bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Application of Photovoltaic Cells as a Power Supply for Smart Greenhouse Project
Authors: Fuada Syifaul , . Pribadi , Thobib Mohammad , Jannah Nur , A Risfanda
Published: December 2015

Glass house farming system has many advantages, for example the easiness to control pests and diseases, improves the production and quality of the products. On the other hand, this system needs additional energy so that it needs more production cost. To suppress the energy use, photovoltaic is needed maximally to be applied as a power supply for greenhouse. In this paper, the authors design a smart greenhouse that takes care of plants, which is automatic watering, automatically open and close canopy, automatic temperature control. This project is named as smart greenhouse, the placing of this smart greenhouse is on the rooftop of a house.

Keywords: Green roof ; greenhouse ; photovoltaic cells; smart greenhouse
Design and Contruction of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Triple-Stage Savonius Type as the Alternative Wind Power Plant
Authors: Harsanto Tedy , Prananto Haryo Dwi , Budi Esmar , Nasbey Hadi
Published: December 2015

A vertical axis wind turbine triple-stage savonius type has been created by using simple materials to generate electricity for the alternative wind power plant. The objective of this research is to design a simple wind turbine which can operate with low wind speed. The turbine was designed by making three savonius rotors and then varied the structure of angle on the three rotors, 0˚, 90˚ and 120˚. The dimension of the three rotors are created equal with each rotor diameter 35 cm and each rotor height 19 cm. The turbine was tested by using blower as the wind sources. Through the measurements obtained the comparisons of output power, rotation of turbine, and the level of efficiency generated by the three variations. The result showed that the turbine with angle of 120˚ operate most optimally because it is able to produce the highest output power and highest rotation of turbine which is 0.346 Watt and 222.7 RPM.

Keywords: Output power; savonius turbine; triple-stage; the structure of angle
The Viscosity Testing on the Blending of HSD with PPO for Eligibility Criteria of Gas Turbine Fuel as the Renewable Energy Solution
Authors: Harsanto Tedy , Rahayu Feti Eka
Published: December 2015

The viscosity of vegetable oils palm oil in particular olein is 18 times higher than the viscosity of HSD. Whereas, the viscosity is allowable for the gas turbine engines which is around 0 to 10 CSt at the maximum temperature of 50 ˚C or when converted to the dynamic viscocity of about 0.78 to 780 mPa.s. In order to meet the gas turbine criteria, so that done the blending between the samples of HSD with PPO and then heated. From the blending of 95 % HSD – 5 % PPO at the temperature range of 30˚ - 35 ˚C were obtained the viscocity value with an average of 3,43 mPas. That results show that the viscosity value of the blending between HSD with PPO still meets the standards of eligibility as a gas turbine fuel.

Keywords: Gas turbine; HSD; PPO; temperature; viscosity.
Narcocriminology as One of the Branches of Criminology
Authors:   chief editor of the magazine ", Fedorov А.V. ,   Narkokontrol'",   , candidate of legal Sciences, Professor, Honored lawyer of the Russian Federation (Moscow)
Published: December 2015

The article describes the conception of a new branch in criminological science - narcocriminology which studies the regularities and interconnections of crime and illegal consumption of narcotic means and psychotropic substances.
Influence of FASN gene polymorphism on milk production and its composition traits in Murrah buffaloes
Authors: Kumar Manoj , Vohra Vikas , Ratwan Poonam , Chopra Alka , Chakaravarty A.K.
Published: December 2015

In present study the effect of genetic polymorphism of Fatty acid synthase (FASN) gene on eight traits related to milk production and its composition in 162 Murrah buffaloes was studied. The traits studied includes 305 days milk yield, lactation fat average (LFA), 305 days fat yield (305LFY), lactation solid not fat average (LSA), 305 days solid not fat yield (305LSY), lactation total solid average (LTSA), 305 days total solid yield (305LTSY) and peak yield (PY). Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) was used to identify the SNP in a 472 bp PCR amplified product of exon-40 in FASN gene. It was found to be polymorphic with Guanine to Adenine transition and three genotypes namely AA, AG and GG were observed. Allele A was found to be more frequent than G allele. We report for the first time that exon-40 FASN gene is associated with LFA, LTSA and peak yield in Murrah buffaloes. This information can augment future studies to determine the role of bovine FASN gene as a candidate gene marker for a milk fat, total solids and peak milk production.
Single nucleotide polymorphisms in Heat Shock Protein (HSP) 90AA1 gene and their association with heat tolerance traits in Sahiwal cows
Authors: Kumar Rakesh , Gupta* I. D. , Verma Archana , Verma Nishant , Vineeth M. R.
Published: December 2015

