Oscillatory Changes in Structural Characteristics in Multicomponent Ceramics, YBCO

The structural characteristics of samples of a four-component superconducting material (YBCO) after exposure to X-ray irradiation during a long time are investigated. The effect of X-ray beam processing on angular positions (corresponding parameters of the crystal lattice) and the width of Bragg reflections is established. The phenomenon of oscillatory behavior in the unit cell dimension with long-time irradiation is found. The analysis of the profiles of reflection also demonstrates the presence of reversible changes phase composition with the exposure time. The observed phenomena reflect the presence of a nontrivial and specific process of compression and expansion of the unit cell due to the accumulation and then disengagement outside of ionized oxygen, which is formed under such irradiation exposure on the surface of the samples.

The visual arts

The visual arts, as compared to the performing arts, are defined by their static nature as fixed objects. However, visual art objects often have a ‘dual static/dynamic’ nature that allows them to convey a sense of both motion and emotion, especially when they depict human models. As a result, such objects appear to viewers as frozen snapshots of ongoing actions or gestures. The most art-specific process for the visual arts is the production of two-dimensional images. Compared with the production of three-dimensional objects, two-dimensional images require a dimensional reduction in order to create a flattened representation of a scene on a surface. Drawing is thus the ultimate visual arts activity.

Clustering Application for Condition-based Maintenance in Time-varying Processes: A Review

In the field of industrial process monitoring, more and more interest is being shown in specific process categories. These include time-varying processes, that is, those processes whereby the response one receives as output from the system depends on when the input signal is sent into it. There are many reasons for this process variability and such contexts are not always analyzed with this operational characteristic at their core. At the same time, interest in certain categories of techniques is also becoming more prominent, to meet certain application needs. Among these, clustering and unsupervised techniques in general are gaining ground. This is largely due to the difficulty of finding fault data with which to train, for example, supervised models. On the other hand, the clustering technique, on which this contribution focuses, also makes it possible to compensate for the lack of complete knowledge of the structure of the process itself. With these two considerations in mind, this contribution proposes a literature review on the topic of clustering applied in time-varying contexts, in the maintenance field. The aim is to present an overview of the main fields of study, the role of clustering in this context and the main clustering techniques used.

Verbal Manipulation in Political Discourse: Metaphors, Clichés, Emotions and Symbols in F. Tuđman’s Speeches During Wartime Period 1990-1995

This article examines verbal manipulation used in the public speeches of Croatian president Franjo Tuđman between the years 1990-1995 in the beginning of Breakup of Yugoslavia and during the Croatian War of Independence. He had to lead his country through turbulent period of changes and conflicts, and he had to persuade the nation and the international community to believe in his plans and his vision. This analysis presupposes that language is intentionally used instrument, not a random group of words and it is important and interesting to have a closer look on what the leaders are saying. Speechwriting is a specific process of creating a speech tailored to given audience because only then it will serve its purpose of persuasion. The speaker must know to whom and at what occasion he or she is talking to and adapt accordingly. For this thesis, four types of verbal manipulation – metaphors, clichés/stereotypes, emotions, and symbols – used by the president are analysed because they have vast manipulative potential. All of them are put into the context of the events happening around the time they were delivered. Direct excerpts from Tuđman’s speeches are provided as an example of this phenomenon with an attempt to explain their manipulative potential.

Muzyczne adaptacje poezji Józefa Czechowicza — piosenka i pieśń na styku kultury popularnej i nowych mediów (rekonesans)

The main purpose of this paper is to recognise how the poetry of Józef Czechowicz functions in new media contexts within broadly understood popular culture. Poets’ poems are subjected to a specific process of audio adaptation, adapting them to function in a different media environment, especially on YouTube. The author of the article attempts a structural-hermeneutic reading of the audio texts. Czechowicz, widely regarded as an extremely “musical” poet, is confronted with various models of the audial functioning of the literary text. The article discusses selected aspects and selected examples of auditory adaptations of Czechowicz’s poetry. The author of the sketch focuses primarily on the musical studies of the poet’s poems, in which he perceives the basic intermedia potential — the ability to function in different contexts. An important part of this interpretative act is to look at the conventionally established culture flows in which Czechowicz’s poetry appears. The main purpose of this paper is to recognize the way the poetry of Józef Czechowicz functions in new media contexts within the broadly understood popular culture. Poets’ poems are subjected to a specific process of audio adaptation, adapting them to function in a different media environment, especially on YouTube. The author of the article attempts a structural-hermeneutic reading of the audio texts. Czechowicz, widely regarded as an extremely “musical” poet, is confronted with various models of the audial functioning of the literary text. The article discusses selected aspects and selected examples of auditory adaptations of Czechowicz’s poetry. The author of the sketch focuses primarily on the musical studies of the poet’s poems, in which he perceives the basic intermedia potential — the ability to function in different contexts. An important part of this interpretative act is to look at the conventionally established culture flows in which Czechowicz’s poetry appears.

