Charges and fields in a current-carrying wire

Charges and fields in a straight, infinite, cylindrical wire carrying a steady current are determined in the rest frames of ions and electrons, starting from the standard assumption that the net charge per unit length is zero in the lattice frame and taking into account a self-induced pinch effect. The analysis presented illustrates the mutual consistency of classical electromagnetism and Special Relativity. Some consequences of the assumption that the net charge per unit length is zero in the electrons frame are also briefly discussed

Of the importance of a leaf: the ethnobotany of sarma in Turkey and the Balkans

BACKGROUND: Sarma - cooked leaves rolled around a filling made from rice and/or minced meat, possibly vegetables and seasoning plants - represents one of the most widespread feasting dishes of the Middle Eastern and South-Eastern European cuisines. Although cabbage and grape vine sarma is well-known worldwide, the use of alternative plant leaves remains largely unexplored. The aim of this research was to document all of the botanical taxa whose leaves are used for preparing sarma in the folk cuisines of Turkey and the Balkans. Methods: Field studies were conducted during broader ethnobotanical surveys, as well as during ad-hoc investigations between the years 2011 and 2014 that included diverse rural communities in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey. Primary ethnobotanical and folkloric literatures in each country were also considered. Results: Eighty-seven botanical taxa, mainly wild, belonging to 50 genera and 27 families, were found to represent the bio-cultural heritage of sarma in Turkey and the Balkans. The greatest plant biodiversity in sarma was found in Turkey and, to less extent, in Bulgaria and Romania. The most commonly used leaves for preparing sarma were those of cabbage (both fresh and lacto-fermented), grape vine, beet, dock, sorrel, horseradish, lime tree, bean, and spinach. In a few cases, the leaves of endemic species (Centaurea haradjianii, Rumex gracilescens, and R. olympicus in Turkey) were recorded. Other uncommon sarma preparations were based on lightly toxic taxa, such as potato leaves in NE Albania, leaves of Arum, Convolvulus, and Smilax species in Turkey, of Phytolacca americana in Macedonia, and of Tussilago farfara in diverse countries. Moreover, the use of leaves of the introduced species Reynoutria japonica in Romania, Colocasia esculenta in Turkey, and Phytolacca americana in Macedonia shows the dynamic nature of folk cuisines. Conclusion: The rich ethnobotanical diversity of sarma confirms the urgent need to record folk culinary plant knowledge. The results presented here can be implemented into initiatives aimed at re-evaluating folk cuisines and niche food markets based on local neglected ingredients, and possibly also to foster trajectories of the avant-garde cuisines inspired by ethnobotanical knowledge

Genomics Meets Glycomics—The First GWAS Study of Human N-Glycome Identifies HNF1α as a Master Regulator of Plasma Protein Fucosylation

Over half of all proteins are glycosylated, and alterations in glycosylation have been observed in numerous physiological and pathological processes. Attached glycans significantly affect protein function; but, contrary to polypeptides, they are not directly encoded by genes, and the complex processes that regulate their assembly are poorly understood. A novel approach combining genome-wide association and high-throughput glycomics analysis of 2,705 individuals in three population cohorts showed that common variants in the Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 1α (HNF1α) and fucosyltransferase genes FUT6 and FUT8 influence N-glycan levels in human plasma. We show that HNF1α and its downstream target HNF4α regulate the expression of key fucosyltransferase and fucose biosynthesis genes. Moreover, we show that HNF1α is both necessary and sufficient to drive the expression of these genes in hepatic cells. These results reveal a new role for HNF1α as a master transcriptional regulator of multiple stages in the fucosylation process. This mechanism has implications for the regulation of immunity, embryonic development, and protein folding, as well as for our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer, coronary heart disease, and metabolic and inflammatory disorders

