were obtained: p= (1.0 – 3.0).10-2 Ohm.m, TCR = 2.05 %/°C, and Eg= 3.76–3.78 eV.Целью  работы  являлось  исследование  влияния  параметров  процесса нанесения  и последующего  отжига  на  свойства  пленок  оксида  ванадия  VOx,  осажденных  методом  реактивного магнетронного распыления V мишени в Ar/O2 смеси газов. Получены зависимости структуры, фазового состава,  температурного  коэффициента  сопротивления  (ТКС),  удельного  сопротивления p,  ширины запрещенной зоны Eg пленок от концентрации кислорода в Ar/O2 смеси газов в процессе нанесения ГO2и температуры  отжига  пленок  в  атмосфере  O2.  Установлено,  что  после  нанесения  пленки  имеют аморфную структуру. Процессы кристаллизации наблюдаются при температурах более 275 °С. При этом формируются  поликристаллические  пленки  с  моноклинной,  кубической  или  смешанной кристаллической  решеткой  и  происходит  переход  от  промежуточногооксида V4O9 к  смешанной  фазе VO2/VOx/V2O5 и далее к высшему оксиду V2O5. Характер изменения , ТКС и Eg пленок при изменении температуры отжига имеют сложный характер и во многом определяется ГO2. Установлено, что с точки зрения использования VOxпленок в качестве термочувствительных слоев предпочтительными являются следующие условия нанесения и отжига: пленки наносятся при концентрации кислорода 25 % в Ar/O2 смеси  газов  и  отжигаются  при  температуре  250–275 °С  в  атмосфере кислорода  10  мин.  При  данных условиях получены пленки VOx с p= (1,0 – 3,0).10–2 Ом.м, ТКС = 2,05 %/°С и Eg= 3,76–3,78 эВ

Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown in Eating Disorders: A Multicentre Collaborative International Study

Background. The COVID-19 lockdown has had a significant impact on mental health. Patients with eating disorders (ED) have been particularly vulnerable. Aims. (1) To explore changes in eating-related symptoms and general psychopathology during lockdown in patients with an ED from various European and Asian countries; and (2) to assess differences related to diagnostic ED subtypes, age, and geography. Methods. The sample comprised 829 participants, diagnosed with an ED according to DSM-5 criteria from specialized ED units in Europe and Asia. Participants were assessed using the COVID-19 Isolation Scale (CIES). Results. Patients with binge eating disorder (BED) experienced the highest impact on weight and ED symptoms in comparison with other ED subtypes during lockdown, whereas individuals with other specified feeding and eating disorders (OFSED) had greater deterioration in general psychological functioning than subjects with other ED subtypes. Finally, Asian and younger individuals appeared to be more resilient. Conclusions. The psychopathological changes in ED patients during the COVID-19 lockdown varied by cultural context and individual variation in age and ED diagnosis. Clinical services may need to target preventive measures and adapt therapeutic approaches for the most vulnerable patients