Heat Shock Proteins (HSPs) are group of proteins which are synthesized during heat stress. HSP genes have been reported to be associated with heat tolerance and production performance in cattle. HSP90AA1 gene has been mapped on Bos taurus autosome 21 (BTA 21) and spans nearly 5368 bp comprising 11 exons out of which first exon does not translate. The present study was carried out in Sahiwal cows (n=100) with the objectives to identify SNPs in targeted regions (exon 3, 7, 8 and 11) of HSP90AA1 gene and to analyze their association with heat tolerance traits in Sahiwal cows. Respiration rate (RR) and rectal temperature (RT) was recorded once during probable extreme hours in winter, spring and summer season. Further, heat tolerance coefficient (HTC) also calculated to see the adaptability of the animals during the period of heat stress. On the basis of comparative sequence analysis, total five SNPs were revealed at position of A1209G, A3292C, T4935C, T5218C and A5224C in the targeted region of HSP90AA1 gene. Out of these, only two SNPs at A1209G and A3292C loci were found significantly associated with heat tolerance traits in Sahiwal cows. Whereas, THI has a highly significant associated with RR, RT and HTC in all the seasons. At A1209G locus in Sahiwal cows for traits RR, genotype AA (18.40±0.46a), AG (19.60±0.85b) and GG (21.18± 0.64ab) and trait HTC AA (1.78±0.04a), AG (1.85±0.03b) and GG (1.91± 0.02c) differ significantly (p less than 0.01) while trait RT, AG (38.32±0.10b) and GG (38.27±0.08ab) didn’t differ significantly. For a locus A3292C for traits RR, genotype AA (21.55±1.01a), AC (19.66±1.59b) and CC (18.40±1.03c) differ significantly (p less than 0.05), while traits RT, genotype AA (38.41±0.12), AC (38.28±0.20) and CC (37.96±0.15) didn’t differ significantly. For trait HTC, AA (1.93±0.04a), AC (1.85±0.06b) and CC (1.79±0.05c) found significantly (p less than 0.05) differ with each other. Our study indicated that Sahiwal cows of AA and AC genotype had better thermo-tolerance capacity, which had been useful for genetic improvement of Sahiwal cattle for heat tolerance traits.
Genetic characterization and identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms of ATP1A1 gene in Indian humped cattle
Authors: Barani A. , Ramesha* K. P. , Basavaraju M. , Rao Akhila , Rao TVL. Narasimha
Published: December 2015

Climate change in India is likely to aggravate the heat stress in dairy animals due to rise in temperature coupled with increased precipitation. In animals heat stress affects the alteration of plasma Potassium (K (+)) and Sodium Na (+) ions. ATP1A1 gene belongs to the family of P-type cation transport ATPases, and to the subfamily of Na+/K+ -ATPases. Na+/K+ -ATPase is an integral membrane protein responsible for establishing and maintaining the electrochemical gradients of Na+ and K+ ions across the plasma membrane. The present study is aimed to investigate the polymorphisms in the entire coding region of ATP1A1 gene in Bos indicus (Deoni) cattle by PCR- Single-Strand Conformation Polymorphism (PCR- SSCP) and direct sequencing of variants. Sequence analysis showed 16 SNPs, of which 5 SNPs were in the coding region and the remaining 11 SNPs were detected in the non-coding region of ATP1A1 gene. All the observed variations in the coding regions of ATP1A1 gene were silent mutations. The genotypic, allelic frequencies, c² test for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and Shannon’s information index were calculated using POPGENE-32. The study revealed a high degree of genetic variability in ATP1A1 gene in the Deoni cattle population which indicated the utility of this gene for further studies for identification of markers associated with heat tolerance in Indian humped cattle for using in marker assisted selection for heat tolerance.
Seroprevalence of infectious bovine rhinotracheitis in organized dairy farms of India
Authors: Patil* S.S. , Prajapati A. , Krishnamoorthy P. , Desai G.S. , Reddy G.B.M. , Suresh K.P. , Rahman H.
Published: December 2015

In this study, a systematic sero-surveillance of IBR was undertaken from 11 dairy farms located in 4 different regions of India. A total of 1000 cattle serum samples were tested for the presence of antibodies against IBR using Avidin Biotin ELISA. The results revealed that IBR antibodies were widely prevalent in all regions of the country ranging from 36.5% in Central region to 84.5% in Northern region with an overall prevalence of 61.6%. The prevalence of IBR antibodies was different between various age groups being 22.3%, 62.1%, 59.3%, 76.1% and 66.78 % in the age groups less than 1 year, 1-2 years, 2-3 years, 3-4 years and more than 4 years old respectively. Based upon the medical history of the herd, it was found that 83% abortion cases, 76% metritis cases, 83% repeat breeding cases and 65% retention of placenta cases were seropositive for IBR.
Microsatellite based diversity analysis of native pigs of North-Eastern India
Authors: Sahoo*1 Nihar Ranjan , Naskar Soumen , Banik Santanu , Pankaj2 Prabhat Kumar
Published: December 2015

The native pigs of North Eastern region have unique traits such as early sexual maturity and quality bristles compared with exotic/ crossbreds. An attempt was made to measure the genetic variation available within Niang Megha and Tenyi Vo pigs using 22 FAO-ISAG microsatellite markers. The analysis of microsatellite data revealed average number of observed alleles as 6.95±0.54 (Niang Megha) and 7.18±0.45 (Tenyi Vo) where as the effective average number of alleles were 3.55±0.33 and 3.81±0.41, respectively. The mean observed heterozygosities were found to be 0.61± 0.04 and 0.68± 0.05, whereas expected values were 0.67±0.03 and 0.69±0.03, for Niang Megha and Tenyi Vo pigs, respectively. Abundant genetic variations were displayed within the native pigs with the PIC values ranged between 0.41 (Sw2008) to 0.86. (S0218) for Niang Megha and between 0.45 (S0026) to 0.88 (S0005) in Tenyi Vo pigs. The mean F value was 0.15±0.05 in Niang Megha which is more than that found in Tevyi Vo. There was no genetic bottleneck observed in the studied population. A total of 23 and 22 private alleles observed in Niang Megha and Tenyi Vo pigs.
Augmanting buffalo reproduction in tribal areas of Panchmahal district (Gujarat) through appropriate mineral mixture supplementation
Authors: Butani* J. B. , Parnerkar S. , Patel D.C.
Published: December 2015

