The purpose of this research is to better conserve biodiversity by improving land allocation modeling software. Here we introduce a planning support framework designed to be understood by and useful to land managers, stakeholders, and other decision-makers. With understanding comes trust and engagement, which often yield better implementation of model results. To do this, we break from traditional software such as Zonation and Marxan with Zones to prototype software that instead first asks the project team and stakeholders to make a straightforward multi-criteria decision tree used for traditional site evaluation analyses. The results can be used as is or fed into an algorithm for identifying a land allocation solution that is efficient in meeting several objectives including maximizing habitat representation, connectivity, and adjacency at a set cost budget. We tested the framework in five pilot regions and share the lessons learned from each, with a detailed description and evaluation of the fifth (in the central Sierra Nevada mountains of California) where the software effectively met the multiple objectives, for multiple zones (Restoration, Innovation, and Observation Zones). The framework is sufficiently general that it can be applied to a wide range of land use planning efforts.


The one thing that Africa seems to have been blessed with is the capacity to generate abundant epithets and labels that attempt to capture the essence of what is wrong with the continent. Apart from the popular, ideological and enduring "dark continent," a recent more realistic label sees Africa as an "Island of Want." In this imagery, postcolonial Africa is recognized as being confronted with a dilemma of absences: On the one hand, one needs to recover the self-esteem that suffered from the attempt by the colonizers to foist on Africans a different worldview and cultural mindset. On the other hand, Africans need to develop and be a meaningful part of the global processes and flows. The third critical absence is that of a tradition of leadership that will confront the dilemma and thus take Africa out of its debilitating condition.


Abstract. The Korea Strait (KS) is a major navigation passage
linking the Japan Sea (JS) to the East China Sea and Yellow Sea. Almost all
existing studies of the tides in the KS employed either data analysis or
numerical modelling methods; thus, theoretical research is lacking. In this
paper, we idealize the KS–JS basin as four connected uniform-depth
rectangular areas and establish a theoretical model for the tides in the KS
and JS using the extended Taylor method. The model-produced K1 and
 M2 tides are consistent with the satellite altimeter and tidal gauge
observations, especially for the locations of the amphidromic points in the
KS. The model solution provides the following insights into the tidal
dynamics. The tidal system in each area can be decomposed into two
oppositely travelling Kelvin waves and two families of Poincare modes,
with Kelvin waves dominating the tidal system. The incident Kelvin wave can
be reflected at the connecting cross section, where abrupt increases in
water depth and basin width occur from the KS to JS. At the connecting
cross section, the reflected wave has a phase-lag increase relative to the
incident wave of less than 180 ∘ , causing the formation of
amphidromic points in the KS. The above phase-lag increase depends on the
angular velocity of the wave and becomes smaller as the angular velocity
decreases. This dependence explains why the K1 amphidromic point is
located farther away from the connecting cross section in comparison to the
 M2 amphidromic point.


Quantifying past motions of tectonic plates in the southwest Pacific is important because the Pacific-Antarctic ridge is the only non-destructive boundary between the Pacific plate and other major plates. However, formation of sea-ice near Antarctica impairs the collection of magnetic anomaly data that are necessary to calculate plate rotations. A detailed analysis of all ship-track magnetic data available in the southwest Pacific (61 cruises, 153 profiles, including several cruises collected after 1995) is presented here. Four different sources of uncertainty are quantified: (1) confidence of magnetic anomaly identification, (2) magnetic reversal location picking precision, (3) ship navigation precision, and (4) magnetic data quality. Finite plate rotations are calculated for the southwest Pacific (42.5 to 79 Ma) using the resulting magnetic anomaly database (1528 magnetic reversal data). Finite rotations were calculated using the Hellinger criterion, or by a new method presented here that assumes orthogonality between fracture zones and ridge segments. The new method requires less parameters and is hence able better estimate rotations in cases with an uneven distribution of sparse magnetic data. Rotations and formal uncertainties are calculated for thirty-one chrons (c20y to c33o). They confirm the existence of a three plate system (Pacific, Marie Byrd Land, Bellingshausen) in the southwest Pacific from before c31o (68.7 Ma) until c28y (62.5 Ma). After c28y, the Bellingshausen and Marie Byrd Land plates moved as a single plate.


This study was conducted to explore the abortifacient effect and the mechanisms of the Chinese herbal medicine component toosendanin, and to elucidate the significance of the Th1 cytokines IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha, CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes in the occurrence of abortion. Graded doses of toosendanin were given by intraperitoneal injection (i.p.) to mice at day 5, 6, 7 of gestation. The levels of Th1 cytokines (IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha) in serum and uterine tissues from mice sacrificed at day 8 were analyzed by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Presence of T lymphocytes in endometrium was detected by immunohistochemistry. The results revealed that injection of toosendanin could produce a dose-dependent toxicity. The IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha content in serum and uterine tissues were increased significantly. The CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes were also increased in the endometrium of toosendanin treated groups. In conclusion, toosendanin is pregnancy-toxic to animals and it is relevant to the increased contents of IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha and CD4+, CD8+ T lymphocytes.


Objectives and Backgrounds Current diagnostic strategies using cardiac markers in the assessment of suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS) involve the measurement of serum troponin 10–12 h after the onset of chest pain. We evaluated the potential impact of a multimarker strategy using point of care (POC) measurement of myoglobin, creatine kinase (CK)-MB and troponin I to exclude MI in ≤90 min. Methods Patients presenting to the Emergency Department with suspected ACS with non-diagnostic ECGs were included. We measured myoglobin, CK-MB and troponin I with a POC device at presentation and at 90 min. Standard laboratory testing of troponin I was performed at 12 h. Sensitivity, specificity and likelihood ratios for the POC triple cardiac marker strategy were calculated. We also calculated time to decision point for POC testing vs laboratory testing. Results Complete data were available for 109 patients. 73 patients had negative POC testing and normal laboratory troponin. POC markers were positive in 36 patients, of which 19 had positive 12 h laboratory troponin I. Sensitivity of POC cardiac markers was 100% (95% CI 0.79% to 1.0%), specificity 81% (95% CI 0.71% to 0.88%), negative likelihood ratio <0.001 and positive likelihood ratio 5.29. Mean time to decision point was 700 min earlier for POC testing vs laboratory troponin measurement. We estimate that implementation of the triple cardiac markers POC pathway in our institution would save 3 beds per day. Conclusions Triple cardiac marker POC testing at 90 min can be used to reliably exclude acute myocardial infarction in patients with low to moderate risk ACS, and has the potential to reduce inpatient medical bed occupancy.


Analbuminemia is a rare autosomal recessive disorder manifested by the absence or severe reduction of circulating human serum albumin in homozygous or compound heterozygous individuals. It is an allelic heterogeneous defect, caused by a variety of mutations within the albumin gene. The analbuminemic condition was diagnosed in a Turkish female infant on the basis of low albumin concentration ( approximately 9.0 g/L). The albumin gene was screened by single-strand conformation polymorphism and heteroduplex analysis and submitted to direct sequencing. The proband was found to be homozygous for a T-->C transition at nucleotide 13381, the 2nd base of intron 11. The effect of this previously unreported mutation, which inactivates the strongly conserved GT dinucleotide at the 5' splice site consensus sequence of intron 11, was evaluated by examining the cDNA obtained by reverse transcription-PCR from the albumin mRNA extracted from the proband leukocytes. This analysis revealed that the mutation, named Bartin for the geographical origin of the patient's family, results in the skipping of exon 11. The subsequent frameshift within exon 12 originates a premature stop codon located 5 codons downstream at position 411. The predicted translation product would consist of 410 amino acids. This novel extensive cDNA alteration is responsible for the analbuminemic trait.


Smoking to control body weight is an obstacle to smoking cessation, particularly in western cultures where diets are often rich in calories derived from fat sources. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of continuous nicotine administration on meal patterns in rats fed a high-fat diet. Male rats were housed in cages designed to continuously monitor food intake and implanted with minipumps to deliver approximately 1.00 mg/kg/day of nicotine or saline. Meal patterns and body weights were assessed for 2 weeks of treatment and 1 week posttreatment. When compared with controls, rats with continuous nicotine treatment exhibited a decrease in the average meal duration(s) during the first week of treatment and a modest, yet sustained reduction in daily number of meals over the 14-day treatment period. Nicotine-induced decreases in body weight gain were observed throughout the 2 weeks of treatment. No differences in meal patterns or body weight gain were seen for 1 week following cessation of treatment. Results from this study suggest that while continuous nicotine treatment decreases daily food intake, meal durations, meal numbers, and weight gain, cessation of this treatment does not result in significant compensatory increases. Understanding the effects of nicotine on feeding patterns and weight gain may allow for improvements in treatment protocols aimed at addressing the factors that contribute to tobacco use. (PsycINFO Database Record


Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) is a rhabdovirus that causes an acute disease in salmon and trout. In this study, a correlation between changes in tissue tropism and specific changes in the virus genome appeared to be made by examining four IHNV neutralization-resistant variants (RB-1, RB-2, RB-3, and RB-4) that had been selected with the glycoprotein (G)-specific monoclonal antibody RB/B5. These variants were compared with the parental strain (RB-76) for their virulence and pathogenicity in rainbow trout after waterborne challenge. Variants RB-2, RB-3, and RB-4 were only slightly attenuated and showed distributions of viral antigen in the livers and hematopoietic tissues of infected fish similar to those of the parental strain. Variant RB-1, however, was highly attenuated and the tissue distribution of viral antigen in RB-1-infected fish was markedly different, with more viral antigen in brain tissue. The sequences of the G genes of all four variants and RB-76 were determined. No significant changes were found for the slightly attenuated variants, but RB-1 G had two changes at amino acids 78 and 218 that dramatically altered its predicted secondary structure. These changes are thought to be responsible for the altered tissue tropism of the virus. Thus, IHNV G, like that of rabies virus and vesicular stomatitis virus, plays an integral part in the pathogenesis of viral infection.


