THE DISCOURSE OF GOVERNANCE IN THE LINGUISTIC LANDSCAPE OF QUEZON CITY GOVERNMENT

The study aims to analyze the discourse of governance in the tarpaulins and posters of the Quezon City government, which were posted and distributed on the identified public spaces. The researcher used the three-dimensional model (description, interpretation, and evaluation) of Critical Discourse Analysis designed by Norman Fairclough as a method for document analysis. The Rights-Based Approach in Governance formulated by the National College of Public Administration of the University of the Philippines-Diliman was used as a theoretical guide in analyzing the discourse of governance. It concludes that (1) human rights has influence in responding to the needs of the constituents and governance. (2) Since the English language is being used in most of the transactions and communications of the government, the city government used Filipino language and Taglish (Tagalog and English) to simplify and explain the importance and contents of newly enacted policies and created programs. (3) The issued Executive Order No. 335 on August 25, 1988 pursuant to Article XIV, Section VI in the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, that intensifies the use of Filipino language in official transactions and communications in government offices was not following by government agencies. Instead, English language is being used in all the documents, while the language for face-to-face communication or materials distributing to the mass is Filipino. And lastly (4), language can create and close the gap between the government and its citizens.&nbsp

Directional translocation resistance of Zika xrRNA

xrRNAs from flaviviruses survive in host cells because of their exceptional dichotomic response to the unfolding action of different enzymes. They can be unwound, and hence copied, by replicases, and yet can resist degradation by exonucleases. How the same stretch of xrRNA can encode such diverse responses is an open question. Here, by using atomistic models and translocation simulations, we uncover an elaborate and directional mechanism for how stress propagates when the two xrRNA ends, 5 \u2032 and 3 \u2032, are driven through a pore. Pulling the 3 \u2032 end, as done by replicases, elicits a progressive unfolding; pulling the 5 \u2032 end, as done by exonucleases, triggers a counterintuitive molecular tightening. Thus, in what appears to be a remarkable instance of intra-molecular tensegrity, the very pulling of the 5 \u2032 end is what boosts resistance to translocation and consequently to degradation. The uncovered mechanistic principle might be co-opted to design molecular meta-materials

Corn planting strategies in the United States Corn Belt

In Illinois, corn (Zea mays L.) producers aim to start planting operations in mid-April. Early planting allows for the use of longer-season corn varieties, which tend to yield more than shorter-season varieties. However, constraints to early planting in the U.S. Corn Belt include excessive soil moisture and low temperatures in April. Corn producers often wait for soils to dry and for temperatures to increase before starting planting operations. Meeting the potential for high corn yield requires a successful planting operation and crop establishment. Chapter 1 presents research about challenges in no-till, continuous corn production due to large amounts of corn residue, which may interfere with planting operations and contributes to keeping soils cooler and wetter, delaying field operations. A practice in Illinois is to apply post-harvest nitrogen (N) fertilizer to accelerate residue decomposition. A 2-yr study in Illinois investigated corn residue treated with liquid ammonium sulfate (AMS) and urea-ammonium nitrate (UAN) broadcast-applied post-harvest. Treatments receiving fall N applications did not show greater residue decomposition as measured by stalk strength, and carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratios were not reduced compared to an untreated control. Weather conditions and the residue’s initial quality likely drove the decomposition rate of corn residues. Soil ammonium and nitrate data indicated that some of the N fertilizer applied in early and mid-fall was lost. Results indicated that applying post-harvest N fertilizer to enhance corn residue decomposition is not warranted. Chapters 2 and 3 present research about the application of variable seeding depth of corn as a way to improve yield. Sufficient soil moisture is crucial for corn germination and emergence; however, within-field soil moisture varies with topography. As a result, corn seeding depth should vary with soil moisture gradients to reach optimal moisture. Using relative elevation data, landscape (LSP) zones were delineated to partition soil moisture variability into dry, transitional, and wet LSP zones. The corn yield response to shallow, standard, and deep seeding depths in dry, transitional, and wet LSP zones was tested. It was hypothesized that shallow seeding in wet LSP zones and deep seeding in dry LSP zones would result in higher yield than the standard seeding depth. Chapter 2 describes the experiment where field-long strips were planted in 17 commercial fields in 2014 and 2015 at shallow, standard, and deep seeding depths. Corn was machine-harvested. Across years, the LSP zones were a significant predictor of the yield response in 7 fields. Two fields showed no response to seeding depth, 7 fields yielded similarly for the shallow and standard seeding depths, 4 fields yielded similarly for the deep and standard seeding depths, while 4 fields responded positively to combinations of shallow, standard, and deep seeding depths. Chapter 3 describes the experiment where corn emergence, plant growth, and grain yield were quantified in the LSP zones, along with soil moisture. Two fields in Illinois were planted with field-long strips in 2015 at shallow, standard, and deep seeding depths. Soil moisture was nearly twice as high in wet LSP zones than in dry LSP zones for one field. Seeds planted at shallow depths had earlier emergence and higher growth earlier in the season compared to seeds planted deeper. Shallow seeding in wet LSP zones in one field showed a more consistent emergence rate and less variability compared to the standard and deep seeding depths. However, these results did not translate into significant grain yield differences. The LSP zones had greater influence on grain yield than seeding depths. The data in the appendix showed considerable plant-to-plant variability from adjacent corn plants sampled within-row. This is particularly interesting as corn seeds are assumed to have nearly identical genetics, and except for spacing differences, the growing environment of corn plants along short distances could be assumed to be homogeneous

