bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Structural Analysis of Mold Temperature Dependence of Polycarbonate by Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy
Authors: Nagai Naoto , Nishiyama Itsuo , Ito Hidemi
Published: September 2013

The mold temperature dependence of bisphenol A polycarbonate (BPAPC) in the view of changing the “flexed state” was investigated by mid-infrared spectroscopy combined with a previously developed thin sample preparation system. The differences in the samples of different mold temperatures were clearly detected. The structural changes in the flexed state of each mold temperature were analyzed by comparing the results using dielectric function analysis of different cutting procedures. Some structure parameters were associated with the contact angle of liquids on polymer plate. The evidence suggests that mold temperature and surface wettability affects the cohesive or entanglement state of polymers at the chemical structure level.
Towards a Comparative Approach to Demonology in Antiquity: The Case of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia
Authors: Lucarelli Rita
Published: September 2013

This essay provides a general introduction to demonology in antiquity as well as a focus on ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. It is also meant as an introduction to those papers which were originally presented at the international conference titled “Evil Spirits, Monsters and Benevolent Protectors: Demonology in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia,” held on April 23, 2012 at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World of New York University, contained in the first section of this volume. Questions of the definition and function of demons in ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations are raised and discussed in light of a comparative approach to the study of ancient religions.
Divine Taxonomy in the Underworld Books
Authors: Manassa Colleen
Published: September 2013

The Underworld Books provide a unique perspective on divine taxonomy, juxtaposing gods with large, formal cults with gods whose existence is predicated on their membership within constellations of other netherworldly divinities. Examination of the ontological status of deities within the “Catalog” of the Book of Amduat and the Great Litany of the Book of Adoring Re in the West (a.k.a. The Litany of Re), including their use in non-funerary contexts, reveals a new definition for daimones within Egyptian theology.
Mesopotamian Conceptions of the Supernatural: A Taxonomy of Zwischenwesen
Authors: Sonik Karen
Published: September 2013

The monsters and daimons (demons) of Mesopotamia belonged to a constellation of Zwischenwesen - interstitial beings with supernatural qualities or capacities - that occupied the space between humans and their gods. As the “Other,” if not always the enemy, their alterity was not only inscribed in their bodies but also reflected in their social alienation and geographical isolation. Strikingly imagined, where depicted or described, as morphologically anomalous or miscegenated (Mischwesen), the monsters and daimons lacked the kinship affiliations of both citydwelling humans and their gods and properly dwelt at the wild and inhospitable margins of the known world. This study explores their definition, functioning, and classification in a cosmos in which the overarching conflict was between order and chaos rather than good and evil, in which divinely organized and guarded civilization was ever threatened by the pressing and savage forces gathered in the wilderness beyond the city walls.
The Head of Humbaba
Authors: Graff Sarah B.
Published: September 2013

A large corpus of terracotta plaques bearing the image of the demon Humbaba/ Huwawa, a major character in the Gilgamesh epic, have been excavated from late third and early second millennium BCE contexts at numerous sites in Mesopotamia. This essay explores the motif of Humbaba’s severed head within its ancient Near Eastern context in order to demonstrate that the head differs from other images of decapitation, as a representation whose supernatural power is unaffected by death. It concludes that the terracotta plaques were interpreted in sophisticated and multivalent ways by ancient audiences: as visual narratives representing a key moment in the epic; as apotropaic images displayed to guard transitions; and as important omens recorded in the past, which had the potential to reappear in the present.
The Corpse Daemon Antinoos
Authors: Németh György
Published: September 2013

On the basis of the preserved evidence, corpse daemons were practically employed in two specific fields: in love magic and in chariot racing. In this respect, the material of our sources seems significant: in Egyptian papyri the daemons are primarily used in erotic magic, whereas in lead tablets they are meant to manipulate chariot races. The study examines all known occurrences of nekydaimones, analyzing their functions and names, whenever referred to in the sources.
Bodiless Docetists and the Daimonic Jesus: Daimonological Discourse and Anti-Docetic Polemic in Ignatius’ Letter to the Smyrnaeans
Authors: Proctor Travis W.
Published: September 2013

In his Letter to the Smyrnaeans, Ignatius of Antioch condemns his opponents to a “bodiless” and “daimonic” afterlife, and also quotes an apocryphal resurrection tradition wherein the risen Jesus eschews the label “bodiless daimon.” Ignatius, therefore, defines both Jesus’ and his opponents’ physiology in terms of the ‘daimonic’; but what would such an existence have entailed in antiquity? In what follows, I explore the rhetorical functions of Ignatius’ daimonic terminology by situating it within larger discourses surrounding daimonic physiologies. I contend that Ignatius’ daimonological terminology not only caricatures the docetic belief in a bodiless risen Jesus, but also condemns Ignatius’ opponents to a morose afterlife that runs directly counter to their anticipations. When contextualized within his letters more generally, Ignatius’ derisive rhetoric solidifies his construction of ‘docetic’ Christians: they are evil, sub-human, and daimonic, the epitome of the ‘other,’ doomed to inhabit the cosmic and societal margins, and unworthy of interaction with Ignatius’ fellow ‘orthodox’ Christians.
Sampling and storage conditions influencing the measurement of parathyroid hormone in blood samples: a systematic review
Authors: Hanon Elodie A. , Sturgeon Catharine M. , Lamb Edmund J.
Published: September 2013