An on-farm trial for 90 days was conducted using 20 anoestrus and 20 repeat breeder buffaloes to evaluate the effect of supplementing appropriate mineral mixtures (AMMs) on their return to heat. Anoestrus and repeat breeder buffaloes were randomly allotted to 2 treatments i.e. T1 (Ionic mineral mixture) and T2 (T1 + 25% extra zinc in chelate form). Average DMI, DCPI and TDNI in anoestrus and repeat breeder buffaloes calculated as per information collected from farmers were comparable among treatments. Average intake of calcium, phosphorus and copper was higher than the requirements in anoestrus and repeat breeder buffaloes. However, Zn intake was lower by about 65% of the requirement in all treatments. Blood glucose ranged from 57.4 to 62.4 mg/dl in T1 and T2 groups of anoestrus and repeat breeder buffaloes. On supplementing the T2 mineral mixture, the level of total protein, serum albumin, globulin, triglycerides and cholesterol increased (P less than 0.01), whereas, level of BUN and creatinine decreased significantly in both groups of anestrous and repeat breeder buffaloes than in buffaloes supplemented with T1. Activities of serum alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferases and aspartate aminotransferases increased significantly (P less than 0.01) on T2 supplementation. Number of days taken for return to heat of anoestrous and repeat breeder buffaloes as well as cost of feeding reduced upon supplementation with T2 from T1 mineral mixture.
In-vitro antimicrobial efficacy of certian herbal seeds essential oils against important poultry microbes
Authors: Bhaisare*1 Darshana B. , Thyagarajan2 D. , Churchil3 R. Richard , Punniamurthy4 N.
Published: December 2015

Two in-vitro experiments were conducted to evaluate the antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties of essential oil of herbal seeds. In-vitro antimicrobial properties of essential oils of phytobiotics was determined by disc diffusion method against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pasteurella multocida and Salmonella typhi and two fungi namely Aspergillus fumigatus and Candida albicans. Thyme oil had statistically similar or significantly (P less than 0.05) higher inhibition zone against all the bacterial and fungal species compared to standard antibiotic, chloramphenicol or antifungal drug, nystatin. Fenugreek oil was not found to be active against microbes compared to control. Fennel and cumin oils had statistically similar or significantly (P less than 0.05) higher inhibition zone against all microbes except Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhi compared to control. Antiviral activity of essential oils was determined by anti-NDV assay against New Castle disease virus (LaSota). The results indicated that essential oils of herbal seeds do not possess antiviral activity against NDV LaSota virus at 1mg/ml concentration.
Immunohistochemical localization of vasoactive intestinal peptide in bursa of fabricius of Chinese yellow quail
Authors: He* Min , Liang Xiaoxia , Wang Kaiyu , Pu Haibo , Hu Yaodong , Ye Gang , Li Xue , Liu Ling
Published: December 2015

This study aimed to reveal the distribution and morphological characteristics of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) at different ages in the bursa of Fabricius (BF) in Chinese Yellow Quail. The distribution and morphological characteristics of VIP of BF in Chinese yellow quails at different ages (0, 1, 3, 5, 9, 13, 17, 21, 25, 29, 32 and 36 weeks) were observed using the immunohistochemical streptavidin-biotin complex method after obtaining the sections and subsequent immunohistochemical staining. Then semi-quantitative analysis of the mean optical density (MOD), integral optical density (IOD) and mean gray value (MGV) for VIP immunoreactivity was performed through Image-Pro Plus 6.0 software. VIP was observed at all ages in Chinese yellow quail’s BF. It formed a long fusiform, oval or granular type structures with clear outline mainly localized in the submucosa, muscular layer and serosal connective tissue. At 25 weeks of age, the MOD value of VIP-positive cells reached the maximum, and then gradually reduced, while the MGV value was the lowest. We observed the localization and morphological characteristics of VIP in BF of Chinese yellow quail. VIP was mainly localized in the submucosa, muscular layer and serosal connective tissue of BF. Findings of this study may provide further understanding of the function of VIP in BF of Chinese yellow quails.
Effect of initial soil fertility and integrated plant nutrition system (IPNS) on yield and NPK uptake by brinjal on an Alfisol
Authors: Dhinesh* V. , Santhi R.
Published: December 2015

