CD-ROM Acrobat Journals Using Networks

The available technologies for publishing journals electronically are surveyed. They range from abstract representations, such as SGML, concerned largely with the structure of the document, to formats such as PostScript which faithfully model the layout and the appearance. The issues are discussed in the context of choosing a format for electronically publishing the journal: Electronic Publishing -- Origination, Dissemination and Design. PostScript is neither widely enough available nor standardised enough to be suitable; a bitmapped pages approach suffers from being resolution-dependent in terms of the visual quality achievable. Reasons are put forward for the final choice of Adobe s new PDF document standard for creating electronic versions of the journal

The possibilities of obtaining long-range supplies of uranium, thorium, and other substances from igneous rocks

Most uranium and thorium which have been produced in the world thus far have been obtained from ores of relatively high grade. Such deposits are not very extensive and are found infrequently. When the high-grade deposits of these substances approach exhaustion, it may be that material containing these elements in low concentrations will be the ultimate source. An average granite contains about 4 ppm uranium and 12 ppm thorium. If all the uranium and thorium in 1 ton of average granite could be extracted and utilized by means of nuclear breeding, the energy output would be equivalent to that obtained by burning 50 tons of coal. Means are now available for relatively easy extraction of about one quarter of the uranium and thorium from average granite, with an energy profit per ton of rock processed equivalent to that obtained by burning 10 tons of coal. Results also indicate that a variety of both major and minor substances of industrial importance can be obtained as byproducts of uranium and thorium production from igneous rocks. The techniques required for extracting uranium and thorium from igneous rocks are wen within the realm of present mineral-dressing and industrial-chemical experience

ERISA Preemption: Judicial Flexibility and Statutory Rigidity

This Article attempts to describe the ways in which, and the reasons why section 514(a) has caused the courts and Congress so much difficulty. Part I reviews the legislative history of section 514(a), with emphasis on the ambivalence Congress has shown toward its 1974 draftsmanship. Part II attempts to provide a coherent description of the case law that has developed under section 514(a). Part III completes the legislative history by examining the two instances in which experience compelled Congress to revise section 514. Finally, Part IV discusses examples of problems courts have faced when crafting a federal common law of employee benefits in light of section 514 and concludes that the peculiar absence in section 514 of any recognition of state policies has had an adverse effect on the common law process. The primary shortcoming of section 514 is that, although it establishes a good starting point for thinking about ERISA preemption, it falls short both as a practical rule and as a guide to principled decisionmaking. Courts have thus had little choice but to create a federal common law of ERISA, including preemption, in spite of, and to some extent hindered by, the literal language of the statute

Journal publishing with Acrobat: the CAJUN project

The publication of material in electronic form should ideally preserve, in a unified document representation, all of the richness of the printed document while maintaining enough of its underlying structure to enable searching and other forms of semantic processing. Until recently it has been hard to find a document representation which combined these attributes and which also stood some chance of becoming a de facto multi-platform standard. This paper sets out experience gained within the Electronic Publishing Research Group at the University of Nottingham in using Adobe Acrobat software and its underlying PDF (Portable Document Format) notation. The CAJUN project1 (CD-ROM Acrobat Journals Using Networks) began in 1993 and has used Acrobat software to produce electronic versions of journal papers for network and CD-ROM dissemination. The paper describes the project's progress so far and also gives a brief assessment of PDF's suitability as a universal document interchange standard

Genocidal Conscription: Drafting Victims of Genocide

"Genocidal Conscription" examines the ways by which genocidal states have employed mandatory military service as a tool of genocide. This work applies a comparative study to trace the mechanisms by which states have drafted victims of genocide in two cases. The work contributes a theory and an interpretation of a typology of genocide. Evidence provided in this work supports the argument that certain genocidal states have subverted the institution of conscription into a tool of genocide. The implications consider the types of reform that may now be possible in a time of transition and transformation

The Passive Journalist: How sources dominate the local news

This study explores which sources are “making” local news and whether these sources are simply indicating the type of news that appears, or are shaping newspaper coverage. It provides an empirical record of the extent to which sources are able to dominate news coverage from which future trends in local journalism can be measured. The type and number of sources used in 2979 sampled news stories in four West Yorkshire papers, representing the three main proprietors of local newspapers in the United Kingdom, were recorded for one month and revealed the relatively narrow range of routine sources; 76 per cent of articles cited only a single source. The analysis indicates that journalists are relying less on their readers for news, and that stories of little consequence are being elevated to significant positions, or are filling news pages at the expense of more important stories. Additionally, the reliance on a single source means that alternative views and perspectives relevant to the readership are being overlooked. Journalists are becoming more passive, mere processors of one-sided information or bland copy dictated by sources. These trends indicate poor journalistic standards and may be exacerbating declining local newspaper sales

Evaluation and optimization of multilayer desigs for astronomical x-ray telescopes using a field-of-view- and energy-dependent figure of merit