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) is relatively unstable: optimisation of pre-analytical conditions, including specimen type, sampling time and storage conditions, is essential. We have undertaken a systematic review of these pre-analytical conditions. An electronic search of the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, Centre for Research and Dissemination and Bandolier databases was undertaken. Of 5511 papers identified, 96 underwent full text review, of which 83 were finally included. At room temperature PTH was stable in ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) preserved whole blood for at least 24 h and in EDTA plasma for at least 48 h after venepuncture. Losses were observed in clotted blood samples after 3 h and in serum after 2 h. At 4°C PTH was more stable in EDTA plasma (at least 72 h) than serum (at least 24 h). Central venous PTH concentrations were higher than peripheral venous concentrations. In the northern hemisphere, PTH concentrations were higher in winter than summer. PTH has a circadian rhythm characterised by a nocturnal acrophase and mid-morning nadir. Data related to frozen storage of PTH (−20°C and −80°C) were limited and contradictory. We recommend that blood samples for PTH measurement should be taken into tubes containing EDTA, ideally between 10:00 and 16:00, and plasma separated within 24 h of venepuncture. Plasma samples should be stored at 4°C and analysed within 72 h of venepuncture. Particular regard must be paid to the venepuncture site when interpreting PTH concentration. Further research is required to clarify the suitability of freezing samples prior to PTH measurement.
Standing Outside Bleak House
Authors: Auyoung Elaine
Published: September 2013

This essay argues that Charles Dickens’s imaginative interest in barriers to knowledge and perception throughout Bleak House (1852–53) amplifies and attunes us to the reader’s position of exteriority with respect to the implied fictional world. Whereas novel readers readily describe the act of reading in terms of metaphoric transport to a fictional world, Dickens refuses to obscure the ever-present divide between readers and the absent objects of their sustained attention. In particular, he exposes the reader’s surprisingly limited ability to “fill in” components of the fictional world that the text leaves underspecified. While these areas of indeterminacy do not deter readers from claiming to enjoy intimate access to fictional persons and scenes, they nonetheless lay bare the underacknowledged constraints upon that access. By self-referentially dramatizing the reader’s position as an outsider even as he undertakes to draw readers into his story, Dickens brings us face-to-face with a more intricate phenomenology of reading.
Disturbing Aesthetics
Authors: Gatlin Jill
Published: September 2013

Jill Gatlin, “Disturbing Aesthetics: Industrial Pollution, Moral Discourse, and Narrative Form in Rebecca Harding Davis’s ‘Life in the Iron Mills’” (pp. 201–233)

This essay reevaluates the historical, literary, cultural, and ecological significance of Rebecca Harding Davis’s “Life in the Iron Mills” (1861) in the context of industrial pollution. Situating the story in relation to contemporaneous debates regarding the benefits and hazards of coal smoke, I extend the work of historians who have overlooked the influence of moralizing rhetoric on early understandings of industrial waste and workers. As Davis contests idealized equations of smoke with economic equality, progress, and health, she also delineates the spatial stratification determining laborers’ debilitating exposure to smoke and censures the paternalistic proclivity to blame the poor for pollution and prescribe their moral improvement. I argue that Davis undermines moralizing pollution discourse by crafting an aesthetic of disturbance through her narrative form and construction of readers, which departs from sentimental, realist, gothic, and pastoral formal features that critics have associated with the story. Entering the frame story, readers must reconsider their spatial and social positionality as well as their affective response to pollution. Davis positions readers to move beyond self-stabilizing, dismissive disgust to interactive empathy that prompts them to confront their complicity in workers’ oppression and classification as waste. Intervening in nascent pollution discourse with more complexity than many nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century writers and reformers would, “Life in the Iron Mills” disrupts popular, gothic, and pastoral accounts of moral, corporeal, and spatial purity regulating the aesthetic and material category of the human in toxic industrial environments.
An earth systems engineering perspective on geoengineering
Authors: Allenby Brad
Published: September 2013

The growing recognition of the inadequacies of the Kyoto Protocol and the ongoing climate change negotiating process has led to increasing interest in large-scale technology modification of earth systsems – ‘geoengineering’ – as a response. Although it is important to identify alternatives, technological and otherwise, to help mitigate the effects of, and adapt to, climate change, geoengineering techniques as currently understood are naïve and potentially very risky. An earth systems engineering and management perspective enables a deeper understanding of the challenges raised by technological solutions, and suggests means by which geoengineering approaches might be modified to be both more effective and less risky.
Systems-of-systems analysis of national infrastructure
Authors: Hall Jim W. , Henriques Justin J. , Hickford Adrian J. , Nicholls Robert J.
Published: September 2013

