An agronomic evaluation of new safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) germplasm for seed and oil yields under Mediterraean climate conditions

Interest in oilseed crops for agro-industrial research and development projects has increased in the Mediterranean area, in recent years. Saffloower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is of potential interest for agriculture mainly due to fatty acid content variability in the seed oil. The aim of this study was to assess the agronomic performance of 16 new safflower accessions together with safflower variety Montola 2000, used as a reference, in a semi-arid environment. Research was carried out in Sicily (Italy) from 2013–2014. Hierarchical cluster analysis carried out on the fatty acid composition of safflower accessions resulted in their division into four main groups. Linoleic, oleic and palmitic acids were the main fatty acids present in the accessions. Seed yield was 1.11 t ha-1 on average and seed oil content was found to be approximately 35.01% of dry matter on average. Positive and significant relationships between seed/oil yield and other tested traits were found. The carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen content as a percentage of dry matter varied greatly both for the above- and belowground plant parts on average. This study confirms the interest of safflower for both food and non-food applications, offering interesting prospects in semi-arid regions

Soft Concurrent Constraint Programming

Soft constraints extend classical constraints to represent multiple consistency levels, and thus provide a way to express preferences, fuzziness, and uncertainty. While there are many soft constraint solving formalisms, even distributed ones, by now there seems to be no concurrent programming framework where soft constraints can be handled. In this paper we show how the classical concurrent constraint (cc) programming framework can work with soft constraints, and we also propose an extension of cc languages which can use soft constraints to prune and direct the search for a solution. We believe that this new programming paradigm, called soft cc (scc), can be also very useful in many web-related scenarios. In fact, the language level allows web agents to express their interaction and negotiation protocols, and also to post their requests in terms of preferences, and the underlying soft constraint solver can find an agreement among the agents even if their requests are incompatible.Comment: 25 pages, 4 figures, submitted to the ACM Transactions on Computational Logic (TOCL), zipped file

Hubungan Penggunaan Alat Kontrasepsi Suntik Depomedroksi Progesteron Asetat (Dmpa) Dengan Tekanan Darah Pada Ibu Di Puskesmas Ranotana Weru

: Contraception that has become the choice of mothers is the type of injectable contraceptive. However injectable contraceptive also have many side effects such as changes in blood pressure, menstrual disorders, depression, increased vaginal discharge, acne, changes in libido, weight changes, dizziness, headaches and hematoma. The purpose of research to determine the relationship between use of injectable contraceptive Depo Medroksi Progesterone Acetate (DMPA) with changes in blood pressure in the mother in Puskesmas Ranotana Weru. The study design used is descriptive analytic design with cross sectional approach. The sampling technique is by using purposive sampling with a sample of 98 respondents. The results using statistical test of chi-square values obtained P = 0.021 <α = 0.05. Conclusion significant relationship between use of injectable contraceptive Depo Medroksi Progesterone Acetate (DMPA) and Blood Pressure Changes in the mother in Puskesmas Ranotana Weru

static and dynamic response of titanium alloy produced by electron beam melting

Abstract The suitability of Titanium alloys for many specialized applications requiring excellent performances at both static and dynamic strain rates, benefits of modern manufacturing technologies like the additive manufacturing, oriented toward the obtainment of complicated component shapes. The EBM methodology for the production of Ti6Al4V components is based on the localized melting of alloy powders by way of guided electron beams scanning the powder volume by successive planar trajectories; for this reason, the whole production process may confer a certain degree of anisotropy to the components. The material behavior of the EBM alloy may be orientation-dependent in terms of stress-strain elastoplastic response as well as in terms of damage sensitivity and ductile fracture under given triaxiality histories. The static and dynamic behavior of a sintered Ti6Al4V alloy is investigated here by way of quasistatic tension-torsion tests and dynamic tensile Hopkinson bar (SHTB) tests. The outcome of the latter experiments, compared to similar tests results from the literature concerning Ti alloy obtained by classical metallurgical techniques, gives some indications about how the technological process may affect the final performance of the material and the component

Validation of Low-Cost Driving Simulator Based on Continuous Speed Profiles

[EN] The number of road safety studies that are based on driving simulators is growing significantly. The Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain, developed a low-cost driving simulator for the assessment, training, and rehabilitation of drivers (SE2RCO). The main objective of this research was the validation of the driving simulator so that studies about road safety and highway geometric design that considered human factors could be performed. The validation was based on continuous speed profiles collected from 28 volunteers on a 30-km-long, two-lane rural road section. The same volunteers drove through the same road section built in SE2RCO. Speed data of 79 curves and 52 tangents were selected for the analysis. Comparison of the real and simulated speeds ensured the simulator's objective validity according to average and operating speeds. Two models were developed to predict field speeds from simulated speeds. Results showed that a simulated average speed lower than approximately 90 km/h was linked to a similar real average speed. For higher simulated speeds, the average speed in the real environment was lower than the simulated one. In addition, the actual operating speed was around 5 km/h lower than the operating speed in the driving simulator. Most volunteers assessed the quality and similarity of the virtual environment compared with the real world as medium or high and assessed the driving tasks similarly, thus achieving subjective validation of the simulator.The authors thank the Polytechnic University of Valencia, which subsidized the research project CONSIM-Desarrollo de un Modelo para la Evaluacion de la Consistencia del Diseno Geometric de Carreteras Convencionales Mediante Simuladores de Conduccion. The study presented here was also part of the research project titled CASEFU-Estudio Experimental de la Funcionalidad y Seguridad de las Carreteras Convencionales, which was subsidized by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the European Social Fund.Llopis-Castelló, D.; Camacho Torregrosa, FJ.; Marín-Morales, J.; Pérez Zuriaga, AM.; García García, A.; Dols Ruiz, JF. (2016). Validation of Low-Cost Driving Simulator Based on Continuous Speed Profiles. Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 2602:104-114. https://doi.org/10.3141/2602-13S104114260

The Competitive Advantage Between Intellectual Capital and Financial Performance of Banking Sector in ASEAN

This research aims to examine the mediating effect of competitive advantage in the relationship between intellectual capital and financial performance of the banking sector in five ASEAN countries. Furthermore, this research analyzes the differentiation level of intellectual capital using its components namely human capital, structural capital, and relational capital measured by Extended VAIC Plus (E-VAIC+). This research using partial least square method to test the mediation effect and ANOVA to test the differentiation level of intellectual capital on the banking sector in five ASEAN countries. The results show intellectual capital has a positive effect to financial performance and competitive advantage, competitive advantage has a positive effect to financial performance, and there is a different level of intellectual capital in Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines, and Thailand. These findings support the resource-based theory which asserts that a unique set of resources that are owned and controlled can make the company have sustainable superior performance. These resources can be derived from the intellectual capital component that is exploited in such a way as a competitive advantage.JEL Classification: G31, G32, G34DOI: https://doi.org/10.26905/jkdp.v22i2.206

Biotechnical characteristics of root systems in erect and prostrate habit rosmarinus officinalis L. accessions grown in a mediterranean climate

Rosmarinus officinalis L. is a shrub species typically found in the Mediterranean Basin area. Studies carried out in Sicily on the biodiversity of the genus Rosmarinus found only one species (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) with varying morphology (erect habit and prostrate habit). The species does not require high input, managing to thrive even in marginal areas, and is a medicinal and aromatic species of great agronomic and economic interest, being one of the top 20 species most-used in Italy and with highest wholesale revenues. Studies carried out on the species in Italy are recent, as is the whole medicinal and aromatic plants sector, and have mostly regarded agrotechniques. This study shows the results of initial observations carried out in Sicily on the biotechnical characteristics of the root system of disetaneous rosemary accessions (erect habitus and prostrate habitus) grown in the same soil. Results show that the species adapts well to soil bioengineering requirements; young plants also showed better root system tensile strength than older plant

The Potential of Ciplukan Leaf Extract (Physalis Angulata L.) to Improve Kidney Function

Gagal ginjal merupakan penyakit tidak menular namun dapat mengancam nyawa manusia. Penyakit ini dapat dialami dari berbagai macam usia mulai dari anak-anak hingga lansia. Salah satu tanaman yang biasanya dijadikan sebagai obat herbal ialah tanaman ciplukan (Physalis angulata L.). Gagal ginjal merupakan penyakit tidak menular namun dapat mengancam nyawa manusia. Penyakit ini dapat dialami dari berbagai macam usia mulai dari anak-anak hingga lansia. Salah satu tanaman yang biasanya dijadikan sebagai obat herbal ialah tanaman ciplukan (Physalis angulata L.). Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui potensi dari daun tanaman ciplukan dalam memperbaiki fungsi ginjal. Penelitian ini dilakukan di Kampus IPB Dramaga, IPB University, Bogor. Tikus putih digunakan sebanyak 24 ekor dan dibagi menjadi 8 kelompok dengan perlakuan dosis 150mg/kg BB dan 300mg/kg BB. Perlakuan dilakukan selama 14 hari dan 28 hari.Etilen glikol digunakan sebagai agen nefrotoksik. Pemberian kombinasi etilen glikol 1 ml/100g BW secara oral dan ekstrak ciplukan dosis 300mg/kg BB secara bersamaan mampu menormalkan kadar ureum dalam darah. Hasil histologi juga menunjukkan adanya perbaikan pada glomerulus ginjal. Ekstrak daun ciplukan memiliki kandungan flavonoid yang berpotensi memperbaiki fungsi dan morfologi ginjal