JMP Architects are submitting a planning application for the development of a holiday centre at Merlewood, Windermere Road, Grange over Sands, Cumbria (SD 4095 7960). The proposed development affects an area considered to have
archaeological potential and, accordingly, Cumbria County Council Historic Environment Service (CCCHES) issued a brief for a programme of preliminary archaeological investigation, comprising a desk-based assessment and a walkover survey. Following production of a project design to meet CCCHES requirements,
Oxford Archaeology North (OA North) were commissioned by JMP Architects to conduct the work, which was undertaken in October 2006. Merlewood comprises a complex of buildings lying on steeply-sloping ground within
a rural location, roughly 1km to the north of Grange over Sands and centred on a Grade II listed mansion built in 1853 for a wealthy cotton family. The development proposals cover an area of approximately 1.4 ha and intends to utilise a number of the existing buildings of the Merlewood complex, as well as replace others. Other features, such as an original tennis court, will be restored within their present
locations.


The elastic properties of vesicular lipid membranes using high precision ultrasound velocity measurements in egg lecithin bilayer liposomes suspensions were studied. The temperature and K2SO4 concentration dependence of the hydrophobic part of the membrane elastic properties were obtained. The ionic strength dependence is shown to be linear and to change its sign at 27.5 degrees C. The value of molar volume of egg lecithin molecule hydrophobic part as calculated from acoustical and volumetric data is equal to (665 +/- +/- 63) cm3/mol and its adiabatic compressibility is equal to (58.7 +/- 5.9) . 10(-12) cm2/dyne.


The atmospheres of close-in, low-mass exoplanets are extremely vulnerable to the effects of stellar UV to X-ray radiation. Photoevaporation can significantly ablate planetary atmospheres or even strip them entirely, potentially rendering a planet inhabitable. Existing hydrodynamical studies of this important atmospheric mass loss mechanism have mainly considered hydrogen/helium dominated atmospheres. Currently, the effect of more complex chemistry on photoevaporative mass loss has only been the subject of a limited number of studies (e.g. Bolmont et al. 2017). In the era of more advanced exoplanet atmospheric observations, it is more important than ever to determine what, if any atmosphere, these planets may have been able to retain. Here, I present preliminary results of hydrodynamic simulations, showing how the atmosphere of a low-mass planet undergoing photoevaporation is affected by the inclusion of water.


The Nebraska Earth Science Education Network (NESEN) created a program called Students and Teachers Exchanging Data, Information and Ideas (STEDII) for K-12 audiences that emphasizes data collection mixed with weather education. Curriculum with hands-on activities and basic weather instrumentation are provided to the schools, as well as a method for all schools involved to share data using the Internet. From 1996 to 1999 the STEDII program has had 55 schools participate and during the peak participation period 2500 students were involved. Eleven teachers, who actively participate in the program and represent a range of class sizes and age levels, were surveyed on how they implement the program and make it work for their particular school's curriculum. Each school uses different approaches and the program has been modified to allow for the flexibility that is needed. However, the basics of data collection and sharing information have remained the same. The vision for STEDII is compared and contrasted from NESEN's and the teachers' points of view. Basic comparisons are made between STEDII and other educational data collection networks, such as GLOBE and One Sky, Many Voices.


Ef icacy of candlenut oil and garlic oil with three concentrations of 1000 ppm, 500 ppmand 100 ppm tested its activity as a fertilizer of rabbit fur by applying hazelnut oil and garlic oil each of approximately 1 ml at spot prepared twice daily for 28 days. The result of the third activity test of this concentration tested the data with statistics and got the most optimum result as a grower of rabbit fur is candlenuts oil with the concentration of 1000 ppmwith the average growth of length for 28 days is 0,6250 cm and garlic oil with concentration 500 ppmwith the average length of growth for 28 days is 0.8417 cm, while for the most optimum rabbit fur weights are with garlic concentration of 1000 ppmwith an average weight of 28 days is 0.3627 g, while the growth of rabbit fur weight most optimum for 28 days is candlenut 1000 ppmwith an average weight for 28 days = 0.3518 g result of signi icant analysis at (p≤0,05).


A normally-open thermally-actuated microvalve was designed (using microfabrication/soft-lithography techniques involving 3D Printed molds), assembled and tested. The motivation of the research work is to develop an array of microvalves for precise delivery of water to individual plants in a field (with the goal of developing smart irrigation systems for high value cash-crops in the agricultural sector). It is currently impossible to control application of irrigation-water at the level of a single plant. If such a capability were practically available on farms, the result would be a step change in precision agriculture, such that the output of every plant in a farm field could be optimized (i.e., food-water-energy nexus in sustainability applications). The aim of this study is to develop and test a microfluidic system (consisting of a microvalve array) that could be controlled, capillary by capillary, to deliver the needed amount of water to individual plants in a large field.
 Two types of test fluids were leveraged for thermo-hydraulic actuation of the microvalves developed in this study: (a) Design-I: using air, and (b) Design-II: using Phase Change Material (PCM). The PCM used in this study is PureTemp29. The proposed approach enabled a simple and cheap design for microvalves that can be manufactured easily and are robust to weather conditions (e.g., when exposed to the elements in orchards and open fields). Other advantages include: safe and reliable operation; low power consumption; can tolerate anomalous pressure loads/fluctuations; simple actuation; affords easy control schemes; is amenable for remote control; provides long-term reliability (life-cycle duration estimated to be 3∼5 years); can be mass produced and is low maintenance (possibly requiring no maintenance over the life time of operation).
 The microvalve consists of two layers: a flow layer and a control layer. The control layer is heated from below and contains a microfluidic chamber with a flexible polymeric thin-membrane (200 microns in thickness) on top. The device is microfabricated from Poly-Di-Methyl-Siloxane (PDMS) using soft lithography techniques (using a 3D Printed mold). The control chamber contains either air (thermo-pneumatic actuation) or PCM (thermo-hydraulic actuation involving repeated melting/freezing of PCM). The flow layer contains the flow channel (inlet and outlet ports, horizontal section and valve seat). The experimental results from testing the efficacy of the two types of micro-valves show a 60% reduction (for thermo-pneumatic actuation using air) and 40% reduction (for thermo-hydraulic actuation using PCM) in water flow rates for similar actuation conditions (i.e., heater temperature values). PCM design is expected to consume less power (lower OPEX) for long-term actuation but may have slower actuation speed and have higher manufacturing costs (CAPEX). Air actuation design is expected to consume more power (higher OPEX) for longer-term operation but may have faster actuation speeds and lower manufacturing costs (CAPEX). Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were performed to investigate the effect of flowing water (in the microfluidic channel) on the average absolute pressure and temperature of air in the actuation chamber. The CFD simulations were performed using a commercial tool (Ansys™ 2019R1®). The results from the CFD simulations are presented in this study.


During temporal gravity field model determination, the kinematic empirical parameters are mainly designed to remove the strong bias, drift, and 1‐cycle per revolution variations in range‐rates. In practice, two different strategies are commonly used to process these empirical parameters. One is to determine the empirical parameters before solving spherical harmonic coefficients, called Pure Predetermined Strategy (PPS). The other is to simultaneously determine the empirical parameters and spherical harmonic coefficients, called Pure Simultaneous Strategy (PSS). In this study, apart from these two strategies, a novel processing strategy called Filter Predetermined Strategy (FPS) is also discussed. These different processing strategies may result in different solutions. With the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Level 1B data spanning 2005 to 2010, the impacts of different kinematic empirical parameters processing strategies were assessed in detail. The numerical results indicate that (1) using three different processing strategies and their hybrids can determine the temporal gravity field model, while (2) the solutions via PPS present apparent temporal signal attenuation, which is approximately 15% lower in annual amplitude in Amazon River Basin, and 15% lower in yearly trend in Greenland, and (3) the signal‐to‐noise ratios of the solutions via PPS are generally smaller than those of the solutions via FPS and PSS, and (4) the performance of FPS is superior in terms of postfit range‐rates, but compatible with PSS in terms of other cross comparisons. According to comprehensive comparison results in terms of temporal signals and noise, the performance of our Huazhong University of Science and Technology models determined via FPS is in excellent accordance with other representative temporal gravity field models, such as CSR RL05, GFZ RL05a, and JPL RL05.


Terrorism is a cultural bricolage and terrorists are inspired by a wide range of political ideologies and stories. In this study of the terrorist attacks that occurred in Norway in 2011, we reveal how the perpetrator was influenced not only by political rhetoric, but also by the cultural script of school shootings. Anders Behring Breivik was socially isolated and lived his life online. He targeted young people in educational contexts and tried to kill as many people as possible. Preparation was extensive, including cultural products distributed online, and notoriety was the primary objective. By revealing such similarities, we challenge widespread distinctions between types of harm.


Al/SiCp-MMC's find their use in engineering and structural components but their machining particularly finishing is a challenge for manufacturing engineers due to their heterogonous nature having abrasive particles randomly distributed and oriented in the matrix material. An abrasive flow machining (AFM) set up has been designed and fabricated with an indigenously developed alternative media to finish the internal cylindrical surfaces of Al/SiCp- MMC components. Work-pieces were prepared by lathe operations after stir casting Al/SiC-MMC, 25 mm diameter bar of 0%, 5%, 10% and 15% SiC by weight. The influence of AFM process parameters e.g. abrasive mesh size, number of cycles, extrusion pressure, abrasive concentration and AFM media viscosity grade on average surface finish improvement, Ra and material removal, MR, mg have been analyzed. The Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) study also reveals the improvement in surface finish of these MMC's.