Following Inductive methodology (fertility gradient concept), a field experiment was conducted to study the effect of initial soil fertility and Integrated Plant Nutrition System (IPNS) on the yield of brinjal (var. CO 2) on Typic Rhodustalf of Tamil Nadu. In the first phase of the experiment, variations in soil fertility with reference to soil available N, P and K was established among the three fertility strips with the addition of fertilizers at graded levels and by growing fodder sorghum as gradient crop. In the second phase viz., the test crop experiment with brinjal, consisted of four levels each of fertilizer N, P2O5 and K2O and three levels of farm yard manure (FYM). The highest yield of 35.8 t ha-1was recorded with 150:75:75 kg ha-1 of fertilizer N, P2O5 and K2O along with 12.5 t ha-1 of FYM in strip III with initial soil available NPK status of 203, 34 and 500 kg ha-1 respectively. The fruit yield as well as NPK uptake by brinjal had increased with increase in initial soil fertility and with increase in the levels of fertilizer N, P2O5 and K2O and FYM.
Evaluating the gap in demand and supply of institutional lending for paddy cultivation in Thiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu, India
Authors: Rani* S. Padma , Mani1 K. , Anjugam M.
Published: December 2015

Institutional banking system in India is strengthened through nationalization of banks and many innovative initiatives such as Self Help Group (SHG) - Bank Linkage Programme, Kisan Credit Card (KCC) Scheme and Financial Inclusion. However, many studies conducted in Tamil Nadu, have pointed out several issues such as inadequacy of crop loan amount owing to lower scale of finance and minimum focus on long term agricultural advances that are hampering the banking services directed towards agricultural development. In order to address these issues, an attempt was made in the present study to assess the causes for and consequences of credit gap in the disbursement of short term / crop loan to the sample farm households; Results of the study indicated that the credit gap I (Credit requirement - Scale of finance) and Credit Gap-II (Credit Requirement - Credit Sanctioned) per ha of paddy were lesser in ST borrower farms, which indicted that though the scale of finance for paddy has been fixed at higher level, i.e., well above the credit requirement, the actual credit disbursement was far lesser than the credit requirement. The working capital, in general, enhances the productivity of the crop and the external financial assistance could help farmers in purchasing the necessary farm inputs in adequate quantities and thereby the farm productivity could be improved. But the scale finance itself was far lesser than the working capital required for cultivating paddy in all categories of farms and this resulted in the wider credit gaps in the different farm categories.
Morphological, biochemical and qualitative changes associated with growth and development of pomegranate fruit (Punica granatum L.)
Authors: Supe V. S. , Saitwal* Y. S.
Published: December 2015

Morphological, biochemical and qualitative changes occurred during growth and development of three pomegranate cultivars were studied at AICRP on Arid Zone Fruits, Department of Horticulture, MPKV, Rahuri. Various changes were determined at 30 days intervals from anthesis till harvest. The pomegranate fruit in all cultivars showed single sigmoid pattern of growth. The size, weight and volume of the fruit of each cultivar increased while the specific gravity increased earlier and then decreased after 90 days in Cv. Bhagwa and after 120 days in Cv. Mridula and Sel-4 to less than one. The elongated oval shape of fruit at the early stage changed to round with prominent suppressions on sides at maturity stage. From those studies, it was revealed that the pomegranate fruits showed colour changes from initial green to orange red and high red at maturity stage and it can be harvested within 150 to180 days. Among biochemical changes the total soluble solids and TSS: acid ratio increased while the acidity decreased with the advancement in the age of fruit. The total anthocyanin content in arils of pomegranate fruit increased with the advancement in the age of fruit. For qualitative changes, it was found that the percentage of arils and the juice content of arils increased, while the percentage of rind, rind thickness and seed content decreased gradually with the advancement in the age of fruit in each cultivar under study. The percentage of juice content was higher in Mridula at all the stages of maturity than Bhagwa and Sel-4. Seed hardness increased as the fruit matured. Incidence of internal breakdown of arils was noticed earlier in Bhagwa.
Effect of different processing methods on proximate, mineral and antinutrient content of lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus) seeds
Authors: Jayalaxmi Baddi , Vijayalakshmi D. , Usha Ravindra , Revanna M.L. , Chandru R. , Gowda P.H. Ramanjini
Published: December 2015

The present study was formulated to analyze the effect of common processing methods on proximate, mineral and antinutrient content of lima bean. The protein content in the present study enhanced from 24.6g in raw to 26.5g/100g on germination. The most abundant mineral in raw bean for 100g was potassium (1295.13mg), followed by calcium (326.5mg), phosphorus (153.4mg), magnesium (123.1mg), sodium (27.0mg), iron (5.43 mg). There was significant (p less than 0.01) increase in calcium and phosphorus (10.81 and 14.50%) in germinated beans. Moist heating methods like cooking and autoclaving reduced 100 per cent trypsin inhibitor. Dhal had 100 per cent reduction of trypsin inhibitor and oxalate followed by saponin 0.4mg/100g (98.47%) and phytates 11.8 mg/100g (93.06%). All processing methods were effective in reduction of antinutrients and improving nutritional value of lima bean thereby increasing its utilization in foods and food formulations.
Paludification of boreal soils reduces wood decomposition rates and increases wood‐based carbon storage
Authors: Jacobs Jenna , Work Timothy , Paré David , Bergeron Yves
Published: December 2015

