Plant genetic resources: What can they contribute toward increased crop productivity?

To feed a world population growing by up to 160 people per minute, with >90% of them in developing countries, will require an astonishing increase in food production. Forecasts call for wheat to become the most important cereal in the world, with maize close behind; together, these crops will account for ≈80% of developing countries’ cereal import requirements. Access to a range of genetic diversity is critical to the success of breeding programs. The global effort to assemble, document, and utilize these resources is enormous, and the genetic diversity in the collections is critical to the world’s fight against hunger. The introgression of genes that reduced plant height and increased disease and viral resistance in wheat provided the foundation for the “Green Revolution” and demonstrated the tremendous impact that genetic resources can have on production. Wheat hybrids and synthetics may provide the yield increases needed in the future. A wild relative of maize, Tripsacum, represents an untapped genetic resource for abiotic and biotic stress resistance and for apomixis, a trait that could provide developing world farmers access to hybrid technology. Ownership of genetic resources and genes must be resolved to ensure global access to these critical resources. The application of molecular and genetic engineering technologies enhances the use of genetic resources. The effective and complementary use of all of our technological tools and resources will be required for meeting the challenge posed by the world’s expanding demand for food.

Health sciences libraries in Kuwait: a study of their resources, facilities, and services

The purpose of this study was to examine the current status of health sciences libraries in Kuwait in terms of their staff, collections, facilities, use of information technology, information services, and cooperation. Seventeen libraries participated in the study. Results show that the majority of health sciences libraries were established during the 1980s. Their collections are relatively small. The majority of their staff is nonprofessional. The majority of libraries provide only basic information services. Cooperation among libraries is limited. Survey results also indicate that a significant number of health sciences libraries are not automated. Some recommendations for the improvement of existing resources, facilities, and services are made.

Modeling and optimization of populations subject to time-dependent mutation.

It has become clear that many organisms possess the ability to regulate their mutation rate in response to environmental conditions. So the question of finding an optimal mutation rate must be replaced by that of finding an optimal mutation schedule. We show that this task cannot be accomplished with standard population-dynamic models. We then develop a "hybrid" model for populations experiencing time-dependent mutation that treats population growth as deterministic but the time of first appearance of new variants as stochastic. We show that the hybrid model agrees well with a Monte Carlo simulation. From this model, we derive a deterministic approximation, a "threshold" model, that is similar to standard population dynamic models but differs in the initial rate of generation of new mutants. We use these techniques to model antibody affinity maturation by somatic hypermutation. We had previously shown that the optimal mutation schedule for the deterministic threshold model is phasic, with periods of mutation between intervals of mutation-free growth. To establish the validity of this schedule, we now show that the phasic schedule that optimizes the deterministic threshold model significantly improves upon the best constant-rate schedule for the hybrid and Monte Carlo models.

Análise do aproveitamento múltiplo do reservatório de Barra Bonita - SP, através da aplicação de técnica de programação linear associada a modelo de rede de fluxo

O objeto deste trabalho é a análise do aproveitamento múltiplo do reservatório de Barra Bonita, localizado na confluência entre os rios Piracicaba e Tietê, no estado de São Paulo e pertencente ao chamado sistema Tietê-Paraná. Será realizada a otimização da operação do reservatório, através de programação linear, com o objetivo de aumentar a geração de energia elétrica, através da maximização da vazão turbinada. Em seguida, a partir dos resultados da otimização da geração de energia, serão utilizadas técnicas de simulação computacional, para se obter índices de desempenho conhecidos como confiabilidade, resiliência e vulnerabilidade, além de outros fornecidos pelo próprio modelo de simulação a ser utilizado. Estes índices auxiliam a avaliação da freqüência, magnitude e duração dos possíveis conflitos existentes. Serão analisados os possíveis conflitos entre a navegação, o armazenamento no reservatório, a geração de energia e a ocorrência de enchentes na cidade de Barra Bonita, localizada a jusante da barragem.