Urban rain-fed lakes: macro-invertebrate assemblages associated with Egeria najas as indicators of biological integrity in wetlands of Corrientes Province (Argentina)

In northeast Corrientes Province, there are more than 50,000 semi-rounded shallow rain-fed lakes. Several lakes have been disturbed mainly because urbanization causes eutrophication due to the illegal discharge of wastewater. We compared 22 metrics based on the structural attributes of macro-invertebrates associated with Egeria najas across seasons between five lakes with different human disturbance levels. Sixty-six samples of E. najas and associated invertebrates were collected seasonally using a net with an area of 962 cm 2 . A total of 17,737 macro-invertebrates of eight major groups, 35 families and 30 genera were recorded. The total macro-invertebrate abundance (number of individuals per plant dry weigh) and the family richness were significantly higher in less disturbed lakes than those under human disturbance, but the differences between seasons were not significant. Non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis differentiated the macro-invertebrate abundances between the more and less disturbed lakes; instead, the diversity indices were not useful for measuring the changes in the studied lakes. Besides, total number of taxa, number of EOT (Ephemeroptera, Odonata, Trichoptera) taxa, abundance and proportion of Trichoptera and abundance of Chironomidae reflected significant differences between the more and less disturbed lakes. Our results suggest that seven invertebrate metrics respond to urbanization, and they could be used to assess biological integrity of the studied lakes in complement of chemical monitoring of water quality. Management efforts should focus on the maintenance of macrophyte stands that provide high invertebrate diversity, which serve as food for a wide variety of fish.Fil: Gallardo, Luciana Irene. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral; ArgentinaFil: Coronel, Juan Manuel. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste; ArgentinaFil: Poi, Alicia Susana G.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral; Argentin

Structural Modeling of Straw Bale Loadbearing Wall

In Ecuador, there are qualitative and quantitative housing deficits that must be covered with materials that produce seismic-resistant, energy-efficient buildings that do not require a large amount of energy to be produced. Several studies indicate that the answer lies in straw bale structures. However, for these to be considered by designers, aids are needed to facilitate their structural modeling in specialized computer programs. Through literature reviews, the present research proposes a model that adapts the specific structural considerations of straw bale buildings to the tools available in a design program. Keywords: structure, bales, straw, model, program, design. Resumen En el Ecuador existe un déficit cualitativo y cuantitativo de viviendas que debe ser cubierto con materiales que produzcan edificaciones sismo resistentes, energéticamente eficientes y a la vez que no requieran gran cantidad de energía para ser producidos. Varios estudios señalan que la respuesta está en las estructuras elaboradas con fardos de paja. Sin embargo, para que éstas sean consideradas por los diseñadores son necesarias ayudas para facilitar su modelamiento estructural en programas informáticos especializados. La presente investigación, a través de revisiones bibliográficas, propone un modelo que adapta las consideraciones estructurales específicas de las construcciones con fardos de paja a las herramientas disponibles en un programa de diseño. Palabras Clave: estructura, fardos, paja, modelo, programa, diseñ

Enzymatic extraction of hydroxycinnamic acids from coffee pulp

Ferulic, caffeic, p-coumaric and chlorogenic acids are classified as hydroxycinnamic acids, presenting anticarcinogenic, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. In this work, enzymatic extraction has been studied in order to extract high value-added products like hydroxycinnamic acids from coffee pulp. A commercial pectinase and enzyme extract produced by Rhizomucor pusillus strain 23aIV in solid-state fermentation using olive oil or coffee pulp (CP) as an inducer of the feruloyl esterase activity were evaluated separately and mixed. The total content (covalently linked and free) of ferulic, caffeic, p-coumaric and chlorogenic acids was 5276 mg per kg of coffee pulp. Distribution was as follows (in %): chlorogenic acid 58.7, caffeic acid 37.6, ferulic acid 2.1 and p-coumaric acid 1.5. Most of the hydroxycinnamic acids were covalently bound to the cell wall (in %): p-coumaric acid 97.2, caffeic acid 94.4, chlorogenic acid 76.9 and ferulic acid 73.4. The content of covalently linked hydroxycinnamic acid was used to calculate the enzyme extraction yield. The maximum carbon dioxide rate for the solid-state fermentation using olive oil as an inducer was higher and it was reached in a short cultivation time. Nevertheless, the feruloyl esterase (FAE) activity (units per mg of protein) obtained in the fermentation using CP as an inducer was 31.8 % higher in comparison with that obtained in the fermentation using olive oil as the inducer. To our knowledge, this is the first report indicating the composition of both esterified and free ferulic, caffeic, p-coumaric and chlorogenic acids in coffee pulp. The highest yield of extraction of hydroxycinnamic acids was obtained by mixing the produced enzyme extract using coffee pulp as an inducer and a commercial pectinase. Extraction yields were as follows (in %): chlorogenic acid 54.4, ferulic acid 19.8, p-coumaric acid 7.2 and caffeic acid 2.3. An important increase in the added value of coffee pulp was mainly due to the extraction of chlorogenic acid