National infrastructure is as much a priority in countries with a large stock of ageing infrastructural assets as it is for rapidly industrialising economies. Increasing attention is being paid to the risk and opportunities that the growing interdependence between infrastructural systems brings. However, there is no current methodology to enable long-term planning and future performance assessment of interdependent infrastructural systems. This paper makes the case for a long-term, cross-sectoral approach to analysing and planning the performance of national infrastructure systems. Such an approach is required to develop credible long-term visions for infrastructure provision and to analyse system performance across a range of possible futures. A preliminary version of a system-of-systems analysis for the UK is presented as an example. The implementation of a comprehensive, model-based approach is currently well under way.
Complex adaptive systems engineering and risk reduction
Authors: Brown Theresa J. , Conrad Stephen H. , Beyeler Walter E. , Glass Robert J.
Published: September 2013

Complex adaptive systems are central to many persistent problems locally and globally. In cases where the effects of a policy play out slowly and propagate through interdependencies with other systems, the broader view and understanding gained from complex adaptive system analyses allow us to recognise the causal relationships involved and solve persistent system-level issues. This is particularly true with the risks due to climate change, economic crises, energy disruptions and food insecurity. Climate change and the challenge of addressing the resulting global risks provides a common set of problems on which to build a global community of practice that utilises earth systems' engineering approaches and sustainability goals to understand and resolve problems in complex adaptive systems of systems. Structural adaptation under environmental stress, simple rules for entity interactions and condition-dependent behaviours are key attributes of complex systems. These attributes provide the means for creating models that behave the way the real system does and for the same reasons, improving understanding and designing effective solutions. This paper presents general concepts for infrastructure adaptation and examples of successful applications of an expanded engineering process for complex systems of systems.
‘Build back better’ principles for land-use planning
Authors: Mannakkara Sandeeka , Wilkinson Suzanne
Published: September 2013

This paper examines post-disaster land-use planning practices for risk reduction using ‘build back better’ (BBB) principles. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the 2009 Victorian bushfires were chosen as case studies to explore to what extent BBB principles were implemented, as well as their implications and lessons learnt for future practice. Successes and challenges faced in both cases were similar, allowing the establishment of universally applicable BBB-based land-use planning recommendations. Ongoing multi-hazard assessments must be conducted and used to create risk zone maps, which should be employed to plan developments and enforce planning and building regulations. High-risk lands should be avoided for residential and commercial developments by using strategies such as buy-back schemes. Consideration of social issues and community needs must be a priority during relocation. Keeping the community informed and educated is essential. Engineers and planners should use these principles in post-disaster as well as pre-disaster periods to reduce risks and build safe communities.
The 2010 Citizens Clean Elections Voter Education Guide: Constructing the “Illegal Immigrant” in the Arizona Voter
Authors: Whitney Justin G.
Published: September 2013

This “essay” (article) is a close and critical look at The 2010 Citizens Clean Elections Voter Education Guide, a document made available to the Arizona public prior to the 2010 state General elections. Though the guide is described as “a nonpartisan, plain-language handbook” by its authors, it can be implicated in the production and reproduction of a discursive process that further constructs a degraded notion of both undocumented individuals and immigration. Many of the politicians that published statements in the guide continually associate undocumented immigrants and immigration with both the use of firearms and with crime in general. Additionally, I find that the majority of politicians in this document perpetuate this demeaning, violent, and inaccurate discourse for personal political gain. In conclusion, I argue for the expanded role of education concerning the effects of discursive forces in the United States.
Estimating the total π-electron energy
Authors: Gutman Ivan , Das Kinkar
Published: September 2013

The paper gives a short survey of the most important lower and upper bounds
for total ?-electron energy, i.e., graph energy (E). In addition, a new lower
and a new upper bound for E are deduced, valid for general molecular graphs.
The strengthened versions of these estimates, valid for alternant conjugated
hydrocarbons, are also reported.
The effect of fluvial environments on sediment bleaching and Holocene luminescence ages — A case study from the German Alpine Foreland
Authors: Schielein Patrick , Lomax Johanna
Published: September 2013

This study investigates the potential of luminescence to date deposits from different fluvial sedimentary environments; namely point bar deposits, sandy and silty channel fills and floodplain sediments. Samples were taken from Holocene (<5 ka) terraces of the Lech and Danube rivers, for which independent age constraint is available through 14C ages, archaeological data and historical maps. OSL-ages were obtained using small aliquots of coarse grain quartz for the majority of samples. Two further samples were dated by the IRSL-signals of polymineral fine grain extracts, as no sufficient number of coarse grains could be extracted from these sediments. In order to detect and ac-count for incomplete bleaching, we used the decision process suggested by Bailey and Arnold [Statistical modelling of single grain quartz De distributions and an assessment of procedures for estimating burial dose. Quaternary Science Reviews 25, 2475–2502, 2006]. Although their model was designed for single grains of quartz, our study shows that it is also applicable to multiple grains of quartz, pro-vided that a low number of luminescent grains is present on one aliquot. Luminescence ages of point bar deposits and a sandy channel fill correspond most closely to the independent age control. In the floodplain, sand-striped floodplain channel deposits were incompletely bleached to a moderate degree, yielding ages with acceptable overestimations, while fine-grained floodplain deposits were worst bleached. One crevasse splay deposit was so severely incompletely bleached that none of the age models was able to yield accurate ages.
Aspects of Infrared Radioluminescence dosimetry in K-feldspar
Authors: Varma Vaidehi , Biswas Rabiul , Singhvi Ashok
Published: September 2013

