Progress in front propagation research

We review the progress in the field of front propagation in recent years. We survey many physical, biophysical and cross-disciplinary applications, including reduced-variable models of combustion flames, Reid's paradox of rapid forest range expansions, the European colonization of North America during the 19th century, the Neolithic transition in Europe from 13 000 to 5000 years ago, the description of subsistence boundaries, the formation of cultural boundaries, the spread of genetic mutations, theory and experiments on virus infections, models of cancer tumors, etc. Recent theoretical advances are unified in a single framework, encompassing very diverse systems such as those with biased random walks, distributed delays, sequential reaction and dispersion, cohabitation models, age structure and systems with several interacting species. Directions for future progress are outlined

Diamond synthesis by lasers: recent progress

This paper provides an up-to-date critical review of methods for diamond synthesis by lasers. A provisional classification of synthesizing methods is carried out, in order to present a varied and heterogeneous experimental work that is as clear as possible. Laser diamond CVD methods involve chemical processes in a carbon-containing system induced by specific absorption of laser radiation, while diamond PVD methods involve physical processes induced by an intense, highly-directed laser beam. Different methods involving coupled, simultaneous action of lasers and classic CVD agents are suggested and discussed as prospective approaches for diamond synthesis.

Progress of soybean charcoal rot under tillage and no-tillage systems in Brazil

The increase in incidence of charcoal rot caused by Macrophomina phaseolina on soybeans (Glycine max) was followed four seasons in conventional and no-till cropping systems. In the 1997/98 and 2000/01 seasons, total precipitation between sowing and harvest reached 876.3 and 846.9 mm, respectively. For these seasons, disease incidence did not differ significantly between the no-till and conventional systems. In 1998/99 and 1999/00 precipitation totaled 689.9 and 478.3 mm, respectively. In 1998/99, in the no-till system, the disease incidence was 43.7% and 53.1% in the conventional system. In 1999/00 the final incidence was 68.7% and 81.2% for the no-till and conventional systems, respectively. For these two seasons, precipitation was lower than that required for soybean crops (840 mm), and the averages of disease incidence were significantly higher in the conventional system. The concentration of microsclerotia in soil samples was higher in samples collected in conventional system at 0 - 10 cm depth. However, analysis of microsclerotia in roots showed that in years with adequate rain no difference was detected. In dry years, however, roots from plants developed under the conventional system had significantly more microsclerotia. Because of the wide host range of M. phaseolina and the long survival times of the microsclerotia, crop rotation would probably have little benefit in reducing charcoal rot. Under these study conditions it may be a better alternative to suppress charcoal rot by using the no-till cropping system to conserve soil moisture and reduce disease progress.

Temporal progress of southern rust in maize under different environmental conditions

The progress of the severity of southern rust in maize (Zea mays) caused by Puccinia polysora was quantified in staggered plantings in different geographical areas in Brazil, from October to May, over two years (1995-1996 and 1996-1997). The logistic model, fitted to the data, better described the disease progress curves than the Gompertz model. Four components of the disease progress curves (maximum disease severity; area under the disease progress curve, AUDPC; area under the disease progress curve around the inflection point, AUDPCi; and epidemic rate) were used to compare the epidemics in different areas and at different times of planting. The AUDPC, AUDPCi, and the epidemic rate were analyzed in relation to the weather (temperature, relative humidity, hours of relative humidity >90%, and rainfall) and recorded during the trials. Disease severity reached levels greater than 30% in Piracicaba and Guaíra in the plantings between December and January. Lower values of AUDPC occurred in later plantings at both locations. The epidemic rate was positively correlated (P < 0.05) with the mean daily temperatures and negatively correlated with hours of relative humidity >90%. The AUDPC was not correlated with any weather variable. The AUDPCi was negatively related to both variables connected to humidity, but not to rain. Long periods (mostly >13 h day-1) of relative humidity >90% (that corresponded to leaf wetness) occurred in Castro. Severity of southern rust in maize has always been low in Castro, thus the negative correlations between disease and the two humidity variables.

The progress and obstacles of implementing and improving e-government in Islamic Republic of Iran

To improving efficiency and transparency of government services, government authorities may increase the frequency of interaction between citizens and government as well as improving the quality of the government services and trust. Electronic Government (E-Government) in definition is the delivery of government services to citizens, businesses, and government organizations through the use of internet, web based applications, and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is the solution to build more reliable and efficient contact with citizens. Like the developing and developed countries, Iran also has been processing the various aspects of ICT, IT, and e-Government. Though, in order to implement and improve e-Government; Iran has faced with some obstacles. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to study progress of e- Government and identify obstacles of implementing and improving e Government in Iran. In this thesis, based on the literature review, the progress of e-Government in Iran was studied and various obstacles were identified. Therefore, as a result, e- Government of Iran is said to be in the transactional stage of the United Nations’ e-Government maturity stages. In addition, establishing more reliable, efficient, and accurate e-Government initiatives, plans, guidelines, and strategies will extremely enhance e-Government status of Iran. On the other hand, the needs of the citizens should always be under consideration when implementing and improving e-Government services; because citizens are considered to be at the core of every e-Government services and the responsibilities of the authorities.

Progress of Asian soybean rust and airborne urediniospores of Phakopsora pachyrhizi in southern Brazil

Asian soybean rust, caused by the fungus Phakopsora pachyrhizi, was reported at epidemic levels in 2003/2004 and is the main soybean disease in Brazil. The aim of this study was to investigate the spread of Asian soybean rust and to quantify airborne urediniospores in the region of Campo Mourão, Paraná State, Brazil. Three experiments were conducted under field conditions during the 2007/08 and 2008/09 crop seasons. Using the disease gradient method, provided by the application of increasing levels of the fungicide tebuconazole, four Asian soybean rust epidemics at different intensities were obtained in each experiment. To quantify the urediniospores, weathercock-type spore collectors were installed during and between the two crop seasons. Disease progress curves were plotted for each epidemic, and maximum severity was estimated. The curves were fit to the logistic model, which provided higher coefficients of determination and more randomly distributed residuals plotted over time. Analyses of the area under the disease progress curve showed that the largest epidemics occurred in the 2007/2008 crop season and that the progress rates were higher for severity, even among plants protected with the fungicide. The number of urediniospores collected in the air was related to the presence of soybean plants in the cultivated crops. The quantity of urediniospores was also positively correlated to the disease severity and incidence, as well as to cumulative rainfall and favorable days for P. Pachyrhizi infection.

Truth, laws and the progress of science

In this paper I analyze the difficult question of the truth of mature scientific theories by tackling the problem of the truth of laws. After introducing the main philosophical positions in the field of scientific realism, I discuss and then counter the two main arguments against realism, namely the pessimistic meta-induction and the abstract and idealized character of scientific laws. I conclude by defending the view that well-confirmed physical theories are true only relatively to certain values of the variables that appear in the laws.

The Progress and Challenges of the e-Government Initiatives and Implementation in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

The Electronic Government (e-Government) means delivering the services and information to the citizens and businesses through the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in order to enable them to interact more effectively with the government, and to increase the quality of the services. As many other governments in the developed and developing countries, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has embarked on the e-Government initiatives. This study revealed that there are various challenges which affect the e-Government in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), but also a lot of e-Government progress has happened. In addition, based on the United Nations’ e-Government maturity level benchmarking, the e-Government in the KRI is at the interactive stage. In this study the services that the citizens want from the government in order to implement an appropriate e-Government were also identified.

Thoughts on work-in-progress crowdsourcing metrics of digital collections

The presentation consists of work-in-progress metrics of #digitalkoot, the crowdsourcing project launched by National Library of Finland