Implementing an Agent Trade Server

An experimental server for stock trading autonomous agents is presented and made available, together with an agent shell for swift development. The server, written in Java, was implemented as proof-of-concept for an agent trade server for a real financial exchange.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, intended for B/W printin

GeoNotes: A Location-based Information System for Public Spaces

The basic idea behind location-based information systems is to connect information pieces to positions in outdoor or indoor space. Through position technologies such as Global Positioning System (GPS), GSM positioning, Wireless LAN positioning o

Nursery production systems and their impact on long term development in urban trees

Träd och andra urbana naturresurser spelar en stor roll i skapandet av hållbara städer, och tillhandahåller många viktiga ekosystemtjänster. Många av dessa ekosystemtjänster är kopplade till trädens storlek och vitalitet. Staden som växtplats är dock sällan optimal, och stadsträd utsätts för mycket stress i form av bland annat torka, platsbrist, föroreningar, markkompaktering och fysiska skador. Detta försvårar etableringen av träd i städer, men påverkar även deras långsiktiga utveckling och vitalitet. Att ersätta stadsträd är också kostsamt ekonomiskt såväl som för miljön. I plantskolor används olika metoder för att främja ett välutvecklat rotsystem och därigenom underlätta etablering. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka huruvida olika plantskoleproduktionsmetoder påverkar utvecklingen av stadsträd på längre sikt (15 år). Denna studie är en uppföljning på delar av en tidigare studie som undersökte plantskoleproduktionsmetodens påverkan på etablering av träd i urbana miljöer. Träden som undersöks planterades 2008 i ett bostadsområde i Malmö, och är av arterna rödek (Quercus rubra) och sötkörsbär (Prunus avium). Träden behandlades med fem olika produktionsmetoder i plantskolan; barrot, klumpodling med eller utan rotbeskärning, fabric container (root control bag) och depåodling (air pot). I denna studie undersöktes trädens långsiktiga utveckling genom mätningar av skottillväxt och stamomfång. Resultatet visade inga signifikanta skillnader i tillväxt mellan de olika behandlingarna.Trees and other urban natural resources play a major role in the creation of sustainable cities, providing many important ecosystem services. Many of these ecosystem services are linked to tree size and vitality. However, the city as a planting site is rarely optimized, and urban trees are exposed to stress factors such as drought, lack of space, pollution, soil compaction and physical damage. This makes the establishment of trees in cities difficult, but also affects their long-term development and vitality. Replacing urban trees is also costly financially as well as for the environment. In nurseries, different methods are used to promote a well-developed root system and thereby facilitate establishment. The aim of this study is to investigate whether different nursery production systems affect the long term development of urban trees (15 years). This study is a follow-up on parts of a previous study that investigated the impact of the nursery production system on the establishment of trees in urban environments. The trees in this study were planted in 2008 in a residential area in Malmö, and the species used were red oak (Quercus rubra) and sweet cherry (Prunus avium). The trees were treated with five different production systems in the nursery; bare root, balled and burlapped with or without root pruning, fabric container (root control bag) and air pot. In this study, the long-term development of the trees was assessed through measurements of shoot growth and stem girth. The result showed no significant differences in growth between the different treatments

Child rights governance: An introduction

In this special issue, we explore child rights governance as the intersection between the study of governance and the study of children, childhood, and children’s rights. Our introduction puts forward a set of theoretical points of departure for the study of child rights governance, engaging with scholarship on human rights, international relations, history, and governance. It links the individual contributions to this special issue with four central dimensions of child rights governance, namely: temporality, spatiality, subjectivity, and normativity

Serum fatty acid profile does not reflect seafood intake in adolescents with atopic eczema.