Infrared radioluminescence (IRRL) of K-feldspar, detected at peak wavelength of 865 nm, is emerging as a potential geochronometric tool. The present study explores and attempts to optimize the IRRL dating protocols and proposes a revised protocol for estimation of palaeodose. UV light (395 nm; 700 mW/cm2) bleach of 800 s was optimum to remove the trapped charges responsible for IRRL and, reduced the interference of radio-phosphorescence due to prior irradiations. Validation of the proposed protocol was carried out by dose recovery tests on mineral and sediment K-feldspar samples of different provenances. An overestimation in dose recovery was observed and was attributed to difference in sensitivity of natural IRRL and regenerated IRRL. The sensitivity changes were significant and systematic and were documented by repeating bleach-IRRL cycles. Corrections for sensitivity changes between natural and regenerated IRRL, gave reliable results and, have now been included in the proposed dating protocol.
ESR geochronology of the Minjiang River terraces at Wenchuan, eastern margin of Tibetan Plateau, China
Authors: Liu Chun-Ru , Yin Gong-Ming , Zhang Hui-Ping , Zheng Wen-Jun , Voinchet Pierre , Han Fei , Wang Duo , Song Wei-Juan , Bahain Jean-Jacques
Published: September 2013

The Minjiang River terrace along the Longmen Shan fault zone near Wenchuan, at the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, China, provides archives for tectonic activity and quaternary climate change. However, previous studies were not able to provide ages older than 100 ka due to the limitations of dating material or/and methods applied to date the fluvial sediments. In this study, we used the ESR signal of the Ti-Li center in quartz to obtain the ages of four higher terraces (T3–T6). According to the results, the terraces T3 to T6 were formed at 64±19 ka, 101±15 ka, 153±33 ka, and 423±115 ka, respectively. Combined with previous studies, these results indicate that the formations of all terraces correspond to glacial/interglacial transition periods, such as, T1-T5 being correlated to MIS2/1, MIS4/3, MIS5d/5c, and MIS6/5e respectively, while T6 probably to MIS12/11. According to these data, it is found that the average incision rate was significantly higher over the last 150 ka than that previous 100 ka (250 to 150 ka). As both tectonics and climate have affected the formation of these terraces, in addition to the overall uplifting of Tibetan Plateau, the regional uplift due to isostasy would be an additional tectonic factor in the formation of river terraces in the eastern margin of Tibetan plateau.
Detailed protocol for an accurate non-destructive direct dating of tooth enamel fragment using Electron Spin Resonance
Authors: Joannes-Boyau Renaud
Published: September 2013

In the context of human evolution, fossil remains are too valuable to be destroyed and any alteration should be kept to a minimum. The newly developed protocol on fossil fragments has open the gate for ‘virtually’ non-destructive ESR (Electron Spin Resonance) direct dating of human remains. The method allows the separation of unstable and interfering signals that were responsible for large dose underestimation. While a complete investigation of the ESR signal remains a complex task and requires numerous hours of manipulations, a rapid dose assessment protocol can be achieve without compromising the accuracy nor the integrity of the sample. The new protocol should be used for future dating regardless of the possibility of measuring powder.
Thermally assisted OSL: A potent tool for improvement in minimum detectable dose and extension of dose range of Al2O3:C
Authors: Soni Anuj , Mishra Devesh , Bhatt Bhuwan , Gupta Shiv , Rawat Narendra , Kulkarni Mukund , Sharma Devanand
Published: September 2013

The influence of electron-phonon interaction on the shape of the optically stimulated luminescence decay curve of Al2O3:C has been studied using thermally assisted optically stimulated luminescence (TA-OSL). The minimum detectable dose (MDD) of a phosphor depends on the standard deviation of the background signal which affects the signal-to-noise ratio. The standard deviation of the background signal reduces at lower stimulation light intensity while the readout time increases. Further, measurement at higher temperature enhances the OSL signal with faster decay due to the temperature dependence of photo-ionization cross-section. To achieve the same decay constant and more signal, the temperature of measurement was raised. As a result of lowering the stimulation in-tensity at higher temperature (85°C) the overall MDD of α-Al2O3:C was found to improve by 1.8 times. For extension of dose linearity in higher range, deeper traps were studied by simultaneous application of CW-OSL and thermal stimulation up to 400°C, using a linear heating rate of 4K/s. By using this method, two well defined peaks at 121°C and 232°C were observed. These TA-OSL peaks have been correlated with two deeper defects which can be thermally bleached at 650°C and 900°C respectively. These deeper defects are stable up to 500°C, so they can store absorbed dose information even if the sample is inadvertently exposed to light or heat. The dose vs. TA-OSL response from deep traps of α-Al2O3:C was found to be linear up to 10 kGy, thus extending its application for high dose dosimetry.
Successful treatment of lower eyelid epiblepharon by injection of botulinum toxin A in patients under two years of age
Authors: Chen CY , Nava-Castaneda Angel
Published: September 2013

