scholarly journals Assessment and Development of Bone Preparation for Radiocarbon Dating at HEKAL

Radiocarbon ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
pp. 1551-1561 ◽  
Author(s):  
István Major ◽  
István Futó ◽  
János Dani ◽  
Orsolya Cserpák-Laczi ◽  
Mihály Gasparik ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBone is one of the most complex sample materials used for radiocarbon (14C) dating. The installation of the EnvironMICADAS AMS at HEKAL (department of ICER) in 2011 required the adoption of new sample preparation techniques for small bone samples. Since then, hundreds of procedural background and known-age bones have been processed using our modified Longin method (MLM) and dated along with unknown samples. Their results are used in this study to assess the reproducibility of our current bone preparation method and the real uncertainty of the final age result. In addition, using the background samples, which are included in each bone measurement batch, blank correction of the unknown samples could also be performed. The mean F14C value of our bone blanks is generally better than 0.005 (∼42,500 BP) alongside 0.0013 SD. Good reproducibility was confirmed by the results of the laboratory known-age bone as well, where the standard deviation of the mean is better than 0.0025. In addition, the results of the three bone samples used in an ultrafiltration (UF) test study did not show notable differences from the ones obtained by our current protocol in 1σ uncertainty range but more experiments will be performed in the near future.

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 84 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Wantania ◽  
Abraham Winarto

Objectives: to compare the levels of creatinine and cystatin C with the severity of preeclampsia, and assess neonatal outcomes.Materials and Methods: Creatinine, cystatin C, and neonatal outcomes were assesed in 17 normotensive samples, 17 samples of mild preeclampsia and 17 samples of severe preeclampsia. Analysis of data with statistical tests of ANOVA and t test differences between 2 proportions.Results: The mean levels of creatinine in the normotensive group, mild preeclampsia, severe preeclampsia are 0.56 mg/dL, 0.67 mg/ dL, and 0.75 mg/dL, p=0.138; While on cystatin C are 0.82 mg/L, 1.03 mg/L and 1.32 mg/L, p=0.000. The adverse neonatal out-come wasn’t found in the normotensive group. In mild pre-eclampsia obtained 1 preterm birth and 1 intrauterine fetal death (IUFD), whereas in severe preeclampsia obtained 3 babies born preterm, 1 IUFD, and 1 intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR).Conclusion: levels of cystatin C was increased significantly in line with increased severity of preeclampsia, whereas creatinine was not increased significantly. Cystatin C is better than crea-tinine as a marker of renal dysfunction in preeclampsia patients. There was an increase in adverse neonatal outcomes in the group of preeclampsia.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 84
Author(s):  
John Wantania ◽  
Abraham Winarto

Objectives: to compare the levels of creatinine and cystatin C with the severity of preeclampsia, and assess neonatal outcomes.Materials and Methods: Creatinine, cystatin C, and neonatal outcomes were assesed in 17 normotensive samples, 17 samples of mild preeclampsia and 17 samples of severe preeclampsia. Analysis of data with statistical tests of ANOVA and t test differences between 2 proportions.Results: The mean levels of creatinine in the normotensive group, mild preeclampsia, severe preeclampsia are 0.56 mg/dL, 0.67 mg/ dL, and 0.75 mg/dL, p=0.138; While on cystatin C are 0.82 mg/L, 1.03 mg/L and 1.32 mg/L, p=0.000. The adverse neonatal out-come wasn’t found in the normotensive group. In mild pre-eclampsia obtained 1 preterm birth and 1 intrauterine fetal death (IUFD), whereas in severe preeclampsia obtained 3 babies born preterm, 1 IUFD, and 1 intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR).Conclusion: levels of cystatin C was increased significantly in line with increased severity of preeclampsia, whereas creatinine was not increased significantly. Cystatin C is better than crea-tinine as a marker of renal dysfunction in preeclampsia patients. There was an increase in adverse neonatal outcomes in the group of preeclampsia.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-87
Author(s):  
Maciej Rachwał ◽  
Justyna Drzał-Grabiec ◽  
Katarzyna Walicka-Cupryś ◽  
Aleksandra Truszczyńska