δ13C and δD Values of n-Alkanes from In-Reservoir Biodegraded Oils: Implications for Understanding the Mechanisms of Biodegradation and for Petroleum Exploration

This study investigates the magnitude and direction of stable C and H isotope shifts of n-C15–30 alkanes from biodegraded oils sourced from Type II (Oil suite S) and Type II/III (Oil suite H) kerogens. Compound-specific isotope data show a 2.0‰ 13C-enrichment and no D-enrichment of n-alkanes in the most biodegraded oil from sample suite S. Similarly, there is a 1.5–2.5‰ 13C-enrichment and no D-enrichment in Oil suite H. Overall, there is a <2.5‰ δ13C and <20‰ δD variability among individual n-alkanes in the whole sequence of biodegradation. N-alkanes from the least biodegraded Oil H samples are 2–4‰ 13C-enriched in comparison with the least biodegraded Oil S. However, there are no differences in the δD values of n-alkanes in these samples. Our indirect isotopic evidence suggests (1) a site-specific biodegradation process, most likely at position C-2 and/or C-3 or another site-specific process, and (2) a significant D/H exchange between organic compounds in the source rock and isotopically similar marine formation waters. We conclude that, unlike δD methodology, investigation of δ13C composition of n-alkanes has strong potential as a supplementary tool for oil–oil and oil–source-rock correlation even in biodegraded oils when n-alkanes are present.

Urogenital tuberculosis in children 0 - 14 years old in the structure of other localizations of tuberculosis

Introduction. Extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) still has many features: there is a different approach to its definition in different countries, there is no screening, diagnosis is extremely difficult and requires financial costs, and bacteriological verification does not exceed 46%, complex restorative and reconstructive operations are used in treatment. the proportion of patients with isolated extrapulmonary localizations among tuberculosis patients is low.Purpose of the study. To study the structure of tuberculosis (TB) in children with the accentuation of EPTB in the current conditions to determine the development areas of preventive and diagnostic measures.Materials and methods. A retrospective two-stage study was carried out in the period from 1989 to 2018 among in-patient children aged 0 - 14 yrs. At the first stage, the structure of clinical forms of TB was assessed in 2306 children. Three comparison groups were formed following ten-year periods. At the second stage, 4 groups were identified according to age: early age, preschool age, primary school age, prepubertal age. The data obtained in the course of the study were statistically processed using the Microsoft Office 2007 (Microsoft Corp., USA) and Biostat 2009 (AnalystSoft Inc., USA) software package. The differences between the groups were determined using the χ2 test, and significant differences were considered when the value of the p < 0.05 criterion.Results. It was found that throughout the entire observation period in the region, the predominant localization of the specific process was respiratory TB. The proportion of isolated extrapulmonary lesions in children decreased from 11.1% in the period from 1999 to 2008 to 3.4% in the period from 2009 to 2018 (p = 0.000). At the same time, the most frequent localization (60.4 - 77.8% of cases) among EPTB remains urinary TB. In the dynamics from 1989 to 2018, the number of cases of the disease with combined forms of tuberculosis increased (from 3.1% to 7.2%; p = 0.000), mainly due to the establishment of several localizations of the lesion. The frequency of bacteriological confirmation of the diagnosis was significantly different at various localizations of the specific process. In children of the compared periods of childhood, the predominant localization of the specific process was isolated respiratory TB. The isolated extrapulmonary process localizations were more common in the age groups 7 - 11 and 12 - 14 yo, where it accounted for 10.8 - 12.4% of TB cases (p = 0.000). The localization of the EPTB also depended on the children's age. So, young children often developed damage to the osteoarticular system, in preschool children - the genitourinary and lymphatic (peripheral lymphadenopathy) systems, in younger schoolchildren and preschoolers - the genitourinary system. The frequency of bacteriological confirmation of the EPTB increased with the age. The combined forms of a specific process were more often observed in the age group of 7 - 11 yo, in the other groups their share was 77.4%, 87.1%, and 95.0% of cases. Respiratory TB and TB of other organs was confirmed bacteriologically more often in the age group 7 - 11 yo (19.4%), and in the group 12 - 14 yo in 12.9%, 4 - 6 yo in 10.0%, early age in 9.7%, which is much more frequent than confirmation of isolated respiratory TB.Conclusions. EPTB in children has not lost its position and due to the widespread introduction of the recombinant TB allergen and CT into clinical practice. It has become more often detected in combination with respiratory TB. Among the EPTB, genitourinary tuberculosis prevailed, which can be verified in contrast to damage to other organs. Raising the level of awareness of paediatricians and phthisiatrician-paediatricians about the frequency of EPTB occurrence makes it possible to form alertness in terms of the possibility of their development and to timely detect the disease at an early stage.

Approaches for Handling Immunopathological and Clinical Data Using Deep Learning Methodology: Multiplex IHC/IF Data as a Paradigm

Recent advancements in deep learning based artificial intelligence have enabled us to analyse complex data in order to provide patients with improved cancer prognosis, which is an important goal in precision health medicine. In this chapter, we would be discussing how deep learning could be applied to clinical data and immunopathological images to accurately determine survival rate prediction for patients. Multiplex immunohistochemistry/immunofluorescence (mIHC/IF) is a relatively new technology for simultaneous detection of multiple specific proteins from a single tissue section. To adopt deep learning, we collected and pre-processed the clinical and mIHC/IF data from a group of patients into three branches of data. These data were subsequently used to train and validate a neural network. The specific process and our recommendations will be further discussed in this chapter. We believe that our work will help the community to better handle their data for AI implementation while improving its performance and accuracy.

A fully differential SMEFT analysis of the golden channel using the method of moments

The Method of Moments is a powerful framework to disentangle the relative contributions of amplitudes of a specific process to its various phase space regions. We apply this method to carry out a fully differential analysis of the Higgs decay channel h → 4ℓ and constrain gauge-Higgs coupling modifications parametrised by dimension-six effective operators. We find that this analysis approach provides very good constraints and minimises degeneracies in the parameter space of the effective theory. By combining the decay h → 4ℓ with Higgs-associated production processes, Wh and Zh, we obtain the strongest reported bounds on anomalous gauge-Higgs couplings.