Abstract. Long-term, ground based in-situ observations of ozone (O3) and its precursor gases nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) from the four sites Hohenpeissenberg and Zugspitze (D), Sonnblick (A) and Jungfraujoch (CH) are presented for the period 1995–2007. These Central European alpine mountain observatories cover an altitude range of roughly 1000 to 3500 m. Comparable analytical methods and common quality assurance (QA) procedures are used at all sites. For O3 and CO, calibration is linked to primary calibrations (O3) or CO standards provided by the Central Calibration Laboratory (CCL) at NOAA/ESRL. All stations have been audited by the World Calibration Centre (WCC) for CO and O3 (WCC-Empa; CH). Data from long-term measurements of NO2 and CO are only available from Hohenpeissenberg and Jungfraujoch. Both sites show slightly decreasing mixing ratios of the primarily emitted NO2 and the partly anthropogenically emitted CO between 1995 and 2007. The findings are generally consistent with shorter observation periods at Zugspitze and Sonnblick and thus are considered to represent regional changes in Central European atmospheric composition at this altitude range. Over the same period, 1995–2007, the O3 mixing ratios have slightly increased at three of the four sites independent of wind sector. Trends are often more pronounced in winter and less in summer; highest declines of NO2 and CO are observed in winter and the lowest in summer, whereas the strongest O3 increase was detected in winter and lowest or even decline in summer, respectively. Weekly cycles demonstrate anthropogenic impact at all elevations with enhanced NO2 on working days compared to weekends. Enhanced O3 values on working days indicating photochemical production from anthropogenic precursors are only observed in summer, whereas in all other seasons anti-correlation with NO2 was found due to reduced O3 values on working days. Trends are discussed with respect to anthropogenic impacts and vertical mixing. The observed trends for NO2 at the alpine mountain sites are less pronounced than trends estimated based on emission inventories.


The surge protective device (SPD), as buildings over-voltage protective device, has been widely used in building's power distribution system. A novel SPD based on hollow cathode effects is designed. In both air and nitrogen gas, the relationship of discharging voltage and gas pressure are measured, and the critical pressure ranges are determined in the condition of UpUp is pulse voltage protection level). The results indicate that, in the condition of the gap distance D=3 mm and the small hole diameter φ=3 mm, the operating gas pressure ranges are from 50 to 5×104 Pa. With the gap distance D increasing, the pulse voltage protection level Up is decreasing slightly. While D=3 mm, φ=3 mm, and gas pressure (nitrogen) is 600 Pa, the DC voltage protection level and pulse protection level are 784 V and 2.4 kV, respectively. In the action of 10/350 µs pulse current waveform, the quantity of transferred charge Q is 48.26 C, and the ratio energy W/R is up to 2 MJ/Ω. The results testify that the design of SPD in this paper can be used as buildings class B over-voltage protection.


ABSTRACT: To determine the association between ocular abnormalities and hematologic findings in Ehrlichia canis-infected dogs, 120 dogs suspected of canine ehrlichiosis were studied. All patients were subjected to rapid serologic diagnostic test for Ehrlichia canis, and the diagnosis was confirmed by quantitative PCR. PCR-positive patients underwent ophthalmologic examination and a hemogram and were grouped into patients with thrombocytopenia and anemia (G1), patients with thrombocytopenia (G2), and patients without hematologic disorders (G3). For ophthalmic evaluation, the patients were grouped into those having mild, severe, both mild and severe, and no ocular alterations. All patients presented with uveitis (100%). Severe ocular disorders predominated in G1 and G2 patients. Dogs with anemia and leukopenia showed severe ocular disorders. In dogs with a greater number of leukocytes and copies/µl of the TRAG gene, the intraocular pressure (IOP) tends to decrease and vice versa (r = −0.23, r = −0.26). In conclusion, uveitis is the earliest ocular alteration of canine ehrlichiosis. The severity of ocular abnormalities in patients with ehrlichiosis is associated with thrombocytopenia and may be aggravated by anemia and leukopenia. The hemogram and IOP are useful tools for predicting eye involvement in Ehrlichia canis-infected patients. In regions where Ehrlichia canis is endemic, the use of the tonometer should be routinely in dog general consultation.


A second, often overlooked, public health crisis is brewing in the countries hardest hit by Ebola, epidemiologists warn. The Ebola epidemic has devastated already weak public health systems and disrupted childhood vaccinations in Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. As a result, unless action is taken quickly, preventable childhood diseases will likely soar. Measles, in particular, is considered a sentinel of a broken health system, often hitting early and hard in the aftermath of a disaster. In a paper in this week9s issue of Science , researchers put some sobering numbers on the size of a potential measles outbreak in the region post-Ebola. In the worst case, they warn, a measles outbreak could kill thousands more people than Ebola has.


Background : Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a common infection in reproductive age of women and associated with preterm birth and premature rupture of membrane (PROM). Both clindamycin and metronidazole can be used to treat bacterial vaginosis in pregnancy. Aim : To analyze medical characteristics and comparison of clindamycin and metronidazol for treatment of bacterial vaginosis in pregnancy. Methods : This was a study of non randomized clinical trial. Fifty-six pregnant women were identified and including 19 women were evaluated. Six pregnant received clindamycin and 13 received metronidazole then Mann Whitney test was used to analyze. Results : Age of subjects, age of pregnancy, history of abortus, prematurity, PROM and used of contraception were no significant difference with incidence of BV infection (p=0,548, p=0,739, p=0,505, p=0,088, p=1,000, p=0,867). But symptoms and parity were significantly associated with incidence of BV infection (p=<0,001, p=0,047). There was no significant difference in score of Lactobacillus, Gardnerella, Mobiluncus, and total score after treatment between clindamycin and metronidazole (p=1,000, p=1,000, p=0,564, p=0,564). Conclusion : Symptoms and parity was associated with BV infection. Means of Mobiluncus and total score after treatment of metronidazole were lower than clindamycin, but there was no significant difference in score Lactobacillus, Gardnerella, Mobiluncus and total score between clindamycin and metronidazole after treatment.


The thymus is one of the cornerstones of an effective immune system. It produces new T-cells for the naïve T-cell pool, thus refreshing the peripheral repertoire. As we age, the thymus atrophies and there is a decrease in the area of active T-cell production. A decline in the output of the thymus eventually leads to changes in the peripheral T-cell pool which includes increases in the number of cells at or near their replicative limit and contraction of the repertoire. Debate about the age-associated changes in the thymus leading to functional decline centres on whether this is due to problems with the environment provided by the thymus or with defects in the progenitor cell compartment. In mice, the evidence points towards problems in the epithelial component of the thymus and the production of IL-7 (interleukin 7). But there are discussions about how appropriate mouse models are for human aging. We have developed a simple system that utilizes both human keratinocyte and fibroblast cell lines arrayed on a synthetic tantalum-coated matrix to provide a permissive environment for the maturation of human CD34+ haemopoietic progenitor cells into mature CD4+ or CD8+ T-lymphocytes. We have characterized the requirements for differentiation within these cultures and used this system to compare the ability of CD34+ cells derived from different sources to produce mature thymocytes. The TREC (T-cell receptor excision circle) assay was used as a means of identifying newly produced thymocytes.


We present GPS measurements of the crustal velocity field in the southern Central Andes between the Santa Cruz corner and the Malargue fold and thrust belt, and model this interseismic velocity field as the combination of an ephemeral, elastic signal associated with locking of the main plate boundary, and a steady and non-reversing component of displacement associated with localized backarc convergence and growth of the mountain belt. We find that this second component, i.e. the ongoing and permanent displacement of the forearc and the high Andes relative to the craton, can be modeled very well as a steady clockwise rotation of an Andean microplate about a pole located in southern Argentina. Near the Malargue Basin, this microplate (or block) is moving nearly parallel to the strike of the orogen, transporting material towards the bend in the central Andes. Farther north, in the southern limb of the Central Andes, the motion of this same crustal block is directed nearly perpendicular to the strike of the mountain belt. Our results suggest that permanent deformation rates in the backarc range from a maximum of ~ 6-7 mm/yr in the Bolivian Subandes to less than ~ 3 mm/yr in the Argentine Precordillera and Malargue fold and thrust belt. It is likely that most active backarc deformation is accruing in a narrow zone (~ 50 km wide) associated with the backarc boundary (usually defined as the thrust front) though at this stage it is impossible to distinguish whether specific backarc structures are actively accruing strain.


Education has been considered by political economy and political science literature one of the most important factors explaining political participation: voter turnout, civic engagement, political knowledge, and democratic attitudes. However, only few papers have explored the causal link with contradictory findings. In this paper, I use the eligibility criteria for two loan programs in Chile, that produce an exogenous variation on higher education enrollment, to test the causal effects of higher education and college on two measures of political participation: voter registration and affiliation with a political party. Using administrative individual data from the universe of voters, I find evidence that the relationship is statistically zero. Moreover, the relationship is zero when the data is analyzed by income, sex or by different background measures. A survey from a representative sample of the population allows a RD analysis that indicates that higher education do not cause changes in attitudes towards democracy, political knowledge, participation in demonstrations or in civic organizations, but it does cause overreporting on voting registration.


