The Book of Requiems, 1450-1550

Few western musical repertories speak more to the imagination than the Requiem mass for the dead. The Book of Requiems presents in-depth essays on the most important works in this tradition, from the origins of the genre up to the present day. Each chapter is devoted to a specific Requiem, and offers both historical information and a detailed work-discussion. Conceived as a multi-volume essay collection by leading experts, The Book of Requiems is an authoritative reference publication intended as a first port of call for musicologists, music theorists, and performers both professional and student.

A fresh look at Cladarosymblema narrienense, a tetrapodomorph fish (Sarcopterygii: Megalichthyidae) from the Carboniferous of Australia, illuminated via X-ray tomography

Background The megalichthyids are one of several clades of extinct tetrapodomorph fish that lived throughout the Devonian–Permian periods. They are advanced “osteolepidid-grade” fishes that lived in freshwater swamp and lake environments, with some taxa growing to very large sizes. They bear cosmine-covered bones and a large premaxillary tusk that lies lingually to a row of small teeth. Diagnosis of the family remains controversial with various authors revising it several times in recent works. There are fewer than 10 genera known globally, and only one member definitively identified from Gondwana. Cladarosymblema narrienense Fox et al. 1995 was described from the Lower Carboniferous Raymond Formation in Queensland, Australia, on the basis of several well-preserved specimens. Despite this detailed work, several aspects of its anatomy remain undescribed. Methods Two especially well-preserved 3D fossils of Cladarosymblema narrienense, including the holotype specimen, are scanned using synchrotron or micro-computed tomography (µCT), and 3D modelled using specialist segmentation and visualisation software. New anatomical detail, in particular internal anatomy, is revealed for the first time in this taxon. A novel phylogenetic matrix, adapted from other recent work on tetrapodomorphs, is used to clarify the interrelationships of the megalichthyids and confirm the phylogenetic position of C. narrienense. Results Never before seen morphological details of the palate, hyoid arch, basibranchial skeleton, pectoral girdle and axial skeleton are revealed and described. Several additional features are confirmed or updated from the original description. Moreover, the first full, virtual cranial endocast of any tetrapodomorph fish is presented and described, giving insight into the early neural adaptations in this group. Phylogenetic analysis confirms the monophyly of the Megalichthyidae with seven genera included (Askerichthys, Cladarosymblema, Ectosteorhachis, Mahalalepis, Megalichthys, Palatinichthys, and Sengoerichthys). The position of the megalichthyids as sister group to canowindrids, crownward of “osteolepidids” (e.g.,Osteolepis and Gogonasus), but below “tristichopterids” such as Eusthenopteron is confirmed, but our findings suggest further work is required to resolve megalichthyid interrelationships.

Satellite-based analysis of classification algorithms applied to the riparian zone of the Malaya Kokshaga river

The paper comparatively analyses the accuracy of land cover classification in the riparian zone of the Malaya Kokshaga river in the Mari El Republic of Russia using Sentinel-2A satellite images with the algorithms of supervised classification: Maximum Likelihood (ML), Decision Tree (DT) and Neural Net (NN) in the ENVI-5.2 software package. Six main classes of land cover were identified based on field studies: coniferous, mixed (deciduous), shrublands, herbaceous, and water. The assessment of the area and the structure of land cover showed that forest covers 76% of the entire territory of the riparian area of the Malaya Kokshaga river. The analysis of the results of thematic mapping shows that the overall classification accuracy obtained by the ML algorithm is 96.09%, by NN - 94.51%, and by DT - 86.54%. The producer’s accuracy and user’s accuracy for most classes have the maximum value when the ML algorithm is used. For the NN algorithm, the maximum value of producer’s accuracy is observed for the mixed (deciduous) class, while for the DT algorithm – for the coniferous. When classified using all three algorithms the water and bare land classes were mixed, which requires more detailed work when estimating riparian forest ecosystems.

Morphological features of the skeleton of a chinchilla and a rat in a comparative aspect

Exotic species of animals have recently become more and more popular and widespread; the approach to their diagnosis of diseases and treatment has its own nuances. Despite the similarity of species, there are differences that need to be taken into account. One of the fundamental problems of comparative anatomy is the disclosure of general patterns and specific features of the skeleton of animals. Despite the available detailed work in this direction, many questions concerning this problem still remain open and require further study.

Annotated Checklist of the Lichenicolous Fungi of Hungary

Knowledge of lichenicolous fungi is limited at a worldwide level and needs further basic information, as in the case of Central and Southern Europe. The literature sources for “Revised checklist of the Hungarian lichen-forming and lichenicolous fungi” by Lőkös and Farkas in 2009 contained 54 lichenicolous and other microfungi species of 38 genera. Due to recent field studies and microscopic work, the number of known species has increased to 104 lichenicolous species in 64 genera during the last decade, including 53 new species for the country. Old records of five species were confirmed by new collections. Key characteristics of some of the most interesting species are illustrated by microscopic views and two distribution maps are provided. Recent biodiversity estimates suggest that the number of currently known species could be 1.5 (–2) times higher with more detailed work on field collections. Although lichenicolous fungi have been less well studied in Hungary in the past, the relative diversity of lichenicolous fungi there, as indicated by Zhurbenko’s lichenicolous index, was found to be slightly higher than the mean value calculated for the world.

