Molecular survey of porcine teschovirus, porcine sapelovirus, and enterovirus G in captive wild boars (Sus scrofa scrofa) of Paraná state, Brazil

AbstractPorcine teschovirus (PTV), porcine sapelovirus (PSV), and enterovirus G (EV-G) are infectious agents specific to pig host species that are endemically spread worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the natural infection by these porcine enteric picornaviruses in wild boars (Sus scrofa scrofa) of Paraná state, Brazil, and to evaluate peccaries (Pecari tajacu and Tayassu pecari) as alternative host species for these viruses. Fecal samples (n=36) from asymptomatic wild boars (n=22) with ages ranging from 2 to 7 months old (young, n=14) and 2 to 4 years old (adult, n=8) and from peccaries (6 to 8 months old, n=14) were collected from a farm and a zoo, respectively, both located in Paraná state. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and nested-PCR (n-PCR) assays targeting the 5'non-translated region of the virus genome were used for screening the viruses. Porcine enteric picornaviruses were detected in 12 out of the 22 wild boar fecal samples. According to each of the viruses, EV-G was most frequently (11/22, 50%) detected, followed by PTV (10/22, 45.5%) and PSV (4/22, 18.2%). Regarding the age groups, young wild boars were more frequently (9/14, 64.3%) infected with PTV, PSV, and EV-G than adult animals (3/8, 37.4%). One n-PCR amplified product for each of the viruses was submitted to sequencing analysis and the nucleotide sequences were compared with the related viruses, which showed similarities varying from 97.7% to 100% for PTV, 92.4% to 96.2% for PSV, and 87.1% to 100% for EV-G. Peccaries tested negative for the viruses and in this study they did not represent infection reservoirs. This study is the first to report the molecular detection of PTV, PSV, and EV-G from captive wild boars in a South American country and the first to screen peccaries as alternative host species for porcine enteric picornavirus.

Global instability of currencies: reasons and perspectives according to the state-corporation hegemonic stability theory

This paper analyses reasons of the instability of the world monetary system. The author considers this problem from historical and contemporary perspectives. According to presented point of view banknotes and electronic money which replaced gold and silver coins in popular circulation are the most important reason of the instability. There are also proven positive and negative consequences of money instability. Reforms of the world monetary system need agreement within the global collective hegemony of state-powers and transnational corporations.

Characterization of the state transition in the cyanobacterium synechococcus sp. 7002 and a phycobilisome-less Mutant

ABSTRACT Photosynthetic state transitions were investigated in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 in both wild-type cells and mutant cells lacking phycobilisomes. Preillumination in the presence of DCMU (3(3,4 dichlorophenyl) 1,1 dimethyl urea) induced state 1 and dark adaptation induced state 2 in both wild-type and mutant cells as determined by 77K fluorescence emission spectroscopy. Light-induced transitions were observed in the wildtype after preferential excitation of phycocyanin (state 2) or preferential excitation of chlorophyll .a. (state 1). The state 1 and 2 transitions in the wild-type had half-times of approximately 10 seconds. Cytochrome f and P-700 oxidation kinetics could not be correlated with any current state transition model as cells in state 1 showed faster oxidation kinetics regardless of excitation wavelength. Light-induced transitions were also observed in the phycobilisomeless mutant after preferential excitation of short wavelength chlorophyll !l. (state 2) or carotenoids and long wavelength chlorophyll it (state 1). One-dimensional electrophoresis revealed no significant differences in phosphorylation patterns of resolved proteins between wild-type cells in state 1 and state 2. It is concluded that the mechanism of the light state transition in cyanobacteria does not require the presence of the phycobilisome. The results contradict proposed models for the state transition which require an active role for the phycobilisome.

Advocating recognition and redistribution in poverty alleviation programs in Ghana : an examination of state and NGO programs and policies

Abstract This thesis argues that poverty alleviation strategies and programs carried out by the government and Non Governmental Organizations in Ghana provide affirmative solutions to poverty. This is because, these intervention strategies have been influenced by conventional discourses on poverty that fail to adequately address non-economic issues of poverty such as powerlessness, marginalization and tmder-representation. The study is carried out in a two-pronged manner; first, it analyses state policies and strategies, particularly the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS), on poverty alleviation and compares these to NGO programs, implemented with funds and support from external donor organizations. Specifically, I focus on how NGOs and the governnlent of Ghana negotiate autonomy and financial dependency with their funding donor-partners and how these affect their policies and programs. Findings from this study reveal that while external influences dominate poverty alleviation policies and strategies, NGOs and the government of Ghana exercise varying degrees of agency in navigating these issues. In particular, NGOs have been able to adapt their programs to the changing needs of donor markets, and are also actively engaged in re-orienting poverty back to the political domain through advocacy campaigns. Overall, rural communities in Ghana depend on charitable NGOs for the provision of essential social services, while the Ghanaian government depends on international donor assistance for its development projects.