ABSTRACT The present study investigated neighborhood effects on substance use, mental and medical health, and health-care access. We used data collected from a sample of adult Latinas of Caribbean and South and Central American descent in 2011. The findings indicate that for adult Latinas, concentrated disadvantage in neighborhoods is associated with increased risk of alcohol misuse and inability to obtain prescription drugs due to lack of money, while Hispanic/immigrant concentration in neighborhoods is associated with fewer mental disorder symptoms. Individual age, criminal justice involvement, religious involvement, intimate partner violence, and employment are also associated with one or more health-related outcomes. We provided practice implications for macro and micro social work practice. Future research is needed to examine the mechanism underlying the negative association between neighborhood Hispanic/immigrant concentration and mental disorder symptoms.


The aim of this study was to test whether lesions of the medial meniscus (MM) and of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) are associated with specific abnormalities of isokinetic moment curves (IMCs). Fifty-four young adults (20 active healthy people, and 34 patients with unilateral knee injuries) were assessed through knee extensor and flexor isokinetic tests at 60°/s. Qualitative IMC analysis was performed using a novel classification system which identified three distinct abnormal shapes. The chi-squared (χ2) test was used to determine the inter-individual and intra-individual differences between the groups. Quantitative IMC inter-group comparisons were performed by a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Knees with MM and ACL lesions were consistently associated with IMC shape irregularities (p<0.001) and with abnormal quantitative scores (p<0.001). More specifically, knees with isolated ACL lesions and knees with combined ACL and MM lesions presented similar distribution of knee extensor and flexor IMC irregularities, which was not present in knees with isolated MM lesions. A possible association between specific knee pathologies and IMC irregularities was identified (all p<0.05). In conclusion, different knee pathologies may be associated with different qualitative IMCs, which could be used as an additional presentation tool in clinical settings.


Since independence the underdevelopment discourse in relation to Africa has been a persistent debate. Efforts at overcoming such a challenge tended to have defied conventional wisdom, and since we cannot stop except a solution is found, greater energies are required to solving the riddle. Consequent upon the above, this study shall examine Africa's underdevelopment discourse with focus on its sources of persistence and possible solutions. The study adopted the historical approach and applied the institutional theory as basis for analysis of secondarily sourced materials. The study found that Africa's underdevelopment goes beyond slavery, colonialism, imperialism and corruption as earlier studies by afro-centric/Marxist scholars and recent studies will suggest. This study rather found that the root of the persistence of Africa's underdevelopment lies in the spate of civil wars/ethnic cleansing ravaging the land; the domination approach of one ethnic group over the other, the dysfunctional political structure/weak institutional framework and failure to adopt hook, line and sinker, a workable development model. The study therefore recommends the building of strong institutional framework that entrenches the supremacy of the law, the restructuring of the political system to ensure that regions develop at their own pace and the adoption of a development model that emphasizes the development of the coastal region as the gateway for economic development, huge investments in research and development coupled with efficient monitoring and management system. Keywords: Development, Underdevelopment, Institutions, ethnic cleansing, civil war and political structure/management system


At the present time, knowledge is one of the most important values in organizations, changing into intellectual capital through its members. The responsibility conceded to professional development obliges us to reflect on its function and its practices, seeking new forms and focuses which guarantee the development of competence in both individuals and organizations by means of concentrating on concrete results.


We report a 59-year-old man with X-linked Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease and a new point mutation in the connexin32 gene. The patient first noticed mild gait disturbance five years previously. On admission, he exhibited muscle atrophy and weakness in the distal part of both legs, mild muscle atrophy of both hands without weakness, and a minimal reduction of touch sensation in the right dorsal foot. Nerve conduction velocity of the peripheral nerves was diffusely reduced. Electromyography exhibited high-amplitude, long-duration, polyphasic motor unit potentials in the muscles of the extremities. Fibrillation potential and positive sharp wave were present in the affected muscles. Cerebrospinal fluid protein was slightly elevated. The polyneuropathy did not respond to high-dose corticosteroid treatment, and showed very slow progression. His parents were not consanguineous. His father and two sons were healthy, but similar illness (more severe) was suspected in his younger brother. Gene analysis (Southern hybridization) did not reveal any duplication or deletion in the CMT 1 A-REP region. However, a novel mutation (Thr191Ala) was detected in the connexin32. Although more than 160 mutations in the connexin 32 gene have been identified worldwide, approximately ten mutations have so far been reported in Japan. In comparison with X-linked CMT patients with other connexin32 mutations, the present case was characterized by late onset and mild neurological manifestation. Gene analysis provides a useful tool for diagnosing cases with slowly progressive, motor dominant polyneuropathy of unknown origin.


Understanding patterns of morphological variation and their evolutionary causes is among the main goals of evolutionary biology. In this paper we analyse the pattern of morphological variation in the hyperdiverse ant genus Pheidole (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). We describe the morphospace defined by 231 Pheidole species in the New World using 18 linear quantitative characters. The first ordination axis of the morphospace was found to mainly reflect differences in body size, which explained 83.2 and 78.6% of all morphological variation in minor and major worker subcastes, respectively. Therefore, despite considerable morphological divergence among Pheidole species, most of this variation can be attributed to allometric changes along a size axis, leaving little opportunity for ecological specialization that might be reflected in the studied morphological traits. Simulations suggest that this degree of concentration of variance on the first principal component is unlikely to be due solely to shared phylogenetic history. The second ordination axis reflected mostly variation in head characters, most notably antennal scape length. The third ordination axis described aspects of alitrunk and petiole shape. Although generally concordant, the loading patterns in the second and third axes differed between minors and majors, suggesting different selective pressures affecting the evolution of each subcaste. These general trends in shape were confirmed by additional analyses that corrected for body size. Ordination analyses were complemented by comparing patterns of interspecific morphological covariation in minors and majors of Pheidole using newly developed analyses based on the statistical concept of conditional independence of Magwene. A comparison between worker subcastes indicated substantial reorganization in the pattern of character covariation, particularly through a decrease in character-correlation levels (dissociation). Moreover, graphical modelling indicated correlations between characters in widely different parts of the body, suggesting that the opportunity for morphological evolution in Pheidole appears to be surprisingly limited. This result might explain why morphological evolution in Pheidole has been highly conservative in spite of substantial ecological diversification.


This paper presents an incremental timing-driven placement tool, named OWARU. It optimizes timing critical paths through a free space-aware path smoothing: the gates on such paths are relocated to free spaces around the smoothed paths, while incremental static timing analysis is involved to accurately assess timing changes due to the relocation. OWARU is extended to accommodate gate sizing and layer assignment to demonstrate the effectiveness of unified physical synthesis optimizations and incremental placement. The goal is to show that OWARU is an ideal platform for timing closure at later stages of a physical design flow. OWARU is applied on a set of test circuits from 14-nm high-performance commercial microprocessors, which originally failed in timing closure. On average, the worst slack is improved by 63.6%, which corresponds to 5.0% of the clock period; total negative slack is improved by 69.1%.


In the rat, infusion of a volume of isotonic saline equal to 2% of body weight resulted in an 82% increase in delivery of filtrate out of the proximal tubule but little or, in some animals, no change in the urinary excretion of sodium. By contrast, further degrees of volume expansion resulted in lesser increases in the distal delivery of filtrate, but were associated with a marked increase in the urinary excretion of sodium. Sixty minutes following completion of volume expansion, while the animals were still in positive sosium balance, the urinary excretion of sodium decreased 52% compared to a decrease of only 24% in the distal delivery of filtrate. During the course of progressive volume expansion and during the recovery phase, there was a dissociation between alterations in sodium reabosrption in the proximal convoluted tubule and in the whole kidney. These studies indicate that although the proximal tubule is more sensitive to changes in the extracellular fluid volume, distal nephron sites are ultimately responsible both for the natriuresis of volume expansion and the relative antinatriuresis of the recovery periods.


Background Menopause is associated with changes in lipid profile and is a known risk factor for oxidative stress. Different therapeutical strategies have been used to control menopause complications. Vitamin E, an important anti-oxidant, can possibly affect lipid peroxidation in menopausal women. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the effect of vitamin E supplementation on the lipid profile of menopausal women. Materials and Methods This double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, cross-over, phase I/II trial study was designed in two 4-week intervention phases with an 8-day washout period in between. Eighty-three natural menopause women participated in the study. Randomized block allocation was used to divide women into group A (n = 41) and group B (n = 42). In phase I, one group received vitamin E capsule (400 IU/day) and another group received placebo capsule for 4 weeks. After an 8-day washout period, phase II was initiated for a period of 4 weeks, where the group that received vitamin E capsule was given placebo (E-P) and the group that received placebo was given vitamin E (P-E). Plasma lipid profile levels (LDL-C, HDL-C, TC, and TG) were assessed before and after intervention separately in each phase and in each group. Lipid profile was measured by enzymatic colorimetric method. Data were analyzed according to the intention-to-treat principle. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS software. Results The analysis indicated no significant difference in plasma TC, LDL-C, HDL-C, and TG levels between P-E and E-P groups before intervention in phase I and II (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference in plasma lipid profile levels within the P-E and E-P groups before and after intervention in phase I and II. There was a significant difference in plasma TG within the E-P group before [141.74 ± 53.52, 138.50 (94–195)] and after [167.47 ± 71.32, 170 (108–202)] intervention in phase II (P = 0.010). There was no significant difference in terms of the mean changes in plasma lipid profile between the P-E and E-P groups in phase I and II (P > 0.05). Conclusion The study results revealed that vitamin E supplementation had no remarkable effect on the lipid profile in menopausal women.


