STUDI ETNOBOTANI TUMBUHAN MANGROVE DI KUPANG

Studi etnobotani berguna untuk menganalisis pemanfaatan jenis dan bagian tumbuhan mangrove secara kuantitatif berdasarkan indeks signifikansi budaya (Index of Cultural Significance) masyarakat pesisir. Penelitian dilakukan di area mangrove Taman Wisata Mangrove Kelurahan Oesapa, Pantai Manikin, Pantai Sulamanda Desa Mata Air, Desa Kelapa Tinggi di Kelurahan Tarus, Desa Oebelo dan Desa Pariti. Pengumpulan data menggunakan metode survei lapangan, observasi dan teknik wawancara semi-terstruktur tentang tumbuhan, bagian tumbuhan yang digunakan dan cara pengolahan terhadap masyarakat yang ada di sekitar hutan mangrove. Hasil wawancara diperoleh bahwa terdapat 6 (enam) spesies mangrove major, yakni: Avicennia marina, Sonneratia alba, Bruguiera parviflora, Ceriops tagal, Rhizophora apiculata, dan R. mucronata, dan 1 (satu) spesies mangrove asosiasi, yakni Nypa fruticans. Berdasarkan nilai Indeks Signifikansi Budaya (ICS), R. mucronata memiliki nilai ICS tertinggi (708), yaitu sebagai indikator lingkungan (340) dan bahan bangunan (320). A. marina, nilai ICS 114, terutama pemanfaatannya untuk bahan obat (108), dan S. alba bernilai ICS 54, terutama sebagai  pengganti sirih (12). Mangrove digunakan sebagai indikator lingkungan, kayu bakar, bahan bangunan, bahan obat, kegiatan pertanian, berkaitan dengan mitos, pengganti sirih, pembuatan garam, bahan perahu, pembuatan sirup dan pakan ternak.The ethnobotanical study is useful for analyzing the quantitative utilization of the species and parts of the mangrove plants, based on the Index of cultural significance (ICS) in the coastal communal. Research sites were Mangrove Tourism Park Oesapa Village, Manikin Beach, Sulamanda Beach Mata Air Village, and Kelapa Tinggi village in Tarus Subdistrict, Oebelo village also Pariti village. The data collection uses field survey methods, observation, and semi-structured interview techniques about plants, plant parts used, and processing methods. Interview results obtained 6 (six) species of major mangrove species: Avicennia marina, Sonneratia alba, Bruguiera parviflora, Ceriops tagal, Rhizophora apiculata, and R. mucronata, and 1 (one) associate mangrove species: Nypa fruticans. Based on ICS values, R. mucronata has the highest ICS value of 708 as an environmental indicator (340), building materials (320) and firewood (48). A. marina, with ICS scores of 114 uses for medicines (108), and S. alba the ICS is 54, especially as betel substitute (12). The community uses the mangroves as environmental indicators, firewood and construction materials, medicines, agricultural activities, related to myths, betel substitutes, making salt, boat materials, syrup, and livestock feed. &nbsp

Evolution of precipitates, in particular cruciform and cuboid particles, during simulated direct charging of thin slab cast vanadium microalloyed steels

A study has been undertaken of four vanadium based steels which have been processed by a simulated direct charging route using processing parameters typical of thin slab casting, where the cast product has a thickness of 50 to 80mm ( in this study 50 mm) and is fed directly to a furnace to equalise the microstructure prior to rolling. In the direct charging process, cooling rates are faster, equalisation times shorter and the amount of deformation introduced during rolling less than in conventional practice. Samples in this study were quenched after casting, after equalisation, after 4th rolling pass and after coiling, to follow the evolution of microstructure. The mechanical and toughness properties and the microstructural features might be expected to differ from equivalent steels, which have undergone conventional processing. The four low carbon steels (~0.06wt%) which were studied contained 0.1wt%V (V-N), 0.1wt%V and 0.010wt%Ti (V-Ti), 0.1wt%V and 0.03wt%Nb (V-Nb), and 0.1wt%V, 0.03wt%Nb and 0.007wt%Ti (V-Nb-Ti). Steels V-N and V-Ti contained around 0.02wt% N, while the other two contained about 0.01wt%N. The as-cast steels were heated at three equalising temperatures of 1050C, 1100C or 1200C and held for 30-60 minutes prior to rolling. Optical microscopy and analytical electron microscopy, including parallel electron energy loss spectroscopy (PEELS), were used to characterise the precipitates. In the as-cast condition, dendrites and plates were found. Cuboid particles were seen at this stage in Steel V-Ti, but they appeared only in the other steels after equalization. In addition, in the final product of all the steels, fine particles were seen, but it was only in the two titanium steels that cruciform precipitates were present. PEELS analysis showed that the dendrites, plates, cuboids, cruciforms and fine precipitates were essentially nitrides. The two Ti steels had better toughness than the other steels but inferior lower yield stress values. This was thought to be, in part, due to the formation of cruciform precipitates in austenite, thereby removing nitrogen and the microalloying elements which would have been expected to precipitate in ferrite as dispersion hardening particles