Transforming’ the Conversation: Rethinking Fair Use in Academic Course Reserves

The Association of Research Libraries' 2012 publication, Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries, focuses heavily on the concept of transformative use within the fair use analysis. In some cases, the Association of Research Libraries advocates for using the entire work in an electronic format for course reserves. However, current approaches to electronic course reserves and fair use/transformative use arguments are not conducive to utilizing the Association of Research Libraries' recommendations. This article attempts to reframe the conversation by examining fair use in a broad context and the role of the class in the fair use analysis.

A Proposed Environmental Policy for the Evaluation of State Funded Projects for use by the Utah Department of Transportation

Utah lacks a NEPA-equivalent environmental law for state funded projects. UDOT policies provide guidance on complying with NEPA but not on environmental reviews of state funded transportation projects. These projects are either not evaluated for impacts or are evaluated without a formal process, resulting in inconsistent and inadequate consideration of resources and project alternatives, with limited public involvement. This capstone provides a standard policy for UDOT. The policy incorporates elements from other state DOT polices and is based on federal NEPA, CEQ regulations, FHWA technical guidance, and existing UDOT procedures. Implementation will ensure consideration of project impacts to resources, analysis of project alternatives, encourage meaningful public involvement, and improve interagency coordination.

Improving urban park design: A comparative and analytical study addressing resources available and components necessary to improve the environmental and economic sustainability of urban parks

Urban parks have long been valued for the environmental, social, and economic benefits they provide. Increasingly, parks are also being recognized as features important for sustainable city design. This Capstone Project will identify, compare, analyze, and discuss means for designing sustainable urban parks. Recommendations for designing sustainable urban parks, based on project results, include: 1) ensure park features will support high levels of human activity; 2) use gravel to construct park trails; 3) purchase playground structures made of recycled materials; 4) plant a high number of perennials in flowerbeds and other vegetated areas; 5) plant climate-appropriate plants in vegetated areas; 6) ensure parks have high levels of plant diversity; and 7) develop future studies further exploring sustainable park design.

A Watershed Approach to Managing the Natural Resources in South Carolina

Environmental degradation from point and non-point source pollution in the past ten years has made it increasingly clear that threats to aquatic resources cannot adequately be addressed without a more integrated watershed approach to the management. Through comprehensive, qualitative interviews of experts in the watershed approach in South Carolina, recommendations will be made to improve this holistic process. Conducting interviews to compile institutional knowledge on the incentives and barriers from professionals working within the watershed approach will show how managing the natural resources in South Carolina could be more effective and efficient. By gathering experiences of lessons learned, best approach techniques, and suggestions for future watershed planning, several recommendations were made to further the use of the watershed approach in South Carolina.

Automatic extraction of syntactic semantic patterns for multilingual resources

In this paper we present an automatic system for the extraction of syntactic semantic patterns applied to the development of multilingual processing tools. In order to achieve optimum methods for the automatic treatment of more than one language, we propose the use of syntactic semantic patterns. These patterns are formed by a verbal head and the main arguments, and they are aligned among languages. In this paper we present an automatic system for the extraction and alignment of syntactic semantic patterns from two manually annotated corpora, and evaluate the main linguistic problems that we must deal with in the alignment process.

Hybrid simulation-optimization based approach for the optimal design of single-product biotechnological processes

In this work, we present a systematic method for the optimal development of bioprocesses that relies on the combined use of simulation packages and optimization tools. One of the main advantages of our method is that it allows for the simultaneous optimization of all the individual components of a bioprocess, including the main upstream and downstream units. The design task is mathematically formulated as a mixed-integer dynamic optimization (MIDO) problem, which is solved by a decomposition method that iterates between primal and master sub-problems. The primal dynamic optimization problem optimizes the operating conditions, bioreactor kinetics and equipment sizes, whereas the master levels entails the solution of a tailored mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model that decides on the values of the integer variables (i.e., number of equipments in parallel and topological decisions). The dynamic optimization primal sub-problems are solved via a sequential approach that integrates the process simulator SuperPro Designer® with an external NLP solver implemented in Matlab®. The capabilities of the proposed methodology are illustrated through its application to a typical fermentation process and to the production of the amino acid L-lysine.