Human amygdala responses during presentation of happy and neutral faces: correlations with state anxiety

BACKGROUND: Previous functional imaging studies demonstrating amygdala response to happy facial expressions have all included the presentation of negatively valenced primary comparison expressions within the experimental context. This study assessed amygdala response to happy and neutral facial expressions in an experimental paradigm devoid of primary negatively valenced comparison expressions. METHODS: Sixteen human subjects (eight female) viewed 16-sec blocks of alternating happy and neutral faces interleaved with a baseline fixation condition during two functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. RESULTS: Within the ventral amygdala, a negative correlation between happy versus neutral signal changes and state anxiety was observed. The majority of the variability associated with this effect was explained by a positive relationship between state anxiety and signal change to neutral faces. CONCLUSIONS: Interpretation of amygdala responses to facial expressions of emotion will be influenced by considering the contribution of each constituent condition within a greater subtractive finding, as well as 1) their spatial location within the amygdaloid complex; and 2) the experimental context in which they were observed. Here, an observed relationship between state anxiety and ventral amygdala response to happy versus neutral faces was explained by response to neutral faces.

Quantities, units and symbols in physical chemistry, 3rd edition

The first IUPAC Manual of Symbols and Terminology for Physicochemical Quantities and Units (the Green Book) of which this is the direct successor, was published in 1969, with the object of 'securing clarity and precision, and wider agreement in the use of symbols, by chemists in different countries, among physicists, chemists and engineers, and by editors of scientific journals'. Subsequent revisions have taken account of many developments in the field, culminating in the major extension and revision represented by the 1988 edition under the simplified title Quantities, Units and Symbols in Physical Chemistry. This 2007, third edition, is a further revision of the material which reflects the experience of the contributors with the previous editions. The book has been systematically brought up to date and new sections have been added. It strives to improve the exchange of scientific information among the readers in different disciplines and across different nations. In a rapidly expanding volume of scientific literature where each discipline has a tendency to retreat into its own jargon this book attempts to provide a readable compilation of widely used terms and symbols from many sources together with brief understandable definitions. This is the definitive guide for scientists and organizations working across a multitude of disciplines requiring internationally approved nomenclature.

A left-ear disadvantage for the presentation of irrelevant sound: manipulations of task requirements and changing state

Three experiments attempted to clarify the effect of altering the spatial presentation of irrelevant auditory information. Previous research using serial recall tasks demonstrated a left-ear disadvantage for the presentation of irrelevant sounds (Hadlington, Bridges, & Darby, 2004). Experiments 1 and 2 examined the effects of manipulating the location of irrelevant sound on either a mental arithmetic task (Banbury & Berry, 1998) or a missing-item task (Jones & Macken, 1993; Experiment 4). Experiment 3 altered the amount of change in the irrelevant stream to assess how this affected the level of interference elicited. Two prerequisites appear necessary to produce the left-ear disadvantage; the presence of ordered structural changes in the irrelevant sound and the requirement for serial order processing of the attended information. The existence of a left-ear disadvantage highlights the role of the right hemisphere in the obligatory processing of auditory information. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier Inc.

Data assimilation for state and parameter estimation: application to morphodynamic modelling

Data assimilation is predominantly used for state estimation; combining observational data with model predictions to produce an updated model state that most accurately approximates the true system state whilst keeping the model parameters fixed. This updated model state is then used to initiate the next model forecast. Even with perfect initial data, inaccurate model parameters will lead to the growth of prediction errors. To generate reliable forecasts we need good estimates of both the current system state and the model parameters. This paper presents research into data assimilation methods for morphodynamic model state and parameter estimation. First, we focus on state estimation and describe implementation of a three dimensional variational(3D-Var) data assimilation scheme in a simple 2D morphodynamic model of Morecambe Bay, UK. The assimilation of observations of bathymetry derived from SAR satellite imagery and a ship-borne survey is shown to significantly improve the predictive capability of the model over a 2 year run. Here, the model parameters are set by manual calibration; this is laborious and is found to produce different parameter values depending on the type and coverage of the validation dataset. The second part of this paper considers the problem of model parameter estimation in more detail. We explain how, by employing the technique of state augmentation, it is possible to use data assimilation to estimate uncertain model parameters concurrently with the model state. This approach removes inefficiencies associated with manual calibration and enables more effective use of observational data. We outline the development of a novel hybrid sequential 3D-Var data assimilation algorithm for joint state-parameter estimation and demonstrate its efficacy using an idealised 1D sediment transport model. The results of this study are extremely positive and suggest that there is great potential for the use of data assimilation-based state-parameter estimation in coastal morphodynamic modelling.