Over long time periods, paludification reduces aboveground productivity resulting in forest retrogression. Paludified forests are typified by intense accumulation of the soil organic layer and a reduction in soil temperatures and nutrient availability. En route to paludification, early successional forests experience large inputs of deadwood biomass during the senescence of the post‐fire cohort, much of which may be entombed in this rapidly growing soil organic layer. Here we examined the effects of paludification across a >2000‐year chronosequence of black spruce forests on wood decomposition using three complementary approaches. We (1) repeatedly measured wood density of logs through time, (2) utilize a time‐series of logs that varied in time since death, and (3) estimate woody biomass at the stand level as it progresses from live trees to snags, logs and ultimately to buried or decomposed deadwood. Together these approaches demonstrated a 6–7‐year delay before the onset of rapid decomposition. We also found strong evidence that paludification results in a large proportion of logs becoming buried in the soil organic layer. Stand level modeling indicates that the rates of accumulation of buried deadwood were greatest following the senescence of the post‐fire cohort when both soil organic layer build‐up and creation of deadwood peaked. Following this period of high deadwood creation, stands enter a retrogressive state whereby productivity continues to decline albeit more slowly. Continued losses in woody carbon biomass from trees during this retrogressive state are offset by lower wood decomposition rates and a high biomass of accumulated buried deadwood, essentially stabilizing the wood based carbon budget in these ecosystems. We recommend that partial cutting be conducted prior to or near the senescence of the post‐fire cohort to improve emulation of natural forest succession in terms of both live tree and deadwood biomass. Furthermore, deadwood during this period has an extremely short residence time and the dynamics of deadwood should recover much quicker than if harvesting is conducted later in succession when there is less live tree biomass and deadwood has longer residence times.
Island vs. countryside biogeography: an examination of how Amazonian birds respond to forest clearing and fragmentation
Authors: Wolfe Jared D. , Stouffer Philip C. , Mokross Karl , Powell Luke L. , Anciães Marina M.
Published: December 2015

Avian diversity in fragmented Amazonian landscapes depends on a balance between extinction and colonization in cleared and disturbed areas. Regenerating forest facilitates bird dispersal within degraded Amazonian landscapes and may tip the balance in favor of persistence in habitat patches. Determining the response of Amazonian birds to fragmentation may be hindered because many species use adjacent second growth matrices thereby limiting the applicability of island biogeography to predict species loss; alternatively, a countryside biogeographic framework to evaluate the value of regenerating forest may be more appropriate. Here, we used point‐count and capture data to compare Amazonian bird communities among continuous forest, 100 ha forest fragments with adjacent second growth, young and older second growth plots, and 100 ha forested islands bounded by water, to test the applicability of island biogeography on the mainland and to assess the ecological value of a regenerating matrix. Among foraging guilds, understory insectivores and flocking species were nearly absent on true islands. Fragments surrounded by young second growth were species rich, suggesting that a developing matrix may mitigate extinction associated with fragmentation. Our findings reinforce that true islands are often extinction‐driven systems with distinct, depauperate communities. In contrast, succession of bird communities in second growth facilitates recolonization of forest fragments, permitting fragments as small as 100 ha to support bird communities similar to continuous forest.
System‐level changes following invasion caused by disruption of functional relationships among plant and soil properties
Authors: Tekiela Daniel R. , Barney Jacob N.
Published: December 2015

The ecological impacts of invasive plants have served to justify the cost of their management, which is estimated to exceed $1 billion annually in the US alone. However, our understanding of the ecological impacts of most invasive plants is extremely limited, and when known, interpretation is confounded with varied measurements and methods. While this can provide important information about specific components of ecosystem function, it limits our understanding of the broader scope of impacts any one species may have. Using Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) as a study system, our objectives were to (1) survey a broad suite of 29 important ecological impact metrics (EIMs), (2) identify invader cover‐EIM relationships, and (3) test if the comparative reference (uninvaded or invader removal) influences interpretation. Japanese stiltgrass had the strongest effect on the plant community, followed by soil properties, soil nutrients, and other abiotic/biotic factors. Many EIM values differed among reference types, and plant community EIMs were reduced with increasing Japanese stiltgrass abundance. For example, plant biodiversity was lower in the invasion when compared to both removed and uninvaded sites; however, soil organic matter was higher only in the uninvaded site when compared to the invasion. The integrative ecosystem metric E(c) also showed that the system overall was impacted by the Japanese stiltgrass invasion, and this varied among sites. Interestingly, relationships among EIMs were also changed by the presence of Japanese stiltgrass. For example, a strong correlation between pH and soil organic matter disappeared when Japanese stiltgrass was present. Together this suggests that this invaded ecosystem functions in a different way through both individual and correlated alterations to ecosystem properties.
Impact of Improving Home Environments on Energy Intake and Physical Activity: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Kegler Michelle C. , Haardörfer Regine , Alcantara Iris C. , Gazmararian Julie A. , Veluswamy J. K. , Hodge Tarccara L. , Addison Ann R. , Hotz James A.
Published: December 2015

Objectives. We assessed the effectiveness of an intervention targeting home food and activity environments to reduce energy intake and increase physical activity among overweight and obese patients from 3 community health centers in rural Georgia.

Methods. We conducted a randomized controlled trial (n = 349) from 2011 to 2013, with follow-up at 6 and 12 months. Health coaches delivered the 16-week intervention by using tailored home environment profiles showing areas in need of improvement and positive aspects of the home environment, behavioral contracts for healthy actions, and mailed support materials.

Results. Participants were mostly African American women (84.8%), with a mean age of 50.2 years and a mean body mass index (weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters) of 38.3. Daily energy intake decreased more for the intervention than control group at 6 (–274 vs –69 kcal) and 12 months (–195 vs –76 kcal). We observed no change for either objective or self-reported physical activity. At 12 months, 82.6% of intervention participants had not gained weight compared with 71.4% of control participants.

