Orthodontic Treatment for a Child with Melanotic Neuroectodermal Tumor during Infancy: A Case Report

Background: Melanotic neuroectodermal tumor of infancy (MNTI) is a very rare tumor, and case reports of orthodontic treatment for patients with MNTI may be previously unreported. This article describes the orthodontic treatment for a 7-year-old girl with MNTI in the mandible. Case: Her chief complaint was anterior crossbite. Although she had an MNTI diagnosis at the age of 8 months, it remained subclinical. Therefore, she has been regularly followed-up by computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging without aggressive treatment. We had worried about the stimulation of MNTI on the mandible by changing her occlusal position with orthodontic treatment. Therefore, we sufficiently explained to her and her family that orthodontic treatment was at risk for worsening MNTI. However, they desired treatment that consisted of maxillary protraction and slow expansion to correct anterior crossbite and encourage the permanent tooth eruption. After 19 months of active orthodontic treatment, the anterior crossbite was improved, and the eruption of permanent teeth made good progress. No evidence of progression and exacerbation of MNTI has been found by both CT and MR imaging. As the observation period is still short, we need a careful and long-term follow-up of her occlusion and MNTI. Furthermore, when we encounter rare cases without previous experience and reports, informed consent was of particular importance.

Multiwavelength and Dual-perspective Observations of Eruption and Untwisting of Two Homologous Magnetic Flux Ropes

In this paper, we present a detailed morphological, kinematic, and thermal analysis of two homologous magnetic flux ropes (MFRs) from NOAA 11515 on 2012 July 8–9. The study is based on multiwavelength and dual-perspective imaging observations from the Solar Dynamics Observatory and the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory Ahead spacecraft, which can reveal the structure and evolution of the two MFRs. We find that both of the MFRs show up in multiple passbands and their emissions mainly consist of a cold component peaking at a temperature of ∼0.4–0.6 MK and a hot component peaking at ∼7–8 MK. The two MFRs exhibit erupting, expanding, and untwisting motions that manifest distinctive features from two different viewpoints. Their evolution can be divided into two stages—a fast-eruption stage with speeds of about 105–125 km s−1 for MFR-1 and 50–65 km s−1 for MFR-2—and a slow-expansion (or untwisting) stage with speeds of about 10–35 km s−1 for MFR-1 and 10–30 km s−1 for MFR-2 in the plane of the sky. We also find that during the two-stage evolution, the high-temperature features mainly appear in the interface region between MFRs and ambient magnetic structures and also in the center of MFRs, which suggests that some heating processes take place in such places as magnetic reconnection and plasma compression. These observational results indicate that the eruption and untwisting processes of MFRs are coupled with the heating process, among which an energy conversion exists.

British Anti-Slave-Trade Treaties with African and Arab Leaders as Precursors of Modern Suppression Conventions

Roger Clark shifts attention to slave-trading, but rather than focusing on the late 19th and early 20th centuries multilateral treaties against slave-trading he narrows the focus to early treaties entered into with African potentates by Great Britain. Clark illustrates how these treaties served as vehicles for the slow expansion of British enforcement power against slavers, suggesting that extraterritorial enforcement is a key driver in the expansion of transnational criminal law.

Swelling Properties and Permeability of GMZ Bentonite-Sand Mixtures during Different Solutions Infiltration

In China, Gaomiaozi (GMZ) bentonite is recognized as a barrier material for isolating nuclear waste. Different chemical solutions may change the hydraulic conductivity and swelling capacity of bentonite. Consequently, a series of swelling pressure and permeability experiments was carried out on bentonite-sand mixtures with various dry densities and infiltrating solutions. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) were carried out on the samples experiencing the tests to identify the influence of chemistry pore solutions upon the mineralogical and microstructure changes. The results show that the swelling pressure experienced rapid swelling, slow expansion, and the stable expansion stage for the specimens of infiltrating solutions except for NaOH. For the specimens infiltrated with NaOH solutions, the swelling pressure experienced rapid increases, slow decreases, and a stable development stage. With hyper-alkaline and hyper-salinity infiltration, the swelling pressure decreased, and the permeability increased. In addition, swelling pressure attained stability more quickly on contact with hyper-alkaline and hyper-salinity solutions. Comparing the test results, the results indicate that the influence of NaOH on the expansion and permeability was higher than NaCl-Na2SO4 at the same concentration.