Introduction: Epiblepharon is characterized by a cutaneous horizontal fold adjacent to the lid margin. Some cases showed spontaneous resolution, others required surgical treatment. We propose a medical treatment with botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A). Objective: To provide clinical evidence of the usefulness of botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) in patients with lower eyelid epiblepharon. Subjects and methods: This was a prospective, non-randomized, nonmasked study. Patients with lower eyelid epiblepharon with corneal eyelash contact were included in the study. The scale proposed by Khwarg & Lee (1997) was used to assess the epiblepharon clinical evaluation. A single dose of 12.5 IU of BTX-A (Dysport ®) was directly injected into the medial pre-tarsal orbicularis muscle region in the lower eyelid. Patients were evaluated before the injection and at 1, 4, 12 and 24 weeks after the injection. We performed descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test, comparing prior injection measurements to post injection measurements at the 24th week. A p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Each eye was separately analyzed. Results: Fourteen eyes of seven Hispanic patients were treated, five female and two male. The mean age was 8.4 months (4 - 14 months). The height of the skin-fold, the area of the cornea touched by the cilia and the symptoms score improved after the first week of BTX-A injection and remained so until the end of study (p < 0.05). No major complications were noted. Conclusion: The effect of a single 12.5 IU injection of BTX-A (Dysport ®) into the medial orbicularis muscle portion in the lower eyelid epiblepharon patients successfully improves the clinical signs and symptoms. Nepal J Ophthalmol 2013; 5(10): 177-181 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/nepjoph.v5i2.8709
Traumatic avulsion and bilateral eye loss: report of two cases
Authors: Roki Narayani , Roka YB , Acharya R
Published: September 2013

Background: The optic nerve and the globes are resistant to mild to moderate trauma and bilateral avulsion of the eyes is rare with only a few cases reported in the literature. Case: We report two cases of traumatic bilateral eye avulsion. The first case was secondary to a bear bite and was managed successfully, although the eyes were not salvageable whereas the second case which was due to physical assault expired due to associated severe head injury. Conclusion: Traumatic bilateral globe avulsion/loss is a rare complication of trauma. In developing countries like Nepal, poverty, forest encroachment activities, extensive deforestation, frequent domestic disturbances and lack of education are some of the circumstances that increase the probability of such visual injuries. Nepal J Ophthalmol 2013; 5(10): 272-274 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/nepjoph.v5i2.8743
Conjunctival impression cytology
Authors: Sapkota K
Published: September 2013

Nepal J Ophthalmol 2013; 5(10): 284-285 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/nepjoph.v5i2.8747
Theology and Sustainability in Oil-Producing Norway
Authors: Bjelland Grønvold Jens
Published: September 2013

This article attempts to draft the constructive role religion can play in a rich, oil-producing Western country. The article presents a brief history of environmental commitment within the Church of Norway, and shows how this commitment is making an impact both theologically and politically. Theologically, the result is a reorientation of classic, anthropocentric theology toward a more biocentric theology in which all of creation is viewed as equally important. As a concretization of such a theology, this article looks to the circle of life advocated by the Sami theologian Tore Johnsen. Bridging theology and politics, this article also presents the commitment of Bishop Tor Berger Jørgensen in the political debate about oil exploration in certain areas off the coast of his diocese. Jørgensen's commitment and Johnsen's work are examples of how Christian churches can address the global ecological crisis using their best tool: theology.
Inspiring Sustainability beyond Sustainability: Sustainable Development and the Ultimate Hindu Purpose
Authors: Narayanan Yamini
Published: September 2013

The fundamental sustainability tension may be said to lie in reconciling want and greed. This places the human self or the human soul as a moral battleground where desire and duty constantly attempt to triumph over each other. However, desire must be understood and integrated as part of a fully self-conscious human self in order to enable a consistent and unwavering performance of duty. In this article, I propose the Hindu notion of the purusharthas, or the fourfold path to self-actualization, as one illustrative example of a green telos. The purusharthas prescribe a path comprising of material and sensuous experience, in obedience to dharma or duty, such that moksha or a state of complete self-awareness may be achieved. I suggest that the stage of dharma is thus where the most profitable connections between Hinduism and sustainable development might be made.
Efficacy of Malathion for Controlling Red Pumpkin Beetle, Aulacophora foveicollis (Lucas) in Cucurbitaceous Vegetables
Authors: Hasan MK , Uddin MM , Haque MA
Published: September 2013

An experiment was conducted to study the efficacy of Malathion at different doses against red pumpkin beetle, Aulacophora foveicollis (Lucas) in Field Laboratory of the Department of Entomology, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh. Three cucurbit hosts such as sweet gourd (Var. BARI sweet gourd1), bitter gourd (Var. Hybrid Nepali) and bottle gourd (Var. Kajla) were selected to conduct the research with three different doses viz. 0.4%, 0.5% and 0.6% of Malathion. Among the three doses of Malathion it was revealed that minimum number of leaf attack per plant, number of twig attack per plant, and average leaf area damage by red pumpkin beetle was found when the plants were treated with 0.5% and the maximum damage was observed in case of 0.4% Malathion application. The efficacy of the insecticide reduced with increasing time intervals of spraying. Considering the efficacy in reducing the leaf area damage at all the time intervals spraying 5% Malathion was found as the most effective in controlling red pumpkin beetle in three different cucurbit hosts. The efficacy of Malathion was similar on three different cucurbit hosts.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/pa.v22i1-2.16462 Progress. Agric. 22(1 & 2): 11 - 18, 2011
Productive and Reproductive Performance of Different Crossbred Cattle at Sylhet Govt. Dairy Farm
Authors: Haque MN , Haque MR , Parvin A , Hussain MM
Published: September 2013

