Essex Rock

All landscapes are built on rock: from hard stone for building with, to the softest clay or sand. Each piece of rock is a storehouse of prehistorical information; even a simple pebble from the garden has its own complex tale to tell. Geology is the great detective science that can unlock these secrets. In this entertaining and eye-opening book, the authors take a deep dive – quite literally – into their home county of Essex. We are all living in an ice age, an ongoing event that has hugely affected Essex over the last 3 million years. Yet this county was born more than 500 million years ago. Our story begins when the land we know as Essex was part of a large continent close to the South Pole, tracing the geological processes that continue to shape the countryside around us. The form of the land, boulders on village greens, road cuttings, cliffs, stones in church walls – they can all bring geology to light in unexpected and fascinating ways. Aimed at a general readership with no scientific background, chapters progress from fundamentals to intricate details of geological investigations and cutting-edge research. Richly illustrated with photographs and colour diagrams, here the geology of a county is visualised and brought to life as never before, along with pertinent environmental insights in the light of climate change that is happening now.

America's Energy Gamble

How can America get back to an energy transition that's good for the economy and the environment? That's the question at the heart of this eye-opening and richly informative dissection of the Trump administration's energy policy. The policy was ardently pro-fossil fuel and ferociously anti-regulation, implemented by manipulating science and economic analysis, putting oil and gas insiders at the helm of environmental agencies, and hacking away at democratic norms that once enjoyed bipartisan support. The impacts on the nation's health, economy, and environment were - as this book carefully demonstrates - dire. But the damage can be reversed. Ordinary Americans, civil society groups, environmental professionals, and politicians at every level all have parts to play in making sure the needed energy transition leaves no one behind. This compelling book will appeal to course instructors and students, government and industry officials, activists and journalists, and everyone concerned about the nation's future.

Recovery Profiles of Sevoflurane and Desflurane with or without M-Entropy Guidance in Obese Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Obesity increases the risk of prolonged emergence from general anesthesia due to the delayed release of anesthetic agents from body fat. This trial aimed to evaluate the effects of sevoflurane and desflurane along with anesthetic depth monitoring on emergence time from anesthesia in obese patients. Adults with a body mass index ≥ 30 kg·m−2 undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy at a medical center were randomized into four groups: sevoflurane or desflurane anesthesia with or without M-Entropy guidance on anesthetic depth in a ratio of 1:1:1:1. In the M-Entropy guidance groups, the dosage of sevoflurane and desflurane was adjusted to achieve response and state entropy values between 40 and 60 during surgery. In the non-M-Entropy guidance groups, the dosage of anesthetics was titrated according to clinical signs. Primary outcome was time to spontaneous eye opening. A total of 80 participants were randomized. Compared to sevoflurane, desflurane anesthesia significantly reduced the time to spontaneous eye opening [mean difference (MD): −129 s; 95% confidence interval (CI): −211, −46], obeying commands (−160; −243, −77), tracheal extubation (−172; −266, −78), and leaving operating room (−148; −243, −54). M-Entropy guidance further reduced time to eye opening (MD: −142 s; 99.2% CI: −276, −8), tracheal extubation (−199; −379, −19), and leaving operating room (−190; −358, −23) in the desflurane but not the sevoflurane group. M-Entropy guidance significantly reduced the risk of agitation during emergence, i.e., risk difference: −0.275 (95% CI: −0.464, −0.086); and number needed to treat: 4. Compared to sevoflurane, using desflurane to maintain general anesthesia accelerated the return of consciousness in obese patients. M-Entropy guidance further hastened awakening in patients using desflurane and prevented emergence agitation.

