MCSim: A Monte Carlo Simulation Program

MCSim consists of two pieces, a model generator and a simulation engine. The model generator, mod , was created to facilitate the model maintenance and simulation definition, while keeping execution time fast. Other programs have been created to the same end, the Matlab family of graphical interactive programs being some of the more general and easy to use. Still, many available tools are not optimal for performing time and computer intensive Monte Carlo analysis. MCSim was created specifically to this end: to perform Monte Carlo analysis in a highly optimized, and easy to maintain environment.

Remote Imaging Applied to Schistosomiasis Control: The Anning River Project

The use of satellite imaging to remotely detect areas of high risk for transmission of infectious disease is an appealing prospect for large-scale monitoring of these diseases. The detection of large-scale environmental determinants of disease risk, often called landscape epidemiology, has been motivated by several authors (Pavlovsky 1966; Meade et al. 1988). The basic notion is that large-scale factors such as population density, air temperature, hydrological conditions, soil type, and vegetation can determine in a coarse fashion the local conditions contributing to disease vector abundance and human contact with disease agents. These large-scale factors can often be remotely detected by sensors or cameras mounted on satellite or aircraft platforms and can thus be used in a predictive model to mark high risk areas of transmission and to target control or monitoring efforts. A review of satellite technologies for this purpose was recently presented by Washino and Wood (1994) and Hay (1997) and Hay et al. (1997)

الدور التنموي للأوقاف في العصر الحديث تجارب معاصرة من دولة الكويت والمملكة العربيةّ السعوديةّ

تركزت هذه الدراسة على تسليط الضوء على الدور التنموي لبعض المؤسّسات الوقفية في العصر الحديث، وهما مبادرة المصارف الوقفية والصناديق الوقفية بالأمانة العامة للأوقاف بدولة الكويت، ومبادرة أوقاف الشيخ محمّد بن عبد الع زيز الراجحي بالمملكة العربية السعود يّة، مستخدمة المنهج الاستقرائي والمنهج الوصفي التحليلي، مبينة أهمية أثر تلك المبادرات التنموية في التنمية المجتمعية، وأهمية تعزيز تلك المبادرات والإكثار منها لتعزيز الرسالة الوقفية في المجتمع. Research Summary This study focused on highlighting the developmental role of some Waqf institutions in the modern era, namely the Waqf and Waqf Funds initiative in the General Secretariat of Endowments in Kuwait, and the initiative of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdul Aziz Al Rajhi in Saudi Arabia, using the inductive method and analytical descriptive approach, These developmental initiatives in community development, and the importance of promoting these initiatives and increase them to strengthen the message Waqf in .societ

Five-Year Longitudinal Assessment of the Downstream Impact on Schistosomiasis Transmission following Closure of the Three Gorges Dam

Schistosomiasis, caused by Schistosoma japonicum, is a significant parasitic disease and public health problem in China. How the parasite is transmitted there can be categorized into four distinct modes (modes I–IV) and it is predicted that the Three Gorges Dam, recently completed, will affect the way schistosomiasis is spread in these modes. We monitored transmission for a 5-year period (2002–2006) in eight villages, representative of the three modes (I–III) below the dam across four provinces (Hunan, Jiangxi, Hubei and Anhui) to determine whether there was any immediate impact of the dam on schistosomiasis spread. Human schistosomiasis incidence declined considerably within individual villages and each mode, and the yearly odds ratios (adjusted) for infection risk showed significant downward trends in all three modes over the follow-up period. The decreased human S. japonicum incidence recorded across transmission modes I–III was probably attributable to annual human and bovine praziquantel drug treatment. If an increase in schistosome transmission had occurred as a result of the dam, it would be of negligible size compared with this treatment-induced decline. There had thus been virtually no immediate impact of the TGD on schistosomiasis transmission downstream of the dam over the 5-year surveillance period

MCSim: A Monte Carlo Simulation Program

MCSim consists of two pieces, a model generator and a simulation engine. The model generator, mod, was created to facilitate the model maintenance and simulation definition, while keeping execution time fast. Other programs have been created to the same end, the Matlab family of graphical interactive programs being some of the more general and easy to use. Still, many available tools are not optimal for performing time and computer intensive Monte Carlo analysis. MCSim was created specifically to this end: to perform Monte Carlo analysis in a highly optimized, and easy to maintain environment

Application of HB17, an Arabidopsis class II homeodomain-leucine zipper transcription factor, to regulate chloroplast number and photosynthetic capacity

Transcription factors are proposed as suitable targets for the control of traits such as yield or food quality in plants. This study reports the results of a functional genomics research effort that identified ATHB17, a transcription factor from the homeodomain-leucine zipper class II family, as a novel target for the enhancement of photosynthetic capacity. It was shown that ATHB17 is expressed natively in the root quiescent centre (QC) from Arabidopsis embryos and seedlings. Analysis of the functional composition of genes differentially expressed in the QC from a knockout mutant (athb17-1) compared with its wild-type sibling revealed the over-representation of genes involved in auxin stimulus, embryo development, axis polarity specification, and plastid-related processes. While no other phenotypes were observed in athb17-1 plants, overexpression of ATHB17 produced a number of phenotypes in Arabidopsis including enhanced chlorophyll content. Image analysis of isolated mesophyll cells of 35S::ATHB17 lines revealed an increase in the number of chloroplasts per unit cell size, which is probably due to an increase in the number of proplastids per meristematic cell. Leaf physiological measurements provided evidence of improved photosynthetic capacity in 35S::ATHB17 lines on a per unit leaf area basis. Estimates of the capacity for ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate-saturated and -limited photosynthesis were significantly higher in 35S::ATHB17 lines