Evaluating the legacies of state-building: success, failure, and the role of responsibility

What impact do international state-building missions have on the domestic politics of states they seek to build, and how can we measure this impact with confidence? This article seeks to address these questions and challenge some existing approaches that often appear to assume that state-builders leave lasting legacies rather than demonstrating such influence with the use of carefully chosen empirical evidence. Too often, domestic conditions that follow in the wake of international state-building are assumed to follow as a result of international intervention, usually due to insufficient attention to the causal processes that link international actions to domestic outcomes. The article calls for greater appreciation of the methodological challenges to establishing causal inferences regarding the legacies of state-building and identifies three qualitative methodological strategies—process tracing, counterfactual analysis, and the use of control cases—that can be used to improve confidence in causal claims about state-building legacies. The article concludes with a case study of international state-building in East Timor, highlighting several flaws of existing evaluations of the United Nations' role in East Timor and identifying the critical role that domestic actors play even in the context of authoritative international intervention

State practice, customary humanitarian law and civilian casualties of armed conflict

The article examines the customary international law credentials of the humanitarian law rules proposed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICR) in 2005. It relies on the BIICL/Chatham House analysis as a ‘constructive comment’ on the methodology of the ICRC study and the rules formed as a result of that methodology with respect to the dead and missing as an aid to determination of their customary law status. It shows that most of the rules studied have a customary international lawpedigree which conforms to the conclusions formed on the rules generally in the Wilmshurst and Breau study. However, the rules with respect to return of personal effects, recording location of graves and notification of relatives of access to gravesites do not seem to have even on a majoritarian/deductive approach enough volume of state practice to establish them as customary with respect to civilians.

Science learning and graphic symbols: an exploration of early years teachers’ views and use of graphic symbols when teaching science

The study investigated early years teachers’ understanding and use of graphic symbols, defined as the visual representation(s) used to communicate one or more “linguistic” concepts, which can be used to facilitate science learning. The study was conducted in Cyprus where six early years teachers were observed and interviewed. The results indicate that the teachers had a good understanding of the role of symbols, but demonstrated a lack of understanding in regards to graphic symbols specifically. None of the teachers employed them in their observed science lesson, although some of them claimed that they did so. Findings suggest a gap in participants’ acquaintance with the terminology regarding different types of symbols and a lack of awareness about the use and availability of graphic symbols for the support of learning. There is a need to inform and train early years teachers about graphic symbols and their potential applications in supporting children’s learning.

Study of absorption spectrum and dynamics evaluation of the indocyanine-green first singlet excited state

Excited state absorption and excited state dynamics of indocyanine-green (ICG) dissolved in dymethyl sulfoxide were measured using white-light continuum Z-scan (WLCZScan) and white-light continuum pump-probe (WLCPP) techniques. The excited state absorption spectrum, obtained through Z-scan measurements, revealed saturable absorption (SA) for wavelengths longer than 630 nm, while reverse saturable absorption (RSA) appeared, as indicated by a band at approximately 570 nm. Both processes were modeled by a three-energy-level diagram, from which the excited state cross-section values were determined. SA and RSA were also observed in pump-probe experiments, with a recovery time in the hundreds of picoseconds time scale due to the long lifetime of the first excited state of ICG. Such results contribute to the understanding of ICG optical properties, allowing application in photonics and medicine. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Estimation and evaluation of dynamic properties as indicators of changes on soil structure in sugarcane fields of São Paulo State - Brazil

The indiscriminate management and use of soils without moisture control has changed the structure of it due to the increment of the traffic by agricultural machines through the years, causing in consequence, a soil compaction and yield reduction in the areas of intensive traffic. The purpose of this work was to estimate and to evaluate the performance of preconsolidation pressure of the soil and shear stress as indicators of changes on soil structure in fields cropped with sugarcane, as well as the impact of management processes in an Eutrorthox soil structure located in São Paulo State. The experimental field was located in Piracicaba's rural area (São Paulo State, Brazil) and has been cropped with sugarcane, in the second harvest cycle. The soil was classified by Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA) [Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA), 1999. Centro Nacional de Pesquisa de Solos. Sistema Brasileiro de Classificao de Solos, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA), Brasilia, 412 pp.] as an Eutrorthox. Undisturbed samples were collected and georeferenced in a grid of 60 m x 60 m from two depths: 0-0.10 m (superficial layer - SL) and in the layer of greatest mechanical resistance (LGMR), previously identified by cone index (CI). The investigated variables were pressure preconsolidation (sigma(p)), apparent cohesion (c) and internal friction angle (phi). The conclusions from the results were that the SLSC was predicted satisfactorily from up as a function of soil moisture; thus, decisions about machinery size and loading (contact pressures) can be taken. Apparent cohesion (c), internal friction angle (phi) and the Coulomb equation were significantly altered by traffic intensity. The sigma(p), c and phi maps were shown to be important tools to localize and visualize soil compaction and mechanical resistance zones. They constitute a valuable resource to evaluate the traffic impact in areas cropped with sugarcane in State of São Paulo, Brazil. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Grapevine bacterial canker in the State of São Paulo, Brazil: detection and eradication

Sintomas do cancro bacteriano da videira na variedade Red Globe foram observados em agosto de 2009 em pomar de Tupi Paulista, Estado de São Paulo, Brasil, e o agente causal Xanthomonas campestris pv. viticola foi identificado por meio de testes patológicos e moleculares. O procedimento de erradicação foi adotado e aproximadamente 4.700 plantas foram destruídas. Um levantamento realizado nas regiões produtoras do Estado de São Paulo não encontrou nenhum outro pomar contaminado, e essa espécie bacteriana é considerada ausente neste estado.

A comparative solid state C-13 NMR and thermal study of CO2 capture by amidines PMDBD and DBN

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)