High Dilution of Dexamethasone in gestation and fetal development of mice

Background: Recently, the use of homeopathy in veterinary medicine has grown significantly, mainly for farm animal practice, because of its usefulness in organic production and low cost. There is a  wide range of veterinary products available in the  marketoften used in females. However, the effect of these products in the litter and derived products for human consummation is completely unknown. Aims: this  study sought to  develop an experimental model to study the putative effects of high diluted substances in newborns after chronic exposure of females. Methods: based on previous studies, the chosen test substance was dexamethasone 15cH; adult female Balb/c mice were divided into 4 groups: a) treated with PBS (control); b) treated with dexamethasone 15 cH; c) treated with dexamethasone 15cH + dexamethasone 4 mg/kg and d) treated with dexamethasone 4 mg/kg. All medicines were administered subcutaneously, 3 times a week, in females from the first day of pregnancy up to the 20th day after parturition (end of lactation period). TDevelopment of the offspring was evaluated daily  for 15 days after birth. Parameters evaluated were: female and offspring viability, number of newborns, time for eye opening, pinna opening, fur growth and postural reflex. Results: the group treated with dexamethasone 15cH  showed 39% increase in mortality rate 39 days after the beginning of treatment and 35% increase in fetal mortality at the end of gestation (p=0.0049). Females treated with dexamethasone 4mg/kg + dexamethasone 15cH showed 100% of fetal mortality. After parturition newborn survival in animals exposed to dexamethasone 4 mg/kg was higher than the control (p=0.0002). All other parameters of neonatal development were unchanged among groups. Conclusions: these data point to adverse effect when using high diluted dexamethasone during gestation detectable by this experimental model in Balb/c mice.

Adaptive Data-Transition Decision Feedback Equalizers For High-Speed Serial Links

This dissertation investigates adaptive decision feedback equalizers for high-speed serial data links.<div>An adaptive data-transition decision feedback equalizer (DT-DFE) was developed. The DT-DFE boosts the eye-opening of the high-frequency components of data without attenuating their low-frequency counterparts. Reference voltages were obtained by transmitting consecutive 1s and 0s and measuring the output of the continuous-time linear equalizer using a pair of successive approximation register analog-to-digital converters in a training phase. It uses loop unrolling to detect data transitions, activate tap-tuning, launch DFE, and combat timing constraints. The performance of the DT-DFE and its advantages over commonly used data-state DFE were validated using the schematic-level simulation results of 5 Gbps backplane links.<br></div><div>A new adaptive DT-DFE with edge-emphasis (EE) taps and raised references was developed. Loop-unrolling was further developed for DT-DFE with EE-taps. The reference voltages were raised beyond that set by the low-frequency components of data to increase vertical eye-opening. Clock and data recovery was performed using 4x oversampling. The DT-DFE was validated using the schematiclevel simulation results of 10 Gbps backplane links.<br></div><div>A pre-skewed bi-directional gated delay line (BDGDL) bang-bang frequency difference-to-digital converter and a BDGDL integrating frequency difference-todigital converter (iFDDC) were proposed for clock and data recovery. Both frequency difference detectors feature all-digital realization, low power consumption, and high-speed operation. The built-in integration of iFDDC results in a zero static frequency error and the first-order noise-shaping of the quantization errors of the BDGDL and digitally-controlled oscillators. Their effectiveness was validated using schematic-level simulation results of 5-GHz frequency-locked loops.<br></div><div>All systems validating the proposed adaptive DFE and frequency-difference detectors were designed in TSMC’s 65 nm CMOS technology and analyzed using Spectre from Cadence Design Systems. <br></div>

Adaptive Data-Transition Decision Feedback Equalizers For High-Speed Serial Links

This dissertation investigates adaptive decision feedback equalizers for high-speed serial data links.<div>An adaptive data-transition decision feedback equalizer (DT-DFE) was developed. The DT-DFE boosts the eye-opening of the high-frequency components of data without attenuating their low-frequency counterparts. Reference voltages were obtained by transmitting consecutive 1s and 0s and measuring the output of the continuous-time linear equalizer using a pair of successive approximation register analog-to-digital converters in a training phase. It uses loop unrolling to detect data transitions, activate tap-tuning, launch DFE, and combat timing constraints. The performance of the DT-DFE and its advantages over commonly used data-state DFE were validated using the schematic-level simulation results of 5 Gbps backplane links.<br></div><div>A new adaptive DT-DFE with edge-emphasis (EE) taps and raised references was developed. Loop-unrolling was further developed for DT-DFE with EE-taps. The reference voltages were raised beyond that set by the low-frequency components of data to increase vertical eye-opening. Clock and data recovery was performed using 4x oversampling. The DT-DFE was validated using the schematiclevel simulation results of 10 Gbps backplane links.<br></div><div>A pre-skewed bi-directional gated delay line (BDGDL) bang-bang frequency difference-to-digital converter and a BDGDL integrating frequency difference-todigital converter (iFDDC) were proposed for clock and data recovery. Both frequency difference detectors feature all-digital realization, low power consumption, and high-speed operation. The built-in integration of iFDDC results in a zero static frequency error and the first-order noise-shaping of the quantization errors of the BDGDL and digitally-controlled oscillators. Their effectiveness was validated using schematic-level simulation results of 5-GHz frequency-locked loops.<br></div><div>All systems validating the proposed adaptive DFE and frequency-difference detectors were designed in TSMC’s 65 nm CMOS technology and analyzed using Spectre from Cadence Design Systems. <br></div>