Aims: We report the discovery that Mira variables with and without absorption lines of the element technetium (Tc) occupy two different regions in a diagram of near- to mid-infrared colour versus pulsation period. Tc is an indicator of a recent or ongoing mixing event called the third dredge-up (3DUP), and the near- to mid-IR colour, such as the (K-[22]) colour where [22] is the the 22 micron band of the WISE space observatory, is an indicator of the dust mass-loss rate of a star. Methods: We collected data from the literature about the Tc content, pulsation period, and near- and mid-infrared magnitudes of more than 190 variable stars on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) to which Miras belong. The sample is naturally biased towards optical AGB stars, which have low to intermediate (dust) mass-loss rates. Results: We show that a clear relation between dust mass-loss rate and pulsation period exists if a distinction is made between Tc-poor and Tc-rich Miras. Surprisingly, at a given period, Tc-poor Miras are redder in (K-[22]) than are Tc-rich Miras; i.e. they have higher mass-loss rates than the Tc-rich Miras. A few stars deviate from this trend; physical explanations are given for these exceptions, such as binarity or high mass. Conclusions: We put forward two hypotheses to explain this dichotomy and conclude that the two sequences formed by Tc-poor and Tc-rich Miras are probably due to the different masses of the two groups. The pulsation period has a strong correlation with the dust-mass loss rate, indicating that the pulsations are indeed triggering a dust-driven wind. The location in the (K-[22]) vs. period diagram can be used to distinguish between pre- and post-3DUP Miras, which we apply to a sample of Galactic bulge AGB stars. We find that 3DUP is probably not common in AGB stars in the inner bulge.


Gene duplication provides a major source of new genes for evolutionary novelty and ecological adaptation. However, the maintenance of duplicated genes and their relevance to adaptive evolution has long been debated. Insect trehalase (Treh) plays key roles in energy metabolism, growth, and stress recovery. Here, we show that the duplication of Treh in Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) is linked with their adaptation to various environmental stresses. Generally, two Treh genes are present in insects: Treh1 and Treh2. We report three distinct forms of Treh in lepidopteran insects, where Treh1 was duplicated into two gene clusters (Treh1a and Treh1b). These gene clusters differ in gene expression patterns, enzymatic properties, and subcellular localizations, suggesting that the enzymes probably underwent sub‐ and/or neofunctionalization in the lepidopteran insects. Interestingly, selective pressure analysis provided significant evidence of positive selection on duplicate Treh1b gene in lepidopteran insect lineages. Most positively selected sites were located in the alpha‐helical region, and several sites were close to the trehalose binding and catalytic sites. Subcellular adaptation of duplicate Treh1b driven by positive selection appears to have occurred as a result of selected changes in specific sequences, allowing for rapid reprogramming of duplicated Treh during evolution. Our results suggest that gene duplication of Treh and subsequent functional diversification could increase the survival rate of lepidopteran insects through various regulations of intracellular trehalose levels, facilitating their adaptation to diverse habitats. This study provides evidence regarding the mechanism by which gene family expansion can contribute to species adaptation through gene duplication and subsequent functional diversification.


The second order reaction rate constant for the reaction of salicyaldehyde with p-methyl aniline have been reported in ethanol at temperature range 303 to 318 k .The rate of reaction is first order with respect to salicyaldehyde and p-methyl aniline. The rate of reaction increases with increases in temperature. The thermodynamic parameters are used to explain the nature of reaction. Suitable reaction mechanism has been suggested for the formation of the Schiff base. From the effect of temperature on the rate of reaction various thermodynamic parameter have been evaluated.


Policy-makers around the world recognise central clearing counterparties (CCPs) as a key tool to enhance financial stability. Recent research supports the arguments for an increased role for CCPs. CCPs can insure against counterparty risk through mutualisation, enable implementation of adequate margin requirements, save on collateral through greater netting efficiency and promote ransparency in the market. The authors point out, however, that information asymmetries matter for clearing and that there may be a trade-off between ex post insurance and ex ante incentives. To be beneficial central clearing must therefore be incentive compatible. The authors discuss how risk management practices of CCPs can be designed to mitigate incentive problems. CCPs themselves must be properly governed, supervised and their competitive environment carefully monitored.


The autism diagnosis requires deficits in social interaction and communication, yet neither occurs in isolation. This brief literature-based analysis provides evidence that other factors are involved in autistic people's atypical social communication. The brain is a complicated system where regions serve multiple, general, and overlapping roles. Sensorimotor and broad cognitive processes underlie both neurotypicals' and autistics' social cognition and behavior. Sensory strengths sometimes underlie autistic people's difficulties, especially in dynamic contexts that require multimodal integration. Social abilities and behaviors occur between people in social contexts, and autistic and neurotypical people share mutual difficulties in understanding one another. This paper challenges attempts to reduce autism to social deficits, and suggests the need for better interpersonal and societal understanding of and support for autistic people.


AMP aminohydrolase activity is enhanced by 60% after 5 s tetanic stimulation of phosphorylase kinase-deficient mouse muscle and after 60 s tetanus in normal mice. During the recovery from tetanus the activity in the contralateral leg is similarly enhanced. The activation is stable to 1000-fold dilution and has a half-life of approx. 1 h.


Standardized challenge viruses are essential for the evaluation of Marek's disease (MD) vaccines with many MD challenge preparations consisting of lymphocytes or whole blood from infected birds. Virus present in these preparations is difficult to quantify by tissue culture assays and, therefore, the infectious bird dose and long-term storage viability cannot be assured. We report on the properties of two low-passage virulent Australian MD viruses, the Woodlands No. 1 strain and strain MPF 57. Both strains were isolated in chicken embryo kidney cultures and adapted to grow in chicken embryo fibroblast cultures for a maximum of 14 passages. Both strains could be readily assayed in tissue culture and produced titres of 10(3) to 10(4) 50% tissue culture infectious doses per ml (TCID(50)). Birds inoculated at three different doses were observed over 10 weeks, and tissues examined for gross and histological lesions, bursarbody weight ratios and the presence of viraemia. Tissue culture-grown preparations of both strains were only slightly less virulent than the original lymphocyte challenge material and produced similar pathological responses and around 80% death or gross lesions. From bursarbody weight ratios strain MPF 57 appeared to be more virulent than the Woodlands No. 1 strain.


Abstract The Asian Woollyneck Ciconia episcopus is a stork found throughout Asia whose international conservation status is currently being considered for reclassification from vulnerable to near-threatened. However, much of what is known about this species is fragmented across observational reports and small studies making a comprehensive assessment of population trends difficult. Here, we bring together all available published information to see what is known and what research questions still need answering in order to make reliable assessments of regional population trends and identify probable drivers of decline. Despite the species likely being extinct in the extremes of its former range and evidence of dramatic declines in Southeast Asia, Asian Woollyneck appears to be stable or increasing in India, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Observations of its preferred foraging and nesting habitats in South versus Southeast Asia show some obvious differences that may explain regional variations in population trends. In South Asia the bird is common in open grasslands and agricultural areas, while in Southeast Asia it is mostly observed in forested areas. Also, reports of the Asian Woollyneck nesting on cell phone towers is increasing in South Asia. However, because of a severe lack of reporting from Southeast Asia, it is unclear if or how these regional differences in population trends and habitat use are linked. Structured surveys and studies into the Asian Woollyneck foraging, nesting and movement ecology are urgently needed to understand the extent and drivers of decline in Southeast Asia. Therefore, researchers should focus future studies on population trends across the species' range, and aim to identify the local factors influencing recent changes in population growth. Without such knowledge, reassessment of its conservation status may be premature.


The midcentury architecture and design phenomenon was born as California's urban landscape exploded in the post-World War II era. It was driven by the arrival of millions of veterans as they returned from the war eager to begin new lives and families. The promise of great economic opportunity, as well as spectacular natural beauty and weather attracted many of these who moved to the Golden State. They attended colleges and universities and helped to build sprawling cities, freeway systems, and suburbs. This massive surge of development created a haven for a generation of architects, designers and photographers who introduced a new way of thinking about the way people lived. This paper explores midcentury modernity from its source in the Bauhaus to its heyday in Palm Springs, perhaps the world's greatest mecca of midcentury architecture. This time of growth sparked the development of entirely new styles in furniture design and manufacture, technology, and fashion that complimented that era of prosperity and optimism. There were many unique professionals who contributed to the legacy of midcentury architecture and design that we pursue, such as; in architecture, Richard Neutra, in photography Julius Shulman and Charles and Ray Eames, each has contributed to the legacy of the era.


The bootstrap provides a simple and powerful means of assessing the quality of estimators. However, in settings involving large datasets, the computation of bootstrap-based quantities can be prohibitively computationally demanding. As an alternative, we introduce the Bag of Little Bootstraps (BLB), a new procedure which incorporates features of both the bootstrap and subsampling to obtain a more computationally efficient, though still robust, means of quantifying the quality of estimators. BLB shares the generic applicability and statistical efficiency of the bootstrap and is furthermore well suited for application to very large datasets using modern distributed computing architectures, as it uses only small subsets of the observed data at any point during its execution. We provide both empirical and theoretical results which demonstrate the efficacy of BLB.


Back in 1952 the anesthesiologist Virginia Apgar invented a score to quickly summarize the health of neonates (1). The scale of the score was determined by evaluating a neonate on five simple criteria on a scale from zero to two, then summing up the five values thus obtained, at 1 and 5 minutes after birth. Some 10 years after initial publication, a backronym for the score was coined in the United States as a mnemonic learning aid: appearance (skin color), pulse (heart rate), grimace (reflex irritability), activity (muscle tone), and respiration, or "Apgar score". Of note, the purpose of the "Apgar score" was to determine quickly whether a newborn needed immediate medical care—it was not designed to predict long-term outcome; nevertheless, a score that remains <3 at later time points may indicate longer term neurological damage.