The three most important quantities used to assess the performance of astronomical x-ray telescope optics are the on-axis collecting area, the field of view, and the half-power diameter. The first two quantities depend on the mirror packing arrangement and the multilayer coating design. In order to optimize the coating design, we have developed a figure-of-merit (FOM) that accounts for the coating response over a specified range of energies and off-axis angles. We present an example where we have used this FOM to optimize a specific coating design for the High Energy Focusing Telescope (HEFT) and to understand tradeoffs between performance and coating thickness

Metal-insulator transition in a two-band model for the perovskite nickelates

Motivated by recent Fermi surface and transport measurements on LaNiO3, we study the Mott Metal-Insulator transitions of perovskite nickelates, with the chemical formula RNiO3, where R is a rare-earth ion. We introduce and study a minimal two-band model, which takes into account only the eg bands. In the weak to intermediate correlation limit, a Hartree-Fock analysis predicts charge and spin order consistent with experiments on R=Pr, Nd, driven by Fermi surface nesting. It also produces an interesting semi-metallic electronic state in the model when an ideal cubic structure is assumed. We also study the model in the strong interaction limit, and find that the charge and magnetic order observed in experiment exist only in the presence of very large Hund's coupling, suggesting that additional physics is required to explain the properties of the more insulating nickelates, R=Eu,Lu,Y. Next, we extend our analysis to slabs of finite thickness. In ultra-thin slabs, quantum confinement effects substantially change the nesting properties and the magnetic ordering of the bulk, driving the material to exhibit highly anisotropic transport properties. However, pure confinement alone does not significantly enhance insulating behavior. Based on these results, we discuss the importance of various physical effects, and propose some experiments.Comment: 23 pages, 13 figure

Intraoperative ICG-NIR Fluorescence Angiography Visualization of Testicular Perfusion in Operations for Testicular Torsion

Purpose: Indocyanine Green (ICG) near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence angiography is used in assessing testicular perfusion after reduction of testicular torsion to assess tissue viability. Introduction: Determination of viability of a testicle after reduction of a testicular torsion has been performed by numerous methods including visual assessment, Doppler ultrasound, and cutting the testicular capsule. Each of these has limitations, are not always reproducible, and may involve damage to the testicle and confusion of capsular blood flow for internal perfusion. A possible alternative to these methods is the use of ICG-NIR fluorescence angiography. ICG was FDA-approved in 1959 and has been in use for over 60 years across various fields including colorectal and breast surgery, with few reported adverse events related to the injectable dye. Intraoperative use of an NIR camera causes the dye to fluoresce. ICG -NIR is used in this report to demonstrate the perfusion or lack thereof during reduction of testicular torsion. Method: Thirty patients in a single center presented with testicular torsion from November 2015 – August 2019, and were evaluated by a combination of 3 Pediatric Surgeons and 2 Pediatric Urologists using ICG-NIR during torsion reduction procedures. An anesthesiologist injected 1.25 mg (/kg) ICG dye intravenously and the surgeon used the NIR camera to visualize the testicle In-situ to assess the local perfusion before and after testicle reduction. After investigation of testicle viability, the surgeon determined whether to proceed with an orchiopexy or orchiectomy based on tissue perfusion. Results: Thirty patients in a single center presented with testicular torsion from November 2015 – August 2019, and were evaluated by a combination of 3 Pediatric Surgeons and 2 Pediatric Urologists using ICG-NIR during torsion reduction procedures. This process identified the extent of perfusion and differentiated capsular from internal testicular perfusion. It provided assurance of blood flow or definitively confirmed lack of tissue viability, allowing surgeons to proceed with orchiopexies or orchiectomies, respectively. ICG-NIR findings were correlated with standard methods of assessing testicular perfusion, and all patients received contralateral orchiopexy. Conclusion: In patients presenting with testicular torsion, the determination of testicular viability after reduction is very subjective, and complication risk from the surgery can vary based numerous factors including surgeon level of experience, method utilized to assess perfusion, and hemodynamic status of the patient. Use of technologies that image vascular irrigation prior to decision to resect or leave the testicle in place may help to reduce these complications. This study was limited by small sample size in a single center. Future studies with higher volume should compare postoperative complications using this technology compared to other accepted methods of assessing testicle perfusion. This will help elucidate benefits to current surgical outcomes, as well as to gauge success of future novel techniques used in testicular salvage during torsion reductions

Embodied carbon dioxide in concrete: Variation with common mix design parameters

The transition towards a low-carbon infrastructure requires an understanding of the embodied carbon (eCO 2) associated with concrete. However, much current work on eCO 2 underestimates the complexity of its relationship with concrete mix design. This paper demonstrates how eCO 2 of concrete is not a simple function of strength. Rather, for a given strength, considerable eCO 2 savings can be made by careful attention to basic mix design. Replacement of cement with PFA (pulverised fuel ash) can achieve considerable savings; additionally, using a concrete of lower workability, employing a superplasticiser, using crushed rather than rounded aggregate and using a higher strength of cement can have comparably significant effects. The analysis is presented in terms of embodied carbon per unit strength; this shows that there is an optimum strength for all concretes (with regard to minimising eCO 2 per unit of structural performance) of between 50 and 70 MPa