Conclusions. The intervention was effective in changing home environments and reducing energy intake.
Associations of MICA Polymorphisms with Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases
Authors: Wang Qingwen , Zhou Xiaodong
Published: December 2015

Inflammatory rheumatic diseases are characterized by inflammation resulting from the immune dysregulation
that usually attacks joints, skin and internal organs. Many of them are considered as complex disease that may be
predisposed by multiple genes and/or genetic loci, and triggered by environmental factors such as microbiome and cellular
stress. The major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related gene A (MICA) is a highly polymorphic gene that
encodes protein variants expressed under cellular stress conditions, and these MICA variants play important roles in
immune activation and surveillance. Recently, accumulating evidences from both genetic and functional studies have
suggested that MICA polymorphisms may be associated with various rheumatic diseases, and the expression of MICA
variants may attribute to the altered immune responses in the diseases. The objective of this review is to discuss potential
genetic associations and pathological relevance of MICA in inflammatory rheumatic diseases that may help us to
understand pathogenesis contributing to the development of these diseases.
Nominal Anglicisms in -er in Serbian
Authors: Stasni Gordana , Strbac Gordana
Published: December 2015

This paper gives an account of morphological-derivational and semantic
characteristics of the nominal Anglicisms ending in -er, how they entered the
Serbian language, the degree of their integration and their place in the
lexicon. Typically, those are nouns pertaining to the nomina agentis, nomina
professionis and nomina instrumenti categories, which belong to the general
wordstock or the terminological systems. They are mainly obvious and
justified Anglicisms which are highly integrated into the language. The
analysis shows that these units enter Serbian isolatedly (broker, revolver,
brauzer) or together with other semantically or derivationally related
Anglicisms (pejdzer - pejdzing, kidnapovati - kidnaper, dzogirati - dzoger -
dzoging). The Anglicisms ending in -er which entered Serbian isolatedly are
usually not subject to further derivation as a form of secondary adaptation.
On the other hand, if the Anglicisms enter as parts of a series, every member
has the capacity for derivation varieties, e.g. skenirati [skener] >
skeniranje, tenis [teniser] > teniski, teniser > teniserski, teniserka. The
extent to which these Anglicisms are integrated into the system of the
recipient language is confirmed by their capacity for further semantic
variations (using different mechanisms), and reflects on their tendency to
form paradigmatic relations with native and nativized units.
Attention to Background Strain Is Essential for Metabolic Research: C57BL/6 and the International Knockout Mouse Consortium
Authors: Fontaine Danielle A. , Davis Dawn Belt
Published: December 2015

The International Knockout Mouse Consortium (IKMC) introduces its targeted constructs into C57BL/6N embryonic stem cells. However, breeding with a Cre-recombinase and/or Flp-recombinase mouse is required for the generation of a null allele with the IKMC cassette. Many recombinase strains are in the C57BL/6J background, resulting in knockout animals on a mixed strain background. This can lead to variability in metabolic data and the use of improper control groups. While C57BL/6N and C57BL/6J are derived from the same parental C57BL/6 strain, there are key genotypic and phenotypic differences between these substrains. Many researchers may not even be aware of these differences, as the shorthand C57BL/6 is often used to describe both substrains. We found that 58% of articles involving genetically modified mouse models did not completely address background strain. This review will describe these two substrains and highlight the importance of separate consideration in mouse model development. Our aim is to increase awareness of this issue in the diabetes research community and to provide practical strategies to enable researchers to avoid mixed strain animals when using IKMC knockout mice.
Incident-Induced Delays on Freeways
Authors: Habtemichael Filmon G. , Cetin Mecit , Anuar Khairul A.
Published: December 2015

Freeway incidents cause nonrecurrent congestion, which contributes significantly to overall travel delays. This paper provides a method to estimate the magnitude of delays resulting from incidents. Incident-induced delays can be estimated by establishing an incident-free reference travel time profile as a basis from which the incident-induced delay is measured. The main objective of this paper is to show how to establish the reference profile from a subset of candidate profiles of similar traffic patterns. To identify similar traffic patterns, a hybrid of travel time and volume profiles was used. To establish the reference profile, three methods for candidate profile identification were investigated: day of the week based, cluster analysis based, and k–nearest neighbor based. Weighted summations of the candidate profiles were also investigated: arithmetic average, Shepard's inverse distance method, and rank exponent method. A ground truth experiment was conducted, and the results showed that the best way to formulate the reference traffic profile was by using the k–nearest neighbor in combination with the weighted summation of rank exponent method. The proposed approach provides practical guidance to estimate incident-induced delays more accurately.
Wrong-Way Driving Prevention
Authors: Sandt Adrian , Al-Deek Haitham , Rogers John H. , Alomari Ahmad H.
Published: December 2015

