The Biology, Epidemiology, and Management of Rice Tungro Disease in Asia

Many farmers in South and Southeast Asia describe rice tungro disease as a cancer disease because of the severe damage it causes and the difficulty of controlling it (121). As the most important of the 14 rice viral diseases, tungro was first recognized as a leafhopper-transmitted virus disease in 1963 (88). However, tungro, which means “degenerated growth” in a Filipino dialect, has a much longer history. It is almost certain that tungro was responsible for a disease outbreak that occurred in 1859 in Indonesia, which was referred to at the time as mentek (83). In the past, a variety of names has been given to tungro, including accep na pula in the Philippines, penyakit merah in Malaysia, and yelloworange leaf in Thailand (83).

Concurrent and prospective associations between physical activity, walking and mental health in older women

Background Leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) shows promise for reducing the risk of poor mental health in later life, although gender- and age-specific research is required to clarify this association. This study examined the concurrent and prospective relationships between both LTPA and walking with mental health in older women. Methods Community-dwelling women aged 73–78 years completed mailed surveys in 1999, 2002 and 2005 for the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. Respondents reported their weekly minutes of walking, moderate LTPA and vigorous LTPA. Mental health was defined as the number of depression and anxiety symptoms, as assessed with the Goldberg Anxiety and Depression Scale (GADS). Multivariable linear mixed models, adjusted for socio-demographic and health-related variables, were used to examine associations between five levels of LTPA (none, very low, low, intermediate and high) and GADS scores. For women who reported walking as their only LTPA, associations between walking and GADS scores were also examined. Women who reported depression or anxiety in 1999 were excluded, resulting in data from 6653 women being included in these analyses. Results Inverse dose–response associations were observed between both LTPA and walking with GADS scores in concurrent and prospective models (p<0.001). Even low levels of LTPA and walking were associated with lowered scores. The lowest scores were observed in women reporting high levels of LTPA or walking. Conclusion The results support an inverse dose–response association between both LTPA and walking with mental health, over 3 years in older women without depression or anxiety.

On the feasibility of using servo-mechanisms in wireless multimedia sensor network deployments

This paper considers the use of servo-mechanisms as part of a tightly integrated homogeneous Wireless Multi- media Sensor Network (WMSN). We describe the design of our second generation WMSN node platform, which has increased image resolution, in-built audio sensors, PIR sensors, and servo- mechanisms. These devices have a wide disparity in their energy consumption and in the information quality they return. As a result, we propose a framework that establishes a hierarchy of devices (sensors and actuators) within the node and uses frequent sampling of cheaper devices to trigger the activation of more energy-hungry devices. Within this framework, we consider the suitability of servos for WMSNs by examining the functional characteristics and by measuring the energy consumption of 2 analog and 2 digital servos, in order to determine their impact on overall node energy cost. We also implement a simple version of our hierarchical sampling framework to evaluate the energy consumption of servos relative to other node components. The evaluation results show that: (1) the energy consumption of servos is small relative to audio/image signal processing energy cost in WMSN nodes; (2) digital servos do not necessarily consume as much energy as is currently believed; and (3) the energy cost per degree panning is lower for larger panning angles.

Contrast enhancement of EPID images via difference imaging : a feasibility study

In this study, the feasibility of difference imaging for improving the contrast of electronic portal imaging device (EPID) images is investigated. The difference imaging technique consists of the acquisition of two EPID images (with and without the placement of an additional layer of attenuating medium on the surface of the EPID)and the subtraction of one of these images from the other. The resulting difference image shows improved contrast, compared to a standard EPID image, since it is generated by lower-energy photons. Results of this study show that, ¯rstly, this method can produce images exhibiting greater contrast than is seen in standard megavoltage EPID images and that, secondly, the optimal thickness of attenuating material for producing a maximum contrast enhancement may vary with phantom thickness and composition. Further studies of the possibilities and limitations of the di®erence imaging technique, and the physics behind it, are therefore recommended.

Investigating the effects of preinduction on human adipose-derived precursor cells in an athymic rat model

The osteogenic potential of human adipose-derived precursor cells seeded on medical-grade polycaprolactone-tricalcium phosphate scaffolds was investigated in this in vivo study. Three study groups were investigated: (1) induced—stimulated with osteogenic factors only after seeding into scaffold; (2) preinduced—induced for 2 weeks before seeding into scaffolds; and (3) uninduced—cells without any introduced induction. For all groups, scaffolds were implanted subcutaneously into the dorsum of athymic rats. The scaffold/cell constructs were harvested at the end of 6 or 12 weeks and analyzed for osteogenesis. Gross morphological examination using scanning electron microscopy indicated good integration of host tissue with scaffold/cell constructs and extensive tissue infiltration into the scaffold interior. Alizarin Red histology and immunostaining showed a heightened level of mineralization and an increase in osteonectin, osteopontin, and collagen type I protein expression in both the induced and preinduced groups compared with the uninduced groups. However, no significant differences were observed in these indicators when compared between the induced and preinduced groups.

