The Effect of Nitrogen Fertilisation on the Morphological Development and Growth Rate of Star Grass (\u3cem\u3eCynodon nlemfuensis\u3c/em\u3e)

Nitrogen is one of the main inputs used in forage production systems to increase productivity. However, in Cuba, the availability of fertiliser N is limited and therefore if applied, needs to be used with high efficiency. Previous studies (Johnson, 2001, Del Pozo, 2003) investigated the effects of N on growth, carbohydrate and protein content but did not consider morphological changes in Cynodon nlemfuensis. A study was therefore undertaken investigating how N application influences morphological development of the plant and how these changes might affect the efficiency of use of applied N

Does the gender matter?: anxiety symptoms and emotion dysregulation in adults with autism and intellectual disabilities

Research shows high rates of anxious symptoms in people autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). Finding factors related to the development of anxiety in ASD is necessary. Emotion regulation (ER) is associated with anxiety in ASD. Moreover, some studies find higher rates of anxiety in women with ASD. A total of 121 adults (M = 35.46 years, SD = 9.46) with ASD and intellectual disabilities were evaluated to verify moderating role of gender and mediating role of ER. A moderated mediation analysis supported the moderated role of gender in the relationship mediated by emotional dysregulation between ASD and anxiety. These findings suggest that interventions designed to prevent or reduce anxiety symptoms in women with ASD should include among their goals emotional regulatio

Symmetries in Fluctuations Far from Equilibrium

Fluctuations arise universally in Nature as a reflection of the discrete microscopic world at the macroscopic level. Despite their apparent noisy origin, fluctuations encode fundamental aspects of the physics of the system at hand, crucial to understand irreversibility and nonequilibrium behavior. In order to sustain a given fluctuation, a system traverses a precise optimal path in phase space. Here we show that by demanding invariance of optimal paths under symmetry transformations, new and general fluctuation relations valid arbitrarily far from equilibrium are unveiled. This opens an unexplored route toward a deeper understanding of nonequilibrium physics by bringing symmetry principles to the realm of fluctuations. We illustrate this concept studying symmetries of the current distribution out of equilibrium. In particular we derive an isometric fluctuation relation which links in a strikingly simple manner the probabilities of any pair of isometric current fluctuations. This relation, which results from the time-reversibility of the dynamics, includes as a particular instance the Gallavotti-Cohen fluctuation theorem in this context but adds a completely new perspective on the high level of symmetry imposed by time-reversibility on the statistics of nonequilibrium fluctuations. The new symmetry implies remarkable hierarchies of equations for the current cumulants and the nonlinear response coefficients, going far beyond Onsager's reciprocity relations and Green-Kubo formulae. We confirm the validity of the new symmetry relation in extensive numerical simulations, and suggest that the idea of symmetry in fluctuations as invariance of optimal paths has far-reaching consequences in diverse fields.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure

Relation of Gallbladder Motility to Viscosity and Composition of Gallbladder Bile in Patients with Cholesterol Gallstones

Background/Aims: Increased viscosity and supersaturation of cholesterol in gallbladder bile, as well as an impaired motility of the gallbladder, are considered to be important factors in the pathogenesis of cholesterol gallstones. However, the relation of these parameters has not yet been determined. Material and Methods: Bile viscosity (mPa.s) was measured by rotation viscosimetry and the composition of gallbladder bile was determined using standard methodology. Gallbladder motility was calculated as ejection fraction in percent of total volume 45 min after a test meal using ultrasonography in patients with gallstones prior to elective cholecystectomy. Results: The study included 35 patients with cholesterol gallstones. Viscosity of gallbladder bile ranged between 0.9 and 12.5 mPa.s (median 2.2 mPa.s) and an ejection fraction of the gallbladder of 55.4 +/- 18.3% (mean +/- SD) was determined. No significant correlation (r = 0.19, p < 0.2) between the 2 parameters could be calculated. Analysis of the composition of gallbladder bile revealed a positive correlation of all components to biliary viscosity but not to the motility of the gallbladder, with the exceptions of a negative correlation (r = 0.39, p < 0.02) between mucin concentration and the ejection fraction at 45 min after the test meal. Conclusions: The motility of the gallbladder appears to be unrelated to the viscosity of gallbladder bile or gallbladder bile composition. The negative correlation between the ejection fraction of the gallbladder and mucin concentration of gallbladder bile suggests that chronic inflammation of the gallbladder wall is associated with both an impaired motility of the gallbladder and increased mucin release into gallbladder bile. Copyright (C) 2009 S. Karger AG, Base

Death, dying and informatics: misrepresenting religion on MedLine

BACKGROUND: The globalization of medical science carries for doctors worldwide a correlative duty to deepen their understanding of patients' cultural contexts and religious backgrounds, in order to satisfy each as a unique individual. To become better informed, practitioners may turn to MedLine, but it is unclear whether the information found there is an accurate representation of culture and religion. To test MedLine's representation of this field, we chose the topic of death and dying in the three major monotheistic religions. METHODS: We searched MedLine using PubMed in order to retrieve and thematically analyze full-length scholarly journal papers or case reports dealing with religious traditions and end-of-life care. Our search consisted of a string of words that included the most common denominations of the three religions, the standard heading terms used by the National Reference Center for Bioethics Literature (NRCBL), and the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) used by the National Library of Medicine. Eligible articles were limited to English-language papers with an abstract. RESULTS: We found that while a bibliographic search in MedLine on this topic produced instant results and some valuable literature, the aggregate reflected a selection bias. American writers were over-represented given the global prevalence of these religious traditions. Denominationally affiliated authors predominated in representing the Christian traditions. The Islamic tradition was under-represented. CONCLUSION: MedLine's capability to identify the most current, reliable and accurate information about purely scientific topics should not be assumed to be the same case when considering the interface of religion, culture and end-of-life care

Fault Tolerance Enhance DC-DC Converter Lifetime Extension

One of the most crucial renewable energy sources today is solar energy. Power convertors play an important role in adjusting the output voltage or current of photovoltaic (PV) systems. Using efficient and reliable switches for power converters and inverters is crucial for enhancing the safety and reliability of a platform. Generally, power converters suffer from failure mechanisms, such as wire bond fatigue, wire bond lift up, solder fatigue and loose gate control voltage, which mainly occur in power switches. In this paper, the junction temperature of the Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) acting as a power switch used in the Impedance-Source DC-DC converter is estimated using an electro-thermal model in order to develop an adaptive thermal stress control (ATSC). The proposed stress control adjusts reference input of the PI control to extend the life expectancy of the device under the mission. The accuracy of results present using The Modified Coffin-Manson Law has been used to determine the life of IGBT and the lifetime has been successfully increased base on implementing imperative ATSC and comparing the result with the constant reference input of the PI controller. The result integrates with converter health management to develop advanced intelligent predictive maintenance