Wrong-way driving (WWD) crashes are rare on Central Florida roadways. However, WWD is a severe hazard, especially on high-speed limited access roadways. This research developed the first driver survey to obtain details about unreported WWD events on Central Florida toll roads and freeways. This phone survey asked participants about WWD events witnessed either by the participant or by a family member, friend, or acquaintance. The 400 completed surveys showed that State Road 408 (SR-408) and Florida's turnpike (SR-91) experienced the most WWD events. Fourteen percent of the WWD events resulted in a crash, and only 10% of the WWD events witnessed by participants were reported to law enforcement or roadway agencies, even though 50% of the events caused the survey participants to feel a high risk of danger. These results show that WWD is more frequent than indicated by crashes or 911 calls. On the basis of these results, the Central Florida Expressway Authority (formerly known as the Orlando–Orange County Expressway Authority) is pilot testing and evaluating the use of rapid rectangular flashing beacons (RRFBs) as a WWD countermeasure. This test will be the first use of RRFBs to combat WWD. Elsewhere, Florida's Turnpike Enterprise is installing flashing “Wrong Way” signs along the Homestead Extension (SR-821) and Sawgrass Expressway (SR-869) in South Florida, and the Florida Department of Transportation is implementing a variety of WWD countermeasures at I-10 ramps in Tallahassee in North Florida.
Different Types of High-Occupancy Vehicle Access Control
Authors: Wu Guoyuan , Boriboonsomsin Kanok , Barth Matthew , Tadi Ramakrishna
Published: December 2015

High-occupancy vehicle (HOV) facilities have been widely implemented in the United States as a way to improve mobility, trip time reliability, and air quality of freeway systems. In California there are two types of HOV facilities, namely, limited access and continuous access with part-time or full-time operation. This paper presents a framework for comparing the mobility performance of the types of HOV facilities on the basis of regression analyses using a California data set as a case study. Parametric regression models were developed to explain empirical freeway capacity as a function of a set of explanatory variables including the type of HOV access. Modeling results consistently indicated that freeway segments with limited-access HOV lanes would have had higher overall capacities than those of continuous-access HOV facilities, everything else being equal. In addition, the proposed framework can be applied well to the analyses on other types of managed lanes.
Isolated Brain Metastases as First Site of Recurrence in Prostate Cancer: Case Report and Review of the Literature
Authors: Craig J. , Woulfe J. , Sinclair J. , Malone S.
Published: December 2015

Fewer than 2% of patients with metastatic prostate cancer (pca) develop brain metastases. Autopsy series have confirmed the rarity of brain metastases. When present, brain metastases occur in end stage, once the pca is castrate-resistant and spread to other sites is extensive. Here, we present a rare case of a patient with pca who developed a solitary parenchymal brain metastasis as first site of relapse 9 years after radical therapy. The patient underwent craniotomy and excision of the tumour. A second recurrence was also isolated to the brain. In the literature, pca patients with brain metastases have a poor mean survival of 1–7.6 months. The patient in our case report experienced a relatively favourable outcome, surviving 19 months after his initial brain relapse.
A Population-Based Study of the Epidemiology of Pancreatic Cancer: A Brief Report
Authors: Raju R.S. , Coburn N. , Liu N. , Porter J.M. , Seung S.J. , Cheung M.C. , Goyert N. , Leighl N.B. , Hoch J.S. , Trudeau M.E. , Evans W.K. , Dainty K.N. , Earle C.C. , Mittmann N.
Published: December 2015

Objective: Administrative data are used to describe the pancreatic cancer (pcc) population. The analysis examines demographic details, incidence, site, survival, and factors influencing mortality in a cohort of individuals diagnosed with pcc. Methods: Incident cases of pcc diagnosed in Ontario between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2011 were extracted from the Ontario Cancer Registry. They were linked by encrypted health card number to several administrative databases to obtain demographic and mortality information. Descriptive, bivariate, and survival analyses were conducted. Results: During the period of interest, 9221 new cases of pcc (4548 in men, 4673 in women) were diagnosed, for an age-adjusted standardized annual incidence in the range of 8.6–9.5 per 100,000 population. Mean age at diagnosis was 70.3 ± 12.5 years (standard deviation). Five-year survival was 7.2% (12.8% for those 80 years of age). Survival varied by sex, older age, rural residence, lower income, site of involvement in the pancreas, and presence of comorbidity. Conclusions: The mortality rate in pcc is exceptionally high. With an increasing incidence and a mortality positively associated with age, additional support will be needed for this highly fatal disease as demographics in Ontario continue to trend toward a higher proportion of older individuals.
Characteristics Affecting Survival after Locally Advanced Colorectal Cancer in Quebec
Authors: Perron L. , Daigle J.M. , Vandal N. , Guertin M.H. , Brisson J.
Published: December 2015