Abstract Background: The post-mastectomy changes to the locomotor system are related to the scar and adhesion or to the lymphatic edema after amputation which, in turn, lead to local and global distraction of the work of the muscles. These changes lead to body statics disturbance that changes the projection of the center of gravity and worsens motor response due to changing of the muscle sensitivity. Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the static balance of women after undergoing mastectomy. Methods: The study included 150 women, including 75 who underwent mastectomy (mean age: 60±7.6) years, mean body mass index (BMI): 26 (±3.6) kg/m2) and 75 who were placed in the control group with matched age and BMI. The study was conducted using a tensometric platform. Results: Statistically significant differences were found for almost all parameters between the post-mastectomy group and group of healthy women, regarding center of foot pressure (COP) path length in the Y and X axes and the mean amplitude of COP. Conclusions: First, the findings revealed that balance in post-mastectomy women is significantly better than in the control group. Second, physiotherapeutic treatment of post-mastectomy women may have improved their posture stability compared with their peers.


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 182
Author(s):  
Kanwar Priyanaka ◽  
Y. C. Gupta ◽  
S. R. Dhiman ◽  
R. K. Dogra ◽  
Sharma Madhu ◽  
...  

<p>The studies on heterosis were carried with four male sterile lines namely; ms<sub>7</sub>, ms<sub>8</sub>, ms<sub>9,</sub> ms<sub>10</sub> and 18 diverse pollinators as tester by using line × tester crossing programme. The 72 F<sub>1</sub> hybrids were produced and evaluated along with 22 parental lines during summer 2009 and rainy season 2009 in Randomized Block Design. Observations were recorded on nine quantitative traits during both the seasons. Highly significant variances for all the traits indicated the sufficient variability in the parental material for all the characters under study. The performance of F<sub>1</sub> hybrids was much better than the mean performance of parents during both the crop seasons. Appreciable heterosis was observed in all the characters, except flower weight in summer and plant height in rainy season.</p>


2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 99 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Bakrie ◽  
Y. Sastro ◽  
N. R. Sudolar

This research aimed at investigating the effect using molasses and cornmeal as additives with Lactobacillus sp. and Streptomyces sp. as inoculums during fermentation on the quality of silage flour made from dead chickens. The study was conducted using a completely randomized factorial design, consisting of 2 factors with 5 replications. The materials used were the newly dead chickens which were chopped and mixed thoroughly with all ingredients; then transferred into a 5 liters plastic box for fermentation. Observations were made after 3 weeks fermentation, including: a) physical characteristics, b) microbial contents, and c) nutritional contents. The data were calculated using variance analysis utilizing computer program of SPSS version 21.0. It was found that based on the protein contents the Lactobacillus sp. (19.0%) was better than the Streptomyces sp. (17.8%) if combined with molasses and corn meal as the accelerators. However, the fat contents produced were relatively similar for both of the inoculums (mean of 37.8%). It can be concluded that in order to obtain a best fermented product in terms of the protein and fat content, the dead chicken should be fermented using molasses and cornmeal as the accelerator and Lactobacillus sp. as the inoculum.


Author(s):  
Miguel Ángel Pérez-Castro ◽  
Miguel Ángel Montero-Alonso ◽  
Akram Abderrahman-Azaar

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the situation of the financial system in the Spanish-governed cities of Melilla and Ceuta, Christian and Muslim cities located on the north coast of Africa, and compared it with the mean bankarization level in the rest of Spain in 2000-2015. Design/methodology/approach Although different calculation methods have been proposed, most authors agree that the bankarization level of a country or a territory reflects the development of the society as a whole and has a positive correlation with economic growth. The indicators of financial depth proposed by these researchers are not only the ratio between variables such as loans, deposits, etc., but also the ratios of these variables to the population and the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country or territory. Findings The results obtained revealed that there are differences between these two North African Spanish cities. Furthermore, the financing gap between the mean bankarization levels of these cities and those of mainland Spain was found to be even larger than most of the other economic indicators (GDP per capita and the unemployment rate). Practical implications The authors are convinced that the manuscript is a contribution of great interest for serving pilot experience in cities wishing to offer a development of traditional banking and Islamic banking. The paper should be of interest to readers in the areas of finance systems and commercial banks where two different cultures coexist. Originality/value This is the first research study on the financial framework of European cities whose populations have an approximately equal percentage of Christians and Muslims. The data reflected the existence of savings and loan methods parallel to conventional banking. The conclusion was that in the near future, it would be advisable for European banks to take into account the cultural customs and religious practices of potential Muslim clients.