AIM: Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) are immunomodulatory, but their role in allergy development is controversial. We investigated whether proportions of LCPUFAs in serum phospholipids were related to allergic diagnosis, seafood intake and LCPUFA proportions in cord blood.</br></br> METHODS: Serum was obtained from 148 birth cohort children at 13 years of age. Forty had atopic eczema, 53 had respiratory allergy, and 55 were nonallergic. Proportions of LCPUFAs were determined in serum phospholipids; cord blood from 128 of the individuals was previously analysed. Seafood intake was estimated using questionnaires.</br></br> RESULTS: Allergic and nonallergic individuals did not differ significantly regarding individual LCPUFAs. However, arachidonic acid over docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) ratio was higher in allergic, compared with nonallergic, adolescents. In nonallergic individuals, LCPUFA proportions in cord serum and adolescent serum correlated weakly. In individuals with atopic eczema and respiratory allergy, these correlations were weak or absent. A moderate correlation between seafood intake and serum DHA was seen in nonallergic individuals and those with respiratory allergy, but not in those with atopic eczema.</br></br> CONCLUSION: Serum LCPUFA pattern was similar in allergic and nonallergic adolescents. Fatty acid metabolism may be altered in atopic eczema subjects, suggested by poor correlations between fatty acid intake and serum levels

Cat and dog ownership during/after the first year of life and risk for sensitization and reported allergy symptoms at age 13

Background: Avoidance of pets as a strategy for preventing atopic diseases has been questioned. This study aimed to identify the risk of sensitization and allergic symptoms at age 13 in relation to dog- and cat-keeping during and after the first year of life. Methods: The study included all children born at 6stersund Hospital in Northern Sweden between February 1996 and January 1997 (n = 1231). At inclusion, parents were asked to answer questionnaires about lifestyle, including cat- and dog-keeping. Dog allergy, cat allergy, hay fever, and asthma were diagnosed based on parental reported allergic symptoms at 13 years of age (n = 834). The risks of sensitization or allergy in relation to dog- and cat-keeping during and after the first year of life were analyzed with logistic regression. To adjust for reverse causation, all subjects that had reported avoidance of pets due to allergic symptoms of the child or allergy in the family (n = 177) were excluded. Results: Dog- or cat-keeping during the first year of life reduced the risk of sensitization to dog or cat allergens, respectively, and to birch and to at least one of the 10 allergens tested. Cat-keeping, both during and after the first year of life, reduced the risk of cat allergy and hay fever. Having a dog at home during the first year of life reduced the risk of dog and cat allergy, whereas dog-keeping after the first year of life did not affect allergic symptoms. Conclusions: Cat ownership, either during or after the first year of life, may be a strategy for preventing the development of cat allergy and hay fever later in life. Dog ownership reduced the risk of sensitization to dog and birch allergen, and also the risk of cat and dog allergy, but had no effect on hay fever

Определение сроков годности экстракционных лекарственных средств корневищ с корнями синюхи голубой

РАСТЕНИЙ ЭКСТРАКТЫСИНЮХА ГОЛУБА

Proportions of polyunsaturated fatty acids in umbilical cord blood at birth are related to atopic eczema development in the first year of life

Atopic eczema, the most common atopic disease in infants, may pave the way for sensitization and allergy later in childhood. Fatty acids have immune-regulating properties and may regulate skin permeability. Here we examine whether the proportions of fatty acids among the infant and maternal plasma phospholipids at birth were associated with maternal dietary intake during pregnancy and development of atopic eczema during the first year of age in the Nutritional impact on Immunological maturation during Childhood in relation to the Environment (NICE) birth cohort. Dietary data were collected with a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire, fatty acids were measured with GC-MS and atopic eczema was diagnosed by a pediatric allergologist at 12 months of age. We found that higher proportions of n-6 PUFAs (including arachidonic acid) but lower proportions of n-3 PUFAs (including DPA) in the infant’s phospholipids at birth were associated with an increased risk of atopic eczema at 12 months of age. The n-6 and n-3 PUFAs were related to maternal intake of meat and fish, respectively. Our results suggest that prenatal exposure to unsaturated fatty acids is associated with eczema development in the infant. Maternal diet during pregnancy may partly explain the fatty acid profiles in utero

Preterm birth and the risk of chronic disease multimorbidity in adolescence and early adulthood: : A population-based cohort study

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Preterm birth and the risk of chronic disease multimorbidity in adolescence and early adulthood: : A population-based cohort study

Peer reviewe