Phase transitions in two-dimensional anisotropic quantum magnets

We consider quantum Heisenberg ferro- and antiferromagnets on the square lattice with exchange anisotropy of easy-plane or easy-axis type. The thermodynamics and the critical behaviour of the models are studied by the pure-quantum self-consistent harmonic approximation, in order to evaluate the spin and anisotropy dependence of the critical temperatures. Results for thermodynamic quantities are reported and comparison with experimental and numerical simulation data is made. The obtained results allow us to draw a general picture of the subject and, in particular, to estimate the value of the critical temperature for any model belonging to the considered class.Comment: To be published on Eur. Phys. J.

Topological Defects in an Open Universe

(To appear in Nuclear Physics B Supplements Proceedings section) This talk will explore the evolution of topological defects in an open universe. The rapid expansion of the universe in an open model slows defects and suppresses the generation of CBR fluctuations at large angular scale as does the altered relationship between angle and length in an open universe. Defect models, when normalized to COBE in an open universe, predict a galaxy power spectrum consistent with the galaxy power spectrum inferred from the galaxy surveys and do not require an extreme bias. Neither defect models in a flat universe nor standard inflationary models can fit either the multipole spectrum or the power spectrum inferred from galaxy surveys.Comment: 11 pages and 4 figures, Elsevier Publisher's LaTeX, POP-54

A 750 mW, continuous-wave, solid-state laser source at 313 nm for cooling and manipulating trapped 9Be+ ions

We present a solid-state laser system that generates 750 mW of continuous-wave single-frequency output at 313 nm. Sum-frequency generation with fiber lasers at 1550 nm and 1051 nm produces up to 2 W at 626 nm. This visible light is then converted to UV by cavity-enhanced second-harmonic generation. The laser output can be tuned over a 495 GHz range, which includes the 9Be+ laser cooling and repumping transitions. This is the first report of a narrow-linewidth laser system with sufficient power to perform fault-tolerant quantum-gate operations with trapped 9Be+ ions by use of stimulated Raman transitions.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Constraining the dark energy dynamics with the cosmic microwave background bispectrum

We consider the influence of the dark energy dynamics at the onset of cosmic acceleration on the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) bispectrum, through the weak lensing effect induced by structure formation. We study the line of sight behavior of the contribution to the bispectrum signal at a given angular multipole $l$: we show that it is non-zero in a narrow interval centered at a redshift $z$ satisfying the relation $l/r(z)\simeq k_{NL}(z)$, where the wavenumber corresponds to the scale entering the non-linear phase, and $r$ is the cosmological comoving distance. The relevant redshift interval is in the range 0.1\lsim z\lsim 2 for multipoles 1000\gsim\ell\gsim 100; the signal amplitude, reflecting the perturbation dynamics, is a function of the cosmological expansion rate at those epochs, probing the dark energy equation of state redshift dependence independently on its present value. We provide a worked example by considering tracking inverse power law and SUGRA Quintessence scenarios, having sensibly different redshift dynamics and respecting all the present observational constraints. For scenarios having the same present equation of state, we find that the effect described above induces a projection feature which makes the bispectra shifted by several tens of multipoles, about 10 times more than the corresponding effect on the ordinary CMB angular power spectrum.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, matching version accepted by Physical Review D, one figure improve

Translation to practice: a randomised controlled study of an evidenced based booklet targeted at breast care nurses in the United Kingdom