Two exotic chicken breeds, namely Fayoumi, and Koekoek were used in this study to unfold the interdependence among egg quality traits and also to predict egg weight from their orthogonal egg quality traits applying principal component regression. Traits measured included egg weight (EW), albumen height (AH), yolk height (YH), albumen weight (AW), yolk weight (YW), yolk colour (YC), and shell weight (SW). Traits were measured on chickens comprising 967 eggs of Fayoumi, and 772 eggs of Koekoek. Correlations found between investigated traits were positive and highly related (r = 0.614-0.937 in Fayoumi, and 0.496-0.943 in Koekoek breeds respectively). Three principal components (PCs), (PC1, PC2 and PC3) explaining 65.5% (Fayoumi) and 52.7% (Koekoek) of the overall variation in the original variables, were extracted from the factor solution of the PCA with varimax rotation. In principal component regression models, 89% (Fayoumi) and 86% (Koekoek) of the variability in egg weight is accounted for by the model used. From the results found, it can be seen that the use of principal components' scores from chickens' egg quality traits were more appropriate than the use of original traits in egg weight prediction only three components were used and they were all significant. These components could be used in breeding programme as selection criteria for improving egg quality traits.


The multifactorial basis of gastro-intestinal (GI) damage from NSAIDs includes effects of these drugs in producing microvascular injury. Increased 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) activity reflected in production in the gastric efferent circulation of leukotriene C-4 is shown in pigs given i.g. indomethacin. Blockade of 5-LO activity by highly selective inhibitors of this enzyme inhibits production of both gastric and intestinal leukotrienes (LT) in rats and mice. Long-term effects of NSAIDs were investigated in pigs and human volunteers. In pigs gastric ulcers occurred from oral diclofenac (Voltaren) tablets (5mg/kg/d for 10d), without significant blood loss (59Fe-RBCs) emphasizing limitations in measuring blood loss to relate this to pathology in the GI tract. Diclofenac-induced increase in leukotriene production was reversed by concurrent misoprostol, indicating that this drug could have effects other than replenishing PG (prostaglandin)-E in the mucosa. In male human volunteers given 4 NSAIDs for 7d a relation was established between reduced PG production in the antrum and ulcerogenic effects in this region but not in the fundus. These results emphasize the importance of examining mechanisms of action of NSAIDs under long-term dosage conditions to determine their variable effects.


Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a preferential method to fabricate carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Several changes have been proposed to obtain improved CNTs. In this work we have fabricated nitrogen-doped multiwall carbon nanotubes (N-MWCNTs) by means of a CVD which has been slightly modified. Such modification consists in changing the content of the by-product trap. Instead of acetone, we have half-filled the trap with an aqueous solution of NaCl (0-26.82 wt.%). Scanning electron microscope (SEM) characterization showed morphological changes depending upon concentration of NaCl included in the trap. Using high resolution transmission electron microscopy several shape changes on the catalyst nanoparticles were also observed. According to Raman spectroscopy results N-MWCNTs fabricated using pure distillate water exhibit better crystallinity. Resistivity measurements performed on different samples by physical properties measurement Evercool system (PPMS) showed metallic to semiconducting temperature dependent transitions when high content of NaCl is used. Results of magnetic properties show a ferromagnetic response to static magnetic fields and the coercive fields were very similar for all the studied cases. However, saturation magnetization is decreased if aqueous solution of NaCl is used in the trap.


Quantum chemical studies on lowcoordinated group 14-16 compounds have been performed. This thesis focuses particularly on silenes influenced by reverse Siδ-=Cδ+ bond polarization. Hypercoordinated carbon compounds are also studied. The geometries from calculations with several common computationally inexpensive methods have been tested against high level CCSD/cc-pVTZ geometries for a series of substituted silenes. Hybrid HF/DFT methods performed best among the inexpensive methods tested for silenes. Heavy alkenes strongly influenced by reverse polarization are found to have less exothermic dimerization energies for both head-to-head and head-to-tail dimerizations, and to have higher activation energies for water addition than naturally polarized heavy alkenes. We also investigated solvated lithium, magnesium and potassium silenolates and found that lithium and magnesium ions coordinate preferably to O, giving their SiC bond some double bond character. Reverse polarized 2-siloxy-, 2-thiosiloxy-, and 2-(N-sila-N-methyl)-silenes could according to calculations be formed thermolytically from the corresponding tetrasilanes as transient species. It was, however, found that silenes highly influenced by π-conjugative reverse polarization have low barriers for the back-reaction, and thus these silenes are more difficult to form as stable species than naturally polarized silenes. It is also found that conjugated 1-siladienes, formed by electrocyclic ring-opening of 1-silacyclobut-2-enes, which are highly influenced by π-conjugative reverse polarization, have higher barriers for electrocyclization back to starting material than naturally polarized 1-siladienes. It is found that CHe54+, CHe64+, CNe54+, and CNe64+ are the closest carbon analogs of SiH5-, SiH62-, SiF5- and SiF62-, respectively. However, due to their exothermic dissociation reaction, these very high-lying local minima will be impossible to reach experimentally.


The fusion of two or more images is required for images captured using different sensors, different modalities or different camera settings to produce the image which is more suitable for computer processing and human visual perception. The optical lenses in the cameras are having limited depth of focus so it is not possible to acquire an image that contains all the objects infocus. In this case we need a Multifocus image fusion technique to create a single image where all objects are in-focus by combining relevant information in the two or more images. As the sharp images contain more information than blurred images image sharpness will be taken as one of the relevant information in framing the fusion rule. Many existing algorithms use contrast or high local energy as a measure of local sharpness (relevant information). In practice particularly in multimodal image fusion this assumption is not true. Here in this paper we are proposing the method which combines the multiresolution transform and local phase coherence measure to measure the sharpness in the images. The performance of the fusion process was evaluated with mutual information, edge-association and spatial frequency as quality metrics and compared with Laplacian pyramid, DWT (Discrete Wavelet Transform) and bilateral gradient based sharpness criterion methods etc. The results showed that the proposed algorithm is performing better than the existing ones.


Convergence and diversity are interdependently handled during the evolutionary process by most existing many-objective evolutionary algorithms (MaOEAs). In such a design, the degraded performance of one would deteriorate the other, and only solutions with both are able to improve the performance of MaOEAs. Unfortunately, it is not easy to constantly maintain a population of solutions with both convergence and diversity. In this paper, an MaOEA based on two independent stages is proposed for effectively solving many-objective optimization problems (MaOPs), where the convergence and diversity are addressed in two independent and sequential stages. To achieve this, we first propose a nondominated dynamic weight aggregation method by using a genetic algorithm, which is capable of finding the Pareto-optimal solutions for MaOPs with concave, convex, linear and even mixed Pareto front shapes, and then these solutions are employed to learn the Pareto-optimal subspace for the convergence. Afterward, the diversity is addressed by solving a set of single-objective optimization problems with reference lines within the learned Pareto-optimal subspace. To evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm, a series of experiments are conducted against six state-of-the-art MaOEAs on benchmark test problems. The results show the significantly improved performance of the proposed algorithm over the peer competitors. In addition, the proposed algorithm can focus directly on a chosen part of the objective space if the preference area is known beforehand. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm can also be used to effectively find the nadir points.


This case study examines the understanding of a small sample of nursing students in some aspects of general chemistry. In the United States most nursing programs require college- level nursing courses, with expectations that students will master basics of first-year general chemistry. Anxiety to achieve passing grades in such courses is high for nurses, and the courses are sometimes seen as a gatekeeper for who has access to the profession. This study examines understanding achieved for a small sample of nursing students regarding aspects of matter — basic ideas regarding understanding of matter composition, structure, amounts and properties. Our intention is to highlight the contrast between what chemistry knowledge is expected of nurses and what level they actually achieve, and what this may mean for their future professional performance. Findings include that the nursing students in the sample had limited understanding of the university-level chemistry they were being asked to master, and exhibited less comprehension and more pervasive misconceptions than comparison groups, including first term high school students, in our sample. [Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 2006, 7 (3), 170-184]


In situ measurements of the vertical distribution of carbon dioxide (CO2) carried out with a light aircraft over a tower site (Berezorechka; 56°08′45″N, 84°19′49″E) in the taiga region of West Siberia from October 2001 to March 2012 document the detailed seasonal and vertical variation of CO2 concentrations during daytime. The variation appears to be controlled mainly by the CO2 flux from taiga ecosystems and the height of the planetary boundary layer (PBL). We calculated average CO2 concentrations in the PBL and the lower free troposphere (LFT), both of which show clear seasonal cycles and an increasing long‐term trend. Seasonal amplitude in the PBL had a larger value (29 ppm) than that in the LFT (14 ppm), demonstrating strong CO2 source‐sink forcing by the taiga ecosystems. Mean CO2 concentrations during 13:00–17:00 local standard time observed at the four levels of the tower (5, 20, 40, and 80 m) showed lower CO2 concentrations than that observed in the PBL by aircraft during June–August (growing season). This negative bias decreased with increasing inlet height such that the minimum difference appeared at the 80‐m inlet (−2.4 ± 0.8 ppm). No such bias was observed during other months (dormant season). The daytime CO2 flux, based on multiple vertical profiles obtained on a single day, ranged from −36.4 to 3.8 µmol m−2 s−1 during July–September. There was a clear difference in the fluxes between the morning and afternoon, suggesting that these data should be considered examples of fluxes during several daytime hours from the West Siberian taiga.