Metal Contaminants in Leachate from Sanitary Landfills

The uncontrolled disposal of solid wastes poses an immediate threat to public health and a long term threat to the environmental well being of future generations. Solid waste is waste resulting from human activities that is solid and unwanted (Peavy et al., 1985). If unmanaged, dumped solid wastes generate liquid and gaseous emissions that are detrimental to the environment. This can lead to a serious form of contamination known as metal contamination, which poses a risk to human health and ecosystems. For example, some heavy metals (cadmium, chromium compounds, and nickel tetracarbonyl) are known to be highly toxic, and are aggressive at elevated concentrations. Iron, copper, and manganese can cause staining, and aluminium causes depositions and discolorations. In addition, calcium and magnesium cause hardness in water causing scale deposition and scum formation. Though not a metal but a metalloid, arsenic is poisonous at relatively high concentrations and when diluted at low concentrations causes skin cancer. Normally, metal contaminants are found in a dissolved form in the liquid percolating through landfills. Because average metal concentrations from full-scale landfills, test cells, and laboratory studies have tended to be generally low, metal contamination originating from landfills is not generally considered a major concern (Kjeldsen et al., 2002; Christensen et al., 1999). However, a number of factors make it necessary to take a closer look at metal contaminants from landfills. One of these factors relates to variability. Landfill leachate can have different qualities depending on the weather and operating conditions. Therefore, at one moment in time, metal contaminant concentrations may be quite low, but at a later time these concentrations could be quite high. Also, these conditions relate to the amount of leachate that is being generated. Another factor is biodiversity. It cannot be assumed that a particular metal contaminant is harmless to flora and fauna (including micro organisms) just because it is harmless to human health. This has significant implications for ecosystems and the environment. Finally, there is the moral factor. Because uncertainty surrounds the potential effects of metal contamination, it is appropriate to take precautions to prevent it from taking place. Consequently, it is necessary to have good scientific knowledge (empirically supported) to adequately understand the extent of the problem and improve the way waste is being disposed of

Camera calibration in wireless multimedia sensor networks

Wireless Multi-media Sensor Networks (WMSNs) have become increasingly popular in recent years, driven in part by the increasing commoditization of small, low-cost CMOS sensors. As such, the challenge of automatically calibrating these types of cameras nodes has become an important research problem, especially for the case when a large quantity of these type of devices are deployed. This paper presents a method for automatically calibrating a wireless camera node with the ability to rotate around one axis. The method involves capturing images as the camera is rotated and computing the homographies between the images. The camera parameters, including focal length, principal point and the angle and axis of rotation can then recovered from two or more homographies. The homography computation algorithm is designed to deal with the limited resources of the wireless sensor and to minimize energy con- sumption. In this paper, a modified RANdom SAmple Consensus (RANSAC) algorithm is proposed to effectively increase the efficiency and reliability of the calibration procedure.

Organ printing

Organ printing techniques offer the potential to produce living 3D tissue constructs to repair or replace damaged or diseased human tissues and organs. Using these techniques, spatial variations along multiple axes with high geometric complexity can be obtained.. The level of control offered by these technologies to develop printed tissues will allow tissue engineers to better study factors that modulate tissue formation and function, and provide a valuable tool to study the effect of anatomy on graft performance. In this chapter we discuss the history behind substrate patterning and cell and organ printing, and the rationale for developing organ printing techniques with respect to limitations of current clinical tissue engineering strategies to effectively repair damaged tissues. We discuss current 2-dimensional and 3-dimesional strategies for assembling cells as well as the necessary support materials such as hydrogels, bioinks and natural and synthetic polymers adopted for organ printing research. Furthermore, given the current state-of-the-art in organ printing technologies, we discuss some of their limitations and provide recommendations for future developments in this rapidly growing field.

The blogification of Australian journalism? Notes from the election

My overall contention is that from Mark Latham to Grogsgate, from Tony’s speedos to Julia’s treasonous lack of handbags, Australian political journalism hasn’t exactly wowed us with the quality of its coverage these past months – with ample help, it should be noted, from the two sides of politics and the respective small target strategies themselves. Tim Dunlop has gone as far as to suggest that during the election we’ve seen politics and the media locked in a death spiral (http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/35594.html) – an observation we might want to take up in the panel discussion – but even without the dramatic language the overall tendency has been that of a race to the bottom in the quality of political discourse in this country, with very few exceptions. And as a result, trust in journalism – the professional esteem in which journalists are held by their audiences – has been steadily declining for some time. Australian journalists are hardly alone in this, of course: this decline is a dynamic which has been observed in many other nations, too.

