Escape and Naturalization of Tagetes patula in Western Ethiopia

This study was carried out on an introduced ornamental - Tagetes patula L., which has escaped cultivation and has been naturalized in Benishangul-Gumuz National Regional State (bgnrs), western Ethiopia. Another introduced ornamental - Zinnia elegans Jacq. and the native species - Bidens prestinaria (Sch. Bip.) Cufod. were included in some of the experiments for comparison. Pre-prepared semi-structured interviews were administered, on the arrival, spread and impact of T. patula. The result showed that the escaped T. patula has no negative impact on the daily life of people, except weeding in farmlands. T. patula was found associated with species that prefer shade and moisture in semi-natural vegetation. It produces a large number of relatively small propagules and has a seed bank. These characters might enhance its invasive ability and make it a potential threat to grazing fields and natural landscapes in western Ethiopia. The result of fire simulation experiment, however, revealed that fire had an effect on seed germination, as there was no seed germination at higher temperature treatment (120°C/5 minutes). The annual fire occurring existing in the woodlands of bgnrs might not allow invasion by the species that are not adapted to fire, like T. patula and Z. elegans. In the absence of annual woodland fire, invasion of the woodland vegetation in bgnrs by T. patula and Z. elegans is most likely to occur

Managing Access to Biobanks:How Can We Reconcile Privacy and Public Interests in Genetic Research?

This article is concerned with the ultimate objectives of genetic biobanks set up to promote the public interest—being the sharing of samples and data for medical research—and the consequences for personal privacy of realising them. Our aim is to chart the values, interests and principles in play, to consider the challenges of realizing biobanking objectives on a global scale, and to propose viable ways forward that ensure, as far as possible, that access provisions remain fit for purpose throughout the entire life of a biobank, while adequately protecting the privacy interests at stake. It is argued that key features in any robust access model must include mechanisms to (a) maintain participant trust in management of the resource and to measure and respond to participants’ expectations, (b) facilitate and promote the sharing of benefits, and (c) respond timeously and effectively to new challenges

Microstructural study of the deformation zones during cone penetration in silt at variable penetration rates

During conventional cone penetration testing in silt, the soil will normally be partially drained. If the penetration rate varies, time for drainage is altered and therefore the measured cone resistance and pore pressure will change. This paper studies the change in soil microstructure around the probe during cone penetration carried out at different penetration rates to investigate the failure mechanism and the processes controlling drainage in silt. Backscattered electron images of polished thin sections prepared from frozen samples at the end of penetration were used. Making use of advanced image processing techniques, the statistical distribution of particle orientations and the local porosity were investigated for the zones around the cone tip and the shaft. The spatial distribution of the measured microscale parameters in the region near the probe indicates that the soil deformation during CPTU in silt leads to the formation of both contractive and dilative zones. The macro response of the material, presented by the pore pressure and the cone penetration resistance measured during the test, results from the competition between these zones during penetration, which is shown to be dependent on the penetration rate

Microstructural study of the deformation zones around a penetrating coned tip in silty soil

The change in soil microstructure around the penetrating probe during a cone penetration test is investigated. Backscattered electron images of polished thin sections prepared from frozen samples at the end of penetration are used. The images have a spatial resolution of 0.4 µm/pixel that allow a clear identification of grains and pore spaces. The statistical distribution of the change of particles orientation is analyzed for the zones around the cone tip and the shaft. Quantitative analysis of the change in porosity near the penetrating object is investigated. An increase in porosity and a decrease in the anisotropy of particle orientations from the cone and further out confirm that the soil deformation during CPTU in silt is a combination of compaction and dilative behavior that might influence the pore pressure distribution during penetration

Desmoplastic myxoid tumor of pineal region, SMARCB1-mutant, in young adult

We present a young adult woman who developed a myxoid tumor of the pineal region having a SMARCB1 mutation, which was phenotypically similar to the recently described desmoplastic myxoid, SMARCB1-mutant tumor of the pineal region (DMT-SMARCB1). The 24-year-old woman presented with headaches, nausea, and emesis. Neuroimaging identified a hypodense lesion in CT scans that was T1-hypointense, hyperintense in both T2-weighted and FLAIR MRI scans, and displayed gadolinium enhancement. The resected tumor had an abundant, Alcian-blue positive myxoid matrix with interspersed, non-neoplastic neuropil-glial-vascular elements. It immunoreacted with CD34 and individual cells for EMA. Immunohistochemistry revealed loss of nuclear INI1 expression by the myxoid component but its retention in the vascular elements. Molecular analyses identified a SMARCB1 deletion and DNA methylation studies showed that this tumor grouped together with the recently described DMT-SMARCB1. A cerebrospinal fluid cytologic preparation had several cells morphologically similar to those in routine and electron microscopy. We briefly discuss the correlation of the pathology with the radiology and how this tumor compares with other SMARCB1-mutant tumors of the nervous system

HLA-B27 predicts a more extended disease with increasing age at onset in boys with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Poster presentatiopn at 15th Paediatric Rheumatology European Society (PreS) Congress London, UK. 14–17 September 200

Research in and application of modern automatic control theory to nuclear rocket dynamics and control, volume I Semiannual status report

Linear optimal feedback control theory for nuclear rocket dynamics and control problem