Selected chapter headings and selected papers: Keynote Paper I. Hardware-in-the-loop simulation for the design and testing of engine-control systems (R. Isermann et al.). Robotics I. Decentralized implementation of real-time systems using time petri nets. Application to mobile robot control (F.J. Garcia, J.L. Villarroel). Modeling and Control I. A multiple model extension to the bootstrap filter for manoeuvring targets (S. McGinnity, G. Irwin). Software Design Tools and Methodologies I. A graph-based method to translate relay ladder logic diagrams (J.L. Azevedo, J.P. Estima de Oliveira). Industrial Process Control and Manufacturing Systems. A proposal to increase the flexibility of manufacturing cell controllers (J. Sanchez, M. Quintana). Parallel and Distributed Systems. Simulation of distributed fault tolerant hetergeneous architectures for real-time control (H. Benitez-Perez et al.). Non-Linear Control Systems. Towards real-time, non-linear quadratic optimal regulation (R.F. Harrison, S.P. Banks). Neural Networks. Neurointerfaces for human-machine real time interaction (B. Widrow et al.). Parallel and Distributed Algorithms for Real-Time Signal Processing and Control. High-performance real-time implementation of a spectral estimator (M.M. Madeira et al.). Transport Applications. Algorithm of calculating the maximum permissible speed of traffic (E. Gavrilov, N. Zhemchugov). Algorithms. On-line genetic auto-tuning of PID controllers for an active magnetic bearing application (P. Schroder et al.). Keynote Paper II. Adaptive inverse control based on nonlinear adaptive filtering (B. Widrow et al.). Fault Tolerant Systems. Biologically inspired real-time reconfiguration technique for processor arrays (C. Ortega, A. Tyrrell).


Significant levels of infectious diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria are nowadays a worldwide concern implying considerable public healthcare challenges and huge economic detriment. Due to the fast spread of these bio-threat agents and the outbreak of diseases, a rapid detection of pathogens at early stages is crucial, particularly in low-resource settings. To this aim, we developed for the first time a new sensing approach carried out in a single-step for Escherichia coli O157:H7 detection. The detection principle is based on Förster Resonance Energy Transfer using gold nanoclusters as signal reporter and gold nanoparticles conjugated with antibodies as a quencher. The sensing platform includes and UV-LED to provide the proper excitation and consists in a microtube containing two pieces of fiber glass; one of them is embedded with label-free gold nanoclusters and the other one with gold nanoparticles conjugated with antibodies. Upon the addition of the sample containing bacteria the florescence of gold nanoclusters is recovered. The assay was evaluated by naked eye (on/off) and quantitatively using a smartphone camera. The biosensor proved to be highly specific and sensitive, achieving a limit of detection as low as 4.0 CFU ml-1. Additionally, recoveries of 110% and 95% were obtained when evaluating the platform in spiked river and tap water respectively.


An important concern to the efficiency of public finance systems is that voters may suffer from various "fiscal illusions" that can be exploited by politicians to grow the public sector. This article contributes evidence on the specific public financial management mechanisms by associating the impact property reassessments have on the "visibility" of budget size signaled by property tax rates. Using data from Virginia cities and counties from 2001 to 2011, the results indicate mass reappraisals, which reduce property tax visibility cause contemporaneous property tax levy increases, as do reappraisals that increase future tax visibility. These revenue shocks are then smoothed into expenditures through the management of assets, indicating policy makers prefer the spending to be drawn from future cash reserves than immediate projects that might draw attention to the source of fiscal illusion.


Through analysis of the current version of relationship models, the paper presents the short points of them and develops a new PDM multi-version management model based on the theory of polychromatic sets with the concept and method of the theory introduced. This new PDM multi-version management model uses the element of polychromatic sets to represent the version of a document, a uniform color to represent the integrated attribute of object, and individual color to represent the property information of an object version respectively. Considering adjacent versions have too many identical contents, this new model introduces a method on difference information to reduce the storage space of multi-versions. Finally, the arithmetic operators of the version management model of PDM were presented through a related case.


The voltammetric behavior of solid Prussian blue mechanically attached to graphite, glassy carbon, or gold electrodes as an array of microscopically small particles is extremely well defined when the electrode is placed in aqueous media containing suitable electrolytes. Electron microscopy, electron microprobe analysis, and in situ electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance techniques have been used in addition to the voltammetric data, to characterize the redox and ion-transport processes of solids attached to the electrode. The results compare favorably with published studies based on electrogenerated films, although, as expected, the scan rate dependence is different when solid particles are used. Ion-exchange reactions accompanying redox processes have been examined in K+ and Cd2+ containing aqueous electrolyte solutions, and two types of ion exchange can be distinguished. These are based on replacement of interstitial positions and replacement of lattice positions. An overall reaction scheme based on electrochemically initiated lattice reconstruction is presented to explain the generation of cadmium hexacyanoferrate when oxidation or reduction of Prussian blue occurs at the electrode-solid-K+/Cd2+ containing aqueous electrolyte interface.


This paper presents the impact of different types of load models in distribution network with distributed wind generation. The analysis is carried out for a test distribution system representative of the Kumamoto area in Japan. Firstly, this paper provides static analysis showing the impact of static load on distribution system. Then, it investigates the effects of static as well as composite load based on the load composition of IEEE task force report [1] through an accurate time-domain analysis. The analysis shows that modeling of loads has a significant impact on the voltage dynamics of the distribution system with distributed generation.


Participation has significant impact on children's health and well-being. Knowledge is limited on how children with disabilities perceive their participation and whether their perceptions differ from their parents. This pilot study aimed to explore whether self-reported frequency of participation and prioritized activities differ between children with disabilities and their parents. Thirty children with disabilities eligible for special education in elementary school and their parents were included. Each of them were interviewed with the Chinese version of Picture My Participation (PMP), separately, to identify the child's participation frequency in 21 activities at home, school, and community, desire-to-change activities, and the level of involvement in these activities. The results indicated that children's ratings of participation frequency were significantly lower than parents' ratings in home activities but not in school and community activities, as analyzed by the Wilcoxon Signed Ranked test. Nineteen (63%) child–parent pairs had selected entirely different items as their desire-to-change activities. Children selected the activities that they were somewhat to very involved in; while parents selected the activities they thought their children were less involved in. Our findings suggest that children with disabilities had unique views on life and this should be supported in their health care and individualized education plans.


With the objectives of dengue prevention, health promotion, and action-based research, two experiments were conducted in pilot areas of Buenos Aires and Vicente López, Argentina. In each area, community, government, and non-governmental references were identified. The study included an entomological survey (with ovitraps), environmental survey (with field observations, interviews, and workshops), and social survey (using questionnaires, interviews, and meetings). Spaces for dialogue and collaboration were developed with the community, thereby spawning participatory activities and empowerment. Environmental reordering and reduction of mosquito breeding sites were promoted by: incorporation of environmental issues and vector-borne disease prevention into the school curricula; neighborhood workshops; training of environmental agents to transmit information and train peers; and planning community environmental projects. The households were visited, seeking to integrate the residents into their own community environmental diagnosis. There were significant differences between the pilot areas in knowledge and social practices, but not according to socioeconomic status. The schools and health promotion settings proved to be the main community reference for promoting healthy environmental practices.


FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION, Eleventh Edition, helps students understand the key educational issues and policies affecting American education. Through an array of applied features, the authors help to prepare students for their careers by tying the book's themes to students' future practice. These include "TeachSource Video Cases," "From Pre-Service to Practice" real-world teaching examples, and "Certification Connection Activities." Reflective pedagogy encourages students to form their own unique philosophy of teaching, laying a strong foundation for a lifelong career. Completely up-to-date throughout, this eleventh edition also provides the latest information on accountability, technology, diversity, and many other important topics.


This accessible reference includes selected contributions from "Bayesian Thinking - Modeling and Computation, Volume 25" in the "Handbook of Statistics Series", with a focus on key methodologies and applications for Bayesian models and computation. It describes parametric and nonparametric Bayesian methods for modeling, and how to use modern computational methods to summarize inferences using simulation. The book covers a wide range of topics including objective and subjective Bayesian inferences, with a variety of applications in modeling categorical, survival, spatial, spatiotemporal, Epidemiological, small area and micro array data. It aids critical thinking on causal effects. It provides simulation based computing techniques. It covers Bioinformatics and Biostatistics.


This article, written in two parts, concerns partitions of finite vectorspaces of dimension by one subspace of dimension (the `focus') andthe remaining subspaces of dimension ; a `focal-spread of type '.Focal-spreads of type also produce -designs, \and various other double and triple-spreads. There are three differentmethods given to construct focal-spreads, one of which is due toBeutelspacher. In this Part I, we shall also provide a coordinate method fortheir construction analogous to matrix spread sets for translation planes. InPart II, we shall give a new construction that we term "going up," whichalso allows a specification of certain subplanes of the focal-spread.Additive focal-spreads are shown to be equivalent to additive partialspreads. Various applications are given relative to additive partial spreadsand semifield planes admitting exotic subplanes. Finally, also in Part II, ,the developments of focal-spreads may be applied to construct a variety ofnew subgeometry partitions of projective spaces.


In the A field experiment was carried out to determine the effects of varying concentrations of Moringa oleifera leave aqueous extract on growth, yield and control of insect Podagrica spp. The experiment was set up in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) consisting of five treatments replicated three times. The varying treatment concentrations were; 1:10, 1:20, 1:30 and 1:40. Okra seeds of Clemson spineless variety was planted at a spacing of 60 cm by 30 cm. Plant growth parameters of plant height, stem girth, leaf area and number of leaves were taken at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 weeks after bio-pesticides application while yield parameters of number of fruits and pod analysis were taken at harvest with harvesting carried out at four days intervals. Insect count was observed at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 weeks after bio-pesticides and percentage defoliation of leaves evaluated. It was observed during the experiment that plant height and stem girth did not show significant differences in the mean value of treatments at 1 and 2 weeks after bio-pesticides application (WAB) while at 3 to 6 WAB, the differences became evidence with treatment 1:30 and 1:40 having significantly higher mean values. Plots treated with 1:30 and 1:40 had significantly higher fruit numbers. The yield in kg/ha also shows significantly higher mean values with treatment concentrations of 1:30 and 1:40 and the control having a low yield. Also, treatment concentration of 1:30 and 1:40 had significant control effect on the population of Podagrica spp and therefore gave lowered percentage defoliation. The different concentration of Moringa oleifera leave aqueous extract had significant control effect on insect Podagrica spp.