The study was conducted at Sylhet Govt. dairy farm to evaluate the productive and reproductive performance of Jersey× Frisian (J×F), Jersey × Local (J×L) and Sahiwal × Local (SL×L.) crossbred during the period of April 2007 to August 2009. Data on milk yield and different reproductive traits like lactation length, milk yield, length of dry period, service per conception, gestation length and post-partum heat period were evaluated. Results indicated that milk yield, length of dry period, service per conception and post-partum heat period were significantly affected (P<0.01) by different crossbred. However, lactation length and service per conception were significantly affected (P<0.01) by parity and interaction of breed × parity. The highest lactation length was observed for the genotype Jersey × Friesian (J×F) and the lowest was Jersey × Local (J×L) in the first and second lactation. The highest milk yield was observed for the genotype J×F and the lowest was J×L. The highest length of dry period was observed in SL× L and lowest was J×F. Furthermore maximum services were required for J×F. The highest gestation length was observed for genotype SL×L. The highest post-partum heat period was observed J×F. The overall reproductive performance of different crossbreds were varied.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/pa.v22i1-2.16466 Progress. Agric. 22(1 & 2): 47 - 54, 2011
Host Determinant Based Prevalence of Ticks and Lice in Cattle (Bos indicus) at Bogra District of Bangladesh
Authors: Bilkis MF , Mondal MMH , Rony Sa , Islam MA , Begum N
Published: September 2013

A cross section survey was carried out during the period from April to September, 2009 in different villages of Bogra district in Bangladesh to know the prevalence of ticks and lice in relation to age, sex, breed and body condition of cattle.  Out of 250 randomly selected cattle, 142 (56.8%) were found infested with one or more species of ticks and lice.  Among ticks, the prevalence rate was highest in case of Haemaphysalis bispinosa (31.2%) followed by Rhipicephalus sanguineus (29.2%), Boophilus microplus (27.2%) and only one species of louse Haematopinus eurysternus (23.2%). The range of parasitic burden was 1 to 16 per four square inch of heavily infested area of affected cattle. Mean parasitic burden was high in case of Haematopinus eurysternus (4.71 ± 0.35) followed by Rhipicephalus sanguineus (4.56 ± 0.29), Boophilus microplus (4.25±0.15) and Haemaphyalis bispinosa (2.85 ± 0.17). Results indicated that prevalence was significantly (P<0.01) higher in young cattle aged >1-3 years (68.0%) than calves aged ?1 year age (46.15%) and adults aged >3 years (45.2%). Infestation of tick and lice was significantly higher (P<0.05) in female (64.63%) than the male (41.86%). Infestation was more prevalent in local (72.32%) breed than the crossbred (44.2%) cattle. Cattle with poor body condition were found to be significantly (P<0.01) more vulnerable to such parasitic infestation than of cattle having normal body condition. It is concluded that tick and lice prevalence is alarming and threatening to the cattle population and host determinants play a vital role in the frequent occurrence of these ectoparasites in the study area.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/pa.v22i1-2.16468 Progress. Agric. 22(1 & 2): 65-73, 2011
Factors Affecting the Development and Hatching of Eggs and the Survival of Infective Larvae of Haemonchus contortus in Laboratory Condition
Authors: Ashad FA , Anisuzzaman M , Begum N , Dey AR , Mondal MMH
Published: September 2013

Haemonchus contortus Rudolphi, 1803, a blood-sucking worm living in abomasum, poses possibly the greatest threat to the livestock production. Here, we studied the effects of various environmental and nutritional factors on the development and hatching of eggs, development and survival of larvae of H. contortus.  We incubated eggs at different temperature gradients, humidity and pH in phosphate buffer saline (PBS), tap water (TW) and normal saline (NS) using serum and/or liver extract at different concentrations.  We obtained maximum hatching of eggs (39.73%) at 26ºC by day 5. Moulting started from day 4 and maximum number of L2 (23.11%) developed at day 5 at 26ºC and the highest number of L3 (26.81%) were detected at day 7 at 26ºC. No developments of eggs were observed, and hatching did not occur at pH 2. Better hatching of eggs (43.84%) were recorded in the relative humidity (RH) of ³ 80-90%. Light had no significant effects on the development and hatching of eggs of H. contortus. Maximum eggs hatched in PBS containing 15% serum and 10% liver extract. Besides, in this medium survival rate of larvae was the highest (39.51%). The present study suggests that PBS containing 15% serum and 10% liver-extract may be used as a suitable medium for the incubation of eggs of H. contortus.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/pa.v22i1-2.16469 Progress. Agric. 22(1 & 2): 75-83, 2011
Does Feeding System Influence Parasitism in Black Bengal Goats in Bangladesh?
Authors: Rabbi AKMA , Islam A , Anisuzzaman M , Majumder S , Rahman MH
Published: September 2013