Famine food of vegetal origin consumed in the Netherlands during World War II

Background: Periods of extreme food shortages during war force people to eat food that they normally do not consider edible. The last time that countries in Western Europe experienced severe scarcities was during World War II. The so-called Dutch famine or Hunger Winter (1944-1945) made at least 25,000 victims. The Dutch government took action by opening soup kitchens and providing information on wild plants and other famine food sources in "wartime cookbooks." The Dutch wartime diet has never been examined from an ethnobotanical perspective. Methods: We interviewed 78 elderly Dutch citizens to verify what they remembered of the consumption of vegetal and fungal famine food during World War II by them and their close surroundings. We asked whether they experienced any adverse effects from consuming famine food plants and how they knew they were edible. We identified plant species mentioned during interviews by their local Dutch names and illustrated field guides and floras. We hypothesized that people living in rural areas consumed more wild species than urban people. A Welch t test was performed to verify whether the number of wild and cultivated species differed between urban and rural citizens. Results: A total number of 38 emergency food species (14 cultivated and 21 wild plants, three wild fungi) were mentioned during interviews. Sugar beets, tulip bulbs, and potato peels were most frequently consumed. Regularly eaten wild species were common nettle, blackberry, and beechnuts. Almost one third of our interviewees explicitly described to have experienced extreme hunger during the war. People from rural areas listed significantly more wild species than urban people. The number of cultivated species consumed by both groups was similar. Negative effects were limited to sore throats and stomachache from the consumption of sugar beets and tulip bulbs. Knowledge on the edibility of famine food was obtained largely by oral transmission; few people remembered the written recipes in wartime cookbooks. Conclusion: This research shows that 71years after the Second World War, knowledge on famine food species, once crucial for people's survival, is still present in the Dutch society. The information on famine food sources supplied by several institutions was not distributed widely. For the necessary revival of famine food knowledge during the 1940s, people needed to consult a small group of elders. Presumed toxicity was a major reason given by our participants to explain why they did not collect wild plants or mushrooms during the war

Quality assurance of the Serbian national E-PRTR register reported data for large combustion plants

U periodu od 2007. do 2009. godine, a radi kontrole i ograničenja emisije iz industrije u skladu sa Pravilnikom o metodologiji za izradu integralnog katastra zagađivača, za potrebe Integralnog katastra zagađivača niz postrojenja su bila dužna da dostave podatke o količinama zagađujućih materija ispuštenih u vazduh i vode, kao i o generisanju otpada. Ovaj registar je sastavni deo informacionog sistema zaštite životne sredine Republike Srbije, koji vodi i čiju kontrolu podataka vrši Agencija za zaštitu životne sredine. Cilj ovog rada je kvalitativna analiza podataka o emisiji zagađujućih materija u vazduh (SOx, NOx i praškaste materije), na osnovu dostavljenih podataka za 2009. godinu. Proračun emisija je izvršen na osnovu metodologije koja je propisana Konvencijom o prekograničnom zagađenju vazduha na velikim udaljenostima. Radom su obuhvaćena velika ložišta sa izlazom toplote većim od 50 MW. Analiza je obuhvatila 37 postrojenja sa ukupno 61 emiterom.The Serbian E-PRTR register (The European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register) was established in 2007 and harmonized with PRTR protocol of Arhus convention and E-PRTR directive. In this paper, the quality of 2009 data reported to the Serbian PRTR register was analyzed. The analysis includes 37 large combustion plants with the capacity equal or greater than 50 MW. The combustion plants include power plants, heating plants and industrial energy units. The calculation is done using EMEP-EEA 2009 methodology and Tier 2 approach. The analysis obtained presents an overview of the quality of the reported data for SOx, NOx and TSP emissions for 61 combustion units, e.g., emitters (stacks). The results show that all 61 emitters reported data with the deviation greater than 25%, with 55% of the emitters reporting data that differed from pollutant to pollutant in comparison to the estimated data. Out of those, 30% of the emitters reported smaller and 8% reported greater emissions than estimated emissions with 7% of the emitters not submitting any emissions data. The analysis also includes calculation of the emissions scope limit within 95% confidence interval. According to these results, it can be concluded that only 15% of the emitters have emission levels that fall within the scope limits, 47% of the emitters reported data of which two data fall within the scope limits, 28% of the emitters reported data of which only one data fall within the scope limits, 3% of the emitters had data that didn't fall within the scope limits, and 7% did not reported any emission data. The results of the analysis can be summarized as: 1) operators in facilities do not know how to calculate emissions from their sources, and 2) the application of global emission factors can lead to considerable errors. The main reasons for significant deviation are different fuel quality, type of technical units and human error, thus national emission factors should be developed