A comparative study of propofol based total intravenous anesthesia and sevoflurane based volatile induction and maintenance anesthesia on post-operative recovery profile in elective tonsillectomy

Background: Tonsillectomies are common surgeries in day-to-day surgery practice particularly in pediatric age group. Recent trend is to conduct tonsillectomy surgery on a day care basis. It is important to use the best anesthetic option with the least recovery time to reduce the hospital stay of patient. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to compare recovery profile and side effects of Sevoflurane and Propofol as an anesthetic agent for tonsillectomy. Materials and Methods: A total of 60 patients undergoing elective tonsillectomy were selected for the study. Each patient was randomly allocated to either the propofol (Group P) or the sevoflurane group (Group S). Time of surgery (From start to end of surgery), time of anesthesia (From the start of induction to end of surgery), time between the end of anesthesia and the spontaneous eye opening, and time between the end of anesthesia and the following of verbal commands. Time to extubation, time between the end of anesthesia, and the orientation to his or her name and the incidence of post-operative nausea and vomiting were compared in both the groups. Results: The eye opening in Group P patients was found to be 8.9+1.21 min and that in Group S was 6.6+1.25 which was found to be statistically significant. The following of verbal commands in Group P was found to occur at 10.13+1.28 min, while that in Group S was found to be at 7.63+1.25 min, which was statistically significant. The time for extubation in Group P was found to be 11.17+1.29 min, while that in Group S was found to be 8.67+1.24 min, which was statistically significant. The duration for complete orientation in Group P was found to be 12.2+1.27 min, while that in Group S was found to be 9.43+1.04 min, which came out to be statistically significant. Hemodynamic parameters were found to be comparable in both the groups with no statistically significant difference in between then at any point of time (P>0.05). Conclusion: Sevoflurane is a useful alternative to propofol in providing anesthesia where rapid emergence and recovery of cognitive functions are desired.

A Study of The Effect of Aminophylline on Clinical Recovery and Bis Readings After Total Intravenous Anesthesia

Background: In anesthesia and intensive care we face a lot of respiratory problems that require the use of bronchodilators such as aminophylline which is accused of antagonizing of the action of adenosine which acts as neuromodulator in the CNS. Objective: To test the hypothesis that aminophylline increases BIS readings and decreases recovery time after total intravenous anesthesia. Methods: We tested the hypothesis on 50 patients who were to be operated upon for orthopedic procedures. We induced anesthesia using bollous dose of propofol 2.5 mg/kg and bollous remifentanil 1.5 mcg/kg and didn't use any muscle relaxant. Anesthesia was maintained using propofol and remifentanil infusion in the rate of 100 mcg/kg/min and 0.2 mcg/kg/min respectively with 100% O2 with BIS readings in the range of 40 – 60. After skin closure, patients were divided into group A (given aminophylline 4 mg/kg), and group P (given same volume of normal saline). Vital signs and BIS values were recorded. Time to eye opening and extubation time and time to reach BIS value of 95 were measured. Results: Significant difference was found in BIS readings (p value < 0.001). Time to eye opening and extubation times were significantly shorter in group A than group P (p value < 0.001). Conclusion: Aminophylline decreases recovery time and increases BIS readings after TIVA.