Exploring the Pro‐Am interface between production and produsage

This conference celebrates the passing of 40 years since the establishment of the Internet (dating this, presumably, to the first connection between two nodes on ARPANET in October 1969). For a gathering of media scholars such as this, however, it may be just as important not only to mark the first testing of the core technologies upon which much of our present‐day Net continues to build, but also to reflect on another recent milestone: the 20th anniversary of what is today arguably the chief interface through which billions around the world access and experience the Internet – the World Wide Web, launched by Tim Berners‐Lee in 1989.

Mapping the Australian networked public sphere

This article reports on a research program that has developed new methodologies for mapping the Australian blogosphere and tracking how information is disseminated across it. The authors improve on conventional web crawling methodologies in a number of significant ways: First, the authors track blogging activity as it occurs, by scraping new blog posts when such posts are announced through Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds. Second, the authors use custom-made tools that distinguish between the different types of content and thus allow us to analyze only the salient discursive content provided by bloggers. Finally, the authors are able to examine these better quality data using both link network mapping and textual analysis tools, to produce both cumulative longer term maps of interlinkages and themes, and specific shorter term snapshots of current activity that indicate current clusters of heavy interlinkage and highlight their key themes. In this article, the authors discuss findings from a yearlong observation of the Australian political blogosphere, suggesting that Australian political bloggers consistently address current affairs, but interpret them differently from mainstream news outlets. The article also discusses the next stage of the project, which extends this approach to an examination of other social networks used by Australians, including Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr. This adaptation of our methodology moves away from narrow models of political communication, and toward an investigation of everyday and popular communication, providing a more inclusive and detailed picture of the Australian networked public sphere.

Dark humour invigorates familiar fables ; a review

THEATRE: Grimm Tales. By Carol Ann Duffy and Tim Supple. Queensland Theatre Company, Brisbane. November 16. QUEENSLAND Theatre Company concludes its season with Grimm Tales, Carol Ann Duffy and Tim Supple's adaptation of classic cautionary tales as set down by the Brothers Grimm in the 19th century. This programming decision is clearly designed to present fun family entertainment as Christmas approaches. In Grimm Tales, well-known stories such as Hansel and Gretel, Snow White and Rumpelstiltskin pack a little more punch than in your standard picture book. Duffy and Supple's play is by no means the sort of poetic, postmodern or politicised adaptation of the fairytale we see from writers such as Angela Carter, and it is not intended to be subversive or to question the social and gender assumptions that underpin the tales. Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar. End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar. Rather, a return to the grislier original incarnations of the tales - the wicked stepsisters who lop off parts of their feet to fit the slipper and win the prince, or the hare so confused by the hedgehog's stratagem to make him think he is losing the race, he runs himself to death - has a comic effect. In this production, directed by Michael Futcher, heightened performances from some of Brisbane's best comic and physical actors, live music and an open, acknowledged relationship with the audience establish the atmosphere for the piece. While the production is a little sombre and slow to start with the first tale, Hansel and Gretel, the knowingness and almost slapstick quality with which the cast plays out the gruesome, scatological or silly moments in the other tales are well pitched to carry the comedy. The action is supported by a fantastic set by Greg Clarke of wooden planked walls, stairs and walkways which, with the help of David Walter's lighting design, is transformed into forests, ballrooms and castles as the cast moves up, over and under it. The overall highlight is probably the cast Futcher has brought together. Established QTC actors Eugene Gilfedder, Lucas Stibbard and Scott Witt, and emerging QTC actor Melanie Zanetti, join Liz Buchanan, Dan Crestani and Emma Pursey, all well known for their independent work in Brisbane but making their mainstage debut for the QTC. Every one of them metamorphoses with ease from character to character, human to animal, and central player to support. There is nothing particularly new in Grimm Tales, and it doesn't try to do anything more (or, indeed, less) than entertain, but skilful direction and a strong cast ensure it succeeds on those terms.

Fleshed out comic yarn : a review

Calendar Girls. By Tim Firth. Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Brisbane, April 10. AN adaptation of the 2003 film of the same name, Calendar Girls is a light piece of entertainment. Following the death of her husband John from leukaemia, Annie and her friend Chris convince the members of their local Yorkshire Women's Institute to pose for a nude calendar to raise funds to refurbish the local hospital's run-down relatives' room. This premise -- and the opportunities for comic engagement it entails -- drives the plot of Tim Firth's stage adaptation of Calendar Girls.