To study the parasitism in goats in relation to different feeding systems, 1110 goats from different areas of Jaypurhat, Tangail, Netrakona and Mymensingh districts were examined. By fecal sample examination, 76.5% goats were found to be infected with one or more species of endoparasites. In this study, 9 types of helminths ova were identified such as Fasciola gigantica (14.8%), Paramphistomum sp. (28.5%), Schistosoma indicum (3.2%), strongyles (35%), Strongyloides sp. (17.4%), Toxocara spp. (1.5%), Trichuris sp. (4.6%), Capillaria sp. (1.2%) and Moniezia sp. (3.7%). Two types of protozoa were also detected, namely, Eimeria sp. (7.1%) and Balantidium coli (5.5%). Along with these, five species of ectoparasites were found: two species were lice such as Damilinia caprae (13.9 %) and Linognathus vitulli (4.2%), and two species were ticks namely, Haemophysalis bispinosa (21.2%), Rhipicaphalus (Boophilus) microplus (3.6%) and one species was mite, namely, Demodex sp. (2.9%). Mean parasitic burden of Paramphistomum sp. (259.81 ± 3.35) was the highest followed by Eimeria sp. (224.1 ± 16.9) and Moniezia sp. (204.9 ± 19.7). Prevalence of helminths and protozoa was significantly (P<0.01) highest in extensive system (86.1%) followed by semi-intensive (76.3%) and intensive system (57.5%). Ova of Schistosoma indicum was absent in the fecal sample of goats of intensive system. Goats of extensive and semi-intensive systems were 4.6 and 2.4 times more susceptible to helminth infection than those of intensive system. Ectoparasitic infestation was the highest in semi-intensive system (59.7%) followed by extensive system (33.5%) and intensive system (8.2%). In conclusion, the present study suggests that feeding system has a great impact on the prevalence of parasites in Black Bengal goats. Further study can be carried out to determine the effect of parasitism in the production performance of Black Bengal goats.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/pa.v22i1-2.16470 Progress. Agric. 22(1 & 2): 85-95, 2011
Quality Assessment of Giant Freshwater Prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) in Ice Storage Condition Collected from Selected Farms and Depots
Authors: Haider MN , Faridullah M , Reza MS , Hossain MF , Kamal M , Islam MN
Published: September 2013

This study was conducted to evaluate the quality changes in an important crustacean species giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii (locally called golda) at various stages of handling. The samples under study were obtained from farms and depots of four golda producing districts viz. Khulna, Bagerhat, Jessore and Norial area by determining organoleptic and biochemical aspects. The golda samples stored in ice immediately after harvest were in acceptable condition for seven days after harvesting period while the samples obtained from depots from all stations were in acceptable condition for 4 days only. There was a large fall of protein solubility and ATPase activity in all the samples obtained from farms and depots. The fall of solubility and ATPase activity was faster in samples obtained from depots compared to the samples obtained from farm immediately after harvest. The large fall of protein solubility and ATPase activity of samples indicated the denaturation of protein during ice storage.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/pa.v22i1-2.16476 Progress. Agric. 22(1 & 2): 139-149, 2011
Time-Space Flexibility and Work: Analyzing the “Anywhere and Anytime Office” in the Entertainment, New Media, and Arts Sector
Authors: Valoura Leila
Published: September 2013

The applied cultural analysis work presented in this article was conducted with independent professionals who work in a flexible time-space format – known as telework – for the entertainment, new media, and arts sector in the Los Angeles area. Most participants are associates of the production and post-production boutique “Studio Can” as well as the curatorial new media and arts nonprofit organization “PalMarte.” When working in a flexible time-space format, boundaries between leisure/family life and work at home, or personal and public realms, tend to become blurred. This blurred context involves a web of cultural complexity that exists behind the materialization of boundaries. Through empirical material, this article examines rhythms and mechanisms between flexibility and stability, unveiling a viscous consistency of everyday life. This work helps to better understand the relation between leisure/family life and work at home, as well as stability and change, to rethink these realms and how they relate to each other but also how they transform one another. Although culturally different, these realms are bridged through the material culture that surrounds them. As conveyors, objects (such as a heating pad) and activities culturally transport participants between realms. Research methods combined time-diaries, interviews, observation, visual ethnography, and autoethnography. While applying academic knowledge into a non-academic setting to rethink realms and how they relate and transform each other in a bridged relationship, this work is also an invitation to rethink the relationship between the realms of academia and non-academia.
Invisible Lines Crossing the City: Ethnographic Strategies for Place-making
Authors: Hyler Samantha
Published: September 2013

Helsingborg, a coastal city in southern Sweden, initiated a long-term re-development project called H+ in 2009, aiming to convert industrial harbor space in the city’s south into a new, livable urban neighborhood and city center. The project aims to create an open and ’tolerant city’ in Helsingborg over the next twenty years. In 2010-2011, H+ used an open-source planning method as a strategy to incorporate multiple working methods and ideas into the planning process. As a cultural analyst, my role with the H+ project and the City of Helsingborg was to mediate social and cultural perspectives and development strategies between plan-ners and citizens. Focusing the project’s vision towards incorporating existing communities and their values, I applied an ethnographic method to culturally map Helsingborg’s social cityscapes. Cultural mapping integrates social and physical places into one map. It is a useful methodological tool in accessing ’cultural’ knowledge, translating ethnographic data into usable maps for city planners in the process of developing the H+ area. This article addresses how ethnographic meth-ods and cultural mapping engages with and revitalizes city planning, essentially a process of place-making the H+ area. An applied cultural analytical approach provokes planning practices and questions how and if planning can be more open and inclusive through deeper understandings of unique places that emerge from the relationships between people and spaces. The ’invisible,’ yet well-known, segregating line (a street called Trädgårdsgatan) in Helsingborg creates a particular condition that the city must contend with in order to achieve its vision of a ’toler-ant city.’
Yours in Revolution: Retrofitting Carlos the Jackal
Authors: Thomas Samuel
Published: September 2013