Integration of modular process simulators under the Generalized Disjunctive Programming framework for the structural flowsheet optimization

The optimization of chemical processes where the flowsheet topology is not kept fixed is a challenging discrete-continuous optimization problem. Usually, this task has been performed through equation based models. This approach presents several problems, as tedious and complicated component properties estimation or the handling of huge problems (with thousands of equations and variables). We propose a GDP approach as an alternative to the MINLP models coupled with a flowsheet program. The novelty of this approach relies on using a commercial modular process simulator where the superstructure is drawn directly on the graphical use interface of the simulator. This methodology takes advantage of modular process simulators (specially tailored numerical methods, reliability, and robustness) and the flexibility of the GDP formulation for the modeling and solution. The optimization tool proposed is successfully applied to the synthesis of a methanol plant where different alternatives are available for the streams, equipment and process conditions.

Fault tolerant embedded systems design by multi-objective optimization

The design of fault tolerant systems is gaining importance in large domains of embedded applications where design constrains are as important as reliability. New software techniques, based on selective application of redundancy, have shown remarkable fault coverage with reduced costs and overheads. However, the large number of different solutions provided by these techniques, and the costly process to assess their reliability, make the design space exploration a very difficult and time-consuming task. This paper proposes the integration of a multi-objective optimization tool with a software hardening environment to perform an automatic design space exploration in the search for the best trade-offs between reliability, cost, and performance. The first tool is commanded by a genetic algorithm which can simultaneously fulfill many design goals thanks to the use of the NSGA-II multi-objective algorithm. The second is a compiler-based infrastructure that automatically produces selective protected (hardened) versions of the software and generates accurate overhead reports and fault coverage estimations. The advantages of our proposal are illustrated by means of a complex and detailed case study involving a typical embedded application, the AES (Advanced Encryption Standard).

Teachers’ Use of Inclusive Practices in Spain

The aim of this study was to examine the extent to which teachers use inclusive practices to respond to students’ special needs in their classrooms and to determine whether grade level taught, training, and availability of resources and support affect the implementation of these practices. A research survey was designed for this purpose with the participation of a representative sample of 336 general education teachers (68 kindergarten, 133 elementary, and 135 secondary education teachers) in the province of Alicante, Spain. Findings reflected a moderate use of inclusive practices, with teachers more frequently implementing general adaptations rather than substantial ones. Statistically significant differences in use of inclusive practices were found as a function of the grade level taught, training received, and availability of material resources. Results are discussed in terms of their implication for teacher education reform and training programs.

Terminology and French-Spanish business translation: evaluating terminology resources for the translation of accounting documents

This article is the English version of “Terminología y traducción económica francés-español: evaluación de recursos terminológicos en el ámbito contable” by Daniel Gallego Hernández. It was not published on the print version of MonTI for reasons of space. The online version of MonTI does not suffer from these limitations, and this is our way of promoting plurilingualism.

MINLP Optimization Algorithm for the Synthesis of Heat and Work Exchange Networks

This paper introduces a new optimization model for the simultaneous synthesis of heat and work exchange networks. The work integration is performed in the work exchange network (WEN), while the heat integration is carried out in the heat exchanger network (HEN). In the WEN synthesis, streams at high-pressure (HP) and low-pressure (LP) are subjected to pressure manipulation stages, via turbines and compressors running on common shafts and stand-alone equipment. The model allows the use of several units of single-shaft-turbine-compressor (SSTC), as well as helper motors and generators to respond to any shortage and/or excess of energy, respectively, in the SSTC axes. The heat integration of the streams occurs in the HEN between each WEN stage. Thus, as the inlet and outlet streams temperatures in the HEN are dependent of the WEN design, they must be considered as optimization variables. The proposed multi-stage superstructure is formulated in mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP), in order to minimize the total annualized cost composed by capital and operational expenses. A case study is conducted to verify the accuracy of the proposed approach. The results indicate that the heat integration between the WEN stages is essential to enhance the work integration, and to reduce the total cost of process due the need of a smaller amount of hot and cold utilities.