BACKGROUND: In the United Kingdom (UK), it was documented that a problem of knowledge transfer existed within the speciality of breast-cancer care, thus depriving patients of receiving optimal care. Despite increasingly robust research evidence indicating recommendation of whole body exercise for people affected by breast cancer, commensurate changes to practice were not noted amongst breast-care nurses (BCNs). AIM: To evaluate the effect of a targeted booklet, Exercise and Breast Cancer: A Booklet for Breast-Care Nurses, on changes in knowledge, reported practice, and attitudes of BCNs in the UK. METHOD: A prospective, experimental approach was used for designing a pre- and post-test randomised controlled study. Comparisons of knowledge, reported practice, and attitudes based on responses to a questionnaire were made at two time-points in two groups of BCNs (control and experimental). The unit of randomisation and analysis was hospital clusters of BCNs. The sample comprised 92 nurses from 62 hospitals. Analysis consisted of descriptive statistics and clustered regression techniques: clustered logistic regression for knowledge items, clustered linear regression for knowledge scores, ologit for attitude and reported practice items, and clustered multiple regression for paired and multiple variable analysis. RESULTS: A statistically significant increase in knowledge and changes in reported practice and attitudes were found. Robust variables affecting knowledge acquisition were: promotion of health, promotion of exercise, and understanding how exercise can reduce cancer-related fatigue. DISCUSSION: The study has shown that evidence-based printed material, such as an information booklet, can be used as an effective research dissemination method when developed for needs, values, and context of a target audience. CONCLUSIONS: This practical approach to research dissemination could be replicated and applied to other groups of nurses.</p

A further study of the possible scaling region of lattice chiral fermions

In the possible scaling region for an SU(2) lattice chiral fermion advocated in {\it Nucl. Phys.} B486 (1997) 282, no hard spontaneous symmetry breaking occurs and doublers are gauge-invariantly decoupled via mixing with composite three-fermion-states that are formed by local multifermion interactions. However the strong coupling expansion breaks down due to no ``static limit'' for the low-energy limit ($pa\sim 0$). In both neutral and charged channels, we further analyze relevant truncated Green functions of three-fermion-operators by the strong coupling expansion and analytical continuation of these Green functions in the momentum space. It is shown that in the low-energy limit, these relevant truncated Green functions of three-fermion-states with the ``wrong'' chiralities positively vanish due to the generalized form factors (the wave-function renormalizations) of these composite three-fermion-states vanishing as O((pa)^4) for $pa\sim 0$. This strongly implies that the composite three-fermion-states with ``wrong'' chirality are ``decoupled'' in this limit and the low-energy spectrum is chiral, as a consequence, chiral gauge symmetries can be exactly preserved.Comment: A few typing-errors, in particular in Eq.50, have been correcte

Tune in to your emotions: a robust personalized affective music player

The emotional power of music is exploited in a personalized affective music player (AMP) that selects music for mood enhancement. A biosignal approach is used to measure listeners’ personal emotional reactions to their own music as input for affective user models. Regression and kernel density estimation are applied to model the physiological changes the music elicits. Using these models, personalized music selections based on an affective goal state can be made. The AMP was validated in real-world trials over the course of several weeks. Results show that our models can cope with noisy situations and handle large inter-individual differences in the music domain. The AMP augments music listening where its techniques enable automated affect guidance. Our approach provides valuable insights for affective computing and user modeling, for which the AMP is a suitable carrier application

Lattice QCD Simulations in External Background Fields

We discuss recent results and future prospects regarding the investigation, by lattice simulations, of the non-perturbative properties of QCD and of its phase diagram in presence of magnetic or chromomagnetic background fields. After a brief introduction to the formulation of lattice QCD in presence of external fields, we focus on studies regarding the effects of external fields on chiral symmetry breaking, on its restoration at finite temperature and on deconfinement. We conclude with a few comments regarding the effects of electromagnetic background fields on gluodynamics.Comment: 31 pages, 10 figures, minor changes and references added. To appear in Lect. Notes Phys. "Strongly interacting matter in magnetic fields" (Springer), edited by D. Kharzeev, K. Landsteiner, A. Schmitt, H.-U. Ye