Goal-conditioned policies are used in order to break down complex reinforcement learning (RL) problems by using subgoals, which can be defined either in state space or in a latent feature space. This can increase the efficiency of learning by using a curriculum, and also enables simultaneous learning and generalization across goals. A crucial requirement of goal-conditioned policies is to be able to determine whether the goal has been achieved. Having a notion of distance to a goal is thus a crucial component of this approach. However, it is not straightforward to come up with an appropriate distance, and in some tasks, the goal space may not even be known a priori. In this work we learn a distance-to-goal estimate which is computed in terms of the number of actions that would need to be carried out in a self-supervised approach. Our method solves complex tasks without prior domain knowledge in the online setting in three different scenarios in the context of goal-conditioned policies a) the goal space is the same as the state space b) the goal space is given but an appropriate distance is unknown and c) the state space is accessible, but only a subset of the state space represents desired goals, and this subset is known a priori. We also propose a goal-generation mechanism as a secondary contribution.


Abstract The purpose of this study is to understand the characteristics of relationship quality within a business-to-business (b2b) setting, and also to understand how these characteristics vary in importance between countries. Replicating an earlier study, conjoint analysis was used to study how a sample of 48 Iranian managers trade off different attributes of relationship quality. Overall, the most important attribute to the sample was profit, followed by trust and power. However, there was significant variance within the sample. When compared with an earlier study of UK managers in which an identical methodology was used, it was found that while profit was important for both groups, it was more so for Iranian managers. Trust was also important in both samples, in line with what was expected from the literature. Power was found to be important for Iranian managers whereas in the UK, power was reported as the least important attribute.


Participants in leadership development programs take part in multiple developmental experiences that can influence the composition of their social network and enhance social capital. However, further investment in such practices may be limited because little is known about the relationship between leadership development approaches, networking ability, and social capital. This study explores how common developmental approaches may contribute to social capital, taking into consideration the role networking ability plays in this relationship. This descriptive, correlational study included a sample of graduates (N= 231) from 15 statewide agricultural-based leadership development programs. Our findings reveal that: 1) Networking is an antecedent to social capital, 2) skill building and personal growth approaches to leadership development are significant predictors of networking ability, and 3) networking ability is a significant predictor of social capital.


Genomic technologies offer opportunities to gain a more global assessment of the health status of an organism through an understanding of the functional pathways that are responding to pollutant exposure. We have developed a 13,000 clone cDNA toxicogenomics microarray for Platichthys flesus, the European flounder (EU-GENIPOL Project). We aimed to distinguish the origins of flounder taken from six sampling sites of different pollution status in Northern Europe according to their hepatic gene expression profile using bioinformatic approaches. To determine which gene expression differences may relate to pollutant impact, we have completed complementary laboratory exposures of flounder to selected toxicants and determined the associated gene expression profiles. Using multivariate variable selection coupled with a statistical modelling procedure (GALGO) we can predict geographical site but the accuracy is limited to specific sites. The search space for a combination of genes that effectively predicts class membership is ALGO odeling very large, however, by combining the signatures derived from acute laboratory exposure to individual chemicals to limit the search space, a very accurate model for classification of all the different environmental sites was achieved. The final model utilised the expression profiles of 16 clones and validation with a qPCR array comprising these genes correctly assigned the site of origin for fish obtained from three of the sites in an independent sampling. These data would imply that the gene expression fingerprints s are their S m m i h a obtained with these array different sites, indicating


Nurses' Voices: Memories of Nursing at St. George's Hospital, London, 1930-1990 By Carol McCubbin and Ines Warsop (with project research members Kath Start, Clare Quinn, and Georgina Aronin) (London: Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences-Kingston University and St. George's, University of London, 2010) (148 pages, £25.00 cloth) This book provides invaluable memories and experiences of nurses at St. George's Hospital in London and a wealth of beautiful pictures. It commemorates the essential contribution nurses made to this hospital's development and to nursing care generally. The book is one of the outcomes of the Nurses' Voices Oral History project, which was initiated with support of the Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences at Kingston University and St. George's University of London when it became apparent during preparations for the 250th anniversary of St. George's Hospital and Medical School that information and documentation about the integral role that the nursing staff had played in the development of the hospital was largely unavailable. In response, the project research team, under the leadership of Carol McCubbin and Ines Warsop, designed an oral history project to explore the memories, experiences, and perspectives of nurses and the development of nursing by means of recorded interviews with retired and currently practicing nurses at St. George's. The hospital was founded in 1733 at Hyde Park Corner in the heart of London. It experienced many changes and adaptations to new situations and locations throughout its history. Among many influential nurses who contributed to the hospital and nursing, the most famous one of all was Florence Nightingale. She was the first woman to become elected as a governor to St. George's in 1880. The book's prime focus is on the period from 1930 to 1990 and includes interviews with 134 participants who all trained or nursed at St. George's in those years. The Nurses' Voices Oral History project has generated an invaluable oral history collection and archive that provides historians, nurses, and others interested in the history of nursing, the opportunity to research this important part of nursing history. The book is divided into nine chapters, arranged according to important themes arising from the interviews, including "becoming a nurse"; "nurse education"; "nurses' uniforms"; "life on the wards"; "social life and celebrations"; "influential nurses"; "war, disasters, and epidemics"; "clinical practice and medical innovations"; and the last chapter focuses on the different locations, from Hyde Park to Tooting. …


This paper tries to find out the prospect of pilgrimage tourism at Namo Buddha, Kavre, Nepal. There is found limited academic work on pilgrimage tourism in Nepal; however, no evidence of study could be traced on Namo Buddha that is based on pilgrimage tourism perspective. A pilgrimage is an ancient form of religious travel where people make a journey to the place of their belief for experiencing spirituality. Namo Buddha is one of the sacred Buddhist shrines and important pilgrimage sites for Buddhists as they believe the relics of the previous life of Lord Buddha are kept at Namo Buddha Stūpa. Namo Buddha stūpa is also considered to be one of the holiest stūpas in Nepal including Svayambhu Stūpa (Svayambhu Mahachaitya) and the Bodhnath Stūpa (Khasti Mahachaitya). This stūpa commemorates the Buddha Śakyamuni's sacrifice of his body to a starving tigress and her cubs in his previous life. Nepali people call this site Namo Buddha, Newars call Namo Buddha as Namura and Tibetans call it as Takmo Lu Jin. The place has a huge potential to attract both Buddhist and Hindu pilgrims including international tourists from all over the world. This place offers other attractions and activities besides pilgrimage-based elements such as sightseeing of heritage town; spectacular Himalayan ranges; paddy field terrains; hilly forests; soft adventures experience; and so on. Religious tourism and pilgrimage tourism are interchangeably used in this study and the paper is based on both the primary and secondary data. Exploratory research has been carried out to examine the religious and economic benefits of pilgrims at this site. It also tried to investigate locals' perspectives on pilgrimage tourism development. Meanwhile, this paper not only studied prospects of pilgrimage tourism in Namo Buddha but also attempted to find out and highlight how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the destination.


The Central Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Indonesia (September 2020) conducted a survey where the results explained that there was a decrease in the income of micro and small businesses by 84% and 82% in medium and large businesses in the accommodation, food and beverage, other services, transportation and warehousing services, construction, manufacturing, and trade sectors. The problems that entrepreneurs face are complicated. Not only do they need stimulus and capital assistance, but also assistance to enter the digital system economy, opening new markets, and increasing product competitiveness. Communication and socialization are also needed as an effort to empower the MSMEs. The use of information technology and digitalization is very much needed to survive the current economy amidst the pandemic. However, the number of entrepreneurs that are able to digitize their business is still relatively small. It is impossible for the digitizing process to take place immediately therefore it is best to join electronic trade organizers or e-commerce companies such as Tokopedia and Shopee.


Specifically radiolabeled [14C-lignin]lignocelluloses and [14C-polysaccharide]lignocelluloses were prepared from a variety of marine and freshwater wetland plants including a grass, a sedge, a rush, and a hardwood. These [14C]lignocellulose preparations and synthetic [14C]lignin were incubated anaerobically with anoxic sediments collected from a salt marsh, a freshwater marsh, and a mangrove swamp. During long-term incubations lasting up to 300 days, the lignin and polysaccharide components of the lignocelluloses were slowly degraded anaerobically to 14CO2 and 14CH4. Lignocelluloses derived from herbaceous plants were degraded more rapidly than lignocellulose derived from the hardwood. After 294 days, 16.9% of the lignin component and 30.0% of the polysaccharide component of lignocellulose derived from the grass used (Spartina alterniflora) were degraded to gaseous end products. In contrast, after 246 days, only 1.5% of the lignin component and 4.1% of the polysaccharide component of lignocellulose derived from the hardwood used (Rhizophora mangle) were degraded to gaseous end products. Synthetic [14C]lignin was degraded anaerobically faster than the lignin component of the hardwood lignocellulose; after 276 days, 3.7% of the synthetic lignin was degraded to gaseous end products. Contrary to previous reports, these results demonstrate that lignin and lignified plant tissues are biodegradable in the absence of oxygen. Although lignocelluloses are recalcitrant to anaerobic biodegradation, rates of degradation measured in aquatic sediments are significant and have important implications for the biospheric cycling of carbon from these abundant biopolymers.