Disseminated Extramedullary Plasmacytoma with Unusual Cardiac and Pancreatic Involvement—Literature Review and Rare Case Report

Disseminated extramedullary plasmacytoma (EMP) is an unusual entity that has nonspecific imaging features at MRI. Nevertheless, knowledge of its imaging features and unusual locations might help radiologists to suspect it in the appropriate clinical scenario. Some noncontiguous EMPs might mimic lymphoma and MRI would be useful as a problem-solving tool in EMP and would help in treatment planning. We report an unusual cardiac mass in cardiac MRI, a detailed work-up of which led to the diagnosis of multifocal EMP involving the heart, ribs, pancreas, retroperitoneum, and soft tissues of the thigh, rarely reported in the literature.

Thymoma-Related Paraneoplastic Syndrome Mimicking Reactive Arthritis

Background and Objectives: Thymomas are associated with a high frequency of paraneoplastic manifestations. Paraneoplastic syndrome (PNS) with thymoma presents a challenge to clinicians because of the need to decipher the association between the presenting symptoms and the underlying tumor. The condition most commonly noted in patients with PNS with thymoma is myasthenia gravis. Other common autoimmune diseases that may present as PNS include systemic lupus erythematosus, pure red cell aplasia, and Good syndrome. Seventy-six percent of patients with PNS-associated thymoma experience resolution of PNS after curing thymoma. Materials and Methods: A 37-year-old man with a two-month fever accompanied by polyarthritis accidently found thymoma after contrast computed tomography scans of his chest. He accepted Video assisted thoracoscopic surgery with resection of thymoma. Results: Fever and polyarthritis resolved after operation but recurred in five days due to cytomegalovirus viremia, which might be predisposed by previous antibiotics treatment before the diagnosis of thymoma. Conclusion: Patients with a thymoma also have a high frequency of PNS, and the most frequent condition found in patients with PNS-associated thymoma is myasthenia gravis. Fever with polyarthritis has been rarely reported as a symptom of PNS-associated thymoma. Here we reported an unusual case of PNS mimicking reactive arthritis with thymoma, as diagnosed based on the patient’s clinical progression, imaging examination, and laboratory tests. The patient died of his comorbidities, and his death may have been related to long-term antibiotic use and consequent intestinal dysbiosis. This challenging case may help to inform clinicians of the need for detailed work-up of fever with unknown origin in the presence of chronic polyarthritis to prevent the overdiagnosis of inflammatory arthritis or rheumatic disease and avoid further comorbidities. Detailed work-up should include the patient’s history of infections, inflammation, and malignant or nonmalignant tumors.

Silver-assisted syntheses of fused five-membered N-heterocycles

: The metal-mediated formation of heterocycles is one of the most emerging and essential strategies in organic chemistry. The reactions utilized previously to synthesize heterocycles were less familiar to the scientists due to their detailed work-up, expensive nature, and complex operations. The silver-assisted cyclic reactions are highly efficient for both regioselective and stereoselective synthesis of five-membered fused N-heterocyclic compounds. The applications of silver in the preparation of five-membered fused N-heterocyclic compounds are covered in this review article.

Military psychiatric affairs in the Austro-Hungarian, German and French armies

With regard to alcoholism in the German army, on this issue, one can point to the rather detailed work of Dr. Stier. Having prefaced the essay on the influence of alcohol on a person, the author proceeds to the question of the meaning of this influence for the army in peacetime and wartime.

Blowout Well Response: TOTAL Large Scale Exercise Drill in the Gulf of Guinea

ABSTRACT In March 2019, TOTAL planned and executed the first of its kind Large Scale Exercise (LSE) in Nigeria. Before this operator led LSE, capping equipment had not been deployed in Africa. Since this was the first exercise of the sort to be undertaken in Nigeria, there were several objectives defined at the outset of the exercise: test the entire response chain (logistics, preparation, execution and communication);demonstrate to the Nigerian authorities that a comprehensive and efficient response could be executed in a timely manner; anddocument, record lessons learned and then feed them back to the local affiliate and others to improve future response operations For this exercise, TOTAL deployed its Subsea Emergency Response System (SERS) which was commissioned for construction at the beginning of 2012. Two systems were developed for drilling and production hydrocarbon blowout scenarios. The LSE's focus was to deploy the capping system while also taking the opportunity to simulate pumping dispersant. TOTAL has two SERS's that are stored in Pointe Noire, Congo and Luanda, Angola. Due to the readiness of the system in Congo (recently tested and the appropriate connector installed), it was chosen to be used for the LSE. An abandoned appraisal well was chosen for the exercise due to it being free from subsea infrastructure. The detailed work scope for the LSE was as follows: SERS ○ Controls Distribution Unit (CDU) deployment○ Flying Lead Deployment Frame (FLDF) deployment○ Diverter Spool Assembly (DSA) deployment○ Connection of the Hydraulic Flying Leads (HFL's) and Electric Flying Leads (EFL's)○ Landing the DSA and locking the connector by Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV)○ Performing an Acoustic Communication System (ACS) test Subsea Dispersant Injection (SSDI) ○ Deploying the Hose Deployment Frame (HDF)○ Deploying the routing manifold on Coiled Tubing (CT)○ Connecting all hoses with the ROV○ Simulating pumping dispersant over the well All equipment was successfully deployed and tested with all objectives achieved. The highlights of the operations were as follows: ○ 20 days from Congo SERS equipment loadout until the end of operations○ Approximately 27 hours from OneSubsea (OSS) arrival on the vessel until the DSA was locked on the wellhead○ DSA connector lock and unlock between 4 to 5 minutes○ 52.1 bbls of simulated dispersant pumped within a one hour timeframe