The Historical Context

The seventh to the eighth centuries witnessed the initially rapid Arab-Muslim conquests of the Near East and their subsequent slow expansion in North Africa, Spain, and Central Asia, leading to the rise of a unified Islamic caliphate from 661 to the early tenth century. Chapter 1 seeks to define the material and sociopolitical context of the early Islamic history of the Near East, which determined the development of urban economic life between 700 and 950 CE. While differing conditions of conquests in the Near East and Central Asia, respectively peaceful subjugation and brutal expansion, laid the foundation of region-specific economic practices, the assertion of caliphal authority as well as the development of agriculture and trade sowed the seeds of economic growth.

Evolution and effects of the social-ecological system over a millennium in China’s Loess Plateau

Understanding the regime shifts of social-ecological systems (SES) and their local and spillover effects over a long time frame is important for future sustainability. We provide a perspective of processes unfolding over time to identify the regime shifts of a SES based on changes in the relationships between SES components while also addressing their drivers and local and spillover effects. The applicability of this approach has been demonstrated by analyzing the evolution over the past 1000 years of the SES in China’s Loess Plateau (LP). Five evolutionary phases were identified: “fast expansion of cultivation,” “slow expansion of cultivation,” “landscape engineering for higher production,” “transition from cultivation to ecological conservation,” and “revegetation for environment.” Our study establishes empirical links between the state (phase) of a SES to its drivers and effects. Lessons of single-goal driven and locally focused SES management in the LP, which did not consider these links, have important implications to long-term planning and policy formulation of SES.

Urban Industrial Land Expansion and Its Influencing Factors in Shunde: 1995–2017

The change in the industrial land is of great significance to the sustainable development of cities. However, scholars have done relatively little research on this subject, especially on the urban industrial land expansion process and its influencing factors. This article selects Shunde, a typical Chinese industrial city of the Guangdong province, using remote sensing interpretation to analyze the spatiotemporal evolution of industrial land expansion from 1995 to 2017 and applies the multiple regression model to analyze the influencing factors. The main conclusions are as follows: the industrial land in Shunde has experienced the development trend of “slow expansion-rapid expansion-slow expansion,” and the “fragmentation” of the industrial land space is still prominent. Decentralization, marketization, capital, and labor force have passed the significance test of the model, which are important factors influencing the expansion of the industrial land in Shunde. Among them, decentralization is the primary factor, while marketization has the greatest impact on industrial land expansion in Shunde. The influence of globalization and technical progress is not significant.

Scientific Mapping of English Language Teaching Research in the Philippines: A Bibliometric Review of Doctoral and Master’s Theses (2010–2018)

Very few studies have comprehensively mapped out the landscape of English language teaching (ELT) research, particularly those that are not accessible to wider international readership. Thus, this bibliometric study examines ELT doctoral and master’s theses in the Philippines. A total of 98 theses and dissertations completed between 2010 and 2018 were collected from various Philippine universities. Quantitative analysis was used to examine the characteristics and topical foci of the selected studies. Findings reveal that most of the theses and dissertations mainly focussed on only four ELT areas. The other 17 areas remain underexplored ( N = 11) or unexplored ( N = 6). Findings further suggest that there has been a lack of direction and slow expansion of ELT research areas in the country. This trend is primarily attributed to the absence of clear ELT research agenda. Implications for English language education, teacher education, and future direction for ELT research in the country are discussed.

Investigating the Recent Surge in the Monomah Glacier, Central Kunlun Mountain Range with Multiple Sources of Remote Sensing Data

Several glaciers in the Bukatage Massif are surge-type. However, previous studies in this region focused on glacier area and length changes, and more information is needed to support the deep analysis of glacier surge. We determined changes in glacier thickness, motion, and surface features in this region based on TanDEM-X, ALOS/PRISM, Sentinel-1A, and Landsat images. Our results indicated that the recent surge of the Monomah Glacier, the largest glacier in the Bukatage Massif, started in early 2009 and ceased in late 2016. From 2009 to 2016, its area and length respectively increased by 6.27 km2 and 1.45 km, and its ice tongue experienced three periods of changes: side broadening (2009–2010), rapid advancing (2010–2013), and slow expansion (2013–2016). During 2000–2012, its accumulation zone was thinned by 50 m, while its ice tongue was thickened by 90 m. During 2015–2017, its flow velocity reduced from 1.2 to 0.25 m/d, and the summer velocities were much higher than winter velocities. We conclude that the recent Monomah Glacier surge is thermal-controlled. The subglacial temperature rose to the pressure-melting point because of substantial mass accumulation, and then the increased basal meltwater caused the surge.