Observations on the post-natal development of the tiny musk shrew, Crocidura bicolor

Crocidura bicolor is the smallest of southern Africa's Crocidura shrews and little is known of its biology. A female, captured in the Kruger National Park, was observed giving birth to two young. The post-natal development of the young reported here was slower than the two previously published Incidences. Suggested reasons for the discrepancies are the differential diets of the mothers, their geographical origins and the smaller size of this female

Special Section Guest Editorial: Image/Video Quality and System Performance

Rapid developments in display technologies, digital printing, imaging sensors, image processing and image transmission are providing new possibilities for creating and conveying visual content. In an age in which images and video are ubiquitous and where mobile, satellite, and three-dimensional (3-D) imaging have become ordinary experiences, quantification of the performance of modern imaging systems requires appropriate approaches. At the end of the imaging chain, a human observer must decide whether images and video are of a satisfactory visual quality. Hence the measurement and modeling of perceived image quality is of crucial importance, not only in visual arts and commercial applications but also in scientific and entertainment environments. Advances in our understanding of the human visual system offer new possibilities for creating visually superior imaging systems and promise more accurate modeling of image quality. As a result, there is a profusion of new research on imaging performance and perceived quality

A taxonomic update of Takahashi’s historic collection of mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) from Malaysia and Singapore

Dr. Ryoichi Takahashi collected mealybugs (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Pseudococcidae) from Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore in 1943–1944, and mounted them in 39 permanent slide mounts using Canada balsam. The slides are deposited in the Department of Agriculture, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The objective of this research was to update the identification of Takahashi’s specimens using recent taxonomic keys. Some preparations on cavity slides were re-mounted to facilitate identification. The re-mounted specimens, and those on the original slides, were re-examined and 12 species were identified. The Takahashi samples of Pseudococcus comstocki (Kuwana) and Rastrococcus mangiferae (Green) are the earliest records of these species from Peninsular Malaysia

NEW INDONESIAN COUNTRY RECORDS AND SPECIES INFORMATION FOR MEALYBUGS (HEMIPTERA PSEUDOCOCCIDAE) IN WIRJATI’S HISTORIC COLLECTION

Between 1955 and 1960, a collection of slide-mounted mealybugs (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Pseudococcidae) was prepared by Mrs Wirjati, using samples collected between 1916 and 1960 from a variety of hosts in Indonesia. The collection is a record of which species were established in the country in 1960. The slides, deposited at the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture in Java, are the earliest material in the national mealybug collection. There are 181 temporary slide mounts of unstained, waxy mealybugs mounted in agar or gum chloral media that have dried out to varying degrees. Specimens were retrieved from 50 representative slides and re-mounted as stained, archival mounts in Canada balsam. The method used to retrieve the specimens from the old mounts is described. The re-mounted specimens were re-identified using up-to-date, published identification keys, resulting in new identities for most of the  specimens. Fifteen species belonging to 12 genera were identified, however specimens from four of the slides  could not be identified beyond genus level. The Wirjati slides of Antonina thaiensis Takahashi, Hordeolicoccus nephelii (Takahashi) and Paraputo corbetti (Takahashi) are new country records. The differences between the fauna in Wirjati’s collection and that found in Indonesia today are discussed

Challenges in the delivery of e-government through kiosks

Kiosks are increasingly being heralded as a technology through which governments, government departments and local authorities or municipalities can engage with citizens. In particular, they have attractions in their potential to bridge the digital divide. There is some evidence to suggest that the citizen uptake of kiosks and indeed other channels for e-government, such as web sites, is slow, although studies on the use of kiosks for health information provision offer some interesting perspectives on user behaviour with kiosk technology. This article argues that the delivery of e-government through kiosks presents a number of strategic challenges, which will need to be negotiated over the next few years in order that kiosk applications are successful in enhancing accessibility to and engagement with e-government. The article suggests that this involves consideration of: the applications to be delivered through a kiosk; one stop shop service and knowledge architectures; mechanisms for citizen identification; and, the integration of kiosks within the total interface between public bodies and their communities. The article concludes by outlining development and research agendas in each of these areas.</p

Sizes of Masing Parts of Massive Star Forming Regions

It is shown that the images, line profiles, and time evolution of different interstellar masing transitions can be explained by the hypothesis that the population inversions giving birth to masers take place in turbulent regions with extents that are orders of magnitude greater than the sizes of the maser spots. It is shown that the images of methanol masers in the turbulent model persist within considerable time and do not prevent measurement of the annual parallaxes using data on the 12 GHz methanol maser positions.Показано, что изображения, профили линий и временная эволюция различных переходов межзвездных мазеров могут быть объяснены в рамках гипотезы о том, что инверсия населенностей, приводящая к появлению мазеров, возникает в турбулентных районах с размерами, превышающими размеры мазерных пятен на порядки величины. Показано также, что изображения метанольных мазеров в турбулентной модели остаются неизменными в течение продолжительного времени, что позволяет проводить измерения годичных параллаксов по данным о положениях метанольных мазеров на 12 ГГц.Показано, що зображення, профілі ліній та часову еволюцію різних переходів міжзоряних мазерів можна пояснити в межах гіпотези про те, що інверсія населеностей, котра призводить до появи мазерів, виникає в турбулентних районах з розмірами, вищими за такі мазерних плям на порядки величини. Показано також, що зображення метанольних мазерів у турбулентній моделі залишаються незмінними протягом довгого часу, що дозволяє вимірювати річні паралакси за даними про розташування метанольних мазерів на 12 ГГц

The magnetic mass of transverse gluon, the B-meson weak decay vertex and the triality symmetry of octonion

With an assumption that in the Yang-Mills Lagrangian, a left-handed fermion and a right-handed fermion both expressed as quaternion make an octonion which possesses the triality symmetry, I calculate the magnetic mass of the transverse self-dual gluon from three loop diagram, in which a heavy quark pair is created and two self-dual gluons are interchanged. The magnetic mass of the transverse gluon depends on the mass of the pair created quarks, and in the case of charmed quark pair creation, the magnetic mass $m_{mag}$ becomes approximately equal to $T_c$ at $T=T_c\sim 1.14\Lambda_{\bar{MS}}\sim 260$MeV. A possible time-like magnetic gluon mass from two self-dual gluon exchange is derived, and corrections in the B-meson weak decay vertices from the two self-dual gluon exchange are also evaluated.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figure

Effective Field Theory for Layered Quantum Antiferromagnets with Non-Magnetic Impurities

We propose an effective two-dimensional quantum non-linear sigma model combined with classical percolation theory to study the magnetic properties of site diluted layered quantum antiferromagnets like La$_{2}$Cu$_{1-x}$M$_x$O$_{4}$ (M$=$Zn, Mg). We calculate the staggered magnetization at zero temperature, $M_s(x)$, the magnetic correlation length, $\xi(x,T)$, the NMR relaxation rate, $1/T_1(x,T)$, and the N\'eel temperature, $T_N(x)$, in the renormalized classical regime. Due to quantum fluctuations we find a quantum critical point (QCP) at $x_c \approx 0.305$ at lower doping than the two-dimensional percolation threshold $x_p \approx 0.41$. We compare our results with the available experimental data.Comment: Final version accepted for publication as a Rapid Communication on Physical Review B. A new discussion on the effect of disorder in layered quantum antiferromagnets is include