2016 ◽  
Vol 852 ◽  
pp. 1319-1324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Li ◽  
Chang Ping Wei ◽  
Feng Ming Wang ◽  
Li Dan Dong ◽  
Shuang Sun ◽  
...  

In this paper,under alkaline conditions,with chloroacetic acid to modify chitosan,obtained carboxymethyl chitosan. At pH<7 conditions,the obtained carboxymethy chitosan respectively were reacted with calcium chloride solution,zinc chloride solution,after fully reacted,obtained carboxymethyl chitosan calcium and carboxymethyl chitosan zinc .Through infrared spectrum,X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (sem) analysis means,the structure of the products were characterized.Through the cutting of mice tail hemostasia test ,study the performance of the product.The results showed that the water solubility of carboxymethyl chitosan is better than that of chitosan and with excellent performance,and the performance of carboxymethyl chitosan calcium and carboxymethyl chitosan zinc was better than that of carboxymethyl chitosan.


Author(s):  
Mingwen Yang ◽  
Zhiqiang (Eric) Zheng ◽  
Vijay Mookerjee

Online reputation has become a key marketing-mix variable in the digital economy. Our study helps managers decide on the effort they should use to manage online reputation. We consider an online reputation race in which it is important not just to manage the absolute reputation, but also the relative rating. That is, to stay ahead, a firm should try to have ratings that are better than those of its competitors. Our findings are particularly significant for platform owners (such as Expedia or Yelp) to strategically grow their base of participating firms: growing the middle of the market (firms with average ratings) is the best option considering the goals of the platform and the other stakeholders, namely incumbents and consumers. For firms, we find that they should increase their effort when the mean market rating increases. Another key insight for firms is that, sometimes, adversity can come disguised as an opportunity. When an adverse event strikes the industry (such as a reduction in sales margin or an increase in the cost of effort), a firm’s profit can increase if it can manage this event better than its competitors.


Author(s):  
Timothy Marchok

AbstractMultiple configurations of the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory vortex tracker are tested to determine a setup that produces the best representation of a model forecast tropical cyclone center fix for the purpose of providing track guidance with the highest degree of accuracy and availability. Details of the tracking algorithms are provided, including descriptions of both the Barnes analysis used for center-fixing most variables and a separate scheme used for center-fixing wind circulation. The tracker is tested by running multiple configurations on all storms from the 2015-2017 hurricane seasons in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific Basins using forecasts from two operational National Weather Service models, the Global Forecast System (GFS) and the Hurricane Weather Research and Forecast (HWRF) model. A configuration that tracks only 850 mb geopotential height has the smallest forecast track errors of any configuration based on an individual parameter. However, a configuration composed of the mean of eleven parameters outperforms any of the configurations that are based on individual parameters. Configurations composed of subsets of the eleven parameters and including both mass and momentum variables provide results comparable to or better than the full 11-parameter configuration. In particular, a subset configuration with thickness variables excluded generally outperforms the 11-parameter mean, while one composed of variables from only the 850 mb and near-surface layers performs nearly as well as the 11-parameter mean. Tracker configurations composed of multiple variables are more reliable in providing guidance through the end of a forecast period than are tracker configurations based on individual parameters.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4863 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Huang ◽  
Longpeng Cao ◽  
Nanxin Peng ◽  
Sijia Li ◽  
Jing Zhang ◽  
...  

Photovoltaic (PV) modules convert renewable and sustainable solar energy into electricity. However, the uncertainty of PV power production brings challenges for the grid operation. To facilitate the management and scheduling of PV power plants, forecasting is an essential technique. In this paper, a robust multilayer perception (MLP) neural network was developed for day-ahead forecasting of hourly PV power. A generic MLP is usually trained by minimizing the mean squared loss. The mean squared error is sensitive to a few particularly large errors that can lead to a poor estimator. To tackle the problem, the pseudo-Huber loss function, which combines the best properties of squared loss and absolute loss, was adopted in this paper. The effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method was verified by benchmarking against a generic MLP network with real PV data. Numerical experiments illustrated that the proposed method performed better than the generic MLP network in terms of root mean squared error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE).


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document