Background: We estimated the relations of sociodemographic, organizational, disease, and treatment variables with the risk of death from colorectal cancer (CRC) in a Quebec population-based sample of patients with locally advanced CRC (LACRC) who underwent tumour resection with curative intent. Methods: Information from medical records and administrative databases was obtained for a random sample of 633 patients surgically treated for stages II–III rectal and stage III colon cancer and declared to the Quebec cancer registry in 1998 and 2003. We measured personal, disease, and clinical management characteristics, relative survival, and through multivariate modelling, relative excess rate (RER) of death. Results: The relative 5- and 10-year survivals in this cohort were 67.7% [95% confidence interval (CI): 65.8% to 69.6%] and 61.2% (95% CI: 58.3% to 64.0%) respectively. Stage T4, stage N2, and emergency rather than elective surgery affected 18%, 24% and 10% of patients respectively. Those disease progression characteristics each independently increased the rer of death by factors of 2 to almost 5. Grade, vascular invasion, and tumour location were also significantly associated with the rer for death. Receiving guideline-adherent treatment was associated with a 60% reduction in the rer for death (0.41; 95% CI: 0.28 to 0.61), an effect that was consistent across age groups. Clear margins (proximal–distal, radial) and clinical trial enrolment were each associated with a nonsignificant 50% reduction in the rer. Of patients less than 70 years of age and 70 years of age and older, 81.3% and 42.0% respectively received guideline-adherent treatment. Conclusions: This study is the first Quebec population-based examination of patients with lacrc and their management, outcomes, and outcome determinants. The results can help in planning CRC control strategies at a population level.
Synthesis of cyclic N1-pentylinosine phosphate, a new structurally reduced cADPR analogue with calcium-mobilizing activity on PC12 cells
Authors: Mahal Ahmed , D’Errico Stefano , Borbone Nicola , Pinto Brunella , Secondo Agnese , Costantino Valeria , Tedeschi Valentina , Oliviero Giorgia , Piccialli Vincenzo , Piccialli Gennaro
Published: December 2015

Cyclic N1-pentylinosine monophosphate (cpIMP), a novel simplified inosine derivative of cyclic ADP-ribose (cADPR) in which the N1-pentyl chain and the monophosphate group replace the northern ribose and the pyrophosphate moieties, respectively, was synthesized. The role played by the position of the phosphate group in the key cyclization step, which consists in the formation of a phosphodiester bond, was thoroughly investigated. We have also examined the influence of the phosphate bridge on the ability of cpIMP to mobilize Ca2+ in PC12 neuronal cells in comparison with the pyrophosphate bridge present in the cyclic N1-pentylinosine diphosphate analogue (cpIDP) previously synthesized in our laboratories. The preliminary biological tests indicated that cpIMP and cpIDP induce a rapid increase of intracellular Ca2+ concentration in PC12 neuronal cells.
Market orientation vs. inovativeness of SMEs of Podlaskie province
Authors: Ejdys Joanna
Published: December 2015

This research aims to examine the impact of marketing orientation on the innovation level among Small and Medium Size (SMEs) from Podlaskie Province. A survey utilizing a questionnaire was conducted among 137 companies in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Altogether 3 hypotheses concerning marketing orientation and innovativeness level have been examined with the use of the hierarchical regression techniques. The relation between three types of marketing orientation and innovativeness has been analysed: customer orientation, competitor orientation and interfunctional coordination. The research results show that marketing orientation has a positive total effect on improving innovativeness. The conclusions suggest, contrary to the marketing orientation sources, that customer orientation hinder marketing innovation. A positive interrelation between customer orientation and competitor orientation, as a component of marketing orientation and innovation was supported. The positive interrelationships between inter-functional orientation and innovativeness was rejected. The study explores the relationship between marketing orientation and innovativeness, thus theoretically contributing to marketing orientation literature. Moreover, relevant ramifications are provided for management, concerning the ways to boost the level of innovativeness.
Evolution of managerial problems from the perspective of management science
Authors: Szarucki Marek
Published: December 2015

Managerial problems and the process of their solving play an important role both in the theory of management science and practice of organisations’ functioning. There is a gap in the literature related to the evolution of management problems in the context of the methodological approaches to solve them. The main goal of this paper was to analyse the evolution of the managerial problems from the perspective of management science and to present dominant methodological approaches for problem solving. Based on the extensive literature analysis in the discipline of management science, the evolution of the managerial problems was described with relation to the sixteen streams of management science. The author reviewed the selected classifications of the management theory as well as proposed his own perspective, which took into account managerial problems and their evolution over time. Moreover, there was presented an attempt to depict sources of management problems from the historical perspective within the methodological approaches of management science. Despite the broad view on management problems presented in this paper, such perspective gives a good ground for developing new more specific problem classifications, addressing different facets of managerial problems.
GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE KINETIC SCALE MAGNETIC TURBULENCE AROUND THE MOON
Authors: Luo Q. Y. , Yang L. , Ji J. H.
Published: December 2015

The Moon–solar wind interaction results in the formation of a complicated lunar space plasma environment. Here, we investigate the solar wind turbulence around the Moon using the magnetic field observed by the dual-probe mission Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of the Moon’s Interaction with the Sun (ARTEMIS). Structure functions in a time range on kinetic scales are computed to measure the scaling index ζ, the spatial distribution of which reveals the global aspects of the lunar space plasma and shows the dependence on the local instability. On the lunar nightside, in the plasma void, the dominating magnetic pressure over the thermal pressure restrains the turbulence, and a quiet zone is built with

, where

is the scaling index in the ambient solar wind. Downstream in the lunar wake, ζ is elevated gradually and goes above

at a radial distance of

(lunar radius), which implies that the plasma refilling process in the lunar wake begins to generate the local turbulence. On the dayside around the subsolar point, ζ is enhanced at a low altitude of ∼200 km, where the solar wind turbulence might be strengthened due to interaction with the lunar source plasma. The largest scaling indices lie around the day–night terminator with

, and the observed dawn–dusk asymmetry could be an effect of the magnetic field not being parallel with the solar wind. The correspondence between the enhanced scaling index and the local instability also raises new questions about the description of solar wind turbulence.