This paper explores the representation of ’Carlos the Jackal’, the one-time ’World’s Most Wanted Man’ and ’International Face of Terror’ – primarily in cin-ema but also encompassing other forms of popular culture and aspects of Cold War policy-making. At the centre of the analysis is Olivier Assayas’s Carlos (2010), a transnational, five and a half hour film (first screened as a TV mini-series) about the life and times of the infamous militant. Concentrating on the various ways in which Assayas expresses a critical preoccupation with names and faces through complex formal composition, the project examines the play of ab-straction and embodiment that emerges from the narrativisation of terrorist violence. Lastly, it seeks to engage with the hidden implications of Carlos in terms of the intertwined trajectories of formal experimentation and revolutionary politics.
Initial Steps towards Biocontrol in Hops: Successful Colonization and Plant Growth Promotion by Four Bacterial Biocontrol Agents
Authors: Maurer Katja , Zachow Christin , Seefelder Stefan , Berg Gabriele
Published: September 2013

Verticillium wilt, caused by Verticillium nonalfalfae and V. dahliae, is a devastating disease in hops that can cause considerable economic crop losses. The perennial use of hops combined with the long persistence of the pathogen in soil make it difficult to suppress the disease with conventional measures. Biological control agents (BCA) are the basis of an environmentally friendly plant protection strategy that uses plant promotion and antagonistic effects of microorganisms. We evaluated the effect of four selected beneficial bacterial strains, Burkholderia terricola ZR2-12, Pseudomonas poae RE*1-1-14, Serratia plymuthica 3Re4-18, and Stenotrophomonas rhizophila DSM14405T for their use in hops. All strains were shown to be both rhizosphere and endorhiza competent, and their abundances ranged from log10 3.0 to log10 6.2 CFU g−1 root fresh weight in the endorhiza and from log10 2.9 to log10 4.7 CFU g−1 root fresh weight in the rhizosphere with B. terricola ZR2-12 showing the highest overall cell densities. Microscopic visualization of DsRed-labeled transformants with confocal laser scanning microscopy showed different colonization patterns and confirmed the rhizosphere competence. Growth promoting effects on seedlings treated with bacteria were found for S. plymuthica 3Re4-18 and S. rhizophila DSM14405T. Competent colonization and plant growth promoting effects are the most important prerequisites towards efficient biocontrol.
Antibiotic Usage Prior and During Hospitalization for Clinical Severe Pneumonia in Children under Five Years of Age in Rabat, Morocco
Authors: Jroundi Imane , Benmessaoud Rachid , Mahraoui Chafiq , Moraleda Cinta , Tligui Houssain , Seffar Myriam , Benjelloun Badr , Vila Jordi , Ruiz Joaquim , Alonso Pedro , Bassat Quique
Published: September 2013

Scarce and limited epidemiological, clinical and microbiological data are available regarding pediatric respiratory tract infections in the Kingdom of Morocco, a middle-income country in Northwestern Africa. Data on antibiotic usage for such infections are also scarce. A good understanding of pre-admission and intra-hospital usage of antibiotics in children with respiratory infections linked with an adequate surveillance of the antibiotic susceptibility from circulating pathogens could help policy makers improve their recommendations on management of respiratory infections. We hereby present data on antibiotic usage prior and during admission and antibiotic susceptibility of major circulating respiratory pathogens in children under five years of age admitted to the Hôpital d’Enfants de Rabat, Morocco, with a diagnosis of clinical severe pneumonia (using World Health Organization (WHO) standardized case definitions) during a period of 14 months (November 2010–December 2011), as part of a larger hospital-based surveillance study designed to understand the etiology and epidemiology of severe pneumonia cases among children.
Algorithms for Computing the Triplet and Quartet Distances for Binary and General Trees
Authors: Sand Andreas , Holt Morten , Johansen Jens , Fagerberg Rolf , Brodal Gerth , Pedersen Christian , Mailund Thomas
Published: September 2013

Distance measures between trees are useful for comparing trees in a systematic manner, and several different distance measures have been proposed. The triplet and quartet distances, for rooted and unrooted trees, respectively, are defined as the number of subsets of three or four leaves, respectively, where the topologies of the induced subtrees differ. These distances can trivially be computed by explicitly enumerating all sets of three or four leaves and testing if the topologies are different, but this leads to time complexities at least of the order n3 or n4 just for enumerating the sets. The different topologies can be counte dimplicitly, however, and in this paper, we review a series of algorithmic improvements that have been used during the last decade to develop more efficient algorithms by exploiting two different strategies for this; one based on dynamic programming and another based oncoloring leaves in